"This is the big plan?"
Ella groaned as she and Adrien hide behind the bushes in front of the zoo sign. The blond shushed her, pushing the talk button on his ear-piece.
"Tell her you'll both be better off without us."
Ella sighed, leaning against one of the surrounding trees. She had her own ear-piece but she didn't think this was the best solution to help Nino ask Marinette out.
"Why couldn't we just all go as a group and allow this to happen naturally? This is gonna be awkward for the both of them without a buffer."
"Cause this is the most direct method! Tell her you want to be alone with her."
"Not yet! You're right- we'll wait."
"No! What are you talking about? Don't wait for us; we're not coming!"
Ella sighed, ignoring how Adrien ignored Marinette only asked about the blond. This was gonna be a nightmare- Nino was a nervous mess and Marinette was clearly only looking for Adrien.
"And here I was looking forward to seeing the animals today..." The girl sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her head atop them, facing away from the hilarious spectacle.
Adrien turned to her, his smile changing to a frown at Ella's change in attitude. He didn't want her to be sad or disappointed- in a way, they were on this date too.
"Your lady's looking a bit bored there."
"Plagg!" Adrien hissed, shoving the kwami back into his jacket before Ella could see or hear him.
"Are you upset you agreed to this?"
Ella didn't move but her eyes drifted down, not quite seeing Kiismet hiding in her hair on her shoulder.
"No, I'm here with him... that's fine." She whispered, her eyes moving back to the blond boy, smiling softly at his profile sight. This is enough for her right now...
"He sure is taking his time, huh? ... He's not coming, is he?"
"Repeat after me. Yes he is, but first I wanted to take this opportunity to..." Adrien spoke, watching the pair on the bench.
"Yes he is, but first I wanted to take this opportunity to..."
"Tell you that I love you, Marinette."
"That's a little too direct..."
"Tell you that I- Gahhh... I... Love a girl that I don't know how to tell her!"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"He's panicking- what do you expect? Making them square off like this?"
"We're not making them square off- they're just...! Tell her it's you!"
"It's youuu...ur best friend Alya!"
"What?!"
"Did not see that panic-speak coming." Ella deadpanned, watching Adrien flounder at Nino's statement. In all honesty, this was beginning to amuse her, despite not liking the original idea. And Adrien looking all flustered like he was, was a cute sight.
The cute observation was cut off by screaming coming down the path. Adrien and Ella looked up to see Max and Kim running towards them, being chased by... a panther and other zoo animals?
"We gotta hide!" Adrien grabbed Ella's hand and pulled her out of sight. He ran to an empty stand and helped her over the counter.
"Stay here- I'm gonna go make sure Nino's safe."
"Wait- Adrien!" But the blond was gone. Ella sighed as Kiismet floated up to the teens gaze.
"That boy... one day he's gonna get stuck in the middle of a fight."
"Well then you'd better transform to keep that from happening."
"Got that right. Kiismet- touch the sky!"
It didn't take the feathered heroine long to find her comrades and the villain.
"And what do you think about ladybugs?"
"And another black cat?"
"And I think ravens should be considered here!"
"I think I'm higher on the food chain." The villain- a large black panther, growled.
"If you value your life, get out of here! Now!" Ladybug yelled at the the idiot muscle head Kim behind the trio, who turned and ran. Animan tried to chase him, but Ladybug stopped him- throwing her yo-yo and wrapping it around the animal.
"Nice grab, bugaboo."
Ladybug didn't even blink at the nickname anymore, studying the villain before noticing something.
"Cat Noir, Raven- his bracelet. The akuma must be inside the charm!"
"You hold him, I grab the bracelet?"
"You can do all the work, kitty."
Cat took a step towards the villain before realizing the other zoo animals had been released from their cages... and were staring straight at the heroes.
"Bye!" Raven squeaked, turning tail and taking off; Cat not two steps behind.
"Attack!" Animan called, sending the animals flying/running/galloping after them.
Ladybug was quick to catch up with her partners.
"We need to put them all back in their cages!"
"You think!?"
