Warning: I have gone out of my way to avoid spoilers, clips, or anything related to the fourth season until it airs in my country, the United States. Please respect this by not mentioning anything about season four in your reviews. That includes the next special.
A brief reminder that my stories take place in an alternate version of Miraculous Ladybug. This means Master Fu is still around and the Miraculouses will correspond to my ideas for them. Also, no COVID.
The story takes place a week after Interlude Theme and features the Academic Miraculous Circle. Please enjoy.
It was the middle of the night in Paris. Almost everyone was sleeping at the Agreste mansion. The only one not sleeping, was Gabriel Agreste, who was once more pulling an all-nighter.
Terrorizing the city as Hawkmoth took valuable time away from his business. If healing his beloved Emilie wasn't vital, he would have spent more time on his designs and less on being a terrorist.
Gabriel was doing his best to ignore the gentle snores of his kwami. He was trying to enter his creative zone and had failed to do so yet. Rubbing his forehead he tried to think of something to add to his new line, but nothing was coming to mind.
Going back to basics, he started doodling on the paper hoping something would jump out at him. Emile always said his best ideas came when he wasn't thinking about them.
He didn't know how long he had been doodling when he looked at the paper. There were a few outlines for either a skirt or shirt, but nothing that stood out.
His eyes wandered to the bottom of the page and he blinked. His doodling had created the outline of a stylish tunic paired with tailored leggings with a pair of low black heels.
Next to that doodle was an image of a short sleeve dress shirt with a slim blazer over it. Underneath the shirt was a pair of ankle-length dress pants with a pair of loafers.
These outfits would be an excellent addition to any fashionable educator in the city of Paris. He refined his designs until he had twelve different outfits. Each one subtly showing a relationship to the four card suits.
As he finished his designs, he was struck by inspiration for his other career. Of course, why hadn't he thought of it before? College Françoise Dupont was not the only school in the city!
His son's school was a great breeding ground for akumas. Since many of his akumas had come from there, the heroes knew the place too well to catch them by surprise.
If he expanded his range to the other schools in the area or even went out in public more often, his range of potential akumas was endless! As a bonus, the heroes would not be familiar with the new battle areas, giving his akumas the advantage.
Taking out his tablet, he began to review the list of schools in the area and the ones just outside of his current range. Several targets were ranging from écoles to universities. Reviewing the different school websites he was able to determine which ones would have the best chance of invoking an akumanzation.
When Nathalie came downstairs the next morning, she was only partially surprised that Gabriel was still in his clothes from yesterday busy working at his design station.
"Good morning sir. Did you get any rest at all last night?" she asked politely.
Gabriel looked up in surprise. Glancing out the window he saw that it was morning. "Hmm, I didn't realize I stayed up all night. No wonder I'm starting to feel drowsy."
"Perhaps you should rest sir? After all, your new collection idea can wait until tomorrow."
Gabriel shook his head. "I've already completed my designs for the collection. I've decided that this year my company can expand its clientele by offering fashionable, ready-to-wear looks for educators."
He slid over his designs to Nathalie so she could take a closer look at them. Gabriel had never designed clothes for educators before or any ready-to-wear outfits.
Looking over the design notes and the initial coloring, she had to admit the attire was very fashionable. The subtle hints to card suits did enhance the design and the colors did pop.
"It's different from your usual designs sir. The design team may need to borrow a few extra seamstresses who know how to do ready-to-wear clothing. I'll let them know."
"Thank you, Nathalie. My new collection has also inspired me in my other career," he remarked.
Nathalie listened as he explained his idea of using other schools for Akuma hunting grounds. She had to admit it was a genius plan. After all, schools were primed with extremely emotional beings because of the pressure in succeeding in academics.
Yet, she was cautiously optimistic. "Your idea is brilliant sir. I do have reservations. In the past, you have had some difficulty controlling younger akumas. I'm concern that you will be unable to control them properly."
Gabriel's face darkened when he heard that. He admitted his past akumas of younger children had been a challenge to work with. He had experience now and it would be, pardon the pun, child's play to keep his akumas focused on his objective.
"Not every child can be as perfect as Adrien. I know what I'm doing Nathalie. I will succeed this time."
