Chapter 8.- The Sandman.


It was a quiet morning in Paris. Or so it seemed.

After the public appearance of the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, the people in Paris had changed a lot, and this was evidenced by the angry comments of many of the followers of Alya's Ladyblog.

Many complained about the neglect of Spider-Man, Ladybug and Chat Noir, since Electro, Aftershock, Rhino and the Vulture had caused enough damage to the city, especially the latter, as thanks to him, the Arc de Triomphe had been destroyed.

Others were simply following the slander that J. Jonah Jameson wrote about Spider-Man and said that the wall-crawler was a menace and had corrupted their beloved heroes.

And a small part was quite upset because according to them, the presence of Spider-Man and Iron Man in Paris was a symbol of "American imperialism" that sought to take control of their nation.

And while Peter Parker was accustomed to that, Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng were still unaccustomed to people blaming their mistakes or their failures, at least not in their alter-ego.

But this time, they didn't feel so overwhelmed by that fact, mainly because they had gone through something similar during the confrontation with Electro, so they could keep their minds occupied in school, the contest and the occasional villains that Hawk Moth or the Green Goblin sent to try to steal their Miraculouses. But since the confrontation with the Vulture and the timely arrival of Iron Man, it seemed that Octavius, Gobby and Hawk Moth were being much more cautious, and now less than ever, they were out in public. On the other hand, the tension between the group of heroes was quite palpable, especially between Ladybug and Spider-Man, as Ladybug tried to make Spider-Man confess everything that had happened with Gwen Stacy and several other things, while the wall-crawler was completely focused on stopping the plans of Otto Octavius and Norman Osborn before they could be completed.

And among all that, Chat Noir tried to be the voice of reason between the two, trying to be impartial with both and wanting to make Spider-Man and Ladybug stop attacking each other.

Finally, returning to the morning in question, everything was quiet and normal, until a strong outburst came from outside a bank, which triggered the alarm and made the citizens of Paris run for their lives, as they were already so accustomed to doing so.

From the debris of the bank entrance, a figure wearing a yellow and brown suit with a net design on the yellow parts, and having some kind of metal gauntlets, walked inside the building with a smirk beneath his mask.

Immediately afterwards, the bank guards tried to reduce the man in the mask, but the latter simply chuckled and pointed his arms against the guards, releasing a powerful shockwave that sent the guards flying several meters back. Then the thief walked slowly to a counter and loaded one of his gauntlets again, which he used to punch the bullet glass that separated the villain from the cashier, destroying it with alarming ease. After this, the villain reached out and grabbed the cashier by the shirt and lifted him.

- All right, Frenchies, my name's none of your business, but if you need to call me in some way, you can call me Shocker. - Said the man in the strange suit. - 'Nuff said, I want you to hand me all the money, nobody dare try to call the police and I promise no one will get hurt, and believe me, with my impact gauntlets, you don't wanna get hurt.

After that, Shocker released the terrified cashier and threw a pair of canvas bags, which were quickly filled by the cashier. Shocker smiled under his mask and waited patiently for the cashier to finish filling the bags, but just before that, a static hum was heard in his ear, followed by a voice with a Germanic accent.

- Watch your six, Ladybug and Spider-Man are coming to the scene. - Said the voice with Germanic accent.

Shocker smiled even more broadly as the two red-suited superheroes landed in the ruins at the entrance, then the villain turned quickly and fired two shockwaves against the bank entrance, failing his targets narrowly.

- All right, pineapple head, I'll just say it once. - Spider-Man said in an unusually serious tone. - where are Octopus and Gobby, and what the hell are they up to?

- Spider-Man, this is no time for your goose chase! - Ladybug snapped.

- Then forgive me for worrying that two of the most dangerous maniacs in the world are loose out there, planning who knows what to destroy us and rule the world!

- I told you when we faced Batroc to put that aside! We'll take care of the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus when the time comes!

- Oh, sure, I forgot that you were my boss and you can give me orders.

- Close your damn mouths now, pesky brats! - Shocker roared as he fired a blast at Ladybug.

Ladybug gasped and realized that due to her closeness to Shocker, she wouldn't be able to dodge the attack in time. However, just seconds before the blast could hit Ladybug, Chat Noir pushed her out of the way and took the attack instead.

Both Spider-Man and Ladybug let out a loud gasp as they watched the cat hero receive the shockwave and crash hard against the wall, then both glared at Shocker, who laughed with satisfaction when he saw Chat Noir lying on the floor.

However, it was short-lived, because not long after, the wall-crawler and the girl in the mottled suit gave him a powerful kick to the chin, while they swung with a webbing strand and the magical yo-yo, respectively. The attack knocked Shocker almost immediately and made him crash into the bank counter, where the workers watched with fear the scene before them. Then, Ladybug's yo-yo and a webline from Spider-Man ripped the gauntlets from Shocker along with part of his suit, and once they had them in their hands, the young heroes proceeded to break the gauntlets in half. And as she noticed for the third consecutive time the absence of an akuma or a pixie, Ladybug sighed again.

- Another villain that Octavius sends... - Ladybug let out. - Counting the Vulture, the Beetle, Grizzly, Batroc and the White Rabbit, there have been six already.

- True, it seems that Gobby and Octy are making auditions to see who enters their team of friends... - Said a sore Chat Noir while trying to get up. - I mean, with those six, Electro and Rhino, they're already eight villains.

At that moment, Spider-Man and Ladybug ran to help their fallen partner, but as soon as they noticed the other's presence, they glared at each other.

- Look what you did! - Ladybug snapped.

- What I did ?! I wasn't the one who just stayed put, watching as Shocker attacked us! - Spider-Man replied.

Again, a screaming fight began between the two heroes in red suits, which irritated Chat Noir to the point where he could no longer stand it, two weeks of the same routine, with both fighting and he having to save them, having to receive attacks for them, had been too much for him. So, the cat-themed hero growled and frowned.

- Shut up, you two! - Chat Noir shouted. - Both of you are just as guilty that I've gotten hurt in all the fights of the last two weeks! You're lucky that your stupid arguments haven't claimed the lives of any civilians!

Spider-Man and Ladybug gasped as they listened to Chat Noir's statement, while the latter scolded himself for being so hard with his words. Then the cat hero sighed and looked at his two partners.

- Look, I know that you don't get along lately, but I ask you not only as your partner but as your friend, try to stop your fights from interfering with our activities, we're very lucky that the only one who has gotten injured in these two Weeks has been me. - Chat Noir said. - Ladybug, you don't know, but Spider-Man has his reasons to keep secrets, you shouldn't reproach him or you could regret it when you know the reason.

- Wait, how do you know...? - Spider-Man tried to ask.

- I still don't know it, let's just say a certain old woman told me to be a bit more tolerant with your secrecy mania. Now, as for you, you shouldn't be so impertinent or rude to Ladybug, she just wants to get know you better so she can trust you again.

Spider-Man grimaced in shame, then he looked at Ladybug, who had a similar expression on her face.

- Look, I don't like to hide things, it's just... - Spider-Man said before he sighed deeply. - ... It still hurts, you know? Gwen Stacy's death happened just a little less than three months ago and I still haven't gotten over it...

