Phew this took awhile to type but this is the first chapter of the Miraculous Tales of Beetle and Chatte Noire and if the Title hasn't tipped you off, I might've changed a few things. I think everyone who reads my stories knows that I have a knack to sometimes do a genderbend story.
I started to type this as a way to get it out of my head and it took off from there and slowly I began to wonder how things would play out if you reversed the genders of the two main heroes? Turns out a lot can change, especially if you perceive some things differently. Though it starts out the same in some areas, I plan to change a lot, and I mean a lot as time goes on.
Also sorry if I go overboard with the descriptions of someone every now and then. The pain of the first chapter is describing how people look.
One more thing before the story begins, sorry I haven't been updating a lot, I've been in a slump this last month, nothing was working for a bit. Believe it or not, this show actually brought me out of the slump so that's why I wanted to write a fanfic about it and given the amount of words I have so far, I think that was the right call, I've never had a first chapter of a story be this long.
Summary: Maron Dupain-Cheng was just your average kid who wanted to be a fashion designer despite his clumsy disposition and shy nature. Annette Agreste was a teen model who wanted to be an average kid hiding her true face from the public. Neither of them expected to be chosen to be superheroes when a villain called Hawk Moth began to cause chaos in the streets of Paris. Maron was against it while Annette was all for it. Now as Beetle and Chatte Noire the two must navigate both their new miraculous lives as Superhero Partners while balancing it with their normal lives, unaware of each other's identities and try to uncover who Hawk Moth is if they want to save Paris before it's too late.
Chapter 01: Origins Stoneheart Part 1
Many Centuries ago, magic jewels bestowing incredible powers were created.
Called the Miraculous, these jewels have made their mark on history, even with many unaware of their existence with various heroes using them for the good of the human race.
Out of all of them, two were more powerful than the others.
The Earrings of the Ladybug which were said to provide its wielder with the Power of Creation and the Ring of the Black Cat, it's opposite which grants the Power of Destruction.
According to legend, if one wields both the Earrings and the Ring, they would achieve absolute power.
Many who have heard this legend have tried to achieve this, but none have succeeded.
Time passed and the legends of the Miraculous were lost in time, however one being knew the stories and was working to find both the Earrings and the Ring, going as far as to endanger innocent people, knowing he would force the hands of whoever wields them.
Only time will tell if he'll succeed or not.
A figure stood in the shadows with his features hidden, looking at a picture in a locket that was in his hand.
Nearby, a small purple butterfly looking creature flew around him with a worried look.
Despise the shadows hiding his features, he could see the indecision on his face.
The creature knew what his Master was planning and he was hoping that maybe, just maybe he would stop this before it starts.
But he saw the indecision turn into determination, watching as his Master closed the locket.
It would seem that his resolve outweighed his morals.
"Remind me Nooroo," The man glanced towards the creature, his blue eyes being seen through the dark. "What does your Miraculous do?"
Nooroo said nothing at first, knowing full well that the man knew what he was capable of, but he eventually sighed. "The Butterfly Miraculous has the ability to give someone superpowers and make them your devoted follower."
He could remember fondly of how his past masters always used them to protect others.
"Perfect." The man said, his tone taking a dark turn, showing how different he was from the past wielders. "And by creating super villains, I should be able to draw out the wielders of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous."
Just hearing the stories of how they give absolute power made what he had planned all the more necessary.
He needed to do this, to keep his promise.
"But Master," Nooroo pleaded, wanting to get him to see reason. "The Miraculous aren't meant to be used for evil purposes-."
"Enough." Nooroo's Master narrowed his eyes at the Kwami. "I will get this absolute power, as long as I have your Miraculous you are to obey me, do you understand?"
Nooroo hung his head in defeat, knowing that while this man wielded his Miraculous he was bound to his bidding. "Yes Master." He said in a sad tone, watching as his Master put the locket away.
"Good, now Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!"
With those words, Nooroo was absorbed into the brooch the man wore and in a flash of purple light, his appearance was changed as he finally stepped out of the shadows.
He now wore a dark purple dress shirt and black slacks, a butterfly brooch pinned to his collar while his face was hidden by a silver mask, holding a black cane with a dark smirk.
"From this moment on, I am Hawk Moth." The man declared, watching as butterflies began to gather around him, closing his eyes to feel countless emotions out in the city.
Soon, he'll get what he desires and no one will stop him.
"Maron, wake up, your alarm has been going off for fifteen minutes." A voice shouted, making another voice groan in exasperation, a shape curling up beneath some covers. "You're going to be late for the first day of school."
Just hearing the word 'school' made the shape groan even more before a hand reached out and turned the alarm on the phone off.
"Got it Mom." The covers fell back a bit to show a young teenage boy with short, messy black hair with blue highlights and bluebell eyes, wearing a white sleeveless shirt and red sweatpants.
This was Maron Dupain-Cheng, just your average thirteen year old living in the city of Paris.
Nothing unusual about him unless you count the fact that his parents own a pretty popular Bakery.
Well then there was the fact that he wanted to be a Fashion Designer much like his idol Gabriel Agreste which earned him some ridicule, mostly from a certain blonde brat, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.
Stretching his limbs as they popped, Maron sighed and got out of bed, staring at his desk which had a few unfinished projects he wanted to work on with different scarves, hats and jackets along with a notebook filled with countless designs.
He had so much he wanted to do, but he didn't really finish any of them.
"Stupid slump." Maron muttered with some annoyance.
Usually these slumps come and go, but this one lasted for so long that it was hard for him to get anything done.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Maron winced showing that he might've slept wrong given how his neck was aching.
That was pretty much a sign that today wasn't going to go so well.
Still he needed to hurry, so he left his room and walked downstairs to see his mother Sabine Cheng, a short woman with short hair that was the same color as Maron's, only less messy and grey eyes wearing a white cheongsam that held a red, black and gold plant design.
Giving his Mom a quick hug, Maron sat at the table, opening a bottle of milk. "I bet you anything that Chloe will be a part of my class again." He muttered in distaste, not having any nice thoughts about that certain girl.
Sabine gave him a raised brow at hearing him say that. "Four years in a row? Is that possible?" She asked, seeing her son lower his head while he reached for the cereal after pouring his milk in first.
"With my luck, definitely."
Not liking how negative he was being, Sabine messed with his hair. "Don't say that, it's the start of a new year, I'm sure everything will be just fine."
Maron didn't really believe that but he smiled and gave a nod to avoid having his mom worry, before placing the cereal down, only to knock a fruit out of the bowl as it rolled, creating a domino effect where it knocked into the milk making it spill on the floor and then hit the box of cereal causing it to hit the floor as well.
'Well if that's not another sign of how bad today will be, I don't know what will be.' Maron groaned in disbelief at another bout of his usual clumsiness. 'Can today get any worse?'
