Miraculous: Tales of Blaze and Artemis
MDM: Geez! I've been working on this chapter for weeks! And look how long this is! I've written pretty long chapters before, but the longest one I did was only about 9k. This is way more than that! I hope you're happy!
PokemonFreak90: Oh, I'm sure that our readers will be VERY happy to read this chapter! After all, it's Allen and Bianca's first time being superheroes and they're facing their first villain! Roll it!
Chapter 3
Confronting the Pharaoh
It had been a good three long minutes as Marinette and Alya stood in front of the papyrus, the former trying to make sense of it and the latter looking bored out of her mind. Allen and Bianca would look over at them once every few seconds and they were confused as to why Marinette wanted to show Alya that. Maybe there was something that they were missing?
"This thing's making my eyes hurt." Alya moaned. She was about to try and get the textbook out of her school bag again, but Marinette quickly stopped her, shoving the book back in and making her face the papyrus again.
"Look closely! It's in there." Marinette insisted.
Allen and Bianca shared another perplexed glance at each other. There was definitely something off with Marinette, but they weren't exactly sure what it was. Just then, they heard someone sharply blowing a whistle.
"Hey, you!" Someone -probably an employee of the museum- suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned towards the entrance of the Egyptians exhibit and saw one of the strangest things that they had ever seen. There stood a tall and muscular man with pure coal-black skin and only wore an Egyptian toga around his waist. He was barefoot with golden anklets and matching gauntlets and braces on his arms. His face was made out of pure gold, almost like an Egyptian death mask, and his eyes were glowing turquoise. This had to be an Akumatized person because no normal human would ever look like that in public.
"Thoth, give me time!" The Akuma spread out his arms and with a flash of golden light, his golden masked face changed to look like a depiction of the Egyptian god, Thoth. Then, he formed a golden sphere of energy between his palms.
The museum employee ran over to try and stop the Akuma, but he just threw the sphere at him, trapping him inside a pale red bubble, and the employee inside seemed to be moving in slow motion. The Akuma then began firing more time bubbles at the civilians.
Marinette and Alya were lucky to dodge one of the bubbles, as were Allen and Bianca, and they all hid at opposite sides of the exhibit, the girls behind the stand where a scepter was, and Allen and Bianca in a dark corner of the room.
Alya saw this as her chance and immediately began streaming live, heading over towards the other side of the exhibit to get a better look. "Alya, hide!" Marinette called after her friend, reaching out for her. But she quickly hid again behind the stand to dodge another time bubble. Alya managed to hide behind a glass case as she continued to stream.
"Get out of here, faster!" The Akuma commanded. Just like that, all of the time bubbles quickly flew out of the exhibit and he entered the room.
Allen and Bianca looked at one another with worried eyes. They knew that eventually, they would come face-to-face with an Akuma, but they never imagined that it would be so soon!
"OMG." Alya whispered with excitement as she continued to record. "Coming to you live, Ladyblog viewers. I'm at the scene even before Ladybug or Cat Noir! This is insane!"
Just then, the scepter began to shake and then it flew right into the Akuma's hand, his golden face changing back into its prior form with a flash of golden light. Then, the papyrus scroll that Marinette and Alya were looking at earlier came to him as well, carefully rolling itself as alarms began to blare.
Just then, Ladybug herself slid under a metal barred gate before it could seal off the exhibit. A confident grin was on her lips and her blue eyes were shimmering with determination.
"You know that's considered stealing." She said coyly to the Akuma, getting his attention.
"Actually, I'm taking back what rightfully belongs to me." The Akuma answered as both the scepter and the scroll began floating in the air on either side of him.
Ladybug just smiled at him a little wider while coyly playing around with her yo-yo. "Maybe if you were the real Pharaoh, which you're not!" She exclaimed, quickly taking a battle position with her yo-yo in hand.
"Look at Ladybug go!" Alya quietly squealed from her hiding spot. "If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up!"
The spotted heroine saw her filming her and tried to silently tell her to leave. But the ombre-haired girl didn't get the hint. "Ladybug waved at me! No way!" She quietly exclaimed.
Hiding in their corner, Bianca had to quietly slap her palm against her forehead. This was certainly not the time to be fangirling, especially when you're in the same room as a super villain! But Allen just nudged her with his elbow, silently reprimanding her.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Pharaoh at full speed, but he just caught it and began swinging her around and around. Then, he let go of the string and she went crashing into a wall that had ancient depictions of Egyptian pharaohs.
"Sekhmet, give me your strength!" He exclaimed. Once again, his face changed with a golden flash of light to depict the face of the Egyptian god Sekhmet. With his given strength, he bent the bars of the security barricade.
"How nice of you to hold the door open for me!" A voice called out.
There stood Cat Noir with his staff swung over his shoulders and a cheeky grin on his face. He then jumped up and tried to attack Pharaoh, but the Akuma caught him by the face and swung him hard into an empty sarcophagus. Everyone who was watching all flinched.
"Enjoy your coffin!" He laughed.
Alya moved to a different spot to film as Ladybug struggled to free her partner. "This is hecka crazy! Keep your eyes peeled!" Just then, she spotted the Pharaoh standing over her. She gulped nervously. "Hiya!"
The Pharaoh grabbed her face with his hand, studying it. "Your face. Fate has placed you on my path. Come with me!" He helped her onto her feet and then slung her over her shoulder like a bag of flour and began to walk out.
"Hey! Hands off the threads. I can walk myself!" Alya shouted at him, pounding his back with her fists.
Allen's eyes widened. "NO!" But before he could scream it out loud, Bianca quickly covered his mouth with her hand and then quickly pulled him deeper into their hiding place. Luckily, no one heard him.
Ladybug saw Alya being carried off and sighed as she waved over at her nervously. "Seriously?!" She moaned, placing a gloved palm over her face. Then, she turned her attention back towards the coffin and finally managed to open it. Cat Noir sat up, holding his head, feeling a light-headed from that toss. Then, Ladybug went after Pharaoh.
"Let her go!" She commanded, spinning her yo-yo.
Then Cat Noir came up beside her. "Hiding behind an innocent bystander?" He asked the Akuma, a glare on his face as he held his staff with both hands. "You're weak, Pharaoh!"
"I'm way more powerful than you are." Pharaoh said as he used his strength to move the bars again, back into their regular place, locking the heroes in, and began to walk away.
"And don't forget! All the latest behind-the-scenes are on my blog!" Alya called out to Ladybug with a wink.
In their hiding spot, Allen just stared gobsmacked at her before turning over to Bianca. "Seriously?!" He quietly exclaimed. "She's in danger! She should be at least A LITTLE worried!"
Bianca just shrugged. "You sure know how to pick them, Hoops." She muttered.
"That Alya is one brave chick." Cat Noir said to Ladybug.
"If by brave, you mean bossy, feisty, and bold? Yup, that's her!" Ladybug said. "Come on, get us out of here, Cat Noir!"
