Chapter 20: Rock and Rumble

Signalling her fellow heroes, Ladybug led the attack against Screamer, hoping to finish that as quickly as possible. Not only they wanted to end the menace that he represented, but they also wanted to finish seeing the concert in peace, especially since Jagged Stone had joined KISS, to play with them. And they were not the only ones who wanted them to stop the Screamer, as fast as possible. Inside the spheres they were being held in, Jagged, KISS and their crew chief, were also hoping they would defeat him in a jiffy; some more gracefully than others.

"See? What did I tell you, Fang? The Miraculous Team are here." -Jagged Stone told his pet crocodile. –"They'll have us out of here, and this guy back to normal in no time, you'll see." -he said, believing in those very same words.

"Please! Please, get me out of here!" Roger screamed, as he continued to hit his fists against the sphere was trapped in.

"Looks like you got your wish, Paul." -Eric said.

"Indeed." -Paul said, as he looked at the battle. –"I believe we'll be out of these spheres in no time." -he declared.

"Still, don't count your chickens before they hatch. They still haven't defeated that guy." -Gene told him.

"You really are a ray of sunshine, you know that, Gene?" -Tommy joked, in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm just being realistic here." -Gene told him. –"You're seeing what I'm seeing, right? This battle is far from over." -he said.

"Maybe, but I've got a good feeling about what's to come." -Paul said.

But defeating Screamer was not going to be as easy as one would think. The stage was quite large, but at the same time, it was rather small for the heroes to use their powers against the Akuma. Looking him in the eyes, Screamer looked like he had sprung out of the pages of a hellish comic book, but he also had the powers to match said look. Playing his guitar, every time he played a chord, he released a sonic wave, which made everything around him tremble. And if it happened to hit one of the heroes, this one would be thrown through the air. The first one to whom it happened was Panda Roux, followed by others, like Queen Bee and Grizzly Bear, who were caught by the following attack. Panda ended up landing on a trailer, located behind the stage. Going through the trailer's roof, he considered himself lucky on having landed what he first thought was a mattress, only to find out it was a beanbag. If he had landed on a harder surface, he would have gotten seriously hurt. Picking himself up, he proceeded to dust himself, and to grab his spear.

"I can safely say… that we might have to use the big guns to take care of this guy…" -Panda Roux thought to himself, as he rubbed his left leg. –"Dang… I might have to ask Nino to use his healing powers, after this is over." -he thought, as he made his way out of the trailer.

While Panda Roux made his way back into battle, Dragonfly and Antelope had entered into the backstage, where they continued to battle Reptile, who had decided that on that night, he was going to kill the two of them. The lizard man hated all of the heroes, but he had a distinctive hate for those two. He did not know why his hatred for them was different, but it was. Maybe it was because they were always mocking him? Maybe it was because he tended to be used as a punching bag by them? Or maybe it was just because he did not like them? Whatever the reason was, he was going to make sure they would not leave that stadium alive. Attacking them, he made sure that neither one, nor the other had the time to even think, much less breathe. Aside from looking for new victims for his master to akumatize, Reptile had been perfecting his fighting skills, so he would be more than a match for the heroes. Unfortunately, his speed seemed to not be a match for Dragonfly and Antelope, who were easily dodging any attack he threw at them.

"Either you're getting faster, or I'm just mocking you, into believing that you're actually faster than usual. Which one do you think it is?" -Antelope mocked him, before dodging Reptile's attack and elbowing him on the chest. –"I think you just got your answer, man!" -he laughed.

"Hey, don't hog him all to yourself!" -Dragonfly exclaimed, as she performed a rotative kick, hitting Reptile on the back. –"I thought we had agreed on sharing the beating!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess! I got a little carried-away." -Antelope told her, as he punched Reptile on the face. –"Here, you can have him!"

"How many times have I told you not to use Legend of Zelda jokes on me?!" -Dragonfly asked him, as she performed yet another rotative kick, this time hitting Reptile on the head. –"If you're going to throw jokes, while we're fighting, then at least make use of some that aren't as stale as that one!" -she told him.

"You say that because you don't understand my superior sense of humour!" -Antelope told her, as he swung his bat against Reptile's head, this time only grazing it, but still managing to disorient him.