As if to answer that question, the fruit that was still rolling, hit his bowl that was at the edge making it fall over and the contents spilled on his lap.
He just had to tempt fate.
Sabine, who was cleaning up the milk mess, gave a small smile and gently placed a hand on his shoulder to cheer him up.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Maron walked downstairs now wearing a dark grey blazer with a white shirt underneath it and red pants, shouldering a red backpack.
Making it down the stairs as he could hear singing, Maron smiled as he saw his Dad Tom Dupain, a tall man with a rather large build, short brown hair, sideburns and a mustache, his green eyes twinkling with happiness, wearing his usual work outfit which consisted of a white shirt, blue apron and a white hat.
Hearing Maron come in, Tom turned around, showing a box of Macarons, freshly made. "These are awesome Dad!" Maron said with a grin, accepting the box. "I know everyone will love these."
It was something of a tradition for Maron to bring sweets in on the first day of school, it was Maron's way of bringing business in for his parents.
"I'm glad you like them," Tom grinned at Maron. "So notice anything different about the box?"
Maron blinked before glancing down to see a beautifully engraved 'TS' on them. "Is this-?"
"One of your designs." Tom confirmed much to Maron's surprise. "We have it on our new updated menus too."
"But I threw it away." Maron glanced at him in confusion.
It was one of the designs that he tried in his slump and it just didn't click with him, so he ripped it out of the notebook.
"It was right next to the trash can, I picked it up to throw it away but I saw the design first," Tom admitted given how Maron made it downstairs and didn't see that he missed the trash. "Don't be too hard on yourself, it's an amazing design, a lot of the customers agreed too."
Maron found his cheeks a bit red, but he smiled in appreciation.
A beep from his phone however reminded Maron that he needed to hurry if he wanted to get to school on time.
"Ah I have to go, love you Dad! You too Mom! See you both tonight!" Maron exclaimed, running to the door only to pause in confusion that it wouldn't open.
It took him a second to remember that they changed the direction the doors opened and he looked embarrassed as he pulled it open rather then push it like he used to.
Making it outside, Maron nearly got hit by a car as the light changed right before he could go across, barely stopping himself in time while a few people who were also waiting were on their phones.
'Come on.' Maron tapped his foot a bit impatiently only for his eyes to widen at seeing an elderly man wearing a red shirt with white flowers using a walking stick crossing the road, a car heading right for him despite trying to slow down.
No one else noticed due to how absorbed they were in their phones and Maron acted without thinking, running forward to grab the man, pulling him as gently as he could to the sidewalk.
But in the process, he tripped on the curb and the Macarons fell out of the box.
"Thank you young man," The elder said with a grateful smile, watching as Maron tried to get the Macarons back in the box right when the light changed. "Oh what a disaster."
"I-It's fine." Maron said, wincing as one of the Macarons was crushed under someone's foot. "Something like this always happens, besides I didn't lose them all."
Forcing a smile on his face, Maron grabbed one and held it out to the man who accepted it with a smile of his own. "Delicious." He said trying it.
"That means a lot, if you want anymore, the bakery is right there, you won't find better sweets in all of Paris." Maron advertised before his phone beeped again. "Oh no I'm going to be late, have a nice day sir."
Watching the young man run off, the elder pulled out a chinese engraved box in thought. "Thank you very much young man."
"Master?" A green turtle like creature popped its head out from the collar of his shirt.
"Don't mind me Wayzz." The man said, a conflicted look on his face.
Like his Kwami, he knew that something was coming given the dark energy Wayzz felt when the Butterfly Miraculous was activated.
And given his age the man knew he couldn't fight it himself, so he needed to find people who could.
To do that, he needed to test their characters by putting himself in danger.
He just didn't expect one so young to pass the test compared to the many adults that could be seen who didn't even try.
A part of him argued that he shouldn't give this responsibility to a child, but he might not have a choice in this matter.
All he could hope for was his choice being the right one.
Thankfully, Maron managed to make it inside of the classroom before the late bell rang.
So far so good, sure there have been a few mishaps this morning but he didn't start off the year late, so that was progress.
Sitting down in his usual seat, Maron stopped when a familiar hand slammed on the desk in front of him.
He knew who it was immediately, especially with the carefully manicured nails being a dead give-away.
"Well, if it isn't Maron Dupain-Cheng." Chloe Bourgeois said with a sneer, she was a thirteen year old girl with light honey blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and ocean blue eyes, wearing her usual yellow jacket over a white shirt that had black stripes around her waist and white jean capris.
"Chloe." Maron acknowledged with an annoyed look.
His usual tormentor, or rather everyone's usual tormentor for the last few years.
So much for not being in the same class as her.
Here they go again.
"That's my seat."
Maron raised a brow, confusion evident on his face. "Since when? I've always sat here."
"Not anymore," A new voice made Maron turn to see Sabrina Raincomprix, a girl with chin length orange hair styled in a bob and sea green eyes gave a smug grin as she wore a purple and blue vest over a white long sleeved shirt, bright blue shorts and brown leggings, a pair of glasses over her eyes. "New school, new year, new seats."
"So why don't you go sit by that new girl over there?" Chloe suggested pointing out a new student that Maron hasn't met, the girl turning when she was mentioned to give a glare at Chloe, recognizing someone being messed with when she saw it.
This new girl has wavy, reddish brown shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes that were behind a pair of glasses, wearing a short-sleeved plaid shirt with orange, white and purple stripes and blue jeans.
"But-." Maron tried but Chloe cut him off.
"Annette's arriving today and since the one in front of you is going to be her seat, this one is my seat." Chloe told Maron, giving him a look. "There's no way I'm going to have someone like you near my best friend."
Maron didn't miss how Sabrina momentarily looked saddened by that, but it was gone before anyone else could see it.
But now he was confused. "Annette? Who's Annette?"
He wasn't even going to bother asking about the 'someone like you' part given how nasty Chloe could be.
And no one could really do anything in response given who her father was, which just made this whole situation even more frustrating.
His question just made Chloe laugh. "You don't know? I would've thought you knew considering who your idol is." She mocked Maron who frowned in response to that. "Sad isn't it?"
Sabrina gave a nod of agreement. "Annette is a famous model."
"Who happens to think of me as her best friend." Chloe bragged, leaving out the information that she was currently Annette's only friend. "So go on and move."
"Hey!" The new girl had about enough of staying on the sidelines as she walked over. "Who elected you as the Queen of Seats?"
"Ooh look Sabrina, we have a little do-gooder in our class this year," Chloe mocked with the new girl narrowing her eyes. "What are you going to do Super Newbie? Shoot beams at me from your glasses?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" The girl then grabbed Maron by the arm. "Come on."
Maron grabbed the box of sweets as he was being pulled, a bit surprised at what happened.
Not many people stand up to Chloe, so seeing something like that had him unsure of what to say.
But in his shock he ended up tripping on the last step right before he got to his seat and the box of sweets fell over, this time the Macarons broke on impact on the floor.
Ignoring how Chloe was snickering at the sight, Maron was quickly trying to clean up the mess, muttering apologies to the new girl for getting her involved right when the teacher walked in.
"Alright, has everyone found their new seats?" The teacher asked, her reddish orange hair pulled into a high bun, wearing a light blue jacket with a white shirt underneath and blue pants.
"Chillax boy, no biggie." The girl said to Maron who looked in the box, only for his face to fall at seeing one Macaron left.
All the hard work his Dad did for this batch wasted.
"Not many people can handle Chloe like that, I have to say I'm impressed." Maron tried to place that out of his mind as the new girl gave an appreciative smile.
"I just did it like how Majestia would." The girl said, perplexing Maron before she showed her phone where a comic cover was showing and he got it. "She says that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing."
"Okay?" Maron had no idea where she was going with this.
"Well that girl over there is evil and we're the good people," The girl elaborated with Maron trying not to snicker as the cartoonish picture of an evil Chloe twirling a stereotypical mustache came to mind. "We can't let her get away with it."
"Easier said than done," Maron wished something could be done about it. "She's the Mayor's daughter, so she gets away with a lot."
No one in the class really liked her, except for Sabrina that is.
But they keep it to themselves because of how easily she could get her way.
"Only if you let her push you around." The girl wouldn't budge and Maron smiled at that before he pulled out the last Macaron and broke it in half, holding it out to her.
"Names Maron."
"Alya." The girl accepted as they both ate right as class began with the teacher introducing herself as Miss Bustier.
Chloe however was staring at the seat in front of her in confusion. "Where is she? Annette said she would be here."
Panting could be heard as a blonde haired, green eyed girl was running towards the school, her shoulder-length hair neatly brushed as she looked over her shoulder, as if on the run from something.
Shouldering her blue bag over a white jacket with a black v-neck shirt on underneath it and blue jeans, the girl made it to the steps when the screeching sound of a car was heard.
"Annette, please reconsider." A young woman walked over towards the teenage girl with black hair pulled into a bun, the left side of it dyed red, wearing a black dress jacket over a red turtleneck sweater and black pants. "You know what your father wants."
Annette Agreste grimaced as she was so close to the school, weeks of planning for this within her grasp before she turned towards the woman, Nathalie and the man who walked out as well who was rather tall with dark hair and gray sideburns, wearing a dark business suit.
Great, her bodyguard was here as well, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised.
"But this is what I want to do." Annette pleaded, wanting nothing more than to go to school.
To be a normal kid for once, to make friends.
Nathalie's face actually showed something akin to pity right as Annette was about to rush in only to hear a cry and she turned to see an elderly man near the street on his stomach, his cane out of his reach as he tried to reach it with people passing him by.
Seeing something like that, Annette didn't even think twice before running over to help him, grabbing his cane and helping him up.
"Thank you young lady." The man said with a smile as Annette gave a friendly smile before turning to see her way to the school cut off and she knew that she just blew her chance to go in, making her hang her head.
"Please don't tell father." Annette requested as they began to escort her to the car.
Watching as the car drove off, the man gave a nod as he made his decision, his two tests of character done.
He found the ones to inherit them.
Only time will tell if it was the right choice, but he had faith.
Eventually the bell rang as class ended with the students getting their stuff gathered while Miss Bustier spoke up. "Those of you who have PE, head towards the stadium," She said, not seeing one of the students getting a note passed to him. "The rest of you head over to the Library-."
"KIM!" A kid with dark hair, the front of it bleached, wearing a black shirt with cross bones on it, snarled, looking ready to punch out the other kid who was wearing a red hoodie and jeans and grinning in amusement.
"Ivan!" Miss Bustier put a stop to it immediately. "What is going on?"
"It's Kim!" Ivan said pointing at the guy while holding the note he was passed. "I'm so going to-."
"Principal's Office now." Miss Bustier said, seeing this escalating as Ivan grimaced before stomping off.
"What was that about?" Maron asked in confusion as Alya gave a shrug.
"Negative emotions, this is perfect." Hawk Moth said, feeling the rage that 'Ivan' was showing all the way from his hideout. "Just what I need. Anger. Sadness. The perfect puppet for my plans."
Holding out his hands, one of the butterflies flew into it before he forced a surge of dark energy into it, turning the colors into a dark purple filled with negative emotions.
"Fly and burn a hole in his heart my Akuma." Hawk Moth said, letting the 'Akuma' go as it flew through the window, heading right for the source of the negative emotions he was sensing.
Principal Damocles, a middle aged man with black bushy eyebrows, amber eyes and full face beard that was grey looked up when the door to his office opened unexpectedly with the man leaning back as he idly brushed the front of his brown dress jacket.
"Excuse me, young man." He said to Ivan who just stepped in. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you to knock? Go out there and let's try this again."
Ivan gritted his teeth as he balled up his fist that was still holding the note before listening and closing the door, not seeing the black butterfly land on the bits of paper that could be seen, corrupting it when a purple outline of a mask appeared on his face.
'Stoneheart, I am Hawk Moth,' A soothing voice whispered in his head, the corruption working through Ivan's head and heart quite easily. 'There is no shame in being angry, you're in the right here while that boy is getting off despite instigating everything. I can give you the powers to make this right, just know that you'll owe me a favor.'
Under normal circumstances, Ivan would've been scared or frightened of this, but with the powers hypnotizing him, he only grinned darkly. "Okay Hawk Moth."
Dark energy surged through his arm.
Meanwhile Damocles was starting to get a bit impatient, his face resembling more of an owl then usual with his eyes narrowing. "Well? Come on-." He gave a yelp when the door was blasted off its hinges as Ivan stood there, transformed into a giant stone behemoth with glowing yellow eyes.
"KIM!" Stoneheart roared with fury in his tone as Damocles backed up, still on the floor, fear in his eyes.
In the library, Alya was showing Maron some more superhero comics on her phone when a loud boom made the latter jump, falling out of his seat as the other students in the library began to panic.
"Come on!" Alya quickly helped him up and pulled on his arm until they were at the window where they saw Stoneheart who broke through the wall now outside, yelling for Kim.
"Wait, was that Ivan's voice?" Maron asked, recognizing it only for Alya to look excited.
"This is amazing, it's like he's been transformed into a real life Supervillain!"
"Amazing?!" Maron looked at Alya as if she just grew an extra head. "This is bad, not amazing!"
