Chapter 7 – It's about time
A/N: HEY HEY! GUESS WHO IS NOT DEAD?! It's me! And I've brought a gift with me! Chapter 7! And you all know what that means!
The time has come for the timeless classic! That's right! It's time for the Time-Tagger to enter the stage this time! …Okay, that's enough puns from me… Don't want to rival Chat Noir, after all. Thank you all for your patience and feedback! It's very much appreciated!
Story-Info: One review brought to my attention, that the whole switching between bold and normal fonts was unnecessary by now, so as a test, I'm gonna leave it out here, and just write if we're switching perspectives. Please let me know, which style you preferred, so I can give you all the best reading experience possible!
-s-s-s- (Narrator's POV "Point of View")
It was a promising day for many. The sun was out, birds were singing, flowers were blooming. Truly, the perfect day for two loving parents to celebrate the anniversary of their wedding in a fancy restaurant.
Or for a young man to flee from the media going crazy over him. „Running running running – Turn – Enter and SHUT! SHUT ALREADY", Manuel advised himself, as he dodged Nadja Chamack's forced interview by entering a random subway that was just about to leave. The door shut behind him, and the train started moving, finally allowing Manuel to gain some distance from his pursuers.
In the mostly empty wagon of the train, Manuel thought he should have a few seconds to sort his thoughts at last. He was taking a well needed breather first. Nadja Chamack had been following him around all day, trying to interview him. No matter how many times he told her he didn't want anything to do with the media, this damned reporter kept pursuing him mercilessly.
„What's the deal with that woman?", Manuel asked himself, as he rode on the subway, „Persistence isn't bad or anything but goddamn. Know the limit, please."
It wasn't until ten seconds later, that he noticed the curious looks of a mother and her child dedicated to him and him alone. He recomposed himself, cleared his throat, and then proceeded to just lean on one of the poles of the train, trying to look like any other person on their way through town.
„Umm, excuse me, sir…", a meek voice spoke to him though, and he felt something tugging on his pants, „M-May I ask you something? I-If that's alright with you…"
He looked down. There was a child talking to him. According to the model a minor character, but sure enough trying to get his attention. Manuel blinked a bit confused, then responded, „Uhhh… Sure kid. What is it?"
„Umm… How do you… uhh…"
„Maria, please.", another voice interrupted, this one more mature, „Don't bother the poor boy. He's having enough to deal with as is."
Out of pure reflex, Manuel denied that statement, even though it couldn't be more true, „Oh no, please do go ahead! No need to be nervous!" „What am I doing?!", he scolded himself at the same time, „Curse this damn passiveness!"
„R-Right… Uhh… I just wanted to ask… How do you… not get so afraid during an Akuma-attack?" The girl became even more squeamish, and hid behind the woman Manuel assumed to be Marias mother, „I-If you wouldn't mind…"
The boy blinked. He was NOT prepared for this. As his answer took a while, the elder woman explained seemingly embarrassed, „Aha… I'm so sorry, young man. The thing is, we had heard about two young civilians bravely standing up against that Pigeon-Akuma all by themselves in the news."
„Ah yes… So they DID talk about me in those news…", Manuel acknowledged. He only realized he had said that out loud, when the little girls voice raised, „See aunty?! I TOLD you it was him!"
„Damn my mouth!", he cursed again, this time REALLY internally.
„Looks like you were right after all, little angel.", the woman, who turned out to be her aunt, replied fairly surprised.
„So, to get back to my question, how DO you manage to not get scared at an Akuma-attack?", the girl asked once more, leaving Manuel once more at a loss for words.
„…Well, might as well teach the kid about courage.", Manuel decided after a few seconds. Choosing his words carefully, he knelt down to her, and explained, „See, kiddo, I get scared too. Anyone does, even Ladybug and Chat Noir. Heck, when I'm in battle I'm usually downright terrified. All I'm doing, is keeping my fear under control so I don't start to panic."
He held his speech short, as to keep the social interaction to a minimum as well, but he did add one thing though, „What I'm saying is: Allow yourself to be scared. That you get scared is just prove that you value your life. After all, fear is just a natural reaction to danger."
„Ladybug and Chat Noirs civilian-partner Manuel Gilson – just as humble as he is brave!", the voice of Nadja Chamack spoke through the door that had opened without Manuel even noticing, „What else could be laying under that cold shoulder he prefers to show?!"
