No.
No, this was not happening.
Felix stared at himself in the mirror, his features washed in shock and denial. What was once neatly combed hair and dark clothes, gave way to skin tight leather-like material, claws, and a messy mane of hair with...cat ears? And a belt tail? What the hell was going on? Why did he look like Chat Noir? Although, he suspected he didn't just look like Chat Noir. Felix watched with vibrant green feline eyes at his newly acquired cat ears flicked back and forth, picking up sounds as they twitched.
What was more shocking, however, was the news that Adrien who always listened to the rules and was too nice for his own good, was actually Chat Noir. Felix was almost impressed with his younger cousin, if he wasn't so appalled that he was insane enough to throw himself at the danger instead of running away from it.
No! Nope! He absolutely did not want this. Why had he taken that damn ring off Adrien's finger?
Curiosity killed the cat, his mind supplied unhelpfully.
He already wanted to punch something.
Managing to shove himself from the mirror, Felix almost couldn't look away from himself. Similar to looking at a car crash happening in front of him, his eyes kept drawing back to ogle at the newly acquired features.
A sudden blare of traffic horns made Felix flinch and jump into the air before landing in a crouch, body suddenly ready to take on whatever the noise was. Then immediately, he felt like a fool. Who jumps at a sudden car horn from outside? Infuriated at everything that was happening, Felix stormed out of the bathroom, flinging the door open. Only to have the door come flying backwards and put a decent size hole in the wall.
Okay... apparently, he was stronger now too...
Using his claws, he tried to pry the ring off again, but still to no avail. He just wanted this over with; he'd give it back to Adrien the next time he saw him. Adrien could pounce around Paris all he wanted, but Felix wanted no part of it.
At a loss for what to do since he now couldn't leave even if he wanted to, Felix prowled around the suite trying to burn all of the extra energy that came with the Chat Noir transformation. He didn't dare leave in case the transformation gave out as suddenly as it came. Not to mention, he absolutely did not want to be seen like this. Ever.
"Order some Camembert," Plagg's voice demanded as he flitted about the suite again.
"No," Felix answered, crossing his arms over his chest. He was back to normal now, the ring back to its dull silver band on his finger.
"Come on, Kid, I'm starving here," Plagg complained. "This is animal cruelty."
"You're not even an animal, you're a kwami, or whatever you called yourself," Felix retorted. Plagg stopped flying around to give Felix an intimidating glare. Or at least, Felix supposed Plagg was trying be intimidating. That feat was hard when Plagg was literally only a few inches tall: Felix was hardly scared. "Why don't you be useful and explain what exactly is going on?"
Plagg sniffed and licked a paw, his tiny green eyes narrowed. "Not until I get my cheese," he answered. "No cheese, no explanation."
"No explanation, no cheese," Felix countered, arms still crossed. Then they glared at each other, neither willing to budge. Felix was going to get his explanation, and he could out-stubborn the best of them. Tiny magic creatures included.
"Adrien's much nicer," Plagg commented with a flick of his tail.
"I'm not Adrien."
Felix and Plagg still stared at each other for a few more minutes before Plagg sighed. "Clearly. How about I give you a little bit of information while you order some cheese, and then I'll tell you the rest once I get it?"
Felix wanted so bad to decline the deal for the sake of telling Plagg no, but logically he knew that was probably the best he was going to get in this scenario. He'd rather not fight with the kwami more than he had to, at least until he knew what exactly was going on. "Deal," Felix conceded, heading for the hotel phone. Quickly, he ordered some cheese from room service then told Plagg to start talking.
"You're cursed, Kid. You get to be the new Chat Noir, hero, and partner to Ladybug," Plagg started. No way, I would've never figured that out... Felix thought sarcastically, still keeping a straight face and prompting Plagg to keep talking. Felix wondered if Plagg was being purposefully unhelpful or it was just natural for the creature.
"Since you aren't the chosen keeper of the ring, and instead took the ring like an idiot," Plagg continued, muttering that last part to himself, "you can't take the ring off on your own. Like I already told you, you either die or get a kiss from Ladybug."
Freaking perfect, Felix sighed. He had such excellent choices, really. Death or a kiss from a stranger. "What exactly does Ladybug have to do with the curse? Why is she the only one who can break it?"
"Easy; Ladybug and Chat Noir are two halves of a whole. She gets all the good luck, the power to purify, and my cats get the bad luck and the power of destruction. They balance it out; only her magic can counteract mine. Simple, really," Plagg explained.
"So why even have the curse to begin with?"
"To deter those who'd want to steal the miraculous," Plagg said with a pointed look at Felix. Hey, he hadn't been trying to steal it! "Now where's my cheese? I'm still starving over here."
