Marinette's point of view:
Master Fu stood up and walked towards the door. He beckoned, "come with me." Marinette got up and followed him out of the room, Tikki close behind. Once again they were in the halls of Fu's home. Where will we be going next?
They followed Fu through the winding corridors until he led them to a door. He presented the room to them and opened it. Marinette walked in, noticing right away the startling contrast from the room they had been in before. The walls were painted a light brown, but the paint was chipping, and the floorboards creaked where she stepped. A sole window on one of the walls let in the necessary light, sunning the few desolate houseplants stashed in the corners. While the sitting room had been colorful and lavish, this one was plainer and more practical. Not that it mattered much to Marinette. A room was a room.
Master Fu picked up a round box from a shelf and brought it to Tikki and Marinette. At first, it looked like an old-school record player, but when Marinette saw the strange markings covering it and the buttons on the side, she presumed that its purpose was a bit less mundane. Sure enough, Master Fu twisted his fingers around the box, placing his fingers over the buttons and pressing. The box hissed. Slowly, it began to open, the record-player top tipping back and the gap in the middle growing wider and wider. Like a flawlessly running clock, the contraption opened smoothly and cleanly, revealing underneath…. Another box? Marinette looked up at Fu then back down at it. The octagon sides had golden buttons (Marinette decided that Master Fu really liked boxes and buttons) and a labyrinth of red lines covered the top, forming some type of symbol. Whatever it stood for, Marinette didn't know. But for some reason, the pattern looked so familiar. Like deja-vu, with a hint of nostalgia. What is it?
Answering Marinette's unspoken question, Fu said, "You will recognize this box as the one that you first received your miraculous in. The markings on the top are practically identical, save for some chipping and fading. And the box you got is smaller, but still, the two are almost nearly matches." Marinette's eyebrows lifted up in recognition and surprise. Now that she knew to look, she could see that he was right. She was staring at a large version of her miraculous box. It had been years since she got that thing. Around two and a half years if she was remembering correctly. How much has my life changed since I got that box…? How much will it change someone else's… Master Fu lifted the last lid.
A circle of colored blocking outlined the middle, five sections. Orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. In the center of the box, a yin and yang symbol clashed. Marinette looked down in wonder. In each colored portion, a small brand labeled its object. In the black yin, a red spot stood out, the darker dots on it contrasting nicely. Marinette reached up to her ears. Her miraculous was a match. In the light grey yang, however, a pure white paw print lay inside of a small circle. It had to stand for Chat's miraculous, Marinette knew. She looked past the familiar symbols to the edge, where most colors and symbols meant nothing to her. First: the orange. Marinette couldn't see the brand, for an object was on top of it. A necklace. An orange tail, from the look of it. Marinette looked up at Master Fu.
"What is this?" She asked, pointing at the necklace. Fu glanced down to where her finger gestured, then back up to Marinette.
"I would've thought you would know." At her blank stare, he added, "Why, it's a miraculous! The fox!" Marinette looked up at Fu in awe. A fox miraculous… imagine that. Of course she had known that other miraculous existed, otherwise she wouldn't even be here, but it was weird to hear the word 'miraculous' and not having it refer to her own, or Chat's.
"The fox miraculous is one of trickery, more so than the others. Styled after a fox, the fox miraculous user would be sly and smooth, and with the power, mirage, they can create whatever illusion they desire. Powerful against people who don't know it is fake, but can be rendered useless once your opponent is aware of reality, and therefore, is aware of what is not." Marinette's head was reeling. Imagine all the possibilities. The user of the fox miraculous would be a powerful one…
Moving on, Marinette gestured at the yellow. Like the first, an object, a miraculous, filled the space. Instead of a necklace though, there sat a… Hair Comb? "Tell me about this one."
Master Fu smiled. "Ah. The bee miraculous." Once identified, Marinette could easily see the insect poised on the comb, as beautiful to look at at the creature was dangerous. "Like the fox, the bee miraculous has a bit of trick to it, though not at obvious as with the first. The power of the bee miraculous is called venom and can paralyze any person. Nasty thing to deal with. Gets annoying." Fu smirked at Marinette whose eyes were no doubt as big as saucers. He pointed at the next miraculous, or at least, its brand. It was a circle with dark green lines through the middle to look like… an orange… a wheel?
"The turtle," Master Fu clarified. "Its emblem is its shell, a symbol that connects nicely to the power the miraculous gives. It is called Shell-ter, which is… I suppose clever as it is a protective miraculous. The shield of the group, the reliable one, much like the turtle in nature." Marinette recognized the brand and also something else…
"That's your miraculous isn't it?" Marinette asked him.
