four a few weeks after Drakon's attack, Nathanael felt…off.

the normally quiet, tired artist now felt alive and full of energy, bursting to do something-anything-whether it was running, his workout, or trying to keep up with Rose during her evening hospital visits with Prince Ali. he even took care of several Akuma's before Chat Noir and Ladybug could even get suited up.

"it's because of the fights." Thor told him as he did pull ups in the rundown gym, looking at a silver coin that he slowly flipped in between his withered fingers, "the adrenalin, the thrill of battle, it's an addiction boy."

"so you're saying i want more fights?" Nathanael asked as he let go of the bar, stretching his back out.

Thor nodded, "it's my fault, partly," he grumbled, "pairing with this amulet usually makes your appetite for battle increase, but i won't accept all the blame, it seems you yourself have a taste for battle."

Nathanael nodded, "it's…exhilarating," he whispered,"to feel that power, to go into a fight and win…"

Thor grinned, "better then any drug you'll ever do kid." he said, his ears pricking up when he hears the door open, he looks over and sees Alix walk in, her eyes on the phone in her hand, Thor quickly morphed into his goat form and hid in Nathanael's hair as the pink haired girl looked up.

"so this is where you work out." she said, looking the shirtless teen over. her eyes dancing over his tensed muscles, slick with sweat.

"yeah." Nathanael said, finding it strange that he wasn't stumbling over his words like he had the last time she had found him working out, "my little temple of zen and peace."

she looked around, "this dump is your temple?" she asked with a snort, taking her jacket off and putting it on a hook, "i'd hate to see what your house looks like."

"hey, this place has it's own little charm." he said, slowly walking over to his shirt and putting it on.

"i'm sure it does tough guy." she said with an eye roll, a playful smirk spreading across her lips, "so what? i show up and your done working out?"

"can't over stay after i've done my routine," Nathanael said, "no matter what the pretty girl says."

Alix's smile faltered slightly, a blush blooming faintly in her cheeks.

Nathanael picked up his bag and started walking out, "see ya at school Alix." he said, smirking at her as he walked out the door.

"someone's getting smooth with the ladies." Thor said in amusement.

"i have no idea what you're talking about." Nathanael said as he walked down the street, pulling his phone out.

"mhmm…" Thor hummed, "what're you looking at?"

"Ladyblog" he said, "they got some good video of the fight…"

"watching your highlight reel?" he mused.

"yeah, seeing how i did…" he muttered, watching as he slammed his hammer into a colorful Akuma's head, sending him flying back into a building, "i actually look like a badass."

"that's the power of the Amulet, making you a force to be reckoned with."

Nathanael smiled, hitting the next video and raising an eyebrow when it was one of Alya herself.

"good evening ladybug!" she said in excitement, I know a lot of you are wondering who this new player is! well i'm here to tell you that he that he is Thor! God of Thunder! from the looks of it he hasn't collabed with Ladybug, but i'm very optimistic about a team up between him and our protectors soon!" she stopped talking as her window opened up and Ladybug came jumping in, "No way…Ladybug is standing in my ROOM!"

"Bonjour Paris," Ladybug said with a cheerful smile and a wave, "i actually came for your help Mademoiselle Cesaire."

"Of course! anything! what do you need?"

"we want to send a message to Thor, see if he'll meet us on top of the Eiffel Tower tonight after midnight, we need to talk with him and your Blog is the Best way to do it."

"You hear that Paris?" Alya gushed "looks like Paris' heroes would like to establish a rendezvous with Thor! so spread the word and lets see if we can't get him there! Bug out!"

Nathanael turned his phone off and looked up, the sky was slowly turning a blood red, "you think we should go?"

"of course," Thor grunted, "never shrug off allies boy, especially strong ones."

he nodded, "well, i still have to go see Juleka, she wanted to compare notes before tomorrow's test…but right after i'll head to the tower."

"good, and try not to flirt to much with this girl, i'd hate to see you develop a habit."

"i wasn't flirting!"

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Juleka sat at her desk, attempting to focus on her math homework, looking at the clock every now and then, "he should be here…" She mumbled, quickly looking at her reflection in her mirror.

"you look Nervous."

Nathanael's voice made her jump slightly, turning around quickly to look at Nathanael, who looked slightly amused.

"nervous?" she asked, "w-why would i be nervous?"

he shrugged, "I don't know, you just seem like it." he said, walking over and sitting on her bed and opening his bag.

