Chapter 66: Miraculous Thief
This chapter covers the events that young Bunnyx experienced when she was catapulted into the future by Fate Severing her connection to the present. She is eventually able to right herself and escape by using a Burrow that lands her in an alleyway roughly a decade into the future. Young Bunnyx stumbles forward, watching from the corner. She's amazed by how many things have changed in a decade-ish in Paris—and yet how many things are still the same. The shape of the cars being the first, but also what buildings and businesses have come and gone.
Bunnyx knows she needs to get back to the present to help Ladybug and Cat Noir. She tries to activate her Burrow, but since she has already used it once, it doesn't open. She realizes that she needs to recharge her kwami. "Counter clockwise, Fluff." She transforms back into Alix and feeds the rabbit kwami a baby carrot.
Little does she know, she has caught the eye of someone who is watching overhead.
Alix transforms back into Bunnyx and immediately uses her Burrow—she doesn't want to risk creating a temporal paradox, after all. However, once inside her Burrow, she's unable to open a gate back to the present. Confused and frustrated, Alix starts watching the portals in her Burrow to understand why. And that's when she sees that Fate has Severed her connection to the present, which is the past now. Alix is incapable of returning to that time until Ladybug does her world-healing wave. (Though she can return to other times, but what's the point?) Bunnyx declares "that sucks." She knows she only have five minutes until she transforms back. She can't risk being in the Burrow when that happens and getting flung somewhere else in time. So she exits and decides to wait it out. All I have to do is blend in with the future, right?
Bunnyx exits the Burrow and produces her pocket watch miraculous. That's when she hears a voice from above, "You stole that!" Without any warning, the pocket watch is yanked out of Bunnyx's hands. She looks up to see the thief clinging to the side of the building with seemingly no supports. It takes Bunnyx a moment to realize it, but the culprit appeared to use her (extra long) tongue to swipe the miraculous.
Bunnyx, of course, protests that that's hers. But the thief sticks her tongue out to mock her (confirming it is abnormally long), says it's not, and then literally hops up the side of the building, onto the roof, and out of sight. Bunnyx realizes that the thief seems small—and might actually be a child. Just then, her transformation breaks with the miraculous being so far from her.
Alix Kubdel, however, isn't going to take the theft lying down. She needs her miraculous to get back to her own time—not to mention it's her own responsibility. She has her roller blades on, so she takes off at top speed after the small thief, keeping her next craned upward as she catches sight of the person leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Alix pulls off some pretty impressive skating parkour as she chases the culprit. However, the culprit, for being an obvious child at this point, always seems to remain one leap ahead of Alix. And leaping is the right word for it, as there's something very amphibian about how the target moves. At one point, as Alix closes in on her target, the child spits up on her—or rather, regurgitates what is like a sticky, weak acid all over Alix's clothing. It mostly acts as a skin irritant, but it does throw Alix off of her pursuit.
Fed up, Alix realizes she needs to be smart as well as fast. So she waits for an opportunity when the thief hits an area in which there'll only be one exit. Alix then makes a show of walking by the exit without seeing it, lamenting about how the culprit "got away" and how she'll "have to search elsewhere." She then loudly makes it sound as if she's skating away. Then she hides.
A few minutes later, a small girl—probably 5-6 years old—peers out of the alcove. She's wearing what looks to be a child-assembled superhero outfit, complete with blanket-cape and homemade mask. She looks both ways. Then, when she doesn't see Alix, she begins strolling down the street. It's crowded, but Alix is careful not to lose sight of her. She knows better than to grab a child in public; that'll only turn the crowds against her.
The girl approaches a very familiar building. She again checks to make sure no one is watching. Then she climbs straight up the side of the wall by sticking to it with the palms of her hands and disappears inside an open window on the top floor.
Alix is momentarily surprised to see that the building is actually a futuristic Francoise Dupont High School. It's obviously been renovated with two new additions, so the campus is three times the size it used to be. Not only do high schoolers come and go, but so do middle school and elementary students. There's also some futuristic technology. One student is studying from a holographic text book while an older student's coffee is being carried along beside him by a small hovering drone. There's obvious security at the front doors. Alix shakes her head to snap out of it and sees the young girl disappear inside the upper window. Well, that's not going to stop Alix either. She unstraps her skates and ties them over her shoulder. Then she begins to scale the wall, using the window sills, fire escape, and drain pipe for purchase, taking care not to attract security's attention.