"Superior sense of humour?! That's a good one! It was so funny that I even forgot to laugh!" -Dragonfly shot at Antelope, her voice filled with sarcasm, as she punched Reptile, sending him back towards Antelope.

The two heroes continued bickering, while also fighting Reptile, who by then was feeling like he was being used as a punching bag. Brandishing his blade, he tried to cut his opponents, but Antelope and Dragonfly were so fast that he was not even able to dodge their attacks. Punch after punch. Kick after kick, the lizard man was getting tired of that, as he did his best to either dodge their attacks, or attack them, only to see his efforts blown away. It was only when Dragonfly hit him with a little bit more strength than she wanted to, ending with him being thrown into a crate, breaking it.

"Oops! Guess I got a little carried away, as well." -Dragonfly laughed, as she saw Reptile throwing what was left of the wooden crate to the side, while getting up.

"Don't worry about it. I bet that snake breath over there, has had it worse from his boss!" -Antelope joked.

"You're getting on my nerves! Who do you think I am?! Your personal punching bag or some stupid beach ball?!" -Reptile asked them, enraged.

"Beach ball? Hardly, you're too scaly for that! And as for being a punching bag, it has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?" -Antelope asked Dragonfly.

"That's the first smart thing you've said today." -Dragonfly told him, with a smirk on her face.

"Well, if you say… hey!" -Antelope said, feeling insulted.

"Stop ignoring me! I'm going to gut you two down like fishes!" -Reptile threatened them, as he gritted his teeth. –"And then, I'm going to use your intestines to strangle you!"

"We'll see about that, ugly!" -Antelope told him. –"But I'm warning you, I don't intend on letting you win… and neither does she." -he laughed, as Reptile's rage kept building inside him and he began to froth at the mouth. –"Come on, don't be like that! You got to take it easy! Letting all that rage inside of you, can't be good for your health."

Back on the stage, the heroes continued to fight Screamer, when something happened. From out of the blue, the crowd began to chant Screamer's name repeatedly. The whole thing made it look like they were back at the concert, instead of a fight. Hearing his name, Screamer felt like a true rock star, and decided to make things more interesting for the crowd that kept chanting his name. Producing two guitars, he set them ablaze, and used them as axes, trying to cut his opponents into half, or burn them to a crisp with them. His attacks were both strong and fast, forcing the heroes to move constantly, so as to not end up sliced, barbecued, or both. But for someone like Queen Bee, who loved to be the centre of attentions during that kind of battle, that was just an invitation; an invitation to try and take out the Akuma by herself.

"Stop moving, you pestering insect!" -Screamer shouted at Queen Bee.

"So, you can clip my wings? Sorry, idiot, but that's not going to happen, both because I don't have wings, and because I'm too fast for catch!" -Queen Bee said, taunting him.

"Too fast, huh? We'll see about that!" -Screamer said, as he let out a sonic scream. This one was far more powerful than those he had used before, blowing Queen Bee away, while making the whole stadium tremble once more.

Taking advantage that he was busy with Queen Bee, Grizzly decided to take him on by himself. Launching himself against Screamer, he attacked him with everything he had. But as hard as he punched him, the Akuma hardly felt a thing. Ceasing his sonic scream, he punched Grizzly in the face, and sent him flying into the pit. Landing on it, Grizzly cursed his luck, and pick himself up, determined to punch Screamer in the face, to thank him for the punch he had given him.

Because of what happened with Grizzly Bear, and predicting that sooner or later, Screamer would end up throwing one of them, or any object into the crowd, Ladybug ordered Carapace to raise a couple of energy shields around the stage and the pit surrounding it. She did not want anyone in the crowd to end up hurt, and that was the best way to prevent it. Quickly, the turtle hero did so. But as he was raising the last one, Chat Noir pushed him out of the way, with the two hitting the ground.

"I-I like you, bro, but not like that." -Carapace said, as he quickly got back up.

"Sorry about that. But if I hadn't pushed you, you would have ended up with a brand-new suntan, bro." -Chat Noir pointed out to the flaming guitar that landed where Carapace was standing a moment before, which flew back to the hands of the Akuma, who had engaged Arachnid and Corbeau Noire combat. –"This guy's not playing around." -he said, as he saw their friends fighting Screamer.

"He definitely isn't, bro." -Carapace said. –"We've got to deal with him, before things begin to turn ugly."

"Agreed. The longer it takes for us to defeat him, the longer he'll have to find out what kind of other powers he has" -Chat Noir said. –"Let's give them a hand. I don't know about you, but I want to watch the rest of this concert, at peace, with my girlfriend."

"You ain't the only one." -Carapace told him.

Arachnid and Corbeau Noire had both engaged Screamer, only to find out that even if he looked big and not very bright, he was fast as lightning and smarter than he looked. Fighting them, he made use of both his weapons, as well as his speed to repel any attack Arachnid and Corbeau Noire threw at him. The raven heroine was about to use her power over shadows to try and restrain him, when he let out a powerful sonic scream, which sent her and Arachnid flying. Not giving him the time to regain his strength, Chat Noir and Carapace attacked him, but like it happened with the other two, they were blasted away by a sonic scream. It was then that Ladybug decided it was her time to teach Screamer some manners. Using her yo-yo, she tried to wrap it around him, only for him to dodge. When that failed, she resorted to her acrobatic moves, to take him on.

"You sure have a big mouth, buster!" -Ladybug told him, as she was about to kit Screamer's face, only to miss it, when he moved to the left.

"Like the wolf said to the Little Red Riding Hood, the better to eat you with!" -Screamer exclaimed, as he tried to cut Ladybug in half. –"And boy, what I wouldn't get to take a bite out of you! Why don't you just hand over that miraculous of yours, and allow me to take you for a ride on my trailer?"

"Ew! That's disgusting, in more ways than just one way!" -Ladybug said, as she kicked him on the chest. –"I'm used to Akumas throwing death threat at me… but flirting with me? Especially an Akuma that looks anything but handsome? I know it's not his fault because he's akumatized and all, but jeez, just thinking about it, makes me want to puke!" -she thought to herself, as she kicked him once more. –"Thanks, but I'm not interested, freak!"

She continued to hit Screamer, with both her fists and her feet. But as she continued to do it, she felt like she was hitting a concrete wall. The guy just took it all, without even flinching or dodging most of her attacks. The only times he did, was when she tried to hit him on the head. Using her sixth sense, she tried to see if there was anything, she could use to hit him with. But before she could see anything, Screamer shot one of his guitars at her, forcing her to dodge to the left, and hitting a piece of the stage's set, which fell on her, trapping her beneath it. She tried to get it off her, but before she could do it, Screamer stepped on it, making it impossible for Ladybug to break free.

"You put a little fight, but this the end of the line for you, Ladybug!" -Screamer told her, as he saw the scarlet heroine trying to break free. –"And now, it's time for decapatatioooooooooooooooon!" -he yelled, laughing maniacally, as he prepared to cut her neck.

Seeing his lady in danger, Chat, who was momentarily taken out of action, rushed to her rescue, only to trip on a cable and land hard on the floor. Trying to get up, he saw that even if he was lightning fast, he would never reach Ladybug in time to save her. So, he did the next best thing. Aiming his staff at Screamer's head, he threw it, hoping to hurt him, giving him the time to get up and rush to his girlfriend's rescue.

"Come on, hit him!" -Chat Noir thought to himself, as he got up.

The staff hit Screamer on the back of the head, making him howl in pain. But before Chat Noir could save Ladybug, another hero came to her rescue. Rena Rouge had showed up, out of nowhere, and hit the Akuma on the chest with her flute-staff, forcing him to walk backwards, while placing herself between the two of them.

"Sorry, but no one's getting beheaded tonight, buster!" -Rena Rouge said as she used her flute-staff to hit him right in one of the eyes, making him howl in pain –"A little help here, kitty cat!" -she shouted at Chat Noir

"Coming right up! Cataclysm!" -Carapace shouted, as he dug his claws on Screamer's back, hurting him. –"Got you!" -he exclaimed, as he let go of Screamer, who turned around and looked at him with an angry look on his face. –"What? Don't tell me you were hurt because of that itty-bitty little Cataclysm?"

"I'm going to rip those claws of yours, one by one, you alley cat!" -Screamer threatened the feline hero, who was making funny faces at him.

"Alley cat? That's the first time anyone has called me that. Well, you got to catch me, first!" -Chat Noir mocked him, as he ran, forcing Screamer to chase after him, leaving Rena Rouge to help Ladybug.

