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It's a Thursday afternoon, one of the times when the full art class in Collège Françoise Dupont are able to meet. And the room is filled with heavy music as Rose belts out her new song while Juleka lays down a bass line that rocks the room. Alix has her eyes closed as she plays an air drum solo.
"Follow that ribbon through the sky!
The colours of joy that you can't deny!"
Marinette can't help but glance sideways where Marc is bobbing his head to the beat and tapping his boots on the floor. And next to him, Nathaniel is just staring at him and smiling. He looks completely lost in Marc's face. Then he meets eyes with Marinette and they quickly go back to watching their friends perform, both embarrassed.
"And all of the pain goes~
away with the power of Rainbows!!
RAINBOWS!"
The teacher, Mr Beaulieu, is the first to start the applause, and Alix lets out a whistle as Rose giggles and puts down the rolled up paper she was using for a microphone.
"That was wonderful, girls," Mr Beaulieu compliments. "Where did you get the idea for that song?"
"Do you remember last week when Ladybug and Chat Noir fought Leprechaun?" Rose held her hands together and looked up as she recalled the day. Everything gold in the city was being stolen by a little man in green, which included computer circuits. Ladybug used a giant diamond and a spotlight to project a rainbow over the Seine, luring the villain into a trap.
"She used that rainbow to beat her villain, and I thought about how powerful rainbows are. You like rainbows too, right Marc?"
"Of course!" He grinned, looking over at his notebook on the desk beside him. "In fact it's part of our next issue of the comic; Reverser's power goes a bit weird after being hit by a rainbow blast from a villain." As he spoke, Nathaniel couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. It was amazing hearing his ideas and getting the chance to make them real.
"Well, it's almost home time, but remember that next week is our class trip, so you need to bring back your permission slips."
"Class trip?" Marinette seemed a bit thrown. Not that anyone was surprised; she couldn't help being a bit scatterbrained since she was so busy helping people all the time. Alix piped up to help her out.
"We're going to the grand opening of the new exhibits at the Paris Museum of Modern Art. Mr Beaulieu's been excited about this trip for weeks, right Teach?"
Mr Beaulieu nodded, repeating that the forms needed to be back in by next Tuesday so they could go. The bell rang right on cue, and class was dismissed. Marinette started texting Alya about the trip on her walk home, which she responded enigmatically with:
[And you're super excited about this, huh? ;)]
She was initially confused, and then Alya sent her a link to an article.
'MAMVP set to open a new exhibit on modern and contemporary fashions'
Okay, that was interesting, but nothing too noteworthy. Until she read a familiar name a few lines down.
'...including a photo shoot with Paris' own Adrien Agreste.'
Immediately Marinete went into internal meltdown, wondering if he was going to be there and what she would say and how long she could spend admiring his photos and what if he caught her with them and would anyone else from school be there or...
She was dragged from her thoughts by a kit of pigeons flying overhead, followed by a black cat.
'This is the eleventh time this week...' Marinette sighed, looking for the nearest place to transform.
At least she had the museum trip to look forward to.
The following Thursday arrived quickly, and everyone woke up to a mild storm. According to Mireille on the Kidz+ weather forecast, a low pressure system was bringing rain and strong winds for the next few days. But Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris was still open and the class trip still on, although the students had to run to the bus to avoid getting too soaked. Rose was a little distressed when one of her piglet stickers was lost from the binder she used as a rain cover. Juleka comforted her as Nathaniel drew her a little sketch of a piglet to replace it on the bus ride.
Rainy weather meant everyone drove a bit slower, so the class did miss the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon by Mayor Bourgeois, but the gallery was still filled with people milling around and admiring various art pieces. The building was warm and inviting, a delightful haven from the storm outside.
"Alright, everyone," Me Beaulieu announced, getting the students' attention. "You're free to look around as you please, but meet back at the cafe at 4pm. And try to have some fun; art is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, after all." At these words, the class dispersed into various rooms, leaving Mr Beaulieu to walk to the painting gallery.
Of course Marinette immediately went to find Adrien's photoshoot, finding a large display of prints featuring him in men's fashion from different time periods. Some of the outfits, particularly from the 70s, were utterly ridiculous, making her giggle as she progressed back down the line to the first photos. But while she was lost in those green, green eyes, a thought was nagging at her brain. Something was off about this pin up. And her eyes soon zeroed in on the stars on his shoes.
"Is something wrong?" someone asked behind Marinette, having seen her confused expression.
"This... this isn't right," she commented, so absorbed in figuring out the problem that she didn't turn around.
"The photo represents the 1920s, but those are Chuck Taylor's designs. They didn't come into production until 1932. And the photos from the 50s era..." Marinette gestured across, now realising the mistakes now that she wasn't just ogling Adrien's face.
"Those jeans are boot cut; they've been around since the 1850s, but they didn't come into popular fashion until around 1966. I guess it's close to the right time frame... Maybe the shoot is meant to be about things being out of place."
It was at this point Marinette realised she recognised the voice from before and immediately spun around, gasping that she'd just criticised Adrien's photos. In front of his face.
"I mean, nothing's wrong! These pictures are LOVELY! You look wonderful in all these different clothes. I really like the 70s shot, don't you like that one? Especially the... especially the... um..."
Adrien just chuckled, looking at the ridiculous clothes he had to wear for the photo. If you looked hard enough at it, you could see his embarrassed flush under the foundation and bronzer, as well as the look in his eyes that could only mean 'Please can we move on.'
"It's amazing that you knew all that off the top of your head, Marinette. I knew you were interested in fashion, but I never realised you were an expert on it."
"An expert? Me? No! Of course not," she deflected, trying to get her brain to form coherent sentences like she did just seconds ago. "I just... study really hard and... uh... I like to look at what people have done to get inspiration for my next subjects! Uh, projects! It's nothing special! Not like you... I mean! Not like these photos! How long did it take to shoot all these? Was it fun?"
Adrien sighed a little as he thought about that day. It was after fencing practice, so the whole afternoon had been tiring. Throw in the fact that he had to change clothes and make up after every shot and he was just about ready to pass out at the end.
"Not as fun as it looks."
Elsewhere, Nathaniel and Marc were taking a look at the various installation art pieces. One of them was a figure of a man made up entirely of television screens, with static on all the visible parts except the head, which cycled through the faces of a whole bunch of different people. Marc was jotting down little notes in his book as they went.
"Something like this would be cool as part of the Prime Queen arc, right? Imagine her coming in and out of all the screens as a television mech fights the heroes, and the only way to stop it is to block out the screens by scribbling over them or inverting the pictures." Marc was abuzz with new ideas, having filled two pages up already with new story lines and expansions for villains.
"That's brilliant, Marc! Should we use modern flatscreen TVs, or traditional CRTs?"
"Hm... that's tough. Modern looks more refined, but the traditional one has more of a cartoony feel that might work well with your designs. And they would have other ways to disable them too, like using magnets."
As he finished writing down his thoughts, Marc paused, looking back through the list of ideas he came up with while they were at the museum. Then he turned back a few pages, looking at other ideas they had while planning future comic story arcs.
"Nath, why do you always let me take the lead with the stories?" he asked, looking up at the artist. Nathaniel paused, wondering why he had asked him out of the blue.
"You're the writer, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but I'd love to hear your ideas too. I'm sure you have a lot of interesting things to add."
Nathaniel couldn't help but fluster. He didn't want to say the reason out loud, especially not to Marc. He was looking at him so expectantly with those shining eyes... Those eyes that saw Nathaniel as an amazing artist who could never disappoint him. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, looking away for a moment. The truth was he wasn't entirely confident in ideas he came up with. That's why most of his practice sketches and art pieces were inspired by events and people around him.
"I'm not the best at writing an original story. Not like you. You can make intertwined plot lines that tie in all sorts of intriguing twists and turns, all while planning the images of the comic in advance. I can't even come up with interesting new concepts."
Marc shook his head, knowing that Nathaniel was definitely selling himself short.
"You used to make comic concepts all the time when you were drawing Ladybug." The cheeky little smirk at the corner of his mouth told Nathaniel that the writer was teasing him. He playfully poked him in the cheek, making Marc stifle a giggle as he held his book up to guard himself.
But the playful moment was interrupted by voice that made both of them tense up.
"Ugh. What is the point of this place?"
Chloe. Of course she was here. The mayor opened the exhibit after all. Nathaniel and Marc looked over to the source of the voice, finding the mayor's daughter scoffing at something in a section for local artist submissions.
"I mean seriously, who wants to look at some scribbles that a bunch of amateurs made? A bowl of fruit? Wow, how original. And I'm sure that smudge was meant to be there."
The blonde moved on to another painting, rolling her eyes after reading the title.
"Really? 'Make a Wish'? Maybe they should wish for some talent. Look at all that mess."
Mr Beaulieu had heard quite enough at this point. Even if Chloe wasn't in the art class, as a student he had some responsibility for her behaviour.
"Well, Chloe. I'm sure the person who submitted this was well aware of that, and they chose to submit it anyway. That takes some courage, and I'm sure we can all appreciate the effort they put into it.
"They could have made some more. This is a museum. If you're not perfect, why bother submitting anything? Like this one. You can see all the pencil lines under the paint." She pointed at another painting, the view from the Pont des Arts at sunset.
"That's part of the charm. You can see their progress from the beginning through to the final details. I think it's beautiful."
"Or they just didn't use enough paint. How can something be beautiful when it's covered in mistakes?" Chloe asked facetiously, moving to another item.
"Hmph, this one is the worst. What is this meant to be, the Seine? It looks nothing like this. The lines are all crooked and all the colours are blurry and smudged. And what a pretentious name! Whoever submitted this shouldn't be allowed near a paintbrush again."
"Chloe, are you just going to insult people's work all day?" Mr Beaulieu had to put his foot down, speaking in a slightly firmer tone. Picking up on this, Chloe decided she was done for the day.
"No, I don't think I should waste any more of my time here. What a disappointment this was." She walked off towards the doors, making a call from her phone for her butler to pick her up.
Mr Beaulieu walked over to the last painting, reading the inscription below.
|'La Vie en Rose' submitted by Alphonse Beaulieu.|
He couldn't pretend the comments hadn't hurt him. He had been working on that painting for weeks, only to find this part of the gallery practically devoid of any people willing to see it. And then it was figuratively torn apart right in front of him. He closed his eyes, resting his hand against the gilded frame.
And then the world went dark and he heard a sinister voice in his ears.
"Curator, I am Hawk Moth. Your hard work is going unappreciated, and people don't see the beauty in art. I'm giving you the power to make art truly come to life, and preserve the beauty of our world. In return, you will seize Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous for me."
Mr Beaulieu opened his eyes, his mind overcome with thoughts of disappointment and anger. Get two simple jewels and he could make people appreciate art forever.
"Let's make something beautiful, Hawk Moth."
There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere in the museum; a change in the air that most people wouldn't even spare a passing thought. But Marinette recognised it. And so did Adrien. And when they heard someone scream from the next room, they both bolted to the door to see what had happened.
Crowds of people were running from the artworks as they broke free of their limited physical forms and came to life. Soldiers inside a painting came marching out of the frames, trying to round up and capture people. Standing in the middle of the chaos was the villain behind this; The Curator. Adorned in a sepia toned three piece suit, he laughed as his white gloved hand reached to adjust a pink monocle on his faux-painted face. Beams of light enveloped people captured by the art, trapping them in gilded glass display boxes.
"Now you appreciate the beauty in art, because you're literally in art!" He bellowed, commanding the soldiers to gather more people. The Curator walked to another painting, producing a sticker from a roll on his wrist. As he applied it to the frame, the image of a serpent came to life, slithering out of the frame and darting towards the fleeing public. He grinned at the new addition, before glancing sideways and seeing Marinette and Adrien in the doorway.
"My dear, Marinette! You were always one of my most beautiful students. Why don't we let everyone marvel at you forever?" He raised his hand to his monocle to fire, but Adrien acted first.
"Marinette! Watch out!"
He tackled her to the side, but the blast ended up capturing him, and Marinette gasped as Adrien was pulled into a display box. He pounded the side, but it was too solid and heavy to budge. She couldn't even hear what he was saying through the glass. But she could read his lips, his beautifully soft and -No, focus Marinette!
She could read his lips and knew what he was saying.
'Run!'
The panic was visible on her face. She couldn't just leave Adrien here, could she? After he had just jumped in front to save her. But as bad as it felt leaving Adrien behind, Marinette knew that the best hope of setting him free was if Ladybug was on the scene. She nodded at him before sprinting away, trying to find somewhere private to transform. She settled on ducking into the janitor's closet when nobody was around.
"Come on, Tikki. We need to close down this exhibit. Tikki, Spots On!"
Adrien continued trying to free himself from the box, but wasn't having any luck. Plagg peeked out from inside his shirt, looking up at the boy. They shared a mutual look of understanding; they were out in the open, and there were several people watching him, including the Curator. He couldn't risk his identity as Chat Noir getting out. But it was agonising watching people getting captured outside, unable to even hear their cries for help. Rose tripped over the painted snake and was reaching for Juleka's hand as she was captured in another box. Nathaniel and Marc were trying to guide people to the fire exit with soldiers chasing them. One of the soldiers grabbed Nathaniel by the back of his collar and restrained him as the Curator approached them.
"Oh, Nathaniel. Come and join me in making Paris a masterpiece. I'm sure your skills could really come to use making this place come alive!"
Nathaniel thrashed in the soldier's grip, struggling to free himself.
"No! I'll never help you!" He retorted, trying to prise the painted hands off him. The Curator stared them down through his monocle, chuckling darkly to himself. Nathaniel shielded his eyes as he prepared to fire another blast of light, but then there was a flash of red beside him. At first he thought it was Ladybug coming to save the day as always, but as he looked up, it wasn't Paris' hero. It was Marc. He'd thrown himself in front to try and save Nathaniel.
"Oh Marc... Dear, precious Marc," The Curator commented, kneeling down to look at him through the glass. Marc lowered his hood over his head, shying away from the villain's gaze.
"It's just as well. Your beauty was far too fragile to have out in the open. I'll keep you safe for everyone to see."
Nathaniel felt his blood boiling watching this. He managed to free one arm to elbow the soldier in the face, then shoved it to the ground. The Curator stood up and looked at him disapprovingly.
"Oh dear. I guess you don't appreciate the beauty of art after all." he was joined by two more soldiers on either side of him. Nathaniel looked uneasily at them, but then one of the soldiers was struck in the head by a red yo-yo, and the other was yanked back by a string.
"I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, don't you?"
Ladybug stood perched on one of the exhibits, dangling the painting soldier off the side. The Curator turned and grinned.
"Ah, Ladybug. So glad you could join us. As The Curator of Paris, I'm sure you'll be perfect as the main attraction." He produced another sticker from the roll and placed it on a nearby exhibit, watching it come to life and start advancing on her. Ladybug jumped away and started to take down the art exhibits, while the Curator left to watch her.
With the villain distracted, Nathaniel tried to free Marc from the case, but it was too heavy to move or lift. And he didn't want to hurt Marc if he broke the glass. Nearby, Juleka was also trying to free Rose, also to no avail. That's when Alix, who had somehow found time to put on her rollerblades, sped in and clocked one of the remaining soldiers out on the way.
"Hey, we should get out of here while we can." Before either of them could reply, there was a heavy pounding sound nearby, and the three of them looked over to see something trying to get through a door. After another couple of thundering booms, there was a crash as the doors came off their hinges and a giant creature made of television screens emerged. As it scanned around the room and saw the three uncaptured students, Nathaniel looked around. He wasn't a hero like Ladybug, but he had to do something.
[The doors to the rainy balcony]
[A mop and bucket]
[Alix]
[The remains of the ribbon from the ceremony]
"Alix!" the girl turned as Nathaniel addressed her.
"Can you get that thing to chase you? I just need a minute or so; make sure it chases you down that pathway towards the doors."
"What, are you trying to be Ladybug now?" There was a pause, then she smiled and pounded her fist into her palm.
"Leave it to me. Hey Square-eyes! Over here!" Alix zoomed past the TV bot, and it quickly chased her. Juleka watched with some confusion before turning to Nathaniel as he spoke to her next.
"Juleka, I need you to get the ribbon from the ceremony and hide behind that pillar. Can you do that please?" While a bit thrown, she gave Rose a reassuring smile through the glass and stood up.
"I hope your plan works."
"Only one way to find out," Nathaniel commented, taking the mop and dunking it in the bucket of water.
Ladybug had managed to evade the Curator's blasts so far, and was taking out the soldiers one at a time. Chat Noir wasn't showing up for some reason, which meant the odds weren't in her favour, but at the very least she was holding her own. After luring a giant balloon animal through a narrow passageway, she untied the knot holding the end closed and watched as it shot off like a rocket, deflating with a raspberry sound until it was just a clump of material on the ground. She took a moment to catch her breath before the rhythmic pounding of heavy footsteps caught her attention. She rounded a corner, ready to face her next opponent, then quickly ducked out of the way as a pink haired girl zoomed past, followed by the robot made of screens.
"Coming through!" Alix called, jumping over a couple of benches and heading back towards the gallery. Ladybug quickly ran after them, watching as the robot was starting to catch up. She started spinning her yo-yo to the side to throw it, but then she heard a voice.
"Juleka, now!"
At that signal, the ribbon was thrown out from behind the pillar. Alix grabbed it and held on as she made a tight turn around the corner, helped by Juleka anchoring the other end. The Telerobot, caught unaware, tried to turn and continue chasing her, but suddenly slipped on the floor. Nathaniel stood at the doors with the wet mop and empty bucket, watching the robot falling towards him. He opened the balcony doors as the robot went tumbling past, landing outside in the rain where the water shorted out the TV screens. It started convulsing and sparking, but then suddenly stopped moving completely as a little red sticker was washed off it from the rain. Nathaniel closed the doors and propped them shut with the mop, not wanting to take any chances.
"That was pretty cool, Nathaniel." Alix complimented him as she approached with Juleka. He smiled a little and scratched the back of his head, feeling proud that his plan actually saved the three of them. But the moment was short lived as they heard The Curator bellowing in another part of the building.
"You can't escape the beauty of art forever, Ladybug! Soon all of Paris will be part of my exhibit!"
It wasn't safe here, and the longer they stayed, the more likely they'd end up on display. Juleka went to Rose's case to give her one last smile before she left with Alix. Nathaniel looked around before going back to Marc's, pressing a hand against the glass. Marc did the same on the other side.
"I'll be back for you, Marc. I promise."
Even if he didn't hear the words, Marc knew what he was saying. He dug his notebook out of his bag and quickly wrote something down, turning it for Nathaniel to see.
'Stay safe'
The three students managed to escape the building into the storm outside, hoping that Ladybug would save their friends from the Curator. At the same time, Ladybug also exited the building from a balcony, holding a partially folded piece of red and black paper.
A few minutes later, Ladybug arrived outside Fu's massage shop. The Lucky Charm paper had fold lines drawn on it, and now that it was completed it had formed an origami turtle. She detransformed and fed Tikki a macaron as she went inside, her clothes slightly wet from the rain. Master Fu was in the middle of some hot porridge when she entered, and he immediately set it aside upon realising why she was there. Without any further prompting, he approached the gramophone and produced the Miracle Box, setting it down on the floor between them.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good." The words were familiar, yet they never lost the sense of grave importance. Ladybug couldn't fail, and neither could Marinette.
"The Curator is one of the most creative super villains I've encountered," she speculated, hovering her fingers around the various jewels. She felt a sudden spark over a certain part. It was hard to describe as it wasn't so much a physical sensation as a sudden realisation; a thought that suddenly occurred that had the answer to what she was looking for. She closed one of the drawers to reach for the Miraculous held below it.
"So I'll need someone just as creative on my side. Time to go create a masterpiece!"
Back at the museum, the weather had cleared slightly, and some of the art soldiers were starting to leave the building. One of them went down into the Métro to search for more people to catch, finding a boy nursing a sore ankle. It started striding towards him, over discarded bottles and snack wrappers and a suspicious patch of spread out newspapers.
Nathaniel chuckled to himself as the art soldier fell through the newspapers into the open manhole underneath. He closed the cover over it and started heading back up to the streets. But he collided with someone on the stairs and fell backwards onto the ground. Someone in a red and black bodysuit with dark pigtails.
"L-Ladybug?" He quickly scrambled to his feet, shocked that she was here instead of in the museum fighting The Curator.
"You seem to have a knack for this, Nathaniel," she commented, having seen his second successful plan that day.
"What are you doing here? Has the Curator been stopped? Is Marc okay?"
"No, I haven't stopped him yet. That's why I'm here." Nathaniel was confused at that statement, but then he watched her produce a hexagonal box and hold it up in front of him. His heart fluttered as he started realising what this meant.
"Nathaniel Kurtzburg, here is the Miraculous of the Rooster, which grants the power of regeneration. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"
His hands shook a little as he accepted the box, his eyes shining with awe, and then with determination.
"O-of course! I'd do anything for you, Ladybug!"
He eagerly opened the lid of the box, taking a look at the Miraculous inside. It looked like a ring of some sort, with two loops connected by a simple chain, adorned with a feather motif. It shone with a dazzling light, and then suddenly something shot out of it, spiralling around him.
"Whoa! What-" he jumped in surprise, looking around at the sparkle of light as it came to a stop in front of him, forming into a tiny little bird.
"Hellooo!" it trilled as it came fully into view. It was golden orange in colour with a little comb on its head and downy feathers all over its body.
"I'm Orikko, your kwami!"
"Kwami? Is that like a fairy or sprite or something?" Nathaniel looked closer at Orikko, trying to wrap his head around how Miraculouses worked and how these little things were related to them.
"You're not too far off. I'm here to give you powers! All you need to do is wear this on your thumb and say the magic words: Orikko, rise and shine!" Orikko threw its arms up to the sides as it said the words, giving a little cheerful chirp.
Nathaniel held the ring, watching the metal change into a coppery colour and the feather gain a red tip.
"And then I'll become a superhero like Ladybug?"
Orikko nodded enthusiastically, floating up over Nathaniel's head.
"Say, I like your hair," it hummed, gathering some of the strands in its hands and lifting them up a little.
"I think it would look good spiked up, don't you?"
Nathaniel smiled and pushed his fringe behind his ear, then slid the ring onto his left thumb.
"Let's find out."
"Orikko! Rise and shine!"
The kwami took its place in the Miraculous, transforming it into a more intricate piece with a segmented enamel feather connecting the two rings. A beak appeared over Nathaniel's nose, which grew into an orange feathered mask that covered his face, and his vermilion hair was swept back and formed into spikes with crimson at the tips. Starting from his fingers, pale yellow gloves formed over his hands, which continued down until his body was snugly wrapped in a burnt orange bodysuit with a paler yellow on the belly. His shoes were replaced with pale yellow taloned boots and a pair of retractable claws appeared on his wrists. As a finishing touch, a feathered tailed vest formed over his body, starting from golden yellow at the shoulders, down through a rich amber to a deep red at the end of the tails.
It was time for Phoenix to rise!
Ladybug and Phoenix landed on a roof opposite of Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. For Phoenix, it was such a thrill being able to leap over buildings and feeling stronger and more energetic than he'd ever felt before. He would have enjoyed it a lot more, but there was a villain to catch. The rain was just starting again, and they could see The Curator arranging his collection in one of the second floor galleries. Art soldiers seemed to be everywhere.
"Looks like The Curator has been expanding his collection. We'll have to approach carefully." Ladybug surveyed the various entrances, seeing a fire exit she could use to access the second floor gallery.
"So, what's your plan Ladybug?" Phoenix bounced a little on his taloned toes, eager to play his part for the superhero. She turned and sighed a little.
"I'm not sure yet. But we'll need to find out where the akuma is hiding. Do you have any ideas?"
Phoenix did a slight double take at the question. Ladybug, the defender of Paris and legendary hero, was asking him for ideas?
"Me? But, you're... you're Ladybug! You always come up with a solution."
"I do, but sometimes I need some help. That's why I called on you. I needed someone who could help me make a good plan."
Phoenix looked inside, watching the Curator admiring the growing group of people he caught in the display boxes. Rose was shivering a little, Adrien seemed to be talking to himself, and Marc was curled up into a ball with his hood down. He had to do something to help him. To help all of them.
"Well, maybe we could break into the security office to watch the cameras. We could see what happened before. Or maybe if we could lure him outside into a trap so he doesn't have his soldiers-" He was stopped by Ladybug placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Phoenix, relax. We don't need to come up with everything right now. Let's just focus on making a plan to get inside and stop the soldiers first. And I have something that can help us. Lucky Charm!"
Ladybug hurled her yo-yo into the air, producing...
"A set of janitor's keys?"
"Do you know what they open?"
"No, but maybe this can spark some ideas. And you can use your power to give me more time and another Lucky Charm if we need it." She paused as she opened her yo-yo and tried to call someone. Nathaniel could barely hear Chat Noir's voicemail on the other side as she frustratedly hung up.
"Don't tell me he's having a rainy day catnap..."
"Chat Noir isn't responding?" Ladybug shook her head, and Phoenix turned to look in the windows again. There were quite a lot of people trapped now, so maybe...
"Maybe he was one of the captured civilians. He can't transform if everyone is watching him, right?"
"Yeah, and that must be what these keys are for. They must open the display boxes! But..." Ladybug's delight was diminished slightly as she realised something.
"You don't know who he is?"
"And if I open just one box and he transforms, it'll be obvious. We'll have to rescue everyone to get Chat Noir out."
As they said that, The Curator placed a sticker on another painting, making a new soldier armed with fruit-like weaponry.
"They probably won't just let you walk in and let them out. How about I lead them on a bit of a wild rooster chase?"
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
Phoenix flashed a grin and nodded, as the rain started coming down again.
Inside the museum was now feeling more like a prison, with all the captured people in the gallery upstairs on display. Art soldiers of every sort patrolled the corridors, while the Curator continued building his army. Then there was a sudden loud bang as the front doors swung open and the orange clad superhero strutted in.
"Aren't you guys a little tired of that paltry work?" he quipped, perusing the veritable collage of enemies just staring blankly at him. Then as they started to charge towards him, he extended his claws over his hands and assumed a fighting stance. The rough talons tore through the creations like paper; because they were made of paper. With the entrance cleared, Phoenix crowed out and started running through the rooms, luring more soldiers out of nearby areas to chase after him.
Ladybug watched as The Curator left the upstairs gallery, and she crept in from the fire escape. As she approached the display of captured people, several of them perked up, feeling like salvation was near. She immediately went to Adrien's case, since she felt partially responsible for his capture.
"Hang on, Adrien. I'll get you out in a second." She tried the first key in the slot on the base, but found that it didn't work.
"...Or a minute." She tried the next key. Again no luck. And there must be at least thirty keys on the ring, and a dozen people she had to free. She felt her heart sink a little as her earrings beeped.
"Hopefully within four minutes."
Meanwhile, Phoenix was escaping from two art soldiers; one made of plastic resin and the other made of stone. He turned and came skidding to a halt, facing both of them as they leaped at him in unison. Timing himself carefully, he ducked and rolled forwards, evading both of them and causing them to crash into a pile of rubble behind him.
Before he could think of his next move, Phoenix had to duck to avoid a peeled banana flying at his face, turning to see the fruit painting warrior holding a banana peel in one hand. It dropped the peel to the side and started throwing apples at Phoenix. He sliced up a couple of them with his claws, but as the barrage of fruit became faster, he ran and took cover behind the cafe counter.
"Come on, don't waste food like that!" he called, looking around for something to use. The fruit soldier was about to throw a pineapple when it heard an electronic whirring sound and paused, curiously approached the counter. As it peered over the edge, its vision was filled with a face of smoothie, and it staggered back as Phoenix put the blender back under the counter. He hopped up on the counter and launched himself forward into a flying kick.
"Stay peachy!" Phoenix' taloned foot lodged firmly in the soldier's chest, and he flipped back as the soldier collapsed into a pile of mush. He took a second to catch his breath before continuing to act as a distraction, hopping over a handrail and running to another room of the museum.
Most of the walls had been stripped bare in to make soldiers, but this exhibit had been mostly left untouched. Phoenix looked up at one of the exhibits, recognising a boy from his class adorning the prints; Adrien Agreste. He had a little chuckle at some of the clothes he had to wear, and was about to leave when he heard a voice from around the corner.
"I was expecting Ladybug, not some noisy fowl," The Curator commented as he stepped into view. He held the roll of stickers in one hand while staring down the new hero through his rosy monocle.
"But I suppose Paris could find this little chick just as adorable on display."
Phoenix dodged to the side as The Curator fired a blast from his monocle. He landed on top of a bench, then jumped back and flipped it up to avoid a second shot. There was a small flash of light as the bench became trapped in a glass box, standing vertically on its side. Phoenix kicked the box, making it topple towards the Curator and forcing him to move to the side, huffing at the rooster hero.
"Aww, did I ruffle your feathers?" Phoenix laughed, watching as the Curator started peeling stickers from the roll. They were slowly circling each other, keeping their distance from each other.
"You won't succeed, Curator. We're going to stop you."
"We? Oh, so she is here. Then I suppose I should go find her first, since she is higher on the pecking order. You boys keep this one entertained for me." The Curator leaned back and placed the stickers onto the print of Adrien, making all the different copies leap from the frame in their respective outfits and landing in formation. All except the 70s one, who tripped on the awkward shoes and stumbled for a moment.
"You have fun, little birdie. After all, art is meant to be enjoyed by everyone," The Curator sneered as he left, covered by the Adrien copies. Phoenix would have followed him, but that line made him realise something.
"Mr Beaulieu...?" he muttered under his breath. He remembered hearing him trying to talk to Chloe earlier. Maybe she said something? After all, she was responsible for pretty much everyone in the class being akumatised at some point.
Mr Beaulieu was in the local artist gallery next door when it happened. He just needed to stall all the Adriens to investigate properly. And thanks to hearing Marinette work in the art room, he knew just how to do it. She had to use a fake feather in her derby hat for a reason.
"Time to make some feathers fly," Phoenix quipped, brushing his talons over his vest and scattering the little feathers that came off. As he slipped away into the next room, he heard a chorus of sneezes, which dulled a little as he propped one of the benches over the door.
"Gesundheit."
"Oh, come on, this one has to work..." Ladybug was getting frustrated trying all the keys on the display case. She was starting to wonder if this wasn't the intended use at all. There were so many different possibilities, and she was running out of time, and what was that tapping sound...
She glanced up to where Adrien was frantically hitting the glass panel and pointing behind her. Ladybug turned around just in time as a blindfolded marble statue rushed at her. She jumped away as the statue tried to grab her, and she quickly took out her yo-yo to fight.
'Two minutes left' she thought as her earrings beeped down to two spots. 'I'm not going to have time to free everyone at this rate.'
Adrien and Marc looked at each other in their cases before turning back to watch Ladybug fighting the statue. It seemed to be shrugging off every one of her attacks, and it was too heavy to throw with her yo-yo. She was managing to evade it so far, but every time she landed it seemed to turn and attack. Wait...
'It's blindfolded. So it can't see me. That means...'
[the keys]
[her yo-yo]
[the auditorium doors]
With a renewed sense of positivity, Ladybug looped the thread of her yo-yo around the keys, letting them jangle loudly to attract the statue's attention. She moved towards the doors, opening them and suspending the keys from a hanging sign inside. The statue charged towards the source of the noise, unable to see that Ladybug was crouched down with her leg extended, and it tripped inside the room, falling all the way down the stairs to the stage. Ladybug pulled the keys back and shut the doors, locking them with the first key she pulled from the ring.
"Ladybug!" She turned as Phoenix dashed into the gallery. "I found the akuma!"
"You did? Where is it?"
"It doesn't matter. You'll never get your hands on that masterpiece!" A loud voice interrupted them from the side. The Curator was riding on a floating platform painted like a galaxy, while soldiers approached them from every single doorway.
"Your power will run out soon, Ladybug. And I'll finally be able to add you to the finest display of Paris' beauty."
"That's a nice offer, but I think we need a little more time to think on that," Phoenix smirked and turned to Ladybug, who nodded that it was the right time. Calling upon his power, Phoenix scratched his right taloned foot against the floor a couple of times before calling the magic word.
"Energise!"
Holding both of his hands aloft, a burst of warm rays focused on the point between them, forming into a golden painted egg. Phoenix caught it as it fell and passed it to Ladybug, who cracked it in one hand. The same warm rays immediately radiated out and enveloped her body. She smiled as all five spots returned to her earrings.
"That's better. Now I'm really starting to feel lucky. Lucky Charm!"
Calling upon her second charm, Ladybug caught a cupcake in her hand, complete with a candle on top. But the Curator wasn't going to give them any time to think of a plan. He commanded all the soldiers to charge at the two. Phoenix caught a glimpse of the rainstorm outside, then quickly looked around to see if his idea would work.
[The candle]
[The fire sprinklers]
[The stickers on the soldiers]
"Ladybug, hand me the cake!" He called, pointing up at the roof. She quickly clued into the idea and handed him the cupcake, then crouched down and joined her hands together to give him a boost.
"Time to fly!" she called as she helped Phoenix leap to the ceiling. He sank one of his claws into the roof and held the cupcake under the fire alarm sensor, letting the candle set off the sprinklers. The water sprayed over a number of the approaching soldiers, washing the stickers off them and leaving them as piles of paint and canvas on the floor.
The Curator huffed, looking at his sticker roll and finding he didn't have any uses left. But now that they had both used their powers again, all he needed to do was wait.
"Block the doors."
The remaining soldiers stepped back and formed barricades over every exit to the room, leaving Ladybug and Phoenix under the spray of the sprinklers.
"You might have stopped my soldiers, but you won't be able to leave this room to get the painting," The Curator cackled and brought his hand to his monocle and prepared to capture the heroes.
"You mean this painting?" Phoenix produced a rolled up picture from his vest, to the shock of the villain. There was a horrendous ripping sound as his talon claws pierced through the material, and a dark purple butterfly emerged from the remains.
"How did you know what it was?" Ladybug asked, taking out her yo-yo to purify the akuma.
"I figured out who he was downstairs. And that was the only painting in the gallery he didn't make into a soldier. Of course he couldn't risk anything happening to it." The two superheroes nodded as Ladybug activated her power.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evillise!" Her yo-yo soared through the air and ensnared the butterfly, returning to her hand as she let out a triumphant 'Gotcha!'
Phoenix had seen this before, but never up close. And not only did he have the privilege of watching her send off the purified white butterfly, because there were two Lucky Charms, he got to take part in the other superpower.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug and Phoenix called in unison, hurling the keys and the cupcake into the air. The items dispersed into swarms of ladybugs that restored the wrecked artworks back to their original places, cleaned up the water inside from the sprinklers, released all the people from the display boxes, and reverted The Curator back into Mr Beaulieu with a fixed painting. Phoenix was practically beside himself with glee. He had saved the day, working alongside his hero and contributing to her Paris-saving plan. All that positive feeling could only be expressed in one way; and the two heroes extended their fists towards each other.
"Pound it!"
"You might have stopped me today, Ladybug. But soon, one day, I'll show you my magnum opus that will end with my own beautiful victory!"
With the day saved, the heroes met outside on the fire escape, where Phoenix detransformed back into Nathaniel. He caught a tired Orikko in his hands and gently scratched under the kwami's chin. He smiled as Orikko trilled a little at the contact, before removing the ring and placing it back in the box to return to Ladybug.
"Thank you, Nathaniel," she said proudly, putting the box away in her yo-yo.
"No, thank you, Ladybug. I never imagined I could be a real superhero for a day! And getting to help you save Paris was... it was incredible!"
"I bet this gives you ideas for the comic you're working on." Nathaniel did a double take. Ladybug herself had read his comic? She had seen all the drawings he made and the stories Marc wrote?
"Y-you've seen it?"
"Of course I have! I'm a big fan. It's really fun to see what sort of new adventures I go on with Mightillustrator and Reverser."
"Oh... well, you should be thanking Marc. He's the one who writes it. I just sketch out his ideas. He's the real mastermind."
Ladybug shook her head, reaching into her yo-yo and actually pulling out one of the editions of the comic. Nathaniel practically felt his heart stopping as she did, and could barely register anything in his head until Ladybug pointed out both his and Marc's names on the cover.
"The two of you worked together to make it, didn't you? Just like we did today to beat The Curator. As a team."
Nathaniel looked down at the comic in her hands. His name on the cover, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, right next to Marc Anciel. And the cover art of Ladybug and Chat Noir racing to fight a supervillain while Mightillustrator and Reverser work together to help people. And in the corner, his signature exclamation point, right next to a little rainbow.
He smiled and nodded at her, before she tucked the comic away and looped her yo-yo onto the roof to zoom away.
"Thank you, Ladybug." he repeated, before heading back inside.
The museum had returned to the quiet murmur of various people chatting, and Mr Beaulieu was sitting down to rest in the cafe. He looked up as Rose and Juleka approached him, with Juleka holding a steaming cup of tea.
"Thank you, girls. But I'm alright. You should enjoy the rest of your day here." He accepted the cup and looked back down, only to be a little surprised that his students sat down with him at the table.
"Don't feel too bad, Mr Beaulieu," Rose started, placing her hand over Juleka's. "We've all had feelings that turned us into villains. And Ladybug was always there to save us." She paused, hoping that her teacher would cheer up about being akumatised. He nodded, but still seemed despondent.
"I thought your painting was cool," Juleka piped up. "I know that place. It's the view from the cafe on The Seine. And the lines are all weird because it's the view through a rainy window."
Mr Beaulieu seemed surprised that Juleka could identify exactly where the painting was. His expression brightened a little as Rose spoke next.
"And the name of it... La Vie en Rose, it means to look on the bright side, right? You called it that because even though it was dull and raining when you painted it, it still turned out really beautiful."
"That's... exactly what I was going for," he replied, as a soft smile returned to his face. "I wanted to show that even on the muckiest of days, we all have the power to make something beautiful."
"Do you think you could teach us to paint like that? I'd love to learn some time." Juleka nodded at Rose's suggestion and Mr Beaulieu chuckled a little as he looked outside at the rain.
"I suppose I could run a little class next time we have a day like this. I'm sure we could get everyone to paint something that really makes them happy."
Rose and Juleka looked at each other with bright smiles, feeling relief that they had cheered up the best art teacher they could ask for.
"And instead of Prime Queen using the TVs to attack, she's collecting them to make a giant sentinel that people can't help but watch," Nathaniel added, pencilling in a little doodle next to the written idea.
"I love that! And it could tie into media using publicity stunts for viewers." Marc beamed at that, drawing a little star around the bullet point in his journal. The two boys were sitting down in the user submitted gallery, on a bench next to the reframed 'La Vie en Rose' painting.
"If it's rain that stops the TVs, we could add that scene you want where Mightillustrator comforts Reverser in the rain about having a bad day. It could even tie into the whole plot line you made where Reverser isn't sure about his place on the team."
"You're all peppy all of a sudden." Marc commented, looking up from drawing arrows between points on his notebook.
"Did you come up with a lot of ideas after you escaped the Curator?" Nathaniel just chuckled and pushed his fringe off his face for a second, looking into Marc's green eyes with his own.
"Yes, but I realised that this is our comic, and we work on this together. As a team." He reached down to hold Marc's hand, making the other boy's cheeks become tinged with a pink similar to his lips. Those lips soon turned into a beaming smile as he looked back into Nathaniel's cerulean eyes.
Marinette couldn't help but giggle a little as she watched her friends having the cutest little moment together. Her adoring smile suddenly morphed into an alarmed expression as someone tapped her shoulder.
"I thought I already told you it's not nice to spy on people."
Marinette spun around and took a step away from the open door, almost ending up colliding with Adrien. She babbled out a couple of mixed up words before taking a breath and sighing, then standing up straight and trying to speak normally for once.
"I'm just happy that my friends are getting along," she nodded, avoiding looking at Adrien's face as her voice trailed off, but then she found a sudden burst of confidence to continue speaking.
"Th-thank you, Adrien. For saving me from The Curator."
"I couldn't let anything happen to you. Besides, I'm already on display in this museum. One more exhibit of me couldn't hurt, could it?"
The two of them laughed quietly at that, and Marinette felt her rapid pulse starting to return to... slightly less rapid.
"Well, if you're interested in seeing something else, I'm sure there are other prohibits- I mean exhibits! Exhibits we could look at. Maybe other fashion shoes... shoots! Fashion shoots! Ugh..." Marinette groaned, lowering her head in embarrassment again as Adrien laughed a bit more. As she looked up, he was holding his hand out to her with a smile.
"I'd love to hear more about fashion from you."
The world stopped for Marinette as she took his hand, and she stifled an internal squeal of delight as they started heading into other parts of the museum. From around the corner, Nathaniel and Marc peeked out from the doorway where they were spying on them and smiled knowingly at each other.