Chapter 9: Queen Banana

Alya Césaire was talking to her new friend Zoé in the cafeteria.

Zoé asked, "You know a lot about the superheroes of Paris, right?"

"You bet I do, girl! I've been blogging about Ladybug from her first day."

"I'd like to ask you something. My half-sister told me she's a superhero. Is that true?"

"It used to be. Not any more."

"What happened?" asked Zoé.

"I'll start at the beginning," said Alya. "Chloé was a huge fan of Ladybug at the start. She even had a custom-made cosplay outfit that looked so real it even fooled me for a bit. Chloé kept pissing people off and causing akumas, so she had a lot of face time with Ladybug. She took a couple of selfies with her, but Ladybug didn't look happy. "

"How did Chloé become a hero?" asked Zoé.

Alya knew more than she could tell, because originally Ladybug was going to let her use the Bee Miraculous in addition to the Fox.

"Somehow she got hold of the Bee Miraculous and became Queen Bee. She exposed her secret identity right away to impress your mother, and then tried to cause an accident in the Metro so that she could be the one to save it. Being exposed for that got her so upset that she was akumatized into Queen Wasp. She commanded a bunch of bees that could sting people and paralyze them."

"Wow! You'd think that would be the end of her being a hero."

"Ladybug was really generous and gave her a few more chances. When her father got akumatized as Malediktator, Queen Bee helped stop him. She helped on Heroes Day when there was a mass attack of akumas. And she helped when her friend Sabrina was akumatized."

"That's pretty good," Zoé said, seeming glad to hear something positive about her sister.

"She wanted to be a hero more often, and even had a Bee Signal to get Ladybug's attention. But then, a few months ago, there was a mass bee attack that stopped the whole city for about an hour. Everyone in Paris was stung and hypnotized. Everyone thinks it was Queen Wasp again, but there's no proof. Since then, Ladybug and Chat Noir have been going it alone. They haven't called on any of the other heroes. Especially not Queen Bee."

(Alya had been visited by Ladybug. She told her that, because of Chloé, Hawk Moth knew the identities of all the temporary heroes and had created a sentimonster to spy on them. Ladybug couldn't use them again. It was disappointing, but Alya understood that it was better to be safe. She didn't want Hawk Moth to threaten her family.)

"Was Chloé very unhappy about it?" Zoé asked sadly.

"She started hating Ladybug. She mocks anyone who has a good word for her."

It was summer vacation, and the art teacher, Jean-Pierre Monlataing, had put together a movie project with the director Thomas Astruc, a former student of his. The students at Françoise Dupont High School were all invited to participate. Marinette made costumes. Zoé and Mylène got the leading roles as the superhero of creation and the villain destruction, Kreatika and Destroika respectively.

Zoé and Mylène were in the art room, going over the lines for scene 9, the climax of the movie. The art teacher, the director, the mayor, and all the students were there. A reporter had just interviewed them and put it on TV.

"You may hate me, but I love you, and I always will!" Zoé read from the script, happy to have a chance to be acting.

Chloé came charging in.

"How dare you all!?" she shouted. "Giving the lead role to my half-of-a-sister who just came out of nowhere?! And with daddy's money, on top of it all."

"Uh, it's not actually funded by me, sweetheart, but by the city," André said.

"Same thing," said Chloé, and then she turned to Zoé. "You! I told you that you'd be sent back to New York if you ever crossed my path, and now, not only are you on my path but on TV, too!"

Zoé went to quiet, passive mode. She knew how to avoid making waves.

Marinette said "Don't let your sister walk all over you, Zoé. You are made for this part, you deserve it!"

"It's true, and we're meeting with the producer tomorrow, so it's too late to change anything now," Thomas Astruc said.

Jean-Pierre Monlataing said, "Might I remind you that you were offered a chance, like all the students in the school, to participate in the film, but you refused because, and I quote, 'Mylène's sweater is too ugly, Nate draws like a two-year-old, Alya is useless and Marinette is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous'."

"I said that?"

"Less politely."

