Happy Earth Day everyone! Be sure to take care of our beautiful planet!
Rose was walking her little sister, Lily, to her school, Antonine Meunier École, before she headed to her school. The little girl was super excited as she bounced up and down.
Lily was carrying a medium-sized net box. Inside was a miniature butterfly garden. She had all four stages of the life cycle inside. There were eggs on the leaves and caterpillars were munching on the plant life at the bottom. Two chrysalises were hanging from a stick. Three fully grown Arctic Blue butterflies sipped nectar.
"I'm so excited! We've been learning about life cycles in science class. Our art teacher thought it would be fun to tie in what we're learning to our latest art project," she chirped, her butterfly necklace swung around her neck as she walked.
"I can't wait to paint the life cycle of the Arctic Blue butterfly! I'm so glad I was raising them in my mini butterfly garden."
Rose hugged her little sister. "Is everyone in your class bringing in the actual animal they're going to paint?"
Lily shook her head. The others in her class were bringing pictures of the animals they were going to paint. Lily had asked the teacher for permission to bring in her live subjects to paint them more accurately.
"I hope my friends here enjoy being at school today. It's a lot different than our backyard."
Rose promised they were going to love it. Upon arriving at the school, she gave Lily a big hug, before heading out. She was certain her little sister would do great in art class today.
Arriving in her classroom, Lily placed her mini butterfly garden on a shelf near the back of the classroom. Her butterflies would remain there until art class which was after recess. "You'll be safe here. Now enjoy your day at school."
"What are those butterflies doing here?!" an agitated voice shouted from behind her.
Lily took a deep breath and turned around to see her classmate Derik, the class goon, pointing an accusing finger at her. "There for my art project later Derik. Remember, we're panting the life cycles of animals today?"
"You were supposed to bring in pictures, not a real animal!" He took a menacing step closer. "You need to get rid of them before they akumatize everyone."
Lily spread her arms wide to protect the net box. "Mrs. Rylander permitted me to bring them in. My butterflies are Arctic Blues, not akumas. Leave them alone."
At that moment, the teacher walked in and noticed the situation. "Lily, Derik, what is going on?"
Derik started yelling about how Lily was putting them all in danger by bringing in akumas to paint. Lily stated calmly that the teacher had given her permission to bring them in and they were regular butterflies.
Ms. Rylander looked at Derik sternly. "Derik, yelling is unacceptable behavior. I will not tolerate it. I did give Lily permission to bring them in. Butterflies are not inheritably dangerous."
Picking up the net box, the teacher placed it on a higher shelf so only an adult could get to it. The teacher told Lily to ask for help getting it down when it was time for art.
Lily nodded and headed to her seat. Derik glared at the net box muttering something to himself.
At recess, Lily was playing with her best friend Charlene. The girls were happily playing on the hopscotch court. Lily tossed her marker and it landed squarely in eight.
She skipped through the course, careful to avoid stepping on the lines. In square six, she bent down carefully so she didn't fall. Securing her marker she finished the course and landed safely at the end.
"Alright! Two more good tosses and I'll win."
"Don't be too sure of that Lily. You need to get your marker to the opposite end of the court first," Charlene reminded the girl. "That's not as easy as it looks."
Lily stuck out her tongue before concentrating. She tossed the marker and it landed on the start square one. She skipped across the court. She bent down to pick up her marker and lost her balance.
"Oww!" Lily cried. Her hands had scraped the ground. Tiny bloody cuts and bits of dirt covered her hands.
Charlene hurried over to her friend. "Are you okay?" She gasped when she saw her friend's hands. "You need to see the nurse right now! Do you want me to come with you?"
Lily shook her head. She was a big girl and could get to the nurse by herself. She instructed her best friend to inform the teacher about what happened and that she might be a little late to art class.
In the nurse's office, Lily tried not to flinch as the disinfected cream was rubbed into her tiny cuts. "That stings worse than being stung by a bee!" the little girl yelped.
"I know it hurts, but this disinfected cream will make sure no germs get into your body. I'm sure you don't want to get sick right?" the nurse asked kindly.
The little blond nodded. She loved coming to school and learning. After the nurse finished wrapping some bandages over her hands. After being reminded about having her mother look at her hands after school, the nurse told Lily to head back to her classroom.
Recess was about to end in a minute or two. She eagerly skipped to the classroom. She couldn't wait for Ms. Rylander to take her net box off the high shelf.
"I hope everyone's doing well in the net box." Lily entered the room and looked up at the high shelf expecting to see the net box. She stopped when she saw it was gone.
Heart pounding, she walked slowly towards the back of the classroom. As she got closer, she spotted a corner of her net box on the ground. She sprinted over and let out a cry of anguish.
It was so loud it scared all the kids and the teacher as they came back inside. The teacher hurried over to Lily asking what was wrong. The distraught girl could only point to the floor.
Her net box had been torn in half. The top half was a few feet away from the bottom have that was next to Lily. All the precious flowers, plants, and sticks were strewn on the ground have been stomped on.
The eggs were destroyed and the caterpillars squashed. The chrysalis had stab marks in them, killing the changing pupa. Worse, all the adult butterflies were dying after having one of their wings pulled off.
A turned over stool and a large broom lay against the wall. It indicated the person who destroyed Lily's precious butterfly garden wasn't tall enough to reach the high shelf by themselves.
Lily was crying hysterically as the teacher tried to get her to calm down. The other students looked at one another wondering what they should do. Charlene could tell her best friend was heartbroken.
That's when she noticed one person wasn't looking anxious or upset. In fact, he looked happy at the destruction at their feet. Derik was trying to hide his delight. That's when she noticed some plant material on the boy's shoes.
"Mrs. Rylander, Mrs. Rylander!" Charlene called out.
"Charlene, can it wait?" the teacher asked in a tired voice. She had managed to stop Lily's hysterical crying for now. She didn't want the little girl to start bawling again.
"It's important Mrs. Rylander! I know who destroyed Lily's mini butterfly garden!" That got everyone's attention as Charlene pointed to Derik and his shoes.
The playground was completely asphalt. The only way Derik's shoes could have gotten plant material on them is if he was the one who committed the crime.
Derik tried to deny it as Mrs. Rylander demanded the truth. Finally, he admitted he had done it. He protested he was trying to protect the class from being akumatized.
Lily just ran out of the room bawling her eyes out too upset to stay. She ran to the closest bathroom and locked herself in a stall. She couldn't believe someone would go that far against an innocent insect.
In his lair, Hawkmoth was almost salivating upon feeling the amount of anguish he could feel from the little girl. He couldn't wait to make contact with this child.
At the school, Lily was clutching her butterfly necklace tightly. "How could I let them down? I practically gave Derik the means to murder them. How can I make it up to them?"
The akuma entered the necklace and the mask appeared over her face. "Bug-Girl, I am Hawkmoth. Your classmate has killed the beautiful insects you tenderly took loving care of."
"I can give you the power to take revenge on the one who caused you this pain. The powers of the insect kingdom belong to you. In exchange, I want you to bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses."
"Consider it done, Hawkmoth!" The purple and black smoke swirled around Lily, encasing her in a chrysalis. When it burst apart Lily was no more.
Bug-Girl was wearing a purple exoskeleton designed bodysuit. Her head was enclosed by a helmet that made her look like a termite queen. On her back, she had lavender-colored butterfly wings.
Her outfit came with six limbs. Her arms had become the raptorial arms of a praying mantis. The middle arms were beetle-like, segmented with tiny claws, and her legs now resembled a grasshopper's. Attached to her buttocks, was a sharp stinger.
Her necklace was lodged in a slot on her collarbone. Strong adhesive kept it in place.
"I'll show everyone that insects are small, but we're far more deadly than we seem!" Bug-Girl shouted. Her body glowed purple as she shrank to the size of an ant.
She crawled under the bathroom door before becoming normal size again. Marching down the hallway she came to her classroom. Using her raptorial arms she ripped the door off the hinges and flung it away.
The class screamed as the Akuma entered the room. Annoyed, she glowed again and activated the power of the cicada, she made the loudest noise of any insect.
The kids and the teacher clutched their ears before falling to the floor. They started crying before Bug-Girl shouted at them to shut up. They all went quiet as they looked at the Akuma.
