Chapter 6

Marinette couldn't be happier for Adrien as she watched him and his father play Miraculous: All-Star Brawl at the Ubisoft booth. Adrien appeared to be happy, and even Gabriel seemed to be getting into it.

Before she realized it, it was time for her next panel - well the next one she wanted to see, anyway. It was time for some payback.

Alya couldn't be more excited, except maybe when she was running across the rooftops as Rena Rouge. After all, it's not every day that she got to sit next to well known news personalities as an expert. She was practically bouncing on her toes as Alec Cataldi introduced the panelists for the "Superheroes in the News" panel. Come on, come on…

"And finally, Alya Cesaire, creator of the Ladyblog." Alya exited the curtains as her name was called. She received several cheers as she took her seat.

"We all know that superheroes are a real thing," Alec Cataldi, the moderator said. "Panelists: did you ever think that you'd ever be covering superheroes in your career?"

"To be honest," Nadja Chamak said, "it's rare to find anything as … I was going to say 'unusual', but I guess that word no longer works. It's rare to find anything as newsworthy as a supervillain or a superhero in the regular news. So no, I never thought I'd ever be covering one, let alone interviewing them."

"Superheroes are all over the place in New York," Peter Parker, photojournalist for the Daily Bugle in NYC commented. "It's almost getting to the point where you can't sneeze without getting a 'bless you' from a superhero. But when I was a kid, no, I never thought I'd have anything to do with a superhero."

"I don't know about anyone else, but my blog only exists because of the Heroes of Paris," Alya chimed in. "If Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't come on the scene, and if I hadn't been there to record that first battle, the Ladyblog wouldn't exist."

"Next question, then. What inspired you to become a reporter?"

"I don't know about the others," said Peter, "but I started doing freelance photography while I was studying at NYU. I don't actually report the news, but I do get photographs of interesting events. Being a freelance photographer allowed me to do things on my own schedule. And superhero photos seem to sell the best."

"I've been at this long enough that sometimes I forget why I started in the first place," said Nadja. "But there are things the public needs to know, and I am proud to be able to do that."

"I wanted to be a reporter as soon as I knew what one was," Alya said. "I've always been curious about things. I LOVE puzzles, and I always want to know what's going on. Journalism is the next logical step."

"Thank you for those answers," Alec said. "One last question before we open up to the audience. Nadja and Alya, being in Paris you two regularly report on Ladybug and Chat Noir. If you were to report about a different hero or heroes, who would you want it to be? Same for Peter, but also tell us who you regularly photograph."

"I seem to get the best photos of Spiderman. If I wasn't photographing him, the next one I'd try to get is Iron Man."

Alya bounced up and down in her seat as she prepared her answer. "For me, it's Majestia. I've always tried to live by her famous quote, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' I just never thought I'd get to see a real superhero until Ladybug and Chat Noir came along."

"I don't really know, since superheroes weren't a thing in Paris until recently," said Nadja. "I'd probably not report on any of them. But I am very grateful they're around to put things right after Hawkmoth sends out his supervillains."

"Thank you for those answers. How about we open it up to questions from the audience?"

Marinette made sure she was in the question line as soon as she had come into the panel room. She had been waiting for this ever since Alya had embarrassed her by asking Adrien how he felt about her… and now it was time to turn the tables. She was fortunate enough to be first.

"This question is for all of you. Being a reporter requires a critical eye, right? With that in mind, what is your least favorite aspect of our first four Parisian heroes: Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace."

"Good question! I'm afraid I can't answer that as I'm just visiting your beautiful city and don't know much about your heroes. If you ask me about the New York ones, that would be a different story."

"Hmmm. I think they all have a similar flaw … they're young. Not that that's a bad thing overall, but it does mean they may not have the same type of judgment that an adult would."

"Fair point," conceded Marinette. Now for the kill. "Alya?"

"I love superheroes, so this is hard for me to answer." Alya had to really think about this. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't compromise her identity or Nino's. "I'd say that Ladybug probably has feelings for Chat Noir that she doesn't admit."

"You always say that when we bring this up at school. And I don't believe you - she always says he's her partner, not her romantic interest. Plus that sounds like a tabloid story rather than serious journalism." Gotcha! "Think about it and try again?"

At first Alya was mad at her friend, but then she thought about it. She's right. A true reporter is more critical. So she thought again. "Ladybug is a great superhero, but she has a tendency to overreact sometimes."

Fair, thought Marinette.

"Chat Noir is wonderfully personable. However, his flirting can distract him and Ladybug, which can make the Akuma harder to defeat. Carapace can be overprotective, and Rena Rouge…" Ugh, this sucks. Why this question, Mari? "Rena Rouge can be impatient, which causes her to jump to the wrong conclusion." Alya tried hard not to give away that she was talking about yourself.

"Fair assessment, young lady," said Nadja. Alya suddenly felt a lot better.

There were a few more questions from the audience, but none hit Alya as much as Marinette's. When the panel was over, Alya stalked over to her best friend.

"What kind of question was that," she demanded.

"Made you think, didn't it. Besides, you deserved a little payback after what you asked Adrien in my panel."

"Girl, you know he needs a clue."

"Yeah, but it was embarrassing!"

"You know you love me, Mari," Alya said as she punched her bestie playfully on the arm. Marinette just sighed as they walked toward Nino, who was just coming out of the "Creating Soundtracks for Movies and Television" panel.

"Geez, babe. Excited a little?"

Nino tried to control his bouncing. "Hey, dudes! I got so many ideas for film soundtracks. Not to mention ideas for my DJ gigs."

"That's great, Nino!" Marinette looked at her phone. "Nuts! I can't miss this one. See you later!" She hurriedly texted her mother as she headed to the next panel on her schedule.

I swear that girl is always on the move, thought Alya.