I'm back guys! This originally took a long time to make since life decided to life at me and the reworking was... very long, too. And it's only gonna get nuttier. Luckily I'm reworking this on Spring Break then.
Slight spoiler warning for season four... again. But by this point y'all should've seen all of it :P
Also! One last thing: this chapter is a little more violent (I mean, it was always in the plan for a character to get his ass beaten by another character, but I think I might have upped it a little since I watched Helluva Boss episode six. Fun fact: this came out a little bit after Helluva Boss episode six.) than the others, so exercise caution for more sensitive readers. And implied cursing. Eh, whatever, it's T-rated.
(Oh and just so no one nips me: Morning Mood belongs to Edvard Grieg... who's dead. Just thought so no one would bleat at me endlessly.)
Chapter Five
Maestro
The first few seconds of Morning Mood played beautifully through the phone's speakers, only to be cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. With a mumble, Ryan Parkerson reached for his phone and switched off his alarm, then pulled his phone towards him. He liked getting up early during the week. It gave him an opportunity to have some free time before Dylan and his parents got up… which he squandered by checking the news
Opening the news app he installed on his phone, Ryan quickly scrolled through the headlines in Paris and news in Nashville. People back home were speculating where the Skyburners went - Ryan sighed; that was going to be a problem when they got home - the police were cracking down on petty crime, and the Commodores were heading towards the semifinals. Ryan shrugged. Nothing was particularly interesting today.
Then he saw the next headline. "Song dropped by new virtual band D/\RK tops Paris charts in two hours," Ryan read aloud. Curiosity took hold of him as he opened the story. It was simple enough. Paris was the first to get the first song, All, of the virtual band D/\RK and it was already smashing the charts as a collaboration between Jagged Stone, XY, and Clara Nightingale, released by Bob Roth Records. The song already had a music video, and just one look at the thumbnail set Ryan's senses on high alert.
He already had a few nagging feelings about this story. For one, he knew only two of those artists would be on good enough terms to work together, and XY certainly wasn't that duo. But the 3-D animated thumbnail was the real problem. Six figures represented the virtual band. Ryan could already see what the intent was. They were stylized, certainly, but the resemblance was nearly identical.
It was the Darks, with Dragonus on the throne, the other five surrounding him. Ryan, already sensing today was going to be very bad, played the video. It was only three and a half minutes long, but he knew the damage would be irreversible. Not only were the characters similar, but it had similar choreography to a music video he and the other boys shot for one of their band's songs. At least the music was original… and addicting. Quickly turning on the captions, he could see the lyrics and what they said, the message they spelled out.
Ryan knew he wasn't the smartest person around, but he wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what would happen if Dylan found out about the video. He shuddered; once was bad enough. Now, if he found out when he had magical superpowers - a power with control over time, no less - the results would be devastating.
Quickly throwing the covers off and sliding down the ladder to his loft bed, he quickly and quietly tiptoed to the door and opened it. The twins essentially shared a divided room; at night, a partition would come between their separate sides. The room wasn't small at all, quite the opposite. Perhaps that was why the twins' parents decided on that course of action… not discounting the fact the twins were very different people in the morning.
Ryan quietly opened the door to Dylan's half of the room and slithered in. Dylan had an identical bed to his brother's, and Ryan quickly pushed himself up to his brother's eye level. "Wake up!" he said loudly.
Dylan acknowledged him with a glare. "Why are you bothering me now?" he growled. "Just get in the shower."
Ryan wagged a finger in his direction. "It's Thursday, bro. Your turn," he replied. Dylan groaned. "Why do you insist on this?" he asked.
Ryan shrugged. "Because I do. And I'm not doing anything until you do your stuff first."
Dylan groaned again. "You can be such a pain sometimes." Reluctantly, he heaved himself out of bed and padded out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Ryan immediately slapped Dylan's pillow, waking up a rather irate Naaga. "What is it?" the kwami asked tiredly. Ryan gestured. Follow me. He made his way out of the room. Naaga shrugged, but followed his owner's brother.
Newwt was already floating around, getting distracted by every random shiny thing she could get her hands on. Ryan and Naaga entered right as Newwt was fiddling with the chromed antenna of an old radio Ryan had.
"What is it?" Naaga asked again.
Ryan nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. I don't know if you know this, but Dylan kinda has a bit of a volcanic temper," he began. Naaga nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "And that especially applies to things he considers his property. Like his image, for example. Or his music."
"Where are you going with this?" Newwt asked. Ryan took a deep breath. "A new music video was released last night and it has the Darks' image on it and it has music Dylan came up with when we were back home and if he sees it he is going to flip out and possibly destroy the whole city in a roaring rampage of revenge," he said in one breath, then gasped for air.
Naaga and Newwt's eyes went wide as they turned to each other, then back to Ryan. "Are you sure?" Newwt asked. Ryan nodded quickly. Naaga hissed in distress. "Why haven't you told anyone yet?"
"I'm going to do that right now. For now, I just need you," he pointed at Naaga, "to keep Dylan from seeing the video or any news about it when we're at home. Got it?"
Naaga nodded. "I'll do that right now." The cobra kwami quickly phased through the divider into Dylan's room.
Ryan quickly grabbed his phone and, selecting the group chat without his brother, thumbed a quick message to the rest of the team. A few moments later, the responses came, and, as Ryan suspected, they weren't good.
"Andrew simply said not again, Alex said I want nothing to do with this, and Jack said leave me out of this, I'm not doing it again," Ryan read aloud as he heard the shower turn off. Not much time left. Newwt rested on his shoulder. "What about Lila? What did she say?"
Right as the salamander kwami asked her question, Lila's response popped on Ryan's phone.
"What in the world? Tell me about it when we get to school," Ryan read. He sighed. "It's a start, but this is going to be bad." Dylan's voice rang through the hallway. "Ryan! It's your turn now. Be quick this time!"
Ryan chuckled nervously. "Be right there, bro!" he replied. He quickly turned to Newwt. "If someone mentions any of this, you'll have to distract everyone from it," he whispered urgently.
Newwt cocked her head. "I mean, I could, but if I use my power, it'll cause a disaster or catastrophe or something," she replied. Ryan shrugged. "Well, if Dylan finds out, it'll be a disaster, a catastrophe, and something!"
Newwt seemed to get the point. As Ryan made his way to the bathroom, he passed Dylan. Quickly putting on a smile, he hoped it fooled his brother. Inside he knew nothing was going to work. Dylan always found out.
"Is it just me, or do a lot of people really like that song?" Marinette whispered to Adrien. The blond boy shrugged. "I mean, it's catchy, but everyone doesn't seem to notice that it literally features the Darks as the band. Or that it has Jagged Stone and XY working together, which we both know wouldn't happen in a million years."
The couple had this discussion as they walked past most of the other students at the school, who only seemed to be able to talk about this. Alya and Nino had been jabbering endlessly about remixing it or starting a music blog singing D/\RK's praises, Chloé, Amber, and Sabrina had gotten into an argument over which member of the band was the cutest, and Kim had started running around the courtyard as Max played the song.
