Miraculous: Chloe Bourgeois Time Travel Fix-It.

Chapter 20: Courageous, Heroheart and Valiance.

(Three hundred and four thousand, six hundred and third Quantic Universe Earth, Paris, France, Friday, October 9th, 2015, Chloe Bourgeois' POV...)

Over two weeks before Adrien's birthday and before Nino became Akumatized into The Bubbler, Nino had came to me and asked me if I could talk to the school staff and ask them to let us stay after school ends today and let us come to school tomorrow so that Nino can use the school as an impromptu filming studio for the "horror movie" he was planning to make for the homemade short film contest Dad was hosting for the whole city.

I agreed on the condition that Nino asks the class to get involved, with me, him, and Alya debating whose skills would be suited for which role, and who wouldn't be suitable for what role.

Nino agreed, the or else implication making him nervous to reject my condition. He read extensively my files and he saw firsthand how violent and merciless I become when I'm in a bad mood because someone put their hands on me or otherwise tried to rape me, and how merciless and thorough I am in exposing the bad parties' actions of various kinds because someone crosses me or does something against agreements for school projects or even when teachers do their jobs incompetently respectively.

Anyway, Nino succeeded in getting literally everyone in our class to get started just four weeks ago, and as part of the bargain, I upheld my end and managed to finish setting up everything we needed.

I even got Mr. Agreste to agree on letting Adrien participate on this project for an excellent grade on his report card.

Gabriel eventually relented because part of the agreement for Adrien to attend public school was for him to keep his good grades consistent.

On a discreet note to boot, Sabrina carried a bottle of low milligram ibuprofen in one of her bags for if and when I actually needed it.

Why, you ask? Because, ever since Emilie Agreste died from the defective magic of the Peacock Miraculous' damaged state when she used it to become pregnant and give birth to Adrien, Gabriel has started to become an overly strict, possessive, controlling, emotionally neglectful, and emotionally and mentally abusive (bleep!) wipe to make deals with on the topic of letting Adrien out of the house, even if it's for something as minorly pleasant as performing in a not-so-widespread but still legal school activity for extra good grades on his next report card. So, it's best to have that medicine for any headaches arguing with Gabriel gives me.

Anyway, Nino, Alya, and I already gave everyone their roles, and Nino argued with me over not enlisting Mylene as the female main character, but I won the argument after providing logical reasonings for why it was a bad idea to cast Mylene as the female lead, even letting out a purposefully detail-omitted reason that would involve Mylene getting scared to the point of attracting one of Hawk Moth's Akumas and potentially getting Akumatized into a supervillain whose powers revolve around fear.

To say the least, even Nino understood somewhat that the chances of someone like Mylene getting Akumatized through fear because of something like today's events were pretty high, especially because of a tendency to get scared by even fake horror movie monster costumes that aren't animated enough to emulate what people see on their screens.

Aside from handing out the roles, Nino was the first director and the main cameraman, and Alya and Thalia Bruguès from Mr. Bariani's afterschool classes were his co-screenwriters.

Meanwhile, Sabrina along Cherry Caboche, Lillia Doisneau, Marleigh Dubuisson, Samuel Ducournau, Selina Bruguière, Kiara Carême, and myself were the producers, and that meant we were in charge of double-checking to ensure that everyone remains on task, ensuring we don't go overtime, and scheduling time for the class to read their parts of the script, no abrupt changes necessary. (Yeah, I made sure that Nino knew he'd be disqualified if he changed even one part of the script without permission and without running it by us first.)

And all the while, Rose and Rosemary Chaufourier decided to be in charge of the refreshments if we needed them, so they brought lots of healthy drinks and healthy snacks.

We requested Max, Eidan Devergie, Milo Deydier, and Daxton Chaumette to handle the technology needed for the film, and Juleka and Leana Cherbuliez were placed in command of everyone's hair and makeup since those were the things Max, Daxton, Leana, Juleka, Milo, and Eidan were good at.

Mylene, Adrien, Ivan, Marinette, Genevieve Chalamet, Archie Doumbe, Maliyah Chalonge, Edgardo Doutreleau, Dalia Changuion, Melissa Drapeau, Erik Chapuisat, Maverick Domenach, Evan Chardigny, and Millie Dubost were cast as the characters for the movie, with Marinette as the female main character.

Yeah, I couldn't risk Mylene getting Akumatized just because she gets scared too easily; besides, the amount of takes on the first scenes because of Mylene's tendency to get scared by every little thing, even if it's just a fake monster mask or a fake monster costume that Marinette and her twin sister invented, is not only going to waste our time, but it's also going to make Nino frustrated enough to potentially admit he changed parts of the script without permission, and you add Mylene getting saddened over her inability to overcome her fears on a whim, and then bam! Mylene gets Akumatized into Horrificator.

