Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or its characters.
A/N: So, I've had a couple of bashing reviews despite my warning that: This is just a rough copy.
I'm sorry I messed up some spellings of names, I have fixed that since. Thank you for pointing it out.
As for characters, I'm really not too great at staying in character, though I try my best. I'm sorry if it's not up to everybody's standards but again, trying. If you have any suggestions on how to improve, I always welcome constructive criticism...
Please read and enjoy~
The tentacle-like limb wound its way around the superheroes' throats. Chat gasped for air but it was being stolen from it. His lungs burned with desire, their need for oxygen greater than the ache in the cat's chest as he saw his partner struggle the same fate. A soft beep rang in the distance, a reminder that time was running out. A Lucky Charm and Cataclysm taking their effect, although they'd failed to be affective against this foe.
Three minutes at best. That gave them little to no time to escape, defeat the Akuma and set everything back to normal before revealing their identities.
A wavering consciousness made Chat fear for their success. A glance over at Ladybug gave a hollow feeling in his gut. She'd already lost the battle for breath. Her limbs hung limply as her eyes fell to a close. The feline opened his mouth to call to his partner but a thin wisp was all that escaped. His claws dragged along the skin of the Akuma's tentacle. It had no effect.
Another beep rang, this time more urgent. They were almost out of time and Chat's vision was blurred.
Suddenly a staff extended across the corner of the superhero's blurred vision, hitting the Akuma in the face, throwing it off balance. Chat's eyes fell to a close as the word, "Cataclysm" rang in his ears.
Chat awoke to a headache and Plagg pulling on a strand of his hair. "About time," the kwami grumbled. "You've been out for almost an hour!"
Wait, if Plagg is here then… Adrien looked down to confirm… He was in his normal clothes, no longer under the mask of Chat Noir. "What happened?" he asked his kwami partner. "Is my identity out? What about Ladybug, is she okay?"
"Wow, enough with the questions. Ladybug is fine, Chat Noir saved us and she got us out of public before you transformed back." Plagg explained. "I spoke with her, she won't reveal your identity however she does know it, as well as Ladybug's."
Adrien's brain struggled to process the information. "Wait, did you say Chat Noir?" Plagg nodded. "How could Chat Noir have saved us if I'm Chat Noir?"
"Well," Plagg sighed. "That's a long story… Can we have another snack first?"
The blonde struggled to his feet, grasping his head as it began to pound. It settled after a few moments and he managed to remain upright. "Wait… did you say, another snack?"
Plagg gulped. "Well, Chat Noir got me some cheese but it was only cheddar, I would much prefer some camembert!"
The boy rolled his eyes as he surveyed the room where he'd been left. The dim light poured in through the windows and caressed the objects littering the room. It was familiar, holding all of the teen's possessions. "Wait… How did I get back home!?"
"Oh, I told her where we lived. I figured it was better then you waking up on some roof." Plagg explained as he tucked himself inside Adrien's shirt, hidden from the adults that roamed the large house. "Plus then I get camembert quicker."
"Always thinking with your stomach," the boy smirked. "So can you tell me about this other Chat Noir?"
"Why don't you just look at the news, the whole thing was recorded." Plagg explained. "But as to the whole two Chat Noirs… That's a bit harder to explain."
Plagg went silent as Adrien left the safety of his bedroom, leaving the boy to contemplate the influx of information. He didn't think it were possible to have two Superhero's with the same power, although he didn't know much about the miraculous and how they worked. Plagg seemed calm, but then again she'd fed him cheese, he probably didn't care if she was there to destroy Paris. However she had saved his life, and Ladybug's, could she really be evil?
"Wait," the teen suddenly stopped at the top of the stairs, "If Ladybug was unconscious, who purified the Akuma!?"
Plagg poked his nose out from behind the clothing. "The other Chat Noir did," he kept his voice low, not trusting Natalie to remain in her office. "She used her Cataclysm to destroy the evil and allow the purified butterfly to escape."
"We can do that?" The blond asked with a raised brow. I really don't know that much about the miraculous' power.
Plagg nodded, "Once you get a good enough control, you're not there yet, though. You can only hold the Cataclysm in one hand."
Adrien was stunned. Why hadn't Plagg mentioned the ability to do such things sooner? It wasn't like the kwami to offer information willingly but surely he would have mentioned that Adrien could be improving? If he'd known, the teen would have been training to better his skills in the hope of being useful to Ladybug. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Hmm," Plagg contemplated. "Maybe some Camembert will jog my memory."
The teen sighed, "Typical." The two shared no more words as Adrien went to the kitchen, it was after eight so the chef had gone home, leaving an empty kitchen so the kwami could take his pick of cheese without fear of being discovered.
