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jjmjjktth · 4 years ago

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Prologue: The Escape

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I saw this fic idea by @messymessyml and couldn’t help myself. I tagged the people who asked to be tagged on the original post; if you want to be added comment or send an ask ;)

Damian is 16 and Marinette is a month shy of 16 at the beginning of the fic.

the characters may be a tad OOC.

TW: Bullying, cursing (it’s censored but still there)

Damian stormed into the cave through the zeta tube. Everyone moved aside; they had not seen a look of such fury since he had first come to Gotham. Despite him not being the violent assassin he was raised to be, Robin found himself nearly following through with his usual threats. Not even bothering to discard his equipment, the heir walked straight to one of the side rooms for private discussions. As predicted, his father followed him. No doubt for a lecture.

Spinning around to face his father, Damian took a deep breath. I can’t lose my head, it won't help my case.

“Father….” there was so much defeat and anger in his voice that the bat seemed to almost reconsider his decision, almost. Robin watched his Father lift his hand to stop him from speaking any further, and begin to address him.

“It was the right call, Damian. It had to be done. You cannot just run around with superpowers. I had to deal with that.”

“It wasn’t your call.” The teen growled. “I had an advantage, Father! It would have been hard for Mother to kill me again! I was safe.”

“You do not need powers to be safe, Damian.”

“I died because I was too slow. It wasn’t your call to remove my safety net! It was mine!”

“I am your father! Everything is my call!” Daman could see that this was going nowhere. Setting his face into a scowl, he left the cave.

Left with his thoughts as he navigated through the maze-like halls of Wayne Manor, the young hero began to negotiate with himself; beginning a difficult game of mental tug-of-war. Weighing the pros and cons proved to be harder than he originally thought; it started with admitting that he may have become attached to his “siblings”, at least more than he would have originally thought he could be. On the other hand, they treated him one of two ways, all of the time; he was always either a child or a weapon. At the very least they should be able to treat him like his actual age! But, they also cared for him a lot… in their own way. On top of that, the manor was a hugely more beneficial environment than the league ever was. His mother would also have a harder time reaching him here. That didn't stop her before. Despite how “safe” this place was said to be, his mother still found a way to kill him for his change in loyalty. If he left, he would surely be caught. If you stay, she will know you’re here and plan accordingly.

Slowly the pros started to outweigh the cons making his decision obvious, he would run away tonight.

It wasn’t until he arrived in his room that he realized he was still wearing his uniform. Not wanting to return to the cave, the heir simply folded the uniform and placed it at the end of his bed. No doubt Pennyworth would retrieve it in the morning. He glanced around his room. There weren't any decorations aside from the occasional painting or katana. Making up his mind, Damian went through his few belongings that mattered. He had to be careful to find ones that would not have a tracking device in them. I’ll have to go to my safehouse for clothes. He gathered up all his weapons that wouldn't be noticed gone and wouldn't be flagged by airport security. Putting everything in a bag, he snuck out his window and took off for his apartment. Leaving only a note that read, I need space, I will be at one of my safehouses, off grid.

___________Marinette pov______________

“You b*tch!” a loud slap echoed across the school courtyard. “Not only are you a liar and a bully, you’re a thief too!” Alya screamed, waving her hands around. “That’s Lila’s life’s work and you just claim it as your own! Lazy, fat, sl*t!”

“But, Alya! I have my sig–”

“I didn’t say you could speak, wh*r*.” Alya said, grabbing the designer’s shirt. “You are going to stand up; walk over to Lila; apologise; and give her her sketchbook back. Understand b*tch.”

“No.” Mari took a deep breath and shoved her building emotions back down into their designated corner. “I will not apologise to Lila because I did–”

“What did you say b*tch!”

“I said no.”

“You piece of sh*t.”

At this point Marinette just tuned her ex-best friend out. She always said the same things. So the heroine only waited.

After school Marinette left for home immediately; she did not want to be in any trouble for being late for her shift. With twenty minutes to spare, the girl leapt up the stairs three-at-a-time to reach her room with enough time for concealer. She would probably be grounded for operating the register with marks on her face. It’s a good thing that my miraculous has healing properties or I wouldn't be able to work at all.

While at the till, a swarm of wasps swept through the shop stinging everyone, except Marinette. As soon as she saw the wasps, she took off for the walk-in freezer in the back of the bakery. Tikki fazed through the door to see when it would be clear to leave the freezer.

“All clear Marinette!” Tikki chirped.

“Thanks.” The hero swung open the door and took off running for the Seine.

Upon arriving at he famous river, Marinette dove into the water scattering the trail of wasps behind her. Pulling out the water powerup, Mari was amazed to discover that even underwater the macaroon did not get soggy, but remained its usual texture and firmness. Calling for her transformation again, Ladybug sprinted to Master Fu’s location unaware of the villain tailing her.

“Master Fu! May I use the snake miraculous?” With a nod, Master Fu pulled out the miracle box and selected the snake miraculous.

“Thank you!” LB called out as she left merging the two miraculous. Lately, Marinette had taken to using the ladybug and snake miraculous together having taken the cat miraculous away from Adrien.

Arriving in front of the town hall, Ladybug surveyed the battlefield. In front of the akuma, Miracle Queen, stood all her previous allies: Adrien, Luka, Ivan, Nino, Max, Alya, and Kagami. They all appear to have been stung by the wasps. At that moment, Hawkmoth arrived bearing the miracle box! Hawkmoth passed the box to Miracle Queen and the students stepped forward to take their respective jewels. All but two, Luka and Adrien. Ladybug had both of those miraculous on her person (the black cat miraculous was in her yoyo) She was about to enter the battle when Master Fu leapt over the building in pursuit of the villain weilding the turtle as Jade Turtle. At that moment Ladybug engaged the various villains calling for her second chance.

