My name's Marinette. A girl just like any other. But when destiny calls upon me to fight against the forces of evil, I become…Miraculous Ladybug!
In the early morning of July 21st, KIDZ+, a television network aimed for a target audience of 4 to 18 years of age, was holding a contest for who would be the new weather forecaster after the prior applicant retired to resume her studies. Two competitors, Aurore Beauréal and Mireille Caquet, came walking on the red carpet from their respective limousines as their host Alec, a bald man of 28 with light brown skin, announced the grand finale to the contest.
"Welcome to the great final of KIDZ+! Today, you'll discover who will become the new weather forecaster for our channel!"
The crowds cheered at the blue haired Mireille and the blonde haired Aurore with her trademark parasol that matched the blonde level of her hair. She blew kisses to the crowd on her side while her competitor simply waved.
Inside the studio, Alec provided further results to the crew and the audience.
"At the beginning of the contest, there were 5,000 contestants. But thanks to your votes, dear viewers, the final will be today between these two fantastic ladies! Let's welcome our two finalists right away."
The girls in question were already standing by his sides.
"To my right is Aurore Beauréal, and to my left, Mireille Caquet."
Aurore placed her left index and middle fingers up while Mireille smiled for the camera.
"Number 1 is Aurore and Number 2 is Mireille," Alec continued. "And remember, the calls are not over taxed on our channel."
He snapped his left fingers, followed by a "ding!" courtesy of the sound effects department.
In her living room above the Boulangerie du Moulin de la Galette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was chasing her latest victim—six year old Manon Chamack over and under the various couches and tables. Both of their parents were out shopping and seeing a movie for the day and would not be back until 5:30.
"Oh no, Manon, please give it back!"
But like any other six year old, Manon was feisty, running around with a straw hat and a pink band that Marinette designed herself. It was also fitted with a black bow with white dots.
"But I'm going to work in fashion, too!"
Jumping off as the older girl charged Marinette dived into the couch. Her dizzy brain recovered as her head turned to the girl.
"Manon, stop, it's not finished! You'll ruin it."
She found Manon hiding under the kitchen table and ducked down as the six year old jumped on a stool, slamming her crown under the table before she had a chance to catch her. Marinette looked beside the pale pink couch and heard Manon giggling, squinting her eyes while peering around the room. An odd appearance for the snow colored portière on the right hand side culminated the assumption that Manon was hiding behind that one, so she tiptoed over and pulled the curtain back. It was surprising to know that a doll with brown pig tails and a purple dress was in her place wearing the hat. Hearing her giggling from behind, Marinette seemed relieved to know that Manon had given up the chase and was holding the tablet phone.
"I vote for Mireille."
And before she could take action, Marinette retrieved the phone out of her grasp. But Manon saw the hat in Marinette's left hand and took that instead, wearing it as she continued to run as fast as her legs could carry her. Marinette had eventually decided to give up with a sigh and wondered to herself.
"Geez, why did I agree to do this babysitting job?"
"Because you needed the money for a rainy day," said a squeaky cute voice.
It was Tikki, her pet kwami, hanging off of her left shoulder. Marinette noticed this and whispered back to her, hoping to prevent someone so innocent and naive as Manon from becoming too curious.
"Stay hidden, Tikki!"
"Don't worry! You know what, if today you succeed to handle Manon, it'll be a piece of cake with the supervillains."
This is why Hellboy likes to live alone. Marinette thought with discomfort of being in her partner's shoes. Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. Walking over to the door, she opened it to find her friend Alya Césaire standing in front of her.
"Hey, I have a huge scoop for you! Guess who is doing a photoshoot at the park?"
In her left hand she held her iPhone up to Marinette's face, displaying the love of her life, Adrien Agreste, standing beside a tree in the Place des Vosges, which was right next to where she lived. In front of him was a photographer in plaid pants and Adrien's Max von Mayerling of a chauffeur holding a reflective light. Surprised, Marinette snatched the phone in ecstasy.
"No way! Adrien is in the park right now?"
"Ab-so-lute-ly!" said Alya with enunciation.
"But what am I going to say to him?"
Marinette felt vapid. She was a nervous wreck whenever she was in hind-sight of Adrien.
"Oh your usual 'I, uh, er, em.'"
Alya mocked her friend with the slack tongue and stretched hands of a zombie. It was pissing Marinette to an itty bubble that was starting to explode.
"Stop," she said and added two laughs of amusement.
Manon popped her head in-between the teen girl's legs, asking.
"Who is she?"
But instead of a straight answer, Marinette was still focused on Alya.
"Oops, I forgot this 'detail'."
"And who is this detail?" asked Alya looking down at Manon, waving at her in a friendly way.
"Her name's Manon," Marinette explained. "She's the daughter of my mother's friend and I'm supposed to take care of her this afternoon."
Gasping at the word "afternoon", she realized something else.
"I can't go!"
"Let me guess," inquired Alya. "It's one of your famous 'I couldn't say no' excuses."
"No! It's just that…"
Realizing the very word of denial she had spoken, Marinette slowed down.
"I… couldn't… say… no…"
Thus she lowered her upper body as she spoke, grim with defeat and neglect. But Alya was not a quitter, she was an aspiring woman with positive thoughts and objectives in life.
"No problem, I'll just take care of her."
Manon ran off to explore some more, leaving the older girls by themselves.
"It is thoughtful of you," said Marinette. "But she's under my care. Plus I can't do this to you. She such an…angel."
Despite all the difficulty she had suffered, Marinette always saw the good in people, especially feisty six year olds like Manon. But just as she said this, there was a crash. Manon had reached for a spatula and a pan, knocking three dirty pots over in her excitement.
"Give those back!" shouted Marinette, running after her.
Manon jumped and Marinette caught the pan as her breasted collided into the couch. Running after her back into the kitchen, Tikki's advice finally paid off, resulting in Marinette finally grabbing Manon's left arm and dragging her back to the living room.
"You're being led around by the nose, Marinette," Alya said as Marinette and Manon reached her. "I often look after my little sisters so now I am an expert on 'little angels'."
Again, after being dejecting from knowing more about this stranger the first time, Manon asked louder than before.
"Hey! Who are you?"
Alya had a way to regale her.
"I'm a magical unicorn from Vispa Planet! Now I am taking the form of a pretty young maiden who likes children and grants their wishes….but only the wishes of good children."
Her right index finger tapped Manon's nose, causing a small giggle out of her mouth. But despite the faux explanation, Manon was not a fool.
"You're no unicorn."
Her eyes blinked three times, her nativity coming back to her as she tiled her head three degrees to the right, placed her left index finger under her chin and gave a worried, puzzled look on her face.
"Right….?"
But all Alya did was pick her up and carry her in her hands up to Marinette, landing the six year old on her shoulders. Alya attached Marinette hands to Manon's ankles and now it looked as if she were prepared.
"Now you can go to the park."
Before heading out the door, Alya's left index finger flipped Marinette's chin, surprising her before the girl unleashed an upbeat amount of cheerfulness and walked her way out the door, taking careful steps on her way down the stairs.
Back at the KIDZ+ studio, near the final voting of the contestants, Alec made his announcement that would close the event.
"It's the moment you've all been waiting for! You've made your choice at home. And the new weathercaster of KIDZ+ is…"
The numbers came in from 82 to 18 on turquoise and yellow umbrellas.
"Mireille!"
The numbers on her side having come in, Mireille cheered for joy. Aurore, however found the loss to be completely unacceptable. 18 wasn't enough for her and to make matters worse, she had more knowledge of the weather than what Mireille had in her own little finger…or so she thought.
"Wow, you were soundly beaten," Alec said with sympathy to her. "Another time, maybe?"
"I don't want a next time," Aurore seethed. "I have been waiting an eternity for this. I made straight A's in meteorology, bought this parasol specifically for more than just rainy occasions and I've been popular by the others in my circle for three years! A lot longer than Mireille here."
"Hey, cheer up!" Alec suggested. "There's just a gap of 1 million votes between the two of you!"
Aurore left elbowed Alec's stomach and ran off.
But he reckoned without the eyes and ears of the antagonistic Hawk Moth, which were all over Paris.
The eye of his observatory opened up by itself and the butterflies flew all around his body
"The emotional vibrations are strong, I already feel the anger, the disappointment, the moment when my next victim will weaken. A perfect victim for my akuma."
A butterfly of white purity landed on his left hand. His right gloved covered it with his right and dark energy emitting from the atmosphere, turned it into something very dark, very disturbing and very fantabulous—and akuma. He let her go, letting it fly into the sky like a heat seeking missile.
Find the prey, she whispered. Find the prey.
And off she flew, intent on tracking her victim down faster than a LowJack.
In need of leaving for home to despair herself, Aurore frantically pushed the down button on the elevator eight times until the doors opened and she could enter. Backing herself onto the wall, she lamented her loss and external comparisons with Mireille, even if the girls were friends.
"I should have won. I have talent and I'm beautiful. I look like a star! While she has nothing at all! It was my victory and they took it all from me!"
But nobody could hear her and her voice cracked with the electricity that sparked out, lighting the room in a dim darkness. A black butterfly came squeezing through the doors, and Aurore, terrified of insects used her parasol as a shield. But unfortunately, the butterfly morphed with the umbrella into a black stain. The light turned back on and Aurore was sitting down, listening to the new voice that echoed in her head.
"You are absolutely right. You should have won."
A purple mask with the neon insignia of a butterfly covered her eyes. Standing up with courage, Aurore was starting to gasp the entity of a new identity.
"Yes, I am the real winner!"
She said this with venom in her voice…the venom of a poisonous butterfly. The voice of superior resonated in her head for the second time.
"Stormy Weather, I am Hawk Moth, master of the butterfly. As my weather forecaster, I'll give you a chance to get revenge against those opposed to you. In return, you have to bring me the Miraculous Stones. Understand?"
Aurore smiled, her pact with the devil complete.
"Alright!"
A black ooze covered her from head to toe as Hawk Moth gave her the last instructions.
"Go my dear Stormy and show everyone who the real weather forecaster is!"
When she came out of the elevator, Aurore, now Stormy Weather, had accepted her new appearance: light purple-gray eyes, dark purpureus hair with periwinkle bangs, and dark byzantium ponytails with shades of periwinkle spiraling to the tips of the tails. Her dress was completely composed of white elbow length gloves, boots that matched the color of clouds and a dark dress with the insignia of a lightning bolt emitting a magenta colored light. She laughed evilly as she left the elevator, intent on surprising a trap for her now ex-friend.