Cat Noir smiled at her and then activated his power. "Cataclysm!" His ring charged up with energy and then black bubbles appeared around his right hand where his ring was. Then, he swiped his hand against all the bars. With just a touch, the bars all rusted away and fell to pieces as the heroes escaped the exhibit.
"How are we gonna find them?" He asked, seeing that Pharaoh and Alya had disappeared.
"Alya's got a livestream on her blog!" Ladybug said as she pulled out her yo-yo and began playing the livestream.
"Hi, everyone! Alya here, liveblogging from the shoulder of the terrifying villain! Huge scoop to come! Stay tuned!"
Just then, there was a beeping noise. Cat Noir looked down at his ring and saw that one of the pads was gone. His timer had already started.
"Uh, you go ahead." He said to Ladybug. "I'll join you as soon as my Miraculous is charged up again."
"Hurry up." Ladybug said, placing her hands on his shoulders. "It's gonna take both of us to defeat him." Then, they both began heading in different directions.
When both heroes left, Allen and Bianca left their hiding spot and made sure that no one else was around before letting out Fenixx and Claaw.
"I think it's time." Fenixx said.
"I agree." Claaw said before they both turned towards their owners. "Are you two ready to make your superhero debut?"
Both Allen and Bianca looked at each other nervously. Their Kwamis saw how nervous they were and came closer to them.
"It's okay, you two." Fenixx assured them. "You are chosen for this, just like your own ancestors who vowed to protect our Miraculouses."
"That's why you were chosen after we had been inactive for so long." Claaw added. "Destiny can be quite a funny thing, but as long as you know that you two can strengthen each other when you need each other, you'll never be alone in your battles."
Allen and Bianca once again looked at each other and then back at their Kwamis. Fenixx and Claaw were smiling at them with confidence. Then, when they glanced at each other, there was a determined glint in their eyes. They knew that they could depend on each other, knowing each other's strengths and limits, being best friends and all. And since they were newbies, Ladybug and Cat Noir could help them during the battle, since they were more experienced at the superhero gig.
"We're in." Bianca said.
"Let's do this." Allen added.
Their Kwamis smiled proudly at them before they quickly began recapping. "Okay, remember that you can only use your powers once." Claaw began, before pointing over at Bianca. "Special power, Flash Freeze. You can freeze anything for a certain period of time."
Fenixx then pointed at Allen. "Special power, Heal Flame." He said. "You can give an ally extra power, as such recharging their Miraculous to use their power again."
"And also, there's one more little thing that you can do. Something that not even Ladybug and Cat Noir can do." Claaw said. "You two can use your elemental powers as many times as you want, and in whatever way you can think of."
"Yes." Fenixx added, before turning back to Allen. "For instance, you can fly with wings of fire, since I am a phoenix, after all."
"That sounds awesome!" Allen exclaimed.
"And you, Bianca." Claaw added. "You can switch from a long range weapon to a short range one at will, since wolves are known to be highly adaptable. You have two weapons instead of just one."
"That makes sense." Bianca said.
"And you two can also combine your elemental powers into your attacks and weapons if you want." Fenixx came back in. "Other than that, you fight like Ladybug and Cat Noir."
"You two ready?" Claaw asked them. "Just say the words. Bianca, remember, it's 'Let's Prowl' for transforming and for whatever reason you need to change back, 'Let's Hide' is what you say."
"Got it." Bianca said.
"And Allen," Fenixx said, "Remember. 'Flames Up' to transform, 'Flames Down' to change back."
"Okay." Allen said. Then, both he and Bianca got ready. "Fenixx, Flames Up!" When he said that, his leather wristband magically changed from black to red.
Fenixx was pulled into his wristband in a swirl of red and gold and the silver flame emblem on the wristband immediately changed into gold. A ring of red and orange fire began enveloping Allen's body, but he felt no heat or pain, only growing strength and power. His normal clothes changed into a red and orange latex bodysuit with feather patterns on his arms. A matching bandana was tied around his forehead and a red domino mask appeared on his face. Then, with a burst of orange flames, a samurai katana appeared in a light brown leather sheath, which was fastened on his left hip.
Bianca stared at him with wide, impressed eyes. "Whoa, Hoops!" She cried out in awe. "You look good! No one will recognize you at first glance."
Allen saw his reflection in a nearby glass case and went over to get a better look. Through the faint reflection, he could still see his new form.
"Huh." He said, admiring his new physique. "Not bad. I guess Kwamis do have a sense of fashion."
"Of course." Claaw said. "We are the ones who give you the mask, so we have to make sure that you look good while saving the day." Then, he turned to Bianca. "Now it's your turn."
Bianca nodded and took a deep breath, a shimmer of bravery in her eyes. "Claaw, Let's Prowl!"
Her moonstone pendant began to glow as Claaw was suddenly pulled into it with a swirl of silver before it changed from white moonstone to black onyx. A silver flurry of ice started up at her feet before it trailed up her entire body. Her normal clothes changed into a silvery gray and white spandex bodysuit with a fake wolf tail trailing behind her. Her auburn hair changed from its normal low ponytail into a simple French braid down her back and a silvery domino mask appeared on her face. Then, fake gray wolf ears appeared on top of her head. When she opened her eyes, her amber eyes had been changed to a wolf-like appearance. Then, with a burst of snow, a silver bow appeared on her back.
Allen smiled at the sight of his best friend transformed. "Wow, Bea." He said. "You look amazing."
Bianca lightly blushed in embarrassment as she went to look over at her reflection. When she saw it, an impressed look came on her face.
"Huh. I actually do look pretty good." She said, briefly admiring herself. "And the wolf eyes are a cool feature."
"Okay." Allen said. "Now let's quickly test our abilities before we go and find Ladybug and Cat Noir."
He closed his eyes and focused as hard as he could. Suddenly, flaming wings of fire appeared on his back and he flew into the air. "Whoa!" He exclaimed, an awed smile on his face.
He then flew around the exhibit in a circle, albeit a little shaky in a couple of spots, and then came back to the ground, his wings vanishing when he landed. "Okay, I still need a little bit of practice flying, but we'll have to worry about that later."
Next, he took out his katana, briefly admiring the shiny blade. He swung it around a few times to get the feel of it and then began to focus again. Then, the blade became covered in fire and he swung it around again to test it out.
"Now THAT is awesome." Allen said, making the flames extinguish before putting his katana back. "I'm like a ninja with fire powers!"
Bianca rolled her eyes fondly with a smile. "You giant dork." She said.
"And yet, we're best friends." Allen teased her back with a grin.
She giggled at that comment. "Okay. Now it's my turn."
She took out her bow and pulled back the bowstring. She had noticed that there was no quiver of arrows anywhere earlier, so she thought that the arrows would just appear out of nowhere when she pulled back the bowstring.
And she was right. Sure enough, when she pulled it back, a silver arrow appeared out of thin air. She then fired it at the head of a nearby coffin, hitting it right between the eyes.
Allen's eyes widened with shock, seeing her terrifyingly impressive aim. "Yikes." He said. "Remind me not to get on your bad side when you have a bow."
"Don't get your feathers ruffled up." Bianca teased him with a smile.
