Together, We're Miraculous

by ghirahim

[Discontinued] Every few hundred years, there's a new cycle of Miraculous holders and a Guardian to protect them—and, you know, the world. When a Miraculous gets stolen by some clown calling himself Hawkmoth, The Guardian puts a team together to stop him. But first they have to get used to one another and the concept of teamwork.

4. Nino Lahiffe & Carapace

"Super powers from a necklace. This is utterly ridiculous."

"Ugh, you sound like

her."

Before Nino could ask who was this "her" Trixx was referring to he saw Ladybug and an unfamiliar black cat themed hero back to back with the damn giant purple butterfly circling overhead. "That thing's even creepier up close."

Ladybug and the black cat turn to him. "Rena?!" Ladybug exclaims.

"Uh, yup?" Several heads poke out from behind various objects and the damn fox ears aren't just for show, he can hear every click of a shutter going off as it's happening. He also heard someone stage whisper they thought Rena Rouge was a girl.

"Use the flute to create some illusions."

Ah. He was wondering what that—wait. He's Rena Rouge! How did it take him this long to figure that out? Hell, Ladybug even called him Rena! So Rena Rouge's powers come from a small talking fox and a hook shaped necklace? Although now that he thinks more about it, the necklace could also be interpreted as a fox's tail too. Not his first guess to be honest. That means Ladybug's powers must also come from a tiny animal – a Ladybug if he had to guess – and some magical jewelry. It's just a hunch but if he's Rena Rouge, whoever she is or used to be is probably the cat now.

That means the "her" Trixx referred to is Rena Rouge's secret identity. Not that he'd ask who that is; despite desperately wanting to know.

He puts the flute to his mouth piece and starts blowing on it. "Think what you wanna create then, well, create it." His first coherent thought besides I'm Temporarily A Superhero Now is a giant flyswatter and that's exactly what appears in thin air.

"Impressive." The cat comments and the flyswatter floats down to Ladybug's hands. Huh. An illusion you can touch? These are some kickass powers.

"We don't know where the akuma is."

"Then just beat the shit out of it until an akuma flies out."

Ladybug cracks her neck when she lolls her head from side to side, "I can do that." Okay, they're even cooler up close and that just isn't fair. Is he gonna have to fight alongside them? The original Rena Rouge always fought at Ladybug's side. It's only fitting he does the same.

He spots Wayzz peeking around a corner looking around. No one's paying attention to him because they're all looking at the three of them but he has to wonder just what the hell are they looking for?

The mask outline starts glowing and the butterfly looks around. "Dammit. The Guardian has seriously upgraded the costumes. It's difficult for me to determine where their Miraculouses are." He committed the powers to memory but not so much the vehicles for said powers. All three of the bodies underneath him are giving off pulses of energy in different frequencies just like the book said they would.

There's a ring on the outside of the cat's gloves and if that's not a Miraculous then he doesn't know what is. "Take that ring off the cat, or you can kiss your powers goodbye!" The butterfly straightens then screeches loudly. Nooroo's powers are definitely weakening if this is the best he could come up with. But who would've thought animals could also be akumatized? With Nooroo's ability to summon swarms of butterflies it didn't take long to akumatize one of them into... this.

"M-Master, I-I can't keep this up."

Fine. There's three of them now. No matter. He may not know the first two Miraculouses but he knows they're jewelry. Perhaps he'll consult the book while Nooroo is getting his strength back up. Then he'll look and see if there's a way to extend the limits of how long a kwami can stay active.

Just before Ladybug can slam the flyswatter down on the butterfly it disappears in a plume of smoke.

"Nice." Chat claps her on the back.

"I-I didn't do anything. I think Nooroo—uh-oh..." Strange. Her earrings are tingling. Must mean Tikki's nearing exhaustion. "You can handle this, right?" Chat gives her a two-fingered salute. "Until next time!" Everyone comes out of their hiding spaces in time to cheer Ladybug on as she yo-yos away.

"Come on, Rena." The cat approaches him and grabs him by the forearm.

The cat—he didn't hear their name—takes them to a nearby roof. Nino looks around because this helmet is heightening all his senses, except for his eyesight for some reason. "Let me start by saying, I fully intend on giving you back your kwamis."

"Kwamis? You have them both?"

