~Back at School, Monday morning~
"Say...isn't it a little odd that both Adrien and Marinette are absent today?" Alya thought aloud, theorizing with Nino.
"What's odd about it?" Nino wondered, turning back around to look at Alya, whom was stroking her chin.
"Because last I saw Ladybug and Chat Noir, they were fighting another villain, in the rain!" The two pondered together before suddenly lightbulbs came over their heads.
"Alya...you don't think-...?" Nino started.
"No way...it couldn't be a coincidence! The history book incident, the fact that they're never in the same place at the same time...! Marinette and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat Noir?!" Alya shouted in shock. Everyone in class turned to face Nino and Alya, luckily the teacher had yet to arrive.
"Yeah right! Like someone as clumsily dimwitted as Marinette could be Ladybug!" Alya glared at Chloe's response.
"And what about Adrien?" Nino asked Chloe with curiosity towards her opinion regarding the matter.
"I don't know. He's just too perfect and nice and shy, it just doesn't fit Ladybug's annoyed description of Chat Noir!" Nino turned back to Alya for her opinion, she immediately had a case ready for argument.
"Well, Nino told me that Adrien is really sheltered and always under the close eye of his dad, I'm pretty sure if your parent kept you neatly tucked under their thumb like a prisoner all your life, wouldn't you want to be free to express yourself? Maybe Chat Noir is his alter ego and that's how he vents his emotions that get bottled up!" Everyone else in the room sided with Alya as it seemed to make the most sense.
"Wanna text Marinette?" Nino asked Alya who quickly snatched her phone out from her pocket and began furiously typing.
~Meanwhile~
Suddenly Marinette heard her phone buzz as she slowly reached for her phone to see who it was while she blew her nose in a tissue at the same time. She was horrified upon reading the text.
"Marinette! I need to know, you're Ladybug aren't you! Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret between us once I convince the class that my hunch is wrong. Mari, you can't keep a journalist from finding the truth. When you get better, call me!" She read aloud before taking a shaky sip of her hot chocolate. She nervously showed it to Tikki, who's jaw dropped in shock.
"How did she figure it out?!" Tikki gasped.
"I don't know! I have no idea what to do!" Marinette panicked.
"Text her back! Try to come up with an excuse!" Tikki told her, Marinette nodded and began typing.
~Back at school~
"Oh hey! She just replied! It says; 'I don't know what you're talking about'." Alya read with a very unserious face.
"She seriously sent that to you?! How corny can you get, that's such clear denial." Nino said.
"I know, now it's just obvious. What should I say back?" Alya asked.
"How about we just keep it a secret that we know? Let her believe that her secret is still totally safe." Nathaniel thought aloud.
"Yeah, text her that you were only kidding or something!" Nino told Alya who immediately began texting again.
"Hey, I got another text!" Marinette said frantically, trying not to sweat from nervousness. Her and Tikki both read the message and sighed in relief.
"She was just joking, man I was so worried." Marinette went back to drinking her hot chocolate and gave Tikki another cookie, having lost her own appetite with those few minutes of stress.
"I think I need some more sleep after that scare." She thought aloud and Tikki nodded in agreement after finishing the last cookie. Marinette still had a fever and continued to have a headache, but at least she had more energy.
~Meanwhile~
A young girl was busy in her room, brushing the hair that she hated and glaring at her reflection surrounded by various pictures of Ladybug. It was only seeing Ladybug's smile that made her smile back.
"Ugh...why do I have to be so ugly. I'll never have a social life." The girl told herself. She hated her freckles, she hated the tiny gap between her two front teeth that her mother thought looked adorable. She hated her scraggily greasy hair that continuously had to have gel and conditioner in it to keep it in place. She hated everything about herself, and today was the spring dance that would be happening later in the evening, but at the moment, the girl just had to pull herself together and go to school. All while mumbling to herself.
"An 11 year old with acne, isn't that supposed to be a teenager thing?" Her mother heard this tried to cheer up her daughter.
"Fay. You know girls mature faster than boys. You're not ugly, so stop treating yourself that way! You're beautiful just the way you are, there are people who have no teeth but can still see the beauty in themselves." Her mother said with a compassionate smile. Fay rolled her eyes.
"Great cheer up speech, mom. I just wish I actually was pretty! Like Ladybug! Perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect figure!" She retorted with annoyance. Fay just snatched her backpack and began her walk to school.
It was a quick walk from Fay's house to the school as the minute she walked in, she found herself surrounded by all the kid couples that had dates to the dance. She tried to convince herself that the dance was overrated but she was on the decorating team and it looked as extravagant as what she would imagine a wealthy prom to look like. It irritated her to no end at how happy everyone looked as Fay just felt herself to be the ugly duckling. She headed to her first class and on the way, passed by a group of guys. It seemed like one of them had opened his mouth to say something, but she decided not to stick around for an insult, she had a crush on one of the guys in that group, but he never noticed her.
Maybe the guy doesn't have to be the one to ask me out...I could ask him! Right? She nervously wondered, afraid of getting rejected, she chose to keep quiet until lunch time.
Meanwhile...
"Ah, a school dance. There's bound to be at least a few saddened and lonely souls. No one will be able to stop me from retrieving the miraculouses!"
"Don't think you'll get away with this!" Hawkmoth suddenly heard a voice, he smirked.
"Plagg, nice of you to join us. Shouldn't you be watching over Adrien?" He slyly told the kwami.
"You're not really out to save his mom, are you?!" Plagg accused.
"Think what you want, but everything I do is for a reason." Hawkmoth said defensively.
"Sure. Just not a good reason!" Plagg mumbled to himself before flying out back to Adrien. He had been keeping a close eye on his ring with paranoia that if he ever fell asleep, he'd wake up to find the ring stolen by Hawkmoth.
Lunch time had arrived for Fay and she began following her crush from afar trying to come up with a strategy of how to approach the topic, a note would take too long for a response.
"Ok...I'm just gonna go up to him and ask upfront!" Fay began walking towards him. She tried fixing her hair a bit and made sure her teeth didn't have anything stuck between them a she slowly and nervously approached the boy. Little did she know that the other boy was watching her walk up to him, he held a love letter for her in his shaking hand as his heart began to drop, knowing that she was going to ask somebody out.
"Uh, hi! Michael...I'm Fay, uh...b-but you already know that since we er, have the same classes and so anyway...I uh...um was wondering I-if you could, if you and I uh...-" Fay stuttered as suddenly a girl wrapped an arm around the boy with a smirk. Fay was frozen as she felt her heart break inside her. Her knees shook.
"Were you trying to ask out Michael? Listen, Fatty Fay, he's taken." Tears began to well up in Fay's eyes as she ran away crying. The boy who liked her, Liam, felt so bad for her. He gave Ann a death glare.
"How dare she! How could someone be so mean to the most beautiful girl in the world?! How cruel can you be? I won't let her get away with hurting Fay!" Liam said to himself as he shoved his love letter in his pocket and ran away. While running, he heard a voice.
"HeartShatter, I am Hawkmoth. You wish to get revenge on the ones whom have wronged the girl you love. Pay them back for every insult thrown at her, in return, bring me the Miraculous stones of Ladybug and Chat Noir!"
"With pleasure, Hawkmoth!" Liam told him as the akuma flew into his pocket and attached itself to the love letter.
meanwhile...
Fay had gone to the girl's bathroom to cry when suddenly a voice was heard.
"Shapeshifter, listen to me, I am Hawkmoth. You wish to be beautiful like all the other girls, correct? Just bring me the miraculous of Chat Noir and Ladybug and your wish will be granted. Do we have a deal?" Hawkmoth informed her.
"Yes, Hawkmoth!" The akuma attached itself to her ladybug charm bracelet. When Fay walked out of the bathroom, she was a complete Ladybug copy. When Liam walked back down the hall, he was dressed in black from head to toe except his chest had a broken heart symbol on it with a red and black stripped gun arm that shot blasts of electric black matter. Heart Shatter blasted every couple that passed him which caused them all to have a violent break up and lose all self esteem they had for themselves. While Shapeshifter, wrapped people up with her yo-yo and when they unraveled, they were transformed into hideous creatures except they still maintained their conscience as they all screamed in horror upon looking into a mirror. Some were turned into animals, others became gross and smelly fat human pig hybrids. The two akumatized children met up at an intersection of hallways.
"you seem familiar..." Shapeshifter told him.
"As do you, ma'lady. Or at least, sound familiar. Fay." Heart Shatter told her, Shapeshifter hadn't realized that her voice hadn't changed to match Ladybug's so it still went up and down in pitch like a changing voice should. She blushed in embarrassment and as a result, turned into an adorable kitten with big eyes and a shy demeanor.
"How did you know who I was?" The kitten asked as Heart lowered his hand for her to hop on, which she did and crawled onto his shoulder.
"Because I like you." The kitten blushed again at this comment.
"Now let's get our revenge and those stupid miraculous stones!" Fay announced proudly, turning into a snake. Heart shatter smirked at her as she hopped off him and turned back into Ladybug before running off together through the school zapping couples and people prettier than Fay.
"Let's get Ann!" Shapeshifter told him.
The two split up to search for Ann. Shapeshifter ran for the gym and Heart Shatter dashed to the auditorium. Shapeshifter found Michael instead, she initially had her arm raised and glowing about to attack until she saw the terrified look on his face.
"P-p-please! D-don't...don't hurt me!" The boy pleaded frantically. Shapeshifter lowered her arm with a guilty expression.
"I-I...I don't, I'm not gonna hurt you, I just-...". Suddenly she turned into herself, only wearing a rain coat, drenched as her hair had flattened from seemingly having been in the rain for hours and her bangs covered her face.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SHAPESHIFTER?! GO!" Hawkmoth yelled in her head, she fell to her knees in pain as suddenly, she lost control of her abilities and began zapping everything in sight to turn it hideous before turning back to Michael and aiming her finger at him. The blast was fired but was reflected by a familiar yo-yo. Shapeshifter gasped at seeing Ladybug until she remembered her mission and all the people who had hurt her. Her anger built up as Ladybug approached her and she turned into a giant red fire-breathing dragon.
"Woah...did not see that coming." Ladybug said to herself.
"Gimme the earrings!" She yelled while trying to reach for Ladybug whom quickly jumped out of the way with nimble reflexes. Ladybug through her yo-yo again and it tied Shapeshifters legs together.
"Haha! Gotcha'!" She gloated, until Shapeshifter turned into a snake, causing the string to release her before turning back into Fay and running off out of the gym to find Heartshatter.
Yes, Fay is a real name, and ironically, it means "confidence"...that's why I picked it.
