Marinette internally groans when she hears the topic of her Design project - Derby Hats! Why, why did it have to be Derby Hats?! Why couldn't it be Berets, or Top Hats, caps, even two-horned hats?!
How she wishes Bloom were here now, she seriously wishes Bloom were in the Design class with her if only to give her some silent support. Unfortunately, Bloom wants to be an artist when she's older…not a fashion designer. Ergo, she's not in the Design class.
Wait, that's probably a good thing. I'd have to go up against her design if I was, and she's kind of brilliant, if not an actual genius… Now she's really glad Bloom isn't in her design class.
After school that day, Marinette's explaining the entire - terrible - situation to Bloom. "Why couldn't it be top hats, caps, even two-horned hats? Need a Beret, I'm your girl. Sombrero? No problem-o! But a DERBY?!"
Bloom sighs, grabs Marinette's free wrist that's not busy holding her design book, and pulls her onto the bench. "Alright, chill out. First off, take a few deep breaths. Now, let me see your book, and we'll figure something out."
Marinette takes those deep breaths, even as Bloom's opening her book, then says "But we can't work with anyone, Bloom! They have to be our own design!"
Bloom shrugs, and says "You can't work with anyone…in the class, right?"
Marinette bites her bottom lip, saying "Um, yeah…"
"Well, lucky you, I'm not in that class. And it will be your design, I'll just be helping put it together. Or I can work on our other homework while you get this particular project done."
Marinette curls up on the bench, and mutters "Forget it, Bloom, I'm a disaster area…"
And then a familiar voice says "Wow, Bloom, those are some awesome designs! I didn't realize you had such incredible talent." Marinette immediately jumps off the bench in fright at the sound of Adrien's voice - wait a minute, Adrien's looking at her designs. This is a disaster - he's gonna laugh and say she's got no chance, she might as well just throw in the towel right now!
Bloom pinches the bridge of her nose at the thumping sound of Marinette hitting the ground, tells herself not to simply reveal their alter-egos right then and there to just put herself out of all their misery, and then says "They're not mine, Adrien. They're Marinette's designs. I'm more into drawing than fashion, personally."
She flashes him a notepad with some charcoal drawings - wait a minute, he knows someone else that draws with charcoal - then draws his attention back to the notebook he originally noticed…and a blushing Marinette, her face going about as red as his Lady's suit. "You're really talented, Marinette! I think you stand a good chance of winning!" He looks back down at the sketchbook, just catching how Marinette's blush goes even brighter than before and she starts stammering out her thanks.
Bloom groans to herself, this is just painful! "I'm fluent in stammer, thankfully. All of that translated to 'I'm really into fashion, thank you for the compliment, and I hope you like my design tomorrow.' Speaking of which, let's go, Mari. You have a hat to design and make."
Marinette nods, blush fading as she focuses on her design project once more, and says "Let's go to the Trocadero, its where I go to get some inspiration!" Bloom nods, and they're off.
About twenty minutes later, they're sitting in front of the fountain leading to the tower with their sketching books out. Mm, Bloom thinks, I should come here more often, it's really peaceful. Maybe she would if she didn't have such terrible memories of the place.
Marinette goes through several different designs, from a music-themed Derby to one about cake, but then the two girls see a man walk over to a nearby bench like a Pigeon. Bloom groans internally, its Xavier Ramier…the pigeon lover. He's been banned from every park in Paris over the last year, because he keeps feeding the pigeons when its illegal in Paris to do so. The reasoning behind that being that if someone feeds them there, they'll crowd the entire park and leave their droppings everywhere. Which would be not only disgusting but a health hazard to people.
It's a shame he's such a nice guy - he's a bit of a weirdo, it's true, but considering she's a walking fire hazard when she's having a bad day she isn't judging.
Officer Roger, a guy Bloom's learned to avoid very well by now, yells at Ramier and confiscates the bird feed. Marinette watches as Ramier leaves, and says "Wow, I almost feel bad for him…"
Bloom shrugs, and says "Almost. It's a slippery slope, though. And a steep one, at that." And a gross one, to boot.
Marinette sighs, then mutters "He was a bit cozy with those pigeons, huh?"
Bloom snickers, and says "Any day now, he's gonna sprout feathers."
Marinette suddenly gasps, and says "That's it!" She starts animatedly sketching in her notebook, and soon a Derby Hat that appears to be made entirely out of feathers emerges on the page. Marinette finishes the final touches on the feather attached to the side, and excitedly shows Bloom the finished design complete with her signature hidden by the brim of the hat.
Bloom notices a flash of light out of the corner of her eye, but doesn't say anything to Marinette. Just quietly makes her way to the other side of the column and records Chloe and Sabrina's incriminating conversation where they admit to stealing Marinette's design. If push comes to shove, she can use it as evidence.
