qazse: Yeah, the A-listers aren't going to be getting off scot-free for everything like they seemed to in the show. Yeah, Lila is going to be a challenge to tackle. I want her to have some credibility to her being an issue in the heroes' lives. Not sure what I'm going to do with her yet. Her debut is a while away.
Matt: Given the way canon is going with Chloe, I want to do better for her.
GirlFish: A Paulina and Lila rivalry? That would be interesting. I can see how you would come up with that idea. Not sure about Freakshow controlling Chat, though you are right he fits the theme. I am not going to confirm whether or not Danny will meet Fu. Why spoil the surprise? Currently, I do not have plans to cover Pandora's Box; it is one of several season 3 episodes I intend to skip over. As for allies, I'll keep quiet on those for now.
Specter11Dragon: Thank you!
dperson3569: Thank you! One of the first additional scenes I had for this idea was Hawk Moth's reaction to a ghost interrupting an attempt to akumatize someone.
Leonardo: I am going to go ahead and confirm that Dannette is not going to happen. If that's what you came for, you're looking at the wrong story.
Guest: Thank you!
Ice Wolf Fang: Yeah, I'm trying to work on the casts interacting a bit more. Adrien and Sam interaction is definitely in the pipeline, I'm just waiting for the right moment to reunite the two.
kingofdanerds: I understand your frustration with Adrien being left out of the loop in canon. It's an issue I have too. Thanks for understanding why Marinette discovered Danny's hero identity instead of Adrien.
LightDusk16: Thank you!
LunarEclipse1000: Thank you!
Stag-beetle: Yeah, Lady Wifi is going to make more sense here. Currently, Troublemaker is one of the episodes I intend to skip over for logistical reasons. That might change later, but sorry it will be skipped for now. I think for Tikki and Plagg to sense Danny, he would have to become an active threat like many of his enemies are, or maybe they sensed him on the first day and just never realized it. Since Marinette discovered Danny's identity a month into the school year, Tikki may have forgotten about sensing him that first day.
WatermelonCandy: Can't say about identity shenanigans as that would be spoilers. You're not the only one interested in Adrien and Sam interacting, and I promise the wait will be worth it.
Jahoan: Yeah, those benefits are some of the reasons why I started this crossover. I like how aspects of both shows could intersect with each other and compare and contrast. Interesting prediction for Bitter Reunions.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Miraculous Ladybug. They belong to their respective owners. Any and all familiar dialogue is for the sake of the plot.
One Kind of Bubble Popper
After the Lunch Lady's attack, things went back to as normal as what could pass for the new normal in Amity Park. While there hadn't been any major ghost attacks since Sam's Vegetarian Week experiment, akumas still popped up every couple days.
Soon enough, a special day arrived.
Marinette didn't even need to look at her calendar when she woke up that morning to know what day it was.
"Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" She squealed, climbing down from her lofted bed and sliding into her desk chair to turn on her computer. Her background screen popped up, showing a collage of photos. The aspiring designer sighed blissfully, staring at the one face included in them all. "Happy birthday, Adrien!"
Tikki floated up beside her, smiling at her holder's excited demeanor. "We kwamis have birthdays too, but we call them cycles." [1]
Marinette glanced at Tikki in curiosity. "Really? Well, you'll have to let me know when yours is so I can make you a present."
Across the city in the Agreste mansion, Adrien brushed his teeth in his large personal bathroom. Plagg flew up to him, holding a wedge of cheese tied up in a red bow.
"Happy birthday, Adrien!" Plagg greeted.
Adrien spat out his toothpaste and plugged his nose. "Ew, Plagg! Get that filthy piece of Camembert out of my face!"
Plagg shrugged. "Eh, your loss on a perfectly good birthday present." Tossing the cheese up, he ate the whole thing in one bite, bow included.
Marinette made her way downstairs with a wrapped box, all set for the day.
Sabine was cleaning up the kitchen when she noticed her daughter starting to leave for school, and stopped her for a moment. "Oh, Marinette! Don't forget to clean your room after school today." [2]
"Mom, it's Friday! I already have plans with Alya," Marinette said, a plea in her tone.
Sabine smiled kindly. "Oh, how nice. In that case, would you be fine with cleaning your room tomorrow then?"
Marinette nodded at the request. "Sure! I can do that." She began to make her way out of the house, calling behind her, "Happy birthday- I mean, have a nice day!"
Noticing her daughter's word fumble, Sabine amusedly shook her head and returned to cleaning up.
Adrien sat at the dining room table alone, finishing his breakfast. He had hoped his father would be there to have breakfast with him on his special day, but considering his absence, he had no such luck.
Nathalie walked in, carrying her tablet. She approached Adrien at the table and passed the tablet over. "Your schedule, Adrien."
"Thanks, Nathalie." Adrien solemnly accepted the tablet and looked over his agenda for the day. As Nathalie turned to leave, Adrien spoke up, "Hey, um, my father get back to you on my birthday party?" His face lit up at the prospect. A party would make up for his father not being there to celebrate his day.
Nathalie's face fell at his question. She averted her gaze. "He, um, doesn't think it would be a good idea."
Adrien deflated. "Of course." He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. It seemed like his father disapproved of anything fun these days.
Seeing his miserable expression, Nathalie offered a kind, "Happy birthday, Adrien." Unable to say anything else that could comfort him, she left him to finish his meal.
Nino sat on a picnic table outside the school before the warning bell, blowing bubbles as he spoke to Adrien on the phone.
"Dude, seriously?" Nino double checked his hearing. "Has your dad always been such a downer? You'd think he'd remember what it was like to be young and want to party a little."
Adrien shook his head even though Nino couldn't see him. He was on his way to a morning photoshoot. He would miss the first two periods, and then join his friends for the rest of them. "No, I'm pretty sure he was a downer then too. Well, at least I tried."
"It's your b-day, dude. Insist!" Nino encouraged. The DJ frowned, listening to Adrien talk. "You know what? I'm gonna have a little convo with your pops."
Adrien sighed on the other end. "Don't waste your time. He's not gonna change his mind."
"Who knows? He might surprise you." Nino argued.
"I wouldn't count on it," Adrien replied, "Gotta go. Photoshoot."
"Later, dude. See you at lunch, alright?"
"Yeah, see you then." [3]
Nino ended the call, and dunked his bubble wand into the soap, ready to blow off some steam. As he dipped the wand, he noticed Chloe standing next to him and scowling. "Agh!" He flinched at the sneer on her face.
"I should've known," Chloe snapped, "it was you hogging Adrien all morning. I've been trying to call him to wish him a happy birthday for ages. It's ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."
Nino blinked at Chloe in surprise. "You've been trying to wish him a happy birthday? You?"
Chloe scoffed. "Don't act so surprised. I've been Adrien's best friend since preschool."
"Oh, right." Nino rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I've seen you with the A-listers more than Adrien that I forget sometimes how close you two are."
"Then don't forget anymore," Chloe said, pointing at him. "I don't want be trying like twenty times to call or text him when you're hogging him to yourself." She took a look at the nail on her pointed finger, and pulled out her nail file. "So, where is he? He should've been here by now."
"At a photoshoot. His pops set one up for early this morning, and he won't be in until after second period."
"What?" Chloe gawked at his answer, and then stomped her foot. "That man is making him work on his birthday? Ugh, just when I thought Mr. Agreste couldn't get any more ridiculous."
"I know, right?" Nino said, internally surprised he actually agreed with Chloe on something. "So, I was thinking after school I would go have a talk with his old man about Adrien having a birthday party."
"Hah, good luck with that." Chloe flipped her ponytail flippantly. "I've tried to get him to let Adrien have a party for years, but he and Mrs. Agreste always vetoed it. You're more than welcome to try, but do yourself a favor and expect disappointment." She pulled her phone out and began to walk away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on Adrien's birthday present."
"You got him a present?"
"What did I just say about being his best friend forever?" Sighing, Chloe glanced at him over her shoulder. "Look, you're getting him something too, right?"
"Um, yeah?" Nino answered as if it were obvious.
"Good. Make sure it's something really dorky like a video game or a DVD collection of an anime, he loves that stuff." Having said her piece, Chloe left Nino alone. [4]
Behind a tree, Alya and Marinette had watched the whole exchange.
"Chloe actually cares about Adrien?" Alya wondered out loud to her friend.
Marinette glanced at her. "That's what you're focused on? Nino said he wouldn't be in this morning. Which means I won't have time to give him his present." She clutched the present in her arms tight. "This is a disaster!"
Alya put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Girl, chill. I've got an idea."
Later that afternoon once school let out, Marinette and Alya found themselves at the gate to the Agreste Mansion.
"Why are we at Adrien's?" Marinette asked.
Smirking, Alya answered, "Because if you can't give the present to Adrien in person, the next best thing is to drop it off for him to pick up."
Marinette smiled at the plan. "That sounds like it could work, and the best part is I won't even get tongue-tied." She approached what she assumed was the mailbox, and tried to open it to no avail. "This mailbox won't budge."
"Why don't you try ringing the doorbell?" Alya suggested, pointing to a button near the box.
"Are you kidding? What if Adrien answers?" Marinette replied, growing anxious at the thought.
Alya took it upon herself to press the button, and in moments, a strange little camera poked out from a hidden compartment in the gate. Marinette jumped when she realized it was staring at her.
"Yes?" Nathalie spoke through the camera.
"Um, hi?" Marinette stammered. "I'm in Adrien's class, well, some of them, and I… uh…" She held up the present. "Heh, did I already say that? Um… heh." She didn't know what else to say, and settled for smiling awkwardly.
"Put it in the box." Nathalie directed, opening the mailbox remotely.
"Uh, thank you." Marinette slid the present in after a moment of hesitance. The box closed up and the camera retreated into its hiding space. "I hope he likes it."
