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.

5. Kagami Tsurugi

In his attempt to find the most suitable partner for an aura as striking as Kagami's, Fù cleans out the Miracle Box and takes out all the Miraculouses to examine them. His mentor didn't tell him everything there was to know about the kwamis and what they're capable of but he did tell Fù enough.

There are secrets he's still learning like how all the active kwamis go into the box twice every cycle. With Plagg, Wayzz, Tikki, and Trixx in the box he figured now was one of those times. As Wayzz has been the only active kwami in the past century during his tenure as Guardian, it's no surprise Fù had no idea about these self-proclaimed "kwami days."

Tikki flies out of the box with a panicked expression, "Guardian Fu, we have a situation!" He puts down the bee Miraculous' earring just as Tikki points to them, "that. It's not Pollen's Miraculous!"

"W-What? Are you certain?"

"I am. I can't remember what their Miraculous was but I remember Pollen got cracked by Plagg three cycles ago and was never fixed. Look!" She flies over to the single bee shaped earring and taps it then it immediately snaps in two. "No Miraculous would break so easily. Plus, Pollen isn't in the Miracle Box."

"I was not even aware that Miraculouses could get cracked."

"It could only happen through special circumstances."

"Meaning Plagg."

Tikki nods, "and we didn't see Fluff in there either. Can you check the rabbit Miraculous please?" Fù methodically examines the remaining twelve Miraculouses and when he comes to the rabbit's pocket watch the rabbit ears at the top snap off.

"Oh dear."

"I knew it."

"Could Hawkmoth have more Miraculouses than we originally thought?"

"I don't think so. Well, maybe, just not these. There wouldn't be any need for a switcheroo if he had Fluff and Pollen too." She gestures to the empty spaces where Nooroo and Duusuu's Miraculouses should be, "I think these are just cases of a mix up." Tikki might not remember what their Miraculouses were but she knew the symbols and colors of two of her oldest friends.

"I see." Fù frowns, "then we need to find out what happened to them. Unfortunately, who knows how long these have been here. The only way to see if a Miraculous is real is to use them. I'll contact the team. It'll also be a good chance to use the communicators Kagami created." Tikki nods.

Outside of their superhero suits, the team use their cellphones to communicate with one another. It takes an hour for the four of them to meet up at the shop.

"Fake Miraculouses!?" They exclaim.

Fù nods. "It might've happened before my mentor gave me the Miracle Box."

"Is that what that's called?" Alya asks and Fù nods. "Cool. Sorry. Go on."

"I need you four to keep a look out for a pocket watch with 'rabbit ears.'" Fù does the air-quotes for Tikki, "Fluff was cracked by Plagg several cycles ago and never fixed. Much like Pollen. Unfortunately, I can't remember what their Miraculous was."

Alya, Marinette, and Nino turn to Plagg who is leaning on Kagami's shoulder, "you broke two Miraculouses?" Marinette asks.

"Cracked not broke. Also, not my fault! We were fighting against each other. What you guys think Hawkass is the only dude who used kwamis for evil?"

"Unfortunately, Plagg is right. Every kwami with the exception of him and myself have been used for evil at least once in the past."

"And I've only cracked four Miraculouses, in my entire lifespan! All in all? Not bad odds."

Tikki rolls her eyes. "Hold on; four? I only remember three." Wayzz muses.

Tikki sighs, "Duusuu, Pollen, Fluff, and..." She grimaces, "Trixx." Alya turns to the fox, on Kagami's other shoulder, who scowls, "it's why Plagg and Trixx stopped being active in the same cycle... until now."

"And here I thought it was because they didn't get along." Alya adds.

"Well, yeah, that too." Tikki amends.

"It was so long ago I don't even remember when and Dreams still hasn't forgiven me when they were in the wrong!"

"Uh, did we miss something?" Nino rubs the back of his neck, "I mean, Trixx looks fine to me."

Tikki shakes her head, "I have the ability to heal cracked Miraculouses like Plagg can, well, crack them. I am the Miraculous of creation after all."

"But you'd think a Miraculous of healing would fix cracks rather than creation?" Tikki blinks at Kagami who shrugs. "Sorry. Go on."

"I'm guessing because healing isn't the opposite of destruction?" Alya guesses.

"Perhaps. All I know is I'm the only one who can heal them. Once you guys find the cracked Miraculouses don't try to active them. Who knows what'll happen. Actually, Trixx might know." She turns to Trixx.

"I don't remember." They mutter, "it was too long ago and no I still haven't forgiven you and I never will."

Plagg scoffs, "you can't blame me for defending myself, Dreams. You tried stealing my ring." Trixx huffs, "moving along, now that we know Rumble and Flappy are missing too, I'm thinking we should active more kwamis."

"'Flappy?'" Wayzz repeats, "Fluff will never forgve you for calling them that."

Plagg shrugs. "They'll get over it."

"Plagg has a point and I'll never get over how terrible that makes me feel." Marinette grimaces, "for all we know, there are other kwamis not in the Miracle Box but are mentioned in the book Hawkmoth has."

"What book?" Kagami asks.

"There's a book of Miraculouses and kwamis that Hawkmoth has. We don't know how or when he got it but we're willing to bet it's why he's always—"

"Bitching about giving him our Miraculouses." Alya finishes.

Marinette nods, "right. Not what I would've said but that's exactly it."

"Was there only one book?" Nino asks and Fù nods. "So we have no way of knowing how many kwamis or Miraculouses exist or how long they've been around?"

