*Sarcastic* Oh, great! JUST PERFECT! After a disastrous meal at the hands of Lila (you'll see what I mean later) and coming to Adrien's rescue from said girl, an angry Volpina summons up an akuma called the called the Puppeteer, who's somehow magically taken control of Adrien to make him a puppet to Volpina's whims! Talk about a big problem!
Marinette and company were at the Marché Popincourt farmers' market near the Eiffel Tower for an educational/grocery shopping trip. The primary goal was to educate Chloé on how to food shop on her own, including responsible shopping (shopping locally and supporting small businesses, and finding artisan crafts and goods). The girls also wanted to show the kwamis some of the features of the modern human world, including food sources.
They were currently at a fish monger stand. Marinette was standing in front of the tables while the girls were standing in the back.
"I was expecting this place to literally stink, but it doesn't smell one bit," Chloé commented. "Weird."
"That's most likely a fromagerie you're thinking of, Chloé," Alya began. "Fish and other meats don't smell when they're fresh. It's only when they've gone bad that they start to smell fishy, so to speak."
"Oh." Chloé said, rolling her eyes in realization.
"Hi there," Marinette said, waving to the fish monger. "I'm back."
"Ah, if it isn't Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of my favorite customers!" He laughed, happily. "What can I get for you today?"
"I was thinking, since I'm a frequent customer, and you have some beautiful black bass, how about a discount of say... 15%?" Marinette requested. "Dad's been craving some seafood lately and I want to deliver with a special meal tonight!"
"I can't say no to you, Marinette," The fishmonger said, taking one of the bigger whole bass, shoved it into a thing of ice, and handed it to Marinette. "Here you go!"
"Aw, thank you!" Marinette said as she took the fish, put it in her cooler, and paid for it.
"You're so welcome. I hope to see you have your own clothing booth here sometime soon," The fishmonger said. "And be sure to bring up the idea of a bakery stand to your dad again."
"I will!" Marinette said.
The girls watched as Marinette shook hands with the fishmonger.
After their shopping trip was over, the girls were on the metro back to the bakery. They were all alone in one car, so the kwamis were out.
"Wow, Marinette, I'm impressed with how smart of a shopper you are," Tikki said, eating a macaron while sitting on Marinette's shoulder. "You didn't even spend €25 on the groceries, and you have enough for at least a few dinners at home!"
"Yeah, you have got to teach me your haggling techniques, girl." Alya agreed.
"I'm so used to spending more and having servants, but now I have a new perspective," Chloé added. "Thanks."
"Oh, my queen, can we please get the organic, raw honey next time?" Pollen begged.
"Of course. Only the best for my kwami." Chloé promised.
"Thanks," Marinette thanked her friends. "But I can do more than just cut down food prices. I'm no slouch in baking or cooking, either."
"Boy, do we know that," Trixx laughed. "Those homemade blueberry-fig bars you made always hit the spot. You're amazing."
"Those kitchen talents of yours will come in handy as an adult," Tikki spoke to Marinette. "And when you get married, they'll be even more crucial! You'll be able to save money and live a healthier life!"
Marinette blushed and said, "Speaking of getting married... If it was Luka, I'd be more than happy to marry him straight out of high school!"
~Fantasy~
There was a small apartment in the suburban area of Paris.
The door opened, and Luka, carrying his guitar on his back and his stage costume in his hand, stepped in, shouting, "I'm home, Marinette!"
Marinette, wearing an apron, came out into the entrance hall and said, "Welcome home, Luka! How was your gig?"
"We got a standing ovation, babe," Luka said, putting his guitar down. "How about you? Was work good?"
"Oh, it was," Marinette confirmed as she approached. "The bride fell in love with the design I came up with!"
"That's great!" Luka chortled before letting out a yawn.
"You must have had a long day," Marinette said. "So, do you want to take a bath, or do you want to help me make dinner?"
"Honestly, neither," Luka chuckled before putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'd rather have you, babe."
He leaned in for a kiss, and Marinette began mirroring the motion. But she sensed the change in Luka's presence.
She opened one eye, only to see Adrien giving her a passionate look instead.
"A-Adrien?!" Marinette shouted.
"Pucker up, honey-bunny!" Adrien pleaded before leaning in for a kiss.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!"
~Fantasy Over~
"Oh, come on, Marinette. You gotta admit that you and Adrien would be totally adorbs together!" Alya laughed. The kwamis (sans Tikki) were calming down from the laughter, too.
