Alya's breath was ragged behind the camera. Her shaky pulse distorted the image of the latest mural yet. She had taken it upon herself to investigate up close the newest addition to Paris' mysteries. He called himself Graffiti Dog, an anonymous artist that made a point of finding abandoned locations to bring them back to life with murals dedicated to Ladybug, Chat Noir, and akuma victims. Alya discovered his first mural on a factory park on the outskirts of the sixteenth district: a heartfelt piece dedicated to every akuma victim. She thought nothing of it at first, until she spotted a second mural in a shady alley, in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. This one was the shadow of Ladybug and Chat Noir guarding Paris from the top of the tower. Then she found a third, in a lone entrance to a catacomb near the Seine. This one was just Chat, grinning as if beckoning you to step into the darkness with luminescent green eyes. Alya located the fourth on a tall building to the west of the Eiffel Tower district. It was one of the first to receive light at dawn break. Ladybug hung from her yoyo fixed in time, smirking at the bystanders with confidence, contrasting against the background of glowing purple butterflies. It gave the impression they were chasing her, never able to quite catch up with her.
The fifth mural was located in an abandoned subway stop. Why was Alya poking around a ruined subway station home to critters and vagabonds alike, was her own business. Contrary to what her friends thought, Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't the only object of her obsessions. She took pride in knowing things no one knew, discovering buried secrets, poking into the unknown. Fortunately for a curious, knowledge-thirsty soul like hers, Paris was a city plagued with mysteries. This new mural was a great example.
It was abstract, unlike anything else Graffiti Dog had ever created. He played with different shades of black, green, and red to give the illusion of two different energy sources merging and intertwining in tendrils of smoky magic. Green paws were imprinted with glow-in-the-dark paint along with crawling lines of ladybugs. It was one of the coolest things Alya had ever seen.
"Hey Ladybloggers! It's me again. As you may all know, I recently became obsessed with someone who's probably as obsessed as I am with Ladybug and Chat Noir. For those who have been missing out on my latest blog updates, I'm talking about the new resident artist of Paris, an anonymous muralist who signs as Graffiti Dog. This is the fifth mural in the last two months but I think we can all agree it's the sickest one." She panned the camera slowly so as to take in the entire mural. "I mean guys, I swear, this camera doesn't do it justice. Don't ask me how I found it, but if you care to see it for yourself you can find it in the Granade subway station of Line 32-A, right by-."
"Hey, you! You can't be here!"
"Oh shit, the police," Alya whispered, forgetting the fact she was still filming and breaking into a sprint. "Catch you later, Ladybloggers!"
Adrien hit the spacebar of his keyboard to stop the video. He leaned on his desk pensively, resting his chin on his intertwined hands.
"What?" Plagg prodded as he gorged on a piece of Camembert. Adrien wrinkled his nose at the distasteful smell.
"What of what?"
"I know that face. You're thinking. It's not good when you think."
Adrien eyed his Kwami dryly. "I'm just concerned. I think we encouraged Nathaniel a little too much. He might get in trouble."
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"Did you see where Alya was? Those places are crawling with criminals. It's no place for a school kid, they might get hurt."
Plagg threw him a deadpan expression. "And you are what, thirty five?"
"I am Chat Noir, mind you," he said cockily, smirking with confidence. "Those two are teenagers testing their limits and it's all fun and games until Nathaniel breaks an arm or Alya gets mugged."
"I think you're just jealous."
The blond huffed. "Jealous of what?"
"That Ladybug has a soft spot for Graffiti Dog's murals."
He narrowed his eyes. "I am not jealous of Nathaniel. I am concerned for the wellbeing of two underage citizens."
"Whatever floats your boat," said Plagg before stuffing his face with another slice of Camembert.
Truth be told, Nathaniel missed Graffiti's company. Something about that dumb dog made him feel safe, and while he had admittedly become addicted to the adrenaline that accompanied painting the murals, he wouldn't mind if he had a friend to talk to while he ignored late night drunkards walking by.
Nathaniel was glad he actually found it in himself to paint the murals. Sneaking out at night, working with the shadows instead of running away from them, actually making it back home unharmed, these were all things that gave him a sense of self-sufficiency. But perhaps what was more important, he felt braver, more in control of his emotions.
The only thing that he didn't like was the fact his classmate Alya kept finding them. As soon as she posted them on her blog, people would try to find them and take pictures with them or of them. If he found yet another pretentious shot of someone posing with The Innocents (that's what he called his first mural) posted on Instagram, he would rip his eyes out. These murals were supposed to merge with Paris, not be a tourist spot. He was trying to make a point and so far he hadn't achieved it: that help and bravery come to you when you are lost, when you find yourself somewhere precarious, in unexpected ways. But no, no one seemed to get that. Even Chloe Bourgeois herself had changed her Facebook profile picture to one of those generic, shallow shots of his art. It amused him, to be frank. If she knew who painted the murals she so adoringly talked about in class, she would probably puke her breakfast.
Hopefully no one would find this one, though. This mural was meant for the people who lived here, in this desolated subway station, forgotten. He had managed to save up for glow-in-the-dark paint and intended to use it wisely. He wanted it to be seen only by the locals, not morbidly curious bloggers or pretentious teenage snobs. He'd have to treat Alya to lunch if she ever dared to come down here. It took some nerve, he should know. The first time he descended, when he actually dared to violate the gate's seal and work his way through the bushy weeds into the partial darkness of the station, he almost cried. Flying cockroaches and a rat the size of a small puppy may or may not have been involved.