Nino nods then unhooks the bracelet from his right wrist and gives it to the cat. "I tripped over them coming down the stairs. They were together and Trixx told me he'd—"

"They."

"Oh. Sorry. They'd bestow awesome power on me." The cat shakes her head. "And Wayzz was looking for something."

"Maybe trying to see if he could find Nooroo."

"Nooroo?"

"Hawkmoth's kwami. He—wait, why am I telling you this? And why are you so eager to give me the kwamis back? Was Trixx annoying you?"

"They say they resent that and if you hadn't lost them we wouldn't be in this predicament." The cat sighs, "look. You can trust me. I'm not gonna tell anyone I filled in for Rena Rouge while she—you—were trying out another costume. And I'm not eager to give them back but they aren't mine and like I wouldn't steal them when I know they belong to you and Ladybug. Well, I know Trixx belongs to you but Wayzz I'm not sure of."

"Wayzz belongs to the Guardian of the kwamis Or was he the Guardian of the Miraculouses? Whichever. It'll be up to him whether or not you're trustworthy but since you gave me the bracelet without a fuss I'd say you definitely are. So let's see how trustworthy you truly are. Claws in, Plagg."

There's a bright black light for about ten seconds before Nino finds himself staring at Alya and a small black cat. "A-Alya? Oh man. I guess Kim was right on the money. And I guess I proved him wrong about not fitting the bright catsuit."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Alight, Trixx. That's what you said, right?" Alya blinks as Nino unlatches the necklace from around his neck. "Thanks for letting me be a superhero today even though I didn't really do anything."

"Creating that flyswatter was pretty cool." Alya leans forward to kiss him on the cheek, "next time I need a replacement I'll be in touch." He nods, "let's pounce Trixx. I gotta get back to the Guardian." He looks away as she transforms because it's inexplicably bright and she turns to him, "I should probably put you on solid ground."

🐢 .

"Nino! Dude! Where were you? You missed another superhero! She was a cat. A black cat." Kim says. "I didn't hear the name but she said Ladybug as all sorts of partners."

"Oh yeah? Tell me all about 'em."

"Well, I only know that one and Rena Rouge. The cat didn't say much. And all the pictures everyone took of them were grainy. Almost like they were interfering with our cellphone pictures." Kim takes out his phone and the pictures with Ladybug are all clear but the cat's pictures are grainy and thankfully the pictures with him in them are also grainy. "Rena was there too but I definitely don't think it was the same person. They were taller."

"She might not have stayed for the party but at least Ladybug made an appearance." Lila says heading over to them. "Everyone's back in class. Mlle. Bustier sent me to find you."

"I wish there wasn't a damn akuma, then she might've taken pictures with us."

"Where did the akuma even come from? I never saw a purple butterfly enter the school." Nino and Kim shrug. "Oh well. Whatever. Let's head back to class."

It's gonna be a little weird facing Alya now knowing she's even more badass than everyone thinks because she's a real life superhero. He wonders who Ladybug is. She might also be in their class but at the same time she could be someone he's never met. It's so intriguing.

The class is in a completely well-deserved buzz when they get back in the classroom. "I wish we could've seen Ladybug up close but that giant butterfly was so scary." Rose says.

"I wonder how many allies Ladybug has?" Alix asks.

"Compared to Rena Rouge and Ladybug's outfits the cat's isn't so impressive. I mean it's all black with some belts attached." Juleka says.

With Alya absent, Nino's alone at his desk. Alya's absence might've been due to her being sick rather than her being Rena Rouge slash the new cat because when she detransformed she didn't look like her usual cheerful self and her nose was red.

Mlle. Bustier was just as excited as the rest of the class so she had no problem with them continuing to discuss Ladybug and her team.

School ends for the day and the class is still buzzing when they leave the classroom. Kagami is leaning against the wall when Nino exits the classroom. "Uh, hey Kagami?"

"Hello yourself." She taps her chin, "a funny thing happened when I was looking for you after we got split up from the rest of the class."

"O-Oh?" Nino was the last to leave the classroom, transforming after spending most of last night awake playing video games took its toll and had him ready to take a nap by lunchtime.

"Yeah. I saw you talking to two tiny floating animals then you transformed into Rena Rouge." Nino grimaces. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I just wanted to let you know you should be more careful and aware of your surroundings."

