Alright, my first shot at a Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction. Let's get one thing straight. For the most part, this story will be told from Marinette's perspective, in the first person. However, in order to comply with the fact that I will need to view other perspectives, whenever Marinette isn't narrating, I will be writing in the third person instead. It's a fairly common format, used in a lot of books, like Michael Vey.

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous. All rights to the original creators.

Chapter 1: Just a normal Saturday

Nothing feels better than sleeping in on a weekend. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, just catching up on all the sleep lost from school. It was a perfect Saturday morning. I was sleeping contently, knowing that I didn't need to get up. Everything was just right.

Until I was rudely awakened by a pounding on the trap door.

"Marinette! Wake up, you lazy butt!"

I rolled over and pulled my pillow over my head. "Five more minutes..."

I heard the door open, and the next thing I knew, I was freezing. I sat up quickly, glaring at Alya, who was holding my blanket.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead! You didn't forget did you?" I stared at her blankly. She laughed. "I figured. Maybe you should sleep with the sound on next time."

I picked up my phone, which had been vibrating since...I couldn't remember when I started ignoring it. It was 11:15. The alert on the screen read "Mural Unveiling."/p

I jumped out of bed. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! I hope Nathaniel doesn't mind us being a little late!"

"Don't worry about it, girl, these things always start super late. But if it helps you move faster, I heard Adrien's going to be there!"

"What?! Why didn't you say so sooner?" I pulled my jacket on and grabbed my bag before hurrying downstairs, Alya close behind me.

I bolted out the front door, a croissant hanging out of my mouth, trying to do my hair while jogging. I heard familiar giggling coming from my bag and rolled my eyes. Tikki was amused by this! If Alya weren't there, I would have asked her why she didn't wake me up when my phone started going off in the first place. At least then I wouldn't have been in this rush.

Suddenly, Alya gripped my arm. "Slow down, speedy! Unless, of course, you want to become a pancake!" I stopped and smiled.

"Alya, I don't know what I'd do without you."

The bus dropped us off at City Hall, where none other than Mayor Bourgeois would be conducting the unveiling. Apparently, he had asked Nathaniel to create a mural representing life in Paris after he had won a young artists competition. As I stepped off the bus, I spied Nathaniel on the podium. He looked exhausted, but I could see the pride in his eyes. He smiled and waved at us when he saw us.

As I was waving back, I saw a familiar blonde head sitting in the front row. Though he wasn't facing me, I could recognize his white jacket and hairstyle anywhere. Part of me wanted Adrien to turn around, but I also didn't want him to see how stupidly late I was. Alya grabbed my arm again.

"Come on, we're guests of honor! We get to sit in the front row, so there won't be anyone blocking the view when they drop the sheet!" It was only then I noticed two empty seats next to Adrien. I felt my face get warm.

"The front? As in...next to Adrien?"

Alya grabbed my arm and dragged me to the front. Adrien smiled and whispered "Glad you two could make it! You're just in time!" I tried to respond, but all I could say was a pitiful "hi". Alya slapped her forehead and pushed me into the seat next to Adrien and sat on my other side.

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. I looked at the stand to see Chloe in a seat next to the Mayor, glaring at me. If looks could kill, I'd be a pile of ash from those lasers. I wrenched my gaze away, trying not to let her make me feel uneasy. Luckily, I was quickly distracted by the image of perfection sitting next to me.

The Mayor stood. "Ladies and Gentlemen, as the mayor, I am proud to present this amazing work of art, created by a local high school student, Nathaniel Kurtzberg!"

I clapped loudly with the rest of the crowd. I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned toward Adrien, and I could have sword I saw a little black thing disappear in his jacket. I blinked a few times, but I never saw the black thing again. "Um, is something wrong, Marinette?" I looked up and my eyes met Adrien's. I felt sick to my stomach and my face felt hot again.

"Nope!" I said quickly, looking forward again, sitting up straight with my hands in my lap. I heard Alya snicker, and I could have sworn I saw Nathaniel smirk. Ever since he met Lila, he seemed to get over me and started taking an interest in her.

"...without further ado, I give you, Evening Glow!" I hadnt realized that the mayor was still talking. Nathaniel stood and grabbed a rope next to the covered mural. With a strong pull, the sheet came down. Cheers rang out at the sight of the beautiful painting. It showed Paris from the sky, everything lit as though the streets were blazing. The Eiffel Tower shone brilliantly in the night.

In short, it was the most beautiful mural I had ever seen.

I stood with my friends as we cheered, chanting Nathaniel's name. Soon enough, the entire crowd was cheering. Nathaniel's face was pink, but he smiled and waved at us.

When the ceremony ended, Nathaniel jumped down from the stage and was greeted by a giant group hug. When we let him go, Nino yelled "Let's all go get ice cream to celebrate!" I smiled. Today was shaping up to be a good day.

Alec stared in disbelief. The ceremony was over, and he had missed it! One of his camera guys ran up to him. "There you are! Where on earth have you been?"

Alec hung his head. First, his alarm hadn't gone off. Then his car wouldn't start. Not only that, but now he looked like a wreck after running all the way there. He was having an awful day.

"Car problems," he said ashamedly. The cameraman just stared at him for a moment, then burst into gales of laughter.

"You're late because of car problems? Wow, Alec, there goes your perfect image. Without anybody to cover the event, I just sat here and filmed the whole thing live. Pretty boring if you ask me."

Alec glared at the man angrily. "Shut it, Darl." But Darl just kept laughing. In a fit of rage, Alec turned and stormed off, not caring about the group of teenagers he plowed through.

He sat in one of the empty seats, trying to calm down. Pretty soon, the entire crowd was gone. Alec pulled his microphone out of his pocket. It was the first time in his career that he had missed an event. Tears threatened spill from his eyes, but he held them back. He didn't notice the black butterfly that landed on the microphone, melting into it.

A voice penetrated his mind. "A perfect record, broken. You feel shame and anger. Fret not. I am Hawk Moth. From now on, you'll be known as The Microphone. I'll give you the power to take revenge on those who have wronged you, in exchange of Ladybug and Car Noir's Miraculous."

Alec stood, black shadow enveloping his body. His microphone extended into a cane. He wore a brown suit and black dress shoes. Giant black sunglasses rested on his face.

"Yes, Hawk Moth"

So, yeah. I figured, "Alec hasn't been akumatized yet, so why don't I make it happen?" The only problem with this is it's pretty likely that he will be a victim of Hawk Moth in the future. So, if anyone is reading this fic after such an event has happened, please know, I wrote this before such an episode aired. As of now, only the first season has aired, so i'm going off of that. Any information inaccuracies that have been presented differently by the show will place this fic in the AU category, and i'm okay with that. Just don't think of this as canon, okay?

So, what do you guys think of my first published fanfic? Please let me know!

Oh, and the name Darl comes from As I lay Dying. I'm reading the book for a class right now, so the name was in my head. I don't own that either.