Chapter 14: Catalyst/Mayura
It's Hero Day in Paris—a new holiday to celebrate all the good Ladybug and Cat Noir have done on top of encouraging Parisians to do altruistic acts. This includes a huge parade as well as an assignment for all students in the main school to perform one good deed and write about it. At one point, early on in the chapter, there's mention of the heroics of Dauphin and Dauphine when it comes to aquatic search and rescue.
All around school, students are gearing up for their presentations and for the festivities. This includes cameos of all the cast to date: the entirety of Miss Bustier's class (Class A), Mr. Haprele's Class B with Marc and Kagami and Giselle and the rest, as well as Ms. Mendeleiev's class (Class C) with Pierre Lefevre and Viktor Vasiliev and Jean Duparc and Mireille and Aurore and the rest. (Please see (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces) for the class photo.)
However, everything has aligned perfectly for Hawk Moth, and he's obviously elated about how his plans are about to come to fruition. His first step is to send an akuma towards Lila Rossi, who once again willingly akumatizes herself into Volpina. She insists she'll only help Hawk Moth if he can get her the fox miraculous. Hawk Moth says that his plan will lure all the miraculous out, and once he's done, the fox miraculous will be hers. Volpina agrees to his plan.
During the morning parade, Volpina casts her most dramatic illusion yet. She shows all of Paris the image of an akumatized Ladybug fighting against Cat Noir across the parade balloons. Black Ladybug actually turns Cat Noir's own Cataclysm against him, killing him. Black Ladybug then sends both miraculous straight to Hawk Moth and laughs. Seeing Cat Noir killed during a live broadcast as well as Hawk Moth essentially winning is enough to send Paris into the pits of despair.
Volpina withdraws and goes to school like normal, pretending she's upset that Cat Noir is dead. Meanwhile, everybody is pretty much waiting for the apocalypse to start since Ladybug is now in Hawk Moth's control (or so they think, remember, it was all an illusion). Of course, Marinette Dupin-Cheng and Adrien Agreste aren't buying it and they tell everyone not to give in to despair, but it's hard to convince anyone when the only evidence is their secret identities.
Hawk Moth then begins phase two of his plan. He akumatizes Nathalie Sancoeur into Catalyst—who willingly goes along with the process. Catalyst's ability is to power up miraculous users, so she upgrades Hawk Moth's own powers, turning him into Scarlet Hawk Moth. As Scarlet Hawk Moth, he creates hundreds of akuma and releases them into the city.
With everyone basically in mourning, people begin to get akumatized left and right. The limit to Scarlet Hawk Moth's mass control is that he can only re-akumatize people. He can't mass akumatize anyone who hasn't been akumatized before and he can't give anyone a power they didn't have before (so, for example, Max Kante can only be Gamer and not Gamer 2.0. And since Ms. Mendeleiev hasn't been akumatized yet in chronology, he can't turn her into Kwami Buster/Alchemist. This is also why Giselle Winters-Blanchet isn't akumatized even though she's devastated by Cat Noir's apparent death.)
Half of the students in school wind up akumatized. This includes Sabrina Raincomprix into Vanisher and Le Chien Kim into Dark Cupid, whom Hawk Moth himself makes a point of targeting. Rose Lavillant gets turned into Princess Fragrance again. Mylene and Ivan get akumatized in each other's arms, turning into Horrificator and Stoneheart respectively. Chloe is so confident the akumas leave her alone, which sparks Marinette to shout, telling everyone not to give into fear. Juleka Couffaine avoids becoming akumatized herself this way. Adrien urges everyone to hide. Treat it like a tornado drill. Find a room with no windows and shut the doors, including the cracks, to keep the akumas out. The students break into productivity.
That gives Marinette and Adrien and chance to slip away and transform. They aren't the only ones. The high tension manages to activate all of the miraculous without kwamis, turning Tsuyu into Froppy, Fumikage into Tsukuyomi, Luka into Alpha, Nathaniel into Firefly, and Ondine into Dauphine. The only ones who don't transform are Chloe and Giselle as Master Fu has their miraculous.
Ladybug and Cat Noir watch from a distance as all the red akumatized victims begin to gather at the Eiffel Tower. They then realize that Hawk Moth himself is there. However, he is very well guarded. They meet up and briefly discuss what they can possibly do. Both realize they need all the help they can get, so they decide to take two different routes to Master Fu.
