If anyone remembers when the original version of this story came out, I was also working on a Power Rangers/Miraculous crossover, which has remained as one of my most popular stories of all time. Just a little fun fact for the week. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Timeturner
It came at midnight. A flash of gold darted through the hallways of the research building, its boots making almost no sound against the linoleum flooring. The golden being read the labels of each room it passed. Artificial Intelligence. Psychology. Break Room. It finally stopped at a door labeled Nanobot Development.
Inside, a pair of scientists were finishing the evening trials. They had done it. They created self-replicating nanobots. Those microscopic machines could take minuscule resources from the air, like dust, lint and other irritants and materials, break them down into the component parts, and rebuild them into new nanobots. The nanobots could then build complex structures out of themselves, whatever the person programming them could dream of. The scientists were confident that their breakthrough would usher in the future of nanotech. They were already thinking of ideas, like cancer therapy and cheaper production of inorganic resources, when the lights in the laboratory shut off.
"Go check the fuses," the senior of the two said. The younger member jogged off towards the circuit breaker. He opened the breaker and saw that the fuses were destroyed. He was about to call his partner over, but the visage of a mask and a burning red blade appeared in his vision, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream of horror.
"Hank?" The other scientist called into the darkness. She steeled herself and grabbed the nearest thing she could use as a weapon. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned, but nothing was there. Running to the circuit breaker, she saw Hank on the floor. Fearing the worst, she checked his neck. Good. He still had a pulse. Unconscious, not dead. Dragging her partner to a chair and desk, she propped him up in the chair and left him sleeping on the desk. Maybe he had been shocked, she thought. She was about to return to the set up when she heard whistling. It sounded familiar, but in the darkness, everything was unearthly and evil. The whistling stopped, cutting off the final note of whatever song was being used against the scientist, and she turned around.
A thing from a nightmare stood before her. A featureless face, bulky chest and shoulders, wings and tail, and a huge sword glowing red in its hand. The scientist steadied her screwdriver.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked. That late at night, internal security was not there at the building since it was impenetrable from the ground. She looked again, and it clicked. The wings. Oh. That's why, she thought when the creature spoke.
"None of your concern, Miss," the thing paused as it fingered her ID badge. "Janet? As for what I want, I want your nanotech. Specifically, the codes for it," the creature said, a strange accent on its voice.
"N- no, you can't have it," Janet stammered. "It's for the good of the world."
"Pity. I didn't want to do this again," the creature sighed. Janet realized that it was a mask when its eyes flashed orange. Janet slumped to the floor, completely unconscious like Hank.
Dragonus pulled the unconscious lady away from the spot where she fell and moved her to another table, where she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He rubbed his hands together.
"Now, if I were a flash drive with encrypted codes on controlling self replicating nanobots, where would I be?" he mused to himself.
"Check the computers, wiseguy," Vorath said inside his head.
"I wasn't asking you, it was rhetorical… never mind," Dragonus resigned. He had this same discussion with his kwami everytime he said something similar to that. He did check the computers and, lo and behold, it was there.
"You're welcome," Vorath said.
"Something actually helpful, please?" Dragonus asked. "Computer codes aren't superpowers."
"The helmet should have a USB slot on top of the head. Check there," Vorath replied. Dragonus found the port and inserted the drive. The codes began flashing along the heads-up display in his helmet.
"Now, how to control this?" Dragonus asked. He didn't have telekinetic powers… yet.
"I think that you could absorb some bots. That might give better control," Vorath suggested, but he also sounded unsure.
Dragonus nodded. "Siphon!" he cried out and the gold energy gathered in his hands. Putting both into the vat of nanobots, he felt them enter his suit's system, a sensation not unlike taking a pill.
Vorath grunted. "That seemed to work." Dragonus had to agree, but he wanted to test something.