Anyway, aside from Adrien being the male counterpart to Marinette's character in this horror movie, Marinette and our armies of clones helped to make the props, the special effects, the everything else seen in movie and cartoon studios, and best of all, the costumes that conformed to our physicality's and our muscular, slim, and chubby statures, because of the fact that some like Mylene are not exactly getting enough exercise, to put it extremely politely.

Kim, Alix, Dylan Charroin, and Amarantha Charroux didn't want to be involved in being actors, so they were put in charge of holding the microphones and the clapper boards respectively.

Nathanael and Naomi Chaudoir also didn't want to partake in the acting, so I put them in charge of the lighting, since there was nothing to paint or design for the movie, courtesy of our superheroes providing everything.

And now, today was the first day of the actual filming, and the first day I asked for us to borrow the school for the filming.

I sat next to Sabrina, Cherry, Lillia, Marleigh, Samuel, Selina, and Kiara as we observed Archie, Edgardo, Melissa, Maverick, Millie, Marinette, Adrien, Ivan, Genevieve, Maliyah, Dalia, Erik, Evan, and Mylene act out the first scene for the first time.

I looked at our stage hands and I saw we were in the first take.

Adrien acted out the first lines as I gestured to Kim and Dylan to move the microphone higher so it was out of frame from being filmed, "Agent Smith, it's too dangerous! We must evacuate!"

Marinette asks incensed as Nino got in closer for extra dramatic effect, "You're suggesting we run, Officer Jones? After it devoured my family, my friends, even my beloved dog, Sniffles? Never! I won't run! I no longer fear it! I'm going to face it, then I'll – aah!"

Marinette fell backward and acted out the next scene as "Officer Jones" "fought" the monster, which was really Ivan dressed like the movie iteration of Horrificator.

After the first scene was finished, we moved on to Scene 2, and Mylene got freaked out over the fake Horrificator costume, prompting Nino to yell, "Cut!"

I sighed in exasperation as I walked up to Mylene and asked her gently, "Mylene, what's wrong?"

Even Nino was shocked at me being gentle, but he immediately closed his mouth when he saw Marinette making the "slitting your throat" gesture to signal him that he better be quiet, or else.

Mylene answers meekly, "That... that monster costume looks so realistic and scary."

I said gently, "Mylene, just because a monster costume someone like and other than Ivan is wearing looks realistic doesn't mean it's actually real. Hawk Moth's powers aside, specific monster costumes only look too real because it helps to maintain the illusion of them being real for filming and for the final cut of the movie's release. If it didn't look real, critics would be criticizing the producers and costume designers for presumed incompetence and they would be accusing said producers and designers for incompetence in public. And next to that, in order for any movie with costumes other than horror movies or superhero movies to perform well at the box office, one of the key things that can make a movie be approved at the box office is if the characters' costumes look real enough to fool almost anyone."

Mylene nods in understanding.

I continued saying, "But whatever the case, Mylene, don't be afraid; even if we take Hawk Moth's Butterfly Miraculous out of the equation, monsters might seem real, but the monsters we see in real life cartoons, movies, comic books, and video games, even outside of aliens and demons, aren't real. They might look real, but they're just their own category of supervillains to give people of all ages not just nightmares, but also entertainment for those like Juleka who actually enjoy something as scary and sinful as horror movies."

I held out my left hand and Mylene slowly took it as she stood up, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Nino looks tired as he looked at me, but he backed down when he saw the anger in my eyes at the things he was about to do or say if I hadn't intervened.

After we shot Scene 3.5., we were on to Scene 4.1., but Mylene's tendency to get scared at every little thing, even after my pep talk, started getting Nino frustrated despite the little amount of takes we did on this particular scene.

Mylene looks at my sympathetic face, and she says, "I'm... sorry, guys... I'm gonna do better on the next t-take... I assure you."

I then said, "Mylene, if you need a break to calm your nerves, just say so. And Nino, Mylene, no offense, but even if we take Hawk Moth's Akumas out of the picture, Mylene isn't exactly the best candidate to star as an actress in a real or a fake horror movie."

Nino and Mylene reply in unison, "None taken." "None taken."

But I wasn't finished as I pointed out to Nino while using an example and before asking for Sabrina's opinion, "And Nino, I get that Mylene's tendency to get scared by even monster costumes is getting on your nerves, but you gotta understand, it takes weeks if not years of practice and doing for someone like Mylene to overcome their fears, just like how it takes years of practice for a police officer to apprehend a runaway criminal before they can get to a car for an escape. Isn't that right, Sabrina?"

Sabrina replies, "Yes, that's right, Chloe."

I concluded, "So, in conclusion, you can't force someone like Mylene to do their jobs in any school or work projects on a whim, and you can't force someone to overcome their fears on a whim; it's like teaching a toddler right from wrong in a healthy relationship between that toddler and the toddler's parents. In order for Mylene to overcome her fears, she needs practice, moral support, breaks in between to calm her nerves, breathing exercises to help with potential panic attacks, and even she needs to do the one thing that people rarely put into practice: imagining her happy places that she might've seen in a dream she had once or twice."

