(A/) Thanks to my betas Miabrown, Marby, and Khanofallorcs!
This really wasn't the way she'd wanted to spend her afternoon.
Dodging the glowing snowball Mister Freeze sent her way, she quickly retaliated, lassoing it with her yo-yo and whipping it back around into his face.
Not that she'd had much choice in any of this; she'd been chosen and her attempt to give her Miraculous to someone else, someone more enthusiastic… well… it hadn't gone well.
While the akuma was distracted she snatched his wand, breaking it in two, releasing the tainted butterfly.
After her first time forgetting to capture one, she ALWAYS paid close attention to them. She couldn't afford not to.
Not without her partner.
Tikki'd seemed a bit worried after that first day when the mysterious 'partner' she'd brought up didn't materialize, but well… there'd been a lot of other things going on.
Like the army of Stoneheart replicas.
Plus, she hadn't had an opportunity to say much before Marinette removed the earrings.
She'd fought six akumas since Hawkmoth's debut two weeks ago, and while she'd slowly gotten better, become more confident in her own abilities, it was still a LOT, with no room for error.
If she failed, if she stumbled, if she wasn't ever vigilant, there was no one to fall back on.
Just her.
Tikki'd gotten antsy after the first week, even disappearing briefly to go somewhere. Afterwards she'd been more agitated and depressed than ever, zipping around the room haphazardly one moment, resting perfectly still on the desk, antennae drooping the next.
Tikki had a partner kwami.
And Ladybug was supposed to have a superhero partner.
But the kwami was missing.
Marinette wished she could help Tikki. Help her search for him or help her cope.
At least, Tikki liked the plushie she'd made of Plagg. It'd taken some doing to get his looks right without ever having seen him (and Tikki couldn't draw very well), but eventually, she drew a design that was, according to her kwami, a dead ringer for him.
It helped that kwamis had pretty similar bodies to each other, apparently. Which meant she could just draw Tikki as a base then alter features to match.
From that, she'd made a life-size Plagg plush.
Tikki'd been cuddling it nonstop the past two days.
Marinette really hoped Hawkmoth didn't already have him, for Tikki's sake as well as Plagg's.
"What-what happened?"
She gave the deakumatized victim an exhausted smile. "You were akumatized. Don't worry; everything's ok now."
Throwing her Lucky Charm into the air, she called out "Miraculous Ladybug!", the ladybugs flying around and healing all of Mister Freeze's victims, repairing everything.
She threw out her yo-yo, preparing to leave-
A sudden impact threw her off-balance.
Desperately, she tried to regain her footing, but it was too late. Together with a black figure, she fell off the building.
And promptly stopped a few feet above the ground, swaying gently, tied up in her own yo-yo string with-
With what?
She desperately twisted, trying to get a better glimpse of whatever — or whoever — had collided with her.
Black cat ears greeted her.
Wait…
A black suit, looking like it was made from the same material as her own.
A belt, long and loose, waving around under its own power instead of merely being subjected to the whims of gravity.
Marinette's heart beat faster.
"Are… are you my partner?"
She'd been dreaming about what they'd look like. Tikki'd given basic descriptors; black outfit, cat ears, and usually something that functioned as a tail.
The figure twisted around.
A blond-haired cat boy blinked back at her.
...was that a bell?
Oh. Oh that was CUTE.
She shook herself.
Bad Ladybug! No getting distracted!
"Where've you been? My kwami's been so worried!"
She heard a long sigh from the black cat wielder — from her partner.
"Cataclysm."
Her yo-yo string turned black, then crumpled to ash.
Her partner front-flipped, landing on his feet.
She… was not so fortunate.
Seriously, THIS was how she got to meet her partner?!
"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding worried.
She rubbed her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Nothing the protector of Paris can't handle!"
At least that's what she kept telling herself.
"That's- that's… good…" he said, sounding uncertain.
"Is Plagg okay?" she asked.
He winced.
Something felt off about this.
Something wasn't right.
The boy glanced over his shoulder, looking almost scared.
When he turned back, his features rearranged into something carefully blank.
Shivers went down her spine.
DANGER. DANGER.
"Give me your Miraculous," he said flatly, before lunging at her.
…
…
…
WHAT.
She barely dodged in time.
Luckily her reflexes had gotten pretty good over the last two weeks, especially when fending off any attacks near her ears.
This… this was her partner.
So…
So…
"Why?"
Just… why.
He bit his lip, looking down, the blank look breaking.
"I… I- I…" His voice broke.
He looked like he was about to cry.
"I'm sorry," he told her softly, before lunging again.
She managed to lose him just in time.
It helped that he'd used his special power only about a minute after she did. Seemed like he was on a time limit too.
Ducking behind a tree near the bakery, she sank to the ground. "Spots off!"
Tikki spiralled out of her earrings, landing in her hand.
She delved into her purse for a macaron.
"Plagg… not again…"
Tikki was shaking.
'Not again'?
Tikki read Marinette's expression. "This isn't the first time Plagg's been lost," Tikki said between taking bites of the cookie. "All of us kwamis have been at some point. But Plagg… he's the most likely to be misused, with devastating consequences."
She looked off into the distance. "I hope his new Holder's treating him okay. He seems to be helping Hawkmoth, but…"
"But he didn't want to be," Marinette finished.
At least she hoped so.
She didn't want him to be her enemy.
Not when part of her kept screaming 'Yes he's HERE, my partner's HERE, I'm not alone anymore!'
But she couldn't help feeling a little betrayed as well.
They were supposed to fight together, not against each other!
Sighing heavily, she placed Tikki in her purse and snuck back inside the bakery.
She had a lot to think about.