Chapter 31: Dark Owl

Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter. I just want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow and I hope you all have a great time. Try not to overdo it on the food. Please Review and Enjoy.

As school came to an end all the students were making their way out as Principal Damocles had to close everything down.

"Sleep over at your place, tonight? That sounds great." Marinette said as she walked out with Alya.

"Hurry up. I don't have all day." Principal Damocles said.

"Except…I can't. I have to help my parents at the bakery." Marinette sighs.

"Again? But you've been working all week." Alya sighs as they walk out.

"You guys want to play online today?" Nino asks Sam and Adrien as they walk out.

"I think I'm free." Adrien said.

"Come on you three." Damocles said.

"I can't have to go help my parents." Sam sighs.

"Me neither, Chinese lesson." Adrien sighs.

"Again? We haven't played all week." Nino said as they left.

Sneaking to his office, Principal Damocles types on his computer.

"Albert." He said as a face appeared on screen.

"At your service, sir."

"Hoo Hoo." Damocles said.

"I do not understand." Albert said.

"Hoo-Hoo." Damolces repeats but the same thing happens again.

Sighing in defeat, Damocles moves to where his painting was and pulls it out of the way to reveal a superhero costume.

"It is now the hour of The Owl! Hoo-Hoo!" He said springing into action.

At the park, a family had their cat stuck up a tree when he arrived.

"Well, Mrs. Michel has Whiskers got vertigo again? No fear, the Owl is here. Hoo-Hoo. Owl Talon!" Taking out a grappling hook he fires but it just falls out. "Hoomerang!" He throws a boomerang but it just swings past the tree.

"What was the point of that?" Mrs. Michel asks.

"Er uh it takes more than this to dissuade…The Owl! Here kitty, kitty." Owl said climbing up the tree.

"I'm calling the fire department." Mrs. Michel said taking out her phone.

"No, need for that. Come here Whiskers." Reaching out his hand Whiskers bit him causing the Owl to let go and fall with Whiskers when suddenly a yoyo and a staff extended catching both of them.

"Mr Damo uh…Owl, this is the 5th time this week we've come to your rescue." Ladybug said.

"You have to be more careful." Silver Claw said as he and Cat Noir walk over with the cat.

"You're gonna get hurt one of these days. At least wear a helmet." Cat Noir advises.

"But you don't wear helmets." The Owl said.

"But it's different with us. We're real superheroes." Silver Claw said as a news van pulled up.

"With real superpowers and magic suits." Cat Noir said giving them the cat.

"I know but ever since I was a little boy, I've dreamed of becoming a real superhero." The Owl said.

Suddenly the news started with Nadia Chamack.

"The exploits of Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw have inspired some people to act as superheroes. But is this a good thing? Over to our reporter Clara Contard." Nadia said.

"Today Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw have once again come to the aid of the self-proclaimed hero, The Owl." Clara said as they held the microphone to him.

"Thanks to the sound advice from my friends, Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw, I am certain I will do better next time." The Owl said causing them to facepalm. "I will be reviewing my weaponry and training, because wherever there's injustice there's…The Owl! Owl Mist!" He said shaking some powder creating a cloud as he ran off.

"Any comments?" Clara asks.

"Well he's a great guy, but to all you kids watching do not copy what he does." Ladybug warns.

"Yeah, don't try this at home kids." Cat Noir said.

"What we do is very dangerous, and you can get hurt." Silver Claw warns.

"Meanwhile the question that remains on everyone's lip is, who is behind the mask of The Owl? The clumsiest Superhero?" Nadia asks.

As the sunsets, the three heroes were sitting on the rooftops.

"The Principal, Mr. Damocles has a good heart, but this is bound to end badly." Cat Noir said.

"No kidding, he's gonna get hurt doing all these stunts." Silver Claw said.

"And we can't keep watching over him. It's starting to turn into a full-time job." Ladybug yawns.

"Do you think maybe we can convince him to stop, like scaring him?" Cat Noir suggests.

"And shatter the poor man's dream? No way." Ladybug said.

"Well, what if we helped him achieve his dream so he gives up?" Silver Claw suggests.

"Hey yeah, he said his dream was to be a hero if just for a day, if we can make him a hero for a day he might give it up." Ladybug said.

"Great idea as always milady." Cat Noir said.

"Hey this was my idea." Silver Claw said.

That night in Marinette's room she was coming up with some sort of carboard design for a costume before they all went to school.

The next day when Sam, Adrien and Marinette had to say goodbye to their friends they all had smirks on their faces as their plan for Principal Damocles was about to be set in motion.

At Alya's house, she was typing on her computer when she heard a knock at her window. Looking over she saw Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw outside.

"No way! Ladybug, Cat Noir, Silver Claw? Awesome!" She said standing up.

In his office, The Owl was making modifications to his grappling hook.

"Ready for the test, Albert?" He asks.

"Please repeat. I was unable to understand." Albert said.

Sighing he holds up his weapon. "Owl Talon!" Firing it the hook bounces around the office before hitting him in the head.

"Trial conclusive, sir." Albert said when suddenly his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Is this The Owl?"

"Who is this? How do you know my secret identity?" The Owl asks.

On the other line Ladybug, Silver Claw and Cat Noir were holding back their laughter as they had Alya call him.

"I am Cardboard Girl, the supervillain! I've kidnapped Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw!" Alya said giving an evil laugh.

"Help us, Owl!" Ladybug said.

"Save us, Owl!" Cat Noir said.

"We need your help!" Silver Claw said.

"Release them immediately!" Owl ordered.

"Never! And I'll never tell you I'm holding at Place de Vosges Square, either!" Alya said.

"Aha! Gave yourself away, Cardboard Girl! Now you shall feel the fury of…The Owl!" He said before Alya hangs up.

"How was that?" Alya asks.

"Perfect." Silver Claw said.

"Nailed it." Cat Noir said.

"Now you just need to put this on." Ladybug said taking out the cardboard outfit.

"You sure about this…outfit?" Alya asks.

"Definitely." The three heroes nod.

At Place de Vosges Square, the Owl arrived to see the three heroes facing Alya who was completely covered in a cardboard outfit.

"Give up you three, I, evil Cardboard Girl have taken your Miraculous. No one can save you now!" Cardboard Girl said putting copies of their Miraculous in a box.

"Oh no my earrings!" Ladybug said.

"Oh no. We're done for!" Cat Noir said.

"Who can help us?!" Silver Claw asks when Owl jumps on a bench.

"Hoo-Hoo!"

"Owl!" They smile.

"Owl Talon!" He fires his grappling hook but it bounces off multiple objects and latches onto a truck sending Owl crashing into some garbage cans.

"Ooh that's gotta hurt." Silver Claw cringed.

"Mr. Damocles are you okay?" Ladybug asks as they ran over to him.

"I am not Mr. Damocles! I am the Owl!" He gets up to see multiple people taking his picture. "You revealed my secret identity?"

"We're sorry Mr…Owl. We didn't mean to." Ladybug said as The Owl ran off crying.

"Sorry your plan was a bust. I know you were just trying to help." Alya said handing her the fake Miraculous.

"Now we just gotta hope no one hears about this." Cat Noir said.

In his office, Mr. Damocles was watching multiple news programs that revealed his secret identity and everyone was calling him a joke.

At his base, Hawk Moth saw the whole thing.

"Ah…shame, pain and a crushed dream." Hawk Moth said as he turned a butterfly into an Akuma. "Fly away my little Akuma and evilise this failed hero."

Flying into his office, the Akuma goes into his computer.

"Dark Owl, I am Hawk Moth. From now on, you will have true superpowers and formidable weapons. Nothing and no one will be able to overpower you. And if you want to be the sole superhero of Paris there is only one thing you need to do. Defeat Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw and bring me their Miraculous!" Hawk Moth orders telepathically.

"This is a mission for…The Dark Owl!" Damocles said as he became akumatized.

At Sam's house, he was watching a movie when the TV suddenly changed to reveal Dark Owl.

He had a black mask, a brown suit with paddings and a utility belt, and a black cape.

"Citizens of Paris, listen to me very carefully. With just one movement I can release the rope holding up this city bus and all the animals inside will crash down on this poor defensless kitten.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam said in shock

At their houses, Marinette and Adrien were watching the same thing.

"Tikki, I think we got…" Marinette started

"A serious problem." Adrien finished.

"And if anyone should be tempted to come save these animals, beware. It is all rigged. Liquid Nitrogen will douse the feet of the Eiffel Tower, freezing them to minus 700 degrees and making them more fragile than glass. They will collapse and the bus will flatten our cute kitten friend!" Dark Owl laughs. "Ladybug, Cat Noir, Silver Claw, only you can save these poor animals by giving me your Miraculous. You have 10 minutes, follow the Owl Signal!"

Standing atop the stadium Dark Owl looked up at the night sky.

"Albert, release the Owl Signal." He ordered.

"At once sir." Albert said firing the owl logo into the sky.

Jumping on the rooftops, Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw looked up at the sky.

"We've seen a lot of messed up Akumatized villains, but this stunt is by far the craziest." Silver Claw said.

"That Principal sure is holding a grudge." Ladybug said.

"We've definitely ruffled his feathers." Cat Noir said.

"We have to stop that countdown." Ladybug said.

"I bet if Cat Noir and I stalled him with a little chitchat we could get him." Silver Claw said.

"Good wolf. Let's stay in touch." Ladybug said as the three heroes put in earpieces and made their move.

Entering the arena, Silver Claw and Cat Noir saw the place was empty.

"Hello? Mr Damocles?" Silver Claw calls out when the lights turn on.

"I am not Mr. Damocles! I am Dark Owl!" Dark Owl said looking down at them.

"Look let's talk, why don't the 4 of us team up? I mean now that you have powers." Cat Noir suggests.

"Where is Ladybug?" Dark Owl asks.

Sneaking up behind him, Ladybug looks at his utility belt. "Grappling iron, boomerang, utility belt? The Akuma must be in one of those weapons." Ladybug said in her earpiece.

"But which one?" Silver Claw mumbles.

"Ladybug will be here any minute." Cat Noir calls out.

"Then you two can place your Miraculous in the box in the middle of the stadium. Or…"

"Yeah we get it." Silver Claw said as they made their way towards the middle.

"Get the detonator." Cat Noir whispers.

"I'm on it." Ladybug said coming out of hiding. Throwing her yoyo she knocks it out of Dark Owl's hands. "Over to you Cat Noir!"

Leaping up in the air Cat Noir catches the detonator.

Growling in anger Dark Owl fires his grappling hook wrapping it around her arm as he throws her down into the arena crashing into Cat Noir causing him to drop the detonator.

"Oops. Time flies. This is your last chance to save the helpless kitten." Dark Owl said throwing the detonator on top of the large box in the middle of the stadium.

"What's he got against cats?" Cat Noir asks.

"How can you even call yourself a hero?" Silver Claw asks.

"Heroes don't hurt innocent beings." Ladybug said.

"Then give me your Miraculous, otherwise you will be to blame." Dark Owl said taking out his grappling hook. "Owl Talon!"

Silver Claw leaps out of the way as it tied up Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Drawing his sword, Silver Claw charged towards Dark Owl and swings it at him. Dodging and weaving Dark Owl moves out of the way before kicking Silver Claw's sword out of his hand.

As he threw a punch, Silver Claw grabs his arm and judo flips him to the ground.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir said as he broke himself and Ladybug free from the ropes allowing them to join Silver Claw in the fight.

"Moon Call!" Silver Claw said as he released a sonic howl sending Dark Owl smashing into the wall.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug throws her yoyo into the air and from it a pen appeared. "A fountain pen?"

"What are you gonna do? Ask for his autograph?" Cat Noir asks as Dark Owl picks himself up. "I'm deactivating the detonator." Cat Noir said as he ran to the box and grabbed it, but when he pressed the button nothing happened. "What?"

"Hoomerang!" Dark Owl threw his boomerangs at them forcing Ladybug and Silver Claw to jump up next to Cat Noir. "Albert, activate the hatch!"

Suddenly the roof opened up and the three heroes fell inside.

"I am the Guardian of Paris! I am…The Dark Owl!"

Inside the hatch, the three heroes struggled to stop the clock when something started to fill it up from the bottom.

"What the?" Silver Claw asks as Cat Noir tastes it.

"Tastes like whipped cream." Cat Noir said when the timer went off.

"Ha! Ha! Times up!" Dark Owl said from a screen inside. "Albert, drop the bus!" All three heroes look in horror at what was going to happen when at the last second both the cat and the bus disappeared. "You naïve fools! It was a hologram all along! How does it feel to lose for once and be humiliated? Did you really think I would hurt a kitten? This next trap however is very real. The room is filling with whipped cream. Too thick to swim in and too runny to float in."

"I hope it's lactose free." Cat Noir said.

"You're going to drown unless you accept defeat and give me your Miraculous." Dark Owl orders.

Ladybug looks around before noticing her pen and the camera. Turning towards the camera she sprays it with ink so Dark Owl couldn't see them.

"You think it matters if I can see you or not? There's no way for you to escape. If you don't give me your Miraculous now I'll simply wait for the whipped cream to bury you." Dark Owl said.

Inside Cat Noir was punching the wall while Silver Claw tried slicing the walls down, but nothing worked.

"Dammit, we're trapped." Silver Claw said.

"We're done for." Cat Noir said.

"Not yet, we're not. You win Dark Owl!" Ladybug calls out.

"The time has come! Excellent work Dark Owl!" Hawk Moth said excited.

Walking over Ladybug leans in to whisper to them. "Both of you close your eyes and no peeking."

"Ladybug are you crazy?" Silver Claw asks.

"We can't do this." Cat Noir agreed.

"Trust me." Ladybug said as she closed her eyes.

Looking to each other Silver Claw and Cat Noir sigh in defeat before closing their eyes as well.

"Spots off." Ladybug said as she turned back into Marinette and Tikki.

"Claws in." Cat Noir said as he turned back into Adrien and Plagg.

"Teeth in." Silver Claw said as he turned back into Sam and Faang.

"Whoa." Faang said softly surprised by this.

Plagg looked at the three humans in shocked but Tikki shushed him.

Reaching out Sam and Adrien took off their Miraculous and Marinette put the three of them in the hatch.

When Dark Owl saw them he grabbed them. "Now I am the only superhero in Paris. And a superhero always keeps his word. Albert!"

"Whipped Cream, deactivated!" Albert said as they drained all the whipped cream out.

"Now Dark Owl, deliver me the Miraculous." Hawk Moth said as Dark Owl but the three jewels in a box.

"Albert, transfer!" Dark Owl said as the box flew towards Hawk Moth.

At his base, Hawk Moth receives the three Miraculous and grins.

"They are mine! Ladybug's power of creation and Cat Noir's power of destruction! Whoever succeeds in merging these two will be able to change reality and erase the past." Hawk Moth grins when he noticed something with the Miraculous.

Scratching them he gasps to see they were falling apart, revealing these to be the fake Miraculous that Marinette made for Cardboard Girl.

"No! Dark Owl! Ladybug, Cat Noir have tricked you! These are fake Miraculous made of Salt Dough!" Hawk Moth said.

"What?" Dark Owl said shocked.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir said turning the container they were trapped in to dust revealing the three heroes ready for battle.

"But that's impossible, how did you do that?" Dark Owl asks.

"What did you expect? A superhero never reveals their secret. I've got a plan A, plan B and all the alphabet to Z. Did you really think we'd give you our Miraculous? We're Superheroes. We are…Ladybug!" Ladybug said hiding that she gave both the boys their Miraculous, gave Hawk Moth the fakes she made and had Tikki, Plagg and Faang share a macaroon so they would have enough strength to transform again.

"Cat Noir!"

"And Silver Claw!"

"By the way, say hi to Hawk Moth for us. Hope he enjoys his new toys." Cat Noir said.

"Destroy them, Dark Owl! If you fail again, you can bid your superpowers farewell!" Hawk Moth said telepathically.

"Hoomerang! Trajectory control, Albert!" Dark Owl said throwing multiple boomerangs at them.

"We still don't know where his Akuma is." Cat Noir said as they deflected the boomerangs.

"We know it's not any of weapons." Silver Claw said as Dark Owl charged.

"Cover me." Ladybug said jumping back. "Lucky Charm!" This time it created a comic book. "The first volume of the adventures of Knight Owl?"

"Do you really think you can defeat me by reading to me Ladybug?" Dark Owl mocks as Ladybug flipped through the pages.

"Knight Owl has a partner. So must Dark Owl!" Ladybug realized as Cat Noir and Silver Claw pinned Dark Owl to the ground.

"He's all yours Ladybug." Silver Claw said.

"Dark Owl's Akuma is not on him. It's in his lair. Don't let him get away boys, I'm off to his lair!" Ladybug said throwing her yoyo and swinging off.

"See that? Reading comic books can save lives." Cat Noir smirks when Dark Owl breaks out of their hold.

"Albert! Owl Wings!" Dark Owl said as his cape turned into a pair of wings and he flew after Ladybug.

Leaping after him Cat Noir jumps on his back.

"Cat vs Bird. Who is gonna win this one?" Cat Noir asks.

"Bird!" Dark Owl growls as he flew around trying to shake him off. Diving down Cat Noir ends up smashing face first into a sign causing him to fall.

Dark Owl grins thinking nothing could stop him now when Silver Claw jumped in front of him surprising him.

"What?!" He gasps.

"Moon Call!" Releasing his sonic howl Silver Claw sends Dark Owl flying backwards crashing into the road.

At the school, Ladybug enters office to see Albert was setting off an alarm.

"Intruder! Intruder! Intruder!" Albert said.

"Well that's not annoying." Ladybug said throwing her yoyo knocking the computer to the ground releasing the computer. "No more evil doing for you little Akuma. Time to de-evilise!" Spinning her yoyo Ladybug caught the Akuma turning it into a butterfly. "Bye-Bye little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!" Throwing the comic book in the air everything returned to normal and Dark Owl turned back into regular Owl.

"Uh what happened? Cat Noir, Silver Claw what are you two doing here?" He asks as they all fist bump.

At his base, Hawk Moth was furious at how close he was.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, Silver Claw…Every day, I get closer to destroying you three, and soon you'll be nothing but superheroes in a history book!" Hawk Moth vows.

Time passed and Mr. Damocles was still dressing up as The Owl but he was being a lot better at it.

In the park as he called the Fire Department and then took some pictures with friends Ladybug, Cat Noir and Silver Claw were watching him.

"Tending to gardens, handing out blankets to the homeless, feeding animals. The Owl has really spread his wings." Ladybug said.

"He's a hero in his own way." Cat Noir said.

"Which means we don't have to keep running around helping him out." Silver Claw smiles.

"Feel like going to the movies?" Cat Noir asks.

"Sorry I promised a friend I'd hang out with her as soon as I could. Later guys." Ladybug said swinging off.

"Well I guess I better get going too." Cat Noir said leaving Silver Claw by himself.

'I can't believe in that room, Ladybug made us transform back. If I opened my eyes I could have figured out who they were…wait I might not know who they are, but I bet someone else does.' Silver Claw thought looking at his bracelet.