Leonardo, ch 1: Thank you for the well wishes for the year. I hope the same for you.
Guest 1, ch 1: We'll see if she does. I have a plan for Chloe.
Guest 2, ch 1: That's a good idea, but that's not going to happen here.
Qazse, ch 1: I am not going to discuss ships this early on, but I will say in Adrien's defense that he is not everything you say he is.
IJustShowedUp, ch 1: Glad you like the idea. I'm getting the starting chapters out then will space out the later ones.
Animechefgirl, ch 2: Thank you!
Guest 1, ch 2: As I said above, I have a plan for Chloe.
Guest 2, ch 2: I am not going to discuss ships this early on.
Leonardo, ch 2: There will be interactions between the main DP trio and the rest of their homeroom class as the story goes on. Actually, they ARE at Casper High, so there's still Dash and Lancer. Don't worry though, Dash will not get off easy for his bullying.
Guest 3, ch 2: Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Miraculous Ladybug. They belong to their respective owners. Any and all familiar dialogue is for the sake of the plot.
One Kind of Origin Story, Part Two
The next morning, Marinette reluctantly got up and ready for school. When she went down to the kitchen for breakfast, she saw that her parents were watching the news while preparing for the day. The news was still running the story about people turning into stone statues for those who missed it the previous night.
"Don't worry, Marinette," her father, Tom, reassured her when he saw the sad look in her eyes. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Phantom will find a way to fix this."
"But what if they can't? What if more and more people get turned to stone?" Marinette looked up to him.
"Well, if it comes down to that, I'll make sure that never happens to you. Me and your mother both. We'll protect you just like those superheroes. Super Baker to the rescue!" joked Tom, brandishing a loaf of bread as a pretend weapon.
The joke seemed to work because a small smile appeared on Marinette's worried face. "Thanks, Super Dad. I'm going to go get my stuff and head to school." She ran back upstairs to grab her backpack, and she momentarily glanced at the box containing Tikki's earrings before deciding to take it so she could pass them onto someone more worthy of being a hero.
In spite of his failure to enter the school yesterday, Adrien didn't give up on his intention to attend public school. He didn't sneak behind his father's back and get Chloe's help to register all for nothing.
"You're a really weird kid," Plagg commented, briefly popping out of Adrien's shirt as the boy ran down the street towards Casper High. "What kind of kid wouldn't want to stay home and not go to school?"
Adrien smirked playfully. "You don't get it, Plagg. All my life I've been locked up in my house by my father. I want to go out and make friends."
Plagg rolled his eyes, going back to his pocket. "I still think you're trading one lockup for another."
Everyone appeared to get over the initial shock from Stoneheart's appearance because most of the students were back on school grounds that morning. Among them included Danny, Sam, and Tucker.
"Huh. I would've expected some of these guys would stay home considering how crazy yesterday was," Danny mused, looking around the campus.
"I bet some of them tried to stay home, but their parents made them come anyway," Tucker commented. "Though, I wouldn't put it past some of the more overprotective parents to have their kids stay home for a day or two."
"I agree with Tucker. Parents are always telling us to do stuff we don't want to do because it's for our education," Sam added in, shaking her head. When the trio stepped in the front door, she split off from the boys. "I'm going to talk to the principal. The cafeteria needs some more vegetarian options. Meet you at homeroom." [1]
As she went about her business, Danny and Tucker went to their lockers to wait out the bell.
Alya met up with Marinette on the sidewalk and immediately shoved her phone into her new friend's face.
"Look at this, girl! I uploaded the footage I sent to the news to my personal blog, and check it out- two thousand likes in one night!" Alya gleefully exclaimed.
"Wow, that's a lot." Marinette blinked at the view count, her face flushing red. She had known lots of people had seen her and the other heroes' battle with Ivan, but to see an actual number was slightly overwhelming.
"I know. People are going crazy for Amity Park's new protectors." Alya pulled her phone away from Marinette's face, not noticing the red in Marinette's cheeks as she scrolled down the page. "Some of the people that commented on my video are really excited for the mayor's plan to celebrate them this weekend. And here's the best part, with how big of a hit this was on my blog, I've decided to create a new blog exclusively about the heroes. I already started some groundwork for it last night, and it should be ready for the web by this weekend."
"That's great, Alya. I'm sure that they'll appreciate a blog dedicated to them," Marinette said, always one to support creations people liked.
Alya grinned. "Thanks! I've always wanted to go into journalism as a career when I'm older, but if this hero stuff continues, I could get an early start now. I could write articles about fights like the one yesterday, post videos, and all sorts of stuff."
"You sound like me talking about how I want to be a fashion designer. All that energy devoted to it, I like that," replied Marinette with a fond smile. Remembering what she planned to do this morning, she shifted to another topic. "Hey, Alya? If you could be a hero like Ladybug and them, would you do it? Be a superhero?"
Reaching the door to the school, the girls stopped.
"Are you kidding? Totally! I love superheroes, and wanted to be one since I was little. The powers to use, the enemies to face, and the story to be a part of, who wouldn't want all that?"
Marinette shrugged. "I don't know, maybe someone who didn't think they had what it takes?"
Alya's answer to her question proved further that she'd make a better hero than Marinette. She had the passion for the job, the guts to go into a dangerous situation, and the knowledge of how to be one. Somehow, she'd find a way to get the earrings to her today. The sooner Alya got the earrings, the sooner she could jump into the role that she desired.
"Wait, what's going on over there?" Alya pointed past Marinette, and they both saw some of their classmates from homeroom at a bench off to the entrance's side. It looked like Ivan was sitting on the bench, and their classmates were talking to him about something.
"I don't know. Let's go see." Marinette and Alya walked over to investigate.
"You really don't remember anything, Ivan?" Alix asked the boy on the bench.
"That's too bad," Juleka said with her shy smile, "you were awesome. You looked really cool."
"I'm just glad that you didn't crush me, dude," Kim added with a relieved sigh.
Ivan sighed, having heard endless similar comments and questions since becoming himself again yesterday. "I'm sorry. I wasn't myself."
