Rudi was in the locker room, looking for his notebook. He and the rest of the class were heading for Mrs. Mendeleiev's class and wouldn't you know it? He forgot his text book. He was about to close the locker when he heard Max behind him, speaking to someone. "Of course you're my best friend! I'm 100% affirmative! But I am also 98.2% positive the teachers are not ready for...this advancement of evolution!"

Rudi, pretending he hadn't noticed him, glanced over his shoulder. It looked like Max was talking to something in his backpack. "Now that's weird," he whispered as he left without Max noticing. "Talking to something in his bag."

Coming from the guy who has a magic Mask in his backpack.

"Touche."

At the Mrs. Mendeleiev's class, the kids were all in their seats, waiting for the lesson to start. If only the teacher hadn't had trouble with the laptop, which is why she had to call the principal. "See for yourself, Mr. Damocles. Nothing happens when I press the button."

"You're in luck, Mrs. Mendeleiev. I'm a bit of a computer whiz! Okay." He typed a few commands on the keyboard. "And there you go!"

The laptop was rebooted and the principal showed the desktop screen on the projector screen. All of the students, except Max, were impressed by Mr. Damocles's computer skills. But suddenly the screen crashed and showed an image of what looked like a T-Rex eating computer data.

"That's not supposed to be happening! What is it?" asked a very concerned Mrs. Mendeleiv.

Max ran to the laptop and inspected the damage. "It's Dino-33, a malicious computer virus! Let me try something!"

Mrs. Mendeleiv shooed him off. "Go back to your seat now, Max! Leave this to the adults!" Mr. Damocles nodded in agreement.

Max grunted in annoyance before going back to his seat. Suddenly, a digital, boyish voice spoke from his backpack. "Inform the adults that if they don't neutralize the virus in the next seventy-five seconds, there's a 99.9% chance the hard disk will be permanently damaged!"

Max quickly shushed whatever was in his backpack, but a lot of students already heard it. "Max?" Rudi asked, bewildered. "Did your backpack just talk?"

"Uh, no! Of course not!" He laughed nervously.

Mr. Damocles was in panic mode when he saw the damage the virus was causing. "It's destroying all the school data! It's a disaster!" He had no choice but to rely on the only other genius in the room. "How many seconds do you say we have left?"

"Only sixty-five," said Max.

Mr. Damoclese turned to Mrs. Mendeleiv. "Let him try." She nodded.

Max ran to the computer and fished into his backpack. "Where is it?!"

Suddenly, a small, metallic claw popped out of the backpack. It held up a flash drive. "I believe this is what you're looking for?"

Everyone balked in surprise. Max took the flash drive from the claw and said to the class hesitantly, "This is an anti-virus device I–I created it with help from...my best friend."

Out from his backpack popped what looked like a baseball with a propeller on top and a claw on the bottom and a pair of friendly-looking blue eyes. "Hello. My name is Markov," he introduced himself. Everyone gasped in awe. The robot turned to Max. "We can fix this, Max!"

Max nodded and plugged the flash drive into the desktop. "This flash drive neutralizes a hundred percent of the virus!"

"And cleans the computer's hard disk at the same time!"

Mr. Damocles was impressed. "Fascinating!"

The screen showed the Dino-33 getting struck down by a giant meteor, indicating the virus had been removed. Max sighed in relief. "Everything is in order!"

Markov fist bumped him. "Nailed it!"

Everyone was impressed with the robot. Everyone except for Chloe, Sabrina and Rudi, the latter of which looked a bit skeptical.

"He's so sweet," Rose cooed.

"It's so..."

"Awesome?" Ayla interrupted Marinette. "I know! I'm so gonna write a blog about Markov!"

"Dude, he is so cool!" complimented Nino.

"Max, you're a real genius," said Adrien.

Nathaniel was already in the process of making a sketch of the robot.

Kim was impressed and it seemed he was already familiar with Markov. "You've added arms to him since the last time! That's cool!"

