Marinette smoothed her dress down as she stood in front of the full length mirror. She adored the red and black polka dot pattern. The dress was sleeveless, a jean jacket covering her bare arms. She adjusted her pigtails and did a little twirl, kicking one foot into the air. This was a bad idea, and she lost her footing, falling face first into the pink rug that covered the hardwood floors in her room.
"Marinette." A worried voice called from downstairs, "is everything alright up there?"
She jumped up and fixed her outfit for the second time. "Yeah, mom!" She called back, letting out a little breath of air. "Everything is fine."
"Well, hurry up dear. Alya is here!"
Marinette squealed and clapped her hands, completely forgetting to grab her hand bag as she raced downstairs. She threw her arms around her best friend, who embraced her back with a quiet hum.
"You ready for a day on the town, girl?" Alya asked, both of her hands on the other girls shoulders.
"You bet! Bye mom! Bye dad! Be home soon!"
She locked arms with Alya and left the bakery, the two chit chatting as they walked toward town square. They visited a few of their favorite shops, just browsing and Alya bought them each an ice cream cone. As they walked, they passed an antique shop that Marinette couldn't remember ever seeing before. She grabbed Alyas arm to stop her from walking and pointed at the sign. Foos antiques...
"Have you ever been in here?" She asked and the other girl shook her head.
"Me either. Wanna check it out?" She started to walk in before her friend even answered the question. Something was really drawing her to this place. She was instantly impressed as she walked in. The place was filled with old pictures in frames, statuettes, antique furniture, porciline dolls and figurines. Marinette love old things and was in heaven as she purized the shop.
An older Chinese man stood behind the counter and smiled at the two. "Welcome friends," he said, holding both of his arms out in a welcoming way. "Is there anything I can help you find? What wonders does your heart seek?"
"Hello sir," Marinette said politely, nodding her head to him, "This is the first time we're stumbling upon your shop here. I just wanted to look around was all."
The man nodded in understanding. "Well then, my dear girl," He gestured around the shop. "Seek.."
She began to look around, Alya in toe. That's when she came across it. There was a small, gold lamp sitting on a dusty shelf. It glinted in the dim shop lighting and Marinette found herself being pulled in its direction. It seemed very old and was covered in a thin layer of dust but it was beautiful non the less. She picked it up and examined it a bit. "Look at this Alya! Imagine how pretty it would be if we cleaned it up and maybe refinished it?"
Alya yawned, barely giving the lamp a glance. "Yeah yeah.. sure. But are you going to buy it or not? I'm getting bored. Can we go Marinette?"
She pouted a bit. "Yeah, okay. Gimmie just a second."
She carried her find up to the counter, carefully setting it down. "Excuse me sir? How much for this?" She noticed nothing had a price tag on it.
The man examined the item, stroking his chin. "Hmm... this? Very old piece... It's worth at least thirty.. but for you i would take fifteen."
Marinettes eyes lit up. "You've got yourself a deal." She reached for her bag and gasped, frantically patting her sides. "Oh no! Don't tell me I forgot it. Hmph..." she hung her head and smiled sadly at Foo. "Maybe next time..."
She turned to walk out, hearing rustling behind her. The man came out from behind the counter, holding a bag. He tapped her on the shoulder and held it back out to her. "On the House." He explained, insisting despite her protest. "I only ask that you come back and see me when you've restored it."
She nodded eagerly, taking the bag. "Thank you sir! I will not disappoint!"
When she got home, she immediately ran up to her room and sat down in her computer chair, taking the lamp out of the plastic Foo had wrapped it in so she could examine it further. The closer she looked, she noticed there were some words etched in the side in what looked like aribic, a language she couldn't read. Still, she wanted to get a better look at the lettering so she began to rub the dust away with her fingers. The lamp began to vibrate and she squealed, dropping it to the ground as a green mist began to fill her room. She coughed and began swatting at it. As it cleared, a ghost like figure floated in front of her. He had blonde hair and big green eyes that peaked out from behind a black mask. Cat ears protruded out of his blonde hair and he wore a tight fitting leather suit. He had no legs, the bottom half of him fading into that green mist. Marinette screamed again but the figure just laughed, floating closer to her. He took her hand and kissed it.
"Evening m'lady," he said playfully.
"Who.. who or what are you?" She asked in wonderment. She was too frozen to call her parents for help and too curious to run.
"The names Cat Noir and I'm here to make all your wishes come true."