A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was dealing with various other fanfics and figuring out how to make this chapter great. But it is finally here, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. In the future I will try to get chapters out sooner.
A Cat's True Value
Well this is it, after little over a year, I can finally start training. It's funny, ever since I got my miraculous my first thought was "yes finally an excuse to leave the house and do something with my life". But of course over time I saw how serious being the hero of Paris was but still, obtaining my Miraculous was exactly the change I needed in my life. However ever since I found my dad's spell book and seeing the new powers, I started to really think about Miraculous and what they can do… that's when I noticed what Ladybug can do.
She can do all sorts of useful things that can not only help us stop the akumatized villain but do so much to help me and herself in battle. I can see why the guardian and most of Paris seem to favor her over me, not even just because of her powers. Even though I do not regret and will not apologize for what I said, she seemed guilty for how I'm treated. That's what I love about Ladybug, even when she makes mistakes she always seem genuine in making things right. It doesn't hurt that she's smoking hot!
Anyway, the point is that I'm ready to unlock the secrets of the Cat Miraculous as I finally convinced Plagg to tell me more about my powers. I have everything written in a spiral notebook that I will hide it in the same place I hide my journal. Later, I'm going to go somewhere so I can practice in peace, and thankfully today would be the perfect day to do this.
Believe or not, Nathalie negotiated with Father to give 1 day of my choosing per month that I have completely to myself. Said days I would choose are weekends or days where school is out for a holiday (yeah even though there is a holiday it doesn't mean I can just take that day off). So today since school was out today (parent teacher conferences) Father let me have the day to myself. And the best part is no akuma attacks happen during these days!
It seems like Nathalie has gone down to school, so I guess now it's time for me to go, fortunately, I have the perfect disguise.
Once Adrien finished writing in his journal, he grabbed his notebook, he grabbed bag full of camembert, put on his disguise and went out of the mansion.
While on the streets of Paris, Adrien was discreetly walking to an abandoned warehouse, that no one has been in for years. This was due to Mayor Bourgeois deeming it an unnecessary and would be torn down to create a new store. In the mean-time the warehouse was abandoned with all the old objects still there with a huge tarp covering the building up. A special tarp that allowed for no one from the outside to see the inside yet sunlight still illuminated the inside of the warehouse (alongside allowing those inside to see the outside).
"Adrien, why did you take us here?" Plagg questioned.
"Because I needed to find somewhere to practice in peace." I commented, checking to see if anyone's around.
"And this is where you chose?" Plagg stated.
"Why not? It isolated from any people and it's due to be destroyed anyway." I justified.
"Know you I'm sure you already made notes about your new powers, so I'm going to give you a recap to see how much you know. Are you ready?" Plagg explained.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I replied with a determined expression.
"Okay, I'm just going to cut to the chase. You already know about your Cataclysm, but you have 3 other powers you can call on to help you." Plagg said. "The other powers are called Catacomb, Cheshire Cat, and Cat's Eye."
"Catacomb will allow you to summon ghosts to communicate with. Cheshire Cat can let you alter personality traits of yourself and others. Cat's Eye can let you automatically defend yourself at the first sense of danger via a feeling of time slowing down." Plagg commented. "Anyway questions so far?"
"Adrien…. I said do you have any questions?" Plagg repeated.
"Huh, oh sorry. It just still amazes me how I can do all of these things, this is so much better than just destroying things. I assume that Ladybug has 4 different abilities like I do." I stated, reviewing my notes.
"Yep, but that's a topic for another time. These powers can be unlocked through connecting to different sides to yourself, you know all of that you are trying to go through." Plagg pointed out.
"Yeah…. I'm sure I will be better with some powers than others. I already know how to use my Cataclysm, but everything else I don't know." I admitted. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"There is one more thing. Normally after you and Ladybug use your power you are on a timer before you detransform… there is a way to use your powers more before detransforming. With age and practice you can slow down the detransformaton process and use these powers more often to the point where there won't be a detransformation after using your powers." Plagg said.
"Oh, great one more thing that Ladybug gets to know and I don't." I said under my breath. "Is there anything else, you haven't mentioned already?"
"Nothing else to note right now, you have the notes and desire to learn so you are all set." Plagg commented.
