Miraculous: Chloe Bourgeois Time Travel Fix-It.
Chapter 18: Air Foamer and Gusher.
(Three hundred and four thousand, six hundred and third Quantic Universe Earth, Paris, France, Wednesday, September 30th, 2015, third person POV...)
On the eve of Adrien's fourteenth birthday, Ladybug was lost in thought as she and her allies met up from their patrol routes to report and compare progress.
And the reason why Ladybug was lost in thought was because of this: she couldn't help but think that by this time, in this new timeline built from scratch thanks to Chloe's machinations to eliminate the problems they along with everyone in their family and friend circles had faced back in the original timelines, both the one where Marinette was killed by Hawk Moth II slash Chrysalis and the one where the true final battle had soon to commence, Paris itself was and still is getting used to the fact that there's now a magical terrorist on the loose from the shadows, ready to energize any of his butterflies with dark magical energy to forcibly transform anyone with even a hint of anger into a terrifying villain or monster.
This was something she originally didn't think was possible in the original timeline, and yet, here she was, once again, fighting villains who aren't even comic book originals, and even some inspired by popular horror movie and mythological monsters, like the Medusa themed Akuma they had faced after school yesterday.
Yes, after checking her chronological Akumatized villain list, Ladybug realized that her non-chronological list included Akumatized villains that the Interdimensional Travelers claimed weren't ever shown on-screen but rather were depicted in popular, obscure, and/or otherwise deleted Miraculous Ladybug fanfictions from various fanfiction websites, like the Medusa themed Akuma, for example.
Just like the original Medusa from Greek mythology, making eye contact with the Medusa Akuma instantly turns any organic creatures such as human beings into stone statues, something Ladybug remembered was a superpower brought on by Medusa's curse called a Petrifying Gaze, a superpower she has no control over except in the presence of women if any women had ever dared to travel to Medusa's lair.
And the Medusa Akuma looked like both the 1981 and 2010 versions of Medusa from the Clash Of The Titans live action films, in addition to being able to switch into a bipedal humanoid form with her powers and her armor intact. But the key difference between this Medusa and many of her counterparts was that she was armed with every kind of medieval weapon in existence aside from just being an archer like her namesake.
And the green and orange sword looking exactly like the one that Wonder Woman had, the same one that the Medusa Akuma had, that was a clear indication that even Hawk Moth was serious.
Of course, since Ladybug had lived through such a thing once already, she had long since – both in this timeline and in the other one – gotten used to having to fight with her eyes closed and/or while temporarily blind, relying on her other senses just like the Marvel Comics superhero and lawyer Matthew Murdock, aka Daredevil.
And at the same time, Ladybug had also learned over the years in this timeline how to use any form of sign language and hand signals to communicate if in the event she and/or anyone else are unable to talk like in Silencer, or if in the event she and her team ever encountered a situation where they become mute and deaf in an Akuma attack.
Of course, since Ladybug knew that this was an Akuma version of Medusa they were dealing with and not the real one if it was ever real in the first place, she cautioned everyone wielding any sharp weapons such as and other than swords against decapitating the Akuma, citing that this wasn't the real Medusa and that beheading the Akuma means instantly being revoked of their Miraculous jewels, cursed to never use a Miraculous again, being given lots of amnesia dust to revoke their memories of their allies' identities, and being taken to prison to serve a life sentence for murder and for beheading, especially since Paris has long continued to abolish the death penalty to make themselves more decent when dealing with prisoners.
It was most tedious for her friends, but they worked together, improvising on their training, and improvising on their environments with their eyes closed or blindfolded to trick Medusa into wearing sunglasses long enough for her snake hair to be disintegrated and for Ladybug to purify the Akuma and unleash her Miraculous Ladybug.
Of course, when Ladybug found out from the Akuma victim the real reason why she was Akumatized into a replica of Medusa, she was furious to the point where she tickle tortured the bully in question until he apologized genuinely and realized that his actions had consequences, as was partially the norm for girls tickle torturing boys aside from just each other and vice versa.
After that ordeal, Ladybug and the rest of the Oracle Knights decided to have their training sessions include learning how to fight with only four senses because, outside of fighting while temporarily blind or fighting with one's eyes closed against anything other than a Medusa Akuma, and outside of dealing with an Akumatized victim similar to Silencer, there's no telling if the next Akuma villain would have a sonic scream and be able to render any of their numbers temporarily deaf in terms of hearing, not talking. And there's no telling if their training will enable them to overcome any Akumatized or normal supervillains with a sonic scream similar to the popular Superman villain called the Silver Banshee.
And it had only been up to a month since Marinette Dupain-Cheng had fully accepted her role as Ladybug this time around, and yet, unlike her counterparts from the other timelines, thanks to her foreknowledge along with her army of clones and her new precognition, school was getting more and more easier and tasks weren't piling up any more than they used to back in the other timeline.
The atmosphere in the class had stayed mostly the same.
After she reunited with Chloe, Marinette had made sure that any unrepentant bullies and incompetent educators were properly punished, and this time around, this included both Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles, as it turned out that outside of Sydney being taken out of school after the Timebreaker incident, outside of the events of the first and second Stoneheart attacks, and outside of the range of Chloe's powers, Caline and Denis were not doing their jobs properly, and they practiced the same things that Marinette remembers they did in the original timeline back when Chloe was still a bully, things that Marinette had long since realized counted as educators being incompetent at their jobs. As it turned out, Chloe's powers of any form of controlling others is dependent on distance and range; and even though she has had years of experience ever since she first met Master Fu, the efficiency of her powers is still at a slightly amateurish level, and the farther away Chloe is from the person or multiple people she's controlling, the quicker the effects will start to wear off.
In fact, it was a miracle that nobody was Akumatized whatsoever when Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles were fired and arrested.
At the same time, when Marinette and Chloe dropped the bombs on their class about what Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles had been doing and how much of it was illegal and dangerous, it was a no-brainer that even Rose was very angered.
Their new teacher and principal were in many ways a combination of Ms. Bustier's good traits – not the misguided ones – and the traits consistent with Ms. Mendeleiev in the sense that they were strict, but they had the students' best interests and everything good about them at heart without being as overbearingly strict, cranky or as hot-tempered as Ms. Mendeleiev.
And at the same time, the new teachers and principal who were to replace the incompetent and fired ones were in many ways the people that Francoise Dupont deserved and needed to turn the lives of the students today and in the future around so that the mistakes of those like Caline Bustier and Denis Damocles never happen again.
And for Chloe? Well, because she couldn't and wouldn't tell anyone about their secrets for a lot of good reasons, she managed to wow the teachers and the principal with her performance in the school, especially in regards to reporting bullying incidents, reporting incompetence in the school staff, and handling her duties as class representative while doing her work all the same.
At the Eiffel Tower that night, Cat Noir says, "That patrol was nice, but I got nothing on Hawk Moth's latest motives."
Ladybug questions, "And exactly how much of our patrol involved you actually testing your powers and Mirakung-Fu skills?"
Cat Noir answers, "Just 30%."
Ladybug replies, "Right, right, fair enough. Well, I'm going easy on the scolding not just because I love you and I know you suffered under your father's roof, but also because your birthday is tomorrow."
Cat Noir then hugs Ladybug while tickling her ribs, making her giggle and squirm.
Ladybug says in a giggling fit, "Hehehehehe – Cat! Hehehehehe hee, how many times have – hahahahahahahahahahaha – how many times have I told you I hate being tickled?"
Cat Noir replies as he stops, "Sorry, I can't help it; I love hearing you laugh."
Ladybug retorts, "And you just love tickling me also."
Cat Noir replies, "Yeah, that too."
Ladybug then inquires, "Did you receive word from your dad about your birthday party?"
Cat Noir points out, "M'lady, you do know that in the original timeline, he said no, right? So, what are the chances that in this timeline, he'll also say no?"
Ladybug replies, "Ooh, yeah, good point."
Cat Noir grips one of the metal beams of the Eiffel Tower, and his claws begin to tear through the metal.
Ladybug places her left clawed hand on Cat Noir's right hand and gave a reassuring squeeze, reminding him to maintain some form of positivity to avoid any mental health issues associated with pessimism and to avoid alienating himself from his friends and from his relatives in London when they manage to visit during the events of the Felix episode in season 3, Hawk Moth or no Hawk Moth.
In this new timeline, thanks to their memories, thanks to the fact that they willingly chose to destroy the love square by having their identities revealed to each other without anyone such as Future Bunnyx running unwarranted and potentially illegal interference, and thanks to Chloe introducing them earlier than canon, Marinette and Adrien's relationship rose from the ashes of the original timeline and rebuilt itself literally from scratch.
But at this time, Ladybug regretted not being able to comprehend or even attempt to understand the loneliness and emotional neglection that Adrien faced day after day with his father ever since his mother died. She could understand having enormous grief not exactly on the same level that she and the others found out Gabriel had suffered to the point where he chose to become the supervillain terrorist Hawk Moth just to revive Emilie because he didn't want to be a single parent, and just because he wanted Emilie for himself no matter what he attempts to say about it or attempt to justify his behavior, but to ignore his only child on his fourteenth birthday? That was one other thing Ladybug and Marinette Dupain-Cheng found to be wholly unacceptable.
She and Adrien in particular had now started on a somewhat bizarre but thankfully acceptable start to rise from the ashes of their horrible relationship from the original timeline that was partially their faults for not revealing their identities to each other on the first day and partially Kim and Chloe's faults for the humiliation prank at the local swimming pool building that could've caused Marinette to drown and thereby force Master Fu to fully choose Alya as the user of the Ladybug Miraculous even though she and Adrien finally knew thanks to the Interdimensional Travelers that Alya wouldn't've done so good in some specific timelines where she was given the Ladybug Miraculous instead of Marinette and in some specific timelines where Marinette successfully gave Alya the Ladybug Miraculous during the second Stoneheart attack without any problems. Between knowing each other as childhood friends in this timeline and then regaining their original memories, between knowing each other as superheroes first and then as civilians second, and between the full avoidance of the chewing gum misunderstanding thanks to Chloe no longer being a bully and suddenly being thrust into the job of superheroes with a high mortality rate that they along with the rest of the Oracle Knights were hiding from everyone else for good reasons, Marinette and Adrien found each other to be the closest of friends and became surrogate siblings before realizing that Adrien needs to be with either his revived mother or with his aunt Amelie or with someone else except for her own parents, otherwise Adrien and Marinette can't date each other. But nevertheless, Marinette and Adrien also found in each other close friends, confidants, and someone they can rely upon when the situation requires them to have a shoulder to cry on.
Ladybug then says, "Well, don't worry. You'll at least enjoy a few birthday cupcakes and pastries at school tomorrow, especially since I have your father's permission and Nathalie's permission."
Cat chortles at what his partner had to say.
Cat Noir then asks, "Do you think Chloe is up to something?"
Ladybug answers, "No, nothing that I know of."
Cat Noir shrugs as he replies, "Okay then."
Cat Noir thinks for a moment before asking, "So, why do you hate being tickled, Ladybug?"
Ladybug sighs as she answers, "The last time I experienced what had to be the worst tickle torture imaginable, it was when Kim and my dad ganged up on me during family game night. They tickled my ribs and my feet to the point where I peed myself."
Cat Noir cringes in disgust.
Ladybug continues, "Yeah, so that's why I don't let anyone tickle me, even if I'm not entirely sure if I might pee myself again."
Cat Noir then says, "Okay, good point."
Ladybug then says, "Rest assured, Addy, you'll at least get a few birthday pastries tomorrow. I'll stick fourteen candles to seven croissants and seven cupcakes if I have to."
Cat Noir snort-laughs at that even as he asks, "Why croissants?"
Ladybug replies, "Well, you've recently grown fond of croissants."
Cat Noir chortles at that.
Ladybug yawns before asking as she gets up and opens her wings, "See you tomorrow, Cat?"
Cat Noir gets up and spreads his neon green bat wings before answering, "Yes, of course."
Ladybug replies, "Good night, Cat. I love you."
Cat Noir replies, "I love you too, m'lady. Good night."
And so, Ladybug and Cat Noir went home.
When Ladybug made her way back into her bedroom, she let her transformation fade and she went to sleep immediately, having previously dressed down to her pajamas and brushed her teeth before patrol.
