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Lucas still chased, James changing his body to transform into a slow, yet powerful tank, "James!" He yelled manic, seeing the boy stumble to the ground, he lined up the shot charging up and shooting at the boy.

James closed his eyes expecting the worst, but then to his surprise something was protecting him; he saw a figure dressed in all black with cat ears before him twirling his stick around, "Aren't we a little young to be playing with tanks?" The cat smirked cooly.

"I guess the kitty wants to play!" Lucas exclaimed, now shooting exclusively at the ravenette who sneakily avoided the bullets, protecting himself and telling James to hide.

Mecha-Tank noticed, immediately transforming into a different form; a large robot akin to a child's toy come to life... but dangerous. the sounds of metallic whirring filling the air. A mechanical arm extended toward James, about to grab him when Claw Noir threw his stick, stopping the hand in it's place; this angered Lucas who grabbed Claw Noir instead.

The ravenette was unable to grab his stick to fight back, feeling the metal sides cut into his skin. "Let go of me Nuts and Bolts!"

Lucas's eyes glowed purple, hearing the mysterious voice call out to him once more, saying, "His Miraculous, grab his ring!"

"The Miraculous... is Jewellery?" Lucas exclaimed, sending a miniature robot version of himself to the ravenette with the only aim to grab the Miraculous, menacingly teasing, "Caught you little kitty. Your miraculous won't save you now."

"Bug-Boy what are you doing over there? I need some help!" The ravenette shouted, trying his best to wriggle out the mechanical hand but to no avail.

The brunette watched it all from atop a neighbouring building, scanning the situation; his anxiety was getting the best of him, overwhelming with doubt and fear. The weight of his responsibilities was too much; he couldn't do it!

"I wont be able to pull this off," the brunette muttered under his breath panicked,

However just when he was on the verge of giving up to his self-doubt and seeing the mini Mecha-tanks get dangerously close to Claw who was doing his best keeping them away, he heard familiar female voices calling out to him.

There, peering behind a car recoding the whole situation, he spotted El and Max, who followed the unfolding drama. They didn't know it was Will behind the mask and yet, they still provided encouragement, "You can save him, super bug! A superhero always beats the villain,"

Max was determined, pumping a fist to the air, "Kick him in his metallic balls!" she yelled.

Their words of support resonated with the brunette, tightening his grip on his yo-yo, giving him the motivation he needed to push past his anxiety and take action. He realised it was his duty as hero to save the city.

With newfound determination he jumped off the building, throwing his yo-yo as he effortlessly dropped to the ground, sticking the landing perfectly. With the string of his yo-yo, he grabbed Mecha-Tank's legs causing him to fall and drop Claw Noir.

The ravenette dropped to the ground, kicking off a small mechanical monster that was attached to him, "Let go of me Tiny-Tank." he huffed, sliding across the floor as he fell, hiding behind a car.

The brunette chased after him, apologising instantly, "Sorry 'bout that," nervously scratching the back of his neck, "I was... thinking."

"Well now that you've had a moment of reflection..." The ravenette teased, "I think we should fight this Tin-Can!"

"Any ideas?" The small boy questioned.

"How about we distract him with a shiny object?" the tall boy replied with amusement.

The brunette sarcastically nodded, "Shiny objects... good. And then how about after that we do something heroic?"

"How about we use our powers?" Claw Noir smirked, immediately rising his hand to the air screaming, "Cataclysm!" he smiled looking at his glowing hand, black particles emitting from it, "Apparently, I can destroy anything I touch," he boasted.

"Well don't touch me with those fingers then! I'd like to stay in one piece." the brunette rolled his eyes,

With a determined resolve, Claw leaped into action, jumping over the car they were hiding behind and rushing toward the massive robot that was mercilessly shooting at him; he jumped, ducked and skid out the way using one bullet to jump into the air, determined to touch Mecha-tank and stop this villain once and for all... but he missed, touching the ground instead...

The ravenette paused realising what he just did, the ground beneath him shook, disintegrating and creating an unexpected shockwave that affected the surrounding area. Claw meant to target the villain, but his powers seemed to have a mind of its own in that moment.