Nathalie inclined her head towards him. "No doubt, you will. I'll help in any way I can," she stated as she rubbed her pin.
Both Duusu and Nooroo sensed that their lives were about to get much more difficult.
At Marinette's house, she was busy helping with the morning rush at the bakery. Today was very busy as everyone wanted to try the newest item on the menu, which was the Italian cannoli.
Tom was in the back making more pastries as Sabine was at the register. Marinette was boxing up the treats as neatly and speedily as she could.
"Here's your order of a dozen cannolo, sir. I hope you enjoy them," Marinette said as she handed the customer his order.
"Thank you. I'll have to come here again for more of these another day."
Marinette smiled then went back to work. She hoped the rush wouldn't last for hours. She still needed to finish up some of her homework for Ms. Bustier and try to get ahead in her other classes.
Hawkmoth and Mayura were stepping up their game now that he could use his Miraculous again. Then there was Mayura's interference during some attacks as she fought against the heroes.
Mayura's misuse of the Miraculous of Healing meant that the danger level was increased. Luckily, she seemed to only be assisting one in every ten akumas because of Duusu's Miraculous still being damaged.
Upstairs in her bedroom, Tikki was going over the list of possible wielders for the other Miraculouses Marinette and Adrien had been working on.
Her "siblings" and "cousins" were eager to help out and she hated to admit it, but they could use the extra hands. The akumas were getting stronger thanks to Hawkmoth's continuous experiments.
"Even without the Miraculous Book, he's made enough progress to enhance his original powers. He's seen the power-ups and no doubt he's trying to figure a way to make them."
That thought made her shudder. Even without the Kwamiis' knowledge of the recipes, he would do everything in his power to figure them out.
She lowered herself onto the page containing the list of names for the rest of the Chinese Zodiac Miraculous Circle. Marinette had written the corresponding wielder to each Miraculous that had been assigned so far.
"Hmm, let's see. Who still needs a wielder? We have yet to find one for Orikko, Ziggy, Stompp, or Kaaliki and Roarr. Now, who are the candidates?"
The people in consideration for those Kwamiis were the rest of Marinette's classmates and her friend Marc.
Marc and Nathanial were listed as possible wielders for Orikko or Roarr. They each had traits that could be considered for either passion or leadership. Which Kwami would bring out their full potential?
Ivan's name had a question mark next to Stompp. He was a strong possibility. Marinette seemed hesitant to make it a permanent idea.
There was also another contention between Sabrina and Mylene. Mylene went well with Ziggy yet Kaaliki would help her grow. The same went for Sabrina.
Adrien and Marinette really needed to sit down and discuss this. Not only did they have to find wielders for the remaining CZMC, but for all the other circles as well!
"Such a big job for two teenagers," Tikki sighed.
A few hours later, Marinette ran into her bedroom. "I'm never going to finish my homework!" The cannoli rush had lasted longer than anticipated. "I hope that Hawkmoth doesn't decide to akumatize someone today."
"I thought you finished your homework last night?" Tikki stated in a puzzled voice.
"So did I, but then I remembered that Ms. Bustier assigned us an extra language assignment at the last minute. Oh man, I'm never going to be able to finish this on time."
"Yes, you will. I'll help you out. I know a lot about languages. I'm sure we can finish this quickly. You and Adrien have a meeting tonight to discuss potential wielders."
Marinette wanted to tear her hair out. Her life was just getting crazier by the day. She pulled the assignment out and started working on it.
Tikki did her best to assist. Silently, she scolded herself for not going to Master Fu's to go ask Swirrly for help. Being the Kwami of Speech meant she knew everything about languages.
Marinette barely managed to finish the assignment before she had dinner with her folks. Afterward, she scrambled to get ahead in a few classes.
She was so busy she didn't hear Chat Noir land on her balcony and slip inside her room. "Hey, Marinette!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"MARINETTE! Is everything okay?" Tom called up to his daughter. He had learned that he shouldn't burst into her room every time his daughter screamed.
"I'm fine! I saw a giant spider! It's gone now!" The teenager tried to ignore her boyfriend's antics. "I'm going to bed now! I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight dear!"