"I mean, I can see where they're coming from," Marinette added. "It's pretty catchy, it's got good visuals… the lyrics are so alluring-" she was cut off by Adrien snapping his fingers.
"You were starting to fall into that spell," he explained. "That's what I think it is. The song has a message that makes you want more of it. All is an addiction."
Marinette quickly shook her head, pushing aside any remaining traces. "How are you sure?" she asked. Adrien shrugged. "A feeling, I guess. Maybe just the musician in me. There's a world of difference between making music and listening to it, you know."
Marinette nodded when a splash of orange caught her attention. Lila. She and one of Andrew's friends - Ryan, maybe? - were talking in hushed tones. Part of her wanted to see what they were talking about, but then she and Adrien bumped into Rose and the rest of Kitty Section.
"You guys aren't obsessing over All, are you?" Juleka asked, her voice quiet yet clear. Adrien shook his head. "Not really."
Rose sighed. "Good, we were worried. Listen, we were talking with Luka earlier and he thinks something isn't right with that song. I mean, Jagged Stone and XY! They'd never work together."
"I was talking to Mylene, and she's somewhat partial to it," Ivan added. "She doesn't love it, but she doesn't hate it, either. What about you, Marinette?" he asked.
Marinette blinked in surprise. "I mean… it's good- no, not good- it's not bad, though… I'd say I think it's okay."
"So you're partial to it, too," Ivan muttered. Marinette hmphed. "Look, if it's such a problem to you guys, I'll totally help you find out what's going on," she said.
Rose beamed. "Great! We're meeting up at the Liberty after school so we can talk about it, maybe confront Jagged about it. You'll both be there?"
Adrien rubbed his neck a little. "Can't. I have a photoshoot," he replied. Juleka shrugged. "It's cool. If you could come by afterwards…"
Adrien nodded. "I will. Promise."
The bell rang for the next classes, and Marinette noticed Ryan and Lila talking to several people. She pursed her lips. Nothing good could come out of that.
Meanwhile, as Marinette and Adrien were talking about the strangeness of the music video, Lila was waiting for Ryan to show up. She'd been looking at her phone when he had almost pounced on her and dragged her to a corner. Already, she could see he was agitated.
"Okay, lizard boy, you owe me a few explanations," Lila said, trying to project the air of leadership. Ryan sighed. "Alright. This is a pretty long story, but I'll make it quick," he began.
"So back home, about… I want to say two or three years ago, our band wrote a song for this contest that was going to be judged by professional musicians. Not three weeks later, we found out one of them stole our song and passed it off as his. And because it was a competition and we were stupid kids, we didn't think to properly ensure our ownership of it. We were all mad, but Dylan went berserk. I'd only seen him that mad once before, and it scared the living daylights out of me. He activated a black ops version of his super suit and started on the warpath to that musician. Luckily, the dude quickly agreed to change things back, but the amount of collateral damage…" Ryan shuddered. Lila got the feeling it was becoming very uncomfortable for him.
"We were able to pass it off as a supervillain who had attacked, but that day had one of the most humiliating beatdowns we had ever gotten. From our own teammate, no less. We're not even supposed to mention that day around anyone, especially not us. It brings back very bad memories."
"That was with a manmade super suit?" Lila asked, her voice a whisper. Ryan nodded. "I mean, it had pretty advanced tech that our late mad scientist - may his soul rest peacefully - had fabricated with decent weapons, but other than that, it was just a suit. But now that Dylan has his Cobra powers, and that his powers make him nearly invincible… it would be devastating for Paris and anyone within a ten mile radius."
"So what do we do?" Lila asked. Ryan made a mental note. Lila seemed to know what she was doing as a leader, but since there hadn't been any akumas in the time since Monday, she'd resorted to attacking the heroes on patrol. Ryan also noted she didn't seem quite confident in her leadership role.
"We keep anyone from showing the video to Dylan," he answered. "You do what you do best. Lie to everyone and keep them from playing the video. I'll back you up, and if Dylan gets too close, I'll lead him away."
"The others aren't going to help?" Lila asked. Ryan shook his head. "We're on our own."
Lila growled. "They should respect their leader. If we need help, they should help." Ryan chuckled. "If you'd been thrown into a dive bar and thrown out again, I don't think you'd want to help, either."
Lila pursed her lips as she noticed Marinette glance over in their direction. A small snarl crossed her face. "C'mon, lizard boy. We're doing this thing," she said, grabbing Ryan's wrist and dragging him over to the nearest group of people. Alya and Nino were chatting with Max, Kim, Alix, and Nathaniel, with Marc playing All on his phone.
"Hi, guys!" Lila said cheerily. The others smiled. "You want to see the music video, Lila?" Marc asked as he raised his phone to show her.
Lila held a hand over her eyes, pretending to be in pain. "Ow, ow! My eyes!" she yelped. Ryan was tempted to both roll his eyes and applaud. Lila had a future in the acting industry, in his honest opinion. She just needed to get out of this petty revenge phase.
"It's okay, Marc, really," Lila reassured when asked what was wrong. "It's just that I have sensitivity to any flashing lights, and even though the video has some mild ones, it's enough to make my eyes hurt badly. If you guys could just… not play the video, or the music, either? Just thinking about it makes them hurt, and the music could set it off. And could you tell everyone else not to play it? Please?"
"Of course! Anything to make sure you're okay, Lila," Nino replied. Alya nodded. "You'd do the same for any of us. We'll spread the word." The bell rang just as the amateur journalist finished her sentence, and Lila saw Marinette glance at her again.
Right as the other students left, Ryan smirked. "Perhaps a little melodramatic, but certainly enough," he remarked.
Lila snorted. "It was even easier this time. I think that song makes them suggestible," she theorized. Ryan shrugged. "We're not scientists, we're keeping everyone safe from Dylan's unstoppable rampage."
Lila nodded. "I have to go to class. Catch up in a minute?"
Ryan sighed. "Yeah, I will. See you."
As the American teen turned away, Lila pinched her brow. "Marinette better not mess anything up," she muttered to herself. "Or else she is so going to get it."
The school day passed without so much of a peep about All. Marinette said as much to Adrien and the rest of Kitty Section as the last bell rang and the students left the school.
"I know. I asked Nino about it and he said Lila had told everyone not to play it because of some flashing sensitivity," he said. Marinette groaned a little. "I swear, if she's lying just to get her way with people again, I'm gonna-"
"But part of me thinks there's something else," Adrien added quickly, cutting off Marinette's rant. "I saw Ryan going around and he was trying to keep people from playing the song. Now, he could just be doing Lila's dirty work, but he never seemed to care that much until now."
"And Lila didn't seem interested in the song, either," Marinette said. Adrien shrugged. "It might not affect musicians as much since we know music, maybe? I don't know, but I do remember Lila one time at a photoshoot when she was still working for the brand. Someone had brought out a keyboard for whatever reason, and she just marched over and started playing. When she was done, people asked if she did this a lot, and she said she made music on the Internet."
