Chapter 7: Rapier, the Wild Card
Hovering in the air, it was not long before Rapier was noticed by people in the area. Being one of the most visited places in Paris, due to the Eiffel Tower, the Champ de Mars was swarming with people, mostly tourists, who quickly spotted him and wondered if he was an Akuma, or something else. Some began to snap photos of him, while others called the police, fearing what would happen next. Rapier himself did not mind having an audience. As someone who loved to show off, the more people he had with their eyes on him, the better; especially since on that afternoon, one or more Miraculous heroes were going to lose their miraculouses and their identities exposed to the world, before he killed them.
"Now this is a crowd!" -Rapier said. –"They're already wondering what I'm going to do… so, let's show them, instead of having them guessing it." -he laughed maniacally.
Diving towards the ground with the speed of a bullet, Rapier was about to cause some chaos. His target was a bus filled with people that was passing by. Once he was just a couple of meters from it, he spread his arms, which fired a volley of sharpened bladed feathers, which detached from under his arms, only to be magically replaced by new ones. These hit the bus, piercing through it and breaking several of the windows. The people inside the bus screamed in fear, as the bladed feathers hit random targets. Luckily, none of them hit one of the passengers. The bus driver, who was also taken by surprise, hit the brakes. The tires screeched, as the bus came to a complete halt, with the car that was behind it almost hitting it. Luckily, the car's driver managed to break in time. Realizing there was an Akuma running wild, the bus driver grabbed the speaker and told the passengers that he was going to open the doors and that everyone should run towards the nearest underground station, where they could seek refuge, until the Akuma had been dealt with. This had become the protocol followed by bus and taxi companies for most Akuma attacks, so as to safeguard the civilians.
Laughing, Rapier felt that that was a good a way to get the hero's attention, but he also felt he could do a lot better. He knew that to make them come faster, he needed to cause as much damage as possible. Looking down, he saw some people abandoning their cars, as they ran away. In his twisted mind, Rapier immediately knew what he had to do. Diving once again, he landed on top of one of the cars. Grabbing the car by the roof racks, he pulled it up, lifting it off the ground, as if this one was as light as a feather. Already airborne he dropped it on top of another car that had also been abandoned. Once the car hit the other, both exploded in a large ball of fire, which caused the people that were still near it to run for their lives. Looking at them run, Rapier laughed even harder and louder than before. There was something about watching people running in panic for their lives, that amused him.
"Well, here's a nice fire to heat up things a little." -Rapier laughed. –"But it's still not enough. I need something bigger… something like… oh, something like that!" -he said, as he looked at the Eiffel Tower.
Once he looked at the Eiffel Tower, Rapier knew exactly what he had to do. He was going to damage to the tower to the point that at least part of it would fall. Without thinking too hard on how he was going to do it, he allowed himself to be taken by instinct and just go with the flow. He had always heard that there is always more than one way to skin a cat. So naturally, there was more than one way to damage a national landmark. All he had to do was to get creative. Grabbing all the abandoned cars he saw on the street he quickly began to throw them at one of the Eiffel Tower's feet, hoping the explosions would damage it. He had just thrown the seventh car, when he noticed the police arriving.
"Oh, took them long enough." -Rapier said. –"I was actually thinking they would get here after I trashed that first car." -he commented.
Several police cars, along with three vans from SWAT stopped in front of the Eiffel Tower, and the officers inside them, quickly placed themselves in position. Still, even after months of Akuma attacks, none of them had gotten used to them. The idea that magic truly existed in the world, and there were people that were able to use it the way Hawk Moth and his Akumas, as well as the Miraculous heroes did, was still too incredible for them, or anyone else, for that matter.
"This is the police! You have five seconds to surrender, or we will open fire!" -the officer in charge exclaimed over a megaphone.
"They've got to be kidding me! Do they really think I'm going to stop what I'm doing, just because they asked nicely?" -Rapier said with an ironic voice. –"I should get back to damaging the tower, but I can take a couple of minutes to deal with you… but just because I'm in the mood to show you all, why you shouldn't mess with me or with Hawk Moth." -he laughed maniacally.
