Miraculous Weasel CH 7
Mr. Pigeon
A Tang Ri Shan Fanfic
Reminder: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, or any characters apart from my OC.
Enjoy!
I let out a sigh as I bit down on my pencil, trying to focus on what Miss Bustier was saying. But my mind kept flashing back to what had happened the previous night. It had been several days since our battle with Timebreaker and, as he had promised, Chat Noir had begun joining me on my evening patrols of Paris. He hadn't shown up for all of them, but the ones he had attended had all been pleasantly memorable.
I felt a chuckle escape my lips as I remembered what had happened last night. Chat Noir had not shown up at the meeting place, so I originally assumed he was not going to be coming. Soon after I had started, however, I noticed that Chat Noir was following me. He called out to me, but I had pretended not to hear him, and led him on a chase of twenty city blocks before finally letting him catch up with me. I expected him to annoyed, but the first thing he did, after catching his breath, was give me a knowing smile and say "Don't stop on my behalf." That had turned into an all-out race through the city, jumping across rooftops, swinging from poles, and the two of us trying to out-perform each other with acrobatic tricks. After a while, I wasn't focusing on looking for criminals anymore, I was too busy having fun!
Needless to say, I went to bed last night feeling exhausted, but immensely satisfied. Honestly, while I may have started these nightly patrols as a way to distract myself from how I felt about Chat Noir, I enjoyed them a lot more when he was there, because he always managed to make them entertaining. We joked around a lot, laughing at each other's antics, competed against each other, and I had even playfully 'flirted' with him a little. It had started out with small gestures, such as batting my eyes at him, running my tail down his arm, or speaking in a 'romantic' tone of voice that usually made him blush and me laugh. But I was starting to get bolder, in my actions. A few days ago, I had gone so far as to pretend to fall in order for Chat Noir to catch me. I had given the "my big strong hero" comment before pecking him on the cheek. His face had turned bright red, but he just smiled back at me. Even better, he hadn't complained about my actions, not even once.
This gave me hope that maybe Chat noir would fall for me yet. After all, he rarely mentioned Ladybug during the times he had patrolled with me, and there had been no visible sign of Ladybug at all during any of the nights that Chat noir had joined me on patrol. However, I had a sneaking suspicion Ladybug knew what I was doing. Don't ask me how I knew, but I could feel someone watching us occasionally during our patrols, and my gut told me it was Ladybug. Still, the fact that she appeared to have no problem with what I was doing gave me confidence. Maybe it was time to start being more direct with my feelings.
"Attention please!" A loud male voice snapped me back to the present, and I looked up to see that Mr. Damocles had joined Miss Bustier in the front of the classroom. "Thank you, now, I would like to announce our fashion design contest. Members of the class who are interested in competing will work, either in teams, or on their own, to design a fashion piece. You will have one day to complete your design, and it must be your own original design."
Each student was given a hard look before he continued. "In ten hours, your final presentations will be judged by none other than the great fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, the father of our very own student, Adrien Agreste." Mr. Damocles motioned to Adrien, who grinned sheepishly. "In fact, Adrien will be modelling the winning design in his next photoshoot, along with his modelling partner, Alice Bourgeois."
Now it was my turn to grin sheepishly as many faces turned to look at me, faces that were full of joy, admiration, or, in the case of my sister, envy.
"And now," Mr. Damocles clapped for attention. "To announce this year's theme: Derby Hats!" He motioned to an image of said headgear on the board behind him.
I raised an eyebrow. Derby hats? I hadn't been expecting that!
I heard a small gasp come from Marinette, and saw Chloe shoot her a thumbs down. I frowned and shot her an angry look. The contest just started, and already my sister was trying to put down the competition. Typical Chloe!
Mr. Damocles cleared his throat, regaining my attention.
"Adrien, Alice, since the two of you will be modeling the winning designs, you are not permitted to take part in the contest, nor are you allowed to help any of the participants with their designs. Do you both understand this?" Mr. Damocles gave Adrian a stern look, then gave me one.
"We understand." Adrien replied.
"Completely." I added with a nod.
"Very good, then I will leave you to your designing. Good luck to all of you!" Mr. Damocles said before leaving the room.
Shortly after he left, class resumed, but I found myself unable to listen to what Miss Bustier was saying. I was too busy thinking about the contest. I hadn't been told the theme, just that it was something that Adrien and I would both be able to model. Derby hats seemed a bit…off, though. I could see Adrien pulling off wearing one, but me?
Just then, the bell rang and we were dismissed. I quickly gathered my things, hoping to have a word with Adrien before he left. Turns out, I really needn't have bothered rushing, he and Nino had hung back after everyone else had left, chatting with each other.
"Adrien, could I have a word?" I asked, walking up to him.
Adrien nodded before turning to Nino. "Sure! See you later Nino!"
"No sweat! Catch ya around, dude and dudette!" Nino gave both of us a funny little salute before heading off.
"So, what's up?" Adrien asked as the two of us left the classroom.
My eyes narrowed a little. "Did you know that the theme was going to be Derby Hats?"
"No, I didn't." Adrien confessed. "Why? Is that going to be a problem?"
"Well, no…" I admitted. "But aren't derby hats supposed to be a guy thing?"
"I don't think there's any law that says girls can't wear them too, maybe my father's trying to start a new trend." Adrien chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time he's done that."
"True." I allowed myself a smile. If anyone could make derby hats popular for girls, it would be Gabriel Agreste.
By this time, we had reached the bottom of the stairs, and I spotted Marinette talking to Alya at a nearby bench. From the way Marinette was motioning and waving her arms, she was probably vocalizing another 'my life is over' scenario involving Adrien. Alya had told me that Marinette did this sometimes, but this was the first time I had seen one, and I was forced to bite my lip to keep from laughing at my friend's crazy gestures and poses.
As I watched, Alya shook her head at her friend's antics, picked up Marinette's sketchpad, and began to look through it.
I grinned, getting an idea. "Hey Adrien, wanna go say hello to Alya and Marinette?" I asked innocently.
"Sure!" Adrien, ever so clueless, followed me over to where the girls were standing, missing the smirk on my face.
Alya and Marinette were so busy examining Marinette's designs, that they didn't hear us approach. Peeking over Alya's shoulder, we were able to examine the book as well.
"Wow, Alya, those are super awesome designs." Adrien said after a moment, causing the two girls to look up. "I didn't know you had such mad skills."
At the sight of Adrien, Marinette squeaked in panic and hid behind the bench, while Alya's eyebrows rose as she glanced, first at Adrien, then at me.
Trying not to laugh at Marinette's reaction, I leaned over to get a better look. "You can say that again," I added, putting on a look of amazement. "I would love to wear some of these. Oh, look at this one, it's so cute!" I ran my hand over a drawing of a blonde-haired girl wearing a white beret.
"Hey, that one would look pretty good on you, Alice." Adiren commented.
"Really? You think so?" I asked, trying to sound eager. In truth, I did agree with him, but playing it up a little couldn't hurt.
Alya let out a chuckle, but from the grin on her face, she must have caught on to what I was trying to do. "Thanks, you two, but I can't take the credit. These sick designs belong to Marinette" She motioned to the dark-haired girl, who gave an embarrassed wave from her hiding place.
"Oh wow, Marinette!" I pretended to look surprised. "I had no idea you were an aspiring fashion designer!"
Marinette narrowed her eyes at me, knowing that I did know that, as Alya laughed. "I know, check 'em out! Off the chain, right?"
"Totally off the chain!" I replied, giving Marinette a subtle wink that caused her angry look to fade and her eyes to widen in realization.
"You're super talented, Marinette." Adrien added. "You seriously have a good chance of winning."
"Well, um, yeah!" Marinette stammered. "I…like—um, designs that—um, go…upwards?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alya frantically making motions with her hands and suddenly had a very strong urge to laugh out loud. "Um, while stopping…I mean, uh-uh, um, thanks?"
By this point, I was biting my lip so hard I was afraid I would soon taste blood, my legs shaking with mirth, but I managed to keep it together and gently pulled on Adrien's arm.
Adrien got the message. "Sure, and uh—good luck. Maybe we'll be wearing your derby at my father's next photoshoot." He said and waved goodbye. I nodded and did the same, before the two of us walked away.
