Ladybug carried Kagami to a safe area while Cat Noir kept Prism distracted. She moved across the street, hiding behind an SUV as she sat the girl down. Ladybug knelt in front of her and let out a small huff. The irritation she felt from this situation growing exponentially.
"Kagami, what the actual hell?" Ladybug yelled at the girl before pinching the bridge of her nose. "What on earth possessed you to take on the Akuma without your Miraculous? Wait, a better question is why are you even in this area in the first place?"
"I was on my way to see Marinette. My school was closed due to a gas leak so I decided to see her." She looked away from the heroine, lightly scratching her cheek in embarrassment. "And I needed advice on dating. I saw the Akuma and thought to distract it before you and Cat Noir show up."
Ladybug let out a sigh as she rubbed her hand down her face while muttering to herself.
"It's fine. I am glad that you were not hurt. But you need to get out of here. I can't protect you and fight the Akuma at the same time. I mean I could ask Cat Noir, but I can't do this job without him." Ladybug placed her hands on Kagami's shoulders and looked into the fencer's eyes.
Kagami looked into the hero's eyes and then cast her gaze downward. She gave a small nod before looking out to the distance.
"Marinette's school is nearby. I should make sure her and Adrien are doing ok as well."
Kagami began to stand up before being pulled back down to their hiding place. Ladybug was looking away from the girl, her mind racing at a mile a minute. She couldn't have Kagami go find someone who wasn't even there. But she can't stay here either.
"You don't have to do that! I uh...talked with the school principal before I got here and he says that in the event of an Akuma he has the students hide in the basement's newly implemented panic room. So she is safe with all of her friends." She really hated this whole secret identity thing sometimes. She could list on her hands everyone who she wanted to know to no longer have these issues. While the panic room wasn't a lie, she was still lying about her identity.
As if fate wanted to prove her wrong she could see Alya and Nino hiding behind one of the street advertising signs with their phones out taking pictures and holding hands. She mentally face-palmed at the sight while letting out a groan. If they weren't so cute she would actually be upset with them.
"Then I must go find Adrien. You know how he is trying to be everyone's knight and keeping others safe.
Ladybug didn't protest this. The last she saw Adrien was right before the Akuma came yelling about, and she hoped to forget that moment. She slapped her cheek gently to get that moment from her mind.
"I can't say for certain where Adrien is. I can say that I know he is one to get away from the danger when it looks very bad. So I can say with certainty that he is ok and safe."
As soon as she finished her sentence Cat Noir came flying in their direction. He bounced off the top of the SUV and into the brick wall behind him. The wall cracked upon impact, pieces of brick falling to the floor with him.
"I am not ok…." He groaned weakly as he slowly got to his knees. He let out a cough as he wiped some dirt from his face. He stretched his back till it popped and let out a satisfied sigh. "He is much stronger than he looks. If he were to hit anyone not in a suit like ours…. I don't even wanna think what would happen." Cat Noir shook his head, his ears falling flat against his head. "Worse is that he is like Stoneheart, only his physical strength increases at a much higher rate. Anymore and he might be able to physically damage us."
"Then we better find his Akuma and fast." Ladybug spied above the car and spotted Prism. He was much bigger now. Almost 8 feet tall. Spikes protruded from his back and his calves. His face gone and now one singular, large jawline for his mouth with two yellow eyes.
"He seems to be able to trap people in crystals as well. Shooting them up from the ground to surround your body. Almost impossible to break. I don't want to use my powers just for that." Cat Noir swallowed, his face having a pensive look upon it.
"What's wrong Cat? Is there something else about him?" Ladybug tilted her head as she asked. If Cat had a look like this on his face then there must be something serious.
"The Akuma. I saw 's the only unique item to his appearance. It's in his chest under all that armor. I don't know how we will get to it. It's too tough to crack, and if we do we could hurt him." Cat took a deep breath as he grabbed his staff. He squeezed it tight while shuddering. That painful memory was evidently resurfacing. To when his cataclysm hit the wrong item. "I know back in New York your power saved Aeon, but will it save this person?"
Ladybug crossed her arms and thought for a moment. She couldn't have Cat destroy the person. This might be one of those times Hawk Moth leaves them with memories and they could have serious trauma from the event when she fixed everything. Ladybug gripped her biceps as she thought of a plan. If Kagami had her Dragon Miraculous then it might give them a chance. The Dragon's sword might be sharp enough to pierce through the crystal armor. Though this was pure speculation.
Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Kagami looked up toward Prism as he let out a loud, screeching yelling. He had deduced where they were hiding and slammed his hands into the ground. The asphalt and dirt began to crack in their direction as if something was burrowing underground. Cat Noir grabbed Kagami and used his staff to extend them up to a rooftop as Ladybug followed in tandem with her yo-yo. The trio barely missed being captured in a set of crystals.
Prism yelled and was about to give chase when the police arrived. Ladybug let out a sigh, this distraction could buy them time. Though the sounds of gunshots and yelling did nothing to temper her worry. They sat behind a row of chimneys, the cool air blowing their hair and giving them a nice breeze. Cat Noir had laid Kagami down and assumed his 'thinker' pose. He gave Ladybug a wink and smile, the same flirty kind he had always given her. It had always eased the tension in her head. His silly nature was too infectious.
For all intents and purposes, this was the most that Cat had flirted in almost a year. Granted she wasn't complaining but she did kinda miss it. Their new platonic levels of affection rose above friendship and teetered on romantic at times. He probably has a girlfriend now. She was lucky. Any girl would be lucky to be with a great man like him.
"Ladybug are you ok? You are making a weird pouty face." Kagami spoke, breaking Ladybug out of her trance.
