Episode 21
- Vanisher - Tales of Sabrina the Invisible
Night reigns over Paris, and in Le Grand Paris, Chloé Bourgeois sleeps deeply (and noisily)... unaware of the mysterious figure looming over her, who prepares to do something Chloé won't see coming. Tikki, awakened by the figure, remains hidden, scared of what may happen.The next morning, Chloé is awakened by her cellphone telling her she's late for school. While getting dressed, she complains about her butler not waking her up like he's supposed to, much to the figure from earlier's confusion, who ponders if Chloé just likes the sound of her own voice.
Chloé enters the classroom, slamming the door open while complaining about how her morning has been going: she hasn't had breakfast because her father called a staff meeting, and her driver didn't show up. However, no one seems to be paying attention to her, not even the teacher. A moment later, the mayor makes an urgent message: his daughter Chloé is missing! Chloé wonders why he's saying that when she's at school... only to hear all of her classmates note that they just thought she was absent. Chloé attempts to scream that she's right there, but no one notices—which is when the mysterious figure shows up before her.
With Chloé missing, and thus unable to access her to turn into Scarlet Lady, Tikki flies to meet Master Fu.
The figure reveals herself to be Vanisher, an akuma, and states she's the one who has trapped Chloé in her current state. Thanks to Vanisher, Chloé can hear and see everything, but no one can see or hear her, and she can't interact with anything unless Vanisher allows it. Vanisher then proceeds to make unflattering chalk drawings of Chloé on the blackboard, causing Adrien to realize he's now dealing with an akuma and quickly leave when class is cut short.
As the mayor makes a speech to request Paris's help in finding Chloé, Chat Noir appears, stating he will find out what happened. The mayor thanks him and asks if Scarlet Lady will help, but Chat Noir isn't sure if she'll come. As the hero asks Chloé's butler if he knows anything, Vanisher attacks Chloé, stating that she's going after the bully because Chloé was the one who messed up, although Chloé can't even conceive of the possibility of that.
The butler tells Chat Noir that the previous day, Chloé was making plans with Sabrina when she saw Nadja Chamack about to interview Jagged Stone at the hotel's foyer. Chloé attempted to interrupt the interview with her claims of being Scarlet Lady's best friend, but Sabrina shot that down, pointing out that she's Chloé's best friend and that she and Chloé were working on a project together during the time Chloé claimed to be getting mani-pedis with Scarlet Lady. Humiliated, Chloé angrily insulted Sabrina and told her the two of them were no longer friends.
Now knowing what could have caused the current situation, Chat Noir attempts to call Scarlet Lady but fails. Given how strange the problem is, he decides to go meet with Master Fu for advice.
Meanwhile, Chloé unsuccessfully attempts to attract her father's attention, still unable to fully comprehend she can't do so.
Adrien arrives at Master Fu's where he meets Tikki for the first time. The Kwami sheepishly telling him that Scarlet Lady can't transform and that she can't just help on her own causes Adrien to explode in anger—this is the third straight akuma that Scarlet Lady hasn't shown up for, and he just can't deal with it anymore. Master Fu calms him down, stating he has a plan. In the meantime, Tikki can help, but only with the Miraculous Cure; Lucky Charm will cause too many objects to appear.
While Chat Noir investigates Chloé's room (with Tikki's help), Fu visits Tom and Sabine's bakery. Meanwhile, as Chloé keeps begging for attention, Vanisher decides she's had enough fun, picks up Chloé's cellphone, and prepares to make a stir.
Marinette returns to her room, learning that Chloé is still missing, only to find something unexpected: an ornate wooden box. Opening it, she finds a hair comb... and a small creature that greets her as her Queen. The creature introduces itself as Pollen, the Kwami of Subjugation, and states that Marinette has been chosen to help the heroes in their fight against akumas. As Marinette ponders how she can help Chat Noir, her cellphone buzzes: it shows a scared Chloé on the floor of the Le Grand Paris's lobby. Filled with resolve, Marinette asks Pollen to tell her what she needs to know.
Chat Noir arrives first to the scene but is shocked that he can't see Chloé anywhere, unaware that Vanisher is right behind him, ready to stab him with her legs. As she approaches, though, she disturbs some flower petals—and a voice warns Chat Noir as a spinning top strikes Vanisher, causing the akuma to reveal itself and drawing attention to the newcomer: a bee superheroine (who is, of course, Marinette).