"I don't know, what if I am not ready. Maybe you should tell me more about it or I could just write down more notes about what I need to do." I stated, my nerves acting up.
"Adrien, learning through notes and explanations is great and all but sometimes you just have to stop thinking about this and just do it. When the time comes you will know what to do." Plagg stated, to see Adrien respond with a nod.
"Plagg, claws out!" I shouted, transforming into Cat Noir.
"Okay, let's get to work." I stated.
Looking through his notes, Cat Noir decided to first start off practicing Cat's Eye by trying to remember and hone all of the defensive instincts he had growing up as the son of Gabriel Agreste. How he shields himself from pain and disappointment particularly after the disappearance of his mother within the previous year.
"Everything I have been through, will make me stronger." I said with determination. "I can do this."
"Cat's Eye!" I shouted.
As Cat Noir stated the command, he saw a black Aura surround him.
"Oh… my…. God, that's so co…." I tried to say struggling to control my powers. "Must keep control!"
The power was fluctuating as Cat Noir barely had control, he put everything he had into keeping this power up but unfortunately he couldn't keep it up.
"Damn it! I almost had it." I cursed in anger. "Cataclysm!"
As Cat Noir used activated his power, he was so enraged that he hit the closest object he could find, not aware of the chain of events this would cause.
"My Cataclysm came so naturally to me; how did I first manage to be able to call on my power. Wait a minute…. I was so thrilled to finally some semblance of control over something important in my life that I just used my power. Of course that not how I like to act all the time but that's how I have to act… always in control but I have no control over anything that happens in my life." I said internally.
"Never mind I just need to start again." I reassured myself.
After trying again for a total of 3 different times and failing, Cat Noir's ring flashed its last paw print as he transformed back to Adrien.
"Ugh…. Plagg, how long does it take to unlock these powers?" I asked groggily.
"I don't know, and you won't know until you do it." Plagg responded.
"Of course I won't. Here you go." I sighed, giving Plagg a slice of camembert.
"Thank you." Plagg replied.
After gaining some energy, Adrien retransformed into Cat Noir and went back to work on unlocking his powers.
Eventually Cat Noir started to work on Cat's Eye again and again getting closer and closer to using it each time. However not one attempt managed to work, so in response Cat Noir went off to learn a different power.
"Okay that was a doozy, now what about…. Cheshire Cat. I can alter the personality traits of myself and other people." I read, feeling unease about this power. "I… I don't know if I can do this now…. Let's just move on."
"Hmm, with Catacomb I can summon ghosts of people who died in the past to provide wisdom and knowledge. Can only summon 1 ghost at a time, the ghost has to willingly decide to let someone see/hear/talk to anyone else aside from the summoner, and if I detransform the ghost disappears. Also if the ghost spoke a different language than me while they were alive, when I summon them they can automatically adapt to the language that I primarily speak." I mentally remarked.
"Now I need to really dig deep with into the past and think about the important details about the person I want to summon." Cat Noir said.
"Now, who should I decide to talk to…. what about the first Cat Miraculous user. Let's see here." I stated out loud as I used my staff phone to check online. "Hei Mao, apparently his origins date back to ancient China."
After reading all about Hei Mao, Cat Noir then tried to picture the person in his mind. From the details of his costume to his body type and facial details. With the memory in mind, Cat Noir keep this internal picture as he tried to summon him.
"Catacomb!" I shouted.
Releasing a black blast wave from his body, Cat Noir tired his hardest to summon the ancient miraculous owner. He almost did, using every ounce of strength he had but at the end still could not do it.
"No…. I was….so close…." I uttered before collapsing and detransforming.
"Adrien…. Adrien!" Plagg shouted.
"Oh no…. no no no no no! Don't you die on me! I am not losing another one again!" Plagg pleaded as barely heard him.
"Plagg…." I stated groggily.
"Adrien… thank goodness you're okay." Plagg replied in a relieved tone. "You didn't nothing."
"Hear what?" I lied.
"Ohh, good." Plagg said in relief. "Look, I can see you are upset, so maybe we can take a break for now."
