The Adventures of Captain Cowgirl
Part Eight of The Miraculous World of Caline Bustier
Spring Break.
For parents, these words brought a wave of dread. They meant their children would be home and would require supervision, feeding, attention. While some use this time for travel or play, for others, it is a dark and lawless time.
For Caline Bustier, it was heaven.
Now, she loved her kiddos. She really did! This year especially, she had been through Hell and back for them and she felt she had come out stronger for it. Still, a break was always welcome, and knowing that for one blessed week she wouldn't have to corral her students due to an akuma attack or grade a quiz… Hot damn.
It also meant she didn't have to deal with what was happening in front of her for at least a week.
"Why are you making a big deal out of this?" Nino said, agitated. He was collecting his books to leave, but Alya was rooted to her seat, arms crossed in front of her.
"Because it's stupid! There are plenty of technical institutes right here in France that you could study at."
"Yeah, but they're not DBs," Nino shot back. "This is a huge opportunity, and it'll open a lot of doors for me. I thought you'd be happy."
"I am happy" Alya said, frustrated, "but I'm also confused. You never mentioned Germany was an option for college, and I already have an in right here at Bordeaux Aquitaine. You knew that!"
Nino hoisted his bag over his shoulder and frowned at Alya. "Of course, I knew that. You tell me every other day about how the professors here are impressed with your blog and have offered you a scholarship. Well, they don't exactly have a good music production or engineering program, do they?"
"But other colleges right here, do!" Alya half shouted. "God! This is so typical of you to just go off on some half-cocked idea and not consider the consequences!"
Nino turned and looked Alya dead in the eye. "And it's so typical of you to just charge ahead with what you want and not consider anyone else. Bordeaux is not 'right here', it's on the other side of France! Hey, here's a counterpoint- why don't you study journalism in Germany?"
Alya sputtered. "That's… You… I already had this lined up! You're the one who's trying to screw everything by taking off!"
"And you're the one trying to derail me from doing what's best for me!"
"You don't know what's best for you!"
Both locked up, angry and shaking. Caline wasn't sure if they registered that the rest of the class, herself included, was frozen in place, listening to them. Alya seemed to suddenly register that they were putting on a show. She looked around and turned a new shade of scarlet.
"I'm out," Nino said, frustrated. "Enjoy Bordeaux."
Alya sputtered as Nino grabbed his bag and marched out of the classroom. She floundered for a second and then scooped up her things, muttering, "Dammit, dammit, dammit, you stupid, stupid… Dammit…"
Alya stormed off.
"…Class dismissed. Enjoy break!" Caline said to the eerily silent room.
"So, watcha gonna do now that yer on break?" her kwami, Ziggy asked as Caline happily dropped her bag on her countertop. She had just gotten home and felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had been convinced that someone was going to ruin her afternoon and had been silently taking bets on which student it would be. Again, probably not fair, but this is just how things rolled for Caline and she damn well knew it.
Caline smiled and popped open the fridge to find some tetrazzini leftovers in a Styrofoam container. "I honestly have no idea, Ziggy. Maybe I'll sleep in a whole bunch, or go on vacation? I don't know. Break is something I always look forward to, but I never really know what to do with myself other than relax."
"Well," Ziggy said as he floated around the apartment. "We could go on a round up. Maybe clear yer head, get ya focused on the comin' week."
Caline thought about that as she popped her food into the microwave. "A patrol? That feels more like a Ladybug thing, doesn't it? I mean, don't get me wrong; I like helping people. I just don't want to get in the way of the others. Besides, they don't need me cramping their style."
Ziggy thought on that. "Well, maybe. Still, I reckon miss Chloé would'a been one cooked goose if it hadn't been fer you. What's ta say somethin' aint gonna happen over break? What if that there Hawkmouth tries somethin' dirty and hurts onea yer kids?"
Caline frowned as she took her food from the microwave, grabbed a can of diet soda, and plopped down in her chair. "First off, it's Hawkmoth, not Hawkmouth. Secondly… Dammit, Ziggy. That's playing dirty and you know it. Fine. One patrol, but then I am doing Caline things, got it?"
"Ya mean watchin' one of yer kissy shows on the magic glowin' box?"
Caline blushed and burrowed into her chair a bit. "Shut up. I like my romances."
Ziggy grinned. Caline did not appreciate that ever since she had decided to grudgingly accept Marinette's offer, her kwami had rotated between acting dumb as a post and being manipulatively smart. The tiny goat was reminding Caline why she disliked the thought of a roomie.
"We'll go out in a bit. I want to eat my dinner, first. You want anything, or are you already inside the fridge, destroying my meager paycheck?" She glanced behind her to see that she was alone. "Dammit, Ziggy," she muttered as she shoveled noodles into her mouth.
The evening air felt amazing as Caline leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She decided that if she was going to patrol, she was going to do it right and end the night at the Eiffel Tower. The sun would be fully set by then, and the view would be breathtaking. While Caline didn't like to act like a tourist, she did adore the skyline when it was lit.
As she leapt from building to building, she kept an eye out for company. She knew from reading the Ladyblog that Marinette was sending out heroes more and more, most likely in an attempt to mitigate the growing number of Akuma attacks. While Paris was huge, it wasn't unreasonable to think that she might bump into someone else with a similar idea. It might be nice to get to know her fellow heroes.
"Cow-lady! Hey! Hey, cow-lady!"
Goddammit.
Caline came to rest near a stone chimney and turned to see who was trying to flag her down. To her surprise, it was one she hadn't met in person yet, Rena Rouge. The fox-themed hero leapt from across the street and landed gracefully near Caline. She stood and casually dusted herself off before giving the older woman a toothy smile. "Hey! Nice to finally meet you. I've heard stories, but Ladybug mentioned that you weren't one to be out much."
Caline nodded. "It was a nice night and I thought I'd go for a run," Caline said. She was amazed that neither of them were out of breath. Another incredible side-effect of being a super-being. "And I'm not a cow, I'm a goat."
Alya smirked. "Sorry about that. It's just…" She gestured to Caline's outfit; a skintight white suit with black splotches along with a white jacket, also adorned with splotches. "The color scheme was, um…"
Caline pointed to the horns on her head. "Goat. I am a goat. My hero name is Capricorn, although this is the first time I've officially said it out loud and now I feel very self-conscious." Caline blushed and crossed her arms. "Anyway, what can I do for you, Ms. Rouge?"
