As the heroes made their way up to the Le Grand Paris rooftop pool, Chloé continued to hang over the bubbling soup worriedly while Kung Food gave it a taste to see if it was ready.

"Ah, temperature is just right. Time to add main ingredient!" Kung Food announced when finding the soup to his liking, now letting Chloé be lowered into the pool.

"Oh, no no no no noooo!" Chloé cried out as she was lowered down, only for Chat Noir's staff to suddenly cut the rope and let her drop from the air. "AH!" the heiress yelped as she fell, just before Ladybug lept from the side of the pool and caught Chloé, the two landing safely on the other side of pool deck while Chat Noir caught his baton as it boomeranged back to him.

"Ladybug, what took you so long!? Just wait until I tell everyone you—" Chloé complained, much to Ladybug's annoyance before she dropped the blonde brat.

"Oops." Ladybug cheekily apologized, not regretting her choice in giving Chloé some form of punishment. But the moment was interrupted by an enraged Kung Food.

"Oh no! My Brat Soup will be so flavorless!" Kung Food seethed from his side of the pool, causing the three teens to turn their attention back to him.

"I know you're more honorable than this, Cheng Shifu!" Ladybug exclaimed to their foe, hoping to use words instead of fists to resolve this conflict, seeing as it was her Great Uncle they were about to fight against.

"I am not Cheng Shifu, I am Kung Food — the Greatest Chef in the world!" Kung Food yelled back to the spotted heroine. "And nobody will stop me from finishing my Brat Soup!" the akumatized chef proclaimed before he pulled out a set of tonfas made out of maki sushi from his side bag, brandishing them at the two heroes in a show of aggression.

"Get back Chloé!" Ladybug commanded Chloé, the heiress not needing to be told twice ran off before the heroes charged Kung Food, beginning their fight.

"I take care of you two myself!" Kung Food exclaimed before he and the heroes met and began to fight.

Using his sushi tonfas as shields, Kung Food blocks the kicks, punches and blows that Ladybug and Chat Noir try to land on him. But just when the akuma kicked Chat Noir back, Ladybug retaliated by kicking his weapons out of his hands, letting them fly into the air above them. With the loss of his weapons, Kung Food tried to punch and kick at Ladybug before she backflipped away from him, catching the sushi tonfas in her hands after standing back up before throwing them away.

"Chat Noir! The akuma must be in his chef's hat!" Ladybug called to her partner as she got ready to attack again, Kung Food summoning a bo staff made out of an elongated burrito from his bag before attacking the feline hero. "Try to grab it!" the spotted heroine exclaimed while Chat Noir fended off Kung Food, the hero in black managing to kick away his opponent's burrito bo staff. But before Chat Noir could attack the akuma again, Kung Food reached into his bag and pulled out chili powder, quickly blowing it into Chat Noir's eyes.

"Ow! It burns!" Chat Noir yelped as he covered his burning eyes, now blinded for the second time that day.

"Haha! Like it spicy?" Kung Food taunted his enemy, leaving Ladybug to finally have the chance to call on her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted before her power gave her ... "A... check dispenser?" the spotted heroine questioned when the object landed in her hands.

"And I think it's gonna be a steep one." Chat Noir quipped, right before Kung Food pulled out a sword made out of pepperoni pizza from his bag, making the heroes gasp at the sight of the huge weapon.

"You think you can beat me with a piece of paper!?" Kung Food threateningly questioned the two heroes, thinking he had the upper hand in the fight now.

"You're one to talk, Kung Food. You've been trying to defeat us with sausages and cheese! Without any luck, I might add." Chat Noir playfully remarked, enraging Kung Food enough for him to swing his pizza sword at them, continuing the fight.

While Chat Noir blocked the hit from the sword, Ladybug jumped up into the air to avoid getting hit, leading to her landing on the blunt side of the blade and allowing her to run along it to get to the akuma. Seeing Ladybug coming towards him, Kung Food threw Ladybug off of his sword and fights Chat Noir alone, the spotted heroine landing on a pool deck chair in the meantime. After recovering from her unexpected flight, Ladybug got up from the chair and stood to the side of the fight between Chat Noir and Kung Food as she looked around for a bout of inspiration for her plan.

Looking around, the soup in the pool and the check dispenser lit up in Ladybug's vision, immediately giving her the idea she needed.Not wasting any more time, Ladybug pulled a long strip of the check paper from the dispenser in her hands and dipped it into the soup, making it very heavy and sticky to the touch. With her new weapon in hand, the spotted heroine ran back to Kung Food just as he knocked Chat Noir to the ground, and used the soup coated paper whip to capture Kung Food, the paper wrapping around him like a cocoon.

