Landon Pigg – The way it ends
Teachers suck, Adrien has a fashion taste, enter Team Miraculous.
Adrien slowly opened the black box which emanated a strong blue light immediately. However, unlike the first time he and Plagg met, the creature that came out of the small container, fell to his hands unconsciously, in fact, it seemed to be shaking.
"Why is it like that?" The teen questioned apprehensively.
"Her name is Duusu, she's uh- currently sick, but the miraculous still works," Gabriel explained in a rush.
"Sick? How can she be sick? You want me to abuse a sick kwami?" Adrien's voice quivered as reality came crashing down upon his shoulders.
"She won't get worse if that is your concern. There's no time to lose, we're going to act now."
Adrien said nothing, he only sighed and hoped Ladybug could defeat them both. He wasn't stupid, he knew why his father had given him the peacock miraculous instead of his own. Since the peacock and the butterfly were both better at fighting from a distance, he could stay next to his father during the attack, so he could be controlled, so his father would be sure he wasn't betrayed by his own son.
They went to the secret elevator once again, but instead of going to the office, they continued to go up until they reached the highest floor. When they got there, Adrien's jaw dropped as he took in the hundreds of white butterflies flying all over the place. It was a beautiful and yet daunting scenery, as those white, pure little creatures flew and surrounded both father and son as if waiting to be corrupted. Their master took his red scarf off to reveal a simple brooch, and upon saying his transformation words, a violet light, so strong that Adrien had to close his eyes, already sensitive from all the crying they endured those last days.
When the light subsided, Hawkmoth stood in place of his father, and despite knowing the truth already, Adrien couldn't help but stare gobsmacked at the villain in front of him. A shiver ran through his spine and coldness enveloped his already tattered heart.
Meanwhile, far from the Agreste residence, and yet, still under its supernatural surveillance, a young woman paced nervously from one side of her small apartment to the other, with her phone, listening intently to the person on the other side of the line.
"Well, I'm sure, Professor! I left it on the table along with the rest of my things to get a cup of coffee, and when I came back, it wasn't there!" She answered trying to keep her voice steady.
"I'm sorry, Miss Dorian, but if you don't send your dissertation until today, we can't grade you, which means you won't get your Masters degree. You should have saved a backup."
"I know, I know! I'm only asking you for three more days, please!" She cried.
"Imagine if we did that with every student who claimed they lost their work. There are no exceptions. See this as a life lesson, next time you'll have a backup. Goodbye, Miss Dorian."
Her phone beeped, signalling the end of the call. Amèlie sat on her sofa staring at nothing in particular, she gripped her phone with a brutal force and started sobbing.
"Ahhh! Professors are so unfair to their pupils, what an unfortunate situation! Not for my akumas though." Hawkmoth said mockingly, as he looked at his next victim like a predator to a prey.
"Please don't do that," Adrien commented submissively.
"Do what?"
"Mock them. You're taking advantage of fragilized people, the least you could do is show some respect." He grunted.
Gabriel said nothing, he only grabbed a butterfly and corrupted it with his hands. White turned to purple and the villain released the Akuma "Fly away my little Akuma, and evilize her!"
He then turned to his son "It's time for you to transform, my son!"
When Marinette got home, after the long and horribly tiring day she had, all she wanted was to lie down in her bed and sleep for a week. However, despite her exhaustion, she was pacing, as she relived the conversation with Mr Agreste. "Ahhhh!" She pulled her hair in frustration.
"Marinette, you need to calm down!" Tikki advised worried for her chosen.
"How can I, Tikki? That man is so stubborn! And how can he think that we will forget Adrien? We will never give up on him! I will never give up on him, Tikki! Aghhh! I promise you, if I was transformed at the time, I would have tied him to the tallest chimney I could find with my yoyo, and only release him when he changed his mind!"
"Oh, Marinette! I know everything seems bad right now, but Adrien is not completely gone, you can still see him as Chat Noir, you can still sneak into his room and talk to him, even if you can't change his father's mind, you can still be there for Adrien."
Marinette looked at her kwami and gave her a weak smile "I know, Tikki! But this is so unfair! Adrien, Chat, he… He doesn't deserve any of this, I only wish I could take him from that horrible place, and hide him here. I would wrap him in the fluffiest blanket I have and never let go of him."
Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from a few blocks away, followed by an explosion. Marinette sighed as she realized that there was an Akuma attack, and by all the commotion she could hear, it was a destructive one. The only positive thing in the middle of all that mess was that she would at least see her kitty.
