Nino: Yo! I'm Nino! Let's get this party started!
(Crowd cheers. Then enter the villains.)
Nino: Ooh! Sorry folks. Party's called off due to heavy raining bad guys. Luckily, Carapace is on the scene! Forget what those scientists say. This turtle dude is quick on his feet and has skills to make those Butterflies pay the bills.
Mariposa: Nice skills. But there's only one kitty for me. (Looks at Chat Noir.)
Nino: Sorry Mari-puss-a, but this guy's taken. Now if only I can get him to make the first move.
(Adrien stares at Marinette.)
Nino: I got your back, Bro.
(Adrien walks over to Marinette. He lifts a finger to tap her shoulder.)
Zen: Hey! Marinette!
(Marinette smiles and walks to her childhood friend. Nino sighs and shakes his head at his best friend, who froze on the spot.)
Nino: We'll get there. Right now I got some party-crashers to take care of.
Thank you Joanne Frances Tiano Cajilig for this chapter.
"You do know the meaning of 'fair and square', right?"
"Yes Dad." Adrien sighs in disappointment as he talked to his father via Nathalie's tablet.
His father was hosting a contest at school, and whoever made the best bowler hat will have his/her creation be worn by Adrien Agreste on his next fashion show.
"I will personally deliberate the winner during the contest." Gabriel continued, "Not beforehand."
Nino patted his disappointed friend on the back, "Tried to warn you, Bro. Besides... think how Marinette would feel if she found out you voted for her without giving the others a chance?"
The moment he said that, the blond model's over-exaggerating imagination went wild:
Marinette's victory face when she wins the contest... Marinette's shock face when she learns why she's the winner... Marinette running away from Adrien... Tears of disappointment sliding down on her face...
Adrien wanted Marinette to win. He wanted to wear her design. He wanted to feel the joy of wearing such an exquisite creation made by the gentle hands of a graceful angel.
But that wouldn't be fair. And the No. 1 fan of Team Miraculous, who highly upholds everything they stand for, wouldn't approve of unfair play.
Gabriel nodded in approval, "Well said Nino. As always."
Truth be told, when the Miraculouses were needed again, he expected the new holder of the Turtle Miraculous to be the wise man of the team. The team's walking conscience at times of conflict. A hero who fights not only with his strength, but also with reason.
Just like the last holder of the Turtle Miraculous...
When Nino became the Turtle... he expected... more.
But it seems he owes the boy an apology.
Despite his lay-back attitude and exaggerating taste in music, Nino has actually been a good influence to his son.
Ever since his first day in school... ever since they became heroes... Nino has always been Adrien's guide and support, always giving the blond model words of encouragement.
Adrien has never been to school before. The moment he stepped foot inside the school, a huge wave of nervousness washed over him. He felt like a lost puppy in a jungle full of wild, vicious animals.
And Chloe, his close friend since childhood, didn't make his first day any better.
But then Nino, a boy who was a stranger to Adrien, stepped in and made him feel welcome. He even comforted him when he unintentionally hurt Marinette, and gave him the confidence he needed to apologize to her.
As it turns out, Nino was the member of the Team who took his duties as a hero more seriously than the rest of his teammates. Along with Sabrina, he only uses his powers at times that doesn't involve studying for a big test, attracting the media's attention, and/or winning the heart of a certain individual.
His son wasn't planning on using his Miraculous to help Marinette win, but that didn't stop Nino from giving words of wisdom to his best friend.
"Maybe Marinette won't win the contest." Nino continued, "But you can still wear her hat."
True. He only wanted to wear her creations. He just thought that if she wins, it would make wearing it even more special.
Despite his son's... obsession... Gabriel was actually curious, and wondered if Marinette could win the contest.
Yes. He does admire his son's (in his own word's) future girlfriend after witnessing her bravery and willingness to help Team Miraculous countless of times.
And he worries about her too. Ever since...
He had seen her work before. Not only was she a very talented and artistic baker, but she also has the potential of becoming a very successful fashion designer.
Of course, he'll have to see if she's worthy of being the winner, by personally seeing her bowler hat entry, which she will present during the contest.
Marinette didn't mind if she didn't win.
But it would be cool to get a few words of compliment from The Gabriel Agreste.
She always finds inspiration in her favourite places. She arrived at the Trocadéro, her signature sketchbook and pencil in hand.
Maybe she should have went to another place of inspiration. You can tell she needed it by the look of frustration on her face, and the number of crumpled papers around her.
