Chapter 17: Road Rage

The chapter resumes right as the prior chapter ended but from a different point of view. This time, it's Fumikage Tokoyami and Tsuyu Asui at his house, checking his burner email, in his bedroom (which could be described as dark, gothic, and/or emo). Fumikage is rather poetic about his awkward feelings of having a girl in his room. They get the notification that they got a message from Firefly, also using a burner account. He's the second one to reply, as it's mention that they've already contacted Alpha under similar terms. They mention they also want to get in touch with the dolphin pair. (Another reminder that Fumikage and Tsuyu belong to My Hero Academia.)

Meanwhile, it's a weekend, so none of the other cast is in school. Marinette Dupin-Cheng meets up with Alya in the park. Alya Cesaire invites Nino, who brings his little brother, Chris. Nino Lahiffe then also invited Adrien to keep an eye on Chris, should he (Nino) want to spend some time with Alya. Alya approves and sees this as a situation to get Adrien Agreste and Marinette together. Chris Lahiffe is happy to play with his remote controlled car at first; however, it doesn't take long for him to notice that he's being ignored. He tries to talk to Nino but is given a "not now, kid" response as Nino hangs out with Alya. So Chris moves on to get Adrien's attention. However, he's busy in a conversation with Marinette—which is more of Marinette tripping over her own words, and Adrien trying to make sense of them.

Chris, irritated at feeling ignored, tries and fails a few more times to get their attention. So he decides to show them. He walks off and hides. He figures they'll notice he's missing sooner or later. He picks a place to hide so that he can see them while they can't see him. And he waits.

And no one notices he's gone. A few minutes pass, and Chris gets more and more sullen. His self-esteem takes a hit as he wonders if anyone cares, but his irritation rises because no one is noticing. (It really hasn't been that long, but for a kid, it's a while.)

Hawk Moth sends his akuma, which lands on Chris's car's remote control—just as Alya asks "where's Chris?" Chris jumps out of the bushes, now the akumatized victim as the villain of Road Rage.

Road Rage rages about the four teens ignoring him. He accuses them of being self-absorbed and selfish. Using his remote control, he can control real cars. So he drives several empty cars that had been parked along the side of the road into the park and after the teens. This causes all four to scatter. Perhaps there's even a moment of Adrien pulling Marinette away or Alya offering to shield Nino. Marinette flusters, not wanting to leave the moment to transform into Ladybug, as she's so thrilled about being with Adrien, who protected her.

However, she and Adrien do have to part ways. Adrien initiates it. They both transform into their superhero personas. In that small window of downtime, Road Rage has taken his abilities into the streets and is having a blast rerouting cars—some of which still have their drivers. He's also going into full-on "notice me" mode for attention as he does so. Ladybug and Cat Noir scatter to help evacuate people, getting them out of the way of cars, getting them out of cars, and getting them out of the area.

It's actually a fair bit of work. Cat Noir realizes that with Chris being the victim and Nino being nearby, their brotherhood might be the best way to end things. He tells Ladybug to hang on, and he hurries to Master Fu, retrieves the turtle bracelet, finds Nino, (calls him aside from Alya), and has him transform.

Ladybug is putting on some impressive acrobatics as she dodges cars, keeping Road Rage distracted. Cat Noir and Carapace return, who Ladybug greets shortly. They focus their attention on the akuma victim. Carapace is very good at protecting them from smaller vehicles as well as conveying to Chris that his family does care about him all the time, even when they're not looking. (He's also skilled enough to not let it be reveals that he's Chris's brother while doing so.)

However, it's not fully enough to stop an akumatized victim. As Road Rage drives one of the cars towards the Seine, Cat Noir has a momentary mind break as he's awash with fear. All he can see is his mother. As far as Cat Noir/Adrien knows, his mother (Emilie Agreste) had dizzy spells with increasing frequency up to and including bouts of lost consciousness. She disappeared shortly afterward as did her car. So as far as he knows, she went for a drive, passed out, and drove off a cliff or into the river. Her body and the car were never found (as Gabriel Agreste hid both, but Adrien doesn't know that).

