Chapter Text
Wayhem rang the doorbell at the Agreste Mansion. He could hear the music from a huge party inside.
Adrien's father must have relented. Surely his number-one fan would be included! Wayhem had brought a mirrored disco ball to add to the fun.
There was no answer, even though he rang again and again. He tried calling on his cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
Wayhem pulled off his Groucho Marx glasses with a fake nose and mustache.
"Not only are you allowed to have friends over, but apparently a huge party is no big deal either," said Wayhem. "Why did you lie to me, Adrien?"
A tear trickled down Wayhem's face at the betrayal by his idol. He turned away from the gate.
An akuma butterfly entered the Groucho glasses in Wayhem's hand. The young fan felt his disappointment turn to rage.
"Party Crasher, I am Hawk Moth. So, you weren't invited. Well, I'm giving you the power to crash that party, and end it for good!"
"Let's get this party started, Hawk Moth!" said Party Crasher.
Hawk Moth smiled grimly. For once he was sending out an akuma in self-defense, to restore power to his comatose wife's life support system before it was too late. Necessity had inspired him to create a supremely effective villain for his purpose.
"To all of you who have invaded my house, now face the most fearsome super-villain ever created!" said Hawk Moth.
He knew the villain looked ridiculous, all the better to be underestimated and catch his enemies by surprise.
Party Crasher had a silver mirror-covered outfit, except for a black shirt. He had a light blue face, pink hair and mustache, and mirror-ball gloved hands: a disco nightmare.
Party Crasher did a dancing spin, raised one spherical hand into the air, and brought it against the locked gate, which instantly vanished to appear as a small image on one of the facets of the mirror ball.
He dashed up the steps to the front door, jumped up and down with a Rocky-style cheer, and then absorbed the door.
Adrien's bodyguard saw him and charged as Party Crasher leaped into the room.
Party Crasher saw the man's future movements like lighted tiles in a disco floor.
"Your body language is like second nature to me," said Party Crasher with a "hip" accent. "I can read your dance steps, see all your moves in advance."
Party Crasher dodged gracefully and brought his fist into contact with the bodyguard, trapping him in the mirror facet just below the one with the gate.
Everyone was paying attention to a small fellow kneeling on the floor, some sort of mustached biker, when Party Crasher entered the room.
"So, Adrien! Too busy for your number-one fan? I'll make sure you never forget to invite me to one of your parties again!" said Party Crasher.
He looked so ridiculous that everyone just laughed.
Party Crasher sprang forward and absorbed Adrien's couch, along with Xavier Ramier (the pigeon enthusiast), Théo Barbot (the sculptor), and an orange-vested co-worker of Jean Tretiens (the sanitation engineer).
He then captured Jalil Kubdel, Mr. Damocles in his Owl costume, and others in rapid succession. The crowd in the room panicked and ran.
"Adrien? Where are you, Adrien?" shouted Party Crasher.
He intended to capture Adrien, to punish him by holding him motionless for a few hours, and then release him as his permanent party host.
"Before you give chase, you must find the source of the disruption to the house's electrical system," Hawk Moth sent by telepathic link.
Finding a small robot plugged in to a computer, the villain captured it and put things back to normal.
"Perfect!" said Hawk Moth.
Ladybug and Chat Noir were just below the front steps when Party Crasher came out.
"You know the tune," said Chat Noir. "When the heroes show up the party's over!"
"Fools, all I need do is to touch you and your Miraculous will be mine!"
Chat Noir leaped at him. Rather than capture him immediately, Party Crasher toyed with the hero by leaping aside at just the right moment and giving him a kick. He tried to capture Chat while he was stunned, but Ladybug pulled Chat out of the way with her yo-yo, a fast move that evaded his disco-floor vision.
Ladybug and Chat Noir conferred for a moment on top of a sculpture, and Ladybug called for a Lucky Charm and got a small object. Party Crasher sent a glittery blast at them, but they leaped out of the way.
However, leaping down resulted in a perfectly predictable trajectory. Party Crasher was in position to catch Ladybug just before she landed. She ended up on a mirror facet next to The Owl. Party Crasher looked at her frozen image and smiled to himself.
Chat Noir was on top of a parked yellow car, and he yelled, "NOOOO!"
Chat started to jump, but someone behind the car held him back by his tail. He looked behind the car for a moment, then charged at Party Crasher, saying "Give me my Lady back!"
Party Crasher found the enraged Chat Noir highly predictable and easy to dodge. He kept an eye out for the hidden enemy behind the car, someone fast enough to catch Chat by the tail and strong enough to hold him back for a moment.
Party Crasher saw a lighted path of squares on the ground, leading from behind one parked car to another. He aimed a blast and caught an elderly man in a Hawaiian shirt.
"That's nobody," sent Hawk Moth. "Just Adrien's Mandarin tutor. Get Chat Noir!"
Chat continued to attack.
"You can't catch me! I can read your every dance step!" Party Crasher said.
Chat Noir leaped and Party Crasher nearly caught him when he landed again, but Chat extended his pole and he only got that. Chat jumped onto Party Crasher's back where he couldn't be easily touched, but he was shaken off.
Chat Noir was panting, trying to figure out what to do when he spotted a hexagonal box on the ground near him. He scooped it up and hid behind a parked car to check it out.
Before Chat could open it, Party Crasher had reached him. He absorbed the car, the hero leaning against it, and the box he was holding. Each went to a separate facet of the mirror ball.
"You have done incredible work, Party Crasher," sent Hawk Moth telepathically. "You caught both Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now all you need to do is send them to me, along with their Miraculous!"
"Let's dance," said Party Crasher.
He raised his arms and the mirrored globes flew off, becoming a silvery miniature helicopter in the air. Nobody was there to stop the helicopter as it flew through the secret window in the Agreste Mansion.
"Come and join me, Party Crasher. Celebrate with me the triumph over my enemies!" sent Hawk Moth.
"The party's on, Hawk Moth!" said Party Crasher, leaping after the helicopter.
Nino, Max, and Luka emerged from their hiding places behind parked cars.
"This is bad, dudes!" said Nino. "He got Ladybug and Chat Noir!"
Luka picked up a hexagonal wooden box from the ground. "I recognize this style of box."
"So do I," said Max.
"Me too," said Nino.
"There may be more," said Luka. "Look around."
They found no more small boxes, but there was a larger box with many opened drawers, next to a cooler bag with its ice and drinks spilled beside it on the ground.
"I think this box is highly important," said Max. "The probability is 98%."
"Let's get it someplace safe before the disco dude akuma comes back for it," said Nino.
In Hawk Moth's lair, the villain examined his prize. The helicopter was covered with facets like a disco ball, many containing the frozen images of his captives.
Party Crasher stood beside him with an evil grin.
Hawk Moth broke the mirror facet containing Ladybug. She came out continuing her leap, but she was off-balance and fell to the floor. Hawk Moth pushed her down, grabbed off her earrings, and handcuffed her hands behind her back.
"Victory is mine, Ladybug! Or should I call you... Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" said Hawk Moth.
"You won't win," said Marinette, with a voice that quavered as she tried to sound brave.
"I already have," said Hawk Moth. "I'll let you witness my taking your partner's Miraculous, then have Party Crasher put you both back into his mirrors, fully conscious but unable to move. I'll keep you that way forever as punishment for daring to thwart me all this time!"
He broke the facet containing Chat Noir and quickly subdued him to take his ring.
Hawk Moth's laugh of triumph died when he saw his enemy's face.
"Adrien?" said Hawk Moth.
"Adrien?" echoed Party Crasher.