"We've essentially been around since the very first life cycle." Tikki replies, "well, some of us."

"Fluff, Tikki, Wayzz, Plagg, Xuppu, Nooroo, and Sass were the firsts. Everyone else came after like in periodical spurts. I can't remember the specific order; however, I do know the youngest kwamis are myself, Pollen, Kaalki, and Longg." Trixx explains.

"Does the book say how kwamis came into existence or who created them?" Kagami asks.

"Unfortunately, I have never seen the book. I was told about it by my mentor who was told about it from his mentor. It's been lost as long as Duusuu has been missing from the Miracle Box." Fù gestures to the Miracle Box, "each of you pick up a Miraculous to hold but do not activate them. I simply need to see if I have any other imitations." They all nod.

Nino picks up a snakeskin bangle, Kagami picks up a monkey's paw shaped circlet, Alya picks up a pendant necklace with tiny ears, and Marinette picks up a panjas bracelet Almost immediately, a small snake, monkey, rat, and tiger, respectively, spin into existence.

"Whoa!" They exclaim looking around.

"Plagg was right." The snake says slithering over to Nino, "the world even smells different."

"Let's get the intros out of the way." Tikki announces, "Sass, Xuppu, Mullo, and Roarr." She says as she points to them.

"Tikki and Plagg have been around for basically every created cycle known in existence so they kinda know everyone." Roarr explains, "and as the kwami of time, so does Fluff." She looks around, "who is missing."

"We know. So is Pollen." Wayzz says.

"P's so timid they could be in front of us and we'd never notice." Mullo says with a snort.

"You guys have been in the Miracle Box for at least two cycles, have you really never noticed that Fluff and Pollen weren't there!?" Wayzz asks.

Roarr flies over to Wayzz, glaring. "Sorry for not keeping track of every kwami in existence. We all don't have the luxury of being active all the time like you. And this is the first time in those two cycles that we've even seen you and the first thing you do is complain?"

"I—" Wayzz deflates, "I'm not—"

"Come to think of it..." Tikki interrupts tapping her chin, "I don't remember ever seeing Fluff in the Miracle Box."

"It has been a while..." Plagg agrees, "but Squeaks is right about Rumble. We'd never notice."

"You're one to talk, you cracked Pollen!" Sass floats over to him, pointing at his chest, "and you never apologized!"

"I'll apologize when I see them. Because, as you probably recall, we never found who had their Miraculous and couldn't find it after I cracked it." They glare at each other.

"Is there anyone Plagg gets along with?" Alya asks Fù who shrugs with a heavy sigh. "So, listen up everyone." Everyone turns to Alya who gestures to Fu, "in case you hadn't realized. This is Guardian Fu.." He waves and they all wave back. I'm Alya. Next to me are Nino, Marinette, and Kagami."

"How long ago were you all last active? I mean, how do you measure the length of each 'cycle?' Tikki first told me it's been at least three-hundred years since she was last active."

"Who keeps track of things like that?" Plagg asks.

Marinette throws her hands in the air. "I just had a thought that's a bit of a catch-22. The more kwamis we release, the more ammunition we give Hawkmoth to keep coming after us. At the same time, if we keep them all inactive in the Miracle Box they'll be that much easier to steal." All the kwamis minus Tikki float over to Kagami in awe.

"This is Ladybug, yes?" Mullo asks, perching themselves on Kagami's left shoulder.

"Uh, no." Tikki puts her hands on her hips. "Ladybug is right here." She points at Marinette. The four newly released kwamis look amongst themselves before staring unconvincingly at Tikki.

"She may not seem like much but she's good in the field. Real Ladybug material." Trixx says with a nod, "although, I wouldn't mind seeing Kagami as Ladybug just once." The others nod in agreement. "Everyone's swapped at least twice, except you."

Marinette looks at everyone staring back at her, "I couldn't take out the earrings before, my ear holes would close up. Now that it's been six weeks I don't mind being someone else temporarily. I have always wanted to try on Rena Rouge's outfit."

"Yes! I call Carapace." Alya takes off her necklace and hands it to Marinette who puts it around her neck and takes off her earrings holding them out to Kagami. Kagami takes out her earrings and gives them to Marinette who puts them in her ears.

Fù hands the bracelet to Alya. "This will hopefully help improve your teamwork, not that you seem to have trouble with it. But if Hawkmoth gains access to more kwamis you'll need additional help."

"Additional help?" Plagg repeats, "we're gonna just keep on swapping partners when I don't even have a full-time one?"

"We won't start out just swapping kwamis all at once. Kagami has a point. We can't just throw more kwamis into things without complicating the situation further. Besides, not every aura is compatible with every kwami." He gives Plagg a pointed look.

"Ooh. That means we can partner up with this one?" Roarr asks patting Kagami's right shoulder.

"Possibly." They all cheer, "but—" All the kwamis instantly deflate, "I'll have to check everyone's auras one by one."

⌚ ...

"What happened to your regular earrings?" Lila asks.

"I decided to try something new."

Lila squints at Kagami's ears a few seconds longer before shrugging. "You and Nino have been hanging out a lot together lately. You'd tell me if you two started dating, right? I need to know what flowers to bring for the wedding."

"We're not dating but I'll let you know if and when that changes."

"That's a shame because you two make the cutest couple in school." Sabrina comments. "I mean, I thought Nino and Alya were cute but you two? Ten times cuter."

"Or you can skip the tired love triangle cliché and have one of those polyamorous relationships."

Sabrina points at Juleka and nods, "yes, that too. Aw that would be a thousand times cuter!" She squeals.

