Gabriel's Obsession
Chapter 11
ALYA
Nino had been putting off helping his "pops" do some home repairs for just about a week and today it came back to bite him on the ass. His pops wouldn't let Nino out to hang out with Alya while they watched Marinette on TV. Alya was still hoping Marinette would win, was certain her best friend would win in fact. She wanted to celebrate Marinette's victory with Nino since she'd have to wait until Marinette was back home to celebrate with her.
Nora was in another city participating in an MMA tournament, the twins were sleeping over at a friend's house (much to Alya's joy), and her parents were having a date night. That left Alya all alone watching TV. She'd bought some chips and dip to enjoy with a large bottle of soda while she watched. She enjoyed watching the process of the different designs coming together. She was a little bias of course, but thought Marinette's were the best ones. Marinette had also made one more design then the other two and none of them looked like they had been rushed. Those gowns were beautiful and she knew she would ask Marinette to design her own wedding gown when the day came. She was pretty sure her husband to be would be Nino, but one never knew for certain.
"What they hell!" She yelled at the TV when everyone started to yell at Marinette. "Stop it you assholes!" She screamed, knowing it wouldn't help. She picked up her phone thinking she'd call Adrien and ask him to put a stop to it with his father, but then he watched too, so he would likely already be doing that. Then the lights went off and she was the scarlet butterflies.
"Scarlet Moth is back." She whispered. She saw all the akumas on TV when the lights came back on and panicked for Marinette. Most of them would be after her. Alya rushed to Nora's room and grabbed her bike. Nora had a cell phone holder on it so she could use hers as a GPS when she rode her bike for training. Now Alya was going to use it to get to the studio to try and help her best friend. She didn't care if she didn't have a miraculous to use, she didn't care if she had powers, all she cared about was protecting her friend.
As she rode she started to feel a little sick to her stomach. At the rate she was going, it would take her at least an hour to get to the studio. Tears began to burn her eyes as she realized how fruitless her endeavor really was. Her phone rang and she hit the speakerphone button to answer.
"Alya Cesaire, I need you help." A familiar voice asked. Alya couldn't help but smile as she stopped the bike and wiped her tears away.
"Anything." She replied.
"Where are you? You're not at home."
"I know, I ran out in a hurry. I'm at. . ." She looked at the nearest cross street set of signs and relayed the information."
"I'll be there shortly." The voice replied and hung up. Alya locked Nora's bike to the signpost and waited, excited that she would get to be Rena Rouge again. That was when Cat Noir showed up.
"I'm ready for the Fox Miraculous." She stated holding out her hands. It would be a little weird getting it from Cat Noir, but she didn't mind. "Although I didn't realize you found out I was Rena Rouge.
"I don't have the Fox Miraculous." Cat Noir replied. "Ladybug didn't tell me where to find them, but it doesn't matter right now." He sounded more serious then she'd even heard him sound. "Ladybug has been akumatized."
CAT NOIR
Adrien did not go see his father, it was obviously too late for that. He could hear more screams and the lights came back in the studio. He could see at least a dozen of akumatized people. He feared for Marinette's safety certain she would be the target of many of them.
"Plagg, claws out!" He exclaimed to transform. A moment later he leapt from his window and started to run along the rooftops of Paris. As far as land marks went he was nearly at Marinette's home when her heard a strangely familiar voice yell out "CAT NOIR!" He stopped and looked around, but didn't see anyone. I don't have time for this, He thought angrily as he prepared to run again.
"CAT NOIR!" He heard the scream again, this time sounding desperate. "CAT NOIR!" He looked towards where the voice had been coming from as he realized who's voice it was.
"Tikki?" He called back.
"Cat Noir!" The red and black kwami cried as she flew at him. She hit him hard enough he nearly lost his balance. She was crying. "Ladybug's been akumatized!" He took her gently in his hands and looked at her, noticing for the first time she was holding Ladybug's earrings.
"What happened?" He asked.
"As soon as she took off her earrings, I grabbed them." She explained quickly, "and Kaalki was able to use her power to get us back home." Cat Noir had learned from Plagg that the longer a Kwami was bonded to a human, the longer they could stay active when the miraculouses weren't being worn. It was also why he could no longer threaten to remove his ring when he had arguments with Plagg.
"Where's Kaalki at?" He asked.
"She went back into her miraculous, but that doesn't matter. You need to turn into Mr. Bug and save Ladybug,"
"I can't." Cat Noir stated to the obvious surprise of Tikki. "If I show up as Mr. Bug, Hawk Moth could figure out he got Ladybug." Cat Noir thought about it. "But I have a plan."
TIKKI
Tikki watched in horror as the scarlet butterflies appeared in the darkness.
"Marinette, you need to calm down." She whispered in Marinette's ear, after slipping out of her hiding spot inside the dress her owner wore." Marinette wasn't listening, she was crying and angry and yelling. A butterfly landed on her necklace and it began to glow. Tikki was even more horrified and watched Marinette remove one earrings as she agreed to work with Hawk Moth, then the second earing. She'd been with Marinette long enough that she could go a half a day without Marinette wearing her miraculous, so Tikki had a plan for if Marinette was ever akumatized. She knew she needed to come up with something after the last time when the akumatization had almost occurred. She did not speak of her plan with Marinette though. She couldn't have her know what would happen so she wouldn't be able to counter it somehow or track her down in her akumatized state.
