Chapter two, everybody! Not as fun fact: I was fighting though a bit of writer's block during the beginning (scratch that, the entire first week I was writing this b/c I was having trouble writing the beginning and how to approach it). Either way, hope you enjoy this reworked version!
Chapter Two
Alphaux & Crocdown
The fight had been raging for the last half of the afternoon. Dragonus struck out of nowhere, forcing Marinette to scramble and gather her allies. The battle had been incredibly destructive, Dragonus unleashing a whirlwind of powers upon the ten heroes, who were striking back just as hard. The heroes somehow managed to corner him under the Eiffel Tower about an hour and a half after the battle began.
"I would advise giving up, Ladybug," Dragonus said, his sword twirling. "We've been fighting for hours. You're exhausted, your allies are exhausted. Practically easy prey." Ladybug grunted lightly as she noticed Dragonus's sword spinning slower and slower.
"You seem exhausted, too, Dragonus," she countered. "And there's ten of us. A whole team of superheroes against one villain. You've lost." The assembled heroes began to move closer towards him.
Dragonus snarled at them, then paused. He chuckled. "Fine. You got me. I surrender." Dragonus slowed the spin of his sword and slung it on his back, every hero watching his sword arm.
So intently they didn't notice his off hand moving until he flung a card infused with Simon Says' power right into Pegasus, catching the other heroes off guard and making them pause. Enough time for Dragonus to open a portal and leap through.
Ladybug looked at the Lucky Charm in her hand. "A deck of cards… Well, now I know it was trying to warn me about that." She threw the deck into the air, where it burst into the healing ladybugs and undid the vast damages caused by the fight. A few blocks had been reduced entirely to rubble.
The beeping of several Miraculouses caught her attention. The heroes separated, Ladybug retrieving each Miraculous handed out. At last, Ladybug and Cat Noir met up in the sewer, where they transformed back to their civilian selves.
"Gotta say, m'lady," Adrien began as he stretched. "This fight was one of the crazier ones." Marinette nodded. "Especially after such a long silence from Dragonus. He hasn't been active all week," she replied.
Adrien shrugged. "Maybe he had something come up, and that's why he was attacking so viciously?" Marinette sighed. "If only we could figure out who he was. Then we could stop him, once and for all."
They stood in silence for a moment as Tikki and Plagg recharged. Adrien noticed Marinette's expression. Something like… fear?
"Penny for your thoughts, Princess?" he asked. Marinette blinked in surprise. "It's nothing. Just thinking about a nightmare I had a little bit ago. Dragonus stood in the middle of a cloud of gas and music, claws and traps whirling around him. Almost like… he wasn't alone."
Adrien thought for a moment. "Maybe he has a new plan coming, like he's going to draconize a few people into some warriors," he suggested. Marinette snorted. "He'd be pretty desperate to have to do that."
"We should be careful, though," Tikki advised. "Dragonus has copied some of Hawk Moth's moves in the past. I wouldn't put it past him to try that." Plagg burped. "You're giving Vorath's wielder too much credit, Sugarcube," he replied. "We're talking about the guy who thought it was a good idea to team up with Hawk Moth. That never ends well for the one who teams up with Hawk Moth."
The four stood in silence for a moment. "Do you think…" Adrien began quietly, but he stopped. Marinette looked at him. "Think what?" she asked, quite curious.
"Do you think we could hunt him down?" Adrien asked. "Dragonus, I mean. He said it himself; he has more plans down the line, and if today was any indication, it's going to be destructive to everyone." Marinette thought about it for a moment. It could give us an edge, cutting him off before he could do any more damage. It may be necessary, but is it… right?
"No," Marinette decided. "If we hunt him down, we won't be any better than he is. Dragonus hasn't attacked us as our civilian selves. That might give him a reason to attack us if we're not transformed."
Adrien nodded. "I trust your judgment, m'lady. We'll stop him one day." Their phones buzzed. "I gotta go," they said at the same time, then smirked shyly. One kiss later, the two went their separate ways.
Meanwhile, Dragonus fell through the portal, right onto his bed, groaning. "Dragon down," he groaned, his transformation falling in a snap of golden lightning. Vorath floated to Andrew's head, noticing his wielder was still facedown.
"Tired, boss?" the draconian kwami asked gently. Andrew groaned. "Leave me alone, Vorath. Let me wallow," he replied tiredly. Voraths sighed. His wielder had been like that all week, just wanting to be left alone and lie down. It had taken all of Vorath's persuasion skills to convince Andrew to go out for a fight to clear his head. "Is something wrong?" Vorath questioned.
Andrew grunted. Vorath took that to mean 'yes.' "Was it the fight? Are you upset Ryuko got a swing in on you?" Vorath continued. "Or Carapace hit you in the side with his shield? Or Vesperia slammed her top right into your-"
"No, Vorath! It's not that!" Andrew snapped, then sighed. "Sorry, bud. I know you're trying to help. It's just…" he pulled out his phone. "It's the Student Music Festival back home, and I'm here, missing out on all of it. Not including the parties, the games, the patrols… I miss my friends."
Vorath looked at his partner. He knew that Andrew could be unbelievably rigid when he wanted to, even when circumstances were willing to bend for him. "Your dad said that when the paperwork was all finished, your friends would come. I'm not entirely sure when that will be, but maybe you could work to integrate yourself into more activities with your classmates?" he asked, a nonexistent eyebrow raised.
Andrew shrugged. "Maybe. I guess. I probably should. I dunno, Vorath, I've just been in a funk lately," he replied. "You know that feeling, right? When everything just seems pointless and you're stumbling every step of the way?"
"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean, but still," he floated up to Andrew's face, "It's a temporary feeling, and I'm always here to listen if you need it. Not to mention the others and your family."
A knock sounded on his bedroom door.
"Come in," Andrew called once Vorath zipped off into a hiding place. His father stepped into his room. "Hey, bud," Everett said. Andrew smiled. "Hi, Dad. What's up?"
Everett sighed. "Oh, nothing much," he answered tiredly. "Finally took care of something I should've done a while ago. I have good news, and great news." Andrew sat up, curious. "What's the good news?" he asked.
Everett smiled. "The construction on the new plant finally finished, just the other day. Everything's moving at a bit of a faster pace than intended, but that leads to the great news." Everett's smile grew when he saw Andrew's eyes light up. "And the great news?"
"The board's coming this weekend, and they're bringing their families with them," Everett continued. "Your friends are coming to Paris tomorrow! And I think someone wants to talk to you."
Andrew immediately hopped off his bed and rushed over to his computer setup. Sure enough, his video chat system was pinging. He quickly opened the app and the faces of two of his friends filled the screen. "Hey, Andrew!" the blond one on the left said. "Long time no see!"
"Alex, Jack! How've you been? Where are you?" Andrew asked.
Alex chuckled. "We're just about to take off," he said. "We'll probably be there around tomorrow morning." Jack, the darker-haired one, grinned. "We've missed you, pal! So, how've you been, how's your dad and them?"
"We're doing great," Andrew replied. "Where are the twins?"
Alex and Jack shared a look. "They aren't coming 'til next week," Alex replied. Jack shrugged. "Their mom decided she was going to come with them, and now there's that drama to deal with, and they're taking care of the you-know-what," he added. Andrew nodded. "Well, I won't keep you waiting on takeoff. Have a safe trip!" Alex and Jack nodded. "See you when we get there!" Alex replied, and the video cut off.
"You're right, Dad," Andrew said. "That was great news." Everett smiled. "Good. Dinner's just about ready. I'll see you down there," he said, then left. When he did, Vorath zipped out of his hiding place. "Feeling better, I guess?" he asked. Andrew smirked. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. C'mon, let's go eat. We have some work to do tomorrow."
"Y'know, when you said we were going to get hit with the jet lag, I didn't actually think you meant it would be this bad," Jack said, shaking some of the drowsiness away. Andrew smirked to his friend. "That's why I warned you. At least Alex took my warning seriously," he replied. Alex shrugged. "I don't have any reason not to, man. But in all seriousness, I didn't sleep. I was up all night working on a glitch in ANNA. What you see right now is the product of an entire pack of energy drinks."
The three of them were playing video games in Andrew's bedroom while their parents were downstairs talking. Andrew glanced at his friends and smirked. Alex's piercing ice-blue gaze was fixed on the screen of the TV, his fingers moving a mile a minute as he proceeded to thrash both Andrew and Jack. The latter was furiously attempting to recover some health, his rust-brown eyes narrowed.
Fifty seconds later, Alex had defeated both of them. Jack sighed and propped his sneakers on the table in front of the couch. "I swear, Alex, one of these days, I'm gonna find out you're a robot and I won't even be surprised," he said. Alex just wiped his palms on his jeans. "Dude, I practically made that game. Of course I know all the cheat codes." The three of them laughed.
"So, what chaos went on back home?" Andrew asked. "Supervillain breakouts, crazy teachers, Ryan made a few people quit?" Alex and Jack shrugged. "It's been pretty quiet," Alex admitted. "Just some minor crimes, nothing we couldn't handle. Ryan hasn't burned down Skyburner HQ yet," Alex replied. Jack chuckled. "And as for crazy teachers, nothing too insane. Even though the entire faculty is going to go completely insane if the new pranksters don't stop."
"Bless their hearts," Andrew joked. The three cracked up again.
"Say, where's Vorath?" Alex asked. "It's been forever since I've seen him." The kwami in question phased out of the Dark Box. "It's been forever since I've seen you, Wiztech," he said. "You and Bulldozer. How've you been?" Jack chuckled. "Fine, pal, just fine. Though, I don't intend to be Bulldozer here. I'm officially off hero duty."
