Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fear.

If he was looking for negative emotions, fear was definitely one.

And fear was the only emotion Nooroo could feel as he stared up at his new master, having found the brooch a while ago but only recently chose to begin using it, unlocking its secrets. Nooroo was certain it was her death that caused this.

He'd been aware since they'd first taken him and Dusuu that they'd been working on something involving power for years. Possibly decades. And now that she was gone, his master clearly saw now to be the right means, the right time to finalize setting up the opening stages of the game they'd meticulously been setting up.

The opening moves would commence in a matter of time, and both human and kwami could feel it.

"Tell me about the others," he demanded.

Nooroo swallowed the lump in his throat.

But he had no choice. Kwamis were bound to serve their masters should they demand it to be so. It didn't matter that they'd been around longer than humans; it was simply the way the world worked.

"Many centuries ago," he explained. "Magic jewels bestowing extraordinary powers were created. These were the Miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race. Two of these Miraculous are are more powerful than the others: the earrings of the ladybug, which provide the power of creation, and the ring of the black cat, which grants the power of destruction. According to legend, whoever controls both these jewels at the same time will achieve absolute power."

"And I want this absolute power," his master replied softly, his thumb tracing a portrait he'd inserted. "The final stage for all of this. The only way I can get what I want. You must tell me where they are."

Nooroo got even more terrified, knowing exactly what he was referring to with the "final stage." Generations had always seen someone trying to play this game.

And his new master was clearly stepping up as the next contestant.

He swallowed again. "I... I don't know where any of the others are. No one... really does."

The last time he'd seen the other kwamis, the temple had still been standing...

"But I found you, didn't I?" his master chuckled. "Tell me again about your power."

Of course. He was always demanding Nooroo explain the powers over and over again.

"The Butterfly Brooch allows you to give someone their own superpowers and make that person your devoted follower," he said glumly, the words now all but imprinted on his forehead.

"Which makes it all the easier to find the Miraculous," his master grinned, and Nooroo could sense he wasn't going to like this next part. "After all, it merely takes proper bait to lure in a bug. Say... a supervillain. Once they're in my control, the ones who fell for it will be my little puppets to ensure I have nothing but absolute power when the time is right. I can't risk them undoing years of work, not after all this."

"But master, the miraculous aren't meant to be used for evil!"

"Silence!" his master stamped his foot, causing the white butterflies around them to scatter. "I am your master, and you must listen to everything I say."

Nooroo knew he had no choice in the matter now. "Yes... Master."

His master gleefully pinned the brooch just below his neck, reciting the words that would activate the transformation (altered from the original phrase to suit his needs, though). "Nooroo, dark wings rise!"

Nooroo tried to fight it. Honest.

But magic always had a mind of its own, and this magic was one he was forever interconnected to.

His clothes replaced with a purple suit and silver mask, he stared out at the large window.

"Let the games begin," he smirked.

A darkness closing in... a darkness created unwillingly... a darkness that could destroy everything...

Wayzz woke with a start, banging his head against the roof of the little drawer he'd been in. Too bad the door was too heavy for him to open. "Master! Master!"

Wait a second, he shook his head. You're a kwami. You can just phase.

Of course. Wayzz sometimes acted like he never had that ability; being one of the younger kwamis was likely the cause of that. Sure, he was still considered ancient in terms of humanity's timeline but compared to those such as Tikki and Plagg? Yeah, he was likely still a kid in their eyes. He wasn't even there for the beginning of humanity; he only showed up during the first war because everyone suddenly needed protection.

He still let his body go non-corporeal, sliding past the wood of the drawer as if it were water, and once he was back in solid form, he went straight to the older man in the Hawaiian shirt. "Master!"

Another man on the ground looked up in confusion and Wayzz quickly ducked behind the shirt to hide himself. How could he have forgotten?

Wang Fu himself knew he had to act fast to protect the kwami's existence. "Chanting. Part of the treatment."

Alright, time to sell it, he thought, performing a scene of chanting and theatrics before the client was satisfied. With one quick swoop, he was able to get the guy out of there. "What's going on?"

Wayzz slid back into view. "Master, I felt a negative aura. Someone has activated a lost miraculous and... I think they're... you know... trying for it all."

Fu paled a little. He'd been hoping to find the missing miraculous before someone else did, always worrying the wrong hands would take them.

And to know that said wrong hands were going for it?

The whole point of the guardianship was to ensure that despite the ones who had tried to take control of everything, the ones who committed to the dark permanently to get what they wanted, that there was always a light to stop it, to try and save everyone from succumbing to this darkness.

He steeled his nerves. Time to serve the purpose once again.

"We mustn't waste time then," he said, quickly crossing over to the gramophone. Unassuming in appearance, but once he pressed the code, the gold speaker vanished and the true contents rose into view: A large hexagonal-shaped wooden box, with multiple layers of drawers on the sides. He opened the top lid, revealing seven colored velvet spots, four of them occupied. Fu knew where one of them was; he was wearing it as a bracelet for crying out loud.

But guilt panged his stomach as he saw the other two empty places.

"What are we going to do?" Wayzz asked.

"We're going to rescue Nooroo, and try to prevent this new threat from destroying everything while we're at it," Fu said. "Prepare the ritual."

Wayzz nodded and flew out of sight.

Fu promptly scooped up the ring and earrings into his palm. The ring was black, bits of silver framing the circular shape, a light green paw print in the middle. The earrings were backed in silver and had two smooth red stones with black inlays, forming a very specific polka-dotted pattern.

He knew he wasn't quite... fit for the job right now. Yes, he was only 186, a quite young age for a Guardian, but he knew it was time to pass the hero torch to two who were worthy of it.

He wasn't sure who would be chosen. Obviously he'd have to perform the final tests himself to completely determine if the chosen were actually meant to wield this power, especially the power he was bestowing. But it was always right. Magic and fate were intertwined enough for it to never be wrong.

His eyes fell to the ring again, already fearing that whoever could destroy with their touch would find a way to abuse it.

He shook his head. The universe always found a way.

Wayzz finished setting up the small table and Fu set the jewels in the center of the circle the little kwami had created with salt.

"Tikki, Plagg..." he said. "Awaken."

In a puff of smoke, two creatures just like Wayzz, only unique in their own ways, appeared, blinking a little like they were waking from a long slumber. In a sense, they kind of were; they hadn't been summoned for the human race since the late 1980s, but it had been nearly six decades since then.

"Did you really have to disturb my nap?" Plagg complained, scratching his large ears. "I was having a nice dream."

Unsurprisingly, Tikki was already wondering about the situation. "What's going on? Did we find the lost jewels yet?"

She assumed that by now there had to have been at least a clue. It had been nearly 170 years; certainly there was a chance Nooroo and Dusuu had come back home.

But considering Fu's face, she was pretty sure she got her answer.

Plagg finally noticed how they were surrounded by salt. "Oh, is someone else trying it again?"

Fu nodded. "All I know is that this generation is seeing its next victim trying to take control. Meaning we need two heroes to keep the darkness at bay."

"As always," Tikki said. "It's what always happens."

It was merely humanity's nature. They'd taken the world and broken it thousands of years ago, all because someone had decided they were going to take matters into their own hands instead of trusting in the power that had brought the universe into existence to begin with. Now, millennia later, there were still the few who had believed they could do it themselves.

Considering they were all dead, Tikki had reason to believe this newcomer would meet the same fate the closer they got to the end.

"Well, let's get this over with," Plagg shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "Hopefully I don't get a crap person again."

Tikki felt slight sympathy towards him. It was like that, usually. He was often stuck with those who claimed to have good intentions, then would quickly use the power of destruction as a threat, a weapon.

It didn't help that she always seemed to get the good ones.

Both kwamis lowered to the jewels, pressing against them and sending a large cloud hovering above everything.

"What are the chances it could be two valiant heroes already?" Wayzz asked.

"I honestly don't know," Fu replied. "It's all down to what the true power has decided."

The cloud began to illuminate, revealing two humans who seemed... kinda young. The girl had thick, dark hair pulled back into a messy bun, a pencil stuck through as if put there hastily, with bright blue eyes, freckly cheeks and nose, and wore a white cap-sleeved shirt with a pink skirt and black stockings. The boy had sparkling green eyes and blond hair parted down the left side, dressed in a white shirt, denim jacket, and black jeans.

"Are those... teenagers?" Tikki fretted.

"Are those... teenagers?" Plagg snorted.

"It appears so," Fu ran a hand across his chin, noticing the girl's image framed in red and the boy's outlined in green, the power in the miraculous having already claimed them as holders. Both of them were busy getting ready for the first day of school (at least, Fu was pretty sure the school year was beginning today), neither of them aware that their lives had just changed at that moment. "But it worries me. Putting this burden on young shoulders. They're barely adults yet."

"They're close, though," Tikki pointed out. "I can feel it. Humans are of age at eighteen, right?"

"According to French law, that's when we're legally adults," Fu nodded. "But they're still only high schoolers now. I don't know if they'd be able to handle the pressure they'd be given. Keep in mind, they'd also have to figure out who exactly is vying for this ultimate control while trying to stop it at the same time."

"I know it will be hard, Master," Wayzz said. "But you can't toy with fate. They have a destiny to fulfill; it's something they'd been born with."

The kwami did have a point. Every hero was pretty much chosen from conception, like how the guardians were. The power that governed everything in all reality knew this all from the beginning.

Fu swallowed. "I guess I'll have to perform the final tests then. I'll be back by sundown."

He turned to the two kwamis. "They're going to need more help than the adult holders. We cannot let them succumb. Their minds are too young, too pliable, too fragile."

Tikki and Plagg both knew what their master meant.

The adults always joking that kids determined the future?

To them, it was the truth.

"And there's my little girl!" Tom beamed as Marinette slid down the stairs.

She gave him a knowing smile. "Papa, I don't think I could exactly be called little anymore."

"Oh, don't worry," her father reassured. "You'll always be my little girl."

"A little girl who just turned sixteen," Sabine pointed out. "Where did all the time go?"

Marinette shrugged. "Honestly to me, it's quite literally been a lifetime to get to this point."

None of them knew exactly how to keep the conversation going.

"Well, it's still the first day of a new school year," her father put a box into her arms, a box Marinette sensed was the very same one they used for macarons. "I thought you could use these as a gift for friends."

"What friends?" she snorted a little, but still set the box down next to her backpack. Of course, they all knew she tried her best, but she was now sixteen and was still so introverted to the point where interacting with people was hard. After all this time she'd only really made one real friend.

"Besides, there's a high chance I'm stuck with Chloe and her lackey yet again," she shrugged. Chloe Bourgeois, the only reason Marinette dreaded going out in public when she couldn't blame her introversion. Rumor had it that she'd recently gotten a new "friend" over the summer, and of course, "friend" meant "brainiac who did the schoolwork for the both of them and followed Chloe around as if she was a goddess."

Either way, Marinette and Chloe had bad blood. It used to be Chloe bullying her relentlessly (the worst of it when they were thirteen), but after a few years Marinette had forced herself to toughen up a little. Now the merciless teasing had turned into petty arguing, with no sign of stopping. Not that it increased her confidence at all; Chloe's words still hurt.

She just had been working on ensuring the world around her didn't see inside. She was too scared they'd never accept her for the mess she was.

"And there's a high chance this is the year things could change for you," her mother reassured. "You have to stop thinking the world's against you."

Marinette rolled her eyes but smiled. "At this rate I'm pretty sure a black cat crossing my path would mean nulling the bad luck in my life."

"If you didn't trip over it, of course," her father joked, and she couldn't help but chuckle a little. It was true; she was kinda infamous for tripping over air.

"Well, maybe this year I can go more than five minutes without my foot finding a convenient crack in the ground," she shrugged, looking at the clock. "Guess I better actually go there, though."

The start of two more years until she was done with grade school. Granted, Marinette still had... absolutely zero clue where she was going after that, but at least this school year they started looking around at post-graduation options.

Giving her parents one last hug, she slid out of the bakery door, beginning the short walk to school. Of course, this usually meant her mind was already fretting that she forgot something, but one, that was why she made mental checklists, and two, half the time it was just petty anxiety, so she was pretty sure it was all good. She'd even remembered the macarons, thank goodness. Besides, even if she never got the nerve to hand them out to friends, it just meant more for her.

As expected, everyone else was already socializing. Marinette stared up at the open doors, knowing she had to go in eventually but she just didn't feel ready to. It was another year of preferring to be alone because she wasn't sure how to interact properly, another year of dealing with Chloe (who was, unsurprisingly, admiring herself in a hand mirror while adjusting her hair). She pursed her lips together, forcing herself to go up the stairs.

The corner of her eye caught it first. The old man struggling to stand up, having clearly fallen.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, setting the box down on the cement framing the stairs and rushing over. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her as if she was the solution to the problem. "Yes, miss. I am now."

"Here, let me help you," she said, grabbing the nearby cane and gripping his hand to support him standing up. "What happened?"

He scratched his head, as if trying to remember. "It was too fast for me to truly pinpoint the cause. But don't worry, I know it wasn't your fault. I'm just amazed you noticed."

Marinette looked around, noticing how everyone kinda was lost in their own world. "Well, my parents do say I have good attention to detail."

"A valuable asset, indeed," the man nodded in agreement, reaching into his pocket. "Please, take this as a gift. A token of thanks."

Marinette stared at the tiny box, with six sides and a strange design engraved on top. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, setting it into her palm and closing her other hand over it. "I insist. It's a gift you were fated for."

She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like a spark had ignited inside of her with their hands and the box all making contact, like something inside of her that had been dormant her whole life had finally awoken and was now waiting to reveal itself.

She began to lift the lid when he stopped her. "No, don't open it just yet. Just understand that... when the time is right... you'll know why you have them."

Them? Her mind wondered. What could possibly be so small yet so important?

"Well, thank you," she said, sliding the box into a small pocket in her backpack. "I promise I won't lose... whatever it is."

He grinned again. "You're a special girl. I can see that. And I hope this first day of school goes well for you."

"Eh, I'm just praying I don't fall flat on my face ten times like usual," she chuckled a little.

She swore she saw a small twinkle in his eye. "Oh, I believe that today will be special either way. It was nice meeting you."

"You too," she said, shrugging her backpack onto her shoulders and heading inside.

Her mind wasn't swirling with questions too long because a familiar voice rang in her ears.

"So what are the chances you'd let me bet how many times you're gonna fall this week?"

"Oh, shut it, Nino," Marinette laughed as he began walking side-by-side with her. "We all know it's just luck of the draw with those moments."

"Just trying to make this year interesting, at least," he shrugged. "I mean, not that it's already interesting to begin with."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your favorite person in the world–"

"I wouldn't say favorite."

"Fine," he rolled his eyes but smiled. "Your friend here happened to catch the rumor that a certain celebrity is now a student at this very school."

Her brow furrowed. "Who?"

"Well, plot twist, that one designer you're obsessed with is sending his kid to public school now," Nino stuck his hands in his pockets and began walking nonchalantly.

"Wait, are you talking about Gabriel Agreste?" Marinette asked, and he gave a curt nod. "Meaning his son, the famous model, is now here?"

Nino nodded again. "Imagine being friends with Adrien Agreste of all people."

Marinette had never imagined it. Sure, from what she'd seen in ads and magazine articles, he was attractive, for sure (granted, how many French teenage girls thought otherwise?), and he seemed nice. But that was just it. Everyone always seemed nice on the surface. She even once thought Chloe was nice when they first met in cours préparatoire, but it wasn't long before their rivalry had begun. Yes, they'd been at each other's throats for ten years now. In all honesty, Marinette was convinced they'd never find an ending to the war.

"And why would he want to be seen with losers like you?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, recognizing that nasally voice. "You act like you know him."

"Don't act like you know everything, Dupain-Cheng," Chloe crossed her arms. "I'll have you know for a fact that Adrien and I have been friends since we were toddlers. And I'll ensure he stays away from you two freaks. Got it?"

Marinette pursed her lips together, unsure how to respond.

Chloe picked up on it too. "Thought so."

"Then let's go talk to him."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the newcomer, someone none of them had seen before.

"And... who are you again?" Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, just a fellow freak with these two," the girl shrugged, sliding next to Marinette and Nino. "Come on, you can't know the guy unless you meet him personally. Alya Cesaire, pleasure to meet you. And... you are?"

Chloe recoiled a little. "Your new enemy."

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and began strutting away.

"You can breathe now," Nino said, and Marinette exhaled the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "So... you're new here, I'm guessing?"

"Yup," Alya said. "Is that girl a self-entitled brat or something?"

"Doesn't help that her dad is conveniently the mayor of Paris," Marinette groaned. "Makes her think she owns the place."

"Blech, she's one of those people," Alya spit a little like a bad taste had entered her mouth.

"Seriously though, what do you mean by, we should just meet him?" Marinette asked. "I mean, what if he's dealing with an entourage or something? What if being friends with Chloe means he's just a jerk like her?"

"And what if he's actually a cool guy who wants to make friends?" Alya pointed out. "Come on. During lunch, we're gonna offer him to sit with us. And we're gonna see if he can join our new friend group."

"New friend group?" Nino laughed. "Mari, you should take tips from this girl. She's better at making friends than you."

Marinette blew a raspberry in his direction. "You know what? You guys go ahead. I'm just gonna..."

"Disappear until you have to be in class?" Nino gave her a knowing look. "You gotta branch out more, honestly."

"Not everyone has that ability, buddy," Marinette put her hands on her hips. "You're just lucky I even started talking to you more than for school work."

If he was gonna be honest, he should've been trying to talk to people.

But after the excitement from the morning, Adrien felt it better to sit in the library alone until the bell rang for the first class. His hand was already hurting a little; no less than fourteen kids had asked for an autograph the second they saw him step out of the limo. Of course, he'd begged for it not to be a huge deal that Gabriel Agreste's kid was now at lycee, but leave it to Chloe to make it a huge deal and "leak" it to the editors of magazine Paris' teenage population drank up like coffee.

