So… this one came to me when my friends and I were discussing the previous holders of the Miraculous, and he told me that maybe, holders came with every generation.
I don't even know, I'm all about writing Miraculous now...
ON THE FIC!
Living on Borrow Time
"Just another day with just another akuma." Chat Noir sighed happily "And I couldn't ask for more than my beloved Lady's company."
"You could ask for the akuma to die quickly!" she chirped in, flying past him.
"Ah, yes. But that's our job!" he jumped away from the attack "So let's-UGH!"
Adrien felt a pull inside him and gulped, holding to his chest "Plagg, what the hell?" he hissed.
"Save her!" the kwami's voice echoed in his head, and he turned to the endangered crowd.
"Plagg, I will get to them when I can!" he whispered, but Plagg kept pulling and hissing, making him focus on a worried middle-aged woman.
"Save her! Please!" It was the first time he had ever heard Plagg sounding so desperate, so Chat Noir jumped to the crowd, picked the woman up bridal style and jumped away from the scene. He put her down on an alleyway and hissed "Happy now?"
"Chat..." she whispered, and Adrien looked up to her glistering eyes.
"Oh, no. Lady, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" he started freaking out, but stopped when, through the tears, she began to laugh.
"Oh, dear, you always picked the most helpless ones!" she wiped her eyes "Plagg... I can't believe my eyes!"
"Wait, what?" Adrien felt Plagg's longing "How do you...?"
"Can you drop the transformation?" she suddenly asked.
"I-" he choked "What?"
"What? Oh, crap! I'm sorry!" she giggled "Of course you can't! It's just... can you meet me at the park? At 9? PM. Please."
Adrien wanted to refuse, but Plagg took over him and responded with a strangled "Yes."
"Thank you." she smiled sweetly "Now go. You have a city to save."
"See ya!" he gave a two-finger salute and jumped to the battle zone.
"You're going." Plagg glared.
"Plagg, I can't!" Adrien complained "I'm stuck here, you heard Natalie."
"So when it's to see Marinette, you can sneak out, but when I ask you to leave, you don't?" the kwami growled "Don't forget, kid, I'm asking you. I can very well take over your body and do it myself."
"Who is she, Plagg?" Adrien sighed, defeated.
"You will know. Now please, can we go?"
"Fine. Plagg, claws out!"
And just as soon, Chat Noir was out of the window and into the night life of Paris. He hopped off the roofs and landed on the soft grass. She was sitting on the bench, with the same clothes from before, with just an added blazer. He stepped closer and allowed himself to be seen by her. She jumped to her feet and smiled.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come." she noted.
"Got stuck in traffic." he lied, and she laughed "Was I the only one that could lie, Plagg?"
"Yeah." Plagg spoke for him, and Adrien rolled his eyes.
"Perhaps we should go somewhere more isolated." she suggested.
"I know a place." he took a deep breath, reaching out his arms "May I?"
"You may." she allowed herself to be picked up and Chat jumped from roof to roof until he landed on the small platform at the top of the Eiffel tower, where he and Ladybug used to hangout.
"This is beautiful..." she sighed.
Adrien took that time to observe her. She was taller than him, but shorter than average. The long auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face, the freckles dusted her button nose and her long dark lashes made her emerald green eyes – like Plagg's – look deeper. The full lips painted brown were parted in amazement. She dressed casually, with a white crop button up shirt, light jeans, gray blazer and lilac heels.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Oh, of course... where are my manners?" she turned to him, hand stretched "Reya Deon."
"A-Chat Noir." he gulped and took her hand.
"Now, we both know that's not your real name. No one's around, so why don't you drop the transfurmation?" she raised an eyebrow.
'Plagg?' he thought. 'It's okay, kid. You can.' the kwami replied. "Okay. Don't tell anyone. Claws in."
The green light blinded the two, and soon, Adrien stood in front of the woman. She smiled and declared "Reya Deon. You are?"
"Adrien Agreste." he shook her hand and Reya smiled "Pleasure."
"Hello, Reya." Plagg spoke from above Adrien's shoulder.
"Oh, Plagg!" she exclaimed, and Adrien saw the tears in her eyes. The kwami flew to the waiting arms of the woman and she hugged him back.
