Chapter 10: Return of the Akuma

"No more…evil doing…for you little…akuma..." Ladybug panted heavily. She swung her yo-yo feebly, just barely managing to capture the akuma before it got away.

"Bye." She panted as the purified akuma flew away.

"Miraculous Ladybug." She stated barely louder than a whisper, while tossing the lucky charm into the air. This time around it had been a balloon filled with paint.

"Bien Joué." Chat Noir and Ladybug said together before Chat Noir collapsed on the ground.

"That…was…by far…the WORSE…akuma yet." Chat Noir took a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "Hawkmoth definitely utilized his vacation time mapping out just how to drive us insane with these akuma. I mean three akumas in one day three! And as if that wasn't enough the last one just had to be Speed Demon!"

As Ladybug regained her composure she noticed her earrings beeping.

"We'll have to continue this conversation later." She glanced around taking in their surroundings.

The two of them were on the outskirts of Paris in Bois de Boulogne. With the assistance of the police force, they managed to get the park evacuated before luring the akumatized victim in and causing him to crash into a building. The entire process took several hours though, with Chat Noir and Ladybug chasing the akuma all throughout Paris. No matter how many yo-yo stringed barriers or cataclysm holes in the street they placed, the akuma always found a way out of their traps. One second they'd believe they caught him and the next his car would morph into a form capable of escape. A motorcycle for tight squeezes, spiked tires for driving up buildings, a Jeep for uneven terrain, tinted glass windows to prevent a glare, steel tires to prevent road spikes from popping them, the list goes on. Eventually Ladybug devised a plan to lure the akuma into one last trap and set it into motion. Chat Noir distracted and annoyed the akuma to the point where he stopped paying attention to his surrounding, giving Ladybug the opportunity to throw the paint filled balloon on his windshield and send him flying straight into a building.

"Do you have any more food left for your kwami?" Chat Noir shook his head in response. Between the first two akuma attacks and all the times he used cataclysm on the streets to try to stop Speed Demon, he'd drained his supply of camembert. "Neither do I. Looks like we'll have to head back in our civilian forms. I'll head this way and you head that way; we'll meet tonight at the Eiffel Tower, 9:00."

Chat Noir watched Ladybug swing away with a tired look on his face. Chat Noir ducked behind a tree before letting his transformation fall. Plagg fell exhausted into his hands.

"Man that Hawkmoth is quite the slave driver. I haven't had a moment's rest all day. I expect a whole wheel of camembert for this."

"Deal." Adrien replied placing Plagg in his shirt's pocket and proceeding home. "It's been a long day and you deserve a treat."

After reaching the street, Adrien hailed a taxi. Relaxing in the back seat, Adrien recalled the events of the past several days.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were pretty uneventful for Chat Noir. The cops were still gathering information and crafting a plan for how they were going to take down the whole gang in one go, so there was no movement there. Furthermore, after Chat Noir and Ladybug captured several members of the gang, the rest of the members were lying low. Thus, Chat Noir spent most of his patrol time just admiring the city of Paris at night.

He found himself enjoying his time despite the fact that he was a lone. He wished he could share those moments with Ladybug, stroll down the street hand-n-hand, take in all the sights, cuddle on a rooftop, and maybe even play a game of chat and mouse. Just a couple more days. He thought whenever his longing for Ladybug grew unmanageable. If you could make it through 6 weeks without even knowing if you'd see her again then surely you can wait a few days knowing exactly when you'll see her again. Besides, she calls you every night. Chat Noir reminded himself. Sure enough every night without fail, Ladybug called him to talk. Their conversations were brief under Chat's insistence that she get some rest, but he still welcomed them.

In addition to admiring Paris at night, Chat decided to spend some of his patrol time planning out his first date with Ladybug. Since the last date ended in a complete disaster, he was determined to make sure that the next one went off without a hitch. By the time Friday rolled around, he had already devised the perfect date to take Ladybug on. Perhaps we can go tomorrow after patrol. Chat smiled at the thought. Filled with anticipation, he had a difficult time going to sleep that night, but found him didn't mind the insomnia. The more time he spent awake, the more time he had to go over his plans in his head and think about Ladybug. I'll just catch up on my sleep tomorrow. Thought Adrien as he lay awake in bed. Eventually the exhaustion overtook him and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

It wasn't until midday Saturday that Chat began to dread the lack of sleep he had the night before.

