Happy New Year readers!
Nathalie returned to the Agreste mansion two days after Duusu had freed herself temporarily. She had immediately checked on Adrien to see how he was doing.
He was in his room practicing on the piano. Ironically, he was playing, "The Moments of Happiness" from the musical Cats. Stepping into the room, she stated, "I'm surprised you would want anything to do with cats, after being turned into a were-cat. I believe the news said, you were cursed?"
Adrien's eyes lit up and he started to go over to Nathalie arms open when he stopped. He dropped his hands to his side and instead gave her a small grin. "It's nice to see you again Nathalie. Father said you need some time to deal with a private matter."
Nathalie adjusted her glasses and her lips turned up for a second. "Yes, I've taken care of my business. Now that I'm here, can you tell me how your feeling?"
Adrien scratched the back of his head as he replied. "I'm doing a lot better. I don't remember anything about what happened, besides being in a lot of pain before I blacked out. After some rest, I'm back to normal."
"I'm sure your father is pleased to hear that."
Adrien nodded and told her his father was letting him go ice skating tomorrow with a few friends for some exercise. He was really excited about it. It had been a while since he skated.
Confirming Adrien was well rested and back to normal, Nathalie left the room and headed to the atrium where Mr. Agreste was waiting for her. He had moved his tie aside so she could see he still had the Butterfly Miraculous, before putting it back in place.
She held her hands behind her back and gave him a stern look. "You didn't relinquish your Miraculous after what happened?"
"I couldn't let it go. It was Emilie's image that brought Adrien back. I'm so close and I'm pushing to get a protection dome done for Adrien. I just need to finish planning my final battle and this will be over with for good," he explained, trying to look intimidating, but he wasn't as forceful as before.
Her lips thinned slightly, but she said nothing against her employer. "I hope your plan is fail-proof. You can't endanger Adrien again."
"Agreed. Nothing will ever happen to him again. Mr. Thatch is trying to come up with a cipher to figure out how to read the grimoire pages. As soon as they are translated, I can make use of the knowledge to protect my family forever."
"Indeed, a good idea." Nathalie went over to her desk to work. First order of business, was to review the last two days of security footage to make sure nothing missed her sight. Adrien needed protection more than ever now.
She started the tape the morning after the cursing. Nothing noteworthy happened on the tape. Still, something about the morning around nine o clock and noon made her pause.
Her eyes were drawn to the painting of Emilie where the safe was hidden. She watched the painting closely, but nothing happened. The hair on the back of her neck raised slightly. Something about the painting made her unsettled.
It was the same thing about the front door around noon. Clearly there was nothing there and still, she was on edge because of the footage. What was going on? Could it have something to do with the tiny creature that powered Gabriel's transformation?
"Mr. Agreste, did your little creature ever leave your side two days ago?"
Gabriel gave her a sharp look. They weren't supposed to talk about his Miraculous, kwami, or his research if they suspected they could be overheard. The sounds of Adrien playing the piano could be heard, but he knew sometimes his son used his IPod to cover for him when he was doing something else.
Mr. Agreste stepped out of the atrium and called out to his son. "Is everything okay Adrien? I thought I heard a few mistakes."
"Nothing us wrong father. I'll make sure to not repeat any mistakes," called out from his bedroom.
His father was satisfied and closed the door to his atrium and locked it. He rounded on Nathalie and demanded an explanation of why she had asked her question.
"There is nothing on the security cameras, but something is not right. I feel as if something's there, but I can't see it. I know your little creature doesn't show up on the cameras, so I thought I ask."
"No, he's not allowed anyplace without me. The only other Miraculous is in the safe dormant, with the creature slumbering inside. Only if someone awakens the kwami will it appear."
Since the pin was not active then there couldn't be another kwami in the mansion. Surely, Nathalie was mistaken. While he knew her to be extremely thorough and completely dedicated to her work, it was entirely possible she was just being paranoid because of what happened to Adrien.
"I suppose I might be overthinking this. There's nothing on the cameras and you weren't active at all."
"Thank you for being thorough Nathalie. I know you're only looking out for my family. Could you please review the latest fabric orders? I want to be sure no one is asking for more than they really need."
Nathalie did as he asked, but she found her mind wandering a bit. Notwithstanding Gabriel's assurances, she still had a hunch something happened in two days she was gone and it had to do with the Peacock Miraculous.
If there is something happening with the Peacock Miraculous then I'll keep my eye on it. Even if it is dangerous to use, there might come a time when it is vital to protect Gabriel and Adrien. I'll just make sure whenever it is used it's only for a short period of time.
The next day, Adrien was really excited. The last time he had gone ice skating he had been ten years old. It was a rare outdoor trip with his mom. Even though he had fallen down a lot, he loved the feeling of gliding over the ice.
He had invited Kagami and Marinette had invited Luka to come with them. The goal was not only to have fun but learn more about the other one's friend. He arrived at the ice rink to find Kagami helping Marinette stay upright on her feet, while Luka waited patiently for him.
"Hey, Adrien. I'm glad you're here. It's been a while since I've ice skated and it's always more fun with a friend by your side."
"Well, it's been a long time since I ice skated, so this will be fun for both of us."
Soon the four of them were on the ice and it was clear Marinette was having a balance issue as Kagami tried to help her stay upright.
"Have you always been this unbalanced?" Kagami inquired in kind, but serious tone of voice.
"I'm a klutz and since I nearly died from a severe ear infection, my balance has been affected just a tiny bit more ahhh!" Marinette's right skate had gotten caught in a tiny crack in the ice and she nearly fell over if the Japanese girl didn't grab her tightly.
Kagami pursed her lips and stared at Marinette for several seconds. It confused her why Adrien would go out with a girl who didn't match his level of athletics. Her mother had always stressed the point of finding a partner who was equal to you or slightly better, to motivate Kagami to better herself.
However, Adrien had been raised differently. With Marinette being a budding designer, it made sense his strict father would approve of someone who was into fashion. Also, he had asked her to try to get to know his girlfriend better because she was important to him. He believed they could become close friends if they spent a little bit of time together.
"Let's try to get your balance under control. First, you need to bend your knees to stay balanced while you're skating. This helps you maintain your center of gravity. Then lean forward to keep your center of gravity even, and hold your arms out at a 45-degree angle if you feel wobbly."
Marinette did what Kagami told her to do. She wobbled for a second but managed to stay upright. She smiled at the other girl. "Okay, what's next?"
Kagami started positioning Marinette's body. "Keep your arms out, then take small slow steps at first, but step more quickly as you gain momentum."
For the next several minutes, Kagami patiently helped Marinette learn the basics of skating and soon both girls were gliding across the ice having fun.
Luka stopped next to Adrien and tapped him on the shoulder. "Your friend Kagami is a bit serious, but an excellent teacher."
Adrien chuckled. "Yeah, she's really focused all the time. After you get to know her a bit, you can tell when she's having fun."
"What about you? Marinette tells me you're a real gentleman, but a bit socially awkward still."
The blond shrugged explaining when you've never really interacted with people most of your life, it was hard to read social cues.
Before the boys could continue their conversation, they heard two people arguing very loudly. Turning their heads towards the rink entrance they saw a man of average adult height with long brown hair and eyes, who wore a white workout jacket, with a silver zipper and blue accents inside the collar along the forearms, and white sweatpants, with black ice skates.
He was arguing with an older gentleman with a silver business suit with a sour face. "I don't care about your contract, I want you out of here this instance! I have no use for an ice skating coach, who doesn't have any students."
"It's been a slow year, people are spending more time trying to avoid Akumas, and they don't want to risk being out in the open too often! I know I will have new students soon enough. You can't fire me because of circumstances beyond my control."