Then, she pulled back the bowstring again. When another silver arrow appeared, Bianca began to focus. Soon, ice energy enveloped the arrow, turning it from silver to light blue. When she fired the arrow, it hit the coffin again and this time, ice crackled all over it, encasing it in ice completely.
"Now that's cool." She said in amazement, ignoring the unintentional pun.
She then decided to change her bow into her short range weapon. She pulled her bow apart and it magically separated into two short swords with slightly curved blades. She swung both of them around to get the feel of them and then she began focusing her ice powers again. The blades began glowing with cold blue energy and she continued to swing the blades around. She could feel how cold they were, but it didn't bother her much.
"Now this is amazing!" Bianca said, sounding excited.
She was about to put her blades back together into her bow when suddenly, she heard a little beeping noise coming from the one that she held in her right hand. She saw a light blue wolf paw print glowing from the end of the hilt. She touched it with a finger, and a little screen suddenly appeared on the hilt.
She whistled lowly, sounding impressed. "This is one handy gadget." She said as Allen came over to look at the new feature she'd discovered. The screen was playing Alya's livestream on the Ladyblog.
"Ladybug, this is Alya! I just found out that I'm the sacrificial offering to the sun god! Please hurry!"
The two new heroes had their eyes widened in horror and Bianca quickly turned off the screen and reconnected her blades to magically form her bow again. It was also clear that she had unlimited arrows.
"Ready to be a hero?" She asked him, her brow quirked up with a smile.
Allen returned the smile. "Yeah." He said. "Let's save Alya!"
With that, the two new heroes ran out of the exhibit to head outside. But they got near the exit just in time to see Cat Noir, his powers fully recharged, freeing Ladybug, who had gotten herself stuck in one of Pharaoh's time bubbles. From moving slowly in real life to getting back to her normal speed, she lost balance and nearly crashed into her partner's chest.
"Whoa!" She exclaimed. But Cat Noir managed to grab her arms and keep her steady before she accidentally knocked over both of them.
"Thanks for waiting around for me!" He said with a teasing lilt in his voice, smiling kindly at her.
Ladybug didn't speak for a couple of seconds as she looked up at her partner before she got right back into business. "No problem." She said, waving her hand nonchalantly.
Allen and Bianca took that as their cue to make themselves known. They took out their weapons and began popping the rest of the time bubbles by slicing through them, doing some pretty cool moves while doing so.
Ladybug and Cat Noir looked around and saw that within seconds, all of the remaining time bubbles were gone and there was a boy and a girl dressed similarly to them, except the boy looked more like a phoenix and the girl was dressed like a wolf. Both of their eyes widened with surprise. There were more superheroes in the city?
Allen and Bianca looked over at Ladybug and Cat Noir and came over to them, putting their weapons back into their usual spots. "Ladybug. Cat Noir." Allen said, greeting them politely.
"It's an honor to meet you face-to-face." Bianca added.
Cat Noir smiled at them warmly. "Well, it's nice to know that we're not the only superheroes in town." He said. "And you two clearly show some skill."
They both smiled politely back at him, but then they vanished when they noticed that Ladybug was staring at them with a critical eye. "Who are you? What are your names?" She asked them.
Allen and Bianca shared a quick worried look. They'd forgotten to think of superhero names when they first transformed. But luckily, they both thought of names just in time. They probably weren't exactly the best, but it was better than nothing.
"My name's Blaze." Allen said, giving them his alias.
"And I'm his partner, Artemis." Bianca added, almost clenching her teeth and smiling too widely at the cheesy name she chose.
"We're new superheroes and we want to help you." said Allen, currently known as Blaze for now.
Ladybug still wasn't entirely convinced. "Well, what gives your powers?" She asked them. Cat Noir just gave her a disapproving glance, hoping that she wasn't going to give them a hard time when they just wanted to help, and they clearly had the means to do so.
"We both have Miraculouses, just like you two." Bianca, or rather, Artemis said, holding out her crescent moon pendant while Blaze showed them his wristband. "And Kwamis, who told us what we can do with them, and that we can help you guys bring down Hawk Moth."
Ladybug and Cat Noir shared another glance. They must be telling the truth if they knew what a Kwami is, since all of Paris knew that their Miraculouses were their source of powers, but no one except them knew what a Kwami was.
"But since we're both new to this superhero gig, we could use some help if we're going to work together to bring down this supervillain." Blaze added. "You're going to need all of the help you can get."
"Especially if this Akuma can use the power of the Egyptian gods." Artemis added.
Ladybug and Cat Noir shared another glance between each other. Cat Noir subtly nudged towards them with a look in his eyes that said, 'I trust them. Let's give them a chance.' Finally, Ladybug sighed and nodded in agreement.
Cat Noir smiled at her and turned back to the new heroes. "Okay. Welcome to the team." He said.
Blaze and Artemis smiled widely at him. Then Ladybug came up beside her partner. "You have to show your stuff and earn your place, though." She said.
They just nodded, willing to try and live up to what she expected of them. Ladybug briefly smiled at their enthusiasm before getting back to business. "Come on. We've gotta find the Akuma and free it before he sacrifices that poor girl!"
The other three heroes all nodded in agreement and quickly followed the spotted superheroine up the stairs to outside the Louvre. When they got to the entrance, they saw that the entrance had been blocked by a horde of mummies.
"I don't see her or Pharaoh." Ladybug said.
Artemis looked around to try and find another way out of the museum. She looked up and behind and saw the glass pyramid structure. An idea came into her mind.
She reached for her bow and pulled back the bowstring, making a silver arrow appear. When she shook the bow, she saw that three more arrows appeared alongside the first. With a smirk, she aimed up at the pyramid's glass and fired. The arrows all hit their marks, making four openings in the glass structure.
"Come on." She said to her teammates. "We can get a better look from above."
"Nice thinking." Blaze said, before making his fire wings appear. Then, he flew off into the sky through one of the holes.
"He can fly?!" Cat Noir exclaimed.
"Well, he is a phoenix." Artemis answered back. She then split her bow apart and then folded them together. With a flash of light blue light, the blades became a grappling gun. She admired it briefly.
"Cool." She said, before she fired a polished silver grappling hook through another one of the holes and followed her partner outside the museum.
Cat Noir stared after them, gobsmacked. "Wow. They have super cool powers." He said.
"I'll admit, they are full of surprises." Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo and followed them outside, with Cat Noir behind her, pole vaulting into the air with his staff.
Soon, they had reached a rooftop behind the Louvre, out of sight from their enemies.
"Over there!" Cat Noir said, pointing towards the front of the pyramid. The mummies had formed a strange keyholed shape around the front of the plaza, with Pharaoh and Alya in the center of it, the latter sitting on the ground trying to pull free from her captor's grasp.
Ladybug opened her yo-yo to see Alya's livestream to get more information. Alya saw a familiar-looking figure etched in the papyrus scroll.
"Whoa, back up!" She exclaimed, before turning to look up at Pharaoh. "Who's that goddess chick with the black spots? There, on your papyrus!"
