Darkness and Legacies

One

Note: My universe, my rules.

Marinette had been noticing that woman following her for weeks now.
She never got close enough for Marinette to get a good look at her, and she disappeared if Marinette tried to get closer, but she was there too often for it to be a coincidence.
But now... here she was, sitting at a table outside Marinette's parents' bakery, closer than she'd ever been, and not showing any signs of running away or leaving.
Marinette wasn't sure what to do.
Confronting stalkers was, generally, not a good idea. Not that Marinette was particularly worried about getting kidnapped or anything. She could handle herself, but confronting this woman might force her to transform and reveal her identity.
Still... this woman had been stalking her for weeks, and Marinette had barely seen her face. It might be a good idea to get a better look at her. If for nothing else, so that she could give the police sketch artists something to go on.
Marinette went outside and stood next to the woman's table for an uncomfortably long time.
The woman just stared at her, seeming to be waiting for her to say something.
Marinette was more focused on memorizing her appearance.
The woman had brown eyes, with long, dark purple dyed hair. She looked to be in her thirties, and she was wearing a tan coat and a matching fedora. She made no threatening moves, but no friendly ones, either.
"Why are you following me?" Marinette asked finally.
The woman just rolled her eyes and slid a napkin across the table.
Only four words were written on it.
"I know you're Ladybug."
Marinette gasped, then made an effort to look natural.
"Me? Ladybug? Pffft, that's ridiculous! I'm really clumsy; no way I could save Paris on a daily basis! I mean..." Marinette struggled to come up with another excuse.
The woman took another sip of her coffee before speaking.
"Cut the excuses, kid. I know it's you."
Marinette took a deep breath, "How?"
"I carried a Miraculous for almost ten years. You think I don't know a Ladybug when I sense one?"
Marinette gasped, "You were a Miraculous-holder?!"
"Yeah," the woman said, "And the fact that you didn't know that... it's amazing how quickly this city forgets things. I'm guessing you don't even know that there was another Ladybug, only twenty years ago."
"There was another Ladybug?!"
The woman scoffed, "Look her up, kid. I'm sure you'll be able to find her. For that matter, ask your mother. I'm sure she can tell you about her cousin who disappeared."
Marinette did recall hearing a story at family gatherings. Of a teenage girl who had disappeared about twenty years ago. Someone named Bridgette.
"My mom's cousin Bridgette was a Ladybug?" Marinette asked.
"Yeah," The woman said, "She was. Brig was quite the hero, and she didn't even have that yo-yo of yours. But... well, she can't be Ladybug anymore. The city forgot about her, which is probably why you probably thought you were the only Ladybug."
"I did," Marinette admitted.
"Oh, you weren't," Tikki said, flying out of Marinette's jacket, "And Bridgette wasn't the first. I've had several chosen ones over the years."
"How many?" Marinette asked.
"I... I don't know," Tikki admitted, "A lot. Whenever history needed a Ladybug, there was one." She looked over at the woman, "Oh my goodness! Alena?!"
"Hello, Tikki," Alena said, "It's been a long time."
"I thought you were dead!" Tikki exclaimed.
"Heh. Yeah. There is a very good reason for that."
"Wait," Marinette said, "If you knew Bridgette, who are you?"
"Alena LaRue," Alena responded, "I... well, I disappeared around the same time Bridgette did."
Marinette did remember that people had spent years looking for Bridgette and five of her friends who she had disappeared with.
"If you were one of Bridgette's friends," Marinette said, "Wouldn't you be in your forties?"
"I am," Alena responded, "But when you've been bonded to a kwami long enough, you start to share their life force. You don't age, you don't get sick. I've been separated from mine long enough that the effect has started to wear off, but I still age more slowly than most people. You've been with Tikki for, what? About a year? You should start to notice it soon."
"That's true," Tikki agreed.
"That's, um, interesting," Marinette said. She didn't really know what to think of that.
"Wait," Tikki said, "Alena, if you're still alive, does that mean that the others..?"
"Allegra, Allan, and Claude are dead," Alena admitted.
Tikki slumped sadly.
"But Bridgette and Felix are still alive."
Tikki looked shocked, then exclaimed to Marinette, "We have to go find them, now!"
"Why?" Marinette asked.
"Because..." Tikki looked sad, "Bridgette was hurt badly in our last battle. All of my energy was spent, too, and when I woke up next, I was with Master Fu. I assumed the worst, but if she's still alive, she must think I abandoned her! We have to find her!"
"Okay," Marinette said, "Alena, do you know where they are?"
Alena grimaced, "Yeah. They don't want me around for... reasons. But yeah. I know where they are. I can take you to them, but I can't guarantee they'll react well."
"Let's go," Tikki said firmly.
...
Alena lead Marinette to a random apartment at the edge of Paris.
When she knocked on the door, a blond man about her age answered.
"Hey, Felix," Alena said.
"Sorry," Felix said, "You have the wrong apartment. I didn't order any betrayal."
Alena glared at him, "Twenty years, Felix. Twenty. Years."
"Doesn't matter. I told you not to come back here. Get lost, and take whoever that kid is with you."
Tikki zoomed out of Marinette's bag, "Felix!"
Felix gasped at Tikki, then groaned, "Please tell me you don't have Plagg with you, too."
"We don't," Alena promised, "Now are you going to let us in, or what?"
Felix stepped aside, letting Marinette and Alena come in.
"Why did you bring her here, Alena?" Felix asked.
"Because I'm helping," Alena said, "Like you and Brig clearly aren't."
"The new kids are doing fine," Felix said calmly, "They don't need us."
"He's getting stronger," Alena said, "I can feel it. Hawkmoth is strengthening. Sooner or later, Master Fu is going to start thinking about bringing out Trixx, Wayzz, and Pollen. And even if he does, LB and Chat are going to need training by people who understand their powers."
"Why can't you do it?" Felix asked.
"Because let's be honest, I was never really a part of the group. I don't know their powers. Not like you and Brig do. And there isn't going to be a new Mariposa for me to train."
"Yeah? And who's fault is that? Matter of fact, who's fault is it that there won't be anyone to mentor the new Rena Rouge, Carapace, and King Bee?"
Alena took a deep breath, "Stop blaming me for their deaths. It wasn't my fault."
"Something was," Felix growled, "And if you hadn't given him exactly what he wanted, Bridgette might have been able to bring them back."
"What are you talking about?" Marinette asked.
"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Felix asked.
Alena turned away, "It didn't matter."
"Didn't matter?" Felix asked, "Seems to matter an awful lot to me. Do you want to tell the story, or should I?"
Alena shrugged.
"Twenty years ago," Felix said, "There wasn't a Hawkmoth. There was a villain called Dark Feather, and we almost caught him. In the process, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and King Bee died. And if Alena here didn't give up her Miraculous to him—"
"He would have killed you," Alena interrupted, "Just like he killed Allegra, Claude, and Allan. I saved your lives."
"You doomed Paris," Felix argued, "We couldn't take him when he had one Miraculous, and there were six of us. Now there are two of them, and he has two."
Alena didn't look Felix in the eye, "I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't absolutely necessary. But the new Chat needs you, Felix. And this girl? She needs Bridgette. Agree to train them, and I'll gladly leave the city. You'll never have to see me again."
Felix sighed, "Alena—"
"Felix, who are you talking to?" A voice called.
A dark-haired woman in a wheelchair wheeled herself around the corner.
"Bridgette!" Tikki exclaimed, and flew up to her shoulder for a hug.
"Tikki?" Bridgette asked, "You're here? Hi Alena. And who's the girl?"
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Alena called over, "Aka the new bug."
"Dupain-Cheng?" Bridgette asked, "You mean that Sabine not only married her boyfriend, she had a kid with him?!"
"And that kid grew up to become Ladybug," Alena confirmed, "And Felix, you're not going to believe who the new Chat Noir is."
Alena whispered something into Felix's ear, which made him wrinkle his nose in disgust.
"You mean Fu gave my psychotic brother's kid a— you know what? It doesn't even surprise me that much at this point."
"So what brings you here, Alena?" Bridgette asked.
"I was hoping you and Felix would be willing to mentor the new kids."
"Of course we will!" Bridgette exclaimed, "Right, Felix?"
Felix sighed, "Fine. We'll do it."
"Great," Alena said, "I'll be going, then.
I'll send the new Chat your way as soon as I can get him alone."
She turned to leave.
"Alena," Felix called.
Alena stopped.
"If you wanted to try to come and help as best you can... we'd be okay with it."
Alena left, but Marinette was almost sure she had seen her smiling.
"Where do we start?" Bridgette asked.
Felix shrugged, "Until Chat Noir gets here, there's not much I can teach."
"Okay," Bridgette said, "We're going to start with..."