Chloe snorted haughtily. "Well, serves you right. Once a monster, always a monster."
At that point, Ivan had enough and shoved off the bench, brushing past everyone.
"Ivan?" Marinette gasped as he pushed past her and Alya.
-LB-CN-P-
In his lair, Hawk Moth could feel Ivan's rising emotions. "Yes, feel the burn of those words. Lose your temper, Ivan. Reclaim your akuma." He tapped the sphere in the top of his cane, where the akuma that corrupted Ivan had returned to after multiplying across town last night.
-LB-CN-P-
The warning bell rang, and Adrien reached the entrance to the school as soon as it finished ringing.
His car pulled up to the curb, and Nathalie quickly got out.
"Adrien, don't do this!" Nathalie called after him. "Your father will be furious."
Adrien whirled around momentarily. "Tell him you were too late. Please!" Without delaying any longer, he finally entered the school he longed to attend in search of his homeroom.
Nathalie sighed heavily, getting back into the car. She met the Gorilla's questioning stare, and answered the unasked question. "I'll take care of it." Grunting in acknowledgment, the Gorilla drove them away. [2]
"That was a really cruel thing to say, Chloe. If anyone's the monster here, it's you!" Alya pointed at the other girl as they stood in their homeroom.
Chloe scoffed. "I'm the monster? Just because your footage of those lame superheroes got on TV last night doesn't mean you can start pointing fingers and call me names."
Alya growled, getting increasingly fed up with Chloe's behavior.
Seeing this, Chloe took the opportunity to mock. "Oh look out, everyone! She's getting angry. Soon she'll turn into a giant monster and attack us all."
In the back corner, Sam had enough and stood from her seat. "Chloe, do us all a favor and shut the he-!"
"Hey Chloe," Adrien greeted, entering the room and suddenly being swarmed by most of his new classmates.
"Adrikins!" Chloe instantly switched focus, and gave the new boy a hug.
Sam's jaw dropped in the classroom's back corner, as did Danny and Tucker's. "He actually showed up? She was serious?" Sam questioned in utter bafflement.
Ignoring the bell, Marinette sought out Ivan while Alya chewed out Chloe. She eventually tracked him down to his locker, and went over to him.
"Don't listen to a thing that Chloe says," she advised him. "She's said nasty things to me for the last several years, and I've never listened to them once."
"Nothing she's ever said to you was true, though." Ivan pointed out, closing his locker. "I was a monster."
"Only because you were ashamed of your crush on Mylene, which you shouldn't be."
Ivan looked at her, aghast. "You know?"
Realizing she may have accidentally outed herself, Marinette tried to make a quick cover. "Uh, yeah. I see the way you look at her, and I see the way she looks at you too. You both don't realize it, but you have a crush on each other. You should talk to her, and find out how she feels."
"I'm not good at talking," Ivan grunted, averting his eyes.
"Then write your feelings down instead. Like a poem, or a song," suggested Marinette. "Yeah, how about a song? I remember you being really good in music class." [3]
Ivan glanced at her, skeptical at her idea. "You really think Mylene would like a song?"
"Sure. What girl wouldn't like a love song written about her?" Marinette encouraged once she noticed his hope rising. "Go for it, and stay positive." Then the bell rang again. "Come on. We're going to be late for homeroom."
Grabbing him by the hand, she tugged him to their classroom.
-LB-CN-P-
"No! The negative emotions are fading!" Hawk Moth growled in his lair.
-LB-CN-P-
Back in Miss Bustier's homeroom, Adrien chatted with the students that swarmed him, occasionally signing something for them. In the back corner, Sam and her friends watched the spectacle.
"I can't believe Adrien Agreste is in our homeroom," Tucker said in disbelief. "Dude's a model."
"I know," Sam agreed, similarly stunned. "Why is he going to our school now?"
Danny shrugged. "Maybe Chloe tricked him into coming."
Eventually, Chloe pulled Adrien away from his new classmates and guided him to an empty seat in the front row next to Nino.
"Here, Adrikins. I saved you a seat, right in front of me." Chloe told him.
"Thanks, Chloe!" Since he missed the first day, Adrien had thought he would get stuck in the back of the room, but a seat front and center? Chloe really knew him well. He happily sat down in the seat, and noticed Nino next to him. "Hi, I'm Adrien."
Nino frowned at him. "So, you're friends with Chloe then?" He made a motion to Adrien's other side, and Adrien turned to see Chloe and Sabrina sticking a piece of gum on the seat Marinette had used the day before.
"Chloe! What are you doing?"
Chloe faced him, more than happy to answer. "The brat that sat here yesterday needs to be put in her place. I'm just making sure things are the way they're supposed to be."
Adrien frowned at his childhood friend's tone. "Is that really necessary?"
"Just watch, Adrikins. You've got a lot to learn about public school."
After Adrien had arrived, Alya went out to find Marinette and Ivan, finding them halfway back to class. "And then she said I'd become a monster next and attack everyone," Alya ranted as the three students returned. She grit her teeth. "The nerve of her."
"Don't let Chloe drag you down to her level," Marinette advised, walking beside her with Ivan on Alya's other side. "Show her you're above that."
"I'll try, but she's really making it hard and I've only known her for a day." While Alya stewed, Marinette discreetly slipped the box with the Ladybug earrings into Alya's bag.
They arrived at the classroom at this point, the final bell for class to start ringing above them. They halted when they saw Adrien picking at the gum Chloe had stuck on Marinette's seat.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Marinette demanded, raising her voice.
Adrien practically jumped, stammering to make a reply only for Chloe and Sabrina to laugh in their seats.
Marinette rolled her eyes, and moved over to her seat. "Very funny."
"No, no, I was just trying to take it off," Adrien attempted to explain, Chloe and Sabrina laughing harder behind him.
"Oh really," Marinette replied, getting the gum off and tossing it into the waste bin near Miss Bustier's desk. "Look, you're friends with Chloe, right? Just do the same thing I asked her to do, leave me alone." She took her seat, and started to get out her things.
"Why do people keep asking if I'm friends with Chloe?" Adrien asked nobody, and sat dejectedly in his new seat. There goes a chance at making a friend.
Seeing the hurt expression on Adrien's face, Nino nudged him with his elbow. "Why don't you just tell her that Chloe did it?"
Adrien sighed. "It's not that simple. Chloe, she's one of my only friends. Other than Sam. She's not perfect, but I can't throw her under the bus like that."
"You mean the Sam that's sitting back there?" Nino pointed over his shoulder, prompting Adrien to glance in the back corner, where Sam was talking in hushed tones with Danny and Tucker.
"Sam's in this class too? Huh, small world."
"Well, your world is about to get a little bigger." Nino extended his hand to Adrien. "My name is Nino, dude, and it's time for you to make some new friends." [4]
Adrien blinked at the sudden offer, and then smiled, accepting the handshake. "I'm Adrien."
On Adrien's other side, Marinette struggled to figure out where she knew the new guy from. "I know him, Alya, but I can't figure out where." She gasped in realization. "Of course!" Digging out her phone, she went online and pulled up a picture. "He's Adrien Agreste, the son of my favorite designer, Gabriel Agreste."
Alya looked over at the picture. "A model, daddy's boy, and Chloe's friend? That's just asking for trouble."
At that point, Miss Bustier entered the room and stood in front of the students, who took their seats upon her arrival. "Sorry I'm late, class. The staff was having an emergency meeting about yesterday's… event. First I'll take roll call, and then we'll talk about the situation regarding these sorts of events if they are to happen again."
The rest of the period went without a hitch. When roll was called, Nino had to tell Adrien to reply with 'present' when his name was said, causing the homeschooled model to jump out of his chair and do exactly that before the moment passed. Once Miss Bustier gave a rundown about what the staff is considering for the akumas if more come, the class was free to do as they pleased within the classroom. Despite Chloe's cries for attention, Adrien got invested in a conversation with Nino about their hobbies, and Nino even shared some of his music with his new friend. Ivan sat quietly at his desk, scribbling down a love song as Marinette had suggested, while everyone else began hushed discussions about the heroes that had shown up in town.
The bell eventually rang, and students moved onto their next period. On her way to her next class, Mylene took a detour to the girls' restroom, but wasn't as quick about it as she would've liked.
"Oh no! I'm so late!" Mylene panicked, rushing out of the stall when the bell rang again. She was just leaving when she nearly bumped into Ivan. "Ah! Ivan, you almost scared me!"
"I wrote a song for you," Ivan said, holding up a sheet of paper.
"That's nice, Ivan, but can it wait? We're going to be la-." Mylene tried to leave, but then Ivan started some heavy metal music and sang to it.
"Mylene, be serene," Ivan began to sing rather horribly, "I want to show you what I mean!"
If Ivan intended on serenading Mylene, it wasn't working. The girl had clapped her hands over her ears to block out the tone-deaf vocalizing, and that wasn't helping. Turning away from Ivan, she ran off to her next class. Ivan stopped abruptly, watching his crush run from him, almost like she was afraid of him.
Like he was a monster.
He slumped over. Forget class, he wasn't going after that. Shoving the boys' restroom open, he locked himself in a stall to lament. The paper with his lyrics crumpled in his palm.
-LB-CN-P-
"Yes. This is what I was waiting for," Hawk Moth said with a vicious grin. Releasing the akuma from his cane, he continued, "Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize him!"
It was almost like yesterday was repeating. Ivan was in a bad mood in a bathroom stall, a sheet of paper crushed in his hand, and an akuma slipping in through the window. The akuma entered the paper, re-establishing the connection between Ivan and Hawk Moth.
"This is your second chance, Stoneheart," Hawk Moth told him. "This time, you'll have extra help. No one will stop you from capturing the love of your life. Of course, in return, I ask that you retrieve Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."
"Yes, Hawk Moth." Ivan replied, and the dark purple energy washed over him.
-LB-CN-P-
After being late to science class with Miss Mendeliev, a rather stern teacher nobody in school liked, Mylene tried to keep her head down to avoid attracting attention. After the incident in the hall with Ivan, she just wanted to hide.
Marinette, who shared the same class with her and a few other homeroom classmates, seemed to notice Ivan was conspicuously absent when he had clearly been in class during homeroom.
"Uh, Mylene, do you know what happened to Ivan?" Marinette asked her from where she was sitting next to Alya.
Darn, so much for not attracting attention.
Mylene struggled to answer the question in a way that didn't mention the incident. "Uh, well, you see… I was coming out of the bathroom, and might have seen-!"
A familiar rock monster crashed through the wall. Several students cried out, diving for cover.
"Mylene!" The monster roared. He found his target, and snatched her up.
"Let me go, Ivan!" Mylene protested.
"I'm not Ivan anymore. I'm Stoneheart!" Stoneheart corrected, turning to exit through the hole he had just made.
"Why are you doing this?" Mylene pleaded, attempting to keep him from leaving.
"So you and I can be together forever!" Stoneheart was about to jump out the hole when he heard a shrill cry.
"Daddy, the monster is back!" The akuma whirled around to see Chloe huddled beneath her desk, her phone to her ear. She looked up as Stoneheart turned over her desk, and screamed when the rock monster snatched her up.
"Put us down, Ivan!" Mylene demanded again as Stoneheart finally jumped out of the building.
Ignoring his captive, Stoneheart started going down the streets of Amity Park with his two captives in hand.
Back in the science class, Alya was already picking up her phone. "Let's follow it," she told Marinette, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Uh no… I'd rather stay here," Marinette declined reluctantly, crouching behind a desk.
"But you're going to miss out on the action."
"I think you and the heroes will be fine without me." Marinette held out Alya's bag, which contained the earrings.
Alya shrugged in reply. "Suit yourself." She dashed out of the classroom to catch up with Stoneheart before he got too far.
"Alya, wait! You forgot your bag!" Marinette gave chase.
Miss Mendeliev raised her hands in frustration as students began fleeing left and right, including Adrien, who went to go find a place to transform. "Honestly! Are we going to be interrupted every day now with this happening?"
