A/N: This story was inspired by (and received permission to create from) two videos created by WireMagician on youtube:(Why Miraculous LadyBug is bad, and Fixing Miraculous LadyBug Rewriting the show) this really got me into his work and I could not have started writing this story without his videos explaining how this show could have been better and given us, as fans, an even better Miraculous show. I really recommend that you guys check out his videos and see for yourself.
AA/N: The characters are aged up a bit in this version, they are now around the ages of 16 to 17 as to the original show's 13 to 14 ages.
Episode 2: Mr. Pigeon
Marinette woke up from her long nights rest, to the shining rays of sunlight hitting her face in the early morning. She quickly prepared herself for school and quickly ate her breakfast before running out the side door of the bakery. As she made her way passed the front door of the bakery she saw the end result of the rebuilt and refurbished walls of her parents bakery.
A week had passed by since the incident with the robbers, and thankfully her parents managed to get their bakery repaired and opened in a timely manner. Marinette had been worried about their financial situation when they first repaired the entrance, but whenever she asked them about it they told her not to worry. Apparently they had managed to get a massive order placed just after the incident and it not only covered the cost for repairs, but it also allowed them to redesign the entire front of the bakery. She often wondered who was such a fan of her parents' baked goods, and was generous enough to place such a large order. Maybe one day she'd find out and thank them personally, but for now she was just happy that her parents livelihood was saved.
When she arrived at school she just managed to make it to her seat as the bell rang, pulling out her new notebook and prepared to start taking notes.
"Ah, that's just like you to get into school work even before the lecture has begun," a voice whispered into her ear, startling her. Turning to her left Marinette saw it was her best friend Alya looking at her with a friendly smirk on her face. Marinette chuckled at the little prank her friend pulled, adding yet another reason to get back at her friend in the future.
"You know me, I just like to be prepared for class at a moment's notice," she replied with a smile causing Alya to chuckle a little before they both were called to attention by their teacher.
"Okay everyone settle down, today we have an exciting announcement before we start class today," their teacher Miss Bustier said, getting the class's attention. A few of the students speculated what it could be, a field trip overseas, an expansion to the school, new students joining their class? Everyone was silently buzzing awaiting their answer just as a woman in a dark business suit walked into the classroom carrying a tablet.
"Students please welcome Mr. Gabriel Agreste!" as soon as Miss Bustier finished speaking the tablet was turned on and the stern looking face of Gabriel Agreste appeared.
"Hello students, as you know I am one of the leaders of the fashion industry in Paris, and from time to time I often search for promising new talent to join my company as soon as possible, from what I have heard there are quite a few young students within this school with a promising future in the industry and I would like to see it first hand for myself therefore I shall be holding a contest to see who's work shall appear in the next photo shoot..."
Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing, the man who was responsible for some of the most iconic clothing lines in history just offered her a chance to show what she was capable of as an aspiring fashion designer.
"...the theme of this contest shall be a simple one, but it will be no less demanding when observing the competency and imagination of all who decide to apply, you must design a derby hat, you may use whatever materials that you wish as long as it is made by this Friday, I hope to see all your final products by then, thank you, and have a good day,"
With that the tablet was turned off and moved off to the side allowing the class to digest the information given to them, only for their teacher to bring them back attention and start class. Despite this Marinette was lost in a terrifying thought "I've never drawn a Derby hat let alone made one before!" she internally screamed as she remembered many of her drawings lacking a hat in general let alone a derby hat.
It was her worst nightmare, here she had the chance to show her skills to a very prominent figure in the fashion industry and she feared the failure she would face. By the time lunch came around she vented her anxiety to Ayla who just laughed at her current state.
"Girl, I've known you for years, you've been drawing dresses, scarves, shoes and the occasional hat, and they all look exceptional, so what if you've never made a derby hat before now is the chance to get out of your comfort zone and show the world what you can do!"
Marinette perked up at this speech, Alya was one to weave words into a beautiful tapestry that she could use to inspire an army if she wanted to. She had hopes of becoming a reporter one day and would often write about random subjects on several blogs about events in Paris, the most recent one was about how a group of criminals had claimed to be caught by a couple of superheroes.
"Thanks I appreciate the compliments, I just hope that Mr. Agreste thinks so as well"
"He better, or he'll have to answer to me!" Alya said, hopefully joking, as Marinette knew that under the right circumstances she might act on those words. Looking over her drawings once more before heading back to class, she managed to overhear Chole talking with Adrien for a brief moment.
"Please can't you just give me the designs of something your dad made, I can pass it off as my own" Chloe pleaded puffing out her lips and giving him the largest puppy dog eyes she could possibly make.
"My father and I agreed that I will not be making a hat, as it would be unfair to the other students if I won because there would be a possible stigma that it was because I'm the judge's son, this also means I can't help you or give you older designs from his fashion catalog, he'd recognize them in a heartbeat and disqualify you and know I was the one who did it, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go it alone," Adrien replied before turning away to head off to class.
'Another character trait of Adrien's, he is a man of fairplay and honesty,' Marinette thought to herself before quickly rushing back to her classroom ready to take on the rest of the day.
Adrien had just finished the forth pleading session with Chole that day before he was able to leave school. He didn't have any practise today which was fine for him, he wanted to finish his homework and get out of the house as soon as possible, and patrol the city once more. Maybe if he was lucky he might find his Ladybug swinging by, he thought to himself as he entered the limo. It had been a week since he met her as Chat Noir and he couldn't stop thinking about her. Her courage, her strength, her beauty, these were all of the things that caught his eye, but he wanted to know more about the girl underneath. Was she someone he knew, or a complete stranger that just moved into town. He had to know and it had become a major distraction that ate at him.
