Miraculous Weasel CH 1: Ermine

I heard my alarm clock buzz and groaned as I woke up. Today was the first day of my new school. After a minute, I gave up trying to ignore the alarm and got out of bed.

After switching off the alarm and making my bed, I took a quick shower and donned the outfit I had chosen, black jeans, a white long-sleeved shirt with a black heart on it under a gray jacket and matching grey sneakers with white laces. I had always thought that grey, black, and white were my best colors, as they tended to match my mood a lot.

My name is Alice Bourgeois, daughter of Audrey Bourgeios, one of the world's best-known fashion critics. To say my life was glamorous, would be completely correct. To say it was enjoyable, would be, completely incorrect. Despite being rich, and popular, my life always felt empty and alone. I blame my mother. We never really got along as I was growing up. Oh sure, she tried to make me feel loved, giving me the finest dresses and jewelry money could buy, and making sure everyone in New York City knew who I was and treated me with respect. But that was only in public, or when the cameras were running. In private, or in 'our' home, she barely even looked at me, except when I got in trouble. Which was how I wound up here. A recent 'incident' (that I refuse to speak of) cause my mother to decide that we needed some time apart, so she shipped me off to stay with my father Andre, hotel owner, and the mayor of Paris. Before now I had only seen my dad during the holidays, and he seemed like a nice guy. I was really hoping I wouldn't pick up the same kind of crowd here in Paris that I had in New York.

After tying my hair down in a low ponytail, I left my room to look for my family, only to find Jean, my new butler, standing outside the door waiting for me.

"Good morning, Madmoiselle" He said, bowing.

"Um… Alice is fine" I smiled at him. "Have you seen my family?"

"They are currently eating downstairs at the Bourgoise family table. Shall I bring you to them?"

"That would be great, thanks" My smile widened as Jean lead me down the hall to the elevator.

A few moments later found me sitting at the table eating a breakfast of fruit, baguettes, and milk. My father was there, as was my twin sister Chloe, but they were both buried in the newspaper and smartphone respectively.

There was also another girl at the table who I did not know. She had orange hair, green eyes, and wore glasses and a purple vest and blue shorts. She kept looking at me funny.

Finally, I met her gaze and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've officially met yet"

"Oh, that's okay" The girl spoke. "'I'm Sabrina Raincomprix, Chloe's best friend."

"I'm Alice Bourgeois, Chloe's sister" I smiled at Sabrina.

"Sister?" Sabrina's eyes widened. "Chloe! You never told me you had a sister!"

Chloe looked up from her phone and snorted "That's because, as far as I'm concerned, I don't! And if you want to keep being my 'best friend' I'd better not catch you talking to that girl again, got it?" She snapped.

Sabrina flinched before nodded, shooting me an apologetic expression.

I smiled and shrugged. I was used to harsh tones. I had practically grown up around them. Chloe and I were born only minutes apart, but she had always acted like I was invisible whenever we had met. That was fine by me. Chloe's behavior was a painful reminder of what my mother was really like, and the less I interacted with her, the better.

My father looked up from his paper and glanced at his watch. "Girls, it's almost time for school. I'll have the limo drop you off on my way to work"

"Yes Daddy" Chloe said without looking up.

"Yes Dad" I said, making sure my backpack was still leaning against the chair.

After Chloe had gotten her bag from upstairs, or in reality making her 'best friend' run up to get it, the four of us got into a limousine and drove to the College Francis Dupont, my new school.

As soon as I saw the school building, I felt a small smile cross my face. The building looked nice; three stories tall, tan with a blue cobblestone roof. It looked…comfortable.

The limo pulled up in front of the school and I made to open the door, but my father stopped me.

"Alice, since you are a newcomer to our city, I want you to stay close to Chloe for the first few days, alright?"

"WHAT?" Chloe screeched, looking up from her phone.

"I mean it" My father said firmly. "Your mother trusts me with Alice's safety, and the last thing I want is to disappoint her".

Chloe didn't answer, but she shot me a murderous look.

I didn't feel too happy about the arrangement either, but I felt that arguing wasn't going to help, so I simply nodded and said "Yes dad", before getting out of the limo.

No sooner was I out of the limo when Chloe barged past me, knocking me aside. As I fumbled to regain my balance, I saw an older man with deep tanned skin and salt-and-pepper hair walking along the edge of the sidewalk. As I watched, the man suddenly stumbled and fell rather heavily to his knees. Something flew out of his hands and disappeared into the drain in the street.

"Oh no!" Almost without thinking, I rushed to the man's side and helped him up. "Are you alright sir?"

"Yes, thank you" The man's voice was deep and calm, and his face crinkled like leather as he smiled warmly at me. "I am just… oh dear" The man's gaze fell to his hands and his smile faded rapidly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The box I was holding, it is gone!" The man looked around wildly. "Where is it?"

"Um…I think I saw it go in there" I pointed to the drain.

"Oh dear" The man looked sad. "That box contained a present I was going to give ot my sister. I had just purchased it, and I saved up a lot of money for it"

My heart went out to the man. "Well...maybe it didn't fall through" I suggested, setting down my bag and kneeling over the drain. To my surprise, I spotted a small brown box nestled under the grating that covered the drain. It appeared to be stuck on a tiny ledge.

"Wait, I think I see it!" I knelt lower and tried to grab it. It took a big of careful twisting, but after a few tries I felt my fingers brush the box. "Got it!" I cried triumphantly as I carefully pulled the box back through the grating and got to my feet.

"Oh, thank you, young lady" The man praised me as I handed the box back to him. "I think you may have just saved the day!"

I felt a blush come to my cheeks. "Oh really, it was nothing. It was the least I could do. I'm just glad you got it back"

The man smiled at me. "Modest and humble. You truly are a hero, my dear"

Now I really blushed "Well…I don't know about that…" I stammered.

