Who's Got The Akuma
Chapter 10: "Gauntlet"
A Miraculous Ladybug fanfic
by Bill K.
Easing along the side of the storefront, praying he wouldn't be seen, was Adrien Agreste. Several people had already recognized him, famous as his face was. Though most of the gathered crowd was watching other things, a couple of middle aged ladies had torn themselves away to get his autograph. It was at moments like this that he wished he wasn't so famous.
His eyes were locked directly on what was occurring down the street from him, in the next intersection. Ladybug stood on one side of it, tall and erect and ready for the challenge before her. Stormy Weather lay about twenty feet from her, just rolling slightly from side to side in pain. Across from them, Volpina was gesturing. Then, emerging from alleys, from storefronts, from behind parked cars, was every villain he and Ladybug had ever faced. Adrien's breath caught in his throat. Anxiously his eyes darted back to Ladybug.
She stood unmoved, crouched for action. A sensation of awe washed through him. This was truly the greatest woman he had ever known. How could someone not help but love and admire her?
Shaking himself, Adrien slid along the section of storefronts until he reached the cheese shop on the corner. He attempted to go in, but the proprietor was standing in the doorway, watching the battle. Hunching his shoulders, Adrien pushed the man inside.
"Here, here, what's this?" the proprietor protested.
"Camembert!" Adrien exclaimed. "Now! As much as you've got!"
The shop owner was about to protest some more, but Adrien reached into his pocket and pushed a wad of currency into the man's middle. When the man looked, he saw the bills added up to about twice what his biggest wheel of Camembert cost. That and the desperate look on the teen's face convinced him. He waddled around to a display case and pulled out a large wheel of the cheese. Adrien seized it and ran out of the store. Ignoring what was going on, he raced down the street and ducked into an alley.
Sitting concealed behind a dumpster, Adrien reached into his pocket and gently pulled Plagg out. Even though the Kwami could smell the cheese, he was too tired to fly over to it, instead laying in Adrien's cupped hand.
"Got you something, Plagg," he said, sliding the Kwami onto the wheel of cheese. "You eat as much as you want."
"Smells good," Plagg wheezed. He licked the surface. "You're kind of all right, kid."
"Thanks," Adrien said. Then he glanced around the dumpster, trying to see what was happening. "But hurry up. Ladybug needs us."
"You're good, Ladybug," taunted Volpina as her army of akumatized villains advanced on her. "But can you beat them all?"
Ladybug quickly surveyed the scene. It was everyone she had ever faced, even the ones she had beaten earlier. The only ones missing were Stormy Weather, who was still moaning on the street to her left, and The Puppeteer. And she was the one villain Ladybug wanted to be here.
Leaping out of the pack was Antibug. Ladybug easily dodged her, but her motion took her directly into the path of Guitar Villain. He strummed "Awesome Solo" on his guitar, throwing a sonic blast at her. Throwing her yo-yo into the air, Ladybug snagged a street light and reeled herself out of the blast's range. She was only safe for a moment, for waiting for her from above was Dark Cupid. Hovering above her, he brought his bow up, an arrow set and waiting for her.
Two amazing twists of her body allowed Ladybug to avoid the fired arrows. Not willing to trust her luck with a third, Ladybug disengaged her yo-yo from the street light and somersaulted to the street. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw The Mime mimicking Dark Cupid. Leaping away, she avoided another invisible arrow as it impacted the pavement at her feet. But that leap brought her within the range of Animan. In black panther form, the great cat took a swipe at the heroine and grazed her hip. Ladybug tumbled to the street. She glanced back at him and saw Animan leaping at her.
A desperate swing of her yo-yo caught the cat right on the nose and stopped his advance. Ladybug scrambled to her feet, narrowly avoiding a thrust from Antibug's yo-yo and a pair of handcuffs fired from Rogercop. Leaping, she perched on a postal box. Timebreaker was advancing on her fast.
"I need to get some distance and regroup," Ladybug thought, her chest heaving.
Ladybug leaped to the street. Timebreaker altered course and attacked from the right. From the left, The Mime was headed for her, mimicking a speed skater. Ladybug began spinning her yo-yo, seemingly ready to attack. But at the last moment, she leaped up into the air, catching a cornice with her line. Timebreaker and The Mime crashed into each other. Pulling on her line, Ladybug attempted to fly away.
