I don't own Les Adventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir, please support the official release.
The day after the Sculptrusa akuma, Mireille apologized to everyone at the school for her actions. Her apology was accepted, with the mention that the majority of people at the school had already been akumatized, some had even been hit twice or more. It was water under the bridge leading into an easy-going week with no additional supervillains appearing within the confines of the school. There was, of course, the unfortunate case of M. Ramier, who had - for the 29th time - been struck by an akuma and transformed into the notorious M. Pigeon, followed by a record-breaking capture of said akuma by Ladybug and Chat Noir soon after, their concentration broken only by a few sneezes from the ironically allergic cat hero.
Adrien had just returned from his quick stop to the restroom, followed immediately by Marinette, who nearly tripped over her own two feet. This would have sent her flailing into the young model's back, though in what seemed to be an attempt to prevent that occurrence, she flung herself to the side, landing in a pile next to Nino's desk. Of course, this garnered the attention of Chloe, who Roman had gathered had a deep loathing of the aspiring designer.
"Very smooth, Dupain-Cheng. If only you stitched as well as you fall, maybe you wouldn't have tripped over those ratty shoes of yours." Of course, this was quickly followed by a haughty chuckle, a supportive comment from Sabrina, who almost seemed more like a henchmen than a friend to the mayor's daughter, and an admonishing look from Adrien, which quickly silenced her. Oddly enough, when Adrien offered a hand to help Marinette to her feet, she shot up stock-straight on her own, then quickly slid around the desk - not making contact with the boy in front of her - and sat at her own seat, only to end up laying her head on her desk with unnecessary force.
All of this was observed by Roman from the back of the class, who frankly had no idea what to make of the string of events. Mme. Bustier had finished her lesson early, so she had allowed the class free reign of the room until the final bell, and left for elsewhere. The days since his arrival had gone much better than expected; finding quick friends in Kim, Max, Alix, and Markov due to his kickboxing pastime, and Alya, Nino, and Marinette for his admiration of Ladybug and Chat Noir. He got along especially well with Adrien, who despite having been homeschooled for the majority of his life, had a lot of interests which overlapped with his own, including the aforementioned two.
"Hey Roman, I'm going to head to the pool later today, want to join me?" Kim piped up from where he was standing next to Alix by Max's desk. "I asked Max and Alix, but neither of them want to come along."
"Kim, you know that I haven't yet waterproofed Markov." Max replied. "If he were to fall into the pool, I would lose someone who I consider to be as good a friend to me as you are." He pushed up his glasses and then smiled before continuing. "I should have it done before the end of next week, so there's an eighty-seven percent chance that I'll be able to join you next Saturday."
Alix then chimed in, having both hands behind her head. "And you know that I like to hang in the art room near the end of the week. I get to do some spray painting while listening in to Nathaniel and Marc's comic book progress. It's coming along great, Nath!" She quickly turns to give a thumbs-up to the red-headed artist.
"You know that we're trying to keep it a secret, Alix. It's fine if you hear what we're doing, but don't share it with anyone until we've finished, okay?" Nathaniel said in retort.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just wanted to let you know that it sounds amazing. You might even be able to sell copies of it, given how good it's bound to be. I mean, I can't hear what the pictures look like, but I know that you do good work, and Marc's storyboards are better than most movies out nowadays. You've got nothing to worry about." Alix's sincerity shocked the artist silent for a moment, but then he gave a thank you and said that he'd let Marc know about her praise.
Seeing a break in the conversation, Roman gave his reply to Kim's question. "Sorry, Kim. I wanted to talk to Alya for a bit before heading out. So, if it's not too much trouble, could I meet you at the pool a little later today?"
"Uh, sure! I'll see you there!" Was Kim's cheerful response, but there was a curious glance towards Alya, which was shared by a few other students. The girl in question, however, was ecstatic.
"Are you finally ready to do that follow-up interview I asked you about when you arrived? You mentioned that you weren't ready to be recorded for the Ladyblog, but I can do just audio instead." Alya's Ladyblogger instincts had flared up, but were immediately quashed, then rekindled as Roman continued.