"Did you remember to sign the note?" Alya checked, and when Marinette gave her a blank stare, she shook her head. "Oh, girl…"
Marinette groaned at her mistake.
While the girls left, Nathalie retrieved the present from the mailbox.
"Who was that, Nathalie?" Gabriel inquired through his intercom on Nathalie's desk.
"A friend of Adrien's," she answered, "she was delivering a gift for his birthday."
"Did you remember to buy him a present from me?"
Nathalie seemed caught off-guard by the question. "Uh-uh, but you didn't ask."
"Of course I did!" Gabriel shouted harshly.
"Y-yes, sir. I'll get right on that."
"Good." He cut the link.
The assistant sighed heavily, knowing she was put in an awkward position. The day was already half over, and she didn't have any idea as to what to give Adrien. Looking over at the present Marinette left, a thought occurred to her. Perhaps she could…? The doorbell rang again, distracting her from her line of thought. Pressing the camera's intercom, she answered, "Yes?"
A few moments later, Nino was standing in the foyer. He badly wanted to blow a bubble or two to calm his nerves, but he had the feeling it would be frowned upon in the house. Gabriel came down from the upstairs, and stared down at Nino.
"Adrien's not home yet," he said shortly, unpleased to be distracted from his work.
"I know that," Nino replied, giving the man a curt nod of his head. "I actually wanted to talk to you, du-sir."
"Me?"
"Yeah, that's right. Look, I know you don't want Adrien to have a party, but it's his birthday, dude. I mean, sir." He flinched when he saw Gabriel scowl at his slip-up. "Please?"
"No." Gabriel stated, raising his palm. "That's final."
Adrien entered through the front door, finding his new friend speaking to his father.
"That's messed up," Nino said, beginning to count on his fingers. "He never screws up in class, he always does whatever you tell him. Photoshoots, fencing, Chinese, piano…"
"Nino?" Adrien spoke up, making the two adults and teen realize he had arrived. "You're here?"
Nino gave him a warm smile. "Anything for my best bud." Returning his attention to Gabriel, he continued, "Please show some awesomeness, du- I mean, sir. Please?"
Gabriel grew even angrier at being asked again.
Adrien saw the face, and tried to rescue his friend. "Forget it, Nino," he said softly, resting his hand on his shoulder, "Really, it's fine."
"Listen, young man," said Gabriel in a low, warning tone. "I decide what's best for my son. In fact, I've just decided you are a bad influence and you're not welcome in my house ever again. Leave now!"
"Father, he was just trying to do something cool for me," Adrien defended as his father left the room to return to work.
Nathalie stepped in front of Nino, her professional face in effect. "Goodbye."
Nino reluctantly made to leave, but Adrien caught him on his way out. "Nino, wait. My father, he's pretty stubborn. It's best to just stay out of his way."
Frowning, Nino shook Adrien's hand off his shoulder. "It's not fair, Adrien. Harsh and uncool." Having said his piece, Nino left the Agreste estate.
"Thanks anyway, Nino," Adrien said to his friend's back, heading up to his room to continue with his schedule.
Not ready to go home yet, Nino retreated to the park to cool his head. He didn't want to go home and say something stupid to his parents or his little brother. Dunking his bubble wand in the solution, he blew some bubbles.
"But, Daddy, please!" He heard a young boy exclaim. Lifting his head, the DJ noticed a father take his son's hand and pull him out of the park.
"No, it's not playtime." The father reprimanded. "You have chores to do."
If the kid had chores to do, Nino pondered, then why were they at the park already? He scoffed to himself. "Adults ruin everything all the time." Forcefully dipping his wand again, he blew more bubbles.
-LB-CN-P-
In his lair, Hawk Moth sensed a new opportunity for an akuma.
"Desperate to help his friend, but feels powerless? How frustrating. It won't take long before frustration turns to anger." Hawk Moth gathers a butterfly in his hands, and empowers it with dark energy. "Fly away my little akuma, and evilize him!" The darkened butterfly flew out of Hawk Moth's lair in search of its designated target.
-LB-CN-P-
Soon, the butterfly approached Nino, who was distracted by his bubbles, and imbued itself into his bubble solution. Nino froze, a dark scowl forming on his face. A butterfly-shaped outline formed around his eyes.
"Hawk Moth is my name, and Bubbler is now yours. I will help you with these horrid adults and all you have to do in return is help me get something from Ladybug and Chat Noir," Hawk Moth told Nino through the mental connection.
"Yes, Hawk Moth." Nino rose to his feet, grinning sinisterly as the akuma's dark energy washed over him, transforming him.
In his place stood Bubbler, a villain wearing a costume of reds, blues, and yellows. On his back was a big bottle of bubble solution and an even bigger bubble wand. Jumping onto a nearby roof, he took out the bubble wand, which was more like a sword at its current size, and waved swung it.
"No more adults means total freedom! This is so cool! Off the hook!" The various bubbles took on a green tint and floated all around the city.
