Chapter 1: Origins: Say Cheese
Chapter Text
Doo bee doo bee doo wah
Doo bee doo bee doo wah
Agent P!
It was a call in the middle of the night, which was out of the ordinary for Perry. Sure Dr. Doofenshmirtz had his nighttime epiphanies, but they had scheduled bowling the next day, so Perry had expected he’d be sleeping at a timely schedule. No, this was something different, something bigger.
He got into the secret entrance, in the picture frame above the sofa, sucked into the tube.
Major Monogram cleared his throat. “Ah, Agent P. I’m glad to see you-”
Perry clacked in annoyance.
“Yes, I know that you had no choice in the matter, despite it being… very late. Regardless, we have a problem: The butterfly miraculous has re-emerged.” Major Monogram explained. “Carl and I had an uhm… incident a year back, when I was training him as a miraculous guardian.”
~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~
“Is the place sir?” Carl asked, looking around this random alleyway. “It seems kind of shady, like anyone can find the miraculous.”
Major Monogram huffed. “Quiet Carl. I should have been training Monty, but I guess you’re a decent second choice.” He said, pressing the bricks in a specific order to open the wall. “Now this is really important, you have to realize this, nothing can happen to this box.”
Carl stood at attention. “Yes sir!” he said with a salute… and forgot he was being handed the box… “What?! Woah?!” he exclaimed, fumbling with the box, the miraculous flinging out of the drawers and falling everywhere.
“The miraculouses!” The pair exclaimed, quickly picking the jewelry up from the ground. They returned them to their proper place.
But what they hadn’t seen, at the time, was a little butterfly broach, sitting in the drain, ready to be washed down further by the next rainfall.
~~~~~Flashback End~~~~~
“So yes, Carl is one hundred percent to blame for this utter travesty.” Major Monogram said, shaking his head.
“Hey!
“So, now, as you know, Miraculouses can only be wielded by humans. It's time to assemble a new age of heroes. Perry, I’m entrusting you to select the new Black Cat.” Major Monogram said. “I have also selected another agent at random to give the Ladybug Miraculous to.”
Perry took the ring from the console that was left there.
He struggled with the decision at hand. Candace had already left for college, so she was out of the question, at least, that’s what Perry told himself.
He went back to his bed, hearing Phineas yawn, “Oh, there you are Perry.” With a small smile, then looked back at his phone.
And honestly, that’s all Perry needed to hear, for Perry to slide a certain ring into Phineas’s backpack- particularly in the pencil pouch, because everyone knew that was the first thing that he would look for at the day’s beginnings.
[JEET!]
Even though we've had multiple “first day of school!” It still gives me goosebumps.
[FireScoutQueen]
I think that’s nervousness mixed with excitement!
I know I'm ready!
But a tiny bit worried.
[BullyBuff]
@ BritSquared Freb, @NotADorito Phineas, hold off on the mumbo jumbo.
I don't need a headache from a lesson I didn't ask for.
Summer time isn't school time
It's 104 days, not 103!
[BritSquared]
I was not going to say anything complex.
Although technically there is summer school.
[NotADorito]
Anyway, what classes are you guys taking?
Here is my schedule.
[NotADorito] shared an image.
[BritSquared] shared an image.
[FireScoutQueen] shared an image.
[BullyBuff] shared an image.
[JEET!] shared an image.
[BullyBuff]
Ah, heck yeah! We're all in Français.
If you don't know what that means, shame on you.
[JEET!]
Oh, great, I get to have another year with Buford in PE.
[BullyBuff]
@JEET Hey! I'm a delight to be around! Your favorite friendly neighborhood bully! We've been together for years, over the school years and summers.
[FireScoutQueen]
That doesn't sound “romantic” at all.
[BritSquared]
Buford and Baljeet simply have a platonic relationship. It's not conventional, but fitting for their dynamic.
[BullyBuff]
@FireScoutQueen I don’t have a crush!!! Isabella, what is wrong with you?! Have you been reading too many cringe books? You’re the second worst book worm, almost at the loser’s level. @JEET I'm talking about you, nerd.
[JEET!]
Thank you, Freb! I’m so happy that I share Advanced placement courses with you.
Not to say I don’t want to be in the same classes as you Phineas and Isabella.
@BullyBuff I want a break from your unique form of “affection.”
[BullyBuff]
@JEET Oh, so you value getting out of PE more than our bound?!
[JEET!]