In the park, under the additional supervision of Stanley Ipkiss, Adrien had already taken three photos of himself looking excited. Jumping off a fountain, balancing his right foot on the fountain and looking cool as he held his right hand over his ear were just one of the many poses he could think of, his trademark pose of just sitting down with his left leg resting on the fountain was coming right up after his current position. The Sicilian photographer clicked madly away as if he were taking so many shots of Adrien to be used as reference material in creating a computer generated model of himself.
"Yes, si, good."
Marinette hid behind a thin oak tree with Manon underneath and Alya over her.
"Alright," she summarized. "Let's just pretend to be passing by…casually. Like we're here as if had been totally by chance."
"And then?" asked Alya from above.
"And then…"
A flash of images went through Marinette's head at the speed of light.
"I'll ask him to have a drink! Like, a fruit juice or a smoothie! Just after his shooting, we'll get married and live in a beautiful house!"
In her mind, she was surrounded by a wallpaper of roses and two babies: A girl in brown named Emma and a boy in lime green named Louis.
"We'll have two children, no, three!"
She added a boy in purple named Hugo into the mix.
"And a dog! OR a cat? No, not a cat, a hamster! I LOVE HAMSTERS!"
Her speech had become rapid as it travelled into a fantasized future. So enveloped by this fantasy, she lifted her right leg and clasped her hands to her right cheek. She was taken away from that dream when Alya's voice filled her ears.
"If you don't mind, we'l just start by casually passing by. You'll have plenty of time to think about the hamster."
Marinette blushed.
Hellboy had also been strolling around the park, always making himself aware of any trouble that came his way. Most of these strolls just always happened to have alerted him to the recent attacks of Hawk Moth's newest victim, and by chance, he would end up fighting alongside Ladybug, Cat Noir, and to his annoyance, the Mask.
He saw Adrien being coached by Stanley Ipkiss for his posture in the next pair of photographs.
"Try looking cool, like that, trademark pose you get in a lot of your earlier pictures."
"I was just about to do it," Adrien said, and he sat on the fountain with his left leg arched on the stone.
"Mmm, you are awesome," the photographer clicked away five times over. "Go! I want to see the sun set in your eyes."
Adrien did his best to smile, ignoring the female trio behind him, with a certain blue haired Chinese girl marching like a toy soldier with her left foot stretch forward and the right one pushed after the other one had been lowered down.
"Don't forget, just casually passing by…."
Marinette's tone of voice was failing with ease. She tried her best not to make a fool of herself. But it was then that Adrien spotted, that she stopped and could move a further inch but wave at him. Adrien waved back before the clearing of Stanley Ipkiss' throat and the unpleasant face of the photographer slapped him back to work mode.
"Well if we had been invisible," said Alya with a direct concern of the flaw. "It would be the same."
Marinette pushed Alya and Manon back to the hiding spot, hoping that they far enough to prevent Adrien from hearing her squeals.
"Did you see that? He waved at me?"
Alya's tone was unimpressed.
"Wooooow, yeah I saw… It's not as if we were classmates."
Hellboy, sitting on the bench was feeling bored. His reply to Marinette's attempts at getting Adrien were indifferent and brief.
"Teenage hormones, who needs them?"
He looked over at Adrien's crew, not caring at least one bit for the guy in the pinstripe suit—Stanley Ipkiss. Turning to his gaze at Alya setting Marinette's uncontrollably waving right hand down, he was satisfied at the strong female who knew how to deal with males professionally.
Back at the studio, Mireille was walking into the elevator, caressing the trophy in her arms and treating it like a teddy bear. When the doors opened, her face dropped at the sight of another girl in purple and white. The parasol looked familiar to her.
"Aurore?"
"Aurore is dead, my friend, you call me…Stormy Weather. And as you can see, I'm the only weather forecaster who is never wrong. Here is some bad news for you: looks like something frosty is headed your way…."
She smiled sadistically, watching Mireille back herself further into the elevator.
"RIGHT NOW!"
Holding the parasol in both hands like a rifle, she created a strong blast of light that was as white and blue as ice. Instantly the winner was now frozen solid, and would forever be stuck there in her place, for Stormy Weather's powers allowed anything made of ice to be completely unmeltable—even on a day when the sun was boiling directly overhead. Only she could melt or destroy the ice at will, that is, if she were at the control of her parasol. Then she went over the door, ready exact revenge on those vetoed her.
In the park, Adrien, after three poses of a smile, was listening to the photographer's unstoppable and aspiring demands.
"Now imagine your mama bringing a bowl of spaghetti. And now, oh damn, your mama dropped the bowl of spaghetti!"
Adrien tried to ignore the allegory of his absent mother, but Marinette's jaw was just about to fall off before Alya's right hand pushed it back into place.
The photographer continued his instructions.
"You are surprised! Surprised! Now you are angry. Angry! Yes, like this! Give them more!"
Manon, sitting from Adrien's distance didn't see too much of the photoshoot as a learning experience, her mind was distracted by a red balloon with the face of Mireille placed onto it. She clasped her hands onto Marinette and yanked her back and forth.
"Marinette! I want that Mireille balloon! Please, please?!"
Marinette was too dazed to think about anything else. Her pathetic smile and half-mast eyes were locked onto Adrien's shining complexion. She was for a split-second, then…
"Marinette? MARINETTE!"
This caused the aforementioned girl to spin her limbs wildly, also catching the attention of the photographer.
"Che cazzo?!"
"Please, please?!"
Marinette didn't how to handle this. Fortunately for her, Alya saved the day for the second time.
