Chapter 31: Surrealist

It's a school day, and the students are gathering as usual. Juleka Couffaine announces she actually passed the first round of screening for the modeling try-outs, but she's super nervous about the next part. She, with some encouragement from Rose Lavillant, agrees to take Marinette Dupin-Cheng up on her offer to practice modeling with Marinette's fashions. Mylene Haprele, Alix Kubdel, and Alya Cesaire are all geared up for it too. Lila Rossi passes by and overhears the conversation. Lila claims she entered the exact same modeling competition after being encouraged to do so by one of the panelists, Mr. BigNameHere. She wishes Juleka luck with a poisonous smile, saying she knows someone like Juleka will have to "work hard" in a competition like this, one that focuses on looks and charisma. Juleka wilts as she talks; Alya tells Juleka to ignore her. Anger sparks between Alya and Lila.

After Lila leaves, Alya gets an idea and walks over to Nino Lahiffe and Adrien. Since Adrien Agreste has experience modeling, will he please show Juleka how it's done? (And work with Marinette while they're at it?) Not just tips over the phone like before, but a full-on demonstration. Adrien agrees, and Nino offers to tag along too. Marinette freezes in place when she learns what Alya arranged.

Meera Pugliese walks by with Raissa Deschamps and Giselle Winters-Blanchet. She's as spacey as always, but when she overhears Juleka is in the modeling semi-finals, she wishes her good luck too. "Too?" asks Rose. Meera says she entered on a whim and got chosen as well. So good luck; they'll be competing with each other…and Lila apparently. Both Giselle and Raissa are surprised to hear Meera say this as they didn't know, but Meera is a total space case, so they shrug it off.

Juleka starts to have a mild panic attack. What was she thinking in entering? She doesn't stand a chance against someone as naturally beautiful and graceful as Meera or someone as charismatic and confident and well-connected as Lila. Lila's right; it's too hard. Alya tells her not to listen to Lila, and Mylene Haprele repeats that she has to find her own inner courage. Rose does notice that Mylene has been more confident since Mama Piper. Mylene shrugs it off, but she has an internal smile. Marinette realizes why, but she keeps it to herself.

Alya continues to make arrangements for an impromptu photo shoot so Juleka can practice. Rose agrees to do make-up, Marinette will provide the clothes, and Alya herself has the camera. Of course Adrien and Nino will be there. Meera Pugliese, not picking up on why it would be a bad idea, asks if she can join too? Giselle starts to suggest that maybe they just let Juleka practice with her friends and not burden them, but Raissa enthusiastically says that's a great idea and proceeds to help Meera worm her way into the photo shoot. Juleka has no confidence in saying no, and Adrien is too nice to refuse. Once Adrien agrees, Marinette can't refuse, leaving Alya just shaking her head. So Meera, Raissa, and Giselle wind up joining the main cast from Class A.

After school that day, the group sets up for a photoshoot. They agree to meet at Alya's house because of the room and location to convenient scenic places. Juleka calls Luka so he and their mother knows where she is. Rose Lavillant begins on Juleka's make-up while Raissa Deschamps helps Meera. Meera Pugliese is imagining more henna art style than modeling make-up. Alya whispers to Juleka that "see, Meera really isn't any competition. She isn't as serious about this as you." Juleka replies that still leaves Lila and every single other competitor. Marinette tells her not to worry and begins showing her designs, but she becomes a stammering mess when Adrien Agreste compliments her on them. Alix and Mylene gather up what's needed for photography, and Giselle Winters-Blanchet even offers to do hair. She knows some basic styles, and Meera suggests combining some random accessories they have on hand to make pretty hair pins. Juleka's confidence shrinks.

They head out into Paris, aiming for the reflecting pool by the Eiffel Tower. They even get Adrien's bodyguard to drive them there in the limo.

Once they arrive and begin to set-up, Juleka's confidence completely dies and she begins to have a panic attack.

Hawk Moth sends his akuma.

Rose and Mylene Haprele try to encourage Juleka and get her to leave the preparation area they set up, but Juleka has taken root. Meera tells her it's okay. "It's a good day for photography. The wind is right, and there's not a single whiff of selkies or marigold in the air." Because Meera is spacey like that.

The akuma approaches Juleka's hair accessory. Just as it's about to touch, Rose notices it, points, and screams. All of the girls recoil. All of them except Meera. "Oh, what a pretty butterfly." She grabs it by the wings. This freaks everyone out. Alya is doing her best to remain calm (Marinette and Adrien are a bit of a distance away but running in fast); she tells Meera to drop it. "Why? It'll look pretty in my collection of interdimensional things." She pulls a pin from her hair accessory and goes to skewer the butterfly. The moment her pin brushes the akuma, she akumatizes herself.

