The cards have fallen... lets see where they land shall we?
(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?
On the Hunt
Chat didn't want to leave, especially when one of the men came back out looking for him. There wasn't much of a choice though and Chat was careful not to be seen again by him or anyone else. Besides it wasn't like he could demand updates on Marinette while in costume. One good look at his ears or tail and it would all be over. Instead he was across the street pacing the roof as he tried to contain his guilt from not being there for Marinette. She had been so small, so still in those final moments before he'd turned her over and not being able to see her now tore at his heart.
In truth he wanted to change back into Adrien and sprint into the hospital to be at her side. It hurt, almost physically to have to turn away when he desperately wanted... no, needed to be there for her. There wasn't a whole lot he could do for her, he wasn't a doctor by any means, nor could he heal, but having her near… It was a comfort thing, for the both of them and he was not comfortable leaving her alone. Especially not with her being so injured. If she had been able to heal herself, or if the injury had been minor, he would have brought her to Fu rather than a hospital. Unfortunately, Marinette had lost far too much blood for the wound to be minor. Her clothes had been covered in blood to the point that her blood had coated him as well, so he knew that she would probably be put into major surgery in the next few minutes to at least stem the bleeding.
It didn't matter where they took her though. No matter the costume or clothes he wore Adrien could follow her presence no matter where she was. It was how he had found her tonight even though he hadn't been in time. Distance unfortunately made it a game of hot vs cold, as he'd figured out when he'd been trying to track her down, but it was like a string tied them together and eventually he could follow it to her. He had noticed his awareness of Marinette had drastically increased lately but now being able to sense her was becoming as easy as breathing and it wasn't like anyone would be able to stop him or keep him away from her.
The reality of the situation was that he couldn't go to Marinette right now. Not as Adrien and certainly not as Chat. He had no excuse as to how he would know of Rogers betrayal and her subsequent injury. If not for the two messages she had sent him earlier he might not have known to even start hunting until it was far too late. He briefly entertained the idea of saying she'd speed dialed him and he overheard everything but he knew that the excuse wouldn't hold. Even if he had known about her getting hurt there was no way for him to know what hospital to go to and he didn't have the patience to wait around or pretend to call multiple hospitals before hitting on the one he brought her to. Due to confidentiality there was actually a good chance the hospital wouldn't even admit to her being present in order to protect her identity. Gunshot victims had their own sets of rules when it came to confidentiality, especially when the victim was a cop or a detective. The other issue was the fact he had dropped her off in costume and that might already be raising questions where they weren't needed. It would have been one thing had he thought to de-transform and bring her up as Adrien but he hadn't and now the chance was lost.
No matter his desire he couldn't think of a way that he could go to her safely. Doing so without a plan would draw more attention to her and she was under enough scrutiny as it was, especially since they rescued Chloe. Turning away from the hospital with a snarl on his lips Chat decided to do the next best thing. He was going to kill the coward known as Roger, he just had to get back to him. At first Chat didn't know where exactly he had come from on the streets but as soon as he started moving across the rooftops he realized he didn't need to remember. Marinette's blood had left a trail as bright as neon lights and he followed it, eager to have the man under his claws. Roger had once been her partner and he had betrayed her in the worst way possible. Death was the only thing Chat could offer him although depending on how much Roger talked, Chat might decide to make it quick rather than torturing him first.
"Adrien this is unwise." Plagg said in his mind, sensing the rage surging through his very being.
"He was her partner, and he shot her under orders from Hawkmoth. Hell he is supposed to be my partner and he was going to lead us to an ambush! He dies." Chat snarled
"He might know something useful." Plagg answered, not bothering to contradict Adrien's desire to kill Roger. The fool had crossed the line and hurt someone Adrien had sworn to protect. Hell Plagg hated Roger too and half the time it took all of his will power to not bite or cataclysm Roger when he dared lay a hand on Adrien. He just didn't want Adrien to lose control, because if he did he could turn as wild and feral as any Akuma. Except Chat Noir could and would cause far greater damage than any Akuma could ever dream of.
