Work Text:
"Different Worlds, Same Person"
Normal Universe
Nathaniel and Alix were walking calmly toward Nathaniel's art studio. Alix walked calmly while Nathaniel hurried a little. It was strange, he had called him quite urgently.
"Speak up already, Nath, you're worrying me," Alix spoke.
"Not yet, not yet. I need you to see him," Nathaniel replied somewhat calmly.
"You talk to me super early in the morning, worried. Then I see you all day at school, kind of brooding. There's clearly something going on and something tells me it has to do with something magical," Alix replied.
"And you hit the nail on the head," Nathaniel answered aptly.
"What about Marinette?" asked Alix.
"No, she's resting. Since Hawk Moth's defeat there has been peace, at least with Caline as president and Madame Emilie back. I wanted to think that everything would calm down a bit.... But no, apparently not. Besides, I think you're the one," Nathaniel spoke.
"Pointed for what exactly?" asked Alix with curiosity gnawing at her mind.
"Alix, how exactly did your Miraculous work?", Alix was surprised at the question.
"Well, it serves to see the different ramifications of time. I can travel to the past and the future, plus it allows me to go down the rabbit hole. Nath, where were you when Marinette gave us the explanation of each Miraculous in her 'Miracle Class'?"
"I was drawing a Caprikid x Rooster Bold drawing that I would later post on Instagram. I need more publicity, I need commissions, I need money," Nathaniel replied.
"As long as you don't start drawing drawings of questionable morals, all good," Alix replied reminiscently.
"Well, we're getting way off topic. The point is that your Miraculous is only supposed to work with one timeline, the one in this universe right?" asked Nathaniel.
"Yes... Why do you ask?", asked Alix with more doubt gnawing at her mind.
"This one... And it can't work with the multiverse?", asked Nathaniel.
"WHAT!" exclaimed Alix in a shout.
After saying that, they arrived at the door of Nathaniel's workshop.
"Look at this," Nathaniel replied with a smile.
When Nathaniel opened the door, Alix was met with a startling sight. There were three individuals:
The first one looked quite urbane, almost like a vigilante. He had a black mask that was like a helmet with two purple eyes that didn't move. The mask/helmet covered his head. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a hood that was unbuttoned, as well as having a strange purple logo on its side, like an "I", and two purple lines on each arm. The jacket, when unbuttoned, revealed a sort of bulletproof vest that looked light to the eye, as if it were a T-shirt. He was wearing a purple belt with a silver center part, black trousers with two purple lines on each side of the leg, black leather gloves, and finally black boots with two purple lines.
The second individual looked more elegant and refined, wearing a dark blue dress hat with a black line. The face of that individual could also be seen, he wore a dark blue mask with pointed edges. His eyes were black and his iris was blue. He had white skin, dark blue hair and the face looked familiar. He wore a dark blue trench coat that doubled as a jacket, gloves of a thin black material, a dark blue dress vest and a black shirt underneath the vest and trench coat. He wore a black dress belt with the center showing a blue logo. He wore black dress pants and blue dress boots. Alix noticed that at his waist, tied on a belt, he seemed to be wearing some sort of blue fan, but what she noticed most was that around his neck he wore what appeared to be the peacock Miraculous tied to his neck with a ribbon, as if it were a tie.
The third one had a curious style, he wore a mask that covered his face leaving his orange hair visible. The mask was orange and had two eyes that seemed to move, as well as having two fox ears drawn where his ears should be. He had a jacket that fastened with buttons on the right side. The jacket was orange and had a white line where it buttoned, plus his jacket was sleeveless, only covering his shoulders, revealing part of his arms. He was wearing gloves that covered part of his forearm, the gloves were orange with white on some parts of the hands. Behind the orange jacket were two silver swords with orange handles, and in the middle of the swords was an orange flute. That individual was wearing black trousers and was also wearing orange boots with white soles. But what caught Alix's attention the most (aside from the fact that this individual looked incredibly muscular and trained, especially his arms) was his necklace. If someone with knowledge looked closely, they would notice that it was too similar to the fox's Miraculous.
"Alix, the one in black is Inkstorm, the one in blue is Plums, and the one in orange is Firefox."
"And we all have something in common," Firefox spoke.
The three individuals allowed themselves to remove their respective masks, allowing themselves to be seen to....
"Nathaniel?" asked Alix as she saw the faces of the three individuals.
All three, despite appearing to be the same person, looked very different:
The Nathaniel who was Inkstorm looked calm and relaxed, plus he wore his hairdo parted in two, like Sabrina.
The Nathaniel who was Plums didn't look very different from the Nathaniel I knew, only his bangs didn't cover his eye and he looked quite confident.
The Nathaniel who was Firefox was a radical change for Alix. He had a scar on his cheek, wore his hair slicked back tied in a ponytail and also had a small incipient padlock beard. Could Nathaniel be that handsome? Alix blushed at even thinking that about that variant of her friend.
"God, tell me that's not what I think it is," Alix spoke, clearly knowing what was going on.
"So you see, Miss Kubdel, we're a little lost...from our world," spoke Plums.
"Good Lord, this...I never," Alix couldn't believe her eyes. She was just used to temporal ramifications, not a completely different freaking universe.
At that moment, Fluff popped out of Alix's pocket.
"Case of multiversal connection, amazing though... not very regular," the kwami spoke.
"What do you mean, not very regular?" asked Nathaniel and Alix in unison.
"The function of the bunny's Miraculous is to travel between different times and avoid temporal ramifications, but we're talking about completely different universes that stem from this universe. And looking at the blue and orange boy's appearance, those universes probably have their own kwamis and Miraculous, but one and the same constant: your red-headed friend," Fluff replied, thinking.
"Y... is it known how to reverse that?" spoke Inkstorm.
"I can try, it's a bit risky, but I could. After all, I am the kwami of evolution," replied Fluff.
"And why didn't you tell me that?", replied Alix.
"Because I didn't think it was that necessary and you never asked me," replied Fluff.
"So, there are no side effects to this? I mean, we're from another universe," Inkstorm spoke.
"The question is, will there be more like us? More Nathaniel's scattered throughout the multiverse," replied Firefox.
"Nathanverse, I like it," replied Plums.
"Guys, this is serious," Nathaniel replied.
"Don't worry, they'll just start experiencing something like a glitch and, if they stay too long, they'll disappear," Fluff spoke nonchalantly.
"WHAT!" exclaimed Inkstorm worriedly.
"Oh, and I wanted to die in an epic and glorious final battle," replied Plums.
"Well, it's not like I mind living either," spoke Firefox with a carefree tone.
"Just kidding, just kidding. Because of the similarities between universes, they'll probably just feel a strange sensation, nothing more. They won't die," Fluff replied explanatorily.
"Oh, God, you damn rabbit," Inkstorm replied.
"Well, then I didn't get my turn today. Well, let's celebrate with wine," replied Plums.
"What good?" spoke Firefox dubiously.
"Well, let's start at the beginning. Tell me about it," spoke Alix.
"Okay, then grab your popcorn and sit down for a while," replied the four Nathaniels.
Inkstorm was fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir in an abandoned but brightly lit place, while Ladybug tried to flank him, Chat Noir attacked head on. Chat Noir lunged at Inkstorm and he transformed into ink, went under Chat and hit him in the back, sending him away. Then Ladybug tried to attack him, but Inkstorm foresaw it and created a barrier of ink that covered her attack and blew it up, sending her flying away.
"Well, it looks like you're no match for my powers!" spoke Inkstorm.
"No fair, your powers have no limits," Chat replied.
"We can't give up yet," spoke Ladybug.
"Enough," spoke a voice.
When the three turned around, they saw Fu looking at them expectantly.
"It's been long enough. Then we'll move on," Fu replied.
Inkstorm helped Chat Noir and Ladybug up.
"Goodness gracious, they got quite a bit better. They even left me hesitating a bit," Inkstorm spoke.
"You didn't look too doubtful, Mr. Ink," Chat replied.
"It's because of the mask, that's what it's meant for," replied Inkstorm.
"In any case, the point is that we're getting better. That's the important thing," replied Ladybug.
The three of them left and while Inkstorm was surfing the rooftops of Paris, a portal opened in the ground and, no matter how hard he tried to get out of it, he couldn't and ended up being sucked into the portal.
In a museum, a group of thieves were stealing. The thieves were in a hurry.
"Hurry up, hurry up, one of those madmen might show up."
"The team of heroes from Paris? Can we fight those idiots?".
"No, idiot, some member of the Night Watchers, Mindusion even Dark Fly."
"Oh, even worse, Dark Fly's little boyfriend? Plumes."
"The reformed villain who threw the city into chaos in his first appearance? God forbid."
"I just know I don't want that idiot to break my leg again, I'm still limping."
"And they're not doing anything to help that," a mysterious voice spoke.
"Oh, God."
The robbers turned and saw Plums as the moonlight streaming in through a museum window illuminated him.
"Boys, boys, boys, one wants to help you, but you won't let. Now tell me, how many weeks in the hospital do you want?".
"We'd better want you in the cemetery."
The robbers fired, and as soon as they pulled the trigger, their guns vanished in a blue powder.
"I always have a plan, I'm Planman," spoke Plums mockingly.
At that moment, a white portal opened from the ground, drew Plumes in despite his resistance and vanished.
"..."
"Saved by the bell."
"Okay, I'm definitely not going back to Paris. It's too much for me."
Nathaniel was drinking a bottle of beer while watching a comedy series. She was sad as Trixx was lying on top of Nathaniel.
"There, gosh, Mother's Day. Good reason to get drunk."
"You need to stop that, it's killing you, Nath."
"It's not like I wish I was alive."
At that moment, Trixx turned to look at Nathaniel.
"If it's any consolation, I'll always be with you and I can comfort you if you need it. And I don't want you to leave."
At that moment, a portal opened and pulled Nathaniel through. As much effort as he and Trixx made to get through, before they crossed the portal, Nathaniel uttered his transformation phrase.
"Trixx, transformation."
Nathaniel was quietly sitting at home in his studio as he calmly thought of ideas to draw. And just as inspiration was coming to him, a portal opened and out of it fell the three of them... on top of Nathaniel.
"And that's what happened," the four explained.
"That means something must have brought them here, they couldn't have come from nowhere," Fluff replied.
"Come to think of it, and taking this opportunity, why don't you tell a little about yourselves? Something in a nutshell," Alix asked.
The four Nathaniels nodded and thought it was a good idea. Nathaniel led the stories:
"Oh, well, I'm Nathaniel Kurtzberg and there's nothing interesting about me. I just liked Marinette, fantasized about being a hero, got akumatized, met a writer named Marc, we made comics, he became my boyfriend and i became a goat-themed hero named Caprikid. Although well, I'm just a supporting hero."
"... You're pitiful," Plums replied.
"What the fuck is wrong with you," Alix replied to Plums.
"Well, I guess this is your chance to tell," replied Inkstorm towards Plums.
Plums stood up and began to tell his story:
"Hi, I'm Nathaniel Kurtzberg. I fantasized about being a hero. My mom is Nathalie Sancoeur. I was akumatized and then, some time later, I stole the Peacock Miraculous. I took down Hawk Moth, stole his Miraculous and gave it to Chloe. She became my partner. We beat up the heroes and then we half-reformed. We created a group of heroes with akumatized people and protected Paris at night."
"Your mother is Nathalie Sancoeur? So is ours," Firefox and Inkstorm replied.
"Ok, we know which one is the most dangerous," replied Alix.
Inkstorm stood up ready to tell his story:
"Well, I'm Alexander Nathaniel Kurtzberg Sancoeur. I acquired my powers due to an experiment my father had left behind. Then I was trained by Master Fu. My first villain was a mad artist who wielded blood. Then I faced a mercenary who teleported and then I acquired a white suit that almost corrupted me, got rid of it and here I am, calm."
"Well, this one looks like the classic hero of a lifetime," Alix replied.
Firefox stood up and began to speak:
"My name is Nathaniel Kurtzberg. Shortly after the appearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir, I received the fox Miraculous from Master Fu. I became a permanent hero and when Queen Bee came along, I started supporting her. I started to get along better with Chloe, then we fell in love, became boyfriend and girlfriend. Then Hawk Moth forced Chloe to be akumatized, causing Fu to die. In a fit of rage, I killed Hawk Moth. That day, everyone knew who Gabriel Agreste was. Ladybug wanted to take Miraculous away from me, I wouldn't let her and started being an underground hero. As you can see, I modified my costume and now I not only fight super-powered villains, but also lifelong criminals. My mother is Nathalie Sancoeur and we always had relationship problems. When I started being hunted as Firefox, since thank God no one knew my identity, I fought with her. She left to take custody of Adrien and preferred him to me. I left home, I live in a house that is a gift from an old friend. I protect Paris at night and Chloe, because we broke up and she is with Luka now, she went on with her life. I am here, trying to live. Oh, and Marc is a good friend of mine and in fact is the one who gives me tactical support along with the Max from my world. More things happened and I started to get along better with the heroes, but well, I also usually train body and mind, that's why I look strong and nothing else. Just a teenager trying to exist while helping others. Oh, and I also do comics with Marc and I'm single too."
"God, that's sad," Inkstorm replied.
"Single? How can someone like you be single?" spoke Alix, looking sideways at that Nathaniel variant.
"Well, we already have a constant. Now we need to figure out the source of it," Fluff replied.
"This doesn't make sense, why specifically were we brought here? And besides, we just happened to fall right where you were. This has to do with a Nathanverse, I'm sure," Inkstorm spoke.
"So many worlds so different, one person," replied Fluff.