Miraculous belongs to Thomas Astruc. We don't owe anything at all. Only our OCs.

This is a mystery/adventure/romance story.

Last time: Nick was corrupted by the owner of the Firefly, and became Lupo Scuro.

Time to move on to the third chapter! We're so excited!


Chapter Three: The Phoenix's Corruption


It was a completely normal day at school. The cheerleaders were having an early morning practice. Brooklynne was with the cheerleaders, cheering and practicing the chants.

Nick was walking around the school. He wanted to see if he could find any suspects as to who Ladybug and Black Cat were.

The cheerleaders soon finished practicing, and Brooklynne walked into the school, her red hair bouncing a little bit. She wore her cheerleading outfit, and had a pretty pair of silver earrings in her ears.

The minute Nick saw the earrings, he figured "Hey, I found Ladybug." He walked up to Brooklynne.

"Can I help you?" Brooklynne raised an eyebrow at Nick, after she closed her locker.

"You look beautiful with your earrings," Nick grinned, looking at the earrings.

"Oh, um, thanks. I've had them since I was young," Brooklynne blushed furiously. She twirled a lock of her red hair around her finger.

That managed to give Nick a good view of her earrings. "Mind if I...get a closer look?" he asked.

"Um...why?" Brooklynne asked, confused. "Is something the matter?"

"I just...need a better view," Nick replied. He reached out and touched one of the earrings.

The earrings were gorgeous: they were drop-down style. Not regular ones, like the Ladybug earrings. Brooklynne felt her heart beating quickly in her chest.

Dang, they were the wrong kind. Nick moved his hand away from the earrings.

"Well, I guess I should go," Brooklynne said, moving away from him.

Nick reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stay," he insisted.

"But I've got to go to class soon," Brooklynne replied. "I can't be tardy."

"Who needs class?" Nick asked rhetorically. "It's not like it's needed for the future."

"I….I…." Brooklynne was shell-shocked.

Nick internally smirked to himself. Perfect. He pulled her a bit closer to him and-

"Excuse me, what the hell?!" an angry voice was heard. Nick was shoved away from Brooklynne by none other than Beckett. "What do you think you're doing, huh?! ANSWER ME!"

"Beckett!" Brooklynne gasped, seeing her brother. "This guy started talking to me about my earrings, and he was touching them!"

Beckett was furious. He glared fiercely at Nick. "Get the hell away from my sister," he snarled. "Or I'll make sure you won't be able to survive the rest of high school."

"What she had didn't suit my needs anyway," Nick replied before he walked away.

"That was quite weird…" Brooklynne said, shaking her head, before looking at her brother. "Thanks for saving me."

"Yeah yeah, no problem," Beckett replied. "You're my sister, I'm not going to just let you get hurt like that." He crossed his arms.

Brooklynne hugged him. "You're the best brother ever," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, I guess," Beckett replied.

The bell rang. "I should get to class. We'll sit together at lunch, right?" Brooklynne looked at her brother.

"Yeah sure," Beckett replied.

Brooklynne grinned as she hurried off to her first class.

Beckett also headed to his first class. He thought to himself about that interaction. Maybe he should try being a better person…?


At the end of the day, Brittany was waiting impatiently for Nick. The boss had given her the Phoenix Miraculous to have her teammate recruit someone. She was leaning against a tree near the school's park.

Nick soon left the school and headed for the school's park. However, another set of footsteps could be heard from behind the boy.

Brittany raised an eyebrow when she saw Nick and a person behind him. "Who's this?" she asked coldly.

Nick moved aside so she could see the other person. He was about 5'7" and had short blonde hair with blue-green eyes. He had peach skin and was skinny. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt with tan shorts and black shoes.

"His name's Samuel," Nick introduced the blonde boy. "Met him at the school."

"Ah," Brittany said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Phoenix Miraculous, passing it to Nick. "Go ahead and convince him."

Nick took the Phoenix Miraculous and looked at Samuel. "You see this?" he gestured to the sweatband. "This. This gives you power. Power, freedom, and a chance to prove yourself."

