Chapter 9: Malediktator & Style Queen
It's still fashion week, barely a couple days after the previous chapter. Chloe Bourgeois is trying to get her bee hair comb to activate, but it just isn't working. And she's throwing a temper tantrum. Butler Jean tells her it's time to go to school, so she heads off.
In an ironic parallel, Nathaniel Kurtzberg is in his room before school, also trying to figure out how he turned into Firefly. This includes trying various heroic poses and phrases. He also has no luck transforming. Unlike Chloe, he has no one at home to tell him to get ready, so he has to keep himself accountable and get out the door for class.
Later that day, it's time for Gabriel Agreste's segment of fashion week. Adrien Agreste is one of the models, and Marinette Dupin-Cheng landed an invitation because she won a hat designing contest. Audrey Bourgeois is there as a fellow designer along with Chloe and Mayor Bourgeois. Gabriel attends via live stream and Nathalie again. He beautifully passive-aggressively designs the situation to piss off Audrey, who winds up taking her frustrations out on Andre Bourgeois. There's a bit where Marinette talks to Adrien before the show begins while Gabriel is busy pissing off the Bourgeois family.
The fashion show begins. However, Audrey is simmering, which leads to her bickering with Andre. He's cowed at first, but then does snap at her just to shut up, they're in the middle of a fashion show, it's public, and everyone is staring at them. Audrey snaps back that he has no right to tell her what to do. That's when Adrien, on the runway, notices the akuma flying towards them. (If we see Hawk Moth prior, we also see Emilie Agreste in her life support glass coffin.)
His warning is too late. The akuma lands on the mayor's sash, turning him into Malediktator. People again panic and flee. With his new powers, the first thing Malediktator does is order Audrey to be an adoring wife. He goes to order Chloe to be a well-behaved daughter, but Hawk Moth tells Malediktator to leave Chloe alone—she's part of his plan.
So instead, Hawk Moth coaches Malediktator to tell Audrey to become evil and allow herself to become akumatized. A second akuma arrives, turning Audrey into Style Queen. (This moment is worth noting. As an adult, it is canon that Hawk Moth can use his powers multiple times in a row. So how is that different from the powers he gains with Catalyst? Perhaps Hawk Moth can akumatize at least a few people unaided, but it takes a lot of focus to communicate with them all at once and override their sensibilities. If he akumatized two unwilling people, it's possible with his split attention that one or both could break free. It'd be different if his victims were willing, of course. And that's the case here. Since Malediktator brainwashed his wife, there's no stress from her akumatization, the second akumatization, put on Hawk Moth, allowing him to have two pawns at once.)
Chloe flees, demanding at first and then even asking nicely once for her bee hair comb to transform her. It doesn't work (it's also quite telling that Chloe would practically beg for the chance to save her parents). Hawk Moth comments to himself that implies he's holding her back from transforming. Adrien and Marinette have also ran off to transform.
Ladybug and Cat Noir show up at roughly the same time, but taking on both Malediktator and Style Queen is very hard. Especially since the two villains are working together, since Style Queen is still under the command to be a loyal wife. Actually, to be honest, Ladybug and Cat Noir get their butts kicked and barely escape without being turned to gold and brainwashed.
The two heroes watch from a distance as Style Queen and Malediktator go their separate ways from the auditorium. Style Queen heads towards the Eiffel Tower while Malediktator hits City Hall, both of them leaving evidence of their powers in their wake.
Cat Noir laments about them splitting up, and Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm in hopes of getting a clue at how to beat them. The item (whatever it is) that she gets appears to point her to Master Fu.
This time, to avoid what happened previously where Master Fu was at the theater, Ladybug calls him to confirm his location. Master Fu hears what's happening and tells both Ladybug and Cat Noir to join him. Ladybug says she now understands his plan though Cat Noir hasn't caught on. Master Fu tells them they have to be extremely careful so no one follows them to his clinic.
They are careful, and Master Fu produces the miraculous box for them to pick powers for allies. Ladybug immediately picks the fox necklace. Cat Noir chooses Master Fu's turtle bracelet. Cat Noir tells Ladybug that they'll go get Carapace and Rena Rouge respectively and meet up together. However, Ladybug points out that this is one mission they're going to have to split. He and Carapace are going to take down Style Queen while she and Rena Rouge are going after Malediktator. They can't afford the time it would take to go four on one, even though it would put the odds in the heroes' favor. The odds for the fight maybe, but not the time. Ladybug and Master Fu both suspect all of Paris will be at risk unless both villains are taken down ASAP. (Considering with time, Malediktator can wide-scale brainwash, she isn't wrong.)
Cat Noir points out that Ladybug is the only one who can purify an akuma, but Master Fu points out another option—Cat Noir can Cataclysm it. Which does make a fight against Style Queen harder as Cat Noir cannot use his Cataclysm until after the akuma has been released; he must save his special ability for the akuma. Cat Noir doesn't like the plan; he wants to help Ladybug. Ladybug points out it's best if they divide this way as both of them are experienced while Carapace and Rena Rouge are fairly new; there's too much risk to divide into Ladybug with Cat Noir and leave Carapace and Rena Rouge as a rookie team against either villain.
Cat Noir concedes, takes the turtle bracelet, and heads to find Nino Lahiffe. Ladybug takes a moment to detransforms back into Marinette as she's on her counter (Cat Noir might have to too if their initial battle against Style Queen and Malediktator caused him to use his Cataclysm once already). Ladybug then goes to find Alya Cesaire.
Once transformed, Cat Noir and Carapace head to the Eiffel Tower while Ladybug and Rena Rouge sneak closer to City Hall. Ladybug still carries the item her first Lucky Charm produced (again, whatever item that may be). The guys begin fighting Style Queen; it isn't easy as she's very fast and Carapace can barely keep up blocking with his shield. Ladybug and Rena Rouge opt for stealth to get close to Malediktator before he can brainwash them.
Meanwhile, Chloe is still in the auditorium. She's practically in tears as her miraculous isn't working. She hears footsteps. Hawk Moth himself approaches her.
The two confrontations continue. Carapace loses his shield to gold dust, and Cat Noir is feeling the pressure to use his Cataclysm before the release the akuma. Meanwhile, Ladybug concocts a plan. She has Rena Rouge make it look as if Ladybug is approaching with Cat Noir. However, the two superheroines sneak towards the villain from behind. It would have worked had Nadja Chamack not been filming the Cat Noir and Carapace fight live, which Malediktator is watching and realizes that Cat Noir is not in front of him. He corners Ladybug and Rena Rouge in his office.
It's there that Ladybug happens to glance at one of Andre Bourgeois's family pictures. Ladybug then realizes that her first Lucky Charm wasn't telling her to go to Master Fu. The item (again, whatever it is) is also an item that Chloe possesses. Her Lucky Charm was telling her that Chloe is the one in danger. Rena Rouge tells Ladybug to run off and help Chloe (despite not really liking Chloe) while she'll hold Malediktator here. With Rena Rouge on the counter and no illusions left, Ladybug knows Rena Rouge can't stop the villain alone.
That's when Firefly drops in through the window and tells Ladybug to go. He'll be the one to help Rena Rouge. Ladybug doesn't like it, but both her teammates snap "GO!" in unison, so she takes off. Firefly and Rena Rouge swap a brief introduction before turning their attention to Malediktator.
Hawk Moth has cornered Chloe. Cornered her with a proposition. If she hands the bee hair comb over to him, he'll de-akumatize her parents. If not, they'll stay brainwashed and crazy for the rest of their lives. Chloe struggles and struggles to transform, but even in this desperate situation, she can't. Just as Chloe is about to hand over the miraculous comb, Ladybug bursts in to confront Hawk Moth. Alone.
The two fight, and it's crazy intense. However, perhaps it's Chloe who gets a sneak attack in and bashes Hawk Moth over the head with a vase that gets him to retreat. Ladybug thanks Chloe for the assist and then says she has to hurry back to help her friends. Chloe tells Ladybug to wait, and she then gives Ladybug her comb. "You were right, Ladybug. This put my family in danger…" Ladybug thanks her for doing the right thing and hurries back to City Hall.
With the guys, their combined teamwork manages to fake Style Queen out and they destroy her akumatized item. This gives Cat Noir the chance to use his Cataclysm on the akuma.
With Rena Rouge and Firefly, they're struggling much more. However, they do provide a very useful distraction that gets Ladybug to return, unnoticed, steal the sash, and de-evilize the mayor. Ladybug, of course, uses her world-healing wave again after she purifies that akuma and is sure the guys did the same (which she can see through Nadja's reporting). "Pound it!" in two different places in Paris. By now, Rena Rouge is seriously low on her countdown, so she finds a private place to detransform. (I would say that she would be well past her countdown, but Miraculous seems to work on "magic clock time" anyway.)
Firefly asks what's that even about. Ladybug, befuddled, looks at him and asks him if he gets a time limit/limited number of times he can use his powers. Firefly admits he doesn't. Ladybug finds this very strange as it goes against all she knows about how the miraculous work, but she doesn't offer to explain anything to Firefly. Firefly notes that Ladybug's earrings are blipping, so she runs off too. Firefly feels his crush growing but then berates himself because he also likes Marinette. He leaves.
Cat Noir collects the turtle bracelet from Carapace and heads to Master Fu around the same time Ladybug collects the fox necklace miraculous and does the same. The Bourgeois family makes up, though Andre and Audrey still don't get along.
Hawk Moth has returned to his lair. Nathalie asks him if he's disappointed. She assumes he is. After all, two of his best akumatizations were just stopped. Hawk Moth counters that he couldn't be happier. He says he uncovered the mystery of the new miraculous without kwamis and that includes using them to his advantage. He tells her that previously, he (and the other canon miraculous users) could only vaguely sense new powers in the city. But now that he has a face and a name of one of those users (Chloe Bourgeois), he can pinpoint exactly where the bee miraculous is. Hawk Moth tells Nathalie it was hard to throw the fight against Ladybug. However, now that Chloe has given Ladybug the bee comb, Hawk Moth can pinpoint exactly where Ladybug is. He can follow her home, find out who she is. If she gives it to Cat Noir or spends any amount of time with him, he'll also find out who Cat Noir is. And if Ladybug gives it to the guardian of the miraculous, whom he suspects is also living in the city, then he'll know where this guardian is and will be able to steal the entire miraculous box. Nathalie compliments him on his plan.
Cat Noir and Ladybug meet Master Fu outside of his clinic (as in, not in the vicinity of his clinic). Both return the borrowed miraculous, which he secures. Then Ladybug produces the bee comb, saying that Chloe handed it over. She is a bit excited as she asks Master Fu what he can tell about it. Is it even a miraculous? Where does it come from? How does it give people powers that are alike and yet so unlike hers and Cat Noir's?
Master Fu examines it and says it feels like a miraculous, but off. He then asks about the kwami, to which Ladybug says there's none. She asks what it means, and Master Fu says that this will only be the beginning of his research. He'll have to take it back to his home and study it.
Cue dramatic tension...Until Master Fu produces a clear glass box. He puts the comb inside and then secures it with spell tags. This will ensure that no unfriendly spells can spy, track, sabotage, or steal the comb. The three part ways.
Cue a loud "NO~!" from Hawk Moth as his connection to the bee comb is severed. He slumps down in his chair, dejected. He's unresponsive for too long of a time as Nathalie, very caringly, asks him if he's okay and what happened. When he's still too depressed, she comes around behind him and gives him a hug.
To be continued in Chapter 10: Volpina…