Hawk Moth is surprised by the unexpected turn of events but decides to roll with it. He offers Meera power, to which she asks if it's related to the Vulcans or the ents (or something equally bizarre)? He tells her it's the power she needs to get what she wants. Meera's uninterested. So he changes tactics. "You see the world in a way no one else does. Aren't you tired of no one understand what you say or what you see? I can grant you the ability to share your insight with everyone. Think about it; your friends will understand you better. You can share with them everything you've been keeping inside." That convinces Meera. As Alya goes to remove Meera's hands from the akuma and Marinette and Adrien arrive on the scene, Meera is akumatized into Surrealist right in front of her two best friends, Giselle and Raissa.

Surrealist declares that she finally feels so free. Everything that has been trapped inside her can now manifest in reality. She demonstrates her powers by throwing needles. Everything she impales turns into something bizarre, like from a dream. For example, she strikes the Eiffel Tower and it winds up looking like a Picasso painting. The reflecting pool swirls watercolors while growing lilies that bloom into flying keys. Rose gets hit, and she blooms wings made of vines while her skin turns pink and glittery. Juleka winds up with real cat ears, tail, and claws as well as being half her original height.

Mylene activates the Akuma Alert before going into hiding. Back on the house boat, Luka Couffaine checks the alert as it goes off. His eyes go wide when he realizes that his sister as well as Marinette are in danger. He transforms into Alpha and races to their rescue. He realizes this breaks the B Team's rules about being a spotter, but he can't leave his sister half-transformed into a cat.

Raissa pleads with Surrealist, saying that this isn't what she wants in her friend Meera. Surrealist tells her that Meera is asleep forever, but her true soul is now free. Giselle instinctively reaches for her mother's bracelet, but she no longer has it. For the second time, she regrets giving up her power to transform. She debates about going back to Master Fu, but she promised her mother…

As Surrealist searches for more targets, Raissa and Giselle follow her, trying to reason with her. Surrealist shrugs and finds this acceptable. After all, she wants to show her friends how she sees the world. So she constructs a cage-carriage out of lollipops and clouds and abducts them, taking them along for the ride.

During all this, Marinette and Adrien sneak in opposite directions to transform. They return as Surrealist roams the streets, throwing needles at whatever strikes her fancy, hostages in tow. Ladybug and Cat Noir confront her, but she's as tricky as Alchemist with her ability to change objects around them—even objects they're standing on. Of course, there's difference in how Alchemist and Surrealist fight. Alchemist was way more focused and strategic. Surrealist is whimsical and lacks the attention span. Often times, she'd transform a building into balloons and then forget about it, moving on to the next thing. She'd even tell Ladybug and Cat Noir "Oh, you're still here? What are you doing again?"

Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm as Paris begins to look like something out of a Salvadore Dali work. Her Lucky Charm points her to Master Fu. However, she only gets a second to notice this before it gets struck by a needle and turned into something else. Cat Noir bites his lip. "Will your Lucky Charm still work when it's been mutated?" If it doesn't, they can't reverse the damage done to Paris—the city will remain looking like a dream even with the akuma defeated. And can they defeat the akuma? Lucky Charm creates an object specific to defeating that threat; can the object still help when it's been changed?

Ladybug says they'll have to figure it out later. She needs to get to the master. She asks Cat Noir to hold off Surrealist, and he agrees. Ladybug has her usual scene with Master Fu (perhaps calling while she's en route just to make sure he's at his clinic); she chooses the snake miraculous. She says they need Viperion's help.

Unfortunately, Alpha doesn't get close. Surrealist warps an entire street as Alpha is running down it, and he winds up tangled in bubble gum bubbles, seaweed, and floating tea cups. He admits himself that it's embarrassing, but he can't get free. Cat Noir doesn't even realize he's there. Alpha curses himself for his impulsiveness. This is the exact reason why he suggested having back-up in the first place. But he ignored his own rule, now he's stuck. He can't help anyone, and no one knows he's here. Worse, he's leaving his own sister (and his crush) at risk.

Ladybug arrives at the Couffaine houseboat, but she doesn't see Luka. She calls him on Marinette's phone, but he doesn't answer. That leaves Ladybug in a lurch. She knows they're short on time; there's only so long that Cat Noir can hold off Surrealist by himself. There's also no sign of the B Team (they're all scrambling too, most of them are too far away and/or without their own spotters.)

Ladybug returns. Cat Noir asks where their ally is; Ladybug admits she couldn't find Viperion. Cat Noir almost replies with "Luka?" but then he realizes the only people who know Luka is Viperion (apart from Luka himself—and of course Master Fu) are Ladybug and Adrien. If he used Viperion's civilian name, he'd be revealing himself to be Adrien.

