#Beyyo

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 8: Little Talks!

After school, Adrien asked Vlad if he wanted to hang out, but Vlad said “Sorry Adrien, but I got a gig this afternoon. If I have some time afterwards, I’ll give you a call.”

“OK” said Adrien.

“Seeya” said Vlad leaving.

Adrien saw Marinette and asked “Hey Marinette. Are you doing anything? Do you wanna hang out?”

“Sorry Adrien. As much as I want to, I have something I need to take care of” said Marinette.

“No sweat, Marinette” said Adrien. “Just give me a call when you have time. I’m free from my obligations for today.”

“I will. Thanks” said Marinette, also leaving.

“Nino, Alya” said Adrien. “You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about.”

“Yeah dude” said Nino.

“Oh? And what might that be?” Lila asked.

“Uhhhhhhhhh” said Nino, looking around nervously. “It’s a guy thing. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then why is Alya here?” Lila asked.

“Well, uh, we were just in class” said Nino. “We didn’t get a chance to break off yet.”

Lila glared at Nino. “OK,” she said.

“Great. Seeya ‘round” said Nino, walking off with Adrien. After they left, Alya received a text from Nino. “This works out OK. You can keep an eye on Lila. I think she’s somewhat suspicious of me ATM.”

Alya nodded. She caught up with Lila and said “Hey Lila, what are you doing?”

“Huh?” said Lila. She was indeed following Nino and Adrien.

Alya took note of this. Maybe Marinette is right she thought to herself. “Come on girl, let’s go get some ice cream from Andre’s” she said, putting her arm on her shoulder and guiding her out of school.

Nino pulled Adrien into a corner. “What’s this about?” Adrien asked.

“It’s about Lila” Nino said. “Do you really believe she’s a liar?”

Adrien was shocked. “Unfortunately, yes.” he said.

“Why didn’t you tell me, bro?” Nino said.

“I’m sorry Nino” Adrien said. “You guys were ganging up on Marinette when she was trying to tell you. I didn’t want the same to happen to me. I guess that makes me selfish.”

“Nah, it’s cool” said Nino. “You’re right. We were all mean with Marinette.”

“Besides, maybe if we can set a good example, Lila will stop lying” Adrien said.

“Vlad said the same thing,” Nino said.

“Wait. Vlad told you this?” Adrien said.

“Yeah” said Nino. “But it was only after I confronted him about a lie Lila told me.”

“What did she tell you?” Adrien asked.

“Well, he told me the reason he didn’t want to pair with Alya was because he had a crush on her, but was too shy to admit it,” said Nino.

“That… doesn’t make any sense” said Adrien.

“Alya told me the same thing,” said Nino.

“Wait, Alya knows?” said Adrien.

“Yeah. She was with him when I confronted Vlad” said Nino.

“Wait. Sorry, I’m thinking of something else” said Adrien. “What happened?”

“Well, I confronted Vlad, then Alya said that it probably wasn’t true because Vlad didn’t trust Alya and he said it to her face, and then Vlad explained that you said Lila was a liar.”

“Oh” said Adrien. “Well, yes, Lila does lie a lot, but maybe she’ll tell us the truth when she’s ready.”

“Are you sure about this?” Nino asked.

“Well, we’ve been setting a positive example for Chloe, and she’s changing,” said Adriien. “Even though she still has a ways to go still.”

“I guess you’re right” said Nino. “But don’t be afraid to cut the line if it becomes too much.”

“I’ll keep that in mind” said Adrien.

“Hey, should we warn everyone else?” Nino said. “Just so that if Marinette explodes on Lila again, we know to stand up for her.”

“Great idea” said Adrien, getting his phone out. The two boys started text their friends and warning them to be cautious, but not confrontational, with Lila. They explained that Lila is a liar, and explained what happened between Nino and Vlad. “That should do it” said Adrien.

“Maybe we should text Marinette and Vlad as well. Just so they know where we all stand.”

“You’re right” said Adrien. “I’ll take Vlad, since I believe I’m the only one with his number.”

“I guess that leaves me with Marinette” said Nino. The two boys continued texting. “I’ll text Alya about this too.”

“You know Nino, you’re always there for someone who needs it,” said Adrien.

“Uh, thanks” said Nino, blushing.

Earlier, Marinette arrived at Master Fu’s parlor. “Master!” she screamed.

“What is it?” Master Fu asked.

“It’s Judgement Wolf” she said.

“What about him?” Master Fu asked.

Marinette looked a little sad. “He found out who Carapace is. I assume he tested Nino already.”

“Marinette, what is it that I always say to you when you come here in an emergency?” Master Fu.

“You tell me to pick someone I can trust” Marinette said.

“Exactly” said Master Fu. “Do you trust Nino?”

“Of course I do” Marinette said.

“Then I see nothing to worry about” Master Fu said. “If you trust your allies, you should trust them to pass.”

“I know Master,” Marinette said, “but it’s so hard. I know Judgement Wolf wants what’s best. I know my allies are good. It’s just a lot of pressure. I’m supposed to protect everyone. Including my friends. If Judgement Wolf can undermine me like that, then who’s to say Hawk Moth won’t get to me either?”

“A doubt’s greatest weakness is confidence” Master Fu said. “It is possible that Hawk Moth can overwhelm you, but if you start thinking he can, he will.”

“Right Master” Marinette. “Um, there’s something else.”

“What is it?”

“I kind of told him that you were in town” Marinette admitted. “But he did agree to meet with you on your terms. So, um, what might those be?”

“I expected him to figure out I was here, if he didn’t already know. just have one before he meets with me” said Master Fu. “He must reveal himself to you.”

“Me?” Marinette said.

“He knows your secret. I will meet with him when you know his” Master Fu said.

“OK” said Marinette, now more confident. “Thank you Master. Seeya” she said, leaving.

After she left, she received a text from Nino. “Marinette, Sorry we didn’t believe you about Lila. I talked to Adrien, and we’re going to try his subtle approach to help Lila lie less. We texted everyone else about this, so they know now too. Again, sorry. -Nino”

“Wow, that’s incredible” Marinette said.

“Well, you do trust Nino, right?” Tikki said.

“Of course Tikki” said Marinette. Marinette texted Nino back “Thanks Nino. I feel a lot better knowing everyone is with me.” “Oh hey. I just remembered. Adrien invited me to hang out with him.” She gave him a call.

“And done” said Adrien.

Nino got Marinette’s message. “Marinette just texted me back.”

“I wonder if that means she’s done with what she needs to do” Adrien said. Adrien’s phone then rang. “Marinette?” he answered.

“Hi Adrien” said Marinette. “Are you still free?”

“Yeah” said Adien. “Meet me at school.”

“Great. I’ll see you then” said Marinette. She hung up.

“Nino, are you free?” said Adrien.

“For you, I always am” said Nino. “I’ll text Alya and ask her to come too.”

“Great” said Adrien.

At Andre’s, Alya and Lila are hanging out, eating ice cream, when Alya got a text. “Who’s that from?” Lila asked.

“It’s from Nino” Alya said. “He’s done talking about his guy stuff with Adrien. I’ll text him to tell him I’ll meet him later. You and I aren’t doing hanging out.”

Lila smiled and said “That’s OK. He’s your boyfriend. You should to see him.”

“Really?” Alya said. Lila nodded. “Well, OK then. Seeya” she said, getting up to leave.

“Bye” said Lila, keeping a smile up for a few seconds until she turned angry. She walked away in a huff.

“Andre thought his treats were as cold as ice, but the aura on that girl was anything but nice” Andre said after Lila left.

Marinette met up with Adrien and Nino in front to the school. Alya was not far behind. “Hey ladies” Adrien said.

“Hi Adrien” Marinette said.

“So, are we waiting on anyone else?” Alya asked.

“Just Vlad. He texted me during his break. He said he had half an hour left and then he could come” said Adrien.

“So, it’s just the five of us?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, everyone else was busy with something” said Adrien.

“I see” said Marinette.

“Marinette. Again, I’m sorry about the whole Lila thing” said Nino.

“It’s OK Nino, you don’t have to apologize anymore” Marinette said. “I forgive you.”

“It was a good idea for you to tell everyone else” said Alya. “But I don’t know how she’ll take it. She was following you two after you left. I had to take her to Andre’s to get the heat off you.”

“What better way to get rid of heat than with Andre’s cold treats?” said Adrien.

“Hey, that sounds like something Andre would say” said Marinette, giggling.

“Oh yeah, it does” said Adrien, also starting to giggle. The two of them got into a giggle fit. While that was happening, Alya pulled Nino aside and whispered to him “And you thought you weren’t worthy of being a hero. You saved Marinette fro having to deal with Lila by herself.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t realize there was a problem before” said Nino.

“But when you figured it out, you did everything you could” said Alya. “Don’t worry about being the brightest guy. You’re a good person  through and through.”

“Hey! I’m smart” said Nino, playfully shoving Alya. Alya shoved back. Soon they were in a giggle fit all of their own.

Vlad’s limo pulled up and rushed out. “Hey guys! He said. “Ready to go?”

Everyone broke from the laughing fit they were in. Yeah, we should be ready” said Adrien.

“Great. I can get us there” said Vlad, gesturing to his limo.

“Cool. Thanks” said Adrien. Everyone got into the limo. Vlad was sitting on one end, Adrien on the other, and Marinette in the middle. Alya and Nino were on the other side. Marinette couldn’t help but be nervous and fidgety.

“By the way Vlad, I need to talk to you about something” Adrien said in a more serious tone. Marinette’s nervousness went away and was replaced by concern.

“What is it?” Vlad said.

“Well, Nino told me about what happened with the two of you” Adrien said.

“What happened?” Marinette said.

“Well, Nino said that Lila told him that Vlad told her that the reason he didn’t want to get paired with Alya was because he had a crush on her?”

“What?” Marinette said. She started laughing uncontrollably.

“Um, what’s so funny?” Alya asked.

“Should we tell them?” Adrien said.

“It’s public information” Vlad said.

“What is?” Nino said.

“Vlad’s gay!” Marinette said.

“WHAT?” Alya and Nino said loudly.

“Yeah, that’s why I was confused earlier Nino” said Adrien.

“But how do you know Marinette?” Alya asked.

“Well, when I was doing research on him the day he came to class, I came across the article where he came out” said Marinette.

“Oh” said Alya.

“Uh, sorry again” said Nino.

“You don’t need to apologize to me” said Vlad. “I’m just stunned that despite it being public, Lila didn’t know that.”

“Well, you are new to the school,” said Marinette. “Lila fools everyone and gets them under her thumb by knowing who everyone is already. You’re basically an X factor in this.” Marinette was shocked and then said “I’m sorry I just called you guys foolish.”

“It’s OK Marinette” said Alya.

“Alright, from here on, this is the limo of no apologies” said Vlad. “We’re here to have fun, not feel sorry for ourselves.”

“You’re right” said Adrien. “But I do want to know. What happened that Lila decided to lie about you?”

“Oh. That” said Vlad. “Well, I thought Lila was making a joke at Marinette’s expense. So, I did what you asked, and responded calmly, but still defending Marinette.”

“Oh” said Adrien. He noticed Marinette looking down. “I’ll just talk to her later. I’ll see what’s up.”

“Thanks Adrien” she said, giving him a hug. It took her a few seconds before she realized what she was doing. She broke the hug and turned away embarrassingly.

Just because a book is open, doesn’t mean that people can read it Vlad thought to himself. He laughed at his own joke for a bit.

They arrived that Agreste Manor and walked in. “Hello Adrien. I see you have company. Unfortunately, your father will be in his office all night” said Nathalie.

“That’s OK Nathalie” said Adrien. “We’ll be in my room if he needs anything.” Nathalie was surprised by what Adrien said.

“And by the way, don’t go into Mr. Agreste’s office unless it’s strictly professional” Vlad said, laughing.

Nathalie’s face went from shock to stern. “Well, I suggest you get to whatever you plan on doing” said Nathalie, as she walked into Gabriel’s office. “And this IS a professional visit.” She slammed the door.

“Vlad” said Adrien, shoving him.

“I’m sorry. It’s just too funny” said Vlad. “The look on her face every time is worth it.”

“What was that about?” Marinette asked.

“It’s just about how we first met” said Adrien.

“Wanna here the story?” Vlad asked.

“YEAH!” said Alya. “Spare no detail.”

“If you must” said Adrien, embarrassed.

“Let’s go” Vlad said. Everyone started walking up stairs and to Adrien’s room. “So, we were both getting ready for a model show, along with some other models.”

“Alright everyone, you’re on in 15!” said an assistant. The other models were ready with their make-up and decided to go to get their clothes on. Vlad was putting on some finishing touches. He got out of his seat and saw Adrien sitting there, looking sad.

“Hey!” said Vlad. “What are you doing moping around?! I don’t like the type of model who pretends to be sad and gloomy. Those people are always out for more attention. Well guess what? You're a model! You get lots of attention already!”

“Yeah” said Adrien, still sad. He got out of his chair and was beginning to leave.

Vlad was confused. “Wait, hold up” he said. “Are you actually sad?”

“I guess. Not like it matters” said Adrien. “I just gotta get out there and smile and wave, and then I’ll be done for the evening.”

“Woah, stop” said Vlad, appearing in front of him. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just I don’t trust people easily. I can get angry at people easily. Especially at people I don’t know.”

Adrien smiled at this guy’s apology. “It’s OK” he said. “Don’t worry about it.” He kept walking, head still down.

“Wait!’ said Vlad catching up. “You tell me not to worry about it, but you’re still clearly worried about whatever you’re worried about.”

“I guess I am” said Adrien. “You’re not still worried about looking like a jerk now, are you?’

“No. But” said Vlad. “But now I’m worried about you. You’re a strange guy, you know that?”

“Yeah” said Adrien.

Vlad was surprised. He then sighed. “Alright. It seems like you need a friend. At least for now.” He held out his hand. “I’m Vlad.”

Adrien was surprised by the gesture. He grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m Adrien.”

The two of them walked into the dressing room. “Now tell me, what’s wrong?” Vlad asked.

“It’s just, my mother went missing recently…” said Adrien.

“Oh Geez! I’m so sorry” said Vlad.

“Enough. It’s fine” said Adrien. “But as worried as I am about that, I’m more worried about my father. See, ever since she went missing, he’s been acting more distant. Sure, he’s not the warmest person, but lately something's changed.”

“Well, he’s going through something too” said Vlad.

“I wish” said Adrien. “But lately he’s been spending so much time with his new secretary, Nathalie.”

“You think he’s…?” said Vlad. Adrien nodded. “DUDE! That’s not right. You should confront him about that.”

“What if he hates me?” Adren said.

“Look, I don’t know your father,” said Vlad, “but you two are going through something together. You both should understand that. If what you say is true, he might just be acting out.”

“You think so?” said Adrien.

“Trust me” said Vlad.

“Well, you don’t trust me” said Adrien.

“Yes I do” said Vlad, slouching.

“When did this happen?” Adrien said.

“Just now” said Vlad.

“OK” said Adrien.

“Vlad, you’re up. Adrien, you’re on-deck” said an assistant.

“Well, looks like it’s my time to shine” said Vlad.

“Break a leg,” said Adrien.

Vlad modeled his clothes off, and Adrien soon followed. They were both very popular on the catwalk. Later, after the event was over, Vlad and Adrien were laughing it up in the dressing room. Gabriel busted in and said “ADRIEN! Let’s go!” Nathalie was standing behind him.

“Yes father” said Adrien, getting sad.

“Hold on!’ said Vlad. “Tell him.”

“Not now” said Adrien, shocked.

“Tell me what?” Gabriel said.

Vlad pouted “Ugh! Tell him about how you think he’s-”

“Having an affair with your secretary” Adrien said in the present, interrupting the story.

“That’s not what I said,” said Vlad.

“Please pretend it is” said Adrien.

“Fine” said Vlad. “Anyway…”

Gabriel, Adrien, and Nathalie were shocked. Nathalie blushed, and turned around to maintain a professional appearance. Gabriel yelled “Listen, I don’t know who you are-”

“He’s my friend!” Adrien screamed back. “He’s my friend, father. And as...forward as he can be, he’s right. I’m worried that you’ve forgotten about mom already. I just-” he put his hands on his face, and slumped down.

Gabriel saw his son in disarray. He knelt down to meet him. “Son. Of course I haven’t forgotten about your mother. You and her mean the world to me. I...haven’t been having an affair with Nathalie. But she does help me. Without her, I’d be a nervous wreck. That’s why I hired her. Please, don’t think for a second I don’t care about you.”

Adrien peered through his fingers. “Thank you father,” he said.

“Now grab your things, and let’s go. It’s been a busy day” said Gabriel getting up. “We have to leave soon if we’re going to make it back to Paris tonight.” He and Nathalie left.

“Paris?” said Vlad.

“Yeah” said Adrien, gathering his things. “Why? Where are you from?”

“Toulouse” Vlad said.

“Oh,” said Adrien, looking down.

Vlad took out a piece of paper and wrote something down. “Here. Here’s my email address. We can still talk and stuff.”

Adrien took it. “Thank you Vlad. I’ll see you at another one of these, I guess.”

“Sure thing” said Vlad. “Seeya.” Adrien left.

“And we’ve been friends ever since” said Vlad in the present.

“Wow. That was a wild story” said Alya. “Do you mind if I post about it on the school blog?”

“What?” said Adrien.

“Between working on the project, Alya’s been profiling me for a piece on the school blog. She wants to introduce me to the school, and I trust her to do it well.”

Adrien smiled. “That’s real nice of you. But please don’t tell the school everything.”

“Relax, I won’t” said Alya. “Now, shall we have some fun?”

The gang had fun in Adrien’s room for hours. Adrien had a lot, but he never really appreciated it until now, when he was sharing it with everyone. Eventually, it got late.

“Should we call it?” said Nino.

“Hey, since it’s the weekend, why don’t you guys just stay the night?” said Adrien.

“Really?!” said Marinette.

“Of course” said Adrien.

“Just give me a second” said Marinette. She stepped out of the room called her mom. “Hey mom, can I stay at a friend’s house tonight?”

“Sure honey” said Sabine. “Where are you staying?”

“Adrien’s” said Marinette.

“Awwwww” said Sabine.

“MOM. Don’t embarrass me” said Marinette. “Besides, Alya, Nino, and Vlad, that new kid I was telling you about, are with me.”

“Sure thing” said Sabine.

“I’ll call you tomorrow” said Marinette. “Bye mom.”

“Bye” said Sabine. They hung up.

Marinette walked back in the room. “Well, it looks like I can stay.” Vlad, Alya, and Nino were looking weird. “What’s going on?”

“Well, you see,” said Alya, “I’ve got to look after the twins again.”

“And I gotta look after Chris” said Nino.

“I’ve got a gig in the morning, so it’d be easier if I slept in my own bed” said Vlad.

“WHAT?! But I-” stammered Marinette.

“It’s OK Marinette” said Adrien. “We can have a sleepover, just the two of us.”

Marinette was stiff as a board.”Relax girl, you got this” said Alya in Marinette’s ear as she was leaving. The three of them left.

Nathalie came to Adrien’s room. “I assume that Miss Marinette will be staying a little longer,” she said.

“Actually, she’ll be spending the night” said Adrien, slightly blushing.

“Oh,” said Nathalie. “In that case, I’ll make the necessary preparations.”

 She returned a few minutes later with an evening gown that fit Marinette. “Oh, um, thank you Nathalie.”

“It’s no trouble at all” said Nathalie. She closed the door and left.

“Well, uh, I should get changed” said Marinette, stepping into Adrien’s bathroom.

“OK” said Adrien. Marinette closed the door.

She came out in the evening gown. “Well, what do you think?” she said.

While Marinette was changing, Adrien also changed into some sleep attire. “You look...beautiful” said Adrien.

Marinette blushed and turned around. “Th...Thanks you” said Marinette.

Adrien chuckled. “You know, we can still have fun,” he said.

Marinette turned back around. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Well, honestly,” said Adrien, blushing, “I’m a bit embarrassed by it.”

Marinette started to blush as well. “What is it?” she asked.

“Well, I’ve been able to get all of the achievements for Ultimate Mecha Strike III” said Adrien. “Except one.”

Marinette was a mixture of disappointed, relieved, and interested. “Let me guess. It’s the double-perfect the true final boss one, isn’t it?”

“Yeah” said Adrien. I was wondering, could you maybe get it for me?’ Adrien asked, sheepishly.

“Sure thing” said Marinette. She grabbed the controller. She played the campaign as LB-03, her main. She got through it with ease, and met the conditions to fight the true final boss. Adrien was amazed the entire time.

Eventually, Marinette was face-to-face with the game’s true final boss; An ominous, chrome black, spherical robot, with one eye, and two axes. Its name was AXX3. “Watch and learn” said Marinette. Marinette battled fiercely with AXX3. It was a notoriously hard opponent, but Marinette was one step ahead. Every input was a dance, every hit was like honey, and every dodge was a reminder that they needed to be careful.

After a long fought battle, Marinette did it, and the Achievement “Literally! Untouchable!” appeared on the screen. “WOOHOO!” said Marinette.

“Thanks Marinette” said Adrien, putting her hand on her shoulder.

Marinette looked at him. Her heart was pounding. Her stare was like a deer in the headlights. She then said “Yeah, well, it’s been a while since I’ve done this. It’s great practice. Well I’m tired. Should we head off to sleep?”

“Sure” said Adrien. He walked up and left. Marinette beat herself up about what she just said.

Adrin returned from his closet in the bathroom with a sleeping bag. “You can take the bed” he said.

“Are you sure?” said Marinette.

“Yeah” said Adrien. “I sleep on it every night. I’d like the chance to sleep on the floor. Even if it’s for one night.”

“Thank you Adrien” said Marinette. She got into the bed. Adrien’s bed. He’s slept in it every night. It  had his smell, his feeling. Marinette couldn’t believe it.

“So Marinette, have you ever slept on the floor before?” Adrien asked. “Marinette?” He stood up and saw that Marinette was already asleep and giggling to herself. “I guess she really was tired,” he said, laying back down. “Good night Marinette.”

Meanwhile, on the streets, Beyyo was talking with Vlad. “You could have stayed” he said.

“Yeah, but we’ve got work to do,” said Vlad. “And I don’t want to wake up Marinette or Adrien in the middle of the night. Especially considering that they’re Ladybug and Cat Noir.”

“Good point” said Beyyo. “We’re close. Get ready.”

“Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!” Vlad called out. He transformed into Judgement Wolf. He continued his path until he got to Alya’s apartment. He snuck in and found Alya. “Wolf Mist!’ he called out.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 32: A King’s Gambit!/Blackout

Vlad and Beyyo were walking to Master Fu’s place. Beyyo was ecstatic. “Man, it’s been so long since I got a smell of Sass and Roaar” he said.

“What do they smell like?” Vlad asked.