„Are you for real?!", Manuel raised his voice, quite frankly pissed by now, „Stop following me around!"
But it would take more than that to get rid of the unforgiving pursuit of Nadja Chamack „Just a few questions, I beg of you! Our viewers are just dying to know more about the warriors without superpowers!"
„And THAT sounds like it's not my problem!", he threw back, as he fought his way through Nadja and her cameramen.
-o-o-o- (one hour later) (Manuels POV)
„Finally, took long enough!", I sighed relieved, as I approached my fellow students who were gathered at the approach to the Eiffeltower, and at long last wasn't followed by reporters anymore, „Taking shortcuts over the roofs was a good idea…"
„Oh hey! Look who actually made it!", the surprised sounding voice of Kim greeted me, „To be honest, I didn't think you'd show up!"
„Well… I almost didn't.", I replied frankly, „Have been followed around by reporters all day."
"Reporters? What do THEY want from YOU?", Alix asked confused, to which I sighed, "Take a guess…"
"…Your battles?", she guessed right away, "But I thought you didn't tell anyone about them?"
"I don't.", I confirmed, but with a scowl I had to add, "But SOMEHOW the media got wind of my last fight, and now they know my name, my looks, my favourite alleyways, and all that stuff."
"Hey, don't look at me!", Alya defended herself upon the glare I gave her direction, "I only post that which is appropriate! But unapproved personal information never gets leaked on MY blog!"
"…You know what…? I'm just gonna believe that for now…", I merely accepted, as I had already had enough of THIS conversation, "What are we all here for anyway?"
Mylene answered me with a deep sigh, "Yet another dare from Kim to Alix…"
"Seriously, this needs to stop.", Nino added just as frustrated, "You haven't been here for that long yet, so you may think this is coming outta nowhere, but Kim challenges Alix to a dare at least once every week."
„It's… annoying, to say the least.", Nathaniel confirmed as well, „At this point, we're all pretty much fed up with it."
„Now let's go over the rules one last time!", Max announced to the audience, „The race goes over two laps around the fountain – approximately 500 yards! Whoever passes the line first is declared the victor!"
„Oh yeah, this is happening now.", I sighed internally. The akuma-rate in this show – or, I guess, in this world – was no joke. We had one literally every day for three days straight! Was this normal, or are we just rushing through Season 1 now?!
„If Kim triumphs, Alix has to relinquish her rollerblades to him. If Alix is victorious, Kim will be prohibited from making any more dares for the rest of the schoolyear.", Max finished explaining, which got me thinking…
„Hey, Kim! What are you interested in Alix's rollerblades for?", I questioned, „Cause there's no way in hell THESE things will fit on YOUR foot!"
Kim looked at me, slightly confused, „What do you mean, pal? The size of my foot is exactly the same as hers."
„What- Really?" I was kinda taken aback by that. But now that I looked, yeah…
While they had literally NOTHING else in common physically, their feet were exactly the same size. Did I really never notice that? "…Okay…", I accepted, though still kinda flabbergasted, "I… admit that I stand corrected…"
„Now then, both competitors on the starting line!", Max continued, „Get set!"
„Three – Two – One…"
„Hold it!", Alix interrupted right on cue, and skated over to the audience, „Here, hold this for me, will ya, Manuel?" She pushed her family heirloom, the ancient watch, into MY hands instead of Alya's, „Don't wanna drop it during the race."
"W-W-Wait, why me?!", I got nervous all over again, which she answered, "Out of everyone here, I'd say YOU'D do the best job protecting things. So protect it by all means necessary. It's a family-heirloom, for crying out loud!"
"B-But Alix! I'll have to run if the media catches up to me again!", I protested, not to mention I really didn't want to be the primary target of the inevitable Akuma that was gonna show up sooner or later.
"Then hand it over to Alya or something! But take good care of it!", the girl cut the conversation short, and just left me standing then. "…A'ight, Imma do my best."
"You'd better, got it, man?", Alix confirmed with a grin.
"I swear on my life.", I spoke mostly to myself, "Unless something threatens my life. In which case: No promises."
And thus the race began!
And guess what else began! A completely unannounced interview!
