This won't be the last chapter in Paris, but we do need our awesome thieves to deal with Hawk Moth, so here we go. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Persona series, Lupin the Third, or any other referenced media.
Forty-Fifth Caper: Heroes' Day, Charity's Memory
After the incident with Style Queen, Fu decided it was best to bring in a holder for the Monkey Miraculous, since it would help them disrupt any other Villains' special abilities. Kim was chosen for this task, becoming the hero King Monkey. But for now this was of no concern to Ren and Sumire, who had bigger things on their plate. Well, besides the ice cream served to them by the local ice cram man Andre Glacier. A good mix of dark chocolate and vanilla to match their 'yin-yang' chemistry, with peanut butter cups for Ren's eyes and strawberry syrup for Sumire's hair.
No, the real issue was Gabriel Agreste. They had seen him transform into Hawk Moth several times due to scoping out his home, but there was also the caveat that he had been Akumatized into The Collector shortly after the incident with the book. That said, the fact that he had gotten the book from Tibet, where the Order of Guardians once had their temple, was telling. When they mentioned their findings to Master Fu, he offered a plausible explanation that seemed to solve the situation.
"It is possible to renounce one's Miraculous," he explained, "I had originally written off Gabriel as being Hawk Moth because the Butterfly cannot affect its owner. However, if we assume that Hawk Moth wanted to keep his identity a secret, he would likely create an Akuma, which would remain even after he renounced his Miraculous, and allow the Akuma to possess him. We must see if Gabriel has any breeding stations for the butterflies needed for the Akumatization process."
Each of the Kwamis had a different power, Tikki of Creation, Plagg of Destruction, Wayzz of Protection, and so on. With the knowledge that Gabriel might be hiding things, Ren and Sumire intended to plan their next move. Which of course was convincing Ladybug and Cat Noir to investigate Gabriel a little closer. But they couldn't bother them yet. After all, right now it was Heroes' Day in Paris, a holiday to celebrate everyday heroes across France, not just the superheroes that decided to start appearing.
Normally it would be a day that Hawk Moth intended to take advantage of, but he had never considered that the Phantom Thieves he was trying to avoid would ruin his plans. In his defense, his scheme to Akumatize Lila back into Volpina was poorly thought out. Strategically it made sense, use her illusion power to make everyone think their favorite superhero killed her partner. But he intended on Volpina to keep a low-profile when she was very much an attention seeker. And when she spotted Ren and Sumire, she couldn't resist showing off. It was a fatal mistake.
"Soon enough, this city will only have one hero!," she declared to the duo, "And you two will be yesterday's news!" As Volpina leapt off, Ren narrowed his eyes and looked around. "I think it's time we show her who she's messing with." Sumire nodded. "Let's do this in the spirit of our new hero friends." Ever since they began aiding Ladybug and Cat Noir, Ren and Sumire had added in their own "transformation sequences" just for flare. They didn't really need it, since their thief outfits were manifestations of their Stand powers, but it was all in fun. The duo hurried into a nearby alley.
"W Boiled Xtreme, Reign in the Shadows!" "Be the One, Shine Your Light!" Now transformed as Joker and Violet, they caught up to Volpina just as she was about to cast her illusion. Joker burst right through it using his shadow powers. "You really dislike heroes, don't you? I'm sure if you toned down the lies and tried being a better person they'd let you join the club." Volpina was shocked and tried to strike with her flute, only for Joker to easily parry using his blade while blasting her with his pistol's shadow bullets on a low frequency. By the time Volpina was able to counterattack, Joker had already stolen the wristband with the Akuma inside it.
"Should we take this to Ladybug?," Violet asked. "Not just yet," Joker said, "I want to try an experiment. Every time Ladybug has purified an Akuma, her yo-yo glowed with a brilliant light. And these things are infused with darkness. Perhaps an infusion of light energy could also purify the Akuma." Violet smiled and applied Be the One's touch. The energy worked, removing all corruption from the Akuma. However, it had a side-affect, the feedback sending Hawk Moth a sudden migraine. As for Volpina, she was reverted back into Lila. She looked around and freaked out. "Oh no... No no no no no! I cannot be seen in Paris right now!"
