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You’re not supposed to theorise about who your partner is, Tikki had scolded, glaring at Luka as he continued to map out his entire theory, abbreviating as many miraculous-related names as he could feasibly remember. To be fair, it’s a lot, so it’s not like this would be much if anyone were to get their hands on it.He’d sighed, capped his marker, and turned around as though he was going to clean up the board. And then, because Tikki unfortunately taught him just how stubborn he could get if he really wanted to, he calls for his transformation while facing the other way.Blue Spot quickly collects his theory board into a neat roll, allowing the yoyo string to sag against the floor beside him. Once he’s ready, he ties the whole thing right by the grip of his yo-yo, and prays he has enough wire as he throws out the weapon. One of the best parts of being a superhero is swinging from building to building. He’s never had a reason to say he connected with Spider-man before, but the rush he gets when Mom drives the boat while he’s still on deck is nothing compared to flying through the air at inhuman speeds with only a thin wire keeping him upright.(Tikki is entirely to blame for his transformation into an adrenaline junkie, for the record.)He settles himself on the flattest rooftop he can remember, which is admittedly a little hard since he’s usually swinging rather than parkouring. It’s decent enough to get work done, though, with only one or two accidental holes in his paper. The other part of superheroing that he values above the fighting, or at least one that’s certainly starting to cement itself in that role, is getting to know his partner, Panthera Noire. Or, quite possibly, his twin sister Juleka. The similarities have been there the entire time, toying on the edge of his awareness, but Juleka’s gotten so quiet and elusive that the loud and messy twin sister he grew up with has been all-but lost.It’s not that his sister is any mystery to him, not really. She’s more relaxed at home than she ever is out with friends. But if you compared 10 year old Juleka with 14 year old Juleka, it’d be pretty obvious that either some trauma or bullying happened in between those points, and Blue Spot’s pretty sure he can rule out one of those. Panthera Noire is many things. A chatterbox, for one, hence the nickname ‘Chat Noire’ that they tend to hear floating around, especially from English speakers. She presents with a very ‘leap before you look’ attitude that Blue Spot’s already familiar enough with thanks to his mom, but most civilians have never gotten close enough to see how nervous she gets whenever Blue Spot is even a little bit late, or even just when a plan relies on her playing distraction. She’s angry, too, so terrifyingly angry, even though she’s only let it show for one or two akumas. Juleka’s never been akumatised. That’d have been a footnote, at one point, but, well…Stoneheart, Bubbler, Lady Wifi, Princess Justice, Volpina, Antibug, Horrificator, excetera excetera. The only exceptions in her entire class (and that’s not mentioning the other assorted Francoise Dupont students and staff member akumas) are Adrien and Alix. And Alix has had close calls before, he knows because he was there to pluck the butterfly out of the air.And even if he hadn’t noticed that on his own, that point was pretty well cemented by Lady Wifi barely three days earlier, when she came to the (hilarious, though incorrect) conclusion that Adrien Agreste must be Blue Spot. And then she could easily interrogate him as to the identity of Panthera, because of course he would know.Hence: theory board.Juleka had a panic attack during Stoneheart round two. Panthera Princess Fragrance up until the very end. Juleka had burst into an uncontrollable fit of cackles during Animan that had weirded out their tagalong friend group. Panthera wants to model when she gets older.Rose complained about never being able to find Juleka during akuma attacks. Marinette commented on Panthera being oddly familiar with her bedroom during Evilillustrator. A rotating cast of Juleka’s friends ask him if she plans on ever taking another swing at girls night, even though to Luka’s knowledge she’s been going to those more frequently than usual. “Hey, Bug.”He spins around to see his partner standing on the roof across from him, staff planted on the rooftop and acting as a backrest. She’s glancing curiously between him and his board.Well then. Blue Spot is absolutely dead meat. Quickly, he grabs the paper and starts rolling it up, only for Panthera to, predictably, run over in order to figure out what he was doing before he can safely stash the roll inside his yo-yo. Does he have proof it’ll fit in there? No, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to find out. “What are you doing?” She teases, a clawed hand scrambling for purpose on the paper.Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to tell her that it’s identity related and she should stop before she figures anything out. A claw rips into the paper right as Panthera attempts a yank, and she’s sent falling backward while her claw rips off an entire chunk of the rolled up paper. She groans as she sits up, running her free hand through her matted mane in order to get it out of her eyes, before leaning back with that hand as a support. Blue Spot’s heart begins hammering double-time, eyes firmly locked on the piece of paper that could easily give them both away if his theory is right, and potentially give him away if it’s not. Either way, it’s a security risk to the careful partnership they’ve built in order to counteract Hawkmoth’s attacks. She flashes a casual grin as she flips her prize over, eyes quickly skimming the small bit of text and—Yep. That’s absolutely part of the ‘X person said this about Juleka’ list. Panthera swallows thickly. Her nails scrape loudly against the rooftop as the hand she’s leaning on clenches into a fist, ring briefly catching the light. Blue Spot’s pretty sure he hears a growl in her voice as she demands, “What is this?”Well, there’s one question answered.He sighs, setting the rolled up paper back down and slowly unfolding it for her to read. He watches as her slitted purple eyes scan the words, his self-answered questions and the few sharp cut-ins from Tikki. Even transformed, behind a mask and altered sclera, it’s easy to see the moment recognition flashes in her eyes. “Luka?” She gasps, frantically looking between him in the paper.
No going back now.
“Spots off,” he sighs, head hanging low. He feels the energy wash away from him, leaving him shivering against the evening breeze. With one deep breath he looks back up, meeting his sister's eye. “Guilty as charged.”