Happy Birthday to Have a Little Feith! Thanks for being such a regular on the reviews page!
Félix had the feeling it was his turn to gain one of the mysterious jewels when he found an old Chinese man trying to reach for some books on the top shelf at the library. The bracelet on his wrist was enough to identify him as a Miraculous holder, likely the guardian.
However he had been raised to be a polite, if bit stuffy, young man. There was simply no reason to leave an elderly man to struggle. And from the way his peers simply ignored him, averted their gaze or outright went out of their way to avoid it, it was suddenly clear why only a few gained one of the rare jewels.
"What book are you looking for sir?" asked Félix politely in Mandarin. Like Adrian, he had been required to learn a variety of common languages, and China had the highest number in sheer population. He was fluent in more than a few languages.
The man's eyes light up at the sound of his native tongue.
"I was looking for a specific series. I'm rather fond of old legends you see," he replied.
Félix found a few books he knew had accurate legends and pulled them off the top shelf.
"I believe these might hold your interest. Some of the current ones have several inaccuracies or were proven to have been misinterpreted."
"Thank you. I didn't catch your name."
"Félix, sir, of the Delacroix family."
"Thank you again Félix," said the Chinese gentleman.
Félix's suspicions about the odd man in the library were confirmed when he returned after dinner to find a small box in his room. Inside was a necklace with a fox tail...which lit up and a small vulpine figure emerged.
"Man that was a great nap! And best of all it's my turn to come out!"
"A fox. Exactly how many was he holding on to anyway?"
"All but the Moth Broach and the Peacock pin, which fell into the wrong hands," admitted the fox.
"Do you have a name?"
"Kitt!"
"My name is Félix. I suppose we're partners now."
Later that night...
Chat Noir was the first to speak when he saw the newest Miraculous holder.
"Well at least you're not copying me anymore," he said reluctantly. He could live with Félix being a permanent member of the team so long as he wasn't trying to steal his thing. One cat was enough. Two was too many.
"Well, at least you've earned a spot as part of the group rather than they way you joined it unannounced like before," said Ladybug.
It happened suddenly. So suddenly that it was impossible for them to activate one of the many contingency plans.
One moment she was having a particularly rough day after she found a howler in her temporary post box (how it got through was a mystery) and had to deal with that mess. Fortunately she had silenced the area around her in time to avoid anyone knowing her real name. That plus with how late she was to class (earning a detention) and the stress of getting zero sleep thanks to Voldemort meant it would only take one little thing to alert Hawkmoth.
That last straw was a fresh surge of visions...and the resulting migraine...courtesy of whatever link was between her and Voldemort.
His rage and hatred was enough to mask her own cheerful and slightly apathetic aura (because really, what did she have to complain about after leaving a horrible situation behind by moving to Paris in the first place) and attract the attention of an akuma.
She was reaching down to pick up a snake broach in the shape of an ouroboros that she had dropped, almost missing the akuma touching it mere seconds before she did. This explained why they were never able to avoid the stupid things.
Because she was wearing the earrings (not active) and held a Miraculous, there was a brief, if painful war in her body as the power of the Moth Broach warred with the Ladybug Earrings. Without Tikki there to help, the akuma won.
However something happened that no one could have expected.
The earrings created a sort of bubble, separating Lierre from the powers of the akuma that had just been created. And because of the partial protection of her own Miraculous, the secondary effect of being granted powers from the Moth Broach were suppressed to the point that Hawk Moth had no control over the new akuma.
With Chat Noir and the others...
It was only a miracle that this had happened after school hours. The biggest question was... where was Ladybug? All Tikki knew was that something bad had happened and she couldn't find her partner.
And boy hadn't that come as a shock. Their Kwami knew their real identities, but had respected their wishes to keep it secret from their partners.
Though after this, they were definitely going to have a long talk between them about their actual names.
"Where's Ladybug?" said Volpine, formerly Chat Blanc.
"We don't know, but we suspect the worst case scenario happened," said Bee.
"Tikki said something bad has happened, but she doesn't know what and she can't find her partner," said Chat Noir.
"Any idea what the newest akuma is calling themselves?"
"Something about flight from death and they seem to have control of snakes. Conjured ones, thankfully," said Chat Noir. Which was rather weird considering the victim appeared to be female.
Volpine stopped cold and starred at him.
"Flight from death? Was that the exact translation," he asked, with a feeling of absolute dread in his stomach.
"Well they were calling themselves 'lord Voldemort', so..." started Chat Noir, before he saw Volpine pale even more.
"What powers have they demonstrated and how much damage have they currently caused?"
"Well the only thing they've been able to do is summon snakes and control them, though it looked like she was pretty angry about the meager sparks coming off her fingers. It almost looked like a squib trying to cast magic with someone else's wand," said Bee after a moment.
Volpine looked somewhat relieved, but still openly concerned.
"Thank the gods for small mercies. It sounds like we're dealing with a shade of the terrorist from the UK from the sixties. The good news is that either the transformation into an akuma didn't take, or it's possessing someone with a strong will and they are actively resisting by shutting down their magic. Either way, we need to be extremely careful about this fight."
"...This sounds bad."
"This is a man who didn't hesitate to use a curse known for one hit, one kill on a toddler simply because they stood in his way of complete domination of the UK," said Volpine flatly. "You have no idea how bad it could get if they have access to magic. Let's just hope whomever they are possessing can keep that contained and keep him stuck with only summoning and controlling snakes."
Inside the bubble with Lierre...
Lierre was watching Voldemort actively try to kill rather than capture Chat Noir. Hawk Moth was an idiot and he had basically told Voldemort who to aim for if he wanted "power". Either that or he really hated Chat's annoying puns. She thought it was cute, but some might find it annoying.
Still, she was worried about her friends. It was bad enough he had somehow resurrected himself before she left England. They didn't need two copies running around!
Unbidden, the bubble minimized the fight between Voldemort and the others. Instead it seemed to show...memories?
On a hunch, Lierre observed her memories.
Scenes of her getting her own loft and having multiple wards set around it.
Her first real sleep realizing that no one knew where she was save the Delacour family.
Entering a normal school and going through an entire year without a single adventure that ran the risk of getting her killed.
Making friends who didn't really care about magic or her status.
Annoying Chloe purely for the fact she reminded her of Malfoy.
Having Antoinette praise her for passing her mundane and magical tests and treating her like a third daughter, without once being smothering.
Fleur keeping her appraised of England and her now former friends.
Cutting all ties with her past and legally having her name changed, thus making a true fresh start.
Meeting Adrian.
Becoming Ladybug for the first time and flirting with Chat Noir.
Saving people and being thanked for it without any hints of the same lies that had followed her before by her peers.
Knowing that she was making a difference and that she wouldn't be alone ever again.
The copies of the pictures Sirius sent with a letter telling her he understood why she couldn't bear to return to England.
With each memory the bubble around her grew brighter and bigger. She could see spots forming as it became tinted a light pink, and the bubbles were clear.
So much so that she saw the shade that had taken over her body, as well as a much wider picture of Chat Noir and the others. Her fledgling love for Adrian and his alter ego turned the pinkish bubble a fiery red that any Gryffindor would appreciate.
She had only one chance to regain control or force this shade out of her. She had to make it count. Seeing Tikki near Queen Bee gave her the perfect idea of what to do.
The darkness of the shade wavered as a light color started to emerge. Suddenly her voice rang loud and clear enough for them to hear her.
"Tikki, Spots On!"
The purifying effect of the Ladybug Earrings countered the perversion of the Moth Broach. The light and love within Lierre was enough to break freak of the shade, though some abilities remained.
She burst out of a red area near the stomach, and when she saw it the first thing that came to mind was...
"Now I know how an alien feels after a face hugger attaches itself to some poor victim."
Chat Noir couldn't help it, he had to laugh because he caught the reference. So did Queen Bee, though she only let out a light giggle before turning her attention back to the shade.
Once Ladybug was on her feet, her glare could have melted ice with it's intensity.
"You tried to take over my body, keep me from sleeping for days, harass me with fake visions of my old connections in England, and you trespassed in my city. I don't care if you are using the akuma to stay stable, you're going to PAY," she said darkly.
Volpine, Chat Noir and Queen Bee shared a look. This wasn't a fight between Ladybug and an akuma. This was a female of the Black family with a vendetta and enough motive to actively pursue it.
Only an idiot would get between that. They quietly moved back, though they didn't want to look outright like a retreat. In any case their transformations were running low after their exhausting fight with the shade.
They were content to be mere observers in this one.
Though it was weird when Volpine pulled out what looked like a badge and showed it to some adults wearing cop uniforms. Whatever he said to them was effective, because they cordoned off the area and made very, very sure that no electronic means of recording video would work. Sure there would be witnesses, but those not in the know would be quietly obliviated of any sign of magic, barring what was normal for Ladybug to use in public. Even the satellite feeds above Paris were temporarily knocked out.
When it came to containment of a magical fight in a heavy muggle population, the French were a bit more on the spot than their English counterparts.
What followed was short, painful and absolutely brutal. And it was only after the shade was beaten within an inch of their life that she took out her Lucky Charm to fix the damage the shade caused.