"I'll give him one chance." Chat retorted reining in his raging emotions with difficulty and dropped into the alley where he had heard that final gunshot echo from. The small splatter of Marinette's blood on the ground made him cringe, if he had just been a little faster…
"We might not have much time to talk to him anyways" Plagg murmured as they passed the blood, intent on the end of the alley where he had thrown the useless fool. On the way Chat noted the cell phone on the ground and realized it was Rogers. Marinette had told him she had tossed it and the idiot had obviously forgotten it. Knowing that the phone would be an excellent source of evidence he picked it up clicking the record button off when the screen prompted him. When he was talking to Roger Chat could always use the phone to record anything Roger said. It would certainly give them more evidence to use against the Hawkmoth gang.
Slipping the device into his pocket, Chat kept moving noting the spot where Roger had landed. Roger wasn't laying there any longer, although his scent as well as some of his blood was still present in a broad smear. It gave Chat a sense of satisfaction to see Rogers blood on the ground and if he had his way far more than the tiny splatter at his feet would be spilled tonight. Chat scanned the area swiftly and took off following the scent trail. He hadn't been gone for an extremely long time and he knew that Roger was at least minorly injured. There was no way Roger would get away from him tonight, Adrien knew where the slimy jerk lived.
His scent was becoming stronger and Chat sped up darting down the narrow streets and scaring the heck out of the few fools that were wandering around. Then in the middle of a large cul-de-sac like alley Rogers scent vanished. A snarl peeled Chats lips back as he circled the area again to check. The smell of exhaust and chemicals mingled with Rogers scent and Chat realized someone had picked him up.
"Dammit!" Chat roared slamming his clawed fists into the ground. The cobbles shattered under his hands upon impact and snarling again Chat brought his fist down a second time as smoke like tendrils flickered to life.
"Kit calm down!" Plagg snapped in his mind feeling how close to the edge Adrien was.
Chat growled, chest heaving as he clenched his fists and cut off the black smoke. "I am going to destroy whoever helped him."
Feeling the dark cold rage surging through Adrien, Plagg gentled his tone even if he felt like panicking. "Adrien… call off the transformation. You need to calm down before continuing this hunt and you still need to tell Fu or someone what has happened."
Chats lip curled in distaste at the idea but the logic of Plagg's statement niggled at the still sanely thinking portion of his mind. If he went nuts there would be far worse consequences than Roger living a few more hours. Besides, Fu needed to know what he did and maybe they could assist in catching Roger before he went totally underground. Afterall not even Roger was stupid enough to go to work tomorrow or go to a normal doctor. Even still it was a struggle to focus through the bloody rage that howled in his soul. "Plagg… Cl-"
"If ur looking for the car that was here bout ten minutes ago I could tell ya. Might cost you a pretty penny though." A voice called from the shadows interrupting Chat.
Plagg cursed in his mind but Chat wasn't paying attention to him any longer. He was solely focused on the fool that thought the shadows hid him. Before the poor man could even draw in a full breath to speak again, Chat was on him, one clawed hand tangled in his shirt as he shoved the guy off his feet into the alleyways wall.
"Tell me or I take your tongue." Chat hissed as the man went completely white.
"C-Chat… I-I'm a Whisperer… Y-you can't kill me."
"Oh… You'll survive…" Chat purred his free clawed hand coming forwards even as it lit up with smoky tendrils.
"J-joke! I-I it's a joke!" The man squeaked and began speaking as fast as humanly possibly. "I'll tell you everything! Gram had me out hunting for someone but I took a detour cuz I saw this hefty dude limping down the alley. Thought he could be an easy mark cuz he had these wicked claw marks…" The man gulped suddenly as he eyed Chats claws then kept going as Chats eyes narrowed at him. "C-Claw marks on his face. Bleeding bad too… I was in the shadows as he turned the corner and this fancy white car came pulling up. Dude in a lab coat stepped out of the car and the injured guy got in the car. Lab coat guy hopped back in too and the car pulled out then went to the right. T-they turned left three streets down. That's all I know. I can't follow a car..."
