Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug, Cat Noir and Steel Butterfly.
Chapter 25: The Pharaoh vs. Archangel.
(Author's notes: There's not really much to say other than this: Steel Butterfly will be recruiting this guy to help him against The Pharaoh: Antonio Yarbrough, also known as Archangel. He's gonna look like several art and media-based depictions of Michael the Archangel and the X-Men/Horseman of Apocalypse iteration of Archangel merged together, completely clad in knight armor and with a set of techno-organic angel wings to boot.
In the meantime, enjoy chapter 25: The Pharaoh vs. Archangel.)
(Quantic Universe Earth 139, Paris, France, May the 20th, 2015, third person POV...)
In Marinette's bedroom, Marinette and Tikki are watching Alya's latest video on the Ladyblog.
Alya Cesaire, the owner of the Ladyblog, says on the streamed video, "Don't blink now, because we are all live from Paris. Yo peeps, its Alya here, bringing you the one and only Ladyblog."
Alya hears the noise of a helicopter whirring overhead.
Alya asks aloud, "Huh? What is that? Do I hear a helicopter whirring, or is it me?"
Alya looks in the shrinking distance to see an out of control helicopter and answers her own question, "Nope, it's... definitely an out of control helicopter!"
Ladybug and Steel Butterfly fly by, with Ladybug anchoring her yoyo onto the helicopter and a building while hovering in the air via her heavily-armored ladybug wings.
Steel Butterfly was using his own yoyo to help latch the helicopter onto the same building and around his waist.
Steel Butterfly is given the signal by Ladybug, and Steel Butterfly flies in the helicopter's opposite direction, slowly bringing the chopper to a safe stop on the ground.
All the while, Steel Butterfly was thoroughly hiding Ladybug's history textbook in his cape as his wings continue flapping as fast as the wings of a crow in flight.
Alya remarks, "Ladybug and Steel Butterfly in action. Hang on to your socks, everybody, because we're going for a ride."
Alya quickly approaches the two heroes as they help the passengers of the now deactivated helicopter while making sure not to drop her phone.
Alya tries calling for the two heroes' attention, "Hey! Ladybug! Steel Butterfly!"
Steel Butterfly turns to Alya and asks, "Is there something we can help you with, Ms. Cesaire?"
Alya answers, "What happened with that helicopter?"
Steel Butterfly answers, "I was just about to deploy my scanner drones to find out what the problem is." His scanner drones are deployed and after scanning the helicopter, the drones relay the information to Steel Butterfly.
Steel Butterfly remarks, "Ah. According to my scanner drones, there was some faulty power and construction regulations in the helicopter's tail rotor. That's why it was out of control."
(Quick author's note: I don't actually know about how real life helicopters can actually malfunction, so bear with me.)
In Marinette's bedroom, Marinette states, "Whew! I'm glad that Steel Butterfly saved my history book from being taken by Alya."
Tikki replies a bit cheerfully, "Yes, even I'm truly grateful that the big butterfly is on our side."
Marinette remarks, "Maybe I really am cut out for the whole Ladybug thing."
Tikki replies, "Yes, you are, Marinette. Everyone has a past that they can learn from."
Tikki types a command onto the computer and a page about ancient Egyptian pharaohs is brought up on the screen.
Tikki finishes saying, "This will show you why."
Marinette asks, "An exhibition at the Louvre? On the pharaoh Tutankhamun, aka King Tut? What does this have to do with what you said about there being a past everyone can learn from?"
Tikki answers, "Five thousand years ago, in Ancient Egypt, one of your predecessors was the Ladybug of the era. During that time, King Tutankhamun tried to use a magic ritual to bring one of his father's wives, Queen Nefertiti, back from the dead. The ritual consists of one hundred mummies and the sacrifice of a pure soul to please the Egyptian sun god Ra in order for Nefertiti to be revived."
Marinette holds up a hand for silence as she replies, "Even though Steel Butterfly already showed me how this ritual will work thanks to Hawk Moth Akumatizing Bunnyx's idiotic older brother into a replica of King Tut, never lose sight of the fact that I'm from a religious family, Tikki. Like Steel Butterfly, I don't believe in any god other than Jehovah. HE is the One True God of the Multiverse. And don't EVER mention the names of any god other than God Himself. Do I make myself clear?"
