Chapter Text
The room was quiet at first. The only light that could be seen were minuscule beams bleeding from between the curtains. Lying on the bed was a crumpled wad of blanket and pillow, roughly the size of a person. The clock on the dresser turned to 6:30, and started to wail loudly. The wad of blanket squirmed and fell off the bed, revealing a mildly pudgy fifteen year old boy wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. He pushed himself up, stumbled to the dresser, and turned off the alarm.
Geez, he thought, how hard is it to adjust to a new time zone? Oh well, time to get ready for school. He stumbled to the upstairs bathroom and brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror, and grabbed a hairbrush. He ran it through his messy brown hair, removing most of the tangles and cowlicks. He then grabbed a comb and made a part in the right side, taking care of the remaining tangles, but pulling out some hair in the process.
“‘Bonjour,’” he said to his reflection, “'Je m’appelle Pat.’ Sounds good.”
Pat ambled down the stairs into the kitchen, wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a t-shirt bearing the image of a heart-shaped pipe bomb with the words “CDXX presents Modern Imbecile”. He grabbed a box of store-brand Chex, and sat down at the kitchen table across from his host father, Abram, who was reading the news on his tablet while sipping his coffee.
“Morning, Pat.” he said, “Sleep well?”
“No,” Pat replied as he poured his cereal, “still jet lagged.”
“Hm. It’s been a few days, you should’ve adjusted by now.”
“Well, hopefully I can get back on track soon.” Pat finished his bowl of cereal and put his dishes in the sink.
“Don’t forget to wash those.” Reminded Abram.
“Right.” Pat acknowledged before washing the dishes and putting them up to dry.
“I’m off to school now.” Pat continued as he grabbed his backpack.
“Okay, see you later.” Abram said as Pat walked out the door.
Pat stepped through the double doors that served as the entrance to Collége Françoise Dupont, and gasped in awe at the courtyard before him.
Definitely a step up from America. Pat thought. To him, it felt like he was in an open-air school. The whole courtyard was set up like a gymnasium, with the classrooms off to the sides; a far cry from the maze of roofed hallways that made up American high schools. Pat looked at his printed schedule, and saw that he was in Miss Bustier’s class for homeroom.
“Great. I don’t know where that is.” Pat looked around at the various classrooms, and noticed in the corner of his eye a blond boy, about his age, in a white jacket and blue jeans.
“Excuse me?” Pat asked the boy.
“Oh, hey.” he said.
“Sorry to bother you, do you know where Miss Bustier’s room is?”
“Oh, yeah. Follow me.”
“No, you can just tell me and I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“It’s no trouble, really. I’m in her class, too.”
“Oh, okay then.” The blond boy motioned for Pat to follow, and led him up the stairs on the side of the courtyard, and down the open corridor until they reached a door, with a window through which an orange wood room could be seen.
“Thanks,” Pat said, “what’s your name?”
“Adrien.” said the blond boy.
“Well, I owe you big time, Adrien.” Pat entered the classroom, and looked around for an empty seat. Adrien took a seat next to a student wearing a blue shirt and headphones, leaving only one seat remaining, next to a pale, redheaded boy wearing an orange superhero tee under his gray jacket. Pat walked up to the boy, who was sketching something on a piece of paper concealed by his arm.
“Hi,” Pat said as he set his bag down on the table, “mind if I sit here?” The redhead looked up, his eyes obscured by his bangs.
“No.” he said before returning to his drawing. Pat sat down and grabbed his notebook from his bag. A tall, thin woman entered the room and walked to the chalkboard at the front of the room.
“Good morning, everyone.” she said, “First of all, I’d like to welcome our new foreign exchange student from the United States, Pat McNeil.” Pat waved at the woman, whom he took to be Miss Bustier.
“I’m Miss Bustier,” she continued, “I teach language arts here at Collége Françoise Dupont, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I hope you enjoy it here in Paris.”
“Thanks.” Pat said.
“Now, if you would please open your textbooks to page 35...” Miss Bustier started as all the students in the class reached for their books.
After class, Pat went to leave the classroom. While he walked, he passed a thin black-haired girl in a black jacket and pink pants.
“Hi.” she said, waving at him.
“Hey.” Pat replied. The girl leaned to reach her hand over the table.