Charlene's eyes widened. "Lily?!"
The Akuma snapped at her with her mandibles, "My name is Bug-Girl! I'm here to protect insects from being killed needlessly! Starting with you Derik!"
Bug-girl grabbed him and then used her middle legs to cut his skin with her tiny claws. "How does it feel Derik? Being helpless as someone tries to kill you!"
"Stop! You're hurting me!" the little boy screamed.
"Now you care about pain?" she threw the boy to the ground. "Did you care about the pain you caused me? Every one of you is going to suffer for causing me heartbreak!"
Bug-Girl went after their teacher as her helmet changed until it resembled a rhino beetle. As she flipped the teacher up on her horn, Mrs. Rylander's phone fell out of her pocket to the ground.
Charlene snatched it up. She slowly inched away from the class before rolling behind the teacher's desk. She started dialing a number she had memorized in case something bad happened to Lily.
Rose was in the art room with the rest of the class. The teacher, Mr. Haberknack, was about to start telling them about their new art project when she heard her phone vibrating.
She wasn't supposed to have her phone on in class. Still, she needed to see who was calling. As she reached for it in her pocket the phone dropped to the floor with a clatter.
It must have hit the accept button because everyone heard a voice calling out. "Rose! Rose! Can you hear me? It's Charlene! Lily's been akumatized and has insect-based powers on the class! We need you to contact the heroes and aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The line went dead and everyone looked at Rose, who was going white. She stared at the phone in horror. "Oh my stars, LILY! I have to go!" She started running for the door only to be halted by the teacher.
"Ms. Lavillant, you can't go out there!"
"I have to! It's my sister, I have to help her."
"You would only be getting in the way of the heroes. You need to remain calm and…" the teacher never finished as Rose aggressively shoved the teacher out of the way and raced down the stairs.
As the rest of the class ran over to check on their teacher, Marinette and Adrien slipped out the door. If anyone asked, they would say they had gone after Rose.
"Follow Rose to the Akuma," Marinette informed her partner, "I'll go grab the Bee Miraculous. Text me your location once you arrive!"
Adrien nodded and the two split up. Ducking into an alleyway, he transformed and followed Rose. The girl had tunnel vision as she kept running, not paying attention to her surroundings at all.
Lily, what would cause Lily to be akumatized? Oh, what am I going to do? I don't have my Miraculous! The blond girl hurled herself through a crosswalk not hearing the car about to slam into her.
Chat Noir landed in front of the car and stretched his baton across the whole street. The car ran into the magical weapon and came to a stop. The hero turned his head to look at a shocked Rose.
"I know you're in a hurry, but you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times." Retracting his baton, he threw Rose on his back before leaping onto the nearest roof.
"Chat Noir! I don't have time for this! Unless you have my Miraculous I need to get to my sister's school! She's been akumatized!" Rose pleaded.
Chat grabbed her by her arms and told her to calm down or she wasn't going to be helpful to anyone. "Just tell me where your sister goes to school so Ladybug can meet us there with the Bee Miraculous."
"Antonine Meunier École. Please, we have to hurry." Chat quickly texted the coordinates before picking Rose back up and following her directions to the school.
Charlene was slumped against the whiteboard. She had been stung three times by Bug-Girl's wasp stinger. The venom inside her blood was causing her a great deal of pain.
"You've been very naughty Charlene. Calling out for reinforcements against me was a mistake."
"Please Lily, you need to stop."
Bug-Girl was about to respond when she twitched. She could feel the vibrations of two people rushing towards the classroom.
She glowed and changed into a cockroach and waited for the heroes to enter the room. When she felt the vibrations come to a stop just inside the room, she started hissing at them.
The two heroes were startled by the noise and didn't react in time as Bug-Girl transformed back to herself. Using her powerful grasshopper legs, she shoved the heroes through the glass window and followed them through.
The heroes landed on their feet and attacked. Ladybug's yoyo snapped forward and wrapped itself around Bug-Girl's midsection.
The young Akuma's beetle legs pushed and pulled the string up and over her head. Glowing, she transformed into a dragonfly and took to the air.