"Chat Noir, all his weapons come from his bag. Destroy it." Ladybug said to her partner, holding the paper tight to prevent Kung Food from escaping.

"Got it. Cataclysm!" Chat Noir yelled, summoning his signature power and quickly destroying the bag.

"Noo!" Kung Food exclaimed as he fell to the ground after the sudden force of Chat Noir passed by him as he destroyed his bag, the pizza sword disappearing as well soon after.

"Your days are over akuma!" Ladybug exclaimed as she took Kung Food's hat from his head and ripped it, the akuma emerging to flutter free in the air. As it did, Ladybug opened her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside in preparation to catch the akuma.

"Time to de-evilize!" she shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo. "Gotcha!" the spotted heroine cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free.

"Bye, bye little butterfly," Ladybug said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the Lucky Charm up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" the spotted heroine cried out, summoning the magic ladybugs and cleansing cure.

The magic ladybugs then swept through the city and restored everything back to normal, clearing the hotel of its caramel coating and freeing Kung Food's minions from his control. After the cure had finished its work, Kung Food finally turned back into a now confused Wang Cheng, the akuma of the day defeated at last as Ladybug happily gave him back his chef's hat.

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With his latest akuma now defeated, Hawkmoth could only seethe with rage from his lair as he took in the new defeat, not happy to wait even longer to get the Miraculous he coveted.

"This evil dinner was almost perfect! However, revenge is a dish that's best served cold." Hawkmoth reflected to himself as he stood in the center of his lair. "So watch yourself Ladybug and Chat Noir, because I'll be ready to strike again!" the 'villian' warned his enemies; even if they couldn't hear him, as the lair window closed back up, plunging Hawkmoth into darkness once again so he could await for his next prey.

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With Kung Food defeated and things returned to normal, the jury had soon discovered that Cheng Sifu's soup was sabotaged and decided to give him a second chance. So while the master chef was in Le Grand Paris kitchen, cooking up the new batch of Celestial Soup, he was soon greeted by Marinette as she walked in and brought him more flowers.

"Could you teach me how to make Celestial Soup, Cheng Shifu?" Marinette asked her Great Uncle, drawing his attention to her as she plucked a petal from the bouquet in her hands as she spoke.

"With pleasure, Marinette." Cheng Sifu happily replied, taking the bouquet from her hands before leading her to stand by his side as he cooked. All the while, Adrien stood near the kitchen door and watched the two relatives with a wistful smile as they began cooking.

"Cooking needs no words." Adrien muttered to himself, glad to see Marientte and her Great Uncle getting along so well.

"Seriously? Still making soup?" a voice from behind Adrien spoke up, surprising the boy enough to look behind him to see it had been Chloé who spoke. "I told you I hate soup! You think the jury is going to approve of this?" Chloé seethed from her spot in the kitchen doorway, causing Adrien to get mad at her comment about Cheng Sifu's soup.

"Didn't your father kick you off the jury?" Adrien pointed out, having had enough of Chloé's disrespect for that day and knocked the blonde brat off of her high horse for a second. It was true, after the jury found out that it had been Chloé that sabotaged Cheng Sifu the first time, her father had displayed an uncharacteristic amount of back bone and punished her accordingly. At least until he could take measures to make sure something like this recent stunt didn't happen again.

"No he didn't! I... uh... I... I resigned." Chloé stammered out before looking off to the side while crossing her arms, trying to play off her dismissal from the jury as her own choice. At the sight of Chloé's confidence being shaken, Adiren couldn't help what came out of his mouth next.

"I think Cheng Shifu and Marinette have got this covered. Why don't we let the real jury decide?" Adrien taunted Chloé, a smirk on his face as Cheng Sifu and Marinette watched the scene with gratitude. Needless to say, Adrien's words had hit the nail on the head in deminoshing Chloé's last leg to stand on in the figurative standoff.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé ranted in frustration as she left the kitchen, Adrien giggling a bit while bashfully scratching his head as he felt the prideful eyes of Marinette and Cheng Sifu behind him.

'Yet another reason why he's the best!' Marinette squealed in her thoughts, honestly blown away by the way Adrien had defended hers and her Great Uncle's honor against his childhood friend. 'Oh I can't wait to rub this in Jim's face later.' the designer added in her head, eager for her brother's reaction when she told him about this and hoping that it would finally convince him that Adrien was a good guy for her.

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After Adrien's display of defiance and Chloé's resulting tantrum, 'The World's Greatest Chef' was back on the air as Cheng Sifu reattempted to present his Celestial Soup. Plus, thanks to Chloé being kicked off the jury and being kept away from the kitchen, the master chef had much improved results.