Over the past month in this new timeline, she and Adrien had spent at least two nights weekly getting the hang of their powers and training in Mirakung-Fu, Akumakung-Fu, Tenshikung-Fu, Kamikokung-Fu, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Russian Sambo, Jailhouse Rock, Jeet Kune Do, Taekwondo, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Jujutsu, Aikido, Wing Chun, Tai Chi, American Kenpo, Angampora, Bakom, Bajiquan, Bando, Bartitsu, Bokh Wrestling, Budokan Karate, Budokon, Bojuka, Bokator, Bujutsu, Butthan, Capoeira, Choy Li Fut, Chun Kuk Do, Combat Hapkido, Combat Hopak, Coreeda, Cuong Nhu, Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu, Dambe, Danzan Ryu, Defendo Alliance, Defendu, Dumog, Dutch Kickboxing, Eagle Claw Kung-Fu, Enshin Kaikan, Fu Jow Pai, Glima, Gongkwon Yusul, Hapkido, Huka-Huka, Hung Ga Kung-Fu, Huyen Langlon, Hwa Rang Do, Icho-Ryu, Kajukenbo, Keysi, Kokondo, Kuk Sool Won, Kung-Fu To'a, Kuntao, Kyuk Too Ki, Laamb, Leopard Kung-Fu, Lethwei, LimaLama, Linh Quyen Dao, Lua, Lutte Traditionnelle, Malla Yuddha, Monkey Kung-Fu, Moraingy, Nippon Kenpo, Niyuddha, Nuba Wrestling, Okichitaw, Panantukan, Pankration, Pencak Silat, Pradel Serey, Praying Mantis Kung-Fu, Quan Ki Do, Sanshou, Senegalese Wrestling, Shaolin Kempo Karate, Shaolin Kung-Fu, Shindo Jinen Ryu, Shootfighting, Shooto, Shorinji Kempo, Shuri-Ryu, Sibpalki, Sikaran, Silat, Small Circle Jujitsu, Ssireum, Taido, Taiho Jutsu, Tang Soo Do, Thien Mon Dao, To-Shin Do, Vale Tudo, Vovinam, Wen-Do, Wushu, Yaw Yan, Yongmudo, Yoseikan Budo, and Zui Quan Kung-Fu to see any potential flaws in their training to work upon against Hawk Moth, Mayura, Hawk Moth II, Cat Blanc, Ephemeral, Shadybug, Claw Noir, Gold Record, Chameleon, Hoaxer, Rena Rage, Shell Shock, Queen Wasp, The Collector, Safari, Scarlet Moth, Shadow Moth, Shadow Noir, Monarch, Monarchbug, Nightormentor, The Pharaoh 2.0., any Akumatized Bunnyx similar to Tesseract, Grandmaster Su-Han during a new version of their future first meeting with him if he ever tried to take their Miraculouses by force while refusing to listen to reason, Frozer, Puppeteer, Miraculer, Timetagger, Party Crasher, Lies, Furious Fu, Volpina, Zombizou, Syren, Style Queen, Evillustrator, Miracle Queen, Robostus, Stormy Weather 2.0., Animan, Dark Cupid, Dark Humor, Anansi, The Gamer, The Gamer 2.0., Sandboy, Silencer, Truth, Psycomedian, Frightningale, The Dark Owl, Darker Owl, Ikari Dozen, Matagi Gozen, Vanisher 2.0., Riposte Prime, Bugfighter, Manipula, Kikou, Sole Destroyer, Ryukomori, Ms. Sans-Culotte, Queen Mayor, King of Plastic, the Miraculized, Rocketear, Wishmaker, Qilin, Penalty and the Penalteam, Risk, Strikeback, Animaestro, Bakerix, Backwarder, Weredad, Mr. Pigeon 68, Soundwave, Weredad 2.0., Clonika, Sphinx Caterpillar, Sphinx Butterfly, Oni-Chan, Desperada, Christmaster, Startrain, Kwamibuster, Techno-Pirate, Techlonizer, Miraclonizer, King Cash, YanLuoShi, Mr. Pigeon 72, Despair Bear, Prime Queen, Befana, Glaciator, Glaciator 2.0., Captain Hardrock, Troublemaker, Reverser, Malediktator, Mega Leech, Reflekdoll, Guiltrip, Style Queen 2.0., Optigami, Sentibubbler, Hack-San, Robostus 2.0., the Gang of Secrets, the Punishers Trio, Felix as Flairmidable or Argos, Red Moon, Sentimonster Collector 2.0., The Magician of Misfortune, Copycat, The Bubbler, The Rogercop, Darkblade, The Mime, Kung Food, Guitar Villain, Pixelator, Simon Says, Princess Fragrance, Animan, Horrificator, Reflekta, Replay, Silurus, Sculptia, Librarian, Invisigence, Gigantitan, Gorizilla, The Sapotis, Santa Claws, Oblivio, Christmaster, Feast, The Puppeteer 2.0., Verity Queen, Princess Justice, Heart Hunter, Sole Crusher, Queen Banana, Moolak, Kuro Neko, Unmasker, Panic, Dr. Sadness, The Aklipt Invaders, Pain and Tears, Monsieur Rat, Ignoblia, Butterfly Sentimonster, Lollipop Boy, Light Eye, Banana Boom-Boom, the Robostus Sentimonster, and many of the others they encountered in the original timeline so far.
But because of Adrien's schedule and because of the need to sparingly use their Mouse Miraculous style clones to avoid suspicions with Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie, and the others not in the know about the Oracle Knights members' identities for a lot of good reasons, it was decided that late in the night would be the time to train their combat skills and powers.
And also, Akumas usually popped up during the day except for Sapotis, the unnamed pre Heroes' Day villain, and Sandboy among a few others, so that meant even Hawk Moth slash Gabriel Agreste needed to sleep in order to do his terrorist business and his job at the Gabriel fashion brand.
In the days since they recovered their memories and found each other again, Marinette and Adrien got to know each other better, and that involved not just sharing up to ten bad and good jokes, but it also involved stress relieving massages, although Marinette will never admit to even Tikki that she enjoyed it whenever Adrien massaged her feet, as she always forgot why her feet tended to get callouses after a fight and after days of school aside from the obvious choice of footwear outside of superhero duties.
In those days, Marinette got herself familiar with Adrien's traits as Cat Noir that she remembered hating in the original timeline to an extent, such as Adrien being a dork who loves puns, jokes, animation cartoons, animation movies, and pastries.
Marinette knew that her partner and future boyfriend was hilarious, kindhearted, and knew precisely how to lighten her mood.
But at the same time, Marinette also knew that Adrien's model boy personality was only a façade because of his father's intense grip on his social upbringing, education, emotional growth, and day to day life among other things, in addition to the fact that because Nathalie knew her boss was Hawk Moth and would eventually go on to become Mayura before her death and failed betrayal in The Last Day, it'd only be a matter of time before Nathalie notices any changes in Adrien's mood, personality, and behavior that she knew she was under contract – figuratively, non-existent, and literally – to report to Gabriel, and even she knew that he wouldn't be happy about it one bit. And because of all of this, Adrien can only let his true personality emerge as Cat Noir, even in the middle of Akuma fights.
Marinette knew from the other timeline that she found out the personal side of Gabriel Agreste even before the final battle against Monarch, and what did she do with that information in the original timeline before she met Chrysalis and died at her hands at the same time and before she regained her memories in the past thanks to Chloe? Nothing.
Marinette decided not to worry about it for now; as long as she and her team can apprehend Hawk Moth on Heroes' Day along with Nathalie, Lila, and Alex, she won't have to worry about the final battle from the original timeline and the battles against Chrysalis from the second other timeline happening all over again, with and without the same results.
