MIRACULOUS
Prologue
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Master Fu," a small floating turtle said while following an elderly man leaving a mansion.
"I don't like it either, Wayzz, but if what he said is true…" Master Fu said looking over his shoulder back to the mansion. "This is the only course of action…" Master Fu just resumed his walk to his apartment.
"But we still don't know if his suspicions are true? I mean is he even willing to go through such lengths?" Wayzz asked.
"A drastic means to an end…" Master Fu said as he unlocked the door of his apartment. Not knowing what was about to greet him. Upon opening the door he immediately noticed that the apartment is a mess and something was missing. The master just gasped as he ran in to look around the ransacked apartment and realized what was gone; the miraculous box. In its place were of series of pieces of paper with scrabbles of Chinese figure drawn on them. His eyes widened and felt his heart stop for a moment.
"Master…?" Wayzz muttered.
"This had gotten more complicated than I had envisioned…" Master Fu could only stand paralyzed for the situation at hand.
Meanwhile, Adrien sat in his room, the sun setting and while creating an anxious atmosphere as he had his eyes glued on his laptop screen, scrolling down with his mouse non-stop. Ever since his father was akumatized as the Collector, he never shook off the feeling that he knew more than what he let on. A small black cat figure was floating around him.
"You seriously think your father is Hawk Moth?" Plagg asked.
"I don't know, but he's hiding something for sure. As you know, Father has been distant from me since Mom disappeared and it all began with that book I had found in the safe in his office. Not to mention that brooch I saw when in his safe when I stole that book. Oh, and remember when he had me dressed as Cat Noir?" Adrien recounted as he stared at his laptop with black bags starting to form under his eyes. His cell phone rings and sees that it was Mater Fu.
"That was quick," Adrien said in his usual upbeat demeanor. His eyes widened, emitting a whispered gasp. "I guess we have to act quicker than planned…"
Chapter 1
Next day…
"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Ladybug shouted with an echo as red and pink energy burst to the sky covering the surrounding area. Swiping several affected areas, reverting structures and people to their normal state. Finally, a pale black haired young man on his knees holds his head looking around in confusion.
"Err… what the…? wha…? where…? when…?" the young man babbled as he looked around in confusion. Ladybug observed the victim briefly with her hands on her hips he recovered. Cat Noir fell by her side flat on his face once again. She looked down on him and showed her fist to him down to his reachable level.
"Pound it!" she shouted expecting a fist bump. Cat Noir looked up to Ladybug, he briefly lowered his eyes before looking back up at her. He didn't smile…
"Y-yeah…" he muttered returning the gesture.
"Uhh… what's this? Where am I exactly? Um… Are you guys actually superheroes?" the victim asked as he approached the heroes. His eyes were really wide as a newborn infant seeing his parents for the first time. Innocent, filled with wonder.
"You don't appear to be from around here, are you?" Ladybug asked, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow.
"Is it that obvious? Nah, I'm from the states. Name's Mordecai, I'm actually working as a substitute teacher here… Whoooa you two are actual superheroes" extending his hand to be shaken.
"Yep, this is Ladybug and I'm Cat Noir, her prince charming," Cat Noir introduced while approaching his head towards her.
"You wish!" Ladybug shouted, gently, pushing his face away with her finger. Not much of a Prince Charming when you were hanging their practically swinging your arms needing to be rescued."
"Cheap shot, Ladybug," Cat Noir muttered hanging down his head and letting loose his arms.
"Hey, nothing's cooler than a superhero couple," Mordecai pointed at them with a rather subtle hint excitement. Ladybug just shook her head while putting her hands.
"Really?" Cat Noir asked hopefully as he approached Mordecai. They quickly explain Mordecai about who they are, Hawk Moth, what had happened to him, akumas, and a little of how the miraculous work but not too much secret info. They then ask Mordecai why he could've been akumatized…
"My girlfriend broke up with me on the phone…" Mordecai said in a rather quick manner, looking down.
"Meowch!" Cat Noir expressed.
But before Ladybug could respond, her earrings started to beep.
"Whoop, I'm running out of time! See you later Cat Noir, Oh and pleased to meet you, Mordecai! Bug Out!" she quickly said, saluting the two boys with two fingers, before whipping out her yo-yo and swing away.
"Wait! This is my first time meeting a superhero!"
"Smile!" he looked at the Cat Noir, who he actually had Mordecai's cell phone, emitting a flash, taking the selfie with Mordecai. "A little souvenir for the newcomer to the fanbase," Cat Noir said grinning as he gave him back his cell phone.
"Whoooa…" Mordecai muttered widening his eyes, as he stared at his cell phone screen. "A selfie with an actual superhero…" Cat Noir then lightly punched him in the shoulder. Mordecai turned to him to find him grinning at him.
