Adrien sat down in the make-up chair within a trailer as he looked at his father on a tablet screen.
"It will be an excellent promotion for the upcoming opening of our stores in Korea and China." Gabriel said as he stood before his computer monitor while Adrien could only grow more panicked as he was handed a costume. Adrien looked down at the familiar costume in his hand, almost an exact replica.
"But Father—"
"I've been designing Clara's costumes since she started out. She was very pleased with my humble suggestion of using you. She's only seen you in our advertisements, but she does admire you a lot. I'm hoping you won't let us down." His father said with the tone of, you-have-no-say-in-the-matter.
Adrien looked down, dejectedly. "Of course not, Father."
"Don't look so glum. I hear the person Clara chose as Ladybug is around your age." His father remarked as Adrien looked back up at him in surprise.
"Huh?" Adrien looked back at him curiously before Nathalie walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Marin sighed as he stood before the Grand Palais feeling overwhelmed by all the Auditionees for Clara Nightingale's video who gathered out front. Marin held the straps of his messenger bag, looking like a child who just lost their parent against a sea of fans.
"Uh, excuse me..." Marin murmured trying to get someone to help but was too timid. He sighed heavily moment before he was tackled from behind, shaking him to his core as he then looked back to see Rose hugging him. Mylène, Juleka, Alix and Alya walked up with surprised looks on their faces.
"Hiya cutie, I didn't know you were coming here." Alya greeted.
"Uh, yeah...I-"
"Are you here to see Clara too?! She's amazing isn't she?!" Rose said with glee releasing him from her embrace.
Mylène stepped forward, "Are you trying out to be an extra?"
"Um-"
"An extra? The boy can hardly ask for directions let alone dance on a stage." Alix remarked. "Uh, no offense."
Marin sighed heavily, "I'm not exactly here to try out, I just need-" As he was about to explain someone placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch for a moment as he looked back to see Penny standing nearby.
"There you are." She said with a concerned expression on her face. "Come on, they're waiting in the back for you." She said as Marin waved to his friends, following the manager as his anxiety was morphed into relief.
In a dressing trailer, Adrien looked at himself in the mirror with an almost exact replica of his costume, growing more anxious as he held the mask in his hand.
Plagg hovered nearby with an amused expression on his face. "Great choice of fabric! And these seams!" He remarked taking a closer look. "Amazing craftsmanship!"
"There's no way I can wear this!" Adrien exclaimed.
"Yeah, I've always found that little bell so ridiculous! Then again, the costume is what you really wanted deep down, isn't it?" Plagg commented as Adrien hid away the mask under some nearby towels.
"No, Plagg. I mean that everyone's gonna realize that I'm the real Chat Noir! And cats wear bells what are you even- you know what, not important. Because people are going to find out I'm Chat Noir because my father decided to dress his son up like a CAT!"
"No way! People are blind." Plagg said as Adrien suddenly snapped to attention when he heard a knocking on the door.
"Hello?" The person from the other side asked as Adrien kept his eyes trained on it.
" Aah, uh, coming! Just a sec!" He called out with a nervous smile turning back to his Kwami. "If they see me with that mask on, they're all gonna recognize me for sure! All I can do is try to act as lame as I possibly can. Hopefully, they'll have no choice but to replace me." He explained with a whisper as Plagg rolled his eyes, flying into Adrien's bag.
Just as Adrien stepped out he accidentally surprised the person that about to enter the trailer, knocking him back. His eyes lit up as a smile drew on his face, all previous anxiety disappearing.
"Marin, you're here?!" He asked as he quickly helped his friend to his feet, holding onto his hand.
"I- I mean, I'm just here for..." Marin rambled for a moment as he then noticed Adrien's costume, his face reddened, surprising Adrien. "You're Chat Noir?" He asked in defeat as Adrien looked at him curiously.
"Yeah, my father recommended me. " Adrien explained smiling nervously. "Looks a little ridiculous on me doesn't it?"
"No, no I mean, " Marin chuckled to himself, rubbing the back of his head. "I think you look kinda cool..." He said with a reddened face.
Butterflies started to flutter in Adrien's stomach as he heard that compliment, just before he could respond, a woman with pink hair walked up to them. "Your costume." She said handing Marin a white bag. He thanked her before she walked off, seemingly coordinating the event as she had a headset and microphone.
