The longer Ladybug and Chat Noir spent going after the helicopter parents, severing them from the platforms and subsequently having to catch them so as to ensure they did not encounter any sudden landings upon transforming back to normal, the more Ladybug was beginning to panic. Chat had already needed to leave and de-transform once after his ring began beeping at him. Ladybug knew she would need to leave soon if she did not want her identity revealed to all of Paris, but there were simply so many civilians flying at unsafe heights and barking orders left and right that she could hardly think. She was beginning to get a headache from all of the demands flying her way. She was merely fortunate that once she transformed from Marinette to Ladybug she could no longer feel her parents breathing down her neck, screaming for her to keep up your grades, don't come home so late, help in the bakery, clean your room, I just want what is best for you, to the point of it almost becoming unnerving. Marinette did all of those things. She did not need to be reminded of such a fact. Luckily, or not, perhaps, most of those targeted were adults. However, this left quite a few kids hidden in nooks around Paris, and just from where Ladybug was standing in an intersection she could already spot at least eight people hiding from the akuma attack, two of which being her classmates under a bench, and her eyes widened as she put the pieces together. She knew the akuma victim looked familiar—it was Nathaniel's father. Vaguely she wondered what could have gone wrong, but pushed the thought aside. No matter what it was, that hardly mattered for the time being.

"M'Lady, not that I do not enjoy our alone time, but I think we might need some help!" Chat hollered, blocking a projectile with his staff and leaping backwards to her side.

"I think you're right. But who? Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee are all gone for the weekend!"

She saw Chat's eyes go wide. "What? No way! All of them? I knew Chloe—I mean Queen Bee—had a convention or something. But Rena and Carapace, too?"

Ladybug nodded, her lips pursed together in a frown. There was a journalism and media convention in Marseille that many of her classmates had gone to over the weekend; Alya for a professional critique on the Lady Blog, Nino to shadow a production sound mixer, and Chloe to shadow an anchor because "they only need the most beautiful faces in all of Paris to deliver the news and that means me." Ladybug was so caught up in her thoughts that she very nearly did not see the hand swooping down to grab at her Miraculous as Hoverer appeared, and she had no choice but to roll out of the way.

"Why do you keep running, huh?" Chat Noir yelled after the villain who continued to gain altitude and swerve around a corner. "No response either. Cat got your tongue?"

"Not now, Kitty," Ladybug spun and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I think we might need some new partners for today, and I might have two people in mind." She nodded over Chat Noir's shoulder, who turned and spotted where Marc and Nathaniel were hiding. The black-clad superhero arched an eyebrow at Ladybug.

"You know I think you're purrfect, M'Lady, but are you sure? Neither of them have really struck me as the bravest."

"They'll pull through," Ladybug reassured. Or, at least, she hoped they would. "I know they will. I need to go do something, first. Can you take care of everything here?"

"You mean battle off the tens of helicopter parents, keep Hoverer occupied, and ensure no civilians get hurt in the process?" Chat Noir asked cheerily, before winking and latching onto Ladybug's hand so that he could kiss the back of it. "Anything for you."

Nathaniel and Marc had managed to wedge themselves under a bench in a nearby park. While it may have been a better idea for them to take shelter inside, Nathaniel was not sure where to go, especially considering Hoverer knew where both of them lived. He could not think very clearly at all, as a matter of fact. His thoughts kept swirling and he had not even realized he was latching onto Marc's wrist like a lifeline until Marc said something with a wince.

"Um. Nath. Your nails are sorta," he trailed off, and Nathaniel relaxed his grip immediately, glancing at the few angry red marks that his grip had caused. His back was beginning to ache from being hunched over in the same position for what felt like an hour but was likely only ten minutes, but he did not know what else to do. So the two stayed there, hunkering down further every time a helicopter parent glided by, yelling some variation of, "We will keep the next generation safe no matter what! Safety before caution!"

Under different circumstances, Nathaniel may have laughed at how ridiculous they sounded. Decidedly this was not Hawk Moth's best work, but it sure was annoying. At least last time Hawk Moth had attacked and somehow akumatized more than one person, the people of Paris could help. Now steadily all of the adults were becoming overprotective, controlling, zombies.

"Why is Hoverer after me? I-I thought your coming out just went poorly, that he didn't support you," Marc whispered next to him, his shoulder just barely brushing Nathaniel's own.