"Speaking of eating," he told himself, as he pulled out a small box that said Dupain-Cheng bakery on the top and began to carefully eat a small delicious raspberry pastry savoring every bite as he made his way home. The check he wrote to them in order to get their livelihood back was nothing compared to the taste of the fluffy desert he was enjoying right now. The looks of gratitude and joy at their "hero" was the only thing that could beat his current euphoria with each bite.
When he arrived home he quickly raced to his room, quickly acknowledging his father's assistant Natelie before shutting the door behind him. He made sure that the door was locked before giving Plagg the all clear. The little black Kwamii flew out of his jacket pocket and hovered in front of him yawning wide before opening his eyes.
"We're back home already?" Plagg said as he rubbed his eyes trying to wake himself up after his long cat nap.
"Yes, and we'll be going on patrol later today after I finish my homework, maybe this time I'll be able to catch some criminals in the act," Adrien said as he started his homework completing it as quickly, and efficiently, as he could.
"Or maybe, you'll find Ladybug again?" teased Plagg as he floated towards his owner just hovering over the young man's shoulder; Adrien tensed for a brief moment before returning to his work.
Plagg wasn't wrong, he had often thought about Ladybug constantly in the days following his debut as Chat Noir. She was something else, her confidence in the face of danger, her beauty that eclipsed every model he worked with, in short everything. She was the representation of his freedom from his mundane life of modeling for his father, boring hours of school that did little to challenge him, and the loneliness he felt almost everyday due to his lack of friends. In short she saved him and he was not going to forget that anytime soon.
"If I'm lucky she and I could become friends, or maybe even more than friends?" he thought hopefully before returning to work completing it all within an hour. Putting all of his work away in a neat little pile he got up from his desk and readied himself for his other work.
"Alright Plagg, CLAWS OUT!" Adrien yelled before transforming into Chat Noir once more, leaping out of the window ready to stop crime wherever it might be.
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop he felt freedom, it was an invigorating feeling, one that he was happy to embrace every time he put on the suit even if for just a moment. His father could not dictate his life, he had no set routine, just the ability to enjoy Paris in a way no normal human ever could, and that was fine for him.
His joyful thoughts were taken away however when he spotted a thief fleeing with a bag of money from a nearby restaurant. Euro bills were trickling out of the man's large bag, but he didn't seem to care, all he cared about was the fact that he thought he was getting away with it. Chat Noir looked on in disgust before leaping after him along the rooftops, keeping pace with the criminal. Then when he had an opening he leapt out and tackled the man into an alleyway sending the bag full of euros flying everywhere. Chat then managed to throw the man into the wall knocking him out with a loud smack as soon as he hit the bricks.
Chat Noir quickly made himself scarce as a few people arrived on the scene not wanting to get caught up in a sea of questions just yet. Sure he'd be happy to tell them who he was, where was he from, what he was fighting for, and if he was seeing anyone. But, now was not the time, he was unfortunately on a time limit, and quickly made his way back home. He was happy with his work today, but hopefully, in time he'd be able to do more with the powers entrusted to him in the future.
Two days had already passed since the competition had been announced and Marinette was still lacking any form of inspiration. No matter what she sketched it always turned out awful, or just plain ugly. Cogs placed randomly on the hat made it look like a cheap steampunk hat, while bright color patterns made it appear like it was from a rejected costume from a Jim Hurton film. It got to the point Marinette stopped altogether just to rest her mind so she wouldn't burn herself out.
"Still haven't figured out a design yet?" asked Tiki as she looked over the designs Marinette scrapped.
"No, and if I don't come up with a design soon, I'll never be able to finish the hat in time" she said a feeling of defeat slowly crushing her spirit.
"Well why don't you take a break and clear your head? It might help you come up with an inspiration" Tiki said comforting her partner.
Marinette smiled at Tiki petting her small head with a delicate touch, "You're right Tiki, thank you." Marinette stopped petting Tiki and grabbed her bag, placing her notebook in along with a few pencils. Once she gathered what she needed Marinette was ready to leave her parents bakery and head out into the great city where she hoped to find inspiration.
Marinette walked down the familiar streets of Paris with the ease and knowledge of one who was born and raised in the city. After an hour of travel she found herself in front of the Eiffel Tower sitting on one of the benches looking at the marvel in front of her.
"Perhaps I might be able to get some inspiration here?" she thought to herself as she made herself comfortable taking out her notepad and sketch pencil. Marinette tried to sketch a few designs for her derby hat only to end up with the same problem she had in her room. After what was the tenth design she scratched out on her page frustrated with her failures, she heard a soft cooing sound in front of her.
Marinette looked up and saw three pigeons huddled together eating what appeared to be sunflower seeds. Looking up a little more she saw a thin lanky man dressed in a grey suit with a small brown bag and a whistle that he blew gently into making a soft cooing sound. The act drew more pigeons to the site and with them came a flurry of feathers, some of which landed on the man's hat. It was here that Marinette got her inspiration, a derby hat with a feather design making it stand out and amongst her previous failed designs and actually look like it belonged in a fashion show. Within a few quick minutes Marinette finished her design and was relieved, the hardest step was over, now all she had to do was make it. She headed back home as quickly as her feet could take her running through the crowd all the while clutching her notebook to her chest as tightly as possible.