"Hey, did you guys check out the Ladybug blog? I guess it's Ladybug's team blog." Juleka shakes her phone in her hand, "the team's weirdly inconsistent. Sometimes they're all girls and sometimes there's a guy with them."

"I never even saw all four of them together." Sabrina huffs, "I wanted to get the costumes but I had no idea who or what a Carapace was. I mean, aside from the obvious."

"There are tons of Ladybug blogs." Lila points out, "none of them are conveniently accurate or posting daily so I stopped caring."

"Ooh. Lila you should make a blog."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because you're super popular and it'll serve to make you even more popular?" Sabrina reasons.

"Good point. Make me a blog then and I'll take it from there." Sabrina salutes her and starts typing on her phone.

"I wonder who will be the first person to interview Ladybug." Juleka muses, "they don't even get filmed clearly."

"I'll make it my mission to get that interview." Lila rubs her hands together, "you all should help me."

Juleka shrugs, "sure. Got nothing better to do." Sabrina nods in agreement.

"Can't. However, I will provide you with the necessary moral support."

"I suppose it'll do. Oh and see if you can get Alya to help me."

"I'll try."

Lila huffs as she leans back in her seat. She'd been unsuccessful in finding an akuma. From what she gathered it takes a strong negative emotion for one to appear. Particularly anger from the look of things. She's been too busy running for her life attempting to not get caught in the crossfire that she never got a good look at Ladybug or the rest of her team, sans that one time she greeted Ladybug and Chat Noir at school.

Pissing Marinette off is still her best bet but with the entire class keeping them apart it'll be tricky to get close enough to manipulate anger out of her. Or her plan can backfire making her angry enough to get akumatized. Although, if she gets akumatized and doesn't get held responsible for her actions she just might meet Ladybug personally then the two of them could become best friends. Even better, she could bring Lila along for patrol. Maybe even give her a Miraculous.

Not that she knows much about Miraculouses other than the fact that Hawkmoth wants them.

⌚ ...

It was a surprise, to say the least, that Alix's father rented out the skating rink and invited the entire classroom for her fifteenth birthday party.

To be honest, Lila wasn't expecting her mother to hand her an invitation but it would make less sense to isolate one individual as opposed to inviting the entire class whether they got along or not. After all, Kim and Alix argued more than she did with Marinette and she saw Kim walking around with Max. And Lila wasn't about to be the sole person not going and miss out on everything.

From what she heard last year, Alix Kubdel's birthday parties were not to be missed.

The entire school went to the last one and they were still talking about it by the time Lila arrived.

(It makes one wonder how Alix isn't more popular. Unless she secretly is and doesn't dwell on it.)

All of Alix's brightly wrapped presents are cascading down the ice sculpture of her with both hands giving the peace sign.

The one thing the entire school slash world knows about Alix is she's very sportsy, so Lila picked her up a tiny roller skate keychain and placed it on the display.

Personally, she has no problem with Alix. She can respect that the girl has her own style and flair; plus, she doesn't take shit from anyone. Now if she weren't Marinette's unofficial bodyguard the two of them would probably be great friends.

Everyone passes by Alix with a celebratory hug and kiss Lila still isn't used to despite nearly a year here.

Alix's father has a small nondescript box in his hands as he approaches his daughter. "Alix, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, dad." She nods and the two of them walk off.

"I can't believe you're fifteen already. It feels like just the other day I bought you your first pair of roller skates."

"Aw dad, don't get all mushy. It's just a birthday."

He chuckles, "not just any birthday. Your fifteenth. Fifteen is a very special year in our family." He holds out the box toward her, "this is a family heirloom."

She pops the top off the box and pulls out a silver pocket watch, "wow. This is super retro." She examines the watch then opens it. There's a plume of blue smoke then a woman is holding the same pocket watch she came out of, "whoa."

"I must admit, I didn't think you'd be this mesmerized by it. I know you already have a smartphone, a smartwatch—" He chuckles when Alix hugs him.

"I love it. I just need one of those strings so I can keep it on me at all times." She lets go of him and closes the pocket watch. "Oh. It's cracked." She holds up the watch to her father and there's a small, barely noticeable crack running through it.

"Huh. I never noticed that before. Shall I take it to be fixed?"

"Are you kidding? It adds to the charm."

"Very well." He chuckles, "but I will order you a string."

Alix grins at him, "several strings. I need to be able to match it with everything." She thumbs the crack on the watch, "but if this is a family heirloom, how come you gave it to me and not Jalil?"

"It's the youngest member that inherits the watch when they turn fifteen. I've shown the watch to your brother when he was your age and he didn't seem too thrilled that he wasn't getting it."

"Didn't you think he'd be getting it before I was born?"

"I did And for a while I didn't think you'd get it either but..." He sighs, "all that matters now is that its yours. Take good care of it, Alix."

"Don't worry about me. I'm bringing this thing with me everywhere." She taps her chin, "but why haven't I seen it before?"

"Like you, I had it with me everywhere." He opens his jacket and points at the small pocket inside.

"Awesome. I wonder if I can get a pocket in my hats."

"Let's just focus on the strings for now?" Alix nods. "And hopefully someday you'll pass it on to your children and their children."

"We might have to give it back to Jalil to pass onto his kids." Her father laughs.

By the time Alix makes her way back to the main floor, everyone's off doing their own thing. Kagami is by herself lacing up her roller skates so Alix decides to give her company. She hasn't really spoken to Kagami that much and Marinette must be rubbing off on her because she's willing to make a new friend; and on her birthday no less.

