Rudi awoke one day with a scream when he heard the music blaring in his ears. He swore it actually shook the whole house. Annoyed, Rudi stomped down to the kitchen, still in his underwear and banged on the door. No one answered. Finally, his mother answered the door, and the music was blaring even louder. "MOM! TURN IT OFF!"

His mother didn't hear him, but read his lips well enough to understand. She lowered the volume down. At that point, Rudi's father rushed in. "Oh, thank Gott. I thought I was going to go deaf."

"Mom? Why are you listening to Jagged Stone?"

"What?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "I liked him when he was younger!"

"Jagged Stone was younger?" Rudi chuckled. His father laughed with him.

"Ha, ha. I'll admit, his fashion taste is strange. Along with his taste in pets," she added rather quickly. "But he still does make good music."

Suddenly, the music was replaced with a news interview with some pop star named XY. Some teenage boy who became number 1 in just a week and stealing Jagged Stone's position as top biller in the music industry. Rudi noticed in the past couple of days that Jagged Stone fans became replaced with XY fans; even Chloe stopped fawning over him.

When asked why he is number one, he had this to say, "Why am I number one? Simple. It's not about music, it's about technology. This computer is programmed to produce music and lyrics people will like. It's guaranteed success."

"Ugh," Rudi's father said. "THIS is why people will become tasteless. Their fingers will be useless when playing real instruments."

The interviewer asked, "You knocked Jagged Stone off the #1 spot. What do you think of him?"

XY made a gagging sound. "Bleah! Jagged Stone, the hero of rock 'n' roll? Try 'Ragged Stone'. That guy's old school, a has-been. His guitar solo is so ten minutes ago."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" shouted Rudi's mother. Rudi was hating this kid more and more the longer he spoke. But the pop star wasn't done yet, "He's had his career, but it's over now. He'll never be number one, not while XY is here. My music is killer!"

Rudi's mother was this close to tossing her radio out the window and would have too if her son hadn't restrained her. Somehow. "How dare he?!" she yelled. "Is this how he feels about people we grew up with?!"

The interviewer concluded, "Tonight, Mr. XY will be giving a very special one-time concert from the top of the Eiffel Tower, to celebrate his album's success, and thank his awesome fans."

"Hey Ragged, if you wanna know what today's music sounds like, come to my concert. I'll reserve you a front-row seat, old man, you know—in case your hearing's going."

That did it. Rudi let go of his mother and let her toss the radio out the window. His father couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How could they let a bad mouthed kid like that become a musician?!"

"It's all about taste," Rudi said. "And unfortunately," he said when his eyes flashed green. "Some people have bad taste."

It had gotten worse as the days went by. Rudi was getting sick of the city he had grown to love, or rather, he had gotten sick of seeing XY's face spread all over Paris like a bad rash. He started to notice that XY had basically replaced Jagged Stone and not just as the number 1 pop star. When he was at school, the students were listening to XY music instead of Jagged Stone. Even Chloe had unsubscribed to him. It almost made him feel bad for the old timer.

"And the worst part is," he said as he paid for his croissant. "Is that XY is rubbing it in Jagged Stone's face!" He left the food cart and continued his conversation with the Mask in his backpack.

Makes you wish they just muted him, huh?

Rudi smiled wickedly as his eyes flashed green. "Yeah," he said in a hushed tone. "Or ruin pretty boy's looks so bad, he'll need his face to be photoshopped when posing for the covers for his albums. OOF!" He was so busy plotting to himself, he bumped into someone and landed on his butt on the sidewalk. "Watch where you're going, bitch! Oh! Marinette!" He immediately got up and helped her back on her feet. "I am so, so sorry! I would never have-"

"It's okay," Marinette said. "From the sound of it, you're having a bad day too."

"'Too?' Why would you have a bad day?" Rudi folded his arms. "Was it Chloe again?"

"No, it's Jagged Stone. He wants me to do an album cover design."

Rudi smiled. "You've been commissioned by Jagged Stone? My mom would flip!"

"No she wouldn't," Marinette sighed sadly. "Not if she found out what he wants me to do."

"What?"

