The Last Two Prey
“Excellent. Just… excellent. Three down. Just two more to go now.”
“And then my Doombots can hunt down the remaining ‘akumatised villains’ for re-conversation. This plan cannot fail, Octavius.”
“I trust you’ll find the fruits of our labour most satisfying, old friend. As should our mutual ally over there.”
“Doctors, can we get on with the experiments? The sooner I get the Miraculouses, the sooner I can get my wife back and undo everything I’ve had to do these past few years!”
“Impatience gets you nowhere, Shadow Moth. Or should that be Peacock Moth?”
“Peacock sounds ridiculous, Doom. At any rate, we should be ready to begin testing within the hour. Electro and Kraven have already brought me Rena Rogue and Carapace. Once Vulture gets back with Vesperia, we can begin! Oh, how I’m looking forward to this!”
“I must admit, the way around my powers’ limitation you offer me intrigues me just as well. For some reason, I can only create one akuma at a time, only able to create more if I create a villain with the power to enhance the powers of others and have them enhance mine! I don’t know why, but it’s the case.”
“Many such items of magical power share similar limitations. I know from experience. I too have sought the Miraculouses of America in years past, only for the Fantastic Four and Avengers to stand in my way. When we have the promised army of akumas that Ladybug can’t cure however…”
“No one shall stand in our way again! I will have Spider Man’s head for my mantle, and you, Gabriel, shall have your wife back! I understand your pain well. My wife suffered a similar fate years ago. A terrible lab accident. I survived. But my dear Rosalie did not. Even without Doom’s backing, I would happily help you, Shadow Moth. When this is all over, your wife will be returned to you! Forever!” Doom winced ever so slightly at this remark from Otto.
“Yes, yes, of course!” he began, before adding under his breath, “but in both of your cases, you poor, gullible, deluded cretins, forever will be a very short time!”
“Hunter’s Journal. Entry 543. We’ve been scouring the skies and waterways of Paris for the past three hours, and still no sign of the intended targets.” Kraven was about to continue with his recording when a sudden sonic scream cut him off.
“Listen to yourself, Kraven, no one ever reads those reports!”
“Vulture, my friend, there are a number of things that separate us from the delusions of the chaos generated by our… overseer.”
“Heh heh, if it means less paperwork, I’ll take chaos!”
“Sure you would, Electro. This is getting beyond a joke. We’ve got to find them before sunrise, or we could be looking at an army of heroes to fight!” Scorpion was about to continue, when a sudden flash of red caught the corner of his eye. He turned up towards the Eiffel Tower curiously.
“Scorpion?” Scorpion ignored Kraven. He set his tail to telescope mode to take a closer look. In the dark night, it was somewhat difficult to make them out, but on the first deck… two figures. Red and black one of them, black leathered the other.
“Bingo.” Kraven got up and looked where Scorpion was pointing. At last!
“Yes! Everyone, we have our quarry! The Tower!”
“Vulture and I take the top decks, Rhino can take the supports!”
“Works for me!”
Ladybug might’ve been insisting on a higher standard of professionalism since the Shadow Moth attacks started, but even her standards were straining her relations by now. Which might explain why Cat Noir was so hesitant to help her when she first felt Scorpion breathing down the back of her neck. That and the fact he’d just called her out on her ‘tyrannical’ disregard for her teammates’ opinions, only for her to retort that, as Guardian, she has more responsibility than ever, and if he has a problem with it, perhaps he’s outlived his usefulness at last. Obviously, the cat didn’t take that well, though much better than Marinette thought he would, only going into a huff and stomping off. If only she’d noticed Scorpion’s breath on her neck sooner. In seconds, she was on the ground, restrained by the power of the technological tail of the Scorpion.
“Huh. For a so called leader, you inspire little loyalty in your subordinates, Ladybug.”
“Of course Shadow Moth picks now… Cat Noir!”
“Scream all you like about a non-existent akuma! I’m not helping you until you apologise!”
“Quite the stubborn kitty, aren’t you?” A sudden pair of shakes from above and below cut Scorpion off. “My boss said he wanted your Miraculouses. He never said you had to be brought in alive!”
“So Hawk Moth’s so intent on getting my earrings that he akumatises a bully to threaten me? Urgh! Just get me go so I can cure you!” Scorpion only hoisted her with his tail and slammed her into the metal supports.
“Cure me?! Ha, I say! Ha ha ha! I’m not sick! In fact, I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been!”
“Ok, maybe that rotten Ladybug wasn’t lying to get me to help her… Still can’t believe I ever loved her…”
“Romance is a fickle thing, kitten. I have had many mates over my long life. Alas, the life of a hunter is one of solitude. But still, I find the experience of a lone safari to be… enlightening.”
