A Miraculous Tale

Chapter 11

"Wh-what? What's happening?" inquired Ladybug, all of her calm replaced with confusion and fear. 

"I don't know..." mumbled Chat Noir. "But I'm sure..." he paused. "Wait. I-I've seen this before! This box. I- it's-"

"Evillustrator," Ladybug realized. "Nathanaël's been akumatized again. The akumas must have chosen victims at random. Think. How did we defeat Evillustrator the first time?"

Chat pondered for a moment. "He was in love with Marinette, the daughter of those bakers we met earlier today. He was after Chloé and we turned out the lights because his powers are useless in the dark. So we get out of this box somehow, and then we... uh, turn the lights off?" 

Ladybug gave her partner a withering look. "Well, he's obviously not here at the moment. And in case you haven't noticed, we don't really have a way out of this box."

Chat grinned. "That's where you're wrong, m'lady." Chat held his staff and extended it. It hit the top of the box with a soft thud. Chat winced and retracted his staff. "Uh... that worked last time. My staff just lifted the box up and we escaped. You weren't there, but-"

"I get it, Chat. Be quiet; I need to think." Ladybug knocked on the edges of the box. She tried breaking it, tipping it, and even looked for a secret door. But there was none. She sighed in defeat. "Chat, you're going to have to use Cataclysm. I think it's the only way out. I mean,  I'm guessing that it's a trap to get us to detransform, but we really don't have a better option at the moment."

Chat Noir nodded and destroyed the box. Ladybug covered her head as it crumbled above them. 

"M'lady," Chat offered Ladybug a hand, which she swatted away. She leapt up and approached the tall doors to the ballroom, discovering that they were locked. Not in a normal way, but with a glowing pink circle with the emblem of a lock in the middle of it. The work of Lady Wifi.

"Alya?" a strangled cry came from Ladybug's throat. "Alya. Lady Wifi. That Ladyblog girl." Ladybug did her best to cover her despair. Her best friend was in danger. Again. And, like last time, she'd have to fight her. Ladybug silently swore that tonight would be the last night that the villainous Hawkmoth would do wrong ever again. "So we know two villains. There will probably be one more obstacle after this. I'll have to use Lucky Charm, because there's not really a microwave in here."

Chat Noir shook his head. "But what if they're right outside the door? What if they attack and we don't have time to transform first?"

Ladybug silenced him. "Then we fight them anyway. Superpowers or not. The only thing that matters is bringing down Hawkmoth's reign of terror."

Chat looked into Ladybug's eyes in complete amazement of the girl who was brave and selfless, willing to give up her secret to save others. The girl he loved so dearly.

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's do this."

Ladybug summoned her lucky power and was given a small paperclip. Ladybug hummed thoughtfully and straightened the clip, poking it into the middle of the lock. The lock glowed and dissolved, sputtering.

"Huh." she said, surprised. "I'm surprised that worked. It's a digital lock and just unlocking it seems too obvious. But I guess that's what we're going to have to do for now." The superheroine reached for the door handle, but her partner stopped her.

"Wait." he said. "We shouldn't open it yet. We'll stay here and wait, retransform, and then go. They could be waiting for us to open it. So if we stay here, they'll think we haven't unlocked it yet and they'll wait for us to do it."

Ladybug turned to her partner. "You're right. It's probably a trap. Good thinking, kitty." Ladybug scratched Chat behind his cat ears teasingly. "We'll wait."