“I’m Marinette, nice to meet you.” Pat grabbed Marinette’s hand to shake it, but she lost her balance due to the leaning and fell onto the table. Pat bit his lip to stifle a chuckle.
“Sorry,” Marinette said, “I’m a klutz.”
“No worries. It was nice meeting you, Marinette.”
“You too.” Pat walked out of the classroom.
Pat got the hang of navigating the school quickly, and found his way to Ms. Mendeleiev’s room very quickly when the time came to go to chemistry. Once again, the only empty seat was next to the red-haired boy, so Pat sat next to him.
“Okay, class,” Ms. Mendeleiev growled, “Since we have a new student, I’ve decided to spend the beginning of class going over lab safety. Pat, welcome to the class. Please take notes.”
“Thanks, Ms. Mendeleiev.” Pat responded.
“The rest of you pay attention as well. Last lab, someone nearly burned their hair off.”
“Don’t remind me!” Whined a blonde haired girl in the front row in a yellow jacket and white pants.
“Now,” Ms. Mendeleiev continued, “first rule of lab safety is to never bring food or drink...” Ms. Mendeleiev started as Pat dug out his notebook. As he started to take notes, he noticed that the boy next to him was sketching in his notebook, his eyes nowhere near Ms. Mendeleiev. Pat pondered for a moment, and gave him a slight nudge to get his attention.
“Listening?” Pat whispered as he wrote.
“We go over this every lab.” he said, “It’s always the same.”
“I don’t know, a refresher couldn’t hurt. Safety is important.”
“I suppose you’re right.” The red-haired boy closed his sketchbook and focused on Ms. Mendeleiev.
“If you have long hair,” Ms. Mendeleiev continued, “tie it back before doing any labs, especially when dealing with flammable substances. It may not sound like a huge deal, but trust me,” Ms. Mendeleiev looked back at the blonde girl, “it is.” Ms. Mendeleiev continued her lecture on safety for a few minutes before finally stopping.
“Any questions?” Ms. Mendeleiev asked. No one responded. “Pat, any questions?”
“No, Ms. Mendeleiev,” Pat replied, “I got it.”
“Okay then. Class, open your books to page 52, we’re starting a new unit today on chemical bonds.” The class opened their books as Ms. Mendeleiev began to lecture yet again.
Once the lecture was over, Pat started to pack up his bags, but turned to the red-haired boy, who was about to pack up his sketchbook.
“Hey, can I see your drawings?” Pat asked. The redhead looked at him for a moment.
“No,” he said, “you wouldn’t want to see them.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re good. At the very least, better than anything I’ve ever drawn.” The boy sighed and handed Pat his sketchbook. Pat flipped through some of the pages, which featured strips of comics depicting a woman in a red jumpsuit with black spots fighting various other costumed characters.
“Hey, I recognize her!” Pat said, “That’s the superhero who works around here... Ladybug, right?”
“Yeah, that’s her.” The redhead admitted. Pat continued to flip through until he reached a page depicting a male superhero. Pat didn’t get a chance to take the comic in, however, before the red-haired boy grabbed the book back.
“Sorry, I didn’t want you to see those. They were more... personal.”
“Oh, sorry.” Pat said. “Those were good drawings.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Hey, I never got your name.”
“Oh, I’m Nathaniel.”
“Pat.” Pat reached out his hand, and Nathaniel shook it.
The next day, Pat came to school as before, but he noticed a girl he hadn’t seen before standing outside the classroom. She wore a red jacket over a dark gray romper, and had chestnut hair, tied by the sides of her face with orange bands. Pat went into the classroom and sat next to Nathaniel.
“Who’s that girl?” Pat asked him, gesturing to the girl on the other side of the large window.
“Oh, her?” Nathaniel said, “That’s Lila. Don’t bother with her.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know much about her, but I hear she lies.”
“Oh?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t know myself. I’ve never spoken to her. But that’s what people tell me.”
“It’s true.” A girl in pink across the aisle whispered, causing Pat to turn to her, “she told me she was friends with Prince Ali, but when I mentioned her in a letter to him, he said he didn’t know who I was talking about.”
“Yeah,” the big, muscular student in front of Nathaniel said, “and she told me she was tight with Fleshmincer from Zombie Skull Crushers. She even promised backstage passes, but I had to give a scalper 150 euros just to see the show.”
“Oof, that sucks.” Pat said.
“Yeah. Thankfully, no one trusts her anymore.”
