Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Episode One: Origins

"Centuries ago, a great mage lived on the border between the human and magical realm," a small voice mumbled, the words being pushed from his throat. "With her power, she was able to contact magical beings known as 'kwamis.'" Hawk Moth grinned from the shadows.

"Yes, like you, my Nooroo," he said, extending his hand to the kwami. Nooroo bounced back out of reach. He clicked his tongue and motioned for him to continue.

"This mage contacted the most highly regarded blacksmiths in her village, yet no one answered her call. Finding herself at a loss, she made the long trek back to her family home, where she reunited with her brother.

"The mage collapsed into the embrace of her brother, sobbing. She had spent the past years of her life alone, only speaking to kwamis when they managed to enter her communication array. Her brother, a talented but humble jeweler immediately had an idea and set to work on it.

"And so, the miraculous were born, taking the shape of precious gems, inspired by the jewelry of other cultures visited by the mage. With these gems, the mage and her brother were able to create a constistent means of communication with the kwamis, harnessing their powers with a bond formed through a mutual understanding of responsibility." Nooroo finished, exhaling at last.

"Yet, there are some more powerful than others, yes? Tell me about their power and how to harness it." Hawk Moth pulled at Nooroo until the kwami's voice came through once more.

"…Yes. The miraculous of the Ladybug—the miraculous of creation; the holder of the earrings has the power to break the laws of nature and add more atoms to the universe when they use their 'Lucky Charm,' summoning an item that will help them in their goals. This miraculous must always remain in the hands of someone responsible, caring, and kind," Nooroo gave a side eye to Hawk Moth. The man snarled in return, scaring Nooroo back into talking.

"On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is the miraculous of the Cat, who harnesses the power of destruction. The Cat holder keeps the power within a black ring. When they say the word 'Cataclysm,' they gain the power to crumble anything with a touch. This force must never be used on a person, as even us Kwamis are unsure of what would happen. The holder of the cat must be agile, clever, and creative in tough situations.

"When these two miraculous are brought together, they give the holder the ability to grant one wish. However, this wish has consequences; for example, to save the life of one person, another person's life must be sacrificed. All things must be balanced, for where there is creation, there must be destruction." Nooroo said, looking down, ashamed of everything he gave away. Hawk Moth's eyes began to glimmer.

"Yes, Nooroo, this is exactly what I need! I must acquire the miraculous of the Ladybug and the Cat, immediately!" He raised a fist in the air, causing his kwami to flinch.

"But, Master, the whereabouts of the miraculous have been unknown for years! How will you—"

"Silence!" The man yelled, zipping Nooroo's lips. "I found you, my kwami, it's only a matter of time until we force the miraculous holders out of hiding. Nooroo, dark wings, rise!" Nooroo gave in and flew into the brooch on Hawk Moth's shirt, transforming him into the villain he truly was. He laughed softly too himself, quiet enough to go unnoticed by most, but vile enough to send a shiver down the spine of any who would have heard it.

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A small turtle kwami awoke from his nap with a start.

"Master! Master!" He shouted from his box, unaware of the fact that his holder, Wang Fu, was tending to a customer. Fu startled and muttered a rushed excuse to his customer, practically pushing them out the door.

"…see you again next week!" He said, slamming the door in the man's face with a bright smile. Fu turned to his kwami with worry and exasperation.

"I hope this is important, Wayzz," he joked, coughing into his fist. When Wayzz did not respond with a smile, Fu wiped his own, noting the seriousness of the situation.

"I felt him! Nooroo!" Wayzz exclaimed, "The Moth miraculous is back in use!" Fu knitted his brows.

"That's impossible. I—They were lost years ago." He muttered. 

"Honestly, Master Fu, I'm not sure how it happened, but I fear he's fallen into the hands of someone with a dark presence. His emotions are all over the place and his aura becomes more negative each passing day," Nooroo explained.

"I suppose this means I must fight once more!" He rose, pumping a fist in the air. "Wayzz—" Fu collapsed before he could finish the transformation phrase. The kwami sped over to his side with worry.

"Master, it is high time we select new heroes. We've been doing this for too long." Fu grimaced as he used his cane to rise once more, giving a long look to the gramophone before sighing.

"You're right." He walked towards the gramophone and pressed a combination of buttons, revealing the miraculous box. His hands hovered over the jewels for a beat before pocketing the miraculous of the ladybug and the cat.

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"…and this is how you play a C chord," a boy with blue hair explained as he moved a boy's fingers into place on an acoustic guitar. Juleka Couffaine watched her twin brother, Luka, as he taught a group of kids in the park, smiling. She envied his ability to communicate so openly with others, as she was someone who found it difficult to speak above a whisper in many cases. Luka took one arm from the kid, lightly moving it up and down in a demonstration of how to strum. The boy giggled at the sensation, expression contagious to the other kids as they broke out into a fit of laughter.

From the side, Juleka noticed a child hiding behind a bench, peeking over to see the instructions, but seemingly too scared to engage with the group. They were tall compared to the others their age, with chin-length brown hair, trying to position their hands into the chord Luka had just taught. Juleka let out a small huff of laughter at the attempt, as their fingers were bent at an odd angle and their thumb was covering what would have been a sixth string on a guitar. The kid noticed the attention and ducked behind the bench once more. Juleka tilted her head in curiosity, excusing herself from the group and getting closer to the child. Despite the fear in their eyes, they did not move, so she gave a small wave and gestured to her own guitar. The kid perked up slightly, popping above the bench to get a better look. 

Wordlessly, Juleka showed the C chord once more, strumming to create a clear, harmonious sound. Their eyes shined in awe as they moved around to the other side of the bench. Upon sitting, they tried the same chord in the air, eliciting another chuckle from the teenager. She hesitated for a second before offering the kid the guitar. They carefully took it, allowing Juleka to readjust the way they were holding it. She nodded her head and made the shape of the chord to indicate to give it a try. The child carefully places their fingers on the fretboard. Juleka lightly moved their hand, pushing down on their fingers to show how to press down onto the strings. They took their arm, repeating the same motion Luka had demonstrated on the little boy previously, strumming a dischordant C and flinching. Juleka laughed again, moving their thumb away from the edge and applying pressure to their digits. The next time they strummed, it sounded much better, though still rough. Juleka smiled and gave a thumbs up. The kid beamed and handed the guitar back to put their fingers to their chin and flick it towards her. Thank you. Her eyes lit up with recognition, pleased to meet another person who was non-verbal. She put two fingers up to her nose, bent them and flicked it towards the kid; You're welcome. 

Satisfied, the kid ran toward an adult—presumably their mother—signing furiously, faster than Juleka could fully understand; she had only learned sign language for emergencies when she didn't have her Ipad with her and needed to communicate, while the kid seemed to be fully non-verbal. The mother-child duo walked off with big grins, talking with one another in their differing forms of communication.

"That was really nice of you, Jule," Luka appeared behind her. She rubbed her neck bashfully.

"It was nothing," she mumbled, slipping her guitar strap over her shoulder. He laughed lightly in return. 

From afar, Fu watched with great interest. 

"What a kind girl.." he muttered, Wayzz peeking out of his bag at the tone.

"Master, she's quite young. Are you sure she would be a good fit? I'm sure there's plenty of caring adults out there!" He said worriedly. The older man grimaced.