She waited a few minutes to make sure her parents would come up the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she shoved Adrien into her chaise.
"What have I told you about surprising me?" she hissed.
Adrien held up his hands defensively. "I thought you heard me. You're the one who set the meeting for tonight after all."
Marinette sighed as she sank to her chair. "I'm too tired from completing Ms. Bustier's surprise assignment to talk. I can't even think about choosing future wielders when I'm worried about our current roster."
"What do you mean?" Adrien asked. He thought the team was doing great so far. They had accomplished a lot and they were doing well in training.
His girlfriend conceded that their other teammates were doing well so far. Still, they had a long way to go and it was very apparent to her that the other wielders needed to improve in many different areas.
Just because they had managed to work together to take down Lila wasn't enough to prove them worthy to keep using their Miraculouses. If they wanted to keep them full-time, they had to show a lot more maturity and being able to handle the responsibility.
Adrien thought she was being silly. Their friends were very mature and responsible.
Plagg piped up asking if he forgot how the kids behaved in school. Most of them were still very immature. Tikki also recalled how Alya initially wanted to keep her Miraculouses despite promising to give it back.
There was a big difference between being temporary heroes' vs permanent ones. It was the reason the two of them needed to discuss who could be a potential wielder.
Since Marinette was too tired to discuss the subject right now the two of them decided to try for another night later in the week. Hopefully, she would be more awake next time.
The next day, Master Fu was in his home waiting for a video call. He had no clients today. Wayzz and Honorra were playing in his bedroom quietly. As he prepared some tea he wondered what his daughter was up to.
When she sent her encrypted email scheduling the chat he sensed there was something urgent she wanted to discuss with him. Her last mission had been rather unusual.
Why did the governments of the world always want to weaponize something they didn't understand? The Miraculouses were meant to help people not hurt them.
His computer chimed on the table. Settling down, the computer was asking him to answer a question before it would accept the caller. It was a precaution to avoid someone else accessing their private chat.
Imputing the correct answer, the screen changed to show his daughter in regular clothes, which was unusual. Her desk was clear of any material relating to her work. Something odd was going on.
"Hello Ning, I'm pleased to see you looking well today."
Ning snorted. "I might look well physically. Mentally, I'm exhausted and emotionally drained. I'm on a forced sabbatical until I pass my psychological exam."
Fu was surprised by how flippant her attitude was. Her voice had a strong sarcastic edge to it. Something was off and he couldn't quite figure out what was going on.
"At least this gives you time to work on your magical potential. Have you been doing the meditation exercises to help you focus on your magic?"
Her eyes sparkled and she spoke excitedly. "Yes! I've been doing them all! I can't wait to start casting big spells! Can I enchant something to fly? No! I want to use my magic to create something out of thin air!"
Fu looked at his daughter with growing concern. She continued to speak about the progress of her magical training. Every five minutes, her voice and mannerisms changed. It was very alarming.
Wayzz and Honorra flew into the room. They had heard Ning's strange voice. Both were very concerned about their friend. They had never seen anything like this before.
"Ning, what is wrong with you. Ning! Please tell me what's going on?"
Watching the screen, the three viewers witnessed what appeared to be a tug of war going on with Ning's face and voice. After what felt like a long time Ning's calm and focused expression appeared on her face.
"I apologize for what you have just witnessed. Lately, my retrocognition visions have been getting stronger. As you saw, sometimes they overtake me and I start acting like a past wielder."
"That is very unfortunate for you. Is that why you're on sabbatical?"
Ning nodded her head in misery. "I believe my increased use of the staff to help my magic grow, inadvertently enhanced my powers. I have been meditating more often to try to control the visions."
Fu stroked his goatee in worry. The extra mediation didn't seem to be helping much. He asked how long this had been going on. His daughter reluctantly admitted the problem started before her mission with the power bracelets and the intensity had increased twofold after that mission.
Rubbing her forehead, Ning admitted she needed help to get her visions of the past under control. "Do you have any suggestions?" she asked while trying not to sound overly hopeful.
Fu looked at Wayzz and Honorra, open to any suggestions. He was unsure how to help at this moment.
