lucky charms
❛ i. coccinella & cat noir ❜

━━━━━ EVEN BEFORE CHARLOTTE'S life had been turned upside down, she was already having a pretty rotten first day back to school.

first; she had woken up late, having accidentally set her alarm clock to the wrong time. second; her dog had peed right outside her bedroom door. that part was pretty important because she came running out of her bedroom and stepped right in the puddle. (her brother's laugh made it all so much worse.) third; charlotte had to run to school, and the girl hated running, that's why she quit track.

her father would normally drive her and her brother to school, but there was always the rule if you weren't out of the house by a certain time, you'd be left at home. and charlotte was left at home, left to fend for herself.

she skittered to a stop, hurdling herself around a corner. she grabbed her book bag that was sliding off her shoulder, barely looking over her shoulder for a moment —

charlotte ran directly into an elderly man, sending his cane flying out of his hands and sliding across the concrete.

"i'm so sorry!" charlotte gasped, holding onto her shoulder as it throbbed in pain. "i didn't see you! sir" — she lunged for the man's cane, soon helping him to his feet — "i'm so sorry — really, i didn't mean to! let me help you."

the elderly man used charlotte as a brace to get back on his feet. she handed the cane back gingerly.

"does anything hurt?" she asked, dusting off his shoulder.

"oh, everything now," said the man. he didn't look frail, but still, with a hunch in his back and a cane in his right hand, it was easy to tell he had a long life. he was of east asian descent with brown eyes so dark they looked black and hair that was entirely steel grey in color, with a mustache and goatee to match.

charlotte winced at his words, grabbing a notebook to tear a piece of paper out. she ripped the plastic lid of a pen off with her teeth, using her knee to write her number on. she handed the paper to the man, saying, "if anything starts to hurt you, call me and i'll do anything to help. again, sir, i'm so sorry!"

she wrapped his fingers around the paper, grabbing her bag before she ran past him and down the street.

charlotte ran up the concrete stairs of lycée françoise dupont. the school was a tan building with a slate blue cobblestone rooftop. there were three layers of windows. she shoved open one of the dark oak doors to the entrance of the school.

she ran into the courtyard and up the staircase to the right. charlotte stopped at the top of the stairs, looking around for miss bustier's classroom. charlotte smoothed down her jean pants before entering the classroom.

miss bustier, charlotte's new literary teacher, was a tall woman with pale skin. she had red hair that she kept pulled back into a smooth bun. miss bustier had bright blue eyes and a layer of freckles across her nose.

the teacher was saying, "nino, why don't you have a seat in the front row this year?"

nino lahiffe, a classmate charlotte has worked with before, slumped with a deep frown. he dragged his bag off the table in the very back and slouched down to the front-row seat. he was a tall, skinny teenage boy with short dark brown hair, dark skin, and eyes that looked amber in the right lighting.

charlotte analyzed everyone else in the room, finding most of her peers from previous years in the room: rose lavillant in the back row, kim lê chiến and max kanté sat in the row in front of her, mylène haprèle was in front of them. but there was a girl in the front row charlotte didn't recognize: she had dark skin with grey-gold eyes and hair that grew past her shoulders, a reddish-brown ombre.

charlotte gripped the straps of her black backpack tightly, slinging the bag into the second-row seat closest to her. she slid down the bench until she was sitting on the side that was next to the inner staircase.

she was barely able to set her bag down before a hand slapped the table. a pale hand with plain, yet somehow still extravagant, white acrylics.

"charlotte vittore," drawled the girl's greatest pain: chloé bourgeois.

she and chloé two had never gotten along. charlotte wasn't sure what had started it. her father always said it was because charlotte was a natural at volleyball, something chloé wasn't, and that chloé was infuriated that someone was better at her than something.

it didn't make much sense to charlotte considering the fact that chloé hated sports. chloé hated any physical activity.

it always boggled charlotte's mind why chloé acted the way she did. she was rich, not surprisingly since her father was the mayor of paris, but she was also pretty. really pretty; pretty enough she didn't have to act so disgusting to get her way. she had medium-length blonde hair and cobalt-blue eyes. her hair was parted down the middle, pulled into a high ponytail.

"what, chloé?" sighed charlotte.

"that's," the blonde pointed at where charlotte was sitting, "my seat."

"is your name on it?" countered charlotte. "you've never sat here before, why does it matter?"

sabrina raincomprix, chloé's best friend, leaned forward. "new school, new year, new seats!"

sabrina seemed a lot plainer compared to chloé. exactly how chloé wanted it, since she believed no one could out-shine her. sabrina was a girl with red hair that was styled in a bob-cut and strong blue eyes.

"so why don't you just go and sit beside that new girl over there?" chloé pointed at the new girl. "listen. adrien's arriving today, and since that's going to be his seat, this is going to be my seat. get it?"

charlotte blinked up at the blonde. "who's adrien?"

chloé let out a shocked laugh. "can you believe she doesn't know who adrien is?" she asked sabrina. "what rock have you been living under?"

"he's only a famous model," said sabrina scathingly.

"oh — sorry," said charlotte sarcastically, "i guess i don't waste my time fretting over boys that don't even know i exist, chloé."

the blonde glared at her. "he's my best friend. and he adores me. go on, move!"

the new girl stood up, moving to stand behind chloé. "hey," she barked. "who elected you the queen of seats?"

chloé rolled her eyes, barely even making the effort to turn around. "oh, look sabrina! we've got a little do-gooder in our class this year. what are you gonna do, super newbie? shoot beams at me with your glasses?"

the girl's eyes narrowed. "wouldn't you like to know ..." she grabbed charlotte by the arm, pulling her out of the seat. chloé stepped out of the way, a small smirk on her face.

charlotte had to lean back to get her bag, glaring at chloé as she walked back down. the new girl was sitting in the front row, sliding over so charlotte could sit in the inner part.

miss bustier had walked out of the room, checking for any stragglers in the hallways. how lucky chloé was for that "perfect" timing. more classmates had trickled into the room — ivan bruel, a kind but giant kid; nathaniel kurtzberg, an artistic kid charlotte only talked to every so often; and marinette dupain-cheng, chloé's second favorite target after charlotte.

miss bustier walked back into the room, shutting the classroom door with a click. "alright, has everyone found a seat?"

charlotte sank down into her seat, pulling her bag between her feet. the new girl looked at her from the corner of her eye.

"chillax," she told charlotte. "it's no biggie."

"easy for you to say," charlotte grumbled. "i've been dealing with that for years. it's taken me forever to be able to stand up to her, and you just did it no problem."

the girl started to smile. "i learned it all from majestia." she turned her phone around, showing charlotte a picture of a blonde woman flying through the air. majestia had pixie-cut blonde hair and dark eyes. she had a red sleeveless vest on with blue sleeves that left her shoulders exposed.

"majestia?" charlotte repeated. "like ... that superhero from the united states?"

the new student grinned wider. "she says 'all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing'. well, that girl over there —" she pointed at chloé "— and we are the good people. we can't just let her get away with it."

"again, easier said than done," repeated charlotte. "she's made every year with her miserable."

"that's cause you let her, girl! you just need more confidence!"

charlotte looked down at the table. "charlotte," she said, holding out her hand.

the girl grinned, shaking charlotte's hand. "alya."

"for those of you who don't yet know me, i'm miss bustier." the teacher wrote her name in white chalk on the board, underlining it. "i'll be your teacher this year."

miss bustier continued class till the bell rung, even on the first day. that didn't set charlotte's hopes up high. she knew miss bustier was a good teacher, but the student was just hoping for an easy class.

miss bustier said, "those of you who have p.e., mr. d'argencourt is expecting you at the stadium. the rest of you can head over to the library."

charlotte stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"kim!" ivan yelled furiously, clenching his left hand, as if getting ready to punch something.

kim was leaning away from ivan, a giant smile plastered on his face. it had to be another one of kim's "pranks". charlotte rolled her eyes silently.

"ivan, what is going on?" miss bustier demanded.

"it's kim!" ivan said, pointing at the boy. he scowled at his classmate. "i'm so gonna get —"

"ivan!" miss bustier barked. "go to the principal's office!"

the boy scowled at the floor, crumbling up a piece of paper in his hands. he grabbed his backpack, dragging it along with him as he stomped down the stairs.

charlotte watched ivan walk out of the classroom with a wary expression. if that was going to be a daily occurrence, forget chloé and her attitude, charlotte just didn't want any involvement in kim's "pranks".

🐞

charlotte sat in the library, waiting until it was time for the next class. alya was showing her more superheroes, most of them operating in the americas.

"why do they have so many?" charlotte asked as alya slid to the next photo.

the girl shrugged. "they do say america is really dangerous."

everyone paused when there was a loud boom. a loud enough boom that shook the whole building. then there was a second boom, it rattled everything in the library. it sounded like whatever was making that noise was getting closer.

however, alya didn't seem slightly terrified. in fact, she almost seemed enthralled. she grabbed charlotte by the arm, dragging her along.

"come on!" she yelled.

alya pulled charlotte to the security camera in the center of the library. other people were also viewing the screens. classrooms were fine, and the courtyard seemed fine, but mr. damocles, the principal, was lying on the floor of his office, his hands covering his head. and the camera that showed the front of the school ...

whatever it was; a huge muscular rock golem with glowing red eyes.

where the thing was standing, the concrete was caved in. people were watching the thing in horror.

the thing roared; "kim!"

"what the hell is that?" charlotte asked, her voice shrill enough to be heard over the chaos around her. "why'd it say kim? it has ivan's voice?"

"it's as if he's been transformed into a real-life supervillain!" alya said, almost sounding happy. she started rifling through the blue messenger bag on her shoulder. "gps? check. battery? check. i am so outta here!"

charlotte watched as her new friend ran toward the library doors in shock. "where are you going?" she demanded.

"where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero close behind! no way am i missing this," alya said before leaving the library, the wooden door slamming shut behind her.

charlotte looked back to the security cameras. the thing that had ivan's voice was still out there, raging. it took a few steps into the street, a silver car stopped right before it got trampled on. the people escaped the car as the thing picked it up.

"kim!" the thing roared, throwing the car at the security camera.

charlotte flinched as that section of the tv screen went silver with static. she looked around; she was the last person in the library. everyone had already left.

charlotte picked up her bag before running out of the school. the thing was already gone, on its way to terrorize some other part of paris. but charlotte still felt the ground rumble in the pattern of giant steps.

🐞

charlotte didn't even get the chance to unlock the front door before it swung open. her mother stood in the doorway, pulling her daughter inside.

jolena lefèvre checked her daughter over, asking, "you weren't hurt, right? people are saying that thing came through your school."

"mom, i'm fine," charlotte promised. "i was in the library, but it never touched that part of the school. but ... it does have one of my classmate's voice."

emmanuel, charlotte's older brother, was standing behind his mother. "your classmate's voice?" he asked.

"don't worry about that!" jolena said, ushering her kids further inside the home. "your father is still at work, we've decided it's safer for him to stay there instead of trying to get home."

charlotte slowly let her backpack slide off her shoulder. "i ..." she started to say. "maybe i should—"

"do you need water?" jolena asked.

"no," said charlotte, shaking her head. "i just need to lie down. i should call my friends and see if they're okay, too."

with that, charlotte raced up the wooden staircase and into her bedroom, closing her bedroom door behind her. her bed was pushed into one corner, with the white bedsheets and a baby pink blanket on the outer side covering the other half. she had a wooden table beside her bed, acting as a desk and nightstand; a desk that also held her laptop. on the wall opposite of her bed was a vanity desk with a mirror standing on it.

charlotte tossed her bag in the beanbag that sat deflatedly in the corner of her room, wheeling her desk chair around to sit in it. she turned her laptop on, pulling up a news station.

tvi news was the first one charlotte pulled up. andré bourgeois, the mayor and chloé's father, was making a statement: "i'm asking all parisians to stay home until this situation is under control."

reporters started shouting, "mr. bourgeois! mr. bourgeois!"

nadja chamack, the news castor for tvi news, appeared on screen. "as incredible as it seems, it's been confirmed that paris is indeed being attacked by a supervillain. the police have been struggling to keep the situation under control."

charlotte raised her eyebrows. "incredible ...?" she muttered to herself.

roger raincomprix, an officer and father of sabrina raincomprix, appeared as the next section. he was saying, "be confident, the strong arm of the law will come crashing down on the —" the arm he had raised was in a sling, making him flinch with pain. "i mean ... the other arm."

charlotte chewed on her thumb's fingernail, spotting a small brown hexagon-shaped box a foot away from her. the box had a red intricate design on it with golden hinges.

"what the hell ...?" she muttered, grabbing it off her desk. the box felt sturdy and heavier than she expected.

she opened the hexagon-shaped box without a second thought, finding a pair of earrings inside. the jewelry was circular with silver linings; they were bright red with five black spots on each, in a quincunx pattern.

the girl dropped the box in shock as a pink glow appeared in front of her. charlotte squinted, covering her eyes until the glow faded. at her eye level was a floating thing: a bright crimson color, possibly ten centimeters tall, with a tiny body compared to its large head size, bright blue eyes, and one giant black spot covering its forehead.

charlotte balked with a sharp gasp.

"everything's okay!" the creature promised. "don't be scared!"

charlotte's eyes were wide. she nearly fell out of her chair, using the black chair as a barrier between her and the creature. "you're talking!"

"yes," said the creature. "and i can speak many languages!"

