"Tikki, what's the best way to get in touch with Chat Noir when we're not transformed?"
"Marinette, we have got to stop having these conversations so early in the morning. You're going to wear yourself out. We both need our beauty sleep," the kwami yawned.
"Sorry, Tikki, I can't get this out of my mind. I want Chat and I to be partners on this investigation. He felt so bad that he wasn't there the other night, and I promised him that there wouldn't be any secrets. Plus, he deserves it. He does a lot for me and I owe it to him."
"You could always climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower and pretend to be an akuma," Tikki suggested.
"No, last time Paris thought I was akumatized, Hawk Moth almost won. How about something more subtle, like a Cat-signal?"
"You mean to tell me that you're thinking of copying something Chloe Bourgeois does and calling it subtle?"
"Good point… hmm… ooh… I could get a burner phone and give it to him to contact me, and a fake email address or Messenger ID to go with it… there's a thought. But those are expensive and I'm not sure I could afford two of them. Or one of them." Marinette frowned. "Tikki, I know you know who Chat Noir is. Can't you just go to him and give him a message?"
Tikki's brows furrowed. "Master Fu got very mad at us when we left your side in Sandboy. I'm not sure that would be a good idea."
Marinette made her best Please? face.
"Ugh… of all the things you had to learn from Chat, it was that look? Fine. I'll go. I still owe you for Sandboy anyway. But, I don't like it! And don't expect me to break the rules again for you! What do you want me to tell him?"
"Tell him to meet me at the Louvre at 10:00. We'll figure out communication going forward then. And Tikki… thanks. This means a lot."
Tikki smiled, nuzzled Marinette on the cheek, and then flew through the window.
Plagg was dreaming of a giant wheel of Camembert.
It was about five feet wide, on a gold pedestal, and it was his.
Nothing was going to stop him from eating that cheese. He might even eat it in one go, if he could get away with it. He pictured patting his fat, cheese-filled stomach after enjoying all of the gooey goodness…
No. The pedestal was shaking. The cheese was going to slide off! He had to stop it! He tried flying toward the cheese, but that just made the pedestal shake even more! The pedestal was shaking so much that he was shaking!
Plagg woke up, panting and gasping for breath. He looked around for the cheese, but instead saw bright blue-violet eyes peeking back at him. "You!" he hissed. "You woke me up from the greatest dream I have had in at least the past week! Wait… where's Ladybug?"
"Shh… sorry, Plagg, but she wanted to get in touch with Chat as soon as possible. They'll have to work something else out going forward, but in the meantime: have Chat Noir meet Ladybug at the Louvre at 10 this morning. I've got to get back; don't be late!"
Plagg grumbled something about becoming more responsible these days, flew over to Adrien's phone, and set an alarm for 9:45.
Ten o'clock found Ladybug crouched on top of the Pyramide du Louvre, scanning the sky for her partner. Right on time, Chat Noir touched down next to her.
"What brings you here so paw-sitively early this Thursday morning, My Lady?"
Ladybug smiled. "I've got some investigating to do, and I thought you might want to come along for the ride. You interested?"
"Me? Interested? I am a cat after all, My Lady. Curiosity is second nature."
"Yes, but you know what they say about cats and curiosity. Nobody will ever accuse me of not looking out for my partner's best interests!" she teased.
"I'm in. Where do we start?"
"OK. I'll start at the beginning. It turns out this Serket character wasn't an akuma."
"It wasn't? What could she have been, then?"
"A Miraculous holder."
"So somebody stole the Miraculous? How did they get it? Or is this another case of one being lost for a long time and it finally turning up?"
"None of those, Kitty. Apparently Serket created a new Miraculous. And this one is going to be bad. You know how you are Destruction, and I'm Creation?"
Chat nodded. "Yeah?"
"Serket's kwami is most likely Vengeance."
"So not only do we have a new Miraculous holder - which blows my mind - but they're the embodiment of revenge? That's not good at all! Hawk Moth has a focused goal and we're aware of it, but until we figure out what Serket wants, all of Paris is in danger."
"Exactly, Kitty. So, we're here for two reasons. The first reason is: with this new threat, we need a way to contact each other out of the suits. Second: I have a potential lead on Serket. Which one would you like to cover first?"
"I think I might have the first one solved, and that will take about three minutes. So, let's go with option two. I'm used to following your lead anyway, My Lady."
"You're such a good kitty that way. The new Miraculous holder's costume looks Egyptian, and since our costumes are representations of what we want deep down inside, I thought it might be useful to consult our resident Egyptologist."
"Jalil Kubdel - the Pharaoh!" Chat exclaimed.
"Precisely. Let's go see what he has to say." Ladybug slid down the pyramid and waited for her partner to follow, then they both went into the Louvre together.
"Ladybug! Chat Noir! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jalil asked. "Please, sit down. It's not much, but I've been given this small office to continue my studies while the University is on summer break."
The heroes took their seats across the desk from Jalil. Ladybug explained the situation, and took out a drawing she made of Serket.
Jalil hummed as he examined the drawing. "Yes… traditional Egyptian garb for a warrior. But what's more interesting is your villain's choice of name. I'm assuming you've looked up Serket already?"
Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged an embarrassed look. "No, actually."
"It's no problem! I'm happy to explain." Jalil's eyes twinkled. "Serket is an Egyptian goddess. Fertility, nature, animals, medicine… but I think what might interest you most is that she is the goddess of magic and scorpions."
"I knew I should have studied more for the Egyptian history test," Ladybug muttered under her breath.
"Huh?" Chat Noir and Jalil asked.
"Nevermind, sorry. Please continue," she gestured.
"Scorpions were abundant in Egypt, so Serket was seen as the personal protector of the Pharaohs. There was one scorpion that was so dangerous it was called the Deathstalker. Pharaohs craved the protection of Serket so much that a couple of them even took the name 'Scorpion'. They wanted to be seen as her partner."
"Interesting," Chat Noir said. "Did Serket have any enemies? Like Osiris and Set were?"
"You do know your Egyptian history, Chat Noir! Very good!" Jalil exclaimed. Ladybug boggled at her partner.
Jalil continued, "Serket didn't have any enemies per se, but she was seen as someone who could cure venoms, like the scorpion and the snake, for example. She was the guard against Apep, the snake deity of Egypt. Here, let me show you..." He reached behind him and pulled out a thick book, and thumbed to the page for Serket.
When he turned the book around, the heroes saw a red-and-yellow goddess, holding an ankh in one hand and a was sceptre in the other.
"That's her," Ladybug breathed. "I recognize the weapon."
"What else can you tell us about Serket, Jalil?" asked Chat Noir.
The young man smiled and leaned back in his chair. "I thought you'd never ask," he said confidently.
Two hours later, the heroes emerged from the museum.
"Is it still daylight?" Chat Noir blinked owlishly.
"This is certainly the most we'll ever need to know about Serket," Ladybug agreed. "I need to get back home for lunch, but this has been a very productive morning."
"It has been. Thanks for bringing me along."
"Anytime, Kitty. I know how you feel about working together as a team, and I didn't want you to short-Serket by being left out of the loop again," she smiled warmly at him.
"My LADY! That's two puns in two days! I swear, if you keep this up, I'll be down to six lives before you know it!"
"Six…? What happened to the other two? Is there something you need to tell me?"
"Oh, um… nothing. Just an… um… something I said to a friend yesterday. Ignore me."
"I could never ignore you, Kitty. You know that."
"That's true! And speaking of… I have that solution for staying in contact with each other outside of costume." He grinned and unzipped the pockets on his costume. He pulled out a small flip phone and handed it to Ladybug. "I've already programmed my phone number into the contacts list. I'll always have it on me, so feel free to text me or give me a call if you need me." The grin quickly turned into a rakish smile.
"Chat, I can't have your personal phone number… it's too dangerous," Ladybug started.
"Oh, don't worry, I have a burner phone too. Go ahead and try it out!"
Ladybug looked skeptical, but nevertheless flipped the phone open, went to the sole contact, and sent a text message.
[LB] /(%)\
A short digital version of the Pokemon theme played from Chat's costume pocket. Ladybug rolled her eyes.
"See? Easy." He pulled out his phone and chuckled, before fumbling with the keyboard. He laughed again when Ladybug's phone beeped out the Nyan Cat song.
[CN] =^.^=
"You are such a dork, Chat," Ladybug sighed. Then she grinned in spite of herself. "I like it! But Chat… two phones? That couldn't have been cheap. Let me pay you back for this one."
"Don't worry about it! It's the least this gentlecat could do for his Lady. But if you really want to make it up to me, I take payment in desserts and tummy rubs."
Ladybug rolled her eyes again. "I'll see what I can come up with." She slung her yo-yo out into the air and was gone before Chat Noir could protest.
Sabine looked up at the door when the bell dinged. "Hello!" she said brightly to the old man entering. "What can I get for you today?"
The old man smiled. "I'm new in town and am sampling all of the local bakeries."
"How delightful! We have a reputation as the best bakery in the area, so I hope we live up to that for you. What kind of pastries do you like?"
"All sorts, although…" The man's eyes lit up and he indicated some pastries near the edge of the display case. "Are those Nai wong bao?"
"They are! One of my grandmothers made them and handed the recipe down to me."
"I would like to try one, please." He placed some money on the counter.
Sabine took the pastry and handed it to the old man on a piece of wax paper. He bit into it and closed his eyes. "Delicious… This takes me back. I enjoyed eating these as a child."
"Thank you very much, Mister…"
"Chou."
"Mister Chou, I'm Mrs. Cheng. We hope to see you back here soon."
"Xièxiè, Mrs. Cheng. You can count on it."
(Note: "Xièxiè" is Chinese for "thank you".)