Miraculous:

Origins of Ladybug and Cat Noir

That evening, after eating dinner, Marinette dragged herself up to her bedroom, watched by her very concerned parents. Going over to her desk, she started on some homework that was given to them by their science teacher Ms. Mendeleiev, but the young girl started to drop off to sleep almost the second she sat down. Only a few minutes later, the hatch opened to reveal Tom, looking in on his daughter. "Honey?" Opening a bleary eye, barely sure what she was seeing, the raven-haired teen turned to look at the hatch. "Sweetheart, change into your sleepwear and go to bed. You've been dragging your feet all day today, and you really need the sleep."

"Okay, papa." Standing up, she stretched, yawning as she went behind her changing screen. Tom went back down to his wife, with a sigh.

Sabine looked at him, concerned "Still tired?"

"Yeah, but hopefully she'll get a good night's sleep tonight."

Marinette climbed into bed, curling up under her blanket, only to have a strange dream fill her head:

She stood beside Sabine, holding the older woman's hand while they were in the underground. When the train pulled up, she could see her reflection. Marinette was young, barely four when her mother took her on the train for the first time. "Where going, mama?" she heard herself ask, only for the older woman, with much longer hair, to look down and smile. Her mother then walked the child into the train, and sat down next to the door.

"We're going to my favorite store." Sabine pulled her daughter onto her lap, lightly kissing her nose. "Now be on your best behavior, Marianne is very old, and we've been friends for a long time."

"Okay, mama." Marinette snuggled into her mother's chest until the announcement of their stop. When she was let down, she eagerly took her mother's hand and walked as fast as her little legs would allow. Emerging from the underground, the pair walked along the street until they found an alleyway with a red paper lantern hanging from one side with Chinese lettering she couldn't read painted on the thing.

They turned down the alley, and made their way to a red and white building designed in the traditional Chinese style. Sabine opened the door, so that the bell rang, and an old woman approached. She was almost as short as Sabine, but hunched over with silver hair pulled up in a bun. "Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, always a pleasure." Marianne called out before seeing the little one holding her hand. "Oh, bless me! Is this little Marinette?"

"Yes, I figured now was a good time for you both to meet." Sabine commented.

"She's such a pretty little thing." The much older woman looked upon the child with kind green eyes, her hand coming up to rub at her warming cheeks. In only a few seconds, Marinette could tell that this was a nice lady, that wouldn't hurt her. "Would it be alright if she had a rice candy?" She also gave out candy! Score!

At the question, Sabine smiled "Yes, I think that would be alright."

Pulling up a small cellophane packed candy, she offered it to the little girl. Marinette took the thing, looking up at her mother, who indicated that it was alright. For a few seconds she struggled with the wrapping, but managed to open it, and extracted the candy to pop it in her mouth. "Such a sweet little girl." Marianne cooed before looking at Sabine. "I'm glad you came in today. There was a minor problem with your order, but I managed to get everything sorted."

Marianne turned around to walk away, only for Sabine to start pulling her daughter with her. "Don't worry, there's nothing up front that will hurt Marinette. Let her do a little window shopping."

"Okay." Sabine then crouched down in front of her daughter. "Honey, I'm going to be just over there. Go ahead and look at the display cases, but don't leave the store, alright?"

Looking up with her blue eyes wide, Marinette nodded "O-Okay, mama."

Even though Sabine walked away from her daughter, she could still see the woman's legs through the racks of clothes, and glass cases displaying all sorts of Chinese artworks. Marinette made her way through the store before she heard a soft trilling. Following the noise, she turned the corner to see a red and green glow behind a cabinet. A moment later, the green glow dissipated, only for her to turn the corner of the cabinet and see – a pair of blue eyes staring back.

