Time carried away the last trace of summer's heat, ushering in the cool crispness of early autumn.
During this seemingly peaceful period, Paris, the City of Light and Love, was never truly at peace.
The shadow of Hawk Moth, like a persistent malady, always descended quietly when people least expected it.
Those souls twisted by jealousy, by anger, by disappointment, transformed into bizarre Akumatized Persons, like mad actors taking turns on a stage, repeatedly throwing the city into chaos.
And each time, standing on the front lines, enduring this undeserved calamity, besides Ladybug and Cat Noir, were the ordinary, underpaid, and exhausted police officers of the Paris Police Department… Paris Police Department, Central Precinct.
The air was thick with a unique, unshakeable smell of cheap instant coffee mixed with aged case files.
Old fluorescent tubes on the ceiling hummed a drowsy tune.
The officers' desks were piled high with an endless array of documents and reports, like small, paper-made tombs.
"…So, I'm telling you, in last night's game, the referee definitely took a bribe! That penalty kick was practically a robbery!"
"Oh, come on, Jean-Pierre, every time your team loses, isn't it always because the referee took a bribe?"
"Hey! I don't like the sound of that…"
A few veteran officers, who had just finished their patrol, were gathered together, idly discussing last night's football match, trying to dispel the weariness brought on by the dull afternoon.
They had grown accustomed to this bittersweet rhythm of life—in the precious peaceful lulls when no Akumatized Person appeared, they would fully enjoy a moment of ordinary tranquility.
However, this tranquility was always so fragile, so… ephemeral.
"Ring-ring-ring-ring—!!"
A piercing, shrill telephone ring, like a death knell, suddenly rang madly in the quiet office!
It was an old-fashioned, red rotary phone, out of place among all the surrounding modern office equipment.
It was enshrined alone on a table in the very center of the office, as if it were some ominous, cursed relic.
The moment the phone rang, the entire office seemed to hit a pause button.
Everyone's movements froze.
The veteran officers, who had just been arguing heatedly over the football game, simultaneously fell silent.
They turned their heads, staring intently at the still-ringing red phone with a gaze mixed with disgust, fear, and profound helplessness.
No one stepped forward.
And no one dared to step forward.
Because they all knew what that phone meant.
It meant trouble.
It meant chaos.
It meant that another poor, unlucky soul had been turned into an irrational, superpowered monster by Hawk Moth.
It also meant that they, ordinary police officers with ordinary weapons, ordinary police cars, and flesh-and-blood bodies, would have to grit their teeth and rush to the front lines of that inhuman battlefield, akin to a clash of deities, to evacuate the public, to set up that paper-thin cordon, to… be cannon fodder.
"Damn it…" Someone muttered under his breath.
Finally, the suffocating silence was broken by a young, naive rookie named Luke.
He had just graduated from the police academy and had been assigned to this precinct only a few days ago.
He looked at his seniors, who seemed to have seen a ghost, and then at the persistently ringing phone, his face filled with bewilderment.
He took a deep breath, mustered his courage, walked over, and picked up the heavy receiver.
"Hello? This is the Paris Police Department, how may I… help you?" His voice still carried the standard, polite tone taught at the police academy.
However, what came from the other end of the line was a hysterical scream filled with panic and terror:
"An Akumatized Person!!
An Akumatized Person has appeared! On the Champs-Élysées! He… he's turning everything into stone!!"
"Boom—!"
These two words were like a heavy bomb dropped into the quiet office!
All the officers' faces instantly changed color!
"Oh, for crying out loud! Again?!"
"Is this month's bonus enough for me to see a cardiologist?"
"Isn't this annoying?! Does Hawk Moth not have to pay taxes?! Is he that idle?!"
"My God… have mercy on us…"
A wave of desperate and weary complaints spread like a plague among the officers.
All sorts of grievances rose and fell.
They weren't afraid of criminals, not afraid of robberies, not even afraid of terrorist attacks.
But they were afraid of Akumatized Persons.
Because it wasn't a battle on the same dimension at all.
Even the weakest of those akumatized ordinary citizens instantly reached superhuman physical standards.
Scaling walls dozens of meters high was like child's play; parkouring across crowded rooftops was smoother than the most elite parkour athletes.
Their police station's so-called "combat elites" had no time to react in front of those guys.
Every single one of them was like the most top-tier soldier.
And those Akumatized Persons with special abilities… My God, you didn't even have to touch him.
You might just be looked at by him, or hit by some light he emitted.
The next second, you could turn into a pigeon, or an ice sculpture, or… a thoughtless, slimy blob.
