Adrien exited the school building and turned the corner to the courtyard. He had finally pumped himself up and gathered the courage to sit with Marinette and her friend group during lunch. He was going to just walk up to them, ask if he could sit, and take a seat next to her. He was quiet for a minute, but then Marinette would say something and he would find it charming and cute. He'd loosen up and he'd draw her into conversation-maybe they'd talk about Nino's music again, or maybe he'd talk about her clothes, or ask what she thought of Agreste's latest magazine. She'd get excited and talk to him and he'd have an hour of her undivided attention. He had a feeling today was going to be a very good day.
His feeling was quickly proven wrong.
He walked through the courtyard, past dozens of friend groups from other classes and grades until he found his best friend, Chloe, glaring at the girl of his dreams. Sabrina stood by Chloe's side, hands on hips and ready to fight. Luka, for whatever reason, was there, too, and he was shaking his head. Juleka was walking away from the scene, lightly patting Nino on the back. His buddy's face was burning red, and it almost looked like he had tears in his eyes. No one moved, and Adrien fought the urge to back away and go back to the classroom.
"I bet you're pretty confused," Alya whispered in his ear, appearing out of nowhere. Adrien rubbed his ear-he hated when people whispered directly in his ears; they were ticklish.
"Uh, yeah," Adrien whispered back. Luka glanced in their direction, and Nino shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Marinette and Chloe were having a battle of the wills and refused to back away from each other.
"You see, Nino went over to Chloe to tell her he liked her shoes. He was like, 'Are those new shoes? Can you show me where you bought them, maybe on Saturday? Like a date?' and Chloe got super mad. She was like 'No, I'm not going to go out with you, don't you get it? Quit bugging me and leave me along. You're pathetic and your music sucks and your parents don't even want you' blah blah blah. Nino cried, and then Marinette stepped in-that's when all the drama really started. Oh, I should mention that Luka showed up about ten minutes ago. Everyone was super confused and Juleka tried to get him to leave, but he wasn't really listening to anyone. Anyway, Marinette got all protective and huffy and was all like 'he was just being nice and asking you out, you could be nicer about turning him down, and you can stick that nasty attitutude right up your butt,' but obviously she swore a lot more and was generally more aggressive. Classic Marinette, right?
"So that's when Sabrina came in. She was all like 'Chloe doesn't have to say yes, and what else is she supposed to do if he can't take no for an answer?' and Marinette was like 'It's not ok to make people cry.' Then Luka was like 'you don't need to butt in all the time, like, Nino's fine.' But that was total bs because Nino was obviously not doing fine, and Marinette said that. Luka was condescending about her temper, and Sabrina laughed and said Marinette should stay out of things which were none of her business. Chloe told Sabrina that she didn't need her help. Marinette asked Sabrina if having a friend like Chloe worth being treated like crap. Chloe got mad at Marinette and told her she didn't have anything to do with her and Sabrina's friendship, and to lay off Sabrina because she wasn't a part of this. Then they sort of started this staring contest, and no one's won yet."
"I wasn't crying," Nino shifted over to them.
"Yes you were," Alya said. "Don't deny it. No one's judging." Nino pursed his lips and looked like he didn't agree. Luka ambled up to them. Marinette and Chloe didn't budge; Sabrina continued to provide moral support, or something.
"Hey, Man," Luka grinned at Adrien and led him through a complicated handshake. "We're still on for rehearsal tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course." Adrien glanced at Marinette. "Did you hear Alya's rundown of what happened?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty impressed, she got everything right."
"Of course I did," Alya said, "I'm a reporter. I observe, and then I report."
"What are you doing here?" Adrien asked. "You don't even go to this high school."
"Yeah, I just," Luka glanced at Marinette and lowered his voice. "I'm trying to get a feel for Mari,"
"What?" Nino sounded like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Adrien was in the same boat.
"I miss her," Luka admitted. "And I think she still likes me. I'm egging her on a bit, and I bet in a week she'll be eating out of my hand again."
"Dude, you're messed up."
Adrien silently agreed with Nino. Alya voiced her opinion, and she wasn't as kind as Nino.
"That's such a disgusting way to think," Her nose wrinkled. "Has it ever occurred to you that she's moved on and when she's snapping at you, it's because she's sick of you?"
Luka laughed. "Obviously, you don't know Mari very well."
"Maybe you should call her Marinette," Adrien suggested. "She doesn't seem to like that nickname."
"That's what she says, but deep down, she likes it."
"My hair!" All the boys turned to Alya, startled by her outburst. Adrien winced as he saw her hair; she was right to sound so distressed about it. Little hairs were starting to curl everywhere, and in general the hair was puffing up. It was a subtle change, and Adrien was impressed Alya could apparently feel the difference without looking in a mirror.
A siren blared through the street, and all the students froze. Then they moved as one frenzied mob. Marinette grabbed Chloe and Sabrina by the arms and dragged them throught he crowd. Adrien tried to beeline to the bathroom, but Marinette barked at him to follow her to safety. Mr. Damocles's voice echoed through the school, pleading with everyone to move in an ordered fashion. No one listened to him.
Marinette dragged Sabrina and Chloe to Bunker 12, and Adrien was forced to follow. As long as he was with them, he did his best to keep them from being separated. It was no easy feat; people got rowdy and desperate when their lives were at stake, and Adrien soon found himself separated from his classmates. He took it as a sign and pushed himself to the nearest alleyway. He wanted to keep his identity a secret, but there was no danger of anyone looking this way when they were so focused on survival and getting to the nearest bunker as quick as possible.
He transformed and extended his baton, looking around the city for the Makara. The sirens still blared in the street. He couldn't see the Makara anywhere. He dropped down to the street and stopped a woman, demanded her phone, and logged onto the Ladyblog. The official police account posted the location of the Makara. It was in the suburbs of the city, almost seven miles away. He shot off into the sky, keeping his eyes open for the Makara, or an Akuma.
"Watch out," Plagg warned. "This one's strong. One of those Advanced Makara."
"Do you know what it'll do to us?"
"No clue. Sorry, Kid."
Adrien saw the Makara rising in the horizon. Like all the other Advanced Makara, it was huge. Its body hunched over, like a gorilla, but it had flippers like a seal, which it used to knock over the nearby buildings. Its head was covered entirely by a red mist. A buzz sounded in the back of Adrien's head, and he was suddenly aware of a tension in his chest. It felt almost like a rope inside his ribcage. Plagg warned him to be careful; his words tightened the tension in the rope and the buzzing got just the slightest bit louder.
Adrien vaulted over the police and adjusted his grip on the staff, holding it almost like a spear as he flew through the air. The baton bounced off the Makara's hide. Damn the staff, it was useless; if only he could sharpen the end.
A small red blur zoomed through the air, and Ladybug landed on the Makara's back. She landed and looked a little unsteady. She ran up the creature's spine, towards its smoky head. A few policemen yelled at them from the street, and the noise tightened the rope even further. Adrien rubbed at his chest. It felt like he was confined in his skin, and he needed to do something to get rid of the tension.
He jumped up the Makara, landing on the Makara's head. Underneath all the mist, there was an actual head. It was just impossible to see. It must have been made of something very hard, though, because it felt like stone underneath Adrien's boots. The red mist swirled thickly around him, and it fogged his head. The tension in the rope got unbearably tight, and he needed to do something to get the feeling out of him.
He extended his staff so that it was the size of a baseball bat. He steadied himself and smacked it against the Makara's head with all his strength. A puff of mist emerged from where the baton had struck. Hitting the Makara eased the tension in his chest a little, but it wasn't enough. He wound back and slammed it down again. There was a subtle cracking sound. Another blast of mist erupted from the head. The sirens still rang through the streets, and it rattled Adrien's brain. Again and again he beat the staff against the Makara's head. Thick red smoke rose around him, and it bit at his eyes.
A yo-yo wrapped around him and he was almost pulled to the ground. Ladybug showed up next to him.
"Get this off of me," he growled at her, the tension in his chest rapidly tightening again. He pushed his arms to loosen the ties confining him. He didn't want to be touched-he just wanted to destroy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Don't snap at me," She withdrew her yo-yo and threw it at the Makara's head. It cracked under the force of her throw. The smoke blew in her face, and she glared down at the Makara.
"Get out of here!" Adrien whacked the Makara's head again. Red mist swirled around them, and Ladybug almost disappeared in it. "You're just getting in the way and frustrating the hell out of me! Go mess with the Akuma or something."
Ladybug's yo-yo wrapped around his staff and she pulled it towards herself. She rammed it into the Makara's head. It stuck out of the creature like the sword in the stone.
"Get over yourself," she snapped at him. "We're partners, remember? Quit giving me such an attitude and don't yell at me again!"
"Don't parent me!" Adrien yelled, stalking over to her. "You're not my mom, so stop telling me how to act, and leave me alone!" His muscles trembled, and he could just throttle her. Instead he reached for his staff. It was stuck in the Makara. He pulled at it, and something broke underneath it. Ladybug mumbled something to herself, and a light enveloped her. She'd created the machine firefighters used to get people out of crumbled cars-the jaws of life. She jammed it in the crack Adrien had created and started it.
The Makara screeched under them and threw its head back. Adrien lost his footing, but Ladybug reached out and pulled him upright. He shook her hands off. She scowled at him and he glared right back. Yeah, she wasn't the only one who could be nasty. He was tired of her uppity attitude, and how she was always telling him what to do, and how to act. He'd thought she was different from everyone else in his life, but he had been wrong-she was just like them, just a nosy, bossy, bitch.
The Makara screeched again, and the red mist pooled around them, thicker than before. Adrien didn't care. It wasn't dead yet. It moved; Adrien and Ladybug were flung off the creature. Rocks rained around them, and a large chunk hit him in the back. The air was knocked out of him, and the tension in his chest disappeared, replaced by fear. He had no staff, and he was falling to the crumbled street from five stories in the air. If he didn't die, he was going to be pretty messed up for a long time.
A thin restraint wrapped around his waist and jerked him up. Ladybug was on a roof, a perfect picture of a reliable superhero. Anger rose in Adrien's chest again. He didn't need her to treat him like a little kid, and he didn't need her to look down at him. He struggled with the rope, trying to free himself.
"Stop struggling," Ladybug grunted, pulling him up next to her. "You're acting like an idiot!"
"And you're acting like a control freak! Let me down!"
The Makara screeched behind them, and an Akuma finally appeared. Adrien didn't get a chance to study it, because he was suddenly being flung through the air. Ladybug swung him through the air like a lasso. Her eyes were hard, and she finally released him. The air whistled in his ears and his hair covered his eyes. He landed on the Makara's head and groaned. The red mist clung to him.
He crawled to his staff for balance and glared at Ladybug. She was already engaging with the Akuma and didn't spare him so much as a glance. She'd left him to take care of the Makara, just as he'd asked her. For whatever reason, this infuriated him.
He pulled his staff to the side, using it as a source of leverage to crack the Makara's stone surface. The Makara kept tilting from side to side as it smashed through building after building. It was near impossible to get it to slow down, even with Ladybug directing the Akuma's attacks towards it. Adrien kept pulling at the baton.
"Just use Cataclysm, you idiot!"
"Don't call me an idiot," Adrien grit. "Cataclysm!" He slammed his hand onto the Makara's head. It started to dissolve. The Akuma fell into a destroyed restaurant and Ladybug followed it. Cat Noir's ring beeped as he guided himself to the ground. The string of tension was still tight in his chest.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" An officer marched up to him. "You can't defeat the entire Makara by yourself. What do you think will happen to us? The people won't take the police seriously anymore-the media will say we're leaving the safety of Paris to a couple of teenagers!"
"Well, what's so wrong about that?" Adrien stood taller and stood toe to toe with the officer. "Isn't that what you're doing anyway?"
"The city will cut our budget!" the officer growled.
"That's not my problem," Adrien answered hotly. "The way I see it, you haven't been doing so well with keeping the streets of Paris safe, lately. And it's not like you're much help with the Makara or Akuma, either. Just what the hell does the city pay you for, anyway?"
"Cut it out!" Ladybug dragged a half unconscious Akuma behind her. It was larger than an average person, almost ten feet tall. Its wings were tilted at an uncomfortable angle, and it had extra arms sprouted from its waist. There were knives on each of its forearms. Its head rolled down, so Adrien wasn't sure if he knew who it was. The look on Ladybug's face was fierce, and decidedly unhappy. She didn't look too different from normal, actually.
Adrien readied himself for a fight with Ladybug, but she turned to the officer: "Back off." Adrien was surprised she didn't say more; evidently, she didn't need to. The officer didn't move for a second, but the venom in Ladybug's glare got to him. She threw the Akuma at him. "Can you Cataclysm the Akuma's weak spot?"
Adrien's ring beeped, reminding him that he'd already used his Cataclysm. Stupid limited superpowers. He looked over the Akuma's form.
"Can you or not?" Ladybug snapped. "If you can't, just let me know so we can sedate the Akuma until next time; quit wasting my time!"
"I don't need Cataclysm to destroy its weak spot," Adrien glared at her. He reached down and turned the Akuma so that he could see its body. He had a pretty good idea what the weak point could be. He grabbed its belt and tore into it with his claws. Nothing. He tore the man's jacket. Still nothing.
"If you don't know what you're doing, leave the guy alone," Ladybug pulled the Akuma away from him, but he held on.
"I'm not an idiot," he growled.
"Then stop acting like one! You're destroying all his stuff, and you're riling yourself up. Go home and calm down!"
"I'm perfectly calm!" Adrien grabbed the man's necklace and ripped it apart. A butterfly emerged from the broken jewelry. Ladybug purified it and turned back to him.
"Listen, you're obviously in a bad mood, and I bet it has to do with the Makara. I just want-"
"I can't listen to this anymore," Cat Noir interrupted her. "Unless you have something useful to say, I'm leaving." Her lips pursed until they were white.
"Fine, be that way. I'm going home."
Cat Noir left, too.
(That afternoon, Adrien was shuttled from lesson to lesson. No one noticed his brittle smiles or short responses. His anger built up within him until he excused himself halfway through his Chinese lesson, a tension headache throbbing in his head. He took some medicine and retired to bed early. Plagg rubbed ointment on the large purple bruise on his back. Natalie entered his room and told him his schedule for tomorrow had been revised. His father didn't check on him.)
(Marinette went home in a bad mood. Her mother, not known for her tolerance of disrespectful attitudes, took Marinette to the park for a few hours. They practiced their martial arts together, and by the time they went back to the bakery, Marinette was too tired to be angry. She worked in the kitchen with her father until her eyes couldn't stay open. She collapsed in bed with the lights on. Tikki tucked her human into bed and shut the lights off.)
(The police officers of Paris were in a notably bad mood for the next couple of days, and there was a marked increase in traffic infraction tickets they gave to the pedicab drivers. A number of them left angry remarks about Ladybug and Cat Noir on the Ladyblog. The comments were left up, but people did not take too kindly to the words, especially if they had been given a ticket. For the next couple of weeks, the courts were full of irate Parisians ready to fight to the death to appeal their tickets.)
Chloe strut into the classroom, walking in like she owned the room. There was no other way for her to be. Gabriel Agreste had found her crying in a corner of his house almost a decade ago, when her mother had left for New York for the first time.
They'd had a long chat. She'd confided in him all of her insecurities, and how she felt inadequate in almost every single way. She looked too much like her father for her mother to care for her, she wasn't creative enough for her mother to want her, she wasn't confident enough for her mother to love her. And now her mother was gone. Gabriel had gathered her in his arms and carried her to the kitchen, where he ordered the chef to make her a bowl of macaroni and cheese. Then, he'd sat down and told her the best piece of advice anyone had given her in her life: if she acted confident, eventually the real feeling would follow. And when she was confident enough, she wouldn't need others. Her mother's actions were only able to hurt her because Chloe allowed them to. Once she grew up a bit and gained some confidence, it wouldn't hurt anymore.
Chloe had lived every day since then with that advice in mind. She hadn't yet reached the point where her mother couldn't hurt her, but she was getting close. She was getting closer to being so confident that she didn't need anyone to hold her, or protect her, or be nice to her. She was on her way to being so self-sufficient that it wouldn't matter what other people said about her or to her. There was really only one person who had been in her way: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Dupain-Cheng had never left Chloe alone. She continuously stepped in when Chloe was doing anything, telling her what she could do better, and what not to do. She was harsh and blunt and sometimes downright mean, and she never softened her words. Every sound that came out of her mouth sounded like a personal attack, and try as she might, Chloe couldn't keep herself from trying to change herself so that Dupain-Cheng would leave her alone. She never did.
Until a few hours ago, Chloe had been convinced the pushy girl had hated her. Why else would someone continuously yell at someone and talk down to them? Then, in the middle of a heated argument, she'd pulled her to the bunker and made sure both she and Sabrina were safe. It wasn't even like she was going to the bunker with them; she'd dropped Chloe and Sabrina off at the bunker then ran off, spouting out something about making sure her parents were safe. It was the weirdest thing, and Chloe couldn't figure out why she'd done such a thing.
Chloe had been stuck in a crowded, sweaty bunker for almost forty minutes. At first she'd tried to play games on her phone, but the internet was so slow it infuriated Chloe more than it had distracted her. She'd put her phone away and listened as Sabrina complained about their classmate. Chloe had hummed along, but she couldn't agree with everything Sabrina had said.
Yes, Dupain-Cheng stuck her head in where it didn't belong, and she was incredibly rude about it. Yes, she was constantly frowning at people and was almost never in a good mood. Yes, she swore more than a sailor. But was she biased in all her decisions? Was she unable to get over her initial judgements of people? Did she bully people and isolate them when she didn't like them? No. From what Chloe had seen, Dupain-Cheng bothered with other people when they bothered her, but she didn't actively seek them out to antagonize them. She simply didn't care enough to go through all that effort.
Dupain-Cheng walked without the strut Chloe had mastered over the years. She spoke without thinking, and never let others thoughts influence her own opinions. She was annoying and rude, but she was the embodiment of what Chloe aspired to be.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was unapologetically herself. She walked around like the world didn't owe her anything, and she wasn't upset about it. She didn't care if people were mean to her, or what they said about her, and did whatever she thought was right. Chloe wished she had even a sliver of that genuine self confidence.
Chloe sat at her seat. Adrien wasn't there yet. Not many people were. It was pretty much just her and the girl with gorgeous curly hair and an immense knowledge of Shakespeare. Chloe sighed and rested her hand on her fist. Alya glanced at her.
"You got hurt by the Makara yesterday?"
"I thought I covered it up with concealer," Chloe's hand hovered over her own forehead, subconsciously trying to hide the blue bruise.
"It's not too noticeable," Alya assured. "I'm just observant."
"Oh, yeah," Chloe lowered her hand. "You're little miss reporter."
"And proud of it." There wasn't much more to say in response, so Chloe didn't say anything. "I run the Ladyblog," Alya said, and Chloe glanced at her. "I'm doing a bit where I interview people about their thoughts about Ladybug and Cat Noir. Would you mind if I interviewed you and put your name on the blog?"
"Do what you want," Chloe sat up straight and Alya walked over, pulling her phone out and started recording.
"Who do you prefer, Ladybug or Cat Noir?" Alya's voice was even and professional, with no hint of preference. It was easy for Chloe to answer without feeling like she would be judged.
"Ladybug."
"Any reason why?"
"She's been there longer, and she just seems so cool. I love her catchphrase: Lean On Me. It's so snappy and to the point, and I think it perfectly represents what a hero should be. A hero should be available for the people, and not think about themselves."
Alya looked a little surprised that Chloe would answer with such detail and sincerity, and Chloe sniffed. That just went to show how much little miss observant knew about her. Alya continued with the interview:
"Do you dislike Cat Noir?"
"No, he just reminds me a lot of my childhood friend, so I can't take him seriously."
"He reminds you of Adrien Agreste?" Alya lost her professional tone of voice and sounded actually curious. "How?"
"He's got this whole 'golden boy' persona that his mom forced him into, but he's actually a bit of a cheeky bastard if you get to really know him. Cat Noir just reminds me of him. Leave this out of your dumb blog, by the way."
"It's not dumb," Alya said, then moved onto her next question: "Have you had any personal contact with Ladybug or Cat Noir?"
"No, but I was behind the guy who got his phone taken by Ladybug that one time. I was so jealous she hadn't waited like, four seconds and taken my phone instead."
"She took his phone to check the Ladyblog," Alya said proudly. "You should check it out. You might like it and stop calling it dumb."
"I've been on it," Chloe rolled her eyes. "And it is good. I just find it dumb that your blog is more up to date and accurate than the news is."
"Oh," Alya blinked. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to say something else, but Dupain-Cheng and Adri-cat entered the room together. Chloe focused on the Chinese girl. She was pretty, in a tough, menacing sort of way, but her personality was just so odd. Chloe couldn't figure her out. One second she was glaring at Chloe, then she'd gone all Mother Teresa and saved her and Sabrina. She wanted to know why. It drove her nuts-Dupain-Cheng wasn't a nice person. She constantly yelled and snapped and scowled at people. She lectured Chloe any chance she got, and never cut anyone the slightest bit of slack. So, why had she seen fit to grab Chloe and Sabrina when they'd frozen?
"Where is everyone?" Adri-cat asked, glancing around the empty classroom. Alya stopped the recording on her phone, opened up a search engine, and typed into it rapidly.
"School was canceled today," she announced, "Somehow we were the only ones who didn't get the memo, I guess."
Dupain-Cheng spun on her heel and left, taking a big swig of her coffee. Chloe stood up and beelined after her. She pushed past a love-sick Adri-cat and grabbed Dupain-Cheng's arm. While she would have loved to tease him about how obvious he was any other day, today she was on a mission. Chloe caught up to her and grabbed her arm.
"I need to talk to you," she said. Dupain-Cheng turned back to face her and Chloe dropped her arm. "Well, it's more like I need to ask you something."
"Do you need something?"
"Yes. I need answers. Why did you bother with Sabrina and I yesterday? We would've gotten to safety eventually, and we aren't even friends. You don't even like me. So why did you waste time on us when you wanted to go check on your parents, or whatever?"
"That's your question?" Dupain-Cheng snorted. "It's easy. You looked like you needed help, and I was there. As long as I can help someone, even if they haven't asked for it, even if it makes things harder on me, I'll be there. That's what any decent person would do."
No, that wasn't true. Chloe had met dozens, hundreds of decent people. Not a single one of them would willingly waste their own time or put themselves in danger because of someone they didn't even like. This was unique, and one of those qualities Chloe secretly admired about the girl. It was strange to think about, but the person she fought with the most was the person she most looked up to, who she used as a sort of role model.
Chloe thought back to what she'd told Alya, about what a hero was: someone who was there for others. What Marinette Dupain-Cheng was striving for, who she was trying to become, was a hero.
It felt a little pathetic to aspire to be like a grumpy Chinese girl who couldn' function without twenty ounces of coffee every day when said girl was pushing herself to become a hero, but Chloe pushed down the urge to compare herself to Dupain-Cheng. The baker's daughter would never compare herself to others, and neither would Chloe.
She'd work hard and become as confident and self-assured as Dupain-Cheng, and then who knew? Maybe one day she could become a hero herself.
