A/N: Greetings! So, here is the next chapter (obvi). I am going to try to update at least once a week. If I manage to get extra done, I'll post more, but no promises, I'm afraid.

As always, thanks for all the follows and alerts on this story - I really appreciate it! Enough of me. Read on!

Chapter Three: Pretty Faces

"Marinette, no!" the red flying thing exclaimed, darting around so it was in front of the girl again. "No one must know I am here! Please, calm down. I'm your friend, truly!"

Marinette was already scrambling to her feet, blinking rapidly at the creature that was now hovering between her and the door. She would have shouted again, despite its placating, but her voice seemed to be failing her for a moment. It was a long enough moment, in fact, that its words were able to permeate the frightened girl's mind as she sucked in a few somewhat centering breaths.

"H-how do you know my name?" she demanded, holding herself stiffly and ready to start running again at the first sign of trouble. "Who are you? Wh-what are you? How did you get in here?"

"My name is Tikki," said the little being, "and I am a kwami. You were chosen to wield the ladybug miraculous that I am bound to. I am the one who will grant you your powers."

The girl stared at the creature, Tikki, for a long moment, expression shifting from fearful wariness to bewildered confusion. "You're a what? Wait, did you just say powers?" the girl asked.

"That's right," Tikki explained kindly, "as the holder of the ladybug miraculous, you will wield powers to-"

"I tripped," Marinette interrupted. "I tripped and fell and I hit my head. Obviously, I must have a massive concussion. That's why there's that thing outside and I'm hallucinating that there's a-a kwami in my room." As the girl continued to speak, her words came more and more quickly, the pitch of her voice verging towards hysteria. "Any moment, now, I'm going to wake up in the hospital, and Papa will be there, trying to act like he isn't worried, but he is, and my Mother will be somewhere, looking like she thinks I did this on purpose, even though I didn't, and Nathalie – poor Nathalie will be frantically trying to reschedule everything I'm going to have to miss because Maman will be pissed if it all gets canceled-"

"-inette!" the kwami's voice cut through her rambling, tone full of urgent concern. "Marinette!"

The girl blinked down at her hands, which were curled into the pile of her carpet. At some point, her legs must have given out from under her because she was now on her knees. She could practically hear her heart hammering against her rib cage and even she thought her breathing was too quick. Drawing in a deep breath, she forced herself to let it out slowly.

"That's it," Tikki said soothingly. "Slow, deep breaths. You're all right."

Marinette lifted her head to peer at the kwami, a skeptical laugh breezing past her lips. "Am I? Because you're still here," she pointed out. "No offense."

Tikki gave her a kind smile. "None taken. It really will be all right, though."

"Says the one who wants to give me superpowers. Do you have any idea what a b-bad idea that is? I can't even get through an entire day without tripping and humiliating myself in front of a dozen different people, and you want me to help people? Like that's not a disaster waiting to happen," she muttered. "Oh, god, I hope I wake up, soon."

"This isn't a dream," the kwami said gently, "you aren't hallucinating. Stoneheart really is terrorizing Paris this very second, and you really were chosen to carry a miraculous that will give you powers."

"No, you-"

"But no one is going to make you do anything you don't feel comfortable doing, Marinette. The Guardian chose you because he believes you will make a good Ladybug. He saw in you the qualities that would bring honor to the role. You were not chosen lightly!" Tikki told the girl earnestly.

Marinette laughed bitterly. "Well, obviously, your 'guardian' doesn't know the first thing about me," she declared. "I-I'm no one. Certainly not ahero. I'm just..."

She tried to swallow back the words, those hurtful words she'd promised herself would never leave her mouth because they didn't matter, they didn't bother her. Only they did. They haunted her every lonely moment and now they were clawing up her throat and past her lips, causing tears to spring to her eyes as they went.

"I'm just another pretty face."

Too late, Marinette pressed a hand over her mouth. Blue eyes clenched shut, sending twin streams down freckled cheeks. How many times had she heard others refer to her that way? How many photographers, frustrated by her chronic ungainliness, gritted those words out to their assistants between clenched teeth when they thought she wouldn't hear? How many jealous competitors, jealous parents, jealous managers? How many panic-inducing pimples had she been terrified would scab over and scar, leaving her face blemished and mother disappointed?

She wouldn't even have this shoot if she weren't the designer's daughter.

Such a klutz! Good thing she's pretty, otherwise, she wouldn't have anything.

Marinette, have you been keeping up with your daily face regimen? Your complexion has been a bit poor.

"Is that what you really believe?"

Tikki's kindly voice caused the girl to start, teary blue eyes blinking open to stare. The kwami's own blue eyes gazed back as she offered a small smile.

"Do you really think that about yourself, or is that just what people say of you?" she asked again.

"I..." Marinette began, blinking to clear her vision. To her mortification, her voice was a bit hoarse. "I don't want to believe it, but..."

"Then, wouldn't that be even more reason to prove them all wrong?"

The girl slowly shook her head, not in denial, but doubt. "But I can't," she protested, "I'm just... I'm just... me."

Tikki moved in closer, movement slow to gauge the teen's reaction to her proximity. When Marinette made no attempt to back away, the kwami drew near enough to gently stroke her cheek before moving into her line of sight, once more.

"You're capable of more than you think," she said wisely. "The Guardian saw the potential. He saw it in you, Marinette. I see it, too."

"You do?" Marinette hadn't meant for the words to come out as a whisper, but they did.

The kwami's answering smile was bright and encouraging. "Absolutely!"

A warmth spread through the girl's chest. Someone saw something beyond her face, something inside of her. When was the last time anyone had done that?

Rising slowly to her feet, Marinette lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. A nervous sort of smile found its way onto her face. She drew in a breath, then let it back out.