"Cheng Shifu. Your delicious Celestial Soup has received the highest marks of all, making you the final winner!" Alec proclaimed from the judges table, causing Adrien and Marinette to look at each other in joy before they applauded Cheng Sifu.

"And I am happy to say it will be the Mayor's Special on the restaurant menu of my prestigious hotel as soon as possible!" Mayor Bourgeois announced after tasting the soup a second time.

"Rock n' Roll! I can't wait to get home and write a song about soup!" Jagged Stone exclaimed after downing the whole bowl in one go, Marlena nodding to him in agreement after finishing her own soup. At their praise, Cheng bowed to the jury, filled with pride.

"Thank you, but no longer Celestial Soup." Cheng Sifu began, having the need to make one little change to complete his victory. "Now called: Marinette Soup." the newly crowned 'World's Greatest Chef' announced, turning to face his now surprised Great Niece.

"谢谢 (Thank you)!" Marinette squealed, both shocked and honored by her Great Uncle's gesture.

"You're welcome." Cheng Sifu responded, nodding his head to her before Alec walked up to his side.

"Come over here and stand alongside your uncle, the "World's Greatest Chef"!" Alec cheered to Marinette, Adrien happily gesturing for her to go to her uncle and leading to the two hugging each other, the rest of those present applauding the two family members. Looks like they did end up getting along after all.

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Later on after the 'World's Greatest Chef' contest was over, Adrien, Marinette and her Great Uncle had the time to finally eat the newly named Marinette soup. Seeing as this would be the first time either teen would try it, Cheng Sifu wanted it to be absolutely perfect for them. But just when Adrien finished his bowl, his phone buzzed and prompted the model to check to see what it was.

"Aw, man!" Adrien groaned when he saw who it was trying to call him. "I'm so sorry to eat and run, but my father wants me back home. He heard about the earlier incident and is insisting I get back." the model explained, feeling guilty about dine and dashing Marinette and Cheng Sifu.

"It's totally fine, Adrien. I just hope that you were able to have a good time despite what happened." Marinette assured her crush, knowing full well of Adrien's father's overprotective tendencies towards his son.

"Are you kidding? I had a great time spending the day with you and Cheng Sifu!" Adrien exclaimed, hoping to make it clear that he had a good time despite the earlier akuma attack. "Not that spending time with a friend is ever a bore to me." the blonde haired boy added, a soft smirk on his lips as he spoke.

"Wise words, Adrien. Hope to see you again before leaving." Cheng Sifu replied, glad to have met one of his niece's friends on his visit.

"I hope so too, Cheng Sifu." Adrien responded as he bowed to the master chef, turning to Marinette right after his show of respect. "See you at school on Monday, Marinette." the model said to his friend before hugging her, leaving her so surprised that she was as still as a statue.

"Y-yeah! See you Donmay... I mean Monday!" Marinette managed to stutter out before hugging Adrien back. A few seconds after, Adrien pulled away and made his way to the exit, turning back to wave to them before exiting the dining hall. Once he's gone, a red faced Marinette swooned at her close contact her crush gave her, to which Cheng Sifu knowingly smiled at her.

"You have crush on him?" Cheng Sifu remarked, not even needing to confirm it with his Great Niece when seeing how she acted with Adrien just then.

"Is it that obvious?" Marinette questioned her Great Uncle, snapping out of her swooning to look over at him with a nervous smile.

"Very." Cheng Sifu simply stated. "Don't worry, secret is safe with me." the master chef assured Marinette, making her smile up at him.

"Thank you Uncle Cheng!" Marinette squealed before she hugged him, only for her phone to buzz in her purse, causing the pigtailed girl to pull it out and see it was Jim calling her. "Oh, it's my brother Jim!" the designer exclaimed, immediately piquing Cheng Sifu's interests.

"Sabine told me about him. Said he was nice boy." Cheng Sifu said, recalling some of what his niece had told him about Tom's first born child.

"He is! You two would really get along." Marinette responded, right as an idea popped into her mind. "Oh, this could be a great way for you two to meet!" the pigtailed girl cheered, her eyes sparkling at the idea while Cheng Sifu suddenly became apprehensive about the suggestion.

"I don't want to impose on personal conversation." Cheng Sifu protested, not wanting to be intruding on Jim and Marinette's usual video call time. From what he heard from Sabine, the two siblings were very close and he didn't want to be in the way of that.

"You wouldn't be at all! I insist!" Marinette replied, not seeing Cheng Sifu's potential presence in the video call as a bother at all.

"Oh, alright." Cheng Sifu relented, seeing that Marinette wouldn't let the matter drop either way.

