The sound of shoes clicking on the tiled floors of the institute echoed throughout the corridors. Marinette swallowed as she made her way to the director's room, her palms sweaty and her breathing heavy. The dark-haired girl knew that first impressions were going to be a vital part of getting the job. Whatever the job actually was. Marinette had volunteered for a special course that was said to improve one's strength and reflexes. A program focused on testing the boundaries of the participants and somehow, and by some miracle, Marinette had come out the other end of the course as the best in her class.
She had been astonished. Starting as one of the weakest students with a knack for design, blessed with a stubbornness that would get her through anything, the black-haired girl had quickly ascended into the highest platoon. Her friends had been amazed and excited for her even though they were in different groups. There was one thing that she had enjoyed immensely though, and it was the fact that Adrien Agreste had also been in the top platoon.
It had surprised her at first that a model as well-known as Adrien was going to be going through vigorous training, being the son of a fashion designer no less. It was only through a conversation with her friends that Marinette had found out that Adrien was taking part in the program to improve his physical aspects. He might only have been a teen, but older models generally were picked not only for their faces, but for their physique as well. The dark-haired girl had wrinkled her nose at this. Adrien was perfect, slim but not to the point of being a stick and with a little muscle to boot.
They had trained in the course as a side project for four years. In the time it had taken to complete, Marinette had become a strong, toned, and agile girl, capable of protecting herself in any position she happened to stumble into. She had found this out when someone had tried to rob her after following the teen for several blocks, and within the blink of an eye she was the one in control of the situation. Although she felt proud of herself for being able to put her training into defending herself, she didn't talk about it with her friends. There was no need for them to worry.
Before they all left the camp for the final time, they were each called to the director's office to receive a folder of reference and a certificate that congratulated them on completion. When Marinette stepped into the office, however, she was met not only by the director but also by two strangers. The woman was in a pink dress. The fabric around her bodice fit like a glove then flowed down past her waist to her mid-thighs, all held up by a pair of pink strings that were tied around her neck. Her shoulders were bare, but the dress was accompanied by the loose fabric of the sleeves lapping at her elbows, a black spot sitting on the side. Under these were sleek, red sleeves that ran right down to her fingers. To finish the outfit, she wore a pair of black leggings under the dress and a pair of black boots.
Her partner was dressed completely in black. He wore a long-sleeved shirt that fit well, but was slightly loose, accompanied by baggy pants and combat boots. Marinette's gaze snapped right back to the woman on the right, a small giggle having grabbed her attention. Her bright blue eyes contrasted her short black and red hair. Swallowing, Marinette sat down in front of the director, legs together and hands clamped. Despite her clasped hands, everything else about the girl resonated confidence.
"You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng, correct?" The woman asked, leaning on her arm as she sat upon the table. The dark-haired girl had never seen anyone sit on the director's table. She nodded her head, unsure how to respond to the older woman. The man behind her smirked, handing the red-haired woman a folder. Swinging her legs around to the front of the desk, the woman flipped open the manila folder she had been given, her blue eyes scanning its contents. "We've been watching you, actually," she started, taking Marinette completely by surprise. "Nice job taking out that robber by the way. He had a really hard time staying on your tail." The woman grinned.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Needless to say you passed that test with flying colours. He tried his hardest to subdue you in all honesty." She giggled, probably at the face of shock the girl before her had plastered oo her face. "Where are my manners? My name is Tikki and this is Plagg," she said, a sweet smile upon her lips, nodding towards the darker man. His face erupted into a huge grin and Marinette was sure his canines were longer than average.
"We would like to interview you for a position in a little organization we call 'K.W.A.M.I."
"Wow, jumping straight into it I see," Plagg chuckled as he leant against the back wall just behind Tikki. She swiveled around on the desk, and crossed her arms.
"How else was I supposed to say it?" she pouted, eliciting a grin from the dark-haired male. Marinette watched as the two adults bantered slightly. She cast a glance towards the exit, unsure of the events that were taking place in front of her. Plagg laughed, and the dark-haired girl assumed it was because of a face Tikki was giving him.
