Chapter 24: More Animosity
Chat Noir flipped to the left, the Peugeot roof collapsing from the impact against the spot he just vacated. Flying cars! Margo had to talk about cars being flung about and now he was the intended target. Coincidence? Karma? Or Chat Noir's signature bad luck?
The cars, as well as benches, signs, dustbins, and any other movable object were propelled by powerful sound waves emanating from a red protest sign, bearing, in 3d letters: "No Ladybug - No violence". Chat did not miss the irony.
Mr Suit Guy was upset Chat broke up his little group. Hawkmoth, the opportunist he was, gave the man the power to get his word out in a loud and powerful way. The Protestor - ten points for originality - tore up the entire street in front of the hospital, calling for an end to violence. Trust Hawkmoth to ruin what Chat considered - work well done. He felt good taking apart the protestors and their skewed outlook on things. Hawkmoth took his win and threw it in his face, together with a one-ton car.
Once they realized what was going on, Margo wasted no time in sending him away.
"Go," she urged him. "Paris needs you. Perhaps you can bring Ladybug to visit after you win."
"I'll try." Margo's confidence in him warmed his heart. "It was nice meeting you. I wish your father full recovery."
"Thank you, and I hope everything works out with all the women in your life."
The visit to the hospital left Chat with mixed feelings. Margo was not what he expected. He should get Ladybug to speak to her, tell her how she appreciated her, even after what happened to her father. Prove to her, Paris is not against her. They still wanted - needed - her protection. Getting his Ladybug back would lessen the pain of realizing he was in love with Marinette after he lost her.
Margo should have spoken to Suit Guy, showed him her positive outlook on life. She was charismatic, he might have listened to her. Instead, Chat scrambled up the side of a building, leaving a trail of street signs littering the wall underneath him. Before he topped the building, a sign smashed into his leg, almost sending him back to the ground. He limped the rest of the way to the roof.
Chat wished Ladybug was here, help him take down this destructive akuma. The few hundred meters from the hospital were a wasteland. Crunched cars lined the street, strange sentinels propped up at different angles, watching over a deserted land. The Parisians have long escaped deep into the buildings or side streets. The Protestor stood among the papers flapping in the breeze, shredded when the newspaper kiosk got demolished by a flying minivan. His black suit was now luminous green with text graffitied all over it in black, his black tie curling down his chest forking at the end reminding chat of a snake's tongue. Long green hair streamed up from his head like a porcupine, black rings surrounded his red eyes.
It has been almost an hour and Ladybug has not shown up. Calling her went directly to message. At least she wasn't ignoring him. She said she would fight, for him. Without Ladybug, he only hoped to confine the akuma to this area and avoid any more damage until she arrived.
"Come down here, scaredy-cat! Not so eloquent when faced with a powerful foe, are you?"
Chat was certain the sign, idly dangling from The Protestor's hand, was the affected object. It was the same sign Suit Guy held when he confronted him by the hospital. A direct assault on the akuma proved difficult. Despite the akuma ambling about, he was lighting fast with the sign, pushing Chat back on every turn. Chat was already sporting a deep cut on his shoulder and a possible broken rib when a parking meter bypassed his defenses.
"Really?" Chat called down from the roof. "I think it's about time we spoke about the eloquent in the room."
The Protestor glared at Chat, swinging his sign like a bat. Chat flattened to the floor, the hair rising on his neck, feeling the ripples in the air above him. The top of the wall cracked and pieces rained on his head. He crawled away from the edge until out of sight, got up and ran, ignoring the pain in his leg, and jumped from one building to the next. A few buildings down, he surveyed the battlefield. The akuma stood in the same spot, bellowing profanities at Chat's previous spot. Not far, a car wrapped around a pole burst into flames.
"Are you going to swing that thing the whole sign yards?" Chat rose from his new spot.
The akuma twisted on the spot, red eyes scanning until they met Chat's glowing green. With a wide grin, Chat waved hello, rolling away before the fresh attack hit him. He then circled around, then showed his face on the opposite building.
He kept The Protestor in place for almost an hour, but the game could not last much longer. The Protestor was already anticipating Chat's next location. He's hit Chat twice already. The worst, when jumping from one building to another, the Protestor sent the corrugated iron roof of the newspaper kiosk and managed to hit him, slicing a wide gash on his back. Chat rose again from the stadium's roof.
