Sorry about the lack of updates! This chapter took a while to write and to edit

Chapter 51: Simon Says, Part 2

"Dude, your room is huge!" Nino said, eyes wide as he admired the scene in front of him.

Adrien chuckled. It felt like it had been ages since him and Nino had talked, since he was stuck fighting akuma after akuma. As much as he loved being a superhero and spending time with Ladybug, Adrien realized how much he missed his other friends.

Marinette must miss Alya as well, Adrien thought.

"You should be safe here," Nathalie said, before closing the door behind them. She and his bodyguard would be staying outside the door while Ladybug attempted to rationalize with his father.

"I wonder how she's doing," Adrien muttered. When Nino raised an eyebrow, he continued. "Dealing with my father. He can be irrational sometimes."

"No kidding," Nino agreed. "But it's Ladybug. I'm sure she'll be fine."

A large sound echoed outside, and Adrien and Nino raced to the windows. On the street, Simon Says was approaching the mansion, a crowd of hypnotized Parisians surrounding him.

"Looks like they found us," Adrien commented.

"That's a lot of people," Nino added. "But Ladybug and Chat Noir will take care of us, right dude?"

"Of course," Adrien agreed. "I have complete faith in her." He looked out at the mob.

Time to make my exit.

"You know what? I think I'm going to take a shower."

"You and your son are being targeted by an akuma," Ladybug said. "Are you sure you wouldn't be safer somewhere else?"

"I didn't spend all this money on a security system just to run at the first sign of trouble," Mr Agreste replied, still not moving from his work station. "Simon Says doesn't scare me."

"It's not about being scared," Ladybug replied. "It's about being smart."

"Smart?" Mr Agreste snarled back. "Are you presuming to tell me-"

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir peaked his head in. "There you are!"

"It's about time," Mr. Agreste noted. "For a superhero, you are terribly-"

"Chat Noir was running a side mission for me," Ladybug interrupted.

Mr. Agreste glowered at the interruption, but didn't comment. "I'm activating the security system. Nothing can get in... or out."

"... okay?" Chat Noir asked. "Why would you - you know what, I don't care. I just checked on your son and his friend - they're safe in his room."

Mr. Agreste deflated. "Thank you. My son is very precious to me. If anything happened to him-"

"Nothing will," Ladybug said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I promise."

Mr. Agreste nodded. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to work." He turned back to his notebook, and Ladybug and Chat Noir turned and walked towards the entrance.

"Are you sure your dad's not a robot?" Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir scowled. "With him, I never know." He glanced at the armored door. "We're not just going to wait him out, are we?"

"Nope," Ladybug agreed. "I have a plan, but your dad isn't going to like it."

"Forget about him, he doesn't like anything," Chat Noir said.

"Right now, Simon Says has the advantage in number," Ladybug said. "If we bottleneck his soldiers, we can reduce that advantage. I'm thinking if we let them in the gate, but not into the house, we could finish them before they become a threat to your family. Then, we just need to restrict his throwing arms and destroying the cards will be easy."

"A genius idea, as always," Chat Noir replied. "But you're right. Father won't like it and without my cataclysm, we need a different way to open the gate."

"What about one of his employees?" Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir shook his head. "The only other person with that clearance is Nathalie, and she won't disobey father."

"Are there any weak points in the fence?" Ladybug asked. "Somewhere my yo-yo or your baton can break through."

"The gate is the weakest part of the fence," Chat Noir said. "Maybe we could break the hinges off."

"Maybe." Ladybug frowned in concentration. "It would be so much easier if you could just cataclysm it."

Chat Noir sighed. "I know. But if we do that, I'd have to recharge before we face Simon Says, and I don't want to leave you alone out there."

"I think it's worth the risk," Ladybug said. "It's about time Adrien made a reappearance anyways."

"But you'll be-"

"I'll be fine," Ladybug said. "I'll figure out a way to retreat once I've dealt with his soldiers. Then it'll just be Simon Says against us." She pounded her fist into her palm.

"Just be careful," Chat Noir warned.

"Don't worry Kitty, I'll be fine." Ladybug looked around the hallway they were in. "So, how do we get out of here?"

Ladybug landed next to Chat Noir on top of the fences, carrying a bag full of bandages and duct tape.

"Planning on mummifying them?" Chat Noir questioned.

"I thought it would be the least harmful way to keep them tied up," Ladybug explained. She glanced over her shoulder, where the soldiers were pounding on the gates. "They're still civilians." She looked back at Chat Noir. "Ready?"

"Ready." Chat Noir raised his hand. "Cataclysm!"

He pressed his hand down the gate, and the edges of the gate began to rot. A second later, the gate collapsed onto the ground, and a wave of soldiers came through.

Ladybug grabbed a roll of bandages and gave Chat Noir a mischievous smile. "I can handle it from here, Kitty."

"If you say so," Chat Noir replied.

