So this took forever! AU based on the tv show Miraculous Ladybug, which is cute as hell! And does not involve this much swearing XD
Miraculous AU
Origins
Part I
Many centuries ago, magic jewels bestowing extraordinary powers were created. These were the Miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race. Two of these Miraculous are more powerful than the others. The earrings of the ladybug, which provide the power of creation, and the ring of the black cat, which grants the power of destruction. According to legend, whoever controls both these jewels at the same time, will achieve absolute power.
oOo
When Bryony Linton woke up on the fifth of September, it seemed like a completely normal day. As usual she slept though her alarm and had to be woken up by her mother calling up the stairs. She'd headed downstairs and kissed her mother's cheek before sitting down at the breakfast bar and pouring herself some cereal, and promptly began stressing about school.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" her mother had asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh…well…it's silly, but I'm scared that Nicky's going to be in my class again," she said, poking at her cornflakes.
"Four years in a row? Surely fate wouldn't be so cruel?" her mother said as she watered the plants on the windowsill, giving her daughter an affectionate smile.
"You know my luck. Fate is certain to point and laugh."
Sophia came over and kissed the top of her head. "Don't say that love. It's the start of a new year, you never know; things might turn around. I'm sure that everything will be just fine."
Bryony nodded and set down her spoon despondently. The breakfast bar shook, an orange rolled out of the fruit bowl and knocked into the milk, send it flying off of the surface.
Her father had swiftly improved her mood, however. When she'd headed downstairs into the bakery, he'd been there to present her with box of pastries for all of her new classmates.
"These are amazing!" she'd exclaimed, peering in at the intricately decorated tarts and deserts that he and her mother had made for her.
"I'm glad you like them," he'd said, grinning and ruffling her hair.
"Thanks dad, my class will love them. You're the best." Bryony had hugged him so hard she'd dropped the box, but he'd managed to catch it.
"No sweetheart, you're the best," he'd said. "Now, you go and show them all how amazing you are, okay?"
That had never been going to happen. No sooner had she got to the first set of traffic lights when things went off plan.
The lights had changed from red to amber, but there was still an old man crossing the road. As the lights changed from amber to green, Bryony had realised that the cars weren't going to stop, and that no one else was going to help. So without a second thought, she'd run into the centre of the road, grabbed the old man, and helped him back to the pavement before he was run over. This, however, meant that she'd lost her balance when she arrived on the other side with him and fell flat on her face, dropping the precious box. Pastries had scattered all over the pavement, and she almost felt like she was going to cry.
"Thank you miss," the old man said, staring down at her. "Oh, what a disaster," he added in dismay upon seeing the pastries.
He seemed so distressed that Bryony instantly gave him a bright smile. "Don't worry," she said brightly, "I'm no stranger to disasters. I'm so clumsy! Besides, there are still a few left, so no harm done."
The old man reached out and took little bit of broken pastry from the corner of the box. "Delicious!" he exclaimed giving her a smile. She was about to ask if he was okay when she saw the time on the pharmacy clock across the street.
"Oh no, I'm going to be late!" she cried, putting a hand to her mouth. "Have a nice day, sir!" she said, before sprinting across the road at the green man.
She didn't see the old man straighten up and watch her as she darted away, a little black box in his hand and a smile on his face.
That was how Bryony Damian found herself charging into class five minutes late and falling flat on her face. She quickly jumped to her feet and resumed her normal seat. She had been in this form room last year, and had always sat in the same place. Her form tutor gave her a look, but didn't say anything. The teachers were generally used to her being a little late to everything now, and generally tolerated it, mostly because they knew she wasn't chauffeured or driven to school like most of the other children.
"Steve, why don't you come and sit in the front this year," her teacher, Miss Kapoor, said to a blonde boy at the back of the room, who unenthusiastically moved down to the seat in front of Bryony.
She sighed, her heartrate beginning to slow, but it rapidly jumped up again as a well-manicured hand slammed down on her desk.
"Bryony Damian!" a girl snapped. "That's my seat."
It had begun. Nicky was the richest girl at Pinewood House. She was the prettiest girl at Pinewood house. And she was the bitchiest girl at Pinewood House. And Bryony, as a scholarship student, was apparently an affront to everything she stood for. Which was money.
"But…but Nicky," Bryony stammered. "This has always been my seat."
"Not anymore!" another voice said, and she turned to see Drust, Nicky's best friend and personal lapdog sliding into the seat next to her.
"Why don't you just go an sit beside that new girl over there?" Nicky said, gesturing to a girl across the room. "Besides, Cillian's arriving today, and since that-" she gestured to the seat in front of Bryony, "-is going to be his seat, this is going to be my seat. Get it?"
Bryony stared up at her, confused. "Who's Cillian?"
Nicky and Drust burst into laughter. "Who's Cillian?" Nikki snorted. "What rock have you been living under?"
"He's only a famous actor," Drust said, rolling his eyes. "You know, Cillian Cray?"
"And I am his best friend and he adores me," Nicky added. "So go on, move!"
"I'm sorry," said an irritated voice from behind Nicky. "Who died and made you queen?"