"I can and I have! Get out of my ice rink right now Philippe!"
"This ice rink belongs to the government, so no one owns it!" Philippe yelled at the man. The older gentlemen called out for security. Two men appeared and grabbed Philippe by the arms and dragged him to the door before throwing him out.
Luka and Adrien shared a look. "That was really rude don't you think?"
"I agree with Luka. Do you think we should go? I mean if he's that upset, Hawkmoth might target him."
The other boy nodded. Luka went to get the girls while Adrien skated off the ice to change into his shoes. Before he could even get off the ice, there was a loud rumbling and suddenly magical ice started to cover everything.
Marinette crashed into him, having tripped once more, and plowed into him. Behind her, Luka and Kagami had been turned into ice sculptures. Adrien grabbed her hand and tugged her as they raced into the hallway leading towards the bathrooms.
"We need to transform where there are no cameras," he hissed.
"Bathroom!" Marinette shouted as they both stumbled in the room. Reaching into their jackets, they both pulled out the small containers, with the Kwamiis potion filled foods.
"Tikki, Plagg, Power Up!"
Both Kwamiis swallowed the light blue macaroons/cheese slice transforming. Tikki turned into Stalac Tikki, with ice crystals coming out of her back. Plagg turned into Glacier Plagg, with a tiny ice crown on his head.
Both heroes called out to their newly powered Kwamiis to transform them. Ladybug's ice outfit was beautiful. On her head, she wore a tiara headband with three white diamond-shaped ice shards at the top. Her collar was a fluffy white edge, and the red area on her suit has a pale-colored flower design.
From the middle of her lower arms and lower legs, she had gloves and boots with fluffy white edges. Her boots have white edges around the soles and thin white ice skating blades attached to them.
She also has an ice shard-comprised belt above her hips with the front of it having a red circular surface like the Ladybug Miraculous, including the five dots, while having a white outline around it and her round spots which had switched from circles to hexagons.
Cat Noir's ice transformation was also beautiful. His hair was platinum blond, and the material of his outfit was shinier. The edge of his collar and his zipper were white, along with the edge of his pockets.
His gloves didn't have the wrist straps, and there were white edges on the cuffs and down the side of the hands, including between fingers. There was also white diamond-shaped ice shards on his lower arms and his hips.
His boots were gone. The legs of the suit covering his feet, with the ice shards around his ankles. His soles were white, and attached to them were white ice skating blades.
Also, he had a black belt above his hips with the front of it having a black circular surface like the Cat Miraculous, including the green cat paw print and four diamond shapes.
Once transformed the duo skated outside and were astonished to see the entire city was covered in ice! There was not a soul around as the cold wind weaved itself through the city.
"You know, this doesn't look romantic at all," Chat Noir said as he whistled loudly, the sound echoing over the city. "They always portrayed icy winter wonderland that couples were over the moon about."
Ladybug covered his mouth with her hand to quiet him. His cat ears perked up and they rotated slightly. They both heard the sounds of blades cutting through the ice.
A barrage of ice shards came their way as the heroes spun out of the way and headed further into the city. More shards came over the heads as the two were forced to split apart.
"You can't outskate me Ladybug! I'm Frozer, the world's deadliest ice skater!" the Akuma called after. The being jumped over her head as more ice shards fell her way.
Whipping her yo-yo to her right side, it wrapped around a frozen streetlight and she pulled out on it. As she hoped, she swung around and started racing back down the street, having caught a glimpse of the Akuma.
Frozer was wearing a dark blue Olympian skater type uniform with white gloves and skates. His skin was ice blue and his hair was frozen upright. Frozer laughed at her before doing a few spins sending more ice shards towards her.
Chat Noir leaped into the street, finally going in the same direction of his partner. He spun his baton deflecting the ice shards, so they would break away from the two heroes. He didn't want to find out if magic ice could cut through magic suits.
"Is that all you got ice chatpaid!" He cackled ignoring the ticked off expression of Frozer.
"You're going to be iced today Chat Noir!"
Chat jumped back and nearly stumbled as the Akuma lashed out with foot, trying to stab him with the blade point.
"Watch out Chat!" Ladybug warned as the man started doing different skating tricks on the hero. Each time he dodged he nearly got nicked by the next one. The last trick would have cut his throat if she hadn't yanked him away from Frozer.
"He's too fast for us and we can't get to the skate if he's always on the ground!"
"Then we need to get him air born. Try your Lucky Charm!"
She did and was rewarded with a bag of salt. Her eyes lit up as she saw a ladder nearby and a small bridge. "Come on! I've got an idea." The two hurried as fast as they could praying this would work.
Frozer got overconfident, despite Hawkmoth's warning the heroes were planning a trap. He skated after Ladybug who jumped down from a bridge to the ground below.
What he didn't realize, was the ladder she had used, was now unfrozen thanks to the salt. He lost control and was flung in the air by Chat Noir, who leaped after him and destroyed the ice skate.
Ladybug quickly caught akuma and cleansed it. Miraculous Ladybug fixed everything, including dropping the three of them into the now unfrozen river. Chat Noir rescued Phillippe bringing him to the shore.
"Are you all right sir?" He asked as he helped the man stand up. He looked around for a towel to dry the man off but could find none.
"I'm fine, thank you Chat Noir. I was angry about losing my job. I'm going to contact my lawyer and see if he can do anything about that. Have a nice day you two!" He waved to the heroes as they rushed off before they transformed back.
The next day, Ning was on her special computer going over all the data the Miraculous Team had collected on Hawkmoth and trying to figure out what his attack would be and when he would strike.
Even with the information Duusu had provided, it was unclear to her how Hawkmoth would increase his powers enough to create a large scale battle which would be all over the city.
"With the known limitations of the Butterfly Miraculous, I just don't see how he can create enough danger that would need a lot of Miraculous wielders to defend the whole city."
Wayzz floated over to give her some advice. "Even with limits, some people can exceed them with the right motivation. You yourself are an example."
Ning thought about his advice. She had finally become her own person, after almost three decades. She had been taught her only purpose was to obey the Security Council and do whatever it took to keep the peace.
Now I'm an Apprentice to the Great Guardian. The owner of all the Universal Kwami Charms, and have a family. I'm a multi-talented, athletic, genius. I've studied strategy and combat. I can recall everything I've ever learned. I will figure this out!
Turning away from the computer, she picked up the Miraculous Book. Both Fu and she were still having trouble translating it all. Wayzz's knowledge of the code only meant he could translate a few words, which took a lot of time for him to do because Kwamiis weren't supposed to know the secrets inside.
She reread Nooroo's pages again. Clearly, she was missing something vital. "Wayzz, how are the personas of the akumas chosen?"
The tiny turtle blinked at her. "I don't understand the question."
"Why do the akumatized victims have powers similar to either their akumatized item or the source of their negativity?" she clarified.
"The powers granted by the Butterfly Miraculous on a champion, are consistent with their desires and whatever the wielder believes can help them accomplish their task," Wayzz explained.
"Whatever power can help them accomplish their task," she mused. The answer came to her right away. "Hawkmoth wants to create an Akuma, who can help him surpass his limits!"
Master Fu heard her shouting and walked briskly into the room. "What is going on in here? Why do you look so pale?"
"Master Fu, Ning believes she's figured out how Hawkmoth plans to take control of the city," Honorra chirped anxiously.
Hearing this, Master Fu's turned blanch as well. He sat down on the bed next to Ning, who explained what she figured out.
It was very disturbing news. Hawkmoth knew from his homegrown akumas, he wouldn't be able to force a persona on someone if they didn't desire it. According to Duusu, there was a woman who visited the man's home very often
"It doesn't matter if she knows he's Hawkmoth or not. A loyal friend would always help their friend out no matter what the situation is. If she's willing, she takes on the persona needed to upgrade his powers."