But looming over the street from the south was Stoneheart. As she neared him, he lunged out after her, forcing Ladybug to alter course. Out of the west suddenly appeared Gamer's giant robot form, blocking Ladybug's escape route in that direction. Green energy balls shot out at her and Ladybug narrowly avoided them. Swinging away, she found Horrificator blocking her path, the monster grown to sixty feet tall from all of the fear radiating from those watching below. Horrificator spat goo at her and Ladybug lunged away. Her momentum spent, the heroine landed on the street near Stormy Weather.
"You don't get away, Ladybug," Volpina crowed. "This is the final reckoning between us!"
"Lila!" Ladybug called out. "There doesn't have to be any 'reckoning' between us! That's Hawk Moth! He's just using you to get to me!"
"No, dear," Volpina smiled, a vicious, leering smile that was enjoying every moment of this conflict, "this was ME using Hawk Moth to get to you!"
"Why?"
"Because I HATE YOU!" Volpina snarled. "I hate you as much as I hate Chloe Bourgeois or anyone else who looked down on me or publicly humiliated me! I only ever wanted to belong! And NONE of you could let me have that! And now you're going to be the one who pays for it! And THEN I'll think about Chloe and the others!"
Ladybug glanced for a moment to her right, at Antibug spinning her yo-yo in readiness to attack. Why wait to take revenge on Chloe when she was right here?
"Sekhmet, give me your strength!" The Pharoah roared, drawing Ladybug's attention.
The villain lifted up a parked car above his head, then threw it at Ladybug. The heroine shot up into the air, somersaulting over the missile. In the air to greet her was Copycat, brandishing his batons like a pair of short swords. Quickly Ladybug's hand shot out and fired her yo-yo. She managed to hook a roof corner and alter her flight, narrowly missing Copycat. However, in the air, she was once again a target for Dark Cupid. And he had been joined by The Pharoah, using the Wings of Horus, as well as Mr. Pigeon riding his flock of birds.
From below, Guitar Villain threw a chord of sonic vibrations at her. Ladybug had no sooner landed atop a street light when it started vibrating wildly from the sonic blast. Rather than be shaken off, Ladybug flipped backwards, executing a complex mid-air somersault that carried her away from Guitar Villain's assault. But swooping in to get her was The Pharoah. Twisting to avoid his attack, Ladybug's trajectory was thrown off. She landed on an awning and bounced to the street, barely managing to land on her feet.
There was no rest for her. Timebreaker was speeding toward her. Ladybug swung her yo-yo line at the girl, trying to trip her. But Timebreaker easily vaulted the line, though it took her out of attack range.
Ladybug crouched, ready for the next attack. Her chest was heaving and her limbs felt leaden. There had to be a way to end this assault. If only Cat Noir was there. But in a way, she was glad he wasn't. If she was going to lose today, she didn't want him to share the same fate.
"Tiring, Ladybug?" Volpina taunted. "I'll accept your surrender any time."
The two adversaries held each other's eyes. Suddenly Ladybug somersaulted in the air, just as Animan was about to attack her from behind. She flipped over, balancing on his head with her two hands, and vaulted behind the big cat. But she landed awkwardly, striking something with one knee. Ladybug looked back as she grabbed her right knee, but there was nothing there.
And then there was: a steel newspaper vending box.
"Didn't see it?" Volpina chuckled. "That's the beauty of illusion: I can make you see things that aren't there. But I can also make you NOT see things that are there. I could let you walk right out in front of a bus and you'd never see it until it hit you! For example . . .!"
Several notes came from Volpina's flute. Suddenly there was a fifty yard chasm surrounding Ladybug on all sides. She was standing on a tiny island of pavement and one step in any direction was a dangerous drop.
"Very impressive," Ladybug called out as the villains gathered around Volpina or hovered above the heroine. "But I know it's not real."
"Isn't it?" Volpina smiled, her eyes twinkling.
Ladybug took one step forward and suddenly found herself plummeting toward the jagged chasm below. Quickly her yo-yo shot out and snared a street light, halting her descent. And just like that, the chasm was gone and she was laying in the street.
"I guess it wasn't," Volpina purred. "But now you have to ask yourself 'will the next one be real'? Meanwhile, let's play some more."
At once Darkblade shot forward, his sword out and ready to swing. Ladybug leaped into the air, casting her yo-yo up and out. But the yo-yo immediately struck an invisible ceiling and she quickly followed. Falling back to the street, Ladybug spotted Evillustrator drawing a cube around her. She didn't have time to dwell on it because Darkblade slashed at her. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Ladybug jumped and twisted to avoid him. But she was growing even more winded and Darkblade just kept coming. Finally she was pinned up against the wall of the cube. Darkblade drew back, then thrust his sword directly at her heaving chest.
Ladybug dropped to the ground, avoiding the thrust. The cube couldn't and the sword pierced it, shattering it into a rain of shards. Ladybug protected herself as best she could, but the falling shards of the cube still cut her in several places.
She wanted to just stay there on the street until she could get her wind back. Just until she could get her wind back. But footsteps told her a large group was approaching. Ladybug looked up and found an army of civilians marching toward her. About a fourth of the mob looked like Reflekta. The rest were a mixture of mummies, courtesy of The Pharoah, people acting like an angry lynch mob, courtesy of Simon Says, and normal people repeatedly mumbling "At your service, Princess Fragrance". As they neared, Ladybug feared their intent was to tear her apart.
Then Animan struck from behind. Now in the shape of a giant Burmese Python, he coiled around her waist with the speed of thought. As she struggled to extricate herself, Animan coiled more, around her legs, around her shoulders, around her hips. Then he began to squeeze. Ladybug grunted from the tremendous pressure being exerted on her body. The powerful coils squeezed all of the air out of her lungs. Ladybug quickly found that she was unable to draw any air back in because of the coils around her ribs. The snake was too strong to break, too difficult to move. And the coils became tighter with every passing second.
With her arms pinned at her sides, Ladybug couldn't even swing her yo-yo. As her vision began to cloud over red, her eyes darted back and forth for something to use against Animan. With desperation beginning to set in, Ladybug flicked her hand and the yo-yo shot out. It struck the wall of the shop near them and ricocheted back, striking Animan directly in the eye. It was a one in a million shot, the luckiest turn of events one could imagine. But that was the secret power of the Miraculous Ladybug. Animan flinched, stung by the blow, and the coils around Ladybug loosened. Fighting fatigue, she slipped her arm out of the coils, the swung her yo-yo around. The end swung up and struck Animan directly on the head. The snake went limp and slumped to the ground. Though her body wanted to give in right there, Ladybug pulled herself out of the coils. She was about to crawl away, but an arrow from Dark Cupid buried itself in the sidewalk in front of her, cutting her off.
"Maybe it's time to end this," Volpina mused, standing across the street flanked by a six of Ladybug's enemies. "The longer this goes, the more chance you have for a lucky break. Lady Wifi! Lock her down! I want to collect her Miraculous first."
From out of the crowd of villains clustered around Volpina, Lady Wifi emerged. Ladybug's heart sank. She'd hoped Alya at least could have been spared reliving this nightmare. The heroine crouched, preparing to move. She just didn't know if she still had the strength to move in time. The Pharoah and Dark Cupid hovered overhead. The armies of mesmerized citizens closed in from both sides. Timebreaker circled around on her skates, ready to attack at any moment. Lady Wifi raised her cell phone. Ladybug tensed.
"Ladybug!" came a shout from her right. Ladybug recognized the voice instantly, but it couldn't be Alya. She was looking at Alya. "It's a fake! I'm over here!"
Her eyes darted from Lady Wifi to Volpina and back again. Volpina seemed as confident as ever. Was it a trick? Had Volpina made her think Alya was calling to her, to get her to look away so Lady Wifi could strike? Or was Lady Wifi the illusion? Were they all illusions, the entire gauntlet that she'd been facing? She didn't know what to do. Volpina had her guessing so badly that she didn't know what was real and what was illusion anymore.
"Trust your instincts," Ladybug told herself. It almost sounded like Tikki was whispering that in her ear. Maybe she was.
Ladybug's eyes darted to the right for just a moment. There was Alya, standing behind a parked car waving with one hand while her ever-present cell phone was in the other. Ladybug's eyes darted back to Volpina and her crew. Of course Alya would be there, recording her exploits for the blog. So Lady Wifi had to be an illusion.
Or was that what Volpina wanted her to think?
Lady Wifi fired a pause icon at her and somehow Ladybug found the strength to leap up and avoid it. She caught the street light, avoiding an arrow from Dark Cupid, and swung up to a perch on the light. Immediately The Pharoah landed at the base of the light while Lady Wifi readjusted her aim.
"Sekhmet, lend me your strength!" he roared. Grasping the street light, he began to rip it out of the pavement.
"Ladybug!" Alya called out again. "It's not real!"
