"Hey, Rudi, come downstairs! Your friend is on TV!"

Rudi looked up from his computer and went downstairs to the kitchen where he found his parents gathered around the TV. He was surprised to see Marinette's family's bakery on the show. Surrounding the building were thousands of Jagged Stone fans held back by barriers. "Wonder what contest they won to get on the telly?"


Alec stepped in front of the camera. By his side was Jagged Stone. "Welcome to Fill My Shoes! You're joining us live in a new episode, and our guest today is the one and only Jagged Stone!"

The guitarist strummed his guitar and sang, "Rock n' roll, yeah!"

The two of them entered the building as Alec narrated, "Filling the shoes a baker!"

"Yo, rockers!"

"And a big thanks to Tom Dupain for having us here in his bakery, the best in Paris, I might add!"

The camera shifted over to Marinette's father, who smiled awkwardly and nervously waved to the camera. "Hi!"


Sabine presented the TV crew a tray of croissants. "Excuse me, would you like some hot croissants?" Bob Roth took one of them as he and the rest of the crew walked off. Sabine whispered to Marinette, "I'm not sure it was such a good idea to let them film the show here, sweetie."

"Of course it was, Mom. Jagged asked specifically to come here! You realize how good this is gonna be for the bakery? And Dad's gonna become an instant celebrity!"

"Well, for a celebrity, he looks pretty nervous."

However, he didn't look nervous. In fact, he looked like he was having fun kneading the dough Tom gave him. "No, no! You have the right energy, Jagged. You just need to be gentle."

While Tom taught the musician to properly knead dough, Marinette noticed his assistant, Penny Rolling, clicking her pencil nervously while she tried to calm down Jagged Stone's pet crocodile Fang. "Are you okay, Miss Penny?"

"Yes, yes, it's just, this show was my idea, and Jagged's putting all his trust in me and I just hope everything goes well today."

Alec got between Tom and Jagged Stone and asked the latter, "So Jagged, how does it feel to fill the baker's shoes today?"

"It's awesome! Check out this edible guitar I made from scratch. This is so rock 'n' roll!" The musician began to pretend to play the guitar made entirely of pastries.

Marinette asked Penny, "So, Miss Penny, what's it like working with a star like Jagged? He seems so cool!"

Penny smiled. "Oh yes, he's...wonderful— Uh, I mean...yeah, he's awesome." Marinette gave her a knowing smile.

Jagged Stone called out, "Yo, Marinette! My favorite little lady, come over and rock out with us!" Marinette hesitated, but Sabine gestured her to go over to Jagged. Marinette went over to him, nervously waving to the camera along the way. "It's so cool that we get to spend the day together. Marinette's really talented, Alec; she did the artwork for my latest album, and she's only in high school!"

Alec was impressed. "Wow, impressive! A true family of artists. A talented young designer and a gifted patissier. By the way, what're you gonna bake for us today, Tom?"

Marinette's father said, "Uh...how about some chocolate croissants? Can you grab a bag of flour please, dear?"

"Sure thing, dad!" Marinette grabbed the bag but suddenly, she tripped and dropped the flour on Jagged Stone's head. But the musician took it with stride and made ghostly noises. "Hey, look! I look like a ghost! Rock and Boo-Hoo!"

Alec laughed as he spoke to the camera, "Making pastries is obviously no piece of cake! Stay tuned; we'll be right back after this commercial break!"

"And, cut!" shouted the cameraman.

Bob shook Alec's hand. "This is starting out very well."

"Sorry, Jagged!" Marinette apologized.

"No sweat!"

"Could you tell us where the bathroom is so he can wash his face?" asked Penny.

"Upstairs."

"Thanks."

Tom handed Marinette a mop. "Come on. We have some cleaning up to do."


Penny and Jagged went upstairs and found not a bathroom, but Marinette's room. "Wait. This isn't the bathroom," Penny pointed out the obvious.

"This must be Marinette's bedroom. Cool," said Jagged. "Hey, there's a sink!" He headed over to Marinette's vanity with the sink.


Downstairs, Bob and Alec checked the show's ratings. "Our ratings are sky-high," exclaimed the producer.

