Author's Note: MR here. I really should have more faith in my fellow writers, but, I wasn't sure that Ic would have his epic finished (Sorry!) So you get a bonus story. Consider this chapter 24.5
Bonus points to me, because none of my co-authors have seen this story yet… *laughs evilly*
Reveal: Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Luka
Marinette Dupain-Cheng walked along the streets of Paris with her earbuds in, listening to the newest Kitty Section recordings that Juleka had just put on her phone. She knew it was a bad idea to walk around, unaware of her surroundings, but these songs were just so inspirational. She was getting all kinds of ideas both for clothing, and the cover of Kitty Section's first album.
Humming along to her new favorite song, Marinette didn't hear the screams that would normally have alerted her that there was an akuma in the vicinity. She saw a black blur at the edge of her vision, and, turning that direction, saw Chat Noir on a rooftop at the end of the block, waving desperately at her. She pulled out her earbuds to see if she could catch what he was saying, when she felt herself scooped up into the air and tossed like a ragdoll onto the roof where Chat Noir stood.
Marinette moaned and tried to stand, but every inch of her body protested. Looking down at herself, she could see that her leg was broken, and from the feeling in her chest, several ribs probably were, too. She comforted herself with the knowledge that at least she could wiggle the toes on the leg that wasn't broken.
Chat bent down to check her over. "Are you alright, Princess? What were you thinking, just walking through an area where an akuma was? And don't you know better than to not be aware of your surroundings?"
Marinette hung her head, then winced at the throbbing that started up in it, looking up again when Chat pulled out his baton, and tried to call Ladybug. He sighed when she didn't pick up. "I don't know what's keeping Ladybug today. I hope she's alright."
"Are you out here fighting the Akuma on your own, Chat?"
"No. The boys are here with me, Carapace and Viperion."
Marinette did a quick assessment of how she was feeling, and realized that transformed, she would be more of a liability than an asset. Tikki must have agreed with her thinking, because she felt a little pressure on her stomach, where her purse was resting. "Um, Chat? Do you think that you could possibly send Viperion to me?"
"I'm sorry princess. I can't ask him to use Second Chance to heal you. I still wouldn't know to alert you in time. Ladybug will fix you up." The when she arrives went unspoken, but both felt it hanging in the air.
"No. It's not about that, it's something else." Marinette blushed, and Chat realized that Marinette and Luka were pretty close, but there was no way she knew who was under Viperion's mask. He thought it over, and, deciding it would't hurt to regroup anyway, used his baton to call both Viperion and Carapace to their location.
Both boys arrived within seconds, Viperion dropping to his knees next to her when he saw her. "Viperion. I need you to do something for me." Marinette glanced down at her purse, then reached up and started removing her earrings. "I need you to put these on."
Viperion looked up at Chat and Carapace, confused, before looking back at Marinette. "You want me to wear your earrings? Now?"
"Yes. You're the only other one here with pierced ears. It has to be you."
"Can't it wait, Marinette? I promise you Ladybug will fix everything, and you can hand out jewelry to people then…" He trailed off, pieces starting to fall into place. Handing out jewelry. Earrings.
Marinette saw the pieces click into place for Chat as his mouth dropped open. "Wait. You. He. Earrings?"
Smiling, Marinette held out the earrings to Viperion again. "Viperion. These earrings are the Miraculous of the Ladybug which grants the powers of Lucky Charm and Miraculous Ladybug. You will return them to me when the job is done. Can I trust you?"
Viperion stared blankly at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing, as he took the earrings from her hand, nodding. "I've suspected for a while now. You truly are an amazing girl, Marinette!" She blushed, and he dropped the gauges that he'd removed from his own ears into her hand. "Will you hold onto these for me?" Sliding the miraculous into his own ears, he started only slightly as Tikki appeared in front of him. "Should I detransform and become Ladybug?"
"No. You can wear both by asking Sass and Tikki to unify, although if you've already set Second Chance, it might not be a bad idea to recharge first."
Nodding Viperion looked around. "Here, or…?"
"Here's fine. I think we're going to have a long discussion after this. All of us."
Carapace who had been quiet up until now looked at Marinette and then at the others. "Marinette, Ladydude, thank you for trusting me with your identity. If you don't want me to know the others, I can slip away afterwards. No offence."
"No, Carapace. You are part of this team, too. I trust you. Meet me back here afterwards, all of you."
A flash of yellow light left Luka Couffaine standing there, reaching into his pocket for a snack for Sass. In the months since he and a few others had been allowed to keep their miraculous on a permanent basis, the pair of them had really become an excellent team, often communicating without words. This was obviously one of those times, with a few glances and a reassuring gesture from Sass, the snack was soon gone, and Luka once again became Viperion.
Standing tall, he clasped his hands together, calling out "Tikki, Sass, unify!" The flash of yellow and pink light resulted in a transformed Viperbug standing before them.
The costume design was basically the same, but the suit itself was black. Large teal polka dots covered the suit, and his boots and hair were a much darker red than on Ladybug's suit. He reset Second Chance, then with a shrug, pulled the yo-yo off of his hip and spun it experimentally. He glanced at Chat Noir, who gave him a two fingered salute before leaping off the roof and chasing after the akuma. Viperbug and Carapace followed, both throwing one last glance at Marinette.
Marinette could see much of the fight from her vantage point on the roof. She stumbled to the edge, as close as she was safely able, and watched as Viperbug called for his Lucky Charm while Chat distracted the akuma and Carapace ran interference. Once Viperbug realized what to do with the bicycle helmet he'd received, the akuma was quickly dispatched, and Paris set back to normal. Once the three heroes reconvened on the roof, a once-again-healthy Marinette immediately apologized.
With a wink at Viperbug she explained that she had been caught up in the new music she'd just been given and wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings. He blushed, and immediately separated Sass and Tikki to cover how flustered he was, as he took out the earrings and handed them back to Marinette. She returned them to her ears, handing Viperion back his earrings in return.
The simultaneous beeping of three miraculous fill the air, and while Viperion is near the end of his timer, Chat is down a minute, and Carapace down two. The boys looked around at each other, before all turning to Marinette for instructions. "Carapace and Viperion, you can stay. I already know your identities, as I'm the one who originally gave you your miraculous. Chat, the choice is yours.
Having revealed himself earlier, Viperion completely dropped his transformation, feeding Sass, and dropping to sit on the roof. Marinette sat next to him, and with a shrug, Carapace let go of his transformation, offering a treat to Wayzz, as Nino sat down on Marinette's other side. The three looked expectantly up at Chat, who was looking back and forth between Marinette and Nino like he was at a ping pong tournament.
Finally he sat down, across from Marinette, completing their little circle, and released his kwami from his ring. As Plagg started to complain about needing food, Adrien mechanically fished a piece of camembert out of his pocket, then waved shyly at Marinette, who was desperately trying to pick her jaw up off the ground.
Once she was finally able to close her mouth, she launched herself at Adrien, engulfing him in a huge hug, sending the pair toppling to the ground. Blushing bright red, Marinette pushed herself up, and pulled Adrien back up as well. "Hi Kitty." She grinned at him.
"Hi Bugaboo."
The grin slid off her face. "Don't call me that." She sighed, preparing herself for her school days to now be filled with cat puns and bad jokes.