Another twenty minutes later, they're back at Marinette's house with Bloom doing most of their homework while Marinette works on her all-important hat. Marinette's parents even bring them a snack, which Bloom is grateful for - one of the perks of being Marinette's best friend, her parents love to stuff them both with sweets. She's not complaining, and neither is Longg. Or Tikki, for that matter - apparently, the Ladybug Kwami's got a sweet tooth as big as her body.
Once Marinette finishes the hat, Bloom quickly makes a synthetic feather with her magic - a lot cleaner than bird feathers, and not something anyone will be allergic to. Plus, it looks nicer than most bird feathers actually do - they look all nice on the bird, but they're usually ragged, dirty, messy little things when you get close enough to see them. Marinette just cheers at the sight of the feather, and starts to attach it to the hat.
Just as she's finished, though, the tv turns to the news and shows…a real weirdo saying Paris will belong to the pigeons. And calling himself 'Mr. Pigeon' to boot.
Aaand, one Xavier Ramier has been Akumatized…fantastic…
She and Marinette split up, Marinette saying she needs to head to the storage room for a box for the hat and Bloom slipping into a nearby alley invisibly to transform, and soon enough the two of them are leaping across rooftops…following Pigeons flying in the shape of warplanes.
Ladybug mutters "Now this is weirder than weird."
Cat Noir announces his presence with a chuckle, saying "Birds of a feather flock togeth-ah-ah-ACHOO!" He tumbles down the roof, catching himself just before he can roll off the steep slope, and groans. "I'm allergic to feathers…"
Ladybug winces in sympathy, and says "That's helpful right now…"
"Tell me about it, M'Lady…achoo!"
Dragon Fyre grimaces, and says "I hate being sick, my magic acts up like crazy when it happens." Which means they should probably burn all the feathers, just in case.
Ladybug gets the idea to pose as a Park Keeper, and Dragon Fyre says "I've got that covered, Ladybug. You two hide, I'll be the bait." Because her brother wouldn't be a very convincing Park Keeper for even two minutes. He likes to entertain himself when he's bored, which could range from flirting with Ladybug again to dancing or some such. She loves her brother, really, but he has a short attention span when he's bored.
Twenty minutes after they start, a disguised Dragon Fyre gets swept up by an actual swarm of pigeons. She's starting to get why people are afraid of Pigeons, honestly.
They drop her onto the abandoned roof of the mayor's hotel, and moments later her two partners follow. Cat Noir wrinkles his nose, trying to hold back another sneeze, and asks "Where do you think this birdbrain is?" He'd make a better joke, but his allergies are getting in the way - pigeons, it had to be pigeons. He really hates pigeons.
Dragon Fyre looks around, then says "He's around here somewhere." And then suddenly there's a swarm of Pigeons surrounding them, and Dragon Fyre quickly puts up a shield to cover them…right up until a massive birdcage drops over them.
Where in the world did he get THAT?!
Cat Noir growls, muttering "I really hate being locked up…Cataclysm!" He quickly destroys the bars, so Mr. Pigeon has his birds make…it looks like a Christmas Sleigh. And a flock of birds comes flying towards them, prompting all three heroes to beat it to a nearby doorway to avoid getting literally pecked to death - as it is, the door gets a foot-deep indent from the hundred or so birds ramming into it full-speed.
Dragon Fyre mutters "If I never see another Pigeon as long as I live…" She's never questioning why someone's afraid of pigeons ever again, not after that dent being made.
Cat Noir nods, groaning as he sneezes again, and mutters "I hate feathers to…"
Ladybug says "Lets get you a five-minute break, Kitty. We can figure out what to do then."
They get to the lobby of the building, which turns out to be the Mayor's hotel, and Cat Noir jumps as he Miraculous beeps warningly. Before he can go hide to get some Camembert for his Kwami, though, Dragon Fyre says "Let me see, I can help."
"Uh, sis, unless you can…" Cat Noir trails off when his sister grabs his wrist, then makes a tiny ball of white fire between her index finger and thumb…and presses it into his Miraculous. The ring heats up at once, almost to the point of burning, but as he watches…the little toes on the paw symbol come back. He can even hear Plagg's voice in his head, saying WOW! It's not Camembert, but WOW! If this is what Longg's getting, no wonder he was so excited! And Longg usually isn't one to get all excited! I COULD CATACLYSM THE WORLD RIGHT NOW!
And Plagg's probably going to be on some kind of energy high for a while, what did you DO Sis?!
At his stunned look, Ladybug glances over…and then gets a matching look, asking "How in the world…?"
Dragon Fyre shrugs, saying "Surprise. One of the perks of being me. I can recharge my own Miraculous in a pinch. I wouldn't go using Cataclysm again, Brother, but that should keep you going for the fight." Or a few days, if he didn't have to fight.
Dragon Fyre frowns at the sight of several large flocks of birds in the shape of balls heading in the same direction, and says "You two stay here for a moment, I'll go scout ahead." She then shimmers and disappears, leaving a stunned crowd.
About two minutes later, Ladybug's yo-yo beeps. "Guys, I'm at the Grand Palace. He's got all the Park Keepers locked in another of those cages."
Ladybug nods, and says "We'll be right over, wait for us." Dragon Fyre sounded concerned enough when she said she'd go scout ahead that she's worried about things. Dragon Fyre doesn't usually get worried when it's the easier Akumas - then again, her worry could have something to do with Cat Noir's feather allergy.
"Will do, I'm not keen on taking this Pigeon-talking weirdo on by myself. He's actually talking like he's a Pigeon! Acting like it to."
Cat Noir chuckles, his head feeling better after a few minutes of no feathers, and says "I bet. C'mon, M'Lady, lets go!"
When they get there, though, she's nowhere to be found. Cat Noir does nearly sneeze though, headache coming back full force, and wipes at his face while saying "My Pigeon-radar's on high-alert."
Ladybug says "Either your radar's on the brink, or Mr. Pigeon has left the Park Keepers unattended." She's leaning towards the former, though - her poor kitty's been sneezing all the way here, after all.
Cat Noir grins, already imagining a suitable payback for this feathered nightmare he's currently in via plucking Mr. Pigeon's own feathers one by one - no, Plagg, he's probably not going to get that chance, but sneezing a hundred times in a day tends to put one in a bad mood when there's someone causing it - and says "Lets set the cat amongst the Pigeons." He may sneeze all the way through it, but it'll be worth every single sneeze.
But then Ladybug pulls him out of his slightly vindictive imaginings, saying "Hold on, Kitty. Its…too easy. And where's Dragon Fyre?"
Good point, his sister isn't exactly one for staying out of a fight.
They quickly find Dragon Fyre after they start fighting Mr. Pigeon, as she reveals herself behind him and punches him out with a single blow. And then yanks the Bird Call from around his neck, flatly saying "Always knew he was a bit too obsessed with those birds, but I didn't think it went this far."
Ladybug nods, saying "I second that opinion."
Cat Noir sneezes once more, and says "Let's break this thing and be done with it. If I don't see a single pigeon for the rest of the week..."
Hours later, Adrien's watching Plagg zoom around his room much like when he first met the Kwami - except this time he's not looking for food. This time it reminds him of that scene in the Scooby-Doo movie where he drinks a pot of coffee and ends up running circles on the ceiling. Plagg's basically a black blur around his room, and Adrien's just glad Nathalie didn't notice anything different. Like the over-energized Kwami that was two seconds from either Cataclysming something or running this nonstop marathon around the entire mansion.
Marinette runs into the school, barely making it in time for the contest, and sees Bloom giving Chloe and Sabrina a blank look that usually means trouble on Dragon Fyre's face - just what does she have planned this time?!
Setting her box down, she quickly realizes the reason for the look on Bloom's face - Chloe stole her design! Suddenly, she wishes Bloom were Dragon Fyre just so she'd go off on the blonde.
Taking a deep breath, Marinette waits for the judge to come around - Nathalie, holding a tablet with Gabriel Agreste's video chat - only for Chloe to start wailing dramatically over how Marinette stole her design. Bloom rolls her eyes, and says "Enough with the crocodile tears, Bourgeois. Anyone with half a brain isn't believing them for a minute."
She reaches into her pocket to take out her phone, but Marinette puts a hand on her shoulder and says "I got this, Bloom." She then points out how her hat is handmade down to the last stitch, and…she signed it. She signed it, like she signs all the clothes she makes.
Bloom stalks over at once, torn between laughing hysterically and verbally tearing the two design-thieves to shreds - honestly, Sabrina's father is a cop for crying out loud, does she have no qualms about committing an actual crime? - snatching up the Derby Hat 'Chloe' made, and says "Oh, look at that. A Maker's mark, right under the brim." Neither Marinette nor Adrien see the look Bloom gives Chloe and Sabrina, but it makes both girls go pale before running out the door as fast as their legs can carry them.
Bloom has to wonder, did the two girls think at all? If Marinette hadn't been able to prove the design was hers, she could've been banned or blacklisted from the fashion design industry for life.
Bloom rolls her eyes and heads back to Marinette, and says "Here, a spare if you want to make a jacket to match or something, Mari."
Gabriel declares Marinette the winner, and says Adrien will model the Derby hat in his next photoshoot.
And then Bloom's making sure Marinette doesn't collapse from lack of oxygen due to not breathing, or devolving into endless stammering once more.
AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up, hope you like it! If I made Adrien/Cat Noir seem a little more vindictive about Mr. Pigeon...cut the kid some slack, the guy's basically Mr. Allergy for our favorite blonde boy. I know I'd hate sneezing up a storm and my head pounding! And he gets Akumatized 72 times! I feel so bad for our poor kitty! Don't get me wrong, Mr. Ramier seems nice enough - really, he does! - but if there was a person that actively controlled the thing I'm allergic to...I'd absolutely hate it. Adrien's just lucky his allergy isn't too bad, to - what if he was worse? Like, throat closing up, worse?
Yeah, bit of a problem there.
Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon!