Chapter 23: Desperada
Kim is with Ondine, eating pizza, as he just finishes telling her about the incident with Startrain. Ondine is so relieved she sent the dolphin anklet with him. Kim says that the entire time he felt nothing like Hawk Moth, so maybe their training is working—or maybe it's distance. Which is also important information. Ondine agrees, and they decide to share it with the B Team. So they send out an email, using their burner account, and arrange a meeting.
While the rest of this chapter is inspired by the canon episode, it deviates significantly all over the place, showing scenes that were only alluded to in the show.
It's the next morning at Jagger Stone's trailer. Vivica is awake early, practicing her guitar for their concerts, singles, and all other performances. She's still a teenager, but she takes her work very seriously. Penny and Jagger himself are still sleeping as she practices. Once practice is done, she grabs some breakfast (milk and cereal) before she heads to her classes. (Like in Skip Beat, Vivica goes to a special school that caters to actors, actresses, models, musicians, talentos, and other celebrate teenagers who have wild schedules.) Her backpack has a Cat Noir patch on it, and she's mentioned as being a staunch member of his fan club.
Penny wakes up Jagger and tries to quickly shuffle him through his morning routine so he's not late for all his engagements. It's a bit chaotic, but it's clear their team is close.
That is, until Jagger goes for his breakfast and realizes Vivica ate the last of his cereal. Fang the crocodile is looking up from his bowl. There's no milk left either. Vivica blanches a bit, apologies, and says she can run to the corner store and get more before her classes. Jagger, still groggy, doesn't think this is good enough. He fires her. Penny scolds him, but Jagger insists Vivica needs to respect other people's property.
Vivica is devastated. She runs out the door, guitar case still over her shoulders, sobbing hard. She runs so hard it takes the akuma a while to catch up, but when it does so, Hawk Moth turns her into the sharpshooter Desperada. Desperada turns and stalks back to find Jagger Stone.
Meanwhile, Jagger realizes he needs a new guitarist ASAP. Penny is trying to talk sense into him, but he isn't listening. Jagger decides to go get his old bandmate, Anarka Couffaine, to fill in for him. So he packs up Fang and his piano on a truck and heads to Anarka's boat.
Desperada storms through Paris. Rachel Beauchene and Meg Delphinus are out shopping together—although it's more like Rachel is shopping with Meg going along for the ride. Rachel's cellphone has an obnoxious ringtone. Desperada shoots her with a horn-shaped magic pistol, trapping her as a sticker on her guitar case. She then shoots Meg for good measure. She continues on, taking out Giselle Winters-Blanchet, who just signed up for skate lessons at Phillipe's ice rink.
At Anarka's boat, Kitty Section is practicing. That means Luka, Juleka, Rose Lavillant, Ivan Bruel, and Marinette as well as Nino Lahiffe, Alya Cesaire, and Mylene are all present with word that Adrien is on his way. Luka Couffaine and Marinette are hitting it off, and it's clear to Alya and Mylene Haprele that Luka is flirting with her. Rose and Juleka Couffaine are having a blast as they rock out, and Nino is adjusting their acoustics and amps and mics and stuff, you know, running the soundboard and equipment. During the opening practice, Luka checks his cell phone to see his has a text message from Dauphin, who has set a date and time for a Team B meeting.
Desperada returns to the trailer only to find it empty. Pissed, she takes her emotions out on Jean Duparc and Pierre Lefevre, who just happen to be passing by. She shoots them, turning them both into stickers. She then leaps up to the top of an apartment complex. Using a trombone like a sniper riffle and scope, she spots Jagger's car. Desperada takes off in pursuit.
Jagger pulls up to the Couffaine family and friends during practice, much to the teens' surprise. By now, Adrien Agreste has also arrived. Jagger offers the position of guitarist to Anarka, surprising Luka and Juleka. Jagger also talks to Marinette a bit, saying he's glad to see her and that he likes the fashions she's designed for him.
That's when Jagger gets shot mid-sentence by Desperada. Everyone is dumbfounded by the revelation of a new akuma victim. Desperada doesn't stop. She opens fire on everyone, managing to shoot all of Kitty Section, Fang, Penny, Anarka, and starts on their friends. Marinette and Adrien flee to transform, but Luka stops Adrien, thinking he's going to lock himself in a dead end. He looks for Marinette, but Marinette has already run off. Alya quickly raises the Akuma Alert and is shot just as she presses "send." Fortunately, the alert goes through.
Luka and Adrien run for all their worth, zigzagging as Desperada finishes off Mylene and Nino. Nino does make a very valiant stand against Desperada using a keytar as he tries to save Alya. (Perhaps Adrien wonders briefly if things would have been different had those two had their miraculous and been able to transform.)
