Chapter 5: The Joke's On France
Mayor Andre Bourgeois was in his office studying the newspaper article that had caught his eye. Once the paper had been delivered to him, he had been quick to notice the big eye-catching headline that everybody in France was talking about:
BATMAN SIGHTED IN PARIS. SPOTTED TEAMING UP WITH LADYBUG AND CAT NOIR
The Mayor was already very grateful to the local heroes for their work in keeping Paris safe so he could remain in power. They had also been useful in building up his good public image thanks to interviews and photographs he had had with the French superheroes. But this was something even bigger than he could've anticipated. Nothing, not even his best resources could've prepared him for something like this. One of the Justice League's heroes was in his city and fighting crime alongside Ladybug and Cat Noir! Of course, Andre had heard much about Batman. There was nobody in the world who didn't know his name and his eyes were all aglow as he saw the headline.
Some politicians would've seen Batman's appearance as being interfering and an example of "sticking his nose in where it didn't belong". Some would've been mad that the JL thought for a minute their own forces weren't competent enough to handle the situation themselves. But not Mayor Bourgeois. The man was the kind of a politician who only saw profit when it came to situations like this. He was the kind of man who cared more about getting enough dough then the people he ruled over. Nobody mattered to him unless they could profit him in some way. Even his daughter was unwillingly helping in that regard. He had thought about Chloe as he read the newspaper and wondered what she would've thought to Batman's being here in France.
As of now, he settled down the newspaper and smiled to himself.
"So one of America's biggest heroes is here now?" he said gleefully, "France should feel honoured to be blessed with such a huge presence! I know I do!"
He then tapped his rather large, blubber like chin in thought with his pen, before a clever smile spread across his face.
"Perhaps I should get him here at some point! I can have him, Ladybug, and Chat Noir all outside my home's front door! It would attract a lot of attention, possibly from all over the world! I could shake his hand and watch him do the same with my, uh, I mean, Paris's superheroes! It will mark an historical day in my life!" he cried as he sprung from his large swivel chair, heading over to his office door. Opening it, he found his secretary, his guards, and staff members of the hotel.
"Everyone, listen up! We've got a knight from Gotham in our city, and I feel it's best we make him feel welcome! Spread word through Paris that he shall be coming here with Ladybug and Chat Noir!" he ordered with a lot of glee in his aged voice.
His secretary raised her hand slightly in response. "I hope not to be a nuisance, sir, but how are we to contact the Batman? I mean, we don't even have the access codes to contact the Justice League itself" she pointed out, only to get a quick answer in response.
"We do what the police of Gotham do to contact him; we make our own Bat-Signal" Mr Bourgeois said, sounding almost as if he solved a complicated scientific question.
"But that could take days to build!" cried one of the staff members.
"Don't argue with me, just do it!" Andre snapped angrily.
The staff member recoiled. If there was one thing you DID NOT EVER do in Paris, it was argue with the mayor. Nodding, he decided to go ahead with the idea.
"OK then. I'll get the technicians to build one right away." he announced.
"Very good work old chap!" the mayor cried enthusiastically, "As for what we can have to make him welcome, we'll throw a party right here in my very hotel! We'll have big names, rich friends and lots of expensive wine and champagne to make this a night to remember. Batman oughta feel very welcome with a scene like that!"
"Rumour does have it that he's a rich man himself so yeah." the secretary muttered, "I hope you're not gonna go too overboard with this mayor. Think of how expensive the whole thing could be. You don't wanna throw all your net worth away just to get a picture with Batman."
"I know, I know! I'm not stupid!" Andre retorted rudely, "I'm aware of my financial limitations so I'll keep well into our budget. I'll get the writing staff to send out invitations immediately and then we can prepare for the big event itself. We'll have the party tonight and Batman will come, even if we have to force him to attend!"
"I dunno, don't you think that the Justice League will take that the wrong way if you display hostile behaviour like that to Batman?" another staff member asked, "All Batman has to do is tell and the entire league will declare us the bad guys."
Andre shot a death glare at the scrawny man who had dared to question his methods.
"WHO'S the mayor here?" he said coldly.
The man would've been tempted to say "Not you, that's for sure you fat bastard!" but that would've been suicide. Sweating nervously, he chose his words carefully.
"You are Mr. Bourgeois." he said meekly.
Andre smiled in delight, straightening his tie as it gotten a bit loos during his excitement.
"That's right. Now, do as your told and get everything ready. Before I have second thoughts regarding your position" he said in a quiet, yet intimidating voice.
Nodding in response, the staff member quickly left the room to help his colleagues organize the last minute welcoming party.
Mayor Bourgeois chuckled and rubbed his hands together as he retreated to his office, gazing out of a nearby large window.
"Heh, oh Paris my dear city, these next few days will be a time to remember in all of history" he noted as he continued his gazing...but little did he realise that another guest was about to make a huge arrival...there would be laughter and agony in his wake, like a demonic storm of cruelty and misery.
Later that day, news had gotten out that Mayor Bourgeois was hosting a big party tonight to celebrate Batman's arrival in sighting in Paris. Such a story would've been impossible to keep tightly under wraps. One of the first people to hear about it were the students in Marinette and Adrien's class. They had been listening to the radio at lunch time and the musical box had been telling the story of what the mayor had planned for tonight. The whole class had listened, completely awestruck at the news.
"...the media is all abuzz with the recent reveal that Batman of Gotham City has come to Paris and it seems that our very own Mayor Bourgeois is in on the excitement. He has reported that he plans to host a party at the Le Grand Paris, his very own hotel, in honour of the Gotham vigilante. He also hopes that he'll be able to meet the Batman himself and..."
Marinette, who had been sitting with Adrien, Alya and Nino, stopped listening. She could only scowl and roll her eyes at how shallow the mayor was being right now. It was just like the fat oaf to think of the euros he could earn instead of just being happy that Batman was here now. She stabbed her fork down on top of the croissant she'd been eating as if she had a grudge against the sweet pastry.