The road cracked and the cat superhero fell through into the depths below, the brunette screamed after him, "Claw!"

"I'm okay... the pipes broke my fall." he heard the ravenette yell back with an audible laugh.

Will sighed, the broken floor did nothing to stop the villain, but now, at least he was distracted by the fallen ravenette in the sewers, shooting down at the ground so the brunette could think, "Looks like it's up to me... Lucky Charm!" calling upon his power.

The yo-yo exploded with an array of light and colour producing an... umbrella.

"A fucking umbrella?" the brunette questioned in disbelief to himself; this was ridiculous, "What am I supposed to do with this?" he mumbled, studying it for a moment.

He knew it was part of the puzzle to defeat the villain, but he just didn't know how. Looking around, his eyes landed on the villain, suddenly flashing in a Ladybug pattern; specifically, an area on the man's neck that seemed like a weak spot. His eyes widened, it was telling him how to defeat this metal-man; his eyes scanned the area for more clues, shifting to the umbrella in his hand and then to his friends; seeing them glow with the same ladybug outline, they were somehow used to defeat the villain... but how?

With no time to waste and a... vague plan on how to defeat this villain, the brunette made a quick decision. Using his yo-yo, he propelled himself high, soaring through the air, propelled only by the faint wind beneath him, clutching the umbrella in the other hand.

With a flick of the wrist, he launched the umbrella yelling, "Take this, tin can!" aiming for the narrow crevice in Mecha-tank's exposed neck. The umbrella flew through the air with uncanny precision, wedging itself securely into the targeted spot; opening to be firmly in lodged.

The robot recoiled, unable to change forms with the in lodged umbrella. Mecha-Tank yelled, "You bug bitch!" he seethed, turning to the brunette, using it's massive metal fingers to remove the threat. One hand wrestled with the umbrella while the other extended to capture the brunette, who now found himself caught in the Robot's formidable grip.

Lucas struggled, unable to dislodge the item but glad he grabbed the bug superhero. However, the brunette was not perturbed, not even struggling; instead smiling upon, observing a glowing purple crumpled paper fall from the Mecha-Tank's once closed mechanical hand: he was sure it was the akumatised object.

With that, he shuffled slightly, turning his head to his friends, instructing them with a shout, calling upon them for help, "El, Max, destroy that paper!" he yelled...

El wasted no time, rushing over with Max by her side, stomping on the crumpled paper; they didn't know why the superhero asked to crush this random purple paper but obliged, knowing it was probably for a good cause.

Suddenly, Mecha-Tank started to glow, its massive metallic form shaking and shifting. Slowly, he transformed back into a very confused looking Lucas, dropping the pair to the ground. Swiftly and with a graceful leap, the brunette caught Lucas before he hit the ground, then settling him down gently.

The brunette cast his eyes back to the crumpled paper and the butterfly shaped Akuma fluttering away. He smiled, thinking he had done what he was supposed to... the purple butterfly fluttered into the sky, its ominous presence going unnoticed by the heroes.

A figure appeared beside the brunette, emerging triumphant from the sewer system, joking, "Man... the rats are tough in there!"

The brunette couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the ravenette's dishevelled appearance, scrunching his nose, "You're even starting to smell like them."

"For your information, I smell amazing." the tall boy chuckled, then clearing his throat as he bashfully admitted, "You were actually kinda awesome out there. You did it!"

"We both did it Claw." The brunette corrected.

As the ravenette smiled softly thinking of something witty to reply with, his ring begun flashing urgently. He excused, "I need to go, my Kwami said I only have a few minutes before I turn back."

"Okay, see you." The brunette raised a hand to wave.

"Farewell, Bug-boy, hope to meet you again." The tall boy winked, running off in a random direction.

"Not too soon I hope." Will chuckled under his breath.

Alone in the aftermath of the battle, the small boy picked up the crumbled paper that was the Akumatised object; it was back to normal; off-white and no longer glowing. Uncrumpling the letter, he read its contents aloud, "Do my homework for the year or I'll tell toothless you like him, bench warmer." a wave of sympathy and sadness crossed the brunette's face,

Lucas heard from afar, replying with, "It was James... he thinks I have a crush on my best friend Dustin..."