It was days before he dared to stay more than a few minutes in the dark, damp tunnel. Sometimes there would be a couple people sleeping at the stairs, some of them had makeshift tents made of cardboard and plastic, but they seldom ever paid him attention. They'd ask for a coin once or twice, food. They'd give a compliment or a criticism, but nothing more. There was one man, though. Nathaniel had come across him the last couple times. He was a small old man of Chinese heritage who wore a pair of stained green pants and a brown hoodie that was too big for him. He always kept his hands inside the front pouch, as if guarding something. Nathaniel usually found him asleep or eating by the mural and he would greet him with a delicate nod and a friendly smile that reached his eyes. Nathaniel would reply in a similar way.
"You are a talented young man," he commented as Nathaniel applied the glow-in-the-dark paint to the paws and ladybugs.
"Thank you," Nathaniel said quietly, trying not to sound rude but also making sure the man realized he didn't want a conversation.
He remitted to admire the mural in silence for a moment. "You have become quite famous, everybody loves your paintings."
Unwillingly, Nath groaned slightly causing for the man to chuckle. "You don't like to be noticed?"
"Not for the wrong reasons, no."
"You're making paintings of everyone's heroes, why wouldn't you want people to notice that?"
"Because they think I'm a fan of them."
"You are not?"
Nath shook his head as he switched his can for a new one. "I admire what they represent."
He sensed a silent question in the man's quietude, so he elaborated with a sigh. "What people don't realize is that Ladybug and Chat Noir are a mask. Beneath it, they are people like everybody else."
"People like you?"
Nath shrugged. "People believe in them, and that's a good thing. But I think no one realizes that the only difference between them and us is that they're in control of their fears."
"So anyone could be a hero, then," the man summarized. "So long as you control your emotions. You could be a hero."
"It's easier said than done," Nath said. "Besides, I think it must be easier for them, don't you think? I can't imagine them suffering a lot, being superheroes and everything. I'm pretty sure they must be the luckiest people ever."
The man gave him a wry smile. "You think so?"
"Yeah," Nath said wistfully. He shook the can, trying to coax more paint out of it. The man reached for the bag before he could, and rummaged through it with his back to Nathaniel. Just when he thought the man would steal something, he handed him a new can.
"So, why did you choose this place to make your mural?"
Nath chuckled. "Well, for one I have this classmate who runs a blog dedicated to everything related to Ladybug and Chat Noir. She can be a little annoying about it sometimes… She keeps finding my murals and she posts their location on the Internet and people come to take pictures. They're missing the point. I figured if I made my next one somewhere inaccessible, they'd think twice about trying to take a picture. That and… well, I just wanted people who hang around here to have something nice to look at, if I do say so myself," he said sheepishly.
"That is very kind of you."
Nath shrugged, looking away to hide his flushing face.
He cleared his throat, deciding to ask a question he hoped wouldn't sound too rude. "I hadn't seen you around here before, I've been coming here for a couple weeks."
The man smiled at him. "I came looking for a friend."
"Oh. Did you find him?" asked Nath without looking at the man. He worked in silence for a couple minutes before he realized the man might have not heard him, as he tended to mumble when he painted. "Did you-?"
He was alone, the man nowhere to be seen.
Except that wasn't quite right. There it was, at the end of the tunnel. The shadow that had been following him to every single one of his murals. He felt a shiver run through his spine and a gasp get stuck on his throat, but fought against the impulse to run away.
Tightening his grasp around his spray can, he said, "Who are you?"
The shadow did not move. A small glowing ball seemed to whisper something in his ear. Nath gulped and in his fear tripped over his backpack as he back-stepped, spewing out the cans. He recovered in time to see the shadow and the glowing green light merge in a blinding flash of light. A scream got stuck in Nath's throat as it whooshed past by him, leaving him entirely alone, save for the cockroaches and rats that made him company.
He remained on the floor, trying to recover his breath and whispering to himself whatever he saw must have been a product of his impractically vivid imagination. After some deep breaths he brought himself to his feet, trying to shake off the eerie sensation that lingered in the empty subway tunnel. He turned to the mural, noticing how it added to the frightening aura that just settled. Still trembling, he grabbed a can, signed his name, and collected the rest of his utensils. Before leaving, he emptied his backpack for the sake of inventory and noticed he was missing two cans. He rummaged through the bottom of the backpack, but instead of finding paint his fingers touched an odd wooden box.
"Huh?"
He pulled it out to reveal a hexagonal shape, engraved with red carvings and illegible symbols that shone with a purple hue because of the greenish light of the glow-in-the-dark paint. He turned it around, studying every feature. It was a bizarre thing, a sort of jewelry box, and he recalled having none of those. Rummaging through the folds of the bag to see what other things got smuggled in, he found a handwritten note.
You're like them.
He looked around, hoping to find the old man who suggested he was like Ladybug and Chat Noir somewhere. But again, only darkness and the faint noise of leaky pipes met his senses.
Strongly fighting his sense of self-preservation, he popped the lid open to be blinded by an intense ray of orange light.
"ARHG!"
He fell on his behind again, dropping the box and listening to a light clink-clank of some sort of metal piece bouncing against concrete. The light receded and condensed into a tiny floating being that lazily stretched and casted his big amber eyes on him. The creature lit the tunnel with his faint glow. It was a copper brown, had two sharp ears and a fluffy fox tail.
Nathaniel was at a loss.
"You're a… you. What the hell are you?"
He wasn't even sure it spoke, but there he was, rambling like an idiot at him.
The fox-dog-wolf creature looked concerned at him and cocked his head.
"Are you like a Pokemon or what? Can you understand me? Well, of course you can't understand me if you're... a fox? Foxes can't talk… but then again foxes aren't small enough to fit into a jewelry box. And foxes don't fly. They most certainly do not fly. I had a class about that. Foxes cannot fly!"
"Well, I wouldn't degrade myself to a mere fox, but then again, you should never say never." The soft-spoken, clear, and rather calm voice of the little creature pried a yelp out of Nathaniel.