Sitting up in bed, Marinette gasped as the music returned, only this time so loud that she could have sworn it was coming from the very air around her. "I can hear you, but I won't. Some look for trouble, while I really don't. There's a thousand reasons, I should just go back to bed, and ignore your singing, that's pounding in my head. No~oh." The music only seemed to grow stronger. Standing up from her bed, she opened the skylight. "You're not a voice, just a ringing in my ears, and if I heard you, which I don't, I cannot go, I fear." Looking down, she sighed "Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls, so I'm sorry secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls."

Dropping down onto her bed, she started to shiver, crossing her arms and legs. "I'm not one for adventure! I don't need something new, and I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you – into the unknown!" She looked up to see the stars twinkling above her balcony, a lazy cloud rolling by, "Into the unknown!" she slid out of the bed, and made her way, tentatively down from her mezzanine "Into the unknown!"

Going over to her desk, she now felt fully alert, only to hear the call again, her hand going to her forehead with a groan of frustration leaving her lips. "What do you want?! Because you've been keeping me awake!" She turned away from her chair to look at her circular window. "Are you here to distract me, so I make a big mistake?" Opening the window, she could feel her frustration dissipate with a soft breeze wafting by, her voice softening. "Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me? Who knows deep down I'm not what I'm meant to be?" Closing her window, she pulled on her ballet flats and grabbed her clutch. "Every day is a little harder as I feel your power grow, don't you know there's a part of me that wants to go – into the unknown!" She flipped open her hatch, only to see the entire living room and kitchen were dark, the microwave flashing over to 12:02. "Into the unknown!" she made her way down and to the door "Into the unknown!"

Descending the stairs, she didn't stop until she was out the side door. "Are you out there? Do you know me? Can you feel me? Can you show me?" Turning one way she sang into the night but heard the voice as if it were flying away from her "Where are you going? Don't leave me alone! How do I follow you, into the unknown?!" Turning a different way, she heard the voice grow stronger and louder, so she started to run in that direction, the door to her home closing behind her.


Cat Noir had been patrolling the whole of Paris that night when he was slammed from behind by the stone gargoyle. Using his staff, he managed to break the creature's hold, falling toward the Seine while Marinette was running through the darkened streets of Paris. Twirling his staff, he managed to slow his descent, until he landed on the side of the canal. Returning his weapon to his back, he watched as the monstrous creature swung around in mid-air, and went straight for him. At the last moment, he leaped up, grabbing hold of one stone horn, allowing it to pull him onto the creature's back. "Do you think you hit hard? Well, I've got news for you. I" he suddenly punched the gargoyle in the top of the head, causing the creature to dip down ten feet, "hit" the next punch sent them down another twenty feet "harder!" the monster dropped more than fifty feet.

Looking up allowed Cat Noir to see the street lamp seconds before the gargoyle impacted, so he was able to leap up, and flip backward off of the monster. A second later the superhero landed in a crouch, his hands closed into fists in front of him. "Okay, now to find out if you're the villain I've been looking for this entire time."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Cat Noir," he heard from the side before a trio of playing cards flew out from the darkness of an alleyway, "but my pet here isn't your primary threat!"

Pulling the staff from his back allowed Cat Noir to spin it, sending one card up, before it landed in the water with a soft pop, sending spray up from the river, while the other two were sent up into the air, only to explode harmlessly away from him. "It's about time the puppet master stepped out of the shadows." When he saw the woman he was talking to, the teen blinked. "Wow! What's your name, Lady Luck?"

"Not even close, pretty kitty." she offered a flourishing curtsy. "I'm known as the Magician, and I am on the lookout for a – handsome familiar." Her lips quirked up in a smirk as she looked over her opponent.

A smile graced the teen's lips as he shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not in the market for anyone other than my partner, and if my information is correct – that's not you." Offering a graceful bow, he then brought his baton back around and extended it, taking a swipe at the Magician.

"Wait! Partner?!" the Magician leaped back. "That's why my gargoyle was having such a hard time locating the Miraculous! You have been going throughout the city transforming, drawing my magic away from where the real jewel can be found!"

