Chapter 01: Aera


Chloé Bourgeois absolutely did not panic.

She was too exceptional to.

It didn't matter if she'd somehow woken up back in a hotel room earlier than her custom Kitty Section Alarm clock should have done so.

A whole four and a half years earlier.

It was a testament to her magnificence that she did not freak out and toss her phone at the wall after frantically checking the date and her current location.

If her butler Jean said otherwise, he was a liar!

(But he did still offer her his chest to cry in and gently pat her back until she calmed down, so she'd be sure to make Daddy give him a raise later.

See, Cesaire? Chloé could be grateful.)

So after a quick call to Sabrina, Chloé took a moment to reorganize her thoughts and memories.

She'd visited her mother in New York again, right after the events of Heroes' Day of 2018. Of course, she'd rarely managed to spend any time with her and spent most of her time with Jean instead.

'...ridiculous.' Chloé sighed. 'Utterly ridiculous.'

(She swore to later ask Jean of his favorite pastry and buy it from Dupain-Cheng's bakery.)

Shaking her head, Chloé walked out to the balcony and eyed the distant figure of Majestia, giving an idle wave at US's Strongest Superhero as she flew past (unknowingly earning a wave back thanks to Majestia's Super-Vision).

"Wait." Chloé suddenly perked up in realization. "I'm four years back in the past."

A grin stretched across her face, viciously raw in it's appearance. There were so many things she could change earlier than possible! Adrien's home life! Aunt Emilie! That bitch Lila! The utter hell she caused as Miracle Queen! The complete clusterfuck of a relationship between Adrien and Dupain-Cheng 'cause what the fuck?!

That would require a lot of careful maneuvering. Frankly, it'd be easier to just kick Lila off the Eiffel Tower as a start to all of that, but Ladybug had to ban that 'quick' option.

Which meant... "Urgh... I have to play the 'slow game'."

Chloé rolled her eyes at the thought, but mentally started to plan ahead anyways. After all, she was the Third-in-Command of Team Miraculous (After Ladybug and Chat Noir of course) and wouldn't let her team down, even if they didn't quite exist yet.

Chloé paused in her thoughts as she idly raised her hand towards her hair, horribly missing the absent weight of Pollen's comb as her fingers instinctively searched. "I need a new Miraculous. Pollen answers to somebody else now, anyways."

Casting another gaze towards the city, Chloé felt her smile widen. It was almost a year earlier than when they'd be found, but why should she care about that? If she wanted to leave Queen Bee behind, there was a good replacement nearby, wasn't there?

"If I'm going to do replace Pollen, I better go with the 'A-game'." Chloé flipped her hair and turned about. "Jean! Fetch the chauffeur! I'm going out!"


Chloé strutted imperiously despite the dampness of the cave, innate balance combining with ingrained reflexes that allowed her to be completely unbothered by the unevenness of the rocky ground beneath her.

It had taken a few tries to properly remember which part of the park they'd found it but soon, Chloé would reach her prize- "Aha!"

Chloé stopped before what seemingly looked like a cave-in, but she wasn't fooled. Over three years of being exposed to kwami and their magic had made her quite sensitive. Uncaring of the dirt and damage to her manicured nails and perfect clothes, Chloé showed no hesitation in grabbing the rocks and tossing them aside as she dug towards her prize.

After several uninterrupted minutes of digging, Chloé grinned in triumph as she finally reached her prize and dug it out.

"The Native American Miracle Box." Chloé groaned as she heaved it out from it's 'grave'. Comparable to the 'old' octagonal Chinese Miracle Box, this hexagonal box was made out of a light brown wood, containing six sides with each side having two dark colored buttons with an animal symbol in the center vertically aligned. Just like it's Chinese counterpart, the box's lid had a dark brown design with the symbol of the Order of the Guardians surrounded by patterns in the middle with Native American characters at the edges instead of Chinese wavy detailing. "Let's see now... Yup, just as I remember it."