"What the FUCK. YOU TALK. What. What the hell. What. The actual. Hell. Nathaniel." He crawled as further back from the thing as he could. "I'm drugged," he decided. "Or like, got a concussion. Or I got drugged from the spray AND got a concussion. That has to be it."
"Fret not, my friend," the thing said, and flew to be at his eye level. "You can trust me, I won't hurt you!"
"Like hell you won't, you're going back into that box."
He beckoned Nath for calm with his little paw-like hands and smiled. "Fair enough, but at least let me explain. Give me a chance. You're not crazy, or drugged. My name is Trixx, and I am a Kwami. I bestow magical powers."
Nathaniel simply stared at the creature with a gaping mouth.
"I just… you know, no. I can't. Nope. No. No. I knew one day I'd go crazy but I'm not ready to go into the asylum. I'm too young. What's this? The first signs of dementia, maybe. Yeah. I need to go to the doctor."
"Please, listen to me." Trixx put his paws on Nathaniel's nose, to meet his eyes. "You have been chosen among many to become a Miraculous wielder."
"You're a figment of my imagination!"
"You're the new Miraculous wielder."
His heart almost stopped. "A Mira- what. WHAT. Shit, like Ladybug and Chat Noir? That type of Miraculous?" He was hoping the fox creature would say no. "Ha ha, of course not you stupid loser. Joke's on you, you're just super crazy, later!" That's what it should say.
"Yes."
Dang it.
Nathaniel laughed. "No, it has to be a mistake. You picked the wrong guy. Actually, who put you in my bag? It was that Chinese guy, right? I'm filing a police complaint for stalking."
"I'm certain I have picked well."
At Nathaniel's utter confusion, Trixx chuckled and floated around his head. "Oh come on, you cannot say you don't recognize me."
Nathaniel looked intently, and suddenly he knew. It was completely illogical and obviously not possible, but he was certain. "Graffiti?" he moaned.
"The very same."
"What? But… but how does that even work? You… you were a dog! And that Plagg thing Chat Noir has, he's not a cat, is he? Like is that your costume or what? Why aren't you a dog right now?"
"Oh, you've met Plagg! Eh, I guess you could say he's a cat…"
"What? No. I didn't meet him, I just-." He sighed. "Look. I don't think you've got the right person for this. I can't be a Miraculous wielder." It even felt weird to say it out loud. Him, a superhero? Fat chance.
"The Fox Miraculous gives you the power of disguise," Trixx said. "It is granted to one who possesses great wit, much like yourself. That is how I was able to disguise myself as Graffiti, my Guardian wielded me to study you."
Nathaniel snorted. "Wit? No. I fail like, everything at school." Which reminded him of an irritating goodie two shoes that was just smart enough for the job. "But you know what. I know this guy, kind of annoying but he's like, the smartest person in my class. Adrien Agreste, that's who you want to find. I can take you to him if you want."
Trixx laughed lightly. "My Guardian trusted you with me. We agree you are fit to become the next Fox."
"I- I can't. I'm not superhero material. Besides, Ladybug and Chat Noir, they're a team. They're like, a thing. I don't think they'd like me poking into their business, I'd be a third wheel. And they don't need anyone else in their team, you know? It's like their own deal. I'd throw off their groove."
"I'm sure after recent events, they'd be more than glad to have you in the team." Trixx's expression turned more serious. "Things are changing, Nathaniel. Hawkmoth is becoming stronger now that he has a steady source of negative energy."
"Lila?"
Trixx nodded. "And he will do anything to find more of those steady sources, anything to make Ladybug and Chat Noir defenseless. If you hadn't been there to help them that night, if you hadn't been able to think fast on your feet, Hawkmoth would probably have won."
He gulped. "And what would have happened then?"
"Ladybug is the Wielder of Creation just as Chat Noir is the Wielder of Destruction. The power of their Kwami is so great, and their energies so opposite that it is impossible to wield both at the same time. They are two sides of a coin, but must be separated to maintain balance. Hawkmoth wants to wield them both."
"For what?"
Trixx shrugged. "My Guardian did not tell me much about that subject, he awoke me just recently. But it is imperative we prevent that."
"Awoke?"
The kwami smiled. "I've been asleep for a while. My last wielder lived in the California Gold Rush."
Nath raised his brows. "Wait… like, El Zorro?"
Trixx grinned. "Exactly like El Zorro."
"That was for real?"
Trixx nodded. "He had a sense of humor, Joaquin. Much like Robin, actually."
Nathaniel furrowed his brows. "Robin. Robin Hood. You lived in Medieval England and transformed as Robin Hood."
Trixx nodded vigorously again.
Nathaniel half coughed, half laughed, remembering Disney's film Robin Hood. Guess there was a reason why they depicted him as a fox, after all. He looked down to where a fox tail-shaped necklace lay on the floor. He gingerly picked it up, as if instead of a harmless piece of jewelry he was holding a time bomb.
"What's this?"
"Your Miraculous," Trixx said. Nathaniel glanced at him wearily.
"Look, Graffiti- I mean, Trixx, I can't do it." He sighed. "I've been akumatized before." He put the fox tail necklace back in its cushioned box. "Ladybug and Chat Noir never have."
"Our past does not define us, our will to become more than it does."
Nathaniel couldn't find it in himself to argue against that. After all, wasn't he the first defender of second chances?
"Ladybug and Chat Noir don't need me," He insisted. "They have everything under control."
"There will soon be a time when that may no longer be the case."
Nathaniel looked away, still uncertain. Clever and experienced as he was, Trixx tried another approach. One that never failed if the chosen was a true Fox: negotiation.