Pharaoh saw what she was talking about and gave her an answer and glared hatefully at the woman with spots that was painted on the ancient scroll. "Ladybug, my sworn enemy!" He said. "My nemesis may have kept me from carrying out my ritual five thousand years ago, but she will not stop Nefertiti from coming back to me this time!" He grabbed the papyrus and then crushed it in his fist, making the fragile piece of parchment crumble into hundreds of little pieces.
"Did you say...Ladybug five thousand years ago?!" Alya exclaimed, feeling shell-shocked. But she wasn't the only one who was feeling that way!
The four heroes on the roof were quite surprised by that discovery, too. They all knew that their Kwamis had been around for a long time, but it was shocking to discover actual proof of their predecessors in times past.
"Everyone does have a past that they can learn from." Ladybug muttered breathlessly.
Cat Noir was studying his partner's face as she said that, and then smirked. "Well, you don't look a day over three thousand." He teased her.
"Now you know why I'm so much wiser than you." Ladybug teased back, making Cat Noir glare at her, unamused. Blaze and Artemis both bit back their chuckles at their playful banter.
Just then, they heard Pharaoh's voice as he began the ancient ritual. The scepter began to glow a bright blue as it was lifted into the air, forming a blue ball of energy.
"Oh, sacred Ra, god of the sun." Pharaoh said. "I, Pharaoh, offer to thee a pure soul! A sacrifice for the return of Nefertiti!"
A few mummies grabbed Alya as the light hit the Louvre pyramid. The glass structure lit up and then a beam of light was shot into the sky, where a black cloud was forming.
"I bow to you and present this gift with my mummies!" Pharaoh continued. "In company, we pray to you for the safe return of princess Nefertiti! Awaken, Nefertiti! Awaken!"
The mummies began to chant those last words over and over again as Alya was brought closer up towards the pyramid. "Ladybug!" She desperately called out for her hero.
The heroes on the roof were watching the ritual with fearful eyes. "We've gotta save her before he completes the ritual or Alya will be gone forever!" Ladybug said worriedly as she, Cat Noir, and Artemis grouped in a circle.
"What should we do?" Cat Noir asked her.
"You and the newbies hold back the mummies while I take on the Pharaoh." Ladybug said.
"Uh, then where's Blaze?" Cat Noir asked, pointing behind them. Both Ladybug and Artemis quickly turned around to the side and saw that Blaze was gone. Then, they saw him flying through the air, straight towards Alya.
"I guess we're doing it his way." Artemis said, reminding herself that she needed to talk to her best friend about jumping head-first into a battle when this was all over. Then, she and the other two jumped off the rooftop and headed into battle.
"Hey there, you bunch of bandages!" Cat Noir called out to the horde of mummies as he, Ladybug, and Artemis made their appearance on three separate lamp posts. "What do you say we wrap this up?"
"Ladybug! Cat Noir!" Alya called out to them, and then she saw the new heroine beside them. "And...Wolf Girl?"
"That's not my name." Artemis said, taking out her bow and getting it ready to aim. "But I'll answer your questions later!" She fired an ice arrow at one of the mummies, knocking it down before it was enveloped in ice.
"Seize them!" Pharaoh commanded, and the horde of mummies went after them as the heroes leapt from post to post, Artemis firing ice arrows as she went.
"That actually comes in handy." Ladybug said, commenting on Artemis's ability to use ice with her weapon.
"I know, right?" Artemis said with a cheeky smile before she fired another arrow and got another mummy trapped in a block of ice.
"Is that really as fast as you can go?" Cat Noir taunted the mummies that were still trying to catch him and his teammates.
As the Pharaoh watched his mummies try to catch Ladybug, Cat Noir, and their new, mysterious wolf ally, he didn't notice Blaze coming in hot from above until it was too late. "Wait, why does this feel like-?"
"Gotcha!" The phoenix superhero grabbed Alya's arm and pulled her away from the grip of the mummies that were bringing her to the pyramid, and he held her in his arms.
Alya's eyes widened in shock and joy when she saw another new superhero carrying her to safety with wings of fire on his back. For her, it was like time was going slowly as she looked up into his brown eyes for the first time and he, in turn, seemed to stare back at her, his gaze feeling like it was burning through her and into her heart.
The familiar neon purple butterfly mask appeared over Pharaoh's face. "More Miraculouses?" Hawk Moth asked in surprise from wherever he was hiding as he communicated telepathically with his Akuma. "Those two are not of any I've ever learned about. Still, they seem to hold great power. Get them and bring them to me!"
Pharaoh narrowed his eyes at the other new hero as the butterfly mask vanished. "Horus, give me your wings!" He exclaimed, his face changing again with a golden flash of light. This time, his face had the ancient depiction of Horus.
Soon, Blaze had brought Alya over to a safe rooftop. Now that she was back on solid ground again, excitement overtook her entire mind. There were not only one, but two new superheroes in Paris! This had to be the biggest scoop of the year!
"Thanks for saving me." She said, getting her phone out, turning it on, and aiming the camera at the phoenix superhero.
Blaze smiled at her. "Anytime, Alya." He said, and in a moment of confidence, winked at her. That confidence grew when he saw the faint red coloring appearing on her cheeks.
"Check it out, guys!" Alya said. "There's two new superheroes in town! What's your name? What are your powers?"
Blaze took an uneasy step back before answering. "Uh, not now. Maybe some other time." He said. "Right now, we have a villain to deal with."
"Oh!" Alya exclaimed. "Speaking of that, I know where the Akuma is. It's in his pendant." Blaze blinked at her. "I pay attention." She explained with a shrug.
"The pendant." Blaze said, coming to the same conclusion. "Nice work. You're a clever girl."
Just then, Pharaoh appeared, floating in the air as he stared at the two. Blaze narrowed his eyes and got in front of Alya, his katana out of its sheath.
"If you hurt her, I'll cut you apart!" He threatened the Akuma, his brown eyes blazing with anger.
He flew up to fight him, his katana ready, but Pharaoh proved to also be quite nimble in the air. But Blaze managed to keep him from getting too close to Alya as they battled in the air. However, it didn't last very long when Pharaoh got a hold on his wrist that was gripping his katana and threw him to the side, making him spiral a bit out of control and fall onto the ground.
When Blaze looked back up, feeling the wind knocked out of his lungs, he saw that Pharaoh had recaptured Alya and was holding her by her mid-section.
"You and your pathetic allies are not going to win, you poor excuse of a hero!" He said as he grabbed Alya's phone and threw it down at him. Blaze managed to catch it before it broke.
"Help me, firebird!" Alya shouted at Blaze as she tried to wriggle out of Pharaoh's grasp. But he was still too strong.
"Clip that bird's wings!" Pharaoh commanded his mummies, pointing down at Blaze.
Blaze quickly found himself surrounded by mummies as he shakily got back up on his feet, still feeling a little banged up from his fall. He then saw Pharaoh go over to the top of the Louvre and place Alya on the beam of light and she began to rise higher and higher towards the black cloud.
