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Chapter Text

Marinette was excited. Very excited. Why, you may ask?

Well, Marinette's entire class was invited to one of the biggest galas to be thrown in Paris.

Once again you may ask, why? 

Well, Marinette happens to be classmates with one Adrien Agreste, the very cute, pretty, gorgeous, beautiful, hand- OFF TOPIC!!

Anyways, Marinette is classmates with Adrien, who happens to be the son of Gabriel Agreste and if you don't know Gabriel Agreste, then Marinette has to unfortunately break the news to you that you live under a rock. 

A very large rock. And you've probably not seen the sun or a clothing shop for 20 years.

Because Gabriel Agreste is one of the leading fashion designers in the world and therefore, is obviously invited to this gala, with Adrien being invited by extension.

'But Marinette!' You may ask, 'What does this have to do with your class being invited? They aren't important!' 

And to that, Marinette says rude. But not wrong.

However, people have recently been getting at Gabriel Agreste for isolating his son, largely due to the fact that Adrien works as a model for his father's company and he has been homeschooled most of his life. So, the natural solution for fashion legend Agreste was to allow Adrien to bring his class to the gala now that he's in public school.

A very selective public school. Like seriously, the Mayor's daughter goes there. 

So, Adrien was invited to bring along his whole class to the gala, to prove that Adrien is in fact, not isolated by his father and he does actually have friends. 

And if you were paying attention at the beginning, you would remember that Marinette just happens to be in the same class as Adrien Agreste. 

Which means that, Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been invited to what is essentially a party hosted by a load of important people with too much money for their own good.

Of course, Gabriel Agreste has to make sure his impeccable reputation is not tarnished so each member of the class has had to agree to not mess up in any way whatsoever or face several lawsuits from the Agreste family. 

Gabriel is a little, uh, paranoid. If you couldn't tell. 

SO! 

There is lots of pressure for Marinette to be absolutely amazing, especially as she wants to get herself out there for when she becomes the amazing fashion designer she is destined to be! 

"Alya, I can't believe this! I'm going to explode!!" 

Alya, the traitor, just chuckled at her. "Chill, girl. It's gonna be fine. Let's just focus on having a good time and not leaving with a lawsuit, whether it be from the Agrestes or not." 

Marinette shuddered. She hadn't even considered the possibility of being sued by someone else.

"Oh my god, Alya. My whole thing is that I'm a clutz! What if I spill something on someone's really expensive top and then I don't have enough money to clean it and then they sue me and my family for damages and then my parents can't afford to keep the bakery open and they have to close and we end up homeles-" 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Shut up. There's literally no way that will ever happen. You're overthinking it! The important thing is having a good time." 

Marinette took a second to think. Okay, yeah. She was being ridiculous. She knows Alya is right, there's no chance of that happening. She's just going to go to this way too expensive party and have a good time with her friends. 

The class quickly piled out of the bus, careful to avoid any chances of dirtying the outfits provided by Gabriel Agreste so they wouldn't embarrass him. 

Adrien sighed as he stood in front of his friends. This exact gala was thrown every year so the 'celebrities of Paris could connect with eachother', which was basically a coverup for: let's gather a load of rich and famous people and watch as the scandals unfolded. Because there has literally never been a year without a scandal at this gala.

One year it was the song Clara Nightingale performed.

The next it was the fact that Audrey Bourgeois was not present with the rest of her family.

The one after that was because Jagged Stone decided, hey! I'm going to bring my pet crocodile!

Then a ring belonging to Nadia Chamack went missing and was found in Adrien's pocket.

But in his defence, Plagg, the absolute idiot, stole it because, actually, there is no because! Plagg refused to explain or give any reason why he did it. That ended duo with Adrien being grounded for 4 months. It was a very boring 4 months filled with lots of Plagg being scolded.

Then, there was that one year Luka Stone ignored literally anyone who tried to talk to him, which to be fair, Adrien doesn't blame him. People are weird, especially the non famous people who just happened to save up enough money to buy a ticket to this thing because for some reason, there are people out there who actually want to come to this.

Adrien doesn't actually remember the last time he spoke to Luka Stone. Probably the gala last year. He was only in Paris when his father was in Paris for shows. Adrien is pretty sure he's staying at the Hotel Chloe's father owns right now and if he remembers right, Chloe had told him he's not really changed that much since the last time they saw the boy.