"P-Power?" Samuel spoke for the first time since they'd gotten there. "A-A c-chance?"

"Yes," Nick nodded. "All the power you could possibly want." He held out the sweatband. "Now...what do you say?"

Samuel hesitated for a slight moment before he took the sweatband. He placed it on and was almost instantly covered by some form of dark magic.

Brittany smirked seeing this, gazing at Nick. "Not bad. Now, we've got to come up with a name."

"I got one," Nick smirked. "Rise from your corruption, Fuego!"

The dark magic vanished and Samuel looked different. He had fire orange hair and golden orange, resembling a flame. His outfit was mostly orange, with red and gold flame designs. His mask was fire red and he gained a sceptre.

"Oh, this is so good," Brittany smirked.

"I know," Nick smirked. "Should we join him or let him wreak havoc on his own?"

"Let's join him for this one. Three heads are better than one. TRANSFORM ME!" With that, Brittany transformed into her villain form.

"Transform me!" Nick repeated. He also transformed into his villain form.

"Ready to cause trouble, Fuego?" Libellula asked.

Fuego looked over at Libellula and smirked deviously. "You know I am," he answered.

"Good, that's the kind of attitude we like around here," Lupo Scuro replied. "Now no more waiting, let's go cause chaos."


In the town, Libellua was throwing things with her telekinesis powers.

People were screaming, and not just from the objects being thrown. Now, things were being ignited and burned by Fuego, who was throwing fireballs and flames around to cause more damage. People were also shielding their ears as Lupo Scuro was howling a lot, which was probably not doing well for people since things were now being thrown about and/or burnt. Glass was broken.

Melanie saw the chaos and groaned. "Are you kidding me! Three of them?!"

Tikki poked her head out. "You know...maybe you could get some help," she suggested.

"Oh yeah, from that old man!" Melanie gasped. "But...where is he…?"

"He's in his teahouse presumably," Tikki whispered.

"Will you show me, Tikki?" Melanie whispered.

"I will," Tikki replied.


Arriving at the tea house, Melanie looked confused. "Are you sure this is the place, Tikki?"

"I am," Tikki whispered.

Melanie trusted her Kwami, as she opened the door, and walked inside.

Inside, they would find Fu and Marianne inside the teahouse. Fu looked over and saw Melanie. "Ladybug," he nodded. "Come on in."

Melanie took a deep breath, before walking to him and Marianne. "There's three corrupted people causing trouble. I don't think Black Cat and I will be able to manage those three on our own," she said.

"I knew you might need more help at some point," Fu mumbled as he grabbed a box and opened it, revealing 17 other Miraculouses. "Pick a Miraculous you might need to help you on this mission."

Melanie took a look at the Miraculouses offered. She then saw a belt, and picked it up. "What does this one do?" she asked.

"Ah, the Miraculous of the Raccoon. It gives its user the power of Stealth," Fu explained.

"Okay, we can definitely use that. Should I return it to you guys?" Melanie asked.

"You can keep it," Fu replied. "But make sure you tell the user to only use it when needed. The Kwami will be able to transmute the message to whoever you choose to have hold this Miraculous."

"Alright then. Tikki, Spots on!" Melanie declared, as she clenched her fists.

Tikki was sucked into the earrings.

And soon, Melanie became Ladybug. She put the belt into her yo-yo for now. "I'll take it out when I find a holder," she said. She used the communication feature to message Black Cat. The message told him to find someone worthy, and have them brought to the CN Tower.


Black Cat was currently searching for someone worthy. He'd gotten the message and needed to find someone.

Anthony was hiding, and he was clearly terrified. He had a peach skin tone, and light blue eyes. His hair was red, and he wore a black t-shirt with Imagine Dragons written on it, ripped jeans, black socks, and navy blue running shoes. He seemed to be a bit of a rocker.

Black Cat found Anthony at some point. He approached the male. "Hey,' he said, trying to keep calm. There were 3 villains out after all, of course it'd be hard to keep calm.

"You're Black Cat…." Anthony was shell-shocked.

"I am," Black Cat replied. "Listen, Ladybug wanted me to find someone worthy and go with them to CN Tower. Are you up for it?"

"I don't know...what if I mess up?" Anthony asked.

"Ladybug and I will help you," Black Cat replied.

Anthony looked at the hero, before nodding. "Okay," he replied. "I'll help you."

"Great," Black Cat replied. "Let's head to the CN Tower. Ladybug is waiting."

Anthony nodded. "Alright," he replied.


At the CN Tower, Ladybug was waiting. She watched as the three villains were causing chaos all across town.

Black Cat soon arrived at the CN Tower. "Chaotic day huh?" he asked.

"You've got that right, Kitty. Did you find someone?" Ladybug asked.

"I did," Black Cat replied. He turned around to make sure Anthony had followed him.

Anthony had indeed followed him. He was on his hands and knees, panting. He had run up the entire stairs of the CN Tower, as the elevator was out of service.

"You okay?" Black Cat asked Anthony.

"Elevator…. *huff* out…. *huff* of…. *huff* service…. *huff*" Anthony replied, panting.

"Ouch, sounds rough," Black Cat replied.

Anthony nodded, before regaining his breath. "Yeah…"

Ladybug looked at him. "Alright. So you've been chosen to wield a Miraculous. Only thing is that you can only use it for good, and when we call you. Your Kwami will be able to tell you more." She opened her yo-yo, and took out the belt. "This is the Miraculous of the Raccoon, which grants the power of stealth. Can we trust you?"

"Yes, totally," Anthony replied, taking the belt.

Once he took the belt, a light began to glow. Soon, a small raccoon like creature with brown eyes had formed

"Gah!" Anthony was shocked. "What are you?!"

"I am a Kwami!" the creature grinned. "I'm Kerry! Pleased to meet you!"

"Oh….kay?" Anthony was confused.

"Anyway, I give you the power of Stealth! To transform, you just gotta say 'Kerry, Sneaking Time!' To detransform, just say 'Kerry, Evade Capture!'"

"Okay then," Anthony puts the belt on. "Kerry, Sneaking Time!"

Kerry was sucked into the belt.

Anthony swiped his hands over his eyes, and a black mask appeared. He then swiped a hand through his hair, making it become super messy, with faux raccoon ears appearing. He flipped in the air as he got a black bodysuit with a faux raccoon tail, and two staffs. "Whoa…" he gasped in shock.

"Welcome to the team," Black Cat nodded. "Now what's your hero name?"

The transformed Anthony paled. "Uh…..Procione?"

"That'll work. Now come on. We've got villains to stop," Ladybug said.


Libellula had currently grabbed a hostage. She smirked at them. "Let's see if those pathetic heroes will try to save some civilians," she said in a taunting manner. The civilian she was holding was a random person, who was struggling to break free.

Lupo Scuro was holding onto Brooklynne, while Fuego was holding onto Beckett.

"Let go of us!" Brooklynne pleaded. "We haven't done you any harm!" She was struggling to break free. But it was useless.

"Why should we?" Lupo asked her. "After all, who knows what you might do if you break free."

Brooklynne whimpered, afraid. She was shivering.

"And if you broke free, who would help you?" Lupo Scuro asked, smirking. "You're powerless. No one would provide you as much help as you'd need."

"HEY!" Beckett yelled from where he was. "Stop talking like that!"

"Oh?" Lupo Scuro raised an eyebrow. "And why should I?"

Brooklynne averted her eyes, still terrified.

"Hey now," Lupo Scuro told Brooklynne. "Don't look away. You're just hiding from the truth at this point."

At this point, Brooklynne was on the verge of tears. Oh boy.

"STOP TALKING TO HER LIKE THAT!" Beckett yelled out. Now he was getting mad.

"Awww, is the poor whittle jock scared of what Lupo could do to his sister?" Libellula taunted. "Maybe he could harm her…"

Lupo smirked as he moved a bit closer. "Now that you give me that idea…" He moved his mouth closer and-

"HEY! LET GO OF THEM!" Ladybug shouted, as she arrived on the scene, along with Procione. The new hero was quite nervous.

"What did they even do to you?" Black Cat asked rhetorically as he also arrived at the scene.

Libellula growled. "Oh great, it's those pathetic heroes. And they brought a newbie too."

"Oh great," Fuego groaned, rolling his eyes. "This is a great way to be brought into a chaos causing job."

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Procione said, his knees shaking. Oof.

"Oh yeah?" Lupo Scuro asked, smirking as he sensed Procione's nervousness. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I…." Procione was shocked.

Ladybug looked at the new hero. "Be brave," she whispered to him.

Procione took a deep breath, and charged forward with a powerful kick towards Lupo Scuro.

The kick hit his leg. Of course the wolf villain didn't show how painful it was. "That's the best you got?" he asked.

Procione punched the wolf villian in the stomach.

"...really?" Lupo Scuro asked bluntly. "Why am I your primary focus?"

"You don't wanna mess with a Raccoon," Procione smirked, as he stomped on the wolf's foot, trying to get him to let go of his hostage.

"Okay, you asked for it," Lupo Scuro replied. He glanced over at Libellula and Fuego as if he was warning them about something.

Then he howled. Loudly.

Procione covered his ears, as well as Ladybug. Due to being held by the wolf, Brooklynne couldn't cover her ears.

"You…do realize that was practically useless for your side right?" Black Cat asked. He hadn't been able to cover his ears in time, rip him.

"What are you talking about, fool?" Libellula demanded.

"Well...uh…" Black Cat paused for a moment, trying to process her words. Dammit not having covered his ears. "Wouldn't you...have been holding your...hostages?" He asked, trying to make sure that was an appropriate response.

Libellula was confused at this. During this confusion, Brooklynne attempted to make an escape, by stomping on Lupo Scuro's foot, hard.

"Still not letting go," Lupo Scuro smirked at Brooklynne.

Procione was a bit scared now, looking over at Ladybug and Black Cat. "What do we do now?"

Black Cat thought for a moment. He wasn't sure. He looked over at Ladybug. "Any ideas?"

"We've got to find a way to get the hostages away from them, and to a safe place," Ladybug replied. "Let's try to fight them in hand to hand combat before using our powers."

Libellula glared over at her fellow villains. "Maybe we should tie these fools up. That way, they'll never escape."

"Got it," Fuego nodded.

Libellula looked around, and soon found a long piece of rope. She used one hand to grab it, keeping a tight grip on her hostage with the other, as she grabbed it. "Perhaps we should gag them too…" a wicked smirk comes on her face. She found three pairs of clothes, and used her free hand to make the objects float over to the villains. She immediately tied up and gagged her hostage.

Brooklynne immediately became afraid. "Please stop this!" she begged.

"How about no?" Lupo Scuro smirked as he tied Brooklynne up using one of the pairs of clothes.

The cloth went over her mouth, and she became gagged. She was now very afraid.

Fuego also tied up and gagged Beckett.

"Use your lucky charm," Black Cat advised Ladybug. "That'll hopefully get something to make them forget their hostages."

"LUCKY CHARM!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her yo-yo in the air. Magical ladybugs surrounded her yo-yo before an item dropped into her hands.

"Seriously? What am I supposed to do with a bag of marbles?!"

"Spill the marbles onto the ground," Black Cat whispered to Ladybug.

Ladybug nodded, and opened the bag, tossing the marbles towards the villains.

"HEY!" Libellula shouted, losing her balance and falling to the ground.

"What the hell?!" Fuego asked, as he also lost his balance and fell to the ground. Lupo Scuro also fell to the ground.

"Now you two!" Ladybug shouted.

"Stealth!" Procione shouted. He became invisible, and hurried forward to ungag each of the hostages. He then reappeared beside Ladybug and Black Cat.