In another classroom, Danny, Sam, and Tucker had seen Stoneheart carry Mylene and Chloe away through a window. They knew what Danny was thinking.
"I think now's a good time for a bathroom break," Danny said.
"Good idea. We'll cover for you," Tucker agreed.
While Mr. Lancer tried to calm down the students and continue the lesson, Danny slipped out unnoticed. He found the nearest boys' bathroom, making sure no one else was around before a glowing ring formed around him, splitting into two going up and down his body, transforming him into Phantom. Going intangible, he flew through the wall and out into the open sky.
"Ivan, where are we going?" Mylene tried to ask Stoneheart as the rock monster rampaged through Amity Park.
"Somewhere high," Stoneheart bluntly answered. "And it's Stoneheart!"
"Pretty sure astronauts are the highest we can go," Chat Noir quipped as he arrived on the scene. "But, if you want to reach for the stars, be my guest."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Finally. Get me away from this hideous monster. Do it!"
"I'd try, but I can't attack without making him get bigger," Chat Noir apologized. "Don't worry, though. Ladybug, Phantom, and I will find a way to get you both free."
At that point, Phantom arrived. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nope. But it looks like this time we've got a hostage situation," answered Chat Noir.
"Two against one isn't fair," Stoneheart grunted. "Time to fix that." His eyes began to glow.
"What's he doing?" Phantom asked, tensing for anything.
All around Amity Park, those who were turned into Stoneheart lookalikes the night before began to move, heading towards where Stoneheart was. Soon enough, the two heroes were starting to become surrounded.
"It looks like he was doing that- summoning his army," Chat Noir said.
"Okay then, strategic retreat." Phantom picked up his teammate, and took them both up to a nearby roof, getting the Stoneheart minions to pursue and attempt to climb the building to reach them.
Chat Noir looked around from his new vantage point. "Where's Ladybug?"
With the heroes cornered, Stoneheart continued with his mission.
"What are you doing?" Mylene spoke up, struggling in the mosnter's grip.
"Delivering a message," Stoneheart answered, heading towards the taller buildings in Amity Park, meaning the ones downtown.
"To who? My father?" Chloe inquired snottily. "Because my father's the mayor, and when he finds out you kidnapped me, he's going to bring in the best reinforcements money can buy."
Chat Noir looked to Phantom for a plan. "What do we do?"
Realizing he had an advantage over the minions, Phantom decided, "Stay here and fend off the sidekicks. I'll go after the big guy." Without waiting for a reply he flew after the rock monster and his captives.
"Not sure if I'll be enough against these guys, but I'll give it a try," Chat Noir admitted, taking his baton in hand and jumping into the fray.
Back at the school, classes were thrown into a frenzy by Stoneheart's reappearance. Even though he had only attacked one classroom, the ruckus was enough to distress everyone. Using the mayhem as their chance to slip out, Sam and Tucker moved to leave the school to try and catch up with Danny. On their way to the exit, Jazz came running up to them.
"Guys, where's Danny?" Their friend's older sister inquired.
"Probably hiding in a bathroom somewhere," Tucker answered as Sam nodded along with the response, "that's what he did yesterday."
"Could really use that Lucky Charm of Ladybug's right about now!" Chat Noir dodged another swing from one of the stone minions. With Phantom having flown off, Chat Noir decided to try and see if he could find Ladybug, but Stoneheart's minions were making it difficult to go anywhere. He made the mistake of hitting one with his baton, and found they were just like the original. Hitting one made it bigger.
Alya arrived on the scene, ready to film, but first took a moment to search for Ladybug. "Where is she?"
One of the minions noticed her, and proceeded to chuck a parked car in her direction when she wasn't looking. Luckily for her, Chat Noir noticed and threw his baton to obstruct the tossed car. Instead of crushing her, the car merely trapped Alya against a wall without a way to get out.
Marinette had just rounded the corner with Alya's bag in hand when she saw what happened to her friend. "Alya!" she gasped.
"Help!" Alya screamed.
Ducking back behind the corner before she was seen, Marinette took a brief look at Alya's bag.
So much for my idea of passing the Ladybug Miraculous onto her.
Nobody else Marinette knew had the drive to be a hero like Alya did, and even if she knew someone else, she didn't know where to find them on such short notice.
"Ladybug! Phantom!" Chat Noir's voice called out.
Marinette peeked around the corner, and saw that one of the stone minions had captured the cat hero without his baton.
They both need me, and I don't even know where Phantom is and what he's doing. I'm the only one who can help.
Mustering up the courage, she pulled the box out of Alya's bag, and put the earrings back on. When both were in place, Tikki returned.
The little kwami smiled when she saw that it was Marinette who wore the earrings. "I knew you'd come around."
"I'm still not sure about this, but right now, I'm the only one who can help. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette invoked the transformation, this time more accepting of the feeling washing over her.
She hadn't paid attention the first time around, but this time, she could feel the warm and creative feeling that came with creation. It felt like her mind was coming up with millions upon millions of ideas that only she could make a reality. The sensation was similar to what she felt when she was struck with inspiration for her fashion designs. Before, she wasn't sure what to think, but now, it felt right.
She felt right. She felt like she could take on anything thrown at her.
Rounding the corner, she immediately went to work. Tossing her yo-yo, she pulled the car away from Alya.
Alya grinned when she saw her rescuer. "Ladybug, I knew you'd come!"
Retrieving Chat Noir's baton, she threw it to him. "Chat Noir!"
Chat Noir caught his weapon despite being captured, and extended the baton to escape the minion's grasp. [5]
"It's not safe here. You need to go," Ladybug informed Alya, who looked put out at being told to leave. When Chat Noir rejoined them, she put on an apologetic smile. "Sorry I'm late."
"Hey, until the bell rings, I'm pretty sure you're right on time," Chat Noir replied with a warm smile and a wink.
"Ladybug, the original Stoneheart!" Alya prompted, ignoring Ladybug's order.
Ladybug nodded. "Right. We need to find him and break the object with the akuma. If we take care of him, we take care of all of them. Where is he?"
"I got wrapped up fighting the minions," Chat Noir said, "but Phantom said he was going after him."
Bringing up her yo-yo, Ladybug tapped into the computer function. Alya couldn't help but peer over her shoulder.
"Wow. You can access the Internet through your yo-yo?" The eager blogger inquired. [6]
"I'm tapping into the news to see if Stoneheart is on it. If they've found the original, we can find Phantom and- oh, here we go." Ladybug clicked something.
The video showed Stoneheart climbing up a building downtown, one bearing the company name of Vlad Co. The police and the media were already on the scene, according to the newsfeed. The police were barricading the area surrounding the building, and the media circled around in a helicopter for the best angle. [7]
Mylene screamed as the monster ascended higher and higher.
Phantom flew up beside him, yelling, "Hey! Couldn't you pick somewhere else to climb?"
Grunting dismissively, Stoneheart swung his arm out, which Phantom had to dodge.
Mylene reached her arms out to Phantom in vain. "Save me!"
"No! Save me first! My life is worth way more than hers!" Chloe called out.
The situation was so bad that even Mayor Bourgeois was involved.
"I demand my daughter's safe return!" The mayor shouted through a megaphone, completely ignoring that his daughter was only one of two prisoners.
Chloe heard her father's command, and yelled out pleadingly, "Daddy!"
The shrill pitch of Chloe's scream irritated Stoneheart.
"You know what? Fine! You can have her!" Stoneheart conceded crossly, and managed to chuck the hotel heiress away while keeping Mylene and the akuma item in his grasp.
"No!" Phantom dove after Chloe. He quickly caught up to her, and gathered her in his arms. When he was sure he had her, he carried her over to her father and the police, setting her on her feet.
"Finally," Chloe grouched, wiping at her clothes with her hands and sneering at Phantom. "I should've been rescued a while ago. And don't get me started on your ridiculous costume, it's utterly ridiculous."
Phantom only had a moment to glare at her rude remarks before Mayor Bourgeois intervened.
"Sweetums!" He hurried over to his daughter.
"Daddy!" Chloe practically jumped into his arms.
"The mayor's daughter is safe! Prepare to fire at the monster!" Lieutenant Raincomprix ordered behind them.
"No, stop!" Ladybug and Chat Noir landed next to Phantom, while Alya reached the crowd of bystanders. The red and black heroine stared at the officer sharply. "Stoneheart still has Mylene, and if you attack him, you'll only make things worse."
"She's right. Every time Stoneheart gets hit, he grows bigger. We don't want that to happen," Chat Noir added.
"Why should we let you take care of this? You already messed it up once," Officer Raincomprix rebutted.
Ladybug's confidence wavered, and she bowed her head to her teammates. "The officer is right. If I had captured Stoneheart's akuma in the first place, then none of this would have happened."
"He's wrong. Sure, you messed up on your first try, but who wouldn't?" Chat Noir tried to reassure her. "You still have a chance to make things right. Without you, without us, Ivan and Mylene don't stand a chance. We can do this." He gave a confident smile to the other two heroes.
Ladybug and Phantom smiled back, the former's especially bright once she got her conviction back. The moment ended when they heard a loud, almost painful cry.
Everyone looked up at Stoneheart, and saw that he had risen to the rooftop of the Vlad Co building. Standing tall on it, Stoneheart somehow vomited dozens of akuma butterflies from his mouth. The butterflies gathered, making a shape that vaguely looked like a face.
"People of Amity Park, I am Hawk Moth," the butterfly face stated loudly.
"Hawk Moth…" All three heroes murmured under their breaths.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring now. You've done enough damage to this town," the face continued.
Ladybug's narrowed eyes gave way to a smirk, and the spotted heroine stepped forward. "Nice try, Hawk Moth, but we know who the real bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. No matter how long it takes, we will find you, and then you'll hand over your Miraculous." Throwing her yo-yo, she pulled herself up to the building and started swinging the weapon around, catching all of the akumas in it. "Time to de-evilize!" Once she caught them all, she grinned down at the crowd watching her. "Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Phantom will do everything in our power to keep you safe." With a swiping motion over her yo-yo, she opened it again and released all of the akuma butterflies, this time they were all glistening white like before Hawk Moth imbued them with his dark energy.
The crowd cheered, including those across the city who were watching the newsfeed that the media was broadcasting. Alya arrived as everyone applauded Ladybug, having snuck around the stone minions, and readied her phone to record.
"Wow," Chat Noir breathed, getting Phantom's attention. "Whoever is underneath that mask, I love that girl." Phantom didn't quite know what to say to that, so he settled for rolling his eyes playfully at his teammate.
"Agh, heroes! Stoneheart, they'll try and take away your loved one. Get the Miraculous before they take her," Hawk Moth instructed from his lair.
"Yes, Hawk Moth," Stoneheart obeyed, reaching out to grab Ladybug. She yelped, dodging to the right and away from the edge of the roof.
"We'd better go help her out," Phantom told Chat Noir before flying up to help.
"Let's do it," Chat Noir agreed, using his baton to spring himself up.
"Help!" Mylene called out helplessly from Stoneheart's fist.
"Nobody is taking Mylene from me, nobody!" Stoneheart roared. "Stone minions, to my side."
Alya was the first to realize what Stoneheart was talking about, lowering her phone, and looked down the road she had come from. "Uh, everyone? We might want to scatter."
Everyone turned and saw what she was talking about. The stone minions were coming down the street in droves. Screaming for their lives, everyone started splitting off, except the police, who tried to stay where they were.
"Looks like we're about to have company!" Chat Noir called to his teammates when he saw the minions. "What do we do?"
Phantom floated beside his teammates as they dodged the arm swats from Stoneheart. "We already know where the akuma is. He already climbed up with one hand, so it must be in the same hand that has Mylene."
"So, how do we get it?" Chat Noir prompted. "And we need an answer fast. I don't think this building can stand so many rock monsters climbing it." To prove his point, the stone minions were climbing over themselves to get up to the roof, and the Vlad Co building was starting to show cracks in the foundation.
Ladybug thought for a moment, and realized. "By bringing Stoneheart and Mylene closer together. They both like each other, but they don't know it yet."
