Chapter 11: Kim Screws Up

With the Chinese New Year just around the corner, Marinette's parents had their hands full, thanks to Tom's world-famous Nian Gaos, or better known as the Chinese New Year's Cakes. The recipe for them belonged to Sabine's part of the family, and when she and her husband opened their bakery, she insited on him making them, by using the recipe. Tom, being the amazing baker and pastry chef that he was, came up with his version of the cakes, to be sold, along with the traditional cakes. Over the years, those delicious cakes were sold during the two weeks prior to the Chinese New Year, and each year it went by, the orders kept growing. On that afternoon, Sabine had asked her daughter to help around the bakery for a couple of hours, so she could help Tom with the baking. Ever since she had taken her miraculous, Marinette had begun to move slower, while being constantly exhausted, and with very little patience. Still, she did her best not to show it, especially around her parents, because it would be hard for her to explain why she was acting like that.

Before going down to the bakery to help her parents, Marinette took a couple of minutes to make sure nothing would upset her, by doing a little bit of yoga. She had read that yoga helped people to control their emotions, while also relieving them of stress and muscle tension, and given things, she felt it would not hurt to try it. She did not say it to anyone, but she was tired of feeling exhausted all the time. But, more importantly, she was tired of having her emotions running high. She missed feeling calm and cheerful, and more importantly, she missed her old cheerful, kind and upbeat self. As she laid on the ground, with her legs crossed, breathing in and out, she tried to think of happy thoughts that would help her endure the next few hours. Most customers were nice and civilized, and she was delighted to trade a few words with them, while tending to their orders. But whether she liked it or not, there were always a few other customers who were the absolute opposite of that. She did not want her parent's business to suffer because she insulted one of the customers, even if said customer was rude to her in the first place.

"Be positive, Marinette… you can do this." -Marinette thought to herself, while taking a deep breath. –"If one of the clients is rude to you, you just need to ignore him or her…"

All of that sounded and looked ridiculous, and would sound and look as that to anyone who saw her doing it. But the truth was that if she did not do it, in order to focus on what she was going to do for the next couple of hours, she would probably snap at someone, just for giving her the stinkeye. She wished that that bad mood of hes would just go away, and that she could wear her miraculous once again, and have Tikki next to her.

"Patience, Marinette… one must have patience." -Marinette said to herself, as she let a single tear rolled down her cheek. She missed Tikki a lot… so much, that it was hard for her to put it to words. Still, she kept on believing that sooner rather than later, the little scarlet kwami would come back to her.

After those yoga exercises, Marinette put on her best smile, and quickly went down to the bakery. As she went down the stairs, she began to hear the commotion at the counter. She loved whenever they had clients, because that meant more money for her parents, which itself meant free-stressed and happier parents, which itself also meant a small raise in her allowance, so she could buy more fabric for her fashion projects. A few days before, Marinette's mood would have not let her think that way, but, little by little, she knew she would be feeling like her old self in no time. And with some luck, she would have Tikki back by her side as well. Opening the door, she saw that the commotion was far worse than she could have imagined, as her mother struggled to keep tabs on every order.

"Oh, Marinette, just in time." -Sabine said, as Marinette put on her apron.

"What do you need me to do?" -Marinette asked her mom.

"I'll take care of the bread orders, while you take care of the cake orders. Do you think you can handle it, sweetie?" -Sabine asked her daughter.

"Sure, mom." -Marinette tried to smile. –"I can handle it."

"Oh, and one more thing, sweetie… you remember Madame Bisset, don't you?" -Sabine asked her.

"The old lady from down the road who's always wearing cat themed clothes?" -Marinette answered her. If the person she was thinking of, was the one her mother was talking about, she knew who she was. Whenever she came to the bakery, she would be carrying one of her cats inside her handbag.

"That's the one… she ordered a birthday cake that's on the display window, and she's coming to get it in about half an hour." -Sabine warned her. –"It's the one with sugar marigolds, that says "Joyeux Anniversaire Christine", okay, honey?" -she said. –"Oh, and one last thing… keep an eye for the amount of Nian Gaos on the shelf. If we start running low on them, tell me, so I can tell your dad to bake another batch of them."

"Got it, mom." -Marinette said, as she quickly turned around to tend her first order. –"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" -she asked her first customer. –"12 chocolate maccarons and 4 vanilla cream puffs. Coming right up!"

