Something was wrong with his sister. Adrien knew that from the moment he woke up the next morning. For one thing, Jeanne was in his room at like 7 in the morning, fully dressed, wearing a full face of makeup, and stilettos he knew she couldn't wear with her busted ankle. Second of all, she was walking around like she hadn't both fallen down a flight of stairs and been shoved into a wall. There were no bruises on her whatsoever, she was dancing around the room.
"Oh, good morning~" She smiled when she saw him sitting up.
"How...You...You're- You're still recovering." He just sat there, staring at her.
"I just woke up this morning and I felt great!" She spun around. "Isn't it amazing?" Well, he was pretty sure she hadn't been akumatized. She looked normal. But there was something strange...
"You're wearing mom's ring." Adrien couldn't help but smile a little bit.
"Yeah." She twisted the ring on her finger. "I was feeling good, so I thought I could wear it." After their mother's disappearance, the ring Jeanne had been given for her 15th birthday had been shut in a drawer. She'd only taken it out in the past few months, but even then she hadn't worn it. On her worst days, it was a reminder of the fact that their mother wasn't there.
"Well, I'm really glad you're feeling better." He reached out and hugged her. She hugged him back, squeezing tighter than he was used to.
"You really are feeling good today." He squeaked. "Um, Jeanette, you're hurting me."
"Oh. Sorry." She flushed and let him go. "You should probably start getting ready." She kissed his cheek and went back to her room, humming to herself.
"It's too early for this." Plagg whined. "Why is she doing this so early in the morning?"
"Just go back to sleep." Adrien rolled his eyes and pushed the little kwami back down into the bag he'd been sleeping in.
Jeanne closed the door behind her, gazing fondly at the ring. She didn't remember what had happened the other night, and she didn't care as long as she could continue to feel this good. It felt exactly like when she'd worn the Miraculous. Had she somehow gained one of her own? No, it couldn't be. She'd worn the ring before and it had never had this effect before. She knew she should be cautious about this, but she didn't want to question it. She wanted to be happy. She wanted to be okay. Maybe she'd go out today. Just take it easy.
Breakfast was much brighter that morning. She made Adrien laugh, coaxed Nathalie into eating with them for a bit. The small smile this elicited from the older woman didn't go unnoticed by Jeanne either. Adrien went off to school and Jeanne spent some time looking at the portrait of her mother. When she'd done this in previous days, it had been enough to reduce her to tears. Today, she felt warm, as though her mother was thinking of her, wherever she was. It was a good feeling. She almost could have cried because of how good it felt to finally be happy and content. It had been so long since she'd had a day like this. She skipped back to her room and laid down on her bed, kicking off the heels. She'd opened the windows, fresh air washing over her. She almost felt as though she could lay there all day. Suddenly, though, a voice interrupted her nice time.
"Hey, girlie. We've got work to do." An unidentified voice said. "An akuma's been created."
"Excuse me?" Jeanne looked around wildly.
"Transform." The voice insisted. "We have to do something about the akuma." She didn't even remember what she was told to say. All she felt was the rush as she transformed. She stood tall, feeling better than she had for years. She passed her mirror in the corner of her room and didn't see herself. The figure in the mirror didn't seem unfamiliar though. She'd seen his face in her sketchbooks. She could finally do something about her fear and anger. She could help people. She smiled, opening her window.
"It won't do for me to be late. Work has to be done, after all."
The curtains blew even after the room's occupant was gone. Nathalie closed the window an hour or so later, wondering where on Earth Jeanne could have gotten off to. It wasn't uncommon for Jeanne to sneak off on her own. It had happened more than once and Nathalie had learned to simply accept it. The eldest Agreste child always turned up eventually.
Someone was humming Frere Jacques when Lady Wifi stood up. She looked around and found a man crouched above her. The man moved like a big cat, slow and predatory as he jumped down. He wore a white suit reminiscent of something a prince would have. A purple butterfly design was emblazoned on the front of his jacket. His black gloves ended in stainless steel claws, which were currently tapping together as he steepled his fingers.
"Who are you?" Lady Wifi asked.
"Chat Blanc." The man bowed deeply. "Isn't it obvious? The ears, the tail, the colour scheme?"
"It's not obvious at all." She snapped back. "Why are you here?"
"To help you, of course." Blanc grinned. "I'm here to help you. After all, you've got a valid reason to be angry. Think of me as a force of chaos directed in your favour. Now, let's expose some truth, shall we?" Lady Wifi hesitated. She really didn't trust this guy, but if he wanted to help then it was his funeral.
"Fine." She folded her arms.
"Great!" Blanc clapped his hands together. "So, where to first? I'm assuming you have a plan in place, yes?"
"First...We go to Principal Damocles." Lady Wifi smiled.
The trip over was quiet enough, punctuated mostly by Blanc's humming or talking about something or another. He was awfully cheerful, which would have been nice if it wasn't so damn unsettling. He wasn't happy in a normal way. Lady Wifi couldn't put her finger on why he creeped her out, he just did. He was weird. She was thankful when they landed outside the door to the principal's office.
