#g: miraculous holders

[snitchesnsneeds]

First Half of Miraculous Season 2 Done. Here's my thoughts:

The Collector: A pretty good start! They made the teens smart while still being dumb teens!

Despair Bear: Chloe needs a therapist, arguably moreso than a redemption arc and especially a downward villainous spiral. Also Dangit Grandpa

Prime Queen: Wow, this was a lot more chill than expected. Even Cat Noir was left aghast at what Nadja was doing, Nadja seemed to be pressuring Ladybug and Cat Noir more for views than anything else, and I'm not entirely sure Akuma personalities can be trusted.

Befana: Fun fact: This was the episode that got me into Miraculous in the first place because of how shocking it was. And then I discovered even more. In hindsight from watching the other episodes, it was relatively darker, but mostly because it's Marinette's friends and family that are getting G-rated killed instead of random civilians like every other episode.

Riposte: Kagami is here! I don't see too much chemistry with her and Adrien yet, but she's cool and I like her and feel like I could be friends in real life. Also this feels like a relatively uncommon trope, but I wish "X is blatantly a woman but no one notices" was spedran through by someone with brains.

Robustus: Pretty good, all things considered. From what I've heard about Miraculous lore, creating sapient or at the very least semi-sapient AI isn't that uncommon for weirdness hotspots, and I'm putting Max in the list of characters I think should have figured out Ladybug and Cat Noir's identity. (There's four now!)

Gigantitan: It turns out my favorite parts of Miraculous are the slice-of-life bits instead of the superhero bits the show is about! We got to see more of Marinette's friends! Alix! Mylene! Julie! The Eeby Deeby herself! Also it was really sweet to see Adrien's bodyguard calm down just by looking at the kid. Adrien's true daddy.

Dark Owl: No wonder these two aren't allowed to know eachothers' identities, considering how much of a loose tongue Marinette has!

Glaciator: Alright, it's finally time to talk about the sins of Marinette and Cat Noir, considering the fan content I osmosed before watching the series was heavy salt stuff, and I wanna see how much it holds up. So far Cat Noir has acted as if he's already dating Ladybug previously, and in this episode he got mad at Ladybug for not showing up at a date when she herself said she might not come due to having other plans. Isn't he supposed to be used to not-showing-up disappointment as Adrien due to his dad? Is it different because he's Cat Noir? Is this a breaking point? No matter, he eventually calms down and is ultimately the less bad member of the relationship. Marinette, meanwhile, doesn't have as many misdemeanors to her name but they're a lot worse. She stole Adrien's phone to get rid of an embarrassing message and got away with it too, what the hell, and also owns the schedule. Although I don't believe she stalked Adrien and made it herself due to how busy she is as both Marinette and Ladybug, that's just weird and wrong. I'm reluctant to call her a stalker, but her actions are still wrong. Ultimately, this relationship is going to need a lot of therapy and counseling to not crash and burn. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. The ice cream episode. I think the ice cream guy can be wrong and he doesn't understand that.

Sapotis: Silly little fun episode, also it introduces the first new Miraculous holder! I'm honestly fine with it so far if it means more screentime for side characters. I honestly really like seeing Marinette's classmates. They're neat. Also I was this close to putting Alya on the list but she proves time and time again that she doesn't actually know Ladybug's identity.

Gorizilla: In this episode we are introduced to Adrien's deranged parasocial fanbase. I'm starting to understand some of his father's decisions at this point. This is what I was talking about with the schedule, by the way. These obsessive stalker creeps make Marinette look reasonable, and I wouldn't be surprised if the one guy who I'm pretty sure becomes Party Crasher discreetly stalked Adrien to get his schedule. Restraining orders need to be filed.

Captain Hardrock: One of the funniest episodes, up there with Dark Cupid. Also Luka is here! And he already has great chemistry with Marinette! And more Rosie and Julie content even if it's crumbs!

[art-the-f-up]

Hi, its the anon who talk about writing your Palestinian Hero AU. First, i wanna say thank you for your answer. I was really unsure about writing it bcs its a very serious topic. But like you said, we have our way to show solidarity, and i wanna show it through this fic based on your AU.

So id like to ask a few questions about the AU first for me to implement into the fic (since this is your AU after all, and id like to get it as close as possible to what you envision):

1. Does Laaiqa and Ahsan know each other as civilian, and do they know their identity.

2. What do they do as civilian. You dont have to answer this one if you feel like its sensitive or painful to answer

3. Do you mind if i add extra heroes? Don't worry, i won't use all the miracle box 😂 maybe just one or two. Im also gonna change how miraculous holder got chosen work so it will make sense why only so few miraculous were active during the G word.

Thank you for your time and words. I'll see to it that this fic get finished and may it brings Miraculers to also help stop this G word.

Hello! Best of luck to you, it's no pressure okay? I don't want you writing a fic thats got you all stressed instead of motivated or excited haha. The point of fanwork is representation and entertainment.

Laaiqa and Ahsan do know each other's identities, but they did not know each other as civilians before meeting as superheroes. They are mostly vigilant, so they don't come out in public as much. Which is why the public has, on their own, created the names Ladybird and Black Cat (in Arabic) for them. They call each other by their first names.

Laaiqa still lives with her mother in a small apartment in Jenin, and rarely gets to hear about how her father is doing in prison. Ahsan lives with one of his family friends in Gaza, working part time with his friend's dad in his shop after he lost his family and home. (I took this one simply out of one of our own tribal cultures. I realized many Palestinian values match that of our tribe and in our case when a single family member is left one of the families of the tribe take them in as their own. Most cases the child then tries to help in some chores/job even though he is not forced to but it is just a form of gratitude on his part. Pity on any individual is forbidden and is considered dishonorable but that's just me and I'd love to find out from a Palestinian if this is okay.)

Of course you can use whatever heroes you'd like haha. I didn't set this AU up in a specific timeline, I just took it out of what Palestinian life has been like these part 75 years. But yeah the basic message is just their resilience and strength no matter the situation.

[abyssal-ali]

The Terrifying Trio (T3)

Alright y'all this is my DP x DC x MLB crossover!

Masterlist here

A/N: Rereading this it's more of an outline than a story, oops. I do like this idea and have vague plans to flesh it out & turn it into an actual story, but that will likely be wayyy in the future, so feel free to be inspired by this or flesh it out for me😜 (just please tag me!)

Rating: G (? Mentions of death and experimentation but nothing graphic. Let me know if I should change/add warnings!)

Everyone knew about the T3, as they called themselves. No one imagined they were real until they met them, and then they wished they hadn't; the trio were far more terrifying than their tales.

----------

The T3 began with three completely normal teenagers forced to meet by their friends and family. Their origin was simply to make those who set up this meeting regret it and serve as a warning not to mess with scarily-well-trained teenagers. It worked better than they hoped and grew into a branch of the vigilante groups.

The group, as civilians, looked similar, with black hair and blue or green eyes, and appeared to be a normal teenage friend group.

Wrong.

Nothing about them was normal.

The oldest of the three, Damian Wayne, was the youngest son of multi-billionaire socialite Bruce Wayne, who happened to be a founding member of the Justice League and the original vigilante of Gotham, Batman. His mother was an assassin and the daughter of the League of Assassins' leader. Damian was the fifth user of the Robin mantle and now went by the moniker Phoenix.

Daniel Fenton was the second halfa and King of the Infinite Realms but preferred to be referred to by his hero persona, Phantom. He was Marinette's twin but had been separated at birth.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the Grand Guardian of the Miraculous and the true holder of both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculi, going by Blackjack as a hero. She was treated as a queen by the other members of the trio, as Danny was her brother and Damian her boyfriend.

----------

Danny Fenton was 14 when he entered his parents' portal to the Ghost Zone and became half-human/half-ghost in a tragic accident. A couple years later he, as his hero alias Phantom, became the new Ghost King by defeating the old tyrant. He was discovered by Superman, who was flying home from Smallville one day and found a ghost boy fighting more ghosts. He became Danny's mentor and introduced him to the Justice League.

Damian was Robin when he was kidnapped by his mother to be part of an experiment, as Heir to the Demon. It didn't work immediately, and he was thrown into a Lazarus Pit to heal and revive him. The Pit bonded with the experimental serum and Damian awoke as a meta with regeneration/reanimation/healing powers similar to Deathstroke's. Damian also began learning basic magic from his brother Jason's girlfriend, Raven.

Marinette knew she was a true Ladybug, but once she took back the ring from her ex-partner she discovered that she was also a true black cat. Her arch-nemesis Hawkmoth and his allies were swiftly defeated with her combined abilities and the support of her team. A previous Ladybug's daughter, who was a museum curator in Paris, recognized her energy and offered to become her mentor, introducing Ladynoir to the Justice League.

----------

Today was the day for the Leaguers to bring their mentees to the Watchtower to meet the other mentees/partners. Batman arrived first as always, accompanied by Robin. Superman arrived soon after with Superboy and Phantom, then Wonder Woman and Ladynoir.

Nightwing pushed Robin towards Phantom and Ladynoir, who were gazing out at the galaxy in awe.

“Go make some friends, Baby Bat!”

“Tt.” Robin stalked over to the other two, who barely acknowledged him. “If you do not want my company, do not hesitate to say so.” Please.

Ladynoir turned and scanned him critically. “Hm...were you forced to come and 'socialize' and 'make contacts, if not friends', too?”

“Unfortunately. I am perfectly happy with the small circle of friends I already have.”

Phantom turned from the stars to the conversation. “My sister keeps telling me I need more socializing for my mental health or whatever, but I'm perfectly fine with my girlfriend and guy in the chair.”

“Exactly!” exclaimed Ladynoir. “I have my team, why do I need civilians or more hero friends?”

“Why don't we show our mentors why they shouldn't encourage us to make friends, then,” suggested Robin.

Cheshire grins spread over the others' faces.

Across the room, deep in their own conversation, their mentors shivered.

----------

After that, the trio really did become friends. One day, during a visit to the Batcave to see Robin, an incident happened that forced Robin to find out that Phantom and Ladynoir's DNA showed their genetic similarity; both siblings had been adopted and hadn't known it. That was an awkward conversation. Ladynoir was glad she had a crush on Robin, not Phantom, which would have made it even worse.

Ladynoir was introduced to her brother's clone, Dani (her sister? Cousin?) The trio told each other their civilian identities several months into their friendship collaboration and started their own hero group, Styx.

(Dani and Jason were honourary members.)

Damian shed Robin and became Phoenix instead, and Ladynoir became Blackjack, but Danny decided to keep Phantom as his alias.

----------

Damian asked Marinette out while they were on a stakeout. When she happily responded, “It's a date!” he got a little flustered. Danny looked at him and grinned at his friend's awkwardness.

Having had years of practice as their alter egos, all three members of Styx were excellent fighters, but even as civilians, they were trained in martial arts, with their mothers being formidable women. Maddie Fenton was an eighth-degree black belt, Talia al Ghul was a leader of assassins, and Sabine Cheng was a former assassin/mercenary.

Damian discovered Sabine's old career on the stakeout and was struck by how similar he and Marinette were. Of course, Mari was usually a lot nicer (maybe softer was a better word?) than him, even after she toughened up, but they were similar in many other ways.

After the intel they needed was gathered they realized how close they were when they glanced up from reviewing the information. Damian froze and Marinette leaned in a tiny bit. “Is this an actual date?” she whispered.

He swallowed. “I hope so.”

Mari smiled softly. “Me too.”

He closed the distance tentatively and she inched closer.

Danny flew up just after his sister's and friend's lips met. “I called it! Jason owes me $20!”

They jerked apart, glaring daggers at him. “Danny!”

----------

T3, the civilian Styx, finally agreed to let their friends/teams meet each other. Phantom and Blackjack had interacted with the Bats and Titans on missions and JL gatherings before, but the Miraculous Court and Team Phantom hadn't met yet.

Yet again, a glowing portal opened in Amity Park, but his time it was connected to Paris. Danny's support trio (not to be confused with his abetting trio) stepped into the Miraculous Corut's HQ. Luka and Juleka Couffaine-Stone, Kagami Tsurugi, Chloe Bourgeois, Max Kante, and Alix Kubdel met Tucker Foley, Sam Manson, and Jazz Fenton. Max and Tucker became instant frenemies, battling over tech, while Sam and Juleka bonded surprisingly quickly over all things goth.

----------

The T3 waited in the shadows of the warehouse to apprehend the cultists intent on summoning a long-dead magician. When it was go time they transformed (Blackjack had figured out how to do it without a flash of light), becoming the cultists' nightmares, Styx.

Danny had glowing green eyes, weightless white hair, fangs, and Phantom's general ghostly presence for beginning intimidation.

Blackjack appeared as a white-haired, glowing green cat-eyed, fanged, clawed, and winged being: in short, terrifying.

Phoenix had glowing green eyes, white hair, sharper-than-should-be-normal teeth, a katana on his back and fireballs in his hand. (The Pit had whitened his hair completely, but he had a glamour spell on his civilian form to appear as before with black hair. The pyrokinesis was one of his favourite spells and one of the first Raven taught him, upon plenty of begging bribing.)

[airi-p4]

Pretend boyfriend - Chapter 2

Chapter 1 | Ch2 | Ch3 ____________________

Summary:

Chat Noir tells Ladybug in a spaz that he has a boyfriend and asks Luka to pretend and fill in for the role for a double date with her and her boyfriend. The problem is he's trying to make Ladybug jealous… and Luka is caught in the middle of it when he's also the spotted hero's date.

AO3

________________________

Chapter 2: Later, that night...

That night, when things had finally calmed down, Ladybug visited Luka's house. She had heard his music by the back of the ship, so she landed there quietly, sneakily. 

"G-goodnight Luka…"

"Ladybug?"

She nodded. "I wanted to apologize for today… I admit nothing went as I planned. Nothing ever goes as I plan when it involves confessing to boys I like…" She shrugged, laughing awkwardly. "I don't want you to think that I lied to you. I really wanted to talk about strategy before. But then Chat was- well, being Chat- and everything got messed up."

Luka hummed, but said nothing.

"In truth, I wanted to ask you to be a permanent miraculous holder." He gasped at her offer. "Well, only if you want to, of course."

She took the Snake Miraculous out of her yoyo and offered it to him. Eyes open wide, he stared at it, and then at Ladybug, who spoke again.

"I won't insist or pressure you with my feelings, so that won't be a problem. I know too well what it is like to be forced or pressured after my experience with Chat, so I can guarantee that... But I'm afraid I can't speak for him. I'm sorry if he becomes a nuisance for you. I'll understand if you don't want to take this burden." She pointed at the Snake Miraculous with her eyes.

"I'll take it."

"You will?" She beamed.

"Yes, but with one condition."

"Hm? What is it?"

"I want a chance to correct myself," he stated.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

He stood up, approached closer to her and clasped her hand and the Snake Miraculous between his hands, while staring firmly at her eyes. She blushed.

"I want to take back my rejection to your feelings." He smiled softly. 

"Eh!? What?" She jolted. "B-but- didn't you say you were in love with M-Marinette!?"

He chuckled. "Do you really want to play this game, now?" 

He didn't need to say more; his softened expression spoke for him. That's how Ladybug realized it.

