Chapter Text
Rory huffed as she stood at the stairs of Collège Françoise Dupont. “This is my life now.” she groaned, fiddling with a grey orb in her hand.
“IWAE!” a strange man in a grey robe shouted, gaining stares from the people passing by. “My niece takes her first step into a new world!”
Rory gritted her teeth with a strained smile. “Right. I’ll see you after school “Uncle Woz”.”
Ohma Zi-o’s retainer bowed with a smile, as if he hadn’t just embarrassed her in front of her new school. Rory huffed again, lamenting her misfortune of being plucked from her world into a new one to serve as a jester for The Demon King of Time.
“And to think I was one of the few people that actually liked Zi-o.” She muttered under her breath. “So, “Uncle Woz”, why this school?”
Woz simply looked at his book and stated, “Great power gathers here.”
“Is that it?” she deadpanned
“Anyway, I must be off. My work is never done.” He promptly disappeared into the busy streets.
Rory walked up the entrance stairs, deep in thought about her predicament; she had always dreamed of something like this, but the fact that it was no longer a fantasy made her realize she wasn't ready. Discovering that Kamen Riders were real and that she had somehow been chosen for something like this despite being just an ordinary person.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the girl she collided with; due to the difference in their physiques, the other girl ended up falling onto her backside while Rory remained standing.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you." Rory offered her hand to the girl she had accidentally knocked down. The girl had waist-length auburn hair and, like Rory, green eyes. Looking slightly annoyed, the girl took her hand, and as she stood up, Rory noticed she was shorter, which wasn't unusual, given that Rory was very tall for her age.
An awkward silence immediately followed; what do you say to a girl you’ve just knocked over? Fortunately, the girl was the first to break the silence. "So, why were you so distracted?" she asked, smiling—though Rory noticed the smile looked a bit forced.
"W-well, I just moved to Paris, and I was distracted because... b-because I couldn't find any comic shops or anything related to Kamen Rider." It wasn't technically a lie; she had just arrived in this world and hadn't had time to look into it—specifically to see if Kamen Riders or superheroes existed here, of course.
The most she’d managed to find online was a group of heroes in New York, but none of them seemed to use Critters or call themselves Riders, so she still had no leads—other than discovering that this world had all the franchises she loved, except for Kamen Rider.
“Oh, I didn’t think a girl like you would be into that sort of thing; I’m a fan of that stuff too—I even have friends who worked on the Kamen Rider comics that I met in the States.” …That is so wrong on so many levels that she doesn’t know where to begin; it’s the worst attempt at faking fandom she’s ever heard.
Rory isn’t sure what to say, but the other girl doesn’t seem to notice, immediately continuing, “My name’s Lila, by the way. If you ever want to meet them, I wouldn’t mind trying to get in touch with them.”
“…Rory.” Rory isn’t usually one to judge people lightly, but blatantly lying about sharing interests, and the even more obvious nature of that lie, doesn’t exactly make for a good first impression.
The ensuing silence is even more awkward, and the fact that Lila is waiting expectantly for a reaction from Rory didn’t help; she needed to find an excuse to get out of this something clever and totally believable.
“Look, isn’t that the Little Prince!?” she shouted, pointing at the sky.
Defying all logic and common sense, Lila turns away, giving Rory a chance to escape; with plenty of time left before the first class begins, she hides in a spot where no one would ever expect to see her. Rory enters the area marked as the library. "Whatever gave me the ability to understand and speak French perfectly, why didn't it give me the ability to socialize?"
Making sure she is alone, Rory pulls a gray sphere from her backpack. "So, I just have to find a group of you to get home? Seems easy enough," she tells herself, gently rolling it around in the palm of her hand.
“So I just have to find a bunch of you little guys to go home? Seems easy enough.” She said to herself while gently rolling it in her palm.
The ball unfolded into a raccoon-like figure and climbed up to her shoulder. “Careful. Lord Ohma wouldn’t just let you claim my siblings.”
“Can you at least let me pretend this’ll be simple, Rakūn?”
Rakūn shook his head with a smile. “Best you accept reality now.”
“Auuuugh! Reality sucks.” she whined groaned.
