And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!

Adrien and Marinette were walking to school together. Things were going relatively well. Ever since Marinette had helped him open up, Adrien found himself interacting with more and more people. Later today, he was rollerblading with Alix and Kim, and Marinette couldn't be proud of him.

"You're really improving, Adrien, do you know that?"

Adrien blushed. "Yeah, Mom and Dad have been telling me that too. So has Bruce."

"Why wouldn't they be? You're doing so well these days."

Adrien's face turned bright red. There was something about Marinette, actually, it was more like everything about Marinette. She was kind, smart, talented, outgoing, and in Adrien's own opinion, positively beautiful. Every time he looked at her, it made him smile.

"H-Hey, Marinette..."

Marinette perked up. "Yes, Adrien?"

"I-I was wondering if...well, I dunno, if you-"

Adrien's words were interrupted by the screams of an old man. Both teenagers looked towards the scream and what they saw worried them.

Some poor, old, Chinese man in a Hawaiian shirt had taken a bad step, causing him to fall and drop his cane.

"Oh no!" Adrien said as he rushed over to him and handed him his cane. "Are you okay, sir?!"

"I am alright. Thank you, young man." The old man said as he was helped up. "You have certainly saved my day."

"It's the least I could do, sir." Adrien smiled. "A few friends always told me to do the right thing, that's all that matters. I'm Adrien, by the way."

Marinette watched all of this from a distance and smiled, but then that smile gave way to a new feeling. She suddenly felt an odd sensation after watching Adrien act so selflessly. She felt her face heat up a bit, her heart speed up a little, and she felt warm, yes, warm and fuzzy. Just then, she was snapped out of it when the bell rang.

"We're late!" Marinette said as she panicked.

"Marinette! Adrien! There you are!" Peter cried as he came over. "Glad to see I'm not the only one running late! Come on!"

The three friends rushed into the school. The old man smiled as he watched them leave, hoping he would find the "gift" he slipped into Adrien's backpack pocket.

Later that day, Adrien was escorted home. He had just gotten back from rollerblading with Kim and Alix after school and he was a mess.

His clothes were dirty and tattered, his hair was messy from the helmet, he had scrapes and bruises from a few falls that he took, and he was sore in several places, but he didn't care. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Adrien had fun.

As he walked in the door, however, that fact wasn't all too clear. Nathalie saw him as she was walking by, and the minute she did, she froze in place, dropping her tablet.

"Hey, Nathalie. I'm home."

Nathalie did not respond. She started sprinting toward his father's office.

"GABRIEL! EMILIE!"

Adrien huffed. He had a good feeling about what was coming next. After about thirty seconds, he sighed.

"Three, two, one..."

"ADRIEN!"

Emilie rushed forward first, mascara-stained tears running down her face as she pulled Adrien into a hug. Gabriel followed close behind her, an urgent look on his face.

"Adrien, where on earth have you been?!" Gabriel said. "Your mother has been worried sick!"

"Oh, Adrien, my precious, my Sunshine, my baby! Are you okay?! Did someone hurt you?!" Emilie blubbered. "Oh, my poor child! Look at you! It's okay, Sunshine, Mommy's here! Do you need a snack?! A juice box?! Maybe a hot bath!"

"Mom! Dad! I'm fine!" Adrien said as he pulled himself away. "I just went rollerblading with my friends, remember?"

It was then the three adults noticed Gorilla walking in behind Adrien, carrying the boy's helmet, Rollerblades, and pads. Gabriel let the tension in his shoulders drop as he sighed deeply while Emilie giggled sheepishly.

"Oh, dear me. I completely forgot for a second."

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Adrien, while I'm happy that you're making friends and getting out there, I really wish you could let us know when you'll come back from these shenanigans instead of having us worry ourselves to death."

"Sorry, Dad..." Adrien said, bowing his head. "I guess I should go shower, huh?"

"Good idea. You reek of body odor." Nathalie said matter-of-factly.

Adrien blushed as he went to his bedroom to shower. Gabriel held Emilie's hand reassuringly as she smiled at her husband. This would take some getting used to but they were both glad that Adrien was slowly but surely opening himself up to others.

Marinette was in her room, still wearing her backpack, and enjoying the view. She was thinking about Adrien, and how warm and fuzzy she felt when she watched him help that man. She was lost in thought but was taken out of it when she heard car horns and looked down into the streets.

It was there she saw the same old man Adrien had helped earlier today. He was caught in the middle of the road.

Without missing a beat, Marinette rushed downstairs, then outside, and immediately rushed the old man to safety.

"Are you okay, sir?!"

"I am now, thank you," The old man said. "Guess I should pay more attention to where I am going."

Marinette giggled and then decided to take her kindness further by giving him some leftover macaroons from her lunch.

"Okay, try to be more careful."

With that, she headed back to her room to do her homework. What she didn't realize was that the old man had secretly slipped something into her backpack pocket.

As Marinette set her backpack down, she got a call from Peter on her phone and didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hey, Peter!"

"Hey. Marinette! You wanna come over to dinner later tonight? Aunt May's making that roast you like!"

Marinette beamed. "Boy, would I! Just let me finish my homework and I'll be right over!"

Marinette hung up and prepared to take her schoolwork out of her backpack when she noticed something strange poking out of one of the pockets. Taking it out, she saw it was a small black hexagonal box.

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

She opened the box and saw a pair of earrings that were red with black spots like a ladybug. Before she could ponder more on this, a bright red light emitted from them, making her flinch and drop the box.

When the light dimmed, Marinette stared in shock as a tiny red creature with black spots and antennas appeared and opened its big round eyes at her. Then she did what anybody would do in her situation...she screamed.

"MOUSE! BUG! BUG MOUSE!"

"Everything's okay! Don't be scared!" The creature squeaked in a high-pitched, feminine voice.

"HELP! TALKING BUG MOUSE!"

In her panic, Marinette began throwing things at this creature, who dodged each object.

"Marinette, please stop! I'm not here to hurt you, I swear!"

Marinette quickly grabbed a glass jar and trapped the creature in it, making it sigh.

"Okay, if that will make you feel safer."

"Who are you?!" Marinette asked. "And how do you know my name?!"

"I'm a Kwammi and my name is Tikki." The creature introduced itself. "Now just let me explain everything."

Meanwhile, back at the Agreste Estate, Adrien was getting himself dressed after a nice shower. Once fully dressed, he got onto his bed, and simply lay there, looking at the ceiling with a smile on his face, thinking about what a great day he had with his friends.

However, there was something else on his mind, or rather, someone; Marinette.

Adrien just couldn't stop thinking about her. Her eyes, her hair, her voice, her smile, her kindhearted nature, everything about her. Anytime Adrien thought about any of it, he was in a state of ecstasy. However, his ecstatic state was interrupted when he turned his head and saw an unfamiliar shape popping out of his backpack pocket. A small, black octagonal box.

"When did that get in there?"

He got up, took the box, and opened it. Inside was a black ring, which confused Adrien.

"Did Mom or Dad get this for me as a surprise gift?"

Suddenly, a bright green light came from it, and when the light dimmed, a small, black creature with cat ears, green eyes, and a tail appeared, letting out a yawn, showing its fangs briefly.

Adrien was shocked as he stared at the strange little creature, his mind wondering if this was some kind of magic trick. However, that soon gave way to excitement when he realized this was a real-life fairy creature.

"No way! Like the Genie of the Lamp!"

"I met him once. So he grants wishes, big deal." The creature said casually. "I'm way more personable. Name's Plagg, nice to meet you!"

With that, Plagg began flying all over the place, biting everything in sight.

"Hey! Don't touch that! Wait, get back here!" Adrien snapped as he tried to catch the crazed creature.

"Oooh! It's all so shiny!" Plagg said as he looked at everything. "Can you eat this? No, you can't! Oh! What about this?"

After a few minutes of playing Cat & Mouse, Adrien finally managed to catch Plagg, holding him firmly in his hands.

"Okay, what are you even doing here?"

"Relax, will ya? I'm a Kwammi." Plagg said. "If you just let me go and maybe get me something to eat, I'll tell you everything."

Back in Marinette's room, Tikki had just finished explaining everything to the confused young lady.

"So, let me get this straight; You're an ancient being of immense power, and you are choosing to grant that power to me so I can fight bad guys like Spider-Man and Batman, right?"

"Yup. I know it's a lot to take in, but the Great Guardian, the one who sent me, believes you're more than qualified." Tikki said.

"Then this Great Guardian should reconsider. I can't be a hero. The only superpower I could possibly have is super-awkwardness..." Marinette frowned.

