Happy October!

Chapter 54: The Puppeteer, Part 1

The plan was simple. Run home, destroy the dolls, then fight The Puppeteer.

Super easy.

Except for the fact that Marinette was currently stuck on a train.

"I suddenly feel queasy," Marinette lied. "When's the next stop?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "In a few minutes - but you don't want to miss the movie, do you?"

"I don't want to," Marinette said. "But you don't want me throwing up on you, do you?"

"Fair enough," Alya replied. "But I'm sure once you get off the train you'll be fine."

Someone knocked on the glass behind them, and Marinette spun to see Adrien behind her.

What are you doing here? Marinette gestured with her arms.

Same as you, Adrien replied. Stuck.

Marinette facepalmed.

"You alright girl?" Alya asked.

"No," Marinette groaned.

Not my fault, Adrien gestured.

Someone needs to grab the puppets, Marinette replied. I can't, and you can't -

"Oh, look it's Adrien!" Alya said, smiling brightly and waving.

Adrien waved back awkwardly.

"Wave," Alya said, nudging Marinette with her elbow.

Marinette gave a less than enthusiastic wave.

When Alya turned away, Marinette returned to gesturing.

We need to do something.

We're stuck on a train, Adrien motioned.

I know that! Marinette gestured irritably.

Adrien shrugged. Next stop should be soon anyways -

Alya screamed.

Marinette whirled around to find Lady Wifi behind her.

"Marinette," she said. "I want the dolls!"

"Manon," Marinette replied. "I - I don't have them, they're -" don't tell her - "I left them at my school."

"Liar!" Lady Wifi screamed. "They're still in your room!"

"Then why did you ask?" Marinette asked.

Lady Wifi huffed. Bringing her phone out, she shot Marinette with a pause button before boarding away on a fast forward button.

Adrien skittered out of the train, darting towards where Marinette was frozen.

People were scattering, and Lady Wifi was long gone. Before long, it was just him, Marinette, and their kwamis.

"This is Bad, This is really bad," Adrien muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, What was it that worked last time? Tin foil? Where do we get even get tin foil at?"

"A cataclysm should work," Plagg suggested.

"Do it quickly, Chat Noir," Tikki added. "If Puppeteer reaches the dolls while either of you are detransformed and transforms you, then the transformation will wear off when you get back to The Unclocker and your identity will be revealed!"

"That would be bad," Adrien agreed. "Plagg, claws out!"

Ladybug gritted her teeth and moved as fast as she could.

Lady Wifi had to have at least five minutes head start, but Ladybug had hope she would catch up. After all, she knew the path to her home well, even from the rooftops - especially from the rooftops.

Ladybug landed on her rooftop, and quickly opened the trapdoor and dropped down. No sign of Lady Wifi, and the dolls were all still there.

She moved towards them, just as the window behind her exploded.

"Ladybug!" Lady Wifi called. "Now we can fight and I can be victorious!"

Ladybug whirled to face her. "Don't you know the heroes always win?"

"No!" Lady Wifi stomped her foot. "I want to win! Hawkmoth said I could win!"

"Hawkmoth shouldn't be trusted," Ladybug replied. "He won't help you win. He's never won before."

"He's never had me!" Lady Wifi snapped back.

He has, Ladybug thought. We beat you then. We can beat you now.

Lady Wifi shot a pause button, forcing Ladybug to dodge. She dropped into a roll and came up near the trapdoor on her floor.

Lady Wifi lunged. Ladybug reached down and opened the trapdoor, causing Lady Wifi to tumble down the stairs.

Sorry, Alya.

Ladybug raced to grab the dolls, making sure all four were there. She reached for the scissors just as the trapdoor swung back open.

"No!" Lady Wifi screamed. "Mine!"

Ladybug dodged backwards as Lady Wifi shot another pause button. She put to much wait on her back foot and collapsed on the ground. She rolled out of the way of another button, and struggled to regain her footing.

Lady Wifi nearly hit her with a pause button, forcing Ladybug back down.

It was hard to fight in a closed space, especially with an injured ankle. Ladybug did her best to dodge, using her knowledge of the room to her advantage. She knocked Lady Wifi back with a rolling chair and ducked under her bed.

Lady Wifi didn't let her stay there long.

Ladybug managed to dodge Lady Wifi for a solid five minutes without making her ankle hurt too much, but with a jolt she realized she dropped the dolls.

She glanced over to where they are.

Was it worth it to grab them, and therefore bring Puppeteer's attention back to them? Or keep distracting her by dodging and hope Chat Noir gets here in time?
Ladybug gritted her teeth, but decided to keep moving. Buying time while waiting for Chat Noir seemed like the best idea.

As soon as she decided, Chat Noir landed on her window sill.

He immediately darted for the dolls, snapping them up and landing next to Ladybug before anyone could blink.

Lady Wifi screamed and shot a slew of pause buttons at him. He dodged, and Ladybug snuck around to behind Lady Wifi.

Her foot landed on a squeaky floorboard, alerting Lady Wifi.

Lady Wifi whirled around and punched Ladybug in the face.

"Ow!"

Ladybug tumbled backwards, nose stinging and eyes watering.

She didn't see the next few seconds of the fight, and when her eyes cleared up, two dolls laid in pieces on the floor and Lady Wifi was gone.

Chat Noir looked stricken. "I managed to destroy my doll and the Rogercop doll, but she got yours."

It was a race.

Lady Wifi, like last time, was heading for the TV station. Chat Noir was on her tail, Ladybug lagging behind a little now that her ankle was hurting more.

"I see her!" Chat Noir called, jumping down from the roof and landing on on Lady Wifi. He wrapped his arms around her and attempted to throw her to the ground.

Lady Wifi bit at his arm, which barely hurt. Chat Noir hung on, trying to knock Lady Wifi off balance or make her drop the dolls.

The fast forward button zoomed upwards, bringing Lady Wifi and Chat Noir horizontal. Lady Wifi launched off, slamming Chat Noir onto the pavement.

Ow.

Chat Noir's grip slackened, and Lady Wifi escaped.

Ladybug was still on her tail, making up speed. After taking a second to catch his breath, Chat Noir stood back up and returned to the chase.

Ladybug threw her yo-yo, nearly knocking Puppeteer off of her button. If a streetlight hadn't been in between them, it would have worked.

Bad luck sucked.

Lady Wifi made it to the TV station successfully, the heroes right behind her. They followed her up to the studio, where Manon was waiting.
In a last ditch effort to retrieve the dolls, Chat Noir sent one half of his baton flying, and Ladybug threw her yo-yo. Lady Wifi dodged the yo-yo and paused the baton. She threw the dolls.

The Puppeteer caught them.

Uh oh