Well, if she was going to be hiding out in the library, she might as well do some research. Rory, accompanied by Rakūn, who unfolded into his full form resembling a raccoon toy, began gathering as many history books as she could find; soon, she was lugging around a mountain of them. Suddenly, Rakūn ducked back into her backpack, and before Rory could ask why, she realized a blond boy was sitting at the library's only table.
Resigned, Rory sat across from him and started reading a book she’d picked at random from her stack. Glancing his way, she noticed he had stopped reading and was looking at her nervously.
"Hey, I don't bite, pretty boy. I'm just tall, not a Kaiju," Rory joked. She was used to unintentionally intimidating people with her height and build. She smiled as the blond boy visibly relaxed a little. Unable to truly focus on the dense history books with someone else nearby, she decided to try socializing.
"So, what are you reading? It can't be worse than these history books." He suddenly turned shy again. "Come on, I won't laugh."
"N-nothing, it's just a superhero book." Those words flipped Rory's hyper-fixation switch.
"Superheroes?! Like Captain America? Superman? Batman? Or better yet, Kamen Rider!!"
Rory quickly realizes how close she’s gotten to him and pulls away, blushing. "S-sorry, I just get excited about this kind of stuff."
"Don't worry about it; a friend of mine loves that sort of thing too, though this is the first time I've heard of Kamen Rider. I'm Adrien Agreste. Nice to meet you." The boy, now known as Adrien, extends his hand in a friendly gesture.
Although the hope that Kamen Rider might actually exist in this world has died, she can't help but feel good that her second attempt at socializing went well.
"I'm Rory Hayes." Rory shakes his hand, and they spend a few minutes talking about some local heroes named Catnoir and Ladybug—though, of course, good things never last.
"Sorry for the delay, Adrien; I couldn't find the books for our history assignment..." An awkward silence fills the room—one that seems destined to become the norm. You could cut the tension with a knife, given the look the girl is shooting Rory.
Panicked, Rory blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "Why would you have homework before classes even start? ...W-well... Lila, right?" She quickly flees, though not without groaning miserably when she overhears Lila say something terribly incorrect about Superheros.
And just when she thinks the situation couldn't get any more awkward, she runs into something truly unsettling on her way out of the library.
“...Are you a stalker?” Rory questioned a blue-haired girl who was hiding behind a bookshelf, one she had stumbled upon by chance as she tried to leave. She was paralyzed with fear, her eyes wide with panic, much like a deer caught in headlights, or those goats on YouTube that freeze solid when startled.
“...”
“...O-okay, if you aren't planning to murder anyone and are just being super creepy, I'll leave you... doing whatever it was you were doing.” Rory slowly backed away, walking backwards towards the door, trying not to get caught up in the weird plot of stalking and harassment.
(Later)
Upon arriving at the classroom, Rori immediately took a seat at the back, as close to the window as possible—just like any good protagonist. However, she realized too late that, given the style of the desks, she would have to share one with another student, specifically, one of the girls sitting nearby, who appeared quite nervous. Before she could calm the girl down the way she did with Adrián, the teacher arrived and the lesson began.
Oh, she’d like to think so, but the teacher, Professor Bustier encouraged her to introduce herself, likely because she was not only new but also due to her “situation.” Resigned, Rory rises from her desk and introduces herself to everyone.
"...W-well, my name is Rory Hayes and I'm here from a cultural exchange program in Ireland...honestly, I don't know what else to say about myself, just let's get along and stuff."
From then on, after returning to the main character's seat (at the back by the window), classes progressed monotonously.
“Psst. Hey.” Rory turned her head to the voice. Rose waved at her from her place beside Juleka. “It’s nice to meet you!” She said cheerfully.
Rory tilted her head in slight puzzlement. “Yeah. You too, uuuuuh?”
“Oh! My name is Rose and this is Juleka.” The aforementioned emo girl gave a small “Hey.”
“How are you liking our school so far?” Rose continued.
“It’s fine so far. Classes here are just as boring as my old school.”
“Ahem!“ Miss Bustier cleared her throat. “I know we’re excited to have new classmates, but if you want to get to know them, you can do so at lunch.” She reprimanded them.
