You'd expect him to land on his feet, right? Not in this case!
Adrien Agreste, AKA Cat Noir, is the leader of a group of animal-themed metahuman superheroes, which consists of himself (the only true human), Viperion, Carapace, Ryuko, Rena Rouge, and Pegasus.
When he takes notice of a cute-iful (that's cute plus beautiful) blue-eyed girl out on the streets, he quite literally falls fast and hard for her. But there's definitely more to her than meets the eye.
As a note, there's no secret identities in this one. Everyone knows who's who because it's flat-out pointless to hide it, they're at the maturity threshold to use their powers multiple times, and the kwamis are common knowledge, too. You'll see what I mean in this one-shot.
It was a cloudy day in Paris. A man of about seventeen years old, dressed in a black leather catsuit, with green cat-like eyes was standing atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
He turned behind him and he said, "I know it seems like a big job, everyone..."
The rest of the team included a tan-skinned boy dressed like a turtle, including a huge shield on his back; a dark-skinned boy with pale blonde hair in dreadlocks tied up ponytail with sunglasses, wearing a brown suit with wings on his shoes; a tan-skinned girl with hazel eyes, ombré-orange hair in a high ponytail wearing a fox-themed suit and wearing an orange and white mask with a coattail made to look like a foxtail wearing a foxtail necklace; a boy with black hair with teal-green tips, a snake-face mask covering green eyes, and wearing a cyan and teal suit with a snake-textured underbelly and wearing a snake bangle; and a girl with short, black hair, a black and red bodysuit, black and red horns on her head, wearing a similar mask, had a black dragon design on the front of her suit, and had a sword on her back.
The sky cleared up and the sun shone down on the city. Cat Noir turned around with a groan before saying, "But we gotta patrol the city."
"Are you going to yowl all day or are you gonna get this done?" The dragon girl asked from behind.
Cat Noir looked at the turtle, and he said, "Hey Carapace, last one to the other side of the city and back has to do the other person's chores at the HQ?"
"You got it, dude!" Carapace responded.
The two of them bent down on the railing, ready to go.
Viperion, playing along, said, "Three, two, one... GO!"
The team leaped off the top of the tower and started free-falling to the ground. Cat Noir used his staff to push himself away from the tower and onto another roof.
Rena Rouge jumped down, caught Carapace, and used her agility to jump to another roof next to Cat Noir before the group all reconvened and started jumping and looking around the city, all while having fun with their little race.
As Cat Noir was leaping across the rooftops and looking out for trouble, he noticed something, or more accurately, some one, out of his bottom right peripheral vision.
He turned his face to look. He didn't see her in her entirety, but he caught a glimpse of a pigtail of shiny, blue-black hair, a white shirt with black/pink floral patterns, and a large, heavenly-blue eye framed by thick, curvy eyelashes. He heard a sweet giggle, and it caused his heart to throb for a split-second.
"Me-YOW..." He wistfully murmured as his smile and eyes grew smitten/goofy at the same time.
Since he wasn't watching where he was going, his foot caught on the rope on the edge of one roof. He wound up falling face-forward off the building, the rope breaking and tying itself around his ankle.
"CAT NOIR!" Carapace shouted as he landed on the next roof before turning around to look after his friend.
Cat Noir was shouting as he free-falling, his face up to the sky.
The rope was caught by Rena Rouge by the hand. She tried pulling him up, but she wound up getting pulled down off the rooftop. Ryuko grabbed her by the coattail, only for the combined weight to yank the dragon down, too. Finally, Viperion grabbed her ankle and used his free arm to hang onto the rooftop edge.
"Don't worry, we got ya!" Rena stated. But the rope was slipping through her hand, and she gasped at the sight of it. The rope slipped through.
Cat Noir screamed as he landed on the pavement on his back. He straightened his legs out, put them together, and he laid them on the ground while his arms were sprawled out.
"Cat Noir, are you okay?!" Pegasus asked as the rest of the team landed on the ground to check on him.
"Adrien, what happened up there?" Viperion questioned as Cat Noir was moaning.
"I'll tell you what happened: he wiped out, dude!" Carapace laughed. "He didn't even land on his feet!"
He kept laughing, only for Rena to take her flute and whack the turtle upside the head.
"Ow! Babe, that hurt!" Carapace said as he rubbed his head.
With a moan, Cat Noir sat up and shook his head. The rest of the team looked at him as he turned around. He crossed his legs and looked at his surroundings.
"...That girl... Whoa... Who was she?" He murmured, looking around at nothing in particular.
Later after patrol, Adrien stepped out of the HQ to go and look around for the girl.
"Hey! Let him go!" A feminine voice shouted.
Adrien whipped his head around to the direction of the shout, only to see Chloé and Sabrina, the mayor's daughter and her "best friend", harassing someone who was standing underneath a tree. Chloé was a ponytailed blonde with considerable makeup, heavily manicured nails, and wearing nice clothes, meanwhile Sabrina was a short-haired redhead with a purple and green sweater vest and a skirt, wearing glasses over her eyes.
Chloé had her usual cruel smile on her face as she had a small, lavender purple creature in her hand. He had small eyes and he was struggling to break free from Chloé's grip.
"What is this? Some kind of stupid mutant butterfly?" Chloé asked.
"Do you have an earwax buildup?! I said let him go!" The girl demanded.
Before anything else could happen, Adrien stepped in. He glared Chloé and Sabrina down, his arms were crossed, and he had a scowl on his face.
"Don't you two have better things to do than pick on people? You'd think the mayor's daughter and her best friend would be setting the right example by not acting like a bunch of babies." Adrien said to them.
Chloé scoffed, let the little purple creature go, and said, "Ugh, figures the animal boy would come to her rescue. Come on, Sabrina, let's get out of here."