However, Hawk Moth predicted they would go for their allies. He has Reverser spy on them from above, noticing which way they go. However, both Ladybug and Cat Noir are quickly able to pick up that he's there. This forces Reverser to choose which one to go after. He picks Cat Noir.
This leaves Ladybug apparently free. However, Reverser wasn't alone. Vanisher was on his glider with him. She dismounted and followed Ladybug. Fortunately, Ladybug heard the footsteps and was able to lead Vanisher into the storm drains, where she got the jump on her and was able to de-akumatize her. One akuma purified, only like a zillion more to go.
Cat Noir similarly is able to double back behind Reverser and get the drop on him, tying him to a lamp post. He Cataclym's the akuma, figuring he'll recharge at Master Fu's.
The other five kwami-less heroes also begin to converge on the Eiffel Tower, watching what's going on from secret.
Master Fu is waiting for the main duo, though he is surprised they showed up at the same time. He opens the miraculous box, and Ladybug takes the fox miraculous. Cat Noir takes the mantis and the turtle. They agree to retrieve their allies and meet up on top of the roof of X Building. Cat Noir also takes time to detransform, feed Plagg, and retransform.
Of all irony, both of them head back to school via different routes. Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire managed to lock themselves in the locker hallway, though they're both swatting akumas. Cat Noir comes in through one window with the turtle for Nino at the same time Ladybug comes through the other window with the fox for Alya. Nino is shocked to find out Alya is Rena Rouge, though Alya admits she knew all along he was Carapace. Cat Noir winces, wondering if they messed up in letting identities slip. Alya admits she's okay with Nino knowing she's Rena Rouge as she trusts him. She also points out she's already proven trustworthy as she told no one she discovered Nino is Carapace. Ladybug says that for a hero, protecting their identities is most important. She asks them both, very directly, if they can continue. As in, can Alya continue to be Rena Rouge and focus on the greater good knowing that Nino is Carapace and knowing that both Ladybug and Cat Noir now know her identities. And can Nino continue to be Carapace without being held back in anyway by the fact that his girlfriend is Rena Rouge and by the fact that both Cat Noir and Ladybug know who he is. Both agree to continue and transform. (This is a slight deviation from canon where it's implied that once you get outed as a hero, you should give up your miraculous.)
Cat Noir ponders why Ladybug chose Alya, but then he decides it's because of Alya's work on the Ladyblog. Ladybug wonders why Cat Noir picked Nino, but she figures it's because Nino was so gutsy against Anansi. Cat Noir tells Ladybug he needs to go get Kamaitachi, so he asks her to go on with Carapace and Rena Rouge to the meeting place. Ladybug agrees and they part ways.
Meanwhile, back on the streets leading to the Eiffel Tower, Firefly is circling close but not too close, as surveillance. However, he happens to catch sight of Alpha, who is watching from the shadows near the Seine River. Firefly lands and greets Alpha, noting that he hasn't been akumatize (Alpha: Yeah…duh?) and that he's heard of Alpha as a hero. He asks if Alpha knows what's going on and then proposes they work together considering the sheer number of villains they're against.
Alpha asks a bit of an introduction, wondering who Firefly is (He's heard of Firefly but doesn't really know much). While they're talking, Tsukuyomi and Froppy jump down from overhead. They begin to compare notes, but don't get too far before Dauphine emerges from the river. Then they all get on with formal introductions and proper note comparing.
Cat Noir brings Kamaitachi to the rooftop where Ladybug is waiting with Carapace and Rena Rouge. Ladybug explains they've been watching the villain movements for a while, and she points out what she thinks will be the fastest route to Scarlet Hawk Moth. She also points out that the akuma victims lining that route would be easiest for the five of them to deal with. Cat Noir agrees with the plan (of course he does, Ladybug came up with it) and they sneak closer before charging in. They begin fighting the akuma victims. Fortunately, they know which items the akumas are in, making less work and a lot of purification for Ladybug.
The sounds of the fight reach the ears of the miraculous without kwamis wielders. They unanimously agree to help Ladybug's team, which Alpha references as "The A Team." Firefly remarks that they need a team name too. They throw out a few ideas as they charge into battle on the other front. (One idea has to be "Mystery Men.")
