Chapter Text
Nino sat at his desk, hovering over a piece of paper as one by one, students began to file in. He decided the best way to go about this was to make a list. Write out the pros and cons of everyone he knows, and go from there:
Adrien Agreste: athletic enough, but his overprotective father would stop him from being able to sneak off and fight. (Not that he didn’t sneak out already, but Nino didn’t want to put more strain on his best friend)
Chloe Bourgeois: was clearly trying very hard to be nice, but it was only a matter of time before she slipped back into her old mean ways. In addition, being the mayor’s daughter meant she was followed by paparazzi a lot, and someone would catch on eventually.
Max Kante: smart and forward thinking, but didn’t like to get involved in the action.
Nathaniel Kurtzberg: too shy to be a hero.
Sabrina Raincomprix: a natural born follower, good at following instructions, but couldn’t keep a secret, and was the farthest thing from subtle. She would tell Chloe within the hour.
Alya Césaire: Headstrong, determined, and basically fearless, not to mention loved superheroes, but being the Ladyblogger, she likely would reveal her own identity. (Plus there was no way in hell Nino would put his girlfriend in that kind of danger)
Marinette Dupain-Cheng: showed strong leadership qualities and was brave when needed to be, but was far too clumsy to be a hero.
Mylene Haprele: would be too scared of all of the Akumas and wouldn’t be able to fight them.
Alix Kubdel: was headstrong, but made too many rash decisions, and they already had Chat Noir for that.
Ivan Bruel: frightening appearance, but too much of a pacifist.
Le Chien Kim: See Alix.
Rose Lavillant: had a good sense of right and wrong, but was too nice to fight.
Juleka Couffaine: see Nathaniel.
Nino sighed, feeling like he was getting nowhere. Maybe he was judging everyone a little too harshly. But then again, he was looking for the next hero of Paris, he couldn’t exactly be lax with them.
A group of his classmates then walked in, giggling and pushing each other around.
“I’m so proud of you, girl!” Alya praised.
“Took you long enough,” Lila added.
Marinette went red. “He didn’t exactly say yes.”
“But he didn’t say no, either,” Alya pointed out.
A few feet in front of them, Chloe grumbled, “I can’t believe Adrien agreed to go to the dance with her.”
Sabrina pinched her. “Just be happy for them. You can get any boy you want to go with you.”
Chloe sighed, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Besides, Adrien said so himself, he may have a photoshoot that day.”
“Not the thing you’re supposed to be focusing on, Chloe.”
Nino folded up the paper and shoved it into his bag, before smiling at Alya.
“Hey, honey,” Alya greeted.
“Sup, dear?” He responded.
Lila pretended to gag.
“Oh, shut up,” Alya told her. “Just because I can get a boyfriend and you can’t-”
“If I wanted a boyfriend, I could get one,” Lila quipped.
“Says the girl who doesn’t have a date to the dance,” she teased.
“Listen, it’s nine in the morning, and I haven’t had my coffee. I will kill you.”
“You can’t kill me,” Alya told her. “Who else are you going to experiment with lesbianism with?”
“There’s still Marinette,” Lila said uncaringly, and Marinette squeaked.
“Wait, wait, wait, did you just admit to cheating on me with Lila?” Nino asked, trying not to laugh.
Alya said, “It doesn’t count if we’re experimenting.”
“Oh good, Adrien and I are safe,” Nino heaved a fake sigh.
Alya burst out laughing. “I always knew you two were a little gay for each other.”
“All I’m saying is, you can’t be best friends with someone unless you’re a little gay with them.”
“I feel like I came into this conversation at the wrong time.”
Nino looked up and laughed. “Hey, Adrien. It’s a long story.”
“I don’t even want to know,” Adrien decided, and sat down next to Nino.
Ms. Mendeleiev then walked in and barked, “Everyone to your seats.”
Lila, Marinette, and Alya hurried to their seats, and Nino tried to pay attention, he really did, but his mind kept reverting to his list. His eyes wandered around the room, spying the way Kim passed a note over to Alix, her cheeks going red as she read it and wrote her reply, before passing it back to him, he watched Rose diligently taking notes, not-so-subtly playing footsy with Juleka, Chloe quietly explaining something to Sabrina as the redhead stared at her book in utter confusion, and he could hear Alya still teasing Marinette.
Nino smiled to himself, knowing exactly what he needed to do.
********************
“Yeah man, I know it sucks, but father's freaking out,” Adrien said into the phone. “He swears someone stole something from him, but he won't say what. Whatever it is, it's important enough to return home early.”
“And he has no idea who did it?” Nino asked on the other end.
“He says the security cameras were tampered with,” Adrien answered. “But until he finds it – whatever it is - I'm not allowed to have anyone over.”