Tikki answers shakily, "Y-yes, Marinette. I was just giving you a history lesson, but I'll try my hardest."
Marinette replies back a little calmer, "Good. Now, don't worry; as long as we're on the same page on many subjects with a few exceptions, we're cool."
Tikki assumes her human form and the two Ladybugs hug each other.
Later, Marinette and Miguel are walking into the ancient Egyptian exhibit in the Louvre.
Miguel points at the papyrus and Marinette sees it.
Miguel says, "According to these ancient hieroglyphs, everything I told you about the ritual to revive Queen Nefertiti was true. Hawk Moth's powers can easily make that ritual come to life if given the right circumstances."
Miguel and Marinette's Ladybug and Butterfly Senses go off and they move out of Jalil Kubdel's way just as he comes in running.
As Jalil brushes past them without bumping into them, Miguel says quietly, "We better keep an eye on him from the shadows. If my foreknowledge is correct, Jalil will become The Pharaoh in no time."
Marinette and Miguel conceal themselves as Jalil returns with his father, Alim.
Jalil says, "I'm telling you, father, its right there in the hieroglyphics. There, as you know, the one with the scepter is Tutankhamun, the first. And there, on the opposite side is Nefertiti, one of the wives of Tutankhamun's father. There are exactly one hundred mummies beside them. She died six years before he did, and the sun god Ra took her as his goddess."
Miguel softly growled in anger while simultaneously hiding his anger from Hawk Moth.
Alim replies, "Yes, I know all of that. I'm the director of this exhibition, remember?"
Jalil replies back, "Then you also know that Tutankhamun wanted to bring his father's last wife back to life, by simply offering the sun god a new wife. This seemed to illustrate the ritual he invented to do so. Nobody has ever managed to completely decipher the hieroglyphics, but I have! It's a magic chant that needs to be recited in order to complete the ritual! I'm sure of it!"
Alim replies back as well, "Jalil, these types of frescos are almost always the illustration for a legend. They called it a legend for a reason..."
Jalil counters, "That's what everyone thinks. But I know it's real. I can prove it!"
Alim inquires skeptically, "Oh really? And exactly how are you gonna be able to prove it?"
Jalil answers giddily, "I just need to get my hands on Tutankhamun's scepter and recite the chant for the spell!"
Miguel silently counts down from three to zero with his fingers, and... Alim replies back, "Are you serious?! Don't even think about touching that scepter! I'd lose my job on the spot. It's a priceless historical object! It's not a toy!"
Jalil protests, "Come on, Dad! We have to try out the spell! What if Tutankhamun had found out how to bring people back to life?"
Alim snaps, "Listen, Jalil! That's enough! Get your head out of those papyrus scrolls and focus on the real world! This one!"
Alim leaves.
Jalil drops his papers with a saddened expression on his face.
Miguel quietly sneers, "Even though the ritual is real, Jalil is never gonna be able to learn the easy way that his actions have seriously deadly consequences."
Miguel and Marinette become Ladybug and Steel Butterfly without being seen or filmed.
Ladybug watches for any Akumas while Steel Butterfly leaves to talk to Alim Kubdel.
In Hawk Moth's lair, the window opens as the terrorist of Paris remarks, "There's nothing wrong with living out a fantasy. Especially when I can make it a reality."
He creates an Akuma and sends it off while saying, "Fly away, my evil Akuma, and transform that young man!"
The Akuma flies off to the Louvre.
Steel Butterfly makes a Tenshi appear out of his cane and sends it off to find Antonio Yarbrough.
The Tenshi reaches Antonio and merges with his pocket watch.
Steel Butterfly says telepathically, "Archangel, I am Steel Butterfly. I'm granting you the power to show the new supervillain of the day that God Himself is the One True God of the Earth whose existence has been proven to be real on a number of occasions. Do you accept my offer, Archangel?"
Antonio/Archangel answers, "In the name of the Lord, the new Akumatized villain will feel the mighty wrath of the greatest angel to ever be made!"
Antonio is transformed into Archangel, a hybrid fusion of Warren Worthington III as Archangel and various different forms of Michael the Archangel in various art and media-based depictions merged together. Archangel was completely clad in a full suit of armor with techno-organic angel wings on his back.