The new heroine warns Chat Noir that the akuma can turn invisible, an ability Vanisher immediately demonstrates. Chat Noir asks his new partner if she knows how to stop the akuma. The heroine says she does and spreads flowers all over the floor: Vanisher is unable to avoid them and alerts Chat Noir to her position, getting struck by his baton and revealing herself. The new heroine then demonstrates her power, Venom, a strike with the tip of her spinning top that paralyzes the target.
With Vanisher stopped, Chat Noir breaks the akumatized object and frees the corrupted butterfly, which Tikki eats before vomitting out the Cure. This fills the hotel's interior with a large number of ladybugs, getting the heroes plastered against the windows in the process.
Still, the Cure does its work. Sabrina wakes up, wondering what happened, only for Chloé to berate her for becoming an akuma and attacking her best friend. Sabrina finally comes to a decision: Chloé has wasted her last chance. The two of them are friends no longer.
In his lair, Hawk Moth thunders about the heroes now having a new member, one who has a one-hit K.O. weapon. He declares that he's getting that hair comb!
Chat Noir gently carries a sick Tikki while the new heroine attempts to celebrate the victory with him. Chat Noir asks for her name, and she decides to go by Marigold, after the flowers they used to track Vanisher. However, much to Marigold's shock and sadness, Chat Noir just leaves without accepting her attempt to celebrate.
Tikki manages (barely) to return to Chloé's room, begging Chloé to stop complaining about the ladybugs.
That night, Chat Noir visits Marinette with a flower, thanking her for keeping her promise and not getting involved in this akuma fight. When Marinette comments on Marigold, though, Chat Noir replies that he doesn't feel comfortable trusting her. After dealing with Scarlet Lady for so long, followed by the disaster with Volpina... he can't let himself rely on anyone. Now understanding the reason behind his earlier cold response, Marinette asks Chat Noir to give Marigold a chance to prove herself, which he decides to do, if only because Marinette's recommending her.
Marinette later asks Pollen what the Kwami eats, expecting it to be something like honey, sugar, or flower pollen. She's shocked when Pollen declares her favorite food is chili peppers.
The next day, Chloé makes her usual entrance—only to find people still aren't paying attention to her due to being more interested in the new heroine (in fact, Alya's first question is to ask whether she knows more about Marigold). Marinette then enters the classroom, and Alya notices her bestie's new hair comb. Marinette then produces an assortment of bee-themed accessories she's made for her female classmates, declaring the new heroine inspired her to try resin-casting. Each classmate picks out an accessory (save for Chloé, who doesn't pick anything) as Marinette congratulates herself for making it easier for her to wear the comb without being suspected.
Meanwhile, Nino notices Adrien's ring and begins to point out it looks like Chat Noir's, but Adrien lies that he's had it for years.
Chloé asks Tikki where the Bee heroine came from: Tikki points out that Chloé's been a late or no-show to the last three akumas and Chat Noir needs back up. Unable to accept the role she played in causing those akumas, Chloé just declares the akumas are jealous of her and ignores Tikki's protests otherwise. Elsewhere in the classroom, Sabrina moves to sit next to Ivan while Chloé bites her nail—does this mean that she'll have to do her own schoolwork now?
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass/Adaptational Superpower Change: Vanisher has different powers in this AU, which gives her a lot more oomph. She can still be invisible herself, but she can also Un-person people, making them invisible, inaudible, and intangible by putting them in a Phantom Zone where they can see and hear but not interact with the real world (which she does to Chloé). She can teleport via reflective surfaces as well.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Fu calms Adrien down with a few pats to the head when the latter hits his Rage Breaking Point.
- And I Must Scream: Chloé can scream all she wants—it's just that no one (save for Vanisher) can see or hear her.
- Atomic F-Bomb: Hawk Moth's reaction when Marigold debuts by stopping Vanisher's attack.
- Attention Whore: Chloé's utter need to be the center of attention allows Vanisher to really make her suffer by putting Chloé in a Phantom Zone where the bully can see and hear everything but can't be seen or heard by others.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: As her isolation wears upon her, Chloé cries out, "Please... someone... pay attention to me!" Vanisher is standing right behind her as she says this and decides to move on to the next stage of her plan by threatening Chloé directly.