She flipped her ponytail and walked away, Sabrina scurrying behind her.
"Kind of fitting, huh? An animal boy for an insect girl?" Sabrina suggested timidly.
"Insect girl?" Adrien whispered. He turned around.
The small, purple kwami flew into the shadow of the tree, and into the hands of the person before going onto her right shoulder.
The girl came out into the light, and revealed herself. She had dark, bluish-black hair in pigtails, bright blue eyes with voluptuous eyelashes. She had a very gracious, thankful smile upon her pale pink lips, and fair skin. She had a red creature similar to the purple one on her left shoulder. Her clothes consisted of pink pants, red flats, black stud earrings, and a dark gray blazer over her white shirt, which had the same floral pattern that Adrien recognized.
'It's her!' Adrien thought, his eyes becoming cartoon hearts as his heart throbbed again.
"Thanks for that," She said to him with a smile. "I'm Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My parents and I just moved here."
"I... Me, I... Erm, I - apples!" Adrien stammered before collecting himself, his eyes going back to normal. "So, where did you guys move here from?"
"Bordeaux," Marinette replied. "My parents are opening a bakery and..."
The little creatures on her shoulders flew over to Adrien. The purple one settled himself into Adrien's hair and started tussling it around playfully, while the red one was flying in front of Adrien's face with a smile.
"Aw, hi there, little ones..." Adrien said as he watched the purple one mess with his hair.
"Those are my kwami friends," Marinette explained. "The purple one is Nooroo, and Tikki's the red one."
"Nice to meet you." Tikki greeted.
"Nice to meet you, too..." Adrien said, blushing heavily as he grew a goofy smile on his face.
A little bit later, the two of them were sitting across from each other at a table in a burger restaurant, each with a burger on a plate in front of them with chosen sides. Adrien had coleslaw, Marinette had french fries. They were being very shy with each other, neither one of them looking the other in the eyes, smiling with tinted cheeks, Adrien rubbing the back of his neck, Marinette fidgeting her fingers, and the kwamis were sitting in between them, too.
Adrien, his eyes still away from the adorable girl in front of him, took the mustard bottle and aimed it at his burger; Marinette did the same thing, only with her ketchup bottle. But since they were too distracted by each other...
"Ack!" Marinette screamed.
Adrien looked up and saw that he'd squeezed the mustard so hard that he'd splattered her with the yellow condiment. It'd gotten in her hair and on her shirt.
"Marinette! Are you okay?!" Adrien asked.
"I'm fine, but your clothes..." Marinette began, pointing something else out.
Adrien touched his head and felt something gooey on his hair, and he looked down at his pants only to see Marinette had also gotten ketchup all over him.
The two of them looked at each other, examined themselves, and were awkwardly quiet.
Inside, Adrien was panicking, thinking, 'Oh no! Did I just muck it up?!'
The kwamis were looking back and forth to the two of them. Nooroo took up the ketchup bottle, turned it upside down, and deliberately spilled the red tomato condiment all over his head.
Tikki, Adrien, and Marinette cracked up, laughing at the kwami's antics.
After eating their lunch and cleaning themselves up (Marinette was lucky enough to have a change of clothes - Adrien, not so much), they continued their day in the city.
Adrien brought Marinette onto a rickshaw being pulled by someone on a bike so he could give her a tour of the streets of Paris. The two of them sat in the carriage under the canopy, with Marinette nestled into Adrien's one-armed embrace, her head lying against his shoulder. He lovingly looked down at the girl in his arm, who was looking up at him with the same affection.
A little while later, the two of them made their way to an arcade, and they caught Chloé and Sabrina there. The couple challenged the snooty girls to a UMSIII match, with the intention of winning to get payback for teasing Marinette earlier.
Marinette's fingers were flying across her controller like accomplished ballet dances that were doing a high-skill, face-paced dance. Her mecha on the screen, themed after a ladybug, kept leveling up and creating combo moves to fight Chloé and Sabrina's mechas. Adrien was able to get his mecha to a few hits here and there, too.
And honestly, Marinette and Adrien were slaying Chloé and Sabrina... Or rather, just Sabrina.
"Sabrina, get your ass in gear!" Chloé demanded. She'd given her controller over to her lackey, on the grounds that she didn't want to ruin her manicure.
No less than three seconds after that demand, though...
*WINNER WINNER WINNER!*
"WHOO-HOO!" Marinette cheered as she jumped up and down in delight, while Adrien was clapping in delight while staying on the ground.
"You're amazing, Marinette!" Adrien praised as he kept clapping.
"This game is SO rigged! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé screeched as she stormed out of the arcade. "How incompetent can you BE, Sabrina?"
As they left, Marinette and Adrien looked at each other again, and the latter said, "I've never seen anyone crush a game of UMS like that before."
"I play this series with my dad all the time," Marinette explained. "I've had a lot of practice."
Adrien grew a somewhat silly smile on his face, his cheeks pink, and he muttered, "Could you BE any more perfect...?"
Marinette tilted her head to the side, not quite hearing him, and asking, "What was that?"
Adrien shook his head before coughing into his fist and correcting himself, saying, "Well, it shows. You're badass at this game."
"Wanna play another round? One on one?" Marinette suggested, handing him a controller.
"You're on!" Adrien said, taking the controller and standing next to her.
Once they finished up a few more rounds of their game, Adrien decided to take Marinette to another location in Paris...
"Ah, Adrien, good to see you, my boy! I see you've found a lady love, such a joy!" André, a large, jolly man behind an ice cream cart said, happy to serve the blonde.
"Hi, André," Adrien greeted, a pink face. He was holding Marinette's hand while shyly looking away. "We were thinking of getting a cone to split?"
