"Whatever it is, Marinette, it CAN'T be good! You know what must be done!" Tikki declared emphatically.
Marinette looked over at the Kwami with a determined expression, and a curt, decisive nod of her head. Then, leaping off her bed, and standing firmly in the middle of the room, the young lady reached over to her ladybug earring, and flicked it with her thumb and forefinger, shouting enthusiastically "TIKKI, SPOTS ON!" prompting an unearthly golden glow from the jewelry. Tikki catapulted towards the earring and the golden glow enveloped Marinette, forming a red, black spotted Ladybug spandex costume on her body like a second skin, a red eye mask formed upon her face, a golden chained belt with her Lucky Charm yo-yo strapped to her hip, and long, flowing red ribbons sprouted from her pigtails. Marinette Cheng now stood revealed as THE MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!
Rushing over to her window, Ladybug flung aside the curtains and flung the pane open, and jumped to the windowsill, only to hear the sudden shout of her mother, "MARINETTE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
Ladybug's eyes bugged out, and her ahoge sprung up with fright as she heard the sound of her Mother's footsteps ascending the stairs to her room! [OH NO! If my Mom catches me in my costume, I'll be found out!] She then shouted out cautiously "AH! Y.. YES, MOM! I.. I'M FINE!"
There was a slight pause and then Mrs. Cheng replied "Are you sure, dear? I thought I heard you shouting in pain or something.. Are you certain you weren't hurt in that fall?"
A nervous drop of sweat poured down Ladybug's cheek, as she replied somewhat tersely "N..No, Mom.. I'm just fine.."
"Are you sure, dear? I think I'd better come in and check!" Mrs. Cheng insisted.
"Y..YES! I.. MEAN NO! I.. I was just yelling at the bonehead goalie on TV. I'm fine!" Ladybug called out in assurance.
"Well.. If you say so.. But if you need anything, just call!" Mrs. Cheng replied in a concerned manner, before the sound of her footsteps receded completely.
"*Whew*! Close call!" Ladybug exclaimed with a sigh, her ahoge wiping the sweat from her forehead. She then quickly sprinted back to her door, and locked it as a precaution, before dashing back over to the window and performing a swan dive somersault to the roof of the adorning building. "NOW.. To deal with whatever that wicked Mime has in store!" The heroine affirmed with a clenched fist, before taking great mighty leaps from rooftop to rooftop, silhouetted by the caramel tinted dusk sky..
The last amount of sunlight had just finished illuminating the stratosphere, Ladybug landed effortlessly upon the edge of the Council building's roof. Scurrying down the wall she edged down to the nearest windowsill and peered in from a precarious position so as not to alert potential security.
Before the teeming masses of officials, reporters and average citizens, in the wine red carpeted, opera-house like interior, Mayor Bourgeois was his usual affable self, his daughter Chloe sitting with an obvious artificial smile, in a hideously expensive designer dress, her hair done up in a bun.
Ladybug sneered for a moment [Little stuck-up..] Before regaining her wits and looking all about the crowd area in a frenzied fashion. [Where is he? Where is that clown faced jerk?] Her eyes darted from one member of the crowd to the next, looking for the heavily made-up enemy.
She then sensed a nearby thud, almost a millisecond before she looked up with surprised, the familiar hearty and velvety voice spoke "Bon Soir, My Lady.. How does this delightful evening find you?"
Sure enough, the arrogantly grinning Chat Noir, poised on all fours in all his leather clad glory in front of her. His tail belt sweeping side to side.
Immediately, Ladybug was on her toes, leaping towards the interloping feline boy and clasping one hand over his mouth, the other firmly on his shoulder. "SHH! Quiet you dope!" She hissed through clenched jaws "You want to get us both found out?!"
Chat simply relaxed his posture and smoothly moved Ladybug's hand from his mouth around his waist, and his around hers in one quick motion, forming a makeshift dance position pose, to the heroine's shock and dismay! The cat boy then moved his lips towards Ladybug's ear and said in a hushed, seductive tone "Oh, but Mon Cherie, the danger of being discovered is part of the thrill!"
Incensed, Ladybug, with a cross expression, took Chat by the wrist, and spun, in an almost ballet-like step, behind him, putting him into an impressive martial arts arm bar, straining his forearm behind his back!
"AAAH!" Chat yelped in stinging pain.
"SHH!" Ladybug shushed with a tense vibe.
"But that.. that hurt.." Chat whined softly.
"Huh?! Goodness, what was that?" The Mayor exclaimed, his words amplified by the microphone at his podium, as he and the others in the auditorium turned and looked up at the shriek's direction at the upper right window.
"Sounds like a cat with it's tail caught in a blender.." One of his security guards remarked under his breath.
[Hmm? That fleabag had BETTER not start yowling during my dance number..] Chloe grumbled to herself.
Meanwhile, far, far in the back of the auditorium, shrouded by shadows, The Mime stood with his back to the wall comfortably, barely moving at all, as though he were a living statue. As he stared ahead at his target, a sinister grin crossed his face.
"LOOK! I don't have time for this! The Mime who we tangled with a couple of weeks ago is back and I think he's going to try to hurt the Mayor! And if you don't quit the CATerwalling, you may make things worse!" Ladybug hissed between her teeth, grabbing Chat forcefully by the shoulders and shaking him.
After his eyes had stopped spinning in his head, Chat once again adopted a calm, unshaken demeanor. "My Lady, you've no reason to fear.. I'd be willing to risk anything to fight alongside you.. And so quietly that you can hear a pin drop.."
