"I can't believe we have to do this." Nino grumbled as he and Adrien set off down one of the small winding side streets, heading away from the wrecked shop as their torches created patches of light in the darkness. "We're meant to be working on our case to bring down Hawkmoth and Ladybug and what are we doing? Walking around in the middle of the night trying to find this random thief who is probably long gone by now. It's pointless." He gave a loud huff and Adrien had to chuckle at how childish his friend was acting. Nino was pouting like a stubborn toddler as they walked along and it was taking all Adrien's effort not to crack a joke about it.

"It's not that bad," He said. "You know what the chief told us, this guy looks to be a new akuma. He certainly isn't a regular thief-who would leave their name behind like that?"

"True." Nino answered still not sounding convinced. "I just think we should be focusing on the akumas we already know about instead of a potential new one. This could just be some cocky kid trying to look hard and this could all be a waste of our time. And anyway, what kind of a name is Chat Noir? It sounds pretty lame, don't you think?"

Adrien was thankful it was dark as it meant Nino didn't see the affronted look that briefly passed over his face before he wrestled it under control. "Maybe the guy thought it sounded cool." He said quietly and Nino loudly scoffed but he didn't say anything else. Adrien too stayed silent as his mind wandered to earlier when he had gone and crashed his way through the windows of the innocent shop that had been the casualty of his mission to attract the akuma's attention. He had to admit that he had felt almost liberated as he set to work destroying the place; it had given him an intense rush that he had never felt before, one that felt wrong but sickeningly good at the same time. He could almost understand why criminals did what they did if they felt that every time and just thinking of that made him feel guilty. He also didn't want to think about why he had chosen a designer clothes shop-he reckoned a psychiatrist would have a field day with it. He shook his head slightly like that could shake those thoughts away and instead focused on remembering whether he had cleaned the scene properly. Knowing what the police would look for had made it easy for him to remove any traces from the scene, he knew there would be nothing there to incriminate him. Still, he couldn't help but worry and he was so consumed with his concerns that he didn't realise Nino had been chatting away for the last few minutes and it took a light punch to the shoulder for his focus to come back.

"Sorry, what was that?" Adrien asked, still half in a daze as he rubbed his shoulder and Nino laughed.

"I was just saying that you look really out of it bro," Nino said, giving Adrien a look. "You should be home asleep instead of stomping the streets like this."

"I'm fine," Adrien insisted as he felt a yawn stretching in his chest that he refused to make. "Just need to get my brain warmed up a little. Test me on what we know about the akumas, that should wake me up a little."

Nino rolled his eyes. "Dude, I know you practically have that case file by your bed." He replied snarkily but he still obliged him. "Princess Fragrance. What's her speciality?"

"Chemical weaponry." Adrien answered without missing a beat. "She's perfected a formula that when inhaled at certain doses, will make a person do anything from fall asleep to carrying out her bidding. The mixture is sprayed from a perfume gun and forms a bright pink smoke in the air that smells sweet, witnesses describe it as a floral scent. One of the newest akumas to appear but that makes her no less dangerous."

"Alright." Nino gave a nod of approval. "Stoneheart?"

"He functions as the muscle of the group. Has been witnessed lifting heavy objects like safes and large boulders and throwing them like they were made of cotton wool. As well as strength, he also appears to act as a block for the others, taking blows for them as they don't appear to affect his bulk. Was one of the first akumas spotted and is suspected of having worked for Hawkmoth since day one."

"Good one, I like the added description. OK, Evillustrator?"

"Graffiti. Hawkmoth uses him to leave messages and threats around the city in the form of his art-his pictures strike fear into some people when they wake up to find one of his masterpieces on their front door. He also likes to leave behind artwork when they have had a particularly successful attack-I suspect he likes to mock us." Adrien's lip curled at the thought-he hated being mocked. "That right?"

"Eh, close enough." Nino grinned. They both knew he had got it spot on. "Lady Wifi?"

"Gadget woman. She's an expert in all things to do with tracking, cameras and especially the media. She's hacked into several of the biggest co-operations in France and she does it all from her phone. What she doesn't know about modern technology isn't really worth knowing. Those kind of skills are what people on this side of the law would kill for." They both chuckled at the joke before Nino asked about the last akuma.

"What about Ladybug?"

Adrien's face set into a firm expression. "Hawkmoth's second-in-command and leader of his most powerful and senior gang. She's feared across Paris by almost everyone even though many people know next to nothing about her. Even the police only have scraps of information about her. Her main weapon is a yoyo that she also uses to aid her in escaping as she uses it to swing away from police clutches. She's incredibly skilled in acrobatics and close combat, making her possibly the more dangerous out of her and Hawkmoth when it comes to fighting. The akumas all look up to her and see her as a powerful leader." He looked over at Nino and shrugged. "Is there any more?"

"I don't think so, you can relax now dude," Nino smiled at his friend, who seemed to have cheered up a bit. "Seriously, you're like a dictionary with this case. Do you know any of the other akumas outside of that one group?"

"I'm not as good with them but I can try." Adrien grinned at him. Nino opened his mouth to give him another name but at that moment, a loud crashing sound came from nearby and they both froze in place, their heads darting about to find which direction it came from.

"You go that way, I'll go this way!" Nino hissed out of the corner of his mouth and Adrien gave a quick nod before they ran in opposite directions, their torches held aloft as they looked around for the disturbance. His heart was thudding against his ribcage as he ran, like it was begging to be set free, but he continued to sprint, hoping he wasn't too slow to catch anything. It wasn't until he couldn't hear the sirens of the police cars around the shop anymore did he stop and take a look around. The thin dark street was unfamiliar to him and he felt his stomach sink when he realised he was lost. Damn. He thought, kicking at a nearby stone crossly. He was never going to hear the end of this from Nino.