"Okay, let's put it this way," said Trixx. "My Guardian and I are concerned things will get more complicated for Ladybug and Chat Noir, that is why we came to find you. You don't have to join them right now. In the meantime, if you allow me, I can show you what you could do if you were to become the Wielder of Wit. And when the time comes, if you feel you are up to the task, you may become my wielder."
Nath looked warily at the fox pendant that innocently shone against the glow of the mural.
"It would make painting murals easier…"
Trixx smirked when the boy turned to look at him, knowing he finally managed to pique his interest.
"All you need to do is wear the necklace."
"What did you say it does again?"
"You have the power of disguise. You can become whoever or whatever you want. You can also hypnotize people to make them believe things temporarily, but that requires practice and concentration."
Nathaniel lifted the chain gingerly, to study it against the light. "Do I get a Lucky Charm or Cataclysm?"
"No. That kind of power is only reserved for Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses. Your power works like Hawkmoth's in that you do not run out of time. However, you may only shapeshift three times. Your first disguise lasts five minutes. The second will last for three. Your last, one. Run out of transformations and you will have to resource to combat."
He gulped. "I've never even gotten in a fight before. What about the illusion thing?"
"Have you ever played the flute?" Trixx asked with a smirk.
"No."
The Kwami nodded, unsurprised. "I thought so. Just as Ladybug has her yoyo and Chat Noir his baton-."
"I have a flute. Like Volpina."
Trixx nodded, proud that Nathaniel caught up so fast.
"When you play it, you are able to conjure visions. But like I said, it requires practice. For one, you must learn to play. The more intricate the melody, the more believable the vision. For two, you must be able to harness all your focus to imagine in detail what you want people to believe, all this while playing."
He huffed. "Sounds like a lot of trouble."
"The life of a superhero isn't glamorous," Trixx said. "It's a lot more perilous than you might think."
His eyebrows knit in concentration as he brushed his fingers along the cold surface of the pendant.
"Everything alright?"
"How did Hawkmoth know to turn Lila into a replica of a Miraculous user?"
Trixx smiled, catching drift of Nath's analysis. "Nooroo's power aligns with the thoughts of his champions. In this case, victims."
"He transforms them into what they know. How did Lila-."
Trixx nodded. "I know what you are thinking. You will know in due time, if you choose to become my Wielder."
Nath eyed him warily, suddenly understanding Alya's curiosity with the exception that she went poking under the rug for no other reason than to know. Nath wanted to learn what was going on to help Ladybug and Chat Noir in any way he could. He owed them that much. Besides, the fact that someone as seemingly inconsequential as a schoolgirl had that type of knowledge was worrying. Who knows what else she knew?
Nath felt a shiver rattle his insides as he slipped the chain over his head. He tried his best to ignore Trixx's glowing smile.
"This doesn't mean anything."
"Of course not."
"It's a trial period," he insisted. "Like Photoshop."
Trixx did not understand what the boy talked about but he nodded. "Like Photoshop." Whatever that was.
He studied the pendant as it rose and fell with his unsettled breathing.
"If you want to transform, all you need to say is 'Fangs Out.'"
"Fangs Out? That's a little chee-."
His question was consumed in favor of screaming at the top of his lungs as Trixx was sucked into the necklace with sudden, bright flash. The magic overrode him, feeling as if fingernails lightly scraped him. It wasn't painful or uncomfortable, but it still felt odd. As the sensation coursed through him, it replaced his clothes with a skintight suit.
His eyes readjusted and found that he suddenly saw through a flimsy protection, goggles of sorts. It no longer was dark. He could make out where everything was. As his senses finally settled in, everything else did. He heard the footsteps of people walking on the street on top of him, the distant screeching of trains switching rails somewhere in the deeper veins of the Parisian transportation system, he smelled the foul stench of rat droppings, human filth, dust, and rot. He wanted to puke.
Unable to calm himself, and still very well on the verge of a mental breakdown, Nathaniel looked at himself with his newfound nocturnal sight. His clothes were gone as he suspected, instead he sported a suit in predominant orange that diffused to white towards his chest. White continued on along his torso and navel, diffusing back to orange at mid-thigh length. His hands were covered by gloves secured firmly with sturdy cuffs around his wrists, his feet were protected by ankle-high boots that were reinforced on the tips and the heels, both accessories were deeper shades of orange, verging on dark brown, save for the sleek metal of the reinforcements.
Nath found his middle was wrapped with a belt that shared the gradient characteristics of the rest of his suit: it merged and diffused with white and orange, so as to not disturb the continuity of the color. Attached to the belt there was a band that went from his right hip over his left shoulder and across his back. It was the sheath that guarded the flute, he discovered, as he reached with his right hand over the opposite shoulder.
He pulled it out and realized it was longer than any normal flute. The keys were comfortably within his reach but he could tell right away that playing music was not the only purpose intended for the instrument. It was made of the same shiny metal that covered the reinforcements of his boots, and somehow, it still felt weightless to his grip. He swung it a couple times, managing to indent a lone bicycle frame that lay abandoned, realizing the purpose of the flute was also for battle.
Nath caught reflection of his appearance on the murky glass of the ticket booth. He gasped at the stranger staring back at him. The top of his head was adorned with a pair of spiky fox ears, not quite as long as the ones Lila had, but more akin to those of a red fox. His face, his identity, was protected by a mask that imitated the shape of a fox's visage. Angular and pointy, following the consistent copper-and-brown gradient that predominated the rest of his suit: deeper shades of orange near the forehead, white and slightly black towards his nose. Like Chat Noir, his eyes were protected by a film but instead of acidic green, they were an electric blue, like his own eyes. For a change, he could see both of them, given that his hair mysteriously poked out to the left, as if someone had styled it to resemble a fox's tail. Finally, resting on his chest, there was also the thin necklace rising and falling with the movement of his lungs.
