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.

8. Walk, Walk, Fashion Baby (Part 2)

The limo ride was silent for approximately thirty-two seconds – André counted – before Audrey huffs fidgeting in her seat sneering. "Why are Parisian limousines so tiny? And where are the refreshments? You call this service?" She scoffs. "Do you have any idea how much smaller these 'limousines' are compared to the ones we rode in Manhattan?" She nudges Chloé with her foot, "you'd at least have to agree on that."

"These are small, Daddykins. Hell, the bus is bigger."

Audrey groans pinching the bridge of her nose, "public transportation. What a nightmare. I can't believe you willingly rode on something as utterly filthy as a metro."

"It was fun. I got to go to new places—"

"That a limousine could take you."

Chloé rolls her eyes, "and I got to meet new people."

"The kind of people you'd want to associate yourself with will be the kind of people you ride in limousines with. Period."

Even with her sunglasses still on her eyes, André could tell Audrey was glaring at their daughter who was openly returning the glare. "I-In any event—" He deflects, "these were the best limousines I could find on such short notice, Darling."

Audrey arches an eyebrow in his direction, "'short notice?'" She repeats. "You were told two weeks in advance about our arrival! Utterly ridiculous. Was it too much trouble to put in these little additions to accommodate us? Are you not happy to see us?"

"Of course I am—"

"If you were, you would've picked up a bouquet or some Parisian chocolates for me. Is romance truly dead?"

With a sigh, he pats down his forehead with his already slightly damp handkerchief. It's gonna be a long day. He understands why Roger got the extra limos then puttered off with some flimsy excuse about taking his daughter to school when he was the only one in the car. He wouldn't wish an agitated Audrey on anyone, except maybe his worst enemy. "I have a surprise for you at the hotel, Dearest."

Audrey huffs, "you'd better." He gulps.

Chloé gags as she puts her sunglasses down from her head onto her eyes, "gross. I don't wanna be around to see that. Can you drop me off at Adrikins' place?"

"No." When Chloé's eyebrows furrow, André clears his throat, "I-I mean, I have a surprise for you at the hotel as well, Angel."

"Whatever it is it can wait until after I see Adrien..." She pauses lifting her sunglasses back on her head to stare at him, "unless it's a kitten."

Audrey laughs. "Don't be ridiculous, if I don't get a kitten there's no way in hell you should." She glares at André. "You aren't getting her a kitten, are you? I know you're an utter sap when it comes to her but you can't be that ridiculous. Getting her a kitten before getting one for me?"

"No one is getting a kitten, Audrey." André sighs deeply. He'll have to tell Jean to stock the night-table with extra strength ibuprofen. "Honeybee, I know you want to see Adrien as soon as possible but you can't. He's probably getting ready for school. You can always see him when school lets out. He just started yesterday, I doubt he wants to ruin his attendance record so quickly."

The stare Chloé is giving him could cut through diamonds. Not quite pissed but calculating, which is a thousand times worse. "Besides—" Audrey cuts in, "why on earth would he want to see your sweaty unwashed face so early in the morning? At least make yourself look presentable. Have a modicum of self-respect. Adrien is a model with a promising career and you'll look like a deranged groupie slash stalker if you sidle up to him without warning looking as haggard as you do."

"I suppose you'd know all about that, wouldn't you mother?"

"I was never a groupie, Chloé-Dear. Unlike you, hanging off your precious 'Adrikins' every word."

"Is the concept of friendship so foreign to you, mother? I 'hang off' my Adrikins because, unlike all the tight clothes you bury your feelings in, he makes me feel good inside and out."

"That's what sex is for."

André facepalms. "Let's not insist our fourteen-year-old daughter has a sex life?"

"I doubt she'd still be gay if she experienced it."

Chloé throws her hands in the air. "Oh my God! How do you know it won't make me gayer?"

"No sex is that bad." André shakes his head, "and for all your claims of 'friendship' Adrien is the only person on the planet willing to put up with your shit. And once he gets himself a girlfriend, you'll be tossed aside."

"You really think that?" Chloé mock gasps, "right, because that's what happened to you with Adrikins' dad." The entire right side of Audrey's face twitches. André looks between them. Just how the hell did they live together in New York for four months without murdering each other? (Scratch that, he might not want the answer to that.) "I thought you just said you were never a groupie, mom? I guess those Agreste men just have something special about them, huh?"

"Wait..." André massages his temples, then his head snaps up as he looks at his wife, "you didn't." Audrey looks guilty at him, "you slept with Gabriel Agreste!?"

"Years ago!" She glares at Chloé, "and I told you that in confidence!"

"I never implied you two had sex."

"You might as well have shouted it!"

"Audrey we've been married for nearly seventeen years, 'years ago' is the vaguest of answers!" He gasps, "is he Chloé's father?"

"Fuck no. That's all you, Babe. This talentless little prick is our demon seed."

"Then I obviously get my lack of talent from you, mother."

"Oh no. That's him." André blanches, "but you do get that smartass mouth from me."

..

Nathalie sighs as she watches Gabriel hum to himself placing the peafowl brooch into a small jewelry box then wrap that box in a glittery yellow bow, "Chloé's favorite color is still yellow, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Gabriel glances at her over his shoulder. "You're displeased."

"Let me wield the peafowl Miraculous, Gabriel!"

"No. Chloé is perfect for the Miraculous. There isn't a more emotionally charged fourteen-year-old on the planet. The kwami of emotion was made for her. Besides, we need someone younger to keep up with Team Miraculous. Furthermore, at her age there's less of a chance the cracked Miraculous will cause permanent damage. We don't want another situation with Emilie on her hands."

"Emilie only wore the brooch and ended up in a coma, where you had to pull the plug, what do you think will happen to Chloé if she uses it?"

With a sigh, Gabriel turns to her fully. "André once told me Chloé Audrea Bourgeois will rule the world someday, and I believe that wholeheartedly. Chloé is the strongest person I know, she has to be to deal with the kind of abuse she has for almost a decade and a half. No one but her can wield Duusuu. Plus, Chloé will do whatever she feels is necessary to prove she isn't helpless or worthless – especially in the eyes of her parents, particularly her mother. And Audrey—" He chuckles, "Audrey is so full of hatred she'll make the ultimate akumatization."

"As sad as it is to say, Gabriel, Audrey's main source of hatred is Chloé. What are you going to do when your 'ultimate akumatization' hunts her down?"

"Audrey is nothing if not predictable. I can deal with her."

"What's gonna happen when Chloé and Duusuu encounter Team Miraculous?"

"I'm not giving her the Miraculous as Hawkmoth, it'll be a present tailored for her that she just stumbles across, and Duusuu has been prepped. Even though I doubt Adrien would've told her anything beforehand. No. I'm certain he'd want to tell her in person. There's nothing she'll know about this. I have all the bases covered. But... thank you for being concerned over Chloé. It's good to know someone else is."

"My fondness for Mlle. Bourgeois notwithstanding, she's important to Adrien and Adrien's happiness is primarily why we're trying to bring Emilie back to life. If anything happens to Chloé you could lose Adrien for good, you realize that?"

"Which is why we'll make certain nothing happens to Chloé." He hands her the butterfly brooch, "look for any potential akumatizations. I need to be there to greet the Bourgeois' personally."

Nathalie takes a deep breath as she clips the brooch onto her shirt, "Nooroo, dark wings rise."

..

Adrien is vibrating with excitement by the staircase when Gabriel passes by it. "Adrien? Why aren't you in your uniform?"

"Can I go in a little late, father? Please! I can't miss seeing Chloé."

Gabriel's about to open his mouth to deny his request but Nathalie's words ring around in his head. He absolutely cannot lose the most important thing in his life. They're already estranged because of Emilie's death, and grounding him for a mistake Gabriel will now admit to overreacting about did not help matters; he has to do whatever he can to bridge their connection. Starting with having another sunny blonde in the house that makes Adrien's face light up like the sun, "sure. But get ready. We're taking you to school as soon as you've said your greetings." His smile is so bright and infectious, Gabriel can't help reciprocating. Adrien hums to himself as he dashes up the stairs two at a time.

When Adrien returns ready for school, The Gorilla takes the two of them to Le Grand Paris, "huh. I thought Nathalie would be joining us?"