As soon as I was certain Marinette could no longer hear us, I started to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Adrien asked.
"Marinette." I answered mid-giggle. "Sometimes she does the strangest things."
"Heh, maybe she just has problems expressing herself." Adrien shrugged his shoulders. "It happens every now and then."
"No argument." I said, as we came to a stop near the far wall, and I turned to face him. "But sometimes I do worry about her, given how klutzy she can be." No sooner had I said that, when my gaze drifted behind Adrien to see Marinette run headlong into a wall. I gave a slight wince as Marinette recovered, and almost ran into another wall, before finally dashing through the door out into the street.
"So, we've got about nine hours to kill before the contest judging, and I actually don't have another commitment today." Adrien said, regaining my attention. "What do you wanna do?"
"Hmmm, good question." I stroked my chin. "Go get manicures?" I asked jokingly.
Adrien's eyes widened in horror, before I chuckled, letting him know I was kidding.
"Har har." He said, looking relieved. "Seriously though, any ideas?"
"Well…" I thought for a moment, then I grit my teeth as I remembered something. "Actually, I just remembered that I have some homework to finish, so I'm probably just going to head to the library and work on it."
"Oh, what assignment is it?" Adrien asked.
"That creative writing piece for Miss Bustier. I meant to finish it last night, but thanks to Chloe, that didn't get done." I rolled my eyes at the mention of my sister and Adrien nodded, understanding. "Dad's been insisting the two of us spend more time together, so Chloe and Sabrina dragged me over to her room to watch a movie."
"What movie?" Adrien asked.
"'The Drama Queen Diaries'." I said with a groan. "I swear, it's like Chloe's trying to emulate the main character!"
Adrien winced, then looked confused. "Wait, I thought the main character in that movie was a boy."
I blinked at him, then I started laughing. "No, no! You're thinking of 'Cyberpunk Chronicles'." I said in-between giggles. "Drama Queen Diaries is the sequel to that. It's about a girl with an attitude a lot like Chloe's who keeps a diary, and the diary gets discovered and published in a newspaper by the girl's little sister as payback for the girl not spending enough time with her."
"Oh, right! I'm sorry." Adrien smiled sheepishly. "That makes a lot more sense. Still, it sounds like an interesting plot."
"Yeah, it would have been." I said, rolling my eyes as I spoke. "If someone hadn't spent nearly the whole movie complaining about what the characters should have done."
"Having seen movies with Chloe before, I feel your pain." Adrien said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I covered his hand with my own and gave him a smile. "That's really sweet of you." I said, and I meant it. "And I'm sorry for breaking off like this, but that assignment is due tomorrow and I'm only half done."
"Then you'd better get working then. Go on, I'll be fine." Adrien nodded towards the library.
"Thanks Adrien." I said, before leaning forward to peck him on the cheek. "You're the best."
"If you say so." Adrien said, causing me to giggle as I turned away.
"Catch you at the final judging!" I waved as I headed for the stairs.
"See you then!" Adrien waved back before heading towards the doors that led outside.
Making my way up to the school library, I was pleased to find it relatively empty. Choosing a corner where I was not likely to be disturbed, I opened my computer, and started to work.
A few hours later, I sat back and stretched. I had completed the assignment and was satisfied with how it had turned out. As I stood up and went over to the printer, I glanced at my watch and saw that I had about four-and-a-half hours left before the judging.
Hmmm, what can I do now? I wondered as my assignment printed. After pondering for a while longer, I decided to see if Adrien would want to meet up again. Maybe Mr. Agreste would let us spend some time together. He had become quite lenient whenever Adrien and I had asked to hang out together. It was almost like he was encouraging Adrien to spend as much time with me as possible, as if he expected us to...
What am I thinking?! I snorted with amusement at the thought of the serious and stone-faced Mr. Agreste secretly playing matchmaker for Adrien and I. There was no way that was possible, and even if it were, my heart belonged solely to Chat Noir. But hey, I wasn't going to complain either. Adrien and I were good friends, I loved hanging out with him, and I knew his spending time with me was helping him to socialize, so it was a win-win for everyone.
After delivering my assignment to Miss Bustier's classroom, I headed for the door, pulling out my phone as I walked.
Hey Adrien, I just finished my assignment. You think I can come over? I texted Adrien.
A moment later, he responded. Sure, I'll let Natalie know. What did you write about?
Grinning, I responded as I descended the steps towards the courtyard.
A story about a girl who is in love with a prince, but because the boy is in love with another woman, the girl is forced to settle for being the boy's friend.
As I sent this, I felt a blush come across my face. Part of my inspiration for this story was my crush on Chat Noir.
Wow, that's really similar to my story! Adrien's reply had me raise an eyebrow.
Really? Please elaborate! I urged.
He did a moment later: My story is about a peasant boy who is in love with a princess, but since they cannot see each other, he disguises himself and visits the princess every night, and discovers that the princess is really a very shy person.
I chuckled as I read the text, but then a vision flashed through my mind, about a blonde boy in a black mask kissing a regal-looking girl with black hair, and I felt myself frown. Adrien's summary was making me think of the relationship between Char Noir and Ladybug. In spite of everything I was doing to get Chat Noir's attention, I had also witnessed several signs indicating that his crush on Ladybug was still strong. I had seen him gazing at images of Ladybug on billboards or TVs during our patrols, and occasionally I would see him glance around, as if expecting the red-suited heorine to appear alongside us.
I shook my head, putting my phone in my purse. Surely Ladybug had to know how Chat Noir felt about her by now. As far as I could tell, she didn't return his feelings, so why wasn't she making mor eof an effort to stop his advances? Did she secretly like the attention? I was going to have to ask her about that sometime when Chat Noir wasn't around.
By this time, I had reached the doors leading out of the school. Sighing, I stepped through the doorway, looked up, and froze in place. "What in the world?" I gasped, my eyes widening, as I saw that the street outside the school was littered with pigeons. They were everywhere!
"Wow, I've never seen so many pigeons in one place!" Minkk exclaimed, appearing out of her hiding place in my hair. I had recently discovered that my kwami enjoyed hiding in my hair when we went out in public. She would curl up at the back of my head, wrapping a few strings around herself to keep her in place, and stay there all day. As long as I didn't turn my head too quickly, or no one touched that particular spot of my head, it was pretty effective.
"Me neither, something is not right here!" I said before cupping my hands in front of me. Minkk dove into my hands, before I darted back inside the school. I froze again, seeing that pigeons were congregating here too, in the courtyard, on the basketball hoops, or perching on the railings of the stairs and balconies. I had been so focused on my thoughts I had walked right past dozens of them without realizing it.
Frowning, I glanced around and saw the door leading to the basement nearby. I made for it, and slipped through, trying to be as quiet as possible. Leaning against the door, I let out a sigh of relief.
"You think someone's been akuamtized?" Minkk asked, floating up in front of me.
"Possibly. Let's see if we can find out." I opened my phone and went to a news site, figuring that, if an akuamtized person was responsible, then the media might have some information.
Nadjia Chamak appeared on the screen. "Pigeons have taken over Paris!" She announced. "This is just one of the many alarming situations giving authorities cause for major concern." She suddenly froze, touching her earpiece. "Yes, I've just been told that someone named Mr. Pigeon is making an announcement, so let's go to him now!"
"Mr. Pigeon?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow, as the image changed to show a man wearing what looked like a gray suit with a pink hood standing on a part of the Eiffel Tower.
"Oh, dreary day, poor Parisians." The man said, before making pigeon noises, causing Minkk and I to look at each other in disbelief. "Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but Paris now belongs to the pigeons! Flap Flap!" We glanced back at the screen as the man continued to speak, before suddenly jumping around, flapping his arms like a big bird, making more pigeon noises.
Having seen enough, I closed the link. "Well, that's definitely the most eccentric villain I've ever seen." I commented.
"True, but he's still a villain, and still a threat to Paris." Minkk reminded me. "You know what to do!"
I nodded. "Minkk, Showtime!" I called out. Minkk dove into my belt buckle, and I transformed into Ermine.
Moments later, I was leaping across the rooftops, following several flocks of pigeons towards the Eiffel Tower. Hopefully the villain was still there, because I wasn't sure what I would do if he wasn't.
As I ran, I suddenly spotted Ladybug a few roofs over. Altering my course, I leapt over the few rooftops separating us and came up behind her.
"Ladybug!" I called, causing my red-spotted partner to turn around.
"Ermine!" She greeted me as I ran up to her.
"So have you ever seen anything like this before?" I asked, pointing to the pigeon flocks flying over us, Oddly, they were flying in formations that seemed to resemble airplane silhouettes.
"Never." Ladybug shook her head, also looking up. "This is weirder than weird."
"Birds of a feather, flock together." A voice sang out from a ledge almost directly above us. We glanced up to see Chat Noir grinning down at us.
"Kitty!" I grinned at our other partner. But my grin faded when Chat Noir suddenly sneezed, the force of it knocking him off his perch and causing him to roll down the incline of the roof to where we were. "Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm just allergic to feathers." Chat Noir answered as he flipped to his feet, before suddenly sneezing again.
"That's going to be helpful." Ladybug said sarcastically.
"Tell me about it." Chat Noir grumbled, before acting like he was going to sneeze again, but stopped himself. "Anyway, these birds are only part of the problem. The park keepers in Paris are vanishing without a trace."
My eyes widened. "What? Why?"
Chat Noir shrugged his shoulders. "You got me, but I'll bet it's Mr. Pigeon's doing as well."
"Then we have to track down Mr. Pigeon ASAP." Ladybug determined.
"The news broadcast I saw showed him at the Eiffel Tower." I suggested.
Chat Noir shook his head. "He's not there now, I already checked." He replied.
"So how are we going to find him, then?" I asked, my tail swishing with annoyance.
"Hmmm…." Ladybug looked thoughtful, then she grinned at us. "I don't know where we can find him, but I do know where he can find us. Come on, I've got a plan!" She said before leaping away. Chat Noir and I exchanged a glance, before shrugging and following her towards a nearby park.
Ladybug's 'plan' proved to be simple, involving putting a cap on Chat Noir's head and having him pretend to be a park keeper while Ladybug and I hid behind the nearby trees.
"How long do we have to wait?" I hissed just loud enough for Ladybug to hear.
"Until Mr. Pigeon takes the bait, now hush!" Ladybug shushed me.
Huffing, I turned to watch Chat Noir, who was tapping his foot and whistling to himself. Suddenly, he spun around and started to dance in place. I giggled, clapping a hand over my mouth as Ladybug groaned.
"Act natural or he'll never show up!" She hissed as Chat Noir galloped past.
"What do you mean? I am acting natural!" Chat Noir replied, reverse moonwalking in the opposite direction.
"He's not wrong, you know." I said to Ladybug, then paused as I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see a pigeon flying away from us, and my eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" I heard Ladybug ask me.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." I said, turning back to my colleagues, but I couldn't shake the feeling that pigeon looked like it had been in an awful big hurry.
We waited, and waited, but there was still no sign of Mr. Pigeon.
"Urgh! Where is he?" Ladybug grumbled, "He should have been here by now!"
As I made to answer, a shadow passed over me, causing me to look up. The pigeon was back, and he wasn't alone!
"Hey, heads up!" I called out a warning, just as Chat Noir sneezed.
"What the-?" Ladybug exclaimed as a huge flock of pigeons clustered together in midair before descending on Chat Noir. He yelped in surprise as the birds grabbed him and carried him away.
"After him!" I leapt from my hiding spot and used my whip to jump after the fleeing flock of pigeons, with Ladybug right behind me.
After chasing the bird ball for a few blocks, I realized that we were heading towards the Grand Paris Hotel, and my pulse quickened. I hope Mr. Pigeon hadn't done anything to hurt my family!
Ladybug and I landed on the roof and heard Chat Noir sneeze from the area near the pool. We rushed over to find our friend surrounded by pigeons, but there was no sign of the villain.
"Chat Noir! Are you okay?" I called as we dashed up to him.
"I'm fine. Where's that birdbrain, Mr. Pigeon?" Chat Noir said, looking around.
"He's gotta be here somewhere." Ladybug and I also looked around, but the villain was nowhere in sight, only the pigeons, and there seemed to suddenly be a lot more of them!
I felt a shiver crawl down my spine and my tail twitched nervously as I looked around. So many pigeons were just sitting there, silently watching us. It was beginning to creep me out.
"I wonder if this is what people felt like in 'The Birds'." I commented.
"You mean that Alfred Hitchcock movie?" Chat Noir asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, the one where birds attack people for no apparent reason."
"But these birds have a reason for attacking." Ladybug reminded us.
"Which doesn't make our situation any less creepy." I retorted as I continued to look from one pair of pigeon eyes to another.
The sound of a bird call suddenly filled the air, and the pigeons all took off at once, flying in a circle around us.
"Call me crazy, but I feel like birdseed all of a sudden." Ladybug said as the circle of pigeons tightened around us, making us step back towards each other.
"It's like they're herding us somewhere." I observed.
"Got any bright ideas?" Chat Noir asked us.
"You're the carnivores, don't you two eat these things for breakfast?" Ladybug argued.
"Weasels prefer rodents." I corrected her. By now, the circle was so tight that the three of us were standing back-to-back. A shadow fell over us, causing me to look up. "Look out!" I warned, but it was too late. While we had been distracted by the pigeon swarm, another group had taken the opportunity to drop a giant cage on us. We were trapped!
Growling in annoyance, I threw my shoulder against the cage bars. No good, they held strong.
"Turpy day! I'm so ruthless." Mr. Pigeon twittered with glee as he appeared on the railing. "Your Miraculous, give them to me, or face the wrath of my feathered friends!"
"Fat chance, birdbrain!" Chat Noir snarled up at him.
Mr. Pigeon simply shrugged at us, then sounded his bird call.
"Look!" Ladybug suddenly pointed up, and we looked to see that some of the pigeons had begun jumping up and down on top of the cage, causing the roof to slowly lower towards us.
I heard Chat Noir gasp in alarm, but I narrowed my eyes, studying the descending roof, and I felt a smile cross my face.
"Why are you smiling? We're gonna be crushed!" Chat Noir exclaimed.
"No, we're not." I replied. "Based on the design of the cage roof, even if the pigeons get it all the way down, we should still have enough space between the roof and the floor to avoid being crushed."
"Hey, she's right!" Ladybug commented and I smirked.
"Hmph!" Mr. Pigeon gave an annoyed snort. "Well, let's see you figure a way out of this!" Mr. Pigeon blew his bird call again, and many of the pigeons surrounding us suddenly turned and pointed their rear ends at us.
"Oh, ew!" I made a face as I realized what was about to happen.
"Dada-dee, on the count of three, my beloved pigeons will commence fire." Mr. Pigeon said triumphantly as the pigeons raised their tail feathers in unison, and I heard Ladybug and Chat Noir gasp behind me as they realized what was about to happen. "You can still save your sorry skins by handing me your Miraculous. One...Two…!"
"Chat Nor, the bars!" Ladybug ordered.
"Right! CATACLYSM!" Chat Noir activated his superpower, charging his hand with pure destructive energy." He swiped it against the bars of the cage, causing them to rapidly rust and decay.
After a few seconds, the cage was so corroded it practically fell apart, scattering the pigeons, who flew up to escape the falling rusty bars.
The three of us began to advance on Mr. Pigeon, who began backing away from us, no longer looking so confident.
"Well, well. Looks like the pigeon's really a chicken!" Chat Noir gloated as Mr. Pigeon found himself backed up to the edge of the roof.
"Don't feel so ruthless now, do you?" I added, snapping my whip against the roof with loud crack!
Startled by the noise, Mr. Pigeon leapt up onto the railing. I cracked my whip again, and the villain winced. Then he seemed to freeze in place for a moment, then his face suddenly regained a confident look.
"Oh, I'm still more ruthless than any of you could ever hope to be, and I'm not flying away. I'm just killing three birds with one stone." He said before, sounding his bird call. Then, to our surprise, he leaned backwards until he tumbled over the edge of the roof.
Gasping in surprise, the three of us rushed to the edge of the roof, just in time to see a flock of pigeons catch him and lift him up over our heads. The villain smirked at our expressions, before suddenly jumping off his pigeon platform. Before our eyes, more pigeons swarmed around him, creating a shape that seemed to resemble Santa's sleigh and a reindeer.
"This guy may be eccentric, but you have to admit also pretty imaginative." I admitted as we watched the 'sleigh' flying around.
"Uh huh." I heard Chat Noir and Ladybug agree.
"Merry Christmas!" Mr. Pigeon taunted as the 'sleigh' dove down at us and launched a 'present' directly at the three of us.
"Move it!" Ladybug yelled as she ran towards the door that led off the roof. Chat Noir and I were right on her heels. I dove through the door seconds before Ladybug and Chat Noir slammed it shut. A massive bulge appeared in the door as dozens of beaks crashed into it.
We braced ourselves for a second attack, but when none came, we sighed with relief, collapsing to the floor.
"Ouch!" Chat Noir winced as he ran his hand across the bulge caused by the pigeon's beak's. "Glad this fire door took the blow instead of us. That would have really hurt."
"Yeah, we managed to avoid getting hurt, but what about the pigeons?" I commented. When Chat Noir and Ladybug looked at me quizzically, I added "For all we know, that coward may be forcing those pigeons to attack us, and now the've hit that door so hard their poor little heads are probably ringing!"
"All the more reason to capture Mr. Pigeon's akuma, ASAP." Ladybug said as she started down the stairs. "Come on!"
Three of us ran down into the depths of the hotel, Ladybug taking the lead. "So, what's the plan now?" I asked as we ran. "If he's willing to make those pigeons ram into a steel door, then he's probably not shy about using them as shields as well."
"Well, maybe we could…" Ladybug's reply was cut off when Chat Noir's ring started to beep rapidly.
"Hey, not to add onto our worries, but I've gotta get out of here before my secret identity is revealed." He said nervously.
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag." Ladybug joked, causing me to giggle.
"Ha ha, very funny." Chat Noir was clearly not amused.
By this point, we had reached the ground floor and made our way into the lobby of the hotel. We could see a large crowd gathered around the entrance of the hotel. My heart sank as I recognized several hotel guests amongst the crowd. It looked like the threat of Mr. Pigeon was starting to make people antsy. I hoped this didn't affect my father's business.
At that moment, we spotted my father trying to console the crowd. He quicky spotted us as well and rushed over. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ermine! I'm in great danger-!" I immediately tensed, my eyes scanning the lobby for any signs of danger. Had some of the pigeons followed us into the building? "—Of losing big bucks if my guests leave Paris!" My father continued, and I almost fell over in disbelief. Sometimes my father was more like Chloe than I was comfortable with. "You are going to get rid of those pigeons, aren't you?" My father asked desperately.
Before any of us could reply, Chat Noir's miraculous started beeping again and he began to fidget nervously, causing Ladybug and I to chuckle.
"Um…of course we are! But before we do, I have an urgent need!" Chat Noir pleaded.
"An urgent need?" My father looked thoughtful, then his face brightened. "Ah, I see." He turned and snapped his fingers. The three of us turned to see Jean standing by an open elevator. The butler bowed and motioned to the open doors.
"Jean will take you to the Royal Suite." My father instructed as Chat Noir dashed towards the elevator. "There's paper there, but…perhaps you would prefer…a litter tray?"
Chat Noir froze and my eyes widened as we realized what my father meant. I was suddenly overcome with such a strong case of the giggled that I had to clap my hands over my mouth to keep them contained. In the corner of my eye, I saw Ladybug biting her lip to keep from laughing as well.
Chat Noir shot us a glare from the elevator, but when his miraculous started beeping again, he jumped and quickly turned back to my father.
"Uh, right…um…no need for litter. But…um… could I please have some Camembert?" He asked as the elevator doors closed. The instant before they did, I could have sworn I saw Jean raise an eyebrow.
I bit my lip as another wave of laughter rose in me. My father turned to the two of us, looking utterly perplexed. Ladybug just shrugged, but I had a pretty good idea what Chat Noir was implying at so, fighting down my laughter, I dropped my hands and stepped up to my father.
"It's kinda hard to explain, just do as he says." I instructed, traces of humor still in my voice. I saw Ladybug roll her eyes next to me. "Oh, and in the meantime, tell your guests that they should be safe if they remain inside. These pigeons don't seem to like going indoors." I added, trying to sound more serious.
My father nodded and turned to speak with an approaching staff member, still looking rather confused, while Ladybug tapped me on the shoulder and motioned to another open elevator. I nodded and we made for it. "Tell Chat Noir to meet us on the roof when he's ready!" Ladybug called over her shoulder.
I saw my father wave to show us he had heard as we stepped into the elevator. When the doors closed, I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, leaning against the wall as I clutched my chest.
"Chat Noir…needing a…litter tray?" I gasped in between laughs. "Seriously?"
"In the mayor's defense, what else was he supposed to think?" Ladybug replied, but I could see she was giggling as well. "Kitty's motions were pretty similar to someone who had to go to the bathroom."
"I know, I know." I said as I felt the laughter leave me and I let out a sigh. "Still though, did you see the look on his face when the mayor suggested it?"
"Mm hmm." Ladybug nodded, which set off a fresh wave of giggles from me.
"And Camembert?" I said between my chuckles. "Strange preference for Chat Noir's kwami, don't you think?"
Ladybug's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's why he asked for it! Of course!" She exclaimed before slapping her forehead, causing me to chuckle again.
"What, you didn't realize that?" I asked. Ladybug sheepishly shook her head.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, it seems every kwami has a different food craving." She realized.
"Oh? What does your kwami like?" I asked.
Ladyubg hesitated for a second, then replied. "Mine really likes baked goods, like pastries."
"Huh, mine enjoys chocolate more than anything else, especially brownies." I said, smirking at how quickly Minkk had taken to said treat. I was having brownies brought up to my room so often I had a feeling some of the staff were starting to wonder what I was doing with them all.
"Funny how both our kwamis seem to have a sweet tooth." Ladybug commented.
"I know, right?" I replied as we finally reached the top floor. Stepping out of the elevator, we found ourselves in a dining hall lined with large glass windows.
"Great, we should be able to get a better view from here while still avoiding the pigeons." Said Ladybug as she headed to one of the windows, with me right behind her.
Looking up through the glass, we saw swarms of pigeons, in the shape of bomber aircraft, still flying overhead. I 'tssked' in annoyance as I saw the airplane shapes the pigeons were forming. This mission was weird enough already, thank you very much!
"Odd, looks like the pigeons are all flying in the same direction." Ladybug noted. "We'd better follow them!"
I nodded, then we both turned as we heard the elevator ding. Chat Noir stepped out. "Ready when you two are!"
"Okay, let's go!" Ladybug led us towards the glass elevator that led to the roof.
"Enjoy your 'liter tray', kitty?" I couldn't resist making one last jab. Chat Noir rolled his eyes and didn't answer, while Ladybug shot me a warning look and I fell silent.
We emerged on the roof to see that pigeons were still flying in the same direction, so the three of us began leaping across rooftops, chasing after the pigeons.
"Hey, look!" Chat Noir suddenly pointed towards one of the 'planes'. What looked like a cap was slowly floating down from it, amidst a shower of feathers.
Park keepers wear hats in that color! I realized and narrowed my eyes. "That plane is loaded. We can't let it out of our sight!" I saw Ladybug nod at my words and we moved to pursue that particle 'plane'.
This chase continued for what seemed like several blocks before we saw the pigeons above us dissolve their airplane shape and dive towards a large building. The three of us regrouped on a nearby rooftop and watched as the cluster of pigeons disappeared into the building.
"I think they've finally gone to ground." Chat Noir commented. Ladybug and I nodded as we jumped off the roof to get a closer look.
We crept across the deserted street to the still-open doors of the building and peeked in. I couldn't see much from my angle, but I could make out a big cage full of people in a large open space.
"So that's where Mr. Pigeon's keeping the park keepers he's abducted." Ladybug realized.
"In the Grand Palais?" I commented. "So much for my theory about the pigeons staying outdoors."
"Technically this might be considered out...out..." I tensed as Chat Noir started to sneeze and slipped my finger under his nose just before it erupted. "Sorry, my pigeon radar is on high alert." He commented as he rubbed his nose, shooting me a grateful look.
Ladybug peeked in through the open door again. "Either your radar is on the brink, or Mr. Pigeon's left the park keepers unattended."
An eager grin appeared on Chat Noir's face. "Let's set the cat among the pigeons." He started to go in, but Ladybug and I both stopped him.
"Hold up kitty, it's…too easy." Said Ladybug.
I agreed with her. "She's right. Why would Mr. Pigeon go to all that trouble, and then just leave his prize in the open like that? It's obviously a trap."
"Good point." Chat Noir admitted. "So, what do we do?"
"I've got a plan, follow me!" Ladybug turned and ran off, with Chat Noir at her heels.
As I made to follow, a flicker of movement made me look up to see a lone pigeon lift off from the roof of the building. As I watched, the pigeon locked eyes with me, wheeled, and dove in through the open doorway.
My eyes narrowed in suspicion. The last time I had seen something like that…
"Ermine?" I snapped back to my senses to see Ladybug and Chat Noir had stopped and were looking back at me. "Aren't you coming?" Ladybug asked.
"You know what…you two go without me." I said slowly. "I'm gonna find another way in."
"What? Why?" asked Chat Noir.
"Call it a hunch." I said before dashing in the other direction.
Using the parked cars as cover, I crept towards the other side of the building, my eyes constantly scanning for stay pigeons. I had a feeling that Mr. Pigeon was using these birds as lookouts, that was how he had found Chat Noir at the park, and if that pigeon I had seen just now was currently telling Mr. Pigeon that we were here, I felt it was better he didn't know exactly where we all were. If he was distracted by my partners, I might be able to take the villain by surprise.
Rushing around the building, I came across a door set into the wall. I gingerly tried the handle but, to my dismay, the door was locked. I continued my way around the building, but every door I came to was locked.
Maybe I should have gone with Ladybug and Chat Noir after all, I thought in annoyance as I stepped away from the fifth locked door I had come to. Gritting my teeth, I shook my head, glancing around. Hmmm, maybe I can get a better view from the roof. I wondered, before using my whip to pull myself up. The Grand Palais had massive skylights, which should provide me with an excellent viewpoint of the building interior.
As I landed on the roof, a loud sneeze caught my attention. "Huh?" I glanced up. That sneeze had come from in front of me. I rushed to the skylight and peered through, just in time to see Mr. Pigeon whirl around on the balcony he was perched on to look in the opposite direction from me, tracking the movement of a small object I suddenly realized was Ladybug's yo-yo.
Following his gaze, I saw Ladybug and Chat Noir standing in the gap left by an open panel Chat Noir was holding. Both were looking stunned and I realized that sneeze had come from Chat Noir, and had apparently interrupted whatever sneak attack they had been planning. I guess Ladybug and I had been thinking along the same lines.
Ladybug recalled her yo-yo and the pair of them leapt down onto the balcony, charging towards Mr. Pigeon. But the villain just jumped backwards off the platform and fell, landing on another 'platform' of pigeons. Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped after the villain, causing him to dissolve his platform and land safely on the floor. He started to run as my partners hit the ground, rolled to their feet, and gave chase.
I'd better get down there! I thought and made to move when something made me pause. As I watched, Mr. Pigeon suddenly spun to face my partners and sounded his bird call. Pigeons converged on him from all sides, clustering together to form a pair of giant spheres around his hands, like giant boxing gloves. I saw Mr. Pigeon cackle as my partners skidded to a stop, fists clenched. But there was something else I noticed. Not all the pigeons had answered the villain's call!
Even though many of the pigeons in the room had come to the villain when he had called, a fair few were still scattered around the area, either watching the fight, or doing other things, like preening their feathers, or eating things off the ground. I wondered why Mr. Pigeon didn't have all the pigeons come when he called. They could have overwhelmed my partners like they had before at the Grand Paris Hotel.
Unless…maybe he couldn't. My eyes widened as I had a sudden thought. Maybe Mr. Pigeon's powers had their limits. As the battle raged below me, I scanned the area again. Sure enough, there were still a lot of pigeons who were not taking part in the fight, they were too busy watching, preening, and eating.
I wonder just how much control Mr. Pigeon has over these birds. I thought, then I winced as I saw Chat Nor get struck by one of Mr. Pigeon's 'gloves', knocking him back towards the cage containing the park keepers. Ladybug attacked next, but Mr. Pigeon was able to knock her back as well and I winced again as she also hit the cage.
I had seen enough. It was time to act. "ANIMORPHIX!" I cried, calling on my superpower. A halo of white light enveloped my body.
As the light cleared, I heard a falcon's cry erupt from my throat, and looked at myself. My arms had become large, feathered wings, and my feet had become bird-like with sharp-looking talons. The black markings on my chest and wings matched those I had once seen in a peregrine falcon picture, except that they were only black and white instead of gray.
Perfect! I smirked in my head as I pumped my wings and took off from the roof. Falcons were one of the biggest predators of pigeons. Now we would see how loyal Mr. Pigeon's friends really were!
Circling over the Grand Palais to get my bearings, I saw that the skylight Ladybug and Chat Noir had entered through was still open.
"LUCKY CHARM!" I suddenly heard Ladybug call from inside the building, and I tensed. If Ladybug was calling on her superpower, things couldn't be good!
Tucking in my new wings, I dove through the open window and landed on the balcony. From my vantage point, I watched as Mr. Pigeon used his bird call to rally his flock of followers to him once again. I bet the Akuma is in his birdcall. I reasoned as the pigeons clustered together into a large ball.
"Ha ha ha! You can't buy yourself out of here, Ladybug!" Mr. Pigeon cackled as he advanced on Ladybug and Chat noir, who were standing protectively in front of the cage holding the park keepers.
I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but I figured now was a good time to make my entrance. Lifting off the platform, I flew as high as I could and focused on the ball of birds in Mr. Pigeons hands. I knew that my new falcon abilities wouldn't be as good inside this building, but I had no choice, and if my plan worked, it wouldn't matter anyway.
As the villain threw the ball at my partners, I folded my wings and, letting out a falcon's screech, dove towards the melee below. "FALCON!" Mr. Pigeon cried out in terror and the 'pigeon projectile' broke apart at my approach, individual birds scattering in all directions.
Smirking at the fact I had been right, I flew up and circled over towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, both of whom were looking up at me in amazement.
"Are you two okay?" I asked, flying down to hover near them.
"Ermine?" Both Ladybug and Char Noir's eyes widened.
"Yep, it's me!" I laughed. "My powers really came through this time, didn't they?"
Chat Noir smirked. "They sure did!" He held out his hand, the way a falconer might.
Chuckling, I flew down to rest on Chat Noir's outstretched arm, taking care not to hurt him with my new talons.
"B-but Ermine, how did you…?" Ladybug started to say.
"Simple. When I saw that not all the pigeons here were taking part in the battle, I began to suspect that Mr. Pigeon's power over his feathered friends isn't enough to trump basic animal instincts, such as finding food or shelter." I explained. "Falcons are one of the top predators of pigeons, so when faced with one, a pigeon's natural instinct is to flee. I figured that as a falcon, I might be able to temporarily disrupt Mr. Pigeon's control over his pigeon army, and I was right!"
"Wow, you are one clever bird!" Chat Noir commented, stroking my back, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS, YOU BEAST!" Mr. Pigeon shouted from across the room.
I looked up and gave him a glare. "You stay away from mine, you villain!" I retorted.
"All right, time to wrap this up!" Ladybug announced. "Ermine, you keep the pigeons busy, while the two of us take down Mr. Pigeon!"
"You got it!" I said before taking off. As I flew towards the villain, Ladybug and Chat Noir started to charge towards him.
"Even with your new pet, you're still no match for us!" Mr. Pigeon cried before blowing his birdcall again.
We'll see about that! I thought as I flew towards the ceiling. Then, I tucked my wings and dove towards the villain, screeching loudly.
As I thought, the pigeons scattered when they saw me coming.
"Grab his bird call!" I heard Ladybug yell and, as I pulled up out of my dive, I saw the two heroes lunge for the villain.