- Still, you should've trusted us and tell us at least about that. - Ladybug said.

- Try to be the cause of the death of an innocent girl or boy and then do what you say...

- Talking about it can help you...

- That's what Madame Web, Captain America and Iron Man said, and everyone was wrong. Believe me, the less you know about me and my past, the better for everyone.

- You do realize that something like that probably came out in the newspaper of the screamer with the mustache and that we could learn a biased version against you, right?

Spider-Man sighed in exasperation at that moment, then turned to a clock on a wall, checked the time, turned back to Ladybug and said:

- Fine, you wanna know about my past? Perfect, I will tell you everything, but not here nor now, I have important issues to solve. - Spider-Man said. - I'll see you guys you already know where at midnight.

With that said, Spider-Man left the bank and went away, swinging in his weblines.

Minutes later, Peter landed right next to the window of his room and quickly entered the latter, then undid his transformation and walked to his desk to grab his camera, which he had recovered after Marinette and him had practically begged his Aunt May to give it back. And although Aunt May did, she didn't miss the opportunity to make the teenagers uncomfortable, asking them if they were dating.

Anyway, for the moment, Peter simply let out a sigh and turned on his camera to check out some of the photos he had taken in the last two weeks, while a certain red-and-blue creature floated toward the brown-haired youngster.

- Peter, are you okay? - Leopardon asked.

- Pretty much. Why you ask? - Peter said nonchalantly.

- Well, it's just that I don't think you're not in good condition, so to speak, you and Ladybug are still fighting.

- True, but that's because she has found a way to get under my skin lately, and you've seen what has happened in the last two weeks, what she has caused...

- Peter, be honest, both of you are guilty of everything that has happened lately.

- I know... - Peter sighed. - And that's why I want to end it, if telling Ladybug and Chat Noir about Gwen will make everything back to normal, then I will.

- I don't think you should, I don't think you're in a position to share something as intimate or as painful to you as the fight on the Queensboro Bridge was.

- Maybe not, but you, Cap, Iron Man, Madame Web and Uncle Ben have told me many times that I should think about the common good rather than my own.

- Child, you really surprise me sometimes. - Leopardon said in a tone of astonishment. - I certainly wasn't wrong in the least when I told Madame Web and Dr. Strange that you would be not only the smartest of my Spider-Men but the strongest and noblest.

At the words of the spider kwami, Peter could only let out another sigh.

- You're wrong, Leo, I don't do this because I'm strong or noble, I just want Ladybug to stop bugging me and to focus on helping me stop the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Hawk Moth. - Peter said.

- I think that's not it, at least not completely, trust me, I've seen many in similar situations to yours, I know what I'm talking about.

- Anyway, I think it's getting late for me to meet the guys in the park, again, I just hope Marinette doesn't get mad at me for my tardiness.

At the mention of the girl who was secretly Ladybug, Leopardon smiled broadly and chuckled, which caught the attention of the holder of Responsibility.

- What are you laughing at? - Peter asked.

- Oh, nothing, it's just good to see you so worried that your girlfriend doesn't get mad at you for your tardiness. - Leopardon chuckled.

- Marinette is not my girlfriend, I already told you, Aunt May, Harry, Alya, Nino and half of the school... - Said Peter before sighing once more. - And I don't think I'll have a girlfriend again, not after what I did to Gwen...

- Peter, that was not your fault...

- The autopsy says the opposite...

- The result was inconclusive, you can't know what killed her first, whether it was the Goblin's poison or the whiplash effect of your attempt to save her.

- Until it's known, I will continue to blame myself... - Peter sighed before getting up. - Well, we have to go, little flying pest, Marinette and the others must be waiting.

Peter opened one of his drawers and took out one of the many chocolate bars in it, then unwrapped it, broke a good piece of it and gave it to his kwami.

- You'd better not get my sweatshirt dirty again, Aunt May scolded me the other day because "I" left a huge stain of chocolate that dirtied the rest of the clothes. - Peter said as he wrapped up the rest of the chocolate.

- Don't blame me, boy, it's a small price to pay for your powers. - Leopardon said as he gnawed the piece of chocolate on his little paws.

Peter rolled his eyes, then Leopardon flew into the sweatshirt of the young man from Queens and they set out for the park, to the area where the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir stood.

Once Peter arrived at the place, he saw Alya and Nino already waiting for him, the first one leaned at the base of the statue and the second sitting on a nearby bench, but Marinette was nowhere to be found.

- Well, you're late, Peter, seriously, you and Marinette are like two drops of water. - Alya said with a smile.

- Well, it's well known that great minds think and act alike. - Peter laughed.

- And what excuse will you give this time, huh? - Asked Nino while he played with his cell phone. - Did the dog eat your homework? Jameson didn't pay you again? Were you on a date with Marinette and both will come at different times to mislead everyone?

- How many times do I have to say it? Marinette and I are not dating.

- Maybe not, but it's fun to watch you two blush and get mad each time we mention it. - Alya chuckled.

- Hahaha, very funny. - Said Marinette sarcastically.

- Speaking of the queen of Rome. - Said the young reporter as she turned to greet her best friend. - You know I laugh with you, not at you.

- Well, we're all here, why did they call us here? - Asked Nino as he got to his feet.

At Nino's question, Peter and Marinette turned to see each other, then nodded and let out a sigh as Peter pulled his camera out of his pocket.

- We need your opinion on the pictures Peter has been taking in the past two weeks. - Marinette said while Peter gave his camera to Alya.

- The deadline of the contest is this weekend and we wanted a semi-impartial opinion about which photo we should send so that Marinette has more opportunities to win. - Peter said.

- Okay, let's see what you have... - Alya said as she started to go through the camera pictures. - Wow, these Spider-Man photos are amazing! How do you manage to take them?

- Alya, focus. - Marinette said.

- Okay, okay... But could you give me some pics of the wall-crawler? I want to start a section of him to counter the Bugle's site.

- Alya, you can think about your Spiderblog later, I really need your help here.

- There is a Spiderblog already, but it's not very good, it was made by a guy who calls himself CaptainSpider1. - Alya said while beginning to check the non-Spider-Man photos. - Well, judging from what I see here, you're going to have to prove that Peter isn't a professional photographer.

- It's true, they all look amazing. - Added Nino. - I think you guys have the contest in the bag with any of these, especially with the one of the rainy day.

- Wait, there's a photo of the rainy day? - Asked Marinette.

Alya tried to show Marinette the photo, but the blue-haired girl snatched the camera quickly and looked at her.

The photo was quite simple, but at the same time quite striking. In the picture, Marinette, Alya, Nino, Harry and Peter were laughing and running in the rain to take refuge, their hair and clothes completely soaked, and the moon and street lamps created a magnificent effect of light, in which the teenagers seemed to shine.

Seeing the photo, Marinette was very surprised, she didn't even know the picture existed, but she was completely astonished.

- How did you take it? - Marinette asked as she turned to Peter.

- I have no idea... - Peter said. - I think I left the camera somewhere and left it programmed because that day I remember that we ran and I took the camera on the way.