"Yeah, about that," Alex began as he turned to Andrew. "You've been running around being villainous, haven't you?"
Andrew shrugged. "Guilty as charged. But you know I'm not being willy-nilly with it. I always have a plan," he said. "Look, I get it if you guys think I've betrayed everything we've worked for…"
"Andrew," Alex said.
"And I get it you disagree with me," Andrew continued.
"Andrew," Jack said, exasperated.
"But I have to ask you not to jeopardize it all by revealing-" Andrew was cut off by his friends, who smirked devilishly. "We're in," Alex said. "Always and forever."
"I needed a break from the hero's life, see how the other side does things, cut loose, y'know?" Jack added.
Andrew smirked. "Then we have some work to do. Ah, a couple presents, if you will." The three got off the couch, and Andrew went to his closet, then came out a few seconds later with the pyramid-shaped Dark Box. He laid it flat on his computer desk, then opened the twin doors. The twenty Dark Miraculouses laid within, twinkling in the light.
"You actually got them," Alex said in breathless wonder. Jack chuckled once. "I never thought you'd be able to pull it off," he added. "A heist for something this big, this powerful… This thing has some dangerous power. Can't wait to use it."
Andrew picked out the Dark Wolf tail necklace and the Dark Crocodile tooth bracelet. "These ones will work best with you guys," he explained. "Alex, you get the Dark Wolf Miraculous." Andrew handed the pendant to Alex, who held it in fascination as a ball of gray light condensed into the form of Howll.
"Greetings, sir!" Howll said cheerfully. "I'm Howll, and I'll be your kwami!" Alex looked at his kwami, quite curious. "You're what grants a Dark Miraculous wearer his powers, right?" he asked. "What exactly do you eat? Is this a true corporeal form or a construct made from some sort of quantum particles? Do you turn into the suit or are you just a power source?"
Howll grinned. "To answer your questions, yes, I like meat, I'm magical, and I sort of power the transformation. To transform, say, 'Howll, Time to Hunt!'" Alex fastened the necklace around his neck, and the pendant turned into a gray, curled tail.
"Howll, Time to Hunt!" Alex commanded, and he swiped the ground, then howled towards the sky. Silvery-gray light washed over his body, moving from his shoes to arms, forming the fur-pattern bodysuit. His boots and gloves were clawed, a wolf tail flicked into being behind him, and a wolf-head helmet covered his head, a black visor and silver faceplate forming over his face, obscuring his identity. His weapons, twin clawed armor gauntlets, formed on the top of his forearms, the claws themselves black with the gauntlet being silver. The Dark Wolf Miraculous straightened to a pointed wolf tail pendant.
Alex looked down at his suit, Andrew and Jack sensing his grin behind the mask. "Nice," Alex commented. "So, what exactly do I do?" Andrew smirked. "Your power allows you to duplicate yourself into a pack of clones to attack anyone. The clones look exactly like you."
Alex thought for a moment. "Alphaux," he said suddenly. "For my dark side name. Alpha wolf, faux means false, clones look exactly alike. C'mon, guys, it's not that hard to make a connection," Alphaux added when his friends blinked in confusion.
"My turn!" Jack exclaimed enthusiastically as Snapp materialized out of the Dark Crocodile Miraculous, which turned from its dark green form to a simple white crocodile tooth with a string running from the root to the tip. As he slipped the bracelet on, Snapp told him the transformation phrase.
"Snapp, Surface Lunge!" Jack called out, and as his Dark Miraculous turned into its dark green color, dark green energy surged up his body and down his arms, forming the dark green crocodile-skin suit. His boots and gloves ended in claws, slightly pearlescent silver. A dark green, scaly crocodile tail formed behind him. His helmet formed, a dark green crocodile face on top and the bottom jaw as the faceplate, dark green. A black visor formed over his eyes. Crocodile jaw-esque shields attached to his forearms.
"I always liked crocs," Jack commented. "So, what exactly is my power?"
"Apparently, your power allows you to create traps and hide them so you catch your opponents unaware," Alphaux replied. "At least, that's what Howll told me."
"Okay, now Snapp just told me," Jack said. "You were right, Al. That's your new nickname now. As for me… how does Crocdown sound?" he asked. Andrew and Alphaux shrugged. "It works," Andrew said, then transformed into Dragonus. "Now, before we create some unnecessary but highly destructive chaos, I have something to give you guys."
Dragonus placed two fingers on both Alphaux's and Crocdown's Dark Miraculouses. "Infusion," he said quietly, and golden gossamer threads of power weaved through his fingers into their jewels, where the power turned silvery-gray and dark green, respectively.
"I just gave you your adult powers," Dragonus explained. "Now you don't have to worry about the fifteen minute timer after you use your powers, and you can use them as many times as you need." Alphaux and Crocdown nodded. "So, I can conjure up some traps as many times as I need?" Crocdown asked. Dragonus shrugged. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure, but I think there's a short time between uses. Three minutes or so?"