- Big Damn Heroes: Marigold makes her debut by striking Vanisher with her spinning top before the akuma can attack Chat Noir.
- Blank White Eyes: Marinette gets these twice: first in anger when Chat Noir reveals he's not particularly excited about his new partner, then when Pollen's favorite food turns out to be chili peppers.
- Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: Vanisher seeks to find Scarlet Lady to take her earrings, not knowing that the Ladybug heroine's actually Chloé, whom she has kidnapped.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: Marinette asks Chat Noir to give Marigold (her masked self) a chance since "she seems to genuinely want to help."
- Callback:
- After her initial shock, Marinette quickly realizes Pollen is a Kwami like Plagg, whom she had previously partnered with.
- Chat Noir explains to Marinette that he doesn't feel he can rely on Marigold after having to deal with Scarlet Lady for so long, not to mention the Volpina incident.
- Continuity Nod:
- Jagged Stone remembers how Chloé nearly poisoned him when he was a judge for the "World's Greatest Chef" contest, an event that took place during "Kung Food."
- In the flashback, Sabrina is wearing the beret Chloé gave her at the end of "Evillustrator."
- Alya and Adrien both give Lila Death Glares in a bonus panel, showing they still haven't forgiven her for her actions in "Volpina."
- Crazy-Prepared: Knowing that it's only a matter of time before someone notices her new hair comb, Marinette spends the entire night making new bee-themed jewelry so she can hide the Miraculous among all other similar-looking accessories and simply claim to have been inspired by Marigold.
- Crush Blush: Marinette sports one when she asks Pollen if she can really help Chat Noir by working with the Kwami. She also blushes when he visits her after the battle and gives her a peach rose as thanks for keeping her promise and staying out of the fight (as far as he knows, at least).
- Comically Missing the Point:
- Chloé grouses about how she's going to be late for school since her butler didn't wake her up. Vanisher, not realizing Chloé's actually complaining to Tikki, just muses that Chloé really likes the sound of her own voice.
- Even after Vanisher explains to Chloé how the latter's been rendered completely invisible, Chloé continues trying the same tactics to get attention: yelling and complaining.
- Sabrina interrupts Chloé's tirade about how the former got akumatized into Vanisher and "attacked [her] best friend!" to counter that she and Chloé are no longer friends. Chloé complains that she's the one breaking up with Sabrina, not the other way round, rather than focusing on the loss of their friendship.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- Everyone, villain and hero alike, is caught off guard when Marigold makes her debut during the fight against Vanisher.
- Marinette was expecting Pollen's favorite food to be something like honey, sugar, or flower pollen due to the Kwami resembling a bee. She's quite shocked when Pollen reveals that it's actually chili peppers.
- Didn't Think This Through: It's not until she has to take her own quiz (she's been plagiarizing Sabrina for years to get through school) after Sabrina moves to sit next to Ivan that Chloé realizes there'll be downsides to no longer having Sabrina as her "friend."
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Without a wielder to channel and direct her power, Tikki creates too many Lucky Charm objects all at once. Using the Miraculous Cure by herself also leaves her incredibly ill, as she vomits up a literal World-Healing Wave of ladybugs. This (as well as the general rule against Kwamis performing heroics on their own) effectively forces Chat Noir and Marigold to continue relying upon Scarlet Lady instead of letting Tikki handle all their Lucky Charm and Cure-related needs by herself.
- Dynamic Entry: Marigold enters the scene by hitting Vanisher with her spinning top and saving Chat Noir. All eyes are instantly on her.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Marinette becomes this after being given the Bee comb.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Wile it also helps with messing with Chloé, Vanisher "vanishes" Chloé's clothing and accessories so the latter won't be running around naked. She also focuses on only Chloé and doesn't "vanish" any innocent people.
- Nathalie immediately scolds Hawk Moth for swearing while psychically linked to Vanisher, who is only a teenager.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Chloé enters the classroom near the beginning, she slams the door behind her while complaining about how she didn't get breakfast because all the staff were preoccupied by a sudden meeting her father had called and then had to walk to school because her driver didn't show up. None of her classmates look at her, though, instead staring at the door with confused, curious, and worried expressions. Mme. Mendeleiev also doesn't reprimand Chloé for being late or causing a scene. A couple of minutes later, an emergency broadcast by the mayor declares that Chloé has disappeared while all her classmates remark on how she isn't present.
- Flower Motifs:
- Marinette chooses to call her hero self "Marigold" after the flower, which, as Pollen explains, represents passion and creativity, both being things that Marinette has in spades. (Marinette doesn't care as much for the "cruelty and grief" part, though.)
- Chat Noir gives Marinette a peach rose, which means "thank you," because she kept the promise she made to not get involved in akuma fights (as far as he can tell, anyway).
- Foreshadowing:
- In the header image, Sabrina-dressed-as-Vanisher is looking up towards the upper-right corner, reaching towards a barely visible, black-gloved hand that blends into the background. This hints at how she'll be saved by the new heroine Marigold.
- As Chloé's sleeping, a mysterious figure enters the room and chuckles, "You won't see this one coming, Chloé." This foreshadows Chloé being Late to the Realization that she's been made invisible and intangible to everyone in the real world.
- Chloé's butler not waking her up like he always does also hints at her being essentially kidnapped by an akuma.
- Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Sabrina becomes this after permanently ending her "friendship" with Chloé.
- Friend of Masked Self: Chloé tries to convince Nadja and Jagged Stone that she's besties with Scarlet Lady, only for Sabrina to refute her claims.
- God's Hands Are Tied: Tikki states that the rules prevent her from doing heroics without her holder. Then there's the Power Incontinence issue with Kwamis.
- Godzilla Threshold:
- Tikki realizes the situation is urgent enough that she needs to visit the Guardian.
- Tikki directly helping Chat Noir is also a sign of how bad things are since Tikki using her magical powers on her own causes quite a bit of trouble (Lucky Charm will create a large number of objects while Miraculous Cure will create too many ladybugs, many of which won't vanish after doing their job). Moreover, as Tikki herself states, the rules forbid Kwamis from performing heroics on their own without a partner.
- Master Fu, knowing that Adrien really needs help in dealing with akumas, chooses to give the Bee Miraculous to Marinette on a permanent basis.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Vanisher is tangible in both the real world and the Phantom Zone she's put Chloé into—which means she can't avoid the flowers the heroes use to track her during the fight.
- Hypocrite: During "Volpina," Scarlet Lady tossed Lila into a fountain for lying that she was friends with the Ladybug heroine, justifying her actions by declaring it's dangerous for a civilian to claim to be friends with a superhero. Here, Chloé sees nothing wrong with stating on public TV that she's best friends with Scarlet Lady.
- Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Despite his crush on Marinette, after defeating Vanisher, Chat Noir only treats his new partner Marigold with cool professionalism, admitting he's reluctant to trust her after his bad experiences with Scarlet Lady and Volpina. He agrees to give the new Bee heroine a chance at Marinette's suggestion, though.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Marinette comes up with the name "Marigold" after seeing the flowers in question scattered around the lobby.
- Logical Weakness:
- Vanisher boasts that she can touch and move things in the real world while in her phantom world. The logical consequence is that she is therefore fully tangible in both worlds, whether visible or not. Marigold is able to use her trompo to strike Vanisher after figuring out where the akuma is when Vanisher steps on some flower petals that Marigold had laid out.
- Additionally, since Vanisher seems to be made of glass, a hit from Chat Noir's baton causes her to crack.
- Loophole Abuse: One of the reasons why Marinette picks up the Bee Miraculous is that she'll be able to help Chat Noir without (technically) breaking her promise (which she made as her civilian self) to stay out of akuma fights.
- Meaningful Name: Marigold names herself after the flowers she used to help defeat Vanisher. Pollen praises her Queen for choosing such an apt name, noting that marigolds are the "herb of the sun" and represent passion and creativity... along with cruelty and grief, traits Pollen sees as queenly and thus befitting her new holder. Marinette is less impressed by the latter point, however.
- Needle in a Stack of Needles: Invoked by Marinette when she creates a collection of resin-cast, bee-themed jewelry, which she freely offers to her female classmates. This enables her to wear the Bee comb without immediately attracting suspicion that she's the new heroine.
- Never My Fault:
- Chloé blames her butler for not waking her up, refusing to take any responsibility for how she slept in late.
- Vanisher tells Chloé outright that the latter messed up and is responsible for the former's akumatization; Chloé denies this, replying she never messes up.
- After Sabrina is deakumatized, Chloé angrily berates her, never acknowledging that it was her own actions that caused Sabrina's akumatization.
- When Chloé complains about Marigold's existence, Tikki points out that Scarlet Lady has either been late or completely failed to show up to the last three akumas and that Chat Noir needs a reliable partner. Chloé outright refuses to acknowledge her Kwami's point, instead claiming that the akumas (that she caused) are just jealous of her.
- Precision F-Strike: Hawk Moth's reaction to Marigold's debut is to angrily exclaim "What the f**k is this?!"
- Profanity Police: Nathalie immediately scolds Hawk Moth for loudly swearing while still connected to Vanisher/Sabrina, a young teenager. Because akumatization is totally fine, but cursing is despicable behavior.
- Rage Breaking Point: Adrien explodes when Tikki explains that (a) Scarlet Lady can't transform this time (making this the third time in a row she was late to if not absent from an akuma fight) and (b) she can't just help Adrien in fights without Scarlet Lady.
- Rainbow Puke: When she uses the Miraculous Cure without a wielder, Tikki vomits up a MASSIVE wave of magical ladybugs that fill the whole hotel to bursting.
- Sanity Slippage: Chloé, being bereft of any attention due to Vanisher's actions, slowly begins to lose her sanity.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Downplayed with André Bourgeois; while tearfully searching for his daughter, he cries out, "Chloé! Where are you! And your clothes! They were expensive!"
- Chloé yells at Chat Noir to stay out of her room and sticks her tongue out at him as he's investigating her disappearance, even though (as far as she knows) he's the only person that can get her out of her current situation.
- As Chloé begins rebuking Sabrina following the latter's deakumatization, Sabrina declares that she and Chloé are no longer friends. Chloé is more concerned about how Sabrina interrupted her attempt to breakup with Sabrina.
- When Sabrina moves to another seat, Chloé bites her nail in annoyance... because this means she'll have to take her own quiz.
- Splash of Color:
- The Lucky Charms in one of Tikki's thought bubbles are red, as usual. Tikki also barfs up a swarm of red ladybugs when she does a Miraculous Cure on her own.
- Pollen's eye sclera is blue.
- The marigolds in the lobby of Le Grand Paris that the heroes use to defeat Vanisher have yellow petals.
- The rose Chat Noir gives Marinette to thank her for keeping her promise to stay out of akuma fights (from what he can tell, anyway) is peach-colored. The author explains in the tags that peach roses mean "thank you."
- Stern Teacher: After the students cheer over class being dismissed early due to the akuma, Mme. Mendeleiev warns them that she'll grade them even harder on tomorrow's test.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Chat Noir gets to act as an actual superhero in "Vanisher" while Chloé is trapped by the titular akuma. He also gets a competent partner in Marigold, though he's not quite aware of it yet.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Pollen reveals hers is chili peppers. Marinette has Blank White Eyes when she learns this.
- Troubled Fetal Position: Adrien briefly curls up into one after learning that Scarlet Lady has left him to deal with an akuma on his own for the third time in a row.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Despite how Marigold proved key to saving her from Vanisher, Chloé still complains about the new heroine existing simply because other people are paying more attention to Marigold.
- Villain Ball: Vanisher sets herself up for failure when she chooses to draw insulting pictures of Chloé on the blackboard in front of everyone out of spite while invisible. Without this act, which was witnessed by Marinette and Adrien, the heroes would have had no reason to be on the lookout for an invisible villain, and Marigold likely wouldn't have done her first top attack that saved Chat Noir.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Seen when Tikki uses Miraculous Cure by herself, though it takes the form of magical ladybugs.
- We Used to Be Friends: By the end of this episode, Sabrina finally cuts off her friendship with Chloé, having realized how toxic it is and wanting nothing more to do with her.
- Wham Episode: This episode contains two of the biggest changes to the story's status quo: Sabrina finally breaks ties with Chloé, and Marinette debuts as the Bee Heroine, Marigold.
- Wham Line: The point where Chloé begins to realize something's wrong:Mayor Bourgeois: If you know anything about my daughter's whereabouts, please step forward!
- When She Smiles: After ending things with Chloé, Sabrina awkwardly asks Ivan if she can sit next to him and lights up when he agrees.