Inside the upper floor, an adult woman with blonde hair who is dressed all in purple expresses surprise when the little girl enters through the window. She scolds the girl, telling her she needs to use the door. The little girl brushes that aside and waves the pocket watch miraculous around. "See! I am big enough to be a superhero! I saved this miraculous from that thief! And it's a real miraculous, I saw her use it, and she's definitely not Bunnyx. So she stole it from Bunnyx, and I stopped her!" The woman holds out her hand, and the girl puts the miraculous in it. The woman is stunned to see that it really is the rabbit miraculous. She quickly turns to her computer, which has a holographic display, to figure out why. The girl goes on to insist that what she had said during a prior, off-page scene is true. She did see "that thief" escaping. Why won't anyone believe her? Will they believe her now that she found real evidence? However, the adult woman isn't fully paying attention as she's studying the profiles of adult superheroes, including adult Bunnyx.
That's when young Alix Kubdel flops into the upper room through the window. "That's my family's pocket watch!" she demands, keeping it a secret that it's a miraculous as best she can. She's a sight to behold as her clothing are still covered in the little girl's sticky goo, she's winded, she's dusty from climbing, and her skates are tied around her neck. Not to mention her fashion sense is off by a decade.
The young girl points at her. "She's the thief! I told you I saw someone!"
She and Alix begin to squabble. "I'm not a thief, you are!" "No, I'm not, you are!"
The woman looks over Alix, surprised, blinking a few times. "…Alix? Is that you? You're so small!"
Alix is instantly on guard. "How do you know my name?!"
The woman looks at Alix, looks at the girl (who is still insisting Alix is a thief), and looks at her computer screen (which has symbols of all the Eastern miraculous pulled up). It takes her a moment to process everything, but then she says. "I see what's going on here. We haven't actually met yet."
The woman rises, and Alix gets a good look at her outfit. It resembles the elegant gothic Lolita fashion with a peasant blouse, bell-shaped skirt, knee-high stockings, and amazingly detailed shoes (which actually include the signature of several allies in silver pen). She also has a purple mask with a very distinctive butterfly motif.
Alix practically leaps backward as she exclaims "Hawk Moth!" and stumbled around for anything she can grab for a weapon.
The woman laughs. She acknowledges that she is using the butterfly miraculous, but she's been an ally of Ladybug from the beginning. "My name is Falena. You've seen some of the future in your Burrow, haven't you?"
Alix's brain wheels engage, and she tries to recall everything she's seen. She admits she hasn't seen the whole future—it's a lot to watch, and she's only been using her miraculous for a short time. But she knows the identities of all the heroes in her class. She knows that in the future (which is the past to the current present, which is actually the farther future to the main timeline—lol, yay time travel), she'll have to lay the groundwork for Ladybug and Cat Noir to ultimately defeat Hawk Moth—whom she knows is both Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur. This involves her becoming Mad Hare. She knows that at that when they win, Ladybug will reclaim the butterfly and peacock brooches and save Nooroo and Duusuu. But she hasn't yet seen what'll happen after that.
Falena can see Alix's confusion. She orders the little girl, whom she calls by name as Tsubasa, to return the pocket watch as this Alix is the same Alix they both know. The little girl throws a fit, insisting that her name is her secret identity and no one is supposed to reveal it. She calls herself "Poison Frog" and insists that Falena call her that while she's being a heroine. She further insists that "this shrimp" can't be the real Bunnyx because Bunnyx is tall. Falena tells Tsubasa to go get changed, but Tsubasa insists she's "Poison Frog" and that she's "transformed." Falena tells her to go "transform" back. The girl stalks to the nearby bathroom. Alix just watches her go, so very confused. Falena reminds Tsubasa about the pocket watch, which Tsubasa dumps on the table, and Alix quickly reclaims. Falena apologizes for Tsubasa's behavior. She also admits her own faults as she's currently babysitting Tsubasa and should be doing a better job of keeping her in line.
Alix asks what the heck is going on. Falena points out that maybe it's better for Alix to return to the past without knowledge of all this; after all, it does involve a lot of the secrets concerning Team Ladybug. Alix sorta raises an eyebrow as she can learn everything through the Burrow, so Falena might as well come clean. Falena wonders why Alix doesn't just do that—and return to her own time. But Alix grumbles that she's currently stranded due to an akuma victim in the present/past from Falena's POV. Falena then vaguely recalled adult Alix saying this would happen/had already happened, so she tells Alix to get comfortable and wait until young Ladybug's world-healing wave.
