Marc, Nathaniel, and their beloved art club were in danger, and Marinette couldn't just sit outside and cry about it.
Marinette's fellow students were clearing out; some were distressed that Marc and Nathaniel were the subjects of the latest Akuma attack. She knew she was a powerless human and should head to the safe area with her friends. Still, Marinette couldn't leave Marc and Nathaniel alone after everything they had been through.
She would be back safe with her friends later! She could run in and take them home safely with the school building mostly cleared out. But as Marinette focused all her courage on running inside the building, someone harshly grabbed her wrist.
Marinette turned, and her bluebell eyes had an unapologetic glare when she saw it was Felix who grabbed her. The look on his face wasn't very warm, along with his peridot eyes darkened.
"Come with me," he said blankly. "I will save you from those Akumas."
Marinette was wondering if Felix was asking to get slapped again. She was this close to going absolutely feral on him as he pulled her closer, but before she could react, a few of the girls grabbed hold of Felix and pulled him away from her.
"What?" Marinette cried under her breath as she saw Felix being annoyed by some angry girls grabbing him.
"Stop this right now Felix! Marinette isn't interested!"
"Huh?" Marinette cried as she turned around. "Alya?!"
Alya placed her hand on her hip and smiled at Marinette, and Marinette's blue eyes sparkled in response.
Alya walked up to Marinette, and Marinette was trying hard not to cry. It was almost enough to forget that their school was in danger for a moment.
"I'm sorry I pushed you into this Marinette. I just wanted you to be happy, and I guess I overdid it. It wasn't a very 'best-friend' thing to do," Alya said.
Marinette felt so much joy in her heart, but the girls were so busy punishing Felix that she couldn't respond yet.
"Yeah! We're sorry Marinette!" One of the girls cried.
"We weren't thinking!" Another girl chimed in.
"It was absolute tunnel vision!" Another girl added.
Marinette sniffed. "Oh girls! Oh Alya…Thank you!"
Marinette and Alya took a moment to hug, but then Marinette got rooted back to reality with the sound of a crash.
Marinette turned back to the art club and clenched her fist against her heart. With no more objections, she ran inside the main building, and Alya couldn't catch her in time.
"Mari!-"
"I'll be right back Alya! I promise!" Marinette cried as she disappeared into the building.
A few of the girls got beside Alya, and they couldn't comprehend how Marinette could be so reckless.
"Marinette, no…"
The hallways felt different as she ran up the ramps to the third floor. It was a surreal experience not having the obnoxious remarks of high school students fill her ears and rot her brain.
But Marinette felt herself slowing down when she finally reached the hallway where the art club was. Everything felt peaceful and quiet in the hallway, with sun rays filtering through the windows; it almost felt eerie. But Marinette could faintly hear Nathaniel and Marc's turmoil, and she started to feel scared.
Marinette kept taking steps forward as she was about to open the door, only for her to nearly freeze up completely when Viperion appeared from the corner of the hallway. His eyes went completely wide, and his mouth dropped when he found himself face-to-face with her.
"Marinette!" Viperion cried almost a bit too loudly.
Marinette quickly placed her hand over her mouth. "Viperion!" She whispered.
Yes, Marinette knew the teenage heroes would give her a scolding for putting herself in the line of danger…
But for some reason, she felt she needed to be here…
Viperion frowned at her and wasted no time to gently grab her wrist and take her a few steps away from the art club room.
Marinette couldn't help but blush and think about the garden snake's gentle touch, even if the situation was severe.
"You shouldn't be here!" Viperion whispered to her as loudly as he could.
Marinette frowned and looked away, feeling slight shame. "I know.." She whispered.
"But Nathaniel and Marc are part of the art club; I couldn't stay away if the Akumas are tormenting them…."
Oh god, if Viperion could only tell Marinette how beautiful she was to him, but such beauty in the world needed to be protected. He was only upset that Marinette was being so reckless; he could never be angry at her for being a beautiful flower in a world full of turmoil.