"Marinette!" A man cheerfully greeted her and approached her, snapping her out of her frustrated daze. A pigeon was perched on his shoulder.
"Mr. Ramier." Marinette stood up and smiled back, tickling the pigeon's head once she was close enough.
Mr. Ramier was an old friend of the Dupain-Chengs and self-proclaimed caretaker of the pigeons of Paris. Sometimes, Marinette and her parents would bring left-over crumbs from their bakery whenever they would meet him, and together they would feed the pigeons.
"What brings you out here on this beautiful day?" Her old friend asked.
His foot collided with something, making him look down at the scattered pile of rejected ideas, "Oh I see. Don't mind us. We're just meeting up with a few friends."
The pigeon lover sat on a bench, just a few feet from where Marinette was brainstorming.
As if by magic, (and hopefully not the evil butterfly kind) the moment he sat down, a small flock of pigeons hovered above him in a ring formation even before he tossed breadcrumbs on the ground.
Marinette smiled at the birds' display. She watches as one pigeon flew out of the formation and landed on Mr. Ramier's arm.
That's when it hit her...
Once again, she sketches on her pad, a spark of determination flashed in her eyes. Once she was done, she held up her sketchpad, a grin of pride stretched across her face. When she turned to Mr. Ramier to thank him, she realized he left his spot.
For some reason, she felt the need to go after him and check if he was alright.
When she found him, she found herself being lifted into the sky.
Among the many things Chloe Bourgeois hated in the whole wide world- other than her hair being ruined, her designer clothes going out of style, girls flirting with Adrien, Lila, and such-
Chloe hated to admit that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was actually better in making clothes than her.
Which is why she decided to follow her No. 1 fan for "inspiration". Once she got her "inspiration", she left.
She wasn't the only one who was looking for "inspiration".
To be known throughout the entire school as the girl who impressed Gabriel Agreste was a step further for Lila at the popularity hierarchy. All she had to do was to present her wonderful bowler hat to Paris' most esteemed fashion king, and her inducement into the Agreste legacy will be set in stone.
Which is why she followed Marinette to "ask her for help."
She was so nice. Lila didn't even have to ask. Marinette just let her take a picture for "reference".
The way home was interrupted by a flock of pigeons.
Yes. People are used (sometimes) to pigeons stealing food from them, soiling their clothes, causing traffic, etc.
At every event, only a small flock of pigeons were involved.
But at the moment... I guess it's safe to say...
Pigeon Party?
...
Okay. It's not a party if some pigeons started pecking peoples' heads.
The TV's around the city flashed on, revealing a live broadcast from the new villain-of-the-day.
"Unhappy day Parisians!" Mr. Pigeon cooed, "For Paris now belongs to the pigeons!"
When the rest of Team Miraculous saw the live broadcast, they knew they have to act immediately and save the police officers and park rangers captured by the villain.
Adrien may be allergic to feathers, but that won't stop him from saving the day from a feather-brained supervillain.
Even if said supervillain is holding his princess captive!
And forcing her to broadcast his evil speech live!
At first, Lila and Chloe were glad someone got rid of their competition.
Then the image of a heartbroken Adrien appeared in their thought bubbles...
With heavy groans, the two teenage girls transformed into Queen Bee and Ladybug and leaped on the roofs where they met the rest of their teammates. They cringed in disgust when Chat Noir sneezed and insisted he take a day-off from hero work.
Unfortunately for them, their leader refused, as he didn't want Marinette (and brave men in uniforms) to suffer in the hands of a bird villain another second longer.
The Team decided that two of them should act as baits in order to draw Mr. Pigeon out. Rena Rouge played on her flute and conjured up an illusion to make Azula Paonne and Carapace look like a park keeper and a police officer.
The plan worked, and they followed the flock of captors to the Grand Palais.
Once they were put inside a cage along with the other park keepers and policemen, the two heroes revealed their true selves. Using her fan, Azula Paonne sliced the bars of the cage, freeing everyone trapped. Mr. Pigeon's pigeons tried to stop the prisoners from escaping, but couldn't as they couldn't penetrate Carapace's Shell-ter.
"My daughter's friend is still in here!" Roger exclaimed, reminding the heroes of their captured classmate and No. 1 fan.
Azula and Carapace didn't see Marinette when they were thrown in the cage with the police and park keepers, nor when they broke out of the cage. Mr. Pigeon must have locked her up somewhere else. But where? And why?
Mr. Pigeon was too enraged at the fact that his prisoners have escaped, that he didn't notice the rest of Team Miraculous sneaking behind him from the roof.
Ladybug flung her yo-yo at the villain. She didn't succeed as her weapon wrapped itself around Hawk Moth's cane, and the villain tugged on it, causing the spotted heroine to fall from the roof. Luckily, she managed to stop the fall by grabbing onto a curtain.
The villains and heroes fought. Hawk Moth managed to knock Chat Noir away, sending him crashing against the wall.
As the black cat hero regained his senses, his eyes caught a glimpse of a metal cage hanging under the ceiling. They widened when he noticed the lone prisoner inside the cage, who was being forced to record the entire fight live on her phone.
Chat clenched his hand into a fist. His allergy was now a forgotten illusion to him. Now he was more determined to defeat Mr. Pigeon at all cost.
A flock of pigeons came at him, but he managed to drive them away by swinging his staff around, which managed to hit a few pigeons.
"Poor little guy." Mariposa comforted and petted one of the fallen pigeons who landed in her hands, "Hate to admit it, but they are as cute as my butterflies."
Once the pigeon regained its strength, the younger Butterfly released it back into the air. She then smirked at Chat, "And then there's you, Kitty."
The two clashed. Sword-stick against staff. With the number of pigeons surrounding the area, it was no surprise that Chat would sneeze in the middle of the fight now-and-then.
However... It was actually a surprise that Mariposa found Chat's allergic reaction to be rather... cute.
"Seriously?" Chat remarked in disbelief as he dodged another strike, "Is there anything about me you don't find disturbingly cute?"
"Nope." The younger Butterfly grinned as she parried away an attempted attack from his staff, "I'm just surprised you're not allergic to that peacock sidekick of yours."
...
"Huh. Now that you've mentioned it, that is weird..." Chat pondered.
Ever since he was little, he had an allergic reaction to every species of birds. He would sneeze whenever one was around.
Oddly though, he wasn't allergic to Azula Paonne when she first transformed. He wasn't even allergic to her kwami when he first appeared.
Maybe it was the magic that made them heroes, or...
As Chat pondered, it gave Mariposa an opening to strike the cat hero down.
If Azula Paonne didn't shield him with her fan.
Eventually, the only way to take down a bird-themed villain and his army of pigeons was to use a Lucky Charm in the form of a coin, a vending machine, and a bag of crushed cookies.
And to save the day, just slam Chat's hand down on the akumatized object, and let Ladybug purify it with her yo-yo.
Hawk Moth watched as a purified Mr. Ramier was hugged by a relieved Marinette. He felt guilty using an old friend of his to fulfill this meaningless mission. But he had no choice. The moment he sensed his friend's sadness, the butterfly landed on his hand, prepared to be corrupted.
Many of his dear friends and family were suffering, all for the sake of one single wish that could fix one great mistake.
A mistake he could have stopped... if his lack of certain abilities didn't stop him from stopping... him.
Then she wouldn't be...
To Gabriel Agreste, he never found it strange that his son was always excited to go to school. Back then, Adrien begged his father to let him attend public school like kids his age.
And every day, ever since his first day of school, the same day the Butterflies and akumas appeared, he was always excited to go to school.
Despite his new role as a superhero, Adrien made sure to keep his grades up, as to fulfill the expectations of his father. There was no way was he going to let one slight slip of his grades keep him away from his friends.
But most importantly... her.
"Dad, come on." Adrien grinned, "We don't want to keep the contestants waiting."
Gabriel slightly chuckled in amusement, but he kept his guard up. He wasn't going to give anyone any special treatment when he judges the bowler hats.
When they arrived at school, Adrien strutted out of the limo like he was walking the catwalk. Which is funny because he never walked like that on an actual catwalk.
He greeted his classmates, some he gave compliments to until they have arrived at the venue of the contest. Gabriel took notice of the many bowler hats on display, waiting to be judged. Base on experience, he could tell each one was hand-crafted, and no two hats were the same; One hat had goggles on it. Another hat was adorned with circular appliques. Another had gears stuck on it.
He noticed some of his son's female classmates among the contestants, but not among them was the one with blue hair. He also noticed Chloe with a wide smile on her face, as if she was almost certain she'd win first place.
What did she do now?
"Mr. Agreste!" Lila beamed, "I'm so glad you came up with this contest! Everyone is having so much fun!"
Maybe he was being too wary, but by the way Lila was smiling, he knew she was up to something too.
One things for sure, these two better not be doing something foolish later.
He was proven wrong when Sabrina removed the cloth that was covering Chloe's entry. No doubt she did that for a dramatic reveal.
