MIRACULOUS

CH. 42

Superheroes Part 2

Rocket, Blue Jay, Pegasus, Viperion, Older Queen Bee, Present Queen Bee, Carapace, Rena Rouge, Ryuko, Cat Noir, and Ladybug. All received their dose of the healing shot and gathered as the undead glowing goons that were once heroes surround them. Eagle, Uncanny Valley, Majestia, Victory, Doorman, Hurricane, Snowflake, all returned.

"They regenerated?" Pegasus wondered.

"No doubt Lux has found a way," Ladybug said. "She's advancing a lot quicker than I thought."

Cat Noir silently flinched when she heard those words but had to stand his ground.

"Any ideas?" Rocket asked.

Cat Noir kneeled and place his fingertips on the ground.

"SENSE!" Cat Noir gave a loud whisper. His vision darkened and felt the hurt within the hearts of these husks. They really are them. He remembered what Cartman had said and the poor souls they had fought in that alternate timeline in the old theater. The people they are fighting are really the people they once were. He tried desperately to find any semblance of a lead to his mother.

"Viperion, can you gimme a hand?" he asked. "Can't find them anywhere!"

"Look Out!" Carapace shouted as Uncanny Valley began shooting her eye beam. Carapace stepped in and successfully deflected the beam without the need of his 'shell-ter'. "WHOAH!" he bellowed.

"Nice save!" Blue Jay jumped over. "Kacho Sen!" He threw a series of fans, lit up like lasers, one deflecting Uncanny Valley's beam and another decapitating her. He also quickly took out Mercury and Sting but the rest were protected by Victory's force field.

Viperion whipped out his harp and played a few quick notes. This had prolonged the time to search for Lux, who still should be nearby.

"We have to get her miraculous now, otherwise she'll be too powerful to…"

"I know!" Cat shouted. "Come on, come on, come on!"

"Spread out!" Ladybug shouted and everyone leaped on separate ways.

Rena and Carapace are followed by Victory and she threw her boomerangs at them. Carapace deflected them with more effort than he thought. Rena played her flute and summoned her shining sphere while a sand mist appeared at the same time.

"Okay…" Carapace got ready.

Ladybug, Ryuko, and the two Queen Bees are having quite a tussle with Majestia as her unparalleled strength is giving them a run for their money.

"EARTH DRAGON!" Ryuko transformed into a version of herself made out of molten rock.

"I think you should've made yourself bigger." Present Queen Bee suggested.

"No need," Ryuko said. She readied her sword and fought toe to toe with Majestia. She stopped Ryuko's blade with her hands but immediately kneed her on the rib, knocking her off her. "The Bees, together, now!"

The two Queen Bees quickly caught on and nodded to each other. The two girls leaped at the stunned Majestia and readied their tops.

"VENOM!" they shouted and stung theformer idol.

"Looks like I have no choice," Ladybug stepped in, spinning her yoyo. "RECONSTRUCTION!" hey yoyo string began to glow red and sliced the paralyzed Majestia to pieces. She simply faded into glowing white vapor. The girls could only flinch when they saw that, knowing that there was nothing they could do about that.

Pegasus, Rocket, and Blue Jay were at the mercy of Hurricane and Snowflake. They were trapped within a freezing mist, as they looked around in confusion. Mercury immediately popped up and jabbed Rocket on the rib and disappeared. Seconds later, a knee on Pegasus' head. Soon after, he grabbed Blue Jay by the ankle and flipped up on the back, slamming his back on the hard pavement.

"AAh!"

"Blue Jay…ACK!" He was hit with an uppercut straight below the chin.

"Too Fast!" Pagasus struggled to anticipate Mercury's attack to create a portal. He then had to think outside the box. "Rocket, I need you to multiply!"

"Huh?"

"I have got an idea!"

"KECHO SEN!" Blue Jay threw shining fangs around the mist.

"BARRAGE!" Rocket multiplied into multiple clones.

As if on cue, Rocket clones began to disappear in quick succession as Mercury tried to take them all out. Pegasus had to act quickly.

"Blue Jay, throw a fan at that portal!"

"Where?"

"This one!" he summoned a portal in the air. Blue Jay threw the light fan up there and Snowflake dropped in like a ton of bricks.

"How did you…?"

"I had to distract them and make them think Mercury was our sole focus."

Hurricane began to retaliate by throwing a strong wind wave. Everyone stood their ground as the wind could have blown them away if not careful.