(The next day, Thursday, October 1st, 2015, Marinette Dupain-Cheng's bedroom, third person POV...)
Marinette is sleeping in her bed with Tikki on her chest.
And judging by the look on Marinette's face, she seemed to be dreaming a good dream.
Then, Marinette is woken up by her cell phone's alarm clock.
Marinette slowly gets up this time and gently arouses Tikki with slight movements.
Tikki says sleepily, "Ah, good morning, Marinette."
Marinette replies, "Back at you, Tikki."
Marinette gets down from her bed gently and avoids hitting her chaise.
Marinette telepathically says, "Happy Birthday, Adrien."
Adrien telepathically replies, "Thanks, Mari."
Marinette then telepathically looks through Adrien's eyes and telepathically asks him, "Wait a minute, are you brushing your teeth with black toothpaste?"
Adrien telepathically asks back, "Yes, why?"
Marinette answers telepathically, "Because research on the internet says that activated charcoal toothpaste removes the outer enamel of human teeth and thus makes our teeth more vulnerable to getting cavities. I'd bring this up to your father, but I don't think he'd listen."
In Adrien's bathroom, Adrien telepathically replies as he checks his phone after having brushed his teeth, "Oh, wow, you're right! How could he be so freakish stupid?!"
Plagg then comes up with a wrapped present and says, "Happy Birthday, Adrien! And don't worry; this ain't food this time."
Adrien nods and unwraps the present to see that it's a multi-tool pen.
Adrien replies, "Well, thanks, Plagg."
Plagg nods.
In the kitchen of the Dupain-Cheng living room, Marinette walks down the stairs with Adrien's birthday presents and her mother is drinking tea at the table.
Sabine says, "Marinette, don't forget to clean your room after school today."
Marinette replies, "Got it, Mom, and this time, I mean it."
Sabine replies back, "Good to hear."
Marinette goes up to her mother, gives her a kiss, and starts to leave.
Sabine says, "Have a nice day, sweetie, and say Happy Birthday to Adrien from us!"
Marinette replies, "I will!"
Marinette fully leaves.
Sabine drinks her tea.
In the Agreste mansion, Adrien is eating alone at the dining table, and he looks stoic.
Nathalie walks in and hands Adrien a tablet while saying, "Here's your schedule, Adrien."
Adrien takes it and says emotionlessly, "Thank you, Nathalie."
Nathalie leaves.
Adrien didn't even bother asking Nathalie about whether or not his father will let him have a birthday party, having lived through this before. Well, technically, with his memories from the original timeline being transferred to his past self, but details.
Adrien discreetly scowls, knowing that if it comes down to it on Heroes' Day, when Nathalie realizes that the Peacock Miraculous and the spellbook are gone and she gets caught red-handed, he'll be sure to give both a massive beating before knocking them out cold, if he ever got the chance to do it. Or even better, even though he knows Marinette and his mother wouldn't approve at a hundred percent, he'd be sure to tickle torture Nathalie while hanging her upside down from a rooftop. Yeah, that's just about as much vicious as Adrien can afford to get.
(Chloe Bourgeois' POV...)
My phone buzzed loudly when I got fully ready for school.
And why did my phone buzz loudly?
I looked at it to find out, and I saw it was a reminder that today was Adrien's birthday.
I called Ms. Cesaire to triple check to make sure that the food preparations I politely asked for six days ago were still going on for the birthday party Sabrina and I planned for Adrien's birthday.
Afterwards, I immediately texted Sabrina to remind her to tell everyone else to stay in the classroom for an important announcement after class ends before they go to the canteen for lunch, as well as the fact I reminded Sabrina to make sure to sound as natural as she can without making even Adrien suspect anything.
The chances of Adrien rushing out of the classroom the instant the bell rings were pretty high, especially because his father doesn't trust Adrien to be safe eating in the canteen, even if he chose to bring his own luncheon.
However, the only downside was that Sabrina had to text everyone else in our class individually because we can't afford to make a class group chat without Adrien in it.
If we did make one like that, the more forgetful members of our class might forget to permanently delete it and if Adrien finds it, he'd be upset enough to potentially get us in trouble with our new teacher and our new principal.
As an added incentive, since it would've been my idea in the first place, it'd be my reputation taking a nosedive because I'd be participating in bullying by excluding a student from a class group chat.
This is totally bogus, but the former bullies and all of the gossipers of the school do like to talk.
And trust me, the former bullies are looking for any opportunity they can seize to get their power over the school faculty and the students back, but unfortunately for them, without those like Caline Bustier and Denis Damocles around to do their jobs wrongly, that ain't gonna happen. And, I had already made sure that they were kept on any loose form of 24/7 surveillance to make sure to catch them doing something behind the scenes that they aren't supposed to which would violate the terms of the agreements for their probations. If they did do anything of such a nature, depending on their current age, they'd either be suspended, expelled, or sent to prison, a combination of the first two, a combination of the last two, or even a combination of those three.
And on top of that, I got Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles fired and arrested, and the primary reason why is because, whenever I'm not around, they partake in their actions that classify them being incompetent at their jobs. It's because, as I grew to discover, my power to control people in the particular manner I chose is dependent on distance and range, and since I'm still inexperienced in using those kinds of superpowers, the farther away I am from the people I'm controlling, the quicker the effects will start to wear off.
After I finished with getting myself ready for school and after making my way to my limousine, Sabrina sent to me a confirmation text message that said she finished with her assignment.
All that was left to do when the time was right is to get everyone in total agreement, make the final preparations, and surprise Adrien.
But with so many things which can go wrong, including Gabriel finding out in some way and including Nino choosing to ignore our pointers about how much of a bad idea it is to confront Mr. Agreste, especially because Nino doesn't know how to talk formally, let's just say we're gonna have a lot of harsh words for Nino after we return him to normal post dealing with his Bubbler form.
And to top that, Aziel and the others said that The Bubbler's What An Idiot trivia explicitly said that, and I quote the paraphrased version, "We'd all expect that if Adrien wanted a birthday party, he should've just arranged one with his friends, albeit while making sure that neither Nathalie nor Gabriel, nor his bodyguard knows about it. Adrien may be on a tight schedule under his father's roof, but truly he could've set up something small in terms of a party in his spare time. We'd also expect that his friends would remember his birthday and plan accordingly, including giving him birthday presents. But instead, literally everyone except for Marinette forgets to get Adrien a present, including his father who intentionally left the task to Nathalie so he could focus on his business in terrorizing Paris, and no one thinks to throw for Adrien a party except for Nino, his best friend temporarily turned villain. But of course, Chloe, you don't even have an excuse since you used to be on your smartphone all the time, and yet you blamed Sabrina for forgetting about the day of Adrien's birthday. It's a no-brainer that Adrien looked like a kicked puppy dog for most of the episode's events and experienced a moment of weakness about attending the Bubbler's forced party, even if it wasn't helped by the fact that Plagg encouraged him to go to the party instead of getting him to focus on his duties. And even if Plagg didn't care about Adrien shirking his duties for his own happiness in The Bubbler or out of spite in Syren, it's highly unacceptable for either or both of them to neglect their duties."
