Undiscovered Melody |COMPLETED|

Chapter 28

Calandra had watched the two superheroes from her hidden spot in the middle of the carousel, which had been closed for the photo shoot. She wondered exactly what Ladybug and Cat Noir had been discussing for so long. As soon as Ladybug started off over the rooftops, Calandra moved out of her hiding place and put up a parasol to disguise herself all while keeping a close eye on where Ladybug was going.  The day was quite sunny and she was not the only one using a parasol, which would hopefully keep the superheroes from finding her.   She knew Ladybug wouldn't be going too far away, not if the superhero was who she thought she was- she needed to be having her photo taken soon.

She quickly walked in the direction Ladybug had taken. When she saw Ladybug disappear from a roof down into an alley about a hundred feet from her, she could hardly believe her luck! She picked up her pace and then turned into the alley where Ladybug had gone. A second later there was a bright pink flash. Calandra turned and raced back out of the alley and around the corner to stand with a crowd at a bus stop. She faced toward the street but kept her gaze towards the alley so she could capture whoever came out of the alley with her camera. The figure who peered around the corner and then quickly walked down the street in the opposite direction from where Calandra stood was not completely unexpected, but it still was surprising: Marinette Dupain-Cheng must be Ladybug! Calandra took a few quick looks at the photos she had managed to get. While on their own the photos proved nothing- just a girl walking out of an alley- they were one more thing to add to her list. And this list was going to show the world that Calypso had discovered the identity of Ladybug!

- - -

Cat Noir had been letting his eyes roam around the crowd, trying not to let his conscious brain be in charge, but let the unconscious part make note of anything that seemed off. At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary: people milling about randomly, photographers all crowded at the one end of the park where the photos were supposed to be taken, parents racing after kids. None of it seemed to really have a pattern or a direction but suddenly one figure seemed out of place. Someone with a blue parasol seemed to be taking a very determined path toward the other side of the park, which was where Ladybug had just headed.

He leapt onto the next rooftop and then the next, watching the figure progress across the park until the parasol went into an alley and he lost sight of it. He quickly jumped down to the sidewalk and started racing through the crowd.

"Excuse me! Coming through!" said Cat Noir as he dodged and jumped around pedestrians. When his legs accidentally got tangled in the leash of a very small dog, he had to pause and look down to unwind himself, but he was quickly back in pursuit of the blue parasol. A moment later he came to a halt when he saw that parasol at the bus stop. Now's finally my chance to see if it's who I think it is and get a photo! he said and he casually walked across the street and centered himself opposite his prey.

"Cat Noir! Cat Noir!" said some little kids who had soon reached his side and were jumping up and down to get him to pay attention to him.

Cat Noir worried that the parasol holder across the street would be attracted by the kids calling his name, but that curiously was not the case.  The person was facing forward but didn't seem to be paying attention to him at all.

"Hold on a minute, kids! There's one thing I need to do and then I'm all yours!" he said and then took out his camera and snapped a bunch of photos of the parasol holder, who he could now tell was a woman. But, without zooming in on her face, he couldn't tell yet if it was the same woman from the rooftop. And apparently the children had run out of patience and were starting to pull on his tail.

"Okay, okay. But, not the tail, please," he said as he gently removed the tail from a little boy's hand. "Now, pictures or autographs or both?" he asked with a grin.