The lights turned on in the plane as they neared New York. Passengers were waking up and flight attendants were busy running back and forth to gather garbage. Luka started making conversation with Marinette and neither of them said anything about the fact that they had basically been cuddling. Some people opened the window covers so they could see outside. It was morning in New York. They left Paris at eight and were landing in New York at the same time. How funny was that...

The plane suddenly jerked around like it had hit some intense turbulence, yet the seatbelt sign did not turn on. Marinette clenched the cushion of her seat, her mind racing back to what Tikki had said. What if there was a threat? What if Chat Noir decided to take action? She had no way of communicating with him.

She knew something was definitely wrong when the passengers started making a commotion and pressed their faces against the available windows. Marinette couldn't see anything. She was trapped in the middle of the plane with Luka who was clutching her arm for security. Marinette noticed something weird coming out of the AC above her head. It was a strange orange-pink dust seeping through in a puff of smoke. Tikki began squirming violently in her purse but there was nothing Marinette could do.

"Attention passengers!" came the voice of a little boy over an intercom on the plane, "we will be landing shortly so fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight."

The plane ride got even more bumpier and now the passengers were in a state of panic. Colorful smoke slithered through the aisles and under the seats. There was something enchanting about that dust and Marinette felt like it was able to look into her mind.

"Did you just come from Paris?" the little boy said, "because I'll have you know, we've got some foreign french superheroes onboard with us today. Ladybug and Chat Noir (I hope I got your names right), would you please stand up?"

People began to scream. Tikki had stopped moving but Marinette could practically feel her worries levitating into the air. The little boy spoke English and Marinette understood none of it.

"Aww, you don't want to join me up front?" the little boy said again. Suddenly a mass of black that looked like a piece of space itself phased through the floor towards the front of the plane and flew over everyone's heads, spreading more colorful enchanting dust. Whatever that dark blob was, the little boy's voice was coming from it. "Alright everyone, the seatbelt sign is on. We're about to make a rough landing so keep all carry ons tucked under the seat in front of you and here we go!"

The plane began to dip down as the dark blob disappeared into the front of the plane. Passengers were screaming and the lights were flickering. Marinette felt Luka clutch onto her, and over the screams, he assured her everything would be alright.

And then the plane randomly stabilized and all the trauma stopped. A new voice, more digitally robotic, came over the speakers.

"Don't worry sweethearts, everything is under control," the feminine artificial voice said. Well, she said it in english first and then repeated it in french. "Dear passengers, United Heroes are here to protect you."

"Oh boo, this is no fun," the dark blob appeared again. It manifested into a humanoid shape and flew aggressively down one of the aisles. "Uncanny Valley, where are you~"

"I've hacked the autopilot of this plane, so there is nothing you need to worry about," the voice said again. It must have been the android superhero, Uncanny Valley.

"You!" the blob manifested itself over Juleka, forcefully grabbing her by the hand and lifting her in the air. The blob was in the shape of a little boy but was flying high enough to prevent Juleka's toes from even grazing the floor. He said something in English and waited for a response. Juleka began crying. "Oh, you speak French then, don't you?" he said, switching to perfectly fluent French, "lucky for you, I can speak it. Now, were you aware that Ladybug and Chat Noir were on this plane?" Juleka aggressively shook her head no, crying even harder. "Right... Do you believe that if they were, would they save you? What if I threw you out the emergency exit right now? Would Chat Noir swoop in to save the day? You don't know? Well, let's put them to the test!"

The shadow flew rapidly to one of the emergency exits and put its hand on the handle. It had no face but it looked almost as if it was grinning. Juleka was screaming but no one could do anything. Marinette could feel the presence of her earrings and her gut began to sink. Her options were limited.

Just as the shadow threw open the door and tossed Juleka out, an armored hero caught her and brought her back inside. The vigilante looked like Marvel's Ironman but was clearly a woman and had more browns incorporated into her suit. She caught Juleka and kicked the shadow in the chest with her armored boot. Someone (another superhero) from the outside of the plane shut the emergency door to stop the pressure in the cabin from escaping.

"Sandboy, you've gone too far!" the heroic woman said in english. Her armored suit shrunk away from her body, becoming replaced with a full body suit of spandex and a cape.

The shadow laughed. "Good morning Majestia," it said as its shadowy dark figure began melting into something more human, "I didn't think you were such an early bird. The dreams of yours I've tasted are much too vivid for you to be a light sleeper."

"Let these people go. I know you're evil but you would never put this many people in immediate danger!" Magestia said. Her blond hair was cut short and she had a scar going over one eye which made her look like a badass.

