#backup cat!hero Chloé

[generalluxun]

Based on some of our chats regarding Adrien Needs a Hug & Chloe could use a Hug, Chloe as Empuress:

Chloe: That battle was the cats meow, one might even say it was purrfect, or purrhaps, I'm just feline like a pride of-

Marinette: Oh. M. Gods. I think you are the one person on Earth who likes cat puts even more than Chat!

Chloe: Oh I don't actually like puns very much and cat one's, well they're like catching fish in a barrel (Makes claw motion with her hand& Nya-see?

Marinette: T- Then, they why all the cat puns!?

Chloe: (Closes the distance between then, lightly brushing against her and whispering) I would have thought it was obvious dear lady~

Marinette: (OO)

Chloe (Pulls away, tail flicking under Marinette's chi) Its because you look so good when all hot and bothered, bye bye! (Leaps away)

Marinette (Blushing like her heads about to burst into flames)

Alya (Recording)

Paris (Watching)

Chloe: >:3c

Ha! You and your Chlonette agenda 😂

I think for my money it would be a different dynamic this time. With where this began and how it came about, I think it would be more of a competitive tint.

Chloé was rejected as the Bee. She does know she screwed up with Miracle Queen, but also thinks LB was in the wrong in general with how she treated Queen Bee. Chloé knows something LB doesn't, Cat Noir/Adrien's ID. It's the first time she's ever been an insider on anything.

So she's out to prove herself, to prove she could be a good hero, to prove that Adrien's show of trust is founded (vs. LB who she thinks didn't trust her) By this token she's not as hot-headed. She can't afford to screw up, but she's also not going to be waiting on LB's every word. It's a very narrow tightrope to walk, and a challenge for her. Only success will make it worth the effort.

This dynamic makes for an interesting challenge for Ladybug too(something that improves every narrative is multiple arcs) Empuress is not a lovesick partner, she's not a differential part timer. For the first time in her life Ladybug jas to work with someone as an equal.

As for the flirting- I think any Crush Chloé might have had on LB was burned with the 'death' of Queen Bee in this scenario. Chloé's learning to stop chasing after the people who abandoned her.

[ilikekidsshows]

What do you think of the argument that Marinette keeps secret to benefit others while Adrien keeps secrets out of selfishness?

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I think Adrien salters are so infected by bad faith criticism that Adrien could sneeze and they would claim he was just trying to get sympathy by faking an illness. Adrien can't do anything without them taking the worst possible interpretation and running with it. I also think that they have Adrien and Marinette confused. Adrien is the abuse victim who has been taught that his feelings don't matter while Marinette is the control freak in pigtails. Adrien lies because he has been taught to lie, while Marinette lies because her biggest fear is feeling uncomfortable for the 10 minutes it would take to explain the truth. 

But, let's play a game of pretend. Let's pretend Marinette is a pure saint who only ever lies to bring happiness to others and never for her own gain. It still wouldn't matter. The argument has never been: “did Marinette lie for the right reasons?” It's always been: “did she have a right to lie?” and the answer is, unless you're a victim-blaming ghoul, a resounding “Fuck no!” Marinette’s good intentions don’t actually help any of the people she lies to, because things they have a right to know and that they need to know so that they can make informed decisions are being kept from them, by Marinette. The people defending her can’t even give any reasons for why the “logic” of her lies is sound, because they just make vague comments about the secrecy being “more secure” without giving any examples why Cat Noir knowing the two-man team is now a three-man team, there’s a potential backup Ladybug and who their allies are is such a security risk.

As I said, there is no point in arguing over selfless or selfish lies because that's not what the discussion is about. It's about lying about things the other person has a right to know. Marinette is not entitled to Adrien's personal life, any of the conversations he’s ever had about her or every thought he’s ever had, even if they’re negative thoughts about her, but Adrien, however, is entitled to know what the fuck is happening in the team he’s in. He’s entitled to know his father was a supervillain. And he’s definitely entitled to know that he's a remote control robot and his cousin can now snap him out of existence whenever he wants. Marinette causes problems by lying and no amount of good intentions will fix that. In fact, the good intentions make it worse, because now her victims feel like they have to give her a free pass because “she didn’t mean to hurt anybody”. Maybe people should get mad at her for once and maybe she’d stop being like this. Because Marinette lies constantly over the most inconsequential shit, so it’s not surprising she lies about the actually important shit too.

Because, like, let's not kid ourselves here; Marinette’s lies aren't within spitting distance of selfless. Marinette lies to avoid feeling uncomfortable, because the truth makes her uncomfortable or makes her look bad. This is consistent with her lies as both a hero and a civilian. Her reasons for lying include not wanting to deal with Chloé's reaction to being told she was off the hero team, not wanting to explain to Cat Noir that she isn’t the independent, perfect leader she portrays and actually buckled under the pressure and made Rena a permanent team member to take off some of the load, wanting to sabotage a girl who has a crush on Adrien so that they don't get to spend time together, lying about deleting the most important video Alya had filmed in her career as an amateur journalist so far because she didn't want her to be upset at her, and trying to avoid a preschooler thinking she's cringe. There is no greater good here. If there's a pattern to Marinette's lies, it's not selflessness, it's her fragile ego.

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, Guardian Chloe au:

For this au, Marianne and Fu either reconnected years earlier than in cannon, or never separated in the first place. With someone around for Fu to rely on (and to help him realize when hes moving from 'cautious' to 'paranoid'), he's more comfortable bringing more people into helping with the Miraculous stuff, and bc of that he's keeping an eye out not only for potential Black Cat and Ladybug weilders, but for a potential successor as well, who wouldn't be fighting on the front lines every single time if/when whoever has the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous decides to start supervillain-ing.

Chloe is on the pretty short list of potential weilders and successors bc of her strong innate Magic that's compatible with most if not all of the Miraculous in the box Fu has, but since she's pre-cannon/S1 levels of character development, she's pretty low on the list. Then Origins happens, and when Fu is on his way to test Marinette and Adrien, his shoe breaks and he winds up tripping into the road as a car is coming for real. Luckily for him, he's pulled out of harm's way by none other than Chloe, who decided to walk to school that day in the hopes she would run into Adrien bc she knew he was going to try to get to school that day. She shows genuine concern for his wellbeing before getting back into her whole 'trying to be Audrey Jr to try and earn her mother's love' routine, but before she leaves she gives him some money to 'buy some not completely ugly shoes' and definitely not bc she doesn't want an old man with a cane to trip and hurt himself walking around with a broken sandal.

This brief interaction leads to Fu reconsidering Chloe as an option. He still gives Mari and Adrien the Ladybug and Black Cat respectively, but he starts looking into Chloe more, to try and see if the cracks in her act he saw were a fluke or if she would be a genuinely good Guardian, doing the same sort of background checking that he did with Marinette and Adrien.

And as for Chloe, her run-in with Stoneheart (especially the part when she was thrown off the side of the Eiffel Tower) and Hawkmoths reveal lead to her coming to the conclusion that purposefully upsetting people while a magic terrorist who uses negative emotions to turn people into supervillains is basically painting a target on her back. She starts on the road to redemption, moreso as a method of self-preservation at first, but as time goes on, and with some help from Ms Bustier (and maybe a classmate or two who've noticed her change in behavior and after finding what Chloe's doing offer to help with things like how to give complements without making them sound backhanded, little things like that that make a difference overall) Chloe starts changing for the better, and she realizes that she likes the way things are changing.

Fu and Marianne are seeing all of this from the sidelines, and also see her helping out with a few Akumas she's been caught up with. After Princess Fragrance happens (without Chloe tearing up Rose's letter of course) and the really close call of Tikki being sick and Chat getting mind-controlled without backup, Fu decides it's time to reach out to Chloe and start training her. The next Saturday, Chloe wakes up and finds a box in her bed that wasn't there the night before, and opens it to find the Fox Miraculous (picked that one since it's one that can be used from the sidelines instead of one that requires being super hands on) and Trixx gives a brief explanation about what the Fox Miraculous can do, and tells her that the Guardian of the Miraculous wants to meet her at the top of the Eiffel Tower later that night.

Chloe transforms and meets a transformed Fu at the right time and place, and he gives her a brief explanation about how he's the Guardian of the last Miracle Box, and that he wants to start training her as the next Guardian since he isn't going to be around forever. Chloe asks why he picked her of all people, bc she knows that she isn't a very good person, and Fu tells her that it's partially bc of her natural Magic, but in large part bc he can see her potential to be a great Guardian and a great person.

Chloe accepts, they set up a schedule where she visits Fu's massage parlor. Since Fu is still a bit hesitant about letting Hawkmoth know there are more Miraculous in Paris, Chloe hasn't participated in any Akuma battles or even revealed herself to LB and CN yet. Until the day one Lila Rossi joins Ms Bustiers class, and Adrien comes to school with the Grimore.

I haven't puzzled out exactly how thing go exactly, but Volpina ends with all three heroes becoming aware of Fu, and with Chloe (who I really need to figure out a Fox hero name for) becoming an active player in Akuma battles.

That's all I've got settled on for now, aside from some small details later on, like Trixx relentlessly pranking Audrey after Style Queen and all that, an couple concept sketches for Chloe's Fox hero outfit, but other than that I'm still plotting things out bc I'm hoping that this is the idea that helps me break through my writers block and I'm hoping getting a rough draft planned out will help me stuck with it.