"Don't sweat it, whenever a Supervillain appears, a Superhero saves the day!" Alya said taking off with her phone out. "No way I'm missing this!"
Maron just stared in disbelief, trying to make sense of that.
This wasn't a comic book, there's no way a superhero would appear just because a 'Supervillain' was causing havoc.
"She's crazy." Maron whispered, not sure how to take the crazy turn this day has gone.
"Who was the first president of the fifth french republic?" Nathalie asked a rather bored Annette who was sitting at a pretty expensive dining table, her arms crossed in annoyance.
"Everyone thinks it was De Gaulle, but it was actually Rene Couti before the first elections."
"Excellent Annette." Nathalie sounded proud before another voice cut in.
"Give me a minute, wouldn't you Nathalie?"
Annette froze as Nathalie winced when Gabriel Agreste walked in his blond hair neatly combed back, wearing his usual white dress shirt underneath a silver vest and a cream colored jacket, his piercing blue eyes narrowed at his daughter.
After a second hesitation, Nathalie gave a nod and walked off, leaving the Father and Daughter alone.
"You are not going to school, I already told you." Gabriel didn't even wait for Nathalie to walk off, leaving Annette to give her a betrayed look before rounding on her father.
"But Father-."
"Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you," Gabriel cut her off, leaving for Annette to lower her head. "You are not going outside in that dangerous world."
"It's not dangerous, I'm sick of being stuck in here by myself," Annette tried to plead with him. "Why can't I go out there to make friends just like everyone else?"
"Because you are not like everyone else, you are my daughter," Gabriel then turned away as Annette gave him a heartbroken look. "Continue."
As he left, Nathalie looked rather awkward and glanced at Annette. "We can continue this later if you want-."
Annette didn't even wait for her to finish as she ran, heading for her room, trying not to cry.
She failed when she closed the door behind her, shoulders shaking.
She was so tired of this.
Of being in this prison.
A prison where everything was decided for her.
What she wore.
What she ate.
How she acted.
Who she interacted with.
Whenever she looked outside her window or watched TV, she always saw happy families or kids playing with each other while she's left in here, unable to even attempt any of that.
Sliding down the door until she was on the floor, Annette let out a choked sob.
She hated it.
Why? Why can't she just do what she wanted to do instead of what he wants?!
It was her life, why can't she have control?
"I wish I was someone else." Annette whispered, wanting so desperately to get out of this before she felt the ground shake and heard screams outside. "Huh?"
Using the sleeve of her jacket to wipe away the tears, Annette approached the window to see a squad of police cars outside of the mansion trying to stop a-... Was that a rock monster?!
"Is a Movie Shoot going on?" Annette asked before turning on the TV to see the news speaking about an actual Super Villain going on a rampage. "Wait, this is real?!"
Since when do Supervillains exist?!
"Hopefully this will be taken care of," Annette whispered, her concern for what was happening overriding what she was thinking earlier before she glanced down to see a strange box on the table. "What in the world?"
She didn't remember having a box with Chinese engravings in her room.
Opening up the box, Annette was confused at seeing a black ring with a green paw print on it before it shined much to her shock.
And that was before a dark skinned cat-like creature with a huge head with green eyes and three whiskers appeared, one of them being on his forehead, giving a yawn as he appraised her.
Maron sighed as he safely made it home and in his room where he was watching the news on his computer, seeing that whenever Ivan-or Stoneheart as he was calling himself was hit by something, he seemed to be growing.
"He's getting stronger, how will the police handle this?" Maron asked, concern coursing through him.
That's not to mention what'll happen to Kim if Ivan reached him.
It wouldn't be pretty.
"Still how did this happen? People don't just turn into supervillains out of nowhere." Maron was really perplexed about this. "This is a really strange day."
He then looked down to see a strange box on his desk.
"What's this doing here?"
Did his Mom put this in his room?
Feeling curious, he opened it to show a pair of red earrings with black spots on it right before it glowed as a small red creature with a big head appeared with two ladybug-like antennas and four black dots on each side of its head, giving a smile with blue eyes shining.
So Maron did the natural thing.
He screamed and jumped out of his chair, quickly backing away from his desk, falling on his butt as the small being flew towards him.
"Everything's okay, don't be scared." The creature said, only to dodge as Maron began to fling items at it, not trusting the strange small creature.
"It talks!"
Annette however tilted her head to the side. "A Genie?" She asked, taking this a bit too calmly.
The creature rolled his eyes. "Oh don't compare me to him, I met him once, he grants wishes big deal," The creature didn't sound too impressed while Annette's eyes shined at this creature pretty much confirming that Genie's do in fact exist. "I'm way more personable, Plagg nice to meet you."
With that he flew around the room, examining it like a cat would.
"Ooh swanky room."
Plagg landed on a nearby foosball table and bit the head of one of the players only to gag.
"Hey don't touch that!" Annette finally intervened, trying to grab him but Plagg flew off before she could. "Get back here."
"Everything is so shiny, can you eat this?" Plagg bit one of the game consoles before gagging. "No you can't."
He sounded so disappointed as he flew off away from Annette who wasn't certain how to take this anymore.
"Listen Maron," The creature tried, only freaking the teen out further due to it knowing his name. "I know this may seem strange but-"
She was cut off as Maron managed to trap her in a glass that he kept in his room, making her shake her head.
"Okay if this makes you feel safer."
Maron narrowed his eyes. "What the heck are you? How do you know my name?"
"I'm a Kwami and my name is Tikki, now let me explain." Tikki said, happy to finally get somewhere while Maron was wondering what a Kwami was.
Annette finally managed to catch Plagg who tried biting the remote, leaving the cat-like creature to give her a dull look. "I still don't know what you're doing here."
"Short version, I'm a Kwami, I grant powers, your's is the power of destruction, with me so far?" Plagg asked, leaving for Annette to shake her head.
Though the grant powers remained in her head.
D-Does this thing really grant powers?
"This might take a bit, do you have anything to eat, I'm starving!"
Slowly, Annette let Plagg go as she tried to finally rationalize this situation. "This is a prank from Dad isn't it? No he doesn't have a sense of humor."
Plagg flew into her face. "Your father mustn't know that I exist, or anyone else for that matter."
Staring at this 'Tikki', Maron did the next sensible thing.
"Mom! Dad!" Maron called out, trying to get his parent's attention only for Tikki to phase through the glass, making him yelp as he realized she could've escaped at any time.
"No, no, no, I'm your friend Maron, you can't tell people I exist." Tikki flew into Maron's face, making him back up. "You must trust me, you need to stop Stoneheart."
Slowly, Maron blinked. "You mean the creature Ivan became? Y-You're joking right?"
Him, try to stop that?
He was a thirteen year old boy trying to be a fashion designer, what was he supposed to do, choke him with one of his unfinished scarves?!