"I'd be honored!" André began as he started building up the dessert. "Blueberry for her beautiful hair, vanilla bean for her skin of cream, and strawberry for the cheeks of pink you see in your dreams!"
Adrien's face only got darker as André put the ice cream in a cup and put two spoons in it.
The two of them sat down at a nearby bench and began eating the treat, with Adrien spooning ice cream into Marinette's mouth, and she doing the same for him. The two of them were still giving each other romantic looks while enjoying their cold, sweet dessert.
Back at the HQ, the rest of the team was hanging out, doing their own thing, waiting for Adrien.
Viperion came in from the meditation room, and he asked the others, "Any word from Adrien? He missed his meditation session."
"He skipped combat practice, too." Carapace added as he was shinning his shield while Ryuko was sharpening her sword.
"And he was supposed to help me with rewiring and amping up security in the HQ," Pegasus stated while he was working on some wiring in one of the panels. He put his goggles up after shutting the panel. "Not that I really needed him, anyway."
"I'll try the communicator ring," Viperion said as he took out his lyre, activated the communication feature, and started talking. "Miraculous Team to Adrien..."
Adrien, who'd brought Marinette to a café for an orange juice, had his face propped in one of his hands, and he was staring at the girl across from him. He had the ring on silent.
"Adrien, come in. Do you read me?" Viperion asked over the line.
Viperion turned the communicator off and he turned to the others, saying, "Something's off. He's not answering."
"He's ignoring us; I can feel it." Carapace said, annoyed.
Rena came up and said, "Maybe something important happened and he's working on it."
"What exactly could take precedence over the team?" Pegasus asked, crossing his arms.
"Well..." Rena began, trying to find an answer, only for an alarm to start going off and for the lights to start flashing red inside the HQ.
"Heads' up, guys! A Hawk Moth horde is heading straight for the city! And it's huge!" Pegasus warned as the monitor showed them the butterfly humanoid creatures heading in.
"We can't activate the Miracle Box's full power without Adrien around! We're going to have to fight on foot!" Viperion directed.
Out in the city, people were minding their own business. Families were at the park, people were going around to different stores for shopping, etc. However, the sky went dark and the sound of wind blowing and butterfly wings beating in the air was heard. The citizens turned around and saw the monsters coming in through the city via flying.
Everyone started screaming and running for cover. Doors were shut and locked, as were windows, and shutters were closed, too.
As the army of akumas came into the edge of the city, one larger akuma came up. It projected a butterfly halo, and inside, the image of a man wearing a silver mask covering his face, wearing a black and dark purple suit, appeared.
"Citizens of Paris! Surrender to my will! Or send out your animals to perish!" Hawk Moth ordered.
On cue, Viperion and the others jumped in, standing firm and holding their weapons out, glaring the akumas down.
"Animals. So be it." Hawk Moth coldly and sardonically spat.
The akumas stood ready before charging in, ready to attack. The same was said for the heroes.
"Miraculous Team! GO!" Viperion ordered as everyone leaped in to fight.
Ryuko lifted her sword, charged electricity into it, and sliced through some of the akumas, shouting, "Lightning Dragon!"
She landed on both feet as the akumas exploded into butterflies and they scattered, with visible static flying off them.
Carapace was running into another bunch of akumas. He took his shield off his back and did a discus throw. The shield slammed into the stomachs of the akumas, and they were tossed up into the sky, also exploding into white butterflies and scattering. The shield returned to Carapace, who caught it and threw it at another group of akumas.
Rena Rouge was hiding behind one building. She took out her flute, blew a few notes into it, and threw a yellow light ball out of the end of it, shouting, "Mirage!"
She cast an illusion of some of the other heroes, and the akumas, who were easily fooled, ran at the illusion with the intention of blasting them, only for the illusion to disappear and for them to run into a wall, bursting into butterflies.
Pegasus was on top of another wall, and other akumas were closing in on him.
"Outnumbered? I must use my environment to my advantage," Pegasus said as the akumas got closer. "Voyage!"
Using his hands, he created a portal and all the akumas flew in, and they came out in another part of the area, under a taller concrete structure.
"Ryuko! Knock that tower down!" Pegasus hollered.
Ryuko started charging a hurricane-strength water blast around her sword and shouted, "Water Dragon!"
She flew into the concrete and cut it, causing it to not only get completely wet, but it crumbled and it fell all over the akumas.
With Viperion, he was looking around, trying to find a clue to use for his fight. As the akumas were approaching, Viperion noticed that there was a break in the bridge. He was about to jump over it and lead the akumas into the water, only for two akumas to tackle him to the ground.
He quickly reached for his bangle and pulled it back, shouting, "Second Chance!"
He went back in time to the point where he marked down. He was in front of the akumas that were about to attack him. Instead of sticking around, he ran for the bridge, which was broken. He jumped across the gap, and the akumas after him fell in the river.
Behind him, the akuma with Hawk Moth's projection appeared and it blasted Viperion in the back with black butterflies. He was blasted back onto the other side of the broken bridge, he crashed into Pegasus, and then they were thrown into the ground.
Hawk Moth's mouthpiece akuma fired again, catching everyone else off-guard. Carapace jumped in, brought his shield out, and was about to shout, "Shell-"
But he was hit in the stomach before he could bring up his shield, knocking him into Rena Rouge, and they tumbled. The blast also knocked Pegasus and Ryuko to the ground, too. As they started getting up...
"Without the cat, you're not that tough, huh?" Hawk Moth mocked.
"Butterfly-Man's right! We need Adrien!" Carapace said as everyone stood back up and got their weapons.
"He'll come!" Rena assured, her flute ready.
"He'd better..." Ryuko murmured in concern.