....goddamn that got long.

Oh beautiful!

Also I offer Vixen for Fox!Chloé.

[pl-panda]

To Marry a Vigialnte: Part 16

MASTERLIST || First || Previous || Next

To Marry a Vigilante: Part 16

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Chloé couldn’t believe it! They forced her to stay in Gotham Academy’s girls’ dorms. That witch Lila managed to talk Madame Bustier into stopping her from leaving. Marinette had her mother’s permission to stay elsewhere, but apparently, the change in accommodation plans invalidated Chloé’s father’s permission. She would resolve it with a single phone call if someone didn’t steal her phone . She of course tried to report it to Madame Bustier, but her teacher declared that she must’ve lost it somewhere and she shouldn’t be shifting the blame on others. 

That woman’s picture should be in every dictionary, right next to the definition of a hypocrite.

She turned the corridor. She could sleep one evening there and tomorrow Marinette would let her borrow the phone. She could try with one of the girls, but it’s not like she remembered every phone number in existence! She regretted that the akuma attack ruined their plans for the afternoon, but Damian had sword-fighting practice tomorrow and she would have her friend all to herself. 

“You’re Chloé, right?” A blonde cheerleader asked. The Parisian immediately recognized her as Erica and narrowed her eyes. There were five of them and one of her. 

“And you’re the Queen B. of this school. For now .” 

The Gothamite princess had the guts to actually laugh. “You can’t even touch me. You’re just some foreign student that came here on a whim of the Ice Prince.”

“Oh, right. You’re the golden princess of this school.” Chloé mocked her. “Lemme tell you something, Erica. I’ll offer you an escape deal. You leave Damienette alone and you can keep your position on top.”

“Yeah. Like you could be a threat.” A new voice joined. From behind the cheerleaders, a new girl walked. Lila now wore the cheerleader uniform too. “You’re just a walking akuma factory. It’s really no wonder that people avoid you. You caused more possessions in Paris than everyone else combined.”

“And you hold the record for times being akumatized.” The Parisian blonde retorted. “Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! You think you can take the Chloé Bourgeois?”

“Oh! We don’t think…” Erica started.

“We know.” Lila finished. 

“The deal is simple. You will stop your friendship with Maribrat and we will let you keep some dignity.” 

“Or we will make you a social outcast. Not only at school, but in the whole of Gotham.”

Inside, Chloé was raging. She wished she could show them what Cass taught her, but she quelled the idea quickly. I definitely spend too much time with Sabine and the Waynes… She thought to herself. Instead, she grinned. “You know the difference between a threat and a warning?”

“What are you babbling about?” One of the cheerleaders snorted. 

“A warning is a threat that will actually come to pass. And I warn you. You’re messing with fire here. Damian was raised very old-fashioned. He will draw blood to defend the honor of his angel.” She decided that they could receive a warning. It’s not like they would listen. “And Marinette’s aunt is very well connected.” Then, she decided to drive the nail deeper. “Plus, MDC’s client list is quite long and none would appreciate that you try to bully their favorite designer.”

“Like that doormat…” Lila started, but Chloé tested the glare Cass taught her. It worked well enough. 

“You’re not dealing with Maribear. You’re dealing with me. And I’m not going to lose.” 

“What’s going on here?” Allegra walked toward them and stood next to Chloé. 

“Scatter.” Lila snapped at her. 

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing,” she retorted. Now she stood side by side with Chloé and both stared at them. Allegra had an aura of confidence around her. 

“Be careful who you stick with, Kane. You’ll do well not to antagonize me.”

“Just because your mother married a famous baseball player doesn’t make me respect you more, Boyle.” 

“It’s Layton ,”The angry cheerleader corrected. 

“Right. I must’ve forgotten. She does change her last name a lot…” Allegra smiled. 

“You’re in over your head, Kane. You’ll do better to stay with your little outcast club.”

“Nah. I’m good. Also, don’t you have practice in five minutes? I heard the coach is in a mood today.” The mayor’s daughter smirked. “It would be a shame if he made you run around with the players.” 

This made all the girls quickly scatter to get to the practice, leaving Lila and Erica alone. “You’ve just made an enemy, Kane.” 

“You’re an inconvenience at best…” She dismissed the threat. Lila decided to cut their losses and dragged the fuming Erica away, sending the two blondes a murderous glare.

“Thanks for the backup,” Chloé started. “Of course I didn’t need any, but still.”

“No problem. I always hated that self-appointed princess.” 

“And have you seen her hair?” The Parisian huffed. “Utterly Ridiculous!”

“And I’m pretty sure her dress is too short by the school standards.”

Chloé smirked. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”

-----------

After Bruce returned, they tried to figure out what was taken from the inside of the vault. Out of various precious weapons, documents, several property deeds, the only thing that was missing turned out to be the content of the wall safe. 

During the night patrol, Marinette and Damian scoured the city for potential akumas. While he dealt with criminals, she often stopped by the victims to calm them and gave some support. After serious butt-kicking for the criminals. It just wouldn’t do for Damian to get all the fun. The superhero/vigilante duo (nobody was sure which one, not even them) made a positive first impression on the city. Citizens seemed to like them, both for their efficiency and how they always stopped to talk. 

After, Marinette noted that their transformations could hold for much longer now since they were together in this. When asked, Tikki explained that now that she had Chat Noir that was mature and they were technically both adults as far as magic was concerned, she could start developing her full potential. 

After the short report to Alfred, the teens left the Batcave to change into pajamas. Marinette fell asleep almost immediately, but Damian stayed awake for a bit. He swore he would protect his Habibti. No matter how far he would have to go. 

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Marinette and Damian had roughly half of their classes together. Sadly, she didn’t share too much with her best friend, since Chloé was more into business management than arts and fashion. It was mostly the problem of the level. Classes that Marinette had at beginner, the Parisian blonde had at a higher level and vice-versa.

When she arrived at her class, Claude and Jon were saving her a place between them, which would help to protect her from the classmates that ended in the same group. There were also several GA students that she would rather not sit close to (Erica’s bunch). Generally speaking, the first part of her day went well. 

The same couldn’t have been said about Damian. He, Chloé, and Allegra were saddled with the class. And to his utter dread, there were no free places next to each other. They tried to ask some students to move. Well, Damian tried to threaten them, which worked, but too late. The teacher entered and decided to put Damian between Alya and Lila. It was as if the universe was punishing him for something. He suspected that Mister Scarlet did that on purpose to egg him. With this one, he had no idea what he did to make him dislike the Wayne heir. But the way he acted toward him made it clear that he took pleasure in the situation Damian was put in: Between Alya’s nagging to leave Marinette and ‘return’ to Lila, and the Liar who kept whispering stories about their common past. 

Finally, after they got to go for lunch, Damian stormed out of the class. Everyone in the corridor made way for him. His scowl was enough to deter anyone from trying to approach him. Well, anyone but Maps.

“Damian! You’re back!” She leaped at him and it took all of his willpower not to draw a sword. 

“Tt. Mizoguchi. It’s not the best moment.” He growled. 

“But you’re back! Did the headmaster cancel your expulsion!?”

“No. He just forgot to file the expulsion files within the week of the offense. Ergo, I was never expelled. I just joined the exchange program.” He explained. 

Her eyes practically shined. “Coooool.” 

“Tt. Can you let go of my arm?” He was really hoping it would work. 

“Nope. I just met you again. We’re glued.” 

“Sup Dames?” Claude chose that moment to appear.

“Tt. I’ve got a parasite.”

“That I can see!” The other boy laughed. Most people were still steering clear from Wayne and whoever was with him. They valued their health for the most part. 

“I’m not a parasite. I’m Maps!” The girl greeted Claude, who in turn made an exaggerated bow. 

“And I’m Claudius Chase. But please call me Claude.” He made a mock fighting stance. “Like Jean-Claude Van Damme.” 

“More like Jack Clown van Lame,” Damian muttered. “Your stance is all wrong. I could take you out in seconds.”

“Of course you could. You’re b…” The Wayne heir covered her mouth with his hand. 

“Tt. Not here. Now if you would let go of my hand, you parasite, I’m sure Habibti is waiting for me.” 

“Habibti?” She asked after letting go.

“His girlfriend.”

You could actually see Maps’ eyes form into twin stars. “Can I meet her? Can I meet her?”

“Since when are you into fashion?”

“Huh? Who said anything about fashion. She’s your girlfriend though, which means she must be sooo cooool!” Maps was practically vibrating. 

“Hero worship much?” Claude joked.

“Tt. Fine. Let’s go.”

The three arrived at the Cafeteria, where Allegra, Chloé, Jon, and Felix were already eating. They had lasagna that day. Quite a lot of people were whispering when Damian appeared, more so than usual, but nobody dared to look at him. When he sat at the table next to Marinette, they did their best not to stare.

“Grumpy Cat?” She asked, a bit worried. “You’re… tense.” 

“Tt. Because of that socially-inept, talentless, petty bookworm,” he seethed, “I had to sit between Rossi and Cesaire.” 

Immediately, Marinette pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh, my poor Kitty.”

