WARNING: Chapter contains gun violence

Chapter 16: Syndicate Take Down

Ladybug landed on the bridge just in time to see the van holding the criminals speed around the corner. Pulling out her yo-yo, Ladybug swung onto the roof tops and raced after the van. It was difficult keeping pace, but finally the van pulled into an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the Seine. After quickly scoping out the perimeter, Ladybug waited patiently for Chat Noir to arrive.

"Ah good you're here," Ladybug stated when Chat Noir landed next to her. "How did it go with the flics?"

"I gave them the information on the van you were chasing and were it apparently stopped." Chat Noir replied. "It will take them about 15 minutes to get here."

"Perfect. I tried to take a look into, but was unable to make anything out among all the crates." Returning her attention back towards the warehouse, Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo. "My miraculous did manage to generate a blue print of the building, but since it's a warehouse the only thing on the schematics is the building itself. We'll have to go in..."

She was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.

"How did you know it was me?" Initially she was annoyed by Chat Noir's question, but that annoyance quickly turned into concern.

I suppose I can't blame him for being focused on that. I did literally just drop a bomb shell on him right before this all began. Must be impossible not to think about it. Heck, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Adrien and Chat Noir were one in the same! Wait…does that mean I'm the one who put Adrien in that sour mood? No, focus Ladybug!

"Chat, I know you want an explanation for everything and you deserve one, but not right now. Now we need to focus on the task at hand. This is the first lead we've received in weeks and we must follow it. I promise that when this is all over we can sit down and talk about, about everything, ok?" I gently caressed his cheek with my hand.

He hesitated, clearly struggling with his own personal desire to discuss this immediately. I'm not worried though, Chat Noir is a hero and my partner, it won't take him long to realize we have bigger fish to tackle right now.

"Alright," he finally sighs. "We'll catch the criminals first and then talk later."

I smile and give him a small peck on the lips before heading inside the building through a small window. Chat Noir followed silently behind.

Inside the warehouse were several crates and boxes piled up everywhere. It made it easier to sneak around unseen, but more difficult to find the criminals. Slowly the two made their way through the warehouse, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious when suddenly they were met with open gun fire.

"Duck!" Ladybug cried, taking cover behind a crate. Chat Noir followed suit, taking cover right next to her.

"How did they notice that we were here?" Chat Noir asked.

"They were probably expecting us."

"Did you see how many there were?"

"I saw six men with guns before they started open firing on us." Ladybug replied. "But for all I know there could be more here. Wait here."

Swinging her yo-yo around, Ladybug leaped up onto a higher pile of crates hoping to gain a better vantage point. Her attempts were met with a volley of gun fire from two completely different direction. Unable to deflect the barrage of bullets from all three directions, she made her way back down to the floor by Chat Noir.

"So how does it look?" He asks.

"Not good. There are more of them than we thought. If we aren't careful they could easily surround us."

"What's the play?"

"I'll lead the way and you cover our rear." Ladybug explained. "Between the two of us we should be able to deflect everything while we search for a good vantage point to scope out the situation."

Chat Noir nodded his approval and the two heroes made their way backwards through the maze of crates. The two strained their eyes looking for a safe vantage point when several stacks of crates started to fall over.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled, wrapping her yoyo around his body and pulling him to safety. No sooner had she saved him, another stack of crates tumbled over.

"We need to move."

Following Ladybug's lead, the super hero duo jumped up the stack of crates to the rafters above. This move, although saving them from the toppling crates, put them in direct line of sight for the gun men.

"Now what?" Chat Noir asked, twirling his baton as the two proceeded forward.

"I'm not sure…let me think for a…" Her words were abruptly cut short when a new barrage of bullets caused Chat Noir to lose his footing.

"Chat!"

"Don't worry, I'm okay." Chat Noir stated as he slide down his extended baton to the ground. "Don't you know cats always land on their…"

The moment Chat Noir's feet touched the ground, a criminal came out from behind one of the crates and hit him over the head with a bat. Chat immediately collapsed to the ground, blood trickling from the wound on his head. Not missing a beat, Ladybug swung down from the rafters, picked up Chat's baton, and started swinging the two weapons around her.

"Chat are you okay? Answer me." Ladybug cried, receiving no response.

This isn't looking good, Chat's down, I can't assess his injuries, and I'm pinned down here unable to do anything but defend us. We're in a real jam now.

Continuing to deflect bullets, Ladybug scanned her brain for a way to call out her lucky charm without stopping her defense tactics. They have to reload or run out of bullets at some point. Even if they don't, the flics should be arriving any minute now. If I can just wait these guys out, then everything will be…

Ladybug stopped mid thought as smoke grenades were thrown towards Chat Noir and herself.

