A/N: I'm back, bitches! Took a reasonable amount of time off from writing to hone my epic writer skills until I was ready for a sequel. Yes, this is a sequel to the previous story, Dark Heroism. So if there are any new people reading this, I suggest you go over to that story so you know what's going on. Because you're gonna be VERY confused if you don't.
And to all the people that have read the first story and are back for more, you've come to the right place. This is going to be better than the first story, so no more excuses from me regarding quality. I'll also try to put out chapters faster than I did before, but no guarantees :)
Anyways, that's enough from me. Enjoy this clusterfuck of a story.
SEVERAL DECADES INTO THE FUTURE...
Paris had fallen.
The once beautiful city had been reduced to a hellish wasteland, where towering skeletons of buildings began to crumble apart, and scattered flames across the city sent massive plumes of smoke upwards that shielded the sun up above, shrouding the ruins in eternal darkness. But this was not the work of an Akuma, no. Something much worse had brought the city to its knees.
In the far corner of town where a lone TVi news station barely stayed intact, a woman dressed in a blue outfit with white bunny ears at the top of her head of red hair slammed the front double doors shut, barricading it while nervously motioning for her ally to join her. "Chris, keep following me!", Bunnyx hissed, keeping her voice just above a whisper. The rather casually-dressed boy scurried after her, his breathing quick as he anxiously glanced towards the door, adjusting the pair of green glasses over his face. "That's not gonna keep it out for long. If you're going to do something, do it now please.", he advised, just before a thunderous boom at the front door interrupted them.
Bunnyx nodded, and sprinted down to the main recording room along with Chris, before skidding to a halt as the door was ravaged once again. It was toying with them, and it was only a matter of time before it got in for real. Opening a glowing vortex in the fabric of time, she hopped into her burrow while Chris watched anxiously, glancing at the door every few seconds. "You...almost done with that?", he called into the wormhole, as the bangs on the door got louder. It was getting serious now, and they were running out of time.
Around her were several other glowing circles, each granting her a window into the different timelines that she could access. Fumbling around with the passages of the timelines, Bunnyx' heartbeat began to quicken with each second that passed that she couldn't find it. It had to be there somewhere, she had caused it, after all. Finally, she found it, and let out a sigh of relief as she held the round vortex securely between the palms of her hands. Thank the gods, because she really messed up on this one. She knew she shouldn't have interfered, Abel was gone now because of her, and a new timeline was now on track because of her. Bunnyx had to do something to fix it.
A bright beam of light crashed into the door, slowly lowering and melting the metal into a silver goop, splitting open the barricades as a lone figure stalked into the room. "IT'S HERE! THE ENIGMA IS HERE!", Chris screamed, with a mixture of shock and terror lacing his tone. Cursing to herself, Bunnyx exited the rabbit hole and shrunk the entrance slightly, brandishing her weapon, which was a light blue and white umbrella, as footsteps grew more and more audible up ahead.
At the end of the hall, a lofty figure made its way into the light of the room. Dressed in a high-tech, jet black suit with ghastly glowing green goggles creeped towards the two, as the melted door began to belch out giant plumes of steam. "Enigma.", Bunnyx snarled, her tone dripping with venom as she narrowed her eyes at the enemy. Chris, on the other hand, began to back up from the attacker ever so slightly. "You're not going to fix the timeline. Not after what you did.", it said robotically, the voice coming from the Enigma warped and raspy due to the voice modulator built into its visor. Though he was unarmed, Chris sought to protect his friend, and ran forward while letting out a battle cry to attack the Enigma.
Easily sidestepping a clumsy punch, the Enigma swiftly kicked the boys legs out from under him and shoved Chris into the corner of the room, colliding with the wall and seemingly knocking him out. "Shit…", Bunnyx sighed, cursing her friends mistake. Noticing her guard was down, the Enigma's metallic boots loosed a stream of blue jetfire, shooting the figure forward faster than the heroine could react, and she suffered a devastating left hook to the jaw as a result. Wrapping her fingers around her chin and moving it left and right to ensure it wasn't dislocated, she stood up a little straighter and rushed toward, ready to take on the Enigma properly this time.
"I know you've been travelling back in time more than once!", she shouted, blocking frequent yet persistent blows from her foe as she spoke. "You're trying to create another timeline, I know it!" As the jets brought him forward one last time, Bunnyx gave up on using her umbrella as a defence and instead managed one good swing into the Enigma's visor, barely managing to daze her opponent. While she went in for a kick, her enemy recovered swiftly and ducked under the blow, her leg flying uselessly through the air. "I didn't have to. Not after your interferences.", it replied, an edge of smugness to its otherwise monotone voice. "Our actions are already setting the timeline on its course, half of the work was done by you."
Using its jet boots once more, Bunnyx raised her umbrella defensively but the Enigma was quicker, using it as a springboard to launch itself towards the ceiling, turning around in mid-air to charge up a crackling eye blast from its goggles, with the heroine just barely managing to turn around and block it with her umbrella. Even when The Enigma landed, the beam didn't stop its onslaught, and Bunnyx winced as she struggled to keep the attack at bay, the surface of the umbrella growing hotter and hotter by the second. Just as her umbrella began to give way, Chris came from behind the Enigma and boldly swung a stray pipe at him. "Chris, no!", Bunnyx screamed, running forward to stop him from trying to attack their terrifying foe.
But it was too late, the Enigma halted its beam and caught the weapon between its fingers before it was put to good use, using its free hand to seize Chris by the throat. "Chris, I'm coming!", she exclaimed, but the boy spoke up first, as the Enigma began to lift him off of the ground. "No! No...you...have to...fix this.", the boy choked out, futilely clawing at the Enigmas iron grip. "Save yourself…" As much as Bunnyx hated to say it, there was nothing she could do, and blinked back tears as she went back into the rabbit hole. She was going to do something very bold, and very difficult.
Because of what she did, the future was in ruins. Bunnyx had to fix things, or at least try. Grabbing the wormhole to the current timeline, she sealed herself in the rabbit hole before touching the surface of the wormhole with her finger, and winced from the guilt and responsibility that would follow as she began to change it. She definitely couldn't alter the pas or the present, only create another timeline from it by interfering. But that didn't mean she couldn't help. Sighing lightly as she began to erase part of the timeline, everything around the Enigma began to fade, just as it effortlessly crushed Chris' neck and tossed his lifeless body to the floor. Noticing what was happening, it tapped something into its suit and summoned a circular, flashing wormhole of its own, and quickly leapt inside while everything faded from existence around it.
The Enigma was going back to the present, so it was at least contained within one timeline. Getting rid of every event that happened after the very present, there now was no future to look upon.. It would be decided by what happened next, in the present. Times Arrow moves forward, after all. Luckily, Leaping into the wormhole to the present, Bunnyx swore to herself that she would help stop the Enigma. It would happen, maybe not today, or tomorrow. But it would happen.
