Chapter 15: Medusa

Part Two is designed so that key elements from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir season four and beyond can be added in as they air. For example, focus on akumatizing the marginalized background characters because characters with their own models like Prince Ali, Sabine Cheng, or Alec are likely to be akumatized sooner or later in canon.

Chapter 15 is a breather chapter—as in, it focuses on Ladybug and Cat Noir without allies or additional transformations. It starts in Class C, Ms. Mendeleiev's class, which includes: Aurore, Mireille, Jean, Pierre, Meg, Viktor, Cameran, Guy, Nicolette, Monique, Meera, Jakeel, Genevieve, and Yvonne (see (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces)). Perhaps this chapter even begins with Ms. Mendeleiev doing role call so that all the names are now out there.

Ms. Mendeleiev gives a lecture on lasers, light, mirrors, and water refraction. Meg Delphinus is the focus character for this chapter, and behind her, Jakeel Aristide is frantically writing a paper that's due next period for Miss Bustier's literature class. Meg is annoyed by the constant scribble of pencil but also ignores him.

The bell rings, and the classes swap. This means that Class A will have Ms. Mendeleiev next and receive the same lecture about light refraction (which means Adrien and Marinette hear it too). Jakeel catches up with Meg in the corridor, asking her for advice about the Greek mythology paper that's due. She scolds him, telling him that he should have done his homework beforehand.

Jakeel mentions he's writing about the myth of the gorgon Medusa and his premise that Athena is a terrible goddess for what she did (turning Medusa into a snake haired creature because Posideon raped Medusa in Athena's temple—Medusa was a victim). Meg snaps at him, giving a different perspective. Athena gave Medusa a self-defense mechanism to protect herself. Now, no men could rape her again. After all, if Athena challenged Posideon, it would be a devastating war. Athena was doing what she could to protect Medusa. Jakeel thanks her for the advice as he successfully tricked information out of Meg (who is known for being a mythology nerd and does have Greek heritage).

Meg grumbles at Jakeel and herself for being tricked. She meets up with her best friend, Rachel Beauchene, in the hallway. Since Rachel is in Class B, the two don't get to hang out as much as they like. They're both looking forward to next year and the hopes of being in the same class again (as they were in the prior year).

They happen to pass by Mylene Haprele, Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine, and Aurore Beaureal, who are watching a new video about Ladybug and Cat Noir that Alya Cesaire had linked on her Ladyblog. All four girls are cooing about how sweet it is that Cat Noir is so loyal to Ladybug and about how much they admire his persistence. They voice how they think he's perfect for Ladybug and how they think it's only a matter of time until Ladybug returns his feelings.

Meg scoffs, attracting their attention. Rose questions Meg, wondering if she has a romantic bone in her body. Meg replies with "No means no. Ladybug already turned Cat Noir down, several times. If he really actually cared about her, he'd respect her wishes. Instead, he's just a creepy stalker. I can't believe anyone here would romanticize stalking!" Rose and Mylene especially argue back, and Mylene points out that sometimes people aren't able to express their feelings as clearly as they want (recalling how Mylene and Ivan started dating). Meg is adamant though that "no means no" and that Cat Noir's persistence is annoying at best and not romantic at all. Meg turns to Rachel to get her to agree with her—implying she thinks Rachel is also the type who wouldn't date anyone immature like the guys in school. Rachel admits that she started dating Tristan Fortier during the Heroes' Day dance, much to Meg's surprise. The other girls congratulate Rachel before the bell rings, and they all have to get to their classes.

It pans back, revealing Adrien Agreste overheard the entire conversation. Does Ladybug think I'm a creepy stalker? That when I tell her how much I love her, she thinks I'm inappropriate? Will she wind up hating me? Plagg whispers words of encouragement, but Adrien is still downhearted; it lingers with him into the afternoon.

After class, Adrien suggests a hypothetical to Nino Lahiffe to ask for advice. "What if you liked a girl but she always turned you down?" Nino first suggests just playing it cool and being yourself. But when asked further, Nino adds "well, if pushing doesn't work, maybe try pulling?" as in, pulling away. Giving the girl space and seeing if she misses him in the absence. Nino then teases Adrien, asking him who the lucky girl is. "Chloe? Kagami?" Adrien says no and no. "Rose? Lila? Marinette?" Adrien quickly changes the topic, insisting it was just a hypothetical question with no bearing on reality.

Meanwhile, Meg is on her way home from school. She has to take the subway; Rachel is able to join her. This unfortunately leads to them being hit on by a guy (maybe two years older than her), who is out with his friends and fails to take "no" for an answer as it would make him look like "less of a man" or some other BS in front of his friends. With Meg already being irritated at the topic from earlier in the day, she's quickly filled with negative emotions. Hawk Moth sends an akuma, turning her into Medusa with the power to turn males to stone. Her first victims are the older teens on the subway. Rachel is shocked but pleads with her to stop. She even makes a fairly valiant effort to keep Medusa from going anywhere (which also bravely reveals her powers don't work on women). However, Medusa overpowers her and continues on her way.