Why would use a weapon that would minimize their visibility along with ours? Ladybug questioned as smoke filled the area around the two heroes. Just as the smoke began to thicken, she realized the enemies plan.

"Lucky Charm."

A red colored, black polka dot gas mask landed in Ladybug's arms. She immediately placed the mask on her face, while still reflecting bullets with Chat Noir's baton; a task made easier due to the loss in visibility. Picking Chat up, Ladybug jumped over a pile of crates hidden in the sleeping gas. After confirming they were safely out of the line of fire, Ladybug undid her transformation.

As Tikki emerged from the magical suit, she was surprised by her inability to see anything. It wasn't until Marinette waved a hand in front of her that Tikki was able to find her. Silently the kwami took the cookie presented to her and began eating as fast as she could.

I need to hurry, clearly Marinette is still in danger. She glanced over to Chat Noir lying next to Marinette clearly out cold. As is Chat.

Tikki flew over to the unconscious body and performed a quick check up. Marinette sighed in relief when Tikki told her he just had a slight concussion.

"Do you have a plan?" Tikki whispered to Marinette.

"Of course," Marinette replied from behind the mask. "I just need to time everything right."

That's my master for you. Tikki proudly smiled before gulping down the last bite.

"Cease firing!"

The continuous shooting abruptly ceased.

"I think that should be an efficient amount of time," the man stated, looking at his watch. "Turn on the ventilation!"

A loud suctioning sound filled the air as the smoke quietly rose to the ceiling, revealing an unconscious Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Our client should be pleased."

The man who appeared to be the leader walked over to the bodies of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Inspecting them for bullet wounds, he concluded they were both unharmed. Signaling his men, the gang members lowered their weapons with a sigh.

"I can't believe we actually pulled this off!"

"I know right!"

"When we were first told about this job, I thought for a second it was complete and utter suicide."

"Me too!" One of the men laughed. "Who would think that Paris' super powered superheroes, who fought super villains on a daily basis could be brought down by mere humans with guns?"

"That just goes to show you how powerful perception can be versus reality." The leader calmly explained. "Bring the box over. I want to take their miraculous and receive the rest of our pay as soon as possible."

Reaching down towards Chat Noir, the leader attempted to seize the ring on his finger.

"Not so fast!"

"Ladybug!" The entire gang exclaimed in surprise.

Grabbing the leader with her yo-yo, Ladybug pulled him in close and knocked him out with one knee to the gut. Caught off guard and operating without a leader, the rest of the gang dissolved into a chaotic mess. Some attempted to fight, some attempted to flee, while others still stood in shock unable to process what was going on around them. Ladybug used the chaos to her advantage, attacking each member one by one and rendering them unconscious.

Wheee-yoooo, wheeee-yoooo

"Perfect timing."

Ladybug dropped the last of the criminal's unconscious body to the ground before hurrying over to Chat Noir. Digging through the crates, she found her hidden lucky charm and threw it in the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

As the miniature bugs put everything back into place, Ladybug proceeded over to Chat Noir. Gently she place his head on her lap and patiently waited for him to awaken.

"…mmmmm." Chat muttered.

"Chat!" Ladybug pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you're okay."

The slightly confused and still drowsy Chat Noir hesitantly hugged her back.

"Ladybug, what…the gun fight!" Suddenly Chat Noir bolted straight up.

"All right you fiendish criminals," Chat Noir yelled. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, so come at me!"

"The fight is already over Chat," Ladybug giggled.

Chat Noir blinked a few times, surveyed the warehouse filled with unconscious bodies, before relaxing his stance.

"So it would seem. Once again my lady demonstrates why she is Paris' number one hero."

"Followed closely by Paris' number two." Ladybug remarked as she stood up.

Reaching out with his left hand, Chat Noir slowly intertwined his fingers with Ladybug's right hand. The two stood there enjoying the moment as they stared passionately into each other's eyes.

"Now that this is over, perhaps we can get back to what we were doing before." Ladybug nervously asked.

Chat Noir gently grabbed a fallen strand of hair and placed is behind her ear, caressing her cheek as he did so.

"I'd like that."

Ladybug closed her eyes as Chat Noir leaned in for a kiss.

"Ehem."

"Wha!" The two heroes jumped back in surprise at the coughing sound.

"…while I have no problems with you two continuing whatever it was you were doing before, I would prefer it if you waited until after I took your statements."

The two blushed a deep crimson red as the officers around them observed the scene. A few laughed, some sighed, but most looked upon them with gazes of genuine joy for the young couple.

"Don't give them too hard of a time Lieutenant," a random officer stated. "This is Paris after all, the city of love."

"I would appreciate it such love did not take place in the middle of a crime scene," he sternly retorted. "Come with me back to the station."

Too embarrassed to talk, Ladybug and Chat Noir silently followed Lieutenant Raincomprix to his patrol car.