"You raise a good point, however, I fear that if we do not act quickly, the new butterfly holder will strike and there will be no one left to defend Paris. We'll continue looking around, but keep that one in mind, alright?" The kwami nodded, tucking himself back into Fu's bag. 

Fu walked through Paris, making his way through the busy sidewalks. In the madness of the crowds, it was nearly impossible to pay close attention to the good deeds of anyone. Despite that, Fu turned his head every which way to attempt to find someone.

"Master, this can't be a good way to search…" Wayzz said as he peeked out from Fu's bag.

"It's highly efficient! The right person could be any-" the elder began before a boy dove in front of him.

"Watch out!" he stumbled back a little, bumping into Fu. He turned around, holding a soccer ball and wearing an embarrassed expression.

"Um-I'm sorry. I saw this flying towards you and I was just really worried it'd hit you!" The boy waved his hands frantically. "Looks like I probably ended up hurting you anyways though.." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. With black hair and pale skin, his green eyes stood out sharply, a pop of colour in his otherwise monochromatic face. Despite the bright colours of his jacket, though, he seemed to curl in on himself in what looked to be an attempt to hide. 

"Oh, no, no. I'm just fine! Much better off than I would've been had you not blocked that shot!" Fu laughed. At that response, the boy eased up a little.

"Thank god! Sorry to bother you, but you don't happen to have the time, do you?" he asked, looking around. Fu glanced at his watch.

"It's almost 8:30. Is there somewhere you need to be?" The kid startled in response.

"Um-school, yeah. Gotta go, sorry again!" he glanced to the side then tossed the ball into the park it had come from, darting off to school.

"It's that time of year already...?" Fu mumbled to himself as he watched the boy run.

"First day of school, I believe." Wayzz responded, causing Fu to grimace.

"Makes me even more worried about the butterfly holder striking. First days are always full of emotion." He shook his head. "We have to act fast. That boy was rather fast-acting, take note of him please."

The kwami nodded worriedly.

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"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! That's my seat!" a shrill voice shouted. Juleka groaned and tried to drown it out as she walked to the very back row, where her best friend, Rose already sat.

"Jule!!" She hopped up excitedly, hugging her. Juleka hugged her back with a blush.

"Um. Hey." She muttered, taking her seat. Rose giggled in response.

"Did you have a good summer?" Rose asked. Juleka nodded and scanned the room to see who her classmates would be this year. In the front right corner, Chloé Bourgeois and Sabrina Raincomprix sat grumbling about being moved by Ms. Bustier. Nino Lahiffe was across from them, scrolling on his phone. In the next row above him, Marinette was seated with a new girl, sharing a macaron and chatting. To their right, Alix Kubdel was fully turned around, engaged in a thumb war with Lê Chiên Kim behind them. Max Kanté was recording the battle and rattling off statistics from his spot next to Kim. Beside Alix, Mylène Hapréle was sneaking glances at Ivan Bruel in the row across from and above hers very unsubtly. Whenever the two would meet eyes, they'd both turn away with a blush, causing Juleka to chuckle. Finally, across from Juleka and Rose, Nathaniel Kurtzberg was drawing in a sketchbook with little energy.

"Our class is gonna be interesting this year, isn't it?" Rose said, as if she could read Juleka's mind. She hummed in agreement.

"Alright, everyone. Homeroom is over. Those of you headed to P.E., M. D'argencourt is waiting for you at the stadium. Everyone else, please head to the library." Ms. Bustier announced, causing the class to begin to shuffle around.

"Kim!" Ivan stood up, fists balled. Ms. Bustier stopped him before he reached Kim.

"Ivan! What is going on?" She asked as she restrained him. In his anger, Ivan pushed past her, eyes widening when he realized what he'd done.

"I-I'm sorry. It's Kim, he-" Ms. Bustier cut him off before he could explain with a stern face.

"This behavior is unacceptable. Go to the principal's office. Kim- see me once everyone has left." She pointed to the door but glared at Kim, who was sat back completely relaxed, feet on the desk. Under her gaze, he took them down and ran off to the stadium. Juleka turned to look at Rose, who shrugged.

"I have P.E. next, where are you headed?" Rose said. Juleka sighed.

"Library. I'll see you later though?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course, silly!!" She gave two big thumbs up and a smile, making Juleka blush again as they exited the room and parted ways.

Once at the library, the girl opened her horror book, immediately becoming thorougly engrossed in it…for the first ten minutes of the bell. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her focus by a loud stomping sound and screaming. Within an instant, the door came crashing down and students were knocked to the floor. In the security camera, Juleka saw a monstrous being terrorizing Paris. When it realized it was being watched, it attacked and destroyed the camera, cutting all signal.

"Attention, students! This is not a drill! Please immediately evacuate the building!" The principal, Mr. Damocles' voice said through the P.A.. "Police? I NEED AN ARMY!!! Oh wait, wrong button-" he cut himself off. All of the students in the library began to panic, except for the new girl, who was looking at her phone and urging a scared Marinette to follow her. Juleka tried to focus on getting out and calling Rose. After three calls that went to voicemail, she gave up and ran home.

Marc Anciel burst through the door to his classroom, out of breath.

"Glad you could finally join us, Marc." Ms. Mendeleïev said sarcastically. He quickly slipped into his seat near the back—next to his best friend Aurore Beauréal—ignoring the giggles from his classmates.

"What time is it?" He whispered, getting his notebook out of his bag. 

"8:40. We're about to actually get into our classwork, dumbass. Where have you been?!" She asked, elbowing him. He recoiled and shrugged.

"Helping an old guy?" from the seat behind him, Marc was flicked. 

"First day of class, dude. Is it impossible for you to be on time?" His classmate and friend, Alain Desroches asked. With messy attire and dark eyeliner on his water line, Alain was anything but approachable to many. However, in their little group of misfits, he was the perfect addition. Marc had been cautious when Aglaé first introduced him, as he had apparently previously been friends with Chloé and Sabrina, neither of whom Marc had good experiences with. However, he quickly proved to be nothing like the other two.

"It's not my fault the sideways are packed when it's hot! I swear, tourists pick the worst time possible to visit. I was shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of Americans!" he wrinkled his nose.

"How do you know they were American?" Aurore asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I could…smell it on them…" he trailed off, a distant look in his eyes.

"It's not like it's hard to tell who is a tourist here." Mireille Caquet commented from her seat in front of Aurore. "They tend to be unable to walk on the sidewalks in my experience."

"Maybe you're the problem." Aurore said, casting a rude glance down at Mireille.

"What?! I walk perfectly fine! If anything, you're the problem, with your big parasol up all the time!" Mireille countered. The two began bickering quickly, finding something to argue about in every topic.

"Beauréal, Caquet! Please, save your fighting for another time, preferably when you are outside of this classroom!" Ms. Mendeleïev snapped. "Now, open your tablets and navigate to the Learning app. We'll be going over the syllabus for this year. Those of you that have had me before know what to expect, however I see a few new faces in here, so we'll go over it regardless."

Marc nudged Aurore. "How are you supposed to ask Mireille out if you only ever fight with her?" he whispered, earning him an elbow in the ribcage. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said through gritted teeth, cheeks red.

