Work Text:
“How can we trust the girl when we have no idea who she really is?”
“Alya.”
“Is she a super hero or super weirdo?”
“Alya?”
“We have a right to know!!!”
“Alya!”
Whipping awake, Alya quickly stares at the person who broke her out of her nightmare, none other than her bluenette friend, Marinette.
“Ughhh…what’s going on?”
“Alya, class ended 10 minutes ago. I’ve been trying to wake you since. You fell asleep during poetry, but it was about sleeping beauty, so I don’t think anyone noticed.”
“Oh. Uhhh, thanks…”
“Are you doing okay, this is the 4th time this week that something like this has happened? I know I can’t throw stones, but I know MY reasons for falling asleep, what are your reasons?”
“Oh, just…working on assessments, you know me, ha ha ha…”
—
Alya awoke to her lying in Chloe’s bed.
“…huh?”
Removing the sheets, she got up out of the bed, looking around the overly opulent room. That’s when she saw Chloe, lying face down on the floor.
“Chloe! What’s going on, why am I…”
Fear started building in Alya as she noticed that Chloe wasn’t moving.
“Chloe…?”
She ran over, bending down and trying to feel Chloe’s pulse.
Alya’s head snapped to the door where Rena Rouge was shot through the door, pinned to the wall via a locked symbol.
“How can we trust the girl when we have no idea who she really is?”
Alya stood transfixed by fear as Lady Wifi burst through the door and started walking towards Rena Rouge.
“Is she a super hero or super weirdo?”
Lady Wifi walked closer, Rena Rouge struggling against the icons holding her in place.
Lady Wifi grasped the fox pendant in her hands, before her head snapped towards Alya.
“We have a right to know!!!”
—
Almost jumping out of bed, Alya awoke to darkness, with only the city’s lights illuminating part of her bedroom.
Grabbing her phone and glasses, she read 4:00AM on her alarm clock.
“ughhhh…”
Too late to go back to sleep, too early to do anything else, she grabbed her phone scrolled through her socials. An akuma attack did happen, but it was just Mr. Pigeon. He was so unnoteworthy he didn’t even warrant an announcement.
Looking through her chat client, she noticed Marinette was online.
—
[AmazingAlya]: Hey girl, what are you doing up so early?
[NotMarinette]: Oh, just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.
[AmazingAlya]: Tell me about it.
[NotMarinette]: Oh? Is something wrong?
[AmazingAlya]: Well…not wrong exactly just…It’s nothing girl, as amazing as you are, it’s about being akumatised. I’d have better luck talking to Nino about this stuff.
[NotMarinette]: You can talk to me about it? Sympathy isn’t entirely reliant on shared experiences. Besides, like he’s gonna be awake at 4am in the morning, anyway?
[AmazingAlya]: Hahah, yeah, sure, fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
[NotMarinette]: Noted.
[AmazingAlya]: When you’re akumatised, you don’t really REMEMBER things, but it does leave an impact.
[AmazingAlya]: I’ve been getting these…dreams where Lady Wifi walks in and…uhh, threatens me, essentially.
[AmazingAlya]: And I know it’s not me, but it sorta…is? Just a really, really warped version of me. Whenever I see Lady Wifi, I see…me?
[NotMarinette]: I…I never knew you guys got those dreams. I thought everything went back to normal?
[AmazingAlya]: It mostly does, I’ve just got a lot going on right now with certain…stuff? Y’know? End of term assessment, etc. It’s just stress. They don’t really appear otherwise, I’ve just got a lot of pressure on me to be the best me that I can be. Trust me, it’s nothing to worry about.
[NotMarinette]: Gimme a few seconds, I need to look at something.
[AmazingAlya]: Oh? Sure? You okay?
[NotMarinette]: Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed to do some calculations for your present.
[AmazingAlya]: Present? Aww girl, you’re so sweet! But…what for?
[NotMarinette]: It’s a surprise! But it’s clothing, so meet up at my place before school starts so you can change.
[AmazingAlya]: I guess? I will wait with anticipation.
[NotMarinette]: Alright, I gotta hurry to get this done in time, so bye!
[AmazingAlya]: Bye!
[AmazingAlya]: …please don’t tell me you’re skipping breakfast to get this done?
—
Alya stood in the slightly chilly morning air, waiting by the side entrance to Marinette’s house. She had arrived 30 minutes before school started, hopefully enough time to get changed into this mystery outfit.
The door then abruptly opened, revealing a tired Marinette behind it.
“I’m sure this surprise gift would’ve been just as impactful tomorrow or like, in a month?” Alya said, concerned.
“Nope, this is done now! You deserve it!” Marinette said as she pulled Alya in for a hug.
“Now come upstairs, it’s laid out for you on my chaise lounge”
Marinette then grabbed Alya by the hand, and with a quick hello to a confused Sabine Cheng walking down the stairs, she was pulled up the spiraling stairs and into Marinette’s room.
—
Alya walked into the room and looked at the outfit.
“…Woah.”
The top was a Black t-shirt with a spray-painted white wifi symbol on the chest.
There was a skirt with an asymmetrical diagonal line, and black leggings.
And fingerless black gloves that went to the wrist.
“Do you like it?” Marinette asked meekly from behind Alya.
“Do I like it?! Of course girl! This looks awesome! Let me get it on!”
—
Alya strode into school that morning, confidence beaming. There was no doubt on her face, no trace of insecurity on her mind, no haunting thoughts to trouble her.
She knew who she was, she was Alya Cesaire, temporary holder of the fox miraculous, award-winning journalist, a daughter from a loving family, and a friend with friends aplenty. She wasn’t Lady Wifi, and she dared Hawkmoth to try and akumatise her again.