hello it's me

[unfurtunate]

Who| Adrien, Marinette, a cameo by RJ
What| Teenage superheroes who don't know they're superheroes pretending not to be superheroes.
Where| Medbay
When| Just before the Earth field trip
Warnings/Notes| Awkward teenagers.

Adrien was usually good at paying attention during lectures. But as wild and terrifying and exciting as all this stuff he'd woken up to was, he was having a hard time staying focused during the explanation, due 100% to the fact that he'd woken up with a very real tail and set of ears.

New ears, anyway. The old ones were still there, he'd checked. But right where those fake cat ears from his Chat Noir form would normally sit, there were new, very much not-fake ones. He was trying very hard to ignore them and listen to what sounds like a lot of very important information, but his hand kept creeping up without his even meaning to and fussing with one of the ears.

They were furry. And weirder still, he could feel his own hand on them, could feel them and the tail twitching and moving slightly like any of his regular limbs.

It was extremely distracting, to say the least.

In the middle of toying with one of those ears again, Adrien suddenly realized that the droning voice that had made up the background noise of his explorations had stopped, and he glanced up to find the mustachio'd man silent and staring at him like a teacher waiting for attention before bothering to continue.

Adrien's face warmed with embarrassment, and he forced his hand back down to his lap. "Sorry," he said, sheepish. "These are...new. Sort of."

Comments

[dupaindots]

Marinette was in the Medbay because she'd strained her wrist during practice. She'd been handling herself just fine, in general, but they really did put them through their paces and she also wasn't used to working as part of a team.

Well, as part of a team that was more than just two people, anyway. She was used to working with a partner, not with a relatively larger group.

So there she was in Medbay, getting her arm wrapped up, and when it was all nice and wrapped, she froze in place, because she heard a voice, one she hadn't been expecting to hear.

Could it really be him? Here?

With a quick thank you, she ran off from the nurse and listened, trying to track the voice down to a room -- and yes! Yes, there it was. She hovered outside the door and listened even more to make sure.

It was him. It was Adrien! Here with her in another universe -- away from Chloe -- in outer space. Of all the people in her universe that could have come here to join her, it was him! The only person that she would've been as overjoyed to see besides Adrien was maybe Alya. (Maybe. And Alya, bless her soul, certainly wouldn't have begrudged her if she was just a tiny bit more excited about Adrien being there.)

Marinette, being the type to spy (just like she was the type to steal phones) didn't go into the room or knock on the door like a normal sane human being. Nono, she leaned on a cart of medical supplies just outside the door and leaned just a tiny bit so she could see beyond the door frame.

It looked like Adrien was talking to RJ Brande, the boisterous man that had talked all the rest of them into joining the Legion.

It also looked like he'd been changed physically by the trip to this world, too, just like she had. Were those cat ears? Actual, real cat ears? They made him look almost like -- well. Like Chat Noir. Just a tiny bit. (But not so much that she thought he was Chat, because there was no way that they were the same person).

The cart Marinette was leaning on proved to much less stable than she realized and started to roll off as she leaned on it, which meant she lost her balance, which meant --

"Waughoomf."

It meant she fell, flailing, onto the floor in the doorway. Face first.

She looked up at Adrien like a deer caught in headlights, her wings fluttering slightly. The fall had made them buzz slightly, instinctually, but she made it stop. Adrien wasn't the only one getting used to extra appendages.

She pushed herself up enough to face him and the older man in the room.

"Um. Hi. Adrien." As usual, it took all her self control to not sigh out his name. "Fancy seeing you here. In space. Iiinn another universe."

[legionnpcs]

"Well now, looks like you have yourself a visitor already, son!" said RJ cheerfully.

[unfurtunate]

RJ Brande had, at that moment, been explaining the whole Legion shebang. What it was they did, how they were trying to help send everyone home, and how newcomers were allowed to join up if they wanted.

And when he thought about it for a moment, hell yeah Adrien wanted. All this inter-universal travel went a bit over his head, but if there were people to help and he was stuck here anyway, then how could he say no?

"It's no big deal," he'd been in the middle of saying to the man. "Actually, back home--"

And then he was interrupted by a crash and a thud and a familiar voice.

"Marinette?" Adrien leaned so far over the side of his cot it was a miracle he didn't fall off, staring at the all-too familiar girl laying on the floor. And at the much less familiar appendages on her back.

"You, uh. Have wings."

RJ's cheerful interjections went a bit unnoticed in the face of that also-very-distracting new detail. (Did everyone who showed up here get weird mutations? Was this normal?)

