Marinette finally breathed a sigh of relief as she sank onto the sofa in her apartment, throwing Tikki a cookie as she did so. Plagg zoomed over to sit next to Tikki on the arm of the couch, while Marinette slouched back into the cushions, eyes closed. There was a prickling on the back of her neck as her hair stood on end; it wasn't until she opened her eyes that she noticed Plagg was glaring at her.
"Spots, I don't mean to be rude, but… What. The. Hell?" He exploded. She looked at him, slightly offended.
"What? I couldn't let a civilian fight with me against the akumas! He'd…he'd be killed!" She retorted.
"But that's not what this is about, is it Marinette?" Tikki said knowingly. "It's not about him. It's about Chat, isn't it?"
Marinette was dumbfounded. "Tikki, I thought you'd be on my side," she complained. "We can't let him do that!"
Plagg cut her off. "You can't sit there and tell me you don't think he's capable," he said, sounding rather upset. "That kid just beat an akuma, without a suit, without any powers, and without the expectation that you'd be able to save him if something went wrong. I'd bet a year's worth of Camembert that he knew the risks and decided to step in anyway."
Marinette was upset now. "I- I can't, Plagg! I- I can't do this again! My Chat was the most amazing man I ever knew! He was brave, loyal, selfless, kind…"
"Jean Luc has all those qualities, too, Marinette!" Tikki piped in. "He can help you if you'd only-"
"-give him a chance?" Marinette finished for her, looking murderous now, water filling her eyes. "Don't you two get it!? I- I loved him! I loved Chat Noir, and I- I didn't realize until it was too late! And n-now h-he's g-gone! A-and he's n-never c-coming back!" Tears were streaming down her face now, and she was struggling to hold back her sobs. She took a deep breath. "If he was alive, he- he would have g-got a message to me somehow. I know that. I c-can't go through t-that again," she finished quietly, squeezing her eyes shut, as though that act alone would make reality disappear. "I c-can't let someone put himself in harms way for me. N-not again."
Silence reigned for some minutes, punctuated only by Marinette's sniffling. After a while, Plagg spoke again.
"I want you to give him the Cat Miraculous," he said confidently. Marinette's jaw dropped.
"No," she said. "I won't do it, Plagg! I can't-"
"Then I will," he retorted, a steely glint in his green eyes. "Spots, that kid was made for this. He's perfect. And maybe you'll learn to see it, too, in time."
Marinette sighed, looking reluctant.
Plagg smirked at her. "Besides, you know he'll just keep jumping to your rescue. He just can't help himself. He'll be much safer with his own superpowers. Isn't that right, Tikki?"
Tikki nodded. There was silence for a moment as Marinette processed this.
"Marinette, he was right when he said you needed someone," Tikki continued. "You need someone you can rely on. Right now, you're relying on no one but yourself, and look where it's gotten you! You haven't talked to any of your friends since Chat disappeared, and your parents are worried sick. Your school work is suffering. You have stress headaches several times a week. You don't smile anymore. You can't bring yourself to talk to the victims after battles comfort them. You haven't had anything you'd consider a good design idea in forever." Tikki sighed sadly. "We just..we just want you to be able to heal, Marinette. Give Jean Luc a chance. He can be there for you, just as- well, he likely won't be able to completely fill Chat's place, but he can at least help some."
Marinette shook her head sadly. "No one will ever be able to fill Chat's place," she said, completely certain. "He was one of a kind." She looked at Plagg and sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll go talk to him and give him the Miraculous."
"YAY! Thank you, Marinette!" Plagg squealed, turning an excited flip in the air, before putting on an unconcerned expression. "I mean, thanks, Spots. Are- are we going to go now, or what?"
By the time he made it back to the bakery, Jean Luc was beside himself. Who was he kidding? He was no superhero. He just had to go and stick his nose in Ladybug's business, didn't he?
And now she was angry with him, because after he'd stuck her nose in her business, he also didn't know when to shut up. Clearly.
Tom and Sabine were just closing down for the day. They watched him walk sullenly through the door, grabbing a mop to help with tidying up. He hoped he wasn't radiating the negative vibes he was feeling, but evidently, he wasn't as good at hiding it as he'd thought.
"No need, dear," Sabine said warmly with a flicker of concern in her eyes, taking the mop from his hand. "You go on upstairs. We're almost done here."
Jean Luc nodded, trudging unhappily up the two flights of stairs to his room and closing the trap door behind him. He plopped himself heavily into the computer desk chair, spinning it around lazily, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Ladybug swam to the forefront of his mind. He'd just wanted to help, he thought, frustrated. Why would no one let him help?
All at once, he heard a tapping on the skylight. He glared at it for a moment, hoping it would go away. It was probably a bird or something, he decided, going back to his spinning. Unfortunately for him, the tapping sound came again, more insistent this time. Sighing heavily, he got slowly to his feet, wincing as the sore muscles from his fight became known to him (not working out properly since he'd lost his memories was a huge mistake, he now realized). He climbed up to the loft and opened the hatch.
His jaw dropped when Ladybug dropped down into his room- his room- with out seemingly a second thought. She walked over so that they stood only a couple feet from each other. She looked nervous and embarrassed, if he had to guess. He scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, then raised an eyebrow, inviting her to speak.
"I- I'm sorry," she began finally, staring down at her fingers. "I know it wasn't fair of me to have said the things I said earlier. I really appreciate that you came to lend me a hand."
His face softened a fraction, though he still felt put out. "I only wanted to help," he said quietly. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately.
"I know," she said in a very small voice.
There was deafening silence for a moment. "I'm sorry about Chat Noir," Jean Luc finally blurted out. Ladybug looked startled, but he pushed ahead. "It must be hard, trying to do all of this without him." She nodded.
"It is hard," she admitted. "We were friends for a long time. I see him everywhere; places we've been; people we've met; even in you," she finished, looking up at him timidly as a look of shock plastered itself across his features.
"M-me?" He managed, though his voice sounded strangled even to his own ears. Then he realized something. "You…you loved him. Didn't you?" He asked. Ladybug nodded shyly.
"He was the only one to call me 'Milady'," she revealed, looking sad now. "So when you did that earlier, it…it really caught me off guard." He gave her a stricken look.
"I- I'm so sorry!" He stuttered. "I-I didn't know. I won't ever do it again, I swear-"
"Hey!" Ladybug cut through his ranting. "Don't worry about it. Call me whatever you like. Chat always did," she said, a fond nostalgic smile turning up the corners of her mouth slightly at whatever memory was playing in her mind at the moment. He said nothing, still feeling horrible at how insensitive he'd been- not that he really had any way of knowing that. Finally she shook her head as though trying to clear it before, meeting his eyes.
"I actually came here because I have something to give you, and someone for you to meet," she said, her expression turning slightly mischievous.
"Someone to meet?" He said, staring around in confusion. "How-?"
"Shh," she said, putting a finger to his lips, mimicking his gesture to her earlier. She put one of her small hands, palm up, near her shoulder. All at once, a tiny black creature with luminous green eyes and minuscule pointed ears like a cat phased out of her hair and came to sit on her hand. His chocolate eyes widened in astonishment before he returned his gaze to her. She grinned at him, and her own eyes sparkled in amusement, the first really true sparkle he'd seen.
"Jean Luc, this is Plagg," she said, holding out her hand towards Jean Luc. Plagg floated off her hand, coming to rest on his shoulder instead.
"Amazing," Jean Luc whispered, studying the tiny creature.
"Plagg, do you want to do the honors?" She asked, shuffling something in her hands, holding it in her closed fist.
"Nah, Spots, you're doing great," Plagg said lazily.
Ladybug rolled her eyes fondly. "Plagg is a kwami. He grants the powers of the Black Cat Miraculous." She cupped her hand around her mouth and said in an exaggerated whisper, "Be warned: he only eats Camembert cheese. Good luck." She giggled as Jean Luc wrinkled his nose, while Plagg looked at her, offended.
"My beautiful Camembert resents the implications of that statement," he said haughtily, putting his feline nose in the air.
Jean Luc could only stare. He had the strangest sense of deja vu; he knew this, too, was familiar. He had to shake himself back to reality as Ladybug began speaking again, holding her closed fist out towards him. She opened it flat to reveal a heavy black ring engraved with a lime green paw print mark. He couldn't hold back a gasp.
"Jean Luc Chapain," she intoned solemnly, "this is the Miraculous of the Black Cat. You will use it for the greater good. Do you accept?"
Jean Luc could only stare, swallowing thickly. "L-ladybug, I… I can't take Chat Noir's ring," he said finally, his voice coming out horse.
Ladybug looked at him sadly. "Plagg wanted you to have it, Jean Luc. And I want you to have it," she added with finality. "Please. We both know it's unlikely that Chat… that Chat will ever come back." He was horrified to see her eyes filling with tears again. She wiped at her eyes quickly and sniffed before continuing. "Sorry. Chat would have wanted this. He would have wanted you to have it," she said, sounding certain. "You do him proud, you know? You're our everyday Chat Noir. It seems only fitting."
"Thanks for your help. You're our everyday Ladybug." A young Chat smiled at a teenaged Marinette, who blushed, before the flashback faded.
Jean Luc shook his head to clear it. What was that? He noticed Ladybug's eyes on him.
She offered him a shaky smile, which he returned uneasily, taking the ring from her hand and slipping it on. It turned…a bright, shiny silver, the paw print disappearing from view.
His eyes grew wide, his mouth hanging open as his mind swirled. It was the same ring that Marinette had been wearing that one morning at the bakery! Which meant…Marinette was probably Ladybug, he reasoned. It makes so much sense, he thought, there are so many similarities. The hair, the eyes, the pain and sadness over Chat, the ring, reluctance to let people get close…
Ladybug, however, had mistaken his amazement for being over the change in the Miraculous' appearance. "It camouflages itself somewhat," she explained. "So it doesn't draw too much attention to itself. They stay safer that way. For instance, my earrings are just black when I'm a civilian." She pulled her hair back to show her black and red-spotted earrings. One more thing to check on later, Jean Luc thought happily. "I don't think I need to tell you that you can't tell a soul about any of this," she told him seriously with a sideways glance. He pulled himself back.
"Nope, I think I'm set. So," he said excitedly, twisting the ring around his finger in a familiar gesture, "How does it work?"
Ladybug smirked at Plagg, her eyes sparkling briefly with amusement. "I seem to remember Chat showing up at our first battle last time with absolutely no idea what he was doing," she teased the black cat kwami, poking him in the side. Plagg raised an eyebrow and turned away, ignoring her like a real cat until she poked him again. "Care to try again, oh wise kwami?" She asked with a giggle. Plagg rolled his eyes, turning to Jean Luc.
"Ok, here's the deal. In order to transform, you have to say, 'claws out'".
"Claws out?" Jean Luc asked.
"Wait, I wasn't done explainiiiing!" Plagg cried as he was sucked into the ring.
Ladybug nearly fell over in a fit of giggles. "Well, I guess we know what happened last time," she said, laughter still in her voice. But Jean Luc wasn't listening.
Fourteen-year-old Chat Noir was running over a rooftop, relishing the feeling of the wind whipping through his golden hair. This was fantastic! This was freedom.
As he neared the edge, he carefully extended his baton, placing it across the gap and starting to walk along it like a tightrope, his cat-like balance aiding his progress.
"I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this," he said to himself, grinning a little at his success.
All at once, he heard a yell. One that was getting louder and louder- quickly. He looked up in alarm to see a red and black blur with a flash of sky blue falling towards him. He closed his eyes tightly as the blur crashed into him and felt himself falling down, down…
BOING!
He opened his eyes to see he was hanging upside down, wrapped up in a string like a cocoon, probably a good four to six feet off the ground. Then something shifted against him, and he focused in on it. It was then that he realized that the red and black blur was actually a girl, probably about his own age, who was now tied up in the string too, facing him. They were practically nose to nose. She was smaller than he, a red and black-spotted one piece super suit hugging her petite form, her black hair pulled back into twin tails. Her big blue eyes stared at him.
"Well, hey there," he said with a wink, grinning at her. "Nice of you to drop in."
"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't do it on purpose." She pulled on the string; it loosened from about their bodies, dropping them to the cobblestone below.
Jean Luc blinked to find Ladybug staring at him in shock, her face white as a sheet. What on earth was going on? He had Chat Noir's memory in his head, and now Ladybug was looking as though she'd seen a ghost.
"What?" he asked weakly, hoping he wasn't going completely insane. Maybe the Miraculous could addle your brain if you were deemed unworthy? He wasn't sure. Maybe he'd better stop watching so many sci-fi/fantasy movies. Ladybug opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. When she finally spoke, her voice shook as she pointed to him.
"You…you look just like him. Just like…like my Chat."
Now it was his turn to look shocked as he stared down at himself, only now noticing that he was dressed in form-fitting leather. He had claws, a bell, and a belt for a tail, just like the younger Chat Noir he'd seen in the memory…vision…thing. His gaze darted around the room, searching desperately for a mirror. Finally finding one, he ran over to it, Ladybug following a step or two behind. His jaw dropped.
The first thing that caught his attention was that his hair, which had just been brown only minutes ago, was now once again sunshine blond, just like the young Chat's- and just like his own had been, before he'd dyed it. He had two furry black cat ears pinned in his hair, and his cat-like eyes shone green, not chocolate brown.
Overall, he looked just like the younger Chat Noir from the memory-vision, only he'd grown taller and with more muscle. His chest had to have filled out since he was fourteen, after all. Even the suit was the same! In fact, he closely resembled Marinette's drawing he'd seen just weeks ago. Did the magic make all Chat Noir's look the same to help disguise them? It was then he realized that Ladybug was still watching him closely, looking terrified. She rubbed at her temple. Apparently she was getting a headache.
His mind started racing. What should he do? Should he tell her what he'd seen? If he told her everything, how would she react? Would she hate him? Would she be angry? Would she think he was crazy? Because right now, he kind of thought he was crazy. Maybe the memory-vision was a side effect of his memory loss, or of the Miraculous, or…
A shuffle behind him startled him. He whipped around to see Ladybug swiftly retreating toward the balcony.
"Ladybug!" He called, moving quickly to follow and setting a clawed hand on her shoulder just as she reached the railing, taking out her yo-yo. "Where are you going?"
She shook her head, not looking at him. "I…I have to go," she said, her voice wobbling. He could hear the tears in it. "I'm sorry-"
"Are you alright?" he asked, but she just shook her head again.
"Please! I…I can't…"
He removed his hand from her shoulder, nodding sadly. "I- I'm really sorry, Ladybug. And thank you…for this opportunity. I won't let you down."
She didn't acknowledge him further as she quickly swung away