We finally get a proper close-up with the latest akuma.
A/N: The title joke is really, really lame, but in my defense there weren't a lot of good puns I could find that couldn't also count towards some of the later chapters.
"It should look... kind of like this, right?" Leaning back into her chair, Marinette held up the finished sketch for the Kwami and sentibeing to see.
Citron wobbled in their spot, a delighted noise rippling through their jelly body as Tikki clapped her little paws.
"It's perfect, Marinette! That's a lot better than anything you could've wasted your money on!" She squeaked, tapping the page. "This should be easy enough with my powers!"
It had taken a little while, but once the girl had gotten into a groove the design seemed to come to life. This pair of glasses was unique, bizarre, Jagged.
"Alright! Tikki, spots on!"
One short transformation sequence later, Ladybug inspected the page and nodded. She sent a smirk to Citron, still sitting patiently on her lounge.
"I've never tried to do this before, so I'm kind of nervous!" She admitted with a laugh.
The sentibeing nodded to her, an invisible smile of encouragement spreading across their face.
Ladybug looked over the design again, and then closed her eyes - and tossed the yo-yo into the air. "Lucky Charm!"
The magical item glowed with a warm, pinkish-red light, and as it opened, an item dropped into her waiting hand.
Cracking open one eye, she peeked down at it, and then she gasped happily, fully opening her eyes and squealing.
"I- I did it! Look, Citron, I did it!" She shoved the sunglasses forward, careful of their elongated sides. Citron warbled a reply, clapping their hands together.
Man, they look even cooler than I could've ever drawn them!" The heroine gleefully held up the glasses and looked through them. "Whaddya think? Maybe once this is all over I could make you matching ones!"
Something of a gurgling laugh made her smile brighter, even as she pulled the glasses away and tucked them into her yo-yo and calling off the transformation.
"Well?" Asked Tikki as soon as she separated from the earrings, taking a cookie from Marinette's treat jar on the desk.
"I love them! Tikki, you have no idea what a time-saver this is for me!" Her blue eyes sparkled as she hopped in place. Then she frowned, pausing in her joy. "Unless... I can do this whenever I want to, right? It doesn't bother you?"
The Kwami laughed merrily. "Marinette, the last person I would ever be afraid of misusing my Item is you. You don't have to worry about me - if you need to call upon me to create something, I will help you."
"I'm... surprised you even asked Father to keep Chloe away," Adrien mentioned as the two walked through the hotel. "Why? You know he wouldn't have cared."
Felix rolled his eyes. "It's complicated. Long story short, we had a mutual understanding."
"About...?"
"You would've been less miserable hanging around me than her." The blond glanced his way. "Am I wrong?"
"No, you definitely aren't..." Adrien murmured to himself.
Felix scanned a potted plant, running his thumb along the rim. His eyes narrowed at the line of dust. "And despite his general... waspishness, I figured he wouldn't want to put you through more than you need to."
The younger blond smiled, partly in amusement. "I told you he cares."
Squinting at his cousin, he shook his head, muttering, "He sure has strange ways of showing it, then..."
With a sigh, the two fell into silence again.
"I wish I could get them to an understanding," Adrien mused. "Father isn't all bad, and Felix... Felix is my oldest friend. And Aunt Amelie is so nice... I don't understand why they can't get along. We're family."
The hotel was unusually quiet, even on the second floor. Nobody was walking through the hallway, there was no noise inside the rooms, no crew making their way through for housekeeping...
Felix frowned. Why was it so silent?
"Um," Adrien spoke up, making him turn. "Something feels... weird..."
"Yeah..." Looking around, the Brit's expression deepened.
The grip on his hand tightened.
"Where is everyone?" Marinette realized slowly as she looked up and down the sidewalk.
It was strangely empty for the time of day. As she thought back, she felt like she recalled passing several people on the way, even a group of tourists making their way towards the Eiffel. So what had changed?
Checking her phone, she scrolled through the news feed before an alert chimed - from the Ladyblog.
"Hey there, Ladybloggers, it's your girl!" Alya sounded breathless, panicked - and the camera was bouncing with every step she took. "Sorry for the shaky camera work, but I'm currently running away from an akuma near The Grand Paris. Hopefully Ladybug and Cat Noir show up soon! I'll update you all when they do! Be safe!"
Marinette stared at the phone for several seconds in silence as the clip replayed.
"That's not good," Tikki commented from her purse.
"I'll say." With a look around, she quickly ducked into an alley and behind a dumpster. "Okay, Tikki, spots on! Let's catch ourselves a butterfly!"
"What the hell is THAT?" Felix exclaimed, pushing Adrien behind himself as an akuma with what looked like a camera lens for an eye made the mayor disappear in a burst of pixels in front of them.