"Catch that bug, My Lady!" Chat Noir called out as he jumped up hoping to catch the insect and failed. Ladybug tried a different by sending out her yoyo hoping to have the Akuma fly inside so she could purify her.
No luck. A dragonfly was too quick and maneuverable to be detained. In mid-flight, she switched back to herself landing on top of Ladybug. Using her mandible she grasped Ladybug's ear and tried to rip the Miraculouse off.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Ladybug screamed as she tried thrashing around. Her ears were bleeding and the pain was intense. "GET OFF!"
Chat Noir raced over to help. Sensing his approach, Bug-Girl released a stink-bug blast. The cat hero fell to the ground choking on the smell. His enhanced senses were working against him.
Ladybug was still struggling to get Bug-Girl off when the Akuma was roughly pulled off and thrown into the air.
Honey Bee landed next to her leader and asked if she was okay. Ladybug responded she could handle the pain until the Akuma was dealt with.
Bug-Girl came flying back to the heroes on her own wings. "Honey Bee! Of course, the heroes would call on another bug to help. It doesn't matter, you can't catch me!"
Honey Bee launched herself into the sky aiming for the akumatized item. The Akuma dodged out of the way and glowed again. This time becoming a sandfly.
Honey Bee had to start slapping the air to keep the Akuma from giving her a painful bite. Like Ladybug, she tried to imprison Bug-Girl in her trompo with no success.
With her partner still down, and Honey Bee struggling, Ladybug decided it was time to call in some help. "Lucky Charm!" The magic swirled in the air and a firefly house landed in her hands.
Ladybug had a strong hunch about what it was meant for, but how to get the Akuma in was another story. She looked around and had an idea that might work. "Honey Bee! Use your power!"
Honey Bee didn't know what the plan was, but she trusted in Ladybug. "Swarm!"
The magical bees materialized from the hair comb and went after the Akuma. Bug-Girl decided to have some fun and turned into a giant hornet.
She chased after the bees happily. Catching a magic bee she was going to kill it when a top came out of nowhere. She lost control as it connected with her collarbone.
The necklace fell to the ground becoming full size. Before she could recover, someone scooped her up in the firefly house. As the tiny door shut trapping her inside.
Calling on his power, Chat destroyed the necklace. Ladybug snatched up the akuma and devitalized it quickly. As soon as she saw the akuma was normal she tossed the firefly house and Akuma into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
The damage was quickly reversed. Honey Bee caught Lily as she fell from the air, now that the firefly box was gone. The little girl hugged the heroine tightly as they came in for a landing.
"There you go, sweetie. Back on the ground safe and sound," the heroine said as she lowered the kid to the ground. "Now, what got a pretty little girl like you so upset?"
Lily sniffled as she explained the situation. The others were horrified by what was done to her. They didn't know what to say to help her until Honey Bee spoke up.
"What was done to you wasn't fair and was cruel. I know you were upset, but attacking the person who hurt you is also cruel. Your teacher was getting ready to punish this kid Derik, right?"
Lily wiped the tears from her face. "Yes, she was. I should have let her handled the situation right?"
The heroes nodded at her. Honey Bee knelt and hugged Lily one more time. "You don't have to forgive Derik for what he did. What you need to do is accept what's happen and move on. Okay?"
Lily nodded and walked back inside her school. The heroes took off to get to a place safe to detransform.
There was no time to head back to Master Fu's if they wanted to get back to school on time, so it would be up to Tikki and Flurry to keep the Bee Miraculous safe until after school.
Lily was very quiet when she got home. Her parents fussed over her making sure she was alright. Rose hugged her over and over assuring her that just because she had been akumatized didn't mean she was a bad person.
Lily thanked them for their support, but she just wanted to be left alone for now. She dragged her belongings into her room and shut the door quietly. Even after everything returned to normal, she still felt upset.
She had done her painting of the life cycle at the school. It wasn't a great picture and she was certain that her grade would be low.
Googly slipped into the room via a window. He had heard what had happened from Plagg. He decided to cheer up Lily before returning to the mansion. He floated above her head looking around for something to use his powers on.
He spotted an open coloring book on a nearby desk. He dropped down to get a closer look at the page. It was a picture of several butterflies flittering around. He pressed his little hand/paw on the picture and whispered, "Masterpiece."
His power created a beautiful piece of artwork using different mediums of art. The purpose of his power was to capture a moment and leave a meaningful impression behind.
The page in the coloring book was soon filled in with bright colors. A bit of glitter covered the butterfly wings. Satisfied with his work, Googly left the room and headed back to the mansion. He hoped that Lily liked her gift.
When Marinette returned Pollen's Miraculous she was surprised that Ning didn't return it to the box right away.
Ning explained, she wanted to question the little kwami about something. Marinette asked why. Ning told her it was none of her business and she would tell the wielder if the information became relevant.
Once Pollen was out of her Miraculous again, Ning got down to business. "I've been experiencing problems with controlling my retrocognition visions of the past. They've been taking over me."
"When I read the journals about Wayzz and Duusu, there were entries that didn't match up to the visions. I wanted to know if you knew anything about this."
Pollen cocked her head and thought about it. As far as she knew there weren't any gaps in memory. "Can you show me entries of some of my past wielders? I might be able to figure out if I'm forgetting something or not."
Plucking the journal off the table, she and the rest of the Kwamiis, save Wayzz, joined her in the bedroom. They listened to the different entries learning about past wielders.
When they got to a wielder named Gwenyn Saer during the American Revolution, Pollen told her to stop. She was trembling slightly.
"Read me one of the entries please."
Ning nodded and started to read out loud. "Today has been blisteringly hot and I'm not sure how long it will stay this way. The sound of cannon fire echoes through the trees."
"My feet are aching from all this marching after the men. They show little kindness to me. Sometimes, I dream of throwing the water pitcher in their face to stop the leering."
Ning was going to read the next entry when her eye caught something. The next entry was written in a different hand. Most of the entries under this wielder's name had different handwriting.
The back of her neck tingled as she felt the vision take over. She managed to get out the word, "help", before everything faded out of sight.
She was on the edge of a battlefield and had a pitcher in her hand. All around her cannons were firing. The air was hot and mucky. Her feet carried her through the battlefield as she dumped her pitcher of water over a cannon.
"We need more water! Hurry!" a man shouted.
She took off running, faster and faster. She jumped into the air and flew a few feet before landing in the river. Her hands reached into her pouch and she pulled out honey and shaped it into a large washtub.
She started running back, taking huge leaps before she landed near the cannons, and hurled the water over every cannon.
There was a flash of light and the world changed around her, but she was no longer on a battlefield. She was in a house helping carry clean clothes to soldiers. "Here, these clean clothes should make you feel better."
"Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Adams."
Another flash and she was outside again. She was pushing a wall up as another woman nailed the roof on. Women were shouting at one another as the construction continued."
Suddenly Ning found herself back in the present. Surprisingly, she was in the kitchen and sitting in a chair. Her hands were still clutched around the journal.
Sitting across from her was her father. On the table, all the Kwamiis were watching over Pollen, who was shivering.
Fu gently handed her a cup of tea. "You should know that you didn't act out alone this time. Pollen joined you."
That explained why the little kwami was shivering. What had they been doing?
Fu calmly explained that Ning had simply been doing everyday things. Getting a glass of water or doing a load of laundry. Pollen had followed behind and mimicked her behavior.
"What is puzzling is that when you read the entries out loud Pollen would call you two different names. The heroine's name never changed, but the personal name changed. Mary, Abigale, Elizabeth."
"That's because that heroine was actually many different women using the same name," Ning explained to everyone's confusion. She described what she had seen in her vision.
"Pollen was passed from woman to woman throughout the American Revolution. I didn't think that was allowed."
"It isn't. There should be a warning in the journal about the dangers of passing a Miraculous around, yet there isn't. I'm beginning to detect a pattern," Master Fu informed his child.
All of his daughter's visions had been about wielders who had done something wrong with a Miraculous. Instead of leaving the information in the journals, rules were implemented to prevent these situations.
If they were trying to avoid these mistakes from happening again, it would make sense to implement rules to avoid this. Still, why remove the Kwamiis memories of the events?