"Aaah! No! Keep away!" Mr. Pigeon screamed as he narrowly dodged Chat Noir, then Ladybug. I chuckled as I watched my two partners began to chase Mr. Pigeon around the area.
Every time Mr. Pigeon tried to use the birdcall, I would screech and dive towards the villain, forcing his pigeons to scatter.
Finally, Mr. Pigeon found himself backed against the far wall, cornered by Ladybug and Chat Noir, while I watched from overhead.
"It's all over, Mr. Pigeon! You're finished!" Ladybug announced before throwing her yo-yo, but the villain made a wild dive to the side and Ladybug missed.
"No, you don't!" Chat Noir lunged, but Mr. Pigeon somehow managed to jump over his outstretched hands and took off again. As he did, he raised his birdcall and blew again. I tensed, ready to dive in to scare any pigeon supporters that he tried to rally.
But this time, Mr. Pigeon didn't stop with just one blow, he kept blowing, even as he ran. Each time he blew, more and more pigeons took wing and flew towards him, until finally it seemed that he had gathered every pigeon in the room around him. I paused in mid-air. Below me, Ladybug and Chat Noir also stopped, they glanced at each other.
Mr. Pigeon looked exhausted, red in the face and huffing and puffing like a locomotive. But when he looked up at me, I could tell he still had a lot of steam left.
"ALL TOGETHER MY FRIENDS, TAKE HER DOWN!" Mr. Pigeon cried, pointing at me, before blowing his birdcall again. Most of the pigeons flew towards me, shifting into a formation that resembled an arrowhead.
"Oh yeah?!" I taunted, diving towards the approaching mass of pigeons. I gave a falcon cry to scare the pigeons out of the way, but I heard Mr. Pigeon's bird call sound again, and the birds just kept coming.
Narrowing my eyes, I cried out again, louder this time, and swung my feet out to show the birds my falcon talons. I didn't really want to hurt any of the pigeons, but I had to keep up appearances.
Mr. Pigeon's bird call sounded again, and the pigeons still kept coming!
Uh oh! Realizing my scare tactics were not going to work this time, I shifted my wings and jinked, trying to pull out of my dive before colliding with the bird wall that was coming up fast.
WHAM! Too late! I felt at least a dozen hard beaks slam into my left wing, and I screeched in pain before tumbling out of the air.
"ERMINE!" I heard my partners cry out in alarm as I handed rather heavily on the floor. Pain lanced up my left wing and I instantly rolled to my feet, wobbling a little. I spread my wings for balance and winced as pain once again flared up in my wing. Something was clearly wrong with it.
"Ermine, are you okay?" I looked up to see a very concerned Ladybug kneeling over me.
"No, my wing really hurts." I admitted, shifting it again, to test the scope of the injury, but quickly stopped. That little motion alone was enough to make it hurt. "I don't think I can fly anymore."
"HA! HA! HA!" Mr. Pigeon cackled triumphantly. "You see, my friends?! Even a falcon is no match for us when we work together! Ha ha ha!" The calls of the pigeons around him got louder, as if they were agreeing with him.
"You're gonna regret that, featherhead!" Chat Noir yelled angrily before charging at the villain.
"What do we do now?" I asked, looking up at Ladybug.
"You go hide. You won't be able to defend yourself from Mr. Pigeon in this state." Ladybug instructed.
"But without me to scare the pigeons, how will you get close enough to grab his birdcall?!" I asked.
"Like you said, Mr. Pigeon's power can't suppress their basic instincts." Ladybug answered, holding a up a red coin with black spots. "Thanks to you, I now know how to use my Lucky Charm. Now just wait here. Chat Noir and I'll take care of it!" Before I could argue, she turned and rushed away.
"Good luck!" I whimpered nervously as I hopped/ran over to a nearby pillar and ducked behind it. From my vantage point, I watched as Ladybug rushed towards the battling Mr. Pigeon and Chat Noir.
Spotting the heroine coming, Mr. Pigeon knocked Chat Noir away and turned to face Ladybug. He swung wildly, but Ladybug dove underneath his arm and slid under his legs. Now behind the villain, Ladybug suddenly jumped up, landing on a beam that was almost directly above her. As Ladybug jumped off the beam back towards the floor, my sharp falcon eyes spotted a long black string trailing after her. Is that her yo-yo string? I wondered. I followed the string, and saw, to my surprise, that the yo-yo was wrapped around Mr. Pigeon's ankle. I looked back up to see that Ladybug was now sprinting away from the villain, towards a vending machine.
I tilted my head. What was Ladybug doing? Was this really the best time for a snack?
As I watched, Ladybug used the coin to retrieve a bag of what looked like popcorn from the machine. "Chat Noir, you're up!" She yelled, tossing the bag towards Mr. Pigeon.
OH! I get it now! I suddenly realized what Ladybug's plan was, and chuckled at what I thought the outcome would be.
"Yeah!" Chat Noir tossed his staff towards the bag. The two items collided, causing the popcorn bag to burst and the contents to rain down on Mr. Pigeon.
"Snack time, pigeons!" Ladybug called as the pigeons, attracted by the popcorn, dive-bombed their former master.
"No, stop!" Mr. Pigeon cried in protest as he all but disappeared underneath a sea of fluttering wings.
Ladybug yanked hard on the string of her yo-yo. Mr. Pigeon was suddenly pulled upwards by his ankle. Most of the pigeons followed him upwards as kernals of popcorn rained down to the ground, along with something else.
"My bird call! Nooo!" Mr. Pigeon cried in horror.
"Chat Noir, grab it!" Ladybug ordered, still holding onto the yo-yo string.
We watched as Chat Noir lunged for the birdcall, grabbed it, and then sneezed, throwing the birdcall up into the air.
Ladybug gasped and lunged for it, but this caused her to lose her grip on the string, causing Mr. Pigeon to fall to the ground., Now free of the yo-yo, the villain also lunged for the birdcall, just as Chat Noir lunged for it as well. Mr. Pigeon's hand got there first, and his hand came down to grab the birdcall.
"NO!" I cried out, fluttering my wings frantically, even though the action caused me to wince in pain.
As if responding to my cry, the bird call suddenly rolled to the side, causing Mr. Pigeon's hand to miss, slamming down onto the floor next to it. The action caused the bird call to roll even farther, away from me.
"I got it!" Chat Noir was closest to it now, and he lunged for it, but he overshot, and his hand just brushed the akumatized object, sending it rolling in the other direction. Now Ladybug lunged for the bird call, and managed to trap it, but Mr. Pigeon suddenly lunged at herknocking her away, but this caused the bird call to roll free again.
"That's my birdcall!" Mr. Pigeon cried as he shoved Ladybug away and sprinted after the object.
I narrowed my eyes as I saw the birdcall roll to a stop not too far away from where I was hiding. I was closer to it now than Ladybug or Chat Noir were, but with my injured wing…It doesn't matter! I thought to myself. A falcon can be fierce even if it can't fly! Emboldened by this, I leapt out of hiding and hopped/ran to stand over the birdcall. Even if I couldn't keep the object from Mr. Pigeon, I could stall him long enough for Ladybug and Chat Noir to get back into the fray.
Mr. Pigeon skidded to a halt, his eyes wide, when he saw me.
"Not so fast, birdbrain! I have a bone to peck with you!" I taunted, placing one foot on the birdcall and spreading my wings, trying to look bigger and scarier. I had seen birds do this on TV sometimes when they felt threatened. Even though I had to wince in pain as I flared my broken wing, the uncertainty on his face made me feel like I was doing it right. "You want this back, come and get it!" I challenged him, before snapping my beak at him.
Mr. Pigeon visibly winced at my display. Behind him, I could see Ladybug get to her feet and rush towards me, with Chat Noir on her heels.
Suddenly, a glazed look appeared on the villain's face, as if he were listening to something, then it was replaced by a look of determination. "AAAAH!" He roared, lunging at me with his hands outspread.
Realizing that my bluff probably wasn't going to work now, I racked my brain to think of something else I could do. I really didn't want to hurt Mr. Pigeon, but I really, really didn't want to get any more hurt than I already was!
