Chapter Text
Marinette rushed down the stairs and stumbled into the kitchen, not bothering to tie her other shoe as she glanced at the clock, she was already running late.
"Mom, have you seen my backpack anywhere? I thought I left it in my room but I can’t-" she paused only to grab a glass of water and take a drink.
"It’s by the door honey, I moved it there so you wouldn't forget" her mother answered from the kitchen, almost in an amused tone.
She sighed in relief and slowed down, taking a seat at the kitchen table and reaching for some warm bread, blowing gently on the coffee set in front of her
“First day of high school already…” She dipped her bread in the coffee carefully, making sure to glance at the time every now and again.
Adrien woke up suddenly. His heart was already racing as he reached over to his nightstand for his phone. He checked the time, 5 am, and slowly pulled off the sheets, stretching as he got out of bed. He didn't usually wake up this early, he had no reason to. Usually. Today was different, he was finally gonna take a chance and do something he wanted to do.
He was finally going to go to school.
Standing from his bed, Adrien grabbed the clothes he had already mentally picked out, something simple, a black tshirt with stripes, a white jacket, a pair of jeans with a belt, and dark sneakers, he smiled to himself when he glanced at the school bag he'd set down by his closet
"I'm finally going to school" he repeated in his head, probably for the millionth time, like he was trying to convince himself it wasn't a dream. Being homeschooled was what he was used to…but he craved a normal life.
Adrien walked to the bathroom, anxiously toying with his sleeves before pulling them up to turn the faucet on to icy cold water, and wash his face. The cold shock got rid of most of his anxiety.
He dried himself off and glanced at the time again. Pocketing his phone, he took a deep breath, grabbed his school bag and walked to the door. He pressed his ear up to the door and listened, silence. His hand gently moved to the handle and turned it as quietly as possible, cracking it barely open. Before he pushed the door the rest of the way open, he glanced out. The hallway was clear, his body guard —knowing he wasn’t usually awake at this hour— was probably busy, and Natalie was usually busy at this hour, tending to his father, who at least was never in the way. Adrien stepped out of his room and again took a second to make sure the door was as silent as the rest of the house.
He held his breath as he made his way down the grand staircase and towards the front door. As he tried to contain his excitement, he squeezed the knob before twisting it and opening the door to freedom. He almost hesitated to step out, but he sighed deeply once he was out and let the door close gently. He took another deep breath, his heart beat settling in his ears, he wasn't free yet.
Walking a lot quicker now to the electronic gate that sealed him inside, Adrien looked at the number key, he knew the code all too well and pushed it in, muttering the numbers to himself as he pressed each button. Once he heard the satisfying beep and saw the heavenly green light confirming the code, he darted to the opening gate and quickly exited it, repeating the code again on the other side to make sure it closed before anyone noticed.
He knew they would notice eventually, but he needed to buy himself enough time, knowing if he got caught too soon, he’d be dragged back to the house.
Adrien realized he’d been standing still for far too long by now and pulled himself away from the closed gate, starting to speedwalk in the direction of his school. His mind was racing almost as fast as his heart.
Marinette was already running late before, but somehow eating breakfast had spiraled into a mess to clean and a quick change of shirts. She walked over to the front of the bakery, her parents already starting to set up.
“Oh Dad! These are great, thank you!” Her father showed her a small box of macaroons.
“I’m glad you like them”
“Of course, my class is gonna love them!” She beamed as she was handed the box, studying the design imprinted on its seal. Marinette’s own design gleamed back in its shiny gold foil, a sense of pride reflected back at her. She instinctively hugged her Dad, almost dropping the box before he caught them.
“Thanks Dad” she replied sheepishly, grabbing the box again and stepping over to her mother and kissing her, then her father.
Marinette practically ran the whole way to school. Even when she was close, she rushed to cross the street and almost got run over, forgetting to stop at the crosslight. She stopped in time luckily, which left her heart racing from her mistake. She recollected herself and watched the road carefully when she spotted an older man, walking with a cane, and about to cross the same red light she missed. She scanned the area and spotted a truck about to pass. Thinking quickly she ran into the road to grab the man by his forearm, pulling him off the road narrowly and onto the sidewalk. The truck honked obnoxiously as it passed by.
