To Fall

Miami Nights

She should have known that crime would rear its head early into her stay in Miami.

Ladybug sighed as she looked down at the scene below her, red and blue lights strobing and providing a cover for her red suit. Officers searched the scene, flashlights scanning every corner and eyes constantly flickering back to the victim.

A man lay in the middle of the alley, his expensive looking black suit stained by the pool of blood that surrounded him. Three slashed stretched across his throat and his face was a mask of fear. Someone had a grudge against this man. She took a deep breath before dropping from the roof, a soft thud the only indication of her presence. She cleared her throat and the officers spun, hands flying to holstered weapons. Ladybug rose her hands in a show of peace, a frown on her face at the glares.

"Easy gentlemen. I'm Ladybug, one of the heroes of Paris. What happened here?"

The officers looked between themselves, unsure what to do with the girl in front of them. A tall muscular man stepped forward, his biceps indicating his black shirt was a little too small for him. His long thin legs allowed him large strides as he was quickly in front of her. His black hair peaked out from under his MPD hat and thin beard neatly trimmed. He raised a brow at her and looked her over, grip tightening on the water bottle he held.

"Captain Ellis, Miami Police. Mind telling me what you are doing here instead of Paris? What's with the weird outfit?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes as he continued to scan her, clearly not impressed. "Paris no longer needed Ladybug, so I figured I would patrol the city. You have a lot more crime here than where I'm from. You could use all the help you can get." Ellis frowned yet nodded as she was right, the city had been going to hell over the last couple months and showed no sign of slowing down.

"So again sir, what or who am I looking at?"

Ellis sighed and motioned her over to the body, his men standing down and relaxing in awe at the hero. Ellis knelt down and removed a wallet from the victim.

"Names Kevin Walsh. He was one of the best lawyers in Miami. Couple of teens stumbled on the body, time of death approximately three hours ago."

Ladybug circled the body and drunk in every detail, eyes scanning for any clues. She pointed a finger to the slash marks and turned to Ellis.

"These wounds. That doesn't look like a knife. It almost looks like-"

"Claw marks?"

Ladybug's brows shot up. She faced Ellis fully and stood, stepping close enough to whisper between the two. "What aren't you telling me Captain?" Ellis looked around at his officers before gripping her arm and dragging her down the alley. He dipped his head low and pulled a manilla folder from his black tactical pants. He pressed the folder into her hand and watched as she pulled out the photos inside. Her stomach dropped. Each photo held a body, bloodied and beaten in some form or another. Each pale throat making the three slashes pop with the red of spilled blood.

Ladybug shoved the photos back into the folder and thrust it back into Ellis' hands, her stomach threatening to betray her. Scared eyes met the calm of the captain.

"Do we have any lead on this guy?"

Ellis shook his head and huffed in anger. "We have been hunting this jack off for weeks. No prints, no DNA, no nothing. It's like he's a fucking shadow!" Ellis yelled out in anger before turning away from her and punting the water bottle down the alley. Ladybug bit her lip as she watched him regain his calm, his eyes betraying him though as the disappointment still shone. She flipped open her yoyo and pulled out a small piece of paper. She held it out to him and offered a small smile as he took it.