It was only a matter of time.
PRESENT DAY
Powerful, riveting gusts of wind shot through Ladybugs hair, her eyes remaining shut as gravity took its course. She was falling, and incredibly fast at that. But the trip down was surprisingly peaceful, and just for a moment, she could let her mind wander to a safer, calmer place. Unfortunately, gravity was a wake up call that hit her like a ton of bricks.
As the heroine finally let her eyes snap open, she pulled her arm towards her waist and took a hold of her Yoyo, swiftly tossing the tool forward while the ground below drew closer by the second. But as usual, she was yanked to safety once her Yoyo found a sturdy structure, and soon gracefully landed atop a roof, a jet black blur came down next to her a moment later.
"Geez, M'lady. If you were looking for a race you should've said so.", Cat Noir commented, taking a moment to catch his breath. Twirling and flourishing her Yoyo as her partner rested, a twinge of cockiness overcame her as she replied. "Need me to slow down next time? You seemed fine back there when we were fighting Psychomedian. I hope you're not losing your touch.", she teased, smiling once she saw her partner didn't take it all too seriously. She liked what they had, he was like a really fun brother to her. Months of working together had been more enjoyable than she expected, it was almost perfect. Now if only he didn't have a crush on her...
"I am the coolest cat you know, M'lady. Losing my touch is the last thing you have to worry about.", he ensured. "Of course, I'm not a seasoned guardian like you are." Seasoned was probably too big of a word for it, it was hard to learn the ropes without Master Fu as a mentor. But he was probably doing okay with Marriane, wherever they were now. " 'Seasoned'?", she repeated with a small chuckle. "It's been tough, looking after all the Kwami. I just wish Fu was around to guide me.", she said, her tone growing more serious as she sat down for a moment.
"Yeah, it sounds like a big deal.", he agreed, sitting down near Ladybug to try and console his friend. "But he knew you'd be amazing as a guardian, because you're the best, most awesome Ladybug he knows. Fu knew you were fit for the job.", he reassured. His words did help, but the stress of the job still left her uneasy. It was only a matter of time before she slipped up, and someone raised hell upon them. "Thanks, kitty.", she replied genuinely, standing up with a slightly better outlook on the whole thing. Following his partner, Cat Noir praised himself for making her feel good again. "Besides, we always come on top, thanks to you. Like the time with Abel, and Tigre Bla-"
He immediately caught himself, and swallowed his words before they left his lips. Instantly tensing up once Cat Noir mentioned his name, the same look of shock and horror overtook her face that night returned. Placing a hand on her chest as she tried to shove the memory to the back of her head, Cat Noir felt pretty shitty about his mistake. "Sorry, I...didn't mean to...", he trailed off, hesitating to reach for her. It had been three months since the ordeal, but to Ladybug, it felt like yesterday.
For what felt like an eternity of silence followed, before a sudden chirp from Ladybugs earrings broke it. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, for patrols.", she announced, giving him a small wave before using the Yo-yo to swing home. Groaning to himself, Cat Noir gave his head a few light, yet frustrated punches once she was out of earshot. "Stupid, stupid…", he muttered.
…
As the one long beam of white light was swallowed by the shutters, Shadow Moth was once again plunged into deep darkness. "Nooroo, Doosoo, divide.", he commanded, his voice booming through the large observatory, as a flash of light encased him and returned him into his normal form.. "Another failure, yet again.", Gabriel sighed, walking to the end of the hall and taking the elevator up to the ground floor of the mansion.
Rubbing a thumb over the smooth surfaces of his Miraculouses, the fashion designer winced after walking halfway towards his office, in which his loyal assistant Nathalie swooped in to rescue him. "Please, let me help.", Nathalie said, a noticeable edge of concern to her otherwise monotone voice as she attempted to help Gabriel stand. He hadn't quite recovered since his encounter with Abel; but had been managing enough since then. "I'm fine, Nathalie. Thank you.", he assured her, managing to stand up straighter after a moment of struggling. The man wouldn't admit he had to heal, there was no time for weakness anymore.
"Did you make any progress on your last Akuma, Mr Agreste?", she asked, receiving a rather frustrated groan in response. "No, no progress.", he huffed, walking into his office and tiredly sitting down on the nearest chair. "I'm going in circles, Nathalie. My efforts are growing more and more futile with each Villain I create, even with the additional power of the Peacock Miraculous.", he explained, rubbing his right temple. "Well...perhaps you'll get lucky. Something will come up, it's not like Ladybug and Cat Noir are unbeatable."
Sighing lightly once his assistant placed a hand on his shoulder, the man didn't pull away and simply sat with his own thoughts. His crusade was beginning to seem pointless, every day was a failure even worse than the last one, and ever since Abel had shown up, he found himself feeling even weaker than before. "I just hope Adrien is doing alright with all of this. I haven't been speaking to him often since the incident"
Nathalie held her tongue on the matter, knowing that Gabriel would get offended. He and Adrien were never that close, ever since Emile passed on. Speaking of Emile, the woman remembered the last night with Abel almost vividly. A woman shrouded in blue light had appeared in front of her, almost guiding her to push forward after Abel had defeated her. It was impossible to see the woman's face, but she could've sworn that she felt an aura of some sort, like she was standing right next to Nathalie again, as she had years ago.
But the news would not benefit Gabriel, and she stayed silent, knowing that being there for him was what mattered most. "Adrien is fine, he loves you.", she reassured him, hoping she could at least make him feel a little bit better. And maybe that was enough.
…
Falling through the opening in her balcony, Ladybug landed in her room with such grace and finesse that no sound was made, other than the faint creaking once her feet touched the ground. Immediately wincing once she heard muffled voices coming through the wall, she immediately scrambled towards the door to peek through a crack in her door, and breathed a sigh of relief once she realized her parents were busy in the bakery downstairs.
Shutting the door to her room, the heroine's nerves were gone once her identity was kept safe once again. "Spots off.", she commanded, and a flash of bright light removed her suit and returned Marinette into her normal clothes. Her Kwami, Tikki, emerged from the light and flew upwards to take in her surroundings. "Alright, everyone out.", she said, and instantly, a swarm of color rushed out of a nearby drawer and flew in a large crowd around the room, before the tiny little creatures scattered and began to chat amongst themselves, some chasing each other and darting around furniture.
Despite the horrible memory that was brought up earlier, Marinette couldn't help but smile as she watched the ecstatic Kwamis zip all over the place, and turned her attention towards one Kwami as he floated towards her and Tikki. He was light green, and had a turtle shell on his back. This was Wayzz, the former Kwami of Master Fu. "You're back, great. Another success with one of Shadow Moths akumatized villains?", he asked. Tikki answered instead, taking a seat on her owners shoulder. "Of course, Marinette has been doing so well lately. Especially as a guardian!"
