Miraculous Tales

28) Քɦօŧօֆɦօօŧ

It was just another beautiful afternoon in the city of love as the two superheroes caught their breaths. The famous heroine of Paris stood at the bottom of the steps to the nostalgic-looking bank of the city, carefully fixing her hair in a make up mirror that was held inside her yo-yo. After her partner took his gaze off the cop cars driving into the distance, he focused his attention back to his beloved.

"Never to fear, m'lady, you always look stunning," Chat Noir complimented as he flashed her smile. Ladybug held her chin up and clicked her yo-yo shut, satisfied with her reflection. Her pigtails were now perfectly symmetrical. "You always say that," she laughed lightly.

"Would I ever lie to you, bugaboo?"

She rolled her eyes with a small smile spreading on her lips. "But that crook had it coming. Touch my hair if you want a death wish," she warned, but her mood remained merry. Her partner had a flashback to the robbery earlier when one of their foes yanked out her ribbons, momentarily blinding her with her midnight locks of hair. "But it looks lovely when it's down, I hardly get to see it like that," Chat complained. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit happy when it fell down."

"It's too inconvenient and annoying. It'd get in my way and I'd probably swing myself into a building."

"Then just pin up your bangs," he suggested.

Ladybug grimaced. She couldn't remember the last time she pulled all of her hair back. She strongly preferred her bangs down, and it concealed her big forehead. Before she could protest, a dark sedan screeched to a stop right beside them. After the door to the backseat opened, a woman of her early thirties came out to greet them. Her navy blazer and pencil skirt with a pair of Prada stilettos showed she meant business.

The superhero pair politely smiled. "Hello, may we help you?" She asked the stranger. The redheaded woman returned the smile. "Bonjour, Ladybug and Chat Noir! Enchanté, I am Madame Perez, but you can call me Cecile," she introduced, shaking both of their hands. "It's an honor to finally meet you two, and believe me when I say it's nearly impossible to catch you. It's pure luck I've managed to find us face to face."

"The pleasure is all ours, Cecile," Chat replied with a warm smile. "What do you need?"

"Well, my business is actually in the marketing field and I make a living off of selling popular merchandise to the people of Paris, as well as around the world. As I'm sure you know, you have countless fans who would do anything imaginable for anything you've even touched."

"Where is this going?" Ladybug asked while crossing her arms.

"Your popularity has skyrocketed to the point where well known companies have been fighting for something that will be known as the Miraculous Ladybug franchise. I have a high interest in the soon to be brand, and my company is inches away from claiming rights. The franchise will be mine by the end of the week," Cecile explained.

"Wait, we've become a franchise?" Chat gasped, his cat eyes bulging out in surprise.

"But we're not even fictional characters!"

"That's no matter," she continued. "Anyways, the Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise is guaranteed to make millions from your consumers. Whatever's been sold in the past year has been fan made, available on Red Bubble, Pinterest, or Etsy and such. Most of the merchandise to be produced from my company requires lots of pictures, and that's where I need you."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? There's tons of great photos you can find on the Ladyblog," she informed. Cecile shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, the Ladyblog has plenty of wonderful photos of you in action, but I need portraits: close ups, posing, more waving, smiling, you get the picture." Ladybug's eyes widened at the request. "Wait, hold up, you want us to model for you? We're superheroes, we just save the day!"