As the two groups converge, Dark Cupid flies forward. Since his ability is to stir up dark emotions, it's easy for him to re-convert the freed victims and get them akumatized again. Ladybug and the others quickly realize they're about to be overwhelmed, and those five get into a tight pinch. A maximum drama moment.
Then Alpha's team breaks through. Firefly quickly introduces them as "The B Team" which Dauphine protests but immediately sticks (doubles in irony as, of the miraculous without kwami wielders, half of them are in Class B whereas most of Ladybug's team is in Class A). Kamaitachi wonders if they can trust these new heroes, but Carapace points out they don't have much of a choice at the moment as Dark Cupid is re-akumatizing people as fast as Ladybug can purify them. (Note: While here on out, they're often referred to as The B Team, that's often for the sake of summary. Not every character refers to them as such.)
Dauphine is horrified to see Kim akumatized into Dark Cupid again. She dives deep into the Seine, takes a flying leap, and tackles him into the water with her. They're both pushed down stream. Froppy calls out for Dauphine and is about to dive in after her. However, Tsukuyomi says they should "trust a dolphin in her natural element" (after all, he does have a poetic way of speaking) and that they need to stay to help Ladybug.
With Dark Cupid removed from the picture, the battle turns in favor of the nine heroes.
Meanwhile, Dauphine is struggling against Dark Cupid underwater. She has no idea how she's going to free him as purifying akumas is "Ladybug's thing." However, sensing the malice in Dark Cupid, Dauphine does the only thing she can think of—she kisses him. And her kiss is enough to break the akumatization on her boyfriend, who she swims to the surface. (Though the akuma isn't purified yet.)
Scarlet Hawk Moth notices from the Eiffel Tower how The A Team and The B Team managed to take down most of his forces. It seems as if Ladybug and Cat Noir have a clear path to him. However, Hawk Moth is smiling. It's all according to plan.
He then reveals a second ability he gained due to Catalyst's power up—he takes control of Alpha, Firefly, Froppy and Tsukuyomi and turns them against Ladybug and Cat Noir. The heroes are completely blindsided by this ambush and almost defeated entirely.
Scarlet Hawk Moth explains what happened, probably to Catalyst via the remote communication ability that both Hawk Moth and Catalyst have. He's finally figured out that the miraculous without kwamis are actually antique akumatized items. They were made by a previous, very powerful Hawk Moth and survived long after his (or her) death (as it's proven in The Collector that an akuma can retain its power even if Hawk Moth detransforms or resigns. The same applies for amoks, as we saw in Feast.). The difference is that these akumatized items were made by a good Hawk Moth (technically "butterfly miraculous user" as this person inevitably would have had a different superhero name). That's why when The B Team uses them, they don't turn into villains—they instead turn into noble heroes as the antique items are bringing out their more noble traits. Specifically, these antique akumatized items were designed to turn negative emotions into positive ones. However, thanks to Catalyst, Scarlet Hawk Moth now has the power to override his predecessor and turn the items' alignments towards evil—and with that, he can turn their wielders into antagonists. Catalyst asks if he knows the real aliases of The B Team now (as was shown with Chloe as Queen Bee, he can track these items if he knows the alias). Scarlet Hawk Moth admits he doesn't know yet who The B Team is, but as soon as they defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir, he'll have them detransform and then he'll know for sure. (This is one example of a time that the characters in the fic wouldn't be using the phase "B Team.")
Dauphine is sharing a laugh at Kim, who is recovering, when she wrenches in pain as Scarlet Hawk Moth begins to take control over her as well. Kim freaks and demands to know what's wrong. He then figures it out and yanks the anklet off of her before the take over is complete. Ondine is shaken and gasps for air. Kim notices no akuma escaped the anklet. But how can that be?
Now The A Team is fighting full on against The B Team, and most of The A Team have used up their special abilities and are on their countdowns (again, all part of Scarlet Hawk Moth's plan). Ladybug and Carapace try to reason with their allies, but The B Team is completely under Scarlet Hawk Moth's control. Rena Rouge wonders what happened because she is certain she did not see a single akuma approach them. Cat Noir is pretty much "less talk, more fight."