"CANNONBALL!" he shouted as he jumped into the vat like it was a pool. His theory was right. The nanobots seemed to act like he was one of them, like how a white blood cell knows the beneficial bacteria from the harmful. Extending his will, which was understood by the bots as code, several billions of them were absorbed directly into the suit, getting into the tiniest of places for when he needed them. Dragonus climbed out of the pool. Focusing his will again, this time differently, he used a power all Dark Miraculous holders possessed. He opened a portal to a pocket dimension filled with junk and trash, then sucked all the remaining bots in the pool into it.
"Eat up, my technological prodigies. Make baby robots," he muttered. After receiving the programming, he closed the portal as the nanobots began to consume all the trash of the Pacific Garbage Patch.
Dragonus exited the compound on foot. He wanted to make sure the cameras would see him, if there were no late night guards on duty. He was lucky. There were late night guards patrolling the grounds, who noticed him as he took off, beginning the return flight home.
Entering silently through a window, Dragonus touched down in his bedroom.
"Vorath, Dragon Down," he said. The gold energy fell around Andrew, and his kwami flew up in front of him.
"We got lucky. The Dark Dragon Miraculous accepted the new technology, and the nanobots are now part of Dragonus," Vorath said triumphantly.
Andrew nodded, then yawned. It was about one in the morning. Luckily, it was Saturday.
"The nanobots will serve well. Part one of phase two, complete."
Changing into a t-shirt and fleece sleep pants, Andrew fell asleep immediately as soon as he lay on the bed. Vorath nestled himself comfortably on the pillow next to Andrew's head and started snoring softly.
That morning, Marinette was watching the news on her computer monitor, eating yogurt.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. I'm Nadja Chamack," the red headed reporter said. "Last night, a research facility reported a break in by a mysterious creature. With me here is senior research and development scientist, Janet Von Dane. Tell me, Miss Von Dane, what happened?"
The brunette woman wrung her hands. "I was working late with my partner, when the lights cut out. I told him to go check the fuses, and then a couple minutes later, I heard a scream. I ran over, checked on him, and moved him to a chair. When I returned to work, a nightmare creature was standing there. It wanted our research, and when I refused, I must've been hypnotized or something, because I woke up on a table, and the flash drive containing the codes for our project was gone."
"Does this sound like an akumatized villain to you, Tikki?" Marinette asked, nearly certain it was.
"Maybe, but why would any villain go after codes?" Tikki asked. Marinette was very sure it was an akumatized villain, but Hawk Moth only ever displayed interest in the Miraculous, and his victims in whatever made them turn evil.
"We should keep up our guard. Sabrina was like that when she got akumatized," Marinette said. She was about to transform and go on patrol when her phone chimed.
"Girl, guess what? Alix challenged Kim to a race again! She said last time wasn't fair since she got akumatized, but Kim said it was, so they're going at it! It's around noon," Alya said excitedly.
"Cool. I'll be there," Marinette replied. Checking the time, she changed and headed out to Trocadero Plaza.
Everyone from her class was there, except Lila and Andrew. Marinette heard mutters of "Let's hope no villains," "My bet's on Alix," and "Kim's so gonna win." Sliding next to Alya and Nino, Marinette kept her eye out for Chloé in case she caused trouble.
"Where's Andrew?" Adrien asked as he slid by Marinette. She tensed up.
Nino heard his phone buzz. "He said he was helping his dad move stuff, and he's sorry he can't make it."
Max was getting ready to start the race. "Three laps around the plaza, first to cross, you know the drill. Ready, set, go!"
The first two laps were perfect for Alix. Pulling ahead of Kim, she had him on the ropes until the third, when her skate went wide and rolled over a pebble, causing her to fall. Kim passed her, and in spite of her quick recovery, she lost by a second.
Alix had tears in her eyes. She lost because of a stupid pebble. And now Kim was showboating. She skated off into an alley, and just sat there, her emotions building up inside.
Dragonus stood on a rooftop nearby. Watching the race with disinterest, he had been experimenting with a way to use Hawk Moth's power. He wasn't lucky. He couldn't catch any insects, and other creatures were either too big or couldn't fly.
"Any ideas, Vorath?" Dragonus asked his kwami.
