The Adventures of Chatman

Aka this is all Flavia's fault. Jk. I know it's not anywhere near Halloween, but the only time it's really mentioned is at the beginning. It was an excuse for everyone to dress up. Fight me.

References to a lot of different superheroes and a few villains, but the main ones are Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary. I don't own any of them, nor do I own Miraculous Ladybug.

GENERAL POV

"I can't believe the mayor did this!" Alya gushed over the sound of the band playing, her phone lifted to capture the events around them as a huge smile crossed her face. "I mean, a Halloween party for the entire city? And a superhero themed one at that?"

Marinette laughed, adjusting the bracelets on her wrists. "I'm surprised so many people chose to dress up as Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"I'm not," Alya protested, slapping lightly at her friend's shoulder. "They're superheroes, right?"

Marinette snorted. "Okay, rephrase that; I'm surprised you didn't dress up as one of them."

Alya was dressed in all black, yes, but she was not dressed as Chat Noir. Her usual red streaks had been changed to a blinding white color and a dark black mask sat around her eyes. The skintight leotard she wore, covered in fake armor, accented her figure well and the leather jacket she had tugged around her shoulders ensured her upper body wouldn't be cold. Under the leotard she wore fishnets and combat boots. A black choker encircled her neck and the girl tugged at it as she answered.

"Hey, Black Canary is bad ass," she declared. "It's only fitting that someone bad ass dresses up as her."

Marinette giggled and brushed a lock of hair behind one ear, not used to having it down. "Besides," Alya countered, "you didn't dress up as one of them either, Wonder Woman."

The girl blushed and tugged at her outfit. Though it was slightly more modest than what Wonder Woman technically wore, Marinette wasn't used to feeling so exposed. Her expertise as a seamstress had allowed her to make almost an exact replica of Wonder Woman's costume, except that the usually strapless top now had golden straps that clutched tightly at her shoulders. She had curled her hair for the occasion, and the golden tiara sat comfortably across her forehead. The part she had had the hardest time with was figuring out how to attach her lasso to her body without a belt, but one clear hair tie and some super glue later she had everything, down to the bracelets and the boots.

"Talk about bad ass," Alya was saying. "Girl, if Adrien doesn't fall for you in that outfit then he is blind. I declare it."

Marinette snorted at the mention of her crush, scanning the crowd around her. Chloe was up front with her father, dressed of course as Ladybug, while Sabrina hovered to the side in a fairly good Poison Ivy costume. Though Ivy was technically a villain, Marinette had seen countless people dressed up as villains, whether they were from the comic books, like Bizarro or Catwoman (that was an interesting one to see with all the Chat Noirs wandering around) or as akumatized villains like Lady Wifi and Robocop.

"Say, what are Adrien and Nino dressing up as anyway?" she asked curiously, glancing sideways at Alya. "I know they said they would meet us here, but I haven't seen them yet."

"I must be better at hiding than I thought, then," came a voice behind her.

Marinette shrieked and spun around, hand instinctively flying to her yo-yo only to find a lasso and Nino behind her, his hands in the air and a smile playing on his lips.

"Nino!" she yelped, slapping his chest a little harder than she probably had to. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"And you look fantastic!" Alya interrupted, her eyes wide.

Marinette finally paused enough to take a look at Nino's outfit and couldn't help her jaw from falling a little.

He was dressed as the Green Arrow, quiver slung across his back, bow in hand, mask hiding sparkling hazel eyes, and a hood on his head, obviously meaning that he was taking after the CW character design. His shirt had been done so well that Marinette couldn't find any differences from what she knew about the character, and his sleeves showed off what little muscle he had.

"Wow," was all Marinette could get out. "Who did your costume?"

Nino looked sheepish as he responded. "Me, mostly, but my mom helped. My dad used to be super into archery, so he taught it to me and I had the extra bow and quiver. Thought it would be kind of cool to go as someone other than Ladybug or Chat Noir. I can see you guys had the same thought."

Marinette bit back a grin as she glanced between the two of them. "You know, Black Canary and Green Arrow are love interests in pretty much every story line ever."

With that, she sauntered away, leaving her friends spluttering in denial behind her, and moved towards the punch table, her heels clacking under her. She greeted friends and complimented costumes, and got compliments right back.