If that's a good or a bad thing is up for debate because Luka is known in the celebrity world for being, well. Excuse his language but a shithead. 

Prank goes off at any event the Stones are present at, it's pretty easy to point blame in the right direction to say the least.

But back to the present, Adrien faces his class as they look at him. Right, he's supposed to give advice on what to do, alone, because someone, cough cough Chloe, is known for not exactly having enough manners to make sure that they aren't burnt at the stake for offending someone.

"Okay so, just don't talk to Bob Roth in general, he will try and trick you into a deal that won't end well for you. Don't do anything musical in front of XY, he will steal it for his own brand. Everyone knows Mr Bourgeois. Don't make eye contact with Audrey Bourgeois, she thinks 'unexceptional don't deserve eyes'. Don't question the relationship between Jagged Stone and his assistant or I'm pretty sure he'll set his crocodile on you." 

Adrien receives a look from Ms. Bustier. He's not wrong, though! He's pretty sure that happened one year.

"I'm half joking. But still don't ask. Clara Nightingale is really nice so just be nice back to her and you'll be fine. And I think that's i-"

Chloe then decided to make her presence known. "Luka. Don't forget about Luka, Adrikins!" She said with the same tone of someone who has seen horrors. 

Sounds like Luka hasn't changed at all then. 

"Good point. Just don't talk to Luka Stone. Like at all. He'll drag you into something you really won't want to be a part of otherwise." 

A little ominous, Adrien. But hopefully it'll work. 

"And that should be everything! Let's just have a good time guys!"

After a couple seconds of silence which makes Adrien wonder if he made this gala sound too intimidating, the shouts of agreement from his classmates reassure him.

Let's hope they actually take his advice because he would feel really bad if they had to face the Agreste family's lawyers. 

Adrien then remembered who his class are. It feels like not a week goes by without his class being involved in something. 

There's no way this is ending well. Better hope Father lets him stay in public school after this. Fingers crossed. While he's at it, better pray that Plagg decides to not be an idiot this year. That might be wishful thinking however.

With the confidence of a man who already knows he is going to die, he leads his classmates into what could probably be described as the VIP section of hell. 

It's the same venue as it is every year. The hotel owned by the Bourgeois family.

All the guests besides the ones who either invited or payed for a ticket are left to fend for themself in the streets of Paris for the evening because, ah yes. That's a great way to attract guests.

But it's not like Adrien knows anything about running hotels, so who's he to judge? 

Entering the hotel, the class is met with gorgeous decorations, fancy music played by a live orchestra which slightly overpowers the light chatter from guests dressed in suits and dresses that cost more that an apartment in Paris.

On each side of the room, there's a table covered pieces of food, fancy enough that Adrien can't pronounce the name of but smaller than a kwami so not exactly filling. There's a bartender too, probably serving way too much alcohol for only 18:00. 

Adrien hears gasps and woahs from his classmates and a "Look, Juleka! There's so many people!" from Rose specifically. 

It's here the class starts to split off into friend groups. Chloe drags Sabrina away to see who knows what, Alix, who somehow convinced his father to allow her to wear her skates to this, skates away, pulling Nathaniel and Kim to probably murder them in a back alley or something.  

Adrien, a man with taste, meets up with Nino, who is obviously with his lovely girlfriend Alya, and Adrien's very good friend, Marinette. 

The girls are whispering about something to each other that Adrien can't hear. He turns to Nino for any hopes of elaboration to be met with a shrug.

"Can't help ya here dude. Sumthin' about girl stuff." 

Alya then proceeded to whisper god knows what to Marinette but Adrien doesn't know if he wants to know because it turns her bright red. Like a tomato, it's cute. 

Anyway, Marinette then proceeds to shove Alya away and both girls seem to join them in the real world. 

"Well, shall we go then? We can get a drink and just walk around for a bit?" He says. Not too hard. There shouldn't be any scandals caused from that. 

"I- uh- would hate- I mean! LOVE you- THAT! I would love that! That's what I meant!!" Sometimes Adrien wonders if Marinette needs speech therapy because she always seems to have so much trouble talking. 

Maybe at some point, he can ask his lady if she has any ideas.

Alya then proceeds to elbow Marinette while saying "Sure, Adrien. Lead the way!"  