"You know…" She gasped.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" He smiled tenderly. "The beautiful hair and eyes, the sweet voice, the lovely freckles that peek under the mask… and the unforgettable melody I could never get tired of…" He rubbed the back of her hand as he talked. Her blush deepened. "What I want to ask you is: did you mean it? Do you feel the same about me? The same I feel about you?" 

"I truly meant it," she said, her heart drumming fast, but convinced. "I love you. I have for a while now…"

He beamed. "Would you ask me again, then? Or shall I do it instead?" He approached, foreheads almost touching.

"I'll do it." She decided. 

Luka separated, leaving her enough space to take a deep breath. Her free hand set on his hand over hers, clasping it with care. She noticed Luka's eyes on hers, but she wasn't nervous. No, Luka always managed to bring calm to her, and she loved that about him. She took a second deep breath before she spoke, looking directly at his expectant, dazzling eyes.

"I love you, Luka. Would you be my boyfriend?" 

"Absolutely. I would love to be your boyfriend." His smile was brighter than ever. "I love you, Marinette."

She beamed at him, relief and shared happiness engulfing her. She removed her hand from Luka's to wipe a happy tear that escaped her. He leaned in and kissed it, on her cheekbone, making her warmer. 

She giggled happily, to his delight. 

"I guess I'm taking this, then," Luka said, finally taking the Snake Miraculous and placing it into his pocket. "I'll be honored to help you keep Paris safe. And my girlfriend, too, of course." He winked and she blushed.

"Girlfriend!" She squeaked. "I think I still need some more time to process it!"

He laughed. 

"Well, at least you can't say you aren't able to confess your feelings to boys anymore. The curse is broken, isn't it?" 

"Well… I don't care. I don't plan to confess my feelings to any other boy ever again so…" She would panic later. "All I want to do from now on is to tell you 'I love you' many many times, so I hope you don't ever get tired of it because I don't plan to stop and-"

It was his turn to blush.

"That makes me very happy…" He cupped her face with his hands and jolted a bit when his face approached, only to rest his forehead on hers. She was happy, but maybe she expected a bit more. She wanted to-

"May I kiss you?" he asked.

"Yes, please!" That's what she secretly wanted. 

He let one of his hands slide down to her shoulder, while the other one remained in place, to steady her for the upcoming contact. She tilted her face up, and he angled his to kiss her properly. Her heart was beating fast as the awaited contact arrived. And it wasn't how she expected it, no- it was better. Because the love she felt in that kiss would never be able to be conveyed with words or even music. Her arms surrounded his neck, pushing closer and deepening the kiss. She didn't want it to end, and he didn't seem to disagree with her. Sweet, loving, passionate- but the need of air, sadly, broke them apart. 

Foreheads touching, wide grins never left their faces as they giggled while panting. She squeaked when Luka bent to hold her closer in a tight hug. She immediately reciprocated it happily. 

"I'm so happy," he whispered in her ear. 

She noticed her face felt flushed. "I'm very happy, too. The happiest." She nuzzled her face between his shoulder and his neck, hugging him even tighter. 

But then, a long minute later, after pulling apart, he reminded her, with a question, that they still had something left to deal with. "What should we do about Chat?"

Right. The damn cat. The cat who couldn't take a NO for an answer and who would keep trying until he succeeded… that cat. 

She sighed.

From previous experience, telling him they were dating wouldn't change a thing. Besides, it could compromise her secret identity. And he knew about Luka's superhero identity, too... 

"I think we should keep it a secret. At least until Hawkmoth is defeated," she said. "Besides, telling him would-"

"-compromise your secret identity, I get it." Gosh- she loved the way he could follow her way of thinking. "I think that's the wisest option, too."

"I'm glad you agree, even if it pains me…" She smiled, bittersweet. "At least we can hang out or even secretly date you as myself, while I can see you whenever you help us with superhero stuff. I can live with that."

"Having more excuses to hang out with my cute girlfriend? I can totally live with that, too." He winked with a teasing smile.

"Lukaaa!!" She blushed. "I'm still not used to it!" 

He chuckled at her cute reaction. "Let's get more and more used to it then?" He caressed her cheek again, his eyes begging her for a permission she happily granted. Their second kiss was as long and as perfect as their first. And their third. And their fourth. And their- they eventually had to stop due to their tardiness, the full moon over the Notre Dame served as a reminder for them of how it was past midnight and they had school tomorrow. 

After a few- "last one," "one more?" "Last one, I promise!" "One more…? Please..?" "I could kiss you forever…" "good night…" they shared a final short goodnight kiss before she eventually, and very reluctantly (the feeling was mutual), left.

Next morning, she was going to find a "good morning" message on her phone from her boyfriend (boyfriend!!), proof and relief enough for her that, to her delight, it hadn't been a dream. Somehow, though, she convinced herself and her boyfriend that she still needed more time (and kisses) to process it properly. He would gladly help with that.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

So to answer these.

Sasakia is the butterfly holder. (And Le paon is now King Fowl)

What happened to the guardians. Well most of the guardians, chosen and monks perished in the collapse of the temple because of Feast (Feast is canon, but he is much larger and more monstrous) The grandmaster and the leader of the Zodiac Faction were eaten by Feast (who went haywire) and as a result broke the peacock miraculous.

There were a few guardians that survived and fled. Fu was one of them. The guardians of the zodiac survived and continued the organization. Fu clashed with them in the past. (Fu also fought Nazis and helped Liberate France)

Gabriel does indeed have the butterfly miraculous.

Gabriel and Emilie find it on a vacation in Tibet. Emilie LOVED exploring. And sure enough Gabriel found an old broach there. He cleaned it up and gave it to her as a gift. After she put it on, Duusu popped out.

Emilie ended up using the peacock miraculous to help people. Usually in the shadows. She wanted to make a difference. Though it did take a toll on her. She slowed down after getting pregnant with Adrien. The illness didn’t come up until after his birth, and it was eating away at her. Gabriel nearly bankrupted himself trying to save her, but no doctor could help her. He desperately went back to the Tibet ruins to find anything that could help. That’s how he found the butterfly miraculous and a tome.

It was too late though. She passed before he got back. And it SHATTERED HIM.

Emilie did create one last sentimonster. It was G, the bodyguard for Adrien. He can’t speak but was made to look out for Adrien.

This happened when Adrien was 10. He never knew about the miraculous. And Gabriel locked away the brooch when he returned.

After a year of isolation, Gabriel returned to the public eye and his new designs brought his company back to the top. This Gabriel had a will to live, he would get his wife back, and the butterfly pin he wore was the key.

[soap-lady]

I was going to post this Saturday..

Hey everyone!

I didn’t want anyone to think I was playing a prank so I decided to wait until today.  Hope you enjoy chapter 22 of Worthy Opponent.

Taglist:

@fantasiame, @g-arya, @lavenderjunes, @charlietheepic7, @ahenix, @delectablycoolscientist, @kaseykay17, @vio-march-0327, @mewwitch, @vixen-uchiha, @coolspidermanmusicflower, @lady-bee-fechin, @raeuberprinzessin, @symwinter, @frieddonutsweets, @seraphkitty, @friendsofthefairies, @nickristus-dreamer, @khneltea, @jumpingjoy82, @fan-written, @woe-is-me0,@corporeal-terrestrial, @queenmjean, @theymakeupfairies, @dorkus-minimus, @idk-j-go-with-it, @aespades, @swiftie-miraculer13,@moongoddesskiana, @arty-shadow-morningstar, @ahalloweengirl, @the-navistar-carol, @bigpicklebananatree, @novicevoice, @nerd-nowandforever, @certainmuffinbagelcalzone, @irontimetravelflower, @jjmjjktth, @dopefestsuit, @morning-wolf-designs, @alcoholic-barney, @just-living5, @chocolatecatstheron, @another-cancer, @hammalammadamdam, @ichigorose

                                     Worthy Opponent Chapter 22

Ladybug surveyed the Liberty before coming aboard. Ankara was off; Luka had told her once on Wednesdays his mother volunteered at a women’s shelter to teach self-defense. Luka was practicing, the notes from his guitar wafted up from his cabin below deck and flitted through her ears. She took a few minutes to take in his beautiful music before knocking politely on the porthole outside his cabin.

The strumming abruptly stopped and Luka stuck his head out of the porthole. He looked surprised to see her but not unpleasantly so. “Hey, Ladybug.” He opened the porthole. “Would you care to come in?”

She looked at the porthole doubtfully. “I’d probably get stuck.”

“Right. I’ll come up and let you in.” He smiled at her and she’d be a liar if she said her heart didn’t flutter, at least a little.

Luka opened the door leading below decks and motioned for her to come downstairs. She followed him and closed the door behind her.

He led the way down the stairs and to his newly private bedroom. Anarka had emptied out a storeroom to give her children the privacy they craved. It also meant they no longer walked in on each other changing or, in Luka’s case, seeing his sister make out with her girlfriend.

He pointed at his bed and did a “please sit” gesture before sitting in the chair across from the bed. She sat down with a grateful smile and he folded his hands in his lap as he waited for his guest to get comfortable.

Once she was settled he said, “I’m assuming this is hero business and not a social call.” He leaned forward and gave her a gentle smile. “So, what can I do for you, Ladybug?”

He was always so perceptive and understanding. She lov-liked that about him and appreciated the fact he wasn’t throwing questions at him and allowed her to bring up the subject herself. It felt disloyal to think it but in some ways he was a better hero than Alya had been. She knew she was making the right choice.

She cleared her throat and started to explain. “Well, now that Hawk Moth knows the identities of the temporary holders, we can’t bring any of the old heroes back.”

He frowned a little. “Well, you told me that already. So, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you here?”

She sighed and fidgeted. She had a grandiose speech she had rehearsed in her head and with Tikki but of course when it came time to recite it to Luka, she’d forgotten it. She decided to wing it instead. He wouldn’t judge her.

Ladybug slid a finger over the top of her yo-yo. It opened and slid apart. Through the glow she pulled out a black choker with a red bead in the middle. Luka’s eyes widened as he watched her.  “Well, just because you can’t be Viperion any more doesn’t mean you can’t be some other kind of hero.”

He smiled and looked excited and it was all she could do not to melt. He was so cute!

She straightened up and tried to look professional. “Luka Couffaine,” she held the Miraculous out to him. “This is the Miraculous of the Dragon, which grants the power of The Elements. You will use it for the greater good.”

He nodded and she gingerly placed the choker in his hand. A ball of light erupted from the necklace and circled his head twice before the light faded and a familiar dragon kwami appeared in front of him.

Luka smiled. As much as he loved being a musician and lately an actor, he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t enjoy being a hero. Not just protecting his family and friends but Paris. That and there was just something about Ladybug that resonated with him. Had circumstances been different, he could have easily fallen for her and that would have made him disloyal to Marinette. Not to mention causing tension with the team and Chat Noir.

He ignored what might have been and looked at the little creature in front of him. “Hi,” he said to them, “I love the spikes.”

The being preened. “I can see you are a young man of exquisite taste,” they said. “I am Longg and I am to be your kwami. Together we shall do great deeds with style and aplomb.” They bowed and he bowed back.

“Once the mission is done,” she took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. “You will keep the Miraculous and guard it with your life. Can I trust you?”

Luka was about to put the choker around his neck and then paused. “Wait, what?”

Ladybug met and held his gaze. He couldn’t have looked away if he were on fire. “Just because Hawk Moth hasn’t been as active lately doesn’t mean he’s gone. We need allies but we won’t always have the time to hunt for someone worthy so it’s better to have one or two people standing by at all times.”

He didn’t say anything at first, just stared at the necklace in his hands. It was an overwhelming honor to be chosen as even a temporary hero but for Ladybug to trust him enough to make him a permanent hero was mind blowing.

Long floated in front of his face to catch his attention. “Ladybug did not make this decision lightly nor did she make it alone.” They smiled proudly. “I have been observing you in secret to see if you had what it takes to be my Wielder and you did.” They chuckled as they saw the surprise on the boy’s face. “Sass spoke quite fondly of you as well and said you were kind, trustworthy, brave and responsible. A perfect candidate.”

Luka looked sad when Longg mentioned his former kwami. “That was kind of him.” He looked over at the spotted hero. “Thank him for me, will you? And tell him I enjoyed working with him.”

She nodded and smiled. “I will,” she promised.

Longg took over the conversation. “You have three elements to choose from; wind, water, and lightning. Once all three are discharged  your power will be at an end until you recharge my abilities.”

Both the kwami and the heroine smiled at the boy and he felt warmed by their faith in him. For a moment Marinette’s face flashed into his mind and he remembered how she looked at him when he finally perfected a new song and wanted her to be the first to hear it.

He finished putting on the choker and turned to Longg. “So, new partner, what do I do?”

The dragon kwami was very pleased to be addressed as an equal. “All you need to say is, ‘Longg, bring the storm.’ “

Luka stood up and spread his arms. “Longg, bring the storm!”

Longg became sucked into the Miraculous and in a flash of red light Luka was gone and a new hero stood in his place. He grinned and looked at his reflection in the mirror attached to his door.

“Wow!”

“Wow” was right. Gone was the spandex that had been Ryuuko’s trademark and instead he wore a motorcycle jacket with spiked shoulder pads and studded trim. He wore padded fingerless gloves on his hands and black with red trim motorcycle boots. His hair was black with red tips and styled into short spikes. He had horns that emerged from the top of his forehead and then curved backwards like a dragon illustration he’d seen in a book years ago.

He did a circle as Ladybug watched, loving the look of wonder on his face as he took in his new appearance. “Hey! Is the jacket removable?” Before she could answer he pulled it off and looked at himself again. “It is!” he exclaimed.

The heroine swallowed. Hard. The shirt was sleeveless and black, like thin kevlar. In the middle of the chest were the symbols for water, wind, and lightning, circling each other in a blood red ring. The pants match the jacket and the boots and flared a bit at the bottom. Clearly making all those deliveries had made his arms and legs toned and strong.

She shook her head and was glad he hadn’t noticed her staring and couldn’t hear her heart racing. Or her less than pure thoughts. “So, uh…” she paused and waited for him to tell her his new hero name.

“Wyvern,” he said. He put the jacket back on As Jagged would say, he looked very rock and roll. He wondered if he could get away with taking a picture to show Juleka when she got home. He looked over his shoulder at Ladybug. “Call me ‘Wyvern’ “.

She tilted her head and thought. “Wyvern. I like it.” She stood up and tried to regain a hold of herself and the situation. “So, Wyvern, are you up for a little training?” She grinned up at him. He was so damn cute. “Maybe get to know these new powers?”

“I’d love to,” he swept his hand towards the door. “After you, of course.”

                                                              *****

Chat Noir observed the Tsurugi compound from a safe distance. Clearly Mme. Tsurugi had the money and influence to have a traditional Japanese style home built in the middle of Paris. He was impressed, even though it reminded him of something his father would do if he suddenly found himself living in Tokyo.

The house was mostly dark and peaceful but he wasn’t stupid. He knew the Tsurugis had a complex security system with sentry drones and invisible lasers. However he had something equally important: Kagami’s phone number.

CNOIR: Can you sneak outside? It’s important. Lady_Sumo: Who are you? CNOIR: It’s Chat Noir. I’m here on official superhero business. Adrien gave me your number. Lady_Sumo: If that is so, what’s the password? CNOIR: Chihiro

There were a series of ellipses and he sighed. Chihiro was the main character of Kagami’s favorite movie as a child, “Spirited Away”. They’d had a long, engaged conversation about Miyasaki’s use of Japanese folklore in his movies. He was sure she remembered.

There was some movement and Chat watched as a sentry drone was deactivated and a slim figure in dark blue made their way over the fence and near the tree he was perched on. She almost had a sixth sense when it came to finding him. Maybe that was one reason they were such a good couple.

He knew just how to get her attention. “Ryuuko?” he whispered.

Her head shot up and even though it was dark and she didn’t have his night vision, she knew exactly where he was. That girl was incredible. Her eyes narrowed up at him, almost daring him to attack. When she was sure he wasn’t an enemy her shoulders relaxed a bit and she smiled. “Hello, Chat Noir.” She stood almost at attention and her serious expression returned. “You said something about official superhero business.” Her eyes looked sad. “I thought Ryuuko and the rest of your allies were retired due to Chloe exposing our identities to Hawk Moth.”

Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he’d carried over from his civilian identity. He stopped himself once he realized what he was doing. “Yeah. About that.”

He extended his baton and held out his hand. “Shall we continue this conversation a bit more privately?”

She looked skeptical and he felt a bit hurt; she didn’t instantly trust him. He tried to remember he wasn’t Adrien right now and although she thought of Chat Noir as a teammate, she probably liked and trusted Ladybug more. He couldn’t blame her; he also liked Ladybug more.

He held up his right hand. “I’m just here to talk to  you about whether or not you’d be willing to be a hero again. You’re free to say no and I’ll leave, no hard feelings. I promise to be a complete gentlecat the whole time. If you don’t believe me or would be more comfortable with Ladybug,” he showed her his baton. “I’d be glad to call her right now and she can tell you herself.”

Kagami said nothing, she just stared up at him as if trying to read his mind. He tried to look earnest and credible but his girlfriend was incredibly hot when she was being strong and trying to determine an opponent’s weaknesses.

Finally she relented and took his hand. “I will trust you,” she gave him a rare smile and then glared. “But I’ll hold you to  your promise of good behavior. Just remember,” she shook her finger in his face. “I own swords and I’m spoken for.”

He saluted her. “Yes, mademoiselle.”

                                                                  *****

He took her to the roof of his old college, Francois Dupont. He didn’t always have good memories of this place but it was quiet and in a safe neighborhood so he didn’t have to worry about muggers while they talked. He didn’t want to have to visit his girlfriend in jail after she was convicted of manslaughter.

She took in her surroundings, her only emotional response was a brief tightening of her lips. She looked up at him. “You mentioned superhero business?” The skeptical look was back but it wasn’t hostile. “Hawk Moth knows our identities. I fail to see how I can possibly be Ryuuko again.”

“Oh, but that’s just it!”  He couldn’t wait to tell her. Ladybug’s solution was so simple but brilliant he was surprised he hadn’t thought of it himself. Sure, he’d been busy over the summer but not nearly as busy as someone like Marinette. “Okay, so maybe you can’t be Ryuuko again,” he pulled the Snake Miraculous out of the zipper pocket in his suit. “But that doesn’t prevent you from being a new hero, right?”

Kagami recognized that bracelet. It was the one worn by Viperion. She had liked him; he was calm and relaxed, but a reliable teammate who never became flustered if a plan went wrong or an akuma was especially difficult.

She felt ashamed for a moment. Was she being asked to replace Viperion? She understood that Team Miraculous could not continue as it had in the past but surely there was a Miraculous in the box that hadn’t been used yet. To have her replace such a valuable ally felt disrespectful.

Her face was as stoic as always but Chat could read her moods through her eyes and tried not to smile. She was feeling sorry for Viperion, who she thought had been discarded. “Don’t worry. Ladybug had decided to give Viperion a different Miraculous.”

Her guilt eased and she reached for the bracelet only to have Chat pull it away from her.

“Um, sorry,” his laugh was high and nervous. “I’ve never done this before. Let me do it right.” He cleared his throat and began to recite a speech she was sure he’d practiced for hours.

“Kagami Tsurugi, here is the Miraculous of the Snake, which grants the power of Second Chance.” Was that what Ladybug always said? It sounded right. “You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you will guard it and keep it safe. Can I trust you?” Her eyes widened as she realized he was making her a permanent holder. 

He held out the bracelet again and she took it. Her fingers shook a little and she hoped he didn’t notice she’d hesitated slightly. She couldn’t help feeling a bit disloyal to Longg, even if the kwami had known hundreds of Chosen before she was born.

A familiar ball of light floated up from the bracelet, circled her head and then turned into a teal cobra with green-yellow eyes.  He looked up at her with a calm, even expression. The creature did not appear shocked or disappointed to see her. She chose to see this as a good sign.

“Greetingsss, young lady. My name is Sasss and I am to be your kwami.” He gave her a little bow, which she returned. “Please, take good care of me from now on.”

“I will do so to the best of my abilities, Sass-sama,” she answered, “and I ask the same of you.” She looked at Chat Noir. “If I may ask, why are you pairing us?”

“With all due ressspect, Miss, that was my decissssion,” Sass interrupted. He ignored the surprised look on Chat’s face and went on. “The Guardian felt my skillsss were needed and I had the right to choossse my Wielder. You have proven to have a logical mind, one that can be trusssted not to missusse my abilities.” He felt honored that the young Guardian had such faith in his assessment. It was refreshing to have one’s wisdom acknowledged.

Kagami smiled, flattered at his praise and the kwami was instantly charmed. “Now I am especially honored.” She bowed again, this time at a perfect thirty degree bow. “I will do all that I can to prove worthy of your faith in me, Sass-sama.”

The kwami bowed just as deeply. “I have every faith in you, Miss Kagami.”

She looked from Chat back to Sass. “What must I do now?”

“Once you trigger Sssecond Chance, you will have five minutesss before my power wanesss and I musst recharge.” This she already knew. “Now, all you have to sssay isss: ‘Sass, scales ssslither,” he told her.

Kagami felt the familiar shiver of excitement she felt right before she transformed into Ryuuko. It felt good to know she could be a hero again! Patrolling the city, saving others, showing her mother she was her own person…

No, she was chosen because Sass thought she would not misuse her powers. She would not prove him wrong. She struck a pose and said, “Sass, scales slither!”

Sass disappeared into the ring and felt his power wash over her, not the tingling she was used to but calm, almost cool, like waves gently lapping at the shore. She looked down at herself and wished she had a mirror.

Chat gave a low whistle. He’s always appreciated how good Kagami looked in red but this was a cool look too.

The teal and gray coloration reminded him of a piebald snake; bold swirls from her head to her hips and gradually fading as it reached her legs and feet.

There was a sports jacket with a scale pattern she removed so she could get a better look at her armor. The base of her suit reminded her of a jumpsuit or a flight suit with armor attachments. Sode protected her shoulders while kote and tekko protected her arms and hands respectively. A fairly modern chestplate protected her vitals and an uwa-obi circled her waist. Suneate covered her from the knees to the calves. She rather liked the steel toed boots as well.

The new suit was much more practical than her old one but felt just as light. Magic, she supposed. The only weight was on her back. She reached behind her and pulled off a traditional stringed instrument covered in snakeskin; a sanshin.  She plucked the strings and was pleased with the sound. Her mother would approve. Some instinct told her to pull on the instrument’s neck and was surprised to unsheath a sword. Very practical and she would be able to contribute more than just her power to battles.

“You look fantastic!” He knew he was biased and didn’t care but Kagami really could look cute in anything. “Completely ready to kick Hawky’s butt and anyone else who gets in your way.” She hoped her mask concealed her blush; he was almost as complimentary as Adrien.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the eye roll she had learned from Marinette. “I do hope you’re not flirting, koneko-chan.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it…” he broke off and raised his eyebrows at her, looking expectant.

“Ah, yes. I suppose I will need a new superhero name.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully and then exclaimed, “Mamushi! It is a venomous snake native to Japan.”

“It’s perfect.” Chat Noir grinned because he welcomed any chance to spend extra time with his girlfriend. Now Ladybug had handed him an opportunity practically gift wrapped. She was the best friend he could ask for.

“Race  you to Montmartre!” Chat Noir called out and jumped off the room with Mamushi close behind him.

                                                  ******

Felix set his teacup back down into its saucer and looked his mother straight in the eyes across the table. “Mom, I’m a superhero.”

Amelie didn’t even pause as she continued to spread lemon curd onto her scone. “Of course you are, dear,” she answered vaguely.

He blinked. “What? Do you believe me? Just like that?”

She carefully cut the scone halves in two half-moons and took a bite before answering.  “Well, darling, you’re already an actor and a director so why not a superhero as well?

His eyes narrowed. “You’re humoring me,” he said flatly.

She opened her mouth to argue, closed it, and sighed. “Yes, I probably am.”  She finished off her scone. “Far be it for me to criticize but the scones from the hotel bakery are a smidge dry compared to the ones back home.” She took another sip of tea. “Then again, anything made on a  commercially wide scale would pale compared to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.”

“Oh, darling, don’t make that face,” she pouted at him and he rolled his eyes. He wasn’t doing anything. “You are the most important thing in the world to me and I’ve noticed you’ve been a bit…furtive in the past few weeks. You’re spending more and more time with your friends lately, something I’d usually applaud, but,” she went to take a last sip of tea but both the cup and the pot were empty. She sighed again. “I wish you would confide in me like you used to. I know you miss your father and the last few months have been stressful, especially with all the troubles on set.” She leaned forward and looked him in the eyes. Her expression was sincere and a little somber. “Trust me, sweetheart.”

Felix crossed his arms and huffed in the time honored tradition of teenagers everywhere. “Mom…I do trust you and I am trying to confide in you. It’s why I insisted we have breakfast in our room and not in the downstairs dining room.” He bent his head down and spoke into his vest pocket. “Griff? Would you like to come out now?”

“At last! Young Squire, it is past time you introduced me to your mother. Really, one would think you were ashamed of…one…of…us…” they broke off and stared wide-eyed at Amelie. “Noble lady…” they whispered.

Felix looked from his kwami to his mother. Both looked equally surprised and awed. “As I was trying to tell you earlier, I’m a superhero. And this,” he pointed at the tiny griffin, “is Griff, the source of my powers.”

                                                   *****

Griff and Amelie stared at each other for several minutes. Their pupils were both so large they were practically dilated. They practically mirrored each other; wide-eyed, jaw dropped. The silence stretched between them long enough for Felix to become just a little uncomfortable and he decided to break the silence.

“So…this is not quite the reaction I expected,” he muttered to himself. He cleared his throat and then looked from his kwami to his mother. “Would you like to be left alone? I’d hate to interrupt your courtship but there’s more to the story than just ‘Hey, Dad left me a cool magical creature that will help me fight crime or something’. There’s more magical creatures for you to meet. Plus, one hell of a backstory.”

Amelie pulled herself out of her stupor at the mention of her husband. “Geralt? Geralt left you a magical being? Why didn’t he ever mention it? Why did you wait until now to tell me?”

“Well, Dad probably didn’t know-” he began but Griff interrupted, eager to talk to Amelie. “I and my siblings were created by the Druid Bodh Mall and entrusted to House Carrick, the precursors to House Chapman. The young Squire…er…your son…has told me your faithful husband, may his soul be at peace, was somewhat estranged from his family and perhaps none who remembered would tell him of his legacy.”

“That does sound like dear Geralt’s family,” Amelie sighed. “They never approved of his career choice, our marriage or anything that brought anyone happiness unless it was according to their plan.” Her tone sounded unusually bitter. “I’m surprised they gave him any sort of heirloom. They probably thought it was worthless junk.”

“Which, according to Helen, is how they viewed my father,” Felix added, equally bitterly.

Mother and son glared at nothing, absorbed in painful memories. Griff gave them a few minutes to themselves and then changed the subject. “I and my siblings are what are known as kwami; small gods who are the embodiment of a concept given form. I am the Kwami of Valor. For the last one hundred years I have slept in the signet ring that has been passed down through House Chapman.” He pointed a claw at the ring Felix wore. Amelie’s eyes lit up as she realized she’d had magic under her roof for two decades without realizing it.  “My companions in the Heraldry box are the Kwami of Fortitude, Healing and Courage, Ferocity, and Prophecy.” Their feathers drooped. “There used to be more of us, but they were stolen.”

Amelie looked properly impressed and a bit sad for the tiny being. “Now that you mention it, you do look like the griffon in the Chapman coat of arms. Geralt showed me once.I’m sorry you’ve lost some of your friends,” she told them with gentle sorrow, “but I look forward to meeting the rest of them, especially if they’re half as cute as you are.” She gave the kwami a cute flirty wink and held out a hand for Griff to perch on.

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers but Griff was charmed and flew to the offered hand. Felix was surprised when Griff allowed his mother to pet him. “You’re so cute,” she cooed and Griff almost giggled.

Felix facepalmed and hoped his mother wasn’t going to seduce his kwami. “Mother, can we focus?”

Amelie frowned. “Oh dear. You only call me ‘Mother’ when you’re annoyed with me.”

“Or I’m trying to focus your attention, Mum,” he snarked. Once he had control of the situation (Griff was debatable because they were now preening their feathers to show off for Amelie), he began to explain.

“You see, kwami are magical beings and bestow their powers on their wielders.”

“If and only if they’re worthy,” Griff put in while they groomed their feathers.

Felix ignored him. “And the Heraldry Box, so named because it was inspired by animals from British Heraldry, contained four other kwami and the jewelry they lived in. Now that Griff was awakened, they woke up too and chose wielders of their own.”

“But who-” Amelie began and then answered her own question. “Yes, of course. You wouldn’t trust family heirlooms to just anyone, magical or not. You would only trust those closest to you.”

“True,” Felix smiled and pulled out his phone. “I think you’ll want to see this for yourself.”

                                                         *****

The Quantic Kids and Chloe were quickly ushered into the executive suite and the door was locked behind them. After everyone was seated comfortably Felix opened his mouth to speak.

Claude looked from Felix’s deliberately blank face to his mother’s bright, excited eyes and stated flatly, “you told her, huh?”

Chloe glared. “You couldn’t wait to tell her until we were all together, Fefe?”

Felix tried to defend himself but Allen defended him. “He probably didn’t want her to be overwhelmed the way we were,” he explained. “I mean…Claude freaked out and with good reason. There’s non-human sentient beings on this planet who grant superpowers.” He shrugged. “It’s a lot to take in.”

It wasn’t how Felix would have put it but at least Allen saved him the trouble. “Thanks, Allen.”

His friend held up a hand. “Sorry if I took over your meeting.”

Felix shrugged. He wasn’t mad because he knew Allen was genuinely trying to help. “It’s fine.”

Allen nodded and sat back, waiting to hear what Felix had to say. The others took their cue from Allen (it had to be that calm vibe he had going) and quieted down.

“Isn’t it exciting?” Amelie burst out.

Well, everyone but his mom quieted down.

He wanted to interrupt but she barrelled through. “Such cute but powerful little creatures! And they’ll give you the ability to run around the city like Ladybird and Chat Noir! Or those American chaps!” She clasped her hands and pouted cutely. “Are there any more?”

“Ladybug,” Chloe muttered under her breath to correct Amelie. No one seemed to hear her.

Felix dearly wished he could tell his mother that yes, there was another kwami just waiting to make her a hero as well. Alas, there wasn’t, at least until they could do some research into the missing Miraculi and perhaps buy back the others. He was sure Griff and the others could describe the last known appearances of their comrades.

He allowed his expression to become gentle and apologetic. “I’m sorry, Mom, but five is all there is, counting mine. According to what Griff said, the others were lost or sold.”

“Treated as mere ornamentation or trapped under glass to be displayed as a show of wealth no doubt.” Griff’s feathers drooped as he allowed Amelie to stroke him.

“I’m so sorry, dear,” Amelie soothed as she turned the proud, haughty creature into a cuddly pet. Griff purred at her touch. “We’ll do everything we can to find your friends, won’t we?” She looked around the room and everyone nodded at her.

“I’ve already told Griff and the others we would,” Felix replied.

Amelie immediately lit up. “Oh! Yes! There are other little..kwami?...for me to meet. Shall we?”

Honestly, his mother looked like a kid at Christmas. As annoyed as he was at the thought of her seducing his kwami away from him, he loved to see her happy and interested. After the movie wrapped he would need something for her to focus on so she didn’t sink back into depression. Having a magical companion was as good as anything else he could think of.

Felix looked at his friends. “Would you like to introduce your kwami, or let them do that themselves?”

“I’ll let my kwami introduce herself if she wants to,” Chloe sounded generous but really she didn’t want to get in another fight Milvii over “disrespecting her autonomy” or some crap. Okay, fine, she wasn’t Pollen and Chloe shouldn’t expect servitude. She’d appreciate a little respect though.

“I’ll do the same for my kwami,” Allegra agreed and the two boys nodded as well.

“So, Hatchling, you can be taught after all!” The Kwami of Prophecy rose up from the nest she’d made for herself in Chloe’s purse and faced Amelie. Chloe tried not to roll her eyes so they wouldn’t get stuck in the back of her head. It was the closest thing to a compliment the thing had given her since they met. Allen would have told her to accept the small victories. He’d been reading books by dead guys again so she wasn’t sure what to make of his advice.

The kwami addressed Amelie. “I am Milvii, The Kwami of Prophecy and I’m training this impudent hatchling to not only use a bow but be a little less selfish.”

Amelie smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, Milvii. I’ve always thought Chloe had tremendous potential. Please take good care of her.” She beamed at the girl. “Chloe hasn’t been fortunate enough to have many good influences in her life. Perhaps you’ll be one of them.”

Milvii harrumphed but it wasn’t as harsh as usual. “I will do what I always do. My best.” She extended her wings and Amelie stopped stroking Griff long enough to look Milvii over. “Your wings are lovely. I adore bronze.”

“Quite right so you should,” the kwami agreed but the raised feathers on her neck eased slightly.

“I hope no one minds if I take my turn next,” the unicorn kwami emerged from Allegra’s top pocket. “Ladies first and all that.” She looked at Amelie and curtsied, no doubt sensing that while the teens were the heroes, Amelie was clearly the matriarch and obviously in charge. She liked that.

“I am Alii, Kwami of Healing and Miracles. The young maiden Allegra is my charge.”

Amelie’s eyes looked misty. “Oh my!” She cuddled Griff a bit closer but it was obvious she wanted to hold Alii as well. “When I was a little girl, all I wanted was for unicorns to be real.” She almost glowed with happiness. “And here you are!”

The kwami blushed and looked down, trying to be modest and not milk the attention. “I am pleased my species has your favor, Lady.”

Felix’s mom was clearly charmed. “Amelie, please.”

Alii corrected herself. “Lady Amelie. Of course.”

Before Amelie could protest that she was not technically nobility, Haart made his presence known. “Please, do not think me rude,” he rumbled, “I am Haart, Kwami of Fortitude. My young prince is Claude.  Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Amelie.” He gave her a deep bow.

She bowed her head back. “Likewise.” She looked Haart. “You’re rather handsome, like The Prince of the Forest.”

He gave her a rumbling laugh. “So I am a prince, Lady. After a fashion.”

She chuckled. “Then, welcome to my temporary home, Your Highness.”

Claude leaned in and whispered to Allegra. “I think Aunt Amelie is seducing my kwami.”

“Mine too,” Allegra whispered back. “I hope I don’t have to fight her for Alii.”

“If it were me, I’d lose.”

“Me too.”

“Am I last then? So be it.” Lavii emerged from Allen’s messenger bag and floated over, pushing past his fellow kwami. They protested and he ignored them. “You are addressing Lavii, Kwami of Ferocity.” He puffed out his chest and straightened his posture. His gold eyes flicked over Amelie. “You’re the mother of Griff’s squire?” He almost scoffed. “You look like a soft thing of silks and fluff. But you’re rather comely.”

Human and kwami alike squawked and growled in protest but Amelie just raised a hand for silence. Once everyone had quieted down she addressed the lion-like creature.

“Why yes, I am rather attractive,” she agreed and gave Lavii the same grin she’d given his friends. “And I must look soft and weak to a…soldier like yourself.” Lavii raised his head at her praise.

Suddenly the smile dropped and Amelie looked at the creature with the most intensely burning gaze he’d ever seen. “But…I’ve learned to use my looks and demeanor against people who would underestimate me.” She smirked when Lavii realized he’d been had. “I love the looks on their faces when they realize they’ve lost to…how did you put it…silken fluff.”

Lavii looked flabbergasted and then roared with laughter. “Well played, Lady!” He gave a deep bow and a salute to the woman. “I know when I am bested and your strategy is a cunning one.”

Amelie flicked her hair. “I’ve turned a disadvantage into an advantage. People never took me seriously because I’m pretty and soft so now I use their preconceptions against them.” She giggled. “It’s fun.”

“And surprisingly effective,” Amelie grinned mischievously, looking very much like her son. She recalled all the business meetings where she had easily turned the tables on investors and competitors alike. “I could tell you stories…” she blinked and shook her head. “Perhaps another time.” She gently gave Griff back to Felix and stood up, looking around at everyone. “So?”

“So?” echoed Allen.

Amelie clasped her hands together and bounced on her toes. Her eyes shone with excitement; cheeks flushed. “So…show me your transformations!” She looked around the room in eager anticipation. “I can’t wait to see what your costumes look like!”

“Well…usually my cubs choose armor of some kind…” Lavii began but Allegra spoke over him. “Y’know, we’ve been training as much as we can but I don’t think we’ve ever transformed.” She looked at Alii. “How do we do that?”

“Oh, heavens!” Alii clapped her hooves together and looked at her fellow kwami. “How could we have forgotten?” She looked up at her Chosen. “You need but to -” she arranged her limbs dramatically as she spoke. “Strike a heroic pose and recite our transformation phrase. Each phrase is different for each of us,” she told everyone.

The five teens looked at each other and began to speak at once.

“I’m not sure I’m traditional hero material.”

“This sounds lame.”

“I’m up for it if everyone else is.”

“Sounds like fun. I’m in.”

“Hey, what the hell? I’ll do it.”

“Not exactly a consensus but the majority seems in favor,” Amelie smiled. She pointed at her son. “Why don’t you go first, dearest?”

He opened his mouth to protest but his mother cut him off with a gentle but firm, “because I said so.”

Felix sighed, surrendering to what his mother wanted. “As you wish.” He looked at Griff, who was still hovering over the table near where Amelie had been sitting. “So, what’s your transformation phrase? Please,” he added because he knew the creature took manners very seriously.

“Heroic pose first,” Griff prompted, pointing a wing at his Squire.

He tried not to sigh again as he put his hands on his hips and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. “Better?”

“Quite. Griff took to the air and posed, clearly showing off for Amelie, who giggled with delight. “Now, say ‘Griff, soar and defend.”

Felix nodded. “Griff, soar and defend!”

The signet ring on his finger glowed and suddenly Griff was sucked into it. Soothing warmth swept over his body and he was left feeling stronger, powerful, and even a little excited.

Everyone around him oohed and aahed and he made his way over to the full length mirror on the closet door. He just stood and stared, amazed at his new appearance.

The armor he now wore nearly covered all of him and was surprisingly light and easy to move in. Magic, no doubt. It was blue chainmail covered by a gold half-plate. His shoulders were covered by pauldrons and his hands by gauntlets. His head was covered by a Corinthian helmet but the nose piece was shaped like a beak. Sabatons and greaves protected his feet and calves and when he turned around he could catch glimpses of a blue cape shaped like a pair of wings.

He wanted to say something dignified and profound to mark the occasion but all that came out was “Wow!”

Felix walked over to his mother and did a turn for her. “So…how do I look?”

She just stared at him with one hand clasped over her mouth. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and for a heartbreaking moment he thought he had upset her somehow.

His fears were relieved when she suddenly charged towards him and hugged him tightly. “You look just like Sir Galahad!” She burst out. “A true Knight of the Round Table.” She went to kiss his cheek and when she realized she couldn’t she just said, “Your father would be so impressed if he could see you right now.”

Felix smiled at her. The reference to his father didn’t hurt as much as it used to. “Yeah. I think so too.”

                                                   *****

Mother and son embraced while Allegra and Claude competed with “rock, paper, scissors” to see who would transform next. Allegra won and struck a pose; one hand was extended in front of her as if holding a sword and she glanced at her kwami. “Phrase, please?”

Alii nickered softly, looking pleased. “The phrase is, “Alii, perform miracles.”

“Alii, perform miracles!” Allegra actually giggled, giddy at the thought of being a knight in shining armor.

There was a soft violet glow that washed over her and when it faded, Alii was gone and Allegra was covered in silver full plate. She also made her way to the mirror and admired her reflection. She was strongly reminded of the armor worn by Cate Blanchett in the movie “Elizabeth”. She even had a little collar to protect her neck. The breastplate was covered in delicate filigree and decorated with amethysts. It was feminine without being boobplate or showing skin. She loved it, right down to the skirt-like tasset.

Unlike Felix she had no helmet or cape but on her head was a silver crown of braided metal with a purple gem in the middle. A unicorn’s horn extended out from the gem and goggles covered her eyes without obscuring her vision.

She loved it.

Allegra backed away from the mirror and made her way back towards Claude. Like Felix she did a complete turn before looking at her boyfriend and smiling. “Thoughts?”

Claude looked dumbstruck and stared at her like he’d never seen  her before. “You’re…amazing. You look so powerful and strong.” His voice was almost a whisper. “Like a princess.”

She laughed and kissed him. “Feel free to bow.”

He smirked, looking a bit more like his normal self. “I always knew you wanted me on my knees.”

                                                    *****

While the lovebirds were being disgusting and FeFe was taking some time with Aunt Amelie, Chloe decided to get on with it. “Taking my turn now! Sorry not sorry.”

She looked at Milvii and her first instinct was to demand the transformation phrase. She decided not to for two reasons: Milvii might decide to give up on her and switch to Amelie, and Chloe didn’t feel like looking like an ass in front of the few people on the planet she likes and respected these days. She decided to try a little tact.

“Noble Kwami of Prophecy,” Chloe bowed a little. No more than she had to. “Please tell me your transformation phrase so we can…I dunno…help people and protect the few I care about?”

Milvii pretended to consider her request and Chloe tried not to give in to the urge to strangle her. “Very well. Your entreaty has convinced me.” She made a chirping laugh and then flew near her Wielder’s face. “Repeat after me, my chick. ‘Milvii, rake your talons.’” She gestured with a wing. “No need to strike a heroic pose. I know you are working on being a hero.”

Chloe didn’t know whether or not she was being a sarcastic asshole but she didn’t want to start a fight right now. “Milvii, rake your talons.”

The sensation that washed over her was tepid, almost cold. She stalked off to the mirror and liked what she saw, even if she tried to hide it.

Well, she didn’t have to wear a suit of armor. That looked cool on someone like Allegra, but she would have looked like a douche. Instead she wore bronze studded leather with buckled enclosures down the front. She vaguely remembered Allen showing her pictures of armor her character might wear in D&D and remembered this was called a brigantine. She touched the garment and felt the armor plating inside. It wasn’t as impressive as plate mail but she was sure it would stop a bullet or at least a knife. She mimed drawing a bow and was pleased to see it was very flexible. So it wouldn’t hinder her movements. Good.

Chloe looked at her hands and was pleased to see padded archery gloves covered her from her hands to nearly her elbow, leaving her fingers nearly bare. Wrap-around sunglasses protected her eyes and her identity. Her hair was braided and coiled around her head to keep it out of her face and her leggings were bronze colored leather too, save for armored knee pads and shin guards worn over her brown boots. Unlike the others there was a huge bow slung over her back. Milvii no doubt wanted her ready to battle at a moment’s notice. She also wore a dark red cape that fluttered around her like wings, similar to Felix.

It wasn’t the bright yellow “Hey, look at me!” outfit she had worn as Queen Bee but it was much more practical and she liked it better. It suited her, especially the new person she was trying to become.

                                                   *****

Claude looked at Haart, then at Allen. He enjoyed watching everyone transform, especially Allegra. His girlfriend now looked like the beautiful, heroic protector he’d always known her to be. Now he had to share her with the outside world and he was only a little bit jealous. After all, he got to be a badass knight alongside her. They’d watch each other’s back and be hero partners. It was gonna be great.

Allegra was off talking to Chloe about something or other so he decided to sidle over to Allen and discuss something with him.

His usual instinct was to bounce into the center of the room and transform with all eyes on him. He was thought of as the life of the party, the clown, the attention seeker. It was practically expected of him by now and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy his role most of the time. He was glad of his place in his friend group dynamic and happy he had friends who welcomed his exuberance.

Then again, Allen rarely if ever got the spotlight. Allen was, in Claude’s admittedly biased opinion, fucking awesome. He was probably one of the best looking people Claude had ever met in his life and definitely one of the smartest. He was kind, talented, and the most level-headed, even-tempered guy in show business. Claude liked to sit near him whenever he needed a calming vibe.

But the spotlight was always stolen by Claude or sometimes Felix. Allen rarely had all eyes on him and didn’t everyone deserve to be the center of attention once in a while? Maybe it was finally Allen’s turn.

“You can go ahead and transform before me if you want to, Allen,” Claude told his friend.

He thought he sounded generous but Allen just smiled at him. The smile was gentle but knowing and Claude wondered if he came off patronizing. “C’mon, Claude. You’re not fooling anyone. Allen grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. “Not everyone needs to be the center of attention to breathe, y’know.”

Claude tried to nod but stopped and said, “but…you never get to be the main event so I thought…”

“That you would just give me the spotlight? No thanks.” Allen grinned. “I don’t like being the focus of everyone’s attention unless I’m talking about music or something I’m confident about. So go ahead and show off for everyone.”

Claude tried one more time. “Only if you’re sure but you don’t always get the credit you deserve so I wanted to give you the chance-”

“I get all the credit and attention from those that matter,” Allen reassured him. He looked bitter for a moment. “Anyone else? I don’t give a shit anymore.”

He frowned but Allen forcibly turned him towards their friends and gave him a push. “Do your thing, Claude.”

He smiled over his shoulder, understanding what his friend was saying. “Unlike me, you don’t have an ego to bruise.”

Allen huffed. “I’m not a Vulcan, but at least you quoted ‘Wrath of Khan’. ”

“Yes you are. Just like that American bloke, Barack Obama.”

                                                         *****

Claude took a step towards his other friends, then stopped and returned to Allen’s side. “Hey, Allen. Let’s transform together.”

Allen raised a brow and Claude refrained from telling him he looked like Spock or maybe Tuvok. “Didn’t I just say I didn’t need the spotlight?”

“Well, yeah…but…” Claude looked at his already transformed friends then back at Allen. They were admiring each other’s armor and he was sure Aunt Amelie had already taken a few pics with her phone. Everyone was probably too excited to notice her. He lowered his voice.  “Look at them. They all look so…heroic and cool.”

Allen’s expression softened. “Don’t you think you’ll look heroic and cool too?”

Claude didn’t answer and fidgeted a little. Allen understood. Claude was so used to being “the funny guy”. Everyone wanted him to be “always on”, to keep everyone laughing and raise their morale when filming wasn’t going well or during a long shoot. Very few people outside their friend circle knew about Claude’s empathy or sensitivity. Or maybe they just didn’t notice his softer side because they only saw the clown.

Claude shrugged. “Probably? I guess so.” He went silent and just stared at his friend.

Allen understood. “You’re nervous about the whole being a hero business.” Claude’s little gestures and body language was obvious to anyone paying attention. And Allen was very, very observant.

Claude fidgeted again. “I don’t want to look stupid in front of everyone. Especially Allegra.” He knew she wouldn’t judge him if he screwed up during filming or an interview but this was real life. Someone could die if he was a shitty hero. He thought he might be less prone to screwing up if he started off right.

Allen grinned. “Yeah, if it helps you, we can do our transformation sequence together.” He nudged Claude’s shoulder. “As long as we can do a Power Rangers pose.”

Claude just shook his head. “Dude, I can’t believe you like that old campy show.”

Allen shrugged. “Hey, I was conceived on Power Rangers sheets.”

Claude paused, thought about what his friend just said, and shook his head to rid it of disturbing thoughts. “Gross.”

                                                  *****

Claude and Allen rejoined the others. “Okay, we’re ready.”

Chloe huffed and pretended to be mad. “Took ya long enough.” She’d taken enough pictures of Claude to know even he suffered from stage fright every so often. Then she gave him a tiny half smile. “You just wanted it to be the grand finale didn’t you?”

He gave her a little half-bow. “What can I say? I can’t help myself sometimes.” He looked at Allen. “We can begin whenever you’re ready.”

“I’ll be ready as soon as Lavii is,” Allen looked at his kwami. “So, what’s your transformation phrase, Sarge?”

The lion kwami puffed out his chest a bit. His cub had explained to him that “Sarge” was a nickname soldiers of his time would give to their mentors as a sign of respect and affection. “Listen well, Cub. Your phrase is ‘Lavii, prepare for battle’.”

Allen gave his kwami a respectful salute and glanced at Claude. “Your turn.”

Claude turned to Haart. “So, um, may I know your transformation phrase, Your Highness? Please?” He put  his hands together as if in prayer and gave his kwami his most winning smile.

Haart laughed gently. “Of course, Young Prince.” He floated a little closer to his charge. “All you need to say is ‘Haart, Sanctuary.”

The two boys nodded, then to no one’s surprise but Chloe’s, began to pose. Allen slid into a sideways lunge. He held his fists in front of him as if in preparation for attack. “Lavii, prepare for battle!”

Claude copied him exactly and stood back to back with his friend as much as he could. “Haart, Sanctuary!”

Allegra facepalmed when she realized Allen, of all people, had talked her boyfriend into doing this. Then again, he was also a huge D&D nerd so she shouldn’t be surprised.

Chloe leaned over and whispered in Allegra’s ear. “What the hell was that about?”

Allegra whispered back. “Remind me to tell  you the sheet story sometime.”

A dark green light swept over Claude and Allegra’s jaw dropped as she stared at her boyfriend. “Damn.”

Claude now wore a green cuirass of hardened leather over a matching tunic. The pauldrons on his shoulders were shaped like leaves and so were the rerebraces that covered his arms. He wore green and brown archery gloves and like Chloe there was a bow on his back. His leggings were green, leaf-shaped greaves protected his knees and his thick leather boots were brown.

Claude was glad he could see his reflection in the mirror. He had the same sort of wrap-around goggles Chloe wore and the crown of braided vines like Allegra. His jewel was green and there was a ring of antlers surrounding the jewel. He looked like all the things he’d want in a hero; brave, competent, strong.

He broke his Power Ranger pose to look back at Allen and for once in his life, couldn’t think of anything to say.

Allen was…

Regal. Badass. Smoking hot.

Everyone else had stopped talking and surrounded Allen to get a good look at his armor. Amelie didn’t know if she should dance with joy or swoon at the sight of one of her son’s dearest friends in armor.

Chloe’s fingers itched as she wished she’d brought her camera. Allegra clasped her hands behind her back to keep herself from touching Allen’s armor. Felix felt a touch jealous of his friend for probably one of the first times in his life.

Allen was fully covered by black and tawny armor. The full helmet was shaped like a lion’s face complete with mane. The pauldrons were tawny but the rerebrace, vambrace and breastplate were all black except for the gold etched lion in the middle of the chest. His gauntlets were also gold and tipped with claws.

The lower body armor continued the black coloring throughout the cuisses, poleyns and greaves but the sabatons were as tawny as the shoulder armor and also ended in claws. At his side was a golden sword in a black scabbard and a polearm was strapped to his back.

Overspecialize and you breed in weakness, Cub, Allen remembered Lavii telling him. It's a slow death. A warrior must be versatile in battle.

He noticed everyone was looking at him and it made him a little nervous. “So? So I look okay?”

“Okay?” Felix echoed. He looked at the others. “Did he just ask me if he looked okay?”

“Yep,” Chloe answered. “It’s probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard Allen say.”

Allegra gave in to the impulse to run over and give her friend a side hug. “You look amazing! Like some legendary hero in a painting! Or a tapestry!”

“I’m getting strong Lion-O vibes from that show I watched as a kid,” Claude spoke up. “You think your sword can give you sight beyond sight?”

“I don’t need it to tell me you’re a twat,” Allen snarked back.

Claude gasped and held his hand to his chest as if injured. Amelie decided to intervene before an argument could break out.

“Oh, my dear darlings!” she exclaimed as she clasped her hands. “You look wonderful and I so wish I could take pictures of you to share online. You all look astonishing. Like modern Knights of the Round Table.” She pouted cutely, knowing she had their attention. “But now that you’ve transformed, what shall you do now?”

Everyone looked at each other and back at her. They hadn’t a clue. They were so busy having fun with their transformations they hadn’t thought of a practical use.

Chloe facepalmed. “Um, solve crimes of course.” She looked at the others. “With Hawk Dick less active right now, ordinary criminals are getting bold because they think the heroes can’t be bothered with regular crimes. Ladybug and Chat Noir only show up for akuma and no one’s seen any of her sidekicks in weeks.” Her fault but moving on. “Why don’t we turn on the tv or look up crimes in progress on our phones?”

Amelie frowned and brought out her phone. “From what I understand, it’s now considered treason to break the law with a supervillain running around the city.” She began scrolling for local news. “Because of the drain on police resources caused by Hawk Moth.”

“So why don’t we give the police a hand by catching some arseholes?” Felix suggested.

There were nods of assent and Claude spoke up. “Sure but shouldn’t we pick our superhero names first? In case someone asks?”

“Oh, please,” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Like we haven’t already done that weeks ago.” She smirked at Claude. “So what name did you pick out and does it coordinate with Allegra’s?”

“Of course it does.” Allegra pointed at her boyfriend then herself. “I’m Isolde and he’s Tristan.”

“Galahad, naturally.” Felix managed to smirk, even with most of his face covered.

“I’ve always been partial to Percival,” Allen said and he struck a more traditional heroic pose for effect.

Amelie smiled at Chloe. “And what did you pick, dearest?”

Chloe didn’t hesitate. “There weren’t any female knights and Guinevere didn’t fight so…” she and Milvii had debated names for days. “I’m going with Morrigan, Celtic Goddess of War.”

Allen scrolled through his phone. “I have a burglary in progress at a jewelry store.”

Everyone began looking on their own phones. “Small fire at a cafe.”

“Good places to start,” Felix nodded to himself. “We can go in groups or on our own. Griff told me our weapons also work as phones so we can keep in touch.”

“Let’s go, Knights of the Round,” Allen strode over to the window and opened it. He looked from Chloe to Felix. “Do either of you mind giving me a ride until I’m used to leaping around the city?”

“I will,” Chloe volunteered. “But I’m not going out a window. Let’s go to the balcony and take off like civilized people.”

“Allegra and I are together,” Claude announced and she grabbed his hand with a smile. “We have no problem taking a leap together.”

“I’ll go solo,” Felix announced and looked at his mom. “We’ll be careful and keep each other safe. I promise.”

“I know you will, dear,” Amelie kissed what she could of his face and smiled, hoping she didn’t look worried.

The new team waved at her and then took off.

She waved and then shut the balcony door with a sigh. She hoped she’d done the right thing by encouraging them to become knights. A sigh escaped her.

She wished she could go with them.

                                                          *****

Kagami showed up on time to her meeting with Chat Noir. In fact, she had been five minutes early and was waiting for him. She watched the horizon for a sign of him and saw a dark shape moving towards her. Her first instinct was to hide in case it was an akuma or Hawk Moth but pride forced her to stand her ground.

Chat Noir landed in front of her and collapsed his staff before tucking it into its usual spot on his back. He looked her over and then fidgeted. “Hey, Mamushi,” he greeted. He looked at his feet and then back at her. “Hope I’m not late.”

He was as nervous as a boy on his first date. It was a little endearing. “I’m early.” She bowed. “I look forward to learning from you.”

Chat Noir bowed back and smiled. “I think you have a good grasp on this whole hero thing already. I’m just here to help you get used to your new powers.” He cleared his throat and his expression became a little more serious. “Hawk Moth has been weirdly quiet over the summer but we still get an occasional akuma. Plus, patrolling is always a good idea.”

“To keep your skills and training sharp.” Kagami approved. “Very wise.”

He laughed and his voice sounded a bit higher than normal. “I wish I could take the credit but to tell the truth it was Ladybug’s idea.” He explained, “True, it keeps us sharp but there’s plenty of emergencies, accidents, or even normal crimes that need to be dealt with. The Prefecture of Police of Paris are decent but we’re a lot more mobile than they are so we might get to a crime scene faster. Then we call for backup or an ambulance and then go from there.”

He really was an idiot sometimes. He was acting like he was afraid to be alone with Kagami, his own girlfriend! No, she was Adrien’s girlfriend. Chat Noir didn’t have a girlfriend. He forced himself to relax and to remember how he’d treated Rena or Carapace when they first became heroes.

His heart winced a little when he thought of Rena and Carapace. Or rather, his best bud Nino and Alya. They could never be heroes again, not when Hawk Moth knew who they were. Well, technically neither could Kagami but Hawky was expecting Ryuuko, not Mamushi. And to be fair, Nino and Alya were pretty busy this summer so maybe Ladybug was waiting to see how Kagami did and whoever LB chose did with their new kwami before handing out any more Miraculous.

Chat Noir was unsure how to act around Mamushi. He knew who she was behind the mask so it was entirely possible she could figure out who he was if he wasn’t careful. He wanted to be friendly and professional but was afraid he’d just come off as flirty. That was how he had acted towards his partner and he didn’t want to act that way again. His father’s face flashed in his mind; professional and coldly distant. That could work. He forced his posture straight and made his face blank. When he spoke again he sounded very much like Gabriel.

“Ladybug and her new trainee are patrolling the north and east parts of Paris so we’ll tackle the south and west.” He looked at Mamushi to see her reaction. “Is that alright with you?”

Her eyes went wide then dark with hurt. Mamushi was expecting a friendly night of training with a team member, not his impression of his father. Suddenly she straightened and her friendly expression was gone. Now she looked just like she did when she was training with her mother. She nodded. “I will take your lead until I’m comfortable with my new kwami.” She told him. She didn’t smile, her face was a mask and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.. “I will ask you to refrain from flirting with me as I’ve seen you do with Ladybug in the past.” She raised her chin proudly. “I have a boyfriend.”

“I know…Adrien Agreste.” He tried to appear formal and in control. “I saw both of you on tv.” He couldn’t tell if she believed him or not. “You seemed…happy. Right for each other.”

Her smile returned for a moment and his breath caught in his throat. She was so beautiful. Then it dimmed and faded as she seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then she shook it off and looked up at him “I think so too.”  She went to the ledge and looked over her shoulder at him. “Shall we begin?”” Without waiting for  him to reply, she leaped off and into the night.

He shook his head in wonder then jumped after her. He had a good feeling about tonight.

                                                           *****

He was very very wrong.

Mamushi didn’t exactly do anything wrong, it was just she was used to the elemental powers of the Dragon. She loved offense while the Snake’s strength was more defense. She never hesitated but the Snake had to sit back and observe, reflect, then attack or help plan.

Perhaps she wasn’t right for the Snake but Second Chance had saved their collective asses too many times for him to count. They needed a new Snake and there were very few people nearby they could trust with a Miraculous. Most of the former Wielders were out of town or busy.

He could tell she was becoming frustrated. He knew her well enough to read the signs. Her lips thinned and her mouth became a grim line. Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. He could feel her glaring at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.

They were watching a small jewelry store. The owner was an old man who was training his young granddaughter to take his place one day. Two men were watching the place, waiting for the store to close and for the pair to come out the back door where they were waiting. They were probably going to overpower them then threaten the girl to get the old man to open the safe. They were probably planning to kill or at least severely injure the pair once they were done to prevent identification.

Chat Noir knew they would have to act fast. “All right. We don’t have much time. I need you to activate ‘Second Chance’ when I tell you to. Then I’ll fight off these guys and get the civilians to safety.”

Mamushi looked at him. Her face was as expressionless as a Noh mask. “Is there anything else I need to do?”

He shook his head. “No. Stay here and activate your power if anything goes wrong. That’s the most valuable thing you can do to help.”

She looked him right in the eye while she flicked the snake on the bracelet she wore. “Second Chance”

Chat Noir immediately freaked out. “Ka-I mean-Mamushi! Didn’t I just say ‘wait until I tell you to’? You’re going to ruin-”

“No. I refuse to continue without having my say.” She stopped him from speaking with a look before he could protest. She sighed and continued to speak.

“I admit. I am…struggling with the abilities of the Snake. They do not come as easily to me as the Dragon did. I…also acknowledge that I can also be a bit impulsive. Staying back and waiting does not come naturally to me.”

“I-” he tried to say but she just stopped him with a hand. “I can also say you are not helping me adjust.” She looked him in the eye and even though her face remained impassive her eyes were sad and hurt.

“You are not a good instructor. You expect perfection on the first try. Something you’ve never demanded before. Neither you nor Ladybug were ever displeased with Ryuuko,” she reminded him. “Why is Mamushi different?”

His shoulders slumped and he let his Gabriel persona drop. “You’re right and I’m sorry.” He sighed and continued. “Being the Dragon leans more into your fighting experience and your…um..your first instinct is always to attack and that doesn’t always work with the Snake. You need to step back and watch for an opening or a way to defeat your opponent, human or akuma.”

“Look, I know these new powers might not seem like a good fit at first but I trust you and so does Ladybug.” He gave her one of his usual smiles and softened his tone. He hated the way his father spoke to him, why did he think it was a good way to talk to Kagami? “We…I…know you have the maturity to handle the responsibility of time manipulation. You just…need more time.” He tried to laugh. “Pun intended, to adjust.”

She didn’t smile or laugh but she did not seem angry either. “Thank you for your honesty and faith in my abilities.” She scowled a bit. “But this conversation isn’t over. It’s just postponed until after our mission is complete.” She reset the bracelet and looked down into the alleyway. The door knob turned and was about to open. The robbers were in place. The heroes tensed and prepared themselves to go to work.

                                                  *****

The cafe fire wasn’t big so Galahad went to work. He left the actual fighting of the fire to the experts while he quietly ferried trapped customers out of the building. They were too overcome with smoke and carbon monoxide to notice he wasn’t a firefighter so he was able to evacuate most of the people while the professionals tried to bring the flames under control.

A sudden whoosh alerted him that the flames had reached the grease trap in the sink and he hoped the kitchen stove ran on electricity and not gas. He was debating whether or not he should grab a fire extinguisher when he heard a scream coming from a room above the cafe.

“Maman! Papa! Save me!”

A young voice cried out for help. Dammit. He’d forgotten how many people lived above their shops in this city. The cafe owners obviously had a young child trapped in their living quarters. Why hadn’t they told anyone?

He irritably took to the air. Really, the owners or employees couldn’t tell the firefighters there was a child or children trapped upstairs? Honestly. Some people should never be parents…

He broke off his silent criticism when he saw a few people on stretchers. Two were unconscious. They were wearing long aprons with some sort of logo or script. Hmm. Well, if they were the cafe owners then it made sense they hadn’t alerted the authorities. He felt a little bad about thinking the worst of them.

Well, that didn’t matter at the moment. He had a child to save.

Fortunately there was a window near where he’d heard the child’s voice. He tugged at it. The window was locked but thankfully not barred so with his newly enhanced strength he could easily get it open.

He rushed inside and found a little boy hunched on the floor near the window. The child’s eyes widened when he saw his rescuer.

The little boy crossed himself. “Are-are you an angel? Am I dead?” He didn’t seem afraid, just curious. He glanced behind him. “Is Alice dead too? Can you save her if she isn’t?” Suddenly he grabbed Galahad’s leg. “Please save her! She’s just a baby, she can’t go to Heaven yet!”

The knight followed the boy’s gaze and saw an adorable pink and white baby cot in the corner. The infant made no sound. She was either sleeping despite the fire and chaos all around her or…overcome by carbon monoxide.

“I’m not an angel, merely a knight. You’re not dead and I promise to get you and your sister out of here.”

“Thank you!”

He scooped the boy up and strode over to the cot. The little girl had lovely auburn curls and healthy pink cheeks. He hoped he wasn’t too late. No more funerals.

Galahad shook off his macabre thoughts and cradled the baby in the crook of his arm. He looked at the little boy who was staring at him as if he was something wonderful. Like a real hero.

“What’s your name?”

The boy looked a little awed at being addressed. “Jean-Luc, sir.”

“A good name. I like it. You’re a good big brother, Jean-Luc. And brave.” The little girl shifted a little in his arms and he sighed in relief. She was alive. For now.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Galahad kicked open the window and flew out to the roof. He looked out towards the ambulance. “Jean-Luc, I’m sure a brave boy like you has good eyesight too. Can you see your parents down there?”

“Yes!” The boy pointed to the woman on the stretch. “That’s my maman!” He squinted as he tried to see better. “Is she sleeping? Why is she sleeping?”

“Sometimes fire can make bad air that can make people sleepy.” Galahad tried to explain in a way a four year old could understand. “She’ll be better after the hospital. Now, let’s get you down-”

The knight’s words were cut off as the fire hit the gas line and the little building rocked from the explosion. There were shouts from the firefighters as they tried to clear the area of spectators. Galahad and his charges were blown off the roof. Little Jean-Luc clung to his neck in fear. He missed being able to breathe freely but now a hand was free and he was able to catch himself by grabbing the neighboring building. It was an old small chapel and solidly built. He dug in with his claws until he regained his balance, then took to the air.

The boy shrieked, from delight or fear Galahad couldn’t tell but he resolved to set him down as quickly and quietly as possible.

He located the stretcher with Jean-Luc and Alice’s mother on it. The paramedic was otherwise occupied with putting a shock blanket on a man who kept praying under his breath and neither saw nor heard them.  He gently set the infant on her mother’s chest and whispered to Jean-Luc, “I have to go now. More people to save. You’re an incredible big brother. Alice is lucky to have you.”

The boy was covered in soot but he smiled gratefully. “What’s your name, M. Knight?”

“I am Sir Galahad,” he bowed to the boy. “Be safe, Jean-Luc.”

He spread his wings and shot into the night sky. He hid on a roof and watched as the boy ran up to the man the paramedic was helping with cries of “Papa!”

The scene of love between father and son warmed him but something in his chest also tightened and he felt that he was just as big a voyeur as the gawkers. With one last look to make sure the paramedic was treating Alice he flew off.

[fruitdragon1a]

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Fruit Dragon. Writing tag: #my writing

Here's a list of all my published works so far:

Current Works: Short List (just titles and links)

Amphibia

Day 12: Alone (T)

The Owl House/Amphibia

Fighting the Stars (G)

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

The Butterfly Effect (G)

Friendship and Courage (G)

Off the Record (G)

When a Ladybug Flies Away (G)

Love is a Double Door (G)

Under the Umbrella (G)

Who Murdered Adrien??? (w/ Mickeyfan1) (G)

Cross Strike (G)

FruitDragon's Femslash Feb 2024 - collection (G-T)

FD and Nik's Fluff February 2024 - collection (w/ nikela) (G-T)

All the Times Mme Bustier Heard "Ladybug Erased My Homework" and Other Related Excuses (G)

you gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye (G)

The Art of Blossoms (T)

Current Works: Extended Version (w/summaries, tags, and status)

Amphibia

Day 12: Alone (for Marcy March 2023) - Complete (T)

How Marcy lost her memories before waking up trapped in her own mind during All In.

The Owl House/Amphibia

Fighting the Stars - Ongoing (19/?) (G) Tag: #fighting the stars

Luz and her friends Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are inseparable. They would all do anything for one another, and they all wanted the best for one another… but for a while, Luz has kind of felt like the odd one out. Now they’ve been transported to Amphibia, and Luz gets confirmation from an ancient prophecy that her friends were destined to be with one another… and she wasn’t. But who cares what destiny thinks?

Miraculous Ladybug

The Butterfly Effect - Ongoing (8/?) (G) Tag: #the butterfly effect

Once Marinette was close enough, the person stuck his hand out in a handshake. “Are you the partner my kwami mentioned?” he said. He was dressed in red with black spots, with solid black panels on the sides of his suit. A red-and-black mask stretched across his face, with two red antennae sticking out of his blond hair. He had the greenest eyes Marinette had ever seen. “Yeah, I am,” Marinette told him. “You’re the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, right?” “That’d be me!” the boy said. “Nice to meet you. I’m, uh–” He thought for a moment. “Crimson Beetle. What’s your name?" “I’m Ma– uh–” Marinette shifted her weight, trying to think of a name, only to lose her balance and nearly topple off the side of the building. “Madly clumsy,” she finished, smiling sheepishly as Crimson Beetle let go of her arm. Nice going, Marinette. “Don’t have a name yet, Clumsy Girl?” he said with a light laugh. “That’s okay. You can think of one later.” -------------- Miraculous swap AU where Marinette has the Miraculous of the Black Cat and Adrien has the Ladybug Miraculous.

Friendship and Courage - Complete (G)

After making genuine friendships for the first time in her life, Sabrina finally gains the courage to stand up to Chloé.

Off the Record - Complete (G)

After her designs went global, Marinette's assistant insisted that she set up an interview with a major news outlet to solidify the company's newfound popularity. Marinette agreed, scheduling an interview with a journalist from the local TVi. Little did she know that decision would be the best one she'd ever made.

When a Ladybug Flies Away - Complete (G)

When Marinette finds reason to believe that Hawkmoth has figured out her identity, she has no choice but to give up her Miraculous. She decides to do it quickly and painlessly, telling Chat during their patrol and sending Tikki to him once she was back home, so he could decide to bring to Master Fu or to choose a partner as he saw fit. But imagine her surprise when he lands on her balcony with the Miraculous in hand, asking Marinette to be his partner in the absence of Ladybug.

Love is a Double Door - Complete (G)

Ladybug and Chat Noir are planning to propose to their respective beloveds. Adrien and Marinette go on a date.

Under the Umbrella - Complete (G)

Almost everyone has a soulmate. What are Adrien and Marinette supposed to do when they meet theirs?

Who Murdered Adrien??? - Complete (G)

Don't be fooled by the title, Adrien isn't actually dead. Ladybug has summoned all the heroes to a rooftop to tell them some awful news-- Adrien Agreste's amok was purified! Needless to say, Chat Noir is extremely confused.

Cross Strike - Complete (2/2) (G) Tag: #strikeback au

“There’s no point in going on any longer,” he sighed. “Come back home with Adrien, the ad campaign we planned is far too risky.” “Of course. But, sir, the thing is…” A new voice dryly cut into the conversation, and Gabriel looked up to see the new Dog hero that Ladybug had selected sitting on his desk. “Ladybug did make a mistake… Uncle.” The phone slipped through Gabriel’s fingers, landing with an indelicate crack against the tiles. “I’ve lost Adrien, sir. He’s no longer on the train,” Nathalie finished. “Sir? Are you still there?” Gabriel gaped at the Dog hero– no, at his nephew. “Félix?” he choked out. “The one and only,” Félix replied with an almost menacing smirk.

FruitDragon's Femslash Feb 2024 - Oneshot series (6/11)

Aurore/Ondine - Eye on Someone (G) Juleka/Zoé - What Is This Feeling (G) Sabrina/Alya - Heather (T) Fei/Zoé - Succinctly Yours (G) Chloé/Marinette - old ghosts cast long shadows (T) Juleka/Rose - holding onto the memory of you (T) Lila/Marinette - Forever Hers (T) Zoé/Alya - Meant to Be (G) Zoé/Marinette - A Neighbor In Need (G)

FD and Nik's Fluff February 2024 - Oneshot series (2/15)

Days 1/2 - walking along the seine (T) Days 3/4 - ice skating, and what it means (G) Days 5/6 - in sickness and in health (G) Days 7/8 - stood up and made a friend (G) Day 14 - unexpected valentine (G)

All the Times Mme Bustier Heard "Ladybug Erased My Homework" and Other Related Excuses - Ongoing (1/?) (G)

Ladybug's cure isn't perfect. Anyone can tell you that-- there's a cost to every life saved, to every brick laid back in its foundation. Its effects are completely random. Sometimes it's just a few loaves of bread in a bakery turning back to dough in the display case, sometimes it's an entire essay being unwritten, sometimes it's construction being undone or a person being teleported back to where they were at the start of the attack. The bad luck to balance the good luck.

you gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye - Complete (G)

Gabriel Agreste's greatest wish is to bring Émilie back to life. His greatest regret in life is letting Nathalie use the Peacock Miraculous. As time passes and his relationship with Nathalie sours, he's not sure what he wants anymore.

The Art of Blossoms - Ongoing (2/6) (T)

Marinette is a florist. Adrien needs a bouquet. Or: Five times Adrien walked out of Marinette's store with flowers, and one time he left with something far more precious.

[awholelotofladybug]

"This is a complicated choice."- Adrien

Emilie's Choice Part One: A Stammering Adrien AU Moment

Adrien: This is a complicated choice. Are you sure you want t-t-to go through with it?

Emilie: Positive. And I’ve already talked it over with Master Fu.

Adrien: But you s-s-s-seemed so excited when you first got your Miraculous.

Emilie: I’m sorry, sunshine. Believe me, I would love to keep being a superhero. But the staff at work are starting to get suspicious, and if I’m being honest with myself... *cricks her back* Oof! I’m not getting any younger.

Adrien: Well... You have been lagging behind a bit lately out in the field. How does... How does Duusu feel about this?

Duusu: I understand. Being a hero isn't for everyone, and I don't want my mistress getting any more back problems because of me. *hugs Emilie's cheek* I sure will miss you, though.

Emilie: Aw, *snuggles Duusu* I’ll miss you too, Duusu. But don't worry. I'll find you a nice new holder, someone young and spry, and who will let you come visit. In fact, with whom I have in mind, you might be visiting quite often.

Adrien: That’s another thing. Are w-w-w-we sure he’s a good candidate? I think we sh-sh-should evaluate whether we can trust him with a Miraculous.

Emilie: Adrien Athanase Agreste, I’m surprised at you. Felix is your cousin. Don’t you think he deserves the benefit of the doubt?

Adrien: Mom, we can’t just g-g-g-give it to him. He needs... He needs to show a certain level of compassion and courage first.

Emilie: Well, that is how it’s usually done. Still, I think your cousin will surprise you.

[cassarilladraws]

Cat Walker’s Secret Is Revealed... Twice

Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir swapped Miraculous for a week in hopes of making their partnership stronger. Marinette feels inadequate when she compares herself as Ladynoire to Cat Walker. Plagg explains that it wasn't exactly the feline hero's first night on the job. Rating: G Words: 4198 Status: Complete (Oneshot) Pairing: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/ Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Tags: Takes place after Kuro Neko, identity reveal, identity shenanigans, ignores the S4 finale ////////// Read on Ao3 | Wattpad ////////// Ladynoire landed on her balcony, climbed down into her room and plopped unceremoniously in the bed. “Claws in.” She mumbled out. “I need cheese!!” Plagg whined. “You know where to find it.” He flew off to the stash Marinette had hidden for him. The girl groaned and stretched. “Sheesh. What’s wrong with you, Pigtails?” “I admit it.” “Admit what?” Plagg gulped down another piece of Camembert. “He makes it look easy.” “Who makes it look easy?” A wicked grin appeared on his face.

Marinette glared at the kwami. “You know very well what I’m saying.” “Ah, yes, but I do love to hear you admit that my holder is amazing.” “He is.” She sat up and smiled. “He really is. We’ve swapped Miraculous for a week and I’m seeing just how much that is true. I’m exhausted from distracting the villain and protecting him, the way he always has done for me. He’s doing a great job with the Ladybug Miraculous. But I’m just tired.” “My holder is incredible. The best I’ve ever had, in fact.” Plagg laughed. “But to be fair, he’s a better fit for my Miraculous. Just like you are for Tikki’s. The kid is probably just as exhausted as you are.” “Maybe.” Marinette pulled her knees into her chest. “I feel like I’m struggling though compared to the other person who I’ve seen use the cat Miraculous.” Plagg’s eyes widened when he realized that Marinette wasn’t comparing herself to Chat Noir. She wasn’t expecting herself to be as experienced as he was. If the look on her face was any indication, she was upset at herself for not living up to someone she thought was inexperienced. “You’re talking about Cat Walker, right?” Plagg offered. “Yes!” Her hands became animated as she spoke. “He was perfect. Too perfect! He knew what to do. He asked questions but I just think he was trying to be polite. Here I am, someone who has used so many Miraculous but I’m not even close to as proficient with this Miraculous as he was! What does that say about me? I’m with Chat Noir nearly every day, but this random guy seems to have learned more from him than I have!” Marinette pouted and looked at the rose gold ring on her finger. Plagg stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Really? You’re laughing at me? I’m not feeling particularly good about myself and you’re just going to laugh?” Marinette laid back down dramatically and closed her eyes. Plagg was apparently not going to give her the pep talk she could have expected from Tikki. “I’m laughing because you think that was Cat Walker’s first day on the job.” “Well, of COURSE it was no one else has used that Miraculous except…” Marinette’s eyes popped open again. “Plagg." “Yes, oh mighty guardian.” He responded, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Don’t you all mighty guardian me!” She sat up again and armed herself with a pillow. “When you told me you were going to find another holder…” “I lied.” “Tikki helped you lie!” Marinette gasped. “Yes, and I’m proud of her for it. Listen, I know who my holder is meant to be. So yes, you’ve figured it out. Cat Walker knew what he was doing from experience. Because I went right back to Chat Noir and convinced him to return." It was a futile attempt, and Marinette knew it, but she still threw the pillow at the kwami. Plagg phased right through it and gave her a deadpan look. “Feel better?” “Not really.” Marinette grabbed her pigtails in each hand, trying to make sense of it. “So, why didn’t he just come back as Chat Noir?” “Because he didn’t feel wanted. He didn’t feel needed and he didn’t want to waste your time anymore.” Plagg’s ears drooped. “I convinced him to return, but as a different hero. Someone who was exactly what you wanted in a partner.” “I want Chat Noir as my partner!” Marinette wiped at her eyes as she realized just how hurt her he had been. “He didn’t have to try to be someone else to be my partner. I hate that I ever made him feel that way.” “You know that now and he does too. After all, you’ve swapped Miraculous. You’ve talked about a lot. He’s feeling much more confident by your side. But at that time he was in a bad place. I didn’t want to lose him. There’s also the fact that I knew it wouldn’t work out as Cat Walker.” “You did?" “Of course I did!” Plagg waved a paw in front of himself. “Chat Noir is meant to be your partner. You are meant to balance each other. I knew you’d miss him.” “I did miss my him. Even though, I guess he was right there.” Marinette wiped at her eyes again. “No wonder he was so good at the hero thing. But he was too perfect. It was distracting!” Plagg had some mercy to not comment on the blush that spread across her face. “Cat Walker was carefully curated. We had to plan out a costume and he had to be in a certain mindset and really concentrate to become the hero he was under the impression you wanted.” “That’s not what I needed. I need his stupid jokes and puns. I need his insight. I don’t want a perfect doll to order around. I want a partner.” “Exactly.” “I didn’t even know a Miraculous holder could change so much.” Marinette tilted her head. “Could he have gotten stuck as Cat Walker? That doesn’t seem like him. What if he would have?” Plagg laughed again. “He was worried about the same thing.” “What did you tell him?" “That Chat Noir is a part of him, just like—like his civilian self is a part of him. When he transformed into Cat Walker, it’s like I said, it was him trying to portray a specific image. It took some time. Becoming Chat Noir again? Easy. All he had to do was transform. Because that’s who he is.” “I’m glad he’s back.” She relaxed. “Okay, so now I don’t feel so bad about not being as good as Cat Walker with your Miraculous.” “Don’t sweat it. I’m just hoping you both learned something from it.” “We did Plagg, I really think we did.” ————————————————————- A few weeks passed since the heroes had swapped their Miraculous back. Adrien found himself running in the sewers with Ladybug. An akuma was after them. All he wanted to do was get away from the spotted heroine so he could transform and help in the fight. “Where is that cat!” She said as she ran. Her Lucky Charm was in hand, a plan was in her mind but she needed her partner’s Cataclysm and he was nowhere to be seen. She pulled Adrien aside and took out her yoyo frantically. First she called her partner again, but it only went to voicemail. Adrien cringed as Ladybug grew more unnerved by the lack of response. “I have a plan, but I need Chat Noir to make it work!” Well, if you’d stop being so overprotective of me maybe I could get away from you and transform and this would be over in a few minutes. Adrien had to keep his mouth shut about that, but he was getting more irritated by the second. The akuma was just getting closer. “Okay, so I’ll have to come up with a new plan.” She began while reaching into her yoyo. “Adrien Agreste, this is the Miraculous of the…” Adrien stopped her. “Ladybug, I’m not sure I’m the right fit for a Miraculous.” “What are you talking about? I know the Snake Miraculous didn’t work out but—” BOOM!!! There was a loud crash in the distance. The akuma wasn’t making their approach quietly. “Ladybug, you should go! I’ll just hide!” “What?! With an akuma headed straight for here? No way am I leaving you! Adrien I’m going to give you a Miraculous so you can—“ “I’ll run ahead, you distract it and I’ll look for Chat Noir!” “I don’t think Chat Noir is even transformed. Adrien I need your help!” Ladybug couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice. The thought that Adrien didn’t want to help after the incident with the snake Miraculous hurt. Adrien’s eyes widened. He had a sudden idea to convince her, and it wasn’t technically a lie. “I’ve tried two Miraculous and neither of the heroes I became were the ones you needed!” Ladybug huffed. Sure she’d given out a lot of Miraculous, but she hadn’t given him one twice. “What are you talking about! It was just the snake, there’s probably a Miraculous that suits you better.” “It wasn’t just the Snake Miraculous!” Adrien took a deep breath. “I was Cat Walker and that didn’t work out either!” There was a nudge from Plagg under his over shirt but Adrien ignored it. “What?” Ladybug closed her yoyo and stared at him slack jawed. Her eyes scanned his features. A gloved hand reached up and traced the curve of his cheek. “Uh, Ladybug? What are you doing?” Adrien asked, blushing a little at the contact. Another loud crash from the akuma thankfully brought her senses back to the task at hand. “You were Cat Walker?" “Yes?” “Well, I was told that Cat Walker was actually Chat Noir.” A nervous laugh bubbled up from Adrien’s throat. “Oh, you had heard he was Chat Noir, huh?” “Yeah.” She realized she had been staring Adrien down and blushed. “Well, um you see…” Adrien was fully prepared to launch into some long explanation to cover his identity but Ladybug just grabbed his hand and lifted it. “We need to talk about this later.” She looked directly at his silver ring, before rubbing her thumb over it. “Right now, I need you, Chaton." Plagg no longer felt the need to hide and flew up beside Adrien’s head. “Yeah, so maybe I should have told you that I told her Chat Noir was Cat Walker.” Plagg shrugged. “This is too much, we can talk later!” Ladybug said. The blond gulped, a certain fear crossing his mind, but then shook his head and nodded. At this point the ground was shaking and the akumatized person, who looked very much like a humanoid alligator, was right around the corner. Ladybug held up her Lucky Charm frisbee and looked around them. Her Ladybug vision highlighted Adrien this time. “This is a good spot. I can bounce the frisbee off the walls and into their face.” “And I’ll slide underneath, jump up and Cataclysm the backpack where the akuma is. A purrfect plan M’lady.” Adrien nodded immediately knowing what to do. This threw Ladybug for a loop. Her partner was good at practically reading her mind when it came to plans, but seeing Adrien do it made her blink a couple of times. She felt her cheeks heat up as well, and hoped he didn’t notice the blush. Adrien’s head tilted at her response. His response wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, for Chat Noir. Then he touched the collar of his shirt and chuckled. “Right, time for a wardrobe change. Plagg, Claws out!” Right before her eyes, Adrien became Ladybug’s partner. She couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her. “Ready!” He offered snapping her back into the plan. Ladybug nodded. ————————————————- They defeated the akuma according to plan. Ladybug asked Chat Noir to meet her on a rooftop after she recharged to transform again. After a nervous talk with Tikki, she finally swung up to meet him. “I’m sorry.” Chat Noir said as soon as she landed, his voice full of emotion. “I didn’t mean to reveal my identity like that. I didn’t know Plagg had told you that Cat Walker was me… I mean Chat Noir me. If I have to give up the ring, I don’t know what I’ll do. Plagg and I just, I don’t want to lose him. I know I messed up before and gave it up but I shouldn’t have, it would be such a big mistake. Now I’m here and you know my identity and I know you didn’t want to know. But you’re the Guardian and—“ “Woah, Kitty.” She held up both hands. “I am NOT losing you as a partner. That ring belongs with you." “Oh. Well, I mean you said you wanted to talk and I just assumed.” Chat fidgeted with the ring on his finger. “You keeping your Miraculous is a part of this talk. You’re the one I want by my side.” “Even now? Knowing who I am?” Ladybug paced away from him. She was trying to walk off some nervous energy, but she was also trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. When she paced back towards him she could barely take his nervous kitten eyes. The movement to hug him was automatic. He tensed in her arms in surprise, before returning the hug. “Especially now that I know.” She reassured him. His body relaxed in her arms and she felt some tension leave her own shoulders. She released him and sat down on the roof, in no hurry to rush this conversation. She gestured to the spot directly in front of him and he sat down on the secluded rooftop. “Since Plagg was a big part of this reveal, I think he should be part of the conversation.” “Yeah?” Chat smiled. “Claws in.” “Now, how was I supposed to know that he would tell you that his civilian self was Cat Walker?” Plagg began. “It’s crazy how things worked out.” Adrien laughed. Adrien’s laugh. Chat Noir’s laugh. Ladybug’s mind was putting together these two pieces of a whole person. Slowly things clicked into place. “I’m sorry I ever made you feel isolated.” Adrien lifted an eyebrow at that. “Ladybug, it’s okay. We’ve become closer as partners. We’ve swapped Miraculous for a week. We talk a lot more now. I don’t feel that way anymore. Every relationship has its ups and downs. I know my place is by your side.” She blushed more at that. “I-I mean as your partner of course!” He felt the need to clarify. “It’s okay I mean what you know!” Ladybug pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know what you mean. It’s just that I feel really bad for making you feel that way. Especially since I know you deal with being isolated and pushed away in real life. That sort of feeling never should have come from me as your partner.” He glanced at his kwami and then back to her. “So, you know how my father is? I didn’t think it was all that public. At least, not how he keeps me locked away most of the time, unless it’s for a company thing. Thankfully he does let me go to school. Although, I think Nathalie had more to do with that decision.” “Oh…I mean I’m sure the public doesn’t know that so much. I would imagine it would be pretty bad if everyone knew just how intense your father was with you when it comes to having control over your schedule. I guess.” She laughed, while pointedly avoiding eye contact with him. Ladybug knew she was rambling but her nervous energy bubbled up. “Not that I’d be all that familiar with things like that, something so personal. It’s just I know a lot about you because you’re kind of famous and as a hero I do try to check up on people who have been targeted by akumas, yeah, targeted by akumas! And you are also a public figure so it’s more likely for you to be targeted and you know that’s the reason I know about you feeling isolated because I’ve checked up on you and I—-“ “Ladybug.” He said quietly, but it put a stop to her rambling. “You know me. Don’t you? I mean Adrien me?” “Who? Me? How would I? I mean I’m just a superhero doing her job.” She kept looking everywhere but at him. “Please, look at me.” He grabbed her hand softly. When her eyes met his she blushed. This is your partner. Silly. Goofy. Chat Noir. Calm down. But you’ve been feeling different things towards him lately and now you’ve realized he’s Adrien Agreste. Ladybug’s heart was beating fast inside her chest. She was sure if her partner was transformed he’d be able to hear it from where he sat. “I won’t ask you to reveal your identity to me if you aren’t ready.” He assured her. “I mean you are the Guardian. It makes sense for you to know mine. Are things going to be okay between us?" “Sure!” She said way too loudly. He let go of her hand gently, but his expression was downcast like he didn’t quite believe her. “I-I mean it! It will be okay with us! I’m sure it will! You are such a good partner and a great person!” The signals she was giving off really weren’t helping Adrien understand the situation. She was flustered and nervous and rambling. He wasn’t sure what that meant for their partnership. They were friends. Sure he had a crush on her, but their relationship was more than that. He felt comfortable with her. Now that his identity had been revealed she was acting nervous and frazzled. “Oh boy.” Plagg rolled his eyes. “You’re going to be fighting alongside each other every day. Haven’t you already seen what happens when you are too smitten and distracted?” “Plagg!” Adrien scolded. “Leave her alone! …Wait. Smitten?” Ladybug’s shoulder’s sagged. “Yes, okay. When you were Cat Walker, you were so perfect! Too perfect! And I-It was distracting and I couldn’t even get my plans together.” Adrien sighed. “I’m nowhere near that perfect. Cat Walker is just me when I’m trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. It took a lot of planning to become that as a hero. Cat Walker doesn’t come naturally to me.” “But look at you!” She blurted out. “You-you’re gorgeous!” “What?” Adrien’s eyes widened. “But-but not just that. With you being a rich and famous gorgeous model, it would be easy to assume you’re conceited and superficial. But when people really get to know you they’d see someone sweet, sincere, and generous.” “You… that sounds familiar.” “What? Why would that sound familiar? It’s a perfectly normal thing to say! Just talking about how people shouldn’t just judge! You know! Exactly! People like to assume things but they are just not true and it’s hard to see until you know them. I mean get to know them. I mean if I got to know you better as Adrien. Because I totally know you don’t. I mean I don’t know you! Eep!” Inside his head, Adrien’s thoughts were swirling. He sat across from her and she had her head in her hands. She’d been rambling and might have revealed too much. “Please, just forget all of that… I-I’m just not sure how to process all of this.” He heard the words muffled by her hands. “Kid, if you’ve figured it out just put the poor girl our of her misery. I’m tired of watching you two run around in circles.” Plagg whined. “I’m Buttercup?” Adrien’s voice was barely a whisper. A squeak came from behind Ladybug’s fingers. She peaked through them cautiously. “I-I think I said too much.” Adrien stood, clearly having too much energy from the revelation to remain where he was and started pacing. “So, if I’m Buttercup. That means that you’re Marinette. If Marinette is Ladybug, that means I’m the other boy. Which means, Ladybug has been turning me down for another boy who was ME. All this time?” He pointed to himself as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Me? Really?!” Ladybug couldn’t help but laugh at his dramatics and it eased her nervousness. “Yes, really. That’s why I always trip over my words with you.” “Wow.” He ran his hand through his hair, which just made it messy as he continued to walk around the rooftop. “I thought it might have been because you didn’t like me.” “No! It was the opposite.” Ladybug’s nerves continued to calm down looking at Adrien’s now messy hair and also the blush she noticed on his face. “I know you have a crush on Ladybug me, but Marinette me is so different and clumsy——“ He cut her off and walked closer to where she was sitting. “And creative, and kind, and intelligent and incredible. Ladybug is you and so is Marinette.” “Where’d you get that bit from.” Plagg jeered. “Plagg helped me realize that, as Adrien and as Chat. In and out of the mask, I’m still me.” Adrien gestured towards his kwami. “It’s true for you too. You’re amazing Marinette." “You really think so?” “I do.” He tilted his head back to the sky and groaned. “I’ve been hopeless from the start.” “What do you mean?” “Well, when you told me to try to get over Ladybug you, I began to notice Marinette you more.” Adrien laughed at his situation. “I had thought about asking Ladybug for advice on how to talk to Marinette, but I always chickened out.” His laugh was contagious and Marinette couldn’t help but join in. Then she stopped suddenly. “You wanted to ask me out? Marinette me?” “Yes! But I was afraid of what it would do to our friendship!” “You two are pathetic.” Plagg happily nibbled on some cheese Adrien had brought, but there was no bite in his words. “Maybe, but I’m glad we’ve sorted through so much.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, if you still want me to back off I mean I can. I don’t want to ask you out if you’re not interested.” “What? No, I thought we just established that we have figured things out?” “But you like Adrien me? On the other hand, you’ve turned down Chat Noir a lot…” Ladybug cringed at the fact, she’d never live it down. “The only reason I turned Chat Noir down was because of Adrien! In fact lately it’s been harder and harder to convince myself that I didn’t have a crush on my partner.” “So, do you have a crush on your partner?” He fidgeted with his ring. In a burst of confidence, Ladybug stood. They had overcomplicated everything for so long. Adrien had reassured her, but now it was his turn to be reassured. “I do. But it’s not just a crush. There’s no one in this world I trust more than you. I’m sorry that the identity rule got in the way of that. Adrien you mean the world to me, but so does Chat Noir. Knowing you are the same person just feels like my heart was never torn in the first place. I fell for Adrien when you gave me that umbrella, but I fell for Chat Noir slowly. With a trust and a companionship that blossomed more and more the better I got to know you. You’re incredible. I love you.” His cheeks burned and his eyes felt misty. “I love you too, M’lady. So, so much. Even more now that I see the whole picture.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him and he returned her embrace. “M’lady, I love you. I love you. I love you! I’ll say it as many times as I need to. You are incredible in AND out of the mask.” With her whole heart, she believed he meant it. “Spots off.” Her transformation fell and she loosened their hug. Tikki watched quietly trying to stay silent in her excitement at seeing the two finally together. “And you should know that I love you.” She looked at his lips. “Cat puns and all.” He noticed her gaze and laughed as his eyes darted to her lips. “I’m wondering if you have the same a-meow-zing idea as I do.” “Ha! Maybe, but I know my partner has two kisses from me he doesn’t remember. I’d like to start making up for that.” “I’m still your partner, you know.” Adrien said. “You are, but I want you to be paws-itive that I mean it when I say I love you in and out of the mask.” “She puns for me!” Adrien brought one hand to his heart dramatically. “Kitty, just let me kiss you!” She reached for his collar as he uttered his transformation phrase. The magic passed over him. Her hand grasped onto his bell and she pulled on it to bring him closer to her height. Then she kissed him like her life depended on it, her other hand reaching up into his hair. He pulled her closer by the waist and returned the kiss with just as much passion. Eventually, they both parted. “Wow.” Chat Noir mused after he caught his breath. He touched his forehead to Marinette's “I think I might finally be able to remember a kiss from you!” “You’d better.” Ladybug flicked his bell. “But I hope we can make many more memories like that one.” ///////// Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! ko-fi | patreon

[lovemarichat1002]

Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction Recommendations!

I decided to start digging through all of my history on AO3, and put all the long hours I spent reading stories about these two to use. So here it is, my Miraculous Ladybug Fic Rec Masterlist!

I will be updating this as I continue reading! last updated 12/13/22

One Shot Fics:

Zero by Miss_Nihilist | rating: G | wc: 4752 | pair: Multimouse/Chat Noir

Summary: Chat Noir won't stop hounding Ladybug about giving Multimouse another shot. None of her arguments hold any water, so Ladybug decides that if Marinette has to go on patrol, it's going to be such a disaster that Chat Noir will have to admit she's not cut out to be a Holder after all. Her plan works - more or less. Notes: A cute Chat Noir appreciates Marinette/Multimouse fic. Lord knows we can't get enough of those!

Parent/Teacher Conference [Kindergarten] by Mystic_Raven20 | rating: G | wc: 2,774 | pair: Adrienette

Summary: Marinette is ill, so Adrien attends the parent/teacher conference by himself, unfortunately, a misunderstanding makes the teacher think he is literally by himself. Notes: A cute little oblivious Dadrien fic

Multichapter Fics:

Revealed in Time by WhitleyMiranda | rating: T | wc: 73k | pair: Marichat, Adrienette

Summary: Marinette is sent 8 years into the future by an Akuma. While there, she discovers a grown-up Hcat Noir and more about her future than she could have ever imagined. Notes: Time Travel AUs are some of my absolute favorites, and this one is definitely near the top of my list! I've reread it many times and always react the same way to the main plot points. Can't get tired of it!

[pro-bee-sisters]

So for a while now, one of my ideas for Pride Month was to have each Miraculous holder that matches the colors of the rainbow flag.

Originally, it was only going to be the current flag (ROY G BIV) with Ladybug as Red, Queen Bee as Yellow, etc..However, I began to feel a bit guilty because I also wanted to do something for the original flag; the one created by the late Gilbert Baker. Especially now that it's been 5 years since his passing. (RIP Mr. Baker, thank you for helping the LGBT community fight for their rights. ❤️🏳️‍🌈)

Furthermore, the more I was looking at my original list, the more ugly I thought of Bunnyx as Blue and Minotaux as Indigo because I felt like the colors just didn't go together. I mean, don't get me wrong, their color schemes can still work but Bunnyx fit more on the turquoise on the original flag than she did on Blue on the current flag.

Then, I remembered that the original flag Baker made had the pink stripe as well. Guess which Miraculous holder is pink?

Pigella~!

Therefore, I decided that as a tribute to both Queen Bee and Vesperia fans both, Queen Bee will be on the current/ROY G BIV flag while Pigella, Vesperia, and Bunnyx will be on the original/Baker's flag.

I hope you all enjoy this idea and and I hope you will soon all enjoy my belated Pride Month art! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[ryder-likes-their-aus]

Two years au -(because you need me) (2y!au )

Anne takes two years to return to Amphibia when she does she finds marcy has sided with andrais willingly and Sasha has grown a massive rebellion but not everything is so simple it seems

A year and a half au (1.5y!au)

a variant of the two year au That i cant explain without spoilers god damit

The room it echos clear ///with words we choose not to hear ///( WCNTH!au)

An au where after leaving andrais she’s not sure if she’s Marcy Darcy the core or someone else entirely

Guide Luz au (G!AU)

Luz ends up guiding Belos around the human realm

Rebellion Marcy au (RM!AU)

Marcy gets time in the rebellion after the core to make things right

Runaway au (or yunan becomes a mom to a sad gay teen on accident) (RW!au)

Marcy discovers andrais’s plans early leading to him having to trap her and experiment on her, she escapes, andrais sends yunan to catch her yunan is very suprised to learn Marcy is like 13 stuff happens yunan and Marcy end up on the run together

Time is an illusion (TIl!au)

When sent through the portal the hexsqaud end up where they were back in episode 1, with the knowledge of the future they try to prevent the day of unity.

Full disclosure (Full!Au)

Similarly when all three of the calamity trio die in this version of all in, time is reset and they are given another chance, however marcy thinking she’s the only one with knowledge of the time loop buys the box and opens it before Anne and Sasha can get to her,

Living together LT!Au

The calamity trio live together nothing angsty ever happens and everything is completely normal

Fire and Embers au (FE!AU) (AU where sky (Here named Ember) is taken in alongside peril,)

Crossovers

apparition high au (AH!Au)

An au about a shcool for the paranormally inclined

With students from

Ducktales

Amphibia

The owl house

Infinity train

Gravity falls

School was founded By Steven universes characters

Characters from other shows may show up from time to time as well

This is the wackiest thing I have ever made and I’m having fun is it cringe? Maybe is it fun hell yeah

Jade gaurd au (JG!au)

Here if Marcy got sent to the boiling isles alone from the beginning, here she joins the emperor's coven and trains under hunter

Allied tyrants au (at!au)

Basically a Belos and Andrais are close Allies who plan to betray each other to keep eachother from reaching their goals, Marcy falls through the portal and ends up in the Boiling ilses instead of being fully possessed

Sashannarcy miraculous Au (SM!AU)

Amphibia au that’s basically a human au with Marcy Sasha and Anne becoming holders of the Cat Tiger and Peacock miraculous respectively as well as Sprig as ladybug,(SpottedBeetle) Andrais is hawk moth ect it’s a very self indulgent au

[abyssal-ali]

Marinette "Valkyrie" Wayne

Masterlist Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 ao3 link (completed) Valkyrie’s suit

Pairing: Marijon

Rating: G

WC: 1k

The next day, since several JL members were there, there was a briefing on Batman's progress in finding Ladybug. He’d spoken with former holders, but no one except Chloe knew LB’s identity, and she wasn’t talking.

Of course, there had to be another alien invasion during the briefing, when only a fraction of the JL was there at the front lines. On the plus side, at least they were at the front lines and could hopefully prevent damage that occurred between their transport to the scene from the Watchtower.

Everyone suited up and called in backup.

The first to arrive were Constantine, GL#3 (Guy Gardner), Dr. Fate, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Fire & Ice, and Supergirl.

Flash and Kid Flash ran over and soon almost all the JL and Titans were there.

Most of the battle took place in the air.

Batman couldn’t help but hope Ladybug would come out of retirement to defend her city again.

However, she was currently on top of the Eiffel Tower as Valkyrie, taking out alien ships, and using her knives to cut essential parts. Whatever her knives were made of, they were strong enough to cut the alien materials.

Red Robin wondered how she knew which parts were essential but was too preoccupied to ask.

Then, a bolt of energy fired from one of the ships hit the Tower and knocked Valkyrie off, sending her plunging to the ground. Wonder Woman was on a lower ring of the Tower and tossed her lasso out to snag Valkyrie on her way down.

“NO!” she screeched.

Diana understood– she wouldn’t like to be falling so many feet if she couldn’t fly, either.

But the lasso began to glow more than normal – oh wait, that was Valkyrie.

Diana’s hold on her lasso loosened in her shock, and Valkyrie hovered midair.

She sighed heavily. “Why now,” in a monotone voice.

A white, pulsing light blinded everyone. When they looked up, Valkyrie was glowing with a bright frequency. Her eyes were a burning blue, her hair was defying gravity and her skin appeared burning gold from the inside out, she was in a white catsuit, and she was flying.

Pulsing multi-coloured orbs of light and energy hovered around her hands.

With a burst of speed, she flew up to the leading alien warship and spoke in an eerie, unsettling voice.

“I must defend my land. You will not win against me, for I am Guardian. I’ll give you one chance. Leave peacefully, and I will spare you. Go, now.”

To everyone’s shock, the ships actually turned and left, the few fighters who had been deployed to Earthbegam beaming back up to their ship.

Guardian stayed hovering and ready to fire until the last ship was out of sight. Then she turned and flew down the top of the Tower. Her index finger touched the tip and a bar of light spread down the sides and across Earth, fixing all the damage that had been caused.

The light dimmed, and Valkyrie reappeared. She slid down the side, hopping off into Superboy’s hug. He picked her up in a bridal carry and she rested her head on his shoulder, exhausted from expending so much energy at once. 

Batman cleared his throat behind them. “Valkyrie, what was that?”

“Uh, I got hit by an alien energy bolt and fell off the tower and then sent the aliens off with my super cool new powers?”

“Try again, Ladybug. That damage reversal sure looked a lot like your old “Miraculous Ladybug” cure-all.”

The JL and TT members not involved in the drama were shooed off by the Bats and the ones that remained gathered in the JL’s temporary Parisian HQ. Batman led the conversation.

“So, would you like to explain some things to us, Valkyrie? Or should I say, Ladybug?”

“Not really, no.”

“Let’s start with an easy question. Where is the vessel?”

Valkyrie lifted her shirt to show the tattoo. “I am the vessel.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Mullo, Trixx, Nooroo, Pollen, Plagg, Duusu, Tikki, Kaalki, Sass, Stompp, Roarr, Daizzi, Longg, Orikko, Fluff, Ziggy, Wayzz, Xuppu, Barkk, divide.”

With each name said, the Leaguers’ eyes bugged a little more. The Kwami flew protectively around Valkyrie. 

“As to why I never told you and hid my previous ID, I knew you’d act like this, all suspicious. Because it’s magic and you don’t understand it except that it's immensely powerful and I’m just a teenager. It’s none of your business, and none of you understand the Order’s ways anyhow.”

“...so why did you reveal it now?”

“I didn’t want to but I didn't want to see the world end again more.”

“Um, again ?”

“Different timeline, won’t happen again,” Valkyrie waved off Superman’s concern. 

“Diana’s Lasso unbalances Trixx’s and my illusion magic and upsets my balance, which is why I fainted that time we sparred and was revealed today.”

Batman stood up.

Two long knives formed in Valkyrie’s hands and she slid into a defensive position.

Red Robin and Robin side-eyed each other. They knew they hadn’t hallucinated weapons appearing and disappearing. 

“Calm down, Valkyrie. Just because I dislike and don’t understand magic doesn’t mean I don’t love you or that I want you to give up your…Kwami,” Batman soothed. “I just wish you could have trusted me.”

Valkyrie turned invisible, and when she reappeared, she was hugging Batman.

Dick and Damian in particular were enamored with the Kwami. Tim got too annoyed with trying to figure them out, and Jason was a little cold because Plagg and Tikki created the Lazarus Pits. Cass got along well with Nooroo and Sass, and Steph squealed at the kwami cuteness overload. Babs liked them okay but the more…energetic kwami got on her nerves, reminding her of the Waynes’ antics. 

Jon was just relieved Marinette didn’t have to hide them anymore and that he didn’t have to keep yet another secret.

Nowadays when Valkyrie went out, she used her powers seamlessly, terrifying the criminals who encountered her and frustrating her family, who continually got pranked by her. Sometimes she used multiplication to be Delphi and Valkyrie at the same time, and sometimes Supergirl Jr. joined Superboy in Metropolis on date night.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Theyd rather I burn at the stake with the villains than save them with a frown

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/NEcpTR7 by Am_I_really_a_writerhuh “Hello? Lady Noire speaking, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call~” She purred, despite her agitated mood. “Chatte?” A hoarse voice answered. The Gothamite heroine stumbled, just barely dodging one of her current opponent’s lazy swings. Kwami, she hadn’t heard that voice in so long. “Red?” She whispered soft-spokenly, immediately switching off her comms. The bats didn’t need to hear this one. “G-give me a minute to get somewhere quieter,” she resolved, changing her grip and extending her baton to swing, knocking all standing goons to the ground. “Hey Double R!” she shouted to her partner on the second level of the warehouse who was currently preoccupied bashing goons with his bo staff, “I have an emergency! Cover for me!” The boy barely glanced at her before he was attacked, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN COVER FOR YOU? THERE ARE LIKE TWENTY MORE ON THEIR WAY HERE!?” he shouted in an incredulous tone. Words: 3326, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alya Césaire, Luka Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine, Nino Lahiffe, Kagami Tsurugi, Chloé Bourgeois, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Akuma Butterflies (Miraculous Ladybug) Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Additional Tags: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Has a Hard Time, Black Cat Miraculous Holder Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Jason Todd is Ladybug, New Miraculous Holders, Not Canon Compliant read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/NEcpTR7

[hauntedthief]

Epithets

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir | Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste

(inspiration)