I hope that this chapter will be well liked considering my version of the monkey Miraculouses power.
Tomoe Tsurugi had a pleased smile on her face. Her business partner was nearly finished with the new smart-fabric collection. Her profits would soar very high indeed.
That wasn't the best part. Her suspicions had been right about Gabriel. Now he and her were equal partners in crime. His vision of the new world was astonishing.
She knew what his wish would be and it didn't concern her. In this new world, her family would be all-powerful and no one could ever threaten them again. Her father would be very proud of her.
Of course, there were a few specifics that needed to be finalized. Her technicians were still working to complete several advanced projects. Also, there were matters relating to her finances that had to be taken care of.
There was only one hindrance she didn't know how to handle, her daughter Kagami. Tomoe wasn't very pleased with her daughter's performance as of late.
Even without her guidance, Kagami should be able to attain the perfection the family was known for. Instead, she permitted herself to get shot and accepted a temporary benching from her fencing instructor.
She should never have allowed Kagami to make friends. Tomoe acknowledged it was her mistake. If she hadn't reached out to Kita then her daughter wouldn't be failing.
Her phone rang and she answered it with a brisk hello. "Gabriel, I hope you have thought about my proposal."
"I have and as I specified before it will not work. Your daughter has no interest in Adrien and respects his relationship with Ms. Dupain-Cheng too much to break them up."
Tomoe frowned, not pleased by what she was hearing. Before she could argue with the man, Gabriel said they could find a suitable replacement for Kagami.
"Your idea has merit. I told you I have very specific requirements when it comes to choosing my daughter's partner. She is meant for greatness after all."
"I can compile a list of suitable candidates for you by the end of next week. Please keep in mind that the upgrade cannot be installed until I am done with the collection, so kindly refrain from demanding it be sooner.
Tomoe hated to admit it, but he was right. "I want thorough background checks on the candidates as well as their families. I want to nip any skeletons in the closet quickly."
Gabriel promised it would be done. "Let's move on, shall we? We need to discuss regular business. The stock options between our two companies have risen since the start of our joint venture."
One hour later, she finished her business with Gabriel. According to her braille watch, it was nearly noon. Instead of having lunch, she headed down to the R&D department.
Upon arriving she was met by the head of the Robotics and AI department. The man was lucky Tomoe couldn't see how much he was sweating right now.
"Ms. Tsurugi! Why are you here when our meeting was scheduled for later this afternoon?" the man asked.
"To ensure that you're doing your job. Why aren't you in the computer lab?" she demanded.
"It's my lunch break. I was going to get something to eat."
She struck the man with her bokken. "There will be no breaks until the AI is fully integrated with the ship. How much progress have you made?"
"We're nearly complete with the AI matrix. If you follow me, I can let you hear our progress."
Tomoe kept her stoic expression as she headed to the computer lab. She could hear the intense clicking of keyboards. The air was palpable with anxiousness.
The only being not feeling on edge was the AI. The official designation was Affective Decision Assistance System. However, she chose to be known as A.D.A. Her base programming was designed around Max's program for Markov.
The technicians at Tsurugi Industries had been laboring for weeks now to update and expand A.D.A.'s programming. They were running final tests on the personality part of the program.
"Hello A.D.A. Our visitor has arrived early today. I would like you to meet Ms. Tomoe Tsurugi, the leader of the company."
A.D.A.'s face glowed brightly. A warm and maternal voice said, "Greetings, Ms. Tsurugi. I thank you for allowing my creation."
In a clipped tone, Tomoe greeted the AI. "A.D.A. what is your current operating capacity?"
"Ninety-five percent. I trust Mr. Hara to remove any glitches that might interfere with my job. There is no room for any errors in space."
Mr. Hara chuckled. "You're right A.D.A. She's remarkable, isn't she?"
"Indeed. What would you do if one of the tests fails?"
"It would be in the world's best interest if I returned to Earth. To see where I failed will help prevent more tragedies from happening. I swear to give more than a hundred percent when I meet my pilot friend."