And lead the way he does. They make their way over to the bartender and order just water because anything else is a scandal in the making. 

"Dude! This is pretty cool, not my type'a thing but y'know." Adrien resists the urge to sigh for he isn't sureth time. 

"Yeah. It's pretty cool the first year or two but then it just kinda gets a bit repetitive and boring."

Nino shrugs. "That sucks man. At least we're here this time?" 

"Yeah. That does make this a lot better. Usually, I only have Chloe or-"

Adrien is interrupted by the hotel doors slamming open, revealing-

Oh no.

Adrien should have expected this. He comes ever year without fail. But this year, his class is here. And as nice as they all are, they are so gullible. The perfect targets for one of his pranks.

A some people turn their heads at the sound, including most of his class but most look away when they realise who it is. Most people who are able to come to this event are used to the Stones just slamming the door open when arriving, the last time someone asked about it, Adrien heard something about the melody of the door before he decided the whole family was off their rocker a little. 

Well, by whole family, it was Jagged, Luka and sometimes Penny Rolling, depends on who you ask.

But alas, mischief in human form has arrived and Adrien can only pray that Luka Stone and Plagg are never given the chance to communicate.

"Oh no." Nino, Alya and Marinette look confused.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" Alya asks.

"Do you remember what I said about Luka, Alya? About how he drags you into stuff? He's basically Loki if Loki had blue hair and was really good at guitar." 

His friends suddenly seem to understand his nervousness. 

Unfortunately for the sanity of the four students, the saying of his name seems to summon him like Bloody Mary as the older boy bounced over to them.

"Adrien! Great to see you again! You sound as nice as always. How are you?" He says as if all the trouble he's caused is just a distant memory.

"I've been well. How are you, Luka?"

Luka gives him his usual Cheshire smile. "I've been doing wonderfully. Now, I hear you've found some nice, new melodies. May I hear them?"  Luka turns his attention to Marinette, Nino and Alya. Wonderful. 

"Right... Luka, this are my friends Marinette, Alya and Nino. Alya runs the Ladyblog and you might remember Marinette because she designed-"

"Ah yes! Those Eiffel tower glasses Dad wore. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, wasn't it?"

Marinette seems to be embarrassed as she averts her eyes from Luka. 

Luka then seems to move on to his next target. "And you run the Ladyblog? Alya, was it? Impressive." 

Alya, is not embarrassed at all. "Thanks! I've seen videos of you performing at your dad's concerts. You're seriously skilled." 

Adrien isn't sure if Alya is just being nice or trying to flatter Jagged's only son. He isn't sure which he'd prefer but if it is flattery, Alya won't get very far.

"Ah, you're so kind." Don't bat your eyelashes at her. You know what you are, Stone.

Adrien knows Luka has something planned. He always does. But Adrien is scared about classmates being dragged into it because a lifetime of these parties with Luka Stone has prepared him that any opportunity to prank will be taken by him.

Chapter Text

Luka smirked as he made eye contact with Adrien. It's been way too long since he's seen the other boy and he actually has friends now? It's Christmas come early.

Adrien glares at Luka. Looks like he's still mad about his little jokes. They're not as bad as the media says they are! Or as bad as people who've met Luka say they are (Penny always manages to pull a few strings, not guitar ones unfortunately, to make the more influential people conveniently forget about his mischief.)

Adrien seems to take notice of the hints of trouble Luka is sure is dancing around in his bright blue eyes he assumes is from the mother he's never met (not from lack of trying). 

"What have you got planned this time?" Adrien finally asks, his voice telling Luka all he needs to know about how Adrien has given up on trying to stop Luka's next little joke. 

"Are you assuming I'm going to do something? Making assumptions about me? That's not very rock n' roll of you, Adrien." 

Adrien's friends just look a confused, aw bless them. Must be their first time around Adrien when he's all serious. It's scary how much the blonde boy looks like Félix when he gets like this. 

Not that they don't already look similar enough.

"I'm not making assumptions if I know it's true. I'm going to be skinned if something goes wrong while my friends are here so drop your plans, just for one gala. I'm begging you." 

Oooh, begging. Never would Luka have anticipated the Adrien Agreste begging for him to hold off on his jokes, but then again... 

He never anticipated Adrien having friends outside of Félix (even if he's not been in Paris since before his father passed), Chloé, and him.