"Okay, little worm, let's go get your balloon."
Just as her hands reached for her, Manon jumped onto Marinette's right leg, seeing she was the only older girl she could trust.
"I wanna go with Marinette!" the toddler pleaded.
Marinette looked back at the photographer, the chauffer and Mr. Ipkiss. In their minds, they appeared to be asking her, "Is this your child?" with expression of disappointed approval.
"All right," she sighed. "I'll do it. I am her babysitter after all."
"What about Adrien?"
Alya was still willing to help, but Marinette simply replied.
"He can wait," she said as if it were her secondary objective.
Letting go, Marinette took Manon by the left hand and walked over to the balloons, fortunately it would not be a very long walk for her.
At the studio entrance, Stormy weather walked down the red carpet, surrounded by confused reporters and crowds of fans chanting "Mireille! Mireille!" until their voices started to slow down the numerous clicks of the cameras became few.
"Where is Mireille?" asked a brown-skinned man with short black hair."
Stormy felt like a star at that moment with no ulterior motives, but it was then that she revealed the truth.
"To those who voted for Mireille: You better run and hide because a big storm is headed your way!"
A second passed. No one took her seriously
"Too late!"
And just like that, she summoned a strong gale that blew away the crowd and the iron barriers. Some of them were sent skidding across the way, receiving scrapes, cuts and bruises from colliding with the pavement. Pleased at this, Stormy took off as fast as lightning to stir up all sorts of chaos she had in mind.
"Lets go back now."
Marinette was satisfied that Manon had gotten her balloon, but the girl's head was turned by—
"I want to go on the merry-go-round!"
Marinette stopped her when she was halfway there.
"Oh no, no, no, no! Maybe another time, I have to get back to Adrien."
Manon gave her a face of innocence.
"But you promised me…don't you keep your promises?"
"Don't look at me like that with those kitty eyes."
Poor Marinette was in distress when Manon's eyes looked like they were about pour crocodile tears all over the sand. Her lips relaxed into a smile and that was when Manon shouted "I LOVE YA!" and dragged her to the marry-go-round, smiling and giggling all the way.
Flying across the various districts of Paris, Stormy Weather was everywhere and so was Mireille's face, on posters…and a balloon that made her so curious that she popped it by driving the parasol through the fabric and the remnants fell to Earth. Stormy heard crying from down below. Her initial thought was that she made the owner of the balloon cry, but instead was a victim of circumstance by just simply letting it go. The boy received another balloon instead with his mother's extra money. She swooped down and took that balloon instead with the sadistic pleasure of popping what was in stock with an icicle tip from her parasol.
By now, Adrien was bored and exhausted. In his next set of photographs, he scratched the back of his throat with his right hand and yawned with the same hand to act as a barrier placed four inches from his mouth…much to the dismay of the photographer.
"No, no, no! Now you look as though you have eaten too much spaghetti!"
He spread his arms apart, emphasizing his wants.
"We need energy, romanticism! We need…"
Turning around, his eyes locked onto Alya, sitting under a tree with an apple in her right hand.
"…a girl!"
He rushed over to the young lady in question, surprising her momentarily.
"You! Would you like to be an extra model for just a moment?"
Alya knew that a chance like this belonged to Marinette, but while she was confused at that moment, she pointed at herself.
"Who? Me?"
"Si," the photographer said with a strict tone. "As Adrien's partner."
Alya stood up, trying to make a fast decision before it was too late.
"Ah, actually that's not a good idea. I am having an allergic reaction to this apple."
She threw it back, perfecting the illusion.
"But don't worry, I have the perfect girl for you! Be right back!"
Just as Marinette had completely placed Manon on a white unicorn with a purple-pink neck brace, Alya rushed over in huffed breaths.
"They need a girl to be Adrien's partner."
"WHAAT?! SERIOUSY!?"
OMFG!
Manon was curious.
"Who's Adrien? Is he your boyfriend?"
Hearing this words come from the mouth of an innocent girl, Marinette grew flustered and slightly wild with the fever of unable to make a true decision.
"No, I mean, yes! Well…yes…no."
"Well, go ahead!" Alya persisted. "What are you waiting for?"
"But what about Manon?"
Marinette had taken a motherly tone of voice at that specific moment. It felt rare for her to care for Manon like this after all the trouble with the hat.
"No worries! Let me ride this."
She took her seat behind Manon on the unicorn and used her right hand to shoo Marinette off in a friendly way.
"Go to your Prince Charming. I'll handle this little unicorn and babysit her much better than you."
Manon crossed her arms like the stubborn child that she really was. Having known Marinette longer than any of the older girl's friends, she could not trust this stranger, and it seemed pretty obvious based on the old fashioned rule "Never talk to strangers."
"But Marinette's my babysitter!" was all she said and there was nothing Alya could do to make the carousel move. Or at least that is what Marinette thought when Alya thrusted her right arm forward and shouted in a dramatic voice.
"Unicorns unite! Immediate take off to Rispa! Let us meet with the good children and grant them their wishes! YIHAAA!"
"YIHAA!" yelled Manon with her arms in the air.
Marinette smiled, and satisfied with the outcome, she disappeared away to find Adrien.
But as she was about thirty feet from the light of her love, a cold wind filled her body, followed by screams to a mime-looking girl in pale and purple make up floating above the park. The girl in question, Stormy Weather, thrusted her parasol back and blew a wind of cold waves that swirled around the carousel, encasing it in an immortal dome of ice. The cold temperature was so cold that it turned Manon's balloon into rocks, scattering into five pieces.
Knowing what to do, Marinette ran behind a green bench on the eastern border of the park and opened her purse for Tikki.
"Now is our time," she informed the kwami.
"Tikki, transform me!"
Her earrings were embroidered with five black spots. Her hands covered her eyes with a domino mask and with a reflexive twirl, the rest of her body became the Miraculous Ladybug.
Stormy Weather had also gotten Hellboy's attention as well. Pulling out his guns, he fired seven times but all of the bullets were caught into an icicle that fell from five feet, smashing the contents entirely upon impact. Then the villainess shot three more blasts of cold wind and ice at a variety of victims: a couple, the balloon vendor and the mother and the son. The other occupants left in a rush for safety and when the photographer noticed this, he, Stanley and the chauffer scrambled too, leaving Adrien to himself.
He rushed to his satchel to find that Plagg, his own kwami, was not there.
"I am not here and I'm sleeping anyways."
Adrien was surrounded by three boxes with silver rims and was not willing to use the process of elimination. In-between his left index and thumb fingers was a spare piece of camembert that he had saved for an "emergency". The powerful smell of that tiny piece flew into Plagg's nostrils and he came from a silver case with hungry eyes. He zipped his way over to the cheese and opened his mouth very wide for a second. But he still had some energy to talk things over with his master.
"Have I told you that I can smell camembert in my sleep? It's one of my many talents."
Adrien just dropped the cheese and Plagg followed it to the ground.
"Awesome," he said with a tone that lacked interest. "But we can talk cheese stuff later."
"Plagg, transform me!"
In an instant, Plagg was sucked into the silver, now black, ring out of his own free will and flicking his right index finger over his eyes, Adrien created a black domino mask. He hands ran through his hair, adding cat ears and the rest of his body was covered a skin-tight cat suit with a leather belt for a tail.
Ladybug, meanwhile, ran back to the merry-go-round with some worried thoughts on her mind.
"Why did I leave Manon behind?!" she said out loud. "No, Alya's right. She'll take care of her."
"I'll get you out of there!" she called to the two prisoners.
She threw her yo-yo at the dome, wrapping the string around.
"I'll just have to cut this giant ice cake."
But instead of a cut while she tugged, the string just squeezed to the top of the dome, resulting in total backfire of the disk that pushed her head and herself to the ground.
"I'll go to Plan B," she said simply. Then she rushed over to the two prisoners.
"Hey, don't worry, everything will be okay!"
A frightened Manon pressed her hands against the glass.
"Where's Marinette?"
Ladybug leaned down to her, spiritually using her true identity as an embodiment of kindness.
"Don't worry, she did not forget about you, Manon."
Manon was surprised, she didn't even know if Ladybug knew everybody in Paris. So she asked.
"How do you know my name?"
Marinette realized her mistake under the mask. Resuming her Ladybug persona, she explained.
"Marinette told me. She's going to get you soon."
With left thumb up acknowledgement from Alya, Ladybug took off after Stormy Weather to avenge her wrongdoings. She joined Hellboy by the entrance.
"I saw the girl, tried to shoot her and believe me, she's quick enough to freeze my bullets."
"Then we have to act fast too," Ladybug replied.
Stormy Weather also caught Stanley's attention. Hiding behind that same tall oak tree, he came out in a yellow zoot suit, hat and all as…The Mask. His eyes bulged and his mouth wolf-whistled when he saw Stormy.
"Hold on, Sugar! Daddy's got a sweet tooth today!"
He laughed twice and rushed over, spotting Cat Noir on the fence. He leaped his way over, stretching his legs as he zipped over to the cat in lurex fabric.
"Hey Ice Queen," teased the cat. "Your arrival has cast an icy chill. Because of you there are no more cats in this neighborhood."
She turned her head back, instantly glaring over her left shoulder to see Cat Noir on the fence, five feet away from her.
"My name is Stormy Weather, not Ice Queen!"
What a pisser. The Mask took Stormy by surprise of wrapping his right arm around her and imposing a soft, romantic tone to his voice.
"Your lips sting me like the lightning bolts under your control and your warm, embracing behavior is like the warm weather of your creation. But other than that, I can't be too picky."
Stormy squeezed the umbrella under the arm and opened it, creating a gale that blew the two heroes in opposite directions. Cat landed on his abdomen in-between two cars, a yellow Fiat and a blue Citroen. Mask was followed by
"She is so coy," the Mask slurred trying to recover himself.
His mood suddenly changed.
"I LOVE IT!"
Close to Cat was Ladybug, having seen his escapade with the new villainess. She over, willing to help him up in spite of his sarcastic behavior.
"I'm disappointed," said Ladybug with an offering right hand. "I thought all cats were supposed to land on their feet."
"I wanted to, my Ladybug," replied Cat as he dusted himself off. "For the pleasure of greeting you."
He tipped his head forwards and puckered his lips, intent on kissing her hand in a formal, gentlemanly way. But her own right index finger pressed against his nose and pushed him back.
"There's no time to play the charmer, Cat Noir. A thanks would have been enough."
In front of them was Stormy, floating seven feet above the ground.
"We report a stormy weather with lightning risks," the wicked forecaster gloated as he lifted the parasol towards the sky. "RIGHT NOW!"