"If you can't keep your mouth closed Bert, you can leave."
"Don't be like that, Tikki." The dark-haired man pouted. "I need to be the one that tells the kid I chose."
Tikki turned back towards Marinette, and gestured to the empty table. Taking a breath, she walked over to a chair and sat down, not too close, not too far. She saw a smirk tug at Tikki's lips before the woman turned into what seemed like business mode.
"K.W.A.M.I. is a place where we recruit and train people like yourself and help them to become secret agents," Tikki began. Marinette nearly fell out of her seat; this was not what she had been expecting when she woke up that morning. "You get assigned a name, a partner, and then are sent out on assignments and missions. You won't know who your partner is, and they won't know who you are. Keeping up so far?" the red-haired woman inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Marinette took a moment to process the information, nodding slowly to show that she did understand. The sudden burst of the details from Tikki swam around her head. On one hand, she understood everything that the woman in front of her had said; on the other, it didn't make a lick of sense.
Tikki eyed the girl in front of her. "If you have questions, Marinette, speak up. I won't bite."
"Why did you choose me to become part of K.W.A.M.I? There were so many other valuable candidates in my class. Like Adrien for example!" Marinette voiced, her insecurities floating to the surface of her thoughts.
The red-haired woman crossed her arms. "We wouldn't have chosen you to take this job if you weren't capable of performing the duties required. We just need to know now if you're willing to come aboard and join us."
Before Marinette could respond, Plagg walked over to Tikki and put a hand on her shoulder.
The red-haired woman nodded and looked at the girl in front of her.
"I know this is a bit out of the ordinary," she began, handing the dark-haired girl the manila folder, a card attached to the top, "but, we would also rather you keep this little exchange a secret if you don't mind. You're an intelligent girl, so you understand why, right?"
Marinette has sat through the entire exchange, mouth agape with shock, but at what seemed to be that last sentence from the woman before her, she shut it without hesitation, nodding. She quickly placed the card within her purse and left the room, looking back once to see the smiling woman giggling at her with a wave of her hand, before closing the door behind her.
She had looked at the card long after she left the site where she had spent her last two years. Sitting down on her bed, she continued examining the card. The red card had nothing but a single number on it. Flipping it over several times, Marinette had stared at the number for several minutes before deciding to call it. After waiting for several minutes, a woman on the other end picked up the phone.
"Marinette, I assume?" the voice said, shocking the teen. In all honesty, she had not expected to be confronted by her name after calling the number on the card. After several seconds of silence, she cleared her throat to respond.
"Yes, I am Marinette," she said into the receiver. Her response was greeted by several minutes of silence, to which she was not sure what to do about. Her foot tapped against the wood of her floor. A vague phone call was not what she wanted to be occupied with. She had come home to change and get ready to go out to a celebratory dinner with her friends. The card had distracted her, and she was losing precious time to it.
Just as she was about to hang up, the voice on the other end of the phone reappeared. "Miss Dupain-Cheng, by calling this number, it is assumed that you have accepted the job offer. A car will be picking you up tomorrow near the site you were trained in. Be there at eight-thirty tomorrow morning, no later, and Miss Cheng, please dress formally for the occasion." The message ended with a beep. Marinette sat on her bed for a second, before removing the phone from her ear and looking at the screen. The call had ended. Biting her lip, she proceeded to get ready for the dinner with her friends, the strange events that had taken place over the day playing over and over in her head.
The next morning, she arrived at the camp ten minutes early. There was no way she was going to be late after the voice had sent shivers down her spine. Standing by the pavement, she looked around the site that had served as her training grounds for the past two years of her life. As she waited for the car to show up, she considered spending more time in heels, as her feet were already starting to hurt in the unfamiliarity of the black heels that she wore. Especially since she planned to work in the fashion industry. She sighed internally and promised herself to wear heels around the house more often.