"Thanks for the heads up but I don't think I'm gonna be transforming anytime soon."

"Why's that?"

"Well, the real Rena lost her—uh what makes her Rena and I was just filling in until she found them—it again."

"So what you're saying is the small orange and white fox is what makes Rena Rouge, Rena Rouge?"

"I—uh—shit. Yeah, that's what I'm saying." He starts walking and Kagami follows, "they're called kwamis, and even Hawkmoth has one. But Rena didn't say much else."

"Fascinating. To think something like magical super-power giving animals exist in our world. I wonder how one acquires them?"

"Rena did say something about a Guardian. Maybe it's one of those you have to be worthy scenarios."

Kagami nods, "makes sense."

🐢 .

Marinette gasps as she walks into Alya's bedroom. Trixx, Wayzz, and Plagg are tumbling on the edge of her bed. "You got them back."

"Yeah. Nino had them and he just gave 'em to me no questions asked. I think he could help us with Hawkmoth."

"Nino, huh? Well, he's just about the most sincere person I've ever met. Always has been. There's no doubt in my mind he doesn't have a selfish bone in his body." Marinette nods to herself. "I agree with you. He should be on the team. I trust him wholeheartedly."

"Yeah and it doesn't hurt that he's cute too."

Marinette chuckles, "true. We have to talk to the Guardian though." Alya winces, "don't worry. He lost two Miraculouses too, remember? And still doesn't have them back. You're in the clear."

The next day the two of them meet up in the herbal shop and are surprised to see Nino inside holding a box in his hands. Right. It isn't just a place for them to meet up with Guardian Fu; it's an actual shop. Judging by the look on Alya's face, Marinette isn't the only one who forgot this.

"Hey." He greets, "isn't this place great?" They both nod wordlessly at him. Fù comes out of the back room with a larger box. He startles briefly when he spots them but quickly recovers. "Is this it?"

"Hm? Oh yes. I hope your mother enjoys it."

"No doubt she will." There's a brief exchange where Nino stacks the box in his hands on the box Fu's holding before taking both boxes. "Thanks again."

"My pleasure." Once he leaves Fùsighs and turns to them, "I wasn't expecting you two."

Marinette points at the door, "that's what we wanted to talk to you about." Fù tilts his head to the left.

"Yesterday I..." Alya clears her throat, "misplaced Trixx and Wayzz's Miraculouses while I was with Plagg. And that boy, Nino? He transformed with Trixx and then just gave me them back."

"Alya suggested we have him work with us." Alya nods at him.

Fù looks between them, "you want to hear something strange? While I bought the toys of you two I encountered that boy and hadn't realized until he came over that I was searching for his aura." Alya and Marinette grin at each other. "If Trixx allowed him to transform with them than he is more than a welcome edition to your team."

"Hey!" Trixx pops their head out from Alya's backpack, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Plagg and Wayzz both pop their heads out too, "it means you're super pissy about who you partner up with." The former replies.

"Oh and you aren't?" They glare at each other.

"As I said—" Fù interrupts, "this is your team, both of your team." They turn to him. "If you have more recommendations let me know and I will search their auras."

"Do you think he'll be better with Plagg or Wayzz?" Marinette asks.

"That is a good question. I feel as though he'll be a good fit for both."

"I liked hanging around him." Wayzz confesses, "it felt nice."

"I didn't get to hang out with him! I wanna feel nice too!" Trixx rolls their eyes.

🐢 .

"Nino and Kagami, huh? That's... an unusual partnership." Max scratches his head, "you don't think they're dating, do you? That just wouldn't be fair."

"Kagami likes boys?"

Alix puts her cup down and stares at Rose, "you didn't know?" The blonde shakes her head, "well, now you do." Rose hums. "Anyway, they've been hanging out a lot the past week. If we're so bummed about it I can't imagine Lila being too thrilled either."

Marc puts their sandwich down, "she struck out her chance with Nino. She wouldn't be a very good friend if she wasn't supportive."

"Good." Kim huffs, "that way the rest of us can hang around Kagami without Lila hovering."

"And what about Juleka?" Rose asks, "she was the first one to talk to Lila when she arrived."

