Miraculous Contempt Chapter 2

Air Cannon arrived in front of the house and shouted, "MARINETTE!"

Cat Noir turned the corner. "You just missed her. But I can handle all questions, comments, or concerns you have for her."

"Fine; at least someone on my list is here."

Cat Noir ran toward her while she pulled back her fist. Now, Cat Noir isn't really a better fighter than Ladybug, per say. However, some weapons, abilities, or skills can be more effective against different enemies and situations. It also helped that Cat Noir knew what to expect. When Air Cannon punched a blast of wind toward him, Cat Noir struck his staff into the concrete and held on. The wind washed over him, but he held his position. He took his staff out of the concrete and charged forward again as if her attack amounted to nothing. Air Cannon punched wind at him multiple times, always yielding the same result. Cat Noir reached his target and hit her with his staff over and over again. Air Cannon grabbed Cat Noir and blasted into the sky. Air Cannon held Cat Noir beneath her and, with the wind pushing them down, she prepared to land on him. Cat Noir tried to figure out how to get out of her hold, but he came up with nothing. Suddenly, he felt a string wrap around his leg and he was ripped out of Air Cannon's grasp. Ladybug caught Cat Noir while Air Cannon cratered.

Cat Noir got out of Ladybug's arms as quickly as possible. He didn't thank her and it hurt to know why. "The akuma is in her goggles," Ladybug said, trying not to sound emotional,

"Got it."

Air Cannon growled, "You two are so annoying. No wonder the voices in my head want you gone."

Cat Noir said, "No, he wants us gone because . . . did you just say the 'voices'? As in plural."

"Yeah. What about it?"

Ladybug and Cat Noir both figured it out. If Air Cannon had two voices in her head, one of them was Mayura; which meant there was a sentimonster somewhere out there. They both also figured out that this sentimonster would be after Nino, Kagami, and Luka. Cat Noir told Ladybug with urgency, "Find and protect the other targets! I'll take care of Air Cannon!"

"But . . ."

"I've got this! GO, NOW!"

Ladybug swung off, leaving Cat Noir and Air Cannon alone. "You scared, pipsqueak? Your girl isn't here for you anymore."

Cat Noir whispered, "I'm starting to get used to that." He ran at Air Cannon and swung his staff at her. She caught the staff in her hand and smiled, confident that she had the advantage. But Cat Noir wasted no time with his contingency plan. He split his staff in two, letting her hold one side and extended his side. He spun around and WHACK!

Ladybug was on her way to Luka's boat, but she noticed something big near the Eiffel Tower. She landed on a roof top and got a good look at the enormous spider. It was grey, had massive blades at the end of each of its eight legs, and was the biggest sentimonster yet. Nino, Kagami, and Luka were stuck in a web on the Eiffel Tower. Nino didn't deserve this! Ladybug said, "What a horrible day!" She had little faith that she could defeat it alone. But there was no alternative. Ladybug leaped off the roof and swung towards the sentimonster that she decided to call Arachnisaurus. When Ladybug was close enough to be seen, Arachnisaurus charged at her. Ladybug pulled on her yoyo string to leap over a bladed leg that was coming straight towards her. Next, she anchored the yoyo to one of the legs and swung around three other legs to wrap them together and trip Arachnisaurus. Using what little time that would buy her, she rushed to the Eiffel Tower and ripped Luka off of the web. She just had to save him first, didn't she? Luka looked at her with his creepy derp-smile and said a cliché with his stupid, mellow voice. "I knew you'd come." For reasons undiscernible by man, Ladybug was actually charmed by his barf inducing act, and his pretentious ego and his hideous, black fingernails. A bladed leg was raised and moved in their direction. Ladybug jumped out of the way and, because there is not enough justice in this world, Luka was unharmed. Ladybug carried Luka to safety and instructed him to get further away. Then she needed to choose a captive to save next. She chose poorly.

Ladybug swung towards Arachnisaurus. It was about to strike her out of the sky when she threw her yoyo, hitting the sentimonster in one of its eyes. Arachnisaurus shrieked as Ladybug ran on its back and jumped towards the Eifel Tower. As Ladybug ripped her off of the web, Kagami asked, "Have you brought the dragon miraculous?" She would have thanked Ladybug, but that would have required a heart that isn't made out of stone and ice.

"No, I didn't," Ladybug replied. She almost told Kagami that because Hawk Moth knows her identity, it isn't safe anymore. But that talk she had with Cat Noir got her thinking. If the villain knows the identity of a person who has caused them a lot of trouble, is it really safer for that person to not have super powers to defend themselves with? She didn't have the answer to that question worked out yet. She carried Kagami to safety and went back for the person she should have saved first.