“Hm.”
“You guys talking about Lila?” Adrien said as he turned to look at Pat and the rest.
“Yeah.” Pat said.
“Well, just try not to be too hard on her. She may have lied, but that doesn’t make her a bad person.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Oh, she’s coming.” Pat, Nathaniel and the rest all looked off in different directions as Lila walked into the room and took her seat. Everyone looked around awkwardly.
“I know you were talking about me, you know.” Lila growled. The entire class let out a hurricane of “No, we wouldn’t”’s and “Me? No”’s and the like.
“Save your breath.” Lila roared, “I’ve gotten used to people talking behind my back.” The entire classroom hushed just as Miss Bustier came through the door.
It was dark. The room was nearly empty. Only one figure stood in the center, the only other creatures being the small white moths that fluttered around him. The man in purple slammed his cane into the ground, causing a massive aperture to open in front of him, letting the sunlight through the massive window.
“Yes, Lila. Stew. Let your anger broil until it bubbles up to the surface! Then, you will help me once again.” The man glanced at the top of his cane, where a single black butterfly remained, captive in its glass dome.
“Okay class. Quick roll call, then our lesson can begin. Adrien?” Adrien raised his hand, “Chloé?” The blonde girl in the front of the room raised her hand, “Ivan?” The bulky student in front of Nathaniel raised his hand, “Alya?” the girl in plaid next to Marinette raised her hand, “Juleka?” the girl the back row dressed in black and purple raised her hand, “Marinette?” Marinette raised her hand, “Mylène?” the short girl in the olive hoodie behind Chloé raised her hand, “Max?” the boy in green sitting in front of Juleka raised his hand, “Alix?” the thin, purple haired girl next to Mylène raised her hand, “Nathaniel?” Nathaniel raised his hand, “Nino?” the boy with the headphones next to Adrien raised his hand, “Rose?” the girl in pink raised her hand, “Kim?” the student next to Max raised his hand, “Pat?” Pat raised his hand, “Sabrina?” the orange haired girl next to Chloé raised her hand, “and Lila?” Lila raised her hand for a brief moment and put it down as soon as Miss Bustier noticed it. “Okay, everyone’s here. Now, open your textbooks to page 40.” Miss Bustier went to the chalkboard and started to write.
Pat walked out of the building to head home for lunch, but as he was on the stairs, Nathaniel stopped him.
“Hey, Pat.” said Nathaniel.
“Hey, Nathaniel.” Pat said, “What’s up?”
“You wanna, like, I don’t know, come over to my house after school?”
“Oh, sorry, I already had plans this afternoon. But I’d gladly come over some other time.”
“No, it’s okay. You won’t be missing out on much. All I really do is just sit around and play video games. When I’m not drawing, I mean.”
“Eh, I mostly do the same thing anyway. Except I write instead of draw. I can come over tomorrow if that would work.”
“Okay.” Nathaniel continued off on his way, and Pat started home himself. However, Pat was distracted by a car horn. He turned and saw an old man in a red floral shirt, crossing the street in front of a car. The car was slowing down, but not quickly enough.
“Look out!” Pat shouted at the man before running over and pushing him out of the way. The car, however, struck Pat and knocked him to the street before finally stopping. The driver stepped out of the car.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright?” The driver shouted. Pat responded with a groan of pain, before speaking.
“I... I think I’ll be fine.” Pat said.
“I should call an ambulance.” The driver said before pulling out his phone.
It wasn’t long before an ambulance did arrive, and a medic came out.
“Hey there,” the medic said, “what’s your name?”
“Pat McNeil.” Pat said, a twinge of pain in his voice.
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen years.”
“Well, Pat, I’m going to look you over, ask you some questions, make sure you’re doing alright.” The medic began to look around Pat’s body, feeling around for injuries.
“Okay, how bad would you say the pain is?” the medic asked as he poked and prodded at Pat’s body.
“Oh... about a 4 or 5.” Pat replied. The medic continued to look Pat over, stopping briefly to address the driver.
“How fast was your car going?”
“Um,” the driver said, “I wasn’t exactly watching the speedometer at the time, but I think it was... maybe 8 or 9 kilometers per hour, I had already hit the brake by that point.”
“Okay, that seems to line up with what I’m seeing here.” the medic said before turning back to Pat, “You seem to have come out of this fairly well. I’d suggest you go home and rest, though, just in case. Where do you go to school?”