Alix repeats her demands to know who Falena is. She argues that Ladybug does trust her because she can keep a secret. Falena reminds her that they haven't yet met. But she might as well give Alix the truth so she can have it in context, "from the horse's mouth," and with Falena's own perspective.
Falena insists again that she's an ally of Ladybug who uses her miraculous to aid the team of elite superheroes Ladybug has assembled as they deal with mundane and magic crisises all over the world. She admits to being one of the newer members of team as Ladybug entrusted her with the butterfly miraculous while they were roommates in college. Alix, however, remains a bit skeptical given the butterfly's reputation. Falena insists this is true—and she offers the fact that she knows Ladybug is really Marinette as evidence. "We did go to college together, back when she majored in fashion design and I majored in acting." Alix's jaw practically drops as Falena uses Marinette's name simply due to the taboo about revealing identities—but it does help to convince Alix that Falena is being honest.
Falena goes on to explain that as "Ladybug" and "Cat Noir," the heroes founded and re-opened this school to be a school to train future heroes as well as understand the strange abilities that are starting to appear in their world; the abilities that started appearing when all four Orders of the Miraculous clashed about five years ago (shortly after Tsubasa was born). People are gaining abnormal powers, even without training or magic or items or anything else. For example, Falena mentions a student at the school with the power to manipulate metal through magnetism. They've taken to calling these abilities "quirks."
Alix places a hand on her head as this is a lot to take in. She wonders if Tsubasa is one of those. But that's when Tsubasa emerges from the bathroom, now in a school uniform. Tsubasa insists she's normal with no powers at all. She only has powers when she "transforms, like her mommy and daddy." This causes Alix to raise an eyebrow. Tsubasa then insists that Alix can tell no one that she's really the superheroine "Poison Frog."
With the bathroom now clear, Falena offers a high school uniform to Alix so she can change out of her sticky goo-covered clothing. Alix is not happy that the uniform includes a skirt and loudly complains about it. Falena says that that's all she has. And the goo all over Alix is very irritating, so she accepts the uniform and changes.
Once she returns, Falena is back to work on her computer. She has an earpiece in and is clearly communicating with other heroes long-range. As Alix watches, she learns that Falena is helping to coordinate Dauphine and King Monkey, who are delegating with Eagle and the Northern Order. Snow Leopard and Firefly are working with the more secretive Southern Order. Then there's Carapace and Viperion, who are hunting down rumors about the existence of a mysterious Central Order of the Miraculous. Rena Rouge is doing something to "cover for Ladybug while she can't be present." Cat Noir is covertly pursuing a rising thief who targets artifacts suspected to be magic. Pegasus, Froppy, and Tsukuyomi are trying to rescue civilians from a landslide in Sri Lanka.
Pegasus talks to Falena directly during this, and he says the heroes are having trouble because there's so many civilians in danger. Falena acknowledges this and offers to send help immediately, which Pegasus appreciates. He opens a portal between them with Voyage while Falena plucks a few butterflies from a nearby terrarium. She empowers the butterflies, which turns them a soft lilac instead of a dark purple. She then sends them through the portal to Pegasus and the others, where the butterflies empower normal civilians temporarily, giving them amazing digging power, so that they can rescue themselves. Pegasus thanks her for the aid and goes back to his tasks.
Falena then notices that Alix is watching and says that that is what she uses her butterfly power for. Plus, with the long-range telepathy being part of the brooch's abilities, Falena has taken over being "command central" at the school and coordinating everyone's global efforts—especially since Ladybug isn't available at the moment. Alix is amazed by this—by how far their superhero teams have grown. Tsubasa chimes in that she's a part of the team too. She's been with them ever since she was a little girl. Alix points out that Tsubasa still is a little girl, roughly five years old. Tsubasa insists she isn't little and then calls Alix little. Alix squabbles back.
Falena looks at the time and tells Tsubasa that superheroines aren't late for class. Tsubasa complains about having to go to school because she'd rather be on the field like her parents and the other adults around her. Falena insists and then asks Alix to walk Tsubasa to the preschool section of the elementary building so Tsubasa doesn't sneak away for some vigilante heroics. Again. Alix isn't thrilled about having to walk Tsubasa to class, but she agrees to do so anyway as it's obvious Falena is super busy with all the other superheroes at the moment.