"Well," Alya said as she slid her flute out and pushed it up to reveal a screen. Caline's eyes went wide.
"Wait. Your weapon has a smart phone in it?"
Alya blinked in surprise. "Um, yes? All of ours do. What's yours?"
Now, a word on this. Even if they don't realize it, a miraculous holder has some say in the weapon they are adorned with. While for some there might be some repeat due to the preference of the kwami, for others, the weapon materializes based on the individual user. Where one person might receive a yoyo, another might get a bolo, and so on.
In other words, what Caline was blessed with was one-part fate, one-part her subconscious, and one-part the fault of an asshole kwami.
Caline reached behind her and took out a small hook, which extended in her grasp into a shepherd's staff. Alya stared. "Cool," she said through a smile that was forcing itself across her face. "Kinda like what an old-timey cow herder would use?"
Caline grumbled. "Goat herder. I herd kids," she said with only a lot of irony. She examined the staff and found a small groove. Upon flipping it up, the staff slid to reveal a small screen. "Huh, that's cool," she said. "Apparently, I have 34 group chat messages?"
Alya blushed at that. "Sorry. On off nights, we get bored and coordinate patrols. And games."
"Games?"
Alya nodded. "Capture the flag, jumping contests, races, that sort of thing. Last week, Viperion broke out the water balloons." Alya blushed a bit. "I know that probably sounds a bit childish, but we need something to take the edge off, you know?"
Caline shrugged. "I don't judge, fox-girl."
Alya sent a quick message. "Here. This way you don't have to find it. There's a charity event tomorrow for victims of that fire on the east side. We, as in all the heroes of Paris, were asked if we were free to show up, shake some hands, pose for some pictures, you know. Charity stuff. Would you be interested in joining?"
Caline read through the details and closed her staff. She retraced it and attached it to her back. "I don't know. I'm not one for publicity, and I don't want to send the wrong message."
"What wrong message, lady?" Alya said. "You're a hero, aren't you? In fact, I was curious. Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"I guess not?" Caline said.
"Well," Alya began. "It's just… Your jacket, your age…"
"My age?" Calaine raised an eyebrow.
Alya backpedaled. "I just meant, you're obviously an adult! That, with and everything else… Okay, more the jacket than anything else… Are you Mamabug? I'm just curious. Some of us have a bet going."
Caline blushed and sputtered. "I don't know if I'm allowed to say one way or the other. That's, um, that's a little private, if you don't mind me saying so."
Alya put her hands up. "Okay, okay. That's fair. I just had to ask. Personally? I think you are, but that's just my opinion."
"Who else thinks so?" Caline asked.
Alya counted on her fingers. "Let's see. Ladybug won't say, Chat Noir, Carapace, and Pegasus say no, Ryuuko, Viperion, and me say yes. Queen Bee said it was none of our business. Actually, she said a few other words, too. She's, um, protective of you."
Caline smiled at that. Leave it to Chloé to cover for her.
"Well, I guess you'll have to ask Mamabug, assuming she ever shows up again," Caline said with a wink.
Alya grinned. "I'm taking that as confirmation. So, would you think about it? The charity thing?"
Caline frowned. "…I'll think about it. Fair?"
Alya nodded. "Fair. Sooo… You, um, up for patrolling together? I was gonna hook up, erm, um, meet up with Carapace later for a run, but he's busy being a GIANT ASSHOLE." Alya yelled that last part out to the rooftops.
"Are you okay?" Caline asked. She could see what looked like frustration playing across the young fox's face, and while she wasn't 100% sure who she was, Caline felt like this person in front of her was someone she knew.
"Oh yeah," Alya said as she flipped her hair. "I'm great. It's someone else that has the problem."
Caline thought about that for a moment. "Let me guess," she said, her hand on her chin. "You got into it with a special someone?"
Alya blushed and looked away. "I don't know that this is any of your business."
Caline gestured to the city around them. "You just yelled it to all of Paris. I'm pretty sure that makes it my business, too."
Alya thought about it for a moment. "Tell you what, new-lady. You wanna talk? Fine, but you're gonna have to earn it. Think you can take me in a race?"
Caline was about to say no. She was a teacher, and she knew from the exposure she had already had to miraculous users that there was a good chance that this young woman was one of her students. In fact, based on who Ladybug was, how close these two were, the questioning… Caline had a pretty solid hunch as to Rena's identity. It felt weird to associate with students after school like this.
Then again, she wasn't Caline Bustier right now. She was Capricorn. And she was a little antsy.
"Race you to the zoo?" Caline asked. "If I win, you vent. If you win, I'll leave you be. Deal?"
Alya narrowed her eyes and adopted a predatory smile. "You're on, Capricorn."
"Yeah, still sounds weird," Caline said as they both took off at top speed.
They were an absolute blur across the rooftops. Both of them were wearers of miraculous based on animals known for either speed or agility, and that fact shone in both of them as they dashed from roof to roof, bounding through the night like two streaks across the skyline.
Caline felt more energized than she had in years. The more she used her powers, the more alive she felt. It was like she was mainlining Red Bull. She glanced over and saw that Rena was keeping up, darting from point to point almost faster than Caline's eyes could follow.
They ended their race with a massive leap over the road, the zoo fence, and several cages. Caline's heart nearly stopped at the distance they travelled before touching down, but both of them landed in a rolling crouch and came to rest at practically the same time. Both were smiling and panting heavily.
"That… That was awesome," Alya said.
"Yeah," Caline agreed. "I've never done anything like that before." She stood and wiped some sweat from her brow. She offered Alya her hand. "I have no idea who won, but I enjoyed that a lot. Good race, Rena Rouge."
Alya took her hand and shook it. "Good race, Capricorn."
They both tensed as they heard something land behind them. They spun and assumed a defensive stance to find an exhausted Chat Noir leaning on his staff. He was gasping and held up his hand in the universal sign for 'give me a minute.'
"I… Have been following you… For fifteen… Blocks." Chat gasped. He looked up at Caline and waved. "Hi, new person," he said.