A blue light enveloped the model's body, dragging with it, a crushing coldness. Adrien had never felt anything like that. It was like his body was freezing from the inside. Accompanying the coldness, there was a sudden pain on his chest, it was like someone had stabbed his heart, however, just as fast as it appeared it also subsided instantly, so he didn't give it any importance.
He looked like he had come out from the Game of Thrones closet. He was wearing what seemed like his fencing gear only it was ebony coloured instead of white, covered by a dark blue heavy-coat. On top of that, he had a large open sleeve cape resting on his shoulders, it was also the same shade of blue of the coat, but it had golden details that put to shame the most expensive pieces of clothes his father had ever created, it also ended with what resembled a peacock's majestic tail, coloured in tones of blue, purple and white. The coat was closed, ending on his neck just like his Chat's suit, it had trimmed white feathers coming from his collar, just like at the end of its sleeves. The miraculous must have given him some kind of protection against his allergies since he wasn't sneezing at all. As for his feet, he wore boots very similar to the ones his previous superhero persona wore. He looked at his hands and they were sickly pale. A dark blue mask, with golden reflections, the same shape of the chat's mask, concealed his identity.
He was holding a fan, it was also dark blue, but it had the same golden details his cape had, and on the top, it had a line of white feathers as well.
"Now, you pluck one feather and blow it in the direction of your target who will be the Akumatized subject. After that, your instinct will know what to do. However, we will wait until Ladybug shows up to surprise her." Hawkmoth explained.
Adrien looked at his father, despite all the layers of clothes his suit provided him, the coldness didn't subside, in fact, it seemed to be growing at each second.
Ladybug hid behind a chimney, studying the commotion happening on the block below.
The victim seemed to be a young woman, dressed in a simple leather onesie, much like Ladybug's, but it was completely black, with electronic lines, just like the ones a chip might have on its surface, glowing a bright green. Whenever she touched a person, they would immediately crumble on the ground sobbing desperately, as if her touch would drain all the happiness from their bodies. "I'M MISS DESPAIR! AND IM GOING TO TAKE ALL YOUR HAPPINESS AWAY, JUST LIKE YOU TOOK MINE!" The akumatized woman shouted in rage.
The young heroine also noticed that as soon as the victims stopped sobbing they would just lie on the floor staring apathetically at their surroundings. Where is that cat? She thought. Just as she was preparing herself to call him, she heard a thump right behind her. Her hopeful smile vanished as she looked behind her and saw Queen Bee instead of her Kitty.
"What are we waiting for, Ladybug? We have a villain to catch!" She exclaimed always impatient.
"I was waiting for Chat Noir. But you're right, we can't wait any longer…" She answered with a pang of slight sadness. Maybe he hasn't heard of the attack yet.
"Hi, dudettes!" Carapace greeted, followed by Rena Rouge.
"Hi, Queen! Hi, Ladybug! Sorry for being a bit late, but we weren't sure if you wanted us to be here." Rena explained.
"It's okay, Rena. If I didn't want you here, I would not have given you the Miraculous." Ladybug said, looking everywhere, eager for her Chaton to make an appearance.
"Where's Chat?" Carapace asked.
"He still hasn't shown up. But we need to act now. Please be careful, if she touches you, she will drain all your willingness to fight. She steals people's happiness." The heroine explained. "Bee and Rena, please wait here, you will be our surprise attack. Carapace you're coming with me to protect us, you two will only reveal yourselves if things go south, understood?" All of them nodded, confirming their support.
"LADYBUG, CHAT NOIR! IM GETTING TIRED OF WAITING, SHOW YOURSELVES, YOU COWARDS!" Miss Despair shouted, dropping another sobbing man to the ground.
"I'm here! If you want my miraculous, you'll have to catch me!" The heroine taunted.
"WITH PLEASURE!" The akumatized smirked.
Heroine and villain started to run, the latter chasing after her target. "You know, Ladybug? Stealing people's happiness isn't the only boost I have!" She chuckled. Her right hand was now glowing green, as she started to shoot plasma balls at the heroine, however, Ladybug dodged all the attacks aimed at her, noticing how everything they touched would start to dissolve like the green plasma was some kind of acid. Judging by the villainess electronic like attire, the acid could be similar to the one found in batteries. Whenever the green plasma balls came to close to comfort, Carapace would shield them both with his special weapon, "Damn, she's fast!" He commented.
