Chapter 25: Kung Food Averted

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug, Cat Noir and Steel Butterfly.

(Author's notes: Let's see how well Marinette is able to speak Mandarin with her great-uncl

(Quantic Universe Earth 139, Paris, France, May 10th, 2015, Steel Butterfly's voiceover POV as he writes in his Rorschach-inspired journal in the observation deck of his lair...)

Steel Butterfly's journal.

May 10th, 2015.

First journal entry today.

Today's the day that Wang Cheng Shifu gets Akumatized into Kung Food, a chef-themed supervillain who can summon weapons made of food out of his bag and he can control anyone who ingests his Celestial Soup before he gets Akumatized.

His cause of Akumatization is simple. He had his Celestial Soup for the World's Greatest Chef competition unknowingly sabotaged by Chloe just because she was angered at Marinette for pointing out inconsistencies of Chloe's position on the judge panel.

And of course, because the sabotaged Celestial Soup won Cheng Shifu a low rating on the competition, only for him to find out the truth, Cheng Shifu was Akumatized into Kung Food.

And it's kind of a funny pun on the martial art of Shaolin Kung-Fu from China.

However, because Chloe Bourgeois and Lynnette Bellecourt are not spoiled brats anymore, this means that either Cheng Shifu might get Akumatized or maybe he won't.

I'll have to keep an eye out just in case he does get Akumatized.

Anyway, I wonder how good the Celestial Soup tastes.

Maybe I'll get a try out of it when it gets put on the Grand Paris Hotel's restaurant menu.

Who knows?

Anyway, I happen to have in mind the perfect superhero opposite of Kung Food to be Tenshized just in case our efforts to prevent Wang Cheng from being Akumatized were to fail: Erysichthon, a superhero version of the mythological Greek king cursed with endless hunger.

Maybe I'll get the chance to make my own Erysichthon at some point in the future.

Like I said, who knows?

But in any case, I wish to see how well Marinette will be able to communicate with her great-uncle considering the fact that we spent two years traveling through time to teach Marinette how to speak Mandarin Chinese while keeping her age temporarily and somewhat permanently frozen so that way, when we were done, Marinette would age normally without any side effects.

But of course, considering the fact that I have absolute omniscience like God Himself, and considering the fact that my omniscience allows me to watch over the entirety of Paris all at once and the entire planet Earth all at once just like God and just like Hawk Moth, I can easily watch Cheng Shifu's Akumatization being averted from the comforts of my own home and my own lair.

And at the same time, we'd spent a couple of months in the past teaching Marinette all about the things that most of her alternate timeline counterparts – including the one from Marinette's trust issues in which her mother is Shu Yin Cheng instead of Sabine Cheng – had to learn on their own. And they include among others learning how to translate copies of the spellbook affiliated with the Chinese Zodiac Miracle Box, watching over a replica of a Miracle Box for a whole day without eating, drinking, sleeping, or using the bathroom, learning how to make the various Miraculous potions, learning how to craft new superpowers via the use of the Rooster Miraculous, and so forth.

Of course, I had to keep the details vague for the most part simply because of the fact that there's many revelations of the future that need to be revealed according to chronological order and according to my chronological order.

But anyway, let's get started, shall we?

(Third person POV...)

Marinette is in her bedroom with Tikki as she practices speaking Mandarin with Steel Butterfly on the telepathy version of speaker phone.

Marinette starts in English, "Welcome to my home. My name is Marinette."

Steel Butterfly repeats for Marinette in Mandarin, "Huānyíng lái dào wǒjiā. Wǒ de míngzì shì mǎlì nèi tè."

Marinette repeats after SB and manages to get the pronunciations right on the first try.

Steel Butterfly and Tikki say in unison, "Great job, Marinette!" "Great job, Marinette!"

Marinette replies while taking flowers off the coffee table, "Thanks! But do you think he'll like the flowers?"

Steel Butterfly replies, "Of course, he'll like them! I don't understand why they need to be perfect, though; not everyone or everything is perfect. And nobody is perfect no matter how much they envision themselves as perfectionists."

Marinette sighs as she replies, "All right, I'll try to loosen up a bit."

Tikki then asks, "Steel Butterfly, what will Cheng Shifu do with the flowers?"

Steel Butterfly answers, "He'll use them as an ingredient for his Celestial Soup."

Marinette and Tikki remark in unison, "Ohhhhh." "Ohhhhh."

The doorbell rings to signify that Wang Cheng has arrived.

Marinette says quietly, "(Softly) It's him! Hide, Tikki!"

Tikki hides in Marinette's purse.

Marinette opens the door to see her great-uncle Wang Cheng.

He bows sensei-style and says, "Nǐ hǎo./Hello."

Marinette replies, "Nǐ hǎ ānyíng lái dào wǒjiā. Wǒ de míngzì shì mǎlì nèi tè./Welcome to my home. My name is Marinette."

Wang had a bit of a shocked expression on his face, as he didn't know that one of his relatives could easily speak in his native tongue. Let alone his great-niece.

Wang remarks, "Wa. Wǒ bù zhīdào nǐ duì pǔtōnghuà zhème liǎojiě, mǎlì nèi tè./Wow. I didn't know you knew Mandarin so well, Marinette."

Marinette replies, "Wǒ yīzhí zài xiàng zuì hǎo de Wáng shū xuéxí./I've been learning from the best, Uncle Wang."

Wang then asks, "Nàme, wǒ kěyǐ cānguān yīxià nǐ de jiā ma?/So, shall I have a tour of sorts of your home?"

Marinette replies, "Dāngrán shì Wáng shūshu. Jìnlái./Of course, Uncle Wang. Come on in."

Later on, in the car on the way to the contest, Marinette asks her great-uncle, "Wáng shūshu, nǐ shì dì yī cì lái bālí ma?/Uncle Wang, is this the first time you visited Paris?"

Wang replies, "Bù, shíjì shang. Wǒ láiguò zhèlǐ yīcì, dàn nà shì 30 nián qián de shìle. Wǒ bù zhīdào nǐ huì shuō liúlì de zhōngwén./No, actually. I have been here once, but that was 30 years ago. I didn't know you spoke Chinese fluently."

Marinette replies, "Wǒ yī kāishǐ bìng bù shàncháng, dàn wǒ tōngguò zúgòu de liànxí xuéhuìle./I wasn't good at first, but I learned with enough practice."

Wang replies back, "Wǒ xīwàng wǒ néng duō liànxí shuō yīngyǔ. Wǒ de yīngyǔ bùshì hěn hǎo./I wish I had more practice speaking English. My English is not that good."

Outside the Grand Paris Hotel, the logo for The World's Greatest Chef flashes as it turns out to be TVs showing the filming on scene.

Alec Cataldi says, "Since our "'World's Greatest Chef"' contest kicked off, the best culinary masters from around the globe have been blowing our minds with their gastronomic creations."

As Wang and Marinette exit the car, Mayor Andre Bourgeois comes over and says, "Cheng Shifu, I am delighted and honored to have you on our final show, where you will have the chance to defeat all of the chefs who have competed thus far."

Wang smiles, and he and Marinette walk into the Grand Paris Hotel.

Alec announces, "Only one chef will be awarded the title of "'The World's Greatest Chef."' The winner's dish will become the new Mayor's Special on the Grand Paris Hotel's restaurant menu!"

The camera switches to the inside of the hotel and Alec interviews Wang.

Alec asks, "Tell us, Cheng Shifu, what dish will you be honoring our panel with today?"

Marinette translates for her uncle, "Nín jiāng tígōng de càiyáo./The dish you will be offering."

Wang answers in English, "My dish is: Celestial Soup."

Alec remarks, "Wow! I've heard so much about your legendary Celestial Soup, but today, we will actually get to taste it!"

The television broadcast ends.

Marinette asks, "Nǐ méishì ba, Wáng shūshu? Yǒurén de cài bèi pòhuài de shìjiàn shí yǒu fāshēng./Will you be okay, Uncle Wang? There have been incidents where someone's dish was sabotaged."

Wang replies in English, "I will be okay, Marinette, do not worry."

Wang and Alec walk off to the kitchens.

Chloe then sneaks up behind Marinette and shouts, "BOO!"

Marinette shrieks, "AAHH!"

Marinette whirls around to see Chloe smirking while holding her laughter in.

Marinette bemoans, "Very funny, Chloe."

Chloe states, "Sorry; just having some fun before the competition starts. Anyway, I ain't sure if you heard, but I'm part of the jury, and I've never tried soup before."

Marinette replies, "Really? Then I believe that you're going to love my uncle's Celestial Soup."

Chloe replies back, "I'm not sure how good it will taste, but I will try it, just for the sake of giving my vote on the jury."

Chloe and Marinette walk off to the area where the competition is to be judged.

In the Grand Paris Kitchen, Wang Cheng is cooking his Celestial Soup.

Eventually, he manages to finish.

In the Grand Paris Hotel dining room where the competition is being held, the competition is being filmed.

Alec Cataldi announces, "As usual, our panel of gourmets is made up of Andre Bourgeois, the mayor of Paris and the owner of this luxury hotel, his daughter Chloe representing the younger generation, the hot rock and roll star Jagged Stone and his killer crocodile Fang, and finally, the divine head chef of this very hotel, Marlena Cesaire, and yours truly – Alec!"

The logo for "The World's Greatest Chef" flashes again.

Alec continues, "And now, it's time to determine the fate of Cheng Shifu's famous Celestial Soup. Let's get tasting!"

Everyone on the jury tastes the soup, including Chloe.

Alec remarks, "Mmm! This is wonderful!"

Wang and Marinette smile in pride.

Mayor Bourgeois states, "Mmm! I think that this soup will definitely fare well with our guests! I'll give it a 10 out of 10."

Jagged Stone replies, "Mmm! It's like kissing and eating a rockin' apple pie!

Marlena also says, "I never thought I'd say this, but not only is this soup edible, it's wonderful! I give it a ten out of ten."

Wang states, "I am happy all of you love my soup."

On the rooftop of his primary residence, standing on the top of where his secret lair would be, Steel Butterfly has his helmet removed to reveal that he has a butterfly mask on his face with Eric Draven-inspired face paint, and Steel Butterfly was smiling evilly in pride.

Now, Steel Butterfly was happy that he managed to avert yet another Akumatization. And Steel Butterfly was getting one step closer to helping his favorite heroes and current allies win against Hawk Moth/The Collector/Scarlet Moth/Shadow Moth/Shadow Noir/Monarch and Catalyst/Mayura. And they won't even know what'll hit them.

Back in the dining room, Alec says, "Cheng Shifu, I'm gonna say right now, I'm giving you a 10 out of 10, which brings your total score to a 10.10 out of 10 – the highest so far. The Celestial Soup will therefore be featured in the hotel's menu for this year, and you are hereby named 'World's Greatest Chef!'"

The logo for "The World's Greatest Chef" flashes again, and Marinette notices Chloe tasting the soup again and smiling in delight at how good it tastes.

Marinette remarks to her great-uncle, "Kàn yàngzi shì zhǎng de nǚ'ér hěn xǐhuān nǐ de xiān tāng./It definitely looks like the Mayor's daughter loves your Celestial Soup."

Wang replies, "Wàn wàn méi xiǎngdào, shì zhǎng de nǚ'ér jūrán huì xǐhuān wǒ de tiān tāng. Xiànzài, wǒ shì shìjiè shàng zuì wěidà de chúshī./ I never would have guessed that the daughter of the Mayor would actually love my Celestial Soup. And now, I am the greatest chef in the world."

Marinette and Wang hug each other, and everyone in the jury takes a picture to capture the tender moment.

In Hawk Moth's lair, the terrorist of Paris states, "This evil dinner was almost perfect! And even if Kung Food didn't come to be, revenge is a dish best served cold, so watch out and watch yourselves – I'll be ready to strike again!"

Steel Butterfly replies in his ultimate angelic/demonic booming voice, "And I can't wait for the next fight to happen, 'cause as much as I wouldn't admit it out loud, I actually love fighting supervillains!"

Hawk Moth shudders as he finally realizes how violent and bloodthirsty Steel Butterfly really is.

The window to Hawk Moth's lair closes as he detransforms to talk with Nooroo.

Later on, Marinette and Tikki met up with Steel Butterfly in her bedroom.

Marinette states, "Thank you for preventing the first Akumatization of one of my relatives, Miguel."

Marinette and Miguel hug each other.

Steel Butterfly and Marinette stay like that for a good while before the butterfly hero leaves to prepare for nightly patrol.

(Steel Butterfly's voice-over POV as he writes in his Rorschach-inspired journal on the top of the Eiffel Tower once again...)

Steel Butterfly's journal.

May 10th, 2015.

Second journal entry today.

My plans worked so wonderfully!

My plan to prevent Wang Cheng from getting Akumatized was a flawless victory!

And so far, nobody has been Akumatized in his place, or in Manon's place during what should've been the incident where she gets Akumatized into The Puppeteer.

But I know that evil will still rise again.

And once it does, I, Miguel Guevara aka Steel Butterfly, Dragon Butterfly, Aqua Butterfly, Frost Butterfly, Galactic Butterfly, Crimson Butterfly, and Light Butterfly, will have to be there with my allies to save the day.

True, being a superhero is hard, demanding work with little downtime and with many secrets kept between us, but all the same, it's somewhat worth it.

Let's see how well we do against the next Akumatized villain, Xaiver Ramier, also known as Mr. Pigeon and also known as Monsieur Rat in the future of the original timeline thanks to Lila Rossi/Future Hawk Moth.

If I'm being honest, I wonder how big of an army of superheroes I actually want to help us in the Battle of the Scarlet Army on Heroes' Day this year.

If I'm being honest, I think that I would want it to be big enough to outnumber Scarlet Moth's army along with the generics of his villains' own armies, but not to the point of becoming big enough to outnumber us in case they get Akumatized or reprogrammed in the case of my own Tenshized superhero army.

Maybe I can pull something together.

Who knows?

For now, I must head home because even though I'm able to survive for long periods of time without food, water, or sleep, that's only when I'm transformed into Steel Butterfly. But maybe I can pull something together considering the fact that among my many Miraculous Ladybug superpowers is the superpower of the Rooster Miraculous: Sublimation, the ability to bestow temporary or permanent superpowers upon himself or herself, the permanent part being if the user of the Rooster Miraculous gets that idea stuck in their head the moment they start deciding what superpowers to give themselves.

(Third person POV...)

Steel Butterfly raises his arms and says, "Sublimation. I give myself the ability to use my powers as many times as I want without recharging or detransforming no matter if I'm an adult or a teenager. Sublimation. I give myself the ability to use my powers even as a civilian without the second Butterfly Miraculous. Sublimation. I give myself the ability to transform into Steel Butterfly even without the Butterfly Miraculous and only if I say my transformation phrase. Sublimation. I give myself the ability to make Angel Crosses to protect people from Akumas and Amoks as long as the Akumas and Amoks are made by villains using the Peacock Miraculous and the original Butterfly Miraculous. Sublimation. I give myself the ability to make Angel Crosses that will resist all forms of Akumas and Amoks no matter how strong they are, will get stronger every day to the point where only angelic magic can depower them if not needed, will instantaneously purify any Akumas and Amoks that fly within even a five feet radius, can instantaneously repair themselves if they're ever damaged or destroyed by anything other than angelic magic or demon magic, and can be created even without needing the energy of purified Amoks and purified Akumas. And finally, Sublimation, I give myself the ability to make infinite Tenshies and Compos Mentises no matter if I'm Crimson Butterfly or not."

Steel Butterfly then felt his stomach growling, signifying that his connection with Leppey meant he felt his kwami's hunger.

Steel Butterfly went home via teleporting and detransformed.

Leppey shook a little as he went into the refrigerator for a plate of blueberries.

After eating the blueberries, Leppey went off to sleep and Miguel went off to sleep as well after he showered and brushed his teeth.

The End.

(Author's notes: The next chapter will feature Xaiver Ramier as Mr. Pigeon going against Albertine Friedman, also known as Ms. Raven.

Also, yes, Steel Butterfly bestowed those superpowers upon himself in preparation for the season 2, season 3, season 4, season 5, season 6, season 7, season 8, season 9, and season 10 chapters that could happen if Hawk Moth, Mayura, Future Hawk Moth, Cash, Techno-Pirate, Ikari Gozen, Miracle Queen, Penalty, and many other Miraculous Ladybug antagonists either broke out of prison, were revived from the dead, or broke into the current timeline.