Ladybug looked rather pleased now that she had gotten out most of her aggression and fury of her system.
Chat Noir looked at her with respect and more than a little healthy amount a fear.
"Remind me never to get on your bad side," he said nervously.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that. It would take something rather monumental to get on my bad side enough that I would take my anger issues out on you. I find having a punching bag helps wonders when it comes to venting," she said cheerfully.
"Same time as always?" said Volpine, nodding to the monument.
"I'll bring snacks."
On the Eiffel Tower, usual spot...
Queen Bee and Chat Noir were rather nervous. After what happened and the fact they had scrambled trying to find Ladybug only to discover one of their classmates had never been seen leaving the school (Lierre made a point of being seeing leaving or entering places) and putting the dots together, they realized that there wasn't any reason not to share their identities. At least among the group.
The thing was that this was a public area.
"Sorry I'm late. Anyway we're having a change of venue tonight to limit the chances of someone seeing us and freaking out. No point testing whether or not the magic sticks without the masks on," said Ladybug.
"So where are we going?"
"Observation deck, the magical one anyway. Doesn't get many tourists and it's open all night to fliers. Unlike the normal one the magical deck has a ton of charms for safety, mostly to prevent suicides and awkward questions," said Ladybug with a shrug.
"Uh... I can't fly yet," said Bee.
"And no offense but there's no way I can climb up without Plagg's help," said Chat Noir.
"Which is why we're flying the normal way. It's not like it's that hard and you'll mostly be holding on to me and Volpine," said Ladybug, holding out a broom. Volpine flew down and landed on the metal.
"...Dibs on Ladybug," said Chat Noir before Bee could catch her wits. Bee blushed at the thought of hugging a boy and sitting behind him while flying.
Ladybug got on her broom and waited for Chat Noir to get on behind her. He was blushing, but there was definitely a grin on his face. This was the closest he had ever been to Ladybug, because he was a gentleman and wouldn't dare cross a line. He had to snicker when he heard Bee squeak as Volpine's tail wrapped around her, securing her to the broom.
Flying without having to worry about landing was amazing. He could feel Ladybug's amusement and delight that he enjoyed it as much as she did.
"If you like this, you should see Quidditch."
"You are not getting him hooked on that infernal sport," said Volpine irate.
"And with that, any chance you had with me just vanished," said Ladybug flatly. "Anyway, I figured this was the perfect chance to introduce ourselves properly."
There were a few tables with food. Plagg descended on the plates of pungent cheese like a hungry wolf. Tikki was already devouring plates of cookies. Abeille attacked the sugared lotus blossoms, among others. And when Kitt separated from Volpine he went straight for the fried tofu.
"How about we all remove the masks at the same time?" suggested Ladybug.
"1," said Chat Noir, reaching for his mask.
"2," said Queen Bee nervously.
"3," said Volpine.
When they opened their eyes, shock and recognition were the first things to hit. Lierre was rather smug at having guessed their identities before this.
"No way, Adrian?!" said Marinette.
"Marinette?" said Adrian in surprise.
"Seems the only ones surprised by the identities are Ms. Dupain-Chang and my cousin," said Félix.
"Wait, how have you been acting as Ladybug and Lierre? You were in two places at once when that watch was broken!" said Adrian.
Lierre smugly pulled out a strange hourglass from under her shirt.
"Time turners, the ultimate trick to insuring your secret identity is safe. With this you can go back hours at a time, so long as you don't cause a paradox. The only catch is that it's really draining on your magic."
"That is so cool...and yet totally unfair," said Marinette. She kept missing classes to turn into Queen Bee.
"It isn't if we can find a way to discreetly excuse ourselves an hour later to meet up," said Lierre.
"Huh?"
"Time turners can take more than one person with them, though the cost remains the same," clarified Félix.
"Well that's really useful!" said Adrian.
He blinked with a black blur attached itself to Lierre.
"You are my absolute favorite human, next to Adrian of course!" said Plagg, more than a little hyper.
"Uh, what did you give him?" asked Adrian, a little weirded out.
"Oh dear. You didn't add any magical catnip for him to find did you? He always gets really...loopy...when he's had that," said Tikki at the same time.
"This is hilarious," said Abeille to Kitt. He nodded, an evil grin on his face.
They always got the best blackmail on Plagg when he had magical catnip.
Aside from Plagg acting like a hyper, playful kitten (at least until the catnip wore off) Lierre considered the meeting a smashing success. It didn't hurt that she added extra protection by way of the Fidelius charm just in case the secret slipped out. Even if someone did find out their superhero identities, they wouldn't be able to tell anyone, and they would have a thirty second time period to wait before their faces could appear on camera.