"Mr. Gilson! A word please?!", I heard a new voice less than a meter behind me literally half a second later, and when I turned around, I saw a phone that was aimed right at me, with a boy who was unmistakeably an extra-character filming me.
"Are you kidding me?! Now even random citizens are after me?!", I yelled in frustration.
"I write for a school-magazine, so I've been looking high and low for you!", he answered, while I handed Alix's watch over to Alya, "You take care of it, I gotta go."
"W-Wait, please Mr. Gilson! Just one question!", the guy kept nagging me as he literally followed me just one step behind, "It will only take a second, I promise!"
"Well, I don't even have that one.", I declined strictly, "Not for an interview I was never asked for in the first place."
"I've just been wondering:", he asked right away nonetheless, "What exactly is your relationship to Ladybug and Chat Noir? According to several sources, you've helped them out in battles multiple times by now! Where did you learn to fight, and do you have any advice for others who may try and follow your example?"
"First of all: That's WAY more than just one question.", I replied, sending a deep glare at the WAY too persistent fanboy, "And secondly, I have a question to YOU now: Why would I answer even one of those? You just showed up out of nowhere, and are now following me around!"
"It only takes one answer, and I'll leave you be at once!", he promised to me, but I wasn't having any of that, "Counter-offer: You can leave me be, and maybe, if you approach me properly, I'll give you answers someday. But until then, get lost."
-o-o-o- (2 minutes later)
If I were to summarise what happened in these 120 seconds… essentially, me and the extra kept counter-offering for about 40 of those, then I had enough and went into a full blown sprint away from him, eventually running across the rooftops once again.
"I love these wacky physics.", I thought with a happy grin, as I kept running and jumping from roof to roof, "With the gravity being way lower than at home, making ridiculous jumps is super easy!"
I came to a sudden stop though when I saw a certain dark butterfly flap around just a few houses ahead. "Shit is about to go down."
I tried to follow the butterfly to be ready when Timebreaker started screwing around, but I slipped up and fell down the roof. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I decided to just lay there for a few seconds to catch my breath. That was until…
"Well, you're giving me a Deja vu right here…", a familiar voice spoke right above me, "Need some help standing up, pal?"
"…Sure, why not…", I just accepted, had my hand grabbed and pulled upwards… Only for it to stop before I even had to stand up. "On second thought…", the voice replied, "I think this doesn't work that way."
I let out yet another sigh and picked myself off the ground instead. "Good to see ya, Soleil.", I greeted her while I brushed the bit of dust off my clothes, "What brought you here?"
"I was just taking a walk – been doing a lot of homework, I've earned as much – when I saw you jumping from roof to roof. So, I decided to try and keep up.", Soleil explained, a grin starting to form on her face as she balled her fists, "So who are we fighting today?"
"No one. Not yet, at least.", I declined her enthusiasm, as I was looking around nervously, which caught her off guard, "Wha- really? But then… Why were you on the rooftops in the first place?"
"Well…", I explained hesitantly, "Remember how we fought Mr. Pigeon just yesterday? The short version is: That was the first Akuma that the media actually filmed and provided with publicity since I got here, and now half of Paris is right on my tail."
"Ohh!", Soleil put two and two together, "So you went over the roofs to avoid the media!"
"Yep.", I confirmed, "And just a minute ago I saw a certain purple butterfly flap his way around here, and I thought I just might be able to get the jump on it-"
"-when you slipped and fell down here, eh?", the girl finished for me. "Exactly…"
Suddenly, Soleil took my hand, while she pulled on me to get going, "Okay then, let's go! We still just might make it in time to stop the Akuma before they cause any damage at all!"
The flash of a camera caught the attention of the both of us, and right there was Nadja Chamack YET AGAIN, with a group of camera-men and photographers right behind her, "The civilian-hero Manuel Gilson with a young girl who appears to be his girlfriend! What is he up to this time and can their relationship flourish despite it all?!"
"Okay, that's just a perfect example of how the media jumps to wild conclusions without any evidence!", I yelled once again, "And seriously, stop following me around! You've literally been doing that all day, dammit!"
"Better get out of here, huh?", Soleil whispered to me, which I accepted, "You got it! This way! That's where the Akuma went!"