“Shitty,” Nino sighed. “What about the dance? You still able to go to that?”
“As far as I know, yeah. It might change between then and now, but I hope not.”
“You better be able to go,” Nino said. “Marinette’s hella excited to go with you.”
“Is she really?” Adrien smiled.
“Well duh,” Nino rolled his eyes.
“I'm glad she's excited, I'm excited too,” Adrien said. “She's a great friend.”
He heard a thump on the other end, and stared at his phone, confused.
“Everything ok, bro?” Adrien asked.
“Yep, fine,” Adrien answered.
“Did you drop your phone or something?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Nino said, when in reality he had hit himself over the head with it in exasperation. “Hold on a sec, bro.”
Adrien waited patiently as Nino talked to someone, and all he caught were the words, “hi”, “Bourgeois”, and “textbook”.
“Are you at Chloe's?” Adrien asked, confused. “Isn't that a bit out of the way for a book?”
“I'm going to Alya's, and it was on the way,” Nino said.
“Ah, ok,” Adrien said understandingly.
“Listen, I'll call you back. I have no clue where her room is, so I gotta ask around.”
“Alright, man, I'll talk to you later,” Adrien said.
“Bye, bro,” Nino said, and hung up.
******
Nino resisted the urge to curse out loud. It's been over two hours, and they still haven't caught the Akuma. Ladybug wasn't kidding when she said the ones that hid were the worst. What more, he had gotten the call in the middle of talking to Chloe, and wasn't able to complete what he had set out to do.
It was a child, too. Some middle child hell bent on making everyone feel as invisible as they did.
“Hey Shelly, any news?” Chat Noir asked, walking over to him.
“Nothin' so far,” Jade Turtle answered with a frown. “Where's LB and Foxy?”
“Following a lead. They sent me to check up on you.”
“Well, I got nothin’, so let's go find the gals,” Jade answered. “Where are they at?”
Chat Noir took out his baton and said, “They’re by the school; looks like they found Malcom in the Middle.”
Jade Turtle chuckled. “Really, dude?”
“I don’t remember his name,” Chat Noir sighed. “After a while, these Akuma’s get a bit repetitive, y’know?”
“I get that,” Jade nodded. “Race ya?”
“It’s on!” Chat said, and the two boys took off, racing to be the first to get to the middle school and assist the girls, but about halfway there, they froze in their tracks.
“I am Elektra!” the Akuma shouted, dressed in all yellow and white with wild black hair.
“That is not Malcom in the Middle,” Chat Noir said, shocked.
“Two Akuma’s?” Jade Turtle sputtered.
“I take back what I said earlier,” Chat Noir said, “I like repetitive and predictable. Two Akuma’s is two too many.”
“We gotta take care of Elektra first, then go help the girls,” Jade said, watching as Elektra electrocuted random civilians. “At least Middle’s just causing trouble; Elektra’s out for murder.”
Chat gave a quick, determined nod. “I’ll alert the girls that there’s a second one, and to come over here ASAP. You outta go and recharge; your time’s almost up.”
“I ain’t leavin’ you to deal with this on your own,” Jade Turtle told Chat Noir.
“I can hold her off while you go recharge,” Chat Noir assured him, and looked up as he saw little ladybug’s flying around in the distance. “Looks like Middle’s finished. You warn the girls and then recharge; I’ll start on Elektra.”
Chat Noir took off before Jade Turtle could protest, and with a frown, Jade opened the little screen on his shield, and a moment later, Ladybug popped up.
“Did ya get the Akuma?” he asked.
“Yes,” Ladybug confirmed, “and we’re dealing with the victim now.”
“Well, put that on hold.” Jade told her. “We have a second one not far from you.”
“What?!” Ladybug cried, eyes wide in shock. “Two at once?”
“It’s a first, I know,” he said grimly. “You and Volpina gotta get here quickly; I gotta recharge and Chat’s alone out there.”
As if to further his point, his miraculous beeped.
“Where are you?” Ladybug asked.
“Republic Street,” Jade said.
“We’re on our way.” Ladybug assured him, and the connection ended.
Jade Turtle ducked away from the public eye, de-transforming behind a building, and then dug out his lunch bag out of his back-pack, and held out some carrots for Wayzz.
“Eat quickly, buddy; we gotta change back soon,” Nino said.
Wayzz nodded and without sparing a moment to comment on the situation, he hurriedly ate his favourite snack, and not two minutes later, Jade Turtle was back in action. Ladybug and Volpina were arriving on the scene just as Jade Turtle did, and Chat Noir had managed to get himself close to the Akuma, realizing too late that he was too close. Elektra got her hands on him, and before anyone could stop her, Elektra shot 10 000 milliamps of electricity into Chat Noir.
Ladybug’s anguished cries filled the air as Chat Noir’s smoking body fell to the ground, before she launched herself at Elektra, hell bent on getting Chat Noir’s revenge.
“Ladybug, be careful!” Volpina shouted, running after her. “Your yoyo’s wire is made out of metal; don’t you dare try and wrap it around her!”
Jade flew into battle, helping Volpina protect a hysterical yet determined Ladybug as she worked out a plan to take down Elektra without getting themselves hurt, and one car battery, three wires, and one very angry Ladybug later, Elektra was back to a simple electrician.
Ladybug didn't spare her a glance as she ran over to Chat Noir, dropping to her knees beside him.
“Please work,” Ladybug whispered, before giving her usual cry of, “Miraculous Ladybug!”
Small ladybug’s swarmed the sky, reversing any property damage and resurrecting the victims, but Ladybug didn’t feel at ease until they surrounded Chat Noir, and she heard a little gasp as life returned to him.
“Oh, thank god,” she whispered, practically collapsing in relief, and Volpina and Jade Turtle, who were standing just off to the side to give Ladybug some space, gave their own sighs of relief.
“What happened?” Chat Noir asked.
“You died while trying to get her Akuma,” Ladybug explained. “She electrocuted you. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry to give you a bit of a shock,” Chat Noir apologized, sitting up.
Ladybug put a hand on his arm. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m positive,” he assured her. “Your miraculous cure saved me, didn’t it?”
“That’s not the point. It doesn’t always work completely, Chat, and you know that,” she said.
He gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you,” he said. “It worked this time, though, but I promise I’ll try to be more careful next time.”
“Thank you,” Ladybug said, and hugged Chat Noir tightly. Chat looked surprised for about 0.5 seconds, before happily hugging her back, burying his face in her shoulder. But unfortunately, a loud beep rang through the air, causing Ladybug to let out a little sigh of irritation.
“Looks like your clock just struck midnight, Cinderella. Shall I expect your presence at tomorrow night’s ball?” Chat Noir asked as he pulled away, grinning.
“Considering we’re patrolling together tomorrow, you shall,” Ladybug responded with a wry smile.
“I’ll be counting down every hour.”
Ladybug rolled her eyes. “And on that note, I’m leaving.”
Chat Noir straightened up so that Ladybug could stand and leave, and he sat there for a moment, watching her go, before waving goodbye to Volpina and Jade Turtle and made his leave.
“You ok, Shelly?” Volpina asked, noticing Jade Turtle’s downcast expression.
“Kinda feel like it’s my fault, y’know?” he said. “If I hadn’t recharged at that moment, Chat Noir wouldn’t have had to fend off Elektra alone.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Volpina assured him. “We both know that Chat would have done something stupid anyways.”
“Maybe, but maybe I could have stopped him from dying.”
“No, you couldn’t,” Volpina said. “The epitome of bad luck; I’m surprised he hasn’t died more often than he has.”
Jade Turtle nodded in agreement. “Ok, yeah, you got a point there. Still a crappy way to go, though.”
“Yeah, I’m no science major, but I’ve received enough nasty shocks in my life to know that that must have hurt like hell. How many volts do you think it took?”
“It’s not actually the volts that kills a person, it’s the amps,” Jade explained.
“Thanks, Professor.” Volpina rolled her eyes.
He snorted. “Look, it’s one of the few things I actually remember from science class.”
“I never pay attention in science class,” she said, “I just don’t find it interesting.”
“That explains your random two a.m. texts of ‘what the hell is dihydrogen monoxide?’, then.”
She laughed. “Low key homework help, and internet jokes I didn’t get.”
“So the girl that lives on the internet doesn’t get an internet joke?” he teased.
“I don’t live on the internet,” she insisted.
“Every time I message you, ‘fuck off, I’m watching a video’, or, ‘I’m on my blog go away’.”
Volpina laughed loudly. “I think it’s more that you text me at the worst times, Shelly.”
“I don’t – we text all day! How can all day be a bad time unless you’re never off the internet?”
“Ok, you’re starting to sound like my boyfriend, and I don’t appreciate it!”
He laughed. “It’s cool; my girlfriend is the same way.”
“I still can’t believe you have a girlfriend.”
“I still can’t believe you roped some sorry sucker into being your boyfriend.”
“Listen, shut up,” she told him, and he laughed. “Seriously though, it’s not your fault that Chat’s an idiot, so don’t feel guilty.”
“Thanks, Foxy,” he said, and held out a fist.
Volpina pounded it, and the two said their goodbyes, before leaving.