A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! We made it to chapter 10! That's gotta mean something, right?
Just a warning, this chapter is filled with lots of descriptions, including the characters' outfits and weapons. I know that can be a bit boring, so feel free to skim over it if you already know what the characters look like when they're transformed and how their weapons work.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
Everyone's jaws dropped as pink light swirled around Marinette, finally parting to reveal that her clothes had transformed into a red skintight bodysuit with a black collar covered in black spots. On her face was a red mask with five black spots in a symmetrical design. The previously black earrings were now spotted as well, and her pigtails were tied with red ribbons instead of hairbands.
Marinette looked at their awed faces with confusion.
"What is it?" She asked. Then she looked down at herself and gasped. "Oh…"
"I want to be next!" Chloe squealed excitedly. She took a brief look at her own paper and wrinkled her nose. "Why is mine practically identical to Marinette's? That's so-"
Tikki narrowed her eyes, and Chloe stopped.
"Anyway, stripes on!"
Chloe felt warmth shoot through her body as yellow light surrounded her, obscuring her vision. She felt her everyday clothes melt away, and in their place was a yellow bodysuit with three black stripes on her torso and two on her upper thigh, with her upper rib cage also covered in black. Her sleeves ended in fingerless gloves. Her ponytail was now tied back with a black hairband, with two black antennae-like ribbons sticking out from it. She felt a mask similar to Marinette's was on her face.
As soon as her transformation was complete, Chloe immediately ran to the window in order to catch a glimpse of her appearance.
A grin spread across her face.
"I knew I was attractive, but this suit really brings out my best features, don't you think, Adrien?" She asked, admiring her reflection. After a moment of quiet, she turned around to find that the idiot was still staring at Marinette, a noticeable blush on his features. Chloe scowled.
Alya and Nino exchanged glances.
"Same time?" He offered. She nodded. "Three, two, one…"
"Ears up!"
"Shell out!"
The team looked on in awe as orange and green light engulfed the two. They were so close that the colors mixed and swirled together, intertwining and dancing playfully.
Alya's suit was orange with a white front, a black swan-necked collar, and black arms and gloves up to the middle of her upper arms. It had a long, fox-like coattail that ended a bit below her knees at a sharp white tip. Her mask was orange with a white bottom half and a black dot above each eye.
She reached up to feel the top of her head, on which there were now two orange fox ears with white insides and black tips. Examining her hair, she found it gently curled, with her normal reddish-brown color fading into white at the ends.
"I always thought ombre hair was cool," She mused. "Guess now I know what it's like."
Nino tugged uncomfortably at his protective green body suit. It contained a blend of colors, with dark green accented by lighter greens and a few spots of brown. Reaching behind his head he found a dark green hood. Instead of a mask, he had goggles obscuring his features.
"Is the suit always this tight?" He started. "Because I…" He trailed off as his eyes landed on Alya, who was still playing with her hair.
He gulped.
Chloe rolled her eyes. Was she the only one of these losers not completely lovesick? Disgusting.
"Adrikins, it's your turn." She reminded him. Adrien snapped out of his trance, yanking his gaze away from Marinette as she turned to face him.
"Right! Yeah, um… claws out!"
Chloe immediately ate her words as she looked at Adrien in his new outfit. He wore a textured black skintight catsuit with metal details. He had matching gloves with claws on the fingertips and boots with a hidden wedge, silver toes, and paw-shaped treads. A golden bell hung from his neck, connected to a zipper on the front of his costume, and a long belt that wrapped around his waist and hung out from the back like a tail. On his head were black cat ears, which twitched as Adrien examined his costume in delight.
"Now this is totally paw-some!" He announced with a grin.
"It's certainly something," Chloe remarked, looking him up and down.
Plagg and Tikki stood back, looking on as the new paladins enjoyed their new attire and chatted with each other.
"Princess, are you sure about this?" Plagg asked quietly, watching as Chloe admired her reflection, as Adrien chased his tail, as Marinette tugged at her mask, and as Alya and Nino very obviously checked each other out. "They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."
Tikki sighed.
"No," She agreed. "But they're all we've got."
"Now for your weapons," Tikki announced. The paladins immediately stood at attention. "Each has a distinct shape based on its paladin." She approached Chloe, and handed her…
"Is this like, a spinning top?" Chloe asked skeptically, staring at the item in her hand. It was shaped like a teardrop, with the point aimed down. It was mostly yellow, with a black dot on the round end and several diagonally slanted black stripes. It had a white pull string that Chloe could only assume was meant to be wrapped around the wielder's finger.