"WHERE'S THE KITTY? YOU BROUGHT THE TURTLE TO REPLACE HIM?" Miss Despair mocked.
Ladybug ignored the comment, herself becoming increasingly worried at each minute that passed with Adrien still absent.
"Carapace, use your power! I need to activate Lucky Charm!" She ordered.
The turtle themed hero nodded "Right! SHELTER!" A green shell enveloped them both, giving Ladybug the opportunity to use her special power. "LUCKY CHARM!" a long rope fell to her arms. "Does this mean we're going to trap her?" Carapace asked.
"But how? She's too fast for us to catch her, and her powers would just dissolve the rope." Ladybug looked around searching for clues, however, she couldn't think of anything.
Suddenly, the shell around them disappeared, limited by a timer, and both the miraculous beeped, signalling their transformation was coming to an end.
"Hate to rush you, dudette. But we need to hurry if you don't want us to reveal ourselves!"
"HAHAHAH! YOU'RE DEFENSELESS NOW, LADYBUG! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?"
"We need to regroup, follow me!" They dodged another swarm of the destructive plasma.
They managed to evade Miss Despair, and the four of them regrouped on a secluded rooftop, free from prying eyes. "Turn your backs, now!" The heroine ordered, and they all turned their backs at each other. Her miraculous beeped a final time and she transformed back to Marinette. She gave Tikki a cookie and heard Nino give food to Wayzz as well.
"Ladybug?" Rena asked apprehensively behind her.
"Yes?" She answered hiding her own fear.
"Isn't it odd that Chat still hasn't shown up?"
"I, I, it is… I don't know where he is… He probably couldn't manage to come… It doesn't matter, I'm ready to transform. Are you ready, Carapace?"
"I am."
"Great, Tikki, spots on!"
"Wayzz, shell on!"
They all turned around, facing each other, waiting for Ladybug to assume her leadership. "Alright, we're going altogether, she's powerful. I still don't know what the rope is for, but I have a plan. Rena, you're getting the opening act." Ladybug smirked.
"ARGH! WHERE IS THAT BUG?"
"Patience, she will show up. Take this time to gather more energy for your attacks." Hawkmoth advised.
Miss Despair scoffed, dropping another victim to the ground "What do you think I'm doing?"
A familiar whizz sounded behind the villainess, and she smirked: "Finally showing your spots, Bug?"
Ladybug walked to her "Well, I'm all recharged now, ready to fight you!"
Miss Despair let out a dry laugh "AND WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME NOW, LADYBUG? YOU SEE, WHILE YOU WERE HIDING, I WAS ALSO RECHARGING!"
"I don't like this! Don't fall for her trap, Miss Despair!"
"Relax, Hawky, she won't stand a chance after what I prepared for her!" And just like that, Miss Despair jumped faster than Ladybug could react, sending a massive plasma ball at her.
Ladybug tried to deflect the attack, but she wasn't fast enough, the plasma grazing her right arm. However, as soon as the green matter touched her arm, the heroine dissolved into thin air. Miss Despair gasped "Rena Rouge is aiding Ladybug, be careful!" Hawkmoth warned.
The villain didn't have time to react, as soon as she was preparing to retreat, a shout resonated behind her "VENOM!". Queen Bee stuck her weapon on the akumatized woman torso, paralyzing her instantly. "Well, that was easy!" She smirked.
As soon as Hawkmoth saw that Carapace wasn't the only addition to Ladybug's team, he knew what he had to do.
"Looks like she didn't have any trouble replacing you" He commented, adding salt to his son's wound. "You know what you have to do."
Adrien could only stare at the man in front of him. It was time, he would betray his partner, his city, it was too late to go back.
"What are you waiting for?" Hawkmoth demanded.
The blonde shook his head to kick out all his hesitations, his friends' lives were on the line, despite how much he loved his lady, he couldn't let his friends suffer, this would all end when his father got his wish, Adrien himself would also benefit from his father's wish. Everything would be okay in the end.
Shaking hands slowly plucked a light white feather from the delicate fan. Green eyes narrowed focusing on the small object, as he enveloped it in a fist, empowering it with dark energy. As he did this, he felt like he was giving his own life force to the feather, black spots filled his vision and a migraine started to settle on his brain. Adrien didn't care, he had to help the villain next to him, or his friends would pay the consequences, his father would never accept a migraine as an excuse for being incompetent.
