#firena

Marinette nodded as she pulled the Bee Miraculous off, briefly giving it to Firena not to drop it.

“In a moment, yes.”, Tikki floated up beside her and she smiled at her Kwami, “But something tells me that she’s more open to let Ladybug inside her room instead of Firena and two unknown superheroes.”

With a red flash Ladybug kneeled in Marinette’s place and she carefully looked around, checking that Chat hadn’t found here yet, then she patted Firena’s shoulder and looked over to her friends.

“Ready? I know you guys aren’t comfortable with Chloé joining but it has to mean something if she was chosen…”

Carapace begrudgingly rolled his eyes and Firena frowned but they both kept their mouth shut, unwillingly agreeing. She sighed, then jumped and landed on Chloé’s balcony as silently as she could. It felt incredibly good to back in her familiar red suit, fitting perfectly. Without the heavy armor and shield Carapace carried and without the strange sight of yellow when running, irritating her steps.

In Chloé’s room everything was dark, she was probably already sleeping. Or maybe in the bathroom of which the door was closed but Ladybug couldn’t make out any light from beneath the door or hear anything so she assumed Chloé was sleeping. She almost felt bad for ripping her out of her sleep and making her fight with a Miraculous. Something probably nobody liked to wake up to, really.

With a silent breath she lightly knocked on the window. Nothing moved.

She tried again, knocking a little harder. They waited a moment, then Ladybug knocked again and something moved on Chloé’s bed, slowly at first but then faster as she reached for her nightlamp and light flooded the are around her bed. Ladybug squinted, then she waved as Chloé’s irritated gaze finally found her, standing on the glass door leading to the balcony, accompanied by two more figures. The blonde threw her blanket back and jumped up, surprisingly agile for just having slept. She opened the door but before a word could leave her lips Ladybug already pushed her inside, Firena and Carapace following her closely. Only at the quiet click of Carapace closing the balcony door, Ladybug allowed her to speak.

“What-… Excuse me?! What’re you doing here? What is going on, Ladybug? Is an Akuma around? And why are these two here? Who are they even?”

Firena already growled at this very cold welcome but Carapace’s hand on her shoulder soothed her again, making her lean against his chest while Ladybug clarified what had happened today and that she had to help them.

Admittedly, with a little amount of satisfaction, she watched Chloé’s eyes widen with every word Ladybug said. Finally, she was baffled by something, showed emotion, wasn’t above all. She couldn’t even begin to describe how it felt as she watched the control she had always had slipping from the blonde’s hands.

Carapace’s arm wrapped around her as they stayed on the window while Chloé sat down, obviously scared at the story of how Chat got akumatized and started chasing her.

“… You okay?”, she finally heard him whispering in her ear, his breath brushing over her skin on her neck, making her momentarily shiver.

“Yes, I’ll be fine… Are you?”

“Still scared.”, he replied, “But at least I won’t be the only newbie.”

She searched for his hand and her mischievous mood immediately vanished, understanding that he was going through the same thing Chloé would have to go through now.

“It’s gonna be okay, Nino… ”

“But what if it won’t…?”, he quietly doubted, his hand lightly squeezing hers, “This-… This won’t end well… I have a really, really bad feeling, Alya.”

They both perked up at Ladybug calling their superhero names, waving them over. Unfortunately, their short conversation left a bad aftertaste.

“These two here are Firena, you should already know her, and Carapace. They’re chosen by their respective Miraculous, both the guardian Miraculous fox and turtle.”, she explained to the now very silent, very attentive Chloé, “Carapace is the new guardian of the Miraculous since the last guardian died tonight. He’s the keeper of all deactivated Miraculous. And considering the newest events, I’ve decided to depend on your help as well. Chloé, the Miraculous that’s chosen you is the Bee Miraculous.”

The blonde girl gaped as Ladybug gestured for the bee Miraculous from Firena and handed the comb over to her. The golden hair jewelry with the symbol of a bee on top laid heavy in Chloé’s hands as she silently cupped her fingers around it, still pretty overwhelmed and confused.

“So-… Chat’s gone over to Hawkmoth’s side?”, she slowly asked, looking up to Ladybug again.

The superhero nodded as she kneeled down on her side, steadying herself on Chloé’s knee.

“Yes. He’s been corrupted by Hawkmoth, he’s not himself anymore.”

The blonde nodded again, then, after a pause, she looked over to Carapace and Firena. He had an arm around his girlfriend but stepped forward as she addressed him, his hand sliding down Firena’s arm to interlace their fingers instead.

“And you are-…”

“Carapace.”, he answered, still unsure what to do with this insecure, scared Chloé, “Hi. I was chosen this night as well, just like you. I’m the new guardian.”

“The new guardian…”, she repeated, “And the bee is a guardian Miraculous… I-I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to yet, Chloé.”, Firena now stepped in, her fingers firmly closed in Carapace’s hold, “There’s a lot we all won’t understand for now. And it’d take too long to find all that out, to explain what we already know. Chat is still on the loose and we need to take him down. Are you with us?”

Chloé was about to shake her head but Ladybug chimed in again, standing up.

“Maybe it’d be best to reveal who we are. Maybe it’ll give you some security then. And maybe trust.”

At that she regained her old attitude, standing up after the hero to pull her eyebrows up and cross her arms.

“Wait a minute. You want to show me who you are? Why? And no offense but doesn’t this all seem a little rushed? Also, haven’t you considered calling the police?”