"That's enough time," Alphaux replied. "Being defeated in three minutes has a pretty slim chance. I'd go so far as to say microscopic."
Dragonus snapped his fingers. "Almost forgot! So, long story short, I raided a nanobot factory a little while after I stole the adult powers from the city's first supervillains. I took the access codes and the nanobots, so they're under my control now." He produced two flash drives and gave them to his friends. "Should be a slot somewhere on the helmet to insert the drives."
"I'm going to have to look over this code sometime later," Alphaux replied as he inserted the drive into his helmet. Dragonus then opened a pocket world portal and spilled out a few nanobots. Crocdown didn't seem impressed. "So, what you're saying is that we can control the things, for what reason?"
"Extra weapons, beast mode, et cetera," Dragonus replied. "I have these ready for a plan later down the line." Alphaux put his hand into the puddle of nanobots, and the miniature drones surged up and formed an extra outer layer over his suit. "They're like an extension of myself," he said in wonder as he opened his hand. Nanobots surged over his fingers and elongated his claws, causing them to glint. Alphaux retracted the nanobots.
"And that portal," the wolf villain began. "Subspace storage pocket? That would make sense." He flicked his fingers, and a small silver portal opened. "Did- did I just do that?" he asked in wonder. Dragonus and Crocdown nodded, amazed. Alphaux just chuckled. "Natural prodigy, I guess." He directed all the nanobots to the pocket world he made for himself.
Crocdown mimicked Alphaux's actions, and soon enough he directed his nanobots to a custom-made pocket world. Dragonus cracked his knuckles. "Now that we've done that, I need to do one last thing. Take off your helmets, please," he said. The other two shrugged, but obliged. Dragonus plucked a hair from each of them, condensed some nanobots around the hairs and created doppelgangers of Alex and Jack, then duplicated his friends' memories into each clone.
"These are your doubles," Dragonus explained as he activated his Double. "They'll cover for us when we need - or want - to cause a little chaos." Alphaux and Crocdown stared at their doubles, who stared right back at them.
"We can go if you want," the Alex double said. The Jack double nodded. "Besides, we want to get a little sightseeing done today, right?" Andrew's double clapped once. "Alright, guys. We'll leave our villain selves to go have some fun. In the meantime, let's go look around," he said. The other two clones nodded, and the three left.
The three villains watched them leave. "So, now do we go cause chaos?" Crocdown asked. Dragonus smirked behind his faceplate. "Oh, yeah, we can. Let's go." Quickly, he opened the door to his balcony, and then the three leapt off over the rooftops.
"Wait a minute," Alphaux began when the three of them had landed right beside Notre Dame. "Shouldn't we have a plan first?" Dragonus and Crocdown looked at him. "What kind of plan?" Dragonus asked. Crocdown scoffed. "I already have one. Jump into some crowd and laugh maniacally. That should work."
Alphaux glared at Crocdown. "I mean, the only people who know there are two new supervillains are us. Why don't we keep that element of surprise? Ambush the heroes or something?"
Dragonus thought about it for a moment. "Good point. Lately, the heroes have taken to bringing in the cavalry if I run around all rampage-y," he said. Crocdown nodded a little. "So you land somewhere, tell the main heroes to meet you wherever," he began, pointing at Dragonus. "While we wait to ambush them. Hide in a tree or under a bridge."
"That could work…" Dragonus continued. "The heroes will have Miraculouses, too, so be ready." Crocdown cleared his throat. "Should we take their Miraculouses if we beat them?" he asked. "Is there a plan for those?"
Dragonus chuckled. "Patience, my dear Crocdown, patience. Yes, there is a plan, but right now, we're just roughing them up, making them bleed a little before we get serious." The other two villains nodded in understanding. "A little sparring practice," Crocdown mused. Alphaux flexed his fingers. "I could use a refresher in my close combat," he admitted.
The three villains rose. "There," Dragonus said as he pointed to the Eiffel Tower in the distance. "That's today's battlefield. May the strongest triumph…"
"And the weakest learn their place in the cosmic scale," Alphaux continued. Crocdown grinned under his helmet. "As fodder for the strong." And with that, the villains leapt off towards the Eiffel Tower.
"How long will your bodyguard be able to keep this whole thing a secret?" Marinette asked as she and Adrien sat on a park bench, sharing a snack. Adrien chuckled. "He wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone, not even if he was bribed. And the way the world sees us right now, we're just two friends hanging out." His voice teased when he said friends.
Marinette giggled. "You really should let your sense of humor out more," she said. "Even if some jokes are a little meow-ut of place." They both laughed at that, then sighed. "Part of me wonders how long this can be kept secret until someone finds out," Marinette admitted. Adrien squeezed her hand. "I don't think anyone is going to pay us any mind," he replied, then went silent, looking over his shoulder.
