Chapter Text
Paris, 1940
Nazis were shouting in the distance. Two people - a man and a woman were holding hands and running away. The man was a bit shorter than his companion and carried a gramophone on his back.
"Faster Marianne!"
"Wait! We have to fight Fu!" Said the woman, releasing herself from his grip. "Let's use the Miraculous! I'll take the Ladybug and you'll take the Black Cat!"
"What if we fail? It'll mean the end of the world! Come on, we'll be safe in England!"
He took her hand once again. But she let go.
"No. I'd rather stay here and resist. Even without the Miraculous."
"Marianne..."
"I need to do this! France is my home! If there's a chance to save it, I'll take it!"
Man's face stiffened. He knew all too well, how it is to lose a home. He took the brooch he wore on his tie and handed it to her. It was yellow and had the Chinese symbol of love on it.
"I'll be back for it" he said. "One more thing..."
He quickly put the gramophone on the ground and pressed some buttons. It opened. Inside was a hexagonal box.
"But you said..."
"If you want to stay here, I'll need to make sure you'll be able to defend yourself".
The man opened the box. Inside was divided into many parts, each except a purple one, filled with some kind of jewelry. The man took the brooch in a shape of a peacock and handed it to her.
"Are you sure?"
"The Peacock Miraculous has a versatile power. It'll help you in many different situations. Besides... I can't look at it without any painful memories..."
She held his hand once again.
"I'll be waiting for you right here. Every day."
"Marianne, I've never told you this but I..."
She put a finger on his lips.
"Not now. You'll tell me when you get back".
With that, they parted.
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Paris, present day.
"Victor, wake up! You don't want to be late on your first day of school, do you?"
"I'm coming, grandma!"
Marianne looked up from her cup of tea and saw her grandson coming to the table. He had bags under his green eyes. On his head was a mess made of his short, black hair.
"Didn't sleep well?"
"Yeah... I'm worried about this new school" he replied, as he sat down.
"François Dupont has a very good opinion. It offers many extracurricular activities..."
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Marianne sighed. She took a croissant from the plate and handed it to her grandson. He took it and started to eat.
"Victor. I know that after recent events, it's hard for you to open up to people. But at least give it a try."
The boy looked at his grandmother.
"I'll think about it."
Victor finished his breakfast and got dressed for school. His outfit consisted of blue jeans, white trainers, a white T-shirt, and a blue denim jacket.
"Bye, Grandma!"
"Goodbye, Victor!"
Marianne sighed, as she got ready to go out as well. She put a hand on two brooches she wore. One round and yellow, with a Chinese symbol of love. The other one bronze, in the shape of a peacock's tail.
"Do you think Victor will be okay?" came a voice.
The elderly woman looked up to see a small creature floating beside her. It was blue and it resembled a peacock.
"Yes, I do. Now, come on Duusu. We need to go."
"Maybe today he'll come."
"Maybe."
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"But Master – the Miraculouses are not meant to be used for evil purposes…”
“I must have this absolute power!” shouted the man. “Your miraculous is in my control! I am your Master now! And you must obey me!”
“Yes, Master…”
“Nooroo! Wings Rise!”
Nothing happened…
“Nooroo! What is the meaning of this?!”
“I told you, Master! Miraculouses were not created for evil purposes! Normal transformation phrase won’t work!”
“How about I change it a little…? Nooroo! Dark Wings Rise!”
A small, purple, butterfly-like creature got sucked into the brooch, transforming the man.
“From this day on I shall be known as Hawkmoth!”
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Meanwhile...
"Master, the Butterfly Miraculous! I felt its aura! Nooroo is in evil hands!"
A short Chinese man looked up at his little companion.
"I thought it was lost forever... If what you're saying is true, then there's no telling what evil will come upon Paris. We need to transform!"
"Master! You're too old for this!"
"I'm only 186 and a half! Wayzz! Shell O-argh!"
The man's back made a cracking sound.
Wayzz looked at the man with concern.
"Maybe I am a little rusty. I think we'll need help."
The man stood next to the old gramophone. He pressed some buttons. The gramophone opened, revealing a brown wooden box with a red symbol on top.
"Are you sure Master? We already lost the Peacock."
To say that Wayzz wasn't pleased with giving the Peacock away would be an understatement. But he couldn't argue with the Guardian's decisions.
Fu sighed.
"I'm afraid we have no other choice."
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Victor walked into the school and sighed heavily.
"Here goes nothing..."
The boy needed to find his classroom first. He looked around thinking, who he should ask for the directions.
The tall, muscular guy in a red hoodie? No.
The blonde girl dressed in pink? Maybe.