Tomoe frowned and asked if A.D.A. could access the biosensors Mr. Hara was wearing. A.D.A. acknowledged she could do that.
"Explain Mr. Hara's bio signs to me A.D.A."
"Of course, Ms. Tsurugi. Mr. Hara's vital signs are within normal range. I detect no abnormalities within his body. His neurological patterns suggested that he is very excited but also cautious."
"Mr. Hara, would a hug make you feel better?"
"Not right now, A.D.A. Thank you for the demonstration."
"I aim to please, Mr. Hara."
Tomoe signaled Mr. Hara to follow her out the door. Once in the hallway, she told him that that demonstration had displeased her.
"That's the AI working at ninety-five percent? It doesn't sound like it's working at all!"
Mr. Hara asked what she meant specifically. He was hardly surprised when she had issues with A.D.A.'s voice, personality, and mannerisms. After all, the team had designed her to be the exact opposite of their boss on purpose.
"Ms. Tsurugi, the issues you have with the AI were deliberately created because past AIs have failed in space missions. Do you know why?" he challenged her.
"I suspect you're going to tell me."
"The AIs had no emotional capacity. They were extremely robotic, took logic to its furthest extent, and prioritized data over human life."
Before she could interrupt, he plowed on. "Mr. Kante's base program has created an AI that is not only logical but can interact with people on an emotional level."
"A human is driven by emotion while a robot is driven by programming. A.D.A. can bridge the gap by creating a partnership that allows the pilot to understand when logic is needed, and not emotion."
"That partnership will help further space exploration until we can actually reach Mars with a manned crew. Now, I can dial down a few of A.D.A.'s personality traits, but we won't erase the base program."
Tomoe pursed her lips, not liking the fact she lost control of the situation. "Very well, but that motherly voice has to go. I need a pilot who is focused on the job, not pampering by a mother."
Mr. Hara watched the woman leave. She was a very frigid woman even by cultural standards. He went back to the lab to finish his work.
At the Tsurugi home, Kagami was doing something that was incredibly offensive in her culture. She was snooping around in her mother's office!
Breaching a parent's trust was a serious breach of behavior because her actions reflected badly on her mother. In their culture harmony with others was very important.
She knew the consequences if she was discovered. The disappointment and shame were something Kagami would never be able to overcome. However, this didn't detour her.
Kagami was concerned about her mother. Her mother's behavior was getting more extreme by family standards. The closeness between mother and child no longer existed.
The most concerning fact to Kagami was her mother's recent obsession with the Alliance Ring. It was good business etiquette to focus on work and improve on it.
Tomoe was too focused as she never spoke about anything else. Her mother was sleeping in the nap room at the office most nights because of it. She had neglected other important projects.
Kagami opened the top drawer. There were only office supplies so she opened the drawers on the left side.
The top left drawer revealed a thick folder with Kagami's name on it. A smaller folder was underneath it. Sitting down at the desk, the teenager started scanning the documents.
The first folder was a dossier on Kagami herself. She realized her mother was preparing the necessary paperwork to give to a marriage agency in the near future. In Japan, sixteen was the minimum age a female had to be to marry.
Kagami wasn't against marriage. But she hadn't anticipated her mother to start looking for a husband for her until she was twenty-five. That was the modern age society expected girls to marry.
Also, the dossier contained information about the teenager that wasn't true. For example, she didn't hate art. Her favorite drink was orange juice, not Amazake. There wasn't anything about her enjoying skating as a relaxing activity.
Her mother had also requested the traditional three H's, (height, high salary, and high education) when it came to husband requirements. The teenager honestly didn't care if a person was short or tall.
Her topmost considerations in a husband were respect, equality, and support, with education and salary earnings ranking high on the list as well. A husband who was secure with the fact his wife was the breadwinner so to speak.
Closing the dossier, Kagami looked at the other folder. It contained pictures of boys her mother was looking to be her husband. She didn't know why her mother had a picture of Adrien considering he was in a committed relationship.
She put the folders back exactly as she found them. The lowest drawer on the left contained several binders filled with different legal information. Kagami paged through a few of them, but couldn't understand the legal jargon.
The only binder that piqued her interest was the one containing the information regarding her parents' divorce. In Japan, there was no such thing as joint custody. The primary caregiver was given full custody.
It was perfectly legal for one parent to completely cut off all contact with the other parent, including not allowing that person to interact with the child in any way. No wonder she hadn't heard from her father for years.
I was too young back then to understand what was going on. Seeing me in person again had to feel like a miracle to my father. I wish I could find a way to give him some of that time back.
She closed that drawer and went to the top right. There was a security box inside with three keyholes. Whatever was in there had to be important. Since she didn't know where the keys were, she closed the drawer.
The last drawer caused Kagami to raise her eyebrow a millimeter. It contained different prescription bottles. A few were just regular vitamins and natural supplements. There were two that surprised Kagami.
There was medication for arthritis. As far as Kagami knew, her mother was too healthy to have developed arthritis. There was also medication for migraines.
The teenager knew despite being born blind; her mother's blank eyes would try to see things even if they couldn't. All that frustration could cause migraines.
Putting the bottles back, Kagami cleaned up the office. Once she was sure everything was exactly as it was before she left. Hopefully, her mother would never learn of her snooping.
The next day, in an airport in Berlin, Nicole Gaudian was waiting for her flight to Paris. After her meeting with Su-Han, she had flown toward France only for her plane to be grounded in Germany because of bad weather.
In a quiet corner of the airport, the young woman was deep in discussion with her superiors. She concluded what she had learned from Su-Han. "Recent news broadcasts have revealed he is dying. While this may sound like good news, it is also extremely bad"
"What do you mean by that?" the United States representative asked.
A Russian official said a dying man might become more aggressive as he feels he has nothing to lose. Mayura has proven that with her most recent appearance.
"I also believe Monarch has acquired a new partner to aid him," Nicole voiced. Her superiors hid their shock well.
"From what I've learned, Monarch is using the Alliance Ring to grant the magic of the Miraculouses to his victims. The energy transfer feature built into the Alliance has allowed him to keep safe without worrying about the heroes' ability to recover his Kwami Rings."
"Rather ingenious if you think about it," the UK representative remarked. "If you had access to an Alliance Ring, would you be able to trace where the magic originated from?"
"Not exactly. Similar to the data collected from the security grid, I've been able to narrow down magical hotspots and eliminated them one by one. Since the Alliance Ring has its own network, I would need access to the main database."
"The database would contain every registered owner, their location at the time of transfer, as well as a record of how much energy was transferred. When magic is transferred it leaves a distinct energy pattern."
"Then you could use the victims' information to localize the area the transfer came from. Combine that with the grid data and you would be able to pinpoint Monarch's location," the French Representative finished for her.
"Correct. The problem is I haven't been able to gather enough evidence to present to the authorities to get a warrant for the data. The use of the energy transfer feature is circumstantial."
Her supervisors knew she was correct. She needed to find proof that Monarch or someone else not only had access to the network but who could also conceal the information about the magic energy transfers.
It was becoming very apparent that the UN Security Council had to take increased measures to assist France with the capture of the emotional terrorist. The knowledge that unstable magic could lead to hundreds of casualties was weighing on their minds heavily.
The representatives drew closer as they spoke in hushed tones. Nicole/Ning waited patiently for them to finish their discussion. After thirty minutes the representatives came to a consensus.
"Peace Keeper, we have reached an agreement. It is clear to all of us that the situation with Monarch is reaching its endgame. While the government can handle the legal issues, only you and your peacekeeping team of heroes can prevent mass casualties due to unstable magic," the French Representative elucidated.
"Therefore, the Security Council has reached an agreement. Once you arrive in Paris you are to remain there with your team until Monarch, and all his accomplices, have been captured."
"Make sure that your contact keeps you safe and hidden. You will give us daily updates about the situation. Please ensure that Monarch is permanently unable to use magic after his arrest. Is that clear?