You would expect that as time went by that the number of customers would decrease, but not that day. For every customer Marinette served, another two appeared and took its place, with even larger orders. Every so often, her dad would show up with a new batch or freshly baked bread, or cakes, perfuming the air with its sweet, delicious aroma. When Madame Bisset showed up, Marinette quickly rushed to get the birthday cake she had ordered. Seeing it, she took a moment to admire just how pretty it was. Once more, her dad had managed to create something absolutely beautiful and delicious. If that cake was not so big, and it was not an order, she would probably snatch it for herself and eat it all, leaving not a single crumb behind. Taking it back to the counter, she quickly placed it inside a box, and wrapped a beautiful pink ribbon around it, just the way only she could do it.

"Okay, here it is. One birthday cake, Madame Bisset." -Marinette smiled.

"Thank you, my dear. My granddaughter is going to love it." -the old woman said, with a smile on her face. Like always, she had brought one of her cats inside her handbag to keep her company, while shopping. This time, the one accompanying her was a black one with green eyes. Looking at it, Marinette could not help but to think of just how close he was to Chat Noir, making her smile. –"Make sure to tell your father that once more he outdid himself, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell him." -Marinette smiled, as the old woman grabbed the cake and left. –"She's right. Dad outdid himself once more… he's got to be the best baker in town." -she mused to herself, only to be brought back to reality, by the following customer, who called her. –"One moment, please…"

The movement inside the bakery was incredible, with people coming and out. Sabine and Marinette had to move as quickly as their feet allowed them to keep up with the customers, especially Marinette, when Sabeine left her a lone to help out Tom, when she felt he needed. This went on for another hour or so, when the number of customers finally began to drop. Unfortunately, it was not just the number of customers that dropped. Marinette's levels of energy also plummeted. Her upbright and sunny disposition had disappeared, she was moving a lot slower and it she was almost dragging her feet when walking. This, of course, did not escape the watchful eye of her mother. Even though Marinette tried to keep up the appearance that she was alright, her mother saw that she was not.

"Marinette, sweetie, is everything alright?" -Sabine asked her daughter.

"I'm o-okay, mom." -Marinette lied. The truth was she was making use of most of her strength just to keep standing. All she wanted right then was a chair, so she could take a seat, even if it was just for a couple of seconds.

"You don't look like you're okay." -Sabine said. –"Are you hatching a cold, or something?" -she asked her, worried about her well-being.

"I-I don't think so." -Marinette said.

"Well, you better go up, and rest for a bit. I'll go check on you, when things calm down a little more."

"B-But mom, I'm fine. I can stay and help you."

"You already helped enough today, Marinette." -Sabine told her with her usual calm and caring voice. –"I can handle the rest of the customers. You go upstairs, eat something and then rest, okay sweetie?"

"Okay, mom." -Marinette smiled.

As she took off her apron, and placed it under the counter, where she always did, Marinette could not help but to feel like she was letting down her parents. She knew, of course, that that was not the case, and that her mother had appreciated her help during those couple of hours she was there with her. But still, deep down, she felt like she was letting them down. Once more, she thought that if she was wearing her miraculous, she would have energy to work for 12 straight hours iin the bakery, without breaking a sweat. Cursing both the Collector and her luck, she dragged herself upstairs for some rest and relaxation. As she climbed the stairs, she wondered what she was going to do to relax. The first thing that came to her mind was to just take a shower, or maybe a bubble bath, while listening to some music. But then remembered that she wouldn't be able to do it, because she was was having a major case of the munchies, and a snack was in order. She could just ignore her food cravings and jump on the bathtub first. But her rumbling tummy dictated that food was more important than a shower or a bubble bath, right then. Arriving at the apartment, Marinette made her way to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, she looked inside to see what was in it. Grabbing everything she considered yummy, she quickly created a mean sandwich, with ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and lots of mayonnaise. After taking a moment to appreciate her culinary prowess, she grabbed the sandwich and took a huge bite out of it, savouring the various ingredients.

"Mmmm… I needed this, so much…" -Marinette sighed.