Ladybug stared back with a roll of her eyes "Ugh.. I can already tell I'll regret this, but all right.. I need some help.. BUT, there's a catch.. We CAN'T be seen whatsoever and cause a panic, then a media firestorm!" She said quietly, but stoically.
"But.. But what WILL we do..?" Chat responded, a bit confused, his ears drooping, his face uncertain.
After a short pause, Ladybug replied "We make it look like NOTHING EVER HAPPENED TONIGHT."
Chat stared back, still uncertain what she was getting at.
The heroine explained "Here's the plan. We sneak quietly through a window, watch from the rafters and QUIETLY intercept any attack that made-up menace tries to lobby at the Mayor or anyone else. THEN, we lure the creep out, and.." Ladybug briefly paused, before landing a fist into her open palm with a hardened smile "We let him have it!"
"Your Honor, if you don't mind, what is your response to the report that you've personally dipped your hand in the funds for street repairs and using them for a remodeling of your summer home in Nice?" A serious looking female reporter queried suspiciously.
"Wha..! Ba.. Well.. You see.." As the Mayor began to stammer his nonsensical excuse, the window above slowly opened as quietly as possible. A nearby banner obscuring the two heroes appearance from security and the crowd.
"Okay, now what, Milady?" Chat Noir asked with a lovelorn gaze at Ladybug.
Ignoring the advance, the heroine instructed "Okay, now quick, look around for that Mime!" in as clear of a whisper as she could manage, her ahoge whirring around like a radio detector.
Chat glanced around at the ballroom filled with well dressed bureaucrats with a concerned expression "Afraid not, Milady, all I can make out are the same type of well to do folks I see at my.." When suddenly Plagg's voiced whispered a deep "SHUSH!" in his ear.
Ladybug turned to him with a look of confusion.
"Uh.. That.. I.. I see at my little.. Excursions.. Outside.." He nervously covered for his temporary slip. "I like bugging the.. the rich folks.." He giggled timidly.
Ladybug just gave him an irritated glance, before looking back towards the auditorium. "He must be hiding.. Look towards the shadows.." She ordered in an introspective tone.
As the heroine's eyes squinted against the dark background of the auditorium, she could faintly make out a bulky human-like shape standing against the wall, almost as though to camouflage itself. "Hey! See that?!" She indicated to her half-feline companion, quite carelessly yanking him by the ear to her viewpoint. "I think that's him!"
"Huh?" Chat replied, zeroing in with his feline eyesight. "AH! It IS him!" He observed, trying not to shout.
"And FURTHERMORE, if indeed I AM reelected as your TRUSTWORTHY, CARING Mayor, I SHALL begin a FULLY REINFORCED SCHOOL AND WORKPLACE RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM."
At the finish of the Mayor's usual, hollow campaign "promise", the crowd obliged with a polite round of applause.
Ladybug then took a small, cautious sigh. "Alright.. If that is indeed him.. We need to watch EVERY small movement he.." The heroine's hushed voice had barely begun, when suddenly, the bulky silhouette lurched forward, raised its arm, and positioned its hand in the shape of a finger gun!
"AH! NO!" Ladybug's exclamation eked out as in quite quick succession, the Mime's silhouette cocked back its "hammer". In a flash, the heroine yanked the window upwards snatched her Lucky Charm yoyo and with one smooth motion, launched the tethered weapon across the room!
[BANG! CLINK!] Went the sound of the Mime's "weapon" firing, masked by the sound of the crowd, quickly followed by the sound of the invisible round striking the wall beside, boring a small hole within.
With a start, the villain's posture changed to a more startled, apprehensive one, as in reaction to his bullet being misdirected and the Mayor remaining standing and unharmed.
"Did it!" Ladybug exhaled with a labored breath!
"Well done, My Darling!" Chat rejoiced with a cheerful grin, and scooped the heroine up in his arms.
"AH! G.. Get your hands off me, you..! AH! W.. WAIT, LOOK!" Ladybug began to object, before calling his attention back to the inside of the building!
The Mime, now stepping clearly into view, was staring straight up AT THEM! Locking eyes, the face painted fiend adopted a sly smile, wagged a disapproving finger at them, and then wrapped his hand around an imaginary object in mid-air, before raising his thumb and forefinger to its top, and imitating pulling something from its top, before turning back to the Mayor's position at the front, and cocking his arm back, as if to toss something!
Ladybug's blood ran cold, a terrified look crossed her face as she realized what was happening. "A LIVE GRENADE!"
Taking hold of Chat's hand, Ladybug called to him "You see that banner above him? GO FOR IT!" And not even waiting for him to respond, she dived for the top of the colorful political banner and in the fraction of a second, had latched on and snapped it free from its support cords and swung down, using it like Tarzan swinging on a vine, then with the surprised crowd, security included, and Mime watching, she reared her leg back and gave a mighty kick that launched the grenade out through the window on the bulding's opposite side. And as they continued to swing to the opposite side, Chat instinctively grabbed Mime by the neck and yanked him upwards, causing him to grimace and yell silently.
There was the loud [BOOOOOOM] of the grenade detonating outside, which caused all to flinch, as the heroes launched upwards through the opposite window, taking Mime with them.
There was a prolonged silence, before the Mayor asked aloud in an irritated voice "Okay, I WON'T fault the acrobats for showing up early, but I thought the city ordinances wouldn't ALLOW fireworks!"
Chloe just sat dumbstruck at the scene which had transpired in front of her. Finally, her eyes widened in a realization. "Was.. Was that the Ladybug?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
