#the profiler

The crooked screen door slammed against the frame, shaking the pictures hanging on the thin wall next to it. Slaps of bare feet could be heard from Will’s position under the table, his mommy coming into sight, tattered jeans stopping just in front of him. He didn’t move, fingers gripping the toy car he’d been playing with as he waited to see what she would do. She smacked the table above his head and Will jumped at the loud sound, silently startled. His grasp tightened on the car, cheap plastic wheels making a faint protest to the mistreatment. Heavy footsteps could be heard on the porch, the creak of the door being ripped off its hinges coming next. His daddy’s boots came into sight, stopping in the doorway. A loud curse escaped daddy’s mouth, one of those sounds that mommy was always scolding him for.

“You ain’t goin,” his daddy yelled, slamming his hand against the wall. Will crawled forward a little and he could see where it left a dent in the cheap plywood. He scooted back into his hiding space. “You got a kid, bitch. You jus’ gonna up an’ leave ‘im the way yer mommy left you?”

“He ain’t my kid,” mommy screamed. Will flinched at the sound. Mommy had said mean things about him before, but she’d never said that. “He’s a freak! Don’t talk, don’t cry, don’t laugh. He’s slow, jus’ like his daddy! I ain’t stickin’ ‘round ta raise the next gen’ration of stupid. Yer the one who wanted a kid. You take him! I’m goin’ home. I shoulda listened t’ my daddy an’ never left with you.”

“You bitch,” daddy stepped forward, grabbing at mommy and pulling her away from the table. Will scrambled back so that daddy couldn’t grab him too. He knew how much daddy’s hands could hurt when he was this mad. “You ain’t leavin’ me to raise yer bastard son.”

“Let go of me,” mommy cried, feet desperately pulling back on the rough wood of their kitchen floor. Will could see how she squirmed in his grip, trying to get away. He started to reach out, to wrap a hand around her ankle and draw her in closer, to keep her safe, but he stopped shy of touching her, pulling his hand back again. Mommy was angry enough she probably wouldn’t like it if he touched her. She was weird about that. “I ain’t yer wife. You can’t keep me here.”

“Like hell I can’t,” Will heard a noise he hadn’t heard before, followed by a cry from mommy. “You gave birth t’ him. It’s yer fault he’s broken. You ain’t gettin’ away from raisin’ him.”

“Let me go,” mommy repeated, wrapping one of her hands around daddy’s wrist and pulling, trying to get him to release her. Daddy’s grip changed, grabbing her by the neck instead of the waist. A sound of alarm came from mommy’s throat. Will was scared. He’d never seen his parents fight like this, never seen daddy go after mommy and put his hands on her. He wanted it to stop.

The air was clouded with daddy’s anger and mommy’s fear, so thick that Will felt like he couldn’t breathe, trapped under the table and unable to do anything as daddy wrapped both hands around mommy’s throat, squeezing and squeezing until she made a choked off noise, the fight going out of her body. He watched the way mommy’s body seemed to collapse in daddy’s arms and felt a fear worse than when he had nightmares, worse than when the big man who owned their house came to scream at daddy. Mommy wasn’t moving anymore and daddy was laying her down on the ground, kicking her side with his booted foot. She didn’t make a noise. Will wanted her to move, to tell daddy to stop kicking her, but she didn’t. She didn’t do anything.

Daddy cursed again and grabbed mommy by the shoulders, lifting her body up and tossing it over his shoulder. “Come on, stupid,” he called to Will, kicking the chair that Will was huddled under. “It’s yer fault she’s dead. Least you can do is get rid o’ her.”

Will crawled out from under the table, standing there with his fingers twisted in his ratty shirt. Daddy glared at him and Will flinched back from the look. He didn’t want daddy to hurt him the same way he’d hurt mommy.

