Chapter Thirteen
Marinette was shocked by how much it had hurt her when Cat Noir's clear answer to 'would you date someone like me' was no. She wanted to chalk it up to Cat not wanting to date her meant Adrien wouldn't but… something about it being Cat that said it had really hurt her. Of course she did care about Cat's opinion of her since they were partners but was that all that it was?
To be fair he hadn't actually answered at all but his lack of an answer was an answer itself. She appreciated how he had tried to fix his non-answer in order to make her feel better but it also kind of just felt like pity. She didn't want Cat Noir of all people to pity her. It just proved everything she already thought, she was nothing compared to her superhero counterpart. Everyone would be shocked and disappointed if they knew she was behind the mask.
She sighed and adjusted her bag as she looked up at the school. She really didn't want to go in. Normally the draw of getting to see Adrien would make her run into the school but today she was dreading having to see him. She was probably already going to be late though so she couldn't linger for long.
As if her day wasn't starting off terribly as it was once she placed her foot on the first step a scream rang out. She swung around to see people running…well more like stumbling down the street.
"Great, an akuma." She muttered.
Tikki peeked her head out of the bag and nodded at Marinette. She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists. She had to swallow her feelings for the time being since Paris needed her. She had to be clear headed. She ran around a corner and in a flash of pink light she used her yoyo to swing herself onto the school roof top. She wanted to know what she was up against before charging in.
"I'll show you all to make fun of me! Who's clumsy now? Who's tripping over themselves now?"
Ladybug followed the yells until she found the akuma. It was a young girl, probably about 12. She had long red, thin pigtail and wore a black tank top and shorts with red swirling lines across them. She also had a … jump rope that she was using as a whip. That almost through Ladybug off but she reminded herself that akumas had weird weapons all the time.
The girl raised her whip again and it started glowing red. Ladybug would've liked to know what the effects of getting hit by the rope were but she wasn't going to let a civilian get hit just to find out. No matter what the effect was it couldn't be good.
Ladybug jumped down and shot her yoyo out to deflect the whip from hitting a young boy who was running away. The girl growled in frustration and swung around to face Ladybug.
"You! Give me your Miraculous so I can stay Ropa forever!" the girl yelled.
She snapped her whip in Ladybugs direction.
"Woah! Straight to the point aren't you?" Ladybug quipped as she ducked just in time.
The girls face reddened and twisted in anger. She snapped the rope in Ladybugs direction in quick succession, trying and just barely missing the heroine. Ladybug couldn't say she was dodging easily though. The girl was getting way too close for comfort.
She didn't have enough information to properly fight back. She wished Cat Noir was there to help gather information.
She glanced around and noticed the street was clear of people. With all the civilians hidden away safely she could retreat for a moment to regroup. She shot her yoyo out, attaching it to a lamp post to propel her away faster.
She was almost in the clear, but the akuma shot her whip out once more and it just barely scraped Ladybugs foot. That was all it took.
When Ladybug landed on a nearby roof she stumbled and tripped over her own feet falling into someone.
"Hey, you okay My Lady?" Cat asked helping steady her.
She was glad he was too worried about if she was okay to flirt. She frowned and looked down at her feet. She knew this unsteady feeling, she felt it all the time as Marinette. She thought back to her fight with the akuma and realized what the akuma's power must be.
"Oh no." she whispered.
"What? Are you hurt or something?" Cat asked.
"Cat!" she said grabbing his shoulders. "I need your help big time."
His face lit up when he heard that and noticed how close Ladybugs face was to his.
"Ugh. Look, this akuma has a jump rope she uses as a whip. That has to be where the akuma is hiding. But if the whip touches you…it makes you clumsy." Ladybug explained.
"And…it touched you didn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah, but… I think I should be fine. It will be a little harder to fight in this condition but I can adapt." Ladybug said confidently.
After all she was clumsy as Marinette normally, she figured the luck that came with being Ladybug was the only reason she was so steady on her feet as a superhero. She could handle being a little clumsy as Ladybug. She just had to manage it the same way she did as Marinette.