"YAY! I just need a second to brief Jim that you'll be on the call too." Marinette explained to her uncle, clicking on the receive button just as Cheng Sifu nodded in understanding, allowing Jim to appear on her phone screen. "Hey, Jim!" the designer greeted her brother in English, a smile on her lips as she began her task in briefing Jim about Cheng Sifu's presence.

"Heya, Sis! How's it going?" Jim replied back in English, a little intrigued that she was speaking his native tongue instead of her own this time around.

"Doing great! By the way, you know when I told you about my mom's uncle coming to Paris?" Marinette questioned, recalling that Jim could be forgetful when he had other things going on... much like her.

"Yeah, of course. You wouldn't stop going on about how nervous you were to meet him" Jim commented, a fond smile on his lips as he spoke. "By the way, how did meeting him go?" the Trollhunter asked, hoping that it went well for his sister's sake.

"It went really well! In fact, he's here right now if you want to meet him." Marinette revealed, leaving Jim thoroughly surprised at her words/

"Really?" Jim exclaimed. "Wait, are you sure that's a good idea? You know I'm only your brother on Dad's side." the Trollhunter pointed out, not sure it was a good idea to introduce him to a relative he had no clear relation to. Granted, he was Marinette's brother, but he was only her half brother... meaning that he had a complicated relation to Sabine's side of the family.

"So, what? You're still my brother. Plus Mom's already told Uncle Cheng about you, and I'm perfectly good with you two meeting each other." Marinette assured, knowing that the only way to improve relations between both sides of her family is an introduction between them. "Even if it isn't in person at the moment." the designer added, knowing that there were better ways to make the introduction even better, despite the inability to do so at the moment.

"In that case, I'd love to." Jim exclaimed, happy with the turn of events. "Guess you didn't need to get a translator after all." the Trollhunter remarked, leading to Marinette bashfully smiling at her brother as she kept rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, I didn't know that until later on. So I did end up getting someone to help translate before I found out he knew French." Marinette began, leading to a much more confused Jim as he took in her words. "But I'll talk more about that later. Here's Uncle Cheng." the designer quickly spewed out before she turned her phone to reveal Cheng Sifu to Jim.

"Uncle Cheng, this is my brother Jim. Jim, this is Uncle Cheng Sifu." Marinette introduced one to the other, happy to expedite their first interaction.

"Hello Jim, nice to meet you." Cheng Sifu spoke up, breaking the ice between them further.

"Uh, hey Cheng Sifu. It's nice to meet you, too." Jim responded, a little nervous about making a good first impression.

"And you as well. Marinette and Sabine tell me lot about you." Cheng Sifu replied, to which unnerved Jim a bit at his words.

"Really? What exactly?" Jim asked, now more nervous about the impression Cheng Sifu already had of him.

"I know your... relation to Sabine and Marinette. But doesn't mean it should affect introduction to each other." Cheng Sifu explained, admitting to his desire to get to know Jim the proper way instead of making an impression from second hand accounts of the boy.

"I agree. From what I've heard about you from Marinette, I think you and I would get along pretty well." Jim responded, relieved to find Cheng Sifu willing to get to know him properly and wanting to make the best first impression. Like he said, from what he had heard from his stepmom and sister, Cheng Sifu sounded like someone he would definitely get along with.

"Is that so? Then perhaps you tell me about yourself?" Cheng Sifu requested, causing a smile to appear on the siblings's faces as they continued their conversation.

From there, the majority of the call consisted of Jim and Marinette bonding with Cheng Sifu, from sharing cooking tips to rating their favorite dishes to make and eat. They even mentioned and talked about Toby, saying that he would most likely be a huge fan of Cheng Sifu's cooking if he ever got to try it. At some point in the conversation, Marinette even managed to slip in a mention of Cheng Sifu's akumatization, which informed Jim about the latest attack to the bare minimum until their next call where she could further elaborate. Either way, the three of them soon got along like a house on fire the deeper they went into the conversation.

"My goodness, Jim. You and Marinette could be twins!" Cheng Sifu proclaimed, a smile on his face as he enjoyed his time talking to the two siblings.

"You wouldn't be the first to say that, nor would you be the last." Jim remarked, causing them to all laugh at the joke he made. "But in all seriousness, Marinette and I have got to convince our parents to see about visiting you in Shanghai for Spring Break." the Trollhunter added, eager to think up of a time and place to meet Cheng Sifu.

"I agree. It would be great to see you guys meet in person for the first time." Marinette spoke up, loving the idea of them meeting face to face. "I can already see the cook offs between you two." the pigtailed girl added, once again drawing a laugh from the three of them before they saw Mayor Bourgeois walking over to them.

"Pardon my interruption, but could I speak to Cheng Sifu for a moment please?" Mayor Bourgeois asked the group, not taking notice of Jim being on call at the moment so he could make his request to Cheng Sifu.

"Of course." Cheng Sifu replied, quickly turning to face his great niece and nephew. "I'm afraid I step away from conversation." the master chef explained, feeling a little upset that he needed to be pulled away from his family.

"It's okay, I need to head off to bed soon anyway. It was great meeting you, Cheng Sifu." Jim assured, making the master chef smile at his words.

"Call me Uncle Cheng. You are family, after all." Cheng Sifu replied, much to Jim and Marinette's surprise of his insistence on Jim calling him as such.

"Thank you Uncle Cheng." Jim happily exclaimed, bowing to Cheng Sifu from his end of the call before the chef walked away with the mayor. "I have to admit, sis. You were right about us getting along." Jim said to Marinette, happy to find the introduction had gone so well.

"I always am!" Marinette exclaimed, happy that things went so well between them. "Especially about certain blonde boys I have feelings for." the designer added, a sly smirk on her lips as she brought up the ongoing subject between her and Jim.

"Okay, I admit that Adrien defending you guys from Chloé is a step in the right direction. But that still doesn't mean I'm fully okay with the idea of you and him dating." Jim remarked, giving credit where it was due when it came to his family.

"Will there ever be a way to change your mind about Adrien?" Marinette questioned her brother, hoping that it would be the case.

"As a person, he seems like a nice guy. But when it comes to you being in love with him, I'll always think you deserve better than him." Jim admitted, voicing his true opinion on Adrien. "And that won't ever change." the Trollhunter added, deciding to be stubborn about the subject.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Marinette remarked, determined to change Jim's mind about this subject.

"We'll see, Marinette. We'll see." Jim said, still not believing that his view on Adrien would ever change. But regardless of his opinion on Marientte's crush, the effects of a long school day started catching up on Jim. "Alright, I'm off to bed. I've had a long day at school." the Trollhunter yawned out, covering his mouth while he stretched his arms up into the air.

"Fair enough. I'll tell you about the details of the battle with Kung Food tonight." Marinette offered, knowing that would be a better time to tell him about the battle. Plus the added bonus of Toby being there helped in making the decision as well.

"Sounds like a plan. See you tomorrow, sis." Jim confirmed, ready to head off to bed and get some sleep.

"Bye, Jimbro!" Marinette farewelled as she waved goodbye to Jim, the boy waving back before she hung up and saw Cheng Sifu walking back over to the table.

"Jim going to bed?" Cheng Sifu questioned as he approached, spying Marinette, disconnecting the call.

"Yeah. He had a long day at school on his end." Marinette replied, putting her phone back into her purse. "What did the mayor talk to you about?" the pigtailed girl asked, wondering why the mayor wanted to talk to Cheng Sifu

"He asked if I serve my soup at dinner between him and friend tonight. I was happy to agree." Cheng Sifu explained as he stood by the table, revealing the topic of the conversation between him and Mayor Bourgeois.

"Really? Awesome!" Marinette cheered as she got up from her chair, growing more curious as to the details of the dinner. "Did he say who his friend was?" the designer asked, voicing her biggest curiosity about this event her Great Uncle was going to cater to.

"Didn't say much. Only that they are close." Cheng Sifu elaborated, revealing his limited knowledge of the mayor's mysterious guest.

"Well, here's hoping it goes well!" Marinette cheered, the two spending the time on their way back to Marinette's house to get to know one another more before Cheng Sifu had to head back to Le Grand Paris. But unbeknownst to either of them, the dinner between the mayor and his friend would be more important than either could imagine.

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(Time Skip)

A long while had passed since Marinette and Cheng Sifu had left Le Grand Paris. So much so that the sun had already set and the day had turned into night. By now Cheng Sifu had gone back to the hotel to prepare for the dinner between Mayor Bourgeois and his mystery friend. But as he was entering the second half of making his Marinette Soup, a black BMW pulled up to the front curb of the hotel. The valet at the door walked up to the driver side door and opened it, letting the car's passenger walk out and reveal themselves.

"Ms. Queen, always a pleasure to see you again." the valet greeted, revealing just who had arrived at the hotel.

"Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure to see you as well." Artemis replied back with a nod of her head to the valet, handing him the keys to her car and grabbing her rose gold purse.

Upon closer inspection, Artemis was dressed in a spa green pantsuit with a high neck, no sleeves, and floor-length wide pants with a sash bow wrapped around her waist. The pantsuit was paired with rose gold 2 inch heels, while her hair was styled into a half up-half down version of her usual braid, rose gold bracelets encircled her wrists and rose gold hoop earrings adorned her ears. One of her more simple fancy dinner outfits.

"Enjoy your evening with the mayor, Ms. Queen." the valet encouraged before he hopped into the driver's seat and began to take Artemis's car to the valet parking area. Once he was around the corner of the block, Artemis then walked into the hotel, passing by the front desk and its attendant.

"Bonjour, Armand." Artemis greeted the butler in charge of the front desk, happy to see a familiar face.

"Bonjour, Madame Artemis. How have you been?" Armand responded in kind, smiling at Artemis's presence.

"Very well, recently. How about you?" Artemis asked, happy to make some small talk with one of her acquaintances in Le Grand Paris.

"Could be worse, madame." Armand replied. "Are you on your way to see Mayor Bourgeois for dinner?" the butler asked, seeing as the mayor had given the staff a heads up about his surprise dinner with Artemis.

"Yes I am. He said on the phone earlier that he had some free time tonight to spend with an old friend." Artemis explained in a slightly tired voice.

It was true, Artemis and André Bourgeois have been good friends for a long time. While she never told him about her or Rayla's little secrets, she did care about him and was eager to see one of her oldest friends after a while. But her eagerness was soured by André's latent corruption of the mayoral offices, which hit Artemis's displeasure a little too close to home.

"That's very nice to hear. Enjoy your night, Madame." Armand wished well, making Artemis smile at his words.

"Thank you, Armand. See you later." Artemis farewelled before she walked over to the elevator, pressing the button to take her up to the dinning hall. Once she arrived, she stepped out of the elevator and saw André at the other end of the room just as he spotted her entering the room.

"Ah, Artemis! It has been a long while since we've seen each other." André greeted his old friend, walking towards her to meet her halfway before they French greeted each other.

"It truly has, André. It's good to see you." Artemis responded in kind, her voice laced with a cold tone as the two started to walk over to the table set for them. "I was happy to hear that you wanted to catch up. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten to take a break every now and then." the secret Changeling teased as they approached the table, a smirk playing on the edges of her lips as she tried to play nice for the moment. Yes, she didn't approve of André's actions as mayor as of late, but he was still her friend. She owed him some form of decorum.

"Oh, I would never! You of all people know I have an impeccable balance of my work and personal lives." André playfully responded, well used to Artemis's teasing after many years of it.

"Glad to hear it." Artemis said as they reached the table, the two of them sat down at their respective seats soon after. "So, what is on the menu for our little catch up dinner?" the Changeling questioned, glad to be focusing on something else as she scooted her chair in before taking her napkin to place it on her lap underneath the table top.

"A very special treat." André replied, copying Artemis's example. "I'm sure you have heard of Cheng Sifu's world famous cooking?" the mayor asked, hoping to confirm that Artemis had indeed heard of him.

"Of course. Thanks to my many travels, I've heard great things about his legendary dishes when I'm in Shanghai. I've been meaning to try his cooking for years now." Artemis gushed, her eyes sparkling as she made her confession.

"Well, he's just won the 'World's Greatest Chef' contest today, and his newly named Marinette Soup is the new Mayor's Special." André revealed, leading to a look of pleasant surprise to appear on Artemis's face. "And as such, I've asked him to make his winning dish for our meal." the mayor elaborated, much to Artemis's sudden excitement.

"Now that sounds absolutely perfect." Artemis partially squealed, happy with the new development.

From there, the two old friends start catching up with each other, Artemis's previously cold mood had lightened up a bit when they started talking about their respective jobs and recent developments in said jobs. In truth, as well as her thriving business in Stone Arc Trollmarket, Artemis owned and operated her own dojo in Paris, providing a great source of income to her already large amount of money. Like a vast majority of other Changelings, Artemis had been wise and invested in certain budding businesses in the past, which accumulated into a sizable fortune over the years since she became what she currently was. She wasn't billionaire rich, but she was close enough to that point that she didn't ever need to worry about money.

Regardless of her wealth, Artemis mainly opened the dojo to provide a place for the younger side of the city's population to have a place to learn how to defend themselves and feel safe. Plus, it added credibility to her name, helped keep her true nature a secret, and gave her something to keep busy when not in Stone Arc or on her supply trips. In fact, she had André to thank in helping her set it up, since he legally sped up the process in getting the permits to renovate the space when she bought the building after he became mayor.

But despite knowing the mayor, she never once asked him for any favors after that, leading to them having one of their healthiest friendships to date. This led to her always calling him out on his bull when needed, and helping him out whenever he asked for it... if it was for a good reason. To this day, whenever they had a chance to take a break they always managed to meet and catch up, the two of them being very involved in each other's lives as a result. This also led to dinners like the one they were having now, which soon had Cheng Sifu coming out of the kitchen while pushing a cart with a soup serving bowl, coming towards them and halting their conversation.

"You must be Cheng Sifu. I've heard great things about you." Artemis greeted the master chef, a little starstruck to meet Cheng Sifu after hearing about him for so long.

"Thank you! It is honor to serve you and Mayor tonight." Cheng Sifu replied, bowing to the mayor and Artemis as he spoke.

"The pleasure is ours, Cheng Sifu." Artemis assured, leading to both her and André bowing to Cheng Sifu. The master chef smiled at their show of respect and served his Marinette Soup to them, steam curling from the bowls after the liquid touched the cold porcelain.

"Soup needs to cool. Wait a little before eating." Cheng Sifu advised before he headed back into the kitchen, allowing Artemis to then sniff the soup in anticipation.

"Mhm, it smells divine!" Artemis exclaimed, making André smile at her antics. Thanks to years of friendship, he was well used to her more informal behavior, and enjoyed that she was so at ease around him to show that side of her.

"Must be a nice change from the dishes in Bavaria, huh?" André remarked, bringing Artemis's attention back to him.

"You know me, André. Rayla and I have never been fans of German delicacies." Artemis replied, shrugging her shoulders as she made her admission.

"Speaking of, how was your recent trip? Nothing too out of the ordinary?" André asked, using the opening that presented itself to ask about his friend's travels.

"Nothing I couldn't handle. It was pleasantly quiet." Artemis replied, only for a tired smile to appear on her face. "But Rayla ran off from her babysitter again. So now I need to find another one before my next trip." the Changeling added, sighing in exasperation of her ward's behavior.

"How is Rayla? It's been a while since I've seen her." André questioned, happy to direct the conversation to Artemis's ward.

"Still as mischievous as ever. I swear she is going to give me more gray hairs than I should have at this age." Artemis remarked, admitting to how tired Rayla could make her feel at times.

"At least that's all she's doing." André muttered, to which Artemis noticed the sudden change in mood and decided to bite the bullet.

"Okay André, spill it." Artemis said, getting down to business and regaining her cold tone again. "Why did you really ask me over to catch up?" the Changeling asked, her bluntness surprising André at first before a tired smile appeared on his face.

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" André questioned, not surprised that Artemis figured him out so quickly.

"We've been friends for over 20 years now. It would be hard for you to do so at this point." Artemis commented, only to once again direct the conversation back to the matter at hand. "So please, tell me what's going on." the graying brown haired woman prodded, becoming a little softer and causing André to sigh as he looked down at the table before looking back at her.

"In truth, I asked you here to ask for your help." André finally admitted, much to Artemis's slight surprise.

"Go on." Artemis said, deciding to not say anything until she had the full picture.

"When I said that Cheng Sifu had won the contest today, there were complications before that happened." André began, to which gave Artemis enough information to make a bet on what happened.

"Let me guess... Chloé?" Artemis guessed, André nodding his head in confirmation. "What happened?" she asked, her face hardening into a stone-faced expression now that she was fully invested into the problem.

"I'm sure you remember that Chloé has never liked soup." André continued, to which Artemis nodded 'yes' so he would keep going. "Well that, coupled with Cheng Sifu being related to a classmate of hers that she doesn't get along with, lead to her sabotaging Cheng Sifu's first attempt." the mayor admitted, shocking Artemis at the news.

'WHAT!' Artemis exclaimed in her thoughts, still remaining quiet when she saw André wasn't done.

"What's worse, thanks to Chloé's meddling, Cheng Sifu was akumatized into Kung Food, who took control of the entire jury to do his evil bidding." André revealed, his eyes dropping to the side before he continued. "Myself included." the mayor softly added, making Artemis gasp before she placed a comforting hand onto his shoulder

"Oh my God! Are you okay!?" Artemis asked, worried about her friend's mental and physical state.

"I'm fine. Ladybug's cure restored everything after they defeated the akuma." André assured, deciding to dance around the issue a bit in favor of getting to the root of his reasons why he told Artemis about the day's earlier events. "But today was an eye opener to Chloé's unruly behavior. I've realized that I need to start putting my foot down with her more often." the mayor announced, deciding to take action to avoid another mess like this in the future.

"I'm glad that you've realized this. But why do you need my help?" Artemis questioned as she took her hand off of his shoulder, not quite seeing the reason why André needed her help.

"It's no secret that Chloé has looked up to since Audrey left for New York." André responded, bringing up that little detail. "I was hoping that you had some advice on how to start doing that... since you've had to raise Rayla for the past eight years now." the mayor revealed, voicing his hopes as to how the conversation would go.

Alongside her friendship with André, Artemis was also very close to Chloé, or at least had tried being so when she had the time, leading to her becoming the girl's pseudo aunt. As such, when Audrey left Artemis had tried to become a bit of a role model to her. Unfortunately, no matter how much the girl liked Artemis, she wasn't exactly fond of Rayla, who openly loathed her in return, leading to the both of them ignoring each other when they had to be in the same building. That and recent events the past few years made it so that Artemis hadn't had much time to visit, which led to Chloé acting out more than ever.

"I suppose it makes sense you'd ask for advice about raising... spirited children. Rayla can be quite challenging at times with her stubbornness." Artemis reflected, seeing the logic behind André's thinking. "But something tells me that's not all you want to ask of me." the Changeling realized, knowing that André had another request to ask of her.

"Once again, you see right through me." André remarked before continuing. "I was also wondering if you could start coming by more often. Help guide Chloé in the right direction." the mayor explained, much to Artemis's sudden apprehension.

"André..." Artemis began with a near growl, her eyes narrowing at André as she got the feeling that her friend would be asking her to take the brunt of reigning Chloé's behavior in.

"I know that you've already got your hands full with Rayla and your dojo. But I am desperate, Artemis." André begged, leading to Artemis placing her forearms onto the table with a sigh. Once she braced herself, she glanced back at her old friend.

"André... What I'm about to say to you is something you need to hear. So before you say anything, let me finish." Artemis requested, André nodding in agreement to permit her to continue. "Okay, here it goes." the graying brown haired woman said, ready to say her piece.

"André, the reason why Chloé is acting the way she is is because she has it in her mind that she needs to act like the bitch of a woman that her mother is." Artemis stated, her bluntness and use of harsh language surprising André to no end. "Don't give me that look. You and I both know that you can do a lot better than Audrey, and Chloé doesn't need to keep trying to be like her." the Changeling continued, this being a conversation she and André have had many times before, to which Artemis was hoping would stick this time.

"But you haven't been helping either. You really want my advice?" Artemis asked to reconfirm, leading to André nodding again, staying quiet in favor of hearing her advice. "You need to stop bending to Chloé's will as much as you have been. I can't and won't be the only person there to reign her in." the graying brown haired woman ranted, hoping that it would be enough to persuade André to stand his ground against Chloé, considering he was her parent and was the one who was supposed to be in charge.

"So does this mean...?" André began to ask, seeing where the conversation was going after Artemis's infuriated-filled speech.

"Yes, I'll help you." Artemis confirmed, much to André's relief. "On the condition that you play your part in this and put your foot down when she makes outlandish demands. Especially the ones Chloé makes in regards to school." the Changeling bartered, knowing that André needed to be a part of this as well. Plus, one of the reasons why she decided to help was to try and prevent Chloé from causing any more akumas.

Ever since Hawkmoth had started his reign of terror, Artemis had been keeping track of the main causes of the akumatized villains... and a ridiculous portion of them were caused by Chloé. So she not only saw this opportunity to help Chloé be more manageable, she also saw this as an opportunity to help make Ladybug and Chat Noir's jobs easier. But it was also a chance for André to start being more assertive with his daughter too.

"I will try." André promised, which was enough for Artemis for the time being. "I just want her to be happy." the mayor sighed out, his friend softly placing her hand on his shoulder again.

"I know you do. And I want Chloé to be happy too." Artemis admitted, an understanding look appearing on her face as she spoke. "But she won't be if she keeps up this toxic behavior. We need to nip it in the bud while we still can." the graying brown haired woman said, reconfirming their plan.

"I'll rearrange my schedule so me and Rayla can come by more often. It won't be much at the moment, but it's a start." Artemis offered, causing a relieved smile to appear on André's face at her words.

"Thank you Artemis. You have no idea how much this means to me." André thanked as he place his hand on top of Artemis's, grateful for his friend's help in guiding Chloé on the right path

"Just do your part, and we'll call it even." Artemis replied, thinking nothing of helping her friend and honorary niece. But with the issue resolved, Artemis looked at their cooled bowls of soup, her stomach suddenly rumbling in anticipation. "Now, let's eat! I've been dying to try Cheng Sifu's cooking and tonight I finally get to!" the Changeling gushed as she took her hand off of André's shoulder to pick up her spoon, the mayor's smile growing wider as he followed her example.

Very soon, the two friends began to eat the soup, their conversation now heading into a much more cheerful direction now that André had assurance that Artemis was going to step in to help Chloé be more tolerable. Either way, Chloé would be in for a rude awakening in the near future.