Plagg stares up at Adrien and asks "Longg? Are you sure she said Longg?" He shares a mental connection with his Chosen when transformed, but there's a possibility that he could've misheard. The chances of both himself and Adrien mishearing the name are slim, but its not impossible.
Adrien says "Specifically, she said 'Longg, Wind Dragon' and then vanished."
"Alright, definitely him. But…Longg doesn't have any power over fire. Storms, and all that come with them, actually. Ironic, for a dragon."
Adrien asks "Uh…come again?!" Because he's really certain she was using fire, not lightning, to restrain Stoneheart's fist.
Plagg nods, and says "Water, wind, and lightning. Not fire."
"So…how did she do that with the ropes?!"
Plagg just shrugs, eating another of those stinky Camembert cheese wedges, and says "Not a clue. I do know, though, that before Tikki and I were given to you and Ladybug, he sensed something. We all did, actually. A powerful aura, one that he was the most in tune with - again, ironic, since it was all hot and fiery. It could be that Dragon Fyre already had the fire powers, you know."
"That doesn't make any sense though, Plagg! How could someone already have fire powers?" He thought the Miraculous' gave them all their powers, not the other way around!
Plagg just shrugs once more, pops another piece of stinky cheese into his mouth, and says "Beats me. All I know is that my brother was all excited last I saw him." He was also one of the few Kwamis that wasn't on some kind of power-high from sensing that aura - Sass was trying to get Roarr, Orikko, Trixx, and Kaalki to stop chasing one another around at high speeds, Stompp and Ziggy were wrestling and throwing one another around, and Fluff was bouncing all over the place like a bouncy-ball on the commercial he just saw five minutes ago.
And he could sense the same aura while Adrien was Cat Noir, but muted and distant - seems it doesn't affect him as much when he's in the Miraculous. Which will be good, considering the origin of that owner is now one of his latest Cat's partners.
Marinette stares at Tikki in confusion, asking "So…who is she then?!"
Tikki shrugs, eating the Macaroon she's holding, and says "Don't know, sorry Marinette. She is powerful, though. And I'm sure she has a good heart, she wouldn't have been chosen if she didn't. Longg was with us for years, so she must've been."
"Ngh," Marinette groans, "she also said she knew my secret identity, right off the bat!"
"Well, maybe she's someone close to you? Aside from the detail that it shouldn't even be possible, since the Miraculous' makes it so the owners' identities are concealed."
Marinette just shrugs, and says "I'll keep an eye out, but I'm not sure. Orange hair and eyes does stand out, though…" She couldn't quite believe it when she saw it, orange irises that looked for a moment like they were on fire, and had horizontal irises to boot - of course, Cat Noir's eyes weren't exactly human either so maybe its just part of her own outfit.
Bloom glances around her warehouse in relief, everything's exactly like she left it - which means nobody's figured out she's been living in an abandoned clothing warehouse filled with old clothes. She found this place by pure accident, sheer dumb luck, and she's fairly certain she wouldn't get so lucky a second time. Which is why she's always been so careful, she hasn't even gone to public school until now because she didn't want anyone asking any questions. Online courses were easy to get into, and easy to complete in a few weeks, so she was able to keep her education going...but she finally decided she'd had enough of being lonely and got herself enrolled in the closest public school.
Shaking her head to get rid of her rapidly-spiraling thoughts, Bloom floats herself about an inch off the ground as she walks, leaving no footprints in the thick layer of dust as she heads to the secret attic she created in the ceiling. Moving her fingers forward as she points towards the hidden opening in the boards of the ceiling, she slides it open and calls the rope down so she can climb up.
When she gets up there, its all thankfully the same as when she left for public school today; beanbag bed is just like she left it, her drawings of her dead parents are still pinned to the wall, her cooler full of various snacks and easy-to-make foods and water bottles is still as full as she left it, and her makeshift closet - a pole melted to the walls where she hangs the outfits she's found down there that she likes or modified until she likes - still has everything on it. Which means nobody's found her yet, thankfully.