Mylene and everyone looked at me in wonder and awe, even Marinette.

I then said, "Now, Mylene, since you need a break, go outside and hopefully, the fresh air will help you with breathing exercises to quell your panic."

Mylene nods and walks out.

I then questioned before adding, "Nino, what are among the scenes in this movie that don't have Mylene, or Ivan, as one of the characters for said scenes?"

Ivan asks, "Why not me?"

Selina answers, "Because we need you to further help Mylene calm her nerves so that she doesn't attract Hawk Moth's attention since the Butterfly Miraculous, according to Ladybug, allows him to sense negative emotions in the city. So, can you please help her out?"

Ivan nods in understanding before going outside.

Nino pulls out our script and he starts speed reading through it to find a scene that doesn't have Ivan or Mylene in it that we can film, but I made sure we were restricted to scenes we could do in either the classroom or in the auditorium. That way, Ivan and Mylene can rendezvous with us once she's fully calmed her nerves down.

(Third person POV...)

In the courtyard, Mylene is sitting on a bench.

Ivan comes up to her, and she looks up at him, faintly smiling at him.

Ivan says comfortingly, "Look, Mylene, Chloe's right; you're not suitable for horror movies. But that doesn't change the fact that you still have a future in other kinds of movie projects. But don't listen to any harsh judgements or mean comments that other people pass to you; it's easy for such people to judge you when they haven't even been in front of a camera to act out a live action movie scene or a live action scene for a live action cartoon episode. What's important is that you give yourself time to overcome your fears with and without help from anyone."

Mylene looks at Ivan with respect, understanding, and love.

Ivan then gives Mylene a black skull pin as he says, "Here, take this. It's from my favorite rock and roll band, the Zombie Skull Crushers. Think of it as your miracle charm."

Mylene says before saying tearfully, "Wow... (She puts the pin in her hair) Um... that's, uh, that's really thoughtful of you, Ivan. But... Chloe's right; I'm not the best choice for horror movies, even if this one is for a good grade. I can't act to save my life until I overcome my fears. I'm sorry."

Mylene runs away crying, leaving Ivan stumped and horrified.

In the classroom, Marinette, having overheard the whole thing thanks to her super hearing, discreetly pings Flat Sparrow, Pipevine, and Swallowtail to Kamikotize, Guardiantize, and Tenshitize someone she carefully chooses into a Courageous opposite to Horrificator.

In Hawk Moth's lair, the window opens as Hawk Moth remarks, "A film shoot... oh, yes. So many potential emotions, some of them are fake, and yet other ones are actually real."

He turns a butterfly into an Akuma.

Hawk Moth sends the Akuma off as he says, "Fly away, my evil Akuma, and overpower this young, misunderstood artist."

In the subway base, Flat Sparrow senses the positive emotions of happiness and relief from Arjane Champmoreau, a Lycée Jules-Ferry student who was happy that she got accepted for acting lessons and was relieved that her efforts and nigh infinite patience paid off.

Flat Sparrow remarks, "Acting lessons... yeah, they can be taxing for people with all sorts of memory problems that includes some affiliated with old age and diet, but they can also prove beneficial, especially when luring enemies like burglars into a false sense of security."

Flat Sparrow creates a Guard and sends it off while saying, "Fly off, my little Guard, and empower this young, successful artist student."

The Guard flies off to Lycée Jules-Ferry.

Meanwhile, Pipevine senses the positive emotions of happiness, amusement, and satisfaction from Michelle Habenicht, a L'Ensemble Scolaire Maurice-Tièche student who got a good grade on her latest Christian education test and got praised by her fellow students for passing the test.

Pipevine remarks, "Well, if there's one thing that can make any parent proud, it's when their child passes an important school test. Regardless of the topic of the test."

Pipevine makes a Kamiko and says, "Fly on, my little Kamiko, and empower this young woman."

The Kamiko flies off to L'Ensemble Scolaire Maurice-Tièche.

Meanwhile, Swallowtail senses the positive emotions of joy, satisfaction, amusement, and happiness from Roxanne Haberberger, a Lycée Condorcet student who got a promotion letter from her acting job and who got to see a prank being pulled on the principal.

Swallowtail remarks, "Well, at least something good comes out of this."

Swallowtail makes a Tenshi and sends it on its way.

(In the classroom, Chloe Bourgeois' POV...)

Suddenly, Ivan ran into the classroom and he says in a distraught manner, "Hey, guys! Mylene just ran to the girls' bathroom crying, and I don't know what to do!"

I sighed as I replied before saying, "Okay, Ivan. You did your best. Evette, go to the girls' bathroom, find Mylene, comfort her, and bring her back here."

Evette Clancier, one of our number of stunt doubles for this movie, asks me, "Why me?"

I answered, "Because, the boys can't exactly go into the girls' bathroom even if to check on Mylene, and I won't ask them to do it regardless of technicalities if they're not okay with it. Besides, no offense to Rose, but even though she's a kind girl, she gets awkward in conversation so often, she mostly doesn't know what to say, and she ends up talking way too much. That may be helpful in some cases, but not in Mylene's case."

Rose replies, "None taken, I suppose."

Evan took over the last part, "Juleka has a job that she can't just leave short-handed, even with the right amount of helpers, and no offense to Alix and Sabrina, but they're not really the comforting type no matter how often they go through being comforted by others."

Alix and Sabrina replied in unison, "None taken." "None taken."

Evette grunts in response before nodding and she rushes out of the classroom.

I then said, "Alya, I need to talk to you about the script."

Alya asks defensively, "What about my script?"

I mentally scoffed at her thinking that she was the one in charge despite hearing a few rumors and seeing how everyone acted around me on only 15 occasions. She's adorable if she thinks I can't pull my weight around to make sure that everything in the school happens according to the law of Paris and according to the law of the school.

I flipped through the pages of the script before happening upon the one I was looking for and I said while glaring hotly at Nino, "The kiss at the end of Scene 6. It makes no sense story wise, especially because of the emotional journey Marinette's character goes through, and I know Marinette and Adrien don't want to kiss for real to sell the illusion further. You were the one who put that in there without proper authorization and without consulting me, Alya, Genevieve, or any of the others first, Nino!"

Everyone glares hard at Nino, and Alix asks rhetorically, "Didn't you learn parts of this lesson the hard way the last time, Nino?!"

Nino questions, "Huh?"

Sabrina clarified, "Doing things like this or trying to convince Gabriel Agreste to let Adrien out of the house for something without asking Chloe first."

Nino replies nervously, "Eh, it-it was just a little tweak, to-to move the story forward, you know."

I coldly deadpanned as I also explained, "Get rid of the kissing scene; that's not the proper way to depict a character in a horror movie at the end of an emotional journey. For example, in most survival movies, especially ones revolving around the zombie apocalypse or the Rapture at the end of time, a character's emotional journey consists of grief, denial, frustration, anger, vengeance, justice, bad memories, good memories, and so forth that people in real life experienced in previous worldwide wars. There's no room for romance as that will not only complicate matters, but if the romantic partner is taken out by the monsters of the story, the main character will end up in a depressive slump or end up becoming an ultra-violent murderous anti-villainous/anti-heroic vigilante with no moral high grounds even for the prisoners of the monsters that consist of civilians or traitors to the monsters."

Nino looked shocked at that, but he immediately closed his mouth when he saw me raising an eyebrow as my way of saying, "Go ahead, make a move. I triple dog dare you."

(Third person...)

In the bathrooms, the Akuma arrives as Mylene asks her reflection in one of the mirrors, "Why are you so easy to intimidate and get scared at every little thing all the time?!"

She starts crying again, and the Akuma enters the skull pin.

Mylene looks up in anger as Hawk Moth says, "Horrificator, I am Hawk Moth. Up until right now, you have felt fear. But now, from here on out, you will be the one causing fear. And after you show them what it feels like to be scared, you will do something for me in exchange."

Mylene/Horrificator replies, "Yes, Hawk Moth."

Mylene turns into Horrificator, and she growls as she spits some goo at the mirror.

But then, Horrificator hears Evette call out, "Mylene?"

Horrificator hides as best as she can in one of the toilet stalls.

Evette enters the bathroom and asks again, "Mylene, you in here?"

Evette looks around the bathroom, and upon noticing the goo on the mirror, she exclaims, "Ew! What is that?!"

Maliyah comes up and asks, "Evette, did you find Mylene?"

Evette answers before saying, "No, but look at this!"

Maliyah looks and exclaims in disgust, "Ew! What is that?"

Evette answers, "No idea."

Maliyah replies, "Well, there's nothing we can do now. Let's go."

Maliyah and Evette walk out of the bathroom.

In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth remarks, "Time for you to use your scare tactics, Horrificator, and thrive on their fear!"

In the girls bathroom at Lycée Jules-Ferry, the Guard arrives and merges with Arjane's heart-shaped hair clip.

Arjane looks ahead as Flat Sparrow says telepathically, "Courageous, I am Flat Sparrow. I'm giving you the power to become stronger any time someone displays bravery and the power to embolden anyone in times of fear or crisis. My teammates need your help to defeat Hawk Moth's latest victim: Mylene Haprele, also known as Horrificator. She becomes bigger and stronger every time someone in front of her experiences fear, and her saliva goo hardens instantly if she spits it at you. Get Francoise Dupont High School immediately before Horrificator seals off the roof, windows, and doors."

Arjane/Courageous replies, "You got it, Flat Sparrow."

Arjane transforms into Courageous, a hybrid combination of Horrificator, a humanoid dragon, and an angel clad in battle armor.

Courageous flies off to Francoise Dupont.

Meanwhile, at L'Ensemble Scolaire Maurice-Tièche, the Kamiko merges with Michelle's cross charm necklace, her I.D. badge, and her iPod.

Pipevine says, "Heroheart, I'm Pipevine. I'm granting you the powers you'll need to help your new allies Courageous and Valiance to deakumatize Hawk Moth's newest victim, Mylene Haprele, codenamed Horrificator. She gets bigger and stronger every time anyone around her experiences fear, and when she spits slimy goo at you, it hardens instantly, trapping you. So, please be careful."

Michelle/Heroheart replies, "You got it, Pipevine."

Michelle transforms into Heroheart, who looks like a combination of Horrificator as a superhero combined with Archangel, War Machine, and Iron Spider Mark II.

Heroheart flies off towards Francoise Dupont as well.

Meanwhile, at Lycée Condorcet, the Tenshi makes its way into Roxanne's school name tag, her wallet, her purse, her phone, her police pager for emergencies since her godmother is a police officer, and her Power Rangers charm necklace, signifying she's a fan of Power Rangers.

Swallowtail says, "Valiance, I'm Swallowtail. I'm granting you the powers you'll need to help Heroheart, Courageous, and our teammates deakumatize Hawk Moth's newest victim, Mylene Haprele as Horrificator. She grows bigger every time someone anywhere near her shows even a sign of fear, and she spits instant-hardening goo to trap anyone and anything in place."

Roxanne/Valiance replies, "Understood, Swallowtail. Sign me up."

Roxanne turns into Valiance, a combination of Black Widow, Nightcrawler, X-23 as Wolverine, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Thor, Iron Man, and Spider-Man in the all-female version.

Valiance flies off to Francoise Dupont too.

(Chloe Bourgeois' POV...)

Maliyah and Evette come into the classroom, and Sabrina asks, "Where's Mylene?"

Maliyah answers, "Mylene's missing."

Nino then says, "All right. Let's start filming Scene 6H, and if Mylene went so far as to run away, she needs more time."

I roared like I was a combination of Edward Brock, Jr. as Venom and the Transformers Prime Predaking, "RAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone looked shocked and scared at me roaring at Nino like he was a mass murderer who deserved to die and like I was some kind of alien dragon.

I then said, "Nino Lahiffe, you are officially on thin ice. If you speak out of line one more time or otherwise disobey our orders one more time, you will be disqualified from the contest, and I can personally guarantee that you won't be able to get a job as a film director or as a DJ for as long as I'm alive."

Everyone looked scared of me even more, and Nino looked scared of me and slightly mad about what my ultimatum was.

I asked coldly, "Kim, Max, Dylan, can you three go and find Mylene? Chances are that she's been Akumatized, and if she is, notify the city through the Akuma Alert App immediately. Understood?!"

Kim replies fretfully, "Y-yes, ma'am!"

Max replies, also terrified of me, "It shall be accomplished!"

The three boys rushed out of the classroom.

I then said, "Now, everyone, read the script for Scene 6H, and read it thoroughly as many times as you can until Kim, Max, and Dylan get back, regardless of whether they have good news or bad news."

I then turned to Nino with a murderous expression on my face and I advanced towards him like a hulking monstrosity going in for the kill, making him shriek as he backpedals away from me.

Nino pleads, "Chloe, please, don't hurt me! I was only doing what I thought was best until we can finish up!"

I slapped Nino extra hard in the face, and everyone winced, even Marinette. But her wincing was to be expected since I have a bad temper not unlike hers with Lila's lies, Gabriel's crimes, and Adrien's now shedded pacifistic actions towards Lila, Gabriel, Felix, and me in the original timelines. And in my new life, often rare times, and I do mean "rare," I would let my hands and my fists do the talking for me when someone crosses me by doing the most common and less common things that anger or annoy people which would also anger me if I was at my rage-breaking point, and sometimes in my metaphorical rage mode, I become so violent and angered that I'd have to be restrained by sixteen bulky and normal but still strong enough boys and girls long enough for someone to tickle me or hug me and whisper sweet things into my ears until they can calm me down enough for me to listen to rational reason.

Nino rubs his throbbing cheek as I replied coldly with traces of hot anger, "You have been nothing but incompetent at this movie project ever since we started, and the only things that break it up are when I or someone else have to comfort the actors in between scene takes for every time they get something wrong. And now, you wanted us to film the next scene without forming a search party for Mylene?! What the (bleep bleep!) is wrong with you?!"

While everyone was aghast at hearing me swearing, Nino looked ready to pee and crap his pants in unison.