"mom let you in?" she asked.

"yeah," he pulled out his notes, "So, are we gonna compare notes? or…"

"uh…yeah." she mumbled, pulling her notes out while trying to calm her flustered nerves, why am i acting like this? she thought to herself as she pulled her notes out, "so…the test is going to be over Ancient Rome…what do you think she'll put on the test?"

"all honesty i think it's going to be the turning points in Roman history, like it going from a monarchy to a republic, then a republic to a Empire."

Juleka nodded, putting stars by the bullet points, "what about the Emperors? definitely the ones before Christianity took root."

"yeah, like that Nero guy, he seems like a big enough prick to put him in a test."

Juleka laughed, making nathanael smile.

"I think you're right." she said with a smile, "probably have Caesar covered too, he was the whole reason Rome became an Empire."

"you're right," he agreed, "and the triumvirates, since they definitely moved along the process."

she nodded her head, occasionally stealing glances at him through the curtain of her hair, her eyes lingering slightly on his muscles, which were showing prominently against the tight white t-shirt he wore, "did you hear the way she went on and on about the Gladiators?"

"yeah, i get the feeling she'll definitely be putting something about them in there…" he bit the cap of his pen, his gaze unashamedly grazing over her, making her shift slightly as she pushed her bangs out of her face.

"is there something wrong?" she asked.

Nathanael blinked a couple of times, "N-nothing, why?" he asked, letting his gaze fall back to his paper.

"you seemed to…space out for a second…" she mumbled, knowing full well he had been looking at her.

"just…got a lot on my mind…" he looked towards her, smiling a little as she nervously pushed her bangs back once more, he felt a sudden, primal urge come over him, something he couldn't quite describe, but it was strong enough that it scared him a little.

"Nath…" her voice cut through his thoughts, making him shake his head a little.

"are you alright?" she asked worriedly, standing up from her door and walking up to him, he felt his arms tense as she put a slender hand on his forehead, "you're a little warm…"

"I'm fine." Nathanael murmured, his eyes looking at her lips, then trailing down to her simple tank-top, which did little to calm his already racing mind.

"are you sure/" She asked worriedly.

"I'm sure," he said, slowly reaching up and pulling her hand away from his forehead, he took a deep breath, "um…so is there…anything else we need to mark down?"he asked, letting go of her hand.

Juleka watched him for a little while, then sat backdown, "um…i think she's gonna cover the fall of Rome." she said, looking back at her notes, "there were several different reasons for why it fell, lead pipes, non native soldiers entering the legion, disrupting it's cohesion, political corruption."

he nodded, circling the bullet points, "i think that about covers all the important things." he said, slowly putting up his notes, "i guess…i'll go then."

"wait," she said as he stood up, "before you go, can you help me with the Math homework?"

Nathanael swallowed, "yeah, sure."

Forty minutes later

Nathanael walked out of Juleka's apartment, saying a small goodbye to Juleka's mother before stepping out onto the street and walking down the alley.

"Thor…." Nathanael started.

"what?"the grumpy goat grouched, poking his head out of his hair, "i'm trying to sleep!"

"did you watch anything that happened up there?" he asked, slowly stopping by a trashcan.

"are you talking about the part where the girl was shooting you glances, or where you almost threw her on the bed and-"

"stop please." Nathanael begged, leaning against the wall, "I…i don't know why i was…i mean…i know i haven't been as nervous around Alix lately…but that…i wanted…" he looked at Thor as the tiny god flew out of his hair, "i wanted to…i wanted to take her…i wanted to push her onto the bed and…"

"don't need to paint a picture boy." Thor said gruffly, "and i'm sorry, but it goes back to what we discussed earlier."

"you mean the whole thing about me wanting to fight?" he asked, "how does that transfer to this?"

"you felt an adrenalin rush when those thoughts went through your mind yes?" he asked, "The rush, the challenge, it's all there, only in a different form." he snorted, "hell, in my opinion, Love and War are the same kind of Drugs, only going by different names."

Nathanael looked down and sighed, running a hand through his hair, "so what? i'm going to be like this every time i'm around her?"

"probably not." Thor said, settling on his shoulder, "it's been what? a week since the last Akuma attack? you've been gone from the fight too long boy, and now you're mind's trying to find…an alternate source."

Nathanael shook his head, "this is getting complicated." he muttered, "i used to be an artist…a quiet artist living a quiet life in the back of the class…"

'you're chosen boy, so get over it." Thor muttered, "Now lets go meet these other heroes so we can form a good alliance."