"Guilty as charged." Cat Noir leaped up going into a backward spin as the Magician threw three more cards at him, while the gargoyle lunged at him from behind. Landing on the bent lamp post, he watched as the damage caused the creature to crash to the ground again. "Wow! My compliments on taking down the only threat."

If she wasn't angry before, the Magician was practically livid now. The problem was that as she threw more cards at him, the black clad teen was leaping off of the post, and swiping at her with his extendable staff. She tried to leap back, but it took her in the side, and sent her straight into the Seine. Landing on the ground, Cat Noir heard the stone creature behind him rise with a deep, guttural snarl.


Marinette looked left, then right before closing her eyes, and taking a step. The music started to lessen, so she moved to the other side, and found it became stronger. She ran along the street, only to turn a corner, and could practically feel the magic rippling over her skin. "Every inch of me is trembling, but not from the co~ld. Something is familiar," she reached up to the tattered remains of a paper lantern softly moving in the night breeze, "like a dream I can reach but not quite hold." Looking down the alley, she took a trembling step "I can sense you there, like a friend I've always known." Two more steps and she could see the front of a Chinese facade in the moonlight. "I'm arriving, and it feels like I am ho~me."

"I have always been a fortress, held secrets deep inside. You have secrets too, but you don't have to hide." Reaching out, she lightly pressed her hand to the door, laying her forehead upon the cold wood. "Show yourself." Closing her eyes, she could feel a tear starting to slide over her cheek. "I'm dying to meet you. Show yourself. It's your turn. Are you the one I've been looking for, all of my li~fe? Show yourself. I'm ready to learn." Singing out the tune from the past two days, she looked up to see the windows glow a vibrant red, the song coming through the air.

Trying the door, she looked around as it refused to budge. "I've never felt so certain, all my life I've been torn! I'm here for a reason, could it be the reason I was born?" She then looked for a way to open one of the windows. "I have always been so different, normal rules did not apply. Is this the day? Are you the way, I finally find out why?"

Looking around the alley, trying to find a way, any way, inside had Marinette scrambling for a tool, a key, anything. "Show yourself! I'm no longer trembling! Here I am. I've come so far. You have the answers I've waited for all of my life!" she went back to the door and gripped the handle. "Show yourself! Let me see who you are!" Tears started to fall from her chin at being so close, only to be stopped by some wood, metal, and glass.

"Come to me now." she practically begged, "Open this door. Don't make me wait," the sound of a latch being undone reached her ears, "one moment more." Marinette's lips spread into a smile as she started to push on the handle, "Come to me now, as I open this door. I cannot wait one moment more!"

The entire shop seemed bathed in red light as she entered, the disused room aglow as she saw dozens of spectral women standing in the center of the room, each one covered in red with black spots at least somewhere on their bodies. Upon her stepping into the shop, they started to sing softly "Enter so that we may see," she heard the tune again in the center, as each transparent form turned, separating to allow the teen into their number, "come closer and embrace your destiny." In the center of the group floated a red being four inches tall with a black spot on her forehead, and loving blue eyes. In the being's paws, a pair of red and black earring studs "Come, my newest and be bound!" Tikki dropped the earrings into Marinette's palm, but they never landed. The magic sent the red studs into her lobes where they flashed brilliantly, encircling the teenage girl with swirling magic.

"She is found!" the spirits around her sang. "Show yourself! Step into your power! Throw yourself, into something new!"

Looking around, she saw the faces of each previous wielder of the ladybug Miraculous, before her eyes landed on Tikki, and she started to sing with the group. "You are the one (I've) we've been waiting for all of (my) your life! Show yourself!" Everyone suddenly started to sing the tune from within her head as the spirits and the Kwami were sucked into the earrings, covering Marinette in her magical suit. Her final notes were sang atop one of the Parisian roofs, as if to proclaim her dominion.

When the last note fell, she heard the sounds of battle across the city. She never hesitated, and took off running across the rooftops.


