(A/N: Hey guys and welcome to chapter 13, and I am excited to bring you guys this chapter especially because it delves a little into Dallas's past and also shows off just how smart he is when he really needs to be, of course the next chapter is going to be a lot more epic than this one, don't get me wrong it's plenty epic but not like the next one will be, okay anyway without further adieu let's kick this thing off.)
Chapter 13: The blood bind
"Hey this is Adrien, I'm a little busy right now, so please leave me a message, bye." It had been the twelfth time that hour that Marinette had called Adrien's phone for their usual late night phone call, it had become a ritual for them to wish one another a goodnight, but for some reason Adrien wasn't picking up.
"I don't understand Tikki…" She fretted as she lay on her stomach in her pajamas just staring at her phone's screen. "He should've responded by now, he wouldn't just ignore my calls. Something must've happened to him, oh what if his house caught fire, or if there was an earthquake, WHAT IF?!"
Tikki flew down in front of Marinette's face and said trying to calm her friend down. "Marinette please don't get yourself worked up, maybe Adrien just went to bed earlier than usual."
But Marinette simply shot down her theory. "No way, Adrien would never just go to bed and not wish me a goodnight, I know what my gut tells me Tikki and it says that something bad is going on and I need to figure it out, oh I hope that he's okay." She then stood up on the bed and said her usual three magic words. "Tikki, spots on!"
"No Marinette waaaaaait…" Tikki tried to reason with her friend but it was too late as she was pulled into the miraculous transforming Marinette in an instant.
Ladybug opened up the trap door over her bed and climbed out onto the roof, she hooked her yo-yo onto another building and zipped off to Adrien's home. When she arrived she found that Adrien was safe and sound in his room as it should be, or as it appeared to be, she opened the window and took a look inside just to be safe, she checked to see that he was still breathing first. "Oh thank goodness, maybe Tikki was right after all, maybe he just forgot tonight." She knelt down and kissed him on his cheek then whispered. "Goodnight kitty, sweet dreams." She stood up and headed over to the window to leave when she heard and felt the sound of a loud crunch under her feet, she looked down and saw a bowl of popcorn had been spilled over. "That's odd…" She voiced her confusion. "Usually Adrien is so tidy, I wonder…huh?" She also began to notice something else on the floor, she picked it up and saw it was made of shattered bits of clay, she had no idea of what it was for or where it came from, until she noticed the scorch marks on the carpet. "Was this…a bomb of some kind?" She asked as she inspected it a little closer, she took a shard and gave it a sniff. "Hmm, a smoke bomb of some kind…" She then began to calculate where the bomb's point of origin was. "Who ever threw it in here must've known a thing or two about sneaking, but who…?" She was about to guess when she felt her miraculous start to vibrate on her earlobes. "Huh, what's going…Tikki spots off." She said as she turned back into Marinette.
Tikki flew out of the earing and then said to Marinette with worry. "Marinette, I sense a very powerful energy coming from somewhere in the city."
"An Akumaa?" Marinette assumed with worry in her voice.
Tikki shook her head then said. "No, this is different, it's something I haven't felt sense the last time it was summoned to this world, and that was almost a millennium ago."
"What? What is it? What's been summoned Tikki?" Marinette asked with confusion.
"The miracle forge!" Tikki cried out. "And it can only be summoned on a night like to night…" Tikki gasped as she took a look at Adrien's alarm clock. "And it's already midnight, Marinette we need to see master Fu at once."
"Hold on Tikki, what's going on? What is this Miracle forge your talking about?" Marinette asked again feeling no less confused than before.
Tikki was quick to explain. "It is an ancient ritual performed between the guardians and the kwami, it's how every single miraculous in existence is formed."
That was all Marinette needed to hear to understand the graveness of this situation, she gasped before she asked. "Do you think Hawkmoth found a way to make a new miraculous?"
"Impossible…" Tikki replied very abruptly. "For a miraculous can only be created by someone with pure intentions, if it's created for any other reason other than that it will fall apart and cease to exist all together, not only that but before we kwamis leave our home world forever to be bound to a miraculous forever we can sense the true nature of the crafter before we leave and help create a new miraculous, if their intentions are pure then we will agree to be summoned and send a champion to join the ranks of the guardians as a source of power for a miraculous, but if we sense darkness behind their actions we will ignore them and everything they had gathered to make their miraculous will be destroyed."
This helped Marinette calm down a bit, but it still left one question unanswered. "So if it's not Hawkmoth, then who is it? Could it be master Fu doing this?" She asked as he was more than likely a possible candidate for creating such a thing from scratch.
"I doubt it…" Tikki replied. "If master Fu was behind this he would've told me and Plagg about it first, then we would've told you to prepare and protect the crafting of a new miraculous to keep it from being stolen by someone like Hawkmoth, which means something entirely unforeseen is afoot here." She stated with firmness.
"What do you mean Tikki?" Marinette asked with baited breath.
"Someone must've read the book and discovered how to perform the ritual." Tikki narrowed down the only and most likely answer.
Marinette then became nervous that someone was able to figure out such a secret when no one had a clue about the books true power. "We have to get to master Fu, he should know what to do." She stated with firmness. "Tikki, spots on!" She transformed back into Ladybug and dashed off to master Fu's home.
Meanwhile in master Fu's apartment he was sitting in a knelt position pouring Dallas a cup of green tea as he told him the story of his past, and his greatest mistake. "…So from that moment on I've been in hiding ever sense, trying my best to make up for what I've done, I thought that the two miraculous that we'd lost that day were gone forever, until Hawkmoth appeared and proved me wrong."
Dallas held on to his tail with baited breath, he was amazed that Fu was over a hundred years old and yet he still looked to be in his mid-thirties. "So how did you know I was making another miraculous? I mean it's not like you follow me on social media or anything, not that I'd be dumb enough to post something like that on line." He asked as he took a sip of his tea.
"That would be because of me actually…" Said a small green turtle looking kwami. "My name is Wayzz, the kwami of protection, I was able to sense the summoning of the miracle forge from all the way out here."
Dallas recognized this kwami from the book very easily. "I think I remember seeing your miraculous in the spell book." He said as he took another sip of his tea.
"You read the book?" Master fu asked with surprise.
"Well duh…" Dallas confirmed. "How else do you think I could've performed the ritual?"
"But how? There was nothing inside the book that even hinted at a sign of the ritual being in there, so how was it you were…" Master fu was quickly interrupted as Dallas answered him.
"It was never inside the book to begin with, it was on the back of the cover, and it was written in invisible ink, in fact that's how I figured out all the secrets inside the book, every single potion and spell's secrets where hidden with invisible ink, I discovered this when my night vision goggles lost power and I had to resort to my black light, I guess the ancient guardians were a lot smarter than people would've thought." He laminated with a smile. "So now that we know each-others dirty little secrets what now?"
Before Fu could answer Dallas the front door burst open and in flew Marinette and Tikki floating next to her completely unaware of who Fu had invited into his home. "Master Fu, Tikki says that AAHH!" She froze once she caught sight of Dallas knelt on the floor with a cup of tea in his hands. SHIT! She inwardly screamed.
Before she could say anything Dallas just smirked and said. "You know if I hadn't already found out you were Ladybug I would be laughing my ass off right now."
"WHAT?!" Master Fu, Marinette, Tikki and Wayzz all screamed in unison.
Dallas winced as he now felt a slight ringing in his ears. "Jeez people, and…present company, how's about we try our inside voices for a while?" He said sarcastically as he twisted his finger in his ear to make the ringing go away faster.
"How did you find out I was Ladybug?" She shrilled as she tugged on her hair.
Dallas smile came back then he said. "I saw it on your palm…" She cocked her head back with confusion, before she could ask how that was possible he quickly added. "Kidding, I over heard your little chat with Adrien last night, but to be honest it kinda makes sense, you and Ladybug look very similar in body and height, also you have the same pigtails so I guess it's kind of obvious, I'm just surprised that no one figured it out already, especially your friend Nikki Minaj 2.0."
Marinette's shock quickly turned into annoyance as he made this comment about Alya. "Her name is Alya you little jerk." She growled as she frowned her brow.
"I wouldn't give a crap if her name was Beyoncé, especially after she punched me in the nose, I swear by the time I leave this city I'm gonna need a rhinoplasty." Dallas complained as he rubbed his poor nose.
"Can't you just call people by there real names just once?" She asked with more annoyance.
He just shrugged and asked with a smirk. "Where's the fun in that?"
She just glared at him as she growled, can this guy get anymore annoying? She asked mentally. "Anyway…" She began to remember the reason she was there. "Tikki told me that someone summoned the…something very important that has to do with the miraculous master." She reported to her master with a bow of respect.
"He already knows that sweet heart, and he already found the guy who did it." Dallas said as he took another sip of his tea.
Marinette's eyes shot open when she heard that. "Wait, you already…oh who am I kidding of course you already knew, but who was it trying to make a new miraculous?" She asked with curiosity.
Dallas then answered her as he pointed his thumbs inwardly toward himself. "Your looking at him my lady, Spizz…" Dallas opened his jacket and called to his new kwami. "…come on out little buddy, it's okay she's a friend."
Slowly but surely Spizz poked his head out while still hiding from Marinette and Tikki. "H-h-h-h-hello m-ma'am, I'm S-S-S-Spizz…the k-k-kwami of ensnarement." He stuttered nervously with a very timid voice, it was clear to everyone that he was still nervous about this new environment, and new world as well.
"It's nice to meet you Spizz, I'm Tikki, the kwami of creation." Tikki said as she flew up to Spizz and extended her hand to him, but rather than shake her hand he just darted back into Dallas's jacket and hid from everyone.
"He's just a little shy, I'm sure he'll be okay once he get's used to this world." Dallas said as he closed his Jacket.
Tikki felt sympathy for the tiny creature as she understood what he was going through, as she herself went through it. "It's okay Spizz, I know how you feel, we all went through the same thing, even my friend Plagg did when he first arrived to the mortal realm, all though he denies ever feeling this way." She said trying to sooth him.
Marinette didn't want to ruin the moment, but there was one thing that was plaguing her mind. "How did you do it? How is it even possible that you knew how to make a new miraculous?" She asked twice.
"Okay…so you know how Gabriel is my new foster father?" Dallas began to explain. "Well…he has this book, which I'm sure you already know about, anyway he let me read it the first night I was staying in his home, I didn't know why he even had a book like that until now…and…well this next part is gonna suck." Dallas then stated what he'd discovered, or assumed he'd discovered based on behavior and secrecy. "I…think he might be Hawkmoth."
Marinette didn't seem surprised that Dallas made this assumption as she herself made the same one not long ago. "Dallas, I can assure you that you're mistaken by this sudden assumption, Cat Noir and I already looked into it and we discovered we were wrong." She said as she knelt down beside him.
"Are you so easily convinced?" Dallas asked with disbelief. "You can't tell me that just because he was akumitized one time that means he can't be your greatest enemy, it's a classic bad guy move Mari, play the role of the victim and blame it on your alter ego, I mean just think about it for a second, he acts so secretive and cryptic it's not funny, and do you really think that it's impossible for him to akumitize himself? I don't know about you but I'd be a little more open to the possibility."
"Dallas please, I understand you want payback for what Hawkmoth did to you but…" Marinette started to try and dissuade him from his argument, but Dallas wasn't backing down from it.
"This isn't about payback Marinette…" Dallas replied sternly. "This is about taking down the biggest threat to this country sense Adolf Hittler, I know what I feel in my gut is right Marinette, I refuse to ignore this which you clearly have, and if I have to be the one to bring him down too then so be it."
"Please both of you…" Fu interjected as he raised a hand. "Let us be civil, Dallas, if you are so sure of this then do you have any proof of his guilt?" He asked hopeful that Dallas was right.
Dallas simply rubbed the back of his neck then said. "I'm afraid not, but I will get it just you wait. Now if there's nothing else, I will be going now." Dallas stood up then turned toward the door, but just before he turned the door knob Fu halted him.
"Wait, I believe your forgetting something." He said with a firm voice.
Dallas turned around then asked. "And what might that…?" He stopped when he saw Fu holding an empty jewelry box meant for a single miraculous, he didn't even need to guess what he wanted from him.
"Your miraculous please." Fu asked as he held out the box.
Dallas was quick to protest. "NO WAY, I made this thing for a reason and that's to protect Adrien and I'm not letting you take it away from me that easily so you can just forget it."
"Dallas please…" Marinette chimed in as she slowly reached for his pendent around his neck. "It's too dangerous to let too many miraculous out at once, it's a risk every time we ask for help from one of the others, it's safer if…"
He grabbed her wrist then twisted it quickly and held it behind her back then kicked her away from him sending her across the room. "I said NO…SPIZZ, WEB UP!" He cried as his kwami was pulled into the pendent and with a flash of red light turning himself into his superhero persona, his kusarigamahawk hung at his side on his belt, it had changed in color to match the suit, the handles of the tomahawk and knife had taken on a hue of black with small accents of red and the grips taken on a hue of white while their blades and the chain connecting them remained the same, his suit was slightly altered as well from when he'd first gotten it, the mask now had a red spider stained into the fabric, the red shoulders and midsection had taken on a very spider like look as well with the shoulders gaining small points similar to spines and on the torso the red fabric seemed to leak out onto that of the black in a style similar to a spiders fangs, the back of the suit itself now had the red hourglass mark of a black widow spider, I guess the ritual must've done this to the suit because of the venom I put in, he thought as he took a quick look at himself.
"Dallas please don't do this." Fu begged as he rose from the floor. "Your miraculous is safer here, I promise you if the need is great…"
But Dallas refused to listen. "Not gonna happen old man, if you want my miraculous so damn bad then come get it!" He shouted as he ran toward the window and crashed through the glass, he quickly grabbed his Kusarigamahawk then threw the tomahawk end of his weapon and embedded it in the side of a near by building and just swung down the street.