Using the same trick he used against the bus, Rapier made sure to send the police a warning that he was not kidding around. Most of the bladed feathers hit the ground and some of the vehicles, but a few hit the officers, hurting them. Landing on the ground, he used his speed to take them all out, one by one. Some of the officers fired their weapons against him, but none of the bullets hit him, due to the speed he moved. With little effort, Rapier took them all out, one by one. Some put up a little more fight than others, but in the end, all of them failed. As he fought them, he asked himself why were they even attempting to stop him, when they knew they did not have the strength, agility or firepower to do it, which to his eyes, made them useless and worthless.
"Lights out" -Rapier exclaimed, as he punched the last of the officers' unconscious. –"You guys don't even have the right to fight me, when you're this weak." -he stated. –"If you had any brains, you would've sided with Hawk Moth a long time ago. Maybe if you did, he would've given you the kind of power I now have, you cretins."
Looking to his left, he saw one of the SWAT vans open and decided to inspect it, to see what was inside it. He had always been curious about what kind of stuff the agents of SWAT carried inside their vans, and this was his opportunity to kill his curiosity.
"Let's see what you've got here…" -Rapier said, as he entered the van and looked at what was on the back of it. –"Lots of guns here, and… oh, grenades! You guys get the best toys! I don't know why those other idiots don't even bother to rob you and use your stuff against you and the heroes, but they really should start doing it!" -he laughed like a maniac, referring to his fellow lieutenants, as he grabbed a grenade belt, along with a few more single grenades that were on the ground and a grenade launcher. –"Alright, time to get serious with these new toys!"
As he exited the van, one of the police officers who had managed to regain consciousness, after being knocked unconscious, pulled out his gun to shoot him, but Rapier saw him and threw two of his bladed feathers against him. The first one disarmed him, and the second one hit him on the left shoulder, injuring him. Gritting his teeth in agony, the police officer saw Rapier walking towards him.
"I could just kill you, right here, right now. But I've got bigger fish to fry. So, be a good little police officer and stay down… otherwise, I'll have to do something that won't allow your family to have an open-casket funeral for you, get it?" -Rapier told the police officer, who silently waved his head in compliance, his eyes filled with fear. –"Good… now take a nap." -he said, before hitting him on the face with the grenade launcher.
Armed with a grenade launcher and more grenades than any insane wacko should have in its possession, Rapier took it to the air, wanting to use them. Firing a couple of grenades, these exploded in mid-air, and only caused a lot of noise. But the following ones, which hit one of the legs from the Eiffel Tower, made the structure shake, and the people who were on it felt it. Feeling amused about what he had done, Rapier flew close to the tower's first level, where people were beginning to evacuate, laughing maniacally and spreading fear among those that were there. Even so, like it always happened, there were a couple of people who did not resist to stay behind and photograph and film what was going on, just so they could post them online.
Feeling those people who were there filming him and his stunts were a fitting target, Rapier decided they deserved a grenade, as a token of his affection. But before he could launch it against them, he was hit on the back by something hard. Turning around, while trying to regain his balance, he saw a green and pinkish figure speeding in the air. When it finally stopped, he quickly identified as one of the Miraculous Team members he was waiting to show up… Dragonfly.
"Ah… finally! I was beginning to think that I was going to stay up here in the air, the rest of the afternoon, before one of you showed up!" -Rapier told Dragonfly. –"I'm going to prove to Hawk Moth that I'm the only one he needs to get these kids' miraculouses and rule the world by his side... and this kid is going to be the first one whose miraculous I'm going to deliver him. " -he thought to himself.
Looking him in the eyes, Dragonfly tried to see just what kind of enemy she had in front of her. Just from looking at him and seeing how he looked, she took him out from the "Funny and Crazy Akumas" section, and placed him on the "Scary, Dangerous and Crazy Akumas" section, which was the section where most Akumas inserted themselves in. If it had not been for her kwami, Daria, who noticed the alarm from the Akuma Attack app on her cell, while she was in bed relaxing after the rough training session, she would not even be there. She was feeling exhausted and just wanted to go home and rest. So, naturally, her mood was anything but good.