"You are quite correct my apprentice. I have always feared Hawkmoth would find a way to access more powers of the Butterfly Miraculous. He has now found a way around the rules to achieve his directive."
Both humans were very quiet as they visualized a powered up version of Hawkmoth. Instead of purple, scarlet red from Duusu's visions. Multiple akumas all over the city.
It would be a disaster of impressive quantity. "Master, do all of Duusu's visions come true?" According to the book, she read they did, but she wanted to be absolutely certain.
He nodded discontentedly. "There is no way to prevent what she's foreseen from happening. All we can do is prepare for the event using the glimpses she's perceived."
"With what advantages? All we know is the battle is going to happen all over the city and the citizens will be frightened very badly," Honorra pointed out.
"We know many Miraculous users will be fighting. The three people Marinette and Adrien have deemed are certainly the extra Miraculous users," Wayzz pointed out.
Ning fingered her charm necklace. The power of the whole Universal Circle would be needed to secure victory. Even with the tenth of the kwami's power at her fingertips, she felt she was missing something significant.
She stood up and looked down at her pseudo-grandfather. "Fu, I need you to teach me how to bring out the powers in the charms I haven't used yet. Until we figure out when our enemy plans to launch his attack, it is imperative we're all prepared."
"Indeed. When this battle happens, not only will we have to defeat Hawkmoth, but keep the Miraculouses safe during the siege."
She nodded and followed him to the outer room to begin practicing her new abilities.
Two days passed and Gabriel was finalizing his plans for his end game plan. Even with the rushed job on the protection dome, it wouldn't be finished on the perfect day, to launch his attack.
He had decided weeks ago, to attack the newly created holiday Heroes Day. The mayor had created it to honor not only the Miraculous heroes but everyday heroes who contributed to society.
The mayor was a fool and he highly doubted he made up this day for the heroes and everyday ones. His bratty daughter must have talked him into it. He was one of the select few, who knew Mr. Bourgeois was no longer the "real" mayor because he had akumatized him.
Either way, Heroes Day would be the perfect time to launch his final attack. The whole city would be outside watching the parades or implementing their heroic idea throughout the day. The overwhelming number of citizens would greatly slow down the heroes.
Another advantage would be his Akumas would have plenty of space to move around as they pushed the citizens back. With all that space, it would be pretty easy for them to follow and take down the heroes, retrieving the Miraculouses.
"I should be able to quickly akumatized most of my akumas from Adrien's class and administrator, with the school so nearby. Though how to ensure Adrien stays safe. I should keep him home from school that day," the man said as he looked over the map of Paris once more.
"Master, may I voice my thoughts?" Nooroo asked quietly as he hovered over the map.
Gabriel turned his attention to his little kwami to hear what he had to say.
Nooroo steeled himself thinking of how to phrase his words. It was only because he could sense Plagg's constant presences and his brief connection with Ning, he knew who the duo was.
Normally, he wouldn't know as the spells on the Kwamiis prevented them from revealing the identity of their wielders to others or even his allies. Because he knew, he had to be extremely careful to make sure both Ladybug and Chat Noir would be able to fight.
"Since you don't want to risk Adrien's life, nor Ms. Marinette's, it would be better if the two of them were together, to avoid another accidental akumanzation with either of them. Since you can't get Marinette to come here, they could both go to the bakery and stay safe there," Nooroo reasoned.
The fashion designer stroked his chin as he went over the idea in his mind. He would do anything to avoid breaking another oath. Once he was powered up, his akumas would be attracted to anyone who was frightened or angry.
His son would be very scared and he had no doubt Ms. Dupain-Cheng, would be as well. Being the only person in the city who clearly remembered everything she did, still had occasional nightmares according to Nathalie. She had Adrien and Marinette talking about it the day after Sandboy.