"Hey."

Kagami looks up at her, "hello. Happy birthday."

"Thanks. Check out what my old man gave me." Alix digs a pocket watch of all things out of her pocket.

"A pocket watch with rabbit ears."

"Huh. Never noticed the clicking thing is a pair of ears together. Good catch."

"It's a very nice pocket watch, Alix."

"Thanks. The inside's pretty sweet too." She opens the watch. The inside is a light blue and the hands are rabbit's paws. If this isn't the rabbit Miraculous, Kagami doesn't know what is. However, from what Marinette told her the rabbit kwami – Fluff, if she remembers correctly – would've appeared once the watch opened. At the same time, this definitely isn't the first time Alix opened the watch. Perhaps Fluff is in hiding like the rest of the kwamis here today? No. Tikki would've told her if she sensed another kwami

Despite swapping partners every three days, there hadn't been many akuma attacks. And certainly none that required all four of them. Alya got to debut as Ladybug and had a heroic solo performance before Nino – as Rena Rouge (and Kagami got the distinct feeling he enjoyed being Rena Rouge more than any of the others) – could arrive. Ironically, Alya's little sisters got akumatized because they wanted to stay up past bedtime. Alya explained everything through sheer exasperation, then declared they were all fortunate not to have any siblings; then Nino told them he had a little brother named Chris and Alya amended by stating Kagami and Marientte were lucky. Marinette crashed Alya's hopes by claiming she always wanted a sibling.

With the limited amount of akuma attacks as opposed to the amount there was before she joined the team, the way Kagami saw it Hawkmoth was gearing up for a bigger scheme. They may not have activated any other kwamis but they were still out of the Miracle Box. And if kwamis could all sense one another, then Nooroo may have informed his "partner" or if Nooroo truly is being used against his will it's possible he didn't say anything.

Because everyone realized akumas appear only during intense negative emotions, the whole school came up with ridiculous exercises to continue to foster a positive-ish attitude. Surprisingly, they worked. And it not only made the school akuma free but a more pleasant experience.

Fortunately, Kagami excelled at multitasking. She was able to listen to Alix praise her brithday present while simultaneously formulating a plan to take said present to check for their missing kwami. If by some chance the watch isn't a Miraculous, the Kubdel family must really have a thing about rabbits.

⌚ ...

"Wait." Alya, Marinette, and Kagami crammed themselves into the ladies' restroom at the far end of the rink. "Alix? Pink hair and penchant for roller skates has a kwami?"

"I am... uncertain." Kagami frowns, "but her birthday present is the rabbit Miraculous, no doubt in my mind."

"What is the Miraculous again?" Marinette asks.

"A pocket watch. That's the present Alix has. It's very..."

"Rabbity?" Alya finishes.

"I don't think that's a word but yes, very rabbity."

Marinette taps her chin. "I know I usually come up with the ideas in these scenarios but I'll let Ladybug handle it."

Kagami smiles at her, "thank you. I was thinking that Alya has the most experience creating illusions so she should get Trixx from Nino and swap Alix's watch for an illusion so we can check for the rabbit kwami."

Marinette blinks at her, "you... you're gonna put me out of a job."

"It's not my intention to out Ladybug the real Ladybug." Marinette blushes.

"I just gotta come out and ask: is a pocket watch even classified as jewelry? Every Miraculous we've come across is jewelry then there's a pocket watch of all things." Marinette and Kagami both shrug. "Right. Let me grab Nino. Ooh. I just thought of an addendum to your plan. I'm gonna need a distraction. I can't just pop in steal the watch and offer a fake. Ladybug should pay one of her biggest fans a visit."

With a grin, Alya turns to Kagami who does a double take. "Me?"

"You have Tikki. You're Ladybug."

"I've never been tested—"

Marinette puts a hand on her shoulder, "you're gonna do great and there isn't an akuma so you have nothing to worry about."

"Dammit Marinette, now you gone and jinxed it!" Alya chastises.

"Damn. Sorry. You're right. Ooh. I call Carapace?"

Plagg pops out of Marinette's purse, "oh I see. Am I not good enough to transform with?"

Marinette shoots him a dark look, "do you remember the last time we partnered up?"

"Lucky Charm has the ability to fix up all my cataclys—hey." She stuffs him back into her purse, "get Trixx from Nino and give him Plagg?"

"Aye aye." Marinette hands Alya her purse. "Ooh. This is nice. Where did you get this from?"

"I made it."

"Wow. You are—" Kagami blinks at her, "creative. I believe that's why you are the perfect match for Tikki."

Marinette blushes, rubbing the back of her neck. "You think?" Kagami and Alya nod. "Thanks. I-uh—lets make the plan happen now." She stutters. "I just need to splash water on my face. I probably shouldn't've said that part out loud." She walks over to the sink and splashes water on herself.

"Huh. Compliments from a pretty girl bring down Ladybug? Can't let Hawkmoth know that."

Kagami shakes her head. "But Marinette herself is pretty."

"Don't let her hear that, her head might explode."

"I can hear you perfectly clear."

"Oops. Gonna go find Nino and fill him in." She winks at Kagami before leaving the restroom.

"If you need a minute I can wait outside."