That’s 98.2016% of my reasoning. Rounding to 8%, I might be joining the Junior Reserve Officer Training Course (JROTC) to avoid a week of PE.
@FireScoutQueen I'm surprised you didn’t sign up for that leadership program. You don't have to enlist after highschool into the military. I'm certainly not!
[NotADorito]
Isabella would easily excel in JROTC with her experience as a Fire Scout Girl!
[FireScoutQueen]
Aww thank you, Phineas! But since it wouldn't be a challenge, I didn't sign up. My fluency in Spanish and familiarity with American Sign language is why I didn't pick them. Since I couldn't improve my Hebrew at school, I chose French.
[BullyBuff]
You don’t need to rub it in, Isabella.
[JEET!]
I don't recommend taking the tests to prove you don't need the credits. Apparently you need to have “proper Grammar” and I use too much “slang.” I’m still salty and have some self-respect.
[BullyBuff]
Ha! Baljeet, you're not as smart as you thought! You’re still a nerd and have 0 “self-respect!” If you did, you’d be “popular” and nearly cool enough.
[NotADorito]
You nearly lost your mind in middle school, Baljeet.
[BritSquared]
There is a 0.018% chance you may have some anxiety, Baljeet. However, since I don’t plan to pursue a career in psychology, my guess could be false. I’d need to conduct theoretical background research before attempting to form a potential hypothesis.
[BuffBully]
Andddd, you lost me. I’m done with you nerds. Night.
[BullyBuff] is offline.
[JEET]
Huh… that was new.
Well, good night, everyone.
[JEET] is offline.
[FireScoutQueen]
Good night, everyone! I'll see you at lunch, Buford.
[FireScoutQueen] is offline.
[NotADorito]
See you all tomorrow! Night, Isabelle, Baljeet, Buford.
[NotADorito] is offline.
[BritSquared]
Farewell.
[BritSquared] is offline.
Phineas was so excited for the school day, that he arose rather early- actually before the sun came up. He went to take out his current sketchbook- there were piles of older ones around his room, and as he went for his backpack, a box fell out.
“What is this?” Phineas mumbled, opening up the box to see a spark of light, and something darting away so fast that Phineas missed it, too focused on the ring that was in the box.
“It’s a miraculous.” A voice said behind him.
“Oh, what’s th-” Phineas was about to say, when he jumped away, realizing that he did not know that voice. “AH!”
Ferb turned in his sleep, pulling his pillow over his ears. Ferb would be very unhelpful in the event of a burglary…
But Phineas did see a little… bug? Animal??? Whatever it was, it was flying up to him. “What are you?” Phineas asked, reaching out to touch it, wondering if it was real.
“I’m a kwami.” The kwami said, and started to look around. “But my name’s Plagg- ooo, human tech has gotten so much more advanced last I checked. Can I eat this?” Plagg asked, trying to bite onto a piece of scrap metal.
“Hey- that’s my inventing pile!” Phineas said, trying to chase after this “kwami”.
Plagg started to try and bite a couple of other things. “Well, can I eat this?” He asked again, this time about something else. He flew in front of Ferb and tried to eat his hair.
Ferb scrunched his face, rubbing his eyes, finally getting up, to see what the commotion was all about. He looked over at Phineas, as if to ask what in the bloody hell was going on.
“I have just as much of an idea as you, Ferb.” Phineas said.
“Okay, recap, plus added info, I’m a kwami, that ring over there is a miraculous, and you were chosen, to use it, to be a kind of a superhero. Your miraculous is the black cat one and you have the power of destruction. You and the ladybug miraculous holder have to stop the Moth miraculous holder, who can choose minions to try and cause chaos.” Plagg said.
Phineas smiled, “Okay. I mean I was already The Beak back when I was a kid, what’s one more awesome superhero adventure?” He asked excitedly. “How do I transform?”
“I mean, you have to wait for an akuma, but to get into costume, you say ‘Claws out’ and then ‘Claws in’ to change back.” Plagg explained. “I can’t eat any of this can I?”
Phineas shook his head. “I don’t think so… But what do kwami’s eat?”
Plagg got excited. “Cheese! Specifically Camembert.”
“Nothing else?” Phineas asked, wondering how he was going to get all that cheese. Maybe if he took the components of its original milk… “Hold on, I have an idea-” He said, going to his desk to research.
“What about school?” Ferb asked, using a few of his usual word count that day. Ferb didn’t often speak, but when he did it was important.
Phineas waved his hand dismissively as he started to sketch out his plan. “I’ll be on time, I promise. After all, this little guy has to eat.” He pointed out, slipping on the miraculous ring, before he could forget.
Plagg chuckled. “I like this kid.” He said, flying over Phineas’s shoulder.
They were kind of on time, depending on who you asked. Phineas raced to the bus stop, with Ferb at his side. They managed to slide in front of the opening door of the bus, just at the right moment.
“Cutting it close pointy?” Buford huffed, eyeing Phineas and Ferb.
“Sorry, there was inventing to do!” Phineas explained, taking a seat next to Ferb on the bus.
Isabella was next to come into the bus. “Sorry, Pinky threw up in my room, so I had to clean it up.” she said with a sigh.
Phineas looked over at Isabella. “Oh no, is he okay?” He asked with concern.
“I think so, he probably just ate something he wasn’t supposed to.” Isabella explained with a shrug. “I’m just glad I was able to catch the bus.”
“Yes, because then you can sit across the aisle from-” Baljeet was about to tease, when he could see dagger eyes from Isabella. “Never mind.”
Phineas was a bit confused but decided to not think too deeply into it. He was almost always confused with little comments from or about Isabella, and he had decided long ago that it wasn’t like a machine you could pick apart and reverse engineer… it was a different kind of complicated that probably had to do with the mystery that was girls.
“Anyways, I was late because I was trying to figure out how to make an instant cheese machine out of the school cafeteria milk.” Phineas explained, carefully leaving out the kwami part. “Particularly camembert, because it's rare, and expensive.”
“Why were you thinking about cheese so early in the morning?” Isabella asked, a bit confused.
“I don’t know, some of the more refined cheeses have a certain je ne sais quoi, perfect for most hours of the day.” Buford said, as everyone stared at him. “Next person to comment on that gets a knuckle sandwich.” He huffed. Everyone in the group knew that Buford was really into French culture, so they decided to just let the moment pass.
“Anyways.” Phineas said. “I decided to write up the plans, and make it a small gadget… all the big ones tend to disappear for some unknown reason… I think Candace even calls it ‘the invisible force’ or something like that.” He said, and showed everyone the machine blueprints.
“Ah, reusing the time machine parts for the aging process, smart move.” Isabella said.
Phineas blushed. “Thanks, I try to repurpose old inventions… when there are scraps to use. I even made a dial for different types of cheese.” He loved when Isabella commented positively on his inventions. He didn’t make machines to get girls but… this was nice.
Ferb looked at him with an amused expression, and Phineas gently kicked him in their seats, basically to say ‘buzz off’.
They all went to their respective classes. The first one of the day was french, with Buford (as the only class he liked), Isabella, Phineas, Ferb, and Baljeet. They had all wanted to take this class together, but they found themselves bored, because they had already read the material, and the class was just slow in general.
[FireScoutQueen]
I thought there would be some enjoyment out of learning the basics.
I mean, learning Spanish and Hebrew wasn't this dull.
[BullyBuff]
Man, I was actually excited for this one!
I thought I would get some enjoyment out of school, for once.
Outside of messing with Baljeet.
[JEET!]
Rude.
I think we can teach ourselves with the textbook.
Class will just check to see if we are correct. To make sure we are using the “proper” version of the language.
[FireScoutQueen]
@JEET Bajeet, chill.
[BritSquared]
Fortunately, I retained some knowledge of French from my time in England.
Reading the textbook has refreshed my memory, so I won't have to pay as much attention until upper levels.
[BullyBuff]
@BritSquared You mean I can sleep through this class?!
If I start failing, you’re my tutor.
You can’t say no, Ferb.
[FireScoutQueen]
So @NotADorito, @BritSquared, are you going to work on the cheese invention during lunch?
[BritSquared]
How else are we going to gather the cafeteria milk, experiment, and refine?
The milk will be less optimal the longer it remains unrefrigerated.
Unfortunately, Phineas and I neglected to bring something to keep the beverage cool.
[NotADorito]
I don't think I'll be able to wait until we get home to start building it!
[BullyBuff]
Oh no… is he gonna crack?
[NotADorito]
I don’t crack!!!
[BritSquared]
Uh huh
[JEET!]
Sure
[FireScoutQueen]
You keep telling yourself that
[BullyBuff]
I rest my case
The class went… dully to say the least. French was a bore, mathematics was mildly less so, at least when Phineas was drawing invention plans in the columns of his math notebook. It was hard to like math that was taught in schools, when him and Ferb were pushing the boundaries of math since they were ten. Matrixes were the least of their worries when they had made their own matrix style game, and proved that they were not, in fact, living in a simulation.
But lunch soon came, and everyone was abuzz with excitement over what would be Phineas and Ferb’s newest invention. Irving especially.
Phineas was used to people having great interest in his inventions, but Irving especially. He called himself a “Phineas and Ferb super fan”, which was… interesting??? Phineas would typically try to be nice, but there was only so much he could take.
Especially when he was trying to reign in a kwami that was very curious.
“Plagg?!” Phineas yell-whispered, as he was looking through his locker where he had left him. He was worried he had lost Plagg.
“I’m here. Are you finished with the cheese machine? I’m starving!” Plagg complained.
“Oh hey Phineas! I wanted to take some more pictures- for my scrapbook of course!” Irving explained. Phineas was pretty sure that Irving had dozens of scrapbooks dated back years and years, cataloging his and Ferb’s adventures.
Phineas quickly stepped in front of his locker, trying to hide it from view. “Oh hey, ah this isn’t exactly a good time. Can we wait til we get to the cafeteria?”
Irving shook his head. “No can do. I’m applying to be apart of the school yearbook during lunch, so I wanted to quickly get in today’s adventure so I don’t miss it.”
“Hey, hey Phineas.” Plagg whispered to Phineas. “Where’s the cheese? You said there would be cheese.”
“So what do you say? Just say cheese.” Irving said, holding up his camera.
“Cheese?!” Plagg exclaimed, trying to fly out of the locker.
“NO!” Phineas exclaimed, reaching out to block Plagg and put him in his locker. “No. Not right now Irving. This is a bad time. Please, just go.”
Phineas quickly ran off, so he could make that gosh darn cheese.
Irving was left there, holding his camera, shocked. Phineas had always been his hero. He couldn’t believe he acted that way.
“It's always disappointing when someone you look up to fails you, when all you want is to capture their image.” A voice said in Irving’s mind. “I am Mythos, and I give you the power of capturing people’s image. I shall call you Pixelator.”
Phineas was just about to head to the cafeteria, when he heard screaming from the hallway. A beam blasted forward, and hit someone, and then a polaroid photo fluttered to the ground where the student had been.
“Phineas! Come out, come out wherever you are! I have a special photo to take for today’s yearbook.” Irving said maliciously, all decked out in the most ridiculous spandex outfit.
“Oh yeah, that’s definitely an akuma.” Plagg said. “You gotta transform… ugh, I guess that means cheese comes later.” He groaned.
Phineas sighed. “Hold on, I’m going to hide… and text Ferb to cover for me.” He said, ducking into an empty locker to text his brother.
[NotADorito]
Ferb, I need a distraction and a cover-up.
There is a villian attacking, right now, at the lockers.
I'm currently hiding nearby.
[BritSquared]
I'm on my way. I'll just need to follow the screams and fleeing students.
As a warning, for a distraction, I may need to break about and reuse our machine.
[NotADorito]
Anything but that!
We need that invention to keep Plagg calm and not get caught!
Irving nearly spotted Plagg!
[BritSquared]
I'll improvise then.
What do you know about the Akuma?
[NotADorito]
Not much.
Their abilities are focused on photography with a lazerbeam shooting out at people to turn them into photos.
[BritSquared]
Understood.
Phineas shoved his phone into his pocket, momentarily wondering where his phone would go when he transformed. He would have to guess there was some sort of interdimensional force that stored his belongings…
“Plagg, claws out.” He whispered, and sparkles shimmered over his body and clothes, till he was in a tight black suit. “Woah, this actually is pretty sick.” He said, and got outside of the locker.
He skidded over the school’s laminate floors, looking for the chaos in the akuma’s wake.
Phineas was running, and as he turned a corner, he slid into another person who was running.
“Oh man- I’m sorry… are you another superhero?” He asked, noticing the spotted red and black design on a full body jumpsuit, paired with a mask, and a little fanny pack.
“Yes actually, I’m trying to catch the akuma.” The female (assumably) superhero said. “Who are you?”
“Ph-irst, who are you?” Phineas said, almost saying his real name.
The spotted teen frowned. “You can call me Mariquita. Now hurry up and introduce yourself before the villain causes more chaos.”
“Mariquita… that’s like Ladybug in Spanish? Well, I guess I can go by Taboo, since I’m a black cat and all.” The newly dubbed Taboo said.
Mariquita sighed. “Wow, you really over-thought that, didn’t you?”
Taboo shrugged. “It's a gift.”
“Alright, I’m going to try and tie him up with my yoyo, so be on the lookout for where the akuma might be.” Mariquita said and started to run to look where Irving might be.
“Akuma? I thought that was what we called the villains.” Taboo asked, a bit confused.
Mariquita gave Taboo a dubious look. “What exactly did your Kwami tell you?”
“Not much. All he wanted was to see if he could eat things, and-” Taboo paused. He decided not to say anything about the cheese, because that would be a dead giveaway with his invention. Superheroes had secret identities for a reason, right? He knew that when he was the Beak. “And he barely told me anything.”
“Alright. Well, each villain has a special object that when you break it, releases their powers in the form of a butterfly. I can de-evilize it, and then our job is finished. Try and distract the villain, and I’ll do my best to find the object.” Mariquita said, and dashed off.
Taboo followed after, and saw Irving blasting some more students. “Hey Irving! Heard you want a picture! That’s how you get snapshot!” He said, dodging the beams of light sent in his general direction.
He looked over at Mariquita. She looked… annoyed? But wow did she look good in that suit… Was that objectifying?
Mariquita had an impressive aim, grabbing Irving's wrist that had the camera, and tugging it. Unfortunately, somehow, Irving had more strength than he initially looked like he had, and pulled her along, making her crash into Taboo.
“Okay, this isn’t going to work…” Mariquita said. “Lucky charm!”
“What’s cereal have to do with-” Taboo was about to say, when that glittery magic happened again.
What popped up out of the blue was a beekeeper suit.
The pair of super heroes looked at the suit.
“What’s that?” Taboo asked, looking over at the protective gear.
Mariquita looked around. Taboo had no idea what she was doing, but it looked analytical.
“Taboo, I need you to distract him. This is going to get ugly.” Mariquita said, and she put on the suit. “Irving is allergic to bees right?”
Taboo looked wide eyed. “But that would kill him!”
Mariquita took a shaky breath in. “My powers will be able to bring him back… hopefully. I don’t want to do this, but we can’t let him run loose.”
“Okay… I’m not down with murder, but if he really can come back, I guess we have no choice.” Taboo said, and went over to The Pixelator. “Hey camera boy! I’m here to make you snap!” he said, and did a flip over Irving.
Mariquita rolled her eyes. “Show off.” She muttered, and got into the suit. She went to the beehive that was at a nearby tree, and grabbed it. The bees were irate, but luckily the suit was sturdy and didn’t hurt her.
She hurled the beehive at The Pixelator.
“Oh cheese! No! No! I’m getting a reaction!” Irving exclaimed, and started to fall to the ground.
Mariquita walked up and grabbed the camera, breaking it. “Time to de-evilize you akuma! Bye bye little butterfly!”
The magic glittered into view again, and Irving was laying on the ground, not stung anymore. He started to get up. “Huh? What happened?”
“It's… a long story.” Mariquita said. Her earrings started to beep. “Well, I guess that’s it for us.” She said. “Good job distracting… partner.”
Taboo looked at Mariquita with shining, love-sick eyes. “Yeah. My name’s really-”
Mariquita put her hand up. “No. We have to keep our identities a secret. It's the best for the both of us.”
“Are you sure? I mean not to brag, but I have some experience-” He noticed Mariquita’s unimpressed face. “Okay, never mind. Secret identities it is.”
Phineas left, making sure that he wasn’t spotted transforming back. Was this his life now. He sighed as Plagg rested on his shoulder.
“Oh no. I know that look.” Plagg said, rolling his eyes. “We’re in for at least a couple seasons of love squares.”
“What?”
“Nevermind.”
Chapter 2: Watcha Got There?
Chapter by Lotorsass
Summary:
A failed date, meets a new crush, meets a frustrated Mariquita.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
[JEET!]
Thank you everyone- yes, even you Buford, for helping me plan out my date with Ginger.
Even though I only asked for Isabella's help.
[BullyBuff]
Hey! You’re a loser nerd that needs all the help he can get.
Besides, the more work you put into this, the more joy I'll get if this fails.
@NotADorito @BritSquared What are the chances of him succeeding or failing?
[NotADorito]
The more advice we give Baljeet, the higher the odds are of success!
It can’t be any harder than talking to any of us, right? I mean, I guess there’s a little difference, but you talk to Isabella all the time, so just pretend like you’re talking to her.
[FireScoutQueen]
Phineas… You sweet summer child. Romantic relationships are a lot like friendships, but you can’t treat a girlfriend just like you would a friend. You have to go the extra mile and prove to them that you’re their one and only. Gifts are a good start, something simple like flowers? And you should call back old conversations you’ve both had, to let her know you’ve been listening when you two are together.
[BritSquared]
All our efforts may be in vain if Bajeet has his mind and part of his heart focused on someone else.
[JEET!]
Ferb, what are you talking about?
I'm going on a date with Ginger.
I have feelings for Ginger.
Why would I see someone else?
[BritSquared]
Why are you still texting Mishti then?
[JEET!]
SHE IS JUST A FRIEND!!!
What, am I not allowed to keep in contact with friends?
Mishti is a childhood friend, like everyone in this chat is.
[FireScoutQueen]
Excuse me? Just a Friend? A childhood friend?
IT'S MISHTI!
Bajeet, are you crazy?!
Have you been in frequent communication with Mishti since that cruise?!
That was years ago!!! Years!!!
[BullyBuff]
Ooo Drama~ But not the good kind.
[JEET!]
We live in different countries and on other sides of the world!!!
I don't have the luxury to talk to Mishti like you guys.
Are you aware of timezones?
[FireScoutQueen]
Look, I understand that Mishti is a friend, but Ginger’s not going to see it that way, just saying.
[JEET!]
I'll just explain it to Ginger, then.
Sorry, but I have to go.
Bye.
[FireScoutQueen]
Bajeet, wait!
[JEET] is offline.
[BullyBuff]
How much do you want to bet the date will go horribly wrong?
[BritSquared]
Please, Bufford, we all know the high probability Bajeet will ruin his date by bringing up Mishti.
Or, rounding the percentages up, we have a 100% of things going south, whether or not the date went well.
[NotADorito]
Then Bajeet just doesn’t bring up Mishti to ensure a chance of success!
[FireScoutQueen]
Phineas, Mishti cannot be ignored forever!
[FireScoutQueen] is typing.
[NotADorito]
Uh, Isabella? What are you doing?
[BullyBuff]
You done goofed, Phineas!
Aw man, I can't wait to read this.
[BritSquared]
@FireScoutQueen Isabella, Phineas was referring to this single date, not the course of the relationship.
[NotADorito]
Exactly what Ferb just said.
[FireScoutQueen] is offline.
[BullyBuff]
And~, you broke her.
Good job Phineas.
[NotADorito]
Maybe Isabella's phone just died.
[BritSquared]
Excuse us, Buford.
[BritSquared] is offline.
[NotADorito] is offline.
[BullyBuff]
Holy smokes, this is going to be an amazing drama!
~~~~~~~
Ah nature. It's a beautiful thing.
Boy falls for girl, girl reciprocates, and the very human life cycle moves on.
Baljeet could respect the scientific side of things, courting a “mate”, doing everything “right”.
But all in all, he was rather… dense.
“Wow, this butterfly enclosure truly highlights the biodiversity of the tristate area.” Baljeet said, looking around at the butterflies that flew around. He had been advised by Ferb to choose this place, and honestly, that british rizz was on point.
Ginger chuckled. “You’re such a dork… but it's cute.” she said, putting a hand on Baljeet’s.
Baljeet blushed, leaning in. Wait- didn’t Buford say not to lean in? To seem strong or something like that? He sucked in a breath of air, trying to straighten his posture.
Then he felt his phone buzz. Okay, he was on a date, maybe he should ignore it. He flicked his wrist, to check on his phone-connected watch to see who it might be.
Mishti.
“Are you okay babe?” Ginger asked, starting to see Baljeet’s attention was elsewhere.
“Uhm, yes, I just have a text from a friend that I need to answer.” Baljeet said, and pulled out his phone.
Ginger peered over Baljeet’s shoulder. Her eyes widened. “Mishti!? You can’t be seriously interrupting our date to talk to that sl-”
“Hey!” Baljeet said. “I do not appreciate that framing of Mishti! She is a kind person, and I enjoy her company!”
“Well then. I guess you’ve made your choice.” Ginger said, running off to the other side of the butterfly enclosure, crying as her feet naturally took her away.
“Ah yes, I sense negative emotion.” A disembodied voice whispered into Ginger’s mind. “It can be so hard, keeping the attention of someone you love. I know your pain.”
“You do?” Ginger asked. The voice in her head responded, “Of course. His attention always turns away when she appears. The one who comes just to get between you and the one you love. Even the littlest hints about her starts a spiel.”
“Exactly! Baljeet’s always about Mishti this, Mishti that! I'm his girlfriend! Shouldn't that mean he thinks about me and the only woman he cares about! But, no! Of course not! It's always about Mishti,” Ginger felt relieved that she wasn't just crazy. “He sees her as a saint! Baljeet can't see past; she's just a friend. But I guess her company is so much better than mine! Seriously, Baljeet values words over a phone more than someone who is right next to him.”
Ginger started to walk to the exit door. “Why don't you change that?” The voice offered. Ginger stopped walking.
“I am Mythos, and I give you the power to always have Baljeet's attention on you. He won't ever make you feel unloved again. You will never have to worry about this Mishti again. What do you say, Princess Charming? Can I help a lovely lady in her time of need?”
“Of course.”
A purple butterfly fluttered into a bracelet, the one that she and Baljeet had exchanged as sort of a couple’s goal. Ginger’s outfit shifted into that of a sort of a Cinderella’s ballgown, with its bluish hues.
-----
“Hey! Quit poking at me kid!” Plagg huffed, hiding behind Ferb.
Phineas sighed, laying his equipment on the desk. “Sorry, I mean, I’m not a big believer in magic, but if there is, then we should be able to figure out how it works.” He explained. “Please? Just a little scan? I’ll give you some more cheese.”
Plagg’s eyes narrowed. “I am an interdimensional being of chaos and destruction. I can’t be bribed that easily… On the off chance that maaaybe I could, what kind of cheese we talkin’ ‘bout here?”
“Camembert, aged 5 years.” Phineas explained trying to hold back his excitement.
“I’ll… consider your offer. For now- isn’t that another akuma over there?” Plagg asked, looking out the window.
Phineas looked in that direction, and saw a purple butterfly flying on its way to do who knows what. “You are definitely right about that- Plagg claws out!” He exclaimed, and got into his suit.
Ferb snorted, making Phineas cock his head to the side. “What?” The superhero asked.
“You magical girl transformed.” Ferb said very succinctly.
“Oh come off it! I have superhero stuff to do!” Taboo huffed, and left the bedroom window to go find out where the akuma had gone off to.
When Taboo had thought he had almost caught up to the akuma, he had realized that he had in fact, not gotten there in time. The little weasel had flown through the glass of a butterfly enclosure, and soon enough it had been lost amongst the other, perfectly normal butterflies.
“Just my luck…” Taboo muttered when he realized that there was no way that he could catch the akuma in these circumstances. He used his staff to try and get a hold of Mariquita.
He looked over at- oh no. Ginger?! Isabella had been right about the whole Mishti thing blowing up in everyone’s faces, Taboo supposed, but no one could have predicted it would be this bad.
Taboo saw a mask insignia form on Ginger’s face, then she sorta looked like she was cosplaying as Cinderella??? “This is going to be a royal pain.” Taboo said, unable to stop himself from cracking a joke.
“I am Princess Charming! Hand over your miraculous before someone gets hurt!” Ginger, who was now akumatized, proclaimed.
“Ginger! I’m very very sorry! Please don-” Baljeet tried to say, before her bracelet charm launched from her wrist, somehow creating a new, bigger bracelet that tied Baljeet to the tree behind him. Baljeet shrieked, and tried to wiggle free to no avail.
Taboo had dodged out of the way, trying to get a read on the situation. He was extremely relieved when he saw Mariquita swing her way onto the scene.
“Okay, what’s the damage?” Mariquita asked, as she landed almost effortlessly onto the ground.
“Hello my lady.” Taboo said, bowing to Mariquita, apparently just nearly ducking a charm attack on accident. “Oh wow, that was the exact opposite of Taboo. I looked so cool didn’t I?”
Mariquita looked unimpressed. “Uh huh.” she said, and scanned the area, seeing the akuma. “Ginger! Fight the akuma! It’s not worth it!”
“The only thing I’ll be fighting is you!” Princess Charming exclaimed, shooting some charms from her bracelet to capture the heroes.
Taboo swung his shoulder back, narrowly avoiding a charm. “I could rig a trap maybe.” He said getting lost in his head. “All I need is some sort of titanium reinforced rope, a tool box, and-
Mariqiuta lassoed her yo-yo and pulled Taboo out of the way from another attempt at capture from the akuma. “Are you always this scatter brained?” She said dryly.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Taboo snorted.
“Well, the point is we don’t have time to set a trap that complicated at the moment.” Mariquita said, looking around, analyzing the terrain. “I think this is going to take a lucky charm.”
Taboo sighed. How was he ever going to prove himself as a superhero now? It was so much easier when he was the Beak, for some reason.
The frustrated feline watched as the lucky charm appeared, and… a knife?!?!?
“I thought this was a kid’s show?!?!” Taboo exclaimed.
“Well, actually, it's a fanfiction.” Baljeet corrected. Even in captivity, he was a know-it-all.
Mariquita looked at Baljeet, and a look of recognition appeared on her face. She dashed forward, and slashed open the restraints.
Taboo blinked. “So it's that easy.” He muttered.
“NOOOO! MY LOVE!!” Princess Charming exclaimed, dashing over to try and capture Baljeet again.
As she ran, Mariquita grabbed Princess Charming’s wrist, and in a fluid motion, Princess Charming was flipped over.
Taboo was staring. It was like it was all happening in slow motion, Princess Charming flying up, and Mariquita having this determined face. So… determined. Phineas- yes, phineas, not necessarily Taboo, could feel his cheeks heating up. It was like a choir was singing behind her, this capable, no nonsense girl was everything Phineas could hope for in a girl.
Love at first assault. Yes, that made sense.
“Taboo? Taboo!” Mariquita exclaimed, as he realized that there were charms all over the floor, and Mariquita, stomping on as many charms as she could.
Step on me. He thought unhelpfully.
Oh wait, the akuma.
Taboo started to try and break all the other charms, and eventually he saw a purple butterfly flying.
“Mariquita! I found it!” Taboo exclaimed.
And then once Mariquita caught it, Ginger started to speak.
“Huh? What happened?” Ginger said, and the super heroes’ attention was pulled away.
“You were upset at Baljeet, and got akumatized.” Mariquita said.
Ginger blushed. “Oh no, I’m so embarrassed- Is Baljeet okay?” She asked.
“Apart from some minor rope burns, essentially yes.” Baljeet said. “I am so sorry I made you feel unappreciated. How about we go on a different date, where I pay more attention to you?”
“Awwwwwe! Thank you!” Ginger said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[BritSquared]
How did everything go?
I assume it went decently.
[NotADorito]
It went fine.
Why do you ask?
[BritSquared]
Because all of our recent invention plans have scribbled hearts on them.
You've replaced the small marks in your lowercase i-s with hearts.
[BritSquared]
Photo Sent
[NotADorito]
Psh, nah, I’ve just- I was going to type a response, but you’ve got me with that one.
It’s just… Mariquita- with her long raven hair, her amazing leadership qualities, and it's obvious that she’s tough as nails- what else could I possibly want in a partner?
[BritSquared]
Romantic reciprocation
[NotADorito]
Ouch.
[BritSquared]
Are you sure about this?
Mariquita is a superhero.
There is the secret identity to consider.
Relationships are built on trust, and a secret identity is a non-negotiable boundary that may destroy it.
Perhaps you should focus on someone that you already know.
Perhaps someone like- Isabella?
[NotADorito]
Isabella is just a friend.
Anyways, I'm gonna head to sleep.
This superhero talk got me tired.
Night, Ferb
[NotADorito] is offline.
[BritSquared]
Good night, Phineas
[BritSquared] is offline.
Notes:
Canvas: *Maniacal laughter* Goodbye Lotorsass's word count and sanity!
Lotorsass: Love ya bestie, I am now definitely insane XD
Froggy_fandomlover on Chapter 1 Fri 25 Apr 2025 09:17PM UTC
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Lotorsass on Chapter 1 Mon 15 Dec 2025 01:13AM UTC
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Maize_Snallygaster on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Dec 2025 08:39PM UTC
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Lotorsass on Chapter 1 Mon 15 Dec 2025 01:13AM UTC
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BrieLarson on Chapter 1 Mon 15 Dec 2025 07:05PM UTC
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Maize_Snallygaster on Chapter 2 Mon 15 Dec 2025 02:05AM UTC
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Lotorsass on Chapter 2 Mon 15 Dec 2025 02:17AM UTC
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Froggy_fandomlover on Chapter 2 Tue 16 Dec 2025 02:19AM UTC
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