Immediately after waking up, dressing, and eating breakfast Adrien saw a news alert on the television broadcasting an Akuma attack. Ladybug was already on the scene, attempting to protect innocent bystanders by distracting the akuma.

"Time for some bug and feline action." Adrien stated.

"Awe man, way to ruin my cat nap," Plagg groaned.

"Plagg, transforme moi!" Fully transformed, Chat Noir jumped out his bedroom window, hopped across the rooftops, and proceeded to the battle grounds.

Once one the scene, Chat Noir spotted Ladybug hiding behind a building to escape the akuma's relentless attacks. Chat Noir quickly made his way over to her.

"Why hello there Buginette, need a paw?"

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug exclaimed with excitement as Chat Noir landed beside her. She did not realize how overjoyed she'd be to see Chat again or how eager she was for the two to be fighting side by side again. The two shared a brief embrace before returning to the task at hand.

"It's good to see you on your feet again my lady, but say the word and I'll swiftly sweep you off them." Chat Noir shot Ladybug a Cheshire grin with she responded to with an eye roll.

"You're incorrigible."

Chat Noir shrugged. "What can I say. So, who dares to interrupt my reunion with my lady?" Chat Noir inquire while turning his attention towards the akuma.

The akuma appeared to be a middle aged man dressed in an all-black unitard with long black sleeves and a white dot on his chest. A slitless black mask adorned his face while a black cane with a red stripe on the based rested in his hand. Chat Noir stared at the akuma in confusion. How can he see if his eyes are completely covered?

"The Akuma's name is Blindspot and he shoots a blinding ray of light from his cane. Apparently he's a blind man who got lost after his taxi took him to the wrong spot. He tried to get help, but everyone was too busy to bother to help him. His frustration and anger attracted Hawkmoth, so now he's getting revenge on everyone by making them feel what it's like to be blind." Ladybug gestured to the victims of Blindspot. While Ladybug distracted the akuma, the police ushered all civilians to safety, many of whom were gathered together in a nearby building. Chat Noir noticed through the window how many of the victims wondered around with their hands out in front of them or scooched along the walls.

"Who ever said hindsight was 20/20 clearly never met any of Blindspot's victims." Ladybug nodded in response. "So what's the plan?"

"Well now that this area is clear of anymore potential victims we can go on the attack."

"Right, I'm on it." Chat Noir made an attempt to leap into action only to be stopped by Ladybug.

"Woah there kitty." She said as she pulled his tail. "I know you're excited to be battling together again, but we can't just rush in blindly." Chat Noir snickered at the unintended pun. "First things first, we need to figure out how he's locating his targets when he's supposed to be complete blind."

"Maybe the power of Hawkmoth's miraculous gave him his sight back?" Chat Noir suggested.

"That's what I thought at first, but something is off about his movements." Ladybug recalled her fight with the akuma, analyzing his attack patterns. Focused on distraction, she didn't have the time to think previously. She thought about all the times when he seemed not to notice her, even when she was standing in plain view. Furthermore, she thought about all the victims who were hit with his blinding ray and what they seemed to have in common. "Of course, why didn't I realize sooner." Ladybug face palmed herself for being so oblivious.

"What?" Chat Noir looked confused.

"He's using sound to locate his targets. Everyone who has been hit by his attack screamed before he took aim and those short moments when he didn't seem to notice me, I was standing completely still with my yo-yo stationary. This gives me an idea; Lucky Charm!" A remote control feel into her hands.

"Unless that's the remote from 'Click' I don't think it will be much help here."

"Not true," Ladybug replied with a knowing smile on her face. "This is exactly what we need. Can you distract him for a while?"

"Whatever my lady wishes I shall grant." Chat Noir leaped into action.

"My own personal genie." Ladybug joked.

"Where could she have gone?" Blindspot listened intently for any sounds of Ladybug. A bird, a police siren, could that be her? Blindspot shot a ray of light in the directions of a thump he heard.

"That was a close call."

"Chat Noir, I thought I smelled mangy cat."

"Nice to see you too." Chat Noir rested his hands on his extended baton in front of him. "Why don't you give your blind attacks a rest and surrender peacefully."

"Why? Too much of a scaredy cat to take me on." Blindspot menacing raised him cane and began shooting.

Chat Noir dodged the oncoming attack and proceeded to deflect the next volley with his baton. The battle continued with Chat Noir either dodging or deflecting the akuma's attacks. In many instances Chat Noir was forced to flee several yards away from the akuma. Blindspot's confidence grew with each instance of flight on Chat's part.

