Chapter Text
Marinette slumped onto her bed, feeling utterly worn out.
She just had the longest first day of school. Not only was she placed in the same class as Chloe again, Paris had a new supervillain declare his entrance by turning one of her classmates into a giant stone monster. On top of all of that, she also learnt that her newest friend has no self-preservation skills.
On the plus side, she met Tikki and became one of Paris's two protectors. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of her partner, the quirky and bubbly Chat Noir.
===
Earlier that day:
Ladybug is starting to regret listening to Tikki and jumping into battle. Stoneheart is just shrugging off anything she can throw at him and is only getting bigger with each hit. She had stopped attacking and was just circling around when he suddenly stopped and spewed out a cloud of butterflies.
A massive floating head formed from the butterflies, staring her down before speaking " People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawk Moth. You have no chance of victory against this akuma which you cannot even harm. My demands are simple, little bug over there, surrender your miraculous as well as that of the black cat and I will cease my assault. Resist and any blood spilled in this conflict would be on your hands."
The crowd started murmuring in worry.
" Nice try, Hawk Moth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not push the blame here, any damage caused here is by your hand alone. "she had declared" I may not know why I was chosen to face you but know this, as long as you harm the people of Paris for your own selfish desires, I am willing to stand against you!"
Thinking back, how she was able to say all of that with a straight face was a mystery. When she saw her speech played over the evening news, her face burned with embarrassment.
"Well said!" a proud voice rang out from behind her. "I'm sorry for being late, but I had to drill my Kwami for details so that I do not rush into things blindly."
That was when she caught the first sight of her partner, a masked girl with cat ears and a belt tail in a blouse and flared miniskirt with a black body suit with green trimmings underneath. This person must have been the holder of the cat miraculous Hawkmoth believed to be on her side. Ok that was just unfair, her partner got accessories and actual clothing pieces on top of the bodysuit while she just got the bare minimum to cover her body.
"Focus!" The girl shouted as she dashed past her, deflecting Stoneheart's stone fist. "I'll hold off Stoneheart, take care of the Butterflies."
Oops, she had apparently been caught staring at her partner a bit too long. shaking her head, she quickly captured the butterflies with her yoyo and purified them.
"The akuma is likely in his right fist since he never opens it!" Ladybug had shouted. Her partner nodded while she ducked and weaved between Stoneheart's fists, deflecting the powerful blows with her baton and keeping him off balance but the fist remained as tightly clenched as ever. Guess she would have to make a gamble. "Lucky charm!" she cried out as a pickaxe landed in her hands. With a swift toss of her yoyo and a push from her partner, they managed to tangle Stoneheart's legs and topple him. Using both the pickaxe and baton, they pried open his fist to reveal a purple rock which they promptly crushed.
As Stoneheart shrunk back into Ivan, Ladybug walked over to speak to him, only to be stopped by her partner. "My kwami told me that the Ladybug miraculous has the power to purify the butterfly so you have to catch the butterfly which flew out of the rock. If you don't they would only multiply and strike again." her partner whispered.
Oh no, she did not hear anything about this from Tikki and the butterfly is doing its best to get away. In a blind panic, Ladybug swung her yoyo at the butterfly... and missed. After all that work and she missed when it mattered the most.
"Don't worry, I've got your back. Cataclysm!" A ball of black energy flew towards the butterfly and consumed it. "That was close. You might want to cast the cure now, partner. I can speak to the victim on your behalf while you do so?"
"Why did you not do that from the start? You could have gotten rid of the butterfly on your own. "Ladybug scowled.
"I'm sorry, using Cataclysm puts me on the same five minute timer as your Lucky Charm and I was hoping to have at least one of us stay behind to talk to the victim without having to run off shortly." her partner looked a little dejected at her accusation.
Nodding silently, Ladybug sent out a wave of magic which restored the surroundings and the note.
"Kim wrote it. He's always making fun of me." Ivan muttered with his head hanging in shame.
"Chin up, big guy. There is no shame in feeling nervous around the one you love" Her partner gave Ivan a pat on the back, "I believe that this Mylène would be delighted to have someone as gentle as you by her side"
"Do you really think so? Miss-"Ivan brightened up a little.
"Call me Chat Noire, and of course I do. You were hurt by someone else and your first reaction is to reflect on it and you only lashed out when your feelings are warped by a supervillain. That speaks volumes about your strength of heart."
At that point Alya showed up and they formally introduced themselves as Ladybug and Chat Noire before they had to leave due to the beeping of their Miraculous.
end flashback
===
A partner huh, she does not know the face behind that mask but having someone to watch her back and catch her when she fails certainly makes her more confident about this hero business.
"Tikki, is it possible change my hero outfit?" Marinette asked with her head still buried in a pillow. "Looking at Chat Noire makes me feel underdressed."
"You should be able to do so if you focus when transforming" Tikki replied.
"Alright then, first order of business tomorrow would be to re-design my hero costume, although maybe something less frilly than Chat's..." Marinette muttered as she drifted off to sleep.
===
Elsewhere,
"Not bad for your first outing kid." Plagg said through a mouthful of camembert. "I do have a question though, why did you become a girl when you transform?"
"Well, you told me that I can become a hero to help people who are targeted at their lowest. To help victims being preyed upon by a shadowy figure feeding off their negative feelings . The first image that came to mind was a magical girl" Adrien said as he stretched on his bed, passing a glance at his shelves of manga. "They are natural the enemies of monsters born from hatred and sadness so I must have subconsciously taken up the mantle.
"As long as you can get the job done I guess" Plagg chuckled. He sure got an interesting partner this time.
"Ladybug...I only just met her but there is definitely a bond between us. I hope that we can get along well." Adrien chuckled along side Plagg as he peeks at the list he added to his desk when he first started watching magical girl anime.
Rules of heroic magical girls
1:Always listen to your animal companion.
2:The red/pink one is the leader, follow their lead but only if they are not being idiots.
3:Personal powers are to be used conservatively as they always have a limitation.
4:Be a positive role model for the masses, especially when dealing with victims of mind control.
5:You are the person who can relate to your partner(s) the most, you can be their support system the way they can be yours.
He was slightly disappointed that he was not the one with the healing powers but it mattered not. He is going to be the best partner for the Heroine of Paris.