"Daddy!" Chloe shrieked, Sabrina hot on her heels as they ran across the lobby.
"Chloe, no!" Adrien shouted, making to rush over. Felix's hand clenching around his wrist yanked him backward, and he whirled around with wide eyes. "Felix! Let go!"
"No, you'll only get hurt!" He argued. "I promised your father I would keep you safe!"
"But- but Chloe's gonna-!"
"Duck!"
A loud scream filled the lobby as Chloe and Sabrina were caught in the camera flash, Felix having dove for the reception counter and dragging his cousin with him.
The younger huffed, peeking around the counter to see the man turn in response to Juleka stepping protectively in front of Rose, the petite girl clutching her shoulders fearfully. "That's a really weird eyepatch. It's almost like the akuma is in..."
"The lens," both of them chorused.
"Okay, I have a plan. We just have to-" Felix was breathing heavily, slicking back his hair and peeking around the counter. "-we just have to find a hiding spot, and wait for Ladybug to get here."
Adrien stiffened, feeling a pulse in his hand. His eyes strayed to where Felix still held tight, fingers a vice around his.
"Adrien?" His cousin looked back over, and seemed to realize how tightly he still held his hand. Relaxing his grip, he pulled away. "Sorry."
"Should we just- split up?" He offered weakly.
"I hate to, but if we must, we must. You still have your phone, right?"
Patting his front jean pocket, he nodded.
"Good. Text me if you're in danger." Gripping the side of the desk, Felix quickly found a thick records book and slipped it from the tabletop with a grunt. "On the count of three. One..."
Adrien tensed his muscles, eyes narrowing.
"Two..."
Felix grit his teeth. He could hear the akuma pixelating Juleka, if Rose's agonized yell was any indication.
"GIVE HER BACK!" She shrieked, and the akuma grunted in surprise as he was hit with something.
"... Three!"
"Agh!" Ladybug collapsed against a car, her pixelated arm throbbing with phantom pain. Despite reaching for the area, her fingers went completely through. The implications made her stomach churn with nausea.
"I kept up my end of the deal, Ladybug." Pixelator sneered, getting closer. "Now where is Jagged Stone?"
"I- I hid him... somewhere safe," she answered, forcing a pinched smile up at the akuma. Her eyes strayed past the akuma's shoulder and her smile grew wider at the sight of a familiar cat.
"Okay? Where is that? Oh, wait, don't tell me - your home? The Eiffel? The hotel?"
"Okay, why, heck no, and... really?" She squinted. "Why would I put my family - and my identity - in danger? Why would I choose the Eiffel? And... well, actually, now that I think about it, that would've been a safer bet..."
"Quit stalling! Where is he?" Pixelator shouted.
"The better question is..." she raised her chin, staring down the lens, "... why is it so easy to distract you?"
Before the man could answer, a hand planted on his shoulder and as his head whirled around, Cat slammed his hand into the lens with a shout. "CATACLYS-"
One camera flash later, Cat was knocked to the ground as his hand disappeared.
"Okay, yeah, I should've expected that," he deadpanned, staring down at the stump. "Wow, that is surprisingly macabre."
"You get used to it," Ladybug grunted as she sat up. "Hey, Cat. Need a hand?"
"If it'll help us get a leg up on this guy." With an impish smile, he rolled out of the way and grabbed for his staff with his other hand awkwardly.
"Ugh, Hawkmoth was right, your puns are the worst." Pixelator groaned, before turning back to the downed heroine. "Tell me where Jagged is right now, Ladybug, or I snap the rest of your partner and send you with him."
"I told you, I hid him," she insisted, using the car as leverage to get to her feet- er, foot.
The akuma opened his lips to rebut, but suddenly ducked out of the way of a staff hurtling in an arc towards his face.
"You are so annoying!" He shouted, turning to pixelate him. Ladybug yanked the yo-yo lying at his foot, sending him falling towards the ground with a noise of surprise.
Looking around, she came across a broken piece of the rear mirror from the side of the car. Grinning, she grabbed it.
"Hey!" She called, and Pixelator turned to look at her. "You wanna know where Jagged is, right? I lied! I don't know where he went!"
With a loud growl, the akuma slammed a fist to the ground. "That's it! I'm done! Say cheese, Ladybug!"
Cat startled, but as soon as he saw the mirror in her hand he held back, readying his other hand.
The camera flashed.
"Daddy!" Chloe cried, rushing for her father in the crowd of disoriented people congregated outside of the hotel.
"Princess!" He wept, sweeping her into a hug and twirling around. "Oh, I was so worried - you didn't get hurt, did you? Didn't break any nails?"
"It was so awful, Daddy, that horrible akuma caught me off-guard! It was so distressing!" With a sniffle, the heiress turned with sparkling eyes as Ladybug and Cat entered the lobby. "Ladybug saved me!"
"That was... horrible," Cat commented, flexing his reformed hand again. "You- you have to deal with this?"
"Well, I've never had to deal with that before, but... yeah." With a grimacing smile, Ladybug shrugged. "You were pretty good out there. Thanks for going along with my distraction."
Nodding, the Miraculous beeping made him frown. "Well, I need to go de-transform and find my cousin."
"Thanks for your help today, Cat."
The two darted their separate ways across the lobby, Ladybug going into the elevator and Cat racing up the stairs.
One detransformation later, Marinette got off on the second floor and heaved a sigh.
"That was exhausting," she said to herself, before heading for the stairway.
Along the way, she bumped into Adrien. With a startled noise, she moved back against the banister.
"O- oh!" His eyes widened, and he gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that! I'm just waiting for Felix..."
"Haven't seen him, sorry!" She shook her head, pressing a hand to her chest. "Want me to help you look?"
"I texted him, but if you wanna wait here with me..." his cheeks turned a pretty pink.
"Aww," the girl thought as she smiled at him. Adrien could be really cute sometimes, especially with that shy demeanor.
Shoes thumping alerted them, and they turned to see Felix running down the hall panting. His tie was slightly askew and he seemed really winded for some reason, but otherwise he was the very picture of elegance. As soon as he got close, he slowed to a stop until he paused by the banister, catching his breath quietly.
"Thank God you managed to get to safety," he said, looking Adrien over. "You're alright?"
"Just fine," the younger blond chirped.
"Good." Then he turned to Marinette. "I see you're well."
"Of course," she answered. It was hard to get a read on him, even now. What was he thinking?
"Well, c'mon, let's get back down before Bustier figures out we're missing." Gently prodding Adrien in the back, Felix nodded towards the stairs.
"Y- yeah, she's bound to be really worried..."
"Adrien? Felix? Marinette?"
Two of the three perked up, and ran the rest of the way down the stairs to where their teacher was frantically looking around.
Miss Bustier's wide eyes filled with relief, and her shoulders sagged as she reached out to take their shoulders. "Oh, don't scare me like that! Where have you been?"
"Sorry, Miss, we were hiding upstairs when the akuma attacked." Felix answered for them.
"It's a relief you managed to get away." With a sigh and a smile, she turned. "Come on, we need to do a roll call."
The elevator suddenly dinged, making Marinette jump.
"Oh, hey, you kids!" Jagged rushed out as soon as the door opened, Penny on his heels. Fang waddled at his feet, looking up at the teenagers with interest. Miss Bustier paused near the front doors, eyeing the rockstar.
"Mr. Stone?" Adrien spoke up excitedly.
He winked at the boy before turning to the girl. "Got my shades, Miss... er...?"
"Miss Dupain-Cheng," Penny volunteered.
"Yep, got 'em right here!" Digging around in her purse, she felt Tikki hand her the shades and she presented them to the star.
"Whoa, rock on! These are awesome!" Jagged held them up against the light, admiring the design. "You really stepped it up, kid! Tell ya what - you seriously put me in a good mood, so here."
He nudged Penny, who pulled some tickets. She handed a few to Miss Bustier, who looked down at them in surprise.
"Tickets to my show tonight." Jagged put on the shades and fist-pumped. "How'd I look, Penn?"
"Very rockin', Jag," she agreed, stoic expression melting into an amused smile.
"I- thank you," Miss Bustier stumbled over her words. "But- this isn't enough for my whole class to go."
"Consider 'em free plus-ones to my show for the kids who did the most. Er, Dupain-Cheng...?"
"Call me Marinette."
"Marinette, right - her and that blond kid." He pointed to Felix.
"O- oh, okay!" The redhead handed Marinette and Felix two tickets.
"Rock on." With an exaggerated rockstar pose, Jagged walked off. "See you at the show!"
Marinette stared at her tickets with a slowly-spreading grin. "This is so awesome! Alya's gonna freak!"
Felix inspected them boredly before he realized Adrien was looking at them too. After a moment's thought, he handed them over.
"F- Felix...?"
"Take them. You never get to go out, and I want you to have a good time." He flashed a smile to his dumbfounded cousin. "You and Nino."
Marinette watched, interested, as Adrien suddenly hugged Felix, and Miss Bustier cooed that it was very kind of him to give the tickets away.
"Huh," she wondered to herself, gripping them tighter. "What do you know. Even he has a soft side..."
A/N: I've been meaning to put in some more cute moments between Felix and Adrien. I wish we could've had a better dynamic in the actual show... ah well, that's what fanfic is for.
(Don't worry about the akuma portion skipped - it was pretty much the same as in canon.)
Please let me know what you thought! See you after the break!