As soon as they're out of the room, Tsubasa again insists "Poison Frog" is her secret identity and that she only has powers when she "transforms" and that Alix isn't to tell anyone any of this. If Alix really is a mini-Bunnyx, she should understand. After all, Tsubasa has basically grown up around all the adult superheroes, so she's pretty firmly entrenched in the whole alias/heroics life. Alix repeats she knows how to keep a secret. But she can't help but ask…when Tsubasa calls herself "Poison Frog" and the abilities she has… Is her mother Froppy? Tsubasa perks and says this is true. This opens Tsubasa up, showing her young energy, and starts her bonding with Alix. Tsubasa gets really excited about starts bragging about both her parents, since they're both heroes. She talks about "momma Froppy" and "daddy Tsukuyomi" and all the amazing work they do and how she wants to be just like them and start saving people and stopping bad guys right now. Like that thief she saw that no one believes her about. But she always has to keep things a secret and she can't tell anyone her parents are really Froppy and Tsukuyomi and they made her promise on a hundred needles never to say anything (because it'd be too easy to link their identities back to Tsuyu and Fumikage if she did speak up).
Alix then wonders if that's why Tsubasa Tokoyami has frog-like abilities since her parents only have miraculous/antique akumatized items. Once again, Tsubasa insists she only has these abilities when she's "transformed;" otherwise, she's a normal girl. Just like her parents. Even though it's obvious that she has those powers innately as her uniform has been specially designed to withstand the acid that she sweats naturally, in very small doses. Alix then tries another approach and wonders how Tsubasa does the thing with her tongue and clinging to walls when she doesn't have a miraculous. Tsubasa insists that it's part of her transformation. Then, in the way only a child can, she explains the truth. "Mommy and Daddy and Ladybug and Falena and everyone say it's because I was conceived when Mommy and Daddy were transformed and I was born when Mommy was transformed. But no one will tell me what 'conceived' means. What does 'conceived' mean?" She turns to Alix hopefully, and Alix practically chokes.
By then, they've arrived at the elementary school. Alix sees Tsubasa to her preschool (as far as she can go before security stops her) with Tsubasa making her pinky promise not to say anything. (I'm aiming for Tsuyu to have been roughly 20-21 when Tsubasa was born.) Alix then heads back to the office Falena works out off, but she takes a small detour just to meander around the school building and see what's changed.
Which gets her caught by the hall monitor. The hall monitor demands to know why she isn't in her home room and doesn't buy when Alix says she isn't a student here because she's wearing their uniform. "Who is your teacher? Is it that lazy bum, Aizawa?!" Alix insists she knows nothing, and that Falena will vouch for her. This causes the hall monitor to laugh, as there's no way a bigwig like Falena knows a nobody middle schooler like Alix. Alix insists she's in high school, but again the hall monitor doesn't buy it because she's so short.
He marches her to the principal's office, making threats of detention and suspension. Once again, Alix insists she's not a student. To which, the hall monitor replies that if she's not a student, she's a spy—and then Head Mistress Ladybug will have to deal with her in the harshest way possible. Much to his surprise, Alix calls him out and says, "Sure, take me to Ladybug!"
At that point, one teacher calls them to stop. She tells the hall monitor that she'll handle things from here. The hall monitor gets a little cheeky, saying that this teacher is only the head of the "superhero costume and quirk outfitting" department, which apparently is something he considers low-brow. The teacher insists and takes Alix by the shoulder, escorting her away from him.
When Alix turns to face the teacher, she met with a very pregnant belly. Like eight and a half months, about to pop belly. The teacher already has Alix halfway to the costuming/outfitting department before Alix recovers enough to look at her face. One she recognizes. She blurts out "Marinette?!"
Adult Marinette winks and holds a finger to her lips, encouraging Alix to be quiet. "We can talk in my office, okay?"
When they make it to her office, Alix takes a moment to notice the name on the door. "Marinette Agreste." Alix looks at the door, she looks at pregnant adult Marinette, she looks at the door again, and then she looks to adult Marinette one more time. "I see you were finally able to talk to Adrien."
This causes adult Marinette to both laugh and blush. Marinette also makes it clear she knows this Alix is still Alix Kubdel, her friend and user of the rabbit miraculous, who is likely visiting from the past. Alix confirms this is true and wonders if Marinette remembers their confrontation against the akuma victim Fate. Marinette vaguely recalls this, and Alix says she's just waiting on past Ladybug to set things right so she can go home. Alix wonders if this means that the world knows that Ladybug and Cat Noir are also dating/married. Marinette says that it doesn't. As far as the public knows, Ladybug and Cat Noir are just partners—and they work hard to act strictly as partners and friends and not love interests in public. This is to further separate their identities as Adrien and Marinette are very much married. (This is why future adult Bunnyx called Ladybug and Cat Noir's future relationship a "roller coaster"—they have to act, and often times, their acting is inconsistent.)