Marinette finds a place to transform and quickly dons her superheroine persona. She tracks down Luka and Adrien immediately after. Luka asks if Marinette is safe, and Ladybug says she was able to get Marinette away. Now she needs to help them. Ladybug rigs a distraction using Luka's guitar, and they escape into the subway. Ladybug hides them both safely. Adrien expresses concern for her, taking on an akuma victim alone. Ladybug, however, says she's not alone—Cat Noir will be here soon. She trusts him. That warms Adrien inside.
With Ladybug gone to face Desperada, Adrien is alone and able to transform into Cat Noir. He's on cloud nine that Ladybug believes in him. He runs to help her. He arrives as Ladybug sticks a flag out of the subway exit to see if it's safe to leave—only to have it sniped by Desperada. They have no idea where she is or her range, so Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm. It points her to Master Fu. Cat Noir agrees to help Ladybug escape so she can go for help.
Both bolt for it. Cat Noir stands his ground, allowing Ladybug to escape down an alley. Desperada is upset that her quarry got away, so she takes her frustrations out on Cat Noir. Alone, it's all Cat Noir can do to keep her at bay. That's when Desperada is jumped from behind by Alpha, who grapples with her for all he's worth. He tells Cat Noir to get out while he (physically) holds Desperada back with his spear around her neck.
Cat Noir, however, isn't about to abandon an ally. He uses his Cataclysm on a gamble and cracks the street, dropping all three of them back into the subway, separated. Debris rains down, and it's unclear if any of them are safe.
Ladybug arrives at Master Fu's. They do the usual "pick an ally you can trust…" bit. Ladybug picks the snake bracelet and then realizes she can give it to Adrien! Master Fu sorta coughs, but he really can't say anything more. Ladybug bolts to find Adrien Agreste. She comes across the massive broken road and figures out what happened.
Luka wakes up, dazed. His transformation has been broken. He's battered, but otherwise okay. He staggers to his feet, wondering how long he was stunned. He tries to transform, but to his own surprise, he can't. He tries again, focusing on the emotions that he knows worked before. Nothing. Luka reaches for his ear cuff—it's not there. He gets a horrified expression and searches around for it, but with all the dust and debris, he can't find it.
Ladybug enters the storm drains and runs across Cat Noir. She asks him what happened and if the two boys she was trying to keep safe, Adrien and Luka, are okay. Cat Noir says they are (well, at least one of them is…). Ladybug then asks if he knows where they are. She's decided on their next ally, and it's Adrien Agreste. Cat Noir is internally elated. He says he'll help her look for Adrien and runs off.
He detransforms out of sight and practically squees to Plagg about how Ladybug trusts him. Plagg isn't happy about this. He's Cat Noir, no one else. But Adrien wants to give this as chance—to prove his worth to his love as Adrien.
He returns to Ladybug who gives him the snake miraculous that represents second chances. Adrien transforms into Aspik with the help of Sass while Plagg looks on. Together, they head to face Desperada as Cat Noir isn't replying to Ladybug's calls.
The scene pans to a cafe not so far away. Sitting at one of the outdoor tables is a red-haired adult who is pretty obviously adult future Bunnyx. Since her ability is similar to the snake's in that both control time, she watches from the distance as the same five minutes begin to repeat. And then repeat again. And again.
Bunnyx, unaffected (watch the canon disprove this ability of the rabbit), leaves her payment on the table and walks away. Once free of witnesses, Fluff asks what's going on. Shouldn't Bunnyx help? Bunnyx says she is helping. She enters a shop, amid one of the five minute pre-resets, and buys two long, adult-sized rain ponchos (it's implied she uses the money she got by selling the fake miraculous to the B Team). Then she leaves
Fluff is even more confused; however, that's nothing new. He asks her about the rain ponchos and where she's walking to. Does she even have enough time? Bunnyx laughs. Time? They have months to live the next five minutes; they have plenty of time.
She walks all the way across Paris to the sports stadium and then sneaks inside. Bunnyx walks into the seats, dumps the ponchos over two chairs, and leaves. Fluff is totally confused and asks about it. Bunnyx says it's basically the butterfly effect. Little things, like two ponchos, can change everything. Fluff says he thinks he understands. This is something that will stop Hawk Moth, right?
Bunnyx says that's wrong. She says that what she just did will ensure that Hawk Moth wins.
Frustrated, Adrien gives up being Aspik. Ladybug is shocked. Adrien explains he spent months trying to save Ladybug from Desperada, but he failed every single time. He's just not the right person for this task. It pains him to say that; he wants to help Ladybug. Ladybug also wants Adrien to succeed, but she respects his wishes and heart-felt emotions. She then wonders who else can help?