Honorra chirped to get everyone's attention. She had an idea. "What about the journals and memory stones? The journals contain the personal thoughts of each wielder of the UMC. The memory stones also contain personal memories which could help."
Wayzz quickly caught onto what his "cousin" was suggesting. "It could work. If Ning had first-hand knowledge about the events and people her visions are showing her, it could help her regain control over her gift."
Fu agreed it was a good idea. Since Ning was on sabbatical until she got her mental state under control, the Security Council would have no issue granting her leave to Paris, knowing she would receive help there.
"I need to talk with my superiors about making the trip. Once I have everything worked out, I'll let you know when I'm coming. I can't wait to see you in person Father. Goodbye!" She said breaking the connection.
Turning to the Kwamiis, Fu sighed. "I was not expecting something like this to occur. Ning has always been able to gain control of a situation before it got to this point before."
The little magpie landed on his shoulder and nuzzled Fu's face. "She'll be okay. She just needs a little time to adjust to her increased powers. Your daughter excels at working under pressure," Honorra reminded him.
"Indeed, Master. Every Apprentice, including you, struggled through challenges during their training. It is nothing to be concerned about," Wayzz assured him.
Fu did not agree with his kwami's reasoning. As the last Great Guardian, it was up to him to mentor not only his Apprentice, he also had a responsibility to Ladybug and Chat Noir.
With Hawkmoth getting stronger and bolder, the heroes needed to reach their full potential. Then they could help the rest of their teammates reach their full potential. He feared that one day, it would take every single Miraculous, all ninety-eight, to defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura. That's why he agreed that Ladybug and Chat Noir needed to come up with a list of possible wielders.
Which was difficult when you considered they were just college students with a lot of homework. Perhaps some help from a certain Miraculous Circle could help lighten their load for a few weeks.
I believe it is time I prepare the Academic Miraculous Circle for their trip into the modern world.
At school, Marinette was struggling to stay awake in math class. Ms. Mendievel was explaining the way to solve complex math formulas.
Her sleep had been interrupted by a late night Akuma, Sleepless, who had the power to give people insomnia as he had. It had not been an easy fight and she had only gotten back to bed an hour before she needed to get up.
Marinette's eyes fluttered as she tried to avoid sleeping. Alya, noticing her friend starting to nod off, gave her a tiny pinch on her thigh. Marinette jerked upright and focused on the board.
Adrien was also struggling. Instead of being tired, he was hungry. He had an early morning shoot before school began. There hadn't been time to sit down and eat.
Lunch was still two periods away. He felt his stomach clench as it tried to find something to digest. He wanted to raise his hand and ask to see the nurse. Ms. Mendievel hated being interrupted for any reason when she was teaching.
So he suffered in silence, hoping he could make it to the end of the period before he fainted from lack of energy. As soon as the period was over, he power walked out of the classroom and straight into the nurse's office.
The rest of the school day went like that. Adrien had to stay behind for fencing so he couldn't go see Master Fu with Marinette that day.
Marinette yawned as she walked towards Master Fu's home. "Yawn. I'm exhausted Tikki! The homework is really piling on us. I know they're trying to prepare us for the brevet at the end of the year." she said before letting out another yawn.
"The brevet is one of the biggest tests I'll take in my life. I'm just concerned with the increase in Akuma attacks the brevet will be either canceled or pushed back like it was done last year."
"I remember," Tikki said. That extended time in school year was when they met Lila. With Hawkmoth's continuous attacks most schools ended up having their students repeat part of last year's curriculum this year, even with the extension.
The brevet had been pushed back due to the expenses the city had to pay to take hundreds of students from Paris to other cities far enough to avoid being akumatized. With the huge influx in numbers, most Paris students had to wait for up to three weeks before they could sit for the exam.
With the increase of Akuma attacks, the education ministry was worried they would have to make more accommodations for students to avoid creating another Scarlet Akuma incident. It seemed Hawkmoth enjoyed making everyone miserable.
When Marinette arrived, Master Fu greeted her. "Thank you for coming in today Marinette. I hoped that Adrien would be joining you today."
"He had fencing practice. He has to go straight home afterward, yawn if he's going to get his homework done on time. Yawn."
"How are you sleeping these days?" Fu asked in concern. When he heard that her sleeping was getting interrupted by attacks, only reinforced his beliefs that the Academic Miraculous Circle was needed.
Upon entering the kitchen, Marinette was bombarded by eight different Kwamiis all speaking at once. She couldn't make out anything they were saying.
"Everyone, please give my wielder some space. You're overwhelming her," Tikki said as she flew in front of the group. The other Kwamiis apologized and moved back a bit. "Alright, one at a time."
A creamy white ferret with black feet and hand/paws with tiny whiskers floated forward. "Hello. My name is Flurry and I'm the Kwami of Math," she said politely.
Next was a dark brown kwami who resembled a platypus, except for the short antenna on her head. "Good afternoon young lady. My name is Platter. I am the Kwami of Philosophy."
The next kwami, a tarsier bounced around before coming to a stop. His bronze-colored eyes were huge, taking up most of the face. His fur was a mix of orange and brown. Unlike regular tarsier, his limbs were kwami looking.
"It is a pleasure to meet a fellow artist. My name is Googly, and as you can tell, I'm the Kwami of Art."
Another kwami, this one looking like a cartoon worm, (without the glasses), squirmed into the spotlight. "Hello, my name is Gooey. I'm the Kwami of Literature. Don't worry, I won't slime you," she added.
"My turn!" a blue crab-like kwami with super tall eye stalks said. He eyeballed Marinette. "You seem nice. I'm Hermmy, the Kwami of Social Sciences. Please to meet you."
The next kwami introduced himself by licking Marinette's face with his long tongue. His tan head was shaped like an aardvark and his feet and hand/paws had tiny claws on them. "My name is Slurrpy! I'm the Kwami of Studying!"
A lovely hum filled the air as the next kwami appeared. She resembled a humpback whale, but she had little feet and her hands were flippers. Her tiny tail swished around. "My name is Swirrly, I'm the Kwami of Speech!"
The last kwami, pangolin-based, approached Marinette slowly. His brown-yellowish body was made up of tiny scales except for his chest where he had a small patch of hair. He waved his little claw-tipped hand. "My name is Rexx. I'm the Kwami of History."
Marinette giggled and said it was a pleasure to meet them all. As Tikki talked with her "cousins" the teenager secretly hoped that one of these kwami would be able to help her with the amount of homework she had waiting for her.
The next day, Nora Césaire was talking with her friend Talia Tempest, as they made their way to Marcel Thil Lycée. The Lycée focused on the study of kinesiology, the science involved in studying athletic capabilities, and the benefits of exercise.
Nora wanted to become a professional kickboxing trainer one day. Talia wanted to become a sports medicine doctor.
Talia was very passionate about it. She had already sewn a medical patch on her gray jacket. It went well with her matching knee-length skirt. Her toasty complexion, with her brown eyes and short hair, made her look very professional.
Right now, she and Nora were talking about classes they felt were stupid for their future dreams.
"Why does the school think athletes need to know about civics? It has nothing to do with being strong and quick on your feet. Citizenship shouldn't matter at all when you're in the ring."
Talia laughed at her friend's antics. "Oh, Nora. As I'm sure you've learned by now, not everything is waste of time when it comes to sports. You should hear some of our discussions in philosophy oh!"
Talia tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, sending her books all over the ground. Seeing one of them in the street, Talia grabbed it and was forcefully pulled back before she got hit by a car.
"Are you out of your bungling mind? You could have been injured going after that textbook!"
Flicking a strand of hair away from her face, she replied forcefully, Mr. Valdez would have killed her if she lost her philosophy book. "Wait until you have him next year. You'll see what I mean."
Talia's first period was philosophy. Taking her seat she hoped that Mr. Valdez wouldn't call on her today. Philosophy was her worst subject and the teacher seemed to delight in humiliating her in front of the class.
"Today class we will continue to discuss the application of symbols that represents different aspects of philosophy. Who can name one such symbol?"
The kid next to Talia's hand shot up. "The symbol for phi is used as a symbol for philosophy. Because of the pronunciation, it is the shorthand for philosophy."
"Correct. What other symbols represent philosophy?"
More hands shot up and the teacher drew the symbols on the board along with a tag of what they represented. After a few minutes, there were eight symbols on the board.
"These symbols represent different parts of philosophy. The phi symbol for overall philosophy and the other seven represent the different branches of the subject."
He picked up a small bag off his desk and approached his students. "Each of you will reach into the bag and grab a tile from inside. The tile will have a symbol on it."
"Your assignment for the rest of the period is to write a four thousand word essay about the symbol and the branch of philosophy represents. At the end of the period, I will collect your essays to see how well you are understanding the topic."
Talia's palms started to sweat. A four thousand word essay by the end of class? Even with her textbook, she would never finish in time. She didn't understand how to explain the branches or apply them to her real life.
Mr. Valdez stood in front of her. She dipped her hand in the bag and started to remove the tile. It slipped from her sweaty hand and broke on the floor. She bent down to pick up the pieces and inadvertently bumped into her teacher.
He lost his balance and started flaying his arms around. He dropped the bag and there was a loud crack as all the tiles inside broke.
The class stared in disbelief. Talia wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. She reached to help her teacher up only for him to push her hand out of the way.
"Ms. Tempest, please go see the nurse. Perhaps, she can help you with your sweaty palms so you don't bungle anything else in my classroom."
Humiliated and with her face burning red, she left the classroom. She walked towards the nurse with her head hung down. This was the worst day in her life.
Inside his lair, Hawkmoth felt the girl's humiliation. It took a few seconds, but he located her and he was delighted to realize she was in a Lycée some distance from his son's school.
"It's time to see how the heroes handled my newly schooled akumas," he laughed. He opened the window and his little akuma soared out.
The little akuma had to fly fast since the school was on the edge of Hawkmoth's range. Five minutes later, the akuma entered the school from an open window and flew up to the second floor.
Talia was about to enter the nurse's office when she felt something crawling up her jacket. She tried to see what it was when her mind went blank as a voice started speaking to her.
"Bungler, I am Hawkmoth. How dare your teacher make fun of you. It was an accident that you dropped the tile. I can give you the power to take revenge on him. In exchange, you'll get me Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculouses."
A wicked grin appeared on Talia's face. "Consider it done Hawkmoth." The purple and black smoke covered her body and when it was gone Bungler stood in Talia's place.
Her skin was purple and her brown hair was now wine-red and she sported two swirly pigtails now with blue ribbons on top of her head.
She wore a blue and wine-red short jester-style dress. A pair of fingerless blue gloves covered part of her hand. Her nails were black and she wore wine red tights. Her textbook and bag had been turned into a small scepter and a black skull. Her patch was a vibrant purple and on her right shoulder.
"Time for everyone else to be a klutz," Bungler laughed in a high pitch tone. She skipped down the hall and busted into her classroom. "Hello everyone!"
The students gasped and many turned pale. They had encountered akumas before on their streets, but not in their school! "Are you surprised to see me or did you think I would bungle my way to the nurse's office."
"Ms. Tempest? What is the meaning of this?!" Mr. Valdez demanded. Unlike the rest of the class, he wasn't quaking behind his desk. He actually looked ready to approach her.
"That's Bungler to you! You made fun of me being klutzy in front of the whole class. Now, I'm going to make you the klutzy one."
She zapped him with her scepter. The man screamed as a gold light surrounded him. Five seconds later the glow flew into the skull lighting it up for a second.
Mr. Valdez tried to walk towards her and he slipped on the floor lying on his back. He tried to get up only to bump his head against a student's desk. Placing a hand on the desk to steady himself, he started to wobble and pushed himself away from the desk.
This sent him stumbling back to the teacher's desk. He flipped over it and landed painfully backward in the spinning chair.
Bungler laughed in delight and started zapping her classmates one by one. Soon all of them were slipping or bumping into each other. They dropped their bags when they reached for their phones or got tangled up by their shoelaces.
"Enjoy being clumsy! I'm going to make sure the rest of the school ends up being klutz as well!" she called over her shoulder as she skipped out of the room in delight.
The rest of the school soon learned there was an Akuma loose in the hallways. People were running for cover only to end up sliding into lockers or falling inside garbage cans.
A few brave kids tried to tackle Bungler, only for her to skip out of the way. She tossed the skull around before slamming it on her attacker's head. She did this multiple times. They would fall to the floor, where she would step on them and take away their coordination.
Inside her classroom, Nora was hiding. Normally, she would be out fighting to protect her friends, but Talia was her friend. She couldn't fight her effectively. So she was doing the responsible thing and sending an alert to her sister's blog.
"Come on, where's Buggy and Tomcat when you need them?" she whispered. She had sent out the alert nearly five minutes ago and they still weren't here.
"Oh Nora, where are you? Why don't you come on out and play? I think I have a chance of beating you now," Bungler called out in a sing-song voice.
Dang, I'm going to have to fight her she thought. Better go down fighting than being a helpless weakling. She marched out the door and came face to face with Bungler. "You want a piece of me, Talia? Well come and get me!"
"I'm Bungler! It's time you know what it feels like to be called a klutz!" she fired her scepter at Nora. The kickboxer ducked and came at her friend, who simply spun and tripped the large girl.
Nora's face hit the railing while leaving a mark. Roaring in anger, she charged her friend again, who jumped over the athlete and kicked her in the back. Nora wobbled and fell on the floor having lost her balance.
"What's the matter, Nora? Are your big muscles slowing you down? I guess we can't all be as graceful as me."
Nora pushed off the ground and kicked her leg out. She connected with Bungler's knee causing the Akuma to cry out in pain and hop on one foot. "What's the matter, Talia? Can't handle what you dish out?"
"My name is Bungler! Do you think I can't handle a kick? Why? Because I'm not an athlete like you? Because I drop things occasionally? It's bad enough a teacher embarrassed me, now you want to?" she shouted angrily.
She pointed her scepter at Nora, ready to take her coordination when a yoyo wrapped around the scepter and pulled it out of her hand. Bungler growled as Ladybug stood on the opposite end of the hallway.
She broke the scepter across her knee suspecting it was the akumatized item, but no luck.
"Took you long enough!" Nora shouted. She was shoved aside by Bungler, who was intent on getting Ladybug's Miraculous.
"It's nice to see the famous Ladybug. Hand over your Miraculous right now!"
"I think not." Ladybug threw her yoyo towards the skull and missed as the Akuma slid out of the way. She tried again, only for Bungler to duck out of the way.
As she came out of her crouch, Chat Noir burst out of the classroom, and smacked the skull out of her hands. It fell to the floor and broke.
Instead of a purple butterfly, the yellow energy swirled in the air before entering Bungler. She jumped and flipped around with ease before running then tackling Chat Noir to the floor.
She reached for his ring when she was pulled off and thrown down an adjoining hallway. "Get up Tomcat! She'll be back any second!" Nora yelled at Chat Noir as she hauled him to his feet.
Ladybug ran over to her partner. "Are you okay kitty?"
"I'm fine My Lady. It takes more than a girl tackling me to the floor to take me out."
Ladybug nodded then turned to Nora. "Neither Bungler's scepter or skull was the akumatized item. You seem familiar with the Akuma."
Nora explained the situation and asked if there was any way she could help. The heroes asked if there was anything special that her friend wore that could be the item.
"The patch on her shoulder. It's a patch for medical personal that she sewed on herself. It means a lot to her."
Bungler showed up just then. She pushed past the heroes. Grabbed Nora's dominant arm and twisted it behind the girl's back. Next, she lifted her up with one hand and threw her through a closed door into a classroom frightening the students trapped inside.
"You can't trust anyone these days," she commented before turning her attention to the heroes. "I dare you to stop me. I have the coordination of over a dozen athletes in my body. You'll never touch me."
The heroes charged as Bungler ran towards them. She ran up the wall and kicked off before making a grab for Ladybug's earrings. The heroine shifted her head out of the way, only for the Akuma to yank on her hair to pull her close.
Chat Noir increased the length of his baton managing to hit one of the Akuma's fingers. Her finger unlocked for a few seconds and it was enough for the heroine to squeeze of the Akuma's grasp.