The only other noteworthy thing during class was the blue-haired girl from before staring at Lila with such intensity that for a second she thought she was trying to burn her skull with her gaze.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, Rory tried to go up to the rooftop to continue talking, but she was immediately stopped by her apparent new friends and had to follow them to lunch since she didn't have the heart to say no.
“So. What’re your hobbies?” The pink clad blonde inquired.
“Skateboarding, drawing, watching tokusatsu.”
“Tokusatsu?” Julia repeated as a question.
Rory was in full gush now. “Live action shows that specialize in practical effects. Mostly superhero stuff."
The punk girl gave a respectful nod. “Sounds cool.”
“Hell yeah they really are!” Rory was full on grinning now. “The costume designs, the stunt work, the explosions! There’s actually a quarry in Japan used specifically for explosion based stuntwork! And I love how they make model cities to have giant monster battles with the suit actors!”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just use cgi?”
“When necessary. But cgi could never out right replace practical effect! that goes against the entire appeal of the genre!”
“Well you’re certainly passionate about
“Uh, yeah. Tokus are the source of some of my favourite stories.”
Before she knew it, Rory had spent most of lunch rambling about her hyper-fixation while Rakūn grumbled in her pocket about having to endure this monologue for the second time. Soon the bell rang and Rory realized she missed the opportunity to ask Rakūn if he sensed any of his siblings. Well, he already told her it didn't work that way, but it was worth a try.
Resigned, she returned to the boring classroom. After several hours, the school day finally ended. Although her two new friends invited her to hang out, she had to decline, making up an excuse about still having a lot of things to unpack.
Once she lost sight of them, Rory slipped away to a nearby park and sat on a bench under a tree. "I never thought that experiencing something as close to an isekai as being at school would be." she thought.
It was all too mundane, and she seriously doubted that, like in anime, most villains would appear at school, and more specifically, at her’s. While enjoying being outside again, she wondered what Woz was doing while she was stuck in class. For a second she imagined him in a church giving sermons about Ohma Zi-O and couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the ridiculous scene.
Interrupting her thoughts, Rakūn emerged from her backpack, dejected.
"So, you haven't noticed anything?" She asked
Rakūn sighed before answering, "Unfortunately not, I don't think the most boring of my brothers would stay in that place. It was hard not to fall asleep."
Rory sighed too. She wished Rakun knew more about how to find the other Critters. It would also be a big help if Woz told them everything instead of being so cryptic and ambiguous. Suddenly, Rakun quickly returned to the backpack, and before Rory could ask what was wrong, the answer came on its own.
"Hi Lila! How’s it going? It’s great to see you! I saw your interview on the Ladyblog—good job." A voice—clearly straining to be heard—caught her attention, making her look toward the park on the other side of the fence.
She saw the boy from the library with Lila, who was being yelled at... "What kind of superhero costume is that?" She wondered.
It was literally a red spandex suit with black spots and a domino mask that looked like it came straight out of a costume shop; even a generic Super Sentai suit would look less basic than that.
"Oh, right... Remember that instant connection when I saved your life? We've been friends ever since. I mean, best friends!" Was I really witnessing that cliché where a character was on the verge of discovering the hero's identity? I supposed it made sense to nip it in the bud, since things never ended well for those characters.
"Actually, when did I save your life, Lila? I don't remember... Oh, right... never!" Okay, that was a valid point, but it was incredibly harsh and said in a really nasty way.
"And we aren't friends! That show-off was trying to impress you... and everyone else." Okay, that was an overreaction to something that was merely annoying; it wasn't a big deal. Adrien tried to calm Lila down, she was already crying, and asked if she wasn't actually a heroine's descendant, but the spotted "heroine" cut in.
"Not only is she a super-liar..." she said, smiling proudly at having humiliated a random civilian for absolutely no reason... Wow. That was a shitty, petty thing to do.
“I can’t stand lies—especially when they’re about me!”
“That doesn’t justify that crap.” Unable to stay silent any longer, Rory spoke up from the other side of the fence, drawing the attention of both Adrien and the heroine.
“I have no idea what Lala did, and I don’t care who you are, but if you’re some kind of superhero, I have to say I don’t like you calling yourself that when you pull stunts like this.” Rory couldn’t fathom a hero doing something like that. Her first impression of a Parisian hero was simply disappointing.
Whether because she was startled that someone had witnessed her behavior or because she couldn’t refute the words, the heroine launched what looked like a yo-yo and swung away toward a nearby building.
“What happened to you, Ladybug?” Adrien watched her retreat with a sad, disappointed expression.
Not wanting to leave things like that, Rory banged on the fence, startling him. Once she had his attention she tried to lighten the mood, “I guess that’s why they tell us never to meet our idols.”
Seeing that he still looked downcast, Rory continued, “Look, pretty boy, don’t let this get you down. That’s the Ladybug you kept talking about in the library, right? My advice? Don’t let things like this disappoint you. After all, mask or no mask, we’re all human underneath. With all the good and bad that comes with it.”
She held out her fist, inviting him to bump it; with a slightly more cheerful smile, he returned the gesture. “Thanks. Rory, right? I guess we all have our bad moments. I-I promise she’s usually nicer.”
“I don’t doubt it, pretty boy. First impressions matter, but I suppose she might deserve the benefit of the doubt.” Rory felt Rakūn shifting impatiently inside his backpack.
“I-I’d suggest we go out or something to cheer you up, but I promised my uncle I’d be back after class. Maybe another time. Take care, Adrien.” Rory said goodbye to the boy, who seemed a bit more cheerful now and headed toward his own home, or at least the place that would be his home for quite some time.
(Elsewhere)
A scruffy man in a leather jacket scrambled into an alleyway and tripped, dropping his bag of stolen belongings spilling them everywhere. He hurriedly tried to shovel them back in as the police sirens got closer.
The last item he grabbed was a green orb covered in creases, his finger hitting a button.
“Lash!” it announced.
“Sir! Don’t make this harder than it has to be! Please come out with your hands up!”
Cornered, he slowly turned with his hands raised, stopping upon feeling a pulse from the object in his hand, followed by a voice. He didn’t understand the words, yet instinctively knew what it demanded.
The man turned around, eyes glowing bright green. “I have a better idea.” he said with a razor sharp grin.
His body was engulfed in bright light and once it faded, a large armored lizard-man stood in his place.
He exhaled steam from his nostrils before swinging his tail at the officers, knocking them back and leaving gashes on the wall.
The lizard stalked out of the alley and admired his new form, ignoring the screams of civilians around him. “Oh yeah. I could get used to this!”
He thrust his arm forward and released a bright green energy whip from his wrist, snatching a purse from a nearby elderly woman. He then sent his tail through the window of a jewelry store and used it to scoop up as many things as he could, with little regard for those inside as they threw themselves to the ground to avoid getting caught by his limb and the shattered glass.
“Make way, Paris! There’s a new top lizard in town now baby!”
(Meanwhile)
Rory closed the door to her apartment behind her. Woz sat on the living room couch.
“Good afternoon Rory. How was school?” He inquired, not looking up from his book.
The redhead shrugged “Same as ever I guess. Met a superhero on the way home. She seemed kinda off though.”
Rory’s backpack suddenly shot open, and Rakūn flew out into her hand, glowing urgently.
Zi-o retainer stood up. “Well never mind that. One of Rakūn’s siblings has been awoken.”
Woz now had their full attention. “Really?! Which one? Where are they?”
Rakūn opened up, responding seriously “Verrash. And it seems he has fallen into the hands of a common thug. ”
The trio immediately leaves the apartment, but before Rory and Rakūn could dash off in a random direction, Woz stopped them.
"Hold it right there. You wouldn't expect someone sponsored by Ohma Zi-O himself to make their debut arriving on stage covered in sweat and exhausted, would you?" He leads them to the parking area, where two objects covered by white tarps are visible.
(Later)
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann was renowned as a 70,000-square-meter fashion flagship store. A wide variety of brands was available to suit every budget, ranging from ready-to-wear to haute couture. The store featured Art Nouveau architecture, an extraordinary dome, and a panoramic view of Paris, elements that had made it a major tourist attraction in the French capital. On any other day, it would simply have been a shopping trip for the mayor's daughter and her best friend.
