Ep. 8: The Prodigal Dragon

(Note: This is part of a two-episode arc involving Fei Wu a.k.a. Ladydragon, who's depicted here as Felix and Marinette's cousin. Speaking of Fei, this is her debut. Along with this, it is also the proper debut of the two Alter Gears from the previous episode: Sylphy and Relik. Without further ado, enjoy.)

While boarding on a plane, Fei called up Marinette, informing her that she's going to Paris to visit both her and Felix. While onboard, she immediately noticed a black blur passing by. She began to wonder what was going on, but kept those thoughts to herself. Once she arrived, Fei and Marinette hugged each other, with the latter introducing her to Felix.

"This is the first time I ever met you.", remarked Fei.

"I mean, I spent most of my life with my grandmother.", replied Felix. "I moved in with Marinette some time ago."

"Oh, really? Maybe now that I'm here, I can get to know you better."

Once she settled down in their room, Marinette began to ask if she still has the Prodigous. Fei says yes. Afterwards, the three begin to talk.

"So, what were you doing for the past 6 years, Fei?", asked Felix.

"Well, I've been practicing martial arts since Hawk Moth's defeat.", she replied. "It was thanks to both Marinette and Kagami I started participating in tournaments."

It was right there and then that Fei decided to bring up something she saw during her time on the airplane.

"I was wondering what that blur was from and where it's heading."

That was when Icarus suddenly joined in on the conversation.

"I'm pretty sure that was a Varkiri.", replied Icarus. "Not sure how it ended up on Shanghai, though."

"Whoa, you must be Icarus." Fei stares in awe of him, as this is the first time in her life that she's ever seen a Metanoian. "Marinette told me all about you."

"I see, and you are…?"

"The name's Fei Wu. Nice to meet you, Icarus."

"So, you're the current holder of the Prodigous?"

"Yeah, and I've been defending Shanghai with it ever since."

Elsewhere, following a falling out with Tornadus, the two Alter Gears, Sylphy and Relik, plan to beat him at his own game, although this would prove difficult, since not only does he have the Dark Phoenix Miraculous, he also has Melody Chabert at his side.

"No worries, Sylphy.", assures Relik. "I got back up from a place far away from here: Shanghai. He should be here at any moment."

And sure enough, backup came in the form of the Alter Gear Taurus, a minotaur-like being capable of creating constructs harnessing the power of the Earth.

"It seems I have been called for assistance.", commented Taurus. "What do you need from me?"

"Well, we need you to get rid of someone.", replied Sylphy. "But it's going to require a bit of planning."

As the discussions were underway, Relik suddenly detected the presence of the Prodigous, indicating that Fei is around the corner. "Now that's a power I haven't sensed in eons.", remarked Relik. "It seems that the Renren has arrived here in Paris."

"Well, looks like we have a change of plans.", remarked Sylphy. "Relik, Taurus, we're taking down the Renren and claiming the Prodigous for ourselves."

The following day…

While Fei was being introduced to the rest of the Dupain-Cheng's circle of friends, she began to hear a faint whisper, one that cannot be heard by anyone but herself. Naturally, Fei answered to the mysterious voice.

"Who are you?", asked Fei.

"Let's just say I'm a deep-rooted form of your consciousness.", replied the mysterious force.

"Alright, show me who you are, or I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!", replied Fei.

"Okay then, Fei, if you insist."

The mysterious force turned out to be Sylphy, who was able to hijack Fei's mind through her telepathy. However, Fei didn't budge, transforming into Ladydragon and fought off Sylphy, transforming into Lady Tiger and Lady Bear in order to do so.

Sylphy, however, wasn't a pushover, as she was able to counterattack many of Ladydragon's attacks. This didn't deter the latter, being able to strike her using Lady Viper. Unfortunately, Sylphy was able to escape, but this wouldn't be the last time she would encounter her.

As it turns out, Sylphy had knocked her unconscious, and both Felix and Marinette had to carry her back to the house.

"Fei, what happened?", asked Marinette.

"Uhhh, I believe I was knocked out cold by an Alter Gear.", replied Fei.

Before she could describe what she looked like, they were interrupted by a news broadcast about an Akuma attack. However, that wasn't an ordinary supervillain that they were seeing. As it turns out, it was an akumatized Varkiri.

"Wait, an akumatized Varkiri?! But how's that even possible?", A confused Felix began to ask himself.

As the news began to spread, Mari, Felix, and Fei had to contact the Couffaine siblings for backup, but they weren't able to get back to them. This essentially forced the 3 to transform and take on the akumatized Varkiri themselves, with Felix flying to the vicinity alongside Fei, who transformed into Lady Eagle.

Marinette, meanwhile, was searching for Adrien, making sure that he was safe. It was during this search that she encountered Alya, who was curious about the whole situation.