Archangel flies to the Louvre.
Outside the Louvre, the Akuma flies into Jalil's amulet.
Hawk Moth telepathically says, "Pharaoh, I am Hawk Moth. I have endowed you with the magical power of the ancient gods. You must do me a favor in exchange for this gift."
Jalil/Pharaoh replies, "My precious Nefertiti will come back to life!"
Jalil becomes The Pharaoh.
Inside the Louvre, Steel Butterfly has finished explaining everything to Alim about Jalil's Akumatization.
But when Alim started pondering aloud how to punish Jalil for his actions, Steel Butterfly was quick to physically and violently remind the museum worker that Jalil's actions as The Pharaoh are of Hawk Moth's exploitation of Jalil's sadness and anger through the usage of ancient magic that was transformed into dark magic, and once Jalil is freed from Hawk Moth's control, he immediately forgets everything that ever happened. Literally.
Steel Butterfly was also quick to remind Alim that even though he sympathizes with the potential for him losing his job, he must never lose sight of the fact that people in Paris who don't get what they want as long as Hawk Moth is active will continuously get Akumatized and Jalil will most likely not hesitate to kill his own father while still Akumatized if Alim tries to get in the way.
But once that bridge was crossed, Steel Butterfly rendezvoused with Ladybug and Archangel just as a museum employee sees The Pharaoh walking in, blows his whistle and shouts, "Hey, you!"
The Pharaoh calls out, "Thoth, give me time!"
The Pharaoh's face changes to a dog ape face and he traps the employee and several civilians in time bubbles, causing them to move and talk in slow motion inside the bubbles.
The hidden heroes avoid the time bubbles.
The Pharaoh calls out, "Get out of here, faster!"
The bubbles fly out of the room.
Alya unexpectedly shows up in hiding and whispers while live streaming, "OMG. This is coming to you live, Ladyblog viewers. I'm at the scene even before Steel Butterfly, Ladybug or Cat Noir! This is insane!"
The Pharaoh's face changes back to King Tut's funerary face.
In Adrien's bedroom, Adrien and Plagg are watching the live stream.
Adrien is shocked at what he's seeing.
Plagg remarks, "I can't believe this! Steel Butterfly was right; Jalil Kubdel really is, and I quote, 'a f****** idiotic fantasy and magic lover with no regard for the consequences of his actions, even when he's not Akumatized.' We gotta help SB and LB."
Adrien nods and says, "Plagg, Claws Out!"
Meanwhile, back at the Louvre, The Pharaoh steals the scepter and the papyrus.
Ladybug, Steel Butterfly and Archangel all slide under a security gate just as it closes.
Ladybug remarks, "You do realize that's considered stealing, right?"
The Pharaoh counters, "Actually, I'm taking back what rightfully belongs to me."
Steel Butterfly counters back, "Maybe if you were the REAL King Tutankhamun, which you're not!"
Steel Butterfly and Archangel draw their swords.
The Pharaoh notices Archangel and asks, "And who is this supposed to be?"
Steel Butterfly makes the introduction, "Give it up for Archangel, the servant of THE ONE TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE!"
The Pharaoh retorts unwisely, "I don't believe in your God!"
Steel Butterfly sonic roars like an angered dragon, making The Pharaoh stumble to his knees in pain.
Steel Butterfly ferociously beats up The Pharaoh within an inch of his Akumatized life.
Steel Butterfly snarls in his demonic voice, "Don't make me kill you."
Archangel nods to add his two cents.
Alya was stunned silent by what she had seen.
However, much to the surprise of pretty much everyone, The Pharaoh managed to completely recover from his grievous injuries that could cause him to die.
Then, Alya whispers, "So, as we can see, as long as The Pharaoh remains Akumatized, he practices atheism and that turns out to be the one thing that Steel Butterfly refuses to tolerate and won't hesitate to answer to it with ultra violence and murderous retribution. And apparently, The Pharaoh can heal from even fatal wounds. But still, look at Steel Butterfly, Ladybug and Archangel go! If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up!"
Steel Butterfly notices her and flashes his Wolverine claws at her, telling her to go away.
