Miraculous: Tales of Blaze and Artemis
MDM: I'm actually surprised that this chapter was finished so quickly. Well, personally "The Evillustrator" is one of my Top 5 favorite episodes in Season 1.
PokemonFreak90: Uh...no. I personally wouldn't put it in my Top 5 favorite episodes of Season 1. Then again, you've been watching the show a lot longer than I have.
MDM: I think the main reason why I liked it is because of the couple of Marichat "scenes" in it, and that ship is my favorite side of the Love Square. Anyway, let's get on with Chapter 6. Roll it!
Chapter 6
Drawing the Line Against Evillustrator
One day, Allen and Bianca were walking to school, talking about the past few days. "Can you believe that last Akuma?" Allen asked.
His best friend just nodded her head in agreement. "I know, right? I mean, that has to be the dumbest Akuma we've fought so far. A supervillain that controls pigeons?"
"On the bright side, at least he was much easier to defeat than the last few Akumas." Allen pointed out.
"Fair enough. The easier they are, the less damage that they cause to the city." Bianca said with a shrug.
"Anyway, I decided to take Alix up on her offer to go roller skating together, which she offered after we defeated her future Akumatized self. We'll do it over the weekend." Allen explained. "I bought some roller skates and had a bit of practice and it's kinda like ice skating, which you and I did a lot of back in Canada, so I should be fine. And before you ask, I don't like Alix THAT way. She's just a girl that wants to hang out with me."
Bianca held her hands up, as if she was backing off from something. "I wasn't thinking of anything like that, Hoops." She said, assuring him.
As they entered the school, they saw Marinette trailing behind them. They saw it as their chance to ask her something that had been on their minds for a while.
"Hey, Marinette!" Bianca called out to her.
The blunette turned around to see the two Canadian students walking over to her. "Hey, guys!" She greeted cheerfully.
"Can we talk to you?" Allen asked. "Alone?"
Marinette was a little confused by the odd question, but she nodded her head. "Sure." She answered him, her smile starting to seem a little strained.
They all walked over to a quiet corner of the courtyard, away from curious eyes. "What's up?" Marinette asked them.
Allen and Bianca shared a wary glance between each other, before the former decided to be the one to take the plunge. "When that Akuma, Timebreaker, showed up last week, we both saw you talking to Ladybug."
The two Canadians saw the Chinese-French girl almost freeze with fear. "What was that all about?" Allen continued to ask. "We're just curious. Do you know Ladybug personally?"
"Wh-what do you mean b-by that?" Marinette stammered nervously, her eyes briefly darting everywhere but at the two students that were standing in front of her.
Both Allen and Bianca looked at each other, a little suspicious of Marinette's jitteriness. They had both read enough comic books and watched enough movies to know that sometimes, superheroes have someone on the inside that's helping them. Maybe not as a sidekick, but like an accomplice.
So Bianca decided to clarify their question. "What we're asking you is if you're an accomplice to Ladybug."
Both of them noticed how much more relaxed Marinette seemed to be as she refocused back on them, understanding their question better.
"Um...I guess I am, kind of." She answered, bringing her voice to a whisper. "I'm a fan of hers, although I think that Cat Noir is a bit cooler, and I was just wondering what Ladybug was doing there. Sometimes, I even get some more information from her, in case Alya missed something during her live streams for her blog. So I guess, in a way, I do kind of know Ladybug personally."
Her bluebell eyes suddenly turned fearful again. "But please don't tell anyone! And I mean it. No one can know about it, not even Alya."
When she said that last part, she focused completely on Allen. The Canadian boy had a fierce blush on his face when he caught the implication aimed at him and he turned away to hide his flushed face. Bianca bit back a chuckle at her best friend being caught red-handed about his crush on the Ladyblogger.
"Don't worry, Marinette." she said to her, with Allen turning back to her and nodding his head in agreement. "We won't say a word unless you say something about it first."
Marinette exhaled with relief. "Thanks so much, you two." She said, sounding much more relaxed than from before.
Just then, the bell rang for classes to start. The three of them then hurried over to their first classes of the day before they got tardy. As they were walking, both Allen and Bianca noticed that Marinette had a good grip on the strap of her little purse. They then glanced over at the little bag resting on Bianca's own hip.
Since they knew that Claaw was in there, when they looked over at Marinette's own purse, they wondered if Tikki could be in there, and if Marinette was actually Ladybug herself, not just her accomplice.