"Another lie?" Marinette asked. Adrien shook his head. "No, actually. I checked and, sure enough, she has her own covers." A honk came from the silver car in front of the two teenagers, Adrien's bodyguard glowering in their direction. Adrien smiled. "See you on patrol, m'lady," he said, kissing her cheek. Marinette waved as the car drove off.
"Oh, Marinette!" Rose called out. Marinette turned and saw her friends, all of them heading on their way back to the Liberty. "You gotta come, too! After all, you are part of Kitty Section!" she said, grabbing Marinette's wrist and pulling her along.
"Isn't Mylene coming?" Marinette asked. Ivan shook his head. "She's doing something with her dad," he replied. "That song got to her. Now she's going kind of crazy over it and it scares me a little."
The four made their way to the Liberty and quickly boarded, finding Luka on the foredeck, strumming his guitar. Marinette noticed the chords sounded a little… off. Juleka moved towards her brother and tapped him on the shoulder, then whispered something in his ear. Luka nodded and turned around. Marinette saw her friend's expression, one that was unnatural on Luka's face. A stormy kind of annoyance, like he was angry at someone.
"Take a seat, everyone," Luka said, and even though his voice sounded friendly enough, Marinette caught a low-lying anger. The other four sat on boxes, waiting for Luka to begin. At last, Luka stood.
"As you all are aware, yesterday evening, Bob Roth Records released a song from a new virtual band called D/\RK," he said. "The vocals were performed by XY, Clara, and my own father. And it had supervillains as the band. Now, I don't know what Bob Roth is thinking, but I've had it with him and his schemes. Today, we're finding out what his plan is."
All the others nodded, except Marinette. It was true she agreed with what Luka was saying, but the methods might attract unwanted attention from Tyranno Moth… except she couldn't mention that yet. Marinette quickly stood. "Before we go barging in, we should at least plan. What are we going to say? What would happen if we brought this up? And how do we know Bob Roth won't just kick us out?" she asked. "You know he would do that."
"Marinette's right," Rose said. "We need a plan."
Ivan scoffed. "Simple. We talk to Jagged and see what he thinks about the whole thing. Maybe we can get him to make Bob Roth listen."
Luka nodded. "Good ideas, everyone. Juleka, any thoughts?"
"We go with Ivan's plan, that's cool with me," she muttered. Luka nodded. "Alright. I'll see if I can talk to him." As he was pulling out his phone, a roar came from behind as a draconic shadow cast itself over the Liberty. An evil laugh laced with a British accent cut through the air.
"You could ask me right now," Guitar Villain sneered. "Or you could dance to the song I've prepared for you! Rockin' riff, baby!" Purple blasts of sound shot out from his guitar, aiming at the five teenagers. The kids scattered, running from the boat and hiding where they could. Guitar Villain chuckled, but then a white light mask materialized over his face, shaped like twin microphones touching on the end where cables would connect. Guitar Villain stood still for a moment, then nodded. "Of course, Maestro. I'm on my way back." The mask dissipated as Fang began flying away from the Liberty and off into the distance.
Hiding aboard the boat, Marinette sighed in relief. Tikki sprang out of her purse. "Guitar Villain? After almost two days without Tyranno Moth's victims?" she asked. Marinette shrugged. "I don't know, Tikki. It seems like he's been planning something. We're just gonna have to be careful. Tikki, Spots On!"
Moments later, Ladybug ran across the rooftops, stealthily following Guitar Villain as he returned to wherever this Maestro character was. Hopefully, she thought, this isn't going to be too difficult.
"That went a lot better than expected," Lila said as she and Ryan lounged in the Darks' warehouse headquarters. Ryan scoffed. "Yeah, but you mind control everyone to do your dirty work anyway, so…"
Alex and Jack poked their heads into the rec room. "Hey, guys!" Jack said, holding up a couple game controllers. "How's about a Warbot Rumble royale? Best outta three?" Alex challenged.
Ryan cracked his knuckles. "How's about a game of 'Hide This Ticking Time-Bomb Music Video From My Hair-Trigger Twin?'" he shot back. "You guys didn't play when we were at school."
"Technically we did, because we didn't tell him," Alex countered. Jack nodded. "And remember our agreement. This wasn't supposed to be talked about."
Lila got to her feet. "Well, as your leader, I say you can talk about it now. And that's final," she said with a smirk. Alex snorted. "Yeah, no. That oath was made on the Bro Code, and the Bro Code isn't easily broken."
"Look, if you guys don't wanna play, that's fair," Jack said. "Just get out so we have room." Ryan and Lila glanced at each other, shrugged, and got up. "Suit yourselves," Lila replied. Ryan tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Don't eat my cheese puffs."
"Noted," Jack replied as he shoved Ryan and Lila out and slammed the doors. Lila sighed. "Are they always like this?"
Ryan scoffed. "This is nothing."
Right as the two passed the room full of training dummies the twins had insisted on adding, they both froze as they heard a certain song play. Ryan quickly turned and peeked around the doorway. Sure enough, Dylan had his phone out and he was watching the music video. Ryan could see his brother's muscles tense and the vein on the side of his neck starting to throb.
Lila slid right next to Ryan, and without looking, he could sense the look of pure terror that crossed her face. After almost an eternity, the song finished. Dylan turned off his phone, placed it in his pocket, and took a deep breath. "What. In the. Secured. Contained. Protected. Sh-!"
That was all Ryan and Lila needed to listen to before they slammed the door shut as Dylan started yelling some of the worst language either of them had ever heard, punctuated by training dummies crashing into walls and other things being thrown around. Ryan turned to Lila and saw the shell shocked look on her face. "You look like you just saw a ghost," he commented.
Lila gulped. "I- I don't like cursing. My mom, my grandparents… never approved. When I was twelve, I accidentally let something slip in front of all three of them, and I got my mouth washed out with soap." She shuddered. "It was one of the worst experiences ever."
After a few minutes, the chaos behind the closed door went silent. Ryan and Lila exchanged nervous glances before three words, spat out with all the venom in the world, sent shivers down their spines. "Naaga, Fangs Out!"
A second later, Iapallidus burst out of the training room and charged down the main hallway to the back doors. They were locked, but one blow from Iapallidus's ax blade forced them open. Not breaking stride, Iapallidus leapt onto the roof of the warehouse and began racing across the skyline.
Ryan recovered first. "We have to stop him," he said urgently. Lila groaned. "Why should we? Wouldn't it be better to let him get his anger out?" she asked.
Ryan looked right into her eyes. "There are two scenarios here. Scenario one: the song was made by an akumatized villain and Dylan's going to get him, putting him in Ladybug's path. This is the good scenario. The bad one, scenario 2, involves this not being an akumatized villain and Big Bad Butterfly Boy turns my crazy cobra brother into a crazier cobra with an even more hair-trigger temper that Ladybug has to defeat. The akuma will most likely be in the Dark Miraculous, which means if the akuma is released, his identity is revealed, which then leads to all our identities being revealed. So we have to stop him. Capisce?"