The knowledge of what had happened would make sure they were more cautious. There were entries written by wielders who had gone bad in the journals as warnings. What was different about these entries that the Order had gone out of their way to rewrite the past?
He was determined to figure it out. His daughter's mental stability depended on it.
Two days later, a majority of Ms. Bustier's class were acting peculiar as they entered the school. Last night during the training session, Ladybug and Chat Noir informed their team they would be conducting a performance review over the next few weeks.
Besides determining how far they had all come and what everyone needed to work on, if they passed the different parts of the review, they would take the first step as permanent wielders. That first step was ensuring the Miraculous they used would not go to someone else if a certain Miraculous was needed.
The first part of the review was a test in trust. From dawn to nightfall, each temporary wielder had to keep their kwami and Miraculous hidden from sight.
If anyone got caught, by either having their Miraculous saw or someone mentioning a strange, "toy" they had, then they would receive a zero on this part of the review
While a few temporary heroes knew about one another's identity, the majority didn't. It was important not to draw attention to themselves so the entire team wasn't outed by one another.
So Alya, Nino, and Rose, along with Juleka, were under added pressure to avoid being caught. As the first temporary heroes, they had the most at stake.
As they entered the classroom, Marinette and Adrien observed their classmates. Max discreetly handed Markov a small bottle of sauce to hide in his backpack.
Alix was securing her Miraculous in her pocket, making sure no one noticed that the back didn't have any writing on it.
Chloe was being extremely clever. She was wearing her special bracelet today. Her anklet adhered to the inside of the item in a way you couldn't see it if you weren't looking.
Kim had Xuppo inside his hoodie's pocket. The little monkey was keeping quiet for a change.
Earlier in the locker room, the Marinette had been proud that Mireille and Kagami had also been discrete with their Miraculouses. They made sure to hide them in their locker under something so they wouldn't be seen if someone was standing next to the locker.
Adrien would scope out Luka later to see how he was doing. So far the entire team was keeping their Miraculous and Kwamiis a secret.
Xuppo was getting a bit bored as the day went by. He hated sitting still and wanted to mess around. He could sense Kim felt the same way. The boy's legs were going up and down as he tried to contain himself.
Ms. Bustier, oblivious to what was going on continued with her lecture. "Alexandre Dumas story, "The Three Musketeers" was meant to show the injustices and absurdities the Old Regime placed on the people of France."
"Dumas wrote this book during a time when tensions between the republicans and the monarchists were reaching a critical point. This book added to the tensions that eventually lead to the French Revolution."
Xuppo couldn't take it anymore. He slipped out of Kim's pocket and into Max's bag.
"What are you doing here?" Barkk demanded. "You should be with your wielder."
"I needed to stretch! There isn't much room to do that in a hoodie pocket," Xuppo whined.
"I know it's hard for you to sit still. Most of your past wielders were adults or young adults who weren't in school anymore. This time, your wielder is in one and you're going to have to make due. Now go!"
Barrk shoved Xuppo out of the bag. He quickly returned to Kim's hoodie pocket, knowing he would have to tough it out. Hopefully, Ladybug or Chat Noir didn't notice his little slip-up.
Fluff was getting hungry. She had eaten all her chicory sticks and lunch was still half an hour away. What could she do to keep herself busy until then? Maybe she plays with something.
Looking around the bag, she found a broacher to the Louvre Museum. Rummaging around, she started to move the bag slightly. Alex noticed this and kicked the bag.
"How rude! I was only trying to find something to do for fun. Maybe Plagg's right and we should all nap through school."
Ms. Bustier caught up with Ms. Mendievel in the teacher's lounge during the lunch period. The science and math teacher was getting a head start in grading her students' homework from last night.
Ms. Bustier knew that her colleague didn't enjoy being interrupted during her grading session. Still, there was something she needed to get some advice from her fellow teacher.
Ms. Mendievel looked up from her papers. She had anticipated the younger teacher needing advice once more. "Can I help you with something Caline?"
Ms. Bustier stuttered for a few seconds before she managed to get her voice under control. "I was wondering if you could tell me if I'm mentally scaring my students with my improved teaching style."
