Chapter 9: The Last Captive
"Yeeeesss..." Hawk Moth purred triumphantly as he watched what was happening on the Riddler's computer screens, "Feel all that negative emotions, it's like a warm, pleasant sensation through my bloodstream. Embrace the emotions Dark Knight, and then you'll be mine!"
He, The Joker and The Riddler couldn't have been more pleased with how their plan was turning out. It was rather unfortunate that Batman, Ladybug and Cat Noir had managed to get through the riddles rather easily and save everybody but that had quickly turned in their favour when The Riddler had released his final challenge. It had seen Chloe Bourgeois dial a number on her phone and then the phone had exploded thanks to being rigged with a bomb. It had been directly next to the girl's ear as it had gone off, killing her instantly. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked unable to believe what was happening, the two having never witnessed an actual death before. The captives they had rescued all looked disgusted, scared or angry and Batman seemed to be the worst off, looking as if he had witnessed Jason Todd's death all over again. It wasn't helped by the fact Chloe was only a teenager.
But the biggest sin of all was that Batman had come so close to saving everybody. It was the feeling of failing at the last hurdle that was crushing him inside. How could he have let Paris's heroes down like this?! Why did The Riddler have to come to Paris and start this whole nightmare?! It seemed very unfair and now Paris was suffering for something it should never have had to endure.
The three villains watched on the screen as the heroes approached Chloe's very dead body, smoke still drifting up from what was left of her head. It was an ugly sight and the teen heroes knew full well that they would never forget it.
"I'd hoped never to find out what it's like to have an actual death on your watch..." Ladybug said grimly. She sounded very far away, almost lost in a sea of despair.
"It's the most horrible thing I've ever experienced!" Cat Noir cried, "Chloe may well have been, well, not the nicest person in the world but I didn't ever wish doom on her!"
"Nobody deserves to be wasted so callously...not like this." Batman growled, his blood boiling as rage continued to build up.
"What about that healing wave thingy you do?" Kim asked suddenly, "Couldn't you just do that "Miraculous Ladybug" thing and like, bring her back or something?"
"I can fix and repair damages with my power but I can't raise the dead." Ladybug said, feeling bad about having to pour salt on this very open wound, "I'm sorry everybody but Chloe's dead, that's the sad truth we have to live with and we can't do anything about it."
"I doubt even a Lazarus Pit could revive her..." Batman muttered, thinking about his old enemy, Ra's Al Ghul and his miracle pool that allowed him to return to a youthful stage whenever he stepped in it. It would be nice if he could bring the dead teenager to Ra's and have him use the pit to revive her but even the Lazarus Pit had its limits. There was no fixing this death, no matter how much people may want to undo it.
What's even worse was that the death had been witnessed all over Paris. Poor Mayor Bourgeois had witnessed his daughter get blown partially to kingdom come. And now the French mayor was on his knees in the hotel's lobby, holding his head shakily as he just tried to comprehend the horrendous scene he and his people witnessed. For the first time he was crying not because a selfish, greedy plan of his failed, but because his single, young daughter was dead. Captain Roger might've been relieved his own daughter was safe, but he had never bare witness to a death on his watch on the police force. Then there was Tom and Sabine, looking on in devastation at the collapsed, defeated old man, all the feelings of negativity towards the man now gone and replaced with sympathy. No one should ever lose their child, either to abduction, or to death. Not even the buffoon of a man the mayor himself was deserved such a horrible punishment.
"NO! NO! Oh my god please know...AGHHHHHHHH!" Andre sobbed as he covered his old eyes with his trembling hands, his body partially curled up as he fell forward onto the floor, his tears soaking in with the rich red rug of his home. The home of his daughter, who should've been kept safe in the hotel. But tonight death had claimed her in the most horrific of ways, and there was now bringing her back. Not now. Not ever.
Captain Roger was almost numbed to the core, a mixture of fear and anger inside of him. He could only hope that the Riddler wasn't going to play dirty and take another child's life...but that was when a burning fire began to rise in the police captain. His daughter and her friends were still in danger, and they had just witnessed a horrendous death. Right now he himself wasn't so sure if Ladybug, Chat Noir or Batman would be any good in protecting the children. It was time for the police to take some action. They couldn't just stand back and do nothing! Scowling in determination, he pulled his cap downwards a bit, he turned to the two armed officers by the lobby doors, getting out his phone.
"Are either you two good at tracking phone signals?" he asked in a surprisingly sharp tone.
The shorter of the officers nodded, "Yes sir, hand it here." he replied, knowing very well what his commanding officer was asking for.
"Good. Trace my daughter's phone to her current location. We need to get the kids out of that hell pit right now, you understand!?" came the fierce response of the captain, getting a nod off the officer as he took the phone off him.
Tom and Sabine went over to him.
"What about Marinette? She's not at home and could be held captive too!" the latter cried out in terror.
"And there's Adrien." Nathalie added worriedly as she and the Gorilla came over to him.
"And that red headed boy, what was his name...Nathanael, that's it, they're still missing." Roger acknowledged to himself as he took all this in before turning to the frightened parents and guardians
"I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the mayor. I promise you that we'll find your children and keep them out of harm's way." he instructed them, earning curt nods in response
"We'll do that. Go and get those kids Captain Roger!" Tom replied, giving him a sharp look, getting a salute off the cop in response.