"You're pretty cool you know that?" Cat Noir complemented but before Mordecai could respond, Cat Noir's ring beeped again. "Sorry, I gotta split as well," with that he whipped out his staff and went off, leaving Mordecai along. "Take care!" Cat noir shouted as he went off. Mordecai glimpsed at the screen once again.
"Wait till Rigby hears about this…" he said as he ran off.
Later…
At the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, Ladybug landed on the balcony and enters the trapdoor into her room. She sighs in relief as her suit wears off with her Kwami emerging from her earrings.
"Whew… That was pretty rough," She chided wiping the sweat off her forehead. Tikki flew closer to her.
"Marinette, did Cat Noir get the short end of the stick again?" Marinette simply giggled.
"Boy did he," Marinette said while glimpsing out the window. "It really took my all not to laugh. I kind of feel bad about it now…" she said, her tone changing to a slightly sadder one, scratching the back of her head. "They were other times when he sacrificed himself for me to get going… I know he has feelings for me.
"Marinette…" Tikki began.
"But then they're other times where he's completely just this human shield or a redshirt just to pave the way for Ladybug, the 'real hero' to save the day. But maybe deep down inside, he knows it's probably because he knows I'm the only one who can purify the akumas and repair the damages of the incident…"
"Marinette, There's something I haven't told you before, something I should've told you from the beginning…"
"What is it, Tikki?"
"As you already know, Ladybug and Cat Noir miraculous represent the two opposites of creation and destruction, good luck and bad luck respectively. So it's no accident when things have been going your way a lot after we first met. Cat Noir must have a hard life and things have not gone well for him, which is why he didn't have the best of luck in battle either. But this eventually wears off; your luck will balance itself and it will not go as smoothly as it once did."
"I kind of figured that, but I think Cat Noir may finally have his break someday. Maybe things will look up for him as like the miraculous Ladybug cure," Marinette concluded, giggling.
"There's another thing I wanted to talk to you about. Marinette, try to protect Cat Noir and others. Thankfully, it has not happened but the thing is that not even the Miraculous Ladybug cure can bring back the dead," Tikki said with a seriousness like never before, which leads Marinette to let out a gasp that left her silent.
"Yeah, I kind of suspected that but guess I'm still in shock now that you confirmed it," she said with a chuckle.
"Those are the dangers and responsibilities of a miraculous holder," Tikki affirmed.
"Those of a superhero," Marinette chided in.
"Yes, a superhero," Tikki confirmed, they both gave a brief chuckle.
"Marinette, are you up there? Dinner's ready!" they heard Sabine shout from the kitchen. Marinette could only smile looking don the trapdoor.
"Coming, Maman!" Marinette replied.
Meanwhile…
Cat Noir made his way to the Agreste manor, sneaking in through a giant window just in time before his transformation wore off. Adrien let out a frustrated growl as he lay down in bed. Plagg flew around him.
"Wow, Adrien, You really don't look so proud," Plagg said as he neared him.
"I really screwed up, Plagg. Alya must've gotten it in her lady blog, and I'm gonna be the laughingstock of Paris," Adrien said while he buried his head under a pillow.
'Oh, come on! It can't be that bad," Plagg suggested. Adrien silently rose from his bed and walked towards his desk and types in the lady blog in his computer, showing Plagg what had happened earlier. Plagg covered his mouth but he quickly burst out a laughter of a lifetime.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," Plagg simply was just in the moment.
"That was pathetic!" Plagg kept laughing, bouncing on Adrien's bed.
"Hoho, laugh it up, Plagg!" Adrien then sank back in bed with a sigh.
"Cheer up kid, things will look up," Plagg patted Adrien in the head. He then let out another sigh.
"I remember when you told me that my luck will balance out with time, but my suspicions are true, then things will get a whole lot tougher," Adrien said, not moving from his bed. Plagg's eyes widened in a legit look of surprise, he hesitated for a moment before asking.
"You're really going through this, Adrien?" Plagg asked. Adrien then began to sit up in sitting position with his forearms resting on his knees.
"Something just had to be done, Plagg," If my suspicions are true then being Cat Noir full time and break away from Adrien Agreste…"
Next day in Françoise Dupont High School…
"Did you see the footage of yesterday?" Alya asked on their way to the entrance.
"Oh, give him a break, Alya, he plays a part in helping Ladybug stopping the Akuma," Marinette defended.
"Yeah, as a human shield," Alya responded.
"That was mean, Alya," Marinette wailed.
"You're right, that was uncalled for. It's just that, haven't you realized that Cat Noir can't keep himself in check? Would he really stand a chance if one day Ladybug isn't around?"