"Oh?," Joker asked, "Why not?" "I told my mom that I wanted to take some time away from the others to get over being Akumatized for such a stupid reason," Lila admitted, "Said I'd take an online curriculum to make up the difference. But everyone at school thinks I'm in Achu! Well, the students do at least. The teachers obviously had to be told, but they agreed to keep up the charade for the sake of my mental health. If everyone thinks I was trying to kill Ladybug, a hero beloved by all of Paris... My social life would be over!" Violet looked around. Other than Lila getting Akumatized there was no sign of damage to the city, so Ladybug didn't need to get involved. "Okay, we'll sneak you home."
Joker was able to confirm Lila's story with her mother word-for-word. The school staff as well. It seemed that Lila's lies were aimed specifically at the student body, likely because she was aware of the dangers of lying about or to authority figures. Well, one way or another Heroes' Day went off without a hitch, and Ladybug and Cat Noir even announced that their relationship was official. Joker noted that Marinette and Adrien had gotten closer ever since they both learned of each others' identity. There was only one last thing standing in the way. And his name was Hawk Moth.
Naturally Adrien was reluctant to believe his father could be their greatest enemy, but he had to admit the evidence was compelling. "Still, how are we going to get real proof? Dad's super paranoid when it comes to security. I mean, he has tons of security cameras, most of which I don't even know about. The windows are made of bulletproof glass with shutters that are made of duralumin. There's also a laser security grid designed to fry whatever comes in contact with the beams, an emergency alarm linked directly to the police precinct, anti-personnel rockets, and several secret passages leading to a panic room."
Everyone looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Okay, dude," Nino said, "Most of that I can understand... But missiles!?" "He's also done an extensive background check on the entire school," Adrien noted, "It's the main reason he lets me go there, since the Gorilla wouldn't be allowed on school grounds." Joker sighed. "Well, me and Violet can circumvent the security easily with our powers, but that leaves the rest of you getting in somehow." "I may have a solution to that," Fu offered, "If we can find a worthy holder for the Horse Miraculous, its power of Teleportation can be used to your advantage." He showed the Miraculous, and Marinette noticed that it looked like a pair of glasses. She smiled at that.
And so Max was granted the title of holder, giving himself the name Pegasus. "So here's the plan," Marinette said, "Joker and Violet will go in first, using a livestream set up on a private server. Max, once they get past the security, you can use Kaalki's power to get the rest of us inside." "Not a problem," Max agreed. Marinette nodded. "Okay then. Let's transform, guys. Tikki, Spots On!" "Plagg, Claws Out!" "Wayzz, Shell On!" "Trixx, Let's Pounce!" "Pollen, Buzz On!" "Roaar, Let's Prowl!" "Sass, Scales Slither!" "Kaalki, Full Gallop!" "Xuppu, Show Time!" "Barkk, Off the Chain!"
As the team transformed, Joker and Violet had already slipped into the Agreste manor. Slipping into the security room to disable it was easy, but Joker noted that one hallway didn't get shut down. That left the two thieves concerned as Joker activated his mask visor. "The wild card is in the deck. Going all in. Contact Alibaba." 'So how's gay Paree?,' Alibaba asked. "We're currently investigating Gabriel Agreste," Joker replied, "But a portion of his security isn't wired to the main network." 'Interesting,' Alibaba said, 'Looks like he set that up on a separate grid. Nothing I can do about it from here, but there's nothing preventing your Stands from working.'
Joker nodded as he and Violet walked through the laser corridor. With Joker's phasing powers he could easily avoid damage, and since lasers are just concentrated beams of light Violet could easily reflect them off her body. Plus, this part of the system wasn't connected to the emergency alarm to the police, which just raised another red flag. They were soon inside what appeared to be Gabriel's inner sanctum. Joker contacted Ladybug. "Okay, we're in. Let Pegasus know." 'Voyage!' A portal appeared next to the duo, letting the heroes inside.
The first thing Cat Noir noticed was the small butterfly breeding habitat, and next to it was a picture of his mother Emilie. He gasped when he saw something next to the picture, a brooch that looked like it was made of peacock feathers. "This is... The Peacock Miraculous..." "Guys," Carapace said, "Look in here..." He had just opened a secret compartment, revealing Emilie herself, kept in some sort of stasis chamber. "Look familiar?," Rene Rouge asked. Cat Noir took a few steps back in shock. "Mom... She never went missing... She's been here all along..." Violet did a quick check of her. "Something seems to have interfered with her natural life force, sending her into a magical coma."