“Well, c’mon then. We gotta get this body t’ the gators afore they eat dinner.” Daddy carried mommy out the broken door, tossing her body roughly into the bed of his truck and opening the passenger door for Will. He climbed in as quickly as he could, sitting on his hands in the seat so he didn’t reach out and pick at the tattered leather on the dashboard. Daddy got into his own seat and started the truck, the roar of the engine almost drowning out the heartbeat in Will’s ears. “Stupid bitch couldn’t even raise her own son. We’re better off without her, boy. She ain’t worth no trouble. Don’t you go cryin’ on me now, y’ hear? Yer mommy didn’t love you an’ she left us because o’ it. She didn’t know what to do with a freak like you. Yer broken, kid. It’s yer fault she left.”

The words made no sense. Daddy was the reason mommy was in the back of the truck, wasn’t he? But he was saying it was Will’s fault, and the preacher man said that parents knew the truth that kids didn’t, so it must be Will’s fault. Was he a bad kid? Was that why his mommy had yelled at daddy, why they had fought? He didn’t say anything to daddy about it, just watched him with wide blue eyes, unable to look away. He didn’t want daddy to go after him the same way he’d gone after mommy. That made him feel scared.

Daddy drove them out to the bayou, stopping next to the dock where he kept his boat. He got out of the truck and Will scrambled to hurry after him, little legs jumping down from the height. Daddy was already moving mommy, lifting her out of the truck and dragging her down the dock. There were a pair of gators that liked to hang out, waiting for daddy to toss them some fish guts. He could see their eyes in the water, just barely above the surface. Daddy took his filet knife and ran it across mommy’s throat, red blood pooling. The gators moved closer.

“Y’ see what I’m doin’ to yer mommy,” he asked Will, shaking mommy’s body. “You tell anyone an’ you’ll be next, y’ hear.”

Will nodded, watching as daddy threw mommy into the bayou. The gators moved quick and Will found himself unable to look away. It was horrific, the way they tore mommy up. He wanted to cry, but daddy hated it when he cried. Instead, he stood there, watching as the gators ate what was left of mommy, daddy’s angry justice cutting through the silence like his knife had cut mommy’s throat. They stayed there while the gators did their job before daddy finally moved, putting his hand on Will’s shoulder.

“This is yer fault, boy. If you weren’t stupid yer mommy never would have left.” Daddy squeezed Will’s shoulder and led him back to the truck. Will got back in, turning to watch the gators swim away. The fear that he’d felt in their house was stronger now. If he did something daddy didn’t like then he’d be fed to the gators too. He didn’t want that, didn’t want to feel their teeth tearing his body apart that way. It scared him. He would be extra sure to behave for daddy so he had no reason to feed him to the gators. He had to. “We’re gonna leave now,” daddy told him, leading them back to their house. “We’re gonna move an’ if anybody asks you where yer mommy is you tell them that she left, y’ hear me? You don’t tell no one about what jus’ happened or yer gonna be the next one the gators eat.”

Little girls lost by Eileen Ormsby 10/10

Nancy’s mysterious letter by Carolyn Keene 9/10

The sign of the twisted candle by Carolyn Keene 8/10

Say yes to the duke by Eloisa James 5/10

Coralline by Neil Gaiman 10/10

Throw like a girl by Jean Thomson 6/10

The profiler by Pat Brown 5/10

And then there were none by Agatha Christie 10/10

The graveyard book by Neil Gaiman 10.5/10

The confrontation continues....

[[MORE]]

Chat Noir and Ladybug had hidden away in one of the many alley ways of Paris, catching their breath as they made their next plan of action.

“How... the heck...does she hit so hard?!” Chat winced, still clutching his side. It honestly felt like he had cracked a rib from that blow he took from the Royal Harmine, and he could only hope that Miraculous Ladybug would cure it before he had his photoshoot later today.

“She said she has formal fighting training. Mlle Regal isn’t one to lie, so we can only assume that she is telling the truth.” Ladybug stated, looking down at her Yo-yo’s screen which displayed the Ladyblog. It looked like Royal Harmine had left the school and was on the hunt for them.