"Miraculous Team to Adrien!" Viperion shouted through his lyre.
Adrien, who'd brought Marinette to a café, was sitting across from her, sharing an orange juice. His face was propped in his hands, and he was still gazing at her, smitten.
"Adrien, where are you?! I repeat, WHERE ARE YOU?! ADRIEN!" Viperion hollered through the ring.
Unfortunately, Adrien was still with Marinette, sipping on his shared orange juice and staring at her with a big blush on his face. His eyes were giant cartoon hearts. He was taken with her every feature, like how the lighting in the room highlighted her eyes, making them look like aquamarine gems, or how her perfectly-pink lips were gently clasped on the paper straw, and how perfect the angle of her fingers were holding it. Marinette was returning Adrien's gaze with the same amount of affection, but without the cartoon hearts.
The building around them started shaking, causing the other patrons to look around in confusion and fear. They saw the commotion outside, and they all started filing out of the shop, evacuating.
Only Marinette and Adrien remained. Nooroo started flying around to try and bother Adrien to get him to pay attention. He pulled on his shirt, ruffled his hair, and yanked on his chin, only for Adrien to start drooling instead of responding, his eyes still big, red hearts.
'Marinette, mon amour...' Adrien thought, his fantasies still running wild.
The pictures in his brain were going from the two of them going on more dates, to fast-forwarding ten years in the future where Adrien dropped to a knee with a ring, the two of them at their wedding and in tastefully-done clothes, and everything in between. He'd conjured up fantasies that ranged from sweeter and cleaner scenarios to more passionate, mature ones, ones that probably shouldn't be voiced aloud in public.
Fed up, Nooroo took drastic measures...
"OWWWW!" Adrien screamed as Nooroo bit him hard on the ear. He waved Nooroo away like a mosquito and asked the kwami, "Hey, Nooroo! What was that for?"
Nooroo pointed out the window to see the akumas flying by in the sky. Adrien's eyes widened, realizing the situation.
"Adrien? Is something the matter?" Marinette asked as she stood up.
"Yeah, there is," Adrien said as he raised up his right hand and rubbed his ring. "Claws out!"
In an instant, green energy came over him, his hair went wild as fabric cat ears came upon his head, and his suit and mask formed over his body and face.
He stood proud in front of Marinette, who looked at him with star-studded hearts in her eyes.
"Wow..." Marinette murmured, her hands clasped under her chin.
The rest of the heroes were backed against a wall, their weapons out, and with one akuma minion creating another weapon (a morning star club) to strike them down, they were scared of what to do. Carapace could only use Shellter so many times before it became predictable.
Above them, Cat Noir was meowing loudly while stunt-diving down. He landed in front of his friends and stood tall.
He turned to the others and said, "Nice to see you guys left me some baddies to beat."
"Yeah, as if we'd clean up without you." Carapace snarked, sarcastic. Everyone was looking at Cat Noir in annoyance, too.
"You're late, Cat." Viperion said in an annoyed, grumpy tone.
"Yeah, sorry. I'll explain later," Cat Noir said as he started cracking his knuckles. "We've got butterflies to beat up!"
The akumas charged in. Cat Noir activated his Cataclysm and swiped at the akumas, turning them into white butterflies and scattering them around. He also balled a Cataclysm ball in his hands and fired it at more akumas, obliterating them.
Marinette was watching in awe with a smile, as was Tikki.
Rena Rouge was charging in with her flute raised like she was about to whack someone, only for Cat Noir to run in and use his baton as if it were a baseball bat and smacked one akuma. Again, it blasted into white butterflies.
Cat Noir turned around and fired a two-finger salute to Marinette, winking at her. Marinette giggled a little as she watched.
"Show off." Rena laughed, a smile on her face. Viperion was mirroring the expression.
Carapace was running through, trying to use his shield as a discus again. But Cat Noir dashed in, shoving Carapace aside, and he used his claws to cut all the akumas down, turning them into butterflies.
Carapace gave a humph as he put his shield away and crossed his arms.
Cat Noir turned to where Marinette was standing, and he blew a two-finger kiss to her. Marinette blushed and sighed sweetly as she pretended to catch it and hold it to her heart.
Viperion threw his lyre at Hawk Moth's messenger akuma, only to miss. It fired back, only to blast more akumas thanks to Viperion jumping around.
"Hey, bug-face!" Cat Noir teased. The creature turned around, only for Cat Noir to use Cataclysm on it.
As it disintegrated into butterflies, the rest of the akumas flew out of town.
"Yeah, go and fly away!" Ryuko taunted.
Carapace looked around, realizing Cat Noir wasn't there, and he said, "Damn it! That cat walked out on us again!"
"Not this time, he didn't." Viperion said, his arms crossed with an idea in mind.
With Cat Noir, he was walking with Marinette while making so many kicks, punches, and other movements and shouts, showing off to her. Her kwamis were still on her shoulders.
"So, what do you think of my moves? Was I the cat's meow out there or what?" He asked, giving Marinette a smug (granted nervous) smile.
"Eh. Whatever." Marinette said with an unimpressed face for a second.
Cat Noir's face fell, his jaw dropping, and he thought, 'SAY WHAT?! After all that, she didn't think I was badass?!'
Marinette's face quickly turned into a teasing smile. She giggled and she said to him, "I already thought you were amazing."
"Really?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, all while blushing under his mask and smiling at her.
Marinette nodded and said, "Of course."
She approached him with a smile, and she stood on her tip-toes to lean in for something. Tikki and Nooroo looked up in delight. Cat Noir was about to reciprocate when...
The feedback noise from his communicator ring rang out. Marinette covered her ears and backed away.
"Cat Noir. Report to HQ NOW!" Viperion's voice commanded over the ring.