Marinette took me aside to calm down even as Adrien took to explaining to Nino that my ultimatums even if a little unorthodox are to ensure that everyone follows school protocol and follows through on any agreements regarding schoolwork and other kinds of educational projects among other things, and in the midst of the explanations, he and the rest of us hears Kim, Max, and Dylan screaming loud enough for us to hear in the classroom.

I then said, "That's Horrificator! Someone alert the French Miraculous Superhero Team immediately, please."

Alya immediately pressed the Akuma Alert Button on the App, and, thankfully enough, we decided to wait for the right time to do the switcheroo with our clones so that Marinette, Adrien and I can transform into Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Aviator.

The class rushes out to the hallway, and I had to drag Rose along when she asked if I wanted a fruity snack for the road.

(Third person POV...)

The class scopes out the courtyard while Marinette, Chloe, and Adrien hide discreetly in the bathrooms to transform into Aviator, Ladybug and Cat Noir after leaving their clones to take their places.

Evan calls out, "Hey! Anybody here?! Kim! Max! Dylan! Where are you?!"

Evette states, "Hey, wait a minute! I saw this same goo in the girls' bathroom! Ough, how could I have been such an idiot?!"

Evan sees the armband and says, "Hey, that's Kim's armband!"

Nathanael starts panicking as he says, "They've vanished!"

Alya retorts, "Or they're playing a sick joke on us."

Chloe says sternly before saying to Nathanael, "Mylene Akumatized into Horrificator to feed on everyone's fear is no joke! And Nathanael, relax yourself; nothing good happens to those who lose their minds to panic and other dark thoughts and dark emotions in times of crisis."

Maliyah says before saying to Nino, "We should go to Mr. Damocles' office and notify him what's going on. And Nino, for the love of all that is holy, stop filming!"

Nino replies, "Not a chance, this is getting good!"

Chloe snarls dangerously, "Would you like to be disqualified for filming something my Dad will never believe to be genuine?!"

Nino gulps before he stops filming.

Marinette then says, "Nino, just for clarification, here's a few things to keep in mind about when it comes to being a movie director and when it comes to the movie we're doing today and tomorrow. First, Mylene is the most easy to scare in our class, and Alix should've been cast as the female lead character regardless of whether or not she wanted to take part in being part of the cast, especially since she's not afraid of anything."

Nino inquires, "Why Alix?"

Marinette answers, "Because Alya is one of the writers and she can't do two things at once without being given an assortment of clones by the Centurion Champions. Chloe is also one of the writers in the same position as Alya, so she'd be out too. I myself may have been the bestest choice because of Chloe's request and because of my years of acting lessons as one of my extracurriculars, but all the same, Juleka has trouble voicing herself so she would also be out due to a lack of volume. Selina, Rosemary, Sabrina and Rose among others were also possible, but the best choice for the role of the female lead the next time around would be Alix."

Nino's eyes widened as he replies, "Oh."

Alix interrupts to say, "Thanks for vouching for me, Mari; I'll also keep that in mind next time."

Marinette continues, "And secondly, the horror movie worth watching doesn't have romance in any scene other than the beginning scenes unless the main characters aren't on emotional journeys which include missions for revenge."

Nino facepalms three times as he asks, "How could I have been so stupid?"

Marinette continues further, "And thirdly, as Chloe surmised when she requested Ms. Mendeleiev for you to not be the sole director for the movie, the way you would've been hard on Mylene not being able to overcome her fears in the movie is not the proper way for movie directors to treat the actors working for them. If you acted like that in real life, even movie studios will never want to work with you. Being a director for a movie working for a movie studio means having patience for slip ups and slight forms of incompetence. If a movie director doesn't have any patience, their employees will walk out on them and the director's own employers will fire them and potentially have them blacklisted from the modern entertainment industry."

Nino's eyes widened in shock again as he realized how that could've ended his career before it even started if he wasn't careful with how he treats people.

Marinette then says, "So, Nino, as one of your few but still many leftover childhood friends, I strongly recommend that you do further research on film directing so that this doesn't happen again."

The students go upstairs and Horrificator sees them.

Horrificator is just about to cover the roof and every other exit of the school in goo, but Courageous snatches up Horrificator before taking her upward into the sky, wherein she along with Heroheart and Valiance engage in serious human to monster hand-to-hand combat in the sky, Rocket Jump style.

Meanwhile, Alya knocks on the door to Mr. Damocles' office and asks while slowly opening the door, "Mr. Damocles? Sir?"

Everyone gasps in shock and horror as they realize that Mr. Damocles isn't there.

Rose exclaims worriedly, "Even Principal Damocles is missing!"

Everyone goes into Mr. Damocles' office.

At the library, Ladybug and Cat Noir show up and Cat Noir asks, "We're boxed in, aren't we?"

Ladybug answers, "Yes, and Mom asked everyone to let us and Courageous handle Horrificator."

Cat Noir asks again, "Why?"