"That's not funny, Alya!" Marinette said, blushing. "Adrien's just a friend!"
"Then why were you so bent out of shape when Lila first arrived at school?" Chloé teased, her arms crossed and a brow quirked, her smile nothing short of amused.
Marinette's blush went deeper, unable to answer.
"Just admit it, girl," Alya laughed. "You like Adrien."
"I-I, um..." Marinette stammered, her face turning the color of her suit.
"Hurry up, admit it, and tell him you like him!" Chloé barked. "Otherwise that witch is going to steal him away from you!"
"Steal Adrien?!" Marinette shouted.
"Would you girls cut it out?" Nooroo calmly asked. "There's no way Adrien would fall for that girl. I've seen the way he looks at her."
"What do you mean, "you've seen the way he looks at her," Nooroo?!" Marinette screamed in worry, grabbing Nooroo by the abdomen and pulling him to her face.
"Yeah, elaborate, Nooroo!" Trixx demanded.
"Indeed! Duchess Marinette needs reassurance!" Pollen agreed.
"He looks at her as if she's the most disgusting thing in the world! Like scum!" Nooroo squeaked. "Now would everyone just calm down?!"
At Marinette's house, Lila had somehow made her way inside. She was in the kitchen, she had her hair tied up, was wearing an apron, and was chittering away like no one's business.
She was giggling as she was preparing the tools she needed to cook.
"Well, well, aren't I just the perfect domestic akuma girl?" She giggled.
She winked at the fridge, and the crisper drawer opened automatically. A variety of vegetables magically flew out and were bobbing up and down in mid-air.
"Cooking time!" She cheered as she used her magic to begin cooking.
The knife was moving on its own, slicing a zucchini on the bias, and the vegetables were being washed under the sink at the same time. The simmering water was being seasoned with kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper, etc. The vegetables were moving along in an assembly line, with the zucchini jumping into the water while the rest of the vegetables were being prepared to be diced, sliced, chopped, what have you.
Marinette soon opened the door to house, saying, "I'm back! Sorry I took so long with the shopping, dad! I'll get started on helping you make the bass vol-au-vent right now!"
"Welcome back, Mari!" Lila said as she stepped out of the kitchen to greet Marinette. "Perfect timing! Dinner's ready!"
She jumped back in fright, shouting, "Lila?! What are you doing here?!"
Marinette sat at the table with her dad, with Lila facing opposite to them. There was a variety of freshly-cooked dishes, such as bouillabaisse with loads of lobster; ratatouille with bunches of fresh vegetables; French onion soup with a bubbling cheese crouton on top; cheesy paté au choux puffs; golden-brown, pan-fried sole meunière; a caramel-golden apple tart tatin with deep, dark flecks of vanilla bean caviar throughout the plump, soft apple filling.
Lila was giggling at her handiwork.
"Wow! This looks amazing!" Tom said. "I'm impressed at how capable you are, especially since you're in the same grade as Marinette!"
Marinette reached up to her dad and whisper-hissed into his ear, "Why did you let her in?!"
"Oh, come now, Marinette," Tom laughed. "While I was working down in the bakery, waiting for you, Lila here showed up and offered to cook us dinner because "culinarians need someone to cook for them for a change," and I decided to take her up on the offer."
"For real?" Marinette asked, suspicious.
"There's no need to thank me at all," Lila giggled with a smile. "For me, cooking's easy as breathing."
Marinette's face went from neutral to a slight scowl, all but expecting something to go wrong.
"So, eat up! Don't hold back!" Lila encouraged.
"Oh, I will!" Tom said as he took a piece of lobster from the bouillabaisse onto his fork.
Marinette snuck a few pieces of the cheese puffs into her purse for the kwamis to eat before taking some ratatouille.
Tom ate the lobster, but once it hit his tongue, his body jerked like someone had popped a balloon behind him and scared him. His face turned a sickly-pale green color, and his eyes looked confused.
"Wow, this... Is delicious!" Tom said through his teeth.
"Really?" Marinette questioned as she ate the vegetables. She had the same reaction as her father, thinking, 'Ugh, did she take half-spoiled food out of the trash and cook with it?!'
"W... What is this?!" Marinette gagged out.
She heard moaning from her bag. Inside, Nooroo and Tikki were gagging, their faces sickly-green, and on the verge of spitting the food out.
"Ugh, camembert cheese tastes better than this!" Tikki complained.
"How can something that looks so appetizing taste so disgusting?!" Nooroo agreed.
They were loud enough for only Marinette to hear. She was thinking, 'Sorry, you two.'
"I'm sure you can agree that I'm a master chef, right?" Lila asked, blissfully unaware of how horrid her cooking was.
"Actually, I think you qualify for that American cooking show called Wor..." Marinette began, but her father quickly cut in.
He whispered into her ear, "Marinette, Lila did this out of the goodness of her heart! Just eat it and don't complain!"
"What?!" Marinette asked.
"Just grit your teeth and eat it!" Tom said as he took another bite of the bouillabaisse, only to scream.
Later in Marinette's bedroom (after taking QUITE a bit of stomach medication)...
"Please, Mari! Pretty please with all of your best macarons on top?" Lila begged, her eyes sparkling and a bright smile on her face. She was on her knees on the floor while Marinette was sitting on her chaise lounge.
Marinette locked up everything in her room, and Nooroo and Tikki were still in hiding.
"Won't you bring me over to Adrien's place, please?" Lila pleaded. "See, he won't turn me away if you bring me there."
"Aha," Marinette said flatly, nearly glaring at the girl. "I knew you were here with ulterior motives."
"I desperately wanna get all affectionate with Adrien," Lila explained. "And what better way to do that than cook for him? After all, the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right?"
"You wanna cook for Adrien?" Marinette asked, a baffled expression on her face.
She was already imagining his reaction. One bite of the food Lila cooked, and his tastebuds would be tasered with disgust, and he'd be sitting there with a nauseated expression.
Marinette shook her head to get herself together, and she thought, 'Okay, NO ONE should have to eat food like that! Especially not Adrien! But...'
"Oh, please, Mari?!" Lila begged again, getting closer to Marinette by crawling on her knees.
Marinette was shuddering, but she swallowed a lump in her throat. She'd seen that look before on Manon, and she thought she'd gotten the ability to resist it. But that willpower went out the window.
"O... Okay, I'll do it." Marinette relented, immediately feeling like the food she ate would be seen a second time.
"Thank you so much, Mari!" Lila squealed, jumping on Marinette to hug her. "This makes me so happy!"
Marinette couldn't resist a groan.
As the twosome were walking to Adrien's house, Lila turned to Marinette and said, "I can't figure out a better way to show my gratitude, so I'll teach you a special charm."
"Thanks, but I don't need a charm." Marinette politely declined, thinking, 'I already have a lucky charm in the form of Tikki and Maman's ring.'
"Everyone needs a charm," Lila insisted as they stopped walking and she started rummaging around in her purse. "My akuma charm-"
She stammered at what word came out of her mouth.
"Um, my magic charm really works. It's foolproof! So, take it." Lila said, backpedalling as she took something out of her purse and handed it to Marinette.
It was made of paper. It looked like it had a head made of feathers, but it also looked like it had giant, spooky bat wings, too. Like an imposing monster if one looked at it at a certain angle.
"You just write down someone's name, imagine what you want them to do, and they'll do it." Lila explained.
"Um, okay," Marinette said, taking it into her hands. "Does it really work?"
"An akuma tells no lies, Marinette." Lila spoke.
"Excuse me?" Marinette said, looking at her in suspicion.
Lila once again realized her screw-up, and with a blush on her face with a sheepish expression, she said, "Um, I said I never lie, Marinette, akuma be damned!"
Marinette looked at Lila suspiciously, and thought, 'Did she say "akuma," or am I being paranoid?'
Later at the Agreste Mansion, Marinette and Adrien were sitting at the dining room table. Marinette was sitting on the side while Adrien was at the head. They were looking at each other awkwardly, but Adrien's expression was both in annoyance and anger while Marinette was embarrassed.
"Just be patient, Adrien! Your scrumptious dinner is almost finished!" Lila called from the kitchen. She poked out her head and said, "Mari, you can leave whenever you want, since you already ate."
Lila went back into the kitchen while Marinette gave a subtle huff.
"Why did you bring her here?" Adrien muttered petulantly.
"She wouldn't stop begging," Marinette defended, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."
"She's a real pain in the neck, even by my standards." Adrien admitted.
Lila came out of the kitchen with a tray of the same sole dish she gave Marinette and Tom earlier. She said, "Okay, dinner's ready!"
She came to the table and sandwiched herself between Marinette and Adrien. She put the dish in front of Adrien.
"This looks pretty good." He admitted, a small smile coming up.
"You're still here, Marinette?" Lila asked, giving Marinette a pointed look.
Marinette sighed, stood up and said, "Okay, fine. I can take a hint. Bye."
Marinette turned on her heel to leave the dining room.
"Wait, Mariboo!" Adrien said, standing up to go after her.
Lila shoved herself in Adrien's space, saying, "Oh, Adrien, we're alone together at last."
Adrien gave her an annoyed, angry expression and asked with a fed-up tone, "What do you want?"
"Oh, just to feed you," Lila giggled as she took a piece of sole on the fork and tried to feed it to Adrien. "Now, open up."
"Knock it off," Adrien said, pulling away from her. "I can do it myself."
"Say "aah,"" Lila spoke, putting the fork closer into his face. "Come on."
Outside the gates, Marinette was looking at the mansion in worry. Nooroo and Tikki came out.
"Worried about Adrien?" Tikki asked.
Marinette nodded and said, "...Yeah, I'm worried. What was I thinking, bringing Lila here?"
"AAAGGHH!" Adrien screamed from inside, scaring Marinette. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
"Poor guy, he's gonna get a really bad stomachache," Nooroo commented as Adrien screamed again. "Or food poisoning..."
Marinette looked on, thinking, 'Adrien...'
"What?!" Alya shouted.
The girls had a meeting at Marinette's place again.
"Why would you bring Lila over to Adrien's mansion?!" Alya questioned.
"Well, I... She wore me down..." Marinette spoke, sighing.
"Marinette, you might as well have let a fox into a chicken coop!" Chloé spat.
"HEY!" Alya and Trixx shouted back, indignant.
"Sorry, best analogy I could think of," Chloé sheepishly admitted before turning back to Marinette. "But in all seriousness, Marinette, Rossi's gonna eat Adrien up!"
Marinette's brain conjured up an image of Adrien tied up by his hands and feet, wrapped in a giant crepe with gruyere cheese and mushrooms, and he was struggling to break free. Lila, a giant, was towering over him, fork and knife in hand.
Marinette shuddered, saying, "No way!"
"This is a dangerous situation! For all we know, Lila could be kissing Adrien at this very moment!" Trixx commented, before giggling. "Just kidding! Sounds sexy, huh?"
"Trixx!" Alya said scoldingly before turning back to Marinette. "Sorry about that, but she's got a point. It wouldn't be out of the question for that girl to force a kiss on Adrien right now."
"So she's a coyote and he's a chicken..." Marinette muttered, but an idea popped into her head. "I've got it!"
She took out the paper charm that Lila gave her, and started writing something down.
"Duchess Marinette, what's that?" Pollen questioned.
"It's a paper charm that Lila gave me," Marinette explained before finishing up her writing - turned out she wrote down Nino's name. She folded her hands together. "I wish Nino would call Adrien on his phone and save him from the coyote!"
The paper charm started glowing.
"Marinette, relying on a charm isn't going to work!" Chloé said, snagging Marinette's wrist. "Come on, let's get Adrien away from that coyote!"
The girls stood up and ran out of the room.
"Oh, Adrien..." Lila said, giving Adrien a pout.
"Yes?" Adrien questioned, while thinking, 'Someone get her out of here!'
"You know that I love you, don't you?" Lila questioned, her face red as she turned her face up to him, and fluttered her eyelashes. She also moved into his space again, trying to lean her head against his chest. "And you love me too, don't you?"
Adrien felt cockroaches running up and down his spine and his stomach was churning from the food.
Lila tried rubbing her cheek against the crook of his neck, asking with faux sweetness, "There's no way you'd ever hate me, huh?"
Adrien's phone started going off, and it was at the other end of the table. Adrien smiled, in relief.
"Oh, phone!" He said in delight as he stood up and ran to pick up the device. He snatched it up without paying attention to the caller ID. "Hello? Oh, hey Nino!"
"Yo, Adrien, I'm at that new burger restaurant that's near the Eiffel Tower, across the street from the train station," Nino said from his location, in front of the restaurant. "I gotta tell you something important, dude. Think you can meet me over here, buddy?"
"Nino, you have saved my life." Adrien muttered, letting out a breath in relief.
"Say what?" Nino asked over the phone.
"Oh, um, nothing," Adrien said. "On my way!"