Sensing what he was thinking, Tikki gave a nod. "As a Kwami I can give powers and your's is the power of creation."
"Tch, the only power I have is super awkwardness, you have the wrong person Tikki." Maron didn't even hesitate to put himself down like that. "If you want someone to be a superhero then go see Alya, I met her today but she loves them-."
"You were the one chosen." Tikki said, cutting him off.
"Well someone obviously made the wrong choice."
"But I'm stuck here," Annette said as she was given the explanation on stopping Stoneheart, or rather the abridged version along with hearing that she would have a partner out there. "I can't even go to school, what good is a superhero who is imprisoned in her own house?"
"Not good," Plagg went by using the toilet paper as a form of log rolling with Annette finding that a bit odd. "That's why it's going to change soon. If you're willing to change that is."
"It is?" Annette asked, uncertainty in her tone, looking down at the ring that was now silver for some odd reason.
But as she asked that she realized this could be her chance.
Her wish to be a different person.
If this thing did give her powers, then she could have the power to be who she wanted to be.
The freedom she always wanted.
"I know I'm going to regret this." Maron muttered as Tikki managed to convince him to try, mostly because he didn't want to see how it would end if Ivan did catch up to Kim.
Thankfully the earrings were clip ons so he didn't have to worry about his ears being pierced and he was told that he would have a partner out there, so he wouldn't be alone which was a relief..
Though he was confused as they were black right now when he knew they were red with black spots earlier.
"So basically I just have to break the object where the thing is hiding?"
"The Akuma." Tikki clarified for him. "And you must capture it."
"Capture got it, and this charm thing?"
"You're Lucky Charm, it's your secret super power." Tikki elaborated further. "Then after the fight is over, you throw whatever comes out into the air, yelling Miraculous Ladybug to activate another power."
"Secret super power right, man this is weird," Maron shook his head, doubt still in his tone. "There's no way I can pull something like this off."
"Just trust yourself and say Spots On."
"Spots On?" Maron asked, not seeing the earrings glow. "What would that-hey!"
He was cut off when Tikki was absorbed in the earrings that glowed as he felt a bit of a sharp pricking pain in his ears making him cry out before a light flashed in his room.
Grabbing the desk to steady himself, Maron looked in the mirror only to gasp in surprise.
He was now wearing a very skin tight red suit, covered in black spots, a red scarf with black dots covering his neck, its two ends going down his back resembling wings. Covering his face was a red eye mask with five black spots and the earrings were now literally pierced to his ears with a red ribbon flowing from both of them looking like antennas.
His elbows, shoulders and knees had black spots that seemed a bit more heavy there, showing that there was a bit more protection in those spots than anywhere else.
He looked like a human ladybug.
"What in the world?!" Maron screamed, placing both hands on his face only to grimace as his ears hurt. "Huh? I thought these were clip ons, nobody said anything about my ears being pierced!"
How will he explain that to his parents?!
And this suit, it left so little to the imagination that it was embarrassing for him to stand in it.
Feeling a weight on his hip, Maron glanced down to see a freaking red yo-yo.
"Seriously?" Maron asked, grabbing it in confusion. "A yo-yo? What am I supposed to do, walk the dog?"
"To activate your powers you need to say Claws Out." Plagg explained as Annette was now wearing the ring, looking excited at the prospect of finally having freedom.
"Got it, Claws Out!" Annette shouted with excitement.
Plagg's eyes widened. "W-Wait I still need to explain-." He was cut off as he was sucked into the ring and in a flash of light, Annette stood in her new attire.
Feeling curious, she moved towards the mirror only to gasp in awe at seeing her new appearance.
First her neatly groomed hair was a bit more wild, adding some flair while hiding her human ears and there were a pair of black leather cat ears on her head that twitched much to her surprise, as if they were real.
Her face was covered by a black eye mask with her eyes actually being green cat-like eyes as she wore a skin tight leather catsuit that hugged her curves a bit, she wasn't too embarrassed due to how she wore skin tight clothes as a model, her hands covered by matching black gloves that held green razor sharp claws. A long belt around her waist, coming out her back as if it was a cat tail that twitched from side to side and black steel tipped heels, she even had a small, sleeveless black leather jacket which she found cool.
Her gloves and heels had green accents around them and to top it all off, there was a bell like what a cat would wear right where a zipper should be, the collar being a little opened like her v-neck.
"Whoa, I look awesome." Annette cheered with a wild grin, showing some sharp canines.
Raising her hand to see the claws, Annette wondered how sharp they were before she noticed a small metal baton holstered to her lower back, so she pulled it out.
"What's this?" Annette mused, wondering if it was a weapon of some kind. "It's a bit small-."
She stopped when it extended into a full staff that made her grin bigger.
"Oh this is pretty cool, what else do I have Plagg?!"
Annette waited for a few seconds before realizing he wasn't answering.
"Plagg? Huh, I guess he can't answer me while I'm like this."
After waiting a few more seconds, Annette turned towards the window and grinned before putting the staff up as it shrunk and leapt out the window, refraining the urge to cackle as she certainly felt the power from that leap, easily landing on the grounds before jumping over the wall with a whoop, compared to when she would normally have to slowly climb over it.
This was amazing!
"Uh Tikki? Hello? Come on this isn't funny." Maron was still in his room, trying to get the costume off. "This is very weird."
It was comfortable, he'll give it that and the scarf was rather stylish but looking like a human ladybug was the last thing he wanted.
"After wrecking the Shuttlet Tower, Stoneheart is heading for the Montparnasse Tower," The News on the computer kept going, catching Maron's attention, though it was drawn to a certain teenager biking behind Stoneheart. "The monster seems unstoppable."
"Alya!" Maron felt worried for his new friend before remembering how Tikki said that he would get powers and looked at his covered hands in thought.
It seemed he hesitated too long as he heard footsteps. "Maron? Did you get home okay?" Sabine asked with Maron tensing, having no clue how to explain this situation.
Or what he was wearing for that matter.
Looking around, he quickly climbed the stairs to get to the roof considering how his room led to the small patio on the roof of the bakery, barely getting out of there before his Mom made it.
Closing the hatch behind him, Maron took a deep breath, trying to psych himself up. "Okay you can do this, you have powers, you were chosen… We're all going to die."
Despite feeling negative, Maron pulled the yo-yo out and played with it a bit.
"Still why a yo-yo? Tikki never said anything about this being my so-called weapon."
With a shrug, Maron flung it towards the nearby building, a bit surprised by how far it went before it got caught on something.
"You're kidding." Maron whispered, not expecting that, giving a tug to make sure that it was secure, thinking he had to swing across.