Underneath Cat Noir's feet, Pegasus opened a portal into the HQ's main room, and Cat Noir fell through, screaming.
After he was summoned to the HQ, he changed back and he was all but interrogated by the others, who were sitting down and surrounding him.
"I got distracted... And honestly, I didn't think you'd understand, so I kept it on the DL." Adrien admitted, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck as he thought of Marinette.
"Adrien, if there's one thing teammates don't do, it's keep secrets from each other." Viperion told him.
"Especially about a girlfriend, dude!" Carapace added, angry.
"Fine, then I'll let another cat out of the bag: I've invited Marinette over so I can introduce her to you guys." Adrien said, his smile growing.
"Say what?!" Everyone shouted.
"That's impossible!" Ryuko barked.
"An outsider in the HQ? That's never happened!" Pegasus added, meanwhile the sound of an automatic door opening and closing.
"First time for everything," Adrien said as he stepped away to have the door be in everyone else's line of sight. "She's here."
Marinette was standing in the threshold of the door, with a smile on her face, her kwamis on her shoulders.
Everyone stood up and approached in awe as Marinette came closer and stood next to Adrien.
"This, everyone, is Marinette." Adrien said, introducing her. She smiled and waved at them with a giggle.
The others approached Marinette and lined up in front of her.
"Hi, I'm Rena Rouge. Rena for short," She said as she shook hands with Marinette. "You've got a good grip on you."
Nooroo flew in front of Rena and started flying around her.
"Oh, you are so cute!" Rena giggled as Nooroo flew back to Marinette.
"You may call me Ryuko." Ryuko greeted as she bowed with a smile.
"I'm Carapace, dude." Carapace introduced as he gave her his smile.
"I go by Pegasus." Pegasus added with a smile.
"My name is Viperion," Viperion greeted, also smiling. "I'm second-in-command of the Miracle Team..."
Everyone was trying to talk to Marinette, saying their hellos and trying to make her feel comfortable. Marinette was looking at them, her gaze slowly examining them like she was seeing an undiscovered species.
"...This wasn't what I was expecting," Marinette whispered to Adrien, causing him to freeze up. She looked at them in awe, before finishing, "They're amazing!"
Adrien breathed a sigh of relief as Marinette started interacting with the others.
"Your outfits are incredible! I want to go into fashion as a career and your animal suits are so well-designed!" Marinette giggled.
No one noticed that Nooroo flew off on his own...
Later on, after Adrien gave Marinette a tour around HQ, he brought her into his bedroom to show her all his things.
"Wow, this is incredible!" Marinette said as she saw the interior of Adrien's room. "Is that a foosball table? Oh, and a three-screen computer?! Wow!"
"Yeah..." Adrien said, dreamily watching Marinette titter around.
She saw a poster on his wall and said, "Jagged Stone fan, huh? I am, too!"
"You are?" Adrien asked, his eyes widening in delight.
"Sure am! He's my favorite singer!" Marinette said as she came closer to Adrien, only to trip on something.
She screamed as she started stumbling. Adrien reached out and grabbed her by the arms, stabilizing her.
"You alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine, but what did I trip over...?" Marinette asked before looking down and seeing a cube that looked like several electrical panels locked together.
He brought her down to sit on the floor, both of them on their knees and sitting next to each other.
"Oh, this?" Adrien questioned as he picked it up. "This is going to be part of a new security system Pegasus and I are working on for the city. Once it's done, a magical barrier will be projected over Paris, and the akuma attacks will be diminished."
"I can't wait for that! Then we can have more time together!" Marinette said, smiling, which was matched by Tikki.
"I know..." Adrien agreed, blushing heavily. "But for the time being, I have something for you. Hold your hand out and close your eyes, please?"
Marinette followed instructions, holding out her hand and shutting her eyes. Adrien pulled something out of his pocket, and he put it around her wrist.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Adrien told her.
Marinette opened her eyes and she saw a bracelet with different-colored beads on a black string. She blushed and said, "I... I love it."
She held her hand to her chest, her eyes closed and blushing. Adrien, also red in the face, took her hand into his own while looking her in the eyes. The two of them started leaning in closer, their lips pursed and leaning in closer.
Tikki was watching in delight... But Nooroo phased in through the wall, looking tired. He gave a silent yawn and began rubbing his eyes.
The couple broke away and Adrien said, "Hey, Nooroo. Where'd you go, little guy?"
"Nooroo's pretty tired," Marinette said as she stood up. Tikki flew onto her shoulder. "We'd better get going."
"What? No! I don't want to say goodbye." Adrien said to her, also standing up.
"Don't think of it like that," Marinette assured him. "I'll see you tomorrow."
As Marinette left the HQ with her kwamis, Adrien swooned. Carapace caught him from under his shoulders.
Adrien sighed wistfully, his face pink and a big, goofy smile on his face, saying, "Isn't she incredible?"
"She's great!" Rena Rouge said. "I get why you like her, Adrien!"
"So do I." Ryuko agreed.
"Sorry to be a killjoy guys, but we've got a problem," Pegasus said, speaking up and looking at the large monitor. "Looks like we had a silent alarm go off while Marinette was here."
While it seemed like the hallway was empty, one part of the wall moved. A panel flipped to show a flat-screen computer with a touch-screen keyboard.
"Hang on, isn't that one of our computers...?" Rena asked.
The buttons on the computer moved a little bit, and then the screen changed to something else. Then there was a download being shown, and someone put a USB drive in the computer.
Everyone gasped.
"Oh no, the Miracle Box's specifications got downloaded!" Pegasus pointed out.
"But by who?!" Carapace asked.
"It has to be a kwami. And since Tikki was with me and Marinette, that means...!" Adrien began, the truth dawning on him. "Nooroo!"
