His hand gently stroked her long, wavy, dark auburn hair, his movements as elegant as if he were comforting a startled, precious Persian cat.
"My girl," His voice, like a cello tuned by the most precise instruments, was deep, magnetic, and filled with an intoxicating, gentle quality.
Every word seemed imbued with magic, capable of easily smoothing away all anxiety and unease from people's hearts.
He looked sincerely into her eyes, which also shimmered with digital light, "Now, do you still want ice cream?"
Lady Wifi—Alya, under the gaze of those gentle eyes that seemed to see through everything, nodded blankly.
The Akumatization just now felt like an unreal dream.
At this moment, she only knew that she was being held tightly by a being who… understood her completely.
This feeling gave her an unprecedented sense of security and… infatuation.
"Very good." Mr. Information's lips curved into an elegant, captivating smile.
He released his embrace, but still maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor, he took one of her hands, "Then, let's go."
The two of them, like noble lovers from a medieval oil painting, bathed in the rich, wine-like sunset glow by the Seine River, walked side by side, slowly, towards the ice cream truck that was still playing cheerful music.
On the bridge, Andre was making his ice cream, full of love and blessings.
He didn't recognize Jaden; in his eyes, these were just another young couple, attracted by his magical ice cream truck and falling in love.
"Look! What a perfect match!" Andre greeted them enthusiastically, his happy voice full of infectious energy, "What flavors would you two like?"
"Two ice creams," Mr. Information's tone was gentle, "One… for her.
And the other, also for her."
His eyes, from beginning to end, never left the Lady Wifi beside him.
That focus and doting made Andre, standing nearby, unable to help but reveal a knowing, blessed smile.
Soon, two meticulously crafted, colorful ice creams were handed to them.
Mr. Information thanked him gracefully, then they turned and, as the setting sun stretched their shadows long, continued their unhurried stroll towards François Dupont High School.
They walked very slowly, as if deliberately prolonging this time alone, which belonged only to the two of them.
The Lady Wifi licked her ice cream, and the cool, sweet taste somewhat calmed her heart, which had become a little overexcited from the Akumatization.
She looked up at her elegant "partner" beside her, who was impeccably perfect from every angle, and finally asked the question that had been on her mind.
"Why… are we walking?" Her voice, due to the Akumatization, had a peculiar, electronic-synthetic quality, but her tone still retained Alya's inherent curiosity and confusion, "With our abilities, shouldn't we be able to teleport directly to the principal's office, shouldn't we?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Information stopped. He turned his head, his eyes, which seemed to contain the entire starry sky, gazed at her gently.
"Because," he began slowly, his voice so soft, as if afraid to disturb the quiet evening air, "I want to cherish every minute, every second I spend with you."
"..."
The Lady Wifi's brain completely froze the moment she heard that sentence!
A scorching wave of heat suddenly rushed from the base of her neck straight up to her masked cheeks!
She felt her face was so hot it could fry an egg! Her heart, which should have been absolutely calm, at this moment, beat uncontrollably, "thump, thump, thump"!
She quickly lowered her head and pressed the ice cream in her hand against her burning cheeks, trying to use the cool touch to physically cool down her almost-overheated CPU.
Mr. Information looked at her shy and adorable appearance, and the smile on his lips grew even gentler.
While they were enjoying this unique "post-Akumatization romance," the atmosphere in the principal's office at François Dupont High School was heavy and oppressive.
"I cannot accept this, Mr. Principal!" Teacher Caline's face was filled with anger and incomprehension.
She slammed the lesson plan in her hand onto the authoritative desk, "How can you… how can you make such an unfair decision?!
A one-week suspension! Do you know what this punishment means for a student like Alya?!"
Principal Damocles leaned back in his executive chair, looking exhausted, pressing his fingers to his temples.
"Teacher Caline, please calm down." He said in a voice full of helplessness and weariness, "Do you think I want to do this?"
"You know, in that situation…" His voice was filled with powerlessness, "If I hadn't agreed to Chloé's demands then… if she had really called her father… have you considered the consequences?"