"This is bad." He muttered aloud as he tried to look back down the dark path he had run from. "This is really bad."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure." A sudden female voice drawled from nowhere in a way that made him freeze in place. His skin was prickling in fear as all the hairs on his body stood on end and he slowly went to turn around in the direction it had come from. "I'm sure I can give you directions. If you ask nicely."

Even though she was bathed entirely in the shadows when he first caught sight of her, he still felt terror stabbing him in the guts. He didn't need anybody telling him whose voice that was and as she slowly stepped towards him, casually rolling her yoyo string between her fingers with her eyes pointed on him like lasers, he stumbled back numbly, moving until he felt a hard brick wall behind him that made him realise he was trapped. His stomach lurched as she fully came into the light, enabling him to see her in her full intimidating glory. His breathing became laboured as he struggled to think of any words to say or think any thoughts of escape. Even though he had heard of her fearful reputation many times, he hadn't expected her presence to be this terrifying. He also, and he hated to acknowledge it, hadn't expected her to be that beautiful.

There was no denying that Ladybug was beautiful and no matter how hard he wanted to, he couldn't drag his eyes away from her. Her pale skin was glowing in the moonlight, making her look like a radiant being sculpted from the moonlight around them and her black hair was curling over her shoulders in their pigtails in a way that seemed to be begging him to run his hands through it. Her suit was emphasising every detail of her body as she prowled towards him like a panther, the skirt showing each sway of her hip as they seemed to move to a drum beat only she could hear. All that was enough to hold him there but it was her eyes that had him completely rooted to the spot; they were a deep blue that made him feel like he was drowning in the warmest ocean there was and he wasn't even making an attempt to save himself. She was now so close, he could see every fleck of colour in her eyes and when she curved her lips at him in a sweet smile, he couldn't help gasping her name.

"Ladybug…"

"Yes?" She purred in a voice that was so sultry, he could feel it going straight from his ears to the pit of his stomach where it tightened into a hot coil. "What can I do for you officer?"

Adrien was stunned into silence, the sheer closeness of the villainess he was trying to apprehend too much for his brain to handle. His mouth was only able to make a couple of noises that sounded nothing like words and it wasn't until she dangerously cocked her head to the side did he find himself able to control his tongue. He needed to tread carefully here, one wrong move and heaven knows what state he would be found in when the others realised he was gone.

"Maybe you could help us in our enquiries," He said, managing somehow to keep his voice light. "We're looking for one of your lot, a certain Chat Noir. He just broke into a clothes shop and we'd like to ask him some questions."

Ladybug looked at him with a smile before she burst out laughing, an oddly high-pitched sound that reminded him of bubbling water. "Chat Noir isn't an akuma. Not yet anyway." She told him and he felt a sense of victory run through him. His plan had worked! They were interested in him! However, all his excitement from his triumph suddenly faded when she stepped even closer, forcing him to press his body against the wall with all his might as she should just in front of him, barely a hands distance away. Her face was so close, he could see every one of the individual dark eyelashes that were fanning her eyes and when she peered up at him through them, he let out a little strangled gasp.

"I'm surprised you didn't know that," Ladybug purred at him. Her hand reached out for his chest and she pointed two fingers at him, making them slowly walk up his shirt towards his neck. "You know a lot about us akumas handsome cop." He felt his cheeks staining red at the nickname and he squirmed in embarrassment under her touch which he could feel burning into him. She looked up at him with a grin like she was about to devour him and in that moment, it didn't seem like a bad prospect. "I heard you just now with your friend. You knew us all of us off by heart. You were very generous with your description of me. I found it very flattering."

He could feel her fingers on his neck now as they continued up into his hair, ruffling it into fluff as they went. "What's your name, handsome cop?"

"A-Adrien." Was he stuttering now? And had he really just given her his name without a fight? He berated himself internally but he hadn't been able to stop himself. She had such a commanding air around her, he just felt compelled to obey.

"Adrien." She drew out his name like she was pulling on it, stretching out each syllable like it was bubblegum. "Well I have a little bit of advice for you Adrien. Just between you and me, our little secret." She leant in a little closer, both her hands on his chest as she used him as a leverage point, sending the butterflies in his stomach wild. "You should stay away from me and my fellow akumas. I know you recently reopened the case on us and I know you arrested Reflekta. You're probably on a high right now, thinking you finally have us cornered but you couldn't be more wrong. I'm advising you now to step away from this case… then I won't have to smash in this handsome face of yours." Her gloved hand stroked a line up his cheek and her smile this time was tempered with a warning. "Am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Adrien answered as she pushed herself away from him and started to walk away. "However, I can't guarantee that I'll follow your advice. The problem is, I now see that as a challenge."

He watched her stop and slowly turn back around to face him again. For a split second he thought she would lunge for him but she only laughed again, the sound making him yearn for more. "Very well," She said, her arm arching through the air as she hurled her yoyo upwards like an Olympic athlete. "I guess we'll be seeing each other again then. I like you handsome cop, you have guts. Please… just don't make me have to spill them."

Before he could answer, she was gone, her body flying through the air like she really did have wings. He watched her disappear, his heart still pounding as he heard shouting from behind him as a person ran towards him.

"There you are!" Nino shouted in relief as he ran up to his friend who was still staring up into the sky like he had seen a ghost. "I've been looking all over the place for you! I didn't find anything my end, I hoped you had…" His voice trailed off when he realised Adrien wasn't responding and he gave his shoulder a shake. "Adrien? Bro, what is it? Did you run into a brick wall or something?"

"I think it was the or something," Adrien finally muttered and when he turned around Nino saw how pale he was. "Nino…what the hell have I got myself into?"