He hung up, only to realize that Lila was in his space, eavesdropping.
"Sorry, gotta go!" Adrien said before making a break for the door. "See you at school!"
"Adrien, wait!" Lila screamed after him, but he was gone. She scowled. "And it was all going according to plan! Damn that phone...!"
Adrien had his bodyguard both kick Lila out of the mansion and take him to the restaurant.
Adrien immediately sat at the table with Nino. The two of them placed their orders by giving the server tickets that listed the choices they made for their customized burgers (bun type, meat type, etc.).
After their server left Adrien asked, "So, what did you need to talk to me about, Nino?"
"Well, I thought I had something important to talk to you about, but I totally spaced on it," Nino said, giving an awkward chuckle. "Sorry to drag you out like that, dude."
"Don't be sorry about it at all, Nino," Adrien said as he sighed in relief. "Honestly, I felt like I was caged with a coyote and you let me out."
Outside the restaurant doors, the girls were surprised that the charm worked.
"Wow, that charm actually worked?" Chloé asked.
"Yeah..." Marinette said as she looked at it in suspicion.
"Hey, why not let me borrow that?" Alya asked. "I want to make that Lila girl bite the dust!"
"No way! We shouldn't use it to hurt people!" Marinette said as she and the girls started fighting over the charm. But their tension caused it to rip.
"Oh no!" Tikki said.
"You three can be so greedy sometimes..." Nooroo commented.
"Well, we don't need it anymore," Marinette said with a sigh. "We got Adrien away from the coyote."
The girls all gave agreeing nods and hums.
Lila was in front of a magic mirror in the akuma realm, and she was looking into it. Her reflection was showing her true form.
With a wicked smile, she said, "Mirror, mirror, show me where Adrien Agreste is at this very moment right now, please."
She kissed the mirror's glass, it flashed red, and it showed Adrien sitting next to Marinette in a booth at the burger restaurant, with Alya, Nino, and Chloé sitting opposite to them.
Marinette and Adrien seemed to be having a nice conversation with each other, both of them hiding blushes on their faces.
"What?! He ran out on me to meet up with Mari?!" Lila spat, enraged at the sight. She turned away from the mirror and started fake crying. "This is awful!"
Her face went from sad to infuriated, and she said, "Okay, now I'm angry! Adrien should be obeying MY orders! Doing only what I want him to do!"
After using her akuma energy to change back into Volpina, she shouted, "PUPPETEER!"
A little girl with spiked pigtails, wearing blue and dark purple, had a magic wand in hand, and was playing with some dolls was conjured up.
"Don't worry, Volpina, I'll make your boy-toy move however you want!" The little girl, the Puppeteer giggled as she moved her dolls around.
Marinette and company left the restaurant after a good burger.
"I never thought something so oily would taste so good." Chloé commented.
"Since it's not safe to be walking around alone at night, I'm thinking that Nino and I can walk home together, Chloé can catch an Uber to get back to the hotel, and you can have your bodyguard drive Marinette home, Adrien."
"What?!" Marinette asked, blushing.
"Sure thing," Adrien said with a smile. "I'm more than happy to do it!"
"That's great! Especially since Marinette's house is in the same direction as yours." Alya said as she and the others went their ways for the night.
"Alya!" Marinette protested, blushing.
"Well, that's that," Adrien said as the car came up and Adrien held the door open. "Come on, let's get you home."
"That's fine, Adrien," Marinette said as she turned away. "I can get home on my own."
"Mariboo, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Adrien insisted. "Come on, you're being uncool."
Marinette sighed and conceded before going into the car.
As they were riding along in the car, Marinette's face was turned away from Adrien, who was looking at her.
"Mariboo, I really don't know what you're after, but that wasn't very cute back there." Adrien pointed out.
"Sorry for not being cute like Lila." Marinette spat.
"Mariboo, do I detect some jealousy?" Adrien teased.
"What, me?! Jealous?! Why?" Marinette questioned, red in the face. "No."
"That's a shame," Adrien began, before blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "I... I would've been pretty happy if you were."
Marinette looked at Adrien in surprise, and she said, "Huh?"
Adrien looked Marinette in the eyes and said, "Truth is... I actually would've liked to eat something you cooked tonight."
"Really?" Marinette asked.
"Yeah," Adrien confirmed. "I've heard the rumors about you being great in the culinary arts, with your dad being the best baker in Paris and all. So... I've always wanted to try it."