Unbeknownst to Marinette a pair of girls had just finished taking a few photos of her final designs. "We did it Chloe, we got the designs for the competition!" exclaimed Sabrina as she handed the phone over to her partner.
"No! I've got the design for the competition, with this I'll be able to win the competition and hopefully spend more time with Adrien," Chloe said as she thought fondly of the naïve future she envisioned.
"Um, Chloe, shouldn't we start making the hat right now?" Sabrina meekly asked, breaking Chloe out of her blissful mood.
"Urgh! Don't be absurd I'll have Daddy, find someone to make it for me before the competition beings," Chloe said, disgusted by the idea of needing to do actual work herself.
While the two girls were discussing their plans for the competition an angry plump police officer walked through the sea of pigeons scattering them as he made his way towards the thin man.
"Scram you winged rats! How many times do you need to be told Mr. Ramier, No Feeding the PIGEONS! It's strictly forbidden!" the officer yelled, ripping the bag of seeds out of the man's hands.
"But who's going to feed my poor pigeons?" Mr. Ramier asked, showing a clear concern for the wild birds across Paris.
"They can get by fine without your help, and I might remind you that you are banned from this park and every other park in the city, so I suggest you leave before I call the police, oh wait I'm the police, NOW LEAVE!" the officer yelled, forcing Mr. Ramier to flee as quickly as possible, fear and sorrow gripping his very essence.
It was just like when he was a little boy, his tall gangly appearance was the butt of jokes by his classmates and strangers on the streets. His own family was ashamed of him, the only creatures that were willing to accept him for who he was, were the pigeons of Paris. Yet, that was unacceptable in the eyes of society, they claimed to love the beauty of nature, unless it ruined their streets, parks and metal monuments. He hated how they treated him and kept him from his beloved pigeons.
Far across the city in a dark room stood a man wielding a cane surrounded by pure white butterflies. He saw the anger that was bubbling within Xavier Ramier, a man who simply wanted to feed and care for his pigeons.
"A perfect test subject to draw out the other Miraculous holders in the city," the dark man said as he grabbed a butterfly and turned it into a dark reflection of its original pure form before sending it off to find the man who "needed" his help. The butterfly made the long journey and landed on the bird caller that hung around the neck of Xavier causing a dark purple outline to appear around his face, where a dark voice announced itself to him.
"Xavier Ramier, I am Hawkmoth and I have seen your plight, this city mocks you and scorns your beloved pigeons, I will grant you the power to bring this city to its knees, in exchange I demand two unique trinkets from a pair of heroes, draw them out and take their mystical items and I shall make you the guardian of all the birds of France!" Hawkmoth offered as he awaited a reply.
"Yes Hawkmoth! I will aid you, for Mr. Pigeon will complete this task with ease!" Xavier shouted as he stood up and transformed into Mr. Pigeon. A skintight suit appeared over his body with a pink hood, and a grey and black bodysuit. His muscles also grew, no longer was he a frail man with an oversized suit now he had an intimidating form ready to spread terror to the city of Paris.
Marinette was just a few short blocks away from her home when she noticed the pigeons of Paris acting weird. They were clumping together on benches, lining the entire telephone lines covering street lamps and were perched upon flagpoles. Their gentle cooing sounded ominous as they looked at all of the pedestrians walking past them with their heads moving slowly as they focused on the people.
"Hey Marinette, is it just me or do the pigeons seem to be acting weird?" Tikki asked her ward as she peaked out of the purse.
"They are probably just migrating, there tends to be a lot of pigeons this time of year" Marinette replied though even she doubted what she had just said. What lent more weight to the unusual behavior of the pigeons was when she spotted a whole street blocked by the birds halting traffic in all directions.
"Pigeons have taken over Paris, this is just one of the many alarming situations giving authorities major concern…"
Marinette overheard the news on a large screen tv where a large crowd was gathered to try and gain some answers as to why the pigeons were acting so strange.
"...Yes apparently someone named Mr. Pigeon is making an announcement, we're going live near the Eiffel tower," the newscaster, Najda Chamack, said as the image of a man standing on the edge of the tower flapped his hands and cooing wildly came into view.
"Oh dreary day for Parisians COO! COO! Sorry to ruffle your feathers but Paris belongs to the pigeons, flap flap COO! COOO!" Mr. Pigeon announced just as he stepped off the edge of the tower and was flown away by what appeared to be a cloud of pigeons lifting him off as two flocks flanked him.
Marinette looked down at Tikki who had peaked her tiny head out of the purse, the look they gave one another was one of understanding and they quickly ran off to somewhere secluded. Thankfully, Marinette didn't have to look far as she found the subway station empty and without cameras. Tikki popped out of her hiding place and hovered just in front of her ward's face.
"Is that a person possessed by a spirit?" Marinette asked with a nervous tone.
"I believe it is, but don't worry from what I can sense this spirit is relatively weak," Tikki reassured her with a smile.
"All you have to do is destroy the object that binds the corruption to the host and then purify the spirit and everything will be fine" the little Kwamii said with a smile.
"B-but what if I can't find the item that binds the spirit to the host, what if I can't defeat them and they stay possessed forever?" Marinette asked doubt still weighing her down.
"Then you just have to use one of your abilities called the Lucky Charm, it will grant you an item that will help you in your task," Tikki quickly replied with a smile still on her face showing Marinette that even if she lacked confidence in herself, Tikki more than made up that deficit.