“Sass smells like a meadow after the rain. It encapsulates a cycle. It rains, plants get their nutrients and grow. Then the sky absorbs the water, and it rains again. The cycle repeats” Beyyo said. “As for Roaar, he smells like raw meat.”

“I can see why you’d like that. But why raw meat?” Vlad asked.

“Because that’s what a good sound is. Raw” Beyyo said.

“I mean, that’s cool and all, but modern music can be made from technology” Vlad elaborated.

“It doesn’t matter the source” Beyyo said. “It just has to FEEL real to be good.”

“I see” Vlad said. “We’re here.”

Vlad knocked. “Come in” Master Fu said. Vlad opened the door. “I wasn’t quite expecting you.”

“I’m sure you sensed me” Vlad said. “Ladybug had a few things to wrap up back at the park, so I brought back most of the miraculous. She’ll have the rest” Vlad handed over the rabbit, tiger, and snake miraculous.

“Thank you Vlad” Master Fu said.

Vlad stretched. “Well, I gotta get going. I need to test King Monkey tonight.”

“I hope he passes” Master Fu said. “I’m the one that chose him, not Marinette. So it would be good to see if I still have the touch.”

Vlad stopped. “Well, you chose Marinette and Adrien, didn’t you?” He said. “I’ve gotta hear that story sometime thought. Not now. It’s getting late as is, and I don’t need to waste any more time.”

“Good luck” Master Fu said as Vlad left.

On his way out, he bumped into Marinette. “He’s expecting you” Vlad said.

“So is King Monkey” Marinette replied.

“Heh. You’re right” Vlad said, continuing to walk.

Marinette walked into Master Fu’s parlor. “Here Master” she said, giving the horse and monkey miraculous to him.

“Thank you Marinette” Master Fu said.

“So, I guess our plan isn’t working out, is it?” Marinette said.

“Give it time” Master Fu said putting the miraculous away. “Tonight might just be an exception to the rule. Hawk Moth once  launched a city-wide attack when there were only five of you. He can be unpredictable.”

“Yeah, but how can we figure out how to stop him if we don’t know what to do?” Marinette asked.

“Sometimes, less is more” Master Fu said. “Hawk Moth is no fool. He plans for everything. However, if his plans get too complicated, we can use the simple actions we’ve been perfecting to beat him.”

“Thank you Master” Marinette said.

“You should get going. It appears you’ve had a long day” Master Fu said.

“You’re right. Seeya” Marinette said.

When she got back home and detransformed, she asked Tikki “Do you think Master Fu is right? About keeping things simple?”

“Marinette, he’s also saying that because you have other things to worry about as well” TIkki said. “You’re not just a superhero. You’re a teen. You should be living your own life as well.”

“I know Tikki” Marinette said. “I want to. But I’m always afraid of that being taken away from me because of Hawk Moth. That I have to worry about being Ladybug 24/7.”

“Marinette, you shouldn’t worry about that” Tikki said. “We’ll fight to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Thanks Tikki” Marinette said. “Good night.” She fell asleep. Tikki looked out the window.

Meanwhile, Judgement Wolf was standing outside of Kim’s house. “Let’s see if you can bring the monarchy back into fashion,” he said. He slipped through the window into Kim’s room. “Wolf Mist!”

Kim woke up in the middle of the street. It was late at night, the city was blacking out. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Kim Run!” Ladybug said.

Kim turned to look at her and saw that she was charging into battle with Cat Noir. “Ladybug!” He called.

“There’s a dangerous villain. We need you to evacuate right away before you get hurt further” Ladybug said.

“Ladybug, wait!” Kim said. “Could I help? You know…”

Ladybug sighed. “I’m sorry but this is a job for heroes. I need you to be safe. Hurry!” she ran off.

“Ladybug!” Kim called.

“She’s right, you know” Cat Noir said. “We can work a lot better if we didn’t need to protect anyone.” Cat Noir left. Kim then saw Ladybug had brought in the help of other heroes. Judgement Wolf. Rena Rouge. Carapace. Bunnyx. Viperion. Pegasus. Tigress.

Then Kim saw something that shook him to his core. He saw someone else with the monkey miraculous. “But I’m King Monkey” He said.

Kim turned around and headed away from the villain’s path.”I guess I’m not needed after all.” He turned back and got a glimpse at the villain. He looked like a high school student. He had brown wavy hair, and green eyes. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with yellow gloves and boots, an orange backpack, and had an electricity symbol with a circle with a line going through it. He was stealing electricity from wherever it was coming from.

Kim then saw something that made him scared. “Ondine.” She was in the clutches of the villain. He knew he had to do something. But what could he do? He didn’t have powers. He couldn’t last a second against him. The actual heroes had a hard time against him as well. But he couldn’t sit idly by and do nothing. Someone was in trouble.

He looked around and saw an abandoned cop car. He formulated a plan. He got in the car and hotwired it. It took him a few tries, but he managed to do it. He drove carefully towards the villain so as not to alert him. He looked at the heroes fighting him and gulped.

“It’s over Blackout!” Ladybug said. “Lucky Charm! A mouse trap?”

“Ha! How will that work?” Blackout said. “I already know it’s there, so I know to look for it.” Ladybug was worried. Blackout had a hostage, and they couldn’t get close to him. He had already used the electricity he stole to knock out Bunnyx and Pegasus.

Just then, the police car came barreling down, headlights on, radio playing, sirens wailing. Blackout stopped the car and drained it of its electricity, which took a bit. “Alright, let’s see what wise guy tried this stunt out.” He opened the door, only to see no one and the gas pedal weighed down by a brick. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Kim the zoomed down the street that Blackout had abandoned with a bike and grabbed Ondine. “You can take it from here, Ladybug!” Kim said.

“Hey WAIT!” Blackout said. He went to chase Kim. Ladybug threw the mousetrap on the ground. Blackout, too focused on losing his hostage, stepped on the mousetrap and sprung it. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” he screamed in pain. He was hopping on his good foot, grasping his caught foot in his hands.

“I thought you knew it was there” Ladybug said. “Cat Noir! Now!”

Cat Noir got up. “On it. Cataclysm!” He Cataclysmed the backpack, freeing the Akuma.

“No more evildoing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly.” She grabbed the mousetrap off Blackout, who then de-Akumatized, and threw it up. “Miraculous Ladybug!” The Ladybugs fixed all of the damage Blackout had caused.

“Pound it!” Ladybug and Cat Noir said.

“You might have knocked my lights out today, Ladybug, but soon I will be the one who shines the brightest!” Hawk Moth growled.

“What happened?” The student said. He was now wearing a green tank top, black cargo shorts, and green sandals. He still had his backpack.

“You got Akumatized” Ladybug said.

“What caused that?” Cat Noir said.

The student sighed. “I wanted to ask my friend Ondine out. I wanted it to be perfect. Part of that was that I wanted to show her the night sky. But there was so much light pollution, it fell through. I got so angry that it wasn’t perfect that I guess I was Akumatized.”

“Oh” Ladybug said, solemnly. “I guess you didn’t know.”

“Know what?” the student asked.

“She’s going out with someone already” Ladybug said.

“Oh” the student replied. “I guess it was all for nothing then.”

“Hey, it’s OK” Ladybug said. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else.”

“You’re right. I just need time” the student said.

Meanwhile, Kim was carrying Ondine and riding through Paris. “That was really brave of you Kim” Ondine said.

“Thanks” Kim said, blushing. “I would have done it for anyone.”

“But you did it for me” Ondine said. The ladybugs fixed the damage, causing the area around them to light up. “You know, Paris isn’t the same when it’s blacked out.”

“It is the city of lights, after all” Kim said. “But as bright as these lights are, there’s one light that shines brighter.”

“Which one?” Ondine asked.

“The light in your eyes” Kim said.

“Oh Kim” Ondine said, blushing as well. The two shared a kiss.

Kim then found himself in a white void. He was confused. “What’s going on?”

“Your test” Judgement Wolf said. “And I’ve gotta say, you passed.”

“Relly? Does that mean I can continue being King Monkey?” Kim said, gleefully.

“Well, kind of” Judgement Wolf said. “I’ve OKed you. Now Beyyo needs to OK you.”

“Beyyo?” Kim said.

“He’s my kwami” Judgement Wolf said. “And it might take a bit for him to get to you. But don’t worry. He’ll show up sooner or later.”

“I see. Well thank you for giving me your OK at least” Kim said.

“My pleasure” Judgement Wolf said. “Well, good night.” He left, and Kim fell back asleep.

Vlad made his way home, but he was shocked to find TIkki in his room. “GAH! Oh it’s you. What are you doing here?”

“Marinette is really worried” Tikki said. “I think she needs a break. Would you mind doing something with her tomorrow? You know, to take he mind off of her troubles?”

Vlad sighed. “Sure” he said. “Let me get some sleep.”

“That’s all I needed” TIkki said. She flew out.

Vlad asked “Hey Beyyo? What do you think of Tikki?”

“Why do you ask?” Beyyo said, answering with a question.

“I want to know. Would other kwamis do that? Has Tikki done this before?” Vlad said.

“I see” Beyyo said. “Tikki is a gentle and caring kwami. She adores everyone of her users and would do anything to make them happy. However, she also wants them to do what’s right. The ladybug miraculous is powerful, so they need their users to be at their best. Tikki decides to use kindness to get them there.”

“I see” Vlad said. “Very interesting.”

The next morning, Marinette is lying in bed when she hears her mom call out “Marinette! Your friend Vlad is here!”

Marinette woke up with a hearty “GAH!” Once she got out of bed, she said “Thanks mom! Just give me 15 minutes to get ready!”

“Take your time sweetie” Sabine said. She walked back to the door to meet Vlad. “She just needs to get ready.”

“Yeah, this was a surprise on my part” Vlad said.

Marinette eventually came down and greeted Vlad. “Sorry Vlad” she said.

“Hey, it’s my fault” Vlad said. “I didn’t warn you.”

“So, what’s up?” Marinette asked.

“Well, I wanted to check out Adrien’s fencing tournament today” Vlad said. “Then I thought about how busy you’ve been this week. I thought you could use a break. Wanna come and watch it with me?”

Marinette was surprised, but excited. “Sure” she said. “Mom, dad, I’m going out with Vlad today!”

“OK sweetie!” Sabine said.

“Have a good time!” Tom said.

“Thank you” Marinette said. She and Vlad headed for the tournament.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 54: Paris Needs.../Secret Keeper (A Hero Like Chloe, Part 1)

The day had finally come. Paris Pride. The whole city was buzzing with energy. Of course, there was school, which was relatively uneventful. Beyyo managed to inform Mylene, Marc, and Ivan that they passed throughout the day. Once school was done however, everyone was planning the rest of their day.

Adrien was waiting outside with flowers for Marinette. Marinette ran up to him. “You shouldn’t have,” she said.

“Well, you sounded so upset” Adrien said. “I just wanted to cheer you up.”

Marinette took the flowers. “Thank you.”

Adrien got a tap on the shoulder. It was Chloe, and she looked nervous. “Um, Adrien?” She asked. “Could you come over? I need your help with something.”

Adrien was concerned for Chloe, but also Marinette. He looked at Marinette and Marinette said “Go ahead. We have tomorrow. See you at the parade” Marinette said, walking home.

Adrien looked at Chloe “Well, should we get going?” he asked.

“You know, you shouldn’t let your girlfriend control your life” Chloe said, as the two of them headed to Chloe’s limo.

“I wanted to be with her” Adrien said. “She’s been feeling stressed out lately.”

“No kidding” Chloe whispered under her breath.

“What was that?” Adrien asked.

“Nothing!” Chloe said. They went to Le Grand Paris.

Vlad caught Marinette walking alone. “Is everything alright?” he asked, catching up with her.

“Yeah” Marinette said. “Chloe just needed to talk to Adrien is all.”

Vlad thought about it. “I bet it’s about Chloe’s plans for this evening.”

“Care to inform me?” Marinette asked.

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise” Vlad said. “So, since you’re free, how about we take these back to your place and then you can help me sell shirts until the parade starts?”

“I’d love that” Marinette said. The two continued to Marinette’s.

The limo arrived at Le Grand Paris. Adrien and Chloe walked out and made their way to the elevator. “So, what's this about?” Adrien asked.

Chloe shushed him. “Not here” she said. The elevator dinged and the two walked to Chloe’s room. Chloe made sure to lock the doors and windows.

“This seems pretty serious” Adrien said.

“It IS pretty serious!” Chloe said. She sat down. Adrien sat across from her. “So, I had the idea to tell all of Paris I am gay.”

“Wait, ALL of Paris?” Adrien said. Chloe gave him a snide look. “Sorry. I guess that is a big deal.”

Chloe regained her composure. “I had made a secret plan with Vlad to make a big speech at the end of the parade as a secret guest speaker. But now, I’m starting to have doubts…”

Adrien looked his oldest friend over. To him, she was a lot of things. Fragile. Brave. Timid. Bold. Despair. Hope. She was all of this. Chloe has made a lot of mistakes, but she has become a better person for it. Otherwise, Vlad wouldn’t have given her the miraculous that sits on her head. To see her like this? Adrien couldn’t stand it.

“Nonsense” he said. Chloe looked up at him. “You’re Chloe Bourgeois! You’re one of the bravest people I know. You were there for me when no one else was. You can do this!”

Chloe smiled. “Thanks Adrien.”

“I think this idea is great” Adrien said. “It’s so you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just glad I can finally take Sabrina out on dates in public” Chloe said.

“If you’re having one tomorrow, don’t go to L’Arcane” Adrien said. “Unless you want to double up with Marinette and myself.”

“Pass” Chloe said. “You two deserve some time alone together. As do Sabrina and I.”

“Very well then” Adrien said. “Do you want me to stay here until you’re ready?”

“Nah” Chloe said. “You go on and meet your girlfriend to watch the parade.”

“Actually, we’re in it” Adrien said. “Marinette’s bi.”

“Oh” Chloe said, taken by surprise. “I see.”

“You OK?” Adrien asked.

Chloe nodded. “Now more than ever. Thanks Adrien.”

“I’m always here to help” Adrien said. He left the room.

Chloe was giddy. If Ladybug is not straight, then I don’t need to worry about a thing! She thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Vlad were selling shirts. “So, how is Pride back in Toulouse?” Marinette asked.

Vlad looked at Marinette. “Toulouse Pride is great, but I have a feeling Paris Pride will be better.”

“I see” Marinette said.

Vlad sighed. “I just hope they’re doing alright.”

Marinette put her hand on Vlad’s. “I’m sure that they’ll be fine.”

Vlad smiled. “You’re right. Although, I’ll be sure to check on it tonight.”

“Sounds great” Marinette said.

Mylene and Marc walked up to the stand. “I’ll take a ‘My Boyfriend is Bi’ shirt” they both said. They looked at each other slightly embarrassed.

Vlad smiled. “Sure things. Marinette?”

“Oh, right” Marinette said, getting shirts for the two of them.”

Mylene smiled. “Thanks” she said.

Marc, who was still slightly embarrassed, shouted “Thank you!”

“It’s fine” Nathaniel said, walking up to him. “Don’t worry so much.”

“I know” Marc said. “I just don’t want to ruin this.”

“You won’t” Nathaniel said. “You’re amazing. Just be yourself.”

Marc nodded. “OK” he said.

“Now, let’s head over to the parade” Nathaniel said.

“Alright” Marc said. The couple walked off.

“Ready to go Mylene?” Ivan said, coming over.

Mylene dragged Ivan over. “You should get a shirt too” she said.

“Well, OK” Ivan said. “Do you have just a Bi-colored shirt?”

“Indeed we do” Vlad said. He got one out and gave it to Vlad.

“Thanks” Ivan said. He put it on. Mylene put her shirt on and then put her hoodie back on over it.

“Well, seeya” Mylene said. They left.

Kim and Ondine walked over. “Kim? Ondine? What are you doing here?” Marinette asked.

Onidine seemed nervous. Kim put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s OK” he said.

Ondine smiled. “I’ll take a trans color shirt” she said.

“And I’LL have a ‘My Trans Girlfriend is Cute’ shirt,” Kim said.

“Sure thing” Marinette said.

“Something about you shirt Kim” Vlad said. Kim looked confused. “It also says ‘And You Can’t Tell Me Otherwise’ written on the back.”

Kim lit up. “Cool!” he said. They put their shirts on. “What do you think?”

“It looks great on you Kim” Ondine said.

“Thanks. So does yours” Kim said. The two walked off.

Soon after, Adrien walked up. “Hey Marinette. Ready to go?”

“Sure” she said.

“I should head out as well,” Vlad said. “It would be embarrassing if I wasn’t there.”

Marinette giggled. “So, who’s taking over for us?”

“I just texted the group, and someone said they’re on their way. Let’s go!” Vlad said. The trio made their way to the Parade.

On the screens around town, the mayor addressed the city from Town Hall, where the parade was ending. Chloe was inside City Hall, waiting for her moment. “Citizens of Paris” Mayor Bourgeois called out. “I declare that the Paris Pride Parade begins NOW!”

The parade started. People with an assortment of flags, shirts, and other identifiers took to the streets. There were some floats, and atop one of them, representing the modeling agency he works for, stood Vlad. Vlad was greeted with many cheers.

“Well, he certainly love attention” Adrien said, walking in-step with his bi girlfriend.

“Yeah” Marinette said. “I think it suits him.”

“I know I wouldn’t want to be up there right now” Adrien said.

“I wouldn’t want you up there either” Marinette said. “You’re place is right here, by my side.”

Adrien smiled. “Of course.” Marinette leaned on him.

However, in the city skyline, a villain was waiting in the wings. She had long, wavy, purple hair, was wearing an orange trench coat, black gloves, black shoes, a silver locket around her neck, a white mask with three keyholes, two to resemble eyes, and one for a mouth, and she was holding a giant key. She looked down on the parade, simmering with anger.

“Secret Keeper” Hawk Moth said, contacting the villain. “If you want to take your vengeance, then maybe you need some help. My associate Mayura is on her way.”

Mayura had made her way to the building across from Secret Keeper. She plucked a feather, fused energy into it, and blew it over to Secret Keeper. It fused with her locket. “Hello, Secret Keeper. I am Mayura. I can sense you feel frustrated.” Secret keeper gripped her key tighter. “With your permission, I can create a being to help you sort out your frustration.”

“Do it” Secret Keeper responded. Mayura smiled and out of her locket, a blue-black cloud formed.

As the parade continued, loud stomping noises could be heard. Everyone was looking for the source. Coming around the corner was Secret Keeper, riding on the shoulder of a sentimonster who had a yellow door for a head and a giant body, with sharp fingers and toes. The body was primarily yellow, but had a multicolored pattern running across its body. “RUN!” Vlad called.

The parade and the surrounding crowd ran amok. Secret Keeper jumped off of the sentimonster. She started hitting people with her key. However, instead of causing any sort of injury, these strange orbs flew out of people. Secret Keeper told everyone “Don’t worry. Your secrets are safe with me.” She was juggling the orbs in her free hand. “Closet Monster! She called. The sentimonster turned its attention to Secret Keeper. Secret Keeper threw the orbs to Closet Monster, who then opened its door-mouth and swallowed them. Secret Keeper and Closet Monster kept going with their attack.

Adrien and Marinette were running away. Secret Keeper had caught up to them and was about to attack. However, Alay jumped in the way and got hit instead. Secret Keeper took hold of the orb Alya produced. “Huh.” She said.

Marinette and Adrien grabbed Alya and ran off. Secret Keeper was about to give chase when Judgement Wolf shouted “Hey!” Secret Keeper’s attention turned to him.

“Well well” She said. “I know you’ve got some secrets. Have at you!”

Meanwhile, Marinette, Adrien, and Alya hid. “I think we’re safe” Marinette said. “Alya, are you alright.”

“I think so” she said. She looked at Judgment Wolf fighting Secret Keeper and took out her phone to record.

“Alya! There’s no time for that!” Marinette said.

“Yeah, but Ladybug might show up!” Alya said. “I can’t miss that.”

“Alya, what are you doing?” Adrien said.

Marinette had a grave realization. “Oh no. Remember when the villain said ‘Your secrets are safe with me.”

“You don’t mean?” Adrien said.

Marinette nodded. “That orb contains all of Alya’s secrets.”

Adrien’s mouth hung agape. “Alright. You jump in. I’ll give Nino a call and see what we can do.” Marinette nodded, and left.

Meanwhile, Chloe was watching the attack on TV. “Of all days” she said, furiously. This was supposed to be a day of peace and unity, and Hawk Moth was turning into a day for fear and chaos. “This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” She looked around and made sure nobody was there. “Pollen!” she called.

“Yes, my liege” Pollen said, popping out.

“I think it’s time” Chloe said.

“Your word is my command” Pollen said.

“Pollen! Buzz On!” Chloe called. She transformed, but something felt different. She went to the mirror and took a look at herself. He legs looked the same as Queen Bee, but everything else was different. She these honey-colored gloves that extended to her elbows. She had three stripes on each side of her torso that grew thicker the further back they went and eventually joined on her back. Also on her back were four designs in the shape of wings. The black streak in her hair was joined by a streak of golden honey. Finally, the biggest difference was that instead of a domino mask, she had a pair of goggles that were in the shape of honeycombs and also honey-colored.

“This… wasn’t what I was expecting,” she said. “But no matter. I still have a city to save!”

Just as she was about to leave, Sabrina burst into the room. “Chloe, are you alright?!” she said. She looked at this hero that was new to her. “Who are you?”

Chloe was confused. “I...I am Honey Bee!” she said. “I am the new user of the bee miraculous.

“Oh,” said Sabrina. “Is Chloe alright?”

“Chloe’s fine” Honey Bee said. “You need to hide as well!” Honey Bee pushed Sabrina.

“WAIT!” Sabrina called. “Where is Chloe?”

Honey Bee panicked. “There’s no time. You need to hide!” She shoved Sabrina in a closet. Honey Bee was on her way out when she whispered “I’m sorry Sabrina.” She left.

Judgement Wolf and Secret Keeper were dueling it out. Judgement Wolf saw Mayura out of the corner of his eye. “Mayura!”

Ladybug tied up Secret Keeper and dragged her into a punch. “Ladybug! So good to see you” Secret Keeper said.

“Give everyone their secrets back!” Ladybug said.

“Secrets?” Judgement Wolf said.

“Those orbs contain people’s secrets” Ladybug informed her colleague.

“I see” Judgement Wolf said. He glanced at Mayura again. “Ladybug, do you have it from here? I’m going to try and track Mayura!”

“OK” Ladybug said. Judgment Wolf jumped off. “It’s just you and me!”

“I think you’re forgetting someone” Secret Keeper said. Closet Monster walked up behind Secret Keeper.

“Oh” Ladybug said. Secret Keeper fed Closet Monster Alya’s secret orb. “HEY! Give that back!