"Oh, really? I'm sure they'll do it without putting up a fight!"
The trio hit a crossroad, getting a front row seat to Alya and Nino running from a gorilla.
"I think we'd better split up!"
"Way ahead of you!" Raven grabbed Cat's hand and took off into the air, drawing the attention of the animals. Ladybug smiled at her partners understanding what she meant and darted off after her two friends. She managed to corral them into the empty gorilla cage and shut the door, promising to let them out at the end of the fight.
Meanwhile, Raven and Cat fly away from the animals and land in a tree. Cat poked his head out the check on their status, only to receive a face-full of giraffe. Raven landed up on a branch beside him, dodging the birds of prey attacking her wings.
"There are too many of them! We can't capture them all." Ladybug came back, landing just out of animal reach on top of one of the cages.
"Well, what are we gonna do then?" Cat called over, grabbing Raven's outstretched hand and letting the girl fly them over to meet Ladybug atop the cage.
"Back to Plan A. If we can destroy his bracelet, I can capture the akuma. Everything will go back to normal!"
"Sounds like a good idea!"
"So let's go catch us a panther."
The heroes watched the animals run away, out the zoo entrance. Ladybug found her yo-yo on the ground and no panther.
"But... it's never been broken before!"
"He didn't actually break it."
"He's a smart cat." Raven commented, watching Cat squat down and give the yo-yo back to Ladybug.
"Then how did he get away?"
"I don't know, but we better find Kim... I mean, that boy, before he does."
"Catch up when you two can!" Raven unfurled her wings and took off.
"She's acting... different." Ladybug commented, her eyes following Raven's vanishing form.
"Yeah..." Cat trailed off, his thoughts moving back to previous conversations he's had with the girl, as well as the memory from a certain noirette...
"I guess one of us is gonna have to talk to her after all this." Ladybug decided, extending her yo-yo and swinging away. Cat spun his staff like a helicopter and the pair exit the zoo, retracting their respective tools once they land on a rooftop a far ways away. Two sets of eyes move over the city, looking for the akumatized villain.
"Over there!" Cat pointed to the bridge over the Seine. Ladybug turned her gaze there as well, seeing the panther slowly stalking closer to Kim, who was being shielded from attack by Raven.
"It's down to just the two of us, kiddo."
"You have to get through me first before getting close to him! Kim- run!" Raven shouted, swinging her grappling hook at the villain as the animal darted forward, claws gleaming. She managed to block the first swing before the sound of Kim hitting the ground allowed the second slash to catch her side. Hissing but not backing down, Raven hopped back in front of the teen. Luckily, Ladybug arrived, wrapping her yo-yo around the panther's back leg and pulling him back.
"You're not getting away this time!" She declared as Cat landed by their partner and the teen.
"Angel- you're bleeding!" Cat's hands danced over the wounds, worry spiking in his chest.
"I'll be fine... get him out of here!" Cat nodded, turning his head to Kim.
"Quick, go and hide in the first building you come to." He patted Kim's back, placing a tracker there before the teen ran off.
"You'll never get me!" Animan cried, transforming into an eagle and flying away.
"Now we know how we got away earlier." Cat commented, returning to Raven's side.
"Where's Kim?" Ladybug came up to them, worry in her own eyes. Cat showed her his staff, tracking Kim's location.
"Good job, kitty." Raven smiled, scratching Cat's chin.
"You need to get that checked."
"No, it's fine. It's already starting to heal. We need to focus on catching the akuma. Trust me- I'm fine, bugaboo."
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
"Lots but I wasn't listening."
"Raven- you've been acting different today. Is there anything going on?"
"Have I?"
"Yeah- you've been kind of... stiff, today. Like, you haven't flirted with Cat Noir at all."
"Well we haven't exactly had time today- it's been pretty 'Hail Mary' from the start."
"Well we'll have to change that, won't we angel~" Cat purred, wrapping his arm around Raven's waist, pulling her tight against him. The girl responded with a smile, wrapping her own arm around his waist.