An idea flashed into my head, it would be painful, but it was all I could think of right now. Bracing myself, I took a deep breath, and pumped my wings. Ignoring the pain shooting through my broken wing, I managed to get myself off the ground, but my flight was violently wobbly.
"Ladybug…catch!" I called; my voice wracked with pain. I cocked my falcon leg that was clutching the birdcall and lobbed it towards my partners as best I could.
Mr. Pigeon grabbed desperately for the birdcall, but it sailed through his fingers, over his shoulder, and fell to the floor behind him.
"NOOO!" Mr. Pigeon cried as he spun around and lunged, but Ladybug and Chat Noir got there first. Chat Noir slammed his hand on top of the bird call, and Ladybug slammed her hand down on top of his, crunching the bird call beneath it.
"Ouch!" Chat Noir yelped, and pulled his hand back, wincing in pain.
I gave Chat Noir an expression of pity as he shook his hand. I knew how he was feeling.
"Yes!" Ladybug cheered as she got to her feet, while Mr. Pigeon comically seemed to faint at the sight.
A dark-colored butterfly fluttered out of the ruined birdcall. The akuma!
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma! TIME TO DE-EVILIZE!" As Ladybug began her process of capturing and purifying the akuma, I ran/hopped over to check on my other partner, trying to keep my broken wing steady.
"Chat Noir!" I called, getting his attention. When he saw me approaching, he knelt to speak with me. "How's your hand?" I asked.
"It stings a little, but it'll be fine." He replied, then a look of concern appeared on his face. "How's your wing?"
"Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly!" We heard Ladybug exclaim in the background.
"It still hurts quite a bit." I admitted, slowly extending it for him to see, wincing as I did so. Chat Noir winced too.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been flapping it up and down like that." He said teasingly.
I smirked at him. "And maybe you should have remembered to bring a nose pin, Mr. 'I'm-allergic-to-feathers'." I retorted and I giggled when he let out a groan.
"MIRACULOUS LADYBUGS!" We heard Ladybug cry out and turned to watch her throw the coin up into the air. The object dissolved into a swarm of magical ladybugs that filled the chamber. A small group of them swirled around the broken bird call, a larger group swarmed around the cage holding the park keepers, and a third group flew towards me.
"Give me a minute, won't you?" I said teasingly to Chat Noir before hopping forward and holding out my wings. I closed my eyes and felt the swarm of ladybugs flow over my broken wing. I couldn't help but let out a giggle. It…tickled. It felt like tiny little fingers were running over my skin under my feathers, soothing my wing and the pain it emanated.
As the pain fully dissolved, I saw a bright flash of white light appear from under my eyelids and felt my body began to change, signaling that my time as a falcon was over. Sure enough, a few minutes later, when the feeling stopped, I opened my eyes and saw that I was human again.
"Oh, thank goodness!" I exclaimed, flexing my arm, which no longer hurt. The Miraculous power truly was a miracle!
"Ermine, are you okay?" I looked up to see Ladybug rush up to me.
"Yeah, I'll be alright." I nodded, before smirking and giving Ladybug a playful nudge. "By the way, that was pretty clever, causing a feeding frenzy like that."
Ladybug's cheeks became slightly pink, but she chuckled and nudged me back. "I have you to thank, for showing me that, even under a villain's control, a pigeon is still a pigeon."
"It's good to know there are some things that even Hawkmoth's power can't change." Chat Noir commented as the three of us did our signature fist-bump
"Pound it!"
"Wh-what happened? Where am I?" A soft voice made us look around to see that Mr. Pigeon had de-akumatized back into a queer-looking man in a grey suit.
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Ladybug headed over to speak to him. Why did that man look familiar? "Who is that?" I asked in a whisper to Chat Noir.
"I'm not sure." He admitted. I opened my mouth to say something but paused when I felt Chat Noir's hands on my shoulders, and he spun me to face him. "Are you sure you're doing okay?" He asked, looking me in the eye with a surprisingly serious expression on his face. "No lingering pain or anything like that?"
I blinked in surprise, but finally I just shook my head. "No, I'm fine. The magical ladybugs healed me right up."
Chat Noir looked very relieved. "That's good to hear. I was really worried when I saw you take that hit." He said.
My eyes widened at this. Chat Noir had been worried about me? "R-really?" I stammered.
Chat Noir nodded, and even looked a little embarassed. "All those nights I've spent patrolling with you, it's made me realize how important you are to this team." He said. "I don't know what Ladybug and I would do if anything ever happened to you."
I felt my cheeks flush beneath my mask as I felt Chat Noir take one of my hands in his. My heart was fluttering like a hummingbird's wings.
"Oh…um…well…" I stammered but was saved by the sound of my Miraculous beeping. "Uh...that's my cue." I said, trying to hide my relief.
"Yep." I saw a cheeky grin appear on his face. "Well then, until next time..." To my surprise, Chat Noir suddenly lifted my hand, which was still clasped in his own, and kissed the top of it. "...partner." He said before giving me a wink.
By now, my cheeks felt really hot and I prayed that my mask was hiding whatever blush was visible.
"Everything okay here?" We looked up to see Ladybug approaching. When she caught my eye, she raised an eyebrow, before her eyes darted towards my hand, which was still clasped in Chat Noir's.
"Everything's...fine..." I stammered, yanking my hand out of Chat Noir's grasp just as my miraculous beeped again. "But...I need to get going."
Ladybug nodded, but didn't look convinced. "You sure you're okay?" She asked as I turned to leave.
I let out a sigh, feeling a little annoyed now. Chat Noir's concern had been touching, but Ladybug's somehow didn't feel as...genuine. "Yes, mom. I promise you that I'm fine." I replied teasingly, causing Ladybug to roll her eyes and Chat Noir to chuckle. My miraculous beeped again and my tail began to twitch nervously. I wasn't sure how much longer I had before I would transform back.
"See you around, Ermine." Ladybug said, smiling now, and I took this as my signal to exit. Waving at my partners, I rushed across the room before jumping through the doors. Swinging onto a nearby rooftop with the aid of my whip, I extended the screen in the handle of my whip to check the time. Seeing that I had an hour left before the judging, I decided to head home to change my clothes for the event.
I swung down into an alleyway just as my miraculous timed out, transforming from Ermine back into Alice.
"Well well well, so Chat Noir was worried about you, was he?" Minkk commented cheekily as she floated out of my belt buckle.
I shrugged as I pulled a square of chocolate out of my purse. "Of course he was, it's natural to be worried when one of your teammates suffers an injury. Ladybug was worried too." I replied as I gave the treat to my Kwami.
"Whatever you say, Alice." Minkk replied in a sing-song voice, and I couldn't stop the blush appearing on my cheeks yet again.
Shaking my head to clear this train of throught from my mind, I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed the number of Felix, our driver. "Felix, this is Alice, I need to be picked up right away." I said.
About an hour later, I made my way back into the school and saw that most of the students had arrived for the competition judging. Based on what I could see, there were four groups presenting projects, their creations displayed on velvet hat stands. Rose and Juleka were standing by one hat, Chloe and Sabrina by another, Kim and Max were standing by a third, and Alya was by the last stand, which was empty.
Huh, where's Marinette? I wondered, scanning the courtyard. I knew Marinette was in the contest, but there was no sign of her. Then I saw that Alya was on her phone and I felt a small smile tug at my lips. No doubt the girl was calling Marinette now.
Satisfied, I made my way over to Adrien, who was standing with Nino and Principal Damocles.
"Hello!" I called over.
"Hey Alice!" Adrien called back
"About time you got here, what kept you?" Nino asked, pretending to look annoyed, but I could tell he was only kidding, so I decided to play along.
"I'm sorry," I said, scuffling my foot and pretending to look embarrassed. "I would have been here sooner, but I spent an hour in my closet trying to decide if I should change my outfit or not." I motioned to the grey skirt and dark blue top I was wearing, and I began to speak quickly in a valley-girl like voice, knowing it would annoy the boys. "I mean, the one I wore earlier today was fine, I guess, but I had just gotten this brand new skirt, it looked totally cute when I bought it two days ago, so I kinda wanted to try it out today, but it totally clashed with the top and shoes I had picked out, so I, like, had to find a new combination that would work, which took, like, for-e-ver! And then…!"