The science teacher blinked. She removed her glasses and cleaned the lens before putting them back on. "Let me see if I understand you. You believe that by following the new guidelines that you are harming your students?"
"Yes!" Ms. Bustier stated as she sat down. "They've been extremely anxious and tired lately. They're not participating as much in class. There have been what I can only describe as micro-arguments that are resolved before I can step in."
She went on to explain how some of her students' grades were slipping slightly. That when she asked how everyone how they were doing or making sure they were keeping their emotions in check, everyone would say they were fine.
She didn't believe them because their body language indicated otherwise. "I know I've been tougher on them recently. Maybe I've been too tough. Should I spend a bit more time helping them relax so they're not so anxious?"
Ms. Mendievel rolled her eyes slightly. Honestly, why was Bustier so slow in understanding common sense problems?
"Our students are taking the brevet this year, Caline. It's normal for them to be extremely anxious. Let's not forgot, all your students have important responsibilities they need to fulfill on behalf of their families."
"Then you have Hawkmoth continuing to terrorize the city. No one knows when he'll attack or who will be his victim. Also, there is his partner Mayura whose power is not fully understood."
"With all this pressure on them, of course, your student is going to be anxious or having minor fights. If you want them to thrive then do your job. Teach them to be self-sufficient so they can find their way to cope with everything."
It was not the advice that Caline wanted to hear. She had hoped her colleague would be more sympathetic to her plight. It was hard sticking to her new teaching method of being a responsible teacher.
It would be so easy to slip back to her old way of doing things. She needed to act like their teacher and not their friend.
The night was starting to fall and it would soon be dinner time. It was time to collect the Miraculouses and Kwamiis. The hero duo thought it would be a good time to obtain information one on one with the wielders and the little gods.
Chat Noir decided to start with Luka to prevent the siblings from discovering they were both Miraculous wielders.
He spotted the teal haired musician on his way home from his delivery job. Making sure no one was around, Chat dropped down a few feet in front of the teenager.
Luka stopped his bike and smiled. "Hello Chat Noir, how are you doing tonight?"
"I'm well. I've come to collect Sass," he said. Luka started to give him the Miraculous when the hero signaled to hold onto it for a little while longer. "I wanted to ask you and Sass some questions if that's okay."
Luka was cool about that. Sass came out of hiding and sat on Luka's shoulder.
"Sass, were you spotted at all today?"
The snake kwami shook his head. "Luka is a very responsible young man. He kept my Miraculous out of sight by putting it in his guitar case on the neck of the instrument."
"As for myself, he made sure I was comfortable inside his jacket pocket by cushioning it with some tissue. He also made sure he had plenty of food by packing a turkey sandwich in his backpack."
Chat Noir inquired if this drew anyone's attention because it wasn't normal behavior. Luka assured him most musicians at his school carried a snack around if they got hungry after a long practice.
"Luka, how did it feel having to keep a secret from everyone you knew, especially your family?"
"It was not easy. I'm not one to keep secrets. I did understand why Sass had to be kept a secret. I don't want to put this little guy in danger," Luka admitted as he scratched Sass's chin.
"Do you think if you became a permanent wielder, you could handle this every day?"
Luka thought about it and replied he could get used to having Sass hanging around more often.
Satisfied, Chat took the Miraculous back. After giving him the date of the next training session, he went off to collect the remaining male teammates Miraculouses.
Currently, Ladybug was standing in Mireille's room as she hugged as she was preparing to say goodbye to Mullo.
"It was wonderful to spend some time with you today, Mireille! When I was hiding out in her locker during gym class, she made sure I had a hot thermos of stew to dine on."
The girl's cheeks turned red. "I just wanted to be prepared for your needs."
Ladybug cleared her throat. "What about your needs? Do you think you can juggle both Mullo and your needs at the same time?"
Mireille hesitated before responding. "I could learn too. I'm a lot more confident in myself as a heroine. I'm still a bit scared when fighting Akumas, I'll admit."
I'm just not going to let that stop me from doing my duty to the team if my help is needed."
"Good answer, Mireille. You're proving I was right to give you a Miraculous. I'll see you at the next training session." As Ladybug left the teenager's home, she thought the team was doing great right about now.