"Don't become over confident." Hawkmoth warned Blindspot

"Relax," Blindspot replied. "I have him on the run. This useless feline doesn't have what it takes to defeat me. Soon he too will know what it's like to be helpless and ignored."

"You're forgetting about Ladybug."

"*Hmph* what's to worry about, I probably scared her off long ago."

"Ladybug is not so easily frightened, she must be up to something if she's not here. Be vigilant and pay atten…" Hawkmoth was cut off by Chat Noir's yelp. Taken off balance by one of Blindspot's attacks, Chat Noir fell flat on the ground and lay there defenselessly.

"Light's out Chat Noir!" Blindspot grinned triumphantly.

"Not so fast Blindspot."

"Ladybug!"

"In the flesh. Now, time to turn up the volume." Ladybug pressed the volume button on the remote control to the stereos surrounding the area, turning up the volume to max.

"Argh!" Blindspot cupped his ears in pain as loud pop music blasted from all around him. Not paying attention to his surroundings, Blindspot followed Chat into an outdoor arena setup for a concert taking place that evening. What he assumed was Chat Noir fleeing turned out to be Chat Noir leading him. What he assumed was Chat Noir losing his balance turned out to be a ploy to occupy him. What he assumed was Ladybug's cowardness turned out to be her brilliant plan to take him down.

Ladybug took the cane from the cowering akumatized victim and snapped it in two over her knee.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug swung her yo-yo capturing the akuma with ease.

"Bye bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!"

"Bien Joué!" Ladybug and Chat cried as they pounded their fists together.

"What, what happened? Where am I?" The former akuma cried.

"Chat Noir can you handle this, my transformation is about to fall."

"But of course." Chat Noir placed Ladybug's hand in his own. "I'll see you tonight for patrol."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Ladybug placed a small peck on his check before swinging off.

"Don't worry sir, I can help you." Chat Noir walked over to the man and helped him up.

"Oh thank you kindly young man." The gentleman graciously accepted Chat Noir's assistance.

The moment Marinette got home she immediately went to her room and laid down on her chaise. Her leg was throbbing slightly from the day's events and she wanted to give it a rest before having to meet up with her friends.

"I guess this means Hawkmoth's back in action." Marinette said out loud. "I wonder what he's been up to all this time."

"I couldn't tell you," Tikki replied as she flew out of Marinette's purse. With one last bite she finished the cookie she'd been devouring.

Marinette thought for a moment. "Could it have anything to do with his miraculous?"

"Perhaps. The butterfly brooch is not invincible and has limitations just like your earrings and Chat Noir's ring. As you are already aware, his dark butterflies are attracted to and feed of off negative emotions. Maybe everyone in Paris has just been completely happy for the past several weeks, so he has been unable to akumatize anyone."

"Or maybe he went on vacation or was detained somewhere." Marinette looked at her phone, before proceeding to her desk. "Well whatever the reason, he's back now." She opened her book bag and began placing several textbooks and notebooks into it. "I should hurry off to Alya's before I'm late for the study date." Marinette swung her book bag over her shoulder, while Tikki flew into her purse.

On her way out the store, Marinette placed several cookies in her bag. Always good to have a few cookies handy just in case. Never know when I might need them. As Marinette exited the store she heard screams coming from the park next to her house.

"Naughty children, I'll teach you to behave!" An unknown voice shouted. Marinette ran into the alley behind her house.

"Great I'm going to be late again!"

"I'm sure Alya and Nino will understand." Tikki replied

"Understand that I am late again, that I failed to show up again."

"At least you'll have a believable excuse this time with the akuma being right next to your house. Being a superhero isn't always easy, it requires a great deal of sacrifice."

"Don't I know it." Marinette muttered, clear annoyance in her voice. "Well the sooner I deal with this the sooner I can get back to my study plans. Tikki transforme moi!"

Seconds later, Ladybug arrived at the park ready to face her next foe.

"And who might you be?" Ladybug asked the akuma. The akuma appeared to be a woman in her 40's with long, black hair tied into a bun behind her head. She wore an old fashioned, navy blue, floor length dress with long sleeves, a high collar, and shoulder pads. The dress hugged her figure from her neck all the way down to her waist where it puffed out. A top her head she wore a medium sun hat with a few flowers pinned to the side. White gloves covered her hands with a purplish ring on her left index finger. Talk about old fashioned. Ladybug thought when she finished examining her outfit.

