Chapter Thirty-Six
A few residual tendrils of anger were still lacing Ladybug's chest however she was barely supressing the impulse to fist pump at her partner's last comment. It was no secret that Chat Noir wanted to kiss Ladybug but to know it was Adrien Agreste under that mask, and they were in the process of making up, made her want to swoon. As luck would have it, they had a job to do first.
Ladybug's nose wrinkled in disgust, one thing she'd hoped never to see was her school nemesis in her underwear. That awful image was likely to haunt her nightmares, and by the look on Chat Noir's face, he was thinking the same. All playful banter between them disappeared as they paused to assess the situation.
Revenger's minions moved in an unnatural flow, their robes billowing as some floated above the ground like ghosts while others walked with an exaggerated stagger. They all had the characteristic slowness of zombies, along with glassy eyes and the mindless need to follow their leader's instructions.
It was their chanting that had Chat Noir's feline ears pivoting back. As he turned his head, Ladybug's eyes bulged at the sheer number. It was like a flood comprised of people. Their fists pumped into the air as they drew closer, calling for further punishment to Chloe. "Butcher her hair, shave off her eyebrows!" they repeated over and over.
"Wow, they're not particularly unforgiving, are they," Chat Noir commented as they increased their speed.
"What she did was pretty awful." Ladybug said as she began jumping her way up the famous tower.
Chat Noir nodded as he matched her pace. "Yeah, can't say I appreciate being groped by strangers."
"What! Someone… did that?"
"Yep. One even made a grab for the family jewels."
A disgusted yet pitying grimace settled on Ladybug's face. "Oh Adri- Chat. That's horrible. Maybe we should let them shave her eyebrows."
He shrugged, "Meh, Plagg and I were the ones to trash her bathroom and closet."
"No way!" she said as she burst out laughing.
"It was mainly Plagg, but I was the one who wrote 'barf' on her favourite jacket." He grinned mischievously as his tail swished with glee. "I wonder if she's discovered the shoe polish in her shampoo."
Ladybug sniggered, "Oh I'd pay to see that! Can you imagine the look on her face?"
Chat Noir schooled his features, somehow managing to appear snobby and revolted at the same time, while he spoke in a mockingly high-pitched impersonation of Chloe's voice. "Daddy! Someone put the poo into my shampoo! Ew!"
This time Ladybug had to hold her stomach as she laughed so hard her sides hurt. "You've got that down pat."
"Chalk it up to years of experience."
Ladybug tapered down the laughing as they neared Revenger. "Where do you think the akuma is located?"
The black of Chat Noir's mask narrowed with his expression. "Hard to tell. That robe is concealing everything but her hands. Maybe the robe itself is the akumatised object."
"It's possible, but it would make more sense if it wasn't."
"So, you want me to poke the bear and lift up her cloak with my staff? The things you make me do." Chat twisted his baton between his fingers with his sarcastic scoff.
"Yoyos are better for throwing than poking stuff with." She nodded towards his baton, "What can I say? You've got the tools for the job."
Chat Noir grinned with a flash of white teeth. "Oh, the pun options with that one sentence but I suspect you'll hit me if I say the first that comes to mind."
"Get out of the gutter, kitty."
"Who said I was going there?" he replied with mock innocence.
"Focus, Chat Noir. We have an akuma to defeat." Ladybug said as she pointed at Revenger to emphasise her point.
"After you, milady." He bowed with a wink.
Tossing her yoyo, Ladybug crossed from one side of the tower to the other. She was able to completely avoid the minions below as she swung over them. Chat had chosen to pole vault his way across, yet that proved to be a bad decision as a group of the mindless followers latched onto his staff and tugged, throwing off his balance. Ladybug glanced over her shoulder to watch her partner retract his staff in mid-air, switching it to spin over his head, helicoptering him up and away from the reaching hands of the minions below.
Unfortunately, the incident had attracted Revenger's attention. Chloe also spotted the heroes and began screaming demands for them to save her. Ladybug dropped to a metal beam on all fours as Chat Noir positioned himself similarly behind Revenger. Together they raced in, spinning their weapons defensively as they circled around Revenger, attempting to locate the akumatised object.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir, stop resisting the path of justice! Chloe Bourgeois must be purged of her sins! You will assist with her castigation." Revenger boomed as she lifted her right arm straight before her, while lowering her hand to display a leather wrist band with a jewel on top that gleamed. She aimed it intermittently at the pair, shooting orange streams of light at them.
"I think we found where the akuma is located." Chat shouted as he ducked and weaved behind the safety of the metal beams.
The pair were so caught up in avoiding the shooting rays that they missed a very important detail. The minions below were clambering their way upward to assist their master. Ladybug noticed first, "Chat, we've got problems."
"Might be time for you to call on that lucky charm of yours," he replied as he swung his staff in a defensive arch, knocking away the first wave of enemies.
Ladybug sprung her way up a number of metal beams, to ensure her immediate safety, then called on her power. A tea kettle landed in her hands. Apparently, they needed backup. Not surprising given the sheer number of minions piling after them. The heroine made her way to her partner, dropping so she was back-to-back with him in fending off the next surge of adversaries. "Lucky charm is dropping the hint again," she said cryptically.
Chat Noir nodded his blonde head, "Alright. I should stay here, otherwise Chloe is toast."
"Not holding a grudge?" she asked as she twisted her yoyo string around a minion's ankle, pulling him off his feet and tripping several others.
"It would be unbecoming as both a hero and a gentleman to let her petty ways mess with my sense of honour." He placed his hand over his heart in a most debonair way as he swung his staff in a spin and cleared another group of minions. Chat Noir quickly caught Ladybug's hand in the free moment and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. "Don't leave me too long, bugaboo."
At Master Fu's, Marinette selected the fox miraculous as soon as the box opened. While travelling she'd concluded on which was the best option. Given the circumstances, the mirage power was the most effective in confusing vast number of enemies. Now she just needed to find Alya. Knowing her friend, she was probably in the thick of things where the akuma was. However, Ladybug decided it was best to confirm that the girl wasn't at home, nor at the venue where they'd held the interview.
Ladybug inwardly kicked herself, she should have trusted her gut as she returned to the most likely place her friend would be. The area surrounding the Eiffel Tower was awash with people. Most were Revenger's minions but there were also a number of media and stickybeaks in the mix. It was likely that Alya would be in the vicinity, filming for her blog. But there was a big problem, too many people.
Needing a better view, Ladybug leapt to a higher vantage point and scanned the crowd. The minions all wore matching robes so it made it somewhat easier to spot the non-initiated. As Ladybug focussed on those dressed differently, she noticed something unusual. Someone was perched in a tree, holding a phone up to film. The familiar wild waves of Alya's hair were visible through the branches. Ladybug wasted no further time, racing to land in the tree beside Alya, and startling the other girl.
"Ladybug," she gasped as she grabbed at her chest. "You scared me."
"Sorry." The heroine held forward the miraculous box and Alya nodded in understanding. With deft fingers the girl took hold of the box and jumped to the ground. "I need to find a quiet spot," she said with a secretive note that Ladybug completely understood. Together they moved to a less crowded area. While Ladybug waited for Rena Rouge, Hawkmoth grew impatient.
Chat Noir's form was a flurry of movement as he countered attacks from all sides. Regardless, he was being hemmed in. The hero reduced the length of his staff to work in close quarters. "Ladybug, I could use some help right now!" he shouted but his partner was out of earshot. Sweat had broken across his brow and his arms ached from fighting without reprieve.
"Revenger, you've got Chat Noir cornered. Take his miraculous!" Hawkmoth insisted.
The floating enemy, moved through her minions like a ghoul until she was face-to-face with Chat Noir. Glaring with defiance, the hero's left arm was pinned by minions but it didn't stop him from swinging his baton in his right hand as he attempted to free himself. Revenger snaked out an emaciated hand and her skeletal fingers caged his throat. In turn, Chat beat her wrist with forceful strikes using his baton.
Rage blazed in Revenger, her grey nostrils flared as she latched onto his neck with both hands, yanking Chat Noir's feet off the metal beam as he kicked and thrashed. Hawkmoth's voice echoed in Revenger's head. "What are you doing? Just take his miraculous!"
A dark laugh sounded from Revenger as she floated higher. Chat Noir continued to writhe in her hold, clawing and beating at her arms with his claws and baton. The akuma ignored the pain he was inflicting as she continued to rise up.
Chat Noir gulped and grunted as he attempted to suck in air with little success. Revenger was watching him with a sinister grin. "I'll take his miraculous, Hawkmoth. But it'll be easier when he's unconscious." Feline eyes widened and his struggling became more furious. But lack of oxygen was making his movements unco-ordinated and his lips were turning blue as he attempted to free himself. Yet Revenger continued to float higher without releasing her hold.
In a last-ditch effort, Chat Noir thumbed his baton as he tried to smash it into Revenger's face. With his vision fading, the staff missed its mark and tumbled from his fingers as the last of his strength left him. Revenger cackled but didn't loosen her hold. "Release him!" Hawkmoth demanded, "I want his miraculous, not his death!"
"But a corpse doesn't fight back Hawkmoth, besides I need to lure in Ladybug too."