"Look, I don't care who you are, or why Hawk Moth has akumatized you, so let's get this done quickly, okay?" -Dragonfly declared. –"It's been a very tiring afternoon for me. I've got somewhere else to be, and I don't want to waste my time with some Akuma, who wants my miraculous at all costs. So, stop what you're doing, drop the grenade launcher and nobody gets hurt." -she said, before a curious thought came to her mind. –"We never had an Akuma that used a grenade launcher that shot real grenades before, and this guy doesn't exactly look like a gun aficionado… something's not right here."
"An Akuma?! Ha! Little girl, I'm not some lowly Akuma!" -Rapier exclaimed. –"I'm Hawk Moth's latest lieutenant…Rapier's the name, and I'm your worst nightmare." -he shot at Dragonfly, with a sadistic smile on his lips.
Rapier's statement took Dragonfly by surprise. Usually, Hawk Moth's lieutenants only show themselves after the Akuma has begun to create chaos and confusion, like hyenas after the scrapes left by the lions. So, to see a lieutenant alone was a bit of a shock for the holder of the dragonfly miraculous. Even so, Dragonfly did not want to give him the satisfaction of finding out he had surprised her, and pretended all that was normal to her.
"Another lieutenant?! Man, that Hawk Douche is really desperate, if he got you to help him." -Dragonfly said, faking a laugh. –"I mean, you look like a militarized version of the Vulture, crossed with one of the characters from Battle of the Planets!" -she continued to crack jokes to hide her surprise. –"Also, you know that you're going to end up being used as a punching bag right? Because if you didn't, then let me tell you that Hawk Moth has given you a really bad deal… his minions and his Akumas usually end up battered, bruised and broken."
"Oh, you're the one who's going to be used as a punching bag. You, and any other of your friends who decide to show up." -Rapier told her.
"Yeah, that's what Reptile is always saying, and guess what? Every time he fights me, he ends up with his teeth broken." -Dragonfly told him in a cynical voice. –"So, you better prepare to end up with your teeth broken as well. Or maybe your wings and feathers plucked is more like it." -she said.
"If anyone's getting its wings plucked today, it's going to be you, little girl." -Rapier said, as he fired a round of his sharp feathers at Dragonfly, who dodged them all, but one, which grazed her left cheek. –"Ha! First blood!" -he exclaimed in ecstasy.
Dragonfly had not expected him to be that fast with that attack. She had seen Hawk Moth's Akumas being incredibly fast, but not his lieutenants. Neither Reptile, nor Madame Romani, nor Brutus had moves with such speed. She was caught out of guard, but did her best not to show it.
"All that excitement for a cut?" -Dragonfly asked him, once more in a voice filled with sarcasm, as she wiped the cut with her left thumb. –"You're going to have to do a lot better than that, if you hope to take me down.
She was waiting for him to continue to her, but instead, Rapier charged against her. The way he moved, surprised once more, and she hardly had the time to dodge him. Trying to gather her thoughts, she saw this guy was fast; perhaps just as fast as she was. And the worst part, was that just like her, he could fly.
"Usually, I have the advantage that these guys can't fly, and I can." -Dragonfly thought to herself. –"Still, you usually don't let small details like those stop you from doing whatever you set your mind to, Alix. After all, if you did, you wouldn't have broken so many bones while skating… And you're not going to start doing it now." -she thought, as her eyes locked on Rapier. –"Alright, mister, let's see if you're fast as I am!"
Smelling a challenge, Rapier did to hesitate on proving Dragonfly that he was fast. Charging against her, he tried to grab her, just for her to go down, diving towards the ground. Following her, he was determined to get her and her miraculous, but not without a proper chase. Like a bloodhound, he had sniffed a prey and he was determined to not let go of it.