"Rena!" Cat shouted. "Help Ladybug deflect the wavelength! I still need more time!"

Ladybug stepped in and spun her yoyo.

"AFFIRMATION!" Ladybug shouted and spun her yoyo upward with a series of red flowers sprouting out. Rena played her flute, enhancing her ability. Viperion played his harp, adding to it.

The previously fallen undead puppets were restored yet again. Ladybug turned back to Viperion.

"Keep Cat Noir safe, we'll hold them off," she said, turning her attention back at their enemies.

"Fighting in the Street(Remake Version)" Yuzo Koshiro

Eagle started the brawl with her boomerangs as she threw them to the would fly behind them. Then threw another pair straight at them. Majestia punched the floor, causing the ground to vibrate violently. Uncanny Valley shot her beam at them. Mercury, Snowflake, and Hurricane disappeared yet again.

"Hold your ground!" Ryuko shouted.

"KESHO SEN!" Blue Jay shouted as he threw a new series of glowing fangs. He deflected three out of four of Eagle's boomerangs which aimed at the present Queen Bee.

"Look Out!" Blue Jay shouted but was protected by Carapace.

"No dice, dudette!" he shouted.

"Older Queen Bee, Ryuko, and Rocket initiated their counter strike. The three lead the charge while Pegasus fell down through a portal he created below. He grabbed Doorman below, dragging down with him.

"WATER DRAGON!" she transformed into a massive dragon out of water and went toe to toe with Hurricane. They were quickly dispatched and landed on her knee. "EARTH DRAGON!"

Snowflake tried to jump in but was tackled away by Rocket.

"No way, Compadre!" Rocket shouted. "BARRAGE!"

A clone kept Snowflake busy while another knocked Doorman off Pegasus.

"Much obliged!" Pagasus said as he pushed himself up and created a portal above him and leaped up. "Alleyoop!"

"Did you just say 'alley-oop!'" Carapace asked. Pegasus emerged from another portal behind Carapace.

"Oh, shush," Pegasus countered. "Now come on, we must join the others!" He, Carapace, and Rena fell through a portal he created below them, escaping from Majestia's attack.

"We gotta think of something!" Rena said.

"As long as we cannot find Lux, these husks will keep respawning!"

Ladybug is now busy against Eagle. She could see how similar her subtle reaction and mannerisms are similar to hers.

"I can only imagine what would have been like if we had met." She lamented.

The two Queen Bees were keeping Victory at bay. Her force field was proving a tough nut to crack, literally.

"How can we beat that?" Young Queen Bee asked. Her older self grinned.

"I didn't spend hundreds of years in an infinite library of knowledge for nothing," she said.

"Huh?"

"Follow me!" she said then she spun her top on the ground. Her younger self followed suit.

"Okay, what now?"

"Wait!" she said. The tops clashed together and charged towards Victory's barrier, breaking it. Victory was knocked back.

"Awesome!"

Victory, however, quickly reacted and unleashed a barrage of mechanical drones around the field before disintegrating.

"We can't get them all!"

"Just take out as many as you can!"

Meanwhile, Blue Jay and Rocket a hopping back and forth, protecting Cat Noir and Viperion. Rocket was slicing through Victory's drones while Blue Jay was deflecting Mercury and Snowflake's attacks.

"Dude, we could use a sentimonster!" Rocket shouted.

"No way, dude!"

"We never actually talked about it!"

"'Cause I don't want to! There's nothing to discuss!"

"Fine, I'll do it myself!" Rocket retorted. "You there, after the Hurricane!" he shouted one of his clones. That clone called on another clone and threw it at Mercury, seizing his weather barrage, where they could once again detect Snowflake. Both the clone and the real Rocket sliced both Mercury and Snowflake in half.

"After the big boss!" Rocked said.

"Rocket, wait!"

Victory summoned another drone from behind and grabbed him from behind and dragged them to the others.

"Rocket!"

"Whoa, whoa AAAAAAHHH!"

The drone slammed into Ryuko, causing her to lose her earth form. Majestia goes after Ladybug, only for Pegasus to create a portal between them and target Victory. Both heroines clashed and blew into dust.

"Nice!" Ladybug boasted.

"All in the line of duty," Pegasus pushed his sunglasses.

Cat Noir looked through the sewers via his sense ability. Viperion played his harp to freeze Cat's physical time progression of his body.

"Hurry, Cat," he said. "Sass can only keep this up for so long…"

"I know, I know," Cat reassured calmly, knowing full well what Viperion meant. He abruptly opened his eyes.