"You have my word, Mr Dupain-Cheng. Officers, let's move!" he yelled as he turned to the other two officers, heading out with them.
Andre shook and shivered as the worried parents and guardians came over to him, uttering something that, for the first time ever, was genuine concern for something other than him.
"Those children...those poor children. May they not have a horrible fate like Chloe..." he whispered as tears continued to cascade down his tired and upset face.
Back in the safe house, Hawk Moth couldn't be more happier than seeing Batman's very hard form shaking like mad. What a wonderful sight it was, seeing him so defeated and full of rage.
"How it fills my heart with glee to see a member of the Justice League, defeated and grieving and falling victim to his emotions. My akuma can take him over at last!" the masked man cackled gleefully.
"Between you and me Ed, I'm surprise he even HAS a heart!" The Joker snickered.
The Riddler may have found the Joker annoying, but even he couldn't help smiling at the joke. He looked over his shoulder as Hawk Moth held out his hand and a butterfly landed in it. He covered it with his other hand and like always, corrupted the beautiful insect with his dark magic, turning it black and purple and making it an instrument of evil. The puzzlemaster whistled, impressed with what he'd seen.
"So that's your power...impressive." he murmured.
Hawk Moth nodded and held his hand out, allowing the akuma to fly away.
"Fly away my little akuma, and akumatize Batman!" he cried happily, slamming his cane on the floor.
"Boy will it be fun to have Batman on our side at last! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" The Joker cackled gleefully, watching the akuma leave the room in search of Batman.
With where they were, the freed children were now getting overwhelmed by a lot if fear, especially Rose, who's big eyes went wider than usual.
"L-Ladybug!? Wh-what if there's a big bomb beneath this building!?" she exclaimed, panic clearly overcoming her.
"That's it! That's it! We're all done for, I should've known!" Max cried, pulling his hair in a mad fit.
"Oh my god, why did it have to come to this!?" Kim cried, banging his head against the wall in defeat, making Ladybug look over to them in in worry. She was usually good in some hostage situations, but given what just happened she was going to have to kick things up a notch. She turned to Chat Noir and gotten hold of his arm, drawing him away from Chloe's dead body, getting him to look at her.
"Chat, I need you to talk to Batman and see what we do next." she instructed firmly, clearly trying to keep her cool without glancing over at the gory spot behind her feline accomplice, who still looked shaken up.
"Wha? Y-Yes, I'll try. What about you?" he stuttered, trying to hide the panic in his voice.
"I'll calm the kids down, they're panicking" she replied, though she almost sounded unsure herself, not sure if she'd succeed in that task.
"I'll d-do my best." Chat responded, breaking away from Ladybug to go over to Batman, who was now leaning against the wall nearest to him, a look of dread on his face as he stared at what was left of Chloe. Chat Noir gotten in front of Batman and took him by the arm.
"Batman? L-Listen, I've...I've never seen stuff like this before...so, what are we to do?" Chat nervously asked him, trying to fight off the iron stench of blood the body behind him was giving off.
But it seemed like Batman wasn't listening, almost as if he was daydreaming, with his white eyes turned upside down into a sad look.
"Jasmmm..." he mumbled, making Chat frown in confusion.
"Wha? What are you saying?" he asked.
In response, to Chat's utter surprise and horror, Batman collapsed to his knees once more, though this time he was on his hands, staring at the floor with a sickening look of despair of his face. Panic pounding in his heart, Chat crouched beside the fallen Dark Knight, lopping his arm around his back to try and support him up, but the vigilante wouldn't budge.
"B-Batman!? Say something! C'mon!" Chat begged in desperation.
Batman couldn't hear anything but laughter. Sickening twisted laughter of the Joker ringing in his ears and the iconic grin of his arch nemesis embedded in his mind, with two beaten and bloodied bodies laying below the grin, one completely bruised and sprayed in graffiti, the other in a bloodied state and wearing what was left of her yellow and white clothes. These were the bodies of Jason Todd and Chloe Bourgeois, two young teenagers he had failed to save from the cold clutches of death.
As Batman stared on in despair, Ladybug was trying to calm down her panicking friends, having to raise her voice to be heard out "Guys, listen! Please, I need you all to calm down!" she yelled, managing to silence a few screamers. They all looked to Ladybug with worried looks plastered on their faces.
"Guys...I know how your feeling, I really do. Right now I'm as scared as you are. But you've got to keep calm. For yourselves, for your family, and for Chloe." she said, her tone dropping to a sadder one as she mentioned the girl. The frightened kids nodded, trying to ease the tension in their bodies. Ladybug was right: panicking wasn't going to get the situation any better, so right now they had to do their best in keeping calm if they were to survive the rest of the evening.
It was then a sudden realisation came over Alya. Pushing steadily past her friends, she headed over to Ladybug, who looked to her in concern.
"What is it, Alya?" she asked with deep worry.
"Not all of us are here, there's one more!" Alya replied, leaving Ladybug shocked with her eyes wide. Her heart leaping with hope, she gripped Alya's shoulders like tomorrow wasn't coming.
