Chapter 16: Lockheart

The chapter opens with Nathaniel Kurtzberg, who is once again alone in his apartment as his parents had to leave for work early. He's working on his comic—but not so much working as he is just staring at it. His thoughts are far away, back at Heroes' Day. He's trying to figure out what went wrong. How was Hawk Moth able to akumatize him when he wasn't feeling any negative emotions at all? Was there even an akuma? It's all blank. What happened then? What happened to him and Froppy and Crow-man and Alpha?

He once again ponders if he needs an "Alfred" to back him up. His mind first flashes to Marinette. Blushing, he rejects that idea. Nathaniel then considers his best friend, Marc. However, if there is something wrong with his transformation, does he want to drag Marc into it?

Meanwhile, Marc Anciel is getting ready for school in the morning. This introduces his older brother officially, Mathieu Anciel. While Marc is a very shy and introverted bookworm and writer with minimal self confidence, Mathieu is an out-going, energetic jock who dresses fairly well. He loves skateboarding, track and field, and soccer. He's full of confidence, and this comes off as they have breakfast together with Mathieu teasing Marc, and Marc being sorta mute about it all. (Mathieu is in Luka Couffaine's class.)

Mathieu leaves a bit early to meet with his girlfriend, Monique Imhof, who is in Class C and has some Swiss heritage. Monique is nice and helpful (and needs her personality fleshed out more). While Monique isn't much of an athlete, unlike her boyfriend, he's convinced her to strap on roller skates. She puts her hands around his waist as he skateboards, and they have a blast traveling to school like that. They make plans to visit the "locks of love bridge" after their classes at the Ponts des Arts bridge, where they secured their own lock on their first date (as it must be their anniversary).

Marinette Dupin-Cheng happens to overhear their plans as they enter the interior courtyard and asks about it. Mathieu Anciel and Monique Imhof explain that when a couple secures a lock to that bridge together, it's supposed to be symbolic that they'll always be together. Marinette instantly begins imagining securing a lock with Adrien Agreste, and Alya Cesaire teases her a bit about not knowing about this tradition (as she and Nino Lahiffe have already put a lock there). Marinette makes plans to buy a lock immediately.

After school, Monique and Mathieu are on their way to the Pont des Arts, holding hands and skating and laughing together. They arrive, only to see Roger Raincomprix cutting the locks off the bridge and throwing them into the trash. They, as well as several other couples, are horrified. Roger the cop apologizes in monotone but explains that his orders came from the mayor. There's too many locks on the bridge, which could cause it to collapse under the weight. It's a major safety hazard, so all the locks have to go. The couples protest, but Roger is adamant. He says if they don't disperse, he'll have them arrested. Marinette happens to arrive then, with her own lock in hand, and witnesses what's going down. She feels for all the couples, but she has to admit that Roger has a point. She remarks to Tikki that she wishes there's a way everyone could be happy.

Mathieu happens to find his and Monique's broken lock, and he picks it up. A few tears slide down Monique's cheek. Both of them are clearly hurting. Monique tries to play it off. She says it's not a big deal. The important thing is that they're together for their anniversary. Maybe they could hit up Andre's cart for ice cream. Mathieu takes her hand, still holding the lock, dejected.

That's when Hawk Moth's akuma hits the lock, turning both Mathieu and Monique into Lockheart. Lockheart is a twin villain joined at the wrist but capable of moving as two individuals otherwise. They also have high mobility due to still wearing skates/skateboard. Their strength is in tag-team fighting. The female side of Lockheart (Monique) possesses a heart lock-shaped shield whereas the male side (Marc) has a key-shaped long sword. They seem themselves as avengers of those who don't respect love, which makes their current targets Roger and Mayor Bourgeois.

Of course, with Marinette on hand to witness it all, she's able to sneak off and transform. The Akuma Alert notifies Adrien, who hurries to the scene as Cat Noir. He arrives just in time, as Ladybug is having a hard time handling what is essentially two villains on her own. She quickly explains what happened to Cat Noir, who perks up upon hearing about the tradition behind the locks of love bridge. He begins flirting with Ladybug in mid-battle, saying they should add a lock. Ladybug snaps a bit, telling him it's not good for the bridge, and Cat Noir reins himself back as he remembers his promise to not push himself on Ladybug out of respect for her.

With two on two, things fair a little better, and spectators begin to stream the fight online. Marc happens to recognize the skateboard through such a broadcast and realizes it's his brother who's been akumatized. This happens while he's working on the comic with Nathaniel in the art room after school. Marc grabs his things and is about to run to the fight. Nathaniel stops him—what can Marc do? Marc says he doesn't know. Although he and Mathieu don't always get along, Mathieu is still his brother. He has to do something. Nathaniel calms him down, telling him that Ladybug and Cat Noir are experts at what they do. Marc agrees, but he still hurries to the Pont des Arts bridge. Nathaniel watches him go and then ducks into the bathroom to turn into Firefly, happy that he practiced so hard that he can willingly trigger his transformation. He is also wary about what happened on Heroes' Day, but hey, this is another chance to impress Ladybug, so he flies off. He also realizes that this might be his chance to tell Marc the truth.