[dupaindots]

"Yes!" That was too loud. Why did she say that so loud? She quieted her voice down. "Yes. They, uh, appeared when I showed up."

She twirled around slightly to show them off. They made her look very...pixie-like. They weren't exactly fairy wings, though. They were very distinctly similar to Ladybug wings.

Her twirling led to her slipping slightly on the floor and almost tripping again.

She grinned at Adrien awkwardly.

"I see you have ears." She quickly corrected, "Cat ears! You have cat ears. So, did the rift change you, too?"

No, stupid question.

"What am I saying? Of course it did. Because that's new. It's not like you had cat ears before, right?"

[legionnpcs]

"Why don't I leave you two young'uns alone so you can talk?" said RJ, getting up to leave, a twinkle in his eyes. "Marinette here can answer some of your questions."

[unfurtunate]

"Yeeaah. These are new."

Even as he said it, they dropped a little. Something like bemusement, maybe, or relief. The tail curled around over his hip. And when he finally registered these unconscious little movements, his face colored a little. He was simultaneously relieved to have RJ interrupt again and a little horrified that it was to say he was leaving.

Having weird new mutations he couldn't quite control was just a little embarrassing when dealing with a nice old guy who was apparently used to all these shenanigans. It was a lot more embarrassing in the face of one of his classmates who expected a certain level of composure from him.

"Ah. Sure," Adrien said, politely managing a wave for RJ even as he went a little pale. "Thanks."

Marinette could answer all his questions, and laugh at him as he was betrayed by his own ears.

(She wouldn't do that, he knew. Marinette was a really nice girl. But god, how he wished these things would stop flattening themselves against his head with unease just thinking about it.)

[dupaindots]

What should she say? She had no idea what to say. She'd already used 'fancy seeing you here in another universe' and asked a stupid question with a ridiculously obvious answer. She'd also fallen on her face. If Alya was here she'd probably have joked that she'd already ticked off a few boxes on her standard 'talking to Adrien' check list.

"Did you get any other powers?" she asked. "I've got other powers. There's the agility and the strength and I've got a good luck powers sort of like --"

She almost slipped and said 'sort of like what I usually have as Ladybug,' but quickly self-corrected.

"--like something you could imagine Ladybug having. Back home. Not that I really know all the powers she has, ha. Alya has some guesses but we don't know if they're right."

Oh no, she'd gone by Ladybug as her hero name. Fortunately, she'd started all this as just-Marinette and already claimed it was done in homage, juuust in case something like this happened, but she still had to sell it.

She talked behind her hand, as if sharing a secret.

"I actually chose that as my superhero name. Ladybug. You know, as homage. If the real Ladybug ever showed up, I'd give it right back." There, that would work, right? Her face flushed a little because of the lying, but it only helped to support her story, making her look embarrassed at being caught. "I didn't really think anyone from back home would show up."

There, that made her sound like someone caught in a little fantasy, emulating her hero.

"Hopefully, if she did find out, she wouldn't be upset. I'm not trying to steal it; it just feels right that this universe also has one. A Ladybug."

[unfurtunate]

The wonderful thing about Marinette was that she could talk. Not in the way Chloe could talk, where you were expected to hang on her every word while she dominated a conversation for hours, but in that unique Marinette way that mostly involved a lot of babbling. It was soothing in its familiarity, and it gave him a few moments to compose himself.

"No, that's cool," he said, tuning back into her babble with what he hoped looked like a reassuring smile. "I mean, Ladybug's my favorite. I'd probably have done that too, if calling myself 'Ladybug' didn't sound really ridiculous. I'm sure she'd be cool with it, too."

Except he's Adrien, and he has no reason to know Ladybug that well. Eep.

"I mean, I think so, anyway. From what I know about her." A very smooth recovery. "She always comes across as really mature, you know? I don't think something like that would bother her."

The tail was restless, swishing back and forward across the sheets with his quiet nerves. Subtly, he leant back on his forearms and caught the end of it in one hand, forcing the thing to stay still.

"And powers, uh... I haven't really gotten a chance to try them out, but I've got 'em!"

Smooth.

[dupaindots]

Ladybug was his favorite. Ladybug was his favorite! And he even would've considered going by Ladybug himself if it didn't sound ridiculous!

Marinette was mentally screaming and had to hold it in.

Then she shrugged one shoulder, and said very casually, "Ladybug is pretty amazing, isn't she? Saving Paris all the time with Chat Noir..."

Funny, but some people left Chat Noir out of that little equation. She said it like it was only natural he get half the credit.