"... Why, yes. It is." He reached out his arm towards Marinette. A greenish bracelet was tied to his wrist. A charm matching the brand in the box was the main centerpiece. "Wayzz is the turtle kwami. He has been with me for quite a long time. I haven't transformed in what seems like forever, but he gives me companionship and counsel. What more could I need?" Master Fu smiled slightly. He cleared his throat and moved on.
"This next spot is reserved for the peacock miraculous. I know little about it because for a long time, it hasn't been in my possession. Even when it used to be, I had never used it or activated it. Much of it is very much a mystery… Right now-" he paused, "the miraculous, the peacock brooch, is in Hawkmoth's possession."
Had she heard that right? Marinette's eyes shot up from the box to Master Fu's face. "What. Hawkmoth has another miraculous?!"
"Yes… Years ago, there was another holder, a woman, who harnessed the peacock's powers. She is gone now, nobody knows whether she is even alive anymore. Only Hawkmoth would know, as he and the woman had worked together. Now, Hawkmoth holds both the butterfly and peacock miraculous. Which brings us to the next color." Master Fu traced his finger along the box and into the purple section. "The butterfly miraculous. You will recognize this as Hawkmoth's miraculous, his symbol."
The brand in the purple was one Marinette knew instantly because of how often she saw it. In the eyes of civilians and in her battles with akumas. It was the symbol of chaos in Paris, the symbol of evil. When you saw Hawkmoth's symbol, it never meant something good, only bad. It was strange to see it in a box full of valiant powers and kwamis. Strange to see next her own symbol…
Master Fu continued, "Other than your and Chat's miraculous, and mine of course, this is the one I know the most about. Wish I didn't because of the circumstances, but alas, knowledge is usually always a good thing. Hawkmoth turned something created to do good and turned it into something sinister. I'm sure you know his powers. The user of the butterfly miraculous can grant powers in the form of an akuma. The akuma will do your bidding and become your devoted follower. Especially because of the powers of this specific miraculous, it is bad that it is being used for evil." Master Fu looked up at Marinette.
"I've only given you a summary of these great powers. Today we've only scratched the tip of the iceberg. Even my complete knowledge doesn't cover it completely. Even so… Now it's time for you to choose a miraculous. For you to make sure that what happened with Hawkmoth doesn't happen again. You and Chat need another ally, you wouldn't make it through another enemy. So, Marinette, you need to think, hard. Pick a person you can trust and a miraculous that would suit them. I know that this will be difficult and this is happening so suddenly, but you were the one to come today, asking for a miraculous. I would hope before coming, you at least had some idea for a holder. Now it's time to finalize that decision, set it in stone."
"Hmm."
Marinette clutched the miraculous box in her fist. The edges were going to leave marks on her palm, but she didn't care. Marinette had what she came for. She was stood by the front door waiting for Tikki, who had wanted to talk to Master Fu alone. Marinette didn't want to intrude, but she still wanted to know what they were talking about. Oh well… she couldn't just intrude because well, Marinette couldn't count herself an upstanding citizen and heroine of Paris if she didn't have integrity.
Anyways, it couldn't be as important as what Marinette had just accomplished. After internally debating with herself, she had decided which miraculous to put into play and its perfect wielder. I'm going to be giving out a miraculous. Just the thought, the feel, that she had the power to do so… Big things ahead…
Outside, people were walking around, normal people living their normal lives. In some ways Marinette was like them. In some ways, she wasn't. All that she knew was that Paris was a part of her and always would be. Being a superhero had given her a chance that few have ever had. A chance to connect with her people, to give back. To go from being a girl in Paris to being a girl of Paris. Because in many ways, after all she's done for it and vice versa, Paris, France would always hold a place in her heart. Being Paris's hero would always be such an important part of her. She knew that the same was also true for Chat, to some extent.
Marinette hoped the same of the person that she had chosen for the miraculous. Yes, the person was devoted and loyal, this Marinette was sure of, but to what? Would they do all that they could for this city, no matter the cost? Would they put the city's needs before their own? Would they be prepared to sacrifice everything for the well-being of Paris? Their family? Their friends?… their partner?
Because Ladybug had been. Everything she did was for the sake of her city. She tried to never jeopardize her home and when she failed to do so, she learned from her mistakes and tried again. Sure, it had taken her a while, but now, Ladybug was the most dedicated heroine a city could ask for. Marinette had given up so much for Paris. She had given up the chance of ever being a normal teenager, had given up opportunities to grow closer to the one she loved, had given up treating people how she wanted, even her own partner, to maintain professionalism and order, to maintain the certainty that they would never let Paris down. Marinette hadn't wanted that night to play out as it had. She didn't want to hurt his feelings like that. She never wanted to sacrifice their relationship, but she had to. Not only because she didn't love him, but because she had to put Paris first and anything else she could've said might've doomed them all. She had to try to keep the civilians safe because she was one of the only ones that could. Marinette had to put Paris first because otherwise Hawkmoth would have run it to the ground. The needs of a whole city outweighed her own.