Marinette blushed and said, "Adrien..."
Adrien smiled back at her, and he made to reach his hand over her shoulder. But he stopped and pulled back. The two of them fell into a comfortable, happy silence.
When the car pulled up to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, Adrien got out of the car and opened the door to let Marinette out.
"Bonne nuit, Mariboo." Adrien said as Marinette began to walk to the door.
"Hey Adrien, quick question?" Marinette asked.
"What's up?" Adrien questioned.
"How was the food Lila made?" Marinette questioned, a teasing look on her face.
Adrien chuckled and said, "It was terrible."
Adrien got back in the car.
"Thanks for bringing me home, Adrien." Marinette thanked.
"No problem! See you at school tomorrow." Adrien said as he shut the car door and it started driving away.
Marinette smiled as she saw the car leave for the night.
That evening, Adrien was sleeping peacefully in his bed, a smile on his face.
But the Puppeteer appeared in a purple cloud and she looked at Adrien with a smile.
"Looks like you're soundly asleep," She giggled. She flew down, took a strand of his hair, and flew back up. "And now..."
She magically turned the hair strand into a doll in his likeness and started moving his arms around. Like she was controlling a marionette, his arms were moving the way she wanted them too.
"There! It's ready!" The Puppeteer cackled.
At school the next day, lunchtime was rolling around. Adrien was gonna go with his bodyguard back to the mansion to eat lunch, but the vixen (not Alya) was getting in his way.
"Oh, Adrien," Lila cooed as she presented him with a food container. "Please enjoy this food I made for you, filled with love!"
Adrien was shuddering, looking very unsettled, and he declined, "I'm sorry, but no thanks..."
"What, why?" Lila asked. "I made this for you! Why won't you eat it?"
"Thing is..." Adrien began to explain.
Above them, the Puppeteer made herself intangible to everyone but Lila, and she was holding on to the Adrien doll she made.
"Eat it!" She commanded while moving the doll's arms.
Much to his confusion, Adrien's arms started moving on their own accord. His hands took the box Lila had, put it down in front of him, and the Puppeteer manipulated the hands to lift the box lid off. It revealed a medley of treats that Lila made, including vol-au-vent with chicken salad, choquettes, heart-shaped macarons, and more.
And Adrien tried to stop himself, but his hands were reaching for a vol-au-vent. They picked the food up.
"Oh, you'll eat it?!" Lila squealed in delight.
"You'll eat it, Adrien!" The Puppeteer ordered as she moved the Adrien doll's hands to the mouth.
The magic forced Adrien to take a bite out of the vol-au-vent, but he looked like he was going to cry from the horrid-tasting food, his face was sickly-green, and his stomach was churning.
"I'm glad you enjoy my cooking! Thank you, Adrien!" Lila cooed, blushing.
At the classroom door, the girls were watching Adrien's movements in total confusion.
"Adrien..." Marinette murmured in worry.
"What the hell's going on here?" Alya asked.
"No idea," Chloé answered. "This is too weird."
Lila (with the Puppeteer's help) was wiping Adrien's mouth with a napkin, and she said, "Once you're finished, let's go on a date, okay?"
"Say what? Absolutely no-" Adrien began.
"Go!" The Puppeteer ordered as she moved the doll.
Adrien's body forcibly stood itself up and put an arm around Lila's shoulder.
"We're going to have such a great time!" Lila giggled as the Puppeteer forced Adrien to walk, but his movements were jerky.
As they left the classroom, the girls came up to them.
"Adrien!" Marinette spoke.
"Mariboo?!" Adrien began.
"What's up? Need something, Mari?" Lila questioned.
"W-Well... Don't do anything irresponsible, okay?" Marinette said, upset.
"Mariboo, it's not like-" Adrien began to explain, but the Puppeteer manipulated the doll's hands to cover Adrien's mouth.
"Now, shove her to the ground!" She cackled as she moved the arms to make a pushing motion.
Adrien's arm, once again acting on its own accord, shoved Marinette to the floor.
"No! Mariboo?!" Adrien shouted in worry when he saw Marinette down on her butt. "What am I doing?!"
"Now let's get somewhere where we can be alone, Adrien." Lila purred as she and Adrien walked away (with Adrien trying to resist whatever was making him move uncontrollably).
"Mariboo!" Adrien shouted as they kept going.