"What are you looking for?" Marinette asked. Adrien smirked. "Usually, this would be around the time Wayhem or Alya or anyone would sneak up on us and spill the whole thing," he replied. The two burst out laughing again, but were cut off by an akuma alert.
"Well, looks like we have to go to work," Marinette said with a smirk. The two ran off to a secluded alley, and a few moments later, Ladybug and Cat Noir raced off towards the Eiffel Tower.
Unbeknownst to either of them as they got closer to the Tower, the other two Dark Miraculous wielders were hidden near the Tower. Crocdown was submerged under the Seine while Alphaux was perched in the framework of one of the Tower's legs. Dragonus stood idly between the Tower and the Pont d'lena, twirling his sword.
"This wasn't the plan!" Alphaux hissed into his communicator. A dark chuckle from Crocdown came over their line. "Adapt on the spot, Al," he replied. "This is probably better. One question, though? When are they getting here? I don't know how much more air my suit has!" Crocdown added.
Dragonus rolled his eyes. "The suits have about thirty minutes worth of air, and we've only been waiting for five minutes. Be patient and wait for your cue. The heroes will be here any minute," he replied. A crackle came over the comms. "Speak of the devils," Alphaux said. "I could smell them coming a mile away. Do what you gotta do, boss."
Dragonus smirked behind his mask as the heroes landed in front of him. "So, ready for round two, scaleface?" Cat Noir challenged.
"Whatever your plan is, forget it! We won't let you get away this time!" Ladybug yelled.
Dragonus chuckled. "You know, I had only wanted to talk to you," he replied calmly. "Have a little chat. That akuma alert was just poor timing on my part. I didn't properly challenge you," he added, almost sounding exasperated. The two heroes glanced at each other, then Dragonus.
"If you only want to talk, put your sword down and kick it away!" Ladybug ordered. Dragonus obliged, a sneer added for good measure.
"Satisfied?" he asked rhetorically. "Come on over, I won't bite." The two heroes slowly approached Dragonus until they were a stone's throw away from him. "Now, what is it you want to talk about?" Ladybug asked.
Dragonus sighed. "You both know how strong I am," he began, crossing his arms behind his back. "And I've proven many times I don't need anyone covering my back. But that gets lonely, and I'm sure you agree with me that having people you can trust as teammates and friends is one of life's greatest gifts to everyone."
Cat Noir nodded. "It's true. Me and m'lady are glad to have each other," he replied. Ladybug nodded. "Maybe if you decided to be good, you could be a part of our team, help work together to undo the mistakes of the past."
Dragonus laughed. "You misunderstand. I don't want your friendship. At least, not right now. I'm a little jealous of your bond."
He started pacing back and forth, arms still behind his back. "Now, the bond wielders and kwamis have, that's something I have that I would never trade for anything," he continued. "And I've noticed that you've brought your entire team out to deal with me when I need to be beaten. That's simply not fair. Two against one, easy, I can do that. Four against one, tough, but doable. Ten against one? That's cheating."
"What are you talking about?" Ladybug asked suspiciously. Cat Noir spun his staff. "We can still wipe the floor with you," he said. Dragonus chuckled again. "What I'm getting to is… I want to level the playing field."
With that, Crocdown leapt from the Seine snarling, his suit dripping water, and landed behind the two heroes. Alphaux jumped from the Eiffel Tower leg and rolled into a somersault upon landing. When he got to his feet, Alphaux was a foot away from the heroes.
"Meet my friends," Dragonus said. "And before you go into some rant about how I 'betrayed your trust,' I said I only wanted to talk. And we did. They're the ones who are going to fight you," he gestured to the other Darks. With that, Dragonus reclaimed his sword and flipped away, landing on the Eiffel Tower. "Give them everything you got, guys!" he called out.
The two heroes stood back to back, weapons whirling in their defensive formations. "Where'd you guys come from?!" Cat Noir yelled. "I never saw any wolves or crocodiles at the zoo!"
Crocdown chuckled as he flipped over them and landed beside Alphaux. "Funny guy," the crocodile villain commented. "Reminds me of… Blackjack, in a way. Though just a little shorter, a bit blonder, and a lot more of a furry."
"Hey!" Cat Noir yelled defensively. "Who're you calling short, gatorface? You're not much taller than me!" Crocdown growled angrily. "Now you're getting it! No one calls me short!" He turned to Alphaux. "Dibs on the cat, you can have the bug," Crocdown snarled, then lunged.
Alphaux just shrugged. "It was always going to be either or for me," he admitted as he pointed his gauntlets towards Ladybug.
"Eh, oh well," he began. "I'm not one for witty battle banter, so forgive me if it's not satisfactory… Ladybug, right? Such a clever name," Alphaux said sarcastically. Ladybug scoffed. "And what's your name supposed to be? Werewolf? Silverhowl? Direwolf?"