Although each time, Ladybug's magical Miraculous Restoration would restore everything to its original state.
However, the pain, fear, and deep-seated sense of powerlessness you endured during that time were real and would not be erased.
Therefore, unless there was something wrong with their brains, or they had some special, perverse hobby, most police officers avoided dealing with "Akumatized Person incidents" like the plague.
Rookie Luke listened to the terrified screams on the phone and looked at his sighing seniors, who seemed ready to attend a funeral, and for a moment, he actually doubted his life.
"Did I… did I… do something wrong?" he asked softly, somewhat at a loss.
A rough, calloused hand slapped heavily on his shoulder.
It was Jean-Pierre, the old officer who had just been complaining about the football game.
He sighed and comforted him with a worldly, sagely tone: "Kid, don't think too much.
If you didn't answer, someone else would have.
This is our life, just get used to it."
He lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and then slowly exhaled.
"But speaking of which… this time, what petty reason is it for?"
Luke quickly glanced at his hastily jotted notes.
"Uh… the caller said… it seems, it seems it was because of… someone's words, that caused the Akumatization…"
"Words?"
Jean-Pierre's eyebrow twitched.
He turned his head to look at another corner of the office, where several colleagues responsible for equipment were skillfully removing rows of high-voltage stun batons, flashing with dangerous blue light, from charging docks on the wall.
"Oh? Did the caller say 'whose' words caused the harm?"
A cold, malevolent smile played on his lips.
In Paris, there was an unwritten "unspoken rule."
If it was an Akumatized Person himself, after being purified, he would usually receive humane treatment due to the immense mental trauma he had suffered.
However, the "source" that caused all this chaos… after Ladybug and Cat Noir had taken care of everything, their police department would always "politely" invite that "source" back to the station for a cup of coffee.
Then, that very night, the entire police station would "coincidentally" experience a brief, complete power outage due to "aging wiring."
All surveillance footage would plunge into darkness due to "technical malfunctions."
Only the high-voltage stun batons in their hands, freshly charged, would still be full of surging power, enough to make one lose control of his bladder and bowels.
They would use a hearty "French stun baton massage" to properly "educate" the culprit who had caused so much trouble for all of them.
Rookie Luke had clearly not yet witnessed this "traditional skill."
He just honestly answered his senior's question:
"The caller said… it seems… it seems it's our young miss, the mayor's daughter…"
"Oh, Miss Chloé." Jean-Pierre nodded, then his movements suddenly froze.
He slowly turned his head, exchanging glances with his colleagues, who had just shown a "you know what I mean" expression.
The next second, a chaotic "clatter" echoed in the office!
The fully charged stun batons, which they had just held like treasures, were instantly thrown back onto the charging docks as if they were burning hot potatoes!
What kind of international joke was this?!
"Educate" the mayor's daughter?!
Were they tired of their stable salaries and pensions?!
For a moment, the entire office once again fell into a deathly silence.
Only this time, the silence was tinged with a mournful atmosphere of "resigned bad luck"… Meanwhile, as the Paris Police Department was thrown into chaos because of her.
The "source" of the incident, Chloé herself, stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of her luxurious hotel's penthouse suite, watching with a look of bewilderment and anger at the pathetic Akumatized Person below on the street, who was frantically turning all pedestrians and vehicles into gray stone statues.
"Why?!" she questioned the empty room sharply, filled with unwillingness, "Why wasn't it me?!"
"Hawk Moth!
Are you crazy?! Are you blind?!
Can't you see how angry I, Chloé, am right now?!"
However, the Akumatized Person "Stoneheart," the poor street artist whom she had just verbally humiliated beyond recognition, paid no heed to her anger.
He merely mechanically carried out the instructions given by the cold voice in his mind.
"…Not her… it's all of Paris… Let all of Paris feel my… pain…"
He slowly turned around and walked step by step towards the distant, more bustling district… In a distant lair filled with white butterflies.
Gabriel stood before the huge, circular window, his brows tightly furrowed.
He was very annoyed.
First, he had to admit, he was very "grateful" to Chloé.
This young miss was like an inexhaustible, high-quality negative emotion generator, continuously providing the best "raw materials" for his great cause.
But to akumatize her herself… no.
Absolutely not.
This wasn't because he had any particular opinion of the mayor's daughter.
But because… that woman, in her mind, now only had one person besides herself!
If he really gave her an Akuma Butterfly… God knows if she would rush to Jaden the next second and drag that uncertain, ticking time bomb of a teenager down with her!
If… if this time, Chloé and Jaden, these two most unstable factors, appeared before him again in the form of an "Akumatized duo"… then the entire situation would completely spiral out of his control!