"Can you believe that mayor?" she said angrily, "Just like that guy to make a big scene just so he can get Batman on camera! He just cares about the profits he can make from Batman's stay, that's all!"
"No doubt Chloe's gonna flaunt it in our faces that her precious daddy's hosting a party for Batman." Alya sighed, "And I bet we're not invited."
"No doubt she'll want me to come but I'm obviously gonna say no to that." Adrien agreed, "I don't wanna be anywhere near her again after she got my bodyguard akumatized."
"Hey dudes and dudettes, how epic would it be if Batman decided not to come just to spite the mayor?" Nino suggested, fighting to keep himself from laughing out loud so he could speak properly, "That'd be like majorly hilarious am I right?!"
"I'd love to be there so I could film it and post it on the Ladyblog." Alya sneered, "Chloe would never live it down and she'd have some more chinks added to her armour."
"I don't agree with the whole party idea but I really wouldn't want Batman to just humiliate the mayor like that." Marinette said nervously, "What if the mayor takes it as a personal offence and kicks him out of the country? I don't think he's done what he needs to do yet so we can't let that happen..."
Nino nodded in agreement with her "Yeah, he's gotta be here for a specific reason after all. He might be great at a lot of things, but for all we know he's not finished the job" he pointed out to them.
"Or he could just send a letter to the mayor saying he can't attend as he's too busy on a mission. I mean, it would suit his mysterious style, cos it's Batman after all." Alya responded with a smirk, still ever so pleased to be happy over the footage she caught last night.
It was then that Lila and Nathanael came over, the pair of them holding their phones as they approached the foursome friends "Hey, are you guys having trouble with your phones?" Nathanael asked politely, having calmed down over what happened between him and Marinette months ago after the Evilustrator incident.
"Not that I've noticed, dude. Why'd you ask?" Nino responded with a curious hint in his voice.
"Our phones keep glitching, either when we're trying to ring someone or browse the web, nearly everything" Lila explained.
"Yeah, and we ain't the only ones. Alix and Kim are having trouble with their ones too" the red headed painter next to the Italian girl further explained.
Marinette and Adrien carefully brought their phones out, not wanting to pull Tikki and Plagg out by accident. Turning them on, they clicked on their internet apps and did some browsing to test them. They both shrugged in response.
"Mine's alright" Adrien informed.
"Yeah, same with me. You guys might need to get a better spot, could be a satellite signal" Marinette suggested, still being the kind person she was whenever her friends had a problem.
"We could give that a try. Thanks, Mari" Lika said gratefully as she turned on her heels, with Nathanael following closely.
Nino nudged Alya and winked "Could be some of Batman's gadgets doing a sweep of the area, you never know" he said, getting a joyful finger pointed at his direction .
"That's a clever thought, detective Nino" she teased, making him blush brightly.
It was then a thought came to Adrien. If Batman was only going to come out at night, and it only started getting dark around seven in the evening, perhaps he had time to have some company around for a few hours. He was quite lonely and Nino was the only one that had been in his house...of course though, Marinette and Lila had been in there once, but they were both Ladybug and Volpina at the times, so he had no clue about the former being in there previously.
"Hey, um, how about you guys come over for a bit after school?"
Marinette, Alya and Nino all looked genuinely surprised to hear this from the teen-model. It wasn't often he invited anybody over to his house though given the kind of person his father was, it was easy to see why. Maybe something was going on so now Adrien was suddenly more confident in asking people to come around. Maybe Gabriel was more accepting of guests now.
"Adrien I'd love to!" Marinette cried excitedly.
"No way dude, you're actually asking us to come over? Awesome!" Nino exclaimed.
"So what did you say to convince your dad to allow people to come over then?" Alya snickered teasingly.
"Let's just say he's starting to defrost a bit." Adrien said casually. "That and he's keeping me home until this whole thing with Batman has been settled." he added with a lot pleasure in his voice to mention such a thing.
Marinette flustered but mentally reminded herself that she'd need to keep up the facade of never having been into Adrien's house before. Then there was meeting with Batman a bit later on, but he would come out when it was dark, so hopefully she'd be able to break off around that time to transform into Ladybug. But her nerves also gotten the better of her.
"M-Mum and dad w-would be fine with it, they've always, uh, urged, egged on at me to pay you a visit!" Marinette stuttered, trying to ease her growing nerves at the very fact she was just invited by the boy of her dreams to go to his house.
Adrien resisted the urge to giggle, having always found Marinette to be very cute when she was like this. She was a bit of a mystery to him, given how confident she was around him when he, as Chat Noir, teamed up with her to bring down the Evilustrator, now she was getting herself all flustered and nervous in front of him.
The bluenette then took a deep breath and relaxed her nerves, putting on a brave face as she faced Adrien with a smile.
"Yeah, sounds great. After school, all of us?" she suggested, her voice trying hard not to break.
Alya and Nino rolled their eyes but smirked, having grown very aware of Marinette's love for Adrien. They then gave a nod to them both.
"I'm up for it. Always a pleasure to hang out with my bro more often" Nino said as he gave Adrien a high five.
"Well, I'm quite curious about the place. And I better keep an eye on Marinette so she doesn't let the fashion lover side of her get the better of her" Alya chuckled as she flashed a wink at Marinette, earning a giggle out of the rest of her friends.
Not far off from the school, the shopping centre, we return to our billionaire bat hero in disguise, Bruce Wayne, as he entered a public computer shop, where anyone could use a laptop, pad, or computer booths to do some browsing. It was a pretty good place, as quite a few people were socialising, either by talking about the latest news on the computers, doing an online game level, or any important business work. But Bruce was here to do one thing, and that was to browse the website of Paris's local taxi service.