A low hiss escaped Chat, his bright green eyes flashing upwards. The pungent smell of fear and resignation was in the air telling Chat the man had told him everything he knew. Releasing the Whisperer Chat leaped straight up even as the man below slumped to the ground. The Whisperer cringed thinking that Chat was about to crush him under his boots but Chat's claws sank into the mortar and brick like a hot knife through butter allowing him to stick to the wall like a kind of demented spider. A moment later Chat leapt up again, repeating the movement once more before he was over the edge and gone. The man hardly dared to breathe a sigh of relief in fear of luring Chat back even though he was pretty sure he was long gone. For a long moment the man lay there against the wall thanking whatever god was listening that he was still alive. Then hands still shaking violently he made a call to ensure that no one else would find their way onto Chat's bad side that evening. The call had to be made, people had to be warned.
Chat Noir was on the hunt.
Stormy was relaxing in her pajamas when the first alert blasted out on her phone. Scrambling for the device she was a second from reading the text when her phone started to ring.
"Oh no…" Stormy muttered seeing the number on her screen, "Who died Gram?"
"No one yet but Chat Noir has gone feral. I need you to take your team and snap him out of feral state or stop him before he kills someone on accident."
Stormy blinked then shook her head as if that would help the words Gram had just said make more sense. "Chat Noir went feral? How is that… Wait… Where is Marinette? Is she already tracking him?"
A shaky breath hissed through the speaker, "We don't know child. She isn't chasing Chat though. I wouldn't have had to call if she were on his tail. Marinette isn't answering any pages and no one is at her flat. A Whisperer saw her getting in a police vehicle but that's as far as we have gotten. Worst case scenario we think something might have happened to her and sent Chat over the edge."
"You don't think Chat did something to her?!" Stormy asked in alarm even as she stripped out of her pajamas.
"No, he couldn't have, but something terrible has happened. Prepare your team and get to the coordinates sent to your phone. I don't want Fu or I to have to step in but Chat needs to be brought down before he destroys half of the city. Can you do this?"
Somehow Stormy didn't think Gram was exaggerating when she said that and her honest concern made Stormy wonder if she was capable. She had seen Marinette fight Chat in a bout and she had also witnessed first-hand how fast Chat could move even with a person clinging to his back. If Chat truly was running completely wild it would be almost suicide to try and stop him. Even still it had to be done to protect the people they cared for.
"It would be easier with Marinette's help since she is about the only one who can keep any sort of pace with Chat. If she is out of the picture this fights going to get ugly but I don't think he will aim to kill. When we engage I will be able to tell how things will shape up a little better. Either way we will do all we can to stop Chat Gram."
"Keep me updated Stormy and be very careful. Chat Noir isn't truly human and something dark is driving him tonight." Gram sighed and then the phone clicked off letting Stormy get ready in peace while calling in her team to get to the coordinates on her phone.
Within a few minutes Stormy was ready to move out and as she was about to leave she eyed the jacket that had been left on her coffee table. It was Marinette's and even though the Manriki's parts had been taken out the caging around the arms was still in place. While Stormy wouldn't normally care about the extra protection she had a feeling that against Chat Noir anything extra would be a boon. Before she could change her mind Stormy slipped off her normal jacket and put Marinette's on. It was comfortable but she still felt odd using Marinette's jacket without her permission, even if Stormy knew she wouldn't care. Some of the pockets even had some random odds and ends in them and Stormy made sure to switch everything from her own jacket into the extra pockets on Marinette's jacket. Important items like her electrified brass knuckles and miniature smoke bombs went into her utility belt. Out the door a moment later Stormy hopped on her bike.
Sirens filled the night as she blasted towards the coordinates given to her and Stormy wondered what in the hell was going on. A few police cars flashed past her as well as a firetruck but none of them chased her which wasn't a bad thing since she was definitely over the speed limit. Arriving at the coordinates Stormy charged up the ladder to find five people already on the rooftop.
