Disclaimer: Miraculous is not mine, seed of the idea came from reipx.

Chapter 2: First Contact

This. Is. AWESOME. Adrien let out a shout of pure joy as he swung through the streets of Paris. Hurtling along at Mach speed was exhilarating enough on its own. Hurtling along close enough to the asphalt of the road to touch it was even more so. He would tether himself to a high point on a nearby building and swoop down in near free fall before catching himself just in time and being launched up into the air again. Sure, he'd almost pasted himself on a wall the first time, but the suit seemed to increase his reaction time, for which he was very thankful. Even with the superpowers, he was pretty sure hitting a wall at that velocity would result in a red-and-black pancake.

Swinging and climbing his way up, Adrien made his way to the top of the Eiffel Tower. And oh man, was the view worth the slight vertigo. He knew that Paris was a beautiful city, but damn. Taking a moment to sit down, he let his legs dangle over the edge of the platform. The air was slightly crisper up here, but the midday sun warmed his face and, for the first time in ages, he felt free.

"Hey, Tikki. You seeing this?" Adrien said, a silly grin on his face as he looked over the city. No response. I guess she can't hear me in the suit… His shoulders fell slightly and he sighed. Free, but nobody to share that joy with. I guess I should have expected that, Tikki didn't choose me to solve my problems. No, she'd chosen him because there was a villain terrorizing Paris.

Right. Villain. Swinging down to a lower level, he began looking around the buildings below once more. Ignoring the majesty of the sight, he focused on looking for this 'Chat Noir,' idly noting that his vision seemed markedly improved. There were a few police cars barreling around the city with their lights flashing, but they were all going separate places. He shook his head, not what he was looking for. Did that mean Chat Noir had stopped? There was no way that he would be that lucky… right?

"Look! Up there, momma!"

Adrien turned and looked down towards the faint voice. A child was pointing up at him with wide eyes, frantically tugging his mother's hand. Flashing a cheesy grin, he waved at the youngster, the light, happy feelings from his newfound freedom returning despite the weight of his new duty.

The mother took one look at Adrien and turned around, walking in the opposite direction with her child in tow.

The smile on Adrien's face died. Yeah, I guess I'd be wary of masked, polka-dotted weirdoes too… Looking around, he saw others hurriedly looking away from him to avoid making eye contact. He had come down to a publicly accessible level of the tower, in the middle of the day no less, and there was nobody near him. Everyone had moved off, conspicuously needing to be looking somewhere else.

Feeling suddenly very unwelcome, Adrien threw his yo-yo at a nearby chimney and yanked. As he was whisked away by his awesome, magical yo-yo, he heard a couple of gasps behind him, and smiled faintly. At least I have powers, that's some consolation.

The clear, autumn air rushed past his face, sweeping his hair back and tousling it around. If his father knew what he was up to he'd have a heart attack. Heck, if his father could see his hair in such a state he'd blow at least one fuse. The sense of rebellion, even if his father had no knowledge of said rebellion (details) was enough to return his sense of joy. The hardcore parkour may have helped as well, if he was honest.

Running across rooftops turned out to be much easier than he had thought it would be. The suit seemed to confer enhancements in nearly every physical area, the world seemed to move slightly slower, he could jump ridiculous distances, and though he very nearly plummeted two stories more than once, his feet seemed to know exactly where they would need to land in order to keep him upright and moving quickly. He felt as free as the wind and as light as a feather, and the more he ran and swung around, the more he felt that he could get used to this sort of thing.

Landing on the roof of a tourist shop to the sound of distance sirens and helicopter blades, Adrien stopped to breathe for a second. His muscles burned, and he felt amazing. He felt strong. But what good is being strong if I can't find the problem to solve it? Frowning to himself, he opened his mouth to ask Tikki a question before remembering that she couldn't help him. They were really going to have a talk when he got home. If she sticks around, anyway…

Adrien was drawn from his melancholic introspection when there was a loud crash to his left. Whipping his head towards the sound, he saw a police car that had plowed right into a shop, with panicked passers-by scrambling to their feet and backing away. The officer who had been driving came sailing through the broken shop window, landing in a heap in the center of the street.

Immediately leaping from his rooftop perch, Adrien threw his yo-yo and swung down toward the downed officer with his hand outstretched. There were screams of nearby civilians, but he paid them no mind, focusing intently on his destination. As he drew closer to the officer, he saw that the woman was bloodied and bruised, with a series of slashes through her uniform reminiscent of claw marks. His mind had only just made the connection between claw marks and cat-themed villain when a black blur slammed into him half a second later. A menacing voice growled into his ear and he felt his skin crawl.

"Finally."

With a terribly unmanly yelp, Adrien reacted to the assault on instinct, twisting away from the voice and throwing both his hands out, toward the center of the dark figure. There was a grunt of pain when they connected, and he felt the figure let go. Thinking quickly, he yanked on the yo-yo string and felt his stomach lurch as his direction shift dramatically. He flew back up to a nearby roof; landing awkwardly and turning to get a good look at whoever had hit him.

That man in black had landed in a threatening crouch, and slowly stood as Adrien looked at him. The armored suit was made from the same super-material as his own, though it seemed more angular than his. There was a silver colored cylinder attached to his hip, same place as his yo-yo. In fact, they really did seem like counterparts, except for the whole villain thing. The full-face mask was a little unsettling; all he could see was cold, green tinted eyes that had not stopped staring at him.

