Still reeling from the experience, Adrien found himself unable to move for a moment. He let his head fall back on the ground, reaching up a hand to rub his sore chin. That's definitely going to bruise.
"This is bad!" Plagg said, coming out of wherever he had been hiding. Luckily, the kwami had gotten out of sight before Heartbreaker arrived.
"I know!" Adrien nearly growled with frustration at himself, "I can't believe I got Marinette akumatized. I'm such an idiot!"
"Y-Yeah," Plagg said hesitantly, "that's really, really bad." He looked away, like there was something else bothering him about the situation, but Adrien was too distracted to notice.
"We have to transform, Plagg," he said, finally pulling himself onto his feet, "I need to save her. Plagg, claw's out!"
"Wait, I need to…!" Plagg started to say, but too late. The kwami was pulled into Adrien's ring, charging it with the power of destruction. As the magic of the miraculous washed over him, replacing his outfit with his iconic, black cat suit, he felt that surge of strength, agility, and confidence that always came with it. He hated the idea of fighting his own friend, but it was the only way to save her. Without a moment's hesitation, he leaped out the window to look for her.
Jumping across the rooftops, it wasn't long before he heard the sounds of wailing from nearby. He looked down and saw a frightening sight. There was a huge mass of people – on the sidewalks, in the street, and in cars – all collapsed on the sidewalk and crying desperately. Some were on their knees, others on their hands and knees, others were curled up in fetal position, but all were wailing helplessly. No small amount of destruction had also been wrought as well, with cars having crashes into traffic lights, street signs, and one another while their drivers buried their heads in the airbags and wept, unaware of the cuts and bruises they had sustained from the impact. All around them, people were fleeing, and at the end of this scene was Heartbreaker. As frightening as she was beautiful, she danced through the streets, a graceful harbinger of despair, her daggers flying and stabbing in every direction.
Cat Noir moved quickly, racing across the rooftops until he was in the right position. He leaped, extending his staff until it hit the ground right in front of Heartbreaker. He felt the impact reverberate through the staff as he began to descend, landing in the street right in front of her.
"I think that's enough cat-astrophe for one day," he said, trying to put on a smile and a confident face. He failed on both accounts. Despite the normal confidence and cool air he gained while transformed, today his nerves were shot from his close call and the weight of guilt.
"I was wondering when you would show up, dumb cat," the choked voice responded, "Are you ready to dance?" She deftly pulled two daggers from her pouch, one for each hand, and charged him.
Heartbreaker launched herself through the air, trying to forget what she felt as she stared into Adrien's eyes. She didn't love him anymore, she hated him now. There was nothing for her but sorrow in those eyes. Then why couldn't she do it? Why did she hesitate?
That didn't matter for now. Now her goal was to play along with Hawk Moth's game. She would get the Cat Noir miraculous like she promised, then deliver her own earrings to Hawk Moth. Then she would relish in the despair of Hawk Moth as he realized the Ladybug kwami was nowhere to be found, making the earrings useless, then his greater despair as he realized he didn't know the incantation to unlock the ultimate power he sought. That would be the greatest pleasure for her, to watch as his goals were finally realized only to have his hopes and dreams shattered.
It wasn't so late that the streets were empty yet and Paris was a big city, so there were plenty of people to be found. She leaped across a few buildings until she found a nice, crowded road. It wouldn't take her long to get Cat Noir to show up and try to save the day. In the meantime, she got to have some fun.
Heartbreaker jumped, flipped, and landed expertly in the middle of the road, surrounded by people. Before anyone was fully aware of what was going on, she was moving through them, daggers flashing. Jumping, spinning, weaving, and somersaulting down the streets she went, just a blur to most people, as her daggers were pulled and tossed or stabbed into every heart along the way. Very quickly she was leaving behind her a trail of pitiful wailing as her victims were gripped in utter despair.
Many of her daggers when crashing through windshields, striking the drivers on the road. Soon cars were careening out of control as their drivers were consumed with sorrow. They began crashing into everything around, including each other, and coming perilously close to running over the people lying on the sidewalk, caught up in their own misery.
People were starting to scatter, making it harder for her daggers to hit their targets. They would only work when they struck the heart, but they could home in if she got them close. The people with their backs turned were nearly impossible to hit, so instead she focused on the ones who were easy, immobilized by fear or too absorbed in their phones to realize what was going on. More and more people were falling victim to…
Clang! Heartbreaker slammed headfirst into something metallic. She recoiled and stepped back, getting ready for what came next. Sure enough, the long metal pole that had appeared in front of her shrunk down to size as Cat Noir slid down to the ground, taking up a combat position in front of her. His expression was grim… and was that a bruise on his chin?
"I think that's enough cat-astrophe for one day," he said, his mouth flickering into a smile for a moment. Despite the pun, he was clearly not his normal self tonight.
"I was wondering when you would show up, dumb cat," Heartbreaker smiled confidently, "Are you ready to dance?" She pulled out two daggers, one for each hand, and charged.