Author's Note: I'm back! Just here to let everyone know again that I'm updating stories and catching up on all the work I haven't been able to do in the last month. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to check out ORAD Chapter 11 (updated yesterday!).
Chapter 3
Adrien let loose another sigh as he slumped down onto his computer desk. All around his head were various gifts and cards for yet another Valentine's Day; admirers from all around Paris and France in general had sent him little things declaring their love and admiration for him but these were only trinkets to him. Only one thing would make his Valentine's Day perfect. He sighed again. There was no way Ladybug of all people would even have remotely considered sending him of all people a gift. She probably had a boyfriend anyway.
"If you sigh one more time, I will shove this Camembert into your mouth," Plagg threatened. Adrien raised an eyebrow at him as the tiny black cat swallowed whole his third or fourth piece. He always got a little extra on holidays. "Just because the girl you like doesn't like you doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Just look at all the other stuff you got."
"But it doesn't mean anything if it isn't from her," he mused, sitting up in his chair. Adrien spun so that he could look out the window. It was an oddly clear day. He wondered if he should go for a run outside; maybe he would run into his lady and they would get the chance to spend Valentine's Day together after all. Plagg rolled his eyes.
"You're hooking yourself onto one girl, hoping for something to come from nothing. You haven't even told Ladybug how you feel."
"That's because there's never been a chance!" He spun back to face his partner who downed another piece of cheese. "I try to tell her but every time I get close to doing so, something always happens."
"Then maybe that's fate saying you shouldn't."
"Fate or not, I'm going to tell her. At least it'll make me feel better to be rejected than not."
"Great. Then maybe you can move on to more important things like finding me more cheese." It was now Adrien's turn to roll his eyes. Turning back to the desk, he eyed the pile of gifts, hesitantly reaching out to study them. There were even a couple from out of the country. He stopped, however, when his eyes landed on a red, heart shaped card, his heart kicked into over drive as his body almost lunged for the said thing. Plagg bristled in shock. "Dude," he whined. He started to say more but stopped himself as he turned to face his chosen whose eyes had gone completely wide and his face grew redder and redder the longer he read the card. By the time he was done, all Adrien could manage was a squeak. Plagg, curious by nature, flew up to read over his shoulder. He recognized the handwriting immediately from the exact same card that had been sent the previous year and his grin grew wider and wider until he got to the bottom and saw that there was a name to finally go with the sender.
Marinette.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Being the laid back, too-important-for-your-human-love-story kind, Plagg snickered. "Well, there you go. Guess you found your Juliet kid."
Adrien squeaked. Eventually he stuttered out, "B-but…. Marinette!"
"Yeah, that's what the name reads as. Last name is Dupain-Cheng. We only know one of those right?" Plagg snickered the more Adrien became flustered.
"This isn't funny Plagg. I don't like Marinette like that!"
"Uh-huh. Sure."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Kid, I know you're oblivious but this is taking it to new heights."
"What's that supposed to mean?! Plagg!"
The cat flew off to hide, leaving his chosen to fluster over his words but before he could do anything, his phone started buzzing, alerting him to an akuma warning. Without hesitating, he jumped over the couch and to the TV were Mrs. Chumack stood on the screen, face laced with concern, as she reported the happenings on the street of Paris. He stared at the screen. "The citizens of Paris are terrorized once more as a new akumatized victim, a man calling himself Love Rage, turns innocent bystanders into rage filled minions who are taking over the streets by attacking and destroying whatever they can get their hands on." The picture turned to a crowd of angry looking citizens with red glowing eyes as they growled at anything and everything, lunged at people and inanimate objects alike, and then proceeded to move to the next destroyable object. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are still nowhere to be seen. Will Paris finally fall to Hawkmoth's evil?"
"Not today it won't," he muttered. "Plagg, get down here!"
He raised his head to eye him before dropping back down. "No way. I'm not going."
"You're not getting a choice. Plagg, claws out!" The cat gave a yelp of surprise before spiraling into the ring, thus transforming his partner into the hero Chat Noir, who climbed out the window of the Agreste Manor.
MLMLMLMLML
Chat Noir looked down on the city below. His bright green scanned the horizon as he watched the mayhem below and then up on the horizon. His tail twitched. Where in the world was Ladybug? He'd been here for a good ten minutes looking for her and the akuma- with no luck on either front. The sun had set some time ago. He was running out of options; attacking the civilians below wasn't one and he knew from past experience that taking on the minions one by one never did them any good so finding the head akuma, purifying them, and then helping the innocent people find their ways home was the way to go. He reached for his baton trying once more to reach his partner. He stood when it failed to go through, muttering, "Come on LB. I could really use your help right about now."
He wasn't dumb. Adrien Agreste was intelligent; he had to be of course if he wanted to keep going to school after all. He'd also come up with plans in the past when helping with an akuma like Reflekta. This, however, was a little odd.
Especially since he had no idea where to start looking.
His eyes scanned the ground again as he watched the crowd go wild. The longer he looked, the more he realized that there appeared to be more victims joining the larger crowd from a singular direction. Without waiting, he headed that way. The stream of mindless minions eventually thinned out to one or two every now and then but it was enough to lead him straight to doors of the Louvre where he saw a rather large, hulking figure, and a smaller, blue haired figure step into the doors. Every now and then there came a bright blast of light. It didn't take much for him to figure out that he'd just seen the akuma Love Rage and one of his minions invade the inside. More minions came out one by one. The night security he guessed. Chat cleared the next couple of roofs, out of sight of the people below as they continued to destroy and terrorize the streets of Paris, until he came to a skylight opening at the top of the building; it was one that both of the superheroes had used at least once before to break in and save Paris. He quickly scanned the area. No one minded him. Good. He jumped through.
He knew the Louvre by heart having grown up in Paris and having had to visit many, many, many times throughout his life. Even without his night vision, he would have been fine. He could clearly make out the shapes of the artwork and the statues placed strategically around the building to catch the eye of the thousands of visitors who visited annually. His eyes glowed green. The magic of the suit turned the world around him to a muted green as he could see in the dark and he used it to creep forward, listening, and searching. His ears twitched. He turned his face in the direction. There was a soft murmuring coming from one of the largest rooms in the building and he worked his way forward to it. Hiding on the outside of the door frame, he peered inside.
The room was open and in the center was a display stand of some kind that was being used as a seat for the akuma who watched in mild amusement as his minion trashed the room around him. He watched as the girl reached up, disregarded the alarms, and tore down paintings, knocked down statues, and made an overall general mess of the place. Chat flinched with each sound.
"Alright," he murmured to himself, "First things first. I've got to figure out where the akuma is so LB can purify it when she gets here."
He leaned further around the door frame. His face fell when he realized that the akuma was now staring at the door, a wicked grin on his face.