“Oh my, thank you miss!”
“You’re very welcome” Marinette panted, her already racing heart trying to keep up with her. The school bell rang suddenly, reminding her of how late she already was. She started to run across the street with a quick smile to the gentleman, again forgetting to look at the light.
He watched and picked up his cane as she ran, and took a look at the small box he had in hand. He pocketed it before turning the other way and walking off.
Marinette walked into the new classroom, looking around for familiar faces before finding her seat, dropping her bag on the edge of the second row. She didn't have a second to put down the box of macaroons when a hand slammed down on her desk.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” A grating but all too familiar voice spoke.
“God, here we go again’
“Thats my seat that you're sitting in.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“This has always been my seat, Chloe” Marinette replied, already bored of the interaction, then another distinct voice spoke up before Chloe could retort.
“Not anymore, it's a new school, a new year, with new seats.”
Marinette turned to face the girl who had slid up next to her, both girls cornering her in her seat. Chloe drew Marinette's attention back to herself.
“Since this is my seat,” she started, emphasizing ownership of the spot, “why don't you go sit next to that new girl over there?” She gestured in the direction of an auburn haired girl who sat in the first row on the opposite side of the room. The girl turned to look at Chloe, Marinette, and the other girl, Sabrina. Marinette and the new girl made eye contact for a second before she tried to protest to Chloe again.
“But-”
“Listen Dupain-Cheng, Adrien’s first day is today. And since his seat is going to be right there,” She gestured to the seat directly in front of Marinette, “Your seat is going to be my seat. Got it?”
Marinette stopped for a second, she was used to Chloe making stuff up to get her way. She sighed under her breath.
“Uh, who’s Adrien?”
Both Chloe and Sabrina started laughing like Marinette had asked them the color of Chloe’s blinding yellow jacket. Marinette perked up and looked at them back and forth in confusion.
“He’s only a famous model,” Sabrina interjected.
“And I’m his best friend. He adores me.” Chloe sounded proud, but she quickly got back to the matter at hand. “Ugh, hurry up and get out of my seat.”
“Now who put you in charge?” An unfamiliar voice spoke, it was the new girl Chloe had pointed out earlier. They turned to look at her, Chloe and Sabrina growing smug looks whilst Marinette watched passively.
“Oh Sabrina, would you look at this little savior coming to Dupain-Cheng's rescue. What are you gonna do now ‘Super-Newbie’? Shoot lasers at me with your glasses?” Chloe got very close to the other girl, trying to force her to back down.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” The girl pushed past Chloe, elbowing her out of the way and grabbing Marinette by the wrist. She pulled her up from the seat and tried to guide Marinette to her seat instead. Marinette, taken aback by the sudden force and trying to grab her bag, tripped over the stairs, falling and dropping the box of macaroons once again. They spilled onto the floor and she salvaged what she could before taking her new seat. The word ‘Sorry’ fell from her mouth a dozen times.
“Thanks for dealing with Chloe, I wish I could handle her like you do. She makes me miserable.”
“Don’t sweat it, you just need more confidence uh…” She paused
“I’m Marinette”
“Alya”
Chloe stared at the empty seat taunting her as class began.
Adrien was out of breath, he managed to make it to school without being caught, both by a fan and his bodyguard. He took an unfamiliar path, avoiding busy areas where he was more likely to be spotted, but he was finally here, insanely late albeit. The school looked like the gateway to heaven, and his heartbeat played in his ears as he just stood there, taking it all in. His look of awe slowly morphed into an anxious, anticipating smile. Time practically froze around him.
But before he can even start taking a step towards the stairs, he hears the sound of a car skidding on the road. He knows exactly what it is and rushed up the stairs, trying to get out of sight ASAP. He's not even halfway up when someone called.
“Adrien!”
He froze in his tracks and turned to look at the woman who called his name.
“Adrien, please reconsider.”
Natalie. Adrien mentally cursed at himself for thinking he had a moment to spare, but maybe she would hear him out. Beside that though, he has told himself he was going to school, no matter what.
“You know what your father wants.” Her voice was apologetic and sincere.
The mix of adrenaline and desperation in Adrien made him frustrated. He was so close.
“What about what I want? This is what I want to do.”
He was done, completely over it. He turned his back to them and took another step when he heard someone groaning. He turned to look in the opposite direction, and saw an old man knocked to the ground, reaching for his cane. He didn't glance at Natalie, just walked down the stairs and over to the man. Adrien kneeled to grab the cane and handed it over, helping to stand. Once he was okay he walked off, and left Adrien smiling to himself, before it was quickly wiped off his face by the disappointed look Natalie wore. He walked over weakly.
“I just want to go to school like everyone else…What’s so wrong about that?” He paused, looking down in defeat. “Please don't tell my father about all this…”
He could’ve burst right then and there as Natalie guided him back to the car, practically having to pry him from the school. He got in the car and slumped into the cold seat. He tilted his head back on the seat and stared out the window, his eyes lingering on the school before they started to drive away. Once it was out of sight he rubbed his face with his hands before pulling out his phone to check the time. Class was going to end soon enough. He wasn't missing out yet. He tried to reason with himself, tried to make the defeat more bearable.
“Alright everyone, class is dismissed.”
“Kim, I swear to God I’m going to-” The voice boomed in the room, students turned to the boy who yelled, he had another boy grabbed by the collar of a tacky jacket. He had is fist closed and raised, but Kim looked at the other smugly.
“Ivan, what do you think you’re doing?” The teacher snapped at him, Ivan gripped Kim's hoodie dangerously tight before dropping him, making him stumble and fall back to his seat.
“It’s- It’s him! ‘Fucks sake I’ll f-” Before another threat could be spat the teacher yelled.
“Principal’s office Ivan. Now.”
Ivan stared in disbelief and an overwhelming anger, he shot Kim a nasty look, and walked off.
“Now what's this? Is that anger I feel? A strong emotion, powerful. Perfect. Burn a hole into his heart, my little akuma. Fly away, and evilize it.”
Ivan walked into the office, already dreading the conversation, only to be immediately reprimanded for bursting in. He stepped outside once again and closed the door, waiting a moment before knocking. While he tried to keep himself from exploding again, a dark butterfly, glowing a light purple, fluttered nearby. It landed on his fist, which concealed a crumbled piece of paper. The butterfly moved onto the paper, and encased it in a purple aura. Ivan was struck with an intense weakness, and a pain shot through his head, but he was kept perfectly still, unable to move as he was locked in a trance. All he saw was black, it was silent. Except for a voice, which made the pain in his head clear. He was able to think now.
“What? What the hell is this?” He thought to himself.
“This? Oh don’t worry, I'm only here to help you.”
Ivan tried to rack his brain, regain control of his thoughts, but it seemed impossible, the more he tried to ground himself the more he struggled. His name was starting to become fuzzy too.
“Is it your name you're looking for?” The voice spoke to him eerily. “My name is Hawkmoth, and yours is Stoneheart.”
“Stoneheart…Yes that's my name.”
“Yes…and you're very angry, Stoneheart, I can feel the anger coursing through your veins. You want revenge, don't you? I can give you take, give you the power to take revenge.”
“Okay, Hawkmoth.”
The aura trapped in the paper from his fist engulfed his hand and consumed his body, turning it into a mess of dark colors and shapes, completely unrecognizable. He grew more than twice his size, hardened over in stone and became a creature. His mind was consumed as well as his first thought became Kim.
The school shook violently, Marinette and Alya were sitting together in the library. For a second they wondered if an earthquake had struck, but it kept shaking, in time and in waves. Other students rushed to another room, eyes glued to live security footage that displayed some type of humanoid rock, shaking the ground with each step it took. Alya seemed fascinated by the sight.
“Oh my god… It's like real life…supervillain?” She darted to the door.
“Hey where are you going??” Marinette worried, calling after her.
“There’s no chance I'm missing this, what if a superhero shows up?” Her voice was sarcastic but almost hopeful. Nothing like a monster to make people go nuts.
The old man stood outside the gates of Adrien’s house. The mansion is guarded by state of the art technology, gates, codes, facial identification. He held onto an octangular box, wooden and carved with phenomenal symbols, painted over in red.
Adrien sat at the long lonely diner table, there was room for two entire families but he barely had one. Books and papers were neatly placed in front of him as he studied, Natalie stood beside him, quizzing him. The chill inside the house was frigid, he rolled up his sleeves while answering questions he had memorized for ages.