"Thanks Tikki, alright let's do this, Tikki SPOTS ON!" Marinette yelled aloud transforming into Ladybug, ready to take on this Mr. Pigeon and save the day once more.
Ladybug quickly leapt out from the subway station stairway and began running across the city rooftops leaping across the gaps in an attempt to make it to the vicinity of Eiffel tower. After travelling a few blocks she noticed what appeared to be dozens of World War 2 era bombers flying over Paris. However upon closer inspection she noticed they were made up of pigeons, a strange yet intimidating design their flocks chose to fly in.
"This is weirder than weird," Ladybug said aloud as she watched them fly deeper into the city.
"Tell me about it, birds of a feather flock together," Chat Noir said jokingly as he lay on the roof next to her.
"Chat Noir, I'm glad you're here, I assume you came to find me in order to help with the current threat to the city?" Ladybug asked as she crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow.
"Of course My Lady I wouldn't dare leave you to face these dastardly birds on your own" he replied overdramatically waving his arms around as if he were a performer on stage.
"Focus Chat, we need to take care of Mr. Pigeon before he starts hurting anyone" Ladybug said with a serious tone.
"Then we might have a problem, I noticed that several park attendants and police officers are being flown off by the birds," Chat said, changing his attitude quickly.
"Then we've got to find the man behind this and end this avian occupation and fast!" Ladybug said, her desire to save the kidnaped citizens easily apparent.
"How do we do that?" asked Chat as he shrugged, unsure of how to find let alone fight this "Mr. Pigeon."
Ladybug tried thinking of how she and Chat Noir might get the attention of Mr. Pigeon, when she noticed a police officer's hat hanging in the branches of a nearby tree. She quickly formulated a plan before looking at her partner and smiled saying "I think I've found a way to get his attention,"
Chat Noir stood out in the middle of the park wearing a police hat, and whistled a tune as his boredom became apparent by his tapping feet. As if he could no longer contain the immense energy within him he started to dance randomly, much to Ladybug's annoyance.
"Chat can you please just act naturally?" Ladybug hissed as she tried to hide within the nearby foliage.
"I am acting normally, besides don't you want to attract the attention of the feather head in charge?" Chat replying as he moonwalked across the pavement. Despite his annoying actions and lax attitude, Ladybug knew he had a point, the more attention he managed to attract the sooner they could fight and beat the "villain" responsible for the birds running wild throughout Paris. Unbeknownst to the two heroes a pigeon was watching the entire energetic display by Chat Noir. After a few more seconds of observation, it flew off to find its master and report its findings.
Mr. Pigeon was perched atop the roof of Le Grande Paris looking over the city seeing his pigeons patrolling the streets in tight flight patterns. He spotted a couple of police officers trying to avoid the patrols, and commanded two flocks of pigeons to capture and lock them away. It was shortly after this his personal pigeon flew towards him and landed on his arm using it as a perch.
"Ah Edgar, have you found something interesting for me?" he asked, listening to the coos of his bird.
"Someone with a police cap, dressed all in black is dancing in one of the parks, I wonder who that could be?" he asked aloud only for him to be possessed with a neo purple moth surrounding his face, showing he was no longer in control.
"That description fits the user of the Chat Noir Miraculous, his partner who wields the Ladybug Miraculous should not be far away, capture him and you shall draw her out as well!" Hawkmoth commanded as he gave control back to his servant.
"As you wish Hawkmoth, I shall complete this task and then Pigeons shall rule all of Paris COO COO!" Mr. Pigeon commanded several flocks of pigeons to capture the cat who would face the retribution for all the birds who happened to find themselves as a feline's dinner.
Chat Noir was in the middle of cartwheeling across the park when a shadow overcame his position. Looking upwards a massive cloud of pigeons descended upon him whirling around him like a cyclone and carrying him away. Ladybug quickly swung into action following the massive cloud through the city, running across rooftops and swinging over the city streets, until she arrived just a short distance from the hotel Le Grande Paris. She managed to spot the cloud hovering in one spot before it dissipated leaving a large cage holding a confused Chat Noir. From a distance Chat seemed to be testing the strength on the cage hitting the walls with his batons only for his efforts to fail him. Ladybug spotted Mr. Pigeon hovering on a cloud of birds as he taunted Chat Noir traveling around the cage. Ladybug was preparing a plan of action when she heard the loud announcement from her avian foe, projected by three pigeon megaphones. "Listen here Ladybug, if you don't want your partner to be painted white by my birds, I suggest that you hand over your miraculous immediately you have one hour to comply or else!"
The imagery alone made Ladybug gag, but she knew she couldn't give in to his demands without a fight. Quick to swing into action she managed to land behind Mr. Pigeon and call out to him, "How about I give you one minute to hand over my partner, or I'll get you to help me paint the rooftop red!"
"Ooh, it seems the alley cat isn't the only one here to have claws," he replied with a smirk on his face as he sent two clouds of pigeons after her. Ladybug managed to dodge one of the clouds while dispersing the other with a strike from her yoyo.
"Chat use your cataclysm and help me out here!" she shouted as another cloud made it's way towards her only to be scattered with a smack of her yoyo.
"Your wish is my command my lady," Chat Noir replied just before he activated his cataclysm, destroying one section of the cage, turning the steel bars into a pile of rusty metal. He quickly leapt out of the opening and began swinging his batons at the pigeons attacking him and Ladybug. Once the two of them had managed to beat back the possessed birds their target, Mr. Pigeon, was all that was left to oppose them.