"Fine, no need to attack me." he said through a groan. Despite her "good girl" look, Aurore was not kind to most people once she got to know them; Marc particularly was often on the end of her jokes, due to their close bond since primary school. Trying to ignore the pain in his side, he opened his app and the syllabus. After glancing over it, he slid his notebook under the table to write in. Recently, he had been stuck in a writer's block, with nothing to serve as inspiration. Don't get him wrong, Marc had a great life with wonderful people, but it was bland. He spent the majority of his time in his room or at school. He just wanted something to happen.

He didn't expect it to happen so soon, though. As he was tuning out Ms. Mendeleïev, the floor shook. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around. Paris never gets earthquakes, what was happening? The ground continued to shake, though.

"Everyone, under your desks. Pin yourself up against the corners!" Mendeleïev shouted before ducking under her own. Before long, Mr. Damocles' message came over the P.A., leading to a panicked evacuation, despite Mendeleïev's efforts to keep it orderly. Once outside of the building, Marc looked back at the school, where dust was billowing from the courtyard. He looked at Aurore , fear in his eyes. Her expression matched his, so he tried to put on a strong face and nod. She gave a tight-lipped smile and the two ran in opposite directions.

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Once home, Juleka sought out her family members.

"Lu? Ma?" She called, but there was silence. She ran around the boat, shouting, however she found no one. Pulling out her phone, she noticed she had missed five calls from Luka and a few from her mom as well. Juleka quickly dialed Luka's number.

"Jule? Are you alright?" He voice came through the speaker. She sighed in relief.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay. School evacuated. Where are you?"

"We're still hiding. They're treating it as a lockdown."

"You guys are far enough out there to not be attacked, I think, but be safe still, okay?"

"Of course. I'll call you with any updates. You too, Jule. Love you." Luka said before hanging up. She phoned her mom next, though she didn't seem as concerned as Luka, laughing the whole time and assuring Juleka it'd be fine.

Sighing, Juleka flopped down on her bed. When she looked up, she noticed an odd box on her bedside table.

"What's this.." She muttered, examining it from all angles. Because the outside didn't give anything away, she opened it. 

A light engulfed her for a moment. When it faded, a small, red creature vaguely resembling a ladybug was in front of her.

"Um. Hi?" She said, confused but intrigued. Hesitantly, she reached a finger out to poke the creature. In response, the thing jumped back.

"Hi!!" it exclaimed. "I'm Tikki! Nice to meet you, Juleka! I've heard good things about you." Juleka frowned at that.

"How do you know my name? I didn't tell you." She said suspiciously. Tikki giggled bashfully.

"Well, I'm a kwami, a magical creature from another realm. The guardian told me about you before leaving me in your care." She explained.

"….Huh. Cool." Juleka remarked, taking in all the information. 

"You're not scared…?" Tikki inclined, seemingly confused. The girl laughed.

"Why would I be scared? I think it's super awesome that you're not from this realm. What did you mean the guardian left you with me, though?"

"Basically, there's a guardian that takes care of all of us usually. We haven't been needed until recently, so we've just stayed with him and relaxed for a while. But the time has come for us to act. You saw Stoneheart, right?" Tikki asked. Juleka knit her eyebrows. Seeing her confusion, Tikki picked up the TV remote and turned it on, showing the news.

"That's Stoneheart. He was a person, but a villain used powers granted by one of us kwamis to turn him into a monster, utilising a little butterfly called an Akuma. Which brings me back to why I'm here: We need you, Juleka. You must put on those earrings and harness the power of the Ladybug miraculous, to free Stoneheart with the power of your Lucky Charm!" She exclaimed, pumping an arm in the air. Juleka shrugged uncomfortably, picking up the earrings. She put them in hesitantly.

"I don't know.. I don't think I'm meant to be a hero, Tikki." She admitted. 

"You definitely are! You're the chosen one! You aren't alone either, you have a partner! Any damage that's done can be undone, too! Just use the phrase 'Miraculous whatever-your-superhero-name-will-be!'" Tikki replied. "All you have to do to transform is say 'Spots on!'"

"'Spots on?'" She asked for clarification. In a flash, Tikki was pulled into the earrings. As the uniform began to appear over Juleka, she shrieked slightly.

"What?! What is this???" She shook her arms out, flapping the wings attached to her suit. She quickly found the nearest mirror to examine her new getup

"I mean..I don't hate it?" She said with a shrug as she examined her red and black hair. "Hmm. Okay, I'm done now. Tikki, come back!!" She shouted into the empty boat. Unfortunately, the creature did not reappear. On the TV, reporter Nadja Chamack continued her live broadcast.

"Stoneheart is headed toward the Montparnasse Tower! The monster seems to be unstoppable!" The video cut to footage of the police force being knocked down by the monster, tailed by Marinette and her new friend.

"Marinette?? Fuck. Okay. Okay! I can do this. Yo-yo? Powers? Yeah, I got this." Juleka attempted to hype herself up before running to the deck of the boat and swinging the yo-yo.

——————————————————————————————————— 

Marc ran into his house, twisting his key in the doorknob rapidly. When he arrived, neither of his parents were home. He made his way to his room and sat on the bed, exhaling.

What was that evacuation even about?? He wondered. He checked his socials, where people from his school were posting about some sort of rocky monster. Baffled, he searched it up. "Citizens of Paris are attacked by Stoneheart!" He quickly clicked on the article and read through it, his fear steadily increasing.

"No way this is real.." He muttered to himself. As he went to go look out his window, he spotted a small wooden box, ornate with red engravings.

"Hm? What's this?" He opened it without precaution and a kwami came flying out at him.

"Ahhh, free to stretch my legs at last! Do you know how long it's been since I've been able to do that?" The creature griped. Marc stood frozen in place, jaw dropped. Coming to his senses, he screamed and grabbed a pillow to smack it with.

"Hey, hey! Cut it out, Marc! I'm not gonna bite you!" The kwami shouted back, dodging the pillow.

"What are you? How did you get in my apartment? Why do you know my name?" Marc asked through swings. 

"If you'd quit trying to kill me, I'd tell ya!" Marc considered it, then grabbed a spare cup and trapped the kwami in it. He looked at Marc with dull eyes, phasing his arm in and out of the glass.

"This means literally nothing to me, but if it's what it takes to get you to listen to me.." he put his tiny arms (hands? Marc wasn't sure if the thing had those) on his hips. 

"You done?" he asked at last. The teenager sighed and dropped the pillow.

"Yeah. Answer my questions now." He replied sternly.

"Alright, alright! I'm Plagg, a kwami. I got in your apartment 'cause the guardian dropped me off here. I know your name 'cause the guardian told me about you. That good enough?" Plagg half-ass explained. Marc glowered at him.

"Of course it doesn't! Who is this guardian? How do they know where I live? What is a kwami???"

"Are you capable of asking one question at a time? Jeez." Marc rolled his eyes at this. "I can't tell who the guardian is, but he makes sure we— as in the me and the other kwamis—don't fall into the wrong hands. Usually. I don't know why he knows where you live. A kwami is a creature that can bestow power upon the holder of their miraculous." Plagg explained.

"What is a-" Marc started.

"A miraculous? It's that ring in the box I came from. Put it on already." He waved an arm. Marc put on the ring. "My power is destruction. You wear that ring and say 'Cataclysm,' you get the power to destroy whatever you touch. You only get five minutes after that before you transform back, though! Use it wisely."

