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Mornings on weekends were always a busy time for the Dupain-Cheng family at their bakery. A lot of people were popping in for fresh bread or baked treats, getting sweets for friends to share or staples for a nice afternoon picnic. And while Marinette didn't exactly have the most spare time between studying, sewing, designing and secret superhero duties, she was always happy to help her parents during the morning rush.
It was during a brief lull in service when a familiar dark haired boy shuffled into the shop, setting a couple of large boxes down on a nearby space before starting to browse the displays. He seemed to have a little extra spring in his step that day.
"Morning, Marc!" Marinette greeted, setting down a piping bag and moving up to the counter. Her parents were having a small break upstairs, so she was minding the place by herself.
"Hey Marinette! Can I get a couple of the almond croissants please? They look delicious!"
"Coming right up!" She took a paper bag and started collecting the items for him. As she did, she couldn't help but look at the boxes he placed down. They looked like they were from a local publisher, and Marc and Nathaniel's names were printed on a label on the side.
"What are these?" Marinette asked, putting the croissants aside for a second to have a closer look. Marc just beamed as he opened the one on top and pulled out something from the inside.
"It's the latest issue of our Ladybug comic! We're going to be selling them at the local comic convention today!" Marc was beaming as he displayed their work with great pride. The four heroes of the comic, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Mightillustrator and Reverser, were facing off against a team of four mystery villains on the other side of the cover, while a mysterious silhouette stood watching in the background.
"I'm so excited. This is my first time going to a major convention like this!"
It was hard not to feel proud of Marc. From a shy boy who was ashamed of his writing to a published comic book author. Marinette was delighted that her friend was doing so well, looking a lot happier and feeling more self-assured.
"Ooh! I heard about that. Are you heading there now?"
"Yeah, I'm meeting Nathaniel there. I just wanted to pick up something for us to eat. It's going to be a long day of signing and sales, I hope."
"I'll drop by to pick up a copy if I get some time. I can't wait to read it!" Marinette accepted the payment as she handed Marc the bag of pastries. He balanced it on top the boxes as he picked them up to leave.
"I'll make sure to save you one. See you, Marinette!"
"Bye Marc! And say hi to Nate for me!"
From the bakery, it was a quick bus trip to get to the hall where the convention was being held. Marc stepped off the bus with the boxes, following the crowd towards the doors while looking for his partner in print. And once he caught sight of his bright red hair, Marc quickly made his way over.
"Nath!" He called. Nathaniel looked over from his bench and waved as Marc hurried over. He would have waved back, but his arms were full, and as he came to a stop he had to do a little rebalancing dance as the boxes wobbled and the paper bag of food started to topple. Nathaniel managed to steady the pile and catch the bag, and the two boys chuckled a little as they set the boxes down on the bench.
"You seem excited, Marc," Nathaniel grinned as Marc opened the bag so they could share the croissants.
"Of course I am! We're at a convention about to sell our Ladybug comic! I've never been to something like this before!" He paused to have a bite of his croissant, unable to contain the little nervous giggle that came out.
"I really hope people like our comic."
"Well, I made something we could give away as a complimentary gift," Nathaniel reached into his bag, rummaging around a little before handing something to Marc. It was a bookmark featuring Mightillustrator and Reverser, similar to the cover art of their latest issue.
"What do you think?" The question was practically moot, since Marc's eyes were already lighting up, the way they always did when he admired Nathaniel's art.
"It's always amazing how you put so much energy into your drawings. It's almost like they're going to come to life. I bet people are going to love them!" Marc was practically bouncing on his toes. This was shaping up to be an amazing day.
Once they had finished their breakfasts, the two boys made their way inside and talked to one of the receptionists, receiving a couple of vendor's lanyards and being allowed onto the show floor, where people were still setting up.
Nathaniel was carrying one of the boxes under his arm as he checked his phone for the email sent by the publisher.
"According to this, we have table 47. She said it was a good spot because it was right next to one of the busiest walkways." Nathaniel looked around, trying to find their space. Marc was still taking everything in, looking around all starry-eyed at everything he could see. Dragon shaped ear cuffs, prop weapons, animal ears and tails, at least 200 different series of manga and anime, plushies of every shape and size... Why hadn't Marc ever gone to one of these before? It was incredible!
"There we go, number 47." Nathaniel pointed at the empty table and they started making their way over. But as they got closer, a couple of larger men, dressed entirely in black with sunglasses, dragged the table across the walkway into the next section and started putting merchandise all over it.
"There, see? Now we have more room. Get all this set up; my boy's going to be busy signing for all his fans." A tall man with a fake tan and grey hair was ordering around a group of helpers, who seemed miserable as they unpacked CDs and posters from boxes. A huge banner was behind the overflowing space around table 59, with a blown up image of some music artist's face surrounded by very similar album covers and posters.
Both Nathaniel and Marc were stunned at the man's actions, and Marc dared to approach the area to talk to him.
"Um, I think that was our table," he started. The man turned around and rolled his eyes, taking out his phone and tapping out a message to someone.
"Well you should have been here sooner. And we need it more than you. My boy has a lot of stuff to sell and clearly you don't." Marc glanced down at his box of comics, then back up, wondering if he was being serious.
"We do. Me and Nath are going to sell our comic here. And our publisher got us that table so..."
"Look, I'm a busy man. Why don't you two go bother someone else? Do you even know who I am?" He continued tapping a message on his phone while barking more aggressive orders at the helpers. It was at this point that Nathaniel stepped up next to Marc, his face darkened with disgust.
"I know you. You're Bob Roth, that producer that stole the work from Kitty Section." Of course Nathaniel had heard about him, since almost all the band members were in the art club.
"But I guess your official job is being a thief. You're not just happy stealing music and costumes, you're going to steal a table from us too?"
As soon as the name of the band was said aloud, Bob turned and glared menacingly at them. Marc took a step back as he reached into his box and violently grabbed one of the comics.
"Listen. I don't care about some worthless comic made by a couple of nobodies. I'm not going to lose an inch of space to some flaming ponce," Bob crumpled the comic and threw it onto the floor, crushing it under his fancy shoes.
"What did you say?!" Nathaniel spoke through gritted teeth, gripping his box of comics tighter. Bob just stared him down as the two men who stole their table walked on either side of him, standing imposingly.
"Security, get these pansies out of my sight."
As the boys were shoved away from their space, Bob kicked the crushed comic towards them. Nathaniel paused to pick it up, silently fuming. Marc looked crestfallen for a moment, but tried to stay positive. They were still here with the rest of the copies, and there must be someone who would help them out.
"Let's go talk to a manager about this. I'm sure we could get another spot." He tried to offer a smile, although it was clear to Nathaniel that Marc was pretty badly shaken up. He was holding the box tighter to his chest and looked like he wanted to curl up into a ball to hide in his hoodie.
"Nath?"
"...yeah... sorry. I- I need a minute," Nathaniel huffed and lifted his box up, resting it on top of Marc's. He made sure they were steady before he walked away, still holding the ruined comic. Marc sighed as he headed back out to the foyer.
Marc put the boxes down on a counter to rest and took a deep breath. What was he supposed to do now? Go after Nathaniel? Try to get another table? Write Bob Roth as the villain of the next issue? In any case, at least he was doing something. He thought back to the person he used to be, hiding under the stairs. If that Marc was here, he would have been out the door and on the bus home, ready to disappear into his room again. But making this comic with Nathaniel had given him confidence from somewhere. And he was determined not to let that man ruin his day.
As he prepared to pick up the boxes again, he felt someone tap his shoulder. It was Mr. Banana, although he wasn't as energetic and sprightly as he normally was. Marc waved politely, but then as the banana came closer he dared show bit of his face through the mouth of the costume.
"It's me, Adrien!"
It was a surprise to see a friend from school here. They didn't get to hang out a lot, but when they had the chance to talk they got along really well. Adrien was always checking in to see how he was doing and if Marinette had come up with any more crazy plans. And he was one of their biggest fans when they were just starting out printing the comic; he even asked for autographs from them.
"Oh! Hi! What are you doing here? Are you one of the guests?"
"Nah, I just fancied checking out some comics, and nobody will suspect the banana of being me." They laughed a little, especially as Adrien struck one of Mr Banana's trademark poses.
"Are you here selling your comic?"
"Mm-hm! Check it out!" Marc took out one of the copies to show him.
"Wow! You two just keep getting better. 'The Rainbow Incident', 'Bugs and Spiders', 'The Return of Evillustrator'... you guys really outdid yourselves. Say, where is Nathaniel?"
Marc was about to answer when there was an explosion inside the convention hall, and people were running screaming from the doors. Adrien dropped the comic, where it landed open on a page where Mightillustrator was re-infected by an akuma. And Marc felt a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Ad- I mean Mr. Banana I need you to watch these boxes for me could you do that? Great thanks!" He blurted out in a single run on sentence, before rushing back inside and preparing himself for the worst.
He didn't want it to be true, but as he ducked through the fleeing crowds towards table 59, his fears were confirmed. The familiar white and purple bodysuit, the drawing tablet on his arm, and the array of merchandise being erased from the tables.
The Evillustrator.
"Come on out, Bob. You can't hide from me!" The villain decreed as he continued wiping out boxes of XY's merchandise from the stall. People nearby were fleeing for safety, while Bob was hiding behind his bodyguards. With a few scribbles, a couple of cages formed around the two guards, leaving Bob on his own.
"Time to punish the villain!" The Evillustrator raised his stylus pen to draw something. Bob started running away, but was stopped when multiple walls started appearing in his path; walls that were actually defaced versions of the posters that no longer existed. The Evillustrator started to laugh as Bob continued trying to flee. He erased the walls and started to follow him, wanting to toy with him some more.
"W-wait! Please stop!" Marc grasped at the Evillustrator's right hand, trying to hold him back. His face noticeably softened upon seeing him, but he still retracted his arm.
"I need to do this, Marc. There needs to be justice. He needs to be punished."
"But what about Ladybug and Chat Noir? Hawkmoth will want you to fight them for their Miraculouses. You'd never want to do that!" Marc tried once again to get through to Nathaniel, reaching up and holding his shoulders. For a moment the Evillustrator looked away, sighing and shaking his head.
"...I'm going to do what I need to do." From his expression, Marc could tell Nathaniel wasn't there, and the Evillustrator wasn't willing to listen. He glanced down as he noticed he was drawing something, and yelped as the Evillustrator pushed him backwards.
He gasped a little as he landed on something surprisingly soft. After a quick look around, Marc realised he was laying on an illustrated deck chair. The Evillustrator drew a little more, and soon there was a parasol and a coconut drink around him as well.
"I'm doing this for you, Marc. Just sit here and relax, and let me take care of everything. We'll get our table back soon, and then I can make anything else you want," the Evillustrator smiled down at him before leaving to continue his pursuit. Marc was speechless, and he couldn't help the blush appearing on his cheeks. They were very sweet words, but they were coming from someone that wasn't Nathaniel. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel, but right now, it all felt horribly wrong. He needed to get Nathaniel back.
The Evillustrator seemed content to ignore the other attendees, and solely focused on finding Bob again. He stepped out of the building and looked around for any sign of him.
"That's a great villain costume," came a voice from above him. He looked up to see Chat Noir perched on a flagpole, twirling his staff in his hand.
"It's a shame that real villains aren't really welcome here."
The Evillustrator dodged backwards as the cat pounced at him, and he drew a wall between them to stop him.
"I was just leaving. There's another villain I need to punish. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't get in my way."
The two of them stared each other down for a moment, then Chat Noir leapt on top of the wall to try another leaping strike. But before his staff hit his target, he suddenly stopped falling. He glanced up, finding his tail had been snagged by a fishing rod.
"Fine. I really didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice. Time to call my secret weapon." The Evillustrator lifted his beret and retrieved something hidden underneath. As he held it, something flew overhead, and Chat Noir looked up as it cast a shadow over them. It spiralled down towards them, coming to a stop next to the Evillustrator before closing itself. It was a sentimonster in the form of a giant comic book.
The Evillustrator stepped onto the cover of the book, and dismissed the fishing rod as the sentimonster lifted up like a magic carpet.
"We have a job to do. I'll let my Evillustration make something to deal with you. Lady Wifi, the Truthseeker!"
As he said those words, the bottom cover of the book opened and flicked to a page that glowed bright pink. Chat Noir hopped to his feet as an illustrated version of Lady Wifi appeared from the book and landed in front of him, phone in hand. The book closed again as the Evillustrator flew away on it, leaving Lady Wifi to attack Chat Noir.
"What is this, a villain convention?" he complained, dividing his staff into two parts and starting to deflect the pause symbols being fired at him. As he leaped into an attack, Lady Wifi teleported through a phone being used by someone in the watching crowd, prompting panicked reactions from everyone nearby.
"Phones off during fight sequences please!" Chat Noir called out, trying to keep the illustrated villain away from the people as they started shutting off their devices. He managed to use his staff to knock her off her fast forward symbol, sending her crashing onto the ground. He charged forward to strike the phone from her hands, jumping over a fired pause symbol. But he ended up landing on a lock symbol, and became unable to move his legs. Lady Wifi stood up again and prepared another symbol on her phone, while Chat Noir had to use his staff to keep his balance.
"Whoa, stop! Or don't stop. Uh, play?" he grinned nervously as a stop symbol started flying towards him. He tried to cover himself with his staff and closed his eyes. He heard the symbol activating and sighed, realising he must have been stopped. But he was still thinking. And he could hear something.
Chat Noir opened his eyes to see someone in front of him. Marc had stepped in front and had blocked the attack with an illustrated parasol. As he stepped back from the frozen parasol, Lady Wifi seemed to hesitate to attack again.
"Are you alright?" Marc turned and helped Chat Noir to stand up. As he did, Lady Wifi was strung up in a yo-yo string and yanked backwards. Ladybug snatched the phone from her hand as she went flying past, and as it smashed onto the ground the illustration disappeared.
"Good to see you, m'lady. It looks like Evillustrator has some new tricks for us," Chat Noir stood up straight again now that his legs weren't locked, but kept an arm around Marc's shoulders. Partly out of appreciation for helping him, and partly because it really looked like the boy needed a hug.
"Ladybug, Nath- no, the Evillustrator is going after Bob Roth," he explained, looking down at the vendor's lanyard he was still wearing.
"He stole the table we were given to sell our comic, and now he wants to get revenge."
"Him again? Maybe this is a villain convention," Chat frowned, not particularly surprised that Bob had caused another akumatisation.
"Can I go with you? I... I need to talk to him. Maybe I can convince him to stop." Marc looked up again, eyes pleading with the superheroes.
"That's not a bad idea. He didn't seem that keen on fighting me on himself. If anyone can get through to him, it's Marc." Chat Noir agreed, but Ladybug shook her head in response.
"It's too dangerous, especially if he has a sentimonster with him. We're going to have our hands full dealing with all the other returning villains. And if he sees you-"
Before she could finish her point, there was a sudden loud squawking in the sky. An illustrated Mr Pigeon was flying towards them, riding on a cluster of illustrated birds. Marc sighed in frustration, trying not to feel helpless as his optimism for the day was crashing to the ground. He stepped back towards the doors, holding both of the superheroes' hands as he made one last plea.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir, please. Help Nathaniel."
Chat Noir placed a hand on Marc's shoulder and nodded, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. We'll bring him back safe. I promise." He took off with Ladybug to take on the Bird Master. And thankfully they had plenty of practice with that.
As Chat Noir snapped the whistle in his hands, Ladybug loaded a news feed on her phone to try and track down Evillustrator. There were news bulletins about the akuma attack, but no live broadcasts.
"No sign of him; he must be keeping a low profile. But if he's going after Bob then we should go find him."
"Do we really have to save him again? After what he did to Marc..." Chat Noir let go of the illustrated pieces from his clenched fists, watching them fade into nothing. He looked up, seeing Ladybug watching him with a concerned expression.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed, "justice, not revenge. Let's go wrap up this storyline." He jumped over to the next roof before she could respond, leaving her to wonder why her partner decided to suddenly get so serious.
It didn't take too long to find Bob. He was running through an alleyway, yelling and demanding for people to come and help him as an illustrated Rogercop chased after him with a pair of handcuffs. Bob turned to dive into a dumpster, trying to hide. As Rogercop started lifting the lid of the dumpster, he was startled by a black cat landing right in front of him and pinning his hands inside.
"Sorry to interrupt you taking out the trash, officer," Chat Noir quipped. He waited for Rogercop to start trying to yank his hands free before casually jumping up to perch on a nearby ledge. He fell backwards and looked up at Ladybug swooping down from one end of the alleyway, ready to snatch his whistle.
But a trampoline suddenly appeared over the drawn villain and Ladybug bounced off, landing on top of the dumpster while Bob was trying to peek out.
"I told you not to get in my way." The Evillustrator hovered into view on the Evillustration.
"As long as you're trying to defend a villain, you're just as bad as he is!" He erased the trampoline to allow Rogercop to stand, then drew a mounted turret on one of the walls, aiming at the two heroes. It started to fire goo blobs at the heroes, and they had to dodge away while the blasts adhered half of the dumpster lid shut.
"I think we're in a sticky situation, m'lady." Chat Noir flung a trash can lid at the turret, temporarily stopping it from firing. Ladybug looked down at Rogercop taking out a fresh pair of handcuffs, starting to approach them.
"So is he." She threw her yoyo towards the turret, pulling the barrel down and causing it to fire upon Rogercop. Chat Noir quickly followed her lead and grabbed his whistle while he was immobilised, smashing it on the ground nearby and making the illustration disappear.
"Impressive as always, Ladybug," the Evillustrator huffed as the book he was riding on shuddered a little. He turned his attention to Bob, who had just clambered out of the dumpster and was running away again.
"I'll just leave someone else to keep you busy while I deal with the real bad guy of this story. Stormy Weather, the Forecast Foreseer!"
The Evillustration opened again, and a drawn version of Stormy Weather floated down with her parasol. It closed as the Evillustrator flew after Bob, and Stormy Weather created a wall of ice to stop Ladybug and Chat Noir from pursuing him.
"He's really putting quite the all star cast together, isn't he?" Chat Noir commented, starting to spiral his staff to deflect a hailstorm being directed towards them.
"We'll just have to use our own secret weapon. Lucky Charm!" Ladybug caught a foil wrapped box a few moments later, and opened it to reveal...
"Chocolates?"
"Ooh, maybe it's finally saying we should go on a date," Chat Noir looked over his shoulder with a grin. At first Ladybug just rolled her eyes at the suggestion, but as she examined the box she realised what she was meant to do with it.
"You know what? Today's your lucky day!" Chat Noir almost dropped his staff in surprise, and fumbled with the box as it was pushed into his hands.
"These are for you. Enjoy them, because I gotta run. Bug out!" Ladybug hooked her yo-yo onto a roof and leaped away, leaving Chat Noir with Stormy Weather and the Lucky Charm chocolates. He popped one of them into his mouth with a grin, going back to facing Stormy Weather with renewed vigor.
"Spots off."
As Marinette detransformed, Tikki floated up to her shoulder.
"Why are we here, Marinette? How did you get this idea from a box of chocolates?" She tilted her head in confusion. Marinette held up one of the chocolates she saved from the box, giving it to Tikki to let her recharge.
"What do you think of these?"
"Mmm! It's yummy! Sweet and nutty and caramelly!" She trilled a little in delight as she finished the bite sized morsel.
"When Grandma was travelling in America, she sent me some of those. Pecan and caramel chocolates, called turtles."
Satisfied with her explanation, Tikki flew back into Marinette's purse as she entered Master Fu's place.
Marinette watched all the drawers of the Miracle Box opening, listening to the words of Master Fu warning her about ensuring the Miraculouses never got into the wrong hands. There were people she knew she could trust (and some people she knew she couldn't), but for once, her decision was based on someone her partner trusted.
"The Evillustrator doesn't want to fight us. He just needs someone to guide him back to the right path. Someone who truly understands him." She reached down to collect the Miraculous, knowing that this would be an incredible risk, but also the best way to proceed.
Back at the convention hall, Marc was pacing outside trying to focus on staying calm. Everyone else had gone inside to try and make the most of the situation. He had his hood pulled up and his arms were wrapped tightly around himself; things he always did when he was worried. And right now, he was very worried about Nathaniel. At least all the comics were safe, since Adrien left the boxes with the receptionist for him.
As he turned back to walk the same path for the hundredth time, something caught his eye. A little flash of colour by the corner of the building. He looked around before hurrying over, seeing Ladybug's yo-yo just dangling there. Out of sheer curiosity, he reached out to hold the string suspending it there. Then he held on for dear life as he was suddenly launched upwards onto the roof.
Ladybug helped Marc steady his balance as she moved them to kneel behind an air conditioning unit to hide them from public view.
"You... you came back?"
"I needed to confirm something. Do you really want to help Nathaniel?"
"Of course I do! I know he just wanted to protect me, and he's made a bad decision. I should have been there for him after what that guy said to us..." Marc flustered for a second, and Ladybug stopped him by resting her hand on his shoulder.
"This isn't just about the table, is it?"
Despite his best efforts to put up an optimistic front, Marc couldn't help but sob a little as he revealed exactly what Bob said to them. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve before looking back up.
"That's why I wanted to find him. I needed to tell Nathaniel that I... I..." He was cut off by Ladybug standing up and offering her hand to him.
"I know. And you still can."
Marc watched as Ladybug held a hexagonal box in front of her.
"Marc Anciel, here is the Miraculous of the Goat, which grants the power of connection. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me."
Marc was speechless for a moment, just looking at the box placed in his hands. Going with Ladybug to help her was one thing, but being an actual superhero? His mind was torn between the glee of getting an opportunity to help out someone he truly cared about, and the anxiety of disappointing a hero that trusted him with the task.
"Marc, I believe in you. Trust me on this."
"Ladybug... Alright. I'll do it."
Marc opened the box, revealing a couple of little horn shaped hair clips inside. There was a brief flash of light, and Marc shielded his eyes for a second before looked up at a little goat-like figure floating in front of him.
"Hey there! I'm Ziggy! Lovely to meet you!"
Any anxiety that was left in Marc's mind temporarily disappeared as he gushed over the kwami.
"Awww, you're so cute!" he squealed, reaching up to pet behind its ears. Ziggy cheerfully leaned into the touch, curling up a little and releasing a peaceful purring noise.
"Hmmm~ That's nice. I wish you could keep doing that, but we need to get to work. To power up, just say: Ziggy, fleece on!"
Marc nodded and put the clips into his hair, where they turned into pastel rainbow clips.
"Ziggy, fleece on!"
The goat kwami circled over Marc's head before settling in one of the clips, transforming both of them back into the black enamelled design. Marc shook his hair a little, feeling it get lighter and a little longer, and white highlights formed at the tips. A dark grey bodysuit formed over his body starting from his chest, and a golden sheep's bell appeared on a collar around his neck. He turned in place a couple of times as white woolen arm and leg warmers were added to the ensemble, and a wool cloak knitted itself over his back. Marc swept a hand in front of his face, making a black mask appear around his eyes, and his pink lip gloss turned a black matte. Finally, he reached to the right and caught a shepherd's crook that materialised in the air, spiralling it around before tapping it on the ground.
It took a moment for him to adjust to the sensation of transforming, and he did a couple of turns as he marvelled at his new attire. Then he focused and turned to Ladybug.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go save Nathaniel!" He looked out over Paris, ready to go and save him. But as he prepared to jump to the next roof, Ladybug stopped him by holding his arm.
"Of course. But remember, you're not Marc right now. You're..." she paused, wanting to let him name himself.
"I'm... Oviseer. Yeah, that sounds good. But, how will this work? The Evillustrator wants to protect me as Marc, and I have to explain my- Marc's feelings to him."
"That's exactly why you can't stand up to him as yourself. He might think you've abandoned him. And you don't have to tell him your feelings. You just need to talk to him and help him realise what he really wants. You know him better than anyone, Oviseer."
He nodded, then followed Ladybug as she started to search Paris for her partner again.
There was a heavy clash of metal as Chat Noir's staff met with an illustrated Darkblade's sword on Pont des Arts. The force of the collision was enough to rattle the locks hanging on the fences nearby, and the two fighters slid backwards to either side of the bridge.
"I can do this all day, Cursed Crusader!" Chat Noir boasted, flipping his staff in one hand before holding it forward in a fencing stance. The two of them lunged at each other again, furiously attacking and deflecting blows. Darkblade reared up and went for a stab, but suddenly found his sword arm tangled in a string. Chat Noir hit the weapon out of his hand, and it clanged noisily across the ground before coming to a stop at the feet of a third hero. He brought the base of his crook down on the hilt of the illustrated sword, shattering it and dismissing the villain.
"Good to see you again, m'lady. Are ewe gonna introduce me to your friend here?" He winked. Ladybug groaned a little, and Oviseer covered his mouth and chuckled a little.
"Oviseer. It's a pleasure," he extended his hand to Chat Noir.
"Always glad to see another hero," he replied warmly, shaking the offered hand. "The Evillustrator is still going after Bob. I managed to hide him, but he probably doesn't like where he is."
"I don't understand what you're not getting here!" Bob whispered angrily into his phone, kicking away a couple of rats as he paced around the sewer storage room.
"I'm ordering a pizza, and you're going to deliver it to the location I sent you!"
"Sorry, but like I said, that's well out of our coverage area." Luka put down the phone without a second thought and returned to composing a new tune on his guitar.
Based on what they knew about Nathaniel, the first place the heroes checked was the Louvre. But the scene there was perfectly normal, even with the city on akuma alert. No sign of any illustrated heroes at all. A nearby screen was broadcasting a live report form TVi News.
"Numerous famous landmarks are disappearing, with the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe both vanishing," Nadja reported in her usual professional tone.
"In their place, a message from the supervillain responsible. He is demanding that Ladybug and Chat Noir hand over 'the real villain', as well as their Miraculous, in Place des Vosges."
"Last time we beat the Evillustrator because he can't draw in the dark. But it's still before noon." Chat Noir commented, looking at the timestamp on the broadcast.
"I don't think there'll be much of Paris left if we wait that long."
"We just need to get him away from the Evillustration. Then Oviseer can use his power to try to persuade him to stop."
Looking back at the broadcast again, she quickly got an idea of how to catch the Evillustrator unaware.
The Evillustrator watched from his hiding place on a roof as Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived in the park with someone else hidden under a blanket. As they approached the middle of the park, he finished his drawing and a giant cage formed around them.
"Oh no! We've been trapped! What do we do, m'lady?" Chat Noir called out. Evillustrator laughed to himself as he started to hover towards them. But as he got closer, he heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere nearby. A haughty, angry voice. Bob Roth.
"Ugh, we told him to be quiet!" Ladybug grumbled, smacking her face with her palm.
"Looks like your little plan didn't work," the Evillustrator sneered, leaving the heroes in the cage and following the sound to find Bob. It sounded like he was boasting about something.
"What did you think, kid? That I was going to tell everybody the truth? That I stole Kitty Section's song and your girlfriend's costumes, so I could give them to my talentless son?"
He realised too late that the reason it sounded so familiar was it was a recording of Bob Roth, played through someone's phone and amplified by a traffic cone. The Evillustrator erased the little sound setup, then had to dodge as Chat Noir came flying at him, trying to knock him off the book. He realised that he must have Cataclysmed his way out of the cage.
"I need help. Reverser, the Triumphant Turnabout!" He just managed to get the words out of his mouth before he was knocked aside by Ladybug. The book remained hovering in the air as the pages flipped open, and a drawn copy of the Reverser emerged on his hoverboard.
"Chat Noir, watch out!" Ladybug warned, before dodging the slew of paper planes flying towards them. As they evaded the attacks, Evillustrator picked himself up and started to draw another cage to trap them. But before he could finish the drawing, his left wrist was pulled away by a crook.
"You don't want to do this," Oviseer said calmly. The Evillustrator was stunned for a moment at the new hero, but then grunted and jumped back, starting to draw again.
"Who are you supposed to be? Whatever, Stay out of this! It has nothing to do with you!" He produced a giant hairdryer to blow him away. Oviseer allowed himself to be pushed back for a moment before hooking his crook around a streetlight and swinging around to the side, out of the stream of wind. He swept his leg under the bottom of the appliance, turning it around and using it to deflect more of the Reverser's aeroplanes away from Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"This isn't what you really want, Evillustrator," he repeated, watching him angrily erase the hairdryer and start scribbling something else. He started taking some slow steps towards him, and the Evillustrator backed away in response.
"Go away! You don't understand!"
"Then help me understand. Please, if you stop and talk to us maybe we can help. You don't need to be a villain." Oviseer offered a hand to the Evillustrator, who looked down at it. He grunted and started drawing again, starting to make a wall to stop him but Oviseer just stepped over it.
"I have to do this for him!" He was practically screaming now, getting more agitated and upset by the second. Oviseer quickly decided to use his power. Tapping the base of his crook on the ground, he turned around once before thrusting it into the air.
"Guidance!"
A mass of golden threads started flying out from the crook, weaving themselves into a golden fleecy blanket that fell into his waiting hand.
Oviseer took one final step forward, right as a ball and chain was drawn on his ankle. But he was close enough now to throw the blanket around the Evillustrator. As the material landed around his shoulders, he seemed to freeze up completely. His hands that were shaking with rage slowed down and relaxed, and his rapid breathing began to slow.
"Talk to me. Tell me how I can help." Oviseer reached forward to hold Evillustrator's shoulders, supporting him as he slowly sank to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground.
"It's... it's not fair..." he sobbed, "today was going to be perfect for him. He looked so happy, and then that man... he stole our place and... and said those things."
He had to remind himself that he was Oviseer right now and not Marc, and it took a lot of willpower not to react upon hearing why Nathaniel was so upset.
"How could he say that to him? He didn't deserve that, he's... amazing. He's the most wonderful partner I could ask for..." Behind them, Ladybug called on her Lucky Charm to continue battling the copied Reverser.
"Have you told him that? Have you asked that person how he felt?" As he said that, Evillustrator seemed to suddenly realise something and brought his hands to his head, grabbing the edges of his beret.
"No... I left him behind. I left him all alone while I..." he looked down at his hands as tears came to his eyes.
"I became a villain... and I pushed him away because I was so angry. I pushed him away when I should have been there for him. I... I ruined everything." Oviseer picked up the Evillustrator's pen and handed it back to him, gently closing his left hand around it.
"You can still make this right. I know you can make the right decision."
The Evillustrator accepted the pen back and nodded, standing up again. He took a deep breath and erased the ball and chain from Oviseer's ankle. Then he turned to where Ladybug and Chat Noir were restraining the fake Reverser with a volleyball net. He erased the hoverboard, watching the fake Reverser disappear. The other two heroes looked over and smiled at him, and the Evillustrator breathed a sigh of relief as he felt himself getting lighter.
Then he felt his whole body seizing up and a voice boomed in his ear.
"No! How dare you disobey me! You are going to take their Miraculous!"
He shuddered and doubled over in pain for a moment, dropping the stylus again. Chat Noir quickly broke it, but it wasn't the akumatised item. As Ladybug was about to reach for his tablet, the Evillustrator stopped her and stood up again, wincing slightly.
"No, Hawkmoth... You can't tell me what to do any more." He stood back and pulled something from inside his collar. It was the vendor's lanyard he received at the convention.
"Ladybug, the amok is the bookmark in the comic," he panted a little as he handed the akumatised item to her. She quickly snapped it apart while Chat Noir ripped the bookmark out of the comic book and tore it up.
"No more evildoing for you." Ladybug prepared her yo-yo, making it shine with a pure light as she prepared to purify the butterfly and feather, catching them both in a single swing.
The volleyball net was hurled into the air, where a swarm of ladybugs began fixing all the mess around Paris. The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe were restored, the mess in the alleyway was cleared up and the chaos at the convention was fixed.
As the Evillustrator transformed back into Nathaniel, the tears in his eyes didn't stop. He remembered everything he did as the Evillustrator this time; maybe it was because he gave up his akuma willingly, or because he still had the Guidance blanket around him.
"Ladybug... I'm so sorry... I let you down..." his voice trembled and he kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at them.
But then he saw a red gloved hand giving him back the lanyard and the bookmark.
"Nathaniel, you made a mistake. I've done it too. What's important is you realised that, and you made things right." His eyes shifted up slightly. He still felt too ashamed to look her in the eye, but he saw her smiling reassuringly at him.
"I haven't yet. I... I need to get back to Marc." He dried his eyes on the blanket before handing it back to Oviseer and starting to look around for a bus stop. Chat Noir placed an arm around him and extended his staff to the ground.
"He's waiting for you at the comic convention, right? I'll get you there. Raincheck on that fist bump, bugaboo? You need to get Oviseer back too, after all." He winked at them before taking off with Nathaniel, leaving Ladybug and Oviseer behind to wonder if he knew.
Ladybug and Oviseer made it back to the convention hall first, thanks to Chat Noir taking Nathaniel on a bit of a scenic route. Marc took a second to look out over the view of Paris before saying the detransformation words.
"Ziggy, fleece off."
The goat kwami emerged from the hair clips and hovered next to Marc's ear, nuzzling into the side of his head a little as he removed the clips. He set them back into the box and gave Ziggy one last little pet behind the kwami's horns before returning the box to Ladybug.
"Thank you, Marc. I knew you could do it." Ladybug tucked the box away and handed Marc her yo-yo.
"Now we'd better make sure Nathaniel's wonderful partner is waiting for him when he gets back."
Marc nodded and held onto the string of the yo-yo so Ladybug could lower him down onto the ground again. He quickly found a bench to sit on near the entrance, taking a moment to practice what he should say when Nathaniel arrived.
It didn't take too long for him to see the black cat vaulting over multiple rooftops while holding his artistic partner. When they landed, Marc quickly got up and ran over.
"Nath! You're okay!" As soon as Nathaniel saw him, he started running to meet him. They both stopped about an arms length away from the other, but then Nathaniel threw his arms around Marc and held him tightly, resting his chin on his shoulder. Marc didn't hesitate to hold him back, and smiled at Chat Noir as he waved and jumped away onto the roof.
"Marc, I'm so sorry," Nathaniel said softly, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
"... Are you okay?"
"I'm just happy you're back. I was worried about you. I should have gone after you when I saw how upset you were." Marc patted Nathaniel gently on the back.
"Those things he said about you... about us. I couldn't stand it." Nathaniel lifted a hand to run through Marc's hair.
"I was angry, but I shouldn't have just left you on your own."
"Tch. You make it sound like you're the victims of this," came a snarling voice nearby.
Bob Roth. Just hearing him made Nathaniel tense up again. Marc placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head away.
"Don't look at him," he whispered, "he's not important. And I'm here, Nath. Just talk to me." Nathaniel closed his eyes and did everything he could to focus solely on Marc; feeling the gentle warmth of his arms and listening to the soothing tone of his voice to ignore Bob's ranting as he swanned back into the convention. Once he was out of earshot, Nathaniel looked back into Marc's eyes.
"We're still here... Do you... Do you still want to sell our comic?"
"Of course I do."
After explaining the situation to an organiser, Nathaniel and Marc were able to get another table in the convention. This one was in a quieter area, but after everything that happened that morning it was something of a relief. Nathaniel was only focused on making sure Marc enjoyed the rest of his day. He sat quietly with the comics and bookmarks on display, watching people browsing around and hoping one of them might come up and buy something.
"I can handle the table for a little if you want to look around," he offered, looking across at the other boy. Marc shook his head and scooched his chair a little closer.
"I want to be here with you, right now." He placed his hand over Nathaniel's on the table, giving him a gentle smile. Nathaniel turned his hand over so he could hold Marc's, feeling infinitely grateful that his wonderful partner was still here with him.
Their attention was suddenly drawn away by a commotion near the doors. For a second they thought it was another akuma attack, but the screaming they heard sounded more like amazement than fear. And the reason became apparent mere moments later.
"Ladybug? Chat Noir?" Nathaniel stood up, wondering what they were doing back so soon. As soon as he did, the two heroes made a beeline for their table. People started noticing the real heroes were there and started following them.
"I was just wondering if I could get a copy of our latest adventures. Signed by the author and illustrator, if you could." Ladybug slid one of the copies of the comic towards them with a smile. Her action was immediately mirrored by Chat Noir doing the same.
"Me too. But could you sign mine as the Mightillustrator and Reverser, please?"
"Uh... of course!" Nathaniel quickly took his pen to sign his autograph on the two comics, handing them to Marc to sign them as well. A crowd of people started to gather in the area, all watching and filming the events.
"So how much will that cost us?" Ladybug reached into her yo-yo for some money, but was quickly stopped by Nathaniel.
"N-nothing! It's on the house. You already save Paris almost every day, and we're super grateful for everything you've done for us."
"But we can't just take your hard work for free, you worked super hard on this. You write such intriguing stories and draw incredible dynamic scenes" Chat Noir glanced around at the people gathered as he promoted the comic and smiled knowingly at Ladybug.
"I agree. I really have to pay for such inspirational work from a couple of talented young artists." Ladybug placed her money into Nathaniel's hand. He just stared dumbfounded at it before putting it into a cash box that was given to them by the publisher. As he did, he could hear the heroes still promoting their work to the nearby crowds.
"It's amazing work, isn't it?"
"Check out how cool I look in this panel."
"You won't find these stories anywhere else!"
It didn't take long before there was a large line of people wanting to get their own copies. Nathaniel looked over at Marc, who was beaming as he opened a box to get more comic books out to distribute. Over on the other side of the hall, Bob Roth and XY just looked around in confusion as the walkways around them suddenly became empty.
"Are you sure you guys can be here?" Marc asked Ladybug as he signed another copy of the comic.
"There might be important superhero things going on."
"Paris is safe right now. And besides, we had to pay back a couple of heroes who came to help us." She held up the comic and pointed at Mightillustrator and Reverser. Marc knew what she was really referring to, and he smiled knowingly, as did Nathaniel and Chat Noir. And the four of them decided there was no more appropriate time than now to celebrate.
"Pound it!"