Logging on inside an empty computer booth, Bruce clicked on the Internet icon and put in the website's browser, mentally thanking Alfred for having taught him loads of different languages when it came to using another country's piece of tech involving its native language. Remembering the number plate of the taxi as he reached the website, Bruce typed it in the search box.
"Hopefully I can get up its location after it dropped the Riddler off." the disguised hero noted to himself.
After typing in the number plate of the taxi the Riddler had used, TR 18O2Y, he stared intently at the screen as some search results came up. But as he was searching, he couldn't help but overhear something from the people who were around nearby. They were chatting about the news, namely the fact that the Mayor of Paris was hosting a big party. What he heard next was what he didn't want to hear.
"So Le Batman is in Paris now right?" one man said, speaking in one of the thickest French accents Batman had ever heard, "And le Mayor Bourgeois is hoping to meet heem tonight!"
"I doubt Monsieur Batman will come to his big party." another man said, his voice less accented, "What need would he have to want to come to a party he's hosting?"
"I'm sure the mayor will somehow convince him to come." a woman, tall and with dark hair said, "It'll definitely be one heck of a big event for Paris. Imagine how crazy ze press will go when they get photos of him shaking hands with le Batman!"
Bruce shook his head in disappointment. Couldn't these people ever take superheroes seriously? He thought those cartoons where Aquaman was portrayed as a moron and Wonder Woman was like a barbaric brute in them were insulting enough, now he was hearing the Parisian mayor wanted him to come to a party!? Surely the mayor would've at least tried to spread a message of thanks out via broadcast or at least issue a private meet up discussing his presence in Paris. Then again, Bruce felt he should've told Ladybug and Chat Noir to've passed some of the info over to the mayor, but now he was thankful he didn't do so. It appeared to Bruce that the "mayor" was nothing but an attention seeking and money grabbing buffoon. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a secret criminal alter ego either.
But what he heard next eased his nerves slightly, as he could now hear the voices of logic arguing against the dumbness of the idea.
"I'm not sure...Le Bat of Gotham is very serious about his work. Perhaps he could send Le bird or pigeon of his to pass a message of merci to le mayor instead, non?" A young man replied.
"But Superman is very serious about his work and he finds time to shake hands with other monsieurs" the tall woman reasoned.
"Oui, oui, he does, but even he needs to find time. I think we better be grateful Le Bat is here and taking care of something that could threaten us." the man responded.
"But you don't think he and zee League of Justice are going to stamp all over Ladybug and Chat Noir, non? I mean, what if they start coming here more and steal zee limelight from them?" A younger woman then suggested.
"I really don't think Ladybug and Chat Noir care about zee limelight, ma dearie. I bet you they are as pleased as some of us that he's here. And I doubt Le Justice League want Le limelight either" another young Parisian reasoned.
That was when Bruce mentally scolded himself. He forgotten to tell Ladybug and Chat Noir why the Justice League hadn't come over to France ever since they started taking up fighting crime. Next time he were to meet the young Parisian superheroes, he were to explain everything to them. He felt he should, otherwise they'd probably demand why they never helped out before.
But he had to put those thoughts aside as he looked back at the results on the website. What Bruce read next really surprised him and fully activated the detective cells in his brain: the website had managed to access CCTV footage from a nearby building. Watching it, Bruce realised it was around the same time he arrived in Paris and when Ape-Man attacked. He watched as he saw the man in his sights gotten into the taxi and drove it off somewhere. Scrolling down to the video beneath it, Bruce watched closely as this was the last confirmed sighting of the taxi.
"So the sighting of the taxi ends here..." he murmured to himself, "The Riddler must've gotten to his destination after that. If I can find out which taxi company that particular vehicle belongs to, I could ask some questions..."
He then typed something else into the search box. What resulted from this next search was a result showing him that the taxi with the number plate he had been looking for belonged to a company known as "Paris Service de Taxis", or the "Paris Taxi Service" in English. That was definitely a lead he had to follow. He could ask the owner of the taxi what his last stop had been last night and find The Riddler at last. It seemed this mission was going easier than expected.
Bruce allowed himself the rare luxury of a smile as he memorized the name of the company and stood up from the computer. He had no further need for it. But now he began to wonder something else. What about this party the mayor was hosting tonight? Should he go or should he ignore the invitation and just focus on The Riddler? He didn't want to come off as ignoring the mayor but he also knew that he had more important business to take care of then a simple party with a politician. But then another thought occurred to him: what if the Riddler was planning to launch an attack on this party? Given how much of a smart man he was, the Riddler might've booby trapped the whole place!
Glancing at his left wrist watch, Bruce saw that it was coming up to one o'clock in the afternoon, Paris time. Having greatly studied the time difference in Europe, Bruce knew that it was possible he could track the Riddler down before seven in the evening, as that's when the darkness would start sticking it's nose in. Surely he'd be able to get hold of him before he'd put any dastardly plan of his into action, as that welcoming party would be the perfect opportunity to do such a thing. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Bruce darted out of the room after logging off, having memorised the address of the taxi service.
But if Bruce wasn't in such a hurry, he would've captured the sight of a silver haired, unattractive old man smirking sinisterly at the shopping centre's main screen that was displaying the news of the mayor's welcoming party for Batman.
"Oh, what an opportune moment. Every party needs a comedian after all. I'll be the perfect man for the job." the Joker chuckled as he sunk away into the seas of shoppers flooding the shopping centre.
For Bruce, it was a ten minute fast walk to the Paris Service De Taxis' building. From what he could see, there weren't many staff members in, just four on a lunch break, while another just hopped into his cab and started doing his hours. Bruce watched as the man climbed into his taxi and thought about asking him about The Riddler's taxi. Maybe he had been the driver and he'd have the answers.
He walked over to the taxi and called out. The driver looked up, surprised to see somebody here who wasn't a staff member. He should be getting on with his duties but he supposed he could wait a while. Maybe this man wouldn't take too long. The driver leaned out of the window as Bruce approached.
