I am sooooo sorry for the late chapter! I was stuck at a doctor's appointment for three hours and just finished dinner, so thank goodness I don't have anything else that'll delay this chapter even more.
But yeah. Season two is giving me serious feels and I'm not sure if I should be praising Astruc or screaming at him. And I went to see the new pokemon movie this Sunday and I may or may not have cried a little and then started writing ideas for fanfiction. Also I am very much stalling for NaNoWriMo by reading random headcanons online for hours on end. . . I regret nothing.
"Would you stop your yawning?" Paige grumbled on the way to school. "It's driving me. . . crazy." Her statement was punctuated with a yawn of her own. "You should go to sleep earlier if all you're going to do is get up earlier than you need to."
Holly stared at her, mind scrambling to think of an excuse. She couldn't tell her sister that she was tired because of superhero patrols late at night! She'd get used to them eventually. . . probably. "My novel isn't going to write itself," she argued weakly, yawning again.
Paige snorted, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders. "Because reading fanfiction and obsessively looking at fanart at the crack of dawn counts as writing."
"You know perfectly well that I draw some inspiration from that stuff! Besides, it needs to be appreciated sometime, and I'm too busy after school."
"Doing what?" The girls stopped in front of the school's steps. "As far as I can tell, you haven't joined any clubs, or have been hanging out with friends."
She reached up to touch the hair comb still embedded in her hair. She'd gotten used to doing it now, even though it had only been a week or so since she'd been introduced to Cierr. "Well, I've been texting Amelia a lot." It wasn't a lie, as she had, but texting didn't take as long as she had been pretending to be doing stuff.
"Please. You have the attention span of a fly when you're texting someone, even Amelia."
"What I do with my free time is none of your business." She started climbing the stairs, eager to get to her class so she could avoid this conversation again.
Paige reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Holls, it becomes my concern when you do absolutely no socializing. That's not healthy."
"I socialize! Nathaniel and I talk over lunch in the library. . .sometimes. . ." Her face grew red once Paige gave her and I knew it look. "Just stop it! I can do what I want with my time, whether it's socializing or not. You're not the boss of me!" In addition to Paige's hurt look and the curious stares of those who overheard them, Holly was shocked at herself. "I- I'm going to go." Running up the rest of the stairs, she ducked into the girl's bathroom, not even caring when the warning bell rang, telling her she had five minutes to compose herself. She checked to see if anyone else was in the room before opening her bag.
Cierr flew out immediately. "Maybe you should get to bed a little earlier, or sleep a little later," she suggested, floating next to Holly, who was staring at herself in a mirror.
"I can't believe I just did that," she muttered. "As temperamental as I can get, I've never yelled at Paige like that."
Flitting over in front of Holly, Cierr took a seat on the sink faucet. "I don't get it. Aren't sisters supposed to fight?"
Holly let out a dry, humorless laugh. "That's what the books say." The books that Paige never listened about. "She never listens to a thing I say, really. She doesn't get me. She never even stood up for me and Amelia when they used that Avengers quote against us, though they adapted it to say that Amelia was weird and I was weirder. They referred to me as Scarlet Witch until we moved, and Paige never even thought to ask how it made me feel. She just assumed that because Amelia was okay with it- she always embraces her quirks- I would be too. And I guess I let her."
Cierr was silent for a moment. "You know what? It's too early for this. Let's get you to class, and you and your sister can make up after school."
Holly took a deep breath. "You're right, I think. That should give me some time to cool off, too." The angry red blush in her face had subsided, and she zipped her backpack shut once Cierr flew in, exiting the bathroom and heading to class.
She was mad at Paige, yes, but she was more mad at herself for blowing up out of the blue like that. She's never blown up at Paige before, so maybe it was her stored anger that made her yell. Maybe writing wasn't enough to get all of her anger out.
Or, more possible, she wasn't writing enough. She'd have to get on that.
X-X-X
Multiple loud crashes and screams interrupted her lunch that day. Her eyes flew up from her writing journal, nearly dropping her pencil as she looked to Nathaniel for an explanation.
"It's an akuma attack," he spoke quickly. "Come on, we should go somewhere safe."
A little voice in the back of her mind told her that she absolutely should go with him, but the reminder of Cierr waiting in her backpack to transform convinced her of otherwise. "I'll be right behind you," she lied, stuffing her journal into her backpack. He nodded, taking off towards the main entrance. In the meantime, she ducked into an abandoned aisle of the library, letting Cierr fly out of her backpack.
"Your first akuma!" Cierr gushed, her wide eyes filled with excitement. "They grow up so fast."
Holly rolled her eyes, but couldn't help her smile. She was nervous for this attack, but this was the beginning of her official superhero career. Wait, could she count it as a career? It wasn't something that she could put on her resume, but. . . "Cierr, buzz on!"