"Wh-Who? Who is it?" she asked in desperation.
As this happened, a haunting devilish Akuma fluttered it's way into the room, it's magic hungry to corrupt a certain vigilante's soul in the room. It loomed in the air, waiting to swoop down towards Batman.
"It's Nathanel!" Alya cried, "It just occurred to me he's not here!"
Ladybug gasped. Yes, the red-haired boy who loved to draw! It had just occurred to her that he wasn't here too! They still hadn't quite saved everybody yet!
"So that means The Riddler's still got one of us locked up somewhere!" Sabrina shrieked, putting her hands to her face in horror.
"We've gotta find him or the dude could be drawing his last sketch!" Nino exclaimed.
As the akuma approached Batman, the Gotham vigilante's head suddenly shot up as he took in what he was hearing. There was still another child to save? It was still possible that this rescue mission wouldn't end on such a grisly note after all! As Batman stood up, he could feel himself beginning to brighten up, the anger in his bloodstream dissipating. What was there now was nothing more than determination. Determination to save the last child. And that was what, unknown to Batman, had just saved him from an akumatization. The akuma was forced to flee for Batman's negative emotions weren't strong enough to corrupt anymore. Batman no longer had sadness and grief on his face, just fierce determination to locate Nathanel. Cat Noir noticed this with curiosity in his eyes.
"Hey Batman, what is it?" he asked.
"The teens have said there's one more." Batman said, "We can make sure Chloe's death wasn't in vain and save that last child. What's his name again?"
"Nathanel." Ladybug explained, "He's a slender boy with red hair and he loves to draw. We didn't save him from any Riddler traps so he could still be somewhere in this building! Of course, maybe he didn't get kidnapped at all but given The Riddler got everybody else, I'm willing to bet Nathanel's here too."
"We're going to find him. Not one more child is gonna die tonight..." Batman growled, determination in his voice.
Lila then came out of the small crowd of frightened classmates, getting hold of her phone.
"W-Wait, his phone isn't here with us. He probably still has his so we can probably trace it" she said as she gotten his number up. Nodding, Batman joined the Italian girl's side.
"Read it to me and I'll put it in on the tracer." he said as he gotten his handheld map pad out.
As Lila read out Nathanael's number to him, from where they were, Riddler and Hawk Moth were shocked beyond belief what they just witnessed, while the Joker didn't look exactly that bothered. Instead he just smirked as he laid back a bit in the chair and stretched his arms out like he was a lazy lounger.
"Ah well, can't beat a detective all the time, hey boys?" he chuckled, earning a glare from Hawk Moth.
"You think this is a laughing matter!? He just resisted one of my akumas!" he yelled as the demonic butterfly returned to the room.
"Thanks for saying that, captain obvious. But what do you expect? It's Batman! Honestly you should go to a geek school and do some superhero research!" the Joker madly exclaimed, not really bothered about the predicament they were in.
The Riddler was seething with rage, so much that Hawk Moth had to call back his akuma from akumatising him. As much as the Riddler was a pawn in all this for him, Hawk Moth couldn't risk making him his slave just yet.
"Those little bird brained buffoons! They worked out the silent riddle! The riddle they shouldn't have been able to pick up on! They'll be going after Nathanael in a matter of seconds!" he yelled angrily, banging his head on the desk in front of him.
Feeling he saw enough of the Riddler beating himself up, Hawk Moth dragged him back by the shoulder.
"Where is he being held now?" he sharply asked, bringing the question mark obsessed villain back to reality a little more.
"I've hidden him in an old cellar that connects to an old sewer away from the canal. I was going to have the boy watch all this and lose faith in the heroes!" he yelled in response, earning a clap from the Joker.
"Now Scarecrow would've loved to have been part of this! Why didn't we get him on board in the first place!?" he madly yelled like the frightening moron that he was, earning cringes from Hawk Moth and Riddler, the former of whom pulled out a paper and pen from his suit jacket and began to write down on it.
"Listen, you go and get the boy! Once you've got him, get your men to take him to this address!" he fiercely instructed, putting it into the face of the Riddler, who frowned.
"Why don't you just teleport us there?" he asked in a dumb tone, earning the paper being shoved into his hand.
"Because I only have enough energy for one more teleport, I don't know exactly where the cellar holding the boy is, and I'm running low on power as we speak!" Hawk Moth explained, grabbing the Riddler by his jacket and shoving him into the front door, denting it slightly.
"Ow! Oh alright you iron masked lunatic, I'll do just that!" the Riddler childishly yelled back, nearly popping a blood vessel in his forehead as he straightened his hat, before storming out of the front door like he was a woman that had just divorced her husband.
Joker smirked as he stood beside Hawk Moth.
"Heh, something tells me he hasn't taken his medication." he teased, earning a sigh from his fellow man in purple.
"Ugh, we'll have to leave now. For all we know Batman or the police could walk on on us any minute." he hissed as he placed his left hand on the Joker's shoulder as the pair of them began to glow a lighter shade of purple.
"Ooooh, cannot wait for this!" the Joker giggled madly. A short two seconds later, the pair of them vanished in a bright flash of purple and violet, leaving the main room of the safe house nearly spotless.