The father who was taking his son home to do his chores, he was enveloped inside one of the bubbles and lifted into the sky.
A mother was pushing her infant son in his stroller on the sidewalk, and she was trapped in a bubble too. She reached out to the baby, crying out, "August!" The baby boy mirrored her, beginning to wail when she disappeared from his sight.
"Help!" A woman who didn't even have a child with her yelled as a bubble trapped her.
"Look out!" A young man in his twenties shouted, attempting to flee.
All over Amity Park, children who were with their parents began to cry when they saw them being taken away into the atmosphere.
"Perfect," Hawk Moth grinned, watching everything from his lair.
Danny, Sam, and Tucker sat in a booth at Nasty Burger, their usual hangout location once school let out.
"Adrien's dad is really messed up," Tucker said, biting into a double burger. "What kind of parent doesn't let his kid throw a birthday party?"
"Unfortunately, his." Sam poked at her salad, anger evident in her scowl.
Danny swallowed a sip of his drink, ready to say something, but sounds of distress reached his ears. "What's going on?" He asked, looking out the nearest window. His eyes went wide, and he sprung from his chair. "Guys, major problem."
"I'll say," Tucker replied, aggressively biting into his burger again. "Not having a birthday party for your kid should be against the law."
"Not that!" Danny snapped, glaring over his shoulder. He sprinted past them and out the door, Sam and Tucker following after a moment of confusion. Once outside, they followed Danny's pointer finger. "That!"
Sam and Tucker gasped at the sight of all the adults floating away in bubbles. They watched as some bubbles came down to Nasty Burger and squeezed inside. There were some shouts, and the bubbles came back out, each carrying an adult that had been inside the restaurant.
"All those bubbles are holding adults," Sam noted, looking to her friends. "Do you think someone had a problem with authority figures and got turned into an akuma?"
"Whatever the problem is, we have to save those people. I'm going ghost." Danny ran back into Nasty Burger, and into the restroom. Phantom flew out of the roof and went after the trapped people.
Watching his bubbles do his dirty work, Bubbler grinned. "Now, it's party time!" He waved his sword again, releasing more bubbles, these smaller than the capture ones. Keeping one near, he looked into it. "Today is your lucky day, little dudes. The adults have taken the day off, so make the most of it. No chores, no homework, no more nagging, just fun, fun, fun. This is the Bubbler's gift to you." Satisfied with his message, he popped the bubble and readied his sword. "Now to give my bud the party he deserves!" Using the solution bottle on his back like a jetpack, he flew across the city to put his plan into action.
A butler floated out of the hotel belonging to Chloe's father, the Grand Amity, in a bubble, and Chloe came running out to the balcony.
"Jean-Dean! Get back here!" Chloe called out to her butler. "You haven't helped me get ready for Adrien's birthday!" Stomping her foot, she pulled her phone out and grumbled as she sent a text. "Lousy butler… when I tell Daddy that he didn't do everything I told him…"
"You want to celebrate Adrien's birthday too, huh?" A voice asked her.
"Duh," Chloe scoffed, her eyes still on her phone. "My best friend for ages is getting his birthday, whether his father wants him to or not."
"Maybe I can help with that," the voice said to her.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh please, what could you do to help- agh!" She finally glanced up from her phone, and saw Bubbler standing on one of his signature bubbles. The hotel heiress sneered derisively at him. "What kind of outfit is that? You look like a badly dressed clown, not that they ever dress well. And what's with the bubbles? Bubbles are ridiculous, utterly ridiculous." She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back to him.
"Ridiculous enough… to throw Adrien a birthday party?" Bubbler inquired with a knowing grin.
Hearing the combination of 'Adrien' and 'birthday party', Chloe slowly faced him again. Seeing the expression on her face, he didn't need to hear her say anything to know she was listening.
Phantom lowered a civilian back to the ground. Shortly after he returned the man to the surface, another bubble came along and recaptured him. Growling in frustration, Phantom felt his cellphone buzz. Reaching into a hidden pocket in his suit, he pulled the phone out and answered.
"How's it going, Danny?" Sam asked without needing a greeting.
"Not great," Phantom grumbled. "Every time I free somebody, another one of those stupid bubbles comes along to take them again. It looks like we'll have to stop the akuma if we want to get anything done, but I don't know where to even find this guy."
"That's kinda the thing. We might have an idea," Sam said cryptically, causing Phantom to raise an eyebrow questioningly.
Adrien finished his homework, and set his school supplies aside for the next day. He bobbed his head along to a playlist that Nino had put together for him two weeks after their initial meeting, and Plagg was tucked away in his cheese stash, nibbling away at his Camembert. Once a song came to an end, Adrien hit pause and rose from his desk chair.
"I'm going to go see if I can have an afternoon snack," Adrien said to Plagg, not really sure where the kwami was hidden away. He stepped out of his room, and wandered down to the foyer of the house. "Nathalie? Father?" He called out when he saw no one. He thought he spotted something out one of the front windows, and decided to slip outside to investigate. When he did so, he was met by a large group of classmates from school, mostly his homeroom classmates and some he shared a few periods with during the day. They all cheered, some whooping and others clapping.