- Well, then you're the luckiest guy in the world unless you don't take the camera from Marinette, because she could erase it by mistake. - Alya said with a giggle.

Marinette quickly recalled the small incident with the Ladybug video, which made her gasp and immediately afterwards, the unlucky girl gave the camera back to Peter, who just chuckled.

- Easy, I know bad luck. - Peter said with a funny tone. - The same thing happened to me several times, so I always make two copies of all my information, just in case I lose it, erase it or destroy it.

- You're very smart, Peter. - Marinette said with a smile.

- No, I only know the disadvantages of being somewhat sloppy, so I'm always ready for any eventuality. - Peter answered with a smile.

While Peter and Marinette were talking softly, Alya was reviewing a notice from her Ladyblog, which had led her into a fierce argument with one of her followers who had turned against the heroes the young reporter appreciated.

- Ugh! This girl is completely irrational! Alya grunted. - How dare she say Ladybug is sloppy when she saved him at least five times?!

- Calm down, Alya, it's no big deal. - Marinette said nonchalantly.

- That is not so much? This chick's a jerk. How dare she say those things about Ladybug, Chat Noir and Spider-Man, after they've risked their lives so many times for all of us?!

- Welcome to the infamy of Spider-Man, Alya. - Peter said while he sighed. - It's a shame that the wall-crawler's bad luck has infected Ladybug and Chat Noir.

- This isn't his fault. - Alya said. - I don't know him as well or as personally as you do, but I know he's not to blame for what people are saying now.

- Well, it's the first time I've heard anyone but myself, or Flash Thompson, defending Spider-Man.

- Well, the webhead deserves it, he's a real hero. - Nino said.

- By the way, who's Flash Thompson? - Alya asked.

- A bully from Midtown High School, he loves Spider-Man. Anyway, I think we should send the photo for the contest...

- Why bother? Marinette has no chance against moi, you just make it easier for her to even participate. - Said a certain evil blonde.

- You're right, Chloé. - Said a certain lackey with a purple sweater.

- But of course I'm right.

Faced with the unexpected presence of Chloé Bourgeois and Sabrina Raincomprix, the teens couldn't help but sigh in exasperation, especially the photographer and the designer.

- Shut up, Chloe, and leave us alone. - The photographer and the designer snapped.

- As you wish, all I know is that you are made for each other, a pair of awkward fools.

With that said, Chloé and Sabrina walked away from the park, while the blonde strutted like she owned the place. On the other hand, Marinette and Peter glared at Chloe as she walked away.

- Ok, that's it. - Peter stated as he focused again on the photos of his camera. - You must defeat her at all costs, Marinette.

- I will. - Marinette said. - But how will we do it? We don't have the photo yet.

- The photo of the rain is assured victory, or at least assures us that Chloé will lose to you.

- I agree, let's go, we have to make sure that thick-headed blonde has her just desserts.

With that said, the Parisian girl and the New Yorker boy walked away while smirking with a hint of malice, while Alya and Nino watched them walk away with a look of surprise and a hint of fear.

- Okay, I'm officially scared. - Alya said. - Nino, remind me to never to make those two angry.

- The same I say... - Nino released.


(In the meantime)


- You're failing, Octavius! - Norman Osborn shouted as his kwami sat on his shoulder.

- Be patient, Osborn, I thought that even with your limited mind, you would be able to see that I am only testing those three nuisances. - Octavius said without caring.

- Honestly, I'm surprised you're trying to fool Normie, after all, the three of us know that the White Rabbit, Beetle, Shocker and the others are your best men. - Coffee said.

- You're wrong, weak-minded creature. - Octavius said, causing Coffee to glare at him in annoyance. - I still have several other men who are truly the ones who could become part of the Sinister Six.

- Seriously?

- Well, you better do, Octavius, especially considering that Stark is still in Paris and won't leave until next week.

- Don't worry about Stark, I'm sure my real candidate will be more than capable of dealing with a poor devil like Iron Man.

Norman sighed heavily and left his lair, being followed by his kwami, who floated a few inches away from his head.

- I feel like you're thinking again. - Coffee said suddenly.

- That's right, Coffee... Norman said with a hand on his chin. - Octavius is planning something, otherwise he wouldn't be testing my patience. I know he plans to destroy me, and one doesn't need to be as smart as me to realize that he probably wants to use the Sinister Six against me.

- The same I think, I told you not to ally with him.

- Please, Coffee, you overestimate that idiot. However, I won't take any risks, so I have to find another candidate myself, and since Sytsevitch was deported to Russia, I think I'll have to fight alongside Octavius, just to make sure he doesn't try to betray me before he ceases to be useful to me.

- Honestly, Normie, you are the evilest of all my chosen ones, and probably also the smartest, ugliest and most naïve.

- And you're the most annoying creature I've ever met... aside from Octavius.

- Thank you, I'm proud of it.

Norman rolled his eyes at his kwami's statement, while Coffee just chuckled.


(Later)


Hours after sending the photo for the contest, Peter Parker was again wearing his heroic red and blue suit, while swinging towards the Eiffel Tower, feeling that a part of his mind ordered him not to go there as he approached the iconic monument of the city of Paris.

"It's not a good idea, Parker, it's total stupidity, and I think we know perfectly well when something is stupid, we're experts at it, after all." Said the part of his mind that ordered him not to go to the Eiffel Tower.

"It's the best thing, I can't keep risking civilians, much less Chat Noir. I have to settle things up with Ladybug, we shouldn't keep fighting, especially when we have to stop the team that Octopus and the Goblin are forming." Said the part of his mind that urged him to move on.

- I have to act as an Avenger would, and that means I have to make our team work well. - Spider-Man said to himself.

At that moment, Spider-Man landed at the Eiffel Tower, at the place where he had spoken to Ladybug and Chat Noir in his early days in Paris.

A few seconds later, Ladybug and Chat Noir landed in front of him, the former with a scowl on her face, and the latter with an expression of doubt.

- Well, we're here, start talking. - Ladybug snapped.

- Good evening to you too... - Said Spider-Man annoyed.

- Calm down, both of you, what we need the least now is one more of your fights. - Chat Noir said.

- Well, now, what do you want to know first? The most traumatic event of my past, or should I start in chronological order?

- Just start talking. - Ladybug said.

- Alright...

Spider-Man took a deep breath, held the air for a few seconds and then exhaled, mentally bracing himself for what he was going to say, however, Chat Noir stood between him and Ladybug.

- Stop. - Chat Noir said.

- What are you doing, Chat Noir? - Asked Ladybug.

- Look, my Lady, I know that he has hidden things from us, that he has not told us what he plans to do and that he has shown himself to be quite reserved, but I firmly believe that he has every right to keep his secrets, just as we keep own.

- But, Chat...

- No buts, Spider-Man is our friend, we shouldn't force him to talk about personal things if he doesn't want to do it. He'll tell us when the time comes, but for now, I suggest you find another way to deal with your problems.

Spider-Man stared at his teammate, then turned his gaze back to Ladybug and noticed that he was staring at the feline hero in disbelief.

