Chapter Text
Marinette and Adrien walked hand in hand out of the tube station, followed by Nathaniel a few feet behind.
"So, should we just walk the rest of the way to the bakery," Adrien asked, "or should we save time and catch a coleslaw?"
"Adrien, stop!" Marinette giggled. They walked up to a corner, when suddenly a taxi cab flew through their field of vision, making an ungodly metal crushing sound as it landed out of sight. Everyone on the block ran to the nearest cover, including Marinette and Adrien, who ducked into an alleyway.
"What's going on?" Marinette said.
"I don't know," Adrien said, "but it sounds like Paris needs its heroes once again. Plagg, claws out!"
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, and the two transformed into Ladybug and Cat Noir together. They ran out towards the street, when suddenly they heard a voice.
"Heard you could use a hand." it said, causing the two to turn and see a hero in a purple suit with a black butterfly on the chest, holding a silver net.
"Who are you?" Ladybug said.
"I'm... the Butterfly." he said, "Yeah, the Butterfly, and this time, my power is on your side."
"Well then, flutterboy," Cat Noir said, "let's see what you've got." Cat Noir ran out into the street, the Butterfly and Ladybug close behind. They looked towards the sounds of screaming and saw a massive pair of green jaws sticking out of a sewer drain, peering around like a periscope, only stopping once it was pointing directly at a girl in a yellow jacket and white capris.
"Please, someone help me!" she said, "If you don't, my daddy will definitely hear about it!"
"Figures she'd be the target." Ladybug muttered as the monster extended its long green neck.
"I'm going in." The Butterfly shouted as he ran towards the creature, twirling his net. He jumped over an abandoned sedan, and swung at the monster with the butt of his net. The creature was stunned, and the Butterfly landed between it and Chloe.
"Run!" he said, "We'll hold it off." Chloe scrambled to her feet and bolted down the street as the massive jaws lunged at the purple-clad hero. The Butterfly thrust his net into the coming maw, and the jaws closed around it, starting a tug-of-war for the metal implement. The Butterfly dug his heels into the tarmac, but still found himself sliding. Just as he felt a strong upwards tug, the monster was struck at the base of the head by a long metal rod, causing it to release its grip on the net. The Butterfly looked off to his side and saw Cat Noir smirking at him, staff extended. The Butterfly turned back to the creature and swung his net at the base of its long neck, causing it to spasm and thrash before retreating back into the sewer.
"Not bad for a first time." Cat Noir said as the Butterfly walked back towards Ladybug and Cat Noir.
"Thanks." he said, "Hey, where's Chloe?"
"Good question." Ladybug said as she turned around, scanning her surroundings. Seeing nothing, she began to wander around. Before long, she found Chloe, huddled in the stairs to the metro station.
"I-is it gone?" she stammered.
"It's gone, Chloe." Ladybug said.
"Well it's about time!" Chloe snapped as she stood up and climbed the stairs, "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
"Calm down, Chloe." Ladybug grumbled, "I just need to ask you a few questions."
"What? You're blaming me for this?!"
"Not necessarily, I just want to see if you know anyone who might want to target you."
"That's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Everybody loves me!"
"Based on my experience, I'd have to disagree."
"Fine." Chloe grumbled, "I'm sure there are a lot of people who hate me. How am I supposed to narrow down from that who would send a giant snake after me?"
I don't have time for this. Ladybug thought.
"Look," she said, "we'll get to the bottom of this soon enough. In the meantime, you should probably find some shelter, and stay there until this gets sorted out."
"What? I can't just lock myself inside all day! I have a life, you know."
Yes, because you have absolutely nothing to do in that massive penthouse. Ladybug thought.
"It's for your own safety, trust me." Ladybug said.
"Fine!" Chloe grumbled, "But I won't be happy with it." Chloe strutted over to her limousine.
Believe me, I do not care.
Nathaniel walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him, and threw himself down onto his messy bed. A small, purple, fairy-like creature flew out of his jacket pocket.
"Oh my gosh," he said, "that was amazing!"
"Glad to see you're getting comfortable, master." the fairy said.
"I think 'comfortable' would be an understatement, Nooroo."
"I suppose, master."
"Hey, why do you keep calling me that? Is that normal for kwamis, or..."
"No. Sorry, my previous master insisted that I call him that, and now it's just a habit."
"Well, you don't have to call me master if you don't want to. Just call me by my real name."
"Okay, mast- Nathaniel."
"So, tell me more about what I can do."
Marinette sat at her desk the next day, phone to her ear as she spun around in her chair.
"Come on, Pat, pick up!" she said when she heard a click on the other end.
