Chapter 18: Fire Defender
This chapter opens with a pan across the B Team as Ondine and Le Chien Kim, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, and Luka Couffaine ponder the invitations they've all received from Froppy and "Crow-man." Is it a trap? Did the letters really come from Crow-man? What if Hawk Moth takes control of them again? How much should they reveal about themselves? Is it worth pursuing the concept of making a team with the heroes they met on Heroes' Day? Nathaniel decides he will attend the meeting Froppy and Crow-man are trying to arrange. But he needs to tell someone first, just in case it all goes wrong. But who? His parents are never around. Marinette immediately pops into his mind. After all, she's reliable, always has great ideas, is so cute… No, no! It's Ladybug whom he really likes; Marinette already turned him down! And he can't tell Ladybug. He likes the idea of having a superhero alias to approach her, and he knows she's been pleading with the entire B Team to retire. Nathaniel finalizes his decision, one he has been toying with for weeks now, and decides to trust his secret with his best friend, Marc Anciel.
Elsewhere in Paris, Mireille Caquet finishes her early morning recording of the weather forecast. On this day, her father is able to pick her up. Hugo Caquet is one of Paris's firefighters, and later that morning he has a huge test and interview to see if he'll be promoted to captain. As such, he's able to pick her up and drop her off at school. There's a brief scene to show that they are close as a family, and Mireille wishes him the best of luck as she's dropped off at the front steps of the school.
Inside the open courtyard, all of the students are milling about before class begins, which it will in a few minutes—Mireille usually winds up cutting it close due to her part time job (luckily, she was fine today since her father drove her). Giselle Winters-Blanchet is hanging out with her friends, Meera Pugliese (a space case) and Raissa Deschamps (a genki girl). Nathaniel flags Marc down; he invites Marc to hang out with him at his house and says he has something important to tell him. Marie Chauveau and Suzette Rault coo about them being gay, and both Nathaniel and Marc snap that they're not gay. (Nathaniel is straight, and Marc is ace.) Monique Imhof and Nicolette Lacroix are painting their nails. Mireille heads to her locker. The next locker over, Etienne Fontaine is in love with his own reflection. By the door, Jakeel Aristide is setting up a dusty eraser trap, which Pierre Lefevre unfortunately sets off. Across the aisle, Alix Kubdel is putting her roller blades in her locker and discussing homework with Stella Tenebrae, and Max Kante is making sure Markov has a full charge to make it through class. Marinette is geeking out over the newest Adrien poster she was able to obtain and hangs it in her locker. It's a bit awkward when the real Adrien Agreste comments on it. Marinette claims its "fashion research." (You can find an image of all the background characters (( photos . app . goo . gl / cgLSrNi71rxfep9e8 ))(remove the spaces).)
Meanwhile, Mr. Caquet is on his way to his interview and test. However, traffic lights and construction cause him to be delayed. He parks his car and heads into the building (the fire department? City hall?) But on his way in, he sees an elderly lady struggling to cross the busy street. He decides to help her, and she's very grateful. (She's also Marianne, Master Fu's lost love from the canon Backwarder episode.) On his way up the steps, Mr. Caquet helps a lost mother by giving her directions to the daycare she's trying to find an alternative route to, since construction closed her usual road. He also foregoes the elevator in favor of a wheelchair user and takes the stairs. All of this winds up making him late for the interview—by only a few minutes.
Hugo Caquet arrives in the conference room, facing his three interviewers. One of which is definitely the chief of the fire department. Is one Mayor Bourgeois? He's ready to go for the interview, but they're all frowning. Does he realize he's late? Mr. Caquet points out it's only a few minutes. One interviewer asks him for his "excuse." Slightly perturbed, Mr. Caquet explains he'd been helping people all morning.