“This is incredible; with this power, not even the heroes of Paris could stop me!”
In the center of the building, a monstrous, lizard-like creature laughed as it destroyed everything around it, having already stolen everything of value; meanwhile, in one of the empty shops, a frightened Chloe and Sabrina were trying to stay out of sight.
They had been looking forward to a weekend of shopping and fun when the monster suddenly burst in. Amidst the chaos, everyone rushed for the exits, but in the scramble, the two girls were knocked to the ground; still gripped by panic, Chloe grabbed Sabrina by the wrist and dragged her into a shop.
“Chloe, is that an Akuma?” the girl panicked
“D-don’t speak; we have to hide until Ladybug sorts this out.” the blonde shushed.
As if on cue, Chloe caught a glimpse of Ladybug and Cat Noir landing on the glass dome and looking down into the building. “See, Sabrina? Everything’s going to be fine!”
[Outside the building]
Paris’ premier super hero duo leaped from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of the akumatised Lila, heading towards the Argeste household, when Catnoir saw the commotion.
“Ladybug, there’s an Akuma down there.” He pointed out. Ready to jump in and assist.
Ladybug however, dismissed it. “Don’t be fooled, it’s almost certainly an illusion created by Volpina. We have to focus on rescuing Adrien.”
“M-My Lady, I think I see Chloe with Sabrina. My gut tells me—”
“Quick, we’re losing sight of her!”
Seeing Ladybug resume the chase, he prepared to follow, though not without taking one last look below. He truly hoped his partner was right about this.
[Back inside Les Galeries Lafayette Haussmann]
Chloe watched in horror as Paris’s heroes simply looked away and left. Weren't they supposed to defeat the villain and set everything back to normal? A loud crash nearby snapped her out of her shock; perhaps they’d come back later, but she didn't want to stay in harm's way.
“Chloe, what are you doing?”
She didn't answer, focusing instead on getting them both out of danger; somehow, they managed to go unnoticed until they were close to the exit. But just a few meters away, Chloe heard something that chilled her to the bone.
“I’m done playing hide-and-seek with you a lot.”
The next thing she knew, they were both on the ground in pain; Chloe was clutching her arm tightly, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest that worsened noticeably whenever she took a deep breath, while Sabrina lay unconscious nearby. She was on the verge of passing out from the agony when the monster’s menacing voice uttered something that made her heart stop.
“You…you’re the daughter of that two-bit cop who busted my whole gang. Because of him, I had to hide like a rat and crawl through the muck just to stay unseen... I wonder how he’ll feel when I take away everything that matters to him, just like he took everything from me!”
Chloe didn't know why she stepped in the way; her body simply reacted on its own. Despite the pain, she moved to shield Sabrina’s body with her own. From her position, she watched as the reptile-like creature formed another one of the energy whips it used to destroy the shops. She was going to die; her friend was going to die. With tears in her eyes, she screamed out, begging for a miracle.
“P-please... a-anyone... save us!!!!”
As if by divine intervention, a motorcycle crashed forcefully through the mall’s glass doors. The villain, caught off guard, failed to dodge a round object that slammed into his chest, sending him flying backward.
“Are you okay?”
Looking up, Chloe saw a sight she would never forget: the back of a tall redhead, the very same girl she had seen in class that morning riding a Harley-Davidson. Someone she would normally dismiss as a crude commoner was now standing up to the monster.
“What are you waiting for? Get out of here! I’ll distract the monster until help arrives.”
“B-but...”
“Get out!!”
Perhaps fueled by the adrenaline of the moment, Chloe managed to hoist Sabrina up by the shoulder, ignoring the pain; normally, she wouldn't concern herself with others, but as she exited the building, she couldn't help but worry about the girl who despite being an ordinary civilian,had recklessly confronted the monster.
“If it weren't for the motorcycle, we would have arrived too late.”
“Don't worry about that; we made it, so don't let it eat at you.”
