So close to the end! Can't believe how long this story took to finish.
Chapter 55: The Puppeteer, Part 2
Nathaniel could swear was just minding his business.
He was in the museum, as usual, making notes in his sketchbook about the composition of a painting. He wasn't mad, no one had annoyed him, or embarrassed him, or anything else. If anything, he felt peaceful.
There was no butterfly, no reason for akumatization. He had heard that there was a different akuma loose, but she wasn't anywhere near the museum. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing to do with the fight.
And then, he was Evillustrator again.
Chat Noir extended his baton, five seconds away from panicking.
The Puppeteer has successfully gained control of Ladybug. Evillustrator was probably on his way, and Chat Noir's wrist still throbbed from their latest battle. He was outnumbered three to one - four to one, counting Puppeteer herself - and one of them was Ladybug.
He had never successfully fought Ladybug before. Not even in training, or while showing her fencing moves, or - ever. Ladybug was smart, reflective, agile. Even as a civilian, Marinette had beaten Adrien in video games.
How was he supposed to win against her, plus three more opponents?
There's no way - but there has to be. Ladybug is counting on me.
With a thud, Evillistrator landed behind Chat Noir.
He was surrounded, outnumbered, definitely panicking -
What would Ladybug do?
Ladybug had defeated Puppeteer once, against worse odds than this. It wasn't impossible - he just had to be smart about it.
That was how Ladybug won her fights - and Puppeteer only had her body and powers, not her brain. Ladybug, Lady Wifi, Evillustrator - they were all powerful, but they were controlled by Manon. Outsmarting her shouldn't be that hard, no matter how outnumbered he was.
Chat Noir took a deep breath.
Everyone moved at once.
Chat Noir launched forward. Giant spikes appeared around him, following him as he sprinted towards Lady Wifi. She aimed a pause button, and he slid under.
Ladybug's yoyo zoomed past, barely missing.
Chat Noir leaped, vaulting over Lady Wifi. Mid-air, he used his good hand to grab Last WiFi's wrist and twisted it towards Ladybug.
Lady Wifi fired a pause button, and Ladybug froze.
Chat Noir landed, glad to see Lady Wifi completely surrounded by Evillistrator's spikes.
Two down, two to go.
Chat Noir ducked under a spike, just to trip over another. He face planted, but rolled back up on his feet before Evillistrator could take advantage.
Evillistrator moved fast. His creations weren't as creative as they were when he was in control, but they were still enough to make Chat Noir duck and dodge. He winded through the creations, always barely seconds away from being skewered.
Chat Noir planted his foot on one of the spikes and launched into the air.
He landed behind Evillustrator and swiped his feet out from under him. Evillustrator dropped his pad mid-fall, and Chat Noir snapped it out of the air. He frisbeed it out the window, leaving Evillistrator unarmed.
"No!" Puppeteer screamed.
Chat Noir walked up to her.
A weight rammed down into his back.
Chat Noir stumbled backwards. Evillustrator had caught him off-guard by jumping on his back - Nathaniel was lightweight for his age, but the additional weight still caught Chat Noir off guard. When he caught his balance, he grabbed Evillustrator's hands and flipped him over.
He kicked Evillustrator back, just to keep him away for an extra second, before heading for the wand.
From there, it was easy.
When they reappeared, Ladybug engulfed Chat Noir in a hug.
"Good job, Kitty," Ladybug said.
Chat Noir felt himself blush. "No problem, Ladybug."
"No!" The Unclocker screeched, her scream echoing throughout the room. "No, no, no!"
Ladybug pulled away from the hug. "I believe we're down to one last fight, before we can take you down."
"No," The Unclocker repeated. "No, why - no!"
"Face it," Chat Noir added. "You can't beat us. We've done every battle we ever fought, back to back, with injuries, and we still don't fail. We're unstoppable!"
"Fine!" The Unclocker snapped. "If I can't fix it - then, I hope you suffer for it!"
"For what?" Ladybug asked. "Beating you?"
"For everything, you despicable little brats!" The Unclocker growled. "You won't be coming back this time, I promise!"
Just before the winds picked up, Ladybugs yo-yo beeped.
"Hello Ladybug, this is Alya."
"I think I've found what you're looking for. Adeline Droz posted on social media about a job interview today. She seemed really excited for this - and it was scheduled for the same time as the Blasto attack. If she thought the attack would make her late for this job, then that could be the reason she akumatized!"
Alya sighed. It didn't seem like much help - what could Ladybug even do with this information?
But Ladybug had asked, so Alya found it. It had taken her minutes. Ladybug had probably battled for hours during that time.
It was strange, seeing her heroes get so downtrodden and beaten. Cuts, bruises, injuries - more than Alya had ever seen.
How could they win against such unfair odds?
Alya wished she could do more to help, but all she could do was this.
I hope Alya knows how big of a help she is, Ladybug thought. Not only did she have a name, and a motive, but now she had a picture.
"Here's the plan."
Next chapter might take a while to write, but it shouldn't be a nine-month wait again.