Chapter 42: Evil Empress
It's morning, and Nathalie Sancoeur is up early despite the fact her health isn't 100%. Gabriel and Emilie Agreste are still at the hospital in a coma, which leaves Nathalie and the gorilla (Solomon) in charge of looking after Adrien in the meantime. Nathalie also has a lot on her mind since she now has both the peacock and the butterfly miraculouses. She knows she wants to gather all the miraculouses in Paris to awaken Gabriel. But how is she going to do that? Everything has changed, especially in the reveal that Draco and his allies will be after miraculous too. She knows she needs a finely honed strategy to triumph. She realizes they lost track of Ladybug and Cat Noir at the stadium—however, last she saw, Gabriel still had the black cat ring and the ladybug earrings. Nathalie knows her first step must be recovering those before anyone else finds them. After that, she needs to ensure no one learns Hawk Moth's true identity. If Hawk Moth just stopped appearing shortly after Gabriel Agreste falls into a coma, there's a slim chance people might realize he's Hawk Moth. And that's a chance Nathalie can't risk. She can't let the man she loves be arrested for becoming a national terrorist. So she begins to formulate a plan to throw attention off of Gabriel. (Movement itself for this scene is probably Nathalie leaving Hawk Moth's lair and then accessing information on the computer. It's minimum, most of everything is in her head.)
A few hours later, Adrien Agreste wakes up to begin his day. He's still exempt from school because of trauma, and the doctors advised that he take it easy because of everything that happened. He goes downstairs for breakfast—yet another meal alone. This one is worse since his father and mother are both unconscious in the hospital and he can't even go to his room to talk to Plagg because the black cat miraculous is missing and he has no idea if he'll ever even see it again.
Nathalie sets his plate in front of him. Then, to Adrien's shock, Nathalie sits at the opposite end of the table and begins eating her own breakfast. Adrien manages to stammer a question, wondering why she's joining him for the meal. Nathalie explains that as his father's secretary, it would be incredibly unprofessional of her to take a meal break while she was on duty (such as taking lunch with Adrien when she had to manage his schedule, attend to Gabriel, and all of her other duties). However, with Adrien's parents in the hospital, that means Nathalie is technically Adrien's temporary legal guardian—and there's nothing unprofessional about a legal guardian eating breakfast with her ward. (And it's likely Nathalie explains things using such precise legalese).
Adrien is speechless for a moment, but he rolls with it and is actually happy he isn't eating alone. However, it is a very awkward conversation between the two of them. To fill the pauses and silences, Nathalie turns to the one topic she knows—organized schedules. So she basically reviews Adrien's schedule for the day, down to the minute. And the first thing on their agenda is to visit the hospital. Both, of course, want to see Gabriel and Emilie. But Nathalie knows she has to get there ASAP and find the ring and earrings before someone else does. (She has no reason to suspect that Ladybug has already reclaimed her earrings.) Nathalie also thinks about how nice the meal is. Adrien is an obedient and talented son; he can play the piano, is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese, is a professional model, and does well in school. If she had a son, she'd want him to be an intellectual, like Adrien—like Gabriel. She scolds herself for thinking such thoughts. Adrien reviews his plans to visit Master Fu that afternoon to see if he can find out what happened to Ladybug and if Master Fu has any ideas about locating his missing ring miraculous.
It's the same morning at the Dupin-Cheng bakery. Marinette is lagging more than normal, but her parents have noticed she's perked up over the past day (as she found her earrings and Tikki). Nonetheless, they insist she stay home from school today as well (although most of the cast has gone back to school). Marinette almost argues but then reconsiders. With Master Fu not answering his phone last night, she needs to speak to him as soon as possible—and the only other way she can contact him is to visit directly. After breakfast and prep-work, Marinette tells her parents she wants to go for a walk. Tom Dupin expresses concern about her going out by herself (as he's still in protective mode from what he believes was Marinette being one of Hawk Moth's many kidnapped victims). Sabine tells him that it's okay to let her get some air and gives Marinette permission to take a walk as long as she comes back for lunch—in a few hours' time. Marinette accepts the terms. She heads to her room, makes sure Tikki is comfortable in her purse, and then heads out.
It's still before school hours; Sabrina Raincomprix is out on a boutique street. She has a list of items Chloe has demanded, and she's out gathering them before classes start. (I'd imagine Chloe (or more likely, Butler Jean) would at least give money for the shopping. Sabrina is a doormat, but I can't imagine her spending her own money on the very expensive items Chloe Bourgeois is likely to be demanding).
She has just finished up shopping and sits down on an available bench to catch her breath from the many bags of stuff she's been carrying. However, she knows she has to hurry to get all the stuff to school in time for Chloe to arrive. While she's sitting, another girl her own age notices her with surprise.
It takes a moment, but they both recognize each other. Sabrina recognizes the other girl as Miranda Edgarov (she has Russian heritage on her father's side)—her best friend from early elementary school. Sabrina is very surprised to see Miranda as it's been years since they spoke. Sabrina opens her mouth to greet Miranda and ask her how she's been. It's clear from Miranda's body language that she is already not happy and in a bad mood for the day.