Once the two were finished in the kitchen, they returned to the teen's room, a plate of cheese and grapes in tow. Adiren had a sandwich to compensate for having missed dinner, he wondered if anyone had noticed his absence. Plagg assured him that Natalie had visited his room to call him for dinner but assumed he had fallen asleep after fencing practice and left him to rest. At least it had been while he was at home, he dreaded to think what would have happened if she had gone to call him and he had been missing. At least his father didn't eat with him, at least he didn't run the risk of making his father mad.
While Plagg began work on the extra cheese, the blond sat at his computer and searched for footage of the Akuma encounter. Not surprisingly, Alya had captured the whole thing for the LadyBlog.
Adrien sped through the first half of the video, happily skipping his failure. He pulled the video to about half way and let it run, listening to Alya's commentary as he watched the scene unfold.
"What was that!? It looked like Chat Noir's weapon, but he's caught in the Akuma's clutches… Where did it come from?" The camera swung around until it found a black figure stood atop a nearby building. "Who is this mysterious person? She looks a lot like Chat Noir!" The figure had black ears atop her head and flowing midnight hair, a mask covering her face. Unlike the neat one Adrien wore, this one was jagged around the edges and curved downward on the left side, cupping her cheek, while the right curved upwards, cupping her brow. Unlike his skin tight outfit, this cat's outfit consisted of knee-high boots, skin-tight black leggings and a gown-like wrap that Adrien recognised as a kimono. The sash around her waist hung in a long tail while a bell sat on a collar around her neck. Her outfit was traditional and looked nothing like the modern superhero's in Paris.
"Is she going to save Ladybug and Chat Noir?! Oh no, the Akuma is ignoring her, our superhero's are about to transform back! Will we finally see exactly who Ladybug is under the mask? Wait, no! The newcomer is getting involved, girl, that's it! Show that bad guy who's boss!"
The black cat hat pounced from the building and landed a heavy kick to the Akuma's head, flipping back and extending her staff to hit its tentacles in just the right spot to force the Akuma to drop the two unconscious superheroes. Without missing a beat, the female cat called out her Cataclysm, her ring a perfect match to the one Adrien wore, however instead of focusing the power in one hand, she clapped her claws together and shared the power between her two limbs. Alya zoomed in, focusing on the attack. Adrien noted the fingerless gloves and longer, black nails of the girl and wondered if that's how they looked in real life, or perhaps it was another alteration of the transformation.
The unknown hero skilfully dodged the Akuma's attacks, extending her staff to propel herself up and catching the ear ring on the monster's large, elephant-like ear. The small dolphin stud turned to dust and a black butterfly fluttered away. Without missing a beat, the cat pounced and caught the Akuma. She took a deep breath and then, opening her palm a small, white butterfly flew away and the power of the Cataclysm had disappeared.
"New superhero!" Alya called, rushing over. "Can you tell us your name? And how you managed to de-evilise the Akuma without Ladybug's power?"
The feline hero glanced at the camera, her eyes burning green. Adrien paused the video to stare at her features a moment. They were a mirror of his own eyes, brilliant emeralds that glowed with an intensity that couldn't be matched. Her high cheekbones were perfectly cupped by her mask and bangs that framed her face, her fringe flicking to the left while her long locks sprawled around her shoulders. Her nose was button-like and her sharp canines were just visible between the split in her lips. Her beauty was almost on par with that of Ladybug.
Hitting play, Adrien watched the rest of the video. The cat turned her back on the camera without a word and grabbed the two unconscious heroes, flinging the two over her shoulders as she dashed for privacy. "Well, Ladybloggers, you saw it here first!" Alya beamed as the camera turned back to her face. "Could it be that Paris has a new superhero? Or does Chat Noir have a twin sister!"
Adrien paused again, just seconds from the end of the video. "Plagg, who is that girl?"
"Hm?" The kwami floated over, cheese in hand. "She's Chat Noir."
"I'd gathered that," the boy sighed. "But how, I thought I was the only Chat Noir?"
The kwami shrugged, throwing the cheese into his mouth.
"Gee, you're a big help." The teen rolled his eyes, rewinding the video back to the image of her glancing at the camera. "Her eyes are like mine."
"Yeah," Plagg shrugged. "All the Chat Noirs have had green eyes."
"Is that a condition to being a Chat Noir superhero?"
"No," Plagg thought, "Just a coincidence."
"Right," the boy nodded, running a hand through his hair as he slouched in the chair. "She reminds me of my mom."
"Well, she was the Chat Noir a few generations ago, but I don't think it's possible that they're related." Plagg shrugged as he floated back to the plate to see if there was any cheese left.
"A few generations ago?" Adrien questioned.
Plagg went silent for a moment, disappointed that he'd eaten all the camembert. "Yeah, we were partners before, she was probably one of my favourites, she always fed me loads of cheese. SO many different types, too. I wonder if I'm here with her… Wouldn't that be cool?"
"What is going on, Plagg?"
