"Dude, did you hear about Spider-Man stopping that bank robbery yesterday? So cool!"
"That's nothing! Last night, Batman showed up and stