Chapter Text
Paris. The City of Love, a city of hope…and for the past year or so, the City of the Miraculous. Zoe had long been looking for a place to go, to get away from New York, and when Ladybug and Chat Noir saved New York from destruction at the hands of Hawkmoth and Mike Rochip, Zoe made her decision. Paris would be perfect. In a place where people had to keep their emotions in check, Zoe was sure she could keep her head down and eke out a quiet existence…the only issue was Zoe’s family. Thanks to her Mother, Zoe has the most complicated family tree in the modern age, with at least a dozen half-siblings, all with different fathers, and all in different countries. Why Audrey Bourgeois decided to do this, Zoe doesn’t think she’ll ever know.
But she does know a little about the family she’s going to. Andre Bourgeois (born Anaximandre; Audrey presumably made him change it) took his wife’s surname, and together they had a daughter named Chloe, who is only one year older than Zoe. She’ll be the first sibling Zoe will meet that’s actually in the same grade as her…well, “grade.” The school system is different in Paris. Something called ‘college’ is actually closer to middle school, and Zoe will be attending a…lycee, she thinks it’s called?
Well, Zoe has also looked into the heroes of Paris. In America, over 98% of the population are born with superpowers, but in Paris, magic and superpowers are dependent on ancient jewels called the Miraculous. The Ladyblog has info on these strange jewels, including the fact that her own half-sister wielded one for quite some time. Zoe holds a little hope for Chloe, since she seems to have gone through…quite the ordeal in Paris since the Miraculous came about. Zoe went on a deep dive through the Ladyblog on the plane trip over, and now she’s honestly excited to live in a city like this! Ladybug’s incredible power to reverse the damage done by supervillains is a godsend…but it’s a shame no other heroes across the world can help. It’s understandable, since if they were akumatized, it’d only make things worse…but Ladybug and Chat Noir certainly could use the help after so many wielders were revealed. And they were all people around Zoe’s age! Maybe she’ll even be lucky enough to meet some of them.
After the plane landed, Zoe got into a taxi, and now her polite driver is giving her a tour of Paris. On their way to the Grand Paris Hotel, owned by the Bourgeois family, the driver has stopped by the “best bakery in Paris.” Zoe steps out of the cab and heads inside.
“You’re in luck!” the sweet Chinese woman smiles behind the counter. “The croissants are fresh out of the oven.”
“Oh, thank you!” Zoe smiles as she buys a croissant. She’s always wanted to try a real Parisian croissant! Zoe’s about to bite into the pasty, when…
All of a sudden, a girl around Zoe’s age, carrying armfuls of materials, stumbles into the room. “Sorry, I got help up by the-AGH!” the girls trips and tumbles to the ground, crashing into Zoe and sending them both of the floor, Zoe’s croissant dropped…however, Zoe is not presently thinking about her ruined snack.
As the girl starts to pick herself up, she’s essentially looming over Zoe, more or less pinning her down. She’s wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up, and her dark, dyed-blue hair spills out in two messy pigtails, looking like she only just woke up. She seems annoyed by herself, but her icy eyes practically pierce Zoe, and the girl feels her heart skip a beat as a red flush grows across her face. She hopes it isn’t noticeable as the girl helps her up.
“Is everyone okay?” the woman behind the counter comes out and pulls down the other girl’s hood, making sure she’s okay. Zoe would guess that they’re Mother and Daughter, and Zoe can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy as she sees a Mother fuss over her daughter with only concern and care in her heart.
“I’m fine, Maman,” the baker girl smiles and looks over at Zoe. “I’m so sorry about running into you like that.”
“Whuh?” Zoe blinks. “Um…n-no, it’s fine! Totally fine! Um, are you okay? That was quite a fall.”
“I’ll be fine,” the girl chuckles. “I’m pretty clumsy…getting better, but still clumsy. You can certainly rely on me to fall…”
“Now, now, there’s nothing wrong with falling,” the Mother kisses her daughter’s forehead. “Whether it’s falling down, falling asleep, fall out of bed…”
“Fall apart at the seams?” The girl chuckles.
“What matters,” the Mother chuckles. “Is that you always get back up. Especially when you fall in love.”
“Maman!” The girl blushes and laughs as she picks her things back up. “Anyway, I should make it up to you.” she smiles at Zoe and notices the dropped pastry. “Maman, could we put together a dozen croissants for…?” She looks at Zoe expectantly.
“Uh-” Zoe gulps. “Z-Zoe. Zoe Lee,” She stifles out her name.
“For Zoe,” The cute girl smiles. “On me.”
“T-that’s…a lot, t-too much,” Zoe protests weakly.
“No, please, it’s no problem,” The girl says. “Where are you from, if you don’t mind my asking? Your accent’s pretty.” She says as her mother heads back to get the croissand, and Zoe feels her heart beat faster. Her accent? Pretty?
“Erm...I’m from New York,” Zoe admits, twirling her hair around with a finger, and the girl smiles a bit.
“Oh, that’s pretty cool! I took a trip there over the summer,” the girl says. “What are you doing in Paris?” She asks, and Zoe manages to straighten herself out. Easy, Zoe. Confidence. Gotta be confident.
“I’m…here to be with my family,” Zoe answers. It’s basically true, and she can’t exactly tell a stranger “I’m running away from the American school system.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy your time in Paris,” Marinette smiles. “And, uh…keep your thoughts positive!”
“Uh…right!” Zoe’s eyes widen. “I read about Hawkmoth. Or, Shadowmoth, or…whatever he is now. Does he attack around here often…?”
“Hah!” The girl barks a laugh and stops herself. “Sorry, sorry…that’s an, uh, understatement.”
“Uh…okay.” Zoe blinks.
“Oh, wow…” the girl’s eyes trail to Zoe’s shoes. “I love your sneakers! Did you decorate them yourself?” She gets a glint in her eye.
“Oh, um, yeah!” Zoe nods. “They’re supposed to be a self-esteem thing…I write every nice thing people say to me, to keep them with me all the time.”
“But there’s only one message,” the girl frowns.
“I…only had one real friend.” Zoe frowns.
“Oh…” The girl frowns, and as her Mother brings her the pastry box, she smiles and writes something onto the box. “Well hey, there’s gonna be a concert on a boat by the seine tonight. You’ll know it when you see it. It’d be a nice place to make some friends.”
“Oh!” Zoe’s eyes widen as she’s handed the box, and her blush only deepens as the realizes the girl wrote her phone number on the box.
“I can text you the details if you’d like,” The girl smiles. “Just text me, and I’ll be sure to save your number.”
“Yes! I will…do that.” Zoe says, a little flustered. “B-bye!”
“See you tonight,” the girl waves, and Zoe shuffles outside and into the cab, blushing up a storm. She slowly eats one of the croissants, and smiles wide. It tastes especially sweet.
Zoe kicks her legs in the back of the cab like a delighted schoolgirl, and she quickly pulls out her phone to put the number in…only to realize, far too late, that she never asked the girl for her name. Zoe leans back and groans softly.
“Are you okay, miss?” the driver asks.
“Fine!” Zoe says. “I’ll…be fine.” Zoe says and saves the number under ‘Cute Baker Girl’. “I’ll get your name later…” Zoe mutters.
~=~
When Zoe arrives at the Grand Paris Hotel, she decides to give the driver the rest of the pastries, and she walks up to the front door. A butler is standing patiently, waiting for her.
“Welcome to the Grand Paris, Mme. Zoe,” the butler says. “I am Jean Armand, the manager of this hotel and personal butler of the Bourgeios family. If you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to ask.”
“Um…of course,” Zoe nods, still trying to gauge how she should act around this Parisian branch of her family. The stories she’s heard and the things she’s read on the Ladyblog paint a…confusing picture.
“Please, follow me,” Jean Armand leads her into the hotel. He leads her to a room where Zoe’s Mother is lounging.
“Pardon me, Madame,” Jean Armand says, “but your daughter, Mme. Zoe, has arrived.”
“Zoe?” Audrey looks over at Zoe and sneers. “Oh, you look terrible! I’m guessing the flight was horrific.”
Zoe tenses up and thinks quickly to make up a good lie that will satisfy her Mother. “Someone in economy class- uh- smelled like disgusting cologne! And the flight attendants refused to open a window to help air the plane out.” She acts as haughty as possible.
“Your father forgot to provide a private jet for you?” Audrey scoffs. “Too busy for anyone, as usual,” she says, and Zoe tenses up at the slander against her Father. He may not be perfect, but he’s still better than her. “It’s fine that you want to come live with us in Paris, but what exactly was wrong with your boarding school again?”
“I…I found roaches in my locker,” Zoe says, trying to block out the sound of three boys’ mocking laughter from her mind. “Can you believe it?”
“Well, that’s nice, dear,” Audrey says, already losing interest. “Jean Quinton, take her to see her sister,” she waves her hand dismissively.
Jean Armand bows his head and continues to guide Zoe.
“She…got your name wrong. That happens with everyone…” Zoe says softly.
“Not to worry, Mme., I am quite used to Mme. Audrey’s method of communication,” Jean Armand smiles gently. “Now, I believe you have a sister to meet?”
Chloe’s room isn’t quite what Zoe expected. Chloe is grumbling in her room, sitting on her bed next to a ginger girl, finishing up what might be some summer homework.
“Mme. Chloe, your sister has arrived,” Jean Armand says with a smile.
“Oh.” Chloe looks up. “That was today.” She gets up and huffs. Zoe notices that beyond her stylish clothing, Chloe is wearing some kind of hairpin in her hair, featuring a bee. Not just a bee design, but it almost looks like it was designed to be a bee the size of a wasp, three-dimensional, made of stone and crystal, and resting on the pin, like some kind of figurine made into fashion. Chloe struts around Zoe, observing her.
“So, you’re Zoe?” Chloe wonders aloud. “Blonde hair, blue eyes…so far, you’re measuring up to Mother’s standards. You can make an acceptable sister physically, at least. Cellphone!” She holds out her hand expectantly, and Zoe hesitantly hands it over. Chloe looks it over. “Well, you’ll need a new case. I have old ones you can borrow until we can get one made for you. Don’t worry, my designer’s coming by later.” Chloe says and tosses the phone back to Zoe, who catches it quickly. Maybe too quickly…luckily, Chloe didn’t seem to notice. “And I noticed it’s password-protected. Smart move. You never know who might be snooping,” she huffs. “Now, what…is that?” She stares at Zoe’s shoes.
“What’s wrong with my shoes?” Zoe frowns. “You don't like sneakers?”
“I like fashionable colors, not something that looks like a rainbow threw up, exploded, and got set on fire.” Chloe critiques.
“Chloe…” The ginger girl frowns, and Chloe huffs.
“In my opinion,” Chloe sneers after the fact. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you’re just lucky Mother didn’t notice. Come on, I’ll get you some shoes. Looks like we’re the same shoe size anyway.” She says and gets new shoes for Zoe while the other girl watches on. Chloe smiles and takes out some pretty, shiny shoes. “See these? These shoes are light and perfect. Wear them.” She shoves them into Zoe’s hands, and Zoe scrambles to hold them. “In Mother’s eyes, you’ll have to earn your place to be part of this family. But don’t worry!” She smiles. “I’ll be your mentor, and if you prove worthy enough for Mother to call us sisters outright without any half nonsense, you’ll be just fine. What’s mine is yours!” She beams at the ginger, who rolls her eyes with a smile.
“Yes, Chloe, that’s very generous,” the ginger girl chuckles.
“Isn’t it?” Chloe grins. “Now, rule number one: your Father can get you anything and everything you want. Don’t worry, we can share mine, too. DADDY!” Chloe calls out, and Zoe sees the man who must be Mayor Andre rush down the hall and poke his head into the room.
“Yes, Princess?” Andre smiles. “Oh, this must be Zoe! What can I get you girls?”
“As you know, it’s our first day back to school after Summer,” Chloe smiles. “So we need to make a grand entrance! I still need to change into my back-to-school clothes, but we need the limo ready. I want it fully restocked and made a more vibrant color for our first day back to school! Quick, what’s your favorite color?” She turns to Zoe.
“Uh, well-” Zoe stammers a little. She’s about to default to ‘gold’, the natural color a member of this family should love, but…
“Chop, chop! No thinking, just speak!” Chloe snaps her fingers a few times.
“Ah! Pink!” Zoe blurts out and stiffens up. She didn’t mean to say that, but Chloe was so pushy that she just said the truth!
“There. Pink limo!” Chloe orders. “Please, or whatever.”
“Before school? But I…” Andre sighs. “I suppose it is a special occasion, a new member of the family. I’ll see what I can do.” He says and leaves them be.
“Now, rule number two: you need an assistant,” Chloe says. “Did you have one back in New York?”
“Uh- yes, of course!” Zoe scoffs, lying through her teeth. “That girl couldn’t be convinced to follow me, so I left her in New York.”
“Oh, losing your assistant. A fatal mistake, one I know well,” Chloe sighs dramatically. “I lost one assistant and almost lost Sabrina here!”
“Is ‘assistant’ what we’re calling what you and Marinette had now?” Sabrina asks teasingly.
“Hush.” Chloe huggs and hugs Sabrina in a semi-headlock. “You need an assistant, and you can’t go anywhere without them!” She declares, and Sabrina just shrugs at the confused-looking Zoe. “Oh, and don’t confuse an assistant for a patsy, which I’ll teach you about later. An assistant is someone who does everything for you!” She declares, and Sabrina looks up at her. “...fine. Does everything with you.” Chloe huffs, and Sabrina smiles. “Let’s just pack up! I have an outfit to change into.”
~=~
The limo, now a vibrant pink, carries the three girls to Zoe’s new school: the lycee, Francois Dupont. Zoe is nervous, but Chloe continues to talk to her.
“Now, a patsy is there to suffer for your benefit,” Chloe says. “Of course, patsies can…change. I had my eyes on a few new ones, but as a hero, I’ve decided to make Shadowmoth my patsy.” She says with a cocky smile. “You’ll need a humbler aspiration, though.” She says and pulls out her phone. “Let me make sure people won’t freak out or anything…”
~=~
Group Chat: Sidekicks Un-Anonymous
Horse Nerd: So theoretically a kwami detection software for Markov could work in case Ladybird entrusts me with a Miraculous again, but if Shadowmoth akumatizes Markov or I again, it would be in his hands.
Turtle Power: dude, I’m telling ya, it’s a bad idea
Foxy Reporter: all the Miraculous are in one place now! If you find one kwami, you might find ALL of them, and that’s a bad thing
Horse Nerd: I know.
Horse Nerd: I just wish Markov could interact with a kwami, he’s quite curious.
Still the Queen: hey my half-sister’s in Paris and she’s gonna be attending the first day of school with us make sure no one freaks out
Turtle Power: ???
Monkey Man: whu
Foxy Reporter: CHLOE YOU CANT DROP THAT ON US
Still the Queen: just did byeeee
Foxy Reporter: CHLOE