"Happy birthday, Adrien!" They called out.
Adrien stared in disbelief. He was so sure he wouldn't have a party that day, and here one was set up in his front yard.
"Hey, hey, hey, birthday boy!" Adrien glanced upward, and saw Bubbler standing on top of a bubble. "Guess what? Daddy's gone. While the cat's away, the mice will play."
It took a moment for Adrien to recognize the akuma's true identity. "Nino?!"
"The Bubbler's brought all your homies here for one single sole purpose- to celebrate!" The Bubbler declared, the kids cheering. "Let's get this party started!" He jumped down from his bubble to a DJ station, and began to fiddle with the controls, starting some music.
While the akuma wasn't looking, Adrien snuck back into his house. If he had waited a bit longer, he would've heard the Bubbler add something to his speech. "So dance, or you'll join the adults up in the sky! Hahaha!"
The cheery faces finally fell, and everyone reluctantly began to dance.
Adrien burst into his room. "Plagg, we've got trouble!"
Plagg hovered over to him. "I saw, and what's the problem? Relax. You're getting the party you've always wanted."
"But Nino got akumatized. I've got to help him," Adrien protested, concern on his face.
"You may never have this chance again," Plagg pointed out. "Come on. Let's have some fun while your dad is trapped in a bubble. Then we'll save Nino, capture his akuma, and all will be good."
Adrien thought it over, and smiled. "Okay, you're right. This might be the first day in my life that I actually get to do something I want for once."
Ladybug swung her way through Amity Park, following the sound of the fireworks to the Bubbler's location.
"Ladybug!" Ladybug looked to her side, and found Phantom flying beside her. "Did you get an invitation to the same party I did?"
"You know it, Phantom. Let's show up fashionably late," Ladybug teased.
Back at the party, Adrien had joined his friends outside. Unlike his friends, however, he was completely into the celebration.
"Hey, nice party I guess, since it's my first one." He mentioned to Rose, dancing to the music. She gave him a weak smile and two thumbs up before resuming to dance miserably. Adrien noticed her gloomy expression, and felt bad that she wasn't having as much fun as he was.
Alya saw Adrien frown, and made her way over to a corner of the party. She ducked behind a corner the Bubbler couldn't see, and dialed Marinette's number on her phone. Putting it to her ear, she hissed quietly, "Come on, girl. Where are you? I know how you can leave your name on the present."
Sam danced next to Tucker, and hissed in his ear, "We've got to do something, like break his akuma object."
"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Tucker responded as quietly. "I think the object is that sword he was using when he came and got us, but how do we get it away from him?"
"Leave that to me," Sam said, coming up with an idea. She hurried up to the DJ booth, and pointed at one of the party guests. "Hey, Bubbler, Dash was just saying how Adrien shouldn't have a party. You should do something about him."
Bubbler snarled. "Someone doesn't want my bro to have a party. Doesn't want him to have fun? Oh, it's time to bubble some party haters." He reached behind his back and pulled out the sword.
Once she saw it, Sam yanked it from his hands. "Thanks!"
"Hey!" Bubbler glared at her, reaching for his weapon. "Nobody hijacks my bubbles!"
"Tucker!" Sam tossed the sword.
Tucker fumbled to catch it, and ran. He didn't get far before Bubbler jumped into his path.
"Hand it over, dude!" Bubbler gestured for it.
Tucker frowned. "I'd rather break it! Say bye, akuma!" Raising the sword, he slammed it against the ground, only to find it didn't break like he hoped. He met the Bubbler's eyes, and weakly chuckled out of embarrassment.
Bubbler snatched the weapon back, and pointed it threateningly at Tucker. "You and your friend just tried to ruin the fun. You know what that means? You two can join the rest of the fun ruiners up in the sky."
"We don't think so!" Ladybug called out, and everyone at the party turned to see her standing on the wall surrounding the Agreste estate with Phantom hovering beside her. "Sorry, Bubbler, party's over."
Bubbler grunted in contempt. "Why you gotta be like that?"
"Are you serious?" Phantom snorted, pointing a finger. "You trapped all the adults in Amity Park in bubbles and sent them up into the sky. You realize some of them have kids to care about, right?"
Adrien's eyes lit up at the sight of his hero side's teammates. "Ladybug! Phantom!"
"You will not bust up my party," Bubbler vowed, creating bubbles and sending them at the heroes. They moved to deflect them.
Realizing a battle was starting, the guests at the party fled. Most of them escaped out the gate while some, namely Chloe and Adrien's homeroom classmates, stayed behind to hide around the estate. Adrien ducked back inside his house, and watching him gave Alya an idea. Making sure no one was paying attention to her, she hurried up the front stairs and caught the door Adrien had swung shut behind him.
If Marinette wasn't going to show up and leave her name on the present, she could be a good best friend and do it for her. Closing the door behind her, she quickly looked around and found Nathalie's desk with Marinette's present sitting on it. She was too caught up in her own business that she didn't notice Adrien go up into his room. "Yes!" she whispered to herself, grinning ear to ear. [5]
Adrien shut the door to his room, and Plagg came out of his shirt.
"I think I've been a complete idiot," he said to his kwami. Holding up his hand that bared his ring, he called, "Plagg, claws out!"
Bubbler threw some bubbles at Ladybug and Phantom, and the heroes did their best to dodge them. Phantom accidentally got caught in one, and Ladybug attempted to pop the balloon with a swing of her yo-yo, but it harmlessly bounced off. When the yo-yo came flying back, Chat Noir jumped in the way and hit it upward with his baton. Meanwhile, Phantom used his intangibility to slip out of the bubble with ease.
"Looks like I made it just in time," Chat Noir commented, getting into a battle stance. Phantom returned to a tangible state, hovering beside his teammates.
"We had it all under control," Ladybug assured him, though her point was weakened a smidge when her yo-yo bonked the cat hero on his head on its way back down. "But thanks!"
In his lair, Hawk Moth growled in frustration. "Get their Miraculous! I want those powers, now!"
Feeling the butterfly villain's anger beside his own, Bubbler spun around with his sword, creating a horde of red bubbles that he sent at the three heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir deflected them with their weapons while Phantom reactivated his intangibility, allowing any bubbles that slipped past the other two to phase right through him.
When the wave finished, they prepared to attack Bubbler, only for the akuma to snap his fingers. The bubbles turned green, and began to circle around them like a tornado. Before the heroes could understand what was going on, the bubbles began to stick to their bodies until each one touched them and formed one giant bubble. Realizing they were encased, the heroes pounded at the bubble, realizing it wouldn't pop so easily.
"Give me your Miraculous before you run out of air!" Bubbler demanded.
"Dream on, Bubbler!" Ladybug snapped back.
Bubbler gave an annoyed groan. "Total party poopers, just like adults!"
"Hey," Phantom interjected with a jab of his finger, "kids need adults!"
"False!" Bubbler replied, pointing his sword at the captured heroes. "Kids need freedom, fun, let loose and live it up! Adults are controlling and bossy!"
"But adults keep children safe and protected," Ladybug countered. "They care for their kids, and love them!"
While the heroes' civilian classmates watched the argument, nobody noticed Alya slipping back outside with her phone in hand and recording.
Chat Noir muttered off to the side, "Most adults do, anyhow." Ladybug and Phantom glanced at him in concern, hearing the comment. Ignoring the looks from his teammates, he added louder, "You must bring the adults back!"
"Nope! Never!" Bubbler refused, resting his sword on his shoulder. "You know what? Since you care about these adults so much, why don't you go float with them for a while?" He rushed at their bubble, Ladybug and Chat Noir tensing for attack.
Phantom huffed a little. "Okay, we've played prisoner long enough." Grabbing his teammates' shoulders, he activated his intangibility once more, having stopped it after the bubble wave, and lifted them out of the bubble prison with ease.
Once they flickered back into visibility, Tucker yelled out from his and his classmates' hiding spot on the large porch, "Grab the sword! That's where the akuma must be!"
"Got it! Chat, show him your claws!" Phantom threw the cat hero at the enemy.
"Your bubble's about to get popped!" Chat Noir extended his clawed hands at Bubbler.
"Really? Well, your attack is blown!" Bubbler shot back, swinging his sword and creating a bubble around Chat Noir before his attack could connect. "Up you go!"
"Chat!" Ladybug cried out as his bubble began to rise.
"I've got him," Phantom said, dropping her to the ground before flying up to pursue the bubble.
Alone with Bubbler, Ladybug decided now would be the time to turn the battle in the heroes' favor. "Lucky Charm!" she called, tossing the yo-yo up.
In her hands fell a large red and black spotted disc? [6]
"A record?" Ladybug wondered, glancing up at Bubbler to figure out how she needed to use it. In her vision, the table full of presents and food became spotted along with the wall that surrounded the Agreste estate. She grinned as a plan formed. "Hey, Bubbler! Mind if I make a song request?" She spun her yo-yo in one hand, and held the record in her other, rushing towards him.
Bubbler let out a battle cry, drawing out his sword. He waved it at Ladybug, who dodged and ran for the estate wall. Running up and across the wall as part of her evasive maneuver, she threw the record at the table, where it bounced off the corner and smacked into the back of Bubbler's head. The villain let out a groan of pain, his sword slipping from his grip. Quickly, Ladybug lassoed the object with her yo-yo and brought it back to her. Looking up, she saw that Phantom and Chat Noir were almost back on the ground.
"Chat Noir!" She hollered, throwing the sword to him.
Phantom released Chat Noir, who caught the sword on his way down, and the cat hero landed in a drop and roll.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir activated his special power, crumbling the sword to black dust. "Get out, you nasty bug!"
