Future Tales of the Miraculous

Chapter 13

"I think we got the last of them."

Queen Bee landed in front of her fellow heroes, hefting her trompo-transformed jar over her shoulder to carefully sit it in front of the others. It was filled with a mass of little black butterflies that terrorized the town earlier that evening.

"I can't believe it only took us 3 hours this time," Rena Rouge moaned, sharing a relieved sigh and stretching her aching limbs.

"This is crazy; when did HawkMoth gain the ability to unleash so many at the same time?"

"It has to do with Le Paon's arrival. My guess is she and HawkMoth are doing this to get the new guardian out in the open," Ladybug replied.

As she unhinged the yo-yo from her hip, the indigo haired heroine glanced over at her leather clad partner, who had been uncharacteristically distracted the entire evening.  Standing aloof over the edge of the rooftop, Chat Noir folded his arms across his broad chest, his vivid green eyes absentmindedly sweeping across the glimmering cityscape. 

"So, if she doesn't get what she wants, what's next? We can't keep this up for very long," Queen Bee interjected, loosening the jar's lid.

Ladybug only offered a simple nod as her mind drew a blank when thinking of the solution to their current predicament.  The blonde bee did have a point; they would not be able to keep up this pace forever.  After the recent deadly encounter with the peacock villainess, the akuma attacks had escalated to a new high.  A small army of various akumatized villians would be spawned in one night, and almost every night as of late, forcing the quartet to scramble across Paris to defeat them and capture swarms of corrupted butterflies all at once. 

"Ready?"

"Ready." 

As the butterflies swirled out of the jar and into the sky, ladybug casted the red and black yo-yo into the swarm.  She quickly spun it about, catching them all in quick succession.  Once cleansed, a sea of white butterflies fluttered out into the night air. 

"Hmm, maybe we can trick Le Paon and HawkMoth out in the open instead, and somehow lay a trap for them?"  Rena suggested.  "We seriously need to find a way to separate those two; we'd fare a better chance if we could divide and conquer....."

The red fox's female cohorts nodded, approving the idea before they all casted glances toward the aloof feline. 

"Ummm, hello?  Earth to cat boy.  Are you even paying attention?" 

Chat Noir broke out of his deep thoughts and smirked apologetically at Rena Rouge.

"Sorry....I've just been preoccupied with personal stuff.  It's a great idea, though."

"Well, let me do some research and we can talk about this more next time," Rena replied, saluting a farewell before leaping off the rooftop. 
"Ugh, I've gotta buzz out too. I'm overdue for a loooonnnnggg bubble bath," Queen bee complained, giving the cat and bug a quick wave goodbye before taking flight. 

Ladybug's sapphire eyes once again locked into his with marked concern. She closed the distance between them, then softly trailed her gloved fingers down his shoulder and arm. 

"Hey, are you okay? You've been quiet lately, since, well...."

He entertained the thought of telling her of the dreams plaguing him every night after his deadly encounter. That voice visiting him during his restless slumber, begging for his forgiveness, desperate for help. And another voice, darker and sinister in nature, beckoned him like a siren for a purpose unknown to him.