The Adventures of Sparrow

If there was one word to describe Jon Duprac it was 'invisible'. He ran a hand through his short brown hair as he walked through the halls. Dodging people along the way had become the norm. The topic of being akumatized came up a lot in the school, but no one even remembered that he tried to make the Eiffel Tower disappear. He expected it from Chloe, she didn't think of anything that didn't concern her, not the others. The blonde horror hadn't said anything to him. Come to think of it, no one really even paid much attention to him at all. He guessed he should feel lucky. Being excluded from the abuse that was Chloe was a blessing, but it wasn't because she liked him, or she felt bad, no, she simply didn't even know he was there. Not even Kim, the jock who challenged everyone to some sort of competition, didn't even try to strong-arm him into a race.

He tried to stay focused on the good things in his life after being akumatized. That wasn't something he wanted to repeat. His memories of the entire thing were a blur, but he had caught the news report. He had convinced his parents to enroll him in self-defense once it was all over. It turned out he was pretty good at it. Now he was even considering signing up for fencing lessons too. That way, if something went wrong, he'd be able to run toward the trouble rather than away from it.

Sure, he wouldn't be able to fight an akumatized super-villain, but he'd be able to help others. He could get them to safety. Maybe his social invisibility would come in handy.

Jon stepped out into the courtyard. He leaned against one of the supports. It was a wonderful day. The park would be a good place to eat lunch today, or maybe just the courtyard. Not that many people stayed on school grounds during the break. He'd have enough time to grab some lunch and be back with time to enjoy the quiet.

The sound of a bird brought his mind to the present. He looked up to see a shadow flash overhead. A single feather drifted down. Jon watched its descent. He reached out a hand and plucked it from the path. It didn't feel like a feather. The shape of it was curved in a half-circle. On closer inspection he found that it was a bracelet. It was thicker in the center than the ends and seemed to be made out of silver. He looked up, but the bird was gone.

The bracelet radiated a gentle warmth. Jon scanned the courtyard to find it was empty. He must have missed the lunch bell. Out of curiosity he slipped the bracelet on his wrist. An amber glow radiated from the shape. Jon blinked as the light brought spots to his eyes. Once his vision cleared he found a little bird-thing floating in front of him. It was slightly darker than the color of mocha, with a two arms, legs, big brown eyes, and a little beak on its face. It hovered in the air. The thing didn't flap its wings, in fact, it didn't look to have any.

"Hello," the little thing said.

Jon stared at the thing. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth.

"You're a quiet one, Jon," it said as it flew closer to him.

"You know my name?" He managed to ask.

"Of course, silly, we're partners now," it flew around him in a quick circuit. "Not exactly a private spot is it?"

"No, this is my school," he said easily enough.

Never mind he was talking to some sort of floating not-bird thing that somehow knew his name.

"We should get somewhere quiet so we can talk."

He let out a little squeak as the creature zipped into his backpack by going straight through the fabric. Jon looked around. He blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Once that was completed he pinched his forearm. The small sting told him he was awake.

Jon hurried out of the courtyard and down the steps. He wound through the streets to his house. It would take up most of the lunch break, but he didn't think he was going back to class today. He made it to the two-bedroom walk-up easily faster than usual. It felt like everyone was watching him. At any moment he expected someone to jump out to try to take the bracelet.

Their home wasn't plush, but it was comfy. His mother worked at a bank and his father restored painting at the museum. The living room was a mixture of an art studio and dining area. Their TV was tucked in the corner as an afterthought. He didn't see any sign that they were home. There wasn't a reason for them to be, considering they were both at work, but he was supposed to be at school. He slipped into his room, shut the door, and moved his desk chair in front of it, just in case.

His room was big enough for his desk, bed, and the computer that was a couple of years behind the current generation. The window looked out onto the streets of Paris. Luckily the floor above them had been empty for quite a few years. No one really knew why, just that the owner never did anything with it. It had rooftop access and a balcony. Jon was well versed in climbing up to the third level. He had even set up a little picnic on the balcony on warm summer nights.

The little creature floated easily out of his backpack and settled on his bed.

"You should really clean that thing out," it said with a content sigh. "There was a granola bar in there that had turned to crumbs."

"What are you?" Jon asked.

He sat in the chair that was against the door.

"I'm a kwami," the creature answered. "My name is Merp."

"Merp?"

"Yep," the kwami hopped on his pillow and settled in again.

"And what does Merp the kwami want with me?"

"That's kind of up to you, kid," Merp held up a small hand. "Do you want to be a hero, villain, or somewhere in the middle?"

"What?"

"We're partners, kid," the kwami said with a sigh. "I give you powers, and you figure out what to do with them."

"Like Ladybug and Cat Noir?" Jon asked slowly.

"Kind of."

"Do they have a kwami too?"

"Probably."

"You're not very helpful," Jon said with a grunt. "What sort of powers do we get?"

"Say the phrase and we can find out," Merp said with a wide smile.

"What phrase?"

"To transform you say, 'let's fly'," Merp floated up and looked at him. "What do you say, kid? Want to go for a test run?"

Jon stood up. He looked from the bracelet to Merp, "let's fly."

Merp zipped over to him. The little creature disappeared in a flash of light. Jon felt time slow as he was lifted off the ground. The transformation started at the top of his head and cascaded down to his feet. He landed back on the floor and looked at his hands.

Brown leather gloves with flecks of black covered his hand. The bracelet, now in the shape of a feather, tucked neatly under the edge of the right cuff. A long, dark brown coat stretched down to the back of his knees. It had a pointed hood streaked with a mixture of black and white flecks like his gloves. The bottom of the coat had a hem shaped like large feathers. His feet were in boots that matched his gloves, and he discovered a holster on his left thigh that contained three darts.

Jon stepped up to the mirror in his room. He found that his eyes and bridge of his nose were covered in a black goggles. The point of the hood stopped just a touch above the top of the mask. The lower half of his face was exposed, but he had to admit, it looked cool.

He jumped at the sound of an explosion nearby. Another one followed shortly.

"Let's see what I can do," he said as he opened the window.

It was a drop to the street below, but the building had an angle to it. Without superpowers he could climb up to the floor above and the roof. Now, it was almost too easy. He found himself on the roof in a matter of moments. A thick pillar of smoke rose a few streets over.

He looked down at the suit he was wearing. Ladybug had that yo-yo that she could swing around the city and Cat Noir had his staff. He didn't think the darts would really do anything to help him travel. There had to be something, some sort of trick to it.

"Well," he took a step back away from the edge of the roof. "I hope I have super healing."

He ran toward the edge and leaped off. Jon closed his eyes and waited for impact. Instead, he found himself soaring through the air. It wasn't exactly flying, more like a bound that turned into a glide. He was suddenly very glad for the goggles.

Jon landed on a rooftop and looked back. His leap had completely skipped a street. He turned his attention back to the task at hand. A streak of red told him Ladybug was already on the scene, but he couldn't see what it was yet. He jumped into the air. The back of his coat flared out once he reached the apex of his leap. He looked down on the street below.

Ladybug and Cat Noir were tangling with some woman in a bright outfit of red and white. She wore a sharp crown made up of almost neon crimson.

"You do not want to tangle with The Queen of Diamonds," the woman yelled as she flung a string of playing cards at the two heroes.

He watched as the duo dodged out of the way. The cards, all diamonds of course, sliced through a lamppost and a nearby car with ease.

"Into the deep end," he muttered as he landed on the street behind the villain.

His hand shot to the holster on his hip. The trio of darts zipped toward the Queen of Diamonds. He must have done something to give away his position because she turned around before they hit her. A large playing card sprang from her forearm to catch the darts. The first of the three disappeared as the last one struck. He looked down at the holster to see that the dart had returned to its spot.

"Who are you?" Ladybug called from the side of the street.

"We fight now and talk later," he said in reply.

"No need to get catty," Cat Noir quipped.

He leaped into the air as the Queen of Diamonds dealt a deadly stream of cards. Her aim followed him as he rose. On instinct he grabbed the edge of his coat and pulled them against his side. He swooped down toward the Queen feet first. They collided and fell into a rolling tangle on the street.

"Her deck of cards," Ladybug called.

He grabbed the deck and tossed them to Cat Noir who tossed them to Ladybug. Her yo-yo snapped out. It connected and broke the deck in half.

"No more evil for you little akuma," she said as she captured the purple flutter. "Bye-bye butterfly."

A wave of ladybug energy erupted out from the girl in red. The sliced cars, buildings, and lampposts reformed. The vehicle that explored reshaped as the smoke disappeared.

"Rooftop, now," Ladybug said as her yo-yo zipped out.

"You heard the lady," Cat smiled. "Bug out."

Jon followed them to a roof nearby.

"Who are you?" Ladybug asked as he landed.

"Sparrow," he said as the name came to him.

"And you're a hero, like us?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"You'll forgive me if I don't trust you right away," Ladybug looked him over. "The last person claiming to be a hero turned out to be after out powers."

He thought for a moment as they watched him. They took a step back as he took one forward.

"Do you have a kwami?" He whispered.

"What did you say?" Cat Noir looked at him in shock.

"A kwami," he whispered. "Am I saying it right? Little floating thing about this big," he held his thumb and pointer finger apart.

"Yes," Ladybug said slowly. "But an akumatized victim could know that too. What is your miraculous?"

He rolled up the sleeve on his right arm, "my feather bracelet. I think. Today is my first day."

"How did you get it?" She asked.

He looked over to Cat Noir who was lounging against his staff.

"It fell from the sky," he said with a small chuckle. "I get it. You two fight bad guys all the time. Honestly, I didn't know if I could glide until I did it, or that my darts would come back when I threw all three. I don't even know what my lucky charm thingy is yet."

"You should ask your kwami," Cat offered. "They'll fill you in on something. Don't forget to feed them too."

"Thanks," he said with a shrug. "Now what?"

"We head back to our normal lives," Cat Noir said with a yawn. "Unless my lady would like to cuddle?"

"Silly kitty," she said with a shake of her head. "I'm bugging out."

"A cat and a bird on the rooftop," Noir looked at him with a crooked grin. "Darts, huh?"

Jon looked down at the holster on his thigh. All three darts were back in place.

"Yeah," he pulled one out and looked at it. "Not exactly a fearsome weapon."

"And a yo-yo is?" Cat laughed.

Jon smiled, "nice to meet you, Cat Noir."

"You too, Sparrow," he looked down at his ring. "I've got to go. See you around."

The black clad hero gave a wave as he stepped backward off the roof. He popped back into sight as his staff stretched to launch him into the sky.

He turned in a slow circle to look at the city around him. The balcony near his room was still in sight. He could slip into the empty apartment and make his way home, but he'd have to climb down to his window. Anyone could see him. He didn't think blowing his secret identity on the first day would be a good way to start things.

If he swung back by the school he could transform and blend back into the crowd. He could even finish out the day. Sure, he'd be late, but at least it would be something. He bounded into the air and glided toward the school. Jon landed beside the school. He stood up with a broad smile on his face. It faltered when he looked up to see Chloe and Sabrina standing nearby. They stared at him in silence. He brought a single finger to his lips. The two nodded as he leaped back into the sky.

Jon landed behind a building a street over. The transformation to his civilian took effect as he walked along toward the street. Once he was on the sidewalk he realized that his bag was at home in his room. Not only that, but he had blocked his door with a chair. Getting in wasn't going to be fun.

"I saw a new superhero and he totally flirted with me," Chloe said loudly as she stood near the door.

Sabrina stood behind her nodding. Jon sighed as he walked through the door. Of course, he'd get Chloe as a fan. He didn't have enough luck for Alix or Juleka to swoon for him. Well, it was his first day.

**Note**
I have gotten behind on my commissions & need to get those done. This is now an exclusive story that I took down a while ago.

This is a Miraculous Ladybug fan fiction. Characters have been aged up to 18.
** Note **