#danny fenton/phantom | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

arisu-artnfics · 1 month ago

Text

“A trip to Paris” 7

Notes:

Chapter: 7/12 Previous Next (First). Versión en Español

Also on: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook

Chapter 7: “And they talked”

“Think it’s an akuma?” Sam asked, getting ready to jump into action.

“Could be...” Danny knew that if it was an akuma, he would be allowed to use his powers, but that didn’t mean he was going to transform out in the open. They needed to gather more information before doing something irrational like that. Even if it did seem obvious that the pigeons were the result of one. “Let’s get a closer look.”

They followed the lead of a few fans, hiding behind a nearby bush to watch the birds perform their strangely coordinated aerial manoeuvres.

After a minute or two, a weird looking man with an even weirder looking whistle–if it had a specific name, they didn’t know it– appeared, flying on top of a ‘plane’ made of pigeons. That was definitely the strangest thing that they had ever seen, and they were from Amity Park! They were used to ghosts attacking the city almost daily, but this had Team Phantom feeling befuddled in a way that they hadn��t been in a long time.

Danny was just thinking about how he would even start to handle a situation like this, even with his powers, and that he would take ghosts over this any day, when Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared.

“Wow! They really do look like the statue… but, you know, with colours…” said Jazz, a bit surprised at how well the sculptor had captured the likenesses of the two new heroes.

“Yeah, they do!” said Danny, also recognizing them from the very statue that stood not too far from where they were right now. He pushed aside a branch to get a better look. “Man, I can’t even tell what they’re saying!”

“Oh, right!” said Sam, smacking a hand to her forehead. “You can’t speak French!” Between the three of them, she was the only one who had a chance at understanding what the villain, if they could even call him that, and heroes were saying.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Jazz lamented. It was such an obvious thing to overlook! Unless the heroes started speaking English for some reason, they weren’t going to understand a word they said. She mentally crossed ‘become international spies’ off her list of things to do in Paris.

Danny looked around. “Why does everyone else seem to be, like… bored about all this?” he wondered. At least in Amity Park, people actually hid when there was an attack.

“I don’t know…” said Sam. She had also noticed that most of the fans were just sheltering under park benches to avoid pigeon poop rather than truly hiding, as anyone who looked could easily see them.

“Yeah, it’s… odd,” added Jazz. She was used to people running and screaming as they ducked for cover, dodging ectoblasts and whatever the ghost-of-the-day’s weapon of choice happened to be.

A shout from the heroes drew their attention back to the fight. “Lucky Charm!” called the one they now knew was Ladybug. It was the only English they had heard so far.

Even though the battle was a fair distance from their hiding place, they could still hear the heroes very clearly. Although that Charm, power, thing was the only thing they had understood so far. At least until Chat Noir screamed “Cataclysm,” or that’s what it sounded like he said, destroying the weird-looking whistle. From the ashes in his hand fluttered a black tinted butterfly.

Now Danny was very confused. After listening to Marinette and her family explain akumas, he had been pretty sure he knew what to expect, but that hadn’t been anything like what he had imagined.

As they watched, Ladybug expertly snatched the butterfly from the air with her yo-yo. When she released it again, seconds later, it was as white as new-fallen snow. “Bye bye…” she whispered as it flew away. Then the battle was finished with the cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!” and that same incredible magic that they had seen once before swept over them, cleaning up all the pigeon poop and putting everything back to normal.

“Okay… please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t think that’s what an akuma was… right?” asked Danny, voicing his thoughts. “I mean, Marinette said that they were kind of like possessed people… So, like, what just happened?”

“No idea… no idea… ” murmured Jazz, just as lost as her brother.

“Maybe,” said Sam, “maybe they were possessed by the butterfly…”

“Oh, Ancients! They’re getting away!” said Danny, pointing out the retreating figures of the Parisian heroes as they bounded across the rooftops.

“And everyone’s just going back to what they were doing, as if there wasn’t a superpowered pigeon invasion less than five minutes ago…” Sam added.

“Even the photographer is back at his set,” said Jazz, nodding her head in that direction. “If you can call a fountain and some extra lights a ‘set’”

“It didn’t seem like a very dangerous akuma villain guy,” Danny commented. “Just based on how everyone was acting.”

“Maybe he’s like their version of the Box Ghost,” Sam suggested with a shrug.

“We should probably take their cue and get back to what we were doing too,” Jazz suggested.

As the trio from Amity Park started making their way back to the hotel once again, they nearly collided with another teen that was going in the opposite direction.

“Oops!” said the girl they recognized as Marinette’s friend. Followed by what they assumed was an apology.

“It’s all right,” said Jazz without a second thought, even though she didn’t understand her. She had been the one that was almost run over by Marinette’s friend, much the same way as she had almost been crashed into by Marinette herself not that long ago.

“Oh, you speak English!” the girl sounded surprised.

Yeah… ” Jazz replied, a little confused. Surely English wasn’t that out of the ordinary, they were pretty close to a big, famous hotel, after all. And some of the locals in the area had spoken English with them already.

“Sorry about that,” she said, in English this time. “I was looking for my friend instead of watching where I was going. That girl pulled another one of her famous vanishing acts on me.” She shook her head fondly.

“No worries,” Sam said. “We know someone who’s like that, too.” At this she gave Danny a teasing look.

“I suppose there has to be one in every group,” the girl said with a laugh. Then, with a snap of her fingers, she switched to reporter mode. “So, if you guys don’t mind my asking, how long have you been visiting Paris? Did you see the akuma just now? Would you mind being interviewed for my blog?” she asked very enthusiastically, raising her camera phone to the trio of Americans.

“Umm… ” Danny hummed noncommittally while gently pushing the camera away, kindly rejecting the offer.

“Oh, uh… Sorry,” the girl apologised again, realising that she was probably invading their personal space. “I got a little carried away there for a moment, Marinette says I have a bad habit of doing that. Let me introduce myself, I’m Alya. I run the ‘Ladyblog,’ Paris’s number one source about akumas and heroes, if I do say so myself.” She stepped back to a more socially acceptable distance and showed them her blog, pulled up on her phone in English. She had correctly assumed that their French was lacking.

After a couple of seconds while they looked through her blog, she asked, “So… Could I get an interview? Or at least a statement? It’s always so interesting to hear what people think of their first akuma.”

“That’s… wow!” said Jazz, after checking as much as she could without reading ahead of Sam and Danny. They had checked out the Ladyblog before, on Marinette’s suggestion, but to meet the girl who ran it, and to see how much effort and enthusiasm went into it firsthand? That was something else.

“So, how did all this,” Sam made a sweeping gesture toward where the pigeon battle took place, “start?” she asked. She knew firsthand what caused the ghosts to start appearing in Amity, but the situation in Paris was a complete mystery for them.

“You mean the akumas? Or the heroes?” asked Alya, for clarification. As if she wouldn’t tell them the entire history of Ladybug and Cat Noir and their battle against the forces of evil at the drop of a hat.

“Both,” Danny replied, now curious. Aside from the akumas, Paris seemed like an average big city.

“Right,” said Alya, settling into her role as storyteller, “Actually, they both appeared at the same time– well, same day. The akumas were first though. You see, at the beginning of the school year– I remember it well because it was my first day at a new school, and, well, everyone was in class when it all went down…” she began.

“Wait,” Sam interrupted. “It happened at your school?” She had thought the girl only knew all this stuff because she was obsessed with the allure of heroism, at least, that’s how it looked on the blog. She was pleasantly surprised to find that they had met someone who had been there since the beginning and not just someone repeating the story for clout and attention.

“Well, yeah… in a way… I mean, part of it did– Oh, thank you,” she interrupted herself when Jazz handed back her phone. She pocketed it and then continued her story, “Now, where was I?”

“You were telling us about your first day of school here… what happened next? When did the akumas show up?” asked Jazz, already opening up her Notebook to write things down. She wasn’t one to miss a valuable learning opportunity, after all. She knew enough to realise that this whole akuma business had to be a recent thing. Maybe New York had its heroes and villains, but not Paris, at least not until recently.

“Well…” said Alya, thinking back on that day. “Like I said, one moment we were in class, just before lunch break if I am not mistaken– we were just a couple of hours in, you know– and then out of nowhere, one of the other students was a huge rock-like creature!”

“Woah! So one of your classmates just, like, transformed into a rock monster right in the middle of school!” Danny said. “That must have been wild to see!”

“Well, I didn’t actually see him get akumatized…” Alya corrected him.