"Mari, what's going on?", asked Alya.

"There's an akumatized Varkiri in the vicinity.", replied Mari. "We probably need your help right about now."

"Happy to help."

Elsewhere, Melody was observing the carnage, gloating to herself as she does so. A rather confused Tornadus looks on, and asks why she's doing what she did.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Tornadus.", she replied. "That Varkiri that the Alter Gears sent out was enhanced by my new experiment. I call them the 'Sphere Akuma'. What they do is that they enhance the power of both supervillains and Varkiri alike."

"Isn't that what the Lens of Despair does, Melody?", remarked Tornadus. "You're basically throwing me under the bus here."

"Think of the Sphere Akuma as mere enhancements to your already existing arsenal, as opposed to gaining new powers. Well, it's either that or you become a monster. With the Lens of Despair, you'll never know what you get."

"I see. Anyway, which Varkiri did you akumatize?"

"The Archegos Varkiri, because why not?"

After soaring throught the skies, both Felix and Fei have arrived at the scene, with the Archegos Sphere Varkiri greeting them with a loud roar. Without any hesitation, the two decided to fight back, with Fei transforming into Lady Bear, and Felix using Exceed Phoenix Terra.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Alya were caught in Melody and Tornadus' crossfires, with the former using the both the Sphere Akuma and the Lens of Despair to create a clone of Volpina, who eventually evolved into Sphere Volpina.

"I guess sometimes I never know what the Sphere Akuma would do.", remarks Melody. "Oh well, the more you know."

Sphere Volpina turned out to be a formidable foe, wrecking both Marinette and Alya with barely any effort. But the two were able to hold themselves off as Sphere Volpina creates illusions of herself, allowing her to overwhelm them.

Luckily, Marinette grabbed her yo-yo and took the Mouse Miraculous, allowing her to Unify both Miraculous, becoming Multibug. This allowed her to clone herself to defeat Sphere Volpina's illusions, even if they were small.

Meanwhile, Fei and Felix were struggling with the Archegos Sphere Varkiri, partly since the Sphere Akuma made the beast incredibly difficult to kill, at least with physical attacks. This became incredibly difficult for Felix and Fei, until Icarus told him to raise his left hand, allowing it to charge with energy, and to place his right arm off to the side, allowing the energy to charge further.

Meanwhile, Fei changed into her Dragon Form in the vain hope that she could land a hit on the Archegos Sphere Varkiri, but to no avail. However, it gave enough time to Felix to charge his attack. Once fully charged, Felix crossed both arms into an L-shape, creating the Sigmaxium Beam, allowing him to destroy the Archegos Sphere Varkiri for good.

"I have beam attacks?" Felix asked himself. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Icarus?"

"I couldn't think of a situation in which we could use it, Felix.", replied Icarus.

Fei then joins in on the conversation. "Well, at the very least that thing is useful against Sphere Akuma."

Meanwhile, Marinette and Alya were able to gain an edge over Mel and Tornadus, but Sphere Volpina kept them from doing so. That was, until Sphere Volpina was hit by a beam fired by Felix, severely damaging her in the process, and was subsequently destroyed.

Caught off-guard by his new powers, Mel and Tornadus both left the vicinity, with both of them being impressed by Felix's new powers. With the battle being over, Felix and Marinette introduce Fei to Alya. And the four decided to hang out.

Meanwhile, Sylphy, Relik, and Taurus comtemplate their defeat, the former especially since she was unable to steal the Prodigous. However, they were able to observe their battle with the Archegos Sphere Varkiri, and began calculating their next move.

Elsewhere, Melody began talking to Nooroo once again, wanting to open up how she feels right now. By this point in time, she begins to contemplate whether or not becoming Queen Moth was a good thing.

"You know, Nooroo, I feel like I'm putting on a façade." She tells Nooroo. "It's almost like my alter-ego is becoming a part of me."

"Honestly, Mel, I'm getting that feeling as well.", replied Nooroo. "It appears your desire to surpass Hawk Moth is getting to you."

"Yeah, I suppose." As the two continue conversing, Sylphy entered the room, with a glare in her eyes. It appears she plans to entrust her help for something.

"You're Melody Chabert, am I right?", asked Sylphy.

"Yes.", replied Mel.

"Good, 'cause I have plans for you…"

End of Episode 8…

So much has happened in this episode. Not only was it Fei's first appearance, it was also the debut of Sylphy, Relik, Taurus, the Sphere Akuma, and most significantly, the Sigmaxium Beam. As for the next episode, Fei will be teaming up with Kagami. Afterwards, we'll be heading big with the Ultimate Aegis 2-parter. Until next time, farewell. –RedPhoenix2001