Chemically Active
Juleka kept the business running flawlessly for the first hour, then the next. When her brother and mother came by, she allowed them into Caline's office, and spoke cordially with them while still helping to direct people where they might need to go. Although she was infinitely more worried about her employer and lover, she managed to convince the pair that working at the brothel was her decision. When her family left, and with a weight lifted from her shoulders, she started to worry again. By the third hour she was pacing the floor. With no arrival of the two women, or entourage, she picked up her weapon, a black bullwhip, and headed for the doors.
Charles emerged to see the captain of the guard about to leave. "Juleka?" she turned to regard the newest member of the guard.
"Rose and Caline haven't returned, along with Liam, Richard, and David. They would never do this." she told him, "I'm going out to search for them."
"No."
She spun on him, "What do you mean "No"?! They've been gone too long! I have to..."
"Let me go instead." He saw her eye narrow, so he gently took her shoulders in his hands. "Please, your place is here. I know Caline would agree with me."
"... but... Rose..." she started to argue.
"I know, Juleka. Caline means as much to me as Rose does to you, so please let me go instead." Charles gave her a soft smile. "I promise to come back with either the group, or information about how to find them." He saw the worry that clutched at her breast, so he offered her a small smile.
"Okay." Juleka closed her eyes, lowering her head. "Please just find them. I... don't know what I would do if I ever lost Rose."
Nodding, he strapped on his long sword, and headed for the door. "I won't come back until I know what happened to them." With that, he left.
Watching him leave, Juleka closed her eyes, praying to whatever deity might be listening. "Come back safe."
Arriving at the cemetery after a five minute run, Charles stalked through until he discovered the body of Liam laying there. 'Dead.' A crossbow bolt was still poking out his chest. Pulling the missile out, he took special note of the make, and the design near the feathers at the back. 'Constabulary?!' he narrowed his eyes as he noticed the soft impressions of boots and shoes in the semi-moist earth, as well as the trodden path away. In that twenty minute search he found enough evidence to prove who was responsible, he was just about to go back and report on what he found, when one of the judge's own constabulary started to walk by.
"You there!" the sound of a gruff voice startled him momentarily, "What's going on over here?"
Standing up, he regarded this new arrival. "I'm investigating the death of this man." he admitted.
"What?! More like you caused the death of this man!" the constable started to accuse, his hand sliding up to his already prepared hand-crossbow.
Rising to his full height, the younger man narrowed his eyes at the constable. "Unfortunately, the evidence doesn't match with that theory." he then held up the crossbow bolt he had removed from the body. "You wouldn't happen to know who might use crossbow bolts like this, would you?" tossing the bolt at the man, Charles watched as the shock of recognition alighted upon his face.
"Xavier always was an idiot!" the man snarled as he quickened his pull of his crossbow. He never got a chance to level it against Charles, as the latter rushed forward, pulling his long sword. With a swipe, he bisected the man's neck, and landed on the other side. The constable's head rolled away as he threw the majority of the blood off of his blade. Replacing it in his scabbard, he regarded the lifeless body of Liam.
"We'll give you a proper burial soon, my friend." He then took off running back to the brothel. 'Juleka needs to know exactly what was going on.'
oOo
Marinette was both tired, and sore, from working at the bakery when she took up her shift to watch Anarka's window that night. Sitting on top of the Notre Dame cathedral, her posture was relaxed, although her eyes told a different story. Her bluebell eyes refused to blink as she watched different people stroll across the stone pier, but none seemed to approach the two story building. The sound of someone landing behind her caused Ladybird Beetle to turn at Black Cat's arrival. "You're late."
Giving a gracious bow, he sighed. "My apologies," as he stood and approached where she sat, he sighed, "I was unavoidably detained." He couldn't tell her that his father had wanted him to discuss inviting his betrothed and her family over that Sunday, after church, to both dinner and a conversation about their courtship. True, it was two years away, but Gabriel wanted to know more about the young lady that had so stolen his son's heart. Just as he finished the thought, he watched as someone started across the river. "Would that be the signal?"
Ladybird Beetle glanced in the direction of Anarka's, only to see the glow of the candle in one of the windows. "Yes." She then glanced at the roads. "Where's the courier?"
"Crossing the bridge." Looking back, Black Cat smiled at her, holding out his hand for her to take. "Shall we?"
For a moment, her heart skipped a beat as she reached up and took his hand. Standing, she followed as he leaped, wrapping her arms around him when he pulled out his staff so that they could tail the courier. Thankfully, he was on foot, so Cat's night-vision helped immensely. It was when he passed a glowing window that she saw the small crate, about a two foot cube, in his arms. She couldn't be sure of his description, as he seemed to be relatively young, but she also didn't figure it mattered. The only thing, at that point, was finding the Alchemist's hidden lab.
Heading toward the East side of town, she watched as the courier stopped by a single story, dilapidated, home. Looking left, then right, he stepped inside. If he'd looked up and behind him, the young man would've seen a pair of shadows landing on the roof across the street. As it was, he poked his head out only a few seconds later with his pay in his hands. Pocketing the coin, he looked around before placing his arms behind his head and whistling on his way home.
"Let's go..." Ladybird Beetle started to say, but she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
Black Cat narrowed his eyes at the squat building. "There's nobody inside."
"Really? How do you know?" she breathed. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when he gave her his most dazzling smile, and pointed at the black ears on his hood.
"I can hear everything coming from within that building. There's not a step, or a breath, and I can also see the crate. It's on the floor." He then looked back at the building, his eyes narrowing as the crate started to slowly descend. "Beetle... they're taking the crate now... It's being lowered."
"We have to get in there..." she whispered, then thought for a few seconds, "once we're sure the person has the crate. Are you sure you can track them?"
"Absolutely."
They waited for nearly a minute after the trapdoor was replaced to move. Slinking stealthily into the building, realization hit them like a sledgehammer. Aside from a few hammered nails, the single room building wasn't anything more than a facade. It was more something to hide an entrance to the sewers. Crouching down next to the trapdoor, Black Cat pulled up the small rug that was meant for a crate to sit upon, and saw the small wooden base. Reaching down, he wedged his claws into the seam between the wood and the stone, lifting ever so slightly. 'Come on!' Beetle thought, gritting her teeth.
Unfortunately, the wooden barrier never budged. "I can destroy it..."
"Won't that create a lot of noise?" she asked
Giving her a wink, she leaned back as he placed a palm on top of the wooden surface, a whisper of "Cataclysm..." flowing past his lips. Within a matter of seconds the wood turned to ash, and fell away. Looking back at her, he motioned like a gentleman for her to go first. "Apparently not. Shall we, dear lady?"
Taking his hands, she let him lower her into the tunnel before he followed, although he had to go one arm at a time. When they were both down in the sewer, his ears twitched to either side, going forward, then back, and finally to either side, before returning to their normally forward facing position. "Are you sure you..." she started to whisper before he started forward.
"She's this way..." he whispered just as quietly. He then felt her hand grab his tail, following as he moved through the tunnel. Neither of them noticed the soft 'beep' of his ring as one of the green pads disappeared. Two more had evaporated into darkness before they found a circular room made octagonal by the stone blocks placed around the arcs of the initial room. Moving across, Black Cat glared into the room. "Found her." he whispered as he brought a hand up.
"Now what?"
Out of the periphery of his vision, he saw the last of the upper four pads disappear before the last one flashed at him. "Wait here..." he suggested, before slipping around a corner. He had just managed to get out of sight when the green flash of his transformation illuminated the area.
Unfortunately, the bright light managed to reflect off of the damp walls enough to garner Sasha's attention as she knelt down in front of a cage, arms and legs being the only things visible in the dim light. Glancing to her side without turning her head, she noted a shape moving ever so slightly. 'These two are useless to me now...' she internally growled, before sticking them each twice more from the same vial. Within two seconds the women convulsed, and lay still.