He'd just been lucky there hadn't been a giant flash mob or something on the front steps.

It was the problem. His stupid last name guaranteed that he'd never, ever live a normal life. Heck, even the transportation was likely different from the normal experience. He was certain only Chloe would've bothered to show up in a limo of all things.

Not to mention the run-in he'd had with some older man that he'd helped near the front entrance (trying to avoid the fangirls, obviously). The strange part had been when the man had given him this tiny box as a thank-you gift, but insisted that Adrien keep it closed until the time was right. And based on how he was acting, this was clearly a secret gift.

Now he was sitting at a wooden table, staring at the small box, silently wondering what was inside.

The doors creaked open and he hurriedly slipped it into his bag, noticing the girl walking into the library and nearly tripping over her own feet.

"Oh come on," she groaned quietly. "Can it just be one day without being clumsy, universe?"

Adrien kept staring as she walked in deeper, so different from Chloe and her vanity already. The girl seemed pretty, with bright blue eyes and dark hair hastily pulled up and out of her face. He was pretty sure he could see a pencil or something stuck in her bun.

Normal, he realized. It's what a normal girl looks like.

Compared to someone like him, who, despite wearing casual clothes, was in casual clothes tailor-made for him.

"Hi!" he said, a little louder than he was intending to. Crap.

The girl paused, turning to face him. "Oh, uh... hey."

Was she actually nervous from someone talking to her or was she just in awe because it was freaking Adrien Agreste? He began to worry that it was the latter.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," she said. "You new?"

"Er... yes," Adrien replied, starting to think that it may have actually been the former. "I've... actually never been to public school before."

Her face seemed to click with realization. "Oh, I get it now! You're Adrien, right? Yeah, my friend told me you were attending school now. Granted, part of me didn't believe him at first, but I guess he was right for once."

Adrien felt the corners of his mouth stick up a little. "Yeah. Guess I'm trying out the 'normal kid experience' or whatever you guys call it."

"What? Life?"

He shrugged as if to say in a nutshell.

She sat down in the seat across from him. "I'm assuming you're not exactly a fan of... being famous?"

"Don't get me wrong, there's times where it's kind of cool," he said, part of him realizing he was spilling his guts to someone he'd only known for thirty seconds. "But... I guess I just wish I could be, you know... normal. Like just have some friends and not have to worry about who's actually a friend and who's just using me for my name."

A pucker formed between her brows. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm not some crazed fangirl just trying to get close to you because of Agreste."

It felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. "You're serious?"

"Yup," she grinned. "Don't worry, I'm a bit of a pro at the 'normal kid experience' as you put it. Sure, I'm kinda what you would call an introvert, but still."

She held out a hand. "Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

The connection between face and name hit Adrien instantly as he shook her hand. "Marinette. It suits you."

Her cheeks flushed a little as she grinned. "You can thank my papa. He came up with it. And these."

She slid the long box towards him, opening the flap to reveal two dozen macarons. "Pistachio. Papa's favorite."

Adrien wasn't sure what to do. "They... they look good."

"Come on, take one," Marinette insisted. "They're for eating, you know?"

He only hesitated a second longer but picked one up, taking a tentative bite.

His eyes widened. "Dang, that's good. Your dad makes these?"

"Oh, he loves to," Marinette said, taking one of her own. "Perks of living in a bakery, I guess."

"A bakery," Adrien repeated. "Huh. That's cool."

"Oh, it is," she agreed. "I mean, waking up to smell of fresh pastries and living with parents who share your sweet tooth? What more could a girl want?"

"Does this mean you have dessert before dinner?"

"Sadly I haven't been able to convince them," she chuckled. "But maybe if you tagged along one afternoon we could probably figure it out."

Adrien blinked a couple of times, unsure if he'd heard things correctly. "Like... go to your house?"

"Why not?" she shrugged. "I'd just have to double check but I'm sure it would be good. I mean, for a 'normal kid experience,' going to friends' houses after school is pretty commonplace."

She seemed to perk up with a memory. "Oh, and my friend and I want you to sit with us during lunch."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," she said, standing up. "Come on. First class is starting soon."

"What do you have?"

"I think literature or something."

"Ooh, me too!"

"Great; good thing I know the way," she said.

Adrien smiled. Looked like with the help of Marinette Dupain-Cheng he could actually be able to be... normal.

Chloe looked mortified when they stepped into the classroom. "Adrien, what the heck are you doing with the baker girl!?"

Adrien furrowed his brow a little. "Uh... walking into class?"

"And you didn't come to me?" she grit her teeth together. "Your friend!?"

"It wasn't like you knew where he was," Marinette shrugged a little.

"Besides, she's a friend of mine now," he added, and Marinette turned to him, slightly surprised.

Everyone who was in the room would swear to seeing a vein bulge on Chloe's forehead.

"Yeah, people are allowed to make friends," Alya said. "Got a problem with that?"

Chloe couldn't think of a response fast enough. "I... argh!"

She leered at Marinette. "I'd advise you to watch your back, Dupain-Cheng. Because Adrien is mine."

She stalked over to sit next to a redhead in a flannel shirt. Marinette could only assume that the poor thing had become Chloe's new "friend."

"Well that was something," Adrien finally commented.

"Sure was," Nino agreed. "Come on, buddy. You're by me."

Adrien, clearly too excited at the prospect of actually being at school (compared to those like Nathaneal and Alix, whom Marinette could see were already counting down the days until summer vacation), couldn't have sat down faster. She ended up sliding into the seat just behind, and (kinda unsurprisingly given the morning's events), Alya ended up going right next to her.

"So... what exactly brings you to Paris?" she asked, forcing herself to ask the questions.

"Oh, the usual story of a parent getting a job here so you gotta move," Alya shrugged. "What about you?"

"Born and raised," Marinette replied. "Although my mom came here from Shanghai."

She slid over the box of macarons. "Here. Have some."

"Ooh," Alya quickly took a couple.

"Hey, you weren't gonna offer some for me?" Nino asked, fake-pouting.

"You have to just come over to my house," Marinette laughed. "Granted, you have a habit of gaining three pounds every time you show up."

"What can I say?" Nino grinned. "Your parents know how to make food, I know how to eat food. Besides, you can't be talking, Miss Cookie Thief."

Marinette rolled her eyes a little but smiled. "Guilty."

She noticed Adrien... kinda staring... like he was trying to learn already. Almost like he didn't know what a casual exchange between two teenagers looked like and he was too used to formal events and organized socialization.

She had a small feeling she was right about the assumption, though. Considering his family and status, it would seem likely his life had always been meticulously organized.

Clearly high school was the perfect opportunity for his first move. The victim was male, about sixteen, and had just been sent to the principal's office due to an altercation with some other boy who had started poking fun at him.

He held the butterfly in his palm, gently covering it with his other hand and feeling the power surge through the brooch and into the small insect, staining its pure white wings into a shade of dark purple.

"Fly away, my little akuma," he grinned as it entered the outside world, searching for the victim. "And evilize his heart!"

With any luck, it would be the perfect bait to lure out the miraculous, the main thing standing between him and the ultimate victory.

People always assumed Ivan was naturally angry and intimidating. Not at all. He was actually quite sensitive.

And it was people like Kim who preyed on it. This time, Kim had decided to discreetly slip in a note calling Ivan a "wuss," for what, not having the courage to admit his feelings to a girl? Come on, there was no way Kim could possibly pull that off; last time he'd ever gotten close to a relationship he'd treated that as a joke too. Knowing this hypocrisy had gotten him angry enough to call Kim out on it.

Now Ivan was standing in front of the principal's office, now having been forced to "properly enter a room." He'd never felt so much rage course through his veins at once.

He didn't even notice the butterfly merge with the crumpled note, but he felt the voice fester in the back of his mind, darkness beginning to consume his entire being.

Revenge, the voice said, soft and silky–and tempting. I'm sure it's all you want in the world now. Luckily, I can help you. The power I'm giving you will enable you to enact revenge on those who took your feelings and warped them.

Ivan felt the moral compass in him scream. He couldn't do it; this wasn't the way out.

I can give you the strength and power required to take down those who dare stand in your way... Stoneheart. All I ask is that you do whatever I wish.

Ivan felt the darkness in him win over, and the last thing he saw was purple and black encase his body, worming into every crevice of his mind until he was something else entirely.

"Imagine getting homework on the first day of school," Alya groaned.

"Welcome to advanced classes, I guess," Marinette chuckled. "At least we have study hall at the end of the day."

"Yeah, but I seriously doubt I'd find any motivation to pull this off," Alya pointed out. "I'd rather be finding the interesting scoops."

"Like a journalist?"

"Exactly like a journalist. It's what I'm planning on doing later on in life. Besides adulting, of course."

"Gosh, don't remind me about that," Marinette said. "That's the phase in my life I like to pretend isn't coming in a little over a year."

"Right; you're seventeen soon, right?" Alya asked.

"In a few months," Marinette shrugged.

Unfortunately, any semblance of a normal afternoon died in that moment, when they saw part of a wall explode to reveal a giant rock statue. "KIM!"

"What in the–" Marinette gasped. "Is that–"

"It's gotta be a supervillain!" Alya smiled widely. "And where there's a supervillain, there's superheroes!"

The rock monster kept screaming the same name over and over again as kids began fleeing the scene, most of them already trying to get as far away from the building as they could.

"Come on, this way!" Marinette said, then turned. "Where are you going!?"

"To the action!" Alya cheered, chasing after the rock monster, already pulling out her phone.

Marinette didn't have time to panic, because she felt a piece of paper being pressed against her hand. "What the..."

She didn't see who gave it to her, but she could easily make out what the hasty scribbles meant.

It's time .

"It's been confirmed that Paris is now seeing the impossible," Nadja spoke on screen. "We are, in fact, being attacked by a supervillain. So far there's no indication of where they came from, or if an external force is at play here, but police are working towards resolving the issue."

Marinette kept staring at her computer screen, trying to figure out the logic behind all this. Her own deductions had let her to realize another major issue about this: a rock monster that's screaming for Kim in an angry fashion likely had to do with... the incident earlier. With Ivan.

"Oh my gosh, this is so confusing," she buried her face into her hands, looking back at the note saying It's time.

Her mind tickled with a thought. Maybe it was time to open the box?

She pulled it out, forcing herself to open the top before she backed out.

"That's it?" she asked, staring at the unassuming ladybug-patterned earrings. Pretty, but... the guy had acted like they were a huge deal.

Maybe to him, they'd been, and it wasn't like she'd just toss them because of that. And she did wear earrings from time to time.

Approaching the full-length mirror, she replaced the tiny blue studs she'd been wearing with the ladybug-patterned pair, unsure why it felt like she was missing something.

She was, because next thing she knew, there was a flash of bright red light, and she was screaming her head off at the tiny mutant ladybug thingy.

Once the green light faded, Adrien found himself staring at a... he wasn't sure what. It looked like a kitten, but as it yawned and stretched to life, he could see that it was a strange kitten.

Or maybe it wasn't a cat at all...

"Are you like the genie in the lamp or something?" Adrien gave the small creature a poke.

"A genie? Seriously?" the creature snarked. "Man, I forgot how stupid and immature youngsters can be too. No wonder they've all been adults in the past."

Adrien simply furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, right; you're like ten," the creature shrugged. "Plagg, nice to meet you; we're about to go keep Paris from exploding."

Adrien took a step back. "What!?"

"Marinette, it's okay!" the tiny red creature reassured.

Marinette kept backing up, only stopping when she made contact with her desk. "What the heck even are you? How do you know who I am? Did you come out of the earrings? What's going on?"

"I should've expected the questions," the creature shrugged. "Okay, so here's the rundown: I'm a kwami, my name is Tikki, I know who you are because you were chosen by the ancient power that governs the magic of this universe, the earrings are simply a way for you to channel my magic, and... long story short, someone's trying to control the world and the ancient power chose you and a fellow superhero to stop it."

Marinette gave herself exactly three seconds to let the words sink in. "WHAT!?"

Tikki nodded. "Yup. In a gist."

Marinette had to sit down now.

"I know, this all sounds strange, but it's all real," Tikki said, hovering over the girl's left shoulder now. "There is an ancient magic that recognized a hidden power in you, and chose you to become this generation's Ladybug. A villain is out there, trying to take control of all this magic, but it could destroy them. You're meant to defeat them and get them back on track before they do something irredeemable!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Marinette shook her head. "Ladybug? As a superhero? How is that supposed to work out? I eat aphids or something?"

Adrien kept staring at the ring, having transformed to pure silver the moment Plagg had come out of it. The tiny kwami was already on the hunt for a good snack (although considering what he'd heard Plagg mulling over, Adrien doubted it would be a commonly accepted "good" snack). He bit his lip, mulling over the mini spiel he'd gotten.

"So... someone, you don't know who, is basically going for world domination," he said.

"Universe domination, but I guess it's kinda like that," Plagg shrugged.

"And some strange power ended up choosing me to try and stop it."

"In a nutshell."

"But... Why me?" Adrien stared down at his feet. "I'm just a kid. A kid who happens to be a celebrity."

"Trust me, half the time I don't know what's going on either," Plagg said. "But supposedly you have some type of hidden magic that's been sitting in your system for a while now. It just takes harnessing the miraculous for some time before it starts to show up in you."

Adrien bit his lip, his mind still telling him to wake up from the dream.

"But on the plus side, you can get out of the house for once," Plagg added.

Somehow that was more convincing than anything else he'd said because Adrien sat up straight. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, you'd be a perfect hero!" Tikki reassured.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm perfect at being the awkward introverted girl," Marinette argued. "Or did this 'ancient power' forget to tell you that?"

"You didn't need to include air quotes; it's real."

"Oh, sure," Marinette slumped in her chair. "I'm now supposed to cosplay a bug and save the world while I'm at it. Nothing major."

"Marinette, you have to stop thinking you can't do it," Tikki said. "You were chosen for a reason."

Marinette stood up, staring at herself in the full-length mirror. "Yeah, well, I'm sure mistakes can happen. You don't want me to have the safety of an entire world in my hands."

"But it wouldn't just be you. You'd have a partner."

"Oh, even better. What if they happen to be a jerk?"

"I'm sure he's great."

"Oh, it's a he," Marinette realized. "Sure, because I'll change my mind just because my partner's a guy."

"Marinette, you don't understand," Tikki said. "You were both chosen by the power that's essentially the reason this universe exists. You've been called to something much bigger than you ever thought you would experience. The only question is... will you put your trust in it?"

Marinette swallowed. "Why would I trust some ancient power that I've never heard of before now?"

"Because it's always been waiting for you."

Silence fell between girl and kwami.

Plagg popped out of a sock as Adrien slid the ring onto his finger. "Wow, you changed your mind fast."

Adrien stared at his reflection in the silver. "This could be my one chance. My one shot at being... well... as normal as I can be. I'm taking it."

Plagg wasn't sure what in the heck this kid was talking about but as long as it meant he'd take the gig, it was fine. "Well then, just say 'claws out.'"

"Got it!" Adrien said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Plagg, claws out!"

Sparks of green skated all over his body and he watched as his clothes were replaced with a stretchy black material, covering everything from the neck down, and he could feel it forming across his face. The ring colored down to the state it had been when he'd first gotten it, black with a green paw print.

Adrien blinked a couple of times when the transformation was done, hurrying to the bathroom to see what had happened.

He barely recognized himself in the mirror. A black mask obscured the top half of his face, the black suit covering every inch of his body. His eyes were greener, as if feline, black cat ears sat on his head, and a belt extended from his waist as if it were a tail.

A grin tickled his lips. No one would recognize him.

Looking back at his reflection, he ran his hands through his hair, turning the careful style into a bit of a mess.

There. That suited this new identity more.

He turned to examine his new suit from all angles when he noticed the silver staff. Picking it up, he instinctively pressed the green paw and watched it extend longer.

"Too cool!" he said, feeling excitement come on as if he was a little boy on Christmas morning. "Let's do this!"

He ran up to the large window that took up one of his bedroom walls, sliding open the one he knew could. Before he'd used it to try and imagine what it would be like to live outside, not having to worry about the pressures of his family name.

No more.

Adrien took the leap, the staff somehow responding to his thoughts and forming a type of spring for him, allowing him to land on the next rooftop.

Taking one last look at the window, he began running, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, feeling the wind run through his hair, brush past his cheeks.

He couldn't help himself as he landed in front of the stained glass window at Notre Dame. "I'm the king of the world!"

The echoes of his cheer were replaced by feminine screaming.

He perked up a little. Someone in danger? Someone he could save?

One of his cat ears twitched a little, signaling that the screaming was up in the air–and getting closer. Peering into the distance, he could see that there was, in fact, something flying his way.

He barely put together in his mind that it was a girl, screaming her head off, before she crashed into him and they fell through the window, sending colored glass shattering around them as a wire held them upside-down. The force was enough to knock him out, the last thing he registered was the girl blacking out too.

Her eyes fluttered open, her head throbbing a little from the near-concussion she'd given herself.

"You... could've warned me... about the yo-yo," she hissed under her breath. Tikki really hadn't mentioned the darn thing, but after getting the strange suit, it took Marinette exactly three seconds to realize that the included yo-yo not only clearly had magic, but was excellent for traveling, as she learned through screaming across the Paris skyline and smashing into a window and...

She screamed again as she realized that she was hanging upside down with a boy that she very much remembered body-slamming into.

The boy simply blinked his green eyes (and she noticed that they were literally colored like a cat's eyes) as he took in the situation, a smirk forming on his lips. "Little early to be tied up together, don't you think?"

As if on cue, they dropped down an inch, and the hold the yo-yo wire had on them released, sending them plummeting to the marble floor.

Except it had to happen the worst possible way, because as she felt her back smack against the floor, she opened her eyes to see him staring right back.

Neither of them moved for the longest of time. She wasn't sure why she could feel her face flush a little, though in her defense, she hadn't ever been caught underneath a boy like this before.

"Here, let me help you," he said, quickly standing up and holding out a hand. She swallowed a little but still took it, immediately giving her hands something to do by tightening her hair, which had changed into a ponytail with a small braid running across her left side. "Are you okay?"

"I... I think so," she stared down at her covered body again like she'd done four times before her yo-yo joyride. "You?"

He gave a thumbs up, still staring at her as if in awe. "Who are you?"

She was about to say "Marinette" when she paused, remembering what Tikki had said before the transformation.

No one can know who you are underneath the mask. It's the only protection you have against the one who will target you over this.

She swallowed, her mind jumping to the first name she could think of.

"Ladybug," she said, feeling her mind already make the connection between the name and her new identity. "It's Ladybug."

"Ladybug," he repeated, lowering into a bow. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And what about you?" she asked. "I'm assuming some type of cat?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Cat Noir. Yeah, Cat Noir."

She bit her lip, already feeling the confirmation that he'd definitely been more excited about this. She took in both their suits and suddenly felt more insecure about walking around in probably the most basic superhero outfit that could've existed. She was an aspiring designer, for crying out loud; why did he get the better costume?

She made a mental note to have a chat with Tikki later about that.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be great together," he slid next to her. "Just you and me against the world, right?"

Alarm bells flared in her head. The grin, the way he was talking to her.

Just a flirt, she concluded. Probably does this with all the girls.

She swallowed, taking a step back. "Look, I'm still not entirely sure I should even be here."

"Oh trust me, I'm pretty sure it was written in the stars," Cat Noir winked. "Maybe you and I can... you know... go about it together. Even if you remind me of a watermelon."

Ladybug looked down, understood exactly why he thought it, and could only groan. "Ha ha, very funny."

No. She wouldn't fall for his charms. These were clearly the same tricks he did to lure in other girls in his life beyond the mask; simple as that. If she fell to the trap he'd break her heart somehow. She just knew it.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir had zero clue why his brain was beginning to melt into mush. He was pretty sure it had been the moment he'd begun staring into those deep blue eyes, as if they held the answers to the torment he burdened in his soul, the longing for someone who wouldn't connect him to who he was, and even accept the wilder side he had to keep locked away for the sake of the family image. Hence why his default "I can't think straight" had gone straight to the weird phrases he'd been spitting out. Not that she seemed entirely affected by them. No doubt if he had said the same things as Adrien he'd have a whole flock of fangirls falling to their knees.

A large crash jolted them both back to the present.

"I'd nearly forgotten there was that issue to deal with," he said.

"Or maybe you could just deal with it yourself," Ladybug took a couple of steps backwards, feeling the fear course through her veins. "Since you seem more open to this than I am."

"Ladybug, if two people were chosen I doubt that means only one of them can go it alone," Cat Noir insisted, holding out his hand again. "You got this."

She wanted to reject it, reject anything he gave or offered her. Somewhere there had to have been someone else getting the same treatment.

But he did have a point; there was no way they'd be able to face whatever threat was coming by themselves if they'd needed a partner to begin with.

She drew in a ragged breath, steeling her nerves.

And she let her fingers slide into his.

"Okay."

Screaming students running around the field, Alya trying to film it all, and a giant rock monster (Ivan) promising vengeance against Kim once he was found. That was what Ladybug and Cat Noir landed right in the middle of.

"You gotta work on your landings," Cat Noir said, the two of them having been using her yo-yo to travel over.

"It's my first day; give me a break," she huffed, standing up and taking in the situation. "Look, from what I remember Tikki saying, any supervillain that shows up has a power source, something that gives it their abilities. We have to find and destroy it."

"Well, why don't we just begin breaking anything it drops?" Cat Noir suggested.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "And if it doesn't?"

He scratched his head a little. "Yeah... I got nothing."

"This is Alya Cesaire, reporting live from the attack!" Alya said, clearly still filming from the sidelines. "We have two new arrivals; could they be the heroes we've been waiting for?"

The stone monster's face was now framed in a light purple outline, the shape hard for either of them to describe.

"I've never been so confused in all my life," Cat Noir said.

"Watch out!" Ladybug pushed him out of the way as the monster nearly pummeled them both with his fist. She rolled across the field, already feeling the impact on her palm as it smacked against the ground to give her some sort of friction. Pulling herself to her knees, she watched as Cat Noir attempted smacking it with his staff, only it caused the monster to increase in size with every hit.

"Is it true?" Alya asked, now next to Ladybug, complete with an even closer camera. "Have you come to save us?"

Ladybug, very much not that comfortable around cameras, said nothing as she stood up, running back into the action.

"Stop hitting him!" she called out. "It's only making it worse!"

Cat Noir finally realized what he'd been doing, and in that second he stood there, the monster took advantage, sending him flying across the field and smashing against the goal post before landing on the ground.

The monster reared at Ladybug, who pulled out her yo-yo in response, aggressively spinning it to try and give her some sort of protection.

Time. She needed time to analyze what was going on. But she also had the feeling that any second you didn't act was a second you gave to the enemy. The two kept staring at each other, locked in their eyes, as she tried to think of a way out of this.

Swallowing, she saw Cat Noir groan a little as he got back up, rubbing his side a little, most likely in pain. "Any plans, Ladybug?"

She turned back to the monster, who was now beginning to advance on her.

Her eyes flew right to it.

"His fist!" she realized, narrowly avoiding being flattened as she began running backwards. "Whatever's giving him the power is in his fist!"

"Which one?" Cat Noir asked, now spinning his staff to provide his own form of protection.

"The right one!" Ladybug clarified, and he did notice that yes, the monster was weirdly keeping his right fist closed the entire time.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

She racked her brain to remember what Tikki had told her about her powers. "I think my kwami said I can create things to help win the battle. Lucky charm, I believe."

Her yo-yo began glowing and she dropped it in shock, watching as pink sparkles dropped a wetsuit into her hands.

"What in the..." she held it up, now more confused than ever. "How is that useful?"

Cat Noir shrugged. "My turn! Cataclysm!"

Ladybug jumped back as a smoky black substance formed in his right hand.

"Apparently I can destroy anything I touch," he grinned like a little kid receiving a toy car on Christmas morning, pressing his palm against the goal post and turning it to ashes.

"I've got this covered," he ran up to the monster, ready to turn it to ashes as well when he stuck his hand against the rock... and nothing happened.

"Wait..." he said, but was soon smacked back to where he'd started. "I'd like a day without being hit like that, please."

"I thought you knew you only got one shot at using your power," Ladybug said.

"I guess I got a little too excited at my new life," Cat Noir gave her a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes, hearing beeping from both her earrings and his ring. "What does that mean, smarty-pants?"

"It means five minutes before transforming back," she remembered. "We have to hurry!"

They could see that the news helicopter had arrived, capturing every moment and broadcasting it live for all of Paris to see.

She kept staring around the area and back at the wetsuit. Come on, Marinette. Think! Mama says you're creative, now use it!

As she kept taking in her surroundings, she began to see the pieces of the plan clicking.

"Alya, the hose!" she called out. Alya, who seemed way too eager to help out a superhero, couldn't have thrown it harder to Ladybug as she connected it to the wetsuit, the girl holding the hose down with her foot, having caught on as well.

"Don't resist," she said, grabbing Cat Noir's tail, swinging him to gain momentum, and sending him flying.

"This girl's crazy!" Cat Noir cried as the stone monster caught him in its left hand.

"Hey, over here!" Ladybug taunted, and the monster swiped, trying to grab her with its right fist. She let it fail at getting her for a little bit before she eventually stood still, feeling stone fingers wrap tightly around her body and lifting her into the air. In the process, a deep purple wad of paper fell out.

"There you are," she said, feeling confidence thrum in her bones. "Now!"

Alya released her foot from the hose, causing the wetsuit to balloon in size. The sudden pressure forced both items in the fist to fall, and Ladybug grabbed the paper wad, tearing it in half with her hands.

It was as if silence had fallen across everything as the purple butterfly flew out and into the air.

Ladybug kept staring at it, slightly mesmerized that such a small creature could've caused so much damage as purple and black enveloped the stone monster, transforming it into a familiar schoolmate. Cat Noir, consequently, fell back onto the ground.

"I'm crazy, you said?" she asked.

"What I meant to say... er..." he said, standing up. "You were... crazy awesome. Yeah. Definitely more awesome than a watermelon, I'll say that."

She rolled her eyes but smiled.

However, it wasn't long before the reporters rushed up, all eager to learn more about the two heroes who had shown up out of nowhere and had just saved Paris. Cat Noir stood there, used to people clamoring to know everything.

But one look at Ladybug and he could tell she wasn't used to it, standing there completely overwhelmed. It reminded him of when he'd been eight and dealing with the press for the first time, when it feels like everyone's pressing in on you and you just want to claw your way out to get some semblance of peace.

"How did you get your powers?" Alya asked, the most excited. "Was it radioactive animals? Will you be coming back?"

Cat Noir took Ladybug's hand, a move that no one missed. "Sorry, but we're not open for questions right now. M'lady and I have... other matters to attend to."

Ladybug turned to him, slightly surprised by his calm demeanor.

"But never fear!" he continued. "Should more trouble come Paris' way, Ladybug and Cat Noir will be here to save you all!"

He quickly led Ladybug away as reporters began hurriedly scribbling down the namedrop. The last thing she noticed was Ivan, still sitting on the ground, looking utterly confused at what just happened.

"Here, they won't find us here," Cat Noir pulled her into a darker alley between two buildings.

"Still seems pretty sketchy," she commented.

"It's good enough to hide us from the paparazzi, since you clearly seem uncomfortable around them," he shrugged.

"And you were acting like you've been around them your whole life," Ladybug pointed out. "How were you able to handle it that easily?"

He shrugged a little, giving a knowing smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to give away my secret identity."

She blew a raspberry. "Fine. Whatever."

"Hey, it'll get easier," he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I promise. And I can help you get through it if you need to."

She simply shrugged away from him. "I don't... I don't want anything from you. I won't fall for your tricks like others would."

She swung out her yo-yo and disappeared, leaving behind a confused Cat Noir.

"It's really not that bad, especially considering what past Ladybugs went through," Tikki said as Marinette held the wet washcloth against her skinned knee. One was sitting next to her, slightly stained red with blood. "I'm sure you won't get hurt as often the more battles you fight."

"Sure, like the past Ladybugs dealt with a lot of pain," Marinette shrugged.

"I mean one did burn to death..." Tikki began thinking out loud and Marinette swiftly turned to her, eyes wide. "Not that I think you would, oh not at all."

Marinette still didn't seem entirely convinced as she readjusted the pressure on her knee.

"So... what did you think of Cat Noir?" the kwami picked up a cookie and began biting into it.

"Pfft, he's fine, I guess," Marinette rolled her eyes. "Seemed like he was a bit of a flirt, though. No guy knows how to act all 'nicey-nicey' like that around a girl without having done it on multiple occasions before her."

Tikki simply blinked a couple of times. "I don't think you should jump to conclusions just because of one interaction. He'll be a great partner. I just know it."

"Yeah, well, if he wants to stick around by my side, he'll understand that I want nothing to do with someone who would likely dump me the moment someone better comes along," Marinette insisted, standing up at the sound of her parents' voices calling her down. "Just... just stay up here, okay?"

He let the butterfly land back in his cane for safekeeping right now. It had already begun its next task, having landed on the top of the Eiffel Tower earlier and multiplying. Now clones were flying all across the city, looking for victims to transform into copies of Stoneheart, awaiting their leader.

However, he could feel Ivan's emotions more stable than they had been earlier. He'd have to wait for the right moment to take the boy down again.

And then... the chaos would begin. The heroes would return.

And he'd have the chance to secure what he needed when the time was right.

"This amateur footage shows the new heroes in action, and it's clear that they know what they're doing when it comes to saving Paris," Nadja said in the broadcast.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Marinette's father asked.

"Seems likely," her mother agreed. "Although they do work well together."

Marinette snorted under her breath. Yeah sure. Because arguing with the cat boy equates to teamwork.

"Although with the arrival of the new heroes has also led to the popular question," Nadja continued. "Is it possible that they're merely here for our sake, or could there be something else going on behind the scenes?"

Based on the reporter's smirk Marinette could tell exactly what she was referring to, and she nearly threw up in her mouth.

Me and flirty over there? Heck no!

"You've got to be kidding me," Adrien grimaced as Plagg finally chose his favorite snack: Camembert cheese. "What do you mean I have to smell like crappy cheese all the time now?"

"Hey, don't blame me, blame the ritual," Plagg shrugged, gleefully eating the pungent cheese. "Also, not gonna lie, you seemed kinda forward out there with Ladybug."

"Give me a break, I panicked," Adrien flopped back on the couch. "I'm sure if it had been anyone else I would've been fine, just... quieter. I'm actually kinda scared of being close to people like that. But there was just... something."

Plagg looked up. "What, you thought she was pretty or something?"

Adrien shot him a look. "Or the fact that she was able to come up with a solution faster than I would have. She kinda saved my butt out there and now I don't know why my stomach disappears whenever I think about her."

"Well, joke's on you; she doesn't seem interested," the kwami took another large bite of Camembert.

The news report interrupted their conversation. "Just as Paris is beginning to celebrate its new heroes, trouble is already arising. It looks like strange butterflies are transforming civilians into frozen stone statues."

Adrien blinked a couple of times at the screen. "What the heck? I thought we defeated him!"

Plagg seemed to realize it. "...She didn't purify the akuma, did she?"

"I'm sorry, I'm supposed to what now?" Marinette gave Tikki a small glare.

"I'm sorry, I forgot about that!" Tikki said. "There was the hope that it wouldn't have been a miraculous-induced power but I guess I was wrong about that."

"Tikki, look out there!" Marinette gestured to the window. "Things are worse than before and it's all my fault! I told you I wasn't able to do this!"

She collapsed onto the floor, blinking back tears. "I knew your stupid ritual was wrong from the moment you said I was supposed to be Ladybug. Turns out I was right."

"Marinette, that can't be true," Tikki said. "You'll do better next time."

Marinette looked up. "There isn't going to be a next time. Just give the earrings back to whoever they came from and find someone else to stick the job on."

She undid the earrings and let them drop on the floor, ready to give them to Tikki.

"Tikki?" she furrowed her brow, unsure where the kwami had ended up.

Blowing air through her lips, she dropped the earrings back into the box. "I'm sorry, I just... I can't do it."

Chapter Text

Yup. Marinette was convinced nothing would ever make sense anymore as she kept watching the news clip.

Guilt still stung her. Here Paris was, in danger, and its own Ladybug didn't have the guts to go out and save it.

No matter. She'd just find someone else who'd be more willing to be Ladybug and hopefully Cat Noir wouldn't entirely mind having a new partner. It had only been one battle to begin with; it wasn't enough time for them to form any sort of connection to build into a friendship.

Plus any time she didn't spend around the stupid flirt was good enough for her.

She swallowed, forcing herself to feel confident in her decision. Yes, she'd just find someone who'd be willing to take on the role of Ladybug, put up with Cat Noir, and save Paris.

"I'm sure Ladybug and Cat Noir will save the day like they did last time," her father kept saying. "Paris is safe with them as its new guardians."

"Yeah," Marinette said, only partially in the moment. "Sure. Cat Noir especially."

Unfortunately, her parents seemed to interpret her "I doubt Ladybug is coming back" as something completely different.

"Ooh, is someone a fan of the hero?" her mother teased.

"What? No," Marinette shook her head. "He's only been around one battle; I can't exactly say I'm a fan just from that."

Besides, ain't no way she'd be a fan of someone who was clearly a master of the flirtation game. She'd vowed multiple times that she wouldn't fall for it, be lured in like so many other girls likely had.

Opening the trapdoor to her room, Marinette opened the drawer to reveal the small box holding the earrings.

She was still slightly guilty ditching Tikki like this, and it took a round of breathing to remind herself that this was the safest option for Paris.

So why is it gnawing at me? she thought.

Tikki had said an ancient power had chosen her to become this generation's Ladybug, become something far greater than she could ever imagine.

But no. It had to be wrong. There was no way.

Her mind clicked with a thought. Alya.

She'd take the job without question.

"It'll be okay," she whispered, hoping Tikki could hear. "Alya's a better choice than I could've ever been."

She picked up the box and set it into her bag, the back of her mind only slightly aware of the fact that it was warm, as if someone had been handling it recently.

"Marinette, you missed it!" Alya bounded next to the girl as if they'd been in the middle of a conversation. "The new heroes? Ladybug and Cat Noir? They're so cool!"

"Yeah... sure," Marinette replied.

"I've already started my new blog on them, too," Alya thrust her phone into Marinette's direction, and her blue eyes widened seeing the title Ladyblog across the top.

"The... Ladyblog?" she said.

"Yes!" Alya beamed. "It's for sightings, clues on their identities, and my ultimate goal: an exclusive interview with the heroes!"

Not sure how you'll interview yourself, Marinette thought, reminding herself of the plan yet again. She'd just find the right time to slip the earrings into her bag. Yeah.

"Eh, I don't see the hype."

Both girls turned to see Chloe leaning against a pole, looking as disinterested and snobby as ever.

"Seriously, a random pair of people show up, hit a rock monster, and they're suddenly superheroes?" she snorted a little. "I highly doubt it. They'll make one wrong move and then the whole city is against them. I'm surprised people aren't questioning them already considering they screwed up on their first battle."

It took all of Marinette's willpower not to wilt from the insult.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Paris is still relatively new to the concept of supervillains," Alya retorted. "As well as having superheroes."

"And what makes you qualified to know about supervillains and superheroes?" Chloe laughed.

"Where I come from it was common to have something going on," Alya shrugged.

Marinette turned to her. "It was?"

But Alya didn't give her much context.

"Please, I doubt they'll even show up again," Chloe scoffed. "Especially the bug one. She clearly didn't know what she was doing half the time."

"I'm pretty sure Ladybug will come back."

All eyes turned to Adrien, approaching the group with Nino next to him.

"I'm sure she'll come back," Adrien insisted.

"So do I," Nino agreed. "No one that cool just shows up once and disappears off the face of the earth forever."

What do you think she just did? Marinette thought, forcing herself not to voice this opinion out loud and oust her (temporary) hero gig just yet. Maybe farther down the road, when Ladybug was simply a random memory and no one was quite sure why she'd even been there anymore if she wouldn't ever return, she could admit it was her. Yeah, that would work out better than telling people now.

"Oh please, it was a mistake; she's not coming back," Chloe insisted.

Marinette was surprised. Not because of Chloe's remark, but the fact that she actually agreed with her.

"Chloe, I trust that she'll come back," Adrien argued. "She and Cat Noir promised they would."

"It's simply stupid publicity," she snorted a little. "You of all people would know the implications of that."

Adrien stiffened a little, which made Marinette surprised yet again. Given how big of a deal Chloe had made it that the two of them were friends, she'd half expected Chloe and Adrien to not get this snippy around each other. Had Chloe been lying? Knowing her, she'd likely fabricated some things to act like the two of them were thick as thieves.

"Still, it's like I said. Someone that cool can't just disappear off the face of the earth forever," Nino said.

"Finally, someone agrees that she's cool!" Alya exclaimed.

"Because she totally is," he laughed. "All she had was a wetsuit and managed to defeat that rock monster."

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette caught Ivan stiffen at "rock monster." "He has a name, you know."

Thankfully, Nino seemed to pick up on her hint. "Oh my gosh, Ivan, I'm sorry, dude."

"It's fine," Ivan shrugged, although she could see he was still pretty bothered by the whole thing. "It's not like I even remember what happened."

"I'll tell you; you were a monster that was terrorizing the city," Chloe shrugged.

"Chloe," Marinette grit her teeth when she saw Ivan slouch deeper into the bench he was sitting on.

"What?" she snickered. "It's not like you could do anything about it. Come, Sabrina."

The redhead that had been following Chloe all day yesterday quickly went to the blonde's side. Both girls began to walk away into the building.

"Hey, don't let her get to you," Alya told Ivan. "Even if something happened again, Ladybug and Cat Noir will always save the day. They said it themselves."

"Uh... that was just Cat Noir," Marinette corrected. "Ladybug... er... seemed really hesitant about the job."

"People always look like that when they're around the press for the first time," Adrien shrugged. "I would know. I've been dealing with them since I was eight."

Eight years of always having eyes on him. Marinette doubted she could go more than five minutes. Which was yet another reason she was so hesitant about being Ladybug; she couldn't handle the entire city having access to her life and what she was all about. She'd already reached the conclusion based on them speculating her and Cat Noir possibly having a relationship after a single battle that anything she wanted to keep private likely would find its way to the public.

"Sounds horrible," she muttered.

"You get used to it over time," he said. "You just have to pretend they don't exist sometimes."

I'll keep that in mind, she thought, but then remembered she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Not if she was passing on the role to someone else.

Speaking of trying to pass on the role, she was learning that this was easier said than done. Every time she tried to make the swap, to put the earrings into Alya's bag, she would move so swiftly that Marinette could only pull it off by making it obvious that she was trying to give her something in secret.

Crap dang it.

"Hold on, I have to rush to the bathroom," Alya said, taking off.

Crap dang it again.

Marinette slid her backpack into her locker, noticing Ivan sitting alone.

Biting her lip, she decided to branch out, even just this once. "Are you okay?"

He simply gave her a look. "You mean everyone staring at me like they expect me to be something I don't even remember being? Yeah, sure."

She sat down next to him. "If it makes you feel better, they don't look at you like you're the weirdo of the group."

He gave her a sad smile. "Well, you do have the ability to blend into the background."

"What can I say, I prefer it back there," she giggled. "Less pressure that way."

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

"Well... do you at least remember what caused it?" she asked. "Maybe then... we could find a way to help you make sure it doesn't happen again."

Especially considering that akuma is flying around waiting for him to lose it, her mind finished for her. Yes, Tikki, because you want a Ladybug who can't even remember to finish the job right. Yeah, perfect choice.

Ivan drew in a breath, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper. "It's Kim. It always seems to be him."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Of course it was him."

It didn't help that she had her own bad memories with Kim. Not that she was willing to tell anyone about it. It was bad enough that Chloe had been there. She was just surprised she didn't use it to tease Marinette to no end. "What did he do this time?"

Ivan's brows lowered. "He was making fun of me. I... er... can you keep a secret?"

"I have like one friend; you can trust me."

He still made sure no one was eavesdropping before lowering his voice to a whisper. "I have a crush on Mylene."

"Mylene," she repeated, trying to remember what the girl looked like.

It hit her like lightning. "Oh! She's the one with the rainbow hair, right?"

He nodded. "She's also really nice and seems to be the only one to understand that I'm actually quite shy sometimes."

Well, that makes two of you, she thought, remembering now how Mylene barely spoke three words to anyone in that class, which was a feat considering she hardly spoke at all when they were younger. The only other major introvert was Marinette herself. "Do you know if she likes you back?"

"That's the problem; I don't know," he said. "And Kim knows I'm too nervous to tell her to her face. Hence him writing this stupid note."

He reluctantly handed it to her, and she could barely make out the sloppy handwriting spelling out Only a wimp would be too scared to admit feelings, you wuss. Complete with a crude drawing of Ivan as well, and she wasn't sure if Kim actually had horrible drawing skills or was intentionally making him look like an ogre. "Oh, that's just sick."

"He's always treating things like a joke," Ivan rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, I know."

Neither of them said anything for a little while.

"Well... do you have any ideas on how to tell Mylene you like her?" she eventually asked.

He shook his head. "I've never really been good with that kind of stuff."

"So we'll play to your strengths," Marinette insisted. "Come on, what are you good at?."

He swallowed. "Not confessing feelings to someone, that's for sure."

"Hey, we're not being negative about ourselves here," she insisted, changing her position so that she was on her knees facing him. "You got this. Just think about what you love doing."

He scrunched his face in contemplation.

"Music," he eventually declared.

"Music," Marinette repeated. "There we go! We have something to work off of! You could admit your feelings to Mylene through music!"

"And it could work because she's interested in music too," Ivan said, a grin forming on his face. "I could write her a song!"

"Perfect!" Marinette smiled. "Go for it!"

He waited a beat before talking again. "Thanks, Marinette. I know we haven't gotten to know each other that well over the years, but you seem like a nice person. I bet you and Mylene could be great friends."

Nino said the same thing about several other girls as well. Didn't mean Marinette would ever get the nerve to branch out, though.

"But never fear! Should more trouble come Paris' way, Ladybug and Cat Noir will be here to save you all!"

He kept repeating the news clip over and over again until finally letting it play through.

"You heard it here first!" Nadja said, having taken over the footage in the news, showing Cat Noir pulling an obviously camera-shy Ladybug away from everyone. "Paris has two new superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. Everyone is now eagerly awaiting their next appearance in this city."

He clicked off the clip once and for all.

Ladybug and Cat Noir.

He'd known the moment that the akuma had gotten to his first victim that whoever was in charge of the miraculous would hand them out to two humans worthy of being heroes.

He was just kind of surprised at how... young they were.

Okay, not that young. Probably like sixteen at the youngest, but still.

He shook his head. Just get the jewels and everything will be on its merry way.

Picking up his cane, he let the butterfly inside perch on the brooch, allowing him to access the thoughts of his victim.

All he was picking up was a faint whisper of hope.

Crap dang it.

The only way he could take control of someone was through their negative emotions. The more angry, sorrowful, and bitter a person was, the easier it was for the akuma to take control, for him to take that rage and sadness and turn it into a dark power they could use.

Hope would do nothing for him. Rather, hope would diminish his outreach, and he couldn't have that happening.

"Looks like we'll have to skew things in our favor," he said, releasing the akuma again. "Make him so upset he'll gladly turn to us."

Adjusting her headband one more time, Mylene opened the door to see a student staring. Obviously, given her preference to be spooked by just about anything, she yelped.

"Ivan, you scared me!" she said.

Ivan seemed really insistent on telling her something, though.

"Ivan... what's going on?" she asked.

"I..." he seemed really nervous, which only made her nerves fray a little more. "I have something I want to tell you."

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Kim snicker a little at the sight of it.

"Well... er... it's a song," he continued, still very nervous. "I wrote it for you."

Mylene felt her heart melt a little at the thought of it, but the moment seemed to shatter when they saw a purple butterfly zip through, somehow managing to turn the paper in his hands to shreds.

"What?" Ivan gasped, falling to his knees to try and salvage it. "No, no, no!"

"I'll help you," Mylene offered.

It was then that Kim started cackling.

"Look at that, everyone!" he said. "He's so stupid a butterfly can ruin his own work!"

In all honesty Mylene was unsure on how a simple butterfly could cause this much damage, but she could feel Ivan's muscles beginning to tense as he clenched the pieces of paper in his fist.

"Yeah, well look who's talking!" he shouted. "The one who treats relationships like jokes!"

Kim simply gave a coy smile. "I at least had the guts to confess to the girl."

"It was based off a lie! Chloe convinced you to do it too!"

Chloe, who had started eavesdropping, seemed to smirk a little in remembrance of that moment.

"Ivan..." Mylene said, but it was too late, Ivan had completely lost it and Kim had him right where he wanted.

The purple butterfly hadn't left the scene, and she swore she saw it flutter harder, as if waiting for the right moment.

"Ivan, calm down," she said, more desperate this time. Clearly this butterfly seemed to be after him, but... why?

Ivan wasn't listening to her, though.

"Plus, it doesn't matter if I treat relationships like jokes," Kim said as nonchalantly as ever. "You're still a wuss either way."

"Kim, stop it," Marinette hissed.

"Pfft, it's not like he's lying," Chloe scoffed. "Doesn't help that he's a stupid monster either."

"Chloe, was that really necessary?" Adrien knit his brows together.

"Rule one of surviving school, Adrikins," she drawled. "You have to make sure they know their place below you."

Everyone was convinced they saw him take a couple steps in Marinette's direction.

But the anger roaring in Ivan's heart seemed to be strong enough. Because the next thing all the kids knew, the butterfly had landed in his clenched fist, and everything paused when they saw a glowing outline frame his face.

"What the..." Nino squinted a little. "Is he okay?"

Ivan wasn't moving, as if trapped in his own mental whirlwind.

"Uh... Ivan?" Alix asked.

Somehow he sprung back to life. "It's not Ivan anymore. It's Stoneheart!"

He doubled over a little in pain as purple and black smoke began to envelope him. Marinette could see his skin begin to be replaced with rock, and in just seconds, the entire class watched in horror as the rock monster from before screamed into view.

"Look!" Nathaneal pointed to the window, where they could see all the other immobile rock monsters begin to stretch and move around, now brought to life.

"I take you!" Ivan–no, Stoneheart–boomed, and he began reaching with a meaty stone hand, causing students to scream and scatter. His fingers just barely brushed Marinette's, but the force was enough to knock her into the locker door, sending pains all across her back, an impact she knew would leave bruises.

But he didn't seem interested in her, moving his hand to her left and scooping up Chloe.

"Hey!" she screeched, pounding her fists against Stoneheart's, but it was useless as he picked up Mylene. "What are you doing!?"

"To Eiffel Tower!" Stoneheart announced, smashing through the window. The other rock monsters quickly began to follow, slaves to their new master.

"We need to hide!" Alix said. "He could come back for us!"

It was all the class needed to hear in order to start fleeing.

"I'm not missing a second of this!" Alya exclaimed, pulling out her phone.

"Wait, where are you going?" Marinette cried, trying to follow Adrien and Nino when she realized Adrien had mysteriously disappeared.

"To see the action!" Alya began climbing through the hole in the window, ignoring when she accidentally cut her palm against a shard of glass. "Ladybug and Cat Noir will be coming back, right?"

"No, wait–" Marinette sputtered, but she was gone. Confused, she whirled around to see that she was now all alone.

And being alone was the perfect opportunity to fall to her knees, wiping away tears that had formed from the fear running through her body.

Deep breaths, Marinette, she told herself, forcing herself to use any calming tactics she knew–or at least remembered. It's okay. He's not here.

"Are you okay?"

She looked up to see Cat Noir offering a hand. Slightly numb from shock still, she took it, and he helped her to stand up. But the movement caused another stab of pain from her back, and she curled inwards.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

"It's... it's nothing major," she insisted. "I just... he slammed me into the locker."

Cat Noir swallowed a little. "Well, we need to get you into hiding. I heard screams and saw the rock guy burst from the window and knew something was up."

Somehow it was enough to remind Marinette of the situation. "Stoneheart, he... he took Chloe and Mylene hostage. He's heading for the Eiffel Tower and he has a whole army now. You have to stop him!"

"Don't worry," he winked. "Me and Ladybug will always be here to save the day."

"You really think she'll come back?"

His smile faltered a little bit. "Well... I'm not entirely sure if she will, but I know that I trust her to."

She had to scold her heart for fluttering slightly.

He was waiting for her.

"Well, you should probably... go stop him," she said.

"Right," Cat Noir pressed a button on his staff, extending it with enough force that it propelled him out the window.

She slunk against the wall, feeling even more guilty than ever.

Cat Noir was waiting for her, and would likely still be waiting for her even if she never showed.

And she was too scared to even show.

"Someone help me!"

Marinette perked up, going to the window and gasping.

Three of the Stoneheart minions surrounded Cat Noir, who was trying in vain to escape them. But what scared her even more was seeing Alya struggle behind a car, having obviously been thrown against the wall.

"Oh my gosh," Marinette felt the contents of her stomach threaten to make an appearance as she ducked out of sight. "Oh my gosh..."

She felt sick. Alya was now in serious danger, it looked like Cat Noir was cornered, and Stoneheart still had Chloe and Mylene facing his wrath, most likely.

You have to bring her back.

The small voice in her head silenced the screams of horror, and she lifted her face from her shaking hands.

You have to save them. As Ladybug.

As if moving by conviction, she opened her bag and revealed the earrings again.

This was it. She knew that if she did this again, it would be even harder to try and go back to her normal life. Especially if this wouldn't be Paris' last time seeing villains.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to make a decision.

The small red kwami emerged the second the earrings were snug on her earlobes. "Marinette–"

"Tikki, I have to apologize to you," Marinette interrupted. "I made a mistake. You knew the entire time and I didn't believe you. I'm sorry."

Tikki simply smiled. "It's okay, Marinette. I always knew you'd be Ladybug even with this setback."

The girl's brow furrowed a little. "What do you mean?"

But Tikki didn't give her a direct answer. "It'll all make sense in due time. But right now we have a bit of a sticky situation to get your friends out of."

"Right," Marinette said. "I'm glad you didn't give up on me."

"Please, once a Ladybug is chosen, I never give up on them. The ancient power is never wrong."

She knew any more words exchanged would simply just be stalling, and knew that it was time.

Obviously, given where she'd been and where Cat Noir had come from, Ladybug couldn't just come out the window like he did. Instead, she hurried out through the side door, ignoring the gawking of citizens as she hid behind a large sign, taking in the situation.

Based on how the minions were interested in Cat Noir (who was, at this point, just running in circles to avoid being flattened like a pancake), she could get Alya out without them spotting her. But she'd have to make a scene in order for the stone monsters to get him out of their priority.

First things first. Getting Alya out from under the car.

Taking careful moves to make sure she wasn't seen, she threw the yo-yo, watching it wrap around the sideview mirror. Alya seemed to perk up a little at seeing the heroine now tugging hard. It didn't move much, but it provided enough room for her to crawl out.

"Go!" Ladybug mouthed, and even though Alya seemed eager to be involved to get more footage of the two in action, she still listened, taking the advantage to run away.

Now for the trickier part. Making herself known.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she cried out.

Instantly the stone minions turned to her, with Cat Noir whipping his head as well.

"Ladybug?" he gasped, a smile forming on his face.

She wanted to smile back but her inner voice stopped her. Stop it. He's a player, remember?

Right. She shook her head, focusing her attention on the real problems. "Come and get me!"

They began to stomp after her and she began running, weaving through buildings and listening to their footsteps letting her know that they weren't far behind. One of them got quite close and nearly flattened her, though the impact from its foot smashing to the ground caused her to go flying for a split second before going back onto the ground.

This can't go on much longer, she thought, not even needing to look behind herself to know this was true. They were much larger, meaning they could cover more ground in their strides, and compared to someone like her, she was no match for them. She knew it would only be seconds before this plan fell through and she was crushed.

"Brace yourself!"

She didn't even realize he'd been following, but in the next few seconds, Cat Noir wrapped his arm around her waist and extended his staff, sending them flying into the air and landing on a high building, too high for the stone creatures to reach.

"You good?" he asked as they sat there, trying to catch their breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled.

"I was right though," he said. "You are crazy."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Not that it's a bad thing!" he flushed a little. "It's just... I don't think I've ever met a girl crazy enough to let stone monsters chase her and fling a guy across a football stadium."

Now her cheeks were reddening a little. "It's nothing, really."

Somehow they both knew that they had more important matters to deal with right now.

"One of the students said that Stoneheart's at the Eiffel Tower," Cat Noir said. "He has two other students as hostages there."

"To the Eiffel Tower, then," Ladybug replied, doing her best to act like she totally wasn't the student who'd given him that information.

"There they are!" Alya cheered as the two heroes landed at the scene. Of course, somehow word had managed to go around that same villain back equated to Ladybug and Cat Noir returning, though reporters were now staying a safe distance from the main show. Stoneheart was at the center landing of the tower, still holding Chloe and Mylene in his fists, with several Stoneheart minions lining the perimeter of the structure. It seemed like the entire police force was there to try and quell things, complete with Mayor Bourgeois, as if Ladybug needed more pressure to succeed this time.

"Look, it's those two," one of the officers snickered. "Here to clean up your mess?"

Ladybug couldn't help but wilt at the comment.

"Hey, give us a break," Cat Noir snapped. "You guys couldn't have been perfect at your jobs during the first day, either."

"Pfft, we weren't as stupid," another officer said, clearly the one in charge.

"Officer Raincomprix, I'm sure they can have another chance," the mayor insisted, lifting up a megaphone. "Unhand my daughter at once!"

The purple outline formed around Stoneheart's face again, and he thought it over for a moment.

"She's all yours!" he screamed, sending Chloe screaming across the sky.

"Help me!" she cried, seeing the ground only get closer. "Someone help me!"

She landed in a pair of arms as her rescuer skidded on their knees across the cobblestone. Blinking a little, she found herself staring into Ladybug's bright blue eyes. Her vision began spreading outward, revealing a shocked crowd.

"Yes, well, I guess you helped me," Chloe scoffed, standing up and rushing to her father.

Cat Noir immediately fell to Ladybug's side. "Look at that. You really are a hero."

"Yeah, sure," she rolled her eyes as she stood up, only faintly aware of the sting in her knees. "Yup, definitely skinned those."

"Ladybug, you need to stop doubting yourself," he took her shoulders and gently shook them. "I know you can do this; I've seen you do this. And they all have too. You just did it again with Chloe. Had you not acted quickly, she wouldn't be here anymore."

Ladybug snuck a look at Chloe, who was too busy hugging her father to notice what was going on.

"I know you probably don't like me right now; you've made that clear," he said. "But that doesn't mean I won't stop being there, either. You'll always have me to lean on when things get too hard. After all, it's us against the world, m'lady."

He'd said a similar phrase and "m'lady" already, but this time it seemed different for her. It kind of really was just them, she realized. They were the only two here with superpowered jewelry, they were the only two here who were like this. Considering how the circumstances were, she was pretty sure they were the only two they could trust right now, the only ones they could rely on. It was scary and yet... intriguing at the same time.

It's just us, she thought, feeling doubts begin to worm away.

Just us against the world.

Unfortunately, hacking interrupted the moment, and they saw Stoneheart collapse on his stomach, a swarm of purple butterflies coming out of his mouth and forming a face.

"I see the heroes have risen," a voice cackled from said butterfly face. "Come to join the game, I bet?"

Ladybug furrowed her brow. "What game?"

The face seemed to cackle at their confusion. "Please. All I ask is that you hand over your miraculous. I have an important plan I've been working on for years and need the jewels to complete it."

"Yeah, well obviously we won't since your plan likely isn't even any good!" Cat Noir spat.

"Ah, youth," the face cackled. "It's amazing how young you are. Was your precious guardian even thinking when he chose two humans who haven't even manifested yet?"

"Manifested?" Ladybug mouthed, confused (and equally as so with "guardian"), but Cat Noir was already running, holding out a hand threateningly towards the base of the tower. There wasn't any of that strange black stuff he could summon to destroy things, but the implication was clear as day.

"I'll do it," he warned.

"Cat Noir, no!" Ladybug began sprinting as well. "It's what he wants!"

Indeed, the face seemed to smirk a little at the sight of it, as if baiting him into destroying the tower.

"Look, you can't just completely lose it," she said.

"I just... he's already nearly killed Chloe," Cat Noir grumbled. "He's hurting a schoolkid for some plan of his."

"And I know you want to fight for that; so do I," Ladybug reassured. "But it's only the first real fight. Don't you want to hit him with everything we have once we find the advantage?"

Somehow that was enough to soothe him. "What's your plan, then?"

She seemed extra aware about the eyes watching her as she swallowed. "I don't entirely know, but I do know this. We can't let Paris live in fear because of some butterflies."

"What do you mean?" he asked, but she was already heading towards the watching public.

"It's going to be okay," she called out. "We're just here to protect you."

"And what makes you think two reckless holders can save Paris?" the face sneered.

She ignored it. "Look, I know this all seems scary and confusing right now. In fact... I've been worried about this. But I know now that... this is right. Cat Noir and I can do this. And you can always count on us to save the day."

She turned to the large face. "And eventually, you'll be the one handing us your powers."

As if being propelled by instinct, she opened up her yo-yo and flung it at the face, scooping up butterfly after butterfly. The face seemed to try to struggle to regain control, but it wasn't long before she had them all in the yo-yo.

Holding it tightly, she felt as if she could feel the power from the object leaking into the contents inside. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was a magical, beautiful thing, begging to be released.

She was right. The moment she held out the yo-yo, a swarm of glowing white butterflies launched into the air, to everyone's amazement.

Cat Noir simply gave her a wink.

"Told you that you could do it," he said. "Now, let's free this guy from our new villain."

He stamped his foot against the ground, sending white butterflies scattering. "Of course they'd pull something like that! That's the problem with heroes; they're too... heroic."

He connected his mind with his akuma yet again. "Stoneheart, finish them off!"

Fu couldn't help but beam a little as he peered around the corner, watching Ladybug and Cat Noir face off against Stoneheart.

The ancient power is never wrong. He hated himself now for even doubting it a second that teenagers could handle it. Sure, they'd made a mistake during the first battle, but they were clearly ready to take on the job.

He just knew they couldn't be in the dark about the larger fight they'd just stepped into, and had already accounted for that. 

Good thing he knew their civilian identities, because he'd simply stuck notes telling them to meet tonight into their lockers during the chaos from earlier. He had no other choice.

They'd entered a war they could only win if they knew what the stakes were, and he was the only one available to tell him.

Instantly Stoneheart began rearing back to life.

"Oh crap, do you have another plan this time?" Cat Noir jumped back as the stone being let out another roar.

Ladybug only had one and she was praying it wouldn't backfire. "Lucky Charm!"

This time the sparkles formed in the air, and she caught a parachute.

"Okay, not exactly what I was thinking..." she murmured.

"Hey, you managed to come up with a plan that worked with nothing but a wetsuit, you can handle this," he reassured.

"Yeah, well, this time I can tell whatever happens, we're gonna need to fall," she said as she shrugged the parachute on her back. "Supposedly I have to get to the akuma to purify it, meaning you have to help me get a clear path to Stoneheart."

"Already on it," Cat Noir began rushing towards the tower. "Hey, statues! Come and get me!"

The several stone minions that had been guarding the structure immediately went to chase him down.

"Well that was something," Ladybug shrugged, beginning to scale the base of the tower. Luckily the metal bars criss-crossing provided some type of way for her to get her hands and feet into positions to climb higher, but exhaustion quickly set in and she knew there had to be a faster way.

The yo-yo! Of course!

Gripping onto the bars for dear life, she unhooked her yo-yo from her hips, swinging it up towards the sky. It hooked around a higher bar, causing her to fly upwards to its location.

Just down below was Stoneheart, with Mylene still struggling in his fist. However, she stopped at the sight of the heroine.

"Ladybug?" she mouthed.

Ladybug nodded and covered her mouth with her finger, a signal to keep quiet. Luckily, Mylene got it quickly as the heroine landed on her feet, trying to sneak her way up to the fist, knowing that the akuma just had to be hidden in there somewhere.

But Stoneheart must've had someone else spying for him because the second the purple outline formed, he turned, having spotted her out of the corner of his eye.

"Crap" was the only thing she could say before he swiped with his free hand, either trying to capture her or crush her; she wasn't sure anymore as she began narrowly avoiding every movement he made with his arm now.

"Watch out!" Mylene cried, but Ladybug was too busy trying to catch her breath to notice.

The only reason she wasn't flattened was because a certain boy with a metal staff blocked it.

"Let's keep our hands off the lady, shall we?" Cat Noir said, a smug grin etched on his face.

Ladybug was admittedly a little confused. "Where did you even come from?"

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged. "We have a job to do."

But Stoneheart appeared to be getting more instructions, since the purple outline formed again, and when it faded, he was taking himself and Mylene higher up the tower.

"Is it just me or... is he being told what to do?" he furrowed his brow.

It hit her like lightning. "The face! The man controlling the butterfly face! He could be the reason for all of this, the reason he's a villain to begin with!"

"Weird creepy dude who wants our jewels?" Cat Noir clarified, and she nodded. "So... what we're saying is, we're dealing with a mind-controlling villain that can cause people to transform into creatures that have to submit to his will, and he's doing it for some master plan he has involving our powers."

She nodded.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure I got the facts straight," he shrugged. "Come on."

They used their yo-yo and staff to fling themselves to the next level, where Stoneheart was waiting for them. He had the audacity to smirk as he began trying to smack them both to pieces, and both heroes had to keep jumping around to keep from being flattened.

"Let go of Mylene, let go of Mylene," she muttered under her breath, hoping that it would happen eventually.

"Split up," she ordered, and Cat Noir simply began running in the opposite direction. Now not as worried about keeping two people alive at the moment, Ladybug focused her attention on getting Stoneheart's other hand open, knowing that Mylene and the akuma had to be there.

"Hey, Rocky! Over here!"

Cat Noir extended his staff, nearly knocking back Stoneheart's fist. With an angry roar, he swiped, but the distraction was enough for Ladybug to swing her yo-yo, easily prying open his fingers and causing not only Mylene to fall to the ground but several shreds of purple paper as well.

"Grab it!" Ladybug gasped, and the two girls hurriedly grabbed the torn bits before Stoneheart had a chance to get it back, using her yo-yo to pull them to a higher spot on the tower, where he couldn't reach.

Mylene was already shaking. "I... I'm afraid of heights."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Ladybug said, already trying to run her head through where the pieces would go. Luckily, she had some skill from doing puzzles while growing up, but this was a boss-level puzzle right here. "Crap, I don't know how this goes!"

Mylene was already trying to help her, frantically comparing inked words against each other to find matches. Unfortunately, due to the akuma transforming the paper it was hard to discern from the purple and pen. "You think putting it together will work?"

"I... I honestly don't know," Ladybug replied. "Was it... in one piece when it was infected?"

Mylene shook her head, and Ladybug was relieved that she'd covered up enough not to tip off that she'd been there when it happened. "Some purple butterfly shredded it and then like... melted into it. I think it touched one of the pieces but then it spread to the rest."

"Oh, because that makes things easier," Ladybug groaned under her breath. Now she had to find the initial one?! Couldn't the world just drop an answer right then and there for her?

"I mean we could rip them all and see what happens," she suggested. "Last time I managed to free the butterfly by tearing the paper in half."

"Maybe," Mylene said, just as they saw Cat Noir get smacked halfway across the tower.

"Have you figured it out yet?" he cried, now barely hanging onto the bars for dear life as Stoneheart advanced closer, ready to drop him and make the hero splat onto the ground below.

"We think so!" Ladybug called back.

Bad move. Stoneheart changed targets, reaching upwards and easily grabbing both girls.

"Not again!" Ladybug groaned as Mylene screamed in fright. "Cat Noir!"

He perked up at the sound of his name. "I'm coming!"

The idea formed in his head as he was doing it, so yes, even he was surprised when he extended his staff, using it to force Stoneheart up in the air. He and the girls went flying, screaming as he slid to the scraps of paper.

"Cataclysm," he cried, and transformed every single piece into ashes.

The good news: the akuma flew out of there, the rock minions transformed back to their regular selves (albeit confused at what was going on), and Stoneheart turned back to Ivan.

The bad news: He, Ladybug, and Mylene were now heading towards the ground, and fast.

"Get him!" Ladybug ordered, using her yo-yo to bring Mylene to her side. In a flash, Cat Noir positioned his staff so he could catch Ivan just before he fell.

"What's going on?!" he panicked. "What am I doing here?!"

"It's okay," Cat Noir reassured. "You're safe now."

Having now used the parachute, Ladybug felt the ground gently meet her feet as she threw the yo-yo into the air, scooping up the akuma. Cat Noir and Ivan landed soon after.

She released breaths she didn't realize she'd been holding as Cat Noir gave her a knowing smile. "I knew you could do it."

She wanted to resist, but she couldn't help but smile a little back, even if she still told herself not to fall for it.

We did it.

They'd really done it. She even remembered to capture the ding-dang butterfly this time.

Maybe I really can do it, she thought. "So... what now?"

The group couldn't help but notice that Stoneheart and his minions had definitely... left their mark on the city. Dents in the ground, buildings fallen, even the Eiffel Tower looked banged up.

"We can't just leave Paris like this," Ladybug said. "Maybe there's a way to restore the damage."

"Well, if the yo-yo can purify akumas, who's to say it can do more like restoring things?" Cat Noir suggested.

"This is where I wish it had a user's guide or something."

"I mean I had one."

She slowly turned to him. "And you're just now telling me this?!"

He flushed a little. "I mean... it really wasn't that relevant before?"

She rolled her eyes but still opened the yo-yo, surprised when a white butterfly flew out. "I nearly forgot about that thing."

"Will it hurt Ivan again?" Mylene fretted, noticing how Ivan was now curling away from the small insect.

"No, it feels like it... doesn't have its power anymore," Ladybug squinted into the large blue sky as the butterfly disappeared into the horizon. "I'm pretty sure you're safe."

Ivan seemed to exhale a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Thank you."

"Oh, er..."

"I mean it," he told her. "I can't remember what I did, but that butterfly tells me I likely turned back. But I'm standing here now, so obviously you two saved me again. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you, because I know I should be sorry about it."

Cat Noir placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, wanna know something? None of this was your fault."

Ivan seemed confused.

"We found out there was someone controlling you," Ladybug explained gently. "He was using you to get our own power sources. And I'm sorry that you had to go through that just to forget everything."

He still looked guilty though.

"We're going to stop him," she said. "I know you won't be the last person he controls to get what he wants, so unfortunately, I can't promise that he won't hurt anyone else. But I can promise that Cat Noir and I will do everything in our power to make sure he's found and defeated."

She turned back to the yo-yo, remembering why she even opened it to begin with. "Huh. It says the lucky charm can be used to restore any damage inflicted by miraculous-induced causes. But..."

Was she supposed to use the parachute to give her better height to clean stuff up or...

"I've got an idea," Cat Noir slid the pack off her shoulders without warning, causing her a jump a little in surprise. "I think there's some kind of magic behind it or something. Because you did technically summon it out of thin air."

Ladybug thought it over for a moment. Could he be right?

All she could do was try.

She held the parachute in her hands, trying to think about what she needed to do.

I need to restore the city, she practically begged. If this magic is real, we need it for Paris. We can't leave it like this.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then they watched as a red and pink glow surrounded the parachute, turning it into tiny spots of pink light. Streams of this light began to spread outwards, reaching towards the city.

"What is that?" Ivan asked.

"I don't know, but it's definitely pretty," Cat Noir said as swirls began to rush past the group, racing up towards the Eiffel Tower and seemingly erasing any sort of damage done to the structure. The same happened throughout the city, getting rid of any sort of debris or dents from the entire ordeal.

"It really is beautiful," Ladybug said as the magic began returning back to her, coming back into her yo-yo.

It wasn't long before the reporters were streaming through, knowing it was safe to come closer to the heroes. Thankfully Ivan and Mylene managed to escape the scene, but Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't so lucky (they'd been the ones insisting the two schoolkids get away before things got crazy). And of course, there were the many questions being thrown at them.

"Are you here to stay?"

"Who was that man just moments before?"

"Where did your powers come from?"

"Who even are you?"

Luckily, Cat Noir, ever so smooth around the press like last time, jumped in at the right moment, saving Ladybug from having to stare like a deer in the headlights. "Unfortunately, identities are off the table for this kind of stuff. But I can assure you, we will figure out who this man is, and we won't be leaving anytime soon."

He turned to Ladybug, lowering his voice. "Are you okay?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not used to this."

He translated this to she needs to get out of here and took her hand, promptly leading her away from the pressing crowd.

Marinette kind of wished that there still wasn't school to finish, but considering how she'd managed to restore the damage from the battle with Stoneheart, the entire city was now about to try and act like they didn't just witness a kid get brainwashed.

Except there was the class, who was all now staring at Ivan not in fear, but in pity.

"Hopefully Ladybug and Cat Noir stop the guy in time," Rose said. "No one deserves to be controlled like you were."

"I just wish I could remember how it happened," Ivan sighed, resting his head on his hand. "All I remember was some type of darkness manifesting inside of me, then everything went black. Next thing I knew I was falling from the sky."

"Well, whatever happened, it turned out Ladybug actually does know what she's doing," Chloe shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder. In the thirty minutes between the heroes leaving the scene and everyone returning to the classroom, the girl had managed to change her status on Instagram to "Ladybug's #1 fan!" and had already basically become a Ladybug fangirl despite being skeptical only this morning. It made Marinette want to gag and it took all her willpower not to just to keep her alter-ego a secret.

"All she did was keep you from dying," Alix pointed out.

"Exactly; clearly she knows I'm the most important person here," Chloe grinned, and everyone else seemed to collectively groan.

Mylene finally walked up to Ivan. "Hey... um... you said earlier that you had something to tell me?"

Ivan flushed a little, remembering what he'd been meaning to confess. "Well... you see..."

Ivan and Mylene were basically a couple by the end of the day.

Marinette couldn't help but smile as she pulled her backpack out of her locker, but noticed the tiny scrap of paper that hadn't been there since before the last akuma attack.

Tonight.

The same strange handwriting from It's time. Maybe the same person?

There was only one other line in the note.

Eiffel Tower.

It only made her head spin, and she barely noticed the weather had gotten gloomier until she was outside, staring at the rain.

"It seems like everything is becoming unpredictable these days."

Marinette turned to see Adrien walk up next to her, a black umbrella still closed in his hand.

"I mean, we get two new superheroes out of nowhere, a new supervillain, and now even the weather goes from sunny to stormy," he shrugged.

"Yeah, well, life is known to throw curveballs at times," Marinette said.

"True," he agreed. "I mean, I'm starting public school for the first time. Technically this is all... new to me."

They watched a shiny limo pull up, no doubt Adrien's ride home.

He opened up the umbrella. "Thank you."

She whirled to him. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you're the first person I really met, after Chloe, of course," he explained. "My entire life, I've just wanted to be another kid at school. Be, you know, normal."

"But I'm not even normal," she insisted. "I'm probably the biggest introvert in the history of mankind."

He gave a soft grin. "That doesn't stop me from wanting you to become my newest friend."

She swallowed a little, feeling a slight smug smile form on her lips. "I'd be honored, Monsieur Agreste."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Are jokes normal like that? With friends?"

"Oh, totally," she said. "Wait, I almost forgot."

She quickly unzipped a small section in her backpack, pulling out a pen and a sticky note. It only took her a couple seconds of scribbling before she stuck it on his palm, and he recognized that the string of numbers was most likely her phone number.

"Just text me and I'll be able to save it to my contacts," she said. "Friends text each other all the time."

"I... thank you," he said, pocketing the sticky note. "You know, you may be introverted, but you're definitely a girl I'd like to be around. You seem to know how to make people feel welcome."

"Oh, that's just something I picked up from my parents," she replied. "That's just how they roll on a daily basis."

"You must have amazing parents then."

Her cheeks heated a little, but her logic stopped her.

Adrien was just a friend. It wasn't likely whatever relationship they had would progress into anything further.

And honestly? It sounded nice. She'd finally done it; she'd finally made a friend besides Nino (two if you counted Alya, which was very likely). And she didn't want anything to jeopardize that friendship.

It was the same for Adrien; he'd finally made his first friends beyond the world he'd grown up in, and it was all thanks to Marinette. He was excited to see where this blossoming friendship would take them, but he was pretty sure it was likely to stay platonic.

Still, he felt the urge to return the favor, to thank her more for getting him making friends on his first day of public school ever.

"Here," he said, holding out the umbrella. "Take it."

She froze, eyes darting between him and the umbrella. "Are you sure?"

"Please, I insist," he said, holding it closer to her. "You gave me your number, I give you my umbrella."

She couldn't help it and started laughing, but still closed her fingers around the handle and took the umbrella. "Then let me at least walk you to your car."

"Are you trying to one-up me with offering stuff?" he asked, snickering. "Because I could then offer you a ride home."

"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere," she chuckled. "Go get wet in the rain then. I insist."

He snorted a little, but the two of them still set off at the same time so he could at least be dry until he was in the limo. "I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."

She gave a wave back as the car began driving away. A moment later, her phone chimed with a text from an unknown number.

You know, you'd probably get to your house faster if you actually moved.

She looked up to see Adrien smirking at her through the window before it disappeared around the bend.

A smug grin of her own formed as she sent a reply. shut up, agreste

Luckily the rain died off by sunset, allowing for two heroes to arrive at the Eiffel Tower with a full sky of stars.

"I love how we keep running into each other today," Cat Noir beamed.

Ladybug groaned and rolled her eyes. "As if you have a clue why we're even here."

"Do you?"

He was only met with silence, which made his smirk grow. "Gotcha."

"Good. You both made it."

Both heroes froze, turning to see a very familiar man.

"You're the guy who handed me the earrings!" Ladybug gasped.

"Indeed, and I'm the same one who is the only person that can tell you just exactly what you walked into," he replied. "Follow me."

He immediately took off, forcing Ladybug and Cat Noir to begin following just to not lose the guy, who began weaving through tall buildings until he reached a small, unassuming door that most would walk past.

"Hopefully you understand that this location is to remain secret," he said as he opened the door, closing it the second all three of them were inside. "Should you reveal this to anyone, I have full right to erase your memories."

Both heroes couldn't help but gulp at the prospect of it.

"Can you even do that?" Cat Noir asked, hoping the man was merely bluffing.

He simply nodded in response. "I suppose an introduction will do now. I am Wang Fu, Guardian of the miraculous."

"Miraculous," Ladybug repeated. "Is that what these are?"

"Yes," Fu nodded. "And you two must understand this fast: By agreeing to become your hero selves, you've just agreed to step into a millennia-long war."

It was only a moment of silence.

"War?" Ladybug repeated.

"Yes, and you cannot take it lightly," Fu said. "The fate of reality itself can be put at risk should the wrong people become close to controlling it."

"You can control reality?" Cat Noir furrowed his brow.

Fu simply gave the two teens a look. "If you stop asking questions every ten seconds, maybe you'd actually learn something."

He simply gave a gesture to sit down and both of them were quick to obey.

"First, you must understand that there are two distinct types of humans," he explained. "There are ordinary humans, obviously, but then there's those like us. Those with magic running through their blood. The kwamis, ancient gods that have been around since the dawn of time, are often attracted to the magical community, leading to the jewels. An ancient craftsman created the miraculous in order for us to live in harmony with the kwamis, birthed from an ancient power that created everything around us."

"I remember Tikki mentioning some ancient power," Ladybug said. "She said it kinda basically picked us for the job."

"Exactly," Fu agreed. "The ancient power holds the fates of every magical being in this reality. Some, like me, are chosen to become guardians, meant to protect the jewels with their life and being entrusted to delegate miraculous should the time come. Some will go on for other, smaller roles, but still essential in protecting this reality we live in. And then there are those like you two, who were fated to become holders. I can only imagine this means that you have immense power flowing inside of you, leading to your fate."

"Cool," Cat Noir said, looking at his hands and now half-expecting sparks to come out of them. Ladybug, meanwhile, had to start taking breaths to calm herself down.

"So... what you're saying is... I'm a freak," she finally said. "Why am I just learning about this? And why haven't I shown any powers yet?"

"Ladybug, you were never a freak," Fu reassured. "Technically you weren't supposed to manifest until you were an adult, since holders are usually given their jewels by then. To be chosen at sixteen is unique, even for the magical community. And two in the same city? It only supports my theory that there is a high concentration of magical beings here, which explains why we have two heroes and a villain in the same location. As for your powers though... don't bank on them showing up anytime soon. I'd reckon you wouldn't fully manifest until you're eighteen."

"Aww," Cat Noir pouted.

"In the meantime, you must work on getting stronger in the abilities the miraculous grant you," Fu continued, now staring both of them down. "You cannot rely on akuma attacks alone to get stronger, which is where I come in. As the only guardian in Paris, it is my responsibility to make sure that you two are ready for all aspects of this job. Especially in this day and age, when it's not all about fighting villains."

"I thought that was the entire gig, though?" Ladybug furrowed her brow.

"Unfortunately, you also have to work on tracking down who this villain is," he corrected. "It seems he's trying to use his own miraculous to take control of reality itself, a complicated process that you can stop, but you have to figure out his identity before we can take that kind of action. So you will fight the akumas, save the victims, and find clues to who he is. You must also present yourself as a team; we won't be the only ones watching this unfold."

Both of them seemed to understand that instantly; the crowds of reporters from their instances with Stoneheart had all but confirmed that they were basically public figures now.

"Cat Noir does have the advantage here; he knows how to handle the press," Fu said. "Ladybug, unfortunately, you will likely need more assistance in that department."

Cat Noir simply snickered and Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"And should anyone ask for an interview, unless it could put you in jeopardy, you will not object," Fu continued.

This brought up the surprise of both of them. "What?"

"I mean it," he said. "In this age, your public image is half the battle. You will appear amiable to each other, and you will make sure the public is constantly reminded that you are there to protect them. It will be exhausting, and I can only imagine it being overwhelming at times. But you must power through. It's the only way. Plus it provides a bit of a distraction for the city; they can't be living in fear the entire time."

Ladybug swallowed. Somehow she'd willingly walked into one of the very things she hated walking into, commonly known as the spotlight. Cat Noir had been hoping to escape the spotlight this way and now was learning he was going right back into it.

"Can I trust that you two can handle it?" the guardian asked.

Both of them simply nodded, unsure how to speak the words raging in their hearts.

"I'll do my best," she added. "Considering this isn't my forte."

"Luckily I know the perfect person to help you," he said. "I've already sent correspondence his way and you should meet with him tonight."

"Fine," she said, slumping a little, admittedly kind of embarrassed that she even needed any of this. "Whatever."

"Okay, if I'm going to keep being Ladybug, we're not going with a basic suit like that," Marinette insisted. "There's gotta be a way to change it."

"Well, usually my holders are fine with theirs, but I'm pretty sure there is," Tikki shrugged. "Why do you want to change it?"

"I'm a freaking designer, Tikki," the girl insisted. "Or, at least an aspiring one. If I'm about to have to show up in front of Paris next to Mr. I Actually Thought About My Suit, might as well beat him at his own game."

Tikki couldn't help but giggle at the sassiness of her new holder.

Her time with Cat Noir would sure be interesting.

Said correspondence was sitting on Adrien's desk when he landed through the open window, transforming back into his civilian self.

"Oh, that's just hilarious," Plagg cackled. "Why would he pick a teen model who also happens to be her partner?"

"Probably because there aren't many local teenage celebrities?" Adrien shrugged, but could feel his heart beating faster at the idea of Ladybug actually coming in to ask for his help. Meaning he'd actually be spending time with her. Imagine!

The only hard thing? He couldn't let her in on his new secret.

He'd fallen irreversibly in love and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

He wasn't sure when it exactly happened. Maybe when she saved the day the first time. Maybe when she'd braved up and promised Paris that she'd be there for them no matter what. Who knew?

He heard that familiar sound of the yo-yo swinging through, and he turned to see Ladybug land through the window.

"I know, it seems weird, but I was told by... er... someone that you should've been... expecting this?" she asked.

Adrien had nearly forgotten he wasn't entirely supposed to know why she was here because he was too busy staring at her new suit. It wasn't entirely different from the other one; her hair had even stayed the same, but there was obvious changes like the inverted color scheme in certain spots and the turtleneck now being a swan neck.

"Long story," she said, having realized what he was staring at.

"Well... yeah, I got some note about it," he eventually said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Something about... helping you with handling reporters?"

"Yeah, unfortunately that's a whole realm I'm not familiar with," she admitted.

"What? Being in the spotlight?"

"...Extroversion."

He resisted the urge to laugh. "We may as well get started then."

"Are you sure this is the best thing to do?" Wayzz asked as he and Fu stared below the large window at Ladybug and Adrien.

"He was honestly the only real option here; I might as well pair her with someone her age," Fu reasoned. "Plus he should be smart enough not to reveal his identity in front of her."

"Unless Plagg conveniently forgot to tell him that little detail," Wayzz rolled his eyes a little. Fu ignored the kwami; he knew from the couple of clips on the news that Adrien had figured out quickly that he needed to keep each persona distinct from one another.

He reminded himself yet again that the ancient power was never wrong.

He just hoped these two were ready for the war they'd agreed to fight in, a war in which no one, not even a seer (at least, he assumed–he'd never really met any seers back at the temple and had been pretty secluded following the incident), could tell the outcome of. 

Chapter Text

 "Let it go! Let it gooo!"

Marinette was ready to stuff cotton balls into her ears until they were literally oozing out of her nose and mouth.

Sure, Manon looked the part of the precious little angel. Her behavior was an entirely different story. The only reason they were watching Frozen to begin with was the fact that it was the only thing that could keep the little girl from jumping around the house every ten seconds. Except now she claimed she was Elsa, and was currently proving to Marinette why they had casted Idina Menzel and not Manon Chamack.

And of course her other issue with the movie was that every time Elsa used her powers, it caused the thoughts racing in Marinette's head to scream at her yet again.

I have a second identity. Her name is Ladybug. She came to life ten days ago.

Ironically, that was the easier part of things to digest for her.

It was the stuff Fu had mentioned that night that kept haunting her.

Supposedly I'm part of a race of humans that have supernatural abilities. An ancient power that created the universe has fates in store for every member of this community, and it chose me to become a miraculous holder. But due to the fact that I'm not eighteen yet, I'm not considered 'of age' in order to manifest true abilities; this is apparently common amongst holders.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, still trying to find any sort of evidence proving the whole "I'm actually magical" untrue. After all, her parents were clearly normal humans, meaning it couldn't have been inherited...

Could it? Could they just have never manifested?

In the ten days since that conversation she'd never felt more confused about herself or the world around her. Because ten days ago, she became a superhero (a long story), basically declared war on a mind-controlling villain she'd yet to figure out the identity of (an even longer story), pretty much started a night school with Adrien on how to survive the paparazzi (Fu had insisted on speaking with her privately that night to explain that whole arrangement), and found out she wasn't even a normal human being without all that drama going down.

Oh, not to mention Cat Noir. The cheeky partner she was stuck with (and was still convinced was some type of player). She hadn't seen him since that night but she had a feeling that if another akuma showed up, he'd be returning. Just like she would.

What? They had a job to do now.

Manon's high-pitched screeching forced Marinette to return to the present.

"Haha, I have your phone!" she cackled.

"Hey, give that back!" Marinette jumped from the couch to chase the little brat around the room. "Manon, no!"

But Manon was too busy checking out the different apps. "Who's Adrien?"

"He's a friend!" Marinette grunted, having attempted to pounce to catch the girl but had ended up falling on her face instead. "Stop looking through my contacts!"

But Manon had already started scrolling through her pictures, squealing as she stopped on one. "You let Ladybug use your phone?"

Marinette sat up instantly. "What do you mean!?"

Manon showed her the picture, and Marinette groaned. Of course she'd forgotten to delete the photo of her in the new Ladybug suit she'd put together for herself. All she'd been doing was taking a picture of herself in the mirror as one of those "felt cute" selfies, telling herself to delete it before anyone else saw it.

Clearly that was out the window.

"Er... yeah, but it was like, one time," Marinette eventually stammered, hoping Manon wouldn't pick up on the major clue she was staring at to Ladybug's identity. "She'd come in to check on me after... Cat Noir told her that Stoneheart... kinda slammed me into a locker. I went to use the bathroom and I guess she snuck a picture into my phone."

Rule number one with pictures, apparently, she thought as Manon (thankfully) bought it. Keep your hero selfies on the yo-yo.

She eventually got the phone back, but she noticed Manon had also conveniently found the online voting for the finale of that one contest the KIDZ+ channel had going on to pick their next junior weather girl.

"Did you vote for Mireille?" she asked.

"Yeah, she's the best!" Manon gave her a toothy grin.

"But... why?"

Manon thought long and hard for a moment. "Well, Mama won't let me use her phone. Says I'm too little."

Truth be told Marinette never really cared for that stuff but if she'd actually voted she would've picked the other contestant, Aurore Boreal, a fellow student who was a year younger than her. She'd made a public declaration weeks ago about entering the contest online and from what Marinette had heard (just because she barely talked to these kids didn't mean she didn't listen in sometimes), most everyone at school was planning to support their classmate. Not that Mireille seemed horrible on the show's contest, it was just... Aurore definitely had more stage presence, in Marinette's honest opinion.

"Well, might as well see the results then," she shrugged, picking up the remote and switching from the Frozen DVD to cable.

Turned out voting was still live but both Aurore and Mireille were now just arriving at the television studio, meaning the results would be coming in soon. Thank goodness technology makes this faster, Marinette thought as she took in both finalists. She remembered Alya teasing that she was going to sign up for this, but never did; she'd rather run into the action like she'd done with Stoneheart than stand in front of a screen forecasting. It was actually why Marinette was considering having a talk with her as Ladybug to, at the very least, if she had to get footage for her Ladyblog, to just do it at a safe distance.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and when Marinette answered it, there she was. "Alya?"

"Girl, have I got a scoop for you!" Alya exclaimed. "Guess who's in the park right now for a photoshoot!"

Unfortunately for the aspiring journalist, Marinette already knew the answer. "Adrien told me this morning."

"Crap, I forgot you two text each other all the time now," Alya huffed, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. Marinette couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Any other news from your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," she insisted, but her phone buzzed with a notification at the perfect time.

Dying of boredom here. Any remedies for that?

She couldn't help but snicker. u sure u just wanna see this flawless face?

Ha, ha, very funny.

"Oof, someone's a formal texter," Alya joked.

"Hey!" Marinette flushed and held the phone away from her friend's view. "I mean, he pretty much is though."

And she totally didn't find it cute or anything...

"Who's that?"

Manon poked her head between Marinette's legs and she was (unfortunately) reminded of her current situation.

"Yeah, I've got babysitting so I can't make it," she said. "My mom and her mom are friends so it's a favor."

"Let me guess," Alya smirked a little. "Another couldn't say no situation?"

"What, no, it's just..." but the words died on her throat and Alya gave her a knowing smile. "Yes."

"Girl, you have to start developing a spine in there," Alya playfully poked Marinette's back, but she still winced a little; while doing much better than before, she was still healing from Stoneheart's attack. "Crap, I forgot about that. Sorry."

"It's okay," she reassured. "Sometimes I forget it still hurts in a couple places."

"How did your parents react to it?"

"Let's just say I'm glad they weren't serious about carrying me everywhere to keep me from crashing into things."

"What are you talking about?" Manon asked, reminding them yet again that she was still there. "And who is she?"

Alya simply smirked a little. "I am a magical unicorn from the planet of Rispa, disguised as a totally awesome human girl. But I only grant wishes to little monkeys who behave."

She knelt down and flicked a finger against Manon's nose, but she simply cocked her head to the side. "You're not a unicorn."

"Again, I'm in disguise," Alya said. "How about you and I go on an adventure together?"

The little girl thought it over for a moment. "Nah. I'd rather be with Marinette."

She began skipping across the room and picked up the remote. "How do I get back to Elsa?"

"I've got it," Marinette said, approaching Manon and switching back to the movie for her. "So, as you can see, I kind of have my hands full. But thanks for trying."

"Eh, that was just me warming up," Alya bragged. "My two little sisters are menaces, so any kid after them will be a cake walk for me. Come on, you can trust me."

"I know, but... she's my responsibility," Marinette said, cringing a little as Manon started singing off-key again, having clearly rewound to get back to "Let it Go."

"Gosh, she's a big fan of that movie, isn't she?" Alya giggled.

"It's the only thing that keeps her from setting the place on fire," Marinette rolled her eyes. "And even then it only works so much."

"Don't worry, I have to do the same thing with my little sisters," Alya reassured. "Except they keep flip-flopping between like five Disney movies and I never know which one will work on which day."

They turned back to Manon.

"At least she's consistent," Alya commented, then went over to the girl. "Hey, I have an idea. How about we all go to the park? We can go find little monkeys to grant wishes to."

Somehow Manon got excited at Alya's fake story this time around. "Really? Let's go!"

Marinette gave her friend a ghost of a smile. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Alya winked as they went out the door.

Aurore knew Mireille; they'd been growing up in the same classes since cours préparatoire. She knew that while Mireille was the daughter of two famous meteorologists, she'd been more interested in art history. She knew that the girl rarely fidgeted like she was now. And she knew Mireille had actually been the one to convince Aurore to sign up for this contest to begin with. Aurore's passion was here, right here, in the science of weather. To get an early start by being the new weather girl would only open up a world of opportunity for her.

So yes, it was surprising that they were both the final two contestants, and Mireille was nothing but a fraying ball of nerves, covering it up with shy smiles as they approached the studio where the results would be revealed. Aurore, on the other hand, had been freaking practicing; a lifetime of watching the public appearances of Adrien Agreste told her that the best way to engage the audience was to put on a show. She even dressed up in her favorite sky-blue dress with cloud embroidery, carrying a matching parasol to further showcase that she was ready for this.

Mireille, on the other hand, appeared to be trying to drag as much attention away from her as possible, opting for a cozy sweater and leggings. She was barely noticing the crowds, whereas Aurore was blowing kisses and waving.

The difference was like a sunny sky vs. a stormy day: Aurore wanted this with every fiber of her being and Mireille never did.

Only proves that her parents must've rigged things so far, she thought, which didn't settle the pressure on her chest about the final voting. Still, all she could do was keep smiling and waving, beaming inside every time she heard a Parisian cheering her name. Yes, there was still a healthy amount of those who genuinely supported Mireille (or had likely been persuaded by her parents), but the girl hardly noticed.

"It needs to be you," she whispered as they rode the elevator up to the room where the show was being filmed. "I know my parents are the reason I'm this far."

Oh, they both at least suspected that to be the case. Mireille had been mediocre at best, and nights spent hanging out together had taught Aurore that she'd been intentionally acting this way.

"Yes but... I'm worried," Aurore sighed. "If your parents got you this far, who's to say they won't stop?"

"Aurore, have you seen the amount of supporters you have?" Mireille argued. "They can't screw with the finals."

Well, they were about to find out, because they finally entered the room and stood in front of the camera with the show's host, Alec.

"And here they are!" he announced as they reached their pre-assigned spots on the floor. "The votes are now in, the results being calculated. Who will become our next KIDZ+ weather girl?"

Aurore was slightly surprised they'd already had the winner ready to go but turned out technology worked faster than she realized, apparently. Could they have been finalizing things as they were arriving? To increase the efficiency so they automatically knew?

Mireille kept fidgeting, which made Aurore that much more concerned for her.

"And let's reveal those scores!" Alec said, and on a screen opposite them, the two girls could see two graphics of umbrellas, each raising to show which percent of the vote they got.

And in that moment, they both wore the same shocked expression, and while they were certain the audience thought it as reactions of the winner and loser, they were both convinced it was them both being mortified and appalled.

Mireille had somehow gotten 82% of the votes.

"What the..." Aurore gasped, breathless. "How did she..."

"Congratulations!" Alec cheered, holding the stunned girl close. "We should've known given who you came from!"

Aurore saw the look in Mireille's eyes, and knew exactly what had happened.

And it replaced the shock in her heart with rage.

So much rage.

Angry tears burned the backs of her eyes, her knuckles nearly turned white from gripping the parasol so hard, but she didn't say anything, forced herself to swallow any hint of anything that would publicly brand her as nothing more than a sore loser.

"What's wrong?" Alec joked. "You only lost by half a million votes."

She wanted to slap him silly. They didn't even have half a million people in Paris that was in the age demographic that even voted for this position. It only made the truth clearer as can be.

Mireille's parents did this. They were so obsessed with keeping up a stupid legacy that they would do anything, including sending in fake ballots, just to make sure their daughter kept the tradition alive.

Well, Aurore wouldn't have it. She began stalking out of the studio, leaving behind a confused Alec and distressed Mireille.

"You have to understand!" she pleaded, but Aurore wasn't listening, the fury in her blood only boiling that much more.

As she began slamming the button to take the elevator to the bottom level, she finally let the tears begin to fall. She'd lost it. Worse, she'd been robbed. This was supposed to be her moment! And thanks to Mireille's parents, it was ruined. Gone.

Stolen.

The anger in her screamed, begging to be released. All it wanted to do was to unleash its fury on Paris, proving to the world who the true winner was here.

And clearly someone else could feel that anger.

Because the lights went out, the elevator stopped, and she saw the stained butterfly squeeze through the doors.

No. No!

Those who had been in Ivan Bruel's literature class remembered this kind of butterfly from the time he'd been transformed into something sinister. It was one of those akuma thingies, the butterfly that could change you based on the man in the butterfly face and his mind-controlling ability (and as far as she knew, ten days had passed since this and Paris' new heroes Ladybug and Cat Noir still had no clue who he was). Panic bubbled in her chest as she began swatting her parasol, hoping that the butterfly would become discouraged.

Instead it melted into the tip of the object, and before Aurore knew what was going on, whispers filled her head as an inky darkness flowed through the tip and into her arms, already beginning to amplify the rage in her body.

Stormy Weather, the voice said, and Aurore only felt the anger get worse, anger she wasn't even sure was natural anymore. I'm sure you're feeling nothing but hatred for what went down. I know you were set up to fail, and I can help you unleash your rage. You will be the only weather girl in Paris and everyone will love you! All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculous.

The darkness inside was quick to win over.

If she couldn't have what she wanted, then Paris would just have to feel her wrath.

Marinette had a feeling that Adrien's photographer was actually trying to be a living Italian stereotype. How did she reach this conclusion? Probably because everything he was trying to do to keep Adrien fully engaged involved spaghetti metaphors, such as his mom making spaghetti.

"If he mentions food one more time I'm actually going to grab something," Alya said. "He's making me hungry."

Marinette chuckled a little. "Same here."

Adrien finally noticed the newcomers, his face breaking into a smile as he gave a wave.

"Look at that; you got him to stop slouching," Alya giggled as Adrien resumed the shoot, but Marinette could see her friend was starting to get kind of antsy.

"What's got you worked up?" she asked, but she seemed to figure it out instantly. "Alya, I doubt they'll randomly show up without reason."

"I know, and I know it's bad to wish someone else fell victim to an akuma but... they've only been here twice and the city is still buzzing about them," Alya said. "We all just wanna get to know them more."

"Considering they can't reveal their identities I doubt they'd be interested in letting the world know about them," Marinette shrugged.

"Who's they?" Manon asked, reminding the girls that she was still here too.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir," Alya said. "I think they're really cool."

The girl thought it over for a moment. "Nah. Elsa's cooler."

"Maybe literally," Marinette mumbled under her breath as Manon's 2-second attention span found something else to focus on.

"I want a balloon!" Manon squealed, pointing eagerly at a man handing out red balloons with Mireille's face on them.

Marinette and Alya kept staring at them quizzically.

"Didn't that weathergirl contest just end?" Alya furrowed her brow.

"I'm pretty sure, yeah," Marinette said. "Maybe they've got merch of Aurore somewhere else?"

"Either that or something fishy is going on," Alya agreed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I mean we know she's the kid of meteorologists or something like that."

Manon still kept tugging on Marinette's arm. "I want the Mireille balloon!"

And like expected, little girl squealing caused everyone around them, including the shoot, to pause to stare at her.

Embarrassment began crawling up Marinette's spine. Everyone's eyes on her. What she never wanted (and only made being Ladybug that much more ironic). "Sorry... er... carry on!"

She began tugging on Manon's wrist. "Come on, you little gremlin."

"Hey, you said I was an angel earlier!" Manon protested as they went up to the balloon stand.

"Well, people change," Marinette shrugged as she heard the sounds of everyone resuming to normal.

"Your sister must really like balloons," the man chuckled as he handed it to her.

"Not my sister, but yes, she's a big fan of Mireille," she smiled, giving the balloon to the little girl, who eagerly began running to show Alya. "Just out of curiosity, where do they got the Aurore stuff?"

"What Aurore stuff?"

Marinette furrowed her brow. "You know. The other girl in the contest? Who just lost the finals like fifteen minutes ago?"

The man seemed even more confused. "They only said to make Mireille merch. I don't remember the manufacturers having to do anything for Aurore."

Marinette knew arguing with a salesman who clearly had just been following orders wouldn't get her anywhere, so she simply used the smile she'd been practicing with Adrien for the past couple nights. "Oh, I see. I was just wondering. Thanks for the balloon again."

"Anytime," the man replied, grinning back as she returned to her friend.

"You seemed to be a chatterbox over there," Alya giggled, facing Manon, who was busy playing peek-a-boo with a pigeon by hiding behind a tree.

"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure that stupid contest was rigged," Marinette crossed her arms. "The dude admitted that they were only making Mireille merch. There's nothing for Aurore."

"No," Alya gasped. "Sabotage?"

"Either that or fake votes," Marinette guessed.

"Marinette, come play!" Manon cheered. "And other girl too!"

Marinette cracked up a little. "You heard her, other girl."

"Ha ha, very funny," Alya rolled her eyes but smiled as they went over to the tiny child.

The doors opened, and the crowd was half expecting Mireille to come out, the champion and new weather girl.

Instead they were met with a seething young woman in a deep purple dress. Her hair was now streaked with purple and white, and hatred poured out of her icy eyes.

"Behold, your newest weathergirl! The only weathergirl in Paris!" she boomed, holding out a parasol that seemed to crust over with frost. "Stormy Weather!"

She sent a blast, and a Mireille fan found themselves hardening into ice.

Confusion turned to screams as they realized it was another villain.

Stormy Weather stood there for a moment, relishing in their fear. They'd seen her for a minute but it was enough; they knew something had happened and she was out for revenge.

Only this was just the beginning. By the time she was finished, all of Paris would turn into a frozen wasteland, a hollow shell of what it once was, simply to satisfy the hot fury in her bones.

"Hmm..." the photographer said, spending more time staring at Adrien now rather than taking pictures. "We need a new angle."

I need a break, Adrien thought, but knew that right now probably wasn't the best time to pout about his father and his amazing scheduling. He knew most kids spent a weekend hanging out with friends; heck, even Chloe had been posting about how she'd gone to her vacation home in Normandy for the two days. And here he was, sitting in front of a fountain trying not to act miserable.

Except the photographer got another idea. "We need a girl!"

He began scanning the handful of park visitors, seeing if there was anyone that would fit the vision he had. His eyes stopped on a dark-haired one, in a black shirt and frayed shorts, her hair pulled into two braids.

"You!" he exclaimed.

Adrien's face broke into a small smile as he realized who "You" was.

Marinette blinked a couple of times. "Me?"

"Yes!" the photographer beamed, taking her by the wrist and leading her over to Adrien. "It works! You two look perfect together!"

Luckily Alya had seen what was going on and cleverly began distracting Manon with the carousel, but Marinette was still confused. "Are you sure you want me?"

"You'll do fine," Adrien reassured. "Trust me."

She still seemed a little unsure; she still had zero experience for crying out loud. Heck, she preferred the other side of this, the one behind the scenes in which she'd be next to a sketchbook and sewing machine.

But seeing the way he had seemed to come alive the moment she'd been put into this equation... she couldn't help but want to do it, at least as a favor for a friend.

"Fine, but you better not make me do something stupid," she said.

He smirked a little. "Don't worry, I think you can do that by yourself."

"Hey!" she playfully slapped him.

"Oh, do you two know each other?" the photographer asked curiously.

"Yes, Marinette and I are friends at school," Adrien explained.

The photographer seemed to remember her differently. "Oh, so is she the one you're always texting?"

Marinette laughed as Adrien flushed.

"Guilty," she said.

Unfortunately, the easy air was soon chilly. Literally.

"This is what you get, Paris!"

Instantly, a rush of cold wind picked up, and everyone was affected by it.

"Bad day to wear shorts, I see," Adrien chuckled a little as Marinette rubbed her arms.

"In my defense, I wasn't—what is that?!" she pointed up at the dark clouds forming above them.

"Run!" someone screamed, and everyone began to scramble as Stormy Weather stalked into the area.

"You made a grave mistake," she sneered. "And now you'll have to face my wrath!"

With her parasol, she sent an icy blast, which Marinette only missed by Adrien pulling her to the ground, only to hit the carousel, trapping Alya and Manon inside a dome of thick ice.

"No!" she cried.

Another blast, this time aimed at the fountain. The water instantly froze, crackling ice rising up like a claw ready to snag its victims. This only caused more screaming.

Stormy Weather simply cackled. "Time to freeze, you worthless city!"

A flash of light caused her to disappear, but snow began to fall from the dark clouds. Quickly.

"Snow?" someone marveled.

"No..." someone else gasped.

"Yes, snow!" the first person exclaimed.

Adrien stood up. "I'm going to get help. You need to get somewhere warm."

Marinette, too focused on trying to find a spot to transform, could only nod as he ran away from the scene. She herself began fleeing, tucking herself into an alleyway.

"What's her deal?" Tikki asked.

"I don't know, but I do know we can't let her turn Paris into a giant popsicle," Marinette replied. "Tikki, spots on!"

"Alya, I think Elsa came!" Manon cheered.

There was that silver lining, at least. Manon wasn't entirely terrified, giving Alya more time to wait and see if Ladybug and Cat Noir would show up. They had to right now. Right?

Luckily, she got her wish as a familiar spotted heroine landed in the area. Granted, through the ice, she was more of a foggy blur, but still noticeable.

"Ladybug!" she cried out.

Ladybug turned, cursing under her breath for nearly forgetting about the carousel's prisoners. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Alya said. "Mostly just... cold."

Manon picked up a handful of snowflakes. "Elsa came! Elsa came!"

She pressed her face against the ice, gasping a little. "Ladybug, Elsa came!"

Of course she saw this as simply the movie in real life. Ladybug took a breath and decided to use that as a way to keep Manon calm while explaining the situation. "I know, it seems like Elsa is here. But it's actually a meanie trying to be Elsa."

Manon gasped. "Meanie!"

"Exactly," Ladybug said. "So I'm gonna go and make sure that she doesn't freeze Paris, okay?"

"Yay!" the little girl clapped and cheered, then paused, cocking her head to the side a little. "You know, your hair makes you look like Anna."

Right. The braids had stayed through the transformation, the red ribbon now tying them off at the ends.

"Yes, and just like Anna saved her kingdom, I'm gonna save Paris," Ladybug said, figuring keeping the metaphor up wouldn't hurt as she stood to face Alya. "Keep her distracted, okay?"

"On it," Alya said, once again eager to be helping out a superhero.

Ladybug turned around running towards where the clouds seemed darker, knowing the worst of the storm—and Stormy Weather—just had to be.

Meanwhile, as Stormy Weather kept turning helpless civilians to ice and causing entire buildings to frost over, snow falling even harder, she noticed an annoyingly familiar figure in her way.

"Hey, Ice Queen!" Cat Noir taunted, sitting innocently on a lamppost. "What's with all the terrorizing? Why don't you pick on someone your own temperature?"

"My name is not Ice Queen!" she seethed. "It's Stormy Weather! And I'll turn you into a popsicle if you—"

"Listen, I'm feline more generous than usual today," he continued, now twirling his tail around his hand. "So cool down and we'll call it quits, 'kay?"

Bad timing. Stormy Weather simply threw a blast in his direction and he found himself flying across the street in a frozen flurry.

"I thought cats always landed on their feet," Ladybug snickered a little as she helped him stand up.

"Please tell me that it looked worse than it was," he groaned, clutching his side.

"Aside from you slamming into four cars on the way, you at least didn't break any skin," she said, "Probably just more bruised than bloody."

"Then I can gladly tell you that I like the braids now," he gave a weak grin and she flushed a little as a pair of feet landed in front of them.

"Aww, our two little heroes," Stormy Weather taunted. "Just give me the jewels now, or Paris turns into a frozen wasteland!"

The clouds above them darkened menacingly, releasing even more snow.

"You have to fight it!" Cat Noir cried out. "Someone's controlling you! And trust me, he's not on your side!"

Stormy Weather flared her nostrils. "All I'm doing is earning my due justice. And that means knocking out anyone standing in my way."

She began stalking closer. "You don't get it. Everything was stolen from me. Everything I worked for, ripped away like I was nothing! You're staring at a creature deserving to unleash her rage. And unfortunately, Paris simply has to suffer because of it. New forecast: early winter!"

She sent out an icy blast that they both barely dodged, thanks to Ladybug shoving them out of the way. They ended up rolling across the cobblestone, the impact slowing their time it took to stand back up again.

Stormy Weather looked unfazed. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear!"

She shot out more blasts of ice, causing jagged spires to rise from the ground, encircling the three of them and providing no clear way out.

Ladybug panicked, aggressively spinning her yo-yo to protect her and Cat Noir as the attacks grew more frequent, trapping them in a perfect circle of ice.

Stormy Weather had the audacity to laugh. "Let's see if meteorologists can predict this."

It dawned on her. "Aurore?!"

"Who?" Cat Noir furrowed his brow.

"She... she lost the weathergirl contest," Ladybug quickly explained. "And clearly the butterfly man took advantage of her."

She then noticed it in Stormy Weather's eyes.

The tiniest slip in her facade.

Meaning she clearly never wanted this to happen.

But the second the purple outline formed around her face, her eyes hardened again.

"Blah, blah, blah, yes, there was a sob story," the akuma rolled her eyes. "It was my tragedy, really. And now, for yours."

Ladybug saw the parasol begin to charge up for another blast, this time clearly to turn Cat Noir to ice.

"No!"

A blinding white flash made it near impossible to see exactly what had happened.

But the next thing they all knew, Stormy Weather was staring in slight shock, Cat Noir was standing there completely fine, and Ladybug was on her hand and knees, her other hand clutching her chest like she'd been stabbed.

"What did you do to her?" Cat Noir lashed at Stormy Weather. "Undo it! Now!"

Ladybug forced herself to take deep breaths as she looked up. "Aurore, you don't have to do this. I know you're upset, and you have every right to be. But you can't let him win."

Stormy Weather kept staring, gripping the parasol so hard her knuckles were likely turning white underneath the gloves.

"There's another way," Ladybug said, hoping her words were getting to this akuma.

"Then what is it?" Stormy Weather whispered.

Silence fell between them, and not even Cat Noir found the courage to keep the conversation up.

"Then there really isn't another way," she whispered, but her tone got louder and harder. "There isn't another way; you're just lying to convince me to stop!"

"Look, I may not know what it exactly is, but I do know that you have a choice!" Ladybug cried. "You don't have to rely on him! He's only going to hurt you! Aurore, you have a choice!"

"I don't have anything!" Stormy Weather lashed. "Everything was taken from me, and he's the only way I can get it back for myself! It's his way or I'm... I'm nothing!"

For some reason she probably thought the situation would only grow worse the longer she was there, because another blinding flash of light caused her to disappear.

"Are you okay?" Cat Noir dove to Ladybug's side, heavily eyeing where she'd been clutching herself in pain.

"I... I think so," she said, her breath rattled as she watched snowflakes tangle themselves into his blond hair, land delicately on his lashes. "What about you?"

But he wasn't paying attention anymore; he was now staring at her hair. "What in the..."

"What?" she looked down at her braid and gasped in shock as she watched about half of it leach off its color, until it was nothing more than a thick streak of white.

And of course the first thing she thought of was Manon, who had just gleefully been comparing her to Anna because of the braids and...

"Oh no..." she gasped, realizing it.

"'Oh no' what?" he asked, still staring at the transformed hair.

She tossed it over her shoulder. "You know Frozen, right?"

"Yeah."

"And... you know what happened to one of the main characters... right?"

"Yeah..." he began to talk nonchalantly when his eyes widened. "No."

"Yes," she groaned, already seemingly more hyper aware of the fact that it felt like it was only getting colder. Was it the storm, or the fact that she was now literally freezing from the inside out?

"Okay, it'll be fine, we just have a bit more of a time crunch here," Cat Noir said, now beginning to feverishly pace their icy cage. "We just have to defeat Stormy Weather, you do your thing with the akuma and all that magical restoring stuff, and then you'll be fine."

He saw another piece of hair fade to white. "And we better do it fast."

She rubbed her arms to keep warm. "And how do you figure we even get out of here?"

The walls were too high, the ice too thick to easily break through.

"Uhh... this way?" Cat Noir asked, and Ladybug jumped a little at the sight of the smoky black orb in his hand, an orb that she knew was capable of causing damage. Grasping it in his fist, he flung it towards the ice wall as if throwing a ball, causing it to explode upon contact.

They stood there for a moment, in positions proving that they'd been dodging ice shards.

"You need to work on controlling that," she commented as they carefully stepped across the spikes.

"In my defense, that's really only like the third time I've used that power," he argued as they began to go into where the storm was worse; thick piles of snow blanketed the ground and everyone had clearly migrated inside to stay warm.

Ladybug found herself shivering a little.

"Are you cold?" he asked, then realized what he said. "Wait–dumb question, I know."

She couldn't help but snicker a little. "It's fine. I'm fine."

He could only watch her warily as another piece turned white.

"Where do you think she went?" she asked, pulling him from his worries for the moment.

He was instead focusing on how she was rubbing her hands together to try and generate friction. "As long as she's indoors. We need to get you somewhere warm."

As if on cue, they passed an electronics store where they could see Stormy Weather had changed every channel in Paris to her own broadcast.

"Listen up, you stupid city," she cackled. "It's your only weathergirl, Stormy Weather! And unfortunately, we have a new front moving in. Prepare for eternal winter!"

"The studio!" Ladybug realized, still hugging her arms across her chest like one does when they're freezing cold. "She's in there!"

"Then let's go!" Cat Noir said, pulling Ladybug along when she started slowing from premature exhaustion–no doubt another side effect of what was happening to her.

Ladybug's words were currently at war with his voice in Stormy Weather's head, and she'd give anything to make it stop.

"He's only going to hurt you."

Without me, you'll never get anything you want...

"There's another way."

All other ways only lead to darkness and pain. All other ways will have others hurting you.

Unfortunately (probably due to the dark power running through her blood), his voice began to win out.

It was true. Those around her would only betray her in the end. Mireille was proof of that. She had promised that her parents wouldn't mess with the final results and now here they were. She'd ensured the girl wouldn't bother her anymore; freezing the elevator she'd been in had completed that task as easily as blasting Ladybug.

Although she wasn't entirely sure what was supposed to happen to the heroine. He'd reassured that due to the magic in her blood it would take longer for the effects to show up, which of course only confused her more. Magic existed? And why?

Okay, no, that was a stupid thought. Of course magic had to exist; it was the only explanation for why she was Stormy Weather to begin with.

But someone having it in their blood? Unthinkable.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. He'd make sure she'd never be hurt again because she was unleashing that anger on everyone else.

Simple revenge...

Right?

Ladybug and Cat Noir burst into the studio to find... a recorded message.

"Crap dang it!" he groaned, smacking the screen the recording was on.

Ladybug only curled even further inwards, trying to preserve what little body heat she had left. From what she could see (and from Cat Noir's growing panic), her hair was covered in the white streaks, and it was as if she could actually feel the cold overtaking everything inside of her. Walking was getting harder, her vision was starting to blur, and she was already beginning to see her breath form little clouds even in this warm room.

He paused his pacing to check on her. "It's getting worse."

All he did was keep pacing, muttering to himself. "What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?"

She noticed he was only getting more tense. "Cat Noir, don't worry about me. We have to focus on stopping the akuma."

"But you're literally freezing!"

His panicking was honestly starting to stress her out, and she already had enough issues as the one actually freezing. "Cat Noir, calm down–"

"How can I when you're abandoning me!?"

She didn't have time to immediately process his words as they watched small green bolts emit from anything that used electricity, right as the power cut off, plunging them into darkness. The only thing she could see now was the eerie glow from his eyes.

"What just happened?" he asked, gulping down breaths.

"I... don't know," she said, feeling even colder without the light and heat. "But I think you can still see in the dark."

She at least hoped that was right. Because she couldn't see her hand in front of her face anymore.

"Yeah, I think I have night vision!" Cat Noir grinned, nothing like the scared boy he'd been just a moment ago. "Oh... do you?"

"Not exactly," Ladybug didn't dare take a single step, afraid something would randomly show up and she'd trip and fall flat on her face.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, but instantly recoiled. "It's so cold!"

Somehow she also looked worse in the dark. Her skin had paled, nearly blueish in some places to make him even more worried. Her hair was more white than dark blue now, meaning that whatever transformation was going on was likely nearly complete.

"Let's get you out of here," he said, shaking his head and grabbing her again to lead her into the light. But it looked like whatever had happened had taken out the entire building.

"Slow... down..." she mumbled, her voice weaker now as he watched her stumble, nearly falling.

"Watch out!" he caught her in the nick of time, helping her stand upright. "Ladybug, you need to rest."

"I can't," she insisted. "As far as we know, I'm the only one who can get rid of the akuma's powers."

"Ladybug, you're pretty much turning to ice," he argued, feeling panic begin to overtake him again. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like he'd experienced this recently and it had simply found a new channel to unleash itself. "I wouldn't live with myself if... if you..."

She swallowed. "Why do you think I'd abandon you?"

He looked up at her. She may have been blind in the dark, but given her concerned expression, it was clear that she'd sensed the shift in his demeanor.

"It doesn't matter," he said bluntly. "I'm used to it."

He ignored the look of growing horror on her face as they kept going. "We may have to actually go outside. Sorry about that."

Pushing open the door, natural light finally came around and Ladybug blinked, too used to being in the dark.

Up on the roof, in the middle of a forming blizzard, was Stormy Weather.

"I figured you'd be here," she sneered. "Although it looks like it's about to be one-on-one."

Cat Noir froze and turned to Ladybug, who was hunched over her chest, gripping it as tight as she could. Frost had begun to overtake the sides of her face, her hair was deathly white now.

"Aurore... please..." she whimpered, her voice just barely loud enough for any of them to hear at this point.

Stormy Weather didn't budge. "Well, alley cat. Looks like we're about to see if your girl can even survive in the time it takes me to end you."

She sent out an icy blast that the heroes only avoided by Cat Noir tackling Ladybug out of the way. "Your power would be helpful right about now."

"Right..." Ladybug muttered, her voice hoarse as she grabbed her yo-yo with shaking fingers. "Lucky..."

But the word died on her lips.

Stormy Weather took advantage of the distraction, stalking up to the duo.

Ladybug noticed her first. "No... no!"

Cat Noir braced himself, missing her using what little strength she had left to stand up.

Another flash of light blinded all three of them, so they could see, it was too late.

"No!" Cat Noir gasped, doing his best to blink back tears but it was useless; Ladybug simply stood there, covered head to toe in ice. No, she was ice now, eternally carved into herself standing between him and (a now shocked) Stormy Weather, one arm reaching out as if trying to further soften the blow.

The desperation in her eyes was easy to spot.

"What have you done to her?" he demanded, anger replacing his horror. "Undo it! Undo it now!"

A silver baton and purple umbrella clashed as they began to duel.

"Can't wait to see you fall now that your precious lady is down!" Stormy Weather appeared to revert back to her horrid self, having the audacity to cackle.

Something snapped in Cat Noir. It was as if red was eating away at his senses, blocking out any and every sort of logic and reason in his mind.

"Oh, that's what you think?" he said, voice eerily hollow, but it grew sharper–and louder. "How about a taste of your own medicine!"

He maneuvered the baton to force their little duel into a gridlock, twisting Stormy Weather's arm until it forced the umbrella out of her hand. He took it and tore it in two with his bare hands, powered by nothing but pure rage.

A small purple butterfly flew out, which only made Cat Noir angrier.

Ladybug can't even save the day anymore. All he could do was let it land in his fist, closing it just enough that it couldn't escape, but not so tight that it would be crushed.

Stormy Weather stepped back a little, blinking as if waking up from a nightmare.

Tears pearled her eyes. "Fine. Do whatever you want. It won't change anything."

Cat Noir simply began stalking up, summoning the smoky black orb, ready to inflict the full force of his power on her...

when he paused, turning back to see the frozen Ladybug.

It won't change anything.

He drew a breath, eyes beginning to well. What really would be the point? Sure, he'd get revenge but... it wouldn't change anything. She'd still be frozen. There'd be no chance of Paris coming back from this as fast as it had from Stoneheart's time. And all he would've done is... is...

He couldn't even think about it.

Besides... would he just be as bad as Stormy Weather, then?

And it's probably what that stupid butterfly guy wants, his mind groused.

"What, do you have to weigh your options or something?" Stormy Weather sneered.

Cat Noir looked up at her. "Neither of us would get what we want through a catfight. That's just what he wants."

"You don't know what he wants."

"Oh, I know I don't. But I do know that if we play into his hands, it won't end well for either of us."

Silence fell between them.

"Please," he held out his hand. "We can end this now, before the anger destroys us both."

For a moment, nothing happened.

She looked at him skeptically. "You know he's going to use this against us."

"Hey, one more enemy for him means one more ally for us," he shrugged.

"And what exactly are you fighting for?"

Cat Noir swallowed. "I... I'm not exactly sure. But trust me when I say that Ladybug and I don't want to hurt anyone."

Stormy Weather still stood there a moment, contemplating her decision.

Then finally...

"How do you get me back to normal?" she asked.

They looked down at the fist enclosing the akuma.

"Well, I do know that based on how Ivan reacted to turning back, you won't remember any of this," he warned. "You'll have to rely on news clips to understand what happened, and even then, they might skew it so you're a villain, not a victim."

"I'd rather forget everything I've done than spend another moment berating myself," she insisted.

"But... that's the other thing," he said. "We... kinda need Ladybug to purify it. And fix the damage."

They turned to the frozen Ladybug, who obviously couldn't move still since she was a piece of ice.

Stormy Weather wrinkled her nose. "Don't you have the power of destruction or something? Why can't you just destroy the power in the butterfly?"

Cat Noir whirled to her. "What?"

"I mean, it's something," she rolled her eyes a little. "Wouldn't hurt to try."

He drew in a breath. Was it possible? Could he also get rid of the dark powers inside the butterfly? He looked down at his closed hand, closing his eyes and trying to imagine some type of power within him managing to reduce the magic to dust or something, leaving nothing for the butterfly man to use in favor of finding more victims to corrupt.

Nothing.

Something.

A spark, streaking from his palm and into the butterfly. Furrowing in concentration, it was as if he could feel something come from inside him, swarming around the akuma until his power overpowered the butterfly man's, and when he opened his eyes, an exhausted looking but white butterfly fluttered into the air. Dark purple magic surrounded Stormy Weather until she fell to her knees. Aurore looked up, looking utterly confused.

Cat Noir looked down at his hands, already thinking ahead. If he'd managed to purify the akuma, would there be a way to restore damage? Obviously, destruction against destruction likely wouldn't accomplish anything but... Stormy Weather had created a lot of things, from ice to storms to frozen statues.

And destruction technically undoes creation, right? the voice in his head pointed out. I mean, the logic has to be logicking there.

He wasn't sure if that was even a word but he was also sixteen; it made sense for him.

"Okay, I guess we're going for it," he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and trying to summon whatever power he needed in order to pull off the feat he wanted to do.

Think! How did Ladybug figure out a way to restore Paris last time?

He wasn't entirely sure. From his vantage point, he remembered her like... concentrating or something, and then her parachute turned into magic and fixed everything. He couldn't exactly get in her head, otherwise he could've found a way to figure out what she'd really been up to.

He snuck another glance at Ladybug, his resolve hardening.

We need a way to stop this, he thought. Too many people got hurt and we need to help them.

Hopefully something inside of him would magically click. Maybe if he kept pleading. Would that work? Was he just now in his wishful thinking phase?

Thankfully, something did happen, and he watched as swirls of darkness began to stream out of his palm.

"What are you doing?" Aurore asked, reminding Cat Noir that the poor girl likely didn't remember what had just happened. But he was still focusing, watching as the darkness whirled around ice and snow, causing it to vanish as if having never existed.

It even reached the Ladybug ice statue, and he caught glimpses of the frost melting away to reveal her underneath.

Oh my gosh it worked, he thought, relief flooding his chest.

Ladybug's first action was to try and complete what she'd been doing just as she'd froze, which led to her reaching far out and nearly falling on her face. She looked down, checking every inch of her, even staring at her braids, which had gone back to their natural color.

Cat Noir blinked back tears. "Oh my gosh..."

"But... how did it..." Ladybug was still bewildered.

He gave a sheepish grin. "I guess I can kinda sorta do the stuff you do."

She ended up giving a smile in return. "Well, at least we know if one of us goes down, the other's got it covered."

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he finally said, his voice cracking. "I thought I was going to be alone again."

Ladybug pursed her lips together. "Yeah... is it okay if I ask why that's an issue of yours?"

Cat Noir swallowed. "I thought we were supposed to keep our lives a secret from one another."

Ladybug gave him a look. "Touche."

Marinette paused on the way back to the park.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked, perching herself on the girl's shoulder.

"It just occurred to me that Cat Noir and I didn't detransform. At all," Marinette recalled. "There wasn't even any beeping. What gives?"

"Oh, you mean the test run security feature," Tikki shrugged before searching Marinette's bag for sweets.

Marinette waited a beat to process. "What now?"

Tikki popped her head back out of the bag. "Yeah, every new holder gets a 5-minute timer on their first run. It's to see if they can handle thinking on their feet. Plus it allows Master Fu to know who can handle their given powers beyond their blood abilities."

Marinette pursed her lips together. "I'll never understand this whole magic business."

"You'll figure it out," the kwami reassured. "It'll just take time and practice."

"Did anyone manage to see what happened?" Alya asked.

"Unfortunately, I think most of that battle happened away from cameras," Marinette said, they and Adrien now sitting at the fountain recounting what they knew about Stormy Weather (with Marinette and Adrien partially playing dumb to hide their identities) while everyone else was hastily trying to get the photoshoot back in order.

"Oh, poo," Alya pouted. "This is what I get for babysitting."

They were interrupted by Manon excitedly calling Alya over to play a new game.

"Well, you also got a new friend," Adrien pointed out. "So I guess there's a plus side?"

"It's Manon; I doubt that there's much of a plus side," Marinette pointed out.

"Alright, we have a lot of work to do and we lost quite a bit of daylight to do it in!" the photographer called out. "You two, with me!"

Adrien gave Marinette a slightly dorky grin. "You sure you can handle the cameras, my introverted friend?"

Marinette couldn't help but laugh. If only you knew you'd started helping me. "I think I can hold out, my model friend."

"Oh my gosh, you two are so cute," Alya gushed, and Marinette and Adrien couldn't help but laugh a little as they followed the photographer.