The shadow known as Sandboy now had an almost human form. He looked about eight years old, surprisingly, with blue skin speckled with freckles that looked like stars. His ears were long and pointed, almost like a donkey. His hair was thick and dark blue, accented in yellow throughout the star-dazzled fro. His purple and gold clothes were extremely baggy and oversized, almost like they were meant for someone much bigger than him.

"Please, just come with me," Majestia said with a softened voice, "we can make this better. We can fix this."

"Something big is coming your way," Sandboy growled angrily, "the chinese miracle box is leaking into your world! Power is about to be unleashed!"

"What do you mean?!" Majestia said, trying to reach a tentative hand out to him. Sandboy glared at her.

"The ring of the black cat and the earings of the ladybug are here, on this plane. I wonder what the big dogs will do when they hear about that," Sandboy said and began to cackle.

"What do you mean?!" Majestia said as Sandboy turned back into his blobby shadow state. He phased through the wall with Majestia still trying to call for him. But he was gone, and Magestia was now stuck inside the plane.

"What's going on?" asked one of the passengers. Majestia growled in frustration, her suit of armor magically returning and casting over her body as she opened the emergency exit and flew out. One of the flight attendants was brave enough to creep over and shut it before the door would rip off its hinges.

"Holy shit..." Marinette muttered under her breath. She was coming to the realization that she was being hunted down by a literal child now.

"That was... unreal..." Luka agreed.

***

Chloe was absolutely not having it. After the plane was able to land safely, a million Americans bum rushed them in celebration that the plane had not been fully hijacked. Maybe they had PTSD or something from plane hijackings, Chloe didn't know. But these "commoners" kept touching her and hugging her and she didn't even know who they were! It was utterly annoying.

And then they were barely able to get all the students on a bus to take them to a hotel because the crowds and celebrations were just so much that even the bus driver struggled to pull up to the terminal exit. Chloe and Sabrina sat with each other but Sabrina would not stop talking about the American superheroes. She was enamored by Magestia and if Chloe had anything to say about it, it sounded like she might have a little crush on the muscular hero. Typical. Chloe wanted to point out that Queen Bee was much cooler and prettier but forced herself to keep her mouth shut.

Chloe lazily looked out the window of the bus as they pulled through the city that early morning. The skyscrapers were lit up in golden sunlight which elegantly pooled over the busy streets filled with shiny cars. Occasionally, she would spot a superhero jumping over the buildings up above, but they were much too fast for her to get a good look at.

Superheroes were commonly found in New York. Well, really, America in general. In the United States, superheroes were just another form of celebrities. A lot of them had their identities known by the public. Not just a lot, but practically all of them. And the ones who were mysteries had their identities known by other heroes and the government. They actually got paid to do their hero work. Movies were made based on their lives. Chloe wondered what it would be like if people knew Queen Bee's identity. Would they love her or would their perception of the bee themed hero be altered? She thought it would be nice to get paid for the dirty work she had to do. Call it selfish all you want, but if firefighters get paid to risk their lives to save people then surely she should too. Her job was more dangerous, all things considered.

Perhaps the most famous of these heroes was Magestia, the heroine who'd saved the plane hijacking that morning. She was a big enough hero that even Chloe knew about her. It was hard to avoid American influencers as it was, but a hero was a whole other level of fame. Magestia's identity was Olympia Hill. Not only was she a super cool superhero, but she also had a super cool identity. She was practically the leader of the United Heroes, a group much like the Justice League or the Avengers. However, not many people knew exactly how Olympia Hill did the things Magestia could. Now, having a miraculous herself, it was clear to Chloe that Magestia was powered by a kwami. Chloe knew nothing of the North American box, so she couldn't exactly theorize. Not like she wanted to anyways.

"Chloe! Chloe look!" Sabrina pointed at the window and jostled Chloe's shoulder a bit.

"Ugh, what?!" Chloe growled.

"It's Uncanny Valley!" Sabrina said.

Out the window they could clearly see the android hero following them. Her entire body was white, silver, and gray, highlighted by bits of gold. She had three large purple robotic eyes which were fixated on everything ahead of the bus, and occasionally, the bus itself. She had hair, though of course, clearly artificial to look like the thick coils of precarious dreadlocks, cupped at the end by little golden metal ties. She looked completely human, falsely so. But what threw off her whole appearance was the pointed dog ears over her head, and for a moment, Chloe suspected that Uncanny Valley secretly also had a miraculous. But that would be impossible! She was an android.

"She's been following us since we left the airport," said Marc who sat behind Chloe and Sabrina. Chloe thought he was cute the first day she saw him but after existing in the same room as him for more than five minutes, she was disappointed to find he was clearly the gayest person she would ever meet. In other words, his cuteness was wasted.

"I thought I saw her a few times. Why do you think she'd be following us?" Sabrina asked, turning in her seat to face Marc.

"Maybe they're looking for Sandboy," Marc suggested.

"Sandboy?"

"He's the kid who tried taking down the plane," Marc explained. "He disappeared, so perhaps they suspect he's hiding among us."

"Why?" Chloe asked snobbishly.

"Well, he was looking for someone on the plane. I heard him mention Ladybug and Chat Noir a few times. So if he was trying to find them, he might be stalking every passenger who was on the flight. I don't know though," Marc shrugged.

"What's his deal? He looked like he was akumatized..." Sabrina said.

"Hawkmoth can't akumatize anyone over here," Nathaniel suddenly joined in. He was always sitting with Marc. In fact, Chloe never saw Marc without Nathaniel nearby. "No, I think it's worse than that."

"Worse?"

"Sandboy used to be a superhero," Nathaniel said, showing them his phone screen. There was a picture of a little hero on a wikipedia article. The kid looked nothing like Sandboy did. "But something happened that the United Heroes refused to disclose to the public and now he's made himself into a monster. But we'll be okay. It's not like anyone in our class is a superhero he'd go after. He usually targets Magestia and claims her to be his nemesis."

"Yeah but he's like... three years old," Chloe scoffed.

"Nine, actually," Nathaniel said, scrolling down the wikipedia article. "Wait no... it's unknown."

"So he's a toddler."

"Nine year olds aren't toddlers," Marc laughed a little.

"They basically are. And what can a little kid do anyways? If Magestia is as powerful as everyone says she is, she should easily take him down," Chloe said.

"Maybe," Nathaniel shrugged and sat back in his seat.

The bus pulled up to the hotel they were staying at. It was decorated in French and American flags to welcome them. Apparently there were other schools from all around France that were doing this same exact trip at this same exact hotel who offered to host them. Ms. Mendeleev was really strict about how they were going to get off the bus and take their luggage inside. Chloe thought she was overcomplicating things as every bitter middle aged woman would.

When they finally got inside there were even more French and American themed decorations, a ton of french students everywhere, and some poor confused receptionists trying to get everything organized. Chloe lingered near the entrance, waiting for the crowd to move through. She spotted Uncanny Valley once again, standing outside in front of the door, smiling creepily. Stupid robot.

Chloe got unnerved by the sight of the android and quickly pushed herself through the crowd. When she looked back at the robot, she was still staring at her. Now Chloe was freaked out. The android girl was targeting her specifically. It was like she knew Chloe had a miraculous and was now stalking her for it. ... Maybe that's exactly what it was.

"Students! Students!" Mr. Damocles (the school principal) called out to everyone. Everyone silenced their conversations and Chloe forgot about the android. "You will have assigned rooms. You will have an hour to get situated in your rooms and change your clothes before we head out to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), I have your keycards here."

"Great. Assigned rooms?" Chloe scoffed.

"I hope we're together," Sabrina chirped.

"It doesn't matter if we're together or not, I will not be very happy if I have to deal with two other people," Chloe grumbled, "they would damage my space and personal bubble."

"Oh, right," Sabrina laughed nervously. Mr. Damocles was going through names, currently assigning rooms to kids from another class that Chloe had never heard of. And then he got to her."

"Chloe Bourgeois, you're in room 223," Damocles announced. Chloe begrudgingly started making her way forward to get her key card, "along with Marinette Dupan-Cheng, Kagami Tsuguri, and Lilith Couffaine."

"Are you fucking kidding me," Chloe growled under her breath as she took the card from his hand.

"Is there a problem, Chloe?" Damocles asked.

"No, everything is just peachy," Chloe said sarcastically and abandoned him there without answers.

"It's okay Chloe, we're neighbors!" Sabrina said cheerfully, trotting up to Chloe with her own keycard for room 224.

"I'm so enthralled," Chloe said with more sarcasm. She dragged her luggage up to the elevators. Curse Americans and their weird way of stating floor stories. Shouldn't the first floor be the the first floor up? Why the hell was the lobby not called the first floor but instead, the ground level. Going up to the second floor would be the first floor in france. Ugh. So confusing.

When Chloe approached her room, Luka and Marinette were following right behind her. That was the last straw. She couldn't handle being in the same space as that wretched baker girl. But she kept her cool. Superheroes don't blow up at their classmates. And besides, Adrien wanted her to be nice otherwise poof! He's not her friend anymore. Great. Wonderful. Chloe was about to throw hands.

When Chloe slipped her key over the door she shot Luka a nasty look, "the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I was assigned this room..." Luka said sheepishly.

"No boys allowed!" Chloe said angrily, throwing open the door.

"Well... uh... technically..." Luka fumbled over his words. Chloe gave him a nasty look, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him and why he was stuttering so much.

"Your transition looks good," Chloe mumbled, accepting tragic defeat and entered the room. She could sense Luka actually smiling at her words. He was... genuinely smiling. Chloe did something nice. It actually made her feel good. "Ok, so who's sharing beds with who?" Chloe said sharply upon seeing there were only two, "cause I am NOT sleeping with Dupan-Cheng!"

"Whatever you want, Chloe," Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Then I'm taking this bed, and no one is coming to MY side of the room," Chloe said, taking the bed closest to the window.

"Uhh... ok..." Luka said, setting his stuff next to the other bed. And now Marinette had to suffer.

"I guess... I'll sleep here... too..." Marinette couldn't even look at Luka as she set her stuff next to his.

"Fantastic!" Chloe clacked her fingernails together. She hoped the two would make some excuse to leave because she was dying to let Pollen out of her purse. Poor Pollen had been suffocating there for way too many hours on end. At least she got a bed to herself.

And then Kagami walked in.

"Oh no, absolutely not! No!" Chloe recoiled on her bed, observing Kagami with hatred. Kagami, Adrien's stupid girlfriend boyfriend partner thing. Chloe didn't know what to call them, she just knew she hated them. "You three are all sharing a bed!"

"Chloe, there's not enough room for that, and it's not fair you get a whole bed to yourself," Marinette said flatly.

"They're not even a girl!" Chloe complained.

"I am a female, you'll be fine," Kagami said bluntly and shoved their stuff on Chloe's bed. Chloe wanted to kick it off.

"So? I don't want you like- lesbianisming on me in the night!" Chloe exclaimed.

"I'm androsexual," they said bluntly.

"I don't know what that is!" Chloe scoffed.

"It means I'm attracted to anything that isn't Chloe Bourgeois," Kagami said with a slight mocking tone in their voice. Marinette giggled in the background.

"Whatever! I need some air anyways!" Chloe said and stormed out of the room without another word. God. She hated common people. Well, technically Kagami's family was also super rich and should be up to Chloe's standard. And they were. It was the fact that they were dating Adrien that pissed her off. It had nothing to do with their family, their gender, or whatever androsexuality was. It was completely and utterly circulated around Adrien and Chloe could not stand Kagami Tsuguri. Luka seemed tolerable at least.

Chloe headed to the lobby and snuck into one of the public family restrooms. She locked the door and was safely, finally, alone. She opened her purse and Pollen immediately flew out.

"Oh thank god!" Pollen said, taking a big breath of air, "it was getting so stale in there, it was unbearable!" she flew over Chloe's head and snatched the hairpiece out, now taking her full sized kwami form which stood a good two heads taller than Chloe. Pollen's blond hair and pretty blue eyes matched Chloe quite well, and if it wasn't for the height difference, they could actually pass as sisters. Well, sisters from another mister, at least. Pollen was Asian and Chloe was as white as they could come.

"I was hoping we would have a room to ourselves," Chloe said, folding her arms. Pollen was already checking herself in the mirror. She was the most vain kwami Chloe had ever met, though of course, she hadn't met many. She assumed all kwami's were egotistical omnipotent gods but then she met Plagg and he was a living definition of a nuisance. She didn't mind Pollen's behavior, because they were practically the same.

"It's a shame," Pollen agreed.

"And I have to share a bed with Kagami now."

"Yeah, what's their issue?" Pollen stuck her tongue out in exaggeration. "You know, I could just pretend to be your American aunt coming to pick you up and then we can escape this hole in the wall."

"I'm trying to prove to Adrien I'm not the villain he thinks I am," Chloe said, "running from my problems won't help."

"You sure?" Polled grinned at her.

"I'll keep it in mind though. Don't get me wrong, I hate it here," Chloe said with a smile.

"Good to know," Pollen said and fluttered her bee wings. She began doing some stretches. She really must have been cramped in Chloe's purse. Chloe didn't blame her.

"It still sucks."

"Just keep on the bright side and enjoy your time in New York. It'll be a great experience for the both of us!"

A/N

*throws a Metallica reference at you*

Btw Chloe is neither homophobic nor transphobic, she is just blunt. I tried my best to depict her as being supportive and accepting of Kagami and Luka (both are afab) while not having her sugarcoat it because that really just doesn't feel like Chloe. Don't take the rude, brash things she says to heart, thats just Chloe. And for all you allies out there, don't follow Chloe's footsteps lol