"I don't want to think about it,"
"Exactly!" Alya concluded. Once the two reached the school entrance, Alya then put her hand on Marinette's shoulder, stopping her. "Oh, I almost forgot, did you bring your permission slip for today's trip?" Marinette let out a gasp at the reminder. They had a trip to Belleville, this was especially important for Marinette, being one of the few times she has a chance to get in contact with her Chinese roots. She then frantically started to search her backpack, had completely forgotten about the trip itself.
"Seriously, Marinette!" Alya was flabbergasted by this, as she thought she had gotten her act together.
"Whoa, whoa…," Marinette stopped Alya as she spotted the slip right next to her gift box. (Thanks, Maman) "I got it, here it is," she whipped it out and raised it to the sky. Alya then let out a sigh of relief, blowing a bang of her hair of her forehead, putting her hand on her chest.
"Seriously, Marinette, how often do you pass down an opportunity like this? I mean, you don't even speak Chinese," Alya said. But before Marinette could respond…
"Speaking of Chinese…" a familiar male voice emerged. Marinette looked back of her shoulder and it was none other than Adrien Agreste. She immediately turned to him and waved at him giggling. He then took a closer look on her face. "So, you intend on checking out Chinatown, huh?" he asked, causing Marinette to nod silently. "Hmm…" he pondered for a minute before grabbing by her wrist. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" he then pulled her with him. "Don't wait for us, see you in class," Adrien shouted at Alya as he ran off with Marinette.
The two reached to a secluded corner of the courtyard. Adrien looked at the clock then around him before setting his attention back to Marinette. Who was still just staring at him, lightly blushing.
"All right, we still got time," Adrien said as he searched his backpack, whipping out a small makeup set. "You know, I didn't get the chance to ask you about your Chinese heritage."
"I … I… hardly ever talked to my parents about it…" Marinette replied, looking away, still smiling and blushing. Adrien's small makeup set caught her eye. "That's actually a cool set, Adrien. Do you carry it around?"
"As a model, I do tend to carry this when needed, though a rarely ever use it since I tend to go with my natural look," Adrien replied as he readies his red eyeshadow with a subtle of black in it. "May I…?" he asked. Marinette's blush intensified and hesitated for a moment. Her breathing became a little quicker and shallower before finally giving in to her ecstasy of being applied makeup by Adrien.
"Um… Sure," she replied in a quiet tone, almost a whisper. She then closed her eyes and allowed Adrien to proceed.
"I keep seeing your parents and I just don't see any resemblance. Are you sure you're not adopted?" Adrien asked. "No offense."
"It's ok, and if I was adopted, they would've told me," Marinette responded, still enjoying her moment with him.
"True enough, it's just that you have such an exotic look. Like you took the best from both of your parents. Not exactly western or Chinese, like you really won the lottery on this and since we're going to Chinatown, I've been looking for an excuse to do this. Ever considered modeling yourself?" Adrien asked. Marinette then opened her eyes as if she was a deer on headlights.
"Huh? Me? A model?" Marinette stammered as she tried to come up with a better response.
"Why not? You want to be a fashion designer, right? Modeling would look good on your resume," Adrien concluded. "And done, what do you think?" Adrien asked as he handed to her a small mirror. She saw her face with a new red eyeshadow, she was indeed impressed with his handiwork.
"Wow… You really are amazing…" Marinette said softly like in a state of trance. But before the conversation could continue, the warning bell rang.
"Whoa, let's get going," Adrien said gathering everything and set off.
"Right," Marinette affirmed following behind.
The two reached the classroom, only to hear the rest of the class burst in laughter as they watch Alya's lady blog in her tablet.
"What a loser!"
"Totally!"
"Please, go easy on him! He just wanted to help Ladybug!" Rose wanted to rationalize.
"Yeah, as a punching bag," Chloe retorted.
Adrien went pale as his heart sank to his stomach as all of his previous liveliness faded away with a shade of black and blue covering his eyes. Marinette took note of that.
"Um, Adrien, are you ok?" she asked. Adrien turned to Marinette giving a very the best smile he could muster but came off as embarrassingly goofy.
"I'm fine…" he responded in a rare moment of flimsiness, laughing forcefully. Marinette noticed a hint of sweat before she spaced everything when she was called.
"Marinette!" Alya called, "Come on, you know you can't get enough of this!" she shouted pointing at the screen.
"Oh, come on, Alya! Give the guy a break!" Marinette shouted, causing Adrien to turn to her with a slight blush on his face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alya apologized, "I know this seems mean but I can't help it!" she mustered while covering her mouth, trying to contain her laughter. Even, Nino is unable to contain his laughter while scratching the back of his head.
"Seriously, we should stop this, besides, someone's coming," Nino warned.
Everyone made their way seats with the laughter finally died down. The man entered the classroom. It was the same man who was akumatized yesterday. Marinette and Adrien's eyes widened as he set his case in his desk and started to write his name on the blackboard.
"Hey isn't that…?" Marinette asked herself.
"You know him?" Alya asked whispering.
"Alright kids, my name is Mordecai Quintel, Miss Bustier is unable to join you on the field trip today," Mordecai told the students. "First thing they told me to do is to make sure everyone is on their right seats. Could the class representative please sound off?"
"That would be me," Marinette said standing up," Marinette affirmed.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miss Bustier spoke highly of you, so I trust that everyone is present," Mordecai told her.
"Yes sure, I know everyone here and rest assured they're present,"
"That'll spare me the roll call," Mordecai said, shutting the list with one hand and letting it drop on his desk. He went up front and sat down on top of the desk. "I'll be your substitute teacher for the next few weeks, while we wait for the bus, I should might as well introduce myself. You can call me Mordecai or what they called me at high school, Mordo…" Raising his arms as if receiving praise while giving a cocky grin. But the students looked uncomfortable as if they didn't know what to say. Chloe simply facepalmed, and Rose gave a slight giggle, and Mordecai swore he heard crickets on the distance. "Yeah well, anyway I came from the U.S. with a friend of mine to work as a substitute teacher, and before anyone asks, yes this is my first class." Just then, everyone's curiosity peaked as everyone raised their hands with the classroom getting extremely loud with excited questions in the blink of an eye. Most likely about where he came from. "OK, OK, OK, before I answer any of those, I have a question for you; have any of you ever been on the U.S.?"
Only one hand was raised, Adrien's
"I have," he answered. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes.
"YOU!" Everyone asked in unison.
"I was actually born in New York, I actually lived there for a while before moving here and I enrolled to this school once I ensured that we have no plans to move out again."
"Whooooa…," Mordecai muttered as he widened his eyes as if using puppy dog eyes. "I wish I've been to New York, I'm actually from a boring small town in Ohio. Hey, by the way, You're Adrien Agreste, aren't you? Your father is the head of that fashion company, right?"
"Uhh… yeah, that's him," Adrien answered rather unenthusiastically.
"Does the name Rigby Rogers sound familiar?" Mordecai asked, focusing on him and got up from the desk, approaching Adrien.
"Actually, I think I saw him at the crew… Short, brown hair, raunchy, kind of a slacker demeanor?"
"That's him!"
The conversation went on for a while when they finally let them know that the bus had arrived for their trip to the Parisian neighborhood Belleville.
Later Upon Arrival…
"Remember kids, you have until three in the afternoon to report back here!" Mordecai shouted as the students are leaving the bus to enjoy their day. "Man, I sounded like a boring parent!" He muttered.
"Nah, you're not half bad," Juleka said slightly punching her shoulder.
Once Marinette stepped out, she immediately set her sights at Chinatown, she then turned to Alya and waved at her.
"Meet me 'you know where soon!" she said as she turned her attention back to the road as she ran. Before she knew it, she was surrounded by a community filled with Chinese people and culture. The number of people going back and forth, the incredible number of small stores and business in every building. The smell of raw meat and Chinese cuisine is in the air. It was all fresh, exotic, and new to her despite being half Chinese, which left her somewhat regretting not bothering to explore more of her roots.
She went deeper into the alleys as they're fewer businesses around. And when they are, they're usually odd stores and naturist medicine or curiosity shops. One of the caught her eye, a small print media shop. One would expect to have the latest of novels and magazines. Instead, it's filled with old books and Chinese texts. Just then, an idea pooped on Marinette's head… She then quickly hid in an isolated corner and opened her purse. Her kwami flew out once ensuring it was safe.
"Tikki, do you see this post of old Chinese text? I've been thinking I could find some information about the miraculous that we can consult master Fu about. Do you think I may find any info to help us out?" Marinette asked Tikki.
"It should go without saying that I still haven't told you everything Marinette. But I will say that they're things even I don't know that have been recorded and lost throughout the millennia. That place for all we know it may be just a waste of time but at the same time we may uncover things that may best be left buried," Tikki answered.
"I don't know Tikki, it's just that just yesterday you told me that even I can't bring back the dead, which I think you should've told me from the get-go. I'm beginning to wonder if they're things I really shouldn't know or you just don't want me to know," Marinette concluded.