Taking the sandwich with her, she came up with the strength to go up to her room. Once there, she turned on her laptop, accessed her favourite playlist and then sat on her chaise-longue, hearing it, while eating her sandwich. Sighing, she tried not to think about all the problems she was having in her life, while listening to some of her favourite songs by Jagged Stone. Still, the more she tried not to think about it, the more she did. Looking at the drawer of her desk, where she had placed her miraculous, Marinette felt the urge to just go to it, open it and put the ladybug earrings, just so she could talk to Tikki and tell her how hard things were. Still, deep down, she knew that that was something she could not do. She had made a promise, and she was going to keep it, even if that meant enduring that pain in her chest, which she was beginning to feel accostumed to.


As the sun went down in the horizon, marking the end of another day, at the Agreste Manor, dinner was served. The chef, knowing from Nathalie who told him, that Adrien was feeling a little under the weather, decided to cook one of his favourite dishes, lasagne, to cheer him up. In fact, that dinner had every ingredient needed to be a dinner that would cheer him up, including the presence of his father, who for the first time in two weeks, was able to sat down at the table and have a meal with his son.

Gabriel Agreste's outer exterior would give a person to think that he did not care about anything oe anyone else, but himself. But the truth was that he cared a lot about many things in life… but none more than his son Adrien. As he finished the asparagus soup the chef had made just for him, Gabriel looked at his son, and saw that something was not right. He did not know what, but there was something clearly wrong with him. Determined to find out what, he decided to ask him.

"Adrien, is there something wrong?"

"N-No, dad… I'm just, you know, tired…" -Adrien said, a little crestfallen. He had hardly touched the lasagne in the plate.

"Tired, you say?" Gabriel asked him. –"Have you been resting enough? I know that the last photoshoots were a bit wearing, but you didn't say anything about it…"

"It's okay, dad. The photoshoots aren't the problem…" -Adrien answered him. The truth was that the last photoshoots he had early that week had exhausted him more than usual, but that was not the real reason why he was so tired. –"… it's just… well, test week is coming up, and I've been studying until late. I know I shouldn't do it, but…"

"I understand." -Gabriel told him. –"I know that you have another one scheduled for next week, but maybe it's best if I ask Nathalie to reschedule it for a later date. I don't want you to fall back on your studies." -he said. –"Oh, and before I forget. You'll have the house for yourself for the next couple of days. I'll be travelling tomorrow to London, for the opening of the new Agreste store in Saville Row, as well as taking care of a few business, regarding the launch of the next Autmun/Winter collection."

Adrien quickly remembered about his dad talking about it a few weeks prior. Saville Row was known for various reasons, but the most important of them all was that it was the street in London where the best bespoke tailoring stores were located. Ever since he began to study fashion, that Gabriel Agreste wanted to open a store of the kind in that street in London. And in a matter of hours, that dream was going to become a reality. Unlike most Agreste boutique stores, this one was different. It would be the first Agreste bespoke tailoring store in the world, right next to some of the best tailor houses in London like Huntsman & Sons, Gieves & Hawkes, Dege & Skinner, and of course, the most important of them all… a tailor house which had its name lent to a spy comic book and film franchise, Kingsman. Being the first of its kind, Gabriel worked on the concept for nearly a year, before putting it into practice.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" -Adrien asked him, while hoping his father would say no. It was not like he did not like to attend that kind of event, but he was not exactly in the mood for it.

"No, it's best if you stay and focus on your studies." -Gabriel told him.

"Alright, if you think it's best, dad." -Adrien said, as he took a bite out of the lasagne. As always, it was delicious. He was just not very hungry that night.

After dinner. Gabriel went to his study to work on a design he was working on for a couple of days now. As for Adrien, he went to his bedroom to rest a little bit, before hitting the books. Entering it, Adrien noticed, just like it happened during last couple of days, how quiet his bedroom was. When he was around, Plagg would make a big commotion when Adrien returned, not bringing him a single piece of delicious Camembert cheese, while also challenging him for a one-on-one videogames match. Ever since he had put on the black cat miraculous and met Plagg, Adrien's life had become easier, or at the very least, a lot more bearable. Bedore that, he would just go to school, practice fencing, pose in every photoshoot his father needed him to, and by his father's orders, he was not allowed to go anywhere after coming from school. But with Plagg around, he had someone to talk to and play with, when alone in that big house. And of course, the black cat kwami had also given him the strength and the courage to stand up to his father's decisions, and ask for a bit more freedom. In the end, he still had to tell his father, or at the very least, Nathalie, or Nina where he went, when he went out. But, at least, he did not have his bodyguard and chauffeur, Gorilla, acting like his own shadow.