"I guess we do~"
"Oh god, now I'm sorry I opened my mouth!" Ladybug groaned, facepalming at the goo-goo eyes her partners were throwing each other.
"Don't worry, bugaboo- we won't leave you out of the fun!"
"GOD NO AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Once again, Ladybug swatted at Raven, who dove out of the way around to Cat's other side, using the teen as a shield.
After a minute and the laughter, the trio followed Cat's tracker all the way to Tom and Sabine's Bakery, landing on the little rooftop patio.
"This is a nice spot." Raven smiled, leaning against the railing beside the perched Cat. Ladybug had to bite her lip to keep from responding 'thanks'.
"Anyhow, he's safe inside this building. Panthers can't open doors, so it won't get inside."
"Panthers can't but what if he morphs into a smaller animal- like a mouse or...?"
"Right... but we do have an advantage over him: we know exactly where to find his prey."
"Animan's gonna sniff him out sooner or later. In the meantime, we've got a second to plan our next move. But we gotta do it before Paris turns into a jungle."
Raven pointed her thumb over her shoulder at a man trying ti fix his flat tire... only to run away at the sight of a bear using his car as a back scratcher.
"Then we'd better move fast. Follow me."
Leading the way down to the bakery entrance, Ladybug pushed the door open.
Raven instantly tuned out the conversation, her nose going haywire at all the scents. She, as Ella, hadn't been to the bakery in a few days, so she was going through some serious sweets withdrawal.
Stomach grumbling, she moved over to one of the display cases, eyes wide in want.
"Angel- we're going upstairs. Angel?" Cat turned to find the girl, softly smiling when he found her almost drooling over the muffins and pastries. He moved over to her, wrapping his arms back around her waist.
"Come on, beautiful- we're moving upstairs."
The pair made their way up the steps, finding themselves in the living area of an apartment. Cat ventured over to the bookcase, seeing a family photo.
"You'll be safe here. Can I borrow this?"
"Sure." The teen handed the heroine his wristband.
"Come on, Cat Noir, Raven." She motioned for her partners before turning to the adults.
"Make sure you lock all the doors and windows."
"We'll take care of the rest. You won't be in danger."
"Thanks Da- I mean, sir, for all your help."
"You're welcome, Ladybug."
With a nod, Ladybug heads out the door, Cat and Raven following her downstairs. At the bottom, she puts Kim's wristband on the railing
"Et voila."
"Smart idea, bug."
"Thanks, birdie."
"...I deserved that one."
The heroes move back all the way down to the bakery. Outside, the animals are causing a ruckus but the object of their predicament was nowhere to be seen. Cat and Raven watch through the door until the hiss of compressed air startled them both.
"Whoa! What's that stuff?"
"Air freshener! It'll cover up our scent so he can't smell us."
"Thanks. I've always wanted to smell like... Ocean summer breeze?" He sniffed his arm, shrugging at the scent. Raven sneezed, the perfumed scent invading her nose, before she picked up a box from the counter. "Couldn't we capture *achoo* him inside something like this?"
"Only until he transforms into something bigger. Would that make a big enough cage?" The spotted teen moved to the window, pointing to the abandoned bus out in the street.
"Definitely. But how could we get him inside there?"
"I mean- I could transform and draw him here. See if that works." Raven shrugged, unfurling her wings and shaking them out.
"Maybe that would work." Cat and Ladybug nodded; but Cat's ears twitching (making Raven grab at them, the urge to rub them overpowering), made the teen grab his partners and pull them out of the view of the window.
"He's coming."
Out above the streets, Animan flew. He detected Kim's scent and headed directly to the bakery while Ladybug, Cat and Raven hide behind the door.
"It's working. He's sniffing out Kim!"
"This crazy plan is working!"
"Hey!"
"...Cat, what are you doing?" Raven raised an eyebrow at Cat sniffing her. He gasped at being caught before giggling and nuzzling her cheek. Raven just giggled and gave his nose a kiss. Ladybug groaned but turned to hide before Animan got in.
"Follow me, you love-birds."
"After you, bugaboo~"