"No, I have to do this. I am just getting in my own way, I just need to relax and it will come naturally." I deduced. "Controlling these powers will not end in a cat-astrophe if I have anything to say about it."
"Okay if you say so." Plagg acknowledged smirking at Adrien's pun
"But seriously…. when I tried to use Cheshire Cat, it wasn't just me not putting enough effort into it like Cat's Eye or Catacomb. It came from a deeper problem that I had to deal with for years and only got worse recently. I think you know where I going with this." I recounted.
"I see…. this technique, when done right, can be very powerful often turning the tide in battle many Miraculous users." Plagg rationalized. "Maybe in time and with proper training this will be easier, it will be done…."
"That's not the point! I have spent years trying to figure out who I am aside from what people expected me to be or wanted me to be! For those years any personality or deeper purpose has eluded me for one reason or another. I would NOT want to make this more confusing by using this power to change myself and I don't want to put anyone else through the same pain… not even Hawkmoth." I snapped to Plagg's shock.
"Oh geez Plagg, I'm sor…." I tried to say.
"Don't apologize, you have been going through a tough time…. I should have known better than to say that." Plagg apologized.
"Thanks buddy." I said before Plagg ate some more camembert. "I think I know what to do."
"Just say the words." Plagg noted as I nodded.
"Plagg, claws out!" I shouted.
Once Adrien transformed into Cat Noir, the first thing he did was take a breath. Remembering what Plagg told him, he finally relaxed and was able to truly find clarity. Finally, after being seen as nothing more than just a sidekick by Ladybug and nearly all of Paris everything will change. Starting with him.
"Cat's Eye!" I exclaimed with determination. When Cat Noir used his power again he felt that it was easier to try and control this power. Not super easy…but slightly easier. The power itself felt like a surge of pent up energy just waiting to be released.
"I did it, I can finally control it!" I remarked with glee.
Suddenly, a shelf holding a heavy object collapsed after being weakened by Cat Noir's Cataclysm fell and slabs of concrete and molds of rubber sculptures left over from when the warehouse was last used were crashing down. Projectiles were flying in all directions with little time to interact.
Then all of a sudden, Cat Noir felt like felt like time slowed down as his movements became faster as the objects got closer and closer to him… now it was time for the fun to begin.
The rubber sculptures of people were speeding towards Cat Noir when all of a sudden, Cat Noir pushed the sculptures away with cat swipes that barely made a dent but sent the sculptures back. As the concrete started falling, Cat Noir managed to dodge the concrete with grace and precision. Eventually the power wore off after a few minutes of being in effect.
"Wow…. I freakin' did it! I actually used my power and I am not transforming back." I cried out happiness. "I feel awesome!"
"This is only the beginning of unlocking so many possibilities, I wonder if Ladybug, Carapace, Rena Rouge, or Queen Bee know about this?" I thought.
"Now what's next!" I remarked, still feeling the high of success.
"Okay…. Cheshire Cat." I thought, thinking about what I have to do. "Let's see how other Cat Noirs have used this power."
"When they used this power, it took a strong will to control and it can easily backfire. There have been cases where it contributes to failures of many Cat Miraculous holders in battle." I read, shocked about what I heard.
"Maybe I should wait until later to do this." I mentally stated with fear. "Let's just go on with Catacomb." I thought.
"Just relax, Adrien. You can do this." I reaffirmed out loud.
"Catacomb!" I shouted.
The black blast wave flowed forward as Cat Noir focused his energy into summoning Hei Mao. As Hei Mao was being summoned, his body took the form of his superhero form which consisted of a more traditional version of Cat Noir's costume. Hei Mao's costume showed him wearing a black tunic, black trousers, a black cloth on his lower legs and black shoes. He would have some accessories such as a gray armored plates on his right shoulder and upper arm, a black mask, a black long black sash that mimicked a cat's tail, and a black cat eared-like hat that went well with his black hair.
It took a minute but after a while, Cat Noir was able to summon Hei Mao, in a feat that sapped nearly all of his energy and left him gasping for breath. As Hei Mao appeared he looked almost other worldly. He was surrounded in a dimly lit black aura and once he appeared he took a nice long look at his current successor.
