Miraculous Ladybug- AU

Discovery

"To look powerful is to be powerful."~ Victoria Aveyard, The Red Queen

"Hello, everyone! My name is Marinette!"

The squeaky voice of the 9-year-old girl echoed across the lunch table. Everyone sitting there couldn't help but be strangely drawn to her. Though she spoke with a smile, her eyes radiated resolve. She looked like someone who could achieve anything she set her mind to, and anyone watching her could sense it. She wore a pink dress with a black ribbon tied in a perfect knot at the side of her waist. Her hair was styled in two ponytails, and she wore stockings with ballet flats. Anyone who looked at her would inwardly praise her parents' impeccable sense of fashion.

"I'm Nino!" said a starry-eyed boy with brown hair. He had a cheerful voice and seemed like someone funny, which Marinette liked—she could already tell they'd be good friends.

"I'm Rose!" said another girl in a pink dress. Although Rose's dress was a slightly different shade, Marinette couldn't help the tiny pang of annoyance she felt. Still, she brushed it off; in every other way, her own dress was superior. (She also couldn't stay annoyed with the sweet girl for long.)

"I'm Juleka," said the next girl, though with a little less enthusiasm. She shyly covered her hair. Rose, the other girl in pink, soon began talking to the shy one.

"I'm Mylene!" chimed in a girl with two short braids. Marinette couldn't understand why someone would braid short hair—there were so many more suitable hairstyles.

"And I'm Ivan!" said a strong-looking boy. He seemed quite strong.

"So, guys, what do you all like to do? I looove music. My parents tried to put me in piano lessons, but honestly, that classical stuff is just not my vibe," Nino said with a grin.

"Really? We play classical music in our bakery sometimes, and I can't help but want to hear more," said Marinette. It was true, and she'd been meaning to ask her parents to let her take violin lessons. She admired a character on TV who played the violin and dreamed of playing, too.

"You have a bakery? That's so great! You must eat cake every day!" Rose exclaimed, clearly thrilled. Soon, everyone was bombarding Marinette with questions and exclamations about how lucky she was. While it would be wonderful to eat cake for every meal, her mother made her eat greens all the time. She truly wished she could eat cake every day.

Eventually, Marinette made an excuse to go to the bathroom, slipping away from the crowd. She crossed the hall and looked into a mirror, noticing her ponytails had come loose. She took out her hair ties and began fixing her hair.

"You look really pretty that way—maybe you should keep your hair down," a voice echoed behind her. Marinette glanced in the mirror and saw a blonde girl with blunt bangs and a yellow dress. Marinette couldn't help but admire her hair.

"Thank you! But I think I prefer my hair out of my face. Once, I tried to eat noodles, and my hair went right into my mouth!" That drew laughter from both girls.

"I'm Chloe. What's your name?"

"My name is Marinette."

The girls kept chatting, and Marinette found out that Chloe was the mayor's daughter. When Chloe heard about Marinette's parents' bakery, she proudly mentioned that their treats were featured at all her parties. Marinette could tell Chloe was a bit shy, but once she opened up, it was clear she was also a dreamer. Chloe told Marinette of her plans to send letters to her favorite cartoon characters, hoping they would come to meet her.

"Those characters aren't real, Chloe."

"That's what everyone else thinks! I'm sure they'll respond to us—we're special, Marinette! We're not like the rest of them," Chloe replied.

Marinette liked the idea of being special. They worked together on a draft of Chloe's letter, finishing it just as classes were ending.

"Madamoiselle Chloe, your vehicle is waiting."

"Don't worry, Chloe—I'll send the letter!" Marinette promised.

"Thank you so much! I can't wait to see you again!" Chloe said as she left.

Marinette walked to the post office, bought a stamp with the money she always kept on hand, and dropped the letter in the mailbox. She continued walking toward the Louvre, admiring it from a distance to avoid the crowds of tourists. The river Seine glittered under the sunlight. She went down toward it and felt a twinge of disdain at the litter that had polluted the beautiful river. Just then, something floated her way—a black box with red engravings. She figured she could return it to its original owner.

She pulled the box from the water and opened it. Inside was a ring. Huh. She felt inexplicably drawn to it, and almost instinctively, she slipped it on. The ring changed to a silvery color, and a green light emerged from it, revealing a small, cat-eared, mouse-like creature that looked back at her.

"Hello, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Notes:
This is my first ever fanfiction. In case you do find any grammatical/semantic errors, please do inform me, since I do not speak English as a first language.

I never thought I'd write fanfiction for a kid's show, but my sibling watched this and I thought the plot had so much potential- so I wrote the story in a way I think it could be better. I have changed up almost all the characters personalities. I want Marinette to be a more reserved, pragmatic individual, and I will make both Marinette and Adrien more assertive people. I'm also coming up with a lot of changes to the original system, so both the Kwamis and the Miraculous holders will have different powers to what they have in the show. Most of the villains will also be original, however the overall storyline will bear some semblance to the show. The Chloe being a dreamer is the biggest change I have done haha, but I feel like this will allow me to give her a more compelling character arc.

This chapter is a bit short- sort of a prologue. Most of the chapters later will be far longer. I'm also going to try and write the best action-sequences I can, since that is a bit of new territory of me.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this and feel free to give me any suggestions.

Neutron.