Chapter 34: The team meets the United Heroez

(Quantic Universe Earth 139, New York City, U.S.A., June 4th, 2015, Steel Butterfly's voiceover POV as he writes in his Rorschach-inspired journal on the rooftop in frozen time without being disturbed...)

Steel Butterfly's journal.

June 4th, 2015.

Second journal entry of the day.

We've just arrived to New York City thanks to Doorman.

But thankfully, Marinette and Adrien were able to retrieve their clothes and their phones before transforming to defeat Silurus and they were able to recharge their kwamis and cover their tracks before Doorman showed up.

In any case, we'll need to be extremely careful with how we handle the Trash Krakken, because once either of us gets absorbed, its game over.

I hope that Knightowl and the other members of the United Heroez will cooperate with my foreknowledge, even though it's way too early to tell them about my true origin story. Chances are that any number of our enemies aside from Hawk Moth could easily find out from the shadows while using the chaos of the Trash Krakken's rampage to spy on us without being detected.

Now, I might be paranoid, but I'm paranoid for good reason.

And also for bad reason because, as I found out during my adventures in World War II, I happen to be paranoid and schizophrenic.

But thankfully, me taking my medicine combined with my powers allows me to get through the day without suffering a panic attack and without suffering hallucinations.

But aside from that, maybe I'll get fortunate and gain Knightowl's respect thanks to my foreknowledge coming through for all of us.

Who knows?

But either way, I have a feeling that we're gonna be approaching the end of the Trash Krakken story arc.

And when that does happen, well, we'll see what happens.

But either way, I have a feeling that even if the citizens of New York find out about our adventure here in the city, they're still gonna be asking questions.

But never mind that; my spies and other contacts in New York will easily answer those questions that the citizens of the Big Apple will have in store for us.

And of course, I intend to do something nice for Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino, Mylene, Ivan, Kagami, Luka, and the rest of the teenage and kid cast of Miraculous Ladybug during their wedding days. But I haven't decided on what I want to do for their wedding days, so I'm going to have to wait until those days come to be.

But for now, I need to focus on sharing parts of my foreknowledge with the United Heroez and with Victory, also known in office as U.S. President Camilla Hombee.

Soon enough, there will be total victory for the United Heroez and the French Miraculous Superhero Team, one way or another.

(Third person POV...)

In New York City, Steel Butterfly remarks, "Ladybug, Cat Noir, Bunnyx, Lion Hunter, Rhinocharge, Corvo, Blueclaw, Cat Knight, Purple Changer, Venus Avian, Thorn Bullet, Undefeated Savior, welcome to New York City, also known as The Big Apple and also known as the Land of Opportunity because of the city having different kinds of jobs for both the citizens of New York that were born and raised here, and for any immigrants that come into the city via the airports or via the ferry boats that go onto Ellis Island to have the immigrants legally processed before taking them into the city. At least, back in the 1900s for the boat immigrants part."

Every one of the Miraculous heroes could see that New York City's various buildings were in flames and/or slightly smashed into rubble while the streets had either cracks in them or large potholes.

Blueclaw remarks, "Well, New York has seen better days."

Rhinocharge adds, "And by the looks of it, many people will become homeless unless something can be done about all of this damage and destruction that this so-called Trash Krakken caused."

Majestia remarks in response before asking, "Yes, as you can see, we really need your help. You see, we have a tiny situation here. A supervillain we call the Trash Krakken is currently tearing the city apart at the seams. Will you guys help us?"

Steel Butterfly replies, "Of course we'll help you. It's what we were brought here for. Oh, and for your information, Majestia, I highly doubt that the Trash Krakken's rampage is a '"tiny situation'", as you put it."

Majestia raises an eyebrow in response.

Ladybug remarks in awe, "New York City..."

Cat Noir then asks, "You think that after we're done here, we'll have some time to go sightseeing?"

Bunnyx answers while making sure not to spill Steel Butterfly's true origins completely, "Probably. After all, New York is Steel Butterfly's birthplace, as he once explained to us."

Steel Butterfly then reminds them, "Don't forget, you guys now have the ability to use your powers an unlimited amount of times thanks to me."