Rose was gorgeous as Starfire, and Juleka rocked Raven to the point where Marinette actually expected her to start levitating and spouting off spells. She spotted Max dressed up as The Green Lantern at the punch table and gave him a friendly wave before filling her cup and moving away from the table.

As the girl sipped at her punch, out of the way of the crowd, instinct told her that someone was behind her and she tensed a little, fingers tightening around the cup in her hand ever so slightly.

"Fancy meeting you here, Princess."

Marinette almost guffawed and turned around only to find none other than Batman behind her, cowl pulled low over brilliantly green eyes that she knew all too well and cape billowing as he stalked towards her.

"Chat Noir," she said in amusement, smiling over the rim of her cup. "Or should I call you Bat Noir? Ooh, or Chatman!"

The boy faltered a step, his heel catching on the edge of his cape. "What? I'm not-I mean…yeah…yeah that's…exactly who I am. Chatman. Yup. Good…pun."

He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Marinette just chuckled. "So what brings you here?" she asked curiously, tilting her punch cup at him.

Chat hesitated, glancing around at the citizens. "Just…wanted to keep an eye on things, make sure nothing bad happened. But I figured that if I could dress up as someone other than myself…that would be more fun."

Marinette wished she had thought of that, but it was too late now. "Well, it's nice to know you're here," she said sincerely. "I'm going to get back to my friends, but feel free to stop by and say hey."

She grinned as she turned to go. "I'm sure Alya would love an exclusive with you."

Adrien watched her saunter away and groaned, thumping his head against a nearby pillar. "This was not how tonight was supposed to go," he grumbled.

"Well, you did call her Princess," Plagg piped up from under his cape. "And your eyes do look cat-like behind the cowl."

"Princess is what Batman calls Wonder Woman!" Adrien protested. "And I can't help my eyes, it's the mask thing! I couldn't find a way to make them white without me going blind. What am I supposed to do? I can't go hang out with them; Nino knows that I came as Batman!"

"So just avoid being around Nino and Marinette together," Plagg suggested. "Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Adrien huffed. "You've never met either of them, Plagg. That's so much easier said than done."

"Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyyyy, you said I could go see the superheroes!" protested the seven-year-old with the Batman scrunchie in her hair clutching to her mother's hand as they passed by the theater where the party was being hosted. "I saw The Flash go in, I love him! Lemmee go meet him!"

Her mother snorted and merely clutched her daughter's hand more tightly. "Honey, you know superheroes aren't real."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are!" the girl protested.

"They're just vigilantes," the woman growled. "Disgusting vigilantes. Now come on, Miranda is having her party just a few streets away. I thought you wanted to go to that more, Diana?"

Diana tugged at her mother's grasp and struggled for the doors. "No! I want to meet the superheroes! Just for a little bit, Mommy, please?"

The woman finally snapped, spinning on her daughter. "Superheroes aren't real! They're just imagination at work, they don't have real powers, and you need to listen to me because I am your mother. Now let's. Go."

Diana scowled and with one swift move ripped her hand away from her mother's, darting away into the crowd of people on the verge of tears as her mother called after her.

Blocks away, a window opened up and hundreds of white butterflies lifted into the air around one man, his startlingly childish eyes gleaming as they opened.

"Ah," he murmured, holding out a hand and watching as a butterfly alighted in it. "Broken childhood dreams. Such sadness and hurt, coming from a mother of all people."

Purple and black light swirled delicately around the butterfly, twisting it into an akuma, and Hawkmoth watched with a smile as it fluttered out the window towards the broken heart of one little girl.

"Such imagination deserves to be rewarded," Hawkmoth declared as the akuma took the girl over, possessing her Batman scrunchie and sending a wave of blackness over the girl. "Whimsy, I am Hawkmoth. I would like to make it so that you can prove your mother wrong and show her that heroes do exist, but I need your help in return; will you help me?"

Diana smiled in delight. "Yes sir."

"Wait, so you'll seriously give me an interview?" Alya asked again, practically bouncing on her toes as she studied Adrien.

The hero grinned and tilted his head. "Absolutely. I'm glad Marinette introduced me to you formally, Alya."

Marinette yelped as Alya slapped at her. "I can't believe you never told me you knew Chat Noir personally!"

"I wouldn't say personally," Marinette protested, waving her hands. "He just protected me from an akumatized person once."