"It's over Birdman, time for you to surrender, lest you might get hurt," Chat Noir said as he twirled his batons in both hands all the while slowly advancing towards the villain.
"Why would I surrender? When my ride has just arrived ha Ha, COO COO!" Mr. Pigeon laughed as he blew into his bird whistle that hung around his neck before jumping off the rooftop, only to be carried away by a large flock of pigeons.
"Quick, Chat we need to catch up to him!" Ladybug said as she threw her yoyo out towards the nearest building and began swinging off after Mr. Pigeon as quick as she could. Meanwhile Chat Noir began running and leaping across the rooftops keeping the same pace with his partner. The two heroes continued their chase, keeping enough distance between them and Mr. Pigeon in order to not be spotted. After a long period of chasing their quarry, they suddenly noticed Mr. Pigeon circle the Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées before entering through the large glass roof.
Ladybug and Chat Noir quickly made their way to the rooftop where feathers were scattered about and puffed about with each footstep. The two heroes carefully made their way to the glass ceiling where their avian friend and his flock entered looking down to assess the situation. From there they spotted several large bird cages housing the police and park workers. There were several pigeons sitting on the top and sides of each cage swinging them back and forth in a half gentle, half quick pace, one that would cause anyone unfortunate enough to reside within, to feel ill.
"So what's the plan Mylady?" Chat asked with a grin.
Ladybug scanned the room with her eyes noticing the metal light fixtures allowing easy access to survey the entire room, without being spotted. What's more she saw Mr. Pigeon continue to blow into his bird whistle, giving orders to his pigeons that followed without hesitation, 'That must be the possessed item,' she thought as she continued formulating a plan.
"Alright Chat, you and I shall enter through the roof and travel along the metal light fixtures, then you'll jump down and attack him, while I try to get that bird whistle from him," Ladybug said.
"How do you plan on getting it from him, Mylady?" Chat Noir asked as he focused on the bird whistle in Mr. Pigeon's hand.
"Don't worry about me, just focus on your task okay Kitty," Ladybug said as she turned towards the opening once more. Chat smirked at the response before grabbing the window and opening it for his partner. However just as he did a flurry of feathers fell down onto his face and tickled his nose in the process causing him to sneeze loudly.
Everyone was shocked, Ladybug was stunned looking at the face of looking directly at them menacingly, Chat was embarrassed that he managed to blow their cover meant for the plan; and Mr. Pigeon grinned widely, barely able to believe his luck as a second chance to take the two heroes miraculous items, it seemed too good to be true.
Quick to act the two heroes improvised their new attack with Chat Noir falling gracefully to the ground drawing his batons in the process before charging Mr. Pigeon, while Ladybug attacked from above. Mr. Pigeon was quick to act to the intruding heroes and sent a swarm of pigeons after them, slowing their attacks. Chat was forced to beat back many of the birds, while Ladybug maneuvered through the pigeons aiming a kick straight at Mr. Pigeon's head. Her attack missed its target and her leg was grabbed where she was then quickly thrown at her partner.
She collided with him hard knocking the wind out of the two of them as they lay spread out on the ground. One of Chat's batons was thrown across the room while the other lay just a few feet away from him, close enough to reach, but far enough that he would be intercepted by the pigeons if he tried. Thankfully Ladybug's yoyo was still in her hand and it was clear to her that she needed to use the Lucky Charm and fast or else they'll be the newest additions to the bird cages.
Ladybug quickly got to her feet, staring directly at the smirking face of Mr. Pigeon who looked at the battered heroes before him. "He thinks he's won," Ladybug thought as she stabilized herself before whipping her yoyo up into the air and yelled "LUCKY CHARM!"
A bright red light flashed above her that shined for a moment before an item popped out of the yoyo and fell gently into her hands. It was a coin with a ladybug print covering it, it weighed as much as any other coin of its size, so there was nothing out of the ordinary there. The main question running through Ladybug's mind as soon as she held the coin was "What am I supposed to do with this?"
She quickly looked around trying to figure out what to do, all the while hearing the mocking laughter of Mr. Pigeon insulting her "little toy." Several tense moments passed as she looked at Mr. Pigeon finding nothing that the coin could be useful for, the same went for Chat Noir and the cages in the corner. It wasn't until she spotted the vending machines on the opposite end of the room that she started to formulate a new plan that could defeat Mr. Pigeon.
"Chat go catch the bird while I get our friend a snack!" Ladybug yelled as she sprinted towards the vending machines as fast as she could.
Chat didn't know what she meant, but decided to trust her as he quickly grabbed his baton and charged at Mr. Pigeon. In an attempt to counter the attack several birds were sent and the young hero only to be batted away with quick and precise swings of his weapon. When Chat Noir was within striking distance he tested the defenses of his foe with quick jabs and fast strikes from his baton. This allowed Mr. Pigeon to focus on the attacks from above and lower his defenses to a knee strike from below. The blow stunned Mr. Pigeon which caused him to crumple down and receive a solid blow to the back from Chat's baton sending him to the floor face first. For Chat it was a short lived victory, as soon as he reached down to grab the bird whistle from around Mr. Pigeon's neck a loud whistling sound blew out. The loud sound caused all of the pigeons in the room to create a giant tidal wave and crash down on the feline hero and sweep him away from the conductor of the avian storm.
"Nice try Alley Cat, but you seem to forget that pigeons tend to fly together and swarm those who seek to harm one of their own," Mr. Pigeon gloated as he walked slowly towards the winded Chat Noir.
"Not that I can't commend you for attempting to take on the entire flock, but you were doomed to failure when facing me and my friends," he continued as the pigeons slowly surrounded Chat Noir.
"If it's any consolation, my hungry birds will grow nice and fat off of you after I take your Miraculous," he laughed as Chat Noir struggled to get to his feet, still winded after taking the massive blow just moments ago. Just then an angelic voice rang out getting the two men's attention.
"Speaking of snacks, how about I give you something to eat?" Ladybug said just before she hurled a bag of popcorn at Mr. Pigeon. In the same motion she lassoed her yoyo around the ankle of Chat Noir and dragged him towards her. The bag was caught by Mr. Pigeon who looked at it curiously, only for his face to become even more pale than it already was when he heard Ladybug yell.
"Chat hit the bag!" as if on cue Chat threw his remaining baton at the bag of corn, popping it and sending the contents all over Mr. Pigeon. While this in and of itself was harmless, the gentle cooing of pigeons was deafening as the birds spotted the kernelled snack and took flight swarming their master. Mr. Pigeon cried out in terror as he was pecked everywhere a kernel was exposed, by the very creatures he commanded. After several attempts to grab his bird whistle he managed to grab hold and rip it off of it's string. Just as he managed to put his lips on the whistle he felt his hand being ripped away from him. He lost grip on the whistle which was now flying towards the two heroes who were eager to "see" it.
As the whistle flew through the air Chat Noir rushed forward and activated his Cataclysm before crushing it in his bare hand turning it into dust before Mr. Pigeon's very eyes. Following this a dark butterfly flew out of the item's remains, it fluttered in the air as if it were attempting to escape what was about to happen next. Ladybug was quick to act and hurled her yoyo at the butterfly capturing it, before bringing her weapon back to her hand. She was hesitant at first to open the yoyo, but steeling her nerves she opened it and allowed a now pure white butterfly to fly away.
The day had been saved and the heroes were victorious, the pigeons who once terrorized the city immediately stopped and went back to their odd mannerisms and flying away when startled. The police and park workers stuck in large gilded cages suddenly found themselves safely on the ground once more, and Mr. Pigeon was, gone, nowhere to be seen.
"Hey where'd the feather head go Mylady?" Chat asked as he scanned the large room for their foe's whereabouts.
"He must have gotten away, but don't worry Chat, without his powers he's no longer a threat to anyone," Ladybug reassured her partner as she prepared to leave. Chat Noir grabbed her hand and stopped her from leaving.
"Wait a sec Mylady, I know we've just saved the day, but, I'd like to know when we can do this again?" he asked with a wide Cheshire grin.
"Oh don't worry, Kitty Boy, you'll see me around," and just like that she swung out of the Grand Palais leaving her partner behind with an infatuation growing even larger for her than before.
Meanwhile as the people within the Grand Palais were noticing the pigeon invasion's end they failed to spot the thin figure first crawl and then flee from them. Xavier Ramier fled the scene of the battle, as quickly as his legs could carry him, his weak frame losing strength by the second. He ran down the streets towards the back alleys of Paris hoping he wouldn't be caught by either the heroes or the police. When he finally managed to hide in a little corner away from the outside world, he was forced to collect his breath, heaving each time he took in air.
'Those damn heroes took away my powers!' he thought to himself as he leaned against the wall to steady himself.
'I controlled the birds of Paris, I managed to bring the city to its knees, I got back at those damn police officers, only for two costumed fools to take it away from me, I'll never forgive them, and I will get my power back no matter the cost!' Xavier clenched his fists as he walked off into the city, he would bide his time and make Hawkmoth know that he was worthy of his powers once more and when given the chance would tear Ladybug and Chat Noir limb from limb.
Upon arriving home, Marinette was embraced by her parents who were thankful she was unharmed. She came up with a fake tale of how she hid underground in the subway tunnels until the birds stopped attacking the city. They believed the half baked story as they were more concerned with her safety than anything else. Interestingly enough her parents were able to avoid conflict with birds by throwing out the stale bread which kept them far from the newly installed glass window.
"It was very intense in those first few moments as they observed the bread, I was so nervous I grabbed a baguette for defense, while your mother grabbed a rolling pin," her father told her as they recalled the day's exciting events. Marinette was thankful for her family's safety and was happy to know that their home and business was alright as well.
Once their stories had been swapped, Marinette excused herself and went to her room with the excuse of working on her hat. While this was true, she had some questions for Tikki regarding the butterfly that was the cause of the day's calamities. As soon as she entered her room she closed her door quickly and locked it, before opening her purse and letting out Tikki.
"Great job today Marinette, I knew you could do it" Tikki squeaked as she hovered in front of Marinette.
"Thank you Tikki, but I think you deserve some of the credit, if you hadn't told me about the Lucky Charm, I have no doubt that I would have ended up as bird feed," she replied with a chuckle. But, then Marinette became silent with her grin shrinking by the moment.
"What's wrong, aren't you glad you saved the day?" Tikki asked with a worried tone.
"I'm fine really, but there's just something on my mind about what happened after the battle and I was hoping you could help me figure it out," Marinette inquired, as she made her way towards her desk and grabbed a blank page and a dark purple marker. She drew the butterfly that she saw quickly giving it as much detail as necessary, before showing it to her Kwamii.
"This popped out of Mr. Pigeon's whistle just before I purified it, do you know what it is?" Marinette asked, hoping to get some answers. Tikki was shocked when she saw the image held in front of her and gasped aloud.
"The Hawkmoth Miraculous!"
"The Hawkmoth Miraculous, What on earth is that?" Marinette inquired further.
"It's a powerful Miraculous that allows the wielder to grant powers to whomever they choose," Tikki explained with a worried look on her face.
"However emotions are the best catalyst for the powers to be drawn out, they could be courage, and honor or they could be sadness, anger, and envy, as long as the emotions are strong enough to attract the attention of the Hawkmoth they can be possessed and do their bidding whether they want to or not,"
"There is another Miraculous out there?" Marinette said, shocked at the revelation of another mystical item that could grant powers to people existed; and that this new wielder was now using it to possess people into attacking Paris. Tikki was quick to notice the worried look on her ward's face and finished her initial revelation.
"Don't worry Marinette, you are armed with the best counter to the Hawkmoth Miraculous, your Miraculous," Marinette rubbed the earrings as she received this new information, with some of her fear's dissipating with the news.
"The Ladybug Miraculous can exorcise any of the corrupted butterflies sent out by Hawkmoth, you already showed today your ingenuity in dealing with a possessed foe, going up against future threats like this will be as easy as putting on a hat!" Tikki said twirling around in the air.
"First I have to finish the hat before I can put it on," Marinette chuckled along with her Kawamii.
With her immediate fears being abated she turned to her desk once more and pulled out her supplies. She was already a few days behind her fellow students when it came to designing her hat and she sought to make up for that lost ground by working over time.
Following the "Pigeon Invasion" as it was being called by everyone, Marinette spent the remainder of the week working on her derby hat whenever she had freetime. She spent long hours into the night just to get the design right, hand stitching each piece of fabric together and making sure that it was both sturdy and comfortable. The feathered design looked as if it were made of black scales, while a silver trim lining the brim of the hat with a golden swirl embroidery hand stitched onto it. The final touch was a trimmed pigeon feather glued in place on the side, giving the hat some flair while retaining its modesty. Once she was finished she placed the hat delicately into a simple brown hat box and sealed it for ease of transportation. This was good, because as soon as she saw the time her panic mode went into overdrive causing her to grab her purse and the hat box as quickly as possible before rushing out the door.
The competition was close to starting when Marinette arrived just in time to register her hat before she placed it on one of the open pedestals. A week's worth of hard work and imagination was put on display for the entire school and she was proud of it. Marinette quickly prepared herself, straightening her hair and flattening her clothing in order to look somewhat presentable to the judge Gabriel Agrest.
Marinette looked around the competition grounds and spotted no less than ten other hats, each with more outlandish and creative designs than the last. Cogs and lenses on one making it look like it belonged in a steampunk convention, while another looked like a rainbow unicorn created it and buried it in a mound of glitter. It seemed that as though everyone who took part in the competition more or less wanted to create a good looking hat that was more form than function, where Marinette's was a healthy combination of the two. She hoped that out of all the designs, few of which were able to be labeled as competition, that she would win. Despite this, Marinette was still nervous at the possibility of being labeled a failure by none other than Gabriel Agrest. This was until she heard the encouraging voice of her friend Alya next to her.
"Don't worry Marinette, you're hat looks great, and while I don't wish to downplay the hard work of our fellow classmates, you're the only one who has an eye for fashion
Thanks to Alya's encouraging words Marinette was able to settle in easier and managed to calm herself just as Mr. Damocles was about to announce the beginning of the competition. However before he could get one word in, Chloe Bourgeois announced her presence to the entire hall with Sabrina following her and carrying an extremely fancy hat box.
"I am here with my hat, thank you for leaving my spot available for me and I hope we can all have a fun competition!" Chloe said with a fake smile and attitude to go along with it.
She had Sabrina place the box on the first pedestal leaving the hat hidden within, it gave the entire crowd an air of mystery as to what resided within. Following her entrance Mr. Damocles cleared his throat and gave his prepared speech.
"Ahem, Attention students, I am pleased to see so many of you decide to take part in this competition, and from what I can see of the many unique design choices this competition shall be a landmark occasion, so without further adieu, I welcome our judge Mr. Gabriel Agrest!"
As Mr. Damocles moved off to the side allowing Adrien to walk forward dressed in a black Burberry suit, next to him was a well dressed business woman to appear. She wore a standard business outfit with thick black rimmed glasses, while her hair was held up in a neat bun. The final thing on note about this woman was that she held a small screen with the face of Gabriel Agrest's face on it with a camera just at the top allowing him to see everyone in front of him.
"Thank you for that inspiring speech Mr. Damocles, I too hope to see what these students have managed to create in such a short notice, who knows maybe a few of them might even be hired by me in the future, Adrien, Natalie we may begin," Gabriel said with a smile as he waited for his son and his assistant to begin the tour of the grounds.
Marinette saw Adrien and Natalie travel towards Chloe who revealed her hat in an exaggerated manner lifting the top of the box off and exclaiming how hard she worked. Marinette was unable to see what the hat looked like, she was highly doubtful that she ever put one stitch into whatever she showed them. They stayed at Chloe's stand for a few moments before traveling to the next hat, and the same process was repeated, though with far more humility. Twelve hats were on display for Gabriel to observe before they arrived at Marinette's pedestal, number thirteen, this realization caused her heart to pound so hard she could feel it beating out of her chest. When Natalie stopped in front of her pedestal, Marinette did her best to stand up straight and look confident, though this last part was hard to do given her current anxiety. Gabriel looked closely at her hat, narrowing his eyes in the process, having Natalie move the tablet around the hat so he could observe it in its entirety before he finally spoke.
