His Lady Behind the Mask - a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic

Rescue

Adrien was busy discussing something with Plagg when a blaring sound of siren caught their attention.

"What was that?" the blond asked when he noticed a shift on his Kwami's expression

"Code Red," was Plagg's grim reply "Which means a highly dangerous Akuma was on the loose. Let's go, Kid."

They rushed immediately towards the briefing room, but before they could even enter, Ladybug's furious voice halted their steps.

"What do you mean I can't go out there?!" the heroine bellowed with balled fists on the sides "We all know that I have the capacity to defeat that Akuma!"

"But that Akuma was sent specifically for you," Fu responded with a sigh "Papillion found out that you're an ancient magus, a bearer of Creation, and I don't think it will take him much time to discover that we also have the true bearer of Destruction."

All eyes in the room turned towards Adrien who simply gulped audibly at their inquisitive stares.

Ladybug turned her head back to Master Fu again "This is not just about our identities, Master. There are hundreds of civilians out there injured and probably - Heavens forbid - a few died because of this Akuma attack!"

"We already deployed some of your colleagues to take down the Akuma."

"Two of them are incapacitated," she reasoned hotly "One is currently in the ER fighting for her life. No one has successfully reached the Target. How many Miraculous wielders are we going to sacrifice for the sake of your cowardice?"

"Ladybug - "

"Let me face Hydralysis, Master," she pleaded "We will never know if it's a trap or not if I don't reveal myself and confront the Akuma. Besides, it's too easy for me to kill the creature."

"But - "

"My Chosen is right, Master," Tikki interjected "We have no reason to keep her existence from Papillion anymore. I trust her judgment, and I know that she's more than capable of handling the Akuma."

Fu sighed exasperatedly then eyed the spotted heroine "I'm not allowing you to face Hydralysis alone."

"I'll go with her."

All eyes in the room turned towards Adrien who spoke: "Let me accompany her, Master."

"Are you crazy?!" Ladybug's eyes almost popped out from its sockets as she exclaimed, "I'm not going to put your life in danger!"

"And I'm not going to put your life in danger either!" he snapped back.

"Okay, that's enough," Fu interrupted while pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the stress "This is not a perfect time for some heroics, Adrien. Same goes for you, Marinette."

Ladybug's face blanched while Adrien sputtered incoherently.

"I think," Plagg drawled, attracting all the people's attention in the room "It's better if the kid will also be deployed out there."

"And why are you suggesting that, Cheese Ball?" asked Tikki with crossed arms, unimpressed.

"You're not the only one who has a promising Chosen, Sweet Tooth," the black Kwami grinned at his counterpart "And while the Little Lady is using her scary tactics on Papillion' messenger, my kid here can move stealthily to rescue our Target. The faster we neutralize the Target, the easier we can eliminate the Akuma."

"What if it's a trap?" she asked, "We might lose both of our ace cards at the same time."

"We're talking about the bearers of Creation and Destruction here, Tikki. Yin and Yang. Two parts of a whole," he pointed out casually "Separate the two and we'll have some imbalance. If this is really a trap for Ladybug, who do you think is the best person that can counter it?"

Everyone was humming to agree, and as much as Ladybug wanted to deny it, she couldn't help but see the advantage of using Adrien's destructive power to defeat Hydralysis.

"Very well then," Fu's commanding voice broke the commotion "We are going to send out Ladybug and Chat Noir in the field. Wayzz, what's the current status of the Akuma?"

"Akuma is in Bateau Concorde Atlantique, heading towards Pont Royal," the green Kwami answered stoically while navigating the screens "Number of casualties, one hundred and thirty-four, including twelve injuries due to acid sprays and five due to bad falls. Number of deaths, zero. Property damages, to be confirmed. Target status, coherent. Time remaining for the Target before falling into a coma state, sixty minutes and forty-seven seconds."

"You have an hour left to rescue the Target," said the old man to the teens "Ladybug, you will do the front lines since you're Papillion's main goal, while you, Chat Noir, will handle the Neutralizer."

"Actually..." the spotted heroine trailed off as she eyed the male blond "Why don't I handle the Neutralizer while Chat does the front lines?"

Adrien cocked his brow at her suggestion "Hey, what am I supposed to do on the front lines?

"Easy - just piss off the enemy and make sure you don't get a hit."