"He-uh." Nathaniel glanced at Marc with wide eyes, all of his words dying in his throat. What was he supposed to say? He wondered. I told my parents I want to ask you out but my dad threw a fit. I still wanna ask you out, though, so here we are I guess? Of course not, because of all the ways Nathaniel had imagined confessing to Marc that he had feelings for him, in the middle of an akuma attack shoved under a grimy bench certainly was not his top choice. "I don't know," Nathaniel hissed quickly, and Marc frowned. "I mean-he's mad at me, right? Cause of my sexuality?" His hands clenched into fists at this. All he wanted was their support. Was that too much to ask? "Maybe he's after you cause he knows your my best friend and he wants to get to me." As he spoke his gaze shifted from Marc to the concrete, as his willpower began to crack.

However, this seemed to appease Marc, as he hummed and nodded, wrapping both arms around his middle protectively. "But… um. I didn't know I was your best friend," Marc said quietly, and Nathaniel's heart just about jumped into his throat and he was sure his rosy complexion matched Marc's in that moment. Nathaniel, however, luckily had enough hair to hide such a thing.

"Of course you are. I mean, I don't have a ton of friends, but I really value our relationship. Not that I would value it less if I had a lot of friends—that's—that's not what I meant. Just-you know. Us. And the comic. But not just the comic, everything. I care a lot." Nathaniel was blabbering, and worse of all he was seriously afraid that he just friendzoned Marc hard. He finally forced his gaze to meet Marc's, who looked to have a tiny smile on his face but it was one that did not reach his eyes.

Before Marc could respond, however, a new voice shouted nearby. "Marc! Nathaniel! Are you alright?" Ladybug glided down from a nearby rooftop and ran towards them, ushering them out of their hiding place as she glanced around rapidly. Luckily it appeared as if no helicopter parents were in sight, and Nathaniel motioned for Marc to leave first before following. He turning to Ladybug questioningly, who almost appeared to smirk at them. "Nathaniel, Marc, I need your help, so I'm giving you the Miraculous of the Dragon and the Miraculous of the Tiger."

Before Nathaniel could even comprehend what in the world this meant, Ladybug was extending two small red and black boxes towards them. Nathaniel's mouth fell open in shock. Marc took a visible step backwards. "All of Chat Noir and my allies are gone, and now that we know Hawk Moth is no longer working alone, we cannot take any unnecessary risks. Please."

"I can't fight my dad!" Nathaniel exclaimed, raising his hands as if this would somehow fend off the offered Miraculous by willpower alone.

Ladybug continued. "It sounds like he's just wanting to protect you, to help you. Maybe if he sees you-"

Something in Nathaniel twitched. "Yeah, help me by telling me to be straight. I'm not interested."

Ladybug's mouth tugged downwards into a frown and her eyes softened. "Nathaniel, I am so sorry that your dad doesn't accept you. But maybe you can change his mind? Even when he is akumatized, he wants to keep everyone safe. I think he does care about you."

"Yeah? Well I don't really care what happens to him right now. He won't accept me, that's all I need to know," Nathaniel decided, crossing his arms over his chest and angling himself away with a huff. Marc reached out for his arm faintly.

"Then help Paris, please. Chat Noir and I cannot do this alone. We don't know what else to do especially with all of these helicopter parents around causing chaos. Every time one of them detransforms we have to protect the civilian, and in that time Hoverer is brainwashing more adults," she finally admitted. "Your father should have reacted better, he should love you no matter who you are or who you want to be with, and if you don't want to reach out to him just yet that's your choice. But, please, help me save everyone else."

As Ladybug spoke, Marc wordlessly rubbed at Nathaniel's arm, and he leaned into the contact subconsciously, calming as this continued. He then glared at the offered Dragon Miraculous box for many moments before finally sighing and snatching it from Ladybug's hand. "This is for the civilians, and I guess punching my old man in the face to knock some sense into him might feel pretty good now, too."

"If you're willing to go against him, then-well, so am I," Marc declared, offering a small smile which seemed to waver as he accepted the Tiger Miraculous box.

Ladybug turned to Nathaniel first. "Go on, open it," she encouraged. Nathaniel almost wavered on his feet as he flipped open the box. He eyed the metal circlet inside carefully. It was dark, almost black, but had an unmistakable shine to it. There was a small, blank pendant on one side, and tentatively, Nathaniel lifted the metal and clasped it around his neck. It was snug but left just enough room for him to breathe easily. As soon as the clasp was secured, a small creature appeared in front of him. It was small enough where they could fit into the palm of his hand, garnet and black in color with golden eyes and various spikes atop his head. His voice was almost gravely but in a welcoming way. "Morning, Sir. I'm Zann, and I'm the kwami of Prosperity."

"A… kwami?" Nathaniel wondered aloud, transfixed on Zann as the creature grinned down at him slyly.

"Kwamis grant you abilities like Ladybug and Chat Noir. All you have to do to activate them is say scales out! Then to use your ability say ember!"

Nathaniel was visibly shaking now, because even in his wildest dreams he never would have imagined that he could be a superhero. Maybe he would help Ladybug and Chat Noir one day in a fight, but after having been akumatized himself, he had never believed this to be a luxury he was allowed. Now, however, he was about to become his own hero, what he had wanted all along.

"Um. Okay. Zann, scales out!"

A maroon glow engulfed him, gliding across his body and transforming his appearance and invigorating him. It felt as if he was running on adrenaline and the best night sleep of his life. His clothing became a garnet bodysuit with a vague shimmering image of gray scales across the surface. Without warning, Nathaniel flung himself towards a fountain to get a better look at his reflection. The necklace flashed and glowed a bright golden hue, his hands and feet were then color of stone, and the gradient shifted as it neared his middle. His hair was pulled back into a half ponytail, and was considerably darker in color. His mask matched his suit, but with the majority of it being black in color and shimmering with red scales only when the light hit it properly. Something hung from his belt, and he glanced down wildly to see a matching blade which looked to be some morphed image of a quill and a knife blended together, with a small button on the side, and he found himself picking it up and spinning it in his hands eagerly.

"Uh, Nath?" Marc was staring at something on his back, and he spun around to see a vague flicker of something which glowed like the masks of akuma victims, only in a Ruby color. He realized they were small dragon wings plastered to his back, and then he could not restrain his awe.

"Okay, this is so cool!" He exclaimed with an addictive grin, leaping up in the air and spinning around. He couldn't leap as high as the others, but hoped here would be something to make up for that. Flapping his wings experimentally, Nathaniel tried to leap into the air once more only for him to accidentally bank too far to the right and hastily spin so as to not fly feet first into Marc by mistake. He offered a sheepish grin at the other boy's dash to get out of the way. "Heh, sorry!"

"What should we call you?" Ladybug asked, and Nathaniel paused.

"Uh." Marc was the writer, not him. He caught sight of his wings again, paired with the faint ember symbol which had appeared on his choker, and nodded. "Drake de Sang. Marc you go I wanna see you!"

It appeared to take Marc a few moments to wrench his attention away from Drake de Sang and towards his own unopened Miraculous. "Yeah, sure-"

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir's howl and subsequent nosedive directly into his partner interrupted Marc, as he and Nathaniel turned to glance at Ladybug and Chat Noir in a tangle of limbs on the ground. "Hoverer packs a more serious punch than I thought. Although this was not exactly how I thought I'd run into you agai-watch out!"

While Chat Noir and Ladybug went about untangling themselves, Nathaniel saw a flash of navy blue and pine movement out of the corner of his eye as Hoverer swooped over them. Nathaniel grabbed for his blade and spun, not entirely convinced he could use it against his dad directly just yet. As Hoverer neared he jumped, swiping at the rotating blades beneath his circular platform keeping him afloat. All he did was get the blade knocked from his hand and he curled his arm against his chest as he ran to pick it up.

As soon as he had retrieved the weapon and returned it to its spot on his belt, he turned around to the sound of Marc gasping as Hoverer rushed him, wrapped an arm around his middle, and hauled him upwards into the sky, seemingly frozen in fright, his Miraculous Box still clutched tightly in his hand. "Marc!" He yelled, setting his jaw as he leapt into the air and unfurrowed his wings behind him. Flapping once, twice, he dove after the pair, but was quickly intercepted by a helicopter parent and he swerved around them barely.

"Nath, help!" Marc' startled voice echoed in his ears, and Nath turned, pulling his wings tightly against himself and dropping, but unfolding them a moment later and ducking beneath a second obstacle.

"We're right behind you, Drake de Sang!" Ladybug shouted, the sounds of her yo-yo string scraping against the edges of rooftops fading behind Drake as he flew. Chat Noir's staff then snapped upwards and caught one of the parents rotating blades and the person morphed back to normal just in time for Ladybug to catch them. Drake breathed a sigh of relief and urged himself to keep going. He had to find Marc.

A/N: Disclaimer that I do not speak any French, so I hope Nathaniel's superhero name is not too off. I tried my best. Also, I had to make up the power behind the new miraculous, as well as the kwami's, since all I could find were pictures of them and not their names. So, Zann is my little mischievous kwami creation and I hope you like him. These chapters also seem to be getting longer, and now we can see one of the boys in their superhero form! Thanks for reading!