For the next few minutes, the battle continued like this. The Akuma would avoid their attacks and grab the Miraculouses and the other hero would defend or push her back.
The fight had made its way through the school and now they were in the gymnasium. The heroes were running out of strength to fight. It was time for their ace in a hole.
"Lucky Charm!" The yoyo went up into the air and down dropped a pair of spotted rubber gloves. "Okay, how do I use these?"
She looked around the gym waiting to see what was highlighted. There was a training mat, some chalk for gripping by the uneven bars, and Chat Noir.
"Chat, follow me!" Ladybug called out as she slipped on the rubber gloves. The two heroes hurried over the bars and jumped on to them.
Bungler followed them, jumping on the bar as well. The heroes jumped to the other bar and swung around it and let go.
As they dismounted, Ladybug wrapped her yoyo string around the chalk holder and pulled it behind her catching the Akuma right in the face. Bungler missed her landing and rolled across the mat towards the end.
Using the rubber gloves, Ladybug was able to hold onto Bungler's wrists long enough for Chat to pull the patch off, so he could use his power safely. The akuma was purified followed by Miraculous Ladybug.
Talia woke up on the mat shaking her head. "What happened?" she asked. Hearing the words "pound it" she scrambled to her feet to stare at the heroes of Paris.
"Ladybug! Chat Noir! What are you doing here? Is there an Akuma in school," Talia asked anxiously. At that moment, it clicked in her head what had happened.
"I was akumatized wasn't I?" the heroes nodded and came to check on her.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ladybug asked.
"I'm not sure," the teenager admitted. "I never expected to be akumatized. I certainly didn't anticipate being akumatized at school! I thought Hawkmoth only went after the students at the college Nora's younger sister goes to."
"We thought so as well. I guess Hawkmoth's stepped up his game. Come on, My Lady we need to go."
Talia waved goodbye to the heroes. She was thankful for their help. Now she had to go apologize to her teacher for whatever she had done to him.
Mr. Valdez was standing outside his classroom door waiting for his wayward student to get back to the classroom. He was still upset by what her Akuma form had done to him.
Platter, who was hiding near the fluorescent light above the man, frowned at him. "He's a philosophy teacher, and yet, he forgets about one on the main branches of the subject? I won't let this stand."
The platypus-like kwami carefully flew down and landed on the back of the man's shirt. Crawling up the shirt, she touched the man's neck and whispered, "Moral Code."
Platter's power was simple and complex at the same time. Simply, her power helped the target to focus on one of the branches of philosophy, in this case, ethics. The complexity was that her power had to comb through the brain to put together a rational argument related to that particular branch.
Inside Mr. Valdez's mind, his brain was putting together an argument that suggested he had been unprofessional in his conduct to his student. It also reminded him of the pressures the students were under. Did he want to be the reason a student committed suicide because they couldn't cope with unneeded stress?
Instead of yelling at Talia for getting akumatized, he apologized for embarrassing her. She accepted the apology and returned to class, knowing she could handle the assignment.
That night, Marinette and Adrien sneaked out of their houses and met up at Master Fu's. They told him about the unusual Akuma attack.
He stroked his goatee as he thought over what they told him. "So not only did he target a different school, none of the obvious items were the akumatized object. They were just diversions."
Marinette nodded sadly. "The possessed item has always been obvious or linked in some way to the Akuma's power. This time, he managed to trick us. Without Nora's advice, we wouldn't have known what to look for."
"Let's not forgot how long it took for us to even get to the battle," Adrien added unhappily. "Bungler had made klutz out of most of the student body. Then we made assumptions based on our past battles with our classmates at school."
"Which turned out to be a disaster. You both got caught off guard because you didn't know either the school layout or the student at all. The two of you didn't even know what her power was when you arrived on the scene," Plagg pointed out.
Tikki glared at him before sighing. "I'm sure the next time Hawkmoth decides to attack, you two will be ready for him."
"I hope so," Master Fu said. He started directly into the teenagers' eyes. "If Hawkmoth picks another target outside your comfort area, you need to be prepared for anything. If not, then our fight against Hawkmoth could end with him winning."