"You're going to be in this music video too?" Adrien asked in shock as Marin nodded shyly. "How did that happen?"
"Long story short, I made Clara's new microphone, and she asked me to do it."
"And you just agreed?" Adrien asked in surprise, "You're the last person I would think would want to perform."
Marin sighed, "I didn't really want to, but I couldn't say no when she started talking about her dreams." He shrugged as a chuckle escaped Adrien's lips as Marin smiled shyly. "Yeah, I think it's gonna be a disaster too."
"No, it's not that. It's just, very like you to agree to this." Adrien said walking down the stairs. "I guess I'll see you out there?"
Marin nodded as he walked into the trailer, "Yeah, see ya I guess."
Marin groaned as he looked at himself in the mirror after removing all of his hairpins. His hair was a mess, the longer locks framing his face as few strands refused to stay down. "Great, now I'm an athletic clown that looks like he doesn't own a hairbrush." He said, placing the mask on his face.
"This looked too similar, what if people discover that you're Ladybug?" Tikki asked in concern as she recognized that Marin was almost an exact copy of his hero counterpart.
But he laughed dryly, "There's more to Ladybug than just a face Tikki. And with my coordination, I'll be lucky if Clara doesn't decide to replace me after seeing my dancing skills. Besides," He said walking to the door, "so long as no one realizes it's me in this thing then I think I can pull this off." He said. as Tikki flew into his bag.
"Thank you for coming, all of you! This is like a dream come true! Together we'll all dance and sing; It's going to be awesome and amazing!" Adrien overheard as he walked up to the stage area where Nathalie was waiting with his father on video call. He looked over his son's appearance with a stern expression on his face.
"The costume fits you like a glove, as I knew it would. But, where is your mask?"
Adrien tensed up, "Uh, I couldn't find it anywhere." He said, bluntly lying to his father who narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"I'll take care of it!" Someone called out as Adrien momentarily cursed their existence.
"It's no biggie; it's okay." Someone sang as he looked up to the idol Clara with a star emblemed microphone in her hand and a bright smile on her face. She helped him onto the stage as he felt a rush of guilt. Clara was nice, just because he was fearful of his secret identity being found out, didn't mean he had to go out of his way to ruin her project. "We don't need the mask for tryouts anyway-" She said as someone walked before them, skipping the lines dressed as Ladybug, down to the dark-haired wig.
"Thank you all for coming. You can go home now. Your "Ladybug" has arrived!" Chloé stated as Adrien cringed at the sight of his childhood friend. "So when does the shoot begin?"
Adrien sighed, "Chloé, everyone has to audition. You know that." He remarked.
Chloé smirked, walking onto the stage. "Oh yeah, that little formality." She remarked before jumping into a series of acrobatics and dance moves, surprising even Adrien. Once she finished, the crowd cheered as Chloé smirked to herself. "Eight years of private classes with Aurélie Dupont from the Paris Op-er-a. I know. I'm breathtaking."
Adrien was stunned, he knew Chloé had always had a passion for dance, but he thought that she gave all that up when her mother left.
"You've definitely got enough talent for me, but the Ladybug is already chosen, you see." Clara apologized with song as all eyes were on her.
"WHAT?!"Chloé shouted in anger, removing her wig.
"I'm really sorry, what's-your-name, a miscommunication seems to be at blame. But you can still be an extra in the video, if you're game!" Clara sang, trying to console her, but someone else caught here attention. Ah!There you are! -" She sang suddenly, running off the stage.
Chloé was outraged, staring at the idol who had the audacity to walk away from her. "What?! You want me to be a mere...extra?!" She demanded then saw the Ladybug being pulled on stage and grew even more angry, stomping off the stage and towards the exit. "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous"
Adrien was entranced as his attention was on the Ladybug that Clara was leading on stage, quickly introducing him to everyone. "Here's a hug, Because you are our Ladybug!" Clara announced as the Ladybug averted his gaze nervously as all eye were on him. He was remarkably similar replica to the original, save for a few rough edges. "Spot on! And spotlight!" She announced then tuning towards the two chosen as she placed the Ladybug right next to Adrien. "So, you're Ladybug and you're Chat Noir." She said pointing to the two.
