Notes: And now for something completely different...
Disclaimer: I don't own the Miraculous franchise
Miraculous Universe
Ch. 12: Double Trouble
It was now August, and the fashion show was still over a month away. Unfortunately for a certain pair of sisters, their mother decided to arrive early. They did their best to avoid her. Thankfully, most of the time, she either left to go shopping or was busy berating other people. One night, André spoke to the girls.
"I know she's difficult."
"That's an understatement, Papa," Chloé said.
"Yes, and maybe it is best that you avoid her. On the other hand, perhaps if you gave her an olive branch, so to speak, she might be a bit more tolerable."
"I don't see why we should."
"Why is she even here so soon?" Zoé asked.
"There are rumors going around that Gabriel is finally coming out of hiding to attend this year's fashion show," André explained.
"Adrien never mentioned that," Chloé said, "But when has Gabriel ever told him anything?"
"Anyway, all I ask is that you make one small attempt at being nice to Audrey. If she doesn't reciprocate, you can continue to avoid her until she leaves."
Chloé sighed, "I'll do it for you, Papa."
"That goes for me, too," Zoé said.
He hugged them both, "Thank you, girls."
Chloé and Zoé woke up early the next morning.
"The Style Queen likes to sleep in," Chloé said, "So we can grab breakfast and buy her some flowers or something."
"Won't she be suspicious or something that we're buying her a present?"
"We'll just say it's for her birthday or whatever."
"When is her birthday?"
"I can't remember, but if it means she's getting something for free, she won't nitpick too much...probably."
After buying the flowers from a friendly florist, they went back to Chloé's room to kill time until Audrey woke up.
"If we stay in here, how will we know when she's awake?" Zoé asked.
Chloé raised an eyebrow at her, "Follow the screams."
The sisters dozed off for a while when suddenly...
"You call this coffee?!"
A shriek from the Style Queen woke them up.
Chloé stretched, "She's probably going to get something to eat. I'd rather not give her these flowers in public, but it can't be helped."
Chloé took the bouquet in one hand, and held Zoé's hand with the other. They went to the café on the top floor. Audrey was the only person there.
"She probably scared everyone else away," Zoé whispered.
Despite being indoors, Audrey was wearing her sunglasses.
"Bonjour, Mére."
She grunted, "What do want, Croissant?"
"You remember your other daughter?" she gestured.
"Oh, yes, that one. I see you've at least learned to dress slightly better, Zira. Why are you here? It's Saturday. Don't you have anything better to do?"
"We got up early to buy you a birthday present - flowers."
"It's not my birthday yet," was all she said.
"Well we weren't sure if you'd stay long enough to celebrate it with us."
"Whatever. Just give them to the butler, Jean-Whatever. Maybe he'll put them in the lobby."
"That's not even close to being his name," Chloé muttered.
The sisters took the flowers and left.
"Next time try something besides roses. Honestly, don't you have a creative bone in your body?"
Chloé bit her tongue. Once in the lobby, they spotting their butler, and then handed him the flowers.
"Please put these in a nice vase and place them somewhere aesthetically pleasing," Chloé said.
He knew exactly what happened, "Are you all right, Mademoiselle?"
"I'm used to it...but merci."
They went back to Chloé's room and started channel surfing. First one would change the channel a few times, and then pass the remote to the other. Until finally...
"I can't take it anymore! I know I said I'm used to it, but she always manages to piss me off!"
"Chloé, try to calm down."
"I am calm! You've never seen me angry before!"
Zoé began to cry. Chloé immediately sat beside her and hugged her.
"Hey, come on, don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's not your fault. You always manage to put up a front, so I'm crying for you. She treats me like I'm invisible, but she treats you like garbage. It's not fair that she gets away with it."
"Please stop crying...or you'll make me start crying."
Meanwhile...
"I knew this would happen, Nathalie. Leave it to the Style Queen to provide me with the perfect Akuma target."
"I hate when she visits. So who exactly is the target?"
"The Bourgeoise sisters."
"Do you think that's wise?"
He had already transformed, "I can't think of any better idea."
"This isn't about the heroes and their Miraculous, is it?"
"Only slightly. It's mostly because I despise Audrey. It'll be entertaining to watch."
"Last time you akumatized two people at once, it worked because they were twins, and also because they were wearing the same goofy hat. Can it work on both of these two?"
"As long as it's an item they've both been in contact with recently."
The Akuma flew to the hotel. The sisters were too preoccupied to notice that it possessed the remote control that fell under the table.
"Hello, ladies. I am Le Papillon."
"We're not in the mood right now," Chloé growled.
"Now now, I can feel how angry you are. I know it's that horrible Style Queen treating you like trash. How would you like to get back at her? I can help with that."
Zoé spoke up, "No! That won't help make anything better."
"Come now, my dear, it's only fair. It's not revenge. It's merely retribution. Could there be anyone else more deserving of it?"
"That would make us just as bad as her."
"Not true, Zoé. There shall be no malicious intent in your vengeance. Think of it as a sort of game."
"So we don't have to actually hurt her? It's more like scaring her?"
"Exactly, Chloé. She says you're not creative, so I'll give you a power similar to Ladybird. Not an exact copy, of course. You'll be limited to weapons."
"Works for me. In which case, my name is now Anti-bird."
"A fine choice. And as for you, Zoé, she ignores you completely, so I'll give you the power to step on your competition...literally. Anyone you touch with your shoes will be absorbed into them, making you bigger and stronger each time, until she couldn't possibly ignore you. You shall be called Pirkell."
"What does that mean?"
"Oh, right, you're not from around here. It's a simpler way of saying pire qu'elle, which is a French phrase meaning 'worse than her'. Quite appropriate since you're finally showing the Style Queen who's better."
"That sounds awesome."
"Then let the game begin."
Chloé and Zoé stood at opposite ends of the sofa as the dark energy enveloped both of them. Chloé's outfit was just like Ladybird's outfit only palette swapped, with the red parts being black and vice versa. Her boots also had a slight heel, rather than the more practical ones Ladybird wore. Zoe's outfit was similar to Matou Noir's, minus the ears, tail, claws, and also with heels instead of boots. It was dark green with black highlights, and she had small horns on her head. They were both at least 9.5 feet tall.
"I didn't expect to get another growth spurt," Anti-bird said, "Thankfully this ceiling is fairly high. Although..."
She turned towards the door. The handle was so low now. She stuck her head into the hallway. It was too narrow to move properly.
"There's no way we're getting down to the lobby through there, much less get to the dining area."
"Let's just take the balcony," Pirkell said.
They stood on the balcony, stretching now that they had room. They simply climbed up the side of the building to the top floor. They then shoved their way into the dining area.
"Attention, good people of Paris. I am Anti-bird. We don't wish to harm you, but unfortunately, my associate Pirkell needs you to gain more power. Rest assured, though, it's nothing personal. Our true target is the Style Queen. When our task is complete, you will all be freed."
Pirkell began to use her power on everyone in the room. Anti-bird walked up to Mme. Césaire.
"Bonjour, favorite chef of mine. Have you seen Audrey the Style Queen lately?"
She swallowed, "Um...I heard she went out for the moment, but she'll be back soon, I'm sure."
"Excellent. Pirkell, leave her alone. We don't want to upset her daughters. By the way, are you sure it's a good idea to get so much larger and heavier while we're on the top floor?"
Pirkell paused, "Oh...right."
"To the lobby!"
Anti-bird used her power to create a bullwhip. She tied it to the balcony and then swung down to the sidewalk below.
"Coming?"
"Be right there."
Pirkell simply jumped off the balcony and landed feet first, slightly cracking the sidewalk.
"Showoff," Anti-bird said as she retrieved the whip.
"You call that a show? As we say in America, you ain't seen nothing yet."
The duo walked up to the doors of the hotel.
"Sorry about this," Pirkell said as she kicked the doorman in the chest.
He was absorbed into her heel, and she shot up another foot in height. The two had to duck to get through the door. It was more difficult for Pirkell.
"Attention, patrons! I am Anti-bird, and this is Pirkell. We only want the Style Queen. However, my partner here needs more power."
That's when Armand the butler now saw her.
"Mademoiselle? You are -"
"Feeling so much better, Armand. Did the Style Queen berate you and tell you where she was going?"
"Uh...out shopping I believe. She should return soon."
"So I've heard. Please stay somewhere safe and out of the way."
That's when a familiar voice rang out.
"What a waste of time! You can't find a single worthwhile thing around here!"
"Style Queen, we meet again," Anti-bird said.
She looked unimpressed, "Oh look, you've been akumatized. You're still simply copying someone else. That's just Ladybird's outfit with an inverted color scheme."
"Don't forget my sister."
Pirkell was very large now, likely around 30 feet. She knelt down as best she could.
"Boo."
"Your outfit looks stupid, too. And you're far too tall to do anything meaningful. You really want to be an actress? Perhaps you can be in one of those awful giant monster movies."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Enough talk, mother dear," Anti-bird said as she used her power to make a crossbow, "I'm going to give you a chance to run. It makes the game more interesting...for us."
"You think you can intimidate me just because you have an archaic crossbow and went through an abnormal growth spurt? You horrible children, I brought you both into this world, and I can take you out!"
An arrow shot past Audrey's face, just barely missing, and embedding into the wall.
"Dang, the sight's off. Next one's coming straight for you."
"Look over there! It's your father! He's here! Go have a talk with him instead!"
Anti-bird and Pirkell gave each other a look, and then humored Audrey by looking behind themselves. When they turned back around, she had run out the door.
"Did you see which way she went?" Anti-bird asked.
"No, but does it matter? We'll find her in no time."
"Let's get to it then. How are you going to get out?"
"I'll make my own door."
Pirkell delivered a mighty kick to the wall, smashing through completely.
"Sorry about that, Andy."
"It's still weird that he lets you call him that."
The pair walked out through the hole and looked around.
"She moves fast for what she was wearing," Pirkell observed.
"She has no taste. Now how about you pick me up?"
"What's a big sister for?"
"You've been waiting to use that one, haven't you?"
Pirkell picked up Anti-bird and placed her on her shoulder. As she patrolled through the city for Audrey, she kept finding more people to add to her height.
"The bigger you get, the more it feels like you're moving slow."
"I'm gigantic, Anti-bird, I don't have to move fast. I move the same distance in one stride that would take you like one hundred or so steps."
"Yeah yeah, details. The Style Queen is surprisingly good at hiding. Do you see the heroes anywhere, 50 foot sister?"
"No sign of them yet. I welcome the challenge though."
"Excuse me, ladies!"
She stopped, "That can't be Audrey. Sounds too nice."
"Right you are, Pirkell. It's a news crew. This'll get the attention of the heroes, but if there's one thing I, mom, and even dad, can't resist, it's a camera. Going down."
Pirkell held out a hand to lower Anti-bird to the ground.
"This is Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news. We have here a pair of akumatized citizens who seem more collected than most. I know it's risky, but I thought I'd try to get a statement from you. By the way, wow, you're tall."
"Thank you!" Anti-bird said as she grabbed the microphone, "Greetings citizens of Paris! I am Anti-bird, and this is Pirkell."
"Hey."
"We don't wish to alarm you too much, but we're on an important mission. We're on the hunt for Audrey Bourgeois. Mon sœur here does need extra people to get a power boost, but once we're done, we promise to return everyone we took. Let me once again state that we're only after the Style Queen, so do us a favor and stay out of our way. I'm sure wherever the heroes are, they're watching this now. We know you'll try to stop us. You know what we say to that?"
Pirkell stomped one colossal foot, "Bring it on!"
"Au revoir, les ressortissants!"
Meanwhile...
"Oh man, not Chloé," Adrien said in sad tone, "I've got to get there fast."
Meanwhile again...
"Is that really Zoé?" Marinette said, "I've got to run!"
In a flash, Ladybird and Matou Noir met up with each other.
"Hey, My Lady. I hope you were thinking of a plan on your way here."
"As a matter of fact, I was. We're going to need help on this one."
"Because of their powers?"
"Yes and no. When they were on TV, did you notice anything on their person that could be the akumatized object?"
"I don't think so. Do you think that means it's back in their room?"
"I wouldn't doubt it, but let me make sure. Lucky Charm!"
"Hey, a miniature TV."
"That must prove it's in their room. We'll have to go look there, but if they see us heading for the hotel, they'll immediately try and stop us. We won't get anything done if we're busy fighting them."
"You think our previous recruits will be enough?"
"With illusion and protection holding them off, we can tear that room apart until we find the akumatized object. Let's get the Miraculouses before we're spotted."
"THERE SHE IS!" Pirkell's voice rang out.
"I don't think that'll be a problem, My Lady," Noir said as they headed for Fu's, "Our resident anti-villains found their true target."
"Ugh, the Style Queen. As much as it pains me, we better work fast if we're going to help her...no, scratch that. We have to help the Bourgeois girls. We have to get them to see there's a better way."
"At least it'll be easy to find them. How tall do you think she is?"
"At the moment?"
Meanwhile, Optigami was focused on the pursuit.
"This is a riot," Papillon laughed, "Look at her run! The queen looks like a joke."
"I have to admit," Nathalie said, "This is pretty funny."
Back with out heroes, they cautiously entered Fu's shop.
"I saw it on the news. You need help for this task."
"Yes, Master," said Ladybird, "The Fox and the Turtle again."
"The same friends as before?"
"Without a doubt, Master," Noir replied.
As he handed them to the pair, he said, "Let me make this quick. This time, once the job is done, I want your friends to keep the Miraculous you give them."
The duo looked at each other.
"Are you sure?" Ladybird asked.
"Like I said before, it's not safe to keep all the Miraculous in the same place. Besides that, in the future you'll need help again. It wastes time coming all the way here for a Miraculous. You need help immediately. Clearly you trust these friends of yours."
"Absolutely," they both said.
"You've both proven capable, so it's only right that you take on responsibilities like distributing Miraculous."
"Thank you, Master," Ladybird said.
"We won't let you down," Noir added, "Let's get going, My Lady."
The pair were soon back running through the city.
"So, I'll get Zorrua, while you get Tortank, right?"
"Right, and let's meet close to the hotel. By the way, do you see that reporter girl around here like always?"
"Uh...now that you mention it..."
Sure enough, not too far from the Akumas, were Alya and Nino.
"Excuse me, blogger girl."
"Ladybird! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be after the Akumas?"
While they had a chat, Matou Noir motioned to Nino to follow. When they were in a dark alley, that's when he handed Nino the Fox Miraculous.
"Third times the charm, good buddy. You ready to go?"
"Will Alya be okay?"
"Ladybird will make sure she's somewhere safe. Just because these particular Akuma victims are ignoring you, doesn't mean you should take any risks."
"In that case, transformez moi."
"Excellent. Follow me, Zorrua."
Back with Ladybird and Alya...
"I've warned you before about getting too close."
"I know, but I can't help it sometimes."
"Well this time I need your help...again."
"Really? Wait, what about Nino? Where'd he go?"
"Oh, Matou Noir took him somewhere safe. We didn't want him to know your secret identity either, you know."
"Right, of course."
"Okay, it should be safe in this building. Go ahead."
"Transformez moi! Let's get to work."
"That's what I like to hear. We better hurry."
The four heroes met on a building across from the hotel. Ladybird used her yo-yo to get to the roof. Matou Noir used his staff. Zorrua was able to reach the roof in a single bound. Tortank jump kicked between the walls of two nearby buildings to reach the roof.
Matou Noir spoke first, "Zorrua, this is Tortank. Tortank, this is Zorrua."
"Nice to be working with you, pretty lady," he said with a bow.
"Likewise, fox boy," she replied with a wink.
"Okay, here's the plan," Ladybird said, "We find Audrey, put her somewhere out of the way, and then you two will keep the sisters busy while we search the hotel for the akumatized object."
"You can count on us, Ladybird," Tortank said, "Just lead the way."
Meanwhile, Anti-bird and Pirkell were pursuing Audrey. Anti-bird was now dual wielding a pair of sickles that could cut through anything.
"You going for a Grim Reaper motif?"
"I thought it appropriate considering the name of the game is fear."
"You stay away from me, you cursed brats!" Audrey shrieked.
"Cut her off, Girl-zilla, while I get closer."
"Way ahead of you."
In a few steps, she was now ahead of Audrey. She knelt down and spread her arms to make sure there was nowhere to run. Audrey tripped and fell at the sight.
"You better not have made me ruin my shoes!"
"No place left to run, Style Queen," Anti-bird said with a smile.
"You wouldn't dare kill me! Without me you'll be nothing!"
"Whoever said we were going to kill you? Just rough you up a little."
Ladybird landed between Audrey and Anti-bird.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to put a stop to this."
"Stay out of this, my dear doppelganger."
"As they say in America," Pirkell spoke up, "We have no beef with you."
"Yeah, what she said. This is none of your business."
"I'm making it my business. This isn't the way to do things."
"It's about time you got here!" Audrey snapped, "What have you been doing all day?!"
Anti-bug kept walking forward, "I said move out of the way!"
Matou Noir dashed between them to parry Anti-bug's sickles. Pirkell reached one large hand towards Audrey, but Tortank's shield smacked it.
"Ow...that actually kind of hurt."
"Great, you expanded the team," Anti-bug commented, "It won't really help, but congrats on that."
"Hey, cool shotels," Tortank said.
"What?" Zorrua said, "I'm pretty sure those are just sickles."
"You don't know for sure. They could be kama."
"They don't have the right shape to be kama. If I was to make a wild guess like you, I'd say they were khopesh."
"Can we please put a hold on this interesting conversation and focus?" Ladybird said.
That's when Matou Noir put away his staff and walked up to Anti-bird.
"What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"Please don't do this," Noir pleaded.
"What do you know about it? Nothing! So don't you DARE tell me to stop!"
Ladybird grabbed Audrey and swung away as fast as she could.
"NO!"
Before Anti-bird could follow, Tortank's shield hit her in the abs, knocking the wind out of her.
"That's quite a shield," she wheezed.
Matou Noir had already run after Ladybird. Zorrua stood next to Tortank.
"And what's your amazing weapon, little fox?" Anti-bird mocked, "Is that a flute?"
The sisters both laughed.
"What are gonna do, play bad music at us?" Pirkell quipped.
"You mean like this?"
Tortank covered her ears. Zorrua played a very long, very bad, high-pitched note on the flute. Anti-bird winced at the sharp sound, while Pirkell kept shaking her head. The new heroes took this opportunity to ran away.
"There's always delays," Anti-bird grumbled.
"They couldn't get far," Pirkell said, "Especially not from me."
Ladybird was trying to hurry, but Audrey was being difficult.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll have to hide in the sewer."
"You must be insane! You seriously think I'd stoop so low?"
Matou Noir had had enough. He yanked off the manhole cover.
"Get. In. NOW!"
She was about to scream back at him when the enormous footfall of Pirkell got ever closer.
"You better get me out of here as fast as possible, or else!"
"Yeah, whatever. On to phase two, Zorrua."
"Mirage!"
Zorrua made a perfect copy of Audrey.
"Perfect match," Ladybird said, "Now lure them away from the hotel."
Zorrua and Tortank ran off.
"Hey, Master of Illusion," Tortank said, "You have to make her scream."
"Oh right."
They stopped for a brief moment.
Fake Audrey started screaming, "Where are you taking me? Are you incompetent? Why are your costumes so tacky?!"
"Wow, you're good," Tortank said.
"Thanks, but it's not that hard. She's pretty simple."
Anti-bug caught up to Pirkell, "Why'd you stop?"
"I can see Audrey with the Fox and the Turtle, but I don't see the Ladybug and the Cat."
"They're probably off coming up with another dumb plan. Let's just focus on Audrey like we planned."
The duo pursued, unbeknownst to them, the fake Audrey. Elsewhere in the city, Sabrina used her bicycle to reach the police station.
"Papa!"
"Sabrina, what are you doing here?"
"We need to get to Mayor Bourgeoise. The Akuma victims are Chloé and Zoé. I have to do something. They're my friends."
"What are we waiting for?"
They sped off to the mayor's office, only to find him coming outside.
"Brigadier Raincomprix, what a stroke of luck. We need to get back to my hotel. The girls will head there."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"Well, they're bound to at some point. It's as good a place as any to be in this situation."
"I agree with him, Papa," Sabrina said.
"I guess it makes sense. That is where they live. Hop in, Mayor."
At the hotel, Ladybird and Matou Noir began to dig through the closets and look under everything. Back in the streets, Zorrua and Tortank still had their fake Audrey, now under the protection of Shell-ter. Pirkell was repeatedly stomping on the barrier in an attempt to break it, but it held firm.
"You're like, what, 100 feet tall now, and yet you can't break through!?"
"Hey, do you wanna try? Be my guest!"
Anti-bird used every weapon she had on the barrier, but nothing made a dent. She stopped to catch her breath. That's when it hit her.
"Wait a minute. I know why the bug and the cat aren't here. They're at the hotel looking for the akumatized object! We've got to get back there fast!"
Anti-bird ran off, with Pirkell close behind.
"Oh, man," Zorrua said, "They're headed for the hotel. We have to keep distracting them."
"They won't fall for distractions anymore," Tortank said, "We need to straight up confront them."
The pair began running after the sisters.
"I don't think we'll be able to catch up," Zorrua said.
"Then we have to get their attention."
She threw her shield at Anti-bug, striking her in the back. This caused her to pause and turn around.
"Look, you glorified sidekicks, just mind your own business."
"Ladybird told us to hold you off," Tortank declared, "And so we shall!"
"That's what you think."
Anti-bird quickly wrapped the pair up with her whip. Before they could even struggle, the colossal hand of Pirkell grabbed the two heroes.
"Let us go! Are you afraid to fight?"
"I like your spirit, turtle girl, but our fight is with the real heroes and Style Queen. Pirkell, if you would?"
"Gladly. You ever seen a baseball game?"
Pirkell proceeded to throw the duo as far as she could.
"Now that that's taken care of," Anti-bird said, "To the hotel!"
Ladybird and Matou Noir checked Zoé's room.
"Nothing in there," Ladybird said, "It has to be in Chloé's room. We'll have to double check."
That's when they noticed the footsteps sounded louder.
"Now they know we're here," Noir said.
That's when the door swung open. André, Roger, and Sabrina came barreling inside.
"M. Mayor, what are you doing here?"
"I came to help any way I can, Matou Noir."
"That goes for me, too," Sabrina said.
"Make it three," Roger said.
"We appreciate it," Ladybird said, "But we've searched everywhere, I think. Where haven't we checked? Could it be in another room?"
"I was sure they were both in here earlier," André said.
"Hey, wait. Did you check under everything in this TV area?" Sabrina asked.
"You said you were going to, Chaton."
"No, I'm pretty sure you were going to, My Lady."
"No, all I said was you ought to check there."
"Whatever, let me see. It looks like the TV remote is under here."
When he retrieved it, it was a pitch black color.
"Looks like we hit the jackpot, My Lady. Cata-"
That's when the roof was ripped off.
"Surprise, little aphids!" Pirkell said in her booming voice
Anti-bird jumped off of Pirkell's shoulder, twirling her sickles, "Ladybird beetles eat aphids, you know."
"Chloé, Zoé, please..." André paused, a bit intimidated by their newfound heights.
"Don't be afraid, M. Mayor," Sabrina said.
He steeled himself, "Please don't do this. I beg you."
"Stay out of this, Papa."
"Chlo, I'm your friend. Please come back to us," Sabrina pleaded.
"You stay out of this, too. This is between us, the heroes, and the Style Queen."
"But this won't make anything better," Matou Noir said.
"No, it really won't," she shrugged, "But it's a start."
André stood between her and the heroes, "I won't get out of the way."
"Why are you making this difficult?!"
"I'm sorry, mon ange, and you, too, Zoé. If anyone should be punished, it should be me."
"What?!"
"If I was a better person, if I wasn't such a pushover, if I was a better parent, I wouldn't let her talk to you like that. I'm just glad you didn't wind up like her. You're stronger than I am, Chloé."
Anti-bird fell to her knees, overcome with emotion. André was walking over to her, but Pirkell placed her mighty hand between them.
"Don't touch her. Leave her alone."
"I know we didn't meet until later in life, Zoé, but I think of you as my daughter as well. I know you haven't had the best life, so that's why I wanted you to be treated like a member of the family. I'm sorry if that woman made you feel unwanted."
A giant tear splashed into the room.
"Even though you've been so kind, a part of me always wondered if deep down you resented me, just like my step-mother, but now..."
She moved her hand to the side so that André could reach Anti-bird. He put one arm around her, while with the other, he reached out and wrapped it around one of Pirkell's fingers.
"You've both grown up so much. I mean, you know, in age and maturity."
The girls had to chuckle a bit at that.
Matou Noir gave a sigh of relief and said, "Cataclysm."
The Akuma flew out of the remains of the TV remote. He then walked over and took Ladybird's hand.
They both said, "Miraculous."
In a flash, all the damages to the hotel were repaired, and all the people were back where they were before Pirkell took them. The two girls were back to normal, now hugging André properly.
"I'm sorry, Papa."
"Yeah, so am I, Andy. I didn't want to smash your hotel."
"There's no need to apologize, girls. All that matters is that you're both okay."
Chloé starting to sniff the air, "What is that?"
Audrey slammed the door open.
"You left me to rot in that sewer, you worthless freaks! And as for you girls -"
André stepped forward, "Audrey, that's enough!"
Everyone in the room was surprised. André rarely ever raised his voice, much less to Audrey. Even she was phased, if only momentarily.
"Fine. I'm taking a shower and going out. Just stay out of my way."
As soon as she was gone, André turned back to the girls.
"Girls, why don't you treat yourselves to a spa day? Go out shopping maybe. Get something good to eat. I'll deal with Audrey. Just try and avoid her for the rest of the day...or the next couple of days...or weeks."
"Oui, Papa."
"Yeah, merci, Andy."
"As for you heroes, I can't thank you enough."
"All in a day's work, M. Mayor," Ladybird replied.
"I'm glad this all worked out," Matou Noir thought.
That's when he spotted a familiar pair of eyes on the wall. He hissed and jump at their spot. The eyes snapped shut and disappeared.
"What was it?" Ladybird asked.
"That creepy butterfly Sentimonster was spying on us."
The Lair
"A shame the game's over already," Gabriel said, "Oh well, back to business."
Nathalie sighed, "I need a snack."
The hotel
"Hey, wait a minute," Ladybird said, "What happened to Zorrua and Tortank?"
Zoé looked like she was trying to remember something, "Um..."
Meanwhile...
After Pirkell sent them flying into the air, the duo could only hope things would work out.
"Do you think Matou Noir and Ladybird's world healing wave thingy will bring us back to Paris?"
"It doesn't involve creation or destruction, so I don't see why it would," Tortank replied.
"What are we going to do then? You don't think we'll die when we hit the ground, do you?"
"I'm sure the magic will protect us somewhat, but it'll still likely hurt quite a bit."
"Can't you use your power?"
"I already did. I can't use it again unless I re-transform. If I did that, my secret identity would be revealed."
"What if I closed my eyes?"
"Well...I don't know. Is it safe for me to de-transform when we're this high up in the air?"
"I don't know," he sighed, "I wish I could tell my girlfriend that I'm okay...relatively speaking."
"I'm sure my boyfriend is worrying about me, too. It's so sweet."
"I think we're heading for the Channel."
"Okay, you know what? Close your eyes and hold onto me. I'll de-transform and re-transform so can use my power again."
"Why am I holding onto you?"
"So I don't go flying off in a different direction."
"I don't know if I should."
"Why not?"
"My girlfriend might not like that."
"We'll explain things to her. It's to save our lives, for crying out loud!"
"Okay, good point," he grabbed her waist and shut his eyes tight, "Ready."
"De-transform!"
For those brief seconds, he could feel her body. Thoughts of Alya ran through his head.
"This is for a good reason," he said to himself, "Please don't be mad, babe."
"I'm not mad. Transformez moi!"
As soon as she said that, she covered her mouth. She turned around.
"Nino?"
"Alya?"
She saw the water beneath them, "Hold me tight, renard. Shell-ter!"
As her force field went up, they hit the water and sank. Once they hit the bottom...
"I'm glad neither of us is claustrophobic. Good thing Adrien isn't here."
"Maybe I can use the force field to get us out of the water. You call Ladybird."
Paris
"I wonder where they could be?"
Her yo-yo made a beeping sound.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ladybird. It's me, Zorrua."
"What happened to you?"
"The titan girl threw us into the air and we went flying all the way to the Channel."
"That's quite a throw," Matou Noir said.
"Tortank is using her force field to get us out of the Channel, but I don't know how we're going to get back. Will we have to walk?"
"Uh, no. I'll help you out. Just stay on the bank of the Channel. I'll call you back."
"We've got to be going, folks," Noir said.
"Thank you again for everything," André said.
"All in a days work, M. Mayor."
The duo leapt off the balcony. Sabrina gave the sisters a hug.
"I'm glad you're both okay."
"Thanks for caring, Brina," Chloé said.
"I'll let you two have some time together after all that happened."
"Call you later, bestie."
"Thank you for your assistance, Roger."
"It was my pleasure, André. Come along, Sabrina."
"Oh, can you give me a lift back to the office?"
"But of course, Mayor."
"I'll see you girls later," he said, giving them another hug, "Try to enjoy yourselves."
"See you tonight, Papa."
Once they were gone, Chloé gave Zoé a devious look.
"What are you thinking, Chloé?"
The sisters went to Audrey's room. She was still in the shower, complaining to herself.
"Stay here," Chloé whispered.
She tiptoed over to Audrey's purse, rummaged a bit, and then snuck back out. They rushed back to Chloé's room.
"Okay, now we're ready to go."
"Where are we going?" Zoé asked.
"I've got a few ideas. Good thing we have this."
"You stole her credit card?"
"One of them anyway. She's got a lot more."
"Won't she realize it once the bill arrives?"
"Oh please! She'll look at the items and say something like, I don't remember buying that, but it's tasteful, so I must've."
"Now that's what I call justice," she chuckled.
"Before we do anything, we're getting a massage. One so good, I'll use my own money."
"Couldn't we get one at the spa?"
"Trust me, this guy runs his own business, and he's a master. Besides it's more quiet and private."
"Are we going to walk there?"
"It's way too far."
"The limo?"
"I don't feel like it."
"Then what?"
Meanwhile...
Ladybird and Matou Noir snuck into the building.
"Excuse us, Master Fu," Ladybird said, "But there's a bit of a problem."
"Our friends were sent on a long trip by the Akumas. They got thrown all the way to the Channel apparently."
"And it would take them quite a while to walk all the way back," Fu said, "I think it's best if you use the Horse Miraculous."
"Ooh, those are nice glasses," Noir said.
"Who should use them?" Ladybird asked.
"There's only one fair way to decide...rock, paper, scissors. Best two out of three."
Ladybird rolled her eyes, "That sounds ridiculous, but fair enough."
Ladybird won the match.
"Darn that predictable rock."
"Sorry, Minou, but maybe next time," she put on the sunglasses, "Ladybug, Horse, unify!"
Her hair was now a long ponytail. Her gloves were white with black fingers. Her boots were white as well. Some of her spots were white instead of black.
"That's pretty good," Noir said, "What's your new name?"
"Call me...Lady d'Jument. Now let's go get our friends."
"Perhaps you'd better open your portal in the corner, just in case."
"Good idea, Master. Voyage!"
A round portal large enough to walk through appeared in the corner of the room.
"If you take too long, the portal will close," Fu warned, "Which means you'll have to re-transform."
"I understand. Let's go, Chaton."
Once they walked through, just to be on the safe side, Fu put a screen up in front of the portal.
Meanwhile...
Chloé and Zoé were now on bicycles.
"When did you get these?"
"I got the idea when I saw Luka with one. It's good exercise, after all. Plus it'll tide me over until I can learn to drive."
They went straight to Fu's Massage Parlor.
"Ooh, how ambient. Is that the sound of the ocean?"
"Probably just a CD or something. Here we are, Zoé. This is Master Fu. The best of the best."
"That's certainly high praise coming from you, Mlle. Bourgeois. This is your sister?"
"Got it in one."
"Goodness, you two have had quite a day."
"Well right now we'd like to relax."
"Of course. Please get ready."
In a few minutes, the sisters were enjoying their massages. Fu was glad he put that screen up. When he checked, the portal had closed.
"Chloé, I tip my hat to you."
"Not everyone can have such fine taste, sister dear."
Some time later, they were getting dressed.
"Master Fu, you never cease to amaze me."
"Thank you again, Mlle. Bourgeois."
"Oh, come on. Just Chloé will suffice. Ready to go, Zoé?"
"Yeah, just making sure I have everything."
"My, what interesting shoes," Fu said, "Where did you get them?"
"It's a funny story actually."
"Why do you always say that?" Chloé said, "It's really not that funny."
"I have to find it funny in hindsight."
"Whatever, I'll sum it up for you. She found them in a dumpster in New York."
"Found them, washed them, colored them. I also found this talon pendant. Cool, huh?"
"That's one way to describe it," Fu replied.
"That statement sounds like it has an addendum."
"You may not believe this, but that is no ordinary pendant. That is a Miraculous. Specifically the Eagle Miraculous."
"Wait, what?" Chloé said, "She found a Miraculous, the things the heroes use to get their powers, by sheer luck?"
"So it would seem. Many of the Miraculous went missing years ago. Some were likely stolen. How it came to be in a dumpster is irrelevant. The point is you found it."
"So...should I give it to you?"
"Oh, goodness, no. You'll need it to become a superhero."
"Really? Me? That sounds great! But...but I couldn't do it without Chloé. She's my sister."
"I don't deserve to have superpowers. I'm not a hero."
"You're my hero."
"That sounds really cheesy, but why exactly?"
"You're stronger than me. You're always coming up with ideas. You're a lot nicer than you than you say you are. You accepted me without hesitation."
"I'd say those are rather heroic qualities, Mlle. Bourgeois. The threats to the city will only continue, so we need every hero we can get."
"But we've already got four, or rather five."
"You heard her. She won't do it without you. So I'm going to give you this: the Miraculous of the Bee."
"Didn't I see Ladybird use this before?"
"She did once, yes, but I think it fits you better. Besides, the Ladybug and the Cat represent creation and destruction, and thus they balance each other out. The Eagle represents freedom, while the Bee represents subjection, and thus they too balance each other out."
"Well, when you put it like that, what kind of sister would I be to send this one off on her own onto the battlefield?"
Zoé hugged her, "This is going to be fun! So you'll show us how to use these, right?"
"Of course."
"Good," Chloé said, taking the hair comb, "Because my costume needs to look amazing. So does yours if I have to be seen with you. So you're not just well informed, M. Fu. You're basically like Q from the James Bond films."
"That's a fair comparison."
"You know who the other heroes are."
"I do."
"Well don't tell me. I don't want to know."
"That's not my secret to tell."
"Okay then, first things first...how does the costume work?"
Meanwhile...
"Any sign of them?" Noir asked.
"I guess they're still underwater."
Tortank was moving the force field through the water like a giant hamster ball.
"Quite the workout, huh, Fox Boy?"
"I'd prefer if we were on dry land, Mlle. Turtle."
"Well I think we've almost reached the shore."
Fu's parlor
"Concentrate on your costume, and then say, transform me."
The sisters looked at each other, and then closed their eyes.
They both said, "Transformez moi."
Chloé's costume was mostly yellow with black stripes. Her opera style gloves were black with yellow fingers. Her thigh high boots were black with yellow heels. Her hair was in a high ponytail that looked a bit like a hive, and it also had a few black streaks. A pair of black ribbons on her head looked like antennae. Her domino mask was black with yellow accents. She also had a pair of translucent wings on her back.
"How do I look, Zoé?"
"You look amazing. What about me?"
Zoé's costume was brown pants with yellow boots, and a brown shirt with a white tail. Her blonde hair was now white, while the pink highlight was now blonde. Her mask was white, save for a yellow beak-like protrusion that covered her nose. She also had what appeared to be a brown cape.
"Why are you wearing a cape?"
"Oh, it's not a cape."
The so-called cape was actually a pair of massive wings.
"Impressive wingspan! Very good...but..."
"What's wrong?"
"You costume is based on a bald eagle, right?"
"Well yeah. I'm from America."
"And you don't think a superhero in France wearing a costume based on an American bird might be a bit suspicious? Besides, you expect a bee to look a certain way. There are lots of varieties of eagle."
"...oh, uh...good point. I can change it, right?"
"All you have to do is concentrate," Fu explained.
"Okay then. One second..."
Her pants and shirt were now black. Her boots were red. Her mask was a dark red, but the beak was still yellow. Her hair was now black, while her normally pink highlight was now chestnut. Her eyes were a dark brown. Her wings were black and grey.
"That's better, but what are you supposed to be?"
"I'm a bateleur."
"You're a tightrope-walker?"
"No, well yes, but what I mean is, that's the name of the eagle."
"Where's it from?"
"Africa."
"Why does an African bird have a French name?"
"Because it was named by a French naturalist."
"You seem to know the strangest things. Still, that's as good a name as any, Bateleur."
"Hey, you're right. That is a good name. What about you?"
"I am...Apireine."
"Doesn't that mean queen bee?"
"Apis for bee, and reine for queen. So yes."
"Then why not just call yourself Queen Bee?"
"Because it's not French!"
"Oh my goodness," Fu said, "I forgot to switch the sign to say that I'm in session."
He stepped out real quick.
Meanwhile...
The force field emerged from the water. It disappeared once they saw their friends.
"Ladybird!"
"Tortank!"
"Matou Noir!"
"Zorrua!"
"How did you get here so fast?" Tortank asked, "Hey, wait a minute. Your costume is different."
"What's with the sunglasses, mec?"
"I'm also using the power of the Horse Miraculous. Now my name's Lady d'Jument."
"That's so cool," Tortank said.
"Yeah, except that I have to re-transform so I can make a new portal."
"We won't look," Noir said, "We promise."
Fu's parlor
"So why is my weapon a spinning top? What's your weapon?"
"This is a bullroarer. You spin it around and it makes noise."
"The Miraculous are very old," Fu explained, "Your weapons, and Ladybird's weapon, are also very old."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense. Well, I guess we'd better get going."
Suddenly, a portal appeared in the corner of the room.
"Uh, you might want to hold that thought," Fu said.
Matou Noir jumped through the portal.
"Master, we have returned," but then he saw the new heroes, "GYOO!"
He stared at the new heroes, and they stared right back. Zorrua and Tortank hopped through the portal as well. When Lady d'Jument came through...
"Why'd you make that weird noise?"
The new heroes waved at her.
"...oh."
"What's with your costume?" the Bee asked.
"Cool shades," the Eagle said.
"I was using the Horse Miraculous to retrieve my friends," she explained, taking off the sunglasses, "Now who are you?"
"Call me Apireine, because I am."
"My name's Bateleur."
"I can explain, Ladybird," he said, taking back the Horse Miraculous, "I told you to allow your friends to keep the Fox and the Turtle, so I thought you could always use more help."
"Wait, we can keep our Miraculous?" Tortank said.
"Wait, there's an Eagle Miraculous?" Matou Noir asked.
"Indeed. It was one of the missing Miraculous. It's one of the reasons I took them into my confidence."
Ladybird took a deep breath, "This is a big surprise, but I trust your judgement, Master. If you think they'll make good heroes, then I'm willing to give them a chance."
"Thank you, Ladybird."
"Yeah, but you can't give me any orders," Apireine said.
"Well, I mean, I'm not your boss."
"Yeah, we're co-workers," Matou Noir said.
Apireine said nothing, just fluttered her wings, which made a buzzing noise.
"Hey, wait, you have wings?" Ladybird asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm a bee."
"I don't have wings."
"Well did you ever try to make some?"
"Uh...I guess not. It never occurred to me, and I got used to using my yo-yo."
"Well maybe next time you'll try it out."
"Thanks for the crash course, Master Fu," Bateleur said.
"Yeah, but we've got things to do. As they say in America, catch you on the flip side."
"Out the back door, please," Fu said.
As soon as they checked the area, the sisters changed back.
"I believe we still have more of someone else's money to spend."
The sisters laughed as they grabbed their bikes and took off.
Inside
"Nice to meet you both at last," Fu said.
"So you're the man behind the man? I'm Zorrua."
"I'm the one and only Tortank."
"My students must trust you very much take you into their confidence. As I was saying before, yes, you may both keep your Miraculous. As the threats become more numerous, swift action will be required. You already having a Miraculous saves a trip."
"We're honored, sir," Tortank said.
"Yeah, thanks a lot, mec," Tortank nudged him, "I mean, Master, sir."
"Well, my students, the day is still young and so are you. Go out and enjoy yourselves."
They all headed out the back and split up. Once everyone was back home, they called each other to hang out. Later that night, Chloé received a visitor. There was a knock on the balcony door.
"What in the world? Matou Noir? What are you doing here? And at this time of day?"
"May I come in?"
"Sure, I guess."
"Thanks. I, uh...I wanted to see if you were all right."
"Uh, I'm fine, I guess. No offense, but why do you care?"
"Because I couldn't stand to see you so angry...so full of pain."
"What are you talking about? I don't even know who you are."
"That's where you're wrong, Chlo. De-transform."
"Oh my...Adrien?"
They hugged, "I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
"You're a superhero, Adrien. You've done plenty for me and everyone else in the city. I can't believe you're the cat guy. I guess it's only fair I tell you my secret."
"You have a secret?"
"I do now. I'm going to be a superhero as well. See?"
She held out the Bee Miraculous.
"You're Apireine?"
"That's me."
"So why did he give you a Miraculous?"
"Oh, well to answer that, there's one other thing you should know."
"What's that?"
She pointed behind him. He turned to see Zoe sitting on the sofa.
"Uh...bonsoir, Zoé"
"Likewise, Adrien. Nice to meet a fellow hero."
"Wait, you too?"
"Affirmative. Check it out."
She held out the Eagle Miraculous.
"You're Bateleur?"
"That's my name. I actually found the Eagle Miraculous back in New York by happenstance. Master Fu saw me wearing it and told us everything. I mean, except for the identities of your co-workers, of course."
"Well, I'm glad you're both okay, and I'm proud to fight alongside you. Until then, transformez moi!"
He waved at them as he leapt off the balcony.
"If anyone deserves to be a hero, it's Adrien," Chloé said.
"Yeah, and it gets him out of the house," Zoé said, "Do you really think we're ready to be superheroes?"
Chloé put an arm around her, "Bring it on!"