"Marinette, you're the Chosen One," Tikki said. "I know you're young and have doubts, but you were chosen for a reason."

"I really don't know..."

"You're capable of so much more than you think, Marinette. My master chose you for this responsibility, and all the time I've known him, he's always made the right choice." Tikki said. "Please Marinette, trust me on this."

Marinette sighed. She felt like there was no getting out of this. "Okay, but give me some time to process this for a bit. This is all going so fast."

"Deal!" Tikki said with an understanding smile. "Oh, and one more thing, you can't tell anyone about this. Not a soul."

"I figured. But hey, it's not like anyone would believe me anyway."

"Absolutely not! I don't know who the heck the Great Guardian is but he's got the wrong guy!" Adrien said after Plagg finished explaining things to him.

"Look kid, I get that it's a lot to process. But the Great Guardian said-"

Adrien sighed deeply. "Look, being a superhero like Spider-Man and Batman sounds awesome but...I just don't have what it takes. I'm a screw-up, can't make friends on my own, and am always afraid of the worst possible scenario."

Plagg flew over. "So you've got self-esteem issues, big deal. I've worked with people who've dealt with even worse issues. I know that you don't think you can do it, but the Guardian who sent me picked you, and once he's made a decision, he rarely changes his mind. Believe me, I should know."

"I just don't know..." Adrien said, still doubting himself.

"Relax, I get it. You don't think you'll amount to much because of what people say about you. But sulking and moping won't do anything." Plagg said. "But trust me, that's all going to change. But you need to be willing to make the change first."

Adrien looked at the ring in his hand and frowned. A serious decision ran through his head that he'd need a few days to process.

A tired-looking man walked into his apartment room to see a pregnant woman sitting there, a concerned look on her face.

"So, how was it? Did they like your act?"

"Well, they said they might call me..." The man sighed. "I-I got nervous and blew a punchline."

"Oh..."

"What do you mean 'Oh'?" The man asked defensively.

"I didn't say anything." The woman said.

"Yes, you did. The way you said 'Oh', like that!" The man said, a hurt and frustrated look in his eyes. "It was 'Oh, so you didn't get the job', as in 'Oh, I should have known'! Like 'Oh, so how are we gonna feed our baby?!'!"

"Arthur, sweetie, calm down." The woman said, standing up and putting her hands on her husband's shoulders.

"Jeanie, don't you see? I have to go up on stage...and NOBODY laughs! And you think I don't care!" The man said, tears building in his eyes when he saw his wife's worried and frightened expression. "Oh god, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to take this out on you. You're suffering enough, being married to a LOSER."

Jeanie sighed as she pulled her sobbing husband into a comforting hug.

"It'll be okay. Even with well...the Big Man and all that."

"I can't keep going back to him for jobs, Jeanie!" The man said. "The things he's made me do!"

"I know, honey, I know..." Jeanie said. "It's okay, Arthur."

A knock was soon heard at the door as Arthur and Jeanie broke their embrace, the man walked over to answer the door and saw a man with black hair and a goatee there.

"Hey, Arthur, the Big Man's got a plan to take down 'You Know Who' in a week or so." The man said. "You in, buddy?"

"T-Them?" Arthur asked worriedly, getting the implications. "I-I don't know, Herman..."

"Look, the Big Man knows you're struggling trying to find honest work but trust me. This'll be your last job with us, old pal." Herman said. "If we can pull this off, we can all retire in the lap of luxury!"

Arthur turned to Jeanie, who still had a worried look but gave her husband a reassuring nod.

"Okay, I'll do it. I need the money to get us out of here before the baby comes..." Arthur sighed as he went to his closet and took out a fancy suit with a red cylinder helmet with a built-in two-way mirror so he could see out but nobody could see in.

"This is it. This will be the Red Hood's final performance." Arthur said firmly. "And after next week...Arthur Fleck will live a normal life as a family man."

Marinette and Adrien have now met Tikki and Plagg but need some time to figure out what they want to do with the responsibility thrust onto them. Neither of them realizes just how soon the call to action will lure them out.

Also, we meet a down-on-his-luck man who's also a member of the Enforcers led by the Big Man, one of Paris' notorious crime lords. He's trying to make an honest living but he keeps having to do crooked jobs for his boss to support his pregnant wife.

What nobody realizes is that this man is about to have One. BAD. DAY...

Yeah, all of you Batman Fans should know I'm not even trying to be subtle with who I'm teasing here.