(A/N off the bat I'd like to say the idea for Marinette's older brother came from sabertoothwalrus and I own nothing)

20 yr PreOrigins

Things couldn't be better for Tom Dupain. He was marrying the woman of his dreams, moving to the city of light, and opening a new patisserie. No, nothing could make this better...except maybe understanding Mandarin. Sabine's family was wonderful, but strict; well maybe not strict per se, but traditional. With a language barrier, Tom was always on high alert in case he accidentally offended someone.

"Calm down," said an accented voice, "No one here will hurt you. If you weren't good for Sabine she would never have said yes. We accepted long ago that she could take care of herself." Scott, Sabine's brother, was trying to sooth Tom's nerves.

"It's just that everything needs to be perfect today."

"No, everything needs to flow forward, and perfection is stagnant. Take this city for instance! It's far from perfect, but it's beautiful and right."

Beautiful and right. Yes, that's what his marriage would look like.

.

The ceremony went smoothly and the reception's few hiccups were easily resolved. The happy couple was nearly oblivious to their surroundings and Scott was usually found just outside, searching the skyline.

"Something wrong?" asked Qianru, his wife of two years.

"We should live here," he answered immediately. The look on her face told how obviously surprised she was. "Not now!" he amended, "but someday…"

She slowly nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.

15 yr PreOrigins

Five years later Sabine found herself thinking, It's nice to have someone to talk to during trying times like these, as she spoke with Qianru. Three months after she found out that her and Tom were about to have their first child she heard from her brother that they were expecting too! Now Qianru was due in one month's time and Sabine was attempting to put the finishing touches around the apartment within the next two months.

"I can't wait to sleep on my back again!" Qianru cried over the phone, "I feel like a turtle when I wake up in the morning!"

"I know the feeling! They estimate Anthony will weigh 5 kilograms!" Sabine laughed to her sister-in-law.

"I hope he and Bridgette become the best of friends," sighed Qianru.

That night both women lay in bed envisioning the two children playing.

A year later another little girl was added to their visions.

5 yr PreOrigins

Everything changed and no matter how many times Mom says "It will all work out," Bridgette knows things happen; some happy things, some fun things, some tragic things. But knowing that we can't change those things doesn't make them easier to deal with. Dad was a cop. He worked with criminals. He always insisted that you must cherish every moment, because one day a misplaced bullet could mean he wouldn't come home. Mamma hated that he said this to me. "She's just a child! You'll frighten her!" she would screech. I disagreed because he was being honest and treating me like I mattered as much as an adult; I was glad he told me about the misplaced bullets...but he never mentioned the drunk drivers.

Bridgette Cheng was only ten, but she was far from stupid. Her mother and she were both in "shock" for the first week; she read about that in one of her novels. They both kept waiting for Dad to walk through the front door while they were home. Her mother and she were also about to be in debt; that she had heard her mother arguing with Grandma and Grandpa about. They were used to living off two incomes and now only had one. Bridgette loved her father's parents, but she didn't want to leave her mother, and that's what it sounded like they were suggesting-that Bridgette live with them instead. She was glad Mom refused.

Now, she was experiencing "survivor's guilt." She read that in a pamphlet at the office the school made her go to. They asked odd questions: did she know it was okay to cry? did she feel safe? when did she last eat? She wasn't stupid! She knew she was allowed to laugh! But when she did she would think "I can't wait to tell Dad!" and remember… Honesty was more important than pretending everything was okay right now, because it wasn't. But someday it would be okay...just different.

4 mo PreOrigins

"Alright! Let's get unpacked!" How she sounded so chipper was beyond Bridgette's understanding, but her mom did her best to enthusiastically hop around the new apartment opening boxes and seeing what was in each of them.

"You said you would explain the move when we got here...we're here." Qianru heaved a heavy sigh as she sat on the closest box.

"Let's unpack as much as we can first, then we'll go on a field trip tonight."

"Field trip! WOO HOO! Field trips rule!" a familiar masculine voice interrupted.

"ANTHONY!" She flew into my cousin's arms as soon as he cleared the door. He caught and spun her easily, as he was a full head taller and was built very much like his father. "Is Marinette with you?" Bridgette asked laughingly as she found her feet.