Letting out a deep breath, she murmurs "Clear the Skies, Longg." Her clothes shift back to the outfit she wore for school today, and Longg looks around in apparent concern as he exits the necklace. "Bloom…this is where you live?"
Bloom nods, and says "Yeah. Home sweet home…" Except its not. She found this abandoned warehouse, one of Gabriel Argeste's old storage spots that was abandoned for whatever reason, four years ago after those four weirdos killed her parents and left her with magic she couldn't control. Its taken four hard years, but she's more or less got it under control…most of the time.
She can do just about anything she can imagine - mirages for instance, or what she based on mirages, illusions maybe? - and a few things she didn't even know she could. Its how she got into school here, she somehow…made them add her onto the list. She just wanted them to put her on, and then their eyes flashed orange and it happened. She's not proud of it, of being able to make someone do what she wants just by willing it to happen…but she's not stupid enough to think she won't need to do it again either. Also, she's not even sure just how it happened or why.
Longg asks "How did you end up here? Where are your parents?"
Bloom sighs, not particularly wanting to answer his questions but not wanting to lose him either, and says "I found it by accident. Its an old clothing warehouse. I can magically modify the clothes to fit me, and I can get anything else I need out in the city." She certainly didn't want to be a thief when she grew up - an artist, actually - but she didn't have much choice. She doesn't take much - granola bars, dried fruit bags, beef jerky, or microwave meals mostly - and never anything that would cause an uproar, but that doesn't mean she likes it, or doesn't feel guilty about it. How else is she supposed to get food when she legally can't work, has no money, and no way of improving her situation?
What's a ten-year-old supposed to do, go to the police and tell them she and her parents were visiting Paris for a family vacation, got ambushed by four weirdos that looked like they were the start of a goth gang or some biker thugs, and they had magic?
At best, they'd think she made it up - at worst, they'd think she was crazy. Especially since she had no idea where they went, or how they did the things they did - one was fast, one strong, one turned into animals, and one was creepy as all get out. And all of them were insane.
She wasn't what they wanted, whatever it is they wanted, so they disappeared…after her parents were killed and she was put into some kind of wormhole only to get spit back out of it and into the La Seine River. And then she caught fire when she got out of the water, magic of her own now very much active in her.
Adrien looks up in shock when a vaguely familiar voice asks "What do you think your doing?!"
Ladybug? When he turns around, though, it's a blue-haired girl glaring at him in total outrage.
She crosses her arms, glare increasing, and snaps "Oh, haha, very funny you three."
"No, no, I was trying to take this off…" She clearly doesn't believe him, even as Chloe and Sabrina start laughing mockingly.
And then a second girl pushes past him - a girl with flaming red hair in a ponytail, an orange satin scrunchie the same color as her hair holding it up, and piercing blue eyes - takes one look at the gum on the seat, and calls over "Chewed-up gum on the seat, really? Could the two of you be any less mature if you actively tried?" She then picks the gum up off the seat - as though it was dry, Adrien notices - and flicks it over towards the garbage can where it lands perfectly.
The blue-haired girl says "This guy was in on it to, Bloom. He was the one putting it on." The blue-haired girl sits down roughly, pulling Bloom with her, but the red-head looks over at him…and shock flits over her features for the briefest instant.
"No," she says a minute after, not missing a beat, "it was all Chloe and Sabrina. He's new, so he wouldn't have any reason to actively single you out before even seeing you or where you sit, Marinette. If I had to take a guess, I'd say this is the famous Adrien they were being such brats about yesterday." Bloom glances at Chloe and Sabrina, and sees Chloe's going a very amusing shade of red. "She's probably his best friend because she's his only friend. Because I seriously doubt he'd choose a shallow, self-centered spoiled rich brat if he had any other options available to him."
Chloe growls, pushing her seat back to teach Bloom a lesson…only to have her feet fly out from under her as soon as she gets in the aisle, landing on her behind with a solid thud. The entire classroom erupts into laughter at that.