In a calm voice, the secret agent replied yes. The young woman was determined this was one peace mission she wouldn't fail.
The next day, Ms. Bustier and a few kids from Ms. Mendeleiev's class went to the pool after school to relax. Odine and Kim were competing against each other. Alix and a few others were playing water volleyball.
Chloe, Sabrina, Aurora, and Mireille were enjoying the sauna. Nino was trying to impress Alya with his diving technique while she recorded him. Adrien and Marinette were in the hot tub.
Marinette scooted down in the water and let out a sigh. "Ah, I needed this. My muscles get sore after swinging through the city all day."
"You have no idea how sore I am after fencing for an hour. That's why I have one of these at home," Adrien replied.
His girlfriend giggled pointing out he was the only one besides, Chloe, with enough money to have one at home. "I'm glad you chose to join us today. I thought you were supposed to be working today?"
"I was able to schedule it for tomorrow. Even though I'm part-time my father keeps finding ways to fill my time with photoshoots once a week." The teenager shuddered as he thought about tomorrow's photoshoot.
"What's with the face?" a tiny voice asked. Both teens looked down in shock to see Snapperfur swimming in the water next to Adrien.
Both teens quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then Adrien scooped her up and hid her under his towel as the two made their way to Adrien's changing room.
Plagg was lying on the top of his wielder's bag when the couple busted in size. He lazily peeked over at Snapperfur. "I told you it would be a bad idea to leave the room."
"Then why didn't you stop me?" his "cousin" demanded.
He rolled his eyes. "Because I'm not dumb enough to let you bite me."
"Snapperfur, what were you thinking being out in the open like that?" Adrien hissed at her.
"I was thinking that people would mistake me for a pool toy and I could have a nice swim. I haven't had a nice swim in ages."
When Adrien pointed out she could have had one at home she was dismissive of him. "A bathroom is not a proper place to have a nice swim. The pool is."
"Besides, I'm a dominative kwami. Everyone should be listening to me anyhow." Both teenagers were not pleased by her attitude.
Adrien was ready to admonish her when cries of pain could be heard outside the room. Marinette tiptoed to the door and peeked out.
She was stunned to see the entire pool drained of water and people trapped at the bottom with minor injuries. Kim had been akumatized. Unlike his previous akumanzation, his color scheme was inverted and he was laughing at everyone.
She quickly shut the door. "It appears that Kim went from Dark Cupid to Dark Humor. He was laughing at the injured people at the bottom of the drained pool."
"One of his pranks probably backfired on him for this to happen. He mentioned he was going to prank Odine even though Max said it was a really bad idea."
Both teens were unhappy that their relaxing day was over. They called on their Kwamiis to transform. Not wanting to leave Snapperfur to her own, the crocodile kwami got to ride in Chat Noir's pocket.
Dark Humor was flying around, shooting arrows at everyone. Imbued with the Xuppo's powers, the arrows tracked anyone they were aimed at, ensuring they never missed.
One of Dark Humor's arrows hit an electrician fixing a street light. The man started laughing. "Wouldn't it be funny if the lights fell over like dominoes?"
He removed the bolts and pushed the street light over. It fell into the next one snapping the pole in half. There were sparking exposed wires that had caused some individuals to become trapped in their location.
"What's the matter? Now you can really do the electric slide!" Dark Humor called out."
Monarch snapped at his Akuma. "You need to spread your humor even further. You want to get the heroes involved right?"
"Right! Now, who should I target next?" the Akuma asked himself. He saw a civilian running away with her dog in her arms. "Perfect! I always wanted to see a human walked by a dog!"
"Aim and Fighting Spirit!" he called out. The arrow soared through the air. Dark Humor spirit outline was guiding the arrow to its target.
The woman zigzagged however it didn't work. The arrow was about to hit when the security grid went up. The woman took a deep breath glad that she was safe.
Ladybug used her yo-yo string to wrap the wires together, glad that the magical string protected her from getting electrocuted. Chat Noir used his enhanced strength to put the light posts back in place, the wires once more underground.