Everyone looked at Adrien as his face fell in shock, and he started to feel his heart shatter.
Outside, Marinette was humming, dancing, spinning on the balls of her feet, and giggling. Her heart was on a high, as was her mood.
"That was fun, wasn't it, Marinette?" Tikki said to her owner.
"It was!" Marinette said, sighing.
Nooroo, who was in front of them, was gesturing to them to hurry up... Only to run into something.
Nooroo pulled back and looked up to see a quietly angry Cat Noir standing there, his arms crossed. Nooroo gave a silent scream and flew back to Marinette.
"Hey, Adrien!" Marinette scolded as the kwami flew into her hands. She looked up at him. "You scared Nooroo! What was that for?"
"I think the little rat deserves it." Cat Noir said, his tone calm, yet anger could be detected within.
"Rat?" Marinette questioned, looking both worried and scared. "What do you mean?"
Cat Noir gave a sigh before saying, "Marinette, drop the "Little Miss Innocent" act. You're good at it, though."
"Wh... Why are you acting like this?" Marinette questioned, stepping back and her eyes beginning to tingle.
"Why did you lie to me?! Being lied to by the ones I care about... You especially!" Cat Noir asked her, raising his voice a little.
Marinette's eyes narrowed a little as tears began streaming out. Getting choked up, she began, "I... I'm telling the truth! I don't know what's gotten into you, but don't talk to me again until it's out of your system!"
As she started crying, she turned on her heel and started running away. Tikki hung back for a second before shooting a dirty glare at Cat Noir before flying off.
Seeing that, Cat Noir's face softened and began thinking, 'Maybe she IS innocent...'
While Marinette's tears were blinding her and Tikki was looking at her, hoping to say something to make her feel better, Nooroo was looking up with a wicked smile on his face.
Back at the Dupain-Cheng house, Nooroo was inside Marinette's room...
"So the cat knows..." Hawk Moth said, in a projection created by Nooroo.
"Not everything, Master," Nooroo replied. "He doesn't know exactly how special she is."
Marinette, who was standing and peeking her head through the trap door, saw this and gasped in shock.
"Wait... Nooroo, since when can you talk?! I know kwamis can talk, but I've never heard you speak before, so I...!" Marinette began.
Nooroo turned around and said, "Marinette, come in. I want you to meet someone..."
Only one light came on in Marinette's room, and she started looking around in confusion. She looked at Nooroo and said, "Hang on, what's happening?! I don't know what's going on!"
Tikki flew over to Marinette and said, "Neither do I!"
Nooroo flew over and tapped Marinette's earrings. They turned dark purple instead of black, and Marinette's eyes widened at the sight. When Marinette looked into her full-length mirror, she didn't see herself, but a version of herself wearing clothing and her hair styled akin to that of Themis, the Greek Goddess of Justice. The only things missing were the scales of justice and a blindfold around her eyes.
Marinette gasped and said, "Wait... Who or what am I?!"
Nooroo's eyes began glowing and Hawk Moth was once again projected in a butterfly halo.
"People are seldom who they seem to be. Nooroo's not an average kwami, and you, my child, are definitely an exceptional girl." Hawk Moth said as he snapped his fingers.
Marinette watched in fear and confusion as the video feed changed to some of Marinette's memories from the recent past in Bordeaux.
Marinette was seen making clothes of all kinds, and giving them to her friends and/or homeless shelters. They were all fashionable, yet they were comfortable and easy to maintain. She was also seen sticking up for some friends when getting picked on, supporting others' ideas and dreams, all with a big smile on her face.
Several boys were also ogling her and acting all smitten as they watched Marinette cuddle/play with Tikki.
"I was the one who discovered you."
Another memory feed appeared. Marinette saw her parents hugging and jumping up and down in delight, holding documentation signifying their success about something. The feed then showed Sabine, her mother, coming over to Marinette and telling her the news of them moving to Paris to open a bakery.
"Gave your parents the opportunity to follow their dreams here in Paris."
In that same memory, Nooroo, who looked very tired and injured, flew in, phasing in through the window, and landed in between Marinette and Sabine's feet. The younger girl knelt down and picked the kwami up, smiling at him.
"Planted Nooroo and gave you a purpose: to defeat Adrien!" Hawk Moth finished as Nooroo created a black butterfly and it landed on Marinette's desk.
"I... No! I love Adrien." Marinette protested.
"Well, I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual." Hawk Moth said in a mocking, pitying tone.
"But... That can't be!" Marinette began, about to cry again.
"I know it hurts, but I'm going to give you the tools you need to get justice." Hawk Moth said, his cruel smile growing.
Nooroo sent the butterfly into Marinette's earring, causing the same butterfly halo to appear in front of her face. Not only that, but Tikki was sucked into her other one, screaming.
"You're to complete your mission! The end of the Miraculous Team!" Hawk Moth ordered. "Don't disappoint me... Princess Justice!"
Marinette tried fighting the influence, holding her head and shaking it. No luck, and soon, black bubbles surrounded her, forcing her to undergo a transformation...
Back at the Miraculous HQ, it was raining. Adrien was standing at the window, his mood matching the weather and his body language showing it. He'd fallen for Marinette so hard, and yet...
He sensed someone behind him. He turned around and saw the rest of the team, who were all giving him sad looks.
"You guys... You were all there for me, but I wasn't there for you..." Adrien said. "I'm sorry I let you down."
"Hey, everyone makes mistakes. Doesn't mean friends give up on each other over that." Rena said to him.
"We've got your back, dude. Count on it." Carapace said.
The alarm started going off.
"Akuma alert!" Pegasus shouted.
Adrien got serious and said, "Let's go bash some monsters. It'll make me feel better!"