"Try using the nanobots around one of your scales. You might get lucky," his kwami replied inside his head. Plucking a small piece of his suit of his forearm - which he hated doing, but it had saved him many times, since the suit was divided into small scale-like bits which could peel off, but still hurts horribly - he willed the nanobots around his suit to condense into a small dragon creature.
About four inches long, this little gray dragon frame had a long tail which made up half the length, two small dragon wings, a three quarter inch long neck, and a tiny head with a nose horn and three spines on the back of the skull. Realizing the creature needed life, Dragonus silently swooped to a dandelion in a crack. Saying Siphon quietly, he absorbed the dandelion's life force - it was a weed anyway, he told himself - and transferred it into the frame. The little dragon shuddered as its eyes opened and its heart began to pump its new blood. Behind his mask, Dragonus had a triumphant smile. He created life. Extending his will to it, the dragon curled up in his palm. Dragonus put his other hand over it gently, so as not to crush the small creature. Motes of gold energy gathered around his hands, and when he opened them, the dragon was now a brilliant gold all over.
"Cute. You're like an akuma now. I think I'll call you a draconite," Dragonus whispered to his little creature. The draconite sniffed the air, picking on frustration, anger and sadness not too far from them.
"Fly, my little draconite, and create the first of my new stepping stones to victory!" Dragonus yell-whispered.
Alix was still in the alley when Dragonus's creature found her. Infecting her right skate, which turned gold, a golden mask lit up Alix's darkened eyes. The mask was dragon-shaped, the tail pointed straight along the nose, the wings framing the eyes themselves, and the head pointing up towards the hairline. A similar mask lit up Dragonus's visor and mouthplate.
"Hello there, Timeturner. I am Dragonus. You wish to undo your mistake. I will give you the infinite powers of time. But before you pursue your revenge, come to me," the draconic supervillain's voice buzzed in Alix's head.
"Yes, Dragonus," she said, a dark sneer crossing her face. Golden smoke covered her form. When it cleared, Alix looked like her Timebreaker self, but her greens were gold and her reds were bronze, while her skates were pure gold. Jumping from the alley, Timeturner found and knelt before Dragonus.
"Rise," Dragonus commanded his champion. "Now, hold still and don't resist." Calling on his power, he absorbed her time abilities. Perfect, he thought to himself, but before he could cut off the absorption, her memories and identity flooded into his mind. He grunted in slight nausea; this was his least favorite part. He learned of her first akumatization, and how she would be a superhero in the future. Bunnyx, he mouthed. Cutting the absorption, Timeturner was relinquished of her need for his presence. As she jumped down to intimidate her former friends and manipulate all of time, Dragonus smirked. He had her power, so, naturally, he was immune to any and all effects she created.
"C'mon, let's go do this already. I'm bored," Vorath whined inside Dragonus's mind.
"No," Dragonus said. "I need to see how the heroes react to the draconite. And if it can be purified."
Kim was still gloating over his victory when Timeturner arrived and paused him in time. The sides of her suit started to charge.
"Think you could beat me now, meathead?" Timeturner asked, then glared at her former friends. Marinette and Adrien ran off to hidden corners.
"I don't think the lab break in is related to this!" Tikki said. Marinette nodded. "It certainly isn't. We'll figure out the break in later," she promised. "Tikki, Spots on!" She transformed into her alter ego.
"Maybe we should destroy that pebble when this is over," Plagg said.
"We'll see," Adrien replied. "Plagg, Claws out!" Cat Noir vaulted out of his alley.
Timeturner had paused almost everyone and gathered their temporal energy when the super duo showed up.
"Hey, Clockwork, how about giving up now?" Cat Noir quipped.
"The name's Timeturner, and not when I'm so close to getting my victory!" Timeturner yelled, and she raced forward to pause the heroes and get their energy. Dodging swiftly, Ladybug and Cat Noir landed behind the villain. Hurling her yoyo, Ladybug attempted to snare Timeturner, only for her to pause time itself, move out of the yoyo's path, and resume time, leaving the yoyo to hit a paused Alya. Cat Noir then tried to smack Timeturner's skates with his staff, only for the villain to jump up and out of the way, snarling at the cat hero.