Then they shook their heads after they shared another curious glance. They weren't trying to find out Ladybug's identity, so it was probably best to keep their suspicions to the side for now. But they were starting to fear that the pieces that they were finding were starting to fall into place on their own.
Later that day, the kids were in their science class with the much stricter Ms. Mendeleiev, who had an angular face and nose, and a sharp, pixie cut that was dyed dark purple. Thin black glasses framed her stern violet eyes and a white lab coat framed her tall form. She was not like Ms. Bustier personality-wise and everyone knew better than to try and challenge her when they got on her bad side. Everyone was paying attention to her, except for one student in the back of the room.
His eyes were glued to a picture that he was drawing, particularly at the drawn image of the beautiful girl wrapped in the hero's arms. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he ever saw, albeit rare, due to her being so shy around others, just like him. But she also had a hidden boldness that he could only dream of even having himself. Her hair was draped down her back in a single thick rope of pure copper and her eyes were the color of the sunset itself, pure and golden.
"Nathanael! What are you drawing?" The red-headed boy snapped out of his daydream when a hand suddenly slapped onto his side of the desk. It was Ms. Mendeleiev, glaring fiercely at him.
"Wha, wha-" Nathanael stammered.
But the teacher just cut him off by picking up his drawing with two fingers. "And these artistic endeavors are clearly why you are failing science." She said sternly.
"I'm sorry…" Nathanael said timidly.
"You go march yourself down to the principal's office and show him that chicken scratch!" Ms. Mendeleiev ordered, pointing to the door. "Then you'll be really sorry!"
Quickly, Nathanael grabbed his notes and sketchbook and stuffed them into his backpack. Then, while holding the pack to his chest, he began to walk out of the classroom, feeling everyone's eyes on him. Suddenly, he tripped over Mylene's own bag, dropping his sketchbook, which had opened up to the page that he was drawing earlier. Before he could get it back before anyone could get a good look at the sketch, Chloe grabbed it.
"Ooh! Look, Sabrina! It's him as a superhero!" She teased with a cruel laugh. "And look who he's saving! It's Bianca!"
The girl in question shot her head straight up when she heard her name. "Huh?!" She questioned, looking at the scene ahead of her.
The prissy blonde just laughed out loud. "He's so totally crushing on you, Bianca!"
The auburn-haired girl just blinked in confusion, not entirely sure if she could believe it. Especially since she couldn't see the picture from where she was sitting at the back of the room with Allen.
Nathanael blushed bright red, the scarlet shade almost matching his hair, and tried to snatch the drawing back. "Gimme that!" He shouted. He managed to get his sketchbook, but Chloe tore out the sketch.
"Enough! Nathanael, go!" Ms. Mendeleiev ordered, pointing towards the door.
The red-haired artist briefly narrowed his eyes at Chloe before trudging out the door. He could feel Bianca's curious eyes on his form, which only got him to move faster until he was out of her line of sight.
As the science lesson continued on, Allen teasingly nudged Bianca with his elbow, a smirk on his face. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer." He said quietly.
But Bianca still wasn't so sure. "You're actually going to believe what Chloe said?" She whispered back. "She looks for any reason to humiliate someone."
"That's true." He admitted. "But she would hardly make up something just to do that."
The more that Bianca thought about it, the more she realized that Allen did have a point. Chloe, although she was really mean, hardly lied just to make someone feel embarrassed or to try and get what she wants. Well, there was that time when she had tried to copy off of Marinette's derby hat design after they defeated Mr. Pigeon earlier in the week, but still. Chloe really just calls it like she sees it, which often isn't in a positive light.
Before she could respond back, both of them realized that Ms. Mendeleiev was assigning everyone into groups for their next assignment, which had to do with particle physics. "The next particle physics presentation group is Nino, Adrien, and Alya." She said.
Both Allen and Bianca looked ahead to see both Alya and Nino beam over at Adrien, and he returned their smiles while giving Nino a fist bump. Adrien was one of the best students when it came to anything science-related.
"And then, Sabrina, Chloe, and Marinette." They both winced at Marinette's bad luck at being paired with the queen bee and her lackey.
"Uh, Miss, can't you add her to another group?" Chloe asked her. "Sabrina and I work much better on our own."
Her comment just made everyone roll their eyes. They knew that Sabrina just did all of the work for both of them, and Ms. Mendeleiev knew it as well.
"This is a group presentation, not pairs!" She snapped at her. "Deal with it."
Chloe just gritted her teeth. "I hate dealing with it!" She muttered under her breath, briefly glaring at the obviously much prettier Chinese-French girl.
"The last two groups are Alix, Kim, and Allen." Allen breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew that at least he and Alix would make doubly sure that Kim would put in his own effort in the presentation, and he sincerely hoped that Marinette could do the same.
"And finally, the last group will be Bianca, Rose, and Juleka." Bianca let out her own sigh of relief. At least she felt a little more comfortable around those two, so she didn't have to worry about feeling on edge or shy.
Just then, the bell rang, and everyone began packing up their stuff. "So I guess we'll be meeting with our groups later, huh?" Bianca asked as she and Allen left the classroom, walking side by side.
"Let's talk it over with them, and then later, you and I can meet at the library and grab some books for the presentation." Allen suggested.
"Sure!" Bianca agreed with a smile.
As promised, both of them met up with their groups and established times to get together and study to start putting their presentation together. Now they were in the library to find good books to help them and their group members; Allen with Kim and Bianca with Rose. But then, they heard Chloe's whining.
"Ugh! What do you mean, you're not doing my assignment?!" She demanded, glaring at Marinette and…Sabrina?
"Marinette's right!" Sabrina said, for the first time, not obeying Chloe's demands. Maybe Marinette finally got her to see the light. "I...I'm not your slave!"
"I never actually said that…" Marinette muttered under her breath, slightly cringing at Sabrina's choice of words.
"But Marinette didn't buy a super cute beret at Gabriel's, and I did!" Chloe proclaimed, pulling out a pretty nice black beret with a velvet white bow on the side. She briefly placed it on her head and then took it off. "And perhaps I could lend it to you." She added.
"Excuse me, but are you trying to bribe her into staying your friend? With a hat?" Marinette asked her with disbelief.
Sabrina peeked over to the side of Marinette to get a better look at it. "Uhhh...a really, really adorable hat!" She said. "That would look fantastic on me!"
Chloe just put the hat away and glared at Marinette. "No, excuse ME, but you are trying to steal my friend from me with homework?!" She accused her.
Both Allen and Bianca rolled their eyes from where they were standing. Could she get any more ridiculous? That girl never worked a day in her life, having everything handed to her on a silver platter! They knew that one day, all of her selfishness and arrogance would come back to pay some serious karma on her.
Suddenly, tons of copies of the same beret started falling from above, all of them hitting Chloe on the head, and she quickly shielded herself with her arms. "Ah! My hair!" She screamed. Then, a giant hair dryer appeared from thin air in front of her and she started to run away from it while screaming as it chased her.
Allen and Bianca couldn't believe it. Not only was this clearly the work of another Akuma, but this one seemed to have a grudge against Chloe. Then again, who didn't? But they seriously had to protect HER?! Eventually coming to the same resolution, they sighed. Duty calls.
"Uh, let's go." They both said to their respective partners. "Text me when you get to safety."
Before either Kim or Rose could answer them, both of them immediately ran off to find a good place to hide and transform. They soon saw the giant hair dryer coming their way, still chasing a screaming Chloe, and they quickly left the library with their books in their arms.
Allen and Bianca managed to find a corner in the library that was surrounded by bookshelves; a perfect hiding spot. They then let their Kwamis out of their hiding places.
"Do we seriously have to save that annoying brat?" Fenixx asked them.
"Can we just let that hair dryer suck her in and burn her entire ponytail off first?" Claaw offered.
"Tempting, but you know what heroes have to do." Allen said.
"Unfortunately, yes." Bianca muttered dryly, crossing her arms. "Let's do it to it, guys."
"Fenixx, Flames Up!"
"Claaw, Let's Prowl!"
With a flash of gold and silver light, Allen and Bianca became Blaze and Artemis. They then sprung into action, just as the giant hair dryer got Chloe cornered.
"No! Stop!" She pleaded.
Just as the hair dryer was starting to get closer to her, a familiar yo-yo wrapped around the tube and Ladybug pulled herself to sit and ride on top of it. "Run and hide!" She ordered.
For once, Chloe didn't argue and went to hide. But then, the hair dryer decided to take Ladybug on a ride as if it were a wild horse or a bucking bronco, trying to throw her off it.
Just then, Cat Noir appeared on top of a bookshelf, with Blaze and Artemis each on an adjacent one. "I got wind that you were being blown away by a hairy situation." He teased, giving three puns in one sentence.
"Fewer puns, more action!" Ladybug shouted at her partner.
Cat Noir extended his staff and tried to slam it down onto the hair dryer, but he missed. Blaze tried to slice it with his katana when it came by him, but he too also missed.
Finally, Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around a nearby pole to get herself and the hair dryer to crash into a bookcase. Artemis took the chance to fire a couple of arrows at the giant machine, making it disintegrate into little pieces of bright blue light.
Just then, they saw someone standing on the higher level of the library. He wore a bodysuit with the upper half white with black stripes, along with a black palette that had three little glowing globs of the primary colors. The lower half was a dark purple color that gradually shifted into bright orange at the feet. His skin was purple, along with a darker shade that took the shape of a butterfly-shaped mask. On his head of flaming orange was an artist's beret and on his right forearm was an electronic sketch pad, while in his left hand was a simple pencil. That had to be the villain. He glared at the four heroes in frustration.
"Well, that guy looks pretty sketchy!" Cat Noir said, returning the glare.
The supervillain began to make his escape, but the four heroes were right on his tail. He quickly drew a tall glass wall right in front of them, making them all stop in their tracks as they bumped into it. When they regained their bearings, the supervillain was already gone.
"Where'd he go?" Ladybug asked.
"I don't know, but he sure has a way of illustrating his point." Cat Noir answered. His little quip only made the other three heroes groan in annoyance.
"Not the greatest timing, Cat." Artemis muttered.
Within the hour, the four superheroes were at Chloe's suite at the hotel, trying to get some more information from her about who would have a grudge against her that was big enough to be Akumatized. But she obviously wasn't really cooperating with giving any info, as she was drawing something on a piece of paper with a permanent marker.
"Seems this Evillustrator's targeting you specifically, Chloe." Cat Noir said. (Earlier, the Ladyblog had confirmed to call this new Akuma the Evillustrator.) "Any idea why?"
"No. Everyone adores me." Chloe said, putting the paper down.
Ladybug just rolled her eyes at her answer. "Yeah, because you're sooo adorable." She muttered sarcastically.
But the prissy blonde missed the hidden implication, for she was deafened by what Ladybug had said. "Yessss! Ladybug just said I'm adorable!" She squealed in excitement.
Artemis slapped a palm against her face. "Do you know anything about sarcasm?!" She exclaimed.
Chloe just scoffed indifferently. "Whatever. Obviously, you're just jealous that Ladybug has me as her biggest fan, and you don't."
Artemis clenched her teeth, an audible growl emitting from her, almost sounding like a real wolf, making everyone jump at the sound. "Watch it, brat!" She said. "I may be a superhero, but this wolf has fangs and I'm not afraid to use them."
Chloe actually looked a little afraid of Artemis's threat and she backed away from her. Blaze took his partner by the arm and led them a little further away from the others.
"Hey, easy, Blizzy." Blaze soothed her. "Take a deep breath."
Artemis shakily took a deep, long breath before slowly exhaling. "Sorry. I don't know what happened. I've been angry before, but I've never growled before."
"That IS a little strange." Blaze said. "Well, maybe later, you can ask Cat Noir about it. He has the Black Cat, and both his Kwami and yours are mammals of a sort. And he's been in the superhero business longer than you."
Artemis nodded. Then, Ladybug and Cat Noir came over to them, the former looking pretty peeved with her arms crossed.
"Looks like somebody's got a fan, Milady!" Cat Noir teased.
"Yeah, great." Ladybug muttered with disdain, crossing her arms against her chest.
Her partner just shrugged before looking back at Artemis. "So what's the deal?" He asked her. "Not even a minute ago, you looked ready to bite and scratch her face off."
"We were kind of hoping that you could help." Blaze answered as Artemis saw something on the couch that caught her eye. "Since Artemis is a wolf and you're a cat, maybe with the suit, there's also…some kind of…instinct?"
"Hmm." Cat Noir pondered. "I see what you mean. That only happened to me a couple of times, but nothing like that yet."
Artemis went over to the piece of paper that had caught her attention, the one that Chloe was drawing on. It was the same drawing that she had stolen from Nathanael earlier. She was at first startled to see that it was indeed her in the superhero's arms, which oddly looked a lot like the Akuma, but then her anger flared back up when she saw that both of their faces were vandalized by the ugly stark markings of the black permanent ink.