Alix tells Marinette she's already met Falena and Poison Frog and wants to hear confirmation from Marinette's own mouth that Falena is an ally. Marinette confirms this is the case. She says she'd be lost without Falena as between Falena and Rena Rouge, they're doing all they can to hide the fact Ladybug cannot be present doing superheroics. After all, if Marinette were to go out in public right now as Ladybug, she'd obviously be pregnant, which would make figuring out her identity incredibly easy. Not to mention if she were to get into a fight…well, she doesn't know what would happen to her unborn child, but she isn't going to risk it. Alix understands this, though it's super weird for her to being having a conversation with one of her friends as an adult.
While they talk, it comes out that Marinette holds two positions at the school. She personally designs most of the superhero outfits that those who have "quirks" use—she also designs clothing to help people with non-standard "quirks." Then, she also acts as Head Mistress under her Ladybug alias. It keeps her busy, but she loves her work—and it really does provide a great cover for her true identity as no one would also expect Ladybug to be holding a "lesser" position at the same school.
That's when the phone rings. Marinette pulls it up; it's Falena. Falena says she got a lead on the person who stole the peacock brooch. Which causes Alix to exclaim "the peacock brooch is stolen?!" Marinette holds up a hand to silence her while she talks to Falena. Falena does acknowledge that she now knows Alix is there and wonders why Alix didn't immediately return to her office instead. "It's a long story. Well, actually not that long, but…"
Marinette fields the call as she tries to keep Alix in the loop. Alix demands to know what's going on. Marinette reveals this is utmost secret—but the current wielder of the peacock, one of her own hand-chosen allies, was attacked by an unknown assailant and the brooch stolen. They're keeping this information from the public as they don't want the public to panic about the possible return of someone like Mayura. Alix repeats yet again that she can keep a secret and then wonders if the culprit is Nathalie or maybe Gabriel. Marinette shakes her head as she fully knows neither of those are in a position to try to steal the brooch. Alix offers to help. Marinette points out that Alix has her own time to return to and that she does have a team of allies she can call upon. Wait. Didn't Tsubasa say something about seeing a thief?
Which is when she's interrupted by a scream and a thump over the phone. Marinette drops the phone and runs out of the office and to the elevator. Well, runs as well as an eight and a half month pregnant woman can run. Alix follows closely behind her and squeezes into the elevator just as the doors close.
When they make it back to Falena's office/command center, Falena is moaning, face down on the ground. She's clearly been attacked as there's signs of a struggle and Falena is bleeding from her forehead. Except she's no longer transferred into Falena. Her transformation is broken, revealing a woman adult Marinette's age with blonde hair with the tips dyed lilac. She's wearing contemporary clothing that have been spiced up with permanent marker designs. Marinette cradles the woman's head carefully, trying to see how badly injured she is. "Zoe? Talk to me. Are you okay? What happened? You don't have a concussion, do you?"
Zoe comes to a bit but is still dazed. She admits she was attacked from behind; she has no idea who attacked her. She didn't see a face. "But…but that person took my brooch." All three women check—it's true. Zoe's butterfly miraculous is gone.
"First the peacock, now the butterfly? What is going on?" Marinette wonders aloud.
Dawning strikes Alix. She's finally pegged the place she is on the timeline. And now she knows she is verbally stuck because these events have to happen. But wow, does Alix want to speak up to spare her future allies from the hardships to come. I know I've been saying all day that I can keep a secret—but I don't want to keep this a secret!
She opens her mouth, but adult Marinette holds up a hand as if sensing Alix's dilemma. "You're tasks with protecting time. Don't say anything that would disturb it." Alix closes her mouth and nods.
As Marinette helps Zoe and tries to learn anything about the attack, the phone rings. Marinette answers on Zoe's behalf. It's one of the teachers from the preschool. "Tsubasa isn't here. Did she run back to your office?" Both Zoe and Marinette pale. Alix's eyes go wide. She insists she walks Tsubasa as far as she could to the preschool. All it was was a short walk down the hall to her preschool class. There are people everywhere in the school—so where could Tsubasa have gone?