Bryony raised her head and saw the new girl standing there with folded arms, and raised eyebrows.
Nicky laughed. "Ooh, look Drust! Little Miss Scholarship has found herself a defender! What are you going to do about it, new girl? Scare me away with your bad fashion sense?"
The new girl's scowl increased. "Trust me, you don't want to know what I'll do," she said, before taking Bryony's arm. "Come on."
Bryony stumbled after her, but tripped on a step and fell, dropping the pastries again. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…" she mumbled, scrambling into the seat next to the girl.
"Alright, everyone find their seats," Miss Kapoor called, before beginning to write on the board.
"Hey, relax. It's okay," the new girl said, giving Bryony a smile.
"Wow. I wish I could talk to Nicky like you did," Bryony said, her eyes wide with admiration.
The girl shrugged. "It was nothing. She's pathetic. Here's a tip; people like her are always cripplingly insecure," the girl said, giving her a wink. "All we've gotta do is find her weak spot."
"I don't think I could do that," Bryony said dolefully. "She lives to make my life miserable."
"That's because you let her!" the new girl said. "You just need more confidence."
Bryony stared down at the one remaining pastry, before smiling slightly and splitting it in half. "I'm Bryony," she said, handing the girl half.
The new girl's grin widened, and she took it. "Robyn," she said, before biting into the pastry.
Meanwhile, across the room, Nicky was staring at the empty seat next to Steve. "He should have been here by now," she murmured.
oOo
Cillian ran as fast as he could towards the school steps, his new bag bumping against his back. He could hear the screech of car tires, but he dared not look round, not when his goal was so clearly in sight.
"Cillian!" He flinched as a woman's voice rang out behind him. "Cillian, please reconsider. You know what your father wants."
"But this is what I want to do," he snapped, spinning around and scowling at Amy. It was so unfair. He had planned everything perfectly. He'd sent the papers off in secret, enrolling himself at Pinewood House. He'd known his father would be more lenient if it was a private school, so he had used his substantial allowance to pay the first term's fees, pretending that he'd spend the money on a bespoke watch. He'd ordered a school bag online, and had snuck out of the house without anyone noticing him. But it had all been for nothing. They'd caught him right outside the school gates. This was his only chance. And it was ruined. He felt hot angry tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he spun around to face his pursuers. But as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard a pained cry.
A few meters away, an old man had fallen to the ground. He appeared to be unharmed, except by age, but was struggling to reach his walking stick on the pavement in front of him. Passers-by weren't even sparing the man a second glance, and Cillian burned with the injustice of it all. Like the old man, the thing he wanted was so close, yet so out of reach. Well. At least one of them could be helped. He turned and headed over to the man, reaching out and helping him to his feet before handing him the stick.
"Thank you, young man," the old man said, giving him a smile. Cillian smiled back, but the expression faded when he saw Amy and Seung waiting for him by the steps looking unimpressed. He reluctantly headed back over to them, his head dropping. "I just wanted to go to school like everyone else," he said miserably. "Please don't tell my father about this."
"I'm sorry," Seung said, before putting her hand on his shoulder and leading him back towards the car. As they drove away, none of them noticed the old man walking away quite easily, whistling as he went.
oOo
"Those of you who have P.E , Mr Salmon is expecting you at the leisure centre," Ms Kapoor said, running a finger down her lift. "The rest of you can head over to the library-"
"MORGAN!"
Miss Kapoor's words were broken off by Adrion Caplin jumping to his feet at the back of the classroom. The boy grabbed hold of Morgan Davies shirt, swinging a punch at him.
"Adrion!" Ms Kapoor yelled, and the boy seemed to regain his senses before his fist connected, and pulled back. "Go to the headmistress's office! Right now!"
Adrion gritted his teeth, but did so, crumpling up the paper that Morgan had given him in his fist. He stormed out of the classroom, heading away down the corridor, his thoguhts bubbling with rage. When he reached the headmistress's office, he pushed the door opened heading inside, only to be sharply reprimanded.
"Has no one ever taught you to knock?" Ms Aubameyang asked sharply, raising her eyebrows at him. "Shall we try that again?"
Adrion glared, and retreated outside of the room, slamming the door. As he prepared to re-enter, a purple butterfly fluttered down from above, settling on his hand. Suddenly, it came into contact with the paper in his fist and his vision went…purple?
Stoneheart. I am Hawkmoth. I can give you the power to seek revenge on those who have harmed you.
Somewhere deep down, Adrion had the feeling that this wasn't supposed to be happening. He wasn't supposed to hear voices in his head. Everything wasn't meant to be purple. But somehow, all he could think of was Morgan and the words he had written on the page now clutched in his fist. And revenge. Revenge sounded good. Really good. Adrion felt a smile creep across his face. "Okay, Hawkmoth."
Inside the office, Ms Aubameyang raised her eyebrows. "Come on then," she said impatiently. "Knock."
The door was suddenly slammed off of its hinges as a giant stone figure with gleaming green eyes appeared. "MORGAN!"
oOo
Bryony and Robyn had settled themselves comfortable into the library for their study period, when a sudden tremor sent them flying off of their seats.
