To Lyger 0: You think so?
Tyran-X stood in the shadow of his old apartment building, alongside the Prior and several dozen Dark Acolytes – most of them recent arrivals from America. Cerna, Killer Bee, the Bearator, and even Killer Bee's little toady, la Gymnaste, along with a few others, were all standing with them, hiding out of view from the line of police vehicles a few blocks north of them. Tyran-X could feel la Gymnaste's eyes boring into him, and his jaw clenched in a thin line. Broken glass crunched under Tyran-X's feet from the windows that had shattered with the Tarasque's roar; with a tinkling of glass, another shower of shards fell over them. Without looking, Killer Bee spun her top over her head, blocking most of the glass directly above her. They had taken shelter in this alleyway, close to where the Tarasque had formed, but still several blocks south of the police's reformed line. Civilians ran in both directions past them, some fleeing from the Tarasque with a few of their possessions, others walking north for a closer view of the fight. Tyran-X leaned around the corner, craning his neck for a glimpse of the Tarasque, and of the heroes who were fighting it. The Owl rushed from door to door, banging loudly and shouting until they opened. Two men ran out of the apartment building's front door, one of whom cradled a cat under one arm and the other of whom was dragging a suitcase that bounced around on the sidewalk and dragged through the broken glass – Tyran-X's own former neighbors. He let out a heavy breath. They had always been civil to him, even after Béa's death. The one carrying the cat let out a scream and sprinted south; the other dropped the suitcase and raced after him.
So many people were having their lives upended by this Monster.
The Tarasque bellowed in a rage and stomped its way forward, shaking the ground beneath them. Tyran-X placed his hand against the wall next to him for stability; someone else put a hand on his other arm, and he nearly jumped, turning on them with a snarl. The woman, a Dark Acolyte who had come from America and whom the Prior had called "Prodigy," quickly released him and stepped back, though without taking her eyes off of him. He glared back at her, and her nostrils flared. A shadow passed overhead, drawing all their attention upward as a pair of heroes flew above them, hurtling south, only to wheel about and rocket back north toward the Tarasque. Tyran-X's eyes narrowed on catching sight of Hato Gozen, her naginata held in front of herself as a spear.
Hato Gozen let out a scream, drew back her naginata, and hurled it at the Tarasque. She clapped her hands together, and a crack of thunder almost drowned out the Tarasque's bellow. Moments later, a bolt of lightning arced out from her hand, struck the naginata, and propelled it forward into the Tarasque's snout. The Tarasque snarled, and the naginata clattered to the ground at Cat Noir's feet before whipping back through the air and returning to Hato Gozen's hand. The Tarasque's tail whipped out, and Hato Gozen and the other flying hero rolled in opposite directions as the tail split the gap between them.
Seeing the sky clear, Mecha-Man and Albailier rose into the air above Tyran-X and the others. Albailier alit on the roof of Tyran-X's old apartment building and drew his rifle, crouching low to aim. Mecha-Man drifted to one side, out above the street.
"The Tarasque is still on the move!" Mecha-Man called down to the others. "What are we going to do?"
"Continue to watch!" the Prior ordered, folding his arms. "Do not interfere unless they need our help."
"But what if Ladybug gets hurt?" worried la Gymnaste, her wide eyes darting back and forth between the Prior and Killer Bee. "We're going to help her, aren't we?"
The Prior scoffed. "If she gets hurt, then–"
"–Then we will help them out," Killer Bee interrupted smoothly. "But she can have the spotlight for now. Because we're going to help them against the Tarasque. Right, Prior?" she prodded, giving him a pointed look.
"Of course." The Prior sneered, his nostrils flaring. "With the Tarasque on the loose, that is our greatest priority, not the miraculous. However," he added abruptly, "if anyone should discover Night Bat, his miraculous is mine."
"Perhaps," Killer Bee mused, a calculating look in her eyes.
"We might not have that long to wait before doing something," Mecha-Man warned. "The Tarasque has basically dragged Ladybug and company a full block. The heroes are dropping back in front of it. Too much more, and it will get loose."
Tyran-X's mouth set in a thin line, watching the heroes retreat. They were only a couple blocks away from the police, and each of the Tarasque's steps was the equivalent of half a block. This was what he had hoped to see, ever since learning that the Heroes of Paris would have to face the Beasts in Paris. Finally the Heroes of Paris felt helpless. They had left him helpless to save his wife – they might as well have burned down Paris that day. And now the tables were turned. A part of him was sorely tempted to just walk away, to leave the Heroes of Paris to their doom. It was no less than they deserved.
And yet… what of Paris? Béa had loved this city. He had been born and raised here; she had adopted it as her own. It had been her home for a decade. The building next to them was where they had made their home together, where they had experienced their happiest years. And – his jaw clenched – her grave was here. Could he turn his back on his city? Yes, he had used his miraculous to rip apart sections of the city. Yes, he had endangered people on the Lynchpin's orders, in order to keep the Heroes of Paris distracted. But each and every time, he had done his best to avoid hurting people intentionally. People had gotten in the way, and people had been caught up in it, but he had never targeted them – at least not innocent civilians. And none of the damage had remained; Ladybug had repaired it all, as though it had never happened. But this time…
Without really being aware of what he was doing, Tyran-X stepped out of the alleyway, into the street. He paused on the edge of the crowd of bystanders staring up at the Tarasque, none of whom seemed to notice him. As the Prior spoke, Tyran-X glanced back into the alleyway, raising an eyebrow.
The Prior sighed. "It is time," he decided, looking around him in distaste. "Let us… assist… the Heroes of Paris."
"Finally." Killer Bee rolled her eyes and looped her top around an overhang from the building in front of them, stepped back, and rocketed off into the air.