Ladybug answers, "She said that even though we outnumber Hawk Moth five thousand to three, our superior numbers opposing his limited one shot villains will only make him desperate enough to become Scarlet Moth months early. And to be honest, I can't argue with that logic."

In Mr. Damocles' office, Nino then asks, "Anyone seen Officer Jones? I mean, Marinette."

Marinette's clone says, "A-hem, I'm over here."

Everyone sighs in relief, and they sigh in bigger relief when they see "Adrien" and "Chloe" with her.

But of course, since Alya knows Ladybug's true identity and has taken an extra sacred vow not to tell anyone without approval or contingency plans for if Hawk Moth ever discovered what she knew, it was a no-brainer that Marinette was transformed into Ladybug.

But unbeknownst to everyone else, the slime that Horrificator is producing covers and hardens the windows in Mr. Damocles' office.

Chloe rushes to the courtyard and sees the roof covered in hardened goo.

Chloe exclaims, "Quick, check the windows!"

In Mr. Damocles' office, Juleka remarks in awe, "Crazy!"

Chloe asks dangerously again, "Juleka, do you actually want us to potentially get killed by Horrificator if Hawk Moth gets the idea in his head?!"

Juleka's eyes widened as she replies quickly, "Nope, nope, you're right."

Chloe tests the window and says before advising, "Well, it's official; we're literally boxed into the school until the French Miraculous Superhero Team can bail us out. Be alert; the Wifi tower was knocked offline by the goo, so therefore, we can't call anyone!"

Nino replies, "She's right; cell phones don't work in horror movies."

Ivan tries calling his mother, but he gets nothing and he says, "No bars."

Nathanael adds, "No reception!"

Nino remarks, "Told ya so! Boo-yah!"

Sabrina suddenly kicks Nino hard in the nuts, making him yell in agony.

Everyone, including Chloe, were shocked at seeing Sabrina having kicked Nino hard in the nuts for once again acting excited for an Akumatized villain attack in the style of the horror movie the class was trying to film.

Nino asks exasperatedly and painfully, "Was that really necessary?!"

Sabrina retorts rhetorically, "Was it really necessary to celebrate the fact that we don't have cell phone reception, and was it necessary to try to continue filming the Akuma attack despite being told that Mayor Bourgeois won't let the film into the awards? Do you actually want us to die, for crying out loud?"

Nino replies before saying, "Good point, but geez, right in the choppers."

Ladybug comes up and asks, "Is everyone and everything okay here?"

Nino remarks, "Ladybug in the school despite the exits being blocked? This is legit!"

Alya remarks as she starts filming, "And on my Centurion!"

Ladybug replies, "No time for filming; we've got to find some way to break through the goo."

Cat Noir replies, "Uh-uh, it's easier said than done, Ladybug."

Nino remarks again, "Double legit!"

Chloe says sharply, "Don't even think about filming!"

Nino slumps before saying, "I'll get you for this!"

Ladybug flexes her claws and rubs them against each other, making sharpening sounds.

Nino says quickly, "Never mind."

Aviator shows up as well, and Nino remarks, "Aviator?! Oh, this is sweet!"

Cat Noir then states, "Anyway, as I was about to say, I tried to cut through the goo, but it's indestructible."

Ladybug then asks, "What about your Cataclysm? Thanks to Aviator's intellectual debates with Jade Turtle, our army of Miraculous users including us can use our powers as many times as we want."

Cat Noir points out before saying, "I know, but I can't risk the crumbling of the goo causing the school to collapse on all of us. So, it definitely looks like we're trapped in here until we can put our heads together. Stay put and try to relax, people."

Ladybug and Cat Noir huddle up and Cat Noir says, "We already know Hawk Moth's Akumatized Mylene."

Ladybug answers, "Yes, and we got to search throughout the school, find Horrificator, make her fear reserves deplete until she becomes the size of a domestic cat, break her skull pin, and purify her Akuma before using our Miraculous cures to return everything back to normal while simultaneously searching for her prisoners."

Cat Noir replies, "Exactly. I love it when you read my mind."

Ladybug growls.

Cat Noir replies back, "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Jeez."

Ladybug then says, "Everyone, let's move it out! Keep it simple, right behind us! (She grabs Nino by his headphones) That means you too, Spielberg!"

Chloe quietly snorts in response to that.

Meanwhile, in the basement cellar, Horrificator is holding Max ankle first by her tail and Max is whimpering in fear.

Horrificator roughly throws Max into a goo pod and Max looks up at Horrificator before she growls menacingly at him, making him shriek in terror.

Horrificator grows bigger.

In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth remarks, "Absorb their fear, Horrificator, and feed on it! It will give you strength. And soon enough, you'll be giving me strength too!"

Horrificator seals off the pod with more goo.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, everybody is running around in a single file to find Kim, Max, and Dylan.

They run back into Mr. Bariani's classroom.

Ladybug spots a fake replica of one of Adrien's sneakers and says while pointing to it, "Over there!"