"You okay, girl?" -Rena Rouge asked Ladybug, as she pushed the set piece aside, releasing the scarlet heroine.

"I am now." -Ladybug said, as the fox heroine helped her up. –"Did you decide to rest for a bit, before coming to help us?" -the scarlet heroine asked her friend in an amused tone.

"You could say that." -Rena Rouge smirked at her.

(Flashback)

Following Marinette's plan, Trixx used her powers to create illusions that provided a much-needed distraction, allowing the whole team to transform, without anyone seeing them. The whole team, minus one. Knowing that once Trixx used her powers, she would be too tired to lend her powers to Alya, Marinette told her best friend, that she would join them later, and instead of going directly into the stage, she would find a place to hide, underneath it, or near it, and wait for Trixx to find her. Following the plan, Alya was forced to rely on her instinct and sixth sense, to navigate through the crowd and the illusion that Trixx had created. If she was transformed, it would have been easy for her to through that thick smoke, for her eyes would see as things really were, and not as they looked like. Finding a place to hide, underneath the right tower next to the stage, she was sure no one would come and look for her there, while she waited for her kwami to come back. Unable to see what was going on, she had to imagine it, just by listening to it, although it was a little hard, given the infernal music that Screamer kept playing.

"This guy's taste in music is awful!" -Alya thought to herself. –"I hope Trixx doesn't take too long to come back. I know the others are more than enough to wipe the floor with that Akuma's face, but I hate being on the sidelines." -she told herself. –"Come on, Trixx, hurry up."

A couple of more minutes went by, as Alya waited for Trixx to come back. To pass the time and ignore the awful music that was being played, she grabbed her cell phone, and tried to see if anyone knew about that Akuma attack. Searching for any news regarding it, she saw that there were already a handful of online posts, warning people about it.

"Looks like a couple of people were able to get out, before Screamer blocked all exits with that stunt of his." -Alya thought. –"It's only a matter of time, before the police and the SWAT show up. But as always, we'll have the be the ones to deal with this guy." -she thought, as she kept scrolling down the screen. –"No matter how prepared they think they are, we're the only ones who can deal with this kind of menace… sometimes, I really wish we weren't the only ones who can do it. It would be nice for someone else to also have our powers, and lend us a hand, from time to time."

Suddenly the music stopped, and soon after, an explosion was heard. When that happened, she knew that Marinette's plan had worked. Soon after, she heard a familiar voice whispering to her ear. It was Trixx, and she looked a bit exhausted. Allowing her to land on her lap, Alya petted her behind her ears, while also telling her that whatever she had done, it had worked. Pulling out one of the sandwiches she had promised Trixx, and giving it to her, she wasted no time in eating it. Trixx had not finished the first, when Alya handed her the second one.

"Sorry I didn't bring any cherries with me, today." -Alya told her, apologizing. –"I know they're your favourite, but..:"

"It's okay, Alya." -Trixx said, as she finished the first sandwich and began nibbling the second one. –"These peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches will do just fine." -she said.

It took Trixx a little longer to eat the second sandwich, because her stomach was already half-full. Still, Alya did not rush her. She did not want her kwami to feel indisposed. Alya knew that if a kwami felt indisposed, or sick, their powers would not work the way they should, and that could be dangerous for both her and Trixx. As she finished the last sandwich, the fox kwami said that she was ready for action."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest for a little bit longer? We don't have to join the others, right away." -Alya told Trixx, worried about her well-being. –"They'll be able to handle that guy for a few more minutes, before we spring into action." -she told her kwami, who was finishing the last bit of the second sandwich.

"There's no need for that. I'm feeling great, after eating these sandwiches." -Trixx said, as she licked the jelly from her paws. –"Plus, I think they might need your help on this one." -she told her, as she heard the commotion.

"I think you might be right." -Alya said, as she too heard the commotion. –"This one's going to be a tough customer." -she admitted.

"Indeed. I felt his power, when I passed above him and he's quite strong." -Trixx declared.

"Was he akumatized by a Scarlet Akuma Butterfly?" -Alya asked the kwami.

"No, that's a negative, don't worry." -Trixx told her. –"He didn't smell like the way Ra did smell." -she said. –"Akumas that have a Scarlet Akuma Butterfly inside them, have a particular smell, and this is not the case."

"Good. I wouldn't want us to battle an Akuma that had one of those infernal red butterflies inside it. We're still very far from mastering advanced attacks… I know I am." -Alya sighed, relieved, but at the same time, sad. She had been training as hard as she could, and she still had not been able to properly unlock and master an advanced attack.

"You'll get there, Alya. Eventually." -Trixx said, cheering her up a little, as she smiled at her. –"From all the foxes that I had the pleasure to lend my powers to, you are one of the best. Plus, you've got skills that none of them had." -she told her.

"Thanks, Trixx." -Alya smiled, when she heard and felt something rather big hitting the ground. –"We'll have to continue this conversation a little bit later."

"You're right, girl. Time is of the essence." -Trixx said. –"Say the magic words and let's go save the day." -she smiled.

"Trixx, transforme-moi!" -Alya exclaimed.

(End of Flashback)

"Well, you showed up in the nick of time." -Ladybug told her, with a smile on her face. –"A few more seconds and I would have ended up approximately eighteen centimetres shorter." -she said.

"Yeah, you were about to get a very bad haircut from that guy." -Rena Rouge joked about it. –"Either way, I'm happy I got here just in time to save your neck." -she said. –"But I wasn't the only who saved you. Chat did manage to give me an extra second to get here, when he threw his staff at the Akuma."

"He did? I'll have to thank him and reward him because of that, later." -Ladybug said. –"But it's best we leave the chit-chat for another time. We better go and help the others." -she told Rena Rouge.

"I'm right behind you, girl!"

Angry that he had failed the first time, Grizzly Bear tried to attack Screamer once again, to give him a piece of his mind. This time, he decided to resort to his speed, to try to get behind him, and catch him off guard. Unfortunately, when Chat Noir, with who he was fighting then, tried to punch Screamer in the face and failed, Screamer looked back and saw Grizzly coming at him. Grabbing him by the neck, he told him to wait his turn, before throwing him into the air, where he hit Flamingo, who was airborne that moment. Without wanting to, he dragged her with him, as he fell into the crowd, which continued to shout Screamer's name in unison. Hitting the ground, Flamingo fell on Grizzly, who served as a cushion for her.

"My back! I'm going to be really sore in the morning." -Grizzly Bear declared, as he massaged his lower back, trying to relieve some of the pain. Turning to Flamingo, he asked her if she was alright: –"Are you okay?"

"I've had better landings, but can't complain." Flamingo said, when she noticed that the people around her had stopped chanting Screamer's name, and were all –"Huh… I think we're in trouble, Grizzly."

Before the holder of the bear miraculous could answer her, the people surrounding them, attacked them, which forced him and Flamingo to defend themselves.

"It's Valentine's Day, all over again! Except that this time, we're battling people who've been turned into mindless zombies by music, and not love or obsession, or whatever!" -Grizzly Bear said, as he punched a person in the face. –"Go on, get out of here and go help the others! I'll handle these guys, and meet you at the stage!" -he told the flamingo heroine.

"The heck you can. They're too many! I'm not leaving you!" -Flamingo said. –"Besides, I'm currently too dizzy to try and fly. I need a minute for my head to go back to normal." -she said, as she used her cane, hitting the people that were trying to grab her. –"Sorry! Sorry! I know you're all under the Akuma's spell, but still, sorry about this!"

"They're too many!" -Grizzly exclaimed, as he kept punching them. –"I hate to do this, because these are just innocent people under that guy's spell, but there's no other way to deal with them." -he thought, as he punched another person, doing his best to restrain himself from using his real strength. –"We'll never be able to get b-back at the stage, with all these people trying to kill us!"

"Oh, yes, we will! Don't worry, I've got this!" -Flamingo declared, as she created multiple copies of herself. –"We'll clear a path for you!" -she said, along with her copies in chorus.

"Okay, but try not to exhaust yourself! Something tells me this battle is just beginning." Grizzly warned her, as Flamingo and her copies began to attack everyone in their way, clearing a path for herself and him.

Using his powers, Screamer began to fire more fireballs from his hands, trying to hit the heroes, while also showing another ability: spitting fire from his mouth, like a dragon. It did not take long for him to set the whole stage on fire, not caring about it. All he wanted was to exterminate the heroes, who were forced to put out the fire, using their powers, to prevent a tragedy from happening. The last thing they needed was for the whole stadium to get engulfed by flames with all those innocent people inside. Combining their powers, Louve Grise and Panda Roux tried their best to contain and extinguish the flames, while the others continued to fight Screamer.

