2:10PM
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Ladybug asks him, but it only manages to ignite Chat's bright green cat-like eyes.
Chat underestimated Plagg's superhuman endurance without ever relying on his own strength and stamina after he failed to meet Ladybug who remained perched above the spire.
Chat Noir had plummeted to the ground at such a high velocity, he splintered the floor beneath him upon impact.
The clouds were ominously gray this afternoon.
Ladybug was caught up in a brief moment after she ascended the Eiffel tower. Her eyes strayed, bouncing from the helicopters then back to Chat Noir who was standing on solid ground below her.
Ladybug's eyes refocused this time along with determination. Flipping open her communicator she waited for Chat Noir's response. "Chat Noir," Ladybug says, with a hint of cheerfulness in her voice. She gave him a pleasant smile.
Suddenly she felt a lot braver.
"Ladybug."
"Chat? Chat? I asked you before, are you okay?" Ladybug says her upbeat attitude suddenly turns concerned after she hears Chat Noir's rigid breathing.
"I've got more important things to worry about." Chat says, loudly before weakly attempting to push Nadja Chamack away.
"I got this strange feeling that at least one of us should be down there while one of us stays up here."
"Why makes you say that?"
"I have a parachute strapped to my back."
"That's all I really need to know." Chat says, calmly, he would inhale another deep breath to clear away his darkened vision after flicking his staff's communicator shut. A frustrated sigh fell from his lips after failing to deflect Nadja from interrupting him.
"Would you like to say a few words Chat Noir to your adoring audience?" Nadja says, pulling Chat away from his panicked and racing thoughts.
Chat's eyes slowly drifted back to Nadja and then the crowds of curious Parisians who stood nearby eagerly awaiting for this heroic and godlike superhuman to say anything.
"Uh, hello-" Chat says, waving back at the cameraman who stood just behind Nadja.
The cameraman gave Chat Noir a thumbs up.
Agreste Mansion
Living Room
2:20PM
Adrien - Are you telling me Chat Noir is father? And Marinette…
Nino - Ladybug…
Adrien had stared back at the television, his eyes focused solely on his father disguised as Chat Noir.
A disguise only his wife and son were able to see through.
"Chat Noir tell me who is that girl standing on top of the Eiffel tower?" Nadja asks, eagerly pushing a microphone towards his face.
"My partner, Ladybug," Chat admitted. He could suddenly feel his heart rate redouble its efforts. The rush of blood was pounding inside of his ears. His eyes begin to dart around the surrounding area clearly looking for any signs of escape.
"So exciting," Nadja says, and she lets out a small squeal of excitement that's been bubbling inside of her chest all afternoon. "It's like a page has been torn from a comic book and we're finally getting a glimpse inside that world of what it's actually like living with super powered crime fighters!"
"You could say that…" Chat says, as he stared back at the camera with glassy and terror-filled eyes. His voice had trailed away, deciding to end this thought. He wasn't sure what else he should add to it.
Nadja was about to ask a few more questions trying to hurry along the interview when she was jolted in response to an unexpected voice from the Eiffel tower diverting everyone's attention to Hawkmoth's mouthpiece: Stoneheart.
The cameraman would pan over Chat Noir and Nadja recording the super-villain's ultimatum.
Adrien - Do you think father looks more like a cross between a Japanese anime and an American superhero comic or?
Nino - Whatever he's wearing it doesn't look like that kind of shiny spandex you see in Sentai Zyuranger.
Adrien - Maybe it's some kind of shiny leather…
Nino - I was afraid you were gonna say something like that.
"Adrien get in the car. We're going to see your father. " Nathalie says, as strolls past the couch her son was sitting on and grabs her car keys heading for the front door.
"As long as Father remains Chat Noir he should be able to handle himself." Adrien says, following close behind his mother.
"I have a feeling about what's going to happen when the transformation wears off." Nathalie answers with concern.
The comment alone surprises Adrien. He pauses, thinking it over, then agrees. "Father is probably going to need the help when this is all over."
He clearly understood his mother's vague explanation.
"Citizens of Paris, I am Hawkmoth," Stoneheart tells them. "Ladybug and Chat Noir I'm willing to make a peaceful compromise under the provision you surrender your earrings and your ring to me."
"Ivan, she sounds a lot like someone I know." Chloe says, with the roll of her eyes. It's more of an annoyance.
"Explain." Stoneheart demands.
"Nice try, Hawkmoth," Chloe says, with a smug smile. "Taking advantage of Ivan's anger. Weaponizing it against other people just so you can secure their cooperation. I'd say that's pretty pathetic."
She momentarily closed her eyes and inhaled a deep sharp breath not only to steady herself but to control the fear that was blossoming inside of her chest.
Hawkmoth's words sound much too manufactured and rehearsed for Chloe's tastes.
"But their cooperation means securing not only your safety but the safety of every single Parisian living here," Stoneheart says, trying to reason with her. "Is your life worth more than a few pieces of jewelry?"
"Whoever Chat Noir and Ladybug really are they aren't just going to back down just because you used me as leverage!
"What makes me think I wouldn't squeeze you to death instead?"
"Go ahead and try!" Chloe screams, her face suddenly turns an interesting shade of red. It would feel as though someone had wrapped a giant rubber band around her chest.
Stoneheart was constricting her airways once again.
The stone akuma was forcibly expelling every ounce of air from her oxygen starved lungs. She was trying her best to ease the aching pressure she felt as she began to breathe harder from anger which had left Chloe to gasp and wheeze.
"You know what," Hawkmoth announces. "I'd much rather drop you then ever listen to you again!"
Hawkmoth's tactic had backfired after Stoneheart's hand was now empty not only after releasing Chloe who was hurtling towards the ground but the crumpled piece of paper Ladybug was prepared to purify.
Ladybug had pushed every single shred of fear and anxiety that flooded her thoughts aside after jumping head first off the spire where her feet were firmly planted upon to capture the akumatized object.
Her parachute would burst open just before approaching ground level.
Spinning her yoyo just above her head.
In a few minutes Ladybug would declare to the every single news outlet observing Paris, France after releasing Ivan from Stoneheart:
MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!
Chloe blacked out before touching the ground.
It would be a few seconds before she was stirred to consciousness again after Chat had swept her up effortlessly in his arms. "Chloe, how are you feeling?" he asks, pressing a hand against her sweat damp forehead.
"It hurts to breathe…" Chloe murmurs. "...you're Mr. Agreste aren't you?" It was much too hard to see past blurred vision.
"No, Chat Noir," Chat says, a little more gently. "Gabriel Agreste is waiting for you back at the hospital. He was the one who sent me to find you."
It never stopped Chloe from imagining Gabriel's voice without the help of Plagg's disguise.
"He did?"
"Yes."
"Does he have his own bat signal?"
"Yes, he keeps in touch with commissioner Gordon." Chat would say, a grateful smile curving on his lips. His comedic musings came to an abrupt halt when his partner Ladybug stood beside him observing Chloe's reactions.
"Do you think Chloe thinks she's dreaming?" Ladybug says, quietly.
"Perhaps," Chat says, warily. "She thinks I'm someone else."
"Who?"
"She called me Gabriel."
"But how?" Ladybug says, with a touch of concern.
"She probably has her own reasons I'm sure." Chat says, sadly. Giving Ladybug a questioning glance. He would not elaborate any further. Then again he probably doesn't have to.
"I understand." Ladybug tells him.