Showdown At Jardins du Trocadéro!
Unaware of how badly Ladybug’s infiltration plan was backfiring, the action is rejoined in the infirmary of the SHIELD Tri-Carrier…
“What do you think, Peter? About Juleka? I-I-I still can’t believe he did that to her…”
“When Kraven sets his mind to something, he always sees it through. Still… that was barbaric, what he did. If she doesn’t make it…” Marinette whimpered quietly at that possibility, as she bent down to hold Juleka’s hand, “…I’ll let White Tiger finish him this time.”
“Juleka didn’t even know about the upcoming attack. She’s one of the kindest, most gentle people I know… she doesn’t deserve this… she just doesn’t deserve this…”
“I’d say the same about Uncle Ben. He didn’t deserve what he had coming to him. But one good thing came out of it. I learnt a valuable lesson – with great power comes great responsibility. A lesson on which I’ve based my life. If she doesn’t make it, I wonder what lesson you’ll learn from this…?”
“Never assume anything when a hunter’s around.” At this point, Juleka began to stir. “Juleka?” She gave a weak groan as she began to sit up. “Hey.”
“Hey… urgh… oh, my head feels like a lion used my skull as a basketball…”
“Having seen what he did, that’s closer to the truth than you think.”
“Urgh… oh… I really don’t feel so good…” Slowly she forced her eyes open. Not that it made a difference. “…oh no… he must’ve hit me harder than I thought… rumbled my brain around… I-I-I can’t see!”
“Forensics claim it was an accident involving a magnesium signal flare and a hull full of water. Flash burns to both retinas, if I remember correctly…”
“So I’m blind. This day just gets better and better…(!) I wake up this morning, I get ready for that movie date with Rose, Luka catches a stomach bug, I’m the lucky one who has to look after him, I have to cancel that movie date, he keeps getting worse, and then I get dragged into this supervillain invasion, fight some crazy hunter guy, get absolutely piledrived, and then I get blinded in a freak accident before falling unconscious and waking up in hospital.”
“Hey, at least he didn’t break your sense of humour!” Juleka gave a reluctant chuckle at Marinette’s remark. “And anyway, I heard one of the doctors say you might get your eyesight back in a couple of weeks.”
“Urgh, and now I learn I’ve got two weeks before I can see anyone again… oh yeah, and the fact that right now I can’t even feel my legs!” Juleka threw her head in her hands. Peter looked a little uncomfortable discussing this part with her, so he decided to check on how the others were doing tracking down Ock’s hideout. Marinette remained behind, if only to offer her condolences.
“Juleka… I’m so, so sorry that all this happened…”
“Urgh, it’s not your fault, Marinette… it’s that hunter who’s to blame… urgh, oh my back’s aching up! Get me a nurse, Marinette please!” She was all too happy to help. The matter quickly overwhelmed her enough to force her decision to leave, as the worry that she may never be able to look at one of her closest friends without pity again gnawed away at her mind. She didn’t even know if Juleka would pull through. If she died, if she joined Adrien, who she now knew to be Cat Noir, among those killed in the line of duty on her watch… Marinette feared she may never forgive herself. Her only condolence might be the satisfaction of bringing down Kraven and his sinister stooges for their role in what happened. If not Kraven, then particularly Scorpion if no one else, on account of what he did to Luka… But it was not the time to mull that over. And after that display of brutality against Juleka, Marinette was starting to get cold feet over allowing the remaining four heroes to face Vulture to rescue Manon. There had to be a better way to save her… Besides, if Kraven hurt Juleka so brutally, so barbarically that she may never walk again, if Kraven is anything to go by, what might the rest of his team do to the others…?
“I am aware of the full extent to which I fought her. She was just another animal head for my mantle. Her defeat was inevitable.”
“You clearly have a talent, Kraven. No doubt Ladybug will be sh… actually, I’d better not say that in case reporters are around… No doubt Ladybug will be soaking her panties at our true potential. Which the six of us will now unleash upon those meddling brats!” Indeed, the Vulture’s words might well ring true as his five combatants: Kraven, the Rhino, Electro, Shell Shock, Hornex and Scorpion, were preparing for battle at the stroke of midnight at Jardins du Trocadéro. Vulture himself had made his nest atop the structure itself, his four year old prey bound and gagged underneath him, as Lady Wi-Fi was back at base trying to reconnect her signal. A weakness Ock should remove before their next battle… The Vulture was a smart bird. Clearly he was intending to make sure their opponents wouldn’t try anything clever and try to recover Manon before earning her back. Her binding and gagging were the worst he’d do to her, Octavius did tell him to make sure nothing happened to her, after all. And then the sight greeted them. The four heroes who’d volunteered to fight them had indeed arrived to meet their doom. Kraven looked at Vulture, who looked back at him. They nodded. Kraven took over watching Manon as Vulture flew down to ground level, taking his place as the centre of these six fighters. “You came! I was starting to worry!”
“King Monkey promised we’d face you for Manon and that is exactly what we’re going to do!”
“Huph! The delusions of the ape hero. It might disgust me… if the memories I seek are of being disgusted by such… But enough. Judging by your oozing confidence, I can only assume you didn’t hear about what Kraven did on that houseboat? Well, less of a houseboat now, more of a shipwreck, I believe. If you didn’t, I’ll explain. And then I’ll give you one chance to turn around and leave us to our plans. When Kraven attacked that houseboat, Spider Man and Ladybug dared to intervene. And so they would have to be punished. Scorpion took your friend’s hands, rendering the Snake Miraculous ineffective. And the sister? Kraven fought her, both in cat form. In the end, the boat was a sinking shipwreck, and the girl was half-drowned, beaten to within an inch of her life, both effortlessly by Kraven. I’d imagine she’ll be in the infirmary now if you want to say your goodbyes while you have the chance. And let me warn you – every degree of pain Kraven inflicted on her, we can equal. Kraven beat your friend to the point where she may never walk again. If you continue to insist on this battle, we will not afford you any less. So again I ask: are you still wanting to fight us? If you aren’t, we will let you leave and cross you off the induction list. Oh err, the girl will remain a prisoner, of course. A testament to your failure.”
“I appreciate your honour in offering us a chance to surrender. But if we’re already here, I think you already know our answer.” Vulture did not change his expression at Kim’s comment.
“So be it. You really should have surrendered, you know.” Rhino stepped forwards, slamming his fists together and cracking his knuckles.
“But I’m glad you didn’t! I haven’t beaten up anyone all day!”
“Battle strategy recommended: Hornex, take Prince Primate over there!” Electro ordered. Hornex nodded and darted towards King Monkey, snarling animalistically at him. It’s clear her mutation seems to have affected her sentience. Aside from retaining Zoe’s jacket, there was very little left to identify her as the half-sister of the girl who’d made a mockery of him on Valentine’s Day. King Monkey was obviously smart enough to pick up on this and not waste time on trying to reason with her. Not that he’d want to reason with her after she spewed out a swarm of live spiders over him… He immediately burst into a screaming fit trying to bush them off, allowing Hornex to get in a flurry of strikes from her razor-sharp claws. In seconds, just as Rhino and Minotaurox set off every car and house alarm in the vicinity with a thunderous blow, Vulture joined in the scrap up, stunning King Monkey with a sonic scream. He was about to strike the killer blow when the primate hero called for Uproar, summoning a toy banana. Initially Vulture and Hornex seemed unconcerned by it. Much less when Kraven shot it down with a laser crossbow.
“Ha ha ha! I have studied the Miraculouses countless times! And I have battled and slaughtered their holders more times than I can count! Uproar generates a toy item that disrupts the superpowers of anyone it hits!”
“I appreciate the heads-up, Kraven. Now let’s see how tough the monkey is without his toys!” Both Vulture and Hornex let out their breath attacks, sending King Monkey flying backwards… right into a Voyage portal Pegasus had conjured up while dodging Scorpion’s stinger. It didn’t do so good though, as just after he’d readied his horseshoe for another throw, a tremendous bolt of lightning attracted through it, electrocuting him and knocking him out cold. Scorpion gave a nod of appreciation to Electro as Max detransformed. One down, three to go.