Alya nodded knowingly and then her eyes locked on something behind Chat's shoulder. "Hey! NINO! Get your ass over here!"

Marinette nudged her friend quickly, gesturing to several of the children running around. "Alya, watch your language."

The girl stuck her tongue out and Marinette giggled, watching as Nino strolled towards them, fingers loosely curled around his bow. Chat swallowed and glanced around. "I should uh…probably do a perimeter sweep. See you guys later!"

"Oh no you don't," Alya snapped, grabbing at his cape and tugging him backwards. "I want Nino to meet you, you're like his hero."

Chat blinked in surprise and that delay was enough time for Nino to finally stop next to them, an easy smile on his face. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Dude!" Alya shrieked, having obviously gotten over her earlier embarrassment about being called Nino's love interest. "Chat Noir agreed to give me an interview!"

"Sweet!" Nino declared. "I didn't know he was here!"

Marinette giggled. "Nino, he's right next to you."

Nino slowly turned on one heel to face "Chatman," his eyebrows furrowing together slowly as he studied the hero in front of him. "Huh," he murmured, his eyes locking with Adrien's as the boy watched him nervously.

Green Arrow's eyes widened ever so slightly and he swallowed, looking back and forth between Chat, Alya, and Marinette. "He's…?"

"Yeah!" the girls said with a grin.

Nino clapped a hand to his forehead and managed to stammer out: "Oh. My. Miraculous."

"What?" Marinette asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Chat quickly shook his head and draped a gentle arm around Nino's shoulders. "Nothing," he assured her. "Nino, my friend…my pal…my…amigo…we haven't talked before. Care to take a walk with me?"

Nino shivered and slid out from under Chat's arm, giving him one quick nod before waving to the girls and striding off, Chat close on his heels.

"What was that about?" Marinette wondered.

Alya shrugged, jumping a little as a little girl with a Batman scrunchie flew by them, her shoulders bumping Marinette's lasso and tugging at Alya's jacket. "Not a clue," she said with a shrug. "But boys are dumb anyway."

"Agreed," Marinette giggled.

"You're Chat Noir!" Nino cried out in disbelief, pacing back and forth in front of the theater while tugging at his hair, his hood around his shoulders. "I can't believe you never told me you were Chat Noir!"

Adrien winced and drew the boy further back into the shadows, tugging the cowl from his head so that he could look at his friend properly. "Dude, I'm sorry. It…I didn't want you to get hurt."

Nino guffawed and ran a hand over his head, unable to do more than stare at Adrien in slight awe. "You…you're an actual superhero, man. That's…fucking awesome."

Adrien smiled hesitantly and ran a hand through his hair, glancing away. "I…thanks?"

Nino paused, rubbing his shoulder thoughtfully. "I'm…not mad, man. Okay, maybe a little, but I get why you couldn't tell me. It would be dangerous."

Adrien gave him a grin of relief. "In that case, you uh…you want to meet my Kwami?"

"Your who now?" Nino asked, his eyebrows shooting up underneath his mask.

Adrien lifted the cape away from his right shoulder and Plagg grumbled at him from where he had been sleeping, before spotting Nino standing in front of them with a slightly open mouth.

"I assume you hung out with both him and Marinette," Plagg muttered, rubbing his bright green eyes sleepily.

Nino bit his lip to keep from smiling at the annoyed look that Adrien shot the cat and shook his head, pulling his hood back up to keep out the chill of the night air. "That's…really cool. Hey, so why didn't you just tell Marinette you were Adrien and not Chat?"

Adrien let the cape fall again, leaving Plagg undisturbed, and shrugged as he pulled the cowl back over his head. "Because, then she might put two and two together. I've been around her as Chat before, and she's smart. It wouldn't take long."

Nino nodded, about to ask another question, when an explosion rang out inside of the theater that rocked the ground under their feet. The teens clung to each other for a moment to regain their balance, took one look at the other, and then darted for the doors, concerned about their friends on the other side.

What they found inside was utter chaos. Ladybug's and Chat Noir's fought akumatized people, Flash's were fighting Captain Boomerangs, Superman's fighting Bizarro's, Spiderman's battled Green Goblins….it was an all-out zoo.

"What the hell?" Nino demanded.