"That does it!" Artemis shouted. She took the paper and then stabbed one of her daggers into the couch, immediately turning it into solid ice, making Chloe yelp out in terror. "I need to blow off some steam." She then turned around to leave from the balcony.
"But what if the Evillustrator attacks her again?" Blaze asked his ticked off partner.
"You guys can stay here if you want, but I'm leaving before I do cause some serious damage." Artemis said as she pushed open the doors to the balcony.
"Please take me with you." Ladybug pleaded, not wanting to be around Chloe, either.
"No!" Artemis barked, surprising the red and black-spotted superhero. "I don't want to hurt anyone, since apparently, this is the first time that this has happened to me in the suit. I don't know what I might do if I don't take a breather, away from everyone else."
Without taking another look back, Artemis put her grappling gun together and then fired it, swinging away. Ladybug looked really exasperated. She wanted to join her, but Cat Noir placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She huffed in defeat, but then saw that Chloe was keeping a good distance away from her frozen couch. At least she wouldn't be bugging her for a while.
Soon, Artemis jumped through her bedroom window with a forward flip, quickly closing it behind her. "Let's Hide." She said.
A silver light trailed up her body and then Artemis had changed back into Bianca Snow. Claaw zipped back into her bag, but Bianca didn't notice that as she threw her bag off of her body and then roughly tossed it onto her bed.
"Ow!" Her Kwami exclaimed from inside of it. He then immediately zoomed out of the bag to confront his owner. "Watch it, will ya?!"
Bianca slightly flinched at her little mistake. "Sorry, Claaw." She apologized. It's just that…that little annoying bratty queen bee really gets on my nerves." She clenched her fist when she said that. "But I've never felt that mad before."
Claaw looked a little apologetic. "Yeah, about that... Since you are the owner of the Wolf Miraculous, you will be expected to develop the senses and even the instincts of wolves when in the suit." He explained. "So it was the best decision that you left when you did, otherwise you would've completely lost control and turned feral."
Bianca breathed out silently through her nose. "Maybe you're right." She said "I don't want to lose my cool and hurt someone because I couldn't control my temper."
"With time and practice, you'll be able to control the wolf side of you." Claaw assured her. "I'm pretty sure that Cat Noir can help you with it. Both cats and dogs are not so cute when someone gets on their bad side." His little witty comment made his owner slightly giggle.
But then, Claaw suddenly zipped back into her handbag with a small yelp of fear. Bianca was about to ask him what was wrong when she heard something coming from behind her.
She saw that her window was starting to get erased! She gasped as the Evillustrator came into her room and she quickly grabbed her guitar to use as a weapon as he put his pencil away in his sketchpad.
"It's you! From the library!" She said, on guard. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you." The Evillustrator said, turning towards her.
Bianca blinked at his words. "Oookay." She trailed off, a little suspicious about his answer. But then she re-adjusted her grip on her guitar. "But why did you attack Chloe Bourgeois earlier?"
"Because Chloe is cruel and selfish!" The supervillain answered.
The Canadian girl was silent for a couple of seconds. "Can't exactly argue with you there." She agreed, still keeping her guitar in her hands. "Are you…going to hurt me, too?"
"You? You're Bianca." The Evillustrator said, looking a little embarrassed as a faint red blush appeared on his purple face and he rubbed the back of his head, briefly not meeting her eyes. "You're beautiful and sweet and…perfect. I could never hurt you."
Bianca blinked at the kind words coming from the villain. "Um…" She briefly trailed off as she slowly put her guitar down. "That's, uh, very…flattering. Um, thanks?"
The Evillustrator then started to get a little nervous. "So I just came by to ask you, uh, well, it's my birthday today and, uh, would you wanna come to my party?"
Bianca bit her lip. "Oh, um... Actually, it's not the best night. You see, I have this presentation to work on and I have to call my group members for when we can meet up and I've gotta let them know that I'm okay."
"Oh please, Bianca!" The Evillustrator pleaded. "It'll just be you and me." He took his pencil back out and drew something on his sketch pad. A little piece of paper appeared in the air and he plucked it to get down on one knee and present it to her.
Bianca blinked at him and then tentatively took the little note. On it was a well-drawn picture of her, the Evillustrator, and a birthday cake.
"Is this…me?" She asked him, sounding impressed at his quite talented artistry.
"Do you like it?" The Evillustrator asked her, looking at her with an excited smile.