Grey nimbus clouds seemed to turn the bright sunny day into a dark night. Hellboy and the Mask, having seen this from their side away from Ladybug and Cat, rushed to find their fellow colleagues. Cat, given his unlucky nature, was standing right where a purple bolt of lightning struck the ground, and was moved out of harm's way, fortunately, by Ladybug. As they rolled over the cobbled streets and came to a stop, Cat realized that he was on top of his partner in a seemingly sexual position. He beamed innocently at the lady of his dreams, but Ladybug's left hand pushed his chin in the direction of Stormy.
By then, the two "comedians" had arrived. Cat stood up at the sinister Stormy hovering away from them.
"Ah, she wants to play cat and mouse," Cat said with glee.
"A feisty one who can't seem to stay put."
The Mask's words reminded Marinette of Manon in a nutshell.
"Fearful icy road!"
The road was converted into an ice rink, too icy for the fearless four. Then, elevating another five feet up, she added, "Tornado!" right into the mix.
As promised it created a strong blow of wind. It blew the four away along with five cars, but Ladybug's yo-yo warped around a pole and her left hand caught Cat Noir's leather tail. Mask grabbed onto the same pole and his elongated left arm grabbed Hellboy by the back of his shirt. The wind stopped and all four fell to the pavement while Stormy, distracted by a billboard of Mireille, was surrounded by the tornado, using it as her own vessel of destruction.
"She's starting to get me angry," said Cat, cracking his knuckles.
"And she's too breezy for my taste," added Mask.
Before Cat could charge, he was held back by the tail for the second time today by Ladybug.
"Woah, there, kitty kitty. Think before you get your claws out."
She released the tail as Cat turned to face her.
"Why?" asked Hellboy. "You have a plan?"
"Just follow my lead."
And she raced toward the building in front of her: A series of apartments. She sprinted across the side with every knowledge of parkour without a flaw in her steps. Cat followed her on the opposite buildings with Mask and Hellboy taking pursuit in the streets. Stormy turned around, spotting the two heroes.
"YOU AGAIN?!"
She spun her parasol like a baseball bat and summoned a strong wind that blew the cars on the street towards Ladybug and Cat, who had jumped in mid-air. When they were about ten feet from the ground, the wind pushed them back into the air and flung the four heroes eight blocks away from their intended target. Cat was boxed in by a red Porsche and white Audi, forming as pillars that collided their rear ends. Satisfied that we wasn't crushed under the makeshift arch, Cat Noir ran to find Ladybug, who was dodging the cars that came her way along with Hellboy, who tried to punch them out of the way, and the Mask, who flexed his upper body at the oncoming automobiles. All four looked up at an Irisbus Agora and Ladybug's left arm gripped Cat as she spun her yo-yo wildly around. Mask used his hat as a shield and Hellboy took cover as a failsafe option, should he not be strong enough to punch the bus out of the street.
Sure enough the bus crashed through and the heroes were safely inside. Ladybug kept spinning her yo-yo as the bells in the bus slowly died down. When the yo-yo stopped, the disk struck Cat Noir's crown and Hellboy broke in before the two could get into an argument.
"I'll get us out."
And taking the top area of the window underneath him, he lifted the bus upright. It teetered twice before righting itself up.
Back at the park, a duo of firefighters used axes to hack their way through the dome where Aya and Manon were still inside. The ice was so thick, it made the axes look weak, but not so much for the "hands game" the girls played.
"Barley, rice, barley, rice, catch it when it's rice. Barley, barley bang!"
Alya held her hands up as Manon fell. It was clear to her that the older girl had won.
"It's not fair, you win all the time!"
There was a creaking noise…
"Is it the ice breaking?" Manon asked fearfully.
But it was a roof of icicles growing down upon them, threatening to pierce their bodies and it was the brave and courageous Alya who placed her hand on her hips and spoke deeply.
"It's probably the boss goblin! He ate so much that his pants are tearing up! AHHAHAHAHA! RAWR!"
She gesticulated her hands to represent the mysterious goblin boss as Manon ran for her life with a playful scream. The illusion seemed to be working for Alya, but she stopped when the icicles grew by another two inches. It frightened them both by this case of intended harm, but they sat down on the merry-go-round as Alya said.
"Why not I tell you a story?"
As Alya began to tell her tale, Stormy Weather came to a roof, at Rue de Sévigné to be exact. Hawk Moth's voice came to her for the second time.
"Now, I think they understand who was the true winner my dear Climatika."
Stormy smiled at her secondary pet name.
"I kept my promise, now's your turn. So here is my plan…Get the Miraculous stones…"
After leaving the bus through the door, Ladybug, Cat Noir, Hellboy and the Mask ran down the street, intent on finding Stormy Weather before she would find them first.
"Is it me or is she a slightly shady character?" asked Ladybug.
"It is either that or she failed her driver's license test," Cat added.
"Boyfriend troubles," Hellboy explained. "It happens all the time."
"Or she's just an insensitive bitch with the size of an ego," finished the Mask.
Ladybug did wish to compare Stormy's boyfriend troubles between her and Cat Noir, solving the mystery of the villainess' identity came first.
Their luck came on a large television screen at the end of the road on their right, Stormy addressed the audience in front of map of Paris in dark purple.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here are the weather reports for the first day of summer…"
She moved back by four steps, presenting the map with unpredicted sarcasm in her voice.
"Oops, it seems Mother Nature has changed her plans. Summer vacations are OVER FOREVER!"