“Why should I?” Secret Keeper said. “Secrets give people stress. I’m simply relieving them of their stress.” Ladybug growled. “Of course, as a hero, I’m sure you have plenty of secrets. No matter. They will be mine, soon enough!” Secret Keeper charged Ladybug, but Ladybug dodged.

“You mean, Alya doesn’t know she’s Rena Rouge?” Nino said.

Adrien nodded. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do,” he said.

“Well, I have an idea.” Adrien and Nino turned their heads to the voice to see Trixx. “Let’s just tell her this is her first time, or that she lost her memories, or something. She’s still Alya underneath all of it!” Adrien and Nino nodded.

Alya was filming Ladybug vs Secret Keeper when her batteries died. “Stupid phone” she said.

“Alya” said a voice Alya turned around to see Cat Noir and Carapace. Cat Noir continued “This may be hard for you to believe, but we need your help!”

“Are you KIDDING?!” Alya said. “I’ve always wanted to help. I mean, there was the time I was Cardboard Girl, but like REALLY help!”

“Ummmm, here’s the thing” Carapace said. “You have helped before.”

“What?” Alya said.

Trixx popped out. “You’re Rena Rouge,” she said.

“I am?” Alya said.

“Yes!” Trixx said. “And that villain took that information away from you!”

“Oh no!” Alya said. 

“Don’t worry. We’re going to get it back” Trixx said. “But we need you out there!”

“But how?” Alya asked. “If I’ve forgotten…”

Trixx gently touched Alya’s hand. “You’re still you,” she said. “And THAT’S what makes you a hero.” Aya smiled. “Now, all you have to say is ‘Trixx! Let’s Pounce!’”

“Trixx! Let’s Pounce!” Alya called out. She transformed into Rena Rouge. “Woah! I really am Rena Rouge!”

“Now let’s go!” Cat Noir said. “Ladybug needs our help!” Cat Noir leapt into the fray.

Carapace held Rena’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll help you every step of the way.” Rena Rouge nodded and the two joined the battle as well.

Ladybug kept dodging attacks from Closet Monster. Just as Secret Keeper was about to hit Ladybug, Cat Noir blocked it with his staff. “Sorry, but I’m the only one who’s allowed to have the key to her heart!” Rena and Carapace also arrived.

“Rena?” Ladybug said.

“Don’t worry about it!” Carapace said. “She’s still Rena.” Ladybug nodded.

“Well well. It appears that I am outnumbered” Secret Keeper said. “No matter. I can distract you all. Closet Monster!” The sentimonster looked at Secret Keeper. “Go eat whoever you can find.” Closet Monster turned around and started grabbing and swallowing people. “Oops.”

Ladybug scowled. “Come on, we gotta go! Cat Noir, take care of Secret Keeper while we save everyone! Rena! Carapace! Follow me!” The three left to follow the sentimonster.

“Looks like it’s down to the two of us!” Cat Noir said.

“Indeed” Secret Keeper said. The two locked weapons and continued to fight.

Suddenly, a zipping noise was heard. Secret Keeper looked over her shoulder. “Huh?” Honey Bee was propelling herself with her top and kicked Secret Keeper in her mask. Honey Bee landed safely.

Cat Noir jumped to her position and said “I know that’s you in there, because Judgement Wolf told me,” he said, “but what’s with this? Wait! Did Chloe give it to someone else?”

“No!” Honey Bee said. “It’s me, like you said. I don’t know what happened either.”

“Well, whatever the case, thanks for showing up” Cat Noir said.

Secret Keeper got up and saw the two heroes. “A NEW bee miraculous user! What fun” Hawk Moth said. “Secret Keeper! Subdue this impostor bee and take her miraculous as well!”

“As you command, Hawk Moth” Secret Keeper said. “Cat Noir! Miss Bee! Have at ye!”

“It’s Honey Bee!” she shouted.

“Honey Bee?” Cat Noir said.

“It slipped out and I’m sticking to it” Honey Bee said.

“Just like honey” Cat Noir said.

“Whatever” Honey Bee said, rolling her eyes. She leapt into action, as did Cat Noir.

Judgement Wolf was catching up to Mayura. “Reveal Claw! Reveal Your True Form!” Judgement Wolf tried to strike Mayura, but Mayura got out of the way. Judgement Wolf doubled back and tried again, but Mayura dodged again. Judgement Wolf kept trying to hit Mayura, but Mayura kept getting out of the way just in time.

“What’s the matter? Can’t keep up?” Mayura taunted.

“I’m surprised you can” Judgement Wolf said. “Considering what that miraculous is doing to you.”

Mayura’s expression soured. “Did Hawk Moth tell you?”

Judgement Wolf nodded. “If you let me do this, I can save you.”

“Funny” Mauyra said. “If you do that, then I can’t save Hawk Moth!” Judgement Wolf kept trying, but Mayura kept getting out of the way each time.

Eventually, Judgement Wolf’s miraculous started to beep. He also lost sight of Mayura. “GAH!” he said. He left the area, having failed what he came to do.

Once he was safely away from prying eyes, he let his transformation go. “It’s OK” Beyyo said. “We’ll get her next time.”

Vlad smiled. “Eat up” he said, giving his kwami some food. “We’ve got a villain to stop.” Beyyo chowed down on his jerky.

Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge caught up with Closet Monster. Closet Monster kept eating people. “We’ve gotta stop them!” Ladybug said.

“But how?” Rena asked.

Ladybug thought. “Well, this always helps” She said. “Lucky Charm! A lock pick?” Ladybug noticed the keyhole on the door. “Got it! We just need to lure it to us.”

“That, I think we can handle” Carapace said. “Rena.” Rena turned to Carapace.

Carapace whispered a plan into Rena’s ear. “That’s a great idea!” she said.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir and Honey Bee were holding their own against Secret Keeper. “This isn't working” Cat Noir said. “We need to find the akuma, and fast!”

Honey Bee thought about it. “Ah! Cat Noir, you go on the offensive. I’ll use my power while she’s distracted. Then we can search her!”

“Good idea!” Cat Noir said. Cat Noir drew his staff and charged at Secret Keeper. Honey Bee ran around to her side.

After trading a few blows, Secret Keeper and Cat Noir were once again locked in combat. This gave Honey Bee the perfect opportunity. “Venom!” she called out. She rushed up and stuck Secret Keeper. This caused her locket to fly up. Honey Bee saw this, and grabbed it off of her. “I think the akuma’s in here!”

“Well, let’s get it to Ladybug!” Cat Noir said. The two ran off.

Carapace stood to the side of Closet Monster. Rena Played her flute and called out “Mirage!” An illusion of secret orbs covered Carapace. “Yoo-hoo! Monster-thing!” Closet Monster looked at Rena. “There’s this big juicy pile of secrets just for you.”

Closet Monster bent down to munch of the secrets, but that’s when Carapace called out “Shell-ter!” Closet Monster’s door-mouth was now clamping down on the Shell-ter. “Ladybug, NOW!”

Ladybug nodded and ran up on the Shell-ter and jumped on the door. “Alright, let’s see what happens if I unlock you” she said. She used the lock pick to unlock the keyhole on the closet door. Closet Monster looked shocked, let go of the Shell-ter, got up, and started stumbling around. It then started vomiting up people and secret orbs. Once it was done, it fell to the ground.

Carapace let down his shelter, and saw Rena’s secret orb. He rushed over and grabbed it. “Rena, catch!” he said, throwing it.

Rena was confused, so she didn’t catch it with her hands, but once it hit her, she absorbed it. “I remember!” she exclaimed.

“It’s good to have you back” Ladybug said.

“Ladybug!” Honey Bee shouted. The heroes turned and were shocked to see a new bee-themed hero with Cat Noir. “The akuma’s in here,” she said, throwing  the locket.

Ladybug didn’t have time to question it. She caught the locket and destroyed it. However, only the amok was in there. “That’s odd” Carapace said.

“Well, at least that eliminates one of our problems” Ladybug said. “No more evildoing for you, little amok! Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little feather.” Closet Monster disappeared.

“Wait, so where’s the akuma?” Honey Bee asked.

At that time, the Venom was wearing off on Secret Keeper. She ran toward the heroes. “Ladybug!” she shouted, getting the attention of all the heroes. She raised her key, and was about to strike, but Judgement Wolf came in, and knocked the key out of her hand.

Ladybug looked at the lock pick, the locket, and the key flying through the air. “That’s it!” She used her yo-yo to grab the key. “Cat Noir! The akuma’s in the key!” She flung it toward him.

“Got it! Cataclysm!” The key flew to him, and he hit it.

The akuma flew out. “No more evil doing for you, little akuma” Ladybug said. “Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!” She threw up the lock pick, and the magic Ladybugs fixed all of the damage caused by Secret Keeper and Closet Monster.

Secret Keeper reverted to a young girl with purple hair, an orange hoodie, a purple shirt, a dark blue skirt, white socks, and black shoes. “Ugh…” she said.

“Pound it!” said the six heroes.

“Secret Keeper wasn’t the key to your defeat, Ladybug” Hawk Moth said. “But one day, I will learn ALL YOUR SECRETS!”

Rena’s and Carapace’s miraculous started to beep. “We gotta go” Rena said.

“Seeya” Carapace said. The two left.

The remaining heroes approached the young girl. “Are you feeling alright?” Honey Bee asked.

“I think so” she said.

“What happened?” Judgement Wolf asked.

She sighed and took out her locker. She took out her key and opened it, revealing a girl with long blue hair and an orange headband. “This is my friend, Jasmine. I kind of have a crush on her” she said. “I’ve been too afraid to ask her, because I don’t want to lose our friendship. I was thinking about telling her today, because it was Pride day, but I got scared and ran off. I was so frustrated with myself. I guess that’s when Hawk Moth got me.”

Ladybug was surprised. She then smiled. “Don’t worry” she said. “I’m sure you can do it!

“In fact, I know you can!” Cat Noir chimed in

“How?” the girl asked.

Cat Noir whispered into Judgement Wolf’s ear. “I getcha” he said.

“Don’t worry. Judgement Wolf and I will find someone to help you out” Cat Noir told the girl. The two left.

Ladybug and Honey Bee’ miraculous started to beep. “We should get going soon” Ladybug said. “Are you OK by yourself?” The girl looked scared. “I guess not.”

“I’ll stay” Honey Bee said.

Ladybug shook her head. “I have more time. You should get back to what you’re doing.”

“Are you sure?” Honey Bee asked.

Ladybug nodded. “Go.” Honey Bee left. Ladybug met the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Abrial” she said.

“Well Abrial, what kind of things do you like?” Ladybug asked.

“I like nature” Abrial said. “I like going on hikes. Whenever Jasmine and I go out, she has trouble sometimes, but I always help her.”

“That sounds fun” Ladybug said.

Cat Noir returned with Vlad. “This is the guy I was telling you about earlier.

“Sup” Vlad said. Ladybug was confused.

“Well, we should get going” Cat Noir said, putting his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder. He winked at Ladybug. Ladybug nodded and the two walked off.

“So, Cat Noir tells me you’re nervous because you have a crush on your friend and you’re afraid to tell her” Vlad said. Abrial nodded. “Well, as it just so happens, so did the mystery speaker. If it’s alright with you, I can take you there.”

Abrial looked down. “Maybe we should call my parents,” she said.

“Good Idea” Vlad said. “Maybe we can meet them at city hall.” Vlad and Abrial set the plan up.

Vlad walked Abrial to his float, and snuck her into the car driving it. “This is Abrial, Joshua” Vlad told the driver. “She got lost during the attack, and we’re taking her to city hall to meet her parents. Got it?” Joshua nodded. “Good. Now let’s roll.”

The mayor appeared on the TV again. “After the delay, caused by the super villain, I declare the parade to be re-opened!” The parade resumed. Despite the attack, people were still having fun.

Abrial looked out the window. She could faintly make out the crowd cheering and supporting those in the parade. Despite the fact that they didn’t know she was there, she felt appreciated as someone who likes other girls for the first time.

Honey Bee returned to City Hall and de-transformed. She nervously rushed out, but then remembered Sabrina. She opened the door and found her, holding onto an old hat she found in the closet. “Thank goodness you’re alright,” she said, hugging her.

“I’m just glad you’re alright” Sabrina said.

Chloe let go and looked at the time. “AH! I’ve got to give my speech. Are you OK to come with me?”

“You go on ahead” Sabrina said. “I’ll catch up with you.”

“Great. Thanks” Chloe said, rushing out the door. Sabrina looked upset, but she smiled.

The parade ended, and everyone was gathered at City Hall. Vlad got off his float and opened the door to get Abrial. Ready Abrial?” he asked. She nodded and got out of the car.

“Abrial!” her mom cried out. She ran up to her daughter and gave her a hug.

“Thank you, young man” her dad said.

“Don’t mention it” Vlad replied.

“I now present to you, the mystery speaker!” the mayor said. Everyone clapped. Mayor Bourgeois was surprised when he saw Chloe walking out. “Chloe?”

“Move!” She demanded. She approached the podium. She gulped. She was still nervous. However, her eyes spotted the girl who was akumatized. She knew she had to do this. For people like her. “Good evening Paris!” she said into the microphone. “You might know me as a brat who demands everything, and cares for no one. However, I was only like this to avoid my true self. When I was ten, I discovered I was a lesbian. I was afraid of what people were going to think. I was afraid my parents would reject me, and the people would only pretend to be nice to me because of my power and influence. So I became mean, because I didn’t want people pretending to be nice to me. However, I recently came out to my classmates, and they have been nothing but kind and supportive to me. I have learned that being myself yields the best results.

To those of you who are hiding who you are, I say this: Tell someone. It will make you feel better. There are plenty of supportive people. People will be willing to help you. And to those of you who are out, I’ll say this: You are absolutely perfect, just the way you are!” Chloe flashed a genuine smile. The crowd applauded and cheered.

“Is it just me, or does Chloe seem kind of cute like this?” Marinette asked.

“I’ll say” Adrien said. The couple giggled to themselves.

Abrial looked at Chloe with awe. If someone like the mayor's daughter struggled through this, that means I’m not alone. She looked determined. Alright. I’m going to tell Jasmine! Vlad looked at her and smiled.

“Chloe, I had no idea” mayor Bourgeois said.

“Do you still love me?” Chloe asked.

“Of course I do, princess” the Mayor said. The two hugged.

Suddenly, City Hall was covered in a purple-black aura, and everyone gasped.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 41: Second Chances!/Re: Reflekta

Vlad was walking with Beyyo to Master Fu’s parlor. “So, is Daizzi always like that?” Vlad asked.

“Pretty much” Beyyo answered. “He’s just so overpowering. But he does have everyone’s best interests in mind.”

“Sounds like he’s a perfect match for Rose” Vlad said.

“Yeah” Beyyo responded. The two walked in.

“Vlad? I wasn’t expecting you” Master Fu said.

Vlad looked around. “Marinette didn’t tell you?” Vlad asked.

Master Fu shook his head. “She hasn’t shown back up yet.”

“Huh. Well, things got a little complicated. I’m returning the pig miraculous” Vlad said, handing it to him.

“I see” Master Fu said. “Thank you.” He took it.

Marinette ran into the parlor. “Sorry Master. I was busy checking up on the aftermath of the situation. Anyway, Vlad should be here soon with the pig miraculous.” Marinette was breathing heavily. “But here’s the tiger miraculous.” She handed it over. “Oh, hey Vlad...Vlad?”

“Hey Marinette” Vlad said. Marinette groaned. “Relax. You did good. I just needed to come here early because of Bunnyx.”

“Bunnyx?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah” Vlad said. “You know that trick she pulled?” Marinette nodded. “Well, since I’m not affected by miraculous powers, sometime tonight, I am to be sent backwards in time so I don’t exist in two places at the same time.”

“I-I didn’t know” Marinette said.

“It’s fine. I brought this on myself” Vlad said. “I willing bent the rules a little bit, so now I’m paying the price to keep it balanced. Now, I just need to find a non-conspicuous place to hide. Anyway, seeya tomorrow!” Vlad left.

“You seem upset, Marinette” Master Fu said.

“Yeah. I was kind of hoping that with the five or six full time heroes, we wouldn’t rely on more part-time heroes as much” Marinette said. “But I just brought in a new one today…”

“It’s OK Marinette” Master Fu said. “Do you trust this person?” Marinette nodded. “I admit, reducing the amount you need to come here isn’t working as intended, but more allies will be helpful during the final confrontation of Hawk Moth.”

“Yeah, but who knows when that will be” Marinette said.

“We will find Hawk Moth” Master Fu said. “Once you start thinking we won’t we won’t.”

Marinette smiled. “Thanks Master. Well, I’ve gotta get going. Good night.” She left.

Judgement Wolf made his way to the top of the Arc du Triomphe. “Well, no one will notice me up here.” He lied down. Suddenly, he warped through time on his own to the minutes he missed that day. “That was weirder than expected. I wonder if Beyyo feels the same.” He then saw a figure dashing around the rooftops. “Is that Hawk Moth? I promised I would stay still, but this is a good opportunity to make up for missing out that day.”

He rushed to follow Hawk Moth running away. Hawk Moth kept running father, but Judgement Wolf could tell that he didn’t know he was behind him.  Soon enough, Judgement Wolf was able to close the distance, but as he was about to hit Hawk Moth, he was warped back to the present. Judgement Wolf sighed and said “Second chances are overrated anyway.” He then gasped. “That is, when they’re out of your control...yeah. Yeah I think I saved it” he said, to no one in particular.

Judgement Wolf made his way to Rose’s house and snuck into her room. He knew just how to test Rose. “Wolf Mist!”

It was class picture day. Rose just loved getting her picture taken. She couldn’t wait. However, she heard her friend Juleka say something to get her down. “At least you’re going to be in the photo.”

“No, Juleka, I'm telling you, you're not jinxed!” Rose told her “This time it's gonna work out, I can feel it, right here!”

“What's this about being jinxed?” Marinette asked.

Juleka sighed. “Ever since I was little, every time someone takes a photo of me, something always goes very wrong.”

“You're wrong Juleka, you'll see!” Rose said.

Marinette jumped in. “For sure! We'll do everything we can to make sure it goes right this time. Don't forget to smile!” Juleka smiled.

The photographer was setting up the class. He initially forgot about Juleka, but Marinette got him to get Juleka in the photo. Rose like Marinette’s kindness, and she was really impressed with her new found sense of courage. She thought if Marinette wasn’t so into Adrien or she wasn’t so into Juleka, or perhaps her pipe dream of Prince Ali, she might ask her out.

Chloe was complaining about their arrangement. She wanted to stand next to Adrien, which is where Juleka was standing. There were some troubles with the camera, which caused the photo to be delayed. Juleka needed to use the restroom, and Ms. Bustier allowed it.

Rose could hear Chloe and Sabrina whispering. “Ms. Bustier, I need to go too!” Sabrina said.

Rose immediately knew what was going on. “Me too!” Rose said.

“Alright, but make it quick” Ms. Bustier said.

Rose rushed to the bathroom. She passed Sabrina on her way there. Juleka was struggling to get out. There was a chair blocking her stall. Rose wasn’t sure why there was a chair in the bathroom, but she didn’t have time to worry about it. Rose freed it and opened the door. “I missed the photo. Didn't I?” Juleka asked.

“No, but we have to hurry!” Rose said. She grabbed Juleka’s hand and the two raced back to the courtyard Rose and Juleka took their places, and Chloe got angry.

“OK, say spaghetti!” Vincent, the photographer, called.

“Spaghetti!” the class called out. Chloe still smiled, despite the fact that she was angry. The most important thing was Juleka had a good class photo, and she knew it.

Later that night, Chloe broke into the school and made her way to Principal Damocles’s office. The pictures were going up online tomorrow, so this was her only chance to “fix” the photo. Chloe found her class’s photo and began editing. She took Juleka out completely and replace her with herself. “There. Now the picture is just right” she said.

The next morning, everyone went to check on the pictures, only to discover what Chloe had done to everyone’s shock and horror. When they got to school, the first thing Marinette did was yell at Chloe about this. Chloe insisted she didn’t have any solid evidence to back up her ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, claim. Marinette was furious.

Rose looked on. She wondered why Chloe would do such a thing. She hoped Juleka was alright. She saw Luka coming in, went up to him, and asked “Hey Luka. Where’s Juleka?”

Before Luka answered, the somber look on his face told her everything she needed to know. “I’m sorry Rose. Juleka isn’t coming to school today.”

Rose was extremely disappointed. Chloe had better have a good explanation for this.

Meanwhile, in Hawk Moth’s lair, he had just found his latest victim. “Poor girl, feeling so lonely and ignored. How terrible it must feel that you don't even exist. Come here my little friend. Fly my vile akuma and give this transparent soul a voice and a vision!”

The Akuma flew into Juleka’s room. Juleka was sitting on her bed crying her eyes out. The akuma flew into her wrist mirror. “Reflekta, I am Hawk Moth! From now on you will be the only one people see! No one will ever ignore you again! However, you must do me a favor in return, when the time comes!”

“Yes Hawk Moth!” She transformed into Reflekta. She took a good look at herself and headed off to school.

Marinette and Chloe were still in their shouting match when Reflekta first arrived on the scene. “Chloe Bourgeois!”

The two girls looked at Reflekta. “Who are you?” Chloe asked.

“Take a good look at me because I am your future face!” Relfekta said. She aimed her wrist at Chloe and transformed her into a Relekta-double. Marinette ran away.

Chloe was horrified. “What in the? Do you realize how much my outfit cost!?”

“You should be thanking me! You look a thousand times better looking like this!” Reflekta said. She then laughed. Reflekta went all around school, transforming people to her likeness.

Eventually, she got to where Rose was and Reflekta transformed everyone around her. Rose was scared at what her friend had become. Reflekta walked up to her and said “Don’t worry Rose. I’m not going to transform you. You’re perfect just the way you are!” Reflekta gave Rose a kiss on her forehead and went on her merry way.

Rose was confused. She walked out to the courtyard to see that Cat Noir had shown up. Just as he was about to Cataclysm his way out, Reflekta hit him.

A few minutes later, Ladybug showed up and demanded “Juleka, stop this now!”

Reflekta retorted “I'm not the Juleka nobody notices anymore! Now, I'm the unmistakable Reflekta!” She waited a few seconds before continuing. “I'm sure you'll love your new image, Ladybug!”

“Thanks but no thanks, I prefer the one I've got!” Ladybug said.

“Are you sure? Ask Cat Noir! I'm sure he loves his new look!” Reflekta said. She aimed at Ladybug but she kept dodging. Eventually though, Ladybug was cornered.

Just as Reflekta was going to change her, Cat Noir said “Time to face off! Catch her!” the other Reflekta-fied students surrounded Reflekta, making it impossible for her to change Ladybug.