"Uh, no. No interview. I was just... well." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "I wanted to ask you a few things about Akumas. Given that Mireille - that is, Sculptrusa - was the first I'd ever seen, I have to admit that I'm more than a bit curious about how they work, exactly."
Alya took a sharp intake of breath, and Roman quickly interposed. "But first I wanted to ask you guys what you like about Ladybug and Chat Noir! As a... as a fellow fan. I want to know why you all look up to them." There was a light dusting of embarrassment over the cheeks of the transfer student, having shouted part of his question a little louder than intended.
All of the students, other than Lila and Chloe, quickly clambered together on the same side of the room, excitedly whispering about what they were going to say was their favorite parts about the heroes who had saved the city on countless occasions.
Alya stepped down to the front of the classroom and clapped her hands, gathering everyone's attention in a way very similar to Mme. Bustier. "Now, everyone here has something to say about Ladybug and Chat Noir." She shot a sharp look towards Chloe. "But unless we just want to trip over everyone else's words, I suggest we raise our hands and go in order. Oh! How about we raise our hands when we think of what we want to say, and then Roman picks us, like on his first day?" At everyone's approval, Alya nodded. "Alright, then it's settled. Roman, whenever you're ready, just pick someone."
Nino was first up, though his response that the super duo were "rockin' dudes" didn't hold up to Alya. He quickly remedied that Ladybug and Chat Noir are very down to earth, despite how popular they are. This got a few pointed glances towards Chloe, but nobody said anything. "It makes them approachable, y'know?" Nino continued. "Like, you don't feel intimidated or afraid to ask them for help. They feel like normal people under the suits, and that puts people at ease when they're around, I think." A round of nods were had, and some stories were shared of how Ladybug's confidence and Chat's laid-back attitude put them at ease, even during some of the more dangerous akuma attacks.
Ivan was chosen next, and although he was normally a man of few words, he voiced his concerns about having been the first akuma; Stoneheart. "I didn't know what had happened, if I was going to be okay. What had happened to me? Would I be normal after the butterfly was gone? I don't think anybody knew what was going on, and there was this tension. People started avoiding me, worried that I would turn back into that monster. It wasn't until HawkMoth appeared that people stopped blaming me for turning into a monster." He paused and looked away. Mylene placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he turned back to the class. "Once Ladybug had purified the akuma, and all the damage was repaired, I felt a weight being lifted from my chest. I thought to myself; as long as she's around, we can go back to how it was before the attack. Everything can be fixed." There were nods throughout the class at this point, and more than just Mylene offered support to Ivan, since nobody really knew how he felt about being the first victim.
From there, the rest of the class shared short stories about what the Parisian heroes mean to them. Mylene states that Ladybug makes her want to be brave, Juleka says that she admires Ladybug's confidence, Rose sends a look to Juleka before saying that thanks to Ladybug's efforts, she was able to get together with someone she liked. Alya and Nino share a look as well. Nathaniel tells how Ladybug became his inspiration for the comic book that he and Marc were working together on, which was coming along nicely. Sabrina states that Ladybug was helping her stand up for herself, though there were a couple of odd looks at that.
It was at this point that the only members of the class not enthralled with stories of heroism began to speak up.
"Who cares about that Ladybug?" Lila exclaimed. "She was completely rude and insulting to me every time we've met. Even after she cleansed an akuma that was chasing me through the city, she didn't even try to help me find my way home. I was lost until that evening!"
"Not only that, but Ladybug ignored me every time I tried to help her!" Chloe jumped in. "She could've had my help as Queen Bee whenever she wanted, but she never came to ask. I felt ridiculous, utterly ridiculous for thinking that she cared about me!"
Alya soon stepped in. "Lila, I don't know what happened between you and Ladybug, but she is busy with saving the city, and often can't stay for long after an akuma attack. If she had the time, she would've helped you."
"And as for you, Chloe." Alya's attention was immediately directed at the mayor's daughter. "When have you ever done something deserving of being Queen Bee? I know that Ladybug didn't give you that Miraculous, because you blatantly told the entire world your identity. Ladybug prides herself on her secrets - not even Chat Noir knows who she is - and yet you announced who you were, misused your powers, and made yourself and your family a target for HawkMoth and Mayura!"