Cat Noir twisted as the gargoyle lunged forward, it's stone maw clamping down on his staff as it attempted to barrel into the slender male. Holding onto his weapon allowed the superhero to twist until he was straddling the back of the creature's neck, it's wings flaring out as it took flight. "Come on! Give me back my baton!" he struggled to get the weapon free, while feeling like the creature was trying to break it into thirds. They were just passing the Arc de Triomphe when his upper ears heard a strange sound. Looking back, he saw a round device wrap around the monster's rear right leg followed by a line and a – girl in red?

Marinette had ran toward the edge of the Arc when she saw the gargoyle approaching, pulling her weapon from her hip, and launching it at the creature. Almost as if the device had a will of it's own, it wrapped around the leg of the creature, pulling the teen off her feet. She could feel herself getting pulled closer as the monster flew around Paris. "Sorry for showing up so late-!" she called out while the wind flew past her body.

"Don't worry about it! I'm-"

Smiling at him, she nodded "Cat Noir! I saw the news report." The gargoyle suddenly flew down toward the water, choosing to submerge itself instead of listen to two teenagers talk. Once they were in the water, the creature cracked its tail, sending the trio through the water even faster. Pulling on her yo-yo string, Marinette found herself water-skiing without any skis. "Oh no! Are you alright?!" A second later, a black gloved hand emerged from under the water with a thumbs up, causing her to giggle.

There was little more for her to do than hold on tightly to the yo-yo string, but she need not worry for long, because before a minute passed, Cat Noir was pulling up on his staff, sending both him and the gargoyle out of the water, and up into the sky. Reaching the top of their climb, the trio started on their way back to the earth. Marinette reacted quickly, wrapping the cord of her yo-yo around the wings of the monster, hoping that it would help both of them to steer the thing.

Unfortunately, their errant steering had them going through one tower of Notre Dame. Cat Noir was barely able to dislodge the staff from the gargoyle's maw just as Marinette pulled as hard as she could. The cord cut through the wings like a hot wire through butter, but didn't stop the gargoyle's speed or trajectory. "Jump!" they both called out as the monster cried out in pain, releasing Cat Noir's staff.

Cat Noir managed to toss his staff, launching it up into the railing of Notre Dame above the Rose window, while Marinette flung her cord, creating a makeshift grappling hook moments before the cord wrapped around them both. Looking to the side, they watched as the gargoyle crashed through the second tower of the cathedral, and fell to the courtyard below, shattering on impact. Staring at the teen girl he was now bound up with, the superhero gave her a welcoming smile. "I don't think I caught your name."

"Ladybug," Marinette said with a confidence she wasn't sure she should've been feeling, "my name is Ladybug."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady." At that, she blushed a little noting how respectful, yet playful he'd been when talking to her and Alya the previous day.

"What? Am I supposed to start calling you, my kitty, now?" a playful smirk quirked up one side of her lips as she flicked his bell. Noting that they were swaying in front of the Rose window, she used her foot to tug on the cord, which brought them up, twirling the pair around at the last second so that Cat Noir could grab a hold of the banister, and she wound up sitting on top. Placing a hand on her chest, she sighed. "Can you tell me what I've missed while I was getting my Miraculous?"

"Very little." Cat Noir sat next to her, his legs crossing in front of him in spite of them being out in open air. "Apparently that gargoyle was the minion of someone called the Magician, a woman with exploding playing cards, and other than her outfit, a top hat that's too small for her head." Placing his hands on the banister, he leaned back with a shake of his head. "Like I said, very little."

"Quite the contrary, kitty, you've given me quite a bit to think about." Stretching, she looked back at the bakery. "How about we meet back here tomorrow if this Magician doesn't show herself? It is way past my bed time."

Cat Noir smiled and nodded "Sleep well, my lady." Gently taking her hand, he gave a kiss to the back of it, before setting off at a run along the back of the cathedral. Watching him go, she smiled a little before using her yo-yo to swing back home.

