#if she can recognize akuma victims she can recognize a costume change fight me

[black-streak]

Little Pistol - Daisy

Chapter 1

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I'm trying to keep this in line with her canon personality to an extent here. Determined, focused, conniving and scheming. A little obsessive. But also needs to give herself a little pep talk to go through with things. Let me know how I'm doing?

Btw, title is by Brand New.

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~---~

Convincing a miniaturized pocket god that your intentions are sound came surprisingly easy to her.

That could be in part due to all the prior planning. Considering every possible argument the goddess could come up with and creating contingencies to match. Really though, taking out Tikki's own advice and laying it out as a perfect reasoning quieted her down quite nicely. Not that Tikki agreed with her, but the logic was too sound to push back on and the little bug never expected Marinette to come up with such thoughts without getting emotional. It just wasn't the way the girl was as far as Tikki was concerned. So it could only be taken at face value without the usual accusations of her being overdramatic.

It was an early Saturday when she voiced her thoughts.

"Hey Tikki?"

"Yes, Marinette?" the red bug looked up from her perch.

"Our biggest priority is to stop akumas and find Hawkmoth, correct?"

"Of course. You know that," she dismissed.

"So is it reasonable to say that Chat has been a hinderance to our duty?"

"How do you mean?"

"He distracts me or sits out on important battles. Threatens to quit if details that don't pertain to our purpose are withheld. He refuses to remain professional in the face of an attack."

"Well yes, he has been rather unhelpful lately, but then again, you are teenagers. It's to be expected, I suppose. Though I do wish he'd be a bit more focused," she easily agreed.

Marinette bit back a victorious smile and kept her expression closed off but for the determined, calculating expression she saved for important moments. Like now.

"In that case, it would be a good idea to make him focus any way I can. To make it easier. To hurry along the hunt for Hawkmoth."

Tikki's expression became weary as she stared at her welder, taken off guard by the open statement, "I don't know, Marinette...What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing yet, but I think I'm going to start brainstorming some ideas. Maybe do a little research. Something needs to change though," she emphasized, staring down her kwami with a hopeful, prodding look until she hesitantly nodded her agreement.

With the god's blessing, she turned to her tablet, pulling up everything she could on different heroes and their methods. Down the rabbit hole she fell.

… 

Some thirteen hours had passed and she felt the strain of her eyes and the bright burn to her retinas for the effort of her work. She refused to believe that no inspiration would come from this effort, though she'd moved on from conventional heroes and into a more sketchy territory by now, having been let down by the uptight views of others who'd obviously never been harassed or neglected by their partner and therefore wouldn't understand her need for a more, let's say, gray solution.

She'd seen the ideals of Superman and the Lanterns and the generalized view of both the Teen Titans and Justice League alike. Many worked with partners, many had betrayals or interpersonal problems. The solution they always took was for one or both parties to leave the team and travel to opposite sides of their country. Or world. Or separate worlds. Either way, avoidance was key. That didn't really work for her though. She had to stay in close contact with her partner while not truly working together. Remain civil within the same city limits. Fight side by side even. And it's not like she could just leave her responsibility here or allow Chat to go unchecked with a miraculous on his own. 

Then she stumbled upon Batman's history. The infamous bat had many a partner or sidekick with their own rough history and seemed to be operating with them regularly still. His solution to a lost or dead partner seemed to be a steady stream of replacements. Unfortunately, unlike a vigilante suit, a miraculous has to resonate with the wearer and no one she knew and trusted would fit the black cat. So she was stuck with the one.

Still though, Batman apparently had a falling out with his first Robin who became Nightwing. Those two were seen together regularly now so something must have happened to fix their issues. Gods, she was so lucky the internet seemed to stalk these people hardcore enough to have so much information on them so readily available. However, looking deeper, the resulting theories and knowledge did not bode well for her. It seems Nightwing had been in much the same state as her and with zero apologies from the Bat, had forgiven the man and resumed operations as usual. Well she was done with forgiving and forgetting. She wanted a real solution, not just rolling over and letting Chat do as he pleased! 

Alright, so Batman was the Chat Noir to the Robin's Ladybug. Maybe the others fared better?

Nope, second one died.

Current one seems to be a literal feral child out to bleed Gotham dry. Not sure how that helped, though maybe she could go just psycho enough to force Chat to be the responsible one? No, he'd just try and quit again.

Huh.

There was a third and fourth one apparently? Between the murder baby and the dead one. What happened to them?

The fourth was a blonde girl with a short stint. Seems she just moved departments since many speculated she might be a batgirl or working with a few others in the city. Not much more.

But what about the other one?

The third Robin, who worked with the Teen Titans for a stint. Who worked many years under the Bat, who gave away the title to the blonde only to return after and disappear once more with the coming of the blood toddler. What happened? Where'd he go?

…

Thousands had apparently asked the same question themselves. All signs seemed to point towards a betrayal. Something went wrong. The first resigned, the second died, the third just seemed to drop off the face of the planet. Did Batman kick him out? Replace him? For child's play, sword addition? She couldn't be sure, but it seemed the most likely guess. Much more believable than alien kidnapping or a quest for a dead man or his predecessor coming to life to end him.

But what after that? 

Surely, Marinette could've stopped there. Obviously, this wasn't the same as her situation, but she couldn't help but be so very intrigued. She watched videos of the boy in his Robin suit (much more practical than the first two if you asked her, though still slightly shameful) fighting and flying across rooftops and working with his team. He was so. So. Efficient. So clean. Ruthless when he decided to be. Calculated. Everything she ever wanted to be. 

He was amazing.

And then he disappeared.

Where did he go, that perfect Robin. How could anyone ever think the position needed an upgrade when the perfect bird was already there? It made no sense. And then she found him. Hunting through the rogues and heroes and inbetweens of Gotham, hidden in his own layerings of cover stories and identities. Her new aspiration of what a hero should be, mixed into the Anti-heroes of the city.

The vigilante of the more morally ambiguous variety, manipulating the world to the way he saw fit, using whatever method he wished. And the way he seemed to bend the city to his whim, well it matched quite well with how she wished her own city would be. She found her solution. Now it was showtime.

…

"Are you ready to apologize, m'lady?" Chat dropped down at her side, the akuma of the week tied up below them. It was a relatively easy battle, with no need for special abilities for once.

"Whatever for, Chatton?" Marinette asked, already tensing at the response she knew she'd receive. She hated when he tried to coerce her into apologizing for things that aren't her fault.

"For your neglect of your kitten, obviously."

"I don't have a kitten," she stated plainly.

"What? You wound me, to disown me so abruptly," he put a clawed hand to his chest, offense and hurt in spades marking his features.

"I can't disown what I never adopted," she went along with the analogy so he wouldn't complain about her ruining his fun again. The last thing she needed was his whining.

He perked up with this, "Well we can draw up some adoption papers right now if you wish? I'd love to be yours," he smarmed, leaning into her space further. 

This was it. Time to turn the tables. To make this work in her favor. She just needed to play it right, the way her Robin did. By manipulating the enemy into doing her bidding. She could do this.

"That's just it, though. I don't believe you would," she frowned, letting her eyes soften the way she'd seen Lila do so often. Might as well learn something from the girl.

"What? I would," he insisted, eyebrows furrowing.

"See you say that, but where's the proof? You've done nothing but pester and punish me over these weeks. You say you love me, but then watch me get hurt by akumas and make me fight all alone and threaten to leave me. That's not the actions of a loving partner. It feels like you hate me."

That had him panicking.

"No no, I don't hate you, you're my sun and my moon. My everything. Surely you know your worth in my life. I only did those things to show you how much you hurt me." He attempted to reason with her.

"See, but I've never intentionally hurt you. And always apologized to you when I realized I had. Whereas you just admitted to causing me distress as a form of punishment. It seems to me that I'm far more attached to you than you are to me and I'm just not willing to hurt myself by getting involved with someone who so obviously dislikes me."

"I- no- that's not- I love you! I didn't mean to do that, I shouldn't have. Please believe me? I love you, Ladybug," he begged, ears dropping and body tensed in fear.

"I'm sorry, but until I see some proof, I can't do that," she shook her head before taking off home without a backward glance, leaving the cat to his misery.

…

That night, Tikki went straight to bed and refused to speak to her for the next two days.

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne - Chapter 12

An update?! Hell yeah! here’s Day 13 of @biodad-bruce-month event!

Chapter 12: Gifts and Flowers

-

P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

Tag: @vixen-uchiha @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords @fantasiame @corabeth11 @anonymously-odd @alexandriamw @officiallydarkgeek

-

MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | AO3

November was finally here and Amira hated it. 

“Is it really that cold?” Selina asked, watching Amira put on a jacket before boarding off the jet, wondering how she was able to change so quickly out of her costume from last night. 

Her father insisted for the two of them to use the jet, much to Amira’s annoyance. She didn’t want to be seen using Wayne tech and even less be seen with his...lady. Throughout the entire flight, Amira had to sit in uncomfortable silence. 

She felt as Selina judged her every movement.

“Sadly, something causes me to become weak towards the cold.” Amira muttered, pulling her suitcase behind her. “So where will you be staying?” 

“With you.” Selina jokes, earning a glare. “Unless you have a better idea.” 

Amira looked out into the distance as they awaited their cab, thinking of a decent place for Selina to stay but also a place where she can keep an eye on the Gotham thief. 

“I might just know a place.”

-

“Dupain-Cheng. What are you doing here?” Chloé remarked, one hand on her hip while the other just hung by her side. 

Out of all the people to entire her father’s hotel, Marinette was the last person she’d thought would ever step foot into it. After all, she was just a commoner. “And who's this?”

Chloe watched as the woman standing next to Marinette simply looked at her, her head tilting a bit to the side.

“Why hello to you as well Chloé.” Marinette spoke, Selina watching the two girls converse. “As for why I’m here, my father’s…friend needs a place to stay while in Paris.”

Chloé checked Selina from head to toe, scoffing at the slightly sheer black top with white leather jacket and white pants combo. 

“Sure she can afford this hotel? After all, this is the best hotel-“

“I know Chloé. Don’t doubt it and hence why I referred Selina to this hotel.” Marinette said, wanting to roll her eyes. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought her here.” Chloé huffed as she watched Marinette lead the woman to the front desk. 

She watched as Marinette helped the lady fill out a few papers when the lady pulled out a black card from her wallet. 

A black card…

Rushing to the desk, Chloé slammed her hands next to Marinette. 

“Dupain-Cheng. Who is she?” Chloe asked, watching as the woman signed a paper.

“Oh? You don’t recognize her?” Marinette let a grin grace her face as she watched Chloe turn pink. “She’s Bruce Wayne’s fiancé, Miss Selina Kyle.”

“What?!”

-

“Amira, what did you do downstairs?” Selina asked, wondering what exactly happened between Amira and the other girl downstairs. She didn’t understand a word, but she knew something juicy happened. After all, the blonde girl quickly tried to converse with her, even when her English was heavily accented with French.

“That girl is in my class; she’s also the mayor's daughter. She just asked me how I know Gotham’s wealthiest man’s fiancé. I simply told her you were a family friend. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“How did you know I was engaged to your father?”

“Happened two nights ago while I was gathering a few more intel around a case of mine.” Amira confessed. “Amazed me to see how much trivial info my father had on you.”

“You’re a detective here then?”

“No comment.” Amira said, taking out a phone and handing it to Selina. “Take this.” 

“What’s it for?” Selina asked, turning up the phone and seeing an odd app on it. The app icon was a ladybug, Selina not recognising it. Perhaps a Parisian thing?

“Your other phone doesn’t work here and this phone is especially programmed to help you go to safety whenever-“

Screams in the streets interrupted the two, Selina watching Amira drag her hands down her face. 

Amira quickly went to the television and turned on the news, sighing when she saw Jagged Stone on the news. Selina watched as she huffed and cursed under her breath.

“How the hell did he, of all people, get akumatized?”

“Akumatized? Amira-“

“Selina. Whatever you do, don’t leave this room. And before you ask, yes my father knows about this and no, I don’t need help. Tikki, Spots On!” 

Selina watched as Amira was engulfed in red and was now in the same outfit she had when they first met, the only difference being that her jumpsuit was covered in black polka dots. 

Selina watched as Amira sprinted for the window, noticing how Amira’s hair was longer. 

“Stay safe out there.” She decided to say, not missing the way Amira stiffened when she was on top of the railing, ready to jump off. 

Amira turned around to look at Selina before fleeing, using her yo-yo to get away.

-

“LB! Welcome back!” Chat grinned, Ladybird giving him a nod in acknowledgement once she arrived at the scene of the attack.

The two parted from each other when Guitar Villain sent a sound wave towards them, Ladybird thanking Tikki for allowing her to see the magic. If it weren’t for the miraculous, who knows if she was going to be able to dodge the attacks. 

“What caused him to get akumatized?” Ladybird rolled away from the next attack, cursing as another one followed shortly after the first. 

“Dunno! Something relating to his guitar I’m guessing!” Chat shouted from across the street, using his staff to propel himself away from another wave. 

Ladybird sighed as she pulled herself up a building, gasping when she saw- “A dragon! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chat pouted. 

“Chat! We don’t have- fire straight ahead!” Ladybird shouted, quickly hiding behind a car, feeling the heat fly past her.

“LB! Please tell me you have a plan here! I don’t exactly want to become that dragon’s dinner! I’m too young to die!” Chat shouted, dramatically placing his hand over his forehead. 

Ladybird groaned, looking at the akumatized Fang and rock star on the Eiffel Tower. She watched as Guitar Villain landed, Ladybird noticing a set up there.

“I might just have one.”

-

Throwing her lucky charm into the air, Ladybird watched as the ladybugs returned everything to before the akuma attack, Chat trying to catch one of them. Despite knowing he could never grab one, he just adored challenging the idea.

“Missed you LB! Glad to have you back!” Chat said with a grin, Ladybird huffing when she saw his fist directed towards her. She fist bumped it back, knowing that if she didn’t, he’d complain about it.

“Not glad to be back, but I’ll be lying if I said I didn’t miss being here.” Ladybird looked at the darken skyline, not believing that it took hours to take down Guitar Villain. One of their longest fights yet.

“Think you’re up for some training? And how was your trip?” Chat asked shyly, wondering if she would ignore his question and would want to train. To his surprise, he found LB yawning. 

“Let’s call it a night. I started to feel the jetlag and then had to fight a Victim as soon as I arrived? Not exactly the best state to spar. However, we will spar tomorrow if there isn’t an akuma.” 

Ladybird looked over at Chat. “However, I hope that just because I wasn’t here to see you, you still kept up with our regular training sessions.” She noticed the way he jumped at that. “We’re going to be doing double the work if it turns out you skipped.”

“But LB!”

“No buts!” Ladybird stifled another yawn, a growl from her stomach following up. “Seems like that's my cue. See you tomorrow at the usual.”

“Fine.” Chat huffed. “Rest well!” Chat yelled out as he watched Ladybird disappear into the skyline, hoping she got home safe. 

Little did he know that he wasn’t going to see her until a few days later. 

-

Adrien couldn’t help but notice something was off with Marinette that morning, catching her dozing off during class various times. 

He watched as Alya tried to wake her up but then stopped when her efforts were in vain. She had tried to wake up the girl all throughout the morning, but only successfully got her to open her eyes during chemistry. But shortly after that class was done, Marinette went straight back to sleep.

Soon, lunch came, Alya quickly leaving the room to go somewhere with some of the other girls in the classroom. Seeing an opportunity, Adrien quickly went to her, wondering how he should wake her up.

“Marinette. Psst! Marinette.”

When she didn't budge, Adrien decided to sit next to her, feeling eyes on him.

Despite it already being three months into the school year, Adrien and Marinette have yet to make any other friends besides themselves. Everyone in the class was too cautious about them; Adrien was friends with Chloe while Marinette shut herself from everyone else.

“Adrikins, what are you doing?” Chloe asked, then noticing Marinette dozing off next to him. “Is she alright?” Chloe asked, whipping-

“Did you...did you cut your hair?” Adrien pointed out, surprised to see Chloe’s hair not only out of the ponytail she usually wore it in, but also a few inches shorter. Not only that, she wasn’t in her usual outfit, now wearing a yellow wool sweater and black trousers. 

“What? Don’t like it? Pay for my next hair appointment!” Chloe pouted a bit, looking over at Marinette. “She never sleeps during class. Is she sick?” Seeing Chloe concerned was new to Adrien, but he didn’t let that bother him. Something was wrong with Marinette and they needed to know what it was.

The girl was always punctual and seemed immune to getting sick, even when everyone was getting sick due to the change in temperatures.

“Dunno. Just saw her dozing off during class, so I came to check her.”

“Let me see.” Chloe said, going over to Marinette and feeling her head, quickly retracting her hand and looking at Adrien with worried eyes.

“We have to take her to the nurse. She’s burning up.”

-

Her chest...it hurt. But the coldness enveloping her body felt even worse.

Amira woke up to find herself in her room, feeling colder than usual. She curled into herself, pulling the covers closer to her.

Why was it so damn cold?

“Amira. Amira, can you hear me?” She heard Selina call out to her.

“It’s... cold.” Amira barely managed to say. “It’s...too cold.”

“Amira, it’s 21 Celsius today.”

“So why does it feel so damn cold?” Amira let out a whine as she turned over to face Selina, noticing the red corners of Selina’s eyes. 

“Amira, we already took you to a doctor, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with you. I called your father-” Amira sat up.

“Why did you-” Amira felt off-balanced, quickly tumbling back to her side, feeling her chest compress before letting out a raspy cough. That cough then launched her into a coughing fit.

“Amira! Amira!” Selina began to panic, wondering what to do. What can she even do? She continued to watch Amira cough, desperately gasping at her chest.

Just last night, Selina saw Amira just fine, healthy. The next thing she knew, she was getting a phone call that afternoon from a panicking Sabine, rambling how she was about to take Amira to the ER.

Two of her classmates found it odd that she had fallen asleep during her morning classes and didn’t suspect much until they had to wake her up. That’s when they felt the fever, her body hot to the touch, causing the two teens to take her to the nurse’s office. The nurse found nothing off, not even feeling the warmness on Amira’s skin, although she did say it felt a bit cold to the touch.

Everything was alright, they told Sabine. 

But Sabine knew better than that and took Amira straight to another doctor, who also found nothing wrong.

Sabine then reached out to Selina if she knew anything about Amira’s health, in which Selina said no. That ended up in Selina calling Bruce as the two women took Amira to a private doctor, where they too found nothing wrong with Amira.

Lucky for Amira, Bruce wouldn’t pick up, Selina suspecting he was either at WE or doing something else.

But she wished he did because as soon as she hung up, Amira started to burn up. Selina panicked, not knowing what to do. 

She’s taken care of a few sick children before, but that’s because the doctor knew what to do, so it was a matter of following directions. But this? No one knew what was going on with her…no one knew what was causing her to burn and violently cough...

Or at least she didn’t think anyone knew.

A knock came from the bedroom door, Selina quickly going over to open up the hatch.

There, emerging from the hatch was an elder man.

“Hello there Miss. My name is Fu, Wang Fu. A friend of mine told me about your daughter’s illness and asked me to see what I can do about it.”

While Selina didn’t exactly like the idea of this man barging into the situation, something told her to trust him.

“Please. Please, help her.

-

Tikki circled around Master Fu’s room, wondering if she did the right thing. Of course she did. After all, no one else would have been able to cure Amira’s sickness. After all, it’s all Tikki’s fault.

She should’ve known better to have kept letting Amira use the miraculous aside from akuma fights. 

She knew the dangers of using a miraculous and yet…

Tikki let out a sob, wondering why she didn’t warn Amira, why she couldn’t muster the courage to tell Amira how a Miraculous corrupts a person who wasn’t a true wielder. Especially if the user was the complete opposite of the miraculous given to them.

Just as Tikki had enough of waiting and wanting to go and apologize to her, she felt the room shake, Tikki quickly flying towards the nearest window, only to hear screams coming from the streets. She watched as people were blasted with pixelated beams, disappearing before her eyes.

An akuma?!

“No, no, no!” Why now? Why now when Amira wasn’t here! When she was suffering and on the brim of the worst.

Tikki began to fly around, circling the room, each lap getting quicker when she came to halt and eyed the gramophone across from her.

The gramophone was right there...in her reach...

Master Fu would forgive her, wouldn’t he?

After all, someone needed to defend Paris alongside Chat.

-

“I just had to get blasted after pushing Chloe away, didn’t I?” Adrien huffed. “Come on LB. Where are you?” Adrien muttered, walking in the white abyss he was casted off to. 

“About that.” Plagg decides to speak, seeing Adrien look at him worriedly. “Spots might not be coming to the fight.” Plagg gulped when Adrien grabbed him. 

“What do you mean by that? What do you mean she won’t be coming? There’s-”

“Before the akuma, Tikki -that’s LB’s Kwami- came to warn me about LB.” Plagg started. “How she might have to sit out for a few akumas.”

“Sit out?” Adrien whispered. “What happened to her? What’s wrong with Ladybird?!”

“That’s the thing kid. We don’t know what’s wrong with her. Only Master Fu would know, which is probably what he’s doing now.”

“Master Fu?”

“Right, you don’t know him. Didn’t think you’d have to know about him/” Plagg confessed. “He’s the one who guards the Miraculous, the one who chose you for the Cat Miraculous. He’s the one who’s trying to figure out what’s wrong with LB.”

“But if LB is out, who-“

“Don’t know kid. I honestly don’t know.” Plagg provided, knowing it wasn’t the thing to tell Adrien.

They needed to get away from here to help take down the Victim, but to do that, they needed someone from the outside.

But just as the two wondered what was to become of them, they were released from their photo prison, seeing another Miraculous Holder.

They watched as a yellow and black uniformed holder stood proudly against the latest Victim.

“My name is Queen Bee and I’m going to make sure you’re going down, Pixelator!”

-

“I told you, I was fine. I didn’t need you to save me.” Queen Bee told Chat as she looked at the akuma she held delicately in her hands. The thing was paralyzed and as long as she didn’t let it land in her, she should be fine. Or at least, that’s what Pollen told her.

As soon as she was pushed away from harm’s way, Chloe dashed back to the hotel and ran to her room, sliding against the door, wondering what she could. She had to help Adrien, to keep the akuma distracted until Ladybird or Chat to arrive. She needs help in some way.

As Chloe wandered around her room, her eyes landed on her bed, where a tiny hexagon chapped box laid alone. Taking it and cautiously opening it, Chloe dropped it when a yellow orb came out of it.

The orb turned into a creature that resembled a large bee, something Chloe wanted to squish but didn’t when it introduced itself and told her about having to help Ladybird and Chat.

Pollen explained to Chloe how to transform and how to use her weapon, giving her the run down before Chloe yelled “Pollen! Buzz on!” Chloe watched as she was soon in a skintight suit, a yellow jacket with black fur on it. Can she say that she fell in love with the high heel boots Pollen blessed her with?

Once transformed, she headed towards Pixelator, attempting to take him down, only resulting in her losing the sensation in her leg and her left arm.

She eventually had to make a deal with Pixelator, telling him that she’ll give him her miraculous if he freed half of the people then and there, which he did.

Seems like Chat was among those people, seeing as he gave Queen Bee a chance to scoot away when he started to attack him. 

The fight lasted a few minutes before Chat destroyed the visor around Pixelator’s head, the akuma flying out before Queen Bee immobilized it. Despite having it frozen, Queen Been couldn’t exactly purify it, having to keep it with her until Ladybird made an appearance. 

Only she can purify an akuma.

“A ‘thank you’ would’ve been nice.” Chat mumbled, watching as Queen Bee placed the akuma into a special container that was alongside the box that held the miraculous given to her.

“By the way, where’s Ladybird? I can’t exactly-”

“She’s sick.” Chat admitted. 

“Sick? Is that even-“

“Something happened to her and her miraculous that caused her to become sick.” Chat filled in, watching Queen Bee gape.  

“Her miraculous?” Queen Bee looked at the akuma in her hand.

“I don’t know what’s going on nor how to search for her. All we can do now is keep fighting these akumas until she returns. Until she gets better, we can’t allow Paris to keep getting destroyed as it did today.”

“But!”

“Bee. I wish I knew what was going on. Really, I do. But all we can do is wait. Now, come on. I’ll drop you off somewhere close to where you live. After all, I can’t know your identity as you can’t learn mine.”

-

“She should stay in bed for the next two days. Don’t you dare let her get out of it.” Selina listened as Fu warned her. 

After two hours, Fu was able to diagnose Amira’s illness, creating a concoction of some sorts to help reduce her fever and raging cough. “If she exerts herself too much, she will get worse. Continue to give her the medicine every six hours. It will help with her fever and coughing. With that said, I wish for a speedy recovery.”

“Thank you very much.” Selina said, giving Amira’s hand a squeeze. The entire time Fu analyzed Amira’s condition, Selina couldn’t let go of her hand. Something made her believe that if she did, something bad might happen to the girl.

“No need to thank me. I’m only doing my duty.”

Selina watched as Fu left, looking over to Amira, watching as sweat slid down her face. Her breaths were a bit longer than earlier, but definitely an improvement. 

Just who was he? How did he know what was wrong with her despite no one else knowing? Not like it mattered.

“You’re going to be okay.” Selina said, pressing her head against Amira’s. “You’re going to be fine.”

-

Marinette didn’t come to school the next day, Adrien worried. 

“You’re ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!” Chloé exclaimed, Adrien snapping away from his thoughts as he turned to look at his friend. He frowned upon seeing her arm wrapped in bandages. 

During yesterday’s attack, it seems like Chloe still ended up injured, her arm and leg bruised. While Chloe said it didn’t hurt, Adrien knew better than to ignore the redness in Chloe’s eyes. 

She was in pain.

“Chloé, what exactly are you talking about?”

“She’s talking about how you can’t stop worrying over Marinette.” Sabrina elaborated, glad to see Chloé was pleased with her timing. All day yesterday, Sabrina hated the screams that came from Chloe’s room when she was getting her injuries checked over. Sabrina hated that her friend was in pain and she couldn’t do anything about it. “You kept staring at her seat throughout the entire morning.”

At that, Adrien found himself trying to come up with an answer, but none came out. Was he really staring?

“If you’re that worried about her, just come with me to her home later.” Chloe stated, looking at her nails, hating that her hand was shaking. Yesterday’s attack really did a number on her.

“I thought you weren’t her friend?” Adriend asked, Chloé letting out a scoff. 

“As class president, I have to go over and drop off any assignments she missed. Of course, I usually like to-“

“I’ll go with you then!” Adrien chirped, giving Chloé his signature smile. “You will let me go with you, right?”

Chloé tried to avert her gaze, but she knew better than to ignore Adrien’s puppy eyes. 

“Ugh, fine! But you better find a way for-“

“Thank you Chloé!”

-

“How are you doing Amira?” Selina asked her, Amira looking at her with clouded eyes. Following her line of sight, Selina watched as Amira looked at her monitors from her makeshift bed. 

Yes, Amira has an actual bed, but Selina wasn’t on board with having Amira climb stairs every time she needed to go back to bed. So after doing a bit of hunting, Selina got Amira a new bed to have on the main level of her bedroom.

“Not as cold as yesterday if you’re wondering.” Amira started. “But I can feel my body tremble and I hate it. I also hate that you’re acting as if I can’t look after myself.”

“Well, you are sick.” Selina pointed out, turning off the news about yesterday’s incident.

“I used to get sick before too. At first, Grandpere and Bruce used to look after me. Then just Grandpere because Bruce would be too busy to check on me...and then myself. I didn’t want to continue to be a burden to Grandpere. He already did so much for us and I didn’t want him to get sick, so I told him to stop looking after me.”

Selina watched as Amira stared at the ceiling. “To be honest with you, I don’t like you Selina. Or maybe that’s just my uneasiness speaking. Or perhaps...jealousy. ”

“Uneasiness? Jealousy? Amira, there’s nothing-“

“There is.” Amira looked at Selina, her finger pointing at her. “You know more of my father than I will ever know. You know him both in and out of that damned cowl. I only know of Father, not Bruce Wayne nor Batman. 

The media and cameras could only inform me so much.” Amira looked back at her ceiling, feeling her chest tighten. “You’re always there with him while I’m just kept behind locked do-“

“Dupain-Cheng! You should know better than to not inform the school- Mlle Kyle!” Chloé squeaked when she noticed Selina, quickly changing from French to English. Chloe quickly entered the room, Adrien following her shortly after. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“It’s alright. I was going to leave aways“ Selina said, seeing Amira scowl upon seeing the other teens in her room. “I’ll be right downstairs if anything happens.” She told Amira.

Selina fought against the tug that demanded her to stay. But Selina knew better than that. She knew better than to stay and listen to whatever it was the teens had to say to themselves. But then again, she had no right to stay in the room.

She wasn’t her mother after all, nor a parental figure for that matter.

So, she left.

Marinette watched as Selina left her side, now looking at the two rich kids in front of her. 

Who was she kidding? She was one herself too. 

“What are two doing here?” Marinette asked, sitting up, feeling her body protest to lay back down. She noticed the tiny bruises covering Adrien’s arms and the bandages around Chloe’s arm.

Guilt began to gnaw at her mind.

“As class president, I came to drop by school work you missed. It’s ridiculous how you managed to-“

“Chloé.” Adrien growled.

“We came by to see how you’re doing.” Chloe admitted.

“You came to see me?” Marinette asked, surprised to see Chloe starting to change after their conversation from days ago...or has it been a few weeks?

“Of course!” Adrien chirped. “Isn’t that what friends do?”

“Friends?” 

“See? She doesn’t even-“ Chloe started.

“When did we ever become friends?” Marinette asked. “As far as I know, I simply find the two of you tolerable. Better than those other kids in the class.”

She guessed those were the wrong choice of words since Adrien grinned and Chloé huffed, turning her head to the side while her cheeks were tinted pink. 

“Well, I think the same applies to you, Dupain Cheng. You’re very tolerable and easy to work with. Although I have to ask, where’s my thanks?” 

“Excuse-“

“Me and Adrien were the ones to take you to the school nurse despite Cesaire first knowing about you not being in your right mind. The idiot didn’t realize you were burning up.” Chloe decided to say, looking at Marinette with worry.

“I guess I do owe you my gratitude.” Marinette said, giving Chloe a small smile. “Thank you.”

“As you should. You’re lucky I helped to grace you with my kindness even though your closet could use a few colors.” Chloe said, internally smiling.

“As if that blue eyeshadow did you any favors.” Chloé gasped at Marinette’s statement.

“I’ll have you know-“

Adrien watched as the two girls bickered, as if they were two old friends catching up. 

He looked out towards the Parisian skyline wondering the whereabouts of Ladybird and if she was alright. 

-

After an hour or two, Amira bid Chloe and Adrien goodbye, Amira now staring at her phone, Adrien and Chloe’s names looking right back at her. 

Two more names to her small list of names. 

“Amira! You’re alright!” Tikki cried, Amira feeling her crash into her cheek. 

“And where were you?” She felt Tikki tense, watching as the tiny god moved away from her. “I get not wanting to be seen, but not watching me from afar-“

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.” Tikki sat in front of Amira, looking at her with her watery eyes. “I should have warned you about the Miraculous and it’s dangers-“

“I already knew.” Amira confessed, Tikki looking up at her in horror. “I already knew I wasn’t fit for the Ladybug Miraculous. During my first transformation, it felt like it was rejecting me.” Tikki looked away in shame. “Even when I knew I wasn’t meant for it, I kept pushing myself and trained with the miraculous on. I wanted it to accept me. For you to accept me.”

“But I do accept you Amira. I trust-“

“Yet you’re afraid of me.” Amira cut off. “That’s why you hesitated to tell me. You trusted me enough to talk about the miraculous, of bringing the Guardian to me to heal me, but you were afraid of what I might do if you told me I wasn’t your best option, weren’t you?” 

That’s right. 

Master Fu had told Tikki that Amira wasn’t her true holder. She was just the better one between his last two options. 

“Did you really figure that out on your own?” Tikki asked. “So why? Why do you still-“

“Because I made a promise to you. To everyone in Paris. I vowed to protect them, no matter what. If it costs me my life, so be it.” Amira looked at her hands, watching as her hands morphed to her smaller ones. Small hands that held a blank name tag that laughed at her. “I rather die as the vigilante who protected Paris than the hidden Wayne child.”

Tikki’s frown warbled, quickly throwing herself to Amira, not bothering to tell her about the person who stood right below the hatch that led to the room. 

“I’m sorry Amira. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright Tikki. It’s alright.”

-

Another akuma showed up that night, taking Amira by surprise when she awoke from the trembling outside her room. 

She watched as hundreds of tiny gremlin-looking...gremlins took over the streets of Pari. Sapoti -if Amira remembered correctly- they were called. 

There was never an akuma during the night. So why now, of all-

“He knows I can’t fight right now, Tikki. He knows I’m down and he’s taking advantage of that. I have to go help.” Amira firmly announced, getting out her bed and started to change into something more comfortable than her sweaty pajamas before calling on the transformation.

“Amira, you can’t. Master Fu-“

“He’s trying to make us play all of our cards. If Chat and Bee can’t take this akuma down -although hopefully they do- then we’ll be forced to-wait! Bee’s still injured! I have to-” 

“Amira. Trust them. Just like you trust me.” Tikki softly said, putting her paw on Amira’s cheek. “They can do this. You can’t, even if you wanted to. If you ran to try and defeat this akuma, then you’ll be falling right into his plan. You’re going to give him an opportunity to get the Ladybug in this condition you’re in if you go now. So listen to me and believe in them. They’ll defeat this Victim. Just watch.”

-

And they did… 

“But why did they have to bring another miraculous out! That’s exactly what Hawkmoth wanted!”

“Amira, they-”

“They gave him the information he wanted about the miraculouses and-”

“Rena Rouge’s siblings were the victims this time around.” Tikki cut off, watching as Amira turned quiet. “She begged Chat Noir and Queen Bee to let her help in any way possible, especially when she saw Bee still heavily injured from the last attack... but she wanted to save her family.”

Tikki watched as Amira dazed out, the girl looking out the window next to the stair that led to her bed and skylight. Tikki noticed Amira staring at the daisies that she had found growing in the cracks of the outwalls of the apartment. 

Daisies that Amira always tended to despite not having any plants of her own, daisies that Amira decided to plant into a pot and care for.

Tikki watched as Amira cradled a flower between her fingers, Amira carefully caressing the petals. 

She watched as Amira grabbed an old looking device, dialing a number.

“Chat, I want you to meet me at the rendezvous. Bring Queen Bee with you.”

-

Chat watched as Queen Bee twirled one of her hair strands, Bee biting her cheek as she did so.

“Relax Bee. Ladybird-”

“I can’t relax! I’m meeting Ladybird! My idol!” Queen Bee said, grabbing Chat by his bell. “Don’t you understand?! She might-”

“Ladybird! Aren’t I glad you’re doing well!” Chat exclaimed, Ladybird noticing how his ears perked upon seeing her. 

“Thank you for your concern, but I’d prefer if you’d lower your voice. I have yet to completely recover.”

“Right. Sorry.” Chat sheepishly said, before remembering why they were there. “Oh! This is Queen Bee! She’s-”

“I know who she is, Chat. I watched the fight.”

Chat watched as Ladybird eyed Queen Bee, circling around her as she did. Chat noticed how Queen Bee was silent, stiff as Ladybird judged her.

“Chat. What are your opinions on her?”

“She’s a bit on the stubborn side and a bit on the unfocused side, but she’s an excellent partner. Barely have to tell her what to do when we’re apart.”

“So she just needs a bit of guidance?” Ladybird asked, now standing in front of Queen Bee.

“Essentially.”

“Have you brought her to the training grounds yet?” 

They had a training area?

“No.” Chat quickly responded. 

“Good.” Ladybird stated, watching Queen Bee pale.

Were they going to take her miraculous back? Was this the end of- “Do you have the akuma I told you to bring?”

“Y-Yes!” Queen Bee stuttered, reaching for the bag next to her foot and handing Ladybird the jar with the two akumas. “Here they are.”

Ladybird released the akumas, quickly capturing them. Carefully, she released the purified butterflies, Queen Bee watching them glow brightly against the night sky.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybird yelled, Queen Bee stunned as she watched millions of ladybugs flying across the starless night, the tiny bugs becoming stars themselves. She watched as the tiny red bugs surrounded her and restored her arm and leg back, Queen Bee feeling tears well up to her eyes.

She held the urge to tackle Ladybird and thank her when she watched her stare at her with soft eyes.

Opening up her yo-yo, Chat and Queen Bee watched as LB took out a box, carefully wrapped in yellow paper with a black bow carefully placed on top. A daisy was tucked carefully under the bow.

Queen Bee watched as Ladybird handed it to her, watching as she found herself accepting it.

Looking up, Queen Bee found Chat smiling at her, Ladybird approaching her. Stretching out a hand, Ladybird smiled.

“Welcome to the team, Queen Bee. I look forward to working with you.”

NEXT

[flightfoot]

ML Fic Recs for Alya Stans

can you keep a secret by euphorickiri:

Summary:

once alya had her mind set on something, it was hard for her to let it go. she often got herself into trouble because of this, but, in her words, this was the "life of a journalist". but when she uncovers a secret that seems too impossible to believe, alya opens up a whole new world of danger.

"with a mask and a costume, don’t you think adrien looks a little bit like chat noir?”

she comes to realize some secrets should stay buried.

Oh man, this one is underappreciated! (Also don’t worry about the summary and title being completely lower case, the fic has proper punctuation.)

This is one of the rare occasions where Alya has a ton of issues of her own going on, with just having recovered from being akumatized as Lady Wifi and REMEMBERING the whole thing (that’s plot-relevant), being harassed at school because this is still early in the series and people haven’t gotten the concept that anyone can be akumatized and it isn’t the victim’s fault, on top of some pretty severe issues at home with her parents using her as a go-between when fighting, being put in charge of her younger siblings’ care a lot, and being insulted and harangued by her parents whenever Alya can’t live up to their insane expectations and generally not considering how she feels about anything at all. Plus she keeps having some very, VERY disturbing dreams about Lady Wifi that feel way too real...

It’s rare to see a fic focusing squarely on Alya’s problems and emotions - which, granted, is likely because canonically we haven’t seen evidence that there’s a ton of strife in her life. But it’s very refreshing and interesting to see here, especially with Adrien constantly checking up on her, commiserating with her, helping her as best he can, knowing a lot of the kind of thing she’s going through because he’s experienced it himself. Just everyone focusing on Alya, on understanding what’s going on with her and trying to help (though there’s not always a ton that can be done).

I highly recommend it for any Alya or Adrien stan.

Me, My Best Friend, And Her Cat by @ladyofthenoodle:

Summary:

Ladybugs aren't known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back.

(And giving Ladybug's love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya's defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)

It’s always great to see Alya and Marinette being friends and Alya getting to be awesome. She makes for a great Secret Secret Keeper!

you’re the volcano (i’m the raptor) by SnappleSnapSnake

Summary:

“But what if everyone thinks that she’s meant for this, but she’s really not? Because, you know, it’s like crazy magic jewelry- and maybe she’s wondering why such a clumsy idiot would even bother to try and save the world.”

And suddenly, everything clicked.

She grabbed her new friend by the shoulders, effectively cutting off her rambling. “Oh my god, you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette’s voice went high, and she squealed out, “What? No! Not that! I am! Not that! Definitely, totally not that!”

Alya just grinned, eyes sparkling and awed.

(yeah, they were definitely going to be best friends for life)

A oneshot featuring a series of short vignettes after various season 1 episodes, with how things change since Alya’s aware that Marinette is Ladybug the whole time. Features a lot of friendly teasing and banter!

Outfoxed by @captorations:

Summary:

Lila Rossi is not a Miraculous wielder. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have power. Alya was under her spell, along with so many others, until the day Lila unknowingly overstepped herself. Freed at last, the true Fox recognizes magic when she sees it, even if it doesn’t come from a source she understands. She is none too happy about this pretender abusing her natural gifts to make fools of Alya and those she loves.

Alya Césaire might need an enchanted necklace and the aid of a tiny deity to cast illusions, but she swore to use her borrowed abilities for the greater good long ago. There is none better suited to facilitate the liar’s downfall.

And maybe she’ll help her best friend sort out her increasingly complex love life along the way.

I wrote an analysis on this fic, so I’m guessing a lot of my followers are already aware of it. I’m REALLY not a big fan of Lila takedown fics at this point, but this is an exception - largely because of how much it focuses on Alya and what a bi disaster she is. Alya, Adrien, the class, they’re all treated well, and it’s just really satisfying to get to see Alya take down Lila considering how Alya’s often treated in those kinds of fics, as well as having Marinette so highly value Alya. Also has a really nice sequel where the rest of the class gets to have fun and kick butt!

Final Restoration by InkyCoffee

Summary:

Six months ago, Alya and Marinette had a terrible fight after Marinette flaked out on an important event. This afternoon, Alya filmed Hawkmoth's defeat. Friendship fic, Alya's POV.

I really like fics where Alya and Marinette can have a fight without either of them really being in the wrong, with it mostly coming down to having incomplete information - in Alya’s case, with not knowing that Marinette’s Ladybug. This is just a really nice resolution to such a fight, with both parties reconciling once the full truth comes out.

Damsel In (Need Of) Destress by @angelofthequeers

Summary:

Ladybug and Ryuuko have a little competition going on. The aim? To rescue Alya during akuma attacks. And naturally, Alya is Done with her girlfriends' shenanigans, while Chat Noir is just oblivious to the three-way tension.

This one’s just cute and funny! Also it’s always great to see Alya being so highly valued and loved.

[tired-college-student-writing]

Tim’s Secret Weapon Pt.7

I’ve been slightly obsessed with @ozmav​ ‘s Damian Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng pairing as of late, and just saw a post that has inspired me more than anything else has in months, so I felt the need to write it

Summary- Tim has always seen the numbers floating above people’s heads, been able to perceive their threat levels with a single glance. After being a hero for so long he thought he was desensitized to seeing high numbers above people’s heads until Damian brings a new friend home.

Part 1 Part 6 Part 7 (HERE) Part 8

This is out earlier than expected because my procrastination sucks ass

____________________________________________

The battle was fascinating to watch, to say the least. The team worked together like a well-oiled machine, making their acrobatic plan flawlessly after Marinette called for her ‘Lucky Charm’ and used the white paint she received along with Ryoko’s water powers to break the connection The Queen of Hearts had with her guards. This gave Abeille the chance to sneak in dive in and freeze her with her venom sting as Chat grabbed her bracelet and turned it to dust.  Viperion seemed to not have an outright offensive move associated with him, but his time travel ability seemed infallible as he effortlessly redirected his teammates around attacks yet to come. 

The Bats were left watching with respect as Ladybug caught the dark purple butterfly in her yoyo. From the second she had left them on the roof to when she tossed the paint can in the air, allowing her magic to fix all the damage done by the fight, only fifteen minutes had passed. 

The five heroes grinned at each other, fist-bumping with a chorus of “Pound it!” before Chat and Abeille went up to the woman in her early 30s that had been the victim of the fight, and the other three turned to take off, Ladybug making a clear path back to the hotel, with the Bats on her heels. 

They passed through the window they had left not long before just in time for Ladybug to flash bright pink once more. Tim flinched slightly as her number reappeared and slowly fell back to her normal 15. Alfred looked up from the chair where he was reading. 

“Welcome back, Shall I call for refreshments?” He asked, placing the book down. 

“Yes please,” Dick answered, “I feel like we’re going to be here for a while. 

“Of course,” He hummed standing up to go to the phone, “Aw and Miss. Marinette, what food does your Kwami favor?” 

The young girl jumped, eyes wide, “What!” 

“Your Kwami, I saw the battle on the news, and assumed your Kwami will be famished after that much magic being used.”

“I don’t-” 

A small red fairy-like creature flew out from Marinette’s jacket. 

“It’s okay, Marinette,” The creature reassured before turning to the men in the room, “Hello I’m Tikki! I’m glad to finally meet all of you.” 

Alfred’s face became unbelievably soft as he held out his index finger to the small creature, “Hello Madam Tikki, it’s lovely to meet you as well. What can I get for you?”  

She giggled as she shook the offered finger, “No need to be so formal with me, Alfred, but I’m partial to cookies if you don’t mind.” 

“Not at all, Tikki,” He said before striding over to the room’s phone, raising an eye at the still costumed Bats, “I would suggest getting dressed in something more appropriate before room service arrives gentlemen.” 

“You dropped her title,” Jason countered instead of moving to change, “You never drop titles when asked!” 

Alfred let out an amused huff, “Arguing with Kwamis over respect is a futile endeavor. Now do not make me tell you again. This is a conversation best suited for the Waynes, not the Bats.”  

The Bats ducked into one of the adjoining bedrooms, as Marinette just blinked in surprise at the exchange. 

“You’ve had experience with the miraculous before?” She asked as he hung up the phone, Tikki settling in her hair. 

“I do,” He confirmed, “For several years I was a hero known as Emrys with the help of a very good friend named Duusu.” 

Tikki gasped, “You’re a peachick.” 

Alfred’s eyes misted slightly, “Yes, and I must admit I never thought I would be able to converse with another Kwami after losing the peacock brooch. I was devastated to hear that the butterfly had fallen into the wrong hands,” 

Marinette was biting her lip as the Bats reentered the room, now in their civilian clothing. 

Damian raised an eyebrow, “Is everything okay, Angel?” 

“I just…” She looked at all of them, “This is a lot, how did we get here?” 

The room glanced at Tim as he sighed and stepped forward and began his explanation once more. 

Marinette took the information on how his powers worked really well, humming at certain parts as she looked deep in thought. Tikki was looking at him strangely, by the time that he had finished. 

“You’ve been able to do this since you were born?” She questioned lightly, nibbling on one of the cookies that had arrived during his explanation. 

He gave a nod, “As far as I’m aware. Why?” 

The Kwami shook her head, “Just making sure.” 

“Well that’s cryptic,” Jason drawled from where he was laying on the floor. 

Marinette giggled, “Welcome to Kwamis, they give the most helpful cryptic insight you could ask for.” 

Tikki stuck her tongue out at her user before both broke down into giggles. 

Tim looked between them before finally asking, “Do you know the other Paris’ heroes secret identities?” 

Marinette cocked her head, sitting up slightly from where she was snuggled under Damian’s arm, “All but Chat Noir’s, as when I took over the Guardian position I was the one that had to pick those that would receive the Miraculous. I’m guessing your powers gave them away?” 

He gave a sheepish shrug, “It’s kinda hard to see a 12, 13, 14, or 15 over someone’s head and not put together their identities. Viperion is the only one I don’t know because I didn’t see him out of his mask.” 

Dick raised a brow from his upside-down seat on the couch, “Was that why you were so weird at the school?” 

“There were six people with 12s or higher,” He snapped, “And that creepy chick that called Damian ‘Dami-Bear’ was a 9.” 

Jason gave a low whistle, “Damn, that’s a lot.” 

Marinette looked surprised, “Six? But there’s only five miraculous out permanently on our side…” 

“Yeah about that,” Tim said, “I’ve seen other users online, have Max or Kim from your class ever held a miraculous?” 

“How did…”

“It’s rare to see people with the exact same shade of a color, even less so when they have the same number,” He explained, knowing his family was hanging onto his every word, “And yet Kim and Max both had a pure white 12, the exact same pure white 12 as Alfred. I think the miraculous might permanently affect the user’s danger level.” 

“You only asked about Kim and Max,” Marinette put in, “But Alya and Nino also held miraculous before, what were their numbers.” 

“Alya was the girl that started recording right? And who was Nino.” 

“Yeah, and Nino was the boy with the bright blue headphones around his neck, red cap, and glasses.” 

“She had an obnoxious orange 5, and He had a mossy green 4.”

“Why wouldn’t they have 12s then…” 

Tikki was the one to answer, “Alya and Nino weren’t true holders, but Max and Kim are both true holders so I imagine that would affect Tim’s powers.” 

All eyes fell on the small goddess. 

“True holder?” Marinette asked. 

She gave a small nod, “The Kwamis are much older than the human race and the miraculous, but when we began using humans to regulate our powers each Kwami blessed a handful of souls. As they go through the reincarnation cycle we can find our true users, who will always be more intuned with our powers than anyone else that could use our miraculous and our true users usually showcase abilities that go along with the concept the Kwami represents. After a true holder transforms for the first time Kwami’s can feel them, and recognize them as one of the blessed souls, though we don’t know what Kwami blessed their souls on that feeling alone.”

“So the 12s  saw were true users that don’t have their miraculous,” Tim summed up. 

“Most likely,” Tikki confirmed, “The others would be the ones that still hold their miraculous.” 

The conversation goes on for a while as Marinette asks questions of Tim and he asks them right back. The rest of the family remaining silent as they soak in the information, all making mental notes on where to go next. 

Bruce finally claps his hands startling the pair out of the intense debate they had gotten over whether his ability could be used to detect a potential Akuma victim before an Akuma got to them or not as the sunset. 

“As insightful this discussion is,” He comments, “I believe it is time that we contact the rest of the League and make a plan on how to out Hawkmoth.” 

“We should change and head for WE,” Damian suggested, “No one would be on the executive floor at this time so we can do a conference call without risk of being disturbed.” 

When Bruce gave a nod all the Bats rose and headed to the bedroom. 

“Before we call the league,” Marinette said quietly making them pause, “I need to do two things.” 

Bruce nodded, waiting for her to continue, her city, her rules.

“Firstly I want to call my team, they should be there when we contact the league,” She said, turning towards Tim, “I would also like to inform them that you know who most of them are, and how you figured it out since it’s their secrets.”

“I’m willing to share with them,” He told her, “It’s only fair that they know the facts before we form.” 

“Thank you,” She breathed. 

“Now what else did you want to do?” Jason asked.  

“Alfred,” She turned to the butler, “There’s something you should know about who we’re fighting.”  

“Nooroo and his user?” He questioned with a raised brow. 

She shook her head, “No, Hawkmoth may have been there from the start but a little less than a year into the fight another miraculous user joined him. Mayura and…  her Sentimonsters.” 

His strangled gasp sent a stab of pain through all the hearts in the room, “Not Duusu…” 

She gave a grim nod, “Mayura is the current holder of the peacock miraculous. Though at first, her appearances were few and far between due to the brooch being damaged, they learned how to repair the damage shortly after I became Guardian allowing for her to make more regular appearances.”  

None of the Wayne’s had ever seen Alfred look so pale, so worn out, so… old.

Bruce wrapped an arm around the butler’s waist pulling him towards the couch, making him sit gently. 

“It’s okay, Alfie,” Bruce breathed as the others remained silent. Alfred was shaking slightly, unable to find his voice as he slowly held out a hand. Bruce clasped it tightly, sitting with the man that raised him in reassuring silence.  

“Master Bruce,” Alfred’s voice was quiet as he continued to stare at their clasped hands, “I don’t normally ask anything of you except for you and the young masters to stay safe, but if I might make a request?” 

“Anything, Alfred,” The man answered without a second of hesitation. 

“Find Hawkmoth and Mayura and free Nooroo and Duusu as quickly as possible. Rescue them, please, no matter what it takes.”  

“I promise,” 

Alfred finally raised his eyes, a hard steely gaze flashing over his ward’s face, “Go.” 

Bruce was on his feet and in the bedroom ready to change within a second, his sons not far behind him. 

“I’m sorry Alfred,” Mari breathed only to be rewarded a shaky smile. 

“It’s not your fault, Marinette,” He reassured, professional mask struggling to raise, “I believe it is time to call your team.” 

“Tikki, spots on.” 

____________________________________________

Thirty minutes later Ladybug found herself staring at her whole team in the art room of her school with the blackout curtains pulled tight over the windows, able to feel their buzzing energy overflowing the room.  

Abeille was looking at her imploringly, knowing slightly what the meeting was about, but the fact that Ladybug had contacted not just the regular team, but the reserve members, Pegasus, King Monkey, and Bunnyx, as well had them all on edge. 

“Is everything okay, bugaboo?” Chat finally broke through the nerves to ask. 

She nodded slightly, taking a deep breath, “Earlier today before the Akuma, Abeille came across two foreign heroes.” 

The rooftop stilled, eyes wide. 

“Who was here,” Vipieion asked first. 

Ladybug gave them all reassuring smiles, “Nightwing and Red Robin, and after making contact with Abeille, I met with the Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin. They wanted to offer their help.” 

“They finally answered!” Chat cheered causing the gathered heroes to break out in celebration, even Ladybug couldn’t stop a grin from spreading her lips.

Finally indeed. Three days after Stoneheart the original duo had tried to contact the Justice League, and then again a month later, and again, and again...

A year and a half into the fight against Hawkmoth they finally got a response, telling them the contact was for real emergencies, not for pranks. The response wasn’t even signed past the official Justice League seal. 

For League associated heroes to be here in Paris, and willing to talk, it filled them all with the hope that the fight wasn’t going to last forever. 

Ladybug let them enjoy the feeling for a few minutes before she called them back to order. The bright smiles pointed at her made the nervous twist in her stomach lessen slightly even as she readied herself for the next announcement. 

“Before we met up with the League and determining a game plan, I think it is only fair to have us all on the same page,” She told them, “After speaking with the Gotham heroes they informed me that they figured out not only my civilian identity but, Chat Noir, Ryuko and Abielle’s as well.” 

“What!” Bunnyx roared, “How dare they! The sneak sons of-” 

“Stop!” Ladybug cut her off with a glare, “They did not go digging into our backgrounds to figure it out, and while they will explain in more depth when we go meet them, I can tell you that they discovered our identities because Red Robin is a Metahuman with an ability he can’t physically turn off, it was the same way he figured out who Batman and other heroes were long before he was Robin, and he’s never given away an identity without express permission.” 

The room quieted down but still looked uneasy, She just sighed. 

“That brings me to the next point. With the League finally answering us, I think we need to not waste the opportunity. If we’re going to finish this, we need to use every advantage we have against Hawkmoth and Mayura, which means we need to be able to work at all hours of the day.” 

The room was silent as all the heroes tried to decide where she was going with this, but she just stared at her partner. 

Chat maintained her eye contact, and she could see the exact second he put together what she was saying. 

“Ladybug,” He spoke slowly, “Are you serious?” 

She gave a nod, “I’ve spoken with my Kwami and I’ve decided that if all of you are comfortable with it, I think we should tell each other our identities.” 

____________________________________________

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[australet789]

Fractal

Summary: Chaos, besides its own natures, has a little order on it. Chaos, without order, leads to destruction itself. When the object holding the chaos of the world is damaged, maybe a little more than order is going to be needed to fix it. Abomination! AU

AO3

Chapter 1

Akumas were always weird.

No matter how intimidating they looked on the exterior, their motives were something that, if it weren’t for the fact they were busy trying to protect themselves, would make their victims tilt their head in curiosity. At least Chat, admittedly, had done that several times in the past.

Didnt’t mean those motives were less important for the akumatized person.

Or make them less dangerous.

“Shockwave” was the name of the new Hawkmoth’s victim. His outfit was something brought up straight of a costume shop: grey spandex suit with a big white drawing of a lighting bolt in the middle of his chest that looked like a stylized “S”, black gloves and a pair of boots of the same color and material and a fanny pack that was hanging lazily around his hips – which seemed to be the akumatized object. But what immediately caught up the attention was the big lighting bulb that acted as a helmet and covered his head and neck. The whole set was a little bit hilarious.

“Chat, stop laughing we have work to do”.

“I’m sorry, my Lady, but you have to admit his looks are kind of shocking to see”.

Ladybug tried to shut down the groan that was forming in the back of her throat, but couldn’t suppress her own mortification at the sight of the akuma’s clothes. If Bubbler wasn’t already bad enough. Her fashion designer eyes were hurting.

“C’mon”, Chat said, playful smile on his face, “lighten up a little, Bugaboo, I bet you have something brilliant to say about his costume too.”

“Chat…” Ladybug said with a dangerous tone in her voice.

“Maybe he just needs someone that guides him through the dark path of bad fash-“

“Alright, fine!” Ladybug hissed, annoyed. “It’s hideous and I want to punch Hawkmoth even harder for his obvious lack of imagination and terrible sense of fashion!” She huffed, glaring at her partner which was obviously enjoying her little display. “Are you happy now?”

Leaning at her slightly, his smile only grew wider. “Delighted”.

The heroine rolled her eyes but felt the corner of her lips lift up in amusement. No matter how bad Chat’s puns were, they were still better than seeing Hawkmoth trying to play the fashion designer and she would gladly prefer to spend a patrol with the cat boy just running over the rooftops and beating him at his own game.

But they still had an akuma to stop.

“Let’s go, minou,” she sighed, throwing her yo-yo to the next building, ready to jump, “we need to stop Shockwave before he reaches the Eiffel Tower and I really don’t want to do my homework in the dark if that happens.”

Chat noticed the change of mood and immediately followed her without saying another word. He knew that while Shockwave looked like a character of a badly drawn comic book, his intentions were far from laughable: his plan consisted of using the Eiffel Tower as a big antenna and with the help of his electric powers, cause a blackout that would plunge the whole city in complete darkness.

With the power out, hospitals, traffic, the communication system, everything would stop working and the city would stay in an indefinite limbo.

They needed to work fast.

While pursuing the akuma, Adrien couldn’t stop himself from remembering his earlier conversation with Chloé –well, a conversation consisting on her just talking and never letting him say a word unless it was to agree with her- and his suspicious about who was the person behind Shockwave’s mask: she has told him about how a boy ‘with a horrible flannel fanny pack, ugh, does anybody have a good taste on fashion anymore? Except for you and me, Adrikins, obviously,’-not older than them, probably a recent graduate student- has approached her father’s office to advise him ‘can you believe it, Adrikins, someone telling my Daddy how to do his job??!! Unbelievable,’ how to better manage the energy cost of the city. The poor guy tried to explain the Mayor –with a big presentation- the whole study he had done and the results he had obtained but, apparently, the Mayor had barely paid attention to him and told him they will “consider his words but right now they have more important things to do”. Disillusioned and heartbroken, the young man left the building crying.

And Hawkmoth took advantage of the student’s anger.

The Bourgeois at this point were almost Hawkmoth’s sidekicks.

“Chat, I think he is already there. Get ready”.

Ladybug’s voice brought him up of his thoughts. Hiding behind a wall over a near rooftop, the duo could easily see where Shockwave was standing. Looking up at the big monument from the base, he seemed anxious and excited, twitching his fingers in anticipation, like he was preparing a big attack.

“I think he is measuring the amount of electricity he will need.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Ladybug muttered. “He charges each attack very fast, so we need to get closer.”

The few moments the heroes fought against Shockwave in their attempts to stop him before he escaped, Ladybug noticed the big lighting bulb turning on for a few seconds and after that, the energy formed traveled to his gloves, charging them. If they decided to attack, it’d have to be before that happened.

“Are you sure the akuma is in his fanny pack, right?”

Chat faked a hurt gasp. “How can you doubt my capacitance of recognizing akumatized objects, my Lady?” he pointed to the center of his chest, “my heart hertz over your cruel words!”

This time, Marinette let the groan flow freely through her mouth. Her partner was so dramatic sometimes.

“Fine, I believe you.” Chat grinned looking up at her. “Just, distract him enough while I prepare the Lucky Charm. Don’t let him touch the Eiffel Tower.”

“Got it,” he said. Shuffling his shoulders, he extended his baton.

“And, Chat,” she put a hand on his back, pausing his actions for a moment, “don’t let him touch you either, ok? I need you to win this.”

Chat felt his heart jumping a little and his pulse getting a bit faster.

With a soft smile, he turned back at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” And with a two fingers salute, he leaped out of the roof. “He will need to be lighter than this mighty cat to catch it!”

He swears he heard how his lady rolled her eyes at him for the second time that night.

When Chat landed carefully over the streets, the only sound his ears could perceive was his own breathing. He knew everyone were in their houses waiting for this to end or, the ones who were close to the battlefield, trying to get any update about the attack –probably reporters or gawkers. Or Alya- so they wouldn’t try to go out near them or the akuma. For now, he only needed to focus on keeping Shockwave distracted long enough for Ladybug to summon the Lucky Charm.

He moved easily, using the lack of light on the Parisian streets-almost every light had been turned off, thanks to a message sent earlier by the Mayor- and his agility to approach the akuma quietly. He glanced Ladybug out of the corner of his eyes, moving at the same pace as him, body tensed and eyes narrowed in concentration. They needed to be in sync to defeat this guy.

Once he got close enough, he waited for the moment to act. He saw Shockwave’s silhouette standing in the same spot, his hands still shaking with excitement and impatience and it seemed that he hadn’t changed his position at all, but when Chat adjusted his vision he could see the butterfly shaped mask over the akuma’s face and his mouth moving quickly, mumbling something to someone that wasn’t there–Hawkmoth, probably, was giving instructions to his new puppet. There was no time to lose. Chat tensed up his muscles, tail twitching in anticipation, hand clenched over his baton and a snarky line ready to come out of his mouth. He just needed the confirmation of Ladybug being ready and he wil-

His cat’s ears perked up at the characteristic sound of a lighting bulb being turned on, telling him that their time had run out.

It was now or never.

With a rapid swing of his arm, he threw his baton right into the middle of the big bulb, the force of the impact making Shockwave lose his balance and concentration.

“Hey, Firefly!” Chat taunted. “Careful where you put those hands! If you wanted a night tour, you should have asked first!”

The akuma growled in response, moving his head as quickly as he could, looking out for the source of the attack.

“Show yourself!” Shockwave snarled. “Stop being a pest and fight like a man!”

“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Picking up his baton, he circled the akuma, “unlucky for you, I’m a cat, so I think we already have a little problem with your request,” and with another swing, this time directed toward Shockwave’s feet, he made him fell to ground ungracefully. “Ha! Grounded.” Chat chanted.

Shockwave, however, let out a dry laugh. “Maybe we should light up this situation, shouldn’t we?” And with those words, the whole base of the Eiffel Tower was filled with the brightest light.

And Chat Noir was momentary blinded.

Blinking quickly, he tried to adjust his vision to the new light and regain his composure, but Shockwave was already standing. Two powerful hits –one to Chat’s right arm and the other to his ribs- made him drop his baton and lose his breath.

‘C’mon, Agreste, you need to fight back.’

Trusting his other instincts and what he could see with his damaged vision, he tackled the akuma, making them both roll on the ground and he hoped that that was enough to make Shockwave stay, at least, a few meters away from the tower.

‘Ladybug, where are you?’ Chat desperately begged.

And like his thought were heard by the universe, the sound of a yo-yo told him that his Lady was approaching them. He sighed, relieved.

He was lifting himself up, his vision finally returning to normal when a powerful grip on his right hand stopped his movements. Chat’s eyes widened when he saw Shockwave’s fingers tugging at his gloves –the finger where his ring was- obviously wanting to take the miraculous out. Adrien desperately tried to recover his hand back but Shockwave hadn’t planned to let him go.  

A vicious smirk crossed the akuma’s face.

“I think this kitty needs to learn how to stay static.”

What happened next only took a couple of seconds but for Adrien it was like time has slowed down and make that moment take hours.

He could feel the electricity running through his muscles, his bones, his tendons, making his blood boil and his heart beat faster and faster and faster. A sudden burst of energy took over his body, like his Cataclysm was activated but instead of staying in his hand waiting to be used, it was all over himself, moving, shaking, living. He wanted to scream, he wanted to find his voice but all he could do was moan pathetically, kicking, trying to free himself over the claws of his captor. His ring was beeping uncontrollably, turning on and off without a pattern. His head felt like it was going to explode and his eyes only grew wider and wider…

Someone screamed his name.

And suddenly it was over.

He felt himself floating in the air, all his limbs lethargic and his mind dizzy. He saw the Eiffel Tower getting far, far away from him as well as two figures: a red one (‘Ladybug?’) colliding into a gray one, the red one chasing the gray one, the red one…

His body crushed hard against a wall and he slowly fell down onto the cool pavement. ‘Shockwave probably threw me away and I landed in an alley’, Adrien thought. Like never before, he felt the desire to take a long nap. But Shockwave hadn’t been defeated yet and he needed to help Ladybug. He groaned painfully at the prospect of moving.

A few seconds later, when his mind was starting to clear, he heard a loud beep and his transformation abruptly wore off.

Putting his pain and his surprise beside, Adrien extended his palms to catch the apparently tired Kwami.

“Plagg?” Adrien poked the cat kwami’s side. “Plagg! Are you okay?”

“Ugh,” Plagg whined, opening his eyes, “kid, what happened? Is the battle over? Can we go home?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, we can’t. Shockwave is still out there.” He noticed he could see the Eiffel Tower from the alley they’d landed, so they weren’t that far. “He tried to pull my ring off,” he continued, “but I resisted and he electrocuted me and apparently threw me in this direction.” Looking into the Kwami’s green eyes, he asked, “Why did my transformation wear off? I didn’t use my Cataclysm. Was it because of the electricity? Is the ring damaged?”

“I don’t know.” Plagg answered. He examined the ring carefully. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“But how do you feel?”

“I-“

But what he was going to say was cut off because of the sight of the Eiffel Tower starting to glow dangerously.

“Oh, no” Adrien whispered. “We need to help Ladybug. Plagg! Are you able to transform me?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He looked at his holder. “But don’t let him touch you again.”

“Awww, you care.” Adrien teased. Plagg only rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breathe, causing Adrien to laugh a little. “C’mon, Plagg. Claws Out!”

Ladybug was angry.

When she saw Chat being tossed aside like a ragdoll and being thrown away like he was nothing –like he was dead- her thoughts were murderous. The Timebreaker incident was still fresh in her mind and she swore by all the good she possessed that when she finds Hawkmoth she will make him pay for every scratch he caused to her partner. Every angry punch that connected towards Shockwave’s body was a direct message to Hawkmoth:

‘You hurt him and I will hurt you twice.’

A part of herself however was telling her to stop and think a plan to cleanse the akuma, that it wasn’t his fault he was being manipulated by a cowardly man that couldn’t fight his own battles, that an innocent person existed under the horrible disguise, not being conscious of what he was doing.

But damn it was hard.

Especially when she kept blaming herself about everything: if she hadn’t been a couple of seconds late, if she had cast the Lucky Charm earlier, if she hadn’t been so damn tired because being a student and a superhero were energy drained and of course the Bourgeois had to be the cause of yet another akuma; that said akuma had not only been a difficult one but she had to spent the whole day chasing it no matter how much work she had to do for the next day…

A moment of distraction was all that Shockwave needed to free himself of Ladybug’s yo-yo and with a strong hit, send her flying away to the other side of the tower, making her crash into the trees and with a final ‘thump’, she landed on one of them. That only made Marinette more pissed about the whole situation. The battle needed to end now.

She blew her bangs from her forehead with a huff and with a cry she finally summoned her power.

“Lucky Charm!”

‘Please be an outlet’, she thought. The spotted object fell into her palms and Marinette looked at it with curiosity.

“Wait, this is-“

“Oh! A Chinese finger trap!”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Marinette screeched, not expecting a voice so close to her ear. She barely recovered her breath when she noticed the source of her not-so-nearly heart attack. Which was laughing at her reaction. “Chat Noir!” she lightly punched his shoulder, the scold only making him laugh harder, “don’t scare me like that again!”

“I-I’m sorry, m-my Lady!” Chat said between laughs, wiping a tear from his eye. “But your reaction was priceless!”  

Ladybug pouted at him.

“Anyway,” Chat continued, taking the magic object from her hands “I used to play with these things a lot when I was a kid.”

He inspected the cylinder and proceeded to put his right index finger into the little toy.

“My dad taught me the trick to not get trapped. You see, once you have both fingers in, what you need to do is push and…” he pushed but nothing happened, “push and…”he tried again, with no success, “I…ehm…wait you need to…” Ladybug started giggling at Chat’s obvious distress.

Now it was her turn.

“My Lady! Help me!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes without stopping her giggles and with a quick move of her wrist, she freed the poor cat boy.

Chat Noir just stood there, slack jawed.

“There. Now, c’mon, we need to stop Shockwave.” Ladybug started to run away but, after a moment of consideration, she turned back towards her partner. “I’m glad you are here.” And with that, she was gone.

Chat only blinked, letting her words sunk into him and finally, after a couple of seconds, a soft smile adorned his face.

‘Me too’.

When they arrived near the Eiffel Tower, it was almost impossible to look at it: Shockwave had already accumulated a ton of energy and it was a matter of time until he decided to liberate it.

Without wasting any moment, Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the akuma’s feet and pulled on the string with all her force, attempting to drag him away of the tower. Shockwave only managed to let out a yelp before face-planting over the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug screamed. “His lighting bulb! Destroy it and he won’t have anything to recharge his gloves!”

“On it, Buginette!” Chat prayed that the previous attack hadn’t ruined his powers. “Cataclysm!”

Feeling his usual bad luck running around his arm and having it controlled in his hand once again, Adrien let out a sigh of relieve.

Shockwave meanwhile, attempted to touch the string that tied him down with his electric gloves, causing Ladybug to let him go. The akuma stood up quickly and after a brief appearance of the shaped like butterfly mask in front of his face, he charged towards the superheroes.

Chat Noir jumped over the akuma and while evading Shockwave’s attack, he grabbed his mask with both his hands and he pulled it off like it was a real lighting bulb, his Cataclysm making the glass crack, little pieces falling all over the ground.

The movement made Shockwave fall backwards and Ladybug took her chance to use her Lucky Charm, connecting one of the ends of the Chinese handcuffs to one of his index fingers and using it to pull it towards the other hand and connecting both fingers, closing it like a circuit. The accumulated energy traveled through his body, destroying the fanny pack in the process. A small dark butterfly came out of it. With a shriek, Shockwave fell on his knees, dark energy abandoning his body and a confused young man was left in his place.

Ladybug felt more relaxed noticing that the fight was over and with a rapid swing of her yo-yo, she caught the running away insect and cleaned it, a beautiful white specimen emerging from her weapon. A soft ‘Bye, bye little butterfly’ left her lips while she watched it go away. With a sigh, Ladybug threw her Lucky Charm up into the air, letting the cure do its job.

Chat meanwhile stood near by the student, his suspicious confirmed about the identity behind Shockwave’s persona.

“Hey,” the student snapped his head towards the superhero, fear reflected in his wide eyes, “it’s ok, it’s over. You are safe now.” Chat reassured.

“W-what…w-where I am?” When the swarm of little ladybugs surrounded them, realization sunk in the boy’s mind. He gulped. “D-did I do something? Is that why you are here?”

“Ehm…” Adrien hesitated for a moment but he knew he needed to tell the truth. Partially. “Yeah, kind of”. The young man dropped his eyes at the fact. “Don’t worry, you didn’t hurt anybody…just blew up a street light or two, nothing big.” Chat explained, not mentioning the early fight under the Eiffel Tower.

The boy, still on his knees, only nodded.

“I just…I just wanted to help, you know. I wanted to be listened to.” Tears were forming in the corner of his eyes, his thumb lazily stroking the repaired fanny pack. “I wanted to prove I could do something for the city I love.”

“I know the feeling.” Chat said. “And I’m pretty sure your ideas are great and will help everybody.”

“You really think that?” The student exclaimed with hope in his voice.

Chat winked. “Call it cat instinct.” Helping him to stand up, Chat continued. “But maybe you would want to make an appointment first, you know. That way the Mayor will know when you will come to talk to him.”

“I will.” Finally looking to the hero’s eyes and extending his hand, the boy spoke with security in his voice, “thank you, Chat Noir.”

Adrien accepted the gest and shook his hand. “No problem, ehm..?”

“Aaron.”

Chat smiled widely. “I can’t wait to hear about you, Aaron.”

Aaron nodded once more and walked away slowly, staring at the big tower that covered the city with its light, a feeling of forgiveness in his heart and a new goal in his mind.

Ladybug, who had been watching the whole exchange from afar, approached her partner quietly.

“I’m happy you talked to him.” Marinette put her arm over Chat’s shoulders, making him jump in surprise. She giggled. “You handled it well, even with what happened earlier.” Hugging him tight, her voice was a soft murmur between the two. “I’m proud of you.”

Adrien thanked the fact he was wearing a mask. And that he had something to blame for his shaking legs.

He coughed awkwardly. “T-thank you, my Lady.”

A beep coming from Ladybug earrings interrupted the moment between the two and, to Chat’s disappointment, Ladybug had to end the contact.

“That’s my cue to go.” Ladybug said. With a final look to her partner, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and leaped away, looking forward the warm of her home. “Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

Chat Noir followed her movements until she was out of his sight, a warm feeling spreading to his chest. Shaking his head, he extended his baton and jumped over a near rooftop, a whisper leaving his mouth and losing itself into the dark night and the silent streets of Paris.

‘Sweet dreams, my Lady.’

It took Adrien a few minutes reach the Agreste’s mansion. He knew his father was going to come back late –he was working on the last details of a big fashion show- and that Nathalie was with him, so he didn’t expect anyone to notice his absent nor if there were any lights on.

He wasn’t any less surprised that the only thing that welcomed him was his big cold room.

Still, he was very tired and the previous events were finally starting to show their consequences. The Miraculous Cure helped with the pain and healed the scratches from the battle but the exhaustion was something that he needed to fight on his own. But right now, he only wanted to sleep and relax. He still needed to go to school tomorrow, his schedule was already planned. The next day was going to be the same as ever.

Knowing that Plagg would probably want to recharge and rest, he closed his eyes and said the words that would drop his transformation.

If he weren’t so tired he would have noticed that his ring wasn’t beeping.

If he had noticed the ring wasn’t beeping he would never dropped his transformation.

And if his screams weren’t the only sound that filled the empty mansion, he would have stopped to think that maybe, not everything was the same as before.