Author's Notes: This is my first pure Miraculous fanfiction. Reveal will come in chapter 2 and this will include some of the new information released during New York Comic Con (of course my own interpretation of it).
I don't own any of these characters, but I love living in their world for a little while :) Please let me know if you like it! Thank you!
"Cat Noir!" Ladybug threw her arm out catching him by the tail and letting it wrap around her wrist as she flung her yo-yo catching it on a hanging flag post. Usually, she flipped him around like a tattered cat toy, but today his weight felt especially heavy on her. They landed in a pile of tangled arms and limbs. The desire to linger, to take in the feeling as they laid close, was completely ignored as they sprang to their feet, breathing heavy. "Either they are getting stronger, or we are getting worse at this." Ladybug wiped a hand across her forehead cursing the lack of absorbency in her suit. It prevented her from sweating in noticeable places, but couldn't stick to the perspiration long enough to clear her vision.
"We are the best in the business," Cat Noir said through gritted teeth. He couldn't wait to capture this akuma and hear Ladybug's famous call which would wipe his pain away. "Hawkmoth is getting stronger and so are his possessed bad guys. It's pretty pawful."
She could see the relief on his face when she laughed. Her exhaustion was making her punchy and even his cat puns were a welcome break from the stress. Akumatized victims were appearing every day, sometimes twice now, almost as if Hawkmoth had an unlimited source of possessed butterflies at his disposal. "Thanks, kitty," she smiled and without hesitation gave him a quick hug, "I needed that." The contact brought her an instantaneous sense of relief and security, although she would never tell her cocky partner that.
Cat Noir sighed into her hair, which was now more of a bird's nest than her normally well-groomed pigtails. He didn't care what the reason was, or that they would probably get the snot beat out of them again, he was going to enjoy the fact that she hugged him on her own. The occurrence of such hugs had increased in the past year and a half, but it was still a pleasant surprise every time it happened. "Alright, lovebug, ready to get back out there? Where is the akuma again?" He scratched his head. She had been screaming about the akuma when they had been picked up and thrown across the field, but he hadn't heard her as he was busy plunging to his potential death.
"The cane," she said, eyes narrowing glancing across the street. "The music is over there now," she pointed across the water to what appeared to be a small stage, "looks like the Performer has grouped his audience for a show."
"Nothing like an old man turned possessed tap dancing sensation to really keep an audience captive," Cat Noir winked at his Ladybug as she groaned next to him.
"Come on, you silly cat," Ladybug grabbed his hand, feeling his fingers wrap into hers and smiling softly at the gesture, "let's go save these people before they clap themselves to death!"
Pouting slightly when she loosened her grip and started running across the field, throwing her yo-yo to carry her beyond the river, Cat Noir shrugged and followed suit. Extending his bo, he caught up to her as she landed neatly on top of a concession stand. "That looks painful," he grimaced as he watched the crowd that had been clapping and chanting for an hour their faces conveying torture that their words could not. "Why do these guys always have to control people? Hawkmoth has issues."
Ladybug let herself chuckle. They had been discussing this very observation last night during training, an activity Master Fu made them participate in even on the most body punishing days. "Control issues, for sure." She was scanning the area trying to decide their best move. The Performer was so wrapped up in his routine that he had yet to notice his new audience members. "I think it's time for my lucky charm. I'm not coming up with any ideas on my own."
"Charm away, m'lady," he attempted a bo from his stooped position and stumbled slightly. His body was feeling every blow of the fight and the feeling was getting worse by the second. "We need to take care of him, and now." Cat Noir felt dizzy, it was time to get rid of this guy and hit the showers.
Dropping to the ground behind the concession stand, Ladybug called for her lucky charm as quietly as possible. As it dropped from the sky, she realized the heavy mass falling toward her was too much for her to handle. Reaching up, she braced for impact, but Cat Noir was faster. Flinging out his bo, he laced it through the brackets on the spotlight, yanking it onto the roof of the concession stand.