“My Lady, I know we just started to fight, but I’m thinking we may need backup, or a plan at the very least.” Chat said, still panting. Ladybug looked at Chat and thought it over carefully.

“Not saying it isn’t a good idea kitty but she would probably expect use to call another hero to help.” Ladybug said slowly “She even said so as much, we need to do something that is unpredictable to get the ring off her.”

“Right... how are we going to do that exactly?” He asked, looking at his partner. They had never had to deal with an akuma item that was a ring before, and from what Adrien had seen earlier, Mlle Regal herself seemed to have a hard time getting it off.

“I’m not sure yet... but we need to think of something unpredictable, something that we’ve never done before, and would never do unless we were stuck...” Ladybug said, her eyebrows knotted together in deep thought.

Chat thought it over too, trying to think. He wasn’t much of a thinker, more of a doer really. Not that he couldn’t make things up as he went, ever the improviser, but long term plans or strategy were never his thing. Heck, even with his scheduling that was all done by-

Chat Noir’s eyes widened as a thought hit him out of nowhere and he looked at Ladybug “Ladybug, I have a crazy idea...”

~~~~~

Nathalie was pacing outside of the car in front of the school. The family driver had gone, hopefully to look for Adrien and Nathalie was dealing with two very angry people on the phone.

“No I don’t know how she was Akumatized.” Nathalie insisted “I arrived at the school, and she walks out looking like some sort of steampunk inspired wannabe and runs after Ladybug and Char Noir!”

“Well that’s just perfect!” Thistle groaned on the phone, with Lloyd letting out a hum in agreement. “Let’s hope they can handle it.”

“Blaine’s plane should be landing in about an hour, so when this is over well all go drinking” Lloyd stated.

“If this is over!” Thistle insisted “Remember the last someone tried to get the jump on her? Poor dude had to be put in the hospital for three days, and she doesn’t even have super powers!”

“Oh trust me, this will end one way or another.” Nathalie stated darkly, thinking of what she would do that Gabriel if he didn’t release Carmine soon.

Nathalie jumped back however when she heard something land behind her and looked to see Ladybug and Chat Noir, looking at her expectedly. “... Thistle, Lloyd, I’m going to have to call you back.” She said, hanging up and looking at the two super hero’s.

“Nathalie Sancoeur, we need your help.” Chat Noir stated to her with the utmost importance.

‘I’m sorry, what?’ Nathalie thought, looking at her employers mortal enemies, with a blank stare. She felt the peacock pin in her pocket, she always kept it on her now, even if the just the thought of using it made her sick.

“... please tell me you aren’t making me a super hero.” Nathalie stated to them gravely.

“No.” Chat Noir stated “No, no. We need your help to come up with a plan to defeat Royal Harmine!” He said desperately, looking at her with pleading eyes that reminded her far too much of Adrien’s.

She couldn’t help her employers mortal enemies, she knew this, however said employer had also gone back on his word of never akumatising her friends... She remembered a conversation she had with Carmine a few years back, about things that hurt men the most.