What he wasn't expecting was for the yo-yo to act like a grappling hook and send him flying with a scream of terror, launching him past where the string was caught.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this." Annette grinned as she found out that there didn't seem to be a max length for her staff given how it was stretched between two buildings with her easily balancing on it as if she's been doing it her whole life, her tail swishing back and forth.
Yes there was a supervillain she had to get to as well as find her partner that Plagg spoke of, but she was having a ton of fun discovering what she can do-.
Was someone screaming?
Glancing towards the scream, she was surprised to see a figure heading right for her in a red blur before it collided with her, knocking her off the staff as she and Maron were both hurtling towards the street, the only thing stopping them from hitting it was the yo-yo that Maron had, wrapping around the staff to where they were a foot off the ground tied up together.
"Note to self, never do that again." Maron muttered a bit dizzy while Annette stared at him in surprise before deciding this must be her partner.
Who else would dress up like this besides herself?
"Nice of you to drop in." Annette said and it seemed Maron finally realized he wasn't alone if his widening eyes weren't any indication as he stared at the girl.
"S-Sorry I swear I didn't do it on purpose."
Annette gave a laugh, easily freeing herself, landing on her feet. "I bet you're the partner my Kwami told me about, I'm-," She stopped as she remembered how superheroes in those cartoons she watched had hidden identities and thought about it for a moment. "Chatte Noire… Yeah Chatte Noire and you?"
She watched as Maron landed next to her, trying to free his yo-yo, noting how she was taller than he was with the boy coming up to her chest in height.
Maron was tugging on the yo-yo, trying to free it without getting sent into the air again. "Uh My name is Ma-," He began only for his weapon to get free and smack into his own head. "Ow very clumsy."
Seeing how he was acting was enough for the newly named Chatte Noire to let out a giggle before her staff shortened itself and fell for her to catch. "Don't worry Clumsy Boy, I'm learning the ropes too." She said seeing that he was rather nervous before a loud boom made them spin around to see a building get knocked down. "Oh boy."
Maron however stared in fear, wondering how many people got killed there because that was terrifying to see.
He then saw Chatte Noire running towards it, using her staff to extend and vault up to the rooftops. "W-Wait, where are you going?!" He called out, shocked that this girl was willingly heading towards the danger instead of away from it.
"To save Paris, right? Come on partner!" Chatte asked with a grin, disappearing as she jumped to the next building, leaving Maron by himself.
"If only I was that confident." Maron muttered thinking that this Chatte Noire was the definition of a hero for doing this without any hesitation.
Looking down at the yo-yo, Maron gripped it tightly.
He can't let her face it alone.
"Just trust yourself." He began to chant, spinning the yo-yo before letting it fly and this time he was ready for it to reel him in.
Meanwhile at the Stadium, many of the students were cleaning up after their Gym Class while Kim grabbed his bag, ready to go before the whole place shook as a voice roared. "KIM!"
Turning towards the voice, Kim paled as he saw Stoneheart for the first time with the supervillain glaring hatefully at him from the top of the stadium.
"So who's the wuss now?!"
"Ivan?" Kim whispered, not expecting that as the other students ran for their lives with Kim following as quickly as he could, hearing the stomps of Stoneheart who landed nearby chasing him down.
It didn't take too long for Kim to trip, rolling on the grass, his heart pounding against his chest right as Stoneheart made it to him with a fist raised, but before anything could be done, a metal pole stabbed the ground between them.
"Hey," Chatte Noire slid down the staff like a fireman before it shortened for her to hold in her hands. "It's not nice to pick on people smaller than you, why not try it on someone who can fight back?"
Hearing the taunt, Stoneheart frowned with Kim taking the distraction to run away in terror. "I guess you're talking about yourself."
Chatte Noire just gave a smirk, jumping to dodge a swipe. "Miss me." She taunted further, doing a roll to dodge another swipe, followed by a backflip as Stoneheart tried to squash her.
She'll admit she was showing off a bit, having some fun with her new powers.
This really was like something out of those old superhero cartoons she saw growing up.
"Everything is going according to plan." Hawk Moth grinned, watching the whole thing through Stoneheart's eyes as this Chatte Noire was dodging and weaving around his Akumatized villain. "I knew creating a Super Villain would draw the wielders of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, now all that's left is for my Super Villain to destroy them and absolute power will be mine."
Doing another backflip to dodge a strike, Chatte Noire ran up the arm of Stoneheart to slam her staff into his face, doing another flip to land a few feet away.
She then paled as he grew stronger thanks to her hit.
'There goes the idea of my magic staff being able to hurt him.' Chatte Noire grimaced, not thinking that part through, jumping back as another fist slammed into where she was, the shaking in the ground even stronger.
Where was her partner?!
Unknown to her however, Maron was there and he was freaking out at what he was seeing, hiding behind one of the seats.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Maron whispered, unsure of how to do this.
He never threw a punch before in his life and he's supposed to go up against that?!
How is Chatte Noire not freaking out?!
Who the heck thought he was a good choice for this power?!
He then saw Stoneheart rip out a soccer goal and threw it at Chatte Noire who dodged only for it to fly towards the area leading out of the stadium where Alya was crouched, recording the fight.
Seeing that, Chatte Noire threw her staff which extended to cover above Alya, protecting her from the goal, but the distraction allowed Stoneheart to successfully grab her.
Eyes widening, Maron stood up in shock, seeing Chatte Noire struggling as Stoneheart began to apply some pressure.
'I'm sorry.' Maron thought, wishing he wasn't so scared-.
"What are you waiting for?!" Maron's head snapped to the side where he saw Alya looking at him. "The world is watching you!"
Taking a step back, Maron turned from Alya to Stoneheart, fear on his face but he saw that the villain was continuing to squeeze Chatte Noire who gave a cry showing that it was getting worse and before Maron knew it he was moving.
'W-What am I doing?!' Maron thought as he wasn't thinking at all, his body was moving on its own.
Throwing the yo-yo, he slid past Stoneheart who gave him a confused glance, the distraction putting a stop to him crushing Chatte Noire much to the girl's relief, only for Maron to force a smirk on his face in an effort to remain calm.
'Just fake it.' Maron told himself, tugging on the yo-yo showing that he wrapped it around Stoneheart's legs making him fall to the floor, letting Chatte Noire go who jumped back.
"Animal Cruelty? How low can you go?" Maron taunted as Stoneheart was trying to get up before turning to Chatte Noire who was rolling her shoulders with some slight discomfort. "Sorry for the wait, Chatte Noire."
"Just as long as you showed." Chatte Noire said, showing that she wasn't angry, just relieved because that was a hairy situation for her. "Now let's do this."
Seeing that she was about to take off and not wanting to get near that thing, Maron quickly grabbed the belt-like tail, earning a wince from Chatte Noire who came to a stop. "W-Wait, whatever hits him only makes him stronger, we can't brute force it."
"You have a plan?" Chatte Noire asked, quickly freeing her tail, watching as Maron bit his lip trying to think, but he shrugged. "Don't sweat it, how about we use our powers?"
'You mean the one we can only use once?' Maron thought as Chatte Noire focused.
"Cataclysm!" Dark energy surged around her hand as she grinned. "Apparently I can destroy whatever I touch."
"I don't even need a super power for that." Maron muttered, Chatte Noire giving him a curious look before she tried it on the goal post much to Maron's shock. "What are you doing?!
It was too late as it disintegrated.
"Cool, alright let's rumble soon to be rubble!" Ignoring Maron's shout for her to wait, Chatte Noire jumped into the air, landing on the foot of Stoneheart, slamming her hand on it only to blink awkwardly, raising her hand to try again, very aware of how Stoneheart was giving her a deadpanned look. "Oh… I guess my Cataclysm was only for one use."
Maron looked away as Chatte Noire was kicked back his way, sliding past the ladybug themed hero. "Now you have five minutes before you change back!" Maron exclaimed much to Chatte Noire's shock. "Didn't your Kwami explain that?!"
Ears folding back, Chatte Noire rubbed the back of her neck. "I may have rushed into this in excitement." She admitted sheepishly, knowing that she should probably ask Plagg for more information after this.
Staring at her in shock, Maron sighed and gripped his yo-yo. "Well might as well." He muttered, throwing the yo-yo up into the air. "Lucky Charm!"
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't for the yo-yo to create a suit that he caught.
"Uh?" Chatte Noire wasn't sure what she was looking at. "So you can create things?"
No offense but why a suit?
She didn't see how that would help.
"I'll be honest, I didn't expect this either," Maron admitted, now frantic considering that they were both on a time limit. "But we need to get the uh...whatwasitcalled?"
He said that last part so fast that Chatte Noire was confused on what was being said before Maron remembered.
"The Akuma, it's the source of his power, so we need to break it."
"But he's made entirely out of stone." Chatte Noire pointed out, getting into a stance as Stoneheart began to stomp towards them.
Looking at Stoneheart with a fearful expression, Maron noticed something.
"His right hand." Maron whispered before grinning at Chatte Noire. "He's been keeping his right hand closed this entire time, if the Akuma is anywhere, it has to be there."
"Wait really?" Chatte Noire looked and realized Maron was right, thinking back on it, she's never seen Stoneheart open that hand during their little scuffle.
Huh, that's some impressive observation there.
"So what's the plan?"
Glancing at Maron who was looking around, Chatte Noire could actually see the gears turning as he looked around from the fist towards Alya who was nearby a water tap with the hose that was unrolled right below them oddly enough, his face brightening up.
"With this." He kicked the hose up much to Chatte Noire's confusion, tying it to the suit. "Uh you'll have to trust me."
"With what-?" Chatte Noire was cut off when Maron used his yo-yo to tie her legs up. "What are you-?!"
Spinning around, Maron literally threw Chatte Noire at Stoneheart.
"THIS BOY IS CRAZY!" Chatte Noire shouted as she was grabbed by the left hand while Maron ran at Stoneheart and jumped only to be grabbed by the right hand, the villain dropping the item where the Akuma was in the process. "Great, now we're both captured."
"Or are we?" Maron grinned, confusing Chatte Noire. "ALYA, THE TAP!"
Giving a start at how the 'masked' hero knew her name, Alya listened and turned the tap water on as it went through the hose.
Chatte Noire understood immediately when the suit inflated with water inside of Stoneheart's fist, forcing him to let Maron go as he ran towards the object that Stoneheart dropped.
Seeing that, Stoneheart ran after Maron only for the boy to throw his yo-yo, slamming into the object breaking it, watching as the Akuma flew off.
Without the Akuma, Stoneheart disappeared, turning back into Ivan who dropped Chatte Noire, the girl landing on her feet, surprised by what just happened, turning from the dazed Ivan to Maron who was watching the Akuma fly off before picking up the object that turned out to be a piece of crumpled up paper.
This guy just came up with that plan out of nowhere, with only an inflatable suit and whatever was around.
That was-... Whoa.
"Amazing." Chat Noir breathed out in an impressed tone.
"Huh?" Ivan groaned as he looked around. "What's going on? What am I doing here?"
The last thing he remembered was being outside of the Principal's Office.
"That was incredible Mr. Uh Bug guy." Chatte Noire said, her tail swishing back and forth in excitement. "You did it."
"We did it." Maron shook his head with a smile, relieved that worked.
He just made it up as he went, not expecting for it to work at all.
Chatte Noire grinned and held up a fist. "Pound it?" She asked, seeing something like this on an old cartoon and after a second, Maron complied with a fist bump.
"Pound it."
A beeping brought their attention back to the fact they both were on a timer after using their powers.
And Chatte Noire had less time than Maron did. "You should go, our identities should remain a secret."
With a smile, Chatte Noire gave a rather dramatic bow. "Very well bug boy, let's do this again soon okay?" She asked, taking off, using her staff to extend herself out of there.
Making a face at the 'Bug Boy' nickname, Maron shook his head as he realized he never did give a 'hero' name before he turned to see Ivan sitting down a bit dejected and grew curious.
So he unrolled the note. 'You haven't even got the guts to tell Mylene you love her, wuss.'
Seeing him read it, Ivan looked away. "Kim wrote it, he's always making fun of me." He said before Maron smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"There's no reason to get mad, so what if he thinks like that Ivan, there's no shame in liking someone."
That made the formerly akumatized teen give Maron a weird look. "How do you know my name?"
"Uh-?" Maron was a bit surprised that no one guessed it given how the mask didn't really conceal that much.
Maybe there was a magic reason for that?
He'll ask Tikki when he can.
"Uncanny, amazing, spectacular!" Alya said recording the interaction, reminding Maron that she was there. "Are you going to be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive Ladybug?! Oh I have a ton of questions Mister-uh…"
Alya seemed to be at a loss of what to call Maron who stood up with uncertainty given how Chatte Noire already chose her own name and there was no way Maron was calling himself Ladybug.
Sure if he was a girl the name would be fine, but that wasn't the case here.
Ladbug? No that's not right. Overbug? No, that doesn't fit well for him.
Bugman? Lame.
Scarlet Bug? Insect Warrior? Lordbug?
None of those fit.
Looking for an escape as his earring beeped, reminding him of the time limit, Maron just spat out a name at random. "Beetle, call me Beetle." He said before taking off running.
Maron barely made home when he changed back, Tikki sitting on his desk with a smile as he watched the news, a look of relief showing that surprisingly no one died.
After Stoneheart started his rampage, the Police were able to evacuate a lot of the streets and buildings, including the one that was knocked over, there were some injuries but nothing too serious.