"Alice! Are you coming or not?" Chloe's loud voice made me look up. My sister was standing at the top of the school stairs, Sabrina next to her, glaring at me.

"Yes Chloe, I'm coming!" I shouted back before turning back to the man. "I've gotta go. Take care sir!" I said before rushing back to him.

"Thank you my dear, and you as well!" I heard him call after me as I raced up the steps and caught up with Chloe. My sister snorted and kept walking without speaking to me. Sabrina gave me a small smile and a pat on the shoulder as she followed. I smiled back at her, but the smile faded when Sabrina turned her back.

Silently, I followed Chloe and Sabrina to our classroom. As I entered, I heard the teacher call someone.

"Nino, why don't you come sit in the front row this year?"

I looked up to see a kid waring blue with a red baseball cap and orange headphones groan, get up reluctantly from the back row, and slouch forwards to the front row.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" I looked back around to see Chloe was now talking to an Asian-looking girl with blue-black hair seated in the second row.

"Here we go again" I heard the girl, Marinette, mutter.

"That's MY seat!" Chloe demanded.

Marinette looked a little confused. "But Chloe, this has always been my seat"

"Not anymore!" Sabrina said, scooting into the row next to Marinette. "New school, new year, new seats"

"So why don't you go sit beside that new girl over there?" Chloe pointed to the front row closest to the windows, where a brown-haired girl was texting on her phone. The girl, haring herself mentioned, looked up and glared at Chloe through her black glasses.

When Marinette didn't move, Chloe sighed and tried again. "Listen, Adrien is arriving today, and since that's going to be his seat" Chloe pointed to the seat next to Nino and in front of Marinette "This is going to be my seat, got it?" She got in Marinette's face during the last words, making the girl jump a little.

"Um…who's Adrien?" Marinette asked.

Chloe and Sabrina burst out laughing. "Can you believe this girl doesn't know who Adrien is?" Chloe chortled. "Seriously, what rock have you been living under?"

"He's only a famous model" Sabrina said smugly.

"And I am his best friend. He adores me" Chloe boasted. I sighed and rolled my eyes, but she ignored me "Now go on! Move!"

"Hey!" I yelped as the copper-haired girl with glasses suddenly marched up to Chloe, nearly knocking me down in the process. "Who elected you Queen of Seats?" She snapped, crossing her arms.

"Ohh, look Sabrina, we've got a little do-gooder in our class this year!" Chloe said mockingly. "What are you gonna do, super noobie? Shoot laser beams at me with your glasses?"

"Wouldn't you like to know" The girl snarled, before reaching over to grab Marinette's hand. "Come on" I watched as the girl pulled Marinette to her feet and over to where she was sitting.

In the process, Marinette walked right into me, causing her to trip and drop what appeared to be a bunch of cookies on the ground.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Marinette squealed as she quickly picked up the box and scurried to sit next to Alya.

"It's okay" I said, smiling at her, but the smile faded as Alya gave me a suspicious look.

Sighing, I moved up to join Chloe at the second row, but as I approached, she sneered and shook her head. "Sorry, only two per row. That's the rules, right Sabrina?"

"That's right" Sabrina nodded.

"Okay then" I consented and looked around for a free seat. I spotted two near the back of the room and climbed up the aisle towards them.

As I approached the first free seat, the other occupant, a large, bulky boy with short black hair scowled at me, making it clear he didn't want me sitting with him. The other empty seat, at the very back, was next to another boy, this one with fiery red hair, who was reading a book.

Nodding to the large boy, I quickly made my way to the back of the room and scooted in next to the red-haired boy. He looked up at my approach and his one visible eye widened briefly, then quickly returned to his book.

Ignoring him, I sat down just as the teacher spoke up. "Alright, has everyone found a seat?"

There was a general murmur of affirmativeness as I settled down and pulled out my homework planner and a red binder. I tended to color-code my classes to make it easier to sort things.

"For those of you who don't yet know, I'm Miss Bustier, I'll be your teacher this year". The teacher wrote her name on the board behind her.

As Miss Bustier continued talking, I felt a small smile creep onto my face. I'd only just met this teacher, but I could already tell I was going to like her. Tall and fair-skinned with reddish-orange hair, Miss Bustier looked a lot better than many of the teachers I had known in New York City. Her attitude seemed better too. Many of my former teachers had been the strict non-nonsense type who looked like they couldn't crack a smile, even when they wanted to. Miss Bustier seemed different. She seemed, nicer, like she actually cared about what she was doing.

Miss Bustier started by taking role call. Surprisingly, my name was the first one on the list.

"Bourgeois, Alice?"

"Present" I raised my hand, and a low lull of muttering broke out as many of the other students looked, first at me, then at each other, and began muttering to each other.

"Another Bourgeois? Wasn't one bad enough?" I heard one conversation from the two girls across the aisle from where I was sitting. I glanced over to see them whispering to each other, though they broke off when one of them saw me looking. As I looked away, my eye caught the gaze of the boy sitting next to me and I saw his visible eye widen again, but this time in unmistakable fear and suspicion.

Great, just great! I thought sadly as Miss Bustier continued role call. I was afraid this might happen. In New York, my last name had brought me a whole whirlwind of trouble, from people clamoring to be my friend, to people who were angry over what my mother had done and felt like taking it out on me. I had hoped that things would have been different in Paris, but apparently the Bourgeois name was just as infamous on this side of the Atlantic, and not for a good reason, judging by the way the rest of the class had acted.

My depression lasted through most of the class period, though I somehow managed to pay attention to what Miss Bustier was saying and take notes down in my binder. But I felt uneasy, like I was under examination. I could swear that everyone in the class had taken a turn to look at me, mostly with suspicion, as if waiting for me to do something out of line, something mean, like my sister had done.

Chloe's sister, I felt my free hand clench into a fist and hid it underneath my desk so no one would notice. Back home, I was just known as Audrey's daughter, now I was just Chloe's sister. It was like no one could truly see who I was, like my face was just some kind of mask.

I was relieved when the bell rang to signal the end of class.

"Remember, for those of you who have PE, Mr. D'argencourt is waiting for you at the stadium. The rest of you can head over to the library for study period"

I gathered my things and stood up to leave.

"KIM!" A sudden shout made me freeze and I saw the big boy sitting in front of me reach over and grab another student by their sweatshirt.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the two.

"Ivan! What is going on?" Miss Bustier demanded from the front of the class.

"It's Kim!" Ivan pointed to the other boy before raising a clenched fist. "I am so gonna…!"

"Ivan! Go to the principal's office, now!" Miss Bustier ordered.

For a moment, Ivan looked like he was going to argue. But eventually, he released Kim, grabbed his backpack, and stalked away angrily. Kim, for his part, looked triumphant as he watched Ivan walk away.

I shook my head softly, Kim struck me as a natural trouble-maker. I'd need to watch myself around him.

The excitement over, the rest of the class filed out. Chloe left without even looking at me. Sabrina shot me a wave as she trailed after Chloe and I nodded back. Sabrina and Chloe had PE next period, while I had study hour.

I slowly made my way to the library, on the third floor of the building. After spending some time familiarizing myself with the shelves, I chose a book that would help me with my homework and looked for a free spot to work. The closest one was at a table partially occupied by Marinette and the girl she had been sitting next to in class. They were looking at something on the girl's phone.

Slowly approaching the table, I cleared my throat. Both girls looked up. Marinette was expressionless, but the new girl's eyes narrowed.

"Mind if I sit here?" I motioned to the empty chair.

"You're Alice Bourgeois, right?" The new girl replied.

"Correct" I nodded.

"You related to Chloe?"

"I'm her sister"

"Really?" Marinette spoke up. "I've known Chloe since kindergarten and she's never mentioned having a sister."

"That's probably because, as far as Chloe's concerned, I don't exist" I replied. "Also, there's the fact that we were raised separately. I grew up in New York City. I've only been in Paris for the last two days"

"Oh" Marinette and the girl exchanged a look. Finally, Marinette looked up at me and a small smile appeared on her face. "Sure, come on and join us"

"Thank you" I smiled gratefully, lowering myself onto the seat.

"But I'm warning you, girl. If you start acting like Chloe, you're outta here" The other girl said firmly.

I met her gaze with a smile. "And that is a warning I will take very seriously, miss…"

For a moment, the girl held my gaze. "Alya. Alya Cesaire" She said finally.

"Cesaire?" I frowned, that name sounded familiar. "Are you related to Marleena Cessare, by any chance?"

Alya's eyes narrowed farther. "My mother" Her tone was guarded.

I nodded and smiled. "And one of the best chefs at the Grand Paris Hotel" I said.

Alya didn't smile back, but her expression appeared to soften a bit.

"And I'm Marinette Dupris-Cheng" Marinette offered me her hand.

"Nice to meet you both" I smiled as I shook both girl's hands.

"So, what's New York City like?" Marinette asked as I began to pull out my homework.

"Oh, it's big, noisy, …and big" I joked, earning a chuckle from Marinette and a small smile from Alya.

"Hey Alya, weren't you just telling me that there was a group of superheroes operating in New York City?" Marinette turned to me and added "Alya's an expert on superheroes"

"Oh, you mean the Guardians?" I spoke up.

"You know them?" Marinette turned to me and Alya seemed to stiffen.

"Personally, no. But I know of them" I said, and Alya appeared to relax. "They're one of the most powerful hero teams in the world, but I'm pretty sure there are others just as powerful elsewhere"

Marinette opened her mouth to comment when suddenly the whole building suddenly seemed to shake. The motion knocked all three of us out of our seats and onto the floor.

"What the heck was that?" I exclaimed over the sounds of screaming and people running.

"Come on!" Alya had helped Marinette to her feet and was now pulling her over towards where a small crowd had gathered around a TV monitor. I followed as someone exclaimed "Did you hear that!"

The monitor screen showed footage from four of the school's security cameras. Three of the cameras showed normal footage, but the fourth…

My eyes widened. The fourth screen showed the street outside the front of the school, but it also showed what looked like a giant made of rock. The crater in the pavement beneath him meant it must have just landed there.

"KIMMMM!" The giant suddenly roared, raising its arms and stomping towards the street.

My brain whirred confusedly. The giant's voice seemed…oddly familiar.

"What's going on?" Marinette exclaimed next to me. "Was that…Ivan's voice?"

My memory suddenly clicked. Ivan, the big kid who sat in front of me?

"It's as if he's been transformed into a supervillain!" Alya looked excited as she pulled out her phone. "GPS, check. Battery, check. I am so outta here!" She dashed for the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I called after her.

Alya paused in front of the door. "Where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero not far behind! No way I'm missing this!" With that, she dashed out of the room.

Marinette and I exchanged a look. "Should we…go after her?"

"Maybe we should…" Marinette glanced back at the monitor. The screen showed Ivan now walking in the street. A car came to a screeching halt mere inches from Ivan, who reached out and grabbed it. Two people jumped out in terror as Ivan picked it up like it was a chair.

"KIIIIIMMMM!" Ivan roared and threw the car at the camera, breaking it and ending the feed.

Marinette and I both winced.

"Attention all students! Please evacuate the school in a calm, orderly fashion!" The principal's voice came over the intercom.

I looked at Marinette again before moving to join the other students heading towards the doors. Her expression mirrored my own confusion.

Upon arriving back at home, I ran into my room and shut the door. Flopping down on the bed, I switched on the giant TV on my wall to monitor what was happening.

Right now, the screen showed my father in the middle of making a statement. "And so, I am advising that all Parisians stay off the streets until this situation is under control"

My father's image was replaced with that of a new announcer.

"As incredible as it seems, it's been confirmed that Paris is being attacked by what appears to be a supervillain. The police have, at this point, been struggling to keep the situation under control" The announcer said, before the screen shifted to show a policeman with a broken arm being interviewed.

"Be confident, that the strong arm of the law will come crashing down on…" The policeman raised his broken arm, only to wince and bring it back down with a pained expression. "…er…I mean the other arm"

"Wow, and I thought things were wild in New York" I sighed, laying back on my bed, only to yelp as I felt something dig into my lower back. "Huh? What the…?" I turned to see a little black box with red markings sitting on the bedsheet behind me.

"What's this doing here?" I pondered as I carefully picked up the box.

I opened the box, and turned away as I was instantly blinded by a bright white light that came from inside of it. Dropping the box and blinking rapidly to adjust my eyes, I looked back to see the light fade away to reveal a…strange creature of sorts. It looked kind of like a small…white weasel, with a large head, curved ears, and a long white tail tipped with black.

I let out a small gasp as the weasel creature woke up and looked at me. For a moment, we just stared at each other.

The creature broke the silence first. "Um…hello" It said in a high-squeaky voice.

"H-hello" I replied, still somewhat in a state of shock. "Who..er…what are you?" I asked, somewhat bluntly.

To my surprise, the creature giggled. "My name is Minkk, and I am a Kwami" She (at least I think it was a she) replied.

"Okay, and what's a kwami?" I asked.

"Kwamis are being that can grant special abilities to people. In my case, I can grant the power of transformation"

"Powers?" I felt my eyes light up. "You mean, you can give me superpowers?"

"Yes!" Minkk seemed pleased. "Powers that you can use to fight against the wicked akumas!"

"Akumas?"

"Akumas are beings that can grant powers, like kwamis" Minkk explained. "But akumas are drawn to negative emotions, like pain, anger and fear. They infect items belonging to the people showing these emotions and take control of them, mutating them into monstrous villains"

"Villians? You mean…like him?" I pointed to the TV screen, which still showed images of the stone giant.

"Exactly. That is Stoneheart, a person who's been infected by an akuma, and it's up to you to help cure him"

"But how?"

"By using your powers. Yours is called 'Animorphix'. It will allow you to transform into a random animal for a period of five minutes. But be careful. Once your five minutes are up, you'll be forced to become human again, and then you'll be forced to transform back into your civilian form in five more minutes."

"But how can I defeat something like Stoneheart in only ten minutes?"

"You need to find where the Akuma is hiding. If you destroy it, you can force the akuma out into the open, so it can be captured. Once you do that, the person will return back to normal."

"Oh man! I've gotta tell my dad about this!" I lunged for my phoen, only for Minkk to appear in front of me.

"No Alice, wait! You can't tell your father about me! You can't tell anyone about me!" she begged.

"But…I can't go up against that by myself!" I motioned to Stoneheart on the TV. "Even with superpowers!"

"You won't be alone. There are other heroes that will be able to help you"

"There are others?" I raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"

"After wrecking the Shetland Tower, the being now known as Stoneheart is heading towards the Montparnasse Tower. The creature seems to be unstoppable" My gaze was drawn back to the TV, which showed Stoneheart moving down a street, with someone on a bicycle tailing him.

"Alya?" I gasped. There was no mistaking that copper-colored hair.

Minkk suddenly appeared in my field of vision. "I know you may have doubts Alice, but you need to trust me. You've already seen the kind of damage Stoneheart can cause. This will only be the beginning unless you can stop him"

I looked at Minkk, then at the screen, and made my decision.

"Okay, what do I do?"

"First, you must put on the Miraculous in the box" Minkk floated over to the box on the floor. I followed her and peered inside.

"A belt?" I pondered as I pulled it out. It was white with a silvery buckle. "Well, at least it's my color." I muse as I threaded the belt through the loops of my jeans. "Okay, now what?" I asked once the belt was on.

"Now say, 'Showtime'"

I raised an eyebrow. "Showtime? That sound like… what the?" I gasped as Minkk suddenly dove right into the buckle, which turned black with five white lines. A white light spread over my entire body, and a few seconds later I was encased in what looked like white fur. I rushed to my mirror.

"Woah!" I was now encased from the neck down in a furry white outfit with black accents on my chest and down my arms and legs. My hair had turned from snowy-blonde to almost pure white, with black tips and I had curved weasel ears sticking out of the top of my head. My eyes had turned electric blue and my face was covered in a mask that stretched from my forehead to under my nose, which was now black. As I marveled in my new outfit, I saw something move behind me and my eyes widened. A long, fluffy-looking white tail with a black tip was moving around behind me.

"Oh. My. Gosh! I have a tail!" I exclaimed, grabbing the appendage, which was looked to be about half my body-length. Even though my new gloves, I could feel how silky soft the fur was. "This is amazing!" I squealed.

A loud boom from outside snapped me out of my excited state. Right, there was work to do! I raced to the window and opened it. I climbed out onto the ledge and make my way up to the roof. My new gloves seemed to grip the wall with enough force to keep me from falling.

Upon reaching the top, I paused and looked around. "Okay, so I can apparently climb well and…" I pause as I noticed something hanging from my belt. Holding it up, I saw it was a small, wand-like device with a series of buttons on it. Pressing one sent a tail of what looks like energy uncoiling from it, almost like… "a whip?" I pondered aloud. My gaze suddenly moved from the whip to the roof of a nearby building. "I wonder" Before I fully understood what I was doing, I was backing up and starting to run. I raced to the edge of the roof, leapt off, and swung my whip in a wide arc. The coil of energy reached out and wrapped itself around the railing of a nearby building. Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled up towards the roof of the next building, which I cleared easily.

"This is awesome!" I cried out as I landed and broke into a sprint without even pausing. Exhibiting a series of parkour moves I didn't even know I was capable of; I soon found myself making great time across the rooftops of Paris, using my whip to help bridge the bigger gaps.

I had just come around a chimney pot when I paused. On the roof across from me was a boy about my age wearing an outfit of what looked like black leather, with black cat ears sticking out of his blonde head. I had a feeling this was one of the other heroes Minkk had been telling me about. As I watched, the boy held up what looked like a metal baton and somehow extended it to cross the width of the street.

I was pondering what to say to him, when the boy looked up and spotted me. His cat-like eyes widened under his black mask and a cheeky grin appeared on his face.

"Well hello there" He said in a cheerful tone. "And who might you be?"

I felt a smug smile cross my face as I leapt down to be on the same level as him. "Depends on who you are"

"I bet you're one off the partners my Kwami told me about" The boy replied, as he stepped onto the baton, which now looked more like a tightrope.

"I'd say, that's a wager you'd win" I replied as the boy started walking towards me on his tightrope-baton. "Looking good on that…stick" I commented.

"Oh yeah, I'm starting to get the hang of this" the boy commented, now halfway across.

At that moment, both of us heard yelling coming from above and looked up to see a person in red-and-black falling towards us.

"Uh oh" I muttered as I watched the figure collide with the cat-boy, knocking him off his stick. I reached for my whip, but paused when I saw that they were both tangled up in a string of some sort, that had become attached to the stick, causing both of them to hang off the ground, swinging back and forth.

"Well, hello there. Nice of you to drop in" I heard the Cat boy say and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose" The other figure replied as I leapt down to the street.

"Are you two alright?" I asked as the pair worked themselves free. Upon closer inspection, the figure was a girl, about my age, wearing a red outfit studded with black spots, she looked kind of like a ladybug.

"Yeah, we're fine." The cat boy spoke up first. "So, it looks like the three of us are going to be working together. I'm…Chat Noir. Yeah, Chat Noir. And you two are…?"

"Call me…" I paused, racking my brain for a good name. "Ermine" I said after a minute. "Yeah, like the fur" I added, striking a pose.

"Meow" Cat Noir grinned at me and turned to the other girl, who was struggling to pull her yo-yo free. "And you?"

"I'm Mar…er…Mar…um…" The girl stammered, and gave another sharp yank causing the stick to come free instead. As Chat Noir looked, up, both tools fell on his head.

"Ow!"

"Madly clumsy. I'm so clumsy" The red girl apologized as she and Chat Noir retrieved their items.

No sweat, clumsy girl. I'm learning the ropes too" said Chat Noir.

"We all are." I spoke up, placing a hand on the red girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll get better."

The girl smiled hopefully at me, but a loud crash made us look up. A few blocks away, a skyscraper was collapsing.

"Well, that's not good" I commented.

"Come on" Chat Noir rushed forward and used his stick to pole vault onto a nearby rooftop.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The red girl called.

"To save Paris, right?" Chat Noir called back before he was lost from view.

I rolled my eyes. Chat Noir was enthusiastic, but a tad reckless. I made to follow him, but saw that our third partner hadn't moved. She was looking a bit…unsure of herself.

"Hey? You okay?" I asked.

"I'm…just…not really sure I'm cut out for this" She admitted after a moment.

For a few seconds, I just stood there, then I smiled and reached over to the girl. I placed my hand under her chin and lifted it until she was looking me in the eye.

"You think I don't feel the same way?" I asked.

"What?" The girl looked confused.

"You think you're the only one here who's scared? We've only been heroes for, how long?" I glanced at an imaginary watch. "About ten minutes, and we're already on our way to fight a supervillain who can throw cars around like soccer balls, and who gets bigger and stronger every time someone hits him. You think I'm not scared? I'm terrified!"

"Really?" The girl looked surprised. "But you seem so…so calm"

"That's because, in addition to fear, I have something else." I continued, leaning closer to her. "Trust. I trust in myself, and I trust in my team, which includes you" I poked the girl's arm. "I trust that I am making the right decision and I trust that everything will work itself out in the end, because in the end, that's all a hero can do. They trust themselves enough to make a leap of blind faith." I looked the girl squarely in the eye. "Do you trust yourself enough to make the leap?"

Before the girl could answer, I backed away, unsnapped my whip and lassoed the top of a nearby building. I nodded at the girl before leaping away, leaving her to her thoughts.

A minute later, I caught up with Chat Noir as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

"Chat Noir? Any sign of Stoneheart?" I yelled as I came even with him.

"I think he's heading to the stadium!" He called back before looking around. "Where's our teammate?"

"She's coming" I smiled at him, but inside my heart was fluttering nervously. Pep talks weren't really my thing.

Soon we reached the stadium. Stoneheart was already there, chasing down Kim.

"Let's do this!" Chat Noir took point, jumping up and extending his stick so that one end slammed into the ground between Stoneheart and Kim, causing the former to pause and the latter to jump.

Chat Noir and I landed in between the two and I turned to Kim, who was staring at us. "Keep running!" I growled. Kim nodded and complied.

"Hey!" I turned as Chat Noir addressed Stoneheart. "It's not nice to pick on people smaller than you!"

"I guess you're talking about yourself" Stoneheart growled back and lunged for us.

Chat Noir and I jumped and dodged as Stoneheart swung wildly again and again.

After dodging one blow, Chat Noir finally saw an opening and jumped high, bringing his stick slamming down on Stoneheart's head before jumping away.

As I rushed over to join him, Stoneheart grew even bigger before turning to face us. He slammed his foot down, making the whole stadium shake.

"Better not do that again" I commented.

"Noted." Chat Noir agreed before raising his voice. "Where are you, other partner?!"

"Give her time! She'll come!" I soothed as Stoneheart began swatting at us, trying to platen us into the ground.

"Are you sure?" Chat Noir sounded uncertain.

"Of course, I'm sure!" Deep down I wasn't so sure, but I felt it was better to fake that I was. "I trust in my team! Do you?"

Chat Noir paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do!"

We both looked up and gasped as Stoneheart suddenly ripped up a soccer goal and threw it at us. Chat Noir and I both dodged but as my eyes followed the net's progress through the air, I suddenly saw Alya kneeling in one of the stadium entrances, and right in the path of the runaway goal!

Gasping, I began to run towards Alya, but I saw Chat Noir's stick zip past me and extend across the entrance, catching the goal before it could crush Alya and bounce it off to land a few feet away.

I turned to congratulate Chat Noir, but my relief turned to fear as I saw Stoneheart grab Chat with his left hand.

As I saw Chat Noir writhe in Stoneheart's grip, something in me snapped. Growling, I rushed towards Stoneheart, then jumped up high, a battle cry erupting from my lips.

Stoneheart saw me coming, growled, and lashed out with his right fist. The blow caught me on the jaw, and for a few seconds I was seeing stars. I felt so stunned that I didn't realize I was flying, before the hard impact of my body hitting the stadium field reminded me.

I could hear Ayla yelling something, but my head was pounding so hard I couldn't tell what it was. As I struggled to get up, another voice, loud and clear, cut through the haze of pain in my head.

"Anima cruelty? How shameful!" I look up to see the ladybug girl yanking the string of her yo-yo. I look over to see Stoneheart suddenly fall backwards. His fist opened and Chat Noir went flying into the opposite goal.

"I see you made the leap" I commented as I slowly got to my feet.

"Yeah, sorry it took so long." The girl replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live" I said, shaking away the stars in my vision before we raced over to Chat Noir.

"Are you alright, Chat Noir?" I asked as Chat Noir, having freed himself from the net, stood up and dusted himself up.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm good" I nodded

"Great, now that we're all together, let's kick his rocky behind!" Chat Noir started to run towards Stoneheart.

I sighed and grabbed the belt that served as his tail. I was pretty sure that, based on what we had seen earlier, a head-to-head conflict was not the best course of action.

"Wait!" the ladybug girl spoke up. "Haven't you noticed that he gets bigger and stronger with every attack?"

"Yeah, we did notice that" I gave Chat Noir a look, and he grinned sheepishly.

"We have to do something different" the Ladybug girl pondered.

"Different how?" Chat Noir asked as I let go of his tail.

"Um… I don't know" The girl looked thoughtful.

"Okay then, let's use our powers!" Chat Noir said eagerly before yelling "CATACLYSM!" The ring on his finger glowed and his entire right hand became charged with energy. Little black orbs began dancing around it.

"Apparently I destroy everything that I touch" Chat Noir explained with a smirk.

"I don't need a superpower to do that" The girl mumbled.

Chat Noir reached for the post of the soccer goal. Realizing what he was about to do, I shouted "No, don't do that!" But it was too late. Chat Noir touched the pole, and the entire goal appeared to rust and collapse into dust.

Chat Noir seemed even more excited now. "Cool! It's just you and me now" He charged at Stoneheart. "Time to rumble, soon-to-be rubble!"

"Chat Noir, wait!" Me and the girl both yelled. I unsnapped my whip, planning to lasso him back to us, but before I could, Chat Noir took a running leap, landed in front of Stoneheart and placed his hand on the giant's foot.

Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

"Uh oh. I guess I only get one shot to use my powers" Chat Noir whimpered as Stoneheart growled at him. He waved innocently, but Stoneheart kicked him back over to us.

"And now you only have five minutes before you transform back. Didn't your kwami explain anything to you?" The Ladybug girl scolded as I helped Chat Noir get to his feet.

"I guess I was a little excited about my new life" Chat Noir confessed, placing his hands behind his head.

"Why do boys always leap before they look?" I groaned and shook my head.

"Hey!"

"Well…up to us then." The girl shouted "LUCKY CHARM!" before throwing her yo-yo up into the air. A swarm of ladybugs flew out of it and swirled around before forming what appeared to be a red-and-black jumpsuit.

"Okay…" I mused as the girl caught her new tool. I had no idea what the girl was planning to do with it.

"Wow, super power" Chat Noir said sarcastically.

"My kwami said I had to break the object where the whatchamacallit, the akuma, is hiding" the girl mused.

"Well, he's made entirely of stone" Chat Noir commented as Stoneheart began moving towards us.

"Yeah, but there's nothing else on him." I added. "And my kwami told me that akumas can't possess an actual person, so where could it be?"

"Wait, look at his right hand. It's still closed. He's never opened it" the girl pointed, then her eyes widened. "That's it! It's like the Russian nesting dolls. The object isn't on him, it's hidden in his fist!"

"Yeah, that makes sense!" I nodded.

"So, what's the plan for getting to it?" Chat Noir asked.

I frowned thoughtfully. That was a good question. Both Chat Noir and Ladybug had already used their superpowers. I hadn't, but I wasn't sure how mine would be effective.

"This" I looked up at the girls' words to see that she had tied knots in the sleeves and legs of the jumpsuit and had had stuck a water hose into the neck of the suit, closing it off.

"Um…I'm afraid I don't follow" I admitted.

"It's quite simple really" the girl said, wrapping her yo-yo around Chat Noir's legs. "Don't resist, trust me!"

"This girl's crazy!" Chat Noir yelled as he was yanked off his feet and spun around before being launched at Stoneheart.

"Okay, what now? I asked as Stoneheart grabbed Chat Noir in his left hand.

"Now you need to use your powers!" The girl said.

"Um…Okay" I still wasn't sure what the girl was planning. But I figured it was worth a shot. "ANIMORPHIX!" I cried out. My belt buckle glowed and I was cocooned in a halo of light. When the light faded, I had transformed into a large white elephant.

"Woah! That's incredible!" The girl's eyes widened as I reared up, raised my new trunk and let out a loud trumpet.

"Apparently I can transform into animals" I said as I fell back on all fours. Even though I was now an elephant, I was still capable of human speech.

"Okay, now take this!" She handed me the wetsuit, "And attack Stoneheart!"

"What?" I asked as I grabbed the wetsuit with my trunk, wondering if I had heard correctly.

"You heard me! You need to attack him head on!" The girl instructed, punching one hand with the other fist.

"Are you sure?" I asked as the girl launched her yo-yo towards the roof of the stadium.

The girl looked me square in the eye. "I'm sure. Do you trust me?"

I looked her back in the eyes. As far as I could tell, the doubt and uncertainty that I had seen earlier was completely gone. The girl seemed…different now. More certain. Maybe she did know what she was doing. "Yes' I nodded.

"Then go" Ladybug said before pulling on her yo-yo string and launching herself away.

I snorted and turned to Stoneheart. "Hey Stoneheart, how about you pick on someone my own size! Chaaaaarge!" With a loud cry I ran at Stoneheart as fast as I could in elephant form, my trunk holding the jumpsuit stretched out in front of me.

"What are you doing?" Char Noir's eyes widened as I got closer.

"Improvising!" I yelled back. What Ladybug was thinking, I still had no idea, but I figured that if I rammed him hard enough, he might release Chat Noir.

Stoneheart growled as he watched me approach. Suddenly his right fist opened up. He reached out, and grabbed the jumpsuit, and my elephant trunk!

"Yeow!" I yelped as pain shot through my nose. "By dose! He's skwueething by dose!" I cried out, my words coming out funny-sounding because Stoneheart was now squeezing my trunk.

"Ha! Ha! You sound funny!" Stoneheart chuckled as I cried out in pain and sank to my knees.

"Hang on!" I heard the girl yell, followed by the unmistakable sound of water. I looked down to see water traveling through the hose connected to the jumpsuit now clenched inside Stoneheart's fist. The jumpsuit expanded as water filled it, forcing him to open his hand, releasing me. I staggered backwards, shaking my head as my trunk started aching.

"Quick, look around for the akumatized object! It should be close to you!" the girl called over from where she was turning the handle on a tap at the other end of the hose. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my trunk, I began looking around.

"I see it!" Chat Noir suddenly shouted. "It's on your left!"

I looked to my left and saw what looked like a purple rock lying nearby. "Aha!" I cried triumphantly before rearing up on my hind legs and bringing my front foot crashing down on the object, crushing it. A black-and-purple butterfly appeared and quickly flew away.

Stoneheart was suddenly covered in purple smoke, which caused the stones composing him to break apart. Chat Noir yelped as he fell to the ground. Seconds later the stones seemed to evaporate, leaving behind a dazed-looking Ivan laying on the ground.

As the girl ran over to us, my body was suddenly haloed in white light and I shifted back into human form. "Are you okay?" The girl asked, looking apologetic.

"I'll live" I said, rubbing my nose, which was still a little sore. "But next time, warn me"

"heh heh, sorry" the girl chuckled sheepishly.

We looked around as Ivan groaned and looked around. "What's going on? What am I doing here?"

"Wow! That was amazing!" Chat Noir crowed as he dashed over to where we were standing. "You were incredible, taking on Stoneheart like that!" He said to me before turning to our third member "And you were great too miss…uh…bug lady! You did it! You saved Paris!"

"We did it" The girl corrected Chat Noir. "As a team!"

"As a superhero team" I held out my fist.

"Pound it!" We exchanged a three-way fist-bump.

Suddenly Chat Noir's ring started beeping and flashing.

"You should get going. We can clean things up here" I told him.

"She's right. Our abilities must remain a secret, after all" the girl added.

"Farewell, Miladies. Let's do this again soon, okay?" Chat Noir bowed before taking off.

"'Miladies'"? I repeated raising an eyebrow.

The girl giggled. "Not too soon, I hope"

As I shook my head in disbelief, a flash of purple caught my eye and I looked down to see a small cloud of purple mist fizzing away, revealing a piece of paper rolled up into a ball. I picked up the paper and smoothed it out.

My eyes widened when I saw what was on it. "Hey, look at this" I held the paper to the ladybug girl, who took it and read it aloud.

"'You haven't even got the guts to tell Mylene you love her, wuss'. Awww!"

"Who wrote this?" I wondered.

"Kim wrote it" Ivan spoke up. He was now sitting up, gazing at the ground. "He's always making fun of me!"

So that's what Ivan had been so angry about! I remembered when Ivan had threatened to hit Kim in class earlier. I exchanged a quick glance with the ladybug girl, who smiled, and we both walked over to Ivan.

"You know, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape over something like this" I said, placing a hand on Ivan's shoulder.

"That's right, Ivan" the girl placed her hand on Ivan's other shoulder. "There's no shame in admitting that you love someone"

"Hey, um…how'd you know my name, miss?" Ivan asked.

I saw a panicked look on the girl's face and decided to answer for her.

"Of course, we know who you are, Ivan" I purred as I got to my feet. "We know everyone in Paris. It's one of the requirements of being a superhero. You need to know the names of the people who you might end up saving" Looking at my partner, I winked at her. "Am I right, partner?"

The girl caught on quickly and smiled. "I couldn't have said it better myself, partner" she said cockily as she got to her feet as well.

"Uncanny! Amazing! Spectacular!" We all turned to see Alya filming us on her phone. "Are you three going to be protecting Paris from now on? Where did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive ladybug? Did you get bitten by a mutated weasel?" She demanded as I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm.

As the two of us turned to leave, Alya's ranting continued. "Oh, I've got so many questions to ask you miss… er…"

I nudged the girl who turned to face Alya.

"Um…Ladybug. Call me Ladybug" She said before lassoing the stadium roof with her yo-yo. She nodded and smiled at me before flying away on her yo-yo string.

"Ladybug, super awesome!" Alya exclaimed before turning to me. "And you?"

"Well, first off, in case you didn't hear, the fellow in black who was here earlier, is called Chat Noir. As for me…" I paused and ran my fingers through my long white hair, making it flare out dramatically. "…you can call me Ermine" I smiled at the camera as I used my whip to grab onto the roof as Ladybug had. "See you around!" I called back as I jumped up and pulled myself up to the stadium roof and began my trek back home.

Arriving back at the hotel, I quickly climbed in through the window just as I transformed back into Alice. Minkk appeared in the air before me, but soon settled onto my bed, groaning loudly.

I was immediately at her side. "Minkk, what's wrong?"

"Food! I need…food!" Minkk sighed theatrically and I chuckled as I realized she was playing with me.

"Oh, but of course Minkk." I said dramatically, playing along. "I can only imagine how long it's been since you last had a proper meal!"

Minkk giggled, then threw her head back and moaned. "Oh, its true! It's true! It's been so long that I…I…I've forgotten what food even tastes like!"

I gave a loud theatrical gasp of horror. "Oh, you poor thing!" I wailed and flung myself down in front of her. "Please forgive this lowly girl for not realizing your needs sooner. Oh, how will I ever prove myself mature and responsible enough to care for a kwami?"

For a moment, I just lay there, then I looked up to see Minkk gazing at me. She giggled. I giggled, then we both burst out laughing.

"Seriously though, I can get you something to eat easily. What do you want?" I asked after we had stopped.

"Well, all kwamis have their preferences. But in my case, anything sweet will be fine. What I'd really like is chocolate cake or something like that, if you have it"

"Hmmm" I thought for a moment. "Would brownies work?" I asked as something in my memory clicked.

Minkk looked confused. "What is a brownie?"

I chuckled as I reached for the room-service phone. "Oh, you just wait, you'll love them." I said as I dialed a number.

"Yes?" A female voice answered a minute later.

"Mrs. Cesare, do you have any brownies left over from that event you were catering to earlier today?" I asked.

"um…yes, I still have a few" The woman said a minute later.

"Could you send them up to my room, please?"

"Certainly, Miss Alice"

"Thanks" I hung up and switched on the TV in my room to see if our battle had made the news. To my delight, Alya's footage was being broadcast on the national news.

"And there you have it, viewers." Said the announcer. "Thanks to this amateur footage, Paris now knows the identities of its new superheroes."

The screen shifted to show my father standing in front of City Hall, with a proud smile on his face.

"I am pleased to announce that the city will be planning a great celebration in honor of our city's newest protectors, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Ermine." He said, and I felt a big smile spread across my face. It felt so good to hear my father praise me like that, even if he didn't actually know it was me he was praising.

A minute later, there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find Jean standing there with a tray.

"Your brownies, Miss Alice" He said, handing the tray to me.

"Sweet! Thank you, Jean" I smiled at him and closed the door.

Minkk flew out of hiding as I set the tray on my bed. "Ooooh, these look yummy!"

"Well, I'd say we've earned a little treat, eh?" I said, grabbing one. "So, let's dig in!"

As we munched on the brownies, a report on the TV attracted our attention.

"Just as Paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our three new superheroes, Lady Bug, Ermine, and Chat Noir, a new wave of panic is sweeping the capital, as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters. It's simply unbelievable."

I felt my jaw drop in horror as I witnessed multiple people transform into duplicates of Stoneheart when a black butterfly landed on each of them.

"So far, the transformed individuals have exhibited no movement, being still as statues. The police are perplexed as to what will happen to them. Will they eventually come to life or remain frozen in time forever?"

"Uh…Minkk? What's going on? I thought Stoneheart had been taken care of" I turned to my kwami, who was munching and watching at the same time.

Minkk turned to look at me. "Did you capture the Akuma?" She asked.

My eyes widened suddenly as I remembered the black butterfly that had flown away from the battle scene. That must have been the akuma!

"Oops" I mused, then frowned. "But, wait a minute! There was only one akuma affecting Ivan, where did all these other ones come from?"

"Akumas can multiply, which is why they need to be captured." Minkk explained. "As long as the one that infected Ivan is still out there, if Ivan's emotions become negative again, the akuma could turn him back into Stoneheart. If that happens, he could take command of these other stone beings and make them into his own personal army."

"Yikes!" I winced, rubbing my nose. "One of those things was bad enough, but a whole army?" I paled at the thought of what an army of Stonehearts could do to Paris. "We have to capture that akuma!"

To my surprise, Minkk shook her head. "You wouldn't be able to, without Ladybug there."

"Why?"

"Ladybug's the only one who can capture akumas and repair the damage caused by supervillains" Minkk said.

I felt alarm flicker across my face. "Is there anything Chat Noir and I can do on our own?"

"No" Minkk shook her head again. "Except fight against Stoneheart and his minions if and when they come alive."

My mind whirring, I slowly moved the brownie tray to my bedside table, then plopped down on my bed with a loud sigh. "Ladybug" I muttered under my breath as Minkk and I looked at the still-running news broadcast. "I hope you're watching this. Looks like our problems have only just started"


And Cut!

I've been a fan of the Miraculous Ladybug series since it first came out, and I figured it was about time I try my hand at writing my own. As of now, I have no intention of finishing this series, but if you readers would like me to, I can definitely make an effort.

My series will most likely follow the genuine plot of the TV series, with a few changes, some minor and some major. You'll see them as the series progresses. This first chapter is just to get it off the ground.

Let me know what you think!

Until next time!