Fu simply watched as Dallas took off down the street as he began to fade from sight. "I'll get him master, Tikki, spots on!" Marinette cried as she ran towards the window and transformed into Ladybug, she then hooked her yo-yo onto a near by building, then she took off after him in the attempt to catch up to him. "DALLAS…" She called out to him.
He looked back to see that Ladybug was chasing after him. "Oh so she wants to play cat and mouse eh? BRING IT ON LADYBITCH!" He dared her as he took a sharp right toward a train rail with a train just exiting a tunnel.
He landed on top of the train and just started to spin his knife around at his side increasing its speed until the chain began to rattle and the knife was barely visible, not long after Ladybug swung in on her yo-yo and landed with a somersault as she made herself ready to fight Dallas. "Dallas you don't want to do this." She said as she rushed in at him.
"Your right…I DON'T…" He shouted as he threw his knife at her, but she was fast enough that she was able to slide underneath it as it flew by her, he quickly yanked his knife back with the edge of the blade flying for the back of Ladybug's head but before it could connect she leapt over him forward and landed just behind him. He quickly turned around as he slashed at her with his tomahawk, but she managed to block it with the wire of her yo-yo, they found themselves in a deadlock with both trying to push the other back. "But you're not giving me a choice in the matter, so if I have to fight you to keep what's rightfully mine then so be it."
He eventually realized that neither of them was going to win this way, but luckily for him he saw an opportunity as he peered over her shoulder he smiled under the mask then brought his foot up and quickly kicked her in the stomach forcing her back, he then yanked his knife back to his hand then shot it wide away from her, she began to laugh just before she sarcastically said. "Nice aim…"
"Why thank you my dear." He said back, her smile was quickly replaced with a puzzled look, she then turned around and saw that the train was entering another tunnel, she screamed as she ducked down, Dallas did the same not long after and just laid on his back as he just held on to his weapon as tight as he could and prepared for the sudden jerk. He looked down to see Ladybug crawling toward him; he just smiled under the mask as he knew he'd be out of there before she got to him. "Sorry my lady but this is where I get off." He said with a mock salute as he was then being dragged across the rooves of the passing train cars, and feeling sudden regret for doing so as he was being bumped over and over again by each gap. "OW OW OW OW OW WHY DID I OW THINK THIS WAS OW A GOOD IDEA OW MY ASS OW MY BACK OW OW OW!" He cried until there was no more train for him to be dragged across. "Never…will I ever…do that…again." He said after he landed on the tracks, stood up and began to rub the soreness from his backside, then ran back to the entrance of the tunnel, he pulled his knife down from the wall of the tunnel then he zipped off back into town.
Rather than wait until the train came to a stop Ladybug just rolled off the top of the train and landed on the third rail of the tracks, she only realized her mistake after she landed but to her surprise nothing happened. "Huh?" She voiced as she leaned in closer to a junction box next to the rail, she saw that it was still on, which of course only made her more confused, then she remembered something that made it much clearer to her "Duh the miraculous protects me from electrical shocks." She then took off back toward the tunnel entrance and after Dallas again.
Dallas stopped for a moment on the ledge of a skyscraper to catch his breath; he leaned on a dark tinted window as he just panted. "Ugh…oh god…I am really out of shape, grandpa would not be happy about that." He then looked over to the window and saw his reflection, he then stood in attention as he simply marveled at himself. "Cool…" He chimed gawking at himself. "I look like a ninja spider-man, you know relatively, just without the top part of the mask but still…I am looking good baby, now all I need is a kick ass code name, hmm…" Dallas began to think of a good code name. "How about…THE SPIDER-NINJA!" He cried out, he then realized he didn't like it at all. "No, that name sucks, what about…LORD WEB! No that ones even dumber, the spider king, no that just makes me sound like I'm full of myself, William Web, no that just screams laugh at me, the black spider…no wait that one's already taken, ooh dark web, no wait not that one either, it's a good name…but not for a superhero, more like a supervillain, jeez it is way harder coming up with a spider base code name then I thought, I knew I should've went with a wolf."
Just then he heard the zipping of wire flying through the air, he turned around to see a yo-yo loop around him and pull him off the ledge and onto the building that Ladybug was currently standing on. She stood over him and just glared down at him before she said. "Hand it over now Dallas." She held out her hand for him to surrender his pendent.
"Not a chance in hell Mari…" He replied as he hopped up onto his feet then performed a swift round house kick into her stomach, then he pulled his kusarigamahawk off his belt and spun around the knife from side to side as he held the tomahawk in his right hand. "If you want it so bad you'll have to take it from me by force Mari."
"Don't make me do this Dallas, because I was honestly just starting to like you." Ladybug said as she pulled her yo-yo and began to spin it around. "So just do me a favor and give it to me." She asked one more time.
But Dallas refused yet again. "I'm sorry Mari, hey that rimes, but I can't do that for two reasons, one, I already promised myself that I would use this miraculous to take down the rollers and Hawkmoth, and as for two, well you should know that already sweetheart, I'm a born rebel, I don't DO WHAT I'M TOLD!" He shouted as he shot his knife at her, but she managed to block his attack then countered as she threw her yo-yo at him in retaliation, but he saw this coming and he quickly pulled his knife back then began to spin his tomahawk around in order to block her attack as well.
"Dallas all your doing is making this more difficult for me!" She shouted as she ran at him with a flying kick, which he caught as she was in midair, he smiled under his mask as she took on a surprised look, he then used a judo throw on her and slammed her into the ground. "Ow…" She groaned.
"Trust me Mari, you're out of your league, so just do yourself a favor, go home before you get hurt." Dallas stated as he walked away, but Ladybug wasn't going to call it quits just yet, she threw her yo-yo around his ankles then pulled them out from under him then she spun him around in circles until she let him go flying. "BIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!" He cried out as he crashed into the side of a water tower making a human sized indentation where he crashed.
He fell to the ground on his front, as he was starting to stand on all fours he heard her coming down on him. "Still think I'm out of my league?!" She called as she came down with a stomp, just before she landed he quickly rolled out of the way then shot his knife at her, she quickly deflected it with a diagonal whip of her yo-yo then she spun it around herself then threw it in his face.
"AH…God…DAMNIT, that is the last FUCKING TIME YOUR GONNA BREAK MY NOSE BITCH!" He shouted as he stood up and swung his tomahawk around on the chain over his head, he let it go flying toward her from the side but she just back-flipped over it then she threw her yo-yo into his chest as she landed, he tumbled backwards as he suddenly felt winded, as he tried to catch his breath she threw her yo-yo at him again in the attempt to wrap him up. Oh how quaint, he thought as he flexed his muscles and took in a deep breath and aloud her to 'trap' him.
As soon as it was taut around his torso she quickly yanked him over to her then said. "Don't try anything cute Jones."