Nathalie had said a kick to the groin, but Carmine said the true was to hurt a man was to attack his ego... Nathalie unlocked her phone and sent a message to Gabriel that simply read ‘I’m taking my lunch now, don’t bother me during my personal time.’ Before turning off her phone and looking at the two hero’s. “What do you need to know?”

“Does Mlle Regal actually have formal fighting training or was that a lie?” Ladybug asked Nathalie, to which the woman raised a brow.

“Carmine doesn’t typically lie, it’s one of the things I love about her. I do know for a fact that she has had formal training however, I believe her uncle taught her how to use a Bo staff and she still practices to stay in shape.” Nathalie stated truthfully. Nathalie noticed for a brief moment that Chat Noir looked surprised at the thought before Ladybug asked her next question.

“What are her weaknesses?” Ladybug asked quickly, and Nathalie looked at her with an even expression.

“If we were just talking about Carmine and not Royal Harmine, I would say tea.” Both super hero’s looked at her with a deadpanned expression at the statement “It’s true! She can never go longer than a day without having a cup of tea! We once had to-“

“We need something that is a bit more proactive than a tea addiction Mlle Sancoeur.” Ladybug interrupted her politely. Nathalie looked at both the hero’s before sighing, rubbing her temples as she thought of the best way to word this next sentence.

“Look, it’s not like Carmine has a super secret weak spot on her body you can hit and she’ll go down like a sack of potato’s.” She said to the two super hero’s “She won’t go down without a fight, I’m not exactly a military tactician here-“

“Ladybug!” They heard a voice yell and everyone tensed and looked over at the owner of the voice, only to see Chloe running down to them.

“Chloe, now is not the time-“ Ladybug began, looking somewhat annoyed however Chloe cut her off.

“I want to help! Please!” Chloé pleaded, causing Ladybug to blink.

“What...”

“Please! The Akuma is Mlle Regal, the school’s Counsellor, she needs help and I want to help her!” She insisted “She’s done so much for all the akuma victims and she’s always helping me, even though she really REALLY doesn’t have to, and-and...” Chloe looked at them pleadingly, clearly trying to stay calm “And the LGBT Club is meeting today after school, and we can’t have it without her, and we were going to talk coming out to family tonight...”

Ladybug continued to look at Chloe with a surprised expression on her face, surprised the girl wasn’t demanding that they bring the Bee Miraculous to her to become Queen Bee, but than again she couldn’t really do that with Nathalie standing there.

Nathalie was staring at Chloe, the gears turning in her head “Wait a second... I think I have a-“

“There you are~” a voice said in a sickly sweet tone. Everyone turned around to see Royal Harmine smirking at them as she began to walk towards them.

Ladybug and Chat Noir instantly went into offensive positions “You two run!” Ladybug said to Nathalie and Chloe as Royal Harmine suddenly ran forward towards the two hero’s.

Nathalie grabbed ahold of Chloe and ran off to the side of the building, even with the blondes protests “We need to help them!” She insisted to Nathalie.

The older woman looked at Chloe with a neutral expression “We will, but we can’t fight Carmine using brute strength. We need to attack her empathy, and I need you to do something first.” Nathalie said to her in a serious tone “First, I need you to make a group chat with all of the people Carmine and helped, than you need to type this message in...”