"What do we have, Shot?" Stormy asked, glad to see him and her team there. Shot was a code name and he was her sniper. If anyone had a chance of hitting Chat from a distance in the dark it was Shot.
"Chat's gone bonkers. He attacked two white cars at random before the first couple of Whisperers drove him into the darkness. Prolly gonna have some crazy news reports tomorrow. Anyone who has tried to engage has ended up unconscious or in a gibbering heap. He is getting worse but no one is dead yet." Shot replied, "Are we using live rounds?"
"No, we don't want him dead. Contain and capture only. Why was he attacking cars?" Stormy replied as a voice called "Help please!" from the ladder on the side of the building.
Recognizing the voice Stormy moved over to the ladder and found Poppy struggling to climb with a large bag in one hand and a backpack on her back.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Stormy snapped, shocked that Fu would let her out, especially since they had only just managed to pull her from police custody. Legally of course.
"Fu sent me, he says your team has the only chance of bringing Chat down without casualties. Besides Chat won't be brought down with regular ammo. It will just piss him off. Hawkmoth sent a sniper after him recently and the sniper's gun was the only thing found, corroded beyond use in the river. The only way you are going to take him down is if you use tranq rounds. I brought some special ones that should pierce his suit. The needles can pierce thick Kevlar so they should work on him." Poppy answered as Stormy helped her climb the rest of the way. "Either way you might want to hurry because Chat is almost to this position. Drones are driving him this way."
Stormy swore and took the second bag before striding back to her team. "We have tranq darts. Move in pairs, we will try to box him in as he comes down this section. We will need eyes on the roof tops and in the alleys." Stormy held out her phone showing them a map and where their positions should be. "Shot will drive him into the alley from the roof and you all can take aim then. Move according to the popcorn drill from there. Don't give up your position unless Chat moves to attack you and be extra careful. He's fast and powerful. You really don't want to get hit by him."
A smattering of agreement passed though her team as they grabbed weapons and ammo from the bags Poppy had brought with her. Stormy took a small gun, checking to make sure it actually had tranq darts in it before strapping it to the back of her belt while the rest of the team scattered to their positions.
"Where do you want me?" Poppy asked having been left out. She had no idea what a 'popcorn drill' meant and she doubted there would be time enough for anyone to really explain, not that she had a partner anyways.
Stormy glanced at her then looked around their position. She was staying up on the rooftop with Shot so she could watch as the plan unfolded and have people shift accordingly. They were going to try and hit Chat with enough tranq darts to make him pass out and hopefully avoid any hand to hand combat altogether. Once upon a time Stormy had wanted to test her fighting skills against Chat, but after watching him take down an Akuma and fight Marinette she had become far more wary. That wariness was screaming danger now and Stormy knew that with Chat in such an enraged state all she would get would be broken bones - if she tried to fight in close quarters with him. Shot was going to do his best to hit Chat first on the rooftop, driving him to hide in the alleyways below. From there the rest of her team were going to hit Chat from the higher fire escapes or from street level if Chat had somehow managed to not be passed out in a drooling pile by then. It wasn't a foolproof plan, in fact it was probably one of Stormy's worst plans but she hadn't exactly had time to scratch up anything better.
"How fast can you pick a lock?" Stormy asked
Poppy shrugged "Fast enough to make most people think I have my own set of keys. Why?"
Stormy pointed to the roof access door on the rooftop just below them. "That roof is between where Chat is probably going to land. If Shot manages to hit Chat there is a good chance he could pass out anywhere between the landing point and our position. I want you to get down there but get inside the roof access so you are out of sight in case Chat is now in a killing mood."
"When should I move?" Poppy asked, not liking the idea of staying hidden but she had seen Chat fight before. Hell she had seen him deflect a bullet and take down several men at once without even breaking a sweat. Her instinct told her engaging Chat right now was a really, really bad idea.
Stormy handed her an earpiece she pulled out of a bag. "If you hear all clear, come on out. If I tell you to come out, come on out, If you hear screams… stay safe and turn the earpiece off."