“Doctor Octopus, I can confirm one of the heroes seems to have fallen. Shall I retrieve them for transportation?” Kraven’s attempt holo-call didn’t seem to go through, though he did not realise the reason for that was that the person he was trying to call suddenly crawled up behind him.
“Kraven, I’m right behind you!” Kraven turned around in surprise. “And no, I’ve decided to oversee this battle in person. Shadow Moth and Doom are in transit. I’ve got enough of the formula to induct the four of them, plus the two extra prisoners coming with Doom. I’m sure the threat of watching her friends turn into monsters will make her talk!”
“A diabolical strategy, doctor. I respect that. Aha, it looks like the mouse is struggling among the cats!” Turtle might’ve been a better thing for Kraven to say as he jumped down to join in, as it was Shell Shock who was managing to outpace Polymouse at this moment. She multiplied several times into smaller and smaller copies, all teaming together to swarm the turtle villain like mad. He growled ‘Shelter’, and his energy shield materialised over him. Undeterred, Polymouse whipped her skipping rope around the shield, which made no effect. And then came the stinger. Clearly he struck the original, as all the copies fused back into one. He gave a sinister laugh before raising his tail for the fatal sting… only to have Minotaurox rip his tail off and send him flying through three nearby buildings with a mallet throw. He helped Polymouse up… only to nearly get trampled by a charging Rhino. A surprise staff attack from King Monkey knocked the bulky beast down…
“Looks like our soldiers are beginning to strain…”
“How fortune that we arrived in time, doctor.” On ground level like most of the Sinister Six was the sinister Shadow Moth. He gave a sinister smirk as five butterflies flew down onto his arm and then he infused them both with his dark magic. “Fly away, my little akumas, and evilise them!” Rhino was just getting back to his feet when one of them landed on his horn. To the surprise of all three heroes, he was engulfed in purple energy… when it settled, Rhino more closely resembled a humanoid Triceratops covered in impenetrable bone armour. He grinned evilly and slammed his fists into the ground, generating massive stone fist constructs, knocking Polymouse and King Monkey into the skies. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Vulture leapt up after them, swallowing an akuma on the way up, causing his feathers to grow much longer like a porcupine’s quills, his claws to extend even further and growing an extra pair of wings on his back. He gave an amplified sonic screech at Polymouse, sending her crashing back down at high speed, causing her to briefly split into millions of miniature copies upon landing and immediately merge back together, completely unconscious. Two down, two to go. Minotaurox screamed Mylene’s name in anguish as she reverted, but was unable to provide much help before Rhino slammed him to the ground with a massive stone fist. Struggling to resist, he activated Resistance and charged his way out of Rhino’s trap. Not that it did him much good, as it didn’t save him from catching sight of Scorpion, now more closely resembling the version from the Amazing Spider Man video game, effortlessly whipping King Monkey into Electrocutioner’s path, allowing him to swat him in the direction of Kraven, who by this point was using both the Cat and Tiger Miraculouses, and who caught him with his bolas and slam dunked him with his staff. Unable to escape, and not wanting to risk suffering Juleka’s fate, the primate hero promptly surrendered. Content with this, Kraven helped him up and removed his Miraculous. Three down. One to go. At this point, recognising it was only a matter of time before he fell as well, Minotaurox started charging again, knocking down Scorpion and Electrocutioner, and eventually Shell Shock too when his shield couldn’t stand the impact of Minotaurox’s punch. Hornex took to the skies to spew another swarm of insects at him, none of which impacting much. Another mallet throw to the mouth sent her crashing down on top of the Trocadéro, where Doc Ock and Manon were. Enjoying the sight, Manon gave a childish laugh, which was cut off when Ock grabbed her with one of his mechanical arms and lifted her in front of his face.