Using his baton, he vaulted back to the house and slipped through the open window they were using as a retreat. From there, he would have to weave through the hallways before finding a window in the back to slip out, right next to the window to slip into his bathroom.

It was complicated, but it reduced the chances of anyone seeing him.

"Chat Noir."

The sound of his father's voice made Chat Noir freeze. He turned around to see his father behind him, still looking calm and collected.

"Is there something you need?" Chat Noir asked.

Act normal. Act normal. Don't let him recognize you. Just act normal.

What was normal again?

"I was checking to make sure everything was alright," his father said. "It sounds hectic out there."

"We're handling it," Chat Noir answered.

"Good."

His father took a step closer, and Chat Noir felt himself gulp.

"I'm glad to know you're here protecting me and my son." His father held out a hand.

It took a minute for Chat Noir to realize he wanted to shake hands.

"Oh." Chat Noir took his hand. "Of course."

In an instant, his father tightened his grip and pulled Chat Noir's hand up to his face.

"What an interesting ring," he admired.

Alarm bells went off in Chat Noir's hand, and he tugged out of the grip. "Nice talk! I'm going to go check on your son and his friend okay bye!"

Ladybug opened the door to see Adrien and Nino at his desk, watching a video on the Ladyblog.

Nino gave her a goofy, nervous grin and Adrien smiled warmly.

"Everything alright?" Adrien asked.

"Just making sure you two are alright," Ladybug said.

"We're fine," Adrien replied. "Thank you."

"Good. I'll let your father know."

When Ladybug shut the door, Chat Noir's kwami flew out to meet her.

"Anything I should know about?" He croaked.

"Just make sure Chat Noir transforms the first chance he has," Ladybug replied. "We need to finish Simon Says before he has a chance to find reinforcements."

The kwami nodded. "You know what would speed it up? Cheese. Adrien usually keeps some in his room but-"

Ladybug rolled her eyes and held up a piece of bread. "This is what you're getting for now."

"Oh, well at least it's something. Next time, bring cheese."

While the kwami went back to his chosen, Ladybug descended back to the first floor and into the office, where Mr. Agreste was waiting.

"I just checked on your son," Ladybug said. "He and his friend are doing fine."

"Good," Mr. Agreste said. "If he's safe, then we can focus on-"

"We?" Ladybug questioned. "You're staying safe as well. Chat Noir and I can handle Simon Says without letting you endanger yourself."

"Don't interrupt me," Mr. Agreste replied. "But of course that's what I meant."

"Of course." Ladybug tried to keep her growing irritation out of her voice (how did Chat Noir stand living with this guy?) but it creeped in anyways.

Mr Agreste moved from behind his desk and in front of Ladybug. "You must pardon me if I seem... irritable. I am not used to being bossed around." He raised his hand to her cheek. "You're earrings are very unusual."

Ladybug instinctively raised a hand to her ear. "They're one of a kind."

"Must be one of the perks of being a superhero," Mr. Agreste noted. He gently touched one, and Ladybug resisted the urge to flip him over to protect her Miraculous.

"I guess you could say that," she said dryly.

Mr. Agreste's grip tightened a little, and Ladybug decided that she would flip him if he pushed any farther.

But before either had a chance, Chat Noir arrived.

Mr. Agreste dropped his hand as if her earrings had burned him.

"Ready, milady?" Chat Noir asked. He gave Ladybug a goofy grin, and Ladybug felt tension leave her shoulders.

"Ready," Ladybug replied.

"You stay here," Chat Noir told his father. "Hide out in your office. Don't even think about doing anything that puts you in the line of fire, regardless of whatever sense of pride you feel you need to uphold."

Mr. Agreste blinked in shock.

"Chat Noir is right. It's our job to protect you - and we will." Ladybug turned to Chat Noir. "I'm going to grab supplies. Do a reconnaissance sweep."

Chat Noir nodded. "Let's end this."

The front lawn of the Agreste mansion was decorated with wrapped civilians, all gagged and squirming but unharmed.

"He's found about ten more civilians," Chat Noir reported, landing next to Ladybug on the roof.

"Only ten?" Ladybug joked. "Child's play." She tossed Chat Noir a bottle of water. "Ready?"

"Ready," Chat Noir replied.

They both cracked open the top of the water bottles, just as Simon Says and his small army marched up to the gates.

"Simon Says bring me Gabriel Agreste!" Simon Says yelled, pointing towards the gate.

Chat Noir and Ladybug exchanged a look before launching off of the roof. They landed on the gate behind Simon Says.

"Not so fast," Ladybug said, already sending her yo-yo towards Simon Says. It wrapped around his arms, and she yanked him backwards towards the gate.

Ladybug and Chat Noir opened their water bottles, and combined them into a stream to dunk on Simon Says, or more specifically, his cards.

Simon Says struggles against the yo-yo, but nothing he did protected the cards from the waterfall. The cards were soaked, and after about half of the two bottles, began to rip.

And the butterfly flew out.

I'll try not to make everyone wait so long for the next chapter