After transforming, the team ran to the center of the HQ. They approached the Miraculous Box, and it opened. The drawers that were empty started glowing as each member of the team put their hand in their spot. They each began glowing in their respective colors.
"Let's Pounce!" Rena Rouge shouted.
"Bring the storm!" Ryuko shouted.
"Full gallop!" Pegasus shouted.
"Shell on!" Carapace shouted.
"Scales slither!" Viperion shouted.
"Claws out!" Cat Noir yelled out.
After their power boost, the group ran out to the city to check on the situation.
"Guys, the monitors are telling me that our target is straight ahead!" Pegasus said.
"Let's go!" Cat Noir ordered.
Out in the city, the café that Adrien and Marinette were at earlier was innocently standing. But something crashed onto the building, causing it to cave in from the roof before getting completely demolished.
They landed on some nearby structures. They saw a figure of a girl floating above the wreckage of the building...
Cat Noir noticed something, and he began, "There's something about that..."
The girl turned around to reveal herself. She was wearing a lavender pink and dark purple dress that made her look like Themis, and her bust area had a butterfly on it. Her hair was longer, styled in a crown braid with it tied up in a bun on the back of her head, much like Elsa during her coronation. There was also a small, silver tiara on her head, there was a lavender-pink cloth in front of her eyes, and she was holding the scales, also in silver, in her right hand. Her feet had sandals on them, and her entire body's skin was a sickly purple color.
"Marinette?! She's been akumatized!" Cat Noir spoke in shock as his heart turned to lead and it dropped into his stomach. Had he caused this?!
"Then we'd better get that insect out of her." Ryuko agreed as she began charging up wind in her sword.
Marinette - now Princess Justice as Hawk Moth named her - raised her scales. They started glowing and a beam of energy fired at the group. Viperion was blasted, and he wound up getting bounced back and he slammed into a wall.
"Crap! She's targeting our weak spots! We'd better prepare a counterattack!" Viperion said weakly as he pulled away.
"Right!" Everyone else agreed.
"Wind Dragon!" Ryuko shouted.
She turned into a giant wind blast and started blowing around Princess Justice, only for her to rase the scales up again. The left side of the scale dipped down. Without moving her head or taking off her blindfold, she once again fired her power. It forced Ryuko to change back and she was shot back to the others.
"Cat Noir? Orders?!" Viperion asked as he managed to get back to the group.
With a resigned, guilty sigh, Cat Noir solemnly said, "We have no choice. We have to fight back."
Cat Noir balled his hands up again and created a massive Cataclysm. He fired the blast at Princess Justice, only for her to use her scales again. This time, when the right side of the scale dipped below the left, the scales glowed and they created a transparent barrier just as the Cataclysm hit. The smoke created from the blast covered the scene for a second. When it cleared, the scales were once again balanced and three balls of energy were created. They spun around like someone was spinning a wheel before they were fired at the team.
"Scatter!" Cat Noir shouted. Everyone moved out of the way of the blasts, each dodging one while trying to maneuver around and get closer to Princess Justice.
Cat Noir had found a way to sneak around and get behind her from a vantage point. He saw the glowing earrings on her lobes and thought, 'The akuma's gotta be in her earrings!'
But his footsteps were heard, as Princess Justice gasped and turned around. She flew at him and punched him in the stomach before tackling him to the ground. His back was on the ground, and she was on top of him, holding him down with her arms. Cat Noir looked up and saw tears coming out from beneath her blindfold.
He shook it off before muttering, "Forgive me, mon amour..."
He used his legs to kick her off before jumping up, grabbing her by the arm, and throwing her over his shoulder. He threw so hard that she flew into another structure nearby. Cat Noir landed.
As Princess Justice rose back up, she growled again and raised her scales.
"I've got her!" Viperion shouted as he threw his lyre. It hit the scales out of her hand and she gasped. She flew off to get them.
On the structure behind her, Nooroo was there with a wicked smile.
"Aha! The rotten kwami!" Cat Noir said, pointing Nooroo out.
Nooroo started flying away to go after Princess Justice.
"Don't worry, I'm on him, Cat Noir!" Pegasus hollered as he also threw his horseshoes at the kwami.
But Princess Justice jumped in, and used her scales to block the horseshoes. The impact caused an explosion, blinding everyone else.
"Hah! Meta-humans are overrated." Nooroo snickered.
Princess Justice flew in and punched out Rena Rouge, knocking her to the ground. She was soon attacking the rest of the team, including kicking Pegasus in the stomach, sweep-kicking Ryuko off her feet, and flipping Viperion over her shoulders.
Cat Noir was trying to find a way to jump in and fight, but between his love for Marinette and his guilt over causing her to become akumatized, he was stuck in place.
As Carapace tried to run in with his shield up, Princess Justice used the scales (which were unbalanced on the left) to crush him with her power. He got blasted back and into the group.
Princess Justice charged in again.
"Carapace, barrier, please!" Cat Noir shouted.
"Shellter!" Carapace shouted as he used his shield to lift up the barrier around the team.
Princess Justice slammed her fist onto the barrier. Instead of feeling pain and going back, she continued punching the barrier repeatedly, using her scales to fire at the shield, everything.
Rena was helping Ryuko stand up while the others were watching.
"Cat Noir! We can't fight back AND have Carapace protect us at the same time!" Viperion shouted.
Cat Noir looked up with a resolute look on his face and he said, "...I know."
Cat Noir watched as Princess Justice kept trying to break through the shield, but no luck. At one point, she even tried flying straight in, only for her to be bounced back.
"...Carapace, lower the shield for a second. I have an idea." Cat Noir said as he approached it. Everyone was giving him curious looks.
Carapace took the barrier down and let Cat Noir walk out before raising it up again.