Desperately Ladybug searched for some clue to confirm one way or another what was real and what wasn't. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking over each participant in this epic battle for some flaw, some inconsistency, some indication that he or she was real or illusion.
Then her eyes locked on one of the villains in the cluster around Volpina. It was Kung Food! Kung Food was her Uncle Wang - - and he was in China! There was no way he could be there!
"So that's it, huh Volpina?" Ladybug scowled.
"Surrender now, Ladybug!" Volpina demanded, sensing that her elaborate illusion was blown. "You can't win against them all!"
"Let's find out!" Ladybug fired back.
Vaulting over one of Lady Wifi's pause icons, Ladybug lashed out with her yo-yo as she somersaulted in the air. The yo-yo struck Dark Cupid and he vanished in a puff of smoke. Her leap carried her directly into the cluster of villains hovering around Volpina. Ladybug began swinging her yo-yo around, faster than any of the villains could react. Up in smoke went Reflekta, Magician of Misfortune, The Bubbler, Kung Food and Evillustrator. The others turned to attack as Volpina edged away.
Lashing out with her foot, Ladybug struck Darkblade and he disappeared. Flinging her yo-yo, she struck Simon Says and he vanished. Timebreaker and The Pharoah charged her from both sides, trying to bracket her. But a leaping double kick dispensed with both villains and set her down next Lady Wifi. Lashing out with her elbow, Ladybug connected with the side of Lady Wifi's head and turned her into a puff of smoke. In the distance, she heard Alya cheer.
Pivoting, Ladybug waded through the marching army of mummies and mesmerized men singing the praises of Princess Fragrance. Using her yo-yo like a scythe, she cut through the army with little trouble, changing them all into smoke. Bringing up the rear behind the army was Horrificator. Swinging her yo-yo upward, Ladybug connected and dispelled the illusion.
She turned and charged the other advancing army, but found Copycat in her way. Copycat proved to be more elusive, avoiding her thrusts. After three dodged attacks, she broke off and dispelled the army of Reflektas and Simon Says slaves, all of whom were illusions as well, and Stoneheart behind them. Copycat and Antibug charged her again. Rather than attack them, Ladybug leaped over them, somersaulting over to where Rogercop, The Mime and Princess Fragrance were lurking. Three swings of her yo-yo made them all disappear.
Turning, Ladybug saw Gamer's giant robot reach for her. She leaped over the hand and then landed feet first on it, dispelling the illusion instantly. As the smoke cleared, Ladybug found Mr. Pigeon hovering a little too close. One shot from her yo-yo and he was gone.
"Ladybug! Look out!" she heard Alya yell.
Whirling, Ladybug found Pixelator creeping up on her with his camera. A single shot from her yo-yo dispelled him. As it returned, she spotted Guitar Villain preparing to strike a deadly chord. Whipping her yo-yo in an arc over her head, she brought it down on the villain like a hammer on his head. He vanished in a puff of smoke.
Her chest was heaving. Her limbs were numb. And Copycat and Antibug, and for all she knew Vanisher were stalking her. She didn't have time to fight them. Volpina would get away. And she didn't have the strength to fight them.
"I was trying to save this for Manon," Ladybug thought. "But I've got to use it now!"
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, spinning her yo-yo into the air. A red cloth with black dots appeared and fell into her hands.
"A blindfold?" Ladybug thought. She pondered for a moment as Copycat and Antibug drew nearer. "Oh! Sure, why not? I trust you, Tikki."
And she tied the blindfold over her eyes. Crouched behind a car, Alya stood up and stared in shock. Copycat and Antibug came closer. But Ladybug just stood there.
Then the two villains faded like mist. Alya ran over.
"They're gone, Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed. "They just faded away!" Indeed, the only villains left in the intersection were the fallen Animan and Stormy Weather.
"An illusion is one of your senses being fooled," Ladybug smiled as she pulled off the magic blindfold. "Block out that sense and you block out the illusion."
"You took an awful chance, girl," Alya gasped. Ladybug shrugged.
"I've always been pretty lucky," she said.
Warily looking behind her, Volpina scurried down a back alley. Ladybug had triumphed again - - again! Now she'd be after her. And that was assuming Hawk Moth hadn't seen through her illusion and wasn't after her, too. It was time to regroup. It would have been nice to take Animan and Stormy Weather with her, but she could get Puppeteer to recruit more help for her later. Now she had to escape. Volpina turned a corner.
And ran right into Cat Noir.
"Going somewhere?" he asked confidently.
Continued in Chapter 11