It's Miranda who responds first. Instead of a friendly greeting, Miranda snaps at Sabrina. She calls Sabrina a stalker, implying that Miranda thinks Sabrina was intentionally waiting on the bench for Miranda to pass by to strike up a conversation with her and not that it's a coincidence that she was sitting there. Sabrina is hurt!surprised by the comment and can't even form a reply. The silence only allows Miranda to continue to push her accusations, calling Sabrina "clingy" and that "no one else expects things of her (Miranda) like she (Sabrina) does."
Sabrina is baffled by the accusations. She remembers that when she last spoke to Miranda in third grade, Miranda was an emotional roller coaster. But that stems from Miranda's poor relationship with her father, who had passed away that year. But they hadn't spoken since they went to different schools in fourth grade (and it was around fifth grade Sabrina met Chloe).
Sabrina tries to handle the situation by taking a deep breath and greeting Miranda like a friend. After all, before third grade, she and Miranda were close and she did value Miranda's friendship then. However, it doesn't matter how nice or how neutral Sabrina speaks—everything she says or does makes Miranda angrier.
Miranda has it in her head that Sabrina was stalking her today out of clingy desperation to rekindle the friendship. Under that delusion, Miranda tells Sabrina there's no chance they'd be friends again because Sabrina is a needy person, always "asking for a crumb and then demanding a banquet" and that "following people around like a dog is disgusting." Miranda then goes on to call Sabrina "Hachiko" (based on the dog who waited in one spot for his late owner to return). Miranda storms away in a huff, leaving Sabrina swallowing tears. (Does the conversation sound nonsensical or that great leaps of twisted logic were made? Good! That's intentional. Miranda isn't a very rational character, and she's just taking raw emotion out on Sabrina and very weakly justifying it. Plus, the proper flashback between Miranda and Sabrina happens later in the chapter.)
Sabrina's hands are shaking as she reaches for her cell phone. She just wants to talk to someone—to affirm that she has some type of value to someone. This reveals because of her history with Miranda Edgarov, Sabrina does have abandonment issues—which is why she can be prone to spam call people. Fortunately, the cell phone rings in Sabrina Raincomprix's hands; it's Chloe, demanding her stuff. (One of the reasons Sabrina gets along with Chloe—Chloe Bourgeois is so demanding, she always calls before Sabrina's abandonment anxiety can kick in). Sabrina Raincomprix perks noticeably, hefts all the bags she has, and hustles to school to get things ready for her current best friend. She tries to put off the feud she had with her old best friend, but it lingers in the back of her mind like a shadow. The scene ends as Sabrina sees Chloe at the front of their school.
Meanwhile, Nathalie Sancoeur and Adrien Agreste arrive at the hospital. They head up to the room to see Gabriel and Emilie. Neither has had any change in condition. The doctors are clueless about what's going on. Adrien talks to his parents, imploring them to wake up. Nathalie scans for the black cat ring and ladybug earrings, but they're not with Gabriel. She does a quick search of the room without attracting Adrien's attention; she can't find the miraculous there either.
Nathalie excuses herself, saying she's going to give Adrien some alone time with his parents. She steps into the hallway and flags down a nurse, asking about the Agrestes' possessions. The nurse knows nothing about missing jewelry. Nathalie checks with the receptionists and the lost and found—no sign of the miraculous. She asks a doctor, but no one has seen earrings on Gabriel Agreste, and the only ring he has is his wedding ring. Nathalie Sancoeur remains outwardly calm, but inside she is panicked over the missing miraculous. She returns to the room, puzzling over what could have happened to the miraculous and making her plans as Peacock Moth while Adrien finishes his visitation with his parents. The ring and earrings are vital to her plans—she needs to flush them out.
It's mid-morning when Marinette Dupin-Cheng arrives at Master Fu's acupuncture clinic. Her eyes grow huge when she sees the yellow police tape across his door. She steps a bit closer, noticing the front door has been kicked in and there's broken glass. However, the police finished their investigation the prior day, so they're not around. Marinette hurries to the side door, the one she uses as Ladybug (Cat Noir uses it too). She knows where the hidden key is, so she's able to sneak inside.
The inside is still how Alya Cesaire and Giselle Winters-Blanchet found it. The table is thrown aside, the tatami mats are torn, book pages and broken glass are scattered everywhere. Marinette is in a panic about what happened here and what happened to Master Fu. She opens her purse to talk to Tikki. Tikki is still very weak but is able to hold a conversation. Marinette wonders if it was Hawk Moth who did this to Master Fu's home. Tikki admits it's possible and then tells Marinette they have to find the other miraculous.
Marinette find the phonograph broken and the miraculous box missing; she also finds the glass safe smashed and the bee comb gone. This deeply worries both Marinette and Tikki. Marinette still hasn't recovered emotionally from the events at the end of Phase Two, and she's becoming overwhelmed and lost. Despite her developing trait being creative problem solving, Marinette Dupin-Cheng is genuinely at a total loss for what to do.
As she walks around in a daze, surveying the damage and searching for any sign about what happened to Master Fu, her foot crunches on something. She looks down and realizes it's his tablet. The screen is cracked like a spider's web, but when Marinette picks it up to test it; it does power up. She quickly flips through it, realizing the data is all intact, which also includes the complete recipes for every single miraculous potion. Tikki congratulates her on the find but murmurs her concerns about the missing miraculous. They have to find them.