Tikki grabbed the earrings and rushed back to the room Marinette was using. She didn't even get a chance to see what Marinette turned into. She avoided the camera's by flying near the ceilings. They might not be able to pick her up, but they'd probably see the earrings floating in the air.
"Kaalki, Kaalki, we need to go." Tikki exclaimed. The horse Kwami did not have as much time as Tikki did, maybe a half hour at the longest and Marinette had left the sunglasses in her room since she couldn't get away with wearing them during this trial. "I need you to teleport us!"
"What's going on?" Kaalki asked concerned.
"Marinette was akumatized and we need to escape before she finds us and these miraculouses. Teleport us out of here."
"But without Marinette to control the portal, we may not know our destination."
"I know, but most of the time you end up back at the Miracle Box, and that will get us closer to Cat Noir." Tikki explained. Kaalki nodded and grabbed hold of her miraculous as she used her power to open a portal. The two Kwami's flew in and luck was on their side as they ended up in Marinette's bedroom on top of the large cat pillow where the Miracle box was hidden. Kaalki vanished into her miraculous. Tikki prayed that Adrien was either at his home or on the way to the studio right now and that she could catch him. She pushed open the skylight window above Marinette's bed and flew out heading towards the Agreste Mansion keeping her eyes on the look out for any sign of Cat Noir on the rooftops. She saw him in the distance and screamed his name. She saw him stop and look around. She flew a little faster and screamed again when it looked like he was about to take off, and again she screamed sounding more desperate with each one. When he called her name she started to cry and flew at him like a missile.
She did her best to explain what happened quickly but Cat Noir refused to take the earrings and use them himself. No, he had a different plan, but he didn't tell her what it was. He just asked her a few questions and headed to a familir apartment but finding it empty he made a phone call to Alya. Does he expect me to lead him to the miraculous box? She wondered. That would give up Ladybug's identity and I can't do that.
"Ladybug has been akumatized." Cat Noir said when he'd caught up to Alya. Tikki was confused. Cat Noit was goofy but Adrien was intelligent. She believed it when he said he had a plan but she couldn't lead him to the other miraculouses, not without Marinette's permission. He had to know that.
"I can't become Mr. Bug because it might tip off Hawk Moth that he has Ladybug. If he even suspects he does, she'll have to give up her position and the guardianship of the miraculouses." Cat Noir explained.
"I don't understand." Alya remarked in synch with Tikki's own thoughts.
"I need you to become Ladybug, the Ladybug, not another Ladybug." Cat Noir stated.
"What?" Tikki and Alya both exclaimed in surprise.
"Plagg told me that our costumes are based on our desires and right now Alya, I need you to desire to be Ladybug. I need you to be as close to being her as you can. No one aside from myself knows her and how she acts better then you. You're the only one who can do it. Will you take up the Miraculous of the Ladybug and help me save Ladybug and Marinette." Tikki's expression must have mirrored Alya's when Cat Noir included Marinette in that sentence. Although it made a certain sense to sayuse Marinette's name as a way to give Alya as a little more of a push to get her to help.
"I will." Alya replied and took the earrings Cat Noir offered her.
"All you need to say is Tikki, spots on and we'll transformer." Tikki explained as Alya put the earrings on.
"Tikki, spots on!" Alya cried out.
NATHALIE (a short time ago)
Working for one of the top designers in the world is a job that most people would think to be glamorous. Overall they would be wrong, but not as wrong as it currently stood. It was Nathalie's plan and this was the second time she questioned her own sanity over it. She poured another bag full of her own diarrhea into the toilet of the women's restroom in the back of the building near the storage area. Nathalie had made a slight showing of keeping her cosmetics, feminine hygiene products and other person affects in zipper bags during her time on the show. All that was set up for this moment and her dumping the waste she'd previously collected. Afterwards she would clean the bags and put her items in them. She would be throwing them away once this was over with.
She'd giving herself a likely unhealthy dose of laxative during the last couple of days off she had and collected her expulsions. She wanted it to seem as if she had the world's worse case of the runs during this crucial time, but she could not risk actually using a laxative. There would be no guarantee it would hit her at the time she needed it, and she couldn't afford to loose her concentration for the next part of the plan.
"I'm ready." She whispered through a vent that was shared between the restroom and the storeroom. A moment later a glowing butterfly appeared and she once again transformed into Catalyst.
GABRIEL AGRESTE (a short time ago also)
Gabriel could drive, and he could drive well. In fact he's taken some offensive driving courses in his youth and would still practice occasionally in his rare free time. He knew there would be times when he would have to drive without the aid of the family's bodyguard / chauffer and today was one of those times. He'd parked out of the sight of the studio and used his key to enter the storage area, the same one Marinette would use to hide from the cameras, and set up his screen, also coincidentally in the same area Marinette hid. He'd used this setup the entire time he was on screen for the show as to make certain the background matched when he changed location. His laptop, the same he used previously for the show was also set up for him to film.
When the light went off, courtesy of another piece of heavy energy use equipment being plugged in, again something he brought with, it caused the lights to go out and his feed to the studio to be cut. That's when he transformed into Hawk Moth and sent an akuma to Nathalie, who sent her power as Catalyst back to him. He opened the cages with his butterflies, more then enough to affect all the people in the studio, powered them up and sent them on their way. Once that was finished, he gathered his items as he waited for his first victims to be akumatized.