“I don’t want to have to hurt you. But don’t test my patience.” Minotaurox obviously overheard this, as he began to run towards the Trocadéro… only to be stopped suddenly. He looked down. His feet were trapped in a rock trap, most likely Rhino’s doing. Definitely Rhino’s doing in fact, as two massive stone fists generated either side of him. Unable to escape, Ivan simply gave a resigned grunt of annoyance as the fists collided with him, knocking him out cold as he detransformed. The Sinister Six began to cheer over their victory, just as Doom himself arrived with a squad of Doombot bodyguards, and Rose and Alix in tow.
“An excellent display of combat skill, my impulsive allies. I trust they’ll prove more cooperative now.” He turned to Doc Ock as he crawled down the Trocadéro, still tightly grasping Manon. “Begin inductions at once. And make sure the pink haired prisoner is awake to see it. It is frustrating that she passed out from all that torture back at base…”
“I feel your anger, Doom…” Doom turned around and glared at Shadow Moth, unnerving him so much that he looked genuinely afraid.
“That was not a clever thing to say, Shadow Moth, a blind, deaf, comatose lobotomy patient could feel his anger!”
“YES, A BLIND, DEAF, COMATOSE LOBOTOMY PATIENT COULD FEEL MY ANGER!!!” His gauntlets primed themselves in an instant, and fired out their blood-red blasts directly at Shadow Moth’s cane. The electrical shock zoomed throughout his body, forcing him to scream in unimaginable agony. He managed to utter an apology and Doom shut off his blasts. “Doombots, bring the rabbit to the chopping block.” Two Doombots bowed and obeyed, dragging Alix, by now regaining consciousness, to a position beside Doom’s boots.
“Urgh… I’m not talking! Do what you will!”
“Oh really? I have the strangest feeling your tune will change in but a moment. Octavius, prepare the formula for induction! Start with Pegasus!” Clearly still fearing for his life, Ock complied, generating the syringe on one of his mechanical hands, and handing Manon to Vulture, and then picking up Max by the shirt, with another, just as he regained consciousness.
“Wakey wakey. Don’t try to resist, you’ll only limit your own degree of control.” He injected Max in the neck and let him go. Instantly Max grit his teeth in pain as his skin turned grayish purple and his eyes vivid amaranth. His glasses became butterfly-shaped and the glass had a light green tint. His outfit turned into a black skin-tight bodysuit with a head cover over his head and neck and a small green circle on his chest and three thin green stripes around his waist, each forearm, and each lower leg. Fully converted back into the Gamer, he bowed in loyalty to Shadow Moth. Watching this, Kim and Alix appeared completely shocked. Kim started to voice his protests, which only caused Hornex to force his hands behind his back. “It sounds to me like we have a volunteer. Very well.” He extended an arm over to Kim…
“Wait! Before I get turned, I have to know… am I going to end up like her and turn into a mindless freaky spider abomination?”
“Her name was Zoe Lee. And if you don’t resist, you’ll retain your mind. But don’t worry. I don’t intend to make you an arachnid.” Kim breathed a sigh of relief. “I have another animal in mind… with the ariel base covered and land units doing fine too, we really need to look into an aquatic force. And as I don’t think your precious Ondine is right for that job, you will have to do. Enjoy your new state of being… Undergator!” Kim was obviously unnerved by the thought of turning into a monster like his classmates, but nevertheless offered no resistance to being injected. Probably because he didn’t want to lose his sentience, like what happened to Zoe. Instantly he fell to his knees as his body transformed into a state almost identical to Killer Croc from Batman TAS, although coloured dark green and with a more visible snout and tail. He stood up growling ravenously, even struggling to bow in loyalty. “Hmm… it seems this one has regressed to an earlier stage of evolution. Tut tut, I’ll have to see what can be done about that.”
“Rabbit girl. We’ve inducted two of your friends into our order. There are still three more. You will talk?” Alix defiantly shook her head. Frustrated, Doom declared she left him no choice. Rhino and Scorpion both lifted Ivan up and dragged him over to Ock. “Convert him.” Alix’s expression fell and only grew more and more desperate.
“Ivan… no… don’t turn Ivan! Please! Anyone but him, he’s one of my oldest friends!” Ivan shut his eyes as Ock lowered the syringe over his neck. Finally Alix couldn’t take it any longer. “Alright, alright!” Ock stopped and turned in her direction, as did Doom, as she broke down in tears. “Ladybug caught me out and about after Electro’s attack on City Hall! She asked me to tail him and report back about your lair! I think there was also something about a planned ambush at this very location! That’s all I know!” Doom bent down and patted her shoulder with false care.
“There there, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” Seemingly content with the information dump, Ock moved away from Ivan and ordered Rhino and Scorpion to release him.
“I’ll have to have my Octobots determine the validity of your claims. If you are lying, I’ll induct you instead – twice!” Alix gulped in fear as Ock pressed a button on his life support system, presumably signalling an Octobot. “In the meantime, I think we need to resume inducting some more…” His eyes turned to Manon. Alix’s now red eyes went wide in horror at Ock’s implication. “All results so far are satisfactory on teenagers, but as a scientist, I must be sure it works on all ages. Maybe we should see what it’ll do to YOU…” he sneered, pointing at Manon. He began to make his advance, despite Shadow Moth’s attempts to remind him they weren’t going to hurt her. Ock rose a tenacle above his head, about to inject Manon, when suddenly…
“Hands off the toddler, Ock!” Suddenly, backflipping into view was the classic web-slinging superhero we all know and love, now sporting the red and gold threads of the Iron Spider suit. Oh boy, was he taking this one seriously… Also arriving were his classic team and Ladybug, as well as a sizable media presence and SHIELD ground force. “Prepare to get rocked, Ock! Huh, rhyme…!”
“Spider Man! Well, well, well… isn’t this the perfect opportunity to test combat effectiveness… Sixers, fall back! I want to see what the newbies are capable of!” Somewhat reluctantly in some cases, the Sinister Six obeyed Doc Ock’s commands and moved back to the Trocadéro, as Shadow Moth and Doctor Doom stepped forwards.
“I might have known your attention would be attracted here, Fury…!”
“Doctor Victor von Doom, by the authority of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, you are hereby charged with conspiring to illegally raise an army, unethical human experimentation and aiding and abetting the murder of Cat Noir and the assault on Purple Tigress!”
“I will destroy your pathetic Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division! But first, I will destroy you! Well, not personally.” He stamped a foot down and a flurry of cylinders that morphed into Doombots landed in front of Doom and Shadow Moth. “Doombots, destroy Nick Fury and his cheap little associates!”
“Cheap?!”
“Well, SHIELD doesn’t pay us so…”
“Well… Cheap or not, we’re bringing you down, Doom!”
“My numbers outmatch any of yours, Spider Man! Prepare to die!” With that, Doom flew onto the very top of the Trocadéro, as his Doombots began to swarm the heroes…
“And just to keep things interesting…” Shadow Moth slammed his cane on the ground. “Gamer, Undergator! Destroy them all!” Nodding in understanding, Gamer’s mech quickly generated out of nothingness, while Undergator animalistically leapt at Ladybug. It did take a while for her to realise this crocodilian was once the class’s resident jock, partly because he’d removed his tattered hoodie during his transformation. She managed to wrestle him off for a moment before he swiped at her with his tail and followed up with a lunge towards her, jaws primed to bite her head off, but he only got a mouthful of Power Man’s unbreakable fist instead. A single punch sent him flying into the walls of the Trocadéro, knocking him out. The Gamer saw this and activated his level 3 mech, which lasted about three seconds before Nova went supernova and knocked it down, though it still managed to fire its lasers indiscriminately, even as Shell Shock and Lady Wi-Fi tagged in. Immediately Shell Shock drew his shield as Iron Fist sent a row of Doombots crashing in his direction. White Tiger leapt in to capitalise, but wasn’t able to escape getting paused by Wi-Fi. Spidey stopped to make a quip, before being forced to move as Shell Shock threw his shield at him. Ladybug was about to try to help, before Hornex flew in and caught her by surprise, snatching her up with her lower arms and animalistically scratching her in the eyes. It was enough to force her to call for a Lucky Charm, which materialised as a taser. Ok, not so much use in this circumstance but ok. A slight buzz for a buzz! The shock was enough to make Hornex let her go, and then briefly squirm around with her hands clutching her head in pain, almost as if the electricity upset the formula circulating through her veins. After a painful few seconds, after which Ladybug had landed on Shell Shock, allowing Iron Fist to get in a power punch, Hornex came crashing down to the ground, but recovered quickly and spewed out another swarm of live insects at Ladybug. Spidey made a quip about her needing better mouthwash, which earnt him a swarm of his own to distract him while she clawed off his face. Or tried to before getting webbed in the eyes. As she struggled to free her eyes, Spidey unleashed the power of his taser webs. Another painful few seconds followed, before she fell unconscious with a final animalistic screech.
Now only Lady Wi-Fi remained, for all of the five seconds it took for the Sinister Six to re-engage. But even then it didn’t last, as Ladybug managed to yoyo her phone into the wrong direction, causing Lady Wi-Fi to pause herself by mistake. Only the Sinister Six remains. Again the group went for their usual dance partners: Power Man VS Rhino, White Tiger VS Kraven, Iron Fist VS Scorpion, Nova VS Electro. Spidey naturally decided to take Ock, if only to stop him making more minions. That leaves Ladybug with Vulture. And she’s already beeping. Only so long to defeat him before she reverts to Marinette and has to hope Nadia or Spidey has cookies to recharge Tiki, or alternatively, before she reverts and falls to her death while the others are preoccupied with the Sinister Six. Think positively though, Marinette… A sonic screech cut her line of thought short. Then the Vulture came flying straight at her, snatching her in his mighty talons and zooming upwards at breakneck speed…
“Ok, ok, this is getting nauseating! I so need to take a long break from air travel for a bit after this…” And then it got to the point where Vulture flipped over and plummeted downwards holding her in front of him, clearly intending to smash her against the pavement on landing. Desperately trying to think of something, Ladybug desperately starting kicking Vulture in the eyes. Eventually it worked and he let her go, moments before crashing into a powerline. Jumping off Nova on her way back to the ground, she also managed to pin Scorpion’s tail on landing, saving Iron Fist from a fatal sting, and letting him get the final word in their feud. With numbers dropping and Sixers going down, Ock clearly became somewhat desperate as he menacingly flailed around his tenacles trying to hit Spidey, seemingly becoming very indiscriminate about who he hurt trying to kill Spidey. Then he recovered enough to generate the syringe again…
“I’m running out of numbers! And patience!”
“Come on Ock, go ahead and play musical mutants all you like, we’ll just kick their butts!”
“You’re right, Spider… hmm… maybe I need a new partner… someone more interesting for you to battle…” His eyes turned towards Rose and Alix, desperately cuddling each other in fear for their lives as they tried to dodge the various battles erupting around them, among them the sight of Power Man catching Rhino in one of his own stone construct traps. Ock leapt forwards towards them before Spidey webbed enough arms to lampposts to hold him back.
“Spidey, is Ock…?”
“Too right, Ladybug! We’ve got to stop Ock injecting Alix and Rose… er, but first…” Spidey shot a web right between Shadow Moth’s legs to attach to a still gagged Manon who’d rolled behind him in all the kerfuffle. Smart choice, Spidey. In seconds, Manon was in his arms. “Don’t cry, little friend! I’m returning you to mama!” He and Ladybug swung over to the SHIELD barricade and handed Manon to a very appreciative Nadia.
“Here you go!”
“Manon! Oh thank you so much, Ladybug!”
“Mama!”
“Is she alright?” Spidey began to explain there was no real indication of injury, before Rose and Alix came running up to Ladybug, desperate to escape the scene before Ock got them.