"A-all right, then," the model said, "tell me about this miraculous you want me to wield."

0o0

"Will you-" Adrien attempted, dodging around the end of his chaise as he jogged across his room. "That isn't-" The boy switched directions as the cat creature darted the other side of the space.

"What's this?" it murmured with interest, landing on his video game controller. "This looks good." He gnawed at the handle a moment, then stuck out his little tongue. "Blegh!"

"That's not edible, either," the teenager huffed. "Nothing in here, right now, is edible!"

Plagg, for his name was about the only information he offered up before proceeding to taste all his belongings, started to the opposite end of the room again. This time, Adrien managed to jump up and catch the creature, the effort causing him to practically face-plant into his chaise.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," Adrien said in response to the look the creature gave him. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Do you have something to do with that thing outside? Are you a superhero?"

"Fine," Plagg sighed. "I'm a kwami. I was put here because you were chosen to wield superpowers. I'm the one who will grant them to you. Anything else? I'm hungry."

"No way!" Adrien repeated, sitting up on the edge of the seat. He loosened his hold when the kwami wriggled, allowing him to sit unfettered on his open palm. "Me, a superhero? Really?"

"If that is what you'd like. You will have the powers to help defeat the villain outside, and any other villain who might arise," stated the kwami.

"Help? Does that mean I'll have a partner?" the teen asked, grinning broadly. "There'll be more than one of us? We'll have secret identities, right? What sort of powers? This is so cool – tell me everything!"

Looking rather smug and pleased with himself, Plagg proceeded to do just that.

0o0

Super Cat, Super Cat, Adrien sang in his head to a random tune as he tread across his baton like it was a high wire. His boots seemed especially well-equipped for gripping various surfaces, or perhaps he just had great balance.

"One may even say, purr-fect poise," he finished the thought aloud with an amused smirk for his own pun. That would be his thing, Adrien decided just then as he carefully executed a turn on his impromptu balancing beam. When in costume, he was going to spout as many cat-related puns as he could. He could practically hear Nino groan dramatically over his lame humor – a thought which made him frown when he remembered he wasn't supposed to tell his friend about any of this.

A sound drew the new teen hero's gaze to the sky, luminous green eyes widening as a large red object flew shrieking towards him. He gave a surprised squawk as the object – a girl, it turned out – collided with him, knocking him bodily from the baton only for the both of them to end tangled together and dangling upside-down a couple feet above the street.

"Nice of you to drop in," the boy quipped, offering a grin.

The girl's face was a brilliant scarlet beneath the red mask that she wore. "I'm so sorry about this!" she said, sounding mortified.

"No harm done!" Adrien responded reassuringly. He managed to disentangle himself from the string and proceeded to help her do the same. "You must be my new partner. It's a good thing you came along, because I was just trying to figure out how I'd find you."

"Looks like I came to you," she said a bit faintly. She tugged at the string, which was still caught on something above them.

"I must have summoned you with my thoughts," joked the boy. "Psychic magnetism must be one of my powers."

The girl paused to look at him, frowning a bit, which Adrien immediately thought looked adorable – especially with the pigtails on either side of her head. Much like his own costume, hers appeared to be one piece, only instead of being black with the appearance and feel of leather, hers was red with black spots, and appeared to be made of a more breathable material.

"Psychic magnetism isn't actually a power," she said a bit hesitantly, tugging once more at the thread, "it's a-"

"Oh, I know!" Adrien reassured her, because the last thing he wanted was for his partner to think he was dumb. Although, he was a bit surprised she was familiar with the term. "I know. I was just kitten."

She had given another hard pull just as she sent him a bewildered look at his pun. He didn't have time to be amused with her response, however, as that final tug brought both his baton and her own weapon – a yo-yo made out of something incredibly dense – down upon his head.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, both gloved hands flying to her mouth. "It was an accident. I'm so clumsy – I told my kwami this was a bad idea!"

"And here, I just thought you didn't like my humor," said Adrien as he rubbed his head. He shot her a grin to show he wasn't upset at all. "Don't worry about it. We're both new at this, right?"

"I-I guess so," she conceded, gaze still avoiding away from his own.

The boy decided that his partner had to be the shyest, most adorable girl he had ever met. He hadn't been sure what to expect. He still wasn't sure what to expect. They were still figuring things out, after all. All he knew for certain was that he couldn't wait to see how the girl would surprise him.

Adrien thrust a hand towards her. "I'm... Chat Noir," he introduced himself. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Oh," the girl said softly, looking at his hand as though she were surprised. A small, uncertain smile found its way onto her lips as she timidly placed her palm against his own. "I'm..." She gave a little frown, glancing at him, then down at herself before coming to a decision. "Ladybug. Call me Ladybug."

Chat Noir gave Ladybug's hand a firm and friendly shake until a sound in the distance behind him drew his attention. He started towards it, still holding her hand. She pulled back, drawing his gaze back to her.

"Where are you going?!" Ladybug hissed, eyes wide in alarm.

"To save Paris!" the boy answered as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "It's why we're here, right? We're going to be heroes!"

Ladybug stared at him in bewilderment, gaze searching his face. He seemed so certain, so confident. Wasn't he even a little afraid?

Chat Noir gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and a smile which disoriented her for an entirely different reason. Gently tugging her arm, he tilted his head towards the sound of chaos beyond them. "You coming?" he asked.

Ladybug managed to stammer out a few aborted syllables before finally nodding her head. "C-coming," she murmured softly.

Her partner rewarded her with a grin. "Let's go!"

To be continued...

A/N: Let me know what you think! No comment is too small or unimportant. Even if it's just telling me you like the story, I appreciate each review and they give me lots of motivation! :D Hugs, Melly