“Wait, then how could you tell who it was?” asked Danny. He was a little surprised at that, since nobody has figured out his identity yet and not nearly that fast, not even the ghosts. And he’d transformed in the middle of the school!

“Oh, no, no, no… I learned that after…” Alya shook her head, “Anyway, as I was saying—”

“Hey, Alya!” a familiar French voice interrupted her, “I’m sorry for disappearing like that!”

Alya turned around to see her best friend running over to join them “Oh! Hey Marinette! I thought that you were back in the bakery…” she replied, speaking French as well.

“Hello Marinette,” Jazz greeted their new friend with a wave. She spoke English rather than butchering the French language more than she had to.

“Oh! Hi guys!” said Marinette, switching to English when she realised just who Alya was talking to. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there…” She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

“We aren’t invisible, right?” whispered Danny, looking himself and his companions over, just to be sure that they were actually visible.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. What did you just say?” asked Alya, switching back to English as well.

“Nothing! Nothing.” said Danny, waving his hand dismissively. He didn’t think that anyone except his friends would hear him. Obviously he was wrong, but at least they didn’t understand his whispering.

“Okay…?” said Alya, a bit doubtful, but let it go as it didn’t seem important.

“I’m really sorry you guys, it was rude of us to speak in French in front of you. I didn’t mean to make you feel left out,” Marinette apologised. “I just didn’t expect for you to be talking with Alya… I didn’t realise you knew each other…” She let her sentence trail, an unspoken question in her tone.

“Oh! We don’t… Not really,” Alya explained.

“What? Then what… What were you guys talking about?“ Her eyes lit up in horror, “Oh no! I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important! Did I?” She felt a bit bad for that, she had thought that maybe Alya had already met them but forgot to mention.

“Oh, no, nothing like that! I almost ran into…” Alya paused, realising that she didn’t know what to call any of them. She turned to the taller girl, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“No worries, I’m Jazz,” she replied with a smile. They had skipped the second half of introductions and jumped straight into interviewing each other, but social conventions were never her family’s strong suit anyway.

“Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Marinette. “I almost ran into Jazz here and, well, noticed that they seemed to be watching the fight, and, well, you know me…” Alya shrugged, she knew Marinette would get exactly what she meant.

“You just asked them for an interview, didn’t you?” Marinette said, blinking at her friend, unimpressed by her antics.

“Actually, we asked her. She was telling us about what happened in Paris the day the heroes and akumas showed up,” said Sam. She was getting the feeling that they weren’t going to get answers anytime soon. Especially if they kept getting distracted.

“Oh yeah!” Alya exclaimed, remembering what they were talking about just before Marinette got back.

In that moment a bright flash of light caught their attention and everyone turned to see what it was. That’s when they all remembered that Adrien was supposed to be having a photoshoot right now. And so he was. Adrien had returned to the park as well and was doing what he did best, being a model. He had been working the whole time they had been talking and the flash was from the photographer taking pictures.

Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes, unimpressed. He was probably some rich kid whose parents had paid for him to be a model or something.

“Adrien…” Marinette sighed, a bit too dreamily and loud enough for the rest of the group to hear her. That caused some soft laughing from her companions, and Marinette’s mouth clicked shut in embarrassment.

“Sorry,” said Danny apologetically. He had noticed the discomfort coming from his new friend and didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything like that.

“Ohhhh!” Marinette lamented, covering her face with her hands. No matter how many times she embarrassed herself, it was never a good feeling.

“Sorry,” Sam and Jazz echoed Danny’s apology, realising that it hadn’t been very nice of any of them.

“Don’t worry,” said Alya, calming her friend with a hand on her shoulder. “That’s Marinette for you… and that’s Adrien, the teen model of our class.” She nodded toward the photoshoot, confirming the information that they thought they had.

“He’s in your class…??” asked Danny. He was a bit surprised because he thought that models would need to be privately tutored or something like that so they could learn around their work schedules.

“He is,” Alya confirmed. “And he’s a literal ray of sunshine. Nothing like you would assume from a teen model, honest!” She herself had judged him harshly when they first met and she didn’t want these people to do that too.

“Sunshine?” asked Jazz. She had never thought of anyone like that before, not even when she was their age. Of course, she had always been mature for her age, so maybe she had just skipped over that developmental phase.

“That’s our secret nickname for him, to be honest. He is the nicest person that I know,” said Alya, glad that she had gotten to know him better.

“Oh, he is even better than that…” Marinette gushed. “He isn’t just a model, he does fencing, plays piano, speaks English as well as Chinese and a few other languages that he has learned over the years,” she explained, listing off all his talents by heart, counting them out on her fingers.

“He was homeschooled until this year. Nobody knows how he managed to enrol himself without his dad knowing, but he did. Although that probably is explained by the fact that he was friends with Chloe…” said Alya thoughtfully. It was a bit sad, to be honest, that he only knew friendship in the form of Chloe.

“Chloe…” growled Marinette. Just thinking about her bully annoyed her.

“Who’s that? Judging by your reaction, she doesn’t sound like a very nice person,” said Sam. She had a feeling that she knew where this was going, and hoped that she wasn't like Paulina back home.

“Oh, you know… just the Mayor’s daughter, the brat that nobody likes… except maybe Adrien, but that’s because he didn’t have any friends until we arrived in his life,” said Alya matter-of-factly with a small eye roll.

“Wow, that’s terrible!” said Danny. He couldn’t imagine his life without his friends. Well, he did have an idea, a terrible idea, of what would have happened if he had never met Sam.

“Yeah, you can say that again! He was terrible at making friends at first” said Alya, as a matter of fact once again.

“I did judge him bad as well…” Marinette admitted with more than a little regret for that day, well, that morning. Once she understood him better, she realised that she had been in the wrong and tried to apologise. Although it didn’t quite go to plan as he apologised to her instead, and she fell head over heels in love with him. Something she was still trying to confess to him.

“So… you are all friends now?” Jazz asked curiously. She thought that’s what they were saying, but wanted to make sure.

“Well, yeah, of course we are! I’m actually dating his best friend, and this clumsy girl here is my BFF, so that makes them friends automatically. Although I bet they would be friends even if that wasn’t the case…” said Alya with a wink at Marinette. She knew that they wouldn’t be friends, but a couple as that’s what the other girl had been working toward for so long now.

“Uh, Right…” said Danny uncertainly as he processed the information.

“So… ” said Marinette, trying to change the topic. “What have you visited since I saw you? You guys said last time that you are here for two weeks, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Danny here needed a holiday and so his family decided to travel all the way to the other side of the world,” said Sam. While that was true, if they had been anybody else, they would have just gone to another state or something.

“Oh! That’s a bit far for just a holiday…” said Alya. She didn’t doubt their claim, that they were from the US was obvious, or at least she assumed that’s where they were from since they didn’t have the British accent to be from England. She wondered what had brought them this far.

“Well, let’s just say that if you ever visited Amity Park, then you would understand why it’s necessary…” said Sam. She knew that they were right, it was far, but living over there was full of surprises. And, sure, they could have gone somewhere closer… but, well, with Danny and his powers, they couldn’t risk it.

“Wait… Amity Park?? Like where the ghostly hero is from?? Danny Phantom?? Did you guys know him??” asked Alya, with eyes big and full of surprise. She never thought that she would meet people from there, and so soon after his debut. She had been thinking of ways to conveniently make her way to that small American town, just so she could meet him too.

“Oh, uh, well…” Danny stammered, caught off guard by the sudden barrage of questions about, well, himself. He hadn’t expected to find a fan of his ghostly alter ego all the way in Paris and he wasn’t in the mood for that kind of interview. He was on vacation after all.

“Alya!” chided Marinette. She didn’t want to annoy her new friends, even if she would only see them whenever they went to the bakery or if they were around the area like today.

“Sorry,” Alya apologised, hand coming up to rub the back of her neck. “It’s just that while akumas and the heroes here are cool… I always thought all heroes are amazing! We went to New York not that long ago… and, well… IT WAS AWESOME!” The grin crept back onto her face, stretching from ear to ear.

“The heroes must have made a really good impression on you then,” said Jazz. She could understand her though.

“She almost couldn’t believe that she was seeing her heroes over there! Even though some of them don’t have secret identities, we didn’t expect to just see them around. It’s so different over here, we don’t think that Ladybug and Chat Noir would ever share their identities,” said Marinette, remembering the time they saw that the teacher from the American school was the hero that gave her and Chat so much trouble when they had to fight against him and the rest of the American heroes under the akuma’s power.