"It's called a trompo," Plagg informed her. "It's a top that is spun winding a length of string around the body, and launching it so that it lands spinning upon its point."
"So my weapon is a toy." Chloe muttered disdainfully. "Great." Tikki scowled.
"Your trompo is not a toy," She told Chloe with a glare. "When you throw it, it will create a streak of glowing energy behind it where it lands and spins. This energy has the effect of an extremely painful sting, and can be used to injure your enemies."
"Oh," Chloe said, dumbfounded. "On second thought, that sounds rather enjoyable."
Tikki rolled her eyes before moving on to Nino, handing him a small gem, which he cradled in his palm.
"Your special weapon is a shield," Plagg explained as Nino looked at the gem in confusion. "It can change sizes depending on the user's preference. Give it a try."
"Wait, what?" Nino asked. "How?"
"Picture it in your mind," Tikki told him. "And the shield will do the work."
Nino closed his eyes briefly. His arm became heavy. Cautiously opening his eyes, he found himself holding a full-sized shield.
"Dude," He breathed. "This could not get any more awesome."
Plagg grinned mischievously.
"Actually, it can also be used as a hoverboard."
"Are you serious?!"
"Your weapon is the flute," Tikki said, turning to Alya. She gingerly took the flute from Tikki's hands. It was long enough to be used like a staff, and appeared to be made of reed. It was orange with white stripes, with holes along one side.
"I don't think I've played the flute since elementary school band," Alya admitted. "How does it work?"
Tikki smiled.
"When you play the flute, you will find a glowing orb of energy appears at the end. You can aim this at a particular object to create an illusion, which will vanish once touched. It's extremely useful for distracting your enemies."
Alya's eyes widened.
"Are there any limits to that? I mean… that's amazing."
"The only limits are your imagination," Plagg cackled. "You should have seen the tricks the old fox Miraculous holder used to do. It was hilarious."
"The old Miraculous holder?" Alya asked curiously, and Plagg froze.
"Uhh… anyway, Adrien!" He called, averting his gaze. Adrien immediately perked up as Plagg handed him a staff. It was silver in color, with a glowing green paw print near its upper end.
"This staff is basically the best thing ever, besides camembert," Plagg told him with a grin. "It's nearly unbreakable, and can be extended to unlimited length. You can split it in half or change its length to use it as a staff, sword, or vaulting pole. When that paw print button is pressed, it will slide open to reveal a screen. With that, you can use the staff as binoculars, a tracker, a map, a communicator, or an x-ray."
Adrien's smile widened into a grin, and he stared at the item in his hands with awe.
"Sounds purr-fect."
The team groaned collectively.
"Are you going to be making cat puns all the time now?" Marinette asked teasingly.
"You bet," He replied with a smirk. "After all, cat-itude is everything!"
Tikki simply rolled her eyes before moving on to Marinette, handing her what looked to be a yo-yo.
Marinette felt no skepticism. Everyone else's random objects had turned out to be extremely capable weapons. She had no doubt that there was more to this than met the eye.
The yo-yo was red with five black dots resembling a ladybug's shell, and the end of the string had a small red hoop to put around the finger.
"The yo-yo is very versatile," Tikki began. "The length of the string is unlimited, and can be controlled by willpower. It can be used for offensive and defensive capabilities, whether you want to hit your enemies, tie them up with the string, or even swing it in a circle quickly to create a shield. It works as a grappling hook, which you can swing from and travel far distances. Much like Adrien's staff, one side of the yo-yo can slide open to reveal a screen, which can be used as a tracker, a map, or a communicator."
"How come Adrikins and Marinette get the best weapons?" Chloe complained. "Where's my communicator? Why don't I get a tracker?"
"The Ladybug is the head of Miraculous," Nino pointed out. "I think all of our weapons are awesome. And like Tikki said, they're based off each of our personalities."
"Yeah, you're lucky your weapon wasn't a 'whiny-little-bitchinator'." Alya muttered.
Chloe's eyes widened.
"Now wait just a minute-" She started, but Tikki cut her off.
"Paladins, focus please." She told them firmly. "We have little time. We need to retrieve the Ladybug from that Akuma ship."
The team exchanged glances. Marinette turned to Tikki with a smile.
"Then I guess it's time we come up with a plan."
A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it was a bit boring, and I'm not very good at descriptions, but now it's all out of the way and we can move on to the fun stuff!
Also - The descriptions of Chloe and Alya's outfits came from the released photos, and Nino's was inspired by the Jade Turtle suit from The Weight of Jade (which, by the way, is an absolutely fantastic fanfic, by far one of my favourite Miraculous stories, I would definitely recommend it).
Please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)