"I was wondering, who's your tailor? He fancies my colors." The world blurred. Chat screamed at the pain coursing through his head. He found himself on his back, his leg hanging on a seat. The blue sky came into slow focus. Chat wondered when the earth gained a second sun. He could not remember the fall, but felt all the knocks his body received on the way down.
He couldn't do this anymore. All this fighting and he hardly touched the akuma. He was nothing more than a distraction to keep the akuma occupied until the real superhero would deal with the problem. He wasn't even a good punching bag. She hadn't come, and he was running out of sand.
He called Ladybug, this time the call ringing a few times before going to message. She was ignoring his calls again.
"Ladybug," Chat's voice shook, "I need your help. You said you will help. Please come. I can't do this without..."
The doors burst open, one landing a few meters away, its hinges twisted.
"A stadium. Let's play squash the cat." The Protestor called from the doorway.
Letting out a grunt, Chat propped his baton against the railing and propelled himself back onto the roof.
The roof shook. He rolled over to the side, peeking over the edge. The Protestor was pacing along the stands, sending shock waves in random directions, at the ground, stands, walls and roof. The air was full of dust from all the destruction. The seats were thrown about and cracks appeared in the building.
"You're a nasty piece of work," Chat shouted at the akuma. "Get off your idiotic high horse. You will destroy the whole of Paris."
"I am here to stop the violence," the akuma looked at him. "Once you are out of the picture, there will only be peace."
Chat rolled away before getting hit. This was a disaster. He led the akuma to the stadium where there were no civilians, but it also gave very little protection from where he could attack. The roof shook again. Another blast shook it even more. It would not hold much longer.
He wouldn't hold much longer, either. He phoned Ladybug again; the call did not even ring. She's de-transformed.
Ladybug wasn't coming.
He was no longer enough.
A crack ran along the roof, passing between his legs. A gap opened to the stands below. Looking through the gap, he met the akuma's red eyes.
"You're still there? What happened?" The Protestor teased. "Cat caught your tongue?"
"You're an idiot," Chat yelled and flipped out the way, the roof rattled precariously underneath him. He needed to hit him. He wanted to break him. He was going to cataclysm the damn akuma.
Chat froze. He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down and get his head straight. This was the first time he wanted to use his power on a person, even an akuma. It wasn't the akuma's fault he wasn't a good enough partner. Although, it would feel superb to kick him to a pulp. Possibly he could knock him out or kick the sign out of his hand. He wouldn't break it since he couldn't cleanse the butterfly, but keeping it away from the akuma should reduce the damage done. This was his last opportunity to do something useful. Prove that he is worth something.
Chat crawled to the other side, peeking over again. The akuma was looking away, but Chat could still see the edge of the purple butterfly covering his face. He was talking to Hawkmoth. Chat made a mental note to thank Hawkmoth for distracting the akuma and jumped off the roof. Using his baton to helicopter closer to the akuma, he stayed a few meters in the air. Right above the akuma, he stilled his baton, and let gravity pull him, leg first onto The Protestor. A second before impact, the akuma spun, swinging his sign with an underhanded arc. The power wave blew the dust into Chat's eyes, blasted him in the chest and knocked the baton from his hand. Rapid acceleration into the sky replaced his downward movement. Chat blindly flew over the top of the buildings, continuing an upward arc high enough to send him out of Paris.
The first thought through Chat's mind was: Man, this akuma is quick. Followed closely was the realization he was moving pretty fast himself, but without his baton, he had no control over his movement. There was a moment of panic when he continued rising past the blurry buildings, leaving the streets and the akuma far below. This was not the first time he has free-fallen through the Paris sky. Granted, there were two differences. First, he was currently moving up, something he knew would change soon enough. Secondly, on previous occasions Ladybug was there to save him, something he knew will not happen this time.
Chat went limp. This was it. Glorious years of being a hero with the amazing Ladybug have culminated in this. He had a great life, great friends, an amazing partner, and exciting adventures - and he lost it all. He was a useless hero, a sexually abusive friend, and a poor partner. He has lost all the loves of his life because of his incompetence. He did not deserve any of it. Not Marinette, not Ladybug, and not the Miraculous. Maybe he should rid himself of the ring right now. It will bring a stop to all his pain.
A/N Next Chapter: More revelations