Rory watched as Rakūn returned after having been used as an improvised projectile. “You'd better focus on what's right in front of us.”
“Your partner is right.” A DKW F91 Cabriolet smashed through the mall doors; Woz stepped out wearing his usual attire, though with an added hood and face mask to conceal his identity and holding something in his hand. “But I hope next time you don't forget your tools or show up to work without your uniform.”
He tossed the object to her, and upon catching it, Rory realized it was a Driver. It had a turquoise blue base and orange handles on either side, a slot on the top center big enough to fit Rakūn in his sphere form inside. At the front were the grey bars of a cage door.
“Don't worry; the cameras here have been tampered with by yours truly so your identity isn't revealed to Paris, but they'll reactivate the moment you transform. After all, you can't have a debut without an audience.”
The Kaijin rose in anger that someone had interfered with his revenge. "Which little puke thinks she can get in my way!?"
Rory hesitated for a moment before answering, but only one thing came to mind: "A Kamen Rider." Rory took the driver and held it to her waist. The belt strap manifested and wrapped around her with a satisfying ‘chachunk’.
“Menagerie Driver!”
“Let’s do this Rakūn!” she grinned, pressing the button on Rakūn’s side once he assumed his orb form.
“Raid!” she placed Rakun into the driver and crossed her arms above her head before pullinf the handles on either side of the belt.
“Henshin!”
Imposing metal doors rose up behind Rory, decorated with hieroglyphs, and the sounds of scratching and pounding could be heard, as if something on the other side was struggling to break free, the door’s heavy chains holding it back.
"Man knew they could not change the world. So, instead of reflecting on themselves, they became the beasts.”
The chains snapped, unleashing the beast they held captive—a massive, hybrid mechanical-monstrous creature resembling a raccoon. It let out a thunderous roar before biting down on Rory’s torso, yet, instead of devouring her, the creature glowed and was absorbed into her body.
When the light faded, neither the beast nor Rory remained; in their place stood a female figure clad in imposing armor—predominantly gray with orange and black accents, featuring a raccoon-tail scarf fluttering in a nonexistent breeze, large gloves, and bulky leg armor.
"The Rowdy Rumager! Raiding Racoon!”
The newly minted Rider looked down at herself, admiring her new armor. “Woooooah. This is amazing!”
“Iwae!” Woz declared with a showman’s flare. “Behold, the one destined to gather the power of a scattered menagerie! Kamen Rider Critter, Raiding Racoon!”
“Huh.” The newly dubbed Critter mused. “Having a hype man is a new feeling. I like it!”
The Rider pointed at the Kaijin dramatically. “Hey! Lizard breath! You have something that belongs to my boss!”
“Huh? Well tell your boss he can come take his trash from Kleptorix himself.”
“Trust me. Neither of us want that.”
“And you don’t wanna mess with me!”
In the time it takes a normal person to blink, Kleptorix formed an energy whip and lashed at her. Rory bent backward, the whip brushing past her mask by the width of a hair.
That was faster than she’d ever reacted in her life! With a grin, she charged at the Kaijin, dodging whip cracks left and right. She somersaulted over another whip and raked her claws across his face.
“You little punk!” Kelptorix growled out.
His tail rapidly extended and smacked her across the jaw before he wrapped his energy whips around her waist and began dragging her in a circle across the ground.
Critter brought herself to a stop by grabbing onto a signpost, her clawed gloves giving her an impossibly strong grip.
Kleptorix pulled as hard as he could to no avail.
“Come on! Get over here you little rat!”
“Alright then.” The Rider obliged and let go, allowing herself to fly feet first into the scaly thug's face.
He threw a sloppy punch her way in rage. She flipped over it and landed on his back, almost lounging.
“Hey. Wanna see something cool?”
Her Driver glowed, and in her hands appeared a pole with a triangular hook on the end, a circular slot at the hook’s base.
“Staff Forme.”
“Quit toying with me!” The lizard man roared, swinging his tail and whips wildly, but Critter simply jumped high above his tantrum.
“Heh.” She took Rakūn from the Driver and placed him in the staff’s slot and pulled the trigger on the side.
The staff began glowing deep orange, a catchy dubstep tune filled the air as she descended. An instant before impact, she pulled the trigger again.
“BREAKING RAID”
The kaijin wrapped himself in a ball of his energy whips to try and protect himself, but the staff broke through easily, shattering the haphazard barrier to pieces.
The second she landed on the ground, Critter hooked her staff around the reptile’s neck and used the momentum from her fall to swing him overhead and threw him into a street lamp, bending it into a crescent.
Kelptorix growled in frustration and conjured another pair of whips before wrapping them around a car and throwing it at the Rider.
“I hope this works.” Rory grimaced under the mask before pulling the right handle of her Driver.
“Raid” As her suit began to glow with orange energy, she sprinted forward and leapt at the oncoming vehicle.
She met the car midair and grabbed the door handle; instead of opening it, she was suddenly inside the car with a puff of orange smoke and out on the other side with another.
Critter didn’t spare a second. She pulled both handles of the belt as soon as she left the car.
“Critter Charge”
The Driver began to glow again. This time, the light traveled from the belt, down her leg and to her foot. She pulled the handles once more.
“FINAL…RAIDING!”
For an instant, the roaring form of the beast appeared behind her before vanishing; propelled by a fresh burst of momentum, Rory rocketed forward and struck with the force of a meteorite. For a moment, the Kaijin’s body seemed to resist, but the power of the attack was overwhelming. Driven by the impact, Rory skidded nearly a meter, tearing up the concrete before finally coming to a halt. For a few seconds, neither of them moved…
“T-this can’t-I should be invincible!”
The Kaijin seemed to short-circuit before exploding, the reptile’s unconscious, smoking body lay within the smoldering crater.
Rory turned toward the Kaijin and extended her hand.
“Beast seeking freedom, imprisoned within a mortal vessel—break your chains and let me guide you to where you may walk beneath the open sky once more.”
Ethereal chains, previously invisible, materialized around the Kaijin before shattering into pieces. Light enveloped the monster as it reverted to human form, and the trapped creature shot toward Rory’s hand; she caught it with ease. “Contract signed.”
Rory stood still for a few moments, still processing everything that had just happened. Her heart was pounding, and beneath her mask, she couldn't stop smiling. The sound of police sirens snapped her out of her trance, and she realized she was surrounded by officers.
A slightly overweight policeman was the only one who dared to speak up. "Who are you? Are you a hero? Where is Ladybug?"
For a few seconds, there was a tense silence, but Rory was the first to break it.
"Whether I’m a hero or not is for you to decide. I am Kamen Rider Critter."
Without giving them time to respond, she leaped to the top of a building and dashed across the rooftops. She detransformed in an alleyway before slumping against the wall, gasping for breath. Not from exhaustion, but from the sheer excitement making her heart race. She was a Kamen Rider now.
(Later)
Adrien threw himself onto his bed with a sigh. “What a day!”
“Yeah. Honestly, your girl troubles are exhausting! That's why I stick to cheese.” The Kwami of Destruction punctuated his remark with a bite of camembert.
“It’s not that bad, Plagg.”
“Whatever you say, Mr Super Star.”
Adrien huffed and began scrolling on his phone, stopping when he saw something concerningly familiar.
“This is Nadja Chamack, presenting footage obtained from the security cameras of the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. An Akuma was recently defeated today by a new Racoon themed hero calling herself “Kamen Rider Critter.” Where did she come from? Where were Ladybug and Catnoir?”
A video had been shown of the new hero fighting a lizard-like Akuma, but the strange thing was that when he was defeated by an attack—one that would later lead Adrien to question why Plagg had never told him they could do that—no black butterfly had emerged.
Instead, the villain was wrapped in ethereal chains before they shattered and a green orb flew out of its body and into the hands of the new hero, the villain returning to normal human form.
“So it was real! I knew my gut was telling me something! Ooooh and I left Chloe and Sabrina with him!” Adrien pulled his hair in frustration.
Plagg winced. “Don’t beat yourself up about it kid. It was handled. No one got hurt.”
Adrien sighed, dejected. “But they could have Plagg. We just got lucky.”
Plagg didn’t have a response to that.