Either the chief or Mayor Bourgeois wants to end the interview there. Clearly Mr. Caquet is not reliable enough for a promotion. Mr. Caquet argues he hasn't been late in his 20+ years of service to the city and points out all his good qualities, his years of experience, and his dedication to helping Parisians. He even points out some of the most vicious fires he fought, arguing he's risked his life and organized the saving of other lives.
"But you're late!" The interviewers don't want to hear it and deny him the promotion.
Mr. Caquet leaves the building in shock, goes to his car, and head!steering wheels. Hawk Moth preys upon those negative emotions and transforms him into Fire Defender—a fire themed akumatized victim who spews fire through a hose. Basically, it's a "return to sender" ideology. The city of Paris didn't respect how much time and effort Mr. Caquet put into saving them from flames, so as Fire Defender, he'll just return the flames he put out—then Paris will see how much they really need him.
Fire Defender's first target is the building he just exited (so either the fire station or City Hall). People instantly start updating the Akuma Alert app—and this one they make a red alert because the danger is that great. Evacuation is given priority, and Nadja Chamack does an emergency broadcast to get people out ASAP. "Remember, Ladybug can heal the damage. Forget your possessions. What's important is to keep you and your family safe."
The school is evacuated as a precaution. Marinette and Adrien slip aside at running speed. Both feed their kwamis the potion to transform them, and then they don their superhero personas. This time, they're transformed in a way to withstand heat, flames, and lava (though the latter isn't important in this chapter).
Fortunately, Fire Defender doesn't move around too much, so the fire hasn't spread—which it could have easily became overwhelming. Ladybug and Cat Noir charge in to keep things that way. Hawk Moth, through Fire Defender, expresses surprise about how well they handle flames thanks to their transformations. He laments he doesn't have that knowledge and wants to make it his own.
As they try to corner Fire Defender and break his akumatized item, Ladybug and Cat Noir realize a real fire is nothing like the movies where the building is wreathed in cozy flames, the characters are clearly visible, and everyone can hear each other talking. In a real fire, the smoke is so thick they can't talk without gagging, and they certainly can't see each other. The flames roar too loudly to hear anything anyway. In fact, they can't even see the flames through the thick smoke, and often bump into furniture and whatnot. Fire Defender comments as much about the real dangers of fire. He bitterly says that this is the kind of risk he took every day, and he's pissed the city/the interviewers didn't respect that and denied him the promotion. So now they can fight their own fires.
Ladybug and Cat Noir have to fall back to regroup and catch their breaths. Cat Noir notices that no one from the B Team is joining them, and he comments off-handedly about how convenient it is to have help. The dolphin couple and Froppy are water-based; surely they'd come in handy now. Ladybug points out that there's a danger from Hawk Moth controlling them.
Cat Noir comments about Carapace, Kamaitachi, and Rena Rouge then. Haven't they proven themselves? They're trustworthy, keeping their identities secret. They've never used their powers selfishly and always return their miraculous when asked. They're gaining in experience and can in general be trusted not to use their miraculous whimsically. Haven't they earned the right to keep their miraculous at all times? By now, Ladybug and Cat Noir can trust them to only come when called. They could set-up a call or text system, and could page for back-up during times like these without needing to run to Master Fu to get the miraculous and then further waste time by trying to track down the civilian aliases.
Ladybug conceded that Cat Noir has many great points (as they're fighting fires and trying to keep Fire Defender corralled). However, the entire purpose is to keep miraculous out of Hawk Moth's hands. By letting people keep the miraculous long-term, the risk of Hawk Moth stealing them is increased. That brings risk to Carapace, Kamaitachi, and Rena Rouge's families and friends. It's also the reason why they're trying to get a handle on the B Team as well. In addition, Master Fu has a duty to protect the miraculous as their guardian; he can't just shirk that responsibility. (Plus, they can't give Carapace the turtle miraculous long-term as Master Fu needs it to defend himself and the miraculous box as a last resort.)
