Chapter 34: Brave Flyer
This chapter opens at the Anciel house. Mathieu is giving his little brother Marc a good-natured hard time while their father is working on renovating the kitchen. Mrs. Anciel comes home, elated. She entered a raffle the previous month, and it turns out she won! She now has four free tickets for a family vacation to South Africa. The dates are set—all they're going to have to do is pack. She'll call their teachers right now for permission and any assignments they'll miss.
Mathieu and Marc are both very happy for a week's vacation. Mathieu mentions that he's sad he won't be able to see his girlfriend, Monique Imhof, for that time. Marc wonders about the deadlines to the comic he and Nathaniel Kurtzberg are working on, but he figures he can just work ahead. It definitely beats sitting around classroom. Their dad, Josef Anciel, however, starts to drag his feet. He's in the middle of renovating the kitchen. Can't the trip wait? Is there an alternative prize? Helena Anciel, his wife, chides him, telling him the dates can't be changed. It's a free vacation; he'd better see if he can get off of work. She continues to make plans, very eager about a family trip together. Mr. Anciel is clearly nervous but doesn't speak up.
The time and scene changes. Nathalie Sancoeur is out and about with the tablet, talking to Gabriel Agreste. She's examining sites where he could host a fashion show. She checks with the auditorium they used during Fashion Week. She studies the changing rooms, the reception, the emergency exits, and how well the place is wired with security cameras. However, the runway doesn't cut it. Gabriel tells her to look somewhere else.
A few days later, the Anciel family is packed for their trip. Josef Anciel is still dragging his feet, but Marc and Mathieu are both very excited. Mathieu makes a comment to his father about "you're not afraid, are you?" Mr. Anciel vehemently denies it. They load into a taxi and head to the airport.
Meanwhile, the main four are meeting up outside of school. Alya Cesaire has signed them all up for a photography scavenger hunt. They have a list of items, places, and/or people from around Paris. They have to travel to the sites and take a picture with their cell phones. Once they find all the objects, they can go to their library for a prize. Adrien Agreste and Nino Lahiffe are excited; Adrien's thrilled his father is giving him the afternoon off. Marinette Dupin-Cheng freezes up.
Nino suggests they make it more fun; they can split into teams. Adrien is all behind that and suggests guys versus girls. Alya Cesaire, however, realizing what Nino is doing, says she wants to play alongside her boyfriend. Nino Lahiffe agrees. Adrien shrugs and say "then I'll team up with Marinette." Marinette spazzes out again, but by then Nino and Alya are gone, so Marinette is stuck.
Once the Anciel family starts to see the planes landing and taking off, Mr. Anciel has a harder and harder time hiding his phobia. His wife asks him if his fear of flying is bothering him. This is something his sons didn't know about. He denies it, but now it's clear to everyone he's lying. Helena Anciel suggests they find another way, but Josef Anciel insists he's fine. However, the moment he steps out of the cab at the airport, he freezes up.
Hawk Moth senses his fear and sends an akuma his way. Marc notices it a moment before his father is akumatized into Brave Flyer, a jetpack wearing akumatized victim with speedy flight and the ability to remove people's fears when he strikes them with whatever weapon he's given. Mayura is with Hawk Moth. She sends an amok to aid Brave Flyer; the senti monster takes the form of two helicopter drones, which can act defensively for the akumatized victim.
Marc Anciel quickly fumbles for his phone to send an akuma alert and notify Nathaniel Kurtzberg. However, his father strikes him first. This removes Marc's fear of criticism. He says he feels he can write freely now. He is a good writer, and darn anyone who thinks otherwise. He pulls out his notebook and begins writing. His brother tells him off for writing in the airport lobby. That only draws Brave Flyer's attention to himself. Mathieu Anciel is struck, removing his fear of injury. He grabs his skateboard and begins to recklessly do stunts in the busy parking lot.
Mrs. Helena Anciel begs Brave Flyer to stop. However, Brave Flyer says that she, too, is afraid. When she is struck, her fear of her family growing older and growing apart is removed. "It doesn't matter, does it? Why do we need a vacation to stay close together?" So she sits down in the middle of the floor and begins to paint her nails.
All of this attracts the attention of other civilians, who do send the akuma alert. Marinette and Adrien, who are roaming all around Paris, receive the alert at the same time. Both also make excuses about why they have to end the scavenger hunt early in order to run off and transform.
Both main heroes realizes this akuma victim has flight power based on the app, so they feed their kwamis the flight potion before transforming. This allows Ladybug and Cat Noir to arrive, wings ready.
The B Team is also preparing, having received the alert too. Nathaniel as Firefly mentions he's having a hard time contacting his spotter (as Marc is busy in a writer's trance.) Fumikage as Tsukuyomi (who is still being called Crow-man publicly) is ready. Tsuyu as Froppy chimes in, pointing out that with a flying opponent, Firefly and Tsukuyomi are their best bet. Luka as Alpha tells everyone to stand-by unless it looks as if Ladybug and Cat Noir will really fail. He also warns them not to cancel each other out, being light and darkness.
Ladybug and Cat Noir, flight form, confront Brave Flyer, who is targeting people all over Paris. They're losing their fears, making them reckless. Ladybug and Cat Noir constantly have to stop fighting Brave Flyer and save people from doing something stupid. That combined with Brave Flyer's defensive drones makes him a formidable opponent. Cat Noir manages to Cataclysm one of the drones. However, it reforms. As long as both are operational, both will function. They need to be destroyed at the same time to fail. Cat Noir can only Cataclysm one at a time. Hawk Moth congratulates Mayura on her well thought out senti monster.
Ladybug's Lucky Charm guides her to Master Fu. It's a welcome cat with a distinctive pattern on the belly. Cat Noir can't help but comment on a cat lucky charm. He and Ladybug have a quick exchange of strategy (do they call Master Fu first to ensure he's home and not on a date; is the miraculous ally they need someone Cat Noir knows or Ladybug knows?). Once it's settled, Ladybug races off while Cat Noir continues to dance around Brave Flyer, trying to keep him from targeting any more civilians.
At Master Fu's, Ladybug selects the fox and the turtle miraculouses. She starts to leave, but then she realizes that her macaroon potions will probably reveal her identity to Alya and Nino. So she asks for two unprocessed potions, which Master Fu happily provides. She swings out to find Alya and Nino. Fortunately, she at least knows they're together and has a rough idea where to look based on the scavenger hunt.
Ladybug finds them both, and both are more than happy to help—even if it means postponing their hunt. "I guess Marinette and Adrien will win." Ladybug sweats just a bit, especially at the thought that that means that they left Adrien alone. Before they transform, Ladybug hands them the potions. They're confused. Ladybug tells them to give the potions to Trixx and Wayzz, who shift into their flight forms. Alya is pretty geeked out as she always wondered how Ladybug changed forms. She begins to ask questions, but Ladybug flat-out says there's no time. Alya and Nino transform into Rena Rouge and Carapace—flight form. Both are thrilled about their new powers. "I never knew a turtle could fly," jokes Carapace.
They're on their way back to Cat Noir, who is trying to keep the battle out of Paris proper (and getting low on his time limit). However, in doing so, he also gets struck. This removes his fear of rejection. That's when Ladybug returns with Rena Rouge and Carapace, flight mode. Cat Noir blatantly comes up to Ladybug and professes his love, his attention not on the battle. She tells him off, but he doesn't listen as his fear has been removed. He's also a bit more handsy than normal. Rena Rouge calls "a little help" as she and Carapace are dealing with Brave Flyer. Nadja Chamack is filming, also commenting on the new forms. This makes Hawk Moth jealous.
Ladybug focuses on the battle. She uses some psychology, telling Cat Noir that if he really cared about her, he'd also focus on Brave Flyer. That works although it doesn't stop his flirty commentary.
The fight continues.
They work out a plan that capitalizes on Rena Rouge and Carapace's powers. Rena Rouge's illusion makes the area look open; Brave Flyer flies into it. Then Carapace puts up his Shelter Shock, trapping himself and Cat Noir inside the shield with Brave Flyer while the drones get trapped outside with Ladybug and Rena Rouge. Cat Noir goes for the akuma while Carapace holds the shield; Ladybug targets the amok. It almost fails due to Cat Noir being reckless.
However, both are broken and purified by Ladybug, sending Josef Anciel back to normal. Ladybug does her world-healing wave, restoring everyone's rational fears and undoing the damage. The group does a four-way "Winged It." Cat Noir then runs off, on the verge of transforming back (magic clock time, and all). Rena Rouge and Carapace return their miraculous. Alya spends just a moment gazing at the design on the outside of the box Ladybug always uses to deliver the miraculous.
Mr. Anciel is reunited with his family. They hug, and Mrs. Helena Anciel says they can skip the trip if it'll make him feel better. However, Josef says he realizes his wife is right; they want to spend time together as a family since their boys are growing up. So they figure a way to make it work. Cut to the whole family on the plane. Mr. Anciel is sitting in the middle between his family members with a blindfold on, listening to music he's borrowing from Mathieu. He also has a drink in hand. Marc is still writing, and Mrs. Anciel is happy her whole family is together; she sighs as she looks out the window.
That evening, Marinette Dupin-Cheng and Alya Cesaire are talking on the phone. Alya asks Marinette if she got any closer to Adrien, but Marinette says that was a bust. Marinette then congratulates Alya on winning the scavenger hunt race as she and Adrien never finished (because "his father ordered him to come home.") Alya admits that she and Nino got "distracted" and never finished either. Maybe they'll reschedule for another day. They hang up.
Alya continues to do research on her computer. She pulls up the acupuncture clinic's webpage and actually sees a photograph of Master Fu. She studies it for a bit. Then her eyes go wide. In the background, she sees a familiar welcome cat. It's the same as Ladybug's Lucky Charm of the day; the mark on its belly gives it away. And it's the same mark as the mark on the box in which the fox miraculous rests. Alya is now certain that the owner of this clinic, "Chan," is an ally of Ladybug and Cat Noir—and she promises herself she will help protect this secret as well.
Meanwhile, another day, Nathalie Sancouer is touring the stadium to see if Gabriel Agreste could use it for his fashion show. She has him live on the tablet. The stadium attendant takes her down to the locker rooms, which could be used as changing rooms and make-up. The attendant points out there's numerous smaller rooms, so the models could all have their own dressing room. The signal begins to cut out, and Nathalie loses contact with Gabriel. The attendant apologizes. The walls are thick to support the entire stadium, so cell reception is spotty underground. Nathalie is intrigued. She asks about a chute she sees, and the attendant explains that it's part of the laundry system for the athletes. She then asks about the exits—in case of emergencies. The attendant is more than happy to point these out. On their way, Nathalie notices the lost and found. She picks up one of two lost ponchos and studies them. Her gears are turning. The attendant explains those are items left by previous fans. He then offers to show her the PA system, which Nathalie agrees and is eager to see.
To be continued in Chapter 35: Berserker…