"Really?" Ladybug huffed as she climbed back onto the roof, "how was I ever supposed to catch that?" She was shaking her head at the spotlight, glancing at Cat Noir who was grinning.
"See, I am useful!"
He grinned up at her making her heart flutter. She suppressed the urge to hug him again knowing that her time was running out. "Of course you are, alley cat, now help me get this thing in position. Do you think you can bring down the stage without harming the audience?" They pushed the spotlight to aim directly at the stage. Ladybug looked over her shoulder watching the sun disappear knowing that now would be the ideal time to use her oversized lucky charm.
"Cat Noir always brings down the house!" he seemed pleased with himself as he leaped off of the concession stand and slinked through the booths toward the stage.
Ladybug waited, watching his subtle movements until he reached his destination. Once he was in place, she turned on the spotlight, full force, straight into the eyes of the Performer. Caught off-guard, the akumatized choreographer stumbled back from the crowd.
"Plot Twist!" Cat Noir yelled following his cataclysm call, dancing joyfully around the stage slowly demolishing the wood planks. Jumping back, he viewed the damage with his hands on his hips.
Ladybug giggled as she landed on the wreckage, flipping the Performer's cane to her using her yo-yo and breaking it over her knee. Capturing the akuma, she cleansed it and released it into the world glowing bright white. "Help Mr. Santanio out of that hole, Cat," she surveyed the crowd still cheering and clapping, "and then help me toss that spotlight."
Bodies tired and beaten, the heroes climbed back onto the concession stand studying the spotlight. "Well," Cat Noir scratched the back of his head, "I guess we could sling shot it? You can brace yourself on the tree and snag it with your yo-yo and I'll put my bo under it like this." Cat Noir wedged his bo underneath it so it stuck up at an angle. "You yank the yo-yo, and I'll jump on the bow while you yell."
Rolling her shoulders, Ladybug considered other possible options of releasing the lucky charm in the air. Seeing no other option, she hauled herself into the nearby tree, nodding back at Cat Noir. Her miraculous was already down two spots and she needed to get out of there sooner than later. Flipping her yo-yo out so it wrapped the metal handle of the spotlight, she waited for Cat's signal to pull. Mustering the last of her strength, bolstered by laughter as Cat Noir sprang onto his bo like a cat onto catnip, she pulled her yo-yo back to her. The spotlight flipped into the air and she called out, releasing the beautiful swarm of ladybugs over Paris. As the damage began to repair and the audience was released from their never-ending praise fest, she felt her body begin to heal. She had learned in the last few weeks that the pain would disappear and the cuts would close over, but the ache of fatigue would be with her through the night. Sighing as she heard the fourth beep in her ear, she waved to Cat Noir and swung away from the river.
He watched her go knowing exactly how she was feeling. They never caught a break. In the last week there had been seven akuma victims. If he hadn't been on break from school there was no way he could have kept his cover. A thought had started bothering him in the last few days. As he swung over the rooftops to his house, the same thought tickled his brain and aggravated his stomach. Maybe it was Hawkmoth's plan to continuously assault them until their lives fell apart or until they outed themselves. Or maybe…
Cat Noir landed in his room, immediately releasing Plagg. "I'm wiped, feed me and leave me alone!" Plagg slumped down on his kwami sized bean bag, arms and legs flailed out to both sides. Adrien smiled down at his kwami. He was rude and ridiculous but Plagg was also his partner and he knew Plagg was getting as beat down as he was. Unwrapping 3 hunks of cheese, Adrien placed them on a plate next to Plagg, switching Plagg's favorite movie onto the TV. He planned to take a very hot shower and then crash face first down on his bed.
Across town, Ladybug landed on her balcony, peering into her room to assure that her parents were elsewhere. Slipping inside, she felt the transformation coming as she shut the door. Catching Tikki in both of her hands, she kissed her small kwami on the head. "Oh Tikki, I'm so sorry, I know you are as tired as I am." Marinette cradled her small partner, stroking her head.
"I'm so hungry," Tikki whispered, being lured to sleep by Marinette's cuddles.