Poppy paled slightly, "That's not very reassuring."
Stormy shrugged. "Nope but it's the best I have. Get over there quick. I don't want you in the open when Chat crashes in."
Poppy gulped then took off for the ladder, snagging a gun of her own before she went over the edge.
"Now that wasn't very nice." Shot commented, setting up his gun on the edge of the wall. He had his whole array ready to go but he was eyeing the tranq shots and weighing them in his hand before loading them in his weapon.
Stormy snorted, "She used to be a Hawkmoth member up till a few weeks ago."
Shot jerked looking up at Stormy in disbelief, "You're pulling my leg…"
"Nope." Stormy said popping the P on the end. "Chat is actually the one who was with me when we caught up to her. Hawkmoth had sent some goons after her to kill her and Chat stepped in. She flipped when Fu offered her and her sister sanctuary. Actually… I think she may have made these tranq darts."
Slowly Shot shook his head, "I don't get it… I don't have the mind to get it. Just tell me who to shoot and leave me out of the drama… Wait... Is that why you stuck her down on that roof? You can keep an eye on her and keep her out of the way?"
Stormy winced, she really didn't need someone down on the rooftop since it was a dangerous position especially if Chat noticed her scent or something. "I can keep an eye on her and at worst if Chat notices her he will make himself a target when he goes for the door."
"So she is bait?" Shot demanded, "That's a little unlike you, even if she was an enemy."
"I didn't even think about that till now ok?" Stormy snarled a little pissed that Shot would even think that of her. "I just wanted her in a spot away from the others and that seemed like a decent area to hide in. Geez up till twenty something minutes ago I was in my pajamas and ready to go to bed. I was not expecting to have to lead a tactical mission tonight!"
"Just checking Stormy." Shot said soothingly watching as Poppy moved across the open rooftop to the stairwell door. She was inside within moments and Stormys phone buzzed as Shot adjusted the final bits of his equipment.
"What's up Max?" Stormy called, moving away from Shot so he could focus.
"I have lost two drones tonight, three Whisperers are down with injuries and I believe Chat might actually be getting worse." Max reported crankily, "His physical form appears to be throwing off something that looks very similar to smoke or mist and when my one drones was touched by that mist it was corroded through within a few seconds. It fell to pieces and since metal is far more durable than skin I would not recommend getting up close and personal with him."
"So you are saying to take pot shots and hope for the best… If we fail who is next on line?"
Max huffed, "There are two other teams lying in wait, but… crap hope you guys are ready!"
A buzzing drone barely visible in the darkness zipped past before turning on a dime and zooming into the center of the rooftop down below. It hovered there, it's sleek black outline barely discernible from the rest of the shadows. Stormy dropped to her knees not wanting her silhouette to be noticed and she almost missed Chat's strike. He came from the same direction as the drone had, emerging from the shadows like some sort of wraith and blitzed across the rooftop fast enough that Shot cursed. Max had to have thrown the throttle wide open because the drone shot up away from the rooftop so fast that Stormy felt like she had blinked and missed it. Chat still lunged after the escaping drone clearing an easy 15ft in a vertical leap before just barely missing the device.
"Oh we are sooo dead." Shot moaned tracking Chat in the air and pulling the trigger.
The dart actually hit home, slamming into Chats lower back and inciting a snarl that they heard from their positions. The dart vanished in a wash of black and Chat spun around as he landed his eyes searching for his attacker. Shot and Stormy froze where they were not daring to move in case it attracted Chats attention. A roar tore out of Chat as he didn't appear to spot them but before Shot could try to hit him again Chat lunged for the edge of the roof melting into the darkness.
"Yep we are dead." Shot muttered. "How long will those darts take to make him go night night?"
"I don't know…" Stormy replied, heart pounding. "Be ready though, I don't think he took off to go take a nap in some closed off corner."
Slowly Stormy stood up searching the walls and the roof below them for movement. She didn't see any but that meant little in this situation. Swiftly she checked in on the other members of her team before investigating the left side of the building where Chat had vanished. As she went over what happened with Max, Stormy answered what questions she could. She was walking back towards Shot when she saw Chat leap from the shadows, his target the unsuspecting Shot.