Bianca looked back down at the little piece of paper in her hands. Just then, she saw something drawn in the bottom-right corner. It was an exclamation point inside a box. Was it his signature? Every artist had to have a symbol or some kind of trademark. But why did it look familiar?
If he was who she thought he was, then maybe she could still help the others take him down. "I…do. I really do like this. So much that I'll come to your party." When he beamed at her, she added something. "On one condition."
"Anything for you, Bianca."
"You can't harm Chloe anymore." Bianca said, slightly bending down to meet him at eye level. "I don't really like her either, but I can't stand violence."
"For you and only you." The Evillustrator said, getting back up on his feet and Bianca straightening up. He then drew a jetpack on his back that immediately started up when it had materialized. "Meet you on the left bank, next to Notre Dame, at sunset!" With that, he flew out of Bianca's partially erased bedroom window.
Once he was gone, Bianca let out a sigh of relief as she sat down on her bed. She wasn't entirely sure what to think of the situation she found herself in. Yes, she was basically going to be the bait, if she could get the others on board with the plan she came up with, but this was actually the first time that a boy was interested in her that she knew of. Unfortunately, she didn't feel the same way, nor did she feel mentally ready for a relationship, after what had happened to her five years ago.
"What are you thinking, Bea?" Claaw asked her, coming out of his hiding spot.
Bianca then got out the drawing that Chloe had vandalized earlier. Her suspicions of the Evillustrator's identity were confirmed when she saw the exact same symbol drawn in the bottom-right corner of the page, just like the one on the invitation that he'd given her.
"I'm thinking that Nathanael's got a crush on me." She said. "And his alter ego, the Evillustrator, is about to get crushed by the Heroes of Paris."
"Okay." Claaw said. "But how exactly is Artemis going to be there when you're going on a date with him as Bianca?"
"Artemis won't be able to crash the party this time." Bianca explained as she stood back up. "I'm just the decoy."
Claaw breathed out shakily. "I'm not sure if Blaze is going to like this."
"Claaw, Let's Prowl!" Once Bianca had transformed back into Artemis, she immediately called Blaze. He answered after the first ring.
"Where are you?" He asked her. "Ladybug is starting to lose it and Chloe is trying to get Cat Noir to do her homework for her. I'm literally watching from the balcony for the Akuma."
"Sorry I'm missing that." She said with a giggle, already picturing the scene. "But you guys can leave Chloe now. I just figured out a plan on how to stop the Evillustrator."
"Oh, thank goodness." Blaze breathed out with relief. "What's the plan?"
Artemis took a deep breath before explaining. "The Evillustrator came to see me."
"What?!" Blaze exclaimed fearfully. "Are you hurt? Did he see that you're-"
"I'm fine." Artemis quickly answered him. "He came to see me as Bianca. Apparently, the Evillustrator, aka Nathanael, has a thing for me."
"I told you so." Blaze said with a knowing lilt in his voice.
"Save it, wise guy." Artemis deadpanned. "But I made him promise not to go after Chloe as long as I go to his birthday party later today. I need you, Ladybug, and Cat Noir to be ready to take him down while I distract him."
"So you're not going to help us while in the suit?" Blaze asked.
"Not this time." She answered. "I'm the bait."
"But what if he catches on? He might get angry enough to the point where he could hurt you and then go after little miss high and mighty."
"Chill, Fireball." Artemis said. "I can handle myself. And besides, I'll have my three bodyguards to keep a watchful eye on me."
There were a few moments of silence before Blaze sighed with relent. "Fine. When do you have to be at his party?"
"He told me to meet him at the left bank of the Seine near Notre Dame at sunset." Artemis explained.
"We'll be there." Blaze answered. "I'll let the other two know."
"See ya there." Artemis said to him before hanging up the call and then calling out her de-transformation phrase.
On the other end of the line, Blaze had hung up as well, but he couldn't help but still feel worried for his best friend. "I really hope that you know what you're doing, Bea." He said quietly. Then he went back inside Chloe's suite to let Ladybug and Cat Noir know of the plan.
When sunset arrived, Bianca walked the short distance over to the bank near Notre Dame. When she got there, she saw a large boat that was lit with lanterns and it had a model of the Eiffel Tower and the Evillustrator was sitting on the top deck.
His face was glowing with the telltale neon purple butterfly mask and his hand was shaking slightly. Maybe Hawk Moth was warning him to go and get the Miraculouses or else he'd take away his powers. That was the first time she ever saw an Akuma trembling because of the master mind himself.
"Happy Birthday." She said, getting his attention. His face beamed when he saw her.
"Bianca!" He then jumped down and began to escort her onto the boat. "Thank you for accepting my invitation."
Bianca put on a cheerful and awed smile as she looked around the boat. "Wow, it's so beautiful." She said. At least that part was true.
"You like it?" He asked, sounding eager to impress her more. "Well hold on, 'cause I'm just getting started."
He jumped back onto the top deck and was about to draw something else, but then dark clouds appeared, briefly blocking the light of the full moon above. He then growled audibly. "Come on, you've gotta be kidding!"
His loud yell of frustration briefly scared Bianca as she took a step back, away from him. Usually, Nathanael was pretty mellow, so seeing him so angry was something new for her.
The Evillustrator noticed the uneasy look on her face; she even looked like she was shaking a bit as she looked up at him. "Uh, sorry." He quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just...I can't draw properly in the dark."
He then moved over to a nearby lantern to continue drawing. Bianca made notice of that, just in case something went wrong, and she sincerely hoped it wouldn't.
Soon, the Evillustrator had drawn a faux glowing moon on top of the model of the Eiffel Tower. "Voila!" He said with a flourish.
He then helped Bianca onto the top deck, as if she were a noble lady, and then she sat down next to him. As the boat rolled along smoothly across the river, the Evillustrator was playing some romantic music by drawing music notes on his sketch pad.
As Bianca looked around, she soon saw the other three heroes of Paris jumping across the rooftops in the distance. She briefly smiled confidently. Time to put the plan into action.
Bravely scooting a little bit closer to the Evillustrator, she flashed a charming smile at him. "You're so talented!" She complimented. "I just don't understand why you wanna use your power to hurt people."
"Not all people. Just Chloe." He explained. "And I'm never doing that again. After all, you were true to your promise, so I'll be true to mine." His words made Bianca blink at him with golden, doe-like eyes. Even though he was akumatized, he still had a somewhat good heart.
Blaze, Cat Noir, and Ladybug managed to stay out of sight as they got to the bridge overhang and the boat slowly rolled underneath. They all then jumped onto the boat, trying to be as quiet as they could.
Bianca knew that she had to come up with something that could allow her to get the pencil. "I...actually draw a little, too." She said, although it wasn't a total lie. She could actually draw a little, but it was definitely nowhere near as good as Nathanael or even Marinette.
Ladybug and Cat Noir wanted to get him down, but Blaze silently stopped them, waiting for a signal from Bianca. "I'm not as good as you are, of course." The auburn-haired girl continued.
"I'm sure you're a wonderful artist." The Evillustrator said, complimenting her.
Bianca tried her best to appear easygoing. So far, so good. "Well, can I draw you something special for your birthday?" she offered.
The Evillustrator looked over at her, stopping the music. "That would be amazing."
Just as Bianca took the end of the pencil, the Evillustrator spotted, from out of the corner of his eye, the other three heroes standing behind him and Bianca. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Bianca, give me my pencil back." He said to her. "I need to draw something. Now!"
Bianca finally saw this as her chance. "No. I'm keeping it!" She said, snatching the pencil and then quickly running away from him. "Guys! Now!"
Before the Evillustrator could go after her, Cat Noir quickly extended his staff, forcing the supervillain to stay where he was, and Blaze went in front of him, holding his sword out. "Ladybug!" Bianca shouted out to the nearby red and black-spotted superheroine, and she threw the pencil over to her. Ladybug grabbed it in mid-air and then snapped it in half. The Evillustrator looked pained as he turned to look at Bianca with shock; like someone had punched him in the gut, when she did that.
"I'm sorry, Nathanael. I know how you feel about me." Bianca said as the telltale black and purple butterfly appeared from the broken halves of the pencil and began to fly away.
"No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma!" Ladybug said as she opened her yo-yo and quickly caught the Akuma before it got too far away. After she caught it, she opened up her yo-yo again and the purified white butterfly appeared and fluttered away into the night.
Black and purple ooze appeared and enveloped the now-powerless Evillustrator and he was changed back into Nathanael. "Huh? Where am I?" He asked, looking around him and taking in his unfamiliar surroundings.
The three heroes then saw that the boat was slowly sinking as it slowly disintegrated away. Blaze took Bianca in his arms and carried her over to the river bank while Ladybug took Nathanael by the arm with Cat Noir trailing behind them.