Adrien grabbed at his bicep and pointed upwards towards the stage where the band had been playing. The chairs were empty, and Adrien couldn't help but wonder what happened to them, because they hadn't been dressed up.

Now, a girl hovered there, her costume a mashup of every superhero Adrien could think of; a lightning bolt intercepted a very familiar S and an arrow ran through that, a lantern symbol was plastered to her right shoulder and on her left was a W. The purple mask shaped like a butterfly around her eyes, however, was what had drawn Adrien's attention.

"There. She was akumatized."

"She's a kid!" Nino hissed in horror, his eyes wide. "What did she do to them?"

Adrien shook his head anxiously. "I don't know."

"Oh Ladybug and Chat Noiiiirrrrrrr," the girl called out in a sing songy voice. "Mister Hawkman said that since he helped me prove to Mommy that superheroes are real, you have to give me your jewelry now."

Adrien's hand shot to the ring on his finger, hidden under the gloves he was wearing. "What did she do to them?" he whispered desperately, ducking down as Supergirl flew over his head.

Nino flung his hands out to either side of him, the bow nearly slapping Adrien in the stomach. "Dude, you didn't know two seconds ago when I asked, why would I? Where's Ladybug?"

"She's not coming," came a sultry voice from behind them.

The boys spun to find Alya there, jacket dangling from her fingers as she strolled right up to Nino and pressed two hands to his chest.

Adrien's jaw had never fallen so fast and he could only watch, open mouthed, as Alya planted a firm kiss to Nino's lips.

Nino was quick, he would give him that. The teen shoved Alya off of him with a gasp, holding her at arm's length. "Alya, what the heck?" he yelped, his cheeks flushed.

Alya just grinned wickedly and practically purred as she pulled from Nino's grasp, slinking around him and-and Adrien couldn't believe he was seeing this-gave Nino's butt the smallest squeeze.

He jumped nearly a foot and backpedaled so fast that he almost slammed into Adrien. "Dude!" he protested.

"Chat!" came a shriek.

Something tiny and red came flying out of nowhere and smacked into Adrien's chest, and the boy quickly got over his shock of Alya doing that in time to catch the thing. Nino, busy retreating from Alya, managed to glance over and blink. "Is that-?"

"Ladybug's Kwami," he confirmed.

"Tikki," Plagg spoke up, poking out of Adrien's cape and darting down to his friend, gently pulling her up into a sitting position. "What happened?"

The Kwami shook her head quickly. "I'm not entirely sure. One second everything was fine but then Whimsy got up there, touched her scrunchie, and everything went nuts. People actually think they're heroes or villains, and they're doing what they would do. Plus they have all their powers, too."

Adrien frowned, watching as Alya smirked at Nino. "That would explain a lot. No one else here is dressed up as Green Arrow or Black Canary, and no one is dressed up as any of their main villains, and they're love interests so…"

Nino squawked from somewhere under Adrien's cape and the boy bit down on his lip to keep from laughing. "Tikki, how do we get everyone back to normal?"

He watched as someone dressed as Captain Cold spun on Alya, and was about to jump in when, with one swift roundhouse kick, Alya sent him back on his ass a good ten feet.

"Damn," Nino muttered from behind him. Adrien silently agreed.

"I don't know, entirely," Tikki admitted. "But when Ladybug was affected, a part of her costume glowed. I think that it'd be like defeating an akuma; you destroy whichever part of them was infected."

"Who was Ladybug dressed as?" Adrien questioned, his eyes scanning the crowd.

When Tikki didn't answer, he realized just what he had asked and grimaced. "Sorry. Okay, do you know what part of her costume lit up?"

Tikki shook her head, waiting patiently while Adrien ducked out of the way of a flying chair. "No, but since the akuma is a kid it would probably be something closer to the ground."

Adrien studied Alya for a second, his eyes scouring her costume. Aside from her combat boots, nothing was low enough to the ground for the child to touch. Except maybe…

"Nino, I need you to kiss Alya."

"You WHAT?"

Nino burst out from behind him like a jack in the box, his eyes wide behind his mask. "Dude, I-"

"Like her," Adrien finished, a sly smile on his face. "I know you do, don't deny it. And it's only long enough for me to grab her jacket and break it, to see if that's how we get her back to normal. Please?"

Nino sighed and turned to Alya, who was watching him with her arms crossed over her chest and narrowed eyebrows. "Well? You gonna kiss me or what?" he asked in mild annoyance.

The devilish smirk was back and a moment later it was all Nino could do to not fall over as Alya practically tackled him, her fingers pushing back his hood and curling into the tiny tufts of hair on the back of his neck, her jacket sliding down to hang from the crook of her elbow.

Adrien grinned as Nino stumbled, and then locked his eyes on the jacket as he moved Tikki and Plagg to his shoulder. He'd have to be fast about this; he couldn't use Cataclysm since he wasn't transformed, and he didn't want to transform just to use his main power and be almost utterly defenseless.

As he approached the couple, he found that Nino was being far more respectful than Alya about their whole make out; his hands were just barely touching her hips, but she was pressed flush against him and-ew-there was definitely some tongue in there.

Adrien shuddered, grabbed the pocket knife he had stored in his utility belt (for emergency's only, he had told Plagg, and this definitely qualified as an emergency), and with one swift move wrenched the jacket from Alya's arm and tore it in half with the knife. He dropped both and reached up to hide Tikki and Plagg in his hands again before Alya could fully comprehend what was happening.

There was a brief moment of pause, and then Alya was tripping away from Nino like he was on fire, her cheeks certainly looking the part and her mouth opening and closing like a dying fish as she hit the floor and scrambled backwards. "What…what the-?"

Nino coughed, wiping at the lipstick that had found its way across his skin, and then held out a gentle hand to Alya. "It's okay," he promised softly. "You were…being affected by an akuma. It's not your fault."

She took his hand hesitantly and Nino pulled her to her feet, turning to glance at Adrien. "So that worked. Now what?"

Alya glanced at him and Nino in confusion. "Wait, how are you two not being controlled by whatever this is?" she asked, gesturing a hand around her. "And how did you know how to fix me?"

They glanced at each other and Adrien sighed, knowing they needed her help. "We were outside when this started, which I think is how we didn't get touched by this, and…Ladybug got affected, but she wasn't transformed, so her…her Kwami came and found me."

He opened up his hands to reveal Plagg and Tikki, the latter of whom still looked a little nervous about everything. Plagg, to his credit, didn't say a word, and Alya merely pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay. Okay, then we have to fix everyone. How did you fix me?"

Adrien held up the jacket. "She must have touched your jacket somehow, infected it. We tore it, like you would to get rid of an akuma. Where's-?"

As if on cue, Marinette came flying out of nowhere. Literally flying. She hovered almost fifteen feet above the ground, her eyes narrowed as she deflected what looked like lasers from some villain Adrien couldn't identify off of her bracelets.

Okay. That was hot.

He shook his head quickly and glanced at Alya. "Which part of her got hit?"

"Probably the lasso," the girl determined, looking up at her friend in disbelief.

"Shit," Nino muttered. "That's going to be a problem. The lasso is unbreakable, so if it's what we need to break…"

Alya and Adrien cursed at the same time, ducking as a few stray blasts came their way. Adrien instinctively pulled his cape up to protect Alya and was startled when several of the laser beams bounced right off of it.

"What in the-?"

He sat up and examined the cape quickly before glancing up at Alya. "Alya, I need you to attack me."

The girl just stared at him for a second. "You're a fucking superhero, Chat!"

"So are you," he protested.

With that, he dove at the girl, tackling her to the ground. In a split second, he was flat on his stomach, one arm wrenched behind him, Tikki and Plagg hovering in the air next to him and staring, and Nino aiming a blunted arrow at Alya, who was straddling Adrien's hips.

The three of them froze, staring at one another blankly as they got up. "The objects only control the people, not the powers," Nino realized. "But when we were outside…"

"It's kept in this room," Adrien guessed. "Alya, you need to get Marinette outside, separate her from the lasso, and explain what's going on. Nino, I need you, Plagg, and Tikki to go around and try to find whatever is controlling everyone."

"What about you?" Alya demanded. "You're obviously not transformed under that outfit, if that little black cat thing is any indication."

Adrien grinned brightly. "Canary, you underestimate me. I am Chatman."

With that, he leapt into the fray, and Tikki and Plagg darted away quickly. Nino and Alya glanced at one another and with a quick nod, Nino pulled an arrow from his quiver, one with a rope attached to it that he was only half surprised to find there, and brought Marinette down with one shot.

"You idiot!" Marinette shrieked, struggling at the rope.

"Go!" Nino urged Alya. "As Wonder Woman, she has super strength. You need to get her outside, now."

Alya didn't hesitate, grabbing Marinette around the waist and pinning her arms to her sides before sprinting for the door.

Nino didn't wait to see if she made it; instead, he turned towards the nearest person, dressed up as Superman, notched a rather sharp arrow, and aimed for the cape.

With one quick breath, he let the arrow fly.

Adrien battled his way through the party goers, slashing his knife at clothing pieces closer to the ground; usually they were capes or utility belts, and so they weren't too hard to figure out, but every Wonder Woman he came across he had to ignore, which was really putting a damper on things. The people he did turn back to normal he told to leave as quickly as possible and they did, though Adrien was well aware that Kim, dressed as the Flash, had stuck around after the brief explanation he had been given and was now zipping around at light speed helping him fix everyone. He was grateful for that, to say the least.

Ignoring the chaos, Adrien leapt up onto the stage, only to be greeted by Whimsy floating there, her arms crossed and her lips set in a pout. "Awww, come on Batsy," she pleaded. "Let me have a little more fun. You shouldn't have been able to break my spell so soon!"

Adrien smirked. "You know what they say; Batman is the greatest detective in the world. So Chatman is probably even better."

Whimsy scowled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, so you're Chat Noir? Mr. Hawkman says that you have to give me your ring now, 'cause that's what's fair."

Adrien held up his hands, feigning innocence. "What ring?"

The girl shrieked and, faster than Adrien could see, whipped around him, lassoing him with what appeared to be the exact lasso Wonder Woman had and pinning him to the ground with the strength of Superman.

A sinking feeling was sitting in Adrien's gut, and he had the worst idea that maybe Whimsy had the powers of all the heroes here.

"The best part about this," the girl declared, "is that Mommy is wrong. Superheroes are real. Really real. And now she has to believe me."

"If you wanted superheroes to be real," Adrien countered, thinking quickly and realizing with a start that it was because he was channeling Batman that he was using his wits instead of his humor, "then why would you want to play the supervillain? Don't they always lose?"

Whimsy hesitated, her lasso loosening enough for Adrien to reach into his utility belt, expecting to pull out his pocketknife before remembering that he had left it on the ground across the room.

However, his fingers closed around an actual batarang and he felt his breath hitch a little as he tugged it out and flung it backwards, knocking the lasso from Whimsy's hand and yanking himself out of it, scrambling across the stage.

When he turned, though, Whimsy looked on the verge of tears. "You…you made me the villain?"

Adrien realized with a start that she wasn't talking to him, but rather Hawkmoth. He watched as the purple butterfly around her eyes darkened and knew he had to act fast. His eyes scanned her body and landed on the Batman scrunchie in her hair, darkened to a deep purple color that it wouldn't have been otherwise.

He tugged another batarang from his pocket and, hoping he had both Batman's and Chat's skills with aim, chucked it.

Not even a sliver of hair came off the girl's head, her hair merely falling loose around her shoulders as the scrunchie hit the floor with a clatter, the Batman emblem cracking on impact and the akuma fluttering out of it.

As Adrien started to panic, realizing how dumb it had been to break the object without first finding Ladybug, Marinette flew over and chucked a very familiar yo-yo at the akuma, hovering in the air as she tossed it up again and released a now pure white butterfly.

Despite the fact that no lucky charm had been used, ripples of white energy spread around the room, and Adrien locked eyes with Marinette just as realization and slight fear dawned on her face and gravity took hold.

Chatman leapt forward and caught Marinette before she could hit the ground, clutching her tightly to his chest and landing on his side from the impact. "You okay?" he asked quickly, releasing the girl and staring down at her in worry.

Marinette nodded rapidly and Adrien glanced towards the yo-yo in her hands. "That's...not a replica, is it?"

It wasn't a question, and Marinette grimaced, glancing away and shoving the yo-yo out of sight as the theater slowly started to empty out. "It is," she admitted, "but it works like a real one right now. And you and I both know that only the actual Ladybug can purify an akuma."

Adrien nodded and helped Marinette to her feet silently, giving her a quick once over before trotting to where he had left Whimsy, who was now holding the fixed Batman scrunchie in her hands and looking at it rather thoughtfully. He knelt in front of her and the girl glanced up nervously as he settled a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. I'm proud of you," he said softly.

The girl jolted in surprise. "You are?"

Adrien smiled warmly at her. "Absolutely. I couldn't have defeated Hawkmoth if you had wanted to be a villain. But you wanted to be a hero, and by doing that he lost his control over you just long enough for me to get rid of the akuma. What's your real name?"

The girl ducked her head and clutched her scrunchie tightly in her fingers. "Diana," she answered.

The smile grew on his face and Adrien gently nudged her under the chin. "You know who else's name is Diana? Wonder Woman. And I don't know about you, but I think she's a pretty awesome superhero."

He was well aware that Marinette was standing behind him and listening to every word he said, but Diana just smiled up at him and then tossed her arms around his neck. "Thanks, Chatman."

He chuckled and stood, lifting her with him and passing Marinette to take the girl towards a police officer that was waiting nearby, handing her over so that they could find her mother for her.

When he turned around again, Marinette stood silently behind him, Tikki settled in her purse sleepily. Adrien opened up his cape for Plagg, who ducked inside with a yawn and vanished into one of the empty pouches on his utility belt.

"Marinette," he murmured, stepping over to her and settling his hands on her shoulders. "You…risked your secret. And I'm sorry I put you in that situation."

Marinette stared at him in bewilderment for a moment. "You…think this is your fault? Chat, you literally saved the entire day."

Adrien smiled tenderly and glanced behind him to where Nino and Alya were waiting for them, and he couldn't help but notice that they were standing shoulder to shoulder and leaning against one another. "Not alone," he protested softly.

He turned back to her and cupped her chin briefly in his hand. "Never alone. I have a secret to tell you," he whispered. "I'm not really Batman."

A smile flickered on Marinette's face and to his surprise she reached a hand up to clasp around his, squeezing it gently instead of pulling it away. "Is that so?"

Adrien grinned and nodded. "Yup. Hate to say it, but I'm just…"

He reached up and pulled the cowl back, feeling somewhat anxious but unwilling to let her secret be out without his. "Adrien Agreste," he finished with a shrug.

He knew the room was pretty much empty, save for Alya and Nino, but for the moment his attention was on Marinette as her eyes widened. "That's…that's why you seemed so startled that I called you Chat," she breathed. "And why Adrien didn't show up."

He snorted. "That's partially my fault. I did make the mistake of calling you Princess."

Before Marinette could respond, a solid punch was thrown to his shoulder and Adrien yelped, spinning to see Alya there with her hands flung to either side of her. "Dude!"

He rolled his eyes and glanced at Nino, who just shook his head and held his hands up. "Yes, Alya?"

"I better still get that interview," the girl demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling mockingly at him.

"Or what?" Adrien teased. "You're not spilling my identity, Alya, I know you better than that."

Alya seemed more flustered than usual as she attempted to answer. "Or…or I'll…you know what Agreste, I'll think of something. But you are not off the hook!"

He just laughed, turning and hooking one arm over Marinette's shoulders and throwing the other around Alya's, despite her protests. "Right. What do you guys say we go finish our party somewhere else?"

"We can go to the bakery," Marinette suggested, sounding surprised even as she said it. "My parents won't mind, plus we can eat the day old stuff."

Nino cheered in delight and linked his arm with Alya's, dragging the group towards the door.

"Hey Adrien," Marinette piped up as the traversed through the doors and maneuvered around the crowds still outside. "Why did you call me Princess? If you knew that's what you called me as Chat, anyway?"

Adrien tossed a grin at her. "Because, Batman calls Wonder Woman Princess all the time. And let's face it; you're absolutely royalty."

I totally just wanted an excuse to call him Chatman. But I also know that I'm going to end up with a friend drawing phenomenal art so I'm not complaining.

So this is now technically my 99th story, since I deleted one a little while ago, and my 100th story is going to be for Phineas and Ferb. I'll see about posting within the next few weeks, but I do want to finish SVtFoM first.

Also, I'm still working on my story Little Magic, which I've been publishing on my Fictionpress account TakingOverMidnight, and I would so love if you guys could go give me feedback on that too.

Thanks, and I would love to hear your thoughts!