"Fashion Forward, Fashion Disaster and Retro Fashion, I am Hawk Moth and all of you have been wronged by someone. I will give you the power to revenge yourself upon that person, and all I ask in return is the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Cat Noir. But worry not about finding them, they will find you." He stated. Nadia and Aiden were of course angry at Marinette, that was the main reason for turning out the lights, so no one would know who the other akumas were, but Marinette was angry at Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie. It was always dangerous to allow an akuma to focus on him. It nearly cost him his life previously, but this was worth the risk. Besides he did not have to detransform until after he was handed the miraculouses, and then he could undo the akumatization on Marinette, and probably Nadia and Aiden as well. There was no reason for Marinette to be injured or killed once he got what he wanted, especially if she was the one who brought it to him. Perhaps he should inform her of that.
"Should the two that are after you bring me the miraculouses I will allow them to have their way with you." He said to the akuma that was Marinette. "I recommend you get them first." After that, he finished packing up his equipment and rushed out of the storage room and back to the car he'd hidden away to wait.
CAT NOIR 2
She'd done it. Alya had become a near perfect copy of Ladybug. The skin tone, hair color and length were a little off, but he felt like the only reason he knew that, was because he saw her transform, so he already knew the difference. With Alya using the powwers as Ladybug, they were able to make great time getting to the studio.
"One last note, you can't flirt with me like you did as Rena Rouge." He instructed. "Ladybug never flirts with me. At least not anymore."
"I know, but you don't really flirt with her anymore either." Ladybug replied.
"Touche." He replied with a little frown. There were no buildings near enough to the studio for them to use as a base for scout the situation. Even if there were, there were not a lot of windows either. However the best place for them to enter would be the balcony doors on the contestant's rooms.
"What's the plan?" Ladybug asked. That's right, I'm in charge of this one, he thought.
"I want to deakumatize everyone as quickly as possible and get them somewhere safe. Maybe we can use the contestant quarters if we clear it out. It looked like on the show it only had the one entrance to the rest of the building. If the Akuma's all stay inside, it should be pretty safe. We don't know who or what Ladybug or Marinette have turned into, otherwise I would put them as top priority."
"You know, Marinette might not be akumatized. She's managed to avoid, if just barely being akumatized a few times before." Ladybug said.
"I hope you're right, but if she's not she might be in even more danger. If we can avoid anyone seeing who we've deakumatized, I think that would be for the best."
"Like toss a blanket over them or something?"
"Exactly. Don't use your lucky charm right away either. I think you should hold off as long as possible. It could be dangerous for us and those who aren't akumatized if are transformations wear off before we've got everyone."
"What about Scarlet Moth?" Ladybug asked.
"If you see him, contact me immediately. If we can beat him, we can win quicker. Assuming he's even here. His last few public appearances didn't go well for him." Ladybug nodded. "Try to gather as many butterflies in your yoyo as you can before purifying them too. Hopefully we can get them all and Scarlet Moth won't be able to reuse them." Another nod from Ladybug.
"I look forward to the after victory fist bump."
"Me too." Cat Noir gave her a cocky grin as the launched themselves up to the contestant areas. "Oh no, not him." Cat Noir gasped when he saw WereDad in the main area fighting with some random akuma that looked like a polar bear had a baby with a fire hydrant. WereDad looked over and noticed Cat Noir and snarled.
"You're toying with my daughter again!" He yelled and picked up the polar bear fire hydrant crossbred akuma and tossed it at Cat Noir . Cat Noir ducked out of the way.
"Would it help if I said she kissed me, I didn't kiss her!" He exclaimed. The tossed akuma landed in such a way to break the possessed item, whatever it was and the scarlet butterfly flew out. Ladybug caught it in her yoyo. Apparently the words Cat Noir used were the exact wrong ones because WereDad just got angrier and rushed Cat Noir.
"Sorry Mr. Dupain." Cat Noir stated as he slipped under and aside putting his foot out to trip the beast. Again somehow Cat Noir had that weird luck as the akumatized object on Weredad broke and released its butterfly. The butterfly was scooped up almost immediately. "You could have helped." Cat Noir grunted at Ladybug who smiled.
"You looked like you were doing fine kitty." She replied.
"Cat Noir, Ladybug?" Tom Dupain asked.
"You were akumatized sir." Cat Noir explained. "We're going to make sure this area is clear of other akumas, can you protect the door so we have a safe place to bring everyone we rescue?"
"Of course, son." He remarked Cat Noir blushed a little. There was something a little special about Tom calling him that he didn't feel when his own father did.
"Do you know if your daughter was akumatized and which one she is?"
"I don't know. I only saw the butterflies, but I can't stay here if Marinette and Sabine are in trouble." He started for the door.
"Please Mr. Dupain calm down." Ladybug said as she intercepted the giant of a man. "We'll make sure they are safe. The best thing you can do is like Cat Noir said, protect this door from other akumas if you can and remain calm. We don't want you akumatized again."
"Of course Ladybug." He remarked as Cat Noir finished checking out the other rooms.
"We should be clear." He said carrying a few of the blankets from the rooms for them to use when they found Marinette. Ladybug and Cat Noir left Tom in charge of the room and headed into the hallway. The going was slow as they had to stop to fight the akumas and then once defeated bring the victim to the room. Tom held the door shut until they let him know it was them. The plan was working out pretty well, except they both wanted to find Marinette as soon as possible. However they did clear the entire top level, as far as they could tell and moved to the lower level and the studio areas.
