It all started with caged emotions. … Well, and us being locked inside of an actual cage.
Alya cautiously reached out, and grabbed Nino's hand in hers.
"Yeah, okay," she said. "…I'm in."
Nino smiled back at her, and the warmth circulated between them.
"Okay. Then I guess, we are now officially a couple."
Alya and Nino continued to sit and wait, having cemented their love but their minds still filled with worry.
"How long are they going to spend fighting that weird shapeshifter dude, anyway?" Alya wondered. "I'm just worried about Marinette…"
"Yeah, and Adrien too."
Alya raised an eyebrow. "Y'know… I still can't believe you had Adrien in on that whole thing. You were playing Marinette like a fiddle back there, Nino."
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Nino rebutted. "He was the one who offered to help me win Marinette over! Why are you being so bitter about it, anyway? He was just trying to be a good friend!"
"Good friends don't-" Alya stopped and took a deep sigh. "It doesn't feel right to me when you keep secrets from your own friends, especially when it makes your other friends feel like they're being manipulated. And… I don't know, to me, it would feel a whole lot worse if it was someone you cared about as more than just a friend…"
Nino smiled softly at her, but drooped as he took in what she was saying.
"Nino… If we're really going to do this, then we're going to have to make a promise." She held out her pinky finger. Hesitantly, Nino raised his up.
"And I'm guessing that promise is… no more secrets?"
She nodded.
"No more secrets between us."
And so they made a truce.
That was several months ago. Nino and I became really close partners after that, once we were finally able to start being honest with each other. We agreed never to keep any secrets from each other that could jeopardize our relationship. And both of us thought that would always be really easy.
Well it was… at first. But then, things got complicated.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her best friend Alya Césaire stood in front of the school chatting. Class was going to start soon, and everyone was slowly filing in.
Alya was just in the midst of saying something that made Marinette giggle when they both stopped and saw Adrien. He was walking up to the school, not quite looking himself. His head was down to the ground and his phone dangled in his left hand as he walked.
"What's wrong with Adrien?" Marinette wondered.
"I'm not sure… I've never seen him look so depressed before."
Trailing behind Adrien, Nino walked up to the both of them. He sighed sadly.
"He's supposed to be attending a big dinner party this weekend for the Agreste fashion line," he explained. "But… he just found out that his dad won't be there, and, well, based on what I heard from that phone call, I guess even his dad's assistant won't be able to chaperone him. So he… might have to go there completely alone."
"Oh, no," replied Marinette. "That sounds terrible. I wish there was something we could do to cheer him up."
"Hmmm…" Alya put a finger to her chin. "You know, maybe there is…"
"W-wh-WHAT!? You want me to… a-ask Adrien out!?"
"Why not, girl? This could be the perfect thing for you!" Alya tried to assure her, her arms on Marinette's shoulders. "You've been waiting for the perfect chance to ask Adrien out on a date for months now, and here it is!"
Marinette's lip quivered heavily.
"Marinette, it's a party celebrating Gabriel Agreste's industry. Do you know how many aspiring fashion journalists will probably be at that party? Just think about it, if you showed up to that event in a tip-top outfit you made yourself, not only would you impress Adrien, you'd probably catch the attention of some very esteemed people in the business! More importantly, it would make Adrien's whole night if he had a friend to go with. And you'd better do it before Chloé jumps in."
The two of them were right outside Madame Bustier's classroom having this conversation, just out of earshot of Adrien, who was still slumped at his desk. Marinette's face drooped as she looked at him.
"Ohhhhh, I really hate to see him so sad…"
"Come on, Marinette. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for your bestie."
With that, she winked at Marinette while blowing a kiss at her: their secret friendship gesture.
Marinette bit her lip, her mind at a crossroads. A nervous sweat began to break over her face. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was having a fierce mental debate… with herself.
She's right, Marinette! If you just go over there and ask to be his date to the party, then he'll be eternally grateful and maybe he'll want to go on even more dates with you, and more and more until you two finally get married!
Either that, or I'll trip over my own tongue and look like an idiot in front of Adrien, and he'll laugh in my face and film it and upload it to the Internet so he can laugh at it for the rest of his life!
Well, then again, even if I did make a fool of myself and he laughs at me, at least then he wouldn't be so sad anymore… Wait, am I actually rationalizing being a dunce for Adrien? I mean, I guess I might if I knew it'd cheer him u-
Her thoughts were interrupted when a soft push from Alya startled her and sent her flying across the room in frenzy. Before she knew it, she was standing right in front of…
"Oh… hey, Marinette. I didn't see you there."
Marinette instantly stood up and began to fidget weirdly as she talked.
"A-A-Adrien, hey! What's up, how's it going? It's a beautiful day outside, isn't it? Well, I mean, I guess it's supposed to be overcast today, but hey, clouds are always good, right? Need clouds for rain and… water and stuff… right?"
Adrien cocked his head up. "…Huh?" Marinette cleared her throat.
"What I was saying was, uh… I was just wondering if, uh… You see, um… You have that dinner party going on, I mean not that I've been spying on you or anything, Nino just told me. And I was wondering if, uh… well… I wanted to-to… ask you… if… YOU WANTED ALYA TO BE YOUR DATE TO THE DINNER!"
Alya facepalmed hard.
"Wait, Alya wants to be my date?" Adrien replied. "Well, gee. I mean, I don't know what to say. I didn't think Alya was into all that socialite stuff."
Alya quickly ran up behind Marinette and butted in. "You're right, you're right! I don't know what I was thinking, Adrien. I would never be comfortable at a big party like that, not without friends anyway. Ooh! I know!" She grabbed Marinette by the shoulders and hoisted her forward. "Marinette, why don't you go in my place?"
"What… I mean- I couldn't…"
"Yeah, that would be an awesome idea, Marinette," Adrien chimed in. "A bunch of my dad's connections in the fashion business are going to be there, and it would be really great if you came wearing one of your own really cool and unique designs! It would be a great opportunity for you if you came as my plus one."
"Told ya," Alya whispered. Marinette grunted in response, just as Nino walked over.
"You guys are going to that fancy dinner party together? Awww, man. I've always wanted to go to one of those. I would've been cool with being your date," he remarked, smirking.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Nino. But to be fair to Marinette, she did ask first…"
"Oh no, that's fine!" Marinette sputtered out. "I'd be totally okay with Nino going instead of me!"
"Marinette..." Alya growled.
"Hmmm… Hey, I've got an idea!" said Adrien. "Why don't we all go together, like a double date? Everything's more fun when we're together as friends, right?" But then he looked at Alya. "Oh… unless you still didn't want to come Alya. Totally your choice."
"Well, I don't-"
But then Marinette pressed her face up to Alya's and whispered, "Please say yes, Alya! I don't think I could handle a whole date with Adrien by myself, and it would probably help me a lot if you were there too!"
"But I-" Marinette winked at Alya and rapidly blew three kisses at her. The triple friendship. "Oh… alright."
"YAY!" Marinette and Nino both cheered.
Alya and Adrien both laughed heartily. They continued discussing their new plans together, coordinating times and talking about what the event would consist us, until their camaraderie was interrupted by-
"LOOK OUT!" Rose screamed, pointing towards the window.
Everyone went to take cover when they saw a large object headed straight for their classroom. Glass shattered above their heads, and when the dust settled, they all uncovered their arms to glance at the huge motorcycle that has just crashed through their classroom window.
Madame Bustier, having just walked into the room, looked equally as shocked as her students.
"What on Earth is going on!?" she exclaimed.
The citizens of Paris ran for the hills as chaos erupted all around them… in vehicle form.
A taxi cab hurled right for a storefront window, smashing into its cake displays. As the customers fled in terror, a monstrous woman emerged from inside the cab, phasing through it like a ghost.
No coincidence, because she herself looked very ghoulish. Her skin was green and translucent, and her eyes had a heavy black shadowing. She floated in the air clad in rusted chrome overalls, over a titanium T-shirt with a metal cap on. Her hair was purple and waving around wildly, as if a strong wind was constantly blowing over her.
"Face the autocratic terror of your own terrible automobiles!" the akumatized mechanic bellowed in a ghostly voice. "Once upon a time, your abuse and neglect for your vehicles drove me and my business up the walls! Now they will be driving you… straight into the afterlife! A-ha-ha-ha!"
A purple butterfly insignia appeared over her eyes; the mischievous master of evil was communicating with his latest puppet.
"Your revved-up revenge is almost complete, Mecha-Spectre," Hawkmoth said confidently. "Now you must take this road rally into its final lap… by getting me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses!"
"With pleasure, Hawkmoth," Mecha-Spectre responded.
The students all ran out of the school, looking to head home or take shelter somewhere safe. An akuma attack this close to the vicinity almost always prompted an early dismissal, which more often than not made the jobs of Paris's loyal superheroes a whole lot easier.
"Oh man, oh man! What's happening out there!?" Nino panicked. "Alya, come on! We gotta get the heck out of here!"
But Alya nudged him with her hand as she readied her cell phone.
"Hang on, I gotta hang back to nab some sweet footage for the Ladyblog. Ladybug is sure to show up any second to teach this baddie what's what."
"Yo, forget that, man! I'm running for the hills!" And with that, Nino took off screaming, heading back into the school.
"Nino, wait! It's probably not safe in there!" Alya called back. She sighed in annoyance. "Great, now I have to go after him."
Marinette had an idea. "Uhhh… don't worry! I'll go look for him! You stay there and keep filming!"
"Y-yeah, that's a great idea," Adrien seemed to agree. "Why don't the two of us split up so we can find him fast?"
Marinette nodded and they both ran into the school, leaving Alya alone on the steps. She gave them a puzzled look, but shrugged it off and held up her phone to begin recording.
Marinette vacated herself to Ms. Mendeleiev's completely empty science classroom. After a quick scan to make sure no one else was around, she ushered to her jacket pocket.
"Time to transform, Tikki! SPOTS ON!"
Meanwhile, in the locker room near the gymnasium, Adrien took a second to catch his breath before summoning Plagg.
"Ehhh, just five more minutes…" the sleepy Kwami mumbled.
"No time for rest, Plagg! Paris needs us! CLAWS OUT!"
With both of their transformation sequences activated, Ladybug and Chat Noir were ready for battle!