"Hello Adrien. Yes, I know who you really are, yes your secret is safe with me. I can't reveal your identity or the find out the identity of other superheroes without your permission. Also no one can see, hear, sense or talk to me aside from you unless you let me." Hei Mao. "I hope I am what you expected."
"Uh... yeah of course, I am just in shock that you are even here." I remarked.
"Good. So what's troubling you?" Hei Mao questioned.
"It's just, I want to do more as a superhero. It seems like all I ever do in terms of protecting Paris is just being Ladybug's sidekick. Nothing I do seems to matter to anyone and I feel like there is no way for them to take me seriously. Even if I truly learn these new powers, what do I bring to the team that no one else brings?" I confessed.
"Let me tell you a story. During my time as Cat Noir I was new with this too, and unlike you there was no other Cat Miraculous holders to guide me. However, over time I would see people giving me more and more attention as time went on, the amount of powers I had unlocked at that point was irrelevant. I realized couldn't control how people felt about me and I shouldn't let them control me. So I kept doing my job and over time the Ladybug Miraculous holder at the time did respect me because of my personality and how my strengths cover up her weaknesses and vice-versa. With that said, the answer to your question would be this: you bring your own personal strengths to the team." Hei Mao commented
"Just think about it, in what areas do you excel in?" Hei Mao questioned.
"Well I have always been emotionally there for Ladybug whenever she needs it, I am normally the lynch-pin when it comes to her plans. Like if it weren't for me a lot of her plans wouldn't work. I am very adaptable and I am full of good ideas, and I actually trained in fencing so I know how to use my staff as a viable weapon. My fighting style involves me using various techniques I invent to help fight the villains…. now I get what you are saying." I realized.
"Exactly, even though you should try to improve yourself and prove that you are worthy of wielding this power, don't forget the positive impact you already have on the team." Hei Mao reminded.
"Thanks, but I have another issue. There is this power called Cheshire Cat in where I can alter aspects of my own personality and the personality of others for about 2 minutes. When I read about the power, it seems good but I just can't do it…. It's not the power that's the issue is just…. personal stuff." I painfully opened up.
"Okay, I see how this is difficult for you. Now here's what I have to say. Even though using this power came easily to me, I can provide this advice. Just remember that this power is temporary and that when it wears off there will not be any lasting side effects or consequences." Hei Mao reassured. "It will be okay, I promise."
"Thank you." I stated. "Oh man, I'm going to detransform soon."
"Don't worry, whenever you need me I'll be there." Hei Mao stated before Adrien allowed the ghost to disappear.
Soon enough Cat Noir detransformed back into Adrien and with a look a content, he was satisfied with how the training session.
"So did you learn something new today?" Plagg questioned.
"Yes. Yes, I did." I remarked, thinking about what Hei Mao and Plagg said and how I could implement their advice in future situations as I left the warehouse.
Thirteen Years Ago – April
It's the 1st anniversary of a special event and we a see a healthy baby boy inside of his crib about to go to sleep as the night begins to shine. Birthday decorations are still in place and unwrapped gifts were still on the floor. While the bedroom door was closed and everything was muffled, the baby ended up hearing his mom and dad talking to each other in dining room.
"Emilie, are you okay?" the husband asked as he saw his wife on the verge of tears.
"I…. I…. don't know! Everything that I had to do in the last year with the fashion line, the press, our baby Adrien… I never thought it would be this much." the woman mentioned as she burst into tears.
"You know how much I wanted to be a mother, but I never knew how hard it was. The last thing I want is to let Adrien go down the same path as my sister." The woman revealed tearfully.
"Amelie?" the husband inquired gently.
"When we grew up, to my parents they always found it easier to raise me instead of my twin sister. Amelie grew up to be a bit of a…trickster to put it lightly. Everything my parents did to help her put more and more strain on the family and finally she cut all communication with our parents. Ever since, they both thought they failed her and as a result put even more attention on me. I had to promise them that I wouldn't make the same mistakes they made and I would be better than them." the woman explained.
"All last year, I felt lost and I had no idea what was doing. We have planned meticulously for the day Adrien was born but it wasn't enough. Many days and nights were spent trying to keep him safe and with all time we spent with our career and the media…let's just say this wasn't the first time I felt like this." The woman continued to explain.
