Jaegers and Kwamis

It was a misty morning when Adrien sat up in his cot, groaning as he stretched his arms. He had been in the program for a year now. The drills, the therapy sessions, and the budget cafeteria food were just enough to keep him from completely losing his mind. A tiny black cat drifted into the air, leaving the dark crevice between Adrien’s pillow and the bed. “You look so done, and the day hasn’t even started yet!”

Adrien ran his hands through his shaggy blonde hair. The kwami was right. “I can’t keep up the act for much longer, Plagg. My Lady...is killing me and she doesn’t even know it. I can’t be at my best if I continue to suffer silently like this.” The torture of not knowing the identity of the love of his life, paired with the heightened awareness of Akumatized Kaijju sent adrenaline arcing through his veins when he went through his routine. All the time he saw things that reminded him of his partner, and his heart ached so much that he had to force himself to focus on the next item for the day. If left to himself to process his fears and his sorrows...Adrien knew that he would just break down.

“You’re right kitten,” Plagg drawled as he burrowed into Adrien’s cargo pocket to grab the cheese that was waiting for him, he took a bite before finishing, “silence isn’t golden, despite what you humans say.”

Adrien Agreste ran over his memories again in his mind. After Ladybug and Chat Noir discovered Hawkmoth’s identity a little over a year ago, the supervillain had stopped sending Akumatized humans. Instead, he started sending...monsters that had been fabricated in science labs all over France. Ladybug had decided that they would have to step up their game if they wanted to stand a chance against Hawkmoth’s new minions. It had been hard enough to deal with Akumatized humans that took the form of giants, but the monsters...were on a whole different level of difficulty. Adrien had a chilling hunch that Gabriel Agreste was trying to kill Chat Noir and Ladybug, so he could simply pluck the Miraculouses from their lifeless corpses. If only Ladybug knew how much it hurt him to fight an Akuma, and was aware of the fact that he had ran away from home to join this budding militia of three hundred foot tall robots that the Americans called Jaegers- There was a soft knock on the door that caused Adrien to snap out of his depressed train of thought. His cheeks burned at the fact that he was still without a shirt. “Just a minute!” He croaked, while leaping off the top bunk to painfully crash to the cluttered floor. Then the power went out, causing the light bulbs to immediately extinguish with a faint pop.

“Oh my goodness!” A delicate voice on the opposite side of the door squeaked in concern. “Felix are you alright?!”

Adrien bit his lip and winced upon hearing his cousin’s name. He had posed as Felix for some time, hoping that it would keep Gabriel off his trail. But no matter how hard he tried...he couldn’t match the suave, two faced cruelty of his look-alike cousin. Adrien felt a flash of fire race though his right arm and a few of his ribs. Adrien groaned in pain as his head swam from the dizziness. This was unlike him to be so clumsy, then he remembered the last Akuma battle he had shared with his masked partner. It was a hard battle, filled with close calls. That would explain why he was so drained. Adrien frowned at the stuff had fallen on top of him, and the headache that came prevented him from righting himself.

He wet his lips and coughed. “I’m fine.” He shakily reached up to snag a storm grey tank top from his ajar dresser drawer, and gingerly put it on best he could with being one handed. He lightly hissed in pain and after he nestled back down to where he had fallen he whispered. “Come in.”

The doorknob jiggled slightly and the girl on the other side tentatively eased it open. As soon as her bluebell eyes fell on him, the girl ran over to his side, apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry Felix, I should have cleared my throat or something. I’m so sorry-”

Adrien squinted through the darkness to make out the form of a girl clad in a grey super suit with pink accents. He recognized her right away. “You’re not the one who jumped off your bed Mouse-”

She squeaked again. “I’m sorry!” She did her best to help him up, but she innocently made the mistake of taking his right arm. Adrien sharply cried in pain, which startled Multimouse so much that she gasped and released him.

Another string of feverish apologies wafted through the air when Adrien cut her off. “My right arm is probably sprained, so hold on.” He carefully got to his feet by leaning on his dresser with his left arm for support. Once he was standing, he quickly gave Multimouse a one armed hug, which surprised the girl, but she returned the embrace. He whispered. “Thank you Mouse.”

After a few moments Adrien noticed the tremor in Multimouse’s spine, and it wasn’t long before he heard her quiet sobs. His green eyes widened at her sorrow. Adrien hadn’t meant to make her cry! Really, it was no big deal, but the next thing Multimouse whispered caused his heart to stop. “I’m…I’m so sorry Adrien…”

Adrien. Adrien Agreste. He was supposed to be a lost boy back in Paris. He was supposed to be on the run, seeking shelter from his fans after he and his father had a mysterious falling out. Adrien Agreste was supposed to be unfindable. If Multimouse knew that he was Adrien then who else knew?! Playing dumb, he wet his lips and softly asked. “Adrien Agreste? What’s this got to do with my reckless good-for-nothing cousin? Did something happen between you two?”

Multimouse stiffened, and was unresponsive for a moment. Then she spoke up again, and Adrien clung to her every trembling word. “He’s not good-for-nothing. He’s just in a terrible- Nevermind. He was reported missing in Paris almost a year ago. Both the real me and myself have been worried sick about him since he disappeared. He would have called me and I just don’t- Oh, Nevermind! Forget I mentioned Adrien! You just remind me so much of him.”

Adrien’s heart jumped at the words: ‘the real me’ and ‘he would have called me’. Was she in the same boat as him? Was she pretending to be someone else that looked like her? She had the same blue hair and blue bell eyes as Marrinette Dupain-Cheng- Adrien’s green eyes widened to their fullest extent in the darkness. Marinette. She was Marinette. His heart panged at the thought of her sweet parents wondering where she had gone. Adrien racked his brain in concern. What on earth would she be getting away from in her perfect life? Why would she leave in the first place?

Adrien brushed his exploding questions aside and gave Multimouse a reassuring squeeze. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to ask her a multitude of questions. “It’s alright Super Mar-” Adrien bit his tongue very hard, to keep from finishing his sentence. He couldn’t reveal that he was Adrien Agreste, if he did, Hawkmoth would target the Jaeger hideout and wreak havoc. He cleared his throat as tears stung his eyes. She knew exactly how he felt. She was his Marinette. His classmate. His best...friend. Somehow this hurt more than not telling Ladybug he was Chat Noir. Adrien tried to keep his voice from cracking. “It’s cool Mouse, me and Adrien have more in common than you think. I’m used to it.” Unable to restrain himself, he whispered in her ear. “But if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you...ok?” It was an Adrien thing to do. He hoped she would grasp the hint and he parted the embrace to limp for the door. If anyone could keep his secret of living an alter ego to stay under the radar...she could. “I’m going to head to the sick bay, and get this arm patched up.” He left out the fact that his ribs were still bothering him, but he couldn’t bring himself to cause her even more grief. Before Mutlimouse could respond, Adrien staggered into the hall.

***

Multimouse absentmindedly picked at her food at the cafeteria, hardly noticing that she was slowly becoming one of the last pilots in the room.

There was a helmeted pilot who sat down across from her. “Mouse, it’s time to train.” The voice belonged to Alya Cessaire, her best friend that knew about her secret identity as Marinette, and who helped her come up with a ruse for their parents so they could come to the Jaeger program.

Multimouse sighed and dumped the mostly uneaten tray of food in the trash, before following Alya to their Jaeger. It was tall, half grey and pink, the other half orange and white. Once inside, Multimouse took a deep breath as she strapped into the brace that supported her spine and she briskly strapped on the gauntlets that were connected to an organized mess of wires that grounded her to the advanced machinery. Alya transformed into Reynaruge and strapped in as well.