As Princess Justice flew further in, Cat Noir gave an anguished yell at the top of his lungs, "MARINETTE!"
Princess Justice closed in, only for Cat Noir to say, "Marinette, stop, please!"
At "please", she paused in her attack and looked down at him.
"Claws in," Cat Noir said, changing back into Adrien and giving her a smile. "Marinette, it's me, Adrien. Remember, us together?"
He took out his phone and opened his photo feed.
"Remember? The ice cream stand with André, the arcade where we kicked ass?" He asked as started scrolling through the pictures of their date. "There was something there, wasn't there? I don't know if you felt it, but I did..."
Her blindfolded face seemed to soften a bit.
"Marinette, please... I won't keep secrets from you anymore. Cat's honor." He said, his affectionate smile on his face as he put his phone away.
Princess Justice landed, and she began groaning a bit. The blindfold started to fade away, and once it was gone, it was like she was waking up from sleep.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she asked, "A... Adrien?"
Adrien smiled, happy he got through to her.
"Marinette! You're okay-" Adrien began, only for her arm that was carrying the scales to lunge at him. He backed off.
"I... I don't know what's happening! I can't stop what I'm doing!" She pleaded as her body kept moving on its own to attack Adrien. He kept ducking and dodging it.
Nooroo flew up and said, "Because the Master and I are the ones in control!"
Hearing that, Princess Justice got angry again, only this time the rage was directed elsewhere.
She mustered up all the strength she had, began pulling her scales back, and she tried moving herself away from Adrien.
"You can do it, Marinette!" Adrien said, cheering her on. The others were cheering, encouraging her to fight.
The halo from Hawk Moth's control appeared in front of her face again and he demanded of her, "What are you doing, Princess Justice?! You're supposed to be destroying Adrien!"
"Oh no!" She protested as she stubbornly tried to hold her arm back. "If you expect me to just bend to your will, you've got another thing coming!"
"What?!" Hawk Moth shouted.
"And by the way, I'm not Princess Justice...!" She said as she jumped in the air. On instinct, she hollered, "TIKKI, SPOTS ON!"
Her earrings both started turning a glowing red, and they each got five black spots on them. In a bright red flash of light, an energy nuke happened around her. In the ensuing blast, not only was the akuma blasted out of the earring, but it turned white and flew away, severing the connection with Hawk Moth. Adrien looked on as she underwent a change. Her hair went back to its usual pigtails, now accompanied by red ribbons. Her clothes changed into a red bodysuit with a black turtleneck and black spots everywhere.
"I'm Ladybug!" She declared as she just exuded confidence.
Her energy blast kept getting bigger. Everyone ducked and covered their eyes from from the light, including Adrien.
But rather than causing damage, the red energy she radiated was repairing everything, from the wreckage of the buildings to the destroyed bridges and roads. Everything was being reversed, as if nothing had actually happened.
"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" She hollered as she continued glowing and her nuke was getting more and more powerful.
Nooroo was blasted away from the explosion, the kwami screaming in pain.
After the blast cleared up, everyone looked around and saw that the city was completely fixed from all the fights that occurred. Adrien looked up and saw Ladybug was up in the air, but she looked very drained.
"Spots... Off..." She murmured and she changed back into Marinette as she started falling head-first. Tikki dove after her owner.
"NO!" Adrien shouted in horror. He began running, his eyes wide and his heart racing a mile a minute as he watched her fall. He picked up the speed in his running as he kept his eye on her.
Getting within distance, he got down and slid on his legs like he was playing hockey and stopping. His arms were out, and he caught Marinette, carrying her like a princess.
"Marinette!" He said as he looked at her.
Her eyes slowly opened up again, and she looked at Adrien, who was looking at her in a mixture of love, relief, and happiness.
"A... Adrien...?" Marinette began, a smile coming on to her face.
"You're okay!" Tikki squealed as she caught up.
"I... I..." Marinette began, only for Adrien to hold her closer.
"Don't say anything more," He cooed, a relived smile on his face. "I'm just happy you're safe and out of Hawk Moth's control."
Marinette hugged him back, burying her face in his neck.
The others watched from where they were standing (the barrier gone), moved by the love between their leader and the girl.
Adrien adjusted his hands to place them on her face. She looked back at him, blushing.
"I... I think now's the right time for it... If you're willing." Adrien began, his face also pink.
Marinette gave a nod as the two of them shared their first kiss together. The world around them melted away, and nothing registered with them, not even the cheering from the team.
Once everything calmed down, Adrien brought Marinette to the HQ, and they began talking.
"Are you sure you want to stay?" Adrien asked. "If you and your family wanted to go back to Bordeaux, then I'd understand."
"Of course I'm staying," Marinette said, with Tikki on her shoulder. "Hawk Moth said I had a purpose, and I think he's right: my purpose is to stay here in Paris and help you defeat him!"
"Welcome to the team, Bugaboo." Adrien said, blushing.
"Don't call me that," Marinette laughed. "Anyway, I'd better get home before my parents worry."
She gave Adrien a kiss on the cheek before turning on her heel and saying, "See you again soon!"
Adrien watched in joy as his beloved ran off, all but hoping he would see her within a few hours.
Okay, that's a wrap. Now, I know there are a lot of things that need explaining in this one-shot, but just go with it, please? I'm not planning on continuing this one-shot at all, but I understand there are too many plot holes and other issues here.
The best way I can explain is this: watch "Chiro's Girl" from "Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go" as that was the episode I was riffing this one-shot off of while making sure references to Miraculous Ladybug canon were here.
Now, since I'm waiting for the episodes to air in English, NO SPOILER COMMENTS, PLEASE! Especially when it comes to Lukanette - I'm a big fan.