"Found her!"

"WHOA!" Viperion pushed Cat out of the way as Majestia came down to the ground, causing a crater.

"OOOF!" Cat landed on his side.

Ladybug and the two Queen Bees landed on their knees. All three of them bumped their fists together at the same time.

"Pound it!" they all shouted together.

"Look out!" Viperion yelled. The girls looked back and we're about to get beamed by Uncanny Valley. Ladybug quickly spun her yoyo and was about to take her on.

"CATACLYSM!" Cat Noir shouted. Uncanny Valley disintegrated in black mush.

"Aw," Ladybug was a little disappointed. "Why did you do that? It was one-on-one for me."

"'Cause you know that I can," Cat said, doing a little arm dance. He quickly stopped and turned to where Lux was hidden.

"Do you know where she is?" Ryuko asked.

"I do," Cat confirmed. "We gotta book it before she gets away!"

All ten of the heroes began their roof jumping, rushing through the city, following Cat Noir's lead.

"Hey, big Queen Bee," Rena greeted as they leaped. "Thanks a lot."

"Your power came through!" Ladybug agreed. Older Queen Bee looked at her younger self, who just smiled at her.

"I…" Older Queen Bee blushed. "I didn't do it alone…" she said as she stared at the clueless present Ryuko.

Song ends.

Meanwhile…

Lux sat in her meditative state and opened her eyes. She opened her eyelids slowly, completely unconcerned.

"They're coming…" she muttered. She got up on her feet. "No matter. I have finally done it."

She pulled another soul onto her grasp.

"Please…" Fei pleaded in Chinese with an echo in her voice. You do not realize what you're doing!"

"Hush, my little one," Lux said in an eerily soothing manner. "Your death will not be in vain as you will now become something greater." She loved her soul on the center and began her process.

"NO!"

Later…

Ladybug and Cat Noir kicked the door down together and the entire team went in and spread out. They all had lamented looks on their face.

"Lux knew we were coming," Ladybug said.

"So what's our next…"

"LOOK OUT!" Viperion shouted.

A seven-foot-tall dragon came in and swept half of the heroes. They were all consumed by a black and white Chinese dragon with blue eyes.

"BEE!"

"NINO!"

"CHLOE!"

*grunts* "SECOND CHANCE!"

Viperion saw that Ladybug and Cat Noir had already kicked the door.

"Wait," he said. "Queen Bee can spin your top?"

"Which one?" present Bee asked.

"Doesn't matter," he replied.

"Did you leaped?" Cat asked.

"Yeah, it's a trap."

The two Queen Bee tops spun once again while prompting a clinking noise as they clashed. Then the dragon appeared.

"It was that easy?" Ryuko asked.

"Seems that it's been driven by instinct," Pegasus concluded.

"Seems that Lux has completed her ritual and has perfected her craft," Ladybug observed.

"Dudes…" Rocket said, pointing at Cat. Blue Jay gave him a stern look and shook his head.

"Then, we're too late…" Cat said. Ladybug noticed his depression.

"Cat Noir?"

"WATER DRAGON!"

"Put a lid on the moping and move it!" Rocket yelled, giving a light nudge at his shoulder, and signaled the approaching dragon with Ryuko attempting to combat it.

The others were about to join the fray, only to be frozen by a dark undead version of Glacia… Now it was Ladybug's turn to be paralyzed.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Blue Jay growled.

"What?" Viperion was confused.

Glacia wordlessly summoned an icepick from her wrist and charged at Ladybug.

"My Lady!" he deflected blocked Glacia's strike with his staff.

"DUDE!"

"ON IT!" Blue Jay stepped in. "AIRWAVE!"

By swinging his fan he summoned a nearly supersonic wave push, which drove both LadyDragon and Glacia away. Ryuko landed on her knees, panting, Viperion took out his harp and played a few notes, causing both Ladybug and Cat Noir to snap out of their trance.

"Boy, didn't think it would actually work," he boasted.

"Focus!" Ryuko shouted. Ladydragon and Glacia got up on their feet as if they were nothing. They noticed that their eyes were empty shells and they all remained completely silent, not once they have heard any of these trapped souls begging for help.

"We really have to free them…"

"LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug shouted without another word. "A wrench?"

"That thing never makes it easy, does it?"

"Look out!" Viperion shouted pointing up.

Ladydragon having transformed into a bear, curled into a ball and spun. Seeing that half of the team was still frozen, they didn't stand a chance.