"At that point, what Alya would face would definitely not just be a one-week suspension!
Even… my position as principal might not be safe! Do you understand?! This was my… only option!"
"But…" Teacher Caline still wanted to say something; she couldn't just watch her student suffer such an injustice.
However, the principal waved his hand, interrupting her.
"Caline, we've both worked at this school for so many years." His voice carried an unspeakable weariness, "We both know Chloé, don't we?
We also know that this matter, from the very beginning, was not something we could control."
Seeing Teacher Caline's still unwilling and angry eyes, the principal's tone softened slightly.
"But, don't worry." He assured her, "I have not recorded this incident in Alya's official file.
I will only say that she needs to take a week off due to some personal reason. This… is the most I can do for her."
Hearing this, Teacher Caline's tense shoulders finally relaxed a little.
She knew that what the principal said was true. In this city shrouded by money and power, sometimes, compromise and concession were the only ways to protect oneself and one's students.
She let out a long sigh, then, feeling utterly exhausted, walked out of the principal's office.
She walked on the empty staircase of the teaching building, where only her footsteps echoed, took out her phone, found Marinette's number, and dialed.
She knew that at this time, perhaps only her best friend could bring Alya comfort.
Meanwhile, in the attic of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
Marinette was rolling around on her lounge chair, hugging a pillow. She was muttering to herself, her face full of indecision and worry.
"Tomorrow… how exactly should I greet Jaden?
Should I just say 'Hey' like usual?
Or should I… be more enthusiastic?
Like, 'Jaden! Good morning!'? No, no, wouldn't that seem too deliberate? Then… then I should…"
Tikki, sitting on her desk, was holding a butter cookie larger than herself with her two small red hands, munching on it, "crunch, crunch."
It looked at its owner, who was still fretting over such trivial matters, and rolled its eyes dramatically in exasperation.
Oh my goodness… how did I end up with such an absurd owner!
It silently screamed in its heart.
Her best friend, Alya, had created so many excellent opportunities for her!
Yet, she herself was still like a block of wood, always just talking hypothetically, never daring to take actual action!
Just then, Marinette's phone rang.
"Huh? Whose call is it?" Marinette picked up her phone, puzzled.
When she saw the words "Teacher Caline" on the caller ID, she immediately sat up straight and nervously answered the phone.
"Hello? Teacher! May I ask… is something wrong?"
On the other end of the line, Teacher Caline briefly explained Alya's disciplinary action to her.
When Marinette heard that all of this was Chloé's doing again, flames of anger instantly ignited in her blue eyes! She immediately understood the whole story.
At the end of the call, the teacher asked her to comfort Alya if she had time.
In the principal's office.
After confirming that Teacher Caline had left, Principal Damocles immediately tiptoed to the office door like a thief.
He carefully opened the door a crack, looked left and right, and only after confirming that the hallway was empty did he let out a long sigh of relief.
He returned to his seat, opened his computer, and after a series of complex and hidden operations, a retro-pixel-style artificial intelligence interface popped up on the screen.
The AI's image was a cartoonish gentleman's avatar wearing a monocle and sporting a comical handlebar mustache.
"albert!" The principal whispered to the screen.
"Sir, please instruct." The AI named "albert" replied in a emotionless, mechanical synthetic voice.
The principal cleared his throat, then, into the microphone, he made two mysterious, rhythmic pigeon coos.
"Coo coo—"
"..."
On the screen, albert's comical mustache twitched, as if processing an incomprehensible garbled message.
A few seconds later, it replied in an still emotionless tone: "Command not recognized, please re-enter."
The principal was a bit helpless, so he had to repeat the "Coo coo—" into the microphone twice more, even more clearly.
"Coo coo—"
This time, however, albert, this "artificial idiot," didn't even reply.
Its entire interface froze for a moment, then with a "zzzt" sound, the screen went black and crashed directly.
Principal: "..."
He looked speechlessly at the dark screen, sighing deeply and with frustration in his heart.
Why… why can't my AI be as clever and intelligent as Max's robot called Marc?!