"Cat Noir and Ladybug, so good to see you, I Fashion Forward will be taking your miraculouses." Came the akuma who appeared like something out of a 1970s cartoon about the future with neon loops all over her clothing, in places such at her skirt, sleeves, tops of her boots and her gloves, in her hair and as her earrings. The face and figure was distorted enough that they couldn't even begin to tell who the person was.
"No it'll be me, Fashion Disaster who will defeat you and take your miraculouses to Hawk Moth." Another one said as she pushed past the first one. This akuma was a distressing array of colors, patterns and styles that seemed to shift before their eyes. Again it was impossible to even begin to figure out who it was.
"Mwa ha ha ha ha!" Came the third one. "You are both twisted if you think you'll get those miraculouses before me, Retro Fashion." The third fashion based akuma stated. Although the proportions were again distorted, the outfit looked fairly normal, in fact like something one would seen in an old black and white movie like Casablanca.
"What are you, the three fates of fashion design?" Ladybug asked. Cat Noir snickered although really didn't seem like the kind of comment Ladybug would make. IT was also a little weird that they each said their names like they were villains in an anime or something.
"Shouldn't you be Modern Fashion instead?" He asked pointing to Fashion Disaster. That ended up being the queue to start fighting.
LADYBUG
"You're like purrfect." Cat Noir commented after Alya had transformed and looked her over. Normally she would have been self-conscience and annoyed if a guy looked her over like that, but she knew he was checking her out to see how close to the real Ladybug she was, and if she were being honest with herself, she did actually like having Cat Noir check her out. Though it wasn't something she would honestly discus with anyone, she did have a slight crush on him. It was why she happily flirted with him the first couple of times she worked as Rena Rouge, before Carapace came into the picture.
She was nervous about being Ladybug. For all of her bravado actually being Ladybug was nerve racking. Ladybug was the one who came up with the plans, she caught the akumas and she fixed everything afterwards. That was a lot of responsibility. She was glad Cat Noir wanted her to hold off the using the Lucky Charm, since she wasn't sure if she could do the kind of convoluted plans Ladybug did with it. She was also afraid she'd get something stupid or embarrassing like a pair of panties. It was an unfounded fear, but she'd just watched an anime were panties to started flying around like birds and it kept playing in her mind that would happen to her here.
She became more comfortable with her roll as they fought the first couple of akumas and Cat Noir had possibly the best possible luck. She hoped that luck held out, however when they got to the Three Fate of Fashion Design, she felt like their luck changed as they were attacked. She and Cat Noir became split up and Fashion Disaster and Retro Fashion attacked her. She was certain one of the free were Marinette, and extra certain it was Retro Fashion since that akuma had the best fashion sense with their costume. Retro Fashion grabbed onto Ladybug and enveloped her in a pink glow before tossing her into a wall. Ladybug managed somehow to hit the wall feet first and push off towards Retro Fashion. It would have been a beautiful maneuver if her costume hadn't suddenly changed on her throwing her off balance and landing her on the ground in front of the Akuma.
Ladybug rolled out of the way as Retro Fashion tried to stomp her. The long skirts she was suddenly wearing tangled around her legs a little but she still managed to get out of danger and back to her feet. She saw her image in a nearby mirror in the dressing area. Ladybug was in a Victorian style outfit with an ankle length skirt, blouse, jacket, heeled books and still wearing her mask though it's designs changed a bit too. She also had on all the undergarments and support items that went with it. She was very grateful that the corset was only as tight as it needed to be for support as most women in those times actually wore them instead of the tight lacing you read about in the novels that came out after that time period. Still, she didn't really care for wearing skirts and dresses to begin with, preferring her skinny jeans over pretty much everything else, but when she did need to wear a skirt or dress she tended to go with nothing longer then knee length. That made moving in the bulky and heavier then she's use to garments difficult.
Fashion Disaster started to attack using her powers to send fabrics, thread, and clothing at her to attack. In one of the more ridiculous moments, a cat suit started attacking her like a martial artist. As it hit her with one of its punches, the ridiculousness of the situation ended, because that punch was strong and hard. She saw stars blasting her vision as she used her yoyo to swing up onto the catwalk where the lighting was controlled. As she stood there an attack from Fashion Forward causing the clothing she was wearing to age its way into dust blasted her. It stopped with the top layers leaving Ladybug with just the foundation and undergarments.
"Thanks, that's helpful of you!" Ladybug called out as she jumped back down and swung her yoyo at the akuma. The akuma dodged the yoyo and used her powers on the floor causing it to crumble under ladybug's feet. The concrete floor was gone, dropping her about two feet only, since there was no basement area in the warehouse the studio had been set up in, but it was enough to disorient herself.
"I could use some help Cat Noir!" She yelled out before noticing that he was busy with a half dozen random akumas, probably from the crew and audience. A moment later Retro Fashion yanked her out of the hole and tossed her away again. She threw her yoyo up to catch on of the light supports and swung to safety as her clothing made another change. This time she ended up in something similar to the hieroglyphic of Ladybug she'd seen at the museum. Although the skirt was long, it had a couple of nice slits making it easier for her to move in.
"Oh, I do like this one." She announced as she went on the attack.