Caline waved back. "Hi."
Alya put her hand on her hip and said, "Aww, poor kitty. Do you need a cat nap after trying to keep up with the ladies?"
Chat let out a laugh and shook his head. "I'm built for agility, not speed. That was… Wow." He continued to try to catch his breath. "I saw you two and wanted to introduce myself to the new girl. Um, I mean… Woman." He took Caline in for the first time. "New woman. You are a woman. I mean, of course you're a woman. Team member. Yes. Hi. Hello," he said after running his hand through his hair. "I'm Chat Noir."
Alya covered her eyes with her hand and muttered, "Oh, my God."
Caline smirked. She walked up to Chat, who was blushing and stepping back a bit. She reached out and ruffled his hair. "Hey kiddo," she said. "I get it, the jacket is distracting."
Chat's eyes went wide. "No way," he whispered.
Caline nodded. "Way." She leaned in so only he could hear and whispered, "Nice to see you again, Adrien."
Chat stumbled and shot Caline a pale, shocked look. "Um, ni-ni-nice to see you, too."
Okay, that was 100% just to mess with him. While she had a soft spot for Adrien and felt very protective of him due to his father, she also couldn't resist ribbing him a little. Kid needed to loosen up, after all.
Alya looked to Caline and then to Adrien. "Um, Chat? Not to me rude or anything, but I believe goat-girl and I were about to have a private conversation. Um, would you mind?"
Chat put up his hands and grinned. "Say no more. I'm meeting Carapace on top of the Palais Garnier. We were going to hit the northeast side. You wanna…Meet…Us…"
Chat let the thought trail off as Rena glared at him. "Oh no," she said in a slightly too-loud voice. "You two boys have fun. I'm sure he wouldn't consider changing his mind. He would never bother to consider others, I mean, why would he?"
Chat rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous laugh. "I really don't know what's going on with you two, but now I am very uncomfortable and I will be leaving tell Ladybug hi for me if you see her bye!"
Chat nearly tripped over his own cane as he tried to vault away.
Alya scowled at her teammate and ignored the fact that she wasn't ignoring checking him out as soon as his back was turned.
Truth. The guy was nothing but toned, and Alya wasn't dead.
"So," Caline said as soon as he was gone. "You want to talk about things? I mean, I know I'm new, but maybe that's a good thing? It might feel good to let something out, and since I don't really know all of you yet, I can't really judge."
Alya thought about it. "I don't know if I agree with your logic, still, Ladybug trusted you, and if you're good enough for the boss, you're good enough for me." Alya started to wander through the zoo, and Caline followed. She watched as Alya drifted towards the petting zoo section and drifted up to a black horse that was standing out, also seemingly enjoying the night. The animal seemed to know her and gave her a nuzzle over the bars.
"Hey, Bruno," Alya said as she rubbed his head. "You out getting some air tonight? Me too."
"He seems to like you," Caline noted.
"You grow up around animals and after a while, you get to know how they feel," Alya said offhandedly. "Old Bruno here likes to be out at night. It's cooler out, and he overheats easily."
Caline checked off another identity in her head. She was now 99% sure she knew who Rena Rouge was.
"So," Caline said, "Sounds like you and Carapace are on the outs."
Alya stiffened. She kept stroking the front of Bruno's nose and said, "You, uh, you ever been in love, goat-girl?"
Caline smirked. "Yes, once or twice. Never quite took, though."
Alya sighed. "Yeah, well… Carapace is my first."
Caline nodded. "You used the present tense, so that's good."
"Well, that night be a bit premature," Alya said. "He and I… We click, you know? He gets me, and he's patient with me. I… I can be a bit much at times, and I know it, but he's always been there. Every decision I've made since we got together, he's always been behind me, 100%, and now…"
Caline leaned against the railing beside Alya and waited.
Alya took a breath. "And now he's thinking about going off on a really good opportunity when we're out of school, and I'm happy for him. I am! He's got a real talent, and I want to see him succeed. I just thought…"
Caline nodded. "You thought you'd succeed together."
Alya bit her lip.
Caline looked to the frustrated hero. "You look to me like you're about 15? 16? In that range. Look, he may be the best thing in your life right now, and maybe he'll continue to be, and maybe he won't. Maybe things will change, and an opportunity will present itself for both of you. Maybe your opportunities themselves will change. You've probably got a couple years of school left, and that leaves a lot of time for things to happen for both of you."
Alya nodded. "I guess so," she said.
"Maybe the best thing," Caline said carefully, "would be to just be happy for each other and continue on? I mean, who knows what's going to happen? Heck, I was madly in love with my high school sweetheart, and then I went to grad school, and they took a residency overseas, and that was that, and it broke my heart for months." Caline shrugged. "I was convinced for two years we would be married and end up working together and it would all just work… And then it didn't. Things change as we grow, and the sucky thing is you don't see that as it's happening, but you'll see it when it's done."
"So, I just accept that things will change and not feel bad? That's your advice?"
"My advice," Caline said, "Is to not worry about two years from now and focus on what the two of you have, today. Also, maybe you should talk to him directly about this?"
Alya chuffed. "I'm working up to that. I need to be mad at him right now, okay? Give me that, let me burn it out. Then we'll talk."
Caline nodded. "You do what you feel is best. It's your life, kiddo."
Alya raised an eyebrow at that. "You know, you remind me of someone."
Caline gave a nervous laugh. "Oh?"
"Yeah," Alya said. "An adult I know. She's a lot like you. Very easy to talk to, trusted by a lot of my friends. You know," Alya smiled. "A genuinely good person. Our teacher."
Caline blushed and looked away. "Well, she must be pretty cool to get such high praise from her students. Yep. Ms. Cool Gal." Caline reminded herself to stop talking.
Alya eyed her and smirked. "Heh, I like that. Ms. Cool Gal."
While the night was proving interesting, Caline was becoming a bit nervous under Alya's line of questioning. She turned to Alya and said, "So, what time is your thing tomorrow?"
"Noon, in front of the Hôtel de Ville."
"And who's supposed to be there?"
Alya thought about it. "Everyone. Well, everyone but Ryuuko. Apparently, her civilian schedule is insane. She said she'd show later, if she could."