~~~~

Offensive wasn’t working for the Miraculous duo, so instead Ladybug and Chat Noir could only stay on the defensive as Royal Harmine repeatedly hit them with everything she had.

They had yet to land a single hit on her, having ended up on top of the schools roof, Ladybug and Chat panting heavily as Royal Harmine looked at them with a bored expression on her face. “Really, this is the best that Paris has to offer in terms of defence?” She asked coldly “You two have grown complacent. You think that just because you have beat every akuma thus far you don’t need to improve anything.”

Royal Harmine looked at Ladybug as she began to spin her yo-yo round and round and run towards her at full speed, only for the woman to duck out of the way and land a solid punch in the young hero’s diaphragm.

Ladybug let out a loud gasp as she landed on her knees, desperately trying get air in her lungs from that hit. Royal Harmine looked down at her sadly “Your yo-yo attacks are too predicable, and your movements are that of someone who watches martial arts instead of participating in them. That is why you aren’t able to hit me.”

“Ladybug! Leave her alone!” Chat Noir ran up as he snarled at the akuma, baton at the ready to hit only for Royal Harmine to bring up her staff to hit Chat’s hand hard, than grabbing said hand with her own, twisting it behind the hero’s back at a painful angle causing the hero to yell in pain.

“And you, my dear little cat, continue to use the baton as if it were a sword. You are also reckless, and don’t think of what your actions will do after they are done. Your recklessness has often left Ladybug to fight by herself...” Royal Harmine looked down at the hero’s hand, his wrist firmly being held with her own hand. She saw the black ring right there, even as Chat Noir tried desperately to get away . “Like you are about to right now...” she said as her other hand gently wrapped around the ring and began to pull.

Ladybug’s eyes widened as she continued to cough and gag, trying to catch her breath, and Chat Noir tried to pull away with no sign of escape. This could possibly be the end.

Royal Harmine felt resistance as she tugged on the ring, however it wasn’t by some sort of magic that prevented the ring from coming off, but from her own hand refusing to move. Royal Harmine- no, CARMINE knew this was wrong, her eyes beginning to flash between the demonic shade of yellow to the soft ember they usually are whenever she used her magic. She knew she couldn’t just take the ring off Chat Noir, off of her student, she couldn’t let that mad man have the Miraculous!

Her fingers began to loosen ever so slightly before a wave of psychic pain went through her again, her ember eyes turning to that sickly shade of yellow as she grabbed on the ring and was about to pull again.

“MLLE REGAL!” Came a voice, and everyone looked to Chloe who stood just outside of the roof access door, panting as she looked at the group, clutching her phone tightly. “I desperately need to talk to you!”

Royal Harmine looked at Chloe with an annoyed look on her face “Chloe, if you haven’t noticed, now is not that time-“

“My parents are going to get a divorce, and if I find out that I have to leave to live with my mother, I will jump off of this roof right now!” Chloé said desperately.

Royal Harmine’s head snapped towards Chloe so fast it almost gave her whiplash. She still held onto Chat’s wrist tightly but her focus was now on Chloe “Chloe! That is not the way you deal with this sort of thing!” Royal Harmine said horrified.

“I don’t know what to do!” Chloe continued “Please!” Her eyes were filled with tears “A-also, Marc hasn’t told his parents that he is bi yet, they think he is going a book club!” She continued before looking at her phone again “And Mylene had a really bad nightmare recently and she thinks she relapsing into her fear of horror films! And you becoming an akuma is making Juleka have an anxiety attack!” She continued, looking down at the group chat as more and more people replied to Chloe’s earlier question that she posted, which was ‘What has been bothering you that Mlle Regal can help with?’.

Chloe let out another sob as she looked at Royal Harmine “Please, I just... I really need a hug...”

A purple butterfly mask appeared over Royal Harmine’s face which she scowled at “Shut up, I will get them when I am done with this!” She growled, dropping Chat Noir and walking over to the sobbing girl.

Ladybug let out another strained gasp as Chat Noir groaned, slowly getting onto his hands and knees. Ladybug let out a soft “L-Lucky Charm!” And bag of marbles appeared in her hands. ‘Seriously?!’ She thought to herself as Royal Harmine reached Chloe, taking her hands.

“Chloe, I know this is a lot-“ the butterfly mask appear and Royal Harmine turned her head to the side so she wasn’t looking at Chloe as she yelled “IN A MINUTE!” Before turning back to Chloe “I know a lot is going on, but I am here for you, and all the other students, I just have this to deal with than we will talk this all over, alright?”

Chloe let out a soft sniffle “I’m sorry...”

Royal Harmine smiled kindly at her “Chloe, I told you, you never have to apologies for your feelings.”

Chloe shook her head “No... not for that...” Chloe looked at Royal Harmine with a sad determined look on her face as she gripped the older woman’s ring finger “For this.” With all of Chloe’s strength, she bent back The woman’s ring finger, causing it to snap into an unnatural angle.

Royal Harmine let out an inhuman scream as Chloe gripped onto the ring and yanked it off with all of her might, the ring coming off with almost no resistance. Chloe looked at the Miraculous duo, making a split second decision.

“CHAT! CATCH!” She yelled, throwing the ring towards Chat. Royal Harmine turned around and began to run after it, however Ladybug, seeing the opportunity, opened the bag of marbles and threw them across the roof, causing the woman to slip and fall.