"Okay, okay, sorry I asked!" Nino exclaimed, putting his hands over his ears in pretend agony, while I giggled, both at his expression, and the look of bewilderment on the principal's face.
Adrien snorted with amusement as he shook his head. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"
"Like, be our best friend, obviously!" I replied, still in my valley-girl voice as I leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt him chuckle as I caught sight of Chloe glaring at me from her position. I winked at her and removed my head.
"Hello Alice." Miss Bustier called as she approached.
"Hello, Miss. Bustier. Is everything ready for the final judging?" I asked, switching back to my normal voice.
"Almost, we're just waiting for Mr. Agreste to get here." Miss Bustier nodded, her gaze moving towards the school entrance, as if she had just seen someone come in.
Following her gaze, I saw Natalie enter and smiled before walking over to her.
"Hello Alice." Natalie nodded at me.
"Hello Natalie," I nodded back, before leading Natalie over to where the others were standing.
"Natalie, this is our principal, Mr. Damocles." I said, introducing the two. "Mr. Damocles, this is Natalie, Mr. Agreste's executive assistant."
Mr. Damocles beamed. "Hello, miss. Pardon me, but where is Mr. Agreste?" He asked, looking around.
Natalie didn't answer, she just held up a tablet and turned it so the screen was wfacing us.
Mr. Agreste's face appeared on the screen. "I'm here." He said simply.
I bit the inside of my mouth to hide a chuckle. This was proving to be common behavior for Mr. Agreste.
Mr. Damocles looked surprised, but quickly recovered. "Ah uh, hello Mr. Agreste. Welcome to our school."
"Adrien, Alice, take Natalie around." Mr. Agreste ordered.
"Yes sir." I said as Mr. Damocles led us to the first display, Rose and Juleka's. Their hat appeared to be covered in gears and other mechanical parts.
"As you can see, Mr. Agreste, our students have poured their hearts and souls into their projects." Mr. Damocles began, but I was distracted by the arrival of Marinette. The dark-haired girl was out of breath as she raced across the courtyard and began speaking with a relieved-looking Alya. As we moved to Kim and Max's had, which appeared to resemble a cake, I kept watching the two girls out fo the corner of my eye. Marinette and Alya appeared to be having a rather heated discussion as Marinette placed her hatbox on the stand and opened it. I couldn't see Marinette's hat because her body was blocking my view, but I saw a look of surprise and concern appear on Alya's face and found myself wondering what the problem was.
My attention was pulled back as we made our way to the next stand, Chloe and Sabrina's. "Hi, Mr. Agreste. I'm Chloe Bourgeois." Chloe said smugly, bowing as we approached. "You know my father, Andre Bourgeois, the mayor?"
I rolled my eyes at this display but paused when I noticed that I could now see Marinette's hat, and it looked exactly the same as Chloe's! I frowned at this. Clearly one of them had copied the design of the other, and I had a pretty good idea who the copycat was.
Before I could comment, we had moved to Marinette and Aly's stand. Natalie held the tablet close to the hat to Mr. Agreste could examine it. My gaze flickered from the hat to Marinette's face, but I was surprised to see that, instead of anger or nervousness, Marinette looked calm and collected, almost like she had expected this. Intrigued, I decided not to say anything and wait to see what would happen.
"Turn the tablet back to Miss Bourgeois's hat." Mr. Agreste ordered. Natalie did so, bringing the device clos to Chloe's creation. "Is this a joke?" Mr. Agreste demanded.
"Why do they both look the same?" Adrien asked, his eyes darting from one hat to the other.
Chloe gasped, as if she had just now noticed that her hat and Marinette's hat were the same. "No fair! Marinette copied my design! It's scandalous! How could you do that?" She began to fake cry, causing me to roll my eyes again.
"I apologize for the situation, Mr. Agreste, but I can prove this derby hat is my original creation." Marientte said, causing everyone to look at her.
Chloe stopped pretending to cry. Adrien and I exchanged a glance, but I felt the corner of my mouth curl up. This should be interesting.
"Go ahead." Mr. Agreste said.
"Um well…everything on my derby is hand-made—from the embroidery to the weaving of the band, to the stitching of the brim, all done by myself." Marinette explained.
"So? That doesn't prove anything!" Chloe argued. "It still looks exactly like mine!"
"Exactly," Marinette, to our surprise, was still smiling. "Chloe copied my design completely, including the special design element that only the true designer would know about: I signed mine." She picked up her hat, turned it upside-down, and held it out to us. We could now clearly see Marinette's name in a cursive script on the brim, stitched in gold thread.
I gazed at the stitching, then whirled suddenly to look at Chloe's derby, startling my sister, who stumbled backwards, knocking over her hat stand, causing her hat to fall to floor. The hat landed upside-down and Marinette's name, also in gold thread, was clearly visible.
I smirked triumphantly as Chloe's face paled under the glares of many of the other students. "DADDY!" She yelled as she ran off, crying for real this time.
Natalie watched her go, then turned the tablet back so that we could see Mr. Agreste.
The fashion designed looked mildly impressed as he examined the hat again, before having Natalie turn the tablet to face Marinette. "A very exquisite creation. You definitely have the laboring hands of a hatmaker, miss…"
"Marinette." Adrien and I both said at the same time.
"Well, congratulations on your demonstration, Miss Marinette. You're the winner." Mr. Agreste said, causing Marinette to bow in gratitude.
"Thank you! Thank you, thank you!" She spoke.
"Alice and Adrien will both be modelling your derby in their next advertising campaign." Mr. Agreste added.
"Looking forward to it!" I spoke. "With any luck, we might make derby hats for girls the next big fashion trend!" I said, winking at Marinette.
"Uh—yeah, um…maybe?" Marinette stammered as Adrien put his hand over hers on top of the hat, causing her to gasp and blush.
Alya and I exchanged a triumphant smirk as Adrien picked up the hat.
"Awesome job, Marinette." Adrien said as he began to put on the hat. Then he paused, and then he suddenly sneezed very loudly.
"Bless you!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. "What caused that?"
Adrien wiped his nose with his hand. "Uh—sorry, I'm allergic to feathers." He sneezed again, before handing the hat back to Marinette.
"G—gesundheit." Marinette said, quickly taking the hat back.
"Th-thanks. A—achoo!" Adrien sneezed again before turning to me. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay Alice?"
I nodded and Adrien turned and followed Natalie out towards the waiting car.
Huh, what are the odds that both Adrien and Chat Noir would be allergic to feathers? I thought to myself as I watched them go. Then, my eyes widened as a sudden thought struck me. "No…it couldn't be..." I muttered under my breath as, in my mind, Adrien's clothes were suddenly overlayed by a familiar black costume. The same skin tone remained, along with the same hairstyle and color.
Could Adrien and Chat Noir…be the same person? I felt my insides turn to ice at the thought.
And Cut!
Mr. Pigeon has never been one of my favorite episodes, so I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the last few. I couldn't think of anything else to really add to improve what was already going on.
Special thanks to Draconos 13 for Beta-reading. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for that guy.
Special Thanks to Dyna-man for reviewing my last chapter. I'm so glad you are enjoying this story, and I'm flattered by your comment. I think that is something every writer wants to hear. I do have some intersting plans for Ladybug and Ermine, but those won't be coming up until future chapters. Bear with me, and you will see!
FYI: Ermime's whole theory about Mr. Pigeon's powers having limits was based off of something I noticed while re-watching this episode. Have you noticed that, in the fight scene in the Grand Palais, not all the pigeons joined in when Mr. Pigeon called them? I was wondering why that was the case, and that pondering helped me choose Ermine's animal form for this episode. Just wanted to lay that out.
The next episode it going to be either Lady Wifi or The Pharaoh. If you have a preference, please let me know in the reviews. Also, since we pretty much know what the powers of all the miraculous are now, I have been debating which other miraculous could be combined with the weasel miraculous, the same way certain miraculous have been combined with the Ladybug (dragon, bee, horse) or Black Cat (snake, rabbit). Let me know if you have any opinions about what miraculous you would like to see combined with Alice's and we may get to it somewhere down the line.
And, as always, I am open to plot ideas for this story. Some of you have already submitted some really good suggestions, and I look forward to reading any more you may have.
Until Next Time!