The force of her voice struck Cat Noir's persona of Adrien with a hard blow. The Mask dropped his jaw all the way to the ground and Hellboy could only stop his right foot, but thankfully it did not create an earthquake, otherwise it would have slightly derailed Stormy's plans if the building she was in collapsed.
"Well, that's too bad, I look pretty hot in a swimsuit," the cat teased, but the ladybug's serious tone affected by the powers of her kwami thought otherwise.
"Thanks to her I am not going to see that. Anyway, now we know where to find her….the KIDS+ building."
As she spoke, tiny snowflakes began to fall, growing faster and faster with every ounce of Stormy's rage and imperious motives.
"Prepare yourself for the worst storm of all time. No need for sun…"
Arriving at the front office, Cat Noir stopped at the cardboard cutout of Aurore Beauréal, smiling with an open umbrella above her, representing the sign of oncoming rain at a predictable pace.
"Hey, she looks familiar."
"And smokin' hot too!" Mask added with large boggled eyes.
"The weather forecaster!" Ladybug realized, with her knowledge of possession by akumas coming into her mind. "The akuma must be in her umbrella!"
"I have the pleasure to announce that nice weather is over," taunted Stormy Weather as the four heroes raced down the halls to find the main soundstage. "Now it is eternal weather!"
At last they came to a pair of dynamite red doors, taking twenty steps to allow the quartet to have enough willpower and force to push the doors down. So they did…but when they heard the laughter of Stormy weather echoing across the room, they found a small screen bearing her image. The image of Stormy covering her mouth with her right hand had caught them off guard.
"Why didn't we think of this before?" Mask asked out of outrage.
"Because it was obvious," groaned Hellboy and he slammed his right fist at the middle camera in a blind fury.
But it was then that the real Stormy that appeared in front of the doorway, using her parasol to fire off a purple bolt at a pair of four klieg lights, the four heroes leaped out of the way. Then as quick as a flash, Stormy rushed to the generator in the ceiling and pulled the main dual switch down. With each second, the lights turned off, leaving the building in total darkness.
In his observatory, Hawk Moth began to gloat of practicing what he could actually do with the stones, which was hidden from the heroes in the meantime.
"Everything is going as exactly planned. Soon the Miraculous stones will be mine. Bring them to me now, Stormy Weather!"
Unfortunately on his part, cats could always see in the dark and it was Cat Noir's night vision that caught the glimpse of Stormy Weather rushing out of the room to who knows where.
"Who turned off the lights?" asked the Mask, trying to find a flashlight in his "bag of tricks", and so he did, waving the dim light around the room.
"Lady Glagla blew us off," Cat explained.
He saw Ladybug struggling to see where she was going. She tripped over the fallen klieg light and her face was illuminated by the Mask's flashlight, catching the attention of Cat Noir.
"Oh? A damsel in distress?"
His right paw took Ladybug's left hand and he pulled her to the exit as she protested. Hellboy having had some experience in the dark himself, grabbed onto Ladybug's right arm and the mask followed after them with his flashlight.
"Hey, sorry, I don't have the chance to have night vision like you!"
"Just trust me!" Cat exclaimed and off they ran through the building.
Back inside the frozen carousel, the firefighters had given up, commentating the thick nature of the ice to the chief but that did not stop Alya, who was sitting in a ladybug colored buggy on the carousel telling her story to Manon.
"So the cyclops lifted the princess with his claws and said, 'You're worth a look!'"
Manon was excited and interested. She giggled with delight at how humorous her new babysitter was turning out to be.
"The princess immediately reacts by putting a finger in his eye. And before leaving the cavern, she ate a cursed potato and fell into a deep, deep slumber!"
And that was when Manon started to expresses the terror in her face. But not from the story, rather, it was the icicles breaking through the roof of the carousel. After some thought the team tried for the second time and still, they were not getting any further. All Alya could do was hug Manon as she were her own child and pray.
"Please hurry, Ladybug."
"It's okay now, I can take care of myself!"
Ladybug was still being dragged by Cat Noir up the stairs in the emergency exit leading to the roof, but cat saw Stormy lifting a fire extinguisher and threw it at Ladybug before the girl ducked down and let herself be dragged by Cat while Hellboy knocked the extinguisher back.
"Um, alright. I'll follow you this time."
Cat opened the doors to the roof, and still holding Ladybug's hand, came face to face with Stormy hovering above them with a wicked cackle.
"You guys are so cute! You fell right into my trap!"
"Well, thank you, Mademoiselle Évident," glowered Hellboy.
"CYCLONE!"
And with mother nature on her side, a tornado enveloped the building. Fortunately it was anchored to the ground, so there were no chances of having it fly off and crash back down to Earth once the cyclone ended. In her head, the voice of Hawk Moth resonated the final objective.
"It is time. Take the Miraculous stones!"
But Stormy Weather had a lot more on her mind than just taking some bits of jewelry, even if they were powerful.
"Party's over! You'll never get out of the cyclone!"
"This is just-"
Before she could utter "the beginning", Ladybug looked and frowned to see that her left hand was still holding Cat's, who smiled sheepishly scratched the back of his head with his right hand. Mask and Hellboy smiled at each other with devious looks and snickered like fools. Ladybug let her hand go and resumed her line.
"This is just the beginning, Stormy Weather!"
She threw her yo-yo up into the air.
"Lucky Charm!"
The hearts emitting from the yo-yo whirled around to create….
"A towel?"
"What good will that do?" asked Hellboy.
"Great," Cat Noir groaned. "That's just what I needed, dry my hair."
"Don't worry," said Mask. "Now hold on to your lug nuts, it's time for an overhaul!"
As he said this, Ladybug wrapped the towel around her right wrist. But Stormy Weather had something fierce in mind.
"GUST WIND!"
Tiny bits of ice came down upon the heroes, Cat took Ladybug by the right arm and dragged her under him and twirled his baton above him like a rapidly spinning bumbershoot while Mask did the same with Hellboy and used his fedora as a strong shield
"It's not that I'm tired, but I have a cramp!"
"How are we going to snag the Akuma?" The Mask shouted over the sound of the wind.
Ladybug looked at a pipe, a vent, the pipes in-between and finally her eyes rested on the towel wrapped around her right wrist.
"See that billboard?" she instructed Cat Noir. "Bring it down!"
"Alright!"
The ring's paw glowed green, extracting external energy into a black ball of destruction.
"Cataclysm!"
"Hey, false Ice Queen! Is that all you can do?"
He raced toward the billboard, dodging the blasts of purple lightning as he went on his feet, over the vent and over an electric box where he slid on the railing and clawed his right hand against the billboard. It proved to be successful, and the bill board, creaking under the rusted metal, attracted Stormy's attention as it began to fall. She would have been crushed if it hadn't been for Ladybug's yo-yo that wrapped around her left ankle.
She fired at the billboard, creating a hole and swept through while the rest of the billboard knocked over the top of the vent, allowing Ladybug to slide under a pipe, jump from the wall of a crane and use the towel above her head as a parachute going in reverse. With the wind and the string of the yo-yo as her guide, it dragged Stormy down, screaming as she passed Ladybug. The crane turned around in the wind and knocked the parasol out of her hands. The parasol landed in Cat Noir's claws and he tossed it to Hellboy who snapped it in half between his knees, releasing the butterfly.
The Mask pulled out a long mallet, hoping to squash the butterfly. The butterfly however was too fast for him and it was Ladybug's yo-yo that caught the insect as she shouted "It's time to purify!"
Then she let it go, the butterfly once again normal.
"Bye bye, pretty butterfly."
Then she threw the towel at twenty feet high into the sky.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
The dark sky turned blue, the damage was fixed, the ice had melted and the cars were restored to their proper places. Even the camera that Hellboy broke was restored to its former glory. Alya culminated her fairy tale as the ice dome began to steam from the purification process.
"and after beating up a three headed dragon with a…"
Before she could mention a melee attack that was as powerful as Excalibur, she saw the sun breaking through the ice and the firefighters clapped each other over this success of dues ex Machina.
"taekwondo move, the princess kissed the charming prince and…"
"And they lived happily ever after?" asked Manon as she was lifted out of the ladybug cart on the carousel.
"Well yeah," Alya said. "At least until they had a dozen little worms like you who made them go crazy."
She tapped Manon's nose ten times with her left index finger, sprouting a giggle from the girl.
And to top it all off, Aurore was transformed back to her original state and the four heroes fist bumped each other.
"Mission accomplished!"
"What am I doing here?" the slightly annoyed voice of Aurore broke the moment.
The Mask, being more gentlemanly towards Aurore than what she was before, brought the girl safely down, Hellboy left without so much as a quick good-bye and Ladybug and Cat Noir went their separate ways.
In his observatory, all Hawk Moth could do was sulk as the eye closed back into the darkness.
"Someday, your Miraculous stones will be mine. No matter how many enemies I have to create to kill you, your stones will be MINE!"
About ten minutes later, Marinette was rushing back to the park, directly towards Alya and Manon. Tikki, poking her head out of the purse, noticed something else.
"Hey, Adrien and the photographer are still waiting for you at the shoot."
Marinette stopped, looking at the preparations over by the fountain.
"Yes, Marinette!" said Tikki with zeal. "You saved Manon and the whole city of Paris! You deserve it!"
Speaking of Manon, Marinette heard her voice.
"Marinette!"
Tikki dived back into the purse and Manon came running up to her real babysitter. The little girl jumped into Marinette's arms and he picked her up with ease.
"Hey, I now your secret," Manon said quietly when Marinette released the hug. Her face dropped.
"What secret?"
Just when it seemed like Manon was smart enough to look through her disguise…she received a, surprisingly different answer.
"Ladybug is your best friend! That's why you always know what the other is doing."
Marinette sighed with relief and cuddled Manon. Then they walked over to Adrien, hand in hand.
"Can I have a lollipop please?" asked Manon randomly.
"No, Manon," replied Marinette, disappointing her. "I have something very important to do. Alya, stay with her. You don't mind?"
Alya held Manon's left hand, and her trust for the new babysitter was returning.
"Hey!" Marinette shouted to the photographer. "I'm ready for the photo shoot!"
Adrien saw her as well. He stood up, preparing to greet Marinette when the photographer framed his hands over her left shoulder.
"Two seconds…who is this little angel?"
He pointed to Manon before she realized who he was referring to and sure, Manon was in Adrien's arms, sitting with their backs together and she even got to kiss his left cheek.
Even though she missed her chance, the generous heart of Marinette Dupain-Cheng smiled as did her lips. She was happy enough to let someone else have their chance with a hot model she had been admiring over for at least a few years.