Cat Noir found himself surrounded by mummies, just like Blaze earlier, and held his staff close to him like it was a sword. "What the...?" He exclaimed when he saw some of the mummies move out of the way as another group of them pick up a nearby car, about to toss it at him. Ladybug quickly wrapped her yo-yo around his ankle and quickly pulled him out of the way before it crashed on the ground.
Artemis clenched her teeth tensely as she fired another ice arrow at a mummy that was getting a little too close to her and then quickly went over to assist her best friend. "You might want to get in the air right now." She said. "I'm gonna test something out."
"It'd better be good." Blaze said as he made his wings appear again and hovered a good ten feet above her.
Artemis then focused on the mummies closing in on her. She took apart her bow, spinning them around like dual knives. "Flash Freeze!" She exclaimed, calling upon her special power.
Her blades began glowing with ice blue energy and then she stabbed them into the ground. Instantaneously, ice crackled all along the ground with a cloud of thick and freezing mist and enveloped the mummies, making them frozen in their stances. The ice continued to spread for another five feet in radius, covering everything in its way.
Artemis panted heavily with relief as Blaze lowered down and helped her get out of the circle of frozen mummies. When they both landed back on the ground, they suddenly heard a beeping sound chirp. Artemis looked down at her pendant and saw that a fifth of the black onyx crescent moon had turned back into white. Her countdown had just begun.
"We'd better get this done fast." She said, and Blaze nodded in agreement. He was about to fly back up and get Alya off the beam of light, but Artemis stopped him. "We need to think first. Don't charge headfirst into it just to play the hero, Fireball."
Blaze's eyes widened by the new nickname his best friend had just given him as she crossed her arms. But then he sighed. She did have a point.
"Whatever...Blizzy." He said, having a little smirk on his face at the new nickname he'd given her as payback, which made her narrow her eyes at him briefly.
Then, they saw that Ladybug and Cat Noir had trapped some more of the mummies in an upturned bus and were coming over to them. "We have to save Alya before she reaches the circle of darkness." Ladybug said.
"Alya told me that the Akuma is in his pendant." Blaze informed her, looking over at the Akuma.
"Nice." Ladybug replied. "Now let's go."
The others all nodded in agreement and started to run towards the Louvre. But Pharaoh had landed back on the ground in front of the glass pyramid.
"You will not stop me from bringing Nefertiti back!" He declared. "I'll finish you off! Anubis, bring me mummies!"
With a gold flash of light, his face changed to show the depiction of Anubis. Then, he began shooting light gold lasers from his eyes. But the heroes managed to dodge them all. Ladybug then wrapped her yo-yo around Pharaoh while the other three heroes went ahead.
"Horus, give me your wings!" Pharaoh exclaimed as he changed his face again to show Horus. He then went after them with Ladybug holding on for dear life. Blaze rammed into Pharaoh, getting him away from his teammates while Artemis fired arrow after arrow to keep him at bay.
Ladybug managed to pull herself up close enough to reach up and then she ripped the pendant off Pharaoh's neck and it fell to the ground. "Cat Noir! Blaze! Artemis! The pendant!" She called down to her teammates.
Cat Noir and Artemis immediately headed for it, while Blaze caught Ladybug as she released Pharaoh and then brought her back to the ground. But right as it was within reach of them, Pharaoh landed on top of it, covering it with his foot.
"Sekhmet, give me your strength!" He exclaimed as he changed his face again to show Sekhmet. Then, with his strength, he clapped his hands together, creating a sonic wave that knocked the heroes down. Then, the remaining mummies surrounded them as Artemis heard her Miraculous give out a second warning, another section of her pendant now white.
Pharaoh grabbed his pendant and tied the cord around his wrist. "It's over." He said to the superheroes and walked back to view the ritual.
Alya was now getting even closer to the dark cloud in the sky. "Someone save me!" She screamed.
"Oh, Ra, god of the sun, accept this humble offering and return the princess to me!" Pharaoh exclaimed, feeling like he had finally won.
But it wasn't over yet. Ladybug still had one wild card left. She stood up and then tossed her yo-yo into the air. "Lucky Charm!" She exclaimed, calling upon her power.
With a bright flash of red glowing ladybugs, a red box with little black spots appeared and landed in her hands. She studied its contents.
"A Ladybug outfit?" She questioned.
"That's our last hope?" Cat Noir asked her in disbelief. Sometimes, the Lucky Charm came up with some pretty random items that were supposed to help them.
Ladybug quickly studied the pieces of the costume inside of the box, her Ladybug Sense coming on. To her, everything looked black and white, until she saw the earrings that were a part of the costume, which briefly flashed red. An idea suddenly came to her.
She stood up and called out to Pharaoh, "This offering isn't good enough for Nefertiti!" The other three looked between each other, hoping that their teammate knew what she was doing.
"Hey!" Alya cried out to her, offended, and she crossed her arms. "Thanks a lot!"
"Too late, Ladybug!" Pharaoh said to her, his back still turned to the red-and-black-spotted superheroine, not bothering to look over at her. "The ritual has begun!"
"Set Alya free and sacrifice me instead!" Ladybug offered. "Wouldn't that be the sweetest revenge? Five thousand years later. After all, I'm the one who kept Nefertiti from you for all these years!"
The offer got Pharaoh to slightly face the ladybug superhero. "It's true that you'd make a much more precious offering than this mortal." He held out his hand and Ladybug slowly walked over to him and took it. "Horus, give me wings!" When his face changed, he flew up with Ladybug to Alya.
"Seriously?" Alya asked her, still a bit peeved by Ladybug's previous comment. Pharaoh then threw her off the beam of light and tossed Ladybug onto it. Blaze quickly flew up with his wings of fire and caught Alya.
Once they were back on the ground, she just crossed her arms again. "Excuse you, but I make excellent sacrificing material." She said, sounding very offended.
"Aw, now I feel heartbroken." Blaze teased, smirking when he saw another tinge of red on her face when she looked up at him, hearing his comment.
Ladybug looked downcast. "You win, Pharaoh…" She said, reaching up for her ears and then holding something in her fist. Pharaoh held out his hand to retrieve her earrings and Ladybug opened her fist above it to reveal….nothing. She then swiped the pendant away from his wrist and showed her other hand, which had a pair of earrings in it.
"You want my Miraculous? Go get it!" She then threw them down towards the ground.
Pharaoh quickly flew down and picked up the earrings. But then, he saw the dots on them flash white with a little jingle coming from them.
"A toy?" He asked, and then looked back up at Ladybug. "You tricked me!" But it was already too late.
Ladybug punched the pendant, breaking it into pieces, and the little black and purple butterfly squeezed out of it, starting to fly away. The beam of light immediately retracted back down to the tip of the Louvre and Ladybug slid down the glass pyramid to solid ground.
"No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma." She said as she slid her finger across the top of her yo-yo, opening it to reveal a sparkling pink light inside. She then began to swing it around, gaining some momentum.
"Time to de-evilize!" She exclaimed. With one good swing, the Akuma was caught in the yo-yo as it quickly slid closed and landed back in Ladybug's hand.
