Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters; all rights belong to Disney and Zag Toons.
No copyright intended.
May contain minor Season 2 spoilers
Chapter 1: The
earthquake
Shock. That was the feeling that ran through the students and
teachers at the local high school. It started out as a sunny day like any other
in Paris, France. Marinette grudgingly rose out of bed with a yawn and a
stretch of her arms. From outside her window, there was a spectacular view of
blue sky, green trees lining the ground, and the Eiffel Tower in the distance,
reaching proudly into the air. Her room was decorated in girlish colors of
white and light pink, from the rugs, to her bed, to the walls, and even her
computer. What stood out was a poster of her classmate and love interest
Adrien. Short blond hair cropped his head and his grass green eyes were enough
to make her heart melt. He wore a black shirt and a white jacket, with his
right arm lifted behind his head in a model pose. She smiled and stared at the
poster dreamily.
A squeaky voice came from her pink clap bag, “Good morning
Marinette!” She unclasped the pouch and a small creature floated out of it.
“Same to you, Tikki,” she smiled at her. Tikki had a round head, big blue eyes
with eyelashes and little arms and legs. She was red with black spots like a
ladybug with two thin antennae to complete the look. “Come on, you don’t want
to be late for school, do you?” Marinette turned away from the poster after a
moment and said, “No I guess not.” She went over to the bathroom to brush her
teeth and comb her short black hair. Soon, she was dressed in her usual attire:
pants, a white shirt with small pink flowers on it and a dark gray jacket. Just
as she was finishing pulling her hair in two ponytails, she heard her parents
call her from downstairs. “Marinette, breakfast is ready!” “Coming!” she called
back. Tikki smiled at her one last time before flying into the pouch once more.
She reached to her left ear to touch one of her circular ladybug earrings she
wore. One never knew when the world would be in danger and she would need to
call on her powers.
Her mother and father were smiling at her as she made her way to
the table. Her father, Tom, had a big build with dark hair and a mustache.
Sabrina had short black hair, a Chinese look to her appearance, and a sweet
personality. A croissant, scrambled egg, two strips of bacon, and a glass of
orange juice waited for her. “Good morning Mom,” she said happily, giving her a
hug. She embraced her father before sitting down to eat her breakfast. “How is
work coming along?” she asked her dad. “Great so far,” he replied. “Sold
several rolls and croissants at the bakery yesterday. One woman bought a
handful of pastries for her child’s birthday and the look on her son’s face was
the sweetest thing.” “I’m so glad,” Marinette smiled, along with her mother.
She finished her morning meal and grabbed her pink backpack by the door. “Bye,
Mom, bye Dad!” she called. “Goodbye sweetheart, see you soon,” said her mother.
“Be sure to help me at the bakery this weekend,” said her father. “We’ll do!”
said Marinette, as she went out the door.
Soon enough, she arrived at the front of the school. “Hey girl!”
rang a familiar voice. “Alya!” exclaimed Marinette, waving at her friend. Alya
had reddish blond hair, black glasses and wore a plaid shirt. “How’s it going?”
she asked. “Same as usual,” said Marinette. “I finally completed my science
paper last night; not much fun. I also came up with an idea for boots for the
winter.” She reached into her backpack to take out her sketchpad. It showed a
drawing of black stylish boots with sparkles on the front and sides. Fake black
fur lined the top edge. “Very fancy!” replied Alya, examining the drawing. “Do
you think I should put fake fur inside to help with warmth? Or maybe tone down
the sparkles? Maybe I should try making one for men…” “I think it is a great
idea,” mentioned Alya. “You can always test them, or go back to fix it later.”
“That’s the thing about fashion design,” said Marinette, “The ideas, and stress
never end.” ‘So true,” Alya added. “Guess what? I got another glimpse of
Ladybug for my Ladyblog…” “Yeah…” Marinette answered nervously. Alya continued,
“She them came to me for an interview and then…” “Oh, it’s Adrien!” Marinette
interrupted. A black limo pulled up to the curb and out stepped Adrien.
Marinette found that she could not move her feet forward. “Go on, Marinette,”
said Alya, giving her a playful push. “You are brave, you got this.” “Got
what?” she asked, still blushing. Alya giggled and pulled her forward. “Oh hey
Marinette,” said Adrien with a small smile. “Hi Adrian, it’s nice to see you
again…I mean not again, since it’s the first time today…” Alya giggled again
and Adrien did not mind her stuttering. “It’s great to see you too,” replied
Adrien. “Would you like to hang out sometime?” Marinette asked. At this point,
her cheeks were rosy pink. “I have fencing practice this afternoon, plus
homework. We could try hanging out…” “Hi Adrikins!” The high-pitched feminine
voice came from Chloe, Marinette’s self-centered rival.
Chloe ran up to him and pushed Marinette out of the way. Her
spectacled sidekick hastily wrote down the last answer to Chloe’s math
assignment. “Hi Chloe,” said Adrien politely. “What brings you here?” “No need
to get nervous around me,” she said sweetly, “Unlike some people around here…”
She briefly glared at Marinette who clenched her fists. “So, do you want to go
shopping this weekend, just you and me?” she asked with a flutter of her
eyelashes. In the distance, Marinette stuck out her tongue in disgust. Adrien
moved his head back as Chloe leaned closer. “I would…love to, Chloe, but I
have…modeling to do.” “You always say that,” she mentioned. “I’ll come with you.
It will be so romantic!” Marinette started to march forward, but Alya held her
back with her arm. Just then, Adrien’s buddy Nino waved at him, while listening
to music from his orange headphones. Clearly relieved, Adrien said, “I have to
go. My friend is waiting for me.” He rushed over to him, leaving both Chloe and
Marinette surprised and somewhat sad. The awkward silence was broken when
Sabina tried to stifle a gasp. “Oh no…I don’t think got this problem right.”
Chloe rounded on her friend, anger in her eyes. “You think that the problem
isn’t right?! You were supposed to make sure that all the problems are right!”
“I’m sorry, Chloe, I’m fixing it right now.” “You better! I want my weekend to
be free so I can hang out with Adrien!” They continued on up the stairs,
Marinette walking with Alya, upset. “It’s not fair!” growled Marinette with a
stomp of her foot. “Why does she always get in the way of everything?” “It will
be fine,” said Alya, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Call him after school
and see if he would like to see you. I bet he would.” A small smile appeared on
Marinette’s face. “Thank you, Alya.” “Anytime girl! I’ll show you my blog after
class!”
Moments later, Marinette was staring out the window in her
boring chemistry class. Her teacher was the main source of the mundane
atmosphere, rather than the information itself. “Your projects will be due on
October 4th in class,” she explained. “I expect an engaging
presentation from each group and quality research papers to go with it. Mylene,
no cell phones in class!” A short blond girl wearing a colorful hat, hid her
phone out of sight. The teacher marched over and held out her hand. Mylene
clutched her phone to her chest, not wanting to let go. “Don’t make me ask you
again, Mylene. Pay attention in this class or go to the principal’s office.
Rules are rules.” Sadly, Mylene slowly placed her phone in her hand and stared
at the floor, sadly. “Being a dumb loser as usual, I see?” Chloe scoffed,
enough for Mylene to hear. Sabrina giggled alongside her. “Shut up, Chloe,”
Marinette shot back. “That’s enough,” said the teacher, a stern look on her
face as usual. “Time to get back into focus. Now, reviewing the chemical
compounds of oxygen, and hydrogen from yesterday, mixed with these new
chemicals listed here…” Marinette drowned out the rest of the lecture. As
strange as it was to admit, she missed transforming into Ladybug with Tikki to
save the city. In fact, it had been months since she and Cat Noir had fought a
villain, and the last time was against a selfish Volpina, who was Lila without
powers. Marinette wasn’t sure who was worse: spoiled Chloe who adored Adrien,
or lying Lila who wanted to get Adrien’s attention. “I have your lab partners
listed on this piece of paper I am holding. Marinette will be working with…” ‘Please
not Chloe, please be Adrien, please not Chloe, please be…’ “Alya.” The
teacher stated. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Adrian like she
hoped, but at least she would be working with her best friend. “Chloe will work
with Sabrina…” Chloe’s face was in a pout, but she didn’t complain. Sabrina did
not seem disappointed at all; she was used to doing her homework, sometimes on
a daily basis. “Adrien will work with Nino, and Ivan with Mylene.” Nino and
Adrien high-fived and Marinette saw Mylene and Ivan smile at each other.
The teacher stood at her desk, which displayed glass beakers and
jars full of colorful liquids. She put on protective goggles and blue rubber
gloves as she demonstrated the correct way to mix various chemicals together.
“That is the correct way. Now doing something like this…” she opened an old
bottle of perfume and hovered it over the round beaker, “…is not how it is
supposed to be done. She briefly poured the contents in and added some drops of
the perfume. The contents exploded with a bang, and the ground shook for
several seconds. Then, just as fast as it came, it stopped. The class stared in
awe and fear. Even the teacher was surprised at the impact. “Well, there you
have it. Pages 15-20 reading notes are due next week and…” She was interrupted
by another sudden shaking from the ground. This one started as a rumbling, but
gradually seemed to get faster. It could only mean one thing…
“Earthquake!” screamed Chloe, causing the rest of the students
to run around in panic. “Everyone calm down!” yelled the teacher over the
noise. Ivan and Mylene were huddled together in a corner. “Everyone, get under
your desks and chairs, fold your arms over your head and stay away from the
windows. I will get the janitor and he will open the underground shelter behind
the school.” The class did as they were told, and the teacher ran to get help.
Glass beakers crashed to the floor, spilling liquid in huge glops. Oddly
enough, Marinette was not terrified. She stood up and ran out the door.
“Marinette, where are you going?” called Alya. “I am going to come back and
help…er, get some more help! Stay there!” Marinette ran to a handrail to catch
her breath. Other students and teacher were running outside to other
shelters nearby. “Come on out, Tikki,” Marinette said, after looking around to
make sure no one was watching. She opened her pouch and Tikki flew out of it.
“What’s going on?” she asked, sensing her owner’s distress. “I don’t know,” she
answered. “This villain, whoever it is, must be close by. You know what this
means? Time to transform!” Her earring miraculous briefly shone in the light
before she commanded, “Tikki, spots on!” The ladybug kwami flew into her
earring before Marinette transformed into Ladybug. Her outfit changed from
regular clothes into a skintight red body suit decorated with black spots. A
red mask appeared around her eyes after she moved her hands. A matching yo-yo
was around her hips, ready to use as a weapon, or to help with movement and
reaching high places. She felt a familiar rush of confidence and courage that
she didn’t seem to possess in her normal state. Feeling rejuvenated, Ladybug
flipped over holes in the gym floor that were not there before, and rushed
outside.
Ladybug looked to the left, and then to the right. Chaos was
everywhere: cars were hoisted up by chunks of cobblestone rising, tree branches
fell to the sidewalk with a loud snap, people were dodging pieces of concrete,
raining from some buildings. No sign of a villain. ‘Did Stoneheart get an
invisible upgrade?’ thought Ladybug, thinking of the Hulk-like villain
made of rocks she had fought in the past. Before she could look further, she
heard yells from inside the school. She raced back up the stairs, careful not
to trip over the cracks along the way. She skidded to a stop when she saw the
janitor and her chemistry teacher. The woman, usually appearing emotionless and
strict to her classmates, now had a look of terror on her face. She held onto
the handrail as the ground shook again, as if it were a lifeline. “Ladybug!
You’re here!” called the janitor. “I need to get my keys, but I can’t get to my
office.” There was a gaping hole in the floor that kept the janitor from
getting to his room…and it was growing wider. The door was on the ground off
its hinges from the force of the earthquake. “Leave it to me,” said Ladybug.
Taking out her yo-yo, she took aim and threw it inside, where it wrapped around
a pole that held up a rack of cleaning supplies. She jumped and swung into the
tiny office space.
Ladybug looked around the area and spotted many things; a small
desk chair and a computer to the right, a closet consisting of mops, buckets,
cleaning solutions, and a large sink. On the wall, hanging from silver hooks
were… “The keys!” Ladybug exclaimed, running over. ‘Which ones?’ she
frantically asked herself, as she looked at the different keys of many shapes
and sizes. Ladybug heard a noise from above and looked up. Black cracks snaked
across the ceiling, like angry tree branches. Wasting no time, she grabbed all
the keys and ran back to the hole. She held the keys tightly in her hands and
ran as fast as she could. Time seemed to slow down as she leaped across the
hole. She landed safely on the other side and handed the keys to the janitor,
before he rushed outside. Ladybug led her teacher back to the classroom, before
the floor collapsed where she had stood moments before. With the superhero
leading the way, the teacher regained her composure. They hurried back to the
classroom, only to find that the desk had been thrown in front of the door,
blocking their way. Yells and pleas for help could be heard from the classroom.
Ladybug turned the doorknob as hard as she could, but the door would not budge.
She tried pushing the door and kicking it, but it remained in the same place.
Even worse, she did not see any of her scared classmates get up to lift the
desk out of the way.
Adrien waited outside, searching for signs of a villain. He had
rushed out soon after Marinette, much to Chloe’s horror. He did not see any
villains anywhere, nor Marinette. What was going on? He heard a rustling sound
coming from a nearby trash can and went over to investigate. The shaking of the
ground made him stumble and fall, but he quickly got back up. A foul stench
reached his nostrils and he plugged his nose. Floating from the trash can was
another creature similar to Tikki. This one, however, looked like a black cat,
with bright green eyes, a tail, black pointed ears, and three antennae
protruding from his face. The rotten smell had come from a piece of Camembert
cheese that the creature was eating in delight. “Plagg!” Adrien exclaimed,
shocked and disgusted at the same time. “I was wondering where you were.” “For
your information, I was in here enjoying my favorite food. You are missing
out,” he replied without a care in the world. Adrien let out a frustrated sigh.
“You are missing out on an earthquake that’s going on right now, with my
classmates in danger and…” Another spine-shattering shake caused Adrien to hold
on to the trash can for dear life. “We have to figure out where the villain is
and get everyone to safety!” “Can I enjoy my lunch in peace first?” Plagg
asked. “Not until we save everyone, buddy,” Adrian replied. “Plagg, claws
out!” “But I am safe in here…” cried Plagg as he was sucked into Adrian’s
black ring that displayed a glowing green paw print. Adrien’s outfit changed
into a black body suit, complete with a tail, black cat ears, and a black mask
around his eyes. His silver staff weapon was by his side. The feeling of
freedom and confidence spread through him like adrenaline, moving him forward
back to the classroom inside.
“Hey m’lady!” he greeted, as he arrived. “Cat Noir! Thank
goodness!” said Ladybug. “Glad to see you, your presence has got me shaking all
over,” joked Cat Noir. Hiding a blush and a giggle, Ladybug said, “No time for
puns! The class is stuck inside and the desk is blocking the way…” “Cataclysm!”
shouted Cat Noir, before giving Ladybug a chance to finish. He placed his hand
on the door and dark bubbling energy spread from his hand. The door and desk
were engulfed in darkness, then fell away completely with a crumble. “Everyone,
follow me to the shelter, hurry!” called the teacher. The students came up from
the floor and hurried after their teacher, some stumbling and leaning against
the handrail, or the wall for support. Mylene sang her childhood song, “Smelly
Wolf” to calm herself down, much to Chloe’s annoyance. She suddenly shrieked as
the floor collapsed from under her feet. Ladybug tossed her yo-yo, hoping it
would catch her. Thankfully, Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around her arms, stopping
her fall. “It’s okay, we got you,” said Ladybug. Ladybug pulled her up with the
strong as steel yo-yo string and Cat Noir helped lift her to the ground, safe.
Together, they quickly joined their classmates and teachers outside.
Ladybug weaved her way through the crowd of students, (not
hesitating to elbow Chloe in the rib along the way) and met up with the
janitor. He was fumbling with the lock on the trapdoor, a desperate look
on his face. “I tried every key that I have, and the lock is stuck. We have to
get in!” “Have you tried the other underground shelters?” Ladybug asked.
“All full!” he cried. Sure enough, the other staff and students were safe down
below in other shelters around the school. Ladybug wondered why she had not
noticed them before. The world was falling apart around her; she was running
out of time.
“Lucky charm!” cried Ladybug, throwing her yo-yo in the air. A
red and black object fell into her hand. “A paperclip? What am I supposed to do
with this?” “I don’t think that is for homework assignments,” said Cat Noir
half-heartedly, trying to lighten the situation. In Ladybug’s mind, the
paperclip and then the lock flashed red with black spots, as if leading her to
a clue. “I’ve got it!” she said. She broke the paperclip so that a sharp end
stuck out from the rest. She stuck the point into a hole in the lock and
fiddled. “Come on, come on!” she muttered. The school was starting to crumble
and many of the students ducked as bricks started to fall. “Got it!” she said
triumphantly as a loud click sounded. Cat Noir and Ladybug held open the doors
as the class rushed down the ramp into the dark space. Thankfully, there was
just enough space for everyone to fit. “Miraculous ladybug!” cried Ladybug,
throwing the paperclip into the air. It disappeared into a sea of dark pink
sparkles. Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that everything would
magically be back to normal like always. Yet, the shaking continued, and the
school was crumbling fast. “Get in, Ladybug!” someone yelled, awakening her
from her state of utter shock. With no other choice, Ladybug followed Cat Noir
in. Together, they closed the trapdoor just as the school walls crashed to the
ground.
Everyone huddled close as the ground shook some more. Beeping
sounds came from the superheroes’ miraculouses, signaling that they were
detransforming. They went into separate corners and transformed back into their
regular selves and clothes. “Better get you some food after this is over,”
whispered Marinette to a tired Tikki.” “Thanks a lot, Adrien, you made me miss
my happy meal,” grumbled Plagg. “Keep it down,” replied Adrien with a sigh.
“Adrien, Marinette!” said Nino. “You are safe! How did you get down here?” “We
followed all of you here,” replied Marinette. “Where is Ladybug and Cat Noir?”
asked Ivan. “They, um,” stuttered Marinette. She moved her lit up phone and
came across a hole in the wall, big enough for a person to crawl through. “They
crawled through there…to check to see if any other people were outside.” “Wow,
they are amazing!” said Alya. “I wish I had gotten this on my Ladyblog!” “They
are so brave,” sighed Chloe. Any other conversation was drowned out by the
noises of the earthquake. The ground and the walls shook some more, and several
people were worried that the ceiling would collapse on them. Then, at last, an
eerie silence followed.
Chapter 2: The
aftermath
“Is…is it over?” Alya asked to no one in particular in the pitch
black.
“Yes, I think so,” said Nino.
“Gross! There is dirt all over my skirt and shoes. I’m blaming
you, Marinette!” scoffed Chloe.
“I didn’t do anything,” Marinette replied coldly.
“Can we go home now?” whimpered Mylene.
“I can’t believe we survived that,” mentioned Ivan. “That was
awesome!”
“If you mean almost getting crushed to death by debris or
falling into a hole, than yeah,” remarked a gothic-like student, Violet;
sarcasm in her voice.
“Will everyone please stop fighting and be patient?” asked
Adrien. Everyone recognized the popular teen’s voice and became silent.
The chemistry teacher used the opportunity to turn on a
flashlight. It lit up her face in a creepy way, as if she was going to tell a
ghost story. Of course, that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. “All
right, I want all of you to be quiet and stay here for a few more moments. The
janitor and I will go up first to make sure it is safe. If so, you can call
your parents and go home. The room filled with relaxed sighs. “You still have
your assignments to do, do not forget.” Just like that, the positivity of the
students vanished. She slowly opened the door. The bright light from the
outside world was blinding, and several students closed their eyes. The teacher
left the shelter, with the janitor following behind.
The space got silent again. Some students were anxious to get
home to see their families. Others were scared at what damage and potential
dangers lay beyond the trapdoor. Marinette squinted in the darkness. Was that
Alya and Nino holding hands? ‘It would be cute if they were,’thought
Marinette. ‘Or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.’ “I’m
hungry” moaned Nino. “I was going to eat my lunch, but I think someone threw it
away!” “Oops,” said Chloe rudely, loud enough so that he could hear her. “That
rotten, evil brat,” growled Marinette. “If only I could find her in the dark.”
After what seemed like an eternity, the chemistry teacher came
back. “It is safe,” she said, but her face showed deep concern. One by one, the
students filed out, staring at the ground as if it were made of glass and would
shatter any second. Marinette squinted in the sunlight, waiting for her eyes to
adjust. When her vision cleared, a horrible sight lay in front of her. What was
once a proud high school, with arched windows, a clock tower in the center and
a glass structure on the roof, now lay in large scattered pieces on the ground.
Desks, tables, lockers and other items were knocked over. Cracks and holes
littered the sidewalk and street like gaping wounds. Surprisingly, only with a
few dents here and there, the Eiffel Tower nearby was still intact.
At once, several students jumped for joy and chanted, “No more
school for us!” The more mature ones, however, looked on in disbelief. Police
cars and ambulances arrived at the scene, checking on the students and
searching for survivors among the rubble. Thankfully, no one appeared to be
badly injured. Not long after, parents came in cars, trucks, and other vehicles
to pick up their kids. All the teachers chattered nervously amongst themselves.
“Mr. Damocles,” asked Adrien. “When will the school be back open?” “Hopefully
soon once it gets fixed,” he replied, stress evident in his eyes. “It will take
a while, I’m afraid.” ‘He’s right,’thought Marinette. ‘Without
school days, I won’t be able to catch up with homework! Well, at least I can
spend more time with Adrian…wait, what if his father homeschools him and
forbids him from seeing me? He will only see Chloe and they will fall in love,
and he will forget that I exist and then…’ She slapped her hand to her
forehead. “I really need to stop worrying so much.” She peaked into her pouch
and saw Tikki, still exhausted. “I’ll get you some food soon,” said
Marinette.
She looked up and saw Adrien. “Hey,” she said, nervously rubbing
the back of her neck. “Hey,” said Adrien, not as nervous, but outgoing like he
was earlier that morning. “So…are you doing alright?” “Yes, I’m fine,” said
Marinette. “Same here,” he said, even though they both knew they were
emotionally drained from the previous events. “Well, that was something you
don’t see every day,” mentioned Marinette, referring to the earthquake. “No
kidding,” he said. “I am glad that everyone is alright. I will miss all of you
for a while.” “I will miss you too,” said Marinette. “Why do your parents have
to be so strict?” “I don’t know,” he sighed. “It is hard to understand them,
especially my father. Ever since, my mother disappeared long ago, he has not
been the same.” They stepped over a large crack in the sidewalk and
waited. “You are not going shopping with Chloe are you?” Marinette asked.
“Good heavens no,” said Adrien with a brief grin. Marinette couldn’t help but
smile herself. “Even if I wanted to, my father probably would not let me out of
the house, especially after what happened. It’s not that he is over-protective,
he just…wants to keep me in line when he is not busy at work.” Imagining what
it may have been like for Adrien; feeling lonely, even with his popularity as a
model, feeling like his father never cared about him…it was too much. She was
tempted to give him a hug, but she didn’t want to make the situation more
awkward than it already was. “Just so you know, I am here for you if you feel
lonely. You are one of my best friends, and I am so lucky to have a cute…I mean
cool friend in my life…you know just as friends.” She smiled nervously again.
“I’m lucky to have you as a friend, too,” said Adrien. As they looked into each
other’s eyes, the rest of the world faded away. For a moment it was just the
two of them, and everything was quiet, peaceful, the sunlight illuminating each
other’s faces. They leaned in, faces inches away…
“There’s my father,” he said solemnly, breaking the trance. “We
will keep in touch,” said Marinette, trying to hide her disappointment. “Of
course. See you around,” he said with a wink before jogging to join his family.
Marinette blushed at the fact that Adrien had just flirted with her. The black
limo glided smoothly on the clear areas of the road. Marinette watched as
Adrien met with his father’s black-haired assistant, who gave him a nod. There
was no definite reaction from his tall, blonde father, but in his face was a
mixture of fear and relief that his son was alright. She would not be surprised
if Adrien’s household had an elaborate underground basement with bunkers and
survival items in case of an apocalypse. Adrien and his family got in the limo.
Adrien smiled apologetically at Marinette through the window before the limo
drove out of sight. A dreadful thought crept to her head that turned to panic. ‘My
parents!’ thought Marinette. ‘I better go see if they are
alright!’ With her backpack still on her back, Marinette made her way
back home.
Anxiety spread through her veins as she walked along the street.
Usually around this time, people would be hustling and bustling around the
city. Fashionistas would show off their colorful outfits, shopkeepers would
sell their latest products and dogs would happily walk alongside their owners.
Now, however, the place was deserted, save for families tending to their
children, handymen and women already at work, planning on how to repair the
streets, windows, and buildings. At last, Marinette saw the familiar white
building with a bakery in the front that was her home. Thankfully, there was
little damage, but her heart dropped when she saw a gap in the bakery store
window. She rushed inside into the living room.
Books, picture frames and other items were scattered on the
floor and several dents had damaged the wooden floor. Marinette’s mother was
busy picking up the objects that had fallen and rearranging the furniture.
“Marinette, sweetheart, thank goodness!” she exclaimed as they rushed in for a
hug. “It was pretty scary,” said Marinette, “but thankfully, there were shelters
that I helped…the teachers help lead the students to. It will take a while for
the school to be repaired, though. And I still have homework to do!” “Oh dear,
I’m so sorry,” said her mother. “At least you are safe now.” Marinette quickly
got to work, helping with strengthening up the room. “If only you were this
dedicated when it comes to cleaning your room,” mentioned her mother. “Mom,”
she groaned, rolling her eyes like the adolescent she was. “How is Dad?”
Marinette asked. Her mother looked concerned. Marinette looked around. “He’s
not…” “No, he is alive,” said her mother, followed by a sigh of relief from
Marinette. They walked into the bakery and Marinette could tell that this was
the area that took the most damage. Along with the gap in the window, pastries
of all kinds were sprawled on the floor, flour coated wooden surfaces like
frost. Her father was resting on a chair in the corner. “Dad!” exclaimed
Marinette. “Marinette, you’re alright!” Marinette hugged him and he winced in
pain. “Are you alright?” she asked, pulling back. She looked at his left ankle
which was in a cast. “I twisted it when I tripped over a crack in the floor.”
Marinette could see the dangerous crack he was talking about. “After ducking
under the table, trying to get away from all the glass, you mother rushed in
and helped me move to a safer spot in the living room.” “It could have been
much worse,” mentioned her mother.‘No kidding’ thought Marinette.
Her father looked around the place with stress in his face and demeanor.
“I am afraid that it will take several days of repair to get
this place running again. I hope that we can make more fine desserts to lift
the spirits of our customers.”
“I’m sure we can,” Marinette said with hope in her voice,
putting a hand on her father’s shoulder.
“Marinette told me that her school was damaged by the earthquake
and that it would take a while to get it repaired as well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Marinette,” he said.
“And I still have homework to do too!” she groaned.
“You will be fine,” said her mother. “We all will. All we have
to do is work together and get through this. That’s what families are for.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Marinette added, feeling comforted by the
presence of those she loved.
Over the next several days, Marinette was busy at work,
rearranging the bakery, guiding her father from sofa to chair and back again,
and cleaning the rooms with her mother, (except her bedroom, of course.) Not
long after, the bakery was back in business, this time with Marinette and her
mother taking customer’s orders. “I’ll have deux croissants,
and aclafoutis, s’il vous plait.” “Coming right up!” said
Marinette. She carefully pulled out the crescent shaped rolls from the oven and
wrapped them up. The cake piece with berries baked inside came soon after. “Merci,
Marinette!” the woman beamed, before giving her money and leaving. Marinette’s
father looked on from his chair, his foot now in a boot. The pain did not stop
the warm feeling he felt, watching his daughter grow up. “I’m so proud of you.
Marinette.”
Doing her homework was the hard part. Somewhat traumatized by
the earthquake, her friends and classmates had kept to themselves, either lost
in their lives, or fear of another disaster. The longer she worked on her
chemistry research, the less motivated she felt. Pulling out her notepad,
Marinette began sketching more ideas for clothing and hats. Hours later, wads
of paper were piled up in the trash, and a tired Marinette lay on her bed. The
feeling of shock during the earthquake was long gone, but boredom had taken its
place. Most of all, Marinette felt lonely. It settled in her stomach like a
hunger that she could not fill. She stared at her poster of Adrien again. ‘I
wish we could see each other again.’ Several times, she checked her
phone to see if Alya wanted to work on her project, but there was no reply.
“Is everything alright, Marinette?” The voice came from Tikki,
who had been fed enough food several days ago. “Yeah, I guess,” Marinette
answered, staring at the ceiling.
“You still have plenty of time to get your homework done, even
without Alya. Maybe you can get a head start.”
“I would if I were more motivated,” said Marinette. “And if the
subject were more interesting.”
“I’m sure you can figure something out,” said Tikki.
“I just want life to go back to what it was before. I miss
seeing all my friends, I miss becoming Ladybug, I miss…Alya and Adrien.”
“Wait a second!” Marinette said, sitting up. “Why didn’t the
Miraculous Ladybug work and repair everything? It always works after I do my
lucky charm.” “I don’t know,” replied Tikki. “You are not sick, are you?”
Marinette asked.
“No, of course not. I have lived for thousands of years, and the
charm always works. Maybe because it only works if you are fighting villains
and not natural disasters.”
Marinette sighed. “Well, at least everyone is safe now.
Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about any more villains or disasters for a
while.” “How am I supposed to further my education without going to school?”
she asked. “The school should be open in a few months, Marinette. Just be
patient.” After a moment, Marinette slumped in defeat.
“You’re right. I have to get through this. If only I could
become Ladybug again and maybe go to school…wait…”
With an idea forming in her head, Marinette rushed back to her
laptop and started typing. “What are you doing?” asked Tikki, now curious.
“What if I don’t have to miss out on anything? I could learn
more things, while also being Ladybug!”
“So…are you saying…” Tikki asked confused.
“I could go to a secret superhero school!” Marinette exclaimed
with excitement.
Tikki looked stunned. “But Marinette, you already do fine,
fighting villains on your own, plus you are a great student!”
“Yes I know, but I could help save the world again and be better
prepared. Plus, Cat Noir could decide to go there!”
“Your parents still need your help,” Tikki countered. “They
would never let you go to another school by yourself!”
Moments later, in the living room, Marinette explained her idea,
obviously leaving out the superhero part. “That’s sounds like a great idea,”
said her mother. “Going to a nearby school as a transfer might help you get
caught up.” “We still need as much of your help as possible,” added her father.
“My foot is getting better, but an extra helping hand would not hurt.” “No
problem!” Marinette stated. “Do you need any help signing up?” asked her
mother. “Which school do you plan on transferring to?” “I’m still looking,”
Marinette said. “Okay, just let us know if you need any help,” said her father.
“We’ll do!” Marinette called as she went back upstairs to her room. Tikki
floated out of the pouch again. “Well that worked out better than I thought it
would,” she said. “Come on, let’s go school searching!” beamed Marinette.
In a white, gated mansion, across from the Eiffel tower, Adrien
sat on a white couch in his room, throwing a basketball in the air and catching
it. A rock climbing station stood next to a library on the second floor. A
Foosball table, an arcade station, skateboard ramps, and a basketball hoop were
also present. Fencing banners and trophies decorated the room. Here, Adrien had
everything a teenage boy could dream of…yet he could not have been more
miserable. Now that Adrien was off from school, waiting for it to be repaired,
he went back to his daily schedule his mother gave him. One could imagine the
most mundane lecture in school, and it would not compare to the lessons his
father gave him. The Agreste mansion, seemingly pleasant to visitor’s eyes,
felt like a cage to Adrien, albeit a comfortable one.
At this moment, his ‘lessons’ were over and now he had free time
to himself. He placed the basketball down and walked over to the window. The
sky was now cloudy, with shades of white and dark gray. The leaves blowing in
the wind hinted at autumn around the corner. Adrien closed his eyes, as if
opening them would make his friends and loved ones appear.
He and Chole were still close childhood friends. He almost
regretted not going shopping with her during the weekend. Then again, the
earthquake had disrupted the normal routines of everyone who had witnessed it.
Chole was also very clingy towards him; something he was glad he did not have
to deal with at the moment.
Nino was fun to hang out with, as usual; he wished he could hang
out with him more. If anything, he was the closest guy friend Adrien had.
Adrien wondered if he would mix a track about the earthquake once school got back
in session.
Marinette and Ladybug. He was starting to miss them, especially
Ladybug. Once again, he had flirted with her in front of the blocked classroom,
and was pleased that he had managed to make her blush. While he had cleared the
path, Ladybug helped out the rest of the way. Thankfully, he was able to
transform in the shelter just before time had run out. He looked for Ladybug
afterwards, but she was nowhere to be found. Then there was that moment when
they were waiting for his parents to pick him up. Marinette had comforted
Adrien about life with his parents, and he had appreciated the genuine act. As
pretty as Marinette’s blue eyes were when he stared into them, it was awkward
at the same time. If both of them were in a trance at that time, Marinette was
deeper into it. Certainly, they were best friends, but…did Marinette have other
feelings for Adrien?
Last, he thought of his mother. He still remembered the
beautiful blonde hair, he pointed chin and her bright green eyes. She never
would have disappeared for no reason. He missed her very much; even more, he
longed to have a closer relationship with his father. Yet, with her gone, he
could not see the distance between him and his father closing anytime soon.
“Why so bored?!” yelled a black blur that suddenly appeared in
his vision. Adrien yelped and stepped back. His wide eyes narrowed when he saw
Plagg floating in the air, laughing his giant head off. “Plagg, for the love of
Paris, stop scaring me like that!” Plagg loved to play pranks on Adrien. “Hey,
I was bored too! What else am I supposed to do?” Adrien sighed. “I don’t know,
go eat your smelly cheese somewhere?” “I already had some,” he remarked,
patting his belly. “Though that does sound like a good idea.” Adrien rolled his
eyes. “I’m going to my room. I can’t take this anymore.” After watching some
fencing matches on his laptop later on, Adrien was still as bored as he was
before. “Hmm” he thought out loud. “I wonder if there are any schools for
superheroes around? I would love to spot Ladybug at one of them.” “Who needs
more boring homework?” Plagg asked with a yawn. “We have everything we need
right here!” He spread out his little arms, referring to Adrien’s home. “Maybe
you do,” answered Adrien, “but right now, I want to see if there is a way to
climb out of this boring hole.” “You know, I could just fly out of it,” Plagg
remarked. Adrien ignored him and began his online search.
Chapter 3: School
searching
“Hmm”
sighed Marinette. “I didn’t know there were so many superhero schools out
there, and so far away, too! I don’t know about this.” Marinette had been
searching for schools and was now staring at the screen. “You know, you could
sketch some designs for a new hat or that Paris-themed dark gray jacket you
were talking about last week,” Tikki suggested. “I’ve run out of ideas,” said
Marinette sadly. “I can’t stop thinking of that earthquake that happened. If
there had been people inside the school…” “It’s okay, Marinette,” said Tikki.
“The important thing is that everyone is safe now. You still saved the day.” “I
guess you’re right,” said Marinette. Continuing her search, she found a site
that displayed the top five superhero schools. “Let’s see… Braddock Academy. It
says that this school is a training ground for England’s ‘best and brightest
children.’ Well that’s not going to work.” She continued to scroll down.
“Avengers Academy…now that’s more like it. Wait, it’s all the way in
California?! Bug-gone-it!”
“Marinette,”
said Tikki who was floating in front of the screen trying to block her view. “This
plan is not going to…”
“Future
Foundation…Fantastic Four trains the greatest young minds. I wonder where that
is? Next is Sky High…doesn’t sound very impressive. The Jean Grey School of
Higher Learning… at least this place has an address…wait, I’m not a mutant, and
what in France’s name is an X-man?” She face-planted on her deck in
frustration. “I told you Marinette, this is not only a bad idea but an
impossible one! You need to stay and wait for the school to be fixed and help
your parents with the bakery. Besides, Paris could still have villains
anywhere.” Marinette sighed. She could
not believe that she had let boredom and sadness get the best of her for so
long. “You’re right. What was I thinking? I’m sure my parents will need my help
soon. If I can’t save the world today, at least I can be a superhero for my
parents…as Marinette of course.” Marinette got up from her chair, motivation
surging through her. “That’s more like it!” said Marinette. “You can do this.
The sky’s the limit!” Marinette froze in place. “Hang on…sky…” She ran back to
her chair and scrolled up on the superhero page. “It’s that Sky High school
again. Where is it located?” She looked up images of it and her eyes went wide.
“Wow, it’s actually a floating building somewhere in the sky. I didn’t know it
was so literal. ‘Sky High: the first and only high school for kids with
super-human abilities. Reach higher. Enroll now.’ Oui s’il vous plait!” “No Marinette!” cried Tikki. “You don’t even
know where it is!” “Don’t you see Tikki?” asked Marinette who was now jumping
with excitement. “By going there, I can practice using my powers while also
meeting new friends. Oh, I wish Adrien could come with me too!” “You don’t know
how to get there,” Tikki reminded her.
Marinette thought some more and a new idea came to her. “Actually…there
is a way to get there.” On the bottom right corner, there was a space to type
the location. Marinette typed in “Paris, France.” The results on the next page
said “type in code. Prove you’re not a regular human.” All Marinette saw was an
empty white box. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” she asked. “I see some
blue numbers” stated Tikki. “What are they?” asked Marinette. “840735” said
Tikki. Marinette typed the code in and hit ‘enter.’ “Invalid number. Please try
again.” Marinette did so and the same error message showed up. “Why isn’t it
working?” she asked in frustration. “I’m a superhero. Surly they would let me
in.” “I’m sorry, Marinette,” said Tikki. Marinette hung her head. “I was so
close! Now I won’t be able to practice using my powers. What will the world
think of me now?” “Just stick to fighting crime in Paris,” said Marinette.
Marinette noticed that Tikki was more relaxed than she was a moment earlier.
Staring hard at the white space before her, she thought of something. If the
numbers could only be seen by superheros…she would have to see the numbers for
herself. “Hey, Tikki?” asked Marinette. “Yes,” said Tikki. “What was that
number again?” “I told you what it was: 840537.” “That doesn’t sound right,”
said Marinette narrowing her eyes. Tikki realized her mistake and her checks
blushed pink against her red face. “Are you hiding something?” “No I’m not!”
argued Tikki, but her reactions were clear. A lightbulb sparked in Marinette’s
head. ‘Tikki, spots on!” she called. Tikki was sucked into her red earring. A
moment later, she had transformed into Ladybug, yo-yo, spotted red suit and
all. “I see the numbers!” Ladybug exclaimed. “347639. Yes!” The next page read
“Enrollment complete. Please arrive Monday at 7:00am at the Eiffel Tower. Bring
your school supplies. Room and board will be provided for foreign exchange
students. See you all soon. – Ron Wilson, bus driver.”
“This
is so exciting!” said Ladybug. “It’s only three days away!”
“Marinette,
is that you up there?” called her mother. “Spots off,” whispered Ladybug and
soon she was back as Marinette in her usual pink and white clothes. “I’m here
mom! Just talking to Alya on the phone!” ‘Why don’t you come on down and help
your father with the rest of the macaroons.” “Coming!” she called. She put a
tired Tikki in her pink carry-on purse. “Don’t worry. I’ll find you some
cookies to eat soon.” Marinette made her way downstairs and into the bakery
with a spring in her steps.
Sometime during the following day, Adrien concentrated on the AP economics
homework that Nathalie had given him earlier. Apparently, even though school
had been canceled, there was still enough time to get caught up on
homeschooling and college preparation. “So what were you saying about not
needing to do homework?” Adrien asked Plagg. “I can’t remember,” Plagg replied
through mouthfuls of moldy cheese. “Yuck,” Adrien muttered. “Would you mind
eating that in the bathroom or something? I can’t study with that smell.”
Unsurprisingly, Plagg ignored him. Heaving a sigh, Adrien turned back to his
work. He was tempted to look up more schools when his thoughts were interrupted
by a ding from his phone. He expected the message to be from Chloe or Nino, but
instead it was from his news app: “Breaking
news, two armed men broke into city hall bank around twenty minutes ago and
have escaped to the northeast in a dark blue truck. A chase by police is now
underway…”
Adrien stood up confidently. “This is my chance. I can still make
it,” he declared. Nearby, Plagg was curled into a ball in the back corner of the
desk taking a nap. “Plagg, claws out!” The kwami jolted awake as he felt
himself being pulled into Adrien’s ring. “Hey! What are you doing!” shouted
Plagg, but his pleas faded as he disappeared. His tight black bodysuit replaced
his clothing in jolts of electricity. A black eye mask appeared on his face
with a swipe of his black-gloved hand. Chat Noir was back and ready for action.
Chat Noir pushed open his window and carefully inched out. After
shutting the window from the outside, the superhero scaled the wall and climbed
up onto the roof. Soon, he was leaping from one roof to another with the help
of his long silver pogo stuck. The invigorating feeling spread through him as
he raced to the northeast. Chat Noir finally found a lower part of the roof he
was on and made a safe landing with a jump. Looking around, Chat Noir realized
that he was in front of the bank. Behind the white columns holding up the roof,
a gaping hole had replaced the once intact window. The ground was sprinkled
with bits of broken glass. Already there were police cars parked nearby and
crossed yellow tape that blocked the entrance. One police man looked slightly
relieved when he saw Chat Noir. “My fellow officers drove to the northeast,
down Main road and onto Willow Lane. “Got it,” said Chat Noir. “Good luck, Chat
Noir!” he called as he left.
Even as he made his way down street blocks and ran past historical
buildings, Chat Noir was still able to focus clearly on his mission, despite
the afternoon heat. After an hour or so had passed, Chat Noir came to an intersection
that was surprisingly quiet. There were three roads that diverged into
different directions. There were nearby fast food restaurants and general
stores to the side of one of the streets. It was a decent smaller area that
Chat Noir had never been to. Glancing behind him, he could see the Eiffel Tower
in the distance pointing to the blue sky. ‘At
least I know how I can get back,’ he thought. He slowly walked straight ahead to what he
thought was a sushi restaurant. Then out of cat-like instincts he didn’t know
he had, Chat Noir veered toward the right.
Chat Noir kept going until he saw a blue truck that had been
described earlier in the news. The truck was cornered by two police vehicles,
red and blue lights still flashing. The door of the truck was wide open. A
series of shouts and gunshots rang close by. Chat Noir hurried over to an
alleyway where two police officers stood with their backs against the outside
wall. “Hey isn’t that one of the super heroes mentioned on the news?” asked the
officer. “Careful, Chat Noir!” warned the other officer. “They have guns!” Chat
Noir was prepared, however, and promptly blocked the firing bullets while
spinning his stick. The two men stopped when they recognized him. The first bearded
man wore a red and white baseball cap, a black tank top and large tattered
jeans. The other was thicker set and adorned a similar outfit. A small metal
skull hung from his necklace, grinning sinisterly. “Stay out of our way, hero,”
the first man sneered. Chat Noir charged
at the men, sliding under foot and kicking Beard Man in the ankle. He tripped
and fell to the ground with a yelp. He
picked himself up as Chat Noir knocked the gun out of the other man’s hand. He
shot his foot toward the man’s chest but he grabbed his foot and threw Chat
Noir to the ground. He quickly stood up and got into a defensive stance.
“What’s the matter?” he asked the silent thieves. “Cat got your tongue?”
Beard Man went back to retrieve his gun. Chat Noir whacked him
with his stick and he fell to the ground again. Strong hands grabbed hold of
Chat Noir and he felt air being forced from his lungs. Skull Man had snuck up
behind him and held him in a chokehold. The struggling hero reached for his
stick that had clattered to the ground but it was too far away. Bearded Man had recovered and was pointing
the gun at his new victim. “Drop your weapon now!” ordered the two police men,
guns drawn. “Surrender or he dies!” he shouted at them. The officers stepped
back but kept their eyes trained on the criminals.
“Oh I almost forgot,” said Bearded Man, turning back to Chat Noir.
“How about I take that pretty silver ring you have there? There’s no one here
to help you now!” “Yes there is!” called a voice. A red spotted yo-yo wrapped
around the man and pulled him down the alley. Surprised, Skull Man loosened his
grip, and soon found himself being shoved against the wall by the now freed
superhero. “Ladybug!” exclaimed Chat Noir. “Thank goodness.”
Bearded Man fired more bullets and Ladybug blocked them while
spinning her yo-yo in front of her. “Give us your Miraculouses and no one gets
hurt,” the two men stated in union. “Aw great” complained Chat Noir. “Can’t
Hawkmoth just take a break from this?” “Chat Noir,” said Ladybug, pointing to
the guns the men were holding. Getting the idea, Chat Noir charged forward,
landing two punches to the men’s faces with each of his fists. “Time to steal
from these stealers!” He raised his hand, palm up. “Cataclysm!” Chat Noir
shouted. He grabbed hold of one of the guns, expecting it to crumble under his
touch. Nothing happened. Wasting no time he threw it against the wall where it
broke into pieces under the impact. He did the same with the other gun and it
also broke. “Where’s the akuma?” asked Chat Noir. “Try his necklace!” she
suggested. Chat Noir yanked the necklace off of Skull Man’s neck and crushed it
with his foot. Ladybug swiped the cap from Bearded Man’s head and ripped it
apart. Nothing else happened.
“Lucky Charm!” called Ladybug throwing her yo-yo in the air.
Peculiarly, the yo-yo hung still in the air and a gust of wind picked up. The
bag that the thieves had hidden in a corner, flew toward Ladybug. Chat Noir
caught it in the blink of an eye and the contents dropped from inside. Pearl
necklaces, euros, bills, and several bars of gold littered the ground.
“Come…on…” Ladybug grunted, frozen in place. “Why…isn’t…this…working?”
Chat Noir spotted something silver on the ground that blended in
with the coins. It may have been the trick of the light, but he thought he saw
a spark or two fly from it. “Bomb!” yelled Chat Noir, grabbing Ladybug and
ducking behind the wall outside the alley. The robbers backed up against the
farthest alley wall. “Stand back,” commanded an officer. He shot a bullet at
the object and it exploded in bits of metal. Gravity corrected itself and the
yo-yo landed with a drop on Ladybug’s head. “Ow,” she said, rubbing where she
got hit. The officers had already apprehended the criminals and were taking
them to a nearby police car. “Vous avez le droit de garder le silence. Tout ce que vous dites
ou faites peut et sera tenu contre vous ...” A moment later, the men were handcuffed in the
backseat and the officers drove them away. “Pound it,” said the superheroes,
bumping their fists together like they did after each mission.
“What was that thing?” Chat Noir asked. “I don’t know,” replied
Ladybug. “After that device went off, my yo-yo fell back down. “Why are our
powers getting messed up?” asked Chat Noir. “Hopefully we can figure it out,”
said Ladybug. “Yes, we can, the both of us,” grinned Chat Noir. As Chat Noir
helped more police men clean up the jewelry, Ladybug saw something move in the
distance. Leaning against a wall straight ahead was a figure in a robot suit.
Ladybug looked over as Chat Noir’s ring beeped. “I’m about to detransform. I
have to go soon!” Ladybug looked straight ahead again, but the figure had
vanished into the shadows. “Wait!” called two officers who arrived at the
scene. “Thank you for helping us,” a police woman said. “I thought I saw a
young boy who needs a ride to Paris,” said Chat Noir, pointing to another
building. “Follow me.” “I need to get going. Bug-out!” said Ladybug. She hurried behind a
corner to hide and soon was back in her regular clothes. She stepped out to
find the police woman still there and Chat Noir nowhere to be seen. “Are you
alright, young lady?” she asked. “Yes,” said Marinette. “I was…on a shopping
trip with my friends, but they panicked and left me here. Can I have a quick
ride back to Paris?” After staring for a moment, the woman said, “Yes, but I
don’t have too much time. I have to get back to work.” “Merci” said Marinette as they got in the car. “Tikki,” she
whispered looking inside her purse. The tired kwami was curled asleep at the
bottom of her purse. “I’ll find you a snack as soon as I can.”
Back by the alley, Chat Noir transformed to his regular self. Plagg was curled up in his hands, fast
asleep. “I have to get you some cheese, fast” he said. “Are you the young boy
Chat Noir was talking about?” Adrian quickly put Plagg in his pocket and turned
to the police man. “Yes I am, sir. “I’m Adrien and I really need to get back
home.” “Of course,” he said. “But only for Chat Noir’s sake. There is much work
to be done.” Soon, Adrien was in the car on his way back. After Adrien gave him
directions, he stared out at the moving scenery, lost in thought.
Marinette was dropped off at the front door of the bakery. Her
mother opened the door and gasped. “Marinette, thank goodness!” She gave her
daughter a tight hug. “Are you alright? Where were you?”
“I…went to Alya’s house…to work on our chemistry project.”
“Then why are your clothes so dirty?” her mother asked.
“Well,” said Marinette nervously. “Our project kind of blew up
and…” “Marinette, you’re back!” exclaimed her father. He embraced her while
using the nearby wall for support.
“Please don’t run off without telling us. You had us worried
sick!”
“I’m sorry Mom and Dad,” said Marinette. “It’s just…” After a
brief silence, her mother sighed.
“I know how badly you want to go back to school and see your
friends, but you are going to have to wait a little longer.”
“It is hard work for all of us,” her father added. “All of us can
get through this, but we have to support each other.”
“I know,” said Marinette.
Marinette made her way to the stairs.
“And Marinette,” said her mother. Marinette looked at her. “You
can sign up for some weekly classes at some other schools until yours gets
fixed.”
“Thank
you,” Marinette smiled.
“But,”
she cut in. “Only schools that are around this area.”
“But Mom…”
“That
is my decision, Marinette.”
Sensing
defeat, Marinette nodded. She walked into her room and flopped on her pink bed.
Pulling out a cookie from her pocket, she broke off a small piece and handed it
to Tikki who was slowly waking up. “What am I going to do, Tikki?” she asked in
despair.
As the police man and Adrien got closer to his mansion, Adrien
thought of a plan. “Um excuse me sir, can you drop me off here? It is not that
far from here.” “No problem,” he replied. The car stopped at the front of the
Cheng bakery. “Thank you,” said Adrien. “Take care of yourself, kid,” said the
police man and then drove off out of sight. “Marinette’s place,” breathed
Adrien. “It would be nice to help her out. She must have been stressed out for
a while. Oh I wish I could tell her about Ladybug and my homework and fighting
crime and hanging out with Ladybug…” He shook his head. “No, I have to get back
before…”
Several loud beeps rang behind him. He turned around and to his
horror, a familiar black limo pulled up by the sidewalk. His large gorilla-like
chauffeur was in the driver seat with his usual serious expression on his face.
In the passenger seat with the window rolled down was Nathalie. Her dark-rimmed
glasses made her look more stern than usual. “Get in Adrien. You father wants
to see you.” With no other choice, Adrien slid into the backseat without a
word.
All too soon, they reached the wrought iron gates. Nathalie opened
the door and Adrien stepped out. She typed in the password and the doors slid
open. Adrien forced his shaking legs to move him toward the front door. He
sighed, turned the door handle and stepped inside the foyer. He was greeted by
the familiar white and black checker floor, elegant white columns supporting
the roof and the larger than life size family portraits graciously displayed
from the walls. Standing at the top of the stairs was Mr. Agreste himself. He
was dressed in his usual attire of a white suit, a red and white striped tie,
long red pants and polished shoes. His blonde hair was combed back and round
glasses circled his eyes. Unlike Adrien, there was no trace of innocence in his
calculating blue eyes. He spoke only a single word that chilled Adrien to his
core: “Explain.”
Adrien took a deep breath. “Father, I swear I wasn’t going to be
away for long. I was going to visit my friend…” “Which friend?” he asked.
Adrien knew that Chloe had been wondering where he had been as well. His father
also did not seem to favor Marinette either. “Nino,” Adrien stated. “I was
working on a chemistry project with him.” It was the best lie he could come up
with and unsurprisingly, Gabriel was not convinced. “And I’ll bet that the
majority of that time was spent partying with that annoying music of his
instead of studying.” “I swear father that is not what happened.” “It seems you
have gotten too attached to that high school and fooling around to understand
the importance of your family…”
“All
of you are important to me,” said Adrien.
“You,
ruining our family reputation,” he mentioned.
“Do
you think I choose to do all this?” asked Adrien, adrenaline rushing through
his brain. “To be a model for young boys every day? To be burdened with
scheduled activities and more work than I already have?”
Gabriel
crossed his arms and walked down the stairs. “You should know by now that it is
your responsibility!”
“Sure,
okay. My responsibility to be stuck in here like a prisoner instead of going
out and doing what I want to do for a change!”
Nathalie
looked around nervously and adjusted her glasses.
“Adrien,”
said his father. “Your homeschooling will now be on Saturdays along with the
usual five days a week.”
“Father,
no!” he cried.
“There
will be extra security to insure that you don’t leave your room.”
“I
promise I will behave from now on…”
“And,”
he added “You will no longer be allowed back to that high school when it
opens.”
Adrien
was shocked. “You can’t do that!”
“As
your father, I think those are reasonable rules.”
“I
don’t need to be protected every minute of the day!” Adrien argued. “I can take
care of myself. You just won’t let go of what happened after mother
disappeared…” Adrien then knew he had crossed the line.
“Do
not speak of that in this household. Go to your room right now. I expect all
your homework to be completed by tonight.”
“Please,
I just want to know more about…”
“Now,
son.”
Adrien stomped up the stairs, marched through his large game room
and crashed into the leather chair. “I’ll show him,” he muttered angrily. “I’ll
sign up for the first superhero school I find.” He typed in the words and
viewed the results. “Sky High,” he read. “That works.” Adrien read the
description and got to the registration page. “Type in the numbers you see and hit ‘submit.’” He read. “But there
is nothing here!” “Adrien,” yawned a voice. “Plagg?” Adrien asked. He had
completely forgotten about him. ‘Camembert cheese, now!” he ordered. Adrien did
not need to be told twice. He reached into a mini fridge and, holding his nose,
took out a small plastic bag of the stuff. ‘Thank goodness,” said Plagg, his
little mouth watering. “I had dreams where I was starving to death!” “You’re
over a thousand years old,” he remarked. “Does it look like I care?” he
retorted before grabbing the entire cheese pie and stuffing his mouth into it.
“You’re unbelievable,” Adrien said. “Out of all the kwamis I could get…” “You
got the coolest one,” answered Plagg. “Admit it!” “All right, fine.” said Adrien.
“You are the coolest. Now can you help me sign onto this thing?” Plagg floated
over to the laptop screen. “Those are a bunch of numbers to type in,” he
noticed. “Yeah but I can’t see them, Plagg.” “Are you blind?” he asked. Adrien
sighed in frustration. “Can you just say what the numbers are?” “Fine,” he
grumbled and flew into the screen. Then he heard his voice a moment later:
“347639.” “Got it!” said Adrien as he typed the numbers in. “They must be
hidden so that only superheroes can see them.” “But you are not technically a
super hero,” said Plagg as he flew back into the room. “Not without me at
least.” “Do you always have to ruin everything?” Adrien asked. “It’s what I do
best!” he grinned, flying back to his cheese dinner. He read more: “Enrollment
complete. Please arrive Monday at 7:00am at the Eiffel Tower. Bring your school
supplies. Room and board will be provided for foreign exchange students. See
you all soon. – Ron Wilson, bus driver.” Realization came to him. ‘I’m going to a superhero school where I can
finally be free from my father, make use of my powers, and get a chance to see
Ladybug!’ He then gasped. ‘But I am
trapped here with no way out.’ He looked at Plagg. ‘I wonder if he could help.’ It was a random, risky idea, but it
couldn’t hurt right? A ladybug flew past his window, so fast that he barely
recognized it. ‘Save me Ladybug,’ he
thought. Then it dawned on him that sometimes superheroes needed to save
themselves. ‘I’ll see you again soon. I
promise.’
Back downstairs, Nathalie and Mr. Agreste ate a silent dinner at
the long table. The uncomfortable silence was broken when Nathalie stood up and
gathered the dishes they had used. After washing them and putting them back in
their place, Nathalie walked back into the dining room. Gabriel was looking at
a tall golden painting of Adrien’s mother. She had a pointed chin, beautiful
blonde hair, and exotic looking eyes. She had the beauty and elegance of a
model like the rest of the family and her eyes had warmth in them like Adrien’s.
Gabriel reached out a hand to touch the painting, almost as if she were there
in person.
“Were you being too hard on Adrien?” asked a voice. Gabriel turned
toward Nathalie. She wore her similar business-like expression, but there was a
depth in her eyes that wasn’t there before. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Adrien is just a kid,” she explained. “You can’t expect him to be
perfect all the time.”
“Yes, that is true, but I do expect him to be safe where I can
keep an eye on him.”
“What would happen if he got the chance to live like his peers?”
she asked. “He still did well in school and he made some more friends.”
“I am accepting of that,” said Gabriel. “But I do not want him out
of my sight for that long again.”
“What would happen?” Nathalie asked again, pressing further.
“He could disappear, he could have been taken, like she was…” He
glanced at the painting.
“She
will come back,” Nathalie said, hope in her voice.
“She
is not coming back,” Gabriel replied, becoming more irritated.
“Would
you please take the time to understand your son…?”
“We
will speak no more of this,” Gabriel finished.
“Understood,
sir,” she said quietly. She walked back
to her desk, heels clanking against the floor. Gabriel stared out the window at
the sky, which was slowly becoming golden with the upcoming sunset. A brown
butterfly fluttered from outside and landed on the windowsill. It had black
circles on either wing like eyes. Then as quickly as it came, it flew away into
the distance.
To be continued