Chat Noir, grabbed the ring as he yelled out Cataclysm, the ring becoming destroyed as the butterfly appeared.

When he was two or three, he's unclear which, his father came home drunk one day to find his mother packing her bags. She told him that she was leaving, that she couldn't live with a drunk who couldn't hold a job anymore. She wanted more out of life than wondering if there would be money for food and rent. They started fighting and before she could move away, he struck her on the head with a wrench, killing her instantly.

Desperate to hide what he'd done, Will's father dismembered the body and made Will help him carry the tarp wrapped pieces to his truck. They drove to the dock and threw the pieces of Will's mother into the bayou for the gators to eat.

Her long arms are bare, outspread with a final offering in the palms of her hands. Her heart, still connected to her chest, rests in her left hand, fingers wrapped around the still ventricles. In her right, her tongue, ripped from her mouth for all the vile things that she has uttered in life, now silenced forever.

The killer despised this woman. She was a stain on the earth to him. To have hung her by her own hair, to turn her beauty into her death, spoke to his hatred of her. The disgust in the way he ripped her heart out of her chest. There was no reverence for her life, not this woman. No, her life was so abhorrent to him that he saw fit to remove it from her.

"What's missing," Will glanced in the general direction of Jack, not meeting his eyes. "What did he take?"

Jack stared him down. Will could feel the weight of his gaze on the left side of his face. He forced himself to stay still, not to fidget under those eyes. Jack thought he could figure Will out. He was wrong. But the way he stared made Will uncomfortably aware of the fact that Jack expected him to know what had happened.

"Her liver and pancreas," Jack finally said, looking away from Will.

"Sweetbreads," Will hummed, thinking of how Hannibal would prepare them. "He's got exotic tastes."

Zeller glanced up at that, a wrinkle in his brow and his lips parted like he was going to comment. Will ignored him, staring instead at the victim.

The pendulum swung.

He closed his eyes.

He was holding her shoulders, pulling her body beneath the branch that would be her support. She wasn't dead, not yet, but she wasn't fighting, the sedative doing its job to keep her subdued enough not to fight, but aware of what was happening to her all the same. Her long braid rested over one shoulder, twining around her body down to her waist. He reached down, gently lifting it and wrapping it around her neck.

It took some manipulating but soon he had her hanging from the branch, body struggling in the breeze as she took her final breaths. He watched, impressed with himself and the movement of her legs as they kicked one last time. As soon as she stilled, it was time for him to work.

He ripped open her mouth with harsh moves, grabbing hold of her libelous tongue and pulling until it separated from the tendons holding it in place, the offending organ removed so that she could no longer spit out her lies. It would rest in the same hand that had penned so many untruths.

Her heart was another matter. He sliced carefully when he opened up her chest, breaking her ribs right around the organ he craved. He left it connected to arteries and veins, pulling it slowly from her body so that the connections would remain.

The other organs were harvested with ease, stowed away for his later consumption. Then the display needed to be made.

Her arms the scales of justice, her eyes blind just as Lady Justice was, her organs the weights that would be used to determine her fate. A life led in the pursuit of harming others brought to justice in death.

The pendulum swung again.

Will opened his eyes.

"Is it the Ripper?" Jack looked almost fevered as he asked the question, like he desperately wanted it to be another Ripper killing, for the second sounder to start so that he could pursue his white whale. But Jack was not Captain Ahab and this was not the high seas.

"No." Will shook his head, pulling his glasses off and wiping them on the corner of his shirt. "The skill isn't there. This isn't him. But it- it is someone who wants to be seen by him. It's a love letter, an invitation. Whoever this is, he wants the Ripper to see him, to accept his gifts. I don't know who it is, but I have a feeling he's going to kill again. He's going to have to. He's in love."

"With the Ripper?" Jack sounded disgusted. He sighed, shaking his head. "I want this guy caught, Graham. Catch him."

Will hummed, turning away from the scene.