"Marinette!" Alya said as she and Chloé knelt down to check on her.
Marinette kept watching as Adrien and Lila were walking down the halls. She remembered what he told her last night.
Adrien looked Marinette in the eyes and said, "Truth is... I actually would've liked to eat something you cooked tonight."
'I can't believe it... I had faith in you! I trusted you!' Marinette thought, about to cry.
She stood up, and shouted, "ADRIEN, YOU LIAR!"
Marinette ran off in tears, dropping her bag.
"Marinette!" Chloé shouted as Tikki flew out of the bag and flew after her owner.
"Things are getting totally wacko!" Trixx spoke from hiding.
"But something's not right," Chloé added. "Didn't Adrien's movements seem rather awkward? It's like his body wasn't acting the way he wanted it to."
"Yeah, I noticed that, too." Alya agreed.
Nooroo was rubbing his head, and he moaned in pain.
"Ow..." He whined, but when he looked up, he saw the Puppeteer. "Oh, no!"
"What's up, Nooroo?" Alya asked.
"Heads' up! That's the akuma known as the Puppeteer!" Nooroo pointed out.
Outside in the school yard, Lila had brought Adrien away, and she turned to face him.
"Now, give me a kiss." Lila ordered, a wicked smile on her face.
"What?! No!" Adrien protested.
"Kiss her!" Puppeteer ordered as she moved Adrien's doll to get him to kiss Lila.
Adrien's head was forcibly moving closer to Lila, who was puckering up. His lips were pursing against his will, too.
"No! Why is this going on?! I won't let it..." Adrien stated as he forced himself to pull away.
"Do it!" Puppeteer ordered again, once again moving the doll to her whims.
But she shoved too hard, and Adrien bonked his head on hers, and Lila wound up falling into one of the school topiaries while he smacked his head against the wall.
"Whoopsie-do, looks like I went too far with that." The Puppeteer admitted.
"And that's as far as you're gonna go!" Someone shouted.
A few meters away, Rena Rouge and Queen Bee, in their suits and their weapons in hand, were standing back-to-back, ready for a fight.
"No! Not the stinking Love Angels!" The Puppeteer complained.
"We're stopping you right here, akuma!" Queen Bee declared.
"So you'd better let Adrien go!" Rena Rouge demanded.
Hiding in the topiary, Volpina was watching, a successful smirk on her face.
"Like moths to flames," She giggled. "Puppeteer, take them both out!"
"Venom Spin!" Queen Bee shouted as she fired her top, and the string immediately wrapped itself around the Puppeteer's abdomen.
She pulled the small akuma close to them, and Rena commented, "Not the strongest akuma, huh?"
But the Puppeteer smiled and she used her free hands to pull strands of hair from each angel.
"OW!" Rena shouted.
"Hey! What are you playing at?!" Queen Bee shouted. "Do you know how long this hair takes to care for?!"
The Puppeteer escaped, and she turned the hair strands into dolls of their respective angels.
"And now you two Love Angels are my dolls!" She cackled before lifting the dolls up in her hands.
Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were being lifted into the air, and their limbs were moving against their will.
"What's going on here?!" Rena Rouge questioned.
"Hey, my body isn't your toy, you brat!" Queen Bee barked.
"Hahaha! The Love Angels are captured!" The Puppeteer gloated in sing-song.
"Excellent work, Puppeteer," Volpina praised as she came out of hiding. "Now that they're your toys, make them kill each other."
"You got it, Lady Volpina!" The Puppeteer replied as she smacked the dolls together.
Rena Rouge and Queen Bee's bodies collided with each other, and they screamed in pain.
"Adrien was being controlled by the Puppeteer!" Nooroo informed Marinette.
"He's being what?!" Marinette asked.
"You heard me!" Nooroo insisted.
'Adrien... I'm sorry I called you a liar.' Marinette thought.
"Lucky Wedding Flower!" "Bridal Change! Wedding Dress Transform! Angel Creation Ladybug!"
Rena and Queen Bee were being banged into each other repeatedly. They were getting dizzy and tired from the impacts.
Volpina and the Puppeteer were laughing in delight.
"It'll be fun to see you two suffer before you die!" The Puppeteer cackled.
"Not on my watch!" Ladybug shouted from off-site.
The two akumas turned around to see Ladybug, her yo-yo spinning and glaring the akumas down.
"Ladybug!" Rena Rouge said, relieved.