Lila rolled her eyes. "First of all, don't say that. Second of all," she sighed. "Fine. Let's do this. Dennos, Deadlights On!"
"Newwt, Crawl From Flames!" The two transformed to their supervillain alter egos, then followed the same path Iapallidus took. It was easy enough to follow, as it was a trail of destruction.
"He's got a bit of a headstart on us, but we'll catch him," Maladea reassured, painfully aware that the cobra could easily finish them off before finishing his warpath.
"Meow, m'lady," Cat Noir greeted as he leapt beside Ladybug and matched her pace. Ladybug smirked playfully. "Photoshoot let out early, kitty-cat?" she asked playfully.
Cat Noir shrugged. "More like we were dive bombed by Guitar Villain and his dragon. He got a few people dancing. I assume we're following him back to wherever he came from."
Ladybug nodded. "I don't think he's alone," she said as the two leapt over a wall. "I heard him talking to this person he called Maestro. I'm willing to bet this is like when Manon was akumatized."
Cat Noir scowled a little, but a small smile cracked through. "That was humiliating," he replied. "Let's hope something like that doesn't happen again."
The two continued to follow Guitar Villain in silence until Fang landed in front of the TV station. Guitar Villain dismounted and entered the building, Fang at his heels. The heroes slipped into an alley.
"Strange that they're being so casual about it," Ladybug muttered. Cat Noir pointed towards the top of the skyscraper. "Stranger still that we didn't notice that."
Ladybug's gaze followed his finger, and at that point she wanted to slap herself. On the boards on the studio's roof, the ones they passed by yesterday, were emblazoned with images of Guitar Villain, Frightningale, and DJ Doomsday standing around a fourth figure in a black suit with a green shirt underneath, a gold chain around his neck. His vibrant pink skin made his yellow eyes stand out even more behind his dark red sunglasses. His hair was dark blue, the same color as his mustache, styled in a mullet. Even with the changes the akumatization had done to him, Ladybug and Cat Noir knew that Maestro had to be Bob Roth.
"Why… just why would Tyranno Moth give him a mullet?" Cat Noir asked, pain easily apparent in his voice. Ladybug shook her head. "By now, I'm assuming the villains choose their own costumes like how we chose ours. Because I don't care if Tyranno Moth is completely fashion-blind, even he would agree this one is atrocious."
"Seems like we're dealing with more than just Guitar Villain now," she said, taking out her yoyo and spinning up. "I'm gonna get some backup. Since they have some personal involvement in this with their dad, I'm gonna get Luka and Juleka."
"Don't forget the rest of Kitty Section," Cat Noir added. "You remember what Frightningale was like. And Guitar Villain. And DJ Doomsday. It wouldn't hurt to have a team of six to fight them. And we still don't know what Maestro's powers are."
Ladybug nodded and stopped spinning. "That's right, kitty," she said as she pressed one of the spots on her yoyo, pulling out her ear communicator. Cat Noir activated his own. "You go in and get some intel on what's going on while I rally the troops. Be back in a minute!" Ladybug swung off into the distance.
Cat Noir sighed. "Here I go in, black cat in the dark." He quickly snuck out of the alley and looked for a way in around the back.
Luka and the rest of Kitty Section were still recovering from Guitar Villain's attack on the Liberty when Ladybug swung in. "Hey, everyone," she said.
Rose popped up right next to her. "Ladybug! Thank goodness you're here! Does this mean you'll stop the villain soon?" she asked quickly. Ladybug nodded. "Yes, of course. But I need some backup for this. It turns out we're dealing with four villains instead of one, and I think you all fit this job well. Even though it does jeopardize your identities a little, there's no time to split up." Ladybug opened her yoyo and pulled out four Miraculouses, the Snake, Pig, Tiger, and Ox. "Viperion, Pigella, Purple Tigress, Minotaurox, I need all of you."
The four were silent for a moment as they processed the revelation. Rose and Juleka in particular looked at each other, smiled and nodded. No words needed to be said between them. Juleka, however, turned to her brother. "You're Viperion?" she asked.
Luka nodded. "Yeah, I am. And we're going to stop this new villain," he said as he slipped the bracelet on his arm. "Sass, Scales Slither!" he yelled, quickly transforming into Viperion in a flash of cyan light.
Rose and Juleka each slipped their jewels on and called on their kwamis. "Daizzi, Rejoice!" Rose cried, turning into Pigella. Juleka echoed with her own cry of "Roaar, Stripes On!" Magenta light turned her back to Purple Tigress.
Finally, Ivan called on his kwami. "Stompp, Make Way!" he yelled, blue light washing over him, covering him in the dark blue armor of Minotaurox, his hammer strapped to his back.
"Alright, then!" Ladybug began, clapping her hands. "We're heading to the TVi studio and meeting Cat Noir there. I'll fill you in on the way." The other four superheroes nodded, then the five leapt off of the Liberty and began racing towards the building.
"So you're sure this is going to work?" Maladea asked Skinker as he put the finishing touches on his trap. The two had passed Iapallidus while he was on the warpath, leaving a trail of destruction behind him and destroying anything in his path. He seemed to be destroying as much as he could before he made his way to the studio, and Skinker had guessed he would come along the Champs-Elysees.
Skinker nodded. "It's simple. I made an impact-sensitive bomb. We play the song as bait. Dyl comes along and hears it. The song makes him even angrier, which will cloud his judgment, and he stomps over here. The song is blaring out of a speaker on top of the bomb. He chops the bomb with his ax, which makes it explode, coating him in a glue I made with some of the chemicals I absorbed. He's stuck, the destruction stops, and we wait for the heroes to end this nightmare."
"And if it doesn't work?" Maladea asked, placing a hand on her hip. Skinker shrugged. "Well, I hope you have a plan for that eventuality. C'mon, we need to hide." The two snuck into an alley twenty yards away from the bomb, a perfect spot to watch the explosion. Maladea held up her fingers and counted down from three, signaling Skinker to play the song.
All started blaring out of the speaker, the sound echoing off the buildings and making it louder. After a few moments, the sound of an electric guitar started to drown out the sound of the music. Maladea and Skinker risked a peek. Iapallidus was marching down the Champs-Elysees, guitar-ax in hand, blasting everything in his way with destructive sound. Nothing stood in his way as cars were either blasted away or sliced in half, trees bursting to splinters and glass shattering with every note. It only took Iapallidus ten seconds to reach the bomb. To the other two watching the chaos, it felt like an eternity.
Iapallidus looked at the speaker, the visor and mask on his helmet giving nothing away. He hesitated, like he sensed something wrong. Then the song hit the chorus one last time, which made Iapallidus roar and bring his ax blade down on the bomb. The blade sliced into the impact-sensitive shell, and with a sound like a water balloon popping, the bomb exploded, covering Iapallidus in a sticky black glue and knocking him back. The glue adhered to the pavement, sticking the cobra supervillain to the ground, unable to move.