HAWK MOTH
"Yes my akumas, yes, continue to batter at the heroes. You are wearing them down. Even that obnoxious Cat Noir is not longer joking." He cackled at that. He'd been right, Marinette was the strongest Akuma yet, stronger then Style Queen had been, stronger then Miracle Queen. Yes, she was doing even better against Ladybug then he'd dreamed she would. With the help of the other two contestants, he had no doubt in his mind that Marinette would be the one to get him their Miraculouses. He cackled again.
It also helped that he'd placed akuamas at all the possible entrances as a sort of early warning system and he could alert the others that Ladybug and Cat Noir had shown up. His plan had been simple, separate Ladybug and Cat Noir as quickly as possible, and use the "Three Fates of Fashion Design" as Ladybug had put it, to go after Ladybug's earrings. He could tell his newest minions were wearing Ladybug down. She wasn't fighting as well as she normally did. It was a beautiful thing to watch. He knew that if it kept up, he would win this time. Yes Akumatizing Marinette and those other girls had been a stroke of genius. Nathalie had come up with a masterful plan. They'd already nearly got her earring twice.
He'd decided to avoid giving them any more direct orders, since it was already hard enough to watch over all the akumas. That may have been a mistake however, since he hadn't noticed until it was too late.
"No you fool, don't attack now!" He yelled as Fashion Forward hit Retro Fashion's clothes and caused them to age into nothingness, releasing the Akuma. Ladybug swung her yoyo and captured it before covering Retro Fashion with a blanket and carrying her off. He sent the other two after them.
LADYBUG 2
"Mr. Dupain, it's Ladybug, please open the door." Ladybug stated as she pounded on it. "Quickly." She added. When the door opened up she set the blanket wrapped girl in the room and pulled the blanket back. She'd rescued Nadia. Nadia look confused.
"What happened?" She asked.
"You allowed your petty anger get the better of you and got akumatized." Ladybug responded. "You'll be fine now. Try to be a little nicer in the future though." She added before leaving and having Tom guard the door again. I was really hoping that was Marinette, Ladybug thought. She'd half expected her costume to change back, but then again she hadn't used the lucky charm yet, so maybe it wasn't that surprising. As much as she followed Ladybug and all she did, it felt like the rules of how Ladybug's powers worked randomly changed. She ran down the hallway just in time to meet up with the other two at the top of the stairs. Ladybug leapt over them and landed, harder then she wanted at the bottom of the stairs. It was an uncomfortable landing but not horrible.
"Stop running away Ladybug!" Fashion Disaster yelled as she controlled a paper airplane made out of fabric to dive-bomb her. Ladybug yelped as it grazed her shoulder and then screamed as the fabric wrapped around her causing her to fall to the ground. "Your earrings belong to me!" She went to yank the earrings from Ladybug, but Ladybug rolled away and managed a quick spin to knock Fashion Disaster's legs out from under her. Fashion Disaster's head hit the ground hard and her power over the cloth ended releasing Ladybug.
"I wonder what in this mess of fabric her akuma is in?" Ladybug asked as she started to rip parts of Fashion Disaster's costume away. "I hope she doesn't end up naked before I'm done." She added with a wicked but amused little grin.
CAT NOIR 2
He was too far from Ladybug, and he knew it. They needed to spread out the akuma's sure, but Ladybug was the only one who could cleanse the butterflies. He was pretty certain he could just destroy them outright with his powers, but that would leave him in a dangerous situation, and really if he did it he'd want to have as many butterflies in one area as possible before doing it. He dodged a number of Simon Says's cards and saw them all hit akuma's behind him. So far most of the akuma's had been working independently of each other, giving Cat Noir an advantage, but if Simon started to control them in unison, that could be a bad end for him. He tossed his staff at Simon Says, hitting him in the throat before he could issue a command and grabbed and broke the possessed item. A thought occurred to him as Simon Says detransformed.
"Quick say Simon Says hold up your akumatized object."
"What, Cat…"
"Quick!"
"Simon Says hold up your akumatized object." Simon Grimault said. The five akumas before Cat Noir held up their hands with an item in each. He rushed over and broke all of them, releasing the butterflies. Cat Noir wasn't sure if Simon Says's power would have still held, but he was glad to see it had. There was a chorus of "what happened, and Cat Noir?". None of them where Marinette and there were too many to put blanket over, so he skipped that part.
"Follow me." Cat Noir instructed as he led them upstairs. He had them all enter as Tom opened the door. He didn't see Marinette or Nathalie in there. He couldn't tell Alya that he was concerned about Nathalie without risking his identity but she was another one he was keeping his eyes out for. If he knew who Ladybug actually was he would have been watching for her as well obviously, but unless she made some comment that clued him in, he was pretty much out of luck in that regard. Tom just looked miserable when he saw that none of the people Cat Noir had brought were his daughter. "Don't worry, we'll find her." He stated.
"I hope so." Tom replied. Cat Noir left to find Ladybug. He'd had to leave all those other butterflies alone and hope they didn't possess anyone else or multiple as they had during their first incident with Stone Heart. He caught sight of someone who looked like an ancient Egyptian version of Ladybug fighting two of the fashion trio.
"Those earrings are mine!" Fashion Forward yelled, after knocking Ladybug away from the prone form of Fashion Disaster. Is she Ladybug? He wondered. He rushed in and tackled Fashion Forward.
"You take care of the other one, I'll take care of her." Cat Noir yelled. Ladybug nodded and began ripping at the mess of garments again. As Cat Noir fought with Fashion Forward, he saw Ladybug toss a blanket over the akuma as she began to change back.