“Give me a minute with him, would you Natalie?”
That voice, Adrien almost dropped the pencil he was holding but caught himself, he looked down as his eyes widened. The voice of his father.
“They…told him?” He felt betrayed almost, but a bit dumb for thinking everything was going to magically work out. He didn’t hear Natalie's response, just watched her step back, his hands gripped the side of his seat.
“You are not going to school.” Adrien's eyes instinctively looked for Natalie's guilty gaze, he frowned slightly looking at his father again. He continued.
“We have been over this, Adrien. It's far too dangerous for you.”
“But, Father-”
“Everything you need is inside this house.” His voice was strong, direct, and unrelenting. The temperature of the room seemed to drop. “It's too dangerous.”
“It's not dangerous!” Adrien retorted in frustration. He stood from his chair, pushing it back with the scratchy sound of it dragging against the floor agreeing with his tone. “I’m locked in this house, alone, everyday. Why can’t I just…go out? And make friends like everyone else?”
“Because you're not LIKE everyone else.” He raised his voice, not by much but enough to cut Adrien off. “You are my son.” The word son felt meaningless.
“Continue.” He left Adrien and Natalie. She watched as Adrien's father walked out before turning to Adrien, who stood with his hands in fists resting on the table, shooting daggers at the door. He let out a breath which turned into a frustrated groan, he collapsed back into his seat, sliding down and sinking. His hands covered his face as he composed himself, he was rarely this upset. Natalie walked over, Adrien could hear her heels tapping against the floor, and he felt her hand rest on his shoulder, squeezing gently and offering an apologetic look. He looked up, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes tired.
“Go to a break Adrien, we can continue this later.”
The most comforting thing he’d heard all week.
Adrien ran to his room, closing the door behind him and collapsing into his bed. He let his school bag fall to the floor and spill its contents, he wouldn't be using that bad any time soon, or ever. His face buried in his pillow while he tried not to break down completely. He stayed still like that, tears falling on their own, for what felt like hours, his eyes were watery now and he felt exhausted. He turned himself over to let his eyes mindlessly wander around his room. It was huge and incredibly spacious, but it still felt like the walls were closing in on him, he was trapped, a prisoner in his own house, his own room. It didn't matter how big his room was, it was the fact he couldn't leave. He was a pampered dog locked in a fancy cage. His breath hitched suddenly and he found himself struggling to breathe.
“Oh no, not this again.” He thought to himself, sitting up, he pressed his feet to the ground, put his hand on his chest and felt his heart ache. Adrien breathed deeply, filling his lungs with as much air as he could, but it was like he was drowning, suffocating even. He looked around, trying to find something to focus on but it just made it more real, the walls seemed to grow closer and closer every second.
“I need to…I need…I need to move” He told himself but he felt paralyzed. The only thing he could move was the hand resting on his chest, the rapid beat playing on repeat. His fist clenched, grabbing hold of his shirt. The silence of the room made his ears hurt and his head spin, until.
“Ready? FIRE!” A loud yell, and a rumbling noise pulled him out of his own head. He was suddenly back to reality, the walls a safe distance away from him. His vision was clear and he dropped his hands to his side.
“Sweet relief…” He mumbled, though the rumbling noise that continued peaked his curiosity. He stood up and walked over to his window, only to see about a dozen cop cars, with officers lined up holding tasers, blasting a…a rock? He wiped the tears from his eyes and checked again. The rock he saw was almost humanoid, and seemed to be glowing. “What in the world?” He watched as the rock launched a cop car at the officers. He moved over to sit on his couch and check the news to make some sort of sense of the situation he just saw.
Marinette sat in front of her home desk, also watching the news from her computer.
“I hate the first day of school…” She sighed, emotionally exhausted. She paused the broadcast and kicked herself away from the desk, spinning around in her chair. Suddenly, a foreign object sitting on her desk caught her eye, and she stopped spinning.
“What’s this?” She took hold of the box, it was small and fit in the palm of her hand. She flipped the lid open to a blinding light, her eyes shut and the box fell to the floor. A second goes by and her eyes open again, looking at the box which contained a pair of earrings, but more noticeably, a massive flying bug.
