MIRACULOUS ALLIANCE
EPISODE 10: MINOSCORN, PART II
Class was in session. At the start, Miss Bustier first took the Adrienette couple and Kiva apart. "I know that Noel is...troubling. And there should be no shame into standing up for your friends, or loved ones, should they be threatened or insulted. But that should not be a reason to resort to hitting someone, or biting them..."
Adrien and Marinette knew neither of them bit Noel so they turned to Kiva. "You bit him?" They both asked.
"I did...I regretted that. He tastes awful. He tasted of loser." Kiva muttered. The three snickered at that.
"I can understand where you are coming from. Noel is far from in the right but he will be dealt with and punished for his simple horrendous attitude. I know sometimes the choice may be taken out of your hand and you have to fight back should someone start the fight...But Noel was all talk. But what would be more troubling is that you can lose yourself in it. And you don't want to become something you are not." Miss Bustier said. The three students looked a bit sheepish.
"Next time, just get a teacher or a responsible adult. I know I may have had lapses in judgement in the past; I'm only human. But I still want to try to look out for you, you are my students. Noel will get a stern talking to from his parents, his teacher and the principal and he will be given the appropriate punishment. I know some words are harsh, hard to ignore. And you all have your breaking points. That's why I am not punishing you know. But be careful as violence is sometimes easy to slip into, and it cannot become a habit."
"We understand Miss Bustier." Marinette said, which was rapidly repeated by Adrien and Kiva.
Miss Bustier put on her best smile again. "Good, now we had this talk, we can continue with class." she said as she guided her students inside, so they could take her seat. "Now class, sorry for the delay. We are going to continue where we left off yesterday, take your textbook to chapter three, page..."
It was then that the wall collapsed as an Akuma burst through it. He was big, almost as big as Steeleo's normal size. He was clearly minotaur-like with its long horned and hoofed feet. He had a nosering, two shoulder guards, one having the #1 symbol on it. He had huge bracelets with chains on them and a collar with a chain hanging from it as well. He wore red and white shorts, and between the blonde hair and the stupid look in his eyes it was easy to guess whom this was. "I am Minoscorn! I was humiliated, but now I am getting my payback on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste and Kiva...whatever his last name it."
"It is..." Kiva wanted to say, but he was cut off.
"Don't care, I'll reduce you to greasy smears on the walls and floor!" Minoscorn said.
"Noel?" Adrien said, but it sounded more like a statement then a question.
"Not anymore, I am Minoscorn. I'm bigger than ever! Stronger than ever..." Minoscorn said as he flexed his muscles.
"More obnoxious than ever..." Marinette quipped.
"More obnoxious then...hey!" Minoscorn said. It was also clear he was not smarter then ever. "Nevermind, I am just going to destroy you..."
Adrien and Marinette were in synch, Adrien quickly handing his spare stash of camembert (Plagg can bitch all he wants later), handing it to Marinette, who tossed it at the floor in front of Minoscorn as he moved forward, whom slipped, rolled across the floor, through the opposite wall and out the window, to the ground.
"Whoa...Marinette really IS our Everyday Ladybug!" Alix said in awe.
"Miss Bustier, since the Akuma is after us, I think me and Adrien best hide until the danger has passed." Marinette said.
"And we make sure our friends are safe and nice and hidden." Alya said as she pulled Nino and Chloé from their seats.
Sabrina then stood up and pulled Kiva out of her seat. "And I am going to help Kiva here find a hiding spot." Sabrina said, covering for Chloé and the others.
Miss Bustier didn't look surprised. She tried to act naturally as she said: "Yes, you better do that, and wait until the Miraculous Team has resolved the situation. Hurry along!"
The students in question all got up and walked out. Kiva was immediately pulled away by Sabrina, leaving the five heroes alone, and ready to transform. "You know, do you have the feeling that Miss Bustier is more willing to buy our excuses, for whenever we sneak out and transform?" Marinette asked.
"And does anyone else notice Sabrina is doing things that are helpful with covering our tracks?" Chloé added.
"We can think about it later. We got an Akumatized beefcake to deal with." Marinette reminded them. "Tikki, spots on!"
"Plagg, Claws out!"
"Trixx, Let's pounce!"
"Wayzz, Shell on!"
"Pollen, Buzz On!"
Nathalie was out, running an errand for Gabriel. Gabriel was still moping and being stubborn about the current situation not being his fault, but she still had bills to pay and she had to do her job. She wondered why as of late, Gabriel sends her out to check upon things. Gabriel may not show himself in public a lot, but he still is involved in his company. It was one of his two major focuses aside from Hawkmoth. It is almost like Gabriel no longer trusts her to have around and just sends her away to not put up with her.