"Run! Hide somewhere!" he urged the civilians. They didn't need to be told twice as they headed for the nearest building. Chat covered them, deflecting the arrows with his weapon.
If I can get close enough to Jinx his bow, he won't be able to attack. I just need to find an opportunity.
Meanwhile, Ladybug drew Dark Humor's attention. "Your humor isn't very humorous! People could get hurt by electric wires!"
"As long as they don't touch them what's the deal?" Dark Humor asked as he shot three arrows at her.
Ladybug barely managed to tap into her special power to cause the arrows to fall a foot short of their target. She flipped away and hid between two arches.
"What about the fact they could start fires? People driving would swerve to avoid them causing a traffic accident!" she called out. "You need to think of the consequences of your pranks!"
Dark Humor growled. "Will people stop ruining my fun?"
He was hit on the back of the head with half of Chat Noir's weapon. The cat hero caught it and replied, "They'll stop when you realize how cruel and dangerous your pranks can be!"
"Shut up!" Dark Humor screamed as he let another arrow lose. Chat weaved around the area trying to lose it.
When Chat ran into the fountain, Snapperfur was dislodged from his pocket. She hit the water with a splash. Instead of being mad, the kwami smiled widely.
"I think it's time to show why crocodiles are the best ambush hunters in the world. She swam towards the center of the fountain and waited. The timing was critical.
Chat Noir jumped back into the fountain as he ran back the way he came. The arrow was only a few seconds behind. "Jury Peers!"
Her power was based on the pressures the jury put on a defendant. The arrow stopped in midair as twelve silhouettes based on the Akuma's friends appeared around the weapon.
Once it fell into the water, the silhouettes turned their attention to Dark Humor. He felt pressure building up in his mind. He felt himself sweating buckets.
"What's the matter?" Monarch demanded angrily. "Why are you fighting?"
With Dark Humor frozen in midair, Chat Noir used the opening to attack.
"Jinx!" he called out as he left four glowing cat scratches on the bow. Coming out of his stupor, Dark Humor loaded an arrow and fired.
Well, he tried to but the arrow fell to the ground and broke in half. The Akuma tried again and got the same result. Jinx had cursed the bow with the inability to fire arrows.
He heaved the weapon away. "Who cares if I can't shoot my arrows? I'll just plunge them into you instead. He dive-bombed the heroes who broke apart narrowly avoiding the arrow tips.
"Lucky Charm!" a toilet bowl landed in Ladybug's arms. She nearly dropped it in revulsion. "This is the worst Lucky Charm ever!"
Chat Noir pushed her to the ground to avoid being impaled. "Use your big brain to figure out what to do with it, and quick," he hissed at her.
She looked around and saw a tube of discarded superglue, a few bouncy balls, and her partner. "I know what I need to do. Can you distract him with those bouncy balls?"
"Meow I can!" he laughed. Running on all fours he dodged Dark Humor's attempts to stick him. Snagging the bouncy balls, he stood up and slammed them on the ground.
The force made them bounce up and hit Dark Humor in the jaw. "That's not funny ow!" Chat had scooped up the balls again and slammed them harder than before on the ground.
This time the balls struck the Akuma's nose, breaking it. Instinctively, he used his hands to keep the blood from forming. In doing so, he dropped his arrows.
That was a mistake. Ladybug jumped into the air and slammed the toilet onto his head. The superglue made it impossible for him to pull it off. The heroine used her yo-yo to cause Dark Humor to go around the world.
He ended up crashing into a wall, breaking the porcelain to break apart. His eyepiece was smashed to bits. Ladybug quickly caught the akuma and purified it.
After casting her Miraculous Ladybug, she walked over to Kim while Chat fished Snapperfur out of the fountain. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
Kim huffed and muttered lousy. "I gave my girlfriend a box with rubber spiders as a prank. She didn't find it funny because she fell into the pool after throwing away the box."
"She called me cruel and a bully. The girls comforted her and the boys were telling me off. I got furious thinking that no one could take a joke."