Cat Noir concedes her points. Ladybug casts her Lucky Charm, but it does not point her to Master Fu. Ladybug tells him that it's a sign that they CAN deal with Fire Defender on their own. Cat Noir realizes they're fairly fortunate that Fire Defender isn't going completely berserk, as he could easily take all of Paris hostage with his rather dangerous power. Fortunately, Cat Noir retains enough common sense to keep that observation quiet so he doesn't give Hawk Moth any ideas.
Despite their best attempts to keep Fire Defender confined to the one building he has already ignited, he slips into the streets of Paris. There, one brave older lady is waiting. It's Marianne. She very calmly but firmly tells him to stand down. She tells him that she remembers him from earlier in the day; she knows he's a kind person who loves to help people. He doesn't want to hurt Paris, and he doesn't want to hurt her, Ladybug, or Cat Noir.
Fire Defender stops in his tracks. Hawk Moth orders him forward. "Push the old woman aside and continue to have your revenge against the city that turned its back on you." However, Fire Defender is actually able to resist to some extent, even as Hawk Moth makes him feel pain. Nadja Chamack catches that moment on camera while keeping as safe a distance as she can. Fire Defender's internal conflict is enough of a distraction that Ladybug and Cat Noir are able to slip in and destroy the akumatized item. They free Mr. Caquet, and Ladybug purifies the akuma and does her world-healing wave to undo all of the fire damage. The scene winds down from there with the usual Pound It and making sure the victim is okay before hurrying while on the transformation timer.
There's a time skip, and Mr. Caquet is before the interview panel again. They admit they acted rashly—they were honestly surprised that Mr. Caquet was able to resist akumatization, something that has not been recorded before. After some reconsideration (and some public pressure), they offer him the promotion. Outside of the conference room, Mireille congratulates him with a big hug.
Elsewhere, Master Fu is watching the news and the report of Ladybug and Cat Noir's heroics. He's half amused as this is becoming "just another Tuesday" to him. That is, until the camera pans around. He sees Marianne stand down Fire Defender. Master Fu stops short, dropping whatever he's holding, and whispers her name. His face is a blanket of shock, and Wayzz can't snap him out of it.
Meanwhile, Marc Anciel meets up with Nathaniel Kurtzberg after school, and they head to Nathaniel's house. Once again, his parents are out. Nathaniel tells Marc to help himself to anything in the fridge while he takes his shoes off. Marc is surprised by the fact Nathaniel spends so much time alone and comments if "things are always like this?" Nathaniel pretty much confirms that they are.
They head to his room, and Marc starts talking about the comic. However, Nathaniel says this isn't about the comic. He needs to tell someone a secret, and he trusts Marc to not tell anyone. Absolutely anyone. Promise? This is super huge and super important, and he absolutely can't even hint at it to anyone else.
Marc promises and is a bit wary. Nathaniel then transforms into Firefly in front of him. Marc is speechless for a moment before he breaks into questions. There's probably a time skip as Nathaniel answers them all and fills Marc in on what's been going on. Once Marc exhausts his questions and Nathaniel explains his whole history of Firefly, Nathaniel gets to the reason why he's telling Marc at this particular time.
Firefly pulls out the invitation he received from Froppy and Crow-man. He tells Marc that he IS going to go to this meeting with the other superheroes who have powers like him. He doesn't really know what's going to happen or how this meeting will go. He's not even 100% certain that it's not a trap. That's why he wanted someone to know about his secret as Firefly. Just in case. That's why he trusted Marc.
Marc wonders why Firefly is even going if he's not certain this isn't a trap. Firefly explains he needs more information, especially about how Ladybug and Cat Noir's powers factor into everything and even more especially about how Hawk Moth controlled them. He doesn't want to give up being Firefly (especially since it gives him access to Ladybug), so he needs to learn how to block out Hawk Moth's possible control or find out how Hawk Moth hijacked them in the first place. He needs to take this risk.
