Miraculous: Tales of Rena Rouge and Carapace

Chapter One

Carapace whirled around, swinging his batons every which way. The sand demons, which had previously surrounded him, landed in clouds of dust. In the distance, he could hear his partner, Rena Rouge, destroying the Akuma who had been creating them. Moments later, the remaining sand demons dissipated.

Suddenly, a creature landed on Jade's shell. He yelped and tried to fend off the attack, but it was hopeless. He couldn't reach the creature, which had smartly perched right atop the brim of his shell.

Where was Rena Rouge? And how was this creature still alive after the Akuma had been vanquished?

A chuckle emerged from the creature atop Carapace's shell. He stopped struggling. The laugh had been husky and sultry, and he knew exactly who it belonged to.

Flipping unexpectedly, Carapace flung the creature off his back. When he turned back, Rena Rouge was grinning at him.

"Gotcha that time, didn't I?" She asked mischievously.

"No way." Carapace protested. "I knew it was you the whole time."

Rena Rouge grinned. "Sure you did, Shelly." She sauntered off, hands on hips.

Carapace rolled his eyes. His partner was conceited and annoying. Meanwhile, she called him uptight and too sensible.

The fact that she was really pretty did not matter to Carapace. He knew firsthand that a pretty shell didn't mean a pretty inside.

"Rena!" He called; she turned around with a smirk on her face.

"Yeeesssss?" She drawled.

"Let's go meet up with Ladybug and Chat Noir. I think they're still fighting the Akuma at Notre Dame."

"Sure." She said carelessly. "Why not?"

It would have been cool to have a partner like Chat Noir, Carapace thought as they flew towards the cathedral. Or Ladybug, who was always reliable and levelheaded.

If only my partner wasn't so utterly boring. Rena Rouge thought. Chat Noir and Ladybug always joke around with each other. But Carapace is just Mr. Uptight!

When they arrived at Notre Dame de Paris, the Akuma was gone and Ladybug and Chat Noir were enacting their traditional "Pound it!"

Ladybug saw them first. "The Akuma fight went well?"

"It was a pushover." Rena Rouge said.

"Yeah." Carapace echoed, bored. "Pushover."

"And I totally tricked Carapace again."

"Yeah. Trick- hey!" Carapace said. "You did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"The magic old guy said they would work it out eventually." Chat Noir whispered to Ladybug.

"When is eventually?" Ladybug mumbled. "Because it can't come too soon."

"Did I mention you look Mew-velous today?"

"Did I mention that I'm almost out of time?" Ladybug echoed. "Bug out!"

Chat Noir shook his head as Ladybug swung out of sight. "Wow. What a woman."

***

Alya Césaire grumbled to herself in her bedroom. "I try to joke! I do! But he's the most boring person I've ever met."

"Can you shut up already?" Her Kwamii, Trixx, groaned. "That battle was exhausting! Just because you can fly doesn't mean you have to do it every second!"

"Well, I'm meeting Nino at seven, but you can stay home if you want."

Trixx's ears perked up. "No way! This means pizza, doesn't it?"

"Actually, we were thinking burgers."

"Burgers! I love burgers! I'm coming!"

Trixx pondered about food all through Alya's homework, and she was still talking about mac'n'cheese by the time Alya was about to leave.

Alya put her head on her desk. "Okay! We get it! You like mac'n'cheese!"

"Well you don't have to be so snippy about it." Trixx said.

Alya ignored her. "Mom! Dad! I'm leaving!"

"Alright, dear." Mrs Césaire replied from her studio. "Whatever you say."

***

By the time Alya got to the Café d'Anne, Nino was already seated at a table. "Hey, Nino." She said, sitting down across from him.

"Hey." He grinned at her. "I left my headphones at home this time."

"Well, I know how much of a sacrifice it must have been for you."

"Totally, dude." Nino nodded. "I see you didn't leave your phone at home."

"I need my phone!" Alya protested. "Besides, I had a bad day today so I deserve it."

"What happened?" Asked Nino, concerned.

"Ugh, just this guy."

Nino perked up. "A guy? What guy? Who is he?" He scowled.

Alya flapped her hand. "Doesn't matter. He's just horrible. Really annoying and uptight."

"I had a hard day too. There's this girl- er, my cousin- who's really annoying."

"I thought all your cousins were boys." Alya said, surprised. "Didn't I meet them at Christmas."

"Um, she's my second cousin." Nino said. "Cousin... Becky."

He inwardly groaned. Cousin Becky?

"Becky?" Alya asked.

"Yup." He changed the subject. "Did you hear about the Akuma attacks today?"

"Yeah, I saw the sand creature one."

"Who's your favorite superhero?" Nino asked.

She looked at him in disbelief. "Uh, Ladybug. Duh."

"I mean, who's your second favorite superhero." Nino amended.

"Rena Rouge." Alya said. "She's so cool!"

Nino snorted and Alya frowned. "You don't like Rena Rouge?"

"She seems stuck-up." Nino said. "I prefer Carapace."

"Carapace? He's boring."

The pair stared at each other in disbelief.

After a moment, Nino smiled. "Well, it's okay if we have different taste in superheroes. After all, it's not like we know them."

"Yeah." Alya said. "Right."

The two heroes sighed and looked away.