As for Dragonfly, she quickly had proof that she was not going to get rid of him that easily. On top of that, he was still armed with a grenade launcher. One would think she would be worried about her own safety, but that was not the only thing she was worried about. She was worried about the possibility of one of the grenades hurting someone. She noticed that he still had at least six on the belt he around his chest. Hoping to take the battle to somewhere she knew there was no chance of an innocent person getting hurt. Going up as fast as she could, she quickly left the Eiffel Tower behind her and continued to climb at an incredible speed, with Rapier always on her tail. It did not take long for her to rise above the clouds, and she hoped that the thin air at that altitude would be enough for him to lose consciousness, and fall to Earth. Unfortunately, not knowing it, this trick would never work with Rapier, for she did not know that before he was akumatized, he had been a fighter pilot, and fighter pilots train exhaustively to withstand conditions like those. But she quickly found out that the trick was not going to work, when he passed by her, grinning maliciously at her, as if she mocking her.
Trying to come up with another solution for that predicament of hers, Dragonfly saw only one option: going down. Reversing direction, she dove towards the ground as fast as she could. She hoped that before getting to the ground, an idea would show up in her mind that would allow her to find a way to trick Rapier. But to have such an idea, she needed the time to think about it.
At the same time as this happened, at ground level, more police vehicles arrived at the scene, to see their brothers-in-arms fainted, after being taken down by Rapier, which came as a shock. Police officers were usually ignored by Akumas; they did not attack them in that fashion, ignoring them, and focusing on attacking civilians and the Miraculous Heroes. Requesting back-up and ambulances to get the injured agents checked on, they acted as fast as they could to establish a security perimeter around the Eiffel Tower, blocking the streets leading to it, as well as ordering everyone that were still around, to head to a secure place, like the underground, with many ignoring the police's orders.
"You need to get to a safe place, for your own safety!" -one of the police officers told a group of people, who was doing their best to record what was happening with the cell phones.
"Forget it! We're not going anywhere!"
"This is going to be an epic battle! Whenever Dragonfly's up there, you just know it's going to be epic! She rocks!"
"This isn't a suggestion, it's an order! If you don't disperse right now and get to a safe place, I'll be forced to arrest you." -the officer told them.
"Look, look, Dragonfly is kicking that guy's ass!"
Up in the air, Rapier had caught up to Dragonfly, who was beginning to exhibit the first signs of exhaustion. The two had engaged in a fierce aerial combat, where it looked like one was trying to outmatch the other, when it came to crazy aerial stunts. Each stunt was more impressive than the one before, and when you thought that they had run out of crazy ideas, they both proved everyone's wrong, by coming up with an even crazier idea for a stunt.
"You're good, I'll give you that!" -Rapier said, as he punched Dragonfly on the face. –"I see why the others have difficulties handling you… you're just too fast for them!" -he laughed maniacally, before punching her again. –"But you're not too fast for me! You're just a tad slower than me!"
Taking advantage of an opening, Dragonfly kicked him in stomach, which made him cease his attack, and allowed her to counterattack him. Using both her feet, she kicked him on the chest, sending him flying and putting a couple of meters between them. It was clear to her that Rapier was not going to be an easy opponent. But she was not going to let him see she believed that. If it was up to her, she was not going to show him any kind of doubt or fear.
"Slower than you?! Keep dreaming, buster!" -Dragonfly exclaimed, with a blowhard voice. –"I'm the fastest creature on the planet… and I intend to continue being it, for a very long time!" -she shot at him, before throwing her frisbee at him, only to fail.
"Sorry to disappoint you, princess, but there's a new Air Marshall in town, and you're about to see that there can't be two of those." -Rapier told her, before throwing another hail of bladed feathers against her, which missed their target.
"Then, stop talking and show me what you got, because so far, you haven't impressed me with any of your moves!" -Dragonfly taunted him. –"And don't call me "princess", buster. I'm anything but a princess, buster!" -she said.
