Chapter Text
The multiverse is a huge place, full of wonders, and also terror. I mean? Why wouldn’t it be? You never know how a universe may go. You’d always expect things to be similar all across the multiverse, but no. Sometimes people aren’t always the same. Things change… and that’s okay. Not all universes are the same. However, some would disagree. Change isn’t something people are fond of. There are people who would like to keep certain universes in check, so that they don’t stray too off from the roots.
Chloe had a nightmare… or to be specific, is still having it. She was in a dark void, everyone around was just yelling at her, telling her to go away. In the distance, she saw her mother. The teen approached her, yelling her name out loud, but she kept walking away. She noticed her with another man… and another kid? Before Chloe could identify the new people, the floor beneath her gave away, and she felt herself dropping, plummeting down.
With a scream, the bratty teenager woke up. As she caught her breath, she was quickly forgetting the details of the dream. Doesn’t matter… it’s the first day of school. Chloe was waiting for this day. It took a lot of convincing, but Gabriel was finally letting Adrien attend public school. Ever since Emilie left this plane of existence, Gabriel’s been more distant than usual. While both Gabriel and Emilie had their issues, they both worked together to make sure Adrien was okay… despite the fact they kept him isolated from the world and had him act in various shows and be a model at a young age. It took Chloe to ask her father to talk some sense into Gabriel that he accepted in the end to let Adrien attend school.
Chloe stood up, trying to start her day, but then the whole world felt like shaking… Today's going to be an interesting day.
Chloe didn’t know what compelled her to just walk her way towards the school. Normally she’d take her limousine, but today? Everything felt weird… from the nightmares, to the feelings… she needed to take her mind away from that… who were those people? Chloe had never seen them before.
As she was lost into thoughts, the yelling of two teenagers harassing an elderly man woke her up to reality. Chloe looked at the scene… not her monkeys, not her circus- or at least, that’s what she was thinking about it… Chloe’s just the same as them… no- they were lower… at least she would pick on fellow teenagers like her.
When Chloe approached the boys and shouted at them, they turned to see her. They recognized her… the mayor’s daughter… the mean queen herself. Before she could address them, the two bullies bolted away from the scene. Chloe watched them run away… cowards. However, Chloe looked at the older man. “Are you okay?” Wang Fu nodded at Chloe’s question.
The old man was starting to get worried, as time was running out, he knew he needed to do… something. He took Chloe’s hand and thanked her for the help. Chloe replied, trying to put a smile… is this how old people thank someone? The old man then started to walk away. Chloe watched him, then she realized she was holding something. A tiny black box with red markings on it… Something about this felt… weird. However, Chloe shrugged it off, and placed the box in her purse.
Wang Fu needed to move quickly. With the warning from a miraculous holder of the future, he knew keeping all the miraculi on hand was an issue. With all the magic jewels scattered across Paris, he hopes that... whatever entity wants the jewels, won’t find them.
He already gave the ladybug miraculous to someone… now he needed the right person for the black cat. Lost in thoughts, Fu didn’t realize the traffic lights turned red. Someone on the pedestrian side noticed this, so she quickly swooped in and picked up the old man, quickly skating from one side to the other.
A car barely stopped, and the driver was cursing up a storm. The young girl shouted back at the driver. As the car started to move again, Alix turned around to see the old man. The two chatted for a bit, and then Alix bid her farewells and was getting ready to skate towards school. Before she could, Fu slipped the black box in Alix’s hood. He watched the young girl skate away, as he then went his way.
Francois DuPont. A new school year… some people were thrilled… others… not so much. Caline Bustier, the teacher, spoke up. “Nino, why don’t you have a seat in the front row this year?”
With that, Nino took his bag and went to the front row. Marinette was sitting behind him, when Chloe walked toward her bench. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Here we go again…” Marinette muttered to herself. “What do you want Chloe?”
“That’s my seat!” Chloe told the baker girl.
“It’s my seat, Chloe. It’s been this way since first grade.” Marinette explained.
“Not anymore! New year, new seat!” Sabrina, Chloe’s best friend and ‘minion’ chimed in.
“Listen, Adrien’s coming to school! The seat in front of you it’s going to be his, so this will be my seat! My daddy has already talked with our teacher!” Chloe explained.
Alix scoffed hearing that. “Of course you’d get daddy dearest to do your bidding…”
Chloe turned towards Alix. “No one asked you, Alix!” The bratty teen shouted.
“Who’s Adrien?” Asked Marinette, which made Chloe turn back to her.
Chloe bursted out laughing, Sabrina joined with an awkward laughter. “Can you believe she doesn’t know who Adrien is? What rock have you been living under?”
“Adrien’s the son of-” Sabrina wanted to explain, but the door opening stopped them all from talking. Everyone could see the blonde boy himself, Adrien Agreste.
“ADRI-KINS!!!!” Shouted Chloe, as she walked towards Adrien, greeting him with a hug.
“Chloe- hi-” Adrien replied as he hugged her back. As that was happening, Bustier came back into the class, coming to Marinette. “Marinette, why won’t you take a seat in front of the class?”
“Ms Bustier- I- I’m… why do I-” Marinette was mumbling.
“Andre Bourgeois and Gabriel Agreste called me about the seating arrangements. They want Chloe to be near Adrien.”
