Threatened Love (sequel to "Heartbroken Hero")

Chapter 10

"Soon enough, your pathetic sidekick will show up and I will secure both of your Miraculous!" Serpentina smirked, clenching her fists.

Ladybug cursed to herself. She was the ultimate bait. Knowing Chat, he would use his tracker to find her location. And without her yoyo, she couldn't contact him to let him know it was a trap.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't free herself from the restraints. It was useless. She had let everyone she loved down. She had let Paris down, she let her parents down, she let Adrien and Alya down, and most importantly, she let Chat down. Her partner who stuck by her side for so many years.

And here Ladybug was, the person so many people put their faith into, about to give in.

"Let's just get the hard part over with, shall we?" Serpentina mumbled, reaching for Ladybug's earrings.

Her head dropped to the ground. She was tired. Exhausted. Deflated. She couldn't fight anymore. She was a disappointment to everyone. She didn't deserve to be a superhero.

"I'm sorry," Ladybug whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek as she waited for the villain to remove her earrings.

She flinched as a loud, deafening crash echoed throughout the warehouse, causing dust and debris to cloud the air.

Serpentina straightened up, turning to face the intruder. She hissed, her eyes glowing yellow. "Go my minions!" she screamed, and her minions entered from all around.

Ladybug was startled by the commotion and looked up. At the sight of her partner, her eyes immediately lit up.

"Chat!" Ladybug screamed, thankful her partner was okay. Slowly, she felt a flame of hope reignite in her chest.

"Don't worry, I'll save you m'lady!" Chat nodded, pulling out his staff and spinning it around threateningly. The minions mindlessly headed over to him.

He grunted as he threw himself into the middle of a crowd of minions, hitting them in the stomachs so they doubled over.

Ladybug anxiously watched her partner as he took on the crowd of minions by himself. She trusted him. But still... it killed her not to be able to help. Not only that, but there were so many minions. Though her partner was persistent, he couldn't fight them off forever. He needed help!

She continued to try and wiggle herself out of the restraints, to no avail. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't!

Ladybug cursed to herself. "Ugh!" she coughed, stomping her foot on the ground. It was frustrating! Chat needed her help!

"Stop this," Ladybug urged ominously, her voice low and full of desperation.

Chat was visibly starting to show signs of exhaustion. But he kept pushing. How long could he keep this up? Swing after swing, each movement was wearing him down.

Occasionally between swings, Chat would glance over at Ladybug to make sure she was still safe. His eyes were so very tired.

It broke Ladybug's heart.

Serpentina leaned in closer and tilted Ladybug's chin up. "Now, now, I can't let you go until I get what I want," Serpentina grinned. "Let's keep watching this little fight."

Ladybug clenched her teeth. Not today. She wasn't going to watch her partner fight alone any longer.

The last straw was Chat's agonizing yelp of pain. Ladybug knew she couldn't just sit and watch. So, she used the anger bubbling inside of her as fuel to try and attack Serpentina.

Thinking fast, she leaned back in the chair and with as much force she could muster, collided heads with Serpentina. This powerful and unexpected demonstration of force caused the villain to topple backwards.