Robyn pulled Bryony to her feet, and together, the two of them ran over to the main desk, where the security camera showed the outside of the school.
There, a towering figure stood, who seemed to be made entirely of…stone?
"MORGAN!" the figure bellowed, stamping it's foot.
"What's going on?" Bryony gasped. "That thing, it had Adrion's voice!"
"It's…it's as if he's been transformed into a real life super villain!" Robyn gasped, her entire face lighting up. "This…this is amazing! This is a hell of a story." She grinned at Bryony, before spinning on her heel and running towards the library doors.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Bryony called after her, her eyes wide.
"Where there's a supervillain, there got to be a superhero!" Robyn said, her face shining. "Have you any idea how big this would be if I got this on film?"
Bryony turned back to the camera, just in time to see the stone figure grab a car, and throw it into the camera, sending the screen black. She flinched back, with a gasp. Robyn couldn't go out there! She'd get herself killed! But she turned back to the door, the girl was gone. She darted into the corridor, but she couldn't see her anywhere in the crowd of panicking students. Ms Kapoor appeared to be trying to establish some kind of order, but it was still pandemonium. Taking a deep breath and clutching her school bag, Bryony joined the throng, following Ms Kapoor's instructions and heading to evacuation point.
oOo
"Who was Queen Victoria's third prime minister?" Amy said as she paced back and forth in front of a despondent looking Cillian.
"John Russell," he mumbled, stabbing his paper with his pencil miserably. It wasn't fair. He was a top student. He'd worked so hard at home and had done really well on the test papers Amy had given him. He wasn't sure why his father had asked his PA to teach him, but he supposed it as because he didn't want to expose him to too many people. Father. Amy. And Seung, his bodyguard. Those were the people he saw. Sometimes a maid or two, although they mostly did their best to stay out of his way. His father was known for being a safety nut as well as a control freak, and none of them seemed to want to be accused of trying to kidnap him.
"Excellent," Amy said, giving him a smile, but he couldn't return it. Sometimes, he felt like he was in the world's most expensive coffin, and every day his father threw a little more soil on top, burying him deeper.
"Give me a minute, would you Amy?"
Speak of the Devil. Cillian looked up as his father strode into the room, his designer suit and tie immaculate, his hair neatly swept back. The very picture of a classy businessman.
Amy nodded, stepping aside and standing ramrod straight as Keon Cray stalked towards the two of them.
"You are not going to school." Keon said in a voice as soft as silk. "I've already told you. Why did you defy me?"
"Father, I just wanted-" Cillian began, clasping his hands together and trying to remain strong.
"You wanted? For what? Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you," Keon said, his voice still dangerous low. "I'll not have you outside, where anything could happen."
"Nothing is going to happen!" Cillian said, feeling his temper beginning to fray. He jumped to his feet, slamming both hands down on the table. "Why am I always stuck in here by myself? Why can't I go out and make friends just like everybody else?"
"Because you are not like everyone else," Keon snapped, glaring down at him with his piercing blue eyes. "You are my son. You are the son of one of the richest men in London, as well as being a moderately famous actor in your own right. Both of these things put you at risk." From his tone, it was clear that the discussion was over. "Continue, Amy," he said, before turning and walking out of the room.
There was silence for a moment. Amy let out a soft sigh, before turning to Cillian and beginning to say: "We can leave it there for today, if you-"
Cillian turned and ran out of the room. He charged up the massive stone staircase in the hall, down the plushly carpeted corridors and into his room. He slammed the door shut and flung himself onto his bed. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. He hadn't wanted to become a film star. He enjoyed acting. Revelled in it. But it had been his father who took it from an enjoyment into a career. His mother had always been content watching him shine in school plays and in amateur theatre productions. She'd always said that if he wanted to go to a stage school, then she would support him all the way.
And now she was gone. And there would be no school for him at all.
He gritted his teeth, rolling onto his back, and then as promptly thrown out of bed by a large tremor. And another. He jumped to his feet and ran to his balcony, and looked out to see police cars flooding the street, sirens filling the air.
To his shock, a great stone creature was striding towards the police. As he watched, they raised what looked like stun guns and fired at the creature, but they hit it in a burst of light and the creature only grew in size. The police fled as it hurled one of their vans at them, leaving Cillian suddenly very glad of the walls around the property and the barbed wire on top of them.
Cillian turned and ran over to the TV, grabbing the remote and turning it on. The mayor of London stood surrounded by microphones as journalists clamoured for an answer
"We are getting the situation under control," he said in a quavering voice.
The screen reverted to the news reader, Aurora Spark. "As incredible as it seems, it has been confirmed that London is indeed being attacked by a supervillain. The police have been struggling to keep the situation under control."
