Chapter 2: Miraculous meetings
Marinette Dupain-Cheng sat at her desk, the tip of her tongue sticking out slightly in concentration. It was rare for the young woman to be inside on such a perfect Saturday, but she had to catch up on some homework and some design work that she fell behind due to being the Parisian super heroine Ladybug. Yes, you read that right. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the timid shy aspiring designer, was the Miraculous Ladybug, champion of the people, protector of Paris, and guardian of the Ladybug Miraculous, which were in the form of earrings. The young hero was currently working on a dress for the upcoming dance at her school, making sure it was going to blow Chloé Bourgeois out of the water. It was a knee high, strapless dress that was red with black spots. A little obvious, but if Marinette's best friend, Alya, couldn't figure out she was Ladybug then she guessed it went right over everyone else's head as well. But Marinette couldn't complain.
A blur of red and black caught her attention as her kwami, Tiki, flew up behind her to peer over her shoulder. The little fairy's big blue eyes widened in surprise when her charge held it up for her to see, Tiki's smile growing in size.
"Wow, that looks really good Marinette," Tiki said, her voice perky as usual.
"Thanks Tiki. I've been working on it since forever. I thought about designing one for Alya too, maybe one with a Cat Noir look."
"Maybe you should take a break," Tiki suggested, noticed how Marinette looking a little hungry. "Maybe we could go and get some fresh air. It's a lovely day."
Marinette looked out the window and had to agree with her kwami. The sun was shining bright over the cloudless sky, and with as many people out in the park across from her house, the young heroine suspected the weather was perfect as well. Smiling Marinette grabbed her pink purse, some money in case she got famished, and her phone. After Tiki got comfortable in her purse, Marinette walked down the stairs, spotting her parents in the bakery they owned. Tom Dupain was a tall mountain of a man, with brown hair, sideburns, moustache and blue-grey eyes. He wore his usual blue shirt, dark brown pants and shoes. Sabine Cheng was tiny compared to her husband, with dark blue hair cut short and with bright blue eyes. She also wore her usual outfit of a floral printed white shirt and purple pants.
"Mama, Papa, I'll be going on a walk," Marinette informed them as she grabbed a day-old croissant.
"Okay sweetie," Sabine said. "Just make sure your back before supper."
"Okay. Love you." And with that Marinette was gone. The weather was nice, and the warmth of the sun hit the young girl in the face. Taking a deep breath, Marinette crossed the road and found a bench to sit on while she finished her croissant. Tiki poked her head out when there was no one around, smiling kindly as Marinette handed her a piece of the pastry. The sun was warm and soon the croissant was gone, so Marinette decided to take a walk. She turned a corner and decided to call Alya and see if she would like to hang out. Maybe they could stalk…um hang out with Adrien, Marinette's crush. Tiki carefully stuck her head out of the purse, careful not to be seen by any passerby, while Marinette dialed Alya's number. It rang and rang and on the fifth ring, Alya answered.
"Hey Mari, what's up?"
"Hey Alya, I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today?"
"Sure girl," her friend answered enthusiastically. "I'll meet you at the library in half an hour. I'm following a story about this new dojo. Apparently Ms. Bustier signed her homeroom up to take self-defense classes next week."
That caught Marinette's attention and interest. "Really?"
"Totally. Apparently because of the rise in akuma attacks, Ms. Bustier thought it best that was learn self-defense. And since that the dojo just opened up yesterday, it seemed perfect. Hopefully nothing happens between today and next Wednesday."
Hopefully, Marinette thought. But aloud she said, "Wow. I'll meet you at the library, then you can tell me all you want."
"'Kay. See you then." Alya hung up. The young heroine smiled as she put her phone up and started to walk towards the library. She was a quarter of a block away from the library when she heard a scream. Turning around the baker's daughter froze at the sight of a woman floating three feet above the ground. In other words, a poor person who was akumatized. Looking around, Marinette spotted an alleyway, which she promptly ducked into while everyone was busy running from the akuma. Tiki flew out of her hiding spot as she faced Marinette who had a look of determination on her face, along with a small smirk.