“You're no match for me Ladybug, this will all be over soon for you!” Reflekta said before escaping.

The people who had been transformed were worried about their transformation. Ladybug assured them “Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, these shoes are killer on the feet, my lady!” Cat Noir said.

“Cat Noir?” Ladybug responded in disbelief.

“Excuse us, move out of the way” Cat Noir told everyone.

Ladybug asked “Cat Noir, is it - is it really you?”

Cat Noir responded in his usual way. “'Course it is! Can't you tell by my swagger! Am I still the cat's meow or what?”

“I-uh... I don't know what to say!” Ladybug said.

Cat Noir replied, “How about a thank you for getting you out of that tight spot!”

Ladybug laughed “Sorry Cat Noir but you - you just... you just don't look like yourself! But uh... thank you!”

Cat Noir smiled “You’re welcome. And in case you've forgotten, we've got to de-akumatize Reflekta!”

“We? You're powers are gone, what are you gonna do? Throw your shoes at her?” Ladybug laughed again.

Cat Noir smugly said “Remind me who just saved you a minute ago?”

Ladybug told her partner “I have to find Reflekta fast! You'd slowed me down!”

“Maybe, but you know, sometimes I do have ideas” Cat Noir reminded her.

“Ok, sorry, yes?”

Cat Noir pointed out “I don't think taking on Reflekta face to face is the best idea unless you want a facelift too.”

Ladybug thought about it. “You're right and that gives me an idea!”

She grabbed Cat Noir, but before the two took off, Rose went up to them and said “Ladybug! Can I come too? She said she wouldn’t transform me. And she’s my friend…”

Ladybug approached Rose “Sorry, but it’s still too dangerous.”

“I understand…” Rose said, dejected.

Ladybug realized she needed to cheer Rose up. “Look, I’m going to be busy enough carrying around Cat Noir as it is. I can’t worry about him AND you at the same time.”

“I’ll be fine” Cat Noir said.

“I’ll believe that when you can walk 10 feet in those heels without tripping” Ladybug said. Cat Noir rolled his eyes while Ladybug giggled. “But more importantly, Reflekta is a villain now. And villains go back on their word all the time. But I will give you a hero’s promise: We will get you friend back! The best thing for you to do is be safe. For us and your friend.”

Rose smiled. “Thank you, Ladybug.” Ladybug and Cat Noir took off. Rose then began to walk around. “Chloe?! Chloe?!” She was going to give Chloe a piece of her mind once she found her. Fortunately for Chloe, the only good thing about being transformed for her was that Rose could not pick her out from a line-up.

Rose gave up and decided to do the next best thing. She snuck into Mr. Damocles’s office and sat at the computer. She looked through the files and eventually found the original image. She deleted Chloe’s photo off of the school website and replace it with the original. She added the caption “Attention! Due to some prankster’s idea of a joke, the original picture had been altered and uploaded instead of the original image. We are rectifying this now. Our sincerest apologies. We are looking into the incident.”

“And done” Rose said, making it public. The magic ladybugs flew around, fixing all of the damage caused by Reflekta. Rose smiled.

Ladybug got an alert on her yo-yo. She checked it to see the update to the school website and smiled. “Thank you” she said. She went over and showed Juleka the change. Juleka gave Ladybug a hug and Ladybug hugged back. She then asked “Could you take this girl back to her school please, Mayor Bourgeois?”

“Yes, of course Ladybug!” the Mayor answered

Ladybug said “Thank you! See you later Cat Noir! Bug out!”

Hawk Moth was cursing his latest attempt. “You might've pulled it off today, Ladybug but everything is not as it appears to be! Watch out Ladybug! I'll destroy you when you least expect it.”

At school, Marinette was fidgetting. “What’s up Marinette?” Rose asked.

“Well...I know that the original photo got uploaded, but I kind of feel like that isn’t enough” Marinette said. “I have an idea, but I would need to talk to...Adrien…”

Rose smiled. “You can do this, Marinette! For Juleka!”

Marinette nodded. “For Juleka!”  She walked up to Adrien, and despite stumbling, she managed to start a conversation. “Hhhhey Adrien.”

“Yes Marinette?” Adrien asked.

Marinette gulped. “Well, uh, you see, I know you know the class stenographer-”

“You mean photographer?” Adrien asked.

“Right. That guy” Marinette said. “I was, um, wondering if you could ask him to come to the park after school. I was thinking maybe that we could have our own little photoshoot...you know...For Juleka...”

Adrien was shocked. He then smiled “What a great idea, Marinette. I’ll give him a call right now.” Adrien walked off. Marinette stood there and smiled.

Rose thought that they looked cute together. Still, she had other business to take care of. She found Chloe. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!” she yelled.

“Ow. You know, that voice is too loud. You may have hurt my eardrums!” Chloe said.

“You hurt Juleka’s feelings!” Rose said. “I demand to know why!”

“Ugh. Really?” Chloe said. “Fine! I did it because Hawk Moth told me to.”

Rose was confused. “Hawk Moth TOLD YOU TO?!”

“Easy!” Chloe said.

“WHY ARE YOU WORKING FOR HAWK MOTH?!” Rose said.

“Because, he promised me that after he was done with Ladybug’s miraculous that I could have it! How amazing would that be. Me. As a superhero!” Chloe said.

Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Oh” Chloe said. “Because I know you’re too nice to do anything to stop us. Now, be a good girl and head back to class.”

Rose slapped Chloe across the face. “How DARE you! All this time, I gave you the benefit of the doubt, and yet here you are. You don’t have any real troubles. You’re just a vain, whiny, little brat who wants her way all the time! Well guess what?! I might be too nice for my own good sometimes, but you have gone TOO FAR! I’m going to the principal's office to tell EVERYONE what you told me, and there’s NOTHING you can do about it!”

Rose started heading over. Chloe tried to stop Rose, but Rose backhanded her with her fist, knocking Chloe to the ground. When she opened the door to the office, everything around her turned white. “What’s going on?” Rose asked.

“Well well. I didn’t know you had it in you” Judgement Wolf said

“Judgement Wolf?” Rose said. “Wait, so, was this my test?”

“Yes. And I gotta say, you passed” Judgement Wolf said.

“Thank you” Rose said, giving Judgement Wolf a hug.

“Yes, well, you’re welcome” Judgement Wolf said.

“Wait!” Rose said, leaving the hug. “So, does that mean none of that was real?”

“It does” Judgement Wolf said.

“Whew!” Rose said. “I’m glad it was just a test. Chloe has really been improving. I didn’t want to hate her after all of that.”

“Of course” Judgement Wolf said. “But you proved you can, and that’s what I was looking for.”

“I can sleep easy knowing this” Rose said.

“Speaking of, I should go home and get some sleep of my own” Judgement Wolf said. “Beyyo should be meeting with you soon to see if he agrees with my assessment. Anyway, good night Rose.”

“Good night” Rose said. Judgement Wolf left and Rose fell back asleep.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 42: The Eye of the Beholder!/The Mad King

The day of the student art exhibition had arrived. Marinette woke up and got ready. “Are you excited?” Tikki asked.

“Of course” Marinette said. “I’m a bit nervous, but I’m ready!”

“That’s the spirit!” Tikki said.

Marinette got a phone call. “Hello?” she answered.

“Hey Mari, it’s me” Adrien said.

“Mari?” Marinette said.

“Do you not like it?” Adrien asked.

“No. I mean, I like it, I just-” Marinette sighed. “So, what’s up?”

“Well, I thought I’d walk you to school today. You know, since it’s the big art exhibition and all. I figured you could use some help,or at least some company” Adrien said.

“Thanks Adrien, but you don’t need to do that” Marinette said.

“Well…” Adrien said.

“What’s going on?” Marinette asked.

“I’m kind of already here” Adrien said.

“WHAT?!” Marinette shrieked.

Marinette went downstairs and opened the house door to see Adrien standing outside. “Hi Mari” Adrien said.

Marinette was somewhat frustrated, but then smiled. She couldn’t stay mad at Adrien. “Alright fine. Come inside. I just need to grab a few things.”

Marinette went back upstairs while Adrien went into the kitchen. “Morning Mrs. Cheng” he said.

“Oh, hello Adrien” Sabine said. “Want something to eat?”

“Sure” Adrien said. “I’ve had breakfast already, but I always get a little nervous before a gig, so I like to eat a little more.”

“Oh my. It must be hard for you” Sabine said.

“Yeah, it can be” Adrien said. “But today will be worth it because I get to model Marinette’s outfit.” A smile graced Sabine’s face.

Gabriel finished his breakfast. “Thanks for helping me find the time to attend both events, Nathalie,” he said.

“Of course sir” Nathalie said.

“Remember, you don’t need to get the miraculous to make me proud. Though I would prefer it” Gabriel said.

“Yes sir” Nathalie said. Gabriel left.

Alix was finishing putting on all of her skating equipment. “You’re coming, right dad?”

“Of course” Mr. Kubdel said. “I just need to take care of a few things here. You go on ahead.” Alix skated out of the Louvre with a smile on her face.

Juleka and Luka were on the deck of the Liberty watching the street. They saw their dad pull up with a trailer on his car. “Mom! Dad’s here! We’re leaving!” Luka said.

Richard came out. “So, is everything ready?” he said.

“Yeah dad” Juleka said. They started packing the instruments and stage equipment in the trailer.

Max and the Nighthawks were already at the school, working on finishing setting up Max’s game. “Hey guys” Carter said.

The rest of the crew turned to look at him. He was still wearing his baggy pants and black shoes, but he had taken off his hoodie to reveal a long-sleeved red t-shirt, and he had taken off his hat to reveal his long brown hair with blonde highlights. “Carter” max said.

“Yeah, I know” Carter said. “It actually feels nice.”

“Does this mean the team is breaking up for good?” Gerard asked.

“Nah” Carter said. “But after a week of thinking, and working on this, I think I’ve decided that we should maybe limit ourselves. We aren’t ready for the big leagues yet. I thought we were, but last week proved me wrong. We need to start small. So, we’ll only be a weekend team.”

“But what will we do with our weekdays?” Laurence asked.

Carter smiled. “We’ll finish high school. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not as smart as we think we are. Of course, we might need a tutor…”

Max smiled. “I’m proud of you Carter. And I’ll gladly tutor all of you”

“Ooo! Can I help?” Markov asked.

“Of course” Carter said. “Now let’s finish setting this up.” The gang got back to work. Carter pulled Max aside. “You know, I wouldn’t be at this point if it wasn’t for you.”

“Me?” Max said.

“Yeah” Carter said. “I was so angry with you after the match. But then, after I calmed down, I thought about you and your team. You were actually close. I could see it in your eyes. I never felt that close with anyone. You gave me a goal. I needed that.”

Max smiled. “Well, I’m happy to help. Say, um, you wouldn’t happen to know Katelyn’s deal, would you?”

Carter looked over Max to Katelyn. “Later” he said.

Nathaniel and Marc arrived at school, each carrying a box of  their latest comic. “I’m so glad we get to show this off” Marc said.

“Yeah” Nathaniel replied. “I think it’s our best work so far!” Marc giggled.

Marinette and Adrien were in the building. “Thanks for walking with me” Marinette said. The two kissed.

“Well well, if it isn't Paris's number one couple” Vlad said, walking up to them.

“Stop that” Adrien said. Marinette blushed. “Are you OK? You look a little tired.”

“Yeah, well, I had a long night” Vlad said.

“Who’s fault is that?” Adrien asked.

“Hawk Moth’s. Always Hawk Moth’s” Vlad said.

Adrien shook his head. “Um, Vlad, here’s your outfit” Marinette said. She gave Adrien his outfit as well.

Vlad was impressed. “Wow. I like how it looks already.”

“Yeah, well, put it on. It’ll look even better” Adrien said. The two headed to the locker room to change.

A few minutes later, the two emerged. “Wow, you weren’t kidding” Vlad said. The two were wearing a dress shirt-dress pants combo with a series of V-shapes with a 128 degrees of separation on the inside angle going down the entirety of the outfit. Vlad’s was purple with gold Vs and Adrien’s was black with green Vs.

“I’ve gotta say Mari, you’ve really outdone yourself” Adrien said.

“Oh, it was nothing. I was trying to keep it simple” Marinette said.

“...Mari?” Vlad said.

Marinette blushed. Her hands went in her face. “Um, maybe I should be the only to use that” Adrien said.

“Noted” Vlad said.

“Ah, Marinette. Are these your outfits?” Mr. Chastain asked. “They look wonderful.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chastain” Marinette said.

“So, where are you set up?” Mr. Chastain asked.

“Well, I was promised I could use the stage that Kitty Section was using before they performed” Marinette said. “I just hope that we still can…”

Mr. Chastain was confused. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing” Marinette said, nervously.

“Just teen drama stuff” Adrien said.

“I see” said Mr. Chastain. “Well, if your drama isn’t settled, I’m sure Alix wouldn’t mind splitting the art room with you.”

“Really?” Marinette said.

“Sure. I’ll go ask her now.” Mr. Chastain left.

“I’m gonna grab a drink of water” Adrien said, leaving.

“Speaking of talking to Alix…” Marinette said.

“Right” Vlad said. “Well, Beyyo, you heard where she was.”

“On it” Beyyo said. Beyyo raced to the art room to see Alix. He hid before Mr. Chastain entered and asked Alix about the room. Alix nodded and Mr. Chastain left.

Beyyo appeared in front of Alix. “Woah! Oh, hello. You my be Beyyo” Alix said.

“Indeed it is” Beyyo sad. “I am here to report that you have gained my approval.”

“Well, that’s good” Alix said. “Anything else, or can I get back to preparing?”

“You’re good to go” Beyyo said.

“OK. Thanks” Alix said. Beyyo left. He saw Kitty Section and Richard enter with a bunch of equipment. He thought to tell Rose in a more private setting. He hid in the corner to keep watch from above.

Marinette approached Luka. “Hey Luka” she said.

“Hey Marinette” Luka said.

“So...Could we still use the stage when you’re not using it?” Marinette asked.

Luka smiled. “Of course. What would make you think otherwise?”

Marinette hugged Luka. “Thank you!” She realized what she did and broke off. “Ah! Sorry…”

“Relax Marinette” Luka said. “I’m doing better.” Marinette smiled.

Rose went to get a drink of water, and that’s when Beyyo decided to strike. Once Rose was done, she looked up and said “Oh hello. You must be Beyyo!”

“Yes” Beyyo said. “I am here to inform you that I have passed you as well.”

“Really? That’s great!” Rose said.

“Yes, now run along. We don’t want to arouse suspicion” Beyyo said.

“Right” Rose said. She put her finger to her lips and then walked away. Beyyo returned to Vlad.

Everyone finished setting up. “Well, this looks wonderful” Mr. Chastain said. “And with that, I declare this student art exhibition officially open!” The students not participating walked around taking in the art. Soon after, people from all over the city came by to check things out.

Max got a lot of good feedback on his game, Marinette got many compliments on her outfits, everyone loved Alix’s street art, and Nathaniel and Marc sold more copies of their comics than ever before. All of the other students participating all got positive feedback as well. Nathaniel had to leave to use the restroom for a second. “I say, things are going well” Mr. Chastain said.

“Simon?” said a voice from behind. Mr. Chastain got nervous instantly. “Simon Chastain?” Mr. Chastain turned around.

Sure enough, with his balding hair, moustache, suit, glasses, and notebook, it was who he thought and feared it was. “Hello Raphael” he said in an angry tone.

“I didn’t expect to see you here” Raphael said. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing” Mr. Chastain said.

“Well, I’m here to do a piece on today’s exhibition” Raphael said. “And I’m supposed to interview the art teacher…” Raphael looked through his notes. “Oh. Look at that. The art teacher’ name is Mr. Chastain as well. Where can I find him?”

“You’re looking at him” Mr. Chastain said.

Raphael burst out laughing. “Seriously? Good one” Raphael said. “Now, where is he, really.” Mr. Chastain glared at him. “Oh. You’re serious.”

Nathaniel was walking back to his table when he saw Mr. Chastain staring down Raphael. “Woah! What’s going on here?” he asked.

Mr. Chastain sighed. “Nathaniel, this is Raphael Beaumont. An art critic.” Ice seeped from every word from his mouth.

“I’m familiar with who Mr. Beaumont is” Nathaneil said. “He’s one of the harshest art critics there is. But, what is he doing here?”

“He’s doing a piece of today’s exhibition” Mr. Chastain said.

“Did you tell him I’m harsh, Simon?” Raphael said.

“No. I found that out by reading your articles” Nathaniel said.

“Then you should know that I’m not harsh” Raphael said. “I just believe art has standards.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Hey, you’ve been gone for a long time,” Marc said, coming up to Nathaniel. “Oh. Uh, what’s going on here?”

“Simon, are you still mad about art school?” Raphael said.

“You two went to art school together?” Nathaniel asked.

“Yes. We did” Mr. Chastain said.

“Look, you could ask any art critic, ‘The Mad King’ is not a good piece of art” Raphael said.

“Wait. You mean the piece you showed us recently?” Marc asked.

Mr. Chastain looked worried. “Oh no. Tell me I did NOT just here you kept your dumb painting all this time” Raphael said.

“You made the painting?” Nathaniel asked.

“Yes” Mr. Chastain said.

“Oh man. This is almost too good to be true” Raphael said. “I can’t wait to see what drivel comes from The Mad King’s subjects.”

“Hey! Our comic is NOT drivel!” Marc shouted.

“Comic? As in comic book?” Raphael said. He then laughed.

“Comic books ARE art!” Nathaniel said.

“I agree. Now, if you just came here to insult me, I suggest you leave” Mr. Chastain said.

“Well, I didn’t come here to do that” Raphael said. “I’ve got a piece to write. I hope your students don’t expect to have careers in creative fields. If they’re being taught by you, then there’s only so much they can learn. Let’s start with this dynamic duo. Show me your ‘artful’ comic book.”

“Very well” Nathaniel said, angrily. He, Marc, and Raphael walked over to the comic booth.

Mr. Chastain angrily walked over to the art room. Alix was explaining her art when she noticed Mr. Chastain. “Mr. Chastin, are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine” Mr. Chastain said. “I just need a break.” He went to the back of his room and stepped into his office. In his office was ‘The Mad King’. It was a painting of a king dressed in all white, with a red crown with a gold rim and ordained with jewels, a gold scepter and a red cape, giving a declaration to a scared populace. Mr. Chastain looked at it before sitting down and grabbing a paintbrush. “He can push me around all he wants, but I won’t let him tarnish my students!” He slammed his fist on his desk.

“Well well, nothing stings worse than the reopening of old wounds” Nathalie Hawk Moth said. “Except maybe failing to protect the people you’re supposed to. Fly away, my precious akuma, and evilize him!”

The akuma fused to Mr. Chastain’s paintbrush. “Hello, Mad King. I am Hawk Moth. Art should be cherished, not criticized. I’m giving you the power to bring art to life and punish those who would dare criticize it. In return, I only ask for the small fee of Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculous.”

“Indeed. I shall grant you that” Mr. Chastain said. A purple-black aura surrounded him.

The Mad King kicked down the door. He looked similar to the painting, except the scepter was a giant paintbrush, and he had Hawk Moth’s traditional purple skin for akuma victims. “Mr. Chastain?” Alix said.

“There is no Mr. Chastain anymore. Only The Mad King!” he said. “Though we do share a similar appreciation for your street art, Miss Kubdel. Although, it is a pity that it has to stay confined to such a space. Perhaps I can help with that.” He aimed his paintbrush at Alix’s art and shot a colorful beam at it. Alix ran out of the room, but the graffiti grabbed a hold of everyone else in the room. “There. Nobody move.”

“It’s an emergency!” Alix yelled from the second floor. “Mr. Chastain has been Akumatized!” Everyone was shocked.

“And here I thought we got along” Mad King said.

Alix was afraid, but she knew she had to stand up to this. “I got along with Mr. Chastain!

“Well, I suppose one can’t be king without having a few enemies” Mad King said. “But I still like you, so I’ll let you go for now” Mad King said. He jumped onto the railing. “I have a different enemy in mind!” Raphael was quivering. He started to run before Mad King aimed his paintbrush at the comics. The comics came to life and grabbed Raphael and dragged him.

Mad King met up with the now upside down critic. “I never knew why you attended art school” Mad King said. “All you ever do is tell people their art is bad. That’s not fair. That’s not even constructive! But don’t worry. We’re going to deal with you now!”

Marinette, Adrien, and Vlad looked at each other and nodded. They all left for the lockers and transformed. “Tikki! Spots On!”

“Plagg! Claws Out!”

“Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!”

When the three of them got out there, The Mad King had taken the stage. Surrounding him was a plethora of student art projects. In the middle, Raphael was being held down. “You feel that? That fear? That iciness? That’s how you make everyone feel when you walk into a room. Although that won’t be for much longer.” He grabbed a sword out of a painting of a pirate. “Thank you, Captain Abelard. Now, it’s time!” Ladybug knocked the sword out of his hand with her yo-yo. “Ladybug. I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.”

“If you’re not one for critics, then take me on first!” Ladybug said.

“Oh, I’m fine with critics” Mad King said. “Critics are a tool meant to help artists. Except some of them would rather use it to make people give up on art altogether!”

Cat Noir and swooped in and destroyed a lot of the art surrounding Mad King. “We’re not at a Van Gough exhibit, but I’ll make you see stars!” Cat Noir said.

“I’ll mess you up like  Dali clock” Judgement Wolf said.

“Good references” Mad King said. “But you’re forgetting I still have a hostage completely at my mercy. So  suggest you be a patron of the arts and give me your miraculous!” Mad King looked at Raphael only to see Marc free him. “What are you doing?”

“Run!” Marc said. Raphael ran out of the school.

Mad King grabbed Marc. “Why’d you do that?”

Marc was struggling while being lifted off the ground. “Because he doesn’t deserve that!” he shouted. “No one does!”

“Well, how noble of you” Mad King said. “But you’re wrong!” He threw Marc. Judgement Wolf caught him. “And now I need to find him again! And I’m all out of art too!”

“Mad King, surely you can’t be out” Nathalie Hawk Moth said. “This city is filled to the brim with art. Think creatively.”

“Of course Hawk Moth!” Mad King said. He saw the sword on the ground. He picked it up and threw it at Ladybug and Cat Noir. While they dodged it, he made his escape.

“I’ll track him down!” Cat Noir said, rushing out after him.

Ladybug ran up to Judgement Wolf. “Is he alright?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s fine. Just unconscious” Judgement Wolf said.

“I’ll take it from here!” Nathaniel said. Judgement Wolf handed Marc to Nathaniel. Nathaniel gently hugged him and took him to the nurse’s office.

“So, what should we do now?” Judgement Wolf.

“We need a plan” Ladybug said. “Lucky Charm! An incense burner? Wait, I’ve seen this before. Judgement Wolf. Make sure everyone here is safe then go join Cat Noir! I’ll catch up with you!” Ladybug left. Judgement Wolf made his way around the school.

Marinette busted into the parlor. “Master Fu! We need help!”

“Of course” Master Fu said. He opened the Miracle Box. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over you will retrieve the Miraculous from them.”

We need someone who can calm down this Mad King. “Ah! I need the rooster miraculous!”

“Very well then” Master Fu said. Marinette took it and left.

Cat Noir kept chasing Mad King, but kept having to fight pieces of art that Mad King brought to life. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Catalyst used their power on Mayura!” he said.

“Who’s Mayura?” Judgement Wolf said, catching up to Cat Noir and taking out another piece of living art.

“Oh. Right. I guess you wouldn’t know” Cat Noir said. “She holds the peacock miraculous and sometimes helps Hawk Moth.”

“You’re telling me that there’s ANOTHER person with a miraculous?!” Judgement Wolf said. “Forget it. We don’t have time to get into it.” The two kept fighting art.

Nathaniel was watching over Marc. “How’s he holding up?” Alix said, entering the room.

“He’s doing OK” Nathaniel said. “I can’t believe he did something like that. The little guys is something else.”

“Yeah” Alix said. “He just went up there without thinking. Like a hero.”

“Hey Alix. Can you watch him? I’ve gotta use the bathroom” Nathaniel said.

“Of course” Alix said. Nathaniel left.

Once Nathaniel left the bathroom, Ladybug appeared in front of him. “Ladybug? Shouldn’t you be taking care of Mad King?” Nathaniel asked.

“I’m going to, but I need some help” Ladybug said. “Nathaniel Kurtzberg. Here is the miraculous of the rooster, which grants you the power of tranquility. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is complete, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?”

Nathaniel was in awe. “Of course Ladybug!” he said. He grabbed the box and opened it.

Orikko appeared once the box was opened. “Hello. My name is Orikko. I am the kwami of tranquility.”

“Hi Orikko. I’m Nathaniel” he said, putting on the miraculous.

“Once the miraculous is on, all you have to do is say ‘Orikko! Comb Up!’” she explained.

“Orikko! Comb Up!” Nathaniel said. He transformed into a hero with an orange domino mask with a little beak, an orange jumpsuit with decorative feathers on his arms, a strap going across his torso to carry a crossbow, and a bandana to make his hair stand up to form a comb-like structure. “Woah!”

“‘Woah’ indeed” Ladybug said. “Now let’s move!’ The two left the school.

While they were running across rooftops, Ladybug gave Cat Noir a call. “Hey honey. What’s up?”

“‘Honey’? Are you two dating now?” Nathaniel’s superhero form asked.

Ladybug made a nervous noise, while Cat Noir said “Oh. I didn’t know we had company.”

Ladybug groaned. “It’s OK. Most people kind of expected it” Nathaniel’s superhero form said.

“Well, then, I don’t see what we need to worry about” Cat Noir said.

“And if there is something, your secret is safe with me” Nathaniel’s superhero from said.

“Aw, thanks buddy! What’s your name?” Cat Noir asked.

He smiled. “Rooster Gold!” he said.

“Huh. Well, welcome to the team!” Cat Noir said.

“Cat Noir! Focus! Have you tracked down Mad King yet?” Ladybug said.

“Yeah! We tracked him to the Arc de Triomphe!” Cat Noir said. “Judgement Wolf, Rena, and Carapace are keeping him busy. I’m hiding his target.”

“Great! Meet you there!” Ladybug said.

Ladybug and Rooster Gold made it to just before the Arc. They kept out of sight. “Hey Ladybug” Cat Noir said. “Do you have a plan yet?”

“Not yet. Where’d you hide his target?” Ladybug asked.

“He’s in one of the buildings here” Cat Noir said.

“OK. Let’s see if we can’t take him out before he realizes something!” Ladybug said. Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rooster Gold charged further. Rooster Gold fell back after he thought of something.

Ladybug and Cat Noir arrived to join the fight. “Ah, Ladybug. Cat Noir. Have you come to admire my collection?”

“Not really” Cat Noir said. “But we’d like to add a new piece. It’s called my foot in your face!” Cat Noir jump kicked, but a pierce of art blocked him.

“Get them!” Mad King commanded. The variety of art works kept storming the heroes.

“Do these ever let up?” Rena Rouge said.

“Yeah. It’s like every time I turn, he has a new piece of art after me” Carapace added. A piece of art was about to take out Carapace, but it got hit with a feather and went down. Carapace looked as saw Rooster Gold in the distance sniping pieces of art. Carapace acknowledged him, and he acknowledged him back.

Rooster Gold kept taking out pieces of art from a distance. “What’s going on?” Mad King asked. He started to panic, but then he looked up and smiled. “It occurs to me that the Arc de Triomphe is also art.” He aimed his paintbrush up and brought the Arc to life. It started to move, causing quakes whenever it landed.

“This is bad” Cat Noir said.

“I didn’t want this to happen” Ladybug said. “Lucky Charm! Mustard?!”

“My condiments to the chef” Cat Noir said.

Ladybug looked around and saw all of the artwork, the mustard, Mad King, and Rooster Gold. “Of course. Cat Noir! Take care of the Arc. I’ll handle everything else!”

“‘Take care of the Arc’ she says” Cat Noir said. “Sometimes, I wonder if she realizes just how strange things have been getting.

The Arc was about to step on Rena when Carapace joined her and called out “Shell-ter!” The Arc stepped on the Shell-ter and began to fall over after not breaking it.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir said, touching and destroying one of Paris’s most iconic landmarks.

“Thanks you two” Rena Rouge said.

Meanwhile, Ladybug was squirting mustard all over the different art pieces. Once they were hit, they became lifeless. “What’s going on?” Mad King asked.

“By vandalizing them, I’m ruining them as art” Ladybug said. “Making it so you can’t control them anymore!” She continued to squirt mustard all of the art.

“NOOOOOOOO!” Mad King said. Once the last one was down. “You're forgetting something. I still have the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower! This city is FULL OF ART! You can’t stop all of it!”

“I don’t need to” Ladybug said. “NOW ROOSTER GOLD!”

“On it!” Rooster Gold called back. He held his crossbow in the air and pulled back on the launcher. The feather loaded in it became gigantic. “Down Strike!” he called. He unleashed the giant feather.

“Uh oh” Mad King said. He got hit with it. He loosened up a little bit. “MhmhmhmhmhmhmAhahahahahahahahahahahahahAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” The Mad King laughed heartily. “Oh, what a wondrous day!” he said.

“What are you doing?” Nathalie Hawk Moth said.

“I dunno. I just feel more relaxed” Mad King said.

“Rena, could you make him something to help him relax a little more?” Ladybug asked.

“Sure thing Ladybug!” Rena said. She played her flute. “Mirage!” She generated a vision of their class.

“Ah, children. How are you today?” Mad King said. He walked over lazily. The smiles on those kids faces relaxed him further to the point of letting go of his paintbrush and falling over. Judgement Wolf quickly destroyed the paintbrush, releasing the akuma.

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye Bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!” She threw the mustard in the air, and the ladybugs fixed all of the damage.

“Well, I’ve yet to create my masterpiece, but I suppose I can review what I learned” Nathalie Hawk Moth said.

“Uh. What happened?” Mr. Chastain said.

“Pound it!” The six heroes said.

The miraculouses started beeping. “I’ll take these guys back to the school with Rena and Carapace, while you and Judgement Wolf take off with Rooster Gold?” Cat Noir said.

“Sure” Ladybug said. Carapace grabbed Mr. Chastain while Cat Noir fetched Raphael, and the three took off. Ladybug, Judgement Wolf, and Rooster Gold went off a different direction.

Cat Noir, Carapace, and Rena Rouge dropped Mr. Chastain and Raphael at the front door.

Meanwhile, on the side of the school, Ladybug, Judgement Wolf, and Rooster Gold arrived. “Orikko! Comb Down!” he transformed back into Nathaniel.

“You do realize what you are doing?” Orikko asked.

“Of course” Nathaniel said. “But I can’t afford to be stressed out about it. I just need to relax.”

Orikko smiled. “Well, I sure hope you pass. I wouldn’t mind teaming up with you again.” Nathaniel smiled. He place the miraculous back in the box and ran off.

“Why don’t I take this back?” Judgement Wolf said. “I have more a charge.”

“Alright, but be quick. I’m going to need my art to actually be here, you know” Ladybug said.

“Of course” Judgement Wolf said. He took the box and returned it.

Nathaniel walked into the nurse’s office. “Hey. What happened?” Alix asked. “You were gone a really long time.”

Nathaniel smiled. “I guess I just got lost in thought worrying about Marc is all.

Marc started to wake up. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

“MARC!” Nathaniel said, hugging him. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“Oh, uh, thank you” Marc said, blush.

Nathaniel broke the hug, but kept his hands on his shoulders. “Don’t scare me like that again.”

“I know...I’m sorry,” Marc said.

“It’s alright” Nathaniel said. The two exchanged a kiss.

A few minutes Later, Vlad left the locker room to join a crowd gathered in the courtyard. “I’m sorry about today’s disturbance” Mr. Chastain announced. “But, now that everything is back in order, I declare this exhibition: Re-Opened!”

The rest of the exhibition went off without a hitch. Later on, parents began to arrive. Mr. Chastain was smiling proudly at his student’s accomplishments. “I gotta say, you have some fine students” Raphael said, standing next to Mr. Chastain. “You certainly make a good teacher.”

Mr. Chastain smiled. “Raphael, do you know why I show my class ‘The Mad King’ every year?”

“No” Raphael said.

“The composition, the coloring, the technique, it’s all there” Mr. Chastain said. “But you’re right. Anyone could tell you that it’s not a great painting. I only made it because it was for an assignment. I didn’t put my heart into it. That’s not what art is to me. Art has to come from within. Not because someone told you to do it.”

“I see…” Raphael said.

“The night’s not over yet” Mr. Chastain said. He walked over to the stage, as Vlad and Adrien got off. “Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the musical stylings of Kitty Section!”

Kitty Section was walking to the stage. “Miss Lavillant” Gabriel said. Rose turned to meet him. “Your sister wanted me to give you this.” He handed her a note.

Rose read it. “Dear Rose, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your concert tonight. But maybe you can give a private concert later. Anyway, the reason I’m not there is because I finally became a full-time employee of Gabriel! AND Julian is taking me out tonight to CELEBRATE! I am completely ecstatic right now. I hope your concert goes well! Tell mom and dad for me! Love, Courtney.”

“I hope your date is going well too,” Rose said.

“She also wanted me to give you this” Gabriel said. He held out a box with a white lace wristband with a pink rose. “She made it for you just before she left.” Rose’s face lit up. She put it on and made her way to the stage.

She joined everyone up on stage. “Thank you for coming tonight!” Rose said. “Right now, we are debuting our second song, ‘Comforting Waves’. Hit it!” Ivan counted down and the band started playing.

“When it’s calm in my heart, that I can’t stand

Cause when where the ocean meets the sand

Is at peace I just see nothing at all

So no one’s looking at me when I fall

But I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Your affection has swallowed me in your tide

And you couldn’t lose me if you tried

Right now I’m at peace surrounded by you

I can’t be the ocean, cause I’m not blue

Cause I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

(solo)

And I see your face

And my heart starts to race

And I know my place

Is by your side

Standing there on the ocean’s shore

Wishing, wanting you forever more

You flow through me so we don’t drift apart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart

Comforting Waves crashing in my heart”

After the song was over, everyone cheered. Rose smiled and gave the peace sign. Juleka and Luka fist bumped. Ivan crossed his arms.

Once the day was over, Adrien and Vlad approached Marinette. “What is it, you two?” Marinette asked.

“Well, we were just wondering…” Vlad said.

“Can we keep these?” Adrien asked.

“Of course!” Marinette smiled.

“Ah, Marinette” Tom said. “Wonderful designs. I know for sure you’re going to make it as a designer.”

“Thanks dad” Marinette said.

“Oh, right. We should get home soon” Tom said.

“Why?” Marinette asked.

“Well, we wanted to tell you sooner, but you were so busy” Sabine said. “We were invited over for lunch tomorrow at the Agreste manor.”

“WHAT?!” Marinette and Adrien said.

“I’m sure it’s going to be great!” Tom said.

“We’ll leave you two be for now” Sabine said. They walked away.

Marinette and Adrien stared at each other. “Well, good luck you two” Vlad said. He walked off as well.

“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Adrien said.

“Yeah” Marinette said. The two tried to awkwardly step around each other and then insisting the other should go first. They managed to walk around each other eventually and catch up with their parents.

Vlad rolled his eyes. “I thought that when they started dating, there’s be no more awkward moments like this” Beyyo said.

“”It’s just who they are” Vlad said.

Max was heading out when he was stopped by Carter. “Hey. My house. Tomorrow.”

Max nodded. “Gotcha” he said. He then left.

“So, what do we do about this Mayura?” Beyyo asked.

“The same thing we do with every miraculous, Beyyo” Vlad said. “We figure out the person behind the mask and test them.”

“But we haven’t seen them since we got here. They must be more secretive than Hawk Moth” Beyyo told him.

“True. But they can’t hide forever” Vlad reminded him.

“I guess” Beyyo said.

“Right now, we need to focus” Vlad said. “We’ve got to test our chicken before he hatches into a problem.”

Beyyo stared at him. “I think Adrien is a bit of a bad influence on you.”

“Eh. It is what it is” Vlad said. They walked out of the school.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 14: A Future Worth Fighting For

Judgement Wolf was about to head into the Wolf Mist. “Don’t you want to join?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t that be cheating?” Bunnyx said.

“You’re a fast learner” Judgement Wolf said, jumping in.

Bunnyx sat down at the foot of the bet. “Fluff! Counterclockwise!” she called out, transforming back into Alix.

“We back already?” Fluff said.

“Nah” Alix said. “I just wanted some company. So, what makes you so confident that I pass?”

“Dunno” Fluff said. “Intuition, I guess.”

“You didn’t happen to go to the future at some point to see this, right?” Alix asked.

“Just because I can time travel, doesn’t mean I do” Fluff responded. “Besides, what’s the fun in knowing everything?!” Alix smiled.

Meanwhile, Alix was face-to-face with her future self, who was a time traveling superhero Bunnyx. She was telling her that in order to help her dad, she needed to accept the rabbit miraculous and become the superhero she saw before her.

However, a second portal opened up. It was Bunnyx again, but from later in the future. “Alix!” she said. “You cannot accept the rabbit miraculous.”

Alix asked “Why not?”

Future Bunnyx explained “In the future, where I come from, because we accepted the rabbit miraculous, Hawk Moth got more aggressive with his attempts to take over the city.  Ladybug and Cat Noir gained more allies, but that only made Hawk Moth more aggressive. Eventually, he created a villain so powerful that none of us could defeat it. We are all in hiding, while this villain continues to terrorize the city. You can stop it. Just don’t become Bunnyx!”

“No, dad needs Bunnyx!” said present Bunnyx.

“Ladybug and Cat Noir can handle it” future Bunnyx said. “They can’t handle this.”

“She needs us. We’re so close!” present Bunnyx said.

“Uh, what’s happening?” Ladybug said, appearing before the three of them.

“Ladybug! You cannot give the miraculous to Alix�� future Bunnyx said.

“No! You have to give her the miraculous!’ present Bunnyx said. “Otherwise, we can’t beat Art Vader.”

“If you do this, Hawk Moth will eventually create a supervillain so powerful that we can’t defeat it” future Bunnyx said. “You need to put a stop to this here.”

“But they can’t defeat Art Vader without us!” present Bunnyx said.

“Um, I’d like to hear what Alix thinks about all of this” Ladybug said.

Alix was confused. Her future selves had conflicting messages. Both were important, but they were telling her to do the opposite things. Alix then knew what she had to do. “Alright! Here’s what I want” Alix said. “Future Bunnyx, take this Ladybug with you so she can help out. I’ll take the miraculous and transform into Bunnyx and take Cat Noir into the Death Art. We’ll battle Art Vader for a bit, then I’ll take Cat Noir into the future to meet you. I just need a time and a place, so can you give that to me? Once we rally everyone, with two Ladybugs, two Cat Noirs, and two Bunnyxs, and everyone else we can defeat this monster. Then I’ll take this Ladybug and Cat Noir back, finish Art Vader, and then circle back here. Do you understand?” Ladybug nodded.

“But what if we get defeated again?” future Bunnyx said.

“Then we’ll get more people. It can’t stop every superhero, let alone multiples of them. I don’t know what in the future made me so pessimistic, but a real hero never gives up” Alix said. “So let’s go with the plan.”

The dream then faded into all white. “Wow, that was confusing” Judgement Wolf said. “But I think I managed to follow that.” Alix started to laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Man, did I choose the right day for this” Alix said. Judgement Wolf looked at her confused. “See, you don’t know this, but I thought it would be unfair for you to test me the night of the Art Vader attack, since I’d be more prepared for that. So instead, I opted to send us to the night before the art exhibition, because I figured I’d be stressed out about it. And boy was I right.”

“Well, that was unexpected. Then again, you seem to be good at pulling rabbits out of hats” Judgement Wolf said.

“Do this mean I pass?” Alix asked.

“Yes” Judgement Wolf said. “Unless you knew that was my answer.”

“A friend of mine once told me, ‘What’s the fun in knowing everything?’” Alix said. “One more question. All of these hoops I’ve jumped through. Do you not think that that’s just me trying to be a superhero?”

Judgement Wolf thought about it. “You demonstrated that you wanted it to help people in your dream. I think that’s different from wanting them just because it would be cool. It’s like studying to become a doctor. There might be some reward there, but you’re still learning, and you’re still doing it for a good cause.”

“Thanks Judgement Wolf” Alix said. “I needed this.”

Judgement Wolf snickered. “Well, it seems like you have a big day ahead of you, so I’ll be on my way” he said, jumping out of the Wolf Mist.

Back in Alix’s room, Judgement Wolf reappeared. “Alright, let’s go” Judgement Wolf said.

“Why are you so glum?” Fluff asked. “You sound like you were temporarily tricked.”

“How would you know?” Judgement Wolf asked.

“Let’s just say, this isn’t my first rodeo with the wolf miraculous” Fluff said.

“Sorry, but I didn’t want to have an advantage,” Alix said.

“You explained as much” Judgement Wolf said.

“I guess this means I’m not going to know until before the art exhibition, but that’s OK” Alix said.

“That should tell you enough about whether you’re worthy” Fluff said.

“I’ll be the judge of that” Judgement Wolf said. “Now, let’s head back. Before we do something to disrupt the flow of time massively.”

“Fluff! Clockwise!” Alix called out. She transformed into Bunnyx. “Burrow!”

In the present, Bunnyx and Judgement Wolf arrived. Ladybug came running back. “I told you to wait for me” Ladybug said.

“She didn’t see who you are” Judgement Wolf said. “Did you?”

“Nope” said Bunnyx.

“See? It’s all good” Judgement Wolf said.

“Fine. Can I get back the miraculous?” Ladybug said.

“Sure” said Bunnyx. “Fluff! Counterclockwise!” She transformed back into Alix and gave the miraculous back to Ladybug. “Whether I passed or failed, I’m glad I helped out today.”

“You mean you don’t know?” Ladybug said.

“This one played a little temporal trick on me” Judgement Wolf said. “So she currently doesn’t know yet.” Judgement Wolf’s miraculous started to beep. “Gotta go. I’ll meet you later to discuss all of this.”

“Sounds like a plan” Ladybug said. Judgement Wolf fled.

Ladybug was about to leave, when Alix said “Wait! Can you come with me for a second?”

“Sure” said Ladybug.

The two of them walked up to Lila. “Hi Alix. Ladybug” she said.

“Come on Lila” said Alix. “You’re going to give my dad that apology you owe him.” Lila looked sorry, and followed.

They approached Mr. Kubdel. “Hey dad. Lila has something she would like to say to you” Alix said.

“I’m sorry” said Lila. “I guess I’m still trying to get used to not being manipulative.”

“It’s alright” said Mr. Kubdel. “To be honest, I’m used to people asking me prying questions. In fact, I encourage it. We only get the answers to history’s mysteries by prying. But one thing you said, combined with that dullard, just got to me. I do worry about missing some stuff in the present. That guy. I deal with people like him on a weekly basis. But thinking about it, he knows what he doesn’t want to miss and is going for it. I don’t want to miss my daughter before it’s too late.”

“Oh dad” Alix said, giving her dad a hug. “I know you’re always there for me.”

“You know, there’s a student art exhibition coming up” Lila said. “I’m sure Alix is going to be participating.”

“Really?” said Mr. Kubdel. “Well, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Again, I’m sorry” Lila said.

“It’s not your fault. I let my emotions get the better of me” Mr. Kubdel said.

“Hold on dad” Alix said, breaking the hug. “Are you being honest right now, Lila?”

“Yes” said Lila. “But if you don’t trust me, I understand.”

Alix stared her down. “Fine” she eventually said. “But know that I have me eye on you. We don’t want Hawk Moth Akumatizing you, or anyone else.”

“Of course” said Lila.

Ladybug was watching all of this. She still wasn’t sure if she should trust Lila. She seemed to be doing the right thing, but she still couldn’t 100% trust her yet. She decided it was best for now to give her the benefit of the doubt. “Well, it seems everything is fine here. I gotta go. Bug out!” she said, leaving.

Marinette arrived home. “Hi mom. Hi dad” she said.

“Hi” said Sabine. “Your friend Vlad is waiting upstairs for you.”

“Thanks mom” Marinette said, giving her mom a hug before heading up to the residence. Upstairs, she found Vlad in the living room. “Hey” he said.

“Let’s go to my room,” Marinette said.

In Marinette’s room, Vlad said “Sorry again for not being there to try and get Hawk Moth.”

“Don’t worry about that” Marinette said. “We’ll get him eventually.”

“Yeah, but I should have been there,” Vlad said.

“Look, you can’t keep beating yourself up about this” Marinette said. “If I kept beating myself up about every mistake I’ve made, I’d go crazy.”

“You’re right,” Vlad said. “So, now that Hawk Moth has said he’d stop following Lila, what do you want to do?”

Marinette had to think about this. Vlad was here yesterday, and that’s when they came up with the idea to protect Lila. Marintte remembered what happened yesterday. “Alright, so here’s what I’m thinking” Marinette said. “If we take turns looking after Lila, it would make it harder for Hawk Moth to track her down, right?”

“Sounds reasonable” Vlad said.

“But, it’s also a tool for keeping Lila in line” Marinette clarified. “If we’re watching over her, she can’t manipulate people into becoming villains. That is, if she’s still trying to.”

“Marinette, why don’t you remain suspicious of her?” Vlad asked. “I’m doing it.”