Slowly, Felix counted to ten...and then twenty, but he still couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration. How did Adrien deal with the little pest on a daily basis? A knock on the door pulled Felix from glaring daggers at Plagg. It was the little monster's cheese. The room service lady handed the platter to him with a smile, before Felix nearly shut the door in her face with a curt "Thanks." Then Felix caught a whiff of the cheese, "Plagg, this smells disgusting!"
A blur of black passed by Felix's face once he shut the door. "But it's so good!" Plagg cried, shoving half a chunk in his mouth.
"Get on with the explanation, I held up my end of the deal."
"Yeah, yeah, keep your vest on," Plagg muttered, eating the rest of the chunk quickly. "Anyway, you'll be transforming anytime Ladybug does and I'll get very little warning. That's why you suddenly transformed before."
"And what does that mean for me? I'd rather not be stuck inside this hotel suite just waiting for her to transform," Felix asked, finding a chair to sit on. He needed time to process this.
Satisfied at the large amount of cheese he'd eaten in a short amount of time, Plagg curled up on one of the chairs opposite Felix. "You get to be Chat Noir, obviously. You get to be a hero, and you'd better because Ladybug can't do it all on her own."
After the apparently exhausting explanation, Plagg had fallen asleep. It was the quietest Felix had seen him, so he didn't bother the kwami. The less Plagg talked, the less frustrated Felix seemed to be. Maybe he'd get some sleep too, between traveling and being cursed, it had been a long day. Maybe tomorrow would be better.
"Why are we going to the store?" Plagg asked, floating just inside Felix's jacket collar.
Curling his lip slightly, Felix grabbed Plagg away from his face and shoved him in a pocket. The creature was way too into his personal space, thank you, and he definitely didn't need him whispering in his ear.
Truthfully, Felix just needed to get out of the suite for a while. He needed food, and needed to think. Plagg told him that, unless an akuma attacked, Ladybug usually didn't transform since it was the weekend. Occasionally, her and Chat Noir would patrol but not too often in the morning or early afternoon. However, Plagg forgot to tell him that Felix's new "bad luck" would kick into action right off the bat. He'd stubbed his toes, the warm water ran out only a minute into his shower, he'd gotten a five in the morning wake up call that he didn't call for... the list went on and on. At that rate, Felix kept a weary eye out for everything and everyone in his path.
He had tried to call Adrien, but Nathalie had answered saying that Adrien was still sleeping away his fever. He hadn't woke up except to drink some water and take more medicine. Plagg seemed relieved that Adrien was doing better, and truthfully, Felix was too. He had a lot he wanted to talk to Adrien about. Namely all this Chat Noir nonsense.
"Get some more cheese!" Plagg told him, flying up the inside of his jacket once again. Huffing, Felix grabbed ahold of Plagg again and pushed him down. Several people around him gave him odd looks at the jerky movement, but Felix didn't care. Their opinions didn't matter anyway.
Felix looked around, only grabbing the items he needed. He shopped quickly, but efficiently, and wasted no time circling the store like some people seemed to do. He swore the same old lady passed him at least five times. Plagg only demanded cheese two more times before Felix finally grabbed some for him, effectively shutting him up for the remainder of the shopping. Four bags of food later, and Felix was back on his way to the hotel.
Plagg wasted no time jumping head-first into the bag with his disgusting cheese, already digging in. Curling his lip, Felix let the kwami do what he wanted. At least Plagg wasn't trying to whisper in his ear or worm his way up Felix's jacket anymore. He'd take what he could get, as long as Plagg didn't try and-
"Hey, we're about to transform," Plagg interrupted Felix's thoughts, head popping up from the bag. "Just thought you should know."
"What?!" Felix nearly hissed a bit too loudly. Once again, several people turned to him at his sudden outburst. Ignoring them, Felix picked up his gait, eyes searching for a place to hide. He found none, so an alley would have to do. It was still way more public than Felix would have liked, but he had no other options.
"You should go find Ladybug, I don't want to be stuck with you forever," Plagg muttered, flying up and out of the grocery bag.
Ducking down behind the dumpster, Felix dropped the bags as the green light enveloped his body, turning his nice clothes into black leather-like material. "I hate you," Felix whispered to his ring, hoping Plagg could hear him. If not, he'd tell Plagg again later. Then again, he'd probably tell Plagg again later anyway.
So what the hell am I supposed to do? Felix thought to himself, looking down at his new ensemble. Feeling behind him, Felix grasped the Chat Noir baton. How was this thing even supposed to work? It didn't have buttons that Felix could see, and it was only a bit longer than his hand. Adrien flew through Paris almost as well as Ladybug, how did he make the baton longer-
As soon as Felix thought that, the baton immediately grew five times longer than it was, nearly touching both walls of the alley.
Alright then...
Felix tried swinging the baton around, but it never did anything special. Propping it against the ground, Felix sighed as he leaned forward. It seemed sturdy, clearly a product of whatever kwami magic that made him Chat Noir. He really wished Plagg would have given him a little more information about being Chat Noir. Distantly, Felix heard people running out in the streets, seeing a few of them pass by the mouth of the alley.
How on Earth could Felix even be Chat Noir? He had no real instruction, and just winging it seemed unwise. Getting a kiss from Ladybug at this rate was going to be basically impossible; and dying to get the ring off wasn't even an option. He wasn't so maudlin that he'd resort to death to get away from the ring.
The sounds of Ladybug fighting with the akuma echoed down the alley where Felix still examined the baton. Sighing, Felix gave up trying to get the baton to do what he wanted, and attempted to run into the streets. If there was no other way, Felix would run since the baton wouldn't extend-
Suddenly, the baton extended, one end on the ground, the rest of it reaching upward above the buildings nearby. Felix scrambled to find a hold on the baton as it jerked him upwards and into the air. "Stop, stop, stop," Felix muttered, closing his eyes. His ascent halted just as suddenly as it began. Felix remained clinging to the baton, arms and legs nearly wrapped around it.
A light breeze made Felix open his eyes. He was held up above the shop buildings that lined the alley, just hanging there as the baton remained abnormally long. How in the hell did I do that? he wondered, looking around. About five blocks over, he could see Ladybug fight with the akuma. So much for helping Ladybug... She seemed to be able to handle it all on her own.
Pushing forward, Chat landed on the nearest roof, baton still ridiculously extended. He examined the thing closely, still not seeing exactly how the item worked. No matter what Felix looked at, he could see nothing to make the baton smaller. It was then that Felix spotted the little paw print design in the baton. Perhaps that was the key...
Felix brushed his thumb over the pad of the paw and the baton grew smaller until it was about a foot long. Hmmm... It wasn't quite a button, but the paw print seemed to respond to what Felix wanted while he was holding it. Extend, Felix thought, watching as the baton grew to what size Felix intended. Shrink; then the baton was back to normal.
Interesting, Felix smirked, feeling particularly proud that he had at least figured something out. It was a start. Newly focused, Felix took off running, leaping from roof to roof, still getting used to the baton as he went. He almost made it to where he had last seen Ladybug fighting, before he heard a cry of "Miraculous Ladybug" and watched as Ladybug's magic swept through the area, finally surrounding a man who was crouched down on the street looking confused.
Looks like I missed the akuma...
He landed suprisingly quiet, watching Ladybug look around while pulling the yo-yo back to her hand. At his landing, she turned around, a bright smile on her face. "Chat, where-" she started but then paused. Before she could continue, the man who had been akumatized came up to her, apologising for anything he may have done. She waved him off with a polite smile and reassurances, before turning back to Chat. "This place is a bit crowded, let's go somewhere else." She didn't give him enough time to respond before she was zipping off on her yo-yo, leaving Felix to stare after her for a moment. Finally, after huffing, Felix took off running, only using the baton when he had to.
At least I didn't have to fight the akuma, Felix thought, running after Ladybug. That was an unexpected blessing. Especially considering his newfound bad luck.
After a few blocks, Ladybug stopped on a high business building and waited for him to catch up. Felix was surprised that he wasn't very winded from the quick run. He exercised frequently, but he'd definitely be out of breath if he was just Felix. Once again, Felix landed smoothly and quietly. The two stood there for a moment, her back to him. Was he supposed to say something first? Is that why she hadn't said anything?
Oh, god. I've gotta pretend to be Adrien... Or Adrien's Chat Noir, which was infinitely worse. His Chat persona was a flirt with Ladybug, wasn't he? While Felix knew he'd have to work towards getting a kiss from Ladybug, he wasn't sure he could flirt with her without feeling like a complete idiot. Even with a mask on, it was still Felix, and saying such moronic things out loud, much less to anyone, made him feel nauseous.
He was saved from saying anything first, when she swung around quickly, glaring at him. "Who are you?!" she demanded harshly, swinging her yo-yo around loosely.
Felix held his hands up, really not wanting to fight. "Chat Noir," he answered honestly. Shit, did she already know? I haven't even said anything yet. Then again, maybe that was the problem.
"No, you're not," she snapped, swinging the yo-yo a little faster until it was a pink blur. "How did you get the miraculous? Where's the other Chat? What did you do to him?"
Poor Felix, adorable little idiot. He's about to have a bad (worse?) time...
I took some creative liberty with Chat's baton. I haven't watched Miraculous in...way too long (come on Valentine's Day!) and I wanted to kind of put my own spin on it, I guess? Hope it made sense.
So chapter 2, what did ya think? I'd love comments! I kinda fought with this chapter a little, so seriously, let me know. Also, would anyone be interested in beta-ing for me? Or at least reading it before I post it to make sure it flows right and sounds ok? I usually can't tell until after I've posted it, and can read it like everyone else.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think! Until next time.