"To your right!" Stormy screamed wondering how in the hell Chat had gotten around the whole team without anyone spotting him.
Shot turned and managed to fire two tranqs at Chat that he dodged before Chat slammed into him like a locomotive. Instantly Shot buckled under Chats attack, just barely managing to keep his weapon between him and the pissed off feline as he fell backwards on his back. Stormy ran forwards as Shot kicked Chat off him, flinging him behind his head, losing his weapon in the process. Chat kept a hold of his gun and as he stood a black mist seeped from his hands into the weapon. Rolling back up to his feet Shot watched in horror as the mist rusted his weapon straight through and Chat snapped it in half all the while baring his fangs.
"That was my favorite gun!" Shot cried indignantly pulling out a smaller weapon as Chat darted forwards, his claws outstretched.
"NO!" Stormy screamed, tackling Chat around the waist, his claws mere inches from Shots eyes.
It was a perfect tackle, one that Chat never saw coming. The only issue was that her tackle was made at the edge of the roof and the strike drove them right over the side. Stormy heard someone scream her name, felt the claws sink into the back of Marinettes jacket, and she had about five seconds of stomach dropping freefall before the impact rattled every bone in her body. Miraculously Chat hit first and as she bounced out of his grip Stormy's mind tried to process what in the hell had just happened. Coming to a rolling stop Stormy forced herself up onto her hands and knees wondering if Chat had just taken a hit for her on purpose. Amazingly enough Stormy was uninjured and somehow they had ended up on the roof below rather than at the bottom of the alley. Chat had to have kicked off the wall as they fell past to manage it, and she couldn't understand why he had done so. He could survive a three or four story fall as long as he didn't land on his head, Chat had told her that himself. She on the other hand would have been grievously injured even if he had landed first, if she survived at all.
Shaking her head as she tried to get her mind in line, Stormy focused on climbing to her feet and as she managed it, suddenly found Chat standing right before her. Yelping she swung a fist at him and Chat snagged her arm by the caging in Marinette's jacket with the ease of a cat snatching a toy from the air. He had her other arm before Stormy could even think of swinging again and a heavy snarl seeped from Chat's lips as he stared at her.
"H-hey Chat." Stormy tried, looking into his eyes in the hopes of seeing some kind of recognition. Piercingly green, cat-slitted eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light narrowed as she made eye contact. There was nothing human in those eyes sending a shudder of dread shooting down her spine. Black tendrils of smoke oozed off his clawed hands the longer he stared at her and Stormy saw how it seemed to be eating at Marinette's jacket, turning it to ash. "Dude… Marinette is going to kill you for messing up her jacket. Knock your crap off right now!"
At the sound of Marinette's name Chat's ears went back and he straight up roared in Stormy's face. Panicking Stormy slid out of the jacket and dropped towards the ground, her legs tangling with Chat's. Twisting her body she tripped Chat up as he tried to sidestep her and he went tumbling to the roof as she scrambled away.
"Stormy get the hell out of there!" Someone yelled at her through the earpiece that had somehow remained in her ear the whole time.
Stormy tried, she really did, but even as she managed to come out of her crouch darting off to the left she was taken off her feet unexpectedly. Back slamming into the rooftop Stormy lost every bit of the air in her lungs as Chat pinned her. With a snarl he got right in her face and for a long moment Stormy thought he was going to rip her throat out with his teeth. Then for no reason she could see he just froze and she could feel his breath sliding across her skin. Panting hard Stormy braced herself for pain and slammed her head into Chat's.
"Snap out of it you stupid cat!" She snarled even as a pop echoed from somewhere and Stormy felt him shudder as a dart impacted Chat's body.
Chat whipped off her, scrambling for the shadows even as another two pops sounded and darts embedded themselves where Chat had been a millisecond before. Feet pounded the rooftop and Poppy appeared in Stormy's vision as she hauled herself up into a sitting position.