Back at the fight, Ladybug and Cat Noir find that they have to up their game and work in tandem to even hope to match Lockheart's skills. At least Cat Noir can match swordsmanship (since Adrien fences) whereas Ladybug keeps up with the shield. Due to all irony, their fighting begins to buckle and then break the Pont des Arts bridge. Lockheart uses this to their advantage to throw some civilians (who were too busy filming to evacuate) into the fray, forcing Ladybug to lower her defenses to save them. This allows Lockheart to gain the upper hand on Ladybug. With Cat Noir unable to arrive in time due to helping the civilians, Lockheart reaches for the earrings.

It's at that moment Firefly arrives and uses his special ability: Beacon (which might be the first time this ability appeared within the fic). Beacon summons an ally, and by ally, that means someone on the same side who is also a transformed hero. Firefly can use it to summon an ally who is too far away to make it on time; he can also use it to pull an ally out of danger. The latter is what he does in this case. He summons Ladybug out from underneath Lockheart and to his side on the nearby rooftop. Ladybug is a bit confused but thanks him, causing Firefly's heart to pound. She then tells him that when the fight is over, he can't run off, they need to talk. Firefly makes a noncommittal response.

Ladybug lunges back into the fight. Firefly hesitates for a moment, uncertain if Hawk Moth will target him again. However, with Ladybug being involved, he can't stay out of it, so he flies in to help. With an extra set of hands to save the remaining civilians, the three heroes are able to reverse the fight and take the battle to a less dangerous place that is no longer in Lockheart's favor. They manage to break the akumatized object, free Monique and Mathieu, purify the akuma, and reverse the damage done. "Pound it" includes Firefly.

That's when Marc arrives, having ran the whole way. He is completely out of breath but happy to see his brother restored. Mathieu compliments him on his long run; he didn't think Marc could run that long, and he is genuinely impressed. Monique thanks Ladybug, and Ladybug tells her that the end of a trinket isn't the end of a relationship. Monique and Mathieu agree and decide to go for ice cream, now in much better spirits.

Ladybug and Cat Noir turn to Firefly. They remember what Master Fu said, and they're hoping they can convince him to retire. However, before they can really talk, a black feather dart whizzes by Firefly's face. He recognizes it as one of Crow-man's. (Remember, Tsuyuyomi's weapons are feather darts while Firefly has a light-emitting spring that he often wears on his left forearm.) There's a note attached. He takes it, reads it, and immediately bows out on Ladybug and Cat Noir despite their protests. Unable to do any more or properly follow him since he can fly with his jetpack, the two part ways.

Ladybug returns to her bedroom and de-transforms. She explains to Tikki her frustrations about pinning down Firefly and the like, but the conversation quickly goes to the locks of love. She wishes there was something she can do to help all those couples. Tikki asks her if she's sure there really is nothing. That's when Marinette gets an idea, and she goes to her computer.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Kurtzberg is in his bedroom having de-transformed. The note from Crow-man is pretty basic. It states that since they're similar in terms of superpowers and what happened on Heroes' Day, they really, really need to talk. It includes an email address (not Fumikage's real one, a burner account). Nathaniel also creates a fake email and contacts Crow-man back. (Should Fumikage be foreshadowed earlier in this chapter?) "You're right. We need to talk. Face to face."

There's some time that passes. The scene is a public park along the Seine. Mayor Bourgeois is dedicating a structurally sound fence made with sturdy posts and strong beams. He calls it the "love lock fence." Marinette had started a petition, which took off throughout Paris as Parisians requested some way to carry on the locks of love tradition. The mayor caved in for publicity and took credit for the idea. So this section of the park was set aside and a structurally sound fence was built, able to support the weight of all the locks. Plus, being on solid ground, it's less likely to collapse. He tells Parisians to respect the bridges and monuments of Paris; don't leave their locks there. Leave them here instead. He further dedicates it by letting his daughter, Chloe, hand the first lock, and it's pretty clear she's hanging one for herself and Adrien. Mayor Bourgeois hangs one for himself and his wife, despite Audrey's still cold approach to their marriage. Happy couples go forward to hang their locks, including Monique and Mathieu. On one end of the fence, Marinette hangs a lock for Adrien. On the opposite end, Adrien hangs a red lock with black spots.

To be continued in Chapter 17: Road Rage…