As she landed, Pegasus opened a portal to space. Reactivating second chance she tried again, and again, and again, and again. Until she managed to take the dragon and horse miraculous back.

There was a rush of wind and all the holders before her, except Hawkmoth and Myura, were stripped of their miraculous as a light formed above her head. Oh no, Master Fu! The miracle box fell into her hands. Using the destraction Ladybug broke and purified the akuma.

She ran to Master Fu as quickly as she could.

“Master Fu! Are you okay?” She waited with baited breath.

“Hello, young lady, do I know you?” There went any hope I had.

“No, I’m just a concerned citizen.”

I dropped off the miracle box in my room before releasing Tikki from my transformation and entering the bakery through the front. Her parents were there, waiting for her.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Sabine said smiling at Marinette with daggers for eyes.

“Yes, Maman.” Nope. Nope. Nope. Not today. Not ever.

As soon as Marinette reached her room, she pulled out the miracle box, a backpack of clothes and sewing supplies, and her toiletries (she could pull money out of her account later if needed). Opening the box, Marinette took out the horse miraculous releasing Kaalki.

“Master F– where is Master Fu, Marinette.”

“Gone, he relinquished his guardianship when hawkmoth cornered him.” She put on the glasses. “I need an escape; is that ok Kaalki?”

“Of course guardian.”

The girl called for Kaalki’s transformation, summoned a portal, gathered her belongings, and walked through.

Authors notes will be at the end from now on (minus warnings and such)

what should i call this story?

Smiles and love, Jjmjjktth <3 :)

Next - Masterlist

Taglist: @swiftie-miraculer13 @messymessyml

#maribat #marinette #salt #damian wayne #the bats #daminette #paris has a hawkmoth problem #toodles #wip #young hearts are easily broken

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quicksilversquared · 5 years ago

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The Substitute Ladybug: Chapter 2

After Lila takes things too far and Marinette ends up with a broken leg, Paris is going to have to deal with a different superhero arrangement for a bit. Having to share her superhero identity with her parents before Hawkmoth can be defeated isn’t something that Marinette had planned on doing, but- well, it might end up being a bit of a blessing in disguise.

links in the reblog

Going back to school with a broken leg- well, it was pretty intimidating.

After all, their classrooms at school were divided between two levels. There was a lot of bustle and unintentional pushing as students moved between rooms when they were switching classes, and some of the doors- like the bathroom doors- weren't exactly going to be easy to push open with crutches. Then there was the worry of Chloe trying to take advantage of Marinette's hindrance to try to do something to her. Getting to her seat, slipping away unnoticed if an akuma attacked, being able to do any quality focusing when she was on her pain meds...

Well, she would have to take the day as it came. And as it turned out, it wasn't so bad after all.

Mr. Damocles pointed out a fairly hidden elevator that she could use. Kim and Ivan offered their services to piggyback-carry Marinette up and down the stairs at school if she didn't want to bother with finding the elevator between classes. As soon as he heard what was going on, Adrien offered the same thing, clearly eager to be of help. Everyone had heard what Lila had done and was horrified about ever doubting Marinette, so everything there was back to normal. Alya had even made a post on the Ladyblog apologizing for posting Lila's lies and calling her out for Marinette's injury, so all of Paris- or at least everyone who followed Alya's blog- knew how terrible of a person Lila was.

And Hawkmoth didn't attack until after school, which meant that Marinette didn't have to bother with slipping away. She could follow the fight from the comfort of her temporary bedroom, surrounded by pillows and blankets.

"Okay, I've managed to get into the city's video feeds," Vipera commented, watching her screen. All she had needed to get the screen on the lyre was to want it, and then she had noticed a little button to push. It expanded across the middle of the instrument, large enough for her to easily follow. "And it should hop from feed to feed, whatever will get me the best view."

"Fantastic!" Coccinelle told her. "I think we've got the hang of this right now, it seems a very standard-issue akuma. We've seen far worse."

Vipera nodded. She had to agree. As far as first akumas for her mom to face, this was a pretty good one to start on. It would involve a bit of fighting, but there had been far more complicated and difficult akumas before.

For the most part, she was going to stay out of things. If she talked too much, that was just one more thing for Coccinelle to keep track of. If they needed help or if she spotted an opening or a trap, then she would speak up. And of course, if she needed to use Second Chance, then she would tell them what they needed to do instead.

The fight raged on, and Vipera followed it carefully. She needed to be hugely on top of things to be able to figure out when to activate Second Chance, if it was needed. It would be harder to do now, when she wasn't physically at the fight, so lapses in concentration were not allowed.

(Oddly enough, Vipera liked that. It was a challenge, something that kept her mind on the top of its game. It wasn't the usual physical challenge, maybe, but the mental challenge...)

It wasn't long at all before the akuma fight wrapped up, with only a few helpful suggestion from Vipera. The two superheroes on the scene fled before reporters could get close and ask any questions, and Vipera sat back with a hum, considering that.

On one hand, holding off could be a good thing. The less information Hawkmoth got, the better. The longer they could hold off making any statements- well, then Hawkmoth would be kept in the dark.

On the other hand- well, Hawkmoth had eyes. He could see that Coccinelle was different than Ladybug. He wouldn't know what that meant, maybe, but he might try to send out more akumas until he got the answers that he wanted.

Vipera leaned forward, tapping her chin in thought. More akumas would definitely not be a good thing, so they would want to discourage that somehow. Even though Coccinelle had put on a good show with the first akuma and her martial arts training had shown through, inexperience was inexperience and Hawkmoth would try to take advantage of that with a difficult akuma that would put a strain on all of them. So if they could make the battles harder for Hawkmoth and his akumas...

Well, there had been some times where Vipera thought that maybe she could activate Second Chance and shorten the fight a bit. It would have required a bit more coordination- maybe Chat Noir should have an earpiece in, too, so she could talk directly to him- but that was a possibility, something that they could explore to maybe make Hawkmoth step back and reconsider sending out more akumas.

"Almost back!" Coccinelle said in Vipera's ear. "I'm going to use your balcony. That seems the safest. I'll mix it up in the future so that I don't get tracked back."

"That seems like a good idea," Vipera agreed. She waited for a confirmation that her mom was back, then detransformed. A check of the clock revealed that she was due for pain meds, and so she took one before maneuvering to sit at her desk, wincing when her cast bumped into the desk's side and sent a spike of pain up her leg.

Superheroes had to keep up with their homework, after all. Since she was going to keep being involved in the battles, even with her broken leg, that meant that she had to keep on top of her assignments and not spend too much time loitering around.

Planning for future battles would have to wait. For now, Marinette had homework to do.

Four days in, and Paris was apparently worried about their missing superhero, even with Chat Noir's announcement about Coccinelle just being a short-term temporary replacement while Ladybug got some much-needed rest. They had seen temporary heroes before, of course, but rarely without both of the other superheroes- and never without Ladybug.

It took everything in Marinette not to laugh, really. She wasn't missing from the fights, not really. There had been three battles so far, and she had been overseeing all of them, watching, waiting for a sign that she needed to step in.

Vipera had used Second Chance exactly once, and that was to warn Coccinelle and Chat Noir about a sentimonster rearing its head. She seemed to have a fifth sense about when it would be a good idea to activate her power, even if there was nothing that was obviously off yet. And nothing had gone seriously wrong in that instance, but Coccinelle and Chat Noir were able to respond and take out the sentimonster without a problem before it even got a chance to get going and interfere with their battle with the akuma.

Marinette had spent a lot of time talking with Sass to figure out how to get full use of her powers, tapping in to that fifth sense and being able to manipulate the fight more effectively. While her parents could deal with her mom being gone for fights- they had enough seasoned staff in the back kitchens of the bakery that her dad could cover the counter for a while- it was better not to have to be short-staffed for long. If she could shorten fights with her use of the Snake, then Marinette wanted to do that.

For now, though, things were going well.

"Chat Noir and I sometimes did patrols, back when we were starting out," Marinette told her mom as they worked on dinner together. Marinette could sit at a tall chair at the counter and chop veggies, facing her mom as they worked. "We haven't done that a lot recently, because we've been so busy with school and it's hard to keep up with everything sometimes, but it was fun to hang out." She made a face. "Except when we were just patrolling to keep Mr. Damocles from hurting himself. That was just frustrating, because it was every. single. day."

"Chat Noir has suggested that we do some patrols over the weekend," Mrs. Cheng told her. "Or, rather, run some loops around the city so that I can get some practice in with your yo-yo. I thought it was a good idea, because that's definitely an area that I'm struggling with. And then he's suggested some fighting practice, too, just to make sure that I'm on the top of my game."

"I think it's a really good idea!" Tikki piped up. "Since Chat Noir is used to a certain level of fighting ability at his back, and he might automatically do something that doesn't work as well when he doesn't have Ladybug next to him. The two of you have been fighting alongside each other for so long, you can practically read each other's minds, it seems. Coccinelle might be temporary, but she'll be doing enough fights that it's important to have some of that teamwork and training there."

Mrs. Cheng nodded as she dumped a cutting board of chopped veggies into her frying pan. "Exactly! And Chat Noir seems like such a nice boy, so it'll be nice to get to know him better," she added. "I want to know the boy that my daughter's been spending so much time with!"

"Maman!" Marinette complained, immediately embarrassed. "We're just friends, you know that!"

Her mom laughed, giving the sizzling veggies a stir. "I know, but I like knowing your friends, too! And you can't deny that Ladybug and Chat Noir seem quite close," she added with an impish smile. "I mean, I think all of Paris saw those photos of you two kissing-"

Marinette yelped. Loudly. Tikki was giggling, the little traitor. "It was because he got hit by Dark Cupid and I was trying to break him out from under the spell, because that's what works in fairy tales!" She pouted at her still-giggling mom. "And it did work, because he snapped out of it, so there!"

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Cheng said. There was still an amused edge to her voice, not entirely convinced, but Marinette wasn't going to keep on arguing. It wouldn't get her much anywhere, after all.

"I do worry about him, though," Mrs. Cheng added after a minute of silence. "Besides just the hero thing. He said that he was homeschooled for most of his life-"

Marinette was pretty sure that her jaw had hit the floor. "Mama! He's- you're not supposed to talk about civilian lives! It's too dangerous, we could find out each other's identities before the kwamis say it's okay!"

"I've not given away anything that would give me away, Marinette," Mrs. Cheng told her. "Which- well, would be where you go to school and the bakery, really. Anything else I would think wouldn't be specific enough to give anything away. There's two million people in Paris, Marinette. The chances of you two knowing each other enough that me saying anything else would result in a reveal surely can't be that high-"

"Chat Noir has had brunch with us, Mama!" Marinette protested. "He knows civilian-me! It's not like I've never interacted with him on this side of the mask before!"

Her mom considered that. "Oh. Hmm."

"Exactly!"

Instead of promising that they would never talk about their civilian lives again, Mrs. Cheng smiled. "Speaking of that brunch- what was that all about, dear? Your dad was under the impression that you had confessed your love for Chat Noir!"

...Marinette had admittedly temporarily forgotten about that bit.

"He spotted me on my balcony pretty much right after I detransformed," Marinette hastened to explain, before her mom could get any more ideas. "And wanted to know why I was there. So I had to distract him, and come up with a reasonable explanation for why I was there-"

"Because 'I live here' wasn't good enough?"

Marinette froze. She...hadn't thought of that. "Oh. But it was late, and I was really, really tired!" she added on hastily when both her mom and Tikki started to giggle. "So I just blurted the first thing that came to mind and it doesn't mean anything I just thought that playing fangirl was a good idea!"

"I suppose we should stop teasing her before she explodes," Mrs. Cheng told Tikki, amusement lacing through her words. "I feel like Chat Noir might be upset if she did, since he's already looking forward to her return so much."

Marinette pouted.

"Anyway, as I was saying before- just because Chat Noir knows you doesn't mean that you know him, Marinette- he's been homeschooled, and I get the impression that he's not had great adult role models in his life," Mrs. Cheng continued over Marinette's spluttered objections. "He's been asking me about things that have happened with his friends that he hasn't understood, since he hasn't had many good friends growing up and learned pretty much everything about social interactions from anime, of all things. So I think having more time to properly discuss things and have some adult guidance during our training sessions will be good for him. Akuma battles aren't the most ideal for giving a good dose of parental advice."

Seriously, Marinette couldn't believe her ears. Her mom had apparently decided to mother her partner. What was next, inviting him over for dinner?

...she wasn't going to suggest that. Her parents would probably decide that they should all transform and go out to eat together, or maybe have a picnic in the park.

"I think Chat Noir will benefit from it," Tikki agreed happily. "And clearly he knows that something is off with some of his social interactions if he's asking about them. Really, it's a compliment, Marinette!" Tikki added when Marinette looked dubious. "He's decided that whoever raised you must have given good advice, because he sees you as well-adjusted."

Marinette gave a short nod. Maybe Tikki had a point, but- well, she was still adjusting to the idea of Chat Noir telling her mom more about his personal life, because maybe there were two million people in Paris, but how many people were close enough to their area of Paris to be able to respond to akuma attacks in the same window of time that Chat Noir did? And out of those people, how many of them were teenaged boys?

(Blond teenaged boys who had been homeschooled for at least part of their life. That- that was getting uncomfortably specific.)

(Maybe there were more of them than Marinette thought. Maybe Chat Noir wasn't actually blond. Maybe she shouldn't think about it too much.)

"Anyway, I think I'll be spending a little more time transformed than initially planned," Mrs. Cheng finished, giving her pan on the stove a little shake before checking to see how cooked the vegetables were getting. "Just to take advantage of the ability to dole out a bit more parental advice. And to train, of course. We want to have the best possible chance of getting the Ladybug Miraculous back to you safe and sound!"

"Of course, Maman," Marinette agreed. She paused, considering, then looked over at her mom again. "Do you want to hear about some of our past akuma battles? I mean, I know all of Paris sees news coverage of most of the fights anyway, but..."

Mrs. Cheng beamed at her. "Would I like to hear about the battles from Ladybug herself, who was in the thick of things? Of course!"

Marinette beamed, her mind racing to come up with a good fight to start with. "Well, a couple months ago..."

"Marinette, dear, wake up."

Marinette groaned at the voice disturbing her sleep, automatically trying to roll over to bury her face in her pillow before the blanket rolls that she had set up to keep herself from disturbing her leg too much stopped her. Another tap at her shoulder made her frown again, and then her eyes slowly fluttered open to see her mom standing next to her bed, carrying a flashlight in one hand. She frowned.

"Mom? What's going on?"

"There's an akuma attack and I need to borrow the earrings," Mrs. Cheng told her as she helped Marinette sit upright. "You don't have to stay up for this one, Chat Noir and I will be careful."

"No, I want to help," Marinette insisted, the fog already clearing away from her brain as adrenaline rushed through her system. She pulled out the earrings, passing them to her mom before digging in her dresser drawer for the Snake's bracelet. Aside from Tikki's healing abilities being stronger when she was with Marinette instead of with her mom, this was why she always took back the Ladybug overnight, so that Coccinelle wouldn't sneak off without the Snake's backup. "So both you and Chat Noir should have your earpieces in, okay?"

"If you insist, dear. But remember, if you get tired, just let us know and go back to bed. Rest will help your body heal faster, and I know you've been tired." Mrs. Cheng slid the earrings into her own ears before smiling at her daughter. "We'll be safe, I promise."

With that, she went out the door. Marinette looked to Sass.

"Tonight?"

"I think that you're ready," Sass agreed. "You're tuned in enough to the fights to be able to really use Second Chance to its full extent. And a late-night fight...I don't doubt that both Coccinelle and Chat Noir would welcome the opportunity to have a much-shortened fight and go back to bed."

Marinette nodded. Still, the idea of using Second Chance so many times in a row- well, it was a little worrying. But she had been practicing, she hadn't just been thrown into the deep end during a battle, so in theory things shouldn't be too bad. "Okay. Sass, transform me!"

Green light filled the room, and Vipera settled her lyre on her lap with the screen pulled out. She could already get feed of the akuma near the Kidz+ TV station, even though the other superheroes hadn't gotten there yet, which meant that she got an early look at the akuma's powers.

An early look at the akuma's powers, plus a good view of which way the akuma was facing, what the corrupted object was, and how much attention the akuma was paying to its surroundings at any given moment.

Perfect.

"Okay, I have a visual on the akuma," Vipera said into her earpiece, noticing the icons at the top of the screen that told her that both Coccinelle and Chat Noir were out and both had their earpieces in, so both would be able to hear her. "And I want to try something new tonight with Second Chance, to direct the battle from here. I'll know what the akuma is planning on doing before it does it, and we can have the shortest fight ever." She paused and rethought that statement. "Well, aside from the battles with Mr. Pigeon and Mr. Rat. I don't think that those take more than a couple minutes now."

Chat Noir snorted in amusement at that last bit. Her mom was unconvinced.

"I don't think that two in the morning is the best time to be trying new strategies, dear," she told Vipera. "Perhaps we could try it during the day sometime?"

"Sass said that tonight would be perfect," Vipera told her teammates. "Because I'm tuned in enough to the sort of fifth sense I was telling you about and familiar with all of the uses of the Snake's powers. It should shorten up the fight."

"I'm all for trying it," Chat Noir said at once. "If you think it'll work, then I bet it will. Worst-case scenario, it doesn't go nearly as well as you think it will and you need to re-power and we have to fight like we normally do, without the Snake's back-up. Just don't- don't use Second Chance too many times, like Aspek did."

"I don't plan on it," Vipera told him, because she didn't. Adrien hadn't been nearly as tuned in to the Snake's powers as she was now, and he hadn't had the preparations she had had, either. "And I'll be careful, promise. So for this to work, you have to listen to me and do what I say, or else there'll be no point."

"Okay!" Chat Noir agreed at once. "You know you can be my puppeteer any time you want, my Lady."

Coccinelle sighed, like she was going to say something about that, then decided not to. "I'll go along with it as well. Just let us know if the plan changes."

Vipera nodded. Obviously. "Of course! So, how close to the Kidz+ building are you?"

"One block," Chat Noir reported. "And I can see Coccinelle, she's coming at my two o'clock."

"Okay," Vipera said, her mind already whirring as she watched the akuma onscreen. "The akuma is near the TV station and moving north, but not very fast. The butterfly is in his belt, I think. Watch out for the wand, he's using it to turn people into statues. I don't see a sentimonster yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if one shows up. It would be easiest to do an ambush attack from behind, but make sure that you wait for an opening. He likes swinging around periodically."

"Got it!"

Vipera nodded, eyes intent on the screen and occasionally swapping out for other cameras to track her mom and Chat Noir as they drew closer and to scan the rooftops for any signs of a sentimonster or the supervillains. There was no sign of them yet, but there had been a delay in the superheroes' response.

"Dropping in in three, two, one-" Chat Noir murmured in her ear, and Vipera set the time.

There was no going back now.

The next- well, it was four and a half minutes for the superheroes, but closer to an hour for Vipera- were tense as Vipera followed the fight from all angles, resetting often and directing the superheroes' almost every move. It was a mental exercise as she had to remember all of the previous instructions that she had given plus a new one or two on top, in the correct order and with the right timing.

She wasn't Ladybug for nothing, though, and years of childhood games where she and her parents played the add-on story-telling game came in handy. There were maybe two times when she had nearly flubbed up the order of her commands, but she hadn't and so Coccinelle and Chat Noir had been able to wrap up the fight in practically no time.

"That was fantastic, Vipera!" Chat Noir said breathlessly as the akuma fluttered away. "Great job! I hope you didn't have to cycle too many times!"

"I kept it under control," Vipera said, because really, all things considered, she had. She glanced at her Miraculous. "I'm going to detransform soon. Be careful going home, in case Hawkmoth decided to come out."

"Got it, my Lady!" Chat Noir said cheerfully. Seconds later, Vipera's Miraculous beeped one more time and the transformation released. She grinned at Sass, exchanging a fist bump.

That had been amazing.

"You'd make a good full-time Snake," Sass said appreciatively as Marinette wriggled back down into a lying position. Her mom probably wasn't going to bother returning the earrings now, since it was only going to be a few hours until it was time to get up, so she might as well go to sleep. "Not everyone figures out how to- well, how to weaponize Second Chance like that. Though that's what makes you a great Ladybug as well, because you can turn anything into a tool to get an advantage."

Marinette grinned, pink staining her cheeks. "Thanks."

"It's only the truth." Sass yawned, floating over to her dresser and inhaling the snack that she had left out for him there. "You did really well tonight, and you'll only get better with practice. But for now- you've been up longer than your partners. It's time to rest. Good-night, Marinette."

Marinette smiled back, reaching over to flick off the light. "Good night, Sass."

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #The Substitute Ladybug #marinette dupain cheng

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chaoticgeminate · 5 years ago

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Plagg’s Intervention

After the AMAZING response to Exposed I wanted to thank you guys somehow for the likes and reblogs and follows. Seriously, I’m super touched and each new like makes me super giddy. So I decided to write a tale of one of my favorite Kwami, our very own Cat-Dad, Plagg!

This is mostly just fluff, like there’s maybe a dash of salt aimed at Lila (because why wouldn’t I?) but it goes right back to that sweet fluffy goodness.

[AO3]

Plagg knew the other Kwami were using their powers to help Marinette survive the stress of her day, he couldn't miss the way she began showing up to class on time every day looking better rested than she had since he'd first seen her, or the way she was able to disappear in a crowd easier when things got dicey. He had once been envious of the others for having helpful powers, things like shields and illusions and altering time.

But he long-since figured out that Destruction had a place, there were things he could do if he practiced his control again, Tikki confirmed his suspicions on a day Longg was there; the class was allowed to study outside because of how conveniently nice the weather was, not a hard line of spots to connect to the Dragon. "I think it is time we have the two of them finally do a reveal, Plagg, if not for Marinette then most definitely for Adrien." Tikki and Longg both looked firm on the idea, it meant they had argued with the other Kwami about it already.

Truthfully, he wasn't against it, his Kitten could finally stop pining after the Bug and get real love in his life; but Plagg didn't think they were ready, in fact, he knew they weren’t ready. "Trust me, Sugar Cube, I would love for the kid to be done pining and writing flowery poems for the Bug. They aren't ready for it, think about how often those supposed friends made these elaborate schemes to push them together, as well as how Marinette handled those times, it's just like that and this is something they have to do on their own." He felt odd being the one to defend Marinette's sanity here but Plagg knew his kid, Adrien's shitty relationship with his dad and lack of a social life made him clingy to what he did have, once the reveal went down the Bug would never have a moment Adrien wasn't trying to be glued to her side.

Tikki hesitated but nodded and even Longg looked like he was reconsidering. "I get it, you want her to be happy and have someone she can talk to about the Box and us, it'd be nice for the kid to be included and all but he's going to jump right to romance and she isn't ready to see Chat Noir and Adrien as the same person." Which would cause a problem in their partnership, make one or both of them a target for Hawkmoth, and ruin any chance at them being happy. "We can nudge them along and plant the seeds to start a reveal, casual comments or pointing out similarities, but we have to let them do it on their own." Tikki's eyes softened and Plagg purred as the duo of red Kwami curled around him, he wanted nothing more than to nap with the others in the Miracle Box once they had Nooroo and Duusu back.

But they had to be patient.

Once lessons were called back to the classroom, with Adrien holding the door for Marinette as the young heroine tried to avoid his gaze, Plagg knew he'd have to do something to get Adrien not prioritize romance over friendships and himself.

He had a bit of a chance to start something when they got back after classes, once fencing and basketball practice were over, Plagg jumped at the chance as his Kitten waxed poetic about the equally socially awkward fencer. "Kid, is Kagami the type of person who will accept being second?" Plagg earned a look of surprise, the ramble about the fencing form pausing, but the Kwami was relieved to see his kid shake his head. At least he understood her well enough, Plagg supposed, it was a decent sign there; a shame he couldn't be as observant where Marinette was concerned.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, but I think you need to hear this, try not to be upset or angry as a reflex." Adrien blinked again and turned in his seat, Plagg had to admit that it was sweet when Adrien gave his full attention to whomever was speaking to him, the only time it failed before was when the kid was too wrapped up dreaming about his lovebug. "Creation has to win, if something happens to the Bug it's over, you know this and I know this; that's what the Black Cat is for, your Bug can't conjure a weapon so we have to be her weapon." Adrien nodded and Plagg knew his kid knew this, it was why Adrien got himself tangled up in all sorts of insane situations.

Luckily for him, though it was a bit annoying too, Adrien was raised not to interrupt. "Sword girl doesn't like coming in second, she's too proud and stubborn to accept defeat, but as long as you're the Black Cat you cannot pick anyone over the Bug at all. Ever." Plagg hated doing this to his kid, really he did, Adrien deserved a taste of happiness. "I don't mean chase after the Bug with flowers again, Lord knows she'd punch you worse than she did your cousin, but what would Sword Girl say if an akuma was attacking across the city while you're on a date and you had to ditch? She knows your schedule, her Mother is your father's associate, you can't use your pops as an excuse to get away from her." Understanding flickered in Adrien's eyes, which lowered as he looked at his hands, Plagg sighed and landed on his Kitten's lap.

He hated having to be responsible. "You have choices, you always have choices, but I can't make them for you and I don't want you to put off choosing and lose those choices. If you want to pursue sword girl's heart, kid, you need to ask Ladybug to give you a different Miraculous to use and let her choose a new Black Cat; the Bug has way more on her shoulders now that she's also protecting the Miracle Box, she can't afford to have a Black Cat that can't put her first. If you had a Zodiac or one of the Wu Xing then you could skip a few fights to keep sword girl happy." Adrien scooped him up and Plagg sighed as the kid's eyes glistened with unshed tears, the Kwami rubbed his face against Adrien's and purred to try and calm him down.

Tikki would slaughter him if his Kitten got akumatized over this. "But it wouldn't be you, Plagg. I don't just like being Chat Noir because I get to partner with Ladybug or get away from this place when it's too lonely, you're important to me too." Plagg purred louder and his tail wrapped around Adrien's finger as he laid there in his Kitten's hands.

"What I suggest, kid, is that you stop pursuing romance completely and focus on your friends and yourself. In three years you'll be able to leave and live on your own, right? Do you even know what your hobbies are outside of what's on your schedule? What's Marinette's favorite place to get coffee? Where does Alya go when she's frustrated with her siblings? What kind of food does Nino like to eat? You don't know any of that stuff because you aren't asking, you're focusing so hard on romance like your anime that you aren't developing the same solid friendships those characters have." Plagg earned wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, wanting to argue no doubt, but then his Kitten seemed to think and nodded.

Adrien's voice was sad but steady. "You're right, Plagg, and for all I know I could find someone else later that makes me feel different than both of them and find out that's really love." Plagg nodded and earned an extra wedge of Camembert, watching his Kitten take a breath before calling Kagami, it was an easy conversation too.

"I think we should try and learn more about having friends before pursuing romance, since we're both so new to both things."

"Are you certain this isn't about the other girl?"

"No, I just want to learn more about myself and I know I'm not ready to put you first like you deserve if we became a steady couple."

"Thank you for your honesty, Adrien, I'll have to beat you in our next training for not saying something sooner."

"I'm saying it now, Kagami, but thank you for understanding."

"Thank you for caring for me enough that you're preventing me from being hurt, Adrien. Good night."

"Night."

Plagg spent the night curled up purring in Adrien's hair as his Kitten began trying to find things he liked, learning about himself and who he was outside of the perfect son his Father wanted him to be, it was a start and Plagg was glad his Kid had listened.

"I'm sort of mad you never said anything sooner, you Stinky cat, but I think it was for the best."

Plagg curled around Tikki as she snuggled closer to him, their holders were on the roof of Ivan's apartment building with a massive projector screen to watch a movie with their friends, now that they weren't focusing on romance the pair of teens began to flourish in and out of the suits. To the point that Marinette had confessed her crush and told Adrien she wanted to focus on herself for a little while, but that she felt the need to apologize for not seeing him and instead seeing what his Father wanted people to see, which led to Adrien openly paying more attention to Marinette.

Really, the Kwami couldn't ask for more from his kid if he tried, over the past several months they had become good friends and Adrien was finally able to see just how bad his relationship with his Father actually was for him. His kid had even shut Lila down in front of the class, when she tried to force him to study with her again, by telling her that if she needed more help that she would need to find a designated tutor and that he wouldn't fall behind trying to help her play catch-up again. The others had gotten upset with him and Marinette, who defended his right to prioritizing his own grades, before Adrien reminded Lila in front of them how she lied to Nathalie and the Gorilla to get into his house and forced a kiss on him he didn't want.

Adding to the School Board intervening, since Marinette had finally gone to her parents about Chloe's bullying and using her Father as well as why Lila targeted her and used her Mother's status as a diplomat to keep the Principal from questioning her, Plagg was a content cat knowing Lila had been caught for felony level truancy and forced back to her real home in the coastal area of France with her Mother. Bustier had been suspended along with Damocles, the kids now had a teacher named Baxter Kennedy, bullying seminars were required too. "Me too, this is nice." Along with bullying seminars there were meetings with therapists, public awareness of how words and actions could be misinterpreted, with Alya spearheading a campaign to be kinder while Hawkmoth was on the loose.

Which actually isolated and created a suspicion Plagg wished wasn't looking truer, the most recent string of akuma were all people pissed off at one Gabriel Agreste, for all the good people were doing to help others he was getting worse and it would make sense if he was Hawkmoth. Like Marinette theorized before, rather, with Mayura only able to be Nathalie if that were the case. "Sugar Cube, if it is him then we're going to need a reveal first, my Kitten can't take that hit without being one-hundred percent sure he's got people in his corner." Tikki hummed and Plagg found himself miserable as he looked down to where Adrien offered his side to Marinette, the latter huddled and cold despite her fleece pajamas, the weather was getting colder and soon Marinette would start to slow down.

Holders developed traits the stronger the bond with their Kwami was and Marinette was very deeply bound to Tikki, the pair would slow down and be weaker, while it meant their powers would be much stronger and be able to be used more often without needing a recharge... it meant in the late fall and winter that the Bug would be at severe risk.

They needed a reveal yesterday.

But first his Kitten needed to know just how dangerous the coming season would be, since Hawkmoth had a very poor bond with Nooroo the Butterfly wouldn't be weakened, the Bug would need to do unity transformations to not possibly drop out in fights. "What'cha doin’ there, kid?" That night Plagg noticed Adrien deeply concentrating on his computer screen, pink wool yarn and knitting needles in hand, frowning at the attempt of whatever he was doing.

Adrien hummed without much thought. "Marinette was really cold tonight, I'm trying to make her a shawl so she can wear it over pajamas and stuff." Plagg's purr rumbled as pride burned in his chest at the kid, talk about a change of character, the Kwami hummed as his Kitten frowned at a bad segment and tugged the yarn back through to fix it before Plagg hovered down.

"Like this, kid." It was an easy pattern, smart for a first-time knitter, the motions became easier for Adrien once Plagg helped guide him. A look of warm surprise made the Kwami huff, feigning hurt at the look even as he puffed his chest, stupid Kitten and his new observant ways. "I know a lot more than you think, Kid, there's a lot of years I spend in the Miracle Box with the other Kwami and the Guardians sometimes give us new things to do every so many decades. Add to the number of Chat Noir that I've worked with? I'm a cat of many talents." It piqued the curious little part of his Kitten that was hidden behind the polite facade, just what Plagg wanted.

Adrien didn't let it distract him from his task though. "Do you miss them, the other Kwami?" Plagg shrugged as his eyes scanned the pattern on Adrien's computer screen, this was something his Father would have been great for, leave it to Gabriel to allow a God of Destruction to raise his son and teach him how to knit.

"Sometimes. I shouldn't tell you this, kid, but there are nights I fly over to Ladybug's place to check in on her and Tikki. She doesn't know who you are, before you ask, but her bond with Tikki is strong enough she's adopting bug traits. Tikki warned me that they're both getting slow, the colder it gets their bodies want them to hibernate. If she gets too cold, she'll go to sleep and won't be able to wake up until her body thinks it's spring." Adrien started in alarm and Plagg watched the trembling in his hands, setting his attempted shawl aside to avoid stabbing himself.

He grabbed his phone and opened the app that the pair agreed to download, to message outside the suits and come up with plans to catch the Butterfly. "I don't suppose we can just bundle her up in a thick coat, huh? There really isn't any avoiding a reveal, is there?" Plagg watched his Kitten sigh, tapping out an answering message, the Kwami hovered to see what was on the screen.

The Bug was reluctant but willing, only asking that he lower his expectations when he found out who she was, Plagg really wanted to know where the confidence was that he knew Marinette had. Just what happened to make her think so little of herself where Chat Noir was concerned?

Tikki cuddled close to him and Plagg huffed as Orikko caged him in on his other side, each kid wearing as many Miraculous as they could, the reveal hadn't gone sideways at all; with their much stronger friendship in place it only led them to crying about 'it's you' and 'I knew I was right' before they threw on their warmest pajamas and played video games until Adrien had to sneak back into his room.

But these nights were his favorite, when Plagg was surrounded by the other Kwami and his Kitten was cuddled in bed with the Bug, nights where Adrien and Marinette could laugh softly as they recounted all the events they'd experienced and all the things Marinette was going through as Guardian. "Bug?" Adrien's voice was soft and Marinette hummed as she curled closer to him.

"Mm?"

Plagg almost laughed at the sleepy response. "You know you were the girl I was chasing after, right? Even if I didn't know it was you?" Tikki perked up at this, the nosy Creation Kwami was a sucker for romance and Plagg didn't miss the way the rest of the Kwami were suddenly awake either.

Marinette spun around to face Adrien now with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Y-yea, I figured that much when the masks came off, I didn't know your name but I knew you loved me." Adrien's face turned a very Ladybug shade of red, enough that the Bug's nerves seemed to face a little. "Chat?" Her voice wavered.

"Mm?"

This made Roarr snicker, muffled by the other Kwami, the strangled whimper of a reply was enough for Plagg to groan softly. "Dammit kid, all you had to do was stay cool for ten minutes." He wanted to bang his head on the floor, how was Adrien so damn confident and smooth as Chat Noir and then a fumbling mess as Adrien Agreste?

Marinette's little chirp of laughter faded to a sigh. "You know I liked Adrien, I told you this, you know that's why I refused your advances as Chat Noir... right?" The revelation hadn't seemed to strike, as Adrien had definitely come to value his friendship with Marinette, until he was reminded of her confession and apology as well as her desire to find herself.

The blush brightened but his voice was smooth as silk when he did manage to reply. "Have you- have you found Marinette yet, my Lady? Is it too late to ask that you give me a chance?" He had taken her hand now and his hopes were laid in front of him, Adrien was vulnerable and at her mercy.

"Always the cat chasing the bug, why isn't it ever the other way around?" The playful jab from Trixx was silenced by Ziggy as she shushed the Fox.

Tikki, the traitor, let out a soft chortle. “My bugs are above all that nonsense, Trixx.” Plagg leveled her a look and met her twinkling eyes with his, he knew all about how hard Marinette had drooled for his kid.

Marinette made a soft sound, a breathy little noise, before speaking up again. "I think I have, Chaton, and I'd love to take on the world with you."

Plagg purred noisily as the kids shared their first kiss (the first one his Kitten remembered), Tikki swooning happily, but they all forgot one detail and that was just how Xuppu acted for moments just like this. The monkey erupted from the pile, sending them all tumbling, with a wail of delight as he zoomed in to cheer around the new couple with squeaks of delight.

"This calls for a party!"

Plagg groaned and Tikki laughed as the other Kwami perked up. "Party?! Let's have a party! Can we please, Miss Marinette?!" The Black Cat hissed when someone tugged his tail.

"No! No parties! Marinette's parents are downstairs and we can't be too loud, take the other Miraculous off before you two get caught." Plagg stomped his foot and glared at the now alarmed, happy, and just confused couple. "I did not put all this work into being the responsible one for them to screw it all up!" Adrien chuckled and reached out, bringing Plagg close to press their foreheads together.

Marinette had Kwami hovering around her. "Thank you, Plagg, for looking out for us. How about we celebrate this weekend? My parents are going to China for a week to visit Nainai Cheng and the rest of Maman's family, they want me to stay for school." It wasn't like she couldn't just keep Kaalki with her and portal back if she had to, after all, but she did have class and couldn't miss too many lessons thanks to how many the class missed as a whole from akuma attacks.

"Yay! Weekend party!"

"Marinette? What's all that noise?"

'Nothing Maman, just a video Alya sent me, I didn't think it was that loud!"

"Get some sleep, it's late, you do have class in the morning. I love you."

"Love you too, Maman, see you in the morning."

Adrien took that as his sign to begin removing Miraculous and put them away, Marinette following him until only Plagg and Tikki remained. "That was close, next time don't have Xuppu out if something good happens?" Adrien's remark made her giggle.

They shared one more kiss before Plagg was drawn into the ring so his Kitten could get back home safe. As they got ready for sleep the Kwami hummed at the soft touch of Adrien rubbing his head. "Thank you, Plagg." Two sets of green eyes met.

"Sure, kid."

There was one more hurdle to jump but this time Adrien had support and love, Plagg wouldn't hesitate to gut Gabriel if the man tried anything with his kitten.

#chaoticwrites #ml fanfic #miraculous fanfic #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #Tikki #plagg

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