Instead, Cat Noir says they'll just have to handle this on their own. They can't afford to have Ladybug run back for another miraculous, and it would be a risk to take the time to find someone else new to use the snake. Cat Noir only vaguely hints that this would be another good reason why allowing at least Rena Rouge and Carapace to be on full-time standby; he doesn't have to do more than vaguely hint because it's obvious. Except it's also obvious about the risk of Hawk Moth getting more miraculous. And Master Fu needs the turtle as a last line of defense. Cat Noir also says that they could wait on the B Team, but Ladybug counters that they do have a responsibility (though she does realize that she never contacted the B Team back on their server as she got distracted during the earlier chapter's attempt before she could do so).

The confrontation between Ladybug and Cat Noir against Surrealist continues as more civilians are caught up in her powers and the city no longer looks like Paris. Ladybug and Cat Noir get thrown around a lot as they can't be too reckless when Giselle and Raissa are captive. Giselle is internally cursing not being able to transform and blames herself for not doing enough to stop Meera from grabbing the akuma. Both she and Raissa are still trying to plead with Surrealist.

During the fight, Ladybug gets sent sprawling, dropping the items she's holding, including her yo-yo, purse, and the snake miraculous. Cat Noir picks them up…then gets an idea. He fuses the snake and the black cat, turning himself into Snake Noir. He immediately uses the ability of Second Chance.

This proves to be vital in their fight. Surrealist is impossible to predict what she's concoct next. However, thanks to Second Chance, this basically provides Snake Noir with enough of a foresight that he can predict what she's construct; he can then direct Ladybug. After all, Adrien did have plenty of practice with the snake miraculous in Desperada.

Thanks to the snake, Ladybug and Snake Noir are finally able to corner Surrealist and use her warped reality to their advantage. It turns out Ladybug's Lucky Charm does work, allowing them to de-evilize Surrealist. Ladybug purifies the akuma and does her world-healing wave, which frees Raissa and Giselle as well as Alpha. He quickly leaps into the shadows, frustrated at his own failure. He returns to his houseboat and begins coming up with more training ideas—especially more training ideas for his wolf powers. He won't let this happen again.

Snake Noir offers to take the snake miraculous back to the master, the two Pound It and split. As Cat Noir returns the snake to Master Fu, Master Fu tells him he figured out the secret identity to Dauphin or Alpha—it's like Dauphin, given the circumstances. Master Fu tells Cat Noir to look into the civilian behind Dauphin, but just as he's about to speak Le Chien Kim's name, Cat Noir stops him. Cat Noir says he wants to respect other people's secrets. They're going to open communication as previously discussed. Master Fu still doesn't like this much; he's the one holding out that Hawk Moth is connected to the miraculous without kwami. Cat Noir says "if you don't trust them, at least trust me and Ladybug." Master Fu realizes he needs to give his two chosen superheroes a certain amount of freedom and benefit of the doubt. However, they have to be careful and always be alert for possible traps. ("Be careful," yet again.)

Later, Marinette and Adrien re-meet with their friends and help both Juleka and Meera create a portfolio. Juleka needs some talking to, but she does eventually step up and model.

Later, the group is meeting in school. Juleka has a letter in hand. She's too nervous to open it. Did she pass the second screening or did she fail? Alya and Mylene are all incredibly excited for her. Rose reassures Juleka, who finally opens the letter. She didn't pass. Everyone is dejected. Juleka sighs, figuring Meera and Lila probably did. "But you know what, that's okay. I feel better for having tried anyway. And next time, I'll make it."

Meera and her friends happen to pass by then. Meera comments that she didn't pass either. She shrugs it off. After all, she only entered on a whim. But next time she'll win. After all, she just entered a pie baking contest! They'll love her chocolate raspberry cheesecake! Raissa and Giselle just laugh and shake their heads.

That's when Lila approaches. "I'm sorry to hear you didn't progress to the third stage. I had hoped we could all work together. It looks as if I'm going on alone." Lila then brags that she got selected for the face-to-face screening.

That's when Aurore Beaureal approached. "You did get selected for the interview? Then why didn't I see you there?" Lila says she will be. "The Afrodite Collection junior model competition?" Lila confirms it's the one, as does Juleka and Meera. Aurore shakes her head. The face-to-face interview already happened yesterday. Look at the post marks on the letters; Juleka's was a bit late. Meera does acknowledge she got hers at the beginning of the week. Aurore says that she was one of the ones selected for the final interviews. Everyone who was selected shows up at the same time. However, Lila wasn't there. "One of the finalists, you say?" Alya rubs it in.

Lila wiggles, and Marinette internally savours that Lila got caught in a lie. Lila claims she must have misheard; remember? she does have hearing trouble sometimes. It was the Sephora Collection she tried out for; yes, that one. Anyway, she wishes Aurore good luck and smiles as she flounces off. Mylene calls after her. "What about those Cristina Vee tickets? The premiere is coming up." Lila squirms again, lying that she forgot them in the other purse—but she will bring them! Once no one is looking, Lila grumbles hatred for the entire female population of her class and her school. Curse Marinette and Juleka and Aurore, and curse Alya for rubbing it in. She won't let this go unpunished.

To be continued in Chapter 32: Glutton…