The other Kwamis heard the conversation and quickly praised Marinette with cheers and hoots for her duty as the new guardian. Master Fu had his memory wiped in a battle with Shadow Moth, so the girl was put in charge of the Miracle Box soon after and had been holding onto it for a while now. Still, the praise was a bit too much to bear, and she modestly waved a hand. "It hasn't been easy, trust me." she chuckled. "Tikki's been helping a lot too,I really don't think I could've gotten this done without her. Anyways, have you all been keeping hidden?"
Wayzz shugged lightly. "Well, your mother does clean your room. A lot.", he replied. "But no, we're still a secret. The Miracle Box also has not been discovered yet." This was good news, Marinette was already struggling with keeping her identity a secret as it was. Suddenly, a rough knock on the trapdoor above her caused every Kwami to yelp in unison. "Everyone, hide, you too Tikki!", she ordered, and watched as the Kwami hesitantly flew into the concealed Miracle Box that sat on top of her table.
Her breath caught in her throat, someone was definitely up there, and she doubted they would leave if she stayed silent. No problem, Ladybug would take care of an intruder within seconds, but...something about this seemed a little too familiar for her. Tensing up, the memories slowly began to return, and Marinette took a sharp inhale and attempted deep breaths. This couldn't happen again, not now. Not after two months of struggling and fighting to keep things under wraps, this could not happen.
Attempting to distract herself, the girl grunted lightly and walked up the mini set of stairs she had leading to her bed, and threw open the trapdoor. Practically being blasted by the amount of sun that hit her, Marinette climbed out of her room and onto the roof, slowly but surely trying to calm down. There didn't seem to be anyone there, but a woman appeared in the corner of her eye, causing the teenager to jump.
Turning around quickly to face whoever was there, her eyes widened once she realized who it was. "You three? Uh...long time no see, I guess." she said awkwardly, staring at the three cursed miraculous users she'd met two months ago. The woman wore a concealing black face mask (though it was more of a bandana, really) and dark silk outfit that mimicked her two male colleagues, their clothing looking similar to that of a ninja. Although style definitely wasn't why they wore that attire. "Yes, it's...been a while."
There wasn't much to say, Marinette had no idea what to say. The whole mess with Tigre Blanc ended long ago, and after not getting a visit from them for that long, seeing them so suddenly was certainly a surprise. "We apologize for not visiting you sooner. We've been rather busy, ever since that night." Although she didn't quite know what the woman meant, her stomach twisted into a knot and her mouth ran dry, the words that were supposed to come out dying on her lips.
As if she could read her mind, the lead woman continued to speak. "But we didn't come to speak of our...failure. We have seen something very concerning, something we believe you may want to know of." Raising an eyebrow, Marinette managed to shuffle onto the seat nearby so she could listen, her heartbeat still making an effort to return to normal. She wasn't sure what news the woman was going to spill, but it definitely couldn't have been good news based on her tone.
"There is someone who should not be here roaming around Paris, we spotted it for a split second downtown an hour ago. We have suspicions that it may be a threat we thought may have never come for us, but it seems that today was the day we were proven wrong." Squinting at them, Marinette put both hands up to signal them to stop talking for a moment. "Wait wait wait, did you say...it? What is this 'it'?", she questioned, in clear disbelief.
"The Enigma.", the woman replied, the name sounding awfully familiar to Marinette. "I...feel like I've heard that name before.", she murmured, doing her best to think back on the name to see if it rung any bells. "Whether or not you remember the name, we fear that it is searching for you. We are not sure what it wants, but we decided to make sure you knew it was coming." Admittedly, the whole situation felt a bit off to her. Not only did she not know who the Enigma was, but it had come so suddenly that the news almost didn't process fully. "So what...what can I do? How big of a threat is this person?"
With what little expression was shown under her bandana, the woman looked concerned for the younger girl. "The Enigma is more powerful than an akumatized villain, you'll need to be very cautious when you are by yourself. And warn your partner whenever you can, he may be caught in the crossfire as well." Her mind was racing, but Marinette managed to nod upon her order. "What are you three gonna do?", she asked, since they seemed to know more about the Enigma than she ever did. It didn't hurt to have allies that knew things.
"We will help you the best we can, Ladybug." she replied, glancing at the two men beside her. "But you have to take down the Enigma when it shows up, or its wrath will be disastrous for Paris, and its citizens. Can we trust you to make that promise?" she asked, staring Marinette right in the eyes. As a hero, the response would've come instantly. But Marinette was worried to take up this task, especially after the horrible experience with Tigre Blanc and Abel. But she had to do something, it was her duty to protect the city. So she nodded.
"I won't let you down.", she swore, hoping she could keep her promise until Enigma was defeated.
…
She'd gotten to school a little earlier than usual, perhaps the whole 'Enigma coming to get her' thing made her more responsible in class. Yeah, probably not, but it was definitely a nice thought. Marinette glanced around the empty schoolyard and figured she might as well wait for her friends to show up. Anxiousness lingered in the pit of her stomach ever since yesterday, and the girl nervously glanced around her out of sheer paranoia. Based on how the woman described The Enigma, it could've been anywhere, just watching her and waiting to deliver the killing blow. She'd felt afraid before when facing a villain, but this was a whole other monster.
Luckily, she wasn't alone with her thoughts for long. A pair of hands landed on her shoulders once her back was turned, startling the girl for a split second before she realized who it was. "Damn, girl. Had no idea you'd be so jumpy.", her best friend Alya laughed, immediately bringing a smile to Marinette's face. "Yeah, well when you've got akumatized crazies coming at you 24/7, you get really cautious."
That got a laugh out of Alya, and Marinettes previous stress already began to melt away. It was nice to have someone know she was Ladybug, that was one less person she had to keep the secret from...when compared to the thousands of Persians that didn't know anything. But it still meant a lot to her...even if she hadn't spoken a word to Alya about the events two months ago. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, she plastered a smile back on her face and began to walk to class. Eventually, more people began to pile in: Rose and Juleka; who had begun to date about a month ago, Ivan and Mylene, Nino, Max, Kim, and practically everyone in the class had shown up.
Things always felt more peaceful when she was around her friends, and for 6 hours, Marinette could let her mind rest for a little while. Strolling upstairs alongside her parade of classmates, she was greeted by Miss Bustiers warm smile, and quickly went to claim her seat next to Alya. "Hello class!", she chirped, the teenagers returning her welcome with excited affirmation. The heroine felt at peace, today was going to be a good day, she just knew it.