“EW, oh my god it's just a bug, a bug the size of a mouse…that can fly, ew.”
“Everythings okay! Don't be scared Marinette.” The bug spoke. Marinette squealed in shock.
“Oh my god it can SPEAK? Am I dreaming?? Hallucinating maybe??? No nope nonono get AWAY.” Now she was scared, she reached for whatever she could use to push or scare the talking bug thing away. A binder? A book? Cool. Great. Launch it at the thing.
“Listen to me, Marinette!” The red, black spotted creature tried for the girl's attention again. “I know everything seems a little strange right now but…”
“No kidding…” Marinette shuddered, she reached for a glass mason jar sitting on her desk and entrapped the bug, cause that's how you contain bugs right?
“Okay…If this is what makes you feel safer.”
“What are you? What are you and how do you know my name?”
“Okay well for starters, I’m a Kwami, and my name is Tikki…”
Adrien was fixated on the news but there wasn't much being told that hadn't been said already. With no new information and the view he had gone, he gave up and decided to go back to sulking. Maybe he'd get lucky and the monster would come back, take him hostage or something. He rolled his eyes at his stupid thought. Sighing as he turned down the volume of the tv, he slipped his jacket off and made his way to his bed again, but just as he tossed the jacket aside, a small black box appeared on his bed.
“Was this here earlier? Did I really miss it?” He wondered aloud, laying on his side and examining it. “A jewelry box…” He frowned in realization. “Is this some costume piece? Did my father leave this here?” His voice turned sour as he dropped it from his hand. Adrien groaned, eyes locked on the box, it had a unique look to it but then again, everything he wore was thought out in explicit detail.
He laid still, just watching the box before he reached for it again.
“Might as well check what it looks like…” He sighed, flipping open the box. The lid was barely lifted when it snapped all the way open, and a green beam of light shined from the inside. In surprise, he flinched, and the box containing a ring landed on the bed, the green beam turning into an orb of light. Adrien watched in awe as the orb floated over the box. Slowly it dimmed, and a small black creature was revealed.
“Woah…like the genie from a lamp!” Adrien beamed, his finger approaching the creature.
“Eh, I met him once. Oooh he grants wishes, pftt big deal. I’m way more personable. Plagg. Nice to meet you.” Plagg turned to look around, not letting Adrien think before he was floating to his foosball table.
“Ooh now isn't this swanky.” Plagg attempts to take a bit of a metal foosball guy.
“Woah hey! Don’t touch that!!” Adrien lunged, trying to grab a hold of Plagg. “Come back here!”
Adrien jumped around the room, trying to stop and catch Plagg. He dived onto the couch with an ‘oomf’ and took hold of him, out of breath he took a second before saying
“I still don't know what you're doing here”
“Look, I’m a Kwami, I grant powers. You get the power of destruction. Got it?”
“Uh-uh” Adrien shook his head, almost more confused at the blunt response, the kwami in his hands was quickly getting bored.
“Is this a prank? Did my dad set this up? Nah, that can’t be, he doesn't have a sense of humor.”
“Nuh uh, your father can never know I exist Adrian. Or anyone for that matter. You’re the chosen one.” Sarcasm laced Plagg’s comment.
“But I’m stuck in here, I’m not even allowed to go to school! What good is a superhero if he’s trapped in his own house?” Adrien whined, lightly stamping his foot to the ground.
“You’re right, no good. That's why it's all going to change very soon, if you're willing to that is.” A look of surprise and intense determination crossed Adrien's face.
“Now all you have to do is say…”
“Spots on…?”
Again, more grey-red light came from Marinette’s earrings, the kwami creature disappearing.
“What? What's going on?” Marinette wasn't prepared for this at all, a red and black mask seemed to appear on her face completely on its own, then the rest of her costume appeared, disguising her. She couldn't feel the outfit she was wearing before, and looking down at what she had transformed into, she started to wonder what the hell was in her coffee this morning.
“Plagg, Claws out!” Adrien was ecstatic, as soon as he was told the ‘magic words’ he dived head first.
“Wait! I wasn't done explaining-!” Plagg tried to get Adrien’s attention but as he was pulled into the ring, his voice went unheard.
A bold green light took over the room, all Adrien could see was the color and spots of black surrounding him. He smiled as Plagg's inky black transformed the color of the once silver ring, making a chiming sound before glowing spectacularly, and a bright green cat's paw appeared on the band. Instinctively, Adrien passed his hand over his face, and a black mask appeared, his eyes were cat-like as the green consumed the whites. He already knew what to do, like he'd been preparing himself for this his whole life. Running his hands through his hair, cat ears popped up. He took a mental note of that part. Adrien spread his arms, exhilarated, and his black costume started to appear and a black belt, resembling a tail trailed behind him. Once it was over, he took a second to process it all. Looking at his hands he had a sort of hard material under the fabric covering his hands.
“Oh my god…this is so cool” He spoke outloud, in a dreamy and fascinated state. The ground shook beneath him and pulled him out of his trance, he ran to his window.
“Right…a super hero needs a super villain, and would you look at that. Right on queue.” He smirked in anticipation, opening his window.
“Now how do I get there…” He put his hands on his hips, and felt something cold and metallic, he looked at it as he took it into his hands, a baton. Perfect. Adrien launched himself out the window.
Marinette stood on her balcony, nervously fidgeting with the…the magic yoyo she was given.
“This is crazy…I'm going crazy and this is my hallucination.” She murmured, staring down at the spotted object in her hand, it felt like a joke, a weird prank or something.
“Okay magic yo-yo…” She tossed it at a nearby building and it hooked itself onto a gargoyle. “Lets do th-” She tugged on the string and swung in the direction of the building, her stomach churning as she screamed. She flew across the sky and the string trailed behind her as she fell, eyes landing on another peculiarly disguised person, a black cat balancing on a pole. What kind of weird tv show is this?
Adrien looked up and saw a flash of red hurdling towards him as he barely managed to stay upright. It ran right into him and knocked both of them over. Some sort of twine wrapped around him and the other person, tying them together but also latching onto his baton which stayed perfectly extended, keeping them from crashing down to the floor.
“Well hello to you too, nice of you to drop in.” He laughed gently, making out the face of a girl wearing a mask similar to him. He was just glad he hadn't face planted in the concrete.
“Uh, yeah sorry. Wasn't on purpose.” She replied in a tired but joking manner.
Adrien untangled himself free and landed on his feet, surprisingly.
“So I bet you're the partner my kwami told me about, hm? I’m…uh…” He stopped, he had a mask on for a reason right? He probably couldn't tell this girl his real name, even if he could, what if she was a fan girl? They’d never get anything done. “I’m Chat Noir, yeah I like that, Chat Noir. And you?”
“I’m uh Ma-M…” She tried to say her name, but it was like she couldn't get it out, probably just nerves. She tugged aggressively on the string that was tied to the baton, and stumbling when the resistance gave out. She caught herself but the yo-yo landed on Chat Noir’s head.
“Clumsy, I’m madly clumsy.” She sighed
“Not a problem, I’m still figuring this out too.”
In the near distance, a large building collapsed, toppling over and dragging down other buildings along with it. Sirens started to play and ambulance and police lights lit up. Screams could be heard from the town, Chat Noir’s ears twitched at the sound he picked up. The news was on every major screen around town, showing the intense damage already caused, live footage of the disaster. The two superheroes stared at the chaos that had suddenly exploded.
Under his breath Chat Noir muttered, “Alright then…time to save Paris.”
After Kim’s apartment building was destroyed, Stoneheart needed to find another place to look. Kim’s parents were already safely taken to a hospital, somewhere he couldn't find. None the wiser, his class had been at the stadium, possibly the unsafest place to be when a huge rock monster is wreaking havoc. Was he always that big? He yelled Kim's name from the outside of the stadium, the rest of the class was running, but he stayed planted, unable to move as the monster approached. His weakened knees let him take only a few steps back before he collapsed, Stoneheart glared at him as he got closer. He prepared to crush him when a metal pole interjected, resisting the weight of the boulder that was his foot. Chat Noir glided down and said something in a smug tone of voice, Kim stared for only a moment before the adrenaline caught up to him, and he ran as fast as he could to get the hell away.
“This is working perfectly…that’s one active miraculous, just one more and Stoneheart can destroy them both.” A dark voice echoed in Stoneheart’s head, but quietly, it wasn't speaking to him.
Chat Noir and Stoneheart continued to battle, Stoneheart trying to crush him. Luckily, carrying a huge mass of rocks everywhere you go makes you incredibly slow, and if Chat Noir had anything right now it was his agility. He moved so quickly, Stoneheart was fighting a blur of black. Chat Noir jumped, dodging a blow that hit the ground instead, boosting him higher. His hands found their way to his baton, wrapping both hands around them and raising it over his head, he dragged it down in one swift move and struck him over the head. He landed gently on the back side of Stoneheart, and watched, and the cracks between the rocks glowed brightly, and expanded, making him grow significantly. A wave of dread washed over him.
“What did I get myself into…?”
Marinette stood at the stop of the stadium, watching as Chat Noir continued to resist Stoneheart’s attacks. From the corner of her eye, a blur of red caught her eye, she looked over and saw Alya of all people, her jaw dropped as she turned back to the fight and saw a goal post flying across the field, right in Alya's direction. Marinette jumped to step in, almost tossing her yoyo in the way to block it, but Chat Noir had already intervened. His baton, thrown in the way, had extended and blocked the post from hitting the girl. Marinette relaxed but she watched as Stoneheart took hold of Chat Noir while he was distracted, crushing him tight enough to draw a pained yell from him.
“What are you waiting for, Super Bug? Do something!” Alya's yell echoed in Marinette's ears. She was overwhelmed, and incredibly frustrated that she had to figure something out under pressure like this. She yelled to herself and launched the yoyo, wrapping it around Stoneheart's feet. She slid under him and yanked the string back, forcing him to still.
“Animal cruelty? Don’t be so stone cold.”
Chat Noir was launched from Stoneheart’s grasp, he flew towards the other side of the field and landed in the opposing net. He pulls himself upright.
“Thanks Wonder-Bug, now let's get back to kicking his-” Chat Noir readied his stance to jump right back into the fight, Marinette grabbed onto his belt tail and held him back, causing him to lose his balance.
“Woah wait a minute, haven't you noticed? He only gets bigger and stronger with each hit, let's try something else.”
“Something else? Like what?” Marinette bit her lip, she hadn't thought that far ahead but throwing themselves mindlessly at the problem only made it worse. “Something like our powers?”
Chat Noir reminded himself they had powers to begin with,
‘Power of destruction huh? Let's test this out.” His kwami had given him a half-assed run down of what his power was, yell out the magic word, and boom, he could destroy anything he touched.
“Cataclysm!” Dark shadows appeared around his hand, swirling around from his wrist to his fingertips. He clawed at the air and a trail of darkness followed, anywhere he moved spots of black ink appeared, like the light around him had been drained completely.
“Cool right?” He touched his hand to the goal post, ignoring the warning that came from the other superhero. He felt the muscles in his hand tighten intensely as the black aura that surrounded his hand was pulled away from him. The darkness poured into the goal post and turned it a rusty gray, quickly spreading throughout it. The bubbling black had dissipated completely, and the goal post creaked as it fell, cracking and turning to a pile of rubble and dust as it collapsed. His hand relaxed.
Marinette stared in shock, how much of an idiot was her partner really? She called after him again as he quickly threw himself at Stoneheart and got sent flying back just as quickly.
“I guess I only get one shot at my power…” He murmured, a bit embarrassed but mostly pissed.
“And you transform back in five minutes…didn’t your kwami explain this to you?”
“I might've gotten a little excited.” He jumped back on his feet and rocked back and forth.
“Well my turn now then…Lucky Charm?” Marinette tossed her yo-yo up in the air as it started to spin and glow. Some sort of trail followed its movements, almost like flower petals or ladybugs. An object started to form in the ball of light that encased her yo-yo and soon, a sort of costume manifested and fell into her hands. She stared at it for a moment.
“My kwami said I'm supposed to break the object that holds the…the thing that makes these villains. I have to find where the akuma is hiding.” She started to think about what her kwami had said. ‘Your Lucky Charm will give you a push in the right direction, just let it open your eyes’.
“Okay well that thing is made entirely of stone.” Chat Noir sighed sarcastically.
“His hand…he won't open it will he? It's been closed this entire time. The object isn't on him, he has to be holding it!”
“So what’s the plan then?”
Marinette looked around for a second and all of a sudden, time seemed to freeze, everything faded to a dull grey. Her breath hitched as she took in the sudden change, this had to be a part of her power. Her eyes landed on Stonehearts closed first and it erupted in color, an intense red with patterned black spots. As if by instinct, her gaze quickly found Alya, who sat at a distance recording them, a faucet, and a hose.
In her mind a perfect plan has already been formed. She took the hose and started to tie it to the odd suit she'd been given by her Lucky Charm. Once that was done she tied her yo-yo around Chat Noir's ankles.
“Don’t resist, just trust me.”
“You’re crazy.”
She pulled it tight and casted him out like a fishing line. Stoneheart caught him in his open hand, Chat Noir was already sore from the first time he was caught. Marinette, with the hose tied suit in hand, pulled herself towards Stoneheart, yelling a taunting jibe. His closed fist opened to grab her, an object falling from his hand.
“Alya the faucet! Now!” Marinette yelled. As Alya reacted, the water started following, inflating the costume and forcing Stoneheart’s fist open once again. Marinette fell and landed by the object, a crumpled piece of paper. She grabbed it hastily and ripped it, a moth, colored dark purple with unnatural white marking flew out, emitting an intense light around it.
Chat Noir resisted against the rocky jail that caged him, trying to steady his breathing as he grew more panicked. He could feel bits of stone grinding against his ribs, and he tried not to move much while still desperate to escape. All of a sudden, the rock shook and loosened, and in an instant crumbled around him, he fell from the height and landed luckily on the field instead of a pile of rocks. Looking up, a tough looking boy emerged from the rubble.
“She’s…amazing, totally amazing.” Chat Noir whispered to himself, collapsing in the grass, relief washing over him.
Ivan slowly opened his eyes. His vision was fuzzy and there was a ringing in his ears, as well as a pain in his head. Slowly, he started to make out the area around him, the clear sky above him, the mounds of rocks around him, the odd cosplayers sitting in the field? He realized he didn't remember…anything. The last thing he saw was the principal's office, how the hell did he end up here? He tried to get up but everything felt heavy, like he’d been carrying boulders on his head for days. The rocks scattered in the field started glowing before completely disappearing. He wondered if this was real.
“Wha…What's going on? What am I doing here? What happened??”
He turned to the two characters surrounding him, he was weak, and his voice went unheard.
“You were incredible! Miss….uh, Bug Lady. You just did that!” Chat Noir raved, completely in awe.
“We both did it, partner.” She put her fist up to fistbump Chat Noir when his ring blinked, the color of the cat’s paw flashing and making a beeping noise.
“Hey you should probably get going, you’ll transform back soon and our identities have to be secret.”
Chat Noir sighed, he was upset this was over so soon because of his rush to use his powers, but his partner was right. He gave a performance bow before starting to walk off.
“Farewell, m’lady. Let's do this again soon, okay?” He meant to sound cool and nonchalant, but he was already excited just thinking about the next time.
Marinette looked at Ivan, sitting alone with wide eyes, his knees brought to his chest. The crumbled paper in her hands caught her attention, she read,
“You don’t even have the guts to tell Mylene you love her, do you? You're all talk, pussy.”
“Kim wrote that. He's always making fun of me ‘cause he knows he'll get away with it.”
She walked over to him, his face was red as he stared at the grass.
“Theres no shame telling her how you feel Ivan, it's brave unlike Kim’s attempt to get you all riled up.”
“Hey…how do you know my name?” Marinette froze, she opened her mouth to find an excuse when,
“Amazing! You’re an inspiration. Are you Paris’s new protector? How did you get your powers? Was it a radioactive ladybug?”
Marinette saw this as an opportunity to leave before things got even more complicated, she started to walk off.
“Wait! What do we even call you?” She stopped for a second, facing the camera Alya pointed at her.
“Ladybug, Call me Ladybug.”
The dark moth escaped the stadium and found its way to the highest center point of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. It landed on the highest peak and turned into pure black, another moth appeared from the shadow, then another. Soon a swarm of moths had emerged from one, and just a moment later several swarms. They moved like clouds, spreading across the city. And one by one, they took over the minds of thousands. Statues of people replaced them, frozen in time, waiting.