This caused some of the gathered, who knew Damian from the previous year, to immediately tense. Some of the students sitting nearby (mostly females) even grinned, thinking that here died the relationship. There was no way that Ice Prince would allow anyone to refer to him as Kitty. Getting him on the first-name basis was considered a privilege allowed only to the family (and strangely Claude). 

To their immeasurable surprise, Damian didn’t explode. Instead, he melted slightly into the hug and some of the anger left him. It wasn’t a long hug, but after it, he was now acting less like a walking grenade looking for its pin. At least three people awwed at them. It was just too pure.

“Whoah!” And then there was Maps, who had the subtlety of a steam-train speeding through the Wild West. “You’re so cute together!” She zoomed next to Marinette to get a better look.

“And you’re…” Marinette eyed the overly energetic girl. She was short, with hair that reached barely below her ears. 

“Mia Mizoguchi. But you can call me Maps. I’m Damian’s friend.” 

“Tt. More like a stray.”

“Damian! Don’t be a Grumpy Cat.”

“Besides, isn’t collecting strays kinda a Wayne Tradition at this point.” Felix deadpanned. Everyone started laughing. Damian gave a dignified smirk. The blond proved to be able to match him in intellectual discussion, which gave some basis for mutual respect between them. 

The group talked a bit more about their classes. Marinette and Chloé compared every detail of their experience in the States with what it was like back in Paris. Maps was a fountain of questions, even if some of them were a bit… strange. But Marinette still felt she would like the little girl. That she was in the same class as her surprised her. 

After lunch came time for more classes. When they finished, Damian was supposed to stay for training while Marinette and Chloé would go shopping. They were already outside the gates when three rather packed teens from the year ahead stepped in their way. 

“You think you can steal Erica’s man and then threaten her?” The one in the middle asked. It was clear he was angry and not exactly thinking clearly. “Gotham Academy Grackles stay together. If you think you can just prance here and take over, you have another thing coming.”

“Um… Sure.” Mari just nodded. “Now excuse me while I go away.” She tried to move past them, but one decided to make a fatal mistake of trying to grab the front of her shirt. She raised her left arm under the grip, lifting his hand slightly. It exposed his stomach for the moment, which she took full advantage of and delivered a knee-kick to his liver. When he folded in half from the pain, as much as he could with her still supporting his hand, she then used her right arm to deliver a cutter toward the back of his head.

The boy was out cold in less than five seconds. 

Seeing their friend attacked, the other two charged at her. Marinette ducked under the punch from the first one and headbutted him in the stomach. She then wrapped her arms around his left legs and lifted him up. He fell on the ground and tripped the slower one. When they both were down, Marinette stomped on the hand of the one on top. There was an audible crack that signaled she managed to damage the bones. He would not be fighting. The one under tossed his pained friend away and jumped on his feet. He managed to get Marinette in a chokehold, but she pushed her arms between his extended arms and spread them apart. When he was exposed, she jumped up and kicked him with both legs. While she landed without any injury, the bigger player crashed into his two friends. 

“The police are on their way,” Chloé informed, putting away the phone that mysteriously found itself in her possession earlier that morning, giving more credence to the theory that she simply misplaced it. 

“What’s going on here!” A harsh voice boomed behind them. Hammerhead was standing there in all his glory. “To my office. All five.” 

“Maman’s going to be here in just five minutes,” Mari informed him. She was still full of adrenaline. 

“I don’t care.” He seethed in response. 

The only conscious boy helped his friends stand up. First the one with a broken hand, then they lifted the unconscious one together. They limped through the campus toward where the office was located. Behind them, Marinette and Chloé walked with heads held high. Tomorrow, the school would be full of gossip, but the bluenette was all too used to it by now and the blonde would run her PR magic to change it into something positive. Chloé loved playing the crowd. 

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“I’m here.” Sabine practically stormed inside the office. “Now could you explain, sir, what is it about?”

“Your daughter got into an… altercation with older students today. Right in front of the school.” Headmaster Hammer started.

“Ah. And you’re curious if we’ll be pressing charges?” The woman asked, cocking an eyebrow. 

“Charges?” She managed to baffle the man. 

“Attempted assault?”

“Madame. You misunderstood me. Your daughter…”

“Defended herself. Yes.” Sabine cut in, her eyes filled with cold fury. “Unless I’m mistaken, Self-defence is not a crime.”

“You can’t call self-defense stomping on…”

“To prevent further fighting? Debatable. She is smaller, physically weaker, and was outnumbered. A good lawyer would argue that it was necessary for her to act that way for her safety and to avoid further fighting.” She stared down at the headmaster. “As for the charges…”

At that, two officers walked in. Hammer recognized the first one as Renee Montoya. The other was a blonde officer wearing a tactical vest.

“Sorry, it took so long. We’ve been a little short-staffed since the mess with akumas started.”

“Don’t worry. Luckily, my daughter managed to defend herself. Now, officer, what must we do if we wish to press charges?” Sabine asked with a cold voice, never breaking eye-contact with the headmaster. 

“That…”

“I’ll explain everything while officer Sawyer takes the attackers into custody.” 

“Thank you so much.” The older woman finally broke the eye-contact and turned toward Montoya. She smiled with her usual peaceful smile, but the fire was still in her eyes. “My daughter is part of the exchange program while I’m visiting my niece.”

Marinette was stunned by how well her mother could take control of the situation. She wasn’t sure what precisely she was doing, but it was definitely effective. 

“Foreigners?” The officer asked, surprised. “I could hardly hear the accent. France?”

“Yes. Paris.” Sabine smiled. “Neither I nor any of my charges are really familiar with the procedures here.”

“I will walk you through it. Headmaster?” The policewoman finally acknowledged the elderly man in the room. “Were the parents of the culprits notified yet?”

“Not. Yet.” He muttered through clenched teeth.

“We will take it from here.” She smirked at the headmaster. “You will be notified if any further input is needed, sir.” She started to walk away and motioned for the three women to follow her. 

Outside, Damian was waiting with a sword. Luckily, there was no blood on it. Yet .

“Hello, Kitty. Don’t worry. I’ve managed it.” 

“Tt. I’ll still challenge them to an honor duel.” He scoffed. 

“You will probably have to wait a bit. I don’t think…” The officer took a glance at Sabine, who even with her smile looked like she was ready to fight God on equal footing. “They probably won’t be coming back to school this year.” 

“They won’t.” Chloé, Sabine, and Damian said at the same time. But they probably had different things in mind. Or maybe just Chloé…

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  Masterlist // Next

[flightfoot]

Let It Be Enough To Reach The Truth That Lies Ch.1

Thanks to my betas, @miabrown007, @khanofallorcs, and Marby!

AO3

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Well, so much for THAT test.

He’d found a Holder for the Ladybug Miraculous quickly. That girl from the bakery would do nicely.

The Black Cat was proving trickier.

Apparently, an old man on the ground, straining to reach his cane wasn’t even worth stopping for, much less helping. Granted, he didn’t see any kids around; it was just random adults. Which was weird since he was right outside Collège Françoise Dupont and he was pretty sure Bakery Girl was running here to her class.

Though, she seemed like she was late… maybe he should’ve waited until lunch period to try the test. Most of the students were probably inside by now.

With a sigh, he got up and trudged off. Hopefully whoever held the Butterfly Miraculous now would wait just a little longer before activating it.

He didn’t notice the small box he had left behind.

------

Adrien sighed as he sank into the car seat. 

Of course Nathalie and Gorilla caught him. His father probably hadn’t even noticed he was gone, but those two? They actually looked after him. They’d notice — especially Gorilla.

Though he had a feeling Gorilla hadn’t been the one to draw attention to him being gone. His job might be to protect Adrien, but well… even he seemed to realize that the lockdown his father had put him under wasn’t so much ‘protecting’ him as ‘stifling’ him.

At least, that was what he thought from Gorilla’s facial expression, body language, and him very conspicuously going to the bathroom for an extended period of time right about when Adrien would need to leave in order to run to school.

Unfortunately, Nathalie wasn’t so lenient.

He played around with the box he’d scooped up as he ran to school. He’d intended to bring it to the lost and found (assuming a student or faculty member lost it, judging by its location), but it looked like he wouldn’t get the chance.

Maybe she’d return it for him?

“Hey, Nathalie, I know you probably won’t let me head back there but… could you at least make sure this gets to the school? I think someone left it behind and I wouldn’t want them to not get it back because of me.”

She was silent for a minute. He didn’t even think she heard him at first.

Finally, she let out a deep breath and stuck her hand back. “Very well. Give it to me.”

She brought it up in front of her where she could see it. 

And choked and spluttered.

“This- how did you- where did you get this?!”

Adrien blinked, surprised. Why would just a small box — albeit a very ornate one — garner such a strong reaction? “I found it on the ground just outside the school.”

She turned halfway around in her seat, her face deadly serious. “Adrien. Do you remember anyone around? Anyone at all?”

“I- I mean, there were some random people, but I don’t-”

“Adrien. This is important. Think.” 

He closed his eyes, concentrating hard.

But-

“Sorry, Nathalie. I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying attention to that.”

She stared at him a moment, searching his face, then nodded. “Very well. They may have left already in any case.”

“They who?”

She ignored him.

“Nathalie? What’s up with that box?”

She pulled out her phone. “Mr. Agreste? I’ve got something you need to see.”

----

She refused to acknowledge him for the rest of the car ride.

He stopped trying after the third attempt. Clearly, he wasn’t going to make any headway like this.

It was like talking to his father; once he made a decision nothing Adrien said or did would sway him.

When they entered the house, Nathalie headed straight for his father’s study. He tried to tag along but-

“Adrien. I must speak to your father privately.”

He frowned. “Is this about the box?”

She just turned around, closing the door behind her.

With a sigh he walked to his room, depositing his school bag on the floor before making a flying leap onto his bed, burying his head in his pillow.

What was Nathalie hiding?

Why was that random box so important?

And why couldn’t he go to school?

He’d always had a very… constrained social circle, limited to Chloé, and occasionally Félix, whenever he happened to visit. It could get lonely sometimes and he really wanted to spend time with more kids his own age, but he’d at least always had them, plus his mother.

A deep ache filled his stomach. She’d only been gone a couple months, but it felt both like no time had passed at all, and like an eternity.

And when she passed away, so it seemed had his father.

He’d ordered a full lockdown, not allowing Adrien to see ANYONE but Nathalie, Gorilla, and himself. Not that that meant much. He seemed to live in his study now.

Adrien had been trying to give his father space.

But… while his father had lost his wife... he’d lost his mother.

And he still needed people. 

He couldn’t stay locked up in this house forever, slowly going insane with only his spiraling thoughts and memories to keep him company.

*rumble*

What was that?

He ran out the front door, expecting to see… he didn’t know.

But definitely not what was actually there.

A giant stone monster?

What the hell?! 

Could this day get any stranger?

The police shot at the monster, which seemed like a pretty ineffectual choice to Adrien. If it was made of stone like it looked, that wouldn’t do much more than annoy him.

It glowed, growing even bigger.

Well.

So much for that.

Rushing back inside, he turned on the TV. 

A surge of excitement ran through him as he listened to the newscaster. 

A supervillain? Here in Paris?

Maybe it wasn’t a good thing. Wasn’t something to hope for. That supervillain was causing a lot of damage, and judging by the police chief’s broken arm, had already hurt people.

But Adrien’d grown up on tales of superheroes and supervillains, of good versus evil, of epic battles and the triumph of the best of human nature.

He may have practiced some superhero moves a few times. His climbing wall was great for perfecting the landings.

Of course, not all superhero tropes were created equal. While he liked the regular human superheroes showing how even ordinary (well, for certain values of ‘ordinary’) people could fight against the most extraordinary foes, he loved seeing people who had superpowers intrinsically fight for what was right as well, his favorite superheroes weren’t even usually called ’superheroes’.

When he was a couple years younger and flicking through TV channels, he’d stumbled across a show in a style he hadn’t seen before, but had grown quite familiar with since.

A pigtailed teen girl struggling against a supervillain, not knowing what to do, thinking all hope was lost and she’d failed-!

Until a rose embedded itself at her feet.

A mysterious dashing stranger dressed in black giving her the words of encouragement that she couldn’t find for herself.

He continued watching, later discovering that the show was named after the titular heroine Sailor Moon. 

Tuxedo Mask — at least, while transformed — remained his favorite element of the show, the sort of hero he secretly wished he could be.

Though with a cooler transformation sequence. Tuxedo Mask’s was pretty boring. The Sailor Scouts were far more interesting to watch.

He may have made up his own transformation sequence for Tuxedo Mask, practicing it a few times.

A few hundred times.

With what had happened in- in the past few months, he’d stopped watching it.

Stopped daydreaming.

But now it all came rushing back.

He jumped up, about to race out again-

And paused. 

What exactly could he DO here? 

He didn’t have superpowers, and his attempt at karate…

Well. There was a reason he’d dropped the class after a few sessions. 

Right now he wished he’d kept at it. Fencing didn’t seem like it’d be that useful here.

Oh who was he kidding, even KARATE wouldn’t do much. The police had already tried firing at the monster and that only made it stronger.

He’d go and follow it, see what might happen — hey maybe he could still help from the sidelines, and who knew? Maybe a superhero would show up to help! — but somehow he doubted Gorilla would let him.

Look the other way so he could go to school? Sure.

Look the other way so he could follow a dangerous, unknown supervillain? Kiiiiinda went against his entire job.

Though, that didn’t stop him from feeling a pang of jealousy when he saw a girl around his age on TV, following the supervillain on her bike. Absurdly dangerous, most definitely, but he’d change places with her in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, all he could do was watch.

A superhero DID show up a short time later. There wasn’t much info on her — the only recording was from that girl on the bike from before, and she didn’t catch the full fight — but he thought she was pretty cool from what he saw. A bit camera shy, though.

He understood that sort of thing. He’d been pretty anxious whenever the press gathered around when he was younger and less experienced.

Not so much anymore, he was used to it now, even enjoyed it at times, but for someone not used to the attention? It helped having someone there with you for reassurance and guidance.

For him, that had been his mom. 

But this girl didn’t look like she HAD anyone.

Adrien flicked through the news channels, trying to devour any info on her, the supervillain, all of this, that he could.

And then-!

“A new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters”

Well.

That wasn’t good.

Ladybug had managed to take down one supervillain by herself (who was apparently a kid named Ivan who didn’t even remember it?) but that many? 

With no backup?

The supervillain had grabbed her during the fight. It’d been part of her plan… but with no backup, she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, and that could easily have gone wrong.

That was a lot of pressure to put anyone under, especially a kid who looked no older than himself.

Maybe staying up until midnight, browsing online forums, speculating about Ladybug, the supervillain, and the rock monster clone army hadn’t been his best plan.

Going to bed early might not have made a difference, though, he was too hyped up.

Still, even exhausted, he was determined to give escaping to school another shot…

...Aaaand was quickly shot down. Turned out Gorilla wasn’t going to let him run out there when people were turning into frozen stone monsters. Who knew?

He contemplated trying to turn his bedsheets into a makeshift rope (he’d seen it in several movies and TV shows, it had to work, right?), but eventually scrapped the idea. He may have been climbing the walls of his room, but he wasn’t THAT desperate. Yet.

The superhero Ladybug returned, but her confidence seemed pretty shaken. She stuttered and fidgeted in front of the camera a lot and seemed to wilt under some particularly harsh statements by the police chief.

Which - seriously dude? She was TRYING!

But even as unsure as she seemed, she persevered. When the giant butterfly head man, Hawkmoth, tried to blame her for causing the damage to the city, she snapped. She was NOT taking that crap.

Adrien may have jumped up and down and cheered a few times during her subsequent speech, grinning like an idiot. She was AWESOME! And that Lucky Charm thing? Inspired! He wished he knew more of how that power worked. Did she make the plan and then summon the object? That would make sense but from her look of confusion after summoning it, that didn’t seem quite right.

Sitting back he sighed. He really, REALLY wished he could be there with her.

A door opened behind him.

He turned his head.

And did a double-take.

His FATHER?! Actually coming to speak to him UNPROMPTED?!

That hadn’t happened since-!

...Actually he couldn’t remember the last time that happened. It only ever seemed to coincide with him wanting something from Adrien or chastising him for something or other.

Oh no.

He- he couldn’t be that mad about him running to school yesterday right?

Or- or maybe this was about the box? There was something unusual about it, maybe he just wanted to know more about it? Or tell him what was so important about it?

Probably not that last one.

A hand rested on his shoulder. 

“Adrien, there’s something I need to show you.”

-----

His father had a secret passage by his mother’s portrait.

WHAT.

Seriously, when had he had THAT installed?! Was that just part of the house and he’d altered it to work via pressing part of the painting?!

...Were there more?

He’d scoured the house when he was younger, searching for the cool secret passages that all mansions seemed to have in the movies he watched and books he read. Only to come to the depressing conclusion that that was NOT, in fact, an intrinsic quality of mansions.

Might have to rethink that now.

He fidgeted as they descended in the secret elevator (he was still not over that) into some large, underground chamber.

...Okay, he REALLY thought he would’ve noticed this place being excavated, it had to have already been here.

Superheroes, supervillains, secret passages, hidden chambers… he was beginning to think he was dreaming. Or maybe trapped in a comic book.

The elevator came to a halt. 

Lights slowly came on as they walked down a long suspended hallway.

At the end? A nature area with grass and bushes, some sort of pod among them, a giant window looming over everything.

Was… was his father part of a secret underground cult?!

Was Adrien supposed to be indoctrinated in as its newest member against his will?

Or was he led here as a human sacrifice?!

Normally he’d calm himself thinking that this was real life and not like, a comic or movie — but considering everything that’d happened in the last twenty-four hours (heck, in the last twenty-four MINUTES), that wasn’t much of a reassurance.

His father turned around as his own steps slowed. “Keep up, my son. I don’t have all day.”

With a shaky breath he willed his feet to move.

It- it probably wasn’t a secret underground death cult.

There’d be more people around, right? Hooded figures in dark cloaks?

Just his father (and maybe Nathalie?) wouldn’t make for much of a cult.

Yeah! So… so there must be a perfectly normal, reasonable explanation for all of this. He didn’t have the slightest idea what that could be, but he was sure it existed!

They came to a stop in front of the pod.

...it looked entirely too much like a coffin.

He’s not using me as a human sacrifice, he’s not using me as a human sacrifice, HE’S NOT USING ME AS A HUMAN SACRIFICE-

“When I- when I told you that your mother passed away… I may not have been entirely truthful.”

Wh-what?!

But that meant-!

“She’s alive?!”

His father simply moved forwards and pressed a button on the pod.

The cover opened.

Adrien forgot how to breathe.

He hadn’t seen her for two months.

Hadn’t expected to see her ever again outside of portraits, photos, and films.

And yet, here she was.

But she wasn’t moving. No medical equipment was attached to her either.

He tore his gaze away from her. He needed to know. To read his father’s expression and know he wasn’t lying. “She’s ALIVE, right?!”

Father gave a slow nod. “She’s in a magical coma… but she isn’t dead.”

...Magical?

“How…?”

Father stared forwards, lost in thought.

A moment later he sighed. “She used a magical artifact she shouldn’t have, did something she should not have done… and paid the price for it.”

Turning around, his father turned his attention back to Adrien. “You gave me half of the cure. With your help we can acquire the other half and save her.”

Gave him half?

The box!

“Was that why Nathalie was so insistent on taking that box? What was it?”

“It contained a powerful magical artifact known as a ‘Miraculous’.”

Adrien frowned. He’d heard that term before. “That’s the thing the evil butterfly man wants, right?”

Father scowled. “She should’ve just handed it over. That pesky little girl doesn’t know what she’s doing!”

Something about that — his tone, his body language, his words — caused Adrien to take a step back.

“Father?” he asked cautiously. “What do you mean? How would that help you? What does Hawkmoth wanting Ladybug’s Miraculous have to do with anything?”

Adrien had a bad feeling about this.

In answer, his father took off his candy cane-striped tie, revealing the purple jewel underneath.

“Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!”

A purple light flashed over him.

Leaving a man in a silver helmet and purple coat, a butterfly shaped jewel on his chest.

WHAT?!

Wildly, Adrien’s mind cast back through the extraordinary things he’d seen in the last few minutes, the secret passages, the underground chamber, his mom in a coma; all kept secret from the world.

All being recast in light of this new information.

They weren’t signs his father was part of a cult.

The secret passage, the underground chamber — both part of a secret evil lair.

And his mother being in a coma?

The hero refusing to give up an item that could cure her?

He’d seen this sort of thing before.

Sometimes the villain wanted an item, wanted something from the hero for a good cause.

But there was often a good reason the hero would fight tooth and nail to prevent them from acquiring it.

“Ladybug’s Miraculous, when combined with the Black Cat Miraculous, will allow me to save her.”

That was frustratingly vague.

“How? What do you need to do? What are the risks, the consequences?”

His father looked down on him. “I thought you missed her. That you wanted her back. What a poor excuse for a son you are.”

“No! Of course I-!”

“Do you wish for her to remain like this forever?”

“No I just-!”

“That Miraculous is the only thing standing in the way of reviving her. We MUST retrieve it.”

“We…?”

His father took a small box out of his coat.

A very familiar box.

Being held right in front of him.

“Open it.”

It wasn’t a request.

Gingerly he opened the lid.

A small black ring with a green glowing pawprint sat in the middle.

“Put it on.”

Swallowing hard, he did as his father commanded.

A light shot out.

“Wah-!”

It dimmed, revealing a small black catlike creature.

Who shook himself, looked around-

And locked eyes with his father.

“LET ME GO THIS INSTANT, YOU TERRIBLE EXCUSE FOR-!”

“I forbid you from speaking.”

The creature's mouth vanished.

“MMMMM! MMmm- MMMM!”

“Ah… much better.”

Adrien just stared, slack-jawed.

“Father, what did you just- what did you just DO?!”

“I shut up an annoying pest. If he insists on misbehaving and acting out, he no longer gets the privilege of having the ability to do so.”

WHAT.

Adrien opened his mouth to protest… and then shut it.

If he spoke up, ‘acted out’... would his father do the same thing?

He didn’t think his mouth could be sealed off.

But he wasn’t certain of it.

And there were plenty of other things he could do to him.

Suddenly, he was VERY acutely aware of how much bigger, how much taller his father was than him.

How much stronger.

Would Father ever hurt him?

Before today he’d have said ‘no, of course not’. 

Now he wasn’t so sure. He certainly paid no mind to hurting others.

The small cat creature gave his father a death glare, making gestures he guessed would be extremely rude if his forearms had actual fingers to gesticulate with.

“That,” his father pointed at the cat, “is a Kwami. They give the owners of their Miraculous powers. Simply say ‘Plagg, transform me’ and he will be sucked into the ring, much like what happened with my own kwami earlier. Each grants special powers unique to their Miraculous on top of the standard super strength, endurance, and agility. The Black Cat Miraculous gives the power of destruction; simply say ‘Cataclysm’ and you’ll be able to destroy anything you touch. But since you are a child, you will detransform five minutes later, same as that accursed Ladybug.”

He could transform?

Gain superpowers like Ladybug?

Become a superhero?!

He glanced at Plagg.

The kwami’d gone still, simply looking at him with lidded, narrow eyes, mouth still missing.

No. Not a superhero. Not while under Father’s control.

A superVILLAIN.

He swallowed hard.

He wanted to have superpowers, to run around the city, to fight and be free.

But if he had to be a supervillain, he’d rather not have powers at all.

Hesitantly he grasped the ring, slowly pulling it off.

Too late, his father spoke up. “I wouldn’t do-”

The ring was off his finger.

Plagg dropped like a rock.

“WHA-!”

Dropping to his hands and knees he cupped his hands around the violently twisting tiny creature.

His eyes bugged out as he spasmed wildly, flailing uncontrollably.

If he’d had a mouth, Adrien was sure he’d be screaming.

“What’s wrong with him?!” 

“You activated my failsafe,” Father replied. “I wouldn’t want you just leaving the ring lying around. Best you keep it on at all times, unless I allow you to remove it.”

His father did this? INTENTIONALLY?!

Ok, ok, don’t panic! Prioritize. The failsafe activated because he took the ring off, it was meant to incentivize him keeping it on at all times, so…

Fumbling around, he put the ring back on one of his shaking fingers.

Instantly, Plagg relaxed, sinking into his palm, eyes half-closed.

This… this little creature was at his father’s mercy.

And it didn’t seem like Father had much of that.

“F-father?” he said, looking up at him. 

Quickly, he dropped his eyes. Best not to seem like a threat, like he was challenging him.

Maybe Father would assert his dominance by taking it out on him.

Or maybe he'd just take it out on Plagg.

“Please. Please, could you return Plagg’s mouth to him?”

“Hmmph. Perhaps later, provided that he’s well-behaved. Keep him under control or else I’ll do so myself. Right now, I have a task for you.”

That normally would not sound ominous.

Normally, his father would not say that after revealing he was a supervillain and torturing someone.

“Yes, Father.”

His father smiled.

Adrien’s spine stiffened.

“Transform. Let me see what you can do.”

----

Left. Right. Dodge. Jump.

OOPH

He wasn’t used to being caned in the stomach.

It didn’t hurt much — the Miraculous was pretty protective as it turned out — but it was still a pretty harsh impact.

While he was off-balance Father hit him again, sending him flying into a wall.

And again.

And again.

Each time before he could even begin to recover.

Father walked over to him as he lay on the ground, struggling to get up.

Adrien braced himself for another hit.

“I expect better from you. As an Agreste, and as my son.”

He turned his back to him. “We will spar every day until you can put up even a paltry fight. I cannot have you putting up such an embarrassing performance.”

Every day?

This was going to be EVERY DAY?!

He understood training. Understood the need to practice to get better. But training was supposed to include guidance, helpful tricks, being shown a few moves. Not just being beaten by a stronger, more experienced opponent.

He grit his teeth. “Yes, Father.”

“You need to be stronger if you are to take Ladybug’s Miraculous. If we are to heal your mother.”

Mom…

He looked over at her, still peacefully sleeping, entirely unaware of everything that had happened.

If she knew, would she be okay with this?

An hour ago, he would’ve choked at the thought and yelled ‘Of course not!’ 

He knew his parents after all.

But finding out how little he truly knew his father made him doubt.

His father glanced at him. “You may leave for now. Tomorrow, you go out in the field. Do NOT disappoint.”

As he made his way to the elevator, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. “Not while transformed. Say ‘detransform’ to release it.”

“Detransform!”

Plagg spiraled out of the ring.

His mouth was still gone, but he seemed in better shape than he was right after being tortured, at least.

Oh god, Adrien didn’t want to risk accidentally upsetting his father but-

“I- I think Plagg’s learned his lesson. Please Father?”

He rested his gaze on Adrien for a moment. Then-

“Very well. But if there’s one peep out of him...”

“Thank you, Father.”

He snapped his fingers.

Plagg’s mouth came back. He opened and closed it many times as if testing that it’d truly returned.

“Y-”

NOPE.

Quickly snatching Plagg out of the air, Adrien ran for the elevator.

------

If he ever got his paws on that candy-cane son of a bitch…!

Plagg floated wildly around the room. 

Well. For certain values of ‘around’. That complete and utter BASTARD had decided that in addition to preventing Plagg from harming him, from interacting with anything or anyone else except for eating food, and forcing him to hide whenever others were around, he was ALSO on a leash.

Five feet.

He couldn’t wander more than five feet away from his Miraculous.

And since that- that torture spell would take effect the minute his ring slipped off of his Holder’s finger, that meant he was, in effect, tied to staying within five feet of Adrien.

Adrien…

He didn’t really know what to make of the boy just yet.

His father? Very clear opinion on him.

But his son didn’t exactly seem thrilled with Candy-butt’s actions.

Just his luck. OF COURSE the ‘dark power’ Wayzz had sensed had stumbled on his Miraculous. Naturally. 

He may have been the Kwami of Destruction, but sometimes it felt like he was the Kwami of Bad Luck instead.

Not that assholes getting their hands on him was entirely new, but well, usually they weren’t quite as well-versed in putting up safeguards to stop him from stealing his Miraculous back, or in extreme cases, Cataclysming their asses.

He hadn’t even been activated when the curses were applied. Which hey, on the upside, meant he didn’t have to feel them taking effect! ...On the downside, it meant he didn’t know exactly what the curses were or how many of them there were. Some of them he’d been told about, others he’d figured out for himself, but… there could still be others. He hadn’t known about the “torture if ring is removed” curse until Adrien actually did it.

Not that that would STOP him from looking for loopholes, but well… not right now. He’d been through quite enough pain already without risking stumbling across a curse that would activate the torture again.

He shuddered.

Kwamis by themselves rarely got hurt. But when a Holder transformed, fusing the two of them  together, he’d feel the same pain as the Holder.

The only time he’d felt pain that bad, his Holder had had the brilliant idea to extend his staff upwards a few thousand feet into a stormcloud, just to see what would happen.

They’d both been okay afterwards, but being electrocuted hurt.

“So, uh… is there anything you want to do? Or talk about? Or- or not do, whatever you feel like!”

Plagg blinked.

Adrien looked around awkwardly. “I know this isn’t exactly ideal and it sucks and I’m so, so sorry, but is there anything I can do to help?”

“...Camembert.”

“What?”

“Camembert cheese. The stinkier, the better.”

The kid made a face, but nodded. 

 ------

Thirty minutes and a trip down to the kitchen later, Plagg was completely surrounded with the delectable aroma of smelly, smelly cheese.

Adrien looked about ready to gag, but gave an attempt at a smile whenever he looked over at him.

A small part of Plagg got some satisfaction out of the kid’s discomfort. At least, he wasn’t the only one suffering because of the five-foot leash.

“Do you want to watch anything?” 

Plagg stifled a laugh. Kid’s nose was still wrinkled up from the cheese’s fumes and his eyes watered slightly, but he was making a valiant effort to pretend he was fine.

As far as TV went… well. He hadn’t left the Miracle Box much and Fu’s taste in shows was pretty dull, so-”

“Whatever you feel like. Unless it has to do with cheese, I don’t care. ...IS there a cheese TV show?”

“...I’ll check the guide.”

[zoe-oneesama]

Kwami Swap is my favorite AU. But everyone always changes out all the miraculous to “fit a better person”, and I agree some could be better, but I never see the the Ladybug changed for a real reason (aka Scarlet Lady isn’t because Chloé is a good person). Like the LadyButOut AU brilliantly changed the heroes for someone who fits their roles (quiet cat, sneaky fox,). While I see faults for all characters and their hero parts- do you think their could be a better Ladybug than Mari? Canon or MC?

I don’t think anyone would be better for the Ladybug than Marinette - not unless it changes to fit the user. You know, like how Antibug and Miraculer get weaponry when they use “lucky charm” instead of pieces to a complicated puzzle like Marinette.

Marinette’s mind works twelve steps ahead - it’s why she tends to spiral into these huge over the top situations in her mind (like tripping into Gabriel or ending up in jail). While this leads to her freaking out, it’s useful as Ladybug for trapping akumas into her “puzzle” when she uses Lucky Charm. Other characters in the show would be very put out by receiving a spoon to fight a super villain.

Adrien has a leg up only because he has experiences being part of Ladybug’s puzzles, so while I think he’d be slower to come up with one (and I don’t think he could ever pull off what Marinette did in Backwarder) I do think Adrien might be able to make it work. 

There are characters like Max that are very smart and could maybe make it work, but he comes with his own flaws that don’t mesh - he gets easily discouraged if his “plan” doesn’t work or he’s not no. 1, so partner work might not be good for him or he’d need to work on having backup plans. Not to mention the whole human interaction element of being a hero.

Course, [SPOILER ALERT] we ARE going to get a kwami swap so we’ll see if they fuck that up and make it so being in the suit magically makes you able to be extra creative.

But nah, I think Marinette is the best Ladybug.

[fantasyfandommaiden]

ML Counsellor AU: The Akuma, Part 3

The confrontation continues....

[[MORE]]

Chat Noir and Ladybug had hidden away in one of the many alley ways of Paris, catching their breath as they made their next plan of action.

“How... the heck...does she hit so hard?!” Chat winced, still clutching his side. It honestly felt like he had cracked a rib from that blow he took from the Royal Harmine, and he could only hope that Miraculous Ladybug would cure it before he had his photoshoot later today.

“She said she has formal fighting training. Mlle Regal isn’t one to lie, so we can only assume that she is telling the truth.” Ladybug stated, looking down at her Yo-yo’s screen which displayed the Ladyblog. It looked like Royal Harmine had left the school and was on the hunt for them.

“My Lady, I know we just started to fight, but I’m thinking we may need backup, or a plan at the very least.” Chat said, still panting. Ladybug looked at Chat and thought it over carefully.

“Not saying it isn’t a good idea kitty but she would probably expect use to call another hero to help.” Ladybug said slowly “She even said so as much, we need to do something that is unpredictable to get the ring off her.”

“Right... how are we going to do that exactly?” He asked, looking at his partner. They had never had to deal with an akuma item that was a ring before, and from what Adrien had seen earlier, Mlle Regal herself seemed to have a hard time getting it off.

“I’m not sure yet... but we need to think of something unpredictable, something that we’ve never done before, and would never do unless we were stuck...” Ladybug said, her eyebrows knotted together in deep thought.

Chat thought it over too, trying to think. He wasn’t much of a thinker, more of a doer really. Not that he couldn’t make things up as he went, ever the improviser, but long term plans or strategy were never his thing. Heck, even with his scheduling that was all done by-

Chat Noir’s eyes widened as a thought hit him out of nowhere and he looked at Ladybug “Ladybug, I have a crazy idea...”

~~~~~

Nathalie was pacing outside of the car in front of the school. The family driver had gone, hopefully to look for Adrien and Nathalie was dealing with two very angry people on the phone.

“No I don’t know how she was Akumatized.” Nathalie insisted “I arrived at the school, and she walks out looking like some sort of steampunk inspired wannabe and runs after Ladybug and Char Noir!”

“Well that’s just perfect!” Thistle groaned on the phone, with Lloyd letting out a hum in agreement. “Let’s hope they can handle it.”

“Blaine’s plane should be landing in about an hour, so when this is over well all go drinking” Lloyd stated.

“If this is over!” Thistle insisted “Remember the last someone tried to get the jump on her? Poor dude had to be put in the hospital for three days, and she doesn’t even have super powers!”

“Oh trust me, this will end one way or another.” Nathalie stated darkly, thinking of what she would do that Gabriel if he didn’t release Carmine soon.

Nathalie jumped back however when she heard something land behind her and looked to see Ladybug and Chat Noir, looking at her expectedly. “... Thistle, Lloyd, I’m going to have to call you back.” She said, hanging up and looking at the two super hero’s.

“Nathalie Sancoeur, we need your help.” Chat Noir stated to her with the utmost importance.

‘I’m sorry, what?’ Nathalie thought, looking at her employers mortal enemies, with a blank stare. She felt the peacock pin in her pocket, she always kept it on her now, even if the just the thought of using it made her sick.

“... please tell me you aren’t making me a super hero.” Nathalie stated to them gravely.

“No.” Chat Noir stated “No, no. We need your help to come up with a plan to defeat Royal Harmine!” He said desperately, looking at her with pleading eyes that reminded her far too much of Adrien’s.

She couldn’t help her employers mortal enemies, she knew this, however said employer had also gone back on his word of never akumatising her friends... She remembered a conversation she had with Carmine a few years back, about things that hurt men the most.

Nathalie had said a kick to the groin, but Carmine said the true was to hurt a man was to attack his ego... Nathalie unlocked her phone and sent a message to Gabriel that simply read ‘I’m taking my lunch now, don’t bother me during my personal time.’ Before turning off her phone and looking at the two hero’s. “What do you need to know?”

“Does Mlle Regal actually have formal fighting training or was that a lie?” Ladybug asked Nathalie, to which the woman raised a brow.

“Carmine doesn’t typically lie, it’s one of the things I love about her. I do know for a fact that she has had formal training however, I believe her uncle taught her how to use a Bo staff and she still practices to stay in shape.” Nathalie stated truthfully. Nathalie noticed for a brief moment that Chat Noir looked surprised at the thought before Ladybug asked her next question.

“What are her weaknesses?” Ladybug asked quickly, and Nathalie looked at her with an even expression.

“If we were just talking about Carmine and not Royal Harmine, I would say tea.” Both super hero’s looked at her with a deadpanned expression at the statement “It’s true! She can never go longer than a day without having a cup of tea! We once had to-“

“We need something that is a bit more proactive than a tea addiction Mlle Sancoeur.” Ladybug interrupted her politely. Nathalie looked at both the hero’s before sighing, rubbing her temples as she thought of the best way to word this next sentence.

“Look, it’s not like Carmine has a super secret weak spot on her body you can hit and she’ll go down like a sack of potato’s.” She said to the two super hero’s “She won’t go down without a fight, I’m not exactly a military tactician here-“

“Ladybug!” They heard a voice yell and everyone tensed and looked over at the owner of the voice, only to see Chloe running down to them.

“Chloe, now is not the time-“ Ladybug began, looking somewhat annoyed however Chloe cut her off.

“I want to help! Please!” Chloé pleaded, causing Ladybug to blink.

“What...”

“Please! The Akuma is Mlle Regal, the school’s Counsellor, she needs help and I want to help her!” She insisted “She’s done so much for all the akuma victims and she’s always helping me, even though she really REALLY doesn’t have to, and-and...” Chloe looked at them pleadingly, clearly trying to stay calm “And the LGBT Club is meeting today after school, and we can’t have it without her, and we were going to talk coming out to family tonight...”

Ladybug continued to look at Chloe with a surprised expression on her face, surprised the girl wasn’t demanding that they bring the Bee Miraculous to her to become Queen Bee, but than again she couldn’t really do that with Nathalie standing there.

Nathalie was staring at Chloe, the gears turning in her head “Wait a second... I think I have a-“

“There you are~” a voice said in a sickly sweet tone. Everyone turned around to see Royal Harmine smirking at them as she began to walk towards them.

Ladybug and Chat Noir instantly went into offensive positions “You two run!” Ladybug said to Nathalie and Chloe as Royal Harmine suddenly ran forward towards the two hero’s.

Nathalie grabbed ahold of Chloe and ran off to the side of the building, even with the blondes protests “We need to help them!” She insisted to Nathalie.

The older woman looked at Chloe with a neutral expression “We will, but we can’t fight Carmine using brute strength. We need to attack her empathy, and I need you to do something first.” Nathalie said to her in a serious tone “First, I need you to make a group chat with all of the people Carmine and helped, than you need to type this message in...”

~~~~

Offensive wasn’t working for the Miraculous duo, so instead Ladybug and Chat Noir could only stay on the defensive as Royal Harmine repeatedly hit them with everything she had.

They had yet to land a single hit on her, having ended up on top of the schools roof, Ladybug and Chat panting heavily as Royal Harmine looked at them with a bored expression on her face. “Really, this is the best that Paris has to offer in terms of defence?” She asked coldly “You two have grown complacent. You think that just because you have beat every akuma thus far you don’t need to improve anything.”

Royal Harmine looked at Ladybug as she began to spin her yo-yo round and round and run towards her at full speed, only for the woman to duck out of the way and land a solid punch in the young hero’s diaphragm.

Ladybug let out a loud gasp as she landed on her knees, desperately trying get air in her lungs from that hit. Royal Harmine looked down at her sadly “Your yo-yo attacks are too predicable, and your movements are that of someone who watches martial arts instead of participating in them. That is why you aren’t able to hit me.”

“Ladybug! Leave her alone!” Chat Noir ran up as he snarled at the akuma, baton at the ready to hit only for Royal Harmine to bring up her staff to hit Chat’s hand hard, than grabbing said hand with her own, twisting it behind the hero’s back at a painful angle causing the hero to yell in pain.

“And you, my dear little cat, continue to use the baton as if it were a sword. You are also reckless, and don’t think of what your actions will do after they are done. Your recklessness has often left Ladybug to fight by herself...” Royal Harmine looked down at the hero’s hand, his wrist firmly being held with her own hand. She saw the black ring right there, even as Chat Noir tried desperately to get away . “Like you are about to right now...” she said as her other hand gently wrapped around the ring and began to pull.

Ladybug’s eyes widened as she continued to cough and gag, trying to catch her breath, and Chat Noir tried to pull away with no sign of escape. This could possibly be the end.

Royal Harmine felt resistance as she tugged on the ring, however it wasn’t by some sort of magic that prevented the ring from coming off, but from her own hand refusing to move. Royal Harmine- no, CARMINE knew this was wrong, her eyes beginning to flash between the demonic shade of yellow to the soft ember they usually are whenever she used her magic. She knew she couldn’t just take the ring off Chat Noir, off of her student, she couldn’t let that mad man have the Miraculous!

Her fingers began to loosen ever so slightly before a wave of psychic pain went through her again, her ember eyes turning to that sickly shade of yellow as she grabbed on the ring and was about to pull again.

“MLLE REGAL!” Came a voice, and everyone looked to Chloe who stood just outside of the roof access door, panting as she looked at the group, clutching her phone tightly. “I desperately need to talk to you!”

Royal Harmine looked at Chloe with an annoyed look on her face “Chloe, if you haven’t noticed, now is not that time-“

“My parents are going to get a divorce, and if I find out that I have to leave to live with my mother, I will jump off of this roof right now!” Chloé said desperately.

Royal Harmine’s head snapped towards Chloe so fast it almost gave her whiplash. She still held onto Chat’s wrist tightly but her focus was now on Chloe “Chloe! That is not the way you deal with this sort of thing!” Royal Harmine said horrified.

“I don’t know what to do!” Chloe continued “Please!” Her eyes were filled with tears “A-also, Marc hasn’t told his parents that he is bi yet, they think he is going a book club!” She continued before looking at her phone again “And Mylene had a really bad nightmare recently and she thinks she relapsing into her fear of horror films! And you becoming an akuma is making Juleka have an anxiety attack!” She continued, looking down at the group chat as more and more people replied to Chloe’s earlier question that she posted, which was ‘What has been bothering you that Mlle Regal can help with?’.

Chloe let out another sob as she looked at Royal Harmine “Please, I just... I really need a hug...”

A purple butterfly mask appeared over Royal Harmine’s face which she scowled at “Shut up, I will get them when I am done with this!” She growled, dropping Chat Noir and walking over to the sobbing girl.

Ladybug let out another strained gasp as Chat Noir groaned, slowly getting onto his hands and knees. Ladybug let out a soft “L-Lucky Charm!” And bag of marbles appeared in her hands. ‘Seriously?!’ She thought to herself as Royal Harmine reached Chloe, taking her hands.

“Chloe, I know this is a lot-“ the butterfly mask appear and Royal Harmine turned her head to the side so she wasn’t looking at Chloe as she yelled “IN A MINUTE!” Before turning back to Chloe “I know a lot is going on, but I am here for you, and all the other students, I just have this to deal with than we will talk this all over, alright?”

Chloe let out a soft sniffle “I’m sorry...”

Royal Harmine smiled kindly at her “Chloe, I told you, you never have to apologies for your feelings.”

Chloe shook her head “No... not for that...” Chloe looked at Royal Harmine with a sad determined look on her face as she gripped the older woman’s ring finger “For this.” With all of Chloe’s strength, she bent back The woman’s ring finger, causing it to snap into an unnatural angle.

Royal Harmine let out an inhuman scream as Chloe gripped onto the ring and yanked it off with all of her might, the ring coming off with almost no resistance. Chloe looked at the Miraculous duo, making a split second decision.

“CHAT! CATCH!” She yelled, throwing the ring towards Chat. Royal Harmine turned around and began to run after it, however Ladybug, seeing the opportunity, opened the bag of marbles and threw them across the roof, causing the woman to slip and fall.

Chat Noir, grabbed the ring as he yelled out Cataclysm, the ring becoming destroyed as the butterfly appeared.

The butterfly was quickly caught and Miraculous Ladybug was casted, as the swarm of Ladybugs went over all over Paris.

[ilikekidsshows]

Like, I know it was by accident that they made Marinette into a bit of a Mary Sue in this episode, but the ending image giving her such a smug smile just makes this the perfect: “If Marinette was a Mary Sue, this is what the entire show would be like” episode. Every single other character gets shafted for Marinette. Marinette can use the powers of every single Miraculous with not even a throwaway line of her training to use others just in case her earrings were ever compromised. The rule about not being able to carry multiple Miraculouses at once is invented seemingly just so that Marinette can break it and show off just how Ultra Speshul she is. The other characters constantly say how Marinette is the best, amazing and special. I bet the teen girls who project themselves onto Marinette loved it, though, so that’s a good reason to include it this once. Less excusable is how the episode just completely changed the reasoning for why the secret identities have to be kept secret. Instead of the very real threat of the information leaking out to Hawk Moth, which we saw being a serious threat in Miraculer, it’s now just Master Fu being ornery at Marinette and neither Marinette nor Adrien questioning it. Because if it was an actual magical law instead of an arbitrarily enforced rule, a lot of characters would be without a Miraculous instead of just Chloé.

Also, I’m just really peeved at this episode for FINALLY showing the kwami doing something important instead of just throwing together a random dance party, and NONE OF THEM GOT ANY DIALOGUE. Not even Mullo, the one who’s arguably the showcase kwami of the episode, got a single line of dialogue. The very short Hawk Moth telepathic attack scene in Sandboy was better at showing off the kwami than this episode, since a lot of kwami got dialogue in that one and used some of their unique kwami powers to try find Nooroo and to stop Hawk Moth. While this episode had zilch, and this episode is partially named after the kwami, since the villain is obsessed with them!

And the villain. Holy shit. You know, for an episode that’s seemingly all about propping up Marinette as the most amazing Miraculous user ever she doesn’t even need a superhero team because she’s so much better than anyone who’s ever even lived, this episode sure made her incompetent at her actual superhero job. From the very beginning she was more concerned with manipulating her partner than actually stopping Kwamibuster; she never once said in this episode she needs to stop the Akuma, she only talked about her secret identity had to be kept hidden. That was her only concern. And would you look at that, it caused her kwami to be captured in seconds, because she was treating her PARTNER as the threat instead of the supervillain. Seriously, for all Ladybug says she trusts Cat Noir, her showing of it is not very good. And then contrast it to Cat Noir, who immediately dropped the idea that he might know Ladybug when asked to by Plagg, who was actually focused on the Akuma and stopping it and who still kept fighting even when left out to dry by his partner, who was busy figuring out how to DUPE him instead of just picking up backup and coming back straight away.

On a positive note, this episode raises some really interesting ideas about the kwami, which is why it should have been about them. I feel like the comment about them being extra-dimensional beings might be on to something, and Plagg’s attitude was also something I’d have liked to see explored more. He’s an ancient being, and his arrogance hints that there really has been very little that he’s felt threatened by before. Yet, we know from Sandboy that he’s been held captive against his will. Is this merely about his Miraculous and how it’s been treated or is there something more to it? What are the kwami and how did they come to be connected to magical jewels? Also, Plagg should have gotten the chance to clean up his act in the episode, which would have also been possible if the episode focused on the kwami.

All in all, this is the single worst episode in the entire series, even beating out Captain Hardrock, which I disliked because of pretty surface stuff, like how the romance stuff got rubbed into the viewer’s face in a really condescending way. Here, though, almost everything is bad, from the theming to the execution, in addition to screwing up the lore with new bullshit Miraculous rules. Like, Marinette is genuinely cool as a hero, and it’s nice of the show to acknowledge that she really is exceptional instead of treating her accomplishments as just the result of her focusing, like it’s easy and anyone could do it if they were just given the Ladybug Miraculous. However, I don’t like that this was done in an episode that looked like it was going to be about other characters, and in an episode that treats her partner and biggest supporter as the main antagonist. In addition, the way the writers were just looking for chances to have the characters repeat their new rule over and over again to the audience made the episode feel even more condescending than Captain Hardrock.

[princess-of-the-corner]

This is just an idea that I want to tell someone. Au where Adrien doesn't go to public school, and when Lila shows up she claims to be dating him.

Okay, my brain ran with this a little because Adrien not going to public school is a hell of an AU on it’s own and would change things. 

Biggest changes would be: 

Ladynoir is Canon, as Marinette has Canonically admitted that she’d fall for Chat if she hadn’t fallen for Adrien. 

A lot of Akumas happened differently, and both Marinette and Adrien haven’t really gotten to meet one another yet. There’s been a few times where they ran into each other, but not long enough to really talk. 

episodes like Evilustrator and Simon Says, with major Marichat/Ladrien interaction, involved different plans and/or the Hero of the pair not showing off and interacting as much since the civilian is a stranger and not a friend. 

This all technically takes place during/after Volpina but during Season 2, even though Lila is doing her Season 3 stuff, because the exact events of Volpina don’t happen, and Lila doesn’t disappear for a whole season. 

Anyway, back to Lila: 

She shows up on day 1 claiming to be Adrien’s secret girlfriend and also bffs with Ladybug. 

Lila specifically says it’s a secret relationship because of Adrien’s fangirls and stuff. 

Marinette and Chloé, of course, know Lila’s lying. 

Mari knows because she’s Ladybug and has never met Lila

Chloé knows because while she does know about Adrien having a secret girlfriend, the info she’s gotten out of him don’t match Lila at all. (things like ‘she has blue eyes and black hair’). 

Also, with Chloé, either she isn’t actually into Adrien romantically (my usual trope), or she’s accepted his love for Mystery Girl and moved on. 

After that, they can see through Lila’s other lies. 

Both girls try to tell people that Lila is lying, but no one believes them.  

Everyone thinks it’s just ‘Chloé being Chloé’, and she’s jealous over someone dating the guy she likes 

Mari is a little more difficult

None of them personally know Adrien and Mari doesn’t have a crush on him

But Lila can manipulate a crowd. 

she asks if Mari is ‘one of Adrien’s fangirls with all his pictures on the wall’. 

Technically the wall of pictures still exists, but it’s purely design reference instead of a fangirl shrine. 

But between that and Lila pulling out the tears, it makes everyone doubt her. 

This leads to a wonderful Mari/Chloé friendship as they team up to expose Lila. 

They also help each other too. 

Marinette helps Chloé be a better person in general. 

Chloé helps Marinette stand up for herself even more

Together they find the balance between ‘being nice’ and ‘being a doormat’. 

Eventually, Chloé calls a meeting at her hotel. And she invites Adrien because he’s involved in this too. 

Adrien and Marinette meeting is... fun. 

Adrien finds Marinette familiar, but brushes it off as ‘I think I rescued her from a few Akuma attacks’. 

However, as the discussion goes on, they find that they’re very comfortable around each other. 

Then one of them says one of the inside jokes from their ‘Ladynoir’ sides and, well, the cat’s out of the bag. 

While those two are staring at eachother like the pointing spiderman meme and just yelling, Chloé’s like ‘uh, guys?’ 

They make up a thing, saying like ‘oh, we met... on the Ladyblog comment section! became friends there! and uh... that was an inside joke so now we know who the other is!’. 

Chloé’s suspicious, but it’s the best explainaton. 

That said, she does kinda scream because ‘goddamn it! of course your mystery girlfriend was Marinette motherfucking Dupain-Cheng!’. 

They then inform Adrien about what all Lila has been saying. 

He does kinda say the ‘can we take the high road and not call her tf out in a humiliating way?’. 

But both Chloé and Marinette explain that Lila isn’t just a walking tabloid magazine, she’s manipulating people and all that. And yeah he’s on board. 

On to the actual plan!!

The girls’ original plan was just to have Adrien show up at a class event and be all ‘who tf are you?’ to Lila. 

But with the extra information that Mari is the real secret girlfriend...

That still kinda happens, but the buildup is more fun. 

It’s like a class picnic thing. Everyone’s there. 

While everyone is a little exasperated with Mari’s sudden rude behavior concerning Lila, they’re not turning against her because I have more faith in them than that. 

Lila herself is going on and on about ‘her bf Adrien’, of course. 

She sees Marinette not fighting back, and thinks she’s won and finally broken the girl. 

Then Chloé shows up, fashionably late of course, dragging Adrien along all ‘hope you don’t mind I brought a friend!’. 

Adrien immediately goes over to Marinette all ‘hello, princess!’. 

Mari is a little bit of a disaster at that, but used to it as she’s been dating Chat for a while. 

Once he introduces himself and everyone makes the connection and all go ‘but what about Lila???’. 

Adrien plays dumb, for the most part. Him asking ‘which one is ‘Lila’?’ and looking between every girl in the class is genuine

Someone speaks up, pointing to Lila and saying ‘your... secret girlfriend?’. 

Adrien’s just like ‘Actually Marinette is my gf so....’. 

Everyone loses their shit over that. 

Lila tries to play damage control, claiming that ‘obviously Marinette has seduced him into cheating on me!’. 

That starts to get traction before someone points out ‘he didn’t even know which girl you were’. 

Everyone asks Mari for details on her dating Adrien, and she gives the ‘I didn’t know it was him because we met online under usernames but then when we met irl thanks to Chloé...’. 

Chloé pulls the attention back to Lila being a fuck. 

She points out that since they all now know that Lila was lying about dating Adrien, how about they listen for once about how everythign else is a lie too?

Mari, Chloé and Adrien work in tandem to debunk Lila’s lies now that people are actually listening to them, 

Lila still tries to lie her way out, but it’s too late. Everyone’s pissed. 

This is the point where she actually gets Akumatized for the first time. 

Mari and Adrien disappear to be Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Lila is a tough Akuma, and this is the first time they decide to bring in backup. 

And of course by that I mean ‘let’s have an excuse to give Chloé the Bee!’. 

The trio manage to take down Lila, the girl throws a fit over the whole thing, vowing revenge. 

Afterward, Chloé goes up to Marinette and Adrien all ‘so... met through the Ladyblog, huh?’. 

yeah she figured them out. Because Ladynoir banter is just like Adrienette banter. And also she remembers seeing Tikki, and just met Pollen, so she made the connection. 

They’ll still have to deal with Lila, especially as even if the class is aware of her shit she can always cause chaos elsewhere. 

They also have to address the elephant in the room that is Marinette and Adrien explaining their relationship to their respective families. But it goes over pretty well. Mostly. 

Other than that, all’s well that ends well!