"You're not the first Ladybug to question these things, Marinette. And I don't blame you for having these doubts. You're an individual and you're part of something bigger than you, Cat Noir, of even Hawkmoth. They're things that are beyond even my comprehension, despite all my millennia of experience." Tikki concluded. Marinette took another look of the old print store and pause for quite a while before conceding. "Be cautious, Marinette," she said and Marinette gave a teeth-baring grin before heading in.
She made her to a very closed space, the walls filled with stacks filled with old paper. Books, scrolls, newspapers dating all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century. The place seemed to be exactly square shape so she could just take a lap around the store and pass through the exit. Most of the text is in Chinese so for a moment the whole thing was a dead end. Until a run in changed all that… She bumped into someone, dropping a scroll he was reading… it was Adrien.
"Adrien? What are you doing here?" Marinette asked completely surprised.
"I should ask you the same," Adrien replied. He then reached out to the scroll he was reading, Marinette couldn't help but notice his hands were trembling somewhat…
"I'm sorry, I see that you were in the middle of something," she apologized.
"It's all right it's this weird stuff that caught my attention," He got up and reopened the scroll. The scroll had an intimidating amount of ancient Chinese symbols. Despite not knowing Chinese, she would recognize the symbols of modern Chinese, this is traditional Chinese.
"Can you read that?"
"It's a tough read, but I know the basic structure of it…"
"What is it?"
"Chinese alchemy, a practice that dated since way back when. With a combination of chemistry and science, they're able to craft and create any kind of resources whenever they lack them. This is how they created gunpowder. But also, other more complex transformations without having to extract them from earth, gold, metals, medicine, anything they may have needed at the time, kind of scary when you really think about it."
"May I ask why this caught your eye?"
'My mother was always fascinated with taboo arts. This stuff is what was the most particularly was into before she… was gone," Adrien trailed off.
Marinette took another look at the scroll, it was filled with crookedly drawn images of ancient Chinese art of people in various unusual positions as well as drawings of object and resources, as well as ancient tools and machinery that neither have any idea what are for.
"Is that why you were shaky just now?"
"Not exactly," Adrien's tone turned more serious. "I recently found out that they actually attempted to actually create human life…"
"You mean like… making an actual person with alchemy?"
"According to this scroll, this was suggested by some of the best scientists and alchemists in case they ever run low on manpower. An alternative to prevent women from overbreeding, especially since not every human being is born healthy enough to raise a promising soldier. Some even questioned the morality of such practice, some even said that if successful, they would be creatures to be disposed of once their purpose is served and even outright saying that they're soulless abominations with no right to exist," that last part caused the two to shiver. "And that's barely scratching the surface but I think you get the gist of it."
"Have they ever succeeded?" Marinette asked, her voice trembled lightly, clearly unsettled but still wanting to know.
"There were attempts all right, but that's it…" Adrien trailed off putting the scroll down. Adrien then turned to Marinette, rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head.
"So… wanna grab a bite at lunch?" Marinette asked on a whim.
"Sure!"
"HUH!?" Marinette's face turned blood red at the outcome.
"I actually read about a Cantonese place not too far from here I wanna try out, it's on me, what do you think?" Adrien asked. Marinette was in a complete trance, staring at him with dreamy eyes while grinning as if she's about to drool. "Uhh…Marinette?" She then shook her head furiously.
"I… Yes! Sure!" Marinette said a little louder than she intended. Adrien gave a slight chuckle.
"Then it's settled, I'll text you the place's location. There are still a few other things I wanna check out if you don't mind," Adrien said.
"Suuuure…" Marinette muttered back in her dreamy trance state.
"I'll see you then, little lady," with that Adrien was off. All Marinette did be wave back as he walked away…
"DUPAIN-CHENG!" she heard while feeling hands on bother her shoulders.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Marinette yelled startled by the sudden appearance. It was Alya with a knowing grin if she ever saw one. "Damn it, Alya! Don't do that!"
"Yeah, well it's about time you asked him out!" Alya said putting her hands on her hips. "So how did it happen?"
"I… I don't know. It just came to me and asked him on a whim!" Marinette tried to rationalize.
"It's instinct, Marinette. Use it more often! This is your chance! You should tell them how you feel!" Alya advised, she then grabbed her hand, "Hey, come on, there's still time before lunch. Let's head to the park!"
The two then ran off to join everyone else. Juleka, Rose, Alix and everyone one else heard the exciting news from Alya. They all became excited and started celebrating around her. They all suddenly grabbed and carried her in support.
"Tell him how you feel!" Alix cheered.
"You can do it!" Juleka shouted, louder than her usual quiet demeanor.
"Just believe in yourself!" Rose added in.
Marinette giggled at the support she was getting. There was no doubt; today without fail she would tell her feelings to Adrien. She would then spend the next couple of our playing, rolling and laughing at the grass with her friends. As she laid on the grass, she raised her hand as if reaching to the sky.