Adrien sits down next to his desk-mate again, who says "Dude, you want to know why everyone keeps saying 'your friends with Chloe?' That's why, right there. Bloom Peters' description of her. Why didn't you say it was all Chloe's idea with the gum in the first place?"
Adrien sighs, and says "I've known Chloe since we were little kids. I know she's not perfect - far from it, really - but for so long she's been my only friend. Just like Bloom said." And how Bloom knew that is another mystery, but not one he wants to deal with right now. While he'd like to say there's more to Chloe than Bloom's description…he's got no actual proof of it. He's not even sure there is anything more to her than Bloom's description.
After a minute, the boy in the red cap says "Well, I'm Nino, and I think its time you made some new friends." Adrien smiles gratefully, shaking Nino's hand at once.
Bloom, meanwhile, is trying to decide if the universe has a sick sense of humor or not. Her two partners are also two of her classmates, and one is Adrien Agreste. He the son of Gabriel Agreste, the owner of the abandoned warehouse she lives in. And he's Chloe's friend.
Wonderful.
At least he's more than Chloe made him sound like - daddy's boy, superstar, and her best friend.
When Adrien gets back into his room, after being told he'd be allowed to go to school so long as his bodyguard drives him and picks him up, he keeps his grades impeccable, and makes no trouble whatsoever, he finds a note in his bag that definitely wasn't there when he got into school. And the words look like they're burned onto the paper.
'CN, destroy this note somehow after you're finished with it, leave no trace behind. There's a quarry 10 miles east of the city. 7:00 pm. DF.'
Dragon Fyre somehow planted this note in her things sometime during school. Which means…she knows his secret identity now to. Adrien breathes out "Looks like she wasn't joking…" He's not sure whether to be relieved or worried.
Plagg takes one look at the note, and says "Uh…no. Looks like she wasn't joking." He sensed Dragon Fyre's aura all through school, seeing as they're in the same class at school, somehow he can't bring himself to be very surprised she found them so quickly.
Adrien incredulously asks "How did she even know who I am, though?!"
"Aside from the detail that pictures of you are all over the city from what I saw on that run to school? She's got magic."
"Alright, fair enough…"
'L, destroy this note somehow after your finished with it, leave no trace behind. There's a quarry 10 miles east of the city. 7:00 pm. DF.'
Marinette stares at the note in utter shock, Dragon Fyre was in the school with her. That might be how she knew her secret identity, honestly. She can already feel a massive headache coming on…
Tikki says "Only one thing to do, I guess. Head to this meeting." There's no use freaking out about the detail that Dragon Fyre apparently knows her Chosen's identity - especially since Marinette didn't do anything at all that would've given her away and by all accounts the Concealment magic of the Miraculous' should've worked once more. Also, Dragon Fyre has magic of her own...and is in the same class as Marinette.
That would do it.
Ladybug lands in the quarry Dragon Fyre wrote about, and sees she's already there…levitating a gigantic boulder five feet in the air. "Uh…" Now that is one heck of a superpower!
Even though Tikki said Longg couldn't have granted it to her.
"Me-wow, now that is some crazy stuff." Ladybug looks around, and sees Cat Noir balancing on the end of his staff.
"Tell me about it," she mutters, "she's just one big mystery, huh?"
Cat Noir chuckles, and says "You don't know the half of it. Did you get a note in your things to?"
"So, looks like she wasn't joking when she said she knew my identity…and that she'd know yours soon."
The boulder suddenly drops with a loud bang, getting both their attentions - they see her swing a sword, releasing a wave of fire, but it only shaves the top of the stone. "Oh, dangit! Why can't I do both?!"
Ladybug walks over, asking "What're you trying to do?"
Dragon Fyre whirls around, one fist on fire, then relaxes and says "Multitask, basically. Hold up a giant boulder and cut it in half. Two different tasks, much harder than just one or the other. Especially given the size of the boulder."
Cat Noir glances at the flat top of the giant rock, and says "Well, it seems pretty impressive no matter what."
Dragon Fyre just shrugs, and says "I'm just glad it does what I want, some days."
Ladybug asks "So, why did you, er…call us out here?"