Blonde girl, with a ponytail and heavy makeup? Definitely no!
"Hey! You lost?" he heard behind himself.
Victor turned around and saw a short tomboyish-looking girl with pink hair.
"Y-yeah. Do you know where I can find Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom?"
"Upstairs. First door on the left. She's your form teacher?"
"I think so."
"My condolences."
Victor shot her a confused look.
"Why?"
"You'll find out soon" replied the girl. "I'm Alix by the way."
"Victor. Nice to meet you."
The bell rang.
"Well, I have to get going. See you later Victor!"
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"Remind me, why are we doing this again?"
"Oh, come on Félix! Don't you want to make friends and interact with people?"
"No."
Félix looked at his twin brother in disbelief. Out of all stupid ideas, Adrien's ever had this one was the worst. It even beat that time when Adrien decided it was a brilliant idea to wear his Umbreon onesie to their father's gala, despite even Chloé telling him it was an utterly ridiculous idea.
"Well, too late. Chloé said she already got us registered in the school system. So, you know. We're going."
"I hate you both."
Twenty minutes later the Agreste twins were in front of the François Dupont. They were late. If Félix had to suffer social interaction, he wanted to be at least on time.
Seconds later a black car parked and a stern-looking woman got out of it.
"Adrien! Félix! Please reconsider! This is not what your father wants!"
"But this is what we want!" said Adrien.
"Speak for yourself" muttered Félix.
His twin elbowed him.
"Argh!"
Adrien looked behind them and saw an old man struggling to get up from the floor, desperately reaching for his cane. The boy rushed to help him.
"Thank you, young man"
"No problem sir. Are you hurt?"
“No. Thank you for your concern."
"Adrien!"
The blonde turned towards Nathalie who wore a perfect emotionless expression on her face. Félix stood beside her.
"Let's go"
Adrien sighed heavily and got into the car. His twin shot him a rare sympathetic look.
“I just wanted to have a normal life… Please, don’t tell father.”
They got in. The car drove away.
Wang Fu smiled.
---------------
Victor came to the classroom and sat next to a boy in a red hoodie who was writing furiously in his notebook.
Ms. Mendeleiev came into the classroom and started talking.
She was a no-nonsense woman. The boy could understand why Alix didn't like her but honestly, she seemed like a perfect teacher for Victor.
Then Ms. Mendeleiev was summoned by the principal (something about a new student with a difficult background) and had to leave the classroom.
Victor looked at his deskmate and thought about what his grandma had said.
'Well, here goes nothing'
"Hi, I'm Victor. What's your name?"
The boy next to him stiffened and mumbled:
"I-I'm M-Marc."
Victor sighed. The boy seemed even more uncomfortable than him.
"Sorry, I have no idea how to do this. I'm awkward when it comes to meeting new people. Or social interaction at all. I thought 'fake it, 'til you make it' will work, but...
"D-don't recommend. I tried once a-and almost had a h-heart attack when I was chosen to make a p-public speech. I hid in a b-bathroom for an hour... I was laughed at for a whole week."
Victor smiled.
"It still is better, than when my teacher asked me what I like to do in my free time, and I replied: 'I read fanfiction' without thinking. The whole class laughed at me for months ."
Marc looked at him and smiled too. He relaxed a little.
"I-I once told the waiter 'You too' when h-he told me to enjoy my meal. I n-never went back there."
"I once stared at my classmate too long. I didn't even know I was doing that. And I think to this day she finds me creepy."
Marc laughed.
"I never thought I would b-bond with someone over how socially awkward we both are."
"I think that's the only thing I could ever, bond over with someone."
"You can finish your discussion after the lesson."
The boys didn't even notice that Ms. Mendeleiev was back.
"S-sorry..."
Then, something roared outside the classroom.
"What the fu-".
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Marinette's day was eventful, to say the least.
She was almost late (keyword: almost) after she rescued an old man who was almost (again: almost ) ran over by a car and no one seemed to notice or care (seriously? wtf is wrong with you people?).
She made a new friend - Alya after the girl defended her from Chloé Bourgeois (aka 'Her Royal Bitchness'). Brat started yelling at bluenette to move out from her seat because it was 'reserved' for her best friend, who was supposed to come to school today (he didn't come after all). Alya stood up to Chloé and almost tore her a new one. So that was a plus.
Then everything went crazy.
Ivan got mad at Kim and was sent into the principal's office. He returned as a freaking stone monster and started rampaging.
And on top of all this shit, there was a giant red bug (a mouse? a bugmouse?) in her bedroom, telling her she was chosen to become a superhero.
This couldn't be a dream.