"Today is a very special day, everyone. I am excited to announce that we will be going on a field trip today!", she exclaimed, and the class immediately broke out into gleeful affirmation, chatting amongst each other on where they could be going. It seemed a little sudden to Marinette, usually field trips were paid for and happened a few weeks later, but she didn't complain. After all, she was looking for a distraction. "Where are we going?", Max asked with a raised hand.
All the while, Nino shifted a bit, smiling rather timidly and glancing away from the others. "You okay, Nino?", Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah. Just excited, dude.", he replied. Miss Bustier continued to speak at that moment, so Adrien didn't prod further. "We are going to be visiting McClay Industries, owned by the famous billionaire inventor, Chad McClay.", she announced, clasping her hands together. The class immediately began to chatter again, but Max was probably the one freaking out the most, his robot Markov doing little flips through the air.
"I LOVE HIM!", he screamed, receiving an abundance of glances from his friends. "...Well, of course I do. He's brilliant.", he explained, looking at them like they were insane. Marinette, however, stayed silent. The name sounded awfully familiar, Chad McClay. Just thinking about it placed a feeling of dread deep in her stomach, and she began to ponder where it could've come from before Alya tapped her friend lightly on the shoulder, breaking her reverie. "Girl, are you alright?", she asked, her tone clearly concerned.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just...nervous about meeting such a smart man, I guess.", she responded, noting that she was a terrible liar. Well, what she said wasn't entirely false, Chad was indeed a famous inventor, his presence had a knack for making people nervous. He was probably one of, if not the richest man in Paris, and he actually flew in from the U.S., so the title was not one she would've thought to be earned so easily. Of course, people like him had skyscrapers everywhere, and she guessed that's where they would be headed.
"My dad actually works there, you know.", Nino revealed, several gasps echoing through the room. "Come to think of it, we haven't actually met your dad before.", Adrien realized, but his best friend was unbothered. "Yeah, he's super busy all the time, his shift doesn't let him out much. That's why it's totally awesome that everyone will get to meet him!" Everyone else seemed to match his excitement, but Marinette was busy thinking back. Where had she heard the name McClay before?
Nino wasn't done though, and pointed down at his signature blue shirt, his finger on the eye that was right in the middle. "In fact, the big design on my shirt is actually the logo of McClay Enterprises. It's apparently like, super rare merch that only employees can get.", he added, the class immediately running towards him and crowding around Nino, chatting loudly and complimenting. Chloe, being as prissy as always, did a little 'hmph' and turned her nose up, her slave friend Sabrina copying her. "My Daddy is twice as rich as that McClay man, he isn't even fit to straighten his coat."
So the class kept talking and talking despite Chloes stupid little snobby exaggeration, until Miss Bustier cleared her throat and shut everyone up. "Class, we have a bus parked outside, everyone outside please, single file.", she instructed, the students following her request and lining up, strolling out of the classroom and down the stairs into the courtyard. All the classic friend groups paired up, but Alya sneakily whispered into her friends ear. "Girl, you know this is the perfect chance to sit with Adrien…", she said in a singsong voice.
Admittedly, the proposition made her breath catch in her throat for a moment, and Marinette's face heated up for a second. But after what she'd seen two months ago, a crush didn't faze her nearly as much. "Nah, I'd rather sit with you.", she replied, before spotting the bus up ahead and leading Alya towards it. They were all loaded into the vehicle soon enough, and the bus eventually drove them away from school and was set to enter the bustle of the city. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as New York, but they did have skyscrapers, and the dark silver one standing tallest of all seemed to be the one they were approaching. On the sides, massive glowing blue letters spelling out 'MCCLAY INDUSTRIES' greeted them.
Stopping right in the front, the students exited the bus and marveled at the incredible height of the skyscraper. Only the Eiffel Tower seemed to be able to trump it in how enormous it was. It was at that moment that Adrien scurried over to Marinette, catching the girl by surprise. "Isn't this totally awesome? Thanks to Ninos dad, we get to visit the building belonging to one of the worlds greatest inventors!", he said in a bubbly tone, while Marinette immediately scrambled to regain her composure. "...Yeah! This is...super cool.", she said, thanking whatever God there was that she didn't stutter. It wasn't even something she'd been working on, it just sort of stopped on its own.
Walking inside along with Miss Bustier, a wave of cold air instantly hit Marinette as soon as she entered, leaving her hoping that the excessive AC didn't freeze Tikki too much. A well-dressed woman at the front desk was the first person they seemed to see, and she instantly looked up from her work and scurried over towards the group, clutching a clipboard under her arm. "...Hi. Welcome to McClay Enterprises.", she said awkwardly, obviously not expecting visitors so soon. She looked like the most busy person in the world to Marinette, hopefully the class showing up didn't stress her out too much. "I hope it wasn't too far of a trip, driving all the way out here."
Reassuringly, Miss Bustier smiled and shook her head. "Of course not, and besides, we were all so excited to visit that it hardly ever mattered. Class, say hi to…", she began, trailing off once she'd realized she didn't have the name of the tour guide. "Rosa Albir.", the woman said, in which the class responded with the typical hellos. Except for Chloe, who turned her head away like she was above greetings. "Chad McClay should be joining us shortly, I'll show you around while we wait.", Rosa announced, motioning for the ecstatic students to trail behind her.
Marinette joined the others in a single file line, her eyes fixated on the massive logo sitting on the wall above the front desk, flashing a cool blue hue that screamed professionalism. It still seemed to be oddly familiar, and unbeknownst to the woman, Adrien eyed the logo from afar as well. "Could've sworn I've seen it before…", he murmured, before returning his attention to the tour guide.
Leading them down a long stretch hallway buzzing with busy McClay Enterprises workers, each wearing light blue uniforms with the company logo pinned onto the left side of their chests, Rosa navigated through the wave of employees and glanced at the group to make sure the students were following closely behind, before pushing through a pair of double doors that led into the display area.
Immediately, oohs and aahs rippled through the class, as they entered the widespread area, packed with other visitors who gawked at the technology on display. Instantly, Marinette's interest peaked, despite her suspicion regarding the logo. The inventions sat in transparent display cases, and a push of a button could activate the creations and amaze those who were watching. Admittedly, it looked like something out of a movie, this tech was far beyond what Marinette had thought to be possible in this day and age, almost stepping over the line of futuristic.
The class scattered pretty quickly, each student rushing to the display cases to take a look at the technology McClay Enterprises had to offer. "THIS IS SO COOL! I AM NEVER LEAVING THIS PLACE!", Max exclaimed, before being shushed promptly by his classmates. Inching towards one of the inventions, Marinette watched a plain silver cube sit in the middle of the case, a few buttons nearby free to be pressed. Upon tapping one of the triggers, she widened her eyes as the cube shifted it's surface appearance entirely, creating a lush nature scene with tall trees and a blue sky.