Viperion gently cupped her face with his hand, and Marinette couldn't help but feel lost in Viperion's mint-green eyes.
"Stay here," Viperion said gently. "I'm supposed to be a hero that will protect you, not the other way around."
Before Viperion could pull away, Marinette caught him off guard by cupping his cheek with her hand. The snake hero could swear he could feel a gravitational pull between them.
"Please save Marc and Nathaniel," Marinette cried. "And please be safe!"
Marinette and Viperion felt their faces heat up with a soft pink blush, but they pulled away to catch their breath.
"I swear I will," Viperion gave her his most earnest promise before summoning his harp and turning for the art club door. Marinette could only stand there starstruck as she silently prayed that everything would be ok.
As Viperion, Luka could walk into any situation since having powers made an ordinary person feel more confident. He opened the door and prepared himself.
"Stay back!" Marc and Nathaniel cried in unison.
Ever since his master chose him to be the holder of the snake Miraculous, Luka had to expect the unexpected. And he wasn't expecting to have to dodge giant paint splatters coming from two akumatized boys.
It was strange, even if Luka faced much worse. The windows in the art room were broken, the floor had noticeable cracks, and all the colors in the art room were fading into grayscale. Marinette's two friends, Marc and Nathaniel, also had their colors faded into grayscale, and they both looked absolutely tormented.
"We need to protect the art club…." Nathaniel said in a tortured tone.
"The air club belongs to us…." Marc cried. "No one can take that away from us!"
Viperion felt his heart drop. Sure, this was nothing new to him, but being a superhero meant he felt his heart swell seeing the effects of akumatization. How whoever had the power of the akumas absolutely adored torturing people with so much pain in their hearts.
Viperion held his harp up and ran his fingers through the strings.
"Hey you two!" Viperion cried. Marc and Nathaniel stopped levitating art supplies and took notice of the snake hero.
"Please…" Viperion cried as he started playing his song. "Listen to my song and try to see the light."
Marc and Nathaniel gasped as Viperion's magical melody circled around the room as Viperion played with all his heart. The colors on the walls were starting to return, and the two akumatized boys were taken aback by Viperion's beautiful song.
As Viperion saw the two boys come to their senses, his green eyes glowed as he tried to purify them. Still, Marc and Nathaniel cried out in agony again. Viperion knew that whoever was controlling the akumas was being persistent and told them this wasn't over yet.
"We won't give up! We won't lose the art club to bullies!" Marc and Nathaniel cried in unison.
This time Viperion missed dodging the paint tubes and chalk that hit him in the face. But Viperion held his harp close to him, not ready to give up yet.
"Please…Let my melody reach your heart…."
But the akumatized Marc and Nathaniel looked even more aggressive as their eyes glowed red and looked as if they were truly ready to hurt Viperion.
"No! Stop!"
Viperion's heart nearly stopped when he heard her. Marinette ran in front of him and held out her arms to shield him.
"Marinette!-" Viperion cried.
"Marc! Nathaniel! Please stop! This isn't you! You can't do this!" Marinette cried desperately.
Marc and Nathaniel's expressions softened, and their stances became less aggressive.
"Mari?" The two boys cried in unison. Their voices sounded normal as if they weren't still akumatized.
Marinette nodded, trying not to let tears pour from her eyes. "Yes it's me! I'm here to help you two!"
Despite her pleading, Marinette looked down when she heard the sound of the ground cracking from under her.
"No!" Marinette cried as she fell to her knees. "Please!"
Viperion couldn't bring himself to move at the sound of Marinette's sincerity, even if he was supposed to take down the Akuma menace by any means before the world fell into darkness.
But he needed to hear what Marinette had to say.
"This art club is important to all of us!" Marinette cried. She was still on her knees as she lifted her head and let the tears fall. Viperion nearly dropped everything to wipe away those tears he saw for the first time, but he had to stay professional.
"And they can't take that away from us!" Marinette cried before slowly getting to her feet again. "I won't let them take that away from us!"
Both akumatized boys were stunned by Marinette's words. Viperion knew he shouldn't let Marinette get close to them, but he couldn't bring himself to speak as she moved closer.
"So please…" Marinette said as she reached out to both of them.
To Viperion's surprise, Marc and Nathaniel were also reaching out as if their humanity was returning. They both desperately cried Marinette's name, and Marinette pulled the two boys close to her to hug them.
"Please come back," Marinette said. "Because this school needs artists like both of you."
Viperion still couldn't speak. Instead, the snake hero's heartbeat thudded and made his body feel warm, and he couldn't help but run his fingers through the strings of his harp. His musical melody filled the room and caused everything to change back to normal. Colors on the wall returned, cracks on the floor were disappearing, and the art supplies were almost as good as new.
And when Marinette heard Viperion's soothing harp song again, she felt her heart beating in rhythm as she held Marc and Nathaniel more tenderly and whispered to them that everything would be ok.
Viperion couldn't help but smile as he continued to play his song. A beautiful song he was lost in and could play for hours if he could. With the beautiful melody and Marinette's gentle embrace, the two boys were starting to open their eyes.
"Cataclysm!"
Viperion's heart nearly jumped out of his chest with the sound of a familiar voice. Chat Noir used his secret power to break a decent size hole into the art club room from where he was scaling the building outside. Marinette was so rattled by the event that she nearly lost her voice screaming, and she held onto Nathaniel and Marc for dear life.
After all this time of keeping a cool head and being a professional hero, Viperion was about to lose his temper with how the art room looked even worse than it was before. Chat Noir peaked through the giant hole he created, looking concerned.
"I'm here! Where's the danger? You didn't keep tabs with me, Viperion!" Chat Noir cried.
Nathaniel and Marc slipped from Marinette's arms and turned to Chat Noir looking even more pissed off.
"Our art room!" The two of them cried in unison as they rapidly tossed art supplies at the black cat. And Marinette didn't bring herself to stop the boys this time because she was too busy being absolutely heartbroken that a hole was inside their art room. She fell to her knees and started crying.
"Whoa! Whoa! I'm sorry!" Chat Noir cried as he dodged half the art supplies and got pelted by the other half. "Viperion can fix this place up with his special powers!"
Viperion stifled a grunt, thinking that Chat Noir shouldn't speak on his behalf. And there was a record of the number of times Viperion used his powers to fix up his screw-ups.
After enough agonized yells from the akumatized Marc and Nathaniel, the hero with the turtle Miraculous Carapace appeared through the hole in the wall just in time with a magical shield. But he only prevented more art supplies from being hurled; he didn't stop Chat Noir from nearly falling off the wall.
"It's ok gentleman, there is no need to use violence," Carapace said. Then he turned and gave an assuring smile to Viperion. "Ok bro, you know what to do."
Viperion was still annoyed that Chat Noir killed the mood, even if it was another one of his honest mistakes. But Marinette wiped away her tears and took Marc and Nathaniel's hands, and turned to smile at Viperion even if her tears weren't completely dry yet.
"Please Viperion," she said sweetly. "Please play me your beautiful song."
There was an intense pink blush under Viperion's mask, and he smiled warmly at her and summoned his harp again.
"Yes Marinette."
Viperion tried his best to remember those feelings in his heart that made him play that once-in-a-lifetime melody he played before. He wasn't sure if it was quite right, but Marinette closed her eyes and smiled as his sweet melody filled her ears. After a few moments of being moved by Viperion's song, she squeezed Marc and Nathaniel's hands tenderly.
Marinette was so busy letting her thoughts flow as she listened, and Viperion was super busy composing a melody that they didn't notice Marc and Nathaniel coming to their senses and the evil butterflies releasing from their bodies.
Viperion opened his eyes as the Akuma butterflies tried to make an escape and find new victims.
"Heal under the power of my song evil Akumas!" Viperion cried.
The magical musical notes purified the akumas into beautiful butterflies. Marc and Nathaniel were busy wondering what had occurred while they were out of it. Still, Marinette was in awe of seeing Viperion purify the world of evil and turn Akumas back into butterflies.
One of the butterflies flew to Marinette for a moment and fluttered in front of her face before flying away. The other butterfly flew to Viperion, and he held out his hand and smiled before the butterfly joined its companion. The two butterflies flew out of the building from that giant hole Chat Noir made from the wall.
A hole in the wall ruined this beautiful moment of evil being defeated! Marc and Nathaniel were already worried about the future of the art club, but now they were practically screaming at the sight of their art room being ruined.
"Oh my god, what happened to the art room?!" Marc cried.
Marc was practically shaking from his own shock, and Nathaniel looked like he was about to lose his mind with all the other damages inside the art room and all the art supplies on the floor.
"We were only trying to protect the art club! How could we let this happen?!" Nathaniel cried.
"Why must this happen to us?!" Marc cried.
The two boys couldn't help but start crying as they both pulled each other into a hug, and then Chat Noir and Carapace quickly ran over to console the two boys.
"Don't worry! Viperion has the power to fix your art room; it will look good as new!" Carapace said.
Chat Noir grinned. "Yes! Viperion has the magic touch! Paris would be in ruins if not for him!" He took a moment to give a thumbs up and wink at Viperion, who still looked slightly annoyed.
Carapace promptly wrapped his arms around Nathaniel and Marc. "Come on! Let me get you two gentlemen out of here while Viperion works his magic!" Marc and Nathaniel couldn't object as Carapace gracefully jumped out of the hole in the wall with them. Just when Marinette thought she could breathe, she went blue in the face. But Viperion placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
"Don't worry, they're safe. Carapace is a very trustworthy man," Viperion said.
Marinette smiled in return, and Chat Noir couldn't help but look at the two of them in amusement. But after another moment of Viperion and his little civilian friend totally not being lost in each other's eyes and enjoying each other's presence, Chat Noir cleared his throat before clapping his hands together.
"So," Chat Noir said with a smile. "How should I help with rebuilding this art room? It's the least I can do!"
Viperion couldn't help but chuckle for a moment. "You could help by destroying the homes of anyone who thinks art programs should lose funding," he said half-jokingly.
Marinette couldn't help but giggle, and Viperion couldn't help but feel his heartstrings play a beautiful tune with how adorable her laugh was.
"Or, I could pay for renovations,"
Marinette gasped as she and Viperion turned to see Felix by the door, looking displeased. Viperion couldn't help but glare at the arrogant blonde rich boy; his normal snake senses were more than cold right now.
"Hello Mari…" Felix said.
Marinette groaned in disgust as she raised her arm to defend herself. Viperion held his harp up as if he would hit Felix over the head with it.
"Leave this place!" Marinette spat.
Viperion's body language was enough to show him communicating, "Listen to this young lady and fuck off rich boy!"
Felix smiled coyly. "But I can pay for the repairs, and your art room would look better than ever. Your school would be just like that fancy art school."
Marinette couldn't even think of that possibility without being disgusted. She was shaking with anger because of Felix's arrogance.
"No!" Marinette cried before her bluebell eyes burned at Felix. "You can't buy our art club Felix!"
She stopped and picked up a broken ruler that was at her feet. "Besides, I like this art club just the way it is."
Felix chuckled and walked up to Marinette with his hand over his heart. "Oh Mari, don't be so closed-minded!"
But before Felix could even hope to grace Marinette with his presence again, Chat Noir got in front of Felix like a speeding bullet. He gave Felix a displeased look.
"You heard the lady! She isn't interested in your self-righteous charity. And I know from experience that sometimes generous offers have selfish motives," Chat Noir said.
Felix came off as so offended, wondering what this sneaky cat had anything to know about giving money to a noble cause.
"Besides, she is Viperion's assistant in helping rebuild the art room, and I can't have an innocent civilian standing around the construction area." Chat Noir gave a devious grin as he finished talking.