"Gotcha!" She exclaimed with a smile. Then, with a press of a finger, the yo-yo opened again and a pure white butterfly came out and fluttered away. "Bye bye, little butterfly."
Cat Noir then tossed her Lucky Charm to her and she caught it. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She exclaimed as she threw the costume box into the air.
With a flash of pink light, it transformed into a swarm of glowing red ladybugs that flew all over the plaza, in the sky, and into the museum as well, turning everything back to the way it was before.
Then, with a cloud of black and purple bubbles, the powerless Pharaoh was changed back into Jalil. "What happened?" He asked, not knowing what had happened.
Ladybug came over to where the rest of her teammates were. She held up her fist and Cat Noir did, too. They smiled at Blaze and Artemis, telling them that they did a good job. The new heroes smiled brightly at them, and together, they shared their first group fist bump.
"Pound it!" They exclaimed.
Alya dusted herself off and then saw Blaze and Artemis coming over to her, the former tossing her her phone. She caught it and turned it back on, aiming her camera at him. "Thank you so much!" She said.
Blaze folded his arms against his chest. "You know, you should be a little more worried when you're in danger." He said, making Alya blink at him in confusion. "You shouldn't be so easygoing when your life is in danger like that, because it's not worth it just for the next big scoop. Akumas are dangerous. I'd never be able to forgive myself if you got hurt...or worse. Don't put yourself into danger willingly anymore and try to be smart about your decisions."
Artemis wanted to tell her partner that this conversation might kind of bleed into his personal feelings, but she admitted that he did have a point. No story was worth risking your life for, and Alya needed to understand that.
Alya looked a little bit stunned that this new superhero was telling her this, and so directly to her face, when not even Ladybug had told her this. She then sighed. "You're right." She said. "I'll be more careful from now on, I promise."
Blaze smiled kindly at her. But then, it quickly turned cheeky. "Besides, a cute girl like you is too good for an old pharaoh, anyway." He added with a wink that, once again, got Alya to slightly blush.
Just then, Ladybug and Cat Noir came over to them, the former holding back some giggles and the latter having the start of a knowing smirk forming on his face, his green cat eyes glinting mischievously. "Is she someone special to you?" Ladybug asked Blaze.
Blaze only smirked. "Maaaaybe..." He answered in a teasing tone.
"So, who are you two?" Alya asked, looking between Blaze and Artemis.
The two new superheroes looked between each other, smirking confidently. "I'm Blaze." The phoenix superhero introduced himself, looking back at the camera.
"And I'm Artemis." The wolf superhero added.
Alya smiled at them before turning her attention over to Ladybug. "But, uh, I still gotta ask you, Ladybug: how old are you, really?"
Ladybug seemed to slightly freeze for a moment before she answered, "Um, much older than a high school student, that's for sure!" She then grabbed her yo-yo and swung away.
Just then, Artemis heard her pendant go off again. She looked down at it and saw that there was only one section of black left. "Uh, we gotta go, too." She said, grabbing Blaze's arm.
"Uh, yeah." He said, quickly catching on to what she meant as they began to step away from the conversation. "We'll catch you later!" With that, the two of them flew off to slip in through the museum another way.
They had just reached their normal hiding place again right before the last beep was heard coming from Artemis's pendant. Then, with a flash of blue and white light trailing up her body, Artemis was transformed back into Bianca Snow. Claaw swirled out of her normal moonstone pendant with a stream of sharp silver and landed in her palms.
"Fenixx, Flames Down." Blaze said. In a flash of red and orange fire rising up against his body, Blaze had changed back into Allen Flint and Fenixx quickly swirled out of his now-normal black leather wristband in a stream of gold and red and then landed in his own palms.
However, neither of them could talk with them because they heard someone coming. They quickly put their Kwamis into their hiding places where they could recharge and pretended like they had been trapped in the exhibit the entire time.
They saw Alya coming into the exhibit and Marinette running over to her. They then joined her. "Where have you been?" She asked them.
"You won't believe this! I got mummified!" Marinette exclaimed.
"Hope you weren't one of the ones trying to swap me for Nefertiti! Creepy!" Alya said.
"What?!" Marinette shouted. "You were almost...sacrificed?"
Alya nodded in confirmation. "And what about you two?" She asked Allen and Bianca.
"We got locked in the exhibit when the security alarm went off." Bianca explained. "Too bad we missed all the action."
"Yeah." Allen agreed.
Alya then turned back to Marinette. "Well, if it hadn't been for you, I'd never have found out that Ladybug is at least five thousand years old!"
"Hey, what are friends for?" Marinette asked her, patting her shoulder and then walking back towards the entrance of the exhibit while Alya went to grab her school bag.
"What?" Bianca exclaimed, as if she didn't believe it as she and Allen followed Marinette outside. "That's not possible. Unless she's some kind of mythical goddess herself, there's no way."
"Well, you never know." Allen said with a shrug.
Alya joined them in walking after she got her school bag. "I still don't get it, though. What was she doing with that tenth grade history textbook?" She asked.
"Uh, she...she probably had to find out what's been going on for the past fifty centuries!" Marinette guessed nervously.
"You're probably right." Alya said as she began to rummage around in her bag. "It's tough staying in the loop." Suddenly, she stopped when she realized something. She looked through her bag again. "Hey, Ladybug's textbook! It's gone!" She exclaimed, looking downcast while the other three kept walking ahead of her, all of them having little smiles on their faces.
Allen and Bianca supposed that maybe if that textbook did actually belong to Ladybug, she must've gotten it back before they came in the exhibit. Well, at least her secret identity was still a secret.
Meanwhile, in his lair, Hawk Moth was not happy about being defeated again. "You might have gotten away this time, but I assure you, Ladybug, someday, wherever you are, I will have your Miraculous and you'll be nothing! Nothing at all!" He clenched his fists tightly.
"At least I did learn something." He added. "There are two new and unknown Miraculouses somewhere in the city and they must hold great power, if they have powers of the elements."
The large window slowly closed as that new information sank in heavily into his mind.
That afternoon, Allen and Bianca were in Allen's bedroom, talking about the success of their very first mission as superheroes. Allen even got out some snacks and a few cans of orange soda for them to celebrate.
Their Kwamis were placed in front of them, sitting on a large paper plate with Fenixx snacking on some spicy chips that Allen had gotten for him and Claaw was munching on a thick stick of beef jerky that Allen was lucky to have in his pantry, since that wolf had already gobbled up the little sticks of jerky that Bianca had for him earlier.
"How was that for our first battle?" Allen asked them after he and Bianca lightly clinked their soda cans together in celebration.
"You two were amazing!" Fenixx said. "Not bad for first-timers."
"Although someone was a little too eager to be a certain reporter's hero." Claaw said, raising a teasing brow at Allen.
Everyone slightly giggled as Allen almost choked on his soda, his face turning red and hot.
"That was something." Bianca added, gently nudging her best friend with her elbow. But it didn't last long when her face turned serious. "But you do need to keep the flirting to a minimum."