"Ladies first." He said, opening the door. She rolled her eyes and turned on her phone as she entered the office.
"I'm Lady Wifi, revealer of the truth!" She announced, turning the camera first on herself and then the principal. "For our first exposé, your principal would like to share a little tidbit with you. So, Mr Damocles, is it true you wrongly suspended a student named Alya today?"
"Uh...Yes, it is." Faced with two strange people, the principal couldn't think of anything else to say. He had the distinct feeling he would get hurt if he lied. The one in white had claws for goodness sake!
"So, you were biased? Unfair? Totally unjust?!" Lady Wifi pressed.
Mr Damocles' shoulders slumped. "Yes, I was."
Lady Wifi smiled in triumph. She had proof now of her unjust suspension. But that wasn't enough. Oh no. Now, to expose the truth of Ladybug's identity. That woman, whoever she was, had no right to have put her in this situation.
"For my next scoop, I'll be taking you to meet the girl who's been hiding behind the Ladybug mask!" She announced, putting a pause on Mr Damocles. "Stay connected!" And with that, she ended the video.
"Am I correct in assuming Chloé is the one you're going after next?" Blanc asked as they made their escape.
"A good reporter always follows her leads." Lady Wifi said. "If she isn't Ladybug, then I've simply eliminated one possible suspect." Chloé Bourgeois was many things, but a hero was not one of them. At least not with the way she acted now. Blanc couldn't help but snicker to himself. This was going to be quite interesting.
,
Chloé was in her room, doing what she generally did when she had time to herself. Well, one of the things she generally did. Dress up as Ladybug and pretend to save the city. No one was allowed to know she did this, though. She would never hear the end of it at school if people found out that she played dress up like some kind of child!
"Nice costume. You make it yourself?"
Chloé spun around at the sudden intrusion. A man was leaning against the glass doors that led to her balcony. He was handsome, she had to admit that much. He looked a bit like Adrien and that dork Chat Noir smashed into one being. Except this one wore white.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded. "Do you know who I am?!"
"Chloé Bourgeois." The man smiled and sauntered over. "I've heard so much about you." Chloé opened her mouth to brag, but the man cut her off. "None of it was good, darling. You've made a lot of enemies."
"Who are you?" She asked, almost shrinking away. This was someone her father's influence couldn't control, and she knew it.
"My name is Chat Blanc." He said. "You could say I'm a...new associate of Paris' favourite crime-fighting duo. Not an ally though, mind you. I don't think I made a very good first impression. So don't go asking me to introduce you to Ladybug. Because I can't do that. That is, unless you want to meet her in a hostage crisis."
"Then what can you do?" Chloé asked incredulously.
He grinned, baring his teeth. "Oh, I can do lots of things."
She wanted to throw Chloé off the balcony, watch her cry and beg for her life, swear to be a better person. She wanted to make a bully pay for the pain she'd caused. The impulse reared its head but was quickly destroyed by memories of Chloé tugging on her skirt and staring at her with wide eyes.
Chloé's phone began to ring.
"Better pick that up." Blanc said. He was a little quieter, almost distracted. Whatever. As long as he stopped making that creepy smile.
"Hello?" Chloé picked up the phone. As soon as the words passed her lips, the phone began to glow bright pink. Chloé almost dropped it. In an instant, Lady Wifi appeared from the glowing phone.
"Well hello there, Ladybug!" The villainess sneered. Chloé had always wanted to be like Ladybug, but in this moment she wanted anything but that. She turned to run. She had to get away from these crazy people! Unfortunately, she was stopped in her tracks as Lady Wifi paused her. Blanc had made no effort whatsoever to catch the retreating blonde. Not that it mattered. Lady Wifi had it under control. She started recording.
"Well, well...So my hunch was correctamundo." She said. "Everyone thinks the girl beneath the Ladybug costume is a little angel. Think again, people! The real Ladybug is..." She reached up and pulled the mask off Chloé's costume. "Chloé Bourgeois, everyone!" It was at that moment that Ladybug and Chat Noir busted through the window.
"It was a good costume." Blanc said, checking his claws. "But I doubt you can take the real Ladybug's mask off that easily."
"You are not helping!" Lady Wifi snapped. "Why did you even come here with me if you knew she wasn't the real Ladybug?!"
"I'm backup." He shrugged. "It's not my place to tell you what to do. I just follow orders."
"Well here's an order, distract them!" Lady Wifi pressed play on Chloé again, sending the girl stumbling face-first into the floor.
"Alya?" Ladybug whispered. Oooh, what a clever one. Well, in her defence, Hawkmoth hadn't exactly been creative with his champion's costume this time.
"Alya's been disconnected. I'm Lady Wifi. Newsflash!" Lady Wifi said. "Ladybug, let's find out who you really are!" She beat a hasty retreat to figure out a plan, leaving Blanc to provide his distraction. He strolled out of Chloé's room and into the stairwell, sliding up the railings and humming loudly. Lady Wifi was above him, already having locked the lower floor doors.
"I've got you now Ladybug!" Her voice echoed down to the superheroes who had just entered. Ladybug and Chat wanted to take her to the basement to take away her power, but that wasn't about to happen. Blanc looked at a nonexistent watch on his wrist, then jumped down in front of the heroes.
"Hey there." He grinned. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to distract you now."
"Two villains?" Ladybug whispered. "I didn't know Hawkmoth could akumatize two people at once."
"Oh, he can't." Blanc said brightly. "I'm something else. Not sure what yet, but it's something!"
"He's insane."
"He reminds me of a character from a manga I read." Chat said. "Bertie something. Dangit! I was just reading it last night!"
"Berthier." Blanc corrected him. "I'm flattered, really, I am. Pity I don't have a huge sword. I could do a cosplay."
"You know, this is actually kind of nice. I like him." Chat looked over at Ladybug. "I vote we convert him to our side."
"Can we do that?" This had to be the strangest experience Ladybug had had with any of the villains she and Chat had encountered. Normally they were angry, rage-fueled. This Chat Blanc guy was just plain weird. Villains weren't supposed to be cheerful and polite. They weren't supposed to make small talk.
"Unfortunately for you, no." Blanc grinned, revealing fangs that had not been there before. "I think messing with both of you is more fun. Now, Lady Wifi should be done with her plan, so I should probably be going." Before either knew what was happening he was darting up the stairs like a cat towards the only door that didn't have a pink lock symbol on it.
"I guess she knows we're coming." Chat said. Ladybug resisted the urge to pinch him and ran for the door. The two heroes came out into the hotel dining room. Neither villain appeared to be present, but a phone sat on every table, meaning Lady Wifi could appear at any moment. And she did. She popped out of one of the phones, throwing pause symbols at them. Ladybug retaliated, trying to tie Lady Wifi up with her yo-yo. Each time she did, the villainess disappeared, only to appear above another phone.
"Ha! You can't get me!" Lady Wifi taunted. Blanc lounged on a rafter. That had been quite unwise of her to say. It would just give Ladybug ideas.
"Yes, I can." Ladybug said, smiling serenely as she systematically broke every phone on every table. With that plan foiled, Lady Wifi ran for the kitchen. Ladybug followed, along with Chat, but the door closed behind the two girls, leaving Chat alone.
"No, no, no..." Chat swore under his breath. "Hold on in there, Ladybug!" He began to pull up the hotel map on his staff, but it was knocked away from him. Standing directly next to him was Blanc, smiling pleasantly.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Blanc said. "Divide and conquer and all that." Chat gritted his teeth. He couldn't afford to use up Cataclysm on this guy. But then again, Blanc didn't even have a weapon.
"Are we going to fight or what?" Blanc asked, looking the slightest bit miffed. Chat lunged at the taller man, staff at the ready. Blanc sidestepped the cat boy at every turn. This whole thing continued longer than was probably necessary, but Blanc was having fun with this. He already knew Chat's fighting style. It wasn't worth it to even try at this point. Finally, though, he had had enough and picked up Chat, throwing him into the service elevator. Time to move the plot along. He pressed the right buttons and waved goodbye as the doors closed. Send the kitty to his lady and wait for Lady Wifi. To be honest, this whole thing was a bit boring. It suddenly occurred to him he didn't even know what he could do when he was like this. He didn't even know what had made him this way. He looked down at the ring that was still on his finger. Her mother's ring. He shook his head and left the building, going back to the Agreste mansion, back to her room. She landed on the windowsill and was herself again.
She sat down, looking at her mother's ring. It was different now. A deep purple storm brewed behind the silver butterfly, shifting and changing even as Jeanne looked at it. It was a Miraculous. She had a Miraculous. The first question that came to mind was where her mother had gotten a Miraculous. Her parents were fashion designers. There was no reason they'd have a Miraculous, let alone give one to her. But that was quickly swept away by the memories of her time as Chat Blanc. She'd felt as though she could do anything. There were no consequences. She could do whatever she wanted.
"Do you want to know what that is?" A white cat, or something that resembled it, had settled on her bed. It had a large head and a tiny body, looking very much like what she expected kwamis to look like. It almost looked like Plagg...Except this thing had two tails, and eyes that were such a deep purple.
"Yeah." She got down off the windowsill.
The cat smiled in a Cheshire Cat fashion and curled its tails. "My name is Shii. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Are you a Kwami?" With the way the cat thing looked it could only be that. She felt stupid even asking, but she wanted verification.
"Of a sort."
"What does that mean?"
"It means what it means." Shii flicked their tails. "Up until this point you've only interacted with a certain type of kwami. I'm not like Plagg or Tikki or Noroo or Wayzz. I'm the other side of the coin. I was created to be the opposite." She only knew two of those names so she just nodded, transfixed by the kwami's amethyst eyes.
"So, would you like to continue our relationship?" Shii asked. "Do you want to keep your freedom?"
"Of course I do!" Jeanne answered without thinking. It had felt good, being Chat Blanc. She hadn't had to worry about anything. None of her responsibilities had mattered. She had to hang on to that feeling. Had to keep being Blanc. Now that she'd had a taste, she couldn't go back. Shii's smile widened.
"I knew you would." The kwami purred. "Now let me fill you in on just what I can do."
