Fic: Buzzer Beater
Sep. 9th, 2018 03:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soc_puppetFandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Summary: In what Marinette suspects is a bid to learn the identities of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Gabriel Agreste is sponsoring a competition through the Ladyblog to find the biggest (and most knowledgeable) fans of Paris' superheros. With the grand prize an artifact that could potentially be of great use to the Miraculous users, Marinette enters the competition.
AO3 link: Bzzzt!
Wordcount: 7328
Notes: Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pod_together 2018; podfic by my delightful partner, ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
litrapods, is available at the link above.
Fic: Buzzer Beater
"Ladybug, a question!"
"Cat Noir, a quote, please!"
"Ladybug, how close are you to finding out Hawkmoth's true identity?"
"Ladybug, Cat Noir, a photo for the front page!"
"Cat Noir, Ladybug!"
"Ladybug!"
Having long since gotten used to the general chatter and incessant questions from reporters, Ladybug put on her best Please-the-Press smile as she tuned them out and readied her yoyo for the trip home. She had only two dots left, which was nowhere near long enough to indulge all of the quote-hungry media mavens in attendance. In addition to that, her parents needed her help in the bakery for a big order, and the akuma attack had already cut heavily into the time she'd set aside for them. Outside of a second akuma, about the only thing that could interrupt her at this point was—
"Ladybug, do you have a moment?"
Ladybug stopped her yoyo in mid-swing, quickly switching its motion to a casual spin to keep the momentum going. Alya was on her left, out of breath from running to catch her. To almost anyone else, the faint strain of worry around her eyes and mouth would be invisible, just as the serious note in her request would go unheard. Ladybug, however, was instantly on high alert. "Okay, but let's make it quick," she replied, wincing as the next-to-last beep sounded from her earrings.
Alya nodded quickly. Taking Ladybug's free hand in both of her own, she shook it firmly, using the motion to press a folded square of paper into Ladybug's palm. "I just wanted to say thank you for how much you help all of us," Alya said earnestly. "I know you're very busy, but I'm always looking forward to the next time I see you!"
Ladybug nodded cheerily at her civilian BFF. "All in a day's work! I'll catch you on the Ladyblog, okay?"
Alya's smile turned relieved as the superhero palmed the note and swung out for home at last, but a seed of worry had just been planted in Ladybug's stomach. She raced home, now not just anxious to beat the timer on her miraculous, but also to see what had Alya so worried. She dropped through the trapdoor to her room seconds before the transformation wore off, Tikki materializing by her shoulder. Slowly, Marinette unfolded the note.
"Are you going to go?" Tikki asked.
Marinette nodded. "Alya wouldn't have asked if it weren't important, and she especially wouldn't have gone to this much trouble." Aside from making an announcement on the Ladyblog, finding her at akuma attacks was about the only way for Alya to deliberately contact Ladybug; between having gone for the especially direct route and passing her a note rather than asking her aloud, Marinette could only conclude that her friend was trying to be as discreet as possible.
"You should probably go help your parents, then," Tikki said. "It sounded like it was going to take a whole lot of work to finish that order, and you need to be done quickly if you want to see Alya on time!"
"Oh boy, more work!" Marinette said with false cheer, then made a face. Breathing out a sigh, she got to her feet. Tikki was right; she needed to get to the kitchen right away if she wanted to finish the order on time to visit Alya and get some of her sadly neglected studying in. Stretching out the muscles in her hands, Marinette headed downstairs to help her parents.
-----
At eight fifteen, Ladybug tapped lightly on Alya's third-story window. Alya's eyes instantly snapped to the source of the noise, and a relieved grin spread over her face. Within moments, she had the window open and was ushering Ladybug inside.
Ladybug looked around the room in feigned curiosity. There was a significant amount of Ladybug and Cat Noir paraphernalia interspersed with Majestia fare, and—Ladybug was tickled to see—one of the new Rena Rouge posters hanging on the wall above Alya's bed. It was a smart move of Alya to get merchandise of her own alter-ego, Ladybug reflected. It would have been suspicious for the webmistress of the Ladyblog and superhero fangirl to overlook any of Paris' beloved protectors, even if the poster hadn't been completely awesome in its own right.
"Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed. "I'm so glad you could make it; I wasn't sure how soon I could contact you again if you couldn't make it tonight."
Ladybug suppressed a wince at the memory of two hundred individually hand-decorated sugar cookies. "Sorry I'm late," she replied. "I had some trouble getting away, but your note said it was important, so I made it work." Her brow creased in worry. "Are you in trouble? Do I need to get Cat Noir or Trixx?"
Alya frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. You should take a look and tell me what you think, though." She beckoned Ladybug to her computer, where she pulled up an email from her Ladyblog moderator account. The sender, Ladybug noticed with shock, was none other than Gabriel Agreste.
Biting her lip, Ladybug clicked to open the images.
An ancient scroll appeared on Alya's computer screen, depicting the Ladybug and Cat Noir of the time in combat against a giant snail. Chinese calligraphy ran down one side, no doubt providing important information about the battle taking place. Ladybug spared a moment to wish she'd been more dedicated to studying Mandarin; while she could recognize the writing itself as Chinese, she had no idea what era or region it came from, only that it looked old. A few of the radicals looked familiar, but the rest were completely foreign to her. Even if she did know Mandarin better, and the scroll had been in that dialect, Ladybug had to acknowledge that there was also a good chance the writing on the scroll was in code, just like the book that Gabriel had.
Master Fu would be able to tell her more, she decided. Aloud, she read off part of the letter that had particularly worried her. "'Determine which of your readers is the most knowledgeable about the heroes of Paris'? That seems a little..."
Alya nodded. "I thought so, too. And the scroll looked like it might have some useful information for you or Cat Noir. I mean, Gabriel has been akumatized, which should mean that he can't be Hawkmoth, but it still seems like he might be trying to find out our secret identities."
"Good call asking me to look at this," Ladybug told Alya. "Could you print me out a copy of the email and the pictures? There's someone I need to talk to about this."
-----
Marinette fidgeted as Master Fu looked over the papers she'd handed him, Wayzz reading over his shoulder. The kwami let out a small gasp when Master Fu flipped the page to reveal the picture of the scroll. "Master! Could that be—"
Master Fu raised a hand to cut the kwami off. "You said this is the same man who has the book?"
Marinette nodded.
"And you say he's not Hawkmoth, correct?"
Marinette hesitated, then nodded again.
Master Fu's eyebrows went up. "Ah. You are not certain, I see."
Marinette stood and began to pace. "Well, he's been akumatized before, right? So that should mean that he isn't Hawkmoth, because Hawkmoth shouldn't be able to akumatize himself. Only, there keeps being new things with akuma! I thought that akuma victims would have to be at least able to talk properly, and then Hawkmoth akumatizes an infant. I thought people couldn't be re-akumatized, then the little girl I babysit for used dolls I made to bring back Lady Wifi. I thought he could only akumatize one person at a time, and then he turns my best friend's little sisters into Sapotis! Every time I think I know what to expect when fighting akumas, Hawkmoth pulls out some weird new trick and I'm left back at the beginning!"
Tikki flew around Marinette's wildly gesticulating arms and patted her charge on the cheek. "You're doing very well, Marinette," she assured the girl. "Even with everything Hawkmoth has come up with, he hasn't been able to beat you so far, and I know you'll be able to find a solution to anything he throws at you in the future!"
Marinette smiled at Tikki, calmer now that her worries were out in the open. "Thank you, Tikki." She sat back down opposite Master Fu. "So what I'm saying is that I'm not sure," she said. "It doesn't make sense that Hawkmoth would be able to akumatize himself, but I don't think I'll ever know everything there is to know about how akumas work. Gabriel Agreste could be switching off as Hawkmoth with another person, or maybe he's working for him, or he still might not be involved at all aside from collecting a bunch of Miraculous related stuff. What I do know is that this whole competition thing seems really sketchy."
Master Fu nodded in approval. "That is a wise position to take," he said. "Now, this scroll," he tapped the printout for emphasis. "If I am correct, it may hold a secret to enhancing your power and allowing you to stay transformed for longer after you, Cat Noir, and even Rena Rouge use your powers. Whether or not Hawkmoth has deciphered it, we cannot know, because his powers differ so greatly from yours. However, it would still be of great use to you and your fellow heroes."
Marinette's eyes widened. More time to stay transformed after a battle? How many times had she wished for even a few more minutes to finish dealing with the press or making sure an akuma victim was alright, or for Ladybug's speed so she could get back to school faster after an attack? This scroll could make a huge difference in her life. "So you think we should say yes? But what if it's a trap?"
Master Fu met her eyes with a level gaze. "I think that if you go in prepared for that, you will have a greater chance of evading it. And whether or not he knows it, this Mr. Agreste is potentially handing you a considerable advantage in the fight against Hawkmoth. If you work with this friend of yours and Rena Rouge, it's entirely possible you could win the scroll for yourself."
