Marinette gasped as she saw the card flying towards her.
Alya pushed Marinette out of the way. "Watch out!"
"Alya?!"
The auburn haired reporter was hit with a card. She got up from the ground, went up to Simon Says and bowed to him as if he was a king. Marinette continued running.
"Chase her and bring her to me." Simon commanded.
As Alya followed his command, Simon Says also chased after Marinette while throwing cards with pause signals on them.
"Why is Simon Says after me?" Marinette asked while running.
Tikki briefly popped out of Marinette's purse. "Save your breath, Marinette!" She looked around, and pointed to an alley before closing Marinette's purse. The bluenette continued running from Simon Says and his brainwashed servant, Alya.
"You can't run forever, Marinette!" Simon Says exclaimed. He saw a lot of people around him. He got out several cards. "Simon Says, you're all my servants!"
He threw cards at the civilians and Marinette jumped behind a dumpster. Everyone got hypnotized but her.
"We can transform now!" Tikki exclaimed.
Marinette looked around herself, seeing several victims under his control, including Alix, Kim, Max and Sabrina outside the alleyway. She was nervous, as she felt her heart still pounding. She wiped some sweat off her forehead and breathed out. "But won't I be seen?"
"They're under Simon Says' control. Nobody will know, care or remember the transformation."
She didn't hesitate any further. "You're right. Tikki, spots on!"
Marinette transformed into Ladybug. She got out her yoyo and called for Cat Noir. Meanwhile, Adrien was playing some video games when suddenly Plagg started vibrating.
"Hello?"
"Cat, I need your help. I'm at the park over nearby Francoise Dupont. Simon Says has hypnotized an army of servants." Ladybug quickly answered.
"Oh no. He's probably after Gabriel Agreste again." He sighed. Marinette had thought of mentioning that Simon targeted her instead of going for his dad, but she decided not to. "Alright, I'll get the others." He put Plagg down before saying, "Plagg, claws out!"
Adrien turned into Cat Noir. He called for a video chat with the trio, with the results of successfully contacting Jade Ninja and Renard.
Jade was the first to respond. "Hey Cat, what's up?"
"You rang?" Renard asked.
"Simon Says has returned. I need you guys to meet up with us at the park nearby Francoise Dupont."
"Got it."
"Roger that."
The three young men met up with Ladybug in the park over nearby the statue of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The feline superhero was the first to arrive, quickly followed by Jade Ninja and a few seconds later, Renard entered the park.
The ninja turtle noticed Abeille's absence. "Where's Abeille?"
Cat Noir was about to say, "I don't know", but Ladybug raised her finger and answered, "Her civilian form is among the many victims of Simon Says."
"She's been hypnotized in her normal form." Renard sighed. "I guess I can't blame her for that..."
Cat Noir looked around, trying to find the akumatized villain. "So where is Simon Says?"
He entered the park with his servants by his side. "Right here! Tell me where Marinette is and I won't have to hurt you!"
"You're too late, Simon! Marinette's already run off to a safe place! You'll never find her!" Ladybug proclaimed.
"Well then, back to the original objective; taking your Miraculouses!" He got out his cards. "Simon Says, get them!"
"Uh oh..." Renard muttered.
The servants charged towards them. Renard and Cat Noir spun their weapons around, defending them from incoming threats. Ladybug spun her yoyo, knocking down his servants while Jade Ninja extended his shield, trying to protect himself. Whenever servants approached him from the other side, he punched and kicked them away from himself.
"Simon Says, you'll hand your Miraculouses to me!"
He threw those cards at the superheroes, but they swiftly dodged his magical evil cards. He continued throwing more of them at the quartet.
Jade Ninja had completely covered himself with his shield as if he was an actual turtle who rejected into his shell. "Got any ideas?" he called out from under his shield.
Renard was fending off his servants with his flute.
"Cat Noir, use your Cataclysm on the ground!" Ladybug ordered.
"Got it! Cataclysm!"
He summoned the power of destruction to his right hand. He aimed it at the ground, causing a minor earthquake.
"Now jump!"
Renard and Cat Noir listened and did what she said. She jumped to avoid the earthquake. Simon Says and his servants were all rattled by the minor earthquake and they fell to the ground. Jade's shield vibrated heavily, banging against his head. It retracted to its default size. Unfortunately, Jade Ninja was disoriented as a result. Ladybug grabbed his card deck and ripped cards until she found the akuma. She purified it and everything went back to normal. Well, everything except Jade being disoriented.
"I'll take him back to his home. His folks are probably wondering where he is."
Cat Noir grabbed Jade's arm and helped him up. Using his staff, he propelled them forward to Nino's place.
"Cat, why are you helping me?" Jade asked.
"You're my friend, Jade. Also, you kinda banged your head on your shield trying to defend yourself."
"How was I supposed to know that you were going to use Cataclysm? Also, I didn't even think it could be used on the bare uncovered ground!" Jade Ninja retorted.
"It's alright. You're new, so I'll cut you some slack. Just try to get some rest."
"Thanks dude."
He led Jade to his bed. "Here we are."
"Thanks man, whoever you are under the mask."
Cat Noir went out the window and returned to the mansion. Numerous weeks later, a few days before school was to start, Adrien decided to help Marinette if she needed a model for fashion designing. He saw her looking at a picture of herself and her parents.
"You really miss them, don't you?"
She looked at him, turned away and sighed. "Not only that, I feel bad about lying to them."
"Lying? How have you been lying to them?"
"I told them that I was living at Alya's place instead of yours, and I keep having to make excuses for why I can't see them."
Adrien looked at her curiously like a cat. "How close are your parents to finishing the bakery?"
"They're almost done with the store, although it'll take much longer to repair the residence and refurbish the entire place." She sighed. "They also don't know that we're dating, and despite the importance of secret keeping, I'm also feeling bad about having to hide that I'm Ladybug from them. Should I tell them? What should I say to them?" She looked at her boyfriend. "Don't get me wrong, it's a dream come true living alongside my one true love and getting fashion tips from my role model Gabriel, but..."
"You're feeling homesick." She turned to him. "The way you feel right now is similar to how I felt after mom disappeared. Although my family is now finally together, yours seems to be drifting." He thought to himself silently for a moment. "How about, some time in the near future, the four of us go to Cafe Blanc and catch up over a meal?"
"I like that idea. I don't have to tell them I'm Ladybug, but if tell them everything else, I'll feel better about all this."
She felt bad about hiding that detail from him, but she tried to dismiss it.
Hawkmoth couldn't possibly be after me, right?
If only she had known just how wrong she was.