"Hi Bridgette!" Marinette greeted as she came across the threshold holding three boxes of macaroons. Unfortunately, she absently waved in greeting as she entered, dropping the boxes and then over-corrected when she tried to catch them, effectively throwing them in the other direction. Anthony stepped back to catch them as they flew and with his sudden absence Bridgette tripped and she and Marinette ended up on the floor, with Anthony behind them munching on a macaroon. Within three heartbeats they all dissolved into giggles. It felt good to laugh. She didn't get to see these cousins often enough, but apparently that was going to change. Perhaps moving to Paris would be good after all.

.

The view was beautiful, the skyline perfectly capturing Paris. This was Tom and Sabine's venue for their wedding nearly 20 years ago.

"He told me he wanted to live here. He loved the idea of Paris, always wanted us to move here. But we could never both find a job here…"

Everyone knew she was talking about Scott. Bridgette knew he wanted to visit his sister and her cousins as often as possible, but had no idea he had wanted to live here.

"We'll live his dream," Bridgette promised as she grabbed her mom's hand. Anthony and Marinette each placed a hand on her shoulder.

2 mo PreOrigins

"What do you mean I won't be in Anthony's class?!"

"Sweetheart, you were accepted into this school and I know you won't know anyone when you start there, but you'll make fast friends quickly, I'm sure. This school is geared towards business ideals and I know you want to own and manage your own shop someday." Seeing the less than convinced face of her daughter Qianru added, "It'll be great! You'll see!" The 15 year old remained unconvinced.

"This is ridiculous! I have the opportunity to actually know someone here and you just push me into seclusion!"

"Bridgette, be reasonable. Think about the future you're always telling me you want and then tell me what school will help you to achieve that." The teen fell silent and simply scowled at the floor.

1st Day of School (Stoneheart)

Going through classes Bridgette was glad to see she got along with most of her peers and was immediately welcomed into a group consisting of Jade, Damen, Samson, and Connie. Jade was the first one to introduce herself, and her twin, Damen, was very kind as well. Connie was Damen's girlfriend and very interested in every detail she could think to ask about China. Samson was fairly quiet, adding in details that were relevant to the conversation or reminding his friends to curb their curiosity enough to still be polite and not overwhelm Bridgette too much.

Shortly after the day began though, interesting things developed. The teacher gave a surprised gasp as she watched her computer and then began projecting the news on the front board.

"As incredible as it seems, it's been confirmed that Paris is indeed being attacked by a supervillain. The police have been struggling to keep the situation under control."

The statement was followed by some field crew interviewing the police.

"Is this...normal?" Bridgette asked tentatively.

"No." The monosyllable was so forceful and unexpected she jumped in her seat and whirled around to see the most handsome boy she's every laid eyes on. With styled blond locks and pine green eyes, his face was schooled into indifference, despite his claim that the situation was unexpected. That was the first word she heard him speak. He didn't look at her, only continued scrutinizing the television when her wonderings about him were interrupted by Nadja Chamack's voice stating that the incident was taking place at a very familiar location.

"That's my cousins' school!" She made to move, to help, to do anything but was stopped at the door.

"I'm sorry Miss Cheng, but I am responsible for your welfare at the moment and can't let you leave. You'll be perfectly safe here," was the courteous instruction from Mrs. Dame.

"But I need to make sure Anthony and Marinette are okay!" She cried.

"The authorities will handle everything, I'm sure."

The two continued arguing for a few moments as Bridgette became more and more desperate to leave. Mrs. Dame failed to notice the silent exchange between Jade and the blond who answered her question earlier. Finally, reluctantly, the boy pulled out a small bottle and squirted two pumps of the liquid (cologne?) into the air. Within 10 seconds Mrs. Dame began coughing and sneezing; obviously having an allergic reaction.

"Oh no, Mrs. Dame!" Jade lamented, "not another one of your attacks!" Bridgette could detect the barest of hints of a smile on the blond's face. "We'll have to go home if you don't have your medicine on hand." The teacher could only wheeze and glare. After a count of ten she made and rolling motion with her hand towards the door and Bridgette took off running to Françoise Dupont High School as fast as her legs could carry her. Her friends all called their families to make sure everyone was safe.

.