"This is perfect, nothing will stop me now…"
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Nothing could've been farther from the truth…
Meanwhile… In the Agreste Manor…
Nathalie was doing her usual gatherings in her office while staring rather sadly at the door to the main office. She had the natural ability to listen in without anyone notice, she regardless knew what was happening. Gabriel Agreste's usual cold demeanor was clear in his voice.
"Effective immediately… Your employment with us has been terminated, Rigby."
"But… But…" a cracking voice could be heard.
"We simply can not afford your residency expenses, you have one week to evacuate your apartment," with that, a short young man with spiky brown hair wearing a suit and a silver watch emerged from the office door in the brink of tears.
Nathalie could only stare in silence as he gathered his belongings on a box. He did so quickly and sourly storm off by kicking the front door and walked away.
"Are you really resorting to that, Gabriel?" Nathalie asked. Gabriel simply looked down and his silent pause dragged a bit more than usual. He massaged his eyes under his glasses with a sigh. "You know full well he did not have to be let go."
"I don't even know what I'm doing, Nathalie. Our plan with Catalyst was supposed to be perfect, yet you had to resort to the Peacock miraculous, which only amplified our failure,"
"That was my choice, Gabriel, I already told you it was my choice," Nathalie retorted. Gabriel said nothing more on the matter.
"And that miraculous box?"
"Our hired men confirmed it… we were too late. Someone beat them to the punch and stole them leaving behind a series of cryptic writings and symbols. However, the elderly guardian arrived in the apartment before we could examine them," Nathalie replied, leading Gabriel to look down with a sigh once again.
"Are we really destined for failure…?" Gabriel, his voice cracked. Shock was all Nathalie felt when she heard his voice cracking. She simply approached him and hugged him from behind. "Here I am, grasping straws and hoping for a miracle…"
"Whatever you decide, I'm always with you…" Nathalie said, tearing up herself. Gabriel quickly removed his glasses and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He puts them back on, adjusts his tie, clearing his throat.
"I'm going in, Nathalie. His emotions will hit its peak soon," Gabriel said.
"Of course, sir," Nathalie stepped back as he made his way back to his office and takes a hidden elevator down.
Later… in Place des Vosges park
Rigby stepped out of the bus, almost tripping on the way out he gathered himself a bit and sat down on a park bench, he had no rush in returning to his nearby apartment. He looked down burying his face for a moment before quickly getting up himself, grabs his box and slams it on the ground.
"ONE WEEK!? How am I gonna rectify myself in a week, if I don't soon, we would have no choice but to go home…" Rigby said to himself with his voice cracking and sat back down, burying his face with his hands. "How am I gonna tell Mordecai? We just got here! I need more time!"
Meanwhile…in Hawkmoth's lair
"Ah, the longing of prolonging your inevitable departure, such feeling of melancholy, nostalgia, and longing," the observatory window opens, Hawkmoth the darkens a butterfly and flies away by the window. "Fly away my little Akuma and evilize him!" He shouted.
The dark butterfly quickly found Rigby in his forlorn state and submerge into his silver watch. He quickly shot his head up with wide eyes and a mask like a figure shaped like a neon butterfly was on his face.
"Timemaster! I am Hawkmoth, and I'm aware you long to remain in Paris to pursue your aspirations and I'm am happy to aid you on your quest but in exchange, I need you to lure out Ladybug and Cat Noir and bring their miraculous to me!" Hawkmoth communicated telepathically.
"Ready and willing, Hawkmoth!" Rigby replied, standing on his feet and transforming into a darker and slicker business suit with a neon clock on his back, a theatrical mask, and a scythe. He tapped the tip of his scythe causing a spread of black smoke turning people around him into carbon fossils. He simply cackled and jumped off.
On a dark coroner in Belleville…
Adrien was hidden in one of the isolated alleys as he spoke with Plagg.
"Did you catch a sight of all that, Plagg?"
"Yes, and I gotta tell you, they're the exactly the right symbols that Master Fu described when he told us about the miraculous box," Plagg confirmed.
"But what are they trying to tell us?"
"Beats me, but they sure seem to have their Chinese roots,"
Before Adrien could respond people began screaming and the sound of dusty explosions soon followed as the approached towards his location. One such explosion shook the ground where he stood causing him to cover. Once the dust cleared, he took a peek only to be horrified to see the people being turned into motionless black fossils. He could see people's terrified faces as they were turned.
"What could…"
"Ladybug! Cat Noir! Come on out!" He heard a menacing voice nearby, causing to quickly take cover at a site nearby. Timemaster then jumped at a roof of one of the small houses. He walks near the edge to get a view around the neighborhood. Unaware that Adrien is hiding just below, his only cover from above was a vertically placed Chinese neon sign between him Adrien. "I know you're out there!" As he was about to walk away… "Whoops!" he stomps his foot causing the neon sign to fall, landing on top Adrien.