The fight raged on, with both Rapier and Dragonfly giving all they got to finish each other off. Each aerial stunt they pulled, was more insane than the one before. And when they exchanged blows, they were not gentle ones. Down on the ground, the police, and those who had ignored their orders to get to a safe place, were impressed with how the fight was going. And the same could be said by those who were still on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. Hero and villain were at each other's throats, and it seemed like either one or the other could come out victorious from that fight. That was, until they saw Dragonfly drop from the sky, after being hit on the back by several of Rapier's bladed feathers. Spinning downward, she tried her best not to crash, but ended up landing beneath the tower. Dragonfly hit the ground pretty hard, though she did not lose consciousness. But in her mind, she wished she had, because she was feeling like she had just been run over by a series of trucks, as well as being used as a pin-cushion. Panting and heaving, the pink-haired heroine did her best not to start screaming in pain, while trying to get back up. She was sure that she had not broken anything, but the pain that was coursing through her body was excruciating, and she was doing everything in her power not to let it guide her actions.
But just as she was about to get up, she felt something pushing her down. And that something was Rapier's right boot on her back. Gritting her teeth, she did her best not yell, but even her determination did not stop a painful scream to come out of her mouth. She just wanted to get up and beat the crud out of him, but knew that was not going to happen; not unless she had some help.
"Game over, girl." -Rapier said, as he pressed his boot against Dragonfly's back even harder, making her scream in agony, before kneeling on the girl's back. –"You did good, I'll give you that. It's been a while, since I had someone challenging me this way… I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. But it's over, now." -he whispered at her ear. –"And now, it's time for you to die… don't worry, I'll break your neck so fast, you won't feel a thing…"
Rapier was about to place his hands around Dragonfly's head and snap her neck, when he too felt something hitting him on the back, propelling him in the air and away from the pink-haired heroine. Rolling on the ground, Rapier saw that another of the Miraculous heroes had showed up to stop him and save the day. And that hero was Carapace.
"Sorry to crash the party!" -Carapace said, as he placed himself in front of Dragonfly, who felt relieved, when she saw him. –"You okay?" -he asked her.
"P-Peachy…" -Dragonfly said, forcing a smile.
Seeing Carapace, Rapier's sadistic smile grew wider. Now, instead of just one Miraculous hero to fight, he had two, which meant, there were two miraculouses he could get for Hawk Moth.
"Oh, the turtle hero has arrived… good." -Rapier thought to himself, as he stared at Carapace.
"Guess I arrived just in time." -Carapace told Dragonfly. –"Hope you don't mind sharing this guy with me." -he said. –"Just hope this fight doesn't take long and that some of the others show up soon. I hope I have the strength to deal with this guy, otherwise I won't be of much help… from the way Alix looks, the guy isn't kidding around."
"N-Not at a-all, Ninja T-Turtle." -Dragonfly joked, trying to ignore the pain. –"In f-fact, it's a-a good t-thing you are here." -she said, gritting her teeth. –"That w-way, t-this guy will l-learn what h-happens when he m-messes with us."
"Do you want me to check your back?" -Carapace asked her, as he saw some blood on her back, where she was hit. It was not much, but it was enough for him to worry about her well-being.
"N-No, I-I'm okay… M-My head h-hurts more from t-the fall, t-than my back f-from those things h-he threw a-at me." -Dragonfly told him, lying about it and pretending she was alright.
"Okay, but my offer stands, if you need it, remember that." -Carapace told her, before turning to Rapier. –"And what do I call you? Black Canary? Nah, that one's already taken, and you're not a woman… Concorde, maybe? Nah… I give up. I can never guess what Hawk Moth calls you guys." -he declared. –"I don't have the imagination, which honestly, doesn't seem like a bad thing, when instead, I have the skills to kick your butts."
"The name is Rapier, and you're about to understand why I'm called that, Carapace." –Rapier smiled evilly at him.
"Be careful, he's Hawk Douche's newest lieutenant, and he's fast." -Dragonfly warned him.
"Thanks for the advice." -Carapace said, as he readied himself to fight Rapier.
In her bedroom, Alya was trying to relax a little bit before she had to help her mom with dinner. Like it always happened when Marlena Cesaire was home, either Alya or Nora would help her with dinner, and on that day, it was Alya's turn. The training session had exhausted her more than she wanted to admit, especially because she had borrowed the skills from Sabrina and Nathaniel, and these proved harder to use than she thought, particularly Nathaniel's. She was feeling tempted to ask Nora to change places with her, but knew that if she asked her to do so, she would ask why, and she would not be able to tell her the real reason. So, she just tried to relax and regain as much strength as she could, before her mother called her to help her with dinner.
Sitting at the desk, she opened the laptop and quickly turned it on, so to access the Miraculous Blog. While waiting for it to turn on, she looked at Trixx, who was sleeping in her usual spot. After the training session, Trixx and herself were in need of a nap, but only the fox kwami was entitled to it, given that if Alya decided to take a nap right then, her family would wonder why she needed to sleep for a bit, when she supposedly did nothing out of the ordinary. And with those thoughts in her mind, Alya felt a little bit of envy of her kwami, right then, who could nap all she wanted, without having to worry about anyone finding about her double life. Sighing, she put her cell phone on viration mode, so as to not wake up Trixx, in case someone called her, while continuing to wait for her laptop to open. Once it did, she tried to access the Internet, only to find out she could not. Checking her Internet connection, she saw that this one was none existent. Leaving her bedroom, she quickly went to check on the router that was on the hallway. A quick look at it, and she found out that this one was working correctly, but the brilliant green light that was usually, had been replaced with a red one, which indicated the problem with the connection was not from the router, but from the main service. And she was not the only one to notice the Internet connection was out of order. Her father, Otis, who was doing some online research for his work at the zoo, also noticed something was wrong with the Internet connection and went to check the router. With no other alternative, the two of them went back to their separate corners, hoping the connection would be reestablished soon.
"Great!" -Alya sighed in exasperation, while entering in her bedroom. –"Times like this, I wonder why mom and dad pay a fortune for high-speed Internet, if it's always crashing!" -she said, as she sat on her chair. –"And the worst part is that I already used up all of my mobile data for the month… Guess, I'll have to find something else to pass the time, while waiting for the Internet connection to be restored."
Looking around her bedroom, she tried to decide on what to do, while waiting for the Internet to come back. Looking at the television on top of her dresser, she wondered if watching a series or a movie would be a good idea; but quickly decided not to, because that would surely wake up Trixx. Putting that idea to the side, her eyes quickly looked at the shelves above her bed, filled with all sorts of books. She was not really in the mood for reading. But she knew that reading was a way for time to go faster, would keep her mind busy and would not make any noise that could wake up her kwami. With so many books to choose from, Alya grabbed the one that was right in front of her, "Les Petits Enfants du Siècle" by Christiane Rochefort. Her sister Nora had given her that book the previous Christmas, thinking she would like it, but Alya had not had the time, nor the patience to begin reading it. And as fate would have it, she was seemingly going to begin to read it that afternoon.
"Let's see if this book is good, or not." -Alya thought to herself, as she sat on the bed and opened the book.
She had not finished the third page, when she felt her cell phone vibrating inside her pocket. Putting the book down, she took out the cell phone to see who was calling her. Seeing Nino's name on the screen, she smiled, thinking that he was calling her to talk with her for a little bit, before dinner.
"Hey, turtle boy." –Alya said in a hushed voice, when she heard a strange and loud noise on the other end. –"What was that?!" -she asked her boyfriend. –"Nino, is everything alright?! That sounded like an explosion!"
"I need help, foxy fox! Speed Buggy and myself are in a pickle." -Carapace exclaimed over the phone, as he tried to get back up, calling Dragonfly by one of the nicknames he and the others had come up for her.
"What's happening?!" -Alya asked him, fearing the worst.
"B-Big problem… Eiffel T-Tower." –Carapace answered her, already up on his feet. –"I-If you could…" -he said.
"I-I don't know if I can get out of the house right now, but I'm going to try. Don't get yourself killed, my turtle boy." -Alya said with a caring voice, before ending the call. –"After the training session we had today, most of us aren't in a fit condition to fight another of Hawk Moth's Akumas. Still, I can't let Nino and Alix fight that thing alone. I've got to try and go help them." -she thought to herself.
Thinking of an acceptable excuse to get out of the house for a little bit, Alya quickly found one she felt was good enough to fool her family. Waking up Trixx, who was sleeping, she told her that they had an emergency and had to go. The fox kwami was just as exhausted as she was, due to lending her, her powers earlier, but did not complain about it. She knew that if Alya had woken her up, it was because it was an emergency.
