"Ladybug and Cat Noir have saved Paris yet again." Marin overheard as he saw Tikki munching down on sandwich cookies. She spent most of her downtime watching the news or reading the comic books that he checked out for her from the library. Marin was fiddling with a pink box with white polka dots and black trimming, just making the finishing touches as he closed the box.
"What are you working on, Marin?" Tikki asked hovering nearby.
" A box to lock up all my secrets." He explained showing off his journal to her.
"Every little secret? You're telling me that you write everything down in that thing?"
Marin nodded as he placed his journal back into the box, "Yup, every doodle, design, and innermost thought...something wrong?" He asked as Tikki eyed him in concern.
"Well, for one, what if someone finds out you're Ladybug? And two, what if someone finds out you're Ladybug?!" She yelled in a panic, over-worrying as Marin calmed his Kwami down by nuzzling her face with the back of his hand. Tikki gentle landed carefully as she enjoyed cuddling.
"Not gonna happen. Try it, Tikki." Marin remarked, reopening the box. Tikki flew in, trying to pick up the journal but it suddenly snapped shut.
"Hey!" Tikki's muffled voice called out as she then phased through.
"See?" Marin remarked with a smug smile, as he then turned towards the news, seeing Chloé and her father on the screen. His previously swell mood turned slightly sour.
"Yesterday, Mr. Bourgeois was re-elected as mayor of Paris for the fourth consecutive term. Here we see Mr. Bourgeois with his daughter."
Marin rolled his eyes, turning off the screen and then checking the time. "Let's go Tikki, otherwise I'm gonna be late again."
"But..." Tikki turned back towards her cookies, her eyes widening to show off how blue they were.
"...You can take the cookies sugar cube." Marin gave in as Tikki quickly nuzzled his face, shoving as many cookies as she could into the pouch that Marin specially made for her.
Miss Bustier spoke before all the class, as Chloé and Sabrina stood near, "Chloé is running for the class representative position and Sabrina will be her deputy. Do we have any other candidates?"
Kim raised his hand but immediately backed down as Chloé glared at him.
"Yes, Kim?" Miss Bustier prompted but he looked away nervously.
"Um, er... nothing."
"Are you gonna try entering?" Nino whispered as Adrien shook his head.
"I don't have the time for-" Adrien started to explain but was cut off by Marin entering the classroom.
"Hi! I'm sorry! I-uh, I-uh, the bus- Sorry ma'am!" He apologized, quickly making it to his seat. Adrien noticed as Marin waved to Nino who returned the gesture both with a smile on their faces.
Miss Bustier clapped her hands to gain the class's attention, "Alright, I'll give all of you till the end of lunch to decide if you like to be a candidate."
In the courtyard, Alya rested her head in Marin's lap, who noticed Chloé being particularly active today. He tapped Alya to get up and both of them walked towards Kim.
"Hey Kim, what did Chloé say to you this time?" He asked as Kim looked away with an embarrassed expression.
"She threatened to tell everyone I'm afraid of spiders."
"She told me that if I ran for the election, I'd get kicked out of scrapbooking club, and you know how much I love all those stickers, colorful scraps of papers, and gluing!" Rose spoke up, overhearing what Marin said.
"Chloé's running again, she's been class rep since when? Kindergarten?" Nino remarked as a few other student gathered towards the growing crowd.
"Yeah, last time she became class rep she got the astronomy club got disbanded-" Nathaniel recalled, who then immediately was silenced by Alix jabbing him in the gut.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that dude," Nino said sympathetically, placing his arm around Marin's shoulder as a form of comfort.
"It's fine, it wasn't like there were a lot of members to begin with," Marin said trying to reassure his friends, then turning towards Alya.
"Why don't you run as a candidate? You'd make an awesome representative."
"No can do. My blog is a full-time job!" She responded as they all sighed together, no one wanted Chloé to be the class representative, but it wasn't like there was someone who would stand up to Chloé.
"So, any new candidates who would like to run against Chloé and Sabrina?"
There was a silence as no one spoke up, no one wanted to stand against Chloé.
"Given that Chloé and Sabrina are the only candidates, there's no point in voting. So, Chloé and Sabrina..."
Adrien already opened his textbook, ready to start studying, as all of a sudden he heard Marin speak up behind him.
"I'll run!"
He and everyone turned towards Marin in a mix of surprise and admiration. No one would have expected that the one who Chloé tormented the most would be the one to stand against
Miss Bustier smiled happily as she clapped her hands together, "Wonderful! You'll need to develop your campaign and have a speech ready by tomorrow, then we'll have a vote!"
Marin then sat down as Alya half hugged him with a smile as the realization of what he just did crashed over him.
Adrien saw Marin sit on a bench, next to Alya who sat on top of it. He looked tense, sitting up straight as he was clearly stressed. He sat on the stairs as he overheard what they were saying.
"So, let's hear the scoop on your campaign! How are you gonna represent?" Alya prompted.
Marin laughed dryly, "Represent? I'm still trying to figure out why I volunteered." But that didn't matter as everyone started crowding around.
"Way to go, Marin! You spoke from the heart, it was truly authentic!" Rose commented happily as she shook his hand.
"Uh... Thanks, Rose." Marin said.
"When you win, can we get more comfortable chairs? They are so hard, I can barely concentrate in class." Rose asked and then suddenly gasped, "Maybe pink ones!"
"And it'd be primo if we could listen to our beats while we study in the library," Nino suggested.
"Uh, you know... um, I don't-, you know," Juleka mumbled as Marin couldn't help but break out a half-smile.
He chuckled, "Sure, Juleka."
Alya then spotted him from the staircase, calling out to him. "Hey, Adrien! Marin can count on your vote, right?"
"Sure. Depending on his speech." He said simply, looking forward to whatever Marin had to say. One thing was for certain, he thought to himself as he spotted his childhood friend smiling sinisterly, Chloé wasn't going down without a fight.
"Softer chairs, music in the library..." Marin murmured to himself, eating his lunch upstairs in his room today, shrimp fried rice. "It's a lot to take in, I don't even know what my angle is for my campaign."
Tikki then landed on his shoulder, 'I'm proud of you for taking initiative! You'd make an awesome class rep!" She complimented.
Marin smiled at his Kwami. "Everyone's relying on me to defeat Chloé, but I don't know...I don't just want their votes because they don't like her."
"Hm?" Tikki tilted her head in confusion. "But I thought you only volunteered because she was always a terrible class rep. You're giving them another option, so now it's up to you to live up to what they believe is best for the class."
Marin chuckled, "How does this seem heavier than being Ladybug." He remarked as he heard his mother call for him.
["Xiang, telephone! It's Alya."] His mother called out.
"Coming mama!" Marin called out, "Tikki." Marin called as the Tikki flew into his pocket. He quickly went downstairs and took the landline phone from his mother.
"Hello?" Marin asked.
"Battle's on cutie." He heard Alya warn.
Marin tilted his head, "What? Why? What's going on?"
"Chloé's invited the whole class to her campaign launch party at City Hall and she's got Jagged Stone coming, too!"
Marin eyes widened "Seriously? Jagged Stone?! The, Jagged Stone?!" He questioned in growing excitement.
Alya nodded, " Yup, she's totally trying to buy student votes with autographs!"
Marin sighed, "I'll be right over." he hung up the phone, grabbing his bag off the couch and throwing a few cookies from the kitchen into his bag. As he left his house he didn't notice Sabrina sneaking in...
Back at school, Adrien was swiftly defeated by his teacher in one swift move, falling over.
"Wow, Mr. D'Argencourt, never seen you on fire like this! That was some attack!" Adrien complimented as he looked up to his teacher.
"It ought be. This particular maneuver hither was developed by my ancestor Darkblade." Mister D'Argencourt informed, handing back Adrien's saber.
"Darkblade?" Adrien questioned in amazement.
"In the days of yore, Darkblade conquered Paris and ruled over it with an iron fist. Until he was overthrown vence by a wealthy Frenchman who used his dirty gold to buy the loyalties of the common people. To think that not so long ago, my ancestor's flag was waving above Paris..." Mister D'Argencourt informed as he soon was interrupted.
"Is that what you ran in the election, Mr. D'Argencourt? To seek revenge on your ancestors' behalf?" Nadja Chamack asked alongside her cameraman.
Mister D'Argencourt glared at them, "Part le fer! Who dost we have hither?"
"Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news! Do you have anything to say about your quote un-quote landslide defeat-" She was about to ask but then someone else yelled at them.
"Hey, you! Excuse me! How did you get in the school?" An employee demanded, running towards the reporters, who scrambled away quickly as they were technically trespassing.
"Here endeth the lesson." Mister D'Argencourt stated, leaving Adrien alone to pack up his things.
Adrien moved towards his bag, noticing that he received a text from Chloé, saying that his favorite rock star was at the city hall right now to support her campaign. Part of him really wanted to go...so that's what he'd do. Smiling to himself as he decided to ditch his next class.
But as he walked out of the building with his bag, he saw his fencing teacher transform into a villain, then transforming others into his servants, even his bodyguard.
"Darkblade! The lord of Paris! Soon my army shalt be immense and unstoppable! We shall take City Hall by storm and reclaim the throne from Bourgeois the usurper!" Darkblade stated as Adrien quickly turned back into the school.
"Talk about dedication," Plagg commented as Adrien smirked at his Kwami.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Darkblade gathered his small army, "Let us to battle, knights! Part le fer!" Then noticing Chat Noir as he handed before them.
"The people had their say and they chose Bourgeois over you, D'Argencourt!" Chat Noir remarked, taking out his baton.
"Thy peoples matter not to me. D'Argencourt was defeated, not Darkblade! En garde!" He stated as the two dashed towards each other.
Marin walked into City hall filled with his classmates, all excited to meet Jagged Stone, who he himself looked bored.
"I'm pleased to welcome you all to the official launch of Chloé's electoral campaign. And a special thank-you to world-famous pop-star Jagged Stone for endorsing her." Mayor Bourgeois stated wit ha smile as Chloé smiled victoriously.
"And, when you vote for me, you'll get free tickets to Jagged's next concert!" She stated
" You got an autograph, huh?" Marin observed, crossing his arms.
Alya smiled at him sheepishly. "Uh... Yeah, got you one too. Sorry, couldn't help myself." She said handing him a spare CD, but Marin shook his head.
"C'mon Alya, you know you can only bribe me with votes." He remarked as Alya couldn't help but smile at her friend.
At the Pont des Arts, Chat Noir did his best to keep his distance from Darkblade, realizing that he was far out of league.
Darkblade presented himself to his enemy, catching Chat Noir off guard as he performs the same feint-and-strike technique he did to Adrien earlier, sending his staff flying as he was now defenseless.
"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice..." Chat Noir murmured as he was quickly surrounded.
"Take him!" Darkblade ordered as his foot soldiers charged at the hero. Chat Noir acted quickly, standing on the edge as he fell off backward, using the momentum to grab on the understand, hiding atop the support beams.
"Nary a minute to be wasted! City Hall awaits us!" Darkblade called out as he heard the troops walking no the bridge above him. Chat Noir checked that he was safe before hopping back up and picking up his baton.
"City Hall, huh? You go first. I'll catch up with you." The Hero remarked as he jumped atop the roofs of Paris.
Back at City Hall, Marin noticed Sabrina running in with something in hand, but he turned towards his friends trying to reason with them.
"You realize that you're all being bribed right? Concert tickets are awesome, but they aren't gonna solve classroom problems. Chloé 's taking advantage of your admiration for Jagged Stone."
"So what's your campaign then, Marin?" Nathaniel asked.
Marin: Well, um, I'm, um, thinking that cushions would be more realistic than buying new chairs." Turning towards Rose he remarked. "Your cushion could be very pink." Much to her glee as he then turned towards Nino. "And I'll see about listening to music in the library. Through headphones, of course." And finally to Juleka, of whom he gave a smile towards. "Not to mention the music club needs that new equipment after all." Noticed that she smiled warmly at him.
"Remarkable. You actually sound like a class rep." Chloé remarked sarcastically. "Too bad you don't have a chance of winning." She said, then grabbed onto his arm, pulling him behind a pillar. " If you don't pull out of the race, all your secrets will be revealed."
Marin glanced between her and Sabrina who was currently trying to remove the box from her hand. "You realize this is not going to end well right?" Marin remarked.
Chloé scoffed at him, crossing her arms. "I think that's my line. Once I get my hands on a chainsaw you're history!" She said much to Sabrina's chagrin. All of a sudden everyone heard blasts of trumpets outside. Marin easily walked away from Chloé, opening the door to see a large group of knights in black armor standing outside.
"O-ye, o-ye! Darkblade shalt speak now! Listen or be imprisoned!" One of the green knights called as they all parted before one black knight with red trim walking forward.
"Henceforth, my flag shalt fly over thy kingdom! Bourgeois, pathetic knave, come hither and do battle!" Darkblade announced.
"What did he say?" Mr. Bourgeois questioned.
"Basically, he's gonna bust you up." Alya explained as all of them glanced at the growing army in concern.
"Bow down to Darkblade, or feel the wrath of mine sword!" Darkblade said dashing towards them with his weapon drawn. Marin immediately shut the doors, locking it quickly just as he narrowly avoided getting impaled at the weapon piercing the door, only a few inches from his face.
He let out a breath of tension as he checked the windows, seeing that Chat Noir was already in battle, taking on small army by himself.
"Wait, do I hear the sounds of crazed fans? I can totally get them under control." Jagged Stone remarked, about to open the door when Marin immediately pulled him back by his arm.
"Sir, I can assure you those are NOT your fans!"
Jagged Stone brushed him off but was taken to the side by a woman who seemed to be his manager.
"What are we gonna do?" Ivan asked in concern as he hugged Mylene who was trembling in fear.
"Chloé, what should we do? What would a class rep do?!" Rose asked in a panic as Chloé hid behind the front desk.
"Well, if indeed you vote for me, I'll provide you with an answer. Tomorrow." She responded, peaking over the desk.
"But we can't wait until tomorrow!" Alix snapped.
Chloé shrugged her shoulders, "Then you're out of luck. You'll have to ask someone else."
Marin glanced at the doors, realizing that if the army grew in number then there would be nothing them back. He scanned the room, all of his classmates either arguing or cowering. Meanwhile outside Chat Noir looked like he wasn't going to hold out much longer against the growing numbers.
He took a deep breath, recalling the first lesson he learned; Never hesitate. "The doors, quickly!" He called out grabbing a nearby chair. "Kim, Ivan, lock the doors! Make sure all the windows are closed too, quickly! Everyone else start barricading!" He ordered as everyone nodded in agreement following instructions, noticing Alya's proud smile.
"Well, I was going to say the exact same thing!" Chloé retorted as everyone ignored her. Quickly, all the entrances were sealed, but it wasn't going to hold for long as the windows started to break.
"I hope they haven't gone too medieval on Cat Noir!" Nino said as he saw the hero getting dogpiled.
"We need to get out of here," Marin remarked turning towards the Mayor. "Sir, your office has a lock on it right?" He asked as Mr. Bourgeois nodded, guiding the students as Alya turned towards Marin who remained behind.
"I'll catch up with you gotta make sure all the windows are closed first!" He called as Alya nodded, as soon as she was out of sight, Marin ran towards the second floor, seeing a window he could jump out from. He opened his bag seeing his Kwami fly out.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Cat Noir had his back to a wall, holding a staff as he was slowly cornered. Suddenly familiar yo-yo fell before him as he grabbed it, cheekily waving at the knights who crashed into each other trying to catch him. Ladybug grabbed his hand, pulling him in from the window, turning back towards the crowd.