"get the fuck away from me," charlotte said harshly.

however, the creature wasn't swayed. "listen, charlotte, i know everything may seem a bit strange to you —"

"you're a talking alien," the girl interrupted, pointing a shaky finger at the red varmint.

"i am not an alien," it corrected. "i'm a kwami. a very big difference. just let me explain."

the girl glanced at her bedroom door, as if thinking of escaping into her mother's arms. the alien seemed to realize.

"please, don't!" the kwami pleaded. "i know you're scared but nobody must know i exist."

charlotte's grey eyes slowly slid over to the kwami. "then talk. and what the hell is a kwami?"

the kwami smiled. "kwamis are formed out of concepts, charlotte. we kwamis can give powers to people with miraculouses — like the earrings in the box — and the people who receive miraculouses turn into superheroes based on their miraculous!"

charlotte's eyes turned doubtful. "so you're like a genie?"

the kwami shook its head. "no, not at all. you're not limited to three uses, but there is a time limit after you use your power — you will have only five minutes left. but your power is the power of creation."

"creation?" the girl repeated.

"yes," the kwami nodded, "you will create anything to help you defeat the villain."

seeing charlotte's expression, the kwami sighed heavily. "i'm tikki, the kwami of creation. and you, charlotte vittore, have been chosen to wield the ladybug miraculous. you have been chosen to defeat stoneheart."

"defeat?" charlotte repeated. "as in, defeat that thing out there that wants kim dead? the one that sounds like ivan?"

"stoneheart is — or was — ivan," said tikki. "but when you transform, you will have the power to defeat him, to bring ivan back."

"hey, you're totally wrong," charlotte said with a strained smile. "i don't have time to be a superhero. i have school, and volleyball practice, i have to work out because of volleyball, i have to study and do my homework, and my parents are saying i need to get a job soon. actually, you know what? i know the perfect girl that could be this next ladybug superhero! alya! she loves superheroes!"

"charlotte, you are the chosen one!" tikki protested furiously.

charlotte deflated. she rubbed at her eyes, muttering under her breath. "you're totally kidding me right now? me, a superhero? i'd get the entire city burned to the ground ..."

"charlotte, listen to me!" tikki said, flying after the girl as she paced around the room. "to transform, say 'spots on', to transform back, say 'spots off'. now, to bring ivan back: he will have an object with him that contains an akuma, you will have to figure out what the object is, but when you find it, break it. a small butterfly will come out, that is the akuma. you must capture the akuma, with the yo-yo. and that yo-yo will give you the lucky charm, and it will never run out of string."

"right ..." charlotte said slowly. she grabbed the box, which was lying discharged on her desk, pulling out the pair of earrings. she put the earrings on, saying, "so, i have to figure out this object, break it, and capture that whatcha-ma-call-it thing?"

"akuma," tikki corrected. "and you must capture it!"

"okay, okay," said charlotte. "what are those powers you mentioned?"

"lucky charm is one," said tikki. "it's the power to create an object. whatever object you are given, you have to figure out how to defeat the villain."

"easy enough," charlotte grumbled sarcastically. "tikki, i'm not going to be able to do this! i'm gonna fuck it up!"

"you need to trust yourself, charlotte! just say 'spots on!'"

the girl looked at the kwami with doubt. "spots on?"

tikki smiled briefly before being pulled into the left earring. a bright pink light surrounded charlotte's body before fading as fast as it appeared. charlotte didn't feel any different, but she certainly looked different.

in her vanity mirror she could see her clothes had been replaced with a spandex suit. her shoulders and chest were bright red with a black spotted pattern, narrowing as it traveled down her abdomen until it came to a halt at her hips, stretching around. with the narrowing spotted pattern, black filled in. the black spandex spread around until it covered her back. her arms were entirely the spotted pattern but her legs looked as if she was wearing thigh-high boots, even with bulky wedges on her feet. from her feet to her mid-thighs, the red base with black spots covered her legs until a black portion filled in the rest of the space.

on her face was a red mask with five black spots in a symmetrical design. her grey eyes stood out starkly from the red. her black hair was parted down the middle, pulled back with dutch braids with what looked to be red ribbon woven within.

"what the fuck am i wearing ...?" charlotte mumbled, rubbing at the fabric on her arms. she tried to grab the red fabric but it seemed glued to her skin. "look, tikki — i'm not going anywhere while wearing this."

               the girl glanced skeptically back at the mirror, looking at the back of the suit; her face contorted, seeing the red with spots on her shoulders spread down to a point to meet the black along her back.

"seriously — what is this?" she muttered.

"stoneheart is heading toward the montparnasse tower," nadja chamack spoke loudly from charlotte's laptop. "the monster seems to be unstoppable!"

it was an overhead view of stoneheart walking beside the montparnasse tower and a small figure biking after the monster. a small figure that had reddish hair with a plaid shirt on ...

"alya?" charlotte whispered in disbelief.

there was knocking on the girl's door, she turned around, wide-eyed. "yes?" she called loudly, throwing herself for the closet. she made a bunch of noise, the metal hangers screeching across the rack.

"mom just wants to know if you're really okay," emmanuel said through the closed door.

"i'm great!" she answered a little too quickly. "er — as great as i can be, i guess ..."

charlotte figured emmanuel heard all the noise coming from her room and knew not to open the door. instead, he asked, "have you talked to your friends? are they home safe?"

"home? yes," said charlotte, silently locking the bedroom door. "safe? not with that thing running around."

               the black-haired girl looked over her shoulder, at the laptop screen than through the open blinds to her window.

"o-kay ..." said emmanuel slowly. she heard the creaking of wooden boards as he stepped away from the bedroom door. "mom says dad will be home in a few hours, once they know stoneheart is not gonna come back around his office."

"okay," charlotte said, walking over to her window.

once she was sure her brother had walked back downstairs, charlotte slid the window open, ignoring the dirt that had settled in the bottom. she grabbed the yo-yo that had been sitting at her waist, letting it get pulled by gravity before reeling it back in.

"magic powers," she mumbled to herself. "and a magical yo-yo with infinite amounts of string ..."

charlotte threw the spotted yo-yo, and it flew threw the air, hooking on a ledge across the alleyway. the thin, black string tightened and the girl gave a soft tug.

charlotte let out a lengthy scream as she tumbled to the rooftop next to her house. she rolled, covering her head, as the yo-yo trailed after her. she laid on top of the metal roof, catching her breath.

"i'm never going to get used to that!" she complained, leaning up to look around. the black-haired girl could see inside her bedroom, her laptop with the news still playing, and the blinds that rippled with the small gusts of wind that passed.

the girl stood up on shaky legs, the spotted yo-yo flying into her hands. she raised her arm and the toy flew across two streets, hooking onto the chimney of a house. charlotte's face was apprehensive as she gave a tug.

another scream escaped her mouth as she rocketed through the air. charlotte managed to land on her feet with some tumbling. she bent over, holding onto her knees, the two braids lying limply as she took deep breaths.

"i hate this ..." she groaned, repeating another throw.

🐞

heights had never been a problem for charlotte before, but now they were. and she learned to hate them quickly.

the black-haired girl tumbled through the air, her yo-yo following along behind her, as she rounded out the top of a building and started slowly losing her height.

but someone was walking across a silver stick that was wedged between two chimneys. the blond boy looked up, barely getting a glimpse of charlotte as she fell head-first into him.

the yo-yo string circled around the silver staff as the two fell off, stuck together with the black string tied around them. the two swung from side to side, slowing to a stop.

"well, hey there," greeted the blond boy. "nice of you to drop in."

"i'm sorry," charlotte apologized. "i didn't mean to!"

the two eventually got themselves untangled, with the yo-yo still strung on the stick.

the boy had cat eyes with green sclerae, dark green irises, and slitted pupils. his honey-blond hair was longer and more on the untamed side. he had on a black spandex suit with metal details. he wore matching gloves that had claws and black boots with silver toes and paw-shaped treads. there was a golden bell on his neck, connected to a zipper on the front of his costume, and a long belt that wrapped around his waist and hung out from the back like a tail. he wore two black animal ears and a black mask.

"i bet you're the partner my kwami told me about," he said. "i'm ..." he considered for a moment, "cat noir. yeah, cat noir! and you?"

charlotte looked at his suit a little closer. "you're supposed to be a cat?"

"a black cat," cat noir said with a grin.

"oh, well ..." the girl turned back around, tugging at the yo-yo. "i'm" — she gave a great tug, the yo-yo and the stick falling down and hitting cat noir in the head — "sorry! i'm sorry! i'm insanely clumsy."

cat noir rubbed his head. "it's fine, clumsy girl. i'm learning the ropes, too."

the road trembled beneath them. a tall skyscraper started to fall to the side, dust billowing from the wreckage. the sound of metal scraping against metal appeared as the silver stick in cat noir's hands extended. he used the stick to vault himself to a nearby roof.

"hey!" charlotte called after him. "what are you doing?"

cat noir looked back at her. "uh ... trying save paris?"

he dropped off the other side of the rooftop, leaving charlotte alone in the street.

"you have got to be kidding me ..." she murmured, pulling the red yo-yo back out. she closed her eyes, repeating some mantras her mother had taught her to use when the anxiety started getting too unbearable.

"yeah ... i trust myself ..." she repeated, reeling back her arm and throwing the yo-yo. "i trust myself!" she insisted as the yo-yo wrapped around another chimney.

the yo-yo string tightened before pulling charlotte off her feet and into the air. she let out a loud wail of fear.

🐞

the new hero landed on the top of the parc des princes with a stumble. ivan — or stoneheart now — was running across the field, quickly and easily gaining on kim.

cat noir hadn't waited for charlotte, extending the silver staff, blocking stoneheart's hand from grabbing kim. the blond leaped off the side of the building, using the staff to lower himself down to the green field.

"hey, it's not very nice to pick on people who are smaller than you!" he said, pointing a clawed finger at stoneheart.

kim took his chance to run away as stoneheart was distracted. "i guess you're talking about yourself," the villain rumbled like an earthquake.

stoneheart swung one gigantic hand at cat noir, but the boy dodged, jumping backward. stoneheart slammed his left fist into the ground, narrowly missing the hero as he leaped away.

cat noir dodged stoneheart's right fist after the villain slammed it into the ground. he used the closed fist as a stepping stone to launch himself into the air.

the cat used the staff to hit stoneheart over the head. however, his face dropped when stoneheart only grew larger.

his voice was panicked when he asked: "where are you, partner?"

charlotte was crouched at the edge of the overhang. her yo-yo was gripped tightly in her hand, shaking slightly. the girl swallowed heavily, standing up slowly. her knees felt weak, she felt as if she was staring down a volleyball team that never lost a game.

stoneheart ripped a soccer goal out of the ground, throwing it in cat noir's direction. the blond ducked, the goal bouncing off the ground, and heading straight for alya, who was filming at the other end of the field.

the goal would have hit her straight on if cat noir hadn't thrown the staff at the perfect moment. but protecting alya left him vulnerable; stoneheart grabbed him with his left fist.

"what are you waiting for, superbug?" alya yelled to charlotte, uncovering her head from the sudden attack. "the world is watching you!"

that didn't make charlotte feel any better. in fact, that only made the girl even more nervous. what if she did fuck up? stoneheart would cause more mayhem in the city and the entire world would know.

and maybe that's why charlotte leaped off the side of the building. she drew her arm back as she dropped towards the ground — the yo-yo wrapped around stoneheart's legs as she slid between them.

stoneheart and cat noir looked at her as she skittered to a stop in front of them, tightly holding the yo-yo string. the girl put on a fake grin as she said, "animal cruelty? how shameful!" before wrenching back the string.

stoneheart's legs closed together, and he tipped backward, letting go of cat noir out of shock. charlotte gathered her yo-yo back, running after cat noir, who rolled into the other goal.

"sorry i took so long," she apologized to the blond, helping him from the ground.

"it's cool, wonderbug," said cat noir, waving her off. "now, let's kick his rocky behind!"

the blond started to march for stoneheart, but charlotte shot her arm out, smacking him in the chest.

               "wait!" she said. "did you forget? that time you attacked him, he only got bigger and stronger. we need a different approach."

"different how?" cat noir asked.

the black-haired girl frowned. "i don't know ..." she admitted. "maybe i should ...?" she slowly reached for the yo-yo resting on her hip.

"do what?" asked cat noir.

"my kwami mentioned this power that would give me an item that would help us defeat any villains," said charlotte. "but i think i need to wait it out — see what stoneheart does next."

cat noir's eyes glinted at the mention of powers. "okay, then! i'll use my power! cataclysm!" his right hand was surrounded by black particles.

"apparently, i destroy whatever i touch," he told charlotte with a grin.

the girl's face was uneasy. "you should be careful with that," she warned.

cat noir turned to the goal behind him, touching the white metal. immediately, the metal rusted around his hands, spreading quickly across the entire goal.

"no, wait! don't do that!" charlotte yelled.

the white bars and net crumbled around them, cat noir seemed to be grinning wider, if that was even possible. "cool! it's just you and me, now! time to rumble, soon-to-be-rumble!"

charlotte reached for the boy, yelling for him when he was too far out of her reach. "cat noir, wait!"

cat noir confidently ran across the field, jumping for stoneheart. the boy landed at the monster's feet, slamming his hand down. when stoneheart didn't rust, cat noir looked up slowly. the blond tapped his palm against stoneheart a couple of times.

"oh, shit ..." he mumbled. "i guess i only get one shot to use my power."

charlotte watched the boy angrily as he was kicked back over to her. "and you only get five minutes until you transform back!" she chided him. "did your kwami explain anything to you?"

cat noir rubbed his arm, admitting, "i guess i was a little excited about my new life."

"somehow that doesn't shock me," charlotte said grumpily, pulling out her yo-yo. "lucky charm!"

a black and red wetsuit appeared out of the fold of the yo-yo, fluttering down into charlotte's hands.

cat noir looked at the wetsuit with raised eyebrows. "superpower?" he asked charlotte dryly.

the girl rolled her eyes. "my kwami told me i had to break the object where the ..." she sighed heavily, trying to remember what tikki had told her, "akuma is."

the two looked at the. the villain was not-so-slowly marching over for them. cat noir said, "well, he's made entirely out of stone. so ... not much to work with here."

charlotte scanned stoneheart, then she gasped loudly. "his right hand! he never unclenches his right hand. the akuma must be in his fist!"

cat noir looked almost impressed. "what's the plan?"

the boy's silent approval gave charlotte some confidence. she looked around the field, spotting the hose at their feet, the waterspout it was attached to, and alya, who wasn't far away, filming them.

charlotte grinned. "this."

she took the wetsuit and attached the hose nozzle to it. she took her yo-yo and wrapped it around cat's feet, like she had done to stoneheart earlier.

               "trust me on this," she told him, noticing cat noir's nervous expression. "and don't resist."

she threw the cat at stoneheart, ignoring how the blond yelled that she was crazy. instinctually, stoneheart grabbed cat noir with his left fist.

with the wetsuit in hand, charlotte launched herself off the ground. "catch me if you can!" she yelled back, only taunt stoneheart.

stoneheart, for the first time, unclenched his right fist, a purple lump dropping to the ground. he caught charlotte, looking between the two heroes.

charlotte twisted around to see alya. she yelled, "alya, that tap! beside you!"

without any questions, alya turned the tap, turning the water on. the water flowed through the blue hose, expanding the wetsuit. stoneheart dropped charlotte and the expanding wetsuit out of shock.

charlotte rolled across the ground, finding the small object stoneheart had dropped and breaking it with her fist.

ever since transforming into the spandex suit, charlotte's shoulders sagged with relief. it was done. finally.

the stones that made up stoneheart fell apart and disintegrated as ivan appeared in the rubble. cat noir was rubbing his head, looking at charlotte with unreadable eyes. the broken pieces that had been the akuma pieced back together to form a crumpled-up paper.

ivan's voice was hoarse as he asked, "what's going on? what am i doing here?"

charlotte smiled at cat noir as he walked over. "how was that?" she asked him.

"incredible! you were incredible, miss — uh — wonderbug! you did it!"

"we did it," charlotte corrected, gently poking cat noir in the shoulder. "if you hadn't trusted me, the plan would have never worked out."

the blond smiled sheepishly, looking down when the ring on his right hand started beeping shrilly.

"that's your miraculous, right?" asked the girl. when cat noir nodded, she warned, "you better get going. our identities have to remain a secret."

cat noir bowed dramatically, saying, "farewell, m'lady. let's do this again soon, okay?"

he took a running start, and using his momentum to jump into the second row of seats. then he used the silver staff to give him a boost up to the overhang.

               charlotte raised her eyebrows, muttering, "not too soon, i hope."

she glanced down at the paper, picking it up. charlotte spread the paper out, reading messy handwriting that she recognized as kim's: 'you haven't even got the guts to tell mylène you love her, wuss.' her brows furrowed as she crinkled the paper back up, acting as if she had never read it.

ivan had the biggest crush on mylène for as long as charlotte had known him. and everyone knew it — except for mylène. kim was right, ivan had never been able to work up the nerve to tell her.

charlotte walked over to ivan, holding out the paper to him. she wouldn't have said anything about it if ivan hadn't spoken first. it seemed he knew she had read it.

"kim, my classmate, wrote it," he said, staring at the paper. "he's always making fun of me."

charlotte gave the boy a small smile, crouching down next to him. "you need to stop letting kim get you so worked up, ivan. there's no shame or embarrassment in loving someone, or telling the person you love them."

ivan's brows furrowed. he looked at charlotte a little more closely. "how'd you know my name, miss?"

"er — i heard it on the news!" charlotte answered too quickly.

"uncanny. a-mazing. spectacular!" alya yelled from behind her phone. she was still filming charlotte. "are you gonna be protecting paris from now on? how did you get your powers? did you get stung by a radioactive ladybug? oh, i've got a ton of questions to ask you — uh — miss . . ." she prompted for a name.

a name. charlotte needed a superhero name.

"coccinella," she answered with a smile. "the name's coccinella."

"coccinella," alya repeated. "what does that mean?"

"it's just italian for ladybug," said charlotte, standing up. she started walking away, hoping to escape the bombardment of questions. "and no, i wasn't stung by a radioactive ladybug," she called over her shoulder with a grin.

🐞

charlotte sat at her desk, tvi news playing on her laptop screen. "so thanks to this amateur footage, the parisians now know the identities of their heroes!" nadja chamack said, talking about the video alya had taken.

the girl smiled to herself, saying, "you know what, tikki? i did it, just like you said i could."

tikki flew over, hovering beside charlotte. "see? you were up to it!"

mayor bourgeois appeared on the news next. "i am pleased to announce that we will organize a huge celebration in honor of our city's new protectors: coccinella and cat noir."

"i really do like that name," said charlotte. "my italian's not great 'cause i haven't spoken it since i was little, but i'm glad i went with that."

"it has a nice ring to it," tikki agreed.

there was a heavy knock on charlotte's door. "charlie, dinner's ready!" emmanuel called.

she got up from her chair, leaving her laptop playing. she opened the door as tikki flew for cover. "where's dad?" she asked. normally, her father was the one who got her for dinner.

"did you not hear mom on the phone?" asked emmanuel. "dad rented a hotel room next door to his work in case something else happens."

"oh, okay ..." said charlotte, leaving her room. "i had headphones in, doing homework."

charlotte was assigned to wash dishes after dinner. she paused while in the middle of cleaning a dirty pot when her mother gasped loudly from the living room. she poked her head out of the kitchen, looking to her brother for some answers.

emmanuel nodded to the tv which was playing the news. "just as paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes, coccinella and cat noir, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters. it's simply unbelievable."

charlotte's jaw dropped. she wiped her hands on her pants, rushing up the stairs to her bedroom. her laptop was still playing tvi news, "these victims transformed into stone beings are still like statues. the police are perplexed as to what will happen to them. will they come back to life or be frozen in time forever?"

"shit!" charlotte cursed. "tikki, what's happening?"

tikki was watching the news with wide eyes. "did you capture the akuma?"

charlotte was ready to yell in frustration. "i forgot! i forgot i had to capture the akuma."

"an akuma can multiply, which is why you should've captured it," tikki said. "but ... now you know," said the kwami carefully.

"what's the very bad part?" charlotte asked. "will those people really be frozen in time?"

"well, if ivan's emotions become negative again, then the akuma will turn him back into stoneheart. then he'll be able to control all the stone beings and bring them back to life to serve as his army."

"oh." charlotte's voice was weak. "great."

it seemed tikki was aware charlotte was ready to give up. she said quickly, "it's okay, charlotte. this was the first time. when ivan's emotions become negative again, you'll defeat him and capture his akuma. now you know so it won't ever happen again."

charlotte paced around the room, thumbing the earrings. "is there any way i can capture the akuma before ivan gets more negative emotions?"

"unless you want to capture each and every akuma flying around paris for the right akuma, then no." tikki shook her head. she was eyeing charlotte's hands carefully, waiting to see if the girl was about to take the earrings off.

"this is all my fault," the girl mumbled. "if i had just remembered none of this would have happened."

"charlotte, i threw so much information at you," said tikki, flying over to rest on top of the girl's head. "it's okay!"

but it wasn't. charlotte had fucked up, she hadn't been perfect. it wasn't like she was the only one to see her flaws and mistakes, the entire city of paris was — the millions of people who lived in paris were facing the wrath of her mistakes.

"find another coccinella," she said. "i can't have this much pressure on me. i already have enough on my plate, i can't handle the stress of millions of lives on top of it all. have cat noir capture the akuma, he seemed to adapt to all of this perfectly."

"charlotte, please!" said tikki. "only the person wielding the ladybug miraculous can capture the akumas. only they can repair the damage caused by supervillains."

"then find another coccinella," repeated charlotte, taking off the earrings.

"no, don't —" tikki started to say before she disappeared in a pink flash of lights.

charlotte stared at the spot where tikki had once been before grabbing the box and placing the earrings back inside. she was sticking to her choice, deciding she knew who could do a perfect job at being the next coccinella.

🐞 OCT. 25TH, 2022/MAR. 31ST, 2023 / first chapter!! i forgot to mention this but they're all like 15-ish

charlotte can def get in her head a lot and has a lot of family pressure too

anyways, thoughts?? opinions??

OH AND an artbreeder image of charlotte bc she's pretty