"Tiki, transform me!" Marinette shouted, flipping her hair back to reveal black earrings. The kwami glowed pink before being sucked into the jewelry, turning it red with five black spots. Marinette wiped her hands over her eyes, a red and black mask appearing. The rest of her outfit appeared in seconds, along with her trusty yoyo. The transformation lasted all of two seconds, transforming Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a normal, overly klutzy girl, into the Miraculous Ladybug, defender of Paris.
Smiling, Ladybug took her yoyo and immediately threw it at the akumatized person, who looked like the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. She wore a dress that looked like a six of hearts, pale skin, red eyeliner and hair, which had a crown made of queen of hearts. Her eyes were pale pink, the mark of the akuma around them. The woman turned around, smiling when she spotted the heroine behind her, twirling her yoyo and glaring.
"Well, looks like we have a small bug infestation," The woman said her voice regal, while also very creepy with a slight gravel sound. Her red lips turned up in a twisted smile. "Looks like we need an extermination. But of course I could take care of you myself." Out of nowhere she pulled out some playing cards, which she threw without hesitation at the heroine. Knowing full well not to trust the appearance of them, Ladybug spun her yoyo in front of her, creating a barrier between her and the cards, which slammed against the weapon, creating sparks. When they were gone, Ladybug lowered her yoyo, glaring at the akuma who was also glaring back.
"Ugh! I don't have time for this," she growled, pulling out a pure black card. "Minions take care of this pest for me." Throwing it in front of Ladybug, she floated off to probably take revenge, while the card that she threw exploded, causing said heroine to jump back to avoid the shrapnel. When the dust had cleared, in a smoking crater stood two dark figures with card like bodies. There were carrying wicked sharp swords, which made Ladybug stare down at them at with a slight bit of fear but quickly dashed that feeling away as soon as it surfaced. Where was Cat Noir? He should've been here by now. Maybe he was caught up in something? Oh well, Ladybug could handle herself just fine until her pun spewing partner decided to show up. Returning her attention back to the card soldiers, she did several backflips to avoid the swords the minions threw. However, Ladybug was distracted as she caught Alya trying to get some of the action for her Ladyblog. Of course, after a million times of scolding her friend as both Marinette and Ladybug but she didn't listen. One of the soldiers took her moment of distraction and slammed their foot into her chest, sending her flying back into a car.
Slightly dazed, Ladybug did another back flip over the car, nearly getting impaled by a sword that was thrown. While she was trying to regain her balance, Ladybug saw Cat Noir distracting the akuma minions.
Thank goodness, Ladybug thought as she tried to ignore the pain in her back from being slammed into the car. Ugh, she needs to hit the gym. Like really bad. Shaking herself free of her stupor, she jumped back into the fight, acknowledging Cat Noir's save.
"Don't mention it My Lady," the witty superhero said smiling. "I always come at the purr-fect moment."
Ladybug rolled her eyes at the cat pun but couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. Even though they were sometimes unbearable, it was kind of cute, though Ladybug could never admit that out loud. She had a place in her heart for a certain Adrien Agreste. But it was still cute.
"What kind of akuma are dealing with here, my Lady?" Cat Noir asked as he blocked a blow with his staff.
"I think she's some sort of poker player or something. We're going to have to find her before she harms any more people. " With that Ladybug swung her yoyo at the card soldiers, knocking them down. But it didn't take long for them to jump right back up. Fed up with this useless fight, Ladybug threw her yoyo with so much force that when it made impact the minions exploded in black dust. After standing there for a minute as both heroes attempted to catch their breaths before they both took off in the direction of the akuma. Unfortunately, after several hours of fruitless searching, both of their miraculouses started to beep, meaning they were about to de-transform.