"She's... busy, but she sends her greetings." Adrien nods slowly then leans against the door.

They arrive at the hotel the same time as five limousines. Audrey is the first to exit not bothering to wait for the driver to open the door for her. Looks like she hasn't changed much. André exits behind her, pauses, then looks back inside the limo and gestures vaguely before exiting fully.

"Gabriel!" Audrey shouts running over to him barely giving him enough time to get out of the towncar.

"Hello, Audrey."

"Hello yourself, Hot Stuff." She laughs, "oh is that Adrien!?" She gasps Adrien hesitantly gets out of the car into Audrey's embrace. "He's so adorable! Such a waste we'll never have shared grandchildren. I cry myself to sleep thinking about how beautiful they'd be."

"There's nothing stopping them from having children together. Friends help out each other all the time in that area." Audrey fixes him with a glare.

Chloé exits the limo and her hair is down flowing over her shoulders. As soon as Audrey releases Adrien he runs over and hugs Chloé who's stunned momentarily but she regains her composure and laughs happily returning the hug. To keep that smile on his son's face, Gabriel would do whatever necessary.

"Your uniform is terrible!" Chloé laughs.

"Wait until you see yours." Adrien laughs right back.

Gabriel extends his elbow and Audrey hooks her hand through it. "Tell me the truth, is it better than London?"

"Even better than Milan."

Audrey gasps and grips his arm tighter. "My platonic soulmate. Oh, how I've missed you, Gabriel."

"And I you, my dear."

"Father?" Gabriel and Audrey stop walking and turn to the kids, "can Chloé come with me to school? Not, you know, for school but to register?" Gabriel glances at Audrey who shrugs.

"I'll register her." André says.

"Can we wait like five minutes? I'm in desperate need of a hot shower."

André takes them upstairs to Chloé's would-be room. Gabriel gave him the name of his designer before Adrien came up with the idea of having them live together. André does wish Chloé would reconsider but if he's being honest it's definitely better for his sanity if there's space between his wife and daughter. The limo ride here proved that.

"Where's my surprise, Daddy?"

"In the bathroom, ironically."

Chloé goes into the bathroom and screams, "I love bath bombs!" She comes out of the bathroom with the whole enormous gift basket. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Anything you for, Princess."

She puts the basket on the bed then walks back into the bathroom, "I'm gonna shower now. Won't take long."

He and Adrien nod as she closes the door behind her. "Take good care of her?"

"I will. And it's not like she's far, you can always come see her."

André sighs, "I may not... approve of—" He clears his throat, "you know, but I love my daughter."

"Then you need to accept all of her, Uncle André." André flinches at the nickname. He's not sure when Adrien stopped calling him that but hearing it again felt nice and it also hurt. "You can't just love the parts of Chloé that are convenient for you." The fire in Adrien's eyes reminds him so much of Emilie and how she came down hard on them after Chloé came out.

"It's not so simple—"

"Like hell it's not. You're willing to give Chloé the world but not accept the fact that she's a lesbian? Why bother catering to her at all then? And you'd might as well not bother to accept me either."

"You? W-What are you talking about?"

"I'm bisexual." André's eyes widen, "my dad and Nathalie already know. And before you start blaming Chlo for 'corrupting me' or whatever, I was already questioning it before I went to her."

The door opens and Chloé, who did get taller and is taller than him now – dammit (how did he not realize that when they were hugging earlier?), leans on him, "my knight in a terrible outfit." Adrien chuckles then scowls as he looks at André. "You didn't have to out yourself like that, Adrikins. Not for me."

"He might as well know, and I'm not exactly hiding it."

"A-Adrien—"

"Don't bother. Don't bother coming to see Chloé either. I'm rescinding my offer. Chlo, let's get out of here."

"O-Okay." She walks to the bed.

"Leave the basket."

"Seriously? B-But the bath bombs!"

"Chloé, no. He's trying to bribe you for something."

"So?" Adrien's eyes narrow, "oh, alright! But you're buying me some bath bombs. Unbelievable. Bye Daddy." She takes Adrien's hand then waves with her free one as they head to the elevator.

Adrien pauses, as the elevator opens, turning back to André frown deepening. "I forgot you're supposed to be registering her for school."

..

Kagami pauses mid-step as Adrien comes out of a towncar holding hands with a pretty, unfamiliar blonde. The texted each other all last night while she was still stewing over essentially being a fucking patsy.

Adrien told her all about his first day and that he looked forward to seeing her in class. She needs to warn him about Lila before he falls for her lies too. She needs to talk to Sabrina and Juleka as well while she's at it.

Her mother was right when she told her everyone has hidden agendas.

"Kagami!" Adrien runs over to her, all but dragging the poor blonde along. "You're late today too, huh?"

"I guess so." Her mother sensed her foul mood and they had a heart-to-heart, it was insightful even if it made her a little late to school. It's been a while since they had a chat like that. The last time she remembers was when she told her mother she liked girls as much as boys. Her mother laughed and told her the apple didn't fall far from the tree and came out to her as bisexual too. That made for one interesting afternoon.

"This is my best friend—"

"Whoa." The blonde says blatantly checking her out, "please tell me you're single—"

Adrien elbows her, "Chlo, at least introduce yourself first!"

"R-Right." She stands up straight and curtsies in her beautiful lavender dress. "Hey. I'm Chloé." She lets go of Adrien's hand to extend hers toward Kagami. As Kagami shakes her hand, Chloé lifts Kagami's hand to her lips and kisses it. "A pleasure."

Adrien sighs and Kagami chuckles, lifting Chloé's hand to her lips kissing it, "pleasure's all mine." Chloé gapes at her. "My name is Kagami and yes, I am single." Chloé sends a pleading look to Adrien who laughs.

"Don't look at me. Let's head inside before we're even later." Chloé merrily walks in between them.

"Kagami is such a pretty name and your hair is utterly beautiful, what conditioner do you use?" Adrien shakes his head as they start chatting about beauty regimens. He glances back at André miserably shuffling his feet.

They walk Chloé to the office. Once Principal Damocles lets her and André inside, Kagami and Adrien head to class.

"Thanks." Kagami glances at him curiously, "Chloé..." He sighs, "she could use some friends."

"I have absolutely no problem being her friend."

Adrien laughs, "no, I suppose you wouldn't with how much you two were flirting."

"She's beautiful, Adrien. I want to run my fingers through all the colors of her curly hair." Kagami clears her throat, "did I voice that out loud? I must be still sick." She starts walking faster and Adrien barks out a laugh as he follows her.

When they enter the classroom Mlle. Bustier welcomes Kagami back and puts her at the empty desk across from Mylène and Marinette.

The redhead looks around the room frowning, "has anyone heard from Alix? After what happened at the Louvre yesterday I'm especially worried."

"Class trip!" Kim yells standing up, "we should take a class trip. Surely Alix's old man is gonna have to answer you when you ask how she is."

"I suppose... was he not telling you what happened?" Both Kim and Max shake their heads. "I see. I'm going to call him and if he doesn't tell me over the phone we'll be taking that trip the Louvre." Kim pumps his fist in the air as he sits down. "Now then, I have good news. Principal Damocles informed me that we're finally getting Chloé Bourgeois in our class sometime this week."

"Uh, wasn't she supposed to be here months ago?" Alya asks, raising a hand.

"Yes. There were..." Mlle. Bustier grimaces, "complications, I've been told that delayed that." Her grimace deepens, "either way, let's do our best to make sure she feels welcomed, okay?" The class nods and she smiles. "Excellent. Onto today's lesson."

When class ends and everyone heads to their lockers. Lila bounces over to Kagami while people start making their way out of the locker room. "I missed you yesterday, Bestie."

Kagami hadn't realized being a Miraculous wielder upped her natural strength until she bent her locker door handle when she balled up her fist around it, "did you?"

"Of course I did silly!" She leans on the locker next to Kagami's as Kagami starts subbing in some of her stuff from her bag to locker then vice versa. "Did you see Adrien? Isn't he—" She taps a finger to her lip, "handsome isn't adequate enough to describe him."

"Yes, he is quite... more than handsome." Out the corner of her eye, she catches Lila's eyes narrow before they brighten.

"I know. I'm so lucky." She sighs dreamily. "You're gonna be the maid of honor at our wedding. Do you think spring weddings are overdone?"