"Her skates! That's where the akuma is!" Cat Noir yelled. Ladybug was about to snare Timeturner's foot, but she missed and the villain managed to pause Cat Noir, and her suit fully charged.
"1.21 gigawatts of time power. Hasta la vista, Ladybug!" The villain smirked and raced off, her skates charging with gold energy around the wheels. Ladybug, in one last desperate bid, snared the villain around her waist, and was dragged into the past, to just before Alix tripped on the small pebble. The villain paused Kim, and Alix, surprised, moved around the pebble and won the race, but was too scared to celebrate, as the whole group ran off. Ladybug locked eyes with Marinette and mouthed, Snake. Get Viperion.
Marinette ran into an alley, transformed, and headed home. Digging the Miracle Box out of her hiding place, she grabbed the Snake Miraculous, and headed off to the Couffaine houseboat, where Luka was strumming away on his guitar.
Five minutes later, the future Ladybug had explained the situation to Cat Noir. The current Ladybug dropped in with Viperion, who charged his Second Chance. Both Ladybugs each called Lucky Charm, a bike chain, and while a few tries were unsuccessful, Viperion undid them all. The future Ladybug finally tangled Timeturner's legs in the chain.
"Cataclysm!" Destructive power charged in Cat Noir's hand, and he destroyed the left skate. Nothing happened, except a very angry Timeturner paused him, forcing Viperion to undo it.
"Cataclysm!" Destructive power charged in Cat Noir's hand.
"RIGHT SKATE!" Viperion yelled, changing Cat Noir's aim as he destroyed the right skate. The future Ladybug had opened her yoyo, expecting an akuma, but the appearance of a small golden dragon threw her off momentarily.
"The… thing! It's getting away!" Cat Noir yelled.
"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug yelled, shaking off the stunned feeling. But the small dragon was too quick for the yoyo as it flew away.
"Just use Miraculous Ladybug, that might get rid of it!" the current Ladybug suggested. The future Ladybug threw the chain in the air, undoing all damage and merging the two realities, as well as purifying Alix. But the small dragon creature wasn't purified, and it flew off into the distance.
The draconite had only replicated into a hundred copies when Dragonus called them all to him. Swarming around his body, Dragonus opened another portal to another pocket dimension, this one filled with infinite meat of all kinds and pools of fresh water. His draconites needed to eat in order to maintain power. He smirked to himself. The draconite couldn't be purified. This gave him just the edge he needed… when the time was right.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Vorath cautioned. "Tikki's owner will figure out a way to purify them. If Tikki's been with her for that long, she must be extremely creative."
"Creativity is not the apex of intelligence, Vorath," Dragonus replied.
"Next thing you'll say is the power of speech doesn't make you smart, either," the kwami grumbled.
"Well, it doesn't."
With Luka returning the Snake Miraculous, Cat Noir bidding his lady farewell, and no Timeturner clones to be seen, Marinette sat in her room, responding to a text from Alya. Tikki flew up. "We need to talk," she said.
"That dragon creature was too fast. I couldn't catch it. It also looked too big for my yoyo," Marinette said.
"Not about the battle. The dragon creature, though. It acted like an akuma, meaning either Hawk Moth expanded his animal range, or someone is using his powers," Tikki said.
Marinette was confused. "How?" Tikki looked down.
"Wait, Alya said something about that flying blob thing. Maybe that's what it was," Marinette reasoned. Tikki sighed with relief. If her suspicions were correct, though…
"Marinette, when Master Fu transferred his guardianship to you, you gained all the powers of a guardian," Tikki said slowly.
"Yeah," Marinette said. "Does that mean I can decipher the codes of the spellbook?" she asked eagerly.
Tikki nodded stiffly. "Sure!" She chirped. I will have to tell her soon, though.
Dragonus was at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The wind whipped around him, fluttering his wings. "Part two of phase two, complete," he said.
"Can we go now?" Vorath whined, clearly bored and wanting to finish phase two.