Ladybug quickly slapped her cheeks a couple of times and nodded, thankful the mask hid most of her blush.
"Uh...yes! Yes, of course. I am just having trouble thinking of a solution. I might just have to use my LUCKY CHA-"
She was cut off by Cat as he dragged her to the floor of the roof. A police car came flying through the chimneys they hid behind. It scattered pieces of brick across the roof while the car landed on its side. Thankfully, the driver was not inside when the vehicle was tossed. More yelling could be heard which was shortly followed by the screams of men.
"We...you guys need a plan of attack. I would help but without my Miraculous, I cannot be of much use to you." Kagami pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she looked at the two heroes. "If there is something that I can do let me know, but I doubt I would be able to do much."
Cat Noir let go of Ladybug and she gave him a silent thanks. She looked around the corner of the chimney and let out a sigh.
"Well, we have to get that Akuma one way or another. But for now." Ladybug grabbed Kagami's hand and handed her the end of her yoyo. "You need to get out of here. Find somewhere safe. And don't come out!"
Kagami looked at Ladybug and gave a nod. She walked to the end of the building, jumped off, and began to rappel herself down. Ladybug quickly retracted her yoyo when Kagami was safely on the ground.
"Can't seem to reach Master Fu. Must be his tea time or something." Cat said as he closed the phone on his staff. A small groan escaped his lips in annoyance.
"If he isn't answering then he might be busy doing something important, and hopefully not messing around." Ladybug added as she looked at her yo-yo phone. Though she had a sneaking suspicion this wasn't true.
"You know, I sometimes doubt that. I once went over to his massage parlour and he was playing with a fake moustache and calling himself Master Tu." Cat crossed his arms and shook his head at the memory. "Ever since Hawk Moth discovered who he was last year he has taken the use of that moustache a little bit too seriously."
"Ugh don't remind me of Master Tu. Try accidentally sitting on the mustache and basically having a hairy caterpillar on your butt for several hours. So embarrassing." Ladybug shivered at the memory as she began to spin her yoyo. She went to the edge of the roof, wrapping around the water tower of a separate building and swung to the ground. She looked around, trying to get a sense of what to do next.
Prism was nowhere to be seen, but the damage he caused was very evident. Wrecked police cars and knocked out officers littered the small resting area. Ladybug quite liked this place, having come here as this mini parkesque area to draw her designs and spent time with Adrien here. She felt the ground rumble, knowing he must be causing a ruckus a block over. Cat Noir decided to join her and pulled his staff out at the ready.
"Well time for a LUCKY CH-"
The ground beneath them burst open with Prism flying out. His right hand had turned into a mace with several spikes. His hulking figure shot towards Ladybug and slammed his hand into her stomach. Cat Noir could do nothing as he watched this happen, his expression slowly changing from confusion to anger. His scream echoing out, sounding akin to a roar.
Ladybug flew back, her eyes bugging out as pain shot through her body. She could see splotches of blood come out her mouth and feel it leak down the side of her mouth. She had felt great pain before, when she broke her wrist two years ago when saving a kid from being hit by a car, to bed ridden cramps from becoming the monthly, to having her heart shatter when she saw Kagami kiss Adrien for the first time. Nothing was like this pain. If she hadn't been transformed would she have died? The suit was supposed to make her invincible but she felt like she had been hit by a Cataclysm. That was the last thing she registered before consciousness slipped away from her.
"YES! YOU TOOK HER DOWN WITH ONE STRIKE!" Hawk Moth yelled out as he gripped his staff with both hands. He gave a smile as he watched the display. Ladybug collided with a wall and tore a large hole into it. No doubt she was down for the count.
"Now be sure to secure her Miraculous. And do not harm her afterwards. I may be a villain but I am not about to have a woman be murdered by you."
He clenched his hands around his staff. Victory was very close, so close that he could taste it. His wish would be his and a new world would be born. One where his wife would not be sick, his son no longer depressed, and his life back to how it was. And what if the Miraculous afterwards? It didn't matter. In all honesty he would even give them back to the heroes in the new world. Someone had to make sure they never broke again. His family was the only thing that mattered to him.
The purple butterfly outline disappeared from his face as he gave a smile. He looked up out the window, only for that smile to disappear. He felt this strong negative emotion again. The most powerful that he had ever felt. Hatred and vengeance. The desire to fix what was broken. He felt this before when he Akumatized himself. He gripped the jewelled pommel of his staff and quickly drew the sword.
"You have made a grave mistake coming here. You have no idea who you are messing with." Hawk Moth declared as he looked at his assailant.
"I believe I do, Gabriel Agreste. You have something I want. A goal very similar to my own. Though the end will be much different." The figure chuckled as they revealed the Peacock Miraculous in their possession.
What he was able to spot was the Fox Miraculous around their neck as well. Hawk Moth grit his teeth in anger. Nathalie was already in a state of sickness, he did not need his closest companion injured.
"You have infiltrated my home and lair, so you are obviously skilled. I could use someone like you in pursuit of Ladybug and Cat Noir." He had hoped to use some charm against them. Use his honeyed words from his years of running a business to sway them to join him.
"I have no use for old men who are unable to get the job done. You will just have to kill me. But don't worry. When I take your Miraculous as I did from that girl upstairs, I won't expose your identity. I can only sympathize with what you have been through. So I can't fault you too much."
The person produced an orange and white flute and began to play a tune. Three exact copies of them dressed in the same black attire appeared. They drew their own weapons and pointed them at the purple clad villain.
"I will have you know I did not force my son to take fencing for no reason. He has one last opponent he needs to face before he can call himself a master." Hawk Moth planted one foot behind him, holding his sword in a defensive position. "And by the end of this bout you will know why Paris fears me!"