"Do you?" The brunette questioned; he remembered Dustin, he sat next to him last year for science. The boy had fake teeth and extremely curly hair; Will remembered when he once brought a live rat to his science class to show the teacher; he's a nice boy.

"I, um..." Lucas stammered,

"Oh, shoot; I'm sorry, it's not really my business to ask, is it?" the brunette nervously chuckled, kneeling beside him with a soft voice, "Just know that it's okay to love whoever you want Lucas."

"How... do you know my name Mr Bug man?" Lucas tilted his head.

The brunette's eyes widened just as El appeared, holding her phone up to his face, ready to ask questions. She was capturing the moment as Max stood by her side, resting her elbow on her skateboard and watching El with an amused smile. The doe-eyed girl couldn't be contained, firing off questions at the masked hero, not giving him much time to respond.

"So how did you become a hero? Did you get bit by a radioactive ladybug? Are you like Spiderman? Do you know who Claw Noir is? Are you two dating? Where did you come from? Who made your costumes?"

The small boy raised his eyebrows, feeling the subtle vibration from his earrings; he got up from Lucas, walking away backwards. The beeping only grew more insistent as the questions continued and he knew he was running out of time.

He smiled at El and said, "I'm sorry but I really have to go..."

"But wait! We don't even know your name!" El exclaimed,

The brunette hesitated, "Elytron! Call me Elytron!" he said before leaping gracefully into the air, swinging his yo-yo, leaving El and her camera behind.

Running away from the scene, he could see all the destruction a single Akuma had done to his town... was there no way to fix it?

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After the showdown, Mike returned home brimming with excitement; he may have been in the sewers for the climax of the fight, but he was fighting a real-life supervillain like 'Batman' or 'Ironman'. He turned on the television, eager to see if the news had covered the heroic battle he had been a part of.

As the news report unfolded, Mike watched with a wide grin... "Elytron." he smiled, "So that's his name." remembering that for the next time they meet.

They were the new superheroes in town, receiving all the attention, hearing as the news anchor gushed over the heroic actions and teamwork of 'Elytron and Claw Noir'; the thrilling fight and spectacular victory.

"Weren't we incredible Plagg?" Mike exclaimed, turning to his Kwami who was as mischievous as a black cat... and probably had the same luck as one. He was hovering as nonchalant as ever,

"But you know what's even more incredible? The smell of Camembert..." Plagg let out a content sigh, "Mmm... stinky cheese." he cooed taking a big bite of the cheese wheel he had stolen from the kitchen.

"You can't like something better like Croissants or Macaroons?" the ravenette pouted.

"Smelly cheese its where it's at!" Plagg exclaimed,

But then, the tone on the television shifted; the news report began breaking unexpected and urgent development in the city; Mike's previous excitement gave way to concern as he listened closely to reports of the Akuma multiplying and transforming civilians into Mecha-Tank robots... but this time they were frozen and unmoving. The city flooded in panic on screen.

Mike's brows furrowed, "Oh no..."

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Will sat in his room watching the news report with a heavy heart; he was frozen. The sight of the multiplying Akumas and frozen Mecha-Tank robots filled him with dread. Panic welled up within him, beginning to hyperventilate, unable to shake the feeling that he was responsible for everything.

Tikki floated to his side, hovering beside him, concern etched on her tiny face, "Will it's going to be okay," she said softly, "We can't give up now, all we have to do, is capture the Akuma next time; we can fix this!"

Will struggled to catch his breath; his hands trembling, clutching the sides of his arms, "You don't get it! I messed up like I always do! I thought I could be a hero, but I can't... I just can't!"

"Yes you can! You're the only one who can capture the Akuma and restore all the damage done!" Tikki encouraged.

"Then you need to find a new ladybug holder. I told you a million times, I'm not cut out to be a hero!" Will's self-doubt was overwhelming, looking into Tikki's eyes before placing his hands on his earrings, clicking them out his ears. "I'm sorry Tikki..."

Scanning the room, he saw that Tikki disappeared; Will's frown deepening upon seeing the earring in his hands...

He couldn't bear looking at them, throwing them across the room and burying his head in his arms...

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2347 Words

Stay Safe <3