But at that moment, just before anyone could say anything else, a loud rumble was heard not far from there, And in the distance, you could see a monstrous mass was taking a humanoid form and beginning to cause destruction.

In the face of the situation, the three young heroes did not hesitate for a second and took to the action, arriving at the roof of the École Militaire in a short time, and for their luck, they had not yet attracted his attention.

- What the hell is that?! - Asked Chat Noir.

- It seems to be a creature made of sand! - Spider-Man said.

- How do we stop it?! - Asked Ladybug.

- You can't! - The monstrous creature laughed as he turned his attention to the heroes. - Give me your Miraculouses now or you will feel the wrath of the Sandman!

- To be so frightening, your name is ridiculous! - Laughing Chat Noir.

The Sandman roared at the mocking of the hero in black, then raised his massive fist and tried to crush the heroes with it, but they were able to dodge him easily. The bad thing was that the villain had managed to destroy much of the École Militaire with alarming ease.

At the action of the Sandman, Ladybug gasped, then glared at the villain and gritted her teeth as she began to spin her magic yo-yo quickly.

Immediately after that, the blue-haired girl threw her yo-yo against the Sandman, having no effect on him.

After that, the Sandman laughed and threw a torrent of sand at Ladybug, who was saved just in time by Chat Noir, while Spider-Man used one of his weblines to propel himself against the villain in front of them.

However, being a predictable move that would never work with an opponent the size of the Sandman, the latter caught the hero of New York in his fist and began to crush him. But thanks to a quick maneuver from Chat Noir, who struck the arm of the monstrous creature that caused his hand to crumble, Spider-Man was freed.

After that, Chat Noir and Spider-Man fell in front of the Sandman and had to jump in opposite directions to dodge the villain's other fist.

The ground shook violently as the fist of the Sandman struck the ground, triggering the alarms of all nearby cars, breaking several windows and breaking down fragile structures.

On the other hand, the heroes stood in front of the creature, on the remains of the École Militaire, while they watched with terror and nervousness at their most recent opponent. They were in a huge predicament. The Sandman was by far the strongest and biggest villain they had faced, and it seemed that it was another villain who was neither Akumatized nor Evillized, so they had no idea how they were going to defeat him.

- This thing is gigantic, how are we supposed to defeat it? - Asked Chat Noir.

- I don't know, we could only beat him if the Avengers came to help us, but that's discarded because when they arrive, it would be late. - Spider-Man said. - Therefore, our only hope would be Ladybug's Lucky Charm.

The alluded heroin simply nodded, then tried to raise her arm to throw her yo-yo, but a small glimmer distracted her a moment.

A flash that ended up crashing against the side of the Sandman's head.

A few seconds after that, a loud explosion hit the spot where the flash had crashed, and the force of the explosion made the Sandman roar while a big part of him collapsed. Before the scene in front of them, the three of them let out a gasp, then they turned their eyes to one side and saw a gleaming red and gold figure, floating several meters above the ground, staring at the Sandman.

- Iron Man! - Chat Noir said cheerfully.

- Get ready to fight! This is not over yet! - Shouted Iron Man while he prepared the arsenal of his suit.

- Ladybug, your Lucky Charm! Use it now! - Spider-Man said.

Ladybug turned her gaze back to Spider-Man, then nodded again and threw her yoyo upward, at the same time Iron Man and the Sandman began to fight.

- Lucky Charm! - Ladybug shouted.

A few moments later, a strange package fell into Ladybug's hands. A package that contained some sort of red cartridges with black spots.

- What is this supposed to be? - Asked Ladybug.

- They're web fluid cartridges. - Spider-Man said while he took a cartridge from his belt to show it to his companions. - Look, they're identical, only those are red with black spots.

- And what should we do with them? - Asked Chat Noir.

- Give me one and let me try it to see what's so special about them. - Spider-Man said while he removed one of the cartridges of his web-shooters.

Ladybug opened the pack quickly and handed one of the eight cartridges inside it to Spider-Man, then the Queens hero inserted it into his web-shooters and fired a thread webbing, noting that it was exactly like his common webbing. The webline stuck to a pole and the heroes saw it with disappointment.

- It seems that this time the Lucky Charm gave us something completely useless. - Chat Noir snapped.

- No. It can't be, the Lucky Charm has given us strange objects and they may seem to have no use whatsoever, but they have always helped us. - Ladybug said.

- So what's so special about this webbing...? - Spider-Man tried to ask.

At that moment, the web that Spider-Man had fired began to melt the metal lamppost and made it bend, leaving the heroes stunned.

- Acid webbing... - Spider-Man said with a smile. - Of course, that should weaken the cohesion between the particles of the Sandman, as well as destroy enough of them and help us to reduce his size. And if we combine it with Chat Noir's Cataclysm, we could beat him.

- Could you say all that but this time in French? - Asked Ladybug.

- With the webbing, we will weaken the Sandman and reduce his size, and you'll give him the coup de grace, Chat Noir.

- Got it. - Chat Noir said with a smile.

- I have an idea, but I have to go to my house for the spare web-shooters I built. You guys and Iron Man distract that thing, I'll be back soon.

At that moment, Spider-Man took off his web-shooters and gave them to Ladybug, who looked at him in disbelief.

- Switch the cartridge of the left web-shooter, put them on your wrists and use them to weaken the Sandman, with your experience using your yo-yo, you shouldn't have any problems. - Spider-Man indicated. - And speaking of your yo-yo, I need you to give it to me.

- Why? - Asked Ladybug.

- I need something to swing around, without my web-shooters I can't move quickly, I'd ask Chat Noir to borrow me his staff but honestly, I don't know how to use it, and that way you won't be defenseless.

Ladybug made a grimaced in doubt, however, she took her weapon and handed it to Spider-Man.

- I better get it back without any damage. - Ladybug said in a menacing tone.

- Same goes for my web-shooters. - Spider-Man snapped as he grabbed Ladybug's yo-yo. - I have spares, but my kwami would kill me if I did anything to those.

At that point, Spider-Man threw Ladybug's yo-yo onto the roof of a building and pulled slightly on it, which made it retract and pull the American hero with it, while Ladybug and Chat Noir turned to help Iron Man fight the Sandman.

On the other hand, Spider-Man, although it was not very different from swinging with its cobwebs, was having some difficulties to correctly use Ladybug's yo-yo, since it had to remain suspended in the air for a couple of seconds to retract the yoyo and return To throw it, instead of simply releasing the rope and firing another, and because he was already very accustomed to alternating his spear-cobwebs while he was swinging.

However, the young Parker managed to get to the window of his room and quickly enter it, without drawing the attention of neighbors or his Aunt May.

Once inside his room, Spider-Man hung the Ladybug yo-yo on his utility belt and went to his desk to rummage through the drawers, trying to find the spear-cobwebs he himself had armed. But after searching all the desk drawers, he still didn't find them and that was making him more and more nervous.

- Where the hell are they?! Where did I put them?! - Spider-Man scolded himself aloud. - I always do the same! Why do I still don't learn to keep my stuff in order, like Leo with his chocolate drawer?!

The teenage hero moved quickly into his closet and began rummaging through it, throwing things around, including the armor that Iron Man had given him less than a week ago.