"Destruction? Uh, I think you have the wrong guy. I don't want to destroy stuff." Marc said. "I'm a pacifist, okay? And I'm like thirteen, you know?" Plagg's eyes bugged out of his skull (if he had one. Marc still didn't know how their anatomy worked.)

"You're thirteen?! What was he thinking?!" The kwami exclaimed in shock. "Alright, kid. Listen to me. We're gonna find someone else to have this power. Whatever you do until then, do not say the words 'Claws out,' got it?"

The boy tilted his head. "'Claws out?' Why not?"

"Oh, come on! Marc, you're gonna be a pain to work wi-" Plagg yelled furiously, arms crossed as he was sucked into the ring.

"Plagg? Where'd you go?" Marc called out, not realizing the transformation he was undergoing until it reached the skin on his arms.

"Eep! What is happening? I feel like a snake is crawling along me!!!" He yelped. "Plagg, answer me!" He yelled into the empty space. In the mirror, he caught a glimpse of his reflection and shrieked.

"PLAGG. CHANGE ME BACK!"

When he got no response, he checked the news on his phone again. On the live feed provided by some kind of superhero fan blog, he saw his family friend, Marinette, held in the fist of the monster he'd seen earlier. The camera rose with speed and then fell even faster, cutting the feed off.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Was that Marinette?? I have to do something, now!" He panicked. The sound of keys in his door made him jump.

"Marc, hon? You home, rainbow?" He heard his mom call out.

"Uh-yeah! I'm home. Gonna take a nap, don't come in!" He yelped, opening his window and perching on the sill.

"…Alright. Today must have been stressful, so rest well." She responded. Marc felt a pang of guilt. He had never lied to his parents before. A crash down the street shook him out of his thoughts and he grabbed the weird pole at his side and jumped. He really hoped that rumor about cats always landing on their feet was true.

——————————————————————————————————— 

Juleka knew she was falling and that she should have been more scared, yet the feeling of adrenaline swept every other emotion under the rug as she clung onto her yo-yo. When she came close to the ground again, she was dragged back up by the pendulum-like momentum. She grinned with giddiness. Unfortunately, her joyride came to an end when someone slammed into her. Both tumbled onto a roof.

"Ow.." Juleka groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Sorry. Are you okay? I'm sorry." The other person sputtered out. Clad in all black with ears and a tail made out of a belt, he seemed to resemble a cat. Was Juleka's partner a catboy???

"Uh, it's fine. You don't need to apologize that many times." She said bluntly, standing up and dusting off her uniform. "Anyways, I'm…Harmonia. Yeah, I like that. You must be my partner?" 

"Sorry, I have no clue what you're talking about. I just know I can destroy things." the other hero said, clearly filled with anxiety.

"We're superheroes. I'm assuming you have a kwami too? Mine told me I'd have a partner, so I thought it'd be you. Unless you're just dressing up like that for fun." She shrugged. "No judgement if you are, though."

"I'm not, I'm not!" He waved his hands quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be your superhero partner, but I can help you for today? I don't really know how to get out of this thing anyways." He gestured to his outfit, shaking his leg out. 

"Okay, then. What should I call you?" She extended a hand for a handshake.

"Uh, M-" He started, before Harmonia cut him off.

"NOT your real name! Secret identities!" She exclaimed.

"Oh. Right. Call me…Hm..Salem Feline?" He gave a confused look and shook her hand.

"Alright, so did your kwami explain what we're doing here?" Harmonia asked. Salem Feline gave ber a blank stare. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, taking that as a no. Basically, we have to defeat Stoneheart and turn him back into a human using our powers. There's a butterfly called an akuma that's making him evil. You use your power and I use mine. Lucky-" She explained.

"Wait! If your power is like mine, you'll only have five minutes after you use it before you detransform. Let's get to Stoneheart before you use it, okay?" Salem Feline interrupted. Harmonia paused, thinking it over, then nodded.

"Good idea, partner. Any idea as to where he could be?" She asked. Salem shook his head.

"No, but I can get super high up and look with this thing." He tossed his stick into the air.

"Okay, report what you find when you come back down." Harmonia ordered. Salem smirked.

"'Course. I wouldn't leave you in the dust." He said before giving a salute and using the pole to scan the area.

Within moments, he leapt back down.

"There! The stadium!" He pointed.

"Good work, kitty cat. Want a ride?" She offered, extending an arm. Salem tilted his head but shrugged.

"Sure?" Harmonia grabbed him and jumped off the roof of the building.

"Wait-! Fuckfuckfuck you're gonna get us killed!!!"

"Trust me, Salem Feline." She said with a confident smile, flinging out her yo-yo.

——————————————————————————————————— 

He's going to die. It's going to be right now, today, desperately holding onto some girl he barely knows, Salem thought, eyes squeezed shut. There was an impact and he was sure that was the last thing he'd ever feel.

"Open your eyes, cat! I can't fight this guy alone." Harmonia yelled, causing him to groan. He almost wishes he did die, instead of having to fight this…thing. When he opened his eyes, the sight of the rock monster shouting and chasing a teenage boy greeted him.

"KIMMMMM!!!" Stoneheart bounded clumsily towards the boy, who was currently outrunning him, but clearly losing energy.

"Ivan?" Salem heard Harmonia mutter. 

"Huh?"

"Oh- nothing. I think I know who that is though." 

"Is that helpful?" 

"I mean yeah, helps us figure out what the akumatized object is!"

"The what?"

"Did your kwami tell you anything???"

"Well- he didn't really get to? He told me to just hold on while he found someone else and to not say something and I accidentally repeated it so-"

"Gods, help me. Okay- an akumatized object is the object that the evil butterfly is hiding in. We destroy that, we free the person."

"He doesn't have any objects though? He's just…rocks."

"Look closely—his left fist has been closed this whole time. It's probably in there!" Harmonia pointed. Salem nodded.

"Lucky Charm!" Harmonia called out, hands up. A piece of paper fell from the sky slowly. Salem gave her a confused look.

"What are you gonna do with that?" He asked. She glanced around, practically seeing the objects light up around her.

"Sorry, cat." She said with a shrug as she swung her yo-yo around Salem's legs. She then flung him toward Stoneheart.

"What the hell, Harmonia???" He yelped. As he approached the villain, his heart rate increased exponentially.

"CATACLYSM!!!" he exclaimed, raising his hands. He had no other option-! What was Harmonia thinking?!

"No!!" Harmonia shouted as Salem's gloved hands touched Stoneheart. Instantly, he began to crumble and wail. Harmonia rushed over and dug through the pile of rocks. Underneath it all was a humanoid figure, eyes not opening.

"What did you do?!" She snapped, spinning furiously to face Salem.

"I-I don't know! I'm sorry!" He covered his head with his arms. Harmonia glared at him, then found the paper Stoneheart had been holding and ripped it. She then threw her own identical paper into the air and yelled desperately, "Miraculous Harmonia!"

In seconds, the world around them was restored. The pile of rocks was surrounded by ladybugs and a distraught teenager appeared.

"Are you okay?" Harmonia immediately asked. The boy grimaced and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" He responded, looking up at the hero. Harmonia looked back at Salem for a second, then returned her gaze to him. 

"You're safe now, that's all that matters." She picked up the paper and read it, crumpling it in her fist.

"Kim gave that to me. He's always making fun of me." the boy mumbled.

"You don't deserve that. It's okay to feel your emotions, but if the villain tries to hurt you while you're down, try to push back, okay, Ivan?" She gave a small smile. Ivan smiled back, before realizing she used his name.

"Wait, how do you know my name??" Harmonia jolted, laughing nervously. 

"Uh- earrings are beeping! Gotta go! Stay safe!" She lied before running and leaping off. Salem sighed, looking down at his ring. Three minutes. Enough time to make sure Marinette was okay.

"You guys alright? You were caught in the midst of the fight." He extended a hand to Marinette. She took it, eyes glimmering in the sunlight.

"Yeah! Alya, look! It's the hero!" She nudged her friend, who immediately pulled out her phone.

"Alya Césaire, journalist in the making. What you just did was incredible! You saved the city! What can we call you and your partner?" She pushed her phone in front of his face.

"Um. Salem Feline. My partner is Harmonia." He answered. Alya grinned.

"Awesome! Would you be willing to attend an interview with me sometime?" She inquired, stars in her eyes. Salem's ring beeped its last beep.

"Maybe? I gotta go now, though! Stay safe!" He called as he used his pole to exit the stadium.

——————————————————————————————————— 

"Gods, that was awful, Tikki. Please never make me do that again." Juleka muttered into her pillow, trying to stay quiet, as her family was now home.

"You did good!" Tikki tried to cheer her up.

"Ivan could've died! I don't know what I'm doing here." She flipped onto her back.

"Well- maybe communicate your plans a bit more with your partner? You can't do this alone. It's too much for one person to bear!" Tikki gave Juleka's cheek a hug.

"Maybe. I just wanna take a nap now, though." Juleka turned onto her side.

"…Okay. You earned it." Tikki acquiesced. "Before you nap, though, do you have any sweets? My energy is drained."

"Yeah, I've got some macarons from Marinette." She reached over to her end table and opened the box, offering the kwami one. Tikki ate it quickly, obviously famished.

"Thank you, Juleka. You're a great holder." Tikki admitted. Juleka hummed in return. She didn't feel like a great holder. She felt like the worst person in the world. Of course her lack of communication would mess things up. She wasn't enough. She never would be.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, Juleka heard her mom shout at the TV.

"Eh? There's more of 'em?" Anarka said. Juleka shot up. More of them? She couldn't mean..no. Juleka had defeated Stoneheart…unless she'd messed up somehow? Unable to stop worrying, she darted into the other room to check the news.

"Just as Paris was about to celebrate the appearance of our two new heroes, Harmonia and Salem Feline, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters! It's simply unbelievable."

"Oh no. Nonononono." Juleka muttered to herself.

"Ya alright, Jule? If yer worried about these monsters, 'm sure there's no need. Harmonia and Salem Feline will take 'em down!" Anarka comforted. 

"Yeah..yeah. You're right." She said, determined. "Thanks, Ma." She gave her mom a peck on the cheek and sprinted to her room.

"Tikki! We have to fix this! How did it happen?!" She whisper-shouted. 

"I'm so sorry, Juleka! I forgot to mention, you have to capture the akuma, or else it'll multiply. It's entirely my fault." Tikki cried. Juleka shook her head.

"It's okay, we all make mistakes. We gotta fix it now, though. So, we just make sure Ivan doesn't get overwhelmed by negativity again?" She asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Alright. I-I can do that. Yeah. Yeah." She assured herself.

——————————————————————————————————— 

"I'm hungry! You got any Camenbert, kid?" Plagg asked a tired Marc.

"Fridge. Get it yourself." He groaned.

"You gotta get up! It wasn't that bad! You were pretty awesome out there, even." Plagg comforted. "Anyways, I can't get it myself. Your parents might see me?"

Marc dragged himself off of his bed slowly, grumbling the whole way. He messed up so. so. bad. He used Cataclysm on a person! Idiot, idiot, idiot. He wallowed in his thoughts as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing some cheese and slinking back to his room.

"Eat it in here. I'll be right back." He commanded. Either Plagg was in a good mood or he was just too hungry to fight back, because he was let off the hook. Marc made his way into the living room, where his parents sat watching the TV. He had hoped to get a hug from them or something, but the expressions on their faces immediately brought him away from that idea. He turned to face the TV and, upon seeing the massive stone monsters that stood still among Paris, bolted back to his room.

"Plagg! I thought we defeated Stoneheart!" He exclaimed. Plagg looked up from his pile of cheese with a sad look.

"You're really gonna interrupt me during my feast? Did you guys not capture the akuma?" He asked with a frown. Marc gave him a look of confusion.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"If you don't capture the akuma, it'll multiply. If Ivan gets akumatized again, he'll have a whole army!" Plagg dropped his cheese in annoyance.

"This is all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have been given this stupid ring. I'm sorry, Plagg. Goodbye." Marc said sadly, sliding the ring off.

"Wait, Marc-!" Plagg tried before the box was closed.

——————————————————————————————————— 

"Ivan has a sensitive heart. It won't be long before anger and sadness strike again. Then, he and the stone beings will come alive. We'll see how long you will remain hidden, then, Harmonia and Salem Feline! Once I have their miraculous, they will be unable to stop me. Everything will be…perfect…again. Trust me, Émelie, I will save you. No matter what it takes."

——————————————————————————————————— 

The next day, Marc packed the box into his school bag. He'd give it to Aurore! She's reliable, even with all her chaos. She and Plagg would get along. He'd justified it fully to himself. Of course, Aurore would be able to deal with that burden much better than him. She was much better with people and incredibly smart. She was perfect. Much better than him, anyways.

"'Rore, would you wanna be a superhero?" He asked her at the beginning of class. She looked at him, baffled.

"I don't know. I guess? It'd be kinda cool. Is this for your fanfiction?" She wondered.

"Yeah, totally. Thanks." He said, pretending to return to his tablet. When she faced the board again, he dropped the case in her backpack. 

Feeling the weight lift from his chest slightly, he sighed and decided to pay attention in class for once.

The world had other plans for him, though, because he could soon hear screaming and the familiar voice of Stoneheart. Mr. Damocles' message followed not long after, and soon the class was evacuating quickly. Marc watched as Aurore picked up her bag and walked out. He trailed after her, making sure she didn't leave without the box. A tremble shook the ground and Marc's eyes widened as the case fell from Aurore's bag. Why did she never zip up her bag???? He wondered, frustrated, as he bent down and picked it up.

"Aurore! You dropped this." He extended his hand. She raised an eyebrow with a confused smile. 

"That's not mine, dumbass." She said bluntly.

"It fell from your bag?" He attempted to play dumb. She pursed her lips for a moment before another tremble came. She then shrugged.

"Dunno. You can keep it, I guess. Probably something the studio gave me I forgot to throw away." Aurore guessed. "I really think we should just get out of here, though. Unless you're some kind of hero, that thing is going to kill us."

"Yeah. Right." He looked down, biting his lip and glaring at the box. "I'll…be behind you in a second. I forgot my notebook in the classroom." He lied, running into an empty classroom. Marc held his breath as he opened the box and slipped on the ring.

"Plagg. I need Salem Feline one more time."

"I knew you'd be back!" 

"Yeah, whatever. This is the last time, though." He bit his lip one final time before calling out the transformation words. "Claws out!"

——————————————————————————————————— 

"You seriously don't remember any of it?" Alix prodded at Ivan.

"You were totally out to get me, dude!" Kim exclaimed, raising his arms. Ivan frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm really sorry. I wasn't myself…" He trailed off. Mylène gave him a soft smile. Juleka pat him on the shoulder.

"Once a monster, always a monster!" Chloé laughed as she approached. Ivan grimaced and balled his hands into tight fists.

"How could you say that?! You're the real Stoneheart!" The new girl, who Juleka had learned was named Alya Césaire, said. 

"Yeah, no. I wasn't the one who broke Sabrina's dad's arm. Only a monster would do that." She snarled at Ivan again. This time, he stood up and stomped away. "Don't let the door hit you on your way out!" She yelled with a giggle.

"What is your problem?!" Alya snapped. Marinette put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head slightly to indicate that she should stop.

"Uh oh! Watch out everyone, she's angry! She's going to split her clothes and turn into a big muscly monster!" Chloé cackled. Alya glared at her before huffing and walking away. Juleka looked Chloé up and down with disgust, then ran to find Ivan. In the distance, she could hear Chloé switch up completely when someone called "Adrikins" showed up. She shook her head and continued searching.

In the locker room, Juleka found Ivan curled in on himself on the floor.

"Hey, I." She said quietly, sitting down with him. "Wanna talk?"

Ivan squeezed his arms tighter.

"…Do you think I'm a monster?" he asked.

"No, never. You're as human as any of us." She said, resting her head against his shoulder. He hummed in response. "You know, telling Mylène isn't the worst idea. Might help you get some of those big feelings off your shoulders." She suggested. Ivan rest his head on his knees and shook it.

"It's like Kim told me. I'm too much of a coward to ever tell her." He grumbled.

"What are you scared of, anyways? Mylène will understand, even if she doesn't like you. Which, in my opinion, she probably does." Juleka nudged Ivan. He smiled a little.

"I'm not good with words anyways. It's why I write music." He shrugged.

"Then write her some music. I'm sure she'd appreciate that a lot." 

"I could try…?" He said tentatively, like if he put the words into the world it would take away that possibility.

"You've got this, Ivan. Stay positive." She gave him a final hug before standing up. "Let's get to class, though, okay?" Juleka extended a hand. Ivan took it with a grin.

"I've got a stop to make, but I'll meet you there!" He said excitedly, waving her off.

Back in the classroom, Ms. Bustier was pushing kids back into the halls.

"Out! Out! Go to your classes or I'll send you to the principal's office!" She threatened. Juleka slunk by, making her way to Rose.

"What's going on…?" She muttered.

"We've got a real life celebrity in our classroom! Adrien Agreste, the model, is our classmate starting today!" Rose squealed. Juleka tried to place the name. She'd seen it, probably while researching modeling. 

"Oh, rad." She responded.

"He's friends with Chloé, though." Rose said sadly, pointing to where he was messing with gum placed on Marinette's seat. When Alya and Marinette arrived, Alya began cursing him out. After a first attempt at defending himself, he backed away silently, taking his seat beside Nino. 

"Oh, boo." Juleka said. Either way, she didn't care too much. As long as Adrien didn't target her or Rose, she'd be fine. Not long after, Ms. Bustier began to take attendance.

"Agreste, Adrien?" She called. The blonde stayed silent for a moment before Nino whispered something in his ear, to which he immediately jolted up and yelled "present!" The class erupted into laughter. Beside Juleka, Rose giggled with the class. Something about her smile, her pure and unfiltered joy brought a small smile to Juleka's face, and before she knew it, she was laughing with the class. 

"Bourgeois, Chloé?" Ms. Bustier said, trying to hide a smile.

"Present!" Chloé announced with the confidence of someone who had never been spoken over before.

"Bruél, Iva-" The teacher began. Before she could continue, a large, burly stone figure broke the door down, causing chaos to envelop the room. Juleka ducked behind her desk, watching warily.

"Present." Stoneheart said bluntly. "Myléne?" The villain scanned the room with speed, locking onto his target within seconds. 

"What's he gonna do?!" A voice whispered as hands gripped Juleka's arm. The girl jolted at the feeling, snapping her head away from the action. Looking at the offender, she quickly realized it was only Rose. Well, only wasn't really fitting, since the blonde made Juleka's heart pound faster than the monster in the room with them. She surveyed the scene, watching as Stoneheart picked up a pleading Myléne.

"I have no idea, but you need to get to safety, Rose." Juleka muttered. "Stress isn't good for you."

"Not without you, Jule!" She gave a determined look. Juleka bit her lip. How was she supposed to transform if Rose were to stick with her??

"Trust me, I'll be right there. I just want to try to talk to Ivan. We had a conversation earlier and I think it might help him to recall some of it." Juleka assured. It wasn't exactly a lie. "If anything goes wrong, I'll call you, okay?"

Rose hesitated but nodded before sneaking away.

"DADDY!!! The monster is back!!!" Juleka heard and had to suppress a groan. Unsurprisingly, right after drawing direct attention to herself, Chloé screamed as she was picked up by Stoneheart. With Chloé in one hand and Myléne in the other, he broke through the school wall, jumping into the street. The entire time, Alya and Marinette were recording the events with impressive agility, catching every angle with their combined cameras. When Stoneheart jumped, the two found a way to scale the building to maintain a steady shot. Juleka peeked around her desk to make sure the classroom was empty before whispering her transformation words and leaping out of the hole. 

"Do you have any idea who I am?! My daddy is the mayor and he's going to send the police, the army, a whole country to come defeat you!" Chloé shouted at the beast. Despite her threats, Stoneheart ignored her.

"Not sent by your dad, but we superheroes are here to help out too!" Harmonia grinned, throwing her yo-yo. Upon hitting Stoneheart, instead of being knocked back, he grew in size.

"Oops, won't do that again." She noted to herself.

"More like supershits." Chloé huffed from Stoneheart's grip.

"Do you want to be saved or not??" Harmonia muttered incredulously.

"You wanted a whole army, Chloé?" Stoneheart asked with a rocky grin. "Here it is!" A legion of stone monsters beganto surround Harmonia, bounding through the city at an impossible pace. She dodged the attacks of the first few, using her yo-yo to swing around their bulky appendages. In the chaos of the ambush, the real Stoneheart managed to make space between himself and Harmonia.

"Harmonia! Behind you!" Myléne called, alerting the hero of an unseen enemy. Harmonia released her yo-yo, plummeting to the ground, then threw it again, gliding at a lower level now. She shot a grateful look in Myléne's direction and slid between the monsters' legs at different angles. When she had them all strung up, she pulled it taut, bringing them all to their knees (if they even had knees in that form.)

"Ivan?! Where are we even going???" Myléne cried out, seeming more annoyed than anything at this point. In comparison, Chloé was throwing a fit beside her, still trying to call her father on a clearly broken phone.

"My name is Stoneheart now. We're going to deliver a message and then the butterflies will bring us together forever." Stoneheart replied, in a tone that sounded almost like it was scripted. Myléne sighed and buried her head in her hands.

"That doesn't make any sense, I. If you'd just calm down, we could talk this out!" She said, though her voice was beginning to get shaky.

"Ugh. All this lovey-dovey stuff is gonna make me sick. Get a room, you two." Chloé complained, miming a puking motion. Stoneheart grunted, but otherwise ignored her, instead opting to send more stone beings to their location. Harmonia groaned loudly.

"Salem Feline!" She called, though her voice didn't seem to carry very far. She needed to communicate with him, somehow. Dodging attacks from the various stone beings, Harmonia grabbed her yo-yo and slid it up, hoping to find some sort of form of contact. Practically reading her mind, a message appeared on the device.

<Engage Augmentative and Alternative Communication mode?> It prompted. Harmonia sighed in relief. Since she began speaking, Harmonia was semi-verbal, having to verbally shut down when faced with stressful or overwhelming situtations. She had her own AAC device in civillian form; having a way to communicate with her partner during very stressful times would be incredibly important to her. She clicked yes and her earrings stretched, forming a sort of ear piece.

A high-pitched sound rang out in her ears and she collapsed for a moment, covering them.

Oops! Sorry about that! Setting up a connection is always a little finnicky at first. A voice appeared in her head. It was echoey, yet cheerful and airy.

Who are you?! How are you in my head?! She thought back to the voice.

It's me, Juleka! Tikki! I figured you needed a way to get in contact with Salem Feline, even when you can't communicate verbally, so I set up this system where I can send messages through to his kwami while transformed!

Really? Thank you so much, Tikki!

It's no big deal! I can't keep up this communication much longer though, it drains my energy fast. To send Salem a message, simply start your sentence with "contact Salem" and then think what you want to tell him! You got this, Juleka. Bug out! Tikki said. Harmonia's head suddenly felt much quieter. The silence washed over her, calming her mind. She decided she might as well try it, right? What could go wrong?

——————————————————————————————————— 

Salem had no clue what was happening. It felt like his head was ready to burst straight open, filled with static and overlapping thoughts that were definitely not his. At once, it ceased and a clear voice came through.

<From Harmonia: Where are you? Stoneheart outside Francois-Dupont. Need help. Hurry up.>  Salem guessed it must have been some alternative contact method, likely surpassing any limits that human technology had. Unsure of how to respond, he slunk out of the classroom he had been hiding in (and definitely not having a panic attack in.)

The school was in shambles; pieces were missing from practically every wall, stairs crumbled to dust. Hoping that Harmonia could fix the damage, Salem sighed and jumped through the holes, making his way to the street.

There, Harmonia was distracting the many stone beasts that had spawned in the past day. However, the primary Stoneheart—characterized by the fact that he was about three times larger than the others—was headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. In one hand, he held a girl with a pink bandana who was visibly shaking. The other held Chloé Bourgeois who was complaining ceaselessly into a void. Trailing the monster were Marinette and Alya. The two navigated between the legs of the many villains, recording the battle. This was too much for him, there was no way he could possibly defeat these villains and keep everyone safe!

The monsters soon became peeved by the people below them and one swung its leg out, knocking a car into Marinette and Alya. 

Salem froze. These were innocent people, without powers. He didn't know Alya well, but Marinette was one of the most kindhearted people he knew; no one deserved that. Voice filled with rage and fear, Alya screamed for help. Harmonia was too busy keeping the stone beings distracted to help, though. Salem had to act. Now.

A burst of courage and determination fueled Salem into action. He leapt from his perch, extending his pole between the car and the wall Alya and Marinette were trapped against, giving them a hand.

"Get somewhere safe, alright?" He said with a strained smile. The girls looked at each other, then nodded in unison. He then whipped around to locate Harmonia, who was still fighting the many small monsters.

"Harmonia!" He called. "We need to cut off the source!"

The other hero looked confused for a moment, prompting Salem to point to the massive being headed for the center of Paris. In a moment, their minds seemed to align and Harmonia nodded in understanding.

The two worked together to clear the area of civillains before ditching the smaller stone monsters. They ran along the rooftops of the city, catching up with Stoneheart in no time. At an intersection, the mayor was commanding him to drop his daughter while the girl in question shrieked in his ear. Annoyed, Stoneheart huffed and did as asked, though likely not for any reason other than no longer wanting to deal with Chloé. Harmonia threw her yo-yo quickly, catching the teenager and assuring her a safe landing.

"Daddy!" She cried as the mayor enveloped her in a hug. Chloé looked up from her hug and mouthed a thank you to the heroes, tears in her eyes. Salem smiled uncomfortably, not knowing that Chloé Bourgeois was capable of human emotion or gratitude. He glanced at Harmonia, who was equally confused, before the two continued their chase. 

At the Eiffel Tower, Stoneheart stood a few levels up, in the center. He coughed as an Akuma flew from his mouth, paralyzing him. In seconds, a swarm of purple butterflies appeared and formed a face.

"People of Paris, listen closely! I am Hawk Moth." He began. 

"Hawk Moth…?" The two heroes said in unison.

"Harmonia, Salem Feline, give me the earrings and the ring now. Look at the turmoil you have already caused these civillians! If you surrender now, Paris will be safer."

Salem bit his lip. Maybe Hawk Moth was right; Alya and Marinette had already gotten hurt and Salem destroyed a person with the touch of his hand! A hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Hey. Don't listen to him. We've done our best to counter his villany, especially considering we're both fairly young, I'm pretty sure." Harmonia assured with a determined look in her eyes. She turned to address the large floating head again.

"Let's not get things twisted. It was you who transformed all of these people into monsters to accomplish your goals! Mark my words, no matter how long it takes, no matter what we must do, we will find you, Hawk Moth, and we will defeat you! Time to de-evilize!" She shouted, swinging her yo-yo in the direction of the butterflies. The face dissolved as the majority of the butterflies were captured in the weapon. "And to the people of Paris: today we stand before you and make a promise to keep you all safe from villainy. We were given this power, this responsibility, and we—Harmonia and Salem Feline—will do everything we can to protect you with it!" She released the purified butterflies from her yo-yo, filling the sky with the delicate insects. 

Harmonia really had a way with words when she tried, Salem thought. Though, the speech had clearly taken energy out of her. Before long, one butterfly made its way back to Stoneheart, though, re-animating him. The heroes heard him mutter something to himself before he climbed to the very top of the tower.

"After him! Lucky Charm!" Harmonia called. A large inflatable jump cushion fell from the sky, directly onto her. Crawling out from under it, she began to inflate it. Salem chased Stoneheart with fervor, slotting his weapon into the cross-hatching of the Eiffel Tower to bound with speed. Once at the very top, Stoneheart roared.

"You'll never take Myléne from me! Come to me, my stone beings!" A collection of the scattered stone army appeared at the bottom of the monument. Harmonia looked at the jump cushion inflating one last time before using her yo-yo to scale the tower as well. 

"I have a plan, Salem. I need you to trust me, though." She said, meeting his eyes once they reached the same level. Salem knit his brows but nodded.

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" He asked. Harmonia gestured to his pole.

"I need you to be ready to send me back the object that Stoneheart's going to drop. Until then, stay here. I'll be back in a moment." She explained. Salem followed along, extending his pole and perching on it as Harmonia made her way to the top. From here, Salem could see the whole battle.

Harmonia jumped with great agility, avoiding attack after attack as she stealthily tied Stonehearts legs. She spun her yo-yo around a railing and pulled, knocking the beast off his feet. In the shock, the girl—presumably Myléne—fell, screaming. Stoneheart immediately reached for her, dropping a wadded up piece of paper, coated in a purple hue. That was his cue!Salem saw the object hurtling towards him and kicked one leg out like he would when playing football, using the other to catapult himself into the air. The wad collided with his foot and the momentum sent it flying. Harmonia grabbed it and ripped it in half as Salem landed in a hand stand.

"Didn't know I could do that," he murmured to himself.

Myléne and the de-akumatized boy fell from the tower onto the jump cushion placed earlier, now fully inflated.

"Time to de-evilize!" Harmonia called again, catching the akuma. The yo-yo released the purified creature seconds later and the stone beings on the ground dissolved into people. Salem used his Cataclysm to destroy a part of the Eiffel Tower in order to slide down faster. The two heroes made their way to the bottom of the tower, exhausted.

"Are you two okay?" Salem asked the civillians who had been caught up in the mess. Thankfully, they all were fine, if a little dazed. Harmonia helped the boy and Myléne off of the cushion before disconnecting the pump and throwing it in the air.

"Miraculous Harmonia!" Swarms of ladybugs appeared from the cushion and pump, repairing all of the damage done.

"I didn't get to appreciate it before, but this is really beautiful," Salem said in awe. Harmonia nodded beside him, seemingly too tired to speak. He took it upon himself to turn to Myléne and the boy.

"Looks like you have some stuff to talk about, huh?" He said lightly. The two blushed in unison and looked away from one another. He laughed as he heard a beeping come from Harmonia's direction.

"I gotta get out of here, Salem. We did good today, though. Pound it?" She extended her fist. Salem met it with a grin.

"Pound it." He repeated before she swung off. After a few minutes of making sure everything was sorted out, his own ring began to beep, which he took as his cue to leave.

——————————————————————————————————— 

In the courtyard, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Kim were huddled around Myléne and Ivan, who were holding hands.

"So, Myléne was just scared of the screaming?" Juleka confirmed before class the next day.

"Yeah! Ivan's song lyrics were really beautiful, the loud noise just spooked me a little." Myléne admitted with a blush. Ivan squeezed her hand.

"I promise I'll be gentle from now on, Myléne." He said softly. Rose awwed while Alix mimed throwing up.

"I know you will, teddy bear." She said with a giggle. The warning bell rang and everyone packed up to head to Ms. Bustier's classroom in typical fashion. There, Marinette and Alya had reclaimed the seats that Chloé and Sabrina had tried to take the day before, now sitting behind Adrien and Nino.

"I'm sorry about the gum, Marinette. I really was just trying to take it off your seat. I've never been to school before, or had friends or anything like that. This is all new to me." Adrien said slowly, receiving a thumbs up from Nino. "I'd like if we could be friends though?" He suggested. Marinette still looked wary, but Nino assured her that Adrien was a chill guy. Juleka smiled, glad they could sort that out and avoid potential future akumatizations. 

The rest of the day passed without much issue, however it was raining when the final bell of the day rang. Juleka had forgotten her umbrella, due to all of the chaos of the past two days. She sighed as she prepared herself to walk home in the rain.

"Did you forget your umbrella, silly?" Rose asked with a giggle. Juleka turned to face the girl.

"Yeah…was a little caught up in the supervillain chaos." She murmured. 

"Wanna walk home with me? I know we don't live super close but I can walk you to the boat and then head home." Rose offered. Juleka smiled gratefully.

"…That sounds great." She admitted. The blonde grinned and took her hand, pulling her into the rain with a laugh.

——————————————————————————————————— 

"Marc Anciel! Care to explain why you were late to class for the third day in a row?" Ms. Mendeleiv demanded, not letting Marc sneak to his seat. He opened his mouth to rebut, however he couldn't think of anything. He really didn't have a good excuse today; he had simply gotten caught up petting a stray on the way to school and missed the train. Unlike the last two days, his tardiness was his fault alone.

"Sorry, Ms. Mendeleiv. Won't happen again." He said, though it was likely a lie. Having taught him the year before, she scoffed at the reply.

"What was it today?" Alain leaned forward and asked once Marc had sat down.

"Stray cat wanted to be pet. I couldn't resist his big eyes, something about him reminded me of someone I know." He admitted. The cat, scrawny and black with green eyes, resembled Plagg physically. Because of this, he was initially drawn to it. Their personalities, however, were even more similiar. As Plagg realized that the stray was receiving more attention than him, he became jealous and began competing with the cat for Marc's cuddles. Both pawed at him when he pet the other, both yowled when ignored for too long. It left the teenager unable to choose, which was the only reason he had made it to school at all, as he stopped petting both.

"How does a cat remind you of a person?" Aurore asked snarkily.

"Cats have personalities, too. Did you think they're all the same?" Mireille said, sounding almost offended. Aurore frowned and blushed.

"No…you know I'm not a cat person anyways! Marc, back me up here!" She pleaded. 

"You not being a cat person doesn't excuse you thinking cats don't have personalities." He replied dryly. She grumbled, causing Mireille to giggle. Despite the fact that they had just been fighting, the moment Mirelle turned to the front of the class again, Aurore looked at her with pure adoration. Marc noticed and shook his head in joking disgust, but didn't remark on it.

Classes passed with the ease of a first Friday back and before long, school had let out. Marc met up with Marinette, who stood with Alya at the gates, underneath the large arch as to avoid the rain. The two seemed thoroughly engaged in something on Alya's phone.

"What's that?" Marc asked, causing the girls to startle.

"Oh, Marc! Hey! This is my friend Alya, she's new this year." Marinette introduced. Marc blinked before realizing that he had never officially met Alya in civillian form.

"Ah. Hi, Alya. I'm Marc, our families are friends so we've known each other since we were practically born." He said awkwardly, extending his hand. Alya gave a wide grin.

"Nice to meet you, Marc! Want to check out this website we're working on?" Alya offered, angling the phone in his direction. He glanced at the screen and was met with a blog format website based around Harmonia and Salem Feline.

"We're calling it the Bugblog! I designed the website." Marinette admitted.

"Hell yeah you did, girl! And, it looks great, if I might add." Alya said with a wink as she slung an arm around Marinette's shoulder. The shorter girl giggled and blushed.

"It's nothing, Alya!" She downplayed.

"I think it looks really good, Mari." Marc said earnestly.

"Ah, thanks. Um- do either of you happen to have an umbrella? I kinda forgot mine today." Marinette said bashfully.

"Girl, you are always forgetting something. Here, I brought mine. I can walk you home, since you don't live far at all, right?" Alya pulled out her umbrella and raised it.

"Yeah! I live at the bakery near here. I can hold the umbrella if you want, it's the least I can do." Marinette reached out for it. Alya handed it over with a laugh and watched as the other girl managed to somehow close it over her head. Marc snickered as she re-opened it with a blush.

"Um- maybe you should hold it." She acquiesced. Alya smiled softly and grabbed it with one hand.

"We can both hold it. That way you can still 'pay me back' but your clumsiness won't leave us both trenched." She said, making air quotes. Marinette rolled her eyes and the two waved goodbye to Marc. 

The day felt silent and calm, despite the chattering students and the pouring rain. Marc exhaled and opened his umbrella, Plagg tucked under his shirt and the pair began their trek to the train station, making light conversation about cheese and lactose intolerance. Maybe this school year wouldn't be so bad after all.