"I am Ultime Nanny, here to make sure all these naughty kids behave. Stay out of my way or I'll place you on time out for being bad."

Marinette looked around the park and noticed several children sitting on the ground. At first glance they appeared to just be sitting there, but upon closer inspection they were stuck in place by some sort of invisible force. Several parents continuously attempted to move their children to no avail. Well at least I know what her powers are.

"No can do akuma, it's my job to stop you and free all these innocent children."

"Innocent, you think there innocent? Don't make me laugh!" Ultime Nanny began shooting beams of light out of her ring towards Ladybug. Ladybug swiftly dodge the first volley before retaliating with her yo-yo.

"Never sitting still when they are told, never listening to anything I say, always running around bothering people and touching whatever they can get their hands on. These brats make my job as a babysitter a living hell. It's time I taught them a lesson."

"I know what it's like to babysit a difficult child it can be a challenge sometimes when they won't listen, but you have to remember that they are just little kids." Ladybug thought back to all the times she had to babysit Manon. Boy could she relate to the akuma's plight. "They aren't always going to behave or do what they are told and that's just how it is." Ladybug jumped over the fence and into the street in front of her school. She wanted to put as much distance between the akuma and anymore potential victims as she could. "You zapping them into a permanent time out is not going to change anything."

"Yes it will! With these powers I received from Hawkmoth I will turn every bad child in Paris into a little angel." Civilians quickly began to evacuate the street as they saw Ultime Nanny approaching. "All it takes is a bit of discipline and your miraculous of course. Can't have Hawkmoth taking away my powers before I accomplish my goal now can I?" Ultime Nanny gave a vicious smile before proceeding to attack Ladybug.

"And what about the parents whose children you've struck?" Ladybug ducked behind an abandoned car.

"They'll thank me for this later, once I've turn their monstrous brat into a little angel." Ultime Nanny knocked over the car with inhuman strength only to be caught off guard by Ladybug's yo-yo. After wrapping her weapon around the akuma's body, Ladybug made a dash for her ring but was thrown back by a kick to the gut.

"Ugh!" Ladybug said as she landed several feet away.

"Fancy meeting you here." Chat said as he held his hand out for Ladybug.

"Thanks Chat." Ladybug replied as she took his outstretched hand. "Duck!" She screamed as beams of light shot their way. "We need to find some cover, follow me." Ladybug and Chat Noir ran into their college and hid inside a classroom.

"Come out come out where ever you are." Ultime Nanny cried when she entered the school building. "I promise this won't hurt a bit."

"So a babysitter on a vendetta, forcing babies to sit." Chat whispered after hearing about the akuma from Ladybug. "I've heard of bad behaving kids driving adults mad, but this is on a whole never level."

"The akuma is clearly in her ring, I just need to get close enough to take it off. Lucky Charm!" A baby monitor set fell into Ladybug's hands.

"Baby monitors? What are you supposed to do with those?"

"Hmmmm." Ladybug thought for a moment. "I've got it! We just need to play a little game of hide-and-seek with our nanny."

"I'm not sure how that's going to help, but ok." Chat Noir placed a small peck on Ladybug's lips. "No matter how crazy, your plans always save the day."

Ladybug blushed slightly before pulling away and heading to the classroom door. "Let's finish this!"

Bam

"Where could those brats be hiding?" Ultime Nanny screamed in frustration as she slammed the third classroom door shut. "Oh they are going to pay once I find…"

"Looking for us." Ultime Nanny looked across the field to see both Ladybug and Chat Noir standing on the second floor balcony.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir have you decided to be good little children and hand me your miraculous?"

"Not a chance," Chat Noir gave the akuma a mocking grin. "If you want our miraculous you'll have to find us first." Ladybug and Chat Noir split up in opposite directions, before heading into two different rooms.

"Hide-and-seek. I HATE Hide-and-Seek!" The akuma angrily pursued the heroes.

Entering the room where Ladybug went, Ultime Nanny was surprised to find the room completely empty. Hissing with pure rage, the akuma began to tear the room apart.

