Strike At Midnight || Luka Couffaine

Chapter 16 ❧ Midnight Incident

"You should check it out. During the fight a few days ago, you know, when you you got kidnapped-"

"-Yeah, I'll never forget that."

"Alya recorded footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir's fight, but when they split up, Alya ended up tailing Chat Noir and guess what she found?" Nino says.

I pull out my phone and furiously search up the Ladyblog online. I didn't hear of an update. There's a new article from only yesterday linked to a video. I play the video and almost choke on my own saliva. A building goes up in smoke and a girl with peach-coloured hair in a suit designed like a bat pops out and runs to a direction. Coming up after her is Ladybug then Chat Noir who runs after her. The whole video looks shaky and blurry but the message is there. I was caught on camera and now everyone knows. Well, damn. "I-is this a new superhero?"

Out of nowhere, Alya slings her arms over my shoulder. "Nu-uh. You see how this mystery person looks back in a hurry? I think she- or he- is being chased. I think there's a new super villain!"

"What?! No way! I may be working for Hawkmoth but- goddamnit- don't call me a flat out supervillain!" Is what I want to say but instead, I mumble awkwardly," Wow, you guessed all that? I gues Ladybug has her hands full with another one..."

"No worries! Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee has Ladybug's back," Nino says confidently, much to my amusement. How would he know that?

"I haven't done enough research for this one since I keep coming to a dead end- I mean, I can't just look up 'bat super villain' on the Internet or it would take me to comic book superhero."

"That's pretty lame," Nino chimes in and Alya agrees. I can't help but feel offended amidst my anxiety building up. Despite my precautions, I still ended up exposed albeit not completely.

The bell rings, signalling the end of lunch time. Nino says, "Uh, Adrien's still in there. I'll go check on him so you guys go on ahead."

We all filed in and back to class. When I slip into my seat, I realise that my partner's is empty. Where's Marinette? I spot Adrien and Nino enter just before the late bell rings.

"Now, that we're all here, I would like to continue on-" Miss Bustier begins.

I raise my hand, interrupting her. "Miss Bustier, Marinette isn't here yet."

Right on cue, Marinette bursts in, appearing like a disheveled mess. "I'm sorry I'm late. I uh- eh..."

"Please have seat, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I hope that your interruptions won't be a regular occurence," Miss Bustier reprimands gently.

Marinette rubs her neck, apologising profusely. When she returns back to her seat, I nudge her. In a hushed whisper, I say, "What happened?"

"Aah, well.. you see..." Marinette begins but repeatedly trails off in wheezes. She continues to pant as if she had ran a whole marathon. I shake my head, already guessing she would make up a poor excuse.

I smile reassuringly," It's all right. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She seems to relax in relief.

"Moving on, I would like to continue on to the second half of the presentation for 'a real-life story that has inspired you'." Miss Bustier switches on the projector. "The next one to present is Lila. Would you please come to the front, Lila and tell us what story has inspired you?"

I remember this, I blandly talked about an animator who became famous through a social platform for their webisodes.

"Thank you, Miss Bustier. I'm really excited about my presentation! I worked really hard for the research." Lila gushes. "I hope you would all like it."