Marinette took the papers back from him, the beginnings of an idea taking root in her mind. "Could you contact Cat Noir for me? I think I know how we can make this work, but I'll need his help."
Master Fu's smile turned mischievous. "So, you thought of a plan, then?"
She nodded and leaned forward eagerly. "Tell me what you think of this..."
-----
Marinette rocked on her heels while she waited for the program to start. She and Alya had worked long and hard to come up with a list of questions that could only be answered by the most diehard fans of Paris' superheroes, or by the superheroes themselves. To narrow the potential winners even farther, the test itself had a two hour time limit. With Gabriel Agreste's approval, Alya had announced the competition on the Ladyblog: The five people with the highest score on the test would go on to be contestants in a Ladybug and Cat Noir themed quiz show, to be filmed live the following weekend. The grand prize would be the scroll, and each of the finalists would also receive a signed photograph of Paris' three heroes.
Short of revealing her identity to Alya, Marinette thought it was the best way to ensure that she would get into the contest for a chance to win the scroll. Master Fu had contacted Cat Noir with her plan, so hopefully he would also be one of the finalists. Considering that Marinette had needed Tikki's help with a few of the questions, she was fairly certain that he would have been able to pass the test to become a contestant, but she had no way of truly knowing—which, considering Hawkmoth could be behind the entire thing, was definitely for the best. She simply had to have faith that her partner had made it into the top five. As a last precaution, she'd also gotten permission from Master Fu to leave the fox Miraculous in Alya's care until after the competition ended.
Spying Alya, Marinette decided that the best way to take her mind off of her troubles was to talk to her best friend. Walking up as casually as she could, she bumped her shoulder against Alya's to get her attention. "Hey, Alya," she greeted. "How are things going with you? Are you nervous?"
Alya turned and grinned at Marinette. "A little," she admitted, then poked her friend in the side. "How about you, miss secret superhero fangirl? Are you nervous? More importantly, how on earth did you hide your love of our local superheroes from me for so long?"
Marinette laughed to hide her anxiety. "Oh come on, Alya, you know I read the Ladyblog all the time! And with how much you talk about them, it was easy to answer the questions."
Either Alya bought her excuse, or she was too distracted by the competition to examine it closely. "How cool is this, though!" she declared, gesturing at the studio. The usual game show set had been taken down, replaced by six podiums: A large one for Alya to stand at, since she was hosting the competition, and one for each of the finalists. Each of the contestant's podiums had a rectangular screen with two circles on it: A red one to the left, and a black one to the right. Below that was the Gabriel, Inc logo.
"Anyway, you're not even the most surprising finalist," Alya continued. "The most surprising was—"
"Ms. Cesaire?" someone called. Marinette and Alya looked over to the source of the voice to see someone waving. "Ms. Cesaire, we need you in makeup!"
"Ah, shoot," Alya said. "Sorry, girl, I gotta take care of this. But hey, I'll see you on the contest floor, right?"
"Absolutely," Marinette agreed, and waved as her friend walked off. On her own again, Marinette wished briefly that the area was isolated enough for her to talk to Tikki; the kwami would certainly have something encouraging to say, and Marinette could use the time to brush up on her Ladybug and Cat Noir trivia. If it turned out this whole thing wasn't a trap, she wanted to win that scroll fair and square. Or, well, as fair and square as possible, considering she was one of the subjects of the contest.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Marinette jumped a foot in the air. "Sorry!" said the station staff person, waving a hand in apology. "I just wanted to let you know that we're starting in a few minutes, so if you could line up over there with the other contestants..."
"Oh, of course!" Marinette said, her breathing returning to normal. "Um, where was that again?" After being pointed in the right direction, Marinette went to stand with three other people about her age: two girls, one with short, dark hair, and one with long blond hair, and a boy with chin-length brown hair. All three of them were wearing outfits themed after the local superheroes: The blond girl wore a red dress with black polka-dots and a black cardigan over it, the dark-haired girl wore all black with a bright green paw print on the front of her shirt, and the boy was wearing a white t-shirt with pants, overshirt, and jacket in shades of orange, with an orange and white ombre bandanna secured to one belt loop. Marinette felt briefly self-conscious for wearing her usual outfit, then quickly shook it off; there were two people in the studio she could say for certain dressed like superheroes, and she was one of them.
Looking back at her fellow contestants, Marinette noticed something else: There were only three of them. Counting herself, that made four finalists total. Where was the fifth person?
"Sorry I'm late!" someone said, coming to a stop behind her. A very familiar sounding someone. Marinette turned around to see none other than Adrien Agreste had joined her in the competitor's line.
"A-a-adrien?!" she stammered, cheeks heating up. "W-what here are you doing? I mean, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey, Marinette!" Adrien smiled at her a bit sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you could say I'm a bit of a Ladybug fan. Or maybe a big fan, considering I made it to the top five. I wasn't expecting to see you here, though!"
Marinette laughed nervously. "Oh, you know, I gotta keep up with the Ladyblog. Plus," she added, not wanting her companions left out, "Cat Noir and Rena Rouge are both really amazing! I really think they'd be more popular if people just paid a little attention to them."
"You got that right," the boy in line said. "Rena Rouge and Cat Noir could definitely use a little more credit for how much they do to help save the day."
The dark haired girl nodded in agreement. "Not that Ladybug isn't amazing herself," she added, glancing at the blonde, "but Cat and Rena really help her out in a big way. I'm really glad they're both on the photo we're getting."
"They're all just so awesome, right?" the blonde gushed. "I mean, I like Ladybug the best, but it's such a close race. I have everything that's been officially made for them, and I check the Ladyblog every day for updates! As soon as I saw the announcement for the competition, I knew I had to try."
Marinette smiled widely, touched that her superhero counterparts had such avid fans. Ladybug tended to get the most attention, and she had to admit it was flattering, but Cat Noir and Rena Rouge absolutely deserved more of the spotlight than they got. She made a mental note to tell them about their fans the next opportunity she got—with how she'd heard them carefully edited, of course.
The same stage hand from earlier approached the group. "Okay, everyone," he said. "We're going to start filming in just a few moments. If you'd all go and pick a podium to stand behind, we'll be able to get started right away."
"Good luck, Marinette!" Adrien said as they walked up to the stage.
"You, too, Adrien!" she replied automatically, blushing when he smiled at her. I am going to lose this contest in the first round if he keeps smiling at me like that, she thought guiltily, doing her best to shake off her infatuation. Since Master Fu hadn't been able to tell her whether Cat Noir had managed to make it to the finals of the competition, she had to do everything she could to make sure she won on her own, and that meant not letting her feelings for Adrien get the best of her.
Marinette shared a smile with Alya when she got on stage, and took the fourth podium from the end, with the three contestants she didn't know to her left. That put Adrien on her right, a fact which she was doing her best to treat as purely neutral information. She put on her best smile when she saw the director signal that the show was about to begin.
"Hello, Paris, and welcome to Show Your Spots!" Alya announced for the camera. Pride in her friend rose in Marinette; Alya was doing wonderfully already. "My name is Alya Cesaire, and you may recognize me as the webmistress of the Ladyblog, the world's premier source for news of our local superheroes. Show Your Spots is a special, one-time-only game show where the biggest Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge fans in Paris will be competing for a unique prize related to the history of our city's heroes, donated by none other than world famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste." A picture of the scroll came up on the enormous screen behind Alya and the contestants. "I'll tell you how the game works in a few minutes, but first, let's find out a little bit more about our contestants! Everyone, please tell us your name, age, and favorite superhero. Let's start with the young lady on my right." Alya smiled expectantly at the brunette.
The girl in black smiled back. "Thanks, Alya, and let me just say, it's great to meet you! My name is Jeanne, I'm sixteen, and in case you haven't guessed, my favorite superhero is Cat Noir."
Alya beamed. "Wonderful! Next?"
The boy in orange grinned and waved. "Hi, I'm Marco. I'm fifteen years old, and Rena Rouge is the best thing to walk this earth."
Marinette could see traces of a blush on Alya's cheeks. "Nice to meet you, Marco!" she said. "And you?"
The blonde next to Marinette in the Ladybug-inspired outfit beamed. "My name is Celeste, I'm thirteen, and I love Ladybug!"
Alya grinned back. "Celeste, I can totally relate to that. Up next?"
Marinette smiled at her friend. "Hi, Alya; I'm Marinette, I'm fourteen, and I can't pick between Rena Rouge and Cat Noir."
Alya nodded at her. "Fair enough! I'm not about to call out anyone for not being able to pick a favorite. And our last contestant?"
Marinette swallowed hard when Adrien smiled for the camera. "My name is Adrien, I'm fourteen, and I'm probably tied with you and Celeste for world's biggest Ladybug fan."
"Okay, great!" Alya grinned and clapped her hands. "Now that we've met everyone, it's time for me to explain the rules of the game." A closeup of the circles from the contestants' podiums appeared on the screen. "I'll be asking various trivia questions about our favorite heroes. If one of our contestants thinks they know the answer, they hit the buzzer in front of them. For each correct answer, they'll earn a lucky spot on their Ladybug circle. For each incorrect answer, they'll get a green toe print of destruction on their Cat Noir circle. The first person to five lucky spots wins the competition! Be careful, though; if you get a complete green paw print, you're out of the running!" Alya looked the competitors over critically. "Are you all ready?"
