There was only one more hero to call, this one a special case.

"Bunnix!"

Alix stood up and rollerbladed to the stage, holding up the rock and roll pose for her cheering fans.

They never saw Bunnix before. She must've been some kind of secret.

Little did they know Alix never used the Miraculous. At least, not yet. She got to meet herself from the future once who had the Miraculous of time travel. Ladybug believed it would be a good idea to give it to her now since she did in the future. Alix was trusting, smart, had a great memory, and cared about others.

Ladybug held out the pocket watch to Alix.

"Alix Kubdel, here is the Miraculous of the Rabbit, which grants the power of time travel. Do you promise to guard and protect your Miraculous and its kwami? Do you promise to use your power for the greater good and aid your teammates in battle?"

"Totally!"

"Then, as Guardian of the Miraculous, I give you the Watch of the Rabbit and make you an official member of Team Miraculous."

Alix went to take the watch, but suddenly stopped. There was this feeling in her gut. Was it uncertainty? She wanted this, so why was she hesitating?

She looked at the watch, then Ladybug, then her teammates and realized what it was. There was a major difference between her and everyone else, and not just because this was the most powerful Miraculous. She took her hand away and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ladybug, but I can't accept this," she said.

Everyone gasped. What was she doing?

"Alix, what's wrong?" Ladybug asked.

"Is everything ok?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. Everything's cool," she assured, "It's just that I don't think I'm ready."

The difference between her and the others was they had a chance to prove themselves worthy. She hadn't had that chance yet. Just because she was Bunnix in the future did not mean she could be given the watch right now. She wanted to prove she was worthy of it too and gain experience first.

Yes, someday she would be ready to be a permanent holder, but it wasn't the right time yet. For now, Ladybug should hold onto it unless Bunnix was needed. And after the mission, Alix would return the watch until she felt worthy.

Ladybug smiled. That had to be the most mature thing Alix had ever done. She was so proud!

"Alright, Alix. I'll hold onto this for you until you're ready," she promised, "If you ever want to see Fluff and start building a bond with him, just ask. I know he would like it."

Even though Alix was not a superhero, she was still a member of the team. And everyone was happy for her. But she knew she would be kicking her for doing this.

And with that, all the Miraculous were given out! Ladybug wanted to give Dusuu some time to rest and recover from his time with Mayura and Shadow Moth before finding him a new owner.

Everyone got up to celebrate and dig into the food that was laid out, but Ladybug stopped them. There was one more thing she and Cat Noir had to do and it was the most scary, nerve wracking thing she had ever done. She took a deep breath, held Cat's hand, and addressed their friends.

"I always had a rule I believed every superhero should follow: never reveal your identity. Though hard, it was to protect your loved ones and yourself from people like Shadow Moth. And though I still stand by that rule, I realize just how too seriously I took it. My actions put my partner at risk and got him akumatized. I pushed mu friends away. This rule made it impossible to bare! It was like I couldn't trust anyone and they couldn't trust me. We must keep our identities a secret but it shouldn't be from each other. We know who you are, now let us show you who we are."

"This team is built on trust. We all trust each other," Cat said, "We chose you to be heroes because we know you guys. You see us everyday. We go to school, study, play video games, talk. You know us as Ladybug and Cat Noir. But you also know us as..."

"Spots Off."

"Claws In."

Their hero identities disappeared to reveal their true selves.

"...Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain Cheng. These are our kwami's, Tikki and Plagg. You've accepted each other as teammates. Will you accept us as yours as well?"

The room was silent. No one moved. No one blinked.

Marinette held his hand tighter. Was this a mistake? Did they not accpet them?

Just when she couldn't stand the silence any longer, their friends loudly cheered and ran up on stage to hug them.

"Thank you for everything you've done for Paris! You've saved our lives! I can't believe clumsy Marinette is Ladybug! I can't believe calm Adrien is Cat Noir!" they were saying.

Well that went way better than expected. This was the coolest surprise ever!

Ryoku walked up to Adrie. She had something to say.

"Adrien, I-I'm sorry. I was angry at you for keeping secrets from me when we were together. Now I understand you were just trying to keep me safe," she apologized and held out her hand, "I would be honored if we could still be friends as well as teammates."

"I would like that," he responded and shook her hand.

Marinette turned to Viperion in the hopes of apologizing to him, but her put his finger to her lips to stop her.

"You don't have to say anything, Marinette, because you have nothing to apologize for. I understand why you kept it a secret. And you should know I knew you and Adrien were Ladybug and Cat Noir," he confessed.

"What? How?" she gasped.

"When we fought Wishmaker. You and he were hit and revealed your identities. I didn't say anything because it was your news to tell," he answered, "I knew you'd tell me when you were ready."

Besides, he saw how well those two worked. They clearly belonged together. Everyone saw it.

"It totally explains you always being late and leaving early," Alix said.

"Thanks for being so cool, guys. I was afraid you wouldn't accept us," Marinette said.

"That's crazy. We love you two," King Monkey said, "Of course we accept you, both as our team leaders and friends."

"As touching as this is, can we get our grub on? I'm hungry!" Plagg whined.

Everybody laughed and detransformed. The rest of the night was filled with dancing, laughing, and good times. Marinette knew tough times were ahead what with Lila as the new Hawkmoth. When she did strike, they would be waiting, ready to defend Paris.

Because they were Team Miraculous!


Wow! That was so cool of Alix! And I'm not just saying that because I'm the writer. She knows she's not quite ready to be a permanent member of Team Miraculous and wants make sure she is totally sure she wants this.

What would you have done? Would you have done what Alix did and wait until you felt ready to be a superhero? Or would you say "heck yes" and just go for it?