Alec's cameraman said, "Where's Jagged?"

"Upstairs in the bathroom," Marinette said.

"Thanks," said Alec. "Follow me; we'll improvise," he said to Bob and the rest of the TV crew, leading them upstairs.


Back upstairs, Penny finished washing the flour off Jagged's face. He noticed some of Marinette's work on her desk. "Hey, look! Man, Marinette's got some serious talent. Hey, look at this!" He pointed to the poster of himself. "I know this guy. Rock on, Jagged," he laughed.

"We've got to hurry, Jagged," Penny insisted.

"Yeah, yeah. Relax, Penny."

At that moment, the TV crew burst into the room. "He's here," said the cameraman. "Come one, start shooting. In three, two, one."

Alec stepped in front of the camera and began, "And we're back on the air with Jagged Stone filling the shoes of a baker. Let's see how this rockstar cleans off all that flour."

The camera zoomed in on Jagged Stone looking at the dozens of pictures of Adrien Agreste on the wall. "Hey, there are more photos of this dude than of me! I think the baker's daughter's got a little crush," he said with a wink.


Rudi's parents were shocked. "How can he just invade someone's personal space like that," asked Henrietta, outraged.

"That guy will do everything for ratings," Max said, shaking his head.

As for Rudi, he just chuckled. "Well, I guess now Adrien will see how much Marinette loves him," he said to himself.


When Marinette saw her room on the TV screen, she flipped. "No, no, no, no!" She ran up the stairs, much to her mother's concern.

Tikki popped her head out of her purse and said, "Keep calm, Marinette; it's not a big deal."

"YES IT IS! This is a major disaster! I told everyone in school to watch today's show, including Adrien! He's gonna see all those photos and figure out I'm in love with him!"

"But isn't that what you want?"

"NOT LIKE THIS!" She kicked the door to her room and shouted at everyone inside, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"

"I'm sorry, Marinette; I couldn't find the restroom," said Penny.

Jagged Stone held up his poster. "Hey Marinette, you want me to sign this poster of me?"

"NO!" shouted Marinette. "I WANT YOU ALL OUT OF HERE! And you," she pointed to the cameraman. "Stop filming! Penny, do something!"

Penny knew they'd overstepped their boundaries and said, "You heard the lady!" She herded everyone out of the room...and accidentally unplugged the camera. The camera realized it and said, "Hey, Penny! You just cut us off the air!"

"Sorry." She bent down to pick up the cord, but Marinette stopped her and said, "No, Penny! Get everyone out of here first!"

"Penny, give me that cable! We're live," said Alec.

Jagged suddenly sneezed. "Choo! Penny, was that flour organic? You know I'm allergic to the non-organic flour."

Penny started clicking her pen rapidly. The stress was starting to get to her.

"Penny, the cable!"

"Penny, do you realize we've got no picture?"

"Penny, do you have a tissue? Ah-ah-ah-choo!"

"Penny, no! Get out of my room first!"

"Penny, what is going on?"

"Penny, you said this gig would be easy as pie!"

It was too much. The demands, the shouting, it finally made Penny scream, "STOP! That's enough! All of you, back downstairs, now! Out, out, out!" And with that, she pushed everyone out of the room. Marinette slammed the door after they'd gone and she slid down against the wall with a huge sigh of exhaustion.


Out in the hall, Penny shouted at everyone to get out. "What do we do now?" Bob asked angrily.

Fed up with everything, she marched into the bathroom (Found it, finally!) and shouted at him, "I'll meet you downstairs in five!"

"But, Penny!"

She slapped the clipboard in his stomach and shouted, "IN! FIVE!" And she slammed the door in his face. She then went to the toilet and let out an exhausted sigh. She turned on the sink splashed some water on her face, still clicking her pen away. She needed a coffee and a strong one after this.


The circular window to Hawk Moth's lair opened and butterflies swarmed around him. "A devoted assistant losing her cool. Such a fortunate opportunity!" He grabbed one of the butterflies and turned it from white to purple. "Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize her!"