Ladybug sighed deeply, momentarily burying her face in her hands but before Firena could step up to tell Chloé to back off she straightened, facing the new recruit.

“Listen, Chloé. Chat tried to kill me tonight. Of course, this is rushed and of course we have considered calling the police but so far, nobody knows a catastrophe has happened tonight. I intend on keeping Chat away from citizens and innocent bystanders. You’re my only shot.”, she exhaled once again and her gaze became hard, “Also, my Kwami advised me to reveal to all new recruits. In case of a teammate’s death.”

As Chloé paled Carapace stepped in, his expression trained firm and as serious as neither girl had ever seen him.

“It’s a life and death situation and we’re dealing with magic here. Police would be powerless. We’re recruiting as many Miraculous wielders as we can find to fight Hawkmoth and free Chat before anything gets destroyed or Hawkmoth succeeds with whatever he plans. So, are you in?”, he held out his hand as a handshake, “… Or not?”

With this, his palm turned upwards, demanding the Miraculous back if she bailed. His gaze was firm on hers and Chloé shivered, holding the Miraculous a little tighter than she intended to.

“I-… I’m scared.”, she finally pressed out and the group recoiled. They had never ever seen Chloé admit she was scared.

“… We’re all scared.”, Firena finally mumbled, resting her hands on Carapace’s shoulder and biceps, searching for his presence, “We’re all terrified. I, for one, I’m ready to collapse in fear. I certainly don’t want my boyfriend to join and I’d rather have it to stay home with my family as well. But this is our time to protect our city, our families, and if it’ll be the last we do. I’d rather die proud than return home a coward and watch Paris burn.”

“It’s still your choice, Chloé, we’re not forcing you.”, Ladybug joined, her lips tight and her shoulders tense. She felt their time was running out, “But you might be our only chance to win this. Chat has a key Miraculous and Hawkmoth is incredibly experienced. With his Akuma our teams are equal. You might be the only one to give us an advantage. It’s not a coincidence that the Miraculous chose you and it’s certainly not luck that you’re here in Paris and old enough to join us. The chosen could be all over the world but you’re here.”

A minute passed. Another minute followed and they still stood in silence. Chloé finally opened her arms again and locked her gaze on the waiting Miraculous in her hand, before nodding, just slightly.

“… Alright…”, she whispered, weakly, “I’m in.”

The heroes smiled and all took a step back as Chloé put the comb in her hair, activating the Miraculous and letting Pollen appear.

“This is your Kwami, Pollen.”, Ladybug introduced them with a little smile, nodding at the yellow bee Kwami, “You just need to say the magic words and you’ll transform. But allow us to introduce us first.”

Chloé briefly exchanged a quick hi with her Kwami, then she was startled by a flash of red, green and orange. Her eyes widened as she stared at her three classmates standing across of her, their Kwamis hovering next to them.

“… Dupain-Cheng…”, she gulped, her eyes flying to the Ladybug Kwami flying next to Marinette’s head, “You’re Ladybug?”

The girl nodded awkwardly, shrugging.

“Yep. In the flesh.”

“And Lahiffe… Césaire… You’re-… You’re the superheroes?”

“Afraid so.”, Nino countered with a humorless smirk, his arm once again sneaking around Alya’s waist, “Sorry to have pulled you into this as well.”

Chloé blinked once, then twice, before her breath hitched and she fell around Marinette’s neck.

“I’m so sorry!”, she wailed against the confused girl’s shoulder, “I’m so, so sorry! I was so mean to you but you were my idol all along. I didn’t even realize-”

“I’m not mad at you, Chloé.”, Marinette rolled her eyes. Instantly, the blonde sobered up, backing off again.

“Oh, you’re not? Great. Then, uh, what are my magic words?”

Quickly, four flashes of light filled the room as they all transformed, suddenly feeling as if they were being watched. They settled on Queen B for Chloé’s superhero name and hurried to duck behind something, as their heightened instincts alerted them of a visitor.

Firena and Queen B both ducked behind her bed while Carapace had chosen the cupboard on the wall, folding himself in. Ladybug hid in the doorway to the bathroom, looking around it.

From the dark of the night a pair of animalistic green eyes emerged, seemingly bodiless as Chat’s costume was just as dark as the night sky. All that indicated that he was here was an almost inaudible tapping on the roof as well as the slick movement in the dark, against the faint light of the illuminated streets.

A slow chuckle sounded through the window, causing shivers to run down their spines as they watched Chat sauntering up to the window, as if he didn’t give a care for the world, his steps elegant as a cat’s and calculatedly relaxed.

“… I know you’re here, princess…”, his voice was a whisper as his breath steamed the window, his eyes twinkling in amusement, “… Come out to play, hm? How does the Agreste Mansion sound?”

Firena looked back to Ladybug to see her best friend crying violently, her hand pressed over mouth and nose not to make a noise as she listened to her ex-partner.

“… I’ll end what I’ve begun tonight, Marinette…”, her name rolled off his tongue like pearls, seemingly seeping through the windows and clattering all over the floor, “… I’ll give you some mercy time. Maybe half an hour to say goodbye to your parents and friends.”

Suddenly, his claws clashed against the window, startling all four superheroes in the room.

“You’ll die with my name on your lips, Marinette, and you’ll regret not having been on my side!”, he hollered, his tone trickling with poison, “I’ll take you out like a light and all you can do is watch! As I was forced to do, all these years, while you played me like a doll!”