That's when Luka stumbles towards them. "Have either of you seen an ear cuff around here?" Adrien suggests that Ladybug trust Luka while he looks for somewhere else to hide. Ladybug does so, offering the snake miraculous to Luka. Luka is a bit befuddled, but he quickly realizes that Ladybug doesn't yet know he's Alpha. He weighs his options, realizing that as long as his cuff is missing, he can't help anyone. So he accepts the snake miraculous. Sass appears, which completely surprises Luka. He asks about this, and Ladybug explains what a kwami is. She and Sass also explain how transformation works and what the snake means by second chance. Luka is taking in everything. This isn't at all what it's like when I transform into Alpha. And kwamis…what arethese kwamis? Does that mean Ladybug also has a kwami who helps her? And Cat Noir too? I need to learn everything I can so I can tell the rest of my pack. Maybe there's something here that will let us stand up against Hawk Moth's powers once for all!
Luka transforms into Viperion. Moments later, Adrien returns again as Cat Noir. Together, they work out a plan to take down Desperada, who has the ultimate vantage point. It takes several attempts using Viperion's powers and his harp weapon, but they do manage to free Vivica and purify the akuma. (see canon).
Ladybug performs her world-healing wave; this also puts Luka's missing ear cuff right into the palm of Viperion's hand. He glances at it on the sly, but doesn't let either hero or heroine know. They Pound It.
All of the captured people are freed. Jagger Stone personally apologies to Vivica and gives her her job back (under the condition she doesn't eat his cereal or drink Fang's milk). Vivica is thrilled. The three heroes turn to leave, but Vivica calls after them to stop. They turn. Vivica runs over and thanks them for saving her. She then, rather excitedly, hands her sheet music to Cat Noir as puppy-eye begs him for an autograph. Cat Noir is surprised but obliges while Ladybug and Viperion head off. Viperion returns the snake bracelet miraculous and says good-bye to Sass. Ladybug leaves for Master Fu's.
Once she's out of sight, Luka puts his wolf ear cuff on again. He checks in the rear view mirror of a parked motorcycle. He sees the ear cuff spark. Alpha is back. Luka whips out his cell phone and texts the B Team, confirming the date and time and saying he has a lot of new information that might help them.
Luka, Marinette, and Adrien all return to Anarka's ship where the rest of Kitty Section is. Juleka is happy they're all safe, and Adrien joins in practice on the keytar.
Time skips to that evening. Alpha is the last to arrive in the cemetery, where the rest of the B Team has arrived. Firefly comments that they were waiting, and Dauphin says he discovered something. He knows he can't tell them that he was on startrain, but he does tell them that he "went very far away" and that he has reason to believe Hawk Moth is limited by distance. Or maybe it's their training. Or both. But he's absolutely certain that Hawk Moth has limits. That means they can push beyond those limits without fearing him. They can be superheroes again and help people.
Froppy is thrilled to hear this, but Tsukuyomi asks him how sure he is. Alpha interrupts, saying he has more information from an "inside source." He then proceeds to tell them all he knows about transformations and kwamis, leaving out the fact that he experienced these first hand. Firefly is skeptical; what even is a kwami? Froppy, however, says that she heard Ladybug talking about kwamis, so she believes Alpha is telling the truth. Dauphin is a bit confused. What does it all mean? Alpha says that it's concrete evidence that their powers are different than Ladybug and Cat Noir's—which, to be fair, is something they all pretty much knew before. However, it's more information they can use. Now they know how miraculous' powers work and have a better grasp at how to incorporate that into their training. It may also give them an edge as they don't have limits on the number of times they can use their special abilities. He theorizes that their items were made using different powers than the miraculous. They're not Hawk Moth's; they're not miraculous. They're something else—but that something else is good. (Note that Alpha is incorrect as Hawk Moth has already established a prior butterfly miraculous user made them. But Alpha doesn't know that. This scene also emphasizes Luka's growing leadership ability). That means the B Team has to keep doing what works for them.
Firefly is thrilled to hear that because he wants to fight alongside Ladybug again. Dauphin agrees because it's just "too hard sitting on your fins" when there's an akuma around. Froppy and Tsukuyomi agree with this. Alpha does as well, but he still insists they should be cautious. Continue practicing, have a spotter, and if it looks like "you're about to go red" (as in Scarlet Hawk Moth), bail. Alpha assigns some practice drills, and they all begin training.
(The emphasis for this chapter is focus on scenes outside the canon scenes. It's going to be assumed the reader knows what happens in canon, like Aspik's many attempts to save Ladybug. So the focus is on Alpha, Bunnyx, and the events that happen differently. Like Nino being present instead of Kagami.)
To be continued in Chapter 24: Black Thorn…