“Right, but I think that’ll only make Lila more susceptible” Marinette said. “Besides, if I want her to be nice, I have to be nice in return. I don’t want to distrust Lila, but she’s just so…”

“I get it” Vlad said. “Marinette, you really are a nice person. Don’t worry. If something happens, I’m your anchor, ready to bring you back down to Earth.”

“Thanks” said Marinette. “You know, sometimes I feel like I’m trying too hard to make sure that Lila is nice. But then I remember that it’s for a good cause. Like, studying to become a doctor. Sure, there’s some reward, but you still learned something, and you’re doing something good.” Vlad smiled.

In the present, Marinette and Vlad were contemplating what to do. “It’s not like we can justify keeping a watch on her anymore” Marinette said.

“So, if she’s still lying and manipulating outside of class, we’ll have no way of knowing?” Vlad said.

“I guess” Marinette said. “I’m going to message everyone and tell them the plan is off.” She went to her computer and began typing.

“How bogus” Vlad said.

“I know” Marinette said. “But, look at the bright side. Lila’s not going to lie at school. If she was telling the truth about Hawk Moth, he’s no longer tracking her. And, if we continue being ourselves and demonstrating honesty, Lila might pick it up as well.”

Vlad smiled. “You always know just what to say, Marinette” he said.

Marinette smiled and blushed a little. “Oh yeah, so how did it go with Alix?” Marinette asked.

“She passed” Vlad said. “Though her dream was something else. Oh yeah. Beyyo. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“What’s up?” Beyyo asked.

“You said Fluff smelled like chocolate. What’s up with that?” Vlad asked. Marinette and Tikki were now curious as well.

“Well, you know how I can sniff out other kwamis?” Beyyo asked. Vlad, Marinette, and Tikki nodded. “Well, each kwami to me has a signature scent. That way, I can tell them apart.”

“I saw Alix feeding Fluff chocolate. So, does that mean kwamis just smell like their favorite food?” Vlad asked.

Beyyo shook his head. “Not all the time. Tikki here, for instance, smells like cherries. Plagg, on the other hand, smells like something rotting.”

“That’s gotta sting” Marinette said.

“It’s not pleasant” Beyyo said. “Each kwami’s smell is linked to their trait. Fluff smells like chocolate because it’s sweet, but also can cause problems, much like time.”

“Why does Tikki smell like cherries then?” Marinette asked.

Beyyo began to answer “Because-”

“Because cherry blossoms signify spring, and spring signifies new beginnings, like creation” Tikki finished.

“Oh, so you do remember” Beyyo said.

“Of course I remember” Tikki said.

“I just thought that you were so mad at me that you forgot all the good times we’ve had” Beyyo said.

“Beyyo” Tikki said. “Of course I remember the good times. It’s what makes the bad times hurt so much.” Tikki was tearing up.

Beyyo gave her a hug. “I’m sorry” he said. “I can’t undo the past. I should have stopped him. I really should have.” Beyyo also started to cry. “I’m just glad were here now. With people like Vlad and Marinette by our side. I just hope you can forgive me someday.”

Tikki hugged Beyyo back. “It’s OK. I forgive you.”

Marinette smiled. “See? This happened because Tikki believed in Beyyo. I’ve got to believe in Lila the same way!”

Vlad smiled. “How Marinette of you” he said.

Meanwhile, Lila was meeting with Gabriel in secret. “Thanks for saving me from being confined” Lila said.

“Of course” said Gabriel. “I can’t lose someone like you. However, it might be best if we lay low for a little bit. If I Akumatize someone right away, blame might shift to you.”

“Yes Hawk Moth” Lila said. “Just say the word, and I’ll be ready.”

The next day, as everyone was going to their seats, Marinette approached Lila and said “Hey Lila. Congratulations on not being stalked by Hawk Moth. We’ve decided to cancel the watch on you.”

“Really?” Lila asked.

“Yeah, we figured that since Hawk Moth wasn’t after you anymore, there’d be no reason for it” Marinette said. “Listen, I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot, but it seems like you’re really trying to improve yourself. So, do you want to exchange phone numbers?”

Lila was shocked. “Sure” she said. The two exchanged numbers.

“Great. Thanks” Marinette said. “And sorry for any problems we’ve had.”

“It’s OK Marinette” Lila said. The two took their seats and class began.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 7: Nino’s Feelings!/Re: Anansi

“Ladybug and Judgement Wolf were standing over Nino. “Doesn’t this seem a little…” Ladybug began asking.

“Creepy?” Judgment Wolf finished. “I know, but I thought doing it in broad daylight would be worse. Especially because the subject has to be knocked out.”

“I see” said Ladybug.

Judgement Wolf readied his sword. “Wolf Mist!” he called. He thrust the mist onto Nino. “Alright, now to catch the little green kwami.”

“Wayzz?” asked Ladybug. “He isn’t here.”

“What?” Judgement Wolf asked. “Forget it, you can explain it to me later. Right now, I have a job to do. Take my hand.” Ladybug did. Judgement Wolf walked into the Wolf Mist with Ladybug. They are in an empty white area, and Ladybug is befuddled. Judgement Wolf put his thumb, index, and middle finger together than then separated them to bring up a screen. “This is what Nino is dreaming.” He said.

Nino was walking by himself, listening to his headphones, walking passed the ferris wheel. He takes note of the fireworks. Suddenly, a large woman with six arms, wearing headgear that looks like a spider, and whose uniform is gold and brown hops onto the ferris wheel. She begins spitting webs and then crawls up to one of the carts. She rips it off, jumps back down, and takes out one of the passengers.

“Don’t I have class with her?” Nino asked himself. The spider-lady ran off with the passenger, while another gets out. Nino rushes to her. “Are you alright?”

“NINO! It’s awful! That spider-lady took my friend Alya!” said Marinette.

Nino then remembered that this was his class rep, Marinette, and the person that the spider-lady ran off with was her friend Alya. They didn’t know each other too well, but he at least thought that this Marinette would make a better class rep than Chloe. “What should we do?” Nino asked.

“Wait, how come Nino doesn’t seem to know me too well?” Ladybug asked.

“Good question” said Judgement Wolf. “I’m not sure myself. The only thing I asked was ‘what would you do if Anansi attacked and you and Alya weren’t dating?’ I guess Nino’s mind took it to a place where you guys don’t know each other too well.”

“Well, we should try to rescue her,” said Marinette. “But, I don’t know if we can hold our own against that spider-lady.”

“Well, we’ll think of something when we get there, dudette” said Nino. “Let’s go!” Nino and Marinette ran down the web-covered Champs-Elysees and confronted the spider-lady, who had made a web in the Arc de Triomphe, and was holding Alya there. Marinette and Nino hid behind a car.

“Nora! Let me go!” Alya shouted.

“The name’s Anansi now!” Anansi said. “And I’m not going to let anything happen to my baby sister.”

“I’m not a child anymore! Let me go!” Alya kept demanding.

“Should we wait for the authorities?” Marinette asked.

“They might not shoot cause she has a hostage. The last thing we want is for your friend to get hurt” Nino said. Nino sees a metal bar by his feet. He picks it up. “Marinette. I’ll distract this Anansi character, while you see if you can’t do anything about that spider web.”

“Nino wait!” said Marinette. “What if you get hurt?”

Nino smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’ll get out of the way if the situation gets too hairy. Just focus on freeing your friend.” Nino ran out, metal bar in hand. “Hey Spider! Let her go!”

“Seriously? And what are you going to do about it?” Anansi said.

“I’ll...I’ll fight you!” Nino said.

“Now THIS I gotta see” said Anansi, climbing down.

“What are you doing?!” Alya asked.

Anansi met Nino. “Just to make this interesting, I’ll only use 10% of my strength.”

“You’re going to need that other 90% when I’m through with you!” Nino said. He swung his bar, but Anansi blocked it. She then threw a punch, which sent him to the ground. Nino got back up and charged at Anasi.

The two kept fighting. Alya watched in horror. Her sister was going to pulverize this guy. She then heard footsteps approach. She looked down and saw her friend. “Marinette?” Marinette put her finger in front of her mouth to signal to be quiet. Marinette began inspecting the web as best she could. It was far up, so she decided she needed a closer look. She found a ladder and climbed up to the web.

When she touched it however, she got stuck. “WAH!’ she yelped, as the ladder fell out from under her and she was now hanging from the web by her arm.

Anansi was staring down Nino when she heard that. She turned around and saw Marinette hanging from her web. “Thought you could fool me” said Anansi, walking toward the web.

Nino was panicking. Two of his classmates were now caught in this web. Even though he didn’t know them well, he still knew he had to do something.”Hey Anansi!” he shouted. “We’re not finished yet!”

Anansi turned back. “You still wanna go?” she said. “I’ve got better things to do.”

“What? Are you scared?!” Nino said. “Why did I say that? He said to himself.

“Scared!” said Anansi, now giving him her full attention. “Fine! If you wanna go, I’ll go! But I’m not holding back anymore!” She charged at him, readying her fists to strike.

Nino was out of breath. He was scared. But he was determined not to give up. As soon as Anansi began to punch, he jumped backward and slammed the bar against her head, sending her to the ground. Nino landed and propped himself up with the bar and was breathing heavily.

“HER HEADGEAR!” Alya shouted. “IT’S THE SOURCE OF HER POWERS!” Nino nodded, took the headgear off, and ripped it, revealing and Akuma.

Anansi turned back into Nora. “What happened?” she asked. She looked up to see Nino. “Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m just the guy that saved your sister” Nino said.

The dream started to fade into all white. Nino looked around and saw Judgement Wolf and Ladybug. “Congratulations,” Judgement Wolf said. “You passed.”

“Ladybug? And...YOU!” Nino said.

“Yes me” sad Judgement Wolf.

“Nino, how are you feeling?” Ladybug asked.

“I feel...fine” Nino said. “But what are you doing here?”

“Well, apparently Cat Noir’s dream got very intense” said Ladybug. “I just came along to see how Judgement Wolf operates. He trusts me to protect the city, so I need to trust him to do his duty.”

“Of course” said Judgement Wolf. “Trust is a two-way street. So, how did I do?”

Ladybug smiled. “I think you did fine. Just be careful when you do this.”

“I will” said Judgement Wolf. “Goodnight Nino. My kwami should meet you tomorrow to tell you what he thinks.” He grabbed Ladybug’s hand, and together they lept out of the Wolf Mist, as Nino fell back asleep.

Ladybug and Judgement Wolf leave Nino’s house. “Before we part ways, I want to get back to what you said earlier” said Judgement Wolf. “Why doesn't Nino have his miraculous with him?”

Ladybug was shocked. “The truth is, there’s a guardian of the miraculous here in the city. He lets Cat Noir and I keep our miraculouses full-time. But when other miraculouses are needed, he asks me to only give them out temporarily.”

“I see” said Judgement Wolf.

“I would like it if everyone kept their miraculouses” Ladybug said. “And I would like it if we could tell everyone who we were. But it’s just…”

“I get it” said Judgement Wolf. “You have to protect your identity from Hawk Moth. Tell you what? I do plan on meeting this guardian, but I’ll do it on his terms. Just as a courtesy to you.”

Ladybug smiled. “Thank you Judgement Wolf” she said. She left.

“I guess it’s time for me to leave as well,” said Judgement Wolf.

The next day, Nino arrived at school and walked up to Alya. “Hey Alya. Wanna go play some Super Penguino?”

“Sure thing” said Alya. The two of them went to a corner to play it.

Just as Alya was about to kiss Nino, Nino interrupted and said “There’s something I need to tell you. I got visited by Judgement Wolf last night.”

“What happened?” Alya asked.

“Well, he used his power to make me dream of a situation where Anansi was attacking. In the dream, I hardly knew who you were. Yet I still tried saving you.”

“Nino” Alya said.

“I actually kind of feel relieved” Nino said. Alya was confused. “See, I’ve been having doubts myself. The only reason I became Carapace was to save you. I sometimes wonder if I’m an actual hero. But now knowing that I’m willing to save someone I barely know, I feel better.”

“Nino” said Alya. “Come here.” She gave her boyfriend a hug.

Nino spotted Beyyo floating around. He went to whisper in Alya’s ear. “Hey, do you want to get tested as well?”

Alya thought about it. This meant having to tell someone other than Nino her secret. But as she looked into his eyes, she could see that her boyfriend came out the other end stronger and more confident. “OK” she said.

“Great” said Nino. “Hey little dude” he said, waving down Beyyo. Beyyo was shocked and hid while Alya was turning around. “No need to be shy. I just want you to meet my girlfriend. You might know her as Rena Rouge.”

Beyyo popped back in. “I was going to give you my approval, but if you go about blabbing secrets like that, I may have to reconsider.”

“Don’t worry, he asked me beforehand” said Alya. “It’s fine.”

“Are you sure about this?” Beyyo asked.

“Well, you seem dead set on testing every miraculous holder, and I’d rather you not hit my girlfriend with that Reveal Claw” said Nino. “Besides, if Ladybug trusts you, why shouldn’t I?”

Beyyo nodded and left. “Wait, when did Ladybug say she trusted him?” Alya asked.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Ladybug was with him last night” Nino said.

“Jerk. You could have told me that sooner” Alya said.

“Sorry” said Nino.

“It’s fine” said Alya. “Now, how about that kiss?” The two started to make out.

Beyyo returned to Vlad and whispered the information he gathered. “Alya is Rena Rouge?” he said. “Why am I not surprised? But I am intrigued.”

More people were walking into class. Eventually, Alya and Nino walked in holding hands. “Oh you two” said Adrien.

“Oh yeah” said Nino. “Adrien, we need to talk to you about something.”

“Huh? What is it?” Adrien asked.

“Well, it’s-” Nino began. Lila then walked it. “I’ll talk to you later about it.”

“Oh. Um, OK” said Adrien. Everyone took their seats as class began.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 48: Test of Courage!/Hollow

Judgement Wolf found a place to be alone. “Beyyo! Fangs Dull!” He transformed back into Vlad. Vlad took out his phone. “Hey Beyyo. Do you think we should trust Hawk Moth?”

Beyyo thought about it. “Well, it would be preferable to know who he was so we could test him, this avenue should be pursued as well. Perhaps we can learn a thing or two about what’s going on.”

Vlad smiled. “I was just thinking the same thing. Hawk Moth must be desperate in order to talk to someone who opposes him.” He found something on his phone. “Hey, check this out.”

Beyyo had a look. “Horrificator?”

“Yeah” Vlad. “Look. ‘An akuma born out of fear and embarrassment, the akuma’s power derived from people being scared. However, this worked against the akuma as well. When everyone was no longer afraid of her, she shrank down and lost all her strength.’”

“That’s some akuma” Beyyo said.

“Indeed” Vlad replied. “”It’s obvious that Mylene is a bit timid. I believe that if she wants to continue to be a hero, she needs to work on that. Based on this, I have an idea of what I want to do, but I would like to discuss it with you first.”

“Shoot” Beyyo said.

Vlad paused for a moment. “Well, I was thinking of putting Mylene in the Horrificator situation herself, but I’m worried that it might get too scary for her. If she’s not ready, she’s not ready, but I don’t want to scare her too much.”

“Hmmmm, that is a toughie” Beyyo said. “What if you give her a modicum of control throughout the situation?”

Vlad smiled. “See, this is why we make a good team. Ready?”

“Ready” Beyyo confirmed.

“Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!” Vlad said. He turned back into Judgement Wolf and leapt into action. He made his way to Mylene’s home. He snuck into Mylene’s room. “Wolf Mist!”

Mylene was in the school bathroom crying because she’s too afraid to be in the horror movie she and her friends are working on. She doesn’t even notice an amok gently floating onto and into the button Ivan had given her. “Hello my child” said a mysterious voice. “Do not be alarmed. I am Mayura.”

“What do you want from me?” Mylene asked.

“This isn’t about what I want” Mayura said. “It’s about what you want. You want to be brave. I can give your that opportunity. I can create a monster from your fear for you that you and you alone can stand up to. That way, when all of your friends get afraid, they'll be impressed at how brave you are.”

Mylene thought about it. “I guess since I can stop it, it wouldn't hurt.”

“Atta girl” Mayura said. A blue-black aura seeped out of the button and created a sentimonster that looked like a blue woman with blue hair in a tattered white dress and a white veil covering her face. “This is Hollow. She will be scaring your friends.”

“Mylene!” Marinette called out. Hallow seemingly disappeared. Marinette entered the restroom. “Oh thank goodness you're here. Are you ready to shoot again?”

“I think so” Mylene nodded.

“OK then then” Marinette looked in the mirror and saw Hollow. “GAH!”

“What’s wrong?” Mylene said.

“Do you see that?” Marinette asked.

Mylene did see Hollow, but for the sake of the prank between her and this Mayura, she said “I don’t see anything.”

Marinette looked again and Hollow had disappeared. “I guess this whole Chloe situation has me more stressed than I thought.”

“Chloe?” Mylene asked.

“Yeah! She’s trying to take your place!” Marinette said. “But now that you’re ready, you can take your place back. Let’s go!” The two left the bathroom.

Hollow floated above the ground that the two girls once stood upon. “Chloe” she said, menacingly.

Marinette and Mylene burst into the classroom. “We’re ready to shoot.”

“Fine. But NO MORE interruptions!” Nino said. Mylene took her place while Chloe went to her seat. “Action!”

Mylene, with a new found sense of courage, acted the scene out really well. Meanwhile, a red liquidy substance snuck up on Chloe and dragged her off without a sound.

“And cut! That’s a wrap on that scene!” Nino said.

“Wow Mylene, you did great!” Alya said.

Marinette smiled smugly. “See Chloe, I told you she could do-” Marinette turned around only to not see Chloe. “Chloe?”

“Where’d she go?” Adrien asked.

“I didn’t see her leave” Nathaniel said.

“I don’t think anyone did” Alix said.

The class looked around the room. Rose screamed and pointed at the door. “What is it Rose?” Juleka said, going to comfort her. Suddenly everyone looked and saw a red hand print on the window in the door.

“We should check it out!” Alya said.

“Let’s go!” Nino said. He began filming. The class left the room. It only took them a few steps before they saw Chloe. She was hanging off of the basketball hoop upside down attached to a red goop.

She was struggling. “Can somebody PLEASE help me?!” she said.

“Don’t worry Chloe! I’ve got you!” Sabrina said, as she began walking down the stairs. However, the red liquid goop grabbed her arm and began dragging her.

The class looked at the source of the red substance and saw it was coming out of an opening out of Hollow’s hand. Once Hollow had Sabrina by her wrist she roared. Sabrina’s face went pale.

“EVERYBODY RUN!” Marinette called out. The class ran.

Hollow attached Sabrina to the same basketball hoop as Chole, but Sabrina was attached right-side up. “Hi Chloe” she said. Chloe huffed because Sabrina got to be right-side up.

As they were running, Hollow separated Mylene from everyone else. “How am I doing?” she asked.

Mylen smiled. “You did good, but now I think we can stop this.”

Hollow got up in her face. She lifted her veil to reveal that her eyelids were vertical not horizontal, and that when she opened her mouth, she had very sharp teeth. “You think we’re done? We’re just getting started. I won’t stop until everyone in your class feels the same fear and stress you feel.”

Mylene was intimidated. “Well, I won’t let you!”

“You think you can control me? How cute” Hollow said.

Mylene realized just how bad the situation really was. “What have I done? Just calm down Mylene. Use your song. Smelly wolf, smelly wolf trapped in a stinky h-”

Hollow screamed at her. Mylene noticed smoke coming off of Hollow. Hollow lowered her veil and took off.

The rest of the class was still running. “Is everyone OK?!” Marinette asked. Everyone had a basic affirmations.

Ivan then said “Where’s Mylene?!”

“Oh no! They got her too!” Kim screamed.

“You’re next!” Hollow said. The class looked around couldn’t find her. Hollow phased through the floor in front of Kim. Kim screamed and fell to the ground.

As Hollow advanced on Kim, Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around her. Hollow’s head turned to face Ladybug. “Sorry, but we’re putting a stop to this horror show!”

“Yeah, but you know horror movies these days” Cat Noir said, jumping in. “There’s bound to be like five sequels.” Hollow roared at them.

Ladybug threw Hollow around. “Run!” The class ran to the courtyard.

Mylene stared at the situation from where she was. The rest of her class was running, while Ladybug and Cat Noir tried to fight this creature she accidentally unleashed. “What have I done?”

“Any idea where the akuma is?” Cat Noir asked.

“It’s probably in the veil!” Ladybug replied.

Mylene realized the true gravity of the situation. They thought they were fighting an akuma. They didn’t know that there was no akumatized object. Mylene realized she had to do something. She went down the stairs.

“We’re almost out!” Adrien called.

Hollow saw this and cut them off and roared. “No one’s leaving yet!”

Mylene raced to place herself between Hollow and everyone else. “I won’t let you hurt them anymore!” she declared.

“What are you going to do about it?” Hollow asked.

Mylene looked directly at her, lowered her eyes, and said “I’m not scared of you.” This ticked off Hollow, as she grabbed Mylene with both of her hands and lifted her in the air.

“My my” said Mayura, appearing. “You teens are so fickle. To think this is what you wanted not even an hour ago.”

Everyone on the ground looked up. “Mylene, is this true?” Ivan asked.

Mylene was struggling in Hollow’s arms. She sighed and said. “Unfortunately she’s right.” The class gasped. “I was so afraid when I went to the bathroom. Then this person, Mayura, said that I could scare you guys and get to be brave, by creating Hollow here. Like a prank. But when I tried to stop it, Hollow refused to listen.”

“Of course she did” Mayura said. “She won’t stop until everyone is as scared as you were!” Everyone gasped. “There is another way to stop her though. Ladybug! Cat Noir! Hand over your miraculous!”

“That wasn’t part of the deal!” Mylene shouted.

“It was always part of the deal!” Mayura said. She laughed.

“Sorry Mayura! But if we aren’t going to give them to Hawk Moth, what makes you think we’re going to give them to you?” Ladybug said. She smiled. “You did the right thing by coming forward, Mlyene. Now it’s our turn! Lucky Charm! Guitar strings?”

Mylene then remembered when she started singing “Smelly Wolf.” “Ladybug! I think Hollow’s weakness is ‘Smelly Wolf’!”

“The song? OK…” Ladybug said. She looked around and saw a cart full of supplies. She grabbed it with her yo-yo and started handing it out to everyone. “Cat Noir, can you make some drums?”

“Sure M’lady!” Cat Noir said. He assembled some drums out of empty trash cans.

Ladybug finished setting up her instrument. “Alright everyone! Let’s sing ‘Smelly Wolf’!”

The class and the heroes started playing their instruments and singing.

“Smelly wolf, smelly wolf

Trapped in the stinky hut.

Smelly wolf, smelly wolf

I'm gonna kick your....

Smelly wolf, smelly wolf

Stinky breath and slimy drool.

