July 1: Miraculouses
Authors' Note: Welcome Back! Once again, we added another familiar face to our stable full of writers. (No, I'm not secretly James Patterson.) Welcome LyraMaeArcher to our happy little band! Since we actually like LadyNoir, we are probably going to be sticking with mostly that, although I am sure you'll get a healthy dose of MariChat as well, because we just can't help ourselves.
Now that Lyra has joined me and Epcot97, I feel the need to add that we still don't own any rights to Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but with her brilliant mind working at the task, I am sure we will soon!
Ep: Hey, Lyra, did you get the costumes CM sent us? We're supposed to wear them when we write. Something about keeping us in the creative spirit. Oddly, I don't remember a chipmunk character in MLB...
Lyra: Hey guys! Thanks for letting me join in the fun! ^_^ And, costume? ::tears open this box the postal carrier dropped off:: Oh…. uh …. Thanks, CM. This Horrificator costume is exactly what I needed for inspiration….. ::stuffs it back in the box quietly::
Adrien made his way to Master Fu's shop. He'd been a little surprised when Wayzz had shown up at his window, as Master Fu usually came as his substitute Chinese tutor when they needed to meet. He was feeling a little apprehensive, but Wayzz had promised him that it was nothing bad.
Arriving at the appointed time, Adrien knocked and then entered the little shop. Master Fu greeted him, then took him into the back room. "Chat Noir, I am sure that you are wondering why I have called you here. The time is coming that you will need more allies. I have cautioned Ladybug that she shouldn't call on Queen Bee, as Hawkmoth knows her true identity, and it could be dangerous both for you and for her. I have asked Ladybug and I am asking you to each choose a new miraculous holder. Do you have someone in mind?"
Adrien thought for a minute. The first person that came into his head was Marinette. He'd called her their Everyday Ladybug, and she did embody many of the qualities that Ladybug herself possessed. She could be shy at times and a little clumsy, but he couldn't think of anyone more worthy of a miraculous. His green eyes met Master Fu's brown ones, and he nodded solemnly, "Yes I do."
"Good." Master Fu stepped towards the miraculous box and withdrew the case containing the miraculous. Choose the miraculous you feel would be a good fit for this person. After examining them closely, Adrien reached for the grey and pink necklace that was the mouse miraculous. Master Fu smiled and put it into the hexagonal case. "Find the right opportunity to give this to her, Chat Noir. You may present it to her, and explain what it means, as Ladybug has done with Carapace and Rena Rouge, or you may slip it to her without her knowing, as I did to you. Either way, you should let her have it, soon. The longer the miraculous is out there, the greater the chance of it getting lost or stolen."
"I will, Master." Adrien bowed, and stepped out of the store, the miraculous nestled safely in his bag. It wasn't until he was home, sitting on his bed, wondering how he was going to offer the necklace to Marinette, that he realized Master Fu must have known who he had in mind, since he'd used all female pronouns.
As he sat there, Adrien realized he had an in with Marinette already as Chat. Smiling a very-Chat like smile, he hurried down for his dinner, eating it as fast as he could without drawing too much attention from the omnipresent Nathalie, and took the steps two at a time back to his room. He'd just closed his door and was about to call for his transformation when he heard a soft voice at his open window.
"Adrien."
WIthout turning, he knew it was his partner - and why she had dropped in unannounced. Groaning, he put on his best model smile and turned to meet her. "Ladybug?" he said.
"I apologize if I've interrupted-"
"No, not at all. I just finished dinner. I'll admit it's a bit of a surprise…"
What could he say, really? Having his crush appear - in his room, no less - would have been the highlight of any day. And yet he couldn't turn her away, no matter how urgent his own mission was. "Come in, please," he added belatedly, realizing she was still perched on his windowsill.
He sat on his couch and she settled in next to him. "What brings you to my doorstep, mil-Ladybug?" Adrien asked, channeling some model tricks to keep his face from betraying anything.
Without preamble, Ladybug produced a similar Miraculous box and held it out to him. "Adrien Agreste, here is the Miraculous of the Dog-"
Adrien successfully kept from snorting. Dog? Really? he thought. Wait till Plagg sees this.
He was so wrapped up in trying to keep his expectant expression, well, expectant, he missed part of what Ladybug was saying "-to join my team," she continued. "Will you accept my offer?"
"Ladybug, you want me to fight by your side?" he asked, dying a little inside at the insanity. "I'm not exactly the most likely choice. Surely there are others in Paris-"
"I choose you," she said, firmly. "You're the perfect choice. I've seen you in action: you're compassionate, always stand up for others, a true team player."