Once down her hatch, and on her bed, she latched the skylight before flopping onto her back. "That was – incredible!" Marinette reached up to her face, sighing at everything she had done. Raising up her arms, she looked at the bodysuit that covered her. "This may be hard to explain to mama and papa, especially if I can't take this suit with all these spots off." A moment later, the magic swirled around her until the red Kwami landed on her abdomen. "Oh! How did I do that?"

"The magic of the Miraculous requires a code phrase in order to transform you." Tikki stated. "For me, it's "Spots on" to activate your battle suit, and "Spots off" to transform back."

Scooping up the little creature, she sat up. "Is there any drawbacks to transforming?"

"Every time afterward I require something sweet to eat in order to recover my strength." Tikki smiled at the teenage girl "You also have several specific powers unique to the Miraculous of the ladybug; the first is your Lucky Charm, an item that you will use to win against your opponent, then there's the cleansing ability. Once you capture a tainted item in your yo-yo, you can release it in a pure form. The last thing, is the Miracle Cure. Once you have released a purified creature, you call out your Miraculous Ladybugs, and the Lucky Charm will correct all damage done by that lone opponent, no matter how long they've been active."

"Can it reverse – death?" Marinette asked, shivering a little.

Flying up to the teenage girl allowed Tikki to see the hesitation in Marinette's eyes. "It has before, but that's not important now. You need some rest." Laying down, the teen snuggled into her pillow, her eyes closing. "I'll just get a couple of cookies from downstairs, and be right back." Hearing the teen hum in acceptance, the little creature phased through the floor.


"Claws in!" The windows were already tinted for security when the green flash overtook Adrien Agreste. Plagg flew toward the small cheese cabinet the teenage boy set up for him. "I can't believe we finally met Ladybug." he gushed at the Kwami, his body practically vibrating from the interaction. Changing into his sleepwear, he slid into bed with a shiver. "You didn't tell me she would be so beautiful."

"In truth, I didn't know how she would look." Plagg commented "Tikki chose her years ago, and made sure I didn't see who the girl was." He then flew over to lay on the second pillow on the queen sized bed. "Really, she could've looked like anyone."

Adrien nodded "True, but with her sitting on that banister with the moon reflecting off her hair and her eyes," he rubbed at his face, "I swear I'm in love!"

"Oh really? What about pigtails?"

Rolling over to look at the black cat Kwami, he sighed as he set his head in his hand. "You heard her as clearly as I did, Plagg. She considers me a friend, and I really wouldn't jeopardize our friendship for anything on this planet."

"You sure?"

Laying down on his back, he looked up at the ceiling. "Would it make me happy if Marinette felt more than just friendship for me? Absolutely. I would even be willing to entertain dating and even a long term relationship with her. She's fun, intelligent, kind, gentle, a little sassy, loves people and her family is one of the kindest I've ever met-"

"Pretty?"

"No, she's beautiful, but-" he glanced to the side to see his Kwami looking at him. "She has problems with Chloé, and I'm not ready to give up on my first friend anytime soon."

"I understand, kid, but at least you have options."

Sliding his hands behind his head, Adrien drifted off to sleep while Plagg finished his third wedge of Camembert. A little later, the feline Kwami would float over, and snuggle up against the teen boy's neck and shoulder, purring softly as they slept.


You got me! This is the real reason why I wanted to write this story!

I recently discovered that Cristina Vee (Voice of Marinette/Ladybug) has her own Youtube channel where she sings different songs, and I found two from Frozen 2 that I felt would work so very well with her being called to and discovering Tikki. Those two songs are featured in this chapter, and if you want to listen to them put the following into the address bar {sans these words}:
youtube/watch?v=O9M-el9nXLE {Into the Unknown}
youtube/watch?v=wAwBtDdwZDE {Show Yourself}
Also I changed some of the words to reflect the differences in situations.

I listened to them endlessly while typing up the story, and I hope you enjoy listening to the songs as much as I still do.