A supervillain? It was almost impossible to believe, but he had seen the creature with his own two eyes. His heart began to race with excitement. Superpowers were real? Were people going to suddenly start developing them? Or had there been a secret community of mutants and stuff all along? This was crazy. And…his heart sank. There was no way he was ever going to get to be a part of any of this. He turned off the tv and set the remote down. As he did, he saw a small black box sitting on the table. Weird. His dad wasn't usually the type for peace offerings. Maybe it was from Amy, or Seung? He reached out and picked it up, flipping the lid open. There, sitting on red velvet was a little silver ring. A ring? Huh. Neither of the two aforementioned ladies seemed likely to get him jewellery. Amy would probably get him a book, or a comic book if she felt really bad and Seung…well, she'd probably get him pepper spray or a cosh.
He reached out, but the ring suddenly shone with a dazzling green light. He jerked back, shielding his eyes from the glow. As it dimmed, he slowly lowered his hand, and gasped, seeing a little…cat. The cat creature yawned, and he excitedly moved towards it, holding out a finger and gently poking it. This was it! Finally something was happening in his life.
"What are you?" he said. "Like…the genie in the lamp...ring…or something?"
"Genie? Pah!" the creature said. "I met him once. So he grants wishes? Big deal. I'm way more personable. I'm Plagg. Nice to meet you. Ooooooooooooooh, swanky!" The little creature flew across the room and started chewing on one of Cillian's books.
"Hey, come back here!" Cillian cried, chasing the creature.
"It's so SHINY!" the creature squealed, flitting across the room to Cillian's game controller. "Can you eat this? No? Aw!"
Cillian went into an epic dive and managed to grab the creature's body, so only its head was sticking out of his closed fist.
"I still don't know what you're doing here," Cillian said, staring at the little cat.
"Yeah, so I'm Plagg. I'm a kwamii. I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction. Got it?"
"…No."
"Cool. Got anything to eat? I'm starving."
"Is this my dad pranking me?" Cillian said suspiciously, staring at…Plagg. Was this some kind of convoluted punishment for him going to school? Making him believe that he had some kind of tiny magical talking cat? But that didn't sound like his father. His father would probably just have outright punished him rather than playing mind games.
"Hey! Your father must never know that I exist! Or anyone for that matter," Plagg said, wriggling out of Cillian's grasp and hovering at face level. "I have to be a secret."
"Okay," Cillian said, nodding eagerly. "So, tell me. What are you doing here?
oOo
Across London, Bryony watched the news broadcast on her computer, her blue eyes wide. "I hate first days back at school," she whispered to herself. Admittedly, this was the worst one she'd ever had. She sighed and glanced down at her desk, her features twisting into a frown.
There was a little black box sitting on the desk in front of her. "What's this doing here?" she said softly, reaching out a picking it up. A pair of earrings sat inside, nestled on a red velvet cushion. Maybe they were a present from her parents for her first day at school. But as she watched, the earrings suddenly shone red. She shrieked, and threw the box down on the table, nearly falling backwards off of her chair. Spots danced in front of her eyes from the force of the glow. The light dimmed and vanished, and in its place was a little red creature.
This was impossible.
Bryony flew backwards away from the strange creature. "Agh! Help! A giant bug! A…an alien! A…a…a giant bug alien!"
"Everything's okay, don't be scared," the creature said, and Bryony let out an even louder shriek and threw a book at it.
"ALIEN BUG TALKS!"
The little creature dodged the box of tissues which flew towards her.
"Bryony, I know everything may seem a bit strange to you…"
"FACEHUGGER!"
There was a clunk and Bryony managed to get the bug-alien-thing under a glass.
The creature sighed, but continued. "Okay, if that makes you feel safer…"
"What…are you?" Bryony said, staring down at it. "And how do you know my name?"
"I'm a kwamii, and my name is Tikki," the creature said. "Now just let me explain."
"MUM!" Bryony yelled, panic rushing through her. Her parents would know what to do. "DAD!"
"Nononono, shhh, shhhh!" the creature, Tikki cried, waving her hands urgently, before phasing through the glass and coming to land on Bryony's hand. "I'm your friend, Bryony! You must trust me! No one can know about me! You are the only one who can stop Stoneheart!"
"Stoneheart?" Bryony said, pausing and staring down at the little red thing.
"The supervillain!"
Bryony blinked incredulously. "How could I ever stop him?"
"With your super powers of course!"
This was the final straw. Bryony began to giggle hysterically. There was a giant stone monster with Adrion Caplin's voice on the loose. There was a weird bug creature called Tikki talking to her in her room. And now apparently she had superpowers. "This has to be some mistake. The only superpower I could possibly have is super awkwardness." She was useless. She was clumsy, and shy and awkward. There was no way she'd ever be able to be a superheroine. That was the kind of thing that brave people did, the kind of people that could actually stand up to bullies….and just like that an idea popped into her head. "I know! Robyn, this new girl, she's really brave, and confident and wonderful! She's make a wonderful superhero!"
"Bryony!" Tikki flew up so she was close to Bryony's face. "You are the chosen one."
Bryony stared at her, before beginning to giggle again tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
oOo
"But I'm stuck here," Cillian said, pacing back and forth after the little cat had finished explaining. "I'm not even allowed to leave! What good is a superhero who can't even leave his own house?"
"No good. No good at all," Plagg said seriously, shaking his head. "Which is why everything around here is going to change. If you're willing to change that is."