"Oh what a relief." Maron said with a smile as Tikki gave a laugh.
"See Maron? Told you that you could do it."
The News then showed the footage that Alya took with both him and Chatte Noire stopping Stoneheart, showing their names as the Beetle and Chatte Noire.
"Beetle, I like it." Maron tested the name out as he was in a hurry when he said it.
"Maron, dinner time."
"Oh uh coming." Maron said, rushing down the stairs where his parents had the table set as the Mayor began speaking on the news.
"I am pleased to announce that we will be organizing a huge celebration in honor of our cities new protectors Beetle and Chatte Noire." Mayor Bourgeois announced with Maron not expecting that at all.
A celebration?
For them?
For something he was a part of?
Well not that they would know it was plain old Maron, no they're celebrating the Beetle, who in the video was shown to be confident and cool rather than how he usually was.
People would probably be disappointed if they knew who was under the mask.
"Well I'll be, Superheroes in Paris." Tom said with a laugh, sounding relieved that everything turned out fine. "An exciting day for sure."
"It certainly seems so." Sabine agreed, glancing from Tom towards Maron, raising a brow at seeing the new addition to his look. "Maron, when did you get Earrings?"
A bit panicked, Maron rubbed his head. "Uh it's something I've been planning for awhile." He lied, not wanting to say anything about what they really were. "I bought them last month, but never really put them on until recently."
Sabine tilted her head before smiling. "They suit you." She said, leaving Maron to feel relief.
"Beetle." Annette whispered, finally having a name for her partner as the news spoke of their victory against Stoneheart, Plagg flying around her room as she had four dishes of food prepared for the Kwami to help him get his strength back. "His name is Beetle."
She leaned forward, cupping her cheeks with a smile as the camera zoomed in on Beetle who was talking to this 'Ivan' kid.
From what they could tell, Ivan had no memory of what was happening while being questioned by the police showing that there was a chance he was being controlled.
It was all speculation at this point, but given the random nature of how he was given powers and they were taken away they were looking at it from all angles.
Plagg even confirmed that someone else was pulling the strings which meant they not only saved Paris, but an innocent kid who was being controlled.
"Ew, what is this?" Plagg asked flying forward with some of the food, breaking Annette out of her thoughts.
"Seriously? My personal chef made that!" She couldn't believe how picky Plagg was being.
"If you expect for me to get my strength back after a transformation, I expect something a bit more delicate."
Rolling her eyes, Annette glared at him. "Okay, what do you want?" She asked, muting the TV in the process.
Unknown to the two heroes however, the Akuma was still flying around, landing on top of the Eiffel Tower where it began to multiply at a rather alarming rate.
Maron hummed as he was doing the dishes, hiding a yawn before he heard Sabine gasp. "Oh my."
Feeling concern, Maron quickly turned the water off and ran out with a towel, drying his hands.
"Just as Paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes, Beetle and Chatte Noire, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capitol as dozens of people are being transformed into stone monsters, simply unbelievable."
Eyes widening, Maron quickly took off towards his room in a panic.
"You're kidding," Annette said with a disgusted look on her face, watching Plagg eat. "Camembert Cheese, fantastic all he eats is Camembert which means I'll smell like stinky old cheese."
Looking from Plagg towards the news again, Annette looked shocked at seeing pictures of multiple Stonehearts and unmuted the TV.
"These victims transformed into stone monsters are as still as statues, leaving the police perplexed in what will happen to them," The Newslady said, a look of worry on her face. "Will they come back to life or will they be frozen forever?"
"Plagg what's going on?!" Annette looked at her Kwami who gazed at the TV curiously. "I thought we defeated Stoneheart!"
"Did you capture the Akuma?"
"What does that have to do with the other stone beings?" Maron asked in response to Tikki's question, concern showing in his tone as his Kwami was eating some cookies.
"An Akuma can multiply, that's why it needs to be captured," Tikki explained, flying around Maron who was panicking. "If Ivan feels negative again then the Akuma will turn him back into Stoneheart and he'll be able to control an army of Stonehearts."
Taking that in, Maron took a step back, sinking into his computer chair. "This is my fault." He whispered, no longer feeling pride for successfully beating the first Stoneheart.
If he just did his job and captured the Akuma instead of watching it fly away this wouldn't have happened.
"No it isn't, it was your first time using your powers and you did great," Tikki tried to explain to him. "Next time you go out there you'll successfully capture the Akuma with no problems at all."
"Next time? There won't be a next time, I'm a screw up." Maron said looking from Tikki towards his unfinished projects that were thrown about in the room. "A clumsy screw up, that's all I am, not even super powers will change that."
In fact, him having powers just made a situation like this much worse.
Chatte Noire would be better off without a screw up like him, in fact she was definitely the better hero between the two of them.
"But only you can capture the Akuma!" Tikki tried to explain, much to his horror.
"Wait, I can't capture it? It has to be Beetle?" Annette asked making sure as Plagg gave a nod.
"Only Beetle can capture the Akuma and repair the damages done, but he won't be able to do it without your help." Plagg took a bite of the Camembert, leaving for Annette to back up, pinching her nose shut. "Your Miraculous are intertwined, Creation and Destruction. Yin and Yang. One can't be without the other."
"Well then we won't have a problem, the two of us can easily handle this." Annette said, ready to go fix the mess with some determination showing. "I'll bet anything that Beetle is raring to go as well."
"If that's true, then it's best you find another person to be Beetle, I can't do it." Maron said as he began to take the earrings off much to Tikki's horror.
"Wait, Maron don't-." Tikki tried but she disappeared the moment Maron took the earrings off, unaware of how he just denounced Tikki as his Kwami.
"... Tikki?" Maron looked around, not seeing her before sighing sadly. "I'm sorry, but this was a mistake."
He's not a Hero.
To Be Continued…
Over 10,000 words for a first chapter, now that is amazing in itself. Hopefully the small changes I did implement were entertaining enough and don't worry they'll gradually turn into larger changes as I really have plans for this one. For example, I do want to make Chloe learn from her mistakes because realistically I doubt anyone would remain like that after so many Akuma attacks.
Still I got into Miraculous Ladybug recently and I fell in love with the show so much that I began to watch a lot about it before I decided to do a fanfic about the show.
Now at first I was going to have an OC be a part of the team, had the Kwami and the Miraculous chosen and everything but over time I scrapped it and then I looked at some of the stories I did with gender-bending and thought wait, how different would it be if I changed the genders of the two heroes and holy crap there would be so many changes if you think about it hard enough.
Also I hope everyone likes the changes I made to the costumes considering I wanted them to be different as I've seen that the costumes can look different considering I've seen artwork of Mister Bug and Lady Noir, so I added my own flair to them in a way.