Can't say I disagree, because I already lived through that before.
But nevertheless, if Adrien and Plagg ever do that again, I will bust them up.
(Third person POV...)
Outside of the school, Adrien and Nino are talking with each other at the bottom of the staircase to the entrance.
They were waiting for Adrien's bodyguard because Adrien has a photoshoot scheduled for that morning.
Nino asks as he blows bubbles, "Dude, really? Has your dad always been such a Debbie Downer? You'd think he'd at least try to remember what it was like to be young and want to party a little."
Adrien replies in accordance with the timeline and keeping secrets, "Nah, I'm pretty sure that he was a Debbie Downer in his teenage years too. And I didn't even have to try to ask; I knew that even if I asked, he'd still say no."
Nino inquires, "How'd you even know without having to ask?"
Adrien answers, "I'd spent so long being disappointed by my father that I learned how to make educated guesses about what he's gonna do or say in terms of what I want, regardless of whether or not he approves of what I want."
Nino wraps one arm around Adrien's shoulders and says, "It's your b-day, dude! Insist!"
Adrien replies, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. He's firm in his beliefs, he's able to intimidate anyone into doing what he wants them to do, and most of all, he doesn't listen to reason about what I want no matter how hard you try to persuade him."
Nino replies back, "You know what? I'm gonna have a little convo with your pops."
Adrien says sternly, "Don't even think about it, especially in the manner of disregarding what Chloe and Marinette told you."
Nino asks, "What do you mean?"
Adrien explains, "Allow me to jog your memory: my father, Gabriel Agreste, is a stern businessman above all else, and he talks formally with everyone who isn't a relative or a close friend of his. And the instant you start talking teenage slang when talking to him, he'll immediately feel disrespected."
Nino replies back, "Oh."
Marinette walks up, with Alya lagging behind just because of Marinette's height, and she asks, "Let me guess: even without asking Nathalie about it, Mr. Agreste still said no?"
Adrien nods as an answer.
Adrien then notices a bag Marinette is holding along with two different boxes of different shape and size, and she says, "Happy Birthday, Adrien."
Adrien opens the bag first, and he snorts at seeing the seven chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, peanut butter, Oreo, and vanilla cupcakes with a candle on each of them. Along with seven regular croissants with a candle on each of them.
After removing the candles and cupcake wrappers, he hungrily devours the cupcakes while making sure to remove any crumbs or pieces of frosting he might accidentally get on himself. As well as the fact that he heartily ate his croissants while making sure to clean up crumbs from his clothing.
Adrien says as he wipes his mouth with a napkin, "Thanks, Marinette."
Adrien then opens the first box and sees that it's the same scarf he remembers she made in the original timeline.
Adrien then says, "Wow! Thanks, Marinette."
Adrien opens the last box and sees that it's a shapeshifting box.
Marinette says, "I heard that shapeshifting boxes help to relieve stress by moving the parts to make anything appear. Simple as that."
Adrien then hugs Marinette.
Adrien then looks at Chloe.
Chloe notices this, then she says, "I don't currently have a good enough birthday present, Adrien, but I do intend to make one with some assistance. And if I can't make one before today ends, no big deal; not every birthday present is given to the recipient on time."
Adrien nods in understanding.
Chloe then asks, "Sabrina, am I forgetting anything, or are the both of us forgetting anything?"
Sabrina looks over her checklist and answers, "No, as far as I can see, we're not forgetting anything important."
Chloe nods with an appreciative smile.
Adrien's limousine arrives and he says, "Gotta go. Photoshoot."
Adrien gets in and the car leaves.
Marinette mutters, "If I ever see Gabriel Agreste again, I'll sever his manhood and kick him in the eyes."
Alya then says, "As much as I'd pay to see that, his lawyers will come down hard on you."
Marinette replies with a smirk, "And where do you think I get the inspiration for contingency plans from?"
Nino says to himself, "Looks like I've got some business to take care of with Adrien's old man."
(Later that day, Chloe's POV...)
The instant Mr. Bariani dismissed everyone for lunch twenty minutes early, everyone packed up at a snail's pace, and I saw Adrien walking out with Nino.
And in case one is wondering, Nino is totally on board with this party, but my gut instincts tell me that Nino is still not gonna listen to me and Marinette pointing out that confronting Gabriel Agreste about such matters involving Adrien is a bad idea, especially since Nino specifically is proficient in talking teenage slang, but not formal talking.
I once brought this up to Mr. Bariani's attention, and he said that he agrees talking teenage slang is not the proper way to talk to anyone in any professional job fields, especially outside of anyone with Gabriel Agreste's business and personal life reputations.
Anyway, the moment Adrien and Nino were gone from hearing and sight range, I marched my way to the front of the classroom and everyone immediately turned their attention to me.
I then said, "As all of you are aware, today is Adrien's birthday. We are having a surprise party for him after lunchtime ends."
Alya raises her hand and after I asked, "Yes, Alya?" she asked me, "How is that possible? A party takes a lot of time to prepare, and the teachers aren't just going to let us have a party for Adrien's birthday."
I smiled sinisterly as I explained, "I already talked to Mr. Desmoulins and the other teachers about the party. They said that they'll allow us to have the party after lunchtime is over under the conditions that we clean up after ourselves and don't cause too much trouble. If any of you didn't know, Mr. Bariani dismissed us early for lunch today so that we can have more time to make the final preparations. I already filled them in on everything, did all of the grunt work, and so forth. Now, all that's left is to finish the preparations until there aren't any more left to do, and then surprise Adrien when he returns from lunch in his father's mansion."
Everyone said things like, "Wow! That's..." "Statistically speaking, that's deathly impossible!" and "How on Earth...?"
I then said in order to bring that discussion to a halt before we wasted anymore time, "Let's just say that I have more than enough metaphorical weight to toss about outside of being Andre Bourgeois' daughter and leave it as such. Now, I have jobs for you to do for this party. Sabrina, if you please?"
Sabrina then says while reading off of her checklist the assignments, "Right! So, Chloe already has the chefs at the hotel handling the party food. Marinette, can you see if you could acquire a birthday cake from your family's bakery?"
Marinette replies, "Sure thing!"