"Any idea where she's going with this?" Phantom asked Chat Noir.
"Nope, but I trust her," Chat Noir answered with a grin. "I'll follow your lead, milady."
"My lady?" Phantom repeated, and then shook his head.
"Help! I'm scared of heights!" Mylene pleaded after teetering over the edge once.
"Everything will be alright!" Ladybug comforted her, jumping up to the top of an antenna. "Lucky Charm!" She threw her yo-yo in the air, and it came down with a new red and black object. "A parachute?"
The Vlad Co building began to crack even further.
Phantom saw the damage, and yelled, "Ladybug, if you've got a plan, make it quick!" He flew out of range of a minion that tried to grab him.
Ladybug stared at Chat Noir distracting the original Stoneheart, Phantom flying around, and formed a plan. "Chat Noir, the akuma! Phantom, get Mylene!" Buckling the parachute on herself, she threw her yo-yo around Stoneheart's hand that held Mylene. Pulling, she managed to get the hand to force Mylene to Stoneheart's lips. Both the girl and the rock monster's eyes widened with shock. Instinctively, Stoneheart let go of Mylene, and accidentally, the akumatized object.
Phantom swooped in, and caught Mylene in his arms while Chat Noir jumped down to bat the object back up to Ladybug with his baton.
"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir slapped his hand on the side of the building, making a stray beam of framework crack out the side and give him a place to latch onto before he fell all the way down to the ground.
The building started to collapse right as Ladybug secured the object with her yo-yo, breaking it and releasing the akuma. Stoneheart reverted into Ivan, and Ladybug jumped off the antenna to dive after him. Once she secured an arm around Ivan, she threw her yo-yo at the akuma, capturing it at the same time. Immediately after it was caught, Ladybug activated her parachute, allowing her and Ivan to descend safely. Phantom and Mylene joined her and Ivan on the street as she purified the akuma.
"Bye-bye, little butterfly," Ladybug bid farewell to the cleansed insect. Then, she picked up her discarded parachute, and called, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
The Lucky Charm morphed from the parachute into a magic swarm of ladybugs that spread out across the city. Everything that was damaged during Stoneheart's last two fights were fixed. From the bathroom broken at school the day before, to Vlad Co, it was all returned to as if Stoneheart didn't even happen. Even the stone minions were returned to their human selves, though they were confused when they noticed that they were in a different location from when they last remembered.
The three heroes, along with Mylene and Ivan, all stared in wonder as the magical ladybug swarms flew all around them fixing stuff.
"This is so beautiful," Mylene said softly.
"It's more than beautiful," Ladybug corrected her gently, "it's miraculous."
"This isn't over, Ladybug," Hawk Moth vowed in his lair as he watched the restoration went on. "You, Chat Noir, and Phantom may have won the battle, but I will win the war. I will get your Miraculous, and I will get the absolute power. Then, I will get my wish!"
People dispersed from the Vlad Co building. The police cleared up their barricade and returned to their business, and the only people to remain in the area afterwards were the three heroes, Ivan and Mylene, and Alya, who had taken the chance to talk with the news team about possibly getting her footage on TV again before they left to return to their studio. Chloe had left earlier with her father after the police cleaned up.
Ivan and Mylene weren't sure what to do after going through what they did, but Ladybug had an idea.
"I think you two need to talk about a few things," she told them, and Ivan blushed immediately, picking up what she meant. As he stammered to get the words out, Ladybug held up the cleansed sheet of lyrics. "Maybe it would help if you read the lyrics to Ivan's song," she advised Mylene, handing the paper to her.
After a moment of reading, Mylene smiled brightly. "Wow! It's a shame that you can't hear them when you scream- I mean, sing. They're really beautiful."
Ivan sighed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry I scared you. I'm not really good at singing."
Mylene giggled. "No, but you are good at writing. Thank you." She surprised Ivan with a hug, making the boy blush further.
"So made for each other," Ladybug asserted after watching them for a moment. The pair walked over to Alya, all three agreeing to head back to school together.
"Kind of like us," Chat Noir flirted, leaning in towards Ladybug.
Ladybug's earrings beeped, making them both and Phantom flinch. Recovering, Ladybug said, "Looks like it's time to split. See you, Chat Noir. Bye, Phantom! This lady's got to bug out." Running off, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and disappeared over the rooftops.
"Can't wait, milady," Chat Noir said even though she was no longer in hearing range, and gave a polite bow.
Phantom snorted playfully. "You're totally crushing on her, aren't you?"
"How can you not be?" The cat hero got a dreamy look on his face. "She's smart, brave, and kind. The best kind of girl there could be."
"You've really got it bad," Phantom said with a teasing smirk. He jumped into the air. "Well, gotta go. See you next time!" With that, Phantom flew off in the direction of Casper High.
"This is my life now," Chat Noir said to himself, watching his new teammate go. "School. Superheroes. I love it all." Realizing he should get back as well, he used his baton to reach a nearby roof.
Once word had spread that the monster had disappeared, classes started up again. Several students bailed from school after Stoneheart had shown up with no intentions of returning for the rest of the day, so there were plenty of absences. After lunch, the students that were still there attended their afternoon classes. Jazz had tracked down Danny to check on her little brother, and he lied that he had been hiding in one of the boys' restrooms the whole time. Marinette managed to convince Alya that she had stayed behind at school, and handed her new friend her bag back when she returned. Adrien thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon classes, and the enthusiastic high he was riding from the morning's events allowed him to politely deal with all the attention from his classmates that were familiar with his work. Ivan and Mylene's return to the school was not without scrutiny. Those who knew Ivan had been Stoneheart threw him looks, but he kept his head down, hoping everything would blow over. Though, Ivan and Mylene seemed to be working out, there was one other person involved that needed to be addressed.
"Hey, Kim?" Marinette walked up to Kim at his locker near the end of the day.
Kim put together his backpack for the night, and looked up at his classmate's arrival. "Oh hey, Marinette? What's up?"