"Well, I still mean all of it. But if this stupid, childish film actually gets released in theaters and turns someone into a star, that someone should be me. So, you're gonna give me the part my half-of-a-sister is playing because everything she owns is mine."

Chloé stalked out.

"Banana, Chloé?" offered Sabrina, following her.

"Don't worry, kids," said André. "I'll go talk to her. Everything will be fine tomorrow."

The next day, the group went with Astruc to the office of the producer, Bob Roth. The swivel chair was turned away from them, but it suddenly turned around.

"Surprise!" shouted Chloé.

Bob Roth came in and explained that his good friend André has persuaded him to let Chloé be the star instead. The kids argued, but the adults were willing to compromise.

"That's not in the best interests of the film! Zoé is perfect for the role of the superhero of creation," said Marinette.

"The next plane for New York leaves in 30 minutes," Chloé said.

Marinette growled.

Zoé played the peacemaker again and said, "Marinette, no big deal if I don't play the main role. There are lots of other positions open on the crew."

Chloé said, "Perfect! As long as she's not on-screen it's fine with me."

On the scene, Chloé was a diva who was impossible to please. She wanted all sorts of changes to cater to her ego. She wanted to be a new hero, Queen Banana. She wanted a Bananamobile. She wanted Adrien dangled from a cage in a helicopter so she could rescue him. Finally, she wanted a giant yellow gorilla that threw exploding bananas as a new supervillain. At that point, she got tired and went home.

Zoé and the others were completely done with Chloé's antics by this time, and they accepted Marinette's plan to shoot the movie as originally written instead. The movie was finished by the end of the day.

The next day, everyone was watching the first screening of the movie in the theater when Chloé barged in again. She watched the final scene and then started shouting over the applause.

"This is ridiculous! Who authorized shooting this without me? Where's my monkey? And what is my half-of-a-sister doing in my movie?"

Adrien brought over a tablet with a live feed of his father.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng convinced me to watch this first scene," said Gabriel Agreste. "I found it very moving and... Adrien is exceptional in it. I've therefore decided to privately finance the movie based on the original screenplay,"

"DADDY!" screamed Chloé.

André just shook his head sadly.

"Like we said before, kid: movie making's all about compromise," Bob Roth said, waving a stack of money.

"Sorry, Chloé. It was for the good of the film," Marinette said.

Chloé stormed off, saying "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

Minutes later, the top of the theater was broken in by a giant yellow gorilla that threw exploding bananas, which turned anyone they hit into a banana. Queen Banana was riding on top of its head in the Bananamobile.

"Where's my useless half-of-a-sister? Banana Boom-Boom, peel them off!" yelled Queen Banana.

Marinette pulled Zoé to safety before she was hit.

"She's mainly mad at me, so I should try and reason with her," Zoé said.

"Unfortunately, no one can reason with your sister, Zoé. Stay here, I'm gonna... try to find a way out."

Zoé looked at Marinette oddly as she bypassed the obvious exit on the ground floor and headed to the roof.

If you don't come out from your hiding place, Zoé, I'm gonna turn all of Paris into bananas, and it'll be all your fault!" said Queen Banana.

"My fault?" Zoé asked herself. Maybe she should have tried harder to reach her half-sister.

Concealed on a rooftop, Ladybug and Chat Noir made a plan.

"Careful! Shadow Moth has been very generous to Chloé," said Ladybug.

"Nothing can beat a Cat and Ladybug duo," said Chat.

"Especially if we gear up too," said Ladybug.

"Meow, we do make the perfect pair, M'Lady."

"Take the Bee," said Ladybug, pulling the Miraculous from her yo-yo portal. "That gorilla is big and easy to hit. It's a sentimonster, so don't try a Cataclysm near it."

"Plagg, Pollen, Unify!" said Chat, becoming Bee Noir.

Ladybug opened her yo-yo portal into her purse and brought out a chili pepper. "Take this to recharge Pollen after you've dealt with the ape, and join me as soon as you can."

"You got it, M'Lady. I'll give that hairy monster a buzz cut."

"And for me, Lucky Charm!"

She dodged as a red scooter with black polka-dots nearly landed on her.