Rudi raised an eyebrow. "You know about this?"

"Duh! It's a secret project Max confided me with!"

Max nodded and said, "Markov added them all by himself! He's the most highly-evolved type of robot there is!"

"ATTACK THE ROBOT!" Rudi suddenly shouted. He grabbed the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall and tried to swing it at Markov, who immediately flew out of his range.

"Rudi!" Kim shouted. "What are you doing?!"

"THAT THING IS A MENACE! IT MUST DIE!" Rudi sprayed the fire extinguisher, making Markov cough before he managed to hit him and send him to the ground. "And now!"

"STOP!" Max grabbed Markov and blocked him from Rudi. "He's my friend!"

"That thing will be evil one day!"

"Evil?" Rose asked. "He helped Max save the day!"

Rudi let out a crazed laugh. "Oh, sure, they start out as cute and helpful, but one day Artificial Intelligences will one day rise up against man! Turn us all into mindless flesh puppets and create a world where only machines rule! IT'S THE APOCALYPSE, I TELLS YA!"

Everyone was silent. Chloe whispered to Sabrina, "The kraut's cracked."

"I think you've seen one too many science fiction movies," Nino chastised.

"Oh, come on!" Rudi said. "Don't be fooled by that cute thing's looks!"

"I assure you," Max said as Markov hid behind his back. "He's not evil! He's as emotionally intelligent and sensitive as any human being! He's my friend!"

"And human beings can become evil! Just look at the Akumas!"

"I am NOT evil, Rudi!" Markov insisted.

"AH! It knows my name!"

"Of course! Max showed me the school photo of you and all your friends!" Rudi was not convinced. "Please, I want to be your friend! What can I do to show I'm not going to be evil?"

"That's enough," Mrs. Mendeleiv exclaimed. "Max, your toy is disrupting the class!"

Markov looked hurt. "With all due respect, Mrs. Mendeleiev, I'm not a toy. My name is Markov and I'm Max's best friend!"

Max nodded. "Markov is right. He's not just some toy; he's my friend. He's as emotionally intelligent and sensitive as any human being!"

Mrs. Mendeleiv was not convinced. "Look, Max, a robot may be intelligent but it can't have emotions."

Markov insisted, "If I may, ma'am, I can assure you that I truly love Max."

"Be serious, Max. You programmed your robot to say that! A robot cannot think for itself, much less love anybody!"

"I swear to you I did not program him to say that! Ever since I created him he's integrated his own accumulative thinking system! And he's developed all our emotions just like any human being!"

"Does that mean he knows how to hate?" Rudi asked.

Markov gave Rudi an uncertain look. "Well...I...suppose I could, but..."

"Then you may find an excuse to take over the world, right?"

"But..."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Max. "For crying out loud, Markov is not some war machine!"

"ENOUGH!" Mrs. Mendeleiv slammed her fist on the desk. "Max, if you don't put that plaything of yours away right now, I'll confiscate it! Understand?"

Dejected, Max sighed. "Yes, Mrs. Mendeleiev. Come on, Markov, go back in the bag."

"You're not being reasonable, Mrs. Mendeleiev," Markov said angrily.

"Stop it, Markov."

"Why? It's true isn't it?"

"It's rebelling!" Rudi shouted. "It's only a matter of time before it takes control of all computers and machines!"

"That's quite enough of all that!" Mr. Damocles said as he snatched Markov. "Max, you can come and get your robot back at the end of the day."

Max was shocked to hear that. "No, Mr. Damocles! I'm begging you! Please don't do that!"

"Do you want three hours of detention too?"

"...no, sir."

"Max, aren't you coming with me?" Markov called out as he was carried away. "Max!"

Max sighed sadly.

"Good riddance!" Rudi said. "Maybe Mr. Damocles will be smart and send that floating menace to the scrap yard!" Max looked like he was about to cry when he said that.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" Marinette exclaimed.

"What?"

The robot was still protesting as Mr. Damocles walked into his office. "Sir, I'd like to stay in Max's class. Please! I heard you're interested in computing like Max and myself!"

"I am indeed! It's one of my hobbies. I even wrote a program for my computer which..." He stopped and cleared his throat when he realized what he was doing. "Why on Earth am I talking to a toy?"

"I am not a toy, Mr. Damocles! My name is Markov. Oh! Ooh," the robot said fearfully. Mr. Damocles opened his desk drawer. "Do not put me inside here Mr. Da—!" The principal pushed a button that muted him.

"If only I had a button like this for all of my students."

Inside the drawer, Markov's digital eyes began shedding tears.

The circular window to Hawk Moth's lair opened and butterflies swarmed around him. "Two dear friends who've been separated. There is nothing artificial about those emotions." He grabbed one of the butterflies and turned it from white to purple. "Fly away, my little Akuma, and evilize this electronic heart!" It flew out the window and toward the school.

"Alright, alright," Rudi said to the angry group of students. "Max, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, alright? I didn't know this robot didn't mean so much to you and..."

"It's not just my feelings you hurt!" Max shouted. "You also hurt Markov's!"

"Please," Rudi scoffed. "Machines can't really feel anything. They only pretend, imitate what humans do and create. That's why machines can never truly be humans."

Kim was about to tell him off when Mrs. Mendeleiev shouted, "Enough! Everyone back to your seats!"

The students all walk back to their seats, still feeling glum about the whole situation. Well, except for Chloe and Sabrina.

Max whispered to Marinette, "Markov has never been without me by his side. I don't know how he's going to emotionally handle this."

"Hold on. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

Marinette raised her hand. "Uh, excuse me, Mrs. Mendeleiev? As class representative, could I have your permission to go see Principal Damocles?"

The teacher was becoming livid this point. "No! You can go see him between periods!"

"I don't mean to be rude but I think you might be mistaken about Markov, Max's friend."

"This whole thing is really starting to get on my nerves! And your behavior is quite inappropriate, young lady!"

"Markov wasn't wrong!"

Mrs. Mendeleiv slammed her fist on her desk and pointed to the door. "I'm sending you to the principal's office right this minute!"

Marinette smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Mendeleiev!" She left the classroom. Mrs. Mendeleiv suddenly had the feeling she had been had.

The butterfly slipped into the principal's desk and absorbed itself into Markov's central processing unit. His face went blank as he heard a baritone voice in his mind, "Robostus, I am Hawk Moth. Humans don't believe you're a living being. So I'm giving you the power to bring all machines to life to help you seek revenge."

Markov smirked. "Thank you, Mr. Hawk Moth."

"But, in return, I want you to bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous and the Mask of Loki!"

"Could you please define 'Miraculous' and 'Mask of Loki'?"

"They're the magic jewels belonging to Ladybug and Chat Noir. The Mask of Loki is what gives Big Head the power to run on cartoon logic as well as invincibility."

"Please, specify what the purpose of these Miraculous are."

Hawk Moth growled in frustration at the robot's curiosity. "This is none of your concern!"

"I was just curious."

"If used together, they can make a wish come true."

That sparked something in Markov's mind. "Could I make any wish come true?"

"No! The Miraculous, the wish AND the Mask of Loki will belong to me!"

"Why do you need the Mask of Loki?"

"Because without the Mask of Loki, whoever has it cannot become Big Head!"

"I assure you, I will find Ladybug and Chat Noir and Big Head!" Black smoke enveloped Markov, turning his colors from blue to black and red and his eyes turned green. He then unleashed a giant wave of green energy that spreads throughout Paris, bringing numerous mechanical devices in the city to life to revolt against the people using them. Phones began shooting lasers at their owners, vehicles began driving wildly, televisions suddenly sprung to life and began attacking, and traffic stop lights began flashing red, yellow and green randomly.

Robostus flew out of the desk drawer and declared, "Max! I am coming for you!"

Marinette ran into Mr. Damocles, who was talking to Mr. Haprele, on the way to the office. "Mr. Damocles, where's Markov?"

"Hmm? Who's Markov?"

"Max's friend."

"Oh, not that toy again!"

"He's not a toy, Mr. Damocles. Could you please let Max hold onto him? He won't cause any trouble. I'll make sure of it."

"Listen-!" Before he could tell her off, the door to his office suddenly burst open, revealing Robostus.

The robot said angrily, "You've made a serious error in judgement, Mr. Principal!" Marinette immediately ran away while Mr. Damocles tripped down in surprise. "Witness my true power!" He sent out another wave of energy, controlling all the electronics in the school. Teachers and students ran out in droves as their phones, computers and tablets suddenly came to life and began attacking their owners. "I am not a toy!" Using his powers, he fused with all the electronics, turning into a giant excavator.

Marinette ducked into one of the locker rooms. "Now I know what Max meant," said Tikki.

"Time to transform. Tikki, SPOTS ON!" In a flash of red and black, she transformed into Ladybug.

From his hiding spot, Rudi watched with horror. "I knew that thing was always evil!"

I never really pegged it to be the sensitive type.

"Shut up and let's transform already," Rudi said as he reached into his backpack to put on the Mask. "IT'S SHOW TIME!"

"Where are you, Max?" Robostus called out. He saw Max in the crowd of students. "There you are!" He reached for Max only to have Max grabbed out of reach by Mrs. Mendeleiev. "Max come with me," she said.

"Leave me alone!" Max shouted at the robot as he lifted the two of them up.

Another claw separated Mrs. Mendeleiev from Max and she shouted, "What are you doing? Stop! Stop right now! Let me go!"

The robot dropped Max into the head, where Robostus was controlling it. "Markov, what are you doing?" Max asked.

"From now on, I am Robostus. And we shall be together one hundred percent of the time. Forever!"

Down below, Adrien hid behind a garbage can as he let Plagg out. "One thing's for sure, Max's friend definitely has emotions!"

"Yep, but not the kind that really matters. The robot doesn't eat, so he'll never experience the pure elation of tasting an exquisite Camembert!"

Adrien frowned at him. "You really are something. Plagg, CLAWS OUT!" In a flash of black, Adrien transformed into Chat Noir.

Robostus held Mrs. Mendeleiev at eye level and she yelled at him, "Let me go! Max, control your robot!"

"Markov, please stop this!" pleaded Max.

"You must trust me, my friend." Robostus left Mrs. Mendeleiev hanging on the school flag pole by her lab coat.

"You cannot do this to me!" she shouted.

"And YOU cannot separate me from my friend, Max!" the robot said darkly.

The lab coat started to tear and she began to fall only to be caught by Ladybug's yo-yo. She set Mrs. Mendeleiev down and confronted the robot. "If you truly love your friend, then you should listen to him, Robostus!"

"Yea, like we do!" Chat Noir said as he appeared and walked next to her.

Ladybug let out a groan.

"You really think any of you can stop me from doing what I want? And showing the world that I'm probably more human than both of you put together?"

BOOM!

Robostus let out a roar of pain when something blasted him in the back. He turned around and saw Big Head holding a bazooka. "If you're so sure of yourself, why don't you let the boy go and fight like a real man? Oh, I forgot! You're not a man! You're just wires and circuits and ones and zeroes! In other words..."

"DON'T SAY IT!" screamed Robostus

"You're just a machine!"

Robostus roared again and chased after Big Head, creating a large hole in the building. Ladybug and Chat Noir watched as he chased after the cartoon killer.

"This is bad," Ladybug said. "Who knows what kind of damage those two will cause?"

"And at the rate Robostus is controlling everything electronic, he might start a war," Chat Noir said grimly.