"Don't worry…" He said as he stood on his knees then let out all his air and relaxed his muscles allowing the yo-yo to turn to slack. "I don't do cute." Before she could even ask how he got out of her yo-yo so easily he threw up his tomahawk and it hit her dead center in the chest upon the very top of the weapon, she fell backwards as she just gasped for air. "I prefer trickery…" After having said that Dallas was suddenly reminded of what he'd told Adrien about his culture on his first day of school, as well as inspired with his new code name. "Wait, that's it!"
Ladybug slowly managed to stand on her knees and tried her best to ask him. "What's…it?"
"My code name, I've finally figured it out, from this night forward I shall call this persona…Iktomi the trickster, Iktomi for short though." He clarified as he grinned from ear to ear that he'd finally found his code name.
"What…the hell…does that have…anything to do…with spiders or even your power?" She asked as she panted.
Dallas, or rather 'Iktomi' simply stated with satisfaction. "Well my dear the word Iktomi is the official word for spider in the Lakota dialect, it also means the spider-man or the trickster in honor of the same spirit the word revolves around, hence why I chose the name, so this way I can honor my heritage even more with this name and OOOOHHH!" He was quickly and rudely interrupted when she threw her yo-yo directly into his groin.
"Your not the only one who enjoys trickery Jones." She said as she hopped back up and ran over to him, then she spun around on her heel and kicked him in the chest then she leaped into the air for a grand finisher but Iktomi just put his legs up over him and tossed her forwards sending her into a roll, both then stood back up and grabbed their weapons then began to twirl them around at their sides. "Grrrrr…I can see why Adrien lost to you the first time, you're pretty good I'll give you THAT!" She said as she tossed her weapon at him, he then did the same causing his tomahawk and her yo-yo to inter lock as they wrapped around one another.
"Just…give…up!" Iktomi growled as he tried to tug his weapon free from her's.
Then she replied with her own growl. "I…NEVER…GIVE UP!" She then purposefully let go of her yo-yo causing him to fall off balance and fall backwards.
He quickly sat back up but only to see Ladybug running right for him. "Merde…" He swore in French, then she quickly spun on her heel and kicked him in the face knocking him down again, this time he was a bit dazed.
She then grinned as she saw him laid out on the ground. "You lose…Iktomi…" She said as she reached for his miraculous, but once she gripped it she felt a sudden jolt of pain course through her hand, she screamed in pain as she felt a shock of electricity coursing through her entire body, No…this isn't possible, she thought to herself just before she blacked out. Iktomi noticed this and took this chance to shove her off of him.
"Talk about dumb luck." He said to himself as he collected his weapon and prepared for her to attack again, but when he looked over to her what he saw was terrifying, she laid on the ground lifeless. "Oh no…" He quickly realized what had just happened to her, his miraculous had electrocuted her, he rushed over to her side to see if she was alright. "Marinette? Mari wake up…" He shook her to try and wake her up, her head simply fell to one side, he quickly checked her pulse, but felt nothing. "Oh god…her heart stopped." He quickly started to try and take off his mask, but he quickly found out it was being held there by magic. "God damnit, it won't come off, I don't have a choice…Spizz, web down." With a similar flash of red from before he turned back into Dallas Jones, he then proceeded to perform CPR in order to revive Ladybug. He kept at it for almost a minute until she began to cough signaling that she wasn't dead yet. "Oh thank god, Mari are you okay?" He asked as he sat her up.
"What…did you do to me?" She asked back with a weak voice, she could hardly open her eyes due to how week she was.
"I don't know what happened, it just…wait…" That's when Dallas remembered something his grandfather had told him years ago before he died.
Five years ago…
It was in the dead of night in the Arizona desert, an RV pulled up to a house on the corner and stopped on the curb, the door swung open and a thirteen year old Dallas ran out of the large vehicle and rushed over to the front door of the house feeling nothing but worry for his grandfather.
"Please be okay please be okay please be okay…" He prayed as he got to the front porch.
"Dallas honey calm down…" His mother called out to him from the RV, she was dressed in a long sleeve shirt with random speckles each with one of three colors such as blue, green and white and wore blue jeans along with a tie on skirt that had the knot hanging off the side of her hip, and to complete the outfit she wore a pair of open toed sandals.
Dallas just pounded on the door hoping that someone would open the door, he cried out in Lakota hoping his grandfather would hear him. "(Grandpa! Grandpa are you home?!)"
"Dallas please…" His mother forced him to turn around and look her in the eye. "You have to stay calm honey, stress is not good for you."
There was an audible click as the door knob twisted and the door opened wide, there stood a nurse in her uniform, she had an apologetic look on her face, Dallas began to fear for the worst. "GRANDPA…!" He rushed in through the front door and into his grandfather's house with his mother rushing after him, they made their way to his grandfather's bed room where he found him surrounded by a series of machines, family and friends, other than the heart rate monitor the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Dallas's grandfather then sat up in the bed and allowed for a wide smile to curl around on his face. "(My young brave…)" He greeted in Lakota, his voice was weak and barely audible. "(Come here my young brave, for the great spirit calls to me, I am not long for this world my boy, let me hold you one last time.)"
Hearing those words only confirmed his worst fears, this was his grandfather's final hour, he didn't hesitate to run over and give his grandfather one final hug. "I'm sorry were late grandpa, we came as soon as we heard." He sobbed as he gripped onto his grandfather as tight as he could. His grandfather had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer, and it was only after discovering it that the doctors found that it was already too late to save him, but he wasn't afraid of what was to come, he was ready to leave this world in peace, but before he had to die he had one last thing to do for himself, and his grandson.
"Dallas…" His grandfather whispered before he started to cough, once he settled he continued. "I've missed you so much, I'm glad you came home, I'm glad that Wakan Tankin granted me…one last boon for this world."
Dallas felt a lump forming in his throat, his heart began to break knowing that his grandfather would be leaving him soon. "I knew I should've stayed here, I knew I should've…"
His grandfather then began to shush him as he patted him on his back. "Don't you start that, this maybe the end of my time…but at least…I can finally pass on…your birth right to you…as I've always dreamed of doing for so long." His breathing became heavier and more labored, he looked over to another elder of their community and nodded, the elder stood up and presented Dallas's grandfather with a black lock-box, he then reached for his neck then pulled on a brown leather cord around his neck then with one quick yank the cord snapped, he then pulled the cord away from him and out of his shirt, the cord was tide to a small black key, he took the key and used it to unlock the box, he opened the box and reached in and pulled out there family tomahawk. "Behold, my grandson, our family's greatest treasure, the horn…of Gray buffalo, our greatest and most respected ancestor."
Dallas took the weapon in his hands and gripped it tight, he inspected the craftsmanship of the tool, it was in good condition for it's age. "Why are you giving this to me?" He asked his grandfather.
"Because…I couldn't let your father, nor your brother have such a tool, for it is a tool to bring forth justice to those in need, and I couldn't give it to your uncle either…as he has forsaken our ways, but I know you will honor our family legacy Dallas, but before I pass…I must tell you of its power." He said as he began to tell the tail of their ancestral weapon. "Back in the days of old, before the white man came and stole our lands, our ancestor Gray buffalo fought against their soldiers leading his army against theirs at every turn, it was said that he was unstoppable, but sadly he fought so much that he often needed a new weapon as they would often break down over time, to solve this problem he performed an ancient ritual, one to summon the power of the great creator himself…" He then began to cough again, as he pulled his hand away from his mouth he discovered he'd coughed up blood.