She'd seen him? That was interesting, and he filed that away. Knowing as he did there was generally no changing Ladybug's mind when she'd set her course, he smiled tightly and nodded. "Of course, Ladybug. I accept."
Ladybug placed the box in his hands and smiled. "Once you open the box, you'll be introduced to your Kwami. He will explain how the Miraculous works." She stood up to leave. "Unlike my partner," she added, "please take the time to listen to your Kwami. Get the feel of how the process works, and then meet me at the Louvre in two nights at 2100."
"The Louvre?" Adrien asked, trying not to hold the box as if it were radioactive.
"Yes," she confirmed as she leapt back to the windowsill. "Chat and I will be running through some basics with you and the other new member of our team."
Adrien couldn't help the upraised eyebrows. "Chat Noir will be there?"
Ladybug misread his expression. "Yes," she smiled, "you'll get to meet him then. Now, listen to your Kwami and we'll see you in a few nights." And with that, she zipped away on her yo-yo.
He sagged back into his couch, and Plagg floated up from where he'd been hiding in his shirt. "Seriously," Plagg said. "She gave you the dog?"
"Don't take it purrsonally," Adrien quipped. "Do I let him out? How does this work, having two kwamis?"
"Let him out," Plagg said. "We'll have to sooner or later."
Sighing, Adrien cracked the Miraculous box to reveal a tasteful black wristband with dog-shaped figures at either end. It flashed white, and a brown-and-white kwami appeared. "Greetings. My name is-"
"Hey, Barkk," Plagg interrupted.
"Plagg?" Barkk's eyes went round. "Oh no. Not again."
"Yeah. Look, the kid and I have to run a quick errand. You can come with, if you want, but he's gonna be Chat when he leaves."
"This is highly irregular," Barkk started. "We should contact-"
"We'll straighten it out," Adrien offered. "But I really do need to go."
"Fine," Barkk replied, scowling.
Adrien slipped the wristband on and then turned to Plagg. "Plagg - claws out!"
Once the glow faded, Chat retrieved his own Miraculous box, leapt to the window Ladybug had recently vacated and paused, turning toward the rather put out looking Barkk. "Uh," he started. "I've never had to carry a Kwami with me. But I can't leave you here."
Barkk rolled his eyes, mumbled something about needed a nice, long bath after this was all over, and simply phased into one of Chat's costume pockets.
"Right," Chat said, and leapt off toward his original mission.
He'd visited Marinette irregularly for some time, though perhaps regularly enough that he knew she'd likely be on her rooftop patio at this particular point in the evening. Chat quietly dropped down onto a chimney flue just above the small space. "Good evening, Purrincess," he said.
She let out a loud squeak, whirling around to face him quickly with wide, blue eyes, stumbling slightly. "Chat?" He chuckled to himself, admiring the fact that she perfectly fit this particular miraculous.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning slightly as he smirked at her antics. Pulling the little box out of the pocket that didn't hide the dog kwami, he realized he didn't really know how exactly he was supposed to do this. Maybe he should have listened to what Ladybug had said.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Ladybug and I have decided to add new members to our team. I'm choosing you to have this miraculous - the miraculous of the mouse." There. That sounded official enough. He held the box out to her, watching her eyes widen even more and her mouth settle into a cute little "o" of surprise.
"M-Me?" she stuttered, obviously startled. "But I'm not a superhero. I can barely stand on my own two feet most days." Oh he knew. He'd caught her enough times tripping up and down the stairs at school.
"Yes, you. Take it." He shoved the box firmly into her hand before continuing. "You will find a piece of jewellery inside. Put it on and you will meet a cute little creature called a Kwami. They will help you learn what to do and what your powers on. Two nights from now, meet the team at the Louvre at 2100. Ladybug and I will be there to help train you."
She had been looking at the box with a strange and unreadable expression until he'd mentioned Ladybug.
"Ladybug will be there?" she gasped incredulously. A fangirl? Probably. He smiled and nodded.
There was a heartbeat of a pause as she stared at him before she went into meltdown mode.
"No, no. I can't. I can't possibly accept this, Chat, I really can't. There has to be someone else. Someone better. Someone who can be a superhero without bumping into everything and tripping all over the place. I'm flattered, obviously, but how could you pick me over all the other people in Paris? You have to take this back and give it to someone-" She was pacing wildly, hands flailing about. He had seen evidence of her dramatic behaviour before, but had no idea she could talk that fast nor that she had the ability to go from stunned to full panic in record time.