While he was still having a headache over his disappointing AI, Teacher Caline, who had just finished her phone call, was preparing to leave school.
As she reached the school gate, she saw two figures, both familiar and strange, walking towards the school entrance.
She did not know them.
"Stop!" Teacher Caline, almost out of a teacher's instinct, spread her arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks, blocking their path.
Her voice, due to shock and fear, carried an uncontrollable tremor, "You... what do you want?!"
"Good afternoon, Teacher Caline." Mr. Information even had a polite, gentle smile on his face.
His voice was still elegant and pleasant, but beneath that gentleness, there was an unchallengeable, absolute calmness, "We're here to see the principal."
After he finished speaking, he intended to take Lady Wifi's hand and walk directly past her.
"No!" Teacher Caline blocked his path again, her gaze shifting from initial shock to deep worry and vigilance, "School's already out!
The principal has gone home! You... what exactly do you want with the principal?!"
The Lady Wifi beside him clearly did not have her partner's elegant patience.
She took a step forward, her eyes coldly fixed on the teacher she once respected so much.
"Teacher," her voice had the cold, electronic quality unique to a synthesized voice, "I advise you to step aside.
Otherwise... don't blame us for being impolite."
"You... you're... Alya?" Despite the drastic changes in voice and demeanor, Teacher Caline eventually recognized her stubborn, righteous student from the familiar outline.
Her heart instantly felt as if it had been tightly clenched by a cold hand.
She then turned her disbelieving gaze to the youth with the even more unfathomable aura, "Then... then you... you are..."
"Jaden." Mr. Information answered the question for her, his tone so flat it was as if he was stating a fact completely unrelated to himself.
"Jaden..." Teacher Caline murmured the name, her face turning pale at that moment.
She could understand students like Chloé, the most worrying in the school, being dark transformed.
She could also understand students like Alya, full of anger due to injustice, being dark transformed.
But... Jaden... this boy who was always so calm, so gentle, seemingly uninterested in anything, why... why would he... and with Alya, no less?!
"You... you've been dark transformed!" She finally spoke the fact that pained her so much.
"So, Teacher, I'll say it one last time." Lady Wifi's voice grew even colder, "Don't stand in our way."
Mr. Information took her hand, once again trying to walk past Teacher Caline.
Their destination was the principal's office.
However, Teacher Caline, with her seemingly frail but now exceptionally firm body, firmly blocked their path.
"No!" She shook her head, her eyes, usually filled with kindness, now held the unyielding determination of an educator, "I don't know what you've been through!
But this has nothing to do with the principal! You can't..."
"We know." Mr. Information gently interrupted her, his eyes, like the entire starry sky, calmly fixed on her, "So I don't intend to trouble him. It's just... a 'visit'."
"And after that?!" Teacher Caline pressed, "After visiting the principal?! Where are you going?! What exactly do you want to do?!"
"Of course, we're going to find Chloé." This time, it was Lady Wifi who answered.
Her cold voice carried an unconcealed, vengeful glee, "She must pay the price for what she has done!"
"No!" Teacher Caline's emotions flared at the mention of that name, "Alya! I know you've suffered a great injustice!
But... classmates should love each other! We cannot use violence to solve problems! That will only create more hatred and harm!"
Mr. Information listened to her idealistic, naive lecture, and the gentle smile on his face finally, slowly, disappeared.
He raised his other free hand.
With a subtle, elegant snap of his fingers.
Streams of ethereal, solid-like blue data chains instantly appeared out of thin air from the ground beneath Teacher Caline's feet!
Those data chains, like living, cold vines, silently wrapped around her feet, then deeply embedded themselves into the concrete, firmly immobilizing her in place!
Immediately after, a translucent spherical barrier, composed of countless lines of tiny, rapidly scrolling code, instantly enveloped her entire body!
"This is..." Teacher Caline watched the surreal scene before her in shock! She found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move her feet an inch from the ground!
She opened her mouth, wanting to scream for help, but found that all the sounds she made were completely and silently absorbed by that strange, code-flashing barrier!
She couldn't even hear the gentle evening breeze outside anymore!
She was trapped in an absolute, silent, informational prison!
Mr. Information looked at the respectable teacher, now completely deprived of her ability to move and speak, and bowed slightly to her, performing an impeccable, elegant gentleman's King.
Then, he took Lady Wifi's hand and walked directly past her, into the quiet campus shrouded in twilight.
Teacher Caline, trapped in place, could only watch helplessly as their two ominous figures disappeared around the corner of the teaching building. Her heart was overwhelmed by an unprecedented, immense fear and helplessness!
No! She had to do something!
She immediately pulled out her phone, trembling, found Chloé's phone number, and dialed! She had to notify her immediately! Tell her to leave home quickly! Go hide in a safe place!
However, what came from the other end of the phone was only a cold, unanswered busy signal.
At this moment, in the mayor's palace-like luxurious mansion.
Chloé was leisurely lying on her huge, lace and pink-decorated princess bed, applying a face mask while enjoying a manicure done by Sabrina.
Her phone was on the bedside table.
When Teacher Caline's call came in, Sabrina, who was furiously writing her homework at a small desk nearby, immediately noticed it.
She picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID.
"Chloé," she whispered, "It's... it's Teacher Caline's call."
"Didn't I say?" Chloé didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, her voice muffled from beneath the face mask, "Unless it's Jaden calling, don't answer anyone's call! Not even my dad's! Hang up!"
She was about to bathe and change, preparing meticulously for the "intimate game with the knight" that made her heart race that evening. At this critical moment, she didn't want to be disturbed by any boring people or things.
"...Okay." Although Sabrina hesitated, she faithfully carried out her queen's command. She pressed the hang-up button.
And Teacher Caline, trapped at the school gate, heard the merciless busy signal on the phone, and her last glimmer of hope was shattered.
She then thought of the class group chat. But this thought was quickly dismissed by herself. If the dark transformed Alya and Jaden were also in that group, wouldn't her plea for help be like walking into a trap?
What to do... what on earth to do?! Just as she was about to cry from anxiety, another face suddenly appeared in her mind.
A face that always carried a hint of shyness, yet was incredibly kind and brave at critical moments.
Marinette!
Yes! Marinette! She was Alya's best friend! Jaden also seemed to have a different attitude towards her!
If anyone could still persuade those two children, whose eyes were blinded by hatred and power... it must be her!
Teacher Caline no longer hesitated! She immediately dialed Marinette's number at the fastest speed!
Up in the attic.
As Marinette wondered how to comfort Alya, her phone rang again!
It was Teacher Caline again!
Marinette's heart suddenly jumped into her throat! She immediately answered the phone!
"Teacher?! What... what happened again?!" From the other end of the phone came Teacher Caline's panicked and urgent, broken voice:
"Marinette! Quick! Come to school!
Alya and Jaden... they... they came to school!
I'm trapped by them! They're going to cause trouble for Chloé!
Now... now only you... maybe only you... can stop them!"
Marinette hung up the teacher's call, her heart, which had just turned pink with girlish sentimentality because of Jaden, was now completely overwhelmed by shock, worry, and an inexplicable, sour panic.
Alya... and Jaden... they both... together... were dark transformed?!
This news, like a bolt from the blue, shattered all her unrealistic, beautiful fantasies!
She could imagine Alya being dark transformed because of injustice.
But... what about Jaden?!
That always calm, gentle Jaden, he... how could he... and with Alya, no less?!
A complex emotion, a mixture of worry and jealousy that she couldn't quite articulate, surged wildly within her heart.
No... that's not right... She shook her head sharply, trying to shake off that terrible thought that made her heart ache to the point of suffocation!
"Marinette! Calm down!" Tikki saw her distraught appearance and immediately flew in front of her, patting her cheek with its tiny hand, trying to awaken her crumbling sanity, "Have you forgotten the last Stormy Weather incident?!"
Tikki's words, like a flash of lightning, instantly cut through Marinette's chaotic thoughts!
That's right! Last time!
"You mean..." A faint glimmer of hope rekindled in Marinette's eyes, "This time... it could also be... Alya was too sad, so Hawk Moth took advantage of her vulnerability... and then, Jaden... he just happened to be near Alya... so Hawk Moth, controlling Alya, went to... to dark transform him?!"
"Very likely!" Tikki nodded affirmatively, "That's the most reasonable explanation right now!"
The heavy stone in Marinette's heart finally, slightly, dropped a little.
It must be like this!
She desperately told herself in her heart.
Otherwise... even if Alya undergoes Akumatization, she would absolutely... absolutely not intentionally harm Jaden!
However, another even more terrifying thought, one she dared not dwell on, crept into her heart like a poisonous vine.
Unless... Alya... likes Jaden... and that's why, after her Akumatization, she would... actively seek him out. "No! I can't let my mind wander anymore!
Now, the most important thing is to stop them!
Her gaze instantly shifted from the confusion and entanglement of a moment ago to an unprecedented determination and resolve, befitting Ladybug!
"Tikki, spots on!"
Red light instantly enveloped her! The familiar red and black skintight suit, symbolizing creation and hope, reappeared on her body!
Without the slightest hesitation, she pushed open the skylight, executed a nimble flip, and leaped from her balcony! Her yo-yo transformed into a streak of red light, carrying her like a red sprite weaving through the urban jungle, swinging between the undulating rooftops of Paris, shrouded in twilight!
As she swung, she immediately opened the communicator on her yo-yo and sent an urgent message to her partner.
"Cat Noir! Emergency! Jaden and Alya have both undergone Akumatization! They are currently at François Dupont High School, and it's highly likely they'll go directly to cause trouble for Chloé! I need to stake out near Chloé's house now! Hurry over!"
Meanwhile, in the Agreste luxurious mansion, which resembled a castle and was filled with both artistic and cold auras.
Adrien sat at the huge white piano in his room, somewhat distractedly playing a melancholic tune.
Suddenly, the silver-white ring on his hand emitted a rapid "beep-beep" alert sound.
"Hmm?" He stopped playing, looking at his ring in confusion.
The next second, he stood up without hesitation and rushed into his bathroom.
"Plagg, claws out!"
A flash of black light, and the elegant and mysterious Cat Noir reappeared.
He immediately took out the metal staff from his waist, which doubled as a communicator, extended it, and checked the urgent message he had just received.
The moment he saw the content of the message, his green cat-like eyes, usually carrying a hint of casualness and wildness, instantly narrowed into two vertical slits in shock!
"What?! Jaden... and Alya... together?!" He gasped in disbelief, his voice a low whisper.
He dared not delay any longer and immediately leaped out of his room's window!
His agile figure, like the swiftest leopard blending into the night, raced across the undulating rooftops, speeding towards Chloé's house!
And while the two of them were rushing towards the same destination, their hearts burning with urgency.
Mr. Information and Lady Wifi had already arrived silently, like ghosts, at the principal's office door.
Inside the office, Principal Damocles was still sitting in his executive chair, sulking and feeling a deep, helpless sense of frustration over his "artificially unintelligent" albert, which had crashed again.
"Knock knock knock—"
A polite, moderate knocking sound suddenly rang out.
"Who is it? Didn't I say I'm off work already..." The principal grumbled, a little impatiently.
But he still collected his thoughts, quickly closed the black, frozen screen on his computer, then cleared his throat and said, "Come in."
The door was pushed open.
When he saw the two figures, radiating an ominous and eerie aura, walk in, his already overwhelmed heart nearly stopped on the spot!
He instinctively sprang from his chair!
"You... you two..." He pointed at them, his voice stammering with fear.
"Mr. Principal," Lady Wifi stepped forward eagerly, her eyes coldly fixed on this so-called "authority" who had wronged her, "I ask you, did you not, today, falsely accuse an innocent student named Alya?!"
The principal looked at her imposing, inhuman appearance, then at the young man beside her, who, though silent, exuded an even more terrifying, cold and calm aura like an abyss, wearing half-rimmed glasses... His already not-so-bright brain instantly began to operate at an overloaded, frantic pace!
Akumatized Person!
And... it seemed they were the vigilante type of Akumatized Person, here to "uphold justice"!
It's over, it's over, it's over... His mind instantly conjured a series of terrifying scenarios where, if he didn't confess, he would be "physically persuaded" by them using various high-tech methods!
He had no doubt that with the eerie abilities of these two, making him, an unarmed middle-aged principal, disappear without a trace would be easier than squashing an ant!
The instinct for survival made him instantly make the wisest and only choice!
He slumped back into his chair with a "thud," his face contorted into an expression uglier than crying, filled with sincerity and remorse!
"Yes! It was me! I was wrong!!" He exclaimed in a tone close to confession, "I am very sorry to Alya! I failed her!
But... but I had no other choice at the time! If I hadn't done that, Chloé would have..."
"However!" He quickly added, as if remembering a lifeline, "I... I can swear!
I absolutely did not record this disciplinary action in her personal file! I just... I just publicly announced that she would take a week off due to 'personal reasons'! This... this is all I could do for her!"
Lady Wifi, who had been full of anger and ready to "interview" the principal thoroughly with her "technological power," heard these words and saw his pitiful, remorseful, and helpless appearance. The flame of revenge in her heart inexplicably died down by half.
She turned her head, somewhat at a loss, to look at her silent, elegant "partner" beside her.
"Let's go, Mister," she said softly, "Let's go find Chloé."
"Don't rush," Mr. Information's lips curved into an inscrutable smile.
He took a step forward, his long, black-gloved finger lightly tapping in the air.
A stream of invisible signals, composed of countless lines of code, instantly shot from his fingertip, silently merging into the principal's computer, which had just been frozen.
Then, he turned his eyes, which seemed to contain the entire starry sky, to the principal who was still slumped in his chair, looking bewildered.
"Since Mr. Principal has helped us a little," he said in a gentle and elegant tone, "then, in return, we should also help him a little, shouldn't we?"
The principal, who had been looking down, felt as if a bolt of lightning had crashed through his mind the moment he was met by those eyes!
Countless inspirations, new ideas, unprecedented and revolutionary thoughts about artificial intelligence and program construction, flooded his mediocre brain like a bursting dam!
He felt that the bottleneck that had plagued him for countless days and nights, concerning "how to make albert smarter," had been completely broken through at this moment!
He even forgot his fear, just staring blankly at the two slowly departing figures until they disappeared from the office doorway.
"I... I understand..." he murmured, then, as if possessed, he rushed to his computer, his hands a blur as they furiously typed on the keyboard! He wanted to immediately!
Right now! Bring all these divine inspirations to life! He wanted to reconstruct his albert!
He wanted to create a true super artificial intelligence, a hundred times smarter than Marc!
However, he did not know that this precious gift, like fate itself, had an expiration date of only a few short hours.
When the Akumatization was undone, all of this would be like a dream, reverting to its original state.
In the empty, echoing stairwell of the school building.
As Mr. Information and Lady Wifi passed by Ms. Caline, who was still confined in place, Mr. Information snapped his fingers elegantly again.
The silent prison made of code and the data chains binding her feet instantly dissipated into the air.
"You..." Ms. Caline, now free, wanted to say something more to dissuade them.
However, Mr. Information merely turned his head, placed a long index finger before his lips, and made a "shush" gesture at her.
"Teacher," his voice was gentle, yet carried an undeniable, reassuring power, "You have done enough.
Leave the rest to us. For now, you just need to go home and rest quietly."
Having said that, he no longer lingered, taking Lady Wifi's hand and disappearing.
Ms. Caline watched their retreating backs, knowing that she could no longer do anything.
She could only lean helplessly against the wall, letting out a deep sigh.
But before she turned to leave the school, she still spoke softly towards where they had departed, in a gentle yet somewhat "you're going to get it" tone, typical of a homeroom teacher's "threat":
"...When the two of you are no longer Akumatized... Tomorrow, I, your teacher, will definitely show you my true colors!"