On the other side of Belleville…
While awaiting her much-anticipated date with Adrien, Marinette was chatting excitedly with her friends. It was only now that Alya noticed Adrien's work on makeup.
"Hey Marinette, I just noticed your eyes and you have a cute eyeshadow," Alya complemented.
"Oh yeah, thanks. I had almost forgotten about it,"
"You didn't come up with it?"
"Nope, it's actually Adrien's doing," Marinette replied, blushing.
"Is it? Wow, who would've thought he had such a keen eye on this," Alya said, admiring Marinette's eyes.
"Actually, he said that…"
"Hm?"
"That he came up with it just for me…"
"He did?"
"Mmm hmm, and he even asked me if I've considered modeling."
"Dude it's official, he's totally into you!" Alya Squealed, grabbing Marinette's shoulders and slightly shaking her as if jumping up and down.
"You think?"
But the conversation was cut short when the ground trembled under them.
"Look!" Alix shouted pointing at the direction where a series of black smoke explosions.
"Ladybug! Cat Noir! I know you can hear me out there!" He paused for a moment before jumping high. The girls made a break for a hiding spot. Marinette sneaked out of the group to find another hiding spot. They were then suddenly ambushed by Timemaster on the other exit.
"HEY WITCHES!" he yells, slamming the tip of his scythe on the floor causing a vast amount of black smoke to emerge. Turning the girls into black fossils. Timemaster cackled at the looks of horror on his victims' faces.
Marinette ran as far as she could into the building halls. When the section appeared safe, Tikki emerged from Marinette's purse.
"This one's really enjoying himself," Marinette muttered.
"Let's hurry Marinette," Tikki added in.
"Right, Tikki Spots…" Marinette began, but out of the blue, the wall behind her was demolished.
"PEEK-A-BOO!" Timemaster shouted, causing Marinette to turn towards him with a gasp. Then, a cackling Timemaster shot a projectile, hitting her, causing her to transform into a motionless black fossil herself. Timemaster walked away to continue his rampage still cackling to no end.
Elsewhere, Mordecai was gathering the other students trying to get them to safety. Paving way to the kids and civilians towards where the police are gathering.
"Everyone, get to the authorities! Man, why did this had to happen on my first day?" He then caught a glimpse of a mother who had tripped with a baby in her arms. "Oh, come on!" He yelled while he dashed, to save them. Once he reached them and it turns out that there was a large sign on top of her legs rendering her unable to get up. Before Mordecai could do anything, he heard a familiar voice behind him, causing the woman to scream as well as the baby cry.
"Oh Mordecai," Timemaster said in a sing-song voice.
"Rigby?"
"Out of my way, I got heroes to attract,"
"Dude, what happened to you?"
"I GOT LAID OFF, THAT'S WHAT!"
"Huh?"
"Yeah, Agreste was too cheap to pay for the yearly rent, so he booted me out!" Timemaster yelled. Back in Hawkmoth's lair, he twitched at hearing the remark.
"Why you…!?" Hawkmoth flinched.
"A-HA!" Rigby shouted, looking up and pointing at his head, "So it is you… 'Boss'"
"What the… Impossible! How…?"
"And you wonder why you never beat Ladybug and Cat Noir? Read comics, you could learn a thing or two from them!" Rigby concluded before turning his focus back to Mordecai and the victims. "I'll tell you one more time! Stand back, Mordecai!"
"I won't!" Mordecai shouted.
"Fine!" Timemaster concluded as he's about to strike. Only to knocked out by the end of an extended metal stick in his cheek above his jaw. He rolled uncontrollably to his side until he was stopped by a dumpster.
"Sorry to butt in, I can't let Paris be another Pompeii now, can I?" Cat Noir said squatting at the edge of the building.
"That's what time does…" Timemaster said as he got up from the trash, "Fossilizing!" he yelled, launching projectiles at Cat Noir, which he dodged easily. "Oh, ho, ho! I'm actually fighting a superhero!" Timemaster said to himself as he tightened his fist and shakes his arms in excitement.
"Timemaster! Focus!" Hawkmoth yelled.
"Ah, ah, ah, easy on the orders! Remember, I got dirt on you!" Rigby yelled. Which causes Hawkmoth to flinch again. He regains his composure and clears his throat.
"All, right. Let's do this together and capture the miraculouses," Hawkmoth said.
"Now you're talking," Timemaster said as he jumped away after Cat Noir.