"And I think I know what did it," Pegasus said. Markov, the robot he created, had been scanning the Miraculous. "This Miraculous shows microscopic cracks that seems to be interfering with its natural energy flow." "That can't be good," King Monkey said, "I mean, I'm assuming it's dangerous to use a damaged Miraculous." "I think Fu mentioned it a few times," Wolfhound said, "That using a damaged Miraculous over and over could lead to some serious physical and metaphysical consequences." Cat Noir looked at his mother. "I think we can see what those consequences are."
"Is there any way to heal her?," Viperion asked. "Hawk Moth keeps trying to get the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses," Tigress noted, "If we go by the theory that Gabriel is Hawk Moth, maybe he thinks that getting them will somehow cure Emilie." "Technically it could," Ladybug said, "With the powers of Creation and Destruction, one could have any wish they wanted." "I'm sensing a 'but' in there," Queen Bee noted. Cat Noir nodded. "In order to preserve balance, an act counter to the wish will happen elsewhere. If you want to heal someone, someone else will suffer their affliction. If you wish to destroy something, something else will get created in its place."
Queen Bee nodded. "Is there anyway to repair the Miraculous?" "It would take a concentration of pure light and dark energy," Markov noted. Joker and Violet looked at each other and smirked. They each had their Stand place a finger on either end of the Miraculous and concentrated . "Be the One!" "W Boiled Xtreme!" "Let Yin and Yang combine!" The energy of the Stand caused the Miraculous to glow as light ran along the cracks, slowly closing up before launching a small peacock-themed fairy out of it. "Whoa! What a rush!" "You must be Duusu," Ladybug noted. Duusu looked at the group. "Hey! Some Miraculous holders! Nice to meet you all!"
Duusu was brought up to speed about everything. Despite his Miraculous being damaged his own power had not dwindled, and he had noted that Gabriel had recently started wearing a gold ring with a large skull adorning it. "The Charity's Memory," Joker noted, "Now we have all we need to send Gabriel the calling card." "How do we play this?," Violet asked, "Because while there are some parental neglect charges we can bring up, the only other crimes Gabriel's committed were as Hawk Moth." Joker pondered for a moment.
Gabriel was shocked when he saw the card on his desk. "Gabriel Agreste, we are the Phantom Thieves Joker and Violet. Today we will steal the Charity's Memory from your possession." Gabriel looked at the skull ring adorning his left middle finger, right next to his valued wedding ring. "Care to make a deal?," came Joker's voice. Gabriel whirled around and sighed when he saw the Phantom Thief. "I had a feeling you knew." "But only the heroes of Paris know as well," Joker admitted, "As well as why you want the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses. Did you know that Cat Noir is your own son?"
The revelation was bittersweet. On the one hand it could have been easy to Akumatize his son to convince him to give up the Miraculous and get Ladybug's. But as a father he could never endanger his son knowingly, and it hurt that he had been doing so unknowingly. He sighed. "What are you terms?" "As promised, I'll be taking the Charity's Memory," Joker stated, "But I'd also like the Butterfly Miraculous to return to the Guardian. In exchange he will heal your wife, and no one will learn that you were ever Hawk Moth."
Gabriel didn't need to think twice, Nooroo having already explained about the Guardian and his powers. He pulled off the Charity's Memory and handed it to Joker. He then revealed the Butterfly Miraculous behind his tie. "Nooroo, this is where we part ways." Nooroo, the butterfly Kwami, appeared. "I'm glad you were finally able to see reason in the end, Master." Gabriel gave a sad smile as he officially renounced his Miraculous and handed it to Joker. "Hopefully the next holder can use it for more noble purposes..."
The news was abuzz with the sudden return of Emilie Agreste, as well as Ladybug's announcement that Hawk Moth had been defeated once and for all, showing his Miraculous as proof. While the police were curious as to his identity, Mayor Bourgeois decided that even if they did know, putting that person to trial would be futile since they couldn't truly prove anything regarding his terrorist actions, which were magical in nature. But while the threat of Hawk Moth was gone, the heroes of Paris remained active, since they were officially recognized as crime fighters. And other forces would certainly be after the Miraculous as well.
Next time, civil war is erupting in Padar, and Joker and Violet learn that Lupin and his gang have gotten caught in the crossfire. Determined not to see his rival get killed a second time, Joker sets his sights on the high priest leading the traditionalist party in a secret coup, aided by the CIA and the final Zodiac Assassin. All the while with the Shake Hands Corporation in the background. Read and review.