"Skinker," Maladea began, eyeing the salamander villain. "I don't want you to mistake my sympathy for your brother's plight as relief that this is over. Having said that, it seems Iapallidus has gotten into a bit of a…" she drew out the last few syllables as Skinker facepalmed at the obvious joke. "Don't even say it."
"Sticky situation," Maladea finished. Skinker rolled his head in such annoyance that Maladea believed he rolled his eyes, too. "Leave the puns to the funny ones, sweetie," Skinker replied. "Your job is to lead."
Suddenly, an angry hiss echoed off of the buildings along the street. Skinker and Maladea immediately poked their heads out to watch. Iapallidus had somehow gotten up and was walking away from the trap, strands of tar-colored glue still stretching behind him. Hefting his ax, Iapallidus sliced the glue strands off of him, freeing him from his restraints. The cobra villain then proceeded to blare a power chord from his guitar, which was so strong it flattened everything within a block of the blast and sent Skinker and Maladea flying. Satisfied with the destruction around him, Iapallidus continued his warpath.
About a mile away, Skinker shook the dizziness from his head and immediately saw Maladea pinned under him, her visor having cracked from the sound blast and her visible green eye glaring at him. Understanding her displeasure, Skinker gingerly got off of her. "Well… that could have been worse," he muttered. Maladea got up herself and quickly backhanded Skinker.
"Deadlights Off." Lila staggered a moment when the transformation dropped.
"What was that for?" Skinker whined.
Lila glared at him. "Being Captain Obvious."
Dennos shook his head quickly, his tentacles wobbling. "You know, we should try something else. Iapallidus is a lot stronger than I remember," he suggested.
Lila smirked. "You said I needed to have a plan, Skinker?" she asked, her voice a sing-song. "I've got one. Follow my lead. Dennos, Deadlights On!" She quickly transformed back into Maladea and launched herself into the sky, her wings slicing through the air.
Skinker grunted a little, then dug out a flight potion and quickly ate the piece. "Power up!" A moment later, he was following Maladea, his jet-boots glowing orange as he flew.
"So what's the plan?" Skinker asked once he and Maladea were flying over Iapallidus. Maladea drew her daggers. "I'm going to make him betray his base instincts. In theory, this should make him stop his rampage." Skinker crossed his arms in disbelief, but her theory sounded plausible.
"Backstab!" Maladea yelled, twirling her daggers and shooting both green energy beams into Iapallidus. After a second of struggle, Iapallidus stopped. Maladea smirked to herself as she sheathed her daggers. Skinker nodded his head in approval. "Now we just have to hope the heroes aren't going to take too long."
Another enraged hiss sounded below them as Iapallidus took a step forward and glared in their direction. Skinker made a sound like a startled elephant. "He's not supposed to do that, is he?" he asked.
Maladea stared in utter disbelief. "No," she managed to squeak before a soundwave blast shot them both through two buildings and slammed them against a third.
"Okay, then," Skinker muttered. "I'm just spitballing here, but I'm starting to think that getting angry as a Dark Miraculous holder turns you into less of a supervillain and more of a destructive force of nature. Any other plans, oh fearless leader?" he asked sarcastically.
"Lie here and wait for the pain to go away," Maladea replied. Skinker nodded. "Yeah. Good plan."
Ladybug pressed a finger to her ear communicator. "Cat Noir, we're on our way. Did you manage to get in?" she asked. Static crackled in her ear before her partner responded. "Yeah, I snuck in the back. The front doors won't let you in unless you're one of Maestro's thralls, but that can be taken care of. Meet me there."
Ladybug nodded, then threw a glance back to her allies. "We're meeting with Cat Noir at the front doors," she explained. "Be ready in case anything jumps out at us."
The other four heroes nodded grimly. "We're going to finish this, once and for all," Viperion swore. Ladybug stopped short for a second. "Viperion, I know this is personal for you, but we need to be clear headed," she said.
Viperion hung his head. "It's more than just that. Bob Roth has been a problem for everyone for too long. He needs to at least be brought down a few pegs."
"And we'll tell him as much," Purple Tigress promised. Viperion smiled. "Thanks, Jules. I needed that." The group continued to move silently as the studio came within their sights. Quickly leaping off of the roofs and landing on the road in front of the building, Ladybug spotted Cat Noir leaning on the doors inside the building.
"Took you long enough," he teased as the five made their way over to the doors. Ladybug shrugged. "Can you let us in?" she asked. Cat Noir nodded and called on his Cataclysm, then pressed it on the doors, shattering the glass and turning the metal to rust. With a flourish bow, Cat Noir smirked playfully at the others. "M'lady first?" he teased.
"Gladly," Ladybug replied, tapping his nose. "You might want to recharge first. We're gonna need your Cataclysm again." Cat Noir nodded. "Of course. You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up."
After a brief journey up to the third floor, the superheroes took their positions beside the door. Once Cat Noir arrived, Ladybug counted down from three on her fingers, then the heroes burst into the studio.
The scene that greeted them was as bizarre as it was foreboding. Maestro was sitting on a throne made of solid gold that seemed to have golden roots growing out of it and digging into the floor and building. Guitar Villain, Frightningale, and DJ Doomsday flanked his sides, and several mind-controlled crew members were working at several stations.
"If it isn't the superheroes," Maestro said with a grin. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Well, at least I had enough time to set all this up." He spread his arms as the heroes readied their weapons.
"How long have you been akumatized?" Ladybug asked.
Maestro shrugged. "Two days, maybe. I don't know exactly. All I know is it was enough time to get my music plans out there." Maestro stood. "You see, I had suffered some record losses, then next thing you know, I look like this and everyone in Paris who has a contract with me is under my control. Tyranno Moth had the amazing idea of making a music video starring the Dark Miraculous villains, so when I release the next D/\RK song, people will blame them."
"What do you mean, 'blame them?'" Viperion asked. Maestro chuckled darkly. "The next song is going to be called 'Rock Gods,' and that will brainwash people into becoming aggressive with everyone who hasn't listened to the song, essentially creating a situation perfect for Tyranno Moth to take advantage of. And this time, no one will be able to resist it."
"We're not gonna let you do this!" Minotaurox yelled. Ladybug nodded. "Split up. Cat Noir and I will take on Maestro, you guys take care of his villains. Don't use your powers unless you need to," she ordered. The other heroes nodded quickly before launching themselves at their opponents.
Maestro chuckled. "Fine. Get 'em, boys and girls!"
Viperion and Purple Tigress double-teamed Guitar Villain, Pigella danced around Frightningale's whip attacks, and Minotaurox charged DJ Doomsday in his floating stage, while Ladybug and Cat Noir lunged at Maestro. The villain laughed as he drew a pen out of his jacket, then clicked it, a short sword blade sprouting from where the writing end would be. Maestro parried Cat Noir's staff with the sword and batted away Ladybug's yoyo with his free hand.
"Don't you kids get it? I'm Maestro, the master of everything I do and everyone I own!" he taunted before catching Cat Noir's punch and throwing him into Ladybug.
"But you can't design a good costume!" Cat Noir yelled back.
