Strangers Like Me (Keeper of the Lost Cities + Miraculous Ladybug Crossover)

Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome to our first crossover! This is from the elves' perspective and the next one will be from Marinette and Adrien's perspectives. Hope you like it! -Apurva

"We have found the location of the Neverseen," Mr. Forkle announced. "They are back in the human world."

Sophie raised her eyebrows. "Again? Where?"

"We are not sure of their exact whereabouts," Granite added. "But we have narrowed it down to Paris, France."

"Is it just me, or have we done something similar before?" Dex joked.

Sophie rolled her eyes, but the hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Fitz, who had been oddly silent up until now, spoke up. "How are the civilians reacting?" he inquired.

"It's rather surprising," Mr. Forkle began. "They seem used to such attacks, so used to them in fact that they have people to fight those attacks."

"Like the police force," Keefe grinned. "I think all human cities have that."

Granite shook his head. "Not the police force... More like superheroes."

All five elves burst into nonstop laughter, finding such a prospect incredulous. Biana was the first to regain her composure. "Superheroes, you say?"

"Yes," Mr. Forkle agreed. "We've been informed that their names are Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Sophie bit back a laugh as she repeated the names, but her friends seemed unfazed. "Those aren't normal superhero names," she told them.

Keefe shrugged. "They don't seem that abnormal. You did say there was a superhero called Batman, so..."

"And to be fair," Dex added. "They're real superheroes so they don't exactly have to have the best names. But, what does Chat Noir mean?"

"Black Cat... In French," Sophie immediately answered. She whipped around to Mr. Forkle, realizing a problem with their plan. "None of them know French."

"You'll have to implant it into their heads."

Sophie's eyes widened. "I can't implant a whole language."

"I don't see why not," Granite shrugged. "It's information in your brain, so you can implant it."

"But," Sophie wrung her hands in the air. "It's not conscious."

"Why don't you practice implanting a few words into Fitz's mind?" Mr. Forkle suggested. "Then we'll see if you an implant it in Biana's, Keefe's, and Dex's minds."

"You need to touch his temples to implant it," Granite suggested as Sophie closed her eyes.

Slowly, she rested her hands on the sides of his forehead as she had done countless times. She pulled on the strings of the language that immediately came up when it was triggered. With one final brain push-like move, she shoved the information into his mind.

When she opened her eyes, his were still closed with two fingers at his temples. When she checked again, she realized she must have put in the whole language instead of just a few words, considering the overload of information his mind was trying to process.

"Oh- sorry!" Sophie apologized. "But I'm guessing it worked."

Fitz smiled and responded a moment later. "Yeah it worked." Taking his advice, Sophie implanted the information in Keefe, Biana, and Dex's minds.

Mr. Forkle clasped his hands. "It seems like you all are ready," he observed. Except... Something was off about the way he said it. Under further inspection, Sophie realized...

"You're talking in French!"

Mr. Forkle smiled. "And you can understand me, I presume?"

All five elves nodded. "Good," Mr. Forkle stated. "Now get your bags packed- you'll be staying in Paris for quite a while."

*~*~*~*

Sophie was just about to pack what little human clothes she had when she received a call on her Imparter.

"Biana? What happened?"

"I don't have any clothes," Biana muttered, showing her empty suitcase on the screen. "And there is no way I'm wearing Alvar's shirt again."

Sophie laughed. "Let me see if I can ask Mr. Forkle. Maybe he has leftover disguises from other missions."

She hailed Mr. Forkle next, using his real name this time. "Do you have any human clothes?" she asked.

Magnate Leto smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. Not enough for how long you'll be staying, but enough for a few days."

Moments later, a pile of gray and black shirts appeared on Sophie's bed, followed by faded jeans. Little did she know, but similar clothes had also appeared on her friends' beds as well. Her Imparter rang again, and she couldn't help rolling her eyes slightly.

"These clothes are amazing!" squealed Biana, holding up a sparkly pink blouse. "I didn't know humans had clothes like this."

"They do," Sophie began. "They're just not my style." She turned her Imparter to her packed suitcase. "Looks like I'm ready to go."

She dragged the suitcase down the stairs, with Grady's help of course, and stood at the door.

"Ready for another trip to the human world?" Edaline asked, giving Sophie a huge hug. "Be safe, and hail us the first chance you get."

Sophie smiled, blinking back tears. The thought of being alone in the human world again- this time without the Black Swan- scared her. But she had her friends. "I'll make sure to," she told Grady and Edaline.

Soon, she was in front of a windy cliff, holding hands with her friends like she had multiple times before. They seemed so unfamiliar in their disguises but Sophie knew, inside, they were still the people she could count on.

Taking one last deep breath, she faced the endless void.

"Ready?" she asked.

Keefe grinned. "If you mean ready to meet superheroes with funny names, then yes I am."

Sophie rolled her eyes.

Grabbing their hands and pulling them, she took the first jump.