"Yes. To death." Lila hums in agreement. "Before you propose..." She cocks her head to the left at Lila, "maybe you two should get to know each other first?"

"What are you saying?"

Kagami slams her locker shut, "I'm not saying anything, simply implying you and your future husband might not be as compatible as your fantasies believe. It's something to think about, at least."

"I see." She pushes herself off her locker, expression neutral, "I appreciate your concern and I suppose could make an effort to get to know him but it's not like it'll matter. What's not to love about me? And boys that cute rarely have any brains. I mean, look at Nino."

Kagami can feel her fingernails digging into her flesh. How fucking dare she, "guess you dodged a bullet not being his future wife." She grits out.

"You're awfully mouthy today."

"What? You don't like it, Bestie?" Lila clicks her tongue, "but since I have your attention I'm going to ask you this once. Where were you yesterday? During the akuma attack at the Louvre? And before you answer, know that I spoke to Alya – who truly was there – and has no recollection of your presence."

"You're gonna believe Alya over me? You barely know her! How do you know she isn't lying? She has Dupain-Cheng hanging all over her and we both know that girl's a bad influence."

Kagami grips Lila by the collar, and Nino might be onto something with his theory because there's genuine fear in her wide eyes, "let me make myself perfectly clear: You lie to me again, Rossi, and I'll cut out your tongue with my sabre." She releases Lila then picks up her bag and starts walking.

"Kagami, wait!"

"What?" As Kagami turns around it seems like slow motion that an akuma flies into her bag's strap.

"Oh shit." Kagami's eyes go blank before she grits her teeth. Lila's eyes widen as Kagami bites her lip so hard it draws blood. "Mlle. Mendeleiev!" Lila screams running out of the locker rooms.

"Mlle. Kagami Tsurugi..." A sickeningly sweet voice greets, "I am Hawkmoth. Your friend lied to you, betrayed your trust. I'm giving you the power—"

"N-No!" Kagami grabs her head and falls to the ground on her knees. "I-I don't need your help!"

The voice laughs mockingly, "why fight it? I'm trying to help. I'll willing to give you the power to make sure that girl never lies to anyone again. I'll give you the power to make sure no one ever lies ever again." Kagami's head snaps up and the butterfly outline appears over her eyes. "See? Isn't that better, Truth Seeker?" Kagami stands. The locker room door opens and Marinette enters then gasps.

"Kagami, no!" The purplish ooze already conceals Kagami's body before Marinette runs back out the door. "Crap! Crap, crap, crap!" She curses running down the hall. "She just had to wear the earrings today!" As she rounds the corner she bumps into Adrien.

When she sways he grips her shoulders. "Marinette? What's the hurry?"

"Kagami's been akumatized!"

"She's what?!"

She grabs his arm and they start running, "I don't know what happened myself but talking here isn't safe." She gets to the classroom and kicks open the door, "Kagami's been akumatized!"

"I see—" Mlle. Mendeleiev narrows her eyes at Lila, "this is your doing."

Lila grimaces, "well—"

Marinette storms over to her grabbing her shoulders, "I fucking swear, Rossi—"

"Relax, Dupain-Cheng, friends argue."

"You pissed her off enough to get her akumatized? Some friend." Kim scoffs, "great. This is just fucking great. We've all seen her fence and play dodgeball, imagine that fury amplified. We're dead. We're all dead. Every single one of us!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Kim." Mylène chastises, "a-although..." The entire class freezes before panic ensues and they all dive under desks.

"Wait!" Max's head pops up from under the desk, "we might be able to save ourselves. One life for a thousand—or fifteen, right? If akumatized Kagami is after Lila, I say we give her what she wants. All in favor?" Multiple hands raise in the air.

"What?!" Lila stomps her foot, "is this a joke?"

Marinette releases her, "you reap what you sow." She grabs Lila's hand and drags her out the classroom then locks the door when she heads back inside.

"N-No! No! Dammit Dupain-Cheng, you can't do this to me!" Marinette tilts her head to the right then pulls down the flap in front of the door. "Marinette! Marinette! Let me in! Dupain-Cheng!" She yells banging on the door. "You bitch! I'll never forgive you for this!"

"Damn Marinette, that was cutthroat." Juleka utters. Marinette merely shrugs.

Lila screams then there's a loud thump and after that, silence.

Everyone waits several seconds before slowly starting to rise from their hiding spaces. Marinette cautiously approaches the door and pulls up the flap and screams in horror. Lila is stuck to the door covered in a multi-color goo. Her face is frozen in horror. Everyone lifts up their phones and take pictures.

"Alright, alright. Just another minute to take a picture before we decide what to do." Mlle. Mendeleiev tells them, setting her phone down.

Kim runs to the door and takes a selfie with Lila in the background.

"I mean, what happens now? She was obviously after Lila and she got her. Now what? Does she get deakumatized? We've never seen an akumatization actually get who they were after." Everyone turns to Alya. "What? You know I'm right, and we know Kagami is precise. She's not gonna hurt innocent people, akumatized or not."

"Maybe we can reason with her—"

"Good idea, Marinette." Kim says and everyone nods in agreement.

"Wait, what?"

Rose walks over to her and takes her hand, "sorry." Then she gently shoves her out the door and locks the door behind her. Damn. Rose is stronger than she looks.

"Oh come on!" Everyone inside the classroom salutes her before pulling down the flap. Dammit. Nino and Alya are still in the classroom; plus, Alya doesn't even have Wayzz after yesterday. What could she and Plagg do by themselves? She'll have to figure this out as Marinette. Grumbling to herself, she walks down the hall.

"Chloé, we should get going."

"I'm just gonna say goodbye to my new friend, and maybe get her number." Chloé stops dead in her tracks at the multi-colored thing holding a paintbrush standing in the middle of the hallway. It looks up at her and she gasps.

"Chloé." It speaks.

"Y-Yes?" As it advances, Chloé finds herself frozen. There's a beauty in that chaotic, brightly colored mess.

"Kagami, stop!"

Chloé does a double-take, "wait, Kagami!?"

Hissing, the thing turns to the cute blue-haired girl with the twin-tails who walks toward the thing, "this isn't you. You're better than this!" The paintbrush drops from its hand but a butterfly mask outline appears over their eyes. "Oh crap!"

As Kagami—Kagami—cosplaying some horrific ooze creature, picks up the paintbrush and lunges, Chloé dives for the girl rolling them out of the way.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Twintails? Does that thing look like it can be reasoned with!?"

"It's Kagami! I have to try. W-Wait." The girl squints up at her, "who the hell are you?"

"Does tha—" Kagami grabs her by the waist and jumps away.

Marinette gapes sitting up as Kagami takes the blonde away. The man beside her—correction, the damn mayor of Paris—gapes then promptly faints. With no one (conscious) around, Marinette gets up then runs out of the building. Plagg flies out of her purse. "Aw man, this can't be happening. I mean, I knew it was bound to happen. The chances of one of you guys getting akumatized were high. You know: kids, emotions, high school, blah blah. But—still, shit fucking shit. I really don't wanna have to fight Gams."

"And you think I do?!" She runs into an alley, "claws out!" Plagg rolls his eyes but merges into the ring. Marinette jumps from rooftop to rooftop until she arrives at the herbal shop. She steps inside then looks around, "claws in."

Fù rounds the corner with Wayzz, "Marinette? Should you not be at school?"

"Master Fù, Kagami's been akumatized and she has Tikki."

"Oh no! D-Did Tikki get akumatized?"

"No. Or, I don't think so?" Fù starts pacing, "I need Wayzz."

"Y-Yes, of course."

"Marinette, before you go there's something you should know." Wayzz sighs, "it's... possible to merge Miraculouses."

"It's what?"

"It's not all that safe so I never told you, Master. I'm truly sorry."

"Apologize later, how do I do it?" Wayzz grimaces, "Wayzz! Kagami took some girl I never saw before and dashed off with her. I don't think the girl's in trouble but I can't risk it. Tell me how to combine more than one Miraculous."

Wayzz sighs, "very well. You say the transformation phrases of the kwamis you want to transform with, then you say unify. To split up you say divide."

"Why didn't my mentor ever say anything about this?"

