(Originally written for AU August. I still don't own Miraculous.)
Everything I Want - Part 1
Ladybug watched with fascination as Pharaoh worked his spell to bring back his long-lost love. He had his required mummies, his scepter and scroll. They were chanting and forming symbols as Pharaoh worked his magic. If this worked…
She frowned as the mummies lifted up a girl her age, carrying her to the center of the formation. She'd seen that girl in the museum earlier, working on a report on the Tutankhamen exhibit for her blog.
She lifted her hand to her ear. "We've got a problem, Papa," she said, speaking into the communication device. "It looks like his spell requires a sacrifice."
"A sacrifice that will turn the girl into a goddess," Hawkmoth argued in her ear. "I can think of many worse fates."
"But, Papa—"
"Just keep an eye out for that pesky cat."
Ladybug sighed and pouted. He never listened to her! And he'd promised! If they couldn't get the Cat Ring to combine with her Ladybug Earrings and make their wish, they'd try other methods! There had to be some way to get Mama back without sacrificing anybody else!
Something caught her eye down below. A flash of black. Ladybug quickly focused on it. Sure enough….
Chat Noir used his baton to take out the mummies carrying Alya, catching his friend in a princess hold and quickly leaping to a nearby rooftop. He could hear Pharaoh below, bellowing at his mummies.
"Get somewhere safe!" he said to Alya, turning to face the enemy swinging towards him.
"Well, well, Chat Noir," Ladybug said, landing on the roof and lazily swinging her yoyo. "Here he comes to wreck the day."
"Happy to foil your dastardly plans to hurt innocent civilians, m'lady," he winked right back at her. To his dismay, he heard Alya get out her phone, obviously excited about getting the next big scoop on the battles between Chat Noir and Ladybug. He rolled his eyes at his friend. She was seriously gonna get killed one day.
"Give me your ring and no one else has to get hurt," Ladybug said, shifting into a ready stance.
"Now, why do I not believe the evil supervillain?" Chat pretended to ponder. "Oops, I'm sorry; I meant evil sidekick." He smirked as she glared at him. "So, my spotted menace, where is Super Dad the Big Bad?"
"None of your business, alley cat!" she snarled. "You've got more important things to worry about!"
"Like wha—"
Chat was cut off as Pharaoh tackled him from the side. He struggled in the big guy's grip, feeling his stomach plummet as the ground got further and further away.
Great, just great. King I-Want-My-Mummy can fly.
Just then, he spotted an amulet fluttering in the wind around Pharaoh's neck.
"Hey, this looks important!" he grinned, grabbing it. "Cataclysm!"
The amulet turned to dust in his hand.
"NOOOO!" Pharaoh cried, falling towards the ground as his powers started to fade.
Now that the akuma didn't have his freaky strength, Chat managed to struggle free, grabbing his baton from his back and extending it. He grabbed Pharaoh by the collar as the baton slowed their fall, both of them landing softly on the ground. Pharaoh stayed crouched on the ground, the dark power still overwhelming him. Chat smirked as Ladybug swung down to them.
"Make your choice, Bugaboo," he teased, pointing up at the released akuma. "Go after me or the pretty little butterfly. But the longer you wait, the more likely the victim will be able to identify Daddy-dearest's voice when the police question him later. Unless, ya know, you purify everything before he wakes up from the evil spell…."
She glared at him. He could almost hear her grumbling as she called on her Lucky Charm. As always, it turned into a butterfly net. She scowled at it and tossed it aside, using her yoyo to catch the akuma.
As she purified it and called on her Cure to fix everything, Chat used his time wisely and hightailed it outta there. Ladybug wouldn't attack the victim, or any innocents in the area (thank God), but she was sometimes willing to try to hunt him down until both their timers got dangerously low.
It was too bad too, he mused, as he made it to his balcony above his parents' bakery. She was really cute, and would've made a great ally.
His transformation fell away as he dropped into his room above the bakery. Plagg immediately swept up, demanding cheese. The fact that Adrien couldn't afford expensive cheeses really grated on the kwami. (Haha, he'd made another good joke! He'd have to work that one into a conversation somehow.) He was also irritable whenever they ran into Ladybug.
According to Plagg, they were supposed to be partners, not enemies.
And if wishes were butterflies, the whole world would be akumatized, Adrien thought, rolling his eyes as he made his way down to the kitchen to get food for his kwami.
"Mom? Dad? Do you know if we have any cream cheese scones left?" he called, peeking in the fridge.
"Yeeesssss… I love you, kid," Plagg hissed from his shirt. Adrien grinned, even as his mother ruffled his hair from behind.
"Still on a growing spurt, Adrien? You'll be taller than your father soon!" Sabine gushed.
"I don't think that's possible!" Adrien laughed, finally finding the snacks he was looking for.
"Now, remember, supper will be soon!" his mother reminded him as he hurried up the stairs again.
"I'll eat seconds!" he promised.
"And don't forget your homework!"
"Got it, Mom!"
Ladybug dropped her transformation as soon as she made it in the window and paused for a moment to glare at her kwami.
"Would it kill you to give me a Lucky Charm I can actually use for once?!" she ranted.
Tikki turned unamused eyes to her wielder. "You may serve the Moth Miraculous, but I do not," she said primly.
"No, you're supposed to serve me," Marinette argued. "And when I call on my power, I expect it to be something I can use for my mission!"
"You can use it," Tikki replied, smirking at her. "Butterfly nets are perfect for catching akumas."
"I don't need to catch akumas!" Marinette yelled. "I need to catch Chat Noir!"
"The Ladybug Miraculous was activated to combat Hawkmoth. Whether you like it or not, that is your mission."
"The mission has changed, Tikki," Marinette growled.
"And if you actually believed that, you'd be able to call on a different Lucky Charm."
Tikki flew up to the second story of Marinette's massive bedroom, indicating that the conversation was over. Marinette pouted a bit and stomped her foot, finally leaving the room to go face her father after her latest failure.
She didn't really see him as the enemy, did she? she wondered as she made her way down the hall. True, Papa wasn't the most-affectionate father, but he'd always made sure they never wanted for anything. He taught her everything he could about his fashion empire, nurturing her budding interest in design. And while she didn't like the idea of hurting innocents to get their wish, he was doing all this to bring back Mama.
No, Tikki was wrong.
She and Father were a team, and together they'd make their family whole again.
To be continued...