Alphaux chuckled as he lunged forward with his gauntlets. "Those are actually pretty clever," he admitted. "Where was that creativity when you first named yourself?" He slashed down with his claw weapons, forcing Ladybug to jump to the side to avoid them. She returned with a lash from her yoyo, Alphaux blocking with the armored part of his weapon. "If you must know, call me Alphaux," he answered. "Simple, elegant, and intimidating. Just like me." He slashed with his claws again, then moved for a punch. Ladybug dodged to the side, the claws of the gauntlet just barely missing her arm. Her eyes widened in fear. She could hear how sharp they were. And those claws had almost punctured her arm.
She jumped back, avoiding the quick jabs and landing out of Alphaux's reach, quickly lashing out with her yoyo, hitting the wolf villain in the arms, legs, and torso, anything to keep him far enough back.
Alphaux growled. His opponent was wising up to his strategy. This was too uneven a fight, one on one. Ladybug had range and reach in her favor. He didn't. And the fact she seemed to actively avoid close combat with him didn't help any. But what if she was forced to?
A dark grin crossed his lips as a new strategy formed. "Summon the Pack!" he cried, calling on his superpower. A silver energy field formed around Alphaux, and about two or three dozen exact duplicates of the wolf villain leapt out of the haze, snarling madly, little more than animals. He could feel what simple minds they had connected to his will. He was their alpha.
"Wolves, swarm Ladybug!" Alphaux ordered. "Close in, give her no means of escape!" Snarling and howling in affirmation, the pack of clones charged Ladybug, who could barely keep them back with her yoyo. Each time she forced one to go back, two more took their place. Another dark smirk crossed his face as he watched the pack advance a little further, closing in on the heroine. He'd go in to finish the fight, of course, but a little recuperation wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Well, somebody has a bit of a temper!" Cat Noir quipped as he leapt away from another one of Crocdown's shield punches.
The crocodile villain snarled. "Would you like it if you were called short, kitten? Or is there something else that pushes your buttons?" he asked as he tried to sweep Cat Noir's legs out from under him, then blocked a staff strike with his left shield.
"As if you could figure it out!" Cat Noir replied as he swiped at Crocdown again. Crocdown laughed darkly.
"So it's a challenge, then?" he asked. "Fine by me, blondie!" Crocdown swung another punch towards Cat Noir, who jumped back from the attack. "Where'd you learn to run like that?" Crocdown taunted. "Seems like you're too much of a coward to fight back!"
"There's a difference between being scared and not slapping you with destruction!" Cat Noir replied as he struck again with the staff, but Crocdown hit him with a double punch that sent him rocketing back ten yards. "And who taught you that?" the crocodile villain asked. "Your mom?"
A growl escaped Cat Noir's throat as he charged Crocdown, who smirked behind his mask. "Snap Trap!" he yelled, and green beams of energy shot from the teeth of his shields, which turned into a variety of traps only he could see. His smirk grew as Cat Noir stepped in one of the traps.
Cat Noir came to a dead stop, his boot caught in a dark green conical trap, the top of the cone around the top of the boot. "Hey!" he complained. "That's not fair!" Crocdown huffed. "From the looks of it, you were about to smack my face off with that baton of yours. I happen to like my face, thank you very much."
"My mom…" Cat Noir faltered. What could I say without revealing anything? Crocdown scoffed. "So you lost your mom. Okay, I get it, jerk move of me, but I'm the bad guy here. What do you want me to do, play you a sad song on the world's smallest violin?" he asked as he punched Cat Noir with the shields. Cat Noir moved to the side and scratched Crocdown's helmet with his claws.
Crocdown pulled back and growled. "No one gets Crocdown like that!" he yelled. Cat Noir stifled a chuckle. "Crocdown? That's your name?" he asked. "And I thought Dragonus was bad at naming things!" Crocdown snarled again. "You think you're clever, don't you? Mr. Comic Relief, are you?"
"All that, plus dashing and sophisti-cat-ed to boot," Cat Noir added as he moved away from another punch. "And while this trap is certainly something special, cats don't particularly like being cooped up. Cataclysm!" he yelled as he kicked Crocdown away. Cat Noir swept his hand over the trap, disintegrating it under his touch. Crocdown stabilized himself and snarled as Cat Noir drew his staff and spun it.
"Alright, then, kitty," Crocdown said as he got into a combat stance. "Round two." With that, the two charged each other.
Ladybug grunted in annoyance as she lashed out with her yoyo again, forcing more clones back. To her, the majority of the group had learned their lesson in swarming, as they kept back from her yoyo. Only the bravest of the group stepped closer, but then stepped back after getting hit with the yoyo.
Alphaux laughed. "You can't keep them back forever, Ladybug!" he said. "Soon you'll get tired, get sloppy, drop your guard, and they'll pounce. Let's see how you do against the hordes." Ladybug ignored his taunt, lashing out more, keeping the clones back. In the back of her mind, she knew Alphaux was right. Her arm was already getting tired from swinging the yoyo, while the clones didn't seem to get tired.