"We'll have to do this some other time Bugaboo," Cat Noir said as he scooped up Ladybug's hand and kissed. Before the red-and-black heroine could say anything else to her pun-spewing partner jumped off the building, leaving said heroine standing on the roof with a confused expression. Soon her earrings stopped beeping, de-transforming her back to Marinette. She quickly caught the weakened Tiki as the kwami came out of the miraculous. Marinette pulled a cookie from the bakery out of her purse and handed it to the kwami who smiled and took it, eating with it content. Suddenly she remembered something.
"Oh! Alya's waiting for me!" the girl exclaimed, gently grabbing Tiki and taking off running towards the library. The young girl ran as fast as she could without the Ladybug Miraculous, seeing how drained Tiki was. About thirty minutes later, Marinette was at the entrance of the library, sweaty and out of breathe but she made it. It took all of ten minutes to realize that Alya had yet to arrive, probably got caught up in trying to upload the action to her blog. Shaking her head, Marinette decided to pass the time by reading, seeing how she was in a library. Deciding she wanted to read up on her history, the secret heroine went over to the ancient history section, where she came across a young girl about her age wearing the strangest of clothes she had ever seen. It was a light earthen brown dress with crème colored tights, with diamonds on the side. The dress was gorgeous, with a high collar, and a low back. She had white fingerless gloves that stopped at her elbows with smaller bands wrapped around her forearms. The girl had boots that were earthen brown just like her dress, stopping at her kneecap. (A/N: Think Ahsoka Tano's outfit from season three, just with a different color scheme.)
The girl herself wasn't all that bad looking. She had rich brown hair that stopped just pasted her waist, covering up the fact the dress was backless. Standing next to the girl, whom had her nose buried in a book, but Marinette could faintly see coffee brown eyes, and a small bit of freckles. With a flick of her eyes, Marinette could make out a small bit of Chinese on the cover, which unfortunately she couldn't read. Smiling slightly Marinette turned back to the shelves and back to shift through the covers of books, looking for the most interesting out of the selection. Spotting something on the top shelf, Marinette reached for it, however she was too short and her fingers just barely grazed the spine, even standing on her tiptoes she was too short. Grunting and scowling, the baker's daughter stalked back to the table, a scowl implanted on her face. Marinette really wanted to talk to Tiki, who was sure to be energized after the cookie, but with another person here, she couldn't risk it.
"Um excuse me, miss?" A voice drew Marinette's attention. She turned her eyes up to see the stranger's eyes. The girl was holding the book Marinette was trying to reach for but was just too short. "Uh, I noticed that you, uh were interested in this book. So I got it. For you."
"Oh well, uh thanks." Marinette said as she took it. "I love your dress by the way."
The stranger smiled while looking down at her dress. "What this old thing? I only wear it when I train or meditate. But most of my clothes hadn't gotten here yet so…" A moment of awkward silence.
"My name's Marinette by the way." Marinette said breaking the silence.
"Madeline," the newly named girl said. "Pleasure to meet you."
"So you just moved here?" Madeline nodded.
"Yeah, my mom is the new martial arts instructor at the new dojo."
"That's so cool!" Marinette exclaimed.
"Not really, cause I have to get carted all over the world, not make any friends, or go to school. But I'm homeschooled so…yeah." Another moment of awkward silence followed. "Uh, so what about you?"
"Oh I my parents are bakers. If you want to come by later and try it, you're welcome to."
"That's cool," Madeline commented when Marinette didn't say anything else. The two stood there in awkward silence for the third time in the last fifteen minutes until a faint beeping could be heard. Madeline tensed slightly around the shoulders and scowled, so Marinette thought it was Madeline's phone or something. Finally after what seemed like forever, Madeline held her wrist up and pressed some sort of button, bringing up a small blue figure of a boy. The girl's face twisted into a scowl that had Marinette withering in fear.
"What is it now Michael?"
"You know better than I not to run off like that," 'Michael' said crossing his arms. "Especially after meditation and your still wearing your robes. Anyway, Selma's has an important meeting with Mr. Damocles about the self-defense class. She said you better be back from the library when she does or else your gonna get grounded."