Cillian's heart leapt into his mouth. He looked down at Plagg, who was now throwing toilet paper around the room, and then down at the ring in his hand. All he had to do was put it on.
oOo
Bryony was now pretty sure that she as in some kind of dream. That or she'd gone insane. She'd have to be insane to be prepared to do this. She carefully inserted the earrings into her recently pierced ears.
"So…all I have to do is break the object where the whatsit is hiding?"
"It's called an akuma," Tikki said, hovering by her shoulder. "Which you must then capture."
"Right. Okay. Got it. Capture it," Bryony said, her entire body trembling like a leaf. "And…uh…the charm thing?"
"Lucky charm. It's your secret super power."
"This is all too fast, Tikki," Bryony said, her hands shaking. "There's no way I'm going to be able to pull this off."
"Trust yourself, Bryony," the little ladybug creature said, giving her a heartfelt smile. "All you have to say is 'Tikki, transform me'."
"Tikki, transform me?" Bryony echoed, and then suddenly everything was glowing. Tikki swept towards her in a blur and up into her earrings, and everything was pink and red, spiralling down her body
"What's happening?" she shrieked, but her voice was lost in the whirl of the transformation.
When the light cleared, Bryony found herself wearing a skin tight red cat suit covered in black spots, and matching mask. Her hair was in two punched tied with red ribbon. She stared at herself in the mirror, feeling extremely exposed and rather uncomfortable. "How does this thing come off?" she asked the air. "Tikki? Can you hear me? I want my normal clothes back. I don't want to do this. I can't do this. I'm not going anywhere."
She turned back to her computer to look at the news, and as Aurora Spark chatted away over the footage from the news helicopters, she saw a figure on a bike following Stoneheart from distance, a girl with long brown hair eager to look for heroes; and the scoop of the century.
"Robyn!" she gasped putting her hands over her mouth. She was out there, looking for the heroes who were going to stop that creature, Stoneheart or whatever it was called, feeling safe in the knowledge that they were out there. Except the heroes weren't out there. She was supposed to be the hero, and she was shut up in her bedroom.
"Bryony!" her mother's voice echoed up the stairs. She must have just got home. "Bryony, are you here?"
Her mother couldn't see her like this, dressed up as a super hero. She quickly climbed up the ladder to the roof, shutting the trapdoor behind her as she stepped out onto the roof garden.
A wave of guilt swept over her as she heard her mum's panicked voice calling to her dad to call the school, but she continued out onto the roof garden. She reached around her waist to remove the strange belt that came with the outfit. And realised that it was a…yoyo. A yo yo?
She slipped her finger inside the string and bounced it up and down a couple of times. However, when she yoyoed it out in front of her…
The string shot across to the building across the road, the yo yo wrapping around a protruding chunk of masonry. Her eyes widened, and she gave it a tug…
And next thing she knew, Bryony Linton was shooting across the streets of London, screaming at the top of her voice as she went.
oOo
"All you have to say is 'Plagg, transform me'," the cat said, from where he was rolling around on the floor inside a now empty toilet roll.
"Got it! Plagg, transform me!" Cillian cried, and the little black creature yelped as it was dragged through the air towards his ring.
"No, wait, I haven't finished explainiiiiiiiing!" it shrieked, but it suddenly disappeared into the silver ring, which turned black.
Cillian looked down at the ring, and then turned to the mirror. Black leather. Huh. He'd never worn black leather before. His dad would have shat a brick. But damn. Maybe he should start because he looked pretty good, even with the little kitty ears balanced on top of his head.
He twirled what seemed to be his weapon. A small baton? Weird. He pressed a button, and suddenly it shot out to about six foot. An extendable baton staff hybrid? Awesome. He ran outside onto the balcony. How to get out of here? He looked up, and grinned, and began to scale the wall. Scale. The. Wall. This was the coolest shit ever. He made it to the roof, and extended the baton further, extending it over to the next roof. Tentatively, he stepped onto it, an started to walk along it with the ease of an experienced tightrope walker. He reached the roof, and from there, headed to the next roof. He was making his way along quite happily, until the sounds of screaming hit his ears, coming from…the sky? He looked up, in time to see a masked blonde girl in a cat suit plummeting towards him.
He held out his arms to catch her, but she smacked right into him, knocking him off of the staff and sending the two of them hurtling down towards the street. Cillian barely had time to reflect on the irony of becoming a superhero only to die within the first five minutes via falling girl, when the two of them jerked to a halt, suspended by some kind of cord connected to the girl and wrapped around them.
He stared at the girl he now found himself very closely pressed up against via magical cord. She was wearing a mask and a catsuit, so this must have been the partner Plagg had told him about.
"Nice of you to drop in," he said, trying to sound casual and cool, despite the fact his entire life had just flashed across his eyes.
"I am so sorry!" the girl gasped, her eyes very wide and her face very pale. It looked like she was just as shocked as him. "I didn't do it on purpose!"