The butterfly flew over to Penny and absorbed itself into her pen. Her face went blank as Hawk Moth's voice rang out in her head, "Troublemaker, I am Hawk Moth. You've always been the faithful one, taking care of other people and solving all their problems. Today you are free of that burden. From now on, you shall be the creator of all their problems."

She smirked as purple smoke enveloped her. "Sounds like a plan, Hawk Moth." When she was finished transforming, she know looked like a cross between a clown and a punk rock star, what with her purple mohawk, purple and black body suit with a white skull on the front and white face.

She clicked her pen and became transparent. She walked through the door and clicked the pen again, making herself solid again as she picked up the clipboard Bob Roth dropped when she forced everyone out of Marinette's room. " So, what's next on my to-do list? Oh, I know; taking care of Jagged!" She clicked her pen, became transparent and phased through the floor.


Poor Marinette was on the verge of a mental breakdown as she hid her face in a corner of her room. "I'll be a laughingstock at school, online, all over town! And worst of all, Adrien will never talk to me again! This is a disaster, a disaster, a disaster, a dis..."

Tikki tried to cheer her up. "Just breathe! Everything's gonna be okay!"

"It is?"

"Well yeah! Besides, it's too late anyway. The show's live!"

Marinette let that sink in and became anguished again. "OH NO! This is a disaster, a disaster, a disaster, a disaster...!"

The little kwami patted her head. "Oh, Marinette."


Down in the kitchen, Bob Roth gave his orders to the crew, "All right, everyone back to work. Chop chop!"

"Okay, people; Jagged, Mr. Dupain, get back to your place. We're live in five, four, three—"

An angry Tom and Sabine interrupted Alec as the former said, "Wait, wait, wait! We'd rather not continue."

Bob made an outraged, "What?! Have you lost your mind?!"

Sabine said, "We're not comfortable with your cameras going everywhere and invading our privacy! Our daughter is upset because of your show. We won't allow that!"

"The ratings are sky-high. There's no way we stop the show now, right, Jagged?" Jagged Stone sneezed in response. "Aha! See?"

Suddenly, Sabine felt someone pinch her rear end. She slapped Roth, the closest person next to her. "How dare you?! I demand an apology!"

"What are you talking about?!" Suddenly, someone slammed something heavy on the head. Rubbing his head, he turned around and saw Tom holding Jagged Stone's guitar.

Tom looked at the guitar and blinked in surprise. "How did this get in my hands," he asked, genuinely confused.

"Hey! Are you looking for trouble?!"


What they didn't know, or even care for that matter, was that the whole debacle was live. Tom snapped at Bob, "I could pretend that this isn't bothering me, but now you've gone too far, mister!"

Rudi chuckled while his parents stared, glued to the TV. "Well, this just got interesting."


Sabine grabbed the peel and pointed it at Roth. "Don't even think about laying a finger on my husband!"

Suddenly, one of the cameraman's cords coiled around his legs and he toppled over. Alec was suddenly pushed into Jagged Stone as if by an invisible hand. The woman operating the boom-mic suddenly got slapped in the face with it. And Jagged Stone got a bag of flour dumped all over his head.

Jagged Stone yelped fearfully, "Oh! What's happening? A ghost! It's a ghost! Where's Penny?! Penny!"

Suddenly, the rear door to the bakery slammed close and the windows' and main entrance's security shields suddenly slammed down and pastries began flying everywhere. Bob asked the Dupain-Chengs, "Sure your bakery ain't built on an ancient cemetery?"

At that moment, Troublemaker appeared with the click of her pen and draped her arm around him. "Hello, Jagged."

The rock star recoiled in shock and backed into Bob Roth. "Whoa! Who are you?! Where's Penny?! Penny!"

"There's no more Penny to deal with all your problems, Jagged! From now on, there's only Troublemaker! And I'll make your life nothing but problems!"


Marinette gasped when she saw the drama on TV. "Penny?"

Tikki said, "That poor Penny was trying so hard to help everyone that she became a perfect victim for Hawk Moth!"

"Shooting the show here definitely wasn't a good idea! Tikki, SPOTS ON!" Tikki was sucked into the earrings and in a flash of red and black, Marinette turned into Ladybug.


Adrien, who was watching the whole thing on the tellivision in his room, switched it off and called for Plagg. "It's time for Chat Noir to cook up a plan at the bakery!"

"Don't forget to save a baguette for me. I just love Camembert on sourdough!"

The boy shook his head at the little kwami with a chuckle. "Your stomach's a bottomless pit. Plagg, CLAWS OUT!" Plagg was sucked into the ring and in a flash of black, Adrien turned into Chat Noir.


Quietly, Rudi snuck into his room and pulled the Mask out from under the floorboard. "There's only room for one troublemaker, Penny. It's me! IT'S SHOW TIME!" He slapped the Mask on his face and in a flash of green, transformed into Big-Head.


Back at the bakery, Troublemaker advanced toward the musician with a look of sadistic glee. "Here comes trouble again, Jagged!"

"Not in my bakery, you are!" Tom tried to grab hold of Troublemaker, but she passed through him with the click of her pen, sending him tumbling, and then solidified herself before she kicked Jagged backward to the floor.

"Penny, stop! It's—It's not—ah-choo!—rock and roll!" Jagged sneezed again from the flour.

"I hate rock and roll, Jagged! I only love chaos, and you'll be my number one hit!"

Suddenly, the whole wall exploded and in stepped Big-Head, armed with a bazooka. "Say, can I have a croissant to go, Mr. Dupain-Cheng?" Everyone took one look at him and screamed and ran out the hole he made. "Just a suggestion."

"You!" Troublemaker picked herself up and glared angrily at him. "You ruined my revenge!"

"Don't care. Look Penny, I am the only one here worthy of troublemaker," he said, jabbing a finger in her chest. "And there just ain't enough room in Paris for the two of us!"

Troublemaker sneered. "Oh, I do believe you're right." She clicked her pen before he could grab her and reappeared behind him and gave him a slap on the buttocks with the peel.

"Woo!" He pulled out a desert eagle and fired at her, but she phased through the floor then came back up to punch him directly in his testicles. "Guah! Low blow!" In response, she kicked him in the face and sent him flying out the building. He got back up on his feet and wiped blood off his lips. "Now you got my attention."

Troublemaker laughed. "Looks like I'm the troublemaker of Paris now, Big-Head! Give me that Mask!" She grabbed onto his face and gave it a tug.

"Let go!" He punched her in the stomach and sent her flying into a car. She coughed up blood and wheezed as she tried to get back up.

"STOP!" Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived and stood between the two fighters. "Right on time, Chat Noir," she said.

"Good to see you, Bugaboo. Looks like we're gonna break bread today, huh?"

"Stop calling me 'Bugaboo'!" She heard a beeping sound and turned to see Big-Head pointing an RPG right at them. "LOOK OUT!" Big-Head fired the rocket, sending Ladybug and Chat Noir into the sky and crashing into Marinette's room. Chat Noir saw the pictures of Adrien on the wall.

"Oh wow! That's a lot of pictures!"

Ladybug let out a squeak then dragged him away from the wall. "We can take the grand tour later, Chat Noir."

Chat Noir's ears reacted to the sound Troublemaker approaching from below. She hurled four knitting needles upward toward the heroes, and Chat Noir, forewarned, blocked the needles by raising Marinette's mattress, which revealed more photos of Adrien underneath. Ladybug quickly pushed the mattress back down before he can see the photos, sending him tumbling down to the main floor.

"Sorry!"

Troublemaker threw Marinette's parasol at the Supers. Ladybug flung her yo-yo at Troublemaker, but the villain dematerializes momentarily to dodge it. Troublemaker then hurled Marinette's chaise longue at the duo, which Chat Noir caught and tossed behind him amidst a flurry of yet more photos of Adrien, fallen from the chaise. Chat Noir removed a photo from his face, and sees Adrien's image smiling at him. Ladybug quickly grabs the photo away.

"I said, later!"