"Scooter, helmets, tube of glue, cartridges, air pipe... Everything needed to fix a flat tire. That's a lot to process."

After looking around for things to use in her plan, Ladybug said, "Still, something is missing, but what?"

"Hey, Chloé!" shouted Zoé, coming out of the theater exit and onto the street. "Here I am!"

"Of course," said Ladybug. "Zoé!"

"Ready for a transatlantic voyage on the Banana Express?" Queen Banana asked Zoé.

"Only if you promise to stop doing evil in Paris," said Zoé.

"Of course, I promise I'll be really good," said Queen Banana with a sneer in her voice.

Queen Banana shot a woman nearby, reducing her to a banana. She twirled her banana-gun expertly and popped it back into the holster built into her skirt.

"You'll never keep your promise!" said Zoé.

"Of course not, banana-head! Banana Boom-Boom, grab her!" said Queen Banana.

"Venom!" Bee Noir came in low and from behind, freezing the giant ape before it could complete the grab.

"No!" Queen Banana raged. "How dare you use my super-power!?"

Ladybug scooped up Zoé on the scooter.

Queen Banana took off in her flying car from the top of the paralyzed ape's head. She chased after the two on the scooter while Chat Noir divided from Pollen and fed her the pepper.

Ladybug evaded the shots from the banana-gun. She popped a wheelie and bounced the scooter down the subway stairs. Queen Banana's car was too big to follow.

"You'll have to come out sometime, Ladybug! Venom only lasts a few minutes and then my ape goes back to making a banana smoothie out of your kitty!"

Zoé got off the scooter, feeling thankful for the rescue.

Chat Noir came up. "Hey Ladybug. I just ran here from another Metro entrance."

"Zoé, we don't have much time," said Ladybug. "I need your help to save Chloé."

"Me, help you?" Zoé asked.

"You're recruiting her? I thought we weren't doing that any more," said Chat.

"She's new, unknown to Shadow Moth. Give her the Bee Miraculous."

Chat pulled a comb out of his hair and handed it to Zoé.

"Zoé Lee, we give you the Bee Miraculous, which grants you the power to immobilize your opponent. You will use it for the greater good."

A large bug-like creature zipped out of hiding and bowed to Zoé. "At your service, my queen."

Zoe objected. "But Chloé's gonna be furious. She used to be Queen Bee!"

"Chloé will never know it's you. Unlike her, you'll keep your identity a secret. And once the job is complete, you will return the Miraculous to me."

"I can't do it, I'm not strong enough, I—"

"I know you can do this."

The little bug said, "You have only one thing to say, my queen: "Pollen, buzz on"."

"Pollen Buzz on," Zoé said.

It took only an instant, but it felt like an amazing dance as a yellow costume formed and then a black pattern appeared on top of that.

"The new Queen Bee!" said Chat.

"No, my name's Vesperia!" said Zoé with a dramatic flourish. This was going to be fun!

"We need you to get Queen Banana distracted and angry," said Ladybug. "Play up that you're her replacement."

Ladybug leaped out first, drawing Queen Banana into a chase. She was racing on foot against a flying car, and soon Queen Banana sent an explosion close enough to knock her down.

"I'm gonna smash you up and turn you into banana bread," said Queen Banana.

"Cataclysm!" shouted Chat Noir, who had come out from another subway entrance. His touch destroyed the Bananamobile.

Queen Banana leaped free of the car and landed by Ladybug. She grabbed the hero and held her at banana-gunpoint.

"Give me your Miraculous, or else I'll turn her into baby food!"

Vesperia leaped over and challenged the villain, her right hand glowing with the power of Venom.

"Queen Banana, you're not even capable of a fair fight with the new holder of the Bee Miraculous!"

"How dare you—I'm the one and only Queen Bee!"

Vesperia saw Ladybug putting glue into Queen Banana's holster. For maximum distraction, she didn't claim her real hero name.

"Oh, you were, but I am the real Queen Bee now. And you're only the queen of bananas! Ladybug chose me to defend Paris because you couldn't do it."

Queen Banana growled in fury. She pushed Ladybug away and fired at the bee hero.

With her top turned to a Venom stinger, Vesperia had no way to shield herself. Everything went black.

With a strange feeling of bugs swarming onto her and away, Vesperia returned to herself.

Chloé was on her knees on the ground, restored to normal.

"Pound it!" said Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"I hate you, Ladybug! And you, you fake version of Queen Bee," said Chloé, confronting Vesperia.

"You need to learn to control your anger, Chloé," said Ladybug gently. Pulling a Magical Charm from her yo-yo, she said, "There is a way I can help you, if you want."

Chloé slapped Ladybug's hand away without even looking at what she was holding.

"I don't want anything from you! You're non-existent to me, you're Lady-nothing-at-all!" she shouted, running off.

Chat Noir said, "We'd better recharge our kwamis before Shadow Moth akumatizes her again. Vesperia. M'Lady."

He vaulted off over the rooftops on his pole.

Ladybug picked up the charm from the ground.

"This Magical Charm can help Chloé escape Shadow Moth's influence, but I can't force her to wear it."

"I know how to do it," said Vesperia. "I didn't get to do much except taunt her and get shot. I never got to use my super-power."

"That was all we needed for the plan to work. I noticed that after shooting someone Queen Banana always twirled her gun and put it back in her holster."

Vesperia drew in a quick breath. Her part in the plan was to get shot? That was it? She felt herself shutting down, going to that passive place where she could hide her feelings.

She got out of sight into an alley with Ladybug and returned the Miraculous.

"Maybe I can do more next time?" Zoé asked.

"I'm not sure there will be a next time," said Ladybug. "We're trying to use temporary heroes as little as possible to protect them from being found out by Shadow Moth."

"I see," said Zoé. "I had better go try to help my sister."

Zoé caught up with Chloé at the theater. If she wanted to avoid another Queen Banana she had to act. Really act.

"I want to shoot my film!" Chloé yelled.

"That's enough, Chloé," said Zoé. "It doesn't matter if you try to send me back to New York, I'm done playing the supporting role for the good of our family."

"DADDY!"

"Zoé is right, Chloé." said André. "You can ask me for a new cellphone or to paint the limousine pink, but you can't ask me to hurt your sister."

"Don't call her that. She's not even half of a sister, she's nothing to me! I— I hate you!"

Zoé didn't completely feel what she was going to say next. She drew on her experience of saying her lines in the movie, trying to make it convincing to Chloé.

She put her hands on Chloé's shoulders and said, "You may hate me, but I love you, and I always will, even if the whole world hates you, sister,"

Zoé hugged Chloé. "Remember? We have the same mother! Look, she even gave me this gift."

She showed Chloé the Magical Charm in her hand.

"If it comes from Mom, then I'm the one who gets to wear it. Give it to me!" said Chloé.

"That's exactly the reaction I expected," thought Zoé. "Gotcha!"

"What's mine is yours. You and I are family," said Zoé in her tender Kreatika voice.

She put the Charm in Chloé's hand. Chloe pulled out the string loop and put it on as a necklace. Just in time, because Zoé saw the akuma butterfly bounce off the magic shield the Charm created.

"You just wait, real life is nothing like your stupid film. I'll get my revenge," said Chloé.

Adrien asked Chloé if she was okay, and she angrily told him, and all of them, to leave her alone.

Zoé walked away after her, picking up the pace to catch up with her before she reached the limo.

From behind, Zoé spoke. "We agree about one thing: Ladybug sucks."

"What?" said Chloé, turning around. "Why did you say that?"

"I was watching from hiding, and I saw that new bee hero," said Zoé. "I guess you don't remember any of it."

"I remember everything. I used to forget, but not since Miracle Queen," said Chloé.

"Ladybug used and discarded her just as a distraction," said Zoé.

"Anyone who trusts Ladybug gets what they deserve," said Chloé.

"I'm starting to hate Ladybug," said Zoé.

"Really? We do have something in common," said Chloé. "I won't talk to Mom and get her to force Daddy to send you away, after all."

"Could this be the start of a sisterly bond?" Zoé thought.