Now that we have a very vulnerable Chloe, let's use this as fuel for the next episode. I will follow canon as best as I can go, but I will however give more filler episodes, just to highlight some Chloe growth and redemption. Now, this chapter will be based on the 'Malediktator' episode.
Chapter 3: The Bee-Gining of The Road (Part 1)
As the morning sun beamed through the window of Paris' Blonde Aires, Chloe couldn't help but groan at the disturbance of her sleep, or rather the lack of it. Ever since her debut as Queen Bee, she had been feeling a sense of depression and sadness.
As she awoke, the events of the previous night began to replay in her mind. The mistake, the fallout with Ladybug, her flying away, and Pollen... "Pollen?" She suddenly looked around for the jewel box. When her eyes finally landed on the item, tucked behind in her drawer, she sighed in relief. But she remembered that it was that same stupid item that led her to being utterly humiliated. "Serves her right."
At that moment, a knock was heard from the door. "Good morning, Mademoiselle Chloe. I hope you are fine, but you are running late for school," her butler Jean Fidel announced. At the mention of that, she looked at her phone but forgot to charge it. Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin.
She dashed to the alarm clock she had thrown in her sad-filled state the night before. Looking at the time, her face fell. 'He's right! I'm going to be late!' And that was the start of Chloe's whirlwind day.
-Miss Bustier's Class-
Everyone was busy talking, and not about the Literature topic currently being taught. People were discussing the happenings of the supposed hero 'Queen Bee' and how she made an impression on Paris yesterday.
"I heard that she stole the miraculous from Ladybug, in a fight," Kim said.
"Wouldn't be surprising, the way Ladybug put her in her place," Alix commented.
"Do you think she is working with Hawkmoth?" Rose asked.
"Not likely, the way she fought against Style Queen, proves she's on our side," Max commented.
"Pfft, like she was any hero," Alix rolled her eyes.
Many students had a lot to say about Queen Bee, but the consensus was unanimous: no one trusted her. Others chose not to add to the gossip train, thinking it was best to stay out of it and see what to expect. Marinette was on her own side, engrossed in her own worries. She was too worried about the miraculous that she foolishly lost to that unknown person. Master Fu warned her about keeping the miraculous' safe, and she lost one.
Everyone was so focused on their own thoughts that they didn't pay attention to Sabrina presenting her project. It was only when the door abruptly opened that all eyes turned to the entrance. "Whoa! Look what the cat dragged in!" Alix loudly proclaimed.
Everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Chloe Bourgeois, walking into class, looked completely unlike herself. Due to the recent events, Chloe overslept and when she did wake up, she had to do everything in a rush. She managed to bathe and brush her teeth, but the rest didn't go according to plan. She ran out of her home without even so much as a bite to eat. She didn't get to school in her usual ride because her mother saw fit to punish her for that recent akumatization (yet she was Style Queen no longer than a day ago), and in her words, embarrassing her. She had no time to order another ride; she just started running as fast as she could.
By the time she made it to school, she was out of breath and sweating profusely, something she hated the most. Her usual attire looked all rumpled and creased from her yellow jacket to her white pants and shoes; dirt marks were clearly visible on them. Her hair was not in its usual ponytail look but was let down a couple of inches below her shoulders. Unfortunately, the sweat made some of her strands cling to her face, making it a mess. What was really mortifying for Chloe was that she was not wearing any makeup whatsoever. Her face was completely bare; showing an almost flawless face, save for a couple of pimples, but her puffy eyes would have been noticeable if not for her glasses that she thankfully brought.
She, trying to look as unbothered as usual, walked over to her seat. But many people could tell that she obviously ran to school; her breathing was heavy, and if she was trying to kid herself, she wasn't doing a good job in front of her peers.
"Ms Bourgeois. I am glad that you have joined us today. I was beginning to get worried and might have phoned home about your whereabouts," Ms Bustier addressed the tardy girl.
"I-I'm sorry miss. Won't happen again," she muttered under her breath, realizing she forgot to charge her phone last night. Half of the people in the back row couldn't hear her, but for the ones closest to her seat, Mylene and Alix, they could believe what was said.
Ms Bustier was a little surprised at that but smiled. "Alright Chloe, I will excuse that for today. Next time, please make it on time." There was no reply, but the class went on as normal.
Chloe was not in the mood to listen; she just wanted to go home and get back into bed. She was brought out of her thoughts when her seatmate tapped her. "Um, Chloe-"
"What?!" She turned to her best and only friend, Sabrina, eyes behind the shades, promised anger.
Sabrina felt a bit hurt by that. "I just wanted to see if you were okay," she finally said. Chloe could see the concern but didn't feel like talking anymore. "I'm fine," she grumbled, turning her head away.
"Oh, lighten up, princess. At least she is the only one to care right now," Alix pointed out, quite rudely.
Chloe looked back to give a glare. "Stay out of this, Kubdel. It's none of your business," Chloe bit back. The pink-haired girl just rolled her eyes at her 'threat'. "It's never your business to harass us, but yet you still do so," Alix remarked. The smirk she had on when she saw the glare Chloe was giving was enough to put a Cheshire to shame.
"Humph, whatever," she turned around, not giving the girl the attention.
"What, the famous Chloe Bourgeois cannot take a bit of teasing? I guess she can dish it out, but can't take it," Alix said, her teasing smile still on. Not so long, most of the class were giggling at what the tomboy said.
Chloe was slowly getting frustrated by the girl's antics. "Chloe, you were crying, what happened?" Sabrina commented, a little too loud for everyone to hear.
Chloe looked around, all eyes expecting an answer. She again looked at Sabrina, who looked apologetic for what she had done. "Chloe, I-I-"
"You see what you've done?! I didn't want to talk, and yet you've been bugging me for the better part of the time I have been here," Chloe snapped back, making Sabrina almost break into tears.
"Geez, girl, she was just being a friend to you. So much can be said about you," Alya said, shooting an unimpressed look at the blonde girl.
"Oh, why can't you ever keep your nosy nose out of people's business, Césaire?" Chloe shot back.
"Sorry, I guess you're cranky because the shop didn't have your expensive high-end makeup you usually put on," Alya raised both hands in mock defence. That garnered a lot of laughter from the class, and at this point, Chloe was just about ready to blow.
"Alright, alright, everyone. Please settle down; I do not like disorder in my class," Ms Bustier intervened. Everyone settled down, even Chloe seeming fine. "Now, Chloe, the assignment I gave last week. Do you have yours prepared?" She asked the blonde girl.
Chloe jerked at that. She completely forgot, and she didn't even get Sabrina to do it for her. She looked nervous and just had to come clean. "No… ma'am," Chloe said honestly, looking sheepish for once.
"Oh dear. Can you explain to the class why you didn't bring your assignment in?" Ms Bustier asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.
"Well, miss, I didn't think to do it and thought it was ridiculous," she answered, trying to sound uncaring.
Ms Bustier was about to reply when Marinette's voice broke through, unintentionally loud, "Shocking, same old Chloe, doesn't care."
Chloe was slack-jawed at that, while almost everyone in the class was laughing loud and proud, thinking it was a comeback at the resident spoiled princess. Chloe even saw Sabrina laughing and had enough.
A loud bang was heard, silencing the class. Everyone looked at Chloe as she looked shaken with rage. "Ridiculous, YOU'RE ALL RIDICULOUS!" Saying that, she darted out of the classroom, with a worried Sabrina running after her. The class was visibly confused at the whole thing, but decided not to care about her tantrum. Marinette just sighed at the spoiled girl's behaviour, 'At least I know she's not Queen Bee.'
"Chloe, wait!" Sabrina ran after Chloe, who practically ignored her until she managed to catch up, grabbing her hand. "Chloe, please wait. I—"
"What?! You want to explain how you are basically a traitor for laughing at me with our class?!" Chloe looked at Sabrina with an angry expression.
"W-what, no Chloe, I am not a traitor. How could you say that?" Sabrina looked baffled.
"Oh, don't act so dumb. I told you I was not in the mood to talk, and you went and pushed me anyway. Gosh, you are so annoying, some friend you are," Chloe sharply said.
Sabrina looked hurt by those words. "Seriously, Chloe? I'm a bad friend?" she asked, bewildered.
"Should I spell it out for you? Yeah, you are a lousy friend!" Chloe snapped back.
Sabrina couldn't believe Chloe was saying that to her. "How could you even say that? After everything I have done for you. I have done your homework, lied for you, covered for you, and have even lost friends because I was being loyal to you. But all you have ever done is put me down and take advantage of me," Sabrina's anger was evident.
"My dad always warned me not to be friends with you, but I brushed him aside, thinking that you were a nice person, deep down. But because of you and your selfish family, he almost lost his job. Twice!" Sabrina continued her rant, her frustration clear.
As Sabrina finished, she threw her hat at Chloe. "Here," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "How about you give it to someone who actually wants to be your friend. Because I'm done!" With sad, frustrated tears, she turned around and left Chloe in shock.
Without anything else to say, she left, and just walked, all the way home.
Chloe finally arrived home, frustrated and seething about the whole situation back in school. She wanted to show them all that she was The Chloe Bourgeois and she was better than all of them. Suddenly, the thought of Ladybug's comment took the sting out of her fire.
As she arrived home, she walked past some of the servants who worked there. Many of them pretended not to notice her, believing she must have had another temper tantrum. Jean, however, noticed that the little girl was even more down than when she left in the morning. He remembered her leaving in a rush and forgot to eat.
Chloe was just about to head to her room when her mother beckoned her. She went, hoping it was not going to be long and tedious. As she opened the door to her dad's office, she saw her mother, mad (shocker), and her father, on his knees, begging her for something.
"What's going on?" Chloe, new to her, gently asked?
Her mother spared her a glance, a little bit longer than she had ever given. "Ugh, China, you look deplorable! But what do I expect when I left you here in this backwater city?" Audrey loudly pronounced.
Chloe, both shocked and confused, wanted to know what was going on. Her mother, thankfully, continued.
"Can you believe it, Claudette? I was organizing a grand charity event in Paris, as a way of getting the people to not talk about my misfortune of being Style Queen," she dramatically said. "So, doing a wonderful thing, I asked your father, Mayor Bourgeois, to make a substantial donation from the city's budget to support this cause. But he said no, ugh." She said, disgusted by the word.
Mayor tried again to reason. "Sweetie, I have already explained that as Mayor, I am facing budgetary constraints and political pressure. Such that the city's budget is already allocated to various essential services and projects, leaving little room for discretionary spending. I might face pressure from other city officials, political rivals, or interest groups who oppose allocating public funds to your charity event. I already have to navigate complex political dynamics and consider the interests of multiple stakeholders when making budgetary decisions," unfortunately he tried in vain to explain to his wife.
Chloe could see that her mother was not satisfied by that answer, as if insulted by his love of the city, over her.
Seeing her facial expression, he tries to compromise. "Audrey, please hear me out. I understand your passion for this cause, and I admire your dedication. But given the current financial constraints we're facing, it's simply not feasible to allocate a large sum from the city's budget for your event. However, that doesn't mean we can't find alternative solutions. We could explore options for public-private partnerships, seek sponsorships from local businesses, or organize fundraising events to support your charity-"
Before Mayor Bourgeois can continue, Audrey cuts in, her frustration palpable. "Public-private partnerships? Sponsorships? François, do you honestly believe that's a suitable compromise? This isn't just about raising funds; it's about making a statement, about showing the world the generosity and compassion of Paris's elite. This about saving the face of your wife's. I refuse to beg for scraps from corporations and wealthy benefactors. If you cannot understand the importance of this event, then perhaps it's time I take matters into my own hands."
"What do you mean my love?" He asked nervously, voicing out the thoughts that Chloe had.
Audrey storms out of the room, her heels clicking against the marble floor with each determined step. She pauses at the doorway, casting a glance back at her daughter, her expression a mix of frustration and disappointment.
"Camille," she begins, her voice edged with impatience, "We're leaving for New York. This was everything you wanted, wasn't it?"
"WHAT?!" Resounding echo stretched across the walls of his office.
Chloe, caught off guard by the sudden news, dumbly focused on the use of the wrong name, then the sudden announcement, stammers in shock, "M-Mother, my name is Chloe..."
Audrey's eyes narrow slightly as she brushes off the correction. "Of course, dear. Chloe," she acknowledges, her tone brittle. "Now, come along. We're leaving."
Chloe, still processing the abruptness of her mother's decision, hesitates before speaking, "But Mother, what about my friends, my life here?"
Audrey's expression hardens, her patience wearing thin. "Friends? Please, dear. Let's not delude ourselves. You do want to go to New York with your mother, don't you?"
Chloe's uncertainty is evident as she meets her mother's gaze. She hesitates, but what her mother said about what is even stopping her here makes the last moments of her school day clearer.
"Yes! I want to go to New York with you, Mother!" She loudly proclaims, as if to reassure herself as well.
Audrey, satisfied by that answer, "Smart Girl", turned to look at her husband. "Chloe and I will leave for New York, where my talents are truly valued. And mark my words, François, when I return, it will be on my terms, with the recognition and respect I deserve. You'll regret underestimating me, just as Paris will regret losing its brightest star."
With a mixture of defiance and wounded pride, Audrey delivers her response, determined to assert her independence and prove her worth in the face of her husband's perceived betrayal. Dragging a still shell-shocked Chloe by the arm.
The Mayor quickly trying to catch up to them.
"Audrey, please," Mayor Bourgeois pleads, his voice tinged with desperation, "don't do this. Stay, and I'll do anything. I'll double your allowance, I'll fund your next fashion show, whatever you want."
Audrey pauses briefly, considering her husband's offer, but her resolve remains firm. She shakes her head, a mixture of defiance and disappointment in her eyes.
"It's too late for that, François," she replies coolly. "You had your chance to support me, and you chose your political career over our family. We're leaving, and there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind."
Chloe, observing the exchange, scoffs at her father's attempt to bribe her mother, her own bitterness and resentment bubbling to the surface.
"You're pathetic, Father," she says, her voice dripping with disdain. "Just like you always are. Always trying to buy your way out of everything."
Mayor Bourgeois winces at his daughter's words, hurt evident in his eyes, but Chloe, blinded by her own anger and frustration, remains unmoved.
Without another word, Audrey and Chloe board the helicopter, leaving Mayor Bourgeois standing alone on the helipad, his heart heavy with regret and sorrow.
As the helicopter takes off, a sudden gust of wind sweeps through the city, carrying with it the akuma's dark energy. As the akuma envelopes Mayor Bourgeois, transforming him into the menacing Malediktator, Hawk Moth's voice echoes in his mind, a sinister whisper urging him to embrace his newfound power.
"Hear me, Mayor Bourgeois," Hawk Moth's voice resonates with dark authority. "I offer you the strength to enact vengeance upon those who have wronged you. With your newfound power as Malediktator, you shall command authority like never before. Let your anger fuel your wrath and unleash chaos upon Paris. And all I ask as payment is Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses."
Mayor Bourgeois, now Malediktator, stands tall, his expression twisted with rage and bitterness. His voice booms with authority as he addresses the city below.
"People of Paris!" he declares, his words echoing through the streets. "You have betrayed me, but now, I shall have my revenge! No longer will I be subject to your whims and disrespect. From this moment forth, I am Malediktator, ruler of this city! Bow before me, or face the consequences!"
Author's Notes:
I wanted to make this in to a 2 part story. I didn't want to make it too long, that is left for my bigger projects. But who knows, maybe if this work gets enough traction, or it moves really well, then I can make the chapters longer. But anyway, what do you guys think? Everything here happens for a reason and you have already known that I will be diverging from canon.
This fic is my way of stickin' it to the writers who did not give a lick about Chloe's proper redemption arc. If they ever read this, then you guys are just mean and lazy.
On to Part 2!