"Marinette - stop. Breathe. It's ok!" he interrupted the unending flow of gibberish that escaped her. Grabbing her wrist gently, he forced her to look at him. "I'm choosing you. I've seen you - brave, kind, always thinking of other people and helping them. You are puuurrrfect for this. Trust me."
Finally, she nodded, turning her gaze back to the box uncertainly.
"Remember. Two nights from now. Louvre. 2100. And, most importantly…. Remember, your secret identity must remain anonymouse." He smirked as she rolled her eyes at his pun.
"And with that, I bid you good night, Purrincess." A deep bow, a quick kiss on the knuckles, and off he lunged into the night, heart soaring. Marinette deserved this miraculous. Besides, he couldn't wait for a fun game of hide and go squeak with his new partner.
If he could just figure out what to do with the dog sitting in his pocket.
With a leap, he threw himself back into the window of his room, transforming back into himself, leaving Plagg and Barkk to eye each other warily.
"Ok, so any ideas what we do now?" Adrien asked. "Ladybug expects to see me in 2 days, not as Chat but as …. Dog?" With a groan, he flopped onto his bed face first and lay there. How could he possibly be there as Chat to train Marinette when he was supposed to be there as a new hero himself?
Plagg had resorted to chomping away on his cheese collection while Barkk just sat at the edge of the bed with his head cocked slightly, watching. A noncommittal shrug was all the black cat offered when Adrien cracked open one eye to see if he had any suggestions.
"Fine." Sitting up, he scooped the little brown and white puppy and brought him close to his face. "Tell me more about the Dog Miraculous." The little creature started wagging his tail excitedly as his eyes twinkled happily.
The next few minutes were a rambling of information - how to transform (and detransform), what his powers were in the suit, and a serious discussion about the potential challenges of being in a dog suit and the temptation to fall into typical dog behaviour like peeing on trees and chasing sticks. As if purring wasn't embarrassing enough. Adrien swore Plagg was laughing from inside the fridge.
Deciding the only logical course of action would be to try it out, Adrien stood up with determination, sticking his tongue out briefly at Plagg when the cat peeked his head out of his favourite place to see what was going on.
Raising the arm that held the band in front of him, hand balled into a fist, he yelled out "Barkk, Fetch" as instructed and felt a rush of energy sizzle across his skin as the little kwami was sucked into the jewellery, triggering the start of the transformation. It felt different than when he transformed into Chat. The light was brighter - a yellow instead of green - with a feeling of joy washing over him instead of the usual sensation of heavy power. When it ended, Adrien felt slightly off-balance. Definitely different than the lithe dexterity he usually felt. He felt heavier, but stronger. Making his way to the mirror, he stared at himself - almost unrecognizable.
The suit was somehow soft, like his skin was covered in the finest of fur. The pants were form fitting, tan in colour, and were belted with a thick leather strap buckled in the middle and dangling down about a foot in the back, giving the appearance of a short tail. The dark brown colour of the belt matched his heavy boots and thick gloves, which were rounded at the fingertips instead of clawed. He wore a tan jacket with short, triangular, dark coloured lapels that clasped together at his collarbone, and long sleeves that covered his arms. It lay open from the clasp, revealing plain white on his torso until it disappeared into his waistband.
The mask was wide on his face, tan except for where a large white spot rounded one of his eyes. His golden hair was slicked back against his head with puppy ears peeking off the top of his head. One of them drooped slightly at the tip.
At his hip, he found a frisbee - his weapon he supposed.
Turning around, Adrien found himself face to face with Plagg, who was unsuccessfully trying not to laugh.
"Shut up, Plagg," he muttered, swatting him out of the way. "Maybe it's time to test this puppy out." Jumping clumsily to his usual escape window, he raised an eyebrow to the cat. "Coming?"
Marinette, meanwhile, was sitting on her bed, staring at Mullo, the mouse kwami. Mullo was staring back at her, as shy as she was, his whiskers quivering. Tikki was hovering off to the side, encouraging both to get to know each other. After talking it over with Mullo, she decided to transform and go out to try her new powers.
With a cry of "Mullo, whiskers twitch!" Marinette was replaced by a figure in pink and grey. She had soft pink chevrons above her knees and elbows, a pink v around her neck, and a pink jumprope belt, that must double as her weapon around her waist, the rest of her suit was a soft dove grey. The domino mask that covered her eyes was grey, and outlined in pink, and the ribbons that held her twin buns in place were soft pink, their ends fluttering in the breeze from her open skylight.