Carapace snaps him out of it, and they race towards the car. Fortunately, Dauphin catches it from underneath as he emerges from the river and hefts it ashore. (Is it weird to have Dauphin appear with no foreshadowing?) After all, he has augmented strength when in the water. Both Ladybug and Cat Noir are especially grateful. Carapace greets him, as this is first time he's met Dauphin (he met Dauphine briefly on Heroes' Day). They turn their attention to Road Rage. While they try to deal with the akumatized victim, Ladybug begins to ask all the questions to Dauphin. He attempts a "talk later, fight now," but Ladybug is insistent. After all, every talk she's tried to have with The B Team winds up ending abruptly because of their transformation timers (apart from that one conversation she had with Giselle).

Ladybug takes the approach she discussed with Master Fu with Cat Noir backing her up. She asks Dauphin what happened on Heroes' Day and how Hawk Moth was able to take control of them all. Was there an akuma? Dauphin/Kim knows he saw no akuma from the anklet when Ondine/Dauphine was almost turned. He admits as much aloud. Ladybug uses this as proof that Hawk Moth can take control of them at any time. That could endanger Dauphin's family and loved ones. Will he please consider turning over the miraculous (or whatever it is) to her to be sealed away to prevent Hawk Moth from using it? Carapace is surprised by most of this conversation and can't really contribute much. He knows his own miraculous is a loan, but he didn't think Dauphin/e owned theirs outright.

Dauphin hesitates. The anklet he's now wearing is his gift to his girlfriend; it belongs to her, not him. Plus, they both love being Dauphin/e and don't want to give it up. However, unlike Tsukuyomi, Dauphin has no reason not to trust Ladybug and Cat Noir. Nonetheless, he tells them that it isn't his decision alone—he has to talk to Dauphine too. Or at least he tries.

However, before he fully finishes talking, a feather dart is thrown his way. It contains a message. Dauphin retrieves it, and Ladybug tries to see where the thrower came from, but Tsukuyomi has already taken off. Cat Noir asks what it's about, but Dauphin is vague and keeps it a secret. It's also signed Tsukuyomi. "Tsukuyomi? Who's Tsukuyomi? Does he mean Crow-man?"

All this time, they're still dealing with Road Rage, who is driving them in circles. Yet they're not paying him their full attention, which sends him into a tantrum. Ladybug tells Dauphin one last time to consider what they told him as they focus again on the akuma victim—and Ladybug realizes Road Rage's weakness is his need for attention.

With the help of her Lucky Charm, she's able to work out some sort of plan involving Cat Noir and Dauphin who make it seem as if Road Rage is being noticed and adored. Carapace is able to get in close, dropping one last one-liner of reasoning. That's enough to distract Road Rage long enough for Carapace to destroy the akumatized remote control and free his brother. Ladybug purifies the akuma, does her world-healing wave, and they all "Pound It."

However, when they look for Dauphin, he's already taken off. Ladybug is frustrated as she has nothing new to report to Master Fu. Cat Noir makes sure to return the turtle bracelet miraculous, and Nino and Chris are reunited. The main cast winds down.

Meanwhile, Dauphin transforms back into Kim, who meets up with Ondine. He returns the anklet. She can tell there's something on his mind. He summarizes his conversation with Ladybug. Ondine is surprised. She also expresses reluctance to give up the anklet as she feels it's something that she and Kim bond over. Before they make a definite decision, Kim produces the note Tsukuyomi sent him. The note is an invitation to a meeting, with a date and time and location. For the "B Team" superheroes to talk safely. He asks Ondine what she thinks of it. She ponders it a moment, admitting it would be nice to talk to Tsukuyomi/Crow-man and the others who are going through the same things they are. Kim points out it could be a trap—he also offers to go in her place to protect her, which causes Ondine to fluster. They discuss their options between Ladybug's offer, Tsukuyomi's invitation, and their own desires at length before deciding that they will gather more information by speaking with Tsukuyomi and whoever else shows up before deciding what they'll do concerning the anklet.

To be continued in Chapter 18: Fire Defender…