“Yeah, and it sucks because if we knew who they were, then we could help them! Isn’t that right, Marinette?” said Alya and turned to look directly into Marinette's eyes.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” asked Danny, worried that maybe this girl was getting into trouble trying to figure out who the heroes were. He might need to be careful around her in case she started to look too closely at him.

“Nah! Ladybug would put everything back to normal,” Alya said confidently, “and that is if something happened to me at all.”

This, surprisingly, did little to calm Danny down, so Sam squeezed his hand in hers to reassure him that everything would be okay. She had taken his hand at some point during their conversation out of habit.

“Alya!” Marinette scolded. She was worried about her friend, as she knew very well that she had a terrible tendency of getting into trouble and putting herself in danger when it came to heroes.

“It’s all right Mari, I’m always keeping my distance,” Alya assured her friend. “I promised Ladybug that I’d be careful if I want to keep filming all the battles for my blog.” And, well, she doesn’t like it when an akuma gets her.

“Wait… I thought you didn’t know who Ladybug is?” asked a very confused Danny. He had thought that they didn’t share their identities.

“Nah! I wish, but nah. I know how important her secret identity is, you see. She has rescued me a couple of times–”

“Yeah! Me too!” Marinette added quickly.

“Uhh… and well, once she stopped me from failing from a high place, and, well, that’s when I promised, I mean, It wasn’t my idea of being that high, but the akuma put me up there…” said Alya, as to explain the reason for her promise.

“So, are all the akumas like that pigeon man?” asked Jazz, all business, with pen and notebook in hand.

“Who? Mr. Ramier?” Alya asked, pointing back to where the attack happened to indicate who she was referring to.

“You know who he was?” Sam was surprised, thinking about how the akuma hadn’t looked much like the man he transformed into, except a certain resemblance in the face, perhaps.

“Welllllll… he has been an akuma victim so many times, that everyone knows him by now… I feel bad for the guy sometimes, he just wants to feed the pigeons in peace, you know?” said Alya. Most people only knew him as The Most Akumatized Man in Paris, but he was so much more than that. It was sad, if you asked her. “That reminds me, I need to update the number one more time!”

“I feel bad for him too,” Marinette added. “I wish we could do something against the ‘Papillon’ but, well, we aren’t heroes…” she giggled in a way that sounded fake, even to her own ears.

“Yeah…” said Alya, not noticing the fake laugh and continuing as if nothing had happened, “Sadly there’s not much we can do…” She pulled up her blog on her phone to update Mr. Ramier’s page.

“So you guys just, what? Sit and do nothing??” Sam asked incredulously. She was already mentally preparing a motivational speech-slash-civilian combat lesson. Even without the powers there was a bunch of stuff they could do to help, just like she and the rest of Team Phantom did on a regular basis.

“Sam…” Danny warned. They didn’t want to impose the hero life on regular teens, they got the chance to be normal, something Danny didn't have, and he didn't want to take that away from them.

After a moment of awkward silence, Jazz said, “Mmmmm… I see… That makes sense actually.” She didn’t want the Parisians to feel bad for keeping to the sidelines, in fact, sometimes she wished that she could ignore the ghost attacks too, but she wasn’t about to let her little brother fight those by himself.

“What?” asked Marinette, startled out of her reverie. She had noticed how Sam’s hand never seemed to leave Danny’s and was a bit ashamed that she kind of forgot that Jazz was there. She had just been so quiet that she kind of disappeared.

“Oh, no, nothing! Just, I can understand why you guys wouldn’t do something so dangerous and it’s better for you to leave it all to Ladybug and Chat Noir. The situation here is very different from what it’s like back home, in Amity Park at least people have the tools to fight back. Most people still just hide and hope for the best, of course, but ghost hunting gear is becoming a lot more common over there, and over here you don’t have that available. From what I gather, especially after reading your blog, I can see that each akuma victim is very different from the others, with unique abilities, and therefore it would be hard to predict any efficient system to fight them. That makes it more difficult for civilians to help, and any that tried would just be put in harm’s way, making things more complicated for the heroes.” Jazz explained.

Everyone just blinked at her a couple of times, their expressions blank.

Danny and Sam recovered from the impromptu lecture first, fairly used to this sort of thing from Jazz. And while they knew what she was saying, having experienced both ghosts and akumas, or rather, one akuma and hearing the explosions from a second, it looked like the Parisians were struggling to make the comparison. While the kids from Amity Park didn’t have that much to compare to, it seemed like it was more than enough for Jazz to make a connection. It was very clear that ghosts and akumas weren’t the same, but the concept was the same: if something supernatural starts attacking the city, take cover.

“I guess you are right,” said Marinette, who was the first one to break the silence.

“I suppose you guys are really used to hiding as well, right?” said Alya, understanding what the other teen meant.

“In a way, yeah…” said Sam. Even though they didn’t really hide, but fought. It was just that neither Marinette or Alya needed to know about that.

“Yep!” Danny added with a tight smile and awkward thumbs up, hiding the fact that he was the one who fought the ghosts most of the time. When he ran, it was towards the danger.

“Yeah…” said Marinette, “if we don’t get trapped… or something, I think hiding is the best we can do. I mean, what else is there to do, right?” she continued with a small laugh. It wasn’t even that funny, but she was just glad that it didn’t sound as fake as before.

“Unfortunately that’s true,” Alya concluded. If things got really dangerous, she tried to take shelter, she needed to be okay to film, after all.

The conversation lapsed between the teens once again. They hadn’t made it very far from where they started, still standing in the middle of the park between the bench and the fountain. They shuffled their feet awkwardly, unsure of what to say next, unaware that another teen was heading their way.

With Mr. Pigeon stopped once again, Adrien returned to the park, and, unfortunately, to his photoshoot. Just when he thought that for once, he might get an afternoon off, too.

His father had told him that after the shoot today, he was free to do as he pleased, so long as he had all his homework done. With that promise in mind, Adrien had rushed home after school and started his homework as soon as possible, finishing just before his bodyguard picked him up for the shoot.

If only the rest of the afternoon had gone so smoothly.

After they got to the park, they discovered that news of today’s photoshoot location had been leaked and they were swarmed with adoring fans. Normally, he didn’t mind his fans, but they did slow down the photoshoot and today he had been hoping for a short session. He briefly thought about asking the photographer if they could move to a new location, but when he saw his friends, Alya and Marinette, in the crowd, he changed his mind. He knew Marinette wanted to be a fashion designer and how much she loved seeing how things worked behind the scenes. So he forgot his annoyance and set to work as peacefully as he could with an audience.

All that changed when, once again, Mr. Ramier was akumatized into Mr. Pigeon. Adrien used the chaos caused by the fans running for cover from pigeon droppings as an opportunity to escape to a nearby alleyway and transform into Chat Noir. He returned to the park just in time to meet Ladybug. Luckily, he had already been there for the photoshoot, but she had arrived on the scene in remarkably good time. His Lady was just amazing like that. Together they kicked bird butt, just like always, and far too soon Adrien was back at work.

Thankfully some of the fans went home after the akuma attack and he was able to finish his shoot without further trouble. Now that it was over, he decided to find where Marinette and Alya went so he could say ‘hi’ to them, as spending any time with any of his friends was great in his book. Eventually, he spotted them talking with three people he didn’t recognize. Adrien thought it would be a good opportunity to meet some new people, he just hoped that they weren’t fans. He wasn’t willing to deal with that any more today.

Adrien greeted the group in French as he hadn't heard them talking in English.

Everyone jumped in surprise at his seemingly sudden appearance. One of them may have even jumped a bit higher, stayed in the air a fraction of a second longer than normal, but if he had, no one noticed.

Marinette stuttered out a hello, going between French and English, eventually settling on an awkward wave and a nervous smile.

“They are from Amity Park. You know… America…” Alya said in English as an explanation for Marinette's language mix up.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” said Adrien, switching to English as well, “I saw Marinette and Alya over here and thought I could come say hi… I didn’t realise…” he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. “So what are you all doing over here?” he asked, full of curiosity. He hoped whoever said that curiosity killed the cat was wrong, because he was certainly very curious, and he wasn’t ready to die quite yet. He wondered if these Americans were in trouble, maybe he could help!

“Don’t worry, Marinette over here did the same earlier, when… Alya, was it?” asked Sam. She didn’t have anything against the girl, but she had launched straight into her interview spiel and her introduction had been practically buried by questions. So forgive her for forgetting the other girl’s name, jeez. And really, they should be the ones asking the questions. They needed to find out what was going on in Paris, without Danny having to play superspy.