Maestro shrugged. "This is a perfect costume. You're just too colorblind to see it!" he yelled back before clicking his pen again and transforming the sword into a flail with a head the size of a large melon. He swung the spiked ball at the two, who just barely jumped away before the flail smashed into the ground.
Ladybug rolled to her feet and spun up her yoyo again. "The akuma has to be in his pen!" she yelled. Cat Noir grunted as he got to his feet. "Yeah, but getting it is going to be a problem!" he shouted back as he rolled away from another strike.
Maestro laughed as he swung the flail again. "Like smashing fish in a barrel!"
"We need a heavier hitter," Ladybug muttered. "Minotaurox! Throw DJ Doomsday at Guitar Villain and come over here! We need some backup!"
Minotaurox nodded, effortlessly picking up the floating stage and throwing it at Guitar Villain. He readied his hammer and charged Maestro, not even flinching as the villain's flail sparked off his own armor.
"You go help the others! Minotaurox and I can deal with Maestro!" Cat Noir yelled to Ladybug. She nodded and raced over, wrapping her yoyo around Frightningale's arm and pulling back, preventing her from hitting Pigella with her whip.
Pigella flashed a thumbs-up to Ladybug. "Thanks!" she chirped cheerfully before smacking the whip out of Frightningale's hand with her tambourine. A cry from Viperion caught Ladybug's attention, as the sight of Guitar Villain blasting him with a soundwave met her eyes. Quickly unwrapping Frightningale's arm, Ladybug lashed out, striking Guitar Villain right in the forehead with her yoyo.
"Jagged, you have to try and fight this!" Ladybug yelled. Guitar Villain growled. "Why should I? The plan is going perfectly!" he shouted back.
Realization and horror dawned on Ladybug as she looked around. Fang wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Viperion, set up a Second Chance! Now!" she yelled in desperation, but it was too late. Fang swooped down, grabbed Viperion in his jaws, and threw him at Maestro's feet. The villain himself had shaken off Minotaurox and Cat Noir, and now he was holding a contract and his pen. He quickly hauled Viperion to his feet, then shoved the pen and contract in his hand.
"What are you doing with this?" Viperion demanded. Ignoring him, Maestro produced a second piece of paper from his jacket. Viperion's eyes widened as he saw Kitty Section's band signature on the paper.
"I thought this would come in handy one day, Silencer," Maestro sneered as he took back the pen and clipboard from Viperion, then smirked evilly as he copied Kitty Section's signature on the contract, right under Jagged Stone, XY, and Clara Nightingale.
Ladybug's eyes widened in terror as the rest of the Kitty Section heroes stopped fighting and turned on her with blank eyes. Cat Noir backed away to Ladybug's side. "I think we should have brought some extra backup," he whispered. Ladybug could only nod in stunned silence.
A jagged purple butterfly mask lit up over Maestro's face. "Good work, Maestro, yesss," Tyranno Moth praised. "Now taking their Miraculouses shouldn't be difficult at all. Use your army to your advantage!" Maestro grinned darkly. "As opposed to?" he replied just before the link faded. He opened his double microphone mask, the same shape illuminating all the mind-controlled heroes and villains' faces.
Ladybug and Cat Noir got into ready positions, prepared to fight off all of them, but then two battered figures came bursting into the room, exhausted and frantic. Skinker scanned the faces in the room before he finally recognized Maestro.
"YOU!" he screamed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"
Maestro blinked. "No?" he replied, confused.
Maladea started laughing, the sound descending into madness. Ladybug noticed, with a twinge of fear, that Maladea's suit was scuffed and caked with dust and grime. "If I were you, I'd get as far away as I could. He's not happy at all. And he's going to-"
She was cut off by the most evil-sounding hiss Ladybug or anyone in the room had ever heard. Skinker and Maladea glanced at each other in what the heroes assumed was terror before they dove behind cover.
The double doors were blown off their hinges, revealing Iapallidus, who was clearly extremely angry. His ax blade was deployed, the head dragging along the ground. His other hand was clenching and unclenching repeatedly. His rage was radiating off of him in waves, bathing everyone in the room with a sense of primal fear. This is a predator, their basic instincts seemed to say. And he's found his prey.
"H-hey, you can't just b- barge in here!" Maestro stuttered. Iapallidus's hiss turned to a snarl as he hefted his ax and charged Maestro. The executive villain quickly opened a link to his thralls. "Stop him! Don't let him get near me!" he ordered, his voice shrill with fear.
Iapallidus's face was unseen behind his helmet, but everyone could feel his grin as he made the first move, lunging at Viperion. Not wasting a movement, he swatted his opponent's right hand away with his ax and grabbed the arm with his Miraculous on it, covering the bracelet itself. Iapallidus quickly slung his ax across his back and clicked the cobra head on his own bracelet back, then forward, then back, and finally forward again in a single motion. Viperion quickly pulled his arm back and attempted to set a Second Chance.
The power didn't activate. Iapallidus hissed a laugh at Viperion's expense. "It's disabled, loser," the cobra villain snarled before spinning around and crashing his elbow into the side of Viperion's head, sending the enthralled hero crumpling. Iapallidus turned to the rest of Maestro's army, drawing his ax again. Purple Tigress pointed at him with her clawed hand. "Attack!" she ordered, the rest of them charging.
Iapallidus danced away from Frightningale's whip strikes and Guitar Villain's sound attacks before leaping into the group, slicing DJ Doomsday's stage in half and blasting the evil DJ with his guitar, then struck Frightningale with a sucker punch to her gut and swept her feet out from under her with his cobra tail. Pigella tried to swat him with her tambourine, which resulted in Iapallidus leaping behind her and kicking her right into a pillar, cracking the concrete. Purple Tigress screamed and tried to snag him with her bolas, only for Iapallidus to chop the balls off of the rope with his ax, then grab her ankle and throw her right into Pigella.
"Awesome Solo!" Guitar Villain yelled, firing off his onslaught of sound. Iapallidus quickly shifted his ax back into guitar mode and countered with a solo of his own. The two beams started pushing each other back until Iapallidus started playing his solo faster, pushing the beams back and shooting Guitar Villain off of Fang and into the wall. Iapallidus's attack then turned on the dragon, blasting it back until it landed on Guitar Villain.
Minotaurox fell last, as Iapallidus swept out his feet with his tail, then slammed the flat of his ax into the ox hero's head once, twice, three times. Now all of Maestro's thralls were either unconscious, injured, or worse. Iapallidus hadn't even broken a sweat.
Ladybug and Cat Noir had been watching, frozen in shock and terror at the scene in front of them, the brutalization that could have come out of a horror movie. Something clicked in Ladybug's mind. This is what they could do if they wanted to, she thought. They just haven't. Suddenly she felt very grateful that Dragonus didn't seem to hate them as much. If this much carnage is what a Dark Cobra wielder, a Dark Miraculous weaker in power to the Dark Dragon, could do when enraged, what could a Dark Dragon do?
Somehow finding the courage, she swung out with her yoyo, wrapping it around Iapallidus's arm. "Stop it!" she ordered.