Meanwhile, Batman had put in Nathanel's phone number into his map pad and he waited as the small handheld machine began searching for the where abouts of this phone number. He fell silent as he waited for the phone to be traced and Nathanel's location to be revealed. Once that was done, he would be on his way in no time. The Riddler wasn't claiming another life, not tonight! Ladybug and Cat Noir watched with baited breath as Batman's handheld pad did its work.
"Please be OK, please be OK..." the red and black girl murmured to herself.
The pad than bleeped suddenly, indicating it had just finished its work. Batman glanced at the screen, reading the coordinates so quickly that it looked as if he hadn't even read them at all, before looking up again.
"I've found him. He's in a cellar that connects to a sewer away from the canal." the Dark Knight announced, "I'm going there now. I'll bring him back to you all." he vowed.
Ladybug gripped his arm, stopping him from going anywhere.
"Wait, don't you want me or Chat to go with you while one of us stays here?" she asked with deep concern in her voice.
"No. The children here need you two. I'm not letting Nathanael die tonight, especially at the hands of the Riddler. He's my responsibility and he's brought enough terror to your city."
Batman responded in a firm tone, though he certainly seemed eager to get moving to rescue the trapped teenage boy. Sighing, Ladybug stepped back and gave him a nod.
"Go get him and be careful." she replied.
Giving her a nod, Batman kicked down the door opposite him and the others, leading to a small flight of old stairs. He dashed up the stairs as quickly as he could, launching another rocket like kick ahead of him to bring down the door in front of him. Bolting off of its hinges, the door collapsed partially on two, where Batman found himself in the main base of operations the Riddler, Hawk Moth and Joker had been using. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the bat styled vigilante kicked down the last door that brought him outside, where he gave another look at his map pad, which he strapped to his left arm. He saw his personal marker was two blocks away from the bridge he need to cross to get to the sewer line to reach Nathanael's location.
With that seen to, Batman drew out his grappling gun and fired it at the highest building ledge opposite him. With it hitting the ledge, he zipped away at a great speed, just leaving the area in time as Captain Roger and the rest of the French police force zoomed in on the safe house. Ladybug and Cat Noir heard the sounds of sirens outside, their faces brightening up a little as they knew that the rescued captives would be safe at last.
"The cops, they're here!" Ladybug cried out happily.
"Come on guys, let's leave this hell hole!" Cat Noir cried, "You'll all be safe when we get you down to the cops!"
The schoolchildren didn't wait to be asked twice. They all filed out of the room with the two French heroes leading ahead. Every step they took filled them with glee for they were putting the grisly sight of Chloe's body and the horrors of the safehouse behind them at last.
"I really hope Batman rescues Nathanel..." Ladybug said worriedly, glancing at Cat Noir.
"He won't let us down, not like this m'lady! He'll do it, you know he will!" Cat Noir cried enthusiastically.
They soon exited the safe house and found themselves back out in the tatty car park that the police vehicles were filling with, the sirens and flashing lights filling the sound and surroundings of the area. Sabrina bolted ahead crying as she saw her father, Captain Roger, come out of the nearest police van.
"Daddy, daddy!" she cried as if the world was about to shatter in any second. The large officer smiled tearfully as he embraced his young daughter, collapsing to his knees as he did so.
"Oh Sabrina! Are you hurt? Did that man touch you anywhere he shouldn't have?" he exclaimed, getting a shake of the head from his young daughter.
"No daddy, no...but Chloe's dead daddy! I-It was so horrible!" she sobbed loudly as she buried her face into his shoulder, still traumatised by what she had witnessed. Captain Roger closed his eyes and gave a grim nod of acknowledgement. He knew very well he and his officers would have to ready a body bag and he wasn't looking forward to it.
Scooping his young girl into his arms, Captain Roger made his way over to Ladybug and Chat Noir as the rest of the freed classmates were getting tended to by the police.
"I can't thank you two enough for saving my daughter." he said gratefully, earning a sad nod from Chat Noir.
"Yeah...if only the same could be said for Chloe" he said sadly, getting a comforting rub of the shoulder from Ladybug.
"Where's Batman?" Captain Roger asked with a frown, realising the Dark Knight was nowhere to be found.
"He's gone to rescue Nathanael. He's being held at another location." Ladybug confirmed for him.
"Then where's Marinette and Adrien being held then?" he asked sharply, making Ladybug's and Chat's eyes to widen in surprise. They hadn't expected the police to catch on so sharply, given their alter egos were rarely kept as captives in these situations.
Thankfully, Nino overheard the presented question, so he called over to them.
"They weren't kidnapped with us, so I think the dude and dudette could be at their homes!" he called, earning mental gasps of relief from the two young superheroes, but Captain Roger didn't seem that convinced.
"I don't know. It's been pretty dangerous lately, they could be held somewhere else" he noted with a pair of hard eyes burrowed into a thoughtful frown.
Seeing this made the two heroes act quickly on their feet. "We'll go and look in on their homes. I mean, we tend to visit them sometimes, and, no offence, but we're a lot faster. We'll call back and tell you" Ladybug responded in a firm tone, before grabbing hold of Chat's hand, leading him away from the top cop.