Because there's no fucking way her mind could produce something so insane.
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Marianne experienced many things and overcame many obstacles.
She survived World War II.
She met the love of her life, only for him to leave.
She later found out she was pregnant but had no way of telling him.
She raised their son without his father around.
She saw how he fell in love and got married.
She saw how happy he was when he found out he's going to be a father.
She saw his sadness once his wife left him and their son.
She outlived her son after he was killed by a mugger.
She saw how it affected her grandson.
She saw how Victor came out as pansexual and supported him all the way.
So when the presenter on the news said that a giant stone monster is wreaking havoc in the city, she just took a sip of her tea.
"This is bad! This is bad! This is all kinds of bad!"
The elderly woman looked to her right at her little companion.
"Is this connected to the Miraculous?"
"Yes. Nooroo, the Kwami of Transmission is in evil hands. We have to do something! He's my best friend!"
Marianne sighed and put the cup of tea down on the table.
"I'm too old to fight, Duusu."
"But Victor isn't! Maybe it's time you passed down the Miraculous to him."
Marianne stiffened.
"Fu gave me your Miraculous. It's one of the two things I have left of him. Besides, I won't put my grandson in danger!"
"Victor is Fu's grandson and a part of his legacy. And he can take care of himself. He took a lot of self-defense classes, after..." the Kwami paused, then quickly composed himself. "Besides, if Victor found out you have the power to help and you didn't - how do you think he'd react?
Marianne sighed once again. The Kwami was right. She was the legendary hero Le Paonne during World War II. Times were different now. Paris needed a new hero.
She placed a hand on the Miraculous.
"Do you think I should tell him? Or just leave it in his room?"
"You didn't have anyone to guide you. He'll do better if you share your experience with him. But it's all up to you."
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"You know, if you didn't insist on going in around in circles like 'spies in movies to make sure no one's following us', we would've made it on time."
"Gee, thanks Fé."
Adrien turned on the TV. Some kind of stone monster was rampaging in the city.
"What the fuck?"
"Adrien! Language!"
Then Adrien noticed a small box in front of him.
"Fé? Is it yours?"
"No. It's probably for you from Father. You know he throws money at almost every problem."
Adrien picked the box up and opened it.
A green light flashed and a small cat-like creature appeared. It looked around the room. Then at the twins.
"Great, there's two of them... I don't get enough cheese to deal with all this shit..."
"It talks!" Shouted Adrien.
"Of course I talk. I'm a God of Destruction, you moron!"
"Hey! No one calls Adrien a moron beside me!"
The little cat looked between the twins. Then, he floated to Adrien.
"You are the new Cat superhero. I'm Plagg and I can give you a superpower of destruction. You get a Ladybug partner. Also, you were supposed to keep your identity a secret from everyone, but I think we can throw that one out of the window. You understand?"
"No. Is Father trying to prank me?" asked the teen looking at his brother.
"Adrien, please. Father wouldn't know what a sense of humor is, even if it introduced itself and hit him straight in the face."
"Quit it! I'm starving !" whined Plagg. "Do you have any cheese?"
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" said Félix.
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Victor came back to the house and immediately noticed his grandmother's worried look.
"Grandma? Is everything alright? What happened? Do you have information about grandfather?"
"No, Victor. Sit, please. There's something I need to tell you."
The boy sat.
"What do you think about that stone monster?"
"He's kind of scary, I guess... Why do you ask?"
"If you had the power to stop him, would you do it?"
"Grandma, are you alright?"
"Answer me, Victor."
"Yes, of course! Why are you asking me this?"
Marianne handed her grandson a blue brooch in the shape of a peacock's tail.
"I want you to take it."
"Wait, is this your brooch? But why is it blue?"
"Take it, and I'll explain everything."
Victor took the brooch and it changed completely - into a silver pin. A blue light came out of it and it formed into a small peacock-like creature.
"Hi! It's sooo nice to finally meet you, Victor!"
"Whoa! What is this?!"
"My name is Duusu and I'm Kwami of Emotion. I can grant you superpowers to stop this rock monster!"
To say Victor was shocked would be a huge understatement.
"Grandma?"
"Did you ever heard of Le Paonne?"
"Of course I did! Who didn't? She was a hero during WW II and saved a lot of people from the Nazis! But what she has to do with all of..." The boy's eyes widened. "Holy shi- shoot! You were Le Paonne, weren't you?
Marianne smiled.
"Yes, I was. This brooch you're holding was a gift from your grandfather."
"And now we want you to use it!" added Duusu.
Victor looked at the two of them.
"First, you need to say: 'Duusu, Spread My Feathers!' "
--------------------------------
'If someone told me that I would swing around the city, using a fucking yo-yo, while also having superpowers, I would've never believed it'.
Marinette was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't see a boy dressed in a cat-themed suit until it was too late. She crashed onto him.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!"
"It's okay Mrs. Ladybug. I'm new to this too."
She composed herself and looked at him. He didn't seem older than her.
"What's your name?"
"I'm... Cat Noir. And you?"
"I guess you can keep calling me Ladybug. It's not like I'll think of something cooler."
"Then let's go! Judging by those roars, I think our opponent is heading towards the stadium."
The duo made their way in the roars' direction. When they arrived, they were beyond speechless.
The stone monster was walking slowly towards the stadium. Behind him, Officer Raincomprix (Marinette remembered him as Sabrina's dad) was shouting at someone who shouted right back at him.
The boy was about their age and was dressed in a blue skintight suit. He had black boots and black elbow-length gloves. A blue mask covered the upper part of his face. He had a scarf that ran down his back, resembling a peacock tail. On his head was a musketeer hat with a peacock feather. He had a hand fan, clipped to his hip.
"Stand aside and let the pros do their thing!"
"Oh, because you were doing such a great job so far."
"Who do you think you are to judge us? Some kind of superhero?"
"Why yes, I am. Thank you for asking."
"Yeah, right. A fancy hat and a fan as your weapon? And you dare to disrespect us?"
"I would never disrespect the police. I only don't respect you. It may be shocking news to you, but respect is something you have to earn."
"You little..."
"Hey! Stop it!" shouted Cat Noir. "There are more important things to do!"
The guy in the blue suit smiled.
"Of course, you're right. So officer stand aside and let someone who can actually do something do their thing! Meanwhile maybe evacuate the civilians."
"Don't tell me what to-"
"Bye, bye!"
The mysterious hero approached the duo.
"I was told about a ladybug-themed partner. Not about a peacock one" said Cat Noir.
"Well, no one told me I would be getting a partner, so I think you two were in a better position" answered the peacock guy.
"What's your name?" asked Ladybug.
"Pavon. Now, I think we need to go after that thing before he hurts someone."
"Agreed."
The trio arrived at the stadium. Cat Noir jumped onto the stadium and saved Kim from being squashed by the rock monster.
"You might want to change your cat-titude." said the cat hero. "It's not mice to pick on someone smaller than you."
Pavon looked over to Ladybug.
"Please don't tell me he just made puns."
"I-I think he did."
The peacock hero rolled his eyes.
"Of course I would be stuck with a pun-making cat furry as a partner. Just my luck."
Meanwhile Cat Noir started dodging the villain's attacks.
"I could use some help, you know!"
"Coming!"
Pavon jumped from the stadium's roof and hit the monster with his hand fan. The villain started laughing and he immediately grew bigger.
"Well, shit... This might be problematic..."
"Really? You don't say!"
Pavon shot his cat-themed partner a dirty look.
"Hey, super red bug! Do something! The world is watching you!"
Everyone looked in the voice's direction and they saw Alya, sitting in a corner, with a phone in her hands.
"Get out of here! It's dangerous!" shouted Cat Noir.
"No way I'm missing superheroes in action!"
Ladybug finally jumped into the action and wrapped her yo-yo around the monster's hand. The villain just spun her around and threw her at her teammates.
Then everything happened in mere seconds. The villain approached a goal and threw it at Alya. Feeling a protective emotion coming from Ladybug, Pavon quickly charged one of the feathers and put it in the spotted heroine's yo-yo.
Alya froze in fear, waiting for the goal to crash into her. But the crash never came.
She looked up and saw a giant armadillo standing over her. Its armor protecting her from any damage.
Cat Noir was in awe.
"Whoa! Where did that one come from?"
"I made it, using Ladybug's protective feelings as a catalyst. It's my power." answered Pavon. He heard his Miraculous beep. "And now I have 5 minutes before I detransform. We need to act quickly."
"Got it! So let's make this battle a hiss-tory!"
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Ladybug. "He gets bigger and stronger every time he gets attacked, remember?"
"If Pavon's power worked, then maybe ours will help as well! Cataclysm!"
With that, his hand became surrounded with black energy.
"Apparently I destroy everything I touch."
"I don't need a superpower for that... No, don't!" she shouted, trying to stop her partner but the cat hero had already touched the goal and it crumbled to dust.
"Cool!"
"You can use your power only once!" said Pavon angrily.
"And now you have only five minutes before detransforming!" added Ladybug. "Didn't your kwami tell you anything?!"
"Wait, really? I guess I was just too excited and didn't listen."
The other two heroes exchanged an unamused look.
"Okay it's my turn now, I guess... Lucky Charm!"
Blunette caught another ladybug-themed yo-yo.
"A superpower you say?" mocked Cat Noir.
"At least she gets to use hers properly" countered Pavon.
"We have to break the object where that thing... Akuma is hiding."
"But he's entirely made of stone" said Cat Noir.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious. We didn't notice."
"His right hand!" said Ladybug ignoring the boys' bickering. "He never opens it! It's like these Russian dolls! The object is inside!"
"So what's the plan?"
Ladybug looked around: the armadillo, the Lucky Charm, the monster's fist, Cat Noir, and Pavon.
"Pavon! Tell that armadillo to dig a hole!"
"You got it!"
The sentimonster curled up and pummeled into the ground, creating a giant hole in the stadium. Then the ground below the villain started shaking and suddenly the monster was buried in the ground from the waist down and struggled to get out.
The spotted heroine wrapped both yo-yos around Cat Noir's and Pavon's legs.
"Don't resist. Trust me" then she started spinning her partners.
"You're insane!"
"I'm going to puke!"
Stoneheart caught both superheroes in both his fists but dropped a little stone he was holding in his fist.
Ladybug quickly ran towards the Akumatized object, breaking it and freeing the purple butterfly.
This made the monster turn back into Ivan.
The two male heroes lifted themselves off the ground.
"That was awesome!" said Cat Noir.
"Speak for yourself... Warn me next time!" added Pavon.
"I hope there won't be next time. But thanks, guys. I couldn't have done it without you!"
"Pound it!" they fist-bumped.
Then Pavon's Miraculous beeped furiously.
"I have 2 minutes before I detransform. But first..."
Pavon looked at the armadillo sentimonster and it bowed lightly. He nodded his head in response and snapped his finger. Sentimonster vanished.
"Bye guys!"
With that, he was off.
Cat Noir's ring started to beep as well.
"You have to go. Our identities must remain secret."
"Very well. Fur-ewell M'Lady. Let's do this again soon." said the cat hero as he made his way out of the stadium.
"Not too soon I hope" muttered the girl.
She then turned to Ivan to comfort him.
"It was about this paper, wasn't it?"
"Kim wrote it. I got so angry. Then I heard a voice in my head and the next thing I wake up here."
"Look..." she started.
"What's your name? How did you get your superpowers? Did you got bitten by a radioactive Ladybug?" Bluenette turned around to see Alya, holding a camera.
Her Miraculous started to beep.
"Ladybug. Call me Ladybug."
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"You did so well on your first time! That sentimonster was perfect!"
"I agree with Duusu. Protective emotions manifesting as an armadillo - symbol of protection. Quite impressive."
"Thanks. It was a mess though."
----------------------------
"I can't believe I pulled this off Tikki!"
"I told you you'll do great!"
---------------------------------
"You were running around the city, dressed like a furry. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"Oh shush Fé! I looked cool!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night..."
"If I have to listen to your argument, can I at least have some Camembert?"
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The celebration wasn't supposed to last long, as people across Paris started to turn into copies of Stoneheart.
"Tikki? What's going on?"
"Did you capture the Akuma?"
"No. Is that important?"
"Yes! If it isn't purified, Akuma can multiply. If Ivan gets turned into Stoneheart again he'll bring statues to life and make them his army!"
"Oh, no. I told you it wasn't a good idea. I messed up big time!"
"Don't feel bad Marinette! It was your first time, everyone makes mistakes!"
"Cat Noir and Pavon will be better off without me... I'm sorry..."
"Wait! Don't take off the ear-!"
Marinette placed the earrings inside the box and put them into the drawer.
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"So I can't do anything without Ladybug?"
"Not really. I guess your peacock friend can make a sentimonster that can repair everything. But that means he can't use his power during the battle."
"Fantastic" said Adrien sarcastically. "And Félix, please spare me your 'I told you so' " he added, when he saw his twin opening his mouth.
"You know me too well brother."
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"You didn't purify the Akuma?" asked Marianne bewildered.
"I guess not. We fucked up big time."
"Language!"
"Victor" said Duusu purposefully ignoring her holder's bad language. "Don't feel bad. When Marianne went on her first mission, she got stuck in a closet, with Nazis just behind the door."
"I thought we agreed to never speak of this again."
"Really? Don't remember."
-----------------------------------
"So the Peacock is still in Paris" Fu said.
"That's certainly a relief. What do you plan to do Master?"
"Watch from afar. At least for now. Whoever is the new holder, must be connected to Marianne somehow. We need to find out how exactly."
"Of course, Master."