"Sometimes I wonder if I am just a bad mother, doomed to repeat the mistakes of my parents." The woman lamented as she cried on the husband's chest.
"It's okay my love, I'm right here." The husband comforted his wife as she cried. "We are both new at being parents, in time we will get better at this. Mistakes are nothing more than just learning experiences."
"Emilie, you are not a bad mother." The husband said as he looked at her in the eyes. "Whatever happens you won't be alone."
"Just look at me, being a father had its challenges. And while I have had some bad days in the past and more in the future, I would not trade it for anything." the husband affirmed as the woman dried her tears.
"Oh Gabriel, I love it when you get all sappy." the woman giggled as she finally started to smile.
"If this was too much for you why didn't you say so?" the husband asked sincerely.
"I just thought, that no one else that I knew would understand what I'm going through. If I did this on my own I wouldn't have to be a burden to someone else…especially, you." the woman replied.
"Well we are a team, now and forever. You're not a burden to me." The husband reassured.
"Thanks Gabriel, that means a lot." the woman thanked before she kissed the husband.
"I think it's time to call it a night, we a have a long day tomorrow." The husband mentioned.
"Yeah." the woman agreed, completely calm and at peace.
A/N: Well this chapter was interesting. For starters I had made some changes to how the powers work in the show. For the main 7 Miraculous (all the other Miraculouses I did not focus on), I had it to where each Miraculous would have more than one power. The power structure is similar to JRPG party structure where we 4 people who are the main source of attack, the main source of defense (for themselves), the main source of support (for others), and a wild card who is flexible in all three areas but can bring something new to the team. For the Fox, Bee, Turtle, Butterfly, and Peacock Miraculous they each have two powers: one that specializes in defense/support (Yin), and one that specializes in offense/wild card (Yang). As for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous they each have 4 powers, one for offense, defense, support, and a wild card. Unlike the other 5, these power groups are separate and not lumped together in groups of two so they are more versatile.
Fun Facts (and hints for things to come) include: Can use powers multiple times before detransforming. Normally at their age they can only use power once and it's very difficult to use powers again before detransforming (must will themselves to use it again can cause physical/mental strain) while the amount of time powers can be used get bigger with age practice can help the user use power again. Pretty soon the detransform time limit can increase from 5 minutes to 10 minutes, 15 minutes etc. until the time limit until detransformation is completely gone. Adrien is suspicious until he learns from Ladybug that she wasn't told this either and that Master Fu didn't want to put pressure on themselves or overexert themselves. Master Fu vows to keep less secrets and one day hints at the identities being reveals between miraculous holders (who are permanent) (will think about letting people keep miraculouses).
This system will be in place for all future "Miraculous Ladybug" projects. Anyway, next time Ladybug and Cat Noir will fight their first sentimonster (excluding the one they seen during Heroes Day). Until next time.
For more info on Miraculous powers please look below:
Miraculous Ladybug Powers for all Miraculous Ladybug fanfics (only main 7 so far)
All people can visualize what to do to help them (both in civilian and super form) better results for those who have an easier time)
Yin: Defense and Support
Yang: Offense and Wild Card
Regular miraculous will have 1 half of each, Ladybug and Cat Noir will get full Yin and Yang
For Ladybug and Cat Noir: Offense, Defense, Support, Wild Card
For everyone else: Offense/Wild-card and Defense/Support
Ladybug Miraculous:
Miraculous Ladybug/Miraculous Cure (Support)
Heals all wounds, restores everything to its proper state, manifesting in a red blast wave (including any unnatural corrupted energy akumas/amoks) Training can help increase size and effectiveness of power
Lucky Charm (Wild Card)
Grants Ladybug an object to help her win (disappears after using purpose is met/the user transforms back)
Elytron (Defense)
Allows Ladybug to engulf herself in an Aura of Red Light which will reduce blows to half their impact (lasts for 1 minute)
Red Thread (Offense)
Ladybug summons a red energy beam at her targets that allows for long range damage can weaken people with strong (light) powers for 5 minutes
Cat Miraculous:
Cataclysm (Offense)
Destroys anything the user touches (short range damage) (When living thing gets hurt they it's the equivalent of a magic blast that slowly destroys their body until 3 minutes has past
Catacomb (Support)