Iapallidus turned to glare at her, and suddenly Ladybug felt very small. "I have no reason to fight you, Ladybug. Release me, and I won't bring you down as swiftly and painfully as I did the others."
Sensing the dangerous tone in his voice, along with the fact that Skinker and Maladea were frantically gesturing for her to stop, Ladybug obeyed and released his arm. All she had to do was hope it wouldn't be too bad.
"Now, hang on j-just a minute," Maestro stuttered as he staggered back, then stumbled. Iapallidus moved slowly towards him, swaying slightly. In almost a trivial motion, he reached up to his Dark Miraculous, clicking the cobra head back and forth several times, then lunged and grabbed Maestro's leg, hissing under his breath, "Encore Begin."
"What did he just do?" Maladea whispered to Skinker. The salamander villain gulped. "I think he just set a time loop. The only ones who know it's happening will be him and Maestro. I'm guessing it's so he can do whatever he wants to Maestro."
Maestro seemed to realize this at the same time Skinker did, his face twisting in horror as Iapallidus raised his ax above Maestro's head, then brought it screaming down. Before anyone could react, Iapallidus hissed, "Again."
A brilliant flash of red light reset the timeline, restoring Maestro's condition. He ran his hands over his face. "I'm alive!" he shouted joyfully. That fact was quickly changed when Iapallidus blasted a devastating chord right through Maestro, blowing him up. "Again."
Another flash. Maestro was beginning to realize what was happening. "Now, wait a minute! I've learned my lesson! You don't need to…" his pleas died in his throat when Iapallidus changed into a giant cobra. A pattern of dark red and pale red scales swirled along the snake body, with twin black spots on the underside of the hood. His snake eyes were pale red with black slits for pupils. His fangs were the size of swords.
The cobra lunged, its maw wide open as it grabbed Maestro and threw him in the air. Maestro let out another scream as he was swallowed whole by the giant cobra. "Again."
Another flash. Iapallidus transformed into his cobra mode, but this time Maestro threw a container at Iapallidus's head, hitting him right in the face. Iapallidus hissed angrily and lunged, fangs glinting as they plunged into Maestro's body, injecting two gallons of venom into him. "Again."
Another flash. Iapallidus hefted his ax again, but Maestro held up his hands in surrender. "Stop, please!" he begged. "I've learned my lesson! I won't do it again!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as Iapallidus cleaved his ax through him. "Again."
"I'll sell all my properties! I'll take down the video! I'll denounce everything I've done! I'll turn vegan! Just please, no more!" Maestro yelled, curling into a ball. Iapallidus sneered, but slung his ax across his back, then grabbed Maestro's chin.
"Delete the music video and disband D/\RK and we'll call it a deal," he hissed. "But be warned: you do this kind of thing one more time, pull one more stunt like this, do that butterfly's dirty work for him again, and I'll hunt you down and finish you off. Understood?"
Maestro nodded quickly. "Again," Iapallidus hissed, the red flash resetting reality one last time. "Take off those ridiculous glasses and necklace, as well as drop your pen. Encore End," Iapallidus said, sneering at Maestro one last time before he turned on his heel and stormed away from him. Maestro sat in shell shock for a moment before he complied, dropping the three objects on the ground before curling back into a ball.
Iapallidus stopped right next to Ladybug. "I'd suggest getting rid of that akuma before he gets his wits back, Ladybug," he said with a smirk. "I don't think you can get as angry as I can." Before he could leave, Ladybug grabbed his arm and stared him dead in the eyes.
"What was your problem with him?" she asked, her voice low. Iapallidus shrugged. "He stole my image and attempted to use it to frame us for something we Darks didn't do. I believe my reaction was justified," he replied matter-of-factly before yanking his arm back and storming out of the room.
Skinker and Maladea popped their heads out of their hiding place. "I told you it would be a bad idea to interfere," Skinker said. "Now, make a lucky ducky and fix everything, please?"
Ladybug threw him a quizzical look. "Everything?" she repeated.
Maladea nodded. "There was a good amount of damage done when we tried to keep Iapallidus from coming here and turning Maestro into that." She pointed at the whimpering mess on the floor.
Ladybug shrugged, then threw her yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm!"
A ladybug-spotted poster of a snake fell into her hands. "Don't tread on me," Ladybug read, noticing the, hopefully unintentional, similarities to Iapallidus. "Kitty, the akuma has to be in one of those three objects Maestro dropped. We're going to have to make a-" she was cut off by Cat Noir grabbing all three objects at once. "Cataclysm!" he yelled, the three disintegrating into one pile of dust, which the akuma fluttered out of. Ladybug quickly caught the akuma in her yoyo.
"Why do I overthink everything?" Ladybug asked, a small smile played across her lips. Cat Noir grinned. "It's what I love about you, m'lady," he replied, planting a kiss on her cheek. A few moments later, after the Miraculous cure had been cast and Maestro reverted to Bob Roth, his control over the musicians broken, the six heroes marched up to him.
"You okay?" Ladybug asked gently. Bob Roth shook his head. "No. I'm not," he replied, a haunted quality in his eyes. "I still remember… it's like that evil snake drilled it into my head… just, please, I'll stop all my shadier practices, just don't let him get to me again."
The heroes' eyes widened. "You remember?" Cat Noir asked. Bob Roth nodded glumly. "He drilled right through the akuma and into my own mind. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."
XY quickly rushed over to his father, Jagged and Clara each sending a concerned look their way. "You guys can go, I'll take care of my dad," the DJ said. Jagged and Clara nodded. "Yeah, even if Bob did get akumatized like that, he shouldn't be left like this," Jagged added.
Ladybug smiled softly. "Alright, then. If Skinker and Maladea already left," she turned to where the supervillains had been only a moment before, only to see that they were gone, "we'll be on our way. Bug out!" With that, the six heroes rushed out the door and out of the studio itself, racing across the rooftops.
"Nooroo, Rexx, Divide," Tyranno Moth said, reverting back to Gabriel. The two kwamis floated beside his head as they watched him clench his fists. "How could that snake overwhelm Maestro? He didn't even do anything!" he snarled. Rexx chuckled darkly.
"You don't know everything about us," the T-rex kwami mocked. "And you doubt what Darks can do when we are angry. I'd imagine he created a time loop and brutalized Maestro in that, and when he released it, no one was the wiser. I've seen it happen… well, the results, anyway."
Gabriel glared at Rexx, but a small spark of intrigue flickered in his eyes. "And what can we do, Rexx?" Gabriel asked.
Rexx shrugged. "Well, you can't, because of the dead weight you insist on carrying at all times," he replied, throwing a pointed glare at Nooroo. "You also lack some of the upgrades Dragonus gave his allies, so there's that. And there's also the fact that Scrrug and I were stolen. The powers of the Dark Miraculous must be gifted to you by the Dark Guardian." Rexx smirked evilly a little. "Perhaps it's the same for Nooroo and Duusu. You're weaker because you stole them. No wonder Ladybug and Cat Noir always win."
