"So, let me get this straight."
Felix had a grave expression on his face as he exited the convenience store and turned into an empty alleyway. The Siamese cat popped its little head out his messenger bag as he crouched down, opening a can of tuna. It leapt out of his bag, hungrily eyeing the food. Felix crossed his arms over his knees.
"Please explain yourself." Felix mumbled, afraid others walking by would spot the pretty boy talking to a cat.
"Oooh, tuna! I've missed the taste of tuna so much!" the kitty exclaimed. Or mewed, Felix wasn't quite sure which it was yet.
"I asked you a question, cat."
The cat gobbled down a mouthful of the shredded fish, not at all bothered by Felix's permanent scowl. "The name is Nimbus."
"Your tag says your name is Mollie."
Nimbus sort of shrugged her body as she ate. "Whatever, a simple technicality. And your name is Felix Agreste, right? Pour me some milk, please."
"How the hell do you know my name?" WHY AM I TALKING TO A CAT?
Felix did as she said, begrudged. "Do cats even actually drink milk?"
The cat chomped down happily on the last bit of tuna, satisfied. "Ahhhh, I feel so much better now. I've been travelling for over three days now just to find you."
"Huh, why would you be looking for me? I've barely been in Paris for twenty-four hours…"
Felix wondered if he was sick or something. Maybe the cafeteria food was causing him to hallucinate. He'd never experienced a talking cat before. His mind was whirling. But clearly the cat wasn't going to answer any of his questions until she had finished her meal. He touched the back of his hand to his forehead to check his temperature.
When Nimbus was finished she sighed with relief and then yawned. "Okay, show me your ring."
"My ring?" Felix wondered before remembering the black ring from the night before. It was a small ring, barely fitting on his left pinky finger where he had slid it on in haste earlier. Why did the cat know about the ring? He held his left hand out to her and Nimbus placed a paw on his. "Do you mean this one?"
"Oooh, they gave you a good one!"
"Excuse me..?" Felix was confused. "My father gave me this ring."
"Did he?" Nimbus didn't seem particularly interested in that fact. She ran her tiny paw across his fingers until she touched the ring. "Well, if only he knew what power this ring possesses."
Felix retracted his hand. "Uh, what are you talking about? How did you know about this ring?"
Nimbus stared up into his eyes. "There's a certain mission you've been chosen to accomplish. I work for an organization that wants to find out who it is that harnesses the ability to Akumatize people. We need you to fight alongside Ladybug and Chat—"
"What?"
Oh my god, I must have been drugged or something. What the hell did this cat just say? She wants me to what—Akumatize? What the hell is that? Ladybug and—
"Oh, Pigtails."
Nimbus tilted her head to the side. "Is something wrong?"
Felix grabbed the cat by the scruff of her neck. "Yes, something is very, very wrong. First off, how the hell is a cat talking to me? Can we start there before you start spewing all that nonsense—and what the heck does Akumatize mean?" Felix spluttered. Now it was Nimbus' turn to seem uncomfortable about the situation.
"Let's move elsewhere," Nimbus said. She motioned for Felix to pick her up and he did, although he didn't quite understand why. He placed her back into his bag. "Do you seriously have no idea what an Akuma is?"
"Uh, well, I heard about the word once in a Japanese class, but… No, I don't." he mumbled, walking out onto the street.
Suddenly, a woman was screaming in the midst of the afternoon crowd. Everyone was in a panic. Felix was confused but unfazed. He was still too delirious from his conversation with Nimbus. The cat stuck her head out from the bag at the sound of a scream. "Well, looks like you're about to have firsthand experience."
"Look, it's Ladybug and Chat Noir!" someone yelled. The crowd broke out in glee.
Felix looked to where the people were pointing, spotting the pair he'd seen on television this morning. He quickly noted the girl in red, her ebony pigtails swinging as she leapt from one place to another. Close behind her was her cat eared companion, who Felix hadn't really thought of much earlier.
"So," Felix sucked in his cheeks for a moment before looking down at Nimbus. "I take it they're superheroes then?"
"Where have you been that you don't know about Ladybug and Chat Noir? Mars?"
At Nimbus' prodding, Felix ran after the magical pair until he got to a clearing where there appeared another being similar to them. The third magical being was dressed in all black ballet attire, with a black swan wrapped around her body and a delicate mask on her face. She was floating midair when Felix noticed her black wings. Okay, Felix thought. Hold up. What the hell is going on here?
"That's an akuma!" Nimbus told him, practically excited by the situation. Felix hid them behind a bush to watch the scene unfold.
"An akuma, eh?" Felix mused. Am I dreaming? He sat back with one knee proper up appearing interested in seeing what might happen next.
Nimbus rolled her eyes and prodded him, jumping out to lay on his chest. She knocked him back on the ground. "What are you doing? I need you to join them!"
"You need me to what?"
Nimbus sighed. "Like I was saying earlier, we—I need you to help out Ladybug and Chat Noir. That ring you have, it can grant you magical powers like they have. But unfortunately it doesn't hold the same powers as theirs do since it isn't exactly a miraculous…"
"A miraculous? What's that?" Felix wondered, peering at his ring.
The cat hissed. "Ugh, stop asking questions! I'll fill you in later. For now, I need you to transform!"
"Transform?!" Felix sputtered a laugh as he sat up. "And how exactly do you expect me to do that?"
Nimbus held out her paw again. "Give me your left hand."
Felix didn't quite understand why, but he did as she asked. Nimbus gently grazed his ring until a strange light erupted from it. Okay, this was new. He was pretty sure rings weren't supposed to do this.
"Alright! Now, Felix, transform!"