"Grandpa please, don't push yourself." Dallas begged as he took a hold of his hand and squeezed it tight.
But rather than listen to Dallas he continued his tail. "After he performed the ritual he asked the great creator to grant him a weapon, one that could never break, a weapon that if granted to him it would only ever be used for good in the name of our people, then the great creator asked Gray buffalo to give him his hand, and so he did, he then took a tomahawk made from the bone of a mighty thunder beast and metal, then he took the blade of the weapon and cut Gray buffalo's hand, then he called down a bolt of lightning and it struck the tomahawk, and so the great creator granted him his wish, he presented him with this very weapon and told him that as long as he and his descendants kept to the pack that they had made then this weapon would never be broken, however Gray buffalo was not without rivals within the tribe, there was one among the tribe that was jealous of Gray buffalo's respect in the tribe, his name was Raging bear, and he would do anything to prove to the Lakota that he was greater than Gray buffalo and to do it he chose to steal this weapon from him while he slept, but once he gripped the handle the great creator sent a bolt of lightning and struck him down with a single blow, for what Raging bear didn't know was that the great creator had put a blood bind upon this weapon, should anyone who is not born of our blood touch this weapon then the great creator will put an end to them for their attempt to steal our greatest legacy, it has been in our family for generations Dallas, and the time has come for it to find its way into the hands of a new worthy bearer." He stopped talking just long enough as he reached for his night stand, he opened the drawer and pulled out a small bowl of warpaint. "Dallas Jones-Clearlake, the blood of my blood, as the patriarch of our family it is my duty to anoint you in the name of the great creator to bear this weapon, but before I do you must promise me three things."
Dallas then nodded then said. "Anything grandfather…"
"Promise me you will never forsake our ways, promise me you will honor our family and your heritage with pride and above all else, promise me…that you will NEVER use this weapon for evil." He looked his grandson stern in the eye with each word he'd spoken.
Dallas then said in Lakota to prove to his grandfather that he would keep his word. "(I promise you, in the name of the great creator and our ancestors that should I ever wield this weapon it will be in the name of justice, I will hold our ways as close to my heart as a mother would her child, I will live my life for the tribe and the great creator forever, this I promise you grandfather, from the bottom of my heart.)" His voice began to crack as he shed a few tears.
With those words spoken Dallas's grandfather smiled as he dipped his fingers into the paint bowl and began to decorate his grandson's face with red markings, he then spoke the same words he'd been practicing to say from the day he'd received the weapon himself in his ancestral tongue. "(In the name of our ancestor Gray buffalo and his descendants before us I stain your skin with the colors of our braves from the past, to show them that you are the worthy one to wield the horn, may it serve…you…well…)"
His hand fell to the bed, the bowl slid out of his grasp an hit the floor shattering into pieces, his eyes slowly closed one final time, his last breath slowly left his body with a sigh, and forever frozen on his face…was his grandfather's final smile. Dallas could no longer hold back the tears, he began to sob heavily as he threw himself around his grandfather's torso, eventually his mother came in to comfort him, she just put her arms around her son and just let him vent. "May the great creator…guide you home grandfather." He said as he just buried his face into his shoulder and cried.
Present day…
Dallas never actually believed in the power of the tomahawk as he only believed it was just a Lakota legend, but after what had happened he no longer believed it was just a story. "I'm sorry about this Marinette, I swear if I'd known this could actually happen I never would've…" Dallas apologized to her as he picked her up in his arms. "I'm gonna get you back to the old man, maybe he can help you, Spizz, web up!" Dallas cried out, with another red flash of light he turned back into Iktomi and took off down the street with Ladybug over his shoulder, he threw his tomahawk as hard as he could at each building making sure that it stuck just long enough to get them back to master Fu's apartment, it only took five minutes to get her there safely, Fu wasted no time in treating her, and sense Dallas had some knowledge of herbs he was a big help in treating her. "Here, this tea should dull the pain, just a little warning though, it's not gonna taste very good so I'd just chug it." Dallas said as he handed Marinette the tea cup, and as instructed she downed the entire cup as fast as she could.
She started to cough as she handed him back the cup. "Thank you." She croaked.
Fu took a look at Marinette's hand and saw that it was slightly burned from the shock. "I don't understand, the miraculous should've protected you from something like this." He voiced his concern for his pupil.
"I know why it didn't." Dallas stated as he prepared to tell them his family's greatest secret. "It's because I used my ancestral tomahawk, you see master…there is a protective spell upon it, it was placed there by Waka Tankan, the great creator, he's basically our version of god, he gave that tomahawk to one of my ancestors, Gray buffalo, it's said to be indestructible as well and for that reason the great creator placed a spell on it called the blood bind, should anyone who isn't descendant from my family touch it they will be struck with a bolt of lightning, I had no idea that the story was true until today otherwise I would never have used it as my weapon."
Upon hearing this master Fu then came to realize what Dallas had done was give himself the perfect loophole in keeping his miraculous. "I see…that explains everything, the power of the miraculous was never designed to resist the power of gods, there for Marinette never had a chance to withstand the power of this…blood bind, it's not exactly a good thing, but perhaps…this is a compromise I can live with."
Dallas took notice of what Fu was saying, his face lit up with excitement then he said. "You mean…you'll let me keep my miraculous?"
Fu nodded yes then said. "But remember one thing Dallas, such power is only meant for the greater good of mankind, so promise me that no matter what you will only ever use it for good."
Dallas needed no convincing as he replied. "I promise that I will only ever use this power to invoke justice for the innocent and punish the wicked, no evil will be spared from my power and no innocent life will be taken under my steadfast watch."
Fu then smiled and said. "I am glad to hear it, now then…what shall we call you when you are in the field?"
Dallas then smiled back as he answered. "Call me…Iktomi…the trickster."
By the time morning came Adrien began to stir as did Plagg, he yawned as he stretched his arms out over his head. "God, I slept like a rock…" He said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"You know…" Plagg started up as he began to yawn. "I don't really remember going to bed last night, in fact I can't really remember anything from last night at all."
Normally Adrien wouldn't think too much of Plagg's memory losses as he more often then not was just too lazy to even care about anything that didn't taste like cheese, but for once he felt as though he should care as he didn't remember much of the other night either. "Okay that's weird, if you don't remember…and I don't remember, then what could've happened last night to make us forget?" He asked rhetorically, but he got his answer anyway from an unforeseen voice.
"I can explain that." Adrien and Plagg both looked up and saw someone in a black and red sneaking suit hanging from the ceiling, they were just up there looking as casually as they would be on the ground, he then began to make his way over to the wall and headed straight to the floor, once he was close enough to the ground he hopped off the wall and landed with grace. "I sort of threw a smoke bomb in here last night filled with an herb that puts you out in less than five seconds, it also causes short term memory loss, basically you forgotten everything that happened to you in the last twenty-four hours Adrien, same goes for you Plagg."