"Yes!" Marinette yelled with the other four.
"Okay! Let's get started, then!" Alya glanced down at a stack of notecards in her hand. "First question: What was the largest akuma our heroes have faced to date?" Hands slapped down on the buzzers. Alya looked at Jeanne. "Jeanne, it looks like your buzzer timed in first. What's your answer?"
"Gigantitan," Jeanne answered confidently.
"That is correct!" Alya announced. With a ding, a black dot appeared at the northmost part of the red circle on Jeanne's podium. Jeanne looked pleased. A fox tail suddenly swished over the large screen behind them, wiping away the image of Gigantitan that had appeared when Jeanne answered. Alya smiled mischievously. "Contestants, it appears I forgot to mention the fox tail trick! Whenever a question has more than one correct answer, the fox tail will appear and allow for up to one more person to earn a spot. Would anyone like to take a guess?"
This time, Celeste was the fastest at the buzzer. "Glaciator!" she announced.
A disappointed note played and a green toe print appeared on the left side of the black circle on Celeste's podium. "I'm sorry," Alya said. "While Glaciator's ice cream form was, in fact, taller than Gigantitan, his actual body remained much closer to human size." Celeste seemed disappointed, but hid it quickly. "Anyone else care to try?"
Marco's buzzer sounded. "The Sapotis," he replied. With a ding, a black spot appeared on his own red circle.
"Congratulations, that is correct," Alya informed him. "With their combined mass, the Sapotis easily meet the qualifications for largest akuma."
Marinette regarded her fellow competitors with new respect; she would have to step up her game.
"Next question," Alya announced. "Other than Ladybug's Miraculous Cure, what is the only known way to reverse the effects of an akuma?"
Jeanne's buzzer sounded. "A kiss from Ladybug." With a negative sound, a green toe print appeared on Jeanne's black circle; Jeanne's smile drooped.
"I'm sorry, that's not correct. Does anyone else have a guess?"
Marinette slammed her hand on her own buzzer, praying that the makeup she was wearing would hide her inevitable blush. "True love's kiss," she answered, her cheeks growing hot, and a ding from her own podium signaled the appearance of her first lucky spot.
"Well done, Marinette! Okay, here's the next one: How many times have akuma attacked the Louvre?"
The questions continued, ranging in subject from aspects of various akuma, to specific Lucky Charms, to trivia about the heroes they'd revealed in interviews, and more. Finally, Alya caught a signal from the director. "Okay, folks, we're going to take a short break! We'll be back with more questions after a word from our sponsors, including Gabriel, Inc!" As soon as the camera was off her, Alya slumped slightly and gusted out a sigh of relief. Stretching, she wandered over to Marinette.
"Not bad, girl!" Alya said, hitting her gently on the shoulder.
"Thanks," Marinette said, "but everyone else is doing well, too! I know I would have missed some of those questions. Like the one about Animan? Ugh!" She peeked over the top of her podium to see her score: Three lucky spots and one destructive toe print. A glance to her right showed that Adrien had the same score, while to her left Jeanne had two lucky spots and one toe print, Marco two spots and two toe prints each, and poor Celeste had three toe prints and only one spot. Marinette winced in sympathy; Celeste had gotten a second disqualified answer after Glaciator, and was outright wrong about the Lucky Charm that Ladybug had used to defeat Antibug. She'd also been too slow on the buzzer on at least four other questions, her answer about Darkblade's motivation winning the only lucky spot she'd gotten so far. Now she looked about ready to cry.
"Hey," said Marinette, leaning in closer to Celeste and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Celeste sniffed. "I don't understand," she said. "I got every question right in the qualifier! Even the one about how many spots Ladybug has!" Marinette remembered that one; Tikki had come to her rescue, informing her charge that she always knew how many spots were on her Ladybugs. Seeing the discussion after the winners had been chosen, that question had been one of the hardest on the quiz. Most people had either guessed wrong or ended up skipping it entirely.
"There's still time to catch up!" Marinette assured her. "You're not out yet, and there's plenty of questions left!" She felt a brief pang of guilt that she didn't entirely mean her words. She still wasn't sure if Cat Noir was at the studio, and with Rena Rouge running the contest, that left Marinette as their best hope to get the scroll.
"She's right," Adrien agreed. "You can still turn this around. I'll bet all the questions you're good at got stuck at the bottom of the stack."
Celeste sniffed. "You think?"
"Absolutely!" Jeanne chimed in.
Marco nodded. "I don't know if it'll help, but if I win, I promise I'll let you take as many pictures of and with the scroll as you want. It's not the same, but it'll be something, right? Plus, we'll all still get that signed picture!"
The other three contestants nodded and agreed, making similar promises. Celeste gave a watery smile. "Thanks, everyone," she said. "I really appreciate it." She dabbed at her eyes with a polka-dotted red handkerchief and straightened. "I think I'm okay now." She smiled at Marinette. "Thanks again."
Alya grinned. "There's a reason she's my best friend."
Celeste's eyebrows drew together. "...Best friend?"
At the same time, the sounds of a familiar commercial began to play in the background. "Adrien..." a voice crooned.
Celeste leaned around Marinette and Adrien to get a better look. "You're Adrien Agreste?" she asked, voice cracking.
A black butterfly flapped its way into the studio, drifting down near Celeste. "Oh no," Marinette breathed. The butterfly landed on the buzzer by Celeste's hand, and she came to attention, the outline of a butterfly-shaped mask appearing in front of her face. Marinette ducked behind her podium as a wave of purple-black magic began bubbling over Celeste's body. This wasn't good!
The magic faded to reveal a taller Celeste dressed in black slacks and a purple suit jacket with black spots. A domino mask framed her eyes, and her blond hair had turned white. "I am Buzzer Beater," she announced. "Answer my questions correctly, or face the consequences!" She turned on Marco and Jeanne. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir?" she demanded.
"I—I don't know!" Jeanne stammered.
Buzzer Beater's eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer!" She pressed the buzzer that was now attached to her right wrist and a stream of purple goop shot out, sticking Jeanne in place. She turned her attention to Marco. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir!" she repeated.
Marinette didn't stick around to hear his answer. "We have to get out of here!" Grabbing Alya and Adrien's wrists, she dragged them from the studio stage.
Marinette's relief at getting safely backstage was short lived; with the other two as witnesses, neither she nor Alya could safely transform.
Surprisingly, the solution to her problem came from Adrien. "We should split up," he said. "If we each go in a different direction, it'll take Buzzer Beater longer to find us, which will give Ladybug and Cat Noir more time to get here."
Marinette could have kissed him especially hard in that moment. "Good plan," she said instead. "Alya, you go right; Adrien, you go left. I'll duck into a changing room." With nods of affirmation from both of her friends, Marinette dashed forward into a changing room and slammed the door behind her. With one final glance around to make sure there was no one else there, she unsnapped her purse for Tikki to fly out. "Come on, Tikki, it's go time. Spots on!"
-----
Ladybug dashed onto the film set, eyes going wide as she took in the sheer number of people now coated in purple goo. It seemed like nearly everyone in the room had been subject to Buzzer Beater's personal quiz show routine. The akuma herself currently had the camerawoman in her sights. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir!" she demanded.
Clearly terrified, the camerawoman pointed to Ladybug. "Over there! Ladybug is over there!"
Buzzer Beater turned in the direction the camerawoman was pointing and stared directly at Ladybug. "Hmm," Buzzer Beater said. "No Cat Noir. I'll allow partial credit for that answer, but you're still getting penalized." Changing her aim, Buzzer Beater hit the button and drenched the camerawoman with purple slime from the waist down, leaving her torso free. She then directed the button on her wrist at Ladybug. "Ladybug! Where's Cat Noir?"
Spinning her yoyo to form a shield in front of her, Ladybug shouted back, "Never mind that, you have me to deal with now!"
"Never mind me? Aw, I'm hurt, Ladybug!" Keeping her shield up, Ladybug looked to her left to see Cat Noir run up beside her and begin spinning his staff to form his own shield. "You know I'm always happy to lend you a paw," he added with a wink.
Ladybug rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Save it for your fans, Ro-meow," she shot back. "In fact, we should save your fans period."
Buzzer Beater took aim at the heroes. "Ladybug and Cat Noir! Give me your Miraculouses!"
"That's not a question!" Cat protested.
The villain's eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer!" she declared, and pushed the button on her wrist. Ladybug and Cat Noir flipped out of the way, the purple goo hitting the floor where they'd been standing moments before.
"Careful," Ladybug cautioned, bringing her yoyo-shield back up. "Don't get hit by that purple stuff, or you'll be stuck."
"That's sweet of you, my Lady, but the only thing I'm stuck on is you," Cat Noir replied.