"Jeez are you ok Stormy? What the hell is wrong with him?" Poppy demanded her eyes scouring the rooftop as she tried to find Chat. He didn't pop back up but that meant little in the long run.
"I-I'm uninjured…" Stormy managed after a moment and even she couldn't keep the surprised note out of her voice. She felt jarred from the fall and ok, she was probably going to have a spectacular bruise or two, but other than pinning her Chat hadn't actually hurt her.
Shaking herself and dragging her fear back under control Stormy pulled out her phone.
Gram connected on the first ring. "How bad is it?"
Stormy gulped as she tried to make her voice sound normal, "Gram… He's hunting something or someone. It's like his higher brain and personality has gone under and he is just… like an animal. A really freaken smart one."
"How badly are you injured? Did he attack you?" Gram demanded
"Uh yes and no. He attacked Shot and I kinda tackled him off the roof but Gram… He protected me from the impact. I'm wearing Marinette's jacket so I think he recognized me as a friend or something. He could have killed me or at least maimed me but he didn't. He isn't past the point of no return yet."
"Very well… Can you stop him though?" Gram asked.
Stormy swallowed, "I don't know Gram. Shot hit him with one dart and he didn't drop."
"I hit him too." Poppy whispered, her tone telling Stormy she was simply informing rather than trying to take some kind of credit.
"Magic and metabolism." Gram hissed. "Very well. How long will it take you to reset?"
It was a good question and Stormy's mind spun as she tried to come up with something, anything better than this first ambush. "We need to move locations. If he is thinking like an animal he won't come into this space without him being on high alert. We also need him down on the ground so we need something to lure him in… Oh!"
An idea burst in Stormy's mind and she swiftly searched her pockets to find the odd tracker button that Chat had given her. "Gram… I have that tracker that Chat gave me a while back… I know he isn't thinking like a person but do you think he will come if I activate it?"
Gram hummed through the phone, "Yes… If the tracker is a part of him he won't be able to resist its call. This will probably be your final chance to surprise him though."
"Understood." Stormy answered, "Give us ten minutes to move and get set again."
"Fifteen child, you are shaken. Take a deep breath and set your trap." Gram said soothingly then the phone went dead.
"You ok? Chat… had you pinned. Did he hurt you?" Poppy asked, her voice gentle.
Stormy shook her head and accepted the hand that Poppy held out to her. "He didn't hurt me… We need to move though. How good is your aim when shooting by sound alone?"
Poppy grimaced, "I don't think I am going to like this…"
On her feet once more Stormy clapped Poppy on the shoulder. If you'd rather be bait that can totally be arranged!"
To Stormy's surprise Poppy actually agreed to be the bait and they moved their location to a T-shaped junction between two alleyways. Chat would come from the rooftop dropping into the alleyway at one end or the other hopefully, once Stormy had activated the tracker. Poppy would be wearing Marinette's jacket and the tracker while waiting in the center where the T joined. That way no matter which direction Chat arrived from he would have to walk across the face of the alleyway where Stormy would be hidden. Shot and the rest of her team took up positions both up high and down low in case Stormy or Poppy needed a quick exit or backup.
"Alright people we are over our set up time… Are we ready?" Stormy called into her earpiece. Shaky confirmations echoed over the earpiece and Stormy pulled out the tracker button. "Poppy… Are you sure you are ok with this?"
They had pulled her hair back into pigtails and in the dim lighting Stormy hoped that Chat would mistake her as Marinette and not attack. Poppy was looking pretty white but she nodded. "Let's get this over with."
Stormy gave her a comforting smile, "If Chat does attack just drop to the ground and curl up as tight as you can. Chat isn't leaving this alleyway once he drops in. I don't care how fast he is… He can't evade everything."
Her words were far braver than Stormy felt but that was sorta the point. Before she could start second guessing herself Stormy pressed the tracker together feeling it click and vibrate slightly as it sent out a signal. Dropping the tracker into a pocket on Marinette's jacket Stormy got into position. All they had to do now was wait.
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