Sitting on one of the armchairs he had in his bedroom, he then looked at the graphic novel that was on top of the coffee table. It was one of the hundreds of graphic novels and comic books he owned; but more importantly, it was the last thing Plagg read before he was sucked back into black cat ring, when Adrien took it off. Grabbing it, he noticed that he had never read that one before, which was not a surprise for him. His father had the habit of buying him everything he felt would make Adrien happy, and then Nathalie would just place it in his room, notifying him later.

"Space Guardians… I wonder how long this was in the bookshelf?" -Adrien asked himself, as he opened it and saw what it was about. It did not take long for him to see why Plagg was interested in it, in the first place. –"Oh… I see it. No wonder this one caught your eye, Plagg… this team has a cat who's actually a talking space alien, who enjoys to deliver catpuns." -he laughed.

He kept reading it, when a thunder startled him. Looking outside, he saw that it had begun to rain. It did not take long for a little drizzle to turn into a storm, with the wind howling like crazy. All of that just made him thank the fact that he was safe inside, where it was warm. Still, deep inside, Adrien just wanted to go outside, evenif that meant catching a cold. He craved to to go outside as Chat Noir, and feel the rain and the wind against his face. But he knew he could not put on his miraculous and release his kwami. Not until the Collector showed up, or Master Fu contacted them with news on how to trap the dastardly fiend. The last time they knew of the Collector, he was in Mumbai, making his way towards Paris. For all they knew, he could still be on his way… or, he might already have arrived, and was just waiting for one of them to power-up, so he could show up and try to rob the miraculous for himself.

"Oh, Plagg… what I wouldn't give to have you with me here, right now."


Lightning illuminated the cloudy night sky, as the rain kept coming down hard. The streets of Paris were no place for men nor beast to be; not with that rain. But that did not stop some people from wishing they could go outside. And one of these people was none other than Le Chien Kim, or just Kim, for his friends. The holder of the antelope miracukous was stuck at home with nothing to do, except studying. Usually on a Thursday night, he would be helping out at his parent's restaurant, but not that night. That night, the restaurant was being managed only by the main staff, who told Kim he did not need to come help them. His parents went to visit Kim's grandfather on his dad's side, who was at home in Nantes, recovering from a nasty case of pneumonia, and would not be back, until the following day.

He had tried to focus on studying for the upcoming tests, but his brain was just not in the mood for it. Thinkng of other things to do, he remembered that he had already read that month's stash of comic books he had bought the other day, that he did not have any new videogame to play, and last, but not least, there was nothing good on television that night. Even Netflix could not help him, because he had already watched every series and movie in it, that he was interested in.

"I can't take this any longer… I need to get out here!" -Kim sighed in exasperation, as he threw the book to the side.

Looking at the box where the antelope miraculous was, he was fighting the urge of putting it back on, so he could release his kwami and transform into Antelope, and go outside for a little bit. The rational part of him was telling him he should leave it alone, and not think about it, while the irational and crazy part of him was telling that he should put it on, just for an hour or two, and then put it back where it was.

"I shouldn't… but then again, who would know it? Plus, I'm the fastest thing alive… even if he does show up, and has the power of super speed, I can outwit him. After all, I know every single street in this town, like palm of my hand, and he doesn't." -Kim mused about it, and the more he did it, the more he felt like doing it, regardless of the consequences. –"I mean, who's going to know? It will only be for maybe an hour, or so. Then, I come back, take it off, and it will be like it didn't happen." -he said.

With his mind made-up, he went to the shelf where the box was, he quickly opened it and stood there for a moment, just admiring it. Ever since he had gotten that leather bracelet, that he considered it his most prized possession. When he began wearing it, his parents asked him why he had begun to wear it, because he had never been the kind of person who wore accessories on his wrists, not even wrist watches or exercise bands. He simply told them that he found it cool, which ended that conversation. Taking it out of the box, he quickly put it on his wrist, and it did not take long for the antelope kwami, Imp, to show up in a quick flash of light. Looking around, the first thing Imp asked was:

"Kim, what's going on? Has Master Fu contacted you guys about a way to catch the Collector?"

"Not yet, Imp. But that doesn't' matter right now… what matters is that we're going on a little patrol, buddy." -Kim smirked at the antelope kwami, who was looking at him.