He smirked. Okay. She'd two sentences and he'd already sussed out that she was kinda adorable. She looked a little bit like a deer caught in headlights, and he strongly suspected that she was just as new to this whole gig as he was. He managed to twist himself out of the cord-string-whatever it was and leapt nimbly to the floor, turning a flip as he went. The girl dropped as well, and he caught her in his arms and setting her down gently, grinning to himself. He was beginning to feel more and more like a superhero.
"So you must be the partner my kwamii told me about," he said, liking how confident he sounded,. "I suppose we should probably have superhero names or something. I mean, I've kinda been thinking about it. So you can call me…hmmm…"
There was a poster his mother had had framed in her room, of a black cat on red. She'd told him it had been an advert for the first ever cabaret, and that it was really famous. The name seemed appropriate now. Besides, it somehow made his mother feel close. "You can call me Chat Noir. You?"
"I'm…uh…I'm…" the girl stammered, yanking at her…yoyo. Sure. She had a yoyo. Why not? "I'm uh…"
The yoyo finally came free and flew through the air, smacking Cillian right in the head. He let out a yelp.
"I'm uh…" she sighed. "Madly clumsy. Incredibly clumsy. I am so sorry."
"Don't worry about it," he said gently, seeing the horrified look on her face. "I'm learning the ropes too."
She shot him a grateful smile.
There was suddenly a great rumbling sound, and Cillian spun around. A building in the distance was trembling, and began to collapse. His eyes widened.
"Come on!" He extended his pole, and shot up back onto the rooves of London.
"Hey, wait!" the girl was still on the ground staring up at him. "Where are you going?"
"To save London of course!" he called down to her. He extended his baton, heading over to the next roof. After a moment, he heard the now familiar shriek and grinned. Looked like his partner was along for the ride.
oOo
Pinewood House, being in a large London townhouse, did not have a sports field. Therefore, P.E lessons were held in the local leisure centre. It was here that Morgan Davis was, with half of his class, finishing up the latter half of their double lesson.
And it was here that Stoneheart, formerly known as Adrion Caplin, appeared on top of the leisure centre.
"MORGAN!"
"Oh shit," Morgan whispered, before turning and beginning to run.
The stone creature leapt the five stories down, landing in front of Morgan with a crash. "Who's the pussy now?" he snarled at the boy cowering in front of him.
He reached out a stone hand as big as Morgan's torso, but suddenly a silver staff blocked his path, followed by a boy in black.
"Tut tut," Cillian said. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to pick on people smaller than you?"
The stone figure growled. "I guess you must be talking about yourself!" he snarled, swinging a punch at the boy in the cat suit.
Cillian jumped back, dodging blow after blow with lightning speed. This was incredible. He was faster and stronger than usual, and much more agile. His reflexes were incredibly fast; he was flipping and darting all over the place. And this was just the beginning. Who knew what else he'd be able to do?
He leapt high up into the air, swinging his staff down and cracking the stone creature over the head. However, instead of crumpling, the creature began to glow and grew to an even greater size.
Oh shit.
"Where are you partner?" Cillian called, a note of worry in his voice.
The partner in question was perched on top of the leisure centre, trying very hard not to cry.
"Oh…I can't…" she whispered, staring down at Chat Noir as he bravely battled the creature. "I'm not going to be able to do this! Tikki, can you hear me? You've made mistake! A massive mistake!"
Down on the sports field, Stoneheart ripped the goalposts out of the ground and threw them at Chat Noir. Her partner dodged, but the goalposts bounced off the ground, flying through the air…towards the alcove where a dark haired girl was crouched, filming everything that was happening.
Bryony felt her heart stop. She reached out a hand, but she was too far away to do anything.
The goalposts descended towards Robyn about to crush her into the ground…
And then baton flew through the air, knocking the metal contraption out of the way, leaving her new friend safe and sound.
Bryony took a deep breath, her heart starting again. And then stopping again as the creature snatched up the now weaponless Chat Noir in its fist. Oh God. What should she do? She needed to help him, but she had no idea how to fight!
"What are you waiting for, super red bug girl?" Robyn's voice echoed around the empty field. "The world is watching you! Your partner needs you!"
That just made Bryony feel worse. Great. Now the world was watching her fail. She twisted her mouth, trying to hold back the building sob.
"Partner!" Chat Noir was calling up to her from the ground. "Help!"
She could see the fear and desperation on his face. He was just like her. This was his first day on the job, and he had no idea what he was doing, but he had trusted her. He'd gone headfirst into danger, confident that she was at his back. How could she let him down?
"Ohhhh…bugger!" she whispered to herself, before grabbing her yoyo. Taking a deep breath, she ran forwards, off the edge of the roof and leapt into the air. The yoyo flew towards the creature, latching onto him and giving her a purchase to swing forwards. She shot down, towards the ground, swung through his legs and landed on the field, her yoyo ensnaring the creature before her.
Quick Bryony, think of something witty to say! Try to look confident, like Chat Noir!
"You know, I really don't approve of animal cruelty," she said, her voice only shaking slightly. She tugged on her yoyo, which was now wrapped around Stoneheart's ankles, and tugged, sending him onto his back. He tumbled to the ground, and her partner flew free, landing in the remaining football net. She ran over to him, scared he was hurt, but when he jumped up, he seemed mostly unharmed.