Something in Marinette’s brain clicked. Gabriel Agreste, she looked at Adrien once more… it’s that Adrien- Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel and famous young model. Eventually, Marinette grabbed her bag and switched seats, sitting right next to Alya.
“Who elected her as the queen of seats?” Alya, her new bench mate, whispered.
Marinette shrugged. Alix, being right behind them, chimed in. “That’s Chloe! She’s always like this.”
“Sheesh- and you all let her get away with this?” Asked Alya.
“Not… not from the lack- lack of trying…” Marinette whispered back.
“Her father is literally the mayor.” Alix explained. “She always uses him as a trump card when needed.”
Alya then looked for a picture of her favorite hero, Majestia, and showed this to the two girls. “Majestia says that all that’s necessary for evil to triumph is that good people do nothing.” Alya then pointed to Chloe. “Well, that girl is evil, we can’t let her get away with it!”
“That’s easier said than done… Chloe loves to make my life miserable…” Marinette replied.
“That’s because you let her! You need more confidence girl!” Alya told Marinette. “Anyways, I’m Alya!”
Marinette opened a box of macaroons, she didn’t even get the chance to share it with the class. She grabbed one and gave it to Alya. “Marinette!”
As Bustier was introducing herself to the classroom, Chloe was watching over. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Though, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Meanwhile, Adrien tried to do some small talk with his benchmate. “Uh. Hey! Adrien!”” He offered his hand to Nino for a handshake.
“You’re friends with Chloe, right?” Asked Nino, and Adrien nodded.
“I’ve known Chloe since I was a little kid… she’s my only friend…” Adrien explained.
“Then it’s time you start to make some new friends, dude! I’m Nino!” He took Adrien’s hand for the handshake.
As the class was wrapping up, Kim decided to tease Ivan with a paper note.
“KIM!” Shouted Ivan, which alerted their teacher. Bustier asked Ivan what was going on. “It’s Kim- he-”
“Ivan, go to the principal’s office, now!”
Ivan crumbled the paper note and pocketed it, then made his way to the principal’s office.
Somewhere, in Paris, a man, wielding the butterfly miraculous, sensed the negative emotions of Ivan. The man, wearing a purple cloak, hat and mask, smirked.
“Good to see even today teachers sending youngsters to the principal’s office.” The man then reached his hand out of the cloak, and a white butterfly landed on it. The man closed his hand, and when he opened it, the butterfly had a dark deep purple coat. “Go on, my little akuma, and evilize this young man!"
“Excuse me, young man! Hasn't anyone taught you to knock? Go on and try again! Go on, knock!” Damocles, the principal, told Ivan.
As Ivan slammed the door, the butterfly flew into the paper, transforming into energy and turning the object purple.
Ivan’s vision blurred, as everything turned to black. He could feel an arm on his shoulder.
“Greetings, young one!” The man spoke.
Ivan turned to see the man. He stumbled and tried to back away.
“No need to run away, my fine companion. I am The Monarch Butterfly!” The man introduced himself. “I am here to bestow you with an offer you can’t refuse.”
The teen, silent, looking at the man in a horrified expression, murmured. “W-what?”
“I can give you the power to seek revenge on those who have wronged you! What do you declare?”
Ivan thought about it… he didn’t know if this was a good idea. As he stood up, the man approached him. “Is there any catch?”
“None at all, my companion! What do you say? Do you accept my offer?” Monarch asked once more.
Ivan looked left and right… nothing else… he turned to the man and spoke softly “...yes…”
“Magnificent! You shall now be known as Stoneheart, a stony giant that will grow with each strike you receive!” With a snap of a finger, Ivan’s body was covered by dark energy. The young boy screamed as he could feel his body growing an outer layer of rocks. The pain stopped once the transformation was done. Ivan’s body was covered from top to bottom in rocks, the only things visible were his eyes and mouth.
Stoneheart gently knocked the door.
“Well, come in!” Said the principal.
However, Stoneheart kicked the door, breaking it. Damocles looked at the student, now a monster in his eyes.
“KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMM!!!!” Shouted Stoneheart as he then ran away.
Denis Damocles quickly picked up his phone and called the police. “Hello? Is this the police? Get me the army!”
As the students were studying in the library, they could hear someone yell out Kim’s name. Alya and Marinette quickly turned to see the tv displaying the security camera footage of Stoneheart.
“What is going on? Why does he have Ivan’s voice?” Marinette quickly shouted.
“It’s as if he’s been transformed into a real-life supervillain!” Shouted Alya, then went to check to see if she had enough battery on her phone. “I am so outta here!”
“Hey! Where are you going!?” Shouted Marinette as she watched Alya head for the exit.
“Where there’s a supervillain, there’s always a superhero close behind! No way I’m missing this!” And with that, Alya left the library.
Marinette watched Alya leave… she then looked at the screen, seeing Stoneheart throw a car at the camera… Marinette looked once more at the exit. She took a deep breath, then ran towards the exit herself… no way she’s gonna let Alya get killed today.
The school was evacuated, and most of the kids got to their homes safely.
Adrien had to hear his father berate him for going to school when he told him the world was dangerous. Adrien would try to plead with him, since it wasn’t his fault a student got turned into a rock monster.
Kim was trying to hide from Stoneheart. Alya was following Stoneheart, as Marinette was trying to follow Alya.