Marinette leaned against the locker next to Kim's. "I heard through the grapevine that you gave Ivan a mean note about his crush on Mylene, and that was what made him turn into Stoneheart yesterday. Is that true?"
Frowning guiltily, Kim stared at the floor. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Don't you think that you should apologize? If I were Ivan, and I got a note like that, I'd want whoever wrote it to apologize to me."
"I don't know if I can."
"It'll be okay. He and Mylene might've worked something out, from what I saw earlier when they came back." Marinette frowned sternly. "But, what you said could've really hurt Ivan, and could've possibly ruined his chances with her. You should tell him."
Kim thought for a minute, and then silently nodded in agreement.
It took a few minutes to find Ivan after that, and thankfully he hadn't left the school campus yet.
"Ivan," Kim spoke up, seeing Ivan head out the front door.
Ivan grunted, turning to see Kim coming up to him, Marinette in Kim's shadow. "What do you want?"
Kim rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that your feelings about Mylene were serious, and I didn't mean any harm. I was just teasing, you know? I guess I went too far, though, and that was wrong of me. Can you forgive me?"
Ivan's cold exterior softened. He could tell by Kim's tone that he was completely genuine, that he wasn't faking the sympathy. Marinette was even behind Kim, encouraging him to accept the apology.
"I guess," Ivan said at last before his eyes hardened slightly. "You really hurt me, and that's not cool."
"I know, and that's my bad." Kim agreed. "From now on, I'll try not to cross a line, but if I do, tell me."
Ivan thought for a moment, and then replied, "I will."
Kim smiled, relieved that he had been forgiven. "Thanks, dude. It means a lot. See you in class tomorrow, okay?" Walking past Ivan, he descended the front stairs and started to jog home. Remembering something, he turned back. "Thanks for encouraging me to apologize, Marinette. It felt really good." Without waiting for another word, he was gone for real this time.
"You didn't have to get him to do that," Ivan said to Marinette, "apologize, I mean."
"No, but it seemed like the right thing to do." Marinette gave him a warm smile, and Ivan left the campus in a good mood. Mylene came out of another door, and hurried over to him. Though she couldn't hear anything, she could tell by the pair's movements that they were arranging a meetup at a later date, when both of their families wouldn't be worried out of their minds like they inevitably would be today. Seemingly settling on something, they walked off side by side. [8]
"What a crazy day today was," said Alya, coming up beside Marinette. "I think today was even wilder than yesterday."
Marinette giggled. "Yeah, I bet. Sorry that you had to move to Amity Park right before things got so crazy."
"Don't be. I'm glad to be here, especially after seeing the superheroes and meeting you," Alya replied. "Anyway, you mentioned that your family runs a bakery. Mind showing me? I need to see for myself that the goodies you have over there are as tasty as you say."
"Oh sure!" Marinette beamed, taking Alya by the hand. "Come on. Home's this way."
Once the two girls were gone, Adrien stepped out the door, breathing in a deep breath and exhaling contently.
"This has been one of the best days of my life. Hopefully, I can come back tomorrow." Sending a glance back at the school, he started down the steps, and then saw the silver car waiting at the curb. With Nathalie standing beside it. "I am in so much trouble," he sighed.
The next day, Marinette and Alya approached the school.
"After they saw my footage on the news again, they gave me a big lecture about doing something so reckless twice and about doing it after they had already scolded me the first time," Alya was telling Marinette. "Long story short, I'm grounded in my room after school for the rest of the week. But on the upside, being stuck in my room gives me time to get that new blog up and running before someone else makes one. I've already got a name for it too. Since blog is two letters away from bug, and one of the heroes is called Ladybug, I've decided to call it 'the Ladyblog'! What do you think?" Alya asked as they entered.
"Ladyblog, huh? I like that. Clever word play," Marinette complimented. "But what about Chat Noir and Phantom?"
Alya waved a hand. "There'll be stuff about them on there too. It's just Ladybug is my favorite of the team, and she inspired the name, so why not?"
Marinette smiled warmly. "Well, if that's what you want to do, go for it. It is your blog."
"I guess Phantom is on my parents' radar now," Danny told Tucker and Sam as they reached the campus. "Ever since they learned about him yesterday, they've been debating back and forth if he's a person with powers like ghosts have, or if he's actually a ghost. Hopefully after a while, they'll see he really just wants to be a helpful ghost hero instead of a spook with bad intentions, but I wouldn't hold my breath at this point."
"And if they don't, we'll have your back," Tucker promised.
"Thanks, Tuck."
"What I can't believe is that Stoneheart guy wrecked the school twice, and nearly brought down an entire building. Good thing that Ladybug had the power to fix everything back to the way it was," said Tucker.
Sam pointed out, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean she, Phantom, and Chat Noir can get reckless, though. They should still be mindful of property damage. If it's the bad guy's fault, I guess that can't be helped, but the thought still stands."
"Speaking of stands," Danny changed the subject, "how'd your meeting with the principal yesterday go? You never told us."
Sam shrugged. "Not much to tell. I pointed out what year it was, how society is more aware of these things, and that we should make updates to the lunch menu to reflect that awareness. Before that attack, I was told to expect a response within a couple weeks, but now, I'll probably have to wait a month or something for the school board to get back to me."
"As long as you don't make anything drastic happen to my meat, I'm fine with whatever changes you make," Tucker responded.
The group went inside just as Adrien's car pulled up to the curb.
He sat in the back seat with Nathalie, and looked forlornly at Casper High. His father was on the video screen attached to the seat in front of him.
"You disobeyed me, Adrien. I want you to look at that school," Gabriel told his son. "You're never going back there-."
"Father!" Adrien desperately tried to protest but was cut off.
"Without your bodyguard. He will drop you off and pick you up every day." Gabriel continued, making Adrien gasp. The fashion designer nodded to Nathalie. "Nathalie has offered to organize your new schedule. You will be continuing your music, Chinese, fencing classes, and your photo shoots."
Adrien looked at his father's assistant, who made it a point not to look at him.
Aw, Nathalie really does care.
"Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien smiled gratefully at the screen. "Thank you, Father." His bag in hand, he rushed into the school with the last of the students before the warning bell rang.
