The Collector (TAoMToLaCN)

The Collector is an episode of Thomas' Adventures of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Summary
Thomas, Master Fu and Marinette believe that the owner of the Miraculous book is Hawk Moth, but that suspicion leads to either Adrien or his father, Gabriel. To avoid suspiscion, Gabriel and Infinite akumatize themselves into the Collector and the Hoarder.

PLOT:
Wayzz asks Master Fu if he is okay, which he replies to by saying, “they're here.” Wayzz hides when Marinette and Thomas enter Fu's massage shop with Tikki. Tikki tells Master Fu that she knows that he didn’t want her to bring Marinette back, but she has something for him to see. Marinette recognizes Master Fu from when he healed Tikki and when she saved him from being hit by a car on the first day of school. Master Fu tells Marinette that he chose to give her the Ladybug Miraculous because she’s always willing to help others. When she asks who he is, Tikki explains that Master Fu is the last known member of the Order of the Guardians. Wayzz then comes out of hiding and introduces himself.

Master Fu tells Marinette that Guardians are responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculouses and that they are chosen when they’re young and trained for many years. However, Master Fu made a mistake that resulted in the Guardians’ temple being destroyed and the disappearance of the Miraculous book, along with the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses. Marinette doesn’t understand the importance of the book, since all she sees are drawings of old superheroes and some strange symbols. Master Fu tells Marinette that he can at least partially decipher the codes and that the book can give Ladybug and Cat Noir new powers, meaning that it is very valuable.

At the Agreste mansion, Gabriel has found out that Adrien took his book. As Nathalie shows security camera images of Adrien's actions, Gabriel asks Adrien why he took it, and Adrien replies that he just wanted to know what was behind the portrait, since Gabriel had never told him about the things there. He tells his father that he was planning to give the book back but then he lost it. Gabriel asks Adrien how he will be able to trust him again after this. Adrien apologizes and offers to get his father another copy, but Gabriel angrily replies that the book is one-of-a-kind and the source of his inspiration. He then bans Adrien from ever going to school again before leaving his room with Nathalie.

Back at Master Fu’s massage shop, Master Fu says that he believes that whoever had the Miraculous book must also have the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses. To Marinette this implies the horrifying possibility that Adrien is Hawk Moth, so when Master Fu asks her how she found the book, she lies and says that she spotted it on a bench in the park. Marinette then offers to investigate who the owner of the book actually is. Master Fu agrees to this but warns her to be careful. After leaving the massage shop, Tikki asks Marinette why she lied to Master Fu. Marinette states that she couldn’t tell him that Adrien had the book since she can’t believe that he would be Hawk Moth. However, Marinette worries about what might happen if Adrien turns out to be Hawk Moth after all. Tikki assures Marinette that there may be a good explanation for all this. Marinette then goes inside the school to look for Adrien.

During her search, Marinette overhears Chloé crying in Miss Bustier’s classroom. When she asks what’s the matter, Chloé says that Adrien is never coming back to school. Kim and Max explain that Adrien’s father grounded him for life, and Nino adds that Adrien apparently lost an important book that belonged to his father. Marinette realizes that the “important book” must be the Miraculous book, and she sighs with relief upon realizing that the book belonged to Adrien’s father, not Adrien. She then goes into the school bathroom, happy to know that Adrien isn’t Hawk Moth. Tikki points out that Adrien did take the book without his father’s permission, but Marinette says that he probably had a good reason. Tikki tells Marinette that if she’s right, that means Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth. Marinette sees that as possible and transforms into Ladybug. She attempts to call Cat Noir but he doesn’t answer, so she leaves a message explaining that she thinks she knows who Hawk Moth is.

Nathalie asks Gabriel what he’s going to do without his book. Gabriel hands her a sketchbook and tells her to put it back where it belongs. He then begins to throw a tantrum, destroying multiple items in his atelier. Meanwhile, in Adrien's room, Plagg tries to get Adrien to look on the bright side by reminding him that his father could’ve found out about him if kwamis could be filmed or photographed. Adrien, however, is more concerned about finding the book so he’ll be able to go back to school. Plagg feels that not going to school is a good thing, even offering some cheese to celebrate. Adrien then hears a noise and rushes downstairs with his bodyguard to see what’s wrong, but Nathalie stops them, telling Adrien that his father is very busy, and sending him back up to his room.

In his lair, Hawk Moth states that he feels Gabriel’s anger, and creates an akuma. However, the akuma doesn’t fly away. Hawk Moth then detransforms, revealing his true identity to be Gabriel Agreste. Nooroo asks Gabriel why the akuma is still inside the lair, to which Gabriel responds by saying that he must become someone else to avoid suspicion. He then takes off the Butterfly Miraculous and temporarily renounces Nooroo, causing the kwami to be sucked back inside the brooch. After putting the Miraculous inside a small box, Gabriel picks up the sketchbook he’d given Nathalie earlier and lets the akuma enter it, transforming him into the Collector.

Adrien decides that he must find his father’s book if he wants his forgiveness, so he transforms into Cat Noir in order to search for it. However, he is alerted to Ladybug’s message and, upon hearing it, decides to meet with her first. Meanwhile, the Collector kicks down the atelier door that Nathalie is guarding and, after introducing himself, throws his sketchbook at her, trapping her inside it. He then does the same thing to the bodyguard. The Collector proceeds to go up to Adrien’s room, only to find that the boy isn’t there. So he instead goes on a rampage throughout Paris, trapping multiple citizens and monuments inside his sketchbook.

Cat Noir runs into Ladybug and asks her who she thinks Hawk Moth is. She replies that he is Gabriel Agreste, much to Cat Noir’s immense shock. Cat Noir asks for proof, which Ladybug cannot provide, but she does offer some clues and shows him Gabriel’s signature logo: a black butterfly. Cat Noir also realizes that some of the decor in the Agreste mansion is butterfly-shaped. He decides that the two of them should go to Gabriel’s house to investigate the matter. Unbeknownst to them, the Collector is eavesdropping and is delighted that his plan is working.

Arriving at the Agreste mansion, Ladybug and Cat Noir are surprised to see Gabriel’s destroyed atelier. Ladybug remembers Adrien and rushes with Cat Noir to check his room, but the two are interrupted by the Collector. The Collector attempts to trap the duo inside his sketchbook, and while failing to do so, does manage to absorb Cat Noir’s staff when he throws it at him.

After hiding, Ladybug uses Lucky Charm and receives a bike pedal. However, she is unsure how to use the object. The Collector finds Ladybug and Cat Noir and tries once again to entrap them. He succeeds in taking Ladybug’s yo-yo. Cat Noir comes to the conclusion that since Gabriel was akumatized, he can’t be Hawk Moth, much to his relief. Ladybug, however, doesn’t see Gabriel turning into the Collector as good news. The duo rush up to Adrien’s room and barricade the door with multiple items to keep the Collector from getting in. Ladybug wonders why Adrien isn’t at home. Cat Noir suggests that the Collector has captured him. Ladybug is shocked at the possibility of Gabriel taking his anger out on his own son.

The Collector manages to break into the room, but before he does, Ladybug gets the idea to make the Collector run out of pages in his sketchbook. The Collector declares that he would like to take the duo's Miraculouses “for Hawk Moth”. Ladybug snatches Cat Noir’s belt and wraps it around the foosball table with the bike pedal while Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm on Adrien’s shelves, causing a bunch of CDs to fall onto the floor. Cat Noir then throws the CDs at the foosball table as Ladybug turns the pedal, launching the CDs toward the Collector. The Collector absorbs the barrage of discs by waving his sketchbook in their path. Eventually, Cat Noir runs out of CDs and the Collector attempts to trap Ladybug, only to find that his sketchbook is full. Before Collector is able to remove the CDs from the sketchbook, Ladybug grabs it and rips it in half, releasing the akuma. She uses Miraculous Ladybug to restore all the damage done and then purifies the akuma, turning the Collector back into Gabriel. Ladybug asks Cat Noir to fist-bump with her, but instead, he rushes to Gabriel to make sure he’s okay.

Gabriel asks the duo what happened. Cat Noir explains that he was akumatized, but it’s over now. Gabriel thanks both of them but then panics upon realizing that Adrien is missing. Cat Noir assures Gabriel that his son is probably hiding, and Ladybug agrees, since otherwise he would’ve appeared back in his room. Gabriel says that nothing must happen to Adrien because he is too precious to him, which pleases Cat Noir. The duo say goodbye to Gabriel and leave the Agreste mansion. Once they’re gone, Gabriel smiles maliciously to himself and promises that he’ll see Ladybug and Cat Noir again real soon.

Marinette and Thomas meet with Master Fu and tells him the truth about how she found the Miraculous book. She claims that since Gabriel Agreste was akumatized, he can’t be Hawk Moth. Thomas and Master Fu see this as likely but Master Fu asks Marinette how she knew Gabriel owned the book. Marinette explains that she first thought the book belonged to his son, but since she’d just met Master Fu, she wasn’t sure if she could tell him that. Master Fu understands that Marinette was afraid that the one she loves might've been Hawk Moth. Marinette denies her crush on Adrien at first but soon admits it. She is saddened at the thought of Adrien not being allowed back in school because she can never give Gabriel the book back, but Master Fu offers a solution. He proceeds to take pictures of the book’s pages with his smartphone.

Marinette returns the Miraculous book to Gabriel and asks if he’d be willing to let Adrien go back to school. Gabriel agrees to this request and has Marinette escorted out by Nathalie. Before she leaves, Marinette asks Gabriel where he got the book. He tells her that he found it while on a trip overseas with his wife. Once Marinette has left the mansion, Tikki and Thomas compliment her on her bravery. Marinette says that the important thing is that Adrien is allowed out of the house again.

Gabriel places the book back in his safe and apologizes to Adrien for getting so furious over it. Adrien admits that he shouldn’t have taken the book without his permission. Gabriel explains to Adrien that the book was the very last gift his wife gave to him before she disappeared, but he realizes that he can’t keep the book or Adrien locked up in his house forever. Adrien asks if that means he can go back to school. Gabriel nods and Adrien hugs his father in gratitude. The next day, Adrien returns to Collège Françoise Dupont and is happily greeted by his classmates.

Gabriel scrolls through a digital copy of the Miraculous book with Nathalie by his side. Nathalie is confused as to why Gabriel went through so much trouble if he already had a copy of the book. Gabriel tells her that he did what he had to in order to keep his secret. He then pushes some secret buttons on the portrait of Emilie Agreste, revealing a passage to Hawk Moth’s lair hidden underneath the atelier. Once in his lair, he opens the box containing the Butterfly Miraculous, puts it on his chest, and transforms into Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth reflects on how Ladybug and Cat Noir almost discovered his true identity, but now he’s above suspicion and nothing will stop him from getting their Miraculouses. All he has to do is wait for his next prey.

Transcript
see The Collector (TAoMToLaCN)/Transcript