"What?!" Felix cried.
Chat Noir swiftly picked Felix up and threw him over his shoulder. Despite loud protests from Felix, Chat gleefully headed for the entrance he had created.
"Out we go! Through the hole in the wall!" Chat Noir cried.
Felix took a moment to punch Chat in the back a few times, but Chat Noir only responded with a few annoyed groans.
"You annoying creature!" Felix cried.
Chat Noir gave Felix a sly grin. "Try to relax sir; this trip will only take a few seconds."
Suddenly Felix went pale, but Chat merely winked at him before jumping out of the hole, causing Felix to scream. Marinette had to admit it was kind of satisfying, and Viperion had to stifle a chuckle.
"Going down!" Chat cried.
The students were busy consoling Marc and Nathaniel as Chat Noir fell on the grass with Felix in his arms. Felix felt dizzy as Chat Noir sat him down on the grass, and Chat Noir couldn't help but laugh a little.
"You have been a pleasant passenger sir!" Chat Noir said. "Here! Let me fix your hair for you!"
Before Felix could protest, Chat Noir "fixed" Felix's smoothed hair by swiftly running his clawed hands through it. Soon Felix cried in protest, and nobody in the front of the school had qualms for him.
And Marinette's heart was thrilled to be alone with Viperion, even in the destroyed art room. As Marinette checked the damages, Viperion summoned his harp, and Marinette turned as he smiled at her.
"Well, now we can finally fix this art room," Viperion said.
Marinette smiled, but she did ponder.
"Oh Viperion, I'm not sure how I can help! You guys are the ones with the cool powers that you use to make the world a better place."
Viperion walked up to her, and Marinette could feel her heart race.
"Yes, but you have a melody in your heart, and that's how you can help me," Viperion said.
With his powers, his harp lit up beautiful crystal rainbow colors, and he gently took her hand.
"You know what to do," he said.
He led her hand to the harp strings, and Marinette ran her fingers through Viperion's harp, playing a gentle tune. The beautiful rainbow musical notes surrounded them, and Marinette felt lighter as she watched the power of creation fill the room. Marinette felt she was taken to a better place as she saw the entire art room change back to normal right before her eyes.
She couldn't speak for a moment; her heart was overflowing. Marinette had to rush to the other side of the room to check the art supplies. Seeing everything back where it belonged, she couldn't contain herself anymore.
"Viperion this is amazing!"
Viperion smirked. "It's a time reset to before the Akuma attack happened."
Viperion checked the room, even if his time-reset powers made it seem like Akumas had never harmed this place. He checked the old paintbrushes that looked like they were from the 90s among the other art supplies. He thought it was very charming, but an idea appeared in the back of his mind.
But then Marinette rushed to his side again and took his hand.
"I can't thank you enough!" She said.
Viperion smiled down at her, but then his bracelet made a familiar beeping noise. And Marinette blushed as he squeezed her hand for a moment.
"I have to go again," he said.
Marinette squeezed his hand back, but to Viperion's surprise, she gave him a strong smile.
"I know," she said.
Smiling in return, Viperion pressed the button on his bracelet and used his powers to disappear. Instead of taking Marinette with him, she watched him disappear as his hand slipped from hers.
Marinette smiled as she placed her hand over her heart.
The art room was quiet alone, and without Viperion's presence. Still, looking out the window, she saw Marc and Nathaniel with everyone.
"I got to check up on Marc and Nathaniel!" She cried.
And Marinette quickly ran out of the art room.
Meanwhile, Luka wasn't far away as he transformed from being Viperion. Sass praised him for being a trustworthy superhero, as usual. But he had to run to Marinette and give her some sort of explanation as to why he had run from her before without giving up his superhero identity.
He ran across the hallways to get to the art room, but little did he know Marinette made a sharp turn at the hallway's corner, ready to run down the ramps to the first floor.