Smelly wolf, smelly wolf

You're just a silly...!”

Hollow started smoking up and roaring with a guttural roar. She started dropping slowly. Once she was on the ground, she let Mylene go and dropped even further to the ground.

“Great job everyone!” Cat Noir said.

“So, if it isn’t an akuma, then what do we do?” Ladybug said.

Mylene looked worried. However, Ivan approached and said “Hey, is that the button I gave you? It looked different.”

Mylene took it off, got a look at it, and remembered that Hollow came out of it. “Here” she said, giving it to Ladybug.

Ladybug smashed it, releasing the amok. “No more evildoing for you, little amok. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little feather. Miraculous Ladybug!” The ladybugs fixed the damage, and Hollow disappeared. Ladybug smiled. “Alright, now it’s your turn Mayura!” However Mayura left.

“It’s OK Ladybug, we’ll get her next time!” Cat Noir assured her.

Mylene looked at her class. “I’m sorry everyone,” she said.

Marinette put her hand on her shoulder. “It’s OK.”

“Yeah. We’re all safe now” Alya said.

“But I let a villain take advantage of me” Mylene said.

Ivan placed his hand on Mylene. “That’s happened to me as well. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

Mylene smiled. “I guess you’re right.”

“Alright, now that we got that out of the way, let’s continue filming! Nino said.

Suddenly everything around Mylene faded to white. “Do not be alarmed” Judgement Wolf said.

“Oh, it’s just you Judgement Wolf” Mylene said. “So, was this my test?”

“Yes. And I’m glad to say you passed” Judgement Wolf said. Mylene smiled. “I can't believe I was worried.”

“Worried? About what?” Mylene asked.

Judgement Wolf sighed. “I didn’t want to scare you too much, but I did want to see if you could face your fears. A good hero can’t run and hide when things get too scary.”

“I see” Mylene said.”Well, I’m still not great with horror stuff, but my bigger fear is letting everyone get hurt because of me. That fear trumps any other fear I have.”

Judgement Wolf smiled. “Spoken like a true hero. I need to get going. However, Beyyo will find you to see if he agrees with me.”

“OK. I’ll look forward to it” Mylene said.

“Goodnight” Judgement Wolf said. He left the Wolf mist and made his way out.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 27: Whatever You Want!

Judgement Wolf found his way to Chloe’s balcony. He looked into Chloe’s room. “I don’t see anything.” He turned and saw Chloe sleeping on her balcony, wrapped up in a Ladybug blanket. “Well that’s convenient.” He drew his sword. “Wolf Mist!”

Chloe walked out of her limo at school, Sabrina already there to meet her. “Good morning Chloe. I did your homework last night.”

Chloe scoffed. “Of course you did.”

“I mean, it’s not like you’d get a bad grade either way” Sabrina said. “I just like doing it.”

“Uh, yeah, and- wait what?” Chloe said. “What do you mean?”

“Oh Chloe. It’s not like the teachers are going to flunk you out at all” Sabrina said.

“Right. Of course not” Chloe said. The two walked into school. Chloe thought Sabrina was being weird. Maybe she’s just over enthusiastic. After all, I did buy her a new dress. She looks so cute in it too. Alix bumped into Chloe. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

“OK” Alix said. She stared confidently at where she wanted to walk and started walking.

Chloe was stunned. “Sabrina! Did you just see that?”

“Of course I did” Sabrina said.

Chloe was confused. “And that didn’t bother you at all?”

“Why would it? You told her to do something, and she did it” Sabrina said.

“Bu…” Chloe could not find the words to express her disbelief.

“Hey Chloe. Wanna go out with me?” Kim asked from behind.

Chloe turned around and shouted “NO! Now just go away!”

“Alright then,” Kim said. He started to leave school.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!” Chloe said.

Kim looked back at her, confused. “You told me to go away.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d listen” Chloe said.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Kim asked.

“Just...get to class” Chloe said.

“OK” Kim said. He started walking to class.

“Chloe, are you alright?” Sabrina asked.

“Yeah. No. Maybe. I don’t know” Chloe said.

“But you’re Chloe” Sabrina said. “You know everything.”

“Then what’s going on?” Chloe asked.

“Chloe? Are you alright?” Marinette asked, walking by. “Do you want a free croissant?”

“Ugh. Go away Dupain-Cheng. I don’t need you pity” Chloe said.

Marinette looked sad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking.” She started to leave.

“Wait” Chloe said. “You’re still Dupain-Cheng, aren’t you?”

“I am” Marinette said, turning around to meet her gaze. “Unless you don’t want me to be.”

“What?” Chloe said. She shook her head. “Look. How can you be Dupain-Cheng and apologize when I got nasty and still listen to me in the process?”

“Are you sure you’re alright Chloe?” Marinette asked.

“She’s been like this all morning” Sabrina said.

“Chloe, surely you haven’t forgotten, right?” Marinette said.

“Uhhhh...Forgotten what?” Chloe said.

“That everyone listens to you” Marinette said.

Chloe stared at Marinette. She then busted out laughing. “Yeah, good one. Had me fooled there for a second.”

“She’s not joking” Sabrina said.

“Puh-lease. The day Dupain-Cheng actually listened to me is the it rains chocolate pudding.” Chocolate pudding started raining from the skies. “What’s going on?” Chloe asked.

“You wanted it to rain chocolate pudding Chloe” Sabrina said.

“What-I did NOT!” Chloe said. It suddenly stopped. Chloe was scared.

“Chloe? What’s wrong?” Sabrina said.

Chloe ran away to the locker rooms. Once she was inside, she was breathing heavy. “Chloe? What’s the matter?” Adrien asked.

“Oh Adrikins!” Chloe said. “It’s awful. Something bad must have happened. We need to call Ladybug and Cat Noir.”

“Slow down Chloe. Tell me what happened while I give them a call” Adrien said.

“Well, I-” Chloe began. “Wait, give them a call?”

“Of course. Anything for my girlfriend” Adrien continued to call.

“GIRLFRIEND?!” Chloe said.

“Yeah. Remember? You asked me out at your birthday party last year. I immediately said yes. Of course, everyone does, but I meant it” Adrien said. “Hello? Ladybug?”

Adrien told Ladybug what was happening. Meanwhile, Chloe was panicking. “This can’t be happening,” she said.

“They’re on their way” Adrien said. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Hello” said Ladybug, appearing with Cat Noir.

“Oh good, you’re here” Adrien said. “Now Chloe doesn’t have to repeat herself.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that” Cat Noir said.

“Chloe? Where are you?” Sabrina called out. She saw Chloe. “I found her everyone!” The rest of the school gathered around Chloe. When Marinette walked in, she turned translucent and so did Ladybug.

Everyone gathered around Chloe and they all asked her what was wrong. She could take it anymore. “Everyone STOP!” Chloe screamed. Everyone else stood still. The clocks didn’t move. Everything turned silent. Chloe was confused by this. But she left the locker room, walked into the middle of the courtyard, curled up into a ball, and then cried her eyes out.

“Well, this is clearly not going well” Judgement Wolf said, watching the events unfold. He snapped his fingers and the dream was over.

Chloe was now in a blank white area. “Oh great. Did I wish for this too?”

“Not exactly” Judgement Wolf said.

“AH!” Chloe said. “Wait. You’re that new hero. Judgement Wolf!”

“That I am” Judgement Wolf said.

“Wha-What do you want?” Chloe asked, fearful that the answer was going to be “Whatever you want.”

“That’s kind of a long story” Judgement Wolf said. Chloe sighed. “See, the wolf miraculous is the miraculous of doubt. I have the responsibility to test other miraculous users to make sure they are worthy to wield the miraculous.”

“Oh. So, why test me?” Chloe said. “After all, Ladybug said I’d never get to use the bee miraculous again.”

“Well, that’s the thing” Judgement Wolf said. “See, Ladybug was talking with the person who gives out the miraculous, and they figured that Hawk Moth is trying to strengthen his hand, and that those who oppose him should do the same. So they decided to give Rena Rouge and Carapace their miraculous full time. Which leads this story back to you.

See, Ladybug thinks you could benefit from having a miraculous. Not only is Hawk Moth targeting you, and you having a miraculous would be a solid defense, but she’s also taking note of how you’re slowly changing. Here’s where I come in. The Master agreed to give you miraculous privileges only if Beyyo and I deem you worthy. Any questions?”

Chloe was trying to process everything. “Who’s Beyyo?”

“Beyyo is my kwami” Judgement Wolf said.

“Did I pass?” Chloe asked.

Judgement Wolf looked at her. She then looked down at the floor. “It’s hard to say” Judgement Wolf said. Chloe looked up. “On the one hand, you understood that what was happening was wrong, but you broke under the pressure of it all.”

“Well that’s understandable, isn’t it?” Chloe said.

“Yes, and admittedly, it was partially my fault” Judgement Wolf said. “The way my power works is I give you a prompt, and your dream gives me an honest answer to that question. What I asked is ‘What if everyone actually listened to you?’”

“Well, that makes sense” Chloe said. “But look here, if I wanted that, I wouldn’t act the way I do, OK!” Chloe then shrunk into herself. “For a little while now, I’ve felt like I couldn’t be myself in front of people. So I created this persona. I like things that are real. Real diamonds. Real gold. Real friends. So, when I thought people wouldn’t actually like me, and only pretend to be kind because I was the mayor’s daughter, I thought that I could get people to hate me for real. At least that way, I’d have to deal with real emotions.”

Judgement Wolf saw Chloe at her most vulnerable. “Chloe. What made you think people wouldn’t actually like you?”

Chloe stood silent for a minute. “I can’t tell you.”

Judgement Wolf sighed. “Well then. It doesn’t seem like you’re ready.”

“I guess I’m not” Chloe said.

“Well, this is a surprise” Judgement Wolf said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to be Queen Bee again more than anything” Chloe said. “I know I need to change. I’m just not ready to tell everyone yet. I need time to work up the courage. I hope that’s alright.”

“Hm. I think so” Judgement Wolf said. “But just between us heroes, a hero’s bravery doesn’t come from not being afraid. It comes from being afraid, but doing it anyway.”

Chloe smiled. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“One more thing before I go. Why are you out on the balcony?”

“Oh. That. Well, I felt like my room was a little too hot. So I came out here to enjoy this nice breeze” Chloe said.

“I see. Well, thank you, Queen Bee, and good night” Judgement Wolf said. He jumped out and Chloe fell back asleep. Judgement Wolf left the balcony and started walking home. “Fangs dull!” He transformed back into Vlad. “So, what did you think? Should we give her another chance?”

“I’d say that’s a fair assessment” Beyyo said. “You can see she’s trying, but like she said, she isn’t ready yet.”

“By the way, good call” Vlad said.

“On what?” Beyyo asked.

“On Chloe being genuine” Vlad replied.

Beyyo smirked. “Well that kind of keen perception is what you get when you’ve been around for millennia.”

“Can’t argue with that” Vlad said. They walked home.

Chloe woke up the next morning. “Man, that was weird,” she said. She noticed that her Ladybug blanket was wrapped around her. “Jean-Pierre” she said, lovingly.

At school, Vlad was talking to Marinette. “Inconclusive?” she said.

“Yeah” Vlad said. “There was some complications that arose. Mainly she started crying in her dream. I put a stop to it though and explained what was going on.” Marinette looked worried. “Don’t you trust Chloe?”

“I don’t trust Hawk Moth” Marinette said. “Every night she’s alone is another night he could try preying on her.”

“I understand how you feel. But even Chloe herself said she wasn’t ready” Vlad said.

“Yeah, you’re right” Marinette said.

“Tell you what” Vlad said. “I’ll talk to Adrien about this. He knows Chloe the best out of anyone. He might have an answer.”

“But how will you avoid telling him you’re Judgement Wolf?” Marinette asked.

Vlad put his hands on her shoulders. “You just leave that to me.”

“Marinette!” Chloe called out.

Vlad and Marientte turned to face Chloe. “Yes Chloe?” Marinette said.

Chloe stood there, her face turning red. “Nothing.” She said, walking off.

“What was that about?” Marinette said.

“I’ll tell you one thing, that wasn’t nothing” Vlad said. “Tell me, what was different from any other interaction with Chloe?”

“Well, it was short” Marinette said. “She just said my name and-” Marinette realized what Vlad was getting at. “She...She called me Marinette.”

“Yup, and I gotta say, that seems like a big step for her,” Vlad said.

Meanwhile, Chloe was standing by herself. “I can’t believe I said her name finally! It felt good!” Chloe was on cloud nine. She knew she was going to be Queen Bee again. She just had to give it time.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 65: Feelings About People!/”Chloe”

Vlad was walking through Paris chatting with Beyyo. “So, Nathalie is Mayura” he said.

“What do you suppose that means?” Beyyo asked.

Vlad paused for a moment. “Well, she doesn’t do anything without reason” he explained. “She’s a professional through and through.”

“So, you think someone hired her?” Beyyo asked.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility” Vlad answered. “But she also believes in Hawk Moth. That’s the strange thing.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m sure we’ll figure it out” Beyyo said.

“Yeah” Vlad replied. "But this begs the question. Do we test her tonight, or Sabrina?"

“Hmmm” Beyyo thought. “On one hand, we’d be that much closer to finding out who Hawk Moth is if we test Nathalie. On the other hand, I don’t think she’d be as willing to be tested, and on high alert. Sabrina might be the safer bet.”

“You have a point,” Vlad said. He then got a text on his phone. “I think this has tipped the scales.” He showed Beyyo the message. It was from Marinette and it read “The Master wants to see you after the dog's test. It’s important"

"Well that settles it” Beyyo said.

“We’re testing Sabrina tonight” Vlad said with a grin.

Later that night, Judgement Wolf made his way to Sabrina’s place. He snuck into her room and saw her asleep. He drew his sword. “Wolf Mist!”

Sabrina was in class, eagerly awaiting Chloe to join her. Chloe slammed the door open. Everyone was nervous. “Uh, hi Chloe…” Sabrina said. Chloe just pouted and sat down. “Ummmmmm, are you alright?”

Chloe glared daggers at Sabrina. “Why are you so concerned with me all the time?! Why don’t you mind your own business once in a while?” She turned back around.

Sabrina felt devastated. “I’m sorry Chloe. If that’s how you feel, I’ll leave you alone for today.”

“Hmm!” Chloe moaned.

Throughout the day, Sabrina maintained her distance, but couldn’t help but keep an eye on Chloe. Chloe was acting mean to everyone. Well, meaner than usual. Sabrina knew Chloe wasn’t the nicest person to be around, but today seemed odd.

Chloe was yelling at people, left and right; really trying to get under their skin about things. She didn’t care who she offended. She yelled at everyone.

“Hey!” Marinette said from behind Sabrina. Sabrina turned around to see her classmates. “What’s with Chloe today?!”

Sabrina was shocked. “I...I don’t know.”

“Cut the lies!” Ivan said. “You’re her only friend! You have to know what’s going on!”

“Yeah!” said Alya. “Why is Chloe being extra mean today?”

“I really don’t know,” Sabrina said. “She wasn’t meaner than usual when we were hanging out yesterday. I really wish I had an answer for you.”

“Pathetic!” Chloe called out. Everyone turned to meet Chloe. “Every single one of you! You all claim to hate me, and yet here you are, acting like you care! And YOU!” she said turning towards Sabrina. “I thought I TOLD you to leave me alone. That doesn’t mean following me behind my back.”

Sabrina was on the verge of tears. “Lay off Chloe” Marinette said. “She’s the only person willing to defend you.” Sabrina looked up.

“Yeah, well, I don’t need defending,” Chloe said. “That implies I’m not already perfect.”

“But you’re not” said Adrien, trying to get through to her. “Chloe, I know you. I know you’re lashing out for some reason or another. Now just tell us what it is.”

For a moment, it seemed like that worked. However, Chloe then responded with “Puh-lease! You think I’d actually fall for that, Adrikins? Pathetic. The lot of you!”

“He was just trying to help,” Nino said.

“There you go again. Acting like I need something” Chloe snarked. “You know what? I do! I need you all to LEAVE ME ALONE! And go on with your miserable lives, knowing you won’t be any better than me!” She sauntered off smugly.

The whole class was seething. That is, except for Sabrina, who was concerned. She ran after Chloe. A big shadow flew over the class.

Chloe was satisfied with herself. However, she was concerned when she heard “Chloe!”

“Ugh! What now?” Chloe said.

Sabrina pinned Chloe to the wall. “I want you to tell me what’s going on!” she demanded.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone!” Chloe said.

“NO!” Sabrina responded. “Something is definitely wrong, and I want to know what!” Before this interrogation could go on, Sabrina and Chloe noticed a large group of people surrounding them.

They turned to see the group. They were scarlet versions of the akuma forms of their classmates. Timetagger, Dark Cupid, Princess Fragrance, Relfekta, Gamer, Robustus, Evillustrator, Stoneheart, Horrificator, Volpina, Oblivio, and two neither of them recognized. One was dressed as a traditional superhero with a tiara on her head, and a black fist on her chest. The other looked like James Dean with an image of two fists snapping a chain in two on his shirt. Sabrina grabbed Chloe and ran off as fast as she could. “After her!” said Timetagger. The group followed.

Sabrina managed to hide Chloe before the group could get to them. “They couldn’t have gotten far!” said Robustus.

“We need to flush them out!” Gamer said. “Something we could do with a bigger army! Dark Cupid?” Dark Cupid nodded and took to the skies.

Sabrina was watching all of this in a panic. Chloe started to laugh, which caught Sabrina’s attention. “What’s so funny? Our class is angry with you and want to hurt you! Or worse!”

“I’m sorry” Chloe said through her laughter. “I just find it funny. They claim they all hate me, but they can’t ignore me.”

“Is this funny to you?” Sabrina asked.

“Uh, duh!” Chloe said. “It’s not my fault they can’t control their emotions. Look at them. Running out like chickens without heads. Looking for me. It's priceless!”

The door fell open in the room they were hiding in. Sabrina and Chloe remained quiet. The James Dean-looking villain entered the room. He looked around. “GAH!” he said, throwing a desk.

“It’s OK Chainbreaker” said the superhero with a tiara. “We’ll find her.”

Chainbreaker smiled. “You’re right Princess Justice.” The two left.

Chloe continued to laugh. “He wants freedom so badly that he became ‘Chainbreaker’? Pathetic.

Sabrina knew something was amiss. She asked “Chloe? You gave me something last week. What was it?”

Chloe looked at her confused. “I dunno. Probably some dumb trinket, or a stupid hat, or something.”

“No” Sabrina said, sternly. “You gave me your Ladybug costume. Saying you didn’t need it anymore because you were a real hero now!”

“Ugh, whatever. I give you a lot of things. How am I supposed to know which items you’re talking about?” Chloe asked.

Sabrina grew angry. “This isn’t the behavior of a hero.”

“So?” Chloe said. “Maybe I’m being my own hero now that I can’t be Queen Bee. One that sticks up for only me.”

Sabirna looked up, pointed her finger at her, and said “You’re not Chloe!”

Chloe was shocked. “Ah ha, what do you mean?” she said, nervously.

“You may look like her. You may talk like her. But you’re not her!” Sabrina said. “Who are you?!”

“Hmm. It took you long enough,” “Chloe” said. “And you say your her best friend.”

“I won’t ask again! Who are you?!” Sabrina demanded.

“Chloe” giggled. “I am what you call a sentimonster” she said. “Last night, after you left, Chloe thought about not being Queen Bee again, and cried herself to sleep. Mayura thought it would be a good idea to create something out of her anger and frustration with the world. They thought she was a failure? Well, look who’s failing now? Everyone is being turned into an akuma. And yet they aren’t seen as the hate-filled cretins they are!”

Sabrina got scared. “I gotta go tell everyone!” She ran out of the room and made her way to the courtyard, only to find that Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Carapace facing off against  several villains. More than when she last checked. Dark Owl, Zombizu, Princess Charming, Stormy Weather, Reverser, Rogercop, Dark Blade, Silencer, Riposte, The Mime, The Magician of Misfortune, Rhythm Robber, Rocket, and the Mad King have all joined their ranks. “No.”

“You’re too late!” “Chloe” said. “Ladybug and Cat Noir will lose their miraculous one way or another. And then all of Paris will bow to Hawk Moth!”

Sabrina was furious. “YOU! YOU did this!”

“So? What are you going to do about it?” “Chloe” asked.

Sabrina breathed heavily. “I’ll...I’ll defeat you!”

“Chloe” scoffed. “I’d like to see you try.” At that moment, a giant battle ax manifested itself in Sabrina’s hands. She charged at “Chloe” and swung. “Chloe” blocked it with her hand. “Puh-lease! You really think that’ll do anything.” She forced Sabrina back.

“It’s better than nothing!” Sabrina hissed. She continued to attack “Chloe” but “Chloe”’s strength was enormous. She continued to block every attack. Try as she might, Sabrina could not land a clean hit on her.

“Chloe” pushed Sabrina down. At that moment, the heroes also fell to the pressure of the large amount of villains. “Look!” “Chloe” said. “It’ll all be over soon! And it’ll all be because of Chloe.”

Sabrina snapped. “NO!” She stood back up. “It’ll be because of you and Hawk Moth, and Mayura! But I won’t let that happen!” She charged at “Chloe” who now had a worried look on her face. Sabrina landed the attack, and “Chloe” shattered.

The noise was loud enough to cause all of the villains to look on. But all they saw was Sabrina dropping to the ground next to pieces of “Chloe” and breathing heavily. Ladybug saw this momentary distraction as an opportunity and started breaking several of the akumatized objects. Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Carapace started destroying them as well. Soon, everyone was freed.

Ladybug stood up, and started collecting the akumas. “Miraculous Ladybug!” she shouted, letting the butterflies free. The Ladybugs fixed all of the damages, except for the Pieces of “Chloe”.

Ladybug walked over to Sabrina, and Sabrina said “Oh Ladybug! It’s awful! Apparently, Mayura and Hawk Moth made this thing to look and act like Chloe, and it caused everything to go wrong. I’m sorry.” She started crying.

Ladybug lifted Sabrina’ head. “It’s OK. We’ll fix this. Thanks for all your help.” She stood up, and with the other heroes she left.

Sabrina looked up and smiled. Suddenly the world vanished around her into a pure white void. “Well, that was interesting” Judgement Wolf said.

“Judgement Wolf!” Sabrina said. “So, this was my test?”

“Yes,” Judgement Wolf said.

Sabrina was concerned. “Did I pass?”

“I don’t know yet” Judgement Wolf said. “I was hoping to take this time to talk with you about that. The way this usually works is that I ask a question with my Wolf Mist. Then I get an honest answer.” Sabrina nodded. “Sabrina, the question I asked you was ‘What would you do if Chloe was evil?’”

“But she was evil!” Sabrina protested.

“But she wasn’t Chloe” Judgement Wolf retorted. “You even said so yourself. Now, why wasn’t Chloe evil?”