"Calm down." Hawkmoth commanded. "You're allowing your frustration and anger to cloud your judgement. If you want to catch them you'll need to think straight." Ultime Nanny took and deep breath and began to regain her composure. "Good, now look around the room and see where she could have gone." Ultime Nanny glanced around before noticing the open air duct vent. She smiled triumphantly before proceeding into the air duct herself. The ventilation shaft provided very little light making it impossible to see more than a few inches in front. Foolish children, did they really think that hiding in a dark area would keep me from finding them? Even if I can't see them, I can just use my ears to locate them. After crawling for a short period of time, she hear two voiced faintly in the distance.

"Do you think she'll be able to find us?"

"No way, she's way too hot headed to think straight. We've got this in the bag, just remember to keep your voice low."

Ultime Nanny recognized the voices as Ladybug and Chat Noir's. I've got you now. She thought as she slowly approached them.

"Gotcha you retched little beasts!" She cried blasting two beams of light into the dark space in front of her.

"Argh, I'm stuck!"

"I can't move!"

"That's what you get for misbehaving. Now for you miraculous." Ultime Nanny approach the heroes only to find the space completely empty. "Wait…what?" The akuma questioned as she felt around. Her hand grasped something small and she pulled it closer to her face for a better look. "Is this a baby monitor?"

"Cataclysm!" The entire ventilation shaft began to disintegrate around the akuma.

"Ahhh!" Ultime Nanny crashed to the ground in disarray and confusion.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug pulled the ring from the disoriented akuma's finger and smashed it on the ground.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma. Time to de-evilize . Bye bye little butterfly."

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried as she threw the baby monitor in the air, activating her repairing abilities.

"Bien Joué!"

After speaking with the now free nanny, Ladybug checked the time on her yo-yo. "Oh no, now I'm super late! See you soon kitty." She cried before swinging off to an alley to detransform.

"Not soon enough," Chat Noir whispered to himself before finding a spot to detransform.

Marinette sprinted all the way to Alya's.

"Sorry…I'm…late." Marinette panted when Nino opened the door.

"Relax Mari and take a deep breath. We saw the akuma attack on the news." Nino began as Marinette slowly regained her composure. "Figured you'd get caught up in the attack when you didn't show."

"Where's Alya?" Marinette inquired as they entered her apartment.

"She went to drop off her siblings at a birthday party their friend is having." Nino replied with a small smile. "She seemed so happy to finally get rid of them. She's been stuck babysitting all day, so she was unable to capture both of the akuma battles."

Marinette let out a small laugh as well. "That must have driven her mad considering that there's been no attacks for almost 2 months now."

"You know it. When I arrived for the study session she was having the biggest fit ever, watching Ladybug and Chat Noir dash into the school with the akuma hot on their trail. She was absolutely dying to rush in there and record what was going on."

Marinette began to laugh hysterically. "That's not hard to imagine. Why didn't she have you watch her sibling while she went out?"

"Oh she tried, believe me. But by the time she got halfway down the block, you could already see the miraculous cure spreading throughout the city. She came sulking back and then went to take her siblings to the birthday party. Come to think of it…" Nino looked at the clock on the wall. "She should've been back by now…"

"Emergency Alert, a new akuma has appeared on the North side of Paris." Both Nino and Marinette turned to look at the television. "The akuma calls himself Speed Demon and is currently tearing through the streets of Paris at breakneck speeds. Chat Noir is already on the scene, but seems incapable of keeping up with this villain."

"What a minute, is that Alya?" Nino pointed to a person siding on the sideway, cellphone in hand as the akuma sped past.

"For crying out loud!" Marinette grasped her leg. Between the two back to back akuma fights and the sprint to Alya's place, Marinette's leg was seriously starting to bother her. This is the last thing that I need right now.

"This just in," the reporter continued. "Eye witnesses state the identity of Speed Demon is a man by the name of Vite Voiture, a famous drag racer. The cause of his sudden akumatization remains a mystery."

"Hey Nino," Nino glanced up from the television. "I just realized that I left my history notes at home, I'm going to run home real quick and grab them. Bye!"

"No worries Mari," Nino reached into his backpack. "You can just borrow…mine?" Nino looked around the apartment, but Marinette had already left. "What is it with girls?" He thought as he sat back down on the couch.

Author's Note: so I'm back after taking a long break (what can I say, life happens). I'll try to keep updating the story on a more regular basis from now (but I make no promises). Thank you all for hanging in there and not thinking that this was a dropped FanFiction (though I wouldn't blame you if you did). Next chapter promises to include a bit of long awaited romance between our two heroes, hope you're excited (I know I am)!