"Wow, that's...actually pretty cool.", she murmured, before directing her eyes on the description of the invention. 'Illusion Technology, Prototype 1', it read, in large bold letters. It was interesting, McClay seemed to be taking big leaps in the world of inventing. Marinette could only imagine how long it took to make the items in the room, since they seemed to be just as high-tech as the illusion device she'd just come across. From energy converters, to a material that could form shapes in nanoseconds, the class was definitely out of place right now.
While everyone was frolicking around the room, Rosa glanced down at her phone as a full vibration went through it, and immediately went to Miss Bustier and informed her of the news. "Class, everyone gather around. Rosa tells me that Chad McClay will be arriving soon. Everyone stay together please.", she announced. The students obliged, forming into a group near Miss Bustier, eagerly awaiting the appearance of the company creator.
On cue, two double doors were pushed open at the end of the room, and a man made his way into the room. He didn't look too old for such a rich man, ranging to be in his late twenties to early thirties, although that could just be the result of applying copious amounts of rich-people makeup. Dressed in a sleek blue and silver suit that mimicked his company colors, Chad McClay immediately winced at the bright lights in the room, rubbing his temple momentarily before casually putting on a pair of shades...indoors, before approaching the group of teenagers ahead of him. No one seemed to notice his odd behavior, although Marinette could guess the reason for it.
Giving them a small wave, he finally spoke up. "Hello, everyone.", he greeted, his words slurred ever so slightly but still laced with welcoming professionalism as Rosa instinctively took a place near him. "Welcome to McClay Enterprises, hope the trip here wasn't too long." Immediately, the excited aura of the class grew more intense, each student widening their eyes in the presence of Chad. Max especially, he looked like he was about to burst. "It's so nice to meet you, Mr. McClay. My class is very excited to be here, we were hoping you could give us a tour of your building."
Glancing at Rosa, he smiled and nodded at Miss Bustier before setting his gaze onto the students. "Of course. Everyone follow me.", he instructed, the elated students trailing behind the man as he led them towards yet another display room, seemingly dedicated to the trip itself. "Here, at McClay Enterprises, we specialize in creating beneficial technology that you could only dream of.", he smiled, motioning to the inventions around the room. "We set up this building in Paris not too long ago, about...three months or so prior to this trip. I believe it's important that every section of the world receives the influence that my technology can bring them, which is why Paris is now home to my company."
Admittedly, Marinette herself was beginning to become interested in his briefing. The Startrain was really the only technological advancement that Paris had, and even then there were still a few kinks that needed to be worked out. Besides, she doubted any other rich people were planning to help the city, definitely not someone like Gabriel Agreste. Waiting for Rosa to stand by him, he continued. "Now, you may be wondering, how exactly are we going to bring Paris to a new - get me an Advil, will you? - level? Well, we'll start of course start selling our consumer products eventually, you can stock your house with all the newest smart devices courtesy of our company.", he announced, before Rosa handed him the pill he requested, which he immediately swallowed without water.
Walking over to a large, flat screen that sat on display, Chad pushed in a few buttons into the panel near it that lit up the device like a Christmas tree. Instantly, a projection of Paris was illuminated in front of them, earning a collective chorus of intrigued gasps from the students that watched. "We plan to improve Paris past its normal technological state over the next few years, granting this great city improved transportation, architectural advancements, and much more."
That's when Rosa stepped in, wearing a smile that mimicked the one Chad had. "Chad will now be accepting questions at this part of the tour, if any of you want to ask him something, now is the time", she announced, before practically every student raised their hand. Caught off-guard by her proposal, Chad quickly regained his focus and once again smiled at the crowd of teenagers. "Yeah, if you have anything to ask, anything at all, I can answer it." Despite the field trip, the McClay Enterprises employees continued to work in the background, with two men across the room controlling a prosthetic arm with a small device.
Trying to make a selection between the abundance of eager students, the inventor finally decided and pointed at Alix "Hey, so I've been wondering, do any of your machines turn evil and try to kill anyone?", she asked. Slightly alarmed, Chad chuckled at her question and shook his head. "No, of course not!", he replied, ignoring the commotion in the background once the prosthetic arm began to choke one of the employees, who frantically punched the invention to free their coworker. "Next is... you, with the glasses.", he announced, pointing at Max, who was on cloud friggin' nine right now.
Taking a moment to control his breathing, the boy finally mustered the courage to speak. "Er...yes M-M-Mr. McClay! Have you ever...er...begun or considered working on intelligent AI? I've managed to create a robot a short while ago, I call him Markov", Max said, his round robotic friend emerging from his bag the second his name was mentioned. Doing several somersaults in the air, Chad raised his eyebrows slightly and stepped forward to examine him. "Extraordinary…", he commented, impressed by the boys creation. "Thank you, Mr. Chad McClay!", Markov chirped, and Max looked like he was about to faint. "But yes, I have been working on a special AI. If things go well, it should be able to run this whole building, and bring us to a point of production that wouldn't have seemed possible a few years back."
As Max attempted to comprehend what had just happened, Chad straightened his suit and continued the Q&A. Suddenly, his eyebrows raised slightly, and pointed over towards Nino. "Hey, you've got my logo on your shirt, young man", he said proudly. "What's your question?" Nino nervously cleared his throat for a second, before an eager smile made its way onto his face. "Yeah, I came to ask if my dad was working today. I haven't seen him in a while because he's so busy, I was wondering if I could see him. Er...I'm Nino Lahiffe, by the way."
The mention of his last name seemed to ring a bell for Chad, and he immediately perked up once it was said. "Hmmm...I believe I know who you're talking about. Emile Lahiffe, right? Ah, his shift doesn't end for another few hours. He's working with the other people in his position, but I'm sure you'll get to see him later!", he replied in a chipper tone, although Nino was a little disappointed. Although a lot of interesting conversation was occuring, Marinette could've sworn she'd remembered the inventor's last name from somewhere, the memory was so close, yet so far…
And then it hit her. She'd been attacked by a drone briefly three months ago, one that released live ammunition and chased her through an apartment building. That DEFINITELY raised some questions, and although she probably needed a moment to recover from the shock of her epiphany, she raised her hand high and stepped to the front of the others, cutting in front of Chloe. Before the rich girl could protest, Chad noticed the young girl and pointed over at her. "Yes, you."
Although her memory was definitely foggy, Marinette knew what she was going to ask. "Hi, my name is Marinette. I've been wondering, with all these inventions, have you ever produced...drones before? But like, not the type that would...usually be available?", she inquired, making it very clear what she was implying. Chads smile froze at that moment, and Rosa widened her eyes lightly at the girls odd question. Finally, the inventor spoke up, and laughed rather loudly at her question. "No, young lady, the army is the only group that produces those types of machines. But hey, drones might not be totally off the regimen, I could definitely use something to grab me a cup of coffee when I'm too lazy to get out of bed."