Ladybug lashed out again at a clone, aiming for the replica Dark Miraculous around its neck. The pendant shattered, making the clone disappear with a pained howl. "Of course! That's their weak spot!" she exclaimed, then groaned as the remaining clones covered their false pendants with a hand. Only one thing left to do.
"Lucky Charm!" she cried out, and the red-and-black energy formed a ladybug-patterned dog whistle. Quickly, she looked around, making a plan. The clones, Alphaux, the dog whistle… Well, dogs are descended from wolves. Not too far-fetched to assume they could hear it. She put the whistle to her lips and blew.
While Ladybug heard nothing, the sound was definitely effective against the wolves, who fell to their knees, clutching their ears while yowling and barking in pain. Even Alphaux was affected, falling to his knees and screaming for the sound to stop, ordering his clones to do something. Ladybug almost felt sorry for the clones as she broke their false Dark Miraculouses.
As she approached Alphaux, still blowing the whistle, the wolf villain lashed out wildly with his claws, trying in vain to hit his opponent. "You lost, Alphaux," Ladybug said, lowering the whistle. "I only wish you didn't decide to follow Dragonus." As she was about to grab his Dark Miraculous, a black blur slammed into her side, knocking her down and disorienting her. When she blinked her vision back into order, Cat Noir was getting off of her.
Crocdown landed next to Alphaux. "Remember this, Ladybug," Crocdown sneered. "Don't use your ultimate weapon if it affects your allies, too." Cat Noir winced. "Yeah, m'lady, I could hear that whistle. It was like one of those high pitched sound pranks people pull to make others cringe." Ladybug winced sympathetically. "Ouch."
"'Ouch' is a term you're gonna be a lot more familiar with," Crocdown snarled. Alphaux unsheathed his glove claws. "I normally don't approve of going for the eyes, but that should not go unpunished."
Before they could attack, Dragonus flew behind them. "Not now, guys," he said. "They get the point. Let's go." The other two villains threw snarls at the heroes as Dragonus opened a portal and they ran through.
"Well, that was… chaotic, to say the least," Ladybug said a few moments after the Darks left and she cast the cure. Cat Noir nodded. "This is all feline a little strange, m'lady," he punned. "They were about to finish us and then leave? What could they be up to?"
"Whatever it is, we should probably keep an eye out for them," Ladybug replied. "I'm thinking about making at least Vesperia, maybe Polymouse, a permanent member of the team. I know we should probably wait until Hawk Moth is defeated, but Dragonus and the new Darks pose a much more immediate threat."
Cat Noir nodded. "Maybe consider making Rena Rouge and Carapace permanent members, too," he added. "Crocdown makes traps appear out of nowhere, and I'm willing to bet Shell-ter could protect against them."
"Not to mention Alphaux's claws," Ladybug muttered. Both Miraculouses beeped a few times. "Let's go, kitty," Ladybug said, and the two leapt off to a secluded corner, transforming back to their civilian selves. Adrien's phone buzzed. "I gotta go," he said as he planted a kiss on Marinette. "See you later, princess." Adrien ran off.
Marinette sighed. "I love it when he calls me that," she said as she made her way back home. Tikki popped her head out of Marinette's purse.
"This is very troubling," the cherry-red kwami said quietly. "If Dragonus has allies, that means he freed the Dark Box. I told you about the kwamis in there, and some of them have very potent powers. If Dragonus decides to release those, we could very well be outmatched," she warned grimly. Marinette pursed her lips. "They can't be as bad as some of the villains Hawk Moth has made," she replied.
"Some are," Tikki said. Marinette took a deep breath. "Tikki, I promise. We'll stop Dragonus and put the Dark Box exactly where it belongs," Marinette said confidently. I hope.
"Why didn't we just finish them!?" Crocdown asked angrily. Dragonus put two fingers up. "Patience, guys," he replied. "They're like prey animals, we're like the predators. Sometimes they get away, but eventually they can't run."
Alphaux cracked his knuckles. "We should be going," he said. Dragonus nodded, and the three headed back to the Hendrol mansion, landing on Andrew's balcony.
"Back to the Den," Alphaux said, and his transformation dropped. "Submerge," Crocdown called out, and he turned back to his civilian self. Andrew had already transformed back. "Before we continue with any more villain business," he began, "I need you guys to promise something to me."
The other two boys nodded, and once they headed into Andrew's room, he dug out the Dark spellbook. "Alexander Phoard, Jackson Dahno, do you solemnly swear that as long as you possess your new powers, you will be loyal to the Dark Dragon?" The other two glanced at each other, then nodded. "We swear."
Andrew smirked a little, remembering the first time they'd taken the oath. "Then welcome to the ranks of the Darks," he said triumphantly.
"Alright, Alex," Andrew began when the three of them crossed the threshold of the school on Monday. "I bet you… let's say ten bucks, that you can't name each relationship in the courtyard right now." Alex chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, then. Let's do this." He quickly scanned the crowd before him, and a few moments later, he gave his answer. "Three couples, a few pairs of best friends, a lot of acquaintances, two couples still not confirmed officially, one half of a relationship, and two not confirmed to be in a romantic relationship with anyone."
Jack smirked. "Fork it over, man," he told Andrew. Alex held up his index finger and pointed behind him. "And those two are a couple, too. Now, I believe you owe me ten dollars." Andrew didn't hear that last part, because his eyes went wide. He quickly dragged the other two to a corner as Marinette and Adrien entered the building.
"Was I wrong?" Alex asked. Andrew took a deep breath. "No, I don't think you were. But let's hope you are, because if they're together…" he started breathing quickly. The other two shared a look of concern. "Dude, don't start hyperventilating on us now," Jack said.
Once Andrew composed himself, he whispered the revelation. "Those two are Ladybug and Cat Noir. How do you not see that?!"
The other two boys glanced over their friend's shoulder and studied Marinette and Adrien. "I mean, I can sort of see it," Alex began slowly. Jack nodded. "Same hair, slightly similar build… I'm going out on a limb and saying that the costumes have a magic cloaking?"
Andrew nodded vigorously. "Exactly," he hissed. "And if they're in a relationship, this could make battles so much harder!"
"We'll deal with that later," Alex said. "First, shouldn't we introduce ourselves to everyone?" Andrew took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
The introductions and conversation seemed to blur past Andrew as he thought about his plans and how they could be ruined by Marinette and Adrien being together. "If it's that much of a problem," Jack whispered after the three of them walked off to class. "Why not… you know?" He made a broken heart gesture. Andrew blinked in surprise. "First of all, that's terrible," he said. "Secondly, it wouldn't work. I've seen enough of them together to know those two are hopelessly in love with each other to know a little manipulation won't do anything. And thirdly… that's just wrong."
"How about we talk about this not in broad daylight?" Alex hissed. The other two sighed, then nodded. "We'll cause a little chaos later," Andrew promised as they headed into class.
After school, when most students had gone home to labor over their homework, two teenagers slipped into an alley. Two flashes of light later, Ladybug and Cat Noir leapt out and ran across the rooftops, finally perching on a building along the Champs-Elysees. Cat Noir turned to his partner. "What if we find the Darks while we're out?" he asked.
"Don't engage," Ladybug immediately replied. "We barely managed to get out of our first fight with them. But, in all honesty, kitty, I don't think we'll have to worry about them. We almost never see Dragonus on patrols." Cat Noir snickered. "Except for that one time we accidentally found him on a rooftop with a soda and snacks." Ladybug smiled playfully. "That's why I said 'almost'. See you in a little bit!" Ladybug swung off in one direction, Cat Noir in the other.
Half an hour later, the two met up at the Arc de Triomphe. "See anything?" Ladybug asked. Cat Noir shook his head. "It's all pretty quiet today. No chaos, no mayhem, no Dragonus with snacks," he replied. He saw Ladybug's expression, like she was thinking about something. "Penny for your thoughts, m'lady?" he asked. "Does it have to do with the Darks?"
Ladybug sighed. "Yes, it does," she admitted. "Dragonus has his two allies now, and if what Tikki told me is true, the other Dark Miraculous should have been imprisoned in Tibet. But Dragonus got them back, and now he has his teammates, who can't have had more than a few hours of experience with their powers before fighting us… I don't know, Cat. I just feel… overwhelmed. And now-" she was cut off by Cat Noir pulling her into a hug.
"I'm always here, Bugaboo," he said softly. "We'll stop the Darks, Hawk Moth and anyone who tries to hurt us or take our Miraculous. We'll be happy. I promise, cat's honor." Ladybug melted into his hug. "Thanks, kitty," she replied. "I needed that. We'll stop them all eventually."
The two stood in silence for a moment before a thought struck Cat Noir. "Perhaps we should go looking for potential leads on the Darks' identity?" he asked. Ladybug took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yes, we should. I gotta go, kitty. I have some babysitting to do," she said, giving him a quick kiss before swinging off into the distance. A moment later, Cat Noir vaulted off, smiling contentedly.
"I love that girl," he said dreamily as he raced across the roofline as the sun began to set, turning the sky a beautiful shade of pale red. Just like his love for his lady.
Two new supervillains! New powers! Our heroes being lovey-dovey! Dragonus being angsty! (another not so fun fact: that part is partially a combination of me binging WandaVision again while writing this, mixed with a tad of personal experience (aka, memories of my first few weeks of quarantine and lockdown before I started writing on here. In all seriousness, you guys helped bring light in this dark era of all our lives, and I'm truly thankful you take the time to read these stories.)) So, thoughts, feelings, questions, anything, be sure to tell me what you think, and as always, stay safe, healthy, and wear your seatbelts! See you next week!