Adrien gulped, and stood up to his full height, lazily twirling his yo-yo and trying for all the world to seem nonchalant. Taking a deep breath, he called down to Chat Noir.

"That was claw-fully rude of you, monsieur Chat Noir." Good start. Leaning forward, Adrien cocked is head. "Bad day? That sucks, buddy. Wanna tell me why are you terrorizing the good people of Paris?"

Chat Noir looked around at the gathering citizens and the occasional news camera before tilting his head up towards Adrien. His voice was frigid and smooth, with a hard edge to it that, even from a villain, Adrien hadn't expected.

"You have stolen the Ladybug Miraculous." Chat Noir stood and grabbed the cylinder from his waist, holding it in a loose, practiced grip. "Those powers are not yours, and you have taken them from me. All of the destruction today is your fault. So, you're going to hand over your Miraculous and end this now, like a good little boy."

Raising both eyebrows, Adrien shook his head and chuckled. "Oh, very clever, monsieur, but I think you've got your yarn twisted." With a delighted whoop, he leapt down to the street and landed superhero-style, snapping his head up to look Chat Noir in the eye. "Let's not confuse the poor people of Paris by flipping the roles here."

Putting on his most winning smile, Adrien addressed the increasing number of news cameras and phones directly, keeping Chat Noir in his periphery as he did so. "Since when did heroes take to attacking innocent civilians to settle their own problems?" He screwed up his face as if to say 'give me a break' and began to spin his yo-yo slowly. "Not something I've seen a hero do. As Uncle Ben says over and over: 'power comes with responsibility,' and, in my humble opinion at least, attacking officers of the law, destroying buildings, and disrupting the peace aren't the actions of a responsible hero." With a flourishing bow, he decided it was probably time to introduce himself. "I am Ladybug, and I am here to protect Paris against the likes of Chat Noir."

Adrien began to straighten up to the sound of hopeful yet hesitant applause when he felt the air behind him move. His instincts screamed at him to duck, and he hit the ground faster than he thought possible. On all fours and as tightly coiled as a spring, he looked over his shoulder and saw a snarling Chat Noir clawing viciously at the air he had just vacated. His mind still in the haze of holy crap that is terrifying, he felt his body react apparently of its own accord. Quick as a cobra, he twisted and pushed off of the ground with all four limbs, lashing out with his right leg and pouring the power of his entire body into the strike. He winced as he both felt and heard the knife-edge of his foot connect with the inside of Chat's outstretched wrist.

Whoa. Schooling his features from surprise to smug and challenging as he landed back on his feet, Adrien mimicked cracking his neck and began to once again spin his yo-yo. "Come now, kitty cat, that's not very nice."

Chat Noir spun with the hit, his other hand pressing a button on the silver cylinder. There was a mechanical schwing, and Adrien's eyes widened as he barely leapt back from the thin, shining blade that had extended from the handle. Performing a handspring with surprising grace, he heard two more slashes come a hairs-breadth from his body. Okay, not a game. He wants me seriously, no-backsies dead.

"You are a liar, nothing but a child who knows nothing of what he has done. Surrender your Miraculous, or I will take it!"

Swallowing nervously as he began to realize the seriousness of his situation, Adrien let his yo-yo fly as hit feet touched the ground, and he was rewarded with a muttered curse as Chat Noir drew back. His throw had somehow managed to score a direct hit to the front of his opponent's mask, and had forced the black-clad villain to withdraw temporarily. A low growl of irritation emanated from behind the mask.

Marveling at his good fortune, Adrien pulled his yo-yo back and swung it over his head as he broke into a run. Closing in on Chat Noir, he let the yo-yo fly in a wide arc.

Chat ducked under the attack almost effortlessly, sliding his feet along the pavement and using his momentum to lunge towards Ladybug. A split second before his blade could connect, the yo-yo came back around and forced him to leap up unto the air to avoid it.

Adrien jumped and kicked Chat in the chest with both feet, launching himself away and forcing Chat backwards. Pulling his yo-yo back with flair, he smirked and cocked his head. "Not your lucky day, is it? Guess what people say about black cats is true."

"Enough. Cataclysm!"

Huh? Before Adrien could open his mouth to question the strange word, Chat Noir's empty hand began to radiate an eerie black glow. A sense of dread crept slowly up his spine as little pieces of knowledge began to fall into place. 'Cataclysm' means bad things, I have a special super power so it stands to reason that he does too, Tikki said the ring is her counterpart so if I create then he… destroys. The smirk melted from his face and he felt his heartbeat speed up dramatically.

"Come, Ladybug. Let us dance." A mocking voice called out.

While Adrien wasn't entirely sure what would happen if he were hit with that, he knew he didn't want to find out. The image of Chat Noir charging, sword in one hand and 'Cataclysm' imbuing the other, sent a jolt of adrenaline through him and galvanized him into action.

He bolted.

Being able to feel the emotions of others was weird. It was a sixth sense in every meaning of the word, and while it was still incredibly strange and new, apart from the initial bombardment it felt very… natural. Very strong spikes Marinette could feel from across the city, there was one particularly strong spike of joy moving around the city very quickly. Smaller waves of emotion were more numerous, but were closer range. After a little practice, she could locate her mother and father downstairs, bustling around the shop. It wasn't exact, but she knew they were there, she felt the explosion of mutual happiness and trust when her father kissed her mother (who had a small amount of surprise thrown in as well).