Telling her parents that Marinette had called her, saying that they had accidentally exchanged their notebooks, and asked her to go over to her place, so they could make the exchange. To sell the story, she had grabbed an old notebook she had, where Marinette had drawn a couple of doodles on the cover, hoping it would pass for Marinette's actual notebook. When her mother asked her, why could not Marinette come herself, Alya quickly answered her that she had to keep an eye on the bakery, because her parents had gone to make an important deliver. When she said that, Alya knew it was not an incredibly good excuse, but she hoped her mother would take the bait. Luckily, Marlena took it, and allowed her to go out to make the exchange, while warning her not to take too long.
"I won't take long mom, I promise." -Alya promised.
"Okay, Alya." -Marlena said. –"Oh, since you're going out, would you mind picking up some garlic powder, so I can use it to finish dinner?" -she asked Alya, as she was about to open the exit door.
"Make no promises, but I'll try to get some, mom." -Alya said, as she left, -"And I'll try, mom. But right now, I need to get to the Eiffel Tower to fight whatever that crazy psychopath has unleashed on the city, and save Nino." -she thought to herself, while making her way to the elevator.
Combining their abilities, Dragonfly and Carapace fought Rapier on the ground, but this one quickly did everything in his power to change where the fight was taking place. Using the grenade launcher, he fired the last remaining grenades against both heroes, with Carapace using his ability to create energy shields to protect him and his friend, before making them chase him up the stairs on one of the south legs of the tower. At first, they both wanted to borrow each other's special powers, and with them, turn the tables on Rapier. But they quickly decided not to, fearing that using that new trick would consume their energy and left them too tired and made them an easy target for Rapier.
And instead of making things easier for them, Rapier decided to play even more ruthlessly than before. When he arrived at the first level, he did not have any problem in grabbing two people that were still there and use them as a shield, and force both Dragonfly and Carapace to rethink their next moves. They knew they could not jeopardize the safety of the hostages. No matter what, the hostages had to get out of there without a scratch.
Knowing they could not risk the hostage's well-being, both heroes had only one choice: divide to conquer. And to do that, Dragonfly would have to get Rapier to focus his attention on her alone.
"You know what?! I was wrong about you… I thought you were different from the other idiots that Hawk Moth employs, but I guess I was wrong." –Dragonfly told Rapier.
"What are you talking about?!" -Rapier asked.
"I'm talking about the fact that you're saying, you are different form them, but as soon as things get a little rougher, you do exactly what they do. You hide behind innocent civilians." -Dragonfly shot at him. –"Guess you're just like them. You claim you're different… that you're better than them, but you still use the same moves as they do, because deep down, you're just a coward.
"Coward?!" -Rapier lashed out at her. –"You think I need to hide behind these simpletons?!" -he asked her, his voice revealing his patience was running thin.
Inside her mind, Dragonfly was laughing, as she manipulated Rapier into doing what she wanted. She figured that once his pride was hurt, he would behave just like every other creature working for Hawk Moth. And she was right. All she had to do was hurt his ego, and he did all the rest himself. Lashing out on her, he went for her throat, only for her to dodge herself, and then elbowing him on the back, causing Rapier to yell in pain. And as this happened, to make sure that any of the hostages would get hurt, Carapace cast energy spheres around them.
"Get them out of here, now!" -Dragonfly yelled at Carapace, as she twisted Rapier's left arm, trying to subdue him.
"On it!" -Carapace said, as he used his powers to move the energy spheres towards the closest staircase. –"Don't worry folks, I'm going to get you out of here." -he told those inside the spheres.