Marinette scans the room once more with her eyes, but nothing "lights up" in her vision. She can't form a concrete plan. However, she knows she's fortunate that Master Fu's tablet didn't fall into enemy hands. The potions! It then occurs to her that if they can't find Master Fu, someone is going to have to recreate the potions should the heroes need them—and some of the ingredients are pretty exotic. Since Marinette is the only one with the recipes, it falls on her. She heads into Master Fu's pantry and fills a bag with ingredients needed in the potion recipes. As she does so, she rattles the window sash. This is enough to dislodge a certain ring from the downspout it is stuck on. It tumbles down and gets caught in the shoulder of the lucky cat statue. Marinette doesn't realize it's there. She then skims the clinic one last time, but there's not a single clue to go off of. With nothing further to do and her parents expecting her home for lunch, Marinette heads back, worry embedded deeply into her stomach.
At school that day, several students are still being kept at home because of the whole incident with Hawk Moth and the kidnappings and the stadium. In Miss Bustier's class, not only are Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupin-Cheng absent, but also Rose Lavillant and Alix Kubdel. Alya Cesaire's parents actually insisted she go to school to get her grades up as part of her on-going grounding. Alya is determined to do so; as she said before, she can't afford to be grounded if she's going to be Rena Rouge. She actually has her cell phone set up to record Miss Bustier's lectures so she can listen to them later for extra studying. Nathaniel Kurtzberg's parents barely made a passing comment, so he's in class—and he's drawing again.
Partway into Miss Bustier's lecture, Principal Damocles enters with an older lady. He apologizes for the interruption, and then calls the class's attention. He introduces the older lady as Dolores Gros. She's the school's new guidance counselor.
With so many students getting akumatized because of negative emotions and then the trauma of mass kidnapping, the school board wanted to take steps to ensure the mental health of the student body. They hired Dolores Gros to help there. Principal Damocles tells them all to welcome her. He says she has impressive credentials and that if they have any problems, they can talk to her. Dolores steps forward and introduces herself as Madam Gros and says she has an open office policy; as long as she's not with another student, they're welcome to speak with her. She also announces that she'll be doing preliminary mental health screenings of the entire student body, one by one. She hopes to develop rapport with them and reduce (if not eliminate) akumatizations. Le Chien Kim and Max Kante sort of raise an eyebrow at her. Markov, the robot, wonders aloud about mental health. Madam Gros explains mental health has been a vastly ignored area of overall wellness, and she intends to change that. Markov half-understands and works on uploading a database to expand his knowledge on the field.
Madam Gros says she'll be beginning her mental health screenings now. She says it'll be okay if they miss a bit of class for the screenings. Miss Bustier is a bit surprised that the counselor offered this on her behalf, but she agrees with it regardless. Madam Gros scans the room; her eyes rest on Sabrina. Due to her morning's encounter with Miranda, Sabrina's eyes are definitely showing signs of stress. Madam Gros tells Sabrina Raincomprix to come with her. Sabrina is a bit wary. She looks to Chloe Bourgeois for help, but Chloe just shrugs. Sabrina follows Dolores.
Elsewhere, Adrien Agreste gets home from the hospital. Nathalie Sancoeur continues to outline his schedule, telling him he's due to practice his piano for the next hour. Adrien agrees and heads to his room. With him occupied, Nathalie heads into Hawk Moth's lair—now her lair—to plan her next move. She recognizes the success they just experienced with Mad Hare. She knows she needs another good plan. But first…she needs everyone to believe Hawk Moth is still around so blame does not fall on the man she loves. And for that, she needs someone to akumatize. She puts on the butterfly brooch and begins to sense the emotions in Paris…
Adrien, in his room, boots up his computer to play a prerecorded song so it sounds as if he's practicing. He then sneaks out. It's a bit harder this time. He can't just swing out of the window as Cat Noir. He has to slip out one of the doors as himself without Nathalie or his bodyguard realizing. Fortunately, Nathalie is completely busy and his bodyguard can only be in one place at a time. Adrien is able to leave the estate—he makes beeline for Master Fu's.
Like Alya and Giselle before and Marinette that morning, Adrien is stunned to arrive at Master Fu's and find it trashed with Master Fu himself missing. Just like Marinette, Adrien heads to the side door and uses the hidden key (which he knows of because he's Cat Noir). He also examines the room, realizing that Master Fu was attacked and both the miraculous box and the bee comb pseudo-miraculous are missing.
Adrien pulls out his cell phone and calls Marianne Lenoir, since he knows Marianne is dating Master Fu (and that she also suspects his identity as Cat Noir.) Marianne answers and begins to babble, saying she's glad Adrien calls and she hopes he has word of Wang Fu. Adrien has to tell her that he knows nothing. He was hoping she knew—that maybe Master Fu reached out to her. Marianne admits she's heard nothing, and she's worried sick. As Adrien talks, he paces around the room. The force of him shutting a door causing the black cat ring miraculous to become dislodged from the welcome cat. It falls onto the front step.
The scene switches to Sabrina Raincomprix's appointment with Dolores Gros. Madam Gros acts very sweet, talking lightly about Sabrina's grades and her current emotions. The counselor also notes that Sabrina has been akumatized before into Vanisher. Sabrina says she doesn't remember anything about that. Madam Gros uses Sabrina's akumatized form to postulate that Sabrina feels neglected or perhaps unloved. Sabrina insists that's not true as Chloe Bourgeois is her best friend and would never ghost her. They play together as superheroes, and Sabrina does all she can to meet Chloe's desires. Chloe would never abandon her like Miranda Edgarov did.
Madam Gros catches that slip that Sabrina made and asks who Miranda is. (Sabrina probably wouldn't have said anything had she not ran into Miranda that morning, but the encounter is fresh in her memory). Bit by bit, Madam Gros pulls out the whole story from Sabrina.
In short, they were very close friends. However, Miranda Edgarov had a terrible relationship with her father (implied to actually have early onset dementia or some other similar mental condition that effected his memories). Things got worse as they went through elementary school until they hit third grade. Mr. Edgarov began to lose the ability to take care of himself and wasn't aware he was unable to take care of himself, making things difficult on the family. He passed suddenly, and Miranda was never able to make amends. Through first and second grade, Sabrina had noticed Miranda getting angrier and angrier. It exploded when her father died. As Sabrina says, "it was as if everything inside of her at that moment erupted all over everything." Miranda began lashing out, seeing innocent things as attacks against her (paranoia). She would always promise to do things and never follow through, would call herself worthless but insult other people when they tried to cheer her up, and worst—would have very unpredictable, wild mood swings. Sabrina admits it was very tiring always wondering what landmine of Miranda's she would step on next—and Miranda always seemed to have a new landmine.
However, they wound up going to different schools in fourth grade, so the destructive relationship ended without any real resolution. Sabrina still feels like part of it was her fault for not being supportive enough with everything Miranda had been going through at the time. However, she also feels selfish for wanting things in a friendship: someone to talk to, someone to share interests with, someone to go to the movies with.
Madam Gros is actually able to coax out of her that Sabrina admits that she's aware that Chloe Bourgeois is way more of a taker than a giver in the friendship. But Sabrina feels it's way better than being alone. And if she didn't have Chloe, she'd be all alone. Sabrina points out that none of the other girls in her class talk to her. She's tried. Sabrina refers to the time she partnered with Marinette Dupin-Cheng. However, Marinette did the same thing Miranda did—she ghosted her calls and then she started lying about it. Sabrina could tell Marinette was lying (but she didn't realize it was because of Marinette's obligations as Ladybug nor that by spamming Marinette out of Sabrina's own abandonment issues also alienated Marinette). Sabrina feels that no matter what she does, she simply isn't good at making friends—and unless she gives and gives in a friendship, she won't ever have any friends at all.
Madam Gros tells her that that simply isn't true. There are nice people in the world, and that Sabrina shouldn't be in an abusive friendship. First, Sabrina has to love herself before others will love her. Madam Gros also tells Sabrina to let Miranda's comments roll off of her shoulders. Based on what Sabrina said, it's likely Miranda has bipolar disorder or walking depression. It's not Sabrina's fault. (This should be the first red flag Madam Gros isn't what she appears. No decent psychologist would armchair diagnose a total stranger based on testimony of a client—let alone pass that diagnosis off to the client. Plus, Madam Gros gets the symptoms wrong—it's most likely Miranda Edgarov has borderline personality disorder that manifested around the time her father died, which compounded the issues brought on by his death.)
Madam Gros sends Sabrina Raincomprix on her way. Sabrina walks out feeling much better. When the door is closed, Dolores Gros rolls her eyes. She mumbles about Sabrina being a waste of time and being another dumb teenager with stupid drama problems. She comments to herself that Sabrina is useless to her purposes, weak-willed and naive. However, she has a whole school left to interview—she knows she'll find someone she can use.
Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste is still searching Master Fu's home. However, he comes up empty. He is about to leave out of the side door when he hears meowing. A stray cat has come in through the broken front door. Adrien tells it to leave; there's no one here to feed it. The cat does that haughty cat look at him and then turns to amuse itself. It begins batting broken pieces of furniture around as a kind of game. Adrien rolls his eyes, also amused, and goes to pick the cat up/chase it outside. The cat is calm and nice as he does so. Adrien walks to the front door and sets the cat down outside. He rubs its belly—and his shoe hits something metal.
Adrien looks down. His eyes grow huge when he realizes it's his ring. He is completely and utterly baffled about how it got to Master Fu's doorstep. He suspects Ladybug and/or Master Fu had something to do with it. However, he isn't going to question his rare streak of good luck. He puts on the ring and Plagg reappears, completely exhausted and not floating.
Adrien is immediately and intensely worried about Plagg and scoops him up carefully. Fortunately, he still is in the habit of carrying cheese around, so he offers Plagg a piece. Plagg nibbles and tries to tell Adrien that Hawk Moth is his dad, but being a kwami, nothing escapes his mouth but bubbles. Adrien fails to pick up on how serious the subject matter is. He promises Plagg he's going to help him get well. Adrien tucks Plagg gently and cozily into his pocket and then runs for his home so he can treat the kwami ASAP.
Back at school, Counselor Dolores Gros is continuing to interview students one on one. (And I just now realized what a great opportunity these interviews are for characterization of the probably-too-big cast. Yay for things working out well.) Aurore Beaureal is chosen from Ms. Mendeleiev's class to be the next one for mental health screening.
Madam Gros opens the discussion by asking open-ended questions about Aurore's job and her grades and how she balances her work, school, home, and social life. Aurore admits it's often hard and that she's disappointed in herself for her grades dropping. However, tutoring has helped, and she's doing better. Madam Gros brings up Aurore's home life. How does she feel with the fact her biological mother just walked out on her and her little brother without looking back, without even contacting them since? How is Aurore adjusting to her father's remarriage? Aurore admits it's very hard and it often hurts—but she now understands her step-mother is a good person, and they're trying to rebuild their family. It'll look different, but that's not a bad thing.
Madam Gros then brings up the point that Aurore has been akumatized twice (once into Stormy Weather and once into Tempest). How did Aurore feel? Is there something deep down that's making her angry? Or a problem she hasn't addressed? This topic is much harder for Aurore to discuss. She admits she puts a lot of pressure on herself to be perfect: perfect grades, perfect weather caster, perfect daughter. She admits she's hard on herself when she fails—but she insists she's not in danger of being akumatized ever again. She's learned from those past experiences, and she never wants to go through them again.
Madam Gros asks about what Aurore thinks of Hawk Moth because she was akumatized twice. Aurore's hands clench into fists, and her voice takes a tone of animosity. She's angry with him for hurting her—for hurting her family by akumatizing her step-mom (who subsequently brainwashed her little brother). She's mad he akumatized her best friend, her classmates, and the people in her city. She eventually admits she'd even go as far as to say she hates him.
That catches Madam Gros's ears. The counselor realizes that unlike Sabrina, Aurore is more grounded and stable and has a strength of will—plus, she demonstrates hostility towards at least some of the miraculous users.
Madam Gros turns her back to Aurore and returns a moment later—with a miraculous box. (Not the same one as Master Fu's.)
Aurore has no idea what it is, but Madam Gros opens the drawers and reveals the miraculous inside. The counselor explains that her team is aiming to stop Hawk Moth and get his miraculous out of the hands of a villain. But in order to do that, they need allies in Paris. Madam Gros is offering Aurore that chance to be one of her agents. She picks up an armcuff from one of the drawers and offers it to Aurore, explaining that it will give her powers to stop the enemies of Paris.
Aurore is very tempted but also very curious. She asks who Madam Gros's team is, what their mission is, how their powers work, why Dolores would consider her, what would be expected of her, and how/if they plan on working alongside Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Madam Gros's face goes dark at the mention of the golden duo, and Aurore notices. She asks Madam Gros further. The counselor lets it slip that she does not approve of Ladybug and Cat Noir, feeling they are irresponsible as the world at large does not need to know about magic, miraculous, or superpowers. Madam Gros is unable to hide her disdain for them, which sets of a warning bell in Aurore's head. She pulls her hand away and refuses. Aurore explains that Ladybug and Cat Noir saved her—twice. She owes them, and she feels they are genuine, noble heroes—the heroes Paris needs. They're doing nothing wrong.
Aurore tells Madam Gros "thanks, but no thanks." She picks up her bag and turns to leave. As she does so, she tells the counselor that she won't tell anyone about what her team is doing because Hawk Moth does need to be stopped.
Madam Gros says she knows Aurore won't tell anyone anything about the miraculous box she possesses. "Trumpet, Ellie." Dolores Gros reveals her hair pin is a miraculous—an elephant miraculous. She transforms herself, leaving Aurore stunned with her jaw dropped. Aurore stammers some questions, but Madam Gros doesn't bother answering or even being nice. She tells Aurore that she won't remember any of this. Then, she uses the elephant's power: Oblivion. She erases Aurore's memories of anything supernatural in the conversation.
Aurore leaves the office, mildly dazed, thinking that she just had a normal counseling session about her grades and work and family. She no longer suspects anything about Madam Gros as she returns to class. Madam Gros breaks her transformation and tells Ellie, the elephant kwami of memory, that one set-back is hardly worth noticing. After all, she has an entire school to draw upon. And now she knows, Ladybug and Cat Noir are just too popular. She has to keep that card close to her chest while recruiting. Ellie, very warily, agrees. (It should be worth noting that Madam Gros's office is likely heavily soundproofed, so no one outside could hear Dolores transforming nor anyone's reaction to it. She was able to get it soundproofed under the guise of protecting the privacy of her counseling sessions.)
Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste makes it back to his home safely and is able to get back into his room before either Nathalie or the bodyguard realize he was ever gone. He carefully takes Plagg out of his pocket and begins making him comfortable and ensuring he has cheese to eat. Adrien asks the kwami what happened and if Ladybug is safe, where's Hawk Moth and how Master Fu got the ring back, and if Plagg knows what happened to Master Fu. Plagg says he doesn't know about Master Fu, so Adrien has to explain about the break-in, the missing miraculous box, and Master Fu going MIA. Adrien then repeats his questions about Ladybug and Hawk Moth. Plagg attempts to explain but gets thwarted by the kwamis' compulsion to keep secrets. Adrien isn't able to learn much; he has no idea if Hawk Moth is still active or not, and neither of them know where Ladybug is. Plagg is also completely exhausted still, so Adrien eventually drops the matter and focuses on helping Plagg regain his strength.
Below them, down in Hawk Moth's lair, Nathalie transforms using just the butterfly miraculous (thus taking some of the physical strain off as she's not using the broken peacock miraculous). Thus, we get a new transformation sequence. Since she isn't actively using the peacock miraculous, Duusuu is available to talk to her. Duusuu is overly energetic and asking a lot of questions as Nathalie focuses, trying to find someone to akumatize. Duusuu wonders that since with the peacock miraculous, Nathalie is called Mayura and when she uses both at the same time, she goes by Peacock Moth, then what is her alias for just the butterfly miraculous? Nathalie says that she will take up the title of Hawk Moth to protect Gabriel Agreste. Duusuu wonders how that'll work when it's clear that (male) Hawk Moth and (female) Hawk Moth are two different people (in voice, appearance, and transformation outfit). Nathalie/Hawk Moth says she has already figured that out. However, before Duusuu can pry into how, female Hawk Moth senses a massive surge of anger.
It is now after school. That means not only has Francoise Dupont High School let out, but so have the other schools. Students begin milling around Paris on their way home—many of them getting back into normal life after the massive kidnappings that happened in Mad Hare.
Miranda Edgarov is one who is walking home from school; her mood is as foul as it was in the morning. Little things seem to set her off. She gets annoyed when the crosswalk changed just as she gets to it. She grumbles and glares as a mother with a baby stroller crosses her paths. She openly yells at tourists who are lost and ask for directions.
At the same time, Sabrina Raincomprix is making another snack run for Chloe. Chloe demanded pain au chocolat and only a certain bakery would do. Sabrina happily went to retrieve it—when her path again crossed with Miranda's. Sabrina once again offers a friendly greeting.
This, of course, fully convinces Miranda that Sabrina is stalking her. Miranda erupts on Sabrina even worse than she did in the morning, calling Sabrina "Hachiko" instead of by her real name. She insists Sabrina doesn't know what "no" means and that she's too stupid to understand "stay away" and "get lost." She repeats that Sabrina is clingy, needy, and demanding to unreal levels—worse "than anyone she/Miranda has ever known." She even accuses Sabrina of being gay for her, which of course isn't true at all. Sabrina tries to defend herself, but it's really hard to think what to do when someone is screaming at you. It doesn't even occur to her to just walk away.
That's when Nathalie/female Hawk Moth's akuma lands on Miranda Edgarov, turning her into the Evil Empress (with themes and outfit clearly inspired by the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland). Sabrina tries to reason with her, but Miranda is very far gone. That's when she hears Hawk Moth's voice. The original Hawk Moth's voice.
It pans back to Nathalie, who is using her tablet to synthesize male Hawk Moth speaking. Through her tablet, she explains the usual to Evil Empress: in return for the power of revenge, she (Miranda) is to turn any miraculous she encounters over to Hawk Moth. Evil Empress readily agrees.
In short, Evil Empress's power is disproportionate retribution. She's able to dole out overblown punishments for anything she feels is a slight against her. Unfortunately for Sabrina Raincomprix, she is immediately in the akumatized victim's sights. Evil Empress, angry that Sabrina was following her, turns the concrete sidewalk to mush and sinks Sabrina in up to her waist so that she can never follow anyone again.
A passerby steps on her toes. Enraged, Evil Empress points her scepter at his feet and makes them as big as surfboards so that he can now barely walk. Satisfied with her revenge, Evil Empress struts down the street, looking for more people to take her aggression out on.
Sabrina is at least able to move her hands. She pulls out her cell phone and activates the Akuma Alert.
The entire B Team gets the alert and immediately begins to communicate with each other to coordinate what they're going to do. Tsuyu/Froppy is the first to note that the Evil Empress has unusual skin color, which likely marks her as an akumatized victim. That answers the one question they have all had—Hawk Moth is still free and acting to the full extent of his powers. Nathaniel/Firefly wonders what that means about Ladybug, but no one has any answers there. Luka/Alpha reminds them of their (self-imposed) rules about not getting involved unless it's an absolute emergency, unless Ladybug and Cat Noir can't handle it alone/are unavailable, and so long as they have someone to "spot" them should things go wrong. Kim/Dauphin chimes in about the last one—Hawk Moth hasn't been able to control them at all since Heroes' Day (he did take control of Tsukuyomi in Berserker, but they think that was a regular akumatization). Even when everything got crazy with Mad Hare, Hawk Moth never once tried to control Firefly or Alpha or even Snow Leopard. Do they really need to continue to be overly cautious? After all, it's likely Heroes' Day was a fluke—brought on by whatever made Hawk Moth's powers red. They wonder if now that Tsukuyomi and Froppy have kwamis, if that means that Hawk Moth can no longer control them. Froppy the heroine asks Froppy the kwami, but the kwami is too new to the world to have an answer.
Alpha replies that he understands Dauphin's point, but until they know what caused Hawk Moth to go red and control them, they have to be careful. (Dauphin wasn't controlled by Hawk Moth as Kim had been akumatized into Dark Cupid at the time. It feels different to be controlled through the miraculous without kwamis, and those who fell victim to it, like Alpha, do not want to repeat that.)
They discuss locations and how fast they can get there and who has their spotters. Dauphine can get there the fastest and then Alpha. Alpha tells them to get on standby and watch, wait for his order to intervene. They transform.
In her lair, female Hawk Moth perks as she senses an old, strange powerful similar to the butterfly miraculous. So this is what Gabriel meant! She can feel five imprecise pseudo-miraculous moving in Paris. And she knows from Gabriel Agreste that she can switch their alignment and take control of their wielders. Female Hawk Moth smiles and files that information away to use later.