"Ole, arriba, arriba! Ah-ha," Big Head, dressed as Speedy Gonzales, taunted Robostus as he dodged the giant robot's fists as they slammed onto the street. "Come, is that the best you can do, you walking scrap heap?!"

"GRR! STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Robostus sent another wave of energy and took control of a bunch of parked cars. They all turned on and tried to run Big Head over, but he used very intrepid dance moves to avoid them all. "Come on, keep them coming!" A giant fist flattened Big Head. He groaned, "Well, you came."

Robostus reached for him only to get shot in the face by the cartoon killer's machine gun. "Aurgh!"

"Big Head, stop!" Max called out from inside the robot's head. "You're hurting him!"

Big Head inflated himself and dusted himself off. "Ah, that thing can't feel anything. He's just a machine."

"I am NOT just a machine!" Robostus shouted. He released another wave of energy and the traffic lights suddenly came to life and wrapped themselves around Big Head's body. He was squeezed so tight, the pressure made him pop out of their grasp. He flew up into the sky then came falling down, heading straight for the giant robot's head. He crashed through the window and found himself next to Max and Robostus. "Oh, hey, Max," he said.

"Big Head!" Robostus' eyes suddenly turned red and guns popped out of the floor and pointed at Big Head. "You won't hurt my friend Max!"

Big Head held up his hand. "Hold that thought." He reached into his bag and held up a bomb. "Could you hold this?"

"Oh. Sure." It was only then did Robostus realize his mistake. "Hey, what a minute!" He didn't get the chance to shout at Big Head; both he and Max were gone. "Uh-oh."

BOOM!

Max watched in horror as Big Head set him down on the ground, watching the mech's head explode before toppling over. "MARKOV!" he cried.

"Eh, cest la vi," said Big Head. "You can just build another one."

Max fell to his knees and began crying. "There was no one like him!"

At that moment, Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped down from a building and landed next to the two. "Big Head, what have you done?!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"Saved the world from the robot apocalypse," said Big Head.

"He wasn't evil!" Chat Noir shouted. "He was Akumatized!"

That made Big Head's eyes perk up with surprise. "Wait. Where IS the Akuma?"

Suddenly, one of the mech's claws reached out and grabbed all three heroes before capturing Max and putting him back into the head. Max watched in horror as Robostus was enveloped in purple smoke and began to assimilate even more electronics, making the mech larger and more powerful. "Now I've got you!" he growled.

"Well this is a tight squeeze," choked Big Head.

"Can't you use your Cataclysm?" Ladybug asked Chat Noir.

"I can't move at all! I can't even breathe!"

"Now you are at my mercy!" Robostus laughed.

Hawk Moth's voice spoke in his head. "Robostus, before you get rid of them forever, you must take their Miraculous for me!"

"Stop! Big Head may have hurt you, but Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't done you any wrong," Max pleaded. "Let them go! Being human also means being fair!"

"I'm going to take over their Miraculous and the Mask of Loki so we'll never be separated again! Then I'll be able to make my wish come true!"

"What wish?"

"To be a real boy like you!"

Big Head made a noise. "Sounds like somebody's got a bad case of Pinocchio Syndrome."

"What is Robostus talking about?" asked Ladybug.

"Doesn't Hawk Moth usually demand the Miraculous?" Chat Noir asked, confused. "And what's the Mask of Loki?"

Big Head suddenly became nervous. "Dunno." He suddenly heard a whirring sound. "What's that?"

The heroes turned their heads and saw three remote control helicopters flying toward them. The first two aimed for Chat Noir's ring and Ladybug's earrings while the third tugged on Big Head's face.

"No! Stop!" pleaded Max.

"Look, Max! I'm going to be a real human in fifty-three seconds!"

Hawk Moth interrupted Robostus. "May I remind you that the Miraculous and the Mask of Loki are for me, Robostus!"

"And how do you intend to stop me from using it?"

"Simple! I'll take your powers away from you!"

Robostus laughed. "You really think you can control me?!"

Hawk Moth blinked in confusion when his lair's security system suddenly came on and pointed guns right at him. "What's going on," he asked

"I'm more powerful than you, Hawk Moth!" Robostus' voice rang out. "My friends will look after you while I take care of these two!" Wait. Two? "Where's Big Head?"

BAM!

"AUGH!" Robostus yelled as a missile blew him right out of the mech and right into a certain green-headed psycho's hands. "Gotcha." He slowly began to crush Robostus between his palms. "Do you feel fear, you piece of garbage?"

That did it. Robostus let out a digitized scream of hate and flew up to the sky. "MACHINES AND ELECTRONICS OF PARIS! BECOME ONE WITH ME! WE WILL DESTROY THIS BULLY AND PROTECT MAX!" All at once, cars, phones, televisions, traffic lights, radios, and pretty much everything mechanical started to fuse with Robostus until there was a flash of light, forcing Big Head to shield his eyes.

When the light finally subsided, Big Head looked up and saw Robostus had grown to the size of a mountain. "Oh," was all he said.

Robostus spoke, only this time it sounded less like a human and more like a monotonous machine. "DESTROY BIG HEAD! DESTROY LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR! STEAL MIRACULOUS AND MASK OF LOKI!"

"Markov, stop!" Max ran to Big Head and blocked Robostus' path. "This isn't you!" Ladybug and Chat Noir landed next to him.

"Thanks for freeing us back there," Ladybug said.

"No problem."

Robostus tilted his head. "But...why did you do that? I was gonna become human like you."

"I don't want you to change. I want you to be like you were before!"

"Don't you love me anymore? Aren't we friends?" Robostus was starting to sound hurt.

"If you want us to remain friends, you've got to stop this right now!" shouted Max angrily. "I'm friends with Markov, not you!"

Robostus' eyes glowed red. "I am Robostus now! And you betrayed me! I don't wanna be human like you anymore! Humans don't have a heart!" Guns suddenly popped out of his sides. "And that's exactly why I've decided to get rid of 'em!" Ka-BOOM! "AUGH! Would you stop that?!"

Big Head held up the smoking bazooka. "Not until you're blooooowwwwn to smithereenies!" he said impersonating Yosemite Sam.

"You want simthereenies? HOW'S THIS FOR SMITHEREENIES?!" Robostus landed on the ground and a timer replaced his eyes. "Self-destruct in three minutes!"

Ladybug, Chat Noir and Max gasped. Big Head shrugged his shoulders. "What's everyone so worried about? I survived worse."

"Hello!" Chat Noir said. "Not everyone here is invincible like you!"

"Time to put an end to this. LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug twirled her yo-yo into the air and its magic created... "A flash drive?"

"Is anyone here good with computers?" Big Head asked.

Max raised his hand. "Me," he said meekly.

"Okay, then work your magic and stop that bomb!"

"Uh...how do I do that?"

Big Head balked. "Are you kidding me?!"

"This is a whole lot more complicated than a small robot!" Max looked up at the literally ticking time bomb and saw a small drive port at the top of the robot. "There! If I can plug in the flash drive in there, I think I can free Markov from the Akuma!"

"We have to get it down to our level, though," said Ladybug.

"Leave that to me." Chat Noir raised his right hand and black smoke enveloped from it. "CATACLYSM!" He slammed his hand to the ground, crumbling the streets and making the bomb sink down underground. Ladybug carried Max in her arms and carried him up to the port only to be blocked by writhing metal tentacles. "You're making this hard only for yourselves, Ladybug and Chat Noir! I will always be one step ahead of you!"

Suddenly, the tentacles were sliced into pieces by Big Head wielding a machete. "Who wants sashimi?" he called out. "Here's a little tip, garbage! Next time, don't gloat until victory is ensured!"

"Self-destruct in ten seconds! Nine...eight..."

"Ooh, boy."

Ladybug panicked. "I won't make it in time!"

Max had an idea. A crazy one. "Throw me!"

"What?"

"THROW ME, DARN IT!"

Ladybug did as she was told and tossed him to the top of the bomb and allowed him to plug the flash drive into Robostus' input. "Three...two...error...error...error..."

In Hawk Moth's lair, the security system suddenly shut down. He exhaled as he got back up. "I may have made a mistake today, but believe me, Ladybug, Chat Noir and Big Head, it won't happen again!"

A purple butterfly popped out of Robostus' central processor. "No more evildoing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug captured the Akuma and purified it. "Gotcha!" Then she released it. "Bye bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the Lucky Charm into the air, releasing its energy, and fixed all the damages caused, as well as Markov's CPU. She then gave Markov to Max. "Here's your friend."

Max said solemnly, "Perhaps it's best if I don't."

"Everyone can feel negative emotions from time to time. It's important to accept that, and forgive. Follow your heart."

Max considered what Ladybug said and turned Markov on. The little robot's eyes blinked on and he floated up. "Max, my friend! What? Where are we? What's going on?"

"You were Akumatized," explained Max simply.

"'Akumatized'? Could you please define that word?" Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Max all laughed in amusement. "Did I say something funny?"

Later that day, during school, Rudi approached Max and Markov with a look of regret. "Markov?" he asked. "I'm sorry. I let my fear of a robot apocalypse get the better of me and...I'm sorry. You're not evil. You'd never do evil on purpose. And..." He sighed. "Can we start over?" He held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Rudolf Schaefer. I'm from Deutschland and my favorite food since coming here is croissants."

Markov smiled. "Hi, Rudolf! I'm Markov!" They shook hands and Rudi giggled.

Sometime after school, Marinette paid Master Fu a visit at his massage parlor. Wayzz and Tikki were drinking tea on the phonograph while they watched their owners talk.

"Are there some things you haven't told me about yet?" Marinette asked.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"What would happen if someone possessed Chat Noir's ring and Ladybug's earrings, Master?"

Master Fu showed some illustrations on his tablet. "Then the bearer could use them conjointly. And with a special invocation, obtain the ultimate power. The one that shapes reality."

"Ultimate power? Shape reality?! Wait, what does that mean?"

"Well, basically, it can make any one wish come true."

"Wow! That's amazing! But why don't we use it, then? We can ask for so many good things, like, end all wars, or eradicate poverty, or beat Hawk Moth."

Master Fu held up her hand to silence Marinette. "The universe must always stay in balance. For every action, there is a reaction. For every wish, there is a price to pay in return. Had your robotic friend asked to become a real boy, someone would have lost his humanity in return."

Equivalent exchange, Marinette realized. "I hadn't thought of that."

"That's why Ladybug and Chat Noir must never lose their magic jewels. The universe's balance is at stake."

Marinette nodded. "Neither Hawk Moth nor anyone else will ever get their hands on the Miraculous, Master. I promise!"

"I hope so. The last time someone got their hands on the Miraculous..." Master Fu paused. "Was during Ragnarök."

"What's Ragnarök?" Marinette asked.

"To put it bluntly, the end of the world according to Norse mythology." Marinette gasped. "And the beginning." She raised an eyebrow. "End, begin. All the same. Big change. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad." Master Fu drank his tea. "The Mask was born from it."

"The Mask? The one that gives Big Head his power?"

Master Fu nodded. "When Ragnarök came, the gods sought the Miraculous to save their world and themselves. But Loki, God of Mischief wanted to ensure his work would never end, so he swiped them and used their magic to transfer powers of mischief into a Mask he carved from a boat."

"Wait. Are you saying the Miraculous created the Mask? That's incredible!"

"But if the Mask comes in contact with the Miraculous, the magics could mix and cause...well, I don't know. Frankly, I don't want to know."

Marinette nodded. "Then Big Head must never touch them."