2. Beemused

A cute little blonde haired girl running around a field, laughing on a sunny day. A young woman of similar appearance following her, grinning. "I'm gonna catch you!" "I'm gonna catch you!"

The child, despite her best efforts of weaving and dodging everywhere, is grabbed by the woman, her attempts at evading capture a failure. She doesn't seem to mind though, judging by her non-stop giggling, as the older female spins her around, and around, and around...

"JULIETTE! WHAT ARE DOING WITH THE GIRL?! PUT HER DOWN THIS INSTANT! WE HAVE A FUNCTION THIS EVENING WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF GUINEA! HOW AM I GOING TO MAKE HER PRESENTABLE IF YOU DROP HER, AND SHE BREAKS A LEG?!"

A male voice rings out above the joviality, stopping the pair's antics and instantly causing the sunshine to be clouded over by shades of grey. A figure emerges from the haze: An officious looking man, wearing a posh suit and smelling of expensive aftershave.

"But, Andre..." The woman pleads, putting down the child but still holding onto her hand. "We were only having fun. Can't you see she needs a break from the campaigning? It's the first time we've properly been outside together for weeks, between that and her private tuition..."

"Nonsense, Juliette!" The resolute man bustles forward, roughly snatching the girl from the grip of the older female. "You love coming to parties every day with your Daddy, don't you, sweetheart? As usual, you can pick out any outfit you want. Just smile for the cameras when you see them, and tell those newspaper chaps who your papa is. They eat up that kind of thing..."

"Yes, Daddy..." The little girl mutters, as she's led away from playtime. Her father's touch feels less emotional than her mother's, almost business-like.

"You might even see that nice friend of yours there, the one from the well-off family..." Andre attempted to cheer his daughter up. "Don't try and socialise with anyone else, though. It would be a major scandal if word were to catch on that my little princess was hanging about with the commoners. And don't be too friendly with the hired help, either. They're there to do a job, not be your chums. I know you're a sweet girl who wants to get on with everyone, but their kind are so far beneath you it would be laughable, if it weren't so tragic. Just give them orders, and that's it. Do I make myself clear?"

"...Yes, Daddy." The child repeated her familiar refrain.

"Good girl!" Andre seemed pleased at her affirmation of his rules. "I have big plans for our future, and I wouldn't want you to ruin them by getting involved with the wrong crowd. Your mother just doesn't understand how important this is for us, but I know you do. Now, shall we go inside so you can be prepared? I promise you'll have chance to say goodnight to your Mummy before you fall asleep tonight. Maybe."

"...Yes, Daddy."

And, as the child was brusquely led away by her father, she could only stare back at the disconsolate, fading form of her mother. The older woman's arms were outstretched while calling her name futilely, a single tear running down her cheek.

The little girl desperately wanted to go back. To hug her mama again. To kiss her. To feel her delicate fingers on her brow...

Hold on...

Those fingers were hairy...

...

Chloe Burgeois burst awake with a start, gasping for air. All hopes of thoughts of what had transpired in her room that day being a terrible, terrible dream were quickly extinguished out by the grotesque image of the giant talking bee hovering above her, with one of it's arms stroking her forehead.

"Oh, you're up." It said, uninterestingly. "Shame. You look so peaceful when you're asleep, like a sweet girl. Of course, as soon as you open your mouth, that illusion is shattered. It's hard to tell though, through all those layers of make up..."

Chloe was so taken aback by the effrontery of this... Thing, she wasn't sure whether to scream out loud for help, or shout obscenities at it. It had trespassed into her private quarters, made her faint, insulted her appearance...

And... was that her fruit smoothie it was holding in it's other arm?!

"Oh, that." Zzubo met her gaze, as it turned to the almost finished beverage. "Your servant left it at your front door when you didn't answer his call, so I took the liberty of finishing it for you. Generally, I prefer nougat to eat, but when I'm thirsty, I'll have pretty much anything."

Chloe's shock and awe at what was happening ebbed a little on hearing this, and she couldn't stop herself from asking "A bee... That eats nougat?"

"Yep. It's my favourite food. It helps revive me when I'm low on strength. And I'm not a 'bee', I'm a kwami. Although I suppose, it's an easy mistake to make..." Zzubo hummed in thought. "Anyway, all that will be explained to you in time. We have a lot to talk about..."

"The only thing we have 'to talk about' is whether you'd prefer to be squashed or sprayed, Ms Talking Bug!" Chloe Burgeois got up from where she lay, and began to march towards her bedroom door to summon help. She was not going to be ordered about by a giant insect in her own hotel.

"Oh no, you don't!" Usually a peaceful creature, all it took was for the spoiled brat in front of Zzubo to call her a 'bug', and it bought out her worst side.

Chloe's vision was suddenly obscured by a mixture of yellow and black, as the Miraculous creature flew directly in front of her. Guiding the teenager back to the bed, the heiress could only listen with a slack jaw as Zzubo began to lay out a few ground rules.

"Number one: I'm not going anywhere, as tempting as it is. Number two: You are to refer to me as Zzubo. Not a bug. Not a bee. Zzubo. Number three: You are going to listen to everything I have to say tonight. My Master has sacrificed too much, and there's too much at stake, for your petty whining to be of any consequence. Your fashion parade is going to have to wait. Number four: Seeing as how you can apparently order anything and it arrives here in a flash, I'll have a bag full of nougat, please. Though I dare say, looking at the decor of this room, if I wanted caviar bought up, that wouldn't be a problem either..."

Chloe heard this growing list of demands with increasing incredulity. What a pushy bug! Who does she think she is?! The teenager thought, while still looking for an opportunity to escape. She thought she'd spotted one, when Zzubo turned her back for a moment...

Only for the chance to be quickly snuffed out, as the bee-like creature flew quickly to her side, forcing her once again to retreat to the relative comfort of her bed. She couldn't see a stinger on the insect, but that didn't mean she was going to take any risks.

"...Five." Zzubo added, with growing impatience. "We're going to have a chat about improving your behaviour. Like it or not, you will have great responsibility as a superhero, and continuing along your current path isn't an option..."

"SUPERHERO?!" All of a sudden, Chloe was all ears, remembering the final word the bee thing had said before she'd slipped into unconsciousness. "You mean, like Ladybug and Cat Noir?!"

"Yes, though it pains me to say it..." Zzubo made a mental note to hold onto her Miraculous item for now, until the brat in front of her truly deserved to use it. "Now, what lays ahead won't be easy for either of us, and it might take a while to adjust. But I am positive, that with the passage of time, and lots of hard work along the way ..."

But Chloe wasn't listening, and was currently in the middle of bouncing off the walls of her plush room with pure elation. "I'M GONNA BE A SUPERHERO! I'M GONNA BE A SUPERHERO! I'M GONNA MEET LADYBUG AGAIN! SHE'LL DITCH THAT LOSER CAT NOIR, AND SHE'LL HAVE THE HONOUR OF BEING MY NEW SIDEKICK! THEN, WE CAN SAVE PARIS... NO, THE WORLD TOGETHER. MWHAHAHAHAHA!" She was even willing to put up with that creepy giant insect for a bit, in exchange for the limitless power and glory her future life promised.

Zzubo shook her head in bewilderment. Her new holder was sounding more like Hawk Moth than her idol Ladybug. This was gonna take longer than she thought.

Much longer.