Madeline did a double take. "How did you know I was at the library? First, I removed the tracker that you implanted on me while we lived in China, and second I didn't tell anyone I was at the library."
"No I didn't put another tracker on you. And you always go straight to the center of learning when you're upset."
"I don't do that," Madeline proclaimed before a look of uncertainty crossed her face. She looked at Marinette. "Do I?" Not knowing what to say, Marinette just shrugged. Madeline just shrugged and returned her attention to Michael with a sigh. "Alright. I'll be right over as soon as I check these books out."
"Okay. See you then." When the silhouette disappeared, Madeline put the device away and gathered her books and belongings.
"Hopefully I'll be seeing you later Marinette," the girl said as she waved goodbye.
"Bye," Marinette bid goodbye as well, watching as her new friend disappear behind a row of bookshelves, leaving her and Tiki alone with their thoughts. The little kwami flew out of her hiding spot, and read along with the book that Madeline got for Marinette. A realization suddenly hit the young hero as she glanced back up at the place where the book once sat. Madeline wasn't that much taller than her, so until the girl climbed on the shelf, there was no way that Madeline could reach the book; much less brush her fingers across the spine. Shaking her head, Marinette started to read, but couldn't concentrate as her mind continued to wonder back to her new friend. Questions bubbled up in her mind. Where did Madeline and her family live before moving to Paris? What was her brother like? Were they twins, since they looked a like? Will she be going to school with her?
These entire questions buzzed around her head, and wouldn't stop bugging her until Alya came, talking excitedly about the recent akuma attack and meeting the new dojo instructor. Alya told her of meeting the new dojo owner and how she reminded her of Adrien. Showing the picture of the new dojo owner, Marinette had to admit she was right. The woman had the same bright green eyes, the same perfect complexion although it was scarred horribly, and the same golden blonde hair that was streaked with silver grey hair.
"Her name's Selma Turon," Alya said, swiping through some of her pictures. "It was a little weird since she just scowled the whole time, but that's beside the point. Anyway, apparently she has twins, Madeline and Michael, neither one of them going to school though."
"Why not?"
"Oh they're homeschooled," Alya explained with a slight shrug. "I couldn't get anything else from Ms. Turon though." The rest of the time at the library was spent talking about school and the recent gossip. Eventually the two decided to go to the cinema and catch a movie.
While riding the Metro they spotted Adrien Agreste. The two girls, mainly Alya because Marinette was having trouble with her words, asked the young model if he wanted to accompany them to the cinema, but he politely declined, saying that he had a shoot in half and hour. The two waved goodbye to the young man as he got off at his stop.
-Line Break-
Adrien Agreste shielded his eyes as he emerged from the metro tunnel into the bright sunny mid-day spring sun. The young model walked briskly towards the park, where Natalie and the Gorilla were probably waiting. Adrien sighed. This was his life ever since his mother vanished from the face of the earth. Wake up, see his father for five seconds if that, get his schedule for the day, go to school, go to fencing lessons, then Chinese and finally his photo shoots for the day, go to bed and repeat. Every day for the past few years. The young man wondered how he refrained from harming himself or how he remained sane with his schedule the way it was. Especially since he started to hang out with Marinette and Alya more. Well, mainly Marinette. Since his first day of school, Adrien had always thought of Marinette as the best friend, but lately his feelings had started to grow for the dark haired, blue eyed baker's daughter. Unfortunately for Marinette, Adrien had a place in his heart for Ladybug.
The model was pulled out of his thoughts when he suddenly collided with another body. Adrien looked down to see a brown haired girl in robes picking some books up. The young man bent down and helped the girl pick up some books, but stopped when he heard someone gasp. He looked up and saw that the girl was looking at him with eyes that were wide as saucers, her mouth almost hitting the ground.
"I'm sorry," Adrien apologized as he helped up with the books. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Oh uh, no it was mine. I was too deep in the book, that I wasn't paying attention." The girl said. Scowling slightly, Adrien remembered where he saw her before. Then he remembered that he, or his alter ego Cat Noir, saved her from the falling debris the other night when the akumatized wrecker attempted to crush her. Smiling slightly, Adrien tried to strike up a conversation with her.