Once again, I took the lead, this time followed by Soleil right next to me, and a conga line (Did I get that right? I sincerely don't know…) of media and other curious pedestrians mere meters behind us. "Gorizilla! THAT'S what this reminds me of!"
"What did you say?", Soleil asked me, when I noticed I said that out loud, "Nothing! Just thinking on what to do now!"
-o-o-o- (5 minutes later) (Narrator's POV)
"Well…", Manuel spoke surprised, as he reached an entirely empty park with Soleil and the press in tow, "Looks like I'M late to the party…" He had sensed the energy of the dark stones a few times while they were running here, but he didn't expect to see a barren wasteland.
"…Manuel Gilson, a word please?", Nadja asked hesitantly, making him decline as strictly as all day whilst taking out his last tent-pole, "No, and get out of here. There's literally nothing more hindering than you guys here."
He stepped forth carefully, expecting Timebreaker to jump him at some point. Soleil followed closely behind, covering his back for him, when what looked like a giant green fly on rollerblades came to a sudden stop a few meters before them, causing the media except for Chamack herself to run for safety, "There you are, Manuel! The one I trusted, and promptly stabbed me in the back!"
"I did NO such thing!", he threw back, not really seeing how this was HIS fault, "I TOLD you I would have to run if the media found me, and YOU EVEN AGREED TO IT!"
"It doesn't matter now anyway!", the villain brushed it off, "You failed me, so I'm going to absorb you before I save my watch!"
"Okay hang on a moment…", Soleil interrupted the conversation between the two, "I've been kind of thrown out of the loop here. What the hell is this all about?"
"Essentially her watch, which is a family heirloom, was destroyed, and now she wants to travel back in time and save it.", Manuel gave the girl a quick rundown.
She responded with a few confused blinks, "…Okay, I changed my mind. Just tell me what to do."
"Well, the best we can do, is try and slow her down.", he realized, as Timebreaker was getting ready to charge right at them, "At least until Ladybug and Chat Noir appear."
He barely had enough time to even notice her movement, before Timebreaker was suddenly engulfed in the dark aura, and appeared right before him, reaching out for him. "WHOU!" He jumped back panicked and was forced into a few awkward movements to prevent his enemy from touching him.
"Oh god!", Soleil finally reacted when Manuel was forced to ground in an attempt to take hold of Timebreakers hand, "Uhh- Don't worry, I gotcha, buddy!" In a single movement, she leapt upon the villain, grabbing her from behind and throwing them both off of him. What she had not calculated though, was the added momentum of the villain, that pulled the both of them down the stairs.
Manuel picked himself off the ground quickly, and rushed to his partners aid. Only, he came just soon enough to watch her freeze and starting to fade away, "Wha- Oh come on! She was the only teammate I had!"
"Don't worry, you won't miss her for long.", Timebreaker replied, before charging for him once again. This time without the dark aura though, making her no faster than in the original, giving him plenty of time to plan his reaction.
When Timebreaker reached out her hand, he now had little trouble simply stepping out the way and hitting her square in the face with his pole as she was sliding right by him. She fell on her back, but was quickly back on her feet before Manuel could get a second hit in.
Doing a quick step to the side, he dodged yet another attack from her, only to lose his balance from getting too close to the stairs. He stumbled back awkwardly as to not fall back, but saw Timebreaker already charging right at him. Far too fast for him to dodge her.
And yet he had more than enough time to react, as she made an overly long curve to attack him from the side instead. Just a little jump to the side and she flew right past him again. „Why did she do that?", he asked himself confused, whilst she was doing the same thing again, „She had a clear shot at me. Why waste so much time to make this huge loop?"
Yet again, she made it incredibly easy for him to dodge her by taking a step to the side. That's when it hit him. „She's skating and I'm on stairs! That's why she can't charge at me directly! She would trip and leave herself wide open!"
Giving the villain the grin of a smartass, he went a few steps further up, until he was effectively out of the range of her attacks. The fact that Timebreaker soon came to a stop at the foot of the stairs looking extremely mad, definitely sold the idea for Manuel. "Get down from there, you coward!", she demanded angrily, which achieved nothing for her, "Give me one good reason why!"
Timebreaker growled into herself, "You're the GOOD guy, are you not?! Unless you come down here and fight me, your friends won't even have a CHANCE to return!"