"Only because Mlle. Bustier sat Lila next to her." Marc replies. "Then Lila went ahead and imprinted like a duckling."

"Then turned into an angry wasp the minute any of us got too close." Kim mutters. "I get Kagami is really hot but still!"

"I'd like to think Lila isn't completely evil if Juleka hangs out with her." Max grimaces, "unless Juleka is an evil of unparalleled—"

Rose picks up one of Marinette's profiteroles and stuffs it into Max's mouth, "isn't that good?" He nods wordlessly.

"Can we change the subject? Talking about Lila is making me lose my appetite—" Rose stuffs a profiterole in Marinette's mouth.

"I think we should all eat lunch together."

"Then how can we talk about them behind their back?" Alix asks.

"We won't."

"Oh. Well, then I'm out." Max elbows Alix. "What? She's asking for trouble, making us play nice. You honestly don't expect her and Marinette not to fight?"

"I can behave myself."

"Sure, Marinette." The group murmurs.

"I'd be willing to put up with Lila if it means we can sit with Alya more. Her hair smells amazing."

Alix shakes her head. "Kim, I worry about you sometimes."

"Wasn't he obsessed with Ladybug's scent?" Max asks, "I think they have groups that help with things like that."

"Say what you want but Ladybug smells like irises and lilies."

"You actually got close enough to smell her?" Marc asks.

Kim nods, "I did. Remember last week when she was patrolling alone and took out those robbers? I was heading to the toy store when she breezed by and I caught a whiff."

"Ladybug smells more like poinsettias to me." Rose adds.

"Ladybugs are commonly found around flowers, right?" Alix begins. "Maybe she smells like all those things? And even more. We can always ask Nino. He's actually been held by her."

"Or Marinette!" The table turns to her, "you said Ladybug got you out of the way the first time she came to the school."

"Sorry, Kim. I wasn't really paying attention. But I'll make sure to try and be discreet about sniffing her the next time she saves me."

"Hell, we all should."

🐢 .

"Wait, wait, wait. You didn't tell me you detransformed in front of Nino!"

"How else would we know if he's trustworthy? And don't worry, I didn't say anything about Ladybug. He had Trixx and we needed to transform—" Alya lolls her head from side to side, "and as you can see no one is looking at me strangely or asking for an autograph."

Trixx pokes their head out from Alya's hair, "I think she just wanted to show off in front of that boy, that's why she did that." Alya pokes Trixx until they go back in her hair fully.

"I can't believe this." Marinette sighs.

"Can't believe what? There's nothing to worry about. Nino's one of the good guys. Besides, you're the one that told me how trustworthy he is."

"He is. It's just... you know at lunch yesterday, there were conversations about how close Nino and Kagami have gotten over the past week."

"I know. Nino told me Kagami saw him transform into Rena Rouge." Marinette massages her forehead.

"What?" Trixx yells, "no one told me this!"

"Now you know." Trixx huffs, "speaking of Kagami... what about her too? We need a whole team, right?"

"I'm not so sure. Kagami's one of Lila's closest confidants."

"So? I like Kagami. And Nino's a good judge of character, right? He wouldn't be hanging around her otherwise."

"Fine. We'll talk to Guardian Fù about it. But for now let's just bring in Nino. Plagg won't shut up about teaming up with him." Alya nods, "good. Now, can I ask you something? What do I smell like when I transform? Yesterday at lunch Kim and Rose's opinions were different but they both said I smelled like a particular flower."

"I—uh, hadn't noticed? I'll smell you next time but I probably can't accurately tell you unless I don't transform. Then when I'm done you can do the same for me."

Marinette nods, "okay. Sounds good. How would we go about recruiting Nino without letting know Ladybug's identity right off the bat?"

"Well, you did want me to smell you, right? Let's go to him now with only you transformed."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan." She opens her purse, "showtime, Tikki, spots on."

🐢 .

To find Ladybug and Alya hanging off his windowsill waving was a huge surprise. Nino stubs his toe into his computer desk on the way to the window to open it.

"Hi, Nino." Ladybug greets. She's carrying Alya in the princess carry so she puts her down and Alya climbs in the room.

"Hey Alya. Hey Ladybug."

Ladybug holds out her hand and there's a small hexagon box in her palm, "Nino Lahiffe, you have been chosen to wield the Miraculous of destruction."