Luka nearly lost his breath as he and Marinette collided with each other, and Marinette yelped, bumping into Luka's admittedly strong chest.
Marinette nearly fell backward, but Luka recovered quickly enough to catch and hold her in her arms. As Marinette's vision came into focus Luka's eyes shined down at her, and she had to admit Luka had strong arms.
"Marinette! Oh my god! I am so sorry!"
"Ugh…" Marinette cried under her breath.
Luka frowned, thinking that because of his recklessness in wanting to see Marinette, he nearly screwed up. Still, Marinette felt sadness didn't suit Luka. Even if she was trying to process everything, she cupped his cheek with his hand, confusing him terribly.
"It's ok Luka." Marinette's vision returned to focus as Luka helped her get steady back on her feet.
Marinette would've asked him why he left during an Akuma attack. Still, she was so overjoyed that she bumped into Luka after saying goodbye to Viperion.
She decided not to question it.
"I'm happy you are here," Marinette said as she tried to hide the bright pink blush on her face.
Luka gasped slightly under his breath. He expected Marinette to be somewhat angry at him; he expected her to want her beloved hero Viperion back.
"And thank you for standing up against Felix…" Marinette said.
"That was very heroic, Luka."
Marinette didn't notice, but this time, Luka's face was heating up bright rose pink from blushing. He had to cover his face with a cold hand to stop the heat. "Don't mention it!" He gaped.
After a moment of blushing, the two of them managed to meet eyes again, and Luka smirked as he placed his hand on his hip. "Well, I needed to find you after the akumas were cleared; I still need to apologize."
Luka cursed internally. He hoped with all his heart he didn't seem so obvious. Luka loved his friends and family dearly, but the ordinary guitar boy always kept them at arm's length for their own safety and the fact he didn't live a normal life! But Marinette was the only one he was letting so close to him as both Luka and Viperion.
Luka rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I'm sure Kitty Section is waiting for us."
Marinette's eyes lit up before she took Luka by the hand and led him down the empty hall. Luka will never not be surprised by this extraordinary girl.
"Whoa! Mari!" Luka cried, practically laughing as he ran down the hall with her as if it were a racing track.
"No more delay; let's go!" Marinette cried as she nearly outran him and pointed her finger forward.
The two of them were perfectly in sync as they ran while holding each other's hands. They made a sharp turn at the corner of the hallway but then skidded hard on the heels of their shoes when they saw all of Kitty Section innocently looking for them.
Marinette and Luka gasped and nearly had a heart attack thinking about another painful collision. Still, as Marinette and Luka fell forward, they fell into a group hug with Ivan, Mylene, Rose, and Juleka.
Even if the members of Kitty Section were absolutely worried sick about Luka and Marinette, that all melted away with a bandmate group hug where everyone was thrilled to be together again.
"Oh It's so great that you two are ok!" Ivan cried almost dramatically.
Marinette sighed dreamily as she hugged all her friends close. "I'm so sorry I worried all of you; I needed to make sure the art club and my friends were safe."
"I understand completely!" Mylene cried. "I would've done the same thing for my plants."
Juleka took a moment to remove her bangs from her face before she looked at Marinette and Luka. "The two of you are like everyday superheroes."
Marinette blushed, but Luka took a moment to shuffle his feet.
"I just wish you two wouldn't scare me to death sometimes. And I am the one who has an addiction to horror movies!" Juleka cried.
Luka once again had to hold in his own grief for how he couldn't be completely honest with his friends, sister, mother, and especially Marinette. His sister was due for another tight hug, so he held out his arms for her, and his sister wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled her face against his chest.
But suddenly, Rose smiled and lifted her pointer finger.
"Let's not forget! We need to tell Marinette and Luka the good news!" Rose cried.
"Good news?" Marinette cried.
Luka also wondered what was up, and Juleka smirked in response.
Rose took a moment to prepare herself by walking over and clearing her throat. Then her blue eyes sparkled like glitter as she held out her hands.
"Luka, Marinette, Kitty Section is getting its first big break!"