He caught glimpse of something else, something that immediately made him embarrassed: A fluffy fox tail that floated like a tongue of fire.
"Aw, no," he hissed. "No. That's totally impractical." He reached to grab it but as soon as his fingers brushed against it, it flickered, dissipating like smog. "What the-." He tried again. And again. And again, unwilling to believe the fact that it was fake until he realized he was actually turning around in circles chasing it like any other canine would do. An illusion. The tail was an illusion.
He saw how that could come in handy.
To say his reflection was a lot to take in was a gross understatement. Nathaniel was ridden with mixed emotions, mostly due to the fact that no matter how much he tried, sometimes he could still see the akuma in him. But this Nath, this stranger, was nothing like that. A year ago Hawkmoth took advantage of his admiration for superheroes and contorted it in such a way that gave Nath nightmares for months. But now things were different, the person staring back at him had not just the looks, but the potential to be a true superhero. An overwhelming sense of unworthiness washed over him. One reason why he wasn't fit to be a hero: he was selfish.
"I bet Mozilla would give millions to make me their poster child," he said to no one in particular.
Once he overcame the initial surprise, Nathaniel paced around the subway station allowing himself to get a feel of the suit. His boots clanked against the damp pavement, causing an echo. Suddenly he realized something important, yet another evidence why he wouldn't be of use to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug used her yoyo to swing from building to building, Chat Noir had his expandable baton. What did he have? A fake fire tail and a flute that could break bikes.
He tentatively brought the flute to his lips and played a few stray notes. He gasped, stopping suddenly, noticing that the notes traveled like smoke, like a fog around him. Through the smoke, he could see colors, shapes, figments of his imagination wanting to materialize. He played a few more, observing that the more consistent they were, the steadier and thicker the smoke was. Dissonant notes made it thinner, continuous melodies made it stronger.
"Whoa…"
He kept playing for a few minutes more and without realizing, went back to the predicament of how to catch up with Ladybug and Chat Noir if he was ever in battle with them. Volpina used flying, but he wasn't sure flying was part of Firefox 2.0.
He blew a strong note and with it, his tail ignited, sending him several feet over the ground.
"AHH!" He screamed, startled as he fell to the ground. The flute rolled off his hands, Nath stayed a couple seconds on the ground aware that a fall like that was bound to leave him with a broken bone, but truth was he hardly felt the fall. He stood up with no problem and dusted off.
"This is the epitome of weird. Trixx? Uh..." He realized he didn't know how to transform back. Swallowing a bit of panic at the thought of having to walk around in that costume for the rest of his life, he reasoned. If yelling "Fangs Out" transformed him into the fox then... "Fangs In."
He sighed with relief as Trixx spiraled out of the necklace and landed softly on his hands. The Kwami smiled at him, eager to learn Nath's opinion. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you how to transform back. But it seems you worked it out fine by yourself!"
Nathaniel sighed. "It's a trial," he said. "This is just… I still can't believe you would pick me."
"Like I said, you can do this at your own pace. If you want to do it, that is."
Nath nodded and picked up his backpack.
It was dark when him and Trixx emerged from the subway station, and as luck would have it, a pair of shadows cast upon the pavement as they flew above of him. Nath sighed heavily, feeling like his stomach was turning to lead. He couldn't imagine being part of their team. He was sure they wouldn't like it.
Although Nath agreed to wear the Miraculous and carry Trixx with him ever since he had been granted the necklace, he hadn't so much as peek at it in the hopes that it'd magically- or should he say, "miraculously"?- vanish.
He sighed and readjusted the collar of his shirt to hide the chain of the Miraculous as an innocent butterfly flew past the window. He gulped. There had been two akuma attacks ever since he found Trixx and he had yet to join a battle. Or introduce himself. Or transform again.
He bobbed his knee up and down and pulled at his hair. He hadn't felt this much negative emotions since his akumatization, if he didn't watch it, he'd be turning into the next Volpina.
Sighing again, he resigned to doodle chaotic shapes on top of his notes.
He was so scared to join, so very scared. Ladybug and Chat Noir were superheroes. He was just Nath. Underneath the mask Ladybug and Chat Noir were humans, too. But there's a difference between having flaws like everybody else and being made of the stuff of superheroes.
Trixx said he was chosen, that weird Chinese man presumably implied he was like Ladybug and Chat Noir. Yet, he found it hard to believe it. There were so many things wrong with him. He wasn't good at school, he always forgot to do the chores his mom tasked him with, he was scared of stray dogs and akumas. He couldn't be a hero if he was scared of akumas! He was forgetful, undependable, cowardly.
He kept doodling on the page, scratching the point of his pencil hard against the page. Circles, lines, arrows, squares. Messy, inconsistent, shaky. He doodled with his mind elsewhere, suddenly realizing moths plagued the page of his notebook. He had covered the entire edge of the page with them.
He groaned and ripped it out, not caring he had a full class worth of notes in there.
What was he supposed to do if another akuma came, anyway? Just show up? They'd think he's another fox akuma.
He could already imagine the exchange:
"I know it might be hard to believe but I'm the real Fox! Crazy, right?"
Then, Chat Noir would proceed to knock the lights out of him.
Fun times. He gulped.
The bell rang, startling him.
On the way out to his locker, he caught glimpse of Marinette and her friends discussing something. As per usual when Agreste was involved, she had the widest grin and the deepest blush on her face. Apparently the four of them would be having lunch together.
He pretended he didn't hear them, but they were standing too close to his locker for Marinette not to notice his presence.
"I'll catch up with you guys," Marinette said as the other three headed to the front gate.
Nath's heart tumbled over, realizing Marinette was walking towards him. With sweaty hands, he tried to make it look like he was very busy reorganizing his locker.