Caline nodded. "I'll think about it." She took out her staff and readied it. She had seen Chat do this several times and was curious to try it. "Later, kid." She commanded her staff to extend, and suddenly she was being propelled up and over the zoo wall. She landed on a nearby rooftop and took off in the direction of home. She had decided that since the others were already out, there was little need for her to continue.
Also, the more heroes there were, the more Caline was afraid of letting something slip. She had no idea who knew what, and she wasn't about to out anyone.
Also-also, her chair and television were calling her.
Alya laughed as soon as she was out of sight. "Heh. She's like a mama goat. Ten euros says that was a pun."
The Hôtel de Ville was a gorgeous structure and one that Caline loved to admire when she had the chance. The architecture was so intricate and detailed that she found herself lost in how gorgeous it was on more than one occasion. She was standing in the audience in her casual attire, which consisted of a turquoise running jacket with a white tee and black jogging pants. She had come as herself to see who all would be there.
"Ain't we gonna pop in an' say howdy?" Ziggy asked from her jacket.
Caline patted her breast pocket. "If a lot of them show, they won't need me. If not, we'll fill in," she said. "I'm backup, and that's how I want to stay."
She felt Ziggy shrug. "Suit yerself."
Caline had expected a stage and a presentation, and these were indeed present, but they were in the middle of a full-on festival. Apparently, Mayor Bourgeois had decided to go full force on this fundraiser and was leveraging his influence to make this the biggest party he could. There were food tents, carnival games, and even some rides. Caline was impressed; this was way more than she had expected.
"Citizens of Paris," Andre said from the stage. He looked to be in rare form as he spoke to the crowd. "As you know, recently several of our citizens were displaced by a tragic fire. As your mayor, I want to make sure that these proud Parisians are taken care of, and what better way than by helping them out with a spring festival? All proceeds raised today will be directed to helping these families rebuild their lives."
The audience applauded. Caline smiled as she saw Chloé step up beside her father. She was in her Queen Bee form and stood with her hand on her hip, just oozing confidence. "I would encourage any of you who wish to meet a genuine superhero to make their way over to our autograph tents and pay for a meet and greet. Also, be sure to pick up a raffle ticket for a chance to have dinner with one of Paris's finest heroes!"
Caline cringed a bit. She had seen the raffle booth as she walked into the festival area, but she hadn't registered what it was for. While the offer was nice, Caline dreaded any of her kiddos having to do a dinner with an overzealous adult.
Caline was curious and was about to wander over to the autograph booth to see who was present when she heard her name being called out. She turned and saw Tom and Sabine working a booth and serving pastries to a large crowd.
"Hi Sabine," Caline said as she made her way to Sabine's table. Sabine finished up with a customer and turned to Tom, who was busy setting out macaroons.
"The red ones go in the front. She's the leader," Sabine said firmly.
Tom shrugged. "But the yellow ones came out so well, and I have more of the green…"
Sabine sharpened her voice. "Red. In. Front."
Tom cringed a bit and scooted the display around. Sabine nodded in approval and then turned a glowing smile to Caline. "Hi! Sorry, I saw you wandering. It's so wonderful that you came out to help!"
Caline raised an eyebrow. "Um, actually? I'm just here for the festival, like everyone else."
Sabine nodded. "Of course." She held up a small, paper bag. "No charge."
Caline thanked her and looked inside to see several black and white macaroons. Her eyebrows went into her hairline.
"So, I caught a video on the Ladyblog," Sabine said as she poured a hot cocoa out. "It looks like there's a new hero in Paris. Seems to be goat themed?"
Caline smiled broadly. "Yes. I had seen that as well." She took one of the macaroons out and slipped it into her jacket pocket.
Sabine nodded and handed Caline a cocoa. "Marinette told me you prefer cocoa."
Caline again nodded her thanks and reached for her pocket to fish out her wallet, but Sabine put up a hand. "I believe I said no charge."
Caline blushed. "Thank you, Sabine. I feel like I'm taking advantage."
"I called you over, if I recall," Sabine said, her attention on a box of pastries she was trying to pry open. "If you're looking for Marinette, I believe I saw her in the tents over there." She pointed to the autograph tents.
"Marinette is here?" Tom asked. "I didn't even see her. She should be helping out. Wait, is she getting Ladybug's autograph? Oh! I hope she gets one for me."
Sabine paused and patted her husband on the arm. "I'm sure she can get it for you. Take care, Caline."
Caline drifted towards the autograph tents, slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure how much Sabine knew, but she felt it was a good idea to assume 1) the woman knew everything and 2) was not to be fucked with.
Her husband, though?
'Least he can cook,' Caline thought as she made her way into the tent.
Caline was genuinely impressed. The tent was large and fairly crowded, and it looked to Caline like nearly every single Miraculous hero was present. She had never seen half of them in person before, and she was shocked at the sheer number of kids that were shaking hands and posing for pictures.
She also noticed that Rena Rouge and Carapace were seated at opposite ends of the tent. Caline watched their faces for a moment. Sure enough, Carapace kept shooting worried glances at Rena, while she was doing her darndest to focus on the kids that were coming up and asking for selfies.
Caline shook her head. 'I wonder how long they can hold out,' she thought to herself.
Caline got in line for Ladybug. When she got to the front, Ladybug looked up and offered a wide-eyed smile. "Well, hello!" She said. "Welcome to the party."
Caline grinned back. "Hey, kiddo. This is a heck of a turnout." She gestured to the tables that lined the tent. "I had no idea there was a monkey miraculous."
Ladybug nodded and looked across the tent. "To be honest, he wasn't one I picked, but he worked out. It was asking a lot to get them all in one place, but everyone was more than happy to help." She turned to Caline. "Ryuuko had a prior commitment, but she said she would try to arrive later. Apparently, her civilian schedule is a little insane."
Caline wondered who the rather cold and aloof samurai hero could be. She didn't seem to be familiar to her, unlike the others.
Ladybug bit her lip and pointed. "Still, there's one other in particular that's missing. I had a table setup for her, but I haven't seen her."
Caline gave Ladybug a look. "Oh?"
Ladybug nodded. "Our newest hero, Capricorn. Least, that's what I hear her name is," Marinette winked. "Rena Rouge and Chat Noir got to meet her last night, and Ryuuko and I ran into her the night of the fire. I was hoping she could meet the public, and the rest of the team."