Back in her room, Chloe thought about inspecting the little box she got from that old man. As she opened the box, a bright glow flashed from it. Chloe shielded her eyes with her arm. As the light started to fade, Chloe lowered her arm. Right before her, there was a strange creature. A red, ladybug-like creature, with two sets of arms, wings, legs, two antennas, black spots and big baby blue eyes. “Hello Chloe!” The creature spoke softly. “I am Tikki, kwami of creation!”
Chloe only stared at the creature for a few moments. She screamed and yelled. “WHAT ARE YOU? HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?”
Tikki was… uneasy… Kwamis are multiversal by nature. Each kwami has access to the memories of their counterparts from all over the multiverse. In most universes, Tikki’s partner is the clumsy yet loveable Marinette Dupain-Cheng. However, Tikki is used to the odd universes where she has another partner. A universe where Chloe’s the partner are rare, but never unheard of. However, the big question is… will this be a universe where Chloe will learn to be an actual hero? Or is Tikki going to have a miserable time as she watches Chloe sink deeper into villainy.
“Listen- Chloe- I know everything may seem a bit strange to you, but I’ll explain everything.” Tikki told the teen. “You have been chosen to wield the ladybug miraculous!” Chloe looked into the box… the pair of earrings drew her attention, and she put them on. “The power of the miraculous is creation, you can create anything using your ‘lucky charm’ ability. However- this isn’t the only thing… the butterfly miraculous is out there… active… someone is using it for evil, and you can use your powers to capture the akuma and save the day.”
Chloe heard the words… save the day… she can be a hero, she can finally be seen, heard… remembered… “Tell me more, Tikki-”
Alix, just like Chloe, was inspecting the strange black box that somehow got its way in her hood. She was sitting at her desk as she opened it. A bright green light flashed and a cat-like kwami formed.
The cat let out a huge yawn, then went “Man- it’s been a long while- I’m starving!” Plagg looked at the kid. “Plagg! Nice to meetcha! Ooooh- what’s that?” Plagg said, as he flew towards a shelf, looking at all the random trinkets. “Oooh- can you eat this?” He said, as he tried to eat a joystick. “Blegh- no you can’t-”
Alix looked at the cat fly from left to right. She sighs, “I’m getting dad to deal with this-” She said, as she got up and started to head for the door.
Plagg then flew right in front of Alix and went. “Whoa whoa whoa- hold on! Your father must never know I exist! In fact, no one else for that matter!”
“Wait- why not? Is the world gonna explode?” Alix asked.
“Not really.” Plagg replied, rolling his eyes. “But a hero needs to keep their identity a secret.” The cat explained further. “I know… lame.”
“Hero?”
“Kid, look in the box, there’s a ring!” Plagg pointed to the box. Alix took the box and saw the ring. “I’m a kwami, I grant the power of destruction. You shout ‘cataclysm’ when you want to destroy stuff, and you transform by saying ‘Plagg, claws out’.”
“Okay? Plagg, claws out!” The girl shouted.
“W-WAIT NO NO NOT YET I HAVEN’T FINISHED-” Plagg shouted as he was quickly dragged into the ring. In a split second, Alix changed into her new hero form. Her attire was mainly black with blue accents. A jacket with short sleeves, knee and elbow pads, a helmet with cat ears, a belt that acted as a tail and a pair of shoes that had retractable wheels. Her hair color was changed to a dark shade of blue and while she had blue irises, her sclera turned a light shade of blue, and she also had some ‘whisker’ markings on her cheeks. She noticed the staff and inspected it.
Shortly afterwards, Alix jumped from the window and she could be seen skating on the rooftops. As she tried to make her way towards the stadium, someone fell on her. She shoved the person away and yelled “HEY- WATCH IT-”
Alix looked at this new person. She was a blonde. Wearing black pants and shirt, with a long red vest that sported black spots. White gloves and black boots. Her mask was red with two black spots that made it look like she was wearing eye shadow. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a headband that has two antennas.
“Who are you?” Asked Alix.
“You may call me, Madame Bug!” the other heroine stated. “Who do you think you are, stray?”
“I’m Aaaaaaaal- Axel! Axel- you may call me Axel!” Axel answered Madame’s question.
Madame looked at Axel… Tikki mentioned she’ll have a partner, but she thought she could handle this whole hero thing on her own. However, creation and destruction need to be balanced.
“Well, Axel- nice to meet you-” Madame said sarcastically. “However, I can deal with this hero job on my own!”
“No way-” Axel shouted. “I’m not going anywhere! Besides, I have my- … this person from whatever- was- just-” Axel tried to explain, then she bolted towards the stadium.
Madame watched as Axel was running towards the stadium… she shortly followed her.
At the stadium, Stoneheart was chasing Kim. Alya was recording while Marinette was trying to drag her out of the danger zone. Madame and Axel arrived just in time, as Madame wrapped her yoyo around Stoneheart’s arm, giving Kim just enough time to flee the scene. As Madame was trying to hold Stoneheart in place, she yelled “STRAY, MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL!”
Axel sighs. She drew in her staff and quickly lunged forward, hitting Stoneheart’s leg. However, she witnessed how Stoneheart just grew more. “This isn’t looking good…” Axel softly let out. Stoneheart flung his arm, which launched Madame into the air. “Shit-”
Axel ran, trying to catch Madame. However, Madame fell on top of her. “If this is going to be a recurring thing then I don’t want to be part of this-” Axel mumbled to herself, as she shoved Madame away.