Dragonus admired the skyline for a bit. "Yes," he said, and snapped his fingers. The breeze came to an utter halt. The people and cars in the streets stopped moving. He checked a small pocket watch he had bought earlier. It was frozen at the four-twenty-one point on the watch. Time itself had paused, while he still moved. The true beauty of Timeturner's power. "The day the Earth stood still," Dragonus said softly, which would normally be barely audible during the hustle and bustle of regular life, but echoing across the frozen landscape of paused time. He opened a time portal, a power Timeturner didn't think to use. Then he stepped through.
His first destination was the second appearance of Stoneheart. Dragonus quickly absorbed his power, then opened another portal to the next villain.
He paused for a bit when he saw the frozen landscape of Rogercop's reign. Dark, dystopian, fear filled. This villain has style! he thought. He was also impressed with Dark Cupid's power.
It was about when Darkblade had made his debut that Dragonus realized he kept appearing at the Eiffel Tower. Either I need to aim better, or this place is of significant temporal power, he thought.
The rest of the trip was uneventful until Zombizou. At the time he emerged, several zombies were about a yard from where he exited. Dragonus shrieked, then took to the air so fast, if time were running, he would have broken the sound barrier. He was already in the upper stratosphere when he finally calmed down. He cautiously flew down, and absorbed the head zombie's power, muttering a few nasty curses under his breath.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?!" Vorath asked incredulously.
"I didn't expect the zombie apocalypse when I exited the portal!" Dragonus replied. "And don't bring up kissing now! NOT here!"
Again, nothing much happened until well into the battle of Heroes' Day. Dragonus absorbed the only new instances of power, like Rena Rage or Shell Shock. He also found Catalyst and absorbed her power as well. This all happened while he was muttering more curses and saying how this trip would have been shorter or how he could have made a one stop shop, and then growling in anger before going through the portal again.
The last final stretch of the trip was odd. His power kept warping forward, then back, getting powers out of order. "You're starting to run out of time juice," Vorath explained.
The third to last power he absorbed was the infinite destruction of Cat Blanc. Dragonus had to be extremely careful not to find out the corrupted hero's identity. He already had a pretty good guess, but he wanted to be surprised.
It took all of his willpower not to claw Miracle Queen's face open when he absorbed her power. And Dragonus prided himself on his extremely strong will.
He exited the portal at the same time he had entered it. His watch still showed the four-twenty-one point. He released time and sighed as contentment washed over him. At last, his trip through time was complete. He was much stronger than he was before, and he could feel the powers churning within him. Several of them he thought were useless, but a few definitely made the trip worth it. He remembered his grandfather's words. You will be the strongest one of us all. Now he was. Taking off from the top of the tower, he flew along the Seine, watching the wake he made along the top.
Dragonus landed in his bedroom, and de-transformed back into Andrew. Giving Vorath a piece of beef jerky, he sat down at his desk and looked at his monitor. On a split second decision, he typed in his password and opened a PDF. It showed a picture of a coat of arms, a shield with a dragon face and a ring, and under it was Latin scripture. Andrew couldn't read Latin, but he knew the meaning anyway. Warrior by day, protector by night, we gaze upon Earth with our clear sight. Those who challenge our sovereign might, beware the ring, our birthright.
"You know, that motto was written after your ancestor saved me," Vorath said.
"Yeah, he did," Andrew said. "You repaid him, you know."
"My debt is to your family. I swore loyalty to the family name, and all those who bear it," the kwami said reverently.
"One day, we will free the rest," Andrew promised.
"I just hope he's okay," Vorath replied, a worried tone in his voice. He flew over to Andrew's shoulder and rested on it. "You're the best Dragonus a Dark kwami could ask for, boss."
Andrew gave his tiny friend a hug. He needed one every now and again. "You don't have to call me boss. Just call me by my name."
Vorath seemed to feel better. "Thanks, Andrew."
"Now that we finished phase two, it's time to start planning phase three," Andrew said.
"They won't know what hit them," Vorath added.
Andrew laid in bed that night, several thoughts churning through his head. How did it all come to this? he asked himself. Was it something that happened in my childhood, or was it destiny? He dove into his memories.
As a young boy, Andrew had the life anyone could ask for. He had loving parents, a good babysitter and friend, good relationships with his relatives, a group of friends who stuck with him through thick and thin, and he somehow managed to attract a few girls. He was kind, funny, charming, charismatic, and honest. He did scouting for a few years, then moved onto other things like archery and, for a short time, fencing. He learned to play the guitar and could play a few songs on piano. All those activities were ones he had decided of his own will to do. The only activity his parents forced him to do was swim team. He didn't like it much, but in the long run, it was good for him. As he grew into his tweens, he started to take a bit more interest in keeping himself fit and healthy.
When he was around eight, for his birthday, he got his grandfather's ring, the one on his right hand. He tried it on, but it was a little too big for him at that age. "Don't worry," his grandfather had said. "We'll give it two years, then you can see how it fits then." It seemed like the longest two years of his life. When he finally turned ten, his grandfather fitted the ring onto his finger. "Still a little big, but definitely won't slip off," he had said. "You will be the strongest one of us all." When he returned home, the box his ring came in was glowing. He took it up to his room and opened it, shielding his eyes as the golden light bounced around his room. Once it cleared, a golden… thing with deep orange eyes, a bulbous head with five small spikes, dragon wings and a crocodilian tail floated in front of Andrew.
"Are you my bearer now?" Vorath asked. "What's your name?"
"Andrew," the boy said apprehensively, but couldn't contain his curiosity. "What's yours?"
"I'm Vorath. I'm a kwami. I can grant you superpowers. Yours is the power of absorption."
"How do I change?"
"Say Vorath, Dragon Up!" the kwami cried jubilantly.
Andrew repeated that sentence, and he transformed for the first time.
"What will your name be, now?" Vorath asked in his head.
"Goldenwing," Andrew replied.
Although similar to Dragonus, Goldenwing had a few key differences. His wings folded into a cape, he had an eye mask and mouthplate instead of a helmet, and he didn't have claws. His weapon, however, was the same.
"This is bulky. How do I fly?" he asked upon noticing the wings.
"I'll help," Vorath replied. Soon, the new Goldenwing soared over the Nashville skyline. Swooping down low, he saw crooks breaking into a TV store.
"I've gotta stop them," he thought. Diving low, he caught the thieves and tied them in the ropes they would have used to tie up the employees. The police arrived, and after an initial misunderstanding, the two parties decided to work together in keeping the city safe, from crooks and supervillains.
"You'll need a team," the Nashville police chief said. Goldenwing knew exactly who. For nearly half a decade after that, Goldenwing led the Doomslayers, composed of his four best friends, who knew his secret. Vorath taught him about the history and secrets of the Miraculous and Dark Miraculous, and which one he was. Andrew, upon watching Vorath break into tears while telling his stories, promised to help free Vorath's brothers and sisters in the Dark Box.
Andrew returned to the present. Perhaps it was destiny, he thought. What else could it have been? He was a good kid, his parents were good, his life was good. It was destiny, he decided. If destiny wishes for me to do these acts, perhaps I should go with the flow, see what life has in store for me. He glanced over at his sleeping kwami. His main group may be his best friends, but Vorath had grown to be a brother to Andrew, and vice versa. He didn't want to make his new friends lose trust in him, but he was doing this for everyone. His goal may seem outlandish and impossible, but if it will benefit the world, he would go to any lengths to see it through. If destiny wishes. He thought about one of his favorite songs. Don't turn away now, he thought. I won't turn away.
Another one fixed up to my liking. Special thanks to Elizabeththelast for giving me the idea to mention some of my OC's backstory (go check out her stuff, it's awesome!); I actually hadn't thought about it at that time. There are also tons of references to time travel or sci-fi in general! Leave me a review saying how many you caught!
This also took way longer to write (and rewrite) than I thought, so I hope you enjoyed. As always, tell me what you think, and stay safe, healthy and see you next week, y'all!