Miraculous Dragonus (Lila Rossi x Male Reader)

Arc 09: Chapter 06: Fallen Silence

"What... even... was that ?!" Rena Rouge's enraged shout shattered the stunned silence of the heroes as the magic ladybugs scrubbed every last mote of the villain's effects on Paris away. A dark murmur of agreement spread between them, the sheer absurdity of the villain they faced still fresh in their minds, even as the boy sat dumbfounded.

"I get it, but that was still my little bro." Carapace whispered, sighing. "Poor dude was probably embarrassed out of his mind."

"And I have nothing but the most heartfelt sympathy for him." Rena Rouge replied, bringing her voice down to a whisper to match her boyfriend. "It's just... why, in the name of everything good in the world, why would Viceroy turn that into a power?!" Her voice turned shrill again.

"Hawk Moth akumatized August a few times, so it's not like it's out of nowhere." King Monkey said. Pegasus nodded. "And don't forget the eighty times Mr. Pigeon was akumatized." He added.

"So... we're all in agreement that Viceroy needs to be brought down as soon as possible?" Ladybug asked. Fifteen heads nodded vigorously.

"I'm glad that our powers don't enhance our senses too much." Purple Tigress said. Then she shuddered. "Imagine if our sense of smell was like a cat's or dog's."

The shudder spread through the group as the thought passed through their minds. The beeping of their Miraculouses stunned them out of their horror.

"I can take Chris back to his school." Carapace said quickly. "Meet you guys back in class - assuming we aren't let out early?"

"Go ahead, dude." Cat Noir replied.

"Be ready for debrief in... thirty minutes, if we are?" Ladybug added. "I want to get everyone's OK before we start the next part of the plan."

"I can be there in twenty." Carapace called back as he moved over to Chris. "Hey there, little dude. I'm gonna take you back to your school."

"Do I have to go?" Chris complained, turning his head away from Carapace. "They'll all just make fun of me again. And it wasn't even my fault."

"Hey." Carapace said, getting down on one knee and placing a hand on Chris's shoulder. "We all make mistakes sometimes. Sometimes they're embarrassing. But as long as you keep your chin up and don't focus on the stuff those dudes are saying, you'll never be embarrassed again."

Chris just grumbled.

"And if it makes you feel better, I can tell them not to bug you personally." Carapace added. Chris immediately beamed and jumped on Carapace's back. "My school's not too far from here! Go, go, go!"

The other heroes watched in amusement as Carapace leapt over the rooftops and in the direction Chris was pointing. "He's surprisingly good with his brother." Ladybug commented. "He's almost never like that with me."

"Older sibling touch." Rena Rouge replied with a smirk. "And we should probably get going, unless we want to reveal ourselves out in the open..." With that, she set off after the rest of the team in the direction of the school.

"We should probably go, too, m'lady." Cat Noir said, quickly drawing his staff before he noticed her expression. "Bugaboo? Is something wrong?"

"What if we're making this more dangerous for us?" Ladybug asked quietly. "If Viceroy really is Dragonus... we have no idea how many powers he really has at his disposal, now. If he has something that could potentially detect the Rabbit Miraculous's power..."

"For now, let's hope he doesn't have it." Cat Noir answered. "We've been fighting Viceroy's villains for a week now, and they weren't easy. Plus, we'll have a whole team to fight him. And if he finds out... so be it."