“Bet you’ve never fought a cat man before, hunter! Now, I’ll have a guess that tooth necklace of yours houses your akuma. Hardly fits with the rest of you.”
“You imply I am one of your run of the mill enemies? You have no brain. This will be child’s play for Kraven the Hunter!” Kraven drew his spear and charged at Cat Noir, who narrowly dodged each swipe before slashing back with his staff. Undeterred, Kraven boasted that he’d skinned and worn animals much bigger and more competent than Cat Noir, who then called for Cataclysm. Kraven was intrigued by the power he called forth. “Your ring… an artefact of great power… it shall be mine!” Kraven dodged as Cat Noir leapt forward with Cataclysm, and the cat went crashing into the support at the other end of the tower. Within seconds, the Eiffel Tower was beginning to crumble.
“Urgh!”
“Whoa!”
“Kraven, what’s happening?”
“It seems he heralds the power of mass destruction… intriguing. Rhino, give us one more blow. Should be enough to bring the curtain down on this little sideshow!” If it was possible for Rhino’s grin to be any larger than his face by this point, it would be. He naturally obliged. As Ladybug and Scorpion continued their fight, the Tower came crumbling down around them. Meanwhile, Cat Noir was barely holding his own against Kraven. For all his Miraculous enhanced strengths, Adrien was having trouble beating a man who punches lions in the chest and wrestles crocodiles with magic potions. In seconds, the cat was on the ground, and Kraven drew one of his energy knifes.
“You fight well, Cat Noir.”
“What… are… you…?”
“I am your destroyer. The dots are impossible to connect for your contemporaries, but an outsider has much less trouble. I know who you are. Adrien Agreste.” Adrien’s eyes grew ever wider as Kraven knelt down and removed his ring. “Sheltered practically since birth. Home-schooled all your life. Denied happiness. Friendship. Unable to so much as breath without your father’s permission. But with the ring, you fought well. And I am a man of honour.”
“So… you’re saying… you will end my suffering?” Kraven held him down and rose his knife high above his head.
“Adrien Agreste, I will grant you the favour of a quick death.”
Even when the Tower had completely collapsed, Ladybug was still fighting on. By now, she finally believed Scorpion’s claims that he was not an akuma, as her theory of the butterfly being in his tail proved false. That provided more than enough for the red and black heroine. She’d barely managed to hold her own when a sonic shriek followed by a lightning blast knocked her off her feet again.
“Another ladybug bites the dust!”
“Fun’s not over, I can still spark things up again!”
“No, let me stomp her some more!”
“Restrain yourselves! Our only prize must be her unmasking! Now, if no one objects, I think I’ll do the honours…”
“Hold back for a moment, Scorpion. She is beaten. Afraid. But left to her own devices, she will be a threat to us if she escapes. Allow me to dissuade her.”
Ladybug struggled to get back to her feet. “Urgh… do what you will, whoever you are! If I die, I at least die knowing I did my best to stop Hawk Moth!”
“He is not our master. Only our benefactor. And you are not going anywhere yet. I have something to show you.” And in a horrifying second, Kraven whipped out the hand from behind his back. Revealing the severed head of one very particular blonde. And the blood ran cold in Ladybug’s veins.
“No… A…A…A…Adrien! And C…C…Cat Noir?! How…? Why…?”
“Basically? Run, little Ladybug. You will not escape my spear! I am your predator! I am the hunter! I! AM! KRAVEN!” And so he began to chase after the girl as she ran away screaming at the top of her lungs. But they didn’t make it so far before…
“Ha! Hunting kids now, Kraven? That’s as low as your moustache!” Kraven and Ladybug looked up at the lamppost to see a familiar red and blue hero.
“Spider Man?! Here?!”
“Course I’m here, I’m having way too much fun to be anywhere else! Come on, spotty, let’s get out of here!” You’d think Kraven would know about the risk of Spidey webbing his eyes by now. He didn’t. Though he would ultimately put that one down to the surprise factor. By the time Kraven could see again, the insects were long gone. Kraven screamed in frustration, which brought his four colleagues running.
“The girl, Kraven! Where is she?!”
“Gone.”
“Oh, brilliant(!)”
“Meh! I still call that head scare trick worse than this!”
“A hunter must utilise his full arsenal to succeed, Rhino. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“Big deal. We have one of the Miraculouses Shadow Moth wanted. After that little scare, I doubt the other will be too much of a problem.”
“You are wrong, Scorpion. We are not alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know who has followed us.”