Caline put ten euros on the table, took out her phone, and turned to do a selfie with Ladybug. "Maybe she figured there were too many heroes present?"
Ladybug posed for the picture. Once Caline was done, Ladybug said, "Maybe there aren't enough?"
"I get the feeling this isn't quite her scene," Caline said, looking around. "Maybe she feels really self-conscious about things like this and only likes to come out if there's an emergency."
Ladybug nodded. "I can see that. Well, if I see her, I'll be sure to tell her how lucky I am to have her on the team."
Caline nodded. "You take care. Also," Her voice went low. "Tell your mom thanks for the drink." She raised her cocoa.
Ladybug went slightly pale as Caline walked away. Much like with Adrien, a secret joy Caline had was teasing Marinette. The girl was so uptight that it was too easy, and Caline, while she did her best to be a role-model for her kids, could only resist so much.
Okay, you're judging. I can tell. Look. This lady has been through a lot and if she wants to be a little bit off-color during her well-earned and underpaid vacation, the let her cut loose. Bitch-Mode Caline: Activate, and all that. Seriously, let the woman be. She was stood up again on Tuesday night because her online match was looking for a commitment 'more on his level', and on top of that bullshit, she graded 127 quizzes this week in an effort to catch things up. Essay quizzes. You ever grade essay quizzes with a good ole' boy kwami leaning over your shoulder, munching on semi-frozen green onions from the back of your fridge and asking what 'extrapolate' means as he tries to read Ivan's ass-backwards cursive handwriting? Of course you haven't. He doesn't brush his teeth, either. It's so gross, and when he's chewing he just keeps going and going like the Energizer goat. And you sit there, just reading this story, not grading quizzes and judging her? I see you. I see who you are.
Sorry. Back to the story.
Caline noticed as she wandered that a little girl was standing near the table set aside for the newest miraculous wearer. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn't quite place it. The girl was staring at the empty table and had a huge frown on her face.
'That's weird,' Caline thought. 'I wonder why she's so sad?'
Then the girl's mother came up. The girl turned and started crying as the mother scooped her up and hugged her, and Caline's eyes went wide.
It was the mother and daughter from the fire.
Caline suddenly remembered the little girl she had saved, and the mother who had tearfully hugged and thanked her.
"Oh God," Caline said to herself. "I'm a monster. I need to find a place to change. Now where..?"
And Caline would have found a place, had she not seen a purple butterfly.
It happened so fast, Caline barely had time to react. She turned to yell to Ladybug, but it was already too late. The butterfly flew into a rolled-up poster the little girl was holding. A purple butterfly outline appeared in front of the girl's face.
"Yes, Hawkmoth," the little girl said with an evil glare. "You'll get what you want. I'll see to it myself!"
The little girl was enveloped in darkness as the crowd in the tent started to scream and run.
The little girl turned into what looked like a white porcelain doll with black pigtails and a frilly, black dress. She turned to the wall of heroes and pointed. "My name is Collectra, and you are all going in my private collection!"
The heroes bolted, but Collectra was insanely fast. She unraveled her poster and pointed the now blank paper at Rena Rouge. A beam of purple energy shot out and would have hit her head-on had Carapace not lunged and pushed her out of the way, just in time. The blast enveloped him, and before anyone knew what was happening, he was sucked into the paper. A picture of Carapace, screaming and panicked, appeared in the corner of the paper. Underneath was his signature.
"Oh crap," Caline muttered as Rena Rouge screamed.
"Carapace!" Caline turned to see the heroine as she scrambled to her feet, tears in her eyes and flute in hand. Caline rushed forward and grabbed her, shoving her down as a beam of purple energy shot right over their heads and hit Viperion, who was in the process of setting his second chance.
"Double crap," Caline said. She looked to Rena, who was shoving Caline off of her. "We need to move, now!" Caline yelled.
"Get off of me!" Rena yelled back, grabbing Caline by the arms.
Caline knew what was about to happen. She looked up to see a purple beam smash into Ladybug, who was about to catch her lucky charm.
"My lady!" Chat screamed. A moment later, a blast hit him smack in the face, and he was gone.
Caline looked at Rena and made a judgement call. If she was wrong, she was wrong, and Rena would charge blindly and be zapped. If she was right…
"Alya!" Caline shouted. "Focus! I need you to get outside with me and away from Collectra now!"
Rena's eyes went huge as she looked at Caline. The poor girl looked like she had just been slapped across the face. "What did you call me?" She asked in a trembling whisper.
Caline looked up and saw a loose tent flap. "Come on!" She shouted as she scrambled to her feet. The monkey, whoever it was, was busy distracting the akuma with some weird reality-shifting trick. It didn't look like much; just him dancing. Still, just staring at it made Caline's stomach turn.
Caline dragged Alya towards the flap and with all of her might, she yanked her outside.
Alya shook herself free and glared at Caline. "Ms. Bustier?! What do you think you're doing?! Carapace is still in there, and that, that thing has him! We have to get back in there, right now!" Alya said, her voice still shaking. "Carapace needs me!"
Caline held up a hand to calm her down "They'll be fine," she said. "Trust me, we can get them back."
Rena stared at Caline. "How do you know that? And how did you know who I am?"
Caline smiled and winked at Alya. "Please, I know all of my kids," she said as she looked around. Everyone was running around and panicking, but thankfully that meant no one was paying attention to them. "Okay, you know Tom and Sabine? Marinette's parents?"
Alya nodded, confused.
"Get to their tent and ask Sabine to contact Capricorn. She has a special line to her."
"What?!" Alya exclaimed. "How?"
"They know each other from school," Caline said, stretching the truth about as far as she could. "Just go! You can't take this monster on alone!"
Alya was about to protest, but Caline set her face to her sternest teacher look and broke out the voice.
"NOW, young lady!"
Alya was gone. Caline sighed with relief and dashed off to a porta-john. As soon as she was inside, she opened her jacket. "You ready to get to work, Ziggy?"
"Golly, Miss Caline," Ziggy said, looking around. "This here an outhouse?"
Caline's eye twitched. "Yes. Yes, it is."