Marinette tries to calm young Alix down by pointing out that Tsubasa does have a tendency to wander off doing mock heroics (just like she did that morning in stealing Alix's pocket watch). That's when Alix puts two and two together. She realizes what Tsubasa's done—and she's afraid for the girl. Alix immediately throws on her skates and promises she'll do all she can to locate Tsubasa immediately while Marinette helps Zoe and contacts back-up. Alix is gone before Marinette can protest or recommend a different course of action.
Zoe was just attacked, which means the person who stole her miraculous is somewhere close! And Tsubasa has been saying all day that she saw "the thief"—I bet she's referring to the person who also stole the peacock miraculous! That means Tsubasa might actually recognize that person. And if Tsubasa saw the thief walking around, she might have taken it upon herself to follow her! I'd bet money Tsubasa is in pursuit of a very real criminal right now—and she's in great danger if she is!
Alix blazes through the city as fast as she can, searching high for any sign of Tsubasa hanging on buildings. She bumps into several people, and it is awkward as she's racing in a skirt, which she complains about loudly mentally.
Come on, think Alix! You know what's happening. You've seen it in the Burrow; this is something that has to happen. Now just remember! Where is that thief heading? She's going somewhere where she can exchange the miraculous in private—but in the future I saw, that doesn't include a child! I can't let Tsubasa get hurt!
That's when the memory dawns on Alix, and she alters her route. She heads to a moderately older section of the city—an area she and her friends usually hang out it. But now the neighborhood is a bit rundown as the center of business in Paris shifted over the past decade. Alix stops just outside her and her classmate's favorite theater, which is locked tight and derelict. Alix glanced down the alleyway just in time to see a familiar blanket-cape vanish inside an upper window.
She races forward to find her own way in. Alix knows better than to shout to catch Tsubasa's attention and she'll also catch the attention of a criminal. Alix finds a window where the boards that cover it are loose. She wiggles them free, taking care to be quiet, and then squirms inside—which again isn't easy in a skirt. I want my own clothes back! Alix thinks. I can't believe there's ever a time I'd be glad I was small! She just barely manages to fit inside.
Alix looks around. She definitely hears adult voices coming from the main theater. "Ready, Fluff? Clockwise!" She transforms into Bunnyx—she knows she'll need it.
Bunnyx creeps towards the conversation, using the old seats as cover. The first person she sees is her old nemesis—or rather, her future nemesis, as adult Miraculous Thief is a rival to future adult Bunnyx.
Miraculous Thief is an adult woman, about the same age as the adult cast. While young Bunnyx has yet to know Miraculous Thief's real identity or motive, she does know that in the future to this point in time, Miraculous Thief will try to steal the horse and rabbit miraculouses and will go back in time to get akumatized into Cheshire. But for Miraculous Thief, chronologically, this'll be her first time encountering young Bunnyx. (Also worth noting that future adult Bunnyx during the most relevant timeline does know Miraculous Thief's true identity). Wow—time travel verb tense fun.
Miraculous Thief is talking to a drone with what appears to be a holographic projection of a fox. Miraculous Thief is a bit impatient and is complaining about having to "do this business transaction by proxy rather than face to face." The voice at the other end of drone insists it's because they (the voice is robotic and androgynous) want to keep their identity a secret—even from Miraculous Thief. "As long as I pay you, you have nothing to complain about."
Miraculous Thief acknowledges that this is true—but so far, she hasn't been paid. "And if I put this miraculous in the drone, there's no guarantee you won't just fly off and never give me my money." The drone directs Miraculous Thief to look underneath a seat in the front row. As she does so, she passes dangerously close to Bunnyx, but Bunnyx holds her breath. She knows she cannot stop this from happening as she'll derail the future. She just needs to protect Tsubasa. Miraculous Thief squeals in excitement as she finds a briefcase full of money.
The drone speaks again, wondering if this will satisfy Miraculous Thief. The thief agrees. The drone then orders Miraculous Thief to place the butterfly miraculous inside the drone's compartment (clearly intending to have the drone fly away with the miraculous and deliver it to the buyer.) Miraculous Thief approaches the drone and wonders how the buyer is currently enjoying the peacock miraculous she got for them earlier.
The buyer laughs and says they're using it right now. "My partner created this senti monster using the peacock miraculous. Useful, isn't it?" Bunnyx and Miraculous Thief then realize that the buyer means that the drone itself is a senti monster.