"Hey Nath!"
"Ah!" He yelped, clumsily dropping three books. "Sorry."
"Sorry! No, let me help you."
Marinette and Nath bent down to pick up the books at the same time. Without realizing it, the pendant of his Miraculous slipped out of his shirt for Marinette to see. She widened her eyes.
"That's a, uh… interesting necklace."
Nath yelped again, violently shoving it back into his shirt. "It's nothing. Nothing. My uh… grandma gave it to me. F-for my birthday, you know. Heh."
Marinette gave him a smile but he knew he hadn't fooled her. He could see it in her eyes. She might not know it was a Miraculous, but she had definitely seen it before on Lila. "Anyway, I uh… Alya and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for lunch. Nino and Adrien are coming too, to the bakery."
He couldn't help but smirk. He even felt like teasing her about the light pink shade that appeared on her cheeks as soon as she mentioned Adrien, but something else caught his eye. Lila. At the back of the hall, staring their way with a mix of envy and sadness. Her expression only hardened when Agreste passed her.
Ever since she had been akumatized, no one really wanted to hang out with her. Especially knowing what she, as an akuma, was willing to do to her supposed "crush." Chloe, mean as she was, had even gone as far as making up rumors about her mental health, since by now everyone in the class knew she had been akumatized not once, but three times.
Suddenly, he felt great empathy for her. Maybe the only reason why she had been so vulnerable to akumas was because she didn't have a friend. Because life at her new school had turned out to be a positive hell and there was nothing good about it. Probably there were very few good things at her home, too, if her happiness depended on freaking Adrien Agreste noticing her.
Half cursing himself for declining Marinette's invitation, he sighed and said, "Thanks Mari, but uh… I think I'll stay. I brought my lunch anyway."
She nodded contently and waved. "Okay! See you later, then."
Nath wasn't sure what he was thinking when he sat next to Lila on the benches of the patio, pulling out his lunch. He didn't even acknowledge her, he simply sat, popped the lid off his tupperware and started picking at his pork chops, not forgetting to save some for Trixx. Turned out the little creature had a real fang for meats.
Lila turned to him with a slightly judgmental expression but Nath tried to ignore her and happily munched his lunch.
"What the heck are you doing here, tomato head?"
He swallowed before answering. "What does it look like? Having lunch."
Lila glared at him. "Aren't you afraid I'll turn into an akuma and kick your ass, like everybody else?"
For the first time since he got Trixx, he allowed himself a little cockiness about owning the real Miraculous himself. "No offense, Firefox, but I'd like to see you try. I've been akumatized myself so I'll have you know I'm not a newbie."
Lila looked at him in disbelief. "I know what you must be thinking. I don't need your pity. I don't need any friends."
Nath gave her a nonchalant shrug. "Who said anything about friends? I'm just eating lunch. Frankly, you're too much of a snob for my taste, too. Let's just share the bench in peace."
Lila huffed and crossed her arms but she didn't move and instead, like Nath, resigned to eat her lunch in silence: a thermos with peach Italian soda and a serving of spaghetti and salad.
About ten minutes before the bell rang, Marinette's company appeared back in the patio. It didn't escape Nath the way Lila looked at Adrien and Marinette, nor the fact that the pair was well aware of her glare. Adrien himself had to turn his back to her in order to feel more comfortable. As for Mari, she felt bad for Lila, but it wasn't safe to be so close to someone who knew so much already about the Miraculouses and was not a wielder.
"Careful there, you stare any harder and you'll throw daggers at him," Nath said, earning himself a death glare, too.
"I thought you hated Adrien Agreste."
"And I thought you loved him."
She crossed her arms looking away, and scoffed. "All he cares about is stupid Ladybug."
Nathaniel curled up an eyebrow in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what?"
"That's how I got to talk to him. He's in love with her."
Nath breathed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That idiot."
Lila chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. "She'll figure it out, eventually. If she's smart."
"Ladybug?"
"Marinette."
The bell rang. "Adrien will never notice her. I should know."
Nath discovered a newfound frustration with Agreste after that short exchange with Lila. How could anyone be so… so stupid, idiotic, downright gullible?! If Adrien Agreste thought he stood a chance with Ladybug, boy, he was dumber than he thought. Not only it was impossible, but she was only a mask, an illusion. Underneath, there was some anonymous girl with her own life, her own friends, and quite possibly, her own boyfriend. And yet, Marinette was there day after day, giving him all the attention- the only attention Nath would care for- and he was utterly throwing it down the drain. Stupid Agreste.
Nath headed down to the bathroom before entering the classroom to feed Trixx, who happily zipped out of the inside of his jacket to devour his part of lunch.
"Anything you'd care to share?" Trixx said, of course, referring to his lunch with Lila.
"What do you mean?"
Trixx smirked deviously but Nath rolled his eyes at him. "First of all, no. Second of all, NO. I know what you're thinking. And it's not like that."
"So you weren't being nice to Lila even though she has given you no reason to do that?"
"She needs a friend. It's not good to be alone when you're feeling down, she might get akumatized again. Besides… it's for investigation purposes."
"Investigation purposes?" Trixx smiled cheekily at him. "My, oh my."
Nathaniel sighed with exasperation. "Well, don't you think it's easier to figure out why Lila is being akumatized so much and help her instead of fighting her?"
"Clever."
"You done with that?" Nath nodded at the tupperware before sealing it and opening his jacket for Trixx to fly in.
"I mean, she's kinda cute."
"Stop it, Trixx. I don't like Lila."
A single, solitary figure perched atop the roof of College Francois Dupont. Tail flickering with the wind, he played a small, five note tune, fluttery and hypnotic, like a whisper.