'What did she just do?!' Ladybird Beetle's eyes went wide at the prospects of the murders she just witnessed. Another green flash behind her caused Sasha to spin, her right coming up with a hand crossbow. Beetle barely had enough time to duck back before the bolt flew past, right where her left eye would've been. Pulling back on the cork that kept her cord from going straight down the shaft, the Alchemist cocked her small crossbow in just enough time to see a pair of glowing green eyes emerge from the darkness.
"Ah!" Sasha cried out as he swiped her weapon away with his staff. When she staggered back, her hand gripped a flask of chemical, and launched it at the wraith, only for Ladybug Beetle to kick the impromptu grenade away. Unfortunately it smashed against a table of components, causing a chemical reaction to ignite, and sending the room into stark relief. The flash forced everyone to cover their eyes, but Black Cat got the worst of it by far. He staggered against the cage, dropping his staff.
Ladybird Beetle blinked as her vision started to return, but by then she saw the Alchemist reaching for a vial beside her. With a sneer, she pulled the pin out, and lunged for Black Cat. Grabbing the staff beneath her, the younger woman brought the pole up, and gave it a twist. The bottom hit the stone with a 'CRACK', while the other end shot up, impacting the woman just above the throat. Sasha went up with all the velocity the staff had until it impacted the domed ceiling with a sickening crunch.
She watched with her heart hammering against her ribcage as the woman kicked, her hands reaching impotently for the staff. A gurgle finally reached her ears, startling her. Fumbling with the weapon she tried to retract the pole. 'Oh god! OH GOD! NO! I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO..!' her mind screamed as she tried to undo the extension of the staff, but by the time the device started to retract, all she saw were the cold, lifeless eyes of the Alchemist aimed at her. Spinning around, she found herself wrapped up in the arms of Black Cat. "I... I didn't... I didn't mean to... Oh god! Forgive me..." she cried into his chest.
It didn't take long for Black Cat to determine what happened, and what Ladybird Beetle had accomplished with her strike. He held her close, letting her cry until her wracking sobs subsided. "Was this the first time you've had to kill?" At the feel of her nodding, he looked down at the makeshift weapon in the Alchemist's hands. She was still shaking in his arms when he lowered his mouth to her ear. "You may have just saved my life."
"I... I just..." she was trembling in his arms, her hands gripping his leather vest. "I'm... I'm going to be sick..." He opened his arms to let her escape, and watched as she bolted out of the room, only to hunch over and lose her dinner into the raw sewage that floated past. Going over to the cage in the corner, he saw the two women laying on the ground, with red marks where their arms had been pierced. Reaching out, he lightly touched one of their necks. The lack of a pulse caused him to close his eyes and bow his head.
When he heard Ladybird Beetle walk up slowly, he sighed. "I'm sorry, but they're dead."
The moment she saw who was laying on the cold ground, her legs gave out sending her down to her knees and rump. "Oh god..." tears leaked over her cheeks to fall off her chin, "Rose and Madam Bustier, but why?"
Black Cat shook his head as he reached out, and yanked on the door, ripping the thing off its hinges, and throwing it across the room. "They deserve to be returned to those that love them, at least for a proper burial." Looking around the room, he noted several items. "Let's take these two back the way we came. Once there, wait by the entrance. I'm going to get rid of this poison so that it doesn't hurt anyone ever again."
Ladybird Beetle didn't even try to argue as the pair took Rose and Caline out of the makeshift lab. When they set the two women down under the entrance, she looked at Black Cat as he returned to the lab. Unfortunately, she would need assistance to get them up through the hole. Using the mortar and pestle, he destroyed each of the vials, pouring a clear liquid into the same bowl until it bubbled and frothed, sending steam up as the caustic liquid destroyed the concoctions.
Pulling everything in the lab together, he sighed as he stepped back into the sewer, and tossed a flask into the center of the room. Within seconds the chemicals reacted, causing a fire that had him running toward Ladybird Beetle. "Get down!" he suddenly cried out, and leaped, covering her as the natural methane from the air ignited. It created a flash that did little more than burn away the offending odors of the sewers, but anyone above ground would see a momentary ignition, before slight wisps of smoke trailed out of grates or manhole covers.
