Dark Wings Rise

Iris

"Nooroo, what happened!?" Marinette rushed to her ailing kwami's side.

"M-Marinette. I can feel it. Tikki. She- she's crying."

"Tikki?"

"Yes. The kwami of the Ladybug."

"Oh no." Marinette gasped.

Courtesy of Nooroo, she knew exactly what the poor kwami was going through.
There was no idea what that horrible villain would have done to her.

She could be tormented.

She could be starved.

Or she could even be depressed.

"Tikki is tough. She can put on a brave demeanour in times of danger. But there's a limit to everything. I think-"

"..."

"I think she's finally breaking."

Marinette gulped audibly. Gathering courage, she finally spoke.

"Don't worry, Nooroo. We will bring Tikki back. That's the promise of Iris."

"Iris?"

"Yes.  You don't expect me to say that I'll reveal my identity to all of Paris. I have to have a superhero name! You were the one who actually told me that, remember?" Marinette tapped the kwami under his chin.

"So, you've decided to call yourself Iris, huh?"

"Mhmm. Apatura Iris is the name of a butterfly also known as the purple emperor, or, in my case, the purple empress. I like the idea of me being an Empress since I'll be controlling my chosen. Also, using Apatura Iris as a name is absurd. Its quite a mouthful for a superhero, so, Lady Iris or simply, Iris is what I decided to go with. How do you like it?"

"Well, looks like somebody did their research. It's a good name. I like it." Nooroo smirked.

"Glad to hear it!"

*

"Maman! Papa! I'll get going now!"

"Bye, sweetie! Take care and don't get hurt!"

"No promises!" Marinette gave a sheepish smile and continued her mad dash towards her now closing school gates.

"Hour?" Sabine said, grinning.

"Nah. I bet she's an hour and a half late," Tom smirked.

*

"WAITTTTTTTTTTT DON'T CLOSE IT JUST YET!" Marinette barely made it into her school premises and she was already out of breath.

"Damn, those late-night training sessions are starting to tire me." Marinette wiped her forehead. But, somehow, she smiled, she felt more alive than she had ever been.

Actually, she couldn't be any happier.

No.

Scratch that.

Because Adrien Agreste just walked out of class.

And where Marinette stood, was now a melted blushing mess.

The four friends waved at each other and sadly had to rush back to their classes, however, not without a promise to hang out together during recess.

"Hey, Mari! I thought you were never going to make it today!" Alya, Marinette's best friend and the queen of the 'Roast Chloe club' greeted her clumsy blue-haired friend with a slap on the back.

"Guess I did, Al. So glad I came here after Ms Mendeleiev's class. She would have killed me if I came there late."

"Hey girls!" 

Marinette's Adrien senses started to tingle.

"Yo dudinette!" Nino fist-bumped Marinette who gladly returned the favour.

"I had no idea you and Mari were close, Nino," Alya stated.

(Remember guys, this is still their first week of school and Alya and Agreste baby don't know much about them.)

"Yeah, Nino and I go way back. We were all stuck with each other ever since kindergarten."

"That's cool. Maybe we could know more about each other in-"

Adrien's sentence was cut in half with a classic totally normal wall exploding of their school hall.

Cue totally normal chaotic screams and totally normal running around of children.

Totally normal.

"Everyone, stay safe and head to your homes right now!" The announcement on the speaker was barely audible thanks to the sound created by the source of the wall breaking and the shouts of frantic children did not help.

"I made myself clear, Chat Noir, but it seems you have managed to anger me. I will not let you live with that ring on your finger. So, I must take it by force. Have a look at this, Chat Noir. The chaos you have caused all thanks to your stupid adamant behaviour. The people of Paris are afraid. They are suffering. And that's all because of you! Hand over the ring and Paris can continue to live safely. Or else, you won't live long enough to find out."

People whipped their heads over to see a giant ladybug like creature crashing and pulverising their city in hopes of grabbing the attention of the black-clad vigilante.

"It's not Darkbug!" Surprisingly enough for Marinette, the words were uttered by Adrien, so softly that the only people who heard it were her and Adrien himself.

Her eyebrows knitted and her brain raced to try to find a place safe enough for everyone to hide.

"Adrien! Marinette! What are you doing!? Do both of you want to die!?" The words spoken by Alya snapped them out of their trance in the nick of time.

"Get aside!" Marinette screamed in order to avoid the debris of the falling building to crash with their heads.

Having herself ducked out of the way, she hoped that Adrien was quick enough to dodge it too.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" Marinette called out.

"I'm fine! Thanks for warning me. I would've never made it out alive if it weren't for you." Adrien replied.

"You give me too much credit. All I did was scream. You were fast enough to dodge it." Marinette replied, trying to stand up and dusting off the dirt from her clothes.

On the other hand, Adrien was quick to realise that this was the first time Marinette had talked to him without stuttering.

"Let's find a way out of this." Marinette motioned.

"Take the lead."

*

"Mari!" Alya hugged her best friend while Nino gave Adrien a "Dude..."

"Leta get out of here before things get ugly. Hopefully Chat Noir an- uh, I mean hopefully he will be able to fight this thing."

'This isn't my Akuma. No. Could it be...'

"A sentimonster. Yes. He has the peacock miraculous. Poor Duusu."

"Well, let's show him who's boss!"

"Nooroo, Dark Wings, Rise!