"Adrien, could you please have bring her hat here," Gabriel told his son as he continued to study at Marinette's hat. This confused Marinette as she was unsure why he would want Chloe's hat to be compared to her's, it didn't hit her until she saw Chloe's hat. It looked exactly like her hat, everything was made just like she had made it from the silver trim on the rim of the hat to the feather on the side, though Chloe had used a fake one instead of a real pigeon feather.
"Is this a joke?" asked an annoyed Gabriel as he looked at both of their hats.
"Wah! Marinette stole my hat design, how could you Marinette, how could you?!" Chloe cried as she shed crocodile tears like an actress. Despite the clear act, Gabriel appeared to have bought it and looked back at Marinette with stern eyes that bore into her very soul.
Marinette quickly found herself the center of attention and it was causing her to breath heavily and her heart to beat even faster than before; to onlookers she might have seemed sick to the point of vomiting. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't just say that Chloe was lying without any evidence, otherwise that would paint her as the guilty party once again.
"Evidence wait that's it" Marinette quickly grabbed her hat and blurted out "I can prove that I originally designed the hat!" Everyone was silent and despite her statement Marinette's resolve to prove her innocence was waning. Then for the second time that day Alya stepped forward to support her friend and was one of the only people to act out on their support for Marinette.
"Please , I've known Marinette for a long time and I can promise you she is one of the most honest people I've ever known, so if she tells you that she can prove that she designed this hat, then you better believe that she can," Marinette looked at Alya with admiration. Here she was defending her from Chloe's accusations in front of Gabriel Agreste, one of Paris' greatest fashion designers of their time, as if it were just any other day. Gabriel remained silent for a moment as if in thought, though he didn't outwardly show it, before finally responding.
"Very well, -Cheng, show us all the proof that you designed this hat,"
Marinette was struggling to stand up straight, but did her best, and grabbed her hat in the process before clearing her throat.
"Thank you sir, as you can see compared to Chloe's hat mine is entirely handmade, from the embroidery, to the weaving of the band to the stitching of the brim, all of this was done by myself," she paused to take a breath waiting to reveal the final thing that would prove she created the hat.
"...Also there is a special design element that only the true designer would know about when making the hat, it's signed with the designer's name," Marinette then flipped her hat upside down showing her name in eloquent cursive in the gold embroidery on the silver trim.
Upon seeing this Chloe dropped her hat, and if luck would have it, it landed on its side allowing everyone to see the exact same name in gold embroidered cursive on the brim. As soon as this happened Chloe ran away crying with Sabrina chasing after her offering any kind of praise or comfort. Meanwhile Gabriel Agreste looked impressed with Marinette's work and gave a soft smile to her.
"Well done -Cheng, I am not only impressed with your hard work, but also your creativity in your style, I see a bright future in the fashion industry if you continue down this path, I think it's fair to say that out of everyone that I have seen here today you have won this competition, well done," Marinette was so excited she could barely get two words out resulting in Alya to step in once again.
"She's grateful for the compliment's and she will take your words to heart," she said as she wrapped her arm around Marinette.
As the day wound down and Marinette's hat was taken away by Natalie for the future fashion show, Marinette still could not believe what had happened. Despite all the challenges just before the finish line she had won and gotten a compliment from the fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, it was so surreal she thought she was dreaming. That was until she felt a sharp pinch on her arm causing her to cry out.
"Just wanted you to know it wasn't a dream and you were awake," chuckled Alya. Marinette, while annoyed at the act, couldn't stay angry with her best friend and laughed along with her. They made their way out of the school yard and began walking down the street laughing until Alya managed to steer the conversation in her direction.
"You know Marinette, there is something I wanted to tell you all throughout this week but I never got the chance due to you focusing on making your hat," she said eager to share her information with Marinette.
"I'm sorry, I just got so sucked into my work, anyway what did you want to tell me?" Marinette asked curious as to what her friend wanted to share.
"You remember the Pigeon Invasion a few days ago right? Well I did a little amature investigating and I was able to get a few reports from the people who saw the climactic battle that ended the threat to Paris!" she said excitedly jumping up and down as she still held back some more information.
"What happened, how are they saying it ended?" Marinette asked feigning ignorance to the events that transpired just a few days ago.
"They said two superheroes fought the guy and won, they were a girl dressed in a ladybug print outfit and a guy dressed like a black cat, isn't that amazing!"
"Yeah that is amazing" Marinette replied, still keeping up the act.
"This is huge for Paris, I mean America has some many heroes you can lose track of them all, but here this means there could be more just around the corner waiting to pop up, It's got me so excited I've started a website called the Ladyblog to start cataloging their every move, this is just their first major battle, but eventually they will be the legends of this city, mark my words Marinette!"
Marinette smiled for her friend congratulating her on her work, though in truth she hid her true feelings deep inside. She wanted to tell Alya that she was Ladybug, she wanted to tell her that there was a supervillain called Hawkmoth threatening the city, she wanted to tell her all of these things and more, but decided against it. For Alya's sake, for her parent's sake and for the city's sake no one could know who she was, not as long as there were people who threatened this city, be it with superpowers or traditional methods of harm, Marinette would hide her identity, even from her partner Chat Noir.