A car rolled up to her position, the windows tinted black. There was no way to see what was inside the vehicle. Swallowing her nerves, she walked over to the car and took a seat in the back. As soon as she had closed the door, the car sped off. Marinette switched between looking out the window and occasionally sparing a glance at the driver, who seemed to have no interest in her. The ride was silent, almost suffocating. Once they had arrived the building that stood out the most to Marinette was tall, almost seeming to reflect its surroundings in something the dark-haired girl could only describe as a sort of camouflage. She exited the vehicle, straightening her pencil skirt, and made her way inside. The first thing that caught her attention as she entered the building was the reception desk and the woman who was situated behind it. The dark wood contrasting the white tiles and walls that surrounded it.
After a few exchanged words, Marinette found herself following the lady down a corridor towards a white door. The dark-haired girl just hoped it wouldn't be a continuation of the interrogation from yesterday. After a few terrifying moments of standing outside the door alone after the receptionist had left, Marinette reached up and knocked on the door. As she entered the room, the first thing she noticed was how large it was and she found herself face to face with two very familiar characters.
"Welcome to K.W.A.M.I, Marinette," Tikki greeted, a warm smile upon her lips. The woman stood up straight and gave off a professional air, which was highly contrasted by her partner, whose posture emitted a relaxed atmosphere and was reinforced by the grin he wore upon his lips.
"I'm going to have to ask you to go into the back room and choose an outfit to wear, for the sake of anonymity," the red-haired woman said, gesturing towards a door across the room. Marinette looked back and forth between Tikki, Plagg, and the door before her. After a few moments, she strode towards the opposite end of the hall.
As she closed the door behind her, the sound of the first door echoed across the hall as it opened. Marinette stilled as the sound of a muffled conversation reached her ears. Turning around as quickly as she could, she dashed through the first exit her eyes landed on in the dark. Marinette had the feeling that K.W.A.M.I wasn't the type of institute to order agent anonymity without a reason. As soon as she had made it through the doorway, the exit was closed off by a metal door that slammed down against the floor, the familiar sound of a lock sealing itself reaching her ears.
A light above her flickered on, and Marinette took in her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the how bright the room had become. She had become enclosed in a box of metal, the walls of her cage cold to the touch. Marinette started frantically banging on the walls and the closed off exit before a whirring sound on the far end of the box caught her attention.
Spinning around, she faced the wall opposite to the exit. The mechanical hum coming from behind the metal made Marinette take a step towards the sound. Body tense, ready to back away if the need arose, the dark-haired girl made her way across the room. She was about to put her hand against the wall, when the whirring abruptly stopped before suddenly the metal started to rotate.
What appeared before Marinette was in no way what she was expecting. The suit that was presented in front of her was red with black spots and a black neck. To complete the suit, a black polka dotted mask accompanied by two earings with the same design were set to the side. Looking back at the door, she remembered what Tikki had said about her identity being a secret. Getting dressed in a red and black polka dotted suit was not what she had in mind when the red-haired girl had said this.
Sighing, she reached towards the suit and removed it from the hanger. After eyeing the metal wall suspiciously, she looked around for any cameras within the room, and changed into the suit. After slipping into the honeycomb pattern clothing she assumed was made out of spandex, she reached out to the mask and earrings that lay within the gap in the wall. Looking between them both, she decided to put on the mask first. Once she put the mask on, which was slowly sliding down her face, she put in the earrings as a final touch, removing her own in the process and setting them aside.
A screen lit up within her vision and the mask she was wearing seemed to mold to her face, making her vision much clearer than it had been previously. Suddenly the receptionist was in front of her, a small smile gracing her lips. Marinette found herself very intrigued by the lady who had invited her into the building. Whereas before she had seemed cold, and made Marinette feel like she was not to be trifled with, she now gave off a warm feeling. To the right side of her mask, she saw several icons pop up, and noticed each one was unique. There was a black cat, a flute, a bird of some type, and purple squiggles by the time she had finished deciphering all of the symbols.
"I see you're all ready to meet each other, sorry for locking you all in those horrid boxes, but it's the best way to keep your identities from each other," the receptionist explained. Suddenly, her vision became clear again as the audio continued. "Please make your way out to the hall, Cookie and Camembert will see you out there." As the audio ended, the door behind the girl unlocked. Spinning around, she stood still for a moment, before approaching the exit with caution. As she reached the door and peered out, she made eye contact with a boy clad in black leather, his head adorned with what she assumed were two black cat ears.
Although, it wasn't the way he looked good in leather that attracted her attention. Or the way his lips curled into a smirk as he noticed her staring at him, unable to move an inch as his chuckle sent shivers down her spine. No, it was his emerald green eyes that seemed to glisten even in the dark as he stared right back at her, the way something tugged at the back of Marinette's mind, because of those glorious green eyes. The whole thing should have been illegal.
As soon as the look appeared on his face, it vanished, replaced with an innocent smile and a feeling of warmth. Whipping her head away from him, she walked towards the open door in the opposite direction of the male. Thanking her luck, she walked into the same hall she had been in earlier, only this time she wasn't the only one in front of Tikki and Plagg. She was followed by the black cat, and at least three more people if the display she could see was correct. Swallowing silently, she made her way over to the duo that had brought her into K.W.A.M.I, whatever that stood for.
Once she had reached them, by the way the red-haired female was standing, she could only assume that the organisation was somehow related to the training she had gone through. Taking this into consideration, she stood in front of them and clicked her feet together, putting her hands by her side in a very straight, coordinated way.
She didn't fail to notice the small smirk that appeared on Plagg's face when the cat beside her did the same thing. Marinette was also sure that the little chuckle Plagg had let escape from his lips was the reason Tikki had swirled around and slapped him on the arm softly. As the red-haired female turned back around, she eyed them all before giving a small nod. Marinette relaxed, moving her arms behind her back and widening her stance.
"Welcome to K.W.A.M.I.," the woman began, eyes serious. "As you know, the suits that you have been given are to keep your civilian identity safe. Although, they are also used to create a code-name. If you like it, you can keep it. If not, you can change it later down the track," Tikki explained, taking a step towards the recruits, approaching the boy at the end of the line.
"Let's start, shall we?" Tikki asked, earning an unnerving grin from her counterpart. "Your code-name shall be Mercury." As she gave the boy a code-name, she continued down the line, purposefully slow.
"Mercury? What kind of name is that?" said boy asked, a slight tone of agitation evident in his voice. Stopping at the sudden question, Marinette watched the red-haired woman's reaction out the corner of her eye.
"As I said before, Agent; if you do not like your code-name you will be able to change it after a certain objective is completed. Until then, you will take your code-name and treat it as if it were your own." The way she answered Mercury sounded like she had boomed the answer, but her voice had barely raised above a whisper. Marinette's gaze shifted to Plagg, his stance having changed into a straighter, more controlled look. His arms had become crossed over his chest, and the smile that had seemed permanently stuck to his face had all but disappeared.
The dark-haired girl felt the boy beside her stiffen slightly at Tikki's sudden change of demeanor, but did not let it show that she too, had been scared out of her wit's end by the sudden turnaround of the woman's personality. Looking back at the red-haired woman, Marinette noted that she had gained back the soft gaze that had hardened as she spoke to the boy now dubbed 'Mercury'.
"Moving on," she continued, slowly stepping in front of the next boy, deliberately extending the amount of time between the outburst and the naming of the next agent in training. "You will be known as 'Sparrow'." She smiled, stepping once again in a slow and controlled manner. Marinette looked over at Plagg again, whose smirk had returned to his lips. Were they like this every time they gained new recruits?
Finally, she stepped in front of the only other girl who had been recruited. The blonde-haired girl was clad in a suit that Marinette could only muse might actually be golden string. "Your code-name will be 'Melodie'." Marinette stiffened as Tikki took another step in her direction, the slow process shaking her nerves. The dark-haired girl scolded herself in the back of her mind. There was no reason to be nervous, it was just a naming ceremony, and as long as she didn't get something like 'Spotted Apple' she would be fine.
Marinette resisted the urge to shuffle around nervously, a habit that she had been scolded for time and time again during her early day in the training camp. Getting a code-name definitely shouldn't be this nerve wracking, so what was wrong with her? Suddenly, the boy beside her relaxed. Marinette quickly glanced at him through the corner of her eye, and the boy, who was in a leather suit- might she add- had the audacity to smirk. She followed his line of sight to Plagg, who she quickly realised still had his arm crossed over his chest and eyebrows furrowed.
It was an uncomfortable sight to say the least.
The dark-haired girl had become so used to his smiling, relaxed figure; she couldn't help but tense up at the thought of this highly trained agent becoming as still and tense as stone. It was then Marinette caught on. Of course she was nervous. Plagg had one of the strongest presences in the room, and it gave off the overbearing sense of 'danger is near'. Not only was Plagg making the recruits high strung with his body language, but Tikki had caused their fight or flight response to kick in by snapping at Mercury in the first few seconds of the ritual. What they were doing wasn't only a naming ceremony. They had probably named the kids in the room months beforehand. No, this was their first test, to see who would crack under an unknown pressure, and who had the observational skills and the intelligence to figure it out.
She had to hand it to the boy in leather beside her, he had good observational skills.
"I think Chat Noir will suit you just fine." Tikki smiled. She knew. Of course she knew. The red-haired woman probably had spent years in the field learning how to read her opponents. A couple of kids should be no problem. Finally, she stepped quickly over in front of Marinette, and looked her straight in the eye, a hard look glistening within her blue coloured eyes. Knowing the game caused Marinette to stare back in an unwavering pool of determination. To which Tikki just smiled.
"I knew Ladybug would suit you well," she whispered, before turning back to the boy beside her who, in Marinette's sudden confusion, had done something to capture Tikki's attention. "I think Chat Noir also suits you a little too well." She giggled before turning around and heading back over to Plagg, listening to the words he had to tell her in a hushed voice before turning back around to the group.
"Agents, well done to those who realised that this was in fact a test." Tikki grinned, glancing over the kids as she spoke. "Presence can be a major factor during a mission, and it all comes down to how you subconsciously affect the people around you. For example, if you're walking down the street in a certain way, you will either be more susceptible to being pushed around," the red-haired woman explained, "or people will leave your path. Both situations depend on your presence and how you walk." Tikki paused slightly before adding one last bit of information to her explanation. "This specific test was to observe your ability to react to being under an unknown source of stress, and pluck out those who need to strengthen this ability. The biggest threat we are facing at the moment prays on our stress, so it's important to always be strong."
Then, for the first time in forever Marinette heard Plagg address the group. His voice sounded serious, but had a slight tone of amusement ringing in his voice. "Tikki and I will be training you all to make you the best agents we can, and try to find the best partner for you," Plagg informed them. "The same process was applied to my partner and I. We came out the other end as 'Camembert' and 'Cookie'," he laughed. "You can imagine how much the others teased us for that."
"I will be in charge of your physical training and pairing you up with the people you work best with," the dark-haired man continued. "Even though you will have a partner, you will not necessarily be with that partner at all times. That is why you will be tested with each of the agents standing beside you right now." Plagg's gaze seemed to be cast over the entirety of the group. Marinette had never felt so comforted and tensed by a single person before. The strong presence he had mixed with his relaxed stance made her feel like she had nothing to worry about, but always had a need to react to a situation if need be.
"Tikki will be in charge of training you to be able to use the skills of a secret agent out on any assignments or missions you will be sent on, such as escorting, delivering and even fighting." The man turned to his partner who nodded in response.
"If there is one thing you absolutely need to know as a secret agent of K.W.A.M.I, it's the people that we're up against." Tikki's face had become grim. "The company A.K.U.M.A. is being run by a man we call Hawk Moth. His aim is to corrupt the environment around us, and eventually the country. What isn't clear is if he's aiming to corrupt the world after this." Marinette swallowed, her day had definitely pushed more stuff into her head than she could process. "You will be in charge of making sure his plans don't come to pass."
Tikki let the agents before her process the information for a moment, knowing fully how taxing it could be trying to take everything the day had handed to them. "You may now return home. I will be expecting you to all return here tomorrow at six am. We will start commencing your training then." After a moment, she nodded to the recruits before leaving the hall, Plagg by her side.
As Marinette watched their backs drift further and further away from the group, she heard the boy beside her let out a heavy breath. Glancing out the corner of her eye, she saw him turn to her.
"Hi, you're Ladybug, right?" he asked, causing her to face him fully. "Listen, I'm sorry about before we came into the hall earlier, I must have made you uncomfortable. I just saw you and the first thing I thought was how beautiful you were." He chuckled, raising a hand and resting it on the back of his head, green eyes cast towards the floor in slight embarrassment. Marinette smiled, his honesty casting a good first impression.
"It's no problem kitty cat, it didn't make me uncomfortable at all," the dark-haired girl responded, creating a nickname to make the boy more at ease than he was. His green eyes widened as he looked up at her, a small smirk appearing on his lips.
"Well, my Lady, I hope this can be the beginning of a paw-sitively wondrous furr-endship," he purred. Marinette looked at the boy for a moment, taking her time to digest the boy's ridiculous cat puns before groaning at them, a small smile playing on her own lips.
"Those were horrible, Chat Noir," she laughed. She saw his eyes shift slightly to the left, the same place the time was displayed in her own mask.
"I'm a-furr-aid, my Lady that I have to be going now." He smiled, eyes glinting with amusement. "I look forward to working with you." Marinette waved at Chat as he walked away. Looking over at the others as they too dispersed to exit the hall, she made her way out to the box that had taken her clothes away from her. When she got into the metal box, she made her way to the wall, becoming confused when nothing happened.
She ran through the event in her mind, trying to remember the catalyst that made the wall turn. Looking behind her, Marinette made her way over to the door, and pulled it shut. As soon as the door had been closed and she was facing the wall, a small panel flipped around, a small screen reflecting her face upon it. In her ear, she heard a mechanical voice ask for her name.
Marinette hesitated for a moment before speakings. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng." After waiting for a few moments, the mechanical voice repeated its earlier instructions. Her name, she needed to say her name into the device. No, not her name, her code-name. "Ladybug."
Suddenly, a small scanning light came out of the device, and scanned her face. "Welcome, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, A.K.A Ladybug." As soon as the voice had finished, the wall flipped slowly, giving time for Marinette to begin changing out of her red and black polka-dotted suit.
As soon as she had finished changing out of the suit, and removed the earrings, the mask fell off automatically, its power turning off as it did so. Taking the mask, she put it in the storage area. As soon as all the pieces of the outfit had been returned, the hole in the wall started to expand into a hall type area. Looking back at the door briefly, Marinette stepped into the new hall and made her way down the passage.
It wasn't long before she arrived in a small room, a small blinking light on one of the clothes hook catching her attention. Curious, Marinette walked over to the blinking object and studied it. Looking closely, she discovered the clothes hook had crevices at its base that made it look like the object would be allowed to move as if it were a lever. Grabbing a hold of it, she pulled down making the object bend like a lever. Walking over to it, she takes a grip and pulls down causing the door behind her to close. The dark-haired girl spun around and dashed towards the exit. As she was about to hit the door in an attempt to get out, the feeling and sound of the room moving disrupted her. Marinette quickly sunk to the floor, unsure as to what exactly was happening.
The ride went by quickly, sounding a small ding and unlocking the door as the room stopped moving. Opening the door, Marinette found herself in the unused changing rooms of her training camp. The dots clicked together relatively quickly when she emerged. They weren't unused, they were used for the agency. Chuckling slightly to herself, she made her way home.
All the while thinking about the day, with a pair of bright green eyes entering her mind's eye all too often.
Hello! So this is my first multi-chap fic!
And I know this au is also being done by Jessica, but I wanted to put my own spin on it~ ((cue crying because I've had to restrain myself from reading it))
And so many thanks to Panda, Adjit and Pisces-Royalty for coming up with acronyms with me and betaing my work! Also to the rest of the Miraculous Ladyscrubs who encouraged me! ((What would I do without you scrubs?))
So I hope you guys enjoy this story, and check out the other talented people! (who are also scrubs :P )
(And Jessica's AU) - s/11636579/1/The-KWAMI-Organisation
From, TheiaNeko~ (Rionydal)