Sabrina thought about it for a minute. “I guess I can’t imagine if Chloe actually was evil,” she said after a bit. “Don’t get me wrong, I know Chloe hasn’t been the nicest person in the past, and I know that I was a part of it, but I also know Chloe.

To me, she wasn’t a malicious demon out to wreak havoc, she was a wounded creature defending herself by lashing out at everyone because she didn’t know who could help her. I took all of those blows because I could see that in her. I wanted to help her, I really did, but I guess I got swept up in her. Maybe I’m not as worthy as Barkk thought…”

Judgement Wolf looked upon Sabrina feeling sorry for herself. He sighed and said “In a way, I feel jealous.” Sabrina looked up. “I can’t imagine trusting someone’s intentions so purely. I have to get to know people really well before I can trust them with even the littlest of things. To trust someone like you trust Chloe. I envy that.”

“So, what are you saying?” Sabrina asked.

“What I’m saying is that, in spite of that curve ball my test took, I would agree you passed.” Sabrina was elated. “BUT! It’s only because you were given the miraculous of support. It’s your job to put blind faith in those around you.”

“Thank you Judgement Wolf” Sabrina said. “But I wouldn’t call it blind faith. I know Chloe. I wouldn’t trust most other people the way I trust her.”

Judgement Wolf sighed. “I believe you.” He left and Sabrina went back to sleep.

Judgemetn Wolf left the Raincomprix household and ventured to the rooftops. After a while he called “Beyyo! Fangs Dull!” and detransformed. Beyyo flew out of his ring. Vlad got out a piece of jerky and said “Eat up. We still have to stop at Master Fu’s tonight.”

Beyyo took the jerky and began to chow down. “What’s up?” he asked.

Vlad sighed and sat down. “I’m just thinking about what Sabrina said. I thought I knew that landlord, but then he betrayed every expectation I had.”

“Well, like you said, you’re jealous” Beyyo said. “You wish you could trust people like that.”

“So, would you say she’s worthy?” Vlad asked.

Beyyo finished his jerky. ”I think so,” he said. “Even though it wasn’t Chloe, you still saw how she’d act if Chloe ever got that bad

“How can you be so sure?” Vlad asked.

“You heard her speak about Chloe” Beyyo said. “If Chloe changed that drastically, then she wouldn’t be the Chloe that Sabrina knows anymore.”

Vlad smiled. “I guess you’re right.” He stood up. “Say, when you tell her you approve of her, could you apologize for me?”

“Of course” Beyyo said.

“Thanks. Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!” Judgement Wolf then continued his trek across Paris.

Vlad opened the door to Master Fu’s to see Master Fu, Marianne, Hao-yu, and Corina circled around the peacock miraculous. Master Fu said “Hello Judgement Wolf. What is your conclusion of Ladybug’s last recruit out of that particular miraculous box?”

Vlad thought about it, looked at Beyyo, looked back at the circle and said “Beyyo and I both think she passed.”

“Very good,” Master Fu said. “Have her visit me at her earliest convenience.”

“Yes Master Fu” Vlad said. He left.

“Almost” said Master Fu. Duusu gasped for air, causing a disturbance, knocking the four people out of their alignment. Everyone got up and saw Duusu. “She is better,” Master Fu said.

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 79: Reality!/Hazmat

(Warning: Transphobia)

Vlad woke up Tuesday morning with Kagami staring at him. “GAH! Don’t do that.” “Why was I on your bed?” Kagami asked.

Vlad seemed confused. “Cause I put you there. I didn’t want you to sleep on the floor.”

“Oh” Kagami said.

“Why?” Vlad asked.

“I just don’t like being disoriented is all” Kagami said.

“I see,” said Vlad. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright,” Kagami said. An alert popped up on her phone. She checked it. “Huh.”

“What’s up?” Vlad asked.

“That’s my mom,” she explained. “She says that there are some people at our place today, so it would be easier for me to stay out.”

“Huh” Vlad said. “Well, I’m supposed to pick up Travis and Casandra today. Wanna come with?”

Kagami smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

“Well alright then” Vlad said. “Once we eat, we can head off.” The two made their way to the table.

Meanwhile, Max was eating his breakfast when he got a call from Katelyn. “Hey, what’s up?”

Katelyn seemed nervous. She whispered. “Max. Can you come and help me with something?”

“Sure. What time?” Max answered.

“As soon as possible at the train station” Katelyn answered.

“Why are you whispering?” Max asked.

“I’ll explain when I meet you,” Katelyn said.

“Alright. I trust you” Max said. “Seeya.”

“Bye” Katelyn said.

“Who was that?” Katelyn’s mom asked. She had red hair in twintails, a lighter red dress, purple glasses, and red heels.

“That was my boyfriend. I wanted to meet up with him today” Katelyn said.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet” said her mom. “Just be careful. “I was so worried the night of the attack.”

“Yeah, but he was there to protect me” Katelyn said, not exactly lying.

The two of them went out to the kitchen. Her dad was there. He had black hair in a bowl cut and was wearing a brown coat with green pants, and black shoes. “Good morning.”

“Morning dad,” Katelyn said.

“She’s going out to visit her boyfriend” her mom spurted.

“MOM!” Katelyn said, slightly embarrassed.

“Just be careful,” her dad said. “They still haven’t caught that Hawk Moth character yet” her dad said.

“Thanks dad,” Katelyn said.

“So, when am I going to meet this gentleman?” he asked.

“I'll...ask him about that today,” Katelyn said.

“Very well,” said Katelyn’s dad. The three of them at breakfast.

Later at the train station, Vlad and Kagami were walking towards one of the gates. They saw Travis and Cassandra, and they saw them as well. “OVER HERE!” Travis yelled.

Vlad ran over there while Kagami followed behind. “Travis! Casandra! How’s it going?” Vlad asked.

“Pretty good,” Travis said. “Hi Kagami.”

“Hi” Kagami responded.

“Where are your parents?” Casandra asked.

“Oh, there was an emergency meeting my mom had to attend” Vlad said. “My dad decided to come along as well.”

“Huh” Travis said.

“Sir” said the guard. “Do you know these people?”

“Ah, yes,” Vlad said. “I know them well. They are my friends.”

“Mhmm” the guard said. He turned to Kagami. “And you young lady, do you know these people?”

“Uh, yes,” Kagami said. “I met them the last time they came to Paris.”

“Very well. You are free to go” The guard said. He pressed a button and let Travis and Casandra out of the gate.

“Thank you,” Cassandra said.

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting here for 30 minutes,” Travis added.

“Well, we had to walk,” Vlad said. “Let’s go.” The troupe started to move.

“By the way, not that I’m complaining, “ Travis began, “but why IS Kagami with you?” “Oh, uh, we were hanging out yesterday, and it ended up turning into a sleepover,” Kagami explained nervously.

“Hm” said Casandra.

“I see. Anyways, enough beating around the bush” Travis said. “How are you both doing?”

“We’re doing OK,” Vlad said.

“Can you tell us what happened Saturday?” Travis asked.

“Yeah, from everything I’ve seen, it got really wild” Casandra said.

“Well…” Vlad said, glancing at Kagami, as if to ask if it’s alright to tell them.

Kagami seemed hesitant. That hesitation helped them catch wind of something else. “WHAT?” yelled a voice. The four looked at the source to see Max and Katelyn at a gate. “But why?”

“It’s simple,” the guard said. “We need two people to authenticate them because it decreases the chances that the person is lying.”

“Yeah, but…” Katelyn said.

Vlad walked over there. Then Kagami. Then Travis and Casandra. “Max. Katelyn. What’s going on?”

Huh?” Max said, turning around. “Oh. Hey Vlad. What are you doing here?”

“I just came here to pick up my friends,” Vlad said, gesturing to them. “They wanted to check up on me after Saturday. What about you?”

“Well…” Max said.

“My brother came for the same reason,” Katelyn, pointing to her brother and his girlfriend behind the barrier. Her brother was wearing a black hoodie, black glasses,  light blue shirt, tan pants, and black shoes, with black shoulder-length hair. His girlfriend had long brown hair, and was wearing a purple turtleneck, jeans, and black shoes. “However, there needs to be a second person to authenticate them.”

“I can’t do it because this is my first time meeting them,” Max said.

“I see,” Vlad said.

“Why didn’t your parents come along?” Kagami asked.

“Well, that’s complicated…” Katelyn said. She then lit up. “But I think I have an idea. Hold on.” She ran off to the side and called someone. Ten minutes later, Kim and Ondine showed up. “Thanks for coming,” Katelyn said, hugging Ondine.

“What are friends for?” Ondine said.

“Ma’am. Do you know these people?” the guard asked.

Ondine walked up to them and said “Yes. I talk on the phone with Luc from time to time, and he introduced me to his girlfriend, Olivia.”

“Very well. You may pass” the guard said, letting them out.

Luc came up and gave Katelyn a hug. “Sis. How you doing?”

“I’m doing a lot better,” Katelyn said.

“That’s good to hear,” Luc said. “So, are these your friends?”

“Well, I haven’t met those two, and I don’t really know her,” Katelyn started. “But this is my friend Vlad, you know Ondine, this is her boyfriend Kim, and this is my boyfriend Max.”

Luc turned to Max. “Boyfriend, eh?”

“Um, hi” Max said, nervously.

“Aw, don’t be so nervous,” Luc said. “From everything Katelyn tells me, you’re a stand-up guy.”

“Oh. Thank you” Max said, blushing and rubbing his head.

“Hm hm. He’s adorable” Olivia said.

“No foolin’” Luc said.

“So, are we good?” Vlad asked.

Luc looked at Vlad. “I guess so. If you had other plans.”

“Well, really, my friends came here from Toulouse to make sure I was OK, what with everything that was going on” Vlad said.

Luc smiled. “I was doing the same for my little sis here” Luc said. “Why don’t we all stick together? Strength in numbers and all.”

“Are you sure?” Travis asked.

“We don't want to intrude,” Cassandra said.

“It’ll be fine, right hun?” Luc asked Olivia.

“I think so,” Olivia said. “You’re all friends here, right?”

“Wel, kind of,” Vlad said. “I’m friends with everyone here, but Katelyn isn’t.”

“Not that I wouldn’t want to,” Katelyn stuttered.

Luc smiled. “It’ll be fine. This’ll be a good chance to get to know everyone.”

“Well, if you’re insisting,” Kagami said.

“This seems like fun,” Kim said.

“I can’t wait,” Ondine added.

“Well, shall we?” Luc said. They started walking out.

“Where to?” Max asked.

“I was thinking a cafe,” Luc said. “Somewhere we can sit down and talk for a bit.”

“Oh. Well, I know a really good one not too far from here” Max said.

“Well then, lead the way, loverboy” Luc said.

Max gulped. “Luc. Don’t tease him like that” Katelyn said.

“Sorry,” Luc said. The group continued to walk. “So, who are you all?” Luc directed at Travis, Casandra, and Kagami.

“Oh, my name is Travis,” he said.

“I’m Cassandra,” she added.

“And I’m Kagami,” she finished.

“I see. Nice to meet you all” Luc said.

“Likewise” Travis said. They kept walking.

“We’re almost there,” Max said.

“Great. I can’t wait” Luc said.

As they were approaching, something happened that threw Luc off from his cheerful demeanor. “[Deadname]?!” a voice called. Luc froze. The crowd turned to see Katelyn’s parents. “[Deadname]? Is that really you?” their mom said.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming to town?” their dad asked.

“You know why,” Luc said.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” said their mom. She saw Katelyn. “Why did you tell us you were going to pick up your sister.”

“Sister?” Vlad asked. 

“Yeah,” Ondine said. “He’s like me.”

“Oh” Vlad said.

“What’s going on?” Travis asked.

Vlad whispered to him and Casandra “Luc’s trans.”

“Oh” Cassandra said.

“And that’s why Katelyn said it was complicated,” Max added.

“I’m sorry,” Kagami said.

“You don’t have to be,” Kim said. “You didn’t know.”

“Oh my” said the dad. “Are all of these people your friends Katelyn?”

“I ran into them at the station,” Katelyn said.

“Well, why don’t they come over?” Katelyn’s dad. “Come on, [Deadname] can join us too.”

“Um that’s quite alright” Max said. “But we were just on our way to this cafe.”

“No no, I insist” Kateyn’s dad said. Luc was begging to get furious. “What’s the matter [Deadname]?”

“IT’S LUC! MY NAME IS LUC! AND I AM A MAN!” Luc shouted

“Sweetie, you’re just confused” said the mother.

“NO!” Luc screamed. “WHY CAN’T YOU ACCEPT THIS?!”

“Well,” “because if we did, we’d have failed as parents for letting you believe in this stuff” said the father.

“GRRR,” Luc said. “This is why I hate coming back here! I KNEW something like this would happen.”

“If you felt like that, then why come back?” the mother asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ll welcome you with open arms, just as soon as you become our baby girl again.”

Vessels were popping in Luc’s head. “I came because Paris was on FIRE a few days ago, and I wanted to see if my sister was doing alright. Not to be talked down and invalidated by YOU! And furthermore, I was NEVER your baby girl. You just can’t accept that fact!”

The father got a stern look on his face. “Well, as you can see, she’s fine. Now leave, and never return. Let’s go Katelyn.” He took Katelyn by hand. “You're not allowed to see your sister again until she stops believing in those delusions.”

“They aren’t delusions!” Katlyn spoke up. “And Luc is my brother, so that doesn’t work.”

Her mother gasped. “You. You’ve poisoned your sister. What do you have to say for yourself?!”

“We’ll make sure you can’t come near her ever again!” the man said. Luc could not hide his fury if he tried.

Meanwhile, everyone else was watching this play out, horrified by the actions of these parents. Kagami tensed up. “Why are you doing this?” she yelled, catching the attention of everyone. “Why do you not care for your son? Or your daughter for that matter? She loves her brother. Why can’t you do the same?”

The man grimaced. “Hm. I suppose you’re too young. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“Really? Because if you’re any indication, the older I get the less I’ll know!” Kagami screamed back.

The man glared. “I’m not liking your friends, Katelyn.”

“Who says you have to?” Max said. “You don’t get to choose that kind of thing!”

Ondine stepped up. “You seem so concerned about this, but did you even care when Katelyn was nervous about going back to school? Maybe if she had more supportive parents, she wouldn’t have gotten akumatized that day!”

“Maybe you should just go,” Olivia said. “You’ve already ruined this day enough.”

The parents snapped. “Alright, LISTEN HERE!” the mom screamed. “IF YOU’RE INSINUATING WE’RE BAD PARENTS, IT’S ONLY BECAUSE WE MESSED UP WITH [DEADNAME] HERE!”

“But that won’t happen again,” the dad said. “Let’s go.” He began dragging Katelyn.

While this conversation was going on, Beyyo was trying to get Vlad’s attention from his pocket. Vlad snuck off to talk with him. “What is it Beyyo?”

“ROSES!” Beyyo said. “I SMELL ROSES!”

“And?” Vlad said.

“That’s Nooroo!” Beyyo said. Vlad was shocked. He looked back and saw the commotion. He nodded.

Luc tried to get Katelyn back. “Wait!”

���Don’t even THINK about it [Deadname]!” said his mom, pushing him. He was seething. Suddenly, a purple butterfly fused with his glasses.

“Hazmat! I am Effector. I’m giving you the strength to remove your sister from your parent’s toxicity! DO we have a deal?”

“Of course, Effector,” Luc said. A purple cloud surrounded him. Once he emerged, he was wearing a pink and light blue hazmat suit. Everyone around him was horrified.

“What’s going on?!” the dad yelled.

“I’ll TELL you what’s going on” Hazmat said, approaching the dad. He held out his hand and a green energy came from it, pushing the mom and the dad but not moving Katelyn at all. “The truth is, I’m moving to Paris, and Katelyn is coming to live with me. And YOU will never see her again. I will make sure of that.” He blasted them back further.

“What are you doing?” the mom asked.

“I’m just getting rid of the toxic waste,” Hazmat said. Katelyn was standing still, stunned by what was happening. The parents ran away.

“What are you doing?” Katelyn asked.

“Well, uh, that was my plan from the start” Hazmant said, sounding embarrassed. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Oh boy.”

Katelyn was confused, but approached Hazmat. “Hawk Moth, please. Give my brother back.”

“Hawk Moth?” Hazmat said.

“Yeah, where is he?” Judgement Wolf asked, appearing.

The rest of the group split off. Max took Olivia, Kim and Ondine went together, and Kagami grabbed Casandra and Travis and hid them. “Alright,” said Kagami. “You stay here.”

“Where’s Vlad?” Cassandra asked.

“He’ll explain everything once this is over” Kagami said. “For now, you need to stay safe.”

“What about you?” Travis asked.

Kagami smiled. “Well,” Longg appeared beside her, “it’s our job to go into the danger. Logg! Bring the Storm!” She transformed into Ryuko and ran off.

Cassandra smiled. Travis, on the other hand, said “Dang! That’s hot.” Casandra rolled her eyes.

Max made sure Olivia was safe. “I’m going to go check on Katelyn, alright?” Max said.

Olivia nodded. “I’m worried about Luc.”

“Don’t worry,” Max said. “We’ll see to it that he’s safe.” Max ran off, hid, and transformed.

Judgement Wolf was staring down Hazmat. “I’ll ask one more time. Where’s Hawk Moth?”

Hazmat stared at him for a few seconds. “Oh. I see why you’d be confused. No, Hawk Moth isn’t doing this.” Judgement Wolf and Katelyn were confused. “This is Effector’s doing.”

“Effector?” Judgement Wolf said.

“Yes,” Effector said, walking onto the scene. “Tenshi, return.” The tenshi flew out of Hazmat, turning him back into Luc, and flew back into Effector’s staff. “You’re a fellow hero, I see. Perhaps you can help me. I’m trying to get to my wife. She’s in a nearby hospital. I just happened to come across this gentleman here getting harassed, and I decided to help.”

Judgement Wolf looked at him. “Well, there’s only one way to know for sure. Reveal Claw! Reveal your true form!” He rushed to Effector, but Effector dodged.

“What is the meaning of this?” Effector asked.

“We’d like to know the same thing,” King Monkey said. Effector turned to see him and Paonne Ange.

“That’s right!” Pegasus called out. Effector turned to meet him and Ryuko. Judgement Wolf tried hitting him again but Effector dodged it.

“Why are you doing this?! We’re on the same side!” Effector said.

The heroes got a good look at him. “What’s going on?” Ryuko asked.

“That doesn’t look like Hawk Moth,” Paonne Ange said.

“No, but it might be,” Judgement Wolf said. “He said something about seeing his wife in a hospital. And he has the butterfly miraculous. It can’t be a coincidence.”

The heroes nodded among each other. “Sir! Please surrender!” King Monkey yelled.

“Surrender?” Effector said. “I don’t understand!”

“Then we’ll just have to make you!” Pegasus said, charging. Effector kept dodging.

“I gotta go recharge, then I’ll join you” Judgement Wolf said

“Over there,” Ryuko said, pointing out a spot. “They’re there.”

Judgement Wolf nodded, understanding. “Thanks.” He left. The other heroes began chasing Effector.

Judgement Wolf approached Travis and Casandra. “Judgement Wolf?” Travis said.

“Fangs Dull!” he said, turning back into Vlad. Travis and Casandra were shocked.

“You. But. How?” Travis sais.

“This is amazing!” Cassandra said.

“Thanks” Vlad said. He fed Beyyo. “I’ll explain everything later, but for now, stay safe.”

“What’s going on?” Cassandra asked.

“I think it’s Hawk Moth under a new name” Vlad. “Don’t worry, we have this under control.”

“Good luck,” Casandra said.

“Heh. ‘Luck’” Travis said. “You’re one of the best sparring partners I’ve had. You don’t need luck.”

“Thanks guys” Vlad said. “Beyyo! Fangs Sharpen!” He transformed back into Judgement Wolf and left.

Effector kept running as an assortment of heroes continued chasing him. What’s going on? I explained that we were on the same side. I’m not Hawk Moth! I guess they’re confused by the miraculous. But why would they attack me?

He looked onward. I just need to get to the hospital. I just need to see Emilie. Then those heroes can do what they want with me. He picked up speed.

The heroes continued to chase him. “He’s heading for the hospital!” Judgement Wolf called out. They all rushed on further.

Eventually, Effector made it to the front of the hospital. However, as he was about to step in, he was surrounded by heroes. He was beginning to shake. Two more heroes appeared. He was completely stunned. “Please” he begged, “Let me see my wife.”

Ladybug and Cat Noir were confused. “This IS Hawk Moth, right?” Ladybug asked.

“Most likely,” Judgement Wolf said. “He’s calling himself Effector now. He said he wanted to see his wife in this hospital, AND he has the butterfly miraculous.”

“It can’t be a coincidence at this point,” Ladybug said.

“PLEASE!” Effector begged again. “I just need to see her.”

“What will you do when you do?!” Ladybug asked.

“I’m not sure” Effector said.”I just want to make sure she’s alright.”

Ladybug thought about it. “I have an idea,” Cat Noir said. “Keep him busy for a bit.” He snuck off.

Ladybug nodded. “Who are you?”

Effector was confused. “Why, I am a hero just like you. I am Effector!”

“How do you know your wife was here?” Judgement Wolf called.

“Noroo, my kwami, told me!” Effector answered.

“What is your real name?” Ladybug asked.

That was a hard question. These people must know who Gabriel Agreste is, as he is the head of a fashion empire, but he doesn’t know who they are. He knows he shouldn’t reveal his full identity, but he did tell everyone his wife was in the hospital. Still, he thought that there was enough plausible deniability on that.

“Father?” he heard. He turned to see Adrien. “Is that you?”

Effector looked at Adrien. Obviously, he didn’t know him, but something about him seemed familiar. His eyes, the blondness of his hair, his charm. They all reminded him of Emilie. He began to remember. “A...Adrien?”

“Father, it's me,” Adrien said. “What happened to you?”

Effector began to approach Adrien. He stopped suddenly. He was getting a bad headache. “GAHHHHHHHHH!”

“Father?!” Adrien said, rushing to his side.

“ADRIEN!” Ladybug called out.

“GAHHHHHH!” Effector began calling out. One by one, memories started to pop in. He was remembering everything. His wedding. His son. His wife having dizzy spells. Her eventually passing out. All of this made him realize the truth.

A black-purple cloud overtook him. Once it disappeared, he was once again Hawk Moth. He was breathing heavily. “Adrien.”

“Father,” Adrien said. “What happened?”

Hawk Moth was catching his breath. The heroes were on the ready in case he tried something. “Hold on. I need to think for a second.” He continued to recuperate. “Is your mother really alright?”

Adrien nodded. “I just spoke with her.”

“Huh” Hawk Moth said. “Then...then I guess I should give in.”