"Get outta here! Seriously?!" Both Ladybug and Alya nod. He gently takes the box out of Ladybug's had and opens it. A small green-eyed black cat spins into existence and yawns. The same small green-eyed black cat he saw with Alya when he became Rena Rouge.

"I'm not going back in there." Nino blinks at the silver ring in the box before putting it on his left middle finger. The cat floats over to him, "good to meet ya. I'm Plagg. Let's have some fun together."

"Y-Yeah." He tilts his head toward Alya, "is this who you teamed up with? To become—"

"Chat Noir?" Alya replies, "yeah. His idea." Plagg gives a bow.

"I'm Nino. Good to meet you, dude." He shakes Plagg's hand with his right pointer finger. "I won't let you two down."

Alya pats him on the shoulder, "don't overthink it, Nino. You'll be great."

"Let's transform." Plagg suggests, "you gotta say claws out."

"Claws out?" The ring starts glowing and Plagg fuses with it. "Whoa." The catsuit is the same as when Alya wore it thought it fits snugly on his body. His senses are heightened like they were when he was Rena Rouge. The gloves have little claws on them and that is adorable! "Why is the ring on the outside of my glove?" Nino pauses, "is that my voice?" He hadn't realized how he sounded as Rena but it's very different yet very similar to Ladybug's distorted alien-esque robotic lilt.

Ladybug shakes his hand, "welcome to the team."

"Aren't you the least bit curious of who's behind that helmet?" Even transformed, he can't look directly into Ladybug's eyes. The damn red glare is still there though it's far less intense. He wonders what his glare looks like. He wasn't paying much attention when he was Rena Rouge.

"No dude. If Ladybug wants to keep her identity a secret it's not my business." Plagg sighs and mutters something Nino can't catch, "how do I, uh, you know? Untransform?"

"You gotta say claws in." Alya replies. "But don't do that yet. We need to see if you're a better fit with Plagg or with Wayzz."

"Ready for your first patrol, Chat Noir?" Nino nods enthusiastically. "Shall we take you home, Alya?"

"Yeah. You two have fun~"

Patrolling with Ladybug. There aren't words to describe it. She's graceful and fluid and he can see why the city is enamored with her. Thankfully, there wasn't any criminal activity to thwart so he just spent two hours in Ladybug's presence with amicable small talk. He could tell whoever she is, she knows him but steered clear of both asking and revealing personal information that could give her identity away. If he had to guess, he'd say she's someone close to Alya. At the same time, Alya is basically friends with the entire school so that does not narrow down the prospects.

Ladybug escorts him home and he detransforms and holds out the box to her. "You hold onto it." She closes his hand over the box. "Never know when you might need it."

He flops back on the bed with a grin and Plagg flies over to him. "You'll make a good partner, Kid. Looking forward to kicking ass with you."

"Same here."

🐢 .

It takes some getting used to having Plagg around, Nino's never had a pet before and this might be the closest thing to that. Having a small (magical) animal you need to feed and walk (and transform with). Plagg will eat just about anything Nino gives him though he has a penchant for cheese. Of course, he can't carry cheese around with him all the time but whenever he's home Plagg has whatever cheese Nino can find in the fridge.

Currently, Plagg's caressing an enter block of cheese as he hovers around Kagami's lap in Nino's living room. "So this is your partner?"

"Temporarily, yeah."

Kagami scratches Plagg behind his left ear and he actually purrs; sure, he's a cat but Nino wasn't expecting that. "What do you mean, temporarily?"

"I mean, Ladybug gave him to me but sort of on a trial run I think."

"Your only other option is Snappy and I'm a much better kwami than he is." Kagami looks at Nino who shrugs. Plagg looks up at Kagami, "I wouldn't mind transforming with you either."

"You think I could?"

"Yeah. Sure. Give it a go." He takes off the ring and hands it to Kagami, "you gotta say claws out after you put the ring on."

Kagami nods, putting the ring on, "and you won't get in trouble?"

"Nah. I—" His phone vibrates and he picks it up off the desk and looks at the text from Alya. "'Suit up. Akuma attack.'" He reads out loud then texts Alya back telling her to bring along Wayzz. "Come on, Chat, let's get you out on the field."

Alya and Ladybug are already there by the time Nino shows up with Kagami. Ladybug does a double take then wordlessly hands him Wayzz's bracelet, "the Guardian says the transformation phrase is shell on." She glances at Kagami, "I sure hope you picked someone we can trust."

"Don't worry, Ladybug." Kagami—Chat—bows, "you can trust me."

Before Ladybug can respond, Nino's transforming and a bright green light engulfs him briefly. It's the first time anyone's transformed with Wayzz so they're all a little in awe when the glowing stops and Nino spins around marveling at his suit. "This is so badass. Look. I even have a hood!" He pulls the hood over his helmet, then pulls it down.

"I wonder if the Guardian wore this or do the outfits change every cycle?" Alya muses.

"Cycle?" Kagami asks. Nino shrugs.

"Come on. The entire KIDZ+ studio building is encased in ice and we need Chat Noir's destructive power to get in."

Kagami cracks her knuckles, "you can count on me." Claws come out of her gloves. Kagami uses her claws to climb up the icy building until she reaches the top and punches her glowing fist into the building shattering all the ice yet somehow leaving the building in tact.

"Whoa!" Alya and Nino exclaim.

Alya turns to Ladybug, "can we keep them?"

Ladybug huffs, "let's get inside and find out what happened first?"

It's still surreal being alongside Ladybug even though he's done it a few times before. There's a girl with spirally purple and white hair twirling a parasol sitting atop a desk. "All this for little ol' me? I'm flattered." She cocks her head to the left.

"Who the hell are you?" Alya asks.

"Stormy Weather~" Lightning strikes around her. "Why don't you guys hand over your Miraculouses?" The purple butterfly mask outline appears around her eyes. "I'm kinda on a schedule."

The four of them take out their weapons. Ladybug's swinging her yo-yo, Kagami's holding the baton Nino never noticed before. Nino puts out his shell shield in front of him and the damn thing is a lot heavier than it looks and it looked heavy to start with. Alya's flute is resting against her left shoulder. "Nah."

The mask outline shines brighter. "Have it your way."

The heads of Nadja Chamack and Alec Cataldi pop up from behind an overturned table. "Is that a new superhero?" Nadja takes out her phone and starts recording, "never seen the turtle before."

"I've never seen the cat."

Nadja moves her phone toward the cat, "I hadn't even noticed there were four of them now."

Alec takes out his phone and turns it to Nadja, "this is Nadja Chamack and Alec Cataldi—" Alec briefly turns the camera toward him and waves with his free hand before returning it to face Nadja, "live at KIDZ+ studio where the self-proclaimed supervillain Stormy Weather is facing off against Ladybug, Rena Rouge and two new accomplices." She whispers, "if anyone has any information on these new heroes please don't hesitate to chime in and let us know."

Nadja and Alec crouch around the room heading to the camera and Alec hits the record button while he and Nadja still record on their phones.

The four superheroes advance on Stormy weather but she spins her parasol and a strong gust of wind blows the four of them away. While the other three are scattered to opposite ends of the room, the wind blows the turtle in their direction and the way he skids to a halt on his shell would be hilarious under other circumstances but Nadja and Alec are just staring at him wide-eyed. The turtle gets up and shakes himself off. "Wait." Nadja hisses, inching her phone toward him. "Can we have your name?"

"I-I—uh. Carapace?"

Alec and Nadja tilt their heads, "is that a question?" Alec asks.

"No." He gives the camera a two-fingered salute as he stands, "name's Carapace, Paris." Then he literally jumps back into the fray.

The four animal themed superheroes surround Stormy Weather who is frantically twirling her parasol again but somehow this time they manage to hold their ground.

"We really need like communicators or something so we can talk to each other!" Nino yells over the wind Stormy Weather's creating.

"Oh!" He hears Wayzz in his head, "your weapons! It's been so long since I've been in a fight I forgot the weapons double as communicators. There should be a little button on Chat's baton, Ladybug's yo-yo, and Rena's flute."

"What about me? It's not real practical having a button on my shell."

He can almost feel Wayzz cringing. "I... I don't know where mine is but you make a good point. Maybe I can talk to the Guardian about fashioning some communicators you can fit inside your helmets."

"I need something that stops wind!" Alya yells.

"You can't stop wind, you'll need something that makes a stronger wind to blow her off course!" Kagami yells back.

"Are you sure we can't keep them Ladybug?"

"Focus, Rena! We need another form of weather beside wind. Chat, can you distract her? Make her use something else?"

Kagami's claws come out, "it'll be my genuine pleasure, Ladybug."

"So what's the plan? Not fond of being used as bait to be honest."

"Neither am I, but if it's what Ladybug needs—"

"I can tell you who Ladybug is, we're only banned from speaking our partners names not the names of partners of other kwamis."

"Tempting but how will they trust me?"

"They'll have no choice. If someone knows their identity they can cover for them and you and I will be teaming up more in the future. That I'm certain of."

"Okay Plagg, tell me. After we're done here."

All those years doing fencing made Kagami agile, those several months when she was on a ballet kick made her impossibly light on her feet which ended up helping her with fencing. Plus with the additional agility of the suit, Stormy Weather barely realizes there are only three opponents in front of her rather than four.

Kagami decided to deviate from the plan cataclysming the parasol in Stormy Weather's hand as she continued to twirl it breaking the spell the akuma had on her. From what she learned watching Ladybug fight, the akuma embedded itself into something whether it be something on the person or something they were holding then took control of the person transforming them.

In her surprise, Ladybug nearly let the akuma go free but managed to capture and purify it.

"Ladybug~" Rena Rouge latches onto her shaking her slightly.

"I know. I know. Hot damn. We need them on the team."

🐢 .

Ladybug led them to the herbal medicine shop, which was a huge surprise, and the man running the place greeted them. "You have your team then, Ladybug?"

"Spots off." Nino and Kagami gasp as the disappearing red light reveals Marinette.

"No way."

"Claws in." Marinette's eyes widen considerably as she stands face to face with Kagami.

"Remarkable." The owner comments, "your aura is exceptionally strong; however, I feel not a good fit for Plagg or Wayzz—"

"Hey!" Plagg yells floating over to the man, "did you not see what we did? I want her as my partner! Don't I get a say in this?!"

The man frowns. "You need a calming aura, Plagg, not one that'll spur your mischievous streak." Nino and Alya also detransform but without the fanfare, though Alya hugs Kagami the second she's no longer in her superhero outfit. "You will be with Nino until I find you a more permanent partner." Plagg huffs, "and as for you, young lady."

"Kagami."

"Kagami." He nods, "I am Fu. Guardian of the Miraculouses. I need to study your aura more to find your perfect partner but until then you are free to borrow Wayzz whenever the team requires your assistance."

"Thank you."

"No way! That's not fair, Guardian! If she's not a good fit for either of us why does she get to team up with Snappy?"

"He has a point, Guardian Fu. And I feel wrong just voicing that out loud." Marinette says with a shudder.

"Hmmm. I see. My apologies. Both Nino and Kagami will temporarily partner with Wayzz and Plagg respectively." Plagg pumps his hand in the air then flies over to Kagami.

"We're gonna have so much fun!"

"For now Plagg, you will be with Nino." Plagg blows a raspberry.

"When do we switch?" He whines.

Kagami chuckles, "how about in a week? Shall I stop by after school to pick up Wayzz?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Kagami."

🐢 .

It was humbling to know less than a week after first donning the suit, toy stores whipped out Carapace dolls. Nino only picked up one because it completed his set. Besides, he still doesn't know if he and Kagami are permanent additions to the group yet. Or more like he doesn't know which kwami the Guardian will have them partnering up with full-time. The Guardian seemed reluctant to part with Wayzz, he had the most doleful expression on his face when Kagami took Wayzz home; it complimented Plagg's scowl.

As he's heading to the library to swap kwamis with Kagami, a cute blond is frantically looking around the street. "Uh, you lost buddy?"

The boy turns to him and rubs the back of his neck, "yeah, actually. I was heading to Le Grand Paris."

"Yeah? That's a ways that way." He points to his left. The boy follows the motion with confusing evident on his face. "I can take you there?"

"Would you? Aw man, thanks. No rush or anything. I was going stir-crazy being cooped up in there the past month. I'm Adrien by the way."

"Nino." They shake hands.

"Say, Nino. What's that under your arm?"

"Hm? My notebook? My friend Nathaniel is a killer artist. He decorated my notebook with the symbols of our superheroes."

"Superheroes?"

"You've been here for a month and you don't know about Ladybug, Rena Rouge, Chat Noir, or Carapace?" Adrien shakes his head. "Man, I gotta take you to the toy store! Come on." He fires off a text to Kagami telling her he'll be late, which Plagg isn't all that appreciative of.

Inside the toy store, Adrien looks around in awe. The display window had all four of them though the employees all miserably stated they've never seen all of them at once. Come to think of it it the only time the four of them were ever together was against Stormy Weather at the KIDZ+ station. Regardless, Adrien picks up a Chat Noir doll and hums. "I guess I see the appeal. These are pretty cool."

"Pretty cool?" A bystander scoffs, "Chat Noir saved me from getting turned into a dancing mushroom. They're more than just pretty cool! They're the best thing to ever happen to Paris." Several people around murmur in agreement.

"Sorry. I don't know much about them."

That's when the entire store got together to give Adrien the rundown on the superhero squad. Ladybug as the leader and her right-hand being Rena Rouge with their backups Carapace and Chat Noir. Nino heard Plagg under his hat scoff about being called a backup but thankfully no one else heard the black cat.

When Plagg wasn't sitting pretty under his hat, he took to sleeping in Nino's headphones. People often squinted at it but never commented about the kwami hiding in plain fucking sight. He can't imagine any other kwami he met being able to pull this off given their bright colors. Although Trixx often found themselves in Alya's hair so he can't comment on kwamis and their penchant for strange hiding places.

He can't even blame Trixx for their hiding spot because Alya's hair is both improbably soft and unbelievably nice smelling. More often than not, Plagg had to pull on his hair to keep him from drifting off whenever he got close enough to catch a whiff of her hair. It would be one thing if it was solely her hair that made him weak in the knees but it's all of her. Thinking more on it, it's for the best he isn't full-time working with her because he'd never be able to focus on the task at hand.

The damn class put him next to Alya almost full-time because none of them could agree on who should next to her but somehow unanimously voted on him.

He'd argue but he was secretly a masochist. With the store talking Adrien's ear off, Plagg presses his body against Nino's head. "I thought you were into Als?"

Right. How thrilled was he to discover you can telepathically communicate with your—a—kwami as long as their head is touching your head. And with Plagg floating around in his hat, that happened more often than not. At least he didn't have to talk out loud. He's seen Marinette more than a few times glare at her purse where Tikki took up residence. Though he has absolutely no idea where Kagami stashed Wayzz. "I can be into more than one person."

"Sure you can. You're already into two."

Nino sputters. "Lemme take a peek at this kid."

"Fine but do it quick."

Plagg cheers then lifts the brim off Nino's hat a bit so he could see out of it. "The blond, huh? I guess if you're into that sort of thing. Huh. Als and Gams like boys and girls too. Go figure." Probably not something he should be hearing from Plagg of all creatures but hey, as long as he didn't just accidentally albeit casually out them to him. Not that he'd tell anyone if they weren't out.

Although from the way the entire class hovers toward both of them, it might not be a secret.

Huh. Wouldn't it just be his luck if he was the last to find this out?

And speaking of Kagami, Nino does a double take as she enters the store. Well, the library isn't that far away but he wasn't expecting her to come to him. "Hi."

"Hi."

"I've never been to a toy store before so I thought I'd treat myself."

"Never?!" Kagami shakes her head, "wow. Let's give you the grand tour." She chuckles, "and can I interest you in some Ladybug merchandise?"

They head over to the display, "I bet Marinette can make dolls even more realistic than these."

"Ooh, you're right. We should ask her."

"Hey, Nino, I—" Adrien comes to a complete stop in front of Kagami. "H-Hi."

"Hello."

"Oh, dude. This is my friend Kagami. Kagami, this is Adrien." The blond gives a meek wave.

"I-I can't decide which I want more." He holds up a Carapace plushie in his left hand and a Chat Noir plushie in his right.

"Huh." Nino scratches his chin. "This happened to me before."

"You look like more like a Chat Noir to me."

"Then Chat Noir it is. Thanks." He almost mechanically walks toward the bin of plushies.