"CATACLYSM!" He destroyed the door, which everyone fell in. "RYUKO!"

"WIND DRAGON!" she transformed into a tornado to ease the others' fall. They all got up on her feet. It seemed like a vast place, like an underground cathedral. In the middle which was the only light source, but was not strong enough to light up the place. A familiar tune could be heard as Cat approached the light.

"Cat?"

"Keep an eye out," he said as he continued his approach. He got even closer to the glow, a disturbing series of echoing screams and weeping could be heard. He immediately knew what they were.

"I'm impressed you made it this far," A woman's voice is heard. Cat quickly turned and readied his staff.

"You…"

"My, my…" Lux greeted him in a flirty position. "Such a pretty boy like you would not have thrown their life away fighting a losing battle."

"Losing battle or not, I will always stand what I believe in!" Cat countered.

"Is that so?" Lux laughed it off.

"Freeze, ice queen wannabe!" Rocket shouted from behind. "The jig is up!"

"We know what you're up to!" Ryuko added.

"We know what we'll happen if you perform the ritual. That's why you need all those souls so you could use our miraculous, right?" Ladybug sheathed her yoyo. "It won't work!"

"She's gone…" Cat said.

Lux slowly turned back at Cat with a lifeless half-open stare. She unsheathed her rapier and raised her arm. Cat readied his staff and prepared for her strike, only to abruptly turn around and stab Ladybug in the chest, who was unarmed.

"UGH!"

"My Lady!" he came charging at Lux. Before anyone else can react…

"SECOND CHANCE!"

"She's gone…" Cat said. Lux reacted a lot faster and targeted Viperion.

"KECHO SEN!"

Lux deflected the blue fangs. Ryuko and Ladybug charged at Lux, who easily deflected and dodged. Viperion played his harp to give a minor stamina boost to everyone as Cat joined the fray. They seem to do little to faze Lux as she deflected all of their attacks like it was nothing.

"Such boredom," she said. "It seems I have overestimated Gabriel, to be bested by these naïve dullards."

"What?" Cat blurted.

"Your wishful thinking is what is going to lead you to your downfall." Lux boasted.

"HA!" Cat shouted. "You're one to talk!" He charged at Lux only to be easily knocked down.

"No matter," she said I did not expect you to understand. She raised her palm to the sky. A white glowing wave of souls raised what was seen to be an old-fashioned boiler-like tank.

"What the heck is that?" Rocket asked.

"An old-fashioned boiler, the first of its kind, you know, to heat up the water. Only this is an old model from the Third Republic era. But why is this here?"

"Good eye," Lux praised. "Too bad you won't be around much longer…" she raised her palm higher causing the boiler to crash its way through the ceiling and now floated, orbiting over Paris. "Stop me or save Paris, your choice!" She engulfed herself with the white mist and teleported out.

Ryuko was already unfreezing the others with her fire dragon. Viperion, Ble Jay, and Rocket joined Ladybug and Cat Noir and looked up the hole the boiler created.

"Dudes, it's gonna blow!" Blue Jay shouted.

"Should I rewind?" Viperion asked, readying his bracelet.

"Don't!" Cat waved his hand. "Sass is still weakened for his overuse, save his strength."

"What do you propose, dudes?" Carapace added, still wet from his unfreezing.

"I believe, the situation has come to a dilemma," Pagasus added.

"She has just made us choose to come after her or save the people," Ryuko added.

"No doubt she would blow this thing up and expand her army, a win-win for her," Ladybug observed.

"That sneaky narcissistic diva!"

"Hey!" Present Queen Bee blurted.

"Not you!"

"I… I knew that…" Present Queen Bee crossed her arms and looked away.

"Then I guess we all know what the obvious answer is," Cat looked at LadyBug.

She looked down at the wrench given to her by her lucky charm. She took a moment to take a deep breath and then looked back at Cat and smiled, who returned the gesture.

They looked back at the team and then back up the hole on the ceiling.

"Let's move!"

Author's note:

I'm gonna have to cut this short yet again. Things only got crazier at work since I posted the last chapter. As of the posting of this chapter, I will be heading to another tough week and I won't be able to write until I soldier this through.

Another long overdue scene that I really want to get on is a sincere conversation between Marinette and Cat, which had not happened since her return, though "The Passportal" chapter doesn't really count since Master Fu and all those other Kwami were present. I will get to it once this action sequence is resolved as I need to introduce quite a few storylines to set up the next art.

Stay tuned…

Constructive criticism is appreciated.