"Do you speak English?" Bruce asked curiously.
The man shook his head. He spoke no English at all so Bruce decided to try again. He spoke in French this time, asking the man about the taxi labelled TR 18O2Y and what its last stop had been. Wayne spoke fluently in the country's native language so the driver understood every word. The man replied, but not the way Bruce had wanted him to. He didn't know about the taxi and where it had gone but he wasn't totally unhelpful. He explained to Bruce that he knew the driver, identifying him as "Alexandre Durand". Bruce was also informed that Alexandre worked night shifts and that he would have to come back later if he wanted to ask him.
Bruce nodded and he walked away from the driver, allowing him to leave in his vehicle. As the taxi drove away, the billionaire CEO muttered to himself.
"If I don't speak to Alexandre Durand before dusk, The Riddler might strike by now." he sighed, "I need to find him now, I can't wait until it's time for his shift."
So now Bruce knew what he would do next. He headed off out of the taxi company, hoping for a way to find The Riddler's taxi driver. Time was ticking and he was determined to hurry...
Meanwhile, in a familiar lair with its trademark butterfly window, the room was bathed in light as the window opened up. Butterflies scattered as light came into the room and chased the shadows away. A man in a purple suit with oversized black lapels and a cane was standing in the room, allowing the butterflies to fly around him as if enjoying their dance.
"Aaah, another day, another chance to get those Miraculouses..." Hawk Moth purred wickedly, "And given there's a third in France, I'll have three times the power I crave. Ladybug, Cat Noir AND Batman's Miraculouses will be mine!"
He then held out a hand, waiting for one of his many butterflies to come to him. One of them stopped its random dance and came fluttering over to Hawk Moth as if compelled to do so.
"And given the mayor's planning a party of some kind, chances are Batman will show up. And when he does, I'll know about it." the purple-clad villain crowed as the winged insect sat down in the palm of his hand, "My akuma will be an undetectable spy and I'll know what goes on at that party once it begins."
Hawk Moth gently clamped the butterfly into his gloved hands and summoned his magic, a purple glow emitting from his hands with smoke of the same amethyst colour seeping into his palms, transforming the poor little butterfly into another devilish akuma. Smiling in dark delight, Hawk Moth unclamped his hands and waved off the akuma as it fluttered off towards the window.
"Fly away my little devil. Be good a good spy in the sky and be ready to alert me when Batman returns!" He called as the purple demon fluttered out of the closing window.
Although it was about half an hour until school was supposed to end, the mayor had ordered it to close early so he could have Chloe return in time to get sorted for the welcoming party for Batman. In order to keep up a good image, the mayor had the rest of the school closed, so this allowed Marinette, Alya, and Nino to go to Adrien's house a lot earlier. As they headed towards the limo, Alya looked back at Marinette with a smirk.
"Think you can bare a few hours with Adrien? Your mom and dad pleased your making a bigger step?" She quietly teased, earning two red fiery cheeks from the bluenette.
"Yes, I'll be fine! Besides, mama and papa have been invited to the mayor's to make some cakes for the welcoming party." Marinette explained as they neared the limo.
"That must make them feel honoured." Adrien said brightly, "Being invited to bake cakes for a party like this, I can imagine how flattered they must be."
"They did sound very excited when they heard the news." Marinette said happily as the Gorilla opened up the limo for her and Adrien to get in.
As Marinette had gotten into the limo, she had noticed the Gorilla seemed to have a softer expression on his face. Maybe he was determined to redeem himself after what had happened last night that he was trying not to appear so monstrous. The half French, half Chinese girl liked this, it meant that something positive had come out of Hawk Moth's latest scheme for a change. Chloe being punished was the first step and the Gorilla looking friendlier looked to be another.
The four friends were soon seated inside the limo and the Gorilla climbed into the driver's seat so he could drive off home. Alya and Nino both admired the flashy interior of the stretched out vehicle, clearly impressed by it. There was mood lighting, which was currently blue in colour and shifting through various shades of the colour and a mini-bar that contained soft drinks and bottles of water, appropriate for young teenagers being taken for the ride. There was also a stereo system, something Nino noticed straight away, and a television though given the short ride home, it wouldn't be needed.
"I knew limos were fancy but this really takes the cake!" Alya cried.
"I wish I could come to school every day riding in this dude!" Nino blustered, still eyeing the stereo system.
"When you're as rich as my dad, you really do get the best toys." Adrien replied modestly.
That was something Marinette really liked about the teen-model. Despite the fact he was one of the richest kids in all of France, he always seemed so modest about it. It was as if he didn't care about the many euros that were spent on him or the fact he probably had many euros in his own account. Money was second nature to the blonde boy. All he seemed to care about was making friends and having a good time. If only Chloe was more like Adrien, then she'd see that money wasn't everything.
"So Adrien, what can we, uh, expect from your house? Is it as nice as Nino puts it?" Marinette bravely asked, trying her best to hide her nervousness, along with the obviousness of the answer she was about to receive.
"Heh, it's not overly posh and it's not like we go back to Victorian England times, so you won't need to switch to any serious house rules." the rich boy softly reassured with a chuckle.
"Wait till ya see his bedroom, it's the perfect combination of everything a teenager could ever want!" Nino exclaimed with his fists flying in the air in a joyful gesture.
"Only for boys, I bet." Alya retorted with a smug look of her own.
"Oh wait till ya see his posters of-MMFFF!" Nino was cut off as Adrien clamped his hand over his mouth, a panicked look over his fair features.
"No no no no, Nino, no!" He nearly screamed, his cheeks burning red.
This gotten Marinette a little curious. Sure she had been in his bedroom twice but she never recalled seeing any posters.
"Posters? What posters?" She asked innocently, though a tiny hint of jealousy in her voice.