"I'll go to Adrien's, you know where Marinette's is." Ladybug instructed, only for Chat to get in her way.
"No, M'Lady. You're a lot faster than me, so you should go to Marinette's. You can cover those buildings a lot faster than I can with that yoyo of yours." he said quickly, leaving the dotted hero surprised beyond belief.
Before she could get another word in, Chat extended the length of his bo-staff and sprung into the air, disappearing into the night sky like a bullet. Ladybug frowned but realised this could actually help her out. She could go back to her home and call both her parents and the police to tell them she was alright. She just hoped Chat would find Adrien safe and sound at home. She just honestly didn't know Chat had the exact same plan.
"After I make a quick trip home, I'll call Chat and tell him to meet on the other side of the bridge. Batman might be there." she quietly said to herself as she drew out her yoyo, shooting it upwards at a nearby street lamp and swung off to home.
Meanwhile, the Riddler was nearly out of breath as he was running on the sidewalk of the canal bridge, his face red with exhaustion.
"I...can't...believe...that I'm...here right now...doing what some clown...in a mask and suit tells me!" he panted, "I'm in charge...of this operation, I should...be giving...the orders!"
It made him livid just thinking about it. Nobody gave him orders, he was the one meant to give people orders! He would sort Hawk Moth out when he was finished with Nathanel, maybe even deal with The Joker too. Those two had no right barging into his business anyway.
"I'd love to put those two in a death trap that'll finish them off..." he said to himself, walking on across the bridge.
He was just thankful not one if the drivers passing across the bridge took a slight bit of notice of him, leaving the Riddler quite relieved. That and it was dark, so it was helpful for him to keep moving without getting noticed too much. As he neared the end of the bridge, though, his skin shivered as a familiar, deep and fierce voice filled the night air.
"RIDDLER!" came the roar, leaving him rooted to the ground in utter fear.
Turning on his heels very slowly, his eyes widened as he saw the all too familiar giant, dark figure standing just opposite him across the bridge. His sweat dripping like mad, the Riddler observed that while Batman still seemed as calm and stoic as ever, there was a silent rage in him this time. Something told the Riddler that the Dark Knight was going to give him the most nastiest and most brutal beating of his life. And the very thought of his overly intelligent brain getting beaten around like a punchbag filled the Riddler with utter fright.
"AHHH SHIT!" he let out a girly like scream as he bolted down the steps that would lead him to the sewage gate he needed to get to.
As he reached the bottom step, he looked to the other side of the bridge and saw that Batman was gone like the wind. A thud of boots against a concrete wall drew his attention, making the green suited man look behind him to see that Batman was now at the top of the stairs. His eyes bulging out of his head in utter fright, the Riddler picked up his speed, jumping over a metallic block in his way and dashed down the next flight of steps, which led directly to the old and abandoned sewage gates. Remembering correctly which one it was thanks to his big brain, the Riddler gotten out a key and slammed it into the padlock, twisting the key and staggered inside, swinging on his feet and slamming it shut, locking the gate just in time. Just in time to find Batman standing opposite him with silent fury on his masked features.
Defiantly, the Riddler smirked as he pocketed his key into his suit jacket.
"Like to see how you'll get through that!" he laughed as he turned and fled into the darkness of the underground passage.
Now normally you'd think Batman would throw an explosive Batarang onto the lock and continued the chase. But he knew Nathanael was in there, and he was most likely being held at gunpoint or had a bomb strapped to him. If he were to take the direct approach, Nathanael would be dead. He had to make a more surprise approach. Glancing down at his map pad, Batman found his eyes trailing upwards to the back of a French public house. A triumphant smirk crossed his face as he saw there was a manhole right behind it on his map...
"Be ready! Keep your guns aimed that way and that way, from both left and right! I don't care if you were conceived or born yesterday, just make sure you kill him!" The Riddler ordered as he dashed passed his armed henchmen, going towards the room at the other end of the passageway he had Nathanael in.
He took the key out of his pocket and inserted it into the door. He unlocked it and opened it, walking into what was essentially an old wine cellar. A long time ago, this cellar would've been full of wine bottles ready for parties and special occasions for the owners of the house to host. Now the cellar was empty, not even so much as a drop of wine in sight. The only thing the room contained was The Riddler's final captive, Nathanel. He had been sitting on the floor, completely bored out of his mind with nothing to do and now The Riddler was coming into the room for some reason. That made him sit up and wonder what was going on and why the Riddler was here. Did he need him for something now?
The Riddler marched up to the young artist and yanked him up onto his feet by tugging on his arm.
"Hey, don't pull me like that!" Nathanel growled.
"Watch your tone you little shit..." the cluemaster snarled, "Batman's here and you're going to help me bring him down. Try anything stupid and you're history! I hope you're mentally strong enough to understand that!"
The young French teen gasped in surprise. Batman was coming to rescue him? That already made things better and meant things were looking up but The Riddler was going to use him to bring him down! He had a keen idea on what the green-clad man had in mind. He didn't want to be used as a hostage and so he yanked his arm out of The Riddler's grip.
"Stuff that, I'm not gonna be bait to bring him down!" Nathanel snapped, "Get another hostage cause you're not using me!"
"I knew you'd be too stupid to comprehend anything..." The Riddler sighed, reaching into his tuxedo pocket.
He proceeded to pull out a rather odd looking revolver pistol. Its handle was shaped like a question mark, which was green, while the barrel itself was gold, making Nathanael's skin shiver. He was now hoping like mad Batman would show up and take care of this looney before he makes short work of him. The Riddler pulled out a gold bullet from his pocket and loaded it into the firing spot.
"When Batman does get here, he's going to find the brains of a young chimp splattered across the floor, and the Bat will fall into the depths of despair again. And then I will have bested him at last!" he said in a shivering voice as he tried to control his nerves.
Edward never really used firearms that much, only when he felt it was needed. He honestly didn't care that he was going to kill a teenager, as far as he was concerned he was putting a chimp out of its misery for failing a single Maths test.
Suppressing a gulp, Nathanael trailed his eyes up at the gun as it clicked, locking the bullet in place. Time slowed down horrifically slowly and the colour of the room began to fade into nothingness as Nathanael began to mentally countdown the last seconds of his life...
CRASH!
The Riddler jumped in surprise and squealed as the other door that connected to the room from the back exploded open, shooting through the air and slamming on the floor with a deafening crack. Nathanael gasped and jumped back out of fright as an all too familiar dark and huge figure leapt into the room, silent but ready to unleash its fury like a bull.
The Riddler's eyes widened for a split second before he cried out angrily and went to fire away at the Dark Knight, who merely grabbed his gun hand and yanked it to his own left, making the Riddler fire it into the corner of the room. In a split second the crack of Edward's leg bone echoed through the air as Batman launched a vicious kick into his shin, breaking his leg and bringing him down onto one knee, screaming in agony. Nathanael could only watch on in fear and awe as Batman finished his attack by delivering a hard punch to the Riddler's face, the crack and explosion of his nose following as he crashed onto the floor behind him, deeply knocked out.
With that done, Batman glanced to his right and a flash of warmth crossed his deeply buried heart. Nathanael was alive! He gotten to him in time! He did it! Just seeing the boy standing there in one piece left the Caped Crusader relieved beyond belief, pleased that he managed to save another child's life. He was thankful that manhole behind the pub led him straight to the door of the room.
But relief was cut short as machine gun fire came from outside the other door, indicating the other five henchmen were on their way. Heavily armed by the sounds of it. Not a problem for Batman, but too risky for Nathanael. Knowing very well what to do, Batman drew out a gas grenade from his utility belt, looking at Nathanael once more.
"Get into that passageway I came through, go!" he ordered fiercely like a commander to a soldier. Nathanael didn't need to be told twice, dashing through the damaged doorway Batman came through moments earlier to find cover.
Batman turned his attention back towards the new threat coming his way. He clutched the gas grenade, almost as if his life depended on it. In a sense, it did for it would stop several men gunning him down when he threw it. He waited until the armed guards filed into the room, their weapons all trained on him as they took sight of him. They also saw that their master was unconscious. Deep inside, they were glad to see The Riddler down on the floor but they still had to maintain their loyalty to him, otherwise they wouldn't get paid.
"It's the Batman! Shoot to kill!" yelled one guard as he primed his gun.
Batman just calmly threw the grenade at them, letting out clouds of gaseous smoke as it rolled across the floor. The guards all stepped back nervously, expecting the grenade to go off any moment. They coughed and spluttered as the gas made the air in the room unbearable. The mist was also making it harder to see, clouding their vision as it hung in the air. And that was when Batman made his move.
He charged forward like a rhinoceros, tackling the first man and wrenching his machine gun up into the ceiling. The guard fired but the bullets only shot up into the ceiling as Batman held it away from him. He then forced the hapless guard around, spraying bullets around and forcing the others to dive the cover, afraid of being hit. Then the caped crusader yanked the gun out of the man's hands and used it as a club to knock him out with one heavy slam into his head. Another guard took aim and was about to fire but Batman threw the machine gun at him, the huge weapon slamming into the unfortunate man's solar plexus and knocking him off his feet. He could hardly breathe as he landed, letting out strangled gasps as he fought for air.
Another of the five men sprung back to his feet and went to strike Batman with the butt of his gun, only for the vigilante to shove it to the side and deliver a nasty elbow hit to the man's stomach, winding him hard, before launching him high into the air and smashed him onto the floor, leaving the man whimpering from the agonising aches and bruises he received.
The last two of the henchmen managed to tackle Batman, sending him tumbling out of the other door that led into the sewage passageway. The vigilante then suffered a few stomps to the chest and kicks to the sides, though this mattered little to him as his suit had armour laced into the fabric, so all he was feeling was merely soft pokes of tennis balls to his body. Reacting quickly to the sudden tackle, Batman caught one if the thugs' feet and twisted it into the right of the man's direction, making him scream in agony, then received a hard punch to the face from the Dark Knight, who then jabbed his elbow into the other man's kneecap, bringing him down to one knee, before a hard uppercut followed, then the horrific crushing and cracking sound of teeth slamming into each other followed, then the man slumped onto his back in a heap, blood splattered all over his beaten state.
Baring his teeth, Batman picked himself up as steadily as he could, in case he actually received some damage from the sudden attack. He observed the work he did and saw he pretty much left the henchmen in such a beaten state that they were either calling for some nurse or oddly demanded alcohol. Ignoring these bizarre cries of pain, Batman made his way over to the Riddler's unconscious body, seeing the hard work he done on it. Nathanael entered the room, looking a little nervous upon seeing the work Batman did to the Riddler and his men. Not even Ladybug and Chat Noir were like this in a fight, and he was impressed.
Batman turned to him and placed a comforting hand on the teenaged artist's shoulder.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a concerned tone.
Surprised at first, Nathanael nodded with a shy smile "Y-Yeah, thanks sir. I really appreciate it." he said gratefully.
Making a small smile at him, Batman proceeded to pick up the Riddler's beaten body and hung him over his great shoulders.
"Good. Now let's get you out of here." he said in a friendlier tone, bringing great comfort to the redhead as he followed him out.
"Where are the others? Was I the only one this lunatic nabbed?" the young penciller asked, motioning to the unconscious Riddler.
"No, he got the rest of the students in your class." Batman explained, "I managed to save them along with Ladybug and Cat Noir. Though there was one who we couldn't save..." he added grimly.
"Oh no, who was it?" Nathanel asked worriedly.
"The mayor's daughter." Batman muttered, glaring at the unconscious Riddler, "He rigged her phone to blow. It tore most of her head off. I wasn't going to let him take your life too so for her sake, I came here as fast as I could so I could save you Nathanel."
The red-haired teen took this in, unsure what to think. On the one hand, he hated Chloe for she was a horrible person and she had teased him mercilessly over his love for Marinette. When he'd become the Evillustrator, he had wanted to kill the girl herself. On the other hand, that hadn't been him at the time and as himself, he didn't have such thoughts. He wasn't normally one to wish doom on people and he certainly hadn't wanted Chloe dead. It was a shame Batman hadn't been able to save her. But he was grateful that her death had made Batman more determined to save his. In a way, he was thankful to the late girl for the save. It was still a tragedy that the Riddler had managed to claim a life and he wondered if his class would ever get over it, considering they had most likely witnessed the death themselves.
"I'm sorry about Chloe Batman. It really stinks how you can't save everybody..." Nathanel said, hoping he had chosen the right words.
"That's the sad fact every superhero has to learn at some point..." Batman agreed.
Nathanael looked down a bit before placing a comforting hand on the Dark Knight's left arm, giving him a soft look.
"But guys like you do your utter hardest. I'm sure you did everything you could." he said politely like the usual nice boy he was. Batman couldn't help but smile back at him. Paris certainly had a lot of good children growing up in it, to the point where they almost seemed like adults themselves.
"I appreciate it, Nathanael. Thank you" he said in a rare moment of gratefulness, mostly relieved he was actually having a conversation with the boy instead of mourning over the body of another dead child.
Nathanael smiled back, taking in the rare moment of kindness the Dark Knight would dare show.
"You deserve it." he said softly, before heading up the ladder so he could regain his freedom all thanks to the dark vigilante, who still had that small smile on him.
"Good kid." he whispered to himself before adjusting the Riddler's slumped form over his shoulders.
As that happened though, he noticed a piece of paper flutter out of the man's green tuxedo jacket. Swiftly catching it with his spare hand, Batman gave it a sharp look.
"An address...and it's not Edward's handwriting. I better show this to Ladybug and Chat Noir." he noted to himself, placing it in his utility belt before making the short journey up the ladder.
Meanwhile, Ladybug and Cat Noir were on their way back towards the Riddler's safe house to meet up with the police and the saved children so they could give them the good news. Upon returning home, both heroes had transformed back to normal and called one another up to see if they were alright. Marinette had been relieved, more so than she'd ever been in her life, to hear Adrien's voice as she called him to see if he was OK. Adrien sounded just as relieved to hear Marinette's voice, making the girl feel all mushy inside. It seemed her love interest did care about her after all. After that, Marinette had been quick to phone up Tom and Sabine while Adrien had called Nathalie and the Gorilla. Both had reassured their parents and guardians that they were fine and that there was nothing to fear. They hadn't been victims of the Riddler. The two teens could practically feel the relief that came from their respective guardians, happy for them that they were at ease and no longer worried for them.
Now they could confirm to the police that they were OK, the two heroes had suited up one more and were now on their way back to the others. If they had known that either one was Marinette and Adrien the whole time, they would've realized that they had just wasted time checking on one another. Ladybug swung into the sky with her yoyo, somersaulting and launching it at another building to propel herself forwards. Cat Noir launched himself into the air with his staff, keeping close behind.
"I can't tell you how relieved I am to see that Marinette and Adrien are safe!" he cried out after his love.
"It sure beats more kids being in danger." Ladybug agreed, "I wonder if Batman's come back with Nathanel yet." she murmured, landing on another building.
Chat Noir nodded in agreement "I can only hope. He hasn't contacted us yet..." He grimly noted as he landed beside his lady, who leaned over the edge.
"We're not far now. Hopefully we'll get some answers of our own from the police." she said, shooting her yoyo down to the furthest gargoyle and swung off, with Chat Noir following closely with his bo-staff extending in length, launching himself through the air.
They shortly arrived to find the police had officially sealed off the area with tape and barricades. Captain Roger was by the front door of the safe house when he saw Ladybug and Chat Noir approaching, so he headed towards them
"Were they there?" he asked sharply, receiving a quick nod from the two young heroes.
"Yeah, safe and sound." Chat Noir confirmed.
"They told us they had the lights off and locked everything up and were too nervous to answer the doors." Ladybug added, getting a sigh of relief from the big officer.
"Well that's good. Though have you seen Batman on your journeys?" he asked.
They both shook their heads in response, but as they were about to confirm this with their words, they heard a young voice call out from behind.
"I'm okay! He saved me!" cried the voice of a certain redhead, making the two French heroes turn to see, to their utter relief, Nathanael standing there in one piece, with a certain Dark Knight by his side carrying the unconscious body of the Riddler over his shoulder.
They both grinned in relief as they headed over to them, with Captain Roger following closely. What a lovely sight it was, seeing the last captive safe and sound! Tonight wouldn't end on such a sour note after all.
"Batman, you did it!" Ladybug cried in joy as she reached them both, before smoothing Nathanael's shoulders gently. She might not've returned the feelings he had for her but he was still a good friend to her.
"Glad you're alright." she said pleasantly, getting a smile from the artist in return.
"I'm just glad to be free." he said softly as Captain Roger came over and took him by the shoulder.
"Come on, I'll take you over to the other kids." he offered in a soft tone, getting a nod from Nathanael as he walked him over.
Chat Noir smiled as he saw the beaten state of the Riddler, actually pleased to see some much deserved violence given to someone as vile as him.
"One down and two to go I guess." he noted.
"Very much so." Batman confirmed, "I was very lucky. When I got there, The Riddler was ready to shoot him. I have no idea why for I was expecting him to set up some kind of puzzle trap or use him as a hostage."
"Maybe the guy just wanted to cut his losses and run." Ladybug muttered, glaring at the unconscious man, "Ugh, he makes me sick just looking at him right now!"
"I'm so glad you did it Dark Knight." Cat Noir said graciously, "We may have lost one but you saving Nathanel could give Paris that little bit of hope it needs to get out of the ashes of this tragedy."
"At the very least, those kids can be happy knowing they didn't lose another tonight." Batman agreed, "And now the Riddler will be going away for a very long time. Given Chloe's father is the mayor, I can't see him ever walking free again."
The caped crusader walked over to a police car to deliver The Riddler's body to the cops so they could put him in and drive him off to the police station for questioning. As soon as that load had been dealt with, Batman looked up and saw the one sight he had expected to see. A group of police officers were walking out of the safehouse with a stretcher on wheels in the centre. The stretcher had a body bag lying on it and Batman knew without needing to look in the bag who was in it. They had found Chloe's corpse. Now they could give the unfortunate victim a proper burial after all of this was over. The teens all saw the body bag and came to the same conclusion, some looking away and some unable to take their eyes off the stretcher and its contents. They would never forget this night, no matter how much they wanted to.
For the first time ever, Ladybug and Chat Noir were thinking about the current state of Mayor Bourgeois. For all they knew, he was shut away in his office, sobbing his heart out. Ladybug never lost a family member in her life yet, nor a close friend. She would one day but she hoped it wouldn't be through similar circumstances. Sure, Chloe was the most nastiest brat she ever knew, but she still had her whole life ahead of her. It shouldn't have been wasted like this.
Batman sighed as he looked away, not able to see the sight of a dead body, including a bodybag. But now he had the evidence he hoped would lead them to bring down Hawk Moth for good.
"You two." Batman spoke up.
The single two words had been spoken quietly but they were enough to make Ladybug and Cat Noir's heads turn as if they were listening to an army general barking at them.
"Yes? What is it?" Ladybug asked curiously.
"I found something in The Riddler's jacket." the nocturnal-themed hero explained, "It's a piece of paper that contains what appears to be an address of some kind."
He took the paper out of his belt and showed it. Ladybug and Cat Noir gathered around him, looking down at the paper in the vigilante's gloved hands to see what was on it.
"It's not in the Riddler's handwriting. It seems to be of some odd like writing ink. Not something I've ever seen before. You have any idea where this address is?" Batman noted sharply.
Chat Noir frowned deeply as he observed it, not able to resist the familiarities the handwriting had. It seemed so familiar to him but he couldn't quite put his claws on it. That and the address was all too familiar to him. Still, it was best he voiced his opinion than keeping quiet.
"It could be part of a Miraculous like magic writing ink. Still, I know exactly where this place is." he stated, making Batman and Ladybug look at him.
"You do? Where then, Chat?"
"The Agreste Mansion." Cat Noir said grimly, "Looks as if our purple-clad foes are hanging out in Gabriel Agreste's residence..."
The Agreste Mansion? Why are Hawk Moth and The Joker hanging out there? This is very suspicious...
Batman, Ladybug and Cat Noir will be after the two villains now. But what will happen when the fight begins? Tune in next time as a shocking secret is revealed...