"I thought you liked my little jokes, Adrien. I remember you asking me to pull another every time because it, and this is a quote here folks, 'it makes this drag a little bit less of a drag'." Luka counters.

"Yeah, but that was before I've got my friends here and if anything doesn't go according to plan, it'll be them my father takes it out on." 

That is true. Gabriel has always been a hard ass. Maybe Luka could go easy, just for the one year.

Yeah, right?! Why should he have his fun ruined for little Agreste Jr? Pfft, who does Adrien think he is, thinking he can stop Luka Stone from pulling a prank?

Adrien's friends seem to finally snap out of whatever starstruck trance they were in previously as Luka masterfully hides the glints of trouble that risk spreading across his face.

"Really? You'll stop your prank?" One of the girls ask, the one with black hair in pigtails and blue eyes that feel wayyy too big for her head. The Dupain-Cheng girl, the one Dad had gleefully announced as his honourary niece after she designed and made his dad some rockin' shades.

Luka supposes that makes them practically family.

"Of course! Consider it a favour from a good friend." 

Luka then hears a familiar face calling out his name, Dad, looks like it's time to spare the peasants.

"And that's my que to go. Enjoy the rest of the party." Luka gives Adrien's friends one last perfectly crafted, 'I'm a sweet, innocent angel who could never do wrong' smile before making his way over to the man child he calls Dad.

Not before slipping a little bit of booze into the punch that was made for the minors in attendance, not enough to get them seriously drunk, just enough to get them a little... buzzed, let's say.

Marinette watches Adrien sigh as Luka walks away. She can't believe it! She just met the Luka Stone! 

Sure, she's met Stone Sr, Jagged, but somehow, she's never met the younger of the pair. Which is odd because if the interviews, newspapers, and the, she's ashamed to admit this, tabloids are to be believed, the father and son duo are really close and you often can't find one without the other.

She notices Alya's eyes making her way over to her as she opens her mouth, 

"The hell was that, Adrien? That tension was disgustingly thick and that's impressive seeing as I've seen your old man and Jagged Stone in the same room. Actually, maybe that isn't too concerning, like father like son, I guess."

Adrien is kind enough to have the decency to look embarrassed, "I'm sorry," he sighs. "I've not seen Luka in ages and I know what he's like. Even if he says he's not going to do anything. He will. He thrives off of the attention it gets him, he doesn't care about how he gets it as long as all eyes are on him. Father says it's a trait he must have inherited from Jagged."

Marinette thinks for a minute. WAIT! If Luka is still going to go for whatever he has planned like Adrien predicts, then M. Agreste will kill the whole class!

Forget Hawkmoth, Marinette's whole class is going to be assassinated by a man who's not left his house in 3 years, except to come to this stupidly expensive, and what Marinette is probably realising is, overhyped party. 

The whole thing now just feels like a placebo affect so you can say 'yeah, I'm so rich/famous I got to come here!' 

Ugh. 

It doesn't help that rich people in general seem to be one of the top causes for akumas, second only to one Chloé Bourgeois because dear Chloé can never be second at anything, that would be anarky! 

Marinette can feel Tikki rummaging in her bag, showing she's on the same wavelength about the near 100% chance of an akuma attack at this damn party.

While it could be exciting with an akuma, Marinette really just wants to have fun with her friends! Plus, this could be a really good way to talk to Adrien! He's the expert at this rich party thing.

Marinette refuses to count Chloé as an expert due to her obvious lack of social manners. No way.

Suddenly, the music stops and the lights go out, except from a spotlight in the middle of the stage where Mayor Bourgeois is standing. Marinette figures it's some kind of speech. 

Mayor Bourgeois clears his throat as the room goes deadly silent, so quiet, you could hear nearly hear the soft breathing of Tikki from inside her bag.

"I would like to welcome you all to our 10th annual Gala! As I'm sure most of you already know, this gala is arranged to bring us together as a community. So we can keep Paris as the thriving city it is. Due to how busy we are, it's wonderful that every year, we can come toge-" 

Mayor Bourgeois didn't get to finish his speech as a bucket of water and ice came pouring down onto the politician's head. 

Mayor Bourgeois cried out as he stumbled back, shivering from the sudden cold water, only to slip on an ice cube and fall onto his back. 

The poor man tried to get up, only to keep slipping and struggling like a beetle or tortoise on its back. 

Several gasps escape the mouths of partygoers, Marinette herself, included as the mayor lets out an almighty cry, 

"LUKA STONE!!!"

Said blue haired boy, seems to take great amusement in the trouble he is no doubt the cause of, until Mayor Bourgeois starts screaming at him, instead of letting him off like he apparently does according to Adrien who heard from Chloé. 

Mayor Bourgeois starts right then and there, tearing into Luka, insulting him, his family, his music, his hair and clothes and while Marinette understands the mayor is upset, she doesn't see it as an excuse to absolutely destroy the 15 year old celebrity. 

From where Marinette can see from her place with Adrien, Alya and Nino, Luka seems to be covering his ears and muttering "It's just a joke, it's just a joke," on repeat.

Not concerning at all.

Hawkmoth smiles as he feels the negative emotions radiating off the young Luka Stone. 

"Ah, an unruly teen who just wanted to make a small joke, being torn to shreds by an adult who can't see the whimsy in it."

A small, pure white butterfly lands in his palm, before being filled by dark energy.

Once the insect is pitch black, he releases it into the wild. "Fly away, my little akuma! And evilize this prankster!"

The akuma makes it's way over to the rockstar's son, no one notices it's tiny wings flapping, too distracted by the spectacle in front of them.

Finally, it finds it's target, taking rest on one of his many thick, multicoloured bracelets, consuming it with darkness.

Luka's face turns red as the mask of Hawkmoth's control appears.

"Hello, Jokester."

Chapter Text

As soon as Marinette saw the purpley-black substance consume Luka, she ran to the nearest bathroom, ignoring the calls of Alya and Nino behind her. She's not got time to come up with an excuse, Ladybug is needed.

Hiding herself in a stall, Marinette released Tikki from her bag. The ladybug themed god smiled as she floated into vision,

"Looks like Ladybug will get to be in attendance too!" Tikki said, trying to put a positive spin on the unfortunate scenario.

"And at least you were expecting an akuma, so many wealthy humans locked in a room? There's bound to be negative emotions."

Marinette just sighed. "I just want to be able to meet someone new without them immediately becoming akumatised! How does it happen literally every time?" 

Seriously, it was ridiculous how every new person Marinette met would be akumatised within hours of interacting with her. 

Some examples include, Penny Rolling, Alya's sisters, Nora, Etta and Ella, Juleka's mother, the man that was always feeding the pigeons at the park, it was concerning.

"I don't want to see what will happen when Luka has powers from Hawkmoth. Tikki! Spots on!!" Marinette yelled as quietly as possible as she felt the magic of her miraculous swirl around her.

In seconds, her fancy dress was replaced by her usual skin-tight ladybug themed suit, with the familiar weight of the mask against her face. The thing concealing her identity from the masses.

Without missing a beat, Ladybug ran out of the bathroom to face the chaos that the akuma has surely created in the seconds it took her to transform.

Oddly enough, instead of the usual sounds of civilians screaming, as was the norm with akumas, they all seemed to be roaring with laughter.

And in the centre of it all? Luka Stone.

Or what was once Luka. His skin was a snowy white and his face resembled one of those comedy masks you'd see at the theatre, mouth twisted into an unnaturally wide smile with his eyes more like slits. And pure black. Not creepy at all 

Luka's once black-blue hair was now completely blue, the once black roots becoming so vibrant, it hurt to look at, nestled on top of the electric blue hair, lay a small jester's hat.

Following the aparant jester theme of the akuma, Luka's disgustingly casual clothes for such a formal event were turned into ones that resembled a clown, ruffled collar, puffy trousers and a spotty shirt and waistcoat, except the spots were miniature electric guitars, the outfit was split down the middle, half pitch black, half electric blue. The mini guitars were all as white as his skin. 

Around his left wrist was a black chord covered in bells, matching the black clothing on the right side of his body.

While it wasn't exactly Hawkmoth's best designed akuma, he's certainly done worse.

(Nino's dignity had never recovered after the abomination and assault on the eyes that was Bubbler.)

"Ladybug! Chat Noir! I am Jokester and I demand you hand over your miraculouses!" The akuma, Jokester apparently, yelled into the crowd.

It's at this moment, Ladybug's partner, (in heroing, not romance, Chat! Besides, Adrien is the only man that will ever be for her.) Chat Noir decides to grace the world with his presence.

"Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in?" Ladybug groaned, the last thing she needed tonight was Chat's less than amusing puns.

However, it seemed she was the only one who shared that sentiment as the room of guests began to laugh even harder which Ladybug didn't believe was possible.

"Hey milady! Looks like tonight's crowd isn't as tough as you are. Purrrfect!" Chat smirked as he looked at her. 

Stupid kitty.

"Look, Chat, we don't have time for this, let's just deal with Lu- I mean, the akuma."

Chat looked a little disappointed at her harsh words as guilt flooded her. She'll apologise later, right now? They've got bigger problems.

Jokester demands their magic jewellery again and when faced with a resounding 'no.' from the heroes of Paris, he begins to shake the bells around his wrist.  Chat Noir covers his ears but Ladybug's hands move too slow, distracted by her guilt.

Suddenly, the situation seems a lot more amusing. 

Chat Noir is helpless to do anything but watch as the pupils of his lady dilated and became wide and large. 

'Just like the guests.' he notes.

It's then that Jokester begins to speak again. "Give me your miraculous, Ladybug! It will be one of the funniest jokes of the century!" 

Ladybug laughs at his words and to Chat Noir's horror, responds with a cheerful "Okay!"

"What?!" Chat Noir yells, "No! Don't hand over your miraculous! It won't be funny at all!"

Ladybug looks devastated at the fact that it won't be amusing like the villain claims. "Aww." 

Chat Noir decides it's time he takes the initiative and picks up the ladybug themed heroine of Paris who is definitely under the influence of the powers of this latest akuma.

The thought of 'The akuma that is actually his friend.' invades his mind.

'No!' Chat forces the thought back. 'Adrien is friends with Luka Stone. Chat Noir isn't.'

Ladybug lets out another giggle as Chat leaps away with her in his arms. 

Definitely under the influence of superpowers.

It seems like Hawkmoth's newest victim, Luka- no, Luka is gone right now, it's Jokester, has the ability to make everything seem funny to whoever hears the bells on his wrist. 

To make them loosen up. 

While incredibly annoying to deal with, makes perfect sense for the situation that lead to his akumatisation. 

It also paints a very clear picture of where the little butterfly that has traumatised so many Parisians landed because if it isn't on that bell bracelet, Chat will eat Plagg. 

Actually, maybe he won't, Plagg probably tastes of camembert. He'll eat his own tail instead.

As Chat Noir looks at his partner giggling endlessly at the sight of his clip-on cat eats, the knowledge of this being an incredibly long night floods him.

Because Ladybug is the strategist of their team. And she currently seems as intelligent as a wooden spatula.

So, dangerous akuma + Ladybug nearly out of commission = very bad time for the black cat hero, Chat Noir.

Chapter Text

Hey guys, this isn't a chapter and I usually hate it when authors do this but I just have zero motivation to continue this fic and my other current running mlb/toa fics rn

this isn't exactly discontinued bc knowing what I'm like, I'll get REALLY into this fic and the shows again and will want to write more chapters or do a rewrite

I'm so sorry but if anyone wants to use the concepts for any of my fics, go wild! I'd love to read them

Thank you so much to everyone who's read my fics, gave kudos and wrote wonderful comments that I absolutely love reading

Chapter Text

Chat Noir is NOT having a good day.

If you've skipped chapters to come straight to this one for some reason, you may ask why? 

Spoiler alert: HIS FRIEND IS AKUMATISED AND LADYBUG KEEPS TRYING TO PET HIM WHILE GIGGLING

"M'lady! You really have to snap out of it! We need your lucky charm if we want to defeat Jokester!" Chat pleads.

All he gets in return is a roar of giggles and laughter. Purrfect. Why should he have expected any different?

"Kittyyyyy! You're so funny! Loosen up!" Ladybug laughs. 

Loosen up.

Loosen up.

LOOSEN UP?!

How could Ladybug of all people tell Chat Noir to loosen up?!

Right, not important currently. What is important is Chat trying to find some kind of earplugs before the weird drug bells (seriously, everyone who's been affected looks higher than an airplane) reach his ears.

Luckily, this is given to him in the form of the weird food on platters. Is it gross? Absolutely. But not relevant when Paris and, more importantly, his sanity is on the line.

Now, Chat is equipped with the world's weirdest earmuffs and not a moment too soon as Jokester finds where he was hiding with Paris' heroine.

The villain proceeds to say something unknown to Chat Noir, probably because he has food shoved in his ears. 

Ladybug, who thought the colour of a random pigeon was funny, bursted into another round of giggles. 

Hang on... that gives him an idea. 

"Ladybug! Say 'LUCKY CHARM'! Imagine how funny it will be!"

Thank the kwami because it worked like a charm (maybe even a lucky one)

Reading his partner's lips, he saw her say the magic words as she summons a maraca? Just... just one maraca. Weird but not the oddest lucky charm that's existed in Chat's career as a superhero.

As all of this is going down, Jokester keeps shaking the bells on his wrist and becoming increasingly more frustrated when they fail to turn the amazing Chat Noir into a mess.  

Seemingly realising that the current approach wasn't going to work, the akuma pounced to actually fight his enemies. 

Chat quicky snatches the maraca from Ladybug's hand because if he's being honest, she's not going to be much help right now, and leaps out of the way. 

Thinking fast, he extends his staff and by either sheer stupidity or luck, traps Jokester between a wall and said staff. 

Before he managed to pull the staff away from Chat and get free.

In a moment of pure panic, Chat Noir throws the maraca at Jokester, it hits him straight in the head and creates a large hole, making the sand inside leak out. 

Jokester, looking unimpressed with the display, steps forward and slips on the sand. 

Chat allows instinct to take over from there, with Jokester on the floor, a quick Cataclysm is all he needs to release the evil butterfly. 

Ripping the food out of his ears, he hands the remains of the maraca to Ladybug and demands, "Throw this in the air and say 'Miraculous Ladybug' it'll be hilarious."

As expected, Chat Noir gets a giggle, then an "Okay! Miraculous Ladybug!" 

As the magical ladybugs swarm everywhere that's been affected by Hawkmoth's latest victim, his Ladybug returns to normal.

Without missing a beat, she sees the akuma start to fly away and catches it in her magic yo-yo.

"Bye Bye little butterfly." She whispers as the now pure white butterfly flutters into the night.

"Pound it Bugaboo?" Chat asks, holding his fist out.

"Pound it." She says, putting her fist against his.

Now free from his mind control, Jokester returns back to being Luka. 

"Wh-What happended? Ladybug and Chat Noir??" Luka asks with a bewildered look on his face. 

Quicky taking control of the situation, Ladybug says "You were akumatised but don't worry, you're fine now!" 

Luka seems to process this for a few minutes, the post-akumatisation haze still affecting his mind.

Suddenly, both Chat and Ladybug's miraculouses beeped, warning them of their impending detransformation. 

"Looks like I've gotta go! Bug out!" Ladybug have one last wave before yo-yoing herself out of the room. 

Chat Noir quickly turned to Luka, "And that's my cue, mice to meet you, enjoy the rest of the party!" Chat Noir said before hightailing it out of there to detransform back into Adrian.

Luka was still processing everything as he made his way back to the lobby. It seems his akumatised self's fight with the legendary heroes of Paris had been led away from the rest of the party which is probably a good thing.

As he entered the room, not slamming the door for once (he's way too tired to), all heads turned to him and his dad rushed over."

"Oh my god! Son, are you okay? Thank god Ladybug and Chat Noir saved you! Penny has made the decision that we're going home. Now." 

Normally, Luka would protest, argue about leaving because he's not been able to use all the pranks he had planned for the event but right now? All he wants is to go home and collapse into his bed that's way too big to be slept in alone, even for a boy of his size.

"Okay Dad." Luka whispers. Luka receives a look that's a mix of sympathy and worry from his father. Which is... fair enough, Luka doesn't remember the last time he whispered. 

As he's led away from the remaining guests and paparazzi that have been staking out the hotel, all Luka can think of is the absolute nightmare the news is gonna be and he'll have to make so many posts on his official social media accounts that he's fine and how he's thankful that he was saved by Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Not that he isn't grateful. 

Ugh, his haters are gonna have a field day with this one. 

His fandom too. They don't exactly understand the fact that a teenage boy, no matter how famous, might want privacy.