Kamaitachi points out the best course of action. The one responsible for this all is Scarlet Hawk Moth. They need to take him out to save everyone. She insists Ladybug and Cat Noir go on ahead while she, Rena Rouge, and Carapace hold back The B Team. Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't happy with the plan, but they agree. Ladybug silently prays those three miraculous don't fall into Scarlet Hawk Moth's hands.
Meanwhile, Ondine has caught her breath. She and Kim have no idea what's going on with the dolphin anklet, but they both figure it's for the best if they don't put it on. Ondine looks over Paris, wondering what they can do to help. It's sheer chaos. Kim agrees. After all, he does like being a hero. Ondine then gets an idea—they don't need superpowers to help. They run into the streets together, stirring up non-akumatized allies. They're joined by Marc Anciel fairly quickly, fresh off his Reverser akumatization.
Ladybug and Cat Noir are forced to avoid the main row to the Eiffel Tower because Scarlet Hawk Moth kept several powerful antagonists there in reserve, including Time Breaker. They dive into the side streets, trying to lose the antagonists who are after them. Fortunately, Ondine and Kim and Marc have succeeded in rallying Parisians, who set traps and detain the akumatized victims.
Ladybug and Cat Noir thank them and then turn back to the Eiffel Tower. The path to Scarlet Hawk Moth is open.
He's not unguarded, however, as he does have Guitar Villain, Captain Hardrock, and Frightengale singing his BGM for the fight scene. All of those akuma victims are quickly freed by Ladybug and Cat Noir, who now prepare to face Scarlet Hawk Moth.
Scarlet Hawk Moth isn't worried. The three of them fight. However, Scarlet Hawk Moth is a grown adult. Ladybug is confident despite it all. Her Lucky Charm turned out to be a jewelry box, which she insists is for Scarlet Hawk Moth to surrender his miraculous in. They keep fighting—an intense, dramatic fight.
That's when Kamaitachi, Rena Rouge, and Carapace arrive, having left The B Team tied up and under the guard of loyal Parisians (who were rallied by Kim and Ondine). Outnumbering him, they quickly corner Scarlet Hawk Moth. They have him on the ropes, boxed in on all sides. Even he knows he's beaten, they can see it in his eyes. Ladybug approaches him, demanding the butterfly miraculous.
And it's all according to Scarlet Hawk Moth's plan. There's one akumatized person they lost track of. Volpina. The Scarlet Hawk Moth they're fighting is an illusion. In reality, the real Scarlet Hawk Moth is approaching from behind, ready to strike Cat Noir down.
Fortunately, Ladybug represents good luck. She happens to catch the reflection in the lid of her conjured jewelry box. She shouts a warning to Cat Noir, who dodges in time. Now, the tables truly have turned. They have the real Scarlet Hawk Moth in their sights and intend on ending it once for all.
What The A Team didn't count on was someone else who was watching it all. Catalyst. Unable to see the man she loves harmed, she breaks her own akumatization ("the power of love always so strong") and recovers the peacock miraculous from Gabriel Agreste's safe. Nathalie Sancoeur uses it turn transform into Mayura.
At first, Hawk Moth is surprised to see his red form vanish (which frees all of the victims, as he was only able to have that many victims due to Catalyst's power up). The A Team take it as a sign Hawk Moth has given up and approach to subdue him.
That's when Mayura uses her ability to send a massive moth (basically Mothra) as an amok she created to support Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth is horrified that someone is using the peacock miraculous—that Nathalie is using it. However, her amok allows him to escape.
The A Team is quickly able to piece together that that's the power of the peacock and that Hawk Moth has an ally. Unfortunately, Hawk Moth detransforms back into Gabriel Agreste, causing any clues they might have had to dry up. They still "pound it" anyway, and Ladybug does her world-healing wave.
With The A Team about to transform back, they have to part ways. Kagami, Alya, and Nino return their miraculous, and Cat Noir and Ladybug return them to Master Fu.
