Gigantitan
I ran into her arms. I was home. Home was a wonderful word. Words were wonderful.
I felt her hold me tight. My mom. Mom was so wonderful. Dad was wonderful as well.
"I missed you so much," her gentle voice rang in my ears. Love radiated off of her. Love was a wonderful word.
"Love you," I said, squeezing a little tighter. My eyes were shut. Darkness was all the sense of sight allowed me. Yet, I felt Mom's light; her love.
"Yeah, I missed you too," grunted my dad from behind me, very awkwardly. Awkward was not a wonderful word. Awkward was so... Lonely.
"Get in here," Mom chuckled. I giggled as well and took a few steps away, brushing my long red bangs from my green eyes. I was still close, though. I glanced around the all-too-familiar street. It had been too long. Too long.
I made my way to the taxi and grabbed all of my luggage and a little bit of my dad's before making my way to the front door of my home and taking a deep breath. Home. I was home. I tapped my foot against the already cracked door and stepped inside. I discarded Dad's stuff against the wall before bounding up the steps to my room.
The walls were green. Green was wonderful. Green was my farvorite color. It looked bright and happy and friendly. And, it was fun to say; to let it roll around in my mouth. I liked everything about the construction of the word: the hard g, the transition that r created, the long e, and the the way n created the final touch to the word. It was perfection.
I plopped my bags on the floor and unpacked various clothes, trinkets, and photos. I took my now full laundry hamper and emptied it in the laundry room.
"Hey, sweetie?" my mom said as she knocked on the door to my room.
"What's up?" I said as I bounded to the door to open it for the teacher.
"Your old teacher retired," she sighed as she sat on my twin sized bed and motioned for me to join her.
"Oh," was all I said in reply. I had known Janice Frank for most of my life and the thought of loosing her as a teacher was a sad one. But, Mom's next words lightened my mood quite a bit.
"I pulled some strings and I got you in my class this semester. Of course, it'll be hectic coming in second semester, but I think you'll be okay," Mom continued.
"You? As my teacher?" I said, warming up to the thought of it.
"Yes." I could see my mom was anxious for my reaction to the news.
"I can't wait."
As it turns out, I could wait. I most definitely could wait. Why? After Mom left me to my thoughts, I remembered something, something big and aweful and scary.
Coming in on the first day in a new class in the middle of the year would most likely mean I had to introduce myself and, I, Felicity Bustier, has never in my life been able to do anything remotely related to speaking in front of strangers. The next day was so gonna blow up in my face.
"Class, settle down," Mom said with urgency. I stood awkwardly in the doorway to the classroom. There was that word again: awkward. I glanced around the room anxiously.
Nearest to me was a boy in a red hat and blue shirt with headphones around his neck and glasses framing his eyes. Sitting next to him was someone I recognized instantly. Adrien Agreste, famous model for his father, Gabriel Agreste. His blond hair was combed and in place. He wore a black shirt with colors streaking across his chest and a white button-up shirt. His green eyes were turned to the female behind him. Noticing this, I glanced back to his friend, he also was looking at the girl behind him.
The female had brown hair, brown eyes, freckles, and glasses. She wore a plaid button-up shirt and a ladybug charm hung off of her phone. Her friend, and the girl behind Adrien, wore a white shirt with pink flowers on it, a black jacket, and a pink purse that seemed to move slightly without warning. The girl wore her blackish-blueish hair in two pigtails and her bright blue eyes kept glancing back at the model, despite her attempt at focusing on her friend's conversation.
I shifted my gaze to the other side of the column to see Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter. She wore a white shirt with black stripes and a designer yellow jacket. Sunglasses were on top of her blond hair which was pulled into a high ponytail. Next to her was a teenager with red hair and a purple sweater over her white button-up shirt.
Behind her sat a girl with pink hair and a black shirt that had a neon green snake running up the sleeve. A black helmet sat on her desk and she leaned back in her chair as she talked with her deskmate. Her deskmate was blond with her hair pulled back with a bandana and colors running through it.
Behind her, a boy in a red sweatshirt was listening to his deskmate on his right: a boy with dark skin wearing glasses and a green shirt who looked insanely smart.
I was about to look on when I heard my mom beckoning me to the front.
"We have a new student this semester. I've told you about my daughter before," Mom smiled as I stood by her side.
I felt my face get as red as my hair. I just wanted to nestle myself in my green turtleneck sweater and go to my happy place.
"Tell you new classmates you name," Mom urged after I stood there for a moment.
"Felc... Felicity B-Bustier," I said, barely louder than a whisper.
"They can't hear you, sweatheart," Mom said softly. "A little louder."
"Ffl-Felicity Bust-Bustier," I managed. It wasn't much louder than my first attempt, but my mom took pity on me.
"Felicity spent the firsy semester in England visiting her cousin," Mom explained. "Why don't you take a seat, Felicity?"
I nodded, glad to be out of the spotlight. Behind the brown-haired girl with glasses was a boy sitting in the middle of the desk, not to one side. He was definitely taller than me and he wore a black t-shirt white bones on it. His hair was mostly black, aside from the blond tuft of hair in front. Behind him was an empty desk and I took a seat. Empty was not a wonderful word. It was like awkward, very lonely.
"Nathaniel, how'd the appointment go?" Mom asked as a red-haired boy walked into the middle of class.
"Okay," he shrugged as he made his way back and sat by me. He held out his hand to shake. "Nathaniel Kurtzburg."
"Felicity Bustier," I replied. "I spent first semester in England with my cousin. Why were you late?"
"I had to meet up with a publisher with Marc. We make comic books. I draw and he writes," he shrugged. I nodded before focusing my attention on my mom as she continued the lesson.
After school, I sat in my room doing homework when my mom came in. And sat on the floor beside me. "How was it?" she asked.
"Mom, you were there," I chuckled.
"But I was up in the front of the room. You were near the back."
"So I was. It was fine," I sighed.
"How was Nathaniel?"
"He seemed nice enough."
"Well, I don't want to halt your homework train, so I'll give this to you and skidaddle," she said as she handed me a box. I opened it up to find an anklet. It was solid red. Red was wonderful.
"I love it," I gasped. I twirled it between my fingers before setting it down. "Where'd you find it?"
"Some antique store," Mom said dismissively.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," she said as she got up and left. "Finish up before dinner."
As she closed the door, I slipped the anklet on. What I didn't see was the flying thing hovering just over my shoulder. "So, if y equals 27, what does x equal?"
"32."
"Thanks," I muttered. Then, my eyes went wide with the realization that no one should have answered my question because I was supposedly alone in my room.
"No problem," said a high-pitched voice. I snapped my head around to see a golden bird-thing (minus the beak) with red feathers protruding here and there and a single golden antenna on the top of its head.
"Wh-What are you?"
"My name is Fellicity. I'm a Kwami."
"My name is Fel-Felicity," I gasped.
"Cool. I'm the Phoenix Kwami. I bring light in darkness," she squeaked.
"What's a Kwami?"
"Kwamis are magical creatures that are forever bound by the miraculouses. Our masters are the miraculous-holders. We grant our masters certain powers when we occupy the miraculous."
"What's a miraculous?"
"For you? It's your anklet." I studied the jewelry for a moment. It didn't seem that special.
"So what do I with this miraculous?" I asked.
"You say 'feathers grow' to activate your suit and 'let's molt' when you're ready to detransform," the kwami said.
"Suit?"
"You'll see. Try it out?" Fellicity wondered.
"Feathers grow?" I said, although it sounded more like a question than a commamd of statement. I felt a surge of energy pass through my body. The golden kwami streaked through the air and around my body, heading for my anklet. Once Fellicity reached the miraculous, it changed so that it seemed to be separated into five seperate parts. The first was golden and the last was red and the other three were the shades in between. Light flowed over my body leaving my school clothes transformed into a skin-tight golden suit. I felt my toes tingle and saw a red design creeping upward. A glance at my hands confirmed that the same thing was happening up my arms, having started at my fingers. I felt pressure on my face so I glanced in my mirror and saw a gold mask form with red designs streaming in from the left and right. At the tips of my red hair, gold seemed to streak through.
I looked way more confident than I felt.
At my wrist was a red watch, for whatever reason. I felt another tingling sensation and reached for just behind my neck. I pulled up a hood over my loose hair. Upon further inspection, I saw that the hood unclipped from my suit, creating an unique parachute type of device. At my waist was a pair of feathers, but they weren't flimsy at all. They were strong and firm. And sharp.
Confident that the transformation was complete, I made up my mind. "Let's molt." In a flash of light, I was back to being my normal self.
"Why'd you detransform?"
"I have to finish up my homework. Wanna tell me how my mom ended up with your miraculous while I do it?" I suggested.
"Sure. Over a hundred years ago, Guardians would train in a temple. They were responsible for the miraculouses. The distributed them to whomever they thought were worthy, but one made a mistake and gave the peacock miraculous the wrong person. The temple was destroyed and the peacock was corrupted. So, Mayara stole the moth miraculous from the ancient box used to keep the miraculouses. Guardians never knew was that there was another miraculous hidden, stronger than the rest. The elders who knew of its existence vowed that no one could handle the sort of power it bestowed and agreed not to give it out. So, they created the myth that the ladybug earings and cat ring were the most powerful miraculouses. But, it is true that, when combined, their power surpasses that of the phoenix anklet. Together, they grant a single wish to their wielder."
"What makes the phoenix so powerful?"
"For one, multiple tools. I'm sure you noticed the watch, hood, and feather blades. Tikki only grants a yoyo and Plagg a baton. For two, multiple powers: one for each item. Tikki grants the ability to conjure up an object that will be key in defeating her master's enemies. Plagg grants his master the power of destruction. You can turn back time with your watch by saying 'reverse' and turning the hands of the watch as far back as you want to go. Also, you can create a blinding light with the feathers by saying 'shine'," she explained. I circled my last math answer and put my homework away.
"I thought you said that there were three powers?" I questioned.
"There is, but I doubt you'll be needing the third at all. After all, It's rare for someone to pass on the job. You take your hood and say 'revive', you'll know what else to do in the moment." Felicity was hesitant.
"Is there a 'but'?" I asked, sensing that one was coming.
"But, someone else would loose his or her life in replacement. There has to be balence, Felicity," she explained.
"Oh," was all I could say. I thought for a moment. "Why would I need to transform?"
"Wielders commonly use their powers like superheroes," she shrugged.
"I'm gonna be a real-life superheroine?" I squeaked.
"Yeah," the kwami shrugged. I heard a crash from outside. I glanced at my clock.
"I think I can make it there and back before dinner. Feathers grow!" I bent my right knee so that the kwami would unit with the miraculous faster and stomped my foot on the ground as the gold suit base formed on my body. I touched my toes as the red design started to form on my hands and feet, until my hands and feet were solid red. I straightened and put my pointer fingers and thumbs at the bridge of my nose and traced the shape of my mask. I put my left wrist in front of my body and slide two fingers across my wrist as the watch formed before grabbing and pulling my hood over my head and moving my hair across my shoulder as the gold appeared near the tips of my hair. My hands fell to my waist, grabbing the feathers as they appeared on my hips.
I opened my window and leapt onto the ground, running for an alley where the walls would be close. Once I found one to my satisfaction, and not too far from my house, I spidered up between the two walls onto a roof. I glanced around for the source of the disturbance and heard another crash. I shrugged and followed the noise, marvelling at my increased physical abilities.
I was actually running rooftop!
It was so exhilarating to leap between houses and streak pass cars that were stuck in traffic. I heard another set of footsteps behind me so I glanced back to see a blackish-blueish haired woman with pigtails in a red and black polka dot supersuit and her mask followed suit.
"I'm Ladybug, but you probably know who I am already. Who are you?" she said as she levelled with me. I noticed a yoyo tied around her waist.
"N-not thought of a name yet. I put on an ank-anklet Mom gave me and a kwami-thing appeared," I huffed. "There's no r-room to be out of sh-shape when you're a superhero, is there?"
"Nope, I have to keep working to stay on my edge. But, Hawkmoth's Akumas usually make it so we don't have much of a chance to rest," she replied. "Before we meet up with Chat Noir, brief me on your power."
"I can turn back time and create a blinding light, appar-apparently," I said, choosing to leave out the fact that I could revive the dead. It kind of freaked me out.
"What's the animal tied to your miraculous?"
"A ph-phoenix."
"Cool. Can we just call you Phoenix?"
"Sounds g-good to me. What caused that n-noise?"
"An Akuma attack. Hawkmoth corrupts butterflies and they transform people into villians. Not sure who this one is yet, though."
"How do you fi-fix it?"
"If we can find where the Akuma is hiding, I can purify it with my yoyo, no big deal," Ladybug explained. I nodded. "Stop."
"Wh-what is it?" I asked. Stop was not always a wonderful word; sometimes stop was terrifying.
"Listen," she whispered. So, I listened. I was mildly worried that I'd hear a bomb ticking. But, what I heard sent a shiver down my spine. "Footsteps."
"Wh-whose f-footsteps?" I whispered back. She held up a finger before whipping around to face the potential threat.
"Chat Noir! You almost scared the living daylights out of Phoenix and I!" she laughed.
"Phoenix, huh?" said a male voice. I turned to face the man who was supposedly Ladybug's partner. He was blond with green eyes and he wore black cat ears and a black belt fashioned like a tale and his black suit had a bell for a zipper in the front. He also had pockets.
"H-hi," I waved. "I just met my k-kwami t-today. Wh-when I heard that n-noise... I-I just th-thought that m-maybe I could he-help?"
"She found a pretty powerful sounding miraculous, but I'm not sure how she got it. Master Fu hasn't said anything about a Phoenix miraculous," Ladybug said. Master Fu sounded like a Guardian. I wondered if he was apart of inner circle that knew of the Phoenix.
"Well, help is always welcome, right Bugaboo?" he smirked.
"B-Bugaboo? You guys a-aren't actually... Y-you kn-know?" I gasped.
"Well, we certainly could be," Chat Noir grinned.
Ladybug facepalmed. "No, Chat has made up a variety of silly nicknames."
"I-I think it would be c-cute," I told Chat.
"Apparently, we've kissed before. Sadly, circumstances had it so that both times I lost the memory of it soon after," Chat explained.
"I was saving you, not kissing you, Chat!" Ladybug stammered. Her face was getting red.
"H-how about we f-find this A-Akuma?" I suggested.
"Right, I was gonna engage just before I caught sight of you two. The Akuma's at the Eiffel Tower," Chat said. "Let's go."
We let Chat lead the way since he knew what we'd be walking into. "How l-lomg have you guys owned a m-miraculous?" I found myself asking.
The sent each other a glance. "Since the first semester started. A man named Master Fu gave them to us," Chat Noir finally answered.
"Y-you're in s-school?" I gasped.
"Not nessicarily," Ladybug quickly replied. I gave her a look that asked for more explanation. "We... could easily be married with kids." She was she a glare from her partner.
"Hopefully, the would-be kids are adopted. Then she won't have to be married," Chat Noir said at last. I giggled at their antics. "The point is, we can't know anything about each other's double lives."
"W-What is th-that?" I pointed to a gigantic figure walking near the Eiffel Tower.
"Gigantitan, again," Chat Noir sighed. It was a giant toddler in a purple and green costume. "Here we go again." Just like that, he charged. He leapt off of the roof we had happened to be standing on in an attempt to catch the villain by surprise.
"S-so, umm, wh-where is the A-Akuma hiding?"
"Probably in the bracelet," Ladybug replied evenly. "That's where it was last time."
"S-so you've fought h-him before?"
"Twice, yeah," came Ladybug. "We should probably go help him now. C'mon, Phoenix!" With that, she unslung her yoyo and leapt into the fight.
I stood there awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to do. I glanced around, searching for some exact direction. I knew I needed to join my new teammates, but a part of me made sure that my feet stayed planted on that slanted red roof.
"This time he's after a cookie! How original!" Chat smirked at Ladybug. "Don't you agree, Bugaboo?"
"Now isn't the time, Chat Noir," Ladybug grunted as she leapt at the giant. He grabbed her from midair and began to shake her. "Ah!" He then proceeded to do the same thing to Chat Noir with his free left hand as the hero jumped to his friend's rescue.
"Use your lucky charm!" Chat pleaded. He voice was wobbly since he was being shaken so hard. Ladybug complied and a feather appeared. It was gold and red. "Phoenix, you're up!"
"Wh-what do I do?" I squeaked.
"Use one of your powers!" Ladybug urged, her voice taking on a similar wobble.
"Which o-one?"
"Just choose!" Chat said. Choose was not a wonderful word. It was often said with force.
"Um? Sh-shine?" My feathers twirled as they flew to my hands and my arms flung out as they created a blinding light that spread through my entire body creating an odd feeling of warmth. Gigantitan immediately dropped the two and grabbed me instead.
"Shwiny!" he gasped, his face full of wonder.
"Cataclysm!" I heard Chat Noir yell. Next thing I knew, I was lying on my back near a baby with Ladybug and Chat Noir standing a few feet away. "I'll take little August back to his mother," Chat offered as he strolled over and picked up the infant. I heard a strange beeping.
"What's that s-sound?"
"Your miraculous. After using your power, you have five minites before you transform back into your civilian self," Ladybug explained. She helped me to my feet.
"Th-then I'd better get a m-move on!" I said quickly as I raced to an alley to remount the rooftops of Paris. I ran home as fast as I could, hoping not to miss dinner. After all, I had promised my mom I'd be there.