"Why not?" Allen asked. "Cat Noir does that to Ladybug a lot."
"That's different." Bianca said. "Both of them are superheroes who don't even know each other's identities. With you and Alya, you're the only superhero in that relationship. Hawk Moth could use that to his advantage and try to find out who you are, or worse, use Alya as bait to lure you out. As superheroes, we have to keep personal relationships out of the way. Plus, I don't think Alya would really like you if she found out that you're Blaze. If you really want her to like you, then you have to get her attention as Allen, a seemingly normal guy from Canada."
Allen let that sink in for a few brief moments before he decided to change the subject. "Speaking of names, why did you choose Artemis as your superhero name?" He asked. "That's in Greek mythology, not Egyptian mythology."
"I know, I know." Bianca said. "Well, in ancient Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and her weapon of choice is a bow. So I thought that it would fit. Plus, if I went with Roman mythology, my name would be Diana, and that's a common name."
"Good point."
"What about you?" Bianca asked. "No offense, but Blaze isn't exactly what I'd call original."
"Ladybug put me on the spot." Allen defended himself. "It was the first thing that came into my mind that was a reference to my powers."
"Okay, okay." Bianca said, holding her free hand up in surrender after she took another sip of her soda. "But what's with the cheesy nickname you gave me earlier after I saved your butt from walking mummies?"
Allen just snickered as he took another sip of his orange soda. "'Blizzy' is a contraction of 'B' in Bianca and 'Lizzy', which is short for your middle name: Elizabeth." He explained after he swallowed his sip of soda. "Plus, 'Blizzy' is similar to blizzard, which references your snow and ice powers."
Bianca rolled her eyes fondly after she swallowed another gulp of orange soda. "Whatever you say, dork." She teased him with a smile, playfully pushing his shoulder to try and sort of knock him off balance. "And I gave you the nickname 'Fireball' because of your fire powers, and you do want to be a basketball star one day. I thought it was fitting."
"Huh." Allen said after he drank some more soda. "That is actually pretty accurate."
"Well, it was either that or 'Hotshot'." Bianca teased.
Allen rolled his eyes at her bad attempt of making a joke and just nudged her playfully with his elbow as they and their Kwamis all laughed. Their first mission as superheroes was definitely one they'd never forget.
That night, Marinette was in her pajamas and in her loft bed, looking through her history textbook. Sitting on the top edge of it was a little red ladybug-like creature with little black dots on her head, thin antennae, and big blue eyes.
A Kwami. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the secret identity of the brave and beloved superheroine of Paris: Ladybug.
"I don't get it." She said to her Kwami, Tikki. "I know that I'm not five thousand years old, so...who exactly was that Ladybug in the papyrus?"
"Kwamis like me and superheroes like you have always existed!" Tikki explained.
"So...that wasn't you in the papyrus, either?" Marinette asked as she pointed to a picture in her textbook that showed another piece of ancient Egyptian papyrus. Painted on it was a little creature that looked a lot like Tikki.
"What do you think?" Tikki asked her rhetorically, a little glimmer in her eyes.
Marinette studied her Kwami as she petted her on the head with her finger, making her giggle. "You don't look five thousand years old."
"Well, I'm not." Tikki said cheerfully after Marinette stopped petting her. "I'm even older than that! I'm the Kwami who's watched over every single Ladybug since the very beginning!"
Marinette was surprised to learn that many other girls throughout history before her had been bestowed the mantle of 'Ladybug', and that they'd all shared one thing in common: Tikki was their Kwami. Marinette now realized that she had a legacy to uphold. A long legacy of Ladybug superheroes who had protected the world from harm.
"You must have known much less klutzy Ladybugs than me, right?" Marinette asked. If she hadn't lost her textbook, Alya wouldn't be another step closer to finding out who she really was. At least she got her to lose that trail, for now.
"Every Ladybug that I've been partnered with is different. And I still remember all of their names to this day." Tikki said.
Marinette looked down from her Kwami and her textbook. "That's what I thought." She said glumly.
Tikki floated over to her owner and got her to lift her chin up by gently patting her nose. "Marinette, you ARE different." She said. "But 'different' is surprising, unpredictable, and endearing. And very talented. You learn fast."
"Really?" Marinette asked, a small smile on her face.
"Yes." Tikki said with a nod of her head.
Marinette gently scooped up her Kwami in her hands and gently placed a kiss on Tikki's forehead. She felt lucky to have a Kwami like her. Then, she remembered something else that had happened that day.
"Also, about the new heroes...Blaze and Artemis." She said. "They are the real deal, right?"
Tikki nodded. "Yes. I can sense their Kwamis with them. They were telling the truth. And you and Cat Noir made the right decision to trust them."
"What else do you know about their Kwamis?" Marinette asked her Kwami.
"Not much." Tikki said. "There are hundreds of Kwamis out there and all of them are put together in different groups. The Phoenix and the Wolf Kwamis aren't in mine and Cat Noir's group. I do know that their names are Fenixx and Claaw, and since Kwamis have existed for millions of years, long before humans walked the Earth, I did run into Fenixx and Claaw a few times in the past. But that's pretty much all that I know about them. I haven't seen them in almost five centuries, ever since they and the rest of their group suddenly vanished."
"What group do they belong to?" Marinette asked her.
"They belong to the group that has the powers of the natural elements that make up the universe." Tikki explained. "After all, they do have fire and ice powers, which are the most powerful ones of that group, just like how your earrings and Cat Noir's ring are the most powerful in our group."
"I see." Marinette said softly as she processed this new information about her new teammates.
"All that you need to know for the time being is that Blaze and Artemis are on your side and that they'll help you and Cat Noir in the fight against Hawk Moth and his Akumas. At least trust in what I'm saying about them. Please don't refuse their help."
"I won't, Tikki. Thanks for clearing up any doubts that I had about them." Marinette said to her with a grateful smile.
"All right. That's enough questions for tonight." Tikki said. "You'd better get to sleep. Remember, you have that history test tomorrow!"
"Oh yeah!" Marinette giggled as she closed her textbook. "Good thing it's on Ancient Egypt."
The next morning, Allen and Bianca were on their way to school, the latter looking through some papers in her hands. "Are those the songs that Juleka gave you on Friday?" Allen asked her. She nodded her head. "What do you think of them?"
"There are a couple of songs they have that I feel a little uncomfortable with." Bianca admitted as she carefully put the papers back into her school bag. "But most of them seem to be my style. I'm not a heavy metal kind of girl, but most of them are rock. Maybe I can get them to try some pop songs, since those are the kind of songs that I gave Juleka on Friday."
"Maybe you can start a blog of your own." Allen suggested. "A music blog. You can show yourself playing some of your favorite songs and even some of your own original songs on your keytar, and it could be a good way to get recognized as a musician."
Bianca bit her lip in thought as she thought about Allen's suggestion. "That's a good idea." She said. "And it could be a way to help me get out of my shell more often while not having to actually interact much."
Allen patted her shoulder. That would really be a good step forward for her, as she was still trying to get out of her shell. Baby steps, one at a time.