"Are you nuts?!" -Imp practically screamed at him. –"What am I saying? Of course, you are nuts! What did Master Fu told you and the others?!" -he asked him. –"He said that you had to take off my miraculous, because its energy could attract the Collector!"

"And as far as we know it, that guy could still be on his way here, Imp!" -Kim told him.

"Maybe… but he can already be here, just waiting for one of you to screw up!" -Imp kept screaming at Kim.

"Like you said, maybe… Come on, don't tell me you're not happy to be outside again?"

There was no point in denying it. Imp knew Kim knew him too well, for him to say it otherwise. He was happy to be outside his miraculous again, even if that feeling went against everything, he had just told him.

"Don't deny it. I can tell it by your face, little buddy." -Kim smirked at the little kwami. –"Now, come on, let's go for a little ride. I promise you that it's only for a couple of hours, and then I'll take this thing off." -he told him.

"Fine… but listen to me. If the Collector shows up, and let's pray he doesn't show up, you run as fast as you can, find a place to revert back to your civilian form and take off my miraculous, so he can't find you, you hear me?" -Imp asked him with a serious voice.

"Okay."

"Promise me, Kim!" -Imp looked him in the eyes. –"Promise me, if that guy shows up that you won't try anything crazy, like you always do when we're up against an akumatized villain." -he said.

"I promise you, okay. Now, come on, let's go! I want to feel the wind and the rain against my face." -Kim told his kwami. –"Imp, transfome moi!" -he shouted as he transformed from ordinary teenager into a superhero.

The first thing that went through Kim's mind, as he saw himself as Antelope once more, was that it felt good to be wearing that uniform once more. And better yet, it felt good to have an almost endless supply of energy. Gone was the exhaustion, the bad mood and every last side effect from taking off his miraculous. Right then, he felt like he could run circles around every last person in Paris. Not wasting another moment, he quickly made his way outside, through his balcony. Once outside, he felt free as a bird. Jumping out the balcony, once he hit the ground he began dashing through the streets. He did not have a destination point, but he did not need one. The whole town was his playground, and he was going to make the most of it.

"So many streets to explore, so little time… now I wish I had Rose's ability to duplicate myself." -Antelope joked, as he took a hard turn to the right, missing an incoming bus by just a couple of feet, which earned him a honk from the bus driver, who was clearly upset and angry with him. –"Sorry!" -he apologized, though he hardly believed the man heard him. –"Got be more careful, or else, tomorrow I'll have a couple of bruises I won't be able to explain."

Antelope loved to patrol at night, especially when it was raining cats and dogs, because it made the asphalt slipperier and the streets emptier, leaving him lots of place to speed as fast as his feet allowed him. Taking a left turn on the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs, he kept going straight, speeding up like a lightning bolt, passing the Jardin du Luxembourg. Soon enough, after crossing the Seine, he was standing on top of Louvre's pyramid, just to slide it down, making his way to the Jardin Nelson-Mandela. Stopping for a moment under a tree, he tried to catch his breath. He felt he was a little out of practice, after a couple of days without training, but most importantly, without using his powers.

"Whew… I'm a little out of practice. 20 minutes running at full speed, and I'm already sweating." -Antelope said, as took deep breaths. –"After this Collector guy shows up, and we take him down, I'm going to have to come up with a training routine to get back in shape." -he said.

After a quick rest, he felt ready for another race. Looking around, he tried to choose which direction he should go from there. Not being able to decide, he felt that if he got an aerial view of his surroundings, it would help him to decide. Taking balance, he performed one of his famous jumps, landing on top of the roof of the nearby Saint Eustache Church. Once up there, he looked around, looking for a place to head to, so he could try a couple of tricks, before starting a new race. A lightning bolt illuminated the night sky, startling him for a second. Not wishing to end up a fried antelope, the hero knew he had to get out of there, before he was struck by a lightning. With his eyes, he found the perfect place to head to.

"Guess it's time for me to take a little interest in modern art." -Antelope smiled, as he slid down the church's rooftop at high speed.

The building that had caught Antelope's eye was none other than the Centre George Pompidou. Named after the former French Presdent, who commissioned it, the building was designe in a style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini, and it housed the Public Information Library, as well as the National Museum of Modrn Art, the largest of its kind in Europe. But more importantly, due to his unique design, it was the perfect place to try crazy acrobatic stunts for someone who had the powers Antelope had.

It was not the first time he used the building to practice these stunts. In fact, whenever he went on patrol, if he happened to be in the area, he would take a couple of minutes to try some new stunt in it. This produced two things. The first was a sort of routine for him, and the second was that it was a place where people, mostly tourists, could get a better look at him from time to time. But on that rainy night, there was almost no one on the streets, so the odds of having someone snapping a photo of him were pretty dim. Still, he could not care less about it. On that night, he was just in for the fun of it. There was nothing better than to feel like he could do anything. Running on top of the buildings' rooftops, he saw the building approaching. In his mind, he had already decided which tricks and stunts he was going to perform, once he got there. Reaching the edge of the building rooftop he was running on, he jumped into the square below. Usually, during spring and summer, this one would be filled with numerous street performers and miniature carnivals, among other things. But right then, it was absolutely empty… perect for what Antelope had in mind. His idea was to use the slippery asphalt to gain balance and then jump as high as he could, and land on top of the building, just to slid down the escalators at high speed. Analysing his surroundings and taking in account the wind, which was blowing from the east, he figured that he would have to running from the north end of the square as fast as he could, right from the start, taking advantage of the distance, and jump before he reached the end of it, and once he was up in the air, to take advantage of the wind to lead him in the right direction.

"Alright, here we go." -Antelope said, as he wipped the water from his face and took one final breath.

Speeding up, he was sure that he was going to pull that stunt, flawlessly. But, as he ran, he saw the floor in front of him to look slightly orange, getting more and more orange. On top of it, his back began to feel really warm. Feeling threatned, he quickly dodged to the left, as a fire ball ran past him, hitting the floor just a few feet from him. When it hit the ground, it left a considerable-size hole on the pavement. Antelope's first thought was that Hawk Moth had decided to akumatize someone that night, and he happened to be in the vicinity.

"Don't tell me that psycho akumatized a person right now… it would be a first for him to akumatize someone in the dead of the night." -Antelope thought to himself. –"I bet it's a guy who likes to play with fire."

But no such luck. It was not an akumatized fiend. Antelope quickly recognized the one that had thrown the fireball at him, from the Book of Prophecies. Floating in the air, brandishing his double-sword, the armoured figure of thr Collector looked at Antelope with his red glowing eyes, as if he was some kind of wild animal, waiting to be hunted and stuffed. As he landed, the sound of metal clinking against the ground echoed in Antelope's ears. Staring him in the eyes, Antelope knew that he was in a pickle.

"Great… there goes the idea of this guy still making his way to us…" -Antelope sighed, without taking his eyes off the Collector.

The Collector stood there, just staring at the holder of the antelope miraculous, waiting for him to take the first step. The standoff went on for what looked like hours, without either one of them moving an inch. Antelope himself did not know if he should just run, like he had promised his kwami to do, if the Collector showed up, or if she should just attack him and hope for the best. Finally, the standoff ended, when the Collector pointed his sword at Antelope and said:

"Miraculous… give it to me…"

Antelope had imagined that the Collector would have a booming, almost thunderous voice. But his voice was anything but that. Instead, it was a calm, and almost anesthetic voice; nothing like the kind of voice someone who did the things he did would have. Even so, that did not change what Antelope thought about him. He knew why he was there, and he knew just what to answer him, when he said those words.

"Not a chance, Darth Vader!" -Antelope snapped back at him. Right then, after hearing the Collector for the first time, he felt like he was talking with the infamous Sith Lord, because of the way his voice sounded like. –"I'm not going to give you my miraculous, not now, not ever!"

"Then, you will die…" -the Collector said, without moving an inch.

"Yeah, right… you don't scare me, mister! You may be big and tall, but you don't scare me. I've dealt with idiots a lot bigger than you!" -Antelope taunted him. –"When I'm through with you, you're going to wish you had never gotten out of that stupid urn, where you were sealed in!" -he went on. –"Sorry, Imp, but I'm going to have to break that promise I made you, little buddy. If this guy thinks I'm going to hand him over my miraculous without a fight, then, he's sadly mistaken."

Not thinking twice about it, Antelope just charged against him with his bat, targeting the Collector's head. He hoped that his quick attack was fast enough to catch the Collector off guard and land a precise blow to his head, knocking him out of commission. The Collector did not move, as he charged against him. He believed he was going to hit him, but when he swung his bat to hit him, he disappeared out of sight. Shocked that he did not land the blow on the villain, Antelope tried to process what had happened.

"W-What the…? Where did you go?!"

Suddenly, he felt someone behind him. Turning around, the Collector was staring at him. Seeing that, Antelope tried to understand what had happened, and how could have the Collector have moved that fast, without him realizing it.

"Your miraculous… give it to me…" -the Collector demanded it, once again. He was not going to take a no for an answer.

"I told you…" -Antelope said, as he tried to hit him again with his bat. –"… this miraculous, is not yours, and I'm not giving it to you!" -he shouted, as he kept trying to hit him, as the Collector seemed to roll out of the way of his bat.

This went on for a couple of seconds, after which the Collector seemingly got tired of Antelope's incessant attacks, and decided to put an end to them. With his left hand, he grabbed the bat, preventing Antelope from attacking him. The young hero tried to make him loosen his grip on the bat, but to no effect.

"Last chance… youe miraculous, now…" -the Collector warned him, this time with a more impatient voice. He was starting to grow tired of Antelope's stubbornness. –"Give it to me, and I'll spare your life…"

"Over my dead body, chromedome!" -Antelope exclaimed, as he tried to force the Collector to let go of his bat.

"Then… I will have to kill you, to get it…" -the Collector said.

The Collector had just finished speaking, when he lets go of Antelope's, only for a ball of fire to appear on his hand. Growing quickly in size, he then threw it at Antelope, who managed to dodge it. Then, another another ball of fire appeared on his hand, and another, and another, with him firing each one of them had the young hero, who did his best to avoid them.

"You can keep shooting those, because I'll keep dodging them, man!" -Antelope said, as he leapt into the air, trying to escape the balls of fire. He figured that if he was going to go one-on-one against him, he was going to make use of his speed, but most importantly his leaping ability. –"What the…"

The last fire ball that the Collector had fired against Antelope had just been fired, when the Collector disappeared, and reappeared in the same instant a few feet above Antelope. Swinging his double-sword, he used it as a fighting stick to hit the young hero. Antelope tried to swerve from it, but even with his incredible speed, he could not swerve fast enough. The next thing he knew, he was being used as a baseball ball by the Collector, who hit him with an unimaginable strength. As he was projected in the air, he wondered how could that fiend be faster than him.

"This is impossible… I'm the fastest being around, not including Alix… how can this guy be even faster than me?" -Antelope thought to himself.

Antelope's body hit the Pompidou Centre at such a speed, and with an incredible force that the whole building shoke for about a second or two. Following Newton's third law, which stipulates that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, the body of the young hero went through walls of concrete, glass windows, metal pipes and other kinds of materials, until he finally stopped. Falling on the ground, he felt like he had been used as a punching bag for numerous hours. And if he felt bad, then, when a large piece of concrete fell from the ceilling, on top of him, along with with a few metal tubes, pieces of plaster and glass, he felt even worse.

"O-Okay… this is g-going to sting in the morning…" -Antelope said, trying to stay conscious, all the while trying to get back on his feet, which proved to be a little problem, given the amount of debris on top of him. He tried to move, but the weight of the debris on top of him, combined with his aching muscles, was a problem. –"C-Come on… that bozo is coming for your miraculous, and you're… you're not going to give it to him without a fight… so get up!" -he practically screamed at himself. He was not going to let him get his miraculous.


So, this chapter... what can I say about it? Well, for starters, I felt that in the previous chapter we found out how most of our heroes is dealing with the withdrawal, but we did not see how Marinette and Adrien were dealing with it. So, I decided to focus on the two of them, which allowed me to explore a little bit more on Marinette's parents, and on Adrien's dad. And, of course, let's not forget the hero fo the hour... Kim... yup, he's the one who goes up against the Collector, as the villain arrives in town. Will he make it? Or will his miraculous end up in the hands of the Collector? We'll have to wait and see.

Oh, and yeah, I also had a lot of fun writing a couple of pop culture Easter eggs into this chapter... did you spot them all? My favourite was probably the Kingsman one. Just so you guys know, in case you're not a Kingsman fan, the Kingsman shop in Saville Row is actually the Huntsman & Sons shop. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and well, I'm off to keep writing it. With some luck, the next chapter will be online until next Friday, if not earlier. Feel free to comment, fav, follow and, of course, send in suggestions to improve the story, my friends.