Marinette sat on a bench and Rudi sat next to her. "He's basically emulating XY. I guess he's trying to get back his old fan base. And what's worse, his producer wants me to draw a cover for his album in the style of XY."

Rudi was confused. "Why would he want that?"

"Have you seen the drop in popularity lately?"

"I try not to. Poor bastard."

"And that's just the problem. You've heard XY's music! It's...bland, cold and NOTHING like Jagged Stone!" Marinette slumped. "And it's nothing like me, too."

"Then don't give him what he wants," Rudi said in a matter of fact tone.

"I can't! I...I...I'm so frustrated! I hate drawing it, but I don't want to make Jagged Stone upset at me at the same time!"

Rudi pondered for a moment. "How about you emulate Big-Head instead?" Marinette glared at him. "Hear me out before you get mad. Jagged Stone loves Big-Head not for his killing. But for his style. From what I've read on his blog, he once asked Big-Head to be his designer, but was turned down. Why not make the album cover something he likes: wild, crazy, imaginative with no limits; just like Big-Head?"

Marinette tapped her chin. "I suppose..." Then she shook her head. "No. I won't have anything to do with that psychopath! Not after the way he hurt Manon!"

"Not even for Jagged Stone to get back on the number one spot?" Rudi asked slyly. Marinette missed the green flash in his eyes.

"For him, I suppose." But Marinette was uncertain. Finally, she sighed before standing up; she looked as though she had a brainstorm. "I think I know what to do. Thanks Rudi, I think I just found my inspiration."

"You're welcome!" he called out. "Think about the Big-Head thing I mentioned!"

Well, you just solved Marinette's problem.

"And for once, I didn't explode in her face."

"Yep," Rudi said as he reclined on the bed. "I just saved Marinette's ass this time."

I just hope she gives you credit for the idea.

Rudi blinked. "You know, I never thought of that." He sighed for a moment, but then he got back up. "I don't feel satisfied quite yet."

You too?

"Nope. I still want to kick that little shit XY's ass!"

What are you waiting for?

"Absolutely nothing. IT'S SHOWTIME!"

At TVi Studio, XY was waiting for the next interview in the waiting room when he heard the door knock. "About time! I was waiting so long!" When he opened the door, there stood a little man with a makeup kit. "Who are you?" XY demanded rudely.

"Your makeup artist," the man squeaked.

"No you're not!"

"Err, your backup makeup artist. Your producer Bob sent me very specifically."

XY raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yep," the man said stepping in. "So, if you just sit down and let me do my magic, we'll get ready for your duet with Jagged Stone."

The young pop star scoffed as he sat in his chair and the little man put a cloth around his neck. "I don't know why I'm bothering with that old has been."

"What?" asked the man. "You don't like classics?"

"Hey, the classics are for old people and hipsters! I am all about the future!"

"Uh, huh..." XY noticed a change in the man's timid tone. He sounded serious. "Have you listened to Huey Lewis And The News?"

XY raised an eyebrow. "Uh...they did Back To The Future, right? My mom made me watch that when I was younger."

"In a sense," the man said, opening the makeup kit. "They recorded two songs for the movie, The Power Of Love and Back In Time, which I consider delightful footnotes to what is shaping up to be a delightful career." The man chuckled as he applied eyeliner to XY's face. "In 1987, Huey released this; Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is Hip To Be Square. Have you ever listened to it, XY? I mean the lyrics?" The man chuckled again when the pop star shook his head. Or rather, he chuckled when he saw how nervous he was becoming. "That's okay. With Chris Hayes blasting guitar and terrific keyboard playing, who cares about the lyrics? The song is so catchy! Most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself."

XY had enough. He was about to get up, but he suddenly found himself not able to move. "Hey! What's going on? I can't get up!"

"I was taking a piss the other day," the man continued. XY saw a change in the man's height. He was growing taller and more muscular. "And I was staring at this thin crack above the urinals and I thought to myself, if I were to shrink and disappear into that crack, loads of people wouldn't notice I was gone. No one would care. In fact, I thought, if they notice my absence, they might feel a sense of relief." As he talked, the man's face started to tear, like his skin was too tight for his skull. That's when XY saw the green skin underneath the tan and his eyes widened.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" His screams were muffled by a hand placed on his mouth. The man tore off the rest of his face, revealing the psycho underneath.

"Shh, shh, shh! I'm not done yet with my villainous speech." Big-Head ignored XY's whimpering and continued, "That's why I do what I do, XY. The world is better off with some people gone. Our lives are not all interconnected. Some people do not need to be here." He yanked off the cloth, revealing chains tying XY to the chair. XY let out a muffled screech as his eyes darted left and right. Big-Head removed his hand, and quickly put a gag on his mouth. "And that's what I'm here for," Big-Head continued. "People like you, they believe that music is nothing more than a form of commercialism. Just another byproduct to make money. Nothing but art forgery to be copied over and over again and sold to the public." He pulled a straight razor out his pocket and gently stroked XY's cheek. "Guess, what? So are your looks and talents. So, by your definition, without your looks, your talents; you have nothing. Now, shall I start with your nose? I can make you look like Michael Jackson."

He was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Both men looked up to see the most peculiar sight ever: a man in a pink and black suit, black boots; wearing dark eyeliner and carrying a monstrous purple guitar. But that wasn't what was on Big-Head's mind. What caught his attention was the dragon the man was riding on. "That," the man said, finishing his clapping. "Was the most beautiful speech I've ever heard. Of course, you just copied most of it from American Psycho."

Big-Head tilted his head, recognizing the voice of the man. "Jagged Stone? Where did you get a dragon?"

That made the man mad. "My name is Guitar Villain!" He readied his guitar and pointed its neck directly at Big-Head. "Rock on this!" He strummed the guitar, only for Big-Head to jump out of the way. He pulled a keytar from his pocket, and aimed its neck at Guitar Villain. The Akumatized victim took a look at the instrument. It was shaped like a human head with a crowbar sticking out of the temple; the teeth were the keys on the keyboard. Before Big-Head had a chance to play a single key, the dragon suddenly charged and flew at him, taking him and XY with it, before charging through the wall and dropping them.

"Crash imminent! Deploy airbags!" Before XY could hit the ground, he was suddenly cushioned by a pair of butt cheeks before falling safely to the ground. "Oh, quit complaining," Big-Head tutted as his cheeks deflated. "I'm sure you see a lot of teenage booty at your concerts." He was interrupted by multiple waves of music and fire coming from Guitar Villain's instrument, and the dragon's breath respectively. Thank goodness he decided to put on a fire suit for protection. Conveniently, he just left XY out in the open, so the pop star was in a constant state of fear.

Big-Head had other ideas. Taking out his keytar, he played one loud base note. A note so loud, it hurt people's ears, shattered glass and left huge cracks in the street. The dragon let out a moan of pain before losing its momentum and crashing to the ground. Both rider and animal skidded across the street until Big-Head literally stopped them both with his foot. "Why are we fighting? Aren't we both lovers of music?"

"Don't listen to him!" shouted Hawk Moth in Guitar Villain's head. "He's trying to trick you! He'll stop you from getting the Miraculouses!"

"Ah, shut up, Hawk Moth, the geniuses are talking!"

Hawk Moth wasn't surprised Big-Head could hear him. "The Mask Of Loki's powers are evolving fast. I cannot take any chances." He commanded Guitar Villain, "Ignore him! Do as I say or I will take this gift away from you, and believe me, it won't be painless!"

"Why should I believe you?!" demanded Guitar Villain as he pointed the guitar's neck at Big-Head.

"Because we both hate this chump," the green headed psycho gestured to the squirming XY. "And we both know our taste in music is better than his." He put a hand on Guitar Villain's shoulder. "I believe you once asked me to be a designer for your costumes."

Guitar Villain grinned. "I'm listening..."

Ladybug and Chat Noir were not having the time of their lives. Guitar Villain somehow got away and he not only caught XY, Big-Head was seen chasing after him.

"This is ridiculous!" Chat Noir groaned as he and Ladybug perched on a rooftop. "How difficult is it to lose a dragon?!"