"Keep those extinguishers coming!" -Louve Grise said, as she used her ice breath to create an ice wall between the spheres where the musical hostages were being kept, and the fire that was continuing to spread through the whole stage.

"Understood… watch out!"-Panda warned her, as a fire ball nearly hit her. –"Be careful!"

"That was too close… Right now, I wouldn't mind being somewhere else." -Louve Grise said, as she put out a small flame near her. –"Don't worry, we'll ger you out of there in a jiffy. In the meantime, you'll be safer inside those spheres." -she told KISS; Jagged Stone and Roger, with a smile, as they waved at her.

The enormous stage looked small for all the heroes, who were doing their best to repel any attack Screamer threw at them. Even not counting the few heroes that had been unlucky enough to fall into the crowd, and were now fighting an army of hypnotized people, that just wanted to rip them to pieces, the heroes were just too many to be able to use their abilities properly. On top of that, Screamer was becoming more and more aggressive in his attacks.

"I wish Sabrina and I could use "Operation Blizzard" on this guy." -Queen Bee told Forest Doe, as the two of them, sought refuge behind one of the huge speakers. –"I bet we would put him out and his fire breath, for good." -she said, as she looked over the speaker, to see if it was safe to come out or not.

"Unfortunately, I don't think you could use it. It's too crowded here." -Forest Doe said, as she imagined her friends using that combined attack of theirs on Screamer.

"I'm afraid you're right, it's too crowded." -Queen Bee said. –"We need to use an attack that is both powerful and focused." -she said, as she used her trompo to create a small tornado, which she then threw at Screamer, only to see it obliterated by one of his sonic screams. –"Dang it!"

"This isn't working!" -Ladybug said, as she landed between the two heroines. –"Every attack we throw at this guy, he just obliterates it!" -she said.

"You're right. We need a new strategy, and fast!" -Queen Bee admitted.

"Fast?! That's it! Bee, you're a genius!" -Ladybug exclaimed.

"I am?" -Queen Bee asked, a little confused. –"I mean, I know I am, sometimes, but why? What have I said?" -she asked her.

"We need speed… have either one of you seen Antelope or Dragonfly?" -Ladybug asked the two of them.

"The last time I checked, they had gone after Reptile." -Forest Doe said.

"I need at least one of them, for my idea to work." -Ladybug said. –"I'm going to go and look for them, while you two stay here and try to keep things from getting worse." -she told Bee and Doe.

"I'll go! I'm faster than you." –Queen Bee smiled at Ladybug, as she jumped into the air, and flew out of there, in search of the two members of the team, the scarlet heroine needed found.

"She's showing off again." –Ladybug said, in an amused tone.

"Yeah, but then again, she wouldn't be our queen, if she didn't do it." -Forest Doe giggled, before putting her game face back on. –"So, what do we do in the meantime?" -she asked her.

Ladybug took a second to look at her surroundings, and see what the best course of action would be. Analysing what was happening, in a split second, she saw where she and Forest Doe would be more helpful.

"Grizzly and Flamingo might need a little help. We're going to help them, while the others keep Screamer busy. Let's just Bee doesn't take too long to find Antelope and Dragonfly. The faster they can get here, the faster we can put my idea into motion." -Ladybug told her, as she made her way towards the crowd, followed by Doe.

Dragonfly and Antelope continued to battle Reptile. They knew they could take care of him with a single punch or a well-placed kick, which would knock him out cold. But the way the lizard man got furious about them, it made thing too amusing for either one of them, to want that to end. And so, they continued to fight him, taking their time with him, knowing that the rest of the team could handle the Akuma on their own, for a few more minutes. But unlike them, Reptile was not having any fun. Taking advantage of slip from Antelope, Reptile fled, and disappeared. Still, they were not going to let him get away, so he could cause problems to them, or someone else, later.

"Where did he go?!" -Antelope asked, as he looked around.

"I don't know… but I vote that we better split up and find him. He's got to be hidden, somewhere around here." -Dragonfly told him. –"Whoever finds that snake, gets to beat the crud out of him." -she said. –"As much fun as it is to play with him, there's an Akuma on the loose. We might play with him for just a little longer, but we need to go and help the others."