After releasing the tenshi to find Alya, Marinette had returned to stand at her computer and watch the news broadcast. Part of her felt bad that she wasn't going out to help herself, but the rest of her was very much relieved. Chat Noir looked scary. Plus, she was actually helping, Alya would get powers and she was much more hero material than Marinette. Yeah, Alya's got this.

Marinette watched as new Chat Noir footage appeared on the screen with a little 'live' widget in the corner. He landed on the hood of a police car, causing the officer driving to attempt to slam on the brakes. Before the car got even close to stopping, Chat reached in through the driver's side window and jerked the wheel before leaping off. The car careened into a nearby shop, crashing halfway through the wall before grinding to a halt.

The second the car hit the shop, Marinette could feel the enormous peaks of fear from the officer and many of the civilians nearby. Negative emotions were unpleasant to sense in others. They felt oppressive, almost painful if they were a really strong emotion, and each one had its own flavor. Feeling the discomfort of others, even muted, gave her an almost maternal instinct to help them, to protect. She'd never met these people, but she wanted them safe. Where is the Ladybug? Nooroo said I'd have a partner… If they don't show up, what do I do?

Chat Noir leapt into the shop and tore the injured officer from her seat. She winced and curled in on herself as the officer's fear skyrocketed and eclipsed the civilians'. The aerial camera crew zoomed in just as Chat slashed at the woman with his claws, opening several gashes that rapidly welled red. Grabbing her by the collar, he dodged a panicked punch, heaved and threw her through the shattered window back out into the street.

Then the Ladybug showed up. The blond-haired, red-clad blur came out of nowhere, swinging in on some sort of rope towards the downed officer, arm outstretched. Chat's spotting the Ladybug was met with anticipation, joy, and anger. The villain leapt at the airborne the Ladybug with no hesitation. They briefly clashed and Marinette felt the Ladybug's surprise and fear rise, then fall as they separated. The emotions were getting easier to decipher and sort through with every passing second.

Letting out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Marinette forced her body to relax. The Ladybug was here; she wasn't going to have to do this alone. The knots of tension that had been building up in her stomach began to unravel. After the Ladybug stood, she opened her eyes and saw him.

The Ladybug was male. Okay, not exactly expected given the name, but there have to be male ladybugs of some sort, right? He was fairly well built if a little on the skinny side, with pale skin, shining blond hair, and a poise that exuded an air of confidence in how he looked. He's pretty, sure. I'll give him that. A small flush ran across her cheeks at that thought, and she rolled her eyes at her own impulse. Pretty or not, they had a job to do, and she should not be distracted by such silliness. Besides, being pretty wasn't the most important thing.

Self-identifying himself as just 'Ladybug,' he and Chat Noir had begun speaking, but Marinette's eyes were drawn to something off to the side. To a person just behind the crowd wearing glasses and filming everything on her phone. A member of the crowd who had a glowing, golden butterfly fluttering by her shoulder. Alya jumped and Marinette felt her surge of surprise as the butterfly landed on her glasses and shimmered out of existence.

Marinette felt another presence touch her mind, a feather-light pressure that was laced with an essence that was foreign to her. She felt her body fall away as her consciousness raced across Paris. One second she was in her room, then she blinked and she could see Alya as if they were standing across from one another. Blinking again, she could see through Alya's eyes. The feeling of panic at the loss of control began to mount higher and higher, until she heard a tentative voice calling out.

"Hello? What's going on?"

That's Alya's voice. Marinette saw Alya blur into focus in front of her again, a pink glowing outline of a butterfly framing her eyes. Nooroo said I could speak to them and they had to accept the powers… She took a deep breath and attempted to calm herself. Immediately her mindscape solidified and she could clearly see Alya, who still had her phone up and recording. Her face wore an expression of mild apprehension and her eyes, framed by her now glowing glasses, darted around, searching for something. I can do this.

"Uhm, hi." Great opening, Mari. Ten outta ten. She clenched her fists and punched down in mild frustration.

"Okay, that's weird. Who are you? Why are you in my head?" Alya's aura had lost its initial surprise and gained irritation, a feeling that her voice clearly reflected.

Marinette went into another mild panic. She has to accept the powers; I have to win her over or something! Say something smart!

"Uhhhhhm…" Dammit Mari, snap out of it! She tried again. "Sorry, I'm Ma-er, Ma-" With a start she realized that she probably shouldn't give out her real name. She needed a superhero name, something mysterious. "I'm Madame Papillon. I'm er- I mean we, are going to help Ladybug. If you say yes that is. I mean you can get powers and we'll help Ladybug. I mean-" This isn't going well. ABORT.

"Um, okay?" Came Alya's reply, confusion sprinkled with a small amount of humor filtering through into Marinette's thoughts. "I'm sorry could you repeat that?"

Steeling herself and summoning her courage, Marinette endeavored to speak in a calm manner. "I am Madame Papillon. I am L-Ladybug's partner, and I'm-I mean we're, trying to take down Chat Noir and protect Paris. I need your help, I can give you uh, super powers. Temporarily. But you need to help Ladybug and I defeat Chat Noir. And take his Miraculous. The ring on his finger."

Alya's face went through several expressions, each accompanied by a small wave of emotion. Surprise, doubt, anticipation, and a small dose of fear each made an appearance, all in the span of a few tense seconds while Marinette fidgeted nervously. As the silence dragged on for what felt like minutes, Marinette's thoughts spun increasingly out of control. She's gonna say no and I'll have failed on my first day Alya will never be my friend and then Ladybug will have to fight Chat Noir on his own and he'll hate me for it. He'll tell all of Paris and I'll have to move to China and live off of sewing blue jea-

"Okay. I'll help."

The quiet affirmation cut through Marinette's mental word-vomit. Blinking in surprise, she stuttered wordlessly before responding. "R-really?"

With a wry grin, Alya squared her shoulders and nodded. "I love superhero stories, if you need help, I'll help."

Marinette smiled in relief. Alya will be my champion. As the thought formed, a shimmering gold cloud of energy enveloped the other girl. Looking closely, she could see a faint, constantly shifting image of Alya, but different. As a super hero. To her surprise, the image changed with a mere impulse to change it. The first one, a black suite (with, what is that, a purple wifi symbol?) blurred into a beautiful blue and white gradient ball gown. Not quite right for fighting… A brief flicker of masked orange and white crossed over Alya before the image settled on a vaguely familiar superhero suit, red and blue with accents of gold.

When she remembered where the design came from, Marinette laughed quietly to herself. Majestia, Alya's superhero role model. It could do with a little twist though… The image shifted slightly, the golden stars changed into small golden butterflies (thanks, Nooroo) and removing the platforms in favor of the same thin material that comprised her own suit.

The moment Marinette felt done, the golden cloud coalesced into the real-life version of the suit she'd seen. It matched the image in her mind perfectly, down to the smallest detail. Her fashion designer mind was all set to steamroll down the path of possibilities before she reined it in. Job to do. The powers she had given to Majestia came to her mind as if she had known them all along, and she smiled.

"Okay, now, uh, go to Ladybug. Help him. Take Chat Noir's ring. I'll be watching i-if you need me."

Alya grinned, looking down at her hands in wonder before squaring her shoulders. "With pleasure, Madame Papillon."

The foreign presence left her mindscape, and Marinette felt herself 'fly' back to her own body. Blinking away the disorientation, she quickly shifted her gaze to her computer monitor. She watched as Ladybug sprinted towards a building, flinging his yo-yo and making for the rooftops. He's running? Her heart sank before she saw Chat Noir take off in hot pursuit, a thin sword in one hand and the other glowing with black energy. Oh. That looks… dangerous.

The camera feed shifted from the running super-duo to focus on the nearby crowd. People were scattering away in all directions, waves of fear and surprise pulsing out. The news crew in the helicopter could be heard muttering expressions of disbelief at the golden cloud that was standing in the middle of street. A second later, the golden light faded away, and there stood Majestia. Wasting no time, the newest superhero shot up into the air and flew away, moving to intercept Ladybug and Chat Noir.

If anyone asked Adrien why he'd led Chat Noir on a chase halfway across the city, he'd have said something suitably heroic. Luring him away from the civilians, or trying to minimize damage to the city. Those motivations were there, in a sidelined sort of way, with the oh-my-gosh-HELP mindset taking precedence.

Adrien felt his feet slam into another rooftop, his legs absorbing the shock that the suit didn't. Looking quickly behind him, a small sense of relief pulsed through him. I'm faster than him, that's a plus. Two steps and he was jumping again, bracing for the next landing. He had to come up with a plan. He couldn't just keep running until one of them tired out, while he was faster he wasn't sure who would last longer.

"Ladybug!"

A new voice. Adrien landed and rolled to his feet, only stumbling slightly. That's not Chat Noir making another caterwauling catcall. For one thing, the voice wasn't angry. And it was a girl's voice. Keeping his stride, he turned his head in search of the source. When he laid eyes on her he almost tripped and made an even worse first impression.

The girl was flying. It was like she came straight out of a comic book, with the cape, and the boots, and the flying. Textbook 'good guy' red, blue, and gold hero's suit. And she was speaking again; he should pay attention to that.

"I'm here to help you!" The flying girl shouted, accelerating to catch up to Adrien.

Adrien raised an eyebrow and felt himself slow slightly. Another miraculous user?! As the thought crossed Adrien's mind, 'flying girl' called out again.

"Madame Papillon sent me! Just wait up, okay? We can take him!" The confident smirk on her face widened, and she shot forward, past Adrien, before stopping directly in front of him. "Come on, super-guy, we've got this."

With a grunt of effort, Adrien leapt to the side and skidded to a halt in a wary crouch. Chest heaving, his hand went to his yo-yo as his conflicted mind tried to decide whether to trust her, or defend himself. While inclined to go with the former, it didn't hurt to try and get a little more information. "Who is Madame Papillon? And who are you for that matter?"

The super-girl sighed. "Don't quite trust me, okay. My name is Majestia," she said, a winning smile on her face. "You know, from the comic books. And Madame Papillon is a superhero, just like you. She gave me powers so I could help you."

Before Adrien could respond, Majestia's face morphed from sincerity to alarm, and she charged right at him. Eyes widening, he cried out in surprise and tried to leap to the side, preparing to strike in retaliation. So much for being an ally, he thought bitterly.