Adrien was shocked that this masked stranger knew their names, also that he seemed to have some kind of power to him. "Are you…an Akumaa?" He asked as he took up a fighting stance.
"Eh-eh, wrong my friend…Spizz, web down." Iktomi said as he transformed back into Dallas right before their very eyes. "I'm a rebel." He added once the transformation was complete.
Adrien and Plagg's jaws just dropped with shock, neither knew what to say. "Dallas?" Was all that Adrien could say.
"Surprise…" He sang as he performed jazz hands. "I made a new miraculous, oh and this is my kwami Spizz, say hi buddy." Dallas gestured over to Spizz who was looking down at the floor shuffling his hands nervously.
"H-H-H-Hi, I-I-I-I'm Spizz." He said timidly.
Plagg flew over to Spizz and introduced himself. "I'm Plagg, the kwami of destruction, what can you do Spizz? He asked curiously.
Spizz started to stutter again as he answered him. "I grant the p-p-p-p-power of ensnarement, a-anyone who's c-c-c-caught in my trap cannot escape unless r-r-r-r-released by my owner."
Adrien notice just how nervous he was then asked Dallas. "Is he okay? He seems a little scared."
"Don't worry about him, this is normal for kwamis to go through when we leave our world, not that I did or anything." Plagg denied with a grin on his face.
But it was short lived when Dallas said. "That's not what Tikki says."
His eyes snapped open then Plagg just looked at Dallas with shock on his face. "How do you know that name?" He asked with confusion.
Adrien was just as confused as Plagg was at this point, then Dallas confirmed with a smirk. "I met her and Marinette at Fu's apartment last night."
That's when Adrien's brain just stopped working. "You…you mean to say…that you know about Marinette's secret too now?" He asked with slight fear in his voice.
"Yeah I know, but to tell you the truth I already figured it out the night before when you two were having a little chat about me, and while she was having a little pity party for herself." Dallas confirmed.
Adrien then groaned as he covered his face with embarrassment. "Ugh I can't believe we were so careless, I'm just glad it was only…" That's when Adrien realized something else about this situation. "Hang on a second, how did you make a new miraculous in the first place?" He asked as he pointed a finger in Dallas's chest.
"I borrowed your dad's book and took down some notes, so now I know how to make more miraculous if I need to. I also learned how to use the one time power more than once without turning back, I also know how to tap into the power of the beast I've personified, hence why I was hanging upside down a moment ago."
Adrien figured that he would here more about this later, but first he wanted to know something else. "What do you mean you borrowed my father's book." He asked curiously.
"He can read ancient Mandarin Adrien, I was gonna tell you at the same time as master Fu but…well I guess he was one step ahead of me." Plagg confessed hoping that Adrien wouldn't be mad at him.
He sighed then said. "Okay Plagg fair enough. But why did you knock us out last night?" He narrowed his eyes at Dallas sounding slightly annoyed.
"Because I couldn't run the risk of you trying to stop me from doing it Adrien, so I just used a harmless but powerful herb in a smoke bomb my dad showed me how to build and I just…used it on you guys." Dallas answered feeling a bit guilty. "Look I'm really sorry okay? What's done is done and there's nothing I can do to change that now, so if there's anything I can do to make this up to you just name it guys."
Adrien could sense that Dallas was telling the truth, he then put his hand on his shoulder and said. "This is how you can make it up to me, promise me that next time you do this, assuming there is one that is, that you'll let me know so I don't have to worry about you."
Then Plagg flew in between them and said. "You already know my price buster, but you'd better double it because I am extra hungry right now."
"Your always hungry you know that?" Dallas stated as he shook his head, that's when he heard a gurgling sound coming from Spizz.
"Oh…my apologies master…" He said with a timid voice and a bow of his head.
"Don't apologize buddy, your just hungry is all." Dallas replied kindly.
Plagg then did something that surprised both boys, he flew over to his stash of camembert and grabbed a wedge, normally that wouldn't be strange for him, but he didn't get it for himself, rather for his new guest. "Here, try some of this, its camembert cheese the most delicious cheese in this whole world." He said just before he inhaled it's sent deeply then let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Spizz took a little sniff of the cheese then covered his nose and simply said. "It's smelly."
"I know, isn't it great?" Plagg replied.
"Your not feeding him four year old cheese Plagg." Dallas said with a stern look on his face.
"What, you think he should have the good stuff for such an occasion?" Plagg asked with confusion.
"I mean no camembert period, I don't want you to make him sick on his first day here, besides I already offered to make him something when we got back." Dallas said as he crossed his arms. While he was arguing with Plagg, Spizz notice the popcorn spilled on the floor, he flew over to it, picked up a piece and popped it in his mouth.
"Oh come on Dallas don't be such a stick in the mud." Plagg said as he tried to sway Dallas.
"I'm not being a stick in the mud, I'm just looking out for my…kwami?" Dallas finally notice that Spizz was gone, he looked around and saw him eating popcorn off the floor. "Spizz don't eat that it's been on the floor for who knows how long." Dallas said with concern as he walked over and picked up the hungry little thing.
"But master it tastes so good." Spizz said with a mouth full of popcorn.
Plagg was quick to back up. "Yeah don't deny him what he likes, besides anything he eats with it is just like sprinkles at this point."
Dallas and Adrien just looked at him with narrowed brows and a look that basically said you have got to be kidding me. "Sprinkles? Your kidding right?" Dallas asked seriously.
But Plagg just shook his head and said. "Nope, once I dropped a piece of camembert in a sandbox and I still ate it."
Dallas just shook his head and said. "I'd ask what was wrong with you, but that would take more time to explain than I have left in this life time."
Plagg just looked at him and said. "But your only seventeen?"
"Exactly, which means by the time your done I'll be on my death bed." He pointed out. "Come on Spizz, I'll make you something for breakfast, something warm and that hasn't been sitting on the floor all night, or smells like feet." Dallas headed out the door and off to the kitchen to make his kwami a proper meal.
Plagg then fired back and said. "Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not chewing on another guys marbles ya freak!"
Later in the kitchen Dallas was rummaging through the fridge to find something, anything to feed his kwami. "Come on there has to be something in here to feed him." He only managed to find things that seemed to take hours to cook such as briskets and roasts. While Spizz was waiting patiently on the counter a fly started to bother him, he tried to shoo it away from him but it just kept coming back, he stopped moving for a moment and let the fly land on his face, then with a quick motion of his hand he swatted and killed it dead, then mainly out of curiosity he picked it up then popped it in his mouth, then spit it out just as fast as he put it in.
"Ugh disgusting Aaah…" Spizz cried as he started to wipe fly guts off his tongue.
Dallas looked over to him and saw just what had transpired. "You just tried to eat a fly didn't you?" He asked the obvious.
Spizz nodded yes then said. "I deeply regret it master."