"I'll have you know that I'm a great Queen Bee! In fact, Ladybug will probably come crawling back with my miraculous the next time an akuma attacks." Chloe shot back. "But she lost that chance. No matter how much she wants me to be part of her superhero team, I'm too good for the likes of her!" Chloe then looked away from the rest of the class, and spoke so that nobody else would hear; "Even though I did enjoy it..."
Alya shrugged off the comment of her least-favorite member of the class, and turned to Roman. "Speaking of the next attack, you need to get the akuma alert downloaded, just in case. We don't want you to be turned into another statue, after all." Soon, the app was downloaded, along with another for the Ladyblog website, and the conversation turned back to Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Kim chimed in with his admiration of the way that they soar across rooftops and through the air of the city to get from place to place. "I wish I could do that all the time." Although the young swimmer said that he just liked how athletic they were, he didn't deny when Adrien said that Kim liked how free they were.
"Sometimes I wish that I were a superhero." Adrien said. "Between fencing, Chinese, all of my extra-curricular activities, school, and modeling, sometimes I feel restricted. Almost like I have no time to just be me. If I had the ability to go anywhere I wanted in Paris at any time, I know I'd use it as much as possible. Plus, I'd be able to spend time with the person I admire most."
Alya took that moment to cut in; "I don't think that any of us here," she gestured to the group not including Chloe or Lila, "would argue against how amazing Ladybug is. She saved my life on too many occasions to count, and I'd give anything I had if it meant she could do her job in peace - aside from the Ladyblog, that is. But, jokes aside, Ladybug is the biggest reason why I can keep getting up in the morning to face piles of homework and boredom, the reason why I can say with certainty that the future is going to be okay. She's my hero." Alya took a second to wipe the corner of her eye before switching back into gear. "Alright, who's left? Marinette, Alix, and Max?" The three people in question nodded, with all of them raising their hands to speak. Roman pointed to Marinette, and she took in a breath before saying what she felt she needed to.
"Everyone always says that 'Ladybug is the greatest' or that she's 'the real hero', but I wanted to take a moment to say that Chat Noir needs more credit than a lot of people give him. Certainly, Ladybug is the only one who can purify akumas, but Chat is the one who often stays behind after an attack to make sure that the victim is really okay. I've seen footage of him talking to the person after the fact, and that says to me what a kind and caring person he is. In my opinion, without him Ladybug wouldn't be able to do everything she does. She needs him."
In response, everyone other than Lila and Chloe began clapping and nodding, at least until Alya nudged Marinette and whispered something into her ear. Marinette immediately flushed scarlet, and quickly urged for the next person to speak.
Once Max was picked, he pushed his glasses up and began; "To build off of what Marinette said, there is statistically only a thirty-seven percent chance of any akuma being captured while Ladybug is on the scene without Chat Noir. Once Chat arrives, however, there has been to date a ninety-eight-point-three percent chance of the akuma being captured and purified when the two are working in tandem. This reliability is not only what I admire most about the two of them, but it also mathematically proves that Ladybug is at her best when Chat Noir is with her. In addition, when everything is said and done, they have never failed to save us, or the whole of Paris for that matter."
"Alright, guess I'm last pick?" Alix started, though she said she was 'only kidding' when Roman started to apologize. "I've been thinking about what everyone has been saying, as well as my own experiences with Ladybug and Chat Noir. In the end, I think it comes down to how hard they've worked to save us all, and to earn our trust. Think about it; when Ivan was akumatized, nobody expected anything from either of them, but once they saved the day, everyone heralded them as heroes. I believe that it's because they worked hard to save everyone every time that they earned the respect and trust of others. It wasn't just given to them, and unless they surrender completely, I don't think that they'll lose that... even years into the future."
Everyone shared a single resolute nod at Alix's statement, and then turned towards Roman. Alya spoke up; "Now that we've shared what we think about our heroes, I'd like to ask what you think about them, having come from so far away. We already know what got you interested in them - the American comics - but what made you continue watching and admiring them, Roman?"
Said transfer student simply sighed, folding his hands in front of himself.
