The Big Scheme

Chapter 15

Lydia groaned as Nadja Chamack's voice came through the TV. The akuma and sentimonster attacks had increased over the past weeks. Lila's visits had also decreased, so Lydia had gone to every single one. Her manager had also shut down the aquarium, to make it safer for the employees. They had a few people who had just started take care of the creatures. Of course, they were all volunteers, including Nathalie.

The attacks hadn't taken a physical toll on her, but her sleep had become very limited. The news showed Reflekdoll at the Seine. Lydia reached over and patted Brenda's leg.

"Hey," she leaned over, careful to not wake the kids on their laps, "I need to go check on the aquarium, can you help me with the kids?"

Lydia picked up Olivia's head and slowly laid it against Brenda's shoulder.

"Be careful," Brenda whispered as Lydia kissed her forehead.

"I always am," Lydia replied before walking out the door. Lydia quickly jogged outside of her apartment. Flynn flew out of her pocket.

"Where are we going now?" Fynn whined, flying around Lydia's head.

Lydia didn't answer until she moved behind a pillar. "The Seine," she answered, "Fynn, let's swim!"

Lydia's outfit and appearance changed as the magic smoothed over her. Grabbing her trident in her hand, Lydia felt the air against her face as she leaped onto the rooftop. The sun beat down on her as she ran to the Seine. Unlike Ladybug and Cat Noir, Dolphin lived far away from the general area of akumatization. Usually, she would take her car, but due to the heavy akumatizations, all roads were closed off.

In a few minutes, she spotted the local swimming pool. Grinning, she used her trident to lift the water into the air. Dolphin jumped. The water swooped under her feet, keeping her in the air. Like a wave, she rode the strip of water as it replaced itself in front of her. In almost no time at all, Dolphin had reached the fight. She paused in the air as she assessed the sight in front of her.

Cat Noir was on Reflekdoll's head. He slipped causing him to fall. He landed on all fours on the doll's arm, clinging onto it with his claws. Using her water puddle, Dolphin shot a few sections in the direction of Reflekdoll. The water turned into ice midway, piercing the exterior of the doll. The doll switched its attention from Cat Noir to Dolphin. It shot its beam at her. Dolphin doged the beam on her water puddle.

"Cat Noir!" She shouted, "where's Ladybug?"

Cat Noir's voice wiggled as he was swung back and forth, "I don't know, she didn't respond to my aler—HELP!"

The grip Cat Noir had on Reflekdoll was broken as he zoomed through the sky. Leading the water puddle towards him, Dolphin caught the hero and they moved behind a sideways car.

"Is this one like the other ones?" Lydia panted.

"Yeah. She looks much more indestructible."

"Nothing is indestructible," Lydia reasoned.

Cat Noir looked at his hand, "I could use my cataclysm."

"Yes, you can. Although, I don't think that would work very well. We may lose Reflekta. We need Reflekdoll to stay still."

"There's no chance Ladybug can help right now, so what do you have up your fins? Because I have nofin."

Dolphin rolled her eyes. The cat's puns had been getting worse everyday. She peaked her head through a tire hole as Reflekdoll completely destroyed a the floor. The doll was no directly in the water. Dolphin's eyes widened. Of course.

"Cat Noir," Dolphin said, "I need you to use your aqua power up. Get into the water. I'm going to help you inside Reflekdoll.

Cat Noir nodded, his eyes full of determination. He ran off. Dolphin ran out in front of Reflekdoll.

"Hey, ugly!" She called, running on the bridge. The doll turned to face her, diverting its attention from the now Reflekta-looking Nadja Chamack. The doll stepped over the fallen Eiffel Tower, now only a few feet in front of her. Dolphin dived to the side, falling into the river. She managed to breathe as Reflekdoll shot a beam into the water. She dodged it as she moved further downstream. With no other option, it stepped into the Seine. Dolphin broke through the surface of the water.

Pointing her trident at Reflekdoll's feet, Dolphin willed the water to swirl around the giant doll. It wrapped around the doll in smooth waves. She saw a black and red blur in the water. Ladybug must've arrived. The plan was for the two to get inside the doll while it was distracted. A huge arm broke through the water layer. Dolphin gasped and willed more water to take action. Two ropes of water grabbed the arm and pushed it back into the water. The Seine was significantly more drained. The doll suddenly stopped resisting and started to fall forwards, in the direction of where Dolphin was.

Dolphin swirled her trident over her head as water started swirling with her hand motions. She squinted and looked down, not sure if this would even work. For all she knew, she could be crushed to her death.

Surprisingly, there was no impact to her water shield. Cat Noir was crouching next to Juleka on the ground as Ladybug allowed her miraculous ladybugs to revert all the damage. Dolphin sighed in relief and swam to the edge of the bridge before boosting herself out.

Ladybug approached her, "I am so sorry for almost not showing up."

Dolphin fastened her trident on her back, "that's alright, Ladybug. How's the girl?"

Ladybug's face showed concern, "not good. She was never akumatized, Dolphin. She was placed inside the doll as her civilian self. She has no idea how."

"That's a change in pattern. The last time Hawkmoth did something like this was when he planned Queen Wasp's takeover."

Ladybug's face was grim, "exactly. Not only does this put multiple civilians at risk, it also means we may need to start preparing for the worst."