Disclaimer: I own nothing.

xiii.
à mon tour

C'est un mauvais moment.

Once he was several buildings away from 'Adrien,' he moved back to the rooftops, running along edges to case out the fight.

It was then his blood ran cold.

Ladybug was restrained. It seemed that not even her strength could help her. And the Lutteurdor was quickly approaching. Chat Noir didn't hesitate, kicking off the side of the building, extending his baton to hit the building and using both the push and gravity to increase his momentum. He came in with a dropkick for the wrestler's head, which was enough to make him stumble.

It was a bit nerve-wracking even as a superhero when he took some of the impact and landed in a crouched position before eventually straightening up. Relax, he just needed to turn all the attention away from his partner. "Didn't you know, monsieur? This is a tag team match!" he taunted their adversary, permitting a cocky grin to slip onto his face. The Akumatized villain roared and went after Chat Noir as the bell rang.

Not wanting to test that sort of brutish strength, the cat bolted and began speaking like an announcer—of all things. Really, how could he resist? "Oh, and the Lutteurdor just barely misses his lithe opponent. Can this powerhouse keep up with the speed and agility of Chat Noir?!"

The relief was overwhelming. Ladybug wanted to cry the moment her partner entered her line of vision, immensely grateful for the speed in which he had appeared. After he'd briefly disoriented the wrestler with the dropkick, she felt the burden on her body disappear and released a deep sigh as she fell to her knees. Right hand automatically lifting to cradle the opposite shoulder.

She wasn't an idiot. The impact with the wall had done damage; she was pretty sure the bone had been forced out of her socket—dislocated.

But she had more important things to worry about at the moment and capturing the Akuma was at the top of her priorities. Hopping to her feet, Ladybug was careful not to stress her left arm as she swung her yo-yo into the air and summoned her Lucky Charm.

With Chat Noir doing a wonderful job of keeping the Akumatized villain occupied—she would need to thank him for that, as silly as this announcer tactic was—the plucky heroine could take a moment to recharge and come up with a plan. Catching the red and black spotted item that had appeared in the air, she froze.

A hubcap?

She frowned and turned the large metal piece around in her hand. What could she do…? What could she do?

Ladybug glanced around, trying to map out a plan as quickly as possible [to save her partner from becoming putty in the off chance the Lutteurdor managed to get a hold of him.] Her gaze landed on the head of a nearby fountain—the way the wrestler moved his arms—and the water in their proximity.

Chat Noir knew very well that if he was caught, it would be a catastrophe. The Akumatized villain was ridiculously strong, stronger than both of them combined, and he had no desire to find out how well his own abilities stood up to that kind of raw power. However, even if he was relatively fast for a big guy, there was no way he could match the feline's speed. Especially when he was so easy to rile!

And that was the fun part.

As he kept up the commentary, describing every move… complete with sounds of awe and pain, it was difficult to keep from laughing. Who knew learning how to properly project his voice would come in handy for a fight? [He wondered what his father would think of him using those public speaking lessons this way.] Chat Noir refused to look away from his target; for as long as he had his attention, His Lady was safe, and surely she would figure something out.

He simply had to stay out of direct reach and besides the pinning ability, it seemed that the wrestler's attacks were limited to close range. This made Chat Noir's work much more dangerous. He figured the Lutteurdor wanted a real match, but that meant treating it more like one. If he gained too much distance, he was sure he'd hear the bell ring and get pinned again.

No, he had to stay close. He had to keep provoking him and hitting that ego enough to make the villain keep trying. And for the most part, it seemed to work. Chat Noir managed to dodge under arms and between legs, countering with kicks that were followed by springboard-type jumps. It was risky. But, damn, it was fun.

Ladybug leaped forward to crouch on the top of the fountain, standing and balancing herself. Her first instinct had been to throw the hubcap at the Akumatized villain but as soon as she was seen, the other had raised his arms in her direction. Ignoring the pang of fear that struck her chest, she quickly hid behind the hubcap and swung her yo-yo around several times. To her pleasant surprise, his ability to pin was unable to work with the shiny round object impeding its path and the force rebounded to collide with himself instead.

Although his thick skin left him unscathed and able to stand, it had caught him off-guard; Ladybug took this opportunity to lasso the wrestler with her yo-yo, throwing it around his waist and hopping backward from her perched position to pull with her entire body weight. Fortunately, her efforts were rewarded. The villain stumbled forward into the fountain water with a loud splash and Ladybug immediately alerted her partner.

"Chat Noir! Quick, the belt!" The yo-yo cord was not easily broken. So long as the Lutteurdor was tangled up and unable to stand, they could win. Chat Noir acted the instant her voice reached his ears. "Cataclysm!" he shouted, gathering the dark energy in his fist, swiping at the leather of belt, and grabbing the buckle.

The buckle was the only part that mattered, after all. He tossed it up to Ladybug.

She caught it with her good arm, hopping down from the fountain and smashing the vessel under her foot. Despite the searing pain in her body, her attention was fixed solely on ending this. Particularly after the two of them had expended their powers, used up their Miraculouses—she possessed a limited time to handle everything before their transformations wore off.

Within moments, the Akuma emerged. Ladybug proceeded to purify it, freeing a small butterfly and watching as it fluttered off. "Bye, bye, petit papillon." Then, tossing the hubcap into the air, she turned back all the destruction and accidents caused since the villain's appearance.

Adrien's photoshoot was rebuilt along with the limousine and several other vehicles in the vicinity. Chat Noir sighed as he glanced around. He was probably still expected to do the photoshoot, but at least he didn't need to worry about the car. It might have amounted to nothing in the end; his father could be so protective at times. Yet as far as he knew, Adrien had never been in any true danger. Made a minion, sure, but never hurt.

Ladybug watched as the Lutteurdor reverted back to his human form—dry and untangled—and with a small smile, she absently gripped her injured shoulder while crouching down in front of the confused male.

"Hard work pays off eventually. You'll see. Never doubt your abilities."

Like she had room to talk, but this wasn't about her right now.

Green eyes flickered down to Ladybug, watching her comfort the poor man. It was just another thing he loved about her. She was kind and so full of compassion for these people. He was convinced that being open with this attitude was what helped the city of Paris itself forgive victims who couldn't help themselves.

Upon standing, Ladybug flashed him a tired smile, which he immediately returned. The cat was always dependable, despite his bravado and flirtatious nature. As adventurous as the fight turned out to be, he had been doing quite a lot of dodging and kicking and she knew he must be exhausted.

[Perhaps the adrenaline high was what caused him miss how she held her shoulder.]

"Bien joué," they spoke in unison, bumping their fists together in customary parting. "And victory by ring out, Team Ladybug and Chat Noir!~" the masked hero added as his partner let out a quiet chuckle and rolled her eyes.

And then her earrings and his ring were beeping and it was time to vanish. Without so much as another word, Ladybug ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Warning signs. Every second counted. Once she was out of sight, slipping discreetly into an alleyway to detransform, she apologized to Tikki for her prolonged state as Ladybug and started for the bakery. It didn't help that the pain was only worse without the suit.

Of course, her kwami wouldn't let her go without making a fuss first, anxiously exclaiming that she needed to see a doctor as soon as she was able to.

"I know—j-just gotta think of an excuse to tell Maman and Papa," Marinette murmured under her breath, eyes finally allowed to swim in tears. Maybe things weren't as serious as they seemed.