Marinette hoped the new hero would realize that too. As Master Fu had described the miraculous, naming them and the powers they promised, she had realized how meaningful this really was. Two years ago, she had been given a miraculous and it changed her life forever. Now, Marinette was going to do the same to a new person, someone she trusted, but still. If Marinette chose wrong, the miraculous could be harmed or taken into use by a tyrant like Hawkmoth. If this new hero didn't protect Paris like Chat and Ladybug did, if they became an enemy of the duo… It would be Ladybug's fault. It would've been Marinette's fault for choosing to give out a new miraculous in the first place, her fault for choosing the wrong person, her fault for endangering Paris. Even her reasoning behind the idea, was selfish, yes. Marinette knew that. She knew that it wasn't very heroic to risk the safety of thousands of people for a personal matter. And she admitted to herself now, that was exactly what this was. A personal matter, insignificant and small compared to the real hardships others faced daily.
She can't change that, can't take the decision back because here Marinette was standing at her guardian's front door holding a miraculous box, the very manifestation of her selfish and petty thoughts, the very indication that she wasn't that heroic. A reminder that Marinette was weak enough to fall victim to her own thoughts. How ironic that even this takes the form of something magical, of something influential when I am anything but. When all I am doing is doing my duty.
Marinette heard voices getting louder behind her in the house. Coming closer, growing cheerier. Tikki and Fu had finished their conversation. She sighed.
Times up. I need to do what I came to do.
Marinette walked away from Master Fu's house with a purpose, a mission. Because no matter what, Ladybug did her job, and she'd be damned if she didn't do it well.
Ladybug approached the building, box tight in her hand, even after all these hours (damn these pocketless suits). The sun had set and the night was young, but she was feeling most anything but carefree and wild. In fact, a more grim look had settled across her face.
Best to get this done soon, so they can be prepared for tomorrow. Marinette knew that it was rather quick to force this new hero into a patrol so soon, but even though she wasn't proud of her want to distract both herself and Chat, she wouldn't just let this timing go to waste. Ladybug sighed and stepped forward.
It wasn't difficult to scale the apartment building, especially considering that Ladybug practically had super strength and agility, but it was hard finding the right window. As a civilian, Marinette had come here often enough, but she had always used the stairs on the inside, and it's not like Ladybug could do the same. But, finally, she found the right place and peeked inside.
They sat at a desk at the opposite side of the room at a computer, back facing Ladybug. The light was on, but barely, probably to avoid confrontation with their family. Not something Ladybug particularly understood, but something she could respect. The bed in the corner was a twin bed and messily made and on the walls, posters of musicians and actors, and a few even of Ladybug and Chat (How'd they manage to get those?).
The person hadn't yet turned to face the window and see Ladybug so she lined herself up nicely and gently rapped on the window, not wanting to alert anyone but them. Tap tap.
At first, they didn't react, only tilting their head to the side for a few seconds like they'd noticed something, but hadn't yet realized what it was. Ladybug tapped harder and yes. Finally. They slowly spun around in their chair, towards the window and when their eyes caught hold of Ladybug's, they froze. Then widened. All at once, they jumped up, which startled Ladybug too, and rushed at the window. Muffled curses could be heard as they fumbled with the lock. Eventually the window loosened and was flung upwards to reveal a very ruffled looking teenager. Their voice was kind of squeaky as they said, "come in." Of course, Ladybug obliged, smiling. Oh, this was hilarious, the poor person was star-struck. Ladybug cleared her throat.
"I- I'm sorry to have intruded into your home like this, especially so late at night. I hope you don't mind-"
"Oh, oh, oh, oh no, oh no it's fine really, I wasn't really doing anything except writing stupid stuff anyways and it's not like it's that late I mean…" They interrupted and their face flushed with embarrassment. Ladybug giggled. She looked over their shoulder at the computer screen. Was that… it was. Ladybug and Chat Noir fanfiction… Now they were both flushed.
"Well, I suppose that's good… That I haven't interrupted anything I mean. Actually I'm here on official superhero business." Marinette struggled for words as they stared at her, disbelieving. "Uh-um, I- I'm sure you know of what me and Chat Noir do…" Duh, look at their walls. "And, um, this is going to sound really rushed and sudden. But… I was wondering…" Their eyes maintained perfect eye contact. Oh God, Oh shit, I- I don' know what to do right now, ummm. Ladybug froze. Then, more to get it over with than anything, reached out with the miraculous box and blurted out,
"Alya Cesaire, I would like to present you with the fox miraculous."