But Alya didn't pay attention, stupidly focusing her attention on the fight.
Steel Butterfly swung his sword and claws at The Pharaoh's face, and he manages to scrape the armor of The Pharaoh's face.
Angered, The Pharaoh grabs Steel Butterfly and swings him into the farthest wall really hard.
Steel Butterfly's momentum caused him to destroy the wall, but not enough to bring the museum crumbling down.
Ladybug swings her yoyo at the Pharaoh, but he catches the yoyo and swings her around before swinging her into another wall.
Archangel flies forward and stabs the Pharaoh in the chest, causing him to scream in pure agony.
Then, the Pharaoh drops lifelessly to the floor.
Steel Butterfly woozily gets out of the hole and approaches the lifeless Akumatized Jalil Kubdel.
Alya asks shakily, "I-is he dead?"
Steel Butterfly nudges the Pharaoh's hip with his cane.
Sensing danger, Steel Butterfly quickly snatched the amulet and crushed it in his hands before the Pharaoh could get back up.
Ladybug does her usual spiel and uses the Miraculous Ladybug cure, and The Pharaoh is turned back into Jalil Kubdel.
Jalil asks, "What happened?"
Ladybug, Archangel and Steel Butterfly look down on Jalil with clear scowls on their respective faces and faceplate.
An explanation later, let's just say Jalil is gonna be looking for a new job pretty soon, and Hawk Moth decided not to bother with Akumatizing Jalil again.
Hawk Moth in his lair snarls, "You and your allies may have escaped this time, Steel Butterfly, but I assure you, some day, wherever you are, I will have your Miraculous and Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses! And by the time I'm through with you and all of your allies, you'll all be nothing! Nothing at all!"
The window to Hawk Moth's lair closes.
In Marinette's bedroom, Miguel is explaining to Marinette the legacy of Ladybug Miraculous holders spanning five thousand years.
Miguel says, "The Egyptian Ladybug is from Ancient Egypt five thousand years ago. And the reason why Tikki was able to live for millennia is because she was the first concept introduced to the universe during the Big Bang: the concept of creation. Tikki says that she's the oldest kwami, but that's not technically true."
Marinette and Tikki ask in unison, "What?!" "What?!"
Miguel explains, "You see, because of the nature of the power of the Rabbit Miraculous and because of how Fluff's owners before Bunnyx were previous Time Guardians who guarded their timelines for thousands of years, and couple that with Fluff living thousands of years in the past, the present day and the future, Fluff is technically the oldest kwami in existence. Ask Fluff yourselves if you don't believe me."
Marinette and Tikki look at each other before Tikki replies, "We believe you."
Marinette asks, "But wait. Tikki, if you have existed for thousands to billions of years before Fluff's holders became Time Guardians, then you must have known much cooler Ladybugs than me, right?"
Tikki answers, "Every Ladybug is different."
Marinette replies back, "That's what I thought."
Tikki interjects, "Marinette, you are different. But different as in surprising, unpredictable, endearing, strong, compassionate, loyal to a fault, tempered with patience and humility, and very talented. You learn fast."
Marinette asks, "Really?"
Tikki answers, "Yes."
Marinette kisses Tikki on her forehead, and Tikki kisses her holder on her cheek in response.
Miguel states, "Well, I gotta go. But don't forget, tomorrow is May the twenty-first, the day when that b**** Lila Rossi-slash-Volpina-slash-Chameleon-slash-Future Hawk Moth shows up at Francoise Dupont for the first time."
Marinette and Tikki look at each other before they ask in unison, "How are we gonna prepare for her first day?" "How are we gonna prepare for her first day?"
Miguel answers, "By informing Alya all about Lila's lies before Lila shows up while informing Alya about Lila's crimes and her future as the second Hawk Moth."
Marinette and Tikki look apprehensive, but they knew from the start that Miguel knows what he's doing and they knew that he cares about Marinette, Tikki, Adrien, Plagg, Alix, Fluff, Markie, Tania, Jeffery, Angela, Ryoka, Feliss, Swiine, Tabbii, Lappis, and Grimm like if they were all parts of his family.