Although the joke was corny as shit, the class erupted in laughter, and whatever tension Marinette had brought upon the group had vanished. Something was definitely off here, but she wasn't sure what. "Anyways, I'd love to chat with you all day, but I'm a bit of a busy man. So sorry everyone, I wish I had more time.", he apologized, but Miss Bustier grinned reassuringly. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, Mr. McClay. Thank you for inviting us to visit, it has truly been amazing." Shaking the womans hand enthusiastically, he gave the students one last look before heading towards the door at the end of the room, with Rosa trailing behind.
"I hope I can see you all again sometime!", he exclaimed. "It's like I always say, if you've got something worth pursuing, there will always be a place for you here..."
And with that last statement, he left the room.
...
A light breeze went through Cat Noirs blonde hair, prompting him to shift his head to the left slightly and stare down at the busy streets below. It wasn't the first time he'd been stuck waiting for his friend to show up, when she was the one who'd initiated the meeting, but he certainly wasn't one to complain about seeing her. "Might as well see how father is doing, he's been really quiet lately.", he mumbled, sitting on the edge of the rooftop and letting his feet dangle as he dialed Gabriels number on the phone that retracted from his staff. Perhaps he needed to change his Cat Noir number from his personal one to improve security, but he'd cross that bridge some other time. Sitting through the tedious rings, the boy beamed as soon as the call was answered. But his father was anything but willing to talk.
Once the ringing came to an end, Gabriels tired, yet stoic voice came over the device. "Yes, Adrien?", he spoke, the hopeful look in the boys eyes diminishing. "Hi...father. I was just calling to check up on you.", he replied cautiously, expecting to be shut down. A brief moment of silence followed, one that felt like an eternity to Adrien, but it was soon broken by his father a second later. "Everything is fine, Adrien. I've been very busy lately, I'd appreciate it if you would let me work." he said sternly, an edge of hesitation to his voice.
Sighing lightly, his prediction had been proven correct, and he put the phone back up to his ear. "Of course...sorry.", he replied, before hanging up promptly afterwards. "What's been wrong with you lately, father?", he murmured, staring at the phone longingly before letting it slide back into the compartment on his weapon. The clink of Ladybugs yoyo attaching to the edge of the rooftop caused the boy to immediately stand up straight, before turning around to face his partner as she instantly appeared in front of him. Luckily, he hid his change in expression from the call quite well, plastering on a goofy grin that paralleled her more serious expression.
Leaning an arm up against the chimney of the building, he brushed a lock of hair out of his face before returning his gaze back to the heroine. "Well, m'lady, if you really wanted to spend time with me that much, you could've just asked…", he purred, pun not intended, but the flirtatious remark bounced off of Ladybug like it was made of rubber. "I think we might have a new case on our hands, something not involving Hawk Moth.", she announced, walking past Cat Noir towards the edge of the roof, taking his precious place and glancing at the bustle of the streets below. "What's up?", he asked, his tone mimicking hers as he glanced over at his partner.
She contemplated her words for a moment, as if they were even worth spilling to him, before finally speaking up and meeting his eyes. "It's about that new billionaire in town, Chad McClay.", she said, taking Cat Noirs shocked expression as a signal to keep going. "I guess the whole spectacle of his 'genius inventor' identity has made me a little suspicious. A weaponized drone belonging to his company attacked me in an apartment building three months ago, and I know, because the machine had his logo painted onto the side. It was after that when someone…"
She trailed off for a moment, digging into a day she'd buried deep months ago with all the willpower she had. Admittedly, it was a lot more difficult than she'd predicted, trying to navigate through the darkest recesses of her brain to remember what happened next. From what she could put together, a man...or woman, had attacked her afterwards. It wasn't clear who or what they were, but she could definitely remember one faint detail that sent a chill up her spine. The goggles they were, glowing a vivid green, staring into her soul like a pair of eyes. Eyes that were looking for something deeper.
The echo of sirens in the distance caused her to yelp, cutting off her inner thoughts and causing Ladybug to instinctively cover her ears. Her heartbeat had instantly quickened, but once the sound grew more faint, she slowly lowered her arms. Cat Noir, who raised his hands slightly to calm her, had a worried look on his face. "...The drone had tried to kill me, that is it.", she said plainly, before her tone returned to normal. "If he has illegal weapons that could prove harmful to the people of Paris, we need to swoop the hell down to this man and question him."
Taking the hint to continue with the main topic at hand, Cat Noir nodded in agreement. "I say we pay the man a visit tonight, he's looked pretty busy as of lately, and I don't think we'll have a chance to speak to him otherwise.", he suggested, receiving a mutual nod from Ladybug. "Agreed. We'll meet here tonight, 8 o'clock, and talk to Chad McClay. Hopefully we can get something out of him.", she settled, tossing her Yoyo to the roof nearby, before glancing over at Cat Noir. "You don't need to worry about me, you know.", she said with a faint half-smile, before tugging the Yoyo and swinging away.
Despite her words, a thought in the back of his head made him wonder if he was convinced.
…
As the glowing sun began to set over the horizon, both Ladybug and Cat Noir landed atop the edge of a roof in unison, staring intently at the towering McClay Enterprises building tower above them; which was illuminated by sky blue lights that made it stick out like a sore thumb in the dark. "Well...we're here." Cat Noir spoke, glancing over at his partner. "Did you happen to plan an entrance into this building?", he inquired, prompting Ladybug to pause for a moment to think over their strategy.
Finally, she glanced down towards the ground level of the building, which surprisingly, seemed quite empty and accessible. But why wouldn't a high-tech building owned by McClay Enterprises have some sort of guards protecting it? "We can always look for a backdoor, maybe an open window.", she suggested, giving a small shrug. Cat Noir chuckled in response, believing she was joking, but her serious expression swiftly cut him off. "It's worth a shot, I guess. Let's head down, can't waste any time.", he responded, as the two leapt off the roof together and descended to the streets below.
Stealthily creeping around the edge of the building, Ladybug scanned the surface of the skyscraper to search for any cameras, or some sort of indication of an alarm system. Admittedly, she didn't feel great about breaking into a genius inventors building, she knew there was something...off, about McClay, and her instinct was rarely off. "Found a backdoor.", Cat Noir called out, allowing Ladybug to run up towards him and find his discovery. "Wow, it's so...accessible.", she commented, almost not believing what she was seeing. Hell, the door was even cracked open a bit, anyone could've walked in.
Glancing over at her partner before cautiously pulling the door open, she kept her hand trained near her holstered Yoyo all the while, just in case. "Tread lightly, kitty. This could be a trap." she whispered, bending her knees slightly and entering the building, hoping to make as little noise as possible. Inside was a rather large corridor, dark for the most part with the exception of the dimmed light fixtures on the ceiling that hummed eerily. Making her way across the hallway alongside Cat Noir, she noticed a corner at the end of the path and quickly took cover, fearing an ambush on the other side.
Upon turning the corner, she was relieved to find that no threats were located, prompting her to make her way towards the end of the hall where a large pair of double doors stood. Quickening her pace despite the goal to be stealthy, Cat Noir trailed behind her up until they reached the pair of doors, in which they both froze where they stood. "Ready, Cat Noir?", she asked, looking towards her partner and staring into his green, catlike eyes. "Let's do this." he replied affirmatively, giving Ladybug the okay to carefully push the doors open…
…and leading them into yet another empty room. However, this one sparked Ladybugs interest. It was far larger and more wide than the hallway they'd snuck down, with massive shelves taking up space in the left and right sections of the room,stacked full with large, secure, jet black crates, while the middle was simply a wide, open space. On the ceiling was yet a large, long light fixture, barely illuminating the room despite it's massive size. It didn't look nearly as curious and innocent as the display floor upstairs, and gave the two heroes a bad feeling deep in their stomachs. "Okay, we should stick together for this one. We'll check as many crates as we can, and if we don't find anything, we'll leave and figure out a different plan.", she said, receiving a nod of affirmation from her partner. "Let's just be careful, I'm not entirely sure this is legal anyways."
Moving towards the first crate they saw, Cat Noir reached for his baton and attempted to use it to pop off the lid of the crate, to little avail. "They're packed tight, but I should be able to work it open with some time." he explained, glancing at his weapon before reaching forward to try again. As Ladybug opened her mouth to respond, she froze, as an unexplainable echoing click at the end of the room caught her attention. Cat Noir heard it as well, and snapped his head in the direction of the noise. "...What was that?", he asked, his words coming out slow and wary. "I...I don't know. Let's just keep trying.", she replied, letting him attempt to break the crate open once more.
After a moment or two of listening to Cat Noirs grunts and struggles, the swift tapping of feet running across the floor a few feet behind Ladybug only raised her suspicion. Turning around faster than she ever had before, she was met with empty silence; the tense surroundings only caused her eyes to widen. Lightly putting her hand over the side of her Yoyo, she glanced back at Cat Noir, who looked just as freaked out as she was. "Cat Noir, I-", she began, before yelping loudly as a crate across the room hit the ground hard. She couldn't see who it was, given the room was like a maze, but that didn't stop her from delivering the haunting message to her partner.
"...We're not alone."
Then, she heard something. It started as a low hum, almost identical to the lights they'd passed in the hallway earlier. Only the humming soon grew louder, and deeper, and right as Cat Noir turned around, the noise began to alter towards deep pulsing. It was clear that something was wrong, as the deep pulsing noises began to grow more and more audible. Noticing a flashing green glow from behind the barrier the shelves provided, Ladybug immediately grabbed Cat Noir by the shoulders and dove to the side, right as a crackling green blast struck the shelves they'd been hiding behind.
Grunting lightly to try and recover from the attack, the shelves instantly began to melt down into molten metal, as if they were made of butter. Lifting himself up from the solid floor, Cat Noir helped Ladybug up gingerly, as a fire extinguisher in the corner of the room exploded. As it released a thick white mist that enveloped the area, the two managed to spot a group of figures standing in the middle of the room, each holding an object in their hands.
Despite them being nothing but silhouettes, the heroine instantly undid her Yoyo from its holster, she twirled it as fast as humanly possible while Cat Noir brandished his Baton. "Who are you?!", she shouted, inching forward to try and get a better look at their attackers. On cue, the mist began to clear, and the appearance of the people across the room were made hauntingly visible.
There were 5 of them, their heights varying greatly from each other. Each wore a jet black suit illuminated by their glowing purple goggles, allowing them to stare menacingly at the two in the darkness. As Ladybug had noticed before, they were all carrying a high-tech piece of weaponry, unlike anything either of the heroes had seen before in their lives. From what they could make out, their choice of weapon alternated; with three carrying large rifles and the other two wielding long stun sticks.
One of the people in front glanced over to one of their comrades, who silently, yet cartoonishly, presented the duo to the others, like they were handing someone a present. It was unsettling, to say the least. The tension was immediately broken by one of the stun stick-wielding attackers sprinting forward, throwing both of the heroes into battle before they knew what was happening. Ladybug caught on quickly though, and moved forward more cautiously than her attacker, before leaping off the wall to deliver a swift kick that knocked her foe to the side.
This set off the rest of the group, with the ones carrying ranged weapons beginning to charge up their rifles, and the foes brandishing stun sticks swung them menacingly. "Well,I guess we're doing this.", Cat Noir commented, as the two made their way to the middle of the room to face off with the others, as the person who had been struck by Ladybug rejoined the group. Glancing over at Cat Noir to make sure he was ready for the fight, the heroine almost didn't notice the beam being shot towards her.
And so it begins.
Immediately leaping to the side to evade the blast of energy, she quickly scrambled to her feet as Cat Noir took a more offensive approach and hurled his baton at the rifle user, knocking the weapon's aim aside and allowing him to move towards the attacker. Shoulder ramming into them as hard as he could, he stepped backwards as the person swung a right hook in his direction, before Cat Noir retaliated by twisting around and slamming his heel across the persons ribs
The blow bounced uselessly off of their armored suit though, prompting the attacker to press forward and slug him in the gut, before gripping the boy by his shoulders and throwing him to the side. "Wow, you hit way harder than I thought!", he gasped, rolling backwards and retrieving his baton as the person attempted to move forward and stomp him while he was down. But only once he was on his feet, a second enemy holding a sparking stun stick appeared at his left, and Cat Noir blocked a swing from the weapon second before it struck him, causing the two weapons to clash and spark once they connected.
Meanwhile, three riflemen fired rays of energy from their guns, as Ladybug frantically sprinted to the right to try and avoid them. She was in a bad position, and judging on the thick lines melted into the metal walls left by stray beams, she couldn't afford to take a hit. So, she improvised. Throwing her Yoyo towards one of the shelves and watching as it looped tightly around a crate, she yanked it as hard as she could to the left and threw the large box at one of her attackers.
The crate hit one of the gunman with such force that it sent them flying several feet to the left, with them left gasping and gripping their stomach as they were sprawled out on the floor. This alerted the other two enough to glance towards their comrade, allowing Ladybug to hurl her Yoyo up towards the large light fixture on the ceiling and rip one side from its binds. Since the other part of it was still attached, the fixture swung downwards and knocked into one of the other gunman, who stumbled backwards slightly from the impact.
Darting towards the stunned enemy, Ladybug leapt up and kicked them as hard as she could in the chest, right as the one she'd thrown the crate as scurried to their feet and charged up their rifle. Widening her eyes, she immediately spun her Yoyo into a safe barrier just as the beam shot towards her, with the shield she'd created protecting her from the blast. Behind her, one of the stun stick wielders from earlier appeared and snuck towards Ladybug, reeling a hand back to swing the weapon before Cat Noir suddenly pounced on them and prevented the attack
Once the beam died down, Ladybug threw her Yoyo forward and yanked the gun from the riflemans hands, before twirling around and hurling it right back at them, striking them right in the forehead and knocking them out cold. "Thanks, kitty!", she exclaimed, glad that one of the five attackers was down. "No problem Ladybu-OW!" he shouted, as the person he'd tackled quickly wrestled against him and straddled the boy, before smashing a fist into his ribcage and a second one into his jaw. "You really gotta find a new hobby. There's plenty of stuff out there; writing, hiking, scrapbooking...the sky's the limit!", he quipped, setting his baton under their stomach and clicking the button to extend it into a staff, pushing them upwards at incredible speed until they hit the ceiling.
Rolling to the side to avoid them once they hit the ground, he paused for a moment to make sure they wouldn't get up and attack him again before realizing they were unconscious. "Nice, only three left!" he said triumphantly, joining Ladybug in the middle of the room as the two stood back to back. On Cat Noirs side, the two riflemen stood roughly ten feet away, their fingers brushing the trigger of their guns. Meanwhile with Ladybug, the last stun stick wielder let out an angry, muffled snarl from beneath their mask, as their weapon continued to spark and crackle. "Looks like they still want a fight.", Ladybug commented, spinning her Yoyo and preparing for battle. "Then let's give it to them.", Cat Noir smirked, as the riflemens guns began to slowly charge up.
A split second before the first beam was fired, both heroes stepped to the side right as the stun stick holder was lined up in front of Cat Noir, leading to the crackling blast striking them instead and throwing them into the wall behind them, leaving them unconcious with sparking, damaged armor. Not letting the last two attackers get a chance to be surprised, Cat Noir joined hands with Ladybug before spinning around as fast as he could, throwing his partner into the air, sending her spiraling right over one of the rifleman as they fired their own beam towards her. Spinning her Yoyo into a shield to block the attack while airborne, she landed onto the gunman gracefully, slamming them onto the hard floor and knocking them out as well. Only one left.
Meeting eyes with Cat Noir, the two formed a plan to take down the last of their attackers, right as they rushed to reload their gun. Throwing her Yoyo forward and wrapping them tightly around their wrists, she yanked the bound gunman forward as Cat Noir ran towards them from behind. Dashing towards them as they stumbled forward, Ladybug slid under their legs as Cat Noir jumped forward and bounded off of the gunmans back, before turning around in mid air and holding his baton high above his head, bringing it down as hard as he could onto their head and knocking them face first onto the ground at the same time.
Impressed by their takedown, Ladybug glanced down at the unconscious body of the gunman before looking back at Cat Noir. "...Well, that happened.", she said, before remembering just where they were. "Oh, shit! We just did this in a McClay Enterprises building, now the cops are going to come because of the mess we made!", she exclaimed, as Cat Noir raised his hands slightly to try and calm her down. "It's okay, we should just...talk to the police and explain the whole thing. I'm sure they'll understand.", he said comfortingly, as Ladybug paused for a minute to take in his words, before remembering what she had to tell Cat Noir. "Oh yeah, another thing, I have to tell you something important.", she began, about to let him know of the info regarding The Enigma, before she noticed a terrifying figure in the corner of the room.
They were tall, around 6'3 and admirably muscular, but most importantly, standing menacingly in the corner of the room. Noticing her partners horrified silence, she glanced towards the man at the end of the room and sighed, twirling her Yoyo to prepare for confrontation. "If you're with these guys, than you better not make the mistake of fighting us.",she growled, right as a door near the man was pushed open, a warm orange glow being shone into the room as Chad McClay walked out of it, dressed in fluffy plaid pajamas that were a noticeable contrast to his sleek blue suit from earlier.
The light also illuminated the tall man and all his features, showing off a calm, yet still somewhat threatening blank stare on his pale face. He was almost as well dressed as McClay was, wearing a dark gray sweater, as well as sporting combed back hair and well-groomed mutton chops. "Who the hell is breaking in this time, don't tell me it's one of those teenagers from last week with the eggs again!" Chad shouted, before his anger dissipated upon noticing Ladybug and Cat Noir standing across the room. "...Oh, it's you two. Nice to meet you, I'm Chad McClay.", he said, in an oddly relaxed tone. "This here is Billy Bob, don't let him creep you out, he's really not that scary.", he added, motioning to the tall man. "Charmed.", Billy Bob spoke, in a rather deep voice with a noticeable British accent.
To say Ladybug and Cat Noir were confused was an understatement, after being attacked by horrifying masked enemies, Chad was greeting them like everything was normal. But they had to say SOMETHING, so she stepped to the middle of the room alongside Cat Noir, swallowing hard and licking her lips before replying. "Hi...sorry about all of this.", she apologized, but Chad once again didn't look fazed. "Oh, this? That's alright, truth be told you're doing me a favor right now. These people have been robbing my supply of technology for quite a while now.", he said, motioning to the unconscious attackers. "They're a gang of some sort, they call themselves The Lurkers."
Blinking lightly, Ladybug was surprised that he forgave them for the mess they made, but was relieved nonetheless. "Now, do you want to tell me why exactly you're here at this time of night?", Chad questioned, which the heroine was able to answer much more easily. "Yes, we've been looking into you for a while, Chad, and we find certain things about you to be suspicious. We're not here to arrest you, we just want to ask some questions to make sure you're not who we think you are. Is that okay?", she responded, before silence followed, and Chad stared deep into Ladybugs soul with a piercing gaze, almost as if he was trying to read her.
But finally, he spoke up. "...Yeah, sure. Both of you follow me, you too Billy Bob. We'll chat right now actually, walk with me.", he replied casually, motioning for the two to follow him past the door. The two heroes exchanged glances, unsure if this was a trap or not. But there was only one way of finding out, and Ladybug and Cat Noir followed Chad and Billy Bob into the door, before shutting it tightly behind them.
Once they were gone, the other side of the light fixture snapped off the ceiling and smashed open onto the ground, plunging the room into darkness.
A/N: Wow, that took a while, I had no idea I could even still write that much lmao. Well anyways, that's the first chapter, I hope that y'all are at least a little interested to see where this shitshow goes. I can't promise they'll all be this long, but I will try and crack down on releasing chapters sooner than in the previous story, where it took months for me to even start writing. But for now, I just hope everyone reading liked this so far, and I can say that I enjoyed writing it. I'll be hard at work writing more of this story, and I can't wait for y'all to read it.
Until the next chapter...
Oh, and Happy New Years Eve