Cat Noir remarks in reply, "Oh yeah, we almost forgot about that."

Ladybug and Bunnyx shared similar sentiments before standing at attention.

Steel Butterfly then says, "Everyone, let's take flight to the United Heroez Headquarters."

As Steel Butterfly and his hero allies took flight, Majestia, Uncanny Valley, Knightowl and Sparrow followed them thanks to their respective natural ability to fly, built-in jet engines, and their winged jetpacks.

Knightowl then decides to ask, "(Deep voice) Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Steel Butterfly replies honestly, "Of course, Knightowl. I've been born and raised in New York City. And while the whereabouts of the United Heroez headquarters is unknown to pretty much everyone in New York for safety reasons, let's just say I have my ways of getting around."

Sparrow then decides to ask, "(Deep voice) Are you really one of the smartest men on Earth?"

Steel Butterfly stops to hover as he looks at Sparrow and answers, "Of course I am. I happen to have a godlike intellect at my disposal. Only thing is, I split it into multiple pieces to avoid making me apathetic to those who are not as smart as me and to avoid accidentally getting myself infected with ALS like the Arrowverse iteration of The Thinker."

Steel Butterfly continues leading the way to the United Heroez headquarters and he manages to find his way there, much to the surprise of Uncanny Valley, Knightowl, Sparrow and Majestia.

As the thirteen heroes land, Doorman arrives via his magical doorway portals granting him access to the roof.

Suddenly, the presidential Marine One helicopter arrives carrying President Camilla Hombee, aka Victory.

President Hombee's helicopter arrives at a specific part of the rooftop and she disembarks while remarking, "Steel Butterfly! Ladybug! Cat Noir! Here you are at last with your own crew!"

Cat Noir asks in shock, "Camilla Hombee?"

Ladybug asks in shock as well, "The President of the United States? In person?"

Majestia answers as President Hombee changes into Victory, "Not only that, but she's also America's number one super fighter, Victory!"

Bunnyx looked like she wanted to pass out, but Steel Butterfly splashed water in her face to make sure she didn't faint.

Looking at Victory's star-shaped shield, Steel Butterfly remarks, "Hmm, nice star-shaped shield. Captain America, eat your heart out."

Everyone chuckled at Steel Butterfly's Captain America reference.

Majestia then says, "You know, Madam President, you can do without the mask. I mean, everyone across the United States already knows who you really are."

Victory replies, "I know, but I like it."

Ladybug remarks before asking her team leader, "I can't believe it! Victory is actually the President of the United States? Steel Butterfly, did you know about this?"

Steel Butterfly answers cryptically to preserve his foreknowledge secret, "Yes. Last I saw, she revealed her identity to win the presidential election of 2012."

Cat Noir remarks, "No way! Who would've guessed?"

Steel Butterfly explains, "Well, nobody could've guessed. And even if anybody would've guessed, a select few like Master Fu had known for years this simple fact. Even before the fall of the Order of the Guardians, the smartest people were able to use their brains to deduce a normal superhero's true identity by identifying vocal patterns, sound of voice, eye color, hair color, hair style, height, weight, skin color, muscular stature, and so forth on the superheroes and their civilian forms. But that was mostly with real life superheroes that don't have magical glamours to protect their identities from other human beings and that was mostly for comic book superheroes who sometimes have their identities discovered by friends, family, and enemies alike and the comic book heroes don't realize it until it's too late. Like Spider-Man, The Flash, Superman, Batman, and the Ghost Rider, for a few examples. And of course, for people in that same category, they would rely on cold hard evidence to find out a superhero's identity in real life, all thanks to the methods of doing so being introduced in superhero comic books, cartoons, movies, and video games."

Ladybug and Cat Noir reply in unison, "Ohhhhhhhh." "Ohhhhhhhh."

Sparrow remarks, "(Deep voice) Gee, you guys are so clueless!"

Steel Butterfly growls demonically in response, making Sparrow take a step back in visible fear.

Victory then says as the android daughter of Majestia known as Uncanny Valley pulls up news footage from her connection to the internet of the Trash Krakken, "Steel Butterfly, Ladybug, Cat Noir, Bunnyx, Lion Hunter, Rhinocharge, Blueclaw, Corvo, Cat Knight, Purple Changer, Venus Avian, Thorn Bullet, Undefeated Savior. Look at this. The thirteen of you will understand the gravity of the situation we're in like your established leader does. Today, just shortly before noon, the Trash Krakken, a creature with multiple tentacles, completely made of trash and mud, started digging underneath the city, opening a large crack in the ground. Now, at the present time, the crack is several hundred feet deep, and it caused multiple explosions, fires, water damage, and the cancellation of the basketball championship finals. We previously dispatched an initial team of superheroes, but they were all absorbed by the creature. Steel Butterfly explained to us that like a living quicksand, the Trash Krakken was and still is completely invulnerable to our superpowers and different attacks, in addition to being able to absorb anyone and anything into its mass of trash and mud with and without its tentacles as long as the Trash Krakken makes contact with anyone and anything in its path. And vice versa. As a result of the seriousness of the entire situation, we've had no choice but to contact superheroes from all over the world." Uncanny Valley shows a hologram of Earth and President Hombee's plan as she continues, "Our plan is to combine the strength of the more powerful among our numbers and make a super powerful coordinated dive attack, charging at the creature from space. It will be the biggest burst of power to ever be deployed on Earth. According to our calculations, this should annihilate it."

Steel Butterfly then explains, "Yes, but the Trash Krakken will most likely survive the power burst because of its high level of invulnerability. And the fact is that this creature was born out of a New York citizen coming into contact with an octopus toy infected by an alien-like black substance not unlike the Venom symbiote from Marvel Comics. Have you already forgotten that when I told you and the others last year during my Christmas Eve visit?"

Majestia, Uncanny Valley, Victory, Knightowl and Sparrow reply in unison, "Ohhhhhh." "Hey, he's right." "I can't believe we forgot." "(Deep voice) You may have a point there, SB." and "(Deep voice) What is this mysterious black substance, Steel?"

Steel Butterfly answers the question with his own holograms of the Trash Krakken and Kenya's unnamed father for comparison, "Even in the original timeline of our universe, no such information was ever revealed on the mysterious black substance responsible for mutating this unknown man into the Trash Krakken. No official sources of information about what the substance is and what else it does other than mutating anyone touching into a monster made of trash and mud was ever revealed whatsoever for some unknown reason. And even so, my sources tell me that this man hasn't revealed his name at all because nobody bothered to even ask."

Knightowl and Majestia looked at each other in shock.

Ladybug then says, "But I don't see how we fit into the picture. Besides... even if you didn't get reminded about Steel Butterfly's foreknowledge of the Trash Krakken, this plan sounds slightly dangerous, doesn't it?"

Victory answers, "Yes, there's probably a substantial risk that it will cause significant amounts of damage. But let's say it like it is. It's true that ecology will be taking a giant hit. Not to mention the fact that the cost of the reconstruction will cost millions of dollars and people will be displaced during the repairs to their residences... but that's when we thought, hey! What about the tall butterfly hero, his little French ladybug-themed protégé, and his multi-colored mother cat-themed teammate? (Ladybug and Cat Knight raise an eyebrow.) It's true. We never truly think about the French people. It's been such a long time since your people last had superheroes."

Ladybug explains, "Well, that's because a secret magical organization known as the Order of the Guardians, as Steel Butterfly explained to us on our fifth day, covered up the existence of the Miraculouses, their temporary owners and their uses in wars to prevent anyone from attempting to find the Miraculouses in their possession and abuse them so as to keep the lore and existence of the Miraculouses a secret in case the human race manages to make advancements in technology and/or attempts to abuse the Order's sum-total knowledge of how the Miraculouses work and how they can be used for both good purposes and for personal gain. And also because one of my predecessors, Jeanne d'Arc, was a French superhero with the Ladybug Miraculous before she was martyred. But that information was kept secret by the Order of the Guardians. And the reason why there weren't any French superheroes with any Miraculouses after Jeanne d'Arc's time is because the Order of the Guardians only chooses worthy heroes in the event the world is in any form of danger, specifically wars."

Steel Butterfly also went on an abridged vague explanation of what happened to the Order of the Guardians in 1844 but without revealing Master Fu's identity, much to Ladybug, Cat Noir, Lion Hunter, Rhinocharge, Blueclaw, Corvo, Cat Knight, Purple Changer, Venus Avian, Thorn Bullet, Undefeated Savior, and Bunnyx's hidden relief.

At the end of the abridged vague explanation, Victory replies back, "Oh. I see. Anyway, we thought it would be much easier if you, your older cat, and your leader could help us to fix everything once the Trash Krakken was returned to normal for good. With your respective powers, it's a bit like the three of you are the superheroes' clean-up crew in New York City and in Paris, right?"

Steel Butterfly explains again, "Yes, but our respective Miraculous cures can't exactly fix anything caused by the forces of nature, and our Miraculous cures can only be used against the villain of the week as long as we use our Lucky Charm objects against the said villain of the week. If we are unable to repair the damages caused by a specific villain or monster for any reason at all, up to and including being preoccupied by another disaster elsewhere, the damages won't be repaired. Especially if the villain or monster responsible were to retreat or get disintegrated."

Victory's eyes widened in shock as she didn't know about it.

Cat Noir then asks, "SB, what about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Steel Butterfly answers, "Well, seeing as how we're dealing with the Trash Krakken and that there is a toy inside its mass that needs to be purified of the mysterious black substance responsible for mutating it, I'd say we use Ladybug's Lucky Charm to bring into existence a ball of chewing gum for Knightowl to chew. That way, Ladybug can stick the gum onto her yoyo and latch it onto the toy in the monster's mass, and Knightowl can yank it out with his boomerang. Cat Noir, you will be using your Cataclysm on it, and the toy will be easy to purify with Ladybug's yoyo, thereby returning the Trash Krakken back to normal permanently and return straight back to the surface everything and everyone the monster has absorbed so far. That combined with our Miraculous cures to repair the damages and heal anybody wounded by the Trash Krakken's rampage will make it look like the Trash Krakken's unwilling crimes and unwilling acts of destruction had never happened to the public eye."

Even Victory and Knightowl seemed to be impressed by Steel Butterfly's plan.

Knightowl then asks, "(Deep voice) Are you sure Cat Noir is not restricted to making puns as usual?"

Cat Noir inquires in response while flexing his claws, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Knightowl quizzes back, "(Deep voice) Aren't you just Ladybug's pet friend? You know, like the sidekick who's just there to make jokes?"

Cat Noir answers seriously, "I'll have you know, I may like a good joke every now and then, but even I'm not stupid enough to constantly joke around in a fight or on patrol. And I'll have you know, I ain't Ladybug's pet; I'm her boyfriend!"

Knightowl replies skeptically, "(Deep voice) Oh? You're both dating each other?"

Ladybug answers, "Yes, but we're trying to keep it behind closed doors because Hawk Moth could possibly find out our identities and kidnap our families and friends to force us into the open to make us surrender our Miraculouses. And besides, if the public knew we were dating, we wouldn't exactly be able to have even a moment of privacy from the paparazzi."

Knightowl looks to be unreadable in response to that.

Victory then says, "You're right. But we're gonna need all hands on deck if our respective plans are to succeed."

Victory says to her fellow superheroes on the radio, "Get ready, friends. We're on in T Minus five minutes."

Steel Butterfly then says, "Madam President, we gotta be sure to have a contingency plan in case our plans fail."

Victory replies, "Affirmative. I have your contacts working on one as fast as possible. Get into position, soldier."

Steel Butterfly salutes the superheroic President, brings out his Dragon Miraculous Swords and deploys his wings again.

Steel Butterfly remarks to Ladybug, Cat Noir and Bunnyx, "Welcome to the big leagues, kids!"

The heroes fly into battle and confront the Trash Krakken, with their weapons at the ready, hoping to enact Steel Butterfly's plan.