"I was managing just fine by myself, you know. But it's always nice to see you." Chat Noir remarked with a smile. But it soon faded as he thought he saw something large fly by. they both looked out the window to see the knights tossing their own using catapults.
"Why are they going on the roof?" Chat asked as one hit the wall nearby, falling back to the ground. "Well, at least some of them."
Ladybug narrowed his eyes, eyeing their leader who was holding a long pole in his hand. The Hero's eyes widened, " The flag!"
"Tally ho!" Darkblade announced, landing on the roof. "Ha ha ha! Once these stripes are supplanted by mine coat of arms, I shalt reign supreme!"
Ladybug reasoned throwing up his yo-yo, wrapping it around the current flag pole. He pulled it down, then grabbing Chat Noir around his waist so they both could travel faster.
"I always wanted us to get closer." Chat remarked playfully as they both were sent flying to the top of city hall.
"The Akuma has to be in the flag." Ladybug guessed eyeing Darkblade who was climbing up the hall on the backs of his vassals.
"No way, the Akuma's in the sword." Chat Noir responded.
"How can you tell?" Ladybug asked, knocking back a few knights.
"Uhh, the guy's a fencing teacher!" Chat Noir rambled over his response, "How are we gonna get a hold of it- hey!" he called out as Ladybug already had his yo-yo wrapped around Darkblade. The villain then sent him flying with his heightened strength. Slamming Chat Noir's partner into one of the towers. Getting pinned down by a few of the knights. He felt his claws extend angrily, but snapped out of it as he heard his partner's voice.
"Cat Noir, don't let him get to the top!" Ladybug called out as he struggled against the grip.
Cat Noir nodding, taking out his batton, knocking down the tower of vassals as he stood before Darkblade.
" Villains! Thou impress me not. By the blade of darkness, I hereby declare all peoples of this kingdom are henceforth mine! Bow to King Darkblade!"
"Sorry, but I'd only bow to one person, but hard pass!" Chat Noir said, attacking Darkblade, "En garde!" Chat Noir held his own against the skilled fencer. As he did so, Ladybug finally escaped the grasp of the knights. Eyeing his partner in battle, noticing how skilled Chat Noir was against the knight. Even so, they both would need a little more help.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out, receiving a small wind up toy. Ladybug eyed Darkblade, winding up the toy just before he kicked it into the armpit of his armor just as he disarmed Chat Noir. The knight started laughing as Chat Noir activated his cataclysm, destroying the sword as the Akuma flew out. "No more mischief from you little Akuma. Time to purify!" He said as he swung his yo-yo towards the possessed Akuma, capturing it in one motion. Then opening it once more, watching the newly purified Akuma fly away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug said throwing up his lucky charm, returning all the knights and cars to normal. Chat Noir picked up Darkblade who turned back into Mr. D'Argencourt, a teacher form their school, landing before city hall as Ladybug followed.
"Keep your head up Mr. D'Argencourt," Chat Noir remarked, handing his saber back to him. "There's always next year to build up your campaign." The man nodded in newfound resolved as Ladybug and Chat Noir fist-bumped.
"Pound it!"
Ladybug then heard his earrings, ring "Later." He said using his yo-yo to leave as Chat Noir watched his partner leave with a fond expression on his face.
"Great job, Marin. You proved that you can be Ladybug and a student leader at the same time."
Marin smiled at his Kwami, nuzzling her face in his bag for a few moments just before he walked back down the stairs. He cringed internally as Chloé spotted him, just a moment before Alya crashed into him, trapping him in a hug.
"So where were you? Safely hiding under a rock?" Chloé asked snidely as Alya glared at her.
"Very funny, Chloé. I got transformed into a knight." Marin lied, but they didn't need to know that. "Now please give me back my stuff."
"What?" Alya asked in confusion as she glared at Chloé angrily.
Chloé looked fearful for a moment, "I really have no idea what you're talking about! I-"
Sabrina shoved Chloé aside and holds out her hand with the diary box on it towards him. "Please take it off!" Sabrina begged as Marin took the key off of
"Got an explanation, Chloé?" Alya asked.
"I told you, I never took her diary! And I'm offended that you're accusing me!" Chloé remarked defensively.
"Then how did you even know my journal was in here then?" Marin asked unlocking Sabrina.
"Oh, well, uh... Sabrina told me. It was all her idea!" Chloé retorted but grew nervous as a crowd drew around her.
"That's not cool Chloé, Marin's always been nice to you," Nino said, his armed crossed with disapproval as the rest of the class agreed.
"At least now we know nobody will vote for Chloé. You're a shoe-in." Alya elbowed his side playfully, making a wave of uneasiness.
"Uh... wait a sec Alya, Alya-"
"Ha ha ha! See? He's undependable! She's already throwing in the towel!" Chloé suddenly shouted, pointing a finger towards him to get all the negative attention off of herself.
" No, I'm not." Marin clarified, "I just wanna be voted in fairly, not because you don't wanna vote for Chloé, but because you believe in me! I'm not gonna make promises that I can't keep, and I'm not gonna be able to get you everything that you want. But I am resourceful and I know how to prioritize and I'm always willing to listen. Representing you all is something important to me, so as long as I have your trust I won't let you down. So... please vote for me for class representative. If you want." Marin mumbled off as his face heartened, flashing a tired look towards Alya through the cheers of his classmates.
His best friend luckily knew him well as she dragged him out of there, remarking, "If you guys could remember what he said that would be great because I'm pretty sure he can't talk that much ever again...in his life."
"By majority vote, Marin is the new class representative, and Alya will be his deputy." Miss Bustier announced at the end of the school day as everyone cheered.
Adrien looked around in surprise as even Sabrina was cheering for him.
"Marin's really popular huh?" Adrien remarked towards Nino who nodded with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, after he took charge after that Akuma attack, basically everyone's on his side." Nino explained, "Had a killer speech too, shame ya' missed it bro."
Adrien only smiled as half the class crowded around Marin, congratulating him just before they left. Nino, Alya, and he lingered behind them.
"So how are we celebrating?" Nino asked.
"I'm thinking..." Alya thought for a moment. "We go to Marin's family bakery for celebratory croissants?" She offered as Marin rolled his eyes with an amused smile.
"It's always croissants with you, my parent's bakery has more than that you know," Marin said with a chuckle. "My dad's making salmon tarts today."
"Oooo, yes please." Nino remarked, "and your famous chocolate chip cookies please."
"I put in a batch this morning to be sold, we can go see if there are any leftovers," Marin suggested as Nino placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Dude. I love you so much." He said seriously as Alya started to giggle.
Adrien couldn't see what was so funny, in fact, he was somewhat confused about how Marin never reacted to Nino always telling him how much he loved him. For the longest, while he had assumed that Marin and Alya were the couple, so this threw him for a loop. But he shook it off as he received a text notification, already knowing that Natalie would be waiting for him. He stepped forward as Marin glanced at him in surprise.
"I can't make it today but congrats on winning the class election Marin." He said with a smile on his face as Marin turned his head away, mumbling his thanks. "See ya." Adrien said as he walked out of the door he heard the three friends planning ahead for their get together, while he usually always had to cancel. Just as he was walking down the stairs, he heard someone call out to him, turning back to see Marin standing atop the stairs.
"You should come by later on if you have free time." He offered at Adrien stood there stunned for a moment. "If you want, I mean-" Marin stumbled over his words, about to walk away when Adrien quickly spoke up.
"Yeah, of course!" He said with a bright smile. "Save me a slice."
Notes:
- Marin is a good kid but he's not the best a public speaking.
- Adrien is confused and Nino and Alya sure as heck aren't going to correct him anytime soon.