The blond, however, had his own family member who may be at Françoise Dupont High School; that very much depended on if his escape plan had worked that morning. He made his way home while trying to call Adrien, but there was no answer. Upon entering the gate he was informed of his brother's attempted escape this morning and that he should join him in his room to await the reopening of his school. But Adrien was gone when he opened the bedroom door. Sneaking out once was expected, as was getting caught, but a second time? Successfully? Unthinkable. Félix would almost be proud of his brother-if it weren't for the fact that he was sneaking to the exact spot that was currently ground zero for an attack.

After a moment of panic Felix calmed himself and headed to his own room. Worst case scenario Adrien gets mildly hurt and is refused the few freedoms he has now; best case scenario he gets home before Father realizes he is gone. Felix refused to believe anything else. Adrien had to be okay; but why was his room such a mess?

.

Anthony Dupain Cheng had been at Françoise Dupont High School when the attack started. While his curiosity for this villain was burning holes in his stomach, he first raced his sister home to ensure her safety. Then, he spent the next several minutes trying to figure out the best way to sneak out of his bedroom without his parents knowing. They were usually willing to let him go out if he let them know where he was planning on being, but going to take photos of a super strong villain that was tearing up Paris wouldn't qualify in the "stay safe" rules that his parents had set forth. When Sabine went to check on Marinette after they thought she had called her Anthony saw his chance. He dashed out the door heading for the Montparnasse tower. Along the way he found the most unusual sight.

A young guy in a black leather suit was tight rope walking between buildings on some sort of pole. As he was taking a shutter shot, another figure crashed into the guy from a rope of some sort and they fell in an entangled mess. Tied together they swung back and forth. He took a few candids of this and one more when they stopped swinging and righted themselves. As the girl dropped he set his shutter again so that later he could get a better look at her rope and was rewarded with seeing her drop the weighted end on her new partner's head, he said his name was Chat Noir. A moment later they were gone. Anthony had to shake off his confusion over what he just saw before setting off again in the same direction the duo had disappeared to.

When he made it to the arena the fight was over and he just got to watch the red clad girl vault the stadium. Seeing a boy he recognized from his sister's previous class he decided to stick around and see him and the other girl home. They must be shaken up. He was more than surprised, and a little jealous, to find that the girl, Alya, had some awesome footage of the fight.

.

Finding the school empty Bridgette made her way to her aunt's patisserie. There Sabine told her Marinette was already upstairs and asked if Bridgette could grab her for dinner. She could hear on the news as she passed through the living room that the superfight was already over.

"Thanks to this amateur footage, the Parisians now know the identities of their heroes."

"Marinette? Your mom has dinner ready!"

"Bri! Are you okay?" Marinette practically fell out of her trapdoor to wrap her arms around her cousin (attempting to distract her from the bugmouse that had been floating near her face a moment before). Bridgette nodded and laughed holding her baby cousin close.

They went downstairs to eat before returning to each of their schools. Bridgette had further to go, so she left just before Marinette finished the dishes. However, as she crossed the park a butterfly approached her. She thought herself lucky to be graced by such a delicate little being. Bridgette felt a sharp pain for a moment and then everything went dark.

.

Anthony had been returning home and thought to take a shot of his cousin's sweet smile as she held out her hand for a butterfly. He nearly dropped his camera as her deep blue eyes turned yellow and that sweet smile turned to stoney surprise.

.

Felix knocked softly before he poked his head into Adrien's room. Before he even noticed his brother he noticed the smell. His nose involuntarily crinkled as he spied the two trays on the coffee table, one of treats the other of cheeses.

"Don't eat your stress," he said lightly as he fully entered the room. Adrien faced him and gave a curt nod, looking away. Felix knew he was waiting for Father's reprimand for that morning. "You should have applied to multiple private schools, like I did. He'd fight less if it weren't public school."

Locking eyes Adrien stated, "I don't want Father to blame you for my actions, so I didn't want to use your methods. Besides, public school suits my plans better than private school." This last part was said like an inside joke; which it could be. Felix was the only one who knew Adrien planned to ditch fashion and business as soon as possible to pursue a career in physics and eventually teach said subject. Felix only smiled and inclined his head as he left, quietly closing the door behind him. (Not realizing that Adrien planned to leave immediately for the afternoon classes at Françoise Dupont High School.)

