Chapter 22: Pixelator
Chloé Bourgeois and her classmates were at Le Grand Paris for a work experience field trip. She and her father were in the middle of assigning tasks to the students when they noticed a man, a woman, and a crocodile entering the lobby. Mayor Bourgeois was about to tell them to leave when Chloé interrupts him, describing the man as "Jagged Stone, the rockstar", and as "very famous" and "very, very rich".
Hearing that, Mayor Bourgeois quickly changed his demeanor and welcomed "Mr. Stone", describing his hotel, Le Grand Paris, as "the most luxurious in all of Paris".
Jagged Stone and the woman with him requested the hotel's most luxurious suite. Unfortunately, while they were discussing accommodations for Fang (Jagged's crocodile), said crocodile noticed a man sneaking around with a camera and scares him.
"Oh, no. Not him again." Jagged said while sighing in frustration.
"Remember me, Mr. Stone? Vincent Aza! Just one photo to show everyone in the world that we're best buds! Come on, please! I'm your biggest fan!" The man proudly declared.
"I know, you've been to my last 36 shows. But we are not friends." Jagged replied, tired of that crazy fan.
Vincent Aza tried to take a picture of Jagged Stone but the woman with him blocked him and took his camera. She also tossed him and his camera out of the hotel. After congratulating Vincent for catching the camera, she warns him that he won't get it back next time.
While Jagged and the woman with him registered themselves (the woman turned out to be his assistant Penny Rolling), Chloé remembered something important and checked the authorizations signed by her classmates' parents. As she recognized the name Anarka Couffaine as Juleka's mother, the Mayor's daughter name a web search for "Jagged Stone" and "Anarka Couffaine" and found "Crocoduo". "I knew the name Couffaine was so familiar!" Chloé exclaimed in triumph.
"What do we do, Chloé?" Sabrina asked.
"We'll talk to Juleka to see if she'll have any problem with Jagged Stone." Chloé replied. Tikki and Plagg would have said something but the two kwamis were afraid somebody would overhear them.
Meanwhile, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who was assigned as the gopher for the work experience was tasked with acquiring a special pair of shades for Jagged Stone's gig that night. Red, white and blue with two large Eiffel Towers on them. She went to the Eiffel Tower to buy the requested item but the closest thing she found had small towers instead so she decided to make some changes.
Back at the hotel, Chloé was talking to Juleka Couffaine. "Chloé, I didn't even know my Mom knew Jagged Stone." Juleka said. "She never said anything even with Jagged Stone being Luka's idol."
"Who's Luka?" Chloé asked in confusion.
"My twin brother." Juleka answered.
"You have a twin brother and he doesn't attend school with us?" Chloé asked, having never heard of him before.
"He attends another school, Chloé." Juleka explained and the Mayor's daughter decided not to press the issue.
"AKUMA!" They suddenly heard Adrien shouting. "He's using a camera on his head to imprison people into photographs!"
"Must be that Vincent Aza." Chloé said as Adrien resumed running. Realizing Juleka ran as well, Chloé went to her room to transform.
Later on, the akuma was imprisoning more people and demanding for Jagged Stone when Superbug and Catgirl showed up. "Give up, Vincent Aza!" Superbug demanded.
"I don't know how you figured out my former name but I'm Pixelator now." Pixelator replied. "Now get out of the way or take me to Jagged Stone!"
"If you want Jagged Stone, you'll have to go through me!" Superbug declared.
"In that case, look at the lens." Pixelator replied and, when he tried to capture her, Superbug used a compact powder's mirror to deflect the beam back to Pixelator.
"Lucky Charm!" Superbug shouted and received another compact powder. 'Tikki and I must be on the same line of thought.' She thought. Meanwhile, Catgirl shouted "Cataclysm!" and destroyed Pixelator's camera. Superbug purified the butterfly, tossed the conjured compact powder and said "Miraculous Ladybug!", restoring everything to normal. After the pixelated victims were back to normal, Superbug and Catgirl left.