With this, Ladybug sunk to the floor and sobbed on her knees, her arms tightly wrapped around her torso and still not letting a noise escape her. She pressed her head against the wall and prayed, begged that he may go already, leave her alone and stop weaken her like this.

“… We’ll have our date, then, princess… I’ll treat you the red wine, no worries.”

A cackle echoed through the room and in their heads as Chat finally took his leave, his eyes suddenly vanishing from view and his silhouette jumping away over the roofs, in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Slowly, the heroes dared moving again, and Firena was the first to be on Ladybug’s side.

“… He’ll kill me…”, she whispered, again and again, “… He’ll kill me…”

“Not if we can prevent it.”, Carapace growled, his jaw set.

The receptionist leant back and nodded, sighing a little.

“Yeah… Was a pain to register them all. But we’re splitting everyone into three equal groups instead of two groups like last year so you probably won’t see most of them on the track. We had so many sign ups this year that the organizers thought about four groups, even.”

Carapace smirked at her and grabbed his helmet from the counter.

“Looks like it’s gonna be a bit full tonight, then. Anyway, nice talking to you, Imma scramble before you tell me Firena’s real name.”, he added with a wink, already seeing his teammate approaching the building through one of the glass windows. The receptionist giggled and waved as he crossed the room, claiming a table for his stuff to lean against, waiting for his first teammate to register as well.

His eyes followed her curvy form beneath the dull racer suit as she entered through the door and made eye contact with him before winking and turning to the administration counter where he had just left. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, watching her prop herself up on the counter and shifting her weight.

He definitely had it bad…

It didn’t take her long to get her papers done and grab her stuff to join him. Just before she reached him he straightened and swallowed, then cleared his throat and tried to sound at least half as cool as he intended to be around her.

“I see we meet again for this season, Firena?”

The young woman chuckled at his words, placing her orange helmet on the table next to his dark green one.

“What, you thought I’d just bail, Shelly?”, she laughed, throwing her flaming hair back behind her shoulder and grinning at him, making his heart leap in his chest. Not that he’d admit that.

“Well, here was hoping.”, he joked, leaning back and trying to look relaxed. She just lifted one of her eyebrows, crossing her arms.

“You scared of me?”

Carapace laughed at that, quickly shaking his head as Chat Noir came through the door as well.

“Eeeeh, nah. Not scared of you. I mean, it’s no secret that you’re one of the best racers out there but I thought I’d have an easy run this time against all the newbies.”

His friend placed his helmet next to theirs as well and clapped on Firena’s shoulder, grinning widely.

“Hey guys! Nice to see familiar faces around all these fresh starters.”

“Hi, Chat! So good to see you, champ!”

Chat Noir grinned as he moved past Firena and tightly hugged Carapace, laughing as he was suddenly lifted up by his best friend.

“Man, your father still not feeding you? I swear I gotta exchange a word or two with this guy. Can’t let my boy starve!”

Chat ruffled his hair as he let him down again, shrugging.

“Yeah, the old man is a little annoying. But I’m counting on you guys to keep me alive for the season.”

Firena perked up at this, lifting her finger and waggling it as if Chat had just sparked an idea.

“Oh yeah, speaking of! I know the winter’s hard for you so I brought you something as a start. Gotta pull the current champ on my side!”, with that she turned to her bag that she had dropped under the table, not without throwing a wink at Carapace, though. He felt his cheeks warming and Chat’s grin getting broader and definitely a tad too smug so he quickly retorted.

“Well, but he’s my best man! You have to pull him on your side, I already have him!”, he playfully pulled the racer towards him as Firena straightened up again, an opened box with three croissants in her hand.

“Oh yeah?”, she smirked, carefully waggling the box, “How about now?”

Chat shook his head, brushing Carapaces hands off and stepping towards the girl, spinning to reveal that he had taken one of the traitorous bribes.

“Sorry bro, but she’s pretty convincing.”

Carapace dropped to his knees without losing a beat, covering his face with his hands and dramatically cried out.

“Oh nooooooo! The witch won! She hath taken my beloved brother and now I stand alone against her dark power!”

Firena giggled at all the glances he attracted like a magnet and then shrugged.

“Well, you can have one if you want.”

With a jump Carapace was on his feet again, smiling down to her and rubbed his hands together.

“Uuuuuh, she has defeated me! Nice! Thank you so much!”

He grabbed one croissant and bit into it, then nodded towards the door.

“Hey look! She has a cool helmet!”, he stated, prompting his two friends to turn around and take a look as well. A small girl entered the room, clad in the same dark blue racing suit as the three of them. Her helmet had a radiant red with black spots on it and her belt showed that she was from France just like them.

The girl looked around for a moment, then turned to the administration counter a little to the side from the entrance. Firena hoisted herself up on the table to sit there and caught Carapace’s gaze, grinning.

“New teammate! Cool! I read her name’s Ladybug, kinda fitting for the helmet.”

“I think she fitted the helmet on her name.”, Carapace shot back, then looked at his friend who was still observing the girl, “What do you think, bro?”

Chat Noir didn’t move, didn’t even react as Carapace looked at him expectantly. Not even as he called him by his name he got any kind of indication that he was listening until Firena jabbed her elbow in his side.

The young man coughed and stumbled a step to the side before breaking his gaze away from the new girl and indignantly staring down his friends.