Marinette and Alya entered their homeroom, and after the confidence booster of a battle she had the previous day, she got a brilliant idea in mind. Halfway to their seats they had taken originally, Marinette took a sharp turn and went to the spot Chloe had stolen from her. Alya grinned, getting the message and taking Sabrina's spot.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Chloe snapped upon entry with Sabrina. "That's my seat, Dupain-Cheng. Move!"
Marinette smugly rested her hands underneath her chin. "The only thing evil needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
Alya stared at her, stunned at first then proud. Marinette had used Majestia's motto.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe retorted with disgust.
Marinette stood from the seat she claimed, looking Chloe in the eye directly. "It means I'm done putting up with your crap, Chloe, and so is everyone else. So take your attitude, and get lost!" She pointed at the open seats she and Alya had left.
Most of the class laughed at Chloe being told off. Danny's group had just arrived in time to see Marinette stand up for herself, and Sam in particular gave an approving nod of her head.
"About time someone told you off," Sam said, getting a scathing glare from Chloe that didn't really bother her.
Turning her nose up at the rest of the class, Chloe stomped over to the open seats. If she couldn't sit behind Adrien, the next best thing was to sit next to him. Unfortunately, that meant Marinette was sitting behind him instead of her.
"Good job," Alya lightly bumped Marinette's shoulder in delight. As they went back to their corner, Danny, Sam, and Tucker all gave her approving signs.
Adrien was the last of the class to arrive, and the bell rang again, signaling class was going to start. He gave a friendly wave to Marinette, only for her to snub it. Slightly dejected, Adrien sat down beside Nino.
"Dude, you want to make friends, right? Just tell Marinette about the gum." Nino advised, pointing back at Marinette discreetly.
"But, what do I say?" Adrien asked, less confident in his day than he had been moments ago.
"Just be yourself."
Be himself and explain the situation? Yeah, Adrien could do that.
To the teachers' relief, they managed to get through the third day of school without any monster attacks interrupting classes. Everyone got to experience a normal day of school. They didn't know when the next attack would come, so they were grateful for the opportunity. As a result of the day going so well, nobody really minded when it started to rain at dismissal.
"Are you going to be okay getting home?" Alya inquired when she and Marinette neared the exit. "Nora texted me a few minutes ago saying that she was going to be picking me and the twins up."
Marinette assured her. "I'll be fine. Home is just a block away."
"If you're sure," replied Alya as she stared out at the curb. "Oh, I think I see her. See you tomorrow!"
"Bye!" Marinette watched her new friend run out to a car, and inwardly kicked herself. Why hadn't she remembered the forecast called for rain? She should've brought an umbrella.
Adrien came up beside her, taking out an umbrella of his own. "Hey," he greeted her, but she looked away. Sighing, Adrien opened the umbrella as he stepped outside. "I just wanted to let you know that I was only trying to get the gum off your seat. I've never been to school before, never had many friends. It's all new to me." Seeing she was facing him again and actually listening, he turned to face her fully, holding out his rain protection. "Here. You need it right now more than I do."
Marinette felt her cheeks redden. This new boy, who was handsome, was removing the gum instead of putting it there? And now he was offering her his umbrella? She had gotten him all wrong, hadn't she? Slowly, she accepted the handle. World open a hole and suck her up right now, get her out of this.
The umbrella suddenly snapped shut on her.
Not like that!
Adrien had been as surprised as her when it happened, but after a moment, he couldn't help himself. He began to chuckle. As Marinette struggled to get the umbrella off her, she found that it was kind of silly too and giggled along with him.
"See you tomorrow," he said kindly, walking to the curb where his ride was waiting.
"Uh, yeah! See you marrow- I mean, maroon- no, tomorrow! Whoa, why am I stammering?" Marinette collected herself when she became aware of her actions. Seriously, where had that come from? She never did that before!
Tikki, seeing that Marinette was alone, popped out of her purse. "I think I know why," the kwami teased playfully.
Marinette thought to herself as Tikki hugged her cheek. Could the kwami be right? Could she be starting to gain a crush?
As Adrien approached his car, Plagg poked out of his shirt.
"Second day of school, and we've already got two lovebirds," the cat kwami declared with a smug grin.
Adrien shook his head in amusement. "Whatever, Plagg. She's just a friend." Then it dawned on him. "A friend." A new friend, like Nino and Plagg.
Three friends in two days? He hoped he could get more as the year progressed. The more friends he had, the less alone he felt.
With that warming thought in his mind, he got into the car before he got wet enough to be reprimanded by his father for potentially getting a cold.
Marinette watched Adrien ride away, and then made her way off campus to head home, intending to return the umbrella tomorrow.
If she had observed her surroundings, she would've seen Fu and Wayzz observing them from afar. The old man and his turtle kwami believed they found the perfect holders for the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous.
It was shaping up to be the start of a great year.
In a dark office, calculating eyes examined the footage of the attack on the Vlad Co. building. While all three heroes caught their interest, Phantom in particular stood out to them.
"Another one? How intriguing," they said with a tone of greedy fascination. "I will have to find out more about this boy, and when I do, he's mine."
Okay, note time!
[1]- Obvious setup for Mystery Meat
[2]- In the original episode, the bit with Nathalie and the Gorilla came after a scene jump to the classroom. It seemed easier to get their bit done first before heading over to the classroom.
[3]- Kitty Section foreshadowing
[4]- In this universe, Adrien has history with Chloe AND Sam. More on that later.
[5]- I cut out Ladybug telling Chat Noir how to break free because I feel he is smart enough to figure that out on his own. A similar cut will happen during the Evillustrator episode.
[6]- An instruction manual, an oxygen mask, cellphone features, and Internet access? What can't these weapons do? Roast marshmallows?
[7]- Gee, I wonder who owns that building.
[8]- Something we never got from the original episode was an apology from Kim for his part in the Stoneheart fiasco. If it weren't for him, Ivan may have possibly not become the first akuma victim. Having Kim actually apologize was one of the many fixes I wanted to include.
Review in the box below, and remember, reviews are awesome!