The plume floated quite rapidly towards its target, who had just been frozen unexpectedly by Queen Bee.
"Miss Despair, I know how helpless you feel right now, let me aid you in your time of need by giving you a guardian to look after you, do you accept my help?"
"I do…" Miss Despair answered in her mind.
All that the spotted heroine had to do was to grab the akumatized object from the paralyzed victim and end the fight. As she was slowly approaching the woman, she stopped in her tracks as an odd mark appeared on her face. As soon as the mark disappeared a massive shadow took form behind the woman. It quickly shaped itself like a giant wolf, bigger than any creature they had seen before, that was not Hawkmoth's doing, no sir. Ladybug had some serious questions to ask Master Fu, once she found a way to get rid of the new addition.
The massive wolf howled, so loudly that the ground beneath shook making the heroic team yelp in slight fear "Shit, shit, shiiiiiit!" Carapace panicked.
The creature growled, showing its canines menacingly, and lunged at the four heroes. They all ran for their lives; however, the wolf was far too fast. Ladybug looked around, suddenly realizing as to why the Lucky Charm from her previous transformation had given her such a long rope. "I'm going to lasso it! Please distract it, while I prepare the rope!"
"You're doing WHAT?" The other three asked.
"Just trust me, please!" She pleaded. They nodded, and proceed to distract the terrifying beast.
So distracted she was from preparing the rope to be able to lace the wolf just like she saw in old westerns movies, she didn't notice how the creature jumped to catch one of her friends, and the agonizing scream that came from Carapace "RENAAA!".
When the spotted heroine looked behind she screamed for her best friend who was now at the mercy of that ferocious monster. She didn't waste any time. The lucky heroine ran, launching her yoyo to a close building right behind the wolf, as she gained momentum from the short flight it would take to get to the building, she threw the rope, catching the wolf by the neck. Ladybug then jumped to the rooftop, and pulled with all her forces, trying to yank the creature from her best friend. Carapace and Queen Bee joined her, and together the three of them managed to close the lasso around its neck pulling it violently, which earned a yelp from the wolf.
Adrien felt a tremendous pressure on his neck, he started to frantically gasp for air. It was like, the lasso around his creation's neck was also suffocating him.
"ADRIEN!" His father shouted, running to his side in panic. The teen put his hands around his neck, pulling at the collar of his suit as if it would help him breathe. No matter how much he gasped there wasn't any air coming to his lungs, the black spots in his vision and the migraine that was swivelling his head only increased in magnitude.
"S- st-op!" He choked, and suddenly, the pressure on his neck disappeared, just like the creature he had sent to aid his father's puppet.
All the forces that were keeping him standing vanished, black took over his vision completely. Adrien passed out cold just as his transformation was cut from him.
"What the hell was that?" Queen Bee asked as they stared dumbfounded at the now loose rope. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the wolf disappeared, right before their eyes. A white feather floated from it, a small breeze carrying it calmly, as it passed right in front of Ladybug's eyes. "The peacock!" She whispered to herself.
Carapace ran to Rena's side, who was now getting up unsteadily. "Are you okay?" He asked, putting his hands on his girlfriend's face, fast eyes checking for any injury.
"I think I am! Let's- Let's not do that ever again." She breathed, her miraculous beeping.
"Ladybug, the Akuma." Queen Bee remembered as her hair comb beeped.
Right! Ladybug thought. She approached the victim who was still miraculously under the effect of the bee venom, she could move her head now, which meant that the effects were starting to fade. Ladybug grabbed the akumatized object, which she was certain it was the phone Miss Despair was holding on her left hand, and dropped it on the floor, shattering it. A black butterfly was set free, only to be trapped by the spotted heroine's yoyo. "Bye, bye, little butterfly!" She said exhausted.
Rena handed her the rope that was given to them as a lucky charm. Ladybug smiled at her, relieved to see her best friend alive and well.
She threw the object to the air and shouted the words all Parisians were eager to hear, "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!".
Okay, I know I didn't put the scene I promised you last chapter in here, but this one started writing itself honestly. It was getting way to massive, so I decided to cut it in half. Which means that the line I put as a sneak peek will be posted next time (tomorrow xD).
Anyway, I have never written a battle before, I hope you liked my attempt at it.
Hope you liked this chapter and stay tuned for more.
See you next time!.