Episode 27
- Puppeteer - Tales of Manon the Doll Master
It's playtime at Marinette's; she's babysitting Manon and asks her charge just who's going to be stealing the Miraculous today. Studying the impressive collection of dolls Marinette has made, Manon picks out Lady Wifi, Rogercop, and Evillustrator. As for the heroes, she wants Marigold and Chat Noir. Marinette notes that Manon never picks Scarlet Lady, prompting her charge to complain that "her doll is so lame." And indeed it is: while all the others are full-fledged plushies, each painstakingly handcrafted by Marinette, the Scarlet Lady "doll" is just a brown paper bag covered in spots with a dinky ponytail in the back. Just like the real thing, so far as Marinette is concerned.
Marinette narrates that Hawk Moth, who controls all the akumas, wants the Miraculous. Why? Well, nobody really knows, but Marinette dramatically declares that he wants them because then the bad guys... would win! That's good enough for Manon, who orders her chosen opponents to hand over their Miraculous so that the bad guys can win, leaving Marinette to reflect that she seems a little too gung-ho about it.
When Nadja arrives to pick her daughter up, Manon complains that Marinette didn't let her win. Nadja tells her daughter to get her things and give the Marigold doll back to Marinette, but Manon throws a tantrum and tries to rip the Marigold doll out of her mother's grasp—only to accidentally tear the doll's left arm clean off, much to her horror and Nadja's dismay as the woman scolds her child for it.
As they're leaving, Nadja has to take a call, and Manon goes back upstairs to retrieve her bag. She asks Marinette if she can have the Marigold doll; Marinette refuses, saying she still has to repair her, but gives in to Manon's Puppy-Dog Eyes and offers a compromise: she can borrow Lady Wifi instead. Pollen gives her holder a knowing look as Manon and her mother leave.
Over at the Grand Paris hotel, Chloé and Tikki discuss how the former's father is arranging for the class to spend their upcoming Internship Day working at his hotel. Chloé complains about how long it took to arrange things but gloats over how much she's going to enjoy watching them all slave away working for her. Tikki remarks that it's good her holder has plenty of free time now since she needs to go back to Tom Dupain and Sabina Cheng's bakery for more cookies.
It turns out that Alec was the one who called Nadja, telling her to come back to the station due to something getting misplaced. She apologizes, saying she thought she'd left it on his desk; he tells her that it's no big deal. Then Nadja spots Manon playing with the Lady Wifi doll, scolding her daughter for taking it even after being told no. Manon claims Marinette wanted her to have the doll, screaming and sobbing as it gets confiscated by Nadja, who then turns back to her uncomfortable coworkers with a big smile.
None of them notice a black butterfly fluttering past. As he addresses Manon as "Puppeteer," the young girl immediately realizes this means he's granting her powers in exchange for the Miraculous, prompting him to remark on how well-informed she is compared to some of his other akumas.
Marinette's out and about with Alya; the latter spots Adrien walking around in casual clothes and calls out to him. He complains that she scared him, as he thought they were some of his fans; Alya teasingly retorts, "Only your best fans!"
Puppeteer asks the receptionist if she wants to play with her; the receptionist gives a quick "Nope!" and flees while Manon remarks to Hawk Moth that they've got to get her doll back from her mommy without Nadja noticing. When he asks why, she explains that if they get caught, her mommy will get mad, and she'll get in trouble. Hawk Moth asks Puppeteer if she understands that she's currently an akuma.
Alya laughs at how Adrien ditched his bodyguard so that he could go see a movie, but their conversation is interrupted when Puppeteer zaps her Lady Wifi doll, bringing it to life—and forcing Alya to transform against her will into Lady Wifi. Possessing her body, Puppeteer demands the hero dolls from Marinette, throwing a tantrum and pouting until Marinette recognizes whom she's dealing with. Puppeteer then declares that she's going to get all the Miraculous, become the strongest, and win—and Marinette angrily snaps at Manon that if she doesn't stop right now, she'll call the girl's mother.
Chloé is seen leaving Tom and Sabine's bakery, griping about how Tikki needs to appreciate everything she does for the Kwami, when they spot Lady Wifi flying overhead into Marinette's room. Chloé immediately assumes that she's still trying to prove her ridiculous theory that Dupain-Cheng is Scarlet Lady. While Tikki has her doubts about her holder's theory, Chloé's ready to transform... once she finds a suitable location, of course. Surely Tikki doesn't expect her to duck behind some trees or into a dirty subway, does she?
Chat Noir greets Marinette, asking if she has a doll of him; she tells him to hurry up before he gets turned into a puppet. As he charges upstairs, Pollen reminds Marinette that it's time for them to transform... but Marinette's more than a little concerned by the sudden realization that Chat Noir is heading into her room.
Meeting Chat Noir on the rooftop, Marigold sarcastically notes how surprised she is that Scarlet showed up. Snapping at the Bee heroine to use her full name, Scarlet Lady enters alongside them and boasts that she's going to give the possessed Lady Wifi a spanking... but is distracted when she accidentally steps on her puppet counterpart, Small Lady. Furious at such a poor rendition of her (though Chat Noir comments that it's a spitting image), the Ladybug heroine rips it apart as Puppeteer shrieks that she's cheating. The akuma then gets into a slap fight with Marigold via the possessed Lady Wifi, which allows Chat Noir to snatch Chaton Noir from the bag—but the sobbing Puppeteer escapes with Minigold, declaring that she's telling on them.
Marigold panics; not only did Puppeteer steal her plushie counterpart, she got ALL the other dolls aside from Small Lady and Chaton Noir, meaning she potentially has access to all the other akumas Hawk Moth has created so far. Chat Noir reassures the Bee heroine that it's best she sit this one out, especially since he knows where to get backup.
Cut to Master Fu relaxing when Adrien abruptly busts in, shouting that Marigold's been taken out and he needs another Miraculous.
Pollen comforts Marinette: since, unlike the former akumas, neither Puppeteer nor Hawk Moth knows her secret identity, so long as she's not transformed, Puppeteer can't take control of her. They wonder whom Chat Noir will choose to assist him instead... right before he swings in and startles Marinette, offering her the Mouse Miraculous. As he excitedly explains its powers, Pollen hides in a nearby rose bush, peering out with an utterly furious expression.
Back at the TV station, Scarlet Lady reassures Nadja and her coworkers that the heroes have everything under control, claiming she sent her sidekicks to retrieve some extra assistance. Nadja buys her act hook, line, and sinker, praising her for being so reliable. Scarlet Lady then goes off on her own and is startled by Chat Noir, who shushes her. The new heroine introduces herself as Multimouse; Chat Noir acts disappointed that she's not calling herself Minimouse, and she snarks that she's pretty sure that one's trademarked.
Meanwhile, Puppeteer attempts to bring Evillustrator, Rogercop, and Marigold's dolls to life, throwing a fit when Marigold's plushie simply slouches over, not responding to her powers. The heroes then burst in, and she immediately demands to know whom the new hero is; she introduces herself as "the mighty Multimouse," spurring Chat Noir to remark that he's pretty sure that's also trademarked. Puppeteer insists that it's not fair for the new heroine to get involved when she doesn't have a doll, leading Hawk Moth to awkwardly try comforting her as the heroes and other akumatized victims exchange some uncomfortable glances.
Puppeteer also proclaims that it's unfair that they didn't bring the Chat Noir doll along with them, which they remark would have been a pretty silly move. Multimouse and Chat Noir taunt her about how well hidden it is, spurring an outburst of "Gimme your Miraculouses you super evil not pretty goodie two shoeses!" Scarlet Lady, outraged at being called "not pretty," summons her Lucky Charm in a fit of pique.
The Lucky Charm becomes an extension cord with multiple outlets; Multimouse turns it into an Improvised Weapon, Dual Wielding it by swinging it alongside her regular weapon, which impresses the heck out of Chat Noir. She then triggers Multitude and swarms Puppeteer, reclaiming all the dolls—and, after biting the akuma's hand, Puppeteer's magic wand as well.
Once the cure is cast, Alya immediately notices the new hero... right as Multimouse removes the pendant so she can return it to Chat Noir, "accidentally" detransforming right in front of everyone. She notes that this means she can't be Multimouse anymore, apologizing for her "mistake." Manon is starry-eyed but agrees to keep her identity a secret and ropes everyone into a pinkie promise.
(Despite said promise, Alya takes Marinette aside, drawling out, "Giiiiirl," over and over. Marinette offers her an interview about Puppeteer and one about Multimouse but refuses to give one about her being Multimouse. Alya seems perfectly content with that.)
Chat Noir has Marinette transform one last time as he escorts her back to her rooftop garden, unaware that Pollen is still lurking in the rosebush. Mullo makes a big show of telling Marinette what a great mouse she was, then goes in for a hug while smirking at Pollen over her temporary holder's shoulder, upsetting the Bee Kwami further. After they leave, Marinette finds Pollen sulking, realizes she's jealous, and gives her a kiss as she reassures Pollen that she'll always be her number one.
Meanwhile, Tikki is utterly devastated while an unsympathetic Chloé demands to know why she's sobbing so hard over Marinette being Multimouse.
The next day, Nadja drops Manon off for another babysitting gig. Manon points out how Nadja wrapped her ponytails into buns to give her "ears like Multimouse"; Marinette calls it cute while mentally musing that she's definitely never getting the Mouse Miraculous again.
She then apologizes to Nadja for lending Manon one of her dolls after the woman had said no. Nadja brushes it off, reassuring her that she knows how convincing her daughter's puppy-dog eyes can be... and laughing that Marinette'll become immune eventually.
Marinette then reveals to Manon that they're going to be working on a special project today: making a doll of Multimouse. She has to stay at Marinette's since she's a secret, but she'll be just for Manon... who immediately asks if they can take her to the zoo.
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptational Intelligence: The heroes prevent Puppeteer from claiming any advantages by leaving the hero whose doll was captured (Marigold in this version) detransformed so they can't be used against the other heroes. Also, they make a point of hiding the doll Puppeteer didn't get instead of bringing it with them to the fight with her. This, among other changes, turns the final confrontation into a Curb-Stomp Battle in the heroes' favor rather than the Near-Villain Victory it was in canon. The latter point gets lampshaded in the tags.Tagline: #never quite got why ladybug brought the chat noir doll to the fight like just hide it? note
- Amazon Chaser: Chat Noir sparkles when he sees Multimouse fighting several enemies at once.
- Anti-Climax: When Puppeteer uses her power to transform the people she's picked, Minigold stays where she is before slumping.
- Big "NO!": Puppeteer belts one out when the Multimice swipe her magic wand.
- Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: All of Puppeteer's insulting outbursts amount to these.
- The Chooser of the One: Adrien takes up this role for the first time in "Puppeteer" when he needs a hero to take Marigold's place after the villain steals her doll. He chooses to give Marinette the Mouse Miraculous, not knowing that she is Marigold.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Pollen doesn't take Marinette temporarily partnering with another Kwami well at all and even tries to give her holder the cold shoulder for it when she returns home. She quickly forgives Marinette, however, when the latter kisses the Bee Kwami, reassuring her that she'll always be her favorite.
- Color Failure: Manon suffers this when it dawns on her that she accidentally ripped the Marigold doll.
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Played With when Puppeteer is afraid of getting caught stealing back the Lady Wifi doll by Nadja, explaining, "Mommy will get mad and I'll get in trouble!" Hawk Moth reminds her that she's an akuma, but the author sides with Puppeteer, retorting in the captions, "Yeah, and she's still MOM! (It's not worth it!)"
- Manon is thrilled to learn that she and Marinette will be making a special, secret Multimouse doll that only the two of them will know about... and immediately wants to take the doll to the zoo, completely missing the point of it being a secret.
- Don't Tell Mama: Upon realizing Manon has been akumatized and is controlling Alya, Marinette threatens to call Nadja.
- Even Evil Has Standards: During Puppeteer's akumatization, Hawk Moth is actually gentler since it's a little girl he's working with. For her sake, he goes along with her mentality and makes a small effort to comfort her when she inevitably gets overwhelmed (more like using a broom to brush a cat's back, but the thought is there). While he's not going to be winning any Father of the Year trophies, it's better than being the absent and controlling Archnemesis Dad he's been in both canon and this AU.
- Foil: Manon/Puppeteer is shown to be just as emotionally immature as Chloé/Scarlet Lady, with the former having the excuse of actually being a young child. Both act like spoiled, entitled brats with self-serving memories, throwing fits when they don't get their way. Manon, at least, respects her mother's authority enough that even after being akumatized, she's cowed by the prospect of Nadja finding out that she's misbehaving, while Chloé's respect for her father only extends to when he's catering to her whims.
- Forced Transformation: Puppeteer's power, working in tandem with Hawk Moth's, enables her to force his former victims back into their akumatized forms. Fortunately, they're not able to do the same with Marigold since neither one knows her Secret Identity.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the strip where Alya and Marinette find Adrien at the Metro, his beanie has Chat Noir and Marigold pins.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: Marinette hits Manon with this upon realizing that the girl's been akumatized and is controlling Alya's body:Marinette: Manon Chamack! If you don't stop I'm calling your mom!
- Green-Eyed Monster: Pollen quickly becomes jealous when Marinette is given the Mouse Miraculous (Mullo's teasing expression probably doesn't help) and even holds a (short-lived) grudge against her holder over it afterwards. Meanwhile, Tikki bursts into uncontrollable sobbing once she learns Marinette has partnered with a third Kwami other than herself.
- Here We Go Again!: After all the mess that was caused by Manon bringing the Lady Wifi doll with her, she asks if she can take the Multimouse doll to the zoo.
- Horrible Judge of Character: When Scarlet Lady reassures Nadja by lying about sending her "sidekicks" to get help, the reporter declares that she knew she could rely on the Ladybug heroine.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: Puppeteer shrieks that the heroes are "super evil not pretty goodie two shoeses!"; Scarlet Lady only reacts to the accusation that she's "not pretty."
- Improvised Weapon: After the Lucky Charm takes the form of an extension cord, Multimouse dual wields it alongside her jump-rope tail.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Even though there are dolls of other villains from episodes that took place before "Puppeteer" in this AU, Manon still chooses the Lady Wifi, Rogercop, and Evillustrator dolls to play with.
- Marinette still uses the Mouse Miraculous, only it's against Puppeteer instead of Kwamibuster, and rather than choosing it herself, she has it lent to her by Chat Noir (who doesn't realize that she is Marigold, whom he had told to sit out of the battle when her doll was taken).
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Downplayed when Marinette "accidentally" takes off the Mouse Miraculous in front of everyone so she can avoid being called in as a replacement in the future.
- Pinky Swear: Manon forces all the witnesses to make one about keeping Marinette's identity as Multimouse a secret.
- Poor Communication Kills: Nadja might have been able to avoid most of the trouble throughout the episode if she had asked Marinette whether the teenager had let Manon take the Lady Wifi doll.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Chloé doesn't need much prompting to transform into Scarlet Lady once Tikki points out that Alya has seemingly been akumatized into Lady Wifi again and just snuck into Marinette's room. However, this is only because she thinks Lady Wifi is trying to prove Marinette is Scarlet Lady again, and the mere idea of someone else being the Ladybug heroine is a huge Berserk Button of Chloé's.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Manon uses these to convince Marinette to let her "borrow" one of the dolls; Nadja notes that they're one of her daughter's most effective weapons but reassures Marinette that she'll grow immune to them eventually.
- Secret-Keeper: Many people learn that Marinette is Multimouse when she "accidentally" blows her cover to avoid future conflicts with her role as Marigold. Manon gets Roger, Nathaniel, Alya, Chat Noir, and Scarlet Lady to "pinkie swear" to secrecy.
- Self-Serving Memory: Despite how Marinette only reluctantly surrendered Lady Wifi's plushie, Manon insists that Marinette wanted to give her not just the doll but her entire collection.
- Shout-Out: Chat Noir and Multimouse banter about how "Minimouse" and "the mighty Multimouse" are both likely trademarked.
- Simple-Minded Wisdom: Hawk Moth is surprised when Manon already knows what he wants, wondering why she's faster on the uptake than all the teens and adults he'd akumatized previously.
- Stylistic Suck: Small Lady, Marinette's puppet rendition of Scarlet Lady, is little more than a paper bag with a ponytail glued to it and painted with polka dots. Both Marinette and Chat Noir consider it a spitting image of Scarlet Lady.
- Troll: Mullo proves to be one, blatantly taunting Pollen after Chat Noir brings Marinette back home.
- Writing Around Trademarks: After Marinette uses the Mouse Miraculous to become Multimouse, Chat wonders why she didn't go for "Minimouse" instead, only for Marinette to reply that she's pretty sure that's trademarked. Later, she calls herself the "Mighty Multimouse," to which Chat Noir remarks, "Pretty sure that's also trademarked."