"Sorry I took so long, Chat," she said anxiously, but he just smiled at her, his eyes full of understanding.
"It's fine, wonder-bug," he said, and she managed to give him a shaky smile in return. "Now let's kick his rocky butt!"
"Wait!" she cried, going to grab his arm, but somehow ending up with his tail jerking him to a halt and sending him comically off balance. "Haven't you noticed that he gets bigger and stronger with every hit?" she said. "We have to do something different."
"Different how?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh…I don't know," she admitted, feeling stupid.
"Okay then," Chat Noir said, grinning. "Let's use our powers!" He raised his hand, his ring beginning to glow. "Cataclysm!" He cried, darkness beginning to swirl around his hands. He turned to Bryony, looking smug. "Apparently I destroy whatever I touch," he said, waving his hand abut and watching the shadows follow it.
Bryony snorted. "I don't need a power to do that," she said, remembering that morning. As she spoke, Chat turned to the goalpost and stretched out his hand. "NO!" Bryony cried, suddenly remembering Tikki's rules. "Don't!"
But it was too late. Chat touched the goalpost and rust spread from his touch. The goalpost swayed for a moment before crumbling to dust.
"Cool!" her partner cried, before launching himself at the creature.
"Chat Noir, wait!" Bryony cried, chasing after him. Her partner flew through the air, landing by the creatures foot and touching it. Nothing happened. She saw his confusion as the touched the foot again, and then the realisation that his power only worked once.
Next thing, Chat Noir was sailing through the air and he landed next to her on his behind, looking sheepish.
She turned to him with her hands on her hips. "Now you only have five minutes before you de-transform!" she said, her eyes wide. "Didn't your kwamii explain anything to you?"
He had the grace to look guilty. "Perhaps I was a little too excited about my new life and might have rushed through things a little…"
Bryony shook her head, but she couldn't really blame him. "I guess it's up to me," she said, before launching her yoyo into the air the way Tikki had told her. "Lucky Charm!" For a moment, she was glowing, pink and white and then there was…some kind of blow up bed. A blow up bed ? The kind use for camping? She stared at it, then back at Chat.
"My kwamii said we had to break the object where the akuma is hiding," she said uncertainly. "But I'm not sure how this is going to help."
"I can't see where it could be," Chat said, staring at Stoneheart as he strode towards them. "He's entirely stone."
Bryony stared at him, and then it clicked. "His right hand! It's still closed…he hasn't opened it at all throughout the fight. He must be hiding the object in his fist!"
"So…got a plan?" Chat said as Stoneheart drew ever closer.
Bryony looked at the closed fist, then the blow up bed in her hand. Her eyes flicked to Robyn, who was standing next to a tap, which was attached to a hose…a hose that was at her feet.
A small smile flickered across her face. She grabbed the hose, and managed to insert the nozzle into the air hole.
"Trust me!" she said to Chat, before wrapping her yoyo around him, swinging him round and throwing him towards the creature. She thought she could hear him swearing at her as he went.
It worked though. The Creature grabbed him in his fist, and Bryony grinned, before laughing herself towards him, clutching the airbed close to her as she went. "Hey, you!" she yelled at him, trying to get his attention. Stoneheart looked up as she sailed through the air towards him, and he acted on instinct. He opened his closed fist and grabbed her around the waist. A small purple ball dropped to the ground beneath them. Bryony smiled to herself, and turned her head to look at the girl who was still filming everything.
"Robyn!" she cried. "The tap! Turn it on!"
The girl looked confused, but excited to be involved, and she sprinted over to the tap, turning it on full blast. As water filled the bed, it expanded outwards pushing the creature's hand open. Bryony tumbled to the floor, landing on her feet. She swung her foot down and smashed the little ball, and from its wreckage, a purple butterfly fluttered free, swooping up and away into the sky. Bryony turned to see Stoneheart dissolving into purple mist. When it cleared, Adrion Caplin was crouched on the ground, looking very, very confused.
Bryony looked down. The shards of the purple ball swirled into mist and reformed into a crumple up piece of paper. She picked it up and opened it.
Adrion you are a complete pussy. I know you want to shag Cat Cray, but guess what? You're never going to get her because you're too much of a pussy to go for her. Well, I'll be thinking of you when I'm pounding that fine arse.
"Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose. Morgan must have passed this note to Adrion in class. No one he'd tried to punch his teeth out. She was half regretting saving him now. Gross.
"You were amazing."
She turned around and saw Chat walking towards her, his eyes wide. "That as incredible! Wow! You were wonderful…uh...bug…lady!"
She felt herself go bright red. "Thank you. But we did this together. You were fabulous."
He grinned and tentatively held his hand out for a fist bump. She smiled and knocked her knuckles against his.
As he pulled away, she heard his ring beeping. "Your transformation must be about to wear off!" she said, her eyes widening. "You'd better go! Our identities need to remain secret."