Marinette softly placed Tikki on her cat pillow, retrieving a giant chocolate chip cookie from her dresser. She broke off a piece and handed it to the sleepy Tikki as she sat down on the bed. Both of them were too tired to speak and sat in comfortable silence as Tikki ate the cookie piece by piece. Once she was completely full, Tikki drifted off to sleep and Marinette eased off of the bed to head for the shower.
Turning on the hottest water she could get from her faucet, Marinette let the warm water wash the tiredness from her body. She had taken (and failed) dance class with Mr. Santanio when she was a little girl. Every day there was a new victim, and each victim was someone she recognized. No more random faces in the crowd. All ten of the last akuma victims had touched her life in some way. Paris was large and filled with people, the chances of each akuma victim knowing her were so small, Alya had even run the numbers. Of course, Alya still didn't know she was Ladybug and had no way to know how scary her figures would be to Marinette. Hawkmoth is getting closer to me and stronger with every day, she thought, immediately dunking her face into the hot water. Thinking like that was dangerous. Those thoughts brought fear, and fear brought Hawkmoth. She stayed in the shower until all the worries were washed from her brain.
Toweling off, Marinette slipped on her softest sweats and shirt. Plodding out to her bed, she let her wet hair hang loose on her shoulders and back. She curled into a ball, pulling Tikki toward her ready to let sleep take over when she heard her cell phone beep on her desk. Grunting, Marinette pushed her face further into her pillow. It took everything in her not to curse when the phone began to ring.
Dragging her body off the bed, she slapped out at the phone. "Hello?" She winced, knowing that she should not have been rude. "I'm sorry," she ran a hand over her face, "hello?" she said in a much more Marinette voice.
"Ladybug," Master Fu spoke quietly but commanding into the phone. "I need to see you."
The moan almost escaped her mouth but she clamped a hand over it keeping it in. "Master Fu, I…"
"I know you are tired, but this is important." Master Fu's tone was laced with stress. "Thirty minutes."
Marinette heard the phone call end before she could respond. "I'm so sorry, Tikki," she whispered as she collected the sleeping kwami and slipped her into the pink purse. Slipping on her flats, she pulled her damp locks into the signature pigtails. Although it would take the full thirty minutes to walk to Master Fu's, she was not willing to wake Tikki. The little kwami had been so tired and Marinette didn't have the heart to force her mini best friend back into the miraculous. Her parents weren't home, so she left the house without an explanation beginning the walk toward Master Fu's loft.
Adrien heard the phone ring twice before he answered it, his eyes unable to focus on the screen. "Um, hello?" He cleared his throat trying to shake the sleep from his voice.
"Cat Noir," Master Fu sounded irritated and Adrien winced. He hated when he disappointed people. "I need to see you, this is important."
Adrien wanted to argue, but he couldn't muster up the strength. "Yes, sir." Adrien reached for a pair of socks putting them on his feet.
"Forty-five minutes." Master Fu hung up the phone without another word.
Plagg opened one eye and peered at Adrien. "You're walking kid, because I am not up for transforming right now."
Again, Adrien wanted to argue but simply didn't have it in him. "Ok, can you get into your pocket, or do I need to pick you up?" He tied his shoelaces while waiting for an answer.
"Pick me up," Plagg dramatically raised his tiny black arms into the air. Adrien shook his head and lifted his kwami into his pocket. Feeling like he was weighted to the floor, he began the long walk to Master Fu's apartment.
Wayzz floated next to Master Fu with a disapproving look on his face. "No opinions," Master Fu snapped looking older and more tired than he had in years.
"So, they are going to show up together and then the plan is?" Wayzz sat on his master's shoulders, touching his face lightly. They had been partners longer than most and their relationship provided comfort to both kwami and master.
"Casually expose their identities and then discuss the next steps." Master Fu looked at Wayzz as he floated in front of his face. "What?" He was now sporting an amused smile.
"This is going to go well." Wayzz was as sarcastic as he had ever been. "Really well." He shook his head as the doorbell rang.