As soon as she was transformed, she ran out a side exit of the library, throwing her disc down and hopping on, ready to take on this akuma.
It wasn't long before she found Ladybug and Chat Noir, thank goodness. She didn't want to have to face the akuma alone. "Ladybug! Chat Noir!" she called, waving to them as she approached. They were on the roof of a building, surveying the ground around them. "Have you guys seen the akuma yet?"
Both shook their heads. "Not yet, but we should be getting close," Ladybug informed her. "You haven't seen it either?"
"No," she admitted. "All I heard were some crashes and screams. I thought they came from over here, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."
A muffled laugh came from near them. ". . .You guys heard that, right?" Chat asked apprehensively, trying to locate the source of the sound. The girls nodded, trying to find the sound as well.
"You're not looking hard enough," a feminine voice taunted. "See, there are perks to being invisible sometimes." The voice sounded like it was moving around them. "I was surprised you two were able to locate the general vicinity I was in. Congrats, I suppose. But now. . . Who is this little hero next to you?"
"My name is Honey Bee," Honey Bee answered, her voice strong despite the nerves of her first akuma battle. "I'm an ally to Chat and Ladybug."
"A new superhero?" another voice gasped out from below them. "What a scoop!" Honey Bee looked down to see an auburn-haired girl she recognized from her class attempting to film them. Alya was her name, she remembered.
From beside her, Ladybug groaned. "She really needs to stop trying to film these attacks," she muttered, still trying to find the voice they had heard.
"No matter who you are," the voice said, the faint violet glow of a butterfly mask. "If you are a miraculous holder, I shall take your miraculous for Hawkmoth! Then we'll see how people really like being invisible to others. But really, it's not being invisible; it's blending in to your surroundings that I excel at." A large force smashed into Honey Bee, knocking her onto her back. She scrambled to her feet again, still clutching her disc. Now she could see the owner of the voice: a slim figure, who appeared to be the same coloring as the sky she had been against. In just a couple of seconds, her "coloring" matched the background she was against.
"Who are you, anyway, a chameleon?" Chat wondered, trying to grab onto the camouflaged girl.
"Not a chameleon, dear Chat," she giggled, moving and melding to the background. "My name is Concealer."
Honey Bee bit back a laugh. "Like the cosmetic?"
"Not the cosmetic," Concealer growled. "A girl who blends in so well that nearly nobody notices her. Allow me to show you." Her image rippled for a second, soon replaced by that of a girl with flowing cinnamon-colored hair and cyan eyes, tan skin and a paint-splattered suit. Her mask, slightly butterfly-shaped, was a forest green, accenting her hair. Altogether, the outfit clashed horribly, making her too bright to not stand out. "Strange to think that someone who tries hard to fit in would do it too well, instead of being dragged into the limelight."
Ladybug studied the girl in front of them. "I feel like I know you from somewhere. . ."
Concealer snorted, crossing her arms. "I don't think so. Nobody knows me."
"Um, I do!" Honey Bee's attention was once again brought to Alya, still on the ground. She wasn't exactly sure how much good footage Alya was getting from her vantage point. "Her name's Calypso, she's one of the members of the chorus."
The three superheroes looked back to the akuma. "Calypso was the old me, the me that was too good at blending in. Now I am here to make sure everyone gets their chance to stand out!"
"Isn't it kind of ironic?" Honey Bee asked, thoughts spinning through her mind. "You know the meaning of the name Calypso is literally 'the concealer,' right?"
Chat burst out laughing. "Really? Hawkmoth, if you're listening, you need to come up with some more imaginative names."
Concealer leaped at Chat, once again blending into the background. He swung his staff haphazardly, not connecting with anything. "A little help here, girls?" he grunted, shifting his stance again as Concealer pushed him from behind.
Ladybug and Honey Bee sprung into action, Ladybug trying to latch onto Concealer with her yoyo, and Honey Bee trying to catch her off guard with her disc. "We don't even know where her akuma could be," Honey Bee pointed out, tripping and stumbling over Concealer's leg, listening to her cackle.
"Oh, Honey, you won't figure that out anytime soon!" A piece of her hair was lifted near her miraculous, but Honey Bee blindly pushed out in front of her, hitting Concealer and stumbling backwards herself.
"We need to figure out a way to see her!" Ladybug shouted, her yoyo missing once more. "Then we might be able to find the akuma."
"Good luck with that," Concealer remarked, her footsteps racing across the roof. "Can't catch me!"
Honey Bee rolled her eyes. "What are we, five?" she muttered, earning a small laugh from Chat Noir.
"C'mon, Concealer, this isn't a fair fight!" Chat called out, green eyes searching for any kind of movement.