"He didn't know." Wayzz sadly looks to the side.

"I'm not angry Wayzz. It's your nature to protect the team." He smiles sadly at Fù.

Fù hands Marinette the bracelet. "Plagg, claws out. Wayzz, shell on. Unify!"

..

Alya volunteered to check on Marinette who was checking on Kagami. She was going to volunteer Nino and give him a chance to transform but everyone crowded the poor boy and wouldn't let go. It's not like he's in any danger, Nino can't lie to save his life. Can't lie to save anyone's life. Now that Alya thinks about it, they're probably latching onto Nino so they don't get caught up in the crossfire. Even before becoming a member of the team, he was strangely, almost unnaturally lucky when it came to avoiding the path of akumatizations. With Nino unavailable, Adrien offered his services and went with her. Good thing she didn't have Wayzz or she'd have to give him the slip.

Other than the single multi-colored footstep in front of Mlle. Mendeleiev's door, the school is virtually spotless. Oh. Hello. What's this? There's a faint paint stain on the ground but nothing else. Alya takes a picture of the stain and would continue walking except Adrien trips beside her and she grabs him before he hits the floor. Did she get faster or was she imagining things?

"Wow. Thanks."

"No problem." Alya looks over at what—or rather who Adrien tripped over. "Isn't that the mayor?"

"Oh no."

"Oh no? What's with the 'oh no?'"

"You're right about Kagami being deadly precise, I doubt any other class even knows there's an akuma around." He gulps, "but... the mayor's been known to lie."

"Most politicians do. It's kind of a prerequisite. However, the mayor's not covered in paint—" Alya nudges him with her foot, "looks like he's just passed out."

"Yeah, I was getting to that. The mayor's daughter, Chloé, is my best friend—the same Chloé who's supposed to be joining our class soon. This morning, she and Kagami really hit it off. I mean, they really hit it off." He pauses so Alya gestures for him to go on, "since there's no paint covering the mayor like Lila, my only guess is Kagami took Chloé somewhere which made the mayor faint? Maybe the two of them are just somewhere shooting the shit?"

"That would certainly make Team Miraculous' job easy."

"Speaking of Team Miraculous? I've never seen them in action. How long does it take them to... deal with stuff like this?"

"It varies."

"Do you see Marinette anywhere?" Alya shakes her head, "then I guess we'd better get back to class?" Alya nods.

..

"A roof is not an ideal spot for a first date..." Chloé says conversationally as Kagami is kneeling beside her clutching her head. "So, uh, in the spirit of full disclosure? What in the hell are you wearing? It's utterly atrocious! So much worse than that school uniform. I can't believe I have to wear that."

"I... need to... fight this..."

Chloé jumps to her feet, "fight what? Your fashion choices? I can help! I always carry an emergency backup outfit with me at all times."

"Anger... fight my anger..."

Chloé kneels beside her and tilts her head up, "I have the perfect solution for that too but consent is absolutely key. Are you cool with me kissing you? See if that'll subside your anger?" Kagami nods. "Great. God, I hope this stuff doesn't stick." Then she leans in and kisses Kagami.

When they separate Kagami puts a hand on her shoulder but the butterfly mask outline reappears above her eyes, "smart girl. Very clever." A voice that's so not Kagami's says even though it's coming from Kagami's mouth, "but anger isn't the only strong emotion I can manipulate. I can work with lust too."

Chloé grimaces, "aw hell."

Kagami stands then leans in and pecks her on the cheek, "you'll be nice and safe up here." Then she jumps down.

"Are you kidding me!?" Chloé crawls over to the edge of the roof looking down at Kagami winks up at her before dashing into the school building next door. Groaning, she lifts her head in time to see a black shadow land in front of her. Chloé looks up in horror then awe. "Sexy leather biker gear!" She scrambles to her feet, eyes sparkling. "Kagami would look so hot in this! Obviously without the helmet. I need to see her gorgeous face." She circles the biker and nearly falls off the roof if they hadn't grabbed her. "Thanks. Wasn't paying attention to—"

"How did you get up here?"

Chloé blinks, "it's literally a blur. Though I wouldn't mind being carried down? She said I'll be safe up here—" There are screams coming from below them.

The biker unclips a baton from their side. Chloé notices the helmet has tiny cat-like ears on it. How cute! And she noticed a shell on the back of the outfit. "Let's get you down."

Chloé holds onto the biker who uses the baton like a tightrope. Thankful for Adrien's damn ballet fixation, she somewhat easily walks down. Plus, holding onto the biker helped her balance a bit. "Wait! That thing in there? I think it possessed my potential girlfriend. So if you're gonna kick its ass, you should be aware."

"What makes you so sure I'm gonna kick her ass?"

"You're armored up and carrying a weapon. I may not be all that smart but it's pretty obvious you came for a fight. A very specific fight."

"I'll be careful."

"Take me with you. She won't hurt me. Why else would she want me to be out of harm's way?"

"I'm not risking your safety."

"I'm gonna be in the way regardless. You might as well let me help." The biker sighs and Chloé claps her hands together. Then they unclip the shell from their back and hand it to her. "This is pretty fucking heavy."

"Good. Then you won't do anything dangerous like throw yourself at her."

Chloé scoffs, "obviously not with so many people around."

..

The multi-colored akumatization bust down the door to the classroom and started tossing their paintbrush around sticking people to things like they did with Lila. Someone would've commented on Kagami behaving differently if it weren't for the damn butterfly outline and the increasingly terrifying smile accompanied with it. Kagami's will is so fucking strong Hawkmoth had to double down on the manipulation to get her to cause a ruckus? If he wasn't scared before, he sure as hell is now. With Nino's unparalleled luck, Kim was able to get them both out of the classroom unpainted.

"As fun as this has been, man. We should hide separately? You know, lessen our chances of getting stuck onto stuff?"

"Good idea and good luck." They both run in the opposite direction and Kim finds himself hauling ass to one of the seldom-used bathrooms in the school.

Xuppu flies out of his hood. No one said anything about the slight change in his wardrobe underneath his uniform. Hell, if Marc could do it why couldn't he? "Mischief! Mischief! Mischief! Mischief! Let's open up a jar of whoop-ass."

"It's a can of whoop-ass. Ooh. Damn. That would've been another great transformation phrase." Xuppu nods sagely in agreement. Kim takes a bow then unclasps the tiara from his wrist and puts it on his head. Fù told him to keep his Miraculous on him at all times and when he found out the tiara could bend he wore it like a makeshift bracelet, "showtime, my good sir."

"Hells yeah!" Xuppu returns the bow before flying into the tiara.

After he transforms, he looks around the bathroom making sure no one saw or heard him enter. Once the coast is clear he climbs out the window – which is a tight fit. "I'm gonna meet Ladybug~"

"Before you do that, what you did yesterday? Badass. Truly. Only one previous partner was able to unleash that much chaos naturally. But your ruyi jingu bang can transform into a single object that can immobilize your enemy."

"Sweet~"

"Bring forth the chaos, then transform the ruyi jingu bang into whatever you'd like, the more unpredictable the better. I'm so glad the Guardian let you keep me."

"Me too dude. We're soulmates."

"Totally!"

As he makes his way back to the school Rena Rouge, Carapace and Chat Noir's fusion by the look of it, and an unfamiliar cute blonde are looking around the hallway. "I hear you guys needed some backup?" The three of them turn to him and with their helmet's he obviously can't see their expressions but the blonde furrows her eyebrows.

"Is this a thing here? Everyone in biker gear—"

"We're not bikers, we're superheroes."

"Dressed up like furries?" She sighs, "why did I let Adrien talk me into moving here? It would've been less fetishizing living with Nana. No, she has that thing with the candle wax—"

"Can we focus?" Rena asks, "we didn't call for backup but we'll take all the help we can get." Kim gives them a thumbs up. "We're looking for a—" They gesture frantically with their hands in a circular motion.

"A paintbrush wielding colorful blob person." The blonde interrupts. "Who has a really, really hot girl inside. So if we can break this blob shell thing and get her to being cute again, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"We have to purify the akuma but we don't know where it is—"

Rena lolls their head from side to side, "there is someone who might know." With a groan, the cat-turtle motions for all of them to follow. The school is far more chaotic and colorful than it was when Kim ran by just a few minutes ago.