Madame got up, then looked at Axel. “What did I say about being useful, stray?”
“Hey- at least I cushioned your fall there, roach!” Axel replied.
Alya was recording the heroines. Despite their bickering, Alya found it interesting to see two superheroes right in front of her. “Oooh, this is fantastic!”
Marinette grabbed Alya’s arm. “Alya- I don’t think it’s a good idea to stand here- we should run before Stoneheart decides to attack us-”
Stoneheart grabbed a soccer goal net and hurled it at the heroines. While they dodged it, Axel noticed it was heading towards the girls. “NO-” Shouted Axel. She quickly rushed towards the duo. She leaped into the air and shouted “CATACLYSM!”. With a touch, the goal post was turned into ash. Axel faceplanted in front of Marinette and Alya.
“EEK-” shouted Marinette, as she helped Axel stand up. “Are you okay?” asked the baker girl.
Alya, however, was excited. “THAT WAS AMAZING! YOU CAN DESTROY THINGS?”
“Yes- I can do that…” Axel told the girl. She turned towards Stoneheart, then back at the duo. “You two should leave. This is dangerous!” And with that, Axel quickly went towards Madame.
Marinette, once more, grabbed Alya’s arm and tried to drag her away from the stadium. “You heard the cat girl, Alya, let’s leave this place!”
Alya however, stood still. “No way! I’m not gonna miss this!”
As Madame was watching Axel return, she told the cat heroine “Why’d you waste your power like that? You now only have 5 minutes before you detransform!”
“Because I had to have the girls?” Remarked Axel. “Isn’t this our job as heroes?”
Axel was right, however, Madame took a bit to think about it. “Listen here, stray, all I know is that I can restore everything to how it was before the attack. Now, if you excuse me. LUCKY CHARM!” Madame yelled as she launched her yoyo into the air. A swirl of ladybugs formed around it, forming a new item. As Madame caught it, she saw it was a swimsuit. “...” Tikki this isn’t what I wanted, Madame thought.
“How is this gonna help us, roach?” questioned Axel.
“I have no idea…” Madame replied. She threw the swimsuit down on the floor and looked up at Stoneheart. “That’s okay, I’ll just have to hit him more-”
Axel interrupted Madame. “DON’T! He grows the more you hit him!”
Marinette approached the heroes, looked down at the swimsuit, then picked it up. Alya followed her shortly.
“We need to find the object where the akuma is hiding.” Madame explained.
“What’s that?” Asked Axel.
Madame turned to Axel, looking unamused. “Do I need to explain everything? Did that kwami of yours not explain it? Something about a butterfly infecting an object. We need to break it so we can get rid of this monster!”
Marinette chimed in, “Well, have you noticed that he always keeps his hand closed?” The girl asked the heroes.
“Good observation!” Axel replied. “If we can make him open his hand, we can make him drop whatever item he has!”
Marinette was tying the suit to the water hose. “I have a plan! If we can make him grab this, then maybe we could-”
“Good plan!” Madame said, then wrapped her yoyo around Alya. She threw the girl towards Stoneheart.
“ALYA!!!” Shouted Marinette. Stoneheart catched Alya in one of his hands, but no object had fallen down.
“Your turn now!” Madame spoke, as she did the same thing with Marinette. The young girl screamed. Stoneheart managed to catch her without dropping his object.
“TH- THE HOSE- THE HOSE- THE TAP-” yelled Marinette, which alerted Axel. She rushed to the tap and turned on the water hose, which started to fill the suit. Eventually, he opened his hand, dropping Marinette and the infected object.
Axel rushed to catch Marinette. “GOTCHA!” She exclaimed when she managed to catch the girl.
When the object landed on the ground, it broke on impact. A purple butterfly emerged from it and flew away. Madame Bug grabbed the swimsuit and threw it into the skies, yelling “MIRACULOUS MADAME BUG!”
A wave of ladybugs swarmed around, fixing all the damages. Stoneheart was turned back into Ivan, and then both he and Alya were falling down. Marinette and Axel quickly stood to the task to catch them both. As Marinette set Alya down, the teen quickly ran towards Madame. Axel was holding Ivan, who was knocked out. Kim, seeing the coast was clear, approached the group. Axel then went to Kim. “Hey, can you hold him for a second?” She said, then passed Ivan to Kim, much to his annoyance… until he took a closer look to the boy.
“THAT WAS AMAZING!” Shouted Alya. “Can we get the names of our two new heroines?”
“Madame Bug!” Madame introduced herself to Alya.
The girl quickly turned towards Axel. “And you?”
“...Axel…”
Afterwards, both of their miraculous beeped.
“Well, I can’t stay here longer!” Madame alerted the girls. “I gotta go! But don’t worry! I’ll be back~!” And with that, she casted her yoyo in the distance and flew away.
Marinette then turned to Axel before she could leave. “H-hey… thank- thank you for catching me earlier- earlier-”
“Hey, no worries! Besides, it is a hero’s duty to help civilians… sorry about Madame back there… I don’t know why she decided it was a good idea to use you two as bait.”
Marinette awkwardly chuckled. “You don’t have to apologize for something she did…”
Axel shrugged, but then went. “Hey- quick thinking back there! I’m sure you’d make a great hero!”