In his thought experiments, if he gave the Akuma Butterfly to Chloé… then the course of events would instantly deviate from his precise, clockwork-like control.
Akumatized Chloé's actions would not be driven by his commands, nor by the so-called grand goal of "obtaining the miraculous."
Her entire world, all her actions, would revolve around one center—
Jaden.
She would, in her name as "Queen," forcibly bind Jaden to her chariot.
However, after Jaden's Akumatization, it was clear from the previous incidents with Mr. Information and Winter Knight that he, too, would only act according to the feelings of the 'girl' he had chosen.
At that time, Gabriel, the so-called 'leader of the villains,' would be completely reduced to an awkward, voiceless background character.
He would be unable to give them any effective commands, and even the authority to undo the Akumatization might be completely nullified by the strange, unexplainable power emanating from Jaden.
Therefore, under no circumstances would he ever waste an Akuma Butterfly on Chloé.
Meanwhile, in the park.
Jaden was leaning somewhat idly against a large, leafy sycamore tree.
Sunlight, filtering through layers of golden-hued autumn leaves, cast dappled, dancing light and shadows upon him.
Beside him sat three chattering girls, as lively and adorable as little birds.
"...So, the princess's sword is hidden in the highest tower, guarded by the evil dragon!" Manon was gesticulating wildly, telling him a fantastical fairy tale she had made up herself.
In her world, Jaden was the handsome, brave prince destined to rescue her.
On his other side, Marinette and Alya, like two gentle, dutiful 'older sisters,' smiled as they listened to Manon's childlike, imaginative story.
However, occasionally, their gazes would involuntarily drift towards the handsome young man leaning against the tree trunk, lost in thought.
"Sigh..."
A soft sigh, full of helplessness and melancholy, suddenly escaped Jaden's lips.
"What's wrong, Jaden?"
Almost simultaneously, Marinette and Alya looked at him with worried, concerned eyes.
"Why are you sighing?" Marinette's voice was soft and sweet, like a freshly baked, vanilla-scented madeleine cake.
Jaden looked at their two pairs of clear, concerned eyes, and the unspoken bitterness that had been cooped up in his heart for days finally found an outlet.
"It's nothing..." He gently, with a hint of a small complaint, slowly recounted his 'miserable experiences' at school over the past few days, "It's all because of that last incident..."
It turned out that the day after the Mr. Information incident ended, when he returned to school, he found that two familiar figures were missing from the classroom.
Alya was resting at home for a week because of the 'Chloé incident'; the school wanted to 'protect' her and give her a 'cooling-off period.'
As for Marinette, because Akumatized Persons in Paris were popping up like mushrooms after rain during those days, she had to sneak out of school again and again under various flimsy excuses like going to the restroom, stomach ache, or going to the infirmary, transforming into Ladybug to save the beleaguered city.
So, she had also taken several days off.
At first, Jaden didn't think much of it. He just sat silently in his seat, trying hard to find some clues about Mr. Information from his chaotic, seemingly formatted memory.
But, he found nothing.
He asked Chloé, but the young lady just gave him an arrogant, 'you figure it out yourself' eye roll, and then refused to say another word.
What truly made him feel a chill down his spine was Teacher Caline.
That always gentle, kind, and understanding teacher had been looking at him with a strange, inexplicable gaze that sent shivers down his spine these past few days.
It was a gaze that blended 'benevolence,' 'gratification,' 'disappointment,' and 'you just wait, young man'—an extremely complex look filled with the wisdom of an 'experienced person.'
Her face always carried that serene, gentle smile.
But after class ended and all the students had left the classroom, she would deliberately walk up to him, raise an index finger to her lips, and silently make a 'shush' gesture at him.
Then, she would turn and leave.
One day, two days... it was like this for several days in a row!
This made Jaden feel as if he had been completely targeted by a gentle, elegant, yet omnipresent leopard!
"...That's how it is." Jaden spread his hands helplessly, a small, pitifully complaining expression on his face.
Seeing his appearance, Alya couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Her light brown eyes, always sparkling with vitality and wisdom, now resembled two beautiful, sun-drenched crescent moons.
"Alright, alright," she said with a comforting and encouraging tone, smiling, "Teacher Caline definitely isn't really blaming you.
She probably... probably just wanted to remind you."
As she said this, her gaze unconsciously drifted to the side.
A faint blush, only she herself could detect, quietly crept onto her always sunny and confident face.
Marinette didn't know.
At this moment, Alya's heart, which always beat for her friends, was undergoing an unprecedented, intense, sweet, yet painful struggle.
In the past few days, her dreams would repeatedly feature memories that weren't hers.
In those dreams, she was the calm and powerful Lady Wifi, dressed in a black and white bodysuit.
And Jaden, he was the cold and elegant Mr. Information, dressed in a black trench coat.
During those brief, Akumatized hours, she felt an unprecedented, intensely concentrated love and satisfaction that almost melted her whole being.
He would gently call her, "My girl."
He would fight against the whole world for her.
The way he looked at her was so focused, so... affectionate, as if his entire world contained only her.
Those feelings were so real, so... intoxicating, that when she woke from her dreams, her heart was always filled with a huge, empty sense of loss.
This made her feel incredibly conflicted, incredibly... pained.
She clearly wanted to bring Marinette and Jaden together!
She was clearly the most loyal and steadfast supporter of their relationship!
But now... her selfish, greedy heart was frantically screaming at her.
She, too, wanted to have him.
Even if it was just once.
On the other side of the park.
On the grassy, sun-warmed slope.
Nathan and Marc sat side by side. In front of them, an easel was set up.
Nathan held a paintbrush, sketching something on the paper.
Marc, meanwhile, held a notebook, his brow furrowed, seemingly racking his brains for a story idea.
"...I think here," Nathan pointed with the other end of his paintbrush to the profile of a character on the paper, "the lines, aren't they... a bit too hard?
I want to draw that feeling of both steadfastness and a hint of gentleness... but... it just feels a bit off."
"Hmm... perhaps," Marc leaned over for a look, then lowered his head to check the description of the character's personality he had just written in his notebook,
"Perhaps you could try to turn his mouth up just a tiny bit?
Not too obvious, just a little... that kind of unintentional, gentle feeling..."
"Hmm... I'll try..."
As the two of them engaged in a friendly, constructive discussion for their artistic creation, Marc's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.
He instinctively looked up towards the park's iconic, huge sycamore tree.
Then, he gently nudged Nathan beside him with his elbow.
"Hey, Nathan, look over there."
Nathan followed the direction of his finger and looked over.
He saw Jaden surrounded by three girls, like stars orbiting the moon. Two of them, they both knew, were Marinette and Alya from their class.
The other was a lively, ponytailed little girl they didn't know, who looked a bit younger.
"It's Jaden." Nathan's face showed a gentle smile.
"Should we... should we go over and ask him?"
Marc said hesitantly, "Let him help us look at the design of this new character... He... he seems to know a lot about these things..."
"Hmm... alright."
However, just as the two of them made up their minds and were about to get up—
They saw four equally familiar figures walking grandly from another entrance to the park!
It was Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène!
"..."
When Marc saw those four girls, especially the always smiling, vibrant, golden-haired Rose, his face instantly flushed! The courage he had just mustered immediately dissipated completely!
"Uh... that... Nathan..." He stammered, "I... maybe we... shouldn't go over... There are... too many people..."
Nathan looked at his friend, sighing helplessly.
He saw a hint of... annoyance? on Marc's flushed face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's... it's all because of her!"
Marc pointed at the golden-haired figure, whispering in an accusatory tone, "A few days ago, she suddenly came over and asked me if I knew where Jaden usually rests on weekends...
I... I got nervous then, and... and told her everything... She... she must have exposed Jaden's location!"
Nathan looked at his friend's complex expression, which was both annoyed and held a subtle hint of small expectation, and finally, he couldn't help but laugh.
He took out his phone and quickly sent a 'schadenfreude'-filled, tip-off message to the young man who was still in the 'eye of the storm' and completely unaware:
[Hey, Jaden, watch out. Your 'support group,' the main force, has arrived on the battlefield.]
On the other side.
The four girls who had just 'converged' were hiding behind a dense, rose-filled bush, holding a tense and expectant 'pre-battle' secret meeting.
"Wh-what should we do?" Mylène nervously twisted her fingers, "Should we... should we just go over directly?"
"Why not?"
Alix said as a matter of course, "Being timid isn't my style!"
"B-but..." Juleka weakly tugged at Rose's sleeve beside her, "What... what excuse should we use to... to talk to him?
Going straight up and saying, 'Hi, Jaden, we came to play with you'... wouldn't that... wouldn't that be too... too obvious?"
"Oh, what's there to be afraid of!" Rose patted her chest, saying in a confident, all-encompassing tone, "Don't worry! Watch me!"
She adjusted her cute outfit in a mirror, a confident, sweet smile on her face.
Then, she led the way, stepping out from behind the bush.