She became visible for a moment right behind him. "Because a three-on-one fight is fair?" Once again, she vanished, blending into the background and shoving Chat Noir forward. "Now, don't make me wait much longer to take your miraculous! I do have other things to get on with, you know."
"We can help with that: just let us destroy the akuma," Honey Bee said, still searching for the girl.
"This is becoming just like the Vanisher," Ladybug murmured, yoyo swinging. Her eye caught something by the roof entrance. "Chat, Honey Bee, can you guys keep looking for a minute? I have an idea."
Chat grinned at her. "Of course, milady." Honey Bee nodded, too, and Ladybug ran over to the entrance, fiddling around with whatever she had seen over there.
A quiver of movement caught Honey Bee's eye. She flung her disc in the direction of the movement, making contact judging by the grunt coming from the wall. "There, Chat!" she exclaimed, and Chat nodded, running into Concealer and pinning her against the wall.
"Perfect timing," Ladybug commented, coming over to them and dumping a pot full of soil over Concealer's head.
"What the hell?" Concealer shrieked, writhing in Chat's grip. A thin headband that they hadn't noticed before caught some of the dirt in her hair. Nothing else noticeable showed on her, which meant. . .
"The akuma is in her headband!" the three heroes realized as one. Unfortunately for them, Concealer wasn't making this easy, having shaken off the dirt. Kicking Chat Noir in the shin, she escaped from his grasp, breaking past the three and running across the roof.
She laughed, the few specks of dirt left on her blending into the background now. "It's not gonna be so easy for you three," she taunted.
The three heroes were really frustrated at this point. "Alright, then," Ladybug grumbled. "Lucky charm!" A moment later, a red and black spotted book fell into her grasp. "Well, this sucks. Any ideas?"
"As much as I love reading, now isn't the time for a story," Honey Bee commented, trying to think of anything it might be useful for in this situation.
"I agree," Chat said, "though you can't judge a book by its cover. It could have a hidden use."
Ladybug and Honey Bee both shot him a look at his joke. "Now? Really?" Honey Bee deadpanned.
"He makes jokes at the worst times. You get used to it," Ladybug said with a roll of her eyes.
"Me-ouch. Your words hurt, LB," Chat teased, placing a hand over his heart as though he was actually wounded by her words.
"And you're going to hurt if you don't give me your miraculous!" Honey Bee had kind of forgotten that Concealer was still there, which she supposed was half of the reason Concealer could blend into her surroundings- and thinking that, she really was just like a chameleon, wasn't she?
A shrill beeping sound caught her attention. "I've only got four minutes left, so we need to make this quick," Ladybug said, eyes searching around them. She glanced down at the book in her hand. "Got it! Chat, Honey Bee, can you see if you can find her?"
They nodded, letting her do her own thing. . . whatever it was. Honey Bee couldn't exactly figure out what Ladybug was going to do with the book, but she was sure that it would work. She had absolute faith in her newfound friend, something she was quite surprised at.
However, they still weren't making any progress with Concealer. Before long, though, Ladybug had the roof they were on covered in paper from the book.
"How is this going to help?" Chat asked, curious. Honey Bee had to bite back a joke about curiosity killing the cat.
"Like that." Ladybug pointed to the movement of the papers. "We can see where you are now, Concealer!"
The three worked quickly, Ladybug tying her yoyo around the girl, and Honey Bee finding and breaking the headband. She watched as a small black butterfly- the akuma, she assumed- wriggled out of the broken pieces and tried flying away. Before it could, Ladybug caught it in her yoyo (somehow; she wasn't exactly clear on how it worked) and released it. With a shout, she threw the remains of the book into the air.
Honey Bee watched in awe as red light- or ladybugs- coalesced and flew around them, correcting any damage that had been done. It was an incredible sight, really, and was only interrupted by the girl, Calypso, shaking her head.
"How did I get up here?" she wondered aloud as Ladybug handed her the fixed headband.
"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir said in unison, beckoning for Honey Bee to join in on their fist bump. It felt good, she had to admit.
"Ladybug! Chat Noir! Honey Bee!" Alya again, waving up at them. "Can I get an interview?"
The three looked at each other. A shrill beep filled the air again. "You guys go ahead," Ladybug smiled apologetically. "I only have a minute before I change back." Without waiting for their response, she went off.
Honey Bee caught Chat Noir looking fondly at her retreating back. "So you like her, huh?" she asked with a sly smile.
"I'm not even going to deny it," he sighed out. "Sorry if I'm crushing your dreams."
She laughed, setting down her disc. Like that could even happen for her. Her heart belonged to someone else. "Sorry, but I don't like you in that way, Chat. Come on, let's go give that interview."
. . .I never claimed to be good at writing akumas.
Thank you to EvanesceStream for following, TheImaginativeOne for favoriting, DDillonT44 for reviewing, and everyone who's been reading!