"No! Uh...uh...yeah!" They both stammered together, exchanging a nervous glance as Clara radiated excitement.
She guided them both on the dance moves needed. Adrien followed her moves down to a tee, but noticed that she was giving special attention to the Ladybug who was lagging behind, clearly not used to choreography.
"Sorry." He murmured, even though Clara smiled at him. She hummed for a moment as she glanced at the two, clearly noticing their lack of chemistry.
" Your dance moves need to be synchronized if you can..." She said as a cheeky smile dawned. "So you'll need to hold each other by the hand!"
Both of them looked at each other in surprise. Adrien was the first to break the tension, holding out his hand as the Ladybug looked nervous, turning his head away as he held out his hand.
" Not like that. Don't be shy!" Clara scolded, making them hold hands. "Like lovers do. Give it a try!" She encouraged as both their faces reddened. Adrien tried to make eye contact with the Ladybug but he was really good at avoiding attention.
"One final task: Put on the mask."
Adrien froze for a moment. "Uh, I didn't see it. I looked everywhere in the dressing room for it but it was..." He glanced at the other Ladybug nervously who was already wearing the mask, "..nowhere to be found!"
"It's okay! I found it!" The same stagehand from earlier called out as Adrien glared at him. Clara ran over to him, taking the Chat Noir mask and quickly handing it to Adrien.
"Go ahead, put them on, you, we've got a lot of singing and dancing to do!" She cheered.
Adrien looked down at the mask in his hand, turning his back towards the people for a moment as had no idea what to do. Anything he did reflected his father's image as well, so it wasn't like he could get angry or throw a tantrum. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place...
Marin could see his friend's displeasure as he held the mask in his hand. He took a deep breath, turning to Clara.
"Would you mind if we took a minute?" He asked. At first she gave him a surprised expression, but as she looked at Adrien who had his back turned she nodded supportively, addressing the audience as Marin walked back over to his friend. He stepped to the side of him, gaining his attention as he nervously a lock of hair behind his ear. "We can take a minute if you want." He suggested, tilting his head towards a nearby sitting area.
Adrien glanced at him for a moment before sighing heavily, nodding as he followed the taller boy. As they both sat across from each other Adrien spoke up."Ah, hi, Adrien. I'm sorry I didn't get to introduce myself earlier." He said, holding his hand out but was surprised as the Ladybug chuckled removing his mask for a moment. His eyes widened in surprise as his friend was the one standing before him.
"Nice to meet you, but I think we've met before." Marin joked as he stared at his friend for a moment as he hid his face from the audience with his hand.
"You're Ladybug?!" He gasped in surprise as Marin nodded shyly.
"Disappointed you have to work with me?" He asked nervously. But Adrien immediately shook his head, relieved as at least there was a familiar friendly face here.
"Of course not." Adrien said easily, but his smile turned into an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm not living up to the whole, cool cat persona Chat Noir has." He joked, disappointed in himself that he wasn't as amazing as his other counterpart, his friend's favorite hero.
"Just because you're nervous?" Marin asked placing the mask back on.
"Kinda..." Adrien murmured. "I wish I could wear the lucky charm you gave me, I could use some courage right about now." He sighed lowering his head, but was shocked as Marin, quite forwardly, took Adrien's hand, slapping them together as the shorter boy flinched fro a moment. He was confused for a moment, but then recalled the gesture, a smile breaking out on his face.
"Seriously?" He asked as Marin nodded with an encouraging nod. Adrien gelt a warmth bubble into his chest, the problem still hung over his head like a dark cloud, but he couldn't help but feel a little hopeful as he took a deep breath. " I am Adrien Agreste. I'm a fantastic person, an amazing friend, and am someone whose confidence inspires others. But above all..." Adrien said with a light-hearted smile, laughing through the words as Marin tried to suppress his own giggles. "I have a beautiful smile."
Both of them broke into laughter as someone then slammed the doors open of the building, catching everyone's attention. All eyes were on the Mayor who was walking in with a large stack of papers and Chloé smirking smugly beside him.
" I'm sorry. My administrative staff just realized you never submitted permit A38 as stipulated in the circular B65 that one can only get at counter C, third floor of City Hall, which is, alas, closed for renovations until August, which means you don't have a permit to shoot...anywhere in France, including Paris." The Mayor said as he handed all the papers to Clara, who was stunned.
"I...I don't understand!" She said, no longer singing.
"It means no more dancing, no more singing today," Chloé said cruelly as she took Clara's microphone, throwing it on the ground as the idol fell to her knees, holding it in her hands as tears started to fall. "The nightingale can spread her wings, and fly away! Oh! Did you hear that? I made a rhyme! How talented am I?" She laughed as she walked past the idol.
"No! The video needs to be shot here, in Paris, the capital of love, the city of Ladybug and Chat Noir...I'm so sorry, my beloved fans!" She apologized running past Adrien and Marin and into the trailer.
Marin's expression fell as he chased after Clara as Adrien glared at Chloé who was looking proud at her own actions, while her father at least had a semblance of guilt.
"The show is over! You all have to leave now." Chloé laughed triumphantly as everyone started to disperse.
Adrien took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger as he turned back to Marin who knocked on the trailer door, trying to coax Clara out of her trailer. All of a sudden, he was thrown back as the door suddenly opened, revealing a new Akumatized villain. Her attention was on Chloé who was still laughing, jumping towards the top of a nearby trailer.
"Chloé, watch out!" Adrien called out as the new villain hit Chloé and her father with her whip.
"Sing, dance or rhyme, or you'll be frozen in no time!" She warned as Adrien backed away, turning a corner. His back was against the trailer as Plagg phased through.
Adrien smiled at his Kwami, "Ready to shake a leg?"
"I'm much better at singing," Plagg remarked.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Marin rubbed the back of his head painfully as he noticed people were being turned into statues. He lost sight of Adrien but spotted the rest of his friends were already turned into statues. He quickly sprinted into the trailer, closing the door behind him as Tikki then flew out.
"Good thing you're already in costume." She joked as Marin couldn't help but chuckle.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Outside the Grand Palais Ladybug landed on the roof as he saw the new villain was rapidly turning more people into statues by the second, hitting others with her whip which was originally her microphone.
"Sing, dance or rhyme, or you'll be frozen in no time!" The villain announced as she laughed.
Ladybug narrowed his eyes, throwing his yo-yo as it wrapped around her leg, tripping her as Ladybug jumped down. He earned a glare from the new villain as she grabbed the string from his yo-yo.
"I'm Frightningale from here on out, Forever and ever, there's no doubt! And if you stand in my way, there'll be a price to pay!" She sang as she jerked the yo-yo towards her, and along with it Ladybug who was sent flying, landing on his back as Frightningale grabbed his neck. "Song and dance will make the world a better place." She remarked pinning him down using her enhanced strength, her smiled faded for a moment as Ladybug only glared at her. "Don't agree with me? Ha! Then you're a disgrace!" She cried out angrily, about to use her whip until it was knocked out of her hand.
"Do you mind if I join the dance?" Chat Noir asked as he rested his head on his staff.
Frightningale growled, leaping after her weapon as Ladybug jumped back onto his feet. He grabbed his yo-yo standing together with Chat Noir against Frightningale.
"Do you really think the two of you can win this battle through and through?" She sang as both heroes dashed towards her. Ladybug knelt for a moment as Chat Noir used him as a ramp to jump from above as he threw his yo-yo towards Frightningale's leg's. However, the villain easily evaded them gracefully as she grabbed Chat Noir's arm, throwing him towards Ladybug who caught him in his arms, both of them then being hit by Frightningale's whip. Ladybug blinked for a moment as he placed Chat Noir down, noticing that the two of them were surrounded by a pink aura as Frightningale laughed.
"Welcome to my musical show. I hope it will be your fatal blow!" She cackled as Ladybug began to turn into a statue, while Chat Noir tried to attack again. He grabbed his partner's tail.
"Wait! Stay right here and dance, or else you'll be frozen without a chance!" Ladybug rhymed as his transformation stopped, tapping his foot to a beat.
"Yeah, you're right. We have to rhyme. Not so easy, um...all the time?" Chat Noir rhymed as the two evaded another attack, trying not to get frozen.
"We both don't mean to do any harm, so allow me to activate my Lucky charm!" Ladybug said throwing his yo-yo into the air as Chat Noir held off Frightningale. A pair of handcuffs fell into his hand as he suddenly pulled Chat Noir back, the two of them ducking for cover as Frightningale laughed maliciously.
"You think you two are being so clever, But soon you'll tire yourselves, and be frozen forever!" Frightningale warned.
Chat Noir smiled at his partner cheekily as they both danced in place behind a bus. "My sweet Bugaboo, I believe the Lucky charm agrees, that perhaps you'd like to be closer to me-hey!" he said but wasn't expecting Ladybug to fall to his knees, unbuckling his belt, locking it around their ankles, then doing the same with the cuffs to their wrists. "A little warning would be nice, you know." He said as Ladybug flashed him an apologetic smile.
"Chat Noir you're always walking around with such optimism. Would you mind leading me in this dance, using your..." Ladybug said as Chat Noir looked at him in confusion, then flashed him a toothy grin as he held his hand up.
"Cataclysm!" He said, activating his power just in time as Frightningale slashed the bus clean through, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the two heroes bound together.
Frightningale glared at the two of them, "You can't bend the rules! Dancing tied up is cheating, fools!" She remarked, dashing towards them, but was met with resistance as both of them kicked her back.
"When someone's akumatized," Ladybug started to say as the two walked up to her.
"We never compromise." Chat Noir finished as Frightningale crawled back, looking a little fearful as she kept trying to hit them with her whip. But she soon retreated back into the building as she was being pursued.
"Feeling unsteady? Then you must have realized that you've lost already!" Chat Noir remarked as the two broke into a sprint, catching Frightningale off guard as they kicked her weapon out of her hand, catching it together as it was destroyed when it came into contact with Chat Noir's power, freeing the Akuma. Ladybug removed the cuffs, throwing them into the air as Chat Noir unbuckled the belt.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Both of them called out as everything turn back to normal.
"No more mischief from you little Akuma. Time to purify!" Ladybug said as he swung his yo-yo towards the possessed Akuma, capturing it in one motion. Then opening it once more, watching the newly purified Akuma fly away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."
Ladybug and Chat Noir bumped fists victoriously as Clara turned back to normal. Ladybug helped her to her feet."Ladybug? Chat Noir! What are you doing here?" She asked in confusion, but as he handed back her broken microphone. She looked at it sadly.
"Anything can be repaired you know, so don't try to handle this problem solo." Ladybug offered, whispering something in her ear as Clara smiled in appreciated.
Marin and Adrien stood in the library with the rest of their classmates looking at the new music video that included almost all of them. Adrien scanned the video in surprise as he jabbed Marin in the side gently, trying to get his attention.
"You're not in this one?" He asked as Marin looked away sheepishly.
"I'm not a fan of the camera." Marin admitted, growing nervous as Adrien gave him a mischevious grin.
"But you seemed so eager to become Ladybug?" He joked as Marin chuckled.
"There's no way I could be Ladybug." He said, "I honestly thought Clara would replace me as soon as she saw me dance. But you ruined that plan." He sighed as Adrien glanced at him curiously. "There's no way I could've let you do that alone." He clarified as Adrien smiled fondly at him, but the taller boy immediately broke through the fondness, rubbing the back of his head. "Besides, me as Ladybug? That's a recipe for disaster."
Adrien chuckled. "Probably, but it would be worse if I was Chat Noir. All that pressure to save the day, no thanks."
"I think you'd be a good Chat Noir." Marin said.
"Because of my sense of humor?" Adrien asked.
"No." Marin remarked, folding his hands behind his back, hanging his head with a small smile on his face.
Because you're just as kind.
"Oh, but please don't tell Alya what I did today, please, she would never let me forget I did this." Marin pleaded as he clapped his hands together pleadingly, his face burning at the memory as Adrien placed his hands on his hips.
"Sure, but you owe me big time." He said with a sly expression, laughing as simply Marin stuck his tongue out at him.
Notes:
- Originally there was a written segment where Marin made her microphone and met with her. But it didn't flow that well.
-I love Clara, but i did not like writing this chapter. To much rhyming
- Marin just utterly believes no one would seriously think he'd Ladybug because he believes he too different from his counterpart.