Allows the user to summon ghosts of previous Cat Miraculous holders (those who have truly bonded with their kwamii/miraculous) who died to gain knowledge and wisdom (summoned via black blast waves) (can summon 1 ghost at a time) (summoner can choose who allows to see/hear/talk to aside from the summoner) (ghost who spoke a different language during the time they were alive can automatically adapt to the summoner's language), when summoned the summoner knows the miraculous holder's identity and can non disclose their (or any other superhero identity) without the summoner's permission
Cheshire Cat (Wild Card)
Causes personality traits to be altered subtitle/moderately to the users will make them be useful to be more effective in combat or as detriment as a person. Can alter personality of himself or others drawbacks consists powers can fail under stress (lasts for 2 minutes) (the amount of control over new personality varies) (cannot be too different from personality) (can't interfere with a person's actions themselves or mindset, just how they go about it/act)
Cat's Eye (Defense)
Becomes lighting fast whenever Cat Noir is about to be hit or critically injured, when he calls out the power he is automatically defends himself when something comes his way (either dodging it, or using fast but non-lethal cat swipes to keep people away from him) (via black Aura surrounding him)
Fox Miraculous:
Mirage (Support/Defense)
Creates an illusion of the user's choosing, with concentration it can take physical form but too much force to the object will cause it to dissolve
Quick Fox (Offense/Wild Card)
Gives the user the ability to quickly perform quick attacks/quick moves that is capable of doing multiple things at once/making enemies disoriented and disarmed (quick moves in rapid succession at will)
Turtle Miraculous:
Shell-ture (Defense/Support)
Creates an impenetrable shield (for himself and others and for objects)
Withdraw (Offense/Wild Card)
Can create throw smaller energy discs can ricochet a targets when dull and when charged can slice through objects (but not ricochet)
Bee Miraculous:
Venom (Offense/Wild Card)
Causes temporary paralysis on people and objects (can somewhat resist with enough willpower) lasts for 1 minute
Royal Command (Defense/Support)
Can telepathically send out a message/phrase that is short that can be sent to any person at any range (can obey in any way and open to interpretation, can also give people context into what is sent if wanted to)
Butterfly Miraculous:
Akumatization/Metamorphosis (Defense/Support)
Transforms people into champions to fight alongside the user based off their positive emotions (when used for evil purposes negative emotion), new form/amplified form is based off of the desire/interests the user has at the time, can create one guang/akuma out of thin air of a time, sense emotions and communicate with transformed, can take powers if needed.
Butterfly Effect (Offense/Wild Card)
Allows a very vague and unclear idea of what someone will do or what will happen (will not know exactly what or how it will be done) (will be seen in the form of a riddle), will be given best way to use this info to the best potential strategically through intuition causing a chain reaction to happen in the user's favor. Must be used wisely and future outcomes coming true can vary due to lack of context. (The scale of events this applies to can be expanded with time and training)
Peacock Miraculous:
Amokization/Good Spirits (Defense/Support)
Creates a sentimental/sentimonster (for evil purposes) that is bonded to a certain person or object and protects them at all costs based on their positive emotions for good reason (when used for evil purposes the sentimental being becomes more monstrous (a sentimonster) instead of more human like based on negative emotions)
Soul Search (Offense/Wild Card)
Allows the user to leave their body and enter into a non-living in-animate object to take control of them and give them a humanoid appearance and project your emotions on to them (can vary in terms of working), the peacock wearer's body would be on autopilot and prioritize getting away to a safe place. Can use the body to fight and hits will be the same. Must be in close to mid-range and can gain abilities of the inanimate object temporarily (with the drawbacks), take to many hits and will be forced back into body, (will not gain new memories aside from entering and exiting someone's body)
Trivia: When Miraculouses are combined they get the powers of each individual miraculous (but also the weaknesses). When the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous is combined the user can make a reality warping wish however whatever wish they make an opposite effect will take place in response. When miraculous is broken the user will experience fatigue and deteriorating health after using it, also their skin color will transform into the Miraculous' color. For example, if the Bee Miraculous was damaged, the user's skin color will turn yellow if they use it.