Alya was on a mission.

Marinette had been acting strangely- more so than usual- recently. She used to have a habit of dreamily staring off into space, mumbling various thoughts that went through her mind. Most of which included Adrien in some way. It was obvious to Alya that her bestie had it bad for him. Yet, Mari had been almost... ignoring him lately. She clearly still liked him, but whenever she caught herself daydreaming about him, she shook herself out of it. Mari even slapped her own face once! Alya didn't think that was a particularly healthy thing to do. It was like she was trying to stop having feelings for him.

It was also painfully clear to Alya that the reason Mari didn't like Keana was because she was jealous of the American for spending so much time with Adrien. Marinette had complained multiple times to Alya about the dinners the two families had together. Apparently Mari's parents were friends with Keana's, so they ate together occasionally. According to Mari, it was a 'torturous' experience that mostly involved the parents chatting about their lives while the kids sat in silence. Keana and her brother -which, Alya didn't know Keana had siblings- talked about stuff in English. Occasionally, they tried to include Mari, but those conversations never lasted long and were rather awkward.

So Alya was hoping to solve both of Mari's problems -bottling up her emotions and the awkward acquaintanceship she had with Keana- in one fell swoop. She had all the necessary tools at her disposal; she just needed to use them.

"Sooo, Nino," Alya twirled the keychain on her phone, "How annoying is it for Adrien and Keana to dodge the tabloids?"

Nino looked up from his homework with a quirked eyebrow. "You mean avoiding Adrien's rabid fan-stalkers?"

Alya shrugged. "What's the difference?"

"You're the reporter-to-be, you tell me." Nino leaned back in his chair and yawned. "Why are you asking, anyway?"

"I thought I saw a post somewhere online of Adrien and Keana filled with," She wiggled her eyebrows, "speculations."

Nino let out a laugh. "They think they're dating ? Did they threaten to burn Keana at the stake for putting 'Adrien Handsome Perfect Model Agreste' under a love spell?"

Alya hummed. "Yes to the first one, and you're not too far off with the second. But," Alya leaned in conspiratorially, "you'd tell me if they actually are dating, right?"

"You're serious?" Nino chuckled and shook his head at her. "Dude, I'm pretty sure Keana will actually gag if you say that to her face."

"What, can't a girl be curious?"

"Dude, you always have some sort of ulterior motive." He shrugged. "But whatever you say."

Nino went back to doing his homework. Technically, they were in the middle of the Akumatized Support Club. The club still wasn't big enough to really do much other than talk and hang out, or use it as an excuse to do something else. Alya didn't think the ASC would ever do something official or organized.

Alya didn't really understand it, at first. What was the point of having a club if they didn't do anything? She might as well go straight home after school.

...But then she had a bad day full of questions she didn't have the answer to. Feelings she didn't have an explanation for. And Alya appreciated being able to relax in the Library with Nino and Ivan, with people who understood.

That didn't stop her from wishing they could do something interesting. Even if it gave her plenty of time to mull over exactly how she could solve Mari's little problem.

An activity isn't too bad of an idea, actually.

"Nino." Alya poked him, but he didn't budge. "Nino. Ninooooo-" Alya flopped onto the table, staring intently at him.

He looked up, rolling his eyes. "What?"

"We should do something."

Nino's eyes widened. "Wha - bu - huh ? Us?"

Alya rolled her eyes. Boys could be so dramatic. "Yeah. You, Adrien, Me, Marinette, and Keana. It'd be fun."

"O-oh." He looked away at her raised eyebrow. "Anyway, what'd we even do?"

"I don't know, something fun?" Alya shrugged. "What's something in the city that Adrien's never done before?"

"Well," Nino hummed, "he's been to the movies. I don't think we've taken him to see any museums, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's been to a fancy one, since his dad's a snob. There's the Zoo-"

"The Zoo's perfect!" Alya declared. "Who doesn't like animals?" And going to the Zoo involved a whole lot of walking and talking. More specifically talking. Which meant in order for the trip to not be torturous for her bestie, Mari would have to acknowledge her feelings and let go of any pointless jealousy she had for Keana.

Alya grinned. Her plan was perfect.

. . .

There's a sense of apathy in Nino as he watched Alya's plans crash to the earth yet flourish at the same time. He should have expected it, really, but he thought Adrien would have watched at least one nature documentary in his lifetime.

"Keana?" Adrien whispered, head tilted up to look at the extraordinarily tall horse covered in brown spots with two nubs on its head. "...What is that?"