Soon, they arrived at school and walked into the courtyard. There, they saw Alya and Marinette talking with some of the other girls in their class, and the former was talking excitedly about the new superheroes in town: Blaze and Artemis. The latter was just watching her best friend fondly as she fangirled about the new heroes.
"Can you guys believe it?!" Alya squealed as she showed them some of the footage she'd gotten from the battle the day before from her phone. "Two new superheroes! And one of them actually saved me yesterday!" She then paused the video to look at the frozen picture of Blaze right after he had brought her to the roof. "I wish that I knew who Blaze really is, so that I can thank him properly for saving my life."
Allen lightly blushed at her words. Then, an idea came into his mind as he leaned closer towards Bianca.
"Imagine if she knew that it was me who saved her?" He asked her rhetorically, his smile threatening to split his face in two. "She'd be so happy that I not only saved her, but that she also knows who one of the city's heroes is! She'd kiss me right on the spot! Think I should tell her? It would be the easiest way to get her to like me!"
Bianca's eyes widened in shock and roughly pulled his arm closer to her to keep him from taking a step in Alya's direction. Her eyes then narrowed sternly.
"Uh, hello? Remember the one superhero rule almost every superhero follows? Never tell your secret identity to anyone." She reminded him in a harsh whisper. "Besides, if you tell her that you're Blaze, the new hero who saved her life, she might only like you just because you're a superhero. She should really like you for you, as Allen Flint, a seemingly normal guy. Snap out of it, Romeo. Give her time to know the real you before you even think again about sharing your identity."
"Why?" Allen asked her, feeling a little angry that his best friend wasn't on his side like she usually was. "She already loves Blaze, so by default, she would love me too, since I AM him."
"But Blaze is only half of who you are." Bianca said, trying to sound more gentle than she was sounding before. "See if she would like you for you, without the knowledge of you being Blaze. If she likes you just because you're a superhero, it doesn't really mean that she likes you."
"But how?" Allen asked his best friend with a heavy sigh. "I mean, I have no problem talking to Alya about ordinary things. I just can't get the courage to tell her that I like her because I'm afraid that she'll reject me. Besides, I'm still new here in Paris, so she'd never like a guy that she only just met. When it comes to telling her my feelings, I'm almost as bad as Marinette is with Adrien. Almost."
Bianca lightly winced, knowing that he did have a point. They quickly figured out last week that Marinette had the biggest crush on Adrien, and yet, the naive guy didn't have the slightest idea. Sometimes, it was just much too painful to watch her fumble and stumble over her words and actions when she was around the handsome blonde model. And whenever Allen tried to talk to Alya by himself when it came to his feelings, he would get a little bit tongue-tied himself. At least Bianca would quickly rescue him before Alya could make the suspicion that he had feelings for her.
"How about this?" Bianca asked him, hoping to lift his spirits. "Since I promised to be a good wingwoman for you, and because you're my best friend, I'll ask her about you during lunch. I'll see what she thinks about you. Later, I'll tell you about what I found when we're on the way home."
Before Allen could respond, the bell rang out its warning to hurry and get to class. Bianca grabbed his hand and began to drag him to their first class.
At lunch, Allen decided to chat with Adrien, Nino, and Kim for a little bit while Bianca scoped out Alya in line to get her food. Marinette was already at the table she usually sat at, waiting for her while admiring Adrien from afar.
Bianca then walked over to Alya, trying her best to calm her nerves. Allen owed her big time for this, even though she promised him that she would help him get together with the ombre-haired Ladyblogger. The things that she would do for her best friend, who was more like a brother to her than anything else. She cleared her throat before she made herself known.
"Hey, Alya." She greeted her, trying to have a more genuine smile on her face. She supposed that being Artemis also boosted up her own confidence, as being Blaze did for Allen. Being a superhero could really give someone the power that they needed and missed in their normal lives.
The ombre-haired reporter turned to face her. "Hey, Bianca." she returned the greeting to the auburn-haired Canadian girl. "Where's Allen? He's usually stuck to you like glue."
Bianca gestured over with her head to where he was standing as he talked excitedly with Adrien, Nino, and Kim. "He's talking with the guys over there about some new basketball tricks he could learn. When he gets basketball on the brain, that's all he talks about."
Alya giggled a little. "Yeah, I know what that's like." She said, remembering the many times that Marinette would daydream about Adrien every time that she thought about him. She loved her best friend, but that girl had to get better control of her feelings before she literally starts to drool at the sight of him.
"Speaking of Allen, what do you think of him?" Bianca asked, trying to sound casual while nervously playing with her fingers. "After all, we are still considered the new kids from Canada. I-If you know what I mean."
Alya tapped her finger against her chin, thinking a little more about the sporty blonde and his positive attributes. "Well, he seems like a nice guy and very supportive of his friends, from what I see when he tries to comfort you whenever it looks like you might faint."
Bianca smiled embarrassingly at that, knowing that she did have a point there.
"And he is really good out there on the basketball court." Alya continued, sneaking a glance over at the Canadian boy. "Generally, I think he's an all-around nice guy. But I do get a good feeling about him, like he's gonna go far, now that him and you are in town."
Bianca smiled at her, no longer feeling so shy. "Me too." She agreed while nodding her head. She couldn't wait to tell him about what she had learned.
When she and Allen were walking back home school after the day ended, Bianca reported her findings to her best friend. "Well, from what I got from her, I can't really tell if she likes you like that." She said. "Romantically, I mean. But she does think some nice things about you."
"Really?" Allen asked, a wide smile on his face.
Bianca nodded as she patted her best friend on the shoulder. "I think with time, she might start to see you in a different light." she said. "Maybe just do nice things for her and hang out with her more. But don't do anything too elaborate. Unless you want to build a giant neon sign and tell all of Paris that you have feelings for her."
Allen took her hand and then wrapped her in a hug. "Thanks, Bea." He said.
Bianca smiled at him as she returned the hug. "Sure thing, Hoops." She replied.
PokemonFreak90: Allen and Bianca have succeeded in their first mission as superheroes! Cat Noir welcomes them onto their team, as does Ladybug, after hearing some wise words from Tikki about them.
Allen also manages to make a good impression on Alya when he saves her, flirting with her a little, too! It seems that being Blaze gives him some confidence when talking to her. Seeing Alya's obsession with the city's new superheroes, he hopes that telling her that he's Blaze will win her heart. Unfortunately, Bianca doesn't agree, even though they're usually in agreement on most things.
Still, she gives Allen the details on Alya's thoughts about him, after talking with her alone. Unfortunately, it looks like Alya's heart's not at the same place that Allen's is, feelings-wise.
What Akuma will Blaze and Artemis face next? And is Allen's only hope to win Alya's heart to reveal his secret to her?
MDM: Well, one can only hope. And I think that maybe Alya might see him in a different light if he tries to be himself instead of always relying on Blaze.
Until next time, we'll see y'all! Please leave a review about what you think, and remember to stay healthy!
Got to fly! ;)