Marinette Dupin-Cheng also gets the akuma alert. She's in her room, trying to help Tikki recover. When the app goes off, Marinette takes the time to check out her computer. The images of the incident's report confirms that this is an akumatized victim (due to unusual skin color). Marinette realizes that they need Ladybug to purify the akuma. But she's worried about Tikki and straining her all the more. Tikki reassures her and encourages her to do what's right. Marinette nods and then transforms. Ladybug is back!
At the same time, Adrien Agreste also gets the alert. He bites his lip as he looks at the condition Plagg is in. His situation parallels what Marinette went through in Draco. Does he help everyone or does he help his kwami heal? Adrien hesitates, watching events unfold quickly as he struggles to make a decision.
Evil Empress storms through Paris, meting out over-the-top punishments every time she turns around. She's angry that Nadja Chamack is filming her for the news broadcast, so she blurs Nadja's vision so she can't see anything more than colors and shapes. When Roger Raincomprix tries to stop her from going any further, she turns him into a giant ball so he rolls away, unable to obstruct her path any more. When Evil Empress hears the annoying chirp of a cricket, she goes on a full-blown rage and starts blowing up chunks of the land in an attempt to destroy the insect.
Luka/Alpha gives the order, and both he and Ondine/Dauphine leap into the fight. Alpha is very swift, able to evade Evil Empress's blasts with her scepter as she tries to take retribution on him for trying to de-evilize her. Dauphine struggles a bit more as this is a land-based fight; however, by using her Echolocation ability, Dauphine is able to lead them away from civilians so they can handle Evil Empress without anyone else getting hurt.
However, Evil Empress is able to outmaneuver Dauphine shortly after. She gears up a blast to trap Dauphine in a fish bowl "like the guppy she is," when a yo-yo wraps around her wrist and stops her. Everyone looks up, seeing Ladybug standing on top of a lamppost, using her weapon to subdue the akumatized victim. Parisians start cheering at her return.
Adrien is also thrilled to see her—to see that she's okay. Knowing this, he realizes he has to be there to help "milady" out. He promises Plagg he'll take it easy and that he'll give Plagg the biggest piece of aged camembert he can find afterward. Plagg sighs and agrees. Adrien transforms and uses his baton to leap out of the window. Cat Noir is back!
While Ladybug has Evil Empress tied up, Alpha goes in with his spear to destroy the akumatized item. However, Evil Empress manages to get her scepter hand free and lands a blow against him. A choke-collar forms around his neck, and the akumatized victim orders him to heel. Alpha falls to his knees, grasping at the chain that is choking him. Dauphine hurries over to help him, but he motions for her to stop the empress. (With the Evil Empress able to choke Alpha at will, he can't properly use his Howl technique, which means he can't enhance anyone else's abilities or refill anyone's countdown gauge.)
Juleka, who is also watching Alpha from a distance, panics when she sees him struggling to breathe. She runs forward, not caring if she reveals herself or not. However, Alpha notices her coming (he's the only one who does) and holds a hand up, silently telling her to remain back. Juleka cringes but complies; however, she is clearly very worried about her brother. (I wonder if I should have the spotters get more involved in general.)
Ladybug insists she can handle things and that Dauphine needs to help Alpha before he passes out. As she's speaking, Evil Empress sweeps her scepter across Ladybug's torso, forcing the air from her lungs. It really hurts her. With Tikki far from recovered, Ladybug's defenses are very low. Her suit doesn't protect her as it had in the past, making her susceptible to physical attacks.
Female Hawk Moth realizes Ladybug is more vulnerable although she doesn't know why. Nonetheless, she orders Evil Empress to keep up the pressure to steal Ladybug's earrings. (Female Hawk Moth is saying all this through her tablet so she still sounds like a man talking.)
Ladybug, winded and in pain, rises to confront Evil Empress. At that moment, Cat Noir swings in and gets a strike from the akumatized victim's blind spot. It isn't enough to destroy her akumatized item, but it is enough to drive her away from Ladybug and to cause her to lose focus on Alpha, allowing him to breathe.
Cat Noir greets Ladybug and comments about how relieved and happy he is that she's okay. Ladybug initially begins to offer a friendly replied. But then her memories kick in. Adrien is Cat Noir! Ladybug instantly becomes tongue-tied and has a minor spazz-out. Fortunately, the pressures of the battle keep anyone from noticing. (Plus Adrien is getting used to girls spazzing on him. Marinette does. Giselle does (as she still thinks he's Hawk Moth), and now Ladybug does. (Of course, he doesn't realize that two of those are the same person).)
All of Paris notices the golden duo is back. There's cheering among the populace. Female Hawk Moth is very surprised to see both of them with their miraculous. Were they the ones to recover the items from Gabriel Agreste? Do they realize he was Hawk Moth all along? She needs to find out. Elsewhere, Dolores Gros is watching with an increasingly dark smile. Hawk Moth, Ladybug, and Cat Noir have all been flushed out. Now, all she and her team (one of which is Draco) need to do is claim the miraculous and return them to obscurity. The world does not need to know about magic.
In order to determine what they know, female Hawk Moth speaks through Evil Empress, using her modulated voice. She commends them on escaping her trap in the stadium and for reclaiming their miraculous; she says she admires their persistence and innovation, but it all ends today. Cat Noir reacts very viscerally, telling off Hawk Moth for all he put them through. He's fuming over it (especially the death threat against himself and Ladybug). His reaction tells female Hawk Moth all she needs to know. Cat Noir and Ladybug do not realize she's not the original Hawk Moth. They don't know Gabriel Agreste was that Hawk Moth. And they don't know about her full involvement (as Nathalie, as Catalyst, as Mayura, and now as the new Hawk Moth). What it doesn't answer is how they reclaimed their miraculous, but Nathalie/Hawk Moth accepts the information she just gained as more than enough for now.
During the conversation, Dauphine is able to help Alpha to his feet. They spring to attack while Evil Empress is distracted. However, she senses them coming at the last moment and again causes Alpha's collar to tighten. He drops. But Dauphine is able to broadside Evil Empress with her surfboard. Cat Noir tells Ladybug to get ready with her charm ("but you're always charming, milady"). He asks Dauphine to pin the empress while he readies his Cataclysm.
Ladybug is once again taken off balance by Cat Noir's flirting since she knows it's really Adrien behind those words. She misses her cue, which allows Evil Empress to get away from Cat Noir and Dauphine. Cat Noir wonders if Ladybug is really all right. He shows a deep concern about her. Which only causes her to react in a very-Marinette way (and yet Cat Noir still doesn't put two and two together).
Meanwhile, the Evil Empress is getting more and more pissed off. Her skin has turned bright red (once again, as a shout out to the Queen of Hearts). She steps back for a final, ultimate attack. "Off with their heads!" she shrieks. (You knew that was coming.)
Dauphine steps in front of Alpha to shield him with her surfboard as he's still being choked. Ladybug dodges right and finds a moment to use her Lucky Charm. Cat Noir dodges left and tries to provoke Evil Empress into targeting him so that everyone else remains safe. The akumatized victim falls for his baiting and does so.
This gives Ladybug the opening she needs. She finds out the purpose of her Lucky Charm (whatever that item may be) and uses it to send Evil Empress stumbling right into Cat Noir's ready-and-waiting Cataclysm. Her akumatized item is destroyed, which allows Ladybug to purify the akuma. She does her world-healing wave, which frees Sabrina Raincomprix from the sidewalk, removes the collar from Alpha's neck, and undoes all the other damage.
"Pound it!" Alpha and Dauphine join in. Alpha remarks that he's glad to see them both back. He then asks about what happened to them. Last anyone saw them, they were at the Eiffel Tower, abducted by Mad Hare. Were they battling Hawk Moth the entire time? Were they able to de-evilize Mad Hare? Cat Noir stammers a "yes, let's go with that" answer and looks to Ladybug for back-up. Ladybug's pulse accelerates the moment he looks at her. She stammers incoherently and then says she has to bug out because of her timer, even though she still has plenty of time left. She practically flees the scene. Cat Noir shrugs (still not putting two and two together) and thanks Alpha and Dauphine for the help. He then asks about Tsukuyomi. The last Ladybug and Cat Noir heard, Tsukuyomi was still trapped in a cocoon of his own power. Alpha and Dauphine exchange a look and realize there's a lot they have to catch the golden duo up on. However, Cat Noir's timer is counting down. Alpha encourages Cat Noir to log into their chat server as soon as he can—they'll explain everything. Cat Noir agrees and then leaves himself. The other two slip out before Nadja, recovered from her punishment by the Evil Empress, can interview them.
Miranda Edgarov is sulking over the whole ordeal. Sabrina Raincomprix carefully approaches to see how her former best friend is. After all, Sabrina knows first-hand what it feels like to have been akumatized. Miranda slaps off Sabrina's out-stretched hand. "No one asked you to care!" Miranda snaps as she storms away, still unhappy.
Sabrina is deeply hurt over this. But it does go to show that while Ladybug can de-evilize an akuma, she can't heal all of the issues and hurt someone carries. Sabrina feels anxious—she fears abandonment and loneliness. However, at that moment, Chloe Bourgeois calls. Sabrina relaxes; her whole face lights up. Chloe demands her pain au chocolat and wants to know why Sabrina is taking so long to get it. Sabrina promises she'll be right there and hurries off to the bakery. After all, Sabrina reasons, it's better to have someone demanding like Chloe for a friend than to be completely and utterly alone.
Ladybug re-enters her bedroom and de-transforms. Tikki is still very fatigued and drifts into the bed Marinette made for her. She picks up a nearby macaroon and nibbles. Marinette slumps down in her chair; there is a definite air of depression around her.
Tikki asks why. Isn't it good that they just saved someone else from Hawk Moth? (Though Tikki has no idea how Cat Noir got his ring back from Gabriel Agreste. Tikki also knows that, last she heard, Gabriel Agreste was at the hospital in a coma—so who was that Hawk Moth? Or is the hospital thing just a trick? Whatever the case may be, Tikki can't voice her suspicions out loud because of the kwami compulsion to secrecy.)
Marinette doesn't answer. Tikki prods a bit more, saying she knows it was hard what Marinette had to go through at the stadium. But she triumphed. She kept her promise and rescued her (Tikki). Not only is she safe, but so is Cat Noir and dozens of kids all over Paris.
Marinette finally speaks. "I don't think I can continue to be Ladybug, Tikki…"
Tikki is shocked by this proclamation and asks why. She reminds Marinette of all the good she's done.
Marinette cuts her off. "Tikki. I know Cat Noir is Adrien."
To be continued in Chapter 43: Gunslinger…