"Giraffe." The American's eyebags somehow seemed worse than usual. Nino wondered if she got any sleep last night. He wondered how she mustered up the energy to even stand. He grew a little more concerned when she started swaying.

"You good?" He ventured.

Keana slowly turned to face him. She stared at him with dead eyes. "No."

"...Do you need to go home?"

She didn't blink. "No."

Adrien continued to stare at the giraffe, who was busy eating from a cage stuffed with leafy greens on a tall pole. "It's tongue is so long!"

"One time a giraffe ate my dad's hair," Keana offered up.

Adrien turned to face her, eyes wide. "Really?!"

Nino raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. That's why he's bald."

Nino glanced over at Alya, who in turn glanced over at Marinette, who didn't quite manage to hide her befuddlement.

At first, Marinette had alternated between hiding behind Alya, and hiding behind Nino. Anything to escape one-on-one time with Adrien or Keana. Or both of them at once. Nino wasn't sure how Alya managed to even get her to come in the first place.

Now she was staring at Adrien like he was a puzzle she couldn't quite solve.

Nino nudged Alya. "You think it's working?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Nino rolled his eyes. Alya wasn't as sneaky as she'd like to think. And anyone with eyes could see how Marinette felt about Adrien. Well , he glanced over at Keana, most people . Adrien didn't count, because he only has been around peers for three months. Keana had zero excuses, unless her parents were also secretly over-protective helicopter parents without a sense of humor. Nino, having met Keana's parents and heard her dad's jokes, could confirm they were neither of those things. Which meant her capacity for social awareness was the size of a tablespoon. Not as small as a teaspoon (that was Adrien), but definitely close.

Nino watched her lower her head slowly, ever so subtly on the bar of the railing and decided it was time to move on to the inside exhibits.

The tropical greenhouse was full of ambiance: chirps and trills from birds and copious amounts of insects buzzing. It was also warm and humid, a contrast from the cooler temperature outside. It didn't seem to help keep Keana awake any better, but at least she didn't look like she was going to pass out from the stench of giraffe.

They passed a lush terrarium that supposedly had chameleons in them. Nino couldn't find them, but Adrien was almost pressing his face against the glass in his attempt to spot them. Keana took the opportunity to sit on a nearby bench.

Marinette leaned closer to the exhibit, eyes scouring the tiny foliage.

"What is a chameleon?" Adrien wondered.

"They're like lizards that can turn invisible," Marinette shrugged. "They can change their color to match with their surroundings."

"Read the sign," Keana lazily pointed at the graphic, before squinting at the enclosure. "It's on the branch in the top right corner."

"That's so cool." Adrien zeroed in on the lizard. "It's like it has superpowers."

Alya whipped her head around, staring intently at the model. "Chameleon is actually a comic supervillain. He fights spiderman."

"I didn't know you like comics," Nino commented. "Marvel or DC?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "A true fan doesn't limit themselves to one. But I'd throw hands for Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Adrien's eyes got a little wide and misty at that. "R-really?"

"Awww!" Marinette cooed. "Thank- That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, they saved me, and the whole city by now. And they're actually real."

Adrien turned away and brought his fist up to his eyes.

Keana turned to him. "You good?"

He nodded. "I think I'm allergic to chameleons."

That was the dumbest lie he could have come up with. Nino would have to teach him the way to properly cover his fragile emotions in a social setting. Or tell him to just own up to his feelings, which would be healthier.

. . .

I stared at Nino, and then at Alya, then back to Nino.

Now, I might not have been the most observant person, but even I could tell Nino was acting funky. He'd been acting a little off the entire trip, more uptight. Like he was nervous for some reason.

Normally, I would chalk it up to him having a bad day; maybe he was nervous about the theater meeting that was happening soon that I was making him go to. But this wasn't an isolated incident. He'd been acting strange recently, ever since his club announcement and the meeting he and Ivan had with Alya. He was quieter around Alya, more jumpy. And whenever Alya's name was mentioned in a conversation -not too often of an occurrence, but enough to note- he seemed to be more attentive.

And Nino's comment ' I didn't know you liked comics.' Delivered nervously and also showed he was paying attention to facts about her. Not to mention his follow up question meant he was actually interested in having a conversation instead of just making small talk.

Now, I might've only been running on approximately two brain cells, but it was almost like...

I stared at him, then looked at Alya a bit closer.

I guess she's kinda hot.

But I didn't know Alya well enough to really gauge if she reciprocated, or if she was good enough for Nino. As one of his certified best friends, I felt I needed to have a vetting process.

I glanced over to Marinette, who was staring at Adrien with her head tilted and eyebrows furrowed. I slid closer to her and nudged her in the shoulder. "Hey."

"Huh? Me?" She spun to face me, eyes wide. "I wasn't doing anything!"

...I didn't understand Marinette, so I decided to ignore that. "I think Nino likes Alya."

"What?" She turned slower and took a look at Alya, then Nino, then back to Alya. Then she squinted her eyes at Nino. "...I think I see it."

That was all the confirmation I needed. I grabbed her wrist and started walking towards Adrien. She sputtered something incomprehensible.

"Hey, Adrien, Marinette wants to show us something near the rhinos." I said. Alya celebrated loudly behind me. I thought she was relieved to finally have alone time with Nino so she could make her move. Nino obviously wasn't going to make one himself, afterall; he might be the most mentally stable one in the group, but he was also non-confrontational at best. "You guys have fun!"

I used my other hand to grab Adrien's wrist as we passed him, dragging him along behind us. We turned the corner and I walked a bit further just to be sure.

"What'd you want to show us, Marinette?" Adrien looked around. "I don't see any rhinos. What's a rhino, anyway?"

"N-nothing!" Marinette squeaked, though it may have been closer to a squawk.

"It was a ruse, Adrien." I gravely explained. "So we could leave and talk about something entirely unrelated."

"Oh," he blinked. "We are going to see a rhino though, right?"

"Of course," I nodded. "But first..."

. . .

Adrien was a lot dumber than Marinette realized.

Maybe that was too harsh. She already knew he was sheltered, but he was a lot more sheltered than she realized. It wasn't a bad thing, but it was clashing with the image she had of him in her head.

To Marinette, Adrien was always perfectly posed, perfectly poised, cool headed, and kind. Currently, he was only one of those things and it was really throwing her off.

She watched Adrien gawk at flamingos; he was going to walk into a pole if Keana hadn't been there to tug him out of the way. That was something she'd only see in a cartoon. And oddly endearing- like a clueless puppy.

Yet when Marinette thought of Adrien, she didn't see what was there. All the pictures she used to have on her wall were from photoshoots or commercial reels- something that would have thousands of shots and takes before it got slimmed down to the best of the best, the best of him. Adrien probably had whole shoots canceled if he had a sudden breakout of acne.

She thought she loved Adrien but how well did she actually know him?

"So basically, Nino has the hots for Alya and is too chicken to fess up." Keana explained. Adrien nodded in understanding. "I'm pretty sure Alya likes him back, but I don't know her well enough. That's why I brought Marinette, right?"

Mari refocused on the conversation. "Uh, right!"

"But how do you know they like each other?" Adrien tilted his head.

Keana shrugged. "Can't explain it. Don't they act differently around each other? He's pretty nervous around her, at least, so I'm pretty sure he's aware he has some sort of feelings for her."

"I'm not sure if Alya has realized it yet..." Marinette contributed. Alya was being more nosey towards Nino and Marinette is pretty sure Alya hoards information about the people she likes. Just look at Ladybug and her old goal of discovering her alter ego.

"So, Nino won't ever make the first move and Alya doesn't know she likes him..." Adrien summarized. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

Silence fell over them.

"People who spend more time together generally form a close bond," Marinette offered up, ignoring how that was Alya's approach to make her open up to Keana.

"High stress situations cause people to bond closely. It might help them realize their feelings for each other." Keana eventually said.

"But what would we do to get them in a 'high stress' situation with each other. Alone. Safely?"

And that's when the akuma alarm went off.

Sometimes, Marinette hated her luck.

. . .

I was not authorized nor did I have a license for dangerous animal handling. The most experience I had with animals was a pet dog who died a little while back, a tiny leopard gecko Pax had as a pet that ran away and never came back, and a childhood filled with watching Wild Kratts.

A chimpanzee screeched at me with it's lips pulled back to reveal a set of ugly teeth that would put a vampire's to shame.

Yet somehow I'm the one who got assigned animal control duty.

It launched itself at me. I whacked it with the broad side of my sword, sending it sprawling. I motioned to the civilians standing behind me to go, which they did promptly.

I glanced back over to the chimp, who was just getting back up. Its mad eyes landed on me and it made the iconic monkey screech, revealing its teeth. It launched itself again, swinging its long arms in an attempt to latch onto me. I aim for its head this time and swing my sword like a baseball bat. It hit with a dull thud and the chimp did not get up again.

(I found out later that the ape was just unconscious)

My head snapped over at the sound of hooves and a strange mixture of a dog barking and a donkey bray. And was met with a stampede of zebras.

I paled.

Then I heard a lion's roar and immediately switched targets. My allies in khakis, who were actually qualified to use tranquilizers, would take care of the herd. I'd make sure the lion won't maul anyone in the meantime.

I hoped that Chat Noir and Ladybug were having better luck with the akuma.

. . .

Chat Noir landed on the roof of a car, smashing the glass and destroying the hood. He groaned, gingerly sliding off, knees weak and shaking. Rhinos hit like a truck.

And to add insult to injury, the rhino that hit him was replaced by a weasel, who was maneuvering around Ladybug's attacks with ease.

Chat Noir shook out his arms and sprinted forward, pinning the akuma to the ground, only for it to shrink even further and escape from his grasp.

"What the-?" Chat Noir whipped his head around. "Where'd he go?!"

A shadow appeared over his head and his eyes bugged out. He rolled just in time to evade a ginormous elephant falling on top of him. The impact left hairline fractures in the concrete. It trumpeted and Chat Noir had to actively subdue his awe in the face of a real life elephant, because the real life elephant was actively trying to kill him.

He used his staff to vault away from its swinging trunk.

Ladybug threw her yo-yo and wrapped it around the trunk. She dug her feet into the ground. The elephant looked at her briefly and swung its trunk. The line pulled taught.

"AAack!" Ladybug was promptly launched into a nearby building.

"M'Lady-!" The trunk hit him and he was sent sprawling across the ground. He lifted his head up and spat out a bit of gravel.

Ladybug peeled herself off the building, pebbles falling from the wall as she did so. Her back cracked. "Ow."

The elephant made a noise that sounded as if it was laughing at them. Rude.

This akuma was a tank, they wouldn't be able to do much damage to it with just a baton and a yo-yo. Ladybug eyed the rubble on the ground, broken bits of car and other chunks of stone, from the battle. A shapeshifter was very versatile, able to escape most situations with a mere change of animal. There wasn't anything she could think that could trap him that he couldn't break free of.

Ladybug dodged left as the akuma charged, attempting to spear her on his tusks.

"Chat Noir! Keep him busy, I need some time!"

"Anything for you, Bugaboo!" He winked, launching himself forward and hitting the akuma on the temple with his baton.

"Not the time for that," Ladybug grumbled, but was halfway resigned to his antics even in a serious scenario such as an Orange Monster Class akuma attack. It also wasn't the time for a lecture.

All the animals had the same bracelet, albeit at different sizes to fit whatever animal form he was using. It was clear where the akuma was located. The problem was getting it from the akuma. He could transform into whatever animal's abilities suited him most.

If he transformed into a bug, the bracelet would be too small for them to remove and it would be game over. (They could just smash the bug, but Ladybug wasn't sure if murder was worth defeating an akuma when there might be a different way). Of course, staying a bug didn't help the akuma defeat them either , since a fly wasn't strong enough to lift a metal ring or remove earrings.

Chat Noir rolled to evade a stomp before a half baked idea formed. He grinned and vaulted over the side of the elephant, landing perfectly on its back, digging in with his claws. And tried not to fall off while the akuma used every trick in the book to turn him into a smear on the pavement.

...Every trick in the book except transforming into a different animal. Can he not transform when he's touching another living being? No that couldn't be it, he transformed into a rhino after Chat pinned him as a mouse. Was it a cool down of sorts? No, he transformed rapidly earlier from a crane to a snake then a tiger.

So the akuma had some sort of limit to the amount he transformed. Now that Ladybug squinted, he seemed a little more sluggish than he was earlier. It was hard to tell: Ladybug wasn't exactly trained in animal body language.

But he was still a big enough threat to prevent them from getting his bracelet. They needed him to change into a few more animals, get him more exhausted, but they couldn't do much to threaten an elephant...

But maybe they could get the elephant stuck.

"Chat Noir!" His head snapped over to her from his position on the elephant's back. "Follow me!"

He grinned and vaulted away. The akuma trumpeted in victory- only to pause as he realized his prey was escaping him.

Ladybug and Chat Noir ran in tandem, regardless of the thudding footsteps that were slowly getting closer.

"What's the plan, M'Lady," Chat noir asked between breaths. Riding an elephant was a lot more draining than he expected.

"The akuma uses up energy whenever he transforms. We need to make him transform as much as possible. Turn right, now!"

They dashed into a nearby narrow alleyway just as the elephant thundered past. There was a crash and a car alarm went off. Ladybug looked over her shoulder just as the akuma approached the entrance of the alley, clearly unable to fit. He huffed and soon a jaguar stood in the elephant's place.

He growled, but his eyes were half lidded, so that gave Ladybug confidence in her plan.

Did she have enough confidence that they could outrun a jaguar?

No, not at all.

"Chat, on the roof!"

"Got it!"

Ladybug swung her yo-yo just as Chat Noir launched himself with his baton.

The jaguar lunged at her leg, snapping his jaws and swinging his claws. He missed and fell back to the ground with a rumbling snarl.

Chat Noir peered over the edge of the building. "What now? I don't think my cousin down there can climb walls."

"Exactly." She smiled at him, eyes wide and a little crazy. She couldn't believe her plan was working.

Chat Noir had wide eyes for an entirely different story. "Woah." Ladybug really is beauti-

Chat Noir felt something hit his gut and he was launched backwards. "Oof!"

"Chat!" Ladybug turned to face the new animal, expecting a bird- maybe an eagle or something big.

Her eyes landed on a hulking goat covered in heavy white fur that stood at a height almost equal to her shoulders. She gulped: bird would have been easier to force a transformation and this goat looked like it packed a serious punch with those horns.

He bleated, beady eyes focusing on her.

Chat Noir groaned from his place on the floor. A goat? How did a goat scale a brick wall? Weren't they basically just sheep with horns?

The akuma lowered its head and charged at Ladybug. She narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. If it was anything like a bull she just needed to wait for...

She lunged to the side just before she would have been skewered. The goat deftly changed directions, turning in a tight arc.

Ladybug cursed and was forced to dodge again. The akuma circled around again, only to get whacked in the side with Chat Noir's baton.

Chat grinned. "Here's a taste of your own medicine!"

"That doesn't even make sense." Ladybug complained. Her sides were heaving so she was grateful for the bit of breathing room.

The goat bleated and lowered his head again.

This was a battle of endurance. It didn't help that Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were still sore from the elephant's trunk, not to mention the tiger's attempt to maul them that was only thwarted by the fact they wore magic suits.

She regretted squandering Ghost on crowd control.

. . .

I sighed in relief as the lion finally collapsed. The animal control had finally dealt with the giraffes and zebras and someone finally got the big cat with a huge tranq dose.

It didn't help much with the gash I had on my arm that was sluggishly bleeding black blood. The lion's claws had grazed me after I clobbered it with my sword-that-I-didn't-know-how-to-use-so-therefore-it-was-a-bat. I think I won that bout, but that made it come after me with a vengeance, changing it from a battle to a game of cat and mouse. I was the mouse, if that wasn't clear.

I ripped a bit of fabric off of my scarf, wrapping it around the wound tightly. I turned to the animal handler who was my savior. He regarded me a bit warily.

I saluted and he hesitantly returned it.

I pointed over my shoulder and quickly retreated.

Ladybug and Chat Noir might need help. Considering how I fared against regular animals, I wasn't confident that I'd be of much help. Not against a bigger threat like the actual akuma.

I spotted another big cat -this one was a jaguar- and groaned.

Then I noticed Alya peeking out from the bushes with her camera and Nino staring at her with utmost concern.

I snuck over, ignored Nino's look half filled with terror and dragged Alya back behind the bush with a hand over her mouth. Her scream was successfully muffled and so were her thousands of questions when she laid eyes on me. I raised a finger to my lips to make her promise to keep silent and she nodded. I let her go and beckoned them both to follow me.

I crept away, with two people following me who weren't quite as silent.

I led them to a storage closet.

I didn't trust Alya to stay there. Nino was sensible, somewhat. Most of the time.

But Alya?

The idea that she wouldn't try to sneak out was laughable.

The decision wasn't very difficult to make.

. . .

The akuma charged again and Ladybug and Chat Noir ran.

It was getting harder to ignore her heaving sides, but there wasn't much else to do. They couldn't dodge for much longer and the goat's bulk made damaging it difficult. They were just lucky one of its only weapons were its horns. No teeth or claws they needed to worry about and they weren't completely outpaced by it, but it was only a matter of-

Ladybug tripped and her face met concrete. She scrambled to get up. The sound of hooves was approaching quickly. She turned her head to look over her shoulder.

The goat bleated in victory only to get interrupted by a black blur ramming into him, sending him tumbling off the building with a high pitched scream.

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug wondered. But that didn't make sense- he had been running alongside her when she tripped. And the blur wasn't a typical motion blur; it was more of a... streak of darkness.

And now Ghost stood there, staring over the ledge after the akuma.

Is that their ability? Some sort of shadow dash?

Their mask was on and their cloak was obscuring the majority of their body, so it was difficult to tell how much energy they had left. Ladybug shook her head. At this point it didn't really matter how tired they were: one more person meant one more person to keep this wily akuma on his toes.

"Ghost!" Chat Noir cheered, "It's great to see your smiling face!"

Ghost turned to face him. Then they turned to Ladybug as if to ask ' is he for real right now? '

Maybe Ladybug was projecting, but she completely agreed.

"It's a shapeshifter," Ladybug explained. Ghost's shoulders slumped.

A screech of an eagle pierced the air and with a rush of wind a ginormous eagle flew up from the alley where the goat had fallen. Its wingspan was definitely larger than she was tall; maybe even bigger than her dad! Ladybug didn't know flying birds could get that big.

It screeched again and dove at them, talons outstretched.

They all scattered. It aborted its attack and beat its massive wings to gain more altitude. Ladybug flung her yo-yo at it but it evaded it with a powerful flap. She withheld a groan: flying opponents were so annoying.

"Ghost, Chat, try to hit it next time it attacks."

"Of course, M'Lady," Chat bowed fully, leaving Ladybug to roll her eyes and Ghost to look at him weirdly before nodding.

The eagle screeched and dove, aiming at Ghost -must have held a grudge for getting pushed off a roof- who got closer to the ground. Its talons opened and it plummeted fast.

Ghost ducked and rolled and the akuma missed its attack. It tried to retreat again, only to get caught on the leg with Ladybug's yo-yo. And promptly clobbered on the head by Chat's baton, grounding the bird.

That suddenly wasn't an eagle but a squirrel. A squirrel that skittered away faster than they could react.

"And the predator becomes the prey," Chat Noir joked. "A cat loves a good chase."

Ghost got up from the roof, brushing themself off.

"Not if we can't find them." Ladybug retorted.

Ghost took out a piece of chalk -where did they even keep it on them?- and scribbled out 'as long as the akuma doesnt release the zoo animals'.

"That'd be a cat astrophe!" Chat grinned, oblivious to the fact Ghost had vanished and Ladybug had just taken off. "Wha- Hey! Wait up!"

He vaulted after them.

Good news: The akuma hadn't released more animals.

Suspicious news: The akuma was just sitting in the middle of an abandoned street.

Ladybug eyed the squirrel, who was pressed flat against the concrete. It looked exhausted and miserable, but she didn't think an akuma would just give up like that. It had something up its sleeve. If it was that tired, wouldn't it hide so it had time to rest? But as she watched its eyes slowly start to flutter closed, doubt crept in.

Chat Noir landed next to her. "Well, that was easy."

He strutted up to the collapsed squirrel, eying the tiny little bracelet on its tiny little wrist.

"Be careful-" Ladybug warned.

"It's fine," he dismissed. "Isn't it weird that the bracelet changes size to fit on each animal?"

He reached down to grab the bracelet off the sleeping squirrel.

A rumbling hiss filled the area and Ladybug blinked. Her eyes widened

In the place of the squirrel was a giant crocodile- It had to be longer than ten meters!

"Chat Noir-!" Ladybug yelled, only to watch as the beast opened its jaws and snapped them on Chat Noir's arm.

He screamed.

With a swing of its head Chat Noir went flying into a nearby building. He slumped down. And he didn't get back up.

Ladybug ran over to him. She bent down next to him, registering the blood covering his right arm, his unfocused eyes. "Chat Noir!"

"Wow an angel," He mumbled. He was in shock. "Am I dead...?"

"Now is not the time!" Ladybug almost screamed. She wasn't sure if she was going to burst into tears or laughter. Of course he would make a dumb joke like that when he could be bleeding out! "J-just stay here! Don't move! I'll fix this-"

She didn't know how to fix it. The crocodile's scales were like armor, its reflexes were lightning quick and the bracelet was right next to its mouth. Anyone who tried to get close would get seriously injured.

She needed an idea.

"Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug hurled her yo-yo into the air and caught what looked like a small polka dotted ring. She squinted at it.

"Duct tape? What the hell am I going to use duct tape for?!"

And suddenly Ghost was there. They pointed at the tape and then at themself.

"Do you know what to do?"

They nodded and Ladybug gave them the duct tape. Before witnessing one of the most batshit insane ideas on the planet.

Ghost ran at the crocodile who hissed and snapped at them. Ladybug thought that they were done for as the jaws closed but Ghost dodged forward- through the jaws like they were intangible. The crocodile's mouth snapped closed and Ghost went to work.

They jumped onto the jaws, keeping them closed with Ghost's weight. They unrolled the duct tape and started winding it around the mouth of the massive beast. Its whole body was whipping in an attempt to dislodge Ghost, but they held tight. And soon the crocodile couldn't open its jaws at all. Ghost kept the head pinned before lifting an arm and beckoning Ladybug.

Ladybug couldn't quite comprehend what she just saw.

A few moments later, the bracelet was broken, the akuma was purified, Chat Noir was healed by magic ladybug magic and the city was restored to its former glory - prior to having an elephant duking it out with two superheroes.

Chat Noir didn't return her fist bump with his right fist. He used his left, instead. Ghost vanished like a cryptid and Ladybug went home to ponder the sanity of the world.

. . .

Meanwhile:

"I can't believe Ghost locked me in a closet!" Alya gushed. "Does that mean they're working with Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

Nino sighed. "How are we gonna get out?"

Alya stopped, thought about it, and grinned. "You mean you don't want to play seven minutes in heaven with me?"

Nino blushed. "Shut up , Dude!"

. . .

"I thought Ladybug's powers are supposed to fix stuff." Chase grumbled

"They do!" I retorted.

Chase raised an eyebrow and gestured at my arm, freshly wrapped in clean bandages. "Then explain why you have frickin' gashes from a freaking lion!"

"It was just a graze," I objected, "and it got better."

"Must've been some graze if this is what you call 'better.'"

I sat in silence. Knight looked at me from their position, but didn't offer much backup.

"And don't think I didn't see you wrestling a thirty foot long crocodile, Steve Irwin . Its head was nearly the size of you! You can't do dumb stuff like that!"

"Well I didn't know that I'd stay hurt!"

"Well now you do, so don't be dumb! New rule, if the little voice in the back of your head says 'Chase is gonna yell at me if I do this,' don't do it !"

"Ugh! Whatever!" He was being really condescending. I gestured to my arm. " Ok, Genius, then what am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad or my friends?"

. . .

"Adrien, is your arm alright? You've been holding it a little funky, dude"

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "It's fine, I think I just slept on it wrong."

Then Keana walked into class, looking like she just got into a fight with a blender and lost. Badly.

"Keana!" Adrien's eyes widened. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, what happened, dude?"

"Fell down the stairs."

"Wha- Keana, your house doesn't have-"

"Fell. Down. The. Stairs."

. . .

The crew head 'audition' results were posted outside the band room.

Chase saw his name lined up with Student Director and felt the preemptive need to smash his head against the nearest wall. It was somewhat expected, considering he took the reins in guiding the whole process so far. But he had hoped someone else more qualified would send in a resume. He preferred acting.

He didn't recognize the name of his co-director, Genevieve Durand, but she was probably an upperclassman. The stage manager was Bianca Tremblay. She was in Chase's math class, and gave precisely zero shits, the perfect amount for a stage manager

"C'mon, girl!"

Chase looked over to see an underclassmen drag her friend over to the poster, eyes roaming over the sheet. Her face lit up. "Yes! I got publicity head!"

Her friend blinked, gobsmacked. "I-I got costume chief?!"

He blinked. Marinette? He didn't know she wanted to get involved. But he guessed the whole school was going to be involved in some way, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised. He did know she wanted to be a fashion designer, and this would be good experience. Designing and editing costumes plus the inevitable last minute patch ups that happen seconds before a character needs to get onstage. It was stressful, but Marinette should have her pick of helpers, considering how obsessed people were with fashion in Paris.

Chase didn't recognize Marinette's friend, but it wasn't hard to assume she was the Ladyblog girl. The one Keana thought Nino had a crush on.

Luka somehow managed to get roped up into becoming the mics and sounds person. Luka had limited experience with sound design and system balancing. It was going to be a 'learn on the job' experience. Maybe he could take a class. Poor man.

Now there was a crowd of teens around the sign, complaints bouncing around that they didn't get something they wanted.

"Hey!" Chase shouted over the group. They quieted down a bit and turned to face him. "If any of y'all want to be involved in a crew, the sign up sheets should be up soon."

"What? I thought this was for the crews."

Chase shook his head. "This was for the leaders of the crews, people in charge. One person can't do all of lights and sound or hair and makeup. So there's gonna be sign up sheets for different crews."

"And also, there's going to be a meeting after school, for those who are interested, discussing what the musical will be."

The crowd dispersed soon after, leaving Chase to lament his new leadership position.

The rest of the school day didn't give him enough time to mentally prepare for having to manage an entire gym of crazy french students.

The big question of the meeting was 'what musical did the student body want to perform?'

The suggestions were, as follows:

"Mamma Mia!" Screamed an underclassman from the back row.

"Notre Dame de Paris!" Said an upperclassman, not realizing that an opera like that was beyond the scope and budget of a high school that had no experience with musicals.

"Romeo and Juliet!" Chase wasn't sure if that was a musical, but he wouldn't be surprised.

"Scarlet Pimpernel!" That was Keana. No one else would know something that obscure.

"...Beauty and the Beast?" Disney. Of course.

"Legally Blonde!" Once again, Keana.

"Phantom of the Opera!"

"Hamilton."

"Seussical!"

"Newsies!" Keana needed to stop.

"Little Mermaid."

Chase cut them off. He slightly regretted asking. But at least now they had some idea to go off of. Now he had to hassle Monsieur Garnier to help him with buying the rights to one of them.

Chase glanced over to his Co-director, Genevieve, who was in the middle of pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Chase Luana," he extended his hand.

"Genevieve Durand," she shook it. "This musical is either going to be the best or worst thing that ever happens to us."

They both nodded. It was nice to meet a kindred spirit in these trying times.

. . .

"Heeey, Sugarcube," Plagg grinned mischievously. "You wanted to meet up."

Tikki sometimes wished she wasn't intrinsically tied to this dork. "This is serious, Plagg. That means you need to act serious."

"Do you know me? I never act serious."

"I know." Tikki rolled her eyes. "I need a second opinion on something."

"Wow, you're right! That is serious!"

"Shut up." She flew towards the library, knowing he'd follow her.

She led him to the strange corner, full of corruption but also not.

"Wow, that's weird as fu-"

"Plagg!" Tikki scolded.

"Aw, lighten up, Sugarcube." Plagg complained. "It's like there's nothing there to destroy, which is trippy. There's always something to destroy, down to the atom. And I can see that there's stuff there, but-"

"You can't feel it." Tikki finished. "I can hardly feel the essence."

They both stared at the books. It hadn't spread since the last time Tikki had seen it, but that didn't inspire much confidence. For all of Tikki's eons, this was unknown territory. She had no idea if it would spread further, or return to normal with time. She didn't know what caused it. And that it might be connected to Keana. Which was even more concerning, but she didn't want to tell Marinette, especially now that she's just started warming up to the enigma.

"You don't think it's a symptom of the Fading? Or Madness?"

Tikki shook her head. "I don't know of a kwami who's domain would act out like this..."

"That's a relief." Plagg stretched his tin arms up over his head. "I don't want to deal with another Release."

"Have some tact, Plagg!" Tikki glared.

"What? It's true isn't it?"

"Don't joke about it. I know you don't get out much, but I've lost friends to The Fading and Madness."

Plagg, of course, focused on the wrong point. "I have friends!"

Tikki deadpanned. "I'm the only kwami you regularly talk to."

"I talk with Trix!"

"Yeah, eight decades ago."

"That's a perfectly reasonable gap to go without talking!"

. . .

Knight observed Creation and Destruction argue. The Originals strayed too close to Knight's den. They were curious, as were they.

Knight was outside their dominion. They were never Created. They cannot be Destroyed. They will leave the way they came. They were uncertain if they could leave. That was not important.

They had all they needed.

AN: That took longer than I expected.

Anyway this chapter helps set up the base for the superhero abilities. In this fic, Ladybug and Chat Noir can take a lot of damage, but can't really dish as much out, as seen when Ladybug tries to win a tug of war match with an elephant she loses, because an elephant's trunk can lift over 700 lbs. Ladybug and Chat Noir do have enhanced strength, just not that enhanced. We also learn Ghost can't take as much damage- LB and CN could survive a tiger mauling, but Ghost easily gets cut by a lion's claws. Ghost might be a bit stronger physically, since they managed to wrestle the head of a thirty ft long crocodile (for those who are interested, the head would be around 4'3" in length).

Also:

Alya *deciding to be a good friend and scout for Marinette: Soo, Nino, how would you describe Adrien's relationship with Keana?

Nino: Mildly chaotic. She's made it her mission to educate him on pop culture to varying amounts of success.

Alya: that's not what I meant. Are they dating?

Nino, thinks she's joking: lol no. r u dum? I'm pretty sure she'd barf if she heard u say that.

Alya, reevaluating life: So Adrien's single?

Nino, reevaluating his perception of Alya's sexuality: ...Yeah, Why?

Alya, running away: Bye thx see ya nerd!

I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter.

Consider commenting your thoughts and theories. Perhaps leave a kudos. I live off it please I'm starving.