He nodded and smiled, ducking into a mock bow. "Farewell, good lady!" he turned to go, before hesitating and looking back over his shoulder at her. "Lets…let's do this again soon, okay?" he said, with a kind of breathless hopelessness that made her heart squeeze. She gave him a nod and a smile, and he grinned back before heading off into the city.
Instead, she turned back to Adrion, who was sitting looked horrified and confused.
"You know, Morgan's an arse," she said, walking over to him with the note. "And I think Cat would rather chop off her own foot than…go out with him. Or whatever. There's no shame in you liking her, Adrion."
He frowned. "How do you know my name, Miss?"
Bryony froze. "Uhhhhh…."
"That was amazing!"
Bryony turned to see Robyn filming her. Oh God.
"Are you going to be protecting the city from now on?" the girl asked, firing off questions with the air of a practised journalist. "How did you get your powers? Were you stung by a radioactive ladybug? Wait, ladybug's don't sting. I have so many questions to ask you, Miss…uh…"
Oh bugger, a name. She needed a name. Ladybird? Ladybird could work. She did look like a ladybird. But then there was the Americanised version of the word that Robyn kept saying. It rolled off the tongue more smoothly, maybe it was a little bit snappier, sounded a bit better?
"Ladybug," Bryony said, turning back to the camera. "You can call me Ladybug."
She pulled out her yoyo and flicked her wrist, and this time when she sailed off over the rooftops she managed not to scream.
oOo
"So thanks to this amateur footage, the people of London now know the identities of their heroes," Aurora Spark told the news cameras. Cillian grinned to himself, watching as hundreds of people cheered the mayor's announcement that there would be a celebration in honour of their new superheroes. Everyone appeared shocked and dazed, but there was an undercurrent of awe which made Cillian beam so wide it felt like his face was going to split in half.
"Ladybug," he whispered under his breath. "Her name is Ladybug."
"What the hell is this?"
Cillian narrowly dodge the scoop of icecream which came flying his way. "This was all prepared by my personal chef!" he said, narrowing his eyes at Plagg. "You said you were hungry."
"I need something else," the kwamii said moodily. "I have a more refined palate."
"What is it you need?" Cillian asked. Ten minutes later, he found one of the bad parts of being a superhero.
"I can't believe that all you eat is…is stinky cheese!" he said, staring at Plagg as he devoured a block of cheese about three times his size. "I'm going to smell like a dairy farm!"
"I think that would be a most elegant perfume," the kwamii said haughtily.
"We interrupt this programme to bring you an urgent broadcast." Aurora Spark was definitely earning her pay check today, Cillian thought. He picked up the remote and turned up the volume.
"A new wave of panic is sweeping across London as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone statues," Aurora was saying. "They remain still for the time being, but the public is asking; what will happen if they start moving? It is said that the Ministry of Defence is taking steps to ensure the safety of the public. We now go live to Tom at the scene."
"Plagg, what's happening?" Cillian demanded, cheese forgotten. "I thought we fixed the problem!"
"Did you two capture the akuma?" Plagg said, staring up at him. "You have to capture and purify the akuma, or it starts to spread. Just like this."
"What's going to happen? Cillian said. "What can we do?"
"Next time Stoneheart gets angry or loses control, he'll transform again," Plagg said seriously. "And these creatures will act as his army. You need to find Ladybug. She's the only one who can purify them."
oOo
Bryony's burst of confidence and happiness had been popped like a bubble. "You mean, this is all my fault?" she said to Tikki through her tears, whilst the kwamii fluttered around her face trying to dry them.
"No, no Bryony! It was your first time, it's okay, everyone makes mistakes! We can fix this!" The kwamii chirped, passing her a tissue. Bryony blew her nose miserably.
"I can't do this Tikki!" she cried. "I told you! I'm not cut out for this! I'm only going to keep messing up, and making it worse for everyone! Someone could get hurt, or killed if I mess up again. Chat noir will be better off without me. I…I quit."
"You can't quit!" Tikki squeaked. "We need you, Bryony! Only Ladybug can purify the akuma!"
"You…you need someone else. Someone more reliable," Bryony said miserably. "Find a new Ladybug, Tikki. I'm done."
"Bryony-"
"I'm sorry, Tikki," Bryony whispered. She reached up and removed the left earring.
"Bryony, don't!" Tikki cried. "We need y-"
Then the right earring was gone, and Bryony was left alone. Her lip trembling, she fell to the ground and began to sob.
oOo
Across London, a man dressed in purple and black stood at a circular window.
"That boy, Adrion…he's a volatile little thing," he murmured to himself as he watched the skies. "I'm sure it won't be too long before something upsets him."
A little black butterfly flew through the centre of the window, fluttering down towards it's master. The man raised his cane, and the butterfly came to rest on it's clear glass knob. It dissolved into purple mist, dying the clear glass.
"Soon the stone beings will come alive," the man said softly. "And then we'll see how long you remain hidden 'Ladybug' and 'Chat Noir'. Once I have your miraculous, you will be powerless against me. Everyone will be powerless against me. Even her."
Hawkmoth stood alone in the shadows, chuckling to himself as a curtain fell over the window, leaving the room in darkness.