Multimouse felt a tinge of guilt for not telling Alya the full truth of why she left Paris. It wasn’t because she was an alibi for Ladybug. It was because she was Ladybug. For all Alya knew, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a clumsy girl who had been chosen by Ladybug to be Multimouse, and to act as an agent when it came to distributing and reclaiming Miraculouses. She knew she couldn’t say anything more than that, and that the magic suits would keep the sync from accessing each other’s memories.

Reynaruge flipped some switches and started the sync. Multimouse felt the familiar pulse of electricity, and she cleared her mind in order to focus on the Vixen Superhero. She felt a click and then she could feel Reynaruge’s emotions. Reyna was worried about her. Multimouse took another deep breath, trying not to remember how sad Chat Noir had been the night before. “Let’s start training.”

***

There was an Akuma, and it was lumbering for a small fishing village. Adrien got out of his bed. “We have to help.”

Plagg whispered. “But Ladybug will be able to feel your pain-”

Adrien’s breath caught with terror. He couldn’t do that to her… Adrien Agreste stubbornly shook his head. “Ladybug knew the risks when we came to this program together. She needs me in order to survive a monster this size! Without a second pilot, the Jaeger would put such a strain on her body and brain that-”

“-she could have an aneurysm and go into a coma like your mom did I kn-” Plagg’s eyes widened and he gagged on his words.

Adrien glared at Plagg. “What did you say?!”

Plagg waved his paws quickly, in an effort to erase his mistake, but the words were already out there. The kwami’s voice was nervous. “Nevermind! Just say: ‘Claws Out’ already!”

Adrien’s blood roared in his ears. “Plagg, you knew my mother?! What was she doing as a Jaeger pilot? The program is new! Unless-” A horrible possibility sent chills down his spine. Unless his mother was part of the program when they were starting out with prototypes… Wait. Go into a coma? The instructors simply stated that piloting alone could kill you. The magic suits protected the wielder of the Miraculous… Adrien’s world was spinning. His voice was raspy. “Did...did my mother have a Miraculous?”

A few screams caused Adrien to snap back to the reality of the moment. “Plagg, Claws Out!”

***

Ladybug ran around the hangar calling out for her partner. “Chat! Chat Noir! We need to go!” Just as she was beginning to worry, Chat Noir landed agilely on the boarding platform that led into the back of the red/blue, and black/green Jaeger’s head. She scowled. “Where were you?! I was worried!”

Chat Noir gestured to the entrance of the Jaeger. “There isn’t a moment to waste My Lady.”

Right. It was time. Ladybug nodded and swung her yo-yo to latch to a beam that held up the ceiling, and zipped to land neatly beside her feline partner. She ducked inside and strapped in at a breakneck speed. She was slightly relieved when Chat Noir showed the same urgency. Once she was grounded to the robot she looked over at Chat Noir expectantly. He was hesitating to flip the switch to start the sync. “What’s wrong Kitty?”

Chat Noir winced. “I got bruised really bad in training this morning, so when we sync together-” He faltered. “-you’ll feel my pain, but I would never want to hurt you!”

Ladybug’s voice was soft. “That is very honorable of you My Kitty, but we don’t have much of a choice.” Chat Noir closed his eyes tightly, as if the action pained him, and he flipped the switch.

True to his word, Ladybug gasped as she felt a fiery pain in her right arm, and spasms of discomfort in her ribs. She wanted to ask Chat how he had gotten so many injuries in one morning, but now wasn’t the time for that.

Her partner cried. “My Lady, I’m so sorry!”

The battle was difficult, but they fueled their actions through their determination to beat Hawkmoth’s monster, like they always did. Ladybug couldn’t help but notice Chat Noir’s raw emotions that had been recently exposed by something she couldn’t place, and it almost distracted her twice as they fought as one to drive the Kaijju backward. Instead of an akumatized object, Hawkmoth’s monsters had to be completely destroyed before the poisoned butterfly of the night was released.

Ladybug tried to gauge when to call upon her Lucky Charm, when her thoughts returned to Felix’s bedroom that morning. Felix had sustained an injury that matched the one she felt from Chat Noir. Despite being startled by her visit, Ladybug remembered his kindness, his reassurance, and his countenance that looked exactly like the boy that held her heart…

Chat screamed. “MY LADY LOOK OUT!!” Ladybug looked up to see none other than Hawkmoth himself was running down the monster’s arm that had been turned to stone, heading straight for her face behind the glass. Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth was here? Now? Why? She spun her yo-yo, and the Jaeger mimicked her movement with it’s colossal replica. Hawkmoth leapt to latch onto the hand that Chat was operating. Ladybug’s heart skipped a beat. That was the hand that bore his Black Cat ring. Chat shook his hand quickly and Ladybug could feel the stabbing waves of fear and confusion.

She had to get them away from Hawkmoth. She hollered. “I’M GOING TO TRY SOMETHING!” Ladybug slung her yo-yo, and there was a sploosh when the giant replica wrapped around a section of post that supported the Jaeger hangar, that was underwater. “HOLD ON CHAT!” Ladybug pulled her yo-yo taut and submerged the Jaeger in the ocean.

Chat Noir was hyperventilating as they slowly sank deeper and deeper. “It was all a trap.”

Ladybug’s anxiety spiked. “What?!”

Chat Noir looked terrified, but his voice sounded distant. “Hawkmoth had planned it all. He knew about Jaegers…”

Ladybug shook her head. “That’s impossible, the program is new!”

Chat Noir shook his head. “No it’s not. The Jaeger is our coffin. We need to break the sync and leave Catbug, right now.” His voice sounded dead serious and Ladybug was surprised. They needed to fight on even ground. Ladybug nodded and was about to reach for the switch to break the sync, when there was a dull, thunk.

Ladybug unlatched her yo-yo and bent her knees to jump out the water. Chat Noir immediately mimicked her movement so they could vault into the air and land on their back on the docks of the fishing village port. The jump had launched Hawkmoth off of them, but he had secretly jumped into the Jaeger hanger at the last minute.

Ladybug felt a rush of Chat Noir’s pain again and she winced. “Oww…”

Chat Noir looked up to see something in the distance. “LB, get up. Break the link, right now.”

Ladybug’s head swam from the pain. When her vision stopped splitting there was a rumble. “What’s happening?!” Two dull clanks resounded on either side of the cockpit, and Ladybug’s irises shrank in horror. Hawkmoth was in a Jaeger. All by himself. Then she realized that he was holding her Miraculous earrings on the Jaeger.

Chat Screamed. “No...NO!” Then Ladybug felt her Miraculous get removed. Chat swiped to get the earrings back but Hawkmoth maneuvered away, with a maniacal smile. Chat looked over at Ladybug who had dropped to all fours which off set the balance of the Jaeger. Her heartbeat pounded loudly, almost drowning out her partner’s voice. “We are going to run, I can still use my power, but we need to get you medical attent-” Then the sync sent a wave of her pain through him and Ladybug sobbed.

The events after that were fuzzy, she could feel herself slowly detransforming and she felt crushing waves of exhaustion. She could hear Chat encourage her to keep going, and there was an earth shattering slam, that sent the two heroes’s Jaeger flying.

Then Marinette’s world went dark.

***

The sun was setting as scientists and medical personnel rushed out to the wreckage of what used to be the Catbug Jaeger. In the center of it all, lying on the floor of the remains of the cockpit, were two unconscious teenagers. Both of them were injured badly. The Sargent quickly identified the handsome blonde haired young man as the Parisian transfer pilot: Felix Graham de Vanily. But he couldn’t find a picture of a blue haired beautiful girl that matched her likeness in his files. He was about to turn off his tablet, when the American swiped to see a profile picture of Multimouse, who was another Parisian transfer pilot.

***

Adrien gasped sharply and sat up in his sick bay cot. Maybe it had all been a terrifying nightmare. He tentatively whispered into the morning lit room. “Plagg?” No Answer. “Stop pulling my leg or no Camembert for you!” Adrien felt a shudder down his spine. No Answer. Then he felt his chest, remembering that he hadn’t detransformed...yet...here he was in civilian form, strapped to a bunch of machines. Adrien rubbed his temple feverishly. Plagg was gone. Hawkmoth had taken his Miraculous just like he had taken Ladybug’s… That had been his plan all along. Adrien felt sick to his stomach. Then he remembered Ladybug running despite the exhaustion. “My Lady!” Adrien had to check on her. He had to know she was still alive. But a sense of duty restrained him. No. That could wait. What mattered now was going after Hawkmoth before he used his wish to bring back Emily Agreste.

Adrien ripped off the straps and jumped out of bed. He went back to his room to change into something that suited him. There was no more hiding. No more Felix charade. Gabriel had still taken his Miraculous, and now, Adrien Agreste was going to be the one to stop him. Dressed in his white jacket, black shirt, blue jeans with sneakers, he ran out into the hanger, looking over his choices in Jaegers. Catbug would be too obvious if it were still active. He was panting, and he still had stitches on his cheek and bandaid on his forehead. Just when he found the perfect Jaeger Adrien stopped in his tracks. Ladybug wasn’t going to be at his side. Piloting alone could kill you, his instructor echoed.

Then a heartbreakingly familiar voice pierced his thoughts. “A-Adrien?!”

Adrien spun on his heel to see none other than his Marinette Dupain-Cheng, paused at the bottom of the boarding steel staircase. His heart lurched as he replied tenderly with relief. “Marinette.”

Marinette looked like she had just woken up, and she had some bandages on her hands. She started ascending the stairs earnestly. “Where have you been?! Why didn’t you call me when you ran away?”

The hurt in her voice felt like stab wounds to his heart. Adrien had hundreds of questions too. Instead he just said. “I have answers for you but it will have to be later. What are you doing here?”

Marinette seemed to be caught off guard, stopping a few steps away. “Um…”

Adrien rushed into his request. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she straightened at the mention of her full name, she probably hadn’t heard it in a while, but Adrien pressed on, “will you pilot this Jaeger with me? My father will use the things he stole from Ladybug and Chat Noir to bring my mother back to life. I do miss her, but I’m afraid that he won’t stop there. I have to stop him. Will you help me?” He extended his hand imploringly for her to take it.

Marinette’s bluebell eyes sparkled. The eyes of Multimouse. The eyes that were so much like his Lady’s. He watched the fear and uncertainty ebb away and disappear. Marinette nodded and took Adrien’s hand firmly. “I will.”

They nervously strapped into their harnesses and grounded themselves to the machine. Adrien’s heart was racing. When he started the sync...he would be able to see her memories. Adrien would be sharing a soul with his Marinette the entire time. She would know he loved Ladybug, and that he was Chat Noir. Was he ready for this? Deep inside, he knew that he would trust no one else but Marinette with his secret. He looked over considerately at Marinette who looked as white as a sheet. “Are you ok?”

Marinette locked eyes with him. “I’m...I’m ready.”

Adriene’s heart was beating loudly as he reached over and flipped the switch. Familiar electricity coursed through him...and he closed his eyes to clear his mind and tether himself to Marinette. There was a click and he felt her emotions. Then he saw it. Flashes. Silent, but vivid. He saw the memories of...Ladybug… He saw a myriad of memories blitzing through a lifetime. He felt her love for him and for Chat Noir. Then it zoomed to the present where she was struggling to keep breathing, and her waking up and calling for Tikki in the sick bay. Marinette running to get changed just like he had. The confidence. The blue hair. The bluebell eyes. The excuses. It clicked. It all beautifully came together, and tears of tender heartfelt joy came to his eyes. Adrien breathed in love in wonder. “My Lady…”

Marinette had felt a rush of memories as well and she finally found her voice to whisper adoringly. “My Kitty…”

Adrien's heart fluttered. They had found one another at last.