Ladybug ripped Nino off the web and he said, "Thanks for the save, Ladybug." What a nice young dude. "Did my fellow captives make it out OK?"

"They're just fine."

"WATCH OUT!"

Ladybug turned her head and saw that Arachnisaurus was swinging a bladed leg horizontally. Ladybug leaped off the Eifel Tower high enough to avoid the blade that cut into the metal as it passed under them. For a second, it felt like they would fall all the way down. But then Ladybug anchored the yoyo to the same leg she just avoided and swung towards nearby buildings. This time, Arachnisaurus chased after them. Ladybug constantly had to look back to see another blade she had to dodge. She swung as fast as she could, but it kept gaining on them. Arachnisaurus opened its enormous mouth and prepared to bite them both out of the air. That was when Ladybug and Nino entered the alley and Arachnisaurus crashed into the buildings on each side. Ladybug set Nino on the ground and let out a sigh of relief.

"If you need help from Carapace, I'm ready, willing, and able," Nino said. Now that's how you ask about it.

"Uh . . . all I need is for you to get to safety."

"Can do," Nino said with a tip of the hat.

As Nino ran off, Ladybug looked back at the sentimonster that kept roaring and bashing against the buildings, trying to reach her. She wondered how she was going to beat that thing. Her mind highlighted the Eifel Tower and a sly smile stretched across her face. Ladybug always had a knack for ideas so crazy they just might work.

Air Cannon picked up a car and blasted it in Cat Noir's direction. He extended his staff, springing himself above the car. He got in close and hit her with both halves of his divided staff. She attacked back multiple times; usually Cat Noir was able to move out of the way, but, on occasion, she blasted him away. However, he was always quick to recover and run back to her. As Air Cannon cocked her fist, Cat Noir got an idea. For an instant, he wondered if it was physically possible, but he was too eager to try it to think too much about it. When her fist came his way, he grabbed her wrist. Her fist was kept from a collision, but Cat Noir was still hit with the blast of wind. Just as planned. When the wind carried him away, he held her wrist tight and brought her with him. They flew through the air, spinning as they went. And every time they lost altitude, Cat Noir hurled her down onto the concrete, leaving dents as they went until they lost momentum. Cat Noir got up with barely even a bit of dizziness, but Air Cannon felt like freshly crushed gravel. Cat Noir looked at a window and got yet another idea. He positioned himself between Air Cannon and the window and said, "Wow, you've got nothing on me." He spread out his arms and said, "You know what; I'll give you one for free. Hit me with the best you can do!"

An infuriated Air Cannon took him up on his offer. She pulled back both fists and blasted all the wind she could muster at him. Cat Noir hopped up, but not high and held his staff vertically just before the wind carried him through the window. His staff had extended so it would get caught on the bricks above and below the window. The staff bent as he moved further into the building and then the wind stopped. The staff sprang back into shape, firing Cat Noir like an arrow back at Air Cannon. Cat Noir kicked both legs into Air Cannon, knocking her backward and landed on top of her when she landed. Cat Noir grabbed her by the shirt collar with his left hand and punched her in the mouth with the other. She didn't look unconscious yet, so he pulled her back in and hit her again; this time, in the side of her forehead. He was being careful not to break the goggles without Ladybug around to purify the akuma. Just to make sure she wouldn't get up, he pulled her in and punched her one last time. Still keeping his grip on her shirt collar, he pulled the goggles off her face and then he dropped his defeated opponent. It was then that he noticed that one glove was dark and thick while the other was lighter and skintight. He figured that the former was probably were the amuk was, so he took that too. He thought, "I just beet a super villain all by myself, but Ladybug will probably just lecture me about how I didn't do right instead of giving me any kind of a thumbs up."