"Oh, you have far more to lose than me.", Manuel countered, "Unlike you, I have all the time in the world. You, on the other hand, are, ironically enough, running OUT of time with every second you're wasting trying to absorb me."
"I still have two minutes left!", the villain shot back, "And two minutes are MORE than just enough to absorb you and complete my hit-list!"
"Not if I just stay up here.", he replied casually, grinning once again, "It's over, Timebreaker! I have the high ground!"
"Sounds like I'm being underestimated!", she threw back, getting increasingly annoyed, "Though it's less precise than skating, I can still jump!"
"Timebreaker! Stop fooling around, and focus on bringing me the miraculous!", Hawk Moth chastised his pawn, the frustration in his voice clear. "Well, duh! Right after I get rid of THIS little pest!" She turned her attention back to him, "Better get ready, you blonde nuisance!"
"Don't try it, little lady!", he warned her, getting into stance.
"Oh, I won't just try it! I'll DO it!", she assured him, getting ready for a jump.
"Don't you do it!"
"I'm gonna do it!"
"Don't you freaking do it!"
"Imma do it!"
"DO! NOT! DO IT!", he yelled at her one last time, only for her to leap into the air. She jumped so high, that instead of attacking him straight, she had to wait for her to get down and attack him from above. Which Manuel saw coming a mile away, "What a goddamn idiot."
Akuma or not, Timebreaker was not able to change her mid-air-momentum, allowing Manuel to dive out of the way, and land a solid blow on her feet. That blow, though it was only meant to slower her movements by making her legs sore, turned out to have been a critical hit of sorts, as Timebreaker didn't even get up anymore.
In fact, not only did she not get up anymore, but even a purple butterfly emerged from her skates.
"No! That's impossible!", Hawk Moth screamed in his lair, "By his hands?! AFTER we had already won?!"
-x-x-x-
After a solid two seconds to realize what was happening, Manuel quickly charged at the butterfly, and snatched it out of the air. Rummaging around in his backpack, he found what must have used to be a jellyglas which he picked up for certain reasons.
Though it was a close fit, he did manage to squeeze the akuma inside of it, and close it before it escaped, effectively sealing away the evil butterfly. "Sorry, little one.", he apologized to the small insect, when he noticed that it merely settled down, now completely docile, "Won't take long, I promise."
"This is Nadja Chamack, live from the site of the most recent akuma attack!", Manuel once again heard Nadja Chamacks voice few meters next to him, "The civilian hero Manuel Gilson seems to take his job more and more seriously, as he has now, for the first time since his debut, managed to singlehandedly defeat an akuma!"
"Why are you still here?!", he yelled towards the news-team, only to go entirely unnoticed, "The only question left now is: Is Manuel Gilson another partner, or a rival, to his superpowered allies Ladybug and Chat Noir?! Stay tuned for more!"
"URGH!", he groaned, turning away, "I give up! You don't even listen to me anyway!"
As it turned out, though, simply walking away from them still didn't work, as they continued following him, "Mr. Gilson! Now that the cameras have temporarily stopped rolling, you like to leave a comment on this amazing feat that no one has achieved before you?!"
Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. Not because of the question, but because of what he just came across. A red yoyo with black spots. "That's why they didn't show up in the first place!", Manuel instantly connected the dots, "And why Timebreaker never got the powerboost! She had already absorbed Ladybug and Chat Noir, AFTER disarming her which is why the yoyo is still here!"
"Those are…", Nadja seemed to try and connect the dots as well, though WAY slower than him. And while she was at it, Manuel decided to experiment a bit.
He swung the yoyo a little bit. And as it turned out, it reacted to him the same way it did to the blackspotted heroine. And when he tried, it even turned into the same akuma-catching device if only he took the correct steps. Namely, slide his finger across it. "Neat."
Not even bothering to talk to Chamack, he opened the akuma-jar, and placed the yoyo right on top of it. He most definitely wasn't gonna take the chance to try and catch the damn butterfly MIDFLY! "Come on, fly in, you purple bastard…", he spoke to himself, whilst the insect was flapping around randomly in its prison, "How are you having such trouble attempting to fly out."
Eventually, the butterfly did manage to fly into the yoyo, and get purified by it. Moments later, it flied away, "See ya, little one!"