Troublemaker threw a large trunk at Ladybug from behind, knocking her over. Chat Noir took a swing at Troublemaker with his staff, but she dematerialized before it hit her. She then phased down through the floor to the living room below, where she jumped back up through the ceiling, appearing in Marinette's bedroom again right behind Ladybug. Solidifying, she reached for Ladybug's earrings, which Chat Noir noticed. "LOOK OUT," he shouted.

The sound of a gun went off and Troublemaker suddenly found herself on the ground, holding her right hand in pain...which was now missing two fingers. Big-Head walked into the room via the window, holding the smoking pistol. "Close one."

Something dropped to the floor. Everyone turned to see Troublemaker's pen, along with her missing fingers, land in a corner across the room. "The akuma's in her pen!" Ladybug realized.

"That's all? Well then..." Big-Head grabbed the pen, but Troublemaker grabbed it as well. She clicked it and became transparent. "You're gonna pay for this," she swore as she sank into the ground.

"Darn it, I had her," swore Big-Head.

"What're we gonna do," asked Chat Noir. "I can't touch her with a ten-foot pole even if I wanted to!"

"Her strength is also her weakness," said Ladybug. "In order to touch us, she must become touchable herself!"

Big-Head noticed the two fingers he'd blown off were gone. "Looks like even bits of her can become transparent whenever she clicks that pen."


The trio ran down to the living room, weapons at the ready. "Be careful! She's probably hiding somewhere in this room! If she wants to take our Miraculous, she can't be untouchable," said Ladybug.

"And if we can grab her, we can also grab her pen," said Chat Noir.

"And capture the akuma! But we'll have to act fast!"

Big-Head noticed the two fingers lying in the corner of the room. Suddenly, they became transparent and disappeared through the floor. "She's coming!"

Troublemaker phased down through the ceiling, landing between the trio, and, solidifying, kicked Ladybug away. She then grabbed Chat Noir's right arm and twisted it behind his back, so she can grab for the ring on his clenched fist. Big-Head suddenly punched her in the face, sending her to the floor. Ladybug wraps her yo-yo tightly around Troublemaker, but she dematerialized, escaping the grip of the string, which then fell away loosely before springing back to Ladybug. Troublemaker re-solidified and kicks Chat Noir away then dematerialized again and jumped through Ladybug, solidifying again to jump off the wall and leaped at Ladybug. She pined Ladybug to the floor, holding the heroine's arms down with her left arm, while she took Ladybug's left earring with the other.

Ladybug cried out as her costume slowly began to disappear, "No!"

"You've already lost half the battle, Ladybug!" SLICE! "AUGH!" To Troublemaker's horror, her right hand was now lying on the floor, still holding the Miraculous.

Big-Head twirled the knife in his hand before picking up the earring. "You know, I'm kind of curious how this thing could work."

"No!" Ladybug snatched the earring and put it back on her ear and restoring her costume. "Whew."

"You...meddling...freak," Troublemaker gurgled as she held her bleeding stump of a right arm. "I had it. I HAD IT!" She was about to click her pen again when she suddenly realized it was gone. "My pen! Where is it?"

"Looking for this?" Big-Head held the pen in his left hand. Troublemaker gasped and lunged for it but Big-Head clicked it, making her transparent again.

"No! NOOOO!" Troublemaker screamed as she fell through the floor. "HELP! HELP ME!"

Chat Noir tried to grab her, but it was too late. He turned to Big-Head and growled, "What happened to her?!"

"I got the idea from watching those fingers phase through the floor," the green headed loon said as he tossed the pen up and down in his hand. "She may be transparent, but she's still affected by gravity."

Ladybug realized with horror, "But if she keeps sinking..."

"Yep. She'll keep right on falling until she reaches the center of the earth. How's that for trouble?"

Chat Noir ran down the stairs to find Troublemaker struggling to keep herself from sinking further into the ground. "Help me! I can't stop!"

He ran up to her and said desperately, "Focus! You have to keep solid!"

"I...I can't! I can't do it without my pen!"

"TRY!"

Troublemaker tried to focus, and for a moment, she started to turn solid and she grabbed Chat Noir's hand. The hand with the ring on it. She tried to take it off, but he yanked his hand out of her grasp. At that moment, she became transparent again. "No! I had it!" She started laughing in despair before she screamed again as she sank into the floor entirely.