"Agreed. We've got a find him, and deal with him." -Antelope said. –"I'll go right, you go left."

Splitting up, the two heroes were determined to check out where Reptile had gone by. The backstage was a labyrinth of tents, trailers, boxes and crates. And unlike the stage, which was incredibly well illuminated, this one was as dark as the inside of a beast's stomach. It was the perfect place for someone like Reptile, who's ability to change appearance, to disappear without a trace. They both knew that Reptile would not flee. Not while the Akuma was attacking. More than once, he had told the heroes that if he even dared to think of fleeing a fight, Hawk Moth would rip his throat. They just had to find where he was hiding.

"Where are you, you cold-blooded coward?!" -Antelope asked himself, as he made the curve, just before checking between two crates, to see if Reptile had hidden there. –"Not here… where are you?" -he asked himself.

He continued to look everywhere, he believed was a good spot for Reptile to hide in. And while doing it, he ran into a couple of people that were under Screamer's control. Seeing him, they promptly attacked him, forcing Antelope to defend himself. Once they were out cold, he resumed his search for Reptile, hoping to find him. He was determined to finding him, even if he had to search every nook and cranny there was in that place. Becoming so focused on what he was doing, he did not notice he had company, and when he did, he had already bumped into it. Falling on his butt, he looked, to see that he had bumped into Dragonfly, who had also landed on her butt.

"Hey! Watch it!" -Antelope told her.

"Sorry!" -Dragonfly said, as she got up.

"I thought you were going the other way." -Antelope said.

"And I was. But then, I thought I saw something move over there!" -Dragonfly told him.

"Where?" -Antelope asked her.

"Over there!" -Dragonfly said, as she pointed to a spot between two large crates.

Checking the spot Dragonfly was pointing to, Antelope did not see anything. He was about to tell her she had probably seen things, when he felt something piercing his shoulder, while at the same time, an arm wrapped around his arms and chest, restraining his movements.

"Got you!" -Dragonfly said, with a voice that did not belong to her, as she began to change her appearance, revealing it was actually Reptile, who had used his powers to trick him into thinking he was his partner. –"You fell for the oldest trick in the book, kid! Thought you were talking with your girlfriend, didn't you?" -he smirked evilly at him. "And now, you're going to find out what means to piss me off, little boy!"

But Reptile did not even have the time to do what he had in mind. Making use of his speed, and enraged because he fell for such a lame trick, Antelope elbowed him, before pulling the blade out of his right shoulder, and stabbing Reptile in the chest, making him yell, before removing it and throwing it away. To say he was angry, for not noticing that Dragonfly would never talk to him that way, was saying little. He blamed himself for not noticing it, and more importantly, for not suspecting it.

"N-Next time, instead of going for my shoulder, you should go for my throat, snake breath! And one more thing, Dragonfly isn't my girlfriend!" -Antelope exclaimed, as he shoved his left hand into Reptile's mouth and pulled his tongue, before kicking him in the stomach, and getting him on his knees. –"That was a really dirty trick, you did there, Reptile. And I'm going to make sure you don't try it again with me, or anyone else!" -he said, as he grabbed his bat from the ground, while trying to ignore the pain he was in, because of the wound on his shoulder, and got ready to use it on the lizard man. –"You were c-complaining about Dragonfly and I thinking that we were using you as a punching bag, but now, I'm going to give you a real reason to think that!"

Hitting Reptile on the head, Antelope heard the sound of his bones breaking, and he could not help but to feel tempted in hitting him again on the head. Still, he decided that instead of whacking him like a piñata with his bat, he was going to take his time in beating him with his fists. Punching him as fast as his left fist allowed him to, Antelope made sure the lizard man felt every single one of his punches, while at the same time, ignoring the pain he was in. Reptile tried to dodge them, but Antelope was just too fast.

It did not take long for Dragonfly to hear Reptile groaning from all the punches. Even with the crowd screaming the Akuma's name, she could still hear it. She had learned to recognize the yells and groans of pain from Hawk Moth's minions. Running as fast as she could, she arrived to where her partner was pounding Reptile into a pulp, as well as noticing the blood on his shoulder.

"What happened to your shoulder? Did I miss something?" -Dragonfly asked Antelope.