When he arrived at school that afternoon only about 90% of the staff, faculty, and students were there. Jade quickly filled him in on what had been on the news during his commute to school. Apparently Damen was one of the new statues in Paris.

.

Anthony stayed with Bridgette for a while. He couldn't bring himself to abandon his cousin. Surely there was a way to fix this. He sat at her feet and pulled out his phone looking over the news.

"The stone beings are scattered all over Paris and for the time being they're showing now signs of movement. Police have cordoned off the area."

He could see the police trying to get him away from "that thing," but she was his cousin and he needed to be there for her. At the sound of the bell he got up, picked a nearby flower to place in Bridgette's stone hand, and headed across the road to the school.

.

Marinette didn't see her brother as she entered the school. Her mind was racing, trying to find a solution to the stone beings. She couldn't let Ivan get emotional and she needed to find a new Ladybug. Alya seemed like a good pick, she knew how to stand up for herself and others and seemed absolutely fearless. Now, how to get the Miraculous to her without giving up Ladybug's previous identity? Alya was going on about her new "Ladyblog" which would have been super cool if Marinette didn't know what a dorkasaurus Ladybug really was. But Alya was adamant, she called Marinette out on her fear and went on to say that Ladybug was a true superhero.

"I believe in her!" Alya declared, "Even if she's still learning."

"Yeah, the stone beings were a big mess up," Marinette agreed.

"Nah, she can't help not knowing what a villain is going to do. I meant how she uses that yoyo. Check out these awesome pics some guy got! He sent them to me so I could post them!" The three photos showed Chat Noir walking across his staff, a red blur crashing into him, and Chat getting hit on the head with the yoyo.

"What!" Marinette couldn't keep herself from groaning. People thought she could save Paris?

"I know right! They're so human! It's nice knowing anyone can be a hero. You should have seen some of the other photos Anthony had, they were actually tied together hanging upside down! Can you believe it!" she laughed.

"No, I really can't" she deadpanned. "Wait, did you say Anthony?"

"Yeah, I just met him briefly, but apparently he had the same idea as me."

"Hmmm."

The girls came up to a crowd around Ivan, they were talking about him being a monster.

This can't end well. Marinette thought.

.

The second time Stoneheart appeared Anthony was ready. His camera was charged, he had a new SD card in, and he knew where the villain would start from-Marinette's class. Not ideal, but she's a smart girl and would know how to hide well. Needless to say he was surprised when he saw her running through the streets following that Alya girl carrying a bag that wasn't hers. Anthony shot Chat Noir saving Alya for the second time, but was forced to duck as a car came at him too. He was pinned down and lost sight of the chaos, panicking when he heard a girl scream for help, thinking it was Marinette. His vision danced with pink sparks as he pushed the car with all his might getting it far enough from the wall to squeeze out. He ran to Alya as Ladybug freed her.

"You can't stay here. It's too dangerous," Ladybug said as she kicked up Chat's staff with her yoyo. She made to start running but Anthony hadn't found Marinette yet.

"Wait!" She turned surprised to see him but still moving towards her partner and the fight. "My sister, she was in the street somewhere!"

Ladybug pointed to the roofs and then took off running. Anthony looked to Alya.

"Looking for a shot?" He asked.

"Beat you there!"

They didn't make it in time, but Alya learned that Anthony was Marinette's brother and decided that awesomeness must run in the family.

.

When the Miraculous Cure set everything right Bridgette found herself surrounded by glowing ladybugs and back at the park. She felt very disoriented and was vaguely aware of having experienced pain, like getting a cramp, but felt fine now. She look around wondering where the cute butterfly went, shrugged, and made her way back to her aunt's patisserie, deciding she needed a snack to take back to school. Upon reaching the living room she realized it was much later than she had thought-she had missed her classes! Aunt Sabine explained to her what had happened and when Anthony eventually got home he verified that she was one of the stone beings. This news sent a violent shiver through her. How violating!

Second Day of School

The next day Felix sat in the car with Adrien as his father did the unthinkable-he allowed Adrien to go to school. This is going to be a good year.

.