Ziggy shrugged. "Ya sure do got some weird ideas about changin' rooms, miss Caline."
"Just… Let's just go be heroes, okay?"
Alya arrived at Tom and Sabine's booth and in a slightly panicked voice, she asked, "Ms. Cheng? Um, I was told to come to you for help."
Sabine's eyes went wide as she grabbed the hero and dragged her around their serving table and into the tent.
"Dear!" Sabine said, concerned. "What happened? Are you alright?"
Alya shook her head. "There's no time. I was told by someone that you had a special way of contacting Capricorn. Is that true?"
"Who?" Tom asked, confused.
Sabine blinked and thought about it for a second. "Huh. Goats," she murmured. She looked to Alya and nodded. "Um, sure. Hold on." Sabine took out her phone and opened up her contacts. The moment she did, Caline landed in front of the tent.
Alya spun around, surprised. "Wow. That was scary fast."
Caline waved to them. "Hey, you called?"
Sabine froze, her contacts still open. She looked from Caline, to Alya, to her phone, and then back again. "I… Guess I did," she said. She put her phone back in her pocket.
Alya walked to Caline and said, "we need to move. There's an akuma in there and it has most of the team. It already got Ladybug and Chat Noir… And Carapace. King Monkey was holding it off, but… I need to get back there and help. Now."
"Can I help?"
Both heroes turned to see Ryuuko standing off to the side. "Sorry I'm late. My civilian schedule is a bit busy."
Caline smiled. "Hey, the more, the merrier." Caline waved Ryuuko over while Tom and Sabine watched. "Okay, so the akuma wants to collect heroes?" She looked to Alya. "Then I say we give her heroes."
Meanwhile, Collectra was making short work of the remaining miraculous holders. She had finally nailed Kim, and while Max had nearly gotten her with his Voyage portal, the akuma had managed to snag him as well.
That left Queen Bee.
Chloé stood in a defensive stance and felt the sweat beading at her brow. This akuma was fast. The attacks had happened so suddenly that their biggest gun was already down. Chloé had no idea how they were going to capture the akuma, but right now, that was a secondary concern.
Chloé had recognized the girl. She had signed her poster only moments before the akumatization happened. Carefully, she approached with her hands out.
"Hey there," Chloé said. She did her best to push the nervousness in her voice down. "Annabell, right? Um, how have you been?"
Collectra glared at Queen Bee, but she didn't shoot her. "My name is Collectra now."
Chloé nodded. "Okay. That's, um, a pretty name."
Collectra stared, unblinking. "Thank you. I won't collect you just yet."
Chloé raised an eyebrow. "Oh! Um, thank you?"
"You were kind to me," Collectra said. "You saved my life and you signed my poster." A purple butterfly outline appeared over the girls' face. She growled at it and yelled, "You'll get them when I'm done, you stupid old man. No, she's my friend." Collectra growled as the outine glowed brighter. "I said she's my friend! NO!"
The outline went away.
"You had better leave," Collectra said. "I will collect all of your friends, and if you get in my way, I'll collect you, too."
Chloé nodded. "Sure, Collectra. Whatever you say." She waited for the little girl to turn around. As soon as that poster wasn't pointed at her, Chloé figured she would be able to charge and hit her with a venom blast.
At least, she hoped she could.
"Your collection looks a little short," a familiar voice called out. Both Collectra and Chloé turned to see Ladybug standing in the entrance of the tent. She had her hands on her hips and was smirking at the akuma. "In fact," she stepped aside. Carapace, Pegasus, and King Monkey charged in from behind her.
"I'd say you're missing quite a few pieces."
Collectra snarled and shot a blast of purple energy towards the group, which scattered. King Monkey swung his staff at Collectra's head, but the akuma dodged. She pivoted and shot a blast at Pegasus, but he disappeared into a portal before the blast could hit.
Collectra was now on the defensive. Viperion appeared next, swinging at her wildly as she dodged to get out of the way. Finally, she pointed her poster at Ladybug and let loose a blast.
Ladybug disappeared.
"A mirage? Really?" Collectra said as she took aim at Pegasus and wiped him out as well.
"All of you!" She screamed. She shot King Monkey, who disappeared.
"Everyone!" She blasted Carapace.
"None of you are real!" She turned to see Capricorn standing behind her.
"Captain Cowgirl?" Collectra skidded to a stop, surprised.
"Howdy."
Caline reared back and punched the akuma square in the face.
Collectra went flying straight towards Chloé, who stung the akuma with her venom attack. Collectra went rigid and then stood still, her poster dropping to the floor.
"I'll take that, thank you!" Ryuuko said as she entered the tent and scooped up the paper. She tossed it in the air and drew her sword in a flash, slicing the poster in two. The second the paper split, there was a flash of light, and all of the captured heroes reappeared.
The butterfly started to drift away from the torn poster. Caline called over to Ladybug. "You're on, kiddo."
Ladybug blinked in confusion, but fortunately, she was a quick study. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma!" Ladybug shouted. A swipe of her yoyo, a quick toss of a lucky charm (which was a marker. It was a bait and switch. See, she was going to get a different poster from a vendor outside, sign it a lot, and then offer it in a trade. It was totally going to work and would have been awesome. Don't judge me.), and one swarm of ladybugs later, the tent and knocked over tables were restored.
Annabell sat on the ground, holding her poster and looking around. She was in a yellow jumper that had a picture of a cow on the front. "Where am I?"
Caline knelt in front of her and smiled. "So, I hear there's a special little girl here who was looking for me. I hope I'm not too late." She winked at the little girl.
"Captain Cowgirl!" Annabell screamed and charged into Caline's arms. Behind her, she heard several snickers.
"It's, um, it's Capricorn, actually." Caline gave a nervous chuckle.
The little girl shook her head. "You'll always be Captain Cowgirl to me!" She cried out.
'Goddammit so hard,' Caline thought to herself as she heard the other heroes in the tent completely lose their shit.
Behind them, Caline heard Alya slam into a confused Carapace and smack him on the head. "You stupid, stupid boy! Don't you EVER do that again!"
Carapace scrambled away, yelling how sorry he was as Rena chased him with her flute.
Annabell's mother came running a moment later and scooped her daughter up. "There you are! Oh, I was so worried!" She looked to Caline and the other heroes. "Thank you all so much! I hope she didn't hurt anyone. I honestly don't know what happened. Once minute she was fine and the next…"
"It happens a lot," Ladybug said. "We're used to it."
Annabell tugged on her mother's arm and gestured for her to come close. The mother leaned in as Annabell whispered something in her ear. "Well, you can ask them," the mother said.
Annabell squirmed her way out of her mother's arms and stood in front of the heroes. "Um, can I get a picture with Captain Cowgirl and Queen Bee?"
Caline smiled and said, "Of course you can."
Chloé crossed her arms and glared at Caline. "After all that?"
Caline shot Chloé a look. "Chloé," she said in her teacher voice.
Chloé rolled her eyes. "Fine. Come here, Annabell. Let's see your best hero pose."
Annabell ended up taking several pictures. One with her two favorite heroes, one with each of them by themselves, and one with everyone. For Caline's she was seated on her shoulders and holding Caline's shepherd's staff above her head, her face about to split in two from grinning.
As soon as Annabell left, the heroes all started beeping. Caline looked around and saw the package of macaroons she had gotten from Sabine sitting on the table where Ladybug had been signing autographs. She took the bag and said in her teacher-voice, "Okay everyone. Line up, single file. Grab a snack for your kwami and go recharge. I'll hold down the fort until you get back."
There was some shuffling.
"NOW." The voice. The voice.
And just like that, they did. It might have been the fact that she was an adult, or that Ladybug went first. More than likely, hearing her teacher-voice had triggered something instinctual in each of them. Regardless, they took their macaroons and bolted for the tent flap.
Caline watched them go and nodded to herself at a job well done.
The rest of the day passed smoothly. To Marinette's delight, Caline stayed for the rest of the day. Her line was surprisingly long. Apparently, a video was uploaded to the Ladyblog showing the newest member of the team was at the festival and shortly after that, there was a rush. Caline found herself a little overwhelmed, but enjoying the attention.
One visitor in particular caught her attention. It was a man in his 30's with a little too much product in his hair and a brown, pressed suit. Caline eyed him for a moment and said, "Sorry, but I need to go on break. I'm sure one of the other heroes would be happy to sign something."
"Hey!" The man yelled. "I've been waiting for an hour. What kind of service is this?"
Caline shrugged as she wandered off. "Sorry, but if you look around, I'm sure you'll find something 'more on your level.'"
Bitch Mode Caline: Activated.
As the day wound down and the tent was finally closed to the public, the kids were pleasantly surprised when Tom and Sabine brought over a gigantic box of pastries and some juice for the heroes. Sabine set them down at Ladybug's table and said, "Here you go, dear. You've put in a full day, haven't you?"
Ladybug smiled and laughed. "Thank you! Yeah, earlier got a little hectic, but things seem fine now."
Sabine smiled with relief. "Well, I'm just glad you're all okay. Hmmm. I have a daughter about your age, you know."
"Really?" Ladybug said, nervously.
"I'll make sure they check in with their families," Caline said as she wandered over, still in her Capricorn mode. "They all did great today. I'm sure their parents would be proud."
Sabine nodded and handed Caline a cocoa. "Here you go. I heard you liked this more."
"You heard right. Thank you," Caline said as she took a sip.
"Thank you for watching over them," Sabine said.
Caline looked over the heroes as they helped themselves to some pastries. "What else would I have done? They're my kids."
Sabine raised an eyebrow. "Was that a goat pun?"
Caline shrugged. "It's part of the power set."
Off to the side, Carapace was sitting with Chat Noir enjoying a scone when Alya wandered up.
"Hey," she said.
He looked up and said, "Uh, hey."
Chat Noir wisely scooted away.
"Sorry I hit you with my flute."
Carapace shrugged. "S'cool."
"That was really brave earlier," Alya said as she hugged herself. "You know, when you took that blast for me."
Carapace shrugged. "It was no big deal. I'm just glad you're okay."
Alya smacked him across the back of the head. "It was a big deal! You had no idea what they beam could have done. You could have died!"
"You could have, too," Carapace said. He stood and looked her in the eye. "I wasn't going to let that happen."
Alya swallowed. "I… I'm sorry. About earlier. I… We have a couple years before we really have to consider what's coming, you know? And I'm happy for you, no matter what. I just…" She took his hand. "I'm selfish. I don't want to lose you."
Nino closed the distance between them and took Alya in his arms. "Babe, you're gonna have to try harder than that to lose me. Don't you know I love you?"
He pulled her in for a kiss that she hungrily answered as the rest of the heroes that were watching let out a cheer.
Eventually, they broke the embrace and looked around. "Dudes," Nino said, slightly embarrassed.
Alya pulled him close and said, "So, we have to go now. Ladybug, catch you tomorrow on patrol?"
Chat Noir scratched his head in confusion. "But, Carapace and I were going on patrol tonighOW!" He yelped as a grinning Ladybug nodded to Alya while elbowing him in the ribs. "Um, okay. See you tomorrow!"
Alya looked to Caline before they took off. Caline waved and shot her a wink. Alya blushed and nodded.
"Hey," a voice said beside Caline. She turned to see Queen Bee standing there, looking off to the side.
"Hey yourself," Caline said playfully.
"You know, I'm getting real tired of you saving my life," Chloé said, off-handedly.
Caline gave her a shoulder nudge. "Then quit almost dying."
Chloé blushed. "Seriously. You showed up at a really good time. So, yeah. I mean, I had it, but… It was cool."
"Well, I'm just happy I could help, even though you had it well in hand," Caline said.
Chloé. "Quite well. Um, also… Are you free tonight?"
Caline blinked and looked at Chloé, who was actually twiddling her fingers. "I mean, if you were, and of course if I was, I thought you might like it if I took you on patrol. You know, to show you the ropes."
Caline made a show of thinking about it. "Maybe. I mean, I might be pretty hungry afterwards. I might want to grab some takeout and watch some bad movies."
Chloé blushed. "Would you like some company?"
Caline made a 'hmmm' sound.
"I'm buying," Chloé said.
Caline reached around and gave Chloé a side-hug. "You had me at 'hey', sweetie. Come by around eight. We'll hit the rooftops. You like Thai?"
"I love Thai," Chloé said, smiling.
Caline grinned. She would just have to make sure she had an extra blanket and the pull-out ready for her guest.
Caline didn't reconnect with Ladybug until three nights later. She was sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower, enjoying the view from a perch and sipping a shake when she heard a voice from behind her.
"This is my favorite spot, too."
Caline jumped a little from surprise. "Oh! Hey, kiddo."
"Mind if I join you?" Ladybug asked as she moved to sit down. Caline gestured to the spot on the beam next to her.
"Thanks," Ladybug said. Caline glanced over and saw the smile on her student's face. "How's your night been?"
Marinette shrugged and leaned back on her hands. "Eh, it's been okay. Chat and I fought a balloon animal akuma about an hour ago, but other than that, it's been pretty quiet. What about you? I thought you didn't want to be out and about?"
Caline nodded. "Well, normally I would agree, but look at this view. Plus, I punched a mugger."
"Good times," Marinette nodded back. "I know. I love it up here."
They enjoyed the sights of the city for a moment, each comfortable with the silence.
"So," Caline asked. "I'm guessing Rena Rouge worked things out with Carapace?"
Marinette laughed. "They're 'working things out' all over Paris. I've already warned them to remember people have smart phones, but I don't think they're listening. Oh, and Rena said to tell you thanks for the advice."
Caline smiled at that. "I'm just glad she figured things out. She can be pretty headstrong, sometimes."
Marinette shot Caline a look. "Do you know who she is?"
"Not my place to say," she said back. "But, and I'm just spit-balling here, my guess would be you wouldn't just hand a miraculous out at random. After all, your team is in a class by itself."
Marinette blushed. "You, um, you know who they all are, don't you?"
"Eh," she said. "I try not to think about it, but I could probably guess. On the topic, if you have people who don't know who's who, you might want to tell one of them to stop saying 'dude' in the group chat."
"Oh God," Marinette said, covering her face. "I told him. I've told him several times."
"Well, if it helps," Caline said. "I have no clue who Ryuuko is."
"You wouldn't," Marinette said. "She's an outsider, but I trust her."
"That's good," Caline said. "You should know, all it took was the fact that you trusted me for Rena to follow my orders against Collectra. That says a lot about who you are. You're a born leader."
"So," Marinette said, doing her best to change the topic. "Have you become more comfortable with everything?"
Caline thought about it. "Well, Ziggy and I have a bit of an understanding now concerning the television, and honestly? I'm glad I can help where I can. My life is busy enough without all the extra superhero stuff, but hey, if you need me, I'm here."
Marinette nodded. "Understood. Oh! The reason I interrupted you. Later on, everyone who is free is meeting up at the Louvre to play tag. Um, if you wanted to join in."
"I don't know…" Caline said, smiling. "I mean, I try to keep student-teacher fraternization to a minimum outside of school."
Marinette raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, Chloé has spent the night on your couch twice this week."
Caline gave Marinette a serious look. "That is different. She has a place to stay if she needs it. Don't rib her for it and tell the others to back off if they're giving her trouble."
"Sorry," Marinette said. "I know she's been going through some stuff, but she doesn't talk to us about it, much." She looked at Caline and smiled. "You're awfully protective of her."
"I'm protective of all of you," Caline said. "You're my kids. Look, what's going on… It's a bit personal for her, so please. Just cut her some slack."
Marinette nodded. "So… Tag? I mean, if you're up for it? Chat Noir has been asking. A lot."
Caline groaned a bit. "Your kitty needs a girlfriend."
Marinette gestured wildly and nodded. "I know! Like, I know we're supposed to keep our identities a secret, such as they are, but I really wish sometimes I knew a little more about him, you know? If I could just hook him up, I think he'd be fine. There's apparently a girl at his school he's into, but neither of them can seem to make a move."
Caline deadpan stared at Marinette. "You don't say."
"I'm serious!" Marinette continued, oblivious. "She's apparently into him and he says he likes her, but both of them are so pathetically clueless they won't make a move, and now he's thinking about dating this other girl, and then there's his weird thing with me, and the whole thing is a mess. Oh. OH! And get this, he apparently ALSO likes Marinette. As in, me-Marinette! Can you imagine that? Me with him?"
Caline was screaming inside.
"I can't tell you what to do here, kido," Caline said as she patted Marinette on the back. "This is messier than I could have imagined, and I am not getting involved."
Marinette nodded and grumbled to herself. She then looked to Caline and said, "So, um, tag?"
Caline leaned over and said, "On one condition; you need to help your mother in the bakery more."
Marinette's eyebrows furled in confusion. "Sorry?"
"Help your mother," Caline said. "Just go and offer to spend the day working with your folks tomorrow. Trust me."
Marinette bit her lip. "Well, we were all going to meet up with Adrien at the movies tomorrow afternoon…"
"Then help her in the morning," Caline suggested. "You want me to join you for tag? That's my price."
Marinette let out a sigh. "Fine. Whatever you say…"
Caline smiled and nodded as she took a sip of her shake.
"…Captain Cowgirl."
Caline choked.
"Marinette," Caline growled. Marinette held up her yoyo and opened it to show her smartphone screen. On it was a video of Caline being hugged by Annabell.
"You'll always be Captain Cowgirl to us," Marinette sang along with the audio track. She was grinning ear to ear.
"Delete that now or it's detention for life," Caline snarled.
"Make me," Marinette said as she dove off the tower, laughing the whole way.
"You..! Were you the one who changed my handle in the group chat? You… You get back here! My name is Capricorn, dammit!"
"Yeeeee haw!" Marinette yelled as she swung away, with a fuming Caline following close behind.
It wasn't exactly the spring break Caline had hoped for. She had imagined taking a trip to the coast or sunning herself decide a pool. Heck, maybe she might have done some travelling abroad.
This, on the other hand?
Leaping from rooftops, fighting evil, impromptu nights out…
"Ride 'em, cowgirl!" Marinette called out.
"You're dead! Dead! I know where you sleep!" Caline shouted back.
Caline Bustier never asked to be a hero, but she had promised a long time ago that she would take care of everyone, and that included her kids.
That's what a mama goat does, after all.