LADYBUG 3
Ladybug carried the girl to the room they were keeping all those rescued victims of Hawk Moth and set her down in the doorway just as she started to wiggle.
"What, what's going one?" The muffled voice asked. Ladybug pulled off the blanket to reveal Marinette. "Papa!" She cried out and hugged him tightly before turning her head. "Ladybug?" She asked in surprise.
"You were akumatized, Marinette." She replied.
"I was?" She seemed surprised and very upset. She raised her hand slightly to brush some of her hair away from her face and ear.
"I know you've managed to avoid akumatization in the past, so please, do whatever you can to keep the others here from panicking and being akumatized again." Ladybug asked.
"What do you mean, the others? Is it Scarlet Moth?" She asked. Ladybug nodded "I'll do what I can, Ladybug." She replied. Ladybug left the room to go back and help Cat Noir.
MARINETTE
She'd seen video for Ladybug in action before, but obviously had never had a chance to really see it in person, except for maybe the sentimonster version, so Marinette couldn't help but look out the door, much to her father's dismay, to watch this Ladybug in action. When she rearranged her hair, it was just an excuse to touch her ears and feel that her Miraculouses were indeed gone. How did she get my Miraculous? Does she know who I am? Where's Cat Noir? Does he know who I am? Will I get my Miraculous back? She started to take some deep breaths to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was for another akuma to posses her. Once she was calmed down she went to her room to grab the Horse Miraculous. It was gone. She searched everywhere in her room and still couldn't find it.
Even if she didn't know who this Ladybug was, she'd thought she could at least use the Horse Miraculous to help, but where did it go? She wouldn't be able to get any answers right now, not with everything going on. She pinched herself just to check to make certain she wasn't asleep since it felt like a nightmare. It seemed she was still awake. She left her room in time to see one of the crewmembers messing with the TV and bringing up a feed from the cameras so they could watch the battle between Ladybug, Cat Noir and the akumas. Marinette was impressed with the fight, although this fight was far more brutal then previous ones had been.
"No, no no, please stop, make it stop." She heard from the corner of the room. She glanced over and saw Nadia curled on herself as she sat rocking back and forth looking at the screen. Marinette's first instinct was to go over to her, to comfort her, but she held herself back. With the way Nadia and Aiden had been treating her, she was in no hurry to help. Of course it was then that an akuma butterfly showed up in the room, heading straight toward Nadia. Marinette rushed over to the girl's side and wrapped her arms around her.
"Nadia, listen, you need to calm down. If you don't you'll get possessed again and you don't want that." She made her voice sound as comforting as possible. Nadia stopped rocking and looked at Marinette, then at the butterfly. The moment she saw it, she flipped out again. The butterfly landed on her necklace and she started to transform.
LADYBUG 4
A handful of random Akumas as well as Fashion Forward had made their way to the second floor, likely following Ladybug. It was her own fault too. She'd spent too much time talking to Marinette, but she wanted to make certain her best friend was safe. She needed to lead them back down to the ground floor and keep the civilians safe.
"Ladybug!" She turned back hearing Marinette yell for her. "I can't break this myself." She tossed a possessed item to Ladybug just as she was grabbed from behind.
"Marinette!" Ladybu yelled as she caught the necklace and broke it, releasing the butterfly.
"I'm okay!" She heard Marinette yell a moment later as she captured the butterfly in her yoyo.
"Marinette is in that room." Fashion Forward yelled. "She's mine!" The akuma seemed to have lost all interest in Ladybug and rushed past her, knocking her into the hallway wall. The other akumas took advantage of that and all attacked Ladybug at once.
"Cat Noir, I need you!" Ladybug yelled as she tried to pull away from the akumas, but they kept dragging her back. Suddenly one of the cried out and was tossed from her. She looked up and saw Cat Noir.
"Always here for you . . ."
"Not me, Marinette!" Ladybug interrupted pointing towards the doorway to the civilians. There was a scream and Cat Noir took off like a flash.
CAT NOIR 3
Ladybug barely had time to finish her sentence and he was already turning that way. He didn't like the idea of leaving her there, but she had the protection of her Miraculous, and Marinette didn't. She was in more physical danger. Ladybug would be fine as long as she didn't lose her earrings. He made it into the room just in time to see Tom Dupain holding Fashion Forward in a bear hug from behind as she wildly starting zapping her power at Marinette, who'd already lost her dress. He ran to help Tom just as Marinette yanked a mirror off the wall and held it up like a shield as another blast from Fashion Forward shot at her. She deflected the hit back towards the akuma only to hit her Dad with it instead, causing most of his clothing to disintegrate.
"So much hair, how do you not get hairballs?" Cat Noir spoke before he could stop himself. He didn't know if Tom heard him, but it didn't matter if he did or not because the blast was enough to weaken Tom's grip and allow Fashion Forward loose.
"Oh Shit!" He heard Marinette yell as the akuma leapt at her. She swung the mirror and clocked Fashion Forward in the face with it, causing the mirror to explode and the akuma to crash into a wall. Marinette didn't pause, she grabbed the possessed item and tossed it to Cat Noir. He broke it immediately, releasing the butterfly. A moment later Ladybug's yoyo swung out and captured it. Fashion Forward reverted back to Aiden.
"I'm glad to see you're alright M'Lady." He said.
