[As soon as she sees the birdarangs cut through the straps, Ladybug leaps into action. Her yoyo flies through the air, wrapping securely around the guitar. From there, it's easy enough to yank it into her hands.]
Guess the encore's over! [Without hesitation, Ladybug smashes the guitar against the ground, making Sound Machine wail once he catches on. He stops chasing Robin, falling to his knees dramatically.
In no time at all, the dark butterfly is purified and released, and the damage from the attack fixed by her miraculous. Ladybug pads over to Robin as the akuma's victim sits up in confusion.]
Nice job getting the guitar straps. That made everything way easier.
Glad to be of help [he's sort of on auto-pilot, giving her a grin and a little bow, ever the showman, but he's mentally cataloguing everything that happened for future consideration. What he wouldn't give to be able to clean up a mess, post-fight, the way she did, it was like she turned back time practically.]
...So... I take it this kind of thing happens a lot? [he waves vaguely at the victim, since there wasn't any other evidence of the battle left for him to indicate. He meant the whole thing, the 'akuma' - whatever that was - and the butterfly, the possession, she seemed pretty practiced with all of it]
Pretty often. [Ladybug's distracted for a moment, almost expecting to hear the telltale beeping from her earrings. Nothing. That's right, I never used Lucky Charm this time.
Assured that she doesn't have to make a hasty exit, Ladybug gives Robin an assessing look.]
If you're asking, that means you haven't seen this before. I figured you were here to investigate the attacks.
There's this guy--his name's Hawkmoth--who uses his powers to transform people into something different. He gives them powers so they can do a lot of damage in his place.
[Ladybug's hands fiddle idly with her yoyo, mouth pulled down into a slight frown.]
He takes advantage of people's emotions and twists them. All those victims he takes over are just...having a bad day and don't even remember what happened while they were in their other state.
[Honestly, Robin's fascinated. He's come across mind control and the like before, but not on a scale like this - the ability to create fully fledged villains to wreak havoc on their own terms, what else were Ladybug and Paris' other heroes to do but deal with them when they came up, how were they ever supposed to find this Hawkmoth guy?]
Does he have to meet them or be near them to enact the transformations? Or do you know anything else about him that might help you find him? [He can guess the answer is probably no, Ladybug seems pretty clued up, she didn't seem like the type to have missed such an obvious solution]
[As she's about to answer, Ladybug realizes just how much attention they've gathered from the civilians--not that she can blame them. Not only has she stuck around, when she'd normally swing off right after the attack, but Robin is famous enough on his own.
Ladybug offers the cameras a smile and a cheerful wave before turning back to Robin again.]
Meet me at the top of the Arc de triomphe. We can talk more there.
Sorry, gotta go. Stay safe, everyone! [With those parting words to the growing crowd, Ladybug quickly sends her yoyo out and swings away from gardens.]
[Between being Robin one minute and the son of Gotham's most eligible bachelor the next, Dick's pretty used to the press attention, so he easily flashes a smile and a wave to the cameras before turning back to Ladybug with a nod]
See you there.
Thank you, people of Paris, it's been an honour fighting with your very lovely ladybug! [he waves his own goodbye and fires off his grapple, disappearing across the rooftops after her. It's not much later that he drops onto the top of the arc de triomphe as arranged - after a quick change back into his school uniform and an excuse to his teacher about being sick and going back to the hotel, the exertion helping sell the idea he had a fever, before another quick change back to his Robin costume]
[She's waiting for him there, and the viewing area at the top of the arc is thankfully empty. The scheduled maintenance that kept the regular tourists from using the stairs to climb up had been one of the reasons she'd suggested it as their meeting spot. That, and the landmark was famous enough to be known by someone new to the area.]
Got lost in the crowd of reporters and fans?
[Ladybug teases him when he arrives. She knows how persistent some of them--Alya comes to mind immediately--can be.]
Well what can I say, I just can't disappoint my public [he flashes a charming grin, though he can't keep it up for long and he laughs]
I had to run back and make my civilian excuses before anybody got suspicious. [He's not going to give too much information, of course, nothing she might be able to use to identify him]
And family? [he raises a surprised eyebrow. It isn't like he doesn't know anybody who keeps their secret identity from family too, but they're definitely in the minority, and it's always seemed like it would be really difficult to him] that must be tough. I'm pretty lucky on that front...
Yeah. [Another giggle, this one with a hint of nervousness.] It's starting to get hard to explain why I'm late for class so often. The akuma really like to attack during the day for some reason.
Wait. [This time, it's her eyebrows raising in surprise.] Your family's okay with you being a superhero?
Oh, wow, that must be a lot of work. Gotham's villains sometimes attack during the day, but most of the time we manage to stick to evening missions, I don't miss a lot of class.
[he laughs slightly]
Uh, yea, it's actually kinda... look, you can't tell anyone I told you this because it is kind of personal information, and Batman is super strict about all of that kind of stuff, but he's actually my dad [he doesn't think it's too much of a risk for a fellow superhero halfway around the world to know that one tiny bit of information, it wasn't like she'd be able to use it to figure out who he was. Probably]
Yeah. You saw the butterfly that came out of the guitar earlier. That's an akuma, and Hawkmoth always sends them when he's trying to corrupt someone. When I purify the akuma, it removes Hawkmoth's influence from the person, too.
[Ladybug leans against the wall slightly, deep in thought.]
Somehow, Hawkmoth just knows when someone's upset enough to be turned into one of his puppets. I don't know how he picks them out in a city this populated, but it worries me.
Do you know if he has to be anywhere near them? Have you ever seen this Hawkmoth? Or does he seem to control them from afar? [If he didn't even need to get near them, he could see why it was so worrying, how were you supposed to ever find someone with that kind of power?]
So he's almost impossible to find? [Dick frowns, trying to puzzle out how he'd find somebody like that. With no way of knowing when he would strike or how, it would be almost impossible to even leave some kind of trap.]
It kind of sucks having to wait for something to happen before we can help, but Chat Noir and I make do.
[She shrugs, smiling slightly. It's a rough situation, of course, but she's trying to be optimistic about it. So far she and her partner have managed to save all the victims and keep the city safe; that's good enough for her.]
Having some way to track him down would be helpful, though. I don't think anyone here wants to continue living like this, knowing that being angry can turn you into a target any time.
The two of you seem pretty resourceful, I mean Paris is lucky to have you both protecting its citizens, I'm sure you'll find a way to catch him eventually.
[He goes quite for a moment, thoughtful, wondering how Batman would figure it out]
Nothing quite like this.. we've had villains we had trouble tracking down, but there was always a trail.... the akumas, they have to come from somewhere, right? [he's getting excited now, a possible idea forming]
They're what he uses to turn the people into these things, right? So they must have to reach the person first, so... you need to find some way of seeing where they come from... It'd be difficult, you'd have to set up some kind of surveillance, it might take multiple victims before you can really pinpoint where they're coming from, but every one you see you get a better idea of where it could be coming from until you can narrow it down... does that make sense?
Some kind of akuma surveillance? [Ladybug laughs a little, but she's contemplative.]
Now that I think about it, there are cameras in some areas of the city. I wonder if the mayor would give Chat Noir and I access after the akuma attacks?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Guess the encore's over! [Without hesitation, Ladybug smashes the guitar against the ground, making Sound Machine wail once he catches on. He stops chasing Robin, falling to his knees dramatically.
In no time at all, the dark butterfly is purified and released, and the damage from the attack fixed by her miraculous. Ladybug pads over to Robin as the akuma's victim sits up in confusion.]
Nice job getting the guitar straps. That made everything way easier.
no subject
Glad to be of help [he's sort of on auto-pilot, giving her a grin and a little bow, ever the showman, but he's mentally cataloguing everything that happened for future consideration. What he wouldn't give to be able to clean up a mess, post-fight, the way she did, it was like she turned back time practically.]
...So... I take it this kind of thing happens a lot? [he waves vaguely at the victim, since there wasn't any other evidence of the battle left for him to indicate. He meant the whole thing, the 'akuma' - whatever that was - and the butterfly, the possession, she seemed pretty practiced with all of it]
no subject
Assured that she doesn't have to make a hasty exit, Ladybug gives Robin an assessing look.]
If you're asking, that means you haven't seen this before. I figured you were here to investigate the attacks.
no subject
Nope [He grins a little] 'fraid I wasn't actually here on business, but you know how it is, these things happen you have to help, right?
I will probably pass this on back to Batman though, just in case we do come across it. Anything else you can tell me?
no subject
[Ladybug's hands fiddle idly with her yoyo, mouth pulled down into a slight frown.]
He takes advantage of people's emotions and twists them. All those victims he takes over are just...having a bad day and don't even remember what happened while they were in their other state.
no subject
[Honestly, Robin's fascinated. He's come across mind control and the like before, but not on a scale like this - the ability to create fully fledged villains to wreak havoc on their own terms, what else were Ladybug and Paris' other heroes to do but deal with them when they came up, how were they ever supposed to find this Hawkmoth guy?]
Does he have to meet them or be near them to enact the transformations? Or do you know anything else about him that might help you find him? [He can guess the answer is probably no, Ladybug seems pretty clued up, she didn't seem like the type to have missed such an obvious solution]
no subject
Ladybug offers the cameras a smile and a cheerful wave before turning back to Robin again.]
Meet me at the top of the Arc de triomphe. We can talk more there.