“Oh, me? No way- I’m- I’m way too clumsy for that!” Marinette told Axel.
Alya approached her new best friend and put her arm on her back and palm on her shoulder. “Don’t say that girl! Have some confidence! You’d make a great hero if given the chance, I’m sure of that!”
Axel’s ring beeped once more. “Ooookay- time for me to leave!” And with that, Axel skated away.
Marinette and Alya then shifted their gaze towards Ivan and Kim. The girls approached them. “Is Ivan okay?” Asked Marinette. She took a closer look at the boy- speechless… Sure, Ivan was turned back to normal, however, not completely. Small patches of rocks could be seen on his cheeks and arms… the kids could hear the police sirens approaching.
Throughout Paris, the news was playing on thousands of televisions. Marinette, Alya and Kim were seeing it through the hospital’s waiting room television. The other classmates from the comfort of their rooms.
“So thanks to this amateur footage, the Parisians now know the identities of their heroes!” Nadja spoke.
Andre Bourgeois then followed. “I am pleased to announce that we will be organizing a huge celebration in honor of our city’s new protectors. Madame Bug and Axel!”
Chloe in her room, adjusting her eyeliner, was happy to hear that people are already celebrating. On the flipside, Alix was starting to write things in a blank journal, listening to the news.
The girl turned to Plagg and asked. “Don’t you think it’s a bit too early to celebrate?”
Plagg shrugged, as he chomped at a piece of camembert. “Eh, you and buggy bug did a good job. I think a little celebration won’t hurt anyone.”
As Marinette and her other two classmates were waiting on news about Ivan, the breaking news did draw their attention too. Nadja just reported that people were turning into stone monsters.
Both Chloe and Alix looked in horror at the scene.
“What- How? Wasn’t this supposed to be over?” Asked Alix.
Tikki and Plagg both asked in sync. “Did you capture the akuma?”
Chloe looked at Tikki. “I forgot-”
Tikki tried to reassure her holder, it’s pretty common for her holders to miss the akuma first day. “That’s okay! It happens You’ll just have to remember that next time.” she continued. “Just remember- if an akuma is left unchecked, it can multiply quickly- and if Ivan’s emotions become negative again, the akuma will turn him back into Stoneheart.”
Chloe nodded. “I’ll remember that-... next time…”
Meanwhile, Alix and Plagg were having a conversation on this topic.
“So you’re telling me only Madame can capture and purify the akuma?” Asked Alix, and Plagg nodded. Alix groaned. “Oh- great- wonderful- so I have to deal with her next time we’ll have to fix this issue.”
A man was watching the same news as the kids, but on a computer. “That child has a sensitive heart. It will only be a matter of time until the negative emotions will strike, leading to my akuma to go after him again.” The man closed the tab, then opened a new one with the footage of the attack. “Madame Bug… Axel… you two look young, I can tell that even with the glamorous… children shouldn’t play with such powerful jewels. Once I can get my hands on those miraculi, I will make better use of them.” He said, as he closed the tab.
Nooroo watched the scene, trapped in a magical bird cage, so that he wouldn’t be able to just phase through it. This isn’t looking good.
Ivan was finally awake, having to come to reality with the current situation. Not only was he turned into a giant stone monster, but there were… marks. The doctor eventually let the three kids enter Ivan’s room to check how he was holding up.
“Hey Ivan-” Marinette said, and Ivan waved back. “Are you feeling okay? Is everything fine?” The girl asked.
“Would you like a quick interview for my upcoming blog? I’ve got a ton of questions!” Alya asked. Marinette gave a quick glare towards Alya. “What? I think it would be good to interview him… so he can tell the world what happened.”
Kim approached Ivan and told him. “You were seriously gonna crush me there, dude-”
“I’m sorry- I wasn’t myself there-” Ivan finally spoke.
“If I knew that would happen- I wouldn’t have teased you about it.” Kim continued.
“Tease you about what?” Asked Marinette, and Alya gave her the crumbled up note.
“I picked this up before we left the stadium.” Alya explained.
Marinette picked up the note, uncrumbled it and read it out loud. “You haven’t even got the guts to tell Mylene you love her, wuss.” Ivan looked away, and even Kim felt a bit weird about being the cause of this whole mess. “Ivan-” Marinette said softly, “you should tell Mylene how you feel… I’m sure she has feelings for you as well… just… go talk to her.”
“But I’m not good with words…”
“Who needs words? You can draw her a picture, send her flowers, write-” Marinette suggested, and Ivan perked up.
“I could write her a song?” Ivan asked.
“That’s a great idea! What girl wouldn’t want a love song written?” Marinette spoke. “You should definitely go for it!”
“Y-yeah…” Kim chimed in. “You should-” He offered Ivan a handshake. “No more teasing, but you should do it!”
Ivan eventually shook Kim’s hand.
Alya asked once more. “Hey- would it be okay if I filmed?” Ivan gave a quick thumbs up as a response. Alya then quickly held up her phone and started recording. “Tell me everything that happened!”
“... I don’t remember much when I was Stoneheart… but I remember what happened before… I was in front of the principal’s office, then this purple butterfly came and everything went dark… then this man showed up… I was scared… but he offered me powers so I could get revenge on those who wronged me…”
“Do you remember how this man looked?” Alya asked.