That's when Tsubasa decides to make a dramatic entrance, "transformed" into her Poison Frog persona complete with blanket-cap and homemade mask. She even does a rather impressive "surrender now, villain" speech—for a preschooler.
Of course, Miraculous Thief isn't intimidated at all. She darts right for Poison Frog and wrests her arms behind her back, which causes Poison Frog to both yelp in pain and whimper in fear.
This enrages Bunnyx far more than she predicted, and she reveals herself at that moment, demanding that Miraculous Thief let Poison Frog go. The drone picks up on the voices and snaps at Miraculous Thief, "you let yourself get followed?!" Miraculous Thief insists her targets are just children and that she can deal with them easily. Miraculous Thief then orders Bunnyx not to move or else she'll hurt Poison Frog.
Poison Frog, however, is able to shake off a portion of her fear and does one of her mother's signature troll moves. She gives Miraculous Thief a wet willy. Miraculous Thief recoils, and Poison Frog scrambles away. Young Bunnyx leaps forward, parasol ready, and engages Miraculous Thief.
However, Miraculous Thief proves to be crazy adept. She's agile plus she's a skilled martial artist. Even with young Bunnyx's augmented stats, she simply cannot keep up. Even with Poison Frog trying to help on occasion, like spitting caustic acid at Miraculous Thief. In fact, if it weren't for her suit, Bunnyx would be really hurting. Young Bunnyx winces and wonders what Miraculous Thief has that makes her so powerful. Miraculous Thief retorts that all she has is her training. No one ever gave her powers; no one ever trusted her with a magical item. She wasn't even one of the lucky ones to develop a "quirk." She wasn't even ever akumatized! It's clear she's quite bitter about this and it's like a solid piece of her motivation comes from not having any powers whatsoever.
That's when the drone gets involved too, revealing that it is equipped with weapons as a senti monster. This forces young Bunnyx purely to be on the defensive as she has to deal with both Miraculous Thief and the drone attacking her. For what it's worth, Bunnyx still is just a kid while Miraculous Thief is a grown adult woman.
It looks like it'll really be hopeless for Bunnyx, especially when Miraculous Thief realizes she can easily take advantage of the young rabbit and steal her pocket watch—who cares about the consequences to the time stream? She'll get paid lots for it! However, Bunnyx gets an idea then, and she folds up her parasol so it's now more of a weapon and less of a shield. Miraculous Thief and the drone both call her a fool. Bunnyx whispers to Poison Frog that she needs the girl to distract the drone senti monster—if only for a moment. This surprises Poison Frog but also makes her really happy as someone is finally taking her seriously as a heroine. Both move at the same time.
Poison Frog spits up on the drone, blinding its optical sensor. At the same time, Bunnyx charges Miraculous Thief. She aims her strike low, taking advantage of her shorter height. However, Miraculous Thief twists out of the way without the blow connecting. The thief mocks Bunnyx for her miss.
"Did I really miss?"
With a clatter, Miraculous Thief's waist satchel shreds and the butterfly brooch inside falls to the ground. Bunnyx tells Poison Frog to grab it, which Poison Frog does—with her tongue. Bunnyx congratulates her and then says it's time for them to leave. Poison Frog tosses Bunnyx the butterfly. Both prepare to bolt.
However, the drone has recovered from its optical sensors being damaged. It cuts them off by spinning in a circle with its weapons extended. Bunnyx and Poison Frog recoil. Miraculous Thief lunges forward at that moment and is able to wrest Poison Frog to her knees again. Bunnyx prepares to strike back, but Miraculous Thief makes her threat clear first. "Hand over the butterfly miraculous or I'll dislocate their girl's arm." Poison Frog, in a massive display of bravery for a preschooler, insists she's fine. Bunnyx looks at the miraculous in her hand, knowing full well what kind of treatment Nooroo will have to endure, again, if she gives it up. While she hesitates, the drone rejoins Miraculous Thief, making it all the harder for young Bunnyx to rush them both to rescue Poison Frog.
Bunnyx realizes what she has to do. She throws the butterfly miraculous above Miraculous Thief's head. The thief makes an amazing leap for it as Bunnyx races for Poison Frog and gets her out of the way. This allows the drone senti monster to move in between Bunnyx and Miraculous Thief, preventing the rabbit from attacking the thief.
With the villains having recovered the butterfly miraculous, Miraculous Thief immediately opens the compartment on the drone and puts the brooch inside. The drone takes off. Poison Frog insists they have to stop it, but Miraculous Thief moves to stop them.