The two ran side by side on separate rooftops, looking at each other. Timemaster launches projectiles at him. Cat Noir whips out his staff and spins it to block them. Timemaster then jumps at him. As if time slowed down, Cat Noir noticed Timemaster reaching his glowing silver watch grabbing his index finger and little knob and extending it, pulling off a glowing silver string, automatically tying around his scythe like it had a mind of its own, which Cat Noir just noticed he had let go. He then grabbed his scythe and strikes. Cat Noir blocks the scythe with his staff and leans back. With only the tip of the scythe falling short of touching his nose. Timemaster twists his scythe yanking Cat's staff out of his hands. Timemaster strikes again with a horizontal swing, but Cat Noir narrowly dodges the attack with a backflip.
"The Akuma must be in his watch," he muttered to himself.
"Eyes forward!" Timemaster yelled as he raised his scythe.
"And you, eyes on me," Cat Noir shouted as he narrowly slipped between Timemaster's legs. He quickly got up and grabbed his staff and hopped off the rooftop.
"Gotta get him away from Belleville," he muttered. Once he was far enough, he landed on the ground and started on foot. Hoping to lure him away to a more isolated place. "My Lady, where are you?" he asked himself as he looked around the rooftops as he ran.
"EYES FORWARD!"
"Huh?" He looked forward again only for his face to meet the tip of Timemaster's scythe, knocking him to the ground. Timemaster then gave a light chuckle.
"Hahaha, that sounded really cool," he said to himself in excitement.
Cat Noir quickly clears his head to see Timemaster about to nail him with the tip of his scythe. He successfully dodges it rolling back and he gets on his feet again. He began spinning his staff around again and then stood his guard. His stance had gone sturdier and his face had gotten more serious as he's ready to attack again. The two appear to be in some sort of stalemate. Staring at each other as is they're studying their opponent. The two took a moment before Timemaster spoke up.
"Your move," Timemaster tempted.
"Ladies first," Cat Noir said with a grin as they charged each other with a yell as the two weapons clashed. The bounced off but quickly regained their momentum and charged back again. The two delivered a barrage against each other resulting on all of their attacks being blocked by the other, resulting in one final lock with them pushing their weapons against each other.
"Is that all you got?" Timemaster taunted.
The two once again push each other away. But before Cat could react, his hand suddenly felt like something was holding his right wrist up high. His wrist was frozen in place, unable to move. When he finally saw the cause is a transparent neon clock was floating near his wrist. Anyone would immediately notice that it is what was causing his hand's immobility.
"Hold it right there," Timemaster shouted, clearly the one responsible for Cat Noir's predicament. He slowly approached, Cat Noir as he tried to break free with his other hand. "That's the beauty of time, you can't touch or mess with it," He was finally close enough to grab his frozen right hand, touching his ring. "I must say this is kind of a show stopper, or should I say… a time stopper?" Timemaster said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, and it's about time someone gave you the boot!" Cat Noir yelled. Kicking Timemaster square in the face, sending him flying across the block, causing the neon clock over his wrist to wear off, allowing him to move it again. "Cataclysm!" he yelled touching the ground, causing it to collapse causing both himself and Timemaster to fall under. Timemaster was still recovering from his kick in the face when he fell through the ground, hitting the sewer pavement flat on his face. It took him a while before he finally gathered himself, only to discover Cat Noir got away.
A few moments later…
Cat Noir was sprinting through the sewers, he had no idea how long it was but upon hearing the final beeping noise in his ring, he realized it had not been more than five minutes. He could've sworn it was longer than that. He leaned his back on the sewer wall as the soreness began to sink in as his transformation wore off. His Cat Noir persona faded off and revealed a rather battered and bruised Adrien underneath. Plagg emerged from behind with a genuine look of concern.
"Talk about a close call," Plagg added. "If you weren't a miraculous user, you'd be dead!"
"No need to remind me," Adrien said painfully. "That neon sign really did a number on me!" He tried to get up, only to be held down by the pain. "AAAAAAHHHH!" He yelled as he faltered and fell face down on the floor.
"Whoa, Adrien," Plagg shouted and flew to his side. "You gotta take it easy!"
"I can't afford to play house cat now, Plagg,"
"Even Cat Noir has to step back and think of their next move,"
"It's usually Ladybug who does that. Where is she?"
"I finally found you!" A higher pitched voice said Adrien and Plagg looked around searching for the source of the voice.
"Who said that?" Adrien asked.
"Tikki?" Plagg asked.
The red and black kwami quickly approached the two. She appeared to have an anguished look on her face. She gave Plagg a quick hug before approaching Adrien.
"I wish the circumstances were different but I'm…"
"Ladybug's kwami…" Adrien said, cutting her off.