“All I remember is that he had a cloak and a hat… and he called himself The Monarch Butterfly… that’s all I remember.” Ivan explained.
“Alright, thank you!” And with that, Alya closed the recording. Just in time, a staff member of the hospital came in to tell the kids to leave so Ivan could rest. The three bid their farewells and left for the day.
The next day, Ivan was the topic most of the students at Francois DuPont were talking about. Even his classmates were talking, some more worried than others.
“So- hopefully- Ivan should be discharged tomorrow…” Marinette was explaining the situation to the whole class.
“I hope he’s going to be alright…” Rose chimed in.
“Poor guy…” Adrien also joined in.
“I just hope the mini interview I did for the blog will help the boy out. Can’t imagine how scary it is to be transformed into a monster and have no memory of it.” Alya explained.
Chloe scoffed. “If you wanted to make him look good, you would have trimmed out the part where he admitted that he accepted that strange man’s offer. Didn’t his mommy or daddy teach him not to accept shady offers from strangers?”
Alya and the rest of the crew turned to face her. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me. Once a monster, always a monster!” Chloe continued.
“Ivan had no memory of what happened when he was Stoneheart! If anyone here is a monster, you are!” Alya shouted.
“Oh, really? Am I really the monster here?” Chloe told Alya.
“Yes, you are!” Alix said, as she walked in front of the crowd. “Ivan was heckled by Kim, meanwhile you have no excuse to be such a bitch to the whole class!”
“Oh look who finally decided to talk! Bug off and go skate into the seine, you little gremlin!” Chloe told the skater girl.
“How about you return back to that man child you call ‘daddy’ and leave us alone!” Alix retorted back.
Adrien was a bit embarrassed to watch the scene unfold. “Chloe… that’s not nice- that’s not how you make friends with people.”
“Adrien, I’m not friends with anyone here. I only need you and Sabrina!” Chloe explained.
“Well… maybe we’re enough for you… but I want more friends Chloe… that’s why I wanted to go to public school with you…” Adrien once more explained.
Chloe looked shocked to see his answer. “But Adrien- you only need me-”
Adrien was shocked to hear this too… that’s the same thing his father told him… all he needed was him, Nathalie, Gorilla, and Chloe. “L-look- let’s just… not turn this into a war- we can all be friends-”
“Friends with Chloe? Never-” Alix explained.
“It’s just… it takes a while to get to know her…” Adrien replied, then turned to Chloe. “Look- Chloe, would it hurt to open up to everyone here?”
“Yes, Adrien!” Chloe told her friend.
“Well… fine… but that won’t stop me from trying to make new friends.” Adrien said.
Alix turned to Adrien. “So- you’re telling me that Chloe’s your only friend?”
“Yeeaaah- Oh- wait- there’s also Nino now!” Adrien said, as he pointed to Nino.
“Well-” Alix offered Adrien a handshake. “I’d love to be your new friend too! I’m Alix”
Adrien took Alix’s hand. “Nice to meet you!”
Before Chloe could interject, Bustier finally entered the classroom.
Later that night, Chloe and Tikki were having a conversation.
“Chloe… what you said at school today wasn’t nice at all… you know that?” Tikki, the ladybug kwami, spoke.
“And? It doesn’t matter! These kids deserve it!” Chloe said, as she was writing things down in a notebook.
“Chloe… that’s not how a hero acts…” Tikki tried to plead with Chloe.
“Just because I’m Madame Bug doesn’t mean I have to act like I tolerate these kids. Ivan could have just rejected that man, and the others need to watch their tone.”
“NO!” Tikki flew right in front of Chloe’s face. The kwami shouldn’t really talk about other timelines and universes with a mortal, as that could take ages to explain. However, she wants to spare herself some grief in this universe, so she might as well offer Chloe some wisdom and spare her as well some grief as well. “Chloe Bourgeois, listen here! You’re a hero now! A hero needs to be on their best behavior, both in and out of the costume. If you keep going down this path and keep your attitude, your fate will lead you down on a miserable path! This is your only warning!” Tikki explained that, maintaining eye contact with Chloe the whole time. “Got it?!”
Chloe, hearing Tikki’s words, and remembering the nightmare she had yesterday, nodded. “...Got it…”
“Good!” Tikki smiled, once again being her cheerful self. She landed on the table and started to munch on one of the cookies Chloe prepared for her. Chloe meanwhile thought about Tikki’s words… Her fate is going to be miserable… but… it’s not like Chloe can just turn on a switch and not act like this…
As this was happening, more and more people were getting turned into stone monsters.
With a new day, it means new possibilities. Ivan is finally out of the hospital. Good, Monarch is starting to lose his patience. Not being able to take advantage of other’s emotions since Stoneheart’s akuma is still out there, which is really starting to make him regret not recalling it any time sooner.
As the gentle giant stepped inside the halls, he could feel everyone staring at him. Kim then came right beside him, trying to chase off any snot muncher that wanted to tease him for the Stoneheart incident. He whispered “Hey- did you get to write the song?” Ivan nodded. Kim gave a thumbs up.
As they walked through the hallways, Mylene was running, worrying about how she’s gonna be late. She eventually bumped into Ivan. Kim stepped aside to let Kim muster up the courage to confess.
“I-Ivan!! Y-you scared me-” Mylene spoke softly.