It was only after Adrien had leapt out of her way that he noticed her eyes. They weren't looking at him at all, but rather behind where he had been standing. His bafflement melted away as he watched Majestia and Chat Noir collide with a sound not unlike two large trucks smashing into each other. In a fraction of a second the moment was over, and Majestia rammed her fist into Chat Noir's stomach. She flew upward with the villain before grabbing him by the tail and flinging him towards the street.

Adrien had been doubtful before, and he could feel those doubts being crushed mercilessly. Guess that answers the ally or enemy debate rather efficiently. He looked up at Majestia, who was floating gently down toward the roof, and shot her a grin.

Majestia smiled back and raised her eyebrow. "Believe me now, bug-boy?" One hand on her hip and an amused, if slightly holier-than-thou, smirk just completed the look.

Rolling his eyes slightly, Adrien's grin took a turn for the rueful. "Yeah, yeah. Hey, isn't your friend that gave you powers a bug too? Madame Papillon? Talk about glass houses."

Chat Noir tucked and rolled, popping back up onto his feet in a low crouch and glaring up at the two heroes. One hand still crackling with energy, he slowly cocked his head to the side. His coiled body followed the movement, giving off a menacingly feline vibe.

But he didn't attack.

He stayed unnaturally still to the sound of approaching sirens, and waited.

The heroes above seemed only tangentially interested in his actions, however, having gotten distracted by the softly glowing pink outline of a butterfly over Majestia's face. After a second of stiff silence, she burst out laughing. Turning to Ladybug, she tried valiantly to keep a straight face as she spoke.

"Madame Papillon-heh-says that she-" Majestia bit her lip for a second to quell the rebellious giggle. "-she resents being called a bug. She takes after an insect, thank you very much."

Adrien blinked, sparing a quick look down at Chat Noir who was… still standing in the middle of the street. The sirens drew closer, and the muted sound of a helicopter made itself known. Looking back towards Majestia, he raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"

Majestia nodded a few times, her unfocused eyes gazing off into the middle distance. "Right, sorry. No, you're doing fine, I promise." The muted pink light faded, and she looked at Ladybug again. "She can talk to me, like telepathy. She can help us, with advice and stuff."

Interesting. Adrien chewed over this new information, glancing nervously at Chat Noir every few seconds. "So, she's, what, more of a support kinda role?"

"I guess, yeah." With a half-shrug, Majestia spoke again. "She said that she noticed something while he was chasing you. He never uses his glowing hand, he's always very careful to keep it from touching anything. He put his sword away so that he could chase you." Walking over to stand directly at the edge of the building, she looked down at their enemy. "She thinks that, whatever that power does, he might only get one use. If we can force him to use it on something that doesn't matter, he might be easier to beat."

The sirens grew louder. Multiple police cruisers rounded a nearby street corner, screeching to a halt and popping their doors open. Multiple officers in full riot gear exited the stopped vehicles, hunkering down behind the doors with tasers drawn and pointed in the direction of Chat Noir. As they trained their sights on the villain, he turned slowly towards them, the impassive mask giving nothing away. The sirens stopped.

Identical frowns crossed the faces of Ladybug and Majestia. Exchanging a worried glance, they leapt from their roof and landing on the other side of Chat Noir. Ladybug rolled into a low combat stance with his yo-yo at the ready, Majestia levitated just above the ground, both fists clenched.

The police can't take down Chat Noir; they need to get out of here. Adrien knew this, but considering his own efforts had been rather fruitless they probably wouldn't listen to him. Heck, they might even arrest him too. Wouldn't that be wonderful.

The sound of a megaphone switching on made Adrien wince slightly. He saw a small twitch in Chat Noir's still frame as well, and the fake cat ears flattened against his head.

"Chat Noir!" The voice of an officer bellowed, cutting across the quiet street. "You are under arrest for multiple counts of assaulting officers, destruction of property, and a laundry list of other crimes." Fear danced across his face as he spoke, quickly quelled by willpower and schooled into a mask of authority. "Will you come quietly?"

Adrien watched as Chat Noir stayed silent. Confusion marring his brow, he rose and began to slowly walk forwards. He willfully ignored Majestia's hissed 'what are you doing?' in favor of getting a closer look at Chat. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Chat wasn't still at all. He was vibrating. His fingers, his legs, every muscle that was visible was shaking.

"Ladybug, stand back and let the professionals deal with this." The voice of the megaphone-toting officer startled Adrien, making him jump. "Ready!" The officer's hand shot up into the air. "Aim!"

Oh, great. Adrien began backing away from Chat Noir as the assembled officers readied their weapons.

"Fire!"

Nope. Leaping back just as they fired, Adrien spun his yo-yo in front of his as a shield. Strong arms wrapped around his chest from behind and he felt himself being lifted into the sky.

"I gotcha, bug-boy."

Chat Noir burst to life as Ladybug and Majestia took to the sky. He jumped up and over the first wave of barbs that flew his way, twisting midair and arching his back as he grabbed his weapon once more. Landing and extending the sword, he ducked under two subsequent shots and sprinting towards the police blockade.

"Lucky charm!" The words left Adrien's mouth before he had time to really think about it. Throwing his yo-yo up as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he felt an immense amount of power flow along his suit and leaving his hand. The sensation of raw energy moving along his arm was up there on the list of strangest things ever. It made his skin crawl, but it was a strangely comforting, warm pressure. Red and white light shone from the rapidly spinning weapon, spinning and swirling through the air like the ribbons of a particularly ambitious dancer. From the streams of light, a red and black patterned object fell into his free hand.

A boomerang.

Brilliant. I can bonk him on the head with it. Looking at Majestia, Adrien saw his confusion and slight disbelief mirrored. She opened her mouth, but he beat her to the punch. "Don't ask me, I dunno what it's for either."

Majestia shrugged and flew back towards the ground. "Figure it out fast, Ladybug, I have a bad feeling that this cat is done playing without his claws." Dropping Ladybug on his feet, she sped up in an effort to catch Chat Noir before he could reach the blockade.

Hitting the ground at a run, Adrien willed his mind to work faster. The Lucky Charm was meant to help him with his goal, but how was a boomerang helpful? Chat Noir was nearing the assembled officers, most of whom were turning tail to run while a select few held their ground. Majestia wouldn't reach him in time. Screw it, learn by doing.

Adrien cocked his arm back and let the boomerang fly. Never having actually thrown a boomerang, he was delighted to see it go almost exactly where he had envisioned. The polka-dotted blur whisked in front of Chat Noir's mask, missing by a hair, but causing him to jerk back involuntarily. Delight turned to mild irritation when the boomerang, with mind of its own, took off and flew into the sky.

"Come on, kitty, play nice. Let's keep this just between us friends, hmm?" Adrien was really not sure where this chatty attitude was coming from. You don't poke the bear in the face when it's already this pissed. When Chat Noir skidded to a halt and ducked as a surprised Majestia flew right over him, Adrien fought the urge to laugh. Or the cat, as it may be. He kept up his pace toward the villain despite his legs beginning to protest, twirling the yo-yo and throwing it forwards.

Chat batted the yo-yo aside with casual ease, breaking once again into a run towards Ladybug, the broken police line forgotten.

Beep beep be-beep!

The sudden and unexpected tone so close to his ear startled Adrien, and he stumbled. Realizing that he was unable to recover, he instinctually tucked into a roll. Oh, very suave, m. super hero. As he completed the totally-on-purpose somersault, his eyes widened.

The armored shin of Chat Noir slammed into Ladybug's nose with a very audible crack, bringing the hero's momentum to a screeching halt and knocking him to the ground. Chat brought his leg up and around in an arc, before bringing his heel down on the prone Ladybug's chest.

Breathing had never been this hard. Adrien's mouth gaped, struggling to force air into his lungs as he curled in on himself to try and get away from the pain. The sharp, splintering pain of his damaged ribs was testament to the power of the suit. He was certain that had he been a civilian, he'd be dead. Through the slight haze clouding his mind, he could hear Majestia throwing insults and trading blows with Chat Noir. He should help her. But instead he was lying there, his back pressed to the warmed asphalt. Some hero. His blurred vision began to clear, and he felt something cold, sharp, and metallic press against his throat. Trying to back away from the uncomfortable sensation drew a growl from above him, and he stilled.

Blurs of color sharpened into focus, and Adrien swallowed. Chat Noir stood to the side, sword at his throat and glowing hand poised to strike.

Majestia stood close by, chest heaving but hands curled into battle ready fists despite the angry gash on her cheek. Her eyes flicked from Chat's hand to Ladybug's bloodied face, a fearful expression leaking through the anger. "Let. Him. Go." She spat.

With a low chuckle, Chat Noir replied, "You're hardly in the position to be making threats. Though, I will let him go. As soon as I have the Miraculous." He turned his head to look Ladybug in the eye, "Willingly, or not."

A strange, red, very much out-of-place dot in the sky caught Adrien's attention, and he grinned cheekily. "Nah. How about instead," he added in a mock gasp as if he was just realizing something, "instead, you give me your Miraculous." He immediately regretted the gasp for dramatic effect and fought to hold in a grimace as his ribs flared.

"You have ten seconds." Came the flatly unamused voice of Chat Noir.

"Yeah, well you have about three. What goes around comes around." Adrien grit his teeth and brought his forearm across his face, knocking Chat's saber away and allowing him to roll to the side. Clutching his chest with one arm as he scrambled away, he called out, "Majestia, now!"

Ladybug's boomerang smacked into the back of Chat Noir's head, unbalancing him and knocking face first towards the street. Majestia surged forwards; sweeping her leg into Chat's shins and destroying any semblance of balance he had left before landing next to Ladybug in a protective stance.

Falling forwards, Chat Noir threw his hands out to catch himself. His eyes widened as the Cataclysm came into contact with the street and the energy flowed into the rough surface, followed by an ominous crumbling sound. Cracks spiderwebbed through the asphalt, racing outwards from Chat's hand and quickly reducing a large area to splinters of rock. With a yowl of protest, he leapt back as the street buckled and collapsed inward. A jet of water blasted through several peripheral cracks, blanketing the entire block with a shower of rain and rock.

The thrill of triumph wound its way through Adrien's limbs, strengthening his resolve. A cocky smirk adorning his face as his earrings beeped again, he stood and snagged the boomerang out of the air. "Man, what a cat-astrophe." Nailed it. "I'm getting kina tired of asking, but are you going to give up?"

Ears flattened, a strange hissing noise preceding Chat Noir's cutting response. "Why should I? Your Miraculous is depleted, you will transform back before I will." As if to prove his point, the green paw-print on his ring flashed, leaving four pads of the five.

'…after using your lucky charm, you will have five minutes before you de-transform…' Tikki's warning replayed itself in Adrien's mind. Two beeps, two minutes gone, so he had around three minutes, and Chat had around four. And I can't reveal my identity, I'll have to try and get somewhere that I can de-transform soon.

"Sure, Ladybug may have to leave before you to preserve his modesty," Majestia said, the soft pink outline of a butterfly having returned to her face, "but I won't. I can go all day, alley cat."

Chat Noir seemed to legitimately consider it, leaning forward and tightening his grip on the hilt of his saber. Before he could move to keep fighting however, his ring beeped urgently. Two pads vanished in quick succession and prompted him to look down and stare at it for several seconds.

With a growl, Chat Noir retracted the saber and clenched his fists. His posture straightened, and he gave a stiff bow towards Ladybug. "You should have given in when you had the chance of getting off easily." His voice was even, and oddly formal. "Keep your eyes open, child. When you stumble, and you will, I will be there. Your Miraculous will be mine."

Adrien didn't have time to retort as Chat Noir bounded away, running up a freaking wall and vanishing over the rooftops.

A few moments of blissful silence passed. Ladybug and Majestia stood in the artificial rain, both endeavoring to get their breathing under control. As the combat-fueled energy sapped from their limbs, Ladybug fell to one knee and a worried looking Majestia was immediately crouching down beside him.

"Whoa there, you okay, Ladybug?" Hazel eyes dancing with concern, Majestia offered a hand that Ladybug took.

All the aches from the fight were catching up now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Adrien winced as he stood, his ribs giving a painful twinge. Sucking in a breath, he forced a smile onto his lips. His model smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little banged up."

With Majestia's doubting gaze raking over his chest, Adrien looked around at the broken street. Civilians were peeking their heads out from behind shop doorways and windows, apprehension and disbelief written across their faces. Those who turned their eyes towards him wore wary expressions that filled him with shame. People don't look at heroes like that…

There was a flash of golden light, and a new voice that Adrien did not recognize spoke softly. "Um, hey. L-look, stop that. It's only your-I mean, our first day."

Majestia's face was calm but oddly still, a small smile pulled at her lips and her eyes were closed. Beside her was something that made Adrien double take; eclipsing all the admittedly strange things he'd seen that day. A collection of small, dull white butterflies flitted and fluttered to the heroine's left, maintaining the slender form of a woman holding a staff. Eyes bugging out of his head, he felt his jaw go slack at the ethereal sight.

The butterfly-girl gripped her staff nervously, wringing the haft as though it had wronged her somehow. Gulping noticeably, she tried to speak several times before succeeding. "I- um. I look weird I know." She frowned and squirmed slightly. "Could you stop looking at me like that? Please?"

Adrien snapped his jaw shut with such force that he felt his teeth rattle. Blinking rapidly, he nodded several times and began to pull his shattered air of confident nonchalance back together. "Right, sorry. Just startled me is all." A more genuine smile worming its way onto his face, he almost offered his hand for her to shake before remembering that she was, quite literally, made of butterflies. He settled for scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Smooth, Agreste. "You're Madame Papillon, then? Thank you very moth for your help. I'm Ladybug… but I guess you already knew that, huh?"

Madame Papillon giggled and nodded. "I know you're short on time, but I wanted to introduce myself." She smiled gently, giving a little wave. "Remember, you did a great job today. You're so much braver than I am… Better bug out, Ladybug, we'll talk later."

The swarm of butterflies dissipated, fusing with Majestia's mask and making it glow with a warm light. Adrien covered his eyes as motes of light spread all along Majestia's body, engulfing her in what looked like a roiling mass of bright clouds streaked with golden lightning. As quickly as it expanded, the cloud collapsed into a large flowing butterfly. After circling his head, it fluttered off into the sky, leaving behind a very dazed girl in a plaid shirt and glasses.

"Wha-where am I?" The girl took one look at Ladybug and immediately pulled out her phone, a slightly manic-looking grin spreading over her face. "Nevermind, don't care. Hi, Super-boy. Alya Césaire, reporter extraordinaire." Hitting the record button and endeavoring to shield her phone from the water, she started asking questions at a rapid-fire pace. "Are you going to be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive ladybug?"

Blinking in surprise, Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, hey there." Does she… not remember? His earrings beeped for a third time, he really needed to go. If father finds me outside without the Gorilla he'll kill me. Given his time constraint, he decided to answer in kind. "I'm Ladybug. And to answer your other questions: yes, space ladybugs, and no biting but they did do a ritual dance kinda thing." Winking at Alya, he pulled out his yo-yo and spun it in preparation to leave. "Now, I've really gotta go. I'll be around."

Adrien had honestly forgotten about pressure of the boomerang in his other hand until it abruptly grew warm to the touch. Looking down, watched as it began to pulse with a soft, red light. His arm began to tense up and twitch as energy poured into it from the conjured object. Wordless panic shot through him, and he tried to throw it away. Acting on what felt like muscle memory, he bent down and used his whole body to launch his arm upwards, catapulting the boomerang into the sky.

The boomerang soared upwards, flipping end over end as it became smaller and smaller to Adrien's eyes. Before he completely lost sight of it, it stopped and seemed to hang at the apex of its arc and burst in a bright flash of red light. Streams of ladybugs shot out from the epicenter of the explosion, flowing all around the city at an incredible speed. One such stream twirled down and rushed through the demolished street, enveloping anything that had been damaged during the fight, including him and Alya.

As quickly as they came, the ladybugs sped away; taking with them all the pain Adrien had collected from the day, and stripping his limbs of their strength. His ribs were knitted together and all the bruises seemed to have never existed, but he felt sluggish, heavy, as though he had been transformed into lead. Looking over at a wondrously staring Alya, her cheek was no longer marred by Chat Noir's blade. Now that is cool. He forced himself fully upright and flashed a genuine smile for the camera. "Well. That's better, isn't it? Now I really do have to beet-le it."

Leaving the inquisitive girl behind and the growing crowd of reporters rushing forward and waving microphones, he fled up and across several rooftops. The second he was out of sight of the cameras he stopped, nearly collapsing against a nearby guardrail. Taking a few seconds to rest, he shook his arms and legs to reclaim some semblance of energy. There was a response from his suit, subtle but there, and moving became marginally easier. Thanks, Tikki.

Huffing with the effort, Adrien set off moving again. He smiled at the odd civilian who looked up as he whizzed past. Make a positive first impression, Agreste, or they'll eat you alive. Warmth spread through him when one woman shouted a 'thank you' his way, and he twisted midair to give her a salute. Yes, he almost hit a tree pulling that little stunt, but it was worth it in his mind.

The fifth and final beep of his earrings sounded just as Adrien hooked his yo-yo around the lip of his father's mansion's roof. He let himself fall, the string pulling taught and swinging him around, directly through his open window. The walls of his room glowed with reflected red light as his suit dissolved in a shower of sparkles, giving the large, empty feeling space a feeling of life and warmth, if only for a split second.

Tikki was drawn from the earrings, falling into an alarmed Adrien's outstretched palms with a groan of exhaustion. Thinking quickly, he ran to his bathroom and bundled the little creature in a hand towel comfort burrito. Throwing on a jacket, he gently placed her in the hidden pocket. Taking a second to make sure that the jacket looked natural, he looked down at the tiny smile adorning her face.

"Sweets, right?" he asked, heading back out into his room and turning his thermostat up a few degrees.

The kwami nodded and cracked her eyes open, flashing a grateful smile. "Thanks, Adrien." She patted his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt before making the effort to speak again. "You did well, Ladybug."

Adrien smiled and left his room for the kitchens. He'd have to make sure that there was a stash of chocolate chip cookies for Tikki. There was no way that his father would approve of that diet so he might have to get creative. Then again, his father wouldn't approve of anything he'd done that day. Running away to fulfill the rescinded promise of public school and fighting supervillains weren't on his schedule.

I'm going to have to manage that as well… He'd try and make it to school again tomorrow morning. Maybe his luck would be better this time.

…

…

…

Tired. So very tired. It hurts. Fighting him brings more pain.

…

Fight him anyway.

Plagg reconstituted from the ring and immediately tried to escape despite his exhaustion. The sound of metal on metal screeched through his mind, and he found himself flying directly into a set of square bars. His eyesight returning, he quickly turned to see his captor slamming a barred door shut.

A cage.

A golden cage.

The last vestiges of strength left Plagg's body, and he fell to the floor of the cage. It was strange to be in contact with a material that he couldn't phase through. Had he not been so tired, he may have been afraid.

"Do not. Ever. Dare to disobey me like that again." Frigid anger twisted the voice into something almost inhuman. "It seems you need me to remind you that your Miraculous is in my control. You will obey me comfortably, or you will obey me and suffer."

Struggling to raise his head, Plagg managed a glare. "And what… are you planning to do… if I refuse? You need me."

"Yes, I need you. But I don't need you comfortable." A smile. "Besides. You can't refuse."

The man leaves with a flourish, closing the door and plunging the room into darkness. Plagg let his eyes fall closed and curled in on himself. No, I can't, he thought, a joyless smile gracing his face as a single hot tear slipped down his cheek, but I'm going to fight you anyway.

A/N: This is the part where I apologize for not updating, and I am sorry for that guys x.x But here we are (courtesy of the Thanksgiving recess), and the next chapter is 1000 in. I'll have more time after finals, I promise.

Though I would like to say that unless the story has a great big ***ABANDONED*** sign on the front of it, it isn't abandoned. It might be a while between updates sometimes due to school, work, or my own personal stupidity, but if there is no abandoned sign and it's not marked as complete, then it's not over.

Replies:
-Little ChatBug: Yeah, in only a year it's really exploded, it's nuts. And thank you very much :)
-cookiebook322: I'm glad you enjoyed. Here's your ASAP update, it's a pity I couldn't make it sooner x.x
-rainbowrider1290: Can't take the credit for the idea seed, but I'm pleased you liked my execution. And I think this counts as them meeting? Sorta? They'll have more time to talk later.
-Guest (Renessma Rosetta): Here ya go!
-shadowstar618: THANK YOU MUCH, HERE'S THE UPDATE.

A huge thank you to my good friend luna1100 on tumblr for being my beta for this.

Please send any and all constructive criticism, I've no idea what I'm doing. I really do enjoy getting reviews, feedback helps me out a great deal.

Thank you to all the reviewers and everyone who followed, favorited, or read. Thank you very much :)