Plagg had shrugged the teen off and failed to give any substantial answers, leaving Adrien wondering and interfering with his sleep. He'd managed to get a quick cat nap an hour before his alarm had gone off. He'd had a strange dream, the female Chat Noir had run past him and he'd called out, chasing her, but she didn't turn back. He couldn't help but be distracted by the events of the previous day.
His morning training had ended up with Adrien flat on the matt far more often than usual, his master had commented on his distracted behaviour but didn't press him for information. Adrien was glad, he wasn't sure he could come up with a decent excuse.
Plagg slept through the morning, not wanting to deal with the feline's mischief, the teen left a small cube of cheese in his bag to appease the kwami in case he awoke during morning class.
Class went smoothly, Marinette was late, as usual, her cheeks pink as she spluttered an excuse about missing the bus. He smiled at her antics. However she also seemed distracted, missing several questions when called upon. Alya seemed worried, as did Nino when Adrien lost his place while reading. He'd given an unconvincing excuse about having read ahead and blanking where everyone else was. Nina took the excuse, complaining that Adrien was too smart. Bashfully, the blond laughed him off.
After lunch it was chemistry. The room was quiet apart from the consistent drone of information the teacher spewed. The sun was distractingly bright as it poured in through the windows. Adrien's eyes remained lost in the distance, somehow wondering if the elusive cat might jump past. Was she out there with Ladybug now, saving Paris? What if Ladybug replaces me with her!
"Unhand me!" A girl's voice rang through the halls, disrupting the class and pulling Chat from his thoughts. Ms. Mendeleiev appeared annoyed, not that she ever looked pleased. "I said, unhand me! I have no time for this." The whole class watched as Roger Raincorprix walked a young girl into the class. She was tall with midnight hair pulled into twin plaits, her eyes a soft green while her face twisted in disbelief. "I don't have time to be wasting with your nonsense, unhand me!"
"Minors must attend school," Roger sighed. "As I told you, I'm obliged to report it and return you to school, that's the law. We shall talk about your theft later."
"I'm afraid this girl does not attend this school," Ms. Mendeleiev grumbled, "and I certainly do not appreciate you disrupting my class."
"I informed you thusly!" The girl hissed.
"I'm afraid you must attend school, if you are not enrolled in a school I would suggest you go to the principle and enrol yourself immediately." The cop grumbled. "For now just attend class, I shall report this to the principle before I leave. I also recommend you return the clothes you stole."
The girl motioned at her clothes. She wore a loose, pale cream shirt and blue skinny jeans with matching converses. "I require this clothing to blend in with modern society. I attempted to pay for the items but they would not accept my currency."
"That's enough," Ms. Mendeleiev cut in, "What's your name?"
The girl stared at the teacher for a moment, "Alix."
"Well, Alix, take a seat at the back of the class, thank you Mr Raincorprix. Now, everyone settle down."
The girl begrudgingly trudged to the back of the room, her eyes catching Adrien's gaze as she passed. A smirk pulled at her lips as she walked past. "Hey, Adrien." Plagg whispered from the confines of the teen's bag. He leaned down to hear what the kwami had to say. "That's her, the Chat Noir that saved you yesterday." Adrien's eyes widened with surprise before turning to stare at the newcomer, just as everyone else in that class had.
The teacher called everyone's attention to her and continued with the lesson. Alix questioned a few points but once Ms. Mendeleiev growled at her for being disruptive she remained silent. The class was painfully slow as Adrien itched to question the newcomer. He had so many questions burning in his throat that he couldn't bear it.
The bell rang, echoing through the room to signal that the teen's wait was over. Scooping up his bag, Adrien rushed from class, waiting outside in the hopes of talking to Alix. She walked out among a crowd of people, Rose and Juleka questioning her on her sudden appearance. She seemed uncomfortable but remained polite. "I'm very sorry, I have to go talk to the principle, that's what the police man said, no?" Rose nodded.
The blond took the chance to worm his way into the conversation. "I could show you were it is, if you'd like? I'm Adrien Agreste, it's nice to meet you, Alix."
The girl smirked, clearly amused by Chat's inability to stay away, how she'd drawn him in and threatened answers. He really was a curious kitty. "That's very kind of you, Adrien." The two left the pack of teenagers and headed towards the principal's office. Once they'd rounded the corner Alix paused. "I don't intend to enrol in this school, Adrien, though I think you already know that."
He nodded, a smile forever printed on his face. "Plagg told me who you are."
"Is that so?" She chuckled lightly. "That's rather amazing, I've never found him particularly helpful or informative."
"Hey!" Plagg complained, escaping from the confines of her shirt. "I've always been helpful and informative!"
Adrien stared in amazement, opening his bag to check his kwami hadn't escaped. As soon as the zip parted, the kwami shot out, coming face to face with his doppelganger. The boy was stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"A-Adrien!?" Marinette's voice called, filled with shock and wonder.
Alix turned to face the girl. "Oh, nice of you to join us, Ladybug."