After a long afternoon of debating, Nath decided it was time for the first patrol of the "trial." Nervous like when he was scared to pass by the mural where Graffiti and the shadow had first appeared, he reasoned he'd have to do this eventually if he really was to become a Wielder. He could choose against it, as Trixx reminded him, but the part of him that advised him to give away the Miraculous was the same part that wanted him to ask his brother for company when he went to buy milk: fear. And that simply wouldn't do.
Nath took pride in keeping his cool, even if that meant a rough exchange with a certain spotted lady and her cat. So far, luck had played in his advantage, though. He had stayed until late and hid in a cupboard before the school closed for good. Once with the coast clear, all he had to do was find the maintenance stairwell to the roof. After he transformed for the second time, he decided to practice his patrolling skills, which mainly involved being able to float over the ground for at least five seconds without crashing to the ground. It was harder than he thought. He had to keep playing the flute, thinking about flying, and birds, and comets. He didn't dare to skip to another building yet.
The simple tune Trixx taught him was only good for small tasks like flying and small illusions, so after he got tired of stuffing his face with loose concrete pebbles, he decided to work on his illusions. He imagined dancing paintbrushes, ducks, a little black kitten chasing around a ladybug… It wasn't hard, it was like sketching, actually.
He walked around the edge of the roof, careful not to be spotted by the passers-by, when he noticed something. Marinette. He smirked, intensely tempted to use his transformation to go say hi but chances were she would be more frightened than impressed. She looked both ways before completely emerging from the door of a small shop that had a sign written in Chinese, and waved goodbye at whoever was still in the establishment.
She idly texted on her phone as she passed by the park, which was unusually unlit. Nath remembered they had mentioned it in the morning news. Town Hall ordered for maintenance brigades in certain parks, they'd be changing the lighting.
Marinette didn't care how creepy the block looked without light, though, and walked through it without the slightest preoccupation. Nath however, was able to see there was someone waiting around the corner. A man with a black beanie and a thick jacket. His heart skipped a beat, easily reading into the man's intentions.
"Give me your phone!" He demanded, pointing a knife at her.
Marinette, taken completely by surprise, gasped and dropped the device to the floor. She gulped, knowing it was too late to run or transform. She calmed herself and instinctively clutched her purse. Kicking the phone as far away from her as she could, she stepped back while the thug fetched it. That's when she noticed there was another man waiting on the exit she was planning to use. She was cornered.
"The purse," the man demanded.
Marinette's voice got stuck on her throat.
"The goddamned purse, kid!"
"Come on, Marinette, give it to them, it's just a purse…" Nath muttered, suddenly feeling helpless.
But Marinette did not budge.
"Come and get it," she spat.
It wasn't until the second guy, the one on the exit, grabbed her that she started screaming and fighting them. To no avail of course, she was strong for a girl her age, deft in combat too, but the suit gave her the extra stamina she needed to break free from the man's grasp.
When a white van veered around the corner, Nath knew there was no choice. This was his first battle, like it or not.
The school was four stories high, but he was too busy thinking about all the horrible things that could happen to Marinette instead of the prospect of broken bones. He jumped to the abyss and played as clearly as he could, crash landing successfully in the park and charging at the man who held Mari first.
"Hey, leave her alone!" He growled and smacked the back of the man as hard as he could. He heard a loud crack, probably a broken rib, but he did not stop. The man yelped and suddenly loosened his grip on Marinette, and she was able to hit the criminal with her head and jab him hard in the stomach.
"Run," Nathaniel ordered, putting himself between Mari and the thieves. "Do it!"
He evaded the man's knife attack while the other one lay doubled on the floor, writhing in pain.
Nath played the flute, suddenly remembering he could use his disguise.
Ladybug, think of Ladybug .
The smoke of his tunes surrounded him, suddenly changing his appearance feeling as a warm fire enveloped him.
Marinette had not yet ran from the scene to transform herself, when she saw the fox stranger become her in front of her very eyes. This akuma made Volpina look like an amateur.
Petrified by shock, she couldn't do anything else but stare.
"What the hell!" the thug exclaimed as Nathaniel's Ladybug approached him.
"Leave before I knock your lights out!"
"Sorry to be late to the purrty, my lady" Chat Noir cockily said as he smacked the thug off his feet with his baton. "You should know better than walk into Ladybug territory," Chat said, lifting the guy with ease. It seemed like Chat knew the burglar. They were local crime fare, maybe. "Weren't we clear with that last time, Ladybug and I?"
"So-sorry!" the thug said.
"Say that to the cops," Chat Noir growled. "What were you trying to do this time, huh? Trying to steal some poor-." He gasped. Nathaniel watched as color left Chat's face. "Princess?"
In a moment of distraction, the thief punched Chat and managed to bring his partner to his feet, both sprinting towards the van and disappearing into the night. Chat cursed under his breath as he felt the blood starting to drip from his nose.
Nath, who still looked like Ladybug, gasped.
"A little help would be appreciated, my lady." And help did come, from Marinette.
She rushed to Chat and used the hem of her shirt to clean the blood from his nose. "Princess… What were you doing all alone out here?"
"I… I was walking home. Chat, your nose." Marinette kept glancing at Nath Ladybug with utter horror. Chat Noir seemed to catch on, although if she was entirely honest, he seemed a bit disappointed for some reason.
"My lady, you know Marinette, don't you?" He said, suddenly remembering Ladybug was witness to Marinette's attentions for him. He was happy she helped, but he didn't want to make Ladybug jealous.
"That… that's not your lady, Chat," she whispered.
Chat looked at Marinette with confusion, while Nath felt magic tingling across his entire body. Like a bucket of cold water, he shifted back to being the fox.
Chat Noir jumped to his feet and put himself between Nath and Marinette. "Marinette, go home," he said seriously. "Now."
Nath stepped back with his hands raised in defeat. "I- I'm not going to hurt you."