“Collège Françoise Dupont.” Pat said.
“Well, I’ll get in touch with your school, get you the rest of the day off. Need a lift home?”
“I don’t know, I don’t want to scare my host parents, showing up in an ambulance. Think I’d be able to walk it?”
“Try standing up.” the medic said. Pat got up onto his legs. He maintained his balance, but still winced in pain. The medic noticed this and went back into the ambulance. He came back out with a pair of forearm crutches.
“Just in case.” the medic explained. Pat took the crutches and clipped them to his arms. He set the ends of the crutches on the pavement and picked up his right leg, causing the pain to cease.
“This does feel a lot better.” Pat admitted, “And it won’t scare my host parents as much."
“Well, just stay off that leg, get plenty of rest, and you should be fine in a few days. If not, go see a physician.”
“Thanks.” Pat turned to hobble away, but was stopped on the sidewalk by the old man.
“Forgive me, young man.” the old man said.
“Oh, it’s no big deal.” Pat said, “The medic said I’ll be fine in a few days.”
“Regardless, I feel I owe you. Here.” The old man handed Pat a card with an address, phone number, and the words “Master Fu’s Chinese Healing & Massage Shop” written in gold foil.
“It’s nowhere near enough,” Master Fu said, “but I would be more than willing to give you a free session in thanks for your kindness.”
“Oh, thanks.” Pat said as he put the card in his pocket, “At the very least, it’d probably help the, oof, the pain.”
“Now go along home.”
“I will, and thanks for the offer.” Pat continued along his way.
Pat reached his house, and tried to open the door, but found it was locked. Before he could get his key out of his backpack, however, his host mother, Candace, opened the door.
“Are you alright, Pat?” Candace gasped.
“No, I got hit by a car.” Pat admitted, “The medic said I’d be fine, though. These crutches are just a precaution.”
“Well come in, quickly.” Pat entered the house and Candace shut the door.
“The medic said he’d get in touch with the school, let them know what happened, and get me the rest of the day off.” Pat said.
“Well, I’m going to call the school just to make sure.” Candace assured.
“Okay. I’m going to go upstairs and lie down.” Pat went up the stairs and to his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and removed his crutches, then put his legs up on the bed. Candace poked her head into the room.
“Pat, I called the school.” she said, “They said you were excused for the rest of the day.”
“Okay.” Pat said.
“I’m going to make you some lunch. Would you like to eat it up here?”
“No, I’ll take it downstairs.”
“Okay. You should call your parents, make sure they know you’re okay.”
“You’re right.” Candace left Pat’s room, closing the door behind her. Pat took out his phone and made a call.
“Hello?” A woman’s voice said over the phone.
“Hey, Mom.” Pat said.
“Hi, Pat. How’s it going over there?”
“Overall, it’s going okay. Today hasn’t been great so far, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, before I go any further, I want you to know that I’m fine.”
“O...kay?”
“I got hit by a car.”
“What?! What happened?”
“An old man was crossing the street, and a car was coming towards him. It was slowing down, but it didn’t stop soon enough. I pushed the old man out of the way, but I got hit.”
“But you said you were alright, right?”
“I’ll be fine, yeah. The medic told me to get some rest, but otherwise he said I’d be okay in a few days.”
“Well, as long as you’re alright, I can’t be too upset. That was very brave of you.”
“Thanks, Mom. Is Dad home?”
“No.”
“Okay. I just called to make sure you knew what happened, and that I was fine.”
“Okay. Rest yourself, have some lunch, and keep me posted.”
“I will.”
“I need to let you go now. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
“Bye.” The line disconnected and Pat laid back down. He felt a hard edge in his pocket, and reached in to empty it. He found the card for Master Fu’s shop, and looked at it for a second.
“Pat,” Candace shouted from downstairs, “lunch is ready.”
“Okay, coming down.” Pat said as he stood up. He grabbed his crutches and went back down the stairs, where a plate of homemade macaroni and cheese and a tuna salad sandwich were waiting for him.
“I made your favorite,” Candace explained, “figured you’d like to have something nice.”
“Thanks, Candace.” Pat sat down and began to eat.
“So, how did you get hit by a car exactly? Forget to look both ways, or...”
“No, an old man was crossing the street, and I pushed him out of the way.”
“Wow. Was he okay?”
“He seemed to be fine, he didn’t get hit or even fall down.”
“That’s good. And the driver?”
“The driver was really good about it. He called an ambulance, and offered to help any way he could.”
“Well, I guess things could’ve been worse.”
“Oh, definitely.” Pat took the card out of his pocket.
“Oh,” Pat continued, “the old man also gave me this.” He handed the card to Candace, “Offered me a free session, for saving his life.”
“‘Ancient Chinese Healing and Massage’, thinking about taking it?”
“Kind of. I feel like it’d be kind of rude to refuse it, and besides, it’s not like I couldn’t use something like that.”
“Well, it’s your decision.” Pat pondered for a moment.
“I think I’ll give him a call.”
“Okay.”
Pat hobbled out of the metro station on his crutches, and quickly found a sign reading “Master Fu’s Ancient Chinese Healing and Massage Shop.” He moved to the front door and entered the building. Inside was Master Fu, who seemed to be muttering something to no one until he noticed Pat.
“Ah, Monsieur Pat,” Master Fu said, “welcome. Come this way.” Pat hobbled in the direction Master Fu gestured.
“Here,” Master Fu offered, “let me take your bag.”
“Thanks, Master Fu.” Pat said as he removed his backpack and handed it to Master Fu. Master Fu set the bag down on a table, and slipped a small wooden box into it after Pat started off towards the massage tables again. He turned and followed Pat over.
“Now,” Master Fu said, “shall we begin?”
Thirty minutes went by before Master Fu finally said something besides a Chinese mantra.
“There we go,” Master Fu said, “how do you feel?”
“I feel much better,” Pat replied, “thank you. This really helped.”
“Would you like me to get your crutches?”
“Ye-” Pat stopped when he realized he had stood up without feeling any pain in his leg. “Actually, I don’t think I need them anymore.”
“Are you sure nothing is broken?”
“Well, the medic said ‘just in case’, and my leg doesn’t seem to hurt anymore. So unless you can make broken bones not hurt at all...”
“No. Not even I am that good.”
“Well, in that case, I think I’m good.” Pat grabbed his bag off the table, and took the crutches in his hand.
“Goodbye, Monsieur Pat.” Master Fu said.
“Goodbye, Master Fu.” Pat responded before walking out the door. After he was gone, however, a small fairy-like creature with a turtle shell appeared beside Master Fu’s head.
“Are you sure about this, Master Fu?” the creature said.
“He is a very rare specimen, Wayzz. It’s a risk, but they need the help.”
Lila sat knees up on her bed, stewing in anger. She fumbled around her nightstand drawer and grabbed a fox tail medallion. She clutched the chain, glaring angrily at the pendant.
“No one likes me.” Lila snarled, “Everyone hates me!” Lila’s eyes fell on a photo of Ladybug in a broken frame on her nightstand.
“And it’s all her fault!” She swung the pendant at the picture, knocking it over and breaking the frame further. Lila’s growls gradually transformed into sobs as she buries her head in her knees.
The man in purple continued to watch over Paris from his lair, his focus entirely on Lila.
“The time has come!” he shouted. He thrust his cane into the air, and the black butterfly inside phased through the glass dome.
“Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize her once more!”
Pat took a seat in the lightly cushioned office chair behind his plain wood desk. He dug around in his backpack for his language arts book, but felt a small wooden object instead.
Huh, Pat thought, I don’t remember putting anything like that in there. Pat carefully removed the object, and looked confusedly at the mahogany octagon with a cherry blossom painted on top.
It’s some kind of... box. Pat realized as he looked around for some mark that would identify it as one of his classmates’, but no such marking existed.
Should I... open it? Pat’s hands trembled as he placed them on the two halves of the clamshell. He gently snapped the box open, and was instantly blinded by a green light. When the light finally dimmed, he opened his eyes and saw what looked like a tiny, floating snake with stubby arms. It had a hood like a cobra, but a rattle on its tail, and it was sea green with diamonds down its back. Pat started in his chair, but composed himself when the creature didn’t attack him.
“What the heck are you?” Pat gasped slowly.
“I’m a kwami,” said the snake creature, “I grant powersss.”
“Do you...have a name?” Pat asked as he moved in closer to the kwami.
“I’ve always found names uselessss,” the creature hissed, “because eventually no one will be alive to remember it, but call me Rattle.” Rattle made a noise with his tail, as if to emphasize his name’s origin.
“So... you grant powers?”
“Yesss.”
“How?” Rattle zipped up to the box in Pat’s hand, undulating as he did as if he were a real snake.
“Thisss.” Rattle pointed at the box with his tail, drawing Pat’s gaze to the silver bracelet inside. “Your Miraculousss.”
“Miraculous?” Pat asked, “I think I’ve heard that before somewhere.”
“I’m sure you have.” Rattle hissed, “It’s the sssame way that Ladybug and Cat Noir get their powers.”
“Wait, so you’re telling me... I can be a superhero like Ladybug and Cat Noir?” Pat nearly shouted.
“Exssactly.”
“So, what will I be able to do with this?”
“You will gain the ability to heal the living, and to use thermal vision.”
“Okay, sounds cool.”
“And your greatest power... is the Ssserpent Séanccce.” Rattle hissed once again.
“Ooh, what does that do?” Pat asked excitedly.
“It gives you the power to channel a deceasssed hero. But you can only use this power once before changing back.”
“Cool! Is that it?”
“No, there is one more thing. When you transform, you will be given a magical rattle, that will serve as an extension of your being. It will allow you to ssslither through the city, and ssserve as any weapon you’ll need.”
“Okay, sounds great.” Pat said, “But I should probably get my homework done before I try this out. Don’t wanna get sidetracked.” Pat turned back to his desk and grabbed his textbook.
“You know, I thought humans would be more... interesting.” Rattle complained.
Lila continued to cry in her bed, still clutching the pendant. The black butterfly, the akuma, flew in through her window and landed on the pendant, its body phasing into it in a puff of purple smoke. Lila felt a familiar sensation as the cold energy flowed through her veins from her hand to her eyes and ears, and grinned at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Volpina,” it said, “consider this a second chance. You will be able to win over the people of Paris once again, and finally show Ladybug who is the better hero. Only, of course, if you remember your end of the bargain.”
“Next time you see me, Hawk Moth,” replied Lila, “I’ll be headlining TVi news as Ladybug’s replacement!” The purple smoke emanated from Lila’s pendant, and her gray romper and red jacket were replaced by a skintight orange and white costume, with a fox tail sash around her waist and a pair of fox ears in her hair.
“Excellent... and I hope you don’t mind that I gave you a few little bonuses.”
The next day at school, Pat noticed something was different. Specifically, something about Lila seemed different. Instead of yesterday’s angry snarl, Lila wore on her face an all-too innocent smile, like a child about to knock down her neighbor’s tower. Pat, slightly suspicious, took his usual seat next to Nathaniel.
“Hey, I heard about your accident yesterday.” Nathaniel said, “You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pat reassured, “No serious injuries, I was just a little sore. Nothing a good massage couldn’t handle.”
“Well, that’s good.” Nathaniel opened his sketchbook and began drawing, when suddenly Rattle popped out from Pat’s collar.
“What’s thisss?” he whispered, prompting Pat to shove him back down.
“Did you say something?” Nathaniel asked.
“No, not really.” Pat replied.
“What do you mean ‘not really’?”
“Um... I meant that... I was... uh... thinking... out loud... and didn’t... uh... realize.”
“Uh... okay then.” Nathaniel went back to his drawings.
Phew! Pat thought. That was close. I’ll need to talk to Rattle later. Pat got out his notebook as Miss Bustier entered the room.
“Okay, class,” she said, “we finished this last chapter a day earlier than expected, so I’m going to give you today to study the material and get ready for the test tomorrow.” Miss Bustier sat at her desk and the class all opened their notebooks and textbooks.
“Miss Bustier,” Lila said with a raised hand, “can I use the bathroom?”
“Go ahead, Lila.” Miss Bustier said. Lila stood up and exited the classroom. Pat’s eye followed her down the stairs and into the locker room on the ground level.
Something seems off. He thought to himself before returning to his notes. Soon, however, a loud metallic thud resonated through the school. Everyone in the classroom turned to see the door to the locker room ripped off of its hinges and lying on the basketball court. Volpina came out of the room, and played a song on her flute. A ball of orange energy formed at the end, and she flung it into the sky, creating a massive metal dome over the school. Everyone in the building ran out of the classroom in panic, bolting for the doors. However, when they went through they found nothing on the other side but the same inescapable dome. Most students ran back into the school, but Adrien stayed outside, ducked in the corner between the school and the front steps.
“Plagg, we need to transform.” he said into his jacket. A black cat kwami flew out of his inside pocket.
“But if we do that, we risk letting your identity slip.”
“Not if we play our cards right. Plagg, claws out!” Adrien thrust his fist forward, presenting his silver ring to Plagg, who flew into the ring in a spiral. Adrien raised his hand as Plagg’s energy filled the ring, turning it black and creating a green paw print on the face. He slid his finger across his face, turning his eyes fully green and creating a cat-like mask. He ran his hands through his hair, causing two cat-ear clips to appear. A full jumpsuit appeared around his body, the excess belt forming a feline tail. A staff appeared on his lower back, and Adrien assumed a fighting stance, his transformation into Cat Noir complete.
Pat hunkered down under the table in the empty classroom, talking to Rattle.
“What do we do?” Pat asked.
“Transform, what else?” Rattle replied.
“But what if people figure out who I am? You told me I had to keep this a secret. How would it look if, with no way in, the new snake hero just magically appeared inside the school the exact time Pat McNe-” Pat was interrupted by the sound of a loud voice:
“GET TO COVER, HURRY!” it shouted. Pat looked out the window and saw the students racing to get under cover as pieces of the metal canopy fell to the ground, rusting as they went. Most students made it, but Nathaniel tripped and fell right beneath a piece of debris. Before he could be crushed, however, Cat Noir appeared and knocked the metal away. Or at least, that’s what his intent seemed to be. When he struck the metal, however, it disappeared into a puff of orange smoke.
“Okay, I guess that problem is solved.” Pat muttered before grabbing his bag and running for the door, not realizing that Marinette was hiding under her table as well, talking to a red ladybug kwami.
“Good, Cat Noir took care of that barrier.” Marinette whispered.
“Now it’s time to do your thing, Marinette.” The kwami said.
“Right. Tikki, spots on!” Marinette’s earrings turned red, and Tikki flew into them, causing five black spots to appear in a quincunx. Marinette ran her hands across her face as a red domino mask appears. She then snapped her arms out to the sides as they’re covered in red fabric, followed shortly by her midriff and legs. A yo-yo appeared on her hip as she did a little dance. She assumed a fighting stance, her transformation to Ladybug complete.
“Okay, Volpina,” Cat Noir said as the rest of the students fled the building, “enough tricks. Time to pull back the curtain.” Cat Noir ran towards Volpina, his staff held in front of him like a lance. Volpina held her flute up and blocked Cat’s staff.
“You forget, the show isn’t over until the bug lady screams!” Volpina yelled as she worked her flute around Cat Noir’s arms and flung him into the air. As he started to fall back down, however, a red and black blur caught him, and Ladybug swung him down safely to ground level.
“Thanks for the assist, m’lady.” Cat Noir said.
“Eh, all part of the routine.” Ladybug assumed a fighting stance, but heard a beeping sound.
“Cat Noir,” she said, “your ring!”
“Huh?” Cat Noir looked at his ring: three of the toes have disappeared. “Oh, I need to get out of here!” Cat Noir ran for the nearest door. Pat watched from behind a bench, Rattle poking out from his collar again.
“What are you waiting for?” Rattle whispered.
“I’m... I’m kind of getting cold feet.” Pat admitted.
“Go on, you can handle it.” Pat took a deep breath.
“You’re right. Rattle, fangs out!” Rattle flew into Pat’s bracelet, undulating as he went, and energized it, turning it into a teal Ouroboros and causing five black diamonds to appear. Pat ran his hand down his face, causing his eyes to turn yellow, a mask to appear, and a pair of fangs and a forked tongue to appear in his mouth. He ran that same hand down his arm, creating a pale green sleeve with the same diamond pattern, and ran his left hand down his right arm with the same effect. He then ran both hands down his torso and legs, causing an entire costume to materialize around him, and his pudge to disappear. He ran his hands through his hair, moving his part from the side to the middle, as a rattle appeared on his hip. He assumed a snake kung fu stance, his transformation complete.
Ladybug stood in front of Volpina, yo-yo spinning in front of her.
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Lila.” Ladybug said, “We can settle this like adults, there’s no need to go through this whole routine over and over.”
“Oh, we’re not going through the same routine over and over.” Volpina said, “Last time I was pulling my punches. But this time, you won’t stop me so easily.” Volpina put her flute to her lips and played a few notes, but was distracted by a loud rattle, followed by a hissing sound. Both looked off in the direction of the sound, but saw absolutely nothing. Volpina put the flute to her lips again, but the rattling and hissing began again, this time from directly behind her. Volpina looked behind her, but again, saw nothing unusual.
“Okay, where is that coming from?” Volpina shouted. Suddenly a loud BANG echoed through the school. Then another. And another. Both of their gazes jumped around, desperate to determine the cause of these strange sounds. Suddenly a string wrapped around Volpina’s arm, and yanked it, causing her to inadvertently throw her flute. The string unwrapped itself and retracted. Pat leaped over Volpina’s head and executed a three-point landing in front of Ladybug.
“And yet another new hero arrives.” Hawk Moth mused from behind his window, “My theory only grows more credible.”
“Well,” Volpina said, “looks like we got ourselves a newcomer.”
“Don’t be fooled, though.” Pat said, “I could easily kick your butt.”
“Bring it!”
“With pleasure.” Pat stood up and held his rattle forward, “En garde!” Pat hit the trigger on his rattle, causing the string to shoot out a few feet and drop to the floor. Volpina and Ladybug looked at Pat with confusion.
“Oops,” Pat said, “sorry, still getting the hang of it.” Pat hit the trigger again, retracting the string.
“Focus.” Pat whispered to himself. He pressed the trigger again, causing it to extend into a saber. Pat charged towards Volpina, but she jumped out of the way, landing next to her flute. Pat swung his saber at her, but she picked her flute up and used it to block.
“My turn.” Volpina said as she swung her flute at Pat. Pat ducked to avoid it, and swung his saber at her again, striking her in the side of the head, knocking her down and causing her to drop her flute. Volpina picks herself up and reaches for the flute, but Pat extends his rattle into a rope and wraps her hand in it. Volpina goes for it again with the other hand, but finds that one tied up as well. She turns and sees that Ladybug has wrapped it in her yo-yo string. Pat shot a surprised glance at Ladybug, who nodded towards him. It didn’t take long for Pat to realize what she meant, and they pulled Volpina down to the ground in unison. Pat and Ladybug both retracted their strings.
“Nice work.” Ladybug said.
“Thanks.” Pat said, blushing slightly.
“What’s your name?”
“My name? It’s...” Pat paused for a very brief moment, “Sidewinder. Yeah, Sssidewinder.” Volpina started to crawl towards her flute, but Sidewinder shot his rattle string out again, and grabbed the flute with it. He whipped the rattle back, causing the flute to snap towards him, and caught it with his free hand. He then took the flute in both hands, and slammed it down hard against his knee, snapping it in two. Volpina glared angrily at Sidewinder before running off.
“That’s right,” Sidewinder shouted, “you’d better run!”
“Sidewinder,” Ladybug said, “we needed to capture her akuma.”
“Akuma?” Sidewinder paused, and proceeded to put his palm to his face, “The akuma! I forgot about that!” Suddenly Cat Noir ran back in through the door, panting and gasping for breath.
“Sorry,” he said, “I had to go off and recharge. But now I’m back and...” Cat Noir’s vision darted around the room, “she’s gone, isn’t she?”
“Yeah.” Sidewinder admitted, “I let her get away.”
“Don’t sweat it.” Cat Noir reassured, “We should have no problem tracking her down and catching that akuma. Plus, without that flute you have there, she’s powerless.”
“Well,” Ladybug said, “I suppose you’re right, Cat. Worse mistakes have been made. And for what it’s worth, you were pretty awesome out there.”
“Thanks.” Sidewinder said looked down at the flute halves in his hands, “I should probably find a safe place for this, though.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Cat Noir said.
“Well, it was a pleasure fighting with you two.” Sidewinder said as he shot his rattle string out like a grappling hook, striking the edge of the open ceiling. “Sssee you later.” Sidewinder hit the trigger, causing the string to retract, pulling him to the roof, where he proceeded to grapple away again.
“I wish he’d stop that hissing thing.” Ladybug griped, “It’s kind of annoying.”
“Hey, I thought it was kind of cool.” Cat Noir retorted.
“Well, I wouldn’t count on you to judge what’s ‘cool’.” Ladybug teased before swinging away on her yo-yo.