"I'll ask you again," Buzzer Beater interrupted, aiming at Ladybug. "Where is your Miraculous, so I can take it from you?"
"Not happening," Ladybug said. Buzzer Beater raised her arm to fire, then at the last moment switched targets to Cat Noir. "Cat Noir, look out!" Ladybug shouted, heart jumping into her throat.
Bzzzzzt! "Not today!" Ladybug's eyes widened as Rena Rouge appeared, knocking against Buzzer Beater's wrist with her flute and throwing the villain's aim off. The shot went wild, hitting the wall behind Cat Noir in a long purple streak.
"Rena Rouge, you made it!" Ladybug grinned at her fellow hero.
Rena grinned back. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Cat Noir ran over and skidded to a stop next to them. "Got a plan yet, Bugaboo?" he asked.
"The akuma's in the buzzer on her wrist," Ladybug replied. "And I think we should actually try to get the scroll, if we can." She bit her lip in concentration. "Rena, you grab the scroll; Cat, see if you can distract Buzzer Beater while Rena does that. I think it's time for a Lucky Charm."
The two heroes nodded and dashed off. "Hey, Buzzer Beater!" Cat Noir called, running in her direction. "I've got a question for you: How many akumas does it take to screw in a light bulb?"
Ladybug let them go, focusing on her own task. She tossed her yoyo up in the air, catching the item that materialized at its peak. "A shoebox?" she said aloud, dubious. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on a podium, Rena's flute, and the scroll in Rena's hands. Ladybug grinned; she had a plan. "Rena!" she called, holding up the open box. "The scroll!"
Rena's eyes lit up as she figured out what Ladybug meant. "Got it!" She activated Mirage, then threw the scroll to Ladybug. Ladybug promptly caught it in the shoebox, right on time to hear Buzzer Beater's crow of triumph. She turned around to see that one of Buzzer Beater's shots had glued Cat Noir's left foot to the ground.
"Last chance, Cat Noir," Buzzer Beater taunted. "How do I get your Miraculous off of you?"
Cat glared and clenched his right hand. "Cataclysm!" He smirked at Buzzer Beater. "Try it and find out."
Buzzer Beater snarled and pressed the button on her wrist; at the same time, Ladybug threw the scroll between her and Cat Noir. Buzzer Beater's purple goop hit the scroll, covering it all over and sending the entire thing flying at Cat—which he caught with his right hand.
"No!" Buzzer Beater cried out as scroll and purple blob disintegrated. She turned her glare on Ladybug. "Final question! How dare you?!"
"I'd kinda like to know that, too," Cat said, staring in horror at the place where the scroll should have landed. "What the heck, Ladybug?"
"Trust me, Cat," she replied with confidence. "I've got this."
"Wrong answer!" Buzzer Beater yelled, taking aim at Ladybug and slamming her hand down on the akumatized buzzer.
Whipping the open shoebox in front of herself, Ladybug caught the stream of purple goo inside. She ran towards Buzzer Beater, shoebox in front of her, grabbing the villain's wrist when the stream ran out. Buzzer Beater shrieked and tried to free her hand, to no avail. There was nothing left to stop Ladybug from smashing the button on her wrist and freeing the akuma inside.
Cat Noir and Rena Rouge ran up to her as she tossed the shoebox in the air. Ladybug grinned at Cat Noir and held her fist up. "Pound it!"
Cat fistbumped her, worry clear on his face. "Ladybug, the scroll—it didn't come back!"
Rena giggled, and Ladybug grinned, beckoning her two companions closer. "That's because you didn't destroy it; Rena had it the whole time!"
"Ta-dah!" Rena Rouge pulled the scroll out from behind herself, keeping it out of sight from Buzzer Beater's recovering victims. "I found out how to pack a little extra magic into my illusions, so they act more solid. It doesn't last for long, but it was long enough for Buzzer Beater's goop to start sticking to itself before it hit you."
Cat grinned at her. "That's amazing!"
Rena nodded. "Ladybug can pick it up from me tonight. I have someplace safe I can keep it until then."
Ladybug winced as all three of their Miraculouses beeped in succession. "On that note, it's time for me to get going. I'll see you tonight, Rena!"
"See you," Rena and Cat echoed, and all three heroes fled the scene.
-----
When Marinette returned to the set, it seemed that the station had elected to fill the remaining time allotted to Show Your Spots with interviews of Alya, the contestants, and the film crew. "Unfortunately, it seems that the scroll we were originally using as a grand prize was destroyed during the fight," Alya said, lying like a champion. "I'm not sure why it didn't come back with everything else, but I'll be opening up theories on the Ladyblog as soon as I can make a post about today's events."
"And what about the contest itself?" Nadja Chamack asked. "Do you have any plans to try again, and if so, what would you be offering as a grand prize instead?"
"If the studio would have me, I'd love to try again," Alya replied. "At the moment, I'm not sure what I would do for a grand prize. I wouldn't ask Mr. Agreste to donate anything else after all he's already given to us, and especially considering what happened to the scroll. It's my hope that Ladybug or her fellow heroes might be able to come up with something. A special selfie or question-and-answer session with the winner, maybe. That said," she added, "if Gabriel Agreste were generous enough to donate a second prize to us, there is no way I would refuse."
"Thank you, Ms. Cesaire," Nadja said. She turned back to the camera. "With the future of the contest still being debated, we move on to matters elsewhere."
Tuning Nadja out, Marinette jogged up to where Alya was now talking with the other contestants. "Hey," she said. "Is everyone okay? Things got a little bit intense for a while there!"
Celeste's face was a study in misery. "Marinette, I'm so sorry!" she said. "I'm sure you worked just as hard as the rest of us to get into the contest, I just felt so frustrated!"
Marinette patted Celeste's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay, Celeste," she said. "I was actually thinking about it while I was hiding in one of the changing rooms, and I think you're right. It is kind of unfair that I managed to get into the top five, since I'm Alya's best friend. I get to hear her talk about Ladybug facts and theories all the time, that definitely gives me way too much of an advantage. So I've decided that, if Alya gets another chance to put on Show Your Spots, I'm going to give up my own spot to someone else."
"Same here," Adrien agreed. "I'm such a huge fan of Ladybug, I forgot for a while what it would look like to be in a contest sponsored by my father! Knowing I made the top five once is more than enough for me; I'm happy to let someone else have a chance next time."
"Besides," Jeanne added, "the circumstances may not have been great, but we got to see all three heroes in action! There's not a lot of people who can say that."
Marco nodded. "It was super cool to see Rena Rouge up close," he said. "That wouldn't have happened without you, Celeste." He winked.
Celeste let out a slightly watery giggle and wiped her eyes. "Thanks, everyone. Jeanne, Marco, I hope we get another chance to compete together! And I'm really glad I got to meet all of you."
As the topic of conversation turned to other akuma battles, Adrien nudged Marinette in the side. "So I know you said you were okay giving up your spot in the competition," he said, "but I still feel a little bit bad that you lost your chance at the grand prize. I'm actually doing a photoshoot at a theme park next week, and they gave me an extra ticket as a perk. It's not the same, but would you like to come with me to make up for today?"
Marinette's cheeks heated up again and her heart began to pound. "A-are you sure? Because that would be amazing!"
Adrien grinned. "Great! I actually need to get going—my father wanted me to come home as soon as I was finished today—so we can talk about the details on Monday, okay?"
"Sounds good," Marinette said dreamily, and waved at Adrien as he walked off.
"Well, well, well," Alya said, coming to stand by her best friend. "Looks like you won the grand prize after all, Marinette!"
"Alya!" Marinette protested briefly, her entire face turning red. Then she smiled. "I think I kind of did, actually."
-----
Thoughts swirled in Marinette's mind that evening as she turned out the lights for bed: The scroll was safely locked away in one of her drawers, where she could take it to Master Fu the next day; she'd made plans with Alya for possible prize options if Show Your Spots got the go-ahead for another run when she went to pick the scroll up, and both of them were happy with the ideas they'd come up with; and sometime next week, she was going to spend a whole day with Adrien at an amusement park.
I wonder where Cat Noir was during the quiz show, she mused as she drifted towards sleep. He'd arrived on scene quickly enough that Marinette was sure he'd been in the building at least, but she had no idea where. She'd been sure he would have known enough to make it into the top five, as well. Still, the day had been full of surprises. She'd had no idea that Adrien was such a big Ladybug fan, for example.
Marinette was just about asleep when those two thoughts collided. She sat bolt upright in bed, suddenly no longer tired. "Oh, no," she whimpered.
Marinette was pretty sure she had just kissed that night's sleep good-bye.
—fin—
More notes later, at work now.
Summary: In what Marinette suspects is a bid to learn the identities of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Gabriel Agreste is sponsoring a competition through the Ladyblog to find the biggest (and most knowledgeable) fans of Paris' superheros. With the grand prize an artifact that could potentially be of great use to the Miraculous users, Marinette enters the competition.
AO3 link: Bzzzt!
Wordcount: 7328
Notes: Written for
pod_together 2018; podfic by my delightful partner, Fic: Buzzer Beater
"Ladybug, a question!"
"Cat Noir, a quote, please!"
"Ladybug, how close are you to finding out Hawkmoth's true identity?"
"Ladybug, Cat Noir, a photo for the front page!"
"Cat Noir, Ladybug!"
"Ladybug!"
Having long since gotten used to the general chatter and incessant questions from reporters, Ladybug put on her best Please-the-Press smile as she tuned them out and readied her yoyo for the trip home. She had only two dots left, which was nowhere near long enough to indulge all of the quote-hungry media mavens in attendance. In addition to that, her parents needed her help in the bakery for a big order, and the akuma attack had already cut heavily into the time she'd set aside for them. Outside of a second akuma, about the only thing that could interrupt her at this point was—
"Ladybug, do you have a moment?"
Ladybug stopped her yoyo in mid-swing, quickly switching its motion to a casual spin to keep the momentum going. Alya was on her left, out of breath from running to catch her. To almost anyone else, the faint strain of worry around her eyes and mouth would be invisible, just as the serious note in her request would go unheard. Ladybug, however, was instantly on high alert. "Okay, but let's make it quick," she replied, wincing as the next-to-last beep sounded from her earrings.
Alya nodded quickly. Taking Ladybug's free hand in both of her own, she shook it firmly, using the motion to press a folded square of paper into Ladybug's palm. "I just wanted to say thank you for how much you help all of us," Alya said earnestly. "I know you're very busy, but I'm always looking forward to the next time I see you!"
Ladybug nodded cheerily at her civilian BFF. "All in a day's work! I'll catch you on the Ladyblog, okay?"
Alya's smile turned relieved as the superhero palmed the note and swung out for home at last, but a seed of worry had just been planted in Ladybug's stomach. She raced home, now not just anxious to beat the timer on her miraculous, but also to see what had Alya so worried. She dropped through the trapdoor to her room seconds before the transformation wore off, Tikki materializing by her shoulder. Slowly, Marinette unfolded the note.
Ladybug,
Come 2 my house 2nite btwn 7 & 9; it's important
- Alya
"Are you going to go?" Tikki asked.
Marinette nodded. "Alya wouldn't have asked if it weren't important, and she especially wouldn't have gone to this much trouble." Aside from making an announcement on the Ladyblog, finding her at akuma attacks was about the only way for Alya to deliberately contact Ladybug; between having gone for the especially direct route and passing her a note rather than asking her aloud, Marinette could only conclude that her friend was trying to be as discreet as possible.
"You should probably go help your parents, then," Tikki said. "It sounded like it was going to take a whole lot of work to finish that order, and you need to be done quickly if you want to see Alya on time!"
"Oh boy, more work!" Marinette said with false cheer, then made a face. Breathing out a sigh, she got to her feet. Tikki was right; she needed to get to the kitchen right away if she wanted to finish the order on time to visit Alya and get some of her sadly neglected studying in. Stretching out the muscles in her hands, Marinette headed downstairs to help her parents.
-----
At eight fifteen, Ladybug tapped lightly on Alya's third-story window. Alya's eyes instantly snapped to the source of the noise, and a relieved grin spread over her face. Within moments, she had the window open and was ushering Ladybug inside.
Ladybug looked around the room in feigned curiosity. There was a significant amount of Ladybug and Cat Noir paraphernalia interspersed with Majestia fare, and—Ladybug was tickled to see—one of the new Rena Rouge posters hanging on the wall above Alya's bed. It was a smart move of Alya to get merchandise of her own alter-ego, Ladybug reflected. It would have been suspicious for the webmistress of the Ladyblog and superhero fangirl to overlook any of Paris' beloved protectors, even if the poster hadn't been completely awesome in its own right.
"Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed. "I'm so glad you could make it; I wasn't sure how soon I could contact you again if you couldn't make it tonight."
Ladybug suppressed a wince at the memory of two hundred individually hand-decorated sugar cookies. "Sorry I'm late," she replied. "I had some trouble getting away, but your note said it was important, so I made it work." Her brow creased in worry. "Are you in trouble? Do I need to get Cat Noir or Trixx?"
Alya frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. You should take a look and tell me what you think, though." She beckoned Ladybug to her computer, where she pulled up an email from her Ladyblog moderator account. The sender, Ladybug noticed with shock, was none other than Gabriel Agreste.
To the proprietor of the "Ladyblog",
My son speaks highly of your work ethic, and a cursory overview of your website would seem to bear him out. I am quite impressed with your dedication to researching facts to back up your claims and queries, as well as the fact that you cite and verify all of your sources so your readers can make informed opinions. In recognition of your journalistic talents and integrity, I am prepared to make a mutually beneficial arrangement.
While relocating my older inspirational materials, I happened across an item that I have no further use for, but may be of interest to you and your readers. If you were to hold a contest of some sort to determine which of your readers is the most knowledgeable about the heroes of Paris, I would like to make Gabriel, Inc a sponsor, and to donate the item in question as the grand prize. Attached you will find photos if the item, which you can use to judge your interest in such an endeavor.
Please have your response back to me in no less than one week.
Gabriel Agreste
Owner and Chief Designer, Gabriel, Inc
Biting her lip, Ladybug clicked to open the images.
An ancient scroll appeared on Alya's computer screen, depicting the Ladybug and Cat Noir of the time in combat against a giant snail. Chinese calligraphy ran down one side, no doubt providing important information about the battle taking place. Ladybug spared a moment to wish she'd been more dedicated to studying Mandarin; while she could recognize the writing itself as Chinese, she had no idea what era or region it came from, only that it looked old. A few of the radicals looked familiar, but the rest were completely foreign to her. Even if she did know Mandarin better, and the scroll had been in that dialect, Ladybug had to acknowledge that there was also a good chance the writing on the scroll was in code, just like the book that Gabriel had.
Master Fu would be able to tell her more, she decided. Aloud, she read off part of the letter that had particularly worried her. "'Determine which of your readers is the most knowledgeable about the heroes of Paris'? That seems a little..."
Alya nodded. "I thought so, too. And the scroll looked like it might have some useful information for you or Cat Noir. I mean, Gabriel has been akumatized, which should mean that he can't be Hawkmoth, but it still seems like he might be trying to find out our secret identities."
"Good call asking me to look at this," Ladybug told Alya. "Could you print me out a copy of the email and the pictures? There's someone I need to talk to about this."
-----
Marinette fidgeted as Master Fu looked over the papers she'd handed him, Wayzz reading over his shoulder. The kwami let out a small gasp when Master Fu flipped the page to reveal the picture of the scroll. "Master! Could that be—"
Master Fu raised a hand to cut the kwami off. "You said this is the same man who has the book?"
Marinette nodded.
"And you say he's not Hawkmoth, correct?"
Marinette hesitated, then nodded again.
Master Fu's eyebrows went up. "Ah. You are not certain, I see."
Marinette stood and began to pace. "Well, he's been akumatized before, right? So that should mean that he isn't Hawkmoth, because Hawkmoth shouldn't be able to akumatize himself. Only, there keeps being new things with akuma! I thought that akuma victims would have to be at least able to talk properly, and then Hawkmoth akumatizes an infant. I thought people couldn't be re-akumatized, then the little girl I babysit for used dolls I made to bring back Lady Wifi. I thought he could only akumatize one person at a time, and then he turns my best friend's little sisters into Sapotis! Every time I think I know what to expect when fighting akumas, Hawkmoth pulls out some weird new trick and I'm left back at the beginning!"
Tikki flew around Marinette's wildly gesticulating arms and patted her charge on the cheek. "You're doing very well, Marinette," she assured the girl. "Even with everything Hawkmoth has come up with, he hasn't been able to beat you so far, and I know you'll be able to find a solution to anything he throws at you in the future!"
Marinette smiled at Tikki, calmer now that her worries were out in the open. "Thank you, Tikki." She sat back down opposite Master Fu. "So what I'm saying is that I'm not sure," she said. "It doesn't make sense that Hawkmoth would be able to akumatize himself, but I don't think I'll ever know everything there is to know about how akumas work. Gabriel Agreste could be switching off as Hawkmoth with another person, or maybe he's working for him, or he still might not be involved at all aside from collecting a bunch of Miraculous related stuff. What I do know is that this whole competition thing seems really sketchy."
Master Fu nodded in approval. "That is a wise position to take," he said. "Now, this scroll," he tapped the printout for emphasis. "If I am correct, it may hold a secret to enhancing your power and allowing you to stay transformed for longer after you, Cat Noir, and even Rena Rouge use your powers. Whether or not Hawkmoth has deciphered it, we cannot know, because his powers differ so greatly from yours. However, it would still be of great use to you and your fellow heroes."
Marinette's eyes widened. More time to stay transformed after a battle? How many times had she wished for even a few more minutes to finish dealing with the press or making sure an akuma victim was alright, or for Ladybug's speed so she could get back to school faster after an attack? This scroll could make a huge difference in her life. "So you think we should say yes? But what if it's a trap?"
Master Fu met her eyes with a level gaze. "I think that if you go in prepared for that, you will have a greater chance of evading it. And whether or not he knows it, this Mr. Agreste is potentially handing you a considerable advantage in the fight against Hawkmoth. If you work with this friend of yours and Rena Rouge, it's entirely possible you could win the scroll for yourself."
Marinette took the papers back from him, the beginnings of an idea taking root in her mind. "Could you contact Cat Noir for me? I think I know how we can make this work, but I'll need his help."
Master Fu's smile turned mischievous. "So, you thought of a plan, then?"
She nodded and leaned forward eagerly. "Tell me what you think of this..."
-----
Marinette rocked on her heels while she waited for the program to start. She and Alya had worked long and hard to come up with a list of questions that could only be answered by the most diehard fans of Paris' superheroes, or by the superheroes themselves. To narrow the potential winners even farther, the test itself had a two hour time limit. With Gabriel Agreste's approval, Alya had announced the competition on the Ladyblog: The five people with the highest score on the test would go on to be contestants in a Ladybug and Cat Noir themed quiz show, to be filmed live the following weekend. The grand prize would be the scroll, and each of the finalists would also receive a signed photograph of Paris' three heroes.
Short of revealing her identity to Alya, Marinette thought it was the best way to ensure that she would get into the contest for a chance to win the scroll. Master Fu had contacted Cat Noir with her plan, so hopefully he would also be one of the finalists. Considering that Marinette had needed Tikki's help with a few of the questions, she was fairly certain that he would have been able to pass the test to become a contestant, but she had no way of truly knowing—which, considering Hawkmoth could be behind the entire thing, was definitely for the best. She simply had to have faith that her partner had made it into the top five. As a last precaution, she'd also gotten permission from Master Fu to leave the fox Miraculous in Alya's care until after the competition ended.
Spying Alya, Marinette decided that the best way to take her mind off of her troubles was to talk to her best friend. Walking up as casually as she could, she bumped her shoulder against Alya's to get her attention. "Hey, Alya," she greeted. "How are things going with you? Are you nervous?"
Alya turned and grinned at Marinette. "A little," she admitted, then poked her friend in the side. "How about you, miss secret superhero fangirl? Are you nervous? More importantly, how on earth did you hide your love of our local superheroes from me for so long?"
Marinette laughed to hide her anxiety. "Oh come on, Alya, you know I read the Ladyblog all the time! And with how much you talk about them, it was easy to answer the questions."
Either Alya bought her excuse, or she was too distracted by the competition to examine it closely. "How cool is this, though!" she declared, gesturing at the studio. The usual game show set had been taken down, replaced by six podiums: A large one for Alya to stand at, since she was hosting the competition, and one for each of the finalists. Each of the contestant's podiums had a rectangular screen with two circles on it: A red one to the left, and a black one to the right. Below that was the Gabriel, Inc logo.
"Anyway, you're not even the most surprising finalist," Alya continued. "The most surprising was—"
"Ms. Cesaire?" someone called. Marinette and Alya looked over to the source of the voice to see someone waving. "Ms. Cesaire, we need you in makeup!"
"Ah, shoot," Alya said. "Sorry, girl, I gotta take care of this. But hey, I'll see you on the contest floor, right?"
"Absolutely," Marinette agreed, and waved as her friend walked off. On her own again, Marinette wished briefly that the area was isolated enough for her to talk to Tikki; the kwami would certainly have something encouraging to say, and Marinette could use the time to brush up on her Ladybug and Cat Noir trivia. If it turned out this whole thing wasn't a trap, she wanted to win that scroll fair and square. Or, well, as fair and square as possible, considering she was one of the subjects of the contest.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Marinette jumped a foot in the air. "Sorry!" said the station staff person, waving a hand in apology. "I just wanted to let you know that we're starting in a few minutes, so if you could line up over there with the other contestants..."
"Oh, of course!" Marinette said, her breathing returning to normal. "Um, where was that again?" After being pointed in the right direction, Marinette went to stand with three other people about her age: two girls, one with short, dark hair, and one with long blond hair, and a boy with chin-length brown hair. All three of them were wearing outfits themed after the local superheroes: The blond girl wore a red dress with black polka-dots and a black cardigan over it, the dark-haired girl wore all black with a bright green paw print on the front of her shirt, and the boy was wearing a white t-shirt with pants, overshirt, and jacket in shades of orange, with an orange and white ombre bandanna secured to one belt loop. Marinette felt briefly self-conscious for wearing her usual outfit, then quickly shook it off; there were two people in the studio she could say for certain dressed like superheroes, and she was one of them.
Looking back at her fellow contestants, Marinette noticed something else: There were only three of them. Counting herself, that made four finalists total. Where was the fifth person?
"Sorry I'm late!" someone said, coming to a stop behind her. A very familiar sounding someone. Marinette turned around to see none other than Adrien Agreste had joined her in the competitor's line.
"A-a-adrien?!" she stammered, cheeks heating up. "W-what here are you doing? I mean, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey, Marinette!" Adrien smiled at her a bit sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you could say I'm a bit of a Ladybug fan. Or maybe a big fan, considering I made it to the top five. I wasn't expecting to see you here, though!"
Marinette laughed nervously. "Oh, you know, I gotta keep up with the Ladyblog. Plus," she added, not wanting her companions left out, "Cat Noir and Rena Rouge are both really amazing! I really think they'd be more popular if people just paid a little attention to them."
"You got that right," the boy in line said. "Rena Rouge and Cat Noir could definitely use a little more credit for how much they do to help save the day."
The dark haired girl nodded in agreement. "Not that Ladybug isn't amazing herself," she added, glancing at the blonde, "but Cat and Rena really help her out in a big way. I'm really glad they're both on the photo we're getting."
"They're all just so awesome, right?" the blonde gushed. "I mean, I like Ladybug the best, but it's such a close race. I have everything that's been officially made for them, and I check the Ladyblog every day for updates! As soon as I saw the announcement for the competition, I knew I had to try."
Marinette smiled widely, touched that her superhero counterparts had such avid fans. Ladybug tended to get the most attention, and she had to admit it was flattering, but Cat Noir and Rena Rouge absolutely deserved more of the spotlight than they got. She made a mental note to tell them about their fans the next opportunity she got—with how she'd heard them carefully edited, of course.
The same stage hand from earlier approached the group. "Okay, everyone," he said. "We're going to start filming in just a few moments. If you'd all go and pick a podium to stand behind, we'll be able to get started right away."
"Good luck, Marinette!" Adrien said as they walked up to the stage.
"You, too, Adrien!" she replied automatically, blushing when he smiled at her. I am going to lose this contest in the first round if he keeps smiling at me like that, she thought guiltily, doing her best to shake off her infatuation. Since Master Fu hadn't been able to tell her whether Cat Noir had managed to make it to the finals of the competition, she had to do everything she could to make sure she won on her own, and that meant not letting her feelings for Adrien get the best of her.
Marinette shared a smile with Alya when she got on stage, and took the fourth podium from the end, with the three contestants she didn't know to her left. That put Adrien on her right, a fact which she was doing her best to treat as purely neutral information. She put on her best smile when she saw the director signal that the show was about to begin.
"Hello, Paris, and welcome to Show Your Spots!" Alya announced for the camera. Pride in her friend rose in Marinette; Alya was doing wonderfully already. "My name is Alya Cesaire, and you may recognize me as the webmistress of the Ladyblog, the world's premier source for news of our local superheroes. Show Your Spots is a special, one-time-only game show where the biggest Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge fans in Paris will be competing for a unique prize related to the history of our city's heroes, donated by none other than world famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste." A picture of the scroll came up on the enormous screen behind Alya and the contestants. "I'll tell you how the game works in a few minutes, but first, let's find out a little bit more about our contestants! Everyone, please tell us your name, age, and favorite superhero. Let's start with the young lady on my right." Alya smiled expectantly at the brunette.
The girl in black smiled back. "Thanks, Alya, and let me just say, it's great to meet you! My name is Jeanne, I'm sixteen, and in case you haven't guessed, my favorite superhero is Cat Noir."
Alya beamed. "Wonderful! Next?"
The boy in orange grinned and waved. "Hi, I'm Marco. I'm fifteen years old, and Rena Rouge is the best thing to walk this earth."
Marinette could see traces of a blush on Alya's cheeks. "Nice to meet you, Marco!" she said. "And you?"
The blonde next to Marinette in the Ladybug-inspired outfit beamed. "My name is Celeste, I'm thirteen, and I love Ladybug!"
Alya grinned back. "Celeste, I can totally relate to that. Up next?"
Marinette smiled at her friend. "Hi, Alya; I'm Marinette, I'm fourteen, and I can't pick between Rena Rouge and Cat Noir."
Alya nodded at her. "Fair enough! I'm not about to call out anyone for not being able to pick a favorite. And our last contestant?"
Marinette swallowed hard when Adrien smiled for the camera. "My name is Adrien, I'm fourteen, and I'm probably tied with you and Celeste for world's biggest Ladybug fan."
"Okay, great!" Alya grinned and clapped her hands. "Now that we've met everyone, it's time for me to explain the rules of the game." A closeup of the circles from the contestants' podiums appeared on the screen. "I'll be asking various trivia questions about our favorite heroes. If one of our contestants thinks they know the answer, they hit the buzzer in front of them. For each correct answer, they'll earn a lucky spot on their Ladybug circle. For each incorrect answer, they'll get a green toe print of destruction on their Cat Noir circle. The first person to five lucky spots wins the competition! Be careful, though; if you get a complete green paw print, you're out of the running!" Alya looked the competitors over critically. "Are you all ready?"
"Yes!" Marinette yelled with the other four.
"Okay! Let's get started, then!" Alya glanced down at a stack of notecards in her hand. "First question: What was the largest akuma our heroes have faced to date?" Hands slapped down on the buzzers. Alya looked at Jeanne. "Jeanne, it looks like your buzzer timed in first. What's your answer?"
"Gigantitan," Jeanne answered confidently.
"That is correct!" Alya announced. With a ding, a black dot appeared at the northmost part of the red circle on Jeanne's podium. Jeanne looked pleased. A fox tail suddenly swished over the large screen behind them, wiping away the image of Gigantitan that had appeared when Jeanne answered. Alya smiled mischievously. "Contestants, it appears I forgot to mention the fox tail trick! Whenever a question has more than one correct answer, the fox tail will appear and allow for up to one more person to earn a spot. Would anyone like to take a guess?"
This time, Celeste was the fastest at the buzzer. "Glaciator!" she announced.
A disappointed note played and a green toe print appeared on the left side of the black circle on Celeste's podium. "I'm sorry," Alya said. "While Glaciator's ice cream form was, in fact, taller than Gigantitan, his actual body remained much closer to human size." Celeste seemed disappointed, but hid it quickly. "Anyone else care to try?"
Marco's buzzer sounded. "The Sapotis," he replied. With a ding, a black spot appeared on his own red circle.
"Congratulations, that is correct," Alya informed him. "With their combined mass, the Sapotis easily meet the qualifications for largest akuma."
Marinette regarded her fellow competitors with new respect; she would have to step up her game.
"Next question," Alya announced. "Other than Ladybug's Miraculous Cure, what is the only known way to reverse the effects of an akuma?"
Jeanne's buzzer sounded. "A kiss from Ladybug." With a negative sound, a green toe print appeared on Jeanne's black circle; Jeanne's smile drooped.
"I'm sorry, that's not correct. Does anyone else have a guess?"
Marinette slammed her hand on her own buzzer, praying that the makeup she was wearing would hide her inevitable blush. "True love's kiss," she answered, her cheeks growing hot, and a ding from her own podium signaled the appearance of her first lucky spot.
"Well done, Marinette! Okay, here's the next one: How many times have akuma attacked the Louvre?"
The questions continued, ranging in subject from aspects of various akuma, to specific Lucky Charms, to trivia about the heroes they'd revealed in interviews, and more. Finally, Alya caught a signal from the director. "Okay, folks, we're going to take a short break! We'll be back with more questions after a word from our sponsors, including Gabriel, Inc!" As soon as the camera was off her, Alya slumped slightly and gusted out a sigh of relief. Stretching, she wandered over to Marinette.
"Not bad, girl!" Alya said, hitting her gently on the shoulder.
"Thanks," Marinette said, "but everyone else is doing well, too! I know I would have missed some of those questions. Like the one about Animan? Ugh!" She peeked over the top of her podium to see her score: Three lucky spots and one destructive toe print. A glance to her right showed that Adrien had the same score, while to her left Jeanne had two lucky spots and one toe print, Marco two spots and two toe prints each, and poor Celeste had three toe prints and only one spot. Marinette winced in sympathy; Celeste had gotten a second disqualified answer after Glaciator, and was outright wrong about the Lucky Charm that Ladybug had used to defeat Antibug. She'd also been too slow on the buzzer on at least four other questions, her answer about Darkblade's motivation winning the only lucky spot she'd gotten so far. Now she looked about ready to cry.
"Hey," said Marinette, leaning in closer to Celeste and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Celeste sniffed. "I don't understand," she said. "I got every question right in the qualifier! Even the one about how many spots Ladybug has!" Marinette remembered that one; Tikki had come to her rescue, informing her charge that she always knew how many spots were on her Ladybugs. Seeing the discussion after the winners had been chosen, that question had been one of the hardest on the quiz. Most people had either guessed wrong or ended up skipping it entirely.
"There's still time to catch up!" Marinette assured her. "You're not out yet, and there's plenty of questions left!" She felt a brief pang of guilt that she didn't entirely mean her words. She still wasn't sure if Cat Noir was at the studio, and with Rena Rouge running the contest, that left Marinette as their best hope to get the scroll.
"She's right," Adrien agreed. "You can still turn this around. I'll bet all the questions you're good at got stuck at the bottom of the stack."
Celeste sniffed. "You think?"
"Absolutely!" Jeanne chimed in.
Marco nodded. "I don't know if it'll help, but if I win, I promise I'll let you take as many pictures of and with the scroll as you want. It's not the same, but it'll be something, right? Plus, we'll all still get that signed picture!"
The other three contestants nodded and agreed, making similar promises. Celeste gave a watery smile. "Thanks, everyone," she said. "I really appreciate it." She dabbed at her eyes with a polka-dotted red handkerchief and straightened. "I think I'm okay now." She smiled at Marinette. "Thanks again."
Alya grinned. "There's a reason she's my best friend."
Celeste's eyebrows drew together. "...Best friend?"
At the same time, the sounds of a familiar commercial began to play in the background. "Adrien..." a voice crooned.
Celeste leaned around Marinette and Adrien to get a better look. "You're Adrien Agreste?" she asked, voice cracking.
A black butterfly flapped its way into the studio, drifting down near Celeste. "Oh no," Marinette breathed. The butterfly landed on the buzzer by Celeste's hand, and she came to attention, the outline of a butterfly-shaped mask appearing in front of her face. Marinette ducked behind her podium as a wave of purple-black magic began bubbling over Celeste's body. This wasn't good!
The magic faded to reveal a taller Celeste dressed in black slacks and a purple suit jacket with black spots. A domino mask framed her eyes, and her blond hair had turned white. "I am Buzzer Beater," she announced. "Answer my questions correctly, or face the consequences!" She turned on Marco and Jeanne. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir?" she demanded.
"I—I don't know!" Jeanne stammered.
Buzzer Beater's eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer!" She pressed the buzzer that was now attached to her right wrist and a stream of purple goop shot out, sticking Jeanne in place. She turned her attention to Marco. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir!" she repeated.
Marinette didn't stick around to hear his answer. "We have to get out of here!" Grabbing Alya and Adrien's wrists, she dragged them from the studio stage.
Marinette's relief at getting safely backstage was short lived; with the other two as witnesses, neither she nor Alya could safely transform.
Surprisingly, the solution to her problem came from Adrien. "We should split up," he said. "If we each go in a different direction, it'll take Buzzer Beater longer to find us, which will give Ladybug and Cat Noir more time to get here."
Marinette could have kissed him especially hard in that moment. "Good plan," she said instead. "Alya, you go right; Adrien, you go left. I'll duck into a changing room." With nods of affirmation from both of her friends, Marinette dashed forward into a changing room and slammed the door behind her. With one final glance around to make sure there was no one else there, she unsnapped her purse for Tikki to fly out. "Come on, Tikki, it's go time. Spots on!"
-----
Ladybug dashed onto the film set, eyes going wide as she took in the sheer number of people now coated in purple goo. It seemed like nearly everyone in the room had been subject to Buzzer Beater's personal quiz show routine. The akuma herself currently had the camerawoman in her sights. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir!" she demanded.
Clearly terrified, the camerawoman pointed to Ladybug. "Over there! Ladybug is over there!"
Buzzer Beater turned in the direction the camerawoman was pointing and stared directly at Ladybug. "Hmm," Buzzer Beater said. "No Cat Noir. I'll allow partial credit for that answer, but you're still getting penalized." Changing her aim, Buzzer Beater hit the button and drenched the camerawoman with purple slime from the waist down, leaving her torso free. She then directed the button on her wrist at Ladybug. "Ladybug! Where's Cat Noir?"
Spinning her yoyo to form a shield in front of her, Ladybug shouted back, "Never mind that, you have me to deal with now!"
"Never mind me? Aw, I'm hurt, Ladybug!" Keeping her shield up, Ladybug looked to her left to see Cat Noir run up beside her and begin spinning his staff to form his own shield. "You know I'm always happy to lend you a paw," he added with a wink.
Ladybug rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Save it for your fans, Ro-meow," she shot back. "In fact, we should save your fans period."
Buzzer Beater took aim at the heroes. "Ladybug and Cat Noir! Give me your Miraculouses!"
"That's not a question!" Cat protested.
The villain's eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer!" she declared, and pushed the button on her wrist. Ladybug and Cat Noir flipped out of the way, the purple goo hitting the floor where they'd been standing moments before.
"Careful," Ladybug cautioned, bringing her yoyo-shield back up. "Don't get hit by that purple stuff, or you'll be stuck."
"That's sweet of you, my Lady, but the only thing I'm stuck on is you," Cat Noir replied.
"I'll ask you again," Buzzer Beater interrupted, aiming at Ladybug. "Where is your Miraculous, so I can take it from you?"
"Not happening," Ladybug said. Buzzer Beater raised her arm to fire, then at the last moment switched targets to Cat Noir. "Cat Noir, look out!" Ladybug shouted, heart jumping into her throat.
Bzzzzzt! "Not today!" Ladybug's eyes widened as Rena Rouge appeared, knocking against Buzzer Beater's wrist with her flute and throwing the villain's aim off. The shot went wild, hitting the wall behind Cat Noir in a long purple streak.
"Rena Rouge, you made it!" Ladybug grinned at her fellow hero.
Rena grinned back. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Cat Noir ran over and skidded to a stop next to them. "Got a plan yet, Bugaboo?" he asked.
"The akuma's in the buzzer on her wrist," Ladybug replied. "And I think we should actually try to get the scroll, if we can." She bit her lip in concentration. "Rena, you grab the scroll; Cat, see if you can distract Buzzer Beater while Rena does that. I think it's time for a Lucky Charm."
The two heroes nodded and dashed off. "Hey, Buzzer Beater!" Cat Noir called, running in her direction. "I've got a question for you: How many akumas does it take to screw in a light bulb?"
Ladybug let them go, focusing on her own task. She tossed her yoyo up in the air, catching the item that materialized at its peak. "A shoebox?" she said aloud, dubious. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on a podium, Rena's flute, and the scroll in Rena's hands. Ladybug grinned; she had a plan. "Rena!" she called, holding up the open box. "The scroll!"
Rena's eyes lit up as she figured out what Ladybug meant. "Got it!" She activated Mirage, then threw the scroll to Ladybug. Ladybug promptly caught it in the shoebox, right on time to hear Buzzer Beater's crow of triumph. She turned around to see that one of Buzzer Beater's shots had glued Cat Noir's left foot to the ground.
"Last chance, Cat Noir," Buzzer Beater taunted. "How do I get your Miraculous off of you?"
Cat glared and clenched his right hand. "Cataclysm!" He smirked at Buzzer Beater. "Try it and find out."
Buzzer Beater snarled and pressed the button on her wrist; at the same time, Ladybug threw the scroll between her and Cat Noir. Buzzer Beater's purple goop hit the scroll, covering it all over and sending the entire thing flying at Cat—which he caught with his right hand.
"No!" Buzzer Beater cried out as scroll and purple blob disintegrated. She turned her glare on Ladybug. "Final question! How dare you?!"
"I'd kinda like to know that, too," Cat said, staring in horror at the place where the scroll should have landed. "What the heck, Ladybug?"
"Trust me, Cat," she replied with confidence. "I've got this."
"Wrong answer!" Buzzer Beater yelled, taking aim at Ladybug and slamming her hand down on the akumatized buzzer.
Whipping the open shoebox in front of herself, Ladybug caught the stream of purple goo inside. She ran towards Buzzer Beater, shoebox in front of her, grabbing the villain's wrist when the stream ran out. Buzzer Beater shrieked and tried to free her hand, to no avail. There was nothing left to stop Ladybug from smashing the button on her wrist and freeing the akuma inside.
Cat Noir and Rena Rouge ran up to her as she tossed the shoebox in the air. Ladybug grinned at Cat Noir and held her fist up. "Pound it!"
Cat fistbumped her, worry clear on his face. "Ladybug, the scroll—it didn't come back!"
Rena giggled, and Ladybug grinned, beckoning her two companions closer. "That's because you didn't destroy it; Rena had it the whole time!"
"Ta-dah!" Rena Rouge pulled the scroll out from behind herself, keeping it out of sight from Buzzer Beater's recovering victims. "I found out how to pack a little extra magic into my illusions, so they act more solid. It doesn't last for long, but it was long enough for Buzzer Beater's goop to start sticking to itself before it hit you."
Cat grinned at her. "That's amazing!"
Rena nodded. "Ladybug can pick it up from me tonight. I have someplace safe I can keep it until then."
Ladybug winced as all three of their Miraculouses beeped in succession. "On that note, it's time for me to get going. I'll see you tonight, Rena!"
"See you," Rena and Cat echoed, and all three heroes fled the scene.
-----
When Marinette returned to the set, it seemed that the station had elected to fill the remaining time allotted to Show Your Spots with interviews of Alya, the contestants, and the film crew. "Unfortunately, it seems that the scroll we were originally using as a grand prize was destroyed during the fight," Alya said, lying like a champion. "I'm not sure why it didn't come back with everything else, but I'll be opening up theories on the Ladyblog as soon as I can make a post about today's events."
"And what about the contest itself?" Nadja Chamack asked. "Do you have any plans to try again, and if so, what would you be offering as a grand prize instead?"
"If the studio would have me, I'd love to try again," Alya replied. "At the moment, I'm not sure what I would do for a grand prize. I wouldn't ask Mr. Agreste to donate anything else after all he's already given to us, and especially considering what happened to the scroll. It's my hope that Ladybug or her fellow heroes might be able to come up with something. A special selfie or question-and-answer session with the winner, maybe. That said," she added, "if Gabriel Agreste were generous enough to donate a second prize to us, there is no way I would refuse."
"Thank you, Ms. Cesaire," Nadja said. She turned back to the camera. "With the future of the contest still being debated, we move on to matters elsewhere."
Tuning Nadja out, Marinette jogged up to where Alya was now talking with the other contestants. "Hey," she said. "Is everyone okay? Things got a little bit intense for a while there!"
Celeste's face was a study in misery. "Marinette, I'm so sorry!" she said. "I'm sure you worked just as hard as the rest of us to get into the contest, I just felt so frustrated!"
Marinette patted Celeste's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay, Celeste," she said. "I was actually thinking about it while I was hiding in one of the changing rooms, and I think you're right. It is kind of unfair that I managed to get into the top five, since I'm Alya's best friend. I get to hear her talk about Ladybug facts and theories all the time, that definitely gives me way too much of an advantage. So I've decided that, if Alya gets another chance to put on Show Your Spots, I'm going to give up my own spot to someone else."
"Same here," Adrien agreed. "I'm such a huge fan of Ladybug, I forgot for a while what it would look like to be in a contest sponsored by my father! Knowing I made the top five once is more than enough for me; I'm happy to let someone else have a chance next time."
"Besides," Jeanne added, "the circumstances may not have been great, but we got to see all three heroes in action! There's not a lot of people who can say that."
Marco nodded. "It was super cool to see Rena Rouge up close," he said. "That wouldn't have happened without you, Celeste." He winked.
Celeste let out a slightly watery giggle and wiped her eyes. "Thanks, everyone. Jeanne, Marco, I hope we get another chance to compete together! And I'm really glad I got to meet all of you."
As the topic of conversation turned to other akuma battles, Adrien nudged Marinette in the side. "So I know you said you were okay giving up your spot in the competition," he said, "but I still feel a little bit bad that you lost your chance at the grand prize. I'm actually doing a photoshoot at a theme park next week, and they gave me an extra ticket as a perk. It's not the same, but would you like to come with me to make up for today?"
Marinette's cheeks heated up again and her heart began to pound. "A-are you sure? Because that would be amazing!"
Adrien grinned. "Great! I actually need to get going—my father wanted me to come home as soon as I was finished today—so we can talk about the details on Monday, okay?"
"Sounds good," Marinette said dreamily, and waved at Adrien as he walked off.
"Well, well, well," Alya said, coming to stand by her best friend. "Looks like you won the grand prize after all, Marinette!"
"Alya!" Marinette protested briefly, her entire face turning red. Then she smiled. "I think I kind of did, actually."
-----
Thoughts swirled in Marinette's mind that evening as she turned out the lights for bed: The scroll was safely locked away in one of her drawers, where she could take it to Master Fu the next day; she'd made plans with Alya for possible prize options if Show Your Spots got the go-ahead for another run when she went to pick the scroll up, and both of them were happy with the ideas they'd come up with; and sometime next week, she was going to spend a whole day with Adrien at an amusement park.
I wonder where Cat Noir was during the quiz show, she mused as she drifted towards sleep. He'd arrived on scene quickly enough that Marinette was sure he'd been in the building at least, but she had no idea where. She'd been sure he would have known enough to make it into the top five, as well. Still, the day had been full of surprises. She'd had no idea that Adrien was such a big Ladybug fan, for example.
Marinette was just about asleep when those two thoughts collided. She sat bolt upright in bed, suddenly no longer tired. "Oh, no," she whimpered.
Marinette was pretty sure she had just kissed that night's sleep good-bye.
—fin—
More notes later, at work now.