After a couple of minutes more, Spider-Man let out a victory laugh as he found a shoebox in the bottom of his messy closet, which he quickly grabbed and opened to find his spare weapons, along with some empty web fluid cartridges and several notebook sheets detailing the schematics of the web-shooters and the synthetic web fluid formula.

Without wasting any more time, Spider-Man put on the bracelet-like devices and checked its cartridges, noting that although they were almost empty, they had enough fluid to return to the remains of the École Militaire. So the boy in the colorful red and blue suit jumped out the window of his room and fired a webline to swing back into battle.

In the meantime, although they could now hold the Sandman at bay, thanks to the advantages of the acid webbing and the Iron Man suit; Iron Man, Ladybug and Chat Noir simply couldn't defeat the monstrous creature, since it regenerated as quickly as they damaged it.

And while the Parisian girl acknowledged that they were really useful and that they were easier and quicker to use than her yo-yo, Ladybug was somewhat uncomfortable using Spider-Man's web-shooters, as she was not used to how quickly she had to swing or switch arms between each swing.

"I have to hand it to the wall-crawler, he makes wearing these things look easy." Ladybug thought as she kept shooting webs at the Sandman.

On the other hand, Iron Man was beginning to get impatient, because nothing he did really seemed to hurt the Sandman, and besides all, there was the fact that his protege was involved who knows where.

- Where the hell did the boy go, JARVIS?! - Tony snapped at the AI in his suit.

- According to the GPS installed on his Avenger ID, he is in the apartment you are renting for Peter and May Parker. - Answered the AI.

- WHAT?!

- Calm down, Iron Man! - Chat Noir shouted. - Spider-Man and my Lady have a plan!

- That's true! I just hope he comes back before the Sandman kills us! - Ladybug added as she tried to fire a web at her opponent.

- Sir, the signal of Spider-Man's ID is moving, it's coming back here. - JARVIS reported.

- About time! - Iron Man snapped.

- Watch your twelve, sir. - JARVIS said.

At that moment, the Sandman's fist hit the Armored Avenger, causing him to crash into the ground and severely damaging his armor.

Then the villain lifted his giant fist and turned it into a hammer to crush Iron Man as JARVIS tried to reboot the armor.

- Finish the reboot now, JARVIS! - Screamed Iron Man in despair.

- I do everything I can, sir. - Answered JARVIS.

- Die, you tin man! - Sandman roared.

- Spider-Man to the rescue! - Spider-Man shouted as he pulled Iron Man out of danger with a webbing strand.

The Sandman's hammer smashed the ground, shaking and cracking it, at the same time he let out a laugh of victory, as he thought he had crushed the Armored Avenger.

However, a few seconds later, the Sandman received a repulsor ray directly to the face, which made him stumble a little, then make him look in the direction in which the repulsor ray had been fired.

While his face was regenerating, the Sandman gasped, then he put a look of fury and frustration, which was quite appropriate, because the four plagues he had tried to eliminate for some time were still in front of him, all looking at him with a defiant expression as they stood in a combat position.

And as the Sandman turned to attack the heroes, Iron Man turned his gaze to the three teens on the ground next to him.

- Alright, Spider-Man, I guess I owe you thanks for saving me, but I seriously hope you have an amazing plan to get us out of this or you'll be sorry for leaving while we were fighting that thing. - Iron Man snapped.

- Easy, Iron Man, I have everything planned. - Spider-Man said while he gave Ladybug her yo-yo. - Your yo-yo, without any scratches, now give me a couple of web fluid cartridges, and give one of the shooters to Chat Noir.

Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo and gave a couple of cartridges to Spider-Man, who quickly proceeded to remove the empty cartridges to replace them with the acid webbing, while Chat Noir took the web-shooter from Ladybug's right wrist and replaced the normal web fluid cartridge with one of acid webbing.

Just before the Sandman launched another torrent of sand against the heroes, they jumped out of danger, then Chat Noir and Iron Man launched into the attack on the villain while Ladybug and Spider-Man aimed the web-shooters on their wrists at the villain front to them.

Chat Noir threw his staff, which was followed by a shower of micro-missiles and balls of acid webbing. The Sandman was stopped dead in his tracks by the attacks of the heroes, then began to roar and growl of pain as the missiles detonated and while the webbing began to dissolve some of the granules of the Sandman's body.

Meanwhile, Alya had been filming with great excitement the fight of the heroes she admired, wondering where Peter was, since the girl couldn't see him anywhere. Although of course, that was just a small question that was in the back of her mind, as she was shocked and amazed by the fight she was witnessing; seeing Chat Noir, Spider-Man and Ladybug was amazing, watching them team up with a hero of the stature of Iron Man, was epic for her.

- Hi, followers! - Alya said as she continued filming the fight. - It's midnight, but you know that I will not stop to bring you all the news of our beloved heroes! As such, and if you haven't heard or just tuned on this transmission of the Ladyblog, at this time, our heroes are facing another villain, which is called the Sandman, but that's not the most incredible thing about this, because Ladybug, Chat Noir and Spider-Man are teaming up with no more and no less than the Invincible Iron Man! And although the four heroes are having some trouble to defeat the Sandman, you can be sure that they will...!

- Get down, child! - Iron Man snapped.

At that moment, Alya fell to the ground, just before a car that the Sandman had thrown with a fist, could hit her. The car ended up crashing into the ground, not far from her, then Alya let out a loud gasp as she was lifted from the ground by the shoulders.

- Help, Ladybug! - Shouted Alya.

- Calm down or you will fall! I'm just taking you to a safe place!

- Iron Man, at your six! - Shouted Spider-Man.

Iron Man turned his head and gasped as he saw a torrent of sand approaching him. The Sandman's attack hit Iron Man and damaged his thrusters, so the Armored Avenger began to fall to the ground. In a sudden attempt to protect the child he was still carrying, the armor opened quickly, revealing that it was operating without a pilot, and assembled around the teenager's body, just before the Iron Man suit ended up crashing against the ground.

Alya groaned in pain as the armor crashed into the floor, felt her head spinning and her body vibrating violently, a few seconds later, the girl recovered from the impact, then gasped as she realized she was inside the armor of Iron Man, then tried to get out of it to continue recording, but the mechanical suit was completely blocked, so now only could see through the slits that were the eyes of the armor.

Meanwhile, the Sandman burst out laughing at seeing the armored suit of the Armored Avenger on the floor, believing he had beaten the real Tony Stark, while Ladybug, Spider-Man and Chat Noir were stunned, as they didn't really care that Iron Man was not actually with them, but that they had noticed Alya's presence and that the suit had been assembled around her shortly before the impact, and they were concerned that Alya could be badly injured by the fall.

So Ladybug acted instinctively and completely forgot the plan to come to the rescue of her friend.

- Alya! - Ladybug shouted as she ran to the collapsed armor.

- Ladybug, wait! - Spider-Man snapped.

The wall-crawler raised his arm and pointed his web-shooter at the heroine of the mottled suit, but immediately stopped as he remembered that he was using the acid web fluid.

Chat Noir had started to run after Ladybug in an attempt to stop her, but it was too late.

A few meters before reaching the battered armor, Ladybug extended her arm and pointed the web-shooter on her wrist at the suit, but just before shooting, she felt an enormous amount of pain coming from all over her body, at the same time as she felt her feet stopped touching the ground and that she was thrown violently into the air. A few moments later, Ladybug again felt an intense pain which was quickly relented and was replaced by a sensation that made her lose consciousness and left her mind totally black.

On the other hand, Spider-Man and Chat Noir could do nothing more than to see in horror how the Sandman gave a powerful punch to Ladybug that made her smash face-first against a wall, making her look like a ragdoll.

Before the scene, Chat Noir's mind was blocked for a second, then he felt the rage invading his being, accompanied by a feeling that urged him to avenge his beloved, to murder the poor idiot who had dared to hurt her that way.

In that second, Chat Noir's eyes began to emanate some kind of dark energy as he clenched his fists and teeth, which became sharper than usual.

- Cataclysm... - Chat Noir grunted as black energy covered his right fist.

Listening to the grim tone of Chat Noir's snarl, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense went off and made him turn to see the feline hero, who had thrown himself at the Sandman, glaring at him with the same murderous look he used against the Green Goblin.

Chat Noir roared and ran towards the Sandman with his hand ready to use his Cataclysm against the villain, while Spider-Man could only try to stop his teammate manually, but again he reacted too late and Chat Noir escaped him by very little, which made the wall-crawler take the decision to remove one of the acid web fluid cartridges of his web-shooters to stop Chat Noir from committing a stupidity.

Meanwhile, Sandman laughed and threw a fist against Chat Noir, but he shied away with alarming ease and went on. Then the villain launched more and more attacks, accompanied by several weblines that Spider-Man shot him in a desperate attempt to stop him, but Chat Noir dodged everything with the same ease as the Sandman 's first blow and when he was close enough, he extended his staff and used it as a pole to propel himself toward the face of his enemy as he prepared his hand to punch the Sandman.

A blow that would probably kill the villain, and though deep down he knew it, the rage that came from knowing that the Sandman had seriously injured Ladybug, had blinded him.

The Sandman and Spider-Man only managed to let out a gasp, just before Chat Noir's hand formed a fist and pierced the Sandman's head, using his Cataclysm in it.

Chat Noir fell to the ground with an acrobatic movement, then turned back and smiled wickedly as he saw that his Cataclysm was slowly consuming the Sandman's body.

The Sandman let out a howl of pain as his body turned blackish and began to crumble slowly, while Chat Noir forgot his murderous rage and went to check on Ladybug.

On the other hand, Spider-Man just stood there with his mouth open and completely stunned. He simply could not believe what Chat Noir had done, and within his mind, he could not help but imagine an inverted scenario where he had killed the Green Goblin in front of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Spider-Man wanted to say something to his partner, but the words stuck in the lump in his throat, so he simply sighed heavily and went quickly to check that Alya was well and get her out of the Iron Man armor.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir was checking his partner's condition, noting that she had a blow to the head and a trickle of blood coming out of her nose, which caused him to worry greatly and made the killer glow and the dark aura which his eyes emitted, to disappear all of a sudden. Almost immediately, he took Ladybug's pulse and made sure she was still breathing, and although her pulse was low and her breaths were barely noticeable, feeling both made Chat Noir sigh with relief. However, his eyes recovered the dark aura as the feline hero turned to the one who had attracted the problems that had caused Ladybug to get so wounded, the hero of the red and blue suit that now was dismantling the Iron Man suit to get Alya out of it and verify that she was well.

Using his skills to adhere his hands to practically any surface, Spider-Man began to pull the pieces of the suit, making sure of not damaging neither Alya nor rendering the suit useless, so at least Iron Man wouldn't be so angry with him for destroying his armor.

- You know something, Miss Césaire? - Spider-Man asked after ripping the mask off the suit. - I really appreciate that you want to clean my reputation from the things Parker and Jameson say about me, but you shouldn't run straight into the line of fire for it, it's not safe for someone without superpowers.

- You should worry more about Ladybug, she took a worse blow than me. - Alya said as she stepped out of the Iron Man armor.

- She'll be fine, she's strong, she'll get... ugh! - Spider-Man tried to say as his Spider-Sense activated.

Just before the wall-crawler could react, he was knocked down by a black figure, who was grunting and roaring. The figure and the web-head rolled on the ground for a few seconds, then Spider-Man managed to immobilize his attacker on the ground, then gasped as he realized that the attacker was Chat Noir.

- What are you doing, Chat Noir?! - Alya said as she ran towards the two superheroes.

- All this is because of his fucking fault! - Chat Noir said as he struggled to get rid of Spider-Man's grip.

- This is not my fault! - Spider-Man snapped. - You know this is part of the life of a superhero!

- For your fucking fault, the damn Green Goblin is after us!

- He would have come after you anyway! Even without me saying anything about the Miraculouses!

- Enough! - Shouted Alya. - Both of you are on the same side, you shouldn't fight between yourselves!

Spider-Man and Chat Noir glared at each other, then the wall-crawler stood up and sighed heavily, causing Chat Noir to stand, still glaring at him.

- I am sorry. - Spider-Man said. - I think indirectly this is my fault, but fighting between us will only all three of us killed. We can help Ladybug and we can defeat both the Goblin and Hawk Moth, but we have to focus, you said yourself that what we least needed was a lawsuit between us.

- What an irony, isn't it? You use my own words against me... - Chat Noir sighed sarcastically.

- I know, but remember, we're in this together.

- And what will we do when we get to them? Because you obviously want to kill the Green Goblin...

- Just like you did with the Sandman?

- Don't try to turn this against me.

- Um, guys? - Alya said while she gestured somewhere. - Sorry to interrupt your talk, but I think this isn't over yet...

Spider-Man and Chat Noir looked in the direction indicated by Alya and they let out a gasp as they saw that a small stream of sand was coming out of a crack in the ground and little by little it was forming a pile that slowly was taking a humanoid figure, which gradually polished details until it became a brown-haired man in a green T-shirt and khaki pants, who was glaring at the heroes.

- Oh, great... - Said both heroes.

- Miss Césaire, get out of here, take refuge. Chat Noir, take Ladybug to get medical attention, I'll take care of the Sandman... - Said Spider-Man.

- Don't dream about it, he's mine... - Chat Noir grunted as his eyes recovered the murderous glow.

- Chat Noir, control yourself, anger, remember? Don't let it control you.

- It's too late...

With that said, and as Alya ran to safety, Chat Noir lunged at the Sandman as he roared, but before the hero in the black suit could even attack the villain in the green shirt, the Sandman snarled and fisted his fist to give a strong blow to Chat Noir and throw him away from him.

As he watched his companion be thrown violently away from the villain, Spider-Man used the web-shooters that had the normal web fluid cartridge to create a net between him and a pole to catch the cat-themed hero and prevent him from getting any more hurt.

Then New York's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cast an angry glare at the Sandman and launched into the attack, firing several acid webbing balls against the villain.

The webbing created holes in the body of the Sandman and made him growl in frustration, then Spider-Man ran towards him and tried to hit him but as expected, the body of the Sandman was almost completely immune to physical damage, so Spider-Man's attacks hardly made him move and disintegrated parts of his body.

On the other hand, the Sandman roared and grew his two fists as he lifted them, in an attempt to crush the arachnid hero with them, but Spider-Man reacted in time thanks to his Spider-Sense and kicked his legs, disintegrating both and knocking the villain down.

However, the rest of the Sandman's body quickly regenerated and he threw a powerful punch at Spider-Man, which made the wall-crawler crash into a wall.

After this, Spider-Man ended up quite stunned, his head spinning, his vision blurred and his sense of hearing barely allowed him to understand and listen to what was happening around him.

The hero of Queens dragged his body as much as he could, then tried to lift his head but there was almost no strength left in him so the wall-crawler simply chose to turn on the floor, staring at the midnight sky while panting heavily in an attempt to recover the oxygen that the Sandman's attack had driven out of his lungs.

A few seconds later, Spider-Man slowly regained his senses, which allowed him to realize that Chat Noir now seemed to be in a fierce battle with the Sandman, after which Spider-Man sighed and looked around, trying to find a way to end the bout once and for all.

And just a few feet from him, Spider-Man saw a hydrant, over which he kept his attention for a couple of minutes until his brain was able to function again as it should and made him realize that he had the form to stop to Sandman once and for all right in front of his eyes.

Pulling forces of weakness only by his willpower, Spider-Man stood up and looked at the Sandman, who continued to fight with a Chat Noir who did little to hide his desire to murder the villain who had seriously injured the girl he loved. Before the scene, Spider-Man frowned again and aimed his web-shooters at both fighters and then shoot several balls of normal and acid webbing against the feet of Chat Noir and the body of the Sandman, respectively.

As soon as the New York hero's webbing hit Chat Noir on the floor and pushed back the Sandman, both the Parisian hero and the villain glared at a Spider-Man who smiled mischievously.

- You know, Sandman, aside from the fact that your name is ridiculous in every way, your powers are pretty dumb, although it may be that you're a fool. - Spider-Man snorted. - After all, if you were smart, or at least creative, you would have beaten us quite some time ago.

- Shut up! You underestimate my powers, especially considering I killed the insect and the supposedly invincible Iron Man! - The Sandman roared.

- If you were smart you would know that you broke an empty shell and that Ladybug is just unconscious, but we're talking about you, after all...

The Sandman roared in frustration and anger, then turned into a torrent of sand and lunged at Spider-Man, who simply laughed and jumped to the side, falling on the fire hydrant.

The Sandman reformed again and looked at the arachnid hero, who simply chuckled and waved him goodbye.

- Goodbye, my friend. - Spider-Man said.

With that said, Spider-Man kicked one of the water intakes, breaking it and causing a powerful stream of water to hit the Sandman directly.

Immediately, the Sandman began to be disintegrated little by little, by the pressure of the water, causing the villain to scream while his particles were taken to the drainage by the water.

Once the Sandman was completely disintegrated, Spider-Man looked at his utility belt and pulled out a black cartridge from one of the compartments, then inserted it into one of his web-shooters and fired an incredibly thick webbing to cover the hydrant with it, which hardened quickly, completely sealing the hole in the fire hydrant.

- Good thing I invented the sealing webbing. - Spider-Man let out. - This should last for a few hours.

After that, Spider-Man sighed with relief and turned his gaze to Chat Noir, who was again running to check on Ladybug again, which he did as well.

After confirming that Ladybug was still breathing, Chat Noir took her in his arms and tried to leave, but a strange sound stopped him dead in his tracks.

The feline hero and the arachnid hero turned around to see what caused the strange noise they were hearing, and they gasped as they saw Wong coming out of a portal, looking at them with a serious but calm expression.

- I think it would be unwise to take Ladybug to an ordinary hospital, especially if you want to keep her identity as a secret. - Wong said. - Besides, my Master wishes to see you. Please follow me.

Wong snapped his fingers and the remains of Iron Man's armor began to float behind him, then Spider-Man gestured Chat Noir to follow Wong, which the black-suited hero did very reluctantly, being followed by Spider-Man, while Alya watched them disappear in the distance.


(Hours later)


Ladybug felt terrible.

Her body ached, her head was spinning and her eyelids felt heavy, plus she couldn't remember what had happened.

The last thing in her memory was that she, Chat Noir and Spider-Man were facing the Sandman, then saw that Iron Man tried to save Alya but was shot down, then he saw that Tony Stark was not really with them and that his best friend had been protected by the Iron Man suit, after that she had tried to go to help her but suddenly everything went black.

And now her body ached like never before, so she could sense that whatever had happened to her was that in her attempt to help her friend, the Sandman had attacked her and knocked her out.

Marinette tried to get up to know what had happened after the Sandman's very probable attack and where she was, but a hand made her lay back gently.

- You should not move, young lady, you're still very hurt. - Said a calm and unknown voice.

Ladybug was confused by the tone in which the voice spoke to her, almost as if it were some kind of father figure. So the girl in the mottled costume slowly opened her eyes, grateful that the room she was in was dimly lit by candles rather than some intense lights like hospitals.

When her eyes became accustomed to the light, Marinette noticed that she was again in the room where Wong had healed her after the first fight with Electro, only that instead of seeing the bald Asian-looking man, she saw a man with a beard and black hair with a few gray hairs on his temples, wearing a blue suit with red and gold details, a red cloak and a golden necklace with some kind of eye, which glowed with an intense green light, and who was floating several inches over the floor with his legs crossed while he read a book quietly.

- I certainly underestimated how resilient you are, Ladybug. - Said the man with the beard as he put his feet on the ground. - And I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe.

- Strange...? - Ladybug murmured. - Are you...?

- Yes, Spider-Man's guide, besides Madame Web, of course.

Strange walked up to Ladybug and put a hand on her forehead, then closed his eyes and sighed deeply as Marinette felt a warm energy run through her whole being, while it made the pain decrease considerably.

- Well, that should help you soothe the pain and heal you gradually. - Doctor Strange said. - By the day after tomorrow in the morning, you should be perfectly fine.

- Thank you... - Marinette said.

- You do not have to thank me, young lady, my job is to make sure the holders and their Miraculouses are safe. Now, please, follow me.

Ladybug woke up, feeling a slight pang of pain every time she moved her body, but she simply ignored them and looked at Doctor Strange as he returned the book he was reading to its shelf with a spell.

A few moments later, Strange began guiding the heroine of good luck through the corridors of the Sanctorum, taking her to some sort of hall with several objects covered by glass domes and with a brass plaque in front of them, which described what they were, or so she believed, since they were written in a strange language that she didn't even know existed.

Once there, Doctor Strange made a strange move with his hands and conjured a pair of elegant looking chairs and a very austere coffee table right in the center of the room.

- Please take a seat. - Doctor Strange said politely. - Would you like a cup of tea? I promise you it's nothing like the concoctions that Wong prepares to heal you and your friends, on the contrary, it's delicious and will help you calm down to make this talk a little more enjoyable.

- Y-yeah, sure… - Ladybug replied with some confusion. - But why do you want to talk to me?

- Well, as I said, it's my duty to make sure the holders and their Miraculouses are safe, after all, the Sorcerer Supreme was the one who created those artifacts. - Said the Sorcerer Supreme while using a spell to serve a cup of tea for Ladybug.

- The Sorcerer Supreme?

- That's right, but it was not me, of course. No, that title has been mine for almost five years, the Miraculouses have been around for several millennia.

- That...

- Let's leave that for another occasion when our situation is less precarious. - Strange said. - For now, I must tell you about the future, of course without revealing everything.

- Why?

- Because it is vitally important that you face this, so you and your friends can grow as heroes.

- I don't get it...

- You will understand, don't worry about that.

- Well... what do you have to tell me, Doctor?

- First, I would like you to stop being so insistent with young Spider-Man, he has gone through a lot of pain and that is why he is so secretive because he does not want more people to get emotionally involved with him and end up getting hurt. In fact, he and Chat Noir had an argument because of your injury thanks of the Sandman, and although he denied it, I could see that internally, he blamed himself for that.

- Wow... - Ladybug let out somewhat confused. - I... I think I hadn't thought Spidey could have such a reason...

- His mocking and childish attitude during the battles leave much to be desired, but it's only a façade so that the criminals won't see how scared or nervous he is. And as with you and with Chat Noir, the Miraculous gives him more confidence.

- So Spider-Man is like me?

- In a way, both you and he are very shy without the mask, you know that you must fulfill your duty as heroes no matter what may happen to you and, as no intent to reprimand you for it, since even I did it myself in more than one occasion, have abused your powers.

At the comment, Ladybug couldn't help but blush a little and looked down at the cup of tea in her hands, in shame as she remembered the times when she had used her skills for purposes that had nothing to do with saving the helpless, and couldn't help but wonder what Spider-Man had done to abuse his powers.

Then the heroine in the mottled suit took a sip of the tea and was taken aback as she discovered that it really tasted good.

- But getting back to the point, after what happened, it is likely that Spider-Man will try to get away from him and that Chat Noir supports it. - Doctor Strange said. - And it is your duty to avoid leaving them alone. Don't get me wrong, both are good heroes and know how to defend themselves, but they need you as much as you need them.

- We're a team… - Ladybug murmured under her breath.

- Right. Now, as a second point, I have to tell you that extremely bad things are about to happen to you, things that will make you lose hope of being able to defeat your enemies and bring peace to the world. Your task is to never let yourself be overcome by that hopelessness and be the light in the dark for your friends.

- I get it...

- And especially, Marinette, no matter what happens, don't let anything separate you from your friends, both civilians and superheroes.

- I'll try to… - Ladybug tried to say before realizing that Strange had called her by her civil name. - Wait a sec... why did you call me Marinette?

- You do not need to pretend with me, child. Madame Web and Master Fu revealed your secret to me recently, but do not worry, I will not tell your secret to anyone.

- Well... Nothing that you say is very encouraging...

- It is not, but at least now you will not be completely ignorant of what is coming. That will help you prepare mentally, but I ask you to not say anything to Chat Noir or Spider-Man, they should know nothing of what I have revealed.

- Why?

- Because they will try to prevent all this from happening, interfering with the timeline can cause problems much greater than those already intended to occur.

- I see.

- Well, if you have no more doubts, I suggest that you go to your home, you must rest.

- I just hope my parents don't notice all the time I was away...

- Don't worry about that, I used a time shift spell, so while hours have passed inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, just a few minutes have passed outside of it. - Doctor Strange said. - It was difficult and dangerous, but I think I cast it well, the fabric of space-time has not torn yet.

- How can you do something like that?

- Thanks to this. - Strange said as he gestured at his necklace. - It's called the Eye of Agamotto and it increases my mystical powers to a level where I can alter the very reality around me.

- Wow... you must be very powerful...

- Believe me, I'm not the only one who can do that, but there are very few others.

- Seriously?!

- Seriously. Now, follow me, I'll take you home.

Ladybug nodded and drank the rest of her tea in one gulp, then stood up and Doctor Strange made a couple of gestures with his hands, which projected a pair of gold-colored magical seals and created a portal, which surprisingly let her see the city of Paris from the balcony of her room.

- Seriously... magic is incredible... - Ladybug let out.

- Maybe when there's some more time, I'll be able to show you even more incredible things. - Strange said. - Now, come, it's time for you to return home.

- Thank you for everything, Doctor Strange.

- As I said, it is my duty to ensure that the carriers are safe.

Ladybug made a slight curtsy to Doctor Strange, and the latter replied the gesture with a smile, then Ladybug passed through the portal and it closed. After that, Marinette undid her transformation and suddenly felt a painful pang run through every inch of her body, at the same time a squeaky little voice let out a loud cry of pain.

Or at least it was as loud as Tikki's little voice let her be.

- I think... that was... a very bad idea... - Marinette panted.

- I agree... - Tikki said. - Let's go in... we should rest...

Marinette just nodded, then the girl and the kwami entered Marinette's room and went almost immediately to the girl's bed.

As soon as Marinette fell on her bed, the young girl let out a loud sigh and put herself in a comfortable position to sleep, without even changing her clothes.

On the other hand, Tikki went into the drawer that Marinette had prepared for her as a room and leaned on the small cushion she had for a bed, then looked at her chosen as she dropped into the arms of Morpheus and analyzed the doctor's words Strange.

"Whatever it is, I hope Strange, Web and Master are right ... I hope the guys are ready to face their fate." Tikki thought.


I know it's been a long time since I uploaded a chapter of this fanfic, but I think you've already noticed that this one's quite long, later on, I'll also upload several other chapters to catch up with my scheme of uploading one chapter per month. But that was only the beginning of my setbacks, since my work has been very demanding, I started to resume my studies of higher education, but among all that a tragedy happened and it was that my USB memory was damaged and I lost much of the progress that I had done during June, July and the middle of August, so besides bringing all this, to compensate for all the time without knowing about me, I'm gonna tell you that there will be a Halloween special in three parts, which will be published on October 5th, 15th and 31st, the beginning of a "Star vs the Forces of Evil" fanfic linked to this one that will also be published on October 5, and finally I bring you information about the kwamis that will appear throughout this story, to be specific, their names and species.

For now, I say goodbye and hope to follow my evil plans, but I don't think I'll be able to at all. Anyway, I am dying to hear your opinions and theories about who will have the kwamis and how they will appear, so please, I invite you to leave a review with them (by the way, these are not all the kwamis, I have more planned but those will stay as a surprise).

Tikki - Ladybug
Plagg - Cat
Wayzz - Turtle
Trixx - Vixen
Pollen - Bee
Nooroo - Butterfly
Duusu - Peacock
Luppin - Wolf
Praan - Praying Mantis
Leopardon - Spider
Coffee - Goblin
Ivoire - Cat
Tepiton - Grasshopper
Betrug - Jackal
Lihle - Tiger
Ludico - Squirrel
Vinnum - Snake
Stiing - Scorpion
Shou-Lao - Dragon
Caedes - Reaper