After the work day ended, Mayor Bourgeois announced that Jagged Stone decided to give tickets to Jagged Stone's show to the students who worked the most. Penny gave tickets to Marinette, Alya, Adrien and Nino. "What about me?" Chloé asked.
"What did you do of special, Chloé?" Marinette asked in disdain. In spite of how much Chloé changed, Marinette still maintained some distrust.
"I consulted with Juleka to see if things might be awkward, Dupain-Cheng." Chloé explained.
Having heard that, Penny Rolling approached Chloé. "Do you mean Juleka Couffaine?" She asked the Mayor's daughter.
"Yes, Ms. Rolling." Chloé answered. "She's one of the students who came here for the work experience."
"What did she say?" Penny asked, showing a level of worry that made Chloé suspect there was more to the history between Jagged Stone and Anarka Couffaine that even Juleka seemed to know.
"That she didn't even know her mother was part of a 'Crocoduo' with Jagged Stone." Chloé answered.
Penny then gave Chloé an extra ticket. "Enjoy the show." Chloé understood the message.
She and Sabrina then returned to the former's hotel room. "What was that, Chloé?" Tikki asked.
"Tikki, I think I found out who Juleka's father is." Chloé told her kwami.
"But why did she never tell anyone, Chloé?" Sabrina asked her friend.
"I don't think she knows it herself." Chloé replied.
"That explains her hot using her position to get camembert." Plagg commented.
"Plagg, there are more important things than camembert." Tikki scolded Plagg.
"Of course there are, sugarcube." Plagg agreed. "I just don't remember any."
Meanwhile, at a boat house, Juleka Couffaine was telling her brother about the work experience she had. "Really?" Luka asked with a smile. "You met Jagged Stone?"
"Technically, I didn't meet him." Juleka answered. "He was at the hotel but I was too nervous to talk to him, Luka."
"For the first time I regret not being at the same school as you." Luka commented. "I could've asked for Jagged Stone's autograph."
"Actually, the papers regarding the work experience prohibited us from asking for autographs, Luka." Juleka explained.
"Did Mayor Bourgeois already expect Jagged Stone to show up when he and the school started discussing the work experience, Jules?" Luka asked his sister.
"No, but the hotel already had its fair share of celebrity guests." Juleka answered. "One of the maids even said that the Mayor is friends with a celebrity agent named Bob Roth."
"Cool!" Luka commented.
"The real surprise is that Mom used to be part of a musical duo with Jagged Stone and I had to learn it from Chloé of all people." Juleka commented back.
"Chloé?" Luka asked. "Isn't she that bully you say is changing for the better lately?"
"At first, I thought she just wanted to look good in front of Adrien Agreste or at least was afraid her victims would be akumatized but now I think she's really changing." Juleka explained.
"Do you think she'd let us go to the hotel and meet Jagged Stone?" Luka asked.
"Sorry, Luka." Juleka sadly answered. "The closest Chloé and I ever came to being friends is to be civil towards each other."
"It's okay, Jules." Luka told his sister. "I just wonder why Mom never told us about her history with Jagged Stone."
"Do you want to ask her?" Luka asked.
"No." Juleka answered, scared by the very idea of asking her mother about something she refused to tell.
The next day, two former guests of Le Grand Paris were returning. "Bob Roth, XY, it's always good to see you again." The Mayor happily exclaimed. "What brings the both of you back to Paris?"
"I'm managing XY." Bob Roth proudly answered. "He's becoming even more popular than Jagged Stone, and Jagged Stone had been my most profitable musician for longer than anybody else I ever managed."
"Congratulations, Bob Roth." Mayor Bourgeois replied, happy for his friend.
"Thank you, Andre." Bob Roth replied. "But now I must make sure Jagged Stone catches up with my son."
"Isn't that too risky?" Chloé asked. "He's good enough to look for another agent if you displease him too much."
"He doesn't need to know that, does he?" Bob Roth maliciously asked.
"Good question." Chloé replied.
End chapter