One could say that things were finally starting to go well for the two heroes. But this was about to change once more. While Carapace tried his best to get the remaining people off the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, which began when Rapier first appeared, but had to be suspended, when he attacked the tower, endangering both the infrastructure and those that were in it, Dragonfly tried to fight Rapier, by trying to subdue him. Unfortunately, her body was already feeling the unmistakable signs of exhaustion and her agility and speed were decreasing with each new move she did. On top of that, Rapier saw through her plan and intended to use the tower's structure to his advantage. Taking into the air, with Dragonfly following him, he flew between the tower's beams. Dodging them with relative ease, Dragonfly had more difficulty doing it. Her exhaustion was making it hard for her to keep up with Rapier, while at the same time, trying to not go against the beams. Throwing her frisbee against Rapier, in a desperate attempt to make him slow down, Dragonfly missed her target, with him disappearing out of sight.
"Where is he?! I can't see him!" -Dragonfly thought to herself, as she passed between two beams. –"Where the heck is that guy?!" -she asked herself
And before she could ask that same question twice, the answer came from above. Sinking his sharp talons on Dragonfly's back, Rapier forced her to go down, going through dozens of iron beams, feeling every last one of them, as she went through them. She tried to stop, but the inertia exerted by him was just too great. Seconds felt like days to her. She did not know if she was going to be torn apart by the beams, as these broke like they were made out of putty. It was only when she hit the metal floor from the first level that her body finally stopped. Unlike her first fall, this time she could feel that she had broken a couple of bones. On top of that, she could not feel her face, which she knew was most likely bruised, and some of its bones were fractured; she could not be absolutely sure about it. But one thing she was sure was that she still had all of her teeth. Somehow, miraculously, her teeth were all intact, as her tongue instinctively moved inside her mouth, checking to see if she had broken any of them. Unfortunately, her tongue was the only thing she could move at will. As much as she wanted to move the rest of her body, her muscles did not respond, as pain flooded her mind.
Kneeling beside her, Rapier placed his left hand over her throat, making it hard for her to breath, and nearly impossible to move from where she had landed. Looking her in the eyes, Rapier could see the frustration that was on them: the frustration of not being able to fight back, as a small tear of frustration fell from the corner of her left eye.
"Like I said before, you're good. But I'm better… not that I have any problem in saying that, over and over." -Rapier said. –"But the game's up. Hawk Moth expects miraculouses, and that's what I'm going to give him. He said, his right hand reached for Dragonfly's miraculous. –"And now, to take that miraculous…"
"Keep your paws away from her, you creep!" -Carapace exclaimed, coming out of nowhere, and shoving the bottom of the handle of his right tonfa into Rapier's face, breaking his nose.
Once he broke his nose, Carapace used his tonfas and swept Rapier's legs, making him fall hard on his back. And just as he was getting up, the turtle hero hit him with the both tonfas and sent him flying a couple of metres in the air, before landing on the hard metal floor. Applying pressure to his broken nose with his right thumb, Rapier set it in place. He was so focused on getting Dragonfly's miraculous, that he completely forgot about Carapace; a mistake he was not going to make again.
"I'm going to make turtle soup out of you!" -Rapier yelled at Carapace, as he readied himself to dash towards him, with the intention of sinking his talons in his chest, only to see himself unable to move. –"W-What the…?!" -he yelled, as he saw something black wrapping itself around his wrists, his ankles and his waist.
I must apologize to you all for taking so long to update this fic, but my life has been anything but a joyride, lately. My head's been a mess, and I've been spending most of my free time helping around, taking care of my dad, as he slowly gets better, and also going to the family's farm back in my parents' hometown to make sure that the things that are planted there, don't get ruined. So, yeah, I haven't been able to write, as much as I wanted to. And for that, I ask you all forgiveness. I'll try to make it up to you in the following chapters, by trying to write them faster, if I can.
Regarding this chapter, I tried my best to give you all a taste of what Rapier can do, and more importantly, just how insane and different he is from the remaining lieutenants... he goes to great lengths to get the job done, even using fire weapons. And of course, he had to go one-on-one against Dragonfly (I wouldn't miss the opportunity to depict another aerial fight). Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, the fact that Rapier attacked the Eiffel Tower is a nod to the fact that the poor tower is always a victim from either the Akumas or even the kwamis in the OG show. xD
I must also thank you all for your patience, and trust me when I say that I will try my best not to take so long to update the following chapter. As I always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this fic, and future ones.