Marc then insists that he should come too, as back up. Firefly refuses this. He doesn't want Marc to get mixed up in things if it's a trap. Plus, Marc won't have any way of protecting his identity nor any powers to defend himself with. They discuss things back and forth, but the time approaches for the meeting, and Nathaniel prepares to head off. He tells Marc to go home. If Nathaniel isn't in school tomorrow, contact Ladybug. Marc does not like that idea. Firefly shrugs and says Marc can stay here—it's not like anyone will know since his parents aren't around.
After the conversation has been exhausted, Firefly flies off. Marc settles in. He works on writing on the comic a bit, but his mind is elsewhere.
Firefly heads to the designated meeting area. It turns out it's a cemetery. At sunset. He lands cautiously and walks in, surveying the area for traps and/or enemies. Froppy and Tsukuyomi are already there, waiting. They greet him, happy someone shows up.
Froppy tells him it isn't a trap. They just want to talk, as "The B Team." And she actually uses this term as a way to show she's open and welcoming. Firefly is still cautious, and Froppy doesn't blame him.
A moment later, Alpha bounds onto the scene, traveling from mausoleum roof to mausoleum roof. It's another awkward greeting, but they confirm that this is a mutual meeting of interest with nothing devious underfoot (probably Tsukuyomi who speaks that poetically). Firefly reminds himself that Crow-man is really Fumikage Tokoyami, the transfer student in my school.
After a minute of meet and greet, Dauphine walks onto the scene. It's a bit awkward for her to walk on the land due to her flippers, but she manages. The intro and caution repeats. Dauphine asks what's Froppy and Crow-man's purpose in gathering them all. Tsukuyomi insists his name isn't "Crow-man." It's Tsukuyomi. From this point on, it's almost exclusively the B Team that calls him by his proper name. Most of Paris is still stuck on "Crow-man."
Tsukuyomi answers her question so poetically that no one understands, so Froppy translates. She says that if they're anything like her, they wound up with their powers sorta shoved on them. They've all been learning as they go with no explanation and no training. The least they can do is compare notes to find out what's going on. They can learn from each other and help each other. And maybe, they can find out the common thread that links them—and maybe that'll be the way to keep Hawk Moth from controlling them again.
Froppy also points out that they chose this spot because it's private and there's places to hide. As in, if any of them feel as if they're transformations are breaking, they can hide behind a tombstone and then slip out without being seen. Tsukuyomi explains that as superheroes, they do want to protect everyone's identities. He wants them all to be allies. Froppy makes a comment that she gets the impression that their powers work differently from Ladybug and Cat Noir, so they can't ask them for help. They have to figure things out by themselves. (This is the beginning of Froppy's specialized character development thanks to prolonged use of a miraculous/magic item. Whereas Marinette is developing her creative problem solving skills and Giselle is learning self-confidence, Froppy/Tsuyu's trait is efficient organization.)
Dauphine comments that Ladybug and Cat Noir want them to turn over their "miraculous" anyway, and she relays the conversation Dauphin had in the previous chapter. The others ask briefly about the dual identities of Dauphine and Dauphin. Dauphine admits that she and Dauphin share the item that transforms them.
Alpha wonders how much they should share. In addition to keeping their identities secret, shouldn't they also keep other things secret? Like their miraculous items or what their strengths and weaknesses are? Tsukuyomi points out that, judging from Heroes' Day, Hawk Moth already knows about their items. Plus anyone who's been akumatized knows Hawk Moth is after Cat Noir's ring and Ladybug's earrings. Alpha warily concedes, so he admits his item is his earcuff. Dauphine confirms hers is the anklet, Firefly's is a charm, Froppy's is her goggles, and Tsukuyomi's is his buttons. The items have nothing in common, so that helps them understand nothing.