She steps off and begins targeting men who seem to be harassing women. She also openly declares for Cat Noir to come out and challenge her because he's the most disrespectful guy in all of Paris (according to her akumatized way of thinking). Rachel recovers and sends out the Akuma Alert. She then hurries to find Meg, wanting to do something to help her best friend. She follows the trail of stone statue men. As a note, Mireille Caquet's boyfriend Theo also winds up petrified.

Ladybug and Cat Noir hurry to the scene. Cat Noir is more subdued as he's still wondering about alienating Ladybug with his persistence. Ladybug sorta eyes him up, but they head in to face Medusa anyway.

Cat Noir says he knows how to handle Medusa—he learned about it in class, after all (though he doesn't mention that last part, he only thinks it). He tells Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm to conjure a mirror. Ladybug, exasperated, explains it doesn't work like that as they engage Medusa in combat while being very careful not to look her in the eyes. Rachel arrives at the scene then and shouts that Medusa's powers only effect men, which gives Ladybug an opening.

However, Medusa is able to counter, which sends the group diving for cover. Cat Noir promises to be right back and insists that Ladybug should be careful. He almost adds some flirty pet names for her, but he stops himself as he is worried about coming on too strongly and losing her forever. He leaves, and Ladybug is surprised he isn't prattling on. So Ladybug asks Rachel what happened and if she knows where the akumatized item is. Rachel explains that Medusa is really her best friend, Meg, who has strong opinions on how women should be treated.

Cat Noir returns with a mirror borrowed from a shop. He and Ladybug exchange a look and a plan. Rachel insists she wants to help. Ladybug tells her that she can help most by keeping innocent civilians out of the area. Rachel isn't happy about this order, it's made clear that despite her valley girl appearance she has a sadistic blood streak and wants to fight. However, she does agree and goes to help with the evacuation.

Ladybug and Cat Noir maneuver Medusa as they fight and ultimately force her to look into the mirror—only to find out that Medusa is immune to her own powers. After all, she IS a woman too. Plus, as Medusa explains, she knows the original myth well enough to specifically request mirror immunity from Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth, watching from afar, gloats about this foresight.

This forces Ladybug and Cat Noir to get creative with Ladybug pulling out her Lucky Charm. (Whatever it happens to be.) However, Medusa is also doing her own maneuvering during the fight to set her own trap. She is based on the original Medusa, complete with snake hair. She uses the terrain to pin Ladybug into a corner and moves to strike with her snakes, which are poisonous.

Cat Noir realizes that Ladybug can't escape in time, so he throws himself right into Medusa's path. He takes several bites to the arm. Furthermore, the snakes hold him in place, allowing Medusa to twist around so their eyes meet.

Ladybug calls out his name as he's being petrified (as Cat Noir hasn't had the bad luck of being an akuma victim's victim yet this fic, unlike the canon). Ladybug tells him that he shouldn't have taken that risk as she's immune to Medusa's petrification. As he's being turned to stone, Cat Noir says that it was a worthwhile risk and that he loves Ladybug—He's cut off in the middle of the word "love."

This leaves Ladybug to face Medusa alone, and Hawk Moth is thrilled. All Medusa has to do is poison and/or rob Ladybug too and the two miraculous will be his. However, Ladybug has had her resolve strengthened by seeing Cat Noir's sacrifice. The two exchange blows as the fight culminates.

Ladybug is able to trip Medusa up with her Lucky Charm long enough to break the akumatized item. She frees Meg, purifies the akuma, and does her world-healing wave, which de-stones all the men, including Cat Noir. "Pound it." Ladybug tells him off for being reckless, but it's clear her lecture stems from worrying. Cat Noir directly calls her out on this, saying that if she's worried about him, that must mean she cares about him. Ladybug insists that she does care—as a friend. Meg is starting to glare at this point, but Cat Noir pushes on. He tells Ladybug what she already knows—he cares about her too, and nothing can change that. He can't stop his feelings; however, he would never want to disrespect her as a person. So he does agree to lay off the pet names and says he will try to stop his most annoying of flirting (will be said much more eloquently if actually written). Ladybug shakes her head, amused, as she wonders if he can keep his word there.

They part ways since they're about to transform back. Meg rejoins Rachel, who is worried and asks if Meg is okay and what happened and all. Meg admits that she remembers nothing, as established by previous akumatized victims. She then changes the topic to ask Rachel about how she's dating Tristan, implying that Meg wants to try to keep a more open mind about healthy relationships.

Cat Noir slips back into his bedroom through the open window and transforms back into Adrien. He talks to Plagg about what happened. Plagg comments about how as the black cat, it's no surprise he has rotten luck—referring to the "getting turned to stone" part. However, Adrien counters that he's the lucky one as he gets to work side by side with Ladybug. Plagg points out that Ladybug doesn't love him (because while Plagg knows Ladybug is Marinette, he doesn't know Marinette likes Adrien like Tikki does). Adrien says that things can change. He feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his back as Ladybug admitted she does care about him, if only as a friend. That means he hasn't alienated her. He says he will re-think his approach as he wants to keep his word to Ladybug about respecting her and being less annoying. However, he does plan on channeling his persistence into charming her. He loves her too much to give up, and the hope that she'll one day love him too won't die.

To be continued in Chapter 16: Lockheart…