For the first time, Chat Noir didn't know what to do. He just stared at the spot she disappeared through.


"Give me the pen!"

Big-Head shrugged. "Sure." He tossed the pen...and it flew over her head and out the window. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Ladybug had to think quick. "LUCKY CHARM!" She twirled her yo-yo in the air, it's magic forming... a butterfly net. "Not what I was expecting, but just what I need!" She leaned out the window with the net and caught the pen before pulling it back in. She took the pen out and snapped it in two, releasing the akuma. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She captured it with her yo-yo and purified it. "Gotcha!" Then she released it. "Bye-bye, petit papillon!" She tossed the butterfly net in the air and shouted, "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" It exploded into a shower of red and black spots that undid all the damage done.


Back downstairs, Chat Noir gasped as he saw Penny reappear right in front of him. "Penny, you're alright!" But Penny didn't respond. She was curled in a fetal position and her eyes were wide with fear. "Penny?"

He reached for her but she flinched at his touch. "...so dark...so very dark..."

Ladybug ran down stairs to tell Chat Noir she beat up Big-Head and tossed him out the window but the sight of Penny made her stop. "Penny?"

Penny looked up at Ladybug before she hurled herself to her and wept in her chest. "I thought I was going to die! I really thought I was going to die! I was so scared!" Ladybug wrapped her arms around her and patted her head.

"It's okay, Penny," she said. "It's okay."


The episode was cancelled following Penny's breakdown and after all things considered, the poor girl needed a break. Jagged Stone agreed and let her stay at his place. Bob Roth complained that this could hurt the ratings, but Jagged Stone told him to leave the girl alone or else he quit the show. Alec agreed and told the crew to go home.

But none of that compared to what Marinette was feeling now, especially regarding the photos of Adrien being seen on live TV.

Marinette entered school stealthily, sticking close to the wall as she does so. In the courtyard, Nino and Alya were standing by the bottom of the stairs, conversing. Marinette discreetly crept past behind them. Nino and Alya glanced to their right when they heard something, but saw nothing. Then Marinette hid behind the doors to the girls' locker room when they swung open as Chloé and Sabrina emerged, talking to each other. Marinette then cautiously creeps inside the locker room. Marinette opened her locker, and placed her backpack on the upper shelf inside. "Phew! Hopefully, he didn't see me!"

She closed the locker door and screamed when she saw Adrien standing behind the door. "Hi Marinette, how is it going? After what happened at your place last night, I was worried that—"

"Oh, so you watched the show, then," the poor girl babbled. "Well, uh, look...about what you saw on the show last night — the totographs, in my room—

"You mean the photographs?"

"The grotographs, exactly! It-it's not what you think. See...I'm really into fashion, and, umm..."

Adrien made an impish grin. "Are you lying?"

"No! I'm so not into you—I mean, sure, I'm interested in you, but, um, not in that way; well, you know, ha-ha-ha-ha...ha ha," Marinette laughed awkwardly.

Adrien made a sincere smile. "Just teasing. I understand; don't worry. I've got used to having lots of fans...and, photographs of me everywhere — even in the most unlikely places."

Marinette laughed awkwardly again. "As if someone would have a picture of you under her bed, right?"

"Yeah. I was wondering; since you're into fashion so much, you could come watch my next photo shoot!"

"No way! For you?—peal—meal— For real?"

"Honestly, it's pretty long and boring, but if you were there, it would definitely be more fun! Whaddaya say?"

That made Marinette squeal for joy. "Oh wow! Yes!" Then she composed herself and said calmly, "Thank you, Adrien."

"I'll keep you posted, then. See you later in class." He was about to leave when he turned and said, "I'm glad to have you as one of my fans."

As Marinette watched him go with a dopey grin, Tikki said as she hid in Marinette's purse, "Relax, Marinette. You can breathe now!"

"He invited me to one of his photo shoots!"

"Yeah, that's awesome! And, you even managed to get some normal sentences out, too!"

"Hey, that's not funny!"

But Tikki still laughed. "You're right. It's not funny." Marinette couldn't help it. She laughed with her.