On the ground, Rena Rouge joined Ladybug as they rushed towards the Eiffel Tower. "Use your power to draw away the minions and I'll help Chat Noir with Revenger."
"Where is Chat Noir?" Rena asked as they flanked the roiling crowd.
Ladybug looked to where her partner had last been situated but he wasn't there. It was the spotlight of a helicopter that illuminated the dual figures, floating up towards the peak of the tower. Revenger and Chat Noir. He was fighting but his movements were sluggish.
"I've got to help him," Ladybug growled as she launched her yoyo and began ascending the tower with extreme haste.
Below her Rena Rouge evoked her power and threw up the illusion that Chloe was getting away. Immediately the minions changed focus, returning to their primary objective: capture and humiliate Chloe. As they ran, Rena Rouge made her way to the real Chloe, snatching up a dropped hoodie from the ground so she didn't have to look at the scantily clad brat for any longer than necessary.
Meanwhile, Ladybug was getting closer to Revenger and Chat Noir when she noticed his body go limp and his baton drop into the void. Panic seized her chest and she increased her pace. She was glaring at the akuma, expecting her to remove Chat's ring, but she didn't. Revenger continued to cling to Chat Noir's throat without any intention of letting go. The urge to go in fighting was almost overwhelming, but Ladybug needed to work the ace left up her sleeve. She called on her lucky charm and down dropped an autographed photo of Adrien Agreste. The heroine swallowed at the irony. She looked up knowing that the real Adrien was in mortal danger, while clad in his black gear as Chat Noir.
"Revenger!" Ladybug called as she held up the photo. "I have something for you from Adrien."
The hooded head turned to her in interest. "What have you got?"
"A personally signed photo, he wanted to convey his gratitude." Ladybug said in a pleasant voice as she gritted her teeth. Shuffling close, Ladybug was able to glimpse her partner as his head lolled to the side. Fear coiled in her belly at the sight of his pallid face.
Revenger released one of her hands to stretch for the photo. It was the one that had the leather brace. As elongated fingers snatched at Ladybug's offering, the heroine ripped the tainted object from Revenger and tore it in half.
At the same time, Revenger dropped Chat Noir from her spindly fingers. The magic of the akuma was revoked and the girl beneath screamed as both she and Chat Noir fell beyond Ladybug's reach. With the toss of her yoyo, the purple butterfly was captured and Ladybug released it in record time as she fell in tandem with the pair below.
The girl who had been akumatised was shouting at Chat, her fingers grasping desperately towards his limp form as he fell end over end towards the ground. Even if she did manage to get a hold of him, an unconscious hero wasn't going to be able to save himself, let alone someone else.
Ladybug knew she'd easily be able to snag the girl with her yoyo, as her body was falling face first without the awkward twisting of her partner. Doing her duty, Ladybug caught the girl and was pleased to see that Rena Rouge was climbing up. Without hesitation, the red clad heroine tossed the girl to Rena, who caught her with minimal effort.
Ladybug retracted her yoyo and launched it at her partner. It wasn't ideal, but the string looped around Chat Noir's left forearm. With a hard yank his momentum slowed and Ladybug caught him with a hard thump, just as she had with Gorizilla, but this time she was facing him. A sense of relief washed over her, but it was short lived, they still had to stop before smashing into the ground below.
Tossing her yoyo at the nearest pylon, Ladybug bit back a scream when her shoulder threatened to pop out of its socket as the string reached its end and tightened into a taunt line. Chat Noir's face smashed into her opposite shoulder, his body still limp. With both legs and one arm, Ladybug gripped her partner in a knot of limbs, determined to keep him safe. As they dangled, she took a moment to check if he was breathing. The feel of his chest moving against hers with each respiration, along with the warmth of his breath on her shoulder made her wheeze in relief. She nuzzled her face into his wild hair and smiled, he was alive.
Slowly, she lowered them the remaining way to the ground as her shoulder screamed in protest. When their feet touched dirt, Ladybug eased her partner to the ground. Her fingers gently stroked his blonde locks away from his face and she was glad that his lips were no longer blue.
Rena Rouge sprinted to the pair, holding out the lucky charm photo for Ladybug to complete her task. With a loving glance at the picture of her crush, Ladybug cradled Chat Noir in her good arm. Then she tossed the photo into the air with a wince and a weary shout, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
Phew, my brain is tired. Much action. Will Chat Noir recover? Will Miraculous Ladybug do the trick? Find out next chapter.
As usual, your comments are most welcome in the box below. Also a big thank you, I'm so excited to reach 200 favourites and 350 followers on this story - wow! :)