“What is it?”, he grumbled and Carapace smirked.

“You seem awfully interested just by looking at her, man.”

Chat shrugged nonchalantly, before biting into his croissant.

“Well, she’ll be a teammate so yeah, I’m-… Uh, watching.”

“You were totally checking her out.”, Firena commented dryly, shrugging, “Totally checking her out. Bummer, though, that her suit is a little too big, kinda conceals her figure. But as it looks she has a cute butt.”

Carapace suddenly breathed in a tiny crumb and began coughing, earning an amused look from his female teammate. As he was finished with his coughing fit and straightened up again with a red face, the girl with the Ladybug helmet turned around with a small stack of paper in her hand. She looked a little lost and took a few steps away from the counter to allow other newcomers to register themselves but obviously didn’t know where to go. Her eyes searched the crowd and Firena and Carapace caught her gaze, simultaneously lifting their hands to attract her attention. Her gaze flickered down to their belts and she recognized their flag, then her face brightened up in relief.

She shouldered her bag on the other shoulder and made her way towards them, skillfully avoiding other racers who were gathering around until she arrived at their small group, smiling shyly.

“Uhm-… Hi! I’m new, and uh-…”

Firena jumped from the table and stretched her hand out after Ladybug had dropped her bag, grinning as the smaller girl took it.

“Hi, I’m Firena and these dorks behind me are Carapace and Chat. We’re the French team, welcome to our little circle!”

Carapace was the next to shake her hand. He had to nudge Chat to do so, too, but it didn’t seem to faze Ladybug that Chat was shamelessly staring. Maybe she was just too distracted to notice since she already focused on Firena again.

“So, uh-… You really only use your cover names?”

The taller girl nodded and shrugged.

“Yeah, easier like that. I mean, it’s just easier to keep it like that. And it’s kinda fun to keep the role. So! What made you think of the name Ladybug?”

The girl in question smiled and blushed a little, changing the position of her helmet on her shoulder self-consciously.

“I dunno… I think I just thought I’d need the luck.”

Carapace chuckled, reaching forward to knock against her helmet, then he pointed back at Chat who was still somehow out of order.

“Yeah, you’ll probably need that, like all of us. This here is the current world champion Chat Noir, he won the last season.”

Immediately, Ladybug’s attention was drawn to the so unusually tongue-tied Chat, her jaw dropping and her eyes getting wider.

“Oh my god… So it really is you! I-… Oh my god I’m so sorry I thought I wouldn’t meet you here but uh-…”

Firena giggled, dramatically grabbing her throat and speaking in a rough voice.

“Oh, oh no, I need water! Shelly, help me to the vending machine!”

He was about to roll his eyes and remark that Chat and Ladybug certainly didn’t need Firena’s plump attempts at making them talk after they’ve just known each other for barely a few minutes as she already pulled him away. Admittedly, he felt his heart fluttering but that wasn’t topic right now.

“Wow, what a subtle exit.”, he leant against the vending machine as his teammate grumbled, crossing her arms and obviously not buying something to drink as Ladybug briefly looked after them before turning back to Chat Noir who had miraculously just begun speaking.

“It was meant to be so obvious, dork.”, she huffed and leant on the other side of the glass door, looking at him intensely. Then she whispered, “Don’t you see they have chemistry going on?”

“Oh yeah, Chat seemed different during the first few seconds of meeting her for the first time.”, he commented pointedly, then he lifted his eyebrows as her gaze didn’t leave him, “Anything in my face?”

She nodded, turning to him and stepping closer, her hand coming up to allow her fingertips to brush over his cheek.

“Stubble.”, she whispered, “You’re becoming a man, Shelly!”

He ignored his blush and his rapidly beating heart as he playfully swatted her hand away, laughing.

“Yeah, I gotta shave again, thank you very much for reminding me.”

She giggled as she turned her back to the blooming conversation of their teammates, searching for a few coins in her pockets to really buy something now. He wordlessly handed her two Euros as he eyed his best friend with squinted eyes, tilting his head.

“Think Chat really acted weirdly when he saw her? I mean-… I never saw him blushing but he is right now and they’ve only known each other for barely a few minutes.”

Firena shot a lazy look over her shoulder, then shrugged as she pulled herself his favorite drink.

“I dunno. Chat gets pretty easily flustered. If you actually got down on the dance floor on parties and didn’t just stand on the mixing table the entire time you’d see how easily he gets all blush-y and stutter-y around pretty women.”

Carapace rolled his eyes and sighed, then nodded as he accepted the juice after Firena had already taken a few sips.

“Probably, I dunno. It’s just that I’ve never seen him like this. That’s all.”

Feel free to ask me about this AU! I’m always open to asks ;)

And how would he explain to his teammates that Nino had survived while he was nowhere to be found? How would he lie to them to protect his secret identity?

He had finally began struggling as the Akuma had held him on his neck, just the tips of his sneakers still on the metal platform of the tower. Firena had begun screaming but was being held back by Ladybug while Chat heatedly discussed a plan with her. Queen B hadn’t shown up yet, she could’ve saved him in an instant because she was able to fly.

And then suddenly, everything had begun getting out of control. The Akuma had turned to him, had placed his hand on his chest and had grinned. Firena had cried out, Ladybug and Chat had surged forward but before anyone had been able to get to him the world had begun spinning.