He looked around the scene. The chaos of what had happened was cleaned up. He had a faint image of what it looked like when he was an Akuma.
"Pranks are not funny when someone could get hurt. I didn't even take the time to ask if Odine was okay with the occasional prank. I am a bonehead."
Ladybug gave him a magical charm and curled the boy's fingers over it. If you express sincere remorse to your girlfriend, she may give you another chance. Keep this charm as a reminder of the lesson you learned today.
Kim promised he would. He watched the heroes disappear through the city. Standing up, he walked back to the pool. He had an apology to give.
Night came and went, bringing a glorious day. The Agreste limo was driving through a less affluent area of Paris. Nathalie drove into a dead-end alley.
Getting out of the car, she felt around the wall and found a hidden switch. She flipped a switch, causing the wall to rise and reveal a downward-sloping road. After returning to her car, she drove down the road, hearing the wall snap back into place.
The road spiraled down three times ending at a security gate. A security card tapped the window. "May I see your pass, please?"
Nathalie handed it over and looked at her boss. He was trying to hide how much pain he was in. His eyes gave him away.
The pass was approved, and they drove into the parking lot. Finding a spot near the elevator, the assistant parked. "Do you need any assistance, sir?"
"No, I can still walk just fine. I hope this doctor is worth all the money I paid for secrecy."
Celebrities and the rich were under constant watch thanks to the media. If they wanted help with their medical needs without anyone knowing about it, they came to Dr. Song's off-the-books clinic.
Dr. Song used both traditional and alternate medicine to help his patients. As long as you could pay his prices, no one would ever learn about any medical problems.
A short time later, Gabriel was situated in a small room as Dr. Song took a look at his body. They had fudged the truth a little by saying he unwittingly touched a cursed object.
"Hmm, this is worse than I originally suspected. How functional is the arm?"
Gabriel grumbled that he could still pick up and manipulate objects. "My arm is starting to go stiff. My range of motion is diminishing slowly."
The doctor looked at the other parts of the body affected by Chat Noir's attack. "Your shoulders, are they stiffening as well?"
"Not yet, but my side is starting to hurt when I walk. I don't know what is going on internally."
"We'll do some tests to determine that. I'm going to take some skin and blood samples. My nurse will escort you over to radiology for X-rays and a CAT scan."
There was a knock on the door and Dr. Song gave them to enter. A young woman in a white and gold robe entered. She was carrying a tray filled with items for smudging, aromatherapy, and three bells.
Dr. Song introduced the young woman as Ericka. She was a spiritual healer. The doctor explained that before he could run his tests, Gabriel needed to be cleansed of negative energy.
Gabriel was annoyed but didn't resist. If the cleansing could slow down the destruction of his body, he would allow it.
Dr. Song and Nathalie stepped out of the room while the cleansing took place. Nathalie questioned what methods the spiritual healer was using.
"Ericka is using smudging to rid your boss of any negative energy. After the energy is banished, she will amniote him with essential oils to promote Gabriel's mental health."
"The bells are for sound healing. The vibrations from the instruments will assist in helping him reach a state of mind where he can clear blockages from his body, mind, and heart."
A short time later, Ericka exited the room and gave a small bow to Dr. Song. "The patient is cleansed, Dr. Song."
"Thanks, I'll take it from here." The man walked back inside to conduct the first tests.
An hour later, Gabriel was being led back to his car. His test results would arrive in a few days. Until then, Dr. Song had prescribed some pain pills.
Ericka had given Nathalie packets with minerals for spiritual baths to keep the negative energy away. She recommended doing it once a day for thirty minutes.
Inside the car, the Kwamiis arose from Nathalie's coat pockets. "How are you feeling, master?"
"A bit bitter. The pain isn't as intense."
Duusu spoke up, "Remember, these methods will only slow the spread of destruction for a few weeks. After that, you'll need to think about your other options."
Gabriel didn't reply. Nathalie sighed softly and started the car. It seemed she would have to work harder to get her boss to listen.