While with Master Fu (which would have inevitably required a kwami recharge and second transformation so Ladybug and Cat Noir are still in their hero forms), both heroes explain what happened with The B Team to Master Fu. Master Fu says that this is what he was afraid of. Those miraculous are connected to Hawk Moth. If Hawk Moth could take control of them once, he could take control of them again. Master Fu urges Ladybug and Cat Noir to get a hold of these miraculous before that happens, so he can seal them away. Cat Noir again wonders about stealing. Ladybug is also a bit wary about that. Master Fu says that perhaps words will convince The B Team now that they've seen what Hawk Moth can do to them. If not…their consciences don't want to think about doing the wrong thing for the right reason. Ladybug is still uncertain how Hawk Moth can control these items. After all, the power from them isn't the same energy as Hawk Moth (as it's really "Royal Moth" or "Sir Papillion" or whomever's power)—she points out that Giselle's story and holding the bracelet herself…it really does feel more like a miraculous or at least a magical object than an akumatized item.
However, Master Fu points out that there's no denying Froppy and the others were controlled by Hawk Moth.But how? Is there even an akuma? If there is an akuma, Ladybug could purify it. (While Hawk Moth knows there was once an akuma, by now it has fully integrated with the item and has basically turned the item into a source of power. So there is no akuma left, thus no akuma to purify. However, at this point, Ladybug and Cat Noir and Master Fu are fully unaware that "Madam Damselfly" or "King Lunar Moth" or whoever made them with the power of the butterfly—so they don't even know that there was once an akuma. It's also worth noting that age and usage is causing these items to become more and more like real miraculous. Which means at this point, the only way to destroy one would be Cat Noir's Cataclysm.) They did already purify Queen Wasp once and didn't see a second akuma then.
So what do they do? Do they come up with a reason not to destroy the snow leopard bracelet and bee hair comb right there? Or do they legitimately try to destroy them, only to find that only Cat Noir's Cataclysm works? Then Ladybug restores them via her world-healing wave? (As she did promise as much to Giselle, and it would be reckless to completely destroy antique magic artifacts forever). If they go with the latter choice, they wouldn't find an akuma because, as said before, the akuma is now fully integrated with the object. So either way, it means that the bracelet and the comb wind up back in Master Fu's box for further study with Master Fu insisting that they talk the new heroes into handing over their items—or at the very least, not using them to transform again. (As if they could even control that at this point).
((Added: It's confirmed canon that Ladybug's Lucky Charm only works to summon an item specific to beating a specific threat and reverses the damage related to that threat. So Ladybug couldn't conjure an item here to fix the destroyed bracelet, should they break it. However, perhaps Master Fu learns of some type of magic analysis test from the book they copied from Gabriel. It'll take some time, but Master Fu can create the potion/runic circle/whatever that'll analyze if the bracelet is of origin whatever. In a chapter or two, he gets the results, which confirms the bracelet is magic, confirms it isn't malevolent, and is unclear if it is a miraculous or not. As well as whatever relevant results or something like that.))
Cat Noir and Ladybug part ways and head back to school (again, via separate routes) to join in the massive celebration for Heroes' Day. Everyone is thrilled Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't dead, that Hawk Moth was stopped, and that everyone was de-akumatized. Everyone except Lila, who hides it. The school has a massive party with food and music and dancing (Nino is the DJ) and everyone has a blast. Kim calls Ondine to join them, and Juleka gets Kitty Section to perform an impromptu number—even Adrien joins in on keytar. Giselle still freaks out around Adrien. Ivan and Mylene dance, and Chloe gets a dance with Adrien, whom Alya interrupts and pushes Marinette into dancing with, causing Lila and Chloe both to fume. Nathaniel feels jealous as he wants to dance with Marinette. But then he thinks of Ladybug. Perhaps Jean tries to work up the courage to ask Rose. Other dancing couples include Mathieu and Monique, Kim and Ondine, and Rachel and Tristan. Viktor tries and fails to ask Mireille to dance; he basically winds up a wallflower. However, Fumikage does go over and talk to him, and he introduces Viktor to Tsuyu. (Images of background characters can be found (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces).)
Everyone else dances and mills about and has a ton of fun.
The End of Phase One
To be continued in Phase Two, Chapter 15: Medusa…
A note from the author: Thank you everyone for reading the first phase of this storyline fic summary! Please, tell me what you think!
I'll be taking a week break and then will start posting Phase Two! It only gets more exciting (and further gecko tail) from here on out!