Miguel becomes Steel Butterfly, but in his transformation sequence, there was no light or sound effect; he just transformed the same way that The Flash and The Reverse-Flash suit up: with the Butterfly Miraculous making his armor appear and Miguel ran into it as it unfolded and summoned the metals of the armor.
Now fully armored, Steel Butterfly teleports out of Marinette's bedroom, leaving the Ladybug Miraculous holder and her kwami alone.
Tikki states, "Well, you better get to sleep, Marinette. Remember, you have that history test tomorrow!"
Marinette replies as she takes out her pigtails, "Oh yeah, I remember! Good thing it's about Ancient Egypt."
Marinette and Tikki immediately went to sleep.
The End.
(Omake: Early in the morning, in Alya Cesaire's residence, Steel Butterfly warns the Ladyblogger about Lila Rossi's true colors.)
Alya wasn't sure what she was expecting when Steel Butterfly showed up outside her window with a signal to be quiet so as to not wake up her sisters and her parents.
Alya whispers, "SB, what scoop do you have for me today?"
Steel Butterfly answers, "The scoop is a new student at your school by the name of Lila Rossi. She's a liar."
Alya whisper-yells, "What?! What is there to know about this Lila Rossi?"
Steel Butterfly answers, "What's there to know about Lila? Let me start from the beginning based on what I already know. She's always seeking attention because her mother is not home much because of her job as an Italian ambassador at the embassy consuming hours of quality time with Lila, and because Lila's mother is divorced from her husband because of circumstances that were never revealed to even me when I was learning everything I can about the original timeline. But I think that Ms. Rossi divorced her husband for possibly teaching Lila about lying while purposefully not telling her about the consequences and dangers of lying. As for Lila Rossi herself, she's highly deceptive and crafty, being able to manipulate people exceedingly well with her lies simply by utilizing her peers' hobbies, crushes, future jobs, favorite celebrities and so on. Her lies are so outlandish and yet a lot of people, including your classmates in the original timeline, are so dumb that they are willing to accept Lila's empty promises just for a shortcut to their careers, and that always results in disappointments and failures upon finding out too late Lila's promises were lies, all just for hours of attention. Lila's lies are so absurd that your classmates in the original timeline simply forgot that they can just use Google to search for anything related to her lies, all because your classmates had no common sense and no working brain cells in the original timeline. Some people like my own friends in the superhero community even remarked that they've never seen someone as skilled at lying as her. Except for maybe paling in comparison to the Devil himself, Mephistopheles, as he is the Father of Lies. Anyway, this Lila Rossi is overly fond of attention and has no qualms or restrictions with how she chooses to acquire it, leading to her making up various false tales about herself towards her peers in order to gather as much attention as possible. Possibly a sociopath, this girl views no harm in her actions and unfortunately, she possesses absolutely no remorse for her actions whatsoever. Yet, she does become incredibly distraught if her lies are exposed and her empire burns to the ground. Furthermore, she also envies the attention others receive, as she'll quickly become incredibly jealous if Adrien Agreste were to suddenly reveal that he's in love with Marinette and is currently dating her in one possible situation in the near-future. And this basket case will most definitely not hesitate to go out of her way to make Adrien feel the same way about her, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many times people try to get in her way for the greater good of such a healthy relationship, and no matter how many times Adrien turns her down just because of how he was raised. Also, this big liar does not – I repeat – does not ever forgive people she thinks have wronged her by exposing her deceitful nature when in reality, they're doing the right thing to prevent their friends from ruining their futures with lies before it's too late, hence why she's delusional. Whether any of us manages to expose her lies gently or harshly, she'll never forgive us, even if we didn't ask for her forgiveness in the first place. She especially doesn't like being lectured by superheroes, classmates, employers or even her own mother about the values of honesty and the consequences for lying on a daily basis, hence her arrogant and delusional views on the human race of the world. Moreover, if anyone attempts to expose her, she won't hesitate to make them miserable or break them down as discreetly as possible just to get them out of her way. This especially goes for doing whatever is necessary to get her targets Akumatized as soon as she undergoes Akumatization for the first time, only to end up succeeding or failing. Whichever one comes first. Furthermore, whenever someone tries to expose