Cat Noir threw himself in the direction of the scream, Ladybug hot on his heels. It took no more than a few seconds for the newly established duo to meet their opponent of the day, who was parading around in the middle of a park, normally frequented by numerous visitors. With the aid of his expandable pole, Cat Noir propelled himself into the air, signalling to his partner to follow him. To his relief, Ladybug complied immediately, looping her yo-yo around a chimney, taking her turn to scale the roofs of Paris.

Perched on the summit of a building, the two heroes had an excellent vision of the action.

At their feet, multicoloured horses, donkeys ripped from lush carriages, and giraffes coming straight from a massive neighbouring carousel frolicked freely. A man dressed in a blue and white striped costume proudly strutted around in the heart of the pandemonium, hardly disturbed by the activity surrounding him.

Gripping his pole securely between his fingers, Cat Noir worriedly scanned the scene.

In any other situation, maybe he would have shown himself to be more intrepid. Maybe be would have even bounded into the middle of the horde of wooden animals and tried to reach the villain in record time. But with his new partner, caution was of the utmost importance. Regretting once more the fact that he'd never had the time to discuss with Ladybug at length their roles as superheroes before having been thrown into battle, Cat Noir let loose a sigh tinged with annoyance.

"Okay," he said to his partner, all while still attentively surveying the villain's gestures below, "just to make sure, has your Kwami explained what you're supposed to do?"

"Locate the object where the Akuma, which allows Hawk Moth to control his victims, is hidden, retrieve the object in question and destroy it, then capture the Akuma with my yo-yo to purify it," the young girl replied immediately, eyes fixed on their enemy. "I've already seen the old Ladybug do it, and I have a friend who… who's an admirer. I've seen plenty of videos."

Satisfied, Cat Noir nodded.

Lass or not, his partner was at least aware of the basics. That at least was something.

"Right, well, I don't have enough time for a full-on presentation, so I'll just summarise everything," he said in a harried voice. "There are different types of supervillains. Those who have the power to influence others, those who can generate weapons, those who can modify their environment… obviously, our enemy of the day groups in with the last category, so we 'only' have to worry about the pieces of the carousel that he's controlling," he explained, making air quotes. "I'll try and distract him as much as possible so that he concentrates his attacks on me. You, on the other hand, need to try and spot something unusual on his person. Jewellery, a piece of paper…. Anything that catches your eye. The Akuma should certainly be lodged inside. You'll need to take and destroy it. Okay?"

"O-okay…" Ladybug agreed nervously, fingers clenched around her yo-yo.

"Right," said the former, straightening. "Let's go!"


Without wasting a single second, Cat Noir threw himself from his perch. His pole cut through the air, whistling shrilly, before he gracefully hit the ground in the middle of the horde of wooden animals. He rose abruptly, sweeping his weapon around in a large circle and hitting a horse with full force.

A violent wave of shock immediately ran up his arm, rattling it to the bone. Gritting his teeth, the young man braced himself as well as he could, putting in all the energy he possibly could into fighting this thing, painted in blue and gold, that faced him.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still until eventually, the creature wavered. It faltered, wobbled, swayed, then fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing a cloud of dust to rise.

Cat Noir barely had the time to rejoice before a massive silhouette appeared in his periphery. Another multicoloured horse charged right at him, its hooves projecting clots of mud his way. Solely by superhuman reflexes, the hero picked himself up and jumped into the air, dodging his opponent by the skin of his teeth. He arched gracefully in the air and hit the ground a few metres away.

Cat Noir straightened up, letting loose a sigh and frantically searching for his new partner. Clearly, their opponent of the day was far from being ideal for a beginner.

Too many potential opponents.

Too many movements to watch out for.

Too many places that attacks could come from.

And this Ladybug, of Adrien's age…

Cat Noir would've wanted Master Fu to impose on him a new partner of the same conditions. To have them both run into a perilous situation without leaving enough time for this frail adolescent to learn more about what she had to do. The Great Guardian was obviously convinced that the new heroine of Paris would forge straight into the flames of combat, without any hindrances, but Felix was far from being as convinced.

This girl was Adrien's age.

She was but a lassie, a girl in secondary school just barely out of childhood.

Underneath the mask, Cat Noir was a solitary young man. Reserved. Taciturn. But despite his natural reservations that prevented him from mingling with others, he was everything but indifferent. Like Master Fu had pointed out, his introverted trait had never prevented him from being a hero, and his sense of duty was engraved in his skin, akin to a tattoo that was impossible to ignore.

Never had he wanted a new partner, and certainly not a girl who made him think too much of his brother. But, despite everything, he felt responsible for her.

He needed to make sure that no harm came her way.

It was his duty.

No, more than that.

It was a legitimate worry, the sensation of being the eldest and in charge of someone whose life faced an obstacle of unheard of difficulty much too familiar. Ladybug's safety depended on his experience and no matter what happened, he had to protect her.


His heart in his throat, Cat Noir turned his head to the right, to the left, searching, in vain, for the vivid red that was Ladybug. But the arrival of the two heroes had only served to intersperse the chaos amongst the animals and their master, transforming the otherwise peaceful park into a battlefield. It took a few seconds before Cat Noir sighted the slim silhouette of his partner, standing right in the middle of the horde of frenzied creatures.

And when his gaze finally landed on Ladybug, Cat Noir felt a chill run down his spine.

With a lump in his throat, he watched his partner dodge a chariot a split second before it hit her. Perhaps even less than that.

Refusing to allow herself to remain trapped in the role of a simple observer, Ladybug had thrown herself into the melee, in an attempt to approach the villain. Under Cat Noir's unwavering eye, she launched herself into the air, pirouetting before landing on a horse's back. With a fluid gesture, she threw her yo-yo, wrapping it around the legs of a donkey and yanking hard on the string, sending her target crashing to the ground. From where he stood, Cat Noir saw his partner's massive blue eyes widen in surprise, as though she hadn't imagined herself capable of such a feat.

Then, less than a fraction of a second later, an expression of fierce concentration overcame her features, and she plunged into the battle with newfound fervour.

However, despite her admirable efforts, the supervillain did not allow her to get any closer to him. Incessantly, he hid himself behind the wooden animals that he controlled with the masterful skill of a conductor of an orchestra, choreographing their movements with diabolic precision, ensuring that there was a constant, unbreakable barrier between himself and the Parisian heroes.

"So, is this how it is then? Ladybug prefers to send a child to do her work rather than come fight me herself?" The supervillain mocked, camped out in the middle of the troupe that moved around him.

"I AM Ladybug," the heroine yelled above the deafening noise of the hooves pounding the ground, the wheels of the chariots and the desperate hits that Cat Noir distributed with his weapon, attempting to approach her.

Spinning her yo-yo in order to form a shield, she veered off a horse before positioning herself in front of her enemy, fists firmly planted on her hips.

"I'm not a lass, and I'm not a child!" She declared defiantly, daring anybody to contradict her statement. "I am Ladybug, the new heroine of Paris. And I'm here to stop you," she concluded, pointing an accusatory finger at the man who stood before her.

The latter's face instantly morphed with a malicious smile.

"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we," he spat with a sinister sneer, raising his arms ostensibly in the air.

Immediately, four horses, one chariot, and a lion made of wood turned in tandem towards Ladybug. It didn't take much more than an authoritative cry to have them all charge straight toward the young heroine, making the ground shake, while the deafening noise of their mad charge echoed throughout. A vivid orange submarine attempted to join in on their efforts, hopping around on the grass in a grotesque fashion, trying to attain its prey.

Facing this sudden attack made Ladybug pale underneath her mask, with reason. However, she recovered and quickly braced herself, her feet firmly planted on the ground. Her hands trembled, and worry was written all over her face, but the bright look of determination that sparkled in her blue eyes didn't leave any room for doubt.

No matter the number, or her own fears.

She was determined not to back down.

Ladybug skilfully dodged the first charge, then the second. Pivoted on her feet. Used her weapon as a shield in order to push back an oncoming donkey. Threw herself into the air, dodging a vicious kick from a stallion of shimmering colours.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the supervillain jumped onto the back of a horse and rushed towards to young girl, hands outstretched in hopes of grabbing her earrings. Tightening her jaw, Ladybug shot him a glare so fierce it was almost intolerable.

This was her chance.

The perfect opportunity to throw her enemy to the ground.

With her body tense and gripping her yo-yo firmly in her hand, she watched her opponent charge towards her at full speed. In only a few seconds, she'd have the perfect angle to throw her weapon at him and topple him from his mount.

Three metres.

Two.

One…

The young girl was so concentrated on her enemy that in that instant, she completely forgot about the other dangerous creatures that continued to gravitate around her. Only when she caught a glimpse of triumph in the eyes of the supervillain did she realise her mistake.

Seeing her enemy throw a glance at her right, Ladybug turned her head.

And instantly found herself shadowed by another stallion.

The creature was already quite close to her.

Close.

Too close.

Much, much too close.

She wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Instinctively tucking her head into her shoulders, Ladybug closed her eyes, waiting for the inexorable blow.

But instead of the terrible collision that she anticipated, she heard nothing but a deafening noise. The sound of something being hit hard, accompanied by a terrifying rush of air and the sensation of being grazed by a body full of power.

Ladybug opened her eyes to the image of a young man standing in front of her with a grimace, massaging his shoulder.

Cat Noir.

It didn't take more than a fraction of a second for the young girl to realise that her partner had thrown himself, with all his might, against the horse, deviating its deadly trajectory at the last second. Not leaving any time to gather her wit, Cat Noir turned towards her, his face livid under his mask.

"Concentrate!" He yelled, rage evident in his voice, shooting a glare at her that bordered more on worry than anything else. "We can't allow ourselves to be distracted!"

"I… I know," replied Ladybug, reddening in shame. "I… thank you, Cat Noir. We have to… we have to…"

The young girl stopped abruptly, incapable of continuing. The sensation of having barely escaped a catastrophe left a lump in her throat. It stole her breath away, almost as if invisible fingers had wrapped around her neck and were squeezing, tightening, tightening, harder…

Jaw tight with rage, Ladybug forced herself to breathe deep and steel herself.

She was a heroine.

She was Ladybug.

That was all she needed to be able to fight.

Heart hammering against her ribs, she armed herself with her yo-yo in order to face the horde of unleashed creatures, instinctively placing herself with her back to her partner.

"Locate and purify the Akuma," Cat Noir said, administering a violent hit to a horse that charged at them at full speed.

"Yup," huffed Ladybug, glancing around the melee.

The young girl's brain was boiling over.

Adrenaline.

Fear.

Excitement.

Too many sensations that surged through her like an implacable tsunami and pushed her limits beyond what she thought was possible.

Never before had she been so fast. Never before had she been so strong.

In the middle of the battlefield, everything came to her with sudden clarity. Limpid. Nothing would escape her. Her spirit at the edge of an explosion analysed the smallest detail. Her body responded to the least bit of movement with staggering precision.

It was heady.

It was terrifying.

It was… her.

Ladybug. Heroine and protector of Paris. Cat Noir's partner.

And young girl on a mission.

"We have to catch the Akuma," she started mechanically, evading yet another attack. "And for that, we need…"

The young girl stopped yet again, her gaze locked onto a kiosk that stood barely a few metres away from the two.

"…to take to the air," she concluded in one breath.

"What?" Exclaimed Cat Noir, too occupied by the creatures that faced them to give his full attention to Ladybug.

"Distract them!" his partner yelled out, spinning her weapon. "I need a few minutes!"

Before Cat Noir had the chance to respond, the young girl threw her yo-yo into the air and gracefully distanced herself from the chaos that reigned on the ground.

She was Ladybug. The one, the only.

And no matter her fears, no matter her doubts. She had been chosen.

Now was the time to show herself capable of her duty.