"Turning people against each other with manipulation? I am NOT amused!" Ladybug darkly shouted.
"Here's something else to be unamused at!" The Puppeteer shouted as she manipulated the Rena Rouge doll.
She started moving over to Ladybug from the air, and she shouted, "Hey, what's happening?!"
Rena Rouge was being controlled, and she fired a Mirage Bombard. She shouted, "HEELP!"
Ladybug blocked, and she shouted, "Rena, what was that for?!"
"The Puppeteer's got us under control! HELP!" Rena hollered.
"So what do I do?" Ladybug questioned.
"Absorb Lady Rena and Lady Queen Bee's attacks!" Nooroo instructed.
"What?" Ladybug questioned.
"Trust that your friends won't hurt you!" Nooroo advised.
Ladybug gave Nooroo a firm look and she said, "Got it."
She put her yo-yo away and faced the group.
"So, you surrender?" Volpina cackled. "Get her, Puppeteer!"
"Your allies will be your killers!" The Puppeteer shouted while moving the dolls around.
The angels were being moved around, too.
First off, the Puppeteer used her dolls to force Queen Bee to get her baton from her Miraculous Something Blue.
"Akuma's Bashfulness! Honey Star Shower!" The Puppeteer shouted as she forced Queen Bee to attack.
"AAAH!" Queen Bee screamed.
And the Puppeteer caused Rena Rouge to attack with her Miraculous Something Borrowed item, the wand.
"Akumas' Tribute Candle! Miraculous Fantasies!" The Puppeteer hollered.
The two attacks were heading straight for Ladybug, who didn't move a muscle.
'I know your powers won't do me any hurt. I trust you both with my life!' Ladybug thought.
She was blasted with the Miraculous Something Four magic, and everything went white.
"YES! Love Angel Ladybug is dead!" The Puppeteer cried in triumphant, only to see something wrong.
There was Ladybug, standing completely unharmed, and smiling as sparkles were floating around her.
"What?!" Volpina and the Puppeteer shouted.
"Um, hello? Rena Rouge and Queen Bee are Love Angels that attack with love waves, so instead of those attacks hurting me, another Love Angel, they healed me. Like a nice, refreshing day at the spa!" Ladybug giggled.
"I can't believe this!" The Puppeteer fused. "Well, I don't attack with love waves, angel!"
She put her dolls away and fired black akuma energy.
Ladybug got her crystal out.
"Lady's Crystal!" Ladybug shouted as she absorbed the hate waves from the Puppeteer. "Engagement Present! Lady's Crystal, L'amour Pour Vous!"
She fired the purified love waves at the Puppeteer. She screamed, but her features softened. She smiled and giggled before disappearing into sparkles.
"Thanks for the save, Ladybug." Rena Rouge said as she and Queen Bee approached.
"No problem, girls." Ladybug said as she held her fist out.
"Pound it!" They shouted, doing their fist-bump.
"Ugh, spare me!" Volpina spat from hiding before disappearing.
The next day...
Marinette presented a box to Adrien, saying, "Here you go."
"Oh, what's this?" Adrien asked.
"You said you wanted to try my cooking, right?" Marinette questioned.
"That I did," Adrien chuckled. "I trust I won't find anything wacky in here, right?"
"Of course not." Marinette laughed.
Adrien lifted the box lid and he saw a Croque Madame with a Niçoise salad and some choquettes.
"Wow, this looks amazing." Adrien spoke, almost drooling.
"You made this by yourself, Marinette?" Chloé asked.
"Sure did." Marinette said with a giggle.
"Don't mind if I do!" Adrien said as he took the Croque Madame and took a bite.
Marinette and the others watched with bated breath as Adrien was chewing.
With a swallow, he started crying happy tears, saying, "DAAAAMN, that is GOOD!"
Marinette smiled and gasped in relief as Adrien kept taking bite after bite of the sandwich.
"This is amazing, Mariboo! Better than the mansion chefs' cooking." Adrien praised.
"Thanks." Marinette said with a blush.
Alright! Glad that's over with, sheesh.
On the next episode of Wedding Ladybug, Chloé and Alya drag Marinette into following the fencing team to their training camp. And yet again, when Marinette and Adrien start getting close and having moments together, Volpina causes trouble! But this time it seems like the girls and Carapace are overwhelmed. And just when it seems like their backs are against the wall...
Okay, I've asked before and I'll ask again: can we get some comments on chapter 32, please?