Ladybug stood high on the front side of the Eifel Tower. She looked down at Arachnisaurus as it climbed towards her. Ladybug felt the metal shake every time one of the bladed legs plunged into the tower. Arachnisaurus was high enough to strike. That was when Ladybug swung around to the back, left pillar. Arachnisaurus raised a bladed leg as Ladybug watched and waited eagerly. She jumped at the exact right moment and the blade cut deep into the pillar. Ladybug swung to the back, right pillar and Arachnisaurus struck that one the same way. Ladybug swung to the front of the tower and then she moved higher and higher until she stood at the very top. Arachnisaurus followed her, its patience exhausted. They came close at the top of the tower. She could feel its breath warm her entire body as it stared daggers at her. Ladybug leaped past the Arachnisaurus's head and then she looked back. She threw her yoyo, wrapping the string around Arachnisaurus's neck. Holding the end of the string in one hand and the yoyo in the other, Ladybug landed on Arachnisaurus's back and she pulled. Arachnisaurus gasped and shrieked as the string dug into its neck. It uncontrollably leaned back and hanged on the top of the Eifel Tower; which was very ill advised since it just damaged the two back pillars. Arachnisaurus kept moving backwards, pulling hard on the top part of the tower and the metal ripped. The top of the Eifel Tower detached and fell with Arachnisaurus beneath it. Ladybug landed gracefully before Arachnisaurus crashed, creating a thunderous boom. And then, the top of the Eifel Tower stabbed into Arachnisaurus's stomach. The shrieking could've terrified someone a mile away, but it was music to Ladybug's ears.

Cat Noir, who was apparently nearby said in a cold tone, "I have the objects." The good mood that Ladybug was in ended as soon as she realized he was there. Cat Noir ripped both objects in half and Ladybug purified the akuma and amuk that sprang from them.

Ladybug approached Cat Noir and said nervously, "Hey, can I talk to you?"

Cat Noir asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Wha . . . OH! Right." Ladybug threw the lucky charm and said, "Miraculous Ladybug," as quietly as she ever had. Just like always, the damages were all undone; much to the relief of several hardware store employees and tourists. Ladybug tried again. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

"I wanted to say that I really appreciate you and I . . . am really lucky to have you with me."

That wasn't half of what he needed to hear. Only because he felt obligated, he said, "Thanks," and she could tell that he didn't mean it.

Ladybug hoped what she would say next might help. "I have good news."

"Yeah?"

"I have an idea who Hawk Moth is." Cat Noir's eyes lit up. Ladybug smiled, thinking this was exactly what she needed. "I have reason to believe that Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste."

Cat Noir shut his eyes tight, took a deep breath through his nose, and said, "We already . . ."

"I know. But I just realized why his alibi doesn't hold up."

"Ladybug, listen; Gabriel Agreste can't possibly be Hawk Moth. He's a legitimate business man and the father of a fine young man."

"I know, but there can still be something he wants that only the miraculouses can give him," Ladybug said.

Cat Noir only had to think for a second to figure out what that something could be. "Mother?" He hit the bullseye, but he couldn't accept it. He shook his head, showing Ladybug that he was unconvinced.

Ladybug continued, "Wouldn't it make sense? Gabriel Agreste has been cooped up in his house, rarely making appearances anywhere for years. This could be what he's been doing with all his time."

Cat Noir was worried. It did make sense. But that day of all days, he wasn't going to side with Ladybug over his father. He shook his head again and Ladybug asked, "Why are you so convinced? It's not like you know him that well. Cat, just trust me." Ladybug gasped. Her heart skipped a beat. She almost slapped a hand over her mouth after saying that of all things on that of all days.

"Trust you?" Cat Noir walked towards her with rage all over his face. She was actually surprised that he didn't physically attack her. "Trust you? Ever since I've met you, I've been kept in the dark in every way you could find. So if I don't get to know your name . . . than you don't get to tell me to trust you!"

He left as quickly as his staff would take him. Ladybug was crushed. She stood there, worrying that this might be the end of a partnership. She stood there until she left just to make sure no one would see their heroine in tears.

Cat Noir landed in his room through the window. "Plagg, claws in." He transformed back into Adrien and his kwami flew out of his ring.

Plagg crossed his arms and said, "You were pretty harsh, don't you think?"

"Yep," Adrien said tiredly.

"Did you really mean all that stuff you said about Ladybug?"

"Yep."

Plagg said, "Adrien, you're acting super out of character. You actually made me the nice guy here."

"Yep."

"And don't blame Ladybug for the mood you're in."

"She is the reason I'm in this mood," Adrien insisted.

"She might have set you off today, but you know what has really been making you so upset lately."

"PLAGG! I . . . I need to be alone for a minute!"

"Hey! Don't you dare take off that . . ."

Flash.

With the ring set on his desk, Adrien sat on his couch and he thought a lot about Ladybug.

Author's note: Thank you for reading and I hope you come back for more of my work.

(This next part was added in later.)

I have a YouTube Channel now. I review fictional couples, talking about how well their written, how good their chemistry is and the story of how they get together. My first video is –

Spider Man and MJ (Homecoming and Far From Home) - Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

My second video is –

Cortana and Master Chief – Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

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Spider-Man and MJ (2002) – Couple Reviews by MVPKnight

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