"It was close there for a moment kitty." She replied. "Now that we've got our major villains taken care of, I think it's time for the LUCKY CHARM!" She yelled and suddenly in the air was a backpack leaf blower.
"Seriously?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug looked at it and then looked around before smiling. She switched the hose from the blower to the intake and locked her yoyo into the blower part.
"Did you just make an Akuma vacuum?" Marinette asked as she grabbed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She slipped on the short denim shorts and the cropped t-shirt over her wedding lingerie showing her thigh high stockings and garters. Cat Noir looked over at her and whispered. "That's a nice look for you." He noticed she blushed a little and nearly missed Ladybug's comment.
"I hope so." Ladybug stated. Cat Noir was impressed. It reminded him a little of when he'd been Mr. Bug and even though the Lucky Charm wasn't exactly straightforward as he'd hoped, it was more so then when Ladybug did it.
"Lets to take care of some akumas." Cat Noir stated as the pair ran out.
MARINETTE 4
She really wanted to know who Ladybug was. Whoever it was, she definitely had Ladybug almost perfectly down. It was driving her crazy. She was positive it was Ladybug with the actual Ladybug Miraculous and not some illusion or duplicate. For one thing, how would Cat Noir have been able to make and illusion or duplicate without another Miraculous, unless he'd somehow beaten Mayura while she was on the show. Also it had been so long since he'd called her "M'Lady" that she felt a twinge of jealousy over him calling this Ladybug that. What is wrong with me? She wondered. Aiden started to wake up and Nadia started to panic again. She went to both girls and did her best to comfort and keep them calm. She was also hoping the bumps, bruises and cuts on the two girls would be healed by the Miraculous Ladybugs when the time came. She really felt a little guilty over the marks on Aiden's face, but only a little.
"So, just try to relax, take deep breaths and remain calm." She said to the two girls. "As long as you remain calm, you won't be akumatized again. Ladybug and Cat Noir will take care of the akumas and afterwards you can both go back to being bitches." That actually got a slight giggle out of Nadia.
As she continued to comfort her fellow contestants, Marinette watched as a new wave of civilians came into the room including Juleka. Juleka looked over at her and walked to the other side of the room. Marinette frowned but closed her eyes. She too needed to remain calm.
CAT NOIR 4
They fought through the Akumas breaking possessed items and sucking the butterflies up with the akuma vacuum Ladybug had made from the leaf blower and her yoyo. It was going well, but Cat Noir was starting to get even more worried about Nathalie. Where is she? I hope nothing happened to her? They'd found some civilians who hadn't been akumatized and directed them to head for the contestant quarters above for safety. With the numbers dwindling, they didn't need to protect them from the akumas on the way as they had previously, plus they didn't have as much time now that Ladybug had used her Lucky Charm. Her earrings were already starting to beep.
"What happened?" Alec asked after he was deakumatized.
"Massive attack, I think we've accounted for everyone now, except for Nathalie Sancoeur." Cat Noir explained as one of the staff members who'd been in charge of the guests did a head count and came back "I know she vanished during the show. Do you know anything about that?" Cat Noir was starting to get worried that Hawk Moth had managed to get his hands on her or maybe she'd been attacked by an akuma.
"She ran to the restroom, I'll show you the one she used."
"We better make it quick Cat Noir." Ladybug said.
"Right, lead the way."
CATALYST
As Catalyst, Nathalie had a similar ability as Hawk Moth when it came to seeing what he saw, which extended to when he was looking through the eyes of those akumatized as long as he was looking through their eyes. She sat on the toilet seat and for the most part, enjoyed the show. He plan was successful, at least at first. Marinette had ended up being the strongest Akuma they'd ever unleashed, but also Nadia and Aiden had been ridiculously strong as well. All three had been given good reason to fight like crazy too, so that likely helped.
She got angry as the heroes started to turn things around. It wasn't possible. Her plan had been nearly foolproof. Everything she did, the weeks of being on the show, of Alec flirting with her, had been in vain. The only thing she considered to be anywhere near good was spending time Gabriel fitting her for the custom clothing. This plan had to work, it had too! She wanted to scream out her frustrations but remained silent as the connection with the last scarlet akuma ended, leaving her as the only one left akumatized. She stood up, not sure what she should do next.
"Nathalie Sancoeur, are you in there?" She heard the voice of Cat Noir call to her. She refused to answer.
"I will take care of them." She said to Hawk Moth as she grabbed the plunger sitting next to the toilet. She yanked it up clanging it against the toilet, making a noise that sounded extra loud in her ears.
"Miss Sancoeur?" Cat Noir asked as she shook the handle of the restroom door. "Is everything all right?"
"No Catalyst, I cannot allow you to be discovered." Hawk Moth replied as the door jiggled more.
"No Hawk Moth, let me do this for you."
"I am sorry Nathlie." Hawk Moth stated just as Cat Noir yelled Cataclysm. Nathalie destransformed as the door disintegrated, leaving her facing Cat Noir holding the plunger as a weapon while wearing a wedding dress.
"Mrs, Sancoeur, are you hurt?" Cat Noir asked as he looked at her in surprise. "You've got tears all over your face."
"Cat Noir, is that really you?" She asked as she aimed the plunger at him. She knew she was a ridiculous sight, but was surprised to hear about the tears. She'd hadn't even realized she'd been crying.