"Just this guy trying to pass by you and sticking his blade in my shoulder. Nothing much." -Antelope told her, as he grabbed the lizard man, who was barely conscious.

"We'll have to ask Carapace to take a look at that." -Dragonfly told him, not able to take her eyes off her friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, he didn't have the time to twist it, so, it doesn't hurt as much as one would think." -Antelope told her, as he punched Reptile once more, as the lizard man collapsed onto the floor. –"There! This guy here won't give us any more trouble." -he said, as he observed him, realizing that he might have exaggerated on the punching, but just a little bit. He knew that if given the chance, Reptile would have killed him. –"Still, better make sure that he won't bother us again. Hand me over that cable there. I'm going to wrap him up, nicely."

Doing as he requested, Dragonfly quickly grabbed one of the cables that were nearby and handed it to him, who proceeded to wrap it around Reptile's body. Tying him up with as much strength as he could, after making sure that he would not be able to get out, Antelope tied Reptile against a metal pole, not caring if he hurt him. The lizard man, who was barely conscious, did not understand what was happening, but he knew that whatever it was, it was not part of the plan he had to kill the speedsters from the Miraculous Team.

"You may be strong, but there's no way you're going to get out of there. And just to be sure you don't have any ideas, this blade of yours is going for a ride." -Antelope told Reptile, as he grabbed his blade from the ground and threw it as far as possible. –"There, you can go and get it… if you can get out from there." -he said.

"I-I'll k-kill you…" –Reptile muttered, while trying to stay conscious.

"Consider yourself lucky I stabbed you somewhere I knew there was no major artery. Otherwise, you would be singing a different tune." -Antelope told him. –"Then again, with your healing ability, you probably wouldn't have bled as much as I think you would." -he said.

"You might have exaggerated a bit. But given that he was going to kill you, I guess you gave him what he truly deserved." -Dragonfly declared, as she looked at Reptile. –"Are you sure, you're not feeling any pain? That's a lot of blood." -she said, as she examined his wound.

"It looks worse than it is, don't worry." -Antelope insisted, trying not to show he was in pain. –"By the way, who are you, and what you did with the real Dragonfly? I didn't know you care." -he smirked at her.

"Don't have any ideas, you idiot!" -Dragonfly said. –"Just because we're always bickering, that doesn't mean I don't care for you." -she told him. –"Looks like it's a clean cut. From all the blood, you would think it was something more serious."

She continued to examine Antelope's wound, when suddenly, Queen Bee showed up, who had been looking for them.

"I finally found you!" -Queen Bee said, as she regained her breath. –"What happened to you?" -she asked Antelope, seeing the blood on his shoulder.

"Reptile stabbed him." -Dragonfly said, as she pointed at the lizard man, who was tied up.

"It's not as bad as you might think. Carapace will fix me up in a minute, or so." -Antelope said. –"But… you were saying that you had finally found us. What's up?" -he asked her.

"We need at least one of you… or better yet, Ladybug needs you" -Queen Bee told him.

"At least one of us? Girl, you can have us both." -Dragonfly said. –"This guy won't go anywhere." -she pointed to Reptile, who was almost unconscious.

"Yeah, she's right. We've already taken care of this idiot, so, we'll both accompany you. That way, I can ask our favourite ninja turtle to fix me up." -Antelope said. –"What does the boss lady wants from us?" -he asked the bee heroine, curious

"I really don't know. But whatever it is, Ladybug will know. Come on, time's a wasting!" -Queen Bee told them.

This chapter took less time to write than I thought it would. And that's a good thing, because it means, that we are now one step closer to the end of this fic. The hardest part to write it, must have been trying to keep the fight restrained to just the stage (things are about to get a little messed up, but I wanted to focus the action on just one spot, for the time being), while making sure that every hero had the opportunity to do something in this chapter. By the way, I've left an easter egg on this chapter... I'm not going to say from where it is, but those that love rock, heavy metal and all kinds of music, will easily locate it. In other news, KISS have already announced the new dates for the European stretch of their last tour, next year. Unfortunately, Lisbon was among the five cities where the tour won't be making a stop, after tall. So yeah, I won't be able to watch them perform, one last time... it's a bummer, really, especially because I wanted to see them, one last time, before they retire. Oh, well, that's life... at least I got to see them perform once (that's more than certain people will ever get).

In the meantime, as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestion to improve this fic, or future ones.