Adrien rubbed the back of his head shyly as Alya gotten on her interviewer face "Confession time, Adrien." she pressed, wondering if Marinette was going to find herself at war with someone other than Chloe for his heart.
"You promise not to tell anyone, right?" He nervously asked as Nino's smirk grew bigger.
"Not a soul. It'll stay in the limo" Alya responded, continuing her act as an interviewer, while Marinette's heart grew colder with the tiny jealousy in her voice. But it all warmed up in a good way when she heard his answer "It's Ladybug, okay?"
Marinette fought off the urge to leap up out of her seat in total ecstasy. Adrien had posters of Ladybug in his room! That meant Adrien did have a thing for her after all! But then again, it was a case of him falling for the heroine she was and the mask she hid behind as opposed to the person she truly was. That made the schoolgirl-secretly-a-superheroine wonder if she should be happy or sad about this revelation. Maybe she should own up and reveal that she is Ladybug? But that made her worry on how Adrien would feel about that fact. He might dump her, ashamed that the girl behind the mask was a clumsy ditz who couldn't even speak a fluent sentence to him without feeling nervous. No, the secret had to remain, the gloves couldn't come off. Forcing herself to relax, Marinette responded.
"Wow, I'm glad to hear that Adrien." she said enthusiastically, "You're a Ladybug fan too?"
"One of many no doubt." Adrien replied, "Heh, heh, I'm sure Ladybug has lots of fans."
"Well you're sharing a limo with one of them already." Alya pointed out, "And Nino likes Ladybug too."
"Yeah, that's one of many things me and Alya have in common." Nino added, glancing over at his girlfriend with something close to admiration in his spectacled eyes.
"So that makes three Ladybug fans altogether." Adrien said cheerfully, "We may as well call ourselves the Ladybug fan club or something!"
"Make that four, I'm uh, a Ladybug fan too!" Marinette lied, smiling sweetly to try and hide it.
"That's great, Marinette! Guess we should call ourselves the Spotted Ones for Our Lady...or something less silly like that..." Adrien giggled shyly as he realised he made a bit of a bad joke...
"Your Chat Noir is showing again, Adrien!" his mind scolded him, reminding the rich teenager he shouldn't let his guard down too much.
Nino was giving him a baffled look. "Dude, that's the second time in the whole year you've made a totally bad joke" he simply stated, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"Ah, guess it's just you rubbing off on me with your nineties' quotes." Adrien retorted with a smirk, making Nino's eyes widen.
"Ohhh, burn, bro!" he exclaimed as he first bumped him.
Marinette giggled, actually finding Adrien's attempt at humour quite adorable. Even after nearly a whole year at school he was still trying to fit into the life and attitude of a proper student. That and his joke was a lot less cheesy than the likes of Chat Noir's and her father's.
Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the Agreste Mansion, where the Gorilla kindly led them out and escorted them to the front door, which he opened gently, so as to show he truly was a soft hearted gentlemen under that big exterior. Marinette let out a forced gasp along with Alya's genuine one as they came unti the hallway, taking note of how clean and well designed the place was. Marinette honestly didn't need to take much in, but given how she had more time to at least get a feeling off of it. It was majestic but...calm, the silver and grey being a nice touch of representing the void, but it was not empty. It was clear this place had seen happier times, but now it was more relaxed, appealing to both the posh and the normal people.
Leading them upstairs, Adrien led them into his multi-appealing room. Marinette now had more time to take a better look at the bedroom, which housed an arcade play booth, an air hockey desk, a surprisingly well built skateboarding ramp, a big computer section, and a built in upstairs room. There was also the door that led to his private bathroom quarters, where she thought she caught him in the shower several times in their last encounter.
"Heh, my my my, this is not what I was expecting" Alya noted as she took in her surroundings, before whispering to Marinette. "Though there could be a much cosier room upstairs." she winked, earning a nudge from Marinette.
"Oh Alya, not now, especially here of all places" she whispered back, before they both turned around to see Adrien smiling a little sadly, gaining concern from them.
"Adrien? Is everything okay?" Marinette asked worriedly.
"No no, nothing...it's just I really got these things because I always wanted to give my friends a treat when they come around. Now I've got you guys here" he explained, making it clear his soul was touched deeply here.
Marinette stifled her gasp slightly. She knew he always wanted to have friends but he was actually THIS lonely!? How long had he been waiting for this moment!? Years!? Well if he wanted friends to have fun in his awesome looking bedroom then why not!? Without stopping herself, Marinette walked over to him and did her hardest to put on a confident sided attitude. It was funny how much easier it was to put up this attitude when hidden behind a mask as Ladybug.
"You're not alone anymore Adrien. Let's have some fun." she said to him, a kind tone to her voice.
Adrien beamed so brightly that it looked as if he had suddenly become more animated and alive than ever before.
"Well there's plenty to do so take your pick!" he exclaimed, glad to finally be showing some genuine excitement and enthusiasm for once.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne had returned to his hotel room and opened up his communicator so he could talk to somebody back at Gotham. He had decided that if he was to find Alexandre Durand, he would contact the most valuable asset in terms of research and computers he could probably ask...Batgirl herself, Barbara Gordon. She was the daughter of Police Commissioner James Gordon and secretly operated as the female Batman expy known as Batgirl. She had once been forced to retire from that job thanks to The Joker putting a bullet in her spine but advanced medical technology had helped her to recover and now she was able to walk again. Despite being Batgirl once more, she still sometimes operated under her old alias, Oracle, in order to get information Batman required. Nobody could use a computer better than Barbara could. She was Gotham's greatest computer whiz, hacker and researcher all at once, making her one of Batman's most valuable assets in his crusade against crime.
And now she was needed to help find The Riddler's taxi driver. Bruce had informed her of what he knew so far and now she was using her intellectual skills to hack into the Paris Service De Taxi's computer database so she could find out all info on the staff that worked there.
"You do realize that I'm pretty much committing a crime right now right Bruce?" Barbara snickered.
"Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing if it means saving lives. We're only doing this for the right reasons." Bruce retorted.
"Of course, of course." Barbara replied, glancing back at the computer screen, "OK, few seconds more and...we're in!" she cried, "So you want the man named Alexandre Durand right?"
"Yes. He was the one who drove The Riddler to his destination. He'll know where he's hiding." Bruce replied.
Barbara nodded as she searched through the files she now had access too. With any luck, Alexandre's file would have the information Bruce required such as phone numbers, contact numbers and addresses. It was wrong to pry on such personal information but saving Paris from the Riddler was more important than playing saint right now.
Barbara beamed a bit as she gotten the results.
"Okay, I've got them. He lives not far from the city park, just two blocks away. The address is PR14AA. I'm uploading it to your mini pad now. So, are you going to confront him as Batman or in the disguise your currently wearing?" Barbara asked curiously as she uploaded the gained info and sent them to Bruce's pad via private messaging, keeping it hidden from any satellites looming over them in the atmosphere.
"Thank you, Barbara. I greatly appreciate it" Bruce responded with a hint of gratefulness in his voice as his pad beeped, telling him his message was received, "As for how I'm going to approach him, it's best I go as how I am ATM. It'll give me enough time to suit up once I'm done with him" he added as he looked at the address she sent to him.
"Good plan of action right there" she noted in response from her end, "Also, I managed to get hold of Wonder Woman and Zatanna. They've got info that might be helpful in us finding out more about these Miraculouses. We're planning to meet at the Gotham and Bludhaven border, civilian guises of course, just to stay safe." the brainy girl added.
That seemed to please Bruce, as it would be helpful for the Justice League should they encounter any threats relating to Hawk Moth or any of the other Miraculouses that are out in the world.
"Okay, tell me everything after you've met up with them. And be careful, Barbara." he urged, a protective tone in his voice. Bruce always blamed himself for what the Joker did to Barbara, given he wasn't out that night on patrol. If he had been aware of anything strange going on around Barabara's area, he would've gone dashing after her to prevent the Joker from carrying out his vicious attack.
"Your just like dad. Bruce, I know you blame yourself but you shouldn't. We've been through this loads of times." Barbara reassured, a calm and easier tone coming from her end, "Now get your butt off that expensive luxury and get some answers let the detective you are" she pointed out with a chuckle, making Bruce smirk in response.
He had to take his hat off to the redhead computer whiz, she knew how calm a person under such an intense moment and ease them of their worries.
"Alright. Take care, Barbara." he bid kindly.
"You too." she responded as she came off the com from her end.
Now her part in the search for The Riddler was done, Bruce switched off his mini pad and stood up from his bed. Barbara had given him a path and he was now going to take it. And then he would drag The Riddler back to Gotham, kicking and screaming if he had to. Bruce knew full well that the French authorities would probably get a little mad at him if he just dragged The Riddler back to Gotham as if he was some kind of criminal. So far, the puzzle master hadn't committed a crime in the country so the CGPD couldn't get him and the French police had no reason to arrest him. So Bruce knew full well he'd have to make The Riddler disappear from the country before anybody noticed he was even here at all. And he had an idea on how to go about that.
"First a stop to Durand...and then The Riddler..." Bruce murmured cryptically to himself as he left the room, locked up and headed on down the hallway.
As he went on his way, he briefly thought about the mayor's party. With any luck, he might actually be able to get there in time once he's completed his mission. He didn't want to be there but he also didn't want to make himself an enemy of the mayor. If he didn't show up, the politician might see it as an offence and ruin any relationships the JLA had with France. If he showed up late, he was sure the mayor would understand...
The Le Grand Paris hotel was absolutely packed.
As dusk was beginning to fall, hordes upon hordes of guests had arrived at the fancy establishment to attend this grand party that had been promised. There were political guests, celebrity guests and members of the press to film the big moment where Batman and Mayor Bourgeois shook hands and smiled for the camera, although some of the camera men had joked about if Batman was even able to smile for the camera given his supposed stoic personality. Everybody was dressed beautifully, wearing smart suits and lavish dresses that seemed to be competing with one another. Which outfit looked the best tonight was what the competition seemed to be among them. The grand hall was full of tables and chairs and there was the usual buffet table with nibbles and bite-sized treats for everybody to enjoy and as promised, more French champagne than the party possibly needed. It was the perfect scene for such a party and everybody was beginning to enjoy themselves.
There was one individual who wasn't in a good mood though. And that was Chloe Bourgeois. Ever since her father had punished her, she had refused to speak to him all day. That was the one thing that made Chloe so hated among anybody who knew her. She seemed unwilling to own up to her mistakes, always acting as if she's not the one at fault. Nothing was ever her fault in her eyes. Instead of well-deserved punishment, she saw only injustice and even now she was refusing to come out of her room to mingle with the guests despite her father pleading with her to come.
"Come on dearest, I'm sure Batman would love to have a photo with you too." Andre said feebly
"Who cares about stupid Batman?!" Chloe snapped angrily, "He's just here to make Ladybug look bad! We don't need that moody, pointy-headed creep in Paris and I certainly am not coming down to meet him!"
"You will do as you are told Chloe or I may have to punish you some more." the mayor warned, "And you know I hate punishing you so you better get yourself ready and come down to the party or else!"
For a moment there was silence, then she stamped on the floor, making the chandelier's shake a little.
"Alright, I'm coming! Only for Ladybug though!" she called, making the mayor sigh in utter relief.
He then looked around to see several guests looking shocked at what they just heard. Andre chuckled nervously and pulled his tie a bit.
"Oh, heh, just a shy daughter not sure on what to say to the Dark Knight, that's all" he reassured. Though they didn't look thrown off by it, the guests nodded their heads and returned to the others to socialise.
It was then that Marinette's father, Tom Dupain-Cheng, came over to the mayor, tapping his shoulder. Much like Adrien's bodyguard, Tom was a big Frenchman, his arms the size of punchbags! But he had such a soft personality that you would consider him a human sized version of the BFG. His moustache turned upright with his smile as the mayor turned to him.
"Ah yes, Mr Dupain-Cheng, what is it?" he asked politely, as he always loved the cakes he and his wife made.
"We've just finished the three big cakes you had ordered to be done, sir. Care to take a look?" Tom responded in a similar tone.
"Certainly! Can't wait to see what majestic craft of baking you've done this time, my good sir" Andre responded with excitement in his voice, following after the friendly baker to the kitchens...only for a pair of haunting eyes to trail after them.
"The kitchen...ah yes, that'll do just fine" the silver haired monster chuckled to himself as he then began to creep after a member of the kitchen staff, patting the knife in his pocket as he followed him down an empty corridor...
Back at the Agreste mansion, Adrien and his friends had gathered around the rich teen's television set to watch the news. They had all exhausted themselves playing with his toys and games and were now taking a break to rest up. They had put the news on because they wanted to see if Batman was indeed going to show up at the mayor's party. Alya and Nino seemed to be hoping he wasn't so that they could get the pleasure of laughing at the mayor's humiliation. The news story displayed scenes of the elegantly decorated hall with many people wandering around sipping champagne and waving at the cameras. Marinette, Adrien, Alya and Nino all recognized a few faces, including the famed rock star Jagged Stone, who was sitting at a table with his pet crocodile Fang and chatting to somebody. It wasn't at all surprising that Mayor Bourgeois had managed to get a lot of famous faces into his party. The wealthy could contact pretty much anybody they wanted.
"Look at that big party all nicely set up for Batman." Alya smirked, "It'll just make it more humiliating for the mayor when he doesn't show up."
"No doubt Chloe will get all mad about that!" Nino jeered.
"I've gotta say that this whole thing's a risky gambit." Marinette muttered, "I can only imagine how much euros were put into this party and it could easily blow up in the mayor's face! I sure hope the buffoon's ready to deal with the consequences if all this goes wrong."
"You know politicians Marinette, they can spin lots of things in their favour and try to make anything seem less bad. It's how they work." Adrien sighed.
Marinette nodded and glanced back at the screen. At least she could enjoy seeing her mother and father when they showed off the cakes they were making for the party. They had even promised to bring some home for their daughter to have herself and share with her class. That was one good thing that would result from the party if all went wrong. And all was about to go VERY, VERY wrong indeed...
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne was on his way towards Alexandre Durand's house. He had decided to take a taxi there so he wouldn't waste time travelling on foot. To avoid suspicion from the driver who had brought him here though, he had decided to get off at a stop close to the address he wanted to be at. He could walk the rest of the way easily. Dusk was beginning to fall so the streets were beginning to get dark. There was still enough light for Bruce to see without any need for a torch or an overhead street light. Soon it would be time for Batman to appear and he was already prepared for that. Once he was done with Durand, he would change costumes and swing into the night once more.
Shortly after turning two corners, Bruce found his destination after following the map on his pad. By the looks of it, Alexandre's place was not too bad, it had the odd graffiti there or two given it was on the end of a very busy street, and it had an odd choice of painting done to it. But Bruce's detective eyes allowed him to take notice that the taxi man's home had a balcony on it. Glancing around to see if the coast was clear, and indeed it was, Bruce pocketed his pad and sprinted towards the wall, taking three steps up the side of it, and thanks to his great height, he was able to get hold of the balcony's ledge.
Pulling himself up, Bruce made sure not to grunt or knock anything in case his prey was indeed inside. Just steadying himself for a moment, Bruce noticed the door to the inside of the house was opened ajar. Peeking his eyes through the gap, Bruce could see Alexandre sitting on his recliner chair, his dinner on a tray in front of him as he was watching the live news showing the welcoming party.
Being as silent as he could, Bruce slid the door open as slowly as he could. Seeing he had enough room to creep through, Bruce crouched down and made his way in, keeping his fists clenched as he knew a fight was about to occur. If there was to be a fight, he'd have to end it quickly and quietly, so as not to disturb the neighbours. Bruce approached the taxi driver, Durand not even noticing he had an intruder as he forked a snail on his plate and popped it in his mouth. But just as the man swallowed, he looked to his right. He had been about to glance over at the clock just to see what time it was. He would be needed for his night shift soon and he wanted to make sure he wasn't late. But what Durand saw instead was a man he had never met before standing over him with clenched fists.
"SACRE BLEU!" he exclaimed, almost leaping out of his chair in disbelief.
Bruce shot forward at lightning speed, appearing as nothing more than a blur as he moved towards his target. He put a hand over Alexandre's mouth, preventing him from yelling again. Last thing he needed was anybody nosing in to see what was happening.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." Bruce said softly, hoping that the tone of his voice would ease the man's nerves, "I'm not your enemy. I need to ask you something that could save lives if you cooperate."
Durand wasn't sure if he should answer this man. On the one hand he had broken into his home and was now preventing him from speaking. On the other hand, he said he wanted to ask something that could save lives. Maybe he was a good guy and just needed help? Nodding, Alexandre decided to cooperate. Bruce took his hand away so he could speak.
"Very well monsieur, what do you want?" he asked cautiously.
"It is my understanding that you took a man named Edward Nygma somewhere last night." Wayne replied, "Where did you take him? You're a taxi driver so you must have the address or else you wouldn't have been able to take him there."
Alexandre froze in horror. This man knew about his boss! What would the Riddler do if he found out he'd squealed on him? The Frenchman was now reluctant to cooperate.
"I...I don't know who you're talking about!" he stammered, "I don't know who zis Edward Nygma person is!"