"No. I'm... good." Marinette takes a deep breath. If Fù brings Alix into the fold, Marinette's not sure how many pretty people she can be teamed up with before her head really does explode. Other pretty girls used to just be a passing thought. After all, Rose is pretty and that's Marinette's oldest friend but Rose doesn't make her head go all fuzzy the way Kagami and Alya do. Especially when they smile at her. And before they teamed up Marinette never saw Kagami smile. Then again, time spent in Lila's proximity have effectively wiped the smile of Marinette's own face more times than she can count. Huh. She sneaks a glance up at the mirror and sees Kagami smiling down at Tikki exaggerating wildly. Marinette clinches her fists then unclinches them and splashes more water on her face. Oh no. Pretty girls will be Ladybug's downfall.

⌚ ...

Once Nino's filled in on the plan, the four of them head to the roof to transform. Kagami as Ladybug, Alya as Rena, Marinette as Carapace, and Nino as Chat.

The party is in full swing and the majority of the guests are on the rink when they step into the building.

"It's Ladybug!" Rose squeals.

Everyone on the skating floor skates over to the banister then starts cheering.

"Which one of you is the birthday kid?" Alya asks. Kim and Max push Alix forward, pointing at her.

"No way. This can't be happening."

"We were on patrol when we saw the balloons outside." Nino explains, "figured we'd come in and say hi."

"This isn't happening." Alix repeats, "I'm a huge fan."

Kagami puts a hand on her shoulder, "deep breaths." Alix complies taking a huge breath, "what's your name?"

"Alix. A-L-I-X." They each shake her hand. Alix is normally the most composed person Marinette's ever associated with, maybe aside from Kagami now, so to see her this excited is amazing.

"I know the pictures will just turn out grainy but we need pictures." Kim yells. The four of them shrug and the whole group get in together to take a photo. As expected, the four of them are blurry in the back but Kim still clutches the phone to his chest. "My new wallpaper."

"This is so cool. Do you guys skate? Can you hang out for a bit?"

"I don't see why not." Kagami replies.

All the students minus Alix crowds Kim, "relax. You'll all get the picture copied to your phones."

Marinette does a double take as she sees, well, herself but not just her; Alya, Kagami, and Nino too. She turns back to Alya who tucks her flute back behind her. Damn. She is good with illusions. Marinette never would've thought of that. Ooh. That means they'll get the picture sent to their phones too.

"You're real good, Rena." She hears Nino compliment. The communicators Kagami and Wayzz put together work like a charm and they sync up to all of their suits so they don't have to yell strategies while fighting their enemies.

They all sign Alix's hat and Kim gushes over it for at least five minutes. "This is the best birthday ever! Can I just take one photo with you guys?" They nod and Alix takes the picture. "Wow."

"What's that?" Nino asks pointing at the pocket watch in her other hand.

"Oh. This is my birthday present." She hands it to him and opens it. There's a plume of blue smoke then an image of a woman holding the pocket watch. "Cool, right?"

"Has anything else come out of the watch?" Alix looks up at them, "we're on the hunt for a missing Miraculous."

She gasps, "no way. This is a Miraculous?!" She puts both hands over her mouth, with the phone and pocket watch still in them. "Sorry." She whispers moving her hands, then she stares at the watch. "I'd have to ask my dad. He had it before he gave it to me. But I've only seen the lady who might be my great-grandma or something."

"Thanks, Alix." Marinette says, "should we group hug? I feel like we should group hug."

"Yes. Hell yes." They all hug her. "How would I let you guys know if this is a Miraculous? I mean, what am I gonna do?" Marinette writes something down on a notepad then hands it to Kagami who hands it to Alix.

"Meet us at Le Grand Paris tomorrow at noon, after you speak to your father."

Alix gives them a thumbs up, "you can count on me."

⌚ ...

"Jalil!"

The blond barely has time to react before Alix dives on top of him. "Oof!" He blinks up at his sister, "enjoyed your party, did you?"

"Did I enjoy it? You were there!" Jalil shakes his head with a laugh, "oh, that reminds me. Did you ever see anything about Miraculouses in the museum?"

"Miraculouses? You mean whatever Hawkmoth is always going about stealing?" Alix nods, "there was a tomb—"

"Show me. Show me. Show me!" She jumps off him and he gestures to his phone on the bed. Alix grabs it then gives it to him. He scrolls through several pictures before landing on hieroglyphics then turning the phone to her. Alix gives him a flat look, "what the fuck is this, Jalil?"

He rolls his eyes. "Look at the pictures, dumbass." She squints at the phone and Jalil taps an all too familiar creature, "look familiar?"

Alix's eyes widen as she grabs the phone and brings it impossibly closer to her face, "holy hell. Is that Ladybug!?" Jalil nods. She gives him back his phone then takes her pocket watch out of her pocket and points to it, "they told me this is a Miraculous!"

"'They' meaning Ladybug and them?" Alix nods. "Can't imagine why they'd give it to you."

Alix blows him a raspberry. "They didn't give it to me, asshole, this is—"

"The heirloom. I know." He gets up and walks to the head of the bed and pulls down the sheet revealing a small white rabbit underneath.

"What the fuck is that?"

"A kwami. It came with the watch." Alix looks up at him, "supports your Miraculous theory, doesn't it?"

"You're shitting me."

"Nope. Fluff's been with Father since he's had the watch all those years ago, and with me since I turned fifteen."

"You—"

"I may not be destined to have the watch but I wasn't gonna ignore a crucial piece of history." Alix opens her mouth but Jalil holds up a hand, "before you ask why I never said anything earlier, they weren't relevant until the arrival of Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and the rest of the team. It made little sense to have Fluff show up in a public place with all your friends asking questions and whatnot."

"So what does a kwami do?"

"Together with the Miraculous, they help you transform. It's how Ladybug, well, becomes Ladybug." Alix whistles. "There's more. There is a grimoire of Miraculouses. I caught a glimpse of it several years ago when I traveled and took pictures." He digs into a small unmarked box and pulls out some actual, physical photos. "This was well before everything got digitized."

"You love everything digitized."

"It does occasionally make my work easy but I also love the physical proof." He hands Alix the photos, "these are just copies but try not to get your fingerprints all over them?"

"No promises."

Jalil points at a photo with the same rabbit that's asleep on the bed. "I didn't get everything but I managed to get a couple of kwamis, including Tikki the kwami of Ladybug. We may have never heard of Ladybug or Miraculouses before they arrived in Paris but they've been around for centuries."

"And I'm destined to be a superhero? That doesn't sound like bullshit to you?"

"It does. Believe me. But looking through great-great-grandpa's stuff, Fluff has been a key member in the Kubdel family. One of the kwamis who hasn't been left to a Guardian. In fact, one of our relatives was a Guardian which was why Fluff was passed down in our family."

"What would've happened if Ladybug didn't show up? Or Hawkmoth?"

"You still would've gotten Fluff, I'd imagine. You'd just never get the chance to use them."

"Oh man. I'm—I'm supposed to meet with Ladybug and the others tomorrow."

"I wouldn't recommend mentioning Fluff or the family. The watch is cracked and so is the kwami. According to the grimoire it isn't safe to transform with a damaged Miraculous or kwami."

"You want me to lie to a team of superheroes?"

"To put it bluntly? Yes."

Alix looks over at the bed, "I think I'll ask Fluff what they want to do. Neither of us should make choices for them."

Jalil takes a deep breath, "yeah, you're right." He pokes Fluff until they stir and slowly awaken, "rise and shine, Fluff."

They start levitating and fly over to Alix, "ooh, I like your hair."

"Thanks." Then they start floating and twisting in every imaginable angle. "Did someone spike your coffee?"

"Coffee is delicious."

Alix shoots a look at her brother, "what? How was I supposed to know? It's a process and you're lucky I figured out what Fluff likes and dislikes."

Fluff is now upside down floating away from Alix. "You have the watch!" They float back over to Alix, "you're my partner in this cycle?"

"I... suppose?" She extends her hand and Fluff's eyes light up as they shake her pointer finger with their whole hand.

Alix notices there's a crack going through Fluff's left ear and a piece of their right ear is missing. It reminds her of the rabbit her father bought her for her first birthday; it's old and battered now but it still remains a fixture on her bed. Not that she'd ever tell anyone. Kim would have a field day if he ever found out. Oh shit. Kim would fucking flip if she showed him Fluff.

This isn't something she can tell Kim, he'd tell the whole school. She needs to tell someone who wouldn't freak out. Marinette? No. She's prone to freaking out. Rose is a good bet but she might squeal it out excitedly on accident. Nino's the most chillest of all her friends or just out of people in general so she should tell him. Or Max. Max is also a good choice.

Fluff follows her to her room and plops on her stuffed rabbit giggling, "this reminds me of... me."

"You're two of a kind." Alix plops on the bed in front of Fluff. "So... tomorrow I have to meet with Ladybug—"

"There's a Ladybug in this cycle? Jalil never told me that."

"It's kind of a new development. Maybe not super new, it's been about almost two months now." Fluff nods, "should I tell them about you?"

"I dunno. On the one hand, Tikki could heal me. On the other hand, if Plagg is around he might crack me again."

"Plagg?" Fluff shows their teeth then points to them, "that's... not super helpful."

"Plagg is the kwami of destruction. Ooh. I can tell you all I remember about every kwami I've ever met."

"Oh? Should I grab some popcorn?" Fluff nods enthusiastically.

⌚ ...

Fluff told her kwamis can sense each other but being cracked they had no idea if they were able to sense other kwamis or be sensed in the same fashion. The one way to test this theory was to bring Fluff with her to Le Grand Paris.

There's a blond sitting in the lobby swinging his legs, sighing loudly and holding his phone out in front of him as someone yells on the other end. "You really shouldn't just disappear, Adrien. Your father would worry endlessly."

The boy – Adrien, presumably – spots Alix and holds his phone closer to him. "Gotta go, M. Bourgeois."

"Adrien—"

Then he hangs up and gets up from his chair. Alix cocks her head to the left, "won't they get pissed?" Adrien gives her a one-shoulder shrug. Alix grins, "I like you. I'm Alix."

"Adrien. As you probably heard." They shake hands.

"You waiting for someone?"

"Just trying to get out of this place." He replies with a sigh, "the mayor has eyes all over. I think he even has a couple of officers tailing me."

Alix puts an arm around him. "Adrien, my friend, you're lucky I came around. I can more than help you slip the cops."

"Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a good sentence to hear but..." He shrugs his free shoulder, "I think I need to hear it." Grinning, Alix whispers her method in his ear. "Oh. You're a genius!" Adrien remarks when Alix moves her hand, "I'm seriously in awe of you."

"A kid in my class, her dad is the police chief. Found that out in career day and..." She rubs the back of her neck, "told my dad I was 'troublesome' so he's been keeping an eye on me for years and I took to evading him. I got real good at it too. But I've never seen you around."

"Just came to Paris several weeks ago. I was in France but not Paris."

"Ooh. New blood." Alix takes her phone out of her pocket, "I will be your obligatory first Parisian friend."

"I think you might be my second." Adrien says with a grin.

"Damn, really? Alright. I'll take it." He laughs then puts his number in her phone. "Whenever you wanna give Raincomprix the slip, call me." She winks at him then heads toward the elevator.

In the elevator, Fluff phases through her hat. "Don't sense anything yet." They look around before phasing back through the hat.

Alix gets onto the roof and sees an akuma fly straight into Roger Raincomprix's whistle. "Oh fuck." A purplish ooze bubbles up until it completely covers the guy transforming him into something Alix doesn't stick around to find out. Before he could turn around Alix is already running to the elevator rapidly pressing the close door button. Just as he turns around the elevator door finally closes. There's a thud then a dent in the middle of the door before it slowly starts to forcibly open.

"Partner, we should transform. You have the watch, yes?"

Alix looks up at her hat, "what? Jalil said we can't. It's dangerous—"

Fluff phases through the hat and floats down to Alix's face, "is it any safer in here?"

"Good point."

"It's been so long. Uh, let's see. Ah, yes. You must choose a transformation phrase. It'll transform us into a superhero."

Alix grimaces at the pocket watch, "ooh. A watch. I got it. Fluff, clockwise." Fluff merges into the pocket watch and it and Alix's whole body starts glowing. "Well, this is new."

Just as Roger gets the door fully opened the bright light blue light has him shielding his eyes allowing Alix to hop over him and jump onto the roof. "Holy shit. That felt so good!"

"It did." Fluff agrees, from within the watch? That'll take some getting used to. Alix stashes the now blue pocket watch into her pocket. Her suit has pockets. It's white and blue and there are giant rabbit ears on her helmet. All in all, it's freakishly cool. Especially the kickass umbrella she unclips from the back of her suit and twirls around.

"Hey, asshole!"

The purple butterfly mask highlights around Roger's eyes. "Another Miraculous holder? They really are coming out of the woodwork."

"You got his attention. Now what?"

Alix cracks her knuckles, "now? Now we kick ass." She points her umbrella at him. "I—you—aw man. He just got akumatized so he hasn't done anything yet."

"Did you say akumatized? Nooroo is being used?"

"New—right, the kwami of transmission. Oh. That's what Hawkmoth does to, well, get—" She gestures helplessly at Roger.

"Tikki and Wayzz can purify akumas, they can purify basically anything. If you just release the akuma without purifying it, it'll spread and infect everything it touches turning them into... that. I've seen it happen several times before. Turns out to be a bigger hassle than going through the purification process."

"Great. I transformed for nothing."

"At least you know you can. Now let's get away and let Ladybug and Jade Turtle take over."

"Jade who?"

⌚ ...

"Ladybug! Ladybug!" Sabrina runs over to them, "the mayor threatened to fire my father after he couldn't find some kid the mayor lost and my dad turned into that!" There are people walking around with red and blue handcuffs on them, walking behind them is a large armored guy with blasters on his forearms. "I—" Sabrina tilts her head, "uh, Ladybug you seem... different?" She makes an aborted gesture toward Ladybug's chest then stops herself. "That doesn't matter. Can you please help him? It's not his fault."

Nino nods, "don't worry about it, du—uh, pal.." He gives her a thumbs up, "let's go Chat.." They head toward the increasing crowd of people. Marinette sees movement out the corner of her eye but before she can investigate a red and blue blast soars past her head.

"You really think we can handle this without Carapace and Rena Rouge?"

"We don't have a choice, babysitting and fencing – respectively." Marinette sighs. "You're just unhappy you have to work with Plagg again. He's honestly not that bad."

"Maybe not but I think Guardian Fù is right when he talks about incompatible auras with kwamis."

"I agree." Plagg whines.

Roger Raincomprix or "Rogercop" was able to shoot handcuffs from his forearm blasters and essentially build an army of "law abiding citizens." His target – because one thing every akumatized person had in common was they had a person behind their anger causing them to transform. Rogercop's target was Mayor Bourgeois which wasn't especially surprising because the man honestly seemed like an asshole and Nino and Marinette only saw him that one time when he came to their school and didn't seem to give a shit about helping Mlle. Bustier welcome his daughter to the school. Which still hasn't happened yet, and if anyone can pull off an amazing welcome party out of nothing it's Caline Bustier.

Also, this is hardly the first—or even fifth akumatization caused by the mayor.

Mayor Bourgeois, no longer having the police force – who were all also handcuffed thanks to Rogercop – in his corner fled to his helicopter hovering above the city with his butler.

André pats his face with a handkerchief as he looks out the window, "oh Jean, all of a sudden I'm debating whether or not to bring in Audrey here. The city has gotten quite dangerous lately."

"With all due respect, sir, Mme. Audrey can take care of herself."

"Yes, I know. But can you imagine her akumatized?" André shudders, "it's terrifying to think about!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir jump on their helicopter's rails and climb inside. "Ladybug! Uh, Ladybug's teammate." Marinette sighs, "have you stopped that terrible—"

Nino holds up a hand, "we're gonna need to use you as bait."

"You—what?!"

"Rogercop is surrounded by the police and his handcuffed citizens, he's barricaded himself into Le Grand Paris and we need you to get him out."

"B-But what will happen to me?"

"Nothing." Marinette pats him on the shoulder, "you'll be good."

The mayor looks around, "where is the illusion hero? Can't they create another me to use in my place?"

"Sorry, no time." Marinette replies hauling him up. "We need to do this now." Then she extends her baton and jumps out of the helicopter.

Nino pats the butler's shoulder, "get to a safe distance." He tells the pilot then yo-yos away.

"Oh." The butler says snapping his fingers in disappointment, "I should've taken a picture for M. Adrien..."

When they arrive at Le Grand Paris, Rogercop is waiting outside for them. "Ladybug and..." He shakes his head as the butterfly outline appears on around his eyes, "no matter. You are all about keeping Paris safe yet you'd willingly protect André Bourgeois knowing he is hardly above using the law for his personal gain?"

"You're right. He's absolutely vile. Scum of the earth, truly."

"I know you're supposed to be playing along but that hurts."

"Quiet." Marinette hisses, elbowing him.

"Hand over the mayor and your Miraculouses."

"How could you obey Hawkmoth, you think he's any better than the mayor?" Nino asks, "he's using you for his personal gain."

"I—" The butterfly outline shines brighter. "Don't listen to them, Rogercop. Who gave you the power to stop anyone breaking the law by any means necessary?" "Hawkmoth is allowing me to do what is necessary. Punish those who break the law." He holds out his forearms, "and by aiding the mayor, that means you too."

"Of course we could never handle this the easy way." Nino sighs.

"Quickly Rogercop, before the others arrive. Get their Miraculouses!" Rogercop fires his handcuffs and it catches Nino's right wrist and Marinette's left. "Nicely done." He hears Hawkmoth's laughter rattling around in his head. The cat's Miraculous is the ring but where the hell are Ladybug's? Think. What the hell did the book say?

Nino and Marinette look down at their joined wrists, "this will make using cataclysm difficult."

"Not if we move together. Aly—uh, Rena has been talking about practicing synchronized movements."

"Sounds interesting. Don't know if this is the best place to put it to the test but." Marinette lifts her arm bringing Nino's up with it, "now is as good a time as any." The claws come out of her gloves. That little attention to detail along with the little padded gloves made her think whoever designed these outfits was really into realism, for magical talking tiny animals. Guardian Fù never mentioned how the uniforms came to be or if they changed every cycle or with every Miraculous holder like the transformation phrases did. She activates her cataclysm and her left hand starts glowing black. "You want the mayor so bad? Catch!" Marinette lobs the mayor in the air and as Rogercop jumps up toward him; Marinette and Nino jump up toward Rogercop. It's hardly synchronized but they're moving well enough together to have Marinette hit Rogercop in the chest with the cataclysm.

His entire suit turns black then almost instantly turns to dust. Their handcuffs not only break, but every other handcuff breaks as well. Nino opens the side of the yo-yo; it turns into a net then he uses it to catch, purify, and release the akuma. Lastly, Marinette catches the mayor before he hits the ground.

"I'm so glad it all worked out." Then the mayor faints as Marinette and Nino fist bump.

⌚ ...

"Nooroo. Dark wings fall." Nooroo spins out of the brooch panting, "don't tell me you're out of energy again?"

"I'm—I'm sorry, master. It's been a while since I've been active that I—"

"I'm not interested in your excuses, Nooroo. Take some biscuits from the table and recuperate. I'm going to check on the house's progress." As the man leaves the room, Nooroo sighs then slumps to the floor.

The man exits the secret door in his study and adjusts his tie so it's hiding his brooch. Once he leaves his study completely, the contractors working on the hallway nod to him as he makes his way to his son's room. "M. Agreste, while we have you?" The interior designer approaches, "I found the space to fit in an extra arcade game if we downsize the bed to queen."

"How many arcade games can you fit if the bed remains a king?"

"Three plus the pool and foosball tables." The interior designer gestures to the corner, "the desk can go there. Maybe some hanging lights. And for the bathroom, I was thinking a bathtub shower combo?"

"Yes. The combo is a good idea. And keep the bed a king."

"Of course. And in case he has friends over we'll be throwing in surge protectors free of charge. Also, all the latest gaming systems are hooked up to the flat-screen that we'll mount on the wall across from his bed."

"Can we add a second television and split up the gaming systems?"

"Ooh. Nice." They jot it down on the notepad, "we can put the second television across from the bathroom."

"May I ask why there?"

"In case your son wanted to take a bubble bath and watch television."

The blond nods slowly, "I... see. Very well. I'm leaving the designs in your creative hands."

"Oh no. You're the creative one, M. Agreste. You inspired me to become an interior designer. I will personally make sure your house is renovated to perfection."

"Excellent. I expect nothing less."

"Now the time table—"

The blond holds up a hand, "take all the time you need. Yes I'm eager to have my son back home with me but it's better to do the job perfect at a slower pace than rush and risk ruining anything." The interior designer nods.

"Sir?" As he leaves the room, his assistant – Nathalie – falls into step with him, "I assume you saw the news?"

"Yes but I don't know why the mayor threatened to fire the police chief in the first place. Make sure you find out." Nathalie nods. "All things considered, I must admit it was rather amusing seeing André thrown several meters in the air."

Nathalie hands him a box of plain biscuits. "I've already stocked the fridges and pantries with Adrien's favorite foods."

"Adrien." The man stops walking and frowns. "My son better not have been the reason why the police chief was akumatized."

"Why would Adrien be involved?"

Sighing, the man begins walking again. "André is supposed to be looking after him, remember?"

They exchange a glance, "Gabriel, with all due respect, the man is incapable of looking after his own child. Why on earth would you put him in charge of yours?"

Gabriel hands Nathalie back the box to massage his temples. "You're right. I have no idea what I was thinking. Trusting André Bourgeois of all people with the most important person in my life? Get him on the phone, Nathalie. If any harm came to Adrien there will be hell to pay."