I stood in the middle of my room with quiet contemplation. I stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser, my expression stoic and unmoving.

Through the reflection, I saw Nevie float beside me, "Ladybug, just what are you doing? You have that date in a matter of a few hours."

"That's just it Nevie." I tilted my head to one side sluggishly, "Going on a date with Adrian, this should be the best day of my entire life. I've been trying to get his attention for so many months, any time I would try to talk to him I'd have to rehearse what I'd say over and over in my head. A few days ago, I wasn't nervous at all when I talked to Adrian. I asked him on a date in such an off-hand way…"

Nevie patted the right side of my face, "You sounded so cool when you were talking to him!" Nevie proclaimed, "You should be excited for tonight!"

"I was so unlike my normal self." I acknowledged, "I was so detached from the conversation, and even when he said yes I didn't even smile. Something is wrong with me Nevie."

Nevie's voice was sweet and almost motherly, "Nothing is wrong with you dear, in fact, I think you've matured considerably."

I raised my eyebrow, "Matured huh?"

"Of course. There isn't any reason for you to be nervous around any boy. You're a strong-willed, creative and ravishing young woman. Change is a good thing Marinette, you shouldn't be so hesitant towards it." Nevie concluded.

I scanned the features of my face. I wondered if maybe I was trying too hard to reach Adrian before. After all, he did say yes to going out with me and until now I've acted like a complete lunatic in front of him. He probably wanted a girl with more personality and charisma with some edge to her. I moved my fingers through my blue hair, feeling the strands run against my skin. Life did feel stressful before, Nevie could be on to something. Maybe change is what I needed right now.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began to dial the local hair salon.

"Who are you calling Ladybug?" Nevie inquired.

"No one." I said with a smirk, "I am just going to run a few errands before I meet with Adrian tonight."

I walked out of my house wearing a dark lipstick, thick mascara, a black tank top that boldly exposed my midriff and white leggings which were covered by a skirt matching the rest of my outfit. A small purge hung from my shoulder. I untied my traditional pigtails and allowed my hair to hang down my back. The appointment that I just scheduled would soon turn my hair color to a jet black and finalizing the metamorphosis I just underwent. Every step of the way, Nevie encouraged me to keep pushing the envelope further and further, and I couldn't find a convincing reason to stop. I wanted Adrian to know that he wasn't going to be spending his time with the old Marinette who was shy and awkward. He was going to be standing beside the new me, the brash Marinette who wasn't afraid to get impetuous when she felt like it.

I got a call from Alya before my hair appointment was finished. I decided to call her back later, but seeing her name on my phone made the wheels in my head begin to turn. It had been three days I hadn't said a word about my date with her. Anyone else would think I was delusional for trying to date a celebrity as large as Adrian Agreste but she was the only one who had ever truly believed that I could do it. Even my parents thought my fascination with him was more of an obsession than anything genuine. Not telling my best friend about this huge development in my life had never even occurred to me until right now, a mere fifteen minutes before Adrian and I were on our way to Heise Xiehu. It took a silent promise to tell Alya all about what happened tonight that made me start to feel better about withholding my good news.

After my hair appointment, I was only a few blocks away from Adrian's house. While I saw a small part of the interior as Ladybug, I never had the chance to visit as my normal self. Adrian had agreed to come pick me up from my house, but I was eager to see him. I wanted to gauge his reaction from my new look and more importantly, I hoped that seeing him in front of me would re-ignite the exhilaration I used to feel from his presence one short week ago.

As I walked, I could hear a muffled Nevie begin to stir in my purse. "Ladybug, let me see you! I need to know how you look."

I cracked open the purse for Nevie to fully inspect my newly-darkened hair. "I have no idea if Adrian will like it, but this new look makes me feel stylish."

"You look immaculate. Just remember talk to him the same way you did at school, and everything will go swimmingly."

I nodded my head and zipped up my purse. I had come to the front of Adrian's house, although to me, the building looked more like a mansion. Iron gates welcomed me into the multiple storied house. The lawn's grass was freshly cut with elegant precision and the estate itself was beautiful in its entirety. Adrian's father had owned his own fashion brand and one of the most prolific fashion designers Paris had on offer. I would have thought Adrian had the perfect upbringing if it wasn't for the tragic accident involving his mother.

I rang the doorbell and a woman in her early fourties answered the door with glasses with black and red striped frames. She her movement and voice sounded cold and robotic, "Oh, you must be Marinette Dupain-Cheng, please come in. I will let Adrian know that you're here."

I stepped inside to the expansive house. Gallant paintings lined the walls and there were no scrapes or blemishes on the hardwood floor. The house was beautiful and ornate but there was an eerie feeling that existed in all its magnificence. The size and scope would lend itself well to parties but seldom anyone visited Adrian or his father. It was like the entire house had passed away along with Adrian's mom.

From the top of the staircase, Adrian seemed to breathe life into everything that surrounded him. He wore a cotton sports coat with a white pocket square hanging out of his front pocket. Underneath, he wore a light-colored button-down shirt, with both the top buttons undone, framing his face perfectly. His blonde hair was combed back and his complexion was without flaw. Adrian was a model and had always looked attractive, but what struck me was how much effort he had put into our first date. In that moment, as I looked up to his glowing figure, I remembered why I had been in love with Adrian for so long.

"Hey there Marinette, I almost didn't recognize you there for a moment." Adrian let out a boyish chuckle.

I could have just stood still in silence. I felt completely awe-struck but my mouth began to articulate words on its own. "I'm trying something a little new, it looks like you are too." I felt my black lips form a small smile, "You look even better than usual. If that were even possible."

Adrian finished walking to the ground floor, "Well I think you look great Marinette, I would have never thought black was your color but I see now that you can pull it off."

The conversation between Adrian and I gave me some much-needed levity. The last several hours had consisted of me trying to throw away my old image and it was calming to talk with Adrian as one of his bodyguards drove us to the restaurant. Taking Nevie's advice was a huge risk, but it seemed to have paid off. Adrian liked the way I looked, I didn't get nervous when I spoke to him, and because I could stop akumas so quickly with Nevie, it would be easier to spend time with a boyfriend than it would have been with Tikki. Adrian opened my car door for me after we arrived at Heise Xiehu, and I took a step outside, I let go of the past and embraced the future.

To my surprise, Adrian seemed really impressed by the architecture. "Wow, this place is incredible Marinette, I should have gone here when this first opened." He said as he stared at the Chinese Dragons on the ceiling.

"Are you putting on an act or something?" I asked playfully, "I just your house you know. You practically live in a castle, I am sure you go to places like this all of the time."

"Well that might be true, but my father hardly ever lets me out of the house and he's too busy for us to eat out together. Something like this is special, so I wanted to say thank you Marinette." He said with sincerity.

I sat back in my seat and crossed my legs, "I've been meaning to ask you out for a while. Ever since that day you gave me your umbrella really. When saw you in class or when I read a magazine with you in it, I always wondered if I ever had the chance to get closer to you."

My mind was working on auto-pilot. I didn't put any thought into what I was saying, I only articulated the first things that came into my mind. On the inside, I felt completely embarrassed and exposed, but on the outside, I wasn't phased in the slightest.

"You said you wanted to get to know me better earlier." Adrian reminded me, "If you have any questions, I'm happy to let you in on anything you want to know."

"First question." I announced, drumming my fingers on the table, "What do you do for fun in your house if you have to stay in there all day?"

Adrian shrugged, "My father keeps a large library. If I am feeling bored I'll pick one out. I also keep up to date with Alya's blog on Ladybug, she's a very talented writer. I'll be the first to admit that it's easy to get lonely with a father as overprotective as mine, but I am sure he has his reasons."

I reached over the table to grab Adrian's wrist, "Well, you don't have to be lonely anymore. I am going to take good care of you. That's a promise."

Before Adrian could respond, we were interrupted by a man who had jumped out of his seat several tables behind us, "Everyone run! T-there is an akuma outside!"

Panic rushed through the restaurant as everyone began to flee at the untimely news. I knew that I needed to disappear to take care of the threat but the date I had with Adrian was only just starting. No way I would let our first time out go to disaster because of Hawkmoth. I squeezed Adrian's wrist tight.

"You stay right here." I commanded.

"What are you talking about Marinette? There is an akuma outside, we're both in danger!"

"I am going to go get help that can take care of the supervillain, we are going to resume things in just a few minutes, no need for worry."

"Marinette, that's crazy! Even the kitchen staff are leaving, there isn't any reason to stay here."

"Just don't move!" I snapped, frustrated at Adrian's insistence to leave, "Ladybug will stop the villain in a matter of seconds, she just has to know that there is an akuma here."

Adrian looked shaken up. I left him at the table as I ran into the women's restroom to transform. Before I could get my magic words out, Nevie decided to nag me.

"Why are you wasting time? It's obvious that boy isn't going to wait for you to take down the akuma!"

I gave Nevie a glare. "Yes, he will." I said, trying to pierce the kwami with the words, "Time to put the spots on, Nevie." I said, before she had a chance to disagree.

Nevie flew into my earrings and I felt myself start to transform. The black suit covered my whole body as usual but without my pigtails, when my hair extended in length, it made me look wilder and more unkept than before. It also retained its black coloration which fit the rest of the suit perfectly. I was once apprehensive towards the suit but now I felt more at home wearing my white spots than I did with my black ones. Tikki would always give me encouragement to be a good superhero but Nevie was able to put more strength into my muscles, gave me a stronger power that didn't require me to come up with some convoluted plan, and turned me from a good superhero to the best superhero. Becoming Ladybug once again gave me a hit of adrenaline. Fighting villains was a nuisance before, but now it was something I looked forward to.

I ran out of the restaurant to face my new adversary. In the middle of the street was the akumatized villain. It was a girl around my age, wearing track shorts with pink bubblegum hair. She took a low stance after she spotted me.

"Well that didn't take long." She said in a squeeky voice, "I got you right where I want you Ladybug, my name is Speed Star, I'll take your miraculous before you even know what's happening! With these amazing powers, I am sure Adrian would want to go out with me instead of that goth girl."

I couldn't help but laugh. Speed Star was a jealous fan who got akumatized because I went on a date with Adrian. At this rate, every girl at my school could be turned into a supervillain. "Listen, it doesn't matter what powers you have." I said cocking my head back to look down on the supervillain, "No guy is going to take you seriously when you sound like you do."

"You're going to wish you hadn't said that!" Speed Star had gone from standing still to moving at least forty miles an hour. She was quickly closing the distance between us, so I raised my hand up to the girl.

"Lucky Br-"

I didn't even have the time to get my words out, Speed Star had already slammed her fist into my stomach, staggering me long enough for her to easily swipe my earrings.

"Evening M'lady."

In what could only be considered a miracle, Chat Noir came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso. Using his extendable staff, he vaulted us up to a nearby rooftop. Speed Star might have been fast, but Chat and I still had a little bit of time before she climbed the flight of stairs up to us.

"She's too fast for me to use my superpower. Chat, can you hold her down for five seconds like you did the last villain?" I asked as I stood up on my own.

"I can try M'lady, but she's fast for me too. I also can't use my Cataclysm since you won't be able to repair any of the damage I do with it." Chat Noir stroked his chin in thought, "I think we should hop across these rooftops, it's going to be very difficult for her to follow us."

"And then what? How do we beat her if we can't fight her?"

Chat held his staff up to his head, holding it like a phone, "I'll call Rena and QB. With all four of us here? No way we'll lose."

I was ready to agree with Chat Noir. Speed Star was much more powerful than most akumas Chat and I had the displeasure of fighting. Waiting for help to arrive seemed like the best idea to me, but I felt the issue being contested in my conscious mind.

Not stopping her now will only cause more damage to everyone and everything around you. Finish this now.

No matter who the villain was, or what sort of crazy powers that they had, I was always the one to come up with a plan to defeat them. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee may have strong powers, but them being here wouldn't guarantee success. I clenched my hand into a fist. We didn't need to wait around for Speed Star to ruin more of the city. I knew how fast she was moving and I could react to her better next time. I knew that I could beat her.

"I don't think so Chat." I said waving him away, "Let me handle this."

Chat moved his staff away from his ear, "No way I am going to let you fight her all by yourself. I'll be by your side if you don't want to wait for the others."

"Do whatever you want." I remarked dismissively.

Without much time left, Speed Star broke through the rooftop door and didn't stop to monologue. She headed straight for me, Chat tried to intercept her, but a well-placed blow to his chest was enough for her to continue her pursuit. I couldn't match her speed, but I could roughly estimate where she would be to stop her in her tracks. I held my magic yo-yo in my hand and with a flick of my wrist, tried to guide it to where I thought Speed Star would be but she didn't make her capture quite that easy. She moved fast enough to avoid the yo-yo and slammed her foot into my breast.

I fell on my back, crumpling under the severe pain caused by Speed Stars attack. I looked up to see that she had managed to move so quickly that she took Chat's staff and started to use it against him. Chat was losing ground against Speed Star, moving closer and closer to the edge of the roof. In a sudden and devastating movement, Speed Star extended Chat's staff and used it to sweep his feet out from underneath him. In a blink of an eye, before I could react, I watched as my partner fell off the building.

"Cataclysm!" I could hear him yell, likely as a last-ditch effort to try to slow his fall.

Speed Star put her hands over her mouth in horror. Clearly, she did not intentionally try to murder Chat Noir, however, this moment of shock left her vulnerable, and I was ready to take advantage. I threw my yo-yo out in front of me and wrapped the string around Speed Star's legs, pulling her to the ground. I rose to my feet and continued wrapping the rest of her legs, then her torso, then her arms. She was completely immobile and harmless to me.

In a fit of anger over Chat Noir, I sat the supervillain up and slapped her across her face. I felt overwhelming satisfaction. I hit her once again and once again, I started to feel better. This person, who had caused Chat and I so much pain deserved to be punished. I began to swell with rage. Hawkmoth and akumas left my mind as I fixated on the villain who was tied up in front of me.

It's all her fault

I brought my hand back to strike her a third time, but as I did so, someone grabbed my arm. I turned around to see that Queen Bee had arrived too late to stop the supervillain, but just in time to stop me. She glared at me underneath her yellow and black mask.

"What do you think you're doing Ladybug?"

I stood up from Speed Star, "Villains don't remember their actions when they turn back to normal."

"And that's supposed to make it okay!?" Chloe snapped back, "Ladybug, we can't go beating up defenseless people, villains or not. We're supposed to be superheroes."

Chloe's lack of respect irked me, what did she know about being a superhero? She had only become Queen Bee for a month or so and had the audacity to start lecturing me. I had a right to be angry but a small part of my heart accepted the possibility that she was right, so without any more arguing, I turned back towards the captive villain.

"Lucky Break." I muttered.

The girl's hair had turned from pink to brown and her athletic clothing was replaced with a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. A white butterfly flew out of her trashy-looking sneakers. I recognized her face as an underclassman who attended my same school.

"There. Happy now?" I said sneering at Queen Bee, "I have somewhere I need to be, you check that Chat Noir is okay."

Queen Bee took a step away from me, "You don't help me? He fell from four stories… To save you Ladybug…"

I stepped to the edge of the roof and looked down to the ground. I could see Chat sprawled on the ground, clearly in pain but he was still moving. I threw my yo-yo to another building, preparing to swing back to Heise Xiehu.

"He'll be alright. Just make sure he didn't get a concussion or anything." I said dryly.

Queen Bee started to scream at me, "What is the matter with you Ladybug!? I can forget about you beating up supervillains for your enjoyment, but this is Chat we're talking about! How many times has he saved you? Or better yet, how many times has he saved all of Paris!? And you don't even care!" Chloe was beginning to lose her composure, she was beginning to hyperventilate and even tear up as she continued her verbal barrage, "He-he loves you Ladybug! Even if you don't feel the same, doesn't he deserve more than to be left on the concrete!? What happened to the Ladybug I used to love!?"

I didn't turn my head to face Queen Bee as I responded to her. "I have something to take care of now, that's it. Now instead of blaming me for everything, how about you help Chat Noir like I've already told you?"

I moved as fast as I could back to the restaurant. At most, the fight had taken seven or eight minutes, even if Adrian was nervous, I was still relatively certain that he would wait at least that long for me. I ran through the front door still dressed in my black suit but as I looked out towards the tables, not a soul was around. No cooks, waiters, and no Adrian.

"Time to take the spots off Nevie." I grumbled in disdain, "How did the best day of my life turn into my worst so quickly?