Dragon Fyre smirks, and says "One word. Training." At Cat Noir's look, she adds "What, you thought we were just going to magically be good at fighting overnight?"
Cat Noir shrugs, and says "Well, you sure seemed to be…" Plus, he was dodging all of Stoneheart's attacks fairly easily.
Dragon Fyre shakes her head, saying "No. The Miraculous' give us enhanced strength, speed, and endurance, but that doesn't mean you suddenly have the experience to fight. Or that you actually know how to fight. I suddenly gained magic over the course of an hour one night, yet I didn't just know how to use it."
"So…we're gonna fight?"
"We're gonna spar, big difference. No powers, so we don't time out, but everything else goes."
Ladybug immediately says "No magic on us, then!"
Dragon Fyre smirks, and says "Alright, then. Hope you two are fast learners!"
They quickly learn Dragon Fyre does have experience in fighting, and won't hold back. She beats them black and blue, in the guise of a training session, but sticks to the rules to the letter - no magic, no secret abilities.
Besides, they both know she's right - they do need to learn to fight if they're ever going to defeat Hawk Moth.
Cat Noir rolls his aching shoulders after his own one on one sparring session with Dragon Fyre - which hurt! - and sits down next to a sore Ladybug while saying "M'Lady, I think Dragon Fyre is a bit intense…"
Ladybug chuckles, and says "No kidding, Kitty. She's not wrong, though. Unfortunately…"
Cat Noir stretches, hearing a few pops in his back, and winces while saying "You got that right, Bugaboo." Ladybug groans at his attempt at flirting, pushing his arm off from around her shoulders and ignoring the rougish smile he sends her way.
The next day in school, Adrien walks into the classroom to find Marinette and Bloom sitting where Chloe and Sabrina usually sit - right behind him. And Chloe's yelling at Bloom, going off on her for…actually, he's not really sure what, precisely. "You think your so great? With your ten-years out of date clothes and your tough act?"
Bloom raises an eyebrow at her, and asks "You think I care what a shallow little girl like you thinks?"
Marinette says "I'm not putting up with your crud anymore, Chloe. And neither is anyone else! So take your attitude and go on, get!"
He gets the chance to apologize to Marinette after school that day, leaving her his umbrella to walk back home with since its pouring rain, and comes away with a happy smile on his face - he's got a friend, a real friend! Two of them, now!
And Ladybug and Dragon Fyre, to - though, they're friends with Cat Noir rather than Adrien Agreste.
Maybe Bloom Peters would like to be his friend to? Still, he's got friends!
AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up! Hope you like it! Oh, Adrien, you poor thing - honestly, I feel so bad for the kid! Shut away at his mansion all the time...its no real wonder he quite literally jumped at the chance to be Cat Noir. I imagine even school - or especially school, with so many people to be around - would be like an entirely different world. Which does bring me to something of a problem I recently thought of...Adrien's mysterious mother. We don't know much about her, really, even all the way in Season 4.
Adrien takes after his mother, both in looks and temperament.
Adrien says she was kind-hearted and loving, but he's also a kid...and she's an actress. It's entirely possible that she let him see what she wanted, or she could actually have been that way.
She disappeared sometime recently, since Adrien has a photo of her with him in it looking around the age he does now.
We know - SPOILER! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN STYLE QUEEN DO NOT READ! - she's under the mansion, in either a coma or dead...not really sure at this point.
And we know she's in her current state - AGAIN, SPOILER! - because of the Peacock Miraculous being damaged when she used it.
All that in mind, here's my problem...what the heck was she doing with the Peacock Miraculous in the first place? Not how she found it, but WHY was she using it? Why was Adrien basically locked up in the mansion all his life if she was there for so long? Was she a good person that was using the Miraculous for good, or was she a closet bad-guy who was secretly using it for her own ends? I've got no idea, and haven't got a clue which direction I want to go with that particular piece of the plot.
So...I'm gonna put up a poll. Is Emilie good or bad? Because...it may well affect whether or not she's alive.
Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon!