i write.
Ladybug found Chat Noir in the same alley as the night before. He was crouched low to the ground, studying the pavement… Sniffing the pavement?
"Ahem."
Chat glanced up at her. "M'lady," he greeted. "That thing I saw last night… I don't know what it was, but…" He frowned.
Ladybug placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Kitty. It wasn't your fault."
Chat Noir shook his head. "I smelled blood last night. I didn't realize it at the time, but I know that's what I smelled." He stood. "Whatever killed those people, it was here last night. It was here and I made the call to walk away. I'm so sorry, Ladybug."
Ladybug winced when his voice cracked in that last sentence. She could see that he was beating himself up over walking away. The same as she had done to herself earlier. But his words had brought her back, so maybe she could return the favor.
"Chat Noir, we both made the call to leave last night. We both share the blame here, but we also had no idea what was happening. We made a mistake by leaving, but we can learn from that mistake. We can beat ourselves up or we can work twice as hard to make things right."
"Three times as hard, M'lady," he said with a grin. "I told you I wouldn't be 1UPed by a bug."
She laughed. "So then, let's get started."
The boy frowned again. "It's no good. I've been looking at every crack in this alley for a good twenty minutes already. There's no sign of an attack or struggle and all the rain washed away any scents that I might be able to pick up. Your lucky charm couldn't conjure up a Blood Hound, could it?"
"There's got to be something we're missing." Ladybug scoured the alley for a few minutes before crossing her arms and huffing in frustration. "There's nothing here."
Chat Noir caught his lady around the waist and vaulted them both up to the roof with his baton. When she started to scold him, he placed a hand over her mouth and looked very sternly at her, willing her not to make a noise.
They watched from their place of hiding as a man in a black, leather trench coat entered the alley. He wore a black biker mask that covered all but his eyes. Pulling his hands from his pockets, he bent down to touch the asphalt. He studied his fingers, lifted them to his mask, took a deep breath through his mouth, and returned his hands to his pockets.
After that, he left the alley.
Chat Noir released Ladybug from his grasp. They looked at each other, neither daring to make a sound. They saw a flash of movement behind them and spun around to face the masked man.
"If you were trying to hide from me, you didn't do a very good job of it," he said calmly. His eyes almost seemed to glow as he studied them. He pulled a hand from his pocket and stretched it out to them. His hands were gloved up to his knuckles, exposing the flesh of his fingers and the dirt he had wiped off the street below.
"If I'm not mistaken, your Kwami should have given you heightened senses." His eyes peered into Chat Noir. "You may have smelled this last night, but the rain was already washing away the scene by the time you two arrived. You wouldn't have smelled it today either, but I assure you that there is, in fact, traces of blood left in the grime."
Chat stepped in front of Ladybug, protectively. "How did you know we were here last night? What's this Kwami thing? Why are you here? How do you know about the blood?"
The man blinked. "Down, kid. I don't have time to answer all your questions, nor do I have any desire to. If you have any friends in the forensics department, I suggest you have them come out here as soon as possible. They might be able to pick up a trail for you." His fingers disappeared as his gloves seemed to grow and swallow them up.
The heroes gasped.
A ray of sunlight broke through the grey clouds, falling on the stranger and revealing flecks of gold hidden throughout his clothing. His leather trench coat opened slightly as a warm breeze passed over them. He wore a black bodysuit that appeared scaly. Almost like the skin of a snake.
"What are you?" Ladybug asked.
The man rolled his eyes. "This is why I hate working with kids. You get so distracted so easily." He sighed. "Name's Taipan. The suit has regenerative properties. I tore the fingers off; the suit grew them back. Stop gawking and get to work."
He turned to leave, but was stopped by a yoyo wrapping itself around one of his legs and a silver staff slamming into the ground in front of him.
"Can't let you slither away so easily, scales," Chat Noir said with a cocky grin. "We have questions and you have answers."
Taipan took a breath, calming his nerves. "Don't be stupid, kids. I'm trying to help you."
Ladybug tightened her hold on his leg. "You show up at a crime scene with information on the crime and you expect us to just let you walk away without giving us any answers? People were murdered here, Taipan!"
"Okay, first off, this isn't a crime scene. Not technically. Not yet. Go get the cops and forensic guys and it will be. Second," his voice dropped into a sinister, low hiss. "Never corner a snake."
In less than a second Taipan kicked Chat Noir's legs out from under him, caught Ladybug's yoyo string and pulled her to himself, shoved his foot against Chat's throat, pinning him in place, and held Ladybug's arms in a lock behind her back with one hand. He held up his free hand and they watched as the tips of his gloves grew into sharp needles, dripping with some kind of liquid.