Maybe he was being childish like he was ever since the fallout with Adrien. Gabriel doesn't handle his emotions well. She wonders if it could cost her job to suggest a therapist. Anyhow, she had dealt with the issue at hand (she had already forgotten what it was, they kind of blend together after a while, and it wasn't that important) and was about to head back to the Agreste mansion when she saw the heroes of Paris hop across buildings. She saw dustcloud in the distance, the type that would appear when a building was being wrecked, the heroes heading towards it. Gabriel has sent another Akuma, no doubt.
She should just turn around and leave. Either the heroes deal with this Champion and things go back to normal for a while (the most likely outcome) or their Miraculi would finally be taken (the least likely outcome) and Gabriel would finally 'fix' things. She should not interfere. Yet she found that when she tried to turn around and leave...she froze up. Not that she was hit by a burst of magic, or had a spell again in the aftermath of the last time she used the Peacock. But it was something...psychologically. She couldn't turn her back on this...
Why though? "You know that running away from an emergency when you have the power to stop it isn't the right thing." Duusu whispered to her from inside her pocket jacket.
"I am not a hero. I only used you last time for my own reasons. I don't owe the people of Paris or the Miraculous heroes anything." she said through gritted teeth.
"Keep telling yourself that. She saved your life didn't you?" Duusu said calmly before he turned peppy and happy go lucky. "So we can all be friends, yay!"
"I helped her with Powerfist, she healed me in return, I owe her nothing. All debts are paid!" Nathalie muttered.
"Are you really that thick?" Duusu asked annoyed and angry. "You and the heroes helped EACH OTHER with Powerfist. She then healed you, so you owe her one, understand!" Duusu turned sad and mopey. "Why is everything you humans do or think so complicated. Why can't we all get along."
"This...this is an Akuma of the day, I have no doubt they'll be able to handle it. They don't need me..." Nathalie sighed. 'Like Adrien no longer needs me.' she mentally added. But she still couldn't find herself to leave the scene, even if her back was turned to it. "What the hell is wrong with me?" she wondered to herself.
"Maybe you don't like the person you have become. Maybe you want to be a different person. A person you yourself could be proud of? A person Adrien would be proud of?" Duusu whispered slowly, monotone and robotic. Nathalie didn't respond to that. But she acknowledges that Duusu's words carried some truth. She had a double life, and what she would decide next could tip the balance, but whatever outcome would affect her forever. Could she take that risk?
The outskirts of Paris, which separates the nature and the countryside from the big city in question. A hobby equestrian was taking his horse out for a quick ride on these outskirts, to get him some exercise. It was a peaceful day, the sun was shining, it was chilly but not actually cold (nothing a good enough sweater and coat couldn't fix) and it was peaceful...he should know better than to get comfortable on a nice day in Paris, the city where Akuma and as of recent, magical monsters, run rampant.
He soon found the road block when a giant-ass frog with horns landed in front of him, after the thing most likely has taken a huge leap. It startled the horse, whom now stood on its hind legs, knocking its master of his back as it waved its front legs in panic. In that moment of panic, the giant frog quickly grabbed the horse in his mouth, and with sick sounds of crunching and slobbering, ate the poor critter in a matter of seconds. The horserider, heartbroken at the loss of his horse but his survival instincts still at their fullest, turned tail and ran as the frog was finishing its snack.
The frog just licked his eyes clean with his tongue. He barely gave a reaction. To him devouring that horse was like how a normal sized frog would eat a fly. He just did what came natural to him. After letting his meal sink in a bit, he decided to hop along further, to explore these new unfamiliar surroundings, and at the same time figure out what other delicious morsels it could devour on its way.
Minoscorn was now engaged in a fight with the heroes of Paris. "I am Minoscorn, I'm the biggest and strongest. And once I defeat you, everyone knows I'm the strongest there is!" he said as he charged at the heroes, whom scatter and dodge him. Ladybug and Queen Bee both shoot out their stringed weapons, wrapping it around his horns. They pull back him back as hard as they can but Minoscorn is an Akuma built around brute force and the two were dragged along.
"Not again!" Ladybug moaned, the experience with the Gargouille coming to mind as she and Queen Bee were dragged along for the ride.
"Don't worry, Milady! I got him!" Chat Noir as he jumped in front of Minoscorn, readied his baton, hitting the minotaur Akuma over the head with an overhead swipe...thought the impact had left Chat shaking as if he had been using a jackhammer for hours to no end. "H-h-he h-h-h-as a-a-a v-v-very hard h-h-h-head."
Minoscorn shook his head before he snorted, roared and backhanded a vibrating Chat and sent him flying a long distance. Luckily it stopped him long enough for Ladybug and Queen Bee to unwrap their yoyo and trompo from his horns. He eyed the two Miraculous girls and charged. Carapace jumped in front and held out his shield. Once the minotaur made contact with his head, Carapace was knocked off his feet, knocked to the ground, and slid across the ground due to the impact. Minoscorn, meanwhile stumbled back.
"Don't hit him in the head, there isn't enough in there to damage and throw him off." Ladybug noted.
"It probably means the groin is off-limits as well." Queen Bee quipped.
"Shall I use my Mirage?" Rena Rouge suggested.
"Nah, not for him. We can easily outsmart him without using our special power. Everyone, spread out, rile him up as best as you can, make sure his attention is divided." Ladybug said. "Hey, beefcake! Why are you wearing pants? People can't tell the different between your ass and your face if it wasn't for the horns!"
Minoscorn blinked and it took him all of five seconds before the insult sunk in. He gritted his teeth and then roared as he scraped his left foot across the ground, snorted loudly and charged. Ladybug easily avoided the sloppy attempt by leaping over him, kick him between his shoulderblades and make him topple to the ground.
"Hey ugly! If there was a competition for ugly people they would reject you, because there are 'no pros allowed!" Rena Rouge taunted. Minoscorn turned around and tried to punch her face in, but she easily jumps over the punch and landed on his arm. If with landing you mean digging her feet in and smashing them into the joint of his arm, making him scream in pain.
"Hey dude! You reek! My uncle owns a cow farm but that smells better then you!" Carapace continued the taunting. Minoscorn trampled towards Carapace, but he slides under his legs and whacks his leg in the back of his knee joint. Minoscorn continued to scream in pain.
"If I got a euro for every time you did something stupid, I'd be rich in a matter of seconds." Chat Noir said. Minoscorn turned around and smashed the ground with his fists, creating a shockwave that headed towards Chat, whom jumped over it, landed behind Minoscorn, and whacked him in the back, in the same spot Ladybug kicked him earlier, making the big brute stagger.
"You call that fighting, Mr. Pigeon is more dangerous then you, if only for the feather allergies he causes!" Queen Bee taunted. Minoscorn of course fell for the taunt and charged, but Queen Bee jumped in, into his neck and jabbed her trompo in his left eye. She retracted it as Minoscorn held his eye in pain.
The heroes knew it was working. They then started to spread out and shout taunts form all directions. Minoscorn looks around confused and angry, as he doesn't know whom to attack first form under the constant streams of taunts. He then roared out as his shoulderpad glowed and in a burst of black and purple smoke, Moth Swarm Drones appeared. It would make things slightly more complicated, but the heroes have learned how to deal with these Moths by now.
What would bring the actual complications is a certain giant magical frog whom has caught scent of a swarm of magical insects. And to him that sounded like an all-you-can-eat buffet. The frog just hopped onto a building, sticking to its side as it climbed out, people noticing him and started screaming. Once he climbed on top of the building he followed the scent and hopped form rooftop to rooftop, following the scent that made his mouth water.
The frog got close enough to whatever caused that delicious scent. He saw several moth creatures which had to be the delicious morsels he smelled. There was this bovine being that also somehow smelled of magical insect. He would be tasty too. There were five more colourful individuals. Two reeked of different bugs, one of reptile, one of canine and one of feline. Great, some variety in this feast. And they had a magical aura so this meal would be so much more satisfying than the rest of the critters he gobbled up along the way. They were tasty but not satisfying.
He couldn't wait any longer. He jumped down from the building, in the middle of the fray. It immediately shocked Akuma, Hero and Moth Swarm Drone alike when it appeared. It then quickly shot out its tongue and devoured one of the drones, whom said 'Screw this Champion, we're out of here.' as they scattered and ran for their lives.
"Oh come on! This akuma was relatively easy, why did we have to add a giant frog to the mix?" Chloé groaned.
Ladybug opened her yoyo and opened a new application that came on their weapons' systems shortly after the first creature came through the barrier. "The MagiZoology App identifies it as a Minotaur Frog. It's like a magical bullfrog, only fifty times bigger, fifty times strong and fifty times nastier. It basically eats anything that moves and fits into its mouth!"
"I don't want to get into that guy's belly!" Chat quipped.
As the Minotaur Frog was now gobbling up Moth Drones like a kid on Halloween eating candies, an angry Minoscorn turned to the beast. "Hey, you oversized tub of lard! I was about to turn the tide of this battle and suddenly you're all up in my grill and cramping my style, and eating my minions. So move you bitch ass out of my city!" The Minotaur Frog stared down Minoscorn for a bit, blinking before chomping down itss maws over the Akuma's head.
Minoscorn was struggling viciously, preventing the frog from easily swallowing him but at the same time he couldn't get his head out of the giant frog's mouth. "Ah! It's biting me! It's trying to eat my brain!"
"The poor thing will starve." Ladybug quipped. "As much as I hate Noel, we can't have him become a frog's dinner."
"We'll save him...But we don't have to be TOO careful, do we?" Chat asked with a...what else, cattish grin?
"No, no we don't." Ladybug added with another impish smile. She and Queen bee launched their yoyo and trompo to wrap around Minoscorn's legs, whom were still dangling from the frog's mouth as they pulled, Rena and Carapace grabbing Ladybug's waist, and Chat doing the same for Queen Bee, so they can all pull.
"Make a wish!" Chat quipped.
Hawkmoth would have been angry any other time when a magical creature would interfere with his akumas, but Minoscorn was really not much of a winner anyhow. He did it more because he was bored than anything else. But then he got a crazy idea. He felt his Moth Drones were in fear. While they were bound to mindlessly follow his orders, they had emotions of their own. Could he...well, there was no use in trying, it is not like he could lose anything important with the Noel guy.
The heroes were pulling at Noel's legs as suddenly he was engulfed in a bunch of black and purple smoke and the akuma left him, and he suddenly reverted back to human form. The frog immediately felt the change in taste from 'magical beef with insect flavour' to 'disgusting human teen boy whom needs to shower', causing him to spit out the de-akumatized boy.
"I'm covered in frog spit!" Noel moaned.
"You always were a slimy bastard." Chloé said.
"I am not longer an Akuma!" Noel reminded them. "I no longer need to be taunted."
"We know. It's no longer needed but we want to!" Rena Rouge said.
The frog then croaked loudly, and it sounded more like a growl. He was having the time of his life with the magical bug buffet and having that ruined by having a disgusting taste of Noel ruined his mood. He even changed colours, from the swampy green and blue to a furious red and orange, to reflect his mood. And it looked like it wanted to crush something in frustration. Noel screamed like a sissy girl, fled the scene...but not before running in a lamp post, then into a wall, and tripping over a garbage can, but he was out of there eventually. Meanwhile the heroes readied themselves. Something told them the Minotaur Frog was going to be much more dangerous than the Akumatized champion they fought earlier.
Nathalie knew that the heroes would be able to deal with the current Akuma easily. The minotaur Akuma wasn't that bright, that was clear. Brute force wasn't enough to get things done. But when that frog came onto the scene...that was another type of enemy. Not an enemy that can easily be purified. It is a creature that was born magical and probably would be a hell of a lot tougher. If she fought the creature, she'd not be interfering in Hawkmoth's plans right? And probably he wouldn't want to have that stupid amphibian eat the Miraculous before he could use them.
"Feeling adventurous, Nattie?" Duusu teased playfully.
"Just repaying a debt. Duusu, Fan Out!" Nathalie threw away her glasses as Duusu entered the Miraculous and turned it into its more majestic looking form. She stomped with her right foot, the camera standing from the side but the angle changed to the front as the bluish feathery energy travelled upwards, forming her dress and guise around her. The fan manifested in her hand as she spread it out. She smirked from behind her fan as she did a few elegant twirls before setting herself straight and posing all elegantly, with her fan spread out. Once her transformation sequence was done, she noted to herself: "It's just paying off a debt, you're not a hero."
The akuma which has abandoned Noel wasn't out of the picture just yet. Most of the Moth Drones had fled, but one was nearby, shivering in fear and hiding behind a garbage container in the hopes the scary giant frog which would no doubt try to eat him if he saw him, would not find him. He then saw one of his brethern, a fellow butterfly, the one energized by the Wielder to bring a Metamorphosis on a target of his choice. His brother in arms entered his butterfly knife and he heard his Master's voice in his head, but it was different than any other time he was spoken to. "My loyal servant, I can sense your fear. My last champion was a dud, but I can always count on my drones. I can give you the power to not only do your duties better, but make you strong enough no predator would try and eat you. Are you prepared to do this?"
The Drone didn't hesitate and purred in response. "Then rise up..." The Moth Drone was engulfed in oily black and purple energy and rose up. After the transformation he was more than a mere Drone. He was still a black outline with glowing yellow eyes, but he was bigger and more muscular. His feet resembled hooves and he had two horn-like appendages on his head. His cape-like wings were still there, but they were larger and more regal to fit his new frame, and his butterfly knife has now become a giant claymore, which he slung over his shoulder. Hawkmoth finished his statement from earlier. "Minoscorn Shin!"
TO BE CONTINUED
ARTIST'S COMMENTS
Do you know how much changed about this chapter from the first draft after I first started writing it?
I didn't plan for Mayura in Powerfist and that worked out better. I didn't expect her to return so quickly here too and the idea of an Akumatized Drone is also something i didn't plan for a long time.
It is actually going to be a bit more impactful and a little less of a filler episode this time around.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy. Next chapter will close this episode.