Gazing at him sadly, she watched as he looked back at the destroyed lab. "Do you think that was the best option?"
"No, but I really couldn't think of how else to destroy everything." Black Cat scowled. "No matter what she was working on, that couldn't get into the wrong hands."
"What if it already has?" Those bluebell eyes stared at him.
A growl rumbled through Black Cat's words as he spoke. "Then we would need to figure out who is responsible for all of this, and stop them."
Together, the pair managed to pull the bodies of Rose and Caline out of the sewer through the entrance. Carrying them bridal style, the pair made their way to the latter's brothel, intent on speaking to whoever was in charge now that Madam Bustier was no longer with them. It didn't take long to arrive, and the moment their forms could be seen by the guards, four ran out to confront the pair. Black Cat informed the men of what happened, and where they found the missing women, while another ran in to speak with Juleka.
Emerging from the brothel, the young woman ran up to the dead women with a male, the tears in their eyes as they cried spoke volumes. "That insufferable ass!" Juleka snarled. "He took my Rose from me..."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Ladybird Beetle commented, unsure of what else she could say. "The only good news I have is that the one who did it won't be harming anyone else ever again."
The male looked at the pair. "I'm afraid that you didn't do anything other than stop the one creating the poison." He stood up, handing the former Madam to one of the guards. "Take her and Rose inside, please." he instructed before looking back at the pair that had carried the bodies back. "A little after they disappeared, I found one of our guards, dead, in the cemetery. Caline and her charge were apparently taken by Xavier, or at least that's what the constable told me before he pulled out a crossbow."
"W-Wait! Xavier? Not Robert Ross's son!" Black Cat balked.
"Do you know him?" Ladybird Beetle asked.
"Robert Ross is the most powerful and influential judge in Paris, his word is law," Charles looked at the pair, interrupting Black Cat, "and his son is a sadist of the highest order."
'Xavier Ross?' the thought was too horrible for Ladybird Beetle to even contemplate, "Why would a judge, even a powerful and influential one, kidnap young women?"
"I think I know why." Black Cat growled. "Years ago, Robert Ross's wife disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Several believed that she just grew tired of life with her husband, or that she was disgusted with her son, but a few rumors I overheard, was that he had her quietly removed due to indiscretions." Adrien never felt so happy to have his mother's gossip mill surrounding her during their balls. It didn't help that Jolene Ross had been his mother's friend, and she had been afraid for her, but after a few years, his own mother's death took much of the rumors away from his home.
Juleka glowered at the pair. "Either way, Judge Ross is the one behind the disappearances of the young women, and the deaths of countless others." Looking from one to the other, she scowled. "Tell me you intend to find him, and end the lives of both him, and his son."
"I... ended one life tonight, and I don't know if I have it within me to end another." Ladybird Beetle remarked, still feeling sick to her stomach about what happened to the Alchemist. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head. "I'm sorry."
"Then step aside." Juleka walked past the pair of heroes, her hand going to her hip, and the weapon wrapped around her waist. "Judge Ross dies tonight."
Ladybird Beetle reached out, gently taking Juleka's arm. "You can't go after him. It would be revenge, not justice, and you could be killed."
"Although in many ways I agree with you," Black Cat shook his head, "I can't see any way around both Judge Ross and Xavier dying this night." He looked at the young woman. "You don't know how much power and influence they have. No court would be able to prosecute them because they know the loopholes, and no noble would dare to defy the pair because of how knowledgeable they are of everyone's dark secrets."
"Judge Ross protects his son from prosecution because no others will stand against him. They can't be allowed to live." Charles advised. "As much as I don't enjoy the thought of taking a life unnecessarily, this I believe is necessary to keep Paris safe."
When she shook her head, it caused everyone to look at Ladybird Beetle. "I can't do it again..."
"Then just take down their guards." Juleka recommended. "Let me deal with Judge Ross."
Looking around at each other, the quartet just seemed to nod in unison before they walked away from the brothel.