As his body was played with by the air he barely realized he had been thrown. He didn’t fall off the Eiffel Tower, no, he flew through the air horizontally. Everything was too fast, his chest hurt and he didn’t know where anything was. A quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower at some point told him he was far gone already.

The Tower was merely a stick against the blue as far as Nino had seen. His feet felt so heavy as he continued spinning and his head felt as if someone had placed a giant rock on his cheeks. He gulped, unable to breathe in, to scream, to do anything.

Until he felt a sharp pinch on his leg.

Wayzz.

Nino tried to get his thoughts together, tried closing his eyes but that was worse. He opened the widely again, seeing that he now spun slower. He could try to stabilize again and concentrate on talking. Like sky diving. He had never done that but he was a superhero, he should be able to do it.

So he concentrated, tried to find a point where he could find the air slashing against him. The direction in which he flew. Since he still spun around his whole body he needed to tense his muscles accordingly. Wasn’t there something about cats using their tail to turn in midair?

Damn, where was Chat when he needed him…

He found the air stream, finally, and adjusted his body so he could slowly begin to stop the spinning. By tensing and relaxing his muscles he managed to spin slower, use his back as a shield. He now fell backwards, the shadow of wind on his face enabling him to force out the desperate words.

“Wayzz, shields up!”

The wind grabbed his words and blew them away as he felt how gravity took a hold of him again, making the angle to the floor higher. He felt himself falling more towards the ground now than he had flown before and as he turned his head he saw the buildings quickly closing in.

“Wayzz… Wa-… Wayzz-… Shields-…”, he choked, fear blocking his throat. The Kwami couldn’t hear him. The buildings came closer and closer, faster than he had imagined. Now he passed the roofs. Luckily for him he aimed at a street.

The people started looking up but he couldn’t hear their screams over the strong wind in his ear.

In a last desperate attempt not to die he curled himself up, starting to spin again. Then he yelled at his pocket.

“WAYZZ, SHIELDS UP!!”

A flash of green shone behind his eyelids and the familiar feeling of the suit building up around his body washed over him. His hands were coated with gloves, his chest protected with armor, his back covered with plates-

His head snapped back as he hit the ground.

The asphalt partly gave way under his indestructible suit but partly still stayed unmoving. He felt his body slamming down on the concrete, then flipping and sliding further. The angle in which he had hit the ground had been flat enough to not pancake him into the ground but rather let him flip like a rock on a frozen lake. He just didn’t know which he would’ve preferred.

The street ended after some time and he was thrown against a house wall, his body finally coming to a halt.

He fell to the floor with loose limps and slack muscles, his shoulder and hips hitting hard on the sidewalk. His head mostly landed on his arm but he still felt the hard impact.

His mind was dangerously close to shutting down but he willed himself to get up, to get to his knees at least. His body wouldn’t move, wouldn’t even give the slightest attempt as people started gathering around him, rolling him onto his back.

He groaned and whimpered as his bones were moving, as his body was straightened out. People were calling for help, were attempting to call an ambulance but he shook his head, finding back to his conscious. His transformation and Wayzz’ energy helped massively keeping him in the game, but he knew he’d pass out and need medical attention in the second he detransformed.

“Monsieur, Monsieur Carapace! You need an ambulance!”

He sat up with the help of a few people and numbly shook his head, testing his toes and fingers. Then he went up to ankles and wrists, knees and elbows, until he could roll his shoulders with a pained hiss.

He got a few helping hands as he leant forward, getting out of his sitting position to kneel.

“I-… I’m okay… I’m good… N-No ambulance, I’m-… F-Fine…”, he mumbled before getting straightened up by the civilians, thanking them with a slight nod.

As he felt the ground beneath his feet again he sighed in relief, shaking his shoulders out and patting on his chest.

“I just-… Need to-… Breathe… That’s all… No ambulance, please, I’ll-…”

“Carapace, what happened?!”

“Monsieur, Monsieur, don’t stand up!”

“Here, I’ll hold you, I’ll hold you up-”

“Please, you need an-”

“Leave him alone!”

“Don’t you see he’s-”

“But what if-”

“Where-”

He squinted his eyes as the voices now slowly sounded through his numbness and the blood rushing in his ears. At least ten hands on his back, sides and shoulders held him up and he swayed but as soon as his brain had a little more oxygen again he shook his head, getting his concentration back.

“People, please…”, he tried and a man next to him straightened up.

“He wants to say something!”

Everyone listened up and they turned their heads to him as he parted himself from all the supporting hands.

“Don’t-… Don’t worry, I’m okay… I had the suit. No ambulance.”

“But Monsieur, you need to get checked, you’re obviously-”

“I’m fine.”, he smiled at the panicking woman with a phone, “Or wait, no, call an ambulance, please. I’m sure a lot of people here are shocked.”

Her eyes wandered around and she slowly nodded, then turned back to him.

“What about you, Carapace?”

He gave her a strained grin and put a hand on his side, nodding at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll survive. I’m a hero, that happens daily.”, he lied, relieved as her gaze got softer.

“Alright. But please get yourself checked up as soon as you can. We don’t want to lose you.”

He merely chuckled, nodding as he once again straightened his body, already feeling better as his system got used to being still again. His brain was balanced now that he could breathe again and even though his chest hurt he felt okay enough to join his teammates.

Not necessarily fight but at least tell them Nino would be okay.

He thanked all the people who had cared for him and stayed until the ambulance arrived to be as fit as he could with a few more minutes of a break, then he grabbed his shield and jumped onto the next rooftop, running and jumping and gliding on his shield towards the city center again.

When he arrived the team already was in the middle of fighting the Akuma.

Well… Three out of five. Ladybug, Chat Noir and-… Queen B? Where was Firena?

“Hey, uh-”

“CARAPACE!!”, even though they all looked like they wanted to kill him right now they all looked at least a bit relieved to see him but still concentrated on taking down the Akuma. It pretty much looked like they had everything under control, her gladly noted, so he wouldn’t have to give his all. But before he could even analyze where his place on the battlefield was, Queen B came jumping to him, a concerned expression on her face.

“Listen, Cara, we can take the Akuma, no problem. You might not have heard it yet but a boy died today… Uhm, if you could go see Firena? She’s kinda upset and we’re all caught up in the fight.”

He gave her a puzzled look, then nodded slowly.

“Uhm-… Yes, of course. Where is she?”

“Still on top of the Eiffel Tower. We kinda-… Well… We had to tie her up there. We didn’t want her to see how the boy must-…”, she broke off as Carapace nodded again, quicker this time to interrupt her.

“Yes, clear. I’ll care for her.”

Queen B gave him a brief salute and surged into the fight again while he fought his own by trying to keep his mind together. But he managed to concentrate until he set foot on the metal platform of the Eiffel Tower, where he had been in his civilian form mere minutes ago. The busted off railing gave him a weird feeling in his stomach but his gaze was immediately drawn to the sunken together girl that was tied to one of the poles on the inner construction of the Tower. She sobbed, her ears flatly laying on her head. Carapace gulped.

Yes, they had met a few times in his civilian form. She had visited him twice or so, on a lonely evening. So why was she so upset now?

“Firena?”, he carefully approached her, his steps soft and soothing as he got closer to her, “What-… What’s up?”

She looked up, her nose running and her eyes reddened and swollen from all the crying. Her arm was outstretched because she sat as far from where their teammates had tied her to the building, creating a heartbreaking picture of how desperate she was to get away. With a second gaze he recognized Ladybug’s yoyo. Of course, something had to hold her here that she couldn’t break.

If that meant that Ladybug was giving up her weapon to fight then it must’ve been urgent to keep Firena here.

He knew Ladybug and Firena knew each other’s identities, as the only ones out of their group, but he didn’t know if that had anything to do with keeping her here.

“Rena, hey, what’s-”

“Why are you here?! What’re you doing here now?!”, she immediately snapped, her voice already hoarse and broken from crying. She once again tugged on the yoyo but it wouldn’t come free, “You weren’t here! You could’ve saved him! We-… We could’ve saved him…”

She once again subsided to her sobs, lowering her head. Her body language said more than obviously that he shouldn’t come closer. Her ears were flattened down to her hair and her tail was wrapped around herself but he couldn’t help it. He kneeled down and tightly hugged her.

Out of the first animalistic instinct that all of the heroes had transferred to their behavior to some degrees she bit him. He felt her two sharp fangs sink into his suit on his shoulder, with her and Chat’s claws and fangs the only thing except weapons that could cut through the material. He clenched his teeth as she only tightened her bite but then let go of him to bury her forehead on his shoulder, sobbing heartbreakingly. He held her close and felt her tail lashing to the side only to include him in the hug. He was now officially allowed to touch her so he nuzzled her ear, bringing his face deeper into her fluffy hair. Her ponytail had come loose, probably from fighting (against their teammates?) and thus she wore it open.

“It’s gonna be okay, Firena… It’s gonna be okay…”, with a short glance he assured himself that they were alone. Obviously, the highest platform had been blocked by the police because of the Akuma attack, “It’s gonna be okay, Firena…”

“N-N-Nothing-… Nothing’s gonna-… B-Be okay-…”, she sobbed against his chest plates, her hands weakly pounding on his arms, “… H-He-… H-He’s d-dead n-now and he’s m-m-my b-boyfriend and I j-just w-w-want him b-back and-”

Carapace couldn’t hear the following rambling. His eyes shot widely open and he grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes.

“He’s your boyfriend?!”, he asked unbelievingly, the blood uncomfortably rushing in his ears again. Bad reminder.

“Y-Yes-… H-H-He was my b-boyfriend and-… I k-know he w-w-wanted to p-propo-ose to me and I j-just want him b-b-back b-because I c-can’t imagine a life w-without him…”

His eyes went even wider and he gulped, cupping her face. He knew she spoke of Nino Lahiffe, of himself in civilian form. He knew he had a girlfriend. One girlfriend.

One that he wanted to propose to.

Alya Césaire.

And here she kneeled before him.

“How in the hell did you find the ring in my nightstand?!”, he busted out, terrified. He had hidden it so well! Well, that was probably a part of being the partner of a journalist. Slash superhero, he reminded himself.

As she looked up he didn’t even let her have the time to process what he had said. With a green flash he detransformed, his golden eyes clashing with hers before he squinted them, pressing his lips against hers.

He had never been so glad to have her figure out one of his secrets, honestly. Or two, now.

“No. It’d be too many people in danger and it’d take too long. We don’t even know if the Bee has a chosen right now and searching for just one Zodiac chosen could take us the time we need to save Chat. We can’t even risk the Bee, really, but I have a feeling that we need the whole group together…”, she sighed, sitting back and slumping, “I mean… I dunno. It just seems like-…”

“That’s a good idea, Marinette. I’m sure, the Bee will be out there.”

The girl nuzzled her Kwami gratefully, then stood up with the box in her hands, facing Nino. He understood and gently parted from Alya, giving her another kiss on her forehead before focusing on Marinette.

She took the box with the Miraculous under one arm and shared a gaze with Wayzz, then she brushed the Turtle bracelet off her wrist. It glowed softly as it left her arm and got closer to its chosen.

“Nino, I’m entrusting you with this Miraculous. You’re the chosen wielder and with the Turtle comes a lot of responsibility. The Turtle is the guardian Miraculous because it represents steadiness. It is constantly activated and thus, you will watch over the Miraculous as well as probably live past us all to pass the Turtle as well as the other Miraculous on to another successor. Do you understand that?”

The boy slowly nodded as Alya pressed her hand to her lips, looking away.

Nino reached forward and touched the Turtle bracelet, the glow getting brighter. He slipped it on his wrist and breathed through as the weight of the responsibility rested on his shoulders.

As soon as he had fastened the bracelet to keep it tight on his arm, his chest began glowing.

Alya and Marinette both took a step back as he yelped, touching his shirt.

“Wh-Wha-”, he exclaimed, terrified at the light emitting from him that only became brighter.

“Your body is accepting the Miraculous.”, Wayzz calming explained, staying on Nino’s arm, “Your lifespan is extending. It’ll only take a second.”

Nino gulped and looked up to meet the gaze of the girls again, nodding as the light dimmed down again.

“Alright…?”, he replied, unsure of what to make of this. Finally, as the light was gone again he swayed but stayed standing.

“Nino?”, Marinette carefully asked, and he nodded, signaling he was fine. Only then she continued, holding the box of the Miraculous up, “Here are the Miraculous that are now under your protection. The two key Miraculous which are given to Chat Noir and me, the five guardian of which the Butterfly and the Peacock are lost to Hawkmoth and the Fox and the Turtle which are given to Alya and you.”

Nino slowly took the box, cradling it close to his chest.

“I took the Bee out since I can easily transform with a lower Miraculous than mine. I plan on getting the last wielder so we can have a chance. Is that okay with you?”

“Uhm… Sure?”

She nodded, placing the hairclip just above her pigtail. It glowed briefly and a tiny Kwami shot out, falling in her shoulder. She carefully took the groggy goddess and lightly brushed over her head, giving her time to wake up.

“Good. The rest are twelve Zodiac Miraculous. They represent the twelve Zodiac animals of the Chinese mythology. You got that?”

He nodded again so she smiled at him, now focusing on the tiny Bee Kwami in her hand.

“Hey, hi. I’m Marinette, chosen of the Ladybug Miraculous.”

The Kwami blinked at her, then smiled and slowly began floating.

“Hi.”, she replied in a high-pitched voice, floating a little higher so that Marinette could talk to her on one level, “I’m Pollen. Nice to meet you!”

While Marinette briefly explained the situation to Pollen, Nino set the box of the Miraculous down on his bed and turned to Alya, breathing through.

“Hey, Alya?”

He caught her gaze by stepping to her and cupping her face, lightly brushing away the tears that were still spilling.

“I-I’m sorry I’m so-”, she began but he shook his head, softly pressing his lips to her forehead and closing his eyes. After a few moments he mumbled against her skin, feeling her arms hesitantly wrapping around his waist.

“Don’t worry about a thing… I know what I’m getting myself into, I kinda just-… Have it in me.”, he slowly wrapped his arms around her neck now, still talking against her forehead. Her breath brushed over his neck as she leant against him, “I’ll keep you safe, promise.”

“I’m not scared about myself.”, she tried retorting but he just chuckled humorlessly.

“You’re scared of losing me. As am I. But Alya, we’ll get through this. We need to save Chat. We’re heroes now.”

She snorted tearfully, tilting her head to the side and away from his lips to rets it in the crook of his neck to be closer. He held her gently, his hand brushing patterns over her back.

“It’s okay, Al. We’ll be okay.”

She still tried getting closer, her hands now meeting behind his back and brushing past the other to rest crossed around him, one of her hands holding onto her other wrist.

His response was to tighten his embrace, watching Marinette talking to Pollen while always sending side glances to the window.

“Ten bucks says Adrien’s gonna be the Bee?”, he asked, half joking. Alya began giggling in his arms before being interrupted by an involuntary sob.

“I dunno… Think it could be Adrien?”

Nino shrugged softly, not wanting to move too much for her.

“Well, blonde hair? Maybe, yeah. And the Squad would be complete then. But I really hope it isn’t him, that boy has a thing for Ladybug and his flirting will not be pretty if he knows Ladybug is Marinette.”

Alya sighed, shaking her head.

“And Marinette would be a mess if she knew Adrien was crushing on Ladybug…”, she added under her breath, causing Nino to tiredly smile.

“Yeah…”

The girl leant back, catching his gaze. He tried widening his smile for her to encourage her but he found himself unable to. The shadow of this night was too dark and heavy to try and lie.

She leant forward, once again pressing her lips against his in a slow, desperate way, trying to forget about everything around them as one of her hands slipped up into his hair, pulling him closer against her.

“… I love you…”, she whispered against his lips, again and again, as if her words could keep the night from happening, “I love you, I love you…”

He felt his fists once again clenching into her shirt, trying to keep them from shaking, trying to keep her from feeling his nervousness. He didn’t reply.

Only after a few moments Marinette broke them apart again. Her eyes were clouded and heavy as she shrugged humorlessly, burying her hands in her pockets as Trixx joined Wayzz on the desk to pull him up.

“Guys, we gotta find out if there’s a Bee… I’m sorry to interrupt you like that but, well, we got a friend to save.”

They both nodded, blushing at the embarrassment of having lost themselves again, then they both straightened up. Alya made the first move by transforming again, momentarily lighting up the room in an orange light, then she nodded at Nino. He spoke the words he got from Wayzz and followed her with a bright green flash, the suit and armor complete with shield appearing on him.

Marinette saw Alya biting her lip and turning away as she saw her boyfriend like this, suppressing a slight smile.

Finally, she sighed and nodded at Pollen, closing her eyes after the second transformation in this room.

“Pollen, stripes on!”, she whispered, feeling the unfamiliar yellow flash travelling up her body until the magic faded, only leaving her, Firena, her Kwami and the addition to their team in the room. She opened her eyes again, not even bothering to send more than a short gaze down her body.

She apparently wore the same suit that she had as Ladybug, skin tight and without alterations. It was yellow and had black boot and gloves as well as stripe patterns. To her hip she had strapped a spinning top, otherwise there was nothing else.

As she looked up, she caught the gaze of the new guardian.

“So, already got a name?”, she asked, smiling.

He didn’t give it much thought. Apparently, it was as easy as Chat had had it all those years ago to him.

“Carapace, I think. I like that name.”

Firena grinned and stood on her tiptoes to place a peck on his lips.

“I like it, too.”, she murmured, already tempted to lose herself in the kiss but Marinette cleared her throat.

“Well then, we gotta get going. Tikki, does this work the same as the Turtle?”

Her Kwami nodded but then shrugged, looking uncertain.

“Well, it should. But, you know, there’s the possibility that we won’t find a Bee wielder. After all they could either be five and thus too young or they could be over in Scandinavia or America orr… Well, there’s many possibilities. So, if you don’t feel anything we should move on without the Bee.”

Marinette nodded, already closing her eyes.

“Alright, let’s see…”, she let go of all thoughts, all concentration and just focused on the Bee Miraculous, on the magic surging through her and-… There!

She gasped as she felt a tug, pulling her to the window.

“I think I got a feeling that they’re here in Paris. It could be that we can build up the team on four! Let’s go!”

Carapace hurriedly hid the box beneath his bed, then he followed the two girls outside, Marinette with the Bee already on the next rooftop while Firena waited for him, crouching on the windowsill outside.

“You good?”, she asked, pulling up her eyebrows beneath her mask.

“Yeah.”, he replied, doing his best to let his voice sound firm and steady, “And I just, uh-… Jump?”

She nodded, taking his hand.

“We’ll do the first one together. Then it should be instinctual for you. Ready?”

He clumsily climbed up to her, closing his window behind them.

“Alright, I’ll try…”, he murmured, his grip on her hand tightening. She lightly yelped and he loosened his grip, not used to the new strength the suit provided for him, “Sorry, sorry…”

She waved it off, then concentrated on Marinette on the roof across from them.

“See Mari there? We’ll jump on the count of three.”

He gulped and straightened up with her, his fingers interlacing with hers.

“A-Alright, we can do that.”

“One… Three!”, she suddenly exclaimed, jumping and pulling him with her. Out of reflex he immediately jumped with her, startled by how high he suddenly was. The ground left his feet and he flew, the roof from across coming towards him.

Within a second, it was over and he securely landed on his feet, running a few steps to get the speed from the jump off.

“Wh-… What the hell, woman! Can you even count?!”, he stuttered, bewildered at her mischievous grin.

“I know you. You would’ve chickened out. And now you stand here.”

He grumbled as she crossed her arms, suddenly looking overly smug. But just as a smile snuck on his lips, Marinette once again interrupted them, this time sounding urgently.

“I just spotted Chat Noir heading this way, I don’t think he spotted us yet. Run!”

Immediately, all three of them dashed past windows and chimneys, over the roofs, until they could hide behind a wall to see where the black figure against the dark sky was heading.

The chesire hero landed on the same windowsill but since Nino’s room was dark he growled and jumped off, running back the same way he had come here. And for a split second, Marinette could see that his hand was clenched.

She gasped as he was out of sight, turning away from the edge of the wall to start pacing over the roof, squinting her eyes. Only after a few moments Carapace’s voice sounded through to her.

“… -t’s wrong?”, he asked.

Marinette breathed through, trying to control her panic.

“I think Hawkmoth sent Chat Noir to choose a Peacock. It’s just an assumption since the Peacock can also be lost somewhere but it could be that Hawkmoth has it.”

“Which means we’re not the only ones trying to build up a team.”

“But why did he come to my room?”, Nino interjected, “I mean, I’m not a Peacock chosen and Alya told me you found me through tracking.”

“Plagg is trapped inside the ring.”, Tikki explained, tightly holding onto Marinette’s shoulder, “So he can’t transform with the Peacock. I assume he’s just following it this way, meaning he can track magical hints but not use the much more effective track Marinette is using.”

They all remained silent for a moment before Marinette spoke up with a shaking voice.

“That means he can feel the magical hint to the chosen Bee, too, if he already searched for Nino.”

They all shared a gaze before breaking into a sprint after Marinette’s tugging feeling.