"Cataclysm!" Black Cat yelled out. He touched a rope and the rope holding Beckett quickly disintegrated.

"Thanks," Beckett replied as he quickly stood up and untied Brooklynne.

Brooklynne stood up and hugged her brother. "My arms hurt from the rope," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Beckett whispered back to her as he returned the hug.

Ladybug smiled softly seeing this. "Now to gather the marbles…" she said, knowing that she would have to throw it up to invoke the Miraculous cure. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to do so. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" she shouted, invoking the Miraculous Cure.

All damages done were soon undone.

Libellula growled. "You won't win next time! We'll be back, stronger than ever!" she glared at her teammates. "Let's go. The boss will be pissed at us for failing. AGAIN."

"We won't fail next time," Lupo Scuro replied. "Mark my words." He headed off to the headquarters, with Fuego following him.

"One day, we've got to find their meeting spot," Ladybug said.

"One day," Black Cat nodded. His ring beeped. "Gotta go," he said, getting his staff out and pole vaulting away.

Procione felt his belt beep, at the same time as Ladybug's earrings. "We've got to split," Ladybug looked at the three hostages. "You sure that you'll all make it home safely?"

"We will," Beckett nodded.

"Thank you, Ladybug," Brooklynne said quietly.

"Bug out!" Ladybug said, using her yo-yo to leave. Procione jumped away using both of his staffs.


Laura was in the park, reading her book.

Beckett was also in the park. He noticed Laura and took a deep breath. He had to apologize to her for acting the way he had been. He walked up to her.

"What do you want?" Laura asked him, annoyed.

"I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk," Beckett apologized. "I've been thinking and I think I'm going to try being a better person than who I was."

"Why should I believe you? You're Beckett Lawson. The meanest boy in school. You're rotten to the core," Laura scowled at her ex.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me at first," Beckett sighed. "Look. I'm not going to win you back. You go out with whoever you want. But I really am going to change. You can see for yourself."

"I'll believe you...if you do 5 acts of goodness. And I have to witness them," Laura said. She stood up, and stormed away.

"Got it," Beckett nodded.

Also in the park was a sweet young teen named Rosa. She had a tanned skin tone, along with round brown eyes, and brown hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a white rainbow t-shirt with a pink skirt, and beige Victorian boots. There was a daisy flower crown in her hair.

Beckett looked over at Rosa and walked over to her. "Hey."

"Um, hi?" Rosa said quietly. "Can I help you?"

"Just thought you might want someone to talk to," Beckett replied. "I'm Beckett."

"Rosa," the girl replied.

"Nice to meet you," Beckett replied.

"You too," Rosa replied quietly. Goodness, she was shy.

"You know," Beckett replied. "If you ever need a confidence boost, let me know."

"But...aren't you the meanest boy in school?" Rosa asked him.

"I'm working on changing," Beckett replied. "Being the meanest boy isn't a reputation I want anymore, honestly. Plus, people can change."

"If you say so…" Rosa replied quietly.

"Here," Beckett said as he pulled out a piece of paper. It had his phone number on it. "If you want to keep in touch."

Rosa was shocked to see Beckett give her his number. She didn't know what to say, before taking it. "I'll text you my number," she said quietly.

"Works for me," Beckett replied. "I'll see you around?"

Rosa nodded. "Alright," she replied.

"Cool," Beckett replied, smiling at her. He walked away.


At the HQ…

Libellula landed inside the HQ, scowling.

Lupo Scuro entered the HQ, Fuego behind him.

"Well?" Lucciola demanded.

"They had a third person," Lupo Scuro replied.

Lucciola growled. "Then I guess we'll need to do more recruiting. Make those pathetic heroes fall to their knees!"

"Got it, boss," Lupo Scuro nodded.

"Sounds like a plan," Fuego smirked.

"They'll never see it coming," Libellula replied.

"Indeed," Lupo Scuro smirked.

Libellula gave a wicked laugh. "Oh, I can't wait to destroy those heroes one day."