Tikki smiled at her friend. "Very nice. What are you going to call yourself?"
Mouse-Marinette thought for a few moments. "Musette," she decided. "Not only is it a beautiful piece of music, but 'mus' means mouse.
Tikki nodded. "It's perfect!" She flew into Musette's left bun to travel with her.
Musette scurried out of her skylight, and using her jump rope like she normally would her yo-yo, started swinging herself across the rooftops. She found that running, Musette was much faster than Ladybug, and her strength was about the same. She had more patience, she could tell, as Musette was not getting frustrated with having to relearn how to use her heightened abilities. She also suspected she wouldn't have Ladybug's leadership or planning skills. She felt much freer in this skin, too. There wasn't the pressure of getting everything right all the time, having to be all business. She was able to let loose and she understood, maybe for the first time, how free Chat must feel as he flipped across the rooftops.
Maybe it was her thoughts of him, or just the habit of her feet, but she found herself heading towards the rooftop where she frequently met up with her partner… well, Ladybug's partner. Catching a glimpse of blonde hair, she thought that Chat was there, but then she saw the tan body, rather than a black one, and brown ears that stuck up from the top of his head. Adrien.
Schooling her features she thought about turning back, but it was too late, as the boy in the brown suit turned to face her. She couldn't let on that she knew exactly who he was. She saw surprise flash across his face, before he got it under control, and saw him step back to give her space to land on the roof.
Smiling nervously, she noticed that Adrien definitely looked good in the skin-tight suit, and Musette's cheeks pinked slightly, perfectly matching her costume. She waved shyly at the dog-man standing, hands on hips, in front of her. "Hi! I, uh, I'm new. I'm just trying this out for the first time." She gestured at her costume. "I'm Musette. What's your name?"
Dog-Adrien was looking at her, trying very hard to remember that it was his good friend Marinette standing in front of him, looking absolutely adorable in a pink and grey mouse costume. He could not let on that he knew her true identity, because only Chat Noir knew that, and he was mildly embarrassed to be a kitty out in a dog costume.
Shaking himself, almost dog-like, out of his reverie, he realized Marinette, uh, Musette, had asked him a question. "My name? I'm Zong SeGou. It's nice to meet you Musette."
The pair stood there, blinking at each other, when, in the distance, they heard the crash and screams that could only mean one thing… an akuma.
Chat groaned - whoops! Adrien thought - stay in character! "That sounds ominous," he said to his partner, and then couldn't help the quasi-Chat smirk. "Maybe we should investigate?"
Musette glared at Zong. "I'm not sure we're ready," she said. "It might be wiser for us to wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to arrive." It'll have to be Chat, she thought glumly. Of all the days! He'll be insufferable if he has to bail Musette out.
Zong kept his face impassive. That's not likely, at least for Chat. But it gave him an opening. "You might be right," he said, smiling. "Want me to go for help? You can stay here and keep tabs on what's happening."
"Uh, sure," Musette quickly agreed, realizing once Zong had disappeared, Ladybug could show up. "I'll just… wait here."
"On it!" and with that, Zong ran to the edge and jumped to the half wall ringing the roof; he misjudged it, badly, and caught a foot, sending him tumbling over the edge, hands flailing to try and regain his balance.
She heard a resounding crash, and Musette ran to the edge and peered over. It had only been a moment, maybe, but Zong was gone. The only evidence of his presence was a vaguely human-shaped divot in the trash dumpster he'd fallen into. He recovered fast! she thought, also realizing Chat was far more graceful than she'd given him credit for.
Another tidbit she'd refrain from sharing with him.
Musette turned back and started to call for her de-transformation only to find Chat Noir dropping down in front of her, massive smirk on his face. "I didn't expect to see you for another day or two," he said, raising a masked eyebrow. "And you're already in the thick of it?"
"Chat Noir," she acknowledged. "Zong was just here and he went to get help-"
"Zong?" Chat replied. "Who's that?"
"Uh," Musette thought quickly, realizing Ladybug hadn't told Chat yet who she'd chosen. "He, uh, is the other new holder?"
"Oh," Chat said thoughtfully, channelling some model magic to look like this was news. "I must have just missed him." He had his baton in his hand, thankful for the solidity of it; he'd not had enough time with the frisbee to feel anywhere close to confident with it. "C'mon, let's see what we're up against," he said, and he made to vault toward the akuma.