"Hey, Marinette." Pat yawned.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Marinette asked.
"Kind of, yeah. It's okay, though, I was pretty lucid anyway. What's up?"
"Nothing much. How was your flight?"
"About as good as a seven hour long flight can be." Pat and Marinette chuckled, "But in all seriousness, it was alright. They had Knightowl and Knightowl Returns as an in-flight movie, plus the seats weren't bad for a nap. After the flight, Mom drove me back home. I entertained her with the entire Cool Down, Bro cast album. Did you ever check that out, by the way?"
"Not yet. Listen, I need to ask you about a couple things."
"What's up?"
"Well, right after you left, a new hero showed up. Adrien and I know nothing about this guy, and we were wondering if you knew anything about him."
"Oh... uh... I do remember... when I returned the Miraculous to Master Fu. His kwami said that he sensed the Peacock Miraculous being activated, and Master Fu said that he'd need to find a new wielder for the Butterfly Miraculous to stop it."
"Oh, so it was Master Fu's idea."
"Yeah, it was."
"So I guess I have no reason to be concerned, at least as long as he made the right choice." There was a moment of awkward silence, before Pat spoke up again.
"Yeah, I hope he made the right choice." he said, "Well, as long as I'm up, might as well get started with my day. Talk to you later, I guess."
"Okay, thanks for the info, bye."
"Bye." the call ended.
It was a very busy day at the metro station, as was to be expected in the early summer. Among the large crowd of tourists and everyday travelers stood Chloe Bourgeois, tapping her foot against the tactile paving blocks.
"Come on!" she said, "How hard is it to get a stupid train to arrive on time?" As if in direct response to her complaint, a low rumble echoed through the tunnel to her left.
"Finally, it's about time!" The rumble grew louder, and Chloe turned to look down the tunnel, but saw no train approaching. Instead, what she saw was a long, wide shadow, with a pair of jaws at the end. Chloe instantly turned and ran, but tripped over a random bystander's foot.
"Hey, watch it!" she cried as she continued to bolt for the exit, shoving to little avail against the crowd until the large green jaws finally emerged. At that moment, everyone followed Chloe's lead, and ran for the stairs, pushing her to the ground in the process.
Marinette sat on her chaise longue, immersed in her phone, where she was engaged in a text conversation with Adrien.
"So, you said you were thinking of staying with Nino. How's that going?" she texted.
"I was meaning to ask Nathalie about it, but she's been too busy lately." he replied.
"Can't say I'm surprised. The scandal's probably had a major impact on the corporate side of things."
"Yeah, I can see that." he said, "But don't sweat it, princess. I'll be fine." Marinette began to type a response, when she suddenly heard the sound of screaming coming from outside. She ran up the steps to her balcony, and saw a flood of people racing out of the nearby metro station.
"Trouble at the metro station." she wrote.
"On my way, m'lady." he replied.
Nathaniel sat at his desk, sketching a humanoid shape in gray and orange, when suddenly his phone buzzed in his pocket. He set his colored pencil down and checked his phone. On the screen was a push notification reading "Akuma Alert: stay away from the Birague-Gotlib Metro Station"
"Looks like they haven't updated the alert system." Nathaniel said, "Nooroo, we got trouble." Nooroo flew out from underneath a stack of drawings.
"Well then, let's go!" he said.
"Way ahead of you." Nathaniel slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto his bed, revealing the small purple brooch pinned to his shirt, "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo fluttered over to him and phased into the brooch, causing a pair of wings to grow out the sides. Nathaniel ran his hands across his face, causing a silver butterfly mask to appear. He then slid his hands over his hair, causing a purple cowl to form behind the mask, which continued down his neck and onto his chest, where a blackbutterfly shape appeared. He stretched his arms out to the sides, and purple sleeves formed around them, ending in a black glove with slitted cuffs, resembling yet more butterfly wings. The costume continued down his legs, ending in similarly boots with similarly slitted cuffs. He raised his hand into the air, and a silver butterfly net appeared in his grasp. He twirled his net around, before grabbing it in both hands and assuming a fighting stance as the Butterfly.
Ladybug swung down from a lamp post, landing next to the metro station stairwell. Cat Noir landed next to her, slowing his descent by twirling his staff.
"Glad you could make it, kitty." she said, "I was almost scared you wouldn't show."
"And miss the chance to fight alongside a purr-ty little thing like you?" he said, "Don't make me laugh." Ladybug chuckled and blushed.
"So that's two of us, where's the third?"
"Right behind you." A third voice said. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see the Butterfly standing on a rooftop. He jumped off and deployed a pair of wings from his back, which slowed his descent to a gentle glide.
"What are the odds that Chloe's down there?" Ladybug said.
"No time for predictions, m'lady." Cat Noir said, "We just gotta go in." Cat Noir leaped down the stairs into the metro station.
"She's totally down there." the Butterfly said, and the two remaining heroes ran down the stairs. When they arrived, they were confronted with the sight of Chloe thrashing about between a pair of giant green jaws.
"What took you so long?" Chloe shouted, "Help me! This thing is trying to kill me!"
"Here, grab on!" Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo towards Chloe. Chloe caught the yo-yo, and Ladybug pulled as hard as she could. The monster retaliated by pulling back, causing Chloe to scream in pain.
"Hang on, I have an idea." the Butterfly said, "Cat Noir, we need some leverage."
"While she's still pulling?" Cat Noir said.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
"Well, if you insist... I guess I should trust you." Cat Noir ran towards the edge of the platform and thrust his staff forward, "Say 'ah!'" The staff extended until it was long enough to reach through the gaps in the creature's teeth. Ladybug turned to see what Cat Noir was doing, and opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could escape, he had already twisted the staff upward, forcing the maw open. Chloe flew out of the creature's mouth, screaming as she approached the station wall, when suddenly a giant purple mesh sock appeared in front of her, catching her before any impact occurred. The Butterfly lowered his net to the ground, allowing Chloe to climb out before it shrunk back down to its normal size.
"Are you hurt?" he said.
"No, I'm fine." she said.
"Then you should run." he said, and Chloe bolted for the stairs. The Butterfly ran to the edge of the platform, and saw Ladybug throw her yo-yo past the monster's neck. It ricocheted off the wall of the tunnel twice, and Ladybug caught it in her hand before throwing it again. It ricocheted again, and the neck was fully wrapped in string. Ladybug yanked on both ends of the string, and the monster took a direct hit to the head against the tracks. The creature took a moment to regain its bearings, and slid out of the string, its head folding in on itself as the black rope squeezed.
"No skull, huh?" the Butterfly said, "Should make bashing it's head easier."
"Assuming there's a brain in there," Cat Noir said, "which, judging by the way it acts, seems unlikely."
"Worth a shot at least." The Butterfly said as he swung the butt of his net towards the creature's head. The giant jaws bent and folded under the impact, and the monster spasmed. Cat Noir followed up on the Butterfly's attack with another thrust of his staff, striking the underside of its head, causing it to writhe its way back into the tunnel.
"It'll be back." Ladybug said, "Give me a second, I need to speak to Chloe." she turned and walked up the stairs, and found Chloe huddled behind a map sign.
"So," Ladybug said, "you went out again."
"I told you, I have a life." Chloe replied.
"The way you behave sometimes makes me wonder if you really value that fact. I told you it was too dangerous to go out into the city with that thing on the loose, and yet you did it anyway." As Ladybug spoke, Cat Noir and the Butterfly came out of the metro station.
"Look, you were right, I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"
"Almost. I'm going to need you to tell me everyone you've spoken to since the end of school."
"You expect me to remember all that? I talk to lots of people, who has time to keep track of that many people? Not me, that's why I have my butler, Jean-Claude, remember everything." Cat Noir took a deep breath and walked over to Chloe, gently nudging Ladybug out of the way. He got down onto his knee, so as to meet her eye level.
"Look, Chloe," he said, "we really want to help you. But Ladybug's right, you have to cooperate with us if we're going to win this. Is there anything you can do that might help us?"
"Well..." Chloe said, looking off to the side, "I could do this." she dug around her bag and pulled out her smartphone. She tapped and swiped the screen a couple times, and handed the phone to Cat Noir. On the screen was a map of the city, marked with dots connected by a line.
"That's my location data for the past two days." she explained, "That should help you narrow things down, at least." The Butterfly stepped up behind Cat Noir.
"Hey, could I see that for a second?" he said, and Cat Noir handed the phone to him. The Butterfly picked up his net, and the mesh retracted into a flat screen. He tucked the handle of the net under his arm and ejected a stylus from the side, which he used to redraw the map on his own screen.
"Okay, that should do it." he said, "I believe you can have this back now." The Butterfly handed the phone back to Chloe.
"Now," Ladybug said, "get yourself to shelter. And stay there this time."
"Right." Chloe said.
"Cat Noir, think you could go keep an eye on her, in case anything goes wrong?"
"Consider it done." Cat Noir said as he hoisted Chloe back to her feet and led.
"And I'll try and hunt down our monster's keeper." The Butterfly said.
"Good luck with that," Ladybug said, "Looked like a long route."
"But luckily for me, I don't have to make it myself." The Butterfly held out his hand, and a small cabbage white landed in his palm. He blew gently into his hand, and a pair of purple eyespots appeared on its wings. He held the net screen up in front of the butterfly, and the butterfly flew away.
"What was that all about?" Ladybug said.
"That butterfly is my eyes and ears now." he explained, "Anything it sees, I'll see. It'll retrace Chloe's steps, and hopefully find us our guy."
"That's... actually an awesome idea. I didn't even know you could do that!"
"Eh, it's basically just a weaker version of the spell to create aku-er, heroes. Nothing special."
"Still, it's pretty cool. Well, I should probably get going. After all, 'I have a life.'" Ladybug chuckled and swung away, and the Butterfly ducked into an alleyway.
"Wings fall." he said, and his costume disappeared in a flash of purple, and Nooroo appeared in front of him.
"That's quite a tall order you gave yourself." the butterfly kwami said, "Combing through that many people is going to be hard."
"I'm sure it'll pay off." Nathaniel said, "Besides, it's... not like I have anything better to do this afternoon." Nathaniel stepped out of the alleyway and began to walk home.
"Hey, Nathaniel. Do you think on the way home, you could pick up some food for me? That last spell took a bit of energy."
"Sure, what kind of food do you prefer?"
"Have you heard of the miracle berry?"
Nathaniel creeped through his bedroom door, closing it silently.
Doesn't seem they noticed I was gone. he thought, That's good. He took a seat at his desk and dug a red can out of his backpack. Nooroo flew out of his jacket and towards the can.
"Hope you don't mind freeze-dried." Nathaniel said, "I Giga'd it, turns out it has no shelf life."
"It'll do." Nooroo said, "At least it's better than what my old master gave me." Nooroo phased through the wall of the can, and pushed the lid off from within, holding a wrinkled red berry. He tossed it into the air and swallowed it whole.
"Well, let me know once you're recharged. We need to keep up to speed with what my little spy is seeing."
"Okay, I should be good after just one more." Nooroo flew back down into the can, and ate another berry, "Okay, I'm ready." Nooroo flew into Nathaniel's brooch, and it began to glow. Nathaniel closed his eyes.
The butterfly flew through the streets of Paris, dodging cars, pedestrians and cyclists as it made its way to its first stop, a hair salon in the eleventh arrondissement. It landed on the back of a dryer seat, looking directly at the woman at the front desk, who was engaged in a phone call.
"Oh, that's terrible, Chloe," she said, "I'll let Cristina know right away. Thanks for calling." she hung up the phone and turned to the thin, black-haired woman, who was in the process of sorting bottles of conditioner.
"Chloe Bourgeois is cancelling tomorrow's appointment, Cristina." she said, "Can't leave her home for safety reasons."
"Oh, that's too bad." Cristina said, "She was always such a great customer."
There's a phrase I never thought I'd hear. Nathaniel thought, Well, there's no one else here right now, so I guess we can just move on to the next stop. The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew back out the window.
Marinette threw herself onto her bed and grabbed onto one of her pillows.
"Why did I have Adrien be the one to guard Chloe?" she said to no one in particular. Nonetheless, she received a response.
"Would you rather have to put up with her yourself?" Tikki said.
"I guess not, but..."
"You're not jealous are you?" Tikki giggled.
"No, why would I be? It's just that... Chloe's been trying to get with Adrien for as long as I can remember and..."
"So you're not jealous, you're just afraid she'll try to steal him? Aren't those just the same thing?"
"Well, now that you mention it..."
"Remember, Adrien's loved you from the start. Plus, Chloe has no idea that Cat Noir is Adrien. Everything will be okay."
"Maybe you're right."
Nathaniel lay on his bed, a clenched fist dangling off the edge.
"I don't get it." he said, "I've retraced almost all of Chloe's steps, and no suspects. No one even seems to dislike her. Her hairdresser, her manicurist, how is she even on good terms with this many people?"
"Maybe she just is nice to them because she needs their services?" Nooroo's voice said in Nathaniel's head, "Oops, sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"Nothing, I guess. Sorry."
"You apologize a lot, you know that?"
"Yeah, I'm so-" Nathaniel bit his lip to hold back a snicker.
"Anyway," Nooroo said, "we still have one more stop to make."
The butterfly flew towards the final stop on its journey: Menken and Son's Florist, a flower shop in the sixth arrondissement. It entered through an open window and landed in between two potted plants. It fixed its gaze on the proprietor, a gray-haired man in a pin-striped shirt and khaki slacks, who was putting together a bouquet of yellow and black roses. He managed to assemble about half before running out of flowers, the last one still in his hand. He buried his head in his hands, groaning in frustration.
"I can't do it." he said, "There's just not enough time to get more flowers."
That color scheme, Nathaniel thought, I wonder who could've commissioned that. The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew closer to the man.
"I'm really going to hear it from her this time." he said, "She asks way too much of me." He clenched tightly onto the rose in his hand, which began to glow blue.
That must be the monster's power source! Nathaniel thought, I gotta warn Cat. Okay, little buddy, come back. The butterfly flapped its wings and took to the air, when it suddenly bumped into the leaves of another plant. It fluttered its wings again, but failed to lift off, for the leaves of the plant seem to have moved closer together, restraining its wings. The butterfly kicked and struggled, but the leaves only folded closer together, as small droplets of clear liquid formed beneath its feet.
Nathaniel's eyes shot open as Nooroo flew out of the brooch.
"Well, that was unexpected." Nathaniel said.
"I don't even know what happened there. Do you?" Nooroo asked.
"I'm not sure either. Unless... Nooroo, I think I just figured out what's going on."
"What do you mean?"
"That butterfly, I think it got eaten by a Venus flytrap, and that got me thinking 'what if the monster is also a Venus flytrap?'"
"That would make a lot of sense. But that rose... it was glowing."
"You're right, that can't be good. We should warn Cat Noir. Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew back into Nathaniel's brooch, and he transformed into the Butterfly. He ran to the window and leaped out onto the edge of a nearby rooftop. He took out his net and activated its phone mode, the bag retracting into a digital screen once again. Two icons appeared on the screen, a ladybug and a cat paw. He tapped the cat paw, and Cat Noir's face appeared on the screen.
"Butterfly, what's up?" he said.
"I've figured out what the monster is, and who it's working for." the Butterfly replied.
"What is it?"
"It's some kind of flytrap plant, and it's working for the old florist, Menken."
"What?" Chloe said off to the side. The video feed jerked around until her face was in full view. "Why would Menken be mad at me?"
"Probably because you ask way too much of him, and berate him when he can't deliver." the Butterfly said.
"Are you accusing me of something?" Chloe said.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just telling you what I heard him saying. Whatever the reason, I think it's on the move again. I'm on my way over right now, in case you need any help."
"Got it." Cat Noir said as he wrestled the staff back, "I'll call Ladybug, let her know what's going on. Cat out." The screen went black again, and the Butterfly holstered his net on his belt. He ran to the edge of the rooftop and jumped up onto a taller building. He ran to the edge and leaped across a gap to another rooftop. He made another tall leap, and landed on the roof of an even taller building. He ran to the edge, but stopped short of another jump. He gazed into the skyline and saw Le Grand Paris in the distance beneath him.
I don't think I could make it that far in time, not on foot at least. he thought to himself, Looks like there's only one way. The Butterfly took a deep breath and a pair of wings deployed from his back. He stepped back as far as he could, to the opposite edge of the roof. You can do this, Nath. Another deep breath, You can do this, Butterfly. Several deep breaths later, and he bolted across the rooftop. He closed his eyes and jumped off the edge. He tentatively opened his eyes, and saw skyscrapers rushing past him. Horizontally. He looked around him, and saw, sure enough, that he was gliding smoothly through the air, hundreds of feet above the city ground. Underneath him, he saw people the size of pinpoints looking up at him as he soared over the city. He stifled a laugh as he redirected his focus back to the building, which was now substantially closer. Once he flew over the edge of the balcony, his wings retracted, and with a tuck and roll, he stopped right in front of Cat Noir.
"Did you just fly all the way over here?" Cat Noir said.
"Well, technically it was more of a glide." the Butterfly admitted as he stood back up.
"Dude, that's amazing! I didn't know you could do that."
"Thanks. Honestly, I wasn't too sure of it, myself. You said you'd contact Ladybug, right?"
"She's on her way as we speak. In fact, I think I see her now." Cat Noir pointed off into the distance. The Butterfly turned, and saw a red blur swinging between buildings and running across rooftops. Ladybug landed in front of the two.
"Where's Chloe?" she said.
"She's inside, with her butler." Cat Noir said.
"Think she'll be safe that way?" the Butterfly said.
"In the short-term, probably. I'm sure I'll have to come up with something better before long, especially if that monster shows up here."
"What is this?!" the trio heard Chloe shout from inside, prompting them to all run through the door to see Chloe in the arms of her butler, Jean, staring at an oversized cluster of five-petal flowers in yellow and black.
"It's here." the Butterfly said.
"Jean, get Chloe someplace safe." Cat Noir said.
"Say no more, Cat Noir." Jean said as he led Chloe to the door to the extravagant bedroom. As they stepped out, however, a large pair of green jaws burst through the wall, snapping at her menacingly. Jean turned around, placing himself between the plant and Chloe, as they ran away from the door, slamming it behind them.
"Okay, maybe this is the safest place for her right now." Cat Noir conceded.
"At the very least, it would be more dangerous to try and leave." Ladybug agreed.
"Um, guys?" the Butterfly said, "I think we've got a bigger problem on our hands." Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see the Butterfly pointing out the window, where a giant flytrap head was slowly rising above the building edge.
"It's over there now?" Cat Noir said, "But wasn't it just-"
"Real flytraps don't just have one mouth like in the movies, Cat Noir." the Butterfly said, "They have a bunch of traps... all around... uh oh." The three heroes ran out to the balcony, just in time to see more traps bursting out of manhole covers, or just straight through the tarmac. Before long, the whole building was surrounded by gigantic flytrap stalks, each topped with the same set of elongated green jaws, all of which quickly oriented themselves towards the building. One trap snapped at the balcony, right where the heroes stood, but the Butterfly smacked it away with his net. Cat Noir followed suit, extending his staff and whacking the elongated leaf with it. The plant bit down on the staff and began to pull, but Cat Noir stood firm. Ladybug threw her yo-yo down onto the stem, and it wrapped around several times before coming back to her. She yanked on both ends, digging into the green, fibrous flesh, but the flytrap lunged at her, startling her into releasing one end of her yo-yo. It lunged at her again, and she tried to jump away, but the yo-yo was still tightly wrapped around the stalk, and still wrapped around her finger. The giant jaws clamped around her, and yanked her up with enough force to unwrap the yo-yo. Ladybug struggled and squirmed, trying to wriggle free, but the jaws only closed tighter.
"Ladybug, stop struggling!" the Butterfly shouted, "If you don't move, it'll think it just grabbed a rock or something and spit you out."
"Are you sure about that?" she shouted.
"That's how they work in the wild, at least."
"Well, it's the only idea we've got." Ladybug tensed up, her entirely body freezing like a statue. The flytrap stopped moving, and worked its mouth a bit. After several tense seconds, it bent down over the balcony and opened its jaws, dropping Ladybug onto a lounge chair, which was crushed by the impact. Ladybug stumbled back to her feet.
"Well... that definitely worked." Ladybug said.
"So now what do we do?" Cat Noir said.
"I say it's time we pull out all the stops." the Butterfly said.
"I agree." Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo into the air, "Lucky Charm!" A swarm of ladybugs flew around the yo-yo, until the glow faded and a lighter fell into Ladybug's hand.
"A lighter?" Ladybug said.
"Of course!" Cat Noir said, "It's a plant. Plants burn!"
"But is this going to be enough?" Ladybug asked.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out, with those Ladybug-senses of yours." Ladybug looked around, in search of something to use the lighter with, but the only thing highlighted in her vision was the Butterfly.
"It seems that... the answer is with you, Butterfly." Ladybug said.
"With me?" the Butterfly said, "But how coul-"
"I will grant you the power to give someone their own powers and make them your devoted follower." Nooroo explained.
"I've got an idea." the Butterfly said before he extended his arm out to the side. He twisted his wrist, and a nearby white butterfly flew over to him. He caught it between his hands, and a purple glow appeared around it. "Fly, Tenshi!" he said as he released the butterfly, now a brilliant regal purple, and it flew back through the balcony door, towards Jean, and the crying Chloe.
"Calm down, mademoiselle." he said, "Ladybug and her friends will protect you, they always do. Would you feel more comfortable with Mr. Cuddly?" Jean held up a yellow and black stuffed bear to Chloe. Chloe shoved the arm away, right into the path of the tenshi. The purple butterfly phased into the bear, and a butterfly-shaped light mask appeared in front of Jean's eyes.
"Flintlock," the Butterfly said in his head, "this is the Butterfly. If you want to keep Chloe safe, your best bet would be to accept the powers I'm offering you, and help us burn this flytrap to the ground."
"Say no more, Monsieur Papillon." Jean said, and in a flash of purple, a suit of gray stone armor appeared around his body, the gaps filled with glowing orange. Over his face was a mask shaped like a flaming butterfly, made of the same gray stone as his armor. There was a series of crashing sounds bleeding through the bedroom wall, slowly getting louder.
"Stand back, mademoiselle." Flintlock said as he gently pushed Chloe behind him, handing the now-purple bear to her. As the crashing sounds reached a peak, he snapped his stone-covered fingers against his steel-coated thumbs, igniting flames in his hands as a giant flytrap maw burst through the wall. He grabbed the jaws in his flaming hands, causing the oversized leaves to catch fire as they fought to snap shut. Before long, the points at which Flintlock grabbed the jaws burned away, freeing them from his grip, but not from the fire which had now burned away half of its flesh, and was still burning bright. Chloe scrambled away from the flaming flytrap, which was thrashing haphazardly. Flintlock grabbed a small bit of fire off of the plant and ran out to the balcony. He jumped over the edge and landed on the green neck of another trap before tossing the flames in his hands at it.
"Who was that?" Ladybug asked.
"Chloe's butler, tenshified into Flintlock." the Butterfly explained.
"So you're calling them tenshis now?" Cat Noir said.
"Yeah, 'akuma' was just too evil for me." The Butterfly looked back down over the edge of the balcony, and saw Flintlock turning his hands over each other, causing a spire of flame to coil around the plant's stalk. The leaf-like structure began to burn as Flintlock leaped over to another trap, grabbing it by the base of its jaws. Flames began to creep up onto the leaves, but another trap lunged at him. He jumped off of the stalk, but the jaws moved too fast, and he was completely enclosed. The leaf-lobes bulged and deformed as he struggled to escape, but the flesh was too strong for even his strongest punches to puncture. The struggling stopped.
"Is he..." Cat Noir started.
"It's not looking good." Ladybug admitted. The three went silent for about ten seconds, when suddenly the jaws began to blacken, and a flaming fist burst through the dried, smoldering flesh. Another flaming hand emerged from the hole, and with a simple outwards motion, the trap tore clean open, and Flintlock emerged, dripping in digestive fluid. He jumped out of the giant hole and flew over to the next trap, using downwards flames as thrust. Flintlock grabbed onto the neck and burned clean through, causing the trap to fall off and onto a rooftop. He jumped over to the next trap, punched clean through the maw with another flaming fist, and raised his arm up with enough force to rip the leaves down the middle. Now only one trap remained, embedded in the wall of the building. He leaped over to the base of the stalk, and snapped his fingers again, igniting another flame in his hand. He forced his flaming fist through the giant stem, and the trap pulled out from the wall. It lunged forward, trying to grab at Flintlock, but by the time the trap had gone down, he had already climbed through the hole to the other side. The plant bit itself at the base of its stalk, and Flintlock shot a stream of flame at it. The green flesh blackened, and began to fuse itself together. Now a harmless loop of green flesh sat where a dangerous carnivore once stood, the threat neutralized at last.
"Well done, Flintlock." the Butterfly said, "Thanks to you, Chloe is safe. You can come back up now." Flintlock flew up to the balcony and landed in front of the trio. The four all bumped fists.
"Pound it!" they said in unison.
"Is Chloe still inside?" Flintlock said.
"She is." Cat Noir affirmed.
"I take it now is the time for you to take my powers back?" Flintlock asked.
"I'm afraid so," the Butterfly said, "but if we ever need your help again, you'll be the first to know." The Butterfly held out his hand, when suddenly one of the decapitated stalks began to thrash about again, a pair of small leaves growing on the end.
"Is it... regenerating?" Cat Noir said.
"We can't just kill the monster." Ladybug said, "We need to find whatever created it and purify it. You said the monster's from that florist, right?"
"It is." Cat Noir and the Butterfly said in unison.
"Well I'm heading down there. You three can hold it off on your own, right?"
"I'll do whatever it takes to protect Chloe." Flintlock said.
"Good. I'll be right back, I promise." Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the skyline and swung off.
Menken sat in the corner of the shop, nestled between the gardenias and peonies, clutching the glowing blue-black rose. He heard a bell at the door.
"Please, go away." Menken said.
"The sign says open." Ladybug said as she walked in front of him.
"Oh, Ladybug!" Menken said as he rushed to his feet, "Thank heavens you're here. I need your help."
"Does it have anything to do with the giant flytrap?"
"I swear to you, I'm not the one controlling it."
"I never said you were."
"I just, I was having a rough day at the shop yesterday, when suddenly this blue feather blew in through the window, and landed in the rose I was holding. Then there was a voice in my head, calling herself 'Mayura', and she said she'd solve my problems. Then next thing I knew, that thing just... appeared. I tried everything to get rid of it, I even tore up the rose. But the feather just blew back in, and pulled the whole thing back together."
"Don't worry, I can help you." Ladybug held out her hand, and Menken held the rose out to her. She grabbed the rose by the petals and yanked as hard as she could. The petals fell to the floor, and a small blue feather drifted out along the breeze.
"Oh no you don't." Ladybug said as she took out her yo-yo, opening it up to reveal a pool of pink energy. She swept the feather into the pool, and closed the yo-yo up. "Gotcha." she said as she opened the yo-yo up, releasing a harmless white feather onto the breeze.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted as she tossed the lighter into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that flew around the city. The swarm repaired the manhole cover that the first stalk burst through, then they repaired the metro station, and finally they swarmed around Le Grand Paris, causing the flytrap to disappear, and all the damage it inflicted to be repaired.
"Is it over?" Chloe said as she poked her head out the balcony door, still clutching the tenshified bear.
"Yep, looks like Ladybug sorted everything out." Cat Noir said.
"Once again, you've done extremely well, Flintlock." the Butterfly said, "Now I recall your powers, until we need you again." The tenshi flew out of Mr. Cuddly, and back into the Butterfly's hand. He blew on it softly, and it turned back into a normal white butterfly, before flying away into the distance, and Flintlock turned back into Jean.
"Thank you, heroes." Jean said, "Now come, Chloe, your father is probably worried sick." Jean led Chloe back indoors, leaving Cat Noir and the Butterfly alone.
"So," Cat Noir said, "what did you think of your first adventure, Butterfly?"
"It was awesome!" the Butterfly said, "I cannot believe I got to fight a giant Venus flytrap, and I got to fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir! That's like a dream come-" the Butterfly was cut off by a beeping noise. He looked down at his brooch, and saw that two of the once-silver wings were now black, and a third was blinking.
"Oh, I should probably go." the Butterfly said as he approached the edge of the balcony, "Can't wait to fight alongside you two again." The Butterfly climbed up onto the railing, and dove off, deploying his glider wings as he fell.
Nathaniel crashed on his bed, Nooroo hovering beside his head, feasting on a miracle berry.
"Well done, Nathaniel." Nooroo said.
"Thanks, it really was amazing." Nathaniel said, "So, why are they called 'miracle berries'?"
"Didn't you read the label? It completely changes your palate."
"What do you mean?"
"Got anything sour?"
"One sec." Nathaniel walked out of the room, and returned a few seconds later, holding a paper cup filled with clear yellow liquid, "Okay, now what?"
"Try a sip of it, then have a berry, then have another sip."
"Um... okay." Nathaniel took a sip of his lemonade: sour may be too strong of a word, but it was noticeably tart. He then took a berry out of the can, and ate it. It had a mild tang to it, nothing too intense. After a second sip of lemonade, however, Nathaniel's eyes went wide, and he nearly dropped his cup. The lemonade was now super sweet, as if he had just taken a swig of watered down maple syrup.
"I get it now." he said.
Nathalie Sancoeur sat at her desk in her former boss's atelier, sorting through various paperwork as e-mails piled up in her inbox. She heard a knock at the door.
"Come in, please." she said, and the door opened slightly. Adrien stepped through, and walked over to the desk.
"If you've got a second," he said, "I'd... like to talk to you about something."
"It's this house, isn't it?" she said, and Adrien nodded, "I understand. Do you have some place in mind you'd like to stay until you can figure things out?"
"You remember my friend, Nino, right?" Adrien asked.
"He's the one who tried to persuade your father to let you have a birthday party, right?"
"Yeah. I know that my father didn't really like him, but-"
"I'm sure you would be just fine staying with him. Your bodyguard will help you pack whatever you need."
"Thank you, Nathalie."
"Oh, and while you're here, you received a package." Nathalie reached under the desk and handed Adrien a brown cardboard box.
"Thanks. And thanks again. Honestly, I'm surprised you're letting me do this."
"I'm not as heartless as I may seem, Adrien." Adrien smiled and exited the atelier.
Besides, she thought as a devilish smirk crossed her face, now I have the entire house to myself.
Adrien sat down on the couch in his room, and opened up the brown parcel. Inside he found a bouquet of red, pink and white roses, wrapped in a clear plastic.
Was not expecting this. Adrien thought, when he noticed a tag tied around the stems, outside the wrapper.
"Dear Adrien," it read, "sorry to hear about what happened to your father. I want you to know that there's someone in your corner if you need them. Sincerely, a friend."
"A friend"? he thought, Which of my friends would've sent me this? He took another look at the tag, and noticed a small logo on the corner.
Menken and Son: Paris' Favorite Florist