The akuma butterfly emerged from the dusty remains, beginning to flutter away.
Ladybug opened up her yo-yo. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She swung it and caught the butterfly. "Gotcha! Bye-bye, little butterfly." Once the butterfly was purified, Ladybug set it free. Then she began to look around. "Now where's…?"
"Your Lucky Charm?" Phantom hovered over with the record in hand.
"Thanks!" Ladybug accepted it and tossed it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
All over Amity Park, the magical swarm returned adults to the ground, several of them literally kissing the pavement. Those with children shared a tight hug, reassuring the children they wouldn't disappear like that again.
Bubbler sunk down onto his hands and knees, reverting back to Nino. The boy groaned, exhausted for reasons he didn't know. "Dude…"
"Pound it!" Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Phantom bumped fists.
-LB-CN-P-
From within his lair, Hawkmoth felt the connection to Bubbler disappear and knew that the battle was over. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, you can't run forever. And when I catch you, I will crush you. I will take your Miraculous and destroy you both!"
-LB-CN-P-
"Nino!" The three heroes looked over, and saw Alya rush to Nino's side. She helped him to his feet. "Are you okay?"
"What happened?" Nino asked groggily.
"You were akumatized," Rose answered, the rest of the remaining party guests coming out from hiding. "You tried to make all the adults disappear so you could throw Adrien a party uninterrupted."
Chloe gasped. "Adrien!" She whirled around in search of her friend. "Have any of you losers seen Adrien since the fighting started?"
"I'm sure Adrien is fine," Chat Noir tried to assure her. "He probably just hid in the house somewhere." His ring beeped, as did Ladybug's earrings. "Wish I could stick around and party, but I gotta scat." Grabbing his baton from its place behind his back, he vaulted over the Agreste mansion.
"I should get going too," Ladybug said, holding a hand to an ear. "Bug out!" Swinging her yo-yo, she jumped away from the scene.
"Same. Wish your friend a happy birthday for us," Phantom said before flying off.
Nino sighed once the heroes were gone. "I'm sorry I dragged you guys into stuff as an akuma," he apologized to his classmates.
Alya gave him a gentle squeeze. "Don't be like that. You tried to do something nice for Adrien when his dad wouldn't let him have any fun. That's pretty awesome of you."
Several of the class murmured their agreement with Alya that he had nothing to apologize for. While Nino's spirits were being lifted, Tucker saw something.
"Hey, look! The stuff from the party is still here!" Tucker pointed out, getting the class's attention. "Maybe we could-."
"Ahem." A stern clearing of the throat halted whatever idea Tucker had.
The class turned and saw Nathalie standing in the doorway on the porch. "I should inform you all that you are on Agreste family property without permission. Unless you'd prefer to be charged with trespassing, I'd advise you to clean up this mess and leave."
"But," Chloe protested with a scowl on her face, "what about Adrikins' birthd-?"
"Now."
Grumbling about wanting to celebrate with their classmate, the class reluctantly picked up everything.
Adrien sighed as he slipped back into his room, detransforming. Plagg emerged from the ring and drifted onto his shoulder.
"Guess that's the end of my birthday," he said morosely.
"Cheer up, kid. Sure, it wasn't under the best circumstances but at least you got to spend some time with your friends, right?" Plagg patted his cheek.
Adrien slogged over to his couch and flopped onto it. Plagg floated off his shoulder to avoid being squashed. "It's just not fair, Plagg. Everyone else gets to have a birthday party, but because of my father, I don't. What's the point of all the presents if I can't spend time with the people who give them and care about me?"
Danny and Marinette, having met up on the street somewhere, were about to enter through the gate to the Agreste mansion when they met their class coming out with their arms full of party decorations and presents.
"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Danny asked.
"Mr. Agreste's assistant kicked us out after the akuma fight wrapped up," Alya answered, shrugging. "Shame that you guys missed it. Sure, the party before the fight wasn't that fun, but it was still a party for Adrien."
"A party for Adrien, and I missed it?" Marinette inquired before moaning in despair. Danny patted her on the back.
"Eh, don't worry about it too much. Like Alya said, it wasn't really fun," Sam reassured her. Crossing her arms, she said, "Still though, I wish Adrien could've gotten a decent party. I would love to stick it to his old man by having a party despite him saying no."
The class once again mumbled their agreement, and that got Marinette thinking.
"Maybe, he still can! I have an idea!" She said excitedly, springing back.
Later that evening, Nathalie was back at her desk and doing final schedule checking before she would head home for the night.
"Nathalie," Gabriel spoke through the intercom, "did my son like his gift?"
Realizing she had forgotten something, she replied, "Uh, actually… I was going to check right away, sir."
"Good," Gabriel said, ending the conversation.
Nathalie began to panic. She knew she had forgotten something in the midst of the chaotic afternoon. Most stores were closed by that hour, so where was she supposed to get Adrien a present on short notice?
Glancing around her desk, she noticed the present one of Adrien's classmates had dropped off before the akuma attack. It was still on her desk. Picking it up, she noticed a sticky note was attached to it.
Happy birthday, Adrien! Love, Marinette!
My apologies, Miss Marinette. Tearing off the sticky note, she crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. She hurried into the dining room, where Adrien was finishing his dinner. "A birthday present from your father," Nathalie said, handing the present over.
Adrien gasped softly as he held it. His father remembered. He looked up as Nathalie turned to return to her desk. "Thank you. I mean, please say thank you to my father for me." She nodded, and exited the dining room while Adrien eagerly opened his gift.
The weekend passed, and on Monday before school started, Marinette waited at the curb with Alya and Nino as other students entered the building. Soon, Adrien's car rolled up to them. As he got out, the three of them could see in addition to his usual clothes, he was wearing a blue scarf.
Marinette squealed when she saw it. "My scarf! He's wearing my scarf," she said to Alya quietly.
"Hey, guys!" Adrien greeted as the car drove away, bumping fists with Nino.
"Yo! Nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain," Alya said, interested in hearing his reaction to the new apparel.
"Yeah," Adrien agreed, touching the scarf. "Can you believe my dad got this for me?"
Marinette and Alya blinked in confusion at him praising his father instead of Marinette, and exchanged a look.
"It's awesome!" Adrien continued to tell his friends. "My dad's given me the same lame pen three years in a row."
"Wow," Nino replied, stunned but accepting it. "I guess anyone can change. Adults can be cool when you least expect it."
Frowning, Adrien said, "Speaking of adults, Nino… About my father, we might have to stay distant for a little while. He forbade me from hanging out with you last week, so it might be a good idea for you to lay low for a little while until he forgets about it. We can still hang out inside school, just not in public where he or Nathalie could see us. Is that okay?"
Nino seemed a bit disappointed, but eventually smiled. "We're good, Adrien. Don't sweat it. We're buds, always and forever. And as your new best bud, there's something the girls and I have to show you." Looping an arm around Adrien's shoulders, he began to guide the teen model into the school. [7]
The girls followed behind at a distance, whispering to each other.
"I thought you said you wrote a note saying it was from me," Marinette hissed to Alya.
"I did. Mister Agreste must've taken it off before he gave it to Adrien so he could take credit instead of giving him that stupid pen," Alya whispered back. "You gotta tell him you're the one who made the scarf."
"But he seems so happy about his dad," Marinette argued, glancing at Adrien's beaming face. "I don't want to spoil it for him."
Alya sighed. "Marinette, you're amazing, girl." She and Marinette stopped in their tracks so she could hug her bestie. "You know that, right? Someday, Adrien will figure it out too."
The quartet arrived at their homeroom. Almost immediately upon entering, their classmates yelled out, "Surprise!"
Adrien nearly jumped. "Whoa! What's all this?"
"This is what we call exploiting a loophole," Sam said smugly, leaning against Ms. Bustier's desk that held a cake. "If we can't have a party away for you away from school, we'll have it at school. It was all Marinette's idea." She pointed at the designer, who blushed and waved at Adrien a little.
"It might be two days late, Adrikins, but it's better than nothing," Chloe scoffed not unkindly.
"Come on. Let's slice this cake before the bell rings," Tucker urged, eyeing the dessert hungrily.
Adrien stared at his class in awe, amazed at how far they went to celebrate with him, even after everything that happened at his last party. "Wow. Thank you, everybody."
Rose started cutting the cake and handing slices out, the class chattering about their weekend while they ate. Chloe boasted about how he could pick up his collection of birthday presents from her father's hotel after school ended, and Adrien showed off the scarf whenever someone showed interest. Nino pulled out his bottle of bubbles, eager to spice things up a little, but as he eyed the bottle, he decided to save them for another day.
That's Bubbler for Two Kinds. I wanted Adrien to get his party, so he did. I agree with Nino that any parent who does not celebrate their child's birthday is uncool. I also wanted to give Nino and Chloe a few scenes together. While they may not be friends, they both care about Adrien, so they at least have common ground there. The show does a bad job at making us believe Adrien and Chloe are childhood friends, so I included her talking to Nino about him to show they really do have history together and that Chloe knows him well.
[1] – Sandboy foreshadowing
[2] – I am not a parent, but even I know that it is bad parenting to threaten invading your child's privacy to convince them to do a chore so that bit got nixed.
[3] – It did not make sense for Adrien to be driven to school then picked up again for a photo shoot that was going to begin the same time class started, so I had him be directly driven there.
[4] – Chloe gives important context about Adrien's parents. I've seen posts point out that the only way Gabriel could get away with treating him that way is if Emilie agreed to it.
[5] – I didn't like how Marinette wasted a transformation just to stop Chloe from dancing with Adrien and waiting to transform again until after signing the note. Alya could take care of the second thing on her own.
[6] – Original Lucky Charm used to stop the slow dance now has a better purpose.
[7] – After this episode, the Nino ban was entirely forgotten about. Here, it will be referenced for a few more chapters.
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