That's when a familiar black-cat-themed adult hero breaks through the window and joins the fray, having been tracking the thief of magical items himself. Due to the debris caused by his unneededly dramatic arrival, Miraculous Thief seizes her moment, grabs her briefcase of cash, and bails. Bunnyx protects Poison Frog as the dust settles.
Adult Cat Noir turns around, claws ready, and is surprised to see young Bunnyx standing there with Poison Frog. "Bunnyx? Is that you? You're short!" Bunnyx dryly notes she gets that a lot. It then dawns on Cat Noir that this is a past Bunnyx. Poison Frog shouts at them both to go after Miraculous Thief, to reclaim the brooch, and to save Nooroo (Tsubasa is pretty good friends with many of the kwamis, again having been essentially raised with the extended Team Ladybug as her babysitters). Cat Noir and Bunnyx hurry outside, but there's no sign of Miraculous Thief anywhere. Bunnyx curses herself even though she knows this needs to happen—otherwise she'd never encounter Cheshire in the past, and so many other things in the timeline would fall apart.
Poison Frog also takes it really hard, insisting she failed. Cat Noir is gearing up to give her a stern lecture, but Bunnyx interrupts, saying that Poison Frog was really brave and that she would have been in trouble if Poison Frog hadn't been there. But she also adds that Poison Frog shouldn't go looking for trouble and that there's more to being a hero than fancy fights and dramatic speeches. She sits down next to Poison Frog and tells about how many other ways there are to be a hero—like helping people. Taking care of those who are lonely or scared or hurting. Bunnyx uses the example of Falena/Zoe. She was hurt and bleeding on the floor—but Tsubasa/Poison Frog chose to chase after Miraculous Thief rather than seeing if Falena was all right. Bunnyx encourages Poison Frog to be the kind of heroine who puts others first and helps them when in need rather than going and picking fights. This really resonates with Poison Frog, and she begins to get all kinds of ideas about "daily heroics" that she can do.
Cat Noir actually admits he's impressed by young Bunnyx and that he's glad she has their backs, past and present. Him speaking reminds Bunnyx, and she congratulates him on his soon-to-come bundle of joy. Cat Noir thanks her, and it's clear by his body language that he's bursting with pride. Though it does throw him a moment before he remembers that Bunnyx literally knows everyone's identities (as he's being congratulated as Cat Noir and not Adrien Agreste). Cat Noir also admits to wondering if his kid will wind up being a handful like Poison Frog, heavily implying that the circumstances of his child's conception mirror that of Poison Frog's.
That's when Bunnyx feels a tingling and realizes she's starting to fade. In the present, Ladybug must have used her "Miraculous Ladybug." Bunnyx wishes Poison Frog and Cat Noir the best—they're going to need it. Poison Frog tells Bunnyx that she's a great hero. Bunnyx replies, "thanks—and you're a great hero too."
Then she returns back to the present, looking frazzled with her line, "You guys wouldn't believe what I've just been through!" The cast, including young Ladybug and young Cat Noir, welcome her back.
Meanwhile, in the dark of the night in future Paris, the drone senti monster arrives at its waiting creators. A young woman reddish brown hair opens the compartment and claims the butterfly miraculous as her own. Next to her, a young man with very familiar blond hair snaps his fingers, causing the drone to vanish. Its feather floats away and then disintegrates.
It's obvious the young man is transformed using the peacock. He's wearing a peacock blue suit complete with ascot as well as a waist-long cape and feathery blue mask. The ensemble includes silk gloves and stylish dress shoes. He asks the woman next to him if she'll be happy now with the butterfly. After all, he just paid a lot of money for Miraculous Thief to steal it for them. It's clear by how he speaks and the words he uses that he and the woman are partners—as in, in the romantic sense. They're a couple, if not already married. And there is affection between them—though even more, there's a mutual love of power. Their relationship might as well be described as an affection business partnership than a passionate love-based one. But they are together nonetheless.
The woman pins Nooroo's brooch to her chest and says she'll only be happy when she has the fox miraculous in her grasp and has fully humiliated Ladybug and Rena Rouge to pay them back for the past decade. She addresses the man, pointing out that while he now has the peacock brooch, he isn't happy either, just like her. The man acknowledges this and says he'll be happy again when "the lion" has been returned to him.
They take each other's hands and walk onto the balcony. The woman looks over Paris and declares it to be "her city."
"The rein of Fox Moth begins now!"
To be continued in Chapter 67: Senti Army…