"Hey aren't you the girl that Cat Noir saved the other night?" The girl shrugged her shoulders as she blushed slightly.
"Well, I don't remember much. All I remember is looking up at the falling debris before I passed out from fright. Normally I don't do that but it was just the shock of almost dying that got me. You understand right?"
"Actually not really," Adrien answered, half lying. "My father keeps me locked up in my room all the time, unless I have a photo shoot or lessons."
The girl looked a little sympathetic. "I know how you feel. My ma-other dragged my brother and I across Europe every two months, keeping us out of school and forbade us from making any friends." Adrien couldn't but help agree with her. Even though his father didn't uproot him and move him across the continent ever two months, he did have a strained relationship with his father…especially after his mother left. The girl noticed his downcast looked and snapped her fingers in front of him, snapping him out of it. The model blushed slightly as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Guess I kinda zoned out for a moment there."
"It's okay. It happens to me all the time." Their conversation was cut short as Adrien's phone rang, The young model scowled as he picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Nathalie. Probably wondering where he was since he was almost late. Sighing he stuffed the phone in his pocket, bid goodbye to the girl, and took off towards the park. The photo shoot was uneventful and it wasn't until Adrien was lying on his bed after studying for about three hours with his kwami Plagg. The black cat kwami with bright green eyes was currently eating a piece of Camembert, while Adrien was scrolling through his contacts and attempting to ignore the smell the cheese came off. It worked as his mind wondered who that girl was, then mentally kicked himself when he realized he didn't get her name or number.
"What's wrong with you?" Plagg asked as Adrien suddenly groaned in frustration. The black kwami hadn't seen him this frustrated at himself since he was late to school one time because of an akuma attack.
"I forgot to get a girl's number earlier today," Adrien complained as he sat up. Plagg couldn't help the smile that formed on his face as he stared at his charge. With all those other girls' fawning over him because of his modeling career and that Marinette girl who always seemed so awkward around him it was hard to have an actual conversation with some one who was of the opposite gender. But for him to have forgotten to ask for her number was just… plain embarrassing.
"Stop looking at me like that." Adrien swatted the little kwami away when he got up and walked towards the window, staring outside at the setting sun. In a few hours, it would be time for him to gone on patrol with Ladybug. His heart leapt at the thought of seeing his lady tonight. She always looked so lovely at night, the way her eyes reflected the light of the stars and the way her hair looked so nice in glow of the moon. Shaking his head, Adrien decided to see if Alya had updated the Ladyblog yet. After refreshing the page twice, it seemed that the avid reporter sure liked the fact that there was a new dojo in town. Hoping to find a picture of the owner, Adrien scrolled down past multiple pages of useless information until he came to what looked like the pictures. There, staring at him as if looking through the screen, was a person who looked strikingly…. like his mother. Except this person had cold eyes, and a mauled face. His heart jumped as he realized the possibility that this could be his long lost mother. Shaking his head, Adrien made a mental note to stop by sometime before their class was scheduled to go and talk to her. And find out if it was her. The sound of his clock beeping informed him that it was time to transform and join Ladybug on patrol. The kwami sighed as he placed the piece of stinky cheese on his desk, as he knew what that meant.
Standing up, Adrien thrust his hand out, showing a silver ring, shouting, "Plagg transform me." The kwami yelped slightly as he was sucked into the ring, which darkened into a pitch-black ring, with a green cat paw. Greenish yellow light surrounded him, transforming him into the pun spewing Cat Noir. Opening the window, the black cat superhero jumped out into the cool spring night.
It took Cat Noir at least an hour to realize that Ladybug was late. Pulling out his extending staff, Cat Noir dialed her yoyo, and waited. And waited. And waited. When it was obvious that Ladybug wasn't going to answer he strapped the metal weapon to his belt and sighed.
"Well looks like this kitty is going to be by himself tonight," he muttered to himself as he stood. He started to jump from roof to roof, until a scream stopped him. Following he found Chloe Bourgeois and Sabrina cowering from the akuma from the other day, who Cat Noir dubbed Queen of Hearts, like from the Alice in Wonderland movie. The akuma was surrounding the two girls from school with her card minions. Even though Adrien Agreste hated the way Chloe and Sabrina treated everyone at school, Cat Noir couldn't stand aside and let anyone get hurt. So with that said, the black cat superhero didn't hesitate to jump in between the two girls and the card minions.
"Looks like you need another hand," Cat Noir quipped, pulling out his staff and extending it so he could fight easier. The Queen of Hearts growled, clutching her deck of cards harder.
"You! How dare you intervene!" she shouted, throwing more cards at him, which exploded at his feet, sending dirty flying. Cat dodge the exploding cards as he picked Sabrina and Chloe up by their waist and ran for his nine lives. After making sure that the Queen of Hearts wasn't following them, Cat Noir dropped the two bullies off and shot into the air, where he met his Lady on the roof.
"Ah purrfect timing my lady," Cat Noir said, planting a kiss on her wrist. She yanked it away and pushed him back with her finger.
"Nice to see you too Cat Noir," She said, before returning to looking over the alley. God she looked good. He didn't realize he was staring until another explosion rocked the Parisian night. It seemed to be coming from the base of the Eifel Tower. Cat Noir did a double take he realized how far she actually got, and wondered why she was heading towards there anyway. Then he remembered his dad talking about a poker game the Agreste Company was sponsoring. Someone must've pissed off a woman so bad that she fell victim to an akuma. The two heroes didn't have to look at each other before they both took off over the rooftops, Ladybug using her yoyo and Cat Noir using his staff.
When they got there, the found the Queen of Hearts holding a young man by his collar, a purple butterfly symbol over her eyes. She was communicating with Hawkmoth.
"Where do you think the akuma is?" Cat Noir asked quietly. Ladybug's eyes quickly scanned the scene in front of her, and Cat could literally see the wheels turning in her head.
There," she pointed to the card that she currently clutched in her hands "You distract her and I'll get the card."
"Sounds good to me," Cat Noir said as he did a flip over the bush they were hiding behind and into the fray. He swatted it the man away from the woman's grasp. Then all of the sudden she screamed like she was in pain, which caused her to drop the card. Cat Noir did another backflip, grabbing the card and handing it to Ladybug, who promptly ripped it in two. The black and purple butterfly fluttered out, and as it did, Ladybug opened up her yoyo.
"Time to de-evilize!" she shouted as she caught the impure butterfly. When she opened it up once again, a pure white butterfly fluttered out into the night. "Bye bye little butterfly."
The two watched as the Queen of Hearts dissolved under thick purple fog, leaving a confused woman of twenty-three. When she looked around and saw that the poker match was in shambles, and a terrified man stared at her with wide saucers eyes, her eyes widened as she suddenly realized something. "Did I do this?"
"No you didn't," Ladybug said reassuringly, wrapping her in a blanket. "Just stay here, and don't worry. The ambulance is on their way." The woman smiled, until she grimaced. The lady grabbed her lower back, and pulled out what looked like a part of a stinger. The three of them looked in shock as the stinger disappeared in a sparkle of yellow and black.
"What was that?" Cat Noir asked, his Lady looking around the shadows.
"I don't know," she admitted.
-Line Break-
Watching from the shadows, a figure in a skin tight, yellow and black suit smiled to herself softly as she watched Ladybug and Cat Noir help the poor woman who was akumatized. The ambulance had long since arrived, and with that, the other masked heroes should have left. Yet they stayed probably discussing the dart that the hero in the shadow threw to help. Of course she couldn't show herself to them. Yet. Soon however, both her and the Miraculous Peacock will rise, but another person will hold the responsibly that but not her…never again. Sighing the figure turned and jumped back towards her house leaving two very stunned figures behind her.