Bridgette had many questions when she arrived at school. Jade did her best to keep up, but ultimately failed. Superheroes were a totally new concept to everyone there. Eventually the teachers calmed the students enough to start classes, but Bridgette couldn't focus. Her mind was going so many directions; seeing the photos of her transformation (very disturbing), worrying over her cousin being in class with the one who was originally transformed, phrasing and rephrasing how she was going to ask her Uncle Tom if she could work at the patisserie part time, and her eyes kept straying to a certain blond she had yet to be introduced to. All this while trying to make sense of the squiggles projected on the board that passed as words here. She may be able to speak four languages, but her previous tutors weren't very thorough.

As they were dismissed for lunch and she made her way to the exit she proved that she was just as clumsy as her cousin and fell down the main stairway, taking out two people on the way down. They were each thrown to the side (lucky them) while Bridgette tumbled and turned her way to the bottom. She braced for the harsh impact that was coming for the side of her head and right shoulder but instead hit a firm, warm wall while still slightly upright, only realizing it was a person she hit when an arm wrapped around her middle and its opposite's hand grabbed her left arm correcting her balance. She gasped and looked up into pine eyes that were scowling down at her. She could swear he heard her heart. With a nod of his head he left, she looked forward to seeing him the rest of the day.

.

"Hey, Felix! Wait up!"

"And why would I wait for you, James?" was the cold reply.

"Dude, you were literally several feet away from the new girl. Why not just let her fall?" James was truly confused. This was Felix. Felix who only spoke to teachers or to correct his peers. Felix who would rather read in the library than get ice cream with could-be friends. Though, it was also Felix who knew and kept the allergens of each of the teachers in case one of them was being an ass, like when Mr. Litton made an accusatory remark towards James. James never forgot that day, he was being told that no one expected him to amount to anything and was being blamed for a malicious popup that Mr Litton couldn't get rid of. James couldn't get in a word to defend himself. He didn't see, but was told that Felix pulled a scarf covered in cat hair from his bag and flung it around as much as possible while putting it on. He did notice, however, when Felix asked if a cat had Mr. Litton's tongue as he started wheezing and coughing.

Yeah, maybe Felix was a sociopath, but he seemed to be a decent one.

Meanwhile Felix didn't know what to make of James's statement. Shouldn't he be glad he helped the girl? She could have been concussed or had a broken nose had he not intervened. He ended up simply leaving and not gracing James with an answer.

.

Anthony went through the second day of school like any other; took candids of his new classmates, discovered that two of them had siblings in Marinette's class, cataloged his homework for the first term, and started or updated a profile for each of his teachers and classmates. He liked keeping his work organized so if anyone decided they didn't want him to take their picture he had all of their pieces together, or at least could cross reference it.

As the school day ended and he braved the rain he met his cousin at the patisserie's awning. Bridgette had a small smile on her face, a hopeful one. He met it with a goofy grin of his own.

"Where's Mari?" she asked.

He shrugged and leaned against the wall by the doors to watch the school's front door across the road while trying to not get completely soaked. Bridgette joined him. From here they spotted Marinette holding her hand in the rain. Anthony was just about to wave and give her a shout when another student left the doors. Even across the street the pair could see the tension between these two. This must be Chloé's friend. The newcomer seemed to say something and offer Marinette his umbrella. She took it just as the sky lit up, causing Bridgette to jump beside him.

"Marinette!" Anthony yelled as the umbrella closed upon his sister, but Bridgette kept him from running to her aid. He watched as the two laughed at her bad luck and she waved goodbye with a smile on her face. Apparently this friend of Chloé's wasn't as bad as first impressions dictated. But Anthony would keep an eye on him anyway.

As Marinette joined them Bridgette looped their arms.

"So who was thaaaat?" she asked in a singsong voice.

"No one! I mean obviously he's someone! But no one important. I mean not important to me! I mean…" she took a deep breath, "He's new, his name is Adrien, and I think he's nice." A smile brightened her face after she got through the statement, and the three made their way into the bakery as Marinette closed Adrien's umbrella.

(A/N this is my first attempt at Fanfiction, and the first thing I've ever actually put out there for people to see, so please give your honest opinion. And if this idea is a total flop let me know that too-I have a few chapters ready, but I'm still figuring out how to navigate this side of the site.

Thanks!)