Manuel then looked down at the yoyo again, a thought forming in his mind. "Well… Best case scenario: This will work out EXACTLY the way I hope. Worst case scenario: I'll look dumb as hell."
"Then, that would mean…", Nadja FINALLY managed to connect everything together, "Mr. Gilson! You just-!"
"Yeah, big deal.", he shut her down before she could even finish her sentence, "I took someone down who was toying with me."
"Do you even understand what happened here? You just one-upped Ladybug and Chat Noir!", she claimed, which Manuel immediately denied fiercely, "Hell no I didn't! Unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, I wasn't taken serious by this villain! She didn't even go all out against me!"
Shoving her aside, he positioned himself somewhere where he would have enough space to really reach out. "Miraculous YEET!", he yelled, as he threw the yoyo in the air, "There it goes…" To his surprise, it actually did turn into the magical ladybugs, whizzing around and repairing everything. "Holy shit, that actually worked…"
-x-x-x- (Manuel's POV)
When everyone had reappeared, Ladybug was panicking at first, but switched to incredibly confused when she noticed she still had her miraculous on her. But when she spotted (HAH!) me further ahead, she had an expression of guilt on her face. She had a duty, and she failed, leaving a civilian to fill in for her.
„Ladybug! Do you have a minute?!", Alya called out to her, but she declined, "Sorry, but I still have a few things to take care of myself. Bug out! "
She quickly zipped herself away from the scenery with… her yoyo? Wait, she still had that? Did she get it back? Or did it disappear with her, and the yoyo I threw away was her- "Ohhh…!", it finally clicked in me, "That wasn't her yoyo! It was her lucky charm which exactly replicated her yoyo! That's why the cure worked as well!"
Chat Noir followed closely behind, leaving me to be the last one everyone could turn to. Which is exactly what they did, with Alya leading the charge, "Manuel! You are the civilian hero! Do you know what happened?!"
"Don't call me that!", I demanded for the around one hundredth time today, "I literally only take up arms when there's nothing else I can do! There's NOTHING heroic about that!"
"Maaaaaanueeeeel!", I heard the distant voice of Soleil coming ever closer, before I was forcefully pushed to the ground, "I'm so so sorry! Did ya do it? Ladybug repaired everything again, so you won, right?!"
"He sure did!", Nadja added herself into the conversation, "Manuel Gilson challenged the villain to a fight, and defeated them singlehandedly! He's a civilian hero through and through!"
"I TOLD you not to call me that!", he scolded her once more, "MULTIPLE TIMES!"
"Whoa!", Kim exclaimed fascinated, "That's so amazing, my man! You GOTTA show me some moves every now and then!"
"Like HELL he does!", Soleil interrupted his enthusiasm harshly, "Hate to tell ya, mate, but this guy already HAS a partner, and that's me! No way in HELL am I giving that position up for anyone!"
"Oh my god! What a scoop for the Ladyblog!", Alya, who was filming this entire conversation, suddenly beamed, "A super-strong guy with martial arts and a super-fast girl at his side! It's just like Ladybug and Chat Noir as civilians!"
"GODDAMMIT!", I yelled in frustration.
"What's your name – How did the two of you meet – What's your relationship to Ladybug and Chat Noir, and more importantly, each other-?!", Alya bombarded Soleil with questions.
With the focus now on my teammate instead of me, I decided to take the chance and slip away most carefully. Only to bump into Alix, who was about to join the rest again after I knocked her out.
The bump, however, made her drop her magically repaired watch yet again, which I, entirely out of reflex, caught still mid-air. "Goddammit, Alix, take better care of your things, please!"
"R-Right!", she agreed slightly panicked, "S-So sorry, man! I really gotta start being more responsible! After all, it's MY stuff! So I gotta be the one taking care of it! Otherwise-!"
"Whoa, chill out.", I interrupted her panic-attack, "Didn't mean to make ya panic."
She took a deep breath. "Sorry… I just… feel really freaking bad right now, you know?", she admitted, "I mean, I made you, a civilian, fight me, a supervillain, all by yourself. Not what you'd call a fair fight, really."
"Quite frankly…", I replied, "That's getting pretty routine by now. Ever since I got here, there hasn't been a single villain I DIDN'T have to fight one way or another."
"And you wonder why you're generally referred to as 'the civilian hero'", Alix joked, but left the conversation there, "Anyway, I get that you don't like attention. So how about I try and keep those guys from following you?"