"It's been a long time, Reya..." he whispered.
"Too long, Plagg." the woman pulled back, and the cat sat on her hand "I still carry some because of you." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a triangle piece of cheese. Plagg quickly took it and began to eat.
"I'm sorry, can anyone tell me what is going on?" Adrien intervened.
"I'm sorry, Adrien. It's just... it's been a while." Reya smiled apologetically.
"Kid, Reya here... she once took your place." Plagg explained.
"I was Chat Noir a long time ago." she declared, and Adrien gasped.
"What?" he was amazed "That's awesome! But I've never heard of a Chat Noir before..."
"It was a couple of decades ago." she leaned against the railing and looked up to the sky "I'm not getting any younger. But... Chat Noir lived in America before this. This... haven here in the Eiffel Tower... I had it on the Empire State Building."
"America..." he dreamed.
"How's Bug?"
"Bug?"
"Yeah, Bug." she frowned "Didn't Tikki..."
"It's Ladybug." Plagg enlightened "She's good. Tikki chose well."
"A girl? Yeah, she always had a thing with taking female wielders. Too bad she got the short end of the stick with us." Reya frowned "Who are you up against?"
"Hawkmoth." Plagg took a deep breath "Le Papilon."
"Butterfly?" she looked worried "Not her... Nooroo was always so sweet!"
"Yeah, well... she took in a corrupted wielder."
"What are you talking about?" Adrien frowned.
"You didn't tell him?" Reya turned to Plagg.
"He's still rather new to this." the kwami explained "We only have Chat Noir and Ladybug in this fight. I didn't want to risk telling him without the others."
"What is going on? Plagg? What haven't you told me?"
"It's a long story, Adrien." she declared "One you might not be ready to hear."
"If it concerns Hawkmoth and how we can beat him, then I want to know." he declared.
Reya eyed him carefully, before breaking out a smile. "You know how to pick them alright."
"The kid is naive, but so were you once." Plagg eyed her sweetly.
"I know. I still remember." she sighed "Okay, listen. Kwamis have been around for millennia now. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
"But they didn't always take... this form." she pointed to Plagg "They once looked human-like. They were immortal, youthful, pawerful. Until a force surged. The same force that created Plagg, Tikki, Nooroo, Trixx, Wayzz and all the others... it created a new force, a dark force."
"Plagg is the kwami of Destruction." Adrien affirmed.
"And this force held the pawer of corruption." she explained "But because it was so volatile, it could never settle and generate its own body. So, it possessed others. What you know today as kwamis... they fought this... force with everything they could. Until one day."
"What happened?"
"This force... corrupted Tikki. And as you know, Ladybug has the power of Creation. What could a force like Corruption do mixed with the pawer of Creation?"
"A lot of evil."
"Exactly. So, the gods decided. They would free Tikki from the force."
"But it wasn't as easy as we initially thought." Plagg continued "And, deep in the heated battle, the others and I knew what we had to do. We used all our power combined and we fell apart.
"We created seven receptacles strong enough to hold our power, and Nooroo helped me create Tikki's. And with a spell, we trapped ourselves inside the objects. We had to diminish our forms, so each chose an animal. And like that, we managed to expel the corruption from Tikki."
"But it can never leave them." Reya explained "The corruption."
"Then how...?"
"Every generation, the corruption would jump kwamis. It will either corrupt the wielder of the kwami or the kwami itself. The only kwami ever corrupted aside Tikki has been..."
"Me." Plagg looked up to Adrien "It managed to corrupt me in a weak point. I regret everything I did. But nevertheless, with their help, I managed to get rid of it."
"What did you do, Plagg?"
"Ever heard of the black plague?" Reya asked "Destruction means a lot of things, Adrien… not just Cataclysm."
"Oh…" he frowned "Are you saying that, whoever is behind Hawkmoth's mask, was corrupted by this... furce?"
"Yes. It works in shady ways. It slowly takes away what you love, and when you realize, you're facing evil with a smile on your face." Reya gulped.
"Who was corrupted?" Adrien asked her.
"Trixx." she told him "Illusion. It was hard, but we defeated her."
"I need to tell Ladybug." Adrien frowned "She needs to know about this."
"Soon." Reya nodded "Where does she live?"
"I... I don't know." he frowned.
"Don't tell me you guys have the 'must protect my civilian identity' thing too!"
"Too?"
"Oh, dear Lord!" she let out a laugh "You have no idea how troublesome that was for Bug and I! He fell for Chat – yes, my Bug was a him – and I was in love with him, but I didn't like Bug like that, and I was rejecting him to be with him, and he was doing the same! It was insane!"
"Did you know each other?"
"Yes! He sat beside me in English class!" she laughed out loud "It took one very shady supplies closet for us to finally know who we were behind the masks. Trust me, Adrien. You're wasting your time with this. You're tearing apart friendships."
"But it was Ladybug who wanted this." he declared.
"Then maybe I need to talk to Tikki's wearer too." she grinned a very Cheshire-cat grin, which made Adrien realize just how much Chat and that woman had in common.
"Good luck." he grinned "I have a question."
"Do ask."
"Can you still... be Chat Noir?"
"I don't know." she turned to Plagg, who had a smirk plastered on his face "Can I, Plagg?"
"You can. All you need is the ring." he looked at Adrien.
"Oh, right." he pulled the ring from his finger and gave it to Reya, who put it on.
"Plagg?"
"Yes, Reya?" the kwami was practically glowing with happiness.
"Claws out."
She was enveloped in the familiar bright green light. Adrien closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, he gasped. In front of him stood Reya in her version of Chat Noir. She stood in a black leather suit with no sleeves, and as tight as his own. She had the cat ears on her head, the mask over her eyes, the tail flickering behind her, but her lips were painted black, and her hair was up in a ponytail.
The golden rattle still rested against her neck, and she had long fingerless gloves made from the same material of the suit. She had on thigh high black heeled boots with grey arrows on the tip, but she still had the 'paw' metal plate in them. The biggest change was the bright green paw on the back of the suit and the two – not one – staffs strapped to the back part of her belt.
"How come you get two?"
"I didn't always have two, Adrien." she smirked, and he could see the manifestation of the sharper canines "I earned it. All the suits change to contain the pawer and development of the wielders. Mine added a staff. Bug gained a collection of bombs on his belt. Really cool if you ask me."
"Ladybug is gonna get bombs when she upgrades?"
"I don't know." she giggled "It's different for each. Let me take you home. One more ride, please?"
"Of course. It's the least I could do after what you've told me." he let Reya pick him up, and she jumped.
It was even more thrilling than when he was Chat Noir. Reya moved like a wild cat, free and untamed, and with no sound whatsoever, despite the heels. It wasn't long before she was landing in his room and undoing the transformation. She gave the ring back to Adrien and he smiled.
"That was clawesome. You move better than me."
"I have more experience time." she winked "Take care of Plagg, will you?"
"More like I will take care of him." Plagg rolled his eyes.
"Take care of each other then." she smiled "And thank you, Adrien. Fur allowing me this one moment of freedom."
"You're welcome." he nodded "How will you leave?"
"One thing you'll learn, Adrien..." she climbed to the window "Is that, after a while being Chat Noire, you'll gain some of his traits. You already have the hearing. Others will develop."
And she jumped.
Adrien ran to the window, and all he could see was her lithe form landing on all fours and jumping over the fence.
"Wow. She was your previous wearer?"
"She was. Crazy little thing." Plagg declared "But she was a great Chat Noir."
A new day rose, and Adrien was on his way to school. He entered the car and looked out of the window, sighing. Oh, he couldn't wait to tell what he had learned to Ladybug.
Marinette was doing the same thing, but she was walking with Alya. The two were chatting nonstop about the new footage the brunette had managed to get from the battle, and even started some rumors about the unknown woman Chat had picked up in the middle of the crowd. Oh, she couldn't wait to talk to him about that.
They got to school and were about to greet each other when they heard a blast. The Headmaster came to usher them inside, telling them there was an akuma not too far from here and they should get inside, for their own safety.
Adrien quickly ran to the bathroom and called out for Plagg. Soon he was crossing rooftops in the direction of the akumatized. Ladybug soon joined him and together they landed on the square. Chat Noir looked up to the akumatized, perched on the street lamp and gasped.
Dressed in an outfit equal to hers when she was Chat Noir except the green had given way to purple, was no other than Reya. He gulped and took Ladybug's wrist, bringing her down.
"Don't attack." His voice was weak but did the job.
"Chat…"
"Please, My Lady. I know who she is. And she's too strong."
"Well, looks like Paris' favorite superheroes decided to join the party!" her voice rang in their ears "Welcome! My name is Nuit."
"Well, Nuit, why don't you just give us the akuma and we won't harm you?" Ladybug smirked.
"Are you sure of that?" she looked at Chat Noir.
"Ladybug, please. I beg of you." He turned to his partner "Please don't fight her. I know who she is, and I'm telling you, she's too powerful for us."
"Chat, how do you know?"
"It's not her first tango with kwamis, okay? So trust me on this and let's go!" he pulled at her wrist.
"No Chat." She removed her wrist from his hold "It's our mission to save the city of Paris. And that involves defeating the akumatized."
Ladybug jumped and Chat shook his head but followed her. Nuit smirked and jumped as well.
It wasn't long before the two superheroes were crashing on the ground with a hit from one of her staffs. Ladybug jumped to her feet and attacked again. Between dodging, using her yo-yo and fighting of her attacks, Ladybug was exhausted. Chat was fighting just as hard as she was, but without the same passion.
She felt bad for him, she knew how hard it was to fight off friends, but this was their job. Ladybug noticed that this akumatized wasn't interested in terrorizing the city; she didn't even have minions imprisoning the people! She seemed to have her focus on them.
"Stay down." She swung her staff on Chat's head and the superhero fell. She turned to the fallen Ladybug and repeated "Stay down. For your own good."
Ladybug had no strength to get up even she wanted to. This villain was more powerful than all the others before. The familiar pink butterfly appeared over her face and she spoke.
"Where are you? Chat Noir and Ladybug have fallen, but I'd rather give you their Miraculous in person. Respect is earned."
She received an answer and called for two shadows. Each picked up one superhero and they jumped. They landed on the top of the Eiffel Tower and Nuit leaned against the railing as Ladybug and Chat Noir laid on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Ladybug panted "Just take us there and get this over with."
"You really believe that Hawkmoth is in control of me?" she raised an eyebrow "Chat… I thought you supposed to talk to her."
"I haven't had time yet." He groaned "Christ, you could have taken the beating a bit lighter."
"I had to sell the story." She rolled her eyes "Those shadows are here to heal you, so stay still. I just hope you two are good enough actors to fake a beating in front of Hawkmoth."
"What is going on?" Ladybug pushed herself to a sitting position.
"My Lady… Nuit here was the previous Chat Noir. That's why I told you to stand down. She's too powerful for us to fight off like we used to." he explained.
"How did you…?"
"Long story, Bug…" he gulped "I'll tell you everything after this. Nuit, what's the plan?"
"I'm taking you to Hawkmoth. I meant that. But we're pulling the evil root for once." She declared "Trust me. I've been doing this for a while now."
"What do we have to do?" Ladybug asked, feeling better now that the shadow had healed her.
"Act injured. And leave the rest to me." She stood up "But don't feel afraid to join the fight."
The two superheroes nodded and allowed the shadows to pick them up again. They crossed town and soon stood in Hawkmoth's hideout, with the view to the city. The shadows placed the two superheroes down and Nuit stepped forward.
"Hawkmoth." She kneeled.
"Nuit…" he smiled sickly "I must say, I'm quite impressed by your actions. You must be the first to bring me the superheroes and the miraculous intact."
"Never hire a newbie to do a professional's job." She replied.
Hawkmoth smiled. "Indeed, my child."
"Take them." She motioned behind her, to the two lying bodies. Hawkmoth walked to them and reached out for Chat Noir's hand… but it went through. Chat's body became a malfunctioning hologram and so did Ladybug's. The villain turned to a smirking Nuit and gasped.
"How? You are under my control!" he tried to establish the mind connection but failed. The akuma in her was no longer responding to his commands.
"You really think you can take over me?" she stepped forward "Do you not remember who I am… Nooroo?"
"Reya." Hawkmoth gulped.
"Stupid move, buddy…" Reya – Nuit – smirked "Especially since you know we never go anywhere without reinforcements."
Three figures appeared, blocking the three exits of the room. On the Southwest corner stood a blonde woman with dark blue eyes in a yellow suit with black stripes on the arms and thighs, black knee-high boots and a black belt. She wore a yellow mask over her mouth and nose, a black one over her eyes, black furry gloves and had transparent wings sprouting from her back.
"Behi."
On the Southeast corner stood a man with brown eyes and black hair in a grass green suit, with dark green boots, a dark green mask and a large round shield on his back. He was heavily armed – gauntlets, shoulder pieces, belt with holder and thigh straps with holders.
"Sheel."
And the last one, standing in front of the great glass wall was a woman with dark skin, brown eyes and long cinnamon hair tied in two braids. She wore an orange suit with a white chest, brown knee-high boots, white short gloves, a brown mask, a fluffy tail behind her and a long brown flute.
"Renna."
"Aw, he remembers us!" Behi giggled "That's so sweet of you, honey!"
"Unfortunately, I think it's time for Hawkmoth fall of his high pedestal and give up his own Miraculous." Nuit declared.
"Give us back Nooroo, Hawkmoth." Renna growled.
"Never!" he shouted.
And the battle began.
Hawkmoth brought forth all of his previously akumatized to hold a barrier around him. But none of that saved him. Renna, Sheel, Behi and Nuit were an unstoppable team. Ladybug and Chat Noir sided with them in the fight.
While Chat, Sheel and Behi took care of the akumatized, Nuit, Ladybug and Renna went after Hawkmoth, who tried to shield himself from them with attacks. Renna created unthinkable illusion, Sheel had an entire army arsenal on him and Behi used her wings to serve as bait.
"Give up, Hawkmoth." Ladybug declared when the three of them had him cornered.
The man laid on the floor, trying to shrink himself in the eyes of the three powerful Miraculous holders. Soon, Chat, Sheel and Behi were siding them, all the akumatized done with. Hawkmoth knew he either forfeited or went down fighting. But as a coward, he lowered his head.
"Nooroo." Nuit reached out her hand.
Hawkmoth got up, hands up in defeat. But instead of removing his Miraculous, he pushed his hand inside Nuit's chest and ripped out the akuma, running away and jumping off the smashed window.
"Noire!" Renna shouted and Sheel grabbed her collapsing body.
"REYA!" Plagg's strangled voice came out of Chat Noir's mouth.
"Stay back, let me see…" Behi took a knee beside her and ran her hand over the glowing fend on her chest "She'll be okay, she just needs some rest."
"In the meantime she needs somewhere to lay low." Sheel affirmed.
"Let's go back to Wang Fu's." Renna declared.
.-
"I can't believe we let Hawkmoth get away from between our fingers." Chat Noir declared.
"Calm down, kid. There will be other opportunities." Sheel sat beside him "I trust this won't be the last you'll hear of Hawkmoth."
"But he ran away!" Ladybug exclaimed.
"But he'll come back." The woman with shoulder blond hair entered the room.
"They always do." the last unknown woman, the one with long brown hair declared, carrying a cup of tea for her blonde friend.
"Okay, I have to ask." Chat declared "Fox?"
"Yes. She's Bee and he's Turtle." She smiled.
"What about mine?" Ladybug asked "I mean, if Reya was the previous Chat Noir, then who was Ladybug?"
"Reya was Chat Noire. Bug… the guy before you… he's waiting for us. And we're waiting for Wang Fu to finish his voodoo on Reya."
"What did I do?" her feeble voice asked from the outside of the room. Sheel helped her in and Wang Fu followed her.
"Chat, I couldn't help but hear you. And don't worry. You have a stronger chance to take down Hawkmoth now."
"How?"
She showed them a broken piece of a wing from Hawkmoth's Miraculous. Renna started laughing, but the two youngers only frowned.
"When the vessel, the recipient, where the kwamis are 'trapped' inside is damaged, the kwami herself is injured. So, if Hawkmoth is not in his full power…"
"… it'll be easier for us to take him down!" Ladybug grinned "You are so smart, Nuit."
"Chat Noire. Please." She smiled and removed the akuma-infected necklace and gave it to Wang Fu "Take good care of it, Master."
"I will." He nodded. He turned to the two youngsters and declared "Maybe you two should get going… I'm not sure how long your kwamis can handle the transformation for."
"Sure, but… will we ever see you guys again? Will you fight beside us once more?" Ladybug asked.
"Unfortunately no." Renna smiled sadly "Right now, we're living on borrow time. Our kwamis, our Miraculous need to move on. We've served our purpose."
"But…"
"Worry not, Buggy." Behi smiled "We'll be around one way or another."
"You must go." Wang Fu warned.
"I'll be seeing you around!" Chat saluted and the two left.
.-
One quiet night later, Ladybug and Chat Noir received a message to meet Reya at the top of the Arc de Triomphe. They did and standing at the top were five other people. Reya was in the middle. But there was a tall and buff man with spiky black hair and brown eyes – Sheel. And a woman with shoulder blond hair and dark blue eyes – Behi. A tall woman with long cinnamon hair tied in a thick braid and brown eyes – Renna. And finally, a man with wavy brown hair and bluebell eyes.
"You came." Reya grinned.
"Reya." Chat nodded "Of course we did."
"Well, time for some introductions, I suppose."
"Jake." Sheel called.
"Dinah." Renna smiled.
"Amara." Behi nodded.
"And this is Johnny." Reya covered his hand with hers "He was the Bug before you, Ladybug."
"Pleasure to meet you all." Chat smiled.
"Likewise." Ladybug declared.
"Thank you for getting my kitty back to safety." Johnny said "Even though she got herself in the mess in the first place."
"It's our duty as keepers of the city of Paris."
"Cute." Reya let out while the others laughed amorously "I remember when you were just like her. Righteous prick."
"Yeah, well. You love me anyway."
"Always have, always will, Buggy."
"I love you too, kitty." He leaned down to steal a kiss from her parted lips.
"If I may ask…" Ladybug interjected "Why this meeting?"
"So that you could see that we're all humans, Ladybug." Dinah declared "And that, despite us have been superheroes in our own time, there are just some secrets we can't keep. Like our identities. We made the decision to share our identities among ourselves, and I can assure you that only made our lives easier."
"We must go now, of course." Sheel tied the black belt around his waist "It's not our time anymore. But it was good to revive that once more."
"Yes. It was." They all agreed.
"Wait, how are you gonna get out of here?" Ladybug frowned.
"Bungee Jumping." Amara pointed to the elastic rope tied to her waist "Pretty awesome, though I've never done it off a building."
"Au revoir, osés guerriers."
Jack – Sheel – jumped and cannonballed over the edge. Dinah – Renna – gave a two-finger salute and jumped. Amara – Behi – spread her arms like they were wings and let herself fall. Reyna and Johnny – Chat Noire and Bug – looked at each other and smiled, before taking a leap of faith.
The old warriors disappeared, leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir alone on top of the Arc de Triomphe. They sat down on the edge and stared at the starry sky.
"Chat…?"
"Yeah?"
"What just happened? Who were they?"
Chat smiled and told her everything. All that Reya had told him that night in the Eiffel Tower, sharing his own personal view of the situation. Ladybug had questions of course, but they were all the same ones that Chat himself had asked Reya, so he was able to answer them.
They sat in silence when Chat finished. Ladybug was processing all the new information and she could hear Tikki's voice inside her head confirming everything.
"Maybe we could do it too…"
"What?" Ladybug looked up to serious Chat.
"Reveal ourselves. To each other, I mean. If it's true that it would be a lot easier for us, then I wanna do it." He declared.
"Chat…" she gulped "I suppose that, with the new developments, things can be different."
"So, you wanna do it?"
"Yes." She smiled.
"Oh Christ." He took a deep breath "On three?"
"Sure."
"One."
"Two."
"Thr-" but Chat kissed her before she could finish her count. She kissed back, placing one hand over his shoulder as his were holding her face. She saw the bright flash of green light even with her eyes closed, and allowed her transformation to come undone.
They parted, but their eyes remained closed.
"Chat…" she whispered.
"Not anymore, My Lady."
"Not anymore, kitty."
And they opened their eyes.
"Adrien?!"
"Marinette."
A/N: And then they happily ever after.
I think.
Hope you liked it, leave a review to let me know your thoughts!
LoneeWolf :)