her in public, she uses crocodile tears – fake tears that are not from real sadness to make people more sympathetic towards her – to make the exposer look like a bully. Furthermore, after being ousted by either Cat Noir, Ladybug, or me, Lila's hatred of either of us in general just so happens to be rather petty and undying. Meaning, after being ousted as a liar to Adrien Agreste during the girl's first day of school and after being Akumatized for the first time, Lila easily gets enraged at the attention that Ladybug will ever receive. And Lila is willing to grab up any given opportunity to get back at Ladybug for SUPPOSEDLY ruining her chances with Adrien on her first day at school here in Paris despite somewhat knowing the real reason for how and why that happened. Thus, as the Akumatized fox-themed supervillain known as Volpina, Lila will take great joy in beating up Ladybug and tormenting her, gleeful in nearly succeeding at taking her Miraculous twice in the future by exploiting Ladybug's emotions. Through her usage of her powers of illusion as Volpina, Lila can be incredibly precarious in her attempts to overcome us all, almost never confronting us directly and always using her illusions to fool and trick us into being where she needs us to be, waiting for the right time to strike fatally. Although, her arrogance in doing so seems to be on an equal matching level with her cunning intellect. As shown in a future battle I had to observe in order to learn more, Lila takes pleasure in doing whatever she can to ruin Ladybug's reputation – and my own if optional – by simply using illusions, even after being deakumatized, thus showing that she possesses absolutely no remorse for even those actions. Unfortunately, this also makes Lila the first of Hawk Moth's victims to genuinely enjoy her actions as an Akumatized supervillain. And, by extension, this makes Lila the first of Hawk Moth's initial victims to willingly work for him, even while not Akumatized, just to settle a petty grudge. Overall, Lila is vindictive, spiteful, arrogant, delusional, prideful, greedy and spoiled. She doesn't care one bit about human beings. She doesn't care one bit about even her own mother despite knowing that without both of her parents, Lila wouldn't exist. Additionally, she doesn't give a flipping crap about the people she tries to befriend using her silver tongue. Lila just views them as pawns and slaves for her future goals. She doesn't even have an ounce of tolerance about her grandparents' religious beliefs, even in terms of following the 'thou shalt not bear false witness' rule from the Ten Commandments, or commonly known as you shall not tell lies. In addition to that, Lila doesn't care one bit about her grandparents, nor does she have one ounce of love for them. She doesn't give a f****** crap about the consequences of her actions. She thinks that nothing matters as long as she gets what she wants, even if it means aiding and abetting a magic-abusing terrorist in order to settle a petty grudge against any person calling her out on her lies in public, especially superheroes. And she is completely detached from telling any sort of truth whatsoever. But that's not all; I collected evidence of Lila's future counterpart doing the one thing I initially thought she didn't have the guts or the audacity to do:" Steel Butterfly shows Alya footage of Lila as Hawk Moth in the future as he finishes, "Literally becoming the second villain to take on the identity of Hawk Moth in the future."
Steel Butterfly purposefully made sure to tell Alya about all the times she didn't listen to Marinette and didn't check her sources like an actual reporter when it came to Lila's stories, thus making Alya more and more likely to suffer the consequences of her actions if the trend continues to the end of high school with Lila's actions continuing to go unexposed and unpunished. And the same would also go for any of Alya's classmates that refuse to double check Lila's claims and the staff of the school as well. Principal Damocles and Ms. Bustier included.
So, with this new information, Alya went to work on the school blog to inform everyone at the school about Lila Rossi's crimes in the present and in the future while purposefully omitting Lila's fate as the second Hawk Moth in the future.
Steel Butterfly didn't even need to tell Alya that people at the school blurting out Lila's fate while she's within earshot would result in Lila attempting to make that future of hers happen much, much earlier.
And nobody wants that to happen, not even Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Once Alya was done, Steel Butterfly left the Cesaire residence to prepare for Lila's debut and to prepare for the fight to come.
(Author's notes: In the next chapter, Steel Butterfly will be fighting Volpina with a demon-like fury unlike anything that the people of Paris has seen before. And in case Volpina turns out to be extremely persistent as an Akumatized villain, Steel Butterfly will easily turn to using his demonic powers to get one up on Lila's first Akumatized form.
See you all in chapter 26: Steel Butterfly vs. Volpina.)