Nathanael nodded, "Mjolnir! to me!"

a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder later and Nathanael felt the familiar weight of Mjolnir appear in his hand as he was covered in his armor, he grinned and let out a laugh before shooting into the air, making straight for the Eiffel towers he sped past, he hooked his hand on one of the metal beams and came to an abrupt stop. he hung above the platform for a few seconds before dropping down, looking over Paris.

"must be early," he said, looking around.

"Right on time actually." Chat said, sauntering out from around the corner, "at least we are, i'm sure m'lady will be along soon."

Thor nodded, "then we'll wait," he said, watching as Chat sat down on the rail, "so…have you…adopted any…behaviors?"

"what do you mean?" chat asked.

"like…since i got the Amulet, i've been…more keen to fight."

"really?" Chat asked, his ears perked up.

he nodded, "I look forward to the fights, i crave them…" he looked at Chat, "So, anything different on your end?"

'well, i see in the dark better now, and I find myself growling when i'm mad-"

"and he likes to eat tuna." Ladybug said, making both men turn their heads towards her as she landed on the walkway, "like, a lot."

"Tuna's good.' he defended.

"He also purrs when he's happy." Ladybug said with a giggle, making Thor look at the Black cat in surprise.

"you-"

"No!" Chat said quickly, turning red, "i-i don't purr! i-" he stopped as Ladybug started scratching his head, making him close his eyes and emit a low, rumbling purr, before jerking away from her, "m'lady…you've betrayed me."

Thor laughed, "So, why did we call together this meeting?" he asked.

"we'd like to start collaborating with you." ladybug said, "you've helped us a lot on the last few Akuma's, dealing with them entirely by yourself; but Hawkmoth won't take that lying down, he'll start making them stronger, harder to beat, which means-"

"-which means, pretty soon i might need your help to keep fighting." he finished for her.

"yep," chat said, "and we'd be happy to help you…if you know, you let us help you."

Thor looked at the two, "I'm not a hero,' he said to Ladybug, "i'm a warrior, i fight, it's what i do; you two are the ones who are actively attempting to stop hawkmoth, which means you're in charge here, you want me to join you two, take orders, then i will; but don't expect me to patrol the city or join in on meetings every time they pop up, i have classes to pass."

Ladybug smiled, "we understand, but if we absolutely need you-"

'then i'll be there," he said, then chuckled, "i got a crazy old goat that'll kick my ass into gear if i drag it." he stretched, "so if this is done, i got some sleep to catch up on.' he swung the hammer and took off, leaving chat and Ladybug alone on top of the tower.

"you sure he's good?" Chat asked.

'he's given us no reason to think otherwise." Ladybug said.

"i don't know…before you showed up, he was talking about how his 'amulet' was making him want to fight; and if he's really that blood thirsty-"

"he'll be fine chat." Ladybug said, "he's not killing anyone, he's fighting.

"I know…but what if he takes it too far."

"then we'll be there to stop him."

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Nathanael slowly walked towards the school, shivering slightly in the early morning cold.

"sooo tired." he groaned.

"that meeting didn't run that long." Thor muttered, "you should've gotten home and gone to sleep."

"i still had several assignments to get done."

"still should've slept."

Nathanael sighed, walking up the steps to the school, "i'm too on edge," he muttered, "what with these…feelings, and no Akuma's…"

"still need to sleep." Thor grumbled, "force yourself to relax."

"i can sleep during my passing period." he pushed the doors open and froze slightly, clenching his fist as he watched a guy harass Juleka.

'c'mon! just humor me babe," the guy said, standing uncomfortably close to Juleka, who as trying to-not to subtly-push him away, "one date, i'll show you a good time."

"thanks, but no thanks." she said, trying to walk away.

"don't walk away from me-" the guy said warningly, grabbing her arm, instantly Nathanael moved forward, pushing the guy back.

"did you're parents not teach you manners?" Nathanael growled, standing between him and Juleka, "or common sense for that matter."

"hey man, this don't concern you." he said, trying to remain calm and charming.

"it does when you're manhandling my friends, now why don't you take a hint and back off."

the guy glared at him, then at Juleka, "Whatever," he muttered. turning around and walking away.

"thanks Nath." Juleka mumbled as the redhead turned around, relaxing slightly, "He wouldn't go away."

"no problem," he said, "hate guy's like that." he looked at Juleka, "so…you're early."

"Rose said to be here early…but i guess she's running late.' Juleka mumbled, looking around.

"you know rose" he said, "always a little loopy."

Juleka chuckled, "yeah," she looked at Nathanael, "so why are you here so early? other then saving me from jerks?"

he shrugged, "didn't sleep, so when the time came i just….came to school"

"you didn't sleep!?" she asked, shocked.

he shook his head. "couldn't seem to." he said.

she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the classroom, "that won't do." she said, "you need to get at least a little bit of sleep."

"Juleka-" he started as she pushed the door open and made him sit down on the bench, "Juleka i'm just not tired." he defended.

"you're eyes are blood shot." she said, "and you're heads already dropping."

"no it's not." he argued, shaking his head slightly.

Juleka sat down next to him, "you need to sleep Nath." she said, slowly guiding him down until he was lying on the bench, his head in her lap, "we have an hour and a half until class starts, you can sleep until then."

"Juleka-" he started, but stopped when she started running her hands through his hair, humming softly.

"sleep, Nath." she said softly, as his eyes drooped, "I'll wake you up when class starts.

"Jules…" he tried to feebly argue, only for her to ssh him again.

"Sleep…"

Nathanael let out a sigh and closed his eyes, "only for a couple of minutes…"he mumbled.

"only for a couple of minutes," she promised, smiling as the redhead drifted off into sleep. still running her hands soothingly through his hair as she hummed.

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Gabriel Agreste didn't know what to do.

his last few Akuma's had been defeated quickly and-laughably-easily thanks to the new Miraculous holder in town. and he knew creating more powerful Akuma would severely drain not only his miraculous, but his life force.

"master, perhaps now would be a good time to retreat." Nooroo said, "Thor isn't known as 'protector of humanity' because he sits back during fights like this.

"i can't stop now that i've come so far Nooroo." Gabriel mumbled, "i just need to look at this from another angle."

"you could always try and find a wielder for the Peacock miraculous." Nooroo said.

"No!" Gabriel thundered, slamming his fist against the desk, sending Nooroo shrinking back, Gabriel took a deep breath, looking at his servant/friend, "I'm sorry," he muttered, "but…no one….'

"I understand Master." Nooroo said dutifully, flying back to him, "but you do need help."

a knock on the door sent Nooroo flying into Gabriel's breast pocket.

"Enter." Gabriel said, relaxing when Natalie walked in, "what is it?" he asked.

"you have someone here to see you sir." Natalie said, "a Monsieur…Jones?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrow, "send him in."

"Of course sir." Natalie said, walking back out.

Gabri'l stood up and fixed his suit as the man walked in, he was tall, with long, slicked back hair, a rough beard trimmed delicately, his green eyes looked around the room with intrigue as the ivory cane in his left hand clacked against the marble floor, "well, i must say, you really do strike an intimidating figure." he said, his voice like smooth silk.

"good evening, "Gabriel said, "i'm sorry to say, Monsieur Jones, but i can't say i have ever made your acquaintance."

"I'd be surprised if you had, in all honesty." he said as the door shut behind him.

"what business can i help you with today, Monsieur Jones?" Gabriel asked, sitting back down.

"well for one, my name isn't Monsieur Jones." he said, walking towards the window and looking out, "most, tend to call me Loki."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, "I see." he muttered, feeling Nooroo shift in his pocket, "a weird name."

"as weird as Hawkmoth?" he asked, looking back at him.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed, "I suppose." he said.

Loki turned around, smiling at Gabriel, "i understand that you're having some problems with a certain…Thunder-headed brute."

"i have no idea what you're talking about."

"Monsieur Agreste please, i'm trying to make friends." Loki said with a grin, "and that can't happen without a little bit of honesty." he turned around, walking towards his desk, "now, are you having a problem with a thunder-headed brute?"

Gabriel took a breath and sighed, "you're right." he muttered, looking at him, "but how could you help me?"

he grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver snake bracelet out an emerald stud set into it's eye, "i do hate parting with my power," he said, "but i have others, and this one will definitely put a thorn in his side." he put the bracelet on the desk. "whoever you choose to carry this, just make sure they won't be turning against us."

"Us?" Gabriel asked, looking at the bracelet.

"yes, i do believe both of us will benefit from an…alliance." he said, turning around and twirling his cane as he walked, "do let me know if you need help, i'd loathe to give up anymore amulets…but i do have several Jotun's who are aching to get into a fight."