“Alix!” Alix quickly manoeuvred the camera of Nadia’s cameraman and desperately began reassuring her dad and brother, in the likelihood they were watching the news at this time, that she was fine and on her way home to them. A pity she didn’t realise that Ock didn’t have to be near them to inject them… Before Alix could finish her reassurance, a dart hit Rose in the neck. Everyone turned around as she rolled over off screen, her veins now glowing dark purple. Within seconds, she got back up, completely transformed into a hulking jet-black Venom-like monster, except lacking the symbiotic goo flickering off her. Instead she sported two extra arms and a lizard-like tail with an extra hand on the tip. “Rose, no!”
“Low blow, Octopus!”
“You did it to save the kid, Spider!” Ladybug quickly ordered Alix to leave before Ock fired again. Alix didn’t need telling twice, jumping over the barricade and starting to run to safety, still visible on the media crew’s cameras. But she didn’t make it too far. Ock sniggered wickedly before firing another two darts, one into Alix’s right eye as she briefly looked back and another into the front of her neck, much to her horror.
“Urgh…!” Groaning in pain as her veins started glowing dark purple, Alix had indeed fallen victim to Ock’s threat to give her another dosage of the formula if she caused him any more trouble.
“ALIX!!” Even as Ladybug screamed her name, her transformation spread rapidly: her flesh contorting and twisting as she bulked up massively, her skin turning brownish grey in colour and sprouting a number of spiky nubs across her shoulders. Her hair mutated into a mass of dark pink tentacles erupting from her head. Her face developed black markings resembling stars and dripping tears surrounding her eyes, as her mouth developed a massive underbite and jagged teeth. Her limbs went disproportional, her right arm now being relocated to the far right of her back, and three extra arms sprouted out as well, one slightly above her left hip and the other two on either side of her stomach. Her pre-existing limbs extended slightly, growing a vast number of weird hand nubs across her forearms, her stance going slightly wider as her legs bulked out and her height increasing to be equal to Spidey’s. She reared up, screaming in agony and opening her eyes, and looked briefly at Nadia and her news crew. As she did so, a blood red beam emitted from her left eye, the right one not being visible, hitting the news crew and transforming each of them into stone. Still somewhat self-aware, Alix quickly shut her eyes again, not wanting to petrify anyone else.
“Oh my goodness…”
“Too right, Danny…”
“That… is… unnerving…!” Understatement of the year from Sam Alexander…
“Even I’m a little scared of this one…” Luke’s pretty scared, it seems.
“What did you do to her, Ock?!”
“A simple double dosage of my anti-curing akuma formula, arachnid. I think I’ll call her…” Ock paused for a moment, as if deep in thought. “…Carrion. Yes, a combination of malice and Medusa, I like it!” Shadow Moth ran up to Ock and rose his cane towards the newly renamed Carrion.
“Carrion it is then! Hear me, Carrion… turn your lethal gaze towards the Spiders, and especially Ladybug! Destroy them all and bring me Ladybug’s Miraculous!” Unable to resist, Carrion slowly began to march back towards the battle, eye still shut. She must have remained self-aware enough to try to control her destructive powers. It still wasn’t quite enough to prevent her smashing through the barricade, extending her hand nubs into long whipping tendrils to terrify the heroes. It was certainly working… Luke managed to work up enough confidence to try to throw a punch at her, but she simply caught his punch and tightly closed her hand around his fist. In seconds, his eyes started watering in pain and she let him go, his hand showing telltale signs of an acid burn. So she’s also got a corrosive touch. Brilliant(!) Even more so as the mutated Rose, who Shadow Moth dubbed Wither, slowly marched from the other side. She slammed Nova into the ground and continued marching forwards. Now the four remaining heroes were surrounded…
“Urgh… this is not how I wanted it to end… being dinner for two of my closest friends, mutated beyond comparison!”
“And from what her chi tells me, Ladybug, it seems Alix’s mutation is an uncomfortable affair to say the least…” Doc Ock gave a sinister smirk as Iron Fist was trampled by Wither on her way to Spidey and Ladybug…
“And that is how she will remain – forever!” As the corrosive hands of Carrion reached for Ladybug’s face, and as Wither’s mouth covered Spidey’s head, the sinister laughter of the villainous leaders echoed throughout the city.