[unfurtunate]

"Yeah! She's brave and smart and strong and cool..."

Leaning in a little further, Adrien dropped his voice conspiratorially. Really, he felt no shame over his intense admiration of Ladybug, but when he'd geeked out to Nino about her, he'd just recieved a weird look in return. Apparently, guys were supposed to be too cool to get excited about this sort of thing.

Whatever. Clearly, Marinette understood him.

"To be honest, I kind of stalk Alya's Ladyblog." His grin was only slightly sheepish.

[dupaindots]

Her internal screaming hit maximum overload and she was pretty sure something snapped and broke.

"She'd be so flattered," she said in a slightly breathless voice. Whoops. "I mean, she'd probably be. I can't imagine she wouldn't be. She seems to really be kind to the people that admire her."

Nice save, self.

"Anyway, even if you didn't try them out, did they tell you what powers you have? They were able to tell me before I even used them."

She took a seat in the chair where RJ had been sitting.

"And are you feeling okay?" That seemed a more important question. "They had to save all of us from the planet the same way. We all were sick and needed time to recover. They're trying to find a way to create a permanent shelter there but it's such a hostile world they still haven't managed it yet. They have to keep thresholding down to grab people when they read them on their long-range sensors."

She was already starting to pick up the lingo.

[unfurtunate]

"I'm fine, just...trying to figure everything out. I thought supervillains in Paris was pretty crazy, but this goes pretty above and beyond all that." Literally, even. Y'know, given they're in space. But he really doesn't need to be making jokes right now when he has to address the highly suspicious powerset he'd landed himself with. "I got that heightened agility and strength, too. And a sort of destructive power, kind of like...uh. Well, Char Noir's. You know, the thing he does with the claws."

Adrien mimed a scratching motion, fingers curled like claws, his mouth twitching into a halfhearted grin.

"And these, I guess," with a vague gesture at his head. Mostly the ears, but he'd gotten a glimpse of himself in a mirror earlier and yikes, his eyes went pretty catty as well. "That's a bit harder to get used to."

[dupaindots]

Marinette's brows knitted together at that and while her expression wasn't suspicious (yet), it was clear that she was thinking about it, really sitting and taking it all in. How strange that he'd be given those powers just like she'd been given powers that made her even more Ladybug like. She had a luck power and strength and agility like back home, and Ladybug-like wings.

She tilted her head slightly, looking at him.

"You...really do look like him this way."

Reassuringly so, in its own strange way. It occurred to her that this would be the first time she'd be superheroing without Chat Noir, and to her surprise, there was a hollow little ache in her heart over that fact. But it was comforting to see those big cat eyes staring back at her even if they were part of a different face. Although it wasn't that different, as far as faces went.

In fact, with those eyes and ears, his face was a lot like Chat's...

"You look a lot like him this way."

And that was when she held up her hands, making little circles like goggles, trying to imagine a black mask on his face...just for curiosity's sake. She thought back to Alya's attempts at photoshopping Chat Noir's costume on Adrien and now that he had the cat eyes, she was trying to imagine it again.

Then she stopped and threw her hands up in the air.

"What am I thinking? You're not the real Chat Noir; that would be ridiculous! You're so..." She had no way to articulate what he was so she just made a flaily gesture with her hands. "And he's so..."

She had no way to articulate that either. Especially when she couldn't explain what he was like to work with as Ladybug. She could only talk about the times she'd met him as Marinette.

"He flexed. Like this," she finally said and though she was making fun of him a bit, her smile was not really that mocking. It was mostly amused and maybe a little fond. "When he protected me from Nathanaël."

She flexed her arms to illustrate it, making several self-important poses, imitating Chat's ridiculous flexing. Then she laughed, because she couldn't help picturing him doing it again, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Also he seems to flirt with everything that moves. I can't imagine you ever doing that."

[unfurtunate]

"Heh, yeah," Adrien said, attempting a grin and hoping that didn't sound as lame out loud as it did in his head. If he turned his head to mess up her attempt at picturing the mask, well, he played it off decently enough. "I'm nothing like him..."

Chat Noir was free and fun. He answered to no one, and if people liked him then it was because of what he did and not who he was related to. Comparing himself to that -- to himself, maybe, but still -- was honestly a little depressing.

It was easier to smile, latching on to Marinette's reminiscing to distract himself. Innocently, he asked, "So...he had nice muscles, then?"

That's what he took from all that, anyway.

[dupaindots]

Marinette made a little squeaky noise that was distinctly scandalized.

"I didn't -- well, what I meant to say is he was -- see, the thing is --"

Her face turned beet red. This was not really a subject that she'd even really consciously considered before. Oh sure, sometimes she was a little curious and thought about whether or not she might give Chat Noir a chance if Adrien wasn't around, but she didn't sit around thinking about his muscles.

But because Adrien had brought it up, for just a tiny moment she did.

Honestly, Chat really wasn't that bad to look at physically. She never would've admitted it, but it was true. It was mostly his ridiculous personality that got in the way.

"I didn't really pay attention. To those -- to that," she quickly corrected, her face still flushed. "I just meant that he's very, um. Outgoing! And...gregarious."

[unfurtunate]

It was hard to say whether Marinette's red face was a good sign or not. On anyone else, he'd take the blushing at the mention of Chat Noir's physique as a compliment. But Marinette was always getting all blushy. She just seemed easily flustered, really. So it probably wasn't a fair way to judge.

"Well, that's why people like him, right?" A pause, and Adrien's grin went just the slightest bit sly, though his tone was as innocent as ever. "That and the muscles."

Who said Adrien Agreste didn't have a sense of humor? It was just...quiet. Very quiet, when compared to Chat's.

[dupaindots]

She made a garbled little inarticulate noise at that.

What people? she wanted to ask. What people?

But she wasn't Ladybug right now. She couldn't really whip out the sass so she just held a hand over her blushing face and tried to move the conversation on before she said things that accidentally made Adrien think she was admiring Chat's muscles even more.

(Why was he even on this topic? Why?)

"Anyway," she said. "Did you get everything explained to you? Mr. Brande was the last one to come to me. He's the one that asked all of us if we wanted to join the team. They really do need people and the people I've talked to that have been here longer, that've had time to look into it, think the Legion is telling the truth about everything."

[unfurtunate]

Hey now. Chat Noir had his fans. Not as many as Ladybug, but still.

"Why wouldn't they be telling the truth?" he asked with a little frown and ears perking up, all earnest confusion and curiosity. The idea hadn't even occurred to him. "I mean, yeah, he told me everything. I was about to tell him I'd join up when you...uh, came in."

Not "stumbled in" or "fell on your face in". Adrien was too nice for that.

[dupaindots]

He definitely had his fans! She just had a lot of trouble thinking they were fans of his muscles in particular.

"Well, don't you think it's a little convenient?" she pointed out. "The Legion loses most of its members and then all of a sudden people just start falling out of this -- this hole in dimensions and have powers so they can recruit them?"

She looked over her shoulder to make sure none of the nurses or doctors was nearby.

"There are some people that worried a little bit that maybe the Legion themselves did this to us somehow." She shrugged. "But most people think they're telling the truth because of how we're bound to this universe -- apparently, it's so complicated that it probably wasn't a normal person that did it."

It was something that worked on a very different scale to mortal beings, if it was a being at all.

"Still, we are all keeping an eye out. Just in case."

They wanted to make sure they weren't being taken advantage of in this situation. It didn't hurt to be vigilant.

[unfurtunate]

"Well, when you put it like that..." The cat ears drooped, and he had to glance away upon feeling it. The damn things made him feel way too obvious. "I don't know. It still seems like that's over-complicating things. It sounded like they just need help."

He hadn't thought too much beyond that. He hadn't needed to, not now and not when all the Miraculous shenanigans began. It was something he could do, something positive and something he had control over. Why would he want to dissect it and try to find reasons it might not be that great after all?

[dupaindots]

That just made her smile a soft -- and slightly dreamy -- smile. He was so sweet and thoughtful and just wanted to see the best in people...

She didn't like how what she said had made his ears droop like that.

"They probably are telling the truth," she acknowledged. "And one thing is for sure, there are definitely people in this world that need help."

She flashed her Legion flight ring.

"I don't really know what I'm doing," she lied, looking bashful, "but I know I have to do something. So I said I would help."

She needed to figure out the right way to ask this, that didn't pressure him. He was just a civilian, after all.

"Are you going to join the team? They definitely could use someone like you. Because you're -- er --" Oh no, she didn't even know where she was going with that. "But it would be understandable if you didn't want to. They said it's going to be very dangerous. I know it's a lot to take in all at once."

Especially given the physical changes. Even his own body had betrayed him by shifting into something new. She knew what that felt like.

[unfurtunate]

The droopiness eased as she talked. It really was somehow comforting, her agreeing that there was probably no reason to distrust anyone here. He didn't want to, and it seemed wrong for a sweet, ordinary girl like Marinette to be so cautious. She should be able to trust anyone. It was a cruel world where she couldn't.

"I already said I would." Adrien paused, grin returning, and shrugged. "I was going to, anyway. I guess I'll tell Mr. Brande next time I see him."

"Are you sure about this, though? It really could be dangerous." His gaze softened, and it seemed like his face wasn't sure whether it should look concerned or proud. "I know you always stand up to the bullies. But this sounds a lot bigger than Chloe."

[dupaindots]

Between the look on his face, which was full of concern -- and maybe even admiration (she hoped?) -- and the mention of her standing up to bullies like Chloe, she couldn't stop herself from looking away, her expression slightly (pleasantly) embarrassed.

He'd noticed. He'd noticed those things. She always tried so hard to get him to notice her and worried sometimes that all she was doing was embarrassing herself and looking foolish in his eyes, but he'd noticed.

Maybe he'd noticed a lot more than she thought. It wasn't like she talked to him enough to find out. Most of the time he talked at her while she stood there fumbling with her words. This was one of the longest single conversations they'd had -- in part because there were no interruptions.

When she looked back at him again, her mouth was curved in a soft little smile and though her expression was gentle, her gaze was focused and determined.

"The Legion doesn't have enough people to stand up against all the horrible things that are happening. If they don't get help, whole worlds might be destroyed, and all the people being pulled here from other worlds might never get home."

She shook her head.

"I know it's dangerous. Even though they're going to train us, it still sounds even more dangerous than everything that happens with the villains back home -- but I'm not going to just stand by while innocent people are dying. I'm going to help." The corner of her mouth twitched slightly and her smile grew a little wider. The change in expression was subtle, but to some it might have seemed a little...mischievous. "It's what the real Ladybug would do."

Haaaa.

"Besides, at least here we don't have to worry about our friends running around in brightly colored costumes and attacking people all the time. Our teammates won't be turning evil every other day. That's one thing that will probably make things easier, right?"

[unfurtunate]

"Let's hope so."

Marionette was really brave underneath all her flailing. He's known that to some extent, seen her put up a fight against Chloe when no one else would and help him deal with an akuma when Ladybug was otherwise occupied, but still it managed to stun him a little. Adrien's smile was soft, quietly admiring, but it was tainted with a hint of unease and eventually he had to add to that.

"It's really cool that you want to help. Just...don't forget that you aren't really Ladybug. You're allowed to step back if things get too heavy."

If she ever got hurt trying to play the hero -- Marinette, the sweet ordinary girl from his class who could barely string together a sentence sometimes -- he'd never forgive himself.

[dupaindots]

It was really difficult trying not to laugh or betray anything with her expression. She had to bite her lip to hold it in. Fortunately, that was a pretty neutral gesture, that made her just look a little thoughtful.

If you only knew...

"Hey, look at it this way: even Ladybug had to start off somewhere. I bet she wasn't perfect in the beginning and had to learn how to be a superhero, too."

She would've bet a lot on it. On account of, you know, being 100% sure she'd win.

"Besides, you'll be new at this, too. You know the same thing goes for you, right?"

[unfurtunate]

"She seemed pretty perfect right from the start to me."

He almost sighed. almost, but luckily he remembered himself and who he was taking to and made a quick recovery.

"I mean, even with that first akuma that showed up back then, she still saved the day, you know?" Adrien tried for a grin, shrugging. "Seems pretty amazing to me." And, quick to move on and keep her from lingering too long on how awkward of suspicious he might have sounded, he went on reassuringly, "I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid, I promise."

He was a damn liar.

[dupaindots]

They both were dirty liars, not that either of them knew it yet. Giant, shameless, dirty liars.

Since they were, Marinette could only smile at him deciding to take on everything the same way she was. Adrien was always kind but it made her heart flutter even more to see him willing to be as brave as the real Chat Noir.

Chat was silly and goofy and an outrageous flirt, and sometimes he drove her crazy, but as far as courage went, there were much worse people in the universe for Adrien to be like.

"It won't be easy. But at least we both have a friend fromh ome!" she said brightly. "And the other people here are good people."

She was slowly but surely talking to people and getting to know them -- something that wasn't the easiest for her when she was a little awkward.

"I wish there was a better way to welcome you, though," she went on, "It's the same for everyone, everyone finds out they're so far from home, and they're in these sterile Medbay rooms, and then when they're well, they do the oath and the Legionnaires give everyone a kind welcome -- but it always starts here in these hospital beds first and that's so unpleasant."

She tapped her chin, looking thoughtful. Then she looked at Adrien with a bright -- slightly conniving -- smile.

"What's your ring size?"