Cat Noir looked a little unconvinced.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Trust me. I'm used to being a little unsteady." She said.
She swung her yoyo towards a lamp post, and missed, but hit the one next to it.
"See, I just have to have a backup plan." Ladybug said winking.
Cat Noir smiled back at her. He couldn't help but have complete confidence in her. It didn't stop him from being a little worried about her though.
"So, what's the plan?" Cat asked.
"Well, since I've already been hit I can be a distraction. I don't want you to touch the rope except for when you're destroying it." Ladybug said recalling her yoyo. "Lucky Charm!"
Landing in her hands was a pair of handcuffs. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other with confused looks.
"I mean, immobilizing her hands would be helpful?" Ladybug said questioningly.
"Well, I guess when the time comes we'll know what to do." Cat Noir said.
Ladybug jumped down in front of the girl just in time to block her from hitting a civilian. She had meant to block the hit with her yoyo but had miscalculated and ended up having to block the hit with her arm.
Ropa, as the akuma was calling herself, started laughing.
"You got hit twice, you're not even going to be able to move!" she howled.
Ladybug frowned and almost as if to taunt Ropa she took a few confident steady steps forward. As the girls smile turned into a snarl Ladybug took the moment to wrap her yoyo around one of the girls wrists and use that to propel herself towards the girl and handcuff her one wrist. Unfortunately there were unforeseen circumstances. Instead of flying past Ropa she slammed into her as she clasped the handcuff to her one wrist.
They tumbled over each other, each of them taking turns slamming against each other and the pavement until they skidded to a stop on the street.
"LADYBUG!" came Cat's panicked call.
Ladybug sat up unsteadily. Her vision was blurry and her body ached. She fought villains all the time but a tumble like that was somehow beyond the normal beatings.
Once her vision cleared she went to sit up and frozen in fear when she felt extra weight attatched to her right wrist. She looked over and let out a frightened squeak when she realized at some point in the tumble the other end of the handcuff had latched around her own wrist.
"CAT!" she called panicked.
"I'm on my way!" he called.
"YOU IDIOT!" the girl said as she jumped up.
Ropa yanked on the handcuff causing Ladybug to stumble and then she felt a hard smack on her back and she fell to her knees. She yanked Ropa down with her.
"At least you're close enough for me to take your earrings now." Ropa whispered.
Ladybug covered her ears in panic, the rattling of the chain reminded her that by doing so she just brought Ropa's hand closer to her earrings. Changing tactics, she threw herself forward, tackling Ropa. Hopefully she could hold Ropa down long enough for Cat to get to them. Pinning Ropa down by her wrists Ladybug looked down at her with frightened eyes and labored breathing. Ropa started laughing.
"I know at this point I'm beat but look at you. Tired and scared, are you really Paris' best hero? Almost taken down by a 10 year old. Pathetic." The girl said scanning Ladybugs face.
Ladybug was so taken aback she almost didn't hear the 'cataclysm' next to her.
She had to purify the akuma and put everything back to normal with her 'miraculous Ladybug' while still handcuffed to the victim. That was awkward but at least the handcuffs disappeared after that. They made sure the victim at least knew where they were and how to get back home or to her family before leaving.
"Pound it?" Cat Noir asked.
"Pound it." Ladybug said.
They fist bumped but Ladybug wasn't feeling too great.
"See you for patrol tonight?" Cat asked.
"Yeah. See you then kitty." She said before taking off.
Authors Note
Hey guys. I'm sorry if this seemed rushed. I'm not very good at fight scenes but I figured we were kind of due for one. Anyway I appreciate any and all support.
BTW my mom and I appreciated all the well wishes. If anyone was curious she had surgery and had a rod put in her leg (it was her femor she broke right by her hip). Since then she had a blood clot so they put her on blood thinners. My step-dad, brother, and I have been with her everyday though and she seems to be doing okay. I still don't know how often I'll be able to give ya'll new chapters because I'm helping to take care of her and she won't be fully recovered for months. I'm still going to try to update at least every two weeks but don't hold me to that lol.