Gabriel whirled on the kwami, jabbing a finger into his tiny body. "Do not mock me, Rexx! I am your owner! I am your master! You do as I say!" he roared. Nooroo's eyes flicked from Gabriel to Rexx, who still had the smug smirk on his face even as he was getting yelled down.
"That's the thing with you humans," Rexx said condescendingly. "I can see your life in your eyes. If it weren't for that pompous brat you call a critic and your not-dead-yet wife, you'd be no different than that Mr. Pigeon fellow. The Dark Guardian, on the other hand… he has real power. The divine right to use a Miraculous. I look forward to the day he can wield me."
Gabriel realized there was no point trying to argue with the horrible kwami. "If you weren't useful to me and I knew how to use you properly, I'd shut you up for good. But you still have use," he said.
Rexx smirked evilly again. "Fine. I'm only helping you because it's convenient for me to get retribution for Blobbo."
Nooroo had been with Gabriel long enough to see when he was plotting some big plan. He was planning now. "I believe it's time Tyranno Moth makes an appearance," Gabriel said, looking out of the butterfly window as it spiraled closed.
"Oh lord, everything still hurts," Ryan muttered as he sank into a chair in the rec room. Alex and Jack had left after Dylan went on his rampage, presumably to watch the carnage in villain form. Lila rubbed her forehead. "I'm going to have the mother of all migraines before the end of the day," she complained. Dylan inched into the rec room, noticing the two looking extremely worn out.
"So… uh, this is a little embarrassing," Dylan began, picking at his thumb a little. "Sorry about what happened back there," he said. "Just went a little out of control."
"And it's because of that lack of control that Lila's unfit to lead," Alex said as he and Jack walked in.
"We saw it all, and I have to say, that was handled poorly," he continued.
Lila shot to her feet. "At least I did something! You didn't even bother to look up from your game!"
Alex chuckled. "I was trying to minimize collateral damage in the base. The moment you transformed, you assumed responsibility. And if half of what I saw was the norm, you did a pretty bad job."
Lila growled. "Well, it's not my fault I don't know how to act in a crazy Dylan situation!" she shot back. Alex smirked mischievously. "You see, that's what I mean. You don't know how to control the situation… or your own vendetta with Ladybug. We attacked them when they were on patrol, on your orders. As such, we could have seriously jeopardized any plans Andrew has waiting in the wings."
Lila narrowed her eyes. She didn't feel like getting into an argument with a shut-in… then it all clicked. "You knew Dylan would find the video," she accused, pointing in his direction. "You knew it was going to happen, because you sent it to him!"
"Me? Send it to him?" Alex repeated, innocently putting a hand just under his collarbone. "Never. Not in a million years!"
A nod from Dylan confirmed this. "I found it online," he added. "And part of me does agree. Lila doesn't seem to be too fit for leadership."
"Jack?" Alex questioned.
Jack sighed. "Alright, fine. I will admit, I did find that ambush a little unnecessary. Add to the fact she wouldn't let me give my advice," he said.
Alex smirked again. "How about you, Ryan? Who do you think is a better leader?"
"Well… in all honesty, you both have good qualities for leadership," he began hesitantly. "But… Alex does have a bit of an experience advantage, so-" he was cut off by Alex grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around.
"It's the majority vote, Lila," he said with a triumphant smirk. "I win, and appoint myself as leader again."
Lila seethed, but put on a smile on the outside. "Alright," she chirped. "Fair's fair. If you'll excuse me, there's some important business I need to take care of. I'm leaving. See you all later."
Lila pushed past the boys, briefly pausing by the spot where Andrew had made an office for himself. She peeked in. A massive desk with blank papers scattered around, an office chair turned away from the desk, a twin-monitor computer on the desk, one of those swinging ball toys… no Andrew. She pursed her lips. She hadn't seen him all day. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she transformed and flew out over the skyline towards her apartment, hoping no one caught sight of her. Alex thinks he's so smart, she thought to herself. But I'm not taking that sitting down.
"You sure you're thinking clearly, boss?" Vorath asked inside Dragonus's mind. The draconian villain had perched himself on the roof of Notre Dame, far from prying eyes.
"Yes, Vorath," Dragonus replied tiredly. "Besides, ever since we fought Deathgoyle, part of me wanted to see if we could try something similar."
"Well, I'm just saying, I think the others think we're all skating on thin ice. If we try something like that, the others might think we crossed the line."
Dragonus snarled quietly under his breath. "I'm not like him," he said. "He wanted to hurt people. I still want to help the world. Besides, the plan is like an army. Both can be used for good or evil. It might come in handy later down the line."
In the distance, Dragonus watched Maladea fly off into the distance. Vorath hummed a little. "This idea of sitting out isn't just because you're still mad about the ones you lost, is it?"
Dragonus sighed. "You're right. I'm hoping the others learn to accept Lila as part of the time, like they did with Melissa."
Vorath snickered. "That'll be the day. You know how they are with outsiders."
Dragonus shook his head. "It's worth a shot, at least," he replied, then spread his wings and launched himself into the sky, flying towards the Hendrol mansion.
"The Darks might be more dangerous than we first thought," Marinette said. She and Adrien were sitting on her balcony, pondering the afternoon's adventure.
Adrien nodded. "What could have Iapallidus done to Maestro that made him surrender?" he asked. "Torture? Cutting him with his ax? Decapitating?"
"Or maybe Maestro was just terrified after Iapallidus took down everyone," Marinette suggested. Adrien shrugged. "Maybe. But I feel like we're missing something here. Maybe you could ask the other kwamis if they know anything about the Darks?"
Marinette nodded. "There's something else, though. Remember yesterday? When the Darks ambushed us while we were on patrol?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"
Marinette stared directly into his eyes. "And Maladea was taking charge, when Alphaux had been leading the day before?" she continued.
Adrien nodded slowly. Marinette stood and started pacing. "Dragonus has been absent from battles recently, and it seems Alphaux was in charge before Maladea took over. What if there's a leadership conflict? Something we can exploit…"
"And use it to stop the Darks once and for all!" Adrien realized. Marinette snapped her fingers. "Exactly. That way, we can take back their Dark Miraculouses and use those powers against Dragonus," she explained.
Adrien smiled and stood up. "This plan is purr-fect, m'lady," he punned. Marinette smiled and kissed his cheek. "Let's just hope we can figure out a time to use it to our advantage," she replied, blissfully unaware of her enemies planning two separate endgames.
Yeah, told you it was gonna be crazy. (Fun fact two: All is based on the K/DA song More which I think fits because a: Bob Roth would try to rip off Riot Games and b: HAHAHAHAHA kpop supervillain expies)
Well, now the heroes are going to have to deal with an angry Tyranno Moth and a Dragonus getting his wits back about him. Alex and Lila's conflict is going to come to a head, which could make or break the team. And Marinette and Adrien are beginning to make more plans. Who's going to win? Who will be eliminated first? As always, tell me what you think, review, ask questions, and stay safe, healthy, and (insert random advice later). Cya next week!