Sorry, gotta go. Stay safe, everyone! [With those parting words to the growing crowd, Ladybug quickly sends her yoyo out and swings away from gardens.]
no subject
[Between being Robin one minute and the son of Gotham's most eligible bachelor the next, Dick's pretty used to the press attention, so he easily flashes a smile and a wave to the cameras before turning back to Ladybug with a nod]
See you there.
Thank you, people of Paris, it's been an honour fighting with your very lovely ladybug! [he waves his own goodbye and fires off his grapple, disappearing across the rooftops after her. It's not much later that he drops onto the top of the arc de triomphe as arranged - after a quick change back into his school uniform and an excuse to his teacher about being sick and going back to the hotel, the exertion helping sell the idea he had a fever, before another quick change back to his Robin costume]
no subject
Got lost in the crowd of reporters and fans?
[Ladybug teases him when he arrives. She knows how persistent some of them--Alya comes to mind immediately--can be.]
no subject
Well what can I say, I just can't disappoint my public [he flashes a charming grin, though he can't keep it up for long and he laughs]
I had to run back and make my civilian excuses before anybody got suspicious. [He's not going to give too much information, of course, nothing she might be able to use to identify him]
no subject
Keeping the secret is hard, huh? [Her smile turns a little bittersweet.] I've had some pretty close calls with my friends and family before.
no subject
And family? [he raises a surprised eyebrow. It isn't like he doesn't know anybody who keeps their secret identity from family too, but they're definitely in the minority, and it's always seemed like it would be really difficult to him] that must be tough. I'm pretty lucky on that front...
no subject
Wait. [This time, it's her eyebrows raising in surprise.] Your family's okay with you being a superhero?
no subject
Oh, wow, that must be a lot of work. Gotham's villains sometimes attack during the day, but most of the time we manage to stick to evening missions, I don't miss a lot of class.
[he laughs slightly]
Uh, yea, it's actually kinda... look, you can't tell anyone I told you this because it is kind of personal information, and Batman is super strict about all of that kind of stuff, but he's actually my dad [he doesn't think it's too much of a risk for a fellow superhero halfway around the world to know that one tiny bit of information, it wasn't like she'd be able to use it to figure out who he was. Probably]
no subject
[She sighs wistfully for a second, then shakes that mood right off, remembering why they met here in the first place.]
Aaaanyway, you wanted to know more about Hawkmoth, right?
no subject
Yea it is... I mean, it means he's pretty hard on me, can't skip out on training or anything, but it's pretty great.
Oh, yea, so this guy makes other people into villains?
no subject
[Ladybug leans against the wall slightly, deep in thought.]
Somehow, Hawkmoth just knows when someone's upset enough to be turned into one of his puppets. I don't know how he picks them out in a city this populated, but it worries me.
no subject
Do you know if he has to be anywhere near them? Have you ever seen this Hawkmoth? Or does he seem to control them from afar? [If he didn't even need to get near them, he could see why it was so worrying, how were you supposed to ever find someone with that kind of power?]
no subject
[Ladybug shakes her head.]
Chat Noir and I tried following one of the purified butterflies before to see if it would lead us to him, but we just went around in circles.
(ooc: I'm guessing they've probably tried it?? It seems like the obvious thing to do to find him...)
no subject
So he's almost impossible to find? [Dick frowns, trying to puzzle out how he'd find somebody like that. With no way of knowing when he would strike or how, it would be almost impossible to even leave some kind of trap.]
That must be tough...
no subject
[She shrugs, smiling slightly. It's a rough situation, of course, but she's trying to be optimistic about it. So far she and her partner have managed to save all the victims and keep the city safe; that's good enough for her.]
Having some way to track him down would be helpful, though. I don't think anyone here wants to continue living like this, knowing that being angry can turn you into a target any time.
no subject
The two of you seem pretty resourceful, I mean Paris is lucky to have you both protecting its citizens, I'm sure you'll find a way to catch him eventually.
[He goes quite for a moment, thoughtful, wondering how Batman would figure it out]
Do you know anything about him?
no subject
[She sighs.] Have you and Batman ever run into this problem before?
no subject
Nothing quite like this.. we've had villains we had trouble tracking down, but there was always a trail.... the akumas, they have to come from somewhere, right? [he's getting excited now, a possible idea forming]
They're what he uses to turn the people into these things, right? So they must have to reach the person first, so... you need to find some way of seeing where they come from... It'd be difficult, you'd have to set up some kind of surveillance, it might take multiple victims before you can really pinpoint where they're coming from, but every one you see you get a better idea of where it could be coming from until you can narrow it down... does that make sense?
no subject
Now that I think about it, there are cameras in some areas of the city. I wonder if the mayor would give Chat Noir and I access after the akuma attacks?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)