"Somehow easily," Ladybug muttered.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom coming from the Eiffel Tower followed by a loud booming voice they all recognized. "Ladybug and Chat Noir! If you come to the Eiffel Tower, I've set up a performance up just for the two of you!"

Chat Noir and Ladybug looked at each other. "A trap?" the latter asked.

"Obviously," the former replied. "But we don't have a choice."

The two Miraculous users landed on the stage where XY and Jagged Stone were scheduled to perform their duet, but something was wrong. Very wrong. The stage had been redesigned to look like a horror movie: evil looking green skulls hung from the lights, and the catwalks were painted to look as though they came from a scrap yard. But that wasn't the attention grabber. In the middle of the stage was XY, sitting in a chair backwards with his hands tied together and his mouth gagged. His eyes were pleading to be free.

"Oh, god," Ladybug gasped. She rushed toward the pop star. "Hold on, I'll set you - guh!" There was a loud thud and Ladybug fell over, holding her head.

"My lady!" Chat Noir rushed over to help, only to meet the same fate.

"While I tie them up, you bring me an audience, Guitar Villain," the Miraculous users heard Big-Head's voice say. "I want Pais to see our duet."

"With pleasure."

Big-Head dragged the two aside and tied them with heavy chains weighed down by even heavier horseshoes.

"You...traitor..." groaned Chat Noir.

"Why..." Ladybug moaned.

"If I were a traitor," Big-Head whispered. "Would I have given you the key to these chains? Besides, I know where the Akuma is. His guitar. Pretty obvious really. Now, I'm sure you've probably noticed the people coming here by now. They all used to be XY fans until pretty boy here strummed that guitar and worked his magic on them. Wait until I play the final cord then attack. Don't do anything stupid now. Guitar Villain and I have a show to do." And he walked away, ignoring the pained protests of the Miraculous users.

"You're not planning anything are you?"

Big-Head chuckled as he played a few notes on the keytar. "I got you this far didn't I?" He kicked on the speaker and almost instantly, the song Hip To Be Square started playing. "Come on, let's give these saps a true duet."

Big-Head tapped his toes and began to play the keytar and sing. "I used to be a renegade! I used to fool around!" He beat the bound XY to the rhythm of the song with the keytar as he sang the next lines. "But I couldn't take the punishment and had to settle down! Now I'm playing it real straight and yes I cut my hair! You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care! Cause I can tell what's going on! It's hip to be square! It's hip to be square!"

Guitar Villain, not wanting to be out done, jumped on top of the dragon and played the next part. "I like my fans in business suits! I used to fool around! I'm working out most every day and watching what I eat! You tell me that it's good for me, but I don't even care!" He jumped off the dragon, flipped three times and landed on the stage. "I know that it's crazy!"

"I know that it's nowhere," Big-Head sang.

"There is no denying that..."

"It's hip to be square!" the two sang.

As soon as Ladybug and Chat Noir freed themselves, Ladybug did her Lucky Charm, creating... a can of hair spray. "'Extreme Fixing Gel?'" Ladybug read.

"I hope you don't plan on fixing Guitar Villain's hair." joked Chat Noir.

Ladybug used her lucky vision to formulate a plan. When the pieces were in order, she and Chat Noir jumped on the catwalk and positioned themselves just above Big-Head and Guitar Villain. But just before the ladybug heroine could start her part of the plan, she saw something strange happening to the hypnotized audience. As they danced, the people's faces started changing. Their faces turned green, their eyes turned bright red and their expressions changed from pained to mad and happy. Ladybug's eyes widened. "What's happening to everyone?"

"My lady?" Chat Noir noticed Ladybug's disconcerting behavior. She looked like she had seen a ghost and her hands were shaking. "Ladybug, what's wrong?" He gasped when she dropped the can.

"It's not too hard to figure out! I see it everyday! OW!" Big-Head's part was interrupted when a black and red spray can landed on his head, but Guitar Villain didn't seem to notice and continued the song without him. He was interrupted when his partner tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he said. "I think your dreds could use a fixer upper. They seem to be going wild."

"Sure, why not. I can't finish my duet looking so drab."

"Then how about crisp?"

"Crisp? What do you - " Guitar Villain let out a scream as Big-Head sprayed him with the hair spray and a lighter, burning him faster than a wick. The dragon tried to defend its master, only to be burnt in the eye. The beast let out a roar of pain and stumbled about, trying to end the burn in its face. Meanwhile, Big-Head picked up the guitar the Akumatized musician dropped in his moment of panic and slowly walked over to him. "Like I said, Jagged Stone. The world is better off with some people gone. Our lives are not all interconnected. Some people do not need to be here. People like THIS GUY!" And he swung the guitar in XY's face, making him fall over. The crack of a broken nose could be heard throughout the stage.

Suddenly, he heard someone shout "CATACLYSM!" and the next thing he knew, the catwalk almost landed on him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. "Don't hurt them!" Big-Head turned around to see Ladybug and Chat Noir rushing up to him, both of them armed and both of them angry. "Hold on," he said. "I got to release the Akuma then we can get back to our thing. Now where was I?" He turned to Guitar Villain, who was crawling away on his hands and knees. "Oh, yes. IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE!" And he smashed the guitar on Guitar Villain's head. Over...and over...and over...and over...and over...and he didn't stop until the black butterfly flew out of the smashed remains.

Ladybug was so distracted and horrified by what she saw, she almost forgot to purify the Akuma. "No more evildoing for you little Akuma! Time to de-evilize!" She caught the butterfly with her yo-yo and purified it from black to white before releasing it. "Bye-bye, petite butterfly!" She tossed the hair spray and shouted, "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" It turned into a wave of black and red spots that undid all the damage, and restored Guitar Villain and his dragon back to (a thankfully healed) Jagged Stone and his pet alligator Fang.

"So that's where Fang went," Big-Head mused. "I find it odd even pets can be Akumatized." He suddenly felt wire strangle him and he found himself being tugged by Ladybug's yo-yo before being punched repeatedly by the heroine. "How far?!" she shouted between punches. "How far are you going to go with this?! How many people are you going to hurt until you leave us alone?!"

Big-Head shrugged. "Not enough." He shoved her aside. "Now where was I? Oh, yeah." He grabbed a mike and sang, "It's not to hard to figure out! You see it every day! And those that were the farthest out have gone the other way! You see them on the freeway! It don't look like a lot of fun, but don't you try to fight it! And an idea who's time has come!" He played a few keys on the keytar as he he sang the last part. "Don't tell me that I'm crazy! Don't tell me that I'm nowhere! Take it from me!" The crowd joined him. "IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE!"

He panted as the crowd chanted, "Hip! Hip! So hip to be square!" and walked over to Jagged Stone, still recovering from the Akumatization. "Hey, sorry about the whole smashing-your-head-with-a-guitar thing."

Jagged Stone was shocked. "You're...apologizing?"

"Well, I had to say sorry to the guy who likes my fashion sense. Besides, now that you're not evil, I figured..." Big-Head reached into his pocket and handed him some papers with drawings on them. When Jagged Stone took them, he was elevated. "Are these-?"

"Yep. New designs for your costumes. Consider them a gift to a fan. Or at least a fan of my fashion."

Ladybug and Chat Noir were so dumbfounded, they almost forgot about their Miraculouses losing power.

Hawk Moth was furious. "Don't do your victory dance just yet, because one day, I'll play you my favorite music: the anthem of your defeat, Ladybug, Chat Noir and Big-Head!" He slammed the circular window shut, drowning out the music.

Rudi listened to his phone's latest updates. "In today's headlines, Jagged Stone's new album hit the charts at #1, hitting XY off his throne. Welcome back, king of rock 'n' roll!" He grinned. His mom was sure to be happy when she hears this on the radio. He turned over and picked up a magazine he bought on his way home from school. A magazine with Jagged Stone and Marinette on the cover, both of them presenting the new cover for the former's newest album. Rudi had another reason to be happy as he opened the magazine and read the article. "Well what do you know? He actually used my designs." He turned to the Mask, now sitting on his bed. "Told you he would give credit where credit's due."

Rudi had another, more sinister, reason to be happy. The last he heard of XY, he was recuperating from his injuries and he flips out whenever he hears Huey Lewis And The News on the radio.