As she fully opened the Miraculous Box, it showed that several of the Miraculous in them were already missing, with only a total of six still left in it out of the fourteen slots.

"I don't know why you're still here, but it would be utterly ridiculous if I settled for anything less than the best." Chloé plucked out the blue piece of jewelry with red, blue and white round beadwork with a white and blue feather from it's center right from the box's turquoise center. After identifying it's jewelry type, she fixed it over her belt buckle, where it promptly camouflaged itself to resemble a golden bird with outstretched wings and released it's kwami.

Speaking of said kwami, the miniature godling was birdlike with turquoise feathers that possessed golden tips that sparked with electricity, it's red eyes pinning Chloé with the sheerest of indifference.

Chloé was not fond of how the kwami looked at all of her and found her worth only the barest of it's interest.

"Answer me... " Even it's slightly deep voice seemed to rumble like the thunder it's animal counterpart brought about. "Are you the newest in a line of insolent humans seeking to cling to my brilliance?"

"...huh?" Chloé tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. "What's with this grandiose talk? Just how long have you been in there?"

"Very long." The kwami replied with rising intrigue. "You seem to be quite used to my appearance. Who of my kind have you met before?"

"Your Chinese friends. But that doesn't matter now." Chloé raised her hand so that the kwami could rest in her palm. "What matters is that at the moment, there's an enemy giving trouble to the current owners of the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. I'm in need of your services, kwami. So..."

Chloé shook, still struggling to say the p-word. "P-P-Please give me your Name and Invocation."

The kwami tilted it's head before shrugging. "Very well. I am Biiri, the Kwami of Calamity. To invoke my powers, declare 'Darken the skies'."

"Biiri, darken the skies!" Chloé invoked, causing the kwami to be sucked into her belt buckle, shifting the Miraculous into it's active state. Stretching out her hand, the transformative energy crackled down the limb as it spread out over her body and created a turquoise skintight costume with golden lightning detailing and (most important of all) a few zippered pockets. Raising her hands to swipe across her face and create a golden visor with wings by the lenses and a yellow beak shielding her nose, Chloé patted her back and spread them out with a twirl, unfurling two massive feathered wings of metallic structure. With one final elegant twirl, Biiri's emblem manifested behind her for just an instant as she posed.

"Magnificent! Utterly magnificent!" Chloé preened at her new visage, admiring her new costume. She even had wings! Massive types similar to Dark Cupid's but even way better-

"Wait." Chloé's elation dropped as a realization came to her, being filled with rising indignance. "Why didn't Queen Bee have any wings?! Or Vesperia or even Ladybug?! All the things we could've resolved so easily if we could fly...!"

No matter, she'd have to fix that later. She planned on meeting the Guardian later so she could just ask him. Right now however, it was time to use her wings immediately. Just even the thought of it was enough to spread them out, a full eight meters at least. With a little run and instinct Chloé was quite sure didn't belong to her human self, the heroine shot off, swooping through the cave with the Miraculous Box in her secure grasp.

With a whooping screech escaping her lips from the thrill, Chloé flew out of the cave and up into the air, her powerful wings barely flapping as she soared across New York's sky. "Handles like a dream."

As she flew over the Bay area, her visor lit up to zoom in a group to a small group of men slowly converging on a girl inside an alleyway. "Utterly fabulous. Just when I wanted some punching bags."


Zoé Lee huffed as she eyed the men who thought they'd been subtle in trailing after her. Of course, she'd then had to have underestimated their numbers. What had been just three men were now seven of them, cutting her off as they backed her against the alleyway wall.

*Whoosh!*

Just as Zoé grabbed a nearby pipe to defend herself with, a costumed figure suddenly dropped down between her and them.

"Well, well, well..." The winged heroine stretched up to her full height, a scary smile stretched across her lips. "I go on a little fly and look what I find. Ugly mutts hunting down a little bee."

'Little bee?' Zoé raised a confused eyebrow at her description.

"Fuck off, you winged freak!" One of the thugs ran forward and stabbed his knife into the woman's shoulder, only for the blade to snap off at the impact. "H-Huh?"

Tilting her head in a way that reminded Zoé of a bird, the heroine suddenly grabbed the thug and tossed him upwards, the man screaming as he flew straight up until he passed even the roofs of the nine storey buildings and fell down again. Before his fall got to a dangerous speed, the heroine swiftly caught him, her massive wings flapping heavily as she glared down at them all.

"Does anybody else want to fly too?" At her taunt, the other thugs promptly ran away, even leaving behind their accomplice as the heroine tossed him into a dumpster and slammed it shut.

When that was over with, the heroine turned to Zoé now, her aggression completely gone. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not just okay, I'm amazed!" Zoé gushed in awe as she looked upon her savior. Tossing away the now unneeded pipe, Zoé stepped forward for a handshake, resisting the urge to squeal when she was indulged. "You were so cool!"

"Of course I am, but just because I'm cool doesn't mean that you weren't." The heroine replied, a weirdly proud smile on her face. "I totally adore how instead of cowering, you grabbed that pipe and was ready to leave some stings on those mutts, little bee."

"Thanks." Zoé sheepishly replied. "I'm still really glad for your help... uh? Sorry, but are you a new hero? What's your name?"

"...I'm actually just a visiting hero from France. As for my name, you can call me... Aera." The heroine's wings gave a little flutter at that. "Unfortunately, I'll be leaving again soon."

"Oh, no." Zoé wilted in disappointment. "Will I ever see you again?"

Aera looked down at her curiously, her red eyes filled with vivid emotion. "...you will. I'm sure we'll meet again, little bee. Utterly sure."

So with that, Zoé gasped as Aera's wings spread out and flapped once with immense power, causing a massive surge of wind as the heroine flew up and away into the distance.

"Wow..." Zoé gushed as she watched the heroine disappear from her sight. "So cool."


"Jean!"

Jean could have cried in relief as he and the chauffeur turned to regard the girl they'd been searching for in the past hour. "Mademoiselle, where have you been?"

"I've been exploring, Jean! Obviously!" Chloé snapped back, although he could tell it didn't have her usual heat, still seemingly happy over something. "I just ran into someone very important a while ago."

Jean blinked before deciding not to question it. "I see, then. If that is all, will you be willing to return to the hotel? We still need to pack for our return to Paris."

"Fine, whatever." Chloé walked past him while slapping a plastic bag into his arms. "Be grateful, Jean. I was in a really good mood and decided to get you a gift."

Jean looked into the bag and was caught between humor and exasperation.

It was full of mustache care products.


Wang Fu expected many things in his days as both a Guardian and a Miraculous holder, practically attuned to the chaos that haunted his steps.

Even so, it was still a heavy surprise to see Chloé Bourgeois barge into his massage parlor. Even more so with the first sentence that passed her lips.

"You're still the Guardian before Ladybug took over right?!" Chloé immediately started out with as she dropped a Miraculous Box before him. "Who was Hawkmoth's latest Akuma?! Not the civilian name, the Akuma's!"

"...Weredad, just last week." Fu cautiously replied. "I imagine that you have many questions, Queen Bee."

"No, I am not Quee-" Chloé paused before frowning as she looked aside. "Weredad? If I remember correctly... Miracle Queen really hasn't happened yet! Although Queen Wasp definitely has..."

"...are you alright, Queen Bee?" Fu frowned in concern for the girl before him. While he was curious on how she knew of him and where she'd gotten the Miracle Box, there was still the pressing fact that he could feel temporal magic wafting off her and knew well enough that it belonged to neither Sass nor Fluff. "Are you having problems with your memories?"

Chloé scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see you remember events from four years ago with perfect clarity, old man."

'...four years?!' "You've been thrown backwards in time, Queen Bee." Fu frowned. Matters related to time were of extreme seriousness. "Was it deliberate or accidental?"

"On my part? Absolutely not intentional!" Chloé snarled, her manicured nails scratching against the Miracle Box on her lap. "The notion of me abandoning the happy ending I clawed my way to thanks to my sister is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Right, Biiri?"

"Spare me your troubles, Chloé." A kwami floated out of the teenager's jacket. "So long as you keep using my powers to strike down evil, I care not for your hassles."

"You little...!" Chloé snatched Biiri out of the air to glare at him. It was only the utter lack of fear from the kwami that allowed Fu to keep calm at the probable mistreatment. "After all the steak I feed you, this is how you respond to my emotional trauma?! Even as briefly as I had her, Pollen was better than you at being my kwami!"

"First of all, rude. I am superior to the Kwami of Subjection." Biiri rolled his eyes. "Second of all, didn't you admit to being Ladybug's enemy for a lot longer than you were her ally?"

"That... was my fault." Chloé reluctantly growled out. "Frankly, if it wasn't for my sister acting like a total Naruto to my Sasuke, I'd have no positive relations to Ladybug and Chat Noir."

As much as Fu wanted to ask, he knew better. Chloé Bourgeois had no current malice against Ladybug and that was enough for the Guardian. "So what is it you wish to know, Queen Bee?"

"Three things." Chloé clarified with raised fingers. "To start with, how can I get back home to my own time?"

"You can't." Fu solemnly replied. "I regret to inform you of this, but I have no idea of trying to send you to your proper timeline. The Guardians have always made a point of destroying anything related to time magic due to the damage it could cause. Not even Fluff's holders were ever permitted to leave any physical records of whatever they did."

"UUUUUUUUUURGH!" Chloé groaned heavily. "Yeah, I expected that much. As jerkish as those monks tend to be, I almost can't even fault them of this. Second question, then. How do I become a Guardian for this Miracle Box?"

Fu's jaw dropped. "You wish to become a Guardian?"

"Of course, I do." Chloé crossed her arms. "By now, Ladybug should've gotten started on slowly forming Team Miraculous, even if she doesn't realize it yet. I'll need to form my own team as an addition to hers."

Fu frowned. While he did allow Ladybug to form 'temporary' allies now and then... "Hawk Moth and Mayura, they are truly dangerous enough to create an entire new Order amongst yourselves in the future?"

"Not the current holders of the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses." Chloé clarified. "That man at least has standards that she doesn't hesitate to cross."

Despite wanting more answers from the clearly infuriated girl, Fu resisted the urge. The less he knew of the future, the better. "Very well, then. While there is normally a very long process to this, there is certainly nothing normal about this. Listen carefully and repeat after me while focusing on your inner magic: "I, Chloé Bourgeois, hereby declare myself as the Guardian of this Miracle Box." Since you have Biiri as your kwami, seeing as he is the highest authority of that Box, it should work for you."

"Okay, then." Chloé hummed. "Final question, then. Can you vouch for me when Ladybug and Chat Noir come asking. I will debut as Aera soon enough, but considering the problems that happened the last times a 'new heroine' debuted without Ladybug's say-so..."

"You truly have grown, Chloé Bourgeois." Fu commended as the only two times that happened, Queen Bee herself was the second one. "The Chloé of this time isn't nearly this-"

"Thoughtful?" Chloé interrupted with a raised brow.

"...wise." Fu clarified. "The you of this time is rather... impulsive."

"That's a kind way to call my younger self a moronic attention whore." Chloé heartlessly mocked herself. "At least by now, I know the proper people to get attention from."

"You should be kinder to yourself, Chloé." Fu gently chided as the girl got up to leave. "Is this not a second chance for you? A chance to atone for any mistakes you may have made?"

God knows how many nights he wished the same for himself.

Chloé paused as she opened the door. "I've made plenty of mistakes, Guardian. There are many Akuma I've caused just by being myself to others. You want to know my greatest mistake?"

Fu shivered at the words she looked him in the eye to say. "Shaming my little bee by being born as her elder sister."

Then she left, leaving Fu very concerned.


KingVessel: Okay, give me your thoughts.