Sabrina then says, "Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Nathaniel, can the four of you create some basic decorations? We already have the consent from Mr. Monlataing to use the supplies in the art room for the decorations. Mr. Bourgeois is gonna remake them later on. We would've wanted to ask for actual decorations, but if I did give you any earlier forewarnings, chances are you would've spilled the beans and Chloe and I didn't want Adrien's first surprise birthday party to be spoiled."
Rose answers, "Oh, okay! You can count on us, Chloe and Sabrina!"
Sabrina replies before saying, "Okay. Ivan, Kim, as the muscles of our class in general, you're in charge of putting up the actual decorations."
Kim replies before beginning to flex his muscles, "Got it."
I then said sharply before saying, "No one needs to see that, Kim. Sabrina, continue."
Kim looks sheepish as he settles down.
Sabrina then states, "Alya, considering your own experience with technology, you're in charge of taking pictures. Adrien loves pictures that have good aim, so please be sure to get nice shots. And also, Adrien prefers pictures that don't have just him in them, so don't focus on only him in the pictures."
Alya replies, "You got it, I can do that."
Sabrina then says, "Max, as the enhanced brains of our class, you're in charge of making certain that all of our electronic equipment is functional. The music station, Alya's phone, anything technological, it's your duty to be sure that there are no single technological malfunctions that could interfere with the party."
Max replies with a satisfied glint in his eyes, "Child's play."
Sabrina then says, "Alix, you're an expert of all trades, so use your good judgment skills and your common sense to ensure you help out anyone who actually does need help. Just please don't tempt Kim into doing anything potentially dangerous; no matter how easy it is, we don't need a competition of dares on our hands and we only have so much time."
Kim exclaims, "Hey!"
Alix cackles briefly before saying, "Hahahaha! Sure, I can do that, no problem."
I then said to field this one to the goal net, not that I know where the football/soccer reference comes from or even if it's accurate, "Splendid. Now, since Nino is on distraction detail, Sabrina is gonna text Nino to notify him that he's in charge of the music for the party. We have the school's DJ station to use, but if he wants to use the one he owns, I can have it transported here for him. However, the downside is I require him to let me know at least one hour in advance so I can arrange for it to be set up on time. Alya, Ivan, Kim, you three are to assist with making the basic decorations for the moment until it'll be time for you to do your respective jobs. Marinette, after you get the cake from your parents' bakery, you are to help out too. (Marinette: Understood!) Sabrina, please sent a text to Nino and tell him to come back to the classroom to help out. Everyone else, we have eighty-five minutes to succeed in our endeavors, so get a move on!"
Everyone agreed, and Sabrina did as she was told.
Just then, Sabrina paled and she grew furious.
I asked, "What's got your feathers in a bunch, Sabrina?"
Sabrina answers furiously, "Nino said he's at the Agreste mansion to confront Mr. Agreste!"
I exclaimed, "What?! He f(bleep!) ignored me and Marinette's warnings about this being a bad idea?!"
Sabrina answers, "Well, it sure looks like it!"
I growled furiously before punching the nearest fabric wallpaper we didn't use that I could find.
(Third person POV...)
In Nathalie's office, Nathalie enters her office with "Marinette's" gift for Adrien and she puts it on her desk while sitting down.
Gabriel asks from the intercom, "Who was that, Nathalie?"
Nathalie answers, "One of Adrien's friends. She was delivering a present for his birthday."
Gabriel asks again, "Did you remember to buy him a present from me?"
Nathalie answers, "Yes, you did, and I managed to pick it up."
Gabriel replies, "Good."
Gabriel disconnects from the intercom.
Nathalie growls, "You never told me anything, buster."
Nathalie looks at "Marinette's" present and her face lights up.
The doorbell rings and Nathalie composes herself as she activates the doorbell camera to ask, "Yes?"
Nino says, "I'm here to see Mr. Agreste."
Nathalie replies, "I'll notify him immediately. Please wait inside at the foyer."
Nathalie opens the gates with the pressing of a button, and Nino walks inside.
Inside the foyer, Nino and Nathalie are standing there as Nathalie says, "He'll be here in a minute."
Gabriel walks down the stairs from his office and stands below the family portrait.
Gabriel says, "Adrien is not home yet."
Nino then says while remembering his formal talk lectures, "Uh, actually, I was here to see you, sir."
Gabriel asks, "Me?"
Nino answers, "Yes. Is there any reason why you're not letting him have a birthday party, sir? Clearly you have a good enough reason."
Gabriel frowns and raises his right palm as he replies, "Indeed I do have a reason, young man. I had plenty of bad experiences with birthday parties when I was Adrien's age, and the fact was that people at the school I went to tended to make fun of my name, they tended to mock me for wanting to be a fashion designer, and among other things, every time I tried to invite my few friends to any of my birthday parties, they always said no for different kinds of logical and other kinds of ridiculous reasons why they couldn't come. So, to answer your question about me giving Adrien a birthday party in short, simple terms, no. And that's final. Besides, I wouldn't even know where to begin with giving him a birthday party."
Even Gabriel didn't know that Ladybug was on the roof of the mansion, using her speech control, body control, and so forth powers of all kinds of control to manipulate the situation a little better than what she was told about from both testimonies and from her Interdimensional Traveler recruits.
Nino then says with cold fury, "I see. In that case, I'll be on my way, but don't go crawling to me if I ever choose to get Child Services involved."
Nino walks away and Gabriel, for once, actually looks gob smacked.
Nino exits the perimeter of the Agreste Mansion, unaware of Nathalie watching his every move through the cameras.
In the Place des Vosges, Marinette comes up to Nino as he sits on a park bench.
Marinette looks at Nino as he blows bubbles from his bubble wand.
A kid protests, "But, Daddy, please!"
The kid's father takes him by his right hand and says, "No, it's not playtime. You've got your chores to do."
The kid complains.
Nino snarls, "Ugh. Adults ruin everything all the time."