"Who are you?" Chat demanded, baton at bay. "You're an akuma, like Volpina!"
"No! No, I'm not. I'm… I'm a Miraculous holder, just like you!"
"Didn't you know, mongrel? Liars are losers." Chat charged at him and Nath barely evaded him. He produced his flute from the sheath and started playing in order to fly.
"It's true!" He said in between breaths. "I'm the Fox!"
"Leave!"
"I'm here to help you!"
"I said leave!"
Nath elevated into the sky and flew away as fast as he could, not caring how many times he crash landed, or how often he had to run.
"Fangs In!" he exclaimed once in the privacy of his room. Exhausted, Trixx spiraled out of the necklace and landed on Nath's bed.
"I told you this was a mistake!" he said, handing Trixx a slice of ham. "Did you see? Chat Noir almost killed me! This is a disaster. Wait until he tells Ladybug. Oh no… this is going to be bad."
"You're jumping to conclusions much too soon, Nathaniel. You did a great job today. Who knows what would have happened to that classmate of yours if you hadn't stepped in? You were brave."
"Yeah but now Chat Noir is going to hunt me down and give Ladybug my head as a marriage proposal gift."
Trixx laughed. "He was just disoriented. Give him a little time. I'm sure the case will be the same with Ladybug, you'll see. You'll become good friends."
Nath bit his lip and twisted his fingers as he looked out the window. "Wish I could be that sure."
Trixx flew to Nath's head and ruffled his hair with his tiny paws. "Be certain of it."
"Eat up, Plagg," Adrien said as he leaned against one of the beams of his window. The lights of his room were off. For Natalie, the Gorilla, and his dad, he was already passed out. With his arms crossed and a small frown, his eyes scanned the Parisian horizon intently. "We're going back out."
He heard Plagg complain. "Again? Why?"
"Because. I need to make sure Marinette is safe. Besides, I need to talk to Ladybug."
Without Adrien noticing, Plagg actually stopped eating and looked up to the silhouette of his Wielder. Plagg waited until Adrien commented further, but he didn't. No, he doesn't know yet, he decided, and went back to eating his cheese.
"Things are getting worse."
"How do you know he wasn't the real Fox? He did help Marinette." Plagg reasoned, knowing that if he managed to convince Adrien, he wouldn't have to take him to see the Guardian yet. He wanted to postpone that as much as he could, for Adrien's own sake.
"Other akumas have done things like that too. I mean, the Bubbler wanted to throw me a party. The Evillustrator wanted a date with Marinette. What's not to say this akuma wasn't some other of Marinette's admirers?" He admitted, rather sourly.
You have no idea, kid, Plagg thought.
"Claws Out."
A flash of green, and the night suddenly felt comfier. He slithered out of his usual window, the one on the bathroom with the camera blind spot, and vaulted towards Marinette's house.
He had never done this before, visiting her as Chat Noir. Then again, the fact it was specifically Marinette the one that had been attacked put his nerves on edge. Granted, sometimes even Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't fast enough to stop a crime, but somehow the meaning of that limitation hadn't quite clicked until it was one of his friends that was in danger. Just thinking what could have happened to her if he hadn't arrived on time made him break a cold sweat.
By the time he was hiding behind the chimney, Adrien realized he didn't really have something to say to her other than "You scared the crap out of me, Marinette! Try to be more careful!" This is what Ladybug meant when she said he didn't think things through. What was he supposed to do now?
After pondering for a moment, he decided he'd only check on her window, see she wasn't too overwhelmed with the shock of being mugged, and then leave. He really didn't want to deal with Lady if she found out he was visiting civilian girls at the wee hours of the night. To his surprise though, he found the girl on her balcony. Already changed into her pajamas and with a blanket draped around her shoulders, she fixed her eyes onto the night with a serious expression. Well, she didn't look shaken. That would have been enough. He should have left. It was against his better judgement, really, when he landed with a loud thud behind Marinette.
She gasped, quickly turning around and pulling the blanket closer to herself.
"Chat Noir!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Realizing he sounded more like Adrien than himself, he cleared his throat and casually leaned against a wooden table. "I mean… Good evening, Princess." He winked at her, suddenly realizing the table wobbled, and losing his balance. "Heh."
Marinette gave him a suspicious look. "What are you doing here? It's late."
"Just doing my nightly patrol, is all. I wanted to check you were okay."
Marinette smirked. "You do that with every other civilian you rescue? How thoughtful."
"Nope, just with you, Princess."
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm okay Chat. You don't have to worry."
"I'm sorry I got there so late."
"Don't worry. Sometimes it happens. And I'm okay, so no harm done. That akuma… he, uh, he bought you some time."
"Right," he said looking away. "Well, speaking of which, I have to get going. Make sure he doesn't bother any more damsels in distress, you know?"
Marinette snorted.
"Always a pleasure, princess." He made a reverent bow and kissed Marinette's hand. Ready to jump to the next building, Marinette stopped him.
"Chat," she said with a small voice.
He turned to her, finding confliction in her face. "St-stay safe. That akuma might be dangerous."
He smiled. "Thank you, Princess."
With that, Chat jumped to the next closest building, and the next, and the next, until his cat-like figure was nothing but a dot in the distance, outlined by the lights of the city and the moon itself.
Tikki emerged from the blanket. "That was close."
"Tell me about it." Marinette stayed in silence a bit more, wondering what the reason Chat Noir came to visit her was. He had saved her before and he had never came to check on her. Why was it different today? Maybe it was because of the fox. After all, until now he had been Paris' only "knight in shining armor," as he called himself.
"Is it really an akuma, Tikki? I'm worried Chat will run into trouble. We should go help him."
"He was telling the truth, Marinette. He is the real Fox."