"Yes it's really him and it's really me. Are you okay?" Ladybug smailed as she appeared from behind him and looked around.
"I am fine, when I saw everything going on, I locked myself in here. I've never been in the middle of such a massive akuma attack." She explained. She'd been so frustrated, so angry that her plan had fallen apart. How could she have become so emotional as to actually cry?
"I'm glad you're fine. Um, you can probably put the weapon down, I'm pretty sure I know where it's been and I'd rather not be touched by it."
"If that's all, I'll just finish up here." Ladybug said as she pulled out the yoyo and opened it up, releasing all the butterflies now cleansed. If only she'd done that earlier, Hawk Moth could have akumatized everyone again. Ladybug took her leaf blower off her back and tossed it into the air, hitting the ceiling and breaking through it before calling out "Miraculous Ladybug!" and fixing all the damage, including giving her back her original costume.
"Pound it." The heroes said in unison as the beeps of Ladybug's earrings became more insistent.
"Time to Bug Out!" She called as she and Cat Noir ran back to the stairs to exit the way they had come in.
LUKA
He'd been one of the last akumas defeated and rushed to the contestant area. He wanted to make sure his sister and Marinette were fine. It took him a moment to find Marinette in the crowd comforting both Aiden and Nadia. Marinette looked like she was okay, though the same could not be said about the other two. Suddenly a swarm of ladybugs entered the room and fixed everything. The non-natives of Paris screamed in terror at first. Nadia and Aiden both looked uninjured afterwards, and Marinette seemed to be wearing her bridesmaid dress over the shorts and t-shirt she'd been wearing earlier.
He scanned for his sister and saw her on the other side of the room glaring in Marinette's direction. After all this, she's still mad at Marinette? He couldn't believe it. As he started to walk towards his sister Ladybug and Cat Noir burst into the room startling everyone.
"Sorry, sorry, we're in a bit of a hurry, but we've saved the day!" Cat Noir stated as they both rushed towards one of the rooms. He wasn't sure, but he thought Cat Noir glanced over at Marinette as he went through the doorway and leapt from the balcony following Ladybug. Marinette appeared to say something to Nadia and Aiden as people began to shuffle out of the cramped space, before she heading over to Juleka.
"Shit." He whispered under his breath, as they seemed to have a quick but heated discussion. Marinette turned away from Juleka in anger and stomped off. "Shit." He repeated as he started to head towards Juleka. He really wanted them to be friends again. He knew Juleka was miserable as it was thanks to her anger over what she perceived as Marinette toying with his emotions even if he disagreed mostly with that sentiment. Marinette headed towards Nadia and Aiden again, probably to get comfort from those who'd rejected her previously but accepted her comfort. Or something like that.
"Don't ever touch Luka again!" He heard Marinette yell. He turned just in time to see her punch, not slap but punch, Nadia in the face. Nadia went down stunned, and she wasn't the only one stunned by the action. Those few people who were left in the room all stared at her gape jawed. She rushed back over to Juleka and the pair hugged.
ALYA 2
They had set up a meeting place for her to give Cat Noir back the earrings so they could go their separate ways as Ladybug and Cat Noir tended to do after saving the say. It would also give Cat Noir time to Feed Plagg before showing up. Alya waited under the bridge with Tikki, giving her a cookie she'd purchased at one of the nearby shops.
"You did a wonderful job, Alya." Tikki stated.
"Thank you, Tikki." Alya's face actually hurt from the amount she was smiling. She couldn't help it. Not only had she been able to be a superhero again, she got to be her favorite superhero, for real! Once all the danger and worry were gone she'd become so excited, so thrilled. She almost didn't want to give up the earrings. She would give them back of course. The real Ladybug would be need them again and she wasn't about to do that to her hero.
"She's right, you did a wonderful job." Cat Noir's voice came from behind her and she jumped. "Sorry." He apologized but with a highly amused grin on his face. She turned around and gave him a hug, startling him a little.
"Thank you Cat Noir for this." She whispered and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You're welcome." He grinned. "And thank you for your help. I couldn't have protected Ladybug without you." She handed him the earrings.
"Just Ladybug or Marinette too?" She teased a little.
"Them and everyone else."
"Just one question before you go?"
"Sure anything, off the record of course. I didn't agree to a Ladyblog interview."
"Do you have a crush on our little fashion designer friend?" She asked.
"What?" He looked confused to her.
"You were awfully concerned about her."
"Of course I was. She was the target of at least two of the akumas probably more. I've watched the show." He admitted.
"Is that really all? I did notice you glance over at her as we were leaving." She was grinning.
"Of course. She's a friend after all.." He remarked as he rushed off. Alya hmphed a little at that but still smiled.
TO BE CONTINUED
NOTES
Holy crap it's been so long that I couldn't remember if it's "Plagg Claws out" or "Claws Out Plagg". Lmao. I had to rewatch to remember,
Martian artist instead of martial artist.
Tikki grabbed the earrings and rushed back to the room Marinette was wearing.
I rather enjoyed writing this part. It didn't unfold the way I expected exactly but overall it worked out how I expected it too.
I only read through this once for editing, so you know, there will probably be (more then?) a few errors, but I wanted to get this posted while I had the chance. It's been a rather hectic month. Santa is such a slave driver. :D
As Always Reviews and comments are appreciated and help get the juices flowing. Only a few more chapters to tie up loose ends and such, like maybe three I think.
Peace and Love!