"Do you want me to decide that I'm your enemy after all and hurt you?" the disguised superhero threatened.
Alexandre had second thoughts the second he heard that dangerous rise in his voice, and sweated a little bit as he realised it was best not too cross this man's temper.
"Okay, I'll talk, I'll talk!" he cried just above a whisper, waving his hands pleadingly in fear.
Bruce gave him a nod and his gaze hardened "Go on then, but make it quick" he said in a stern tone.
Just as Bruce was being informed on The Riddler's whereabouts, the party at the Le Grand Paris was about to unveil one of its main attractions.
Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng strode into the grand hall together with the cakes that Mayor Bourgeois had tasked them with baking for the big nightly event. The two bakers had clearly put their all into it for the cakes were enormous, all three of them easily larger than the mayor himself. In fact, they were larger than everybody who had been invited to the party tonight. One cake was decorated with red icing and had black icing spots all over. A ribbon carrying Ladybug's masked features was tied around the middle, clearly showing who this cake was for. The second cake was decorated with black icing and had yellow icing paw prints tattooed all over the huge dessert. That cake had a ribbon with Cat Noir's face on, advertising the fact that cake was for him. And the third one was not only taller than the Ladybug and Cat Noir cakes, but coloured with grey icing with black icing around the top and carried the face of Batman on a ribbon around the middle.
It was quite clear that the purpose behind these cakes was to honour the local heroes of Paris and to welcome Batman into the country. Andre looked pleased to show them off as Tom and Sabine stood by them, displaying the cakes in all their glory. They looked very proud of their handiwork.
"Appetizing looking cakes aren't they?" Andre said proudly to a cameraman who was focusing his camera on the giant desserts behind him, "And all for the heroes of Paris and our American guest hero, Batman! And to think this was my idea too!"
Tom and Sabine rolled their eyes behind, as he never came up with the design styles for the cakes. Still, they weren't about to storm off in an angry fit, because that would make them look wrong in the eyes of the public. And of course, they weren't the only ones rolling their eyes, as Adrien, Marinette, Alya, and Nino rolled their eyes as they watched the event from Adrien's bedroom TV.
"There we go, a glimpse of our beloved mayor's true colours" Alya noted in mock enthusiasm.
But of course, they all failed to notice the purple devil floating near the camera's view, as the akuma was helping Hawk Moth oversee the events of the night. The purple suited villain frowned from where he was watching this inside his lair via the telepathic link he had with the corrupt butterfly.
"How odd. The mayor is being the fat buffoon he is, but no sign of the heroes. This better not be a waste of time" he muttered, clearly showing he didn't want to be disappointed this night.
But as everyone watched, or in Bruce's case, overheard, the following events, the camera caught sight of a silver haired middle aged man, dressed in the uniform of an assistant chef, making a creepy smirk as he gazed down at the cakes, an evil look in those haunting, cold eyes of his.
The man laughed briefly as he then pulled something out of his apron pocket. It was some kind of remote device that was clearly meant for something but if anybody was looking at him and seeing it, they would be puzzled as to what it was for. The man pressed a button on the remote. For a moment, nothing happened as if the button wasn't even meant to do anything at all.
And then the three cakes all exploded at once, blowing the mayor and both Tom and Sabine off their feet. Anybody else standing nearby was knocked over by the blast too. The explosion was surprisingly loud, so loud that all the windows in the hall shattered and the chandeliers above fell to the ground and smashed into a thousand pieces after being shaken too much by the force of the blast. Some of the guests were hurt or cut badly by the broken glass and others were still reeling from the explosion that had knocked them off their feet. Showers upon showers of cake rained down over everybody, making a terrible mess. Cake, glass and blood was everywhere. Amazingly enough though, nobody had been killed by the attack. At the most, there were people injured either mildly or critically but no deceased bodies were around.
Over in the Agreste mansion, the four teens had watched with horror as the cakes had exploded. But nobody was more horrified than Marinette herself. She had gone rigid and pale with horror as she watched her parents get blown away.
"MOM! DAD!" she shrieked, leaping out of her chair.
At the party, everybody began to panic. The room was filled with screams of terror as people gesticulated and cried out wildly and for those who were actually able to stand up again, they began to run for their lives. But they couldn't go anywhere for the doors all magically seemed to lock themselves. The silver-haired man was doing that too, using his remote device to seal all the doors. Everybody was trapped in the room with nowhere to go and no means of escape. The hall was too high up for anybody to climb out the window so that wasn't an option. Tom got up on his knees and cradled Sabine gently, the Chinese woman barely conscious. The mayor, who was lying next to a very bloodied Chloe Bourgeois, sat up and stared as the man who had caused the whole chaos seemed to tear his own face off. It wasn't his actual face of course, only a latex mask that the Dollmaker had supplied for him. In a matter of seconds, the magic trick was completed. The silver-haired man was no longer standing there. Instead, there was only The Joker, back in his normal clothes and skin colour and laughing like a demented hyena.
Bruce had glanced over at the television and he and Alexandre both watched as The Joker revealed himself. The sight of the Clown Prince of Crime made Bruce's blood run cold.
"No..." he whispered, "Not him..."
The Joker laughed some more and then turned to the terrified camera man, a dazzling, creepy smile spreading across his white face.
"The Joker is here Frenchies!" he loudly announced, clearly pleased with himself, "And he's here to get the party started! AH, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! And now, I want somebody to answer a question for me..."
He came closer to the camera so now his face filled up the whole screen. His cryptic question was going to be broadcast all over Paris, so every Parisian heard these single words uttered by the clown criminal.
"Where. Is. BATMAN?!"
Well Batman, looks like your trip to France just got worse...
The Joker is causing a scene and all of France is watching! What will happen when Batman, Ladybug and Cat Noir come to challenge The Joker?
Tune in next time as the fight commences in a three-on-one battle to save France...