Miraclebound | Miraculous Guardians Book 2

Chapter 2: Back On the Playing Field

Ladybug was already on the scene by the time Carapace managed to navigate the winding streets all the way to the center of the city. Chat Noir hadn't arrived yet, though Nino suspected that was probably due to the model's scheduled photo shoot that evening. He would probably be a few minutes yet, which meant Ladybug would need any help she could get.

Sucking in a deep breath, Nino turned his attention on the akuma. It was a younger girl, possibly ten or eleven. Gathered around her in one massive, hissing hoard was what the hero estimated was every stray alley-cat across the city. Oh, great, he mused. Another little kid whose parents told her no to a pet. This was probably the tenth one this month because Hawkmoth clearly couldn't find anyone better than a child to infect with his evil.

The akuma hadn't yet decided to attack, which was rather odd. Instead, she was watching Ladybug intently, almost as if she were...waiting. But waiting for what? Orders from Hawkmoth? Or, Nino realized, more likely, for Chat Noir to arrive. Well, the cat's going to be a bit late to the party, but hey, the turtle's here to rumble. So, let's play! Moving quickly, he yanked off his shield, chucking it as hard as he could muster at the akuma.

"No!" the girl shrieked, ducking as the shell whizzed past her head and rebounded off a building, drawing both female's attentions. "Not my kittens!"

"Carapace!" Ladybug exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock as she began to spin her yoyo. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a date tonight!"

"What, and miss out on all of the excitement? No way, dudette!" Nino laughed, bracing himself as the shield came flying back and catching it quickly, tensing as the akuma moved to glare at him. "So, what's this one calling herself? Queen Cat? Catastrophe? Cataclysm?"

"Macavity," Ladybug replied with a wince. "You know, like the British poem?"

"Sure. Macavity. Gotta give Mr. Butterfly creds for that one. Not completely awful. Bad. Still bad though." Nino cautiously moved closer to the little girl who instinctively drew back. "Hey, hey, hey," he said passively, holding up his hands and smiling gently. "Hey, sweetie. Uh...do ya think you could...fight back against Hawkman? Yeah? For...for your local super chill superheroes?"

"I..." the girl gasped, fear flickering through her eyes as Nino dared another step closer. "I...I'm scared. The...the evil man...he...he's in my head...and...and he's...s-scary."

"I know!" Nino said, his voice hitching anxiously as the faint traces of the butterfly symbol were beginning reform before the child's eyes. He had only seconds before Hawkmoth put into motion whatever his grand scheme was and Nino felt like a sitting duck right in front of the akuma with no weapon, his shield lowered to give the illusion of calm. "I know," he repeated more calmly, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "I...I've been akumatized before too. But you can fight it...uh..."

"G-grace."

"Grace," Nino went on. "You can beat him! Because..." Oh, how could he explain this to a child? "Because he is nothing but a bully! Yeah, a really, really, bad bully! And...and bullies can be defeated by...by good people! L-like you!"

"And...s-superheroes?" Grace whimpered.

Nino barked out a laugh. "Yeah, and superheroes."

"You're...going to beat...the bully...aren't you, Mr. Turtle?"

"Yeah..." Nino swallowed back his nerves and nodded, knowing he had to keep her positive and conscious for as long as he possibly could while Marinette came up with a plan. "Yeah, Gracie. I'll beat him. I promise."