Once they were back on solid ground, Ladybug fixed everything back to normal and the three heroes gathered to do their fist bump. Blaze gestured over to Bianca to join in on it, even though she wasn't in the suit this time, unbeknownst to their superhero peers. She smiled at him and did so.
"Pound it!" They all said.
After that, Blaze picked up Bianca, holding her bridal-style. "I'll take her home." He offered. "See you guys next time."Before either of them could respond, Blaze took to the skies with his best friend hanging onto him.
"Your plan worked." He said to her once they were out of earshot. "Nice job tonight. It seems that you can help us out, even when you're not Artemis."
"Yeah." She answered simply, feeling better than she had felt all day. But tomorrow, there was one more thing she needed to do to put this whole thing at an end.
The next day, Allen and Bianca arrived in class after seeing Alya briefly interview Chloe for the Ladyblog. But before they could get to their usual spots, they saw Nathanael in his seat looking a little downcast as he flipped through his sketchbook. Bianca took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.
"Are you really sure that you have to do this?" Allen asked her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's been hiding his feelings because he's nervous about talking to you, just like how I am with Alya. Why don't you take the initiative instead, making it easier for him? Have the courage to do what I couldn't do."
Bianca shook her head. "But I don't like him like that. I only see him as a friend."
Allen saw the resolve in her eyes and he knew that there was no changing her mind about it. He then nodded his head in consent and then left to go take his spot. Bianca took another deep breath and slowly began to walk over to Nathanael's seat.
He stared at the missing page of his comic, the one of his dream superhero persona with the beautiful Bianca in his arms, which Chloe had stolen yesterday. He let out a sigh of defeat. Who was he kidding? There was no way that Bianca could even look at him now.
Just then, he felt the presence of someone standing next to him. He looked over to see who it was and he blushed as red as his hair when he saw that it was the Canadian auburn-haired beauty herself.
"Bianca!" he exclaimed, before he looked away from her, looking even more embarrassed.
The Canadian girl slightly bit her lip, knowing that he was feeling ashamed because of yesterday's events. Hopefully, she could tell him the truth about her own feelings about what happened without hurting his own. No one had been akumatized twice so far, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a possibility. But first, she had to be a good friend to him.
"Happy belated birthday, Nathanael." She said, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a new sketch pad that had a bright green ribbon on the top of it. Her words and her gift got him to look back at her to meet her eyes.
"I managed to get you this today." She explained. "Allen and I always pass by this cool arts and crafts shop on our way to school and I thought I could get you something. I hope that you like it."
"Th-Thank you, Bianca." Nathanael slightly stuttered, taking the brand new sketch pad and feeling the fresh texture of the paper. She softly smiled at him.
"Um, Bianca?" Nathanael asked her. "I, uh, I want to apologize for drawing you without your permission." He then looked away slightly. "I know that it can be weird for some people, so…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say next.
Bianca took one last deep breath to prepare herself for her turning down. "Nathanael, I'm very flattered. Honest." She said, getting his attention back to her. "You seem like a really nice guy, but…I don't feel the same way that you do about me. And I also just don't feel like I'm ready for a relationship right now."
He looked away from her again and she could see the hurt that was beginning to show in his eyes. "But I'm glad that we're friends at least." She added, making him look back up at her and seeing that soft little smile on her face that he so adored. "Plus, I really am impressed by your drawing skills."
"R-Really?" He asked.
Bianca nodded at him before she slightly turned away to head to her usual spot. "Well, I gotta get to my seat before class starts. Happy belated birthday again." She flashed him one more kind smile before she went to her spot, next to Allen.
What happened yesterday gave her a lot to think about what kind of person she wanted in her life, if she ever felt something strongly for a guy. Maybe one day, both she and Nathanael could find happiness with the right person.
PokemonFreak90: Thanks to Bianca's help, the villain was defeated a lot easier than he was in the show. She also discovers, for the first time in her life, that a boy loves her. Hopefully, she remembers those feelings when she finally finds the right one for her.
Plus, she discovers that her Miraculous is giving her wolf-like qualities, which she can't yet control. Will this come back to bite her in the future? And Does Allen have a similar problem with his Miraculous?
MDM: Well, we'll see. I always pictured Bianca having some wolf-like instincts when she is Artemis. Kind of like how Cat Noir, aka Adrien, sometimes does act like a cat in the suit, with the purring or even hissing.
Until next time, y'all! Please leave a review about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And please remember to stay healthy.
Got to fly! ;)