"Don't worry little buddy, I promise I'll find you something good to eat…" Dallas's eyes stopped upon seeing something that he didn't expect to see in this fridge at all, his favorite food ever. "Oh my god this is just hilarious." He said as he pulled out the box which read cow testicles, then he continued his search for something Spizz might not find too disgusting as his first warm meal in this world.
Spizz flew down and read the box label, then he asked Dallas. "What's a cow testicle taste like master?"
Dallas didn't expect him to take any interest in it at all, but he still answered his kwami honestly. "Well it's kind of chewy, but tender, and also a tiny bit gamey, why?"
"I was just curious, is this what you wish to serve me master?" He asked curiously.
Dallas then sat up and looked at his kwami then asked back. "Would you actually want to try it? I mean I'd understand if you didn't but if you really want to…"
"If you like them master then I will give them a try." Spizz said with a nod of his head.
"Alright, if your sure, but don't worry if you don't like them, I'll finish them off for you if you don't." Dallas picked up the box then placed them on the counter top, he picked one out of the box and unwrapped it from its vacuum seal, then he sliced it up, coated it with flower and breading, then took a skillet and filled it with vegetable oil and fried the slices until they were a golden brown. "Alright buddy here you go, your very first plate of rocky mountain oysters."
"I thought I was eating cow testicles master?" Spizz replied sounding confused.
Dallas shook his head then said. "Okay first of all buddy, you don't have to call me master okay I don't own you, and second, that's just what you call them once there cooked." Dallas plucked one off the plate then blew on it to cool it down. "Here, try it and tell me what you think." He said as he offered the slice to his kwami.
Spizz gave it a quick sniff then took a small bite out of it, he simply savored it for a moment, then discovered that he enjoyed the taste even more than popcorn, and definitely more then that fly. "Mmm, it tastes amazing master…I mean…Dallas." He said as he took the slice from Dallas and gobbled it down one bite at a time.
Dallas then smiled as he took another piece for himself and said. "Spizz my friend, I think you and I are gonna get along JUST fine." He then popped the slice into his mouth and enjoyed the taste of his hard work. "Mmm-Mmm…just like mom used to make."
"Hey Spizz…" Plagg called out to the newest kwami in the house, he found him in the kitchen with Dallas as they were enjoying there breakfast. "Oh there you are, I thought that we could…uh…what are those?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Our breakfast, they are amazing." Spizz replied as he finished off his slice of food.
Dallas figured that he could screw with Plagg just a little bit sense he had no idea of what rocky mountain oysters looked like after they were cooked, so then he said. "Hey Spizz, do you think Plagg might want to try one?" He said with a mischievous grin.
Spizz nodded his head then collected another slice then presented it before Plagg. "Here try one, they taste excellent."
"Hmm, okay I'll bite." He said as he took a quick bite, then he chewed it up and swallowed. "Mmm, not bad, could've used just a sprinkle of…" He stopped once he read the label on the box that was sitting on the counter right next to Dallas, then he saw the look on his face as he slowly came to realize what he'd just eaten, he then started to turn green, then he flew out of the room screaming. "Oh you MONSTER!"
Spizz was just left in the kitchen with Dallas completely confused, then he turned to Dallas an asked. "Why did he run away Dallas?"
Dallas could barely contain his laughter as he tried to answer his kwami. "Oh…he just can't understand what fine cuisine is."
A few hours later Adrien, Dallas, Plagg and Spizz were all riding in yet another sports car on their way to school, the car they'd chosen this time was a green 1969 Dodge charger, the ride was very quiet as well with Plagg still being upset with Dallas for tricking him into eating a rocky mountain oyster, but Dallas just found the whole thing to be hilarious where as Adrien found his behavior to be unacceptable. "I can't believe you did that Dallas…" He scolded as he maintained his focus on the road. "Using Spizz to trick Plagg like that."
Dallas just snickered to himself as he just couldn't get the moment out of his head. "Oh come on you cannot expect me to pass on an opportunity to fuck with him like that, besides…" He paused for a moment as he looked down at Plagg in the cup holder. "I still owed him for the hospital."
Plagg just looked up at him and said with a low growl. "I am going to kill you later."
"What's wrong Plagg? I thought you said you liked it." Dallas replied with a smirk. After they got to school the whole student body was in an uproar over something that neither of the boys knew about. "What do you thinks going on?" Dallas asked rhetorically.
"Beats me, usually this only happens when there's been another video posted on the Lady-blog…" Adrien suddenly realized that he'd just answered the question for himself and Dallas. "Ohhhhhh…it must be about…'Iktomi' and his big debut from last night."
Dallas wasn't sure if he was right but he still thought that they should look into it. When they got inside they found that Alya had in fact posted a new video about Iktomi and his fight with Ladybug. "Hey Adrien, Dallas, check it out Ladybug's fought a new supervillain last night…" Alya said as she showed the boys the fight on her phone.
"I am not…so…sure that…he's a villain, I mean maybe it was just one of those classical misunderstandings between superheroes, you know like when Batman and Superman met for the first time." Dallas retorted as he didn't want the whole city to be against him before he had even actually done anything.
"I don't know…" Alya said casually. "He doesn't really look the type to be a hero, what with the dark color scheme and all."
"Maybe it's strategic, you know like for sneaking up on people he's trying to take down." Dallas pointed out the possibility.
Alya just rubbed her chin then said. "Maybe…but until then I'm not putting him in the hero category just yet, however that doesn't change the fact that this guy still needs a name for people to call him by."
Dallas saw this as an opportunity to help throw suspicion off him. "I've got one you could use for this guy…" He then suggested to her. "Iktomi the trickster, or just Iktomi for short."
She looked at him with a puzzled look as she had no idea of what to make of this name. "Iktomi the trickster? Why call him that?" She asked bluntly.
Dallas was quick to explain. "Well look here, see how he throws his knife past Ladybug on the train?" He pointed to the screen after rewinding the video a bit. "Now just wait for it, see…there he goes out the tunnel and off into the city, he played her with that move, in other words…he tricked her."
Alya could see where he was going with this, but she still had to ask. "But why call him…what was it you said again?"
"Iktomi, it's the official word for spider in my ancestral language, it's also the name of a spirit my tribe reveres to be a very sneaky trickster, there for…the name fits like a glove."
Alya then repeated it to herself. "Iktomi...I like it, I think I'll run with that if you don't mind, because it was just driving me crazy not being able to figure out what to call him, you wouldn't believe how hard it was to pick a spider based code name that isn't already taken or doesn't sound stupid." She said as she updated her blog with a new video. "Hey viewers, it's your girl Alya coming to you live from my high school to give you a brief update on our mysterious new spider-man look-a-like, specifically what we should call him from now on, and thanks to my friend Dallas here…" She briefly showed Dallas in the shot for a moment before she continued. "We have a little nickname for you, so be on the lookout for Iktomi…the trickster…ooh I just got tingles down my spine, so Mr. Jones…" She put the camera back on to Dallas then requested. "Tell everyone why you think this name is appropriate."