"That would be greatly appreciated!", I accepted, making her give me a grin, "Alright, then you'd better get going! See ya around, hero!"
"Stop it with that name!", I called after her as she ran away, before I too left the opposite way.
-o-o-o- (10 minutes later) (Narrator's POV)
"Damn it all, the paparazzi never rest, do they?", Manuel cursed into himself, as he noticed another woman looking like another reporter following him yet again, even if at quite a distance, "That's it, you've had your chance! I tried throwing you off my tail the whole day! I'm done playing fair!"
Transitioning into a full blown sprint to gain some distance, he ran a few streets further, until he reached the place he had memorized by now. A certain building he had been sure would prove useful to him form time to time. And now it was time for his plan to unfold as he ran straight into it.
"Hello?! Please, I'm in an emergency!", he called out, gaining the attention of most people in the reception room.
"Alright, calm down first, kid.", a big man Manuel recognized all too well at this point approached him, "What is it?"
"Officer Raincomprix! Thank god you're here! I need your help!", he begged in a display of desperation, "I'm being followed by someone! All day by now! At first I thought I was being paranoid, but these people have been showing up around me all day and keep tracking my every step! Multiple of them even filmed my every move!"
"That is a clear violation of privacy!", Raincomprix pointed out unnecessarily, "Coming to the police-headquarters was a smart move, kid. Think you could show us WHO has been after you?"
"Yeah!", he confirmed surely, "I'm pretty sure one of them is just outside right now!"
Looking through the window, he saw a blonde woman, probably around her late 30s standing outside and looking around, a microphone in her hand and a camera in the hand of her companion.
"Those… are people from the news, young man.", the officer pointed out flatly, making Manuel call out yet again, "Yes! And?!"
"Technically, that's even worse, since everything you do is shown on TV.", Raincomprix replied, tucking his officer hat and marching outside, "You just wait here. This pursuit is coming to a close right now."
"Thank you so much!", Manuel thanked him deeply, though inside he had a devilish grin to hold back, "Yeah, suck on that, media! You ain't gonna follow ME around no more!"
-x-x-x-
"Manuel Gilson…", Hawk Moth growled in his lair, still collapsed on the floor from the crushing defeat he had just suffered, "I had assumed he was just a kid looking for attention. But now he has become a real problem."
He arose back to his feet, looking out his great window. "Fine then. If he wishes to be on par with Ladybug and Chat Noir, then I shall treat him as such." Whilst his window was closing in on itself, his voice got even darker, "You'll wish you had never set foot in Paris…"
-e-e-e-
Woo! Another chapter down! I did NOT mean for the FIGHT to be this short and the AFTERMATH of all things to be this long! It just kind of happened! And I hope you liked that Star Wars reference in the fight! Whilst I was writing it, I was kind of like "This will either get me a ton of love or hate... Let's flip that coin!"
Also, did you know I can predict peoples moves and react accordingly as well? So I'm gonna clear some misconceptions BEFORE they even surface!
First and foremost: Manuel is not an incredibly strong OR skilled fighter. All that is to him, is that he can predict his opponents moves, react very quickly, use physics to his advantage, and improvise on the spot if needed.
The only reason he can stand up to all these villains, is because they don't take him seriously. He's no superhero despite it all, so they look down on him and don't expect him to be able to offer that much resistance. And he knows that, and exploits the hell out of it. In short: The reason Manuel could beat Timebreaker by himself, is because she underestimated him and he exploited that weakness to its core.
Secondly: I know this chapter took forever to come out, and I'm sorry for that. School was keeping me fairly occupied, Dark Souls 3 grabbed my attention, and 2020 couldn't stop being the worst year ever. Needless to say, I was kind of busy. But don't you worry, I'm not giving up on this story! As long as there is even one person who wants to read it, I'll keep writing it! But I must still ask for your patience, since, as you may know by now, my upload rate is VERY inconsistent.
That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the previous ones! See you next time! …Whenever that will be! xD
Next time on Superheroes and animations: Now Manuel has truly done it. He has grabbed the attention of Hawk Moth himself, and everyone knows that that's not a thing you want. But hiding in the shadows are two more entities whose attention he grabbed. One with only the best motives, and one with very dark intentions…