He stabbed one finger into the base of Ladybug's neck and let her fall to the ground. Taipan then turned and stabbed a second finger into Chat Noir's neck and released him.
He watched the kids struggle to regain their footing before ultimately collapsing onto the roof in a heap.
They opened their mouths, but no words came out.
Taipan crouched in front of them, holding up his hand and letting them watch the needles retreat into his gloves again.
"I've injected you with a neuromuscular-blocking agent. You can't speak, but you can hear. You can't move, but you can feel. I don't owe you an explanation, but seeing how truly stupid you both are, it would be irresponsible of me to let you continue running around, pretending to be heroes at a time like this. So I'm going to explain this once and if I see your eyes glaze over like you're not listening to me, I'm going to break your fingers. I suggest you pay attention."
Taipan sat cross-legged and looked up at the dreary sky. "How do I start this?" he mumbled. "Okay. Who I am isn't really important right now. I know about your Miraculouses and– I see those looks. No, I'm not interested in taking them." He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Listen, you kids have been having fun playing hero for a while now, but the real world has come to slap you in the face and it's time you do something about it.
"I've been on the trail of a serial killer who calls himself The Huntsman for a while now. His trail went cold about a year ago, but in the last few weeks, I've managed to pick up his scent again. The killings from last night and today are his calling card. Two couples dead and a kid left alive, but fading fast. That's how he gets attention. He's letting you know that he's on a spree and no one is safe from him. He wants you to try to find him and stop him. Don't."
Their eyes widened just slightly.
"I know that makes me sound like a bad guy, but people like The Huntsman love the limelight and both of you are dead center in it. If he gets your attention, he gets the attention of the media, and if that happens, he'll only kill that many more people. Leave him to myself and the police. Don't talk to any reporters or bloggers about any of this."
Ladybug slowly pushed herself up, opening and closing her mouth, trying to form words.
Taipan watched her. "You're stronger than you look," he hummed. He injected her and Chat Noir again, but this time with a shot of adrenaline to help cancel out the previous drug.
The kids rubbed their heads, moaning as they sat up.
Ladybug looked at him. "If… If we don't do something, he'll kill again and–"
"Make no mistake, kid. He probably already has."
"Hold on," Chat mumbled slowly. "You're saying—ow, my head—that if we try to stop this… this Huntsman, he'll only kill more people… because he wants attention. But…"
"But if he wants attention," Ladybug ground out, her words slurring slightly from the drug. "And we don't give him attention, won't he just kill more to try to get it?"
"Yes."
The kids looked angry.
Taipan facepalmed. "You really have a lot to learn, don't you? You're so used to these Akuma attacks where people have no control over their actions and you can hit the restart button and make everything butterflies and rainbows again. You don't understand the real world."
"Then explain it," they said in unison.
The man closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. "Okay. Huntsman is going to kill with or without attention from the press. However, with the media, he'll feel the need to impress his following. He'll cover his tracks well, leaving only bits and pieces of evidence behind. Enough to taunt, but not enough to discover his whereabouts. If he is denied the attention he so craves, he will continue killing, yes, but he'll do so in frustration and anger. This will cause him to become rushed and sloppy, giving us an advantage over him."
"But people will still die," Chat Noir protested.
"You can't save everyone, kid. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the greater good."
"WHAT?!"
Taipan held up a hand to silence him. "That's reality, kiddo. If you want to help, you can, but you'll need to keep your involvement on the down low. In a couple more minutes, the drug will wear off. Go to the police; tell them to check the alley for traces of blood. Don't tell them about me." He stood, watching them closely.
He reached back into his pocket and pulled out two, small, metal discs. Dropping them onto the ground he told them, "Use those to contact me when you need me. And don't bother me more than necessary. My breaking your fingers threat still stands."
With that, he leaped off the roof.
The heroes recovered faster than predicted, though, by the time they could stand without wobbling, there was no trace of Taipan anywhere.
Ladybug picked up the disks and handed one to her partner. They were gold with a single, black snake engraved into one side. The eye of the snake protruded from the disk. A button. She met Chat Noir's gaze.
"I don't know about you, M'lady, but I'm not about to sit back and do nothing while a serial killer is loose in Paris."
Ladybug smiled. "Glad we agree on that, Kitty. I'm not sure that I trust Taipan, but he did make some good points. Let's get the police to come check things out here. Then let's see if we can't get a drop on this Huntsman guy."
that's all for now.