Marinette snarls back, her anger flaring and making Nino look scared while looking her in the eyes, "Oh, really?! All adults ruin everything for children?! I'll have you know that outside of busters like Gabriel Agreste, our parents and our other adult relatives buys us presents for our birthdays, for Hanukkah, and for Christmas, they take us to amusement parks, they buy us junk food in small amounts, they make us birthday cakes, they make us food in order to make sure we're well-fed, they buy us clothes to avoid public exposure, prostitution, and dying in a heat wave or in a blizzard, they make sure to help us take care of our personal hygiene to make us healthy and beautiful or handsome until we're ready to take care of our own hygiene by ourselves, they teach us how to cook our own meals until we're ready to take on professional cooking habits, they help us when we're being bullied or when we're grieving over the death of a pet, a human friend, or a family member, they comfort us when we're having nightmares, they make sure to take us to conventions to meet people, including our favorite fan-loving celebrities who make time for their fans at conventions, and have a good time dressed as our favorite fictional characters, superheroes included and in particular, they take us out to get ice cream and any other forms of junk food to enjoy for any occasion aside from graduation ceremonies at our schools, they work hard in different jobs of different paying wages to also provide us shelter from the world and to provide a living space for us that contains everything we need to survive and entertain ourselves, they encourage us to be independent when we become adults ourselves, they help us to be mindful of what we're watching, they help us avoid being mean, spiteful, and unkind, they remember that kids are always watching them to learn how to behave in society, they show us that they love us, they teach us to own up to our mistakes no matter how bullheaded and stubborn and prideful some of us are, they help us to see ourselves for who we really are in life, they help us keep track of what we're doing and who we're interacting with, they teach us to be good people, they connect with us in any daily activity or any activity we do once in a while, they help us to listen to each other, they help us learn how to pray and accept Jesus into our lives for the religious of our parents, and among other things, they discipline us efficiently whenever we do something that we're not supposed to!"
Nino looks shocked in the angered sense that Marinette pointed out something he thought he should've known earlier, and he also looks shocked that Marinette would willingly raise her voice at him while defending adults with her own encyclopedic intel on adults who either have children or who look out for their much younger relatives.
In Hawk Moth's lair, the window opens and Hawk Moth says, "Desperate to help his friend, but he's feeling powerless. How frustrating! It won't be long now before frustration turns to anger!"
Hawk Moth energizes a butterfly and turns it into an Akuma.
Hawk Moth sends it off and says, "Fly away, my little Akuma, and evilize him!"
The Akuma flies off.
Meanwhile, in Pipevine's observatory, she senses the positive emotions of joy, satisfaction, and happiness from Gino Lefebvre, a high school filmmaker student who got his invitation to his godfather's wedding.
Pipevine remarks, "A young filmmaker who got invited to a surrogate relative's wedding. Oh, it fills my heart to know that at least another young man got his invite to a wedding."
Pipevine makes a Kamiko and says, "Fly on, my little Kamiko, and empower this young filmmaker."
The Kamiko flies on to where Gino is.
Meanwhile, in the "temple" where Flat Sparrow is, the window opens as she senses the positive emotions of pride, love, and happiness from Dino Lefevre, a university graduate who got accepted into the job of his choosing thanks to some encouragement from his girlfriend and his mother.
Flat Sparrow remarks, "A college graduate who got his job acceptance? Now that's something to be proud of and happy about."
Flat Sparrow makes a Guard and she says, "Fly away, my little Guard, and empower this young man."
The Guard finds Dino and merges with his wallet, his watch, his silver band ring, his ponytail hair ties because he has long hair, and his crucifix necklace.
Flat Sparrow says, "Gusher, I am Flat Sparrow, and I'm granting you the power to control bubbles and air to help you deal with Hawk Moth's newest victim, Nino Lahiffe, also known as The Bubbler. You will be aided by Air Foamer. He will be your backup for this mission. Do you accept the mission at hand?"
Dino/Gusher replies, "Yes, Flat Sparrow, I accept it."
Dino turns into an opposite color armored version of the Bubbler, minus everything horrible about his outfit.
Meanwhile, the Kamiko flies into Gino's car keys, driver's license, wallet, sunglasses, and cell phone.
Pipevine says, "Air Foamer, I am Pipevine. I'm granting you the powers you'll need to help my team deal with Hawk Moth's newest victim, Nino Lahiffe, aka The Bubbler. Do you accept my proposal for absolutely nothing in return?"
Gino/Air Foamer replies, "Yes, and I thank you for this opportunity, Pipevine."
Gino turns into Air Foamer, a version of The Bubbler combined with Gusher in terms of both outfit themes being merged together along with his armored outfit having both the Bubbler's colors and Gusher's colors.
Meanwhile, as Marinette flees, the Akuma flies into Nino's bubble wand.
Hawk Moth says, "Hawk Moth is my name and Bubbler is now yours. I will help you with these horrid adults and all you have to do in exchange is help me get something from the Oracle Knights."
Nino/Bubbler replies darkly, "Yes, Hawk Moth."
Nino turns into the Bubbler.
The Bubbler flies to a rooftop and crouches.
The Bubbler remarks, "No more adults means total freedom!"
But then, Aviator snarls, "And no more adults means screaming, crying, hungry, and thirsty children left to fend for themselves, you motherf(bleep!) idiot!"
Just then, the rest of the Oracle Knights plus Air Foamer and Gusher arrive.
The Bubbler snarls, "Since you defend those horrible adults, you should join them!"
The Bubbler takes out his bubble sword and flies over Paris and over the Oracle Knights, leaving a trail of purple bubbles behind him.
One by one the bubbles start capturing adults and then turning green before flying away.
But the Oracle Knights manage to use their energy blasters and their Miraculous jewels' new mystical weapons to obliterate the bubbles, thankful that they took inspiration from the fifth season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated cartoon.
The Bubbler snarls, "Impossible!"
In his lair, Hawk Moth mutters, "This just gets better and better."
In the Dupain-Cheng house, some of the survivors of the Bubbler's attack are barricading themselves in, with Tom and Sabine's clones helping them out.
Meanwhile, The Bubbler takes out Pipevine, but she gets him on the ropes with her Tai Chi and Kung-Fu skills.
After getting knocked back by a Kung-Fu sweeping kick, the Bubbler makes a bubble army appear, and he launches it at the heroes.
And even though the Oracle Knights fought back with their energy weapons, most of the adult members got captured in the bubbles.
Ladybug chitter-growls and then takes out a real shotgun.
The Bubbler remarks, "Pfft hahahahahahahaha! Do you seriously think a gun is gonna stop me?!"
Ladybug cocks her weapon and aims at the Bubbler's chest.
The Bubbler remarks, "Do your worst."
Ladybug pulls the trigger and a lead scatter blast hits the Bubbler's chest hard, making him fall to the floor with a yell of pain.
The Bubbler inspects his gunshot wound and he sees that he's actually bleeding.
In his lair, Hawk Moth was aghast; he never could've anticipated that Ladybug of all members of the Oracle Knights would be so bloodthirsty, so murderous, so willing to use actual firearms.
But then, the Bubbler uses his bubbles to form a healing elixir before using the bubbles to imprison the other members of the Oracle Knights except for Ladybug.
Ladybug stands there, looking raging and furious.
The Bubbler then sends a torrent of red bubbles at Ladybug, but she dodges them by using her supernatural athleticism.
But when she looks, she sees that the Bubbler is gone!
Ladybug roars in anger.
In the vicinity of another rooftop, The Bubbler says, "And now, party time!"
Down on street level, several kids are crying.
Several purple bubbles appear, broadcasting a message from the Bubbler like TV sets.
The Bubbler remarks, "Today is your lucky day, little dudes and little dudettes. The adults have taken the day off, so make the most of it. No chores, no homework, no more nagging, just fun, fun, fun, fun! This is The Bubbler's gift to you."
Ladybug enters her Rage Mode, and, after taking a deep breath while making sure to deepen her voice according to her voice modulator, she sonic roars like the Incredible Hulk after his fight against the Abomination, and she sonic roars loud enough to express her anger.
And because of the fact that it's a sonic roar due to how loud and echoing it is along with being as loud as a mechanical beast sonic roaring in an Antarctic mountain region, everyone all across the city and beyond the borders of France, Hawk Moth included, covers their ears in pain as Ladybug sonic roars for eighteen seconds.
Hawk Moth then says as the pain ends, "If I was able to Akumatize more than one villain at a time, I could've Akumatized Ladybug by now!"
Nathalie points out from the safety of Hawk Moth's lair, "Yes, except for the fact that Ladybug's intense rage once amplified takes away all of her moral inhibitions and makes her more murderous to the point where, if she wanted, she'd kill us both, and she'd make sure that it'd be so horrifying and so messy."
Hawk Moth shivers at that, knowing for the first time that Nathalie is right.
Hawk Moth then says, "Note to self: never attempt to Akumatize Ladybug."
Back with Ladybug, she flies high above Paris, and she uses her long-range scanner to find the Bubbler at the Agreste mansion.
Shapeshifting into her ladybug form, Ladybug shrieks as she divebombs into the Bubbler, keeping him pinned underneath her legs.
Everyone is shocked at seeing a giant ladybug pinning the Bubbler down.
Just then, Aviator, having freed herself, comes up to the Bubbler and breaks his bubble sword, freeing the Akuma.
Ladybug transforms back to her human form and purifies the Akuma before unleashing her Miraculous Ladybug cure.
The Bubbler turns back into Nino.
Nino asks disoriented, "Who? Dude."
Ladybug then enters her Aura of Anger and she says, "Nino Lahiffe, we need to talk."
Nino gulps at that.
In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth sends an Akuma after Ladybug.
Nathalie exclaims, "Sir! Are you out of your mind?!"
Hawk Moth ignores Nathalie and focuses on the scene.
Back at the front of the Agreste Mansion, Ladybug shouts, "And furthermore, Pipevine and Jean Velvet are my parents!"
Nino exclaims, "Wha?! They're your parents?!"
Just then, Ivan calls out, "Another Akuma!"
Ladybug then says as the Akuma flies towards her, "Hawk Moth, you big f(bleep!) son of a (bleep!), you have until the count of three to get the f(bleep!) out of my face before I use what evidence about you I have to petition you getting the death penalty at my hands, and when you're dead, I'll cut your gold-dern head off and use it as a pee bucket!"
Everyone gasps in shock, horror, and disgust.
The Akuma flies away, purified.
In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth whimpers as Nathalie carries him, thoroughly exasperated at how scared he seems to be.
Then, the window closes.
In Nathalie's office, Nathalie says as Gabriel watches on while changing his soiled pants, "Never again, sir."
Nathalie picks up her stuff and leaves.
Ladybug watches on from her long-range scanner while high in the air, and she remarks, "Huh. Never would've anticipated such a bluff of death threats would result in one future and soon to be former villain quitting while they're still ahead."
In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth snarls, "You robbed me of my only ally, but I guarantee you, Ladybug, you can't run and hide forever! When I catch you, I will crush you like a bug! I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!"
In the Agreste Mansion, Chloe remarks as she and Sabrina exit, "Finally, it's all over, for now... Sabrina, send a text to Nino now that he's back to where he can think rationally. We only have ten minutes to get everything finished, so let's head back there ASAP. Even if I don't think anyone in our class will have enough energy to party after what we just saw, we already have done the work for the party, and it'd be a crying river of shame for all of that hard work to go to waste."
Sabrina replies, "Got it. And, not to be a critic of your opinion, but our class is full of students with too much energy to be compared to fifty thousand children on a sugar high. I doubt that they'd be too exhausted to participate in the party."
Chloe nods in understanding and they get to the school.
The next thing anyone knew, Adrien walked in to the students of Mr. Bariani's class giving him an obligatory, "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Adrien!" in unison.
Adrien then says as he hugs Chloe, "Thanks, Chlo. You and Marinette are the best friends I could ask for."
Nino exclaims, "Hey, what about me?!"
Adrien replies coldly, much to even Marinette's surprise, "You had your chance and you screwed it up when you chose to ignore Chloe and Marinette's warnings about talking to my father despite not knowing the consequences for doing so."
Nino slumps before saying, "Good point."
Chloe then says, "All is forgiven, for today. But if you screw up one more time, there'll be bigger hell to pay, Lahiffe. Do you hear me?"
Nino shivers as he replies, "Yes, perfectly clear!"
Chloe then says, "Anyways, you're very welcome, Adrien. Just looking after my metaphorical brother from another mother. Now, let's have some fun!"
Adrien laughs at that and goes to the dance floor.
As Marinette gives Adrien dancing lessons, Chloe grabs a few cookies along with some other sweets, pastries, and some healthy food along with two bottles of water and two bottles of apple juice before making her way to the top of the stairs and taking a seat next to Sabrina.
They spent the time at the party overlooking the activities like all of the known birds of prey with excellently sharp eyesight, laughing at the antics and jokes the partygoers made and did, relaxing, and enjoying the food.
Marinette comes up and says in Chinese, "Xièxiè nǐ jǐnle nǐ de yī fèn lìliàng, hǎo péngyǒu./Thanks for doing your part, bestie."
Chloe replies in Chinese, "Zhè shì wǒ zhìshǎo néng zuò de./It was the least I could do."
Marinette asks in Chinese, "Wǒmen hái yǒu hěn zhǎng de lù yào zǒu, bùshì ma?/We have a long way to go, do we?"
Chloe answers in Chinese, "Kǒngpà shì zhèyàng, mǎlǐ nèi tè./I'm afraid so, Marinette."
Marinette nods in understanding before going back to the party.
In Marinette's bedroom later on that day, Marinette looks over her chronological Akumatized villain list and sees the next name on the list as Officer slash Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix, also known as Rogercop.
Marinette remarks, "Well, here's to hoping that we avoid Roger getting Akumatized again."
The End.
(Author's notes: How about that?
Also, yes, Nathalie quitting Hawk Moth early was an old idea I had for my other story; I just didn't know how to make it work before I got to the idea for chapter 89: Power and Role Transferral. Now I know how I can make it work for this story before we get to Style Queen and Heroes' Day.
See you all in chapter 19: RoboCop and Blue Line.)