When Lila saw the derby hat, she reveals her own entry, which was an exact, same, copy of Chloe's derby hat, and accused Chloe of stealing her idea. Chloe protested, claiming it was her idea in the first place.
Gabriel knew they were both lying. Neither of them personally made her hat with her own hands. Also, he recognized a certain someone's signature stitching on both hats.
He felt someone colliding with his back. He turns around, only to find Marinette profusely apologizing for bumping into him.
When Marinette brought out her entry, Chloe and Lila began shedding crocodile tears, accusing Marinette of stealing... only to stop when they saw her entry.
The hat was simple, in black and gray, with only a few, tiny green, and yellow markings on it. Adorning the side of the hat, was a single, fuzzy, cattail plant.
Marinette handed her entry to Gabriel, who felt the hat with his hands, admiring the craftsmanship. No doubt she made it with her own two hands. He flipped the hat over, and spotted her signature stitch, the same stitch that was sewn on "Chloe's" and "Lila's" entries.
Just as he was about to flip the hat again, he stops and blinks. For a moment there, he thought he just saw a single yellow eye staring at him. And it came... from the hat?
He takes a closer look, and was surprised by the fact that the "eye" was actually one of the yellow circular markings on the hat when it was turned up-side-down. When he looks at another yellow circular marking, it looked like an "eye" as well.
It was then he realized that Marinette made the markings in a way that it took the form of a face of a grinning cat when the hat was turned up-side-down.
Gabriel reasoned to himself that he wasn't giving in to his son's silly request.
But he was so impressed by the optical illusion created by a design so simple that he made Marinette the winner of the contest.
Which means... he's going to have a week with his son smiling widely with wide, excited eyes during his photo-shoots. And during his sleep.
Maybe until the next Akuma Attack snaps him out of his daze.
As Adrien struggles to find the right words to congratulate Marinette with, his father decided to have a few words with two of his fellow classmates.
"I expected better from the two of you." He spoke sternly, yet moderately so that no one else could hear, "If Ladybug and Queen Bee had their way, they'd probably be relieved of duty."
Chloe had to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming while Lila looks at her mentor in disbelief. Gabriel didn't say anything else. He just kept his stern eyes on the girls for a few minutes more before approaching his son to stop him from dropping the winning hat to the ground.
Being Queen Bee was the best thing that ever happened to Chloe. Before that, all she did was order people around to get what she wants.
Sure being the mayor's daughter has it's perks, but she hates being called out for being a spoiled brat. To her dismay, it made her feel... inferior to her classmates.
Even her own mother thought she was utterly talentless.
When she found out a small, yet beautiful comb, along with a small, yet not-so small bee, could transform her into a superhero, she never felt so much happiness in her life. It was more than what a closet full of a thousand designer shoes could offer.
If she was allowed to reveal herself to the world, she would be swarmed by her adoring fans, have the boys answering to her every command, and prove to her mother that she's more than a princess!
But alas... Those dreams never came to be.
Now she's wondering if those dreams were actually worth something.
Whenever she saved a life, she felt... good. Not just because she did it, but because she did something... good.
That good feeling grew whenever she saved more lives. And grew even more when she saved lives along with her teammates. She didn't want to lose that feeling all because she...
Cheated... which heroes don't do. Even heroes who are not on duty.
There was absolutely no way was Lila going to have her powers taken away from her. Without her earrings, she'd be just another normal, boring, ordinary girl in the city. And she hated it!
No one wanted to be friends with the new foreign-exchange student, not after she lied to them.
It wasn't her fault. She was the new girl. The moment she entered her new school, everyone began swarming her with questions about Italy and herself. With so much pressure placed on her, she had no choice but to lie about herself in order to survive the first day of her new school.
There was no way was she going to be known as the "Boring Exchange Girl From Italy". She needed to make a good impression. One that would make her new schoolmates regard her with high admiration. Everyone would want to be her friend. Boys would always answer her need for help.
Then that spoiled brat ruined everything.
Her new powers may have fixed every damage the villains made, but it didn't fix her reputation at school. When she came back the next day, everyone she lied to was treating her as an outcast. All because of a few, little lies.
The worst part of it all? When she told the rest of her classmates that she was Ladybug, they all laughed at her, believing it was another one of her lies.
She wanted to prove it to them, to show them she was. But her teammates stopped her, telling her if she continues to reveal her superhero identity, Gabriel will find out and take her miraculous away from her.
If someone's going to be kicked out of the team because of one, little mistake... it, won't, be, her.