Cat Noir asks stoically, having prepared for this one this time around, "Does anyone recognize this shoe?"

Nino answers, "Wait, that's Adrien's shoe! I'd recognize the colors and the butterfly symbol anywhere!"

Ladybug then queries, "Does anyone see any goo?"

Nathanael answers while kneeling next to Mr. Bariani's desk, "There's some right here."

Suddenly, Horrificator's tail whips around him and snatches him up before Horrificator throws the desk to the back of the room, stands up straight, and roars at everyone.

The students except for Juleka, Chloe, Ladybug, Nino, and Cat Noir scream in terror, making Horrificator grow slightly bigger.

Ladybug exclaims calmly, "Everyone run!"

As Horrificator grows bigger, students run out of the classroom except for Juleka and Nino.

Juleka remarks in amazement, "Awesome."

Horrificator roars at Juleka, but she's not scared.

Juleka remarks, "So awesome."

Ladybug retorts, "Would it be awesome if we were in the year 2150 and Earth was destroyed by World War Eight?"

Juleka replies quickly and calmly, "Nope, I'm good."

Horrificator shrinks and then spits goo at Juleka, but Ladybug burns it with her fire breath, making Horrificator shriek in fear, making itself shrink further.

Cat Noir states in disgust before remarking, "Ew! What's your name, Drool-ator?"

Horrificator spits goo at him, but he deflects it with his staff and says, "Cats aren't afraid of slimy toads like you!"

He briefly tries shaking some goo off his staff before dodging more goo.

Ladybug grabs Nino and says as they and Cat Noir converge at the door of the classroom, "We better hurry and see if we can get the skull pin!"

Cat Noir asks as he looks at Ladybug in confusion, "Skull pin?"

Ladybug answers to avoid spilling her identity in front of the class and potentially to Hawk Moth while aiming her laser beam gun at Horrificator, "According to my sources, when Mylene Haprele was Akumatized, the object was a skull pin from the rock and roll band, the Zombie Skull Crushers, that Ivan Bruel gave to her!"

Cat Noir then says, "Okay, but I see no skull pin; just miles of slime."

Horrificator spits out a goo ball, but Ladybug shoots her laser beam gun and the laser beam disintegrates the shot of goo.

Ladybug and Cat Noir begin flying to avoid the goo as Horrificator jumps to try to capture the heroes in goo.

Nathanael exclaims, "Help! I'm gonna throw up!

Courageous then turns up and says, "Everyone, fear is the monster's weapon; the more fear it absorbs, the stronger and bigger it becomes!"

Everyone takes calming breaths and courageously step forward, making Horrificator shrink.

The more people step forward and push aside their fear, the more Horrificator shrinks.

And along with that, Courageous, Heroheart, and Valiance took to singing the Smelly Wolf song, complete in the adult version, and though Horrificator grew smaller, she hissed at the uncensored swear words.

Eventually, Nathanael is set free and Horrificator shrinks to the size of a house cat.

She tries to hide on Ivan, and Ladybug takes the skull pin before breaking it, purifying the Akuma, and restoring everything back to normal with her and Cat Noir using their Miraculous Ladybug and their Disastrous Catalyst.

Horrificator turns back into Mylene.

Heroheart, Aviator, Valiance, Courageous, Ladybug and Cat Noir fist-bump.

Nino remarks, "Truly awesome."

In Hawk Moth's lair, Hawk Moth snarls, "You don't scare me, Ladybug. I know I'll destroy you in the end! Someday, somehow, even if you had an army of thousands and even if I had an army of hundreds, I will destroy you!"

The window to Hawk Moth's lair closes.

Later, at City Hall, Nino asks as Mayor Bourgeois finishes watching the edited cut of the short movie without any of the setbacks or any of the Akuma attack in it – much to Nino's secret disappointment and exasperation, "So, Mr. Mayor, what do you think?"

Outside City Hall, Nino replies, "So, like Chloe and Marinette said, we made it to the top ten candidates for the cut. He said the monster was very believable even if the Akuma attack almost hindered our progress! How cool is that?!"

Marinette says, "Well, I'm glad you listened to me and Chloe; but remember, not every good movie director gets things right on the first try. It takes years of experience to make good movies, even if some of them flop at the box office."

Alya remarks, "Yeah, even if the final kiss was something to be expected for the movie."

In Marinette's bedroom, she says while crossing Horrificator off of her checklist of Akumatized villains, "Horrificator, check. Next up on the list is Mylene's father, Fred, aka The Mime. Hopefully, my efforts to expose Chris' actions to Sarah will result in him being fired and arrested without causing a second Akumatization to happen."

Tikki asks, "And if it doesn't?"

Marinette answers, "Then we'll have to do that the old-fashioned way, Good Cop of True Crime: New York City style."

The End.

(Author's notes: See you all in chapter 21: Marinette and Alya.)