They head to the door off its hinges that still has Lila attached and the fusion's left pointer finger starts glowing black and they crack just the area around Lila's head breaking the goo. She gasps but isn't able to move around since the rest of her is still stuck. "Lady—hey. You're not Ladybug."

"Be grateful someone's saving you." Kim tells her. She glares. "Where'd the akuma go?"

"In her bag strap but I didn't see what that turned into."

"That's not much help. Why did we free her again?" The fusion asks.

"Hey!"

The blonde snaps her fingers, "I noticed a vertical purple line around her right shoulder when she—we—" She clears her throat, "I noticed the line. The rest of her is all swirled and colors are everywhere but this one line is not like that. Maybe that's where this akuma thing or whatever is hiding?"

Rena nods. "Won't hurt to try—"

"Or it might hurt." The blonde replies. "Might hurt a lot."

"Either way. We're doing it. But she's fast—"

"I can slow her down." The helmets aren't betraying anything but the body language screams dubious.

"Then let's find her—"

"Better yet, why don't I just come to you?" The four of them turn to Kagami tapping the paintbrush against the very visible purple strap. She extends her free hand, the butterfly outline over her eyes shining brighter, "hand over your Miraculouses or you'll be abstract art on the walls too."

The blonde takes a step forward, and Kagami takes a step back. "You don't have to do this. You're outnumbered."

"Please, you think these clowns pose a challenge?" She charges at them and the blonde barely gets the shell shield up in time to protect them.

"I told you this thing was heavy!"

The turtle-cat takes the shield from the blonde. "I'll take that from here. We tried being reasonable."

"Now it's time for the whoop-ass." Kim twirls his ruyi jingu bang and it starts glowing then it turns into... a tube of lipstick?! "What the fuck, Xup?!"

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you!"

The blonde grabs the lipstick from him and stares at it, "ah! Kisses!"

"I'm flattered but the helmet—"

"Not you." She rolls her eyes then points at Kagami, "her. That weird voice behind the butterfly mask said they could manipulate strong emotions. First she was pissed and when I kissed her she calmed down, only to have her get manipulated through lust."

"Could Hawkmoth do that before?" Rena whispers to the cat-turtle who shrugs. "Question? Won't kissing her again just bring out more lust?"

The blonde's chuckle is unnerving, if Kim's being honest. She uncaps the lipstick. "Oh, I'm not going for lust." She turns to Kim, tiptoeing and uses the lipstick to draw on his helmet.

Rena and Chat-Pace tilt in their direction curiously before Rena busts out laughing. Before Kim could respond, the blonde runs over to Rena and scribbles on their helmet.

Kagami's standing in front of them loosely gripping onto the paintbrush, mask outline flickering. What the fuck is she—

Xuppu gasps, "I know what she's planning and I think it's working! She's trying to laugh the akuma out of their body." Kim looks and it does seem like Kagami is struggling to rein in her laughter. "Oh. I think we've met a match. Such chaos. Such wonder. It would be a joy to partner up with that much chaotic energy. It's second only to yours."

After the blonde is done scribbling on Cara Noir's helmet Kagami straight up loses her shit, dropping the paintbrush and dropping to her knees chuckling. Not only does the purple ooze transform her laughter racked body back into Kagami but a purple butterfly flies out of her bag strap and right into ChatNoirPace's bubbled hands. When they separate their hands a purified butterfly floats away.

Rena and the fusion turn to each other, then to Kim, then they all start laughing. "Oh man, that's high-key obnoxious of you to compliment Kagami and draw crude pictures on our helmets." Rena states between chuckles.

The blonde recaps the lipstick tube flipping it in the air before tossing it over her shoulder at Kim who catches it, "it worked, didn't it? Kagami's back to being cute again." After the four of them do their celebratory fist bump new girl is blatantly confused about and Kim internally swoons over, then walks over to Kagami who stops laughing and accepts the outstretched hands.

"I am truly sorry for my behavior."

Rena puts a hand on her shoulder, "don't worry about it. And we need to thank our new friend who gave us a new way to stop akumatizations."

"New friend is named Chloé." The blonde replies curtsying. "Who are you all of you biker gear wearing non-bikers?"

"We're Paris' superhero team. They call us Team Miraculous. We did not decide on that name but it's what we've been dubbed. I'm Rena Rouge."

Kim points at himself, "Roi Singe."

"Plastron." Rena turns to them, "what? It was the only other shell thing I could think of." They clear their throat, "thanks again, Chloé."

"No worries. This was fun. If you ever need a civilian's help just look me up." She locks her hands behind her head, "I'd better scoop up my father from the floor. Be seeing ya."

"Chloé—" She pauses then turns to Kagami, "I—"

"Don't worry about it, Hot Stuff. I should be apologizing to you."

Kagami shakes her head, "you helped and I... enjoyed it. As brief as it was."

"Glad to hear it. I'll have Adrikins give you my number. Let's grab a smoothie soon." Then she starts walking down the hall.

Kim points finger guns at them, "let's team up again real soon—"

Plastron nods, "you were a big help, Roi Singe. And the more ways we have to take down Hawkmoth, the better." When he dashes off, Rena turns to them.

"You sure about this? I'm all for not questioning the Guardian's decisions but..." They shrug helplessly. "Not even gonna ask?"

"Don't worry, Rena, I have a feeling we're gonna see them again. But in the meantime, we could use Ladybug about now to use her power to—" Kagami holds out the earrings in her hands. "Wha—"

"Take them. For good. I've been compromised and proven to be unworthy. My cold is not an excuse for my weakness."

"Nah." Rena grabs her hand and closes her fist around the earrings, "you just had a bad day. You're way more worthy than one slight fuck up that reasonably could've happened to anyone. And we shouldn't be scared to be upset. That could also get us akumatized. Feel free to feel however you wanna feel."

"Rena's got a point, and you proved any strong emotion could get us akumatized. Not just negative ones. Having said that, we can't just not feel. It's unnatural. Hawkmoth has no right trying to dictate how we can and can't feel. You got no reason to feel bad about getting akumatized because Rossi pissed you off. Besides, you had the earrings on and wasn't even slightly tempted to give them to Hawkmoth. If that's not strength I don't know what is."

They each put a hand on her shoulder, "you're one of the good guys, Tsurugi, you're not going anywhere."

She smiles at them, "thank you." They nod at her. "Have either of you noticed we're getting stronger? Not in the suits. Outside them." They exchange a glance, "I can feel it. I'm no longer sore after an all day practice."

"I have noticed I'm no longer winded after running to school. But we really shouldn't be shooting the shit in the hallway. Let's get this mess cleaned up then talk at my place when school lets out."

..

Nino never stepped foot in Marinette's parents' bakery before. The only time he ever ate anything from here was when Marinette brought stuff for the class.

Thankfully, no one outside the class knew Kagami was the akumatization that stuck Principal Damocles and a bunch of other classes to the closest flat enough surface she could find.

Marinette's parents greet him and introduce themselves then show him to Marinette's room.

The room is every bit Marinette as Nino could've imagined. There are pictures of all her friends adorning one of her walls while all her fashion projects are adorning another. Then there are little Chinese ornaments spread out throughout the room. Alya and Kagami are already there when he arrives.

Marinette jumps off her bed and spreads her arms out wide, "welcome to my room."

"It's killer, dude. Seriously." She grins at him. "But, uh, you sure it's cool to talk up here? Why couldn't we meet at the usual spot?"

"We can't talk about the Guardian at the Guardian's place."

"So we are discussing the monkey Miraculous." Nino takes a seat on the chaise beside Kagami.

Marinette nods. "We won't ask for an identity. Just wanna make sure he was chosen."

"But, I mean, could we even do that? Kagami and I weren't chosen the way you two were. Wouldn't that be a cop-out?" Marinette stares at him with her mouth agape.

"Okay." Alya holds up a hand. "You might not've been chosen but you—"

"Don't even have full-time partners. Roi Singe has the monkey..." Nino snaps his fingers trying to remember the name.

"Xuppu." Kagami supplies. "The kwami of happiness."

"Jubilation." Tikki clarifies, "but close enough." The other kwamis stare at her, gesturing vaguely. "Ordinarily, I'd support the Guardian—any Guardian's decision 100% without question but this? I don't know about this. It's been centuries, longer than I've been last active, that Xuppu's been out in the world."

"He's worse than Plagg." Trixx says folding their arms over their chest, "and that's saying something."

"Dreams is right, as much as it pains me to admit, we can't have Screws operating lone-monkey. There's no balance for that kind of crazy."

"Balance? What are you talking about?" Alya asks.

Plagg blows out a breath, "I suppose it's lesson time then, kiddies. We kwamis are all about balance." He waves his arms around, "it's why the Guardian is always going on about compatibility and matching auras and all that jazz. We don't just need to mesh with our partner, we gotta mesh with each other." He clears his throat, "however, someone somewhere along the lines thought: what if one of them didn't have a balance?"

"And that 'someone' is Xuppu?" Kagami asks and Plagg nods.

"We met Xuppu briefly, twice, and he—?" Marinette pauses, "they—?" She corrects, "hadn't said anything either time."

"He." The kwamis respond.

"He. Never spoke."

The kwamis exchange sorrowful glances, "last time Xuppu was active he was used for evil." Wayzz says with a sigh. "His partner—" He gestures at his mouth, "sealed away his words."

"You mean to tell me all this time I could get Trixx to shut up?" Alya groans leaning back in the chaise.

"You'd miss my glorious voice." Trixx huffs.

"In any event—" Wayzz glares, "yes. We could be commanded to do a variety of things by our partner of the current cycle. Particularly by those with ill intentions. The Guardian, Tikki, and I were working together trying to unseal Xuppu's words. It's difficult to do without the book's instruction but we somehow made it work."

"Especially since he didn't have a partner." Tikki adds.

"Now getting him to shut up again is gonna be tricky." Plagg mutters, wincing as Trixx kicks him.

"From the grainy footage, it looked like—"

Plagg groans, "shut it, Sugarcube. There's no way we'd guess. Why not just ask Snappy for fuck's sake, he was there." Plagg gestures to Wayzz.

"Don't tell me to shut it, you shut it."

"Both of you shut it." Marinette snaps. "Wayzz, who else did the Guardian activate yesterday?"

"Kaalki, Mullo, and Sass." Trixx groans. "But Xuppu is the only one who got his partner."

"Wait!" Alya jumps up and stalks over to Wayzz, "you know who wielding the monkey—Xuppu." Gasping, everyone turns to Wayzz. "You know who wielded all of them."

"Yes, but I will not tell you!" He shrinks back at all the stares he's getting but remains firm. "And since I don't have a full-time partner in this room none of you can make me tell you."

"What's this I hear? Wayzz actually growing a spine?" Trixx looks him up and down, "I'm impressed."

"And you guys always say I'm the ass?" Plagg laughs.

"Okay. We won't press—" Kagami holds up a hand at the various murmurs of complaints, "but answer me this? Who is your kwami match? What 'meshes' with protection?"

"Pollen. The kwami of subjection."

"Makes sense, why not protect those you can control?" Alya nods to herself, "Tikki and Plagg are obvious. Otherwise, Hawkmoth won't be continuously bitching about nabbing both." She looks up at Trixx, "and you?"

"That would be Mullo, kwami of multiplication. At the risk of sounding like Xuppu, you have no idea the type of chaos one could unfold if our powers were merged together."

"Merge?" They all look at Trixx.

"Right. Another lesson then." Plagg begins. "Due to the nature of balance and yada yada, we can fuse together temporarily. The better the balance between partner and kwami, the more powerful you'll both be. The better the balance between the two fusing kwamis, the less strain it causes on the partner's body."

"What about our partners, temporary or permanent, strengthening our bodies? Is that something that happens?"

"Ah, yes. You noticed you're getting stronger? Faster? And just all-around more than usual?" Kagami nods. "It's the same for us as well. It'll be even stronger with a permanent partner but—" Plagg shrugs, "it is what it is."

"Sweet." Alya rubs her hands together. "So instead of having the four of us fight together just one of us could be using all four kwamis?"

"I wouldn't recommend doing that." Tikki advises, "just merging two Miraculouses is tricky. It's not something that can be done all the time. It's a what do you call it? Trump card. Last resort kind of thing. I only have one memory of three kwamis being merged together and it wasn't a great experience."

"Speak for yourself." Trixx huffs, "you didn't experience it first hand."

"Okay, I have a question." Everyone turns to Alya, "do you guys know if Nooroo and the other missing kwami are balance buddies?"

"Nooroo and Duusuu? Yeah, they are." Trixx replies. "Kind of ironic they were both stolen or lost or whatever. As for Pollen and Fluff? Pollen has Wayzz so they're obviously not partnered up with Fluff."

"Maybe we can ask Prim if they can find Flappy?" Plagg suggests, "I mean if anyone—"

Wayzz cuts him off with a headshake, "based on that logic, I'd be able to find Pollen but I can't. I think the crack interferes with our ability to sense our 'balance buddies.'"

"Hey, speaking of balance? I just had a thought. What if Alix does have Fluff and they merged? Didn't you guys say using a cracked Miraculous is dangerous? Alix has been out of school for almost a month now, ever since her birthday where she got the rabbity pocket watch."

"Nino might be onto something~" Trixx sing-songs.

"The Guardian may not have chosen you like he did me and Marinette but there's no way we'd be able to do any of this without you. Without either of you."

"I'll say." Marinette sighs, "we're definitely gonna need to talk to Master Fù about a lot of stuff."

..

She waved off her mother's concerned looks as she thumped her head against the front door after she closed it. How dare Dupain-Cheng not only make her look like an idiot twice in less than a year but try to turn Kagami against her! Kagami was her friend, dammit, Marinette had no right trying to steal her away!

Lila runs into her room and collapses onto her bed screaming into her pillow.

There was some kind of buzzing or flapping or some irritating noise that was pissing her off further and when she rose her head she saw an akuma fly into the pillow she was gripping onto. She feels something cold and dark crawling around her body like an insect and the purple butterfly outline appears over her eyes. "Good evening, Mademoiselle. I think I'll call you Le Correcteur." A voice whispers in her ear, "you've been wronged. Made a fool of you for the last time. That peppy goody-two-shoes wants to leave you friendless and turn the entire class against you? We won't give her the satisfaction. I'll give you the power to fix her egregious attitude toward you. We'll make them all see you're not one to trifle with."

Lila stands up gripping the pillow under her arm. "And then I'll have Kagami all to myself?"

"She'll be eating out of the palm of your hand."

With the butterfly mask outline over her eyes, Lila looks up at the ceiling and smiles as the purplish ooze overtakes her body.

..

"Hello Miraculous Super Fans~" The camera pans out, "it is I, your Team Miraculblog creator, Mélodie Boivin telling you all about the new akuma detector app. I had nothing to do with creating it so you know it's legit. Simply download the app and alert your fellow Parisians when you see an akuma so they can stay clear of the area. It'll also let Team Miraculous do their work without worrying about civilians getting in their way.

We all love Team Miraculous so we all want them to be safe out there fighting akumatizations. So we know what's best for the team is to let them do them without having to worry about us. Don't be a hero. Get to safety. It's the best way you can help them out. Also, don't let the cops get in the way either. They've proven time and time again they're not equipped for this type of thing. I mean, we all saw the incidents in which the police chief got akumatized and turned the force against the people. And yes I said incidents as in more than one. Magic could only be fought with magic. Anyone who's ever watched cartoons would know that.

Oh? What's this?" The blonde's phone chirps and there's a blinking red dot she zooms in on. "This just in. There's an armored akuma making their way toward Collège Françoise Dupont so, ya know, maybe just don't head toward there? Why would you anyway? School's been out for the day. Unless you were getting an evening snack from Sabine & Tom Boulangerie Patisserie, which – in my opinion – has the best macarons in the city. But I'm not getting paid to endorse. However, if the owners are listening and need some extra business I'd be willing to accept commission in the form of pastries."

..

Chat Noir sighs. "Two akumas in one day? Hawkmoth's full of surprises."

Ladybug hums. "I'm so glad I downloaded the app Mélodie talked about on her blog."

Team Miraculous is standing on the roof of a building behind Collège Françoise Dupont watching the six-meter tall knight clad in all-white armor bypass the school to head to Sabine & Tom Boulangerie Patisserie. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" It roars.