"Chat - wait!" Musette cried. Typical, he just runs to the danger. "I don't think Ladybug would be very happy with me if I did! I was just trying out the whole transformation thing-"
Torn between intercepting the akuma and his real concern that Musette might not be ready, he nodded at her. "Ok," he said, popping open the baton to call Ladybug. "You stay out of sight but watch, 'kay? I'll see if I can find out how far out Ladybug is."
"Will do." Musette made a show of ducking behind a chimney long enough for Chat to (more gracefully, she noted) vault over the edge of the roof and helicopter toward the akuma. Once she was certain he was far enough out his enhanced feline hearing wouldn't catch her, she swapped transformations and hurried after him as Ladybug.
The fight went off without a hitch, Ladybug and Chat Noir working together with their normal synchronization of thought and movement. After the fight, and a quick fistbump, the partners separated, Ladybug to switch back to Musette, and Chat Noir to check on his little mouse. Musette made it back to the place where Chat had left her seconds before Chat Noir appeared in her field of vision, two rooftops away.
Being a gentleman, Chat escorted Musette back to her house, explaining that since he hadn't used Cataclysm, he did have to worry about a countdown before changing back just yet. Musette hesitated, and realized that, in this form, she could transform in front of him, and said, "Mullo, whiskers still." The silver light around her shimmered, and then Marinette was standing there in front of Chat Noir.
Chat had to blink a couple of times in order to clear his vision, both from the light and from the effect that seeing his friend become a superhero had on him. He shook himself in a way reminiscent of a cat shedding water from its fur, and refocused his attention on his friend. He gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, saying, "I'll see you again in a few days! Remember, two nights from now. Louvre. 2100."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "How could I forget?" At Chat's quirked brow, she added, "The most exciting moment of my life," a little more dramatically than necessary.
Throwing one last grin over his shoulder, Chat tumbled out into the night, heading home to have a conversation with Barkk and Plagg.
Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Marinette turned to have a similar conversation with Mullo and Tikki. They admitted it was possible to wield multiple miraculous at once without issue, as long as it wasn't the cat and the ladybug, but Marinette pointed out that Chat Noir knew who had the mouse miraculous, so if she showed up as a combined Multimouse, he'd know who she was behind the mask.
The decision was made to talk to Master Fu, and, assuring Mullo that it was nothing personal, return the mouse miraculous, or at the very least, figure out a way to give it back to Chat Noir. Ladybug HAD to be present at an akuma fight. She was the only one who could purify the akuma, so the decision to make was no decision at all.
She'd just explained the situation to Master Fu and Wayzz, with Mullo and Tikki throwing in important information, when the door to the shop opened and footsteps sounded in the entrance. The kwamis quickly hid, and Marinette snatched up the teapot and stepped into the kitchen to either make more tea, or to quietly step away, to return another time.
She'd just placed the kettle on to boil when she heard a familiar voice. It took her a moment to place it, but then she realized… Plagg. He cackled, "You'll never guess what happened! Ladybug gave the kid another miraculous. She wants him to be a dog!" At Barkk's huff, he quickly added, "No offence, Barkk, but everyone knows, cats are far superior."
It was then that Plagg noticed Wayzz making 'shut up' motions with his arms, and saw Tikki and Mullo hovering by the kitchen door, and realized who else must be present, and probably heard every word he just said. Eyes growing huge, he zipped back around the corner, presumably to hide in Adrien's shirt, as Adrien was still in the hallway, having paused to remove his shoes in the entryway.
Adrien appeared in the doorway, Barkk on his shoulder, about to add to what Plagg had said, when Master Fu held up his hands. "Chat Noir. Just so that you know, we are not alone. Ladybug is here, and now knows who you are, as she knows who she gave the dog miraculous to." Raising his voice a little he called, "Come on out Ladybug. I think the two of you have some things to discuss."
Adrien's eyes were glued to the kitchen door, when out of it stepped Marinette. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes trained on the ground, until, suddenly, those luminous blue eyes were trained on her partner, the twinkle in them spelling trouble for him. "So I guess I really don't need to come up with an excuse to why I can't keep Mullo. Or why Ladybug can't come train Zong SeGou in 2 days. What would we have done if neither of us had shown?" She asked the last question with a shy giggle.
Adrien stared at her for a few more seconds, mentally processing everything he'd just learned. "I guess we need to find other people to wield the miraculous." That was all he got out before Marinette had crossed the room and flung her arms around him. He returned the hug, smiling into her hair, before stepping back and holding out his hand. "Hi! I'm Chat Noir!"
Marinette glanced down at his hand, and gripped it in a firm handshake, the first time that the partners been skin to skin. "Ladybug. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."