Dallas just shrugged and said. "Well because he kind of reminded me of this spirit that my culture reveres, it also is the word for spider in the language of the Lakota, it also means the trickster depending on the context so I figured that sense he chose a spider based outfit and basically tricked Ladybug at the last second he seems to be like a trickster to me, so I figured Iktomi the trickster."
Alya then turned the camera back onto her and said. "And there you have it folks, our mystery man now has a name, so be on the lookout for Paris's newest costumed character Iktomi, but until then this blogger will be asking the biggest question, who is this new masked man? Whose side is he on? Why is he here? And what will he do next?" She signed off then said to Dallas. "Thanks again for the name Dallas, sounds so cool, anyway I'll see you later."
By the time lunch came around everyone was talking about 'Iktomi', even the teachers were talking about him, Dallas just couldn't stop grinning as he just loved the fact that he'd set all of this up out of pure dumb luck. "Now they'll never suspect a thing." He said with a smile.
"Hey Dallas…" Marinette called out to him as she and Adrien sat down next to him. "I must admit I'm impressed, I wasn't sure if you'd be able to get your name out there without people knowing who you are, but I guess lady luck is finally with you today."
Dallas then leaned in and said with a smirk. "Does that mean I can have a little kiss from you?" He puckered up his lips playfully.
She just rolled her eyes and said. "Not even in your wildest dreams."
"Well at least he managed to keep it a secret." Adrien added with a smile.
"Yeah, unlike a certain blond girl we all know and loath." Dallas smirked. "Well most of us anyway…"
"Oh Adrikens…" Chloe called out as she made her way over to their table with Sabrina once again carrying her lunch for her.
"Speak of the she-devil…" Dallas added as he looked over to her.
As soon as she'd gotten to the table she sat down on the opposite side of the table from where Marinette was sitting and just sat down next to him. "I thought you might want a little company over here." She said as she snaked her arms around his arm.
"He already has company Chloe…" Marinette stated as she pulled Adrien closer to her. "And I think your making him feel uncomfortable with how often you're smothering him these days."
Ever sense the two of them had been ousted as a couple Chloe had been doing everything she could to get them to split up, or more accurately trying to get Adrien to dump Marinette for her as she too wanted him all to herself. "I am NOT smothering him…" She denied as she pulled him back to her. "I'm just trying to make sure that he's actually comfortable around someone as clingy as you Dupain-Chang."
Marinette was quick to fire back. "Oh your one to talk, you can't even let him have lunch with me unless you're at the same table as us."
"That's not true; I can eat lunch at any table I want…" She lied, to herself mostly.
"Girls please…" Adrien said as he didn't like literally being caught in the middle of their squall. "Can't you just get along for once?" He begged as he tried to push both away slightly as he only wanted some room.
"Well I would Adrikens, if she better understood her place." Chloe stated as she just glared at her rival.
"Excuse me?" Marinette asked with annoyance.
Sensing that things were about to turn ugly Adrien tried to calm his girlfriend down. "Mari just let it go she's just…"
"No-no-no I wanna know what she has to say." Marinette interrupted him.
Then Chloe continued. "Oh you don't know? Well then let me spell it out for you, you are nothing but a speck of dirt compared to a beautiful flower such as Adrien, no check that…your just a piece of shit that belongs out in a field where it's actually wanted by somebody, in other words Marinette you and Adrien never should've became a couple, because your place is all the way down here with the rest of the shit…" She gestured with her hand to make her point. "While you think that your place is up here with him."
"So then why aren't you down here with the rest of us where you belong." Marinette fired back.
Ooh…burn, Dallas thought to himself and trying his best to hide his snickering.
Chloe then stood up and just stared daggers at her. "How dare you…" She growled. "I am a member of high society you can't speak to me that way!"
"Why because I don't come from money like you?" Marinette stood up as she began to defend herself. "Your nothing special Chloe, you could have all the money in the world and you'd still be nothing more than some selfish spoiled rotten arrogant bitch which no one but Adrien has actually managed to see past and also chose to keep you around as a 'friend' which in my opinion is very noble of him to do as honestly I don't think there is another human soul alive that could put up with you for this long."
"STOP IT!" Adrien blasted at the top of his lungs, the room became as silent as the grave. "Both of you; this is getting out of hand alright and I honestly don't like being the reason you two are fighting, I get that neither of you have ever liked each other but that doesn't give you the right to put me in the middle of it, Chloe you will always be my friend, but you need to accept that I love Marinette and that's the way it's gonna be from now on, and Mari I love you with all my heart, but you need to accept that Chloe and I will always be close even if she isn't always very nice to people, now I've spoke my peace and I expect you two to act like civilized young ladies from here on out, even if you don't want to, Chloe, can you do that for me?"
Chloe just glared at Marinette and said. "Fine, I'll try to be more…polite to her."
"Good, Mari?" He turned his attention to his girlfriend.
Marinette just looked away from Chloe and said. "If that's what it takes to make you happy, then I suppose I can try."
Dallas just looked around the room; everyone's eyes were on the girls as if one of them had just shot the other. God damn, he thought to himself, how long has this been going on between them?
"Good, now shake on it." He asked politely, however both girls were reluctant to do so, until Adrien said a bit louder. "Shake on it!" Both girls then sighed as they shook hands and hopefully making peace between the two of them, if only for the moment.
After school had ended Adrien was giving Marinette a goodbye kiss as he always did when school ended, however in Dallas's opinion he was taking too long as he just waited for him in the car. "For god sake dude hurry the fuck up already." He said as he just looked at the two of them through the window. "You know what fuck it." Fed up with waiting Dallas then started to honk the horn. "COME ON LOVER BOY LETS GO YOU'VE GOT A PHOTO SHOOT REMEMBER!"
Adrien just held up one finger as if to say just a minute all the while not breaking his kiss with Marinette, after they'd finally finished he then said softly to her. "See you on patrol tonight my lady."
"Until then kitty." She gave him one last hug before he had to leave, she waved him goodbye as he walked back to the car.
Just a few yards away from her Lila was just observing her, jealousy still filled her with hatred and darkness. "That's them…" She said to a figure she'd hired to 'assist' her in 'breaking' them up. "Just remember though she's your prime target, I want him alive or it will all be for nothing, understand?"
The figure she was talking too nodded as he took a single picture of Adrien with his phone and said. "Just remember Ms. Rossi that my services don't come cheap, so if you really want her gone then I want my money before I get started, no acceptions."
(A/N:DUH DUH DUH, oh no who is this guy and how did Lila manage to find a guy like him to do her dirty work? I guess you'll just have to wait until this guy makes his move on them, but until then you'll just have to wait until I figure this out as this situation is still in it's infancy and I want to do it right for you guys because you guys deserve the best and I will only give you the best. In the next chapter of WOS, Iktomi goes on the hunt for Lorenzo for one final showdown, he has to go threw all manor of difficulty to do it, and in the end he comes face to face with a former flame, now show of hands...or comments sense I can't really see you guys, how many of you think he's gonna hook up with her and be honest because...well come on this is Dallas we're talking about guys he's a total sex hound, okay that's all for now by everybody I hope you liked this chapter as much as I loved writing it out.)