Alpha then wonders aloud, "isn't there a Snow Leopard heroine? Is she coming?" Dauphine comments that no one has seen Snow in a long time, and Froppy admits to being unable to contact her. Alpha asks "What about Queen Bee then? Everyone knows she's Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter." Both Dauphine and Firefly say "No!" a little too loudly. (Firefly because he's Chloe's classmate and can't stand her, Dauphine because her boyfriend used to have a crush on Chloe.) Alpha is a bit surprised by their reaction, but he doesn't push the issue further.
The conversation gets a bit awkward as it lulls into "what next?". No one really wants to talk about Hawk Moth taking control of them all, but it's clearly the biggest reason why they're all here. Alpha decides to bite the bullet and brings it up. Tsukuyomi shrugs, saying it was akumatization. However, Firefly disagrees. He know… "a friend, yes, that's it, a friend who was akumatized" and the friend explained that it felt like nothing they went through on Heroes' Day. (It's obvious to the reader that Firefly is lying. Nathaniel knows first-hand what it feels like to be akumatized. He knows what he felt on Heroes' Day was different. However, he doesn't want to say he's a former akuma victim as they drastically narrows down his civilian identity. The rest of the B Team does not see through his lie.)
Dauphine wonders aloud if taking control of them is the sort of thing Hawk Moth can even do on a normal basis. After all, Heroes' Day was crazy. So many people were akumatized, all at the same time, and all red. Hawk Moth himself was red. Maybe it was some type of perfect storm that changed Hawk Moth's powers, and his being able to control heroes was a fluke. Tsukuyomi wonders if they can risk it. Froppy proposes that they figure out a way to prevent it from happening again. He can only take control of us while we're transformed…right? Since they can't control Hawk Moth's end of things, they can only control their end of things. Firefly asks "how?".
Alpha proposes they practice and get stronger. Hawk Moth can't control them if they're stronger, right? Dauphine scolds him about this "not being a comic book," but Firefly agrees that Alpha might have a point. There is a lot of things like a comic book ever since Hawk Moth, Ladybug, and Cat Noir moved to town. And besides, what harm would come in getting more skilled with their powers? Tsukuyomi quietly snarks that it'd be stronger powers for Hawk Moth to control, but Froppy shushes him. They all discuss things a bit further, making an agreement not to transform or race into an akuma situation unless they're absolutely certain that Hawk Moth will be unable to control them or unless it's an absolute emergency. None of them are happy with this agreement, but they do all see the wisdom in it, and at least plan on attempting to follow such an arrangement.
Alpha then steps into his role as leader of the B Team as they break into practice. (If he's the leader, then Froppy would be the secretary and organizer. Leadership is the personality trait Alpha/Luka develops.) He delegates out what he knows about all their abilities (which is really only stuff that's been on the news and the Ladyblog), and pairs up various specific practice drills and sparing matches so that they can work for the best (he compares some of the exercises to music practices). For example, keeping Firefly and Tsukuyomi apart since their powers clash. (As a note, Snow Leopard and Froppy would also have to be kept apart as Froppy doesn't handle cold well.) During this part of the conversation, the heroes fill in a bit more about what their powers can do. (For example, Firefly might say, "Alpha, my ability isn't just shooting out orbs of light. I can also generate a massive blinding flash." Or Froppy might elaborate to "I can also regurgitate anything I swallowed, but it's embarrassing, and I don't like doing it.") Froppy reminds them that if they feel their transformations breaking, they can hide behind the graves and make a quiet exit.
The B Team practices for a bit. It ends early as this scene and chapter are already quiet long, and internally, the characters have chewed up a lot of time talking and need to head home. But they agree to meet again. Froppy (as group secretary) says she's set up a forum/chat room/discord something that is anonymous so they can all keep in touch. In case there's danger, in case they want to practice, in case they need help, in case they learn anything, in case they just want to talk. The group splits.
Firefly returns to his home, surprised to see Marc sleeping across his drawing desk. Marc is glad Firefly returned safely. Firefly transforms back to Nathaniel. They agree to order a pizza while Nathaniel fills Marc in on everything that happened.
To be continued in Chapter 19: Accelerator…