With a groan, Tyran-X drew his lasso, twirled it once, and threw it into the air where Mecha-Man caught it around his arm. Mecha-Man yanked on the lasso and shot higher into the air, hauling Tyran-X up to land on the roof of his old apartment building. Béa had gone through a month when she was obsessed with astronomy; they had climbed up here almost every night for that month, just to lie on their backs and try to see the stars, despite the light pollution. Other nights they had come up here to cuddle under a blanket and look out over the city. The scent of Béa's favorite perfume came back to him, the sound of her laughter, the taste of her lips…
He shook his head. The only smell in the air was the acrid smell of poison, which clung to his nostrils despite his elevation above the haze. The only sound was that of the Tarasque's roars, interspersed with shouts and impacts from the Heroes battling against it. And as for taste, his tongue was becoming coated with a fine dust that had been kicked up by the Tarasque's feet. Tyran-X raced after Killer Bee, across a half-dozen city blocks toward where the Heroes of Paris and their allies were in the process of pulling back before the Tarasque.
As he ran, Tyran-X passed several people standing or kneeling or lying prone on rooftops. A couple carried rifles; several others had bows drawn back and arrows nocked. The man on the roof two buildings south of the Tarasque held three shuriken between his fingers. A couple of them gasped on seeing Tyran-X and Killer Bee, but the two were already well past them. Tyran-X eyed the situation carefully, taking in as much as he could at a glance. Ladybug, Sent-Bee, Multiplice, and several others all had caught the Tarasque around its legs and were attempting to hold it in place. Overhead, Iron Maiden and Hato Gozen swooped low, striking at the Tarasque before darting out of its range, just before Majestia drove her fist into the Beast's jaw.
Suddenly, with a screaming wail, Mecha-Man rocketed past from the direction opposite Majestia. An energy blast struck the Tarasque's side, and Mecha-Man flew just above its back, narrowly avoiding its tail. The crowd of heroes pushed apart, and Elettrisicario, the Bearator, and a few others shoved their way through to the front of the group, close to Cat Noir, Carapace, and Rena Rouge. Killer Bee jumped down over the heads of the heroes, followed closely by Tyran-X, and he emulated her in looping his lasso around the closest of the Tarasque's front legs and running around its side toward Ladybug and the others, who had gathered into a small cluster just behind the Tarasque's tail.
Ladybug stared at them in shock as Killer Bee and Tyran-X stopped, hauling back on their top and lasso. "I thought you turned tail and ran," she grunted with a glance at Killer Bee.
Killer Bee scoffed, digging her feet into the ground and straining to maintain leverage as the Tarasque ground its way forward. "As if! I'm not going to let you take all the credit for saving my city!"
Ladybug nodded in resignation. "Thanks," she managed to tell her.
Tyran-X worked his mouth in frustration before finally finding words. "This does not change anything between us," he warned Ladybug. His muscles strained as he tried to hold the Tarasque in place. "When all of this is over, at the end of the day, you still killed my wife." His eyes narrowed, looking forward, through the Tarasque's legs.
Ladybug let out a breath, glaring at him. "You have no idea what actually happened there," she informed him curtly. Before he could say anything in response, she continued. "We can argue that point until we're both blue in the face, but it's not going to do anything. Not later, and especially not now with this Creature in front of us."
Tyran-X's mouth set in a thin line, staring at Miss Pinky, who had stepped out from the group of heroes, twirling her rake over her head. Her mouth opened, her eyes flashing intensely. Tyran-X glared. She was the reason that Béa had died. She was the reason for all of this! If he could manage it, she would never take another breath!
Miss Pinky began to bring her rake down but froze, eyes wide. A woman and two small children ran out of the building to the Tarasque's left, almost straight into the Monster's legs. Gasping in surprise, Miss Pinky dropped her rake, grabbed the youngest of the children, and pulled her away from the Tarasque in the nick of time. The Tarasque glared down at her, licking its lips dangerously. Miss Pinky handed the girl off to Bengalia and stepped on the head of her rake, flipping it back up into her hands just in time to deflect away a cloud of poison. Another hero grabbed the second child, and raced away from the Tarasque with Bengalia, the mother in hot pursuit. The Tarasque forced its front foot forward, straining against the bonds holding it in place. Ladybug pitched forward, pulling the Knight and Lancer to the ground with her.
"Cornucopia!" Miss Pinky cried, twirling her rake and slamming it into the asphalt. Starting about a pace in front of it, she sprinted around the Tarasque, trailing her rake behind her. As she ran, vines and ivy began to sprout up behind her in the furrows left behind by her rake. Just visible in the second line of Heroes, Bandruí raised one arm and swung it around in a lazy loop, and the ivy crept up all six of the Tarasque's legs, winding tightly around it. Suddenly, Bandruí clenched her fist, and the vines all pulled tight, rooting it in place. Just as Miss Pinky returned to the front of the Tarasque, its tail lashed out, over its head, straight for Bandruí. Miss Pinky twirled her rake, deflecting the stinging tail so it struck the ground beside Bandruí and drove a meter into the street surface. A shockwave reverberated through the sidewalk, and Bandruí stumbled. Pulling its tail out, the Tarasque swung it into another building, ripping out an entire corner apartment, which shattered in the air above the Tarasque's back.
Viperion pointed, and the Lancer released Ladybug, kicked into the air, and flew in that direction, wedging her lance into the corner of the building to hold it upright. La Gymnaste raced inside, followed by Gardur, one of Lynchpin's newest recruits, and returned moments later with a small family.
The Tarasque bellowed in a rage, struggling against the bindings holding it in place. They had bought themselves a couple minutes, but was it enough?