"Lila." The team groans.

Rena sighs, "you think we could fashion some communicators for Roi Singe? Or do you think he's a Miraculblog follower?"

Carapace impatiently taps her shell against the rooftop, "I don't think anyone in Paris isn't a follower of the blog by now." She clutches her helmet, "I know this it the pre-fight portion where we come up with a plan then kick Hawkmoth's ass but I'm—I'm..." She sighs, "my heart's just not in it! The longer we stay perched up here like gargoyles the more my parents are in danger!"

"Relax, Carapace. I have a risky but equally beneficial idea~" Chat sing-songs, "let's group huddle."

As Chat explains her plan, that's met with a series of groans, they all detransfrom. Nino merges Tikki and Plagg's Miraculouses and Alya merges Wayzz and Trixx.

Bug Noir carries both Kagami and Marinette to the bakery while Red Shell creates illusions to confuse the knight.

Marinette flops down on her bed with a groan, while Kagami takes a seat on the chaise. "I hate waiting like this but if I am the main source of Lila's anger, I'm gonna take her on as myself."

"I'm behind you 100%."

"Thanks, Kagami. Alya was right about not being able to do this without you."

..

Nathalie follows the movements of the akumatization. Huh. There must be secrets the book didn't speak about. Merging kwami powers? She'll have to talk to Gabriel about it. Although if she's being honest, she might not want to give Nooroo back to him.

This feeling. The power that comes with it. It's addicting.

No wonder he spends so much time in here as Hawkmoth.

And with him having to pacify the Bourgeois' she'll be acting as Hawkmoth more and more. The only rules he gave her were that no matter how pissed she got Audrey was currently off-limits, as she'd no doubt use her anger to go after her daughter.

He also told her to watch Adrien and only akumatize him if there was no other alternative. He can't get preferential treatment without arousing suspicion.

Hopefully, it won't come to that, but Adrien is just as "emotionally charged" as his best friend. Either way, Nathalie's not sure she can send an akuma after the boy who became like a son to her.

..

Rose blinks at the box in the outstretched gloved hand before her. She was with Marc making their way toward Sabine & Tom Boulangerie Patisserie to bribe Alix's family into seeing them when people started running around screaming about an akumatization.

Before either of them could ask about the aforementioned akumatization they saw it, as it nearly trampled them. Fortunately, Roi Singe carried them to safety, away from the main roads.

Which brings them to the present. "Rose Lavillant, here is the Miraculous of the rat, or mouse if you prefer. As you recall, it contains Mullo: kwami of multiplication. You will use it to kick some akumatized ass." Rose nods accepting the box, "once said ass-kicking is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Got it?"

"Absolutely, Roi Singe. You can count on me!"

"Atta girl."

As Rose opens the box, Mullo flutters into existence before her and presses their body against her cheek in a hug. "It's you." They gasp, "I'm so happy it's you."

"So am I."

"How wonderful to be partnered with you again." Rose puts the necklace on and smiles up at Mullo who returns the smile.

"Let's get squeaky."

Marc gapes, "a-again?" They shield their eyes at the bright grey light that engulfs Rose's body and once the light dissipates there's a helmeted hero in a catsuit reminiscent of a human-sized rat; there are even little rat ears on the helmet. Roi Singe clears his throat, holding out another box toward Marc. "W-Wha—? No way."

"Yes way, my dude. We need the extra help. Guardian's orders. I do gotta go through the speech again so bear with me." He takes a deep breath, "Marc Anciel, here is the Miraculous of the ox. It contains Stompp, kwami of change. Or was it modification? Either way, you will use it to kick some akumatized ass." Gulping, Marc shakily accepts the box, "once said ass-kicking is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

"Y-Yes." They grip the box tighter, "I'll do what I can to help."

"Badass. Crack open that puppy and let's get to work."

Marc gently opens the box squinting, as expected there's a bright purple light that comes from inside the box once it's fully open. Inside is a septum ring. "Oh." There's a purple ox floating in mid-air. "You are adorable!" They coo pressing their body against Marc's cheek like the rat did with Rose. "My last Chosen wasn't anywhere near as cute as this one." Once they let go of Marc beaming, they bow. "Greetings. I am Stompp, kwami of alteration. Whom do I have the pleasure of partnering with this evening?"

"M-My name's Marc."

"Wonderful. Now as this is my first time out of the Miracle Box in some time to transform you'll need a phrase. You'll need another phrase to detransform. Oh, and you must place the jewelry on your person first. It's as simple as that. Don't worry, it's a clip-on." Marc nods gently places the septum ring in their nose, "now your transformation phrase."

"Charge."

..

When Lila – or Le Correcteur as she insisted on being called – ripped off the top half of the bakery and grabbed Marinette then squeezed, the illusion burst into dozens of butterflies.

Marinette pokes her head out from under the kitchen table and sighs, watching Lila swat at the butterflies. "Well, that just confirms she's trying to kill me."

"Told ya I got ya covered, LB." Alya says in her ear.

Alya has become freakishly good at casting illusions. They might have to keep her on Rena Rouge, or any of Rena's potential fusions, from now on while the rest of them continue to switch until Nino and Kagami find their permanent partners.

Bug Noir's Lucky Charm created one of those toy monkeys that bang their cymbals together, so Marinette called Fù who got in contact with Roi Singe. Fù also promised them he'd deliver a communicator to Roi Singe once the mission was done with. They made spares but they might need to make more.

Marinette was hardly expecting three heroes to appear carrying her, Kagami, and her parents out of the partially destroyed bakery.

Roi Singe's debut was at the Louvre yesterday, and as none of them were there Fù had to have hand-delivered the Miraculous to him. And as Fù let Roi Singe keep Xuppu, they must be a perfect match. (Given what she heard about Xuppu earlier, Marinette isn't sure if that's a good thing.)

There are so many questions.

As Le Correcteur stomps on the remnants of the bakery Marinette can see her parents hearts breaking in front of her. That bitch has to go down. Roi Singe pats her parents on the shoulder, "M. Dupain, Mme. Cheng, we'll fix you guys' bakery. Have no fear." Her parents nod with unshed tears in their eyes.

The rat hero clears her throat, "a-as risky as it sounds, we're gonna need your daughter."

"What!?" Her papa screeches, "what for!?"

"Li—The akumatization is after me." Marinette replies evenly, "if it keeps you guys safe, I'm willing to do whatever I can."

"Marinette, no. If you're the one in danger there's no way we're letting you out of our sight."

"You can count on us." The ox proclaims placing a hand over their chest. "No harm will come to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. We swear."

"What will you even need Marinette for?" Her maman asks.

"The akumatization won't continue to wreck havoc looking for her if she's in plain sight." The rat fidgets playing with her gloved hands, "as I said, it's risky but I can multiply." To emphasize this, she jumps rope until she splits in two. Marinette does a double take because whoa she didn't not know that. "I'll keep Marinette safe." One mouse hero exclaims picking up Marinette in the princess carry.

"Please be careful with our daughter." Her parents plead.

The three heroes (four, if you include the second rat hero) nod then jump in the direction of Collège Françoise Dupont. Once they get passed, Red Shell and Bug Noir jump down from wherever and head them off.

"Whoa!" Red Shell begins, "the fuck is all this?"

"We're using the whole target as bait to distract the enemy bit. I know it's severely overdone but Lucky Charm after-effects or not, I can't stand idly by watching my favorite bakery get smushed into dust."

"You got more of that plan or are you just winging it?" Roi Singe shrugs. Bug Noir sighs, "okay. This is what we're gonna do. We're gonna get intros out of the way then we're gonna do what you said and use Mlle. Dupain-Cheng to distract the akumatization. If possible, get the whole reason why you were akumatized spiel." Everyone nods, "great, I'll begin. Bug Noir."

"As you're probably aware I'm Roi Singe."

"I-I'm Bête." The ox stammers with a nod.

"Call me Miraculmouse!" There are various agreeing murmurs.

"Red Shell. Though I think I might change it."

"I-I have an idea." Bête slowly raises their hand, "what if I made myself as big as the akumatization and had one of Miraculmouse's copies on me carrying Mlle. Dupain-Cheng? I can alter my body at will."

"That's such a cool power." Roi Singe gushes.

"Okay. And while you're doing that the rest of us will try to figure out where the akuma is hiding. It's Lucky Charm time." Bug Noir spins the yo-yo overhead until it starts to glow, then once the glowing stops a pillowcase drops into his waiting hands. "Yeah. Um. Wow. I got nothing." He hands Red Shell the pillowcase. She shakes her head as she hands the pillowcase to Roi Singe who wordlessly passes it along to Bête. With a shrug, they pass it to Miraculmouse who examines it.

"Maybe the akuma is in a pillow?" Miraculmouse guesses. Everyone looks over at the akumatization now stomping Collège Françoise Dupont with glee.

"And that pillow is now their shield!" Bug Noir nods. "Worth a shot. Great work, Double M."

Roi Singe hums. "But it's a big knight, man. Getting that shield away from them ain't gonna be easy."

"Yeah. We'd better work quick then. These akumatizations get more and more annoying. Onto the distraction phase. Bête, do what you need to do buddy."

Bête detaches the cowbell from their side and rings it. "Grow." The rest of the team watches in awe as the ox hero gets bigger and bigger. "Need a lift?" They extend their hand and everyone else jumps into the opened palm. From their hand, everyone gets on Bête's shoulders.

They cut off Le Correcteur before she can cause any more destruction. She screams throwing a punch Bête catches with their hand, then when she throws another punch with her other hand it gets caught as well. "Dupain-Cheng will never steal another friend from me!" She snarls, lifting her foot and kicking Bête in the stomach, knocking them off balance.

"This reminds me of a movie I once saw." Marinette muses tapping her chin as they fall backwards; Miraculmouse carrying her away to safety.

As Bête hits the ground, narrowly avoiding landing on any buildings, Le Correcteur laughs haughtily. "Don't interfere! I'm a fan of Team Miraculous. I don't wanna hurt any of you. Just give me Dupain-Cheng."

Red Shell scoffs. "If you really were a fan of ours, you wouldn't be trying to hurt an innocent civilian."

"'Innocent?'" The knight sneers. "You've got it all wrong. There's nothing innocent about that wretch. She's a friend stealing harpy and all I wanna do is correct her."

"Looks like we got the why." Roi Singe mutters.

"If anyone has any additions to the plan now would be a good time to voice them." Red Shell says.

"How good is your acting, Marinette?" Miraculmouse asks.

"So-so. Why?"

"Roi Singe and I were thinking of something that might work. You're gonna need to antagonize the akumatization..." Miraculmouse pauses, "further. Really distract her."

Roi Singe taps his ruyi jingu bang against the floor and it turns into a polkadotted yo-yo. "I swear I don't understand this thing sometimes." He hands it to Marinette, "talk shit about her then throw this at her, it'll immobilize her and we can get the shield."

"If that doesn't work, we can always trip her with my copies." Miraculmouse cuts in.

"Wouldn't call this a solid plan but it's the only one we got. I have an idea about getting the shield, even if she isn't immobilized. I'll need you to give me cover, Red Shell, throw in some illusions into the mix if you can."

Red Shell gives him a two-fingered salute, "whatever you need, Boss." She holds up a hand, "but cataclysming the akumatization's shield is not a plan. That's more of a goal."

"Then let's get this goal done. You good, Bête?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be on my feet in no time. Hope I'm not sore in the morning."

Groaning, Bête gets back on their feet locking hands with Le Correcteur again. "Protecting her is pointless! She'll screw you over too—" Le Correcteur gasps seeing Marinette hanging off Bête's right shoulder waving. "Dupain-Cheng!"

Time to put her acting chops to work. "Poor Rossi wants someone to blame for her unlikeable personality." Marinette puts a hand to her mouth, laughing derisively. It might be overkill but Lila was akumatized so overkill stands the best shot of working. "Maybe you hit your head when you got akumatized."

"You—" Le Correcteur grits her teeth, struggling not to get overpowered by Bête. "You leave my Kagami alone!"

"Your Kagami? Oh, that's rich. Kagami belongs to no one least of all you. And since you're so hellbent on 'correcting' someone why not correct yourself first?"

"Got a little addition to the goal~" Red Shell sing-songs. Marinette had to hold her earpiece in her hands whenever Roi Singe, Bête, or Miraculmouse got too close so they wouldn't figure out she was communicating with Team Miraculous. It's not a great feeling being this involved in the danger without a suit, but she trusts the team—her team. Even the ones she doesn't know well yet.

"Yeah, I heard. Pick me up and we'll end this." Kagami's knuckles cracking could be heard in the background.

"Gotta make a quick pick up, Boss." Red Shell blows on her flute. Two more Red Shells appear then sprint off. If anyone could have their illusions carry someone, it's Alya.

There's a flash of pink out the corner of Marinette's eye but when she turns in the direction of the flash, there's nothing to indicate what it was.

"Lila, stop this!" It's Kagami's voice but she doesn't see Kagami. Marinette looks around until she sees Red Shell holding a megaphone in front of Kagami's mouth, as they stand on a nearby building. "You shouldn't be angry at Marinette, you should be angry at me!"

"I could never be angry at you!" The butterfly outline shines over Le Correcteur's eyes then she pulls her hands back from Bête's causing them to stumble, then she shoves them away from her.

Marinette flings the yo-yo in the air and it hits Le Correcteur's shoulder stunning them. "You know what? To hell with plans and goals." Bug Noir's whole right arm starts glowing black and he slams his hand into the shield on Le Correcteur's side, with the help of a tower of Miraculmouses.

"Especially if winging it gets results." Miraculmouse tells him.

"No!" Le Correcteur screams. The shield turns to ash and the purple ooze overtakes the akumatizations body until it transforms into Lila who screams as she falls to the ground.

Red Shell grabs her before she hits the pavement, and gently places her on the street.

After purifying the akuma, Bug Noir throws the pillowcase in the air and the sky turns bright pink before ladybugs shoot out of the pillowcase restoring everything Le Correcteur destroyed.

Once the whole team is on the ground, the team fist bump with Marinette and Kagami.

Gasping, Lila scrambles to her feet dropping her pillow. "Oh no! I-I'm so sorry Team Miraculous. I-I don't know what I was thinking." She stares at Kagami, "I'm so so sorry. Sorry for everything."

Kagami takes her hands, "it's alright, Lila. You were akumatized."

Lila shakes her head, "not just that. I-I just wanted to be important. You're so amazing and I'm... nothing. I don't know why I lied to you. Please forgive me?"

Marinette groans. "Seriously? Just like that?"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Dupain-Cheng."

"Like you trying to kill me?"

Lila shrugs, "I was akumatized. It could happen to just about anyone."

As Marinette seethes, Red Shell clears her throat. "How's about I take you kids home, huh? Just let me know where to go."

"Of course, uh..."

"Red Shell."

"I love it!" Lila picks up her pillow then jumps into her open arms. Kagami walks alongside them as they leave.

Roi Singe stretches, "this doesn't get any easier, does it?"

"Nope. Hey, thanks again, man. You're definitely clutch. When you go see the Guardian, make sure you get a communicator so we can be in touch." Roi Singe nods, then runs off with Miraculmouse and Bête.

"Let's take you back home, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Your parents must be worried sick." Marinette giggles as Bug Noir scoops her up in the princess carry.

Her parents hug her the second Bug Noir sets her down in front of the bakery. "Now I see first-hand why everyone loves you guys." Her papa sniffles. "Whenever you do patrol or finish up saving the city, there will be free pastries waiting for you."

"Can't say no to an offer like that, thanks M. Dupain. I'll let the rest of the team know." Her parents shake his hand, "gotta bug out, take care."

Her parents hug her again, "guys I'm fine, really. Team Miraculous took great care of me."

"Please don't ever do anything as reckless as that again?" Her papa pleads, "I almost had a heart attack when that mouse hero took you away."

"Do you have the akuma app downloaded on your phone?" Her maman asks, "it may not help you from preventing an akuma attack especially if you indirectly cause one but it will prevent you from getting caught in the crossfire."

"I'll see if I have the space to download it."

"In the meantime, let's get something to eat. I would've thrown up had I eaten when you were out." Marinette chuckles as her parents each have a hand around her shoulder as they walk into the bakery.