"I suppose I could place one of my akumas in front of the bakery to keep the inhabitants inside. Hmm, whom to use?" he went through the list of akumas trying to figure out who would make the best guard.
He hummed as he looked at two potential contenders. He was loathed the thought of creating Rollo-Polo again, but the animal was scary enough. If he had Mr. Etiquette keeping control of the beast, they would make perfect guards.
After moving the two of them over, he knew he would have to figure out who should cover the opening he left. The Manicurist was strong and with her multiple attacks, she would be able to contain that area without any trouble.
"I'll need to turn on the security system and prep the weapons. Nathalie will need extra protection from any damage the Akumas cause. It also needs to be on for keeping my identity a secret. If there's even a slight chance the heroes could figure out my identity, I have to protect my son."
Nooroo felt the conviction in his mind. There was no persuading Gabriel from not doing this. The man had planned this attack perfectly. He had built up his army, figured out a way to not only control it but enhance them, as well. Given his extensive study of the city, citizens and heroes alike would find themselves trapped.
At least Adrien and Marinette now have a chance to be active. I have to have faith in their friends, Great Guardian Fu, and of course, Peace Keeper, to defend the city. I know I can count on them.
Marinette was visiting Luka on his houseboat, after school, to talk about something she wanted to do for Heroes Day, while Juleka was running some errands with their mom.
Luka sat on his bed, strumming his guitar as Marinette talked. "I want to do something special for Adrien because he's my hero." She blushed a lot saying that out loud.
Luka smiled gently at her. "You don't need to be embarrassed by the fact to you he's your hero. My mom is one of my heroes, and she hasn't saved a single life."
"I guess you're right. I do have a plan for honoring everyday heroes, but the one for Adrien is something private."
The boy nodded in respect. He also would want to do something small for his family without anyone else knowing. "So, what do you need my help for?"
Rubbing her hands anxiously together, Marinette ejaculated out her response quickly. "IwanttodosomethingmusicalforhimbutIdonthavethetalent."
"Could you repeat that slowly please?"
The teenager giggled nervously. "Sorry. Adrien is really good at the piano and I wanted to do something involving music for him. I can't play an instrument and I'm no good at writing music. I was hoping you could help me transpose something some guitar music for the piano."
It would be a challenge certainly. While both instruments were in the string family, guitar music was written on one stave and piano music was the grand staff.
Also different was the two different instruments capabilities. Guitarists were capable of doubling the same pitch elsewhere on the instrument and a lot of classical guitar music utilizes this unique opportunity.
Since this was not possible on the piano, there are times the piano was not capable of playing guitar music exactly as written. The opposite also held true. The guitar had only 6 strings and therefore it can only sound 6 pitches at once, whereas a pianist can land 10 or more by pressing two keys with one finger.
Suffice to say, while very problematic, it wasn't impossible to do. It all depended on the notes in the song. The guitarist was fervent to accept this challenge.
Luka set his guitar aside and reached under his bed to pull out some music sheets. "I've written a few songs before. Why don't you pick one and we can start transposing it. It can be my contribution to Heroes Day."
Marinette beamed at him, saying Luka was a very good friend. She shuffled through the music sheets trying to select the best one. "I like this one you wrote about making new friends. I notice the lyrics include a trip to the ice rink. You must have been really inspired."
"Aside from the fact of being frozen, I did enjoy getting to know Adrien better. I don't see a problem with being inspired by an akuma victim."
Marinette replied some of her best designs were inspired by Akuma attacks so she wasn't judging him.
They both sat down near the family computer and Luka opened up a music program he used when writing his new songs. He then played back a recording of the song in its original form for Marinette.
Marinette felt her head bobbing to beat of the music. "It really sounds great. Is there a way we can hear it on the piano as it is now?"
The boy nodded and changed the settings so it would sound as if a piano was playing. This time, the song wasn't as pleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. There were parts that the sound simply stopped, probably the notes a piano couldn't do.
"So now we have some idea how the music is supposed to sound, we can start by finding the notes which work and then replace the ones, which don't. This might take all day and tomorrow, but rest assured, you'll have this song by Heroes Day."
"Thanks, Luka. I'm going to make you a special batch of my chocolate chip cookies for you in thanks."
Juleka was starting to wish she had stayed to help Luka and Marinette. She wasn't perturbed by her mom's eccentrics. She was used to them and thought they were cool. No, the reason she wanted to be back home was a simple fact, her mother made her carry all their "booty" everywhere they went
"Now this is certainly more than enough food for Heroes Day! We're going to be the pirates of the river Seine, but instead of taking other people's booty, we'll be delivering a fine treasure to them," Anarka informed her daughter as she clapped her hands together.
"I think this is more than enough to feed all of Paris," Juleka grumbled softly. Her arms were weighed down by six bags of groceries. She also wore a backpack crammed with party supplies and costumes from, A La Poupée Merveilleuse, one of the best party supply stores in the whole city.
Now they were heading to the hardware store to pick up paint, brushes, and some odds and ends, to beautify the houseboat for Heroes Day. Juleka's mom was talking to her about what paint colors they should pick up.
"While black is traditional, I don't want the boat to look as if death is coming down the river. We need to look lively and friendly. Perhaps some red and gold paint? The Liberty should be at her best if we're going to show all of Paris, we are the best heroes!"
Juleka nodded as they entered the store. Her mother went straight for the paint section, while Juleka went to check out the locks and hinges. Some of the doors on the houseboat needed to be replaced. The leftover items could be nailed on the side of the boat to make it look edgy.
As she was examining the locks, she felt someone walk around her and heard something fall to the floor. Turning around, she saw a black woman leaving the store. Her foot nudged something on the ground.
It was small LV, brown and gold, change purse. Picking it up, she felt a lot of change in it.
Mom would want me to keep it seeing its finder keepers the teenager thought to herself. She turned her head to see her mom still trying to find the right shade of gold paint.
Setting the purchases down on the floor, she hurried out of the store. She saw the same black woman from before heading to a street corner. Mustering up all her strength, she called out loudly. "Miss! Miss!"
The woman stopped, turned around. Juleka jogged over and held out the change purse. "You dropped this in the store."
"Thank you! This was a gift from a friend and I would hate to lose it. May I know your name please?"
"Juleka. My name is Juleka." To her surprise, she managed to talk in a loud, clear voice.
"Thank you again Juleka. It was very honorable of you to return this. Most people wouldn't and keep it for themselves. I hope you have a nice day." The woman shook her hand and headed on her way.
Feeling pleased with herself, headed back into the store. The purchases were still in the same place as before. Her mother, holding two large paint cans with some paintbrushes in her pocket, with a scowl on the face. "Where were you Juleka? You left our treasure unattended. I would hate to have our groceries stolen along with our supplies."
"I was returning a change purse to its owner. She dropped it when she went around me. It was the honorable thing to do."
Anarka shook her head. "Next time Juleka please don't run off without taking your stuff with you. Pick up the supplies and help me finish the shopping." The woman handed her daughter the paint cans and brushes.
Outside the store, the black woman watched Juleka pick up the supplies and continue to help her mom. Smiling, she walked away heading away from the store. A tiny magpie head popped out of the change purse.
"Well, how did she do?" Honorra questioned "Courtney."
"You were right, she did return the change purse and she didn't look inside. She is worthy of your Miraculous. Still, you need several more months to recover. If you go into your Miraculous to soon, you'll become incorporeal again," Courtney/Ning remarked to her.
"As you once said, this decision isn't up to the Great Guardian or you. I will think about it. Do you promise if my help is needed, you will deliver me to Juleka?"
"I promise. Let's hope you aren't needed when it comes to the final battle. If it does, I fear what will happen once Hawkmoth realizes there are more Miraculouses out there."