The Ace-ing on the Cake : A Mlb Fanfic

Chapter 7 : Pink and Red

"Adrien."

"Mm, go away," Adrien mumbled, waving a hand. It had been well after three in the morning before he finally drifted off, too excited by the information he'd found on the internet to be able to sleep. Marinette was brilliant. Her idea of looking it up, and of finding the right terminology, had opened up a brand new world. He'd only forced himself to go to sleep after his phone died.

"Okay, but I bet Ladybug will be pretty mad when you don't bother to show up for the akuma."

"The – what?!" Adrien's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, realizing that the television was on and featuring Nadja Chamack's news show. Plagg did that sometimes, usually when he was bored and there was no Camembert left, though Adrien couldn't remember the last time that his kwami had been watching the news.

"Yeah, there's an akuma terrorizing downtown Paris," Plagg said breezily. "But if you're too tired –"

"I'm not! I'm up." Adrien rolled out of bed, swaying slightly once he was standing. A quick glance at the clock told him it was just after six in the morning, and he was sorely tempted to cry. Three hours of sleep was not enough for anyone, much less a teenaged superhero with a demanding job.

"But are you awake?" Plagg said, peering at him skeptically.

"Awake enough to want to kick Hawkmoth's ass. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien half-heartedly punched the air. Green light washed over him, which made him feel slightly more alert.

As soon as his window was open, he could hear the distant sound of screaming. Chat headed in that direction. As he got closer, he started to see some people collapsed in the street. Every one of them was covered in a pink or red goo of some kind. His concern deepened and he picked up the pace, planting the end of his baton on a roof and launching himself high into the air.

"Chat!" Ladybug's voice rang out to his left. His feet hit the ground and he jumped again, narrowly avoiding a – what the hell was that?

He landed hard on his right foot and pivoted, then stopped and blinked in shock. What looked eerily similar to a Jack of Hearts playing card, only in akuma form, was pointing a weapon in their direction. Ladybug was breathing heavily, which suggested that the akuma – Jack, for short – was of the speedier variety. Great. Just what Chat wanted when he was already tired!

"What is that?" he asked, gesturing to the weapon and not really expecting Ladybug to know. He was surprised when she answered.

"Tikki told me it's a halberd."

"You detransformed once already?" Chat said sharply.

Ladybug shook her head. "We saw it on the news."

"Same here. Well, Plagg did."

She gave him a thin, weary smile. "My dad woke me up and said I should come see the cool, Valentine's themed akuma."

"Did I mention I hate this time of year?" Chat muttered, extending his baton to the point where it could be used as a staff.

"I'm with you there," Ladybug said, sighing. "Now more than ever. Be careful, that halberd is razor sharp."

"Got it. What's the akuma's deal?"

"Well, it hasn't said a word so far. But I think it feels the same way we do."

"Come again?"

Ladybug turned towards him. "I couldn't figure out why only certain people were fainting until I realized that every couple was going down," she said. "I think it's only affecting people who are in love."

"Well shit," Chat said, and Ladybug nodded grimly.

"So don't let it touch you with that stuff. It comes out of the halberd and it'll knock you out immediately." Ladybug reached for her yoyo, spinning it slowly. Chat followed her gaze, eyeing Jack. The akuma watched them with blank, dark eyes that gave nothing away. So creepy. He really hated the ones that seemed to lose so much of their humanity when Hawkmoth took over.

Suddenly, Jack jumped towards them. Chat went one way and Ladybug went the other; it was a common tactic of theirs to split up so that Chat could serve as the distraction while Ladybug snuck in close to grab the akumatized object. But in this case, she hadn't been kidding about how fast Jack could move. It whipped around, grabbing Ladybug by the throat at the same time the halberd slashed at Chat's midsection.

He yelped and dropped roughly to the ground, then sprang at the akuma. It dropped Ladybug and swiveled to face Chat. Ladybug hit the roof in a heap and started coughing and gagging. Chat swung his baton up to meet the halberd, and for a few intense moments he was locked in combat with the akuma. His reflexes were greatly intensified when he was transformed, but it didn't take him long to realize that he was vastly outmatched. The akuma's speed took his breath away.

"Chat," Ladybug croaked from somewhere behind him.

Chat took his eyes off the akuma for a split second, which proved to be his undoing: suddenly the blunt tip of the halberd was rammed into his ribs so hard that he saw spots. He stumbled backwards and sank to the ground, struggling to breathe, and watched Jack jump off the building fearlessly. Ladybug dropped down beside him a moment later, gripping his arm.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" she asked frantically. "I'm so sorry. I distracted you –"

"It's fine," Chat rasped, though ribs certainly didn't feel fine. Without the suit, he knew for a fact that they would've been broken. As it was, he thought they were probably just bruised. But it hurt like hell regardless.

Ladybug didn't look like she believed him, but she nodded. "Can you stand? We have to go after it before it puts the whole city to sleep!"

She helped him to his feet. Chat breathed shallowly as she handed him his baton. How were they going to stop an akuma that could move so quickly? His mind raced, but unless Ladybug's Lucky Charm was a can of extraordinarily quick-drying superglue, he didn't see how they were going to be able to do this... unless they had some help. He looked at Ladybug.

"You should go see Master Fu," he told her.

"And leave you here alone?" Ladybug said, flustered.

"I don't think we can beat this one with just us, My Lady. We need help."

She didn't say anything for a moment, which meant she agreed but didn't want to admit it, before she said, "You can't handle that while I'm gone."

"Sure I can. Just be fast," Chat said with a grim smile.

"Chaton..." For a second, it seemed like Ladybug had something more to say. But she didn't. She just nodded and threw her yoyo out, letting it take her in the direction of Master Fu.

Chat didn't watch her go, but turned to jump off the roof in the same direction as Jack. It took him several minutes to catch up, but at least Jack was easy to find: all he had to do was follow the trail of unconscious bodies that lined the streets of Paris. And naturally, he found the akuma just as Jack was winding up its halberd and taking aim at a couple of terrified kids. Two unconscious adults, presumably their parents, lay nearby.

He didn't hesitate. Chat threw himself forward, grabbing the kids and pushing them and himself out of the way. The kids went sprawling, letting out terrified screeches. Chat managed to stop himself from landing on his face by catching the claws of his right hand on a bench. He hung there for a moment, panting and oddly tired, before realization dawned. He looked down at his right foot.

A chunk of pink and red goop was on his boot.

"Shit," he muttered, right before he passed out and faceplanted.