“I made this for you.” Ivan said, as he played loud music on his phone and started to sing the song he wrote for Mylene. However, the loud noises scared the girl, and she ran away.
Ivan watched as she ran away, and Kim approached. “Eeesh- hey- I mean- it’s Mylene- she’s scared of her own shado-” Kim was interrupted by Ivan throwing his phone on the ground and stormed off. Kim sensed that something bad was about to happen, so he chased after Ivan. “IVAN- WAIT UP-”
“Yes! Perfect!” Monarch, sensing Ivan’s emotions flare up, was eager for his butterfly to target him once more.
Eventually, Kim found Ivan in the locker room. “Ivan?” No response from his classmate. “Look- listen- I-” he stopped when he saw the butterfly fly towards Ivan’s crumbled piece of paper. Kim watched as the butterfly turned into pure energy, and the whole object turned dark purple. The jock quickly ran towards Ivan, placing his hands on his shoulders… big mistake.
Kim’s vision darkened, as everything went dark around him. Kim and Ivan turned to see The Monarch Butterfly once more.
“This is your second chance, Stoneheart! And this time, you’ll have some extra help!” Monarch explained.
“No!” Shouted Ivan.
“What do you mean no?” Asked Monarch.
“Listen! I don’t want to deal with this anymore! I’ve hurt people! They think I’m a monster because of you! And I don’t want to be that! I don’t want to be like him-” Ivan pleaded.
Kim then stepped in front of Ivan. “You heard him!” shouted the jock. “Leave him alone!”
Monarch then laughed. “Oh, my dear companion… since when were you in control?” Asked Monarch. With a snap of a finger, Kim turned to see Ivan kneeled down, screaming in pain as he witnessed him turn into Stoneheart. Monarch then placed a hand on Kim’s shoulder. “As for you-” Kim turned his head to see Monarch. “Since you want to hard to protect your friend…”
“Agreste, Adrien?” Miss Bustier asked.
“Present!” Adrien jumped and raised his arm. His classmates laughed at the scene.
“Bourgeois, Chloe?”
“Present!” Chloe replied.
“Bruel, Ivan?”
And with that, Stoneheart knocked the door down. Chaos erupted as Stoneheart entered the class and grabbed Mylene. Chloe quickly managed to get out of the classroom, but while she was rushing to find a place to hide, she stumbled upon Kim… who’s got… changed. He looked like a knight with armor formed by rocks and boulders, and pointed his sword towards Chloe.
“KIM??? WHAT’S YOUR DEAL???” Shouted Chloe, as she was trying to find an opening so she could run.
“The deal is that you need to pay for your actions?” Kim told the spoiled brat.
“What does that mean?” Chloe asked, getting more annoyed by the jock blocking her way so she could transform.
“We all heard what you said yesterday about Ivan! And now, I can’t let you escape without-”
Chloe hit Kim in the face with her purse, which stunned him long enough for her to run away. “Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous-” Chloe murmured to herself as she rushed to the bathroom. Then the teen slammed the door behind her and opened her purse. “Tikki!”
Tikki, who was trying to recover from the dizziness caused by the sudden movement, looked up at Chloe.
“We need to fix this mess! Tikki, spots on!”
Stoneheart was running away, holding Mylene. The majority of the class was following him. Alya wanted to record the incident for her newly created blog. Rose and Juleka were worried about Mylene. Adrien just wanted to watch the chaos, and Nino tagged along. Meanwhile Marinette was trying to convince the kids that they shouldn’t follow the giant rock monster-
There were lots of smaller stone minions roaming the streets, creating havoc. Alya was recording everything, documenting the attack. However, one of the stone monsters grabbed a car and threw it towards the kids. Marinette quickly jumped and tackled Alya out of the way. The car hit the building nearby, the girls barely dodging it. Both Alya and Marinette looked in horror at the scene, however… Alya was on the case as she stood up.
“Alya?” Asked Marinette. “Alya- we need to go!” Marinette spoke once more, as she grabbed Alya’s hand. “Please!”
Alya then quickly ran towards the Eiffel Tower, where Stoneheart was heading. Soon, the other classmates were following her. Head in hands, Marinette was losing it. “I need new friends". As she said that, she could hear.
“Aww, but what’s wrong with us?”
Marinette turned to see Stone Knight Kim, pointing the sword at her. “Kim What’s going on?”
“Fighting for Stoneheart! That’s why!”
“Kim! Knock it off! You don’t have to do this!” Marinette explained.
“Oh yes! I do! Monarch’s orders, Marinette!” Kim explained. “And now with Madame Bug and Axel! We need to get their miraculous!”
“...what?”
“... I spoke too much!” Kim said. “But that’s okay! Once Monarch gets the miraculous, things can finally return to normal!”
“Kim! Please! Don’t do this-” Marinette pleaded, but Kim then ran past her. Marinette, despite not wanting to do this, followed Kim.
Madame Bug quickly made her entrance. On the top of the roofs, she was examining the damage. She noticed Axel was fighting smaller stone monsters and protecting civilians. “HEY STRAY! STONEHEART’S GOING TO THE EIFFEL TOWER!” She shouted, then casted her yoyo in the distance and headed her way there as well.
Axel was about to shout something when Madame fled the scene. Axel sighs then after making sure the civilians were safe, skated her away towards the main scene.
Stoneheart then climbed the tower, and as soon as he reached some height, he started to cough. Police surrounded the tower, despite the kids shouting that any hit makes him bigger, the police force didn’t even listen and continued. As Stoneheart continued to cough, a dark purple sludge started to pour down from his mouth, hitting the ground. Eventually, this sludge rose up and started to form a figure.
“People of Paris, listen to me! I am… The Monarch Butterfly!” The man spoke. That same name that’s being talked about on the internet… the same man who turned Ivan into this stone monster. “Madame Bug, Axel… you two should give up your ladybug earrings and the black cat ring now… you two have done enough damage in this town!”
“As if!” Shouted Axel. “Don’t shift this on us, fuzzballs! You’re the one that used a child as your pawn! It’s because of you those innocent victims got turned into stone monsters!”
“As the stray said! You’re the one that started this fire, and we’ll be the ones to put a stop to this!” Shouted Madame.Then, she grabbed her yoyo and hit the figure, which turned back into sludge.
The classmates were watching this. Okay these heroes are cool! Marinette reached Madame and Axel. “Look. Ivan has a crush on Mylene! Maybe if we can tell Mylene that, maybe we can get Ivan to snap back in control?”
Madame casted “LUCKY CHARM!” and with that, she got a parachute. “There you go Stray!”
“What am I supposed to do with this, Roach?” Asked Axel.
“Figure it out!” Madame shouted, and Axel rolled her eyes.
Axel equipped the parachute and climbed the tower. Eventually, she managed to reach Stoneheart and Mylene.
“H-hey, kid- can you hear me?” Axel whispered. When Mylene nodded, she added. “Ivan has a crush on you- try to get to him-”.
Mylene was trying to comprehend everything. Stoneheart did say some stuff, but she still didn’t know what to say…
“I-Ivan?” Asked Mylene, and then Stoneheart looked at her. “Y-you don’t have to do this- y-you know?”
“... it hurts… I don’t want to do this… but he’s forcing me…” Stoneheart explained.
“Isn’t there anything to make this stop?” Mylene asked… and then Stoneheart got an idea.
Stoneheart could already hear Monarch yelling at him. “Stoneheart! What are you doing?”
He needed to be really quick. He let go of the tower and quickly grabbed Mylene with that hand. Then he quickly grabbed the tower with his other hand, making the object fall down on the ground. The impact shattered it and the butterfly was trying to escape, but Madame quickly captured and purified it. With the butterfly purified, Stoneheart was starting to collapse. Boulders quickly fell off of Ivan’s body and now he and Mylene were free falling. Axel quickly jumped and grabbed the two. “THE CORD-” Shouted Axel and Ivan pulled the cord, deploying the parachute. Axel, Ivan and Mylene landed safely down. Madame then came and grabbed the parachute from Axel, threw it into the air and yelled.
“MIRACULOUS MADAME BUG!”. This fixed everything in Paris once more… for the most part. The two heroines quickly made their exit before the media could approach them. The classmates approached Mylene and Ivan, asking them questions and making sure they were okay. As that was happening, a limousine pulled in. Adrein recognized it, so he quickly made his way out of the group. Marinette and Nino noticed it.
On a television screen, Adrien could see the footage of him next to his classmates on the akuma site. Gabriel closed the tv and looked at Adrien.
“I let you go to public school, and then the next thing I see on the news it’s you right in the middle of danger!” Gabriel spoke in his monotone voice.
“Most of my classmates went after it- I- I just wanted to belong.” Adrien explained.
“If your classmates jumped in the Seine, would you follow them?” Asked Gabriel.
“No- no of course not!” Adrien pleaded.
“Adrien, listen closely. This is exactly why I didn’t want to let you out. The world outside is dangerous! You never know what could lurk around the corners!”
“B-but father-” Adrien spoke once more.
“No more buts! Go to your room!” Gabriel told his son, and he went upstairs.
Nathalie, his assistant, stood right beside him. “Are you really gonna forbid Adrien from going to school?”
“You don’t get it Nathalie… I can’t let him out with the butterfly out there.” Gabriel explained. He then turned to see the portrait of Emilie…
“You know danger’s gonna follow him even if he’s in school or not.” Nathalie said, as she walked away to leave the room. Gabriel kept looking at the portrait. If only she was still here… if only the butterfly was still with him. But Gabriel’s feeling like he’s losing control these days… he can’t keep Adrien locked up, he’ll eventually want to explore… that’s normal for a totally normal boy… right?
Alix was doing some research… several people had to be hospitalized after the attack. “Hey Plagg, the lucky charm fixed all damages caused to buildings. How come there are people that still have injuries- wait… no… that’s not-” Alix spoke out loud. It was written that these victims had small, rocky patches on their skins, just like Ivan had.
“Oh, that’s just magical residue.” Plagg interjected.
“You see, the ladybug miraculous can fix any damage from destroyed buildings to broken bones, or even bring back the dead if it’s in the right time frame. What it can’t do is destroy magic. Sometimes, magic from certain miraculous sticks along for a while, and that can manifest as either fever symptoms or even strange things not usually seen in humans.” Plagg explained, as he sat down on the table right next to Alix. As he started to munch on his piece of camembert, he added. “It should heal on its own in a few days. No worries."
Alix looked down at her journal, slowly getting lost in thoughts. Magical residue? This is not going to end well, is it?
Updated designs for Madame and Axel