“Yes, that’s me!” Alya replied. She suddenly remembered just what Marinette had interrupted, “Oh, right!” She was supposed to be asking them questions, or, well, getting answers to the questions, for her blog.

“What?” asked Adrien, lost in the conversation.

“Alya was, uh, about to… interview us about the akuma attack, though I think she changed her questions when she learned that we are from Amity Park… but we distracted her by asking about Paris.” explained Sam. They were in a distraction within a distraction within a distraction, a babushka doll of distractions and she was getting tired of all this. They were supposed to be going back to the hotel to plan for their outing with Tucker.

“Alya!” scolded Marinette. She had already half-forgotten that’s what she had returned to after fighting Mr. Pigeon once again.

“Hey, I’m sorry, okay! I noticed them on my way to your home, and obviously thought that they were witnesses of the akuma, even though it was just Mr. Pigeon,” Alya defended herself. So maybe she didn’t notice them, exactly, but she would prefer to keep that for herself.

“Don’t remind me!” Adrien groaned, drawing their attention. “I hate when it’s him! Uh, because…his birds make my allergies act up.” he added as an afterthought to distract them from why he was really upset. He almost mentioned how tiresome it can be fighting the same person that many times.

“Right… Mr. Sunshine here is allergic to feathers. Actually, I don’t remember seeing you and all your sneezing during the attack, where did you go anyway?” asked Alya.

“Oh, wellll… you know… further…?” the words came out more like a question than a statement. He couldn’t tell the truth after all.

“You mean back to your car, didn’t you?” Alya teased, with a smile on her face.

“Heh… you got me…” said Adrien, rubbing the back of his neck in a way he hoped made it look like he was embarrassed rather than lying. It wasn’t like he could just say he ran to an alleyway to transform into a superhero, after all.

“I thought ‘Sunshine’ was a secret nickname,” Danny whispered to Jazz and Sam, who only nodded.

“Anyway, now that the introductions are all done, we should probably go somewhere else and do that interview… You guys are still up to one, right?” said Alya, as if they had said yes from the start and just now they remembered that they were doing one.

Danny shrugged. “I don’t see why not, but I don’t think we have that much to talk about, do we?” He was used to interviews as Phantom, so he was sure whatever Alya wanted wasn't going to be a problem. He just wasn't sure what to say as Fenton, and nothing else.

“Of course, anything you have to say would help! You guys aren’t from here, that gives me an outside perspective, just like…” Alya gestured to the girl with red hair, trailing off as the name escaped her. Just before the girl could say her name again, it came back to her. “Jazz!” Alya exclaimed, “Just like Jazz said. Sorry, my mind went blank for a second there.”

“It’s okay. Like I said before, I’m Jazz, and these two are my little brother Danny and his girlfriend Sam,” she reintroduced their group for Alya’s and Adrien’s benefit, since Danny and Sam hadn’t given their names earlier and Adrien had joined them later.

“Some reporter I am,” Alya said with a wry smile, “I completely forgot to ask for all of your names! Well, it’s nice to meet you all, officially.” It was always good and fun to meet new people.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Adrien by the way,” said Adrien, “Adrien Agreste. I wish I could say something for your blog Alya, but I couldn’t really see much from the car, you know?” he shrugged apologetically.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Danny, Sam, and Jazz chorused, although they already knew his name thanks to Marinette and Alya.

“Don’t worry Adrien, Danny, Sam and Jazz can help me enough for today,” Alya said while opening her blog on her phone and editing an entry. She had been half doing that the whole time.

“Wait Alya, you are writing the article now?” asked Marinette. She knew that Alya normally used her laptop to edit her interviews for the ‘Ladyblog’ before posting them.

“Nah, I’m just updating the akumatization number for poor Mr. Pigeon. Did you know that he has already passed the fifty times mark?” she asked casually after checking the post on her blog.

“WHAT?” they all cried in surprise. Even though Marinette and Adrien knew that it was a possibility, it was still a lot for one person in that short of a time.

“Well, yeah… he is actually closer to sixty than fifty, to be honest,” replied Alya, as she read what her blog post said. She had long since asked their friend Max to help her set up a program that automatically updated the number of times the same person had been an akuma. It was a great way to get better statistics to possibly see if there was a pattern, and also because people were just curious.

“Wow! And I felt bad for the guy before,” Sam exclaimed. “You guys said that he mostly just wanted to feed the pigeons in peace, right? What’s so bad about that?”

“Well, it’s not exactly legal…” Marinette explained, remembering that he had been banned from several parks for it. “I think it’s because it attracts more birds than usual and makes them poop more than normal, considering that most of the time he gets scolded for making a big mess in so many public areas…”

“Yeah, I think he was even banned from most parks… if not all,” said Adrien, as if he was reading Marinette's mind.

“Wow…” said Jazz. She thought that was a bit harsh.

“That bad, huh? Who would have thought,” said Sam, seeing what they were saying.

“So different from ghosts that’s for sure,” commented Danny. As far as he knew, nobody in Amity Park has been banned from anywhere just because that would bring ghosts or something like that.

“What do you mean?” asked Alya.

“Oh, well, I guess, that while ghosts just kind of… appear and do whatever they want, including just fight m– Phantom…” Danny said, quickly correcting himself before he said too much. “Well, here you still have a lot of rules, right?”

“Danny, Amity still has rules and stuff. Just because they get ignored most of the time doesn’t mean that they don’t exist,” said Sam. She was well aware that they may have broken more than their fair share, especially the ones that say ‘don’t fight the ghosts, report all sightings to local authorities.’

“Oh! right…” Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, reconsidering what he just said.

“Okay, I definitely need to know more about what it’s like living with the ghosts! You never said… Do you guys know the ghostly hero? Does he really look like that? Like a teen?” Alya asked in a rush, her curiosity getting the better of her. She just thought it was very interesting, is all.

Danny shrugged, “I mean, we’ve all seen him at least once… Ghosts like to attack our school for no reason,” he said. ‘Other than fight me,’ he didn’t. “So yeah, I think he really does look like that. Uh, assuming you mean the statue, right?” he asked, once again remembering that there was a giant statue of him holding up the world somewhere in the city.

“Yeah that.” Alya confirmed. “Have you seen it then?” It was a very curious looking statue. On the day of its inauguration she had dragged Marinette and Nino along with her, and tried to do the same with Adrien –but of course his father hadn't allowed him– to see it. That day she had also started another blog for her new hero, Danny Phantom.

“The one that's in Amity, yes. The one here… uh, not- not yet?” said Danny. He wasn’t actually planning to go see it, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“You haven’t even thought about it, have you?” asked Alya. She remembered just as Danny said it, that they do have the original statue in their hometown.

Danny sighed, “No, not, really.” He felt like there wasn’t any use in lying about it.

“I bet it’s the same as the one that's over there,” said Marinette. She thought coming all the way to Paris to see the same thing that’s back home didn’t sound very fun. There were plenty of things unique to Paris for them to visit already, after all.

“We had assumed so…” Danny responded with a shrug.

“I’ve been wondering, why didn’t they just put it here in the park, with the local heroes. I doubt that they would mind sharing a space, you know?” said Adrien. He certainly didn’t mind at all. He could ask Ladybug how she felt about it later on as Chat, but he felt sure that she would be okay with it too.

“Yeah…” said Marinette, thoughtfully. It had crossed her mind, but it’s not like she could do anything about it. Maybe the next time she saw Chat, she could talk to him about it.

“That would be amazing!” said Alya. It would be so nice for her blog if she could take a picture of all the heroes' statues in one place, as that would be much better looking.

“I assumed they would just put it where anyone put their presents from other nations, the city hall or whatever the name is here. Sorry for that,” said Sam.

“If you mean the ‘Hôtel de Ville’ that is an excellent guess, but that isn’t where it is,” commented Alya. They had chosen an odd location to put it, but it certainly was… a location.

“It isn’t?” asked Adrien, who hadn’t been able to see it yet either. Although if he thought about the couple of times that he’d been to the ‘Hôtel de Ville’ as Chat lately, he would have noticed that, indeed, it wasn’t there. He wished his dad had allowed him to go with Alya back when she tried to drag them to see it, but that wasn't the case. It’s almost as if his father didn’t care about the statue at all.

“Nope,” said Alya, pronouncing the ‘p’ more than necessary. “It’s in the ‘Place de la Concorde’, as having it next to the ‘Luxor Obelisk’ was necessary, for… some reason?” She couldn’t stop thinking about how odd of a choice that had been.

Tucker had shown Team Phantom a picture of the Paris statue at one point and it did look like it was in a strange place, though it was hard to tell from the angle the photo was taken, but they didn’t know much about it until now.

“Huh, that is an odd place. I think,” said Jazz. She was the one who had looked up the different places around the city that they could go and visit, but now she may need to adjust their schedule and not go see the Obelisk.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The group of teens fell silent, the flow of conversation interrupted. They looked at one another and, through a series of shrugs and gestures, all agreed that maybe it was about time to leave the park.

They began meandering slowly in the direction of Marinette’s house, as it was the closest, and, well, it was getting late. Nobody would fault the kids from getting some sweets before continuing their conversation upstairs in the cosy living room above the bakery.

To be continued :D :D

20 notes · View notes

arisu-artnfics · 5 months ago

Text

“Un viaje a París” 6

Notas:

Capítulo: 6/12 Anterior Siguiente (Primero). Version on English

También en: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook.

Capítulo 6: “Introduciendo akumas”

Marinette sacudió su vergüenza, ahí habrá tiempo para asustarse sobre eso después, ahora mismo, ella tenía un trabajo que hacer.

–¡Oh, no!– Marinette gritó, revisó su celular. –¡Hay una akuma cerca!– Volteó a sus amigos-o, en vez, amigos temporales… ella sabía que ellos sólo estaban aquí de vacaciones. –Deberían quedarse aquí, será seguro.

–¿Seguro de qué? ¿Qué es un akuma?– preguntó Jazz. Ella no recordaba leer nada sobre eso, y ella ha hecho un montón de investigación antes de venir.

–Oh, um, bueno una akuma es una persona…– Marinette comenzó. Danny levantó una ceja. Ella no había planeado tener que explicar esto hoy, y estaba haciendo un trabajo pobre de eso. –Bueno, una persona poseía-

–Espera, ¿quieres decir como “overshadowed”? Sam preguntó lo que los tres Amity Parkers estaban pensando. Ella no pensó que el sentido fantasmal de él se hubiera disparado, pero no podrían estar muy cuidadosos.

–¿”Over– ”qué?– preguntó Marinette, confundida, esa no era una palabra en inglés que supiera. Ella sacudió su cabeza, –No, no lo creo… es más controlado por, como si a alguien le hubieran lavado el cerebro.– De ahí recordó que “poseído” podría significar algo totalmente diferente para ellos que lo hace a ella.

–Eso es horrible,– Jazz comentó con una mirada compasiva. Sabiendo que era hecho por un humano a otro lo hacía peor en su libro.

–Eso es, es por eso que es mejor quedarse adentro, y dejar a Ladybug y Chat Noir hacer su trabajo. Ellos la defenderán, ¡no se preocupen!– dijo Marinette. Su sonrisa era un poco demasiado amplia, estrechada delgada. Ladybug salvará el día, pero primero necesitaba salir y transformarse en Ladybug. Ella sólo tenía que descubrir cómo escurrirse de ellos.

–Marinette tiene razón,– dijo Sabine. –Nuestra política de seguridad de la tienda incluye clientes en estos casos de emergencias. Por favor quédense dentro de la tienda.– Su acento era más fuerte que el de Marinette pero ellos podían entender su inglés lo suficiente bien.

–Okay…– dijo Danny dudosamente. Él no pensó que podría hacer mucho en contra de un akuma. Hasta donde él sabía ellos eran sólo personas, personas controladas mentalmente pero aún personas, tan mal como eso sonara. Y aunque quizás le estaba matando por dentro de saber más al respecto así podría al menos intentar ayudar, con Jazz y Sam e incluso los Parisinos tan cerca, no estaba por transformarse en fantasma.

–Bien,– dijo Tom, asintiendo con la cabeza con aprobación. Nunca le gustó cuando Alya iba a filmar las batallas y le gusta muchísimo menos cuando su hija toma el riesgo también. Aunque normalmente Marinette estaba tratando de detener a Alya.

Otra explosión sacudió la panadería. Los pasteles rebotaron de sus demostradores y algunos se acumularon en el borde de los contenedores. Las cosas se estaban cayendo de las repisas, todo estaba fuera de lugar. Todos en la panadería corrieron por la cobertura, y Marinette tomó la oportunidad para escapar y “esconderse” en la casa en vez de la tienda.

Ella no perdió más tiempo, rápidamente transformándose en Ladybug y balanceándose fuera de una ventana. Con la ayuda de su confiable yo-yo ella hizo su camino al techo. Una vez ahí, encontró a Chat Noir, quién estaba ya mirando al villano e intentando entender la situación.

Mientras tanto, dentro de la panadería, Danny estaba tratando de ver que estaba pasando desde una ventana ya que el ataque no estaba tan lejos. Sam se paró junto a él, una mano gentil en su hombro para mantenerlo calmado. Incluso aunque él nisiquiera sabía si él podría hacer algo contra un ‘Akuma', él estaba seguro que aún había alguna manera que él podría ayudar.

Jazz estaba viendo a su pequeño hermano desde más adentro en la tienda, ella podría decir que le estaba picando el querer salir de ahí y ayudar, eso estaba en su naturaleza. Ella conocía a su hermanito, si las cosas se ponían lo suficientemente mal, él iba a intentar su mejor en ayudar, incluso si eso quiere decir romper su promesa.

La pelea se ha acercado aún más cerca a la panadería y eso no estaba ayudando el estrés de Danny, él sabía que podría intentar ayudar, pero no quería romper su promesa o exponerse a sí mismo.

De ahí cuando nadie se lo esperaba, la pelea se acabó. Tan rápido como comenzó, terminó.

Tan pronto como Ladybug encontró a Chat Noir, él le dijo que era lo que había visto y ella sabía exactamente qué hacer. La akuma era un contractor de demoliciones a quién despidieron por el uso de prácticas inseguras. Su jefe dijo que él estaba usando muchos explosivos, pero él tenía un plan, no era su culpa que a los de arriba no les gustara. Él estaba lanzando bombas por toda la ciudad, destruyendo un montón de edificios, cuando Ladybug y Chat Noir lo encontraron. Usando su asombroso trabajo en equipo, el par de héroes rápidamente encontraron el akuma escondido en un control detonador y pusieron un final a su alboroto. De ahí Ladybug lanzó su cura milagrosa y todo regresó a la normalidad.

De vuelta en la panadería, Tom y Sabine estaban sonriendo a las caras sorprendidas de los extranjeros. Ellos se han vuelto tan acostumbrados a los ataques de akumas que era casi normal para ellos. Ha sido bonito de ser recordados de lo mágico que todo era en realidad.

Danny, Sam, y Jazz estaban más que un poco sorprendidos cuando todo de la nada regreso tan bueno como nuevo, los dulces caídos estaban de vuelta en las repisas, las sillas volteadas estaban puestas correctamente, y ellos podían ver los edificios previamente dañados desde la ventana con no una marca en ellos. Como si el akuma nunca hubiera pasado.

No fue mucho hasta que Marinette estaba de vuelta abajo y estaba tan entretenida por su choque como sus padres. Los tres parisinos explicaron a sus invitados que siempre era así para ellos. Un akuma destruiría casi todo en su camino, y de ahí cuando Ladybug con su Magia Miraculous lo restaura todo. ¡Bueno como nuevo!

Danny silenciosamente deseaba que eso fuese algo que él pudiese hacer de vuelta en casa, quizás ahí la gente no lo culparan por el daño propietario.

Era en ese momento que el estómago de alguien gruñó y los chicos de Amity Park de repente se dieron cuenta que tan hambrientos estaban.

–Wow, ¿es en realidad tan tarde?– Danny se preguntó en voz alta. Chequeó la hora en su teléfono; incluso sin proveedor local de servicio, la hora aún estaba correcta.

–Tú siempre estás pensando con tu estómago, ¿verdad?– dijo Sam. Ella se rió y le dio una sonrisa burlona. Incluso aunque ella también estaba hambrienta, ella no lo iba a admitir. Las horas en realidad habían volado.

–Vamos a encontrar algo de comer, es casi la hora del almuerzo,– Jazz sugirió. Ella miró alrededor a la familia Dupain-Cheng, –Marinette, gracias por todos los consejos,– ella levantó el cuaderno de notas donde ha escrito todo, –Y gracias, Sabine y Tom, por dejarnos quedar aquí durante el ataque del akuma. ¡Nosotros nunca hemos visto nada como eso antes!

–¡De nada! –respondió Marinette con una gran sonrisa. Ella estaba más que feliz de saber que todo estaba saliendo bien para los extranjeros.

–¡Me alegro de saber que nuestra hija les ha ayudado a ustedes chicos tanto! ¡Diviértanse en sus vacaciones y por favor regresen!– dijo Sabine, ella envolvió un brazo alrededor de su esposo y los dos sonrieron orgullosamente a los chicos.

–¡Lo haremos!– dijo Jazz, sonriendo grande de vuelta. Era un buen lugar, y ellos pueden regresar por dulces a cualquier hora durante su estadía.

Y así, simplemente así, Jazz, Danny y Sam se despidieron con la mano a sus nuevos amigos y se dirigieron al sol parisino una vez más. Ellos han pasaron por unas tiendas y restaurantes temprano y Marinette les ha dicho donde ellos pueden tener el almuerzo a un buen precio. El restaurante al que terminaron yendo no era el más barato que vieron, pero al menos estaba en el presupuesto del día.

Justo cuando estaban terminando el almuerzo, sus teléfonos Fenton sonaron. Eran Jack y Maddie llamando para chequear en ellos porque habían aprendido sobre el ataque akuma. Ellos sabían que los chicos podrían manejarse a sí mismos en situaciones peligrosas, pero igual se preocupaban. Además, su curiosidad estaba alta.

Una vez que los adultos terminaron de salpicándolos de preguntas, los chicos tomaron turnos diciéndoles sobre lo que pasó, Danny explicó que no, él no usó sus poderes, y no, él no tiene ni una pista de qué fue eso, y sí, ellos estaban todos bien. De ahí Jazz se hizo cargo de la historia y explicó cómo y porqué terminaron escondiéndose en una panadería de todos los lugares. Sam completó la explicación, diciendo que parece ser como magia de algún tipo, al menos eso es lo que los parisinos creen.

Jack y Maddie estaban alegres de escuchar que los chicos estaban bien y no habían tenido ningún problema serio. Era suficiente fastidio lidiar con seguro de vuelta en casa, ellos realmente no lo querían hacer aquí. Tanto como la posibilidad de magia, el lado científico de ellos quería negar la existencia, pero ellos no podían explicar que podría arreglar todo el daño tan fácil.

Danny confesó su deseo que ellos tuvieran magia para arreglar de vuelta en casa, y a eso, todos acordaron. De ahí, sugirió que quizás la próxima vez que otro ataque de akuma pasase, él podría tan sólo observar desde una distancia más cercana que hoy.

Eso hizo que todos preguntaran si es que planeaba transformarse, a lo que respondió sí, pero sólo eso. No otros poderes, excepto quizás invisibilidad. Sería una misión sigilosa, reconocimiento. Él no quería que la gente lo delatara ni causar aún más pánico.

Todos ellos lo conversaron y decidieron que quizás, sólo quizás, estaría bien, sólo esta vez. Así ellos podrían ver exactamente qué es lo que estaba pasando aquí. El resto prometió quedarse lejos. Los héroes locales parecen ser más que capaces de lidiar con esas akumas, después de todo. Ellos acaban de ser testigos de primera mano prácticamente, o lo aprendieron de las noticias locales -incluso aunque Jack y Maddie no podían entender qué es lo que el reportero estaba diciendo, ellos podían adivinar, y de ahí una rápida revisada en línea usando el wifi del hotel confirmó sus observaciones.

Con su plan en relación a akumas ahora hecho, los tres adolescentes continuaron explorando la ciudad. De ahí, más tarde, se encontraron con el resto del Equipo Phantom -excepto por Tucker, Valerie, y Dani, por supuesto- de vuelta en el hotel e intentaron llamar a casa. Era raro pensar sobre cuántas horas de diferencia había -maldición a las zonas horarias- y sabiendo que necesitaban esperar hasta la tarde tarde o la noche antes de que pudieran hablar con alguien de vuelta en Amity. Agradecidamente, el Sr. Gray respondió justo sólo después de unas pocas timbradas y ellos estuvieron disponibles de chequear con él, calmando algo de su ansiedad.

A las chicas les estaba yendo todo bien, Danny habló con Dani y le preguntó cómo ella estaba y si ella había tenido algún problema fantasmales. Dani le dijo que él se estaba preocupando muchísimo y él debería sólo relajarse- él estaba de vacaciones y tan lejos por una razón.

De ahí cuando hablaron con Valerie, ella le dijo a Sam y Danny que ella escuchó que el alcalde estaba planeando una pequeña “reunión” en el estranjero. Le presionaron por detalles, y ella dijo que Tucker estaba obviamente planeando un viaje a París para sí mismo. Él tenía que usar sus poderes como alcalde, de una manera u otra para que pasé. El público ha estado cazando al gobierno local por más información sobre Amity Park, y hasta ahora, Tucker ha rechazado una gira de prensa. Aunque recientemente, rumores se han esparcido que ha aceptado una invitación del alcalde de París. ¡Que increible bien-planeada coincidencia! Los dos adolescentes se rieron de las payasadas de su mejor amigo, pero no podían estar más felices. Sólo Tucker podría arreglar planear una reunión especial a medio mundo sólo para venir a pasar el rato con ellos.

Jack y Maddie no estaban muy felices con esa idea, pero no podían realmente decir mucho sabiendo que el alcalde anterior hizo mucho peor que eso. Tucker era también aún un niño, y él no iba a ser el alcalde por siempre. Las siguientes elecciones se estaban acercando pronto y se decidirá el siguiente alcalde, después de todo.

Escuchando noticias de Amity deja algo de normalidad a su rutina y ellos hablaron por un buen rato, antes de decir adiós. Incluso aunque ellos sólo se han ido por un día, había ya un montón que decir uno al otro.

Mientras los chicos estaban hablando, Maddie y Jack miraron las atracciones locales y encontraron que una exposición científica estaba llevando a cabo no tan lejos de su hotel e iba a comenzar al día siguiente. Danny y Jazz expresaron su sorpresa cuando aprendieron que no era nada de una convención fantasmal, a lo que los padres tímidamente confesaron que era relacionado al estudio de fantasmas… de una manera. Después de todo, gente de todas partes del mundo estaban hablando sobre fantasmas y aprendiendo sobre ellos ahora.

Por supuesto, los Fentons mayores no se iban a perder la oportunidad de hablar sobre fantasmas con toda una nueva ciudad de gente que no ha escuchado ya todo sobre sus teorías. Ellos acordaron que sólo iban a escuchar las presentaciones y demás, incluso aunque ellos no estaban seguros cuánto de eso ellos iban a entender, ya que probablemente estaría en francés y todo.

Tal como sus padres prometieron de intentar mantener un perfil bajo en la convención, Danny una vez más prometió mantener la presencia de Phantom en París un secreto, incluso mientras espia invisible a los héroes locales. Él no ha estado realmente alrededor de otros héroes y estaba curioso sobre sus poderes. Ellos estaban todos muy intrigados por lo qué podían aprender de ellos y considerando que quizás ellos podrían usar el conocimiento más tarde, era válido el riesgo. Los otros estaban llamando espiar porque era básicamente lo que era, incluso aunque Danny rechazaba llamarlo así.

Una vez que todos estaban en acuerdo de cómo ellos se iban a comportar así mismos mientras obtenían información durante su estadía ellos decidieron regresar en la mentalidad de vacaciones. Jack y Maddie se prepararon para su exposición de ciencia, mientras los chicos planean su siguiente salida. La Torre Eiffel era una de las atracciones turísticas más populares en París después de todo y ya era hora de chequearla. Gracias a la ayuda de Marinette, ellos, o, más específico, Jazz, fueron disponibles de mirar rápidamente a través del horario de buses y encontrar la mejor hora para visitar cuando no estaría tan lleno de gente. Una vez Jazz tenía completamente planeado sus días, desde cómo y cuándo para ir a la Torre Eiffel y de ahí qué hacer después, ella se fue a dormir.

Después que Jazz se fue a la cama, Danny y Sam decidieron en mirar en tener sus teléfonos en la red celular de París. Ellos no podían mantener usando los teléfonos Fenton para todas sus comunicaciones. Sam tomó el liderazgo en programar eso, ya que ella tenía experiencia haciendo ese tipo de cosas antes, pero Danny fue el sugiero que aún utilicen los teléfonos Fenton para comunicarse con Amity Park, ya que sería más barato que itinerancia internacional. En no tiempo alguno, Sam consiguió ayudar a Danny y el resto de la familia Fenton en tener una línea local temporal. Jack y Maddie estaban muy agradecidos con Sam por ayudarlo con eso, ya que ellos lo han estado poniendo para “después.” Usando los teléfonos Fenton ha funcionado para ellos hasta ahora, así que quizás es posible que nunca hubieran llegado a hacerlo.

Y así, con un muy productivo primer día en París bajo sus cinturones, ellos se fueron a dormir. Se estaba haciendo tarde después de todo.

Durante los siguientes pocos días, Jack y Maddie disfrutaron su convención, si nada más, al menos aprendieron la palabra francesa para ‘fantasma,’ y los chicos tomaron turnos escogiendo cual atracción turística visitar. Ellos sólo iban a estar ahí por dos semanas, así que todos querían hacer lo mejor de su tiempo en la Ciudad de las Luces. En adición a los lugares más populares, ellos también encontraron algunos lugares más cayados frecuentados por los locales que todos ellos podrían disfrutar. Antes que ellos supieran, el día para que Tucker se les uniera estaba a la vuelta de la esquina.

–Así que,– Jazz comentó, –Tucker finalmente dijo la razón oficial por la cual está viñedo es para que él supuestamente haga un grupo de conferencias sobre los fantasmas de Amity.

Los chicos estaban sentados en el parque esa tarde, sólo disfrutando el bonito día.

–Yeah. Finalmente logramos comunicarnos con él, y es cómo dijo Valerie, él se suponía que lo haría en línea, conferencia de larga distancia… algo. Pero ya conoces a Tuck, él se las arregló cambiar de manera que pudiese venir a París personalmente.– Danny se encogió de hombros. –Aunque, también pienso que él mencionó una vez que tenía unas cuantas diferentes ciudades alrededor del mundo tratando de reservarlo. Así que, ¿por qué París? Quién sabe. Posiblemente sólo porque estamos aquí.– se encogió de hombros de nuevo.

–¿Por qué no estoy sorprendida? Ustedes chicos siempre han sido buenos jugando el sistema, ¿verdad?– dijo Jazz. Ella, como el resto, había sospechado que ese sería el caso, pero escuchando a Danny decirlo en voz alta sólo lo confirma. Al menos Tucker no estaba realmente abusando de su poder… demasiado. Ellos lo habían invitado a él, después de todo.

–Bueno, es Tuck, ¿qué es lo que esperas?– dijo Sam con una encogida de hombros. Ella no iba a negar lo obvio.

–Valerie y Dani dijeron que está llegando mañana, ¿verdad?– preguntó Jazz. Ellos han logrado hablar con las chicas de vuelta en casa el día anterior; pero fue más Danny preguntando sobre Amity y confirmando la falta de fantasmas que nada más. Ella esperó, por el bien de Danny, que las cosas se quedaran bien por allá.

–Y creo que se está quedando en el mismo hotel que nosotros, parece ser que el “Grand Paris” siempre recibe gente importante…– Danny añadió, recalcando los detalles los planes de viaje de su mejor. Incluso aunque, ahora que lo pensaba, Tucker posiblemente no debería haber compartido esos detalles con nadie más que sus padres, quienes estaban viniendo también. Podría ser potencialmente un riesgo de seguridad.

–Sí, él se está quedando en la suite presidencial, o como sea que se llame,– continuó Sam. Ella había sido la que confirmó la información, pero no le importaba lo suficiente para recordar el nombre de la habitación. Los cuartos tienen números, después de todo, y esa era la parte importante.

–Así que estoy adivinando que ustedes dos van a querer verlo tan pronto como él llegue aquí, ¿verdad? Ustedes tres van probablemente querer ponerse al día mañana…– dijo Jazz. Ella ya sabía que Danny y Sam saltarán a la oportunidad de pasar tiempo con su mejor amigo. Incluso aunque ella estaba con ellos y ellos estaban teniendo un buen rato, ella aún se sentía un poco incómoda, un poco como una forastera.

–Probablemente…– Danny tartareo, medio escuchando. Él estaba mirando a un grupo de niños jugando a la distancia y escuchando a las palomas arrullar. Él estaba disfrutando un montón las vacaciones hasta ahora. Como debería.

–Ey Jazz, sabes que incluso aunque no nos molesta tu compañía, tú puedes ir a hacer tus propias cosas, también,– dijo Sam. –No necesitas quedarte con nosotros.– A ella no le molestaba la otra chica, pero ella también sabía que Jazz posiblemente querrá hacer algunas otras cosas normales de adolescentes, sin su hermanito y su enamorada acompañando. Como quizás chequear algunas universidades locales o algo, incluso aunque ella nunca querrá estudiar tan lejos de Amity. Honestamente, Sam estaba comenzando a sentir un poco raro estando alrededor de Jazz cuando ellos no estaban peleando algún tipo de peligro.

– ¡Oh no, está todo bien! Tengo la tarjeta llave para la habitación, así que tenemos que quedarnos juntos…– respondió Jazz. Ella era la mayor y por lo tanto la que confiaron de mantener seguimiento de su copia de esta. Ella sabía que Sam no quiso decir nada con eso, pero ninguno de ellos era lo suficientemente tonto para perderse el sentimiento incomódo entre ellos.

–Sí, pero sabes que no necesariamente necesito una llave…– dijo Danny, obviamente apuntando a sus habilidades fantasmales. Él aún estaba ajeno a la creciente tensión a su alrededor.

–Verdad, pero recuerda: no poderes, hermanito. Además mamá y papá me confiaron el cuidar de ustedes, e incluso aunque no lo necesiten, ¡no quiere decir que debería de tan sólo dejarlos chicos! ¿Que si es que se pierden? ¿O van al cuarto equivocado?– Jazz apuntó. Con su limitada comunicación aquí, perderse no era algo para jugar con. Ese pensamiento la hizo sentir mejor sobre estar ahí por ellos, incluso cuando ellos no necesariamente la necesiten.

–Está bien, está bien…– Danny levantó sus manos en rendimiento. Él finalmente había notado qué tan estresante la situación se estaba volviendo. –Nos vamos a quedar juntos, y no poderes, significa no poderes…– suspiró. Él quizás realmente está comenzando a extrañar los ataques fantasmales.

–Bueno, con nuestra suerte otra akuma atacará pronto, y tú puedes ir espiar a los héroes,– Sam bromeó.

Ellos habían encontrado el blog manejado por la amiga de Marinette, Alya. El “Ladyblog” tenía una traducción al inglés y en este se explicaba que los ataques akuma eran completamente al azar, usualmente variando entre dos a tres por semana, pero a veces tan frecuentes como dos en un día, aunque eso era muy raro. Así que, en otras palabras, estos pasaban cuando menos te lo esperas.

–¡Hey! pensé que era sólo “observando desde una distancia cercana…”

Jazz y Sam ambas le dieron miradas que dicen “ni tú te crees eso.”

Él suspiró. –Bien, espiar es…– pausó, –esperemos que no me meta en problemas por eso…– él murmuró. Incluso aunque él sabía que era espiar desde el inicio, él no quería decirlo, en caso de que fuese ilegal o algo. Y ni siquiera sabía si es que iba a entender nada.

–Así que, ¿a qué hora se supone que Tucker llegará al hotel de nuevo? no recuerdo qué es lo que Valerie dijo, ya que ustedes chicos, o bueno, tú, hermanito, estabas acaparando los teléfonos Fenton todo el rato y tuve que preguntarte sobre eso después…– dijo Jazz, con una punzada de molestia, recordando le sobre su preocupación en el teléfono sobre si es que Amity le estaba yendo bien o no.

Si ellos iban a hacer algo mañana para encontrarse con Tucker y su familia, era lo mejor planear por adelantado. Y Jazz necesitaba toda la información en orden de hacer esa planeación.

–Bueno, su vuelo debería de aterrizar alrededor de las 5 pm. Él hizo un montón de quejas sobre cómo iba a estar pasando un todo un día entero en un avión. Él quizás sea un genio tecnológico, pero realmente, no entiende que si sale de Illinois a media noche eso son las 7 am aquí, de ahí cuando le añades las diez horas volando… “voilà” llegas a París a las 5 pm.– explicó Sam. Ellos habían tenido algo similar que les pase cuando volaron para allá, aunque no fue tan malo porque ellos llegaron alrededor de las 11 pm. y de ahí durmieron durante la noche.

–Si recuerdo correctamente, incluso tú estabas confundida sobre las zonas horarias cuando estábamos viajando…– Danny se burló de ella con una sonrisa grande juguetona y Sam sólo lo miró directamente de regreso. Después de todo, ese lunes en la noche fue difícil para todos ellos.

–Bueno, si ayuda, ninguno de nosotros ha experimentado cruzar tantas zonas horarias así antes…– Jazz pausó, –Eso quiere decir que Tucker debería llegar al hotel alrededor de las 6 pm.– ella comentó, regresando los de vuelta al tópico de planeando para el día siguiente.

–“Yep,”– dijo Danny, pronunciando la ‘p’ más fuerte de lo necesario, –así que debería de estar libre alrededor de las seis y media o siete mañana en la tarde,– terminó con una asentada de cabeza. Él estaba emocionado de que él y Sam podrán pasar el tiempo con su amigo después de muchísimo tiempo. Ellos tan sólo han estado en París por una semana, pero aún antes de eso, ha sido difícil de verlo por sus deberes como alcalde. Reales, no como este viaje… Principalmente ha sido arreglar problemas que Vlad dejó.

–Está bien, así que digamos solo siete, para estar seguros, es cuando deberíamos estar buscando,– dijo Sam. Ella nunca admitiría, pero ha extrañado a su amigo; ella estaba realmente agradecida de tenerlo en su vida. Después de todo, los tres han sido el trío original, el original equipo Phantom.

–¡Suena como un plan!– dijo Jazz y escribió todo en el cuaderno que ella aún sigue cargando alrededor.

Danny y Sam sólo giraron sus ojos. A veces parecía como si Jazz estaba siendo un poco extra, pero ellos sabían que ella siempre tenía buenas intenciones. Y incluso aunque ellos nunca le dirían, ellos sabían que la iban a extrañar cuando se vaya a “Amity Park University” en el otoño.

Los tres adolescentes cayeron en un silencio pacifico, cada uno perdido en sus propios pensamientos.

Danny estaba realmente disfrutando su tiempo en París. Él nunca pensó que viajar así le ayudaría tanto, pero con Sam a su lado tan cerca que sus hombros rozaban, y Jazz a su otro lado, lo suficientemente cerca para un codazo burlón en las costillas, él sentía la tensión derritiéndose lentamente.

Sam deslizó su mano en la de Danny y le dió un apretón suave. Ella estaba tan alegre de verlo realmente relajado de una, y ella estaba disfrutando cada segundo ella logró pasar con él. Una brisa sopló a través del parque, crujiendo las hojas de los árboles, y ella respiró hondo del dulce aire de verano.

Jazz estaba bastante contenta con cómo todo estaba yendo hasta ahora. Ella mentalmente repasó su itinerario nuevamente, ellos sólo tenían un poco de tiempo aquí y quería hacer lo más que se pueda. Aunque, ella suponía, siempre pensando de qué van a hacer después era posiblemente no la mejor manera de disfrutar el momento, ¿verdad? Ella se sacudió así misma fuera de sus pensamientos y en vez miró la manera que la luz del sol moteada bailaba a lo largo del piso a sus pies.

–Bueno, ahora que sabemos cuando Tuck está llegando aquí,– Danny comenzó, rompiendo el silencio, –y hemos cambiado nuestros planes para el fin de semana para incluirlo—

Un carro negro elegante ha parado en el parque, causando alguna conmoción cuando un guardaespaldas salió de este.

–Okay…– dijo Sam, notando que distrajo a Danny.

Jazz terminó de escribir algunas más ideas de lo que podrían hacer mañana, asegurándose de contar del como ellos iban a “sólo decir hola” a Tuck. Cuando miró arriba de su cuaderno cuando vio lo que Danny y Sam estaban mirando. –¿Se supone que es una celebridad adolecente o algo?– preguntó. Parecía que era sacado de una película, de cierta manera.

–No lo sé, sólo parecía que algo estaba por pasar, con la manera que toda esa gente estaba actuando. No esperaba que fuese sólo algún chico, pensé por un segundo que quizás un akuma estaba viniendo o algo,– Danny explicó. Después de todo, ellos estaban esperando a que un akuma pasará pronto o después.

–Pensé la misma cosa,– dijo Sam, –pero ese chico rubio no parece como un akuma, ¿verdad?– Ella miró la manera como estaba siendo protegido por su guardaespaldas. Él no parecía ser una gran amenaza.

–¡Oh!– exclamó Danny, después de ver al chico un poco mejor lo más cercano que se acercó. –¡Creo que lo conozco!

–¿Qué?– preguntó Jazz y Sam, igualmente confundidas. Ellas nunca lo han visto antes en sus vidas.

–Bueno, está bien, está bien. No, ya saben, conozco conozco… pero lo he visto. En anuncios. Creo.– dijo Danny, tratando de recordar dónde exactamente había visto el anuncio, o si es que sabía de qué era.

–En anuncios, dices…– Jazz tartamudo pensativamente, tratando de recordar que publicidades han visto alrededor del área.

–Digo, supongo… no recuerdo exactamente donde, y ahora que lo pienso, no estoy seguro de para qué era. Digo, cómo podría saber, ¡estaba probablemente en francés!– Danny dijo con una encogida de hombros. Había muchas señales con personas en ellas, ambas aquí y de vuelta en casa. Normalmente era por publicidad, alguien tratando de vender productos o servicios, o peor, según él, era política.

–Eso tiene sentido,– Sam permitió.

–Él parece ser muy popular… bueno, al menos entre las chicas,– comentó Jazz. Ella ha estado viendo el grupo de gente y notó que la mayoría de la gente que ahora estaba reunida en el parque parecía ser de chicas adolescentes.

–Bueno, supongo, esa es nuestra señal para irnos. Miren, ellos tienen un fotógrafo por allá también, ellos probablemente vinieron a trabajar…– añadió Sam, no impresionada. ¿Qué más podría un adolecente famoso hacer si no es trabajar de una manera u otra? Era eso o sólo ser “molestos” en su libro.

–Está bien, vamos,– Danny se paró de su banca. –¡estoy aquí para descansar, no trabajar!– Bueno… al menos que cuentes lo “definitivamente-no-espiando” que él estaría haciendo en los héroes locales.

–ey, ¿no es esa Marinette?– Jazz apuntó a un set de colitas familiares en el medio de la gente de lo que ellos podrían sólo asumir eran aficionados.

Sam siguió la línea de visión de Jazz y encontró a su nueva amiga hablando animadamente con otra chica. –Sí, eso creo…– Cuando volvió, notó como Jazz parecía como que ella estaba lista para ir a preguntarle a Marinette por algunos más consejos parisinos.

–Uhh, Jazz, no creo que necesitemos molestarla y a su amiga ahora…– dijo Danny, recogiendo lo mismo que Sam tenía. Conociendo a su hermana, ella intentaría sacarle la mayor cantidad de información posible a Marinette, incluso aunque ellos no la necesitaban, ellos estaban planeando pasar el tiempo con Tucker mañana, después de todo.

–Ey, sólo porque estoy coleccionando mis cosas especialmente el cuaderno no significa…– ella paró cuando Danny y Sam ambos levantaron una ceja escéptica a ella. –Okay, okay… bueno. Así que quizás he pensado que podría preguntarle algunas más preguntas…– Suspiró. No sería malo tener ideas de qué más hacer, ¿verdad?

–Solo vámonos,– Danny gruñó. Él se paró y estiró su espalda. Se sintió bien después de sentarse por un tiempo.

–Estoy justo detrás tuyo,– dijo Sam. Ella hubiera estado bien feliz de quedarse ahí y admirar la puesta de sol, se estaba haciendo tarde ya no tardaría mucho en bajar, pero la idea perdió su atractivo cuando tantas personas aparecieron.

–Bien– refunfuñó Jazz, superada en número y derrotada. Ella terminó de empacar lo último de sus cosas en una pequeña maleta.

Y así los tres de ellos comenzaron su camino de vuelta al hotel. Ellos posiblemente podrían ir al techo y disfrutar algo de tiempo en la piscina mientras continuaban planear que es lo que podrán hacer con Tucker una vez que llegara. Sin embargo, tan pronto como comenzaron a caminar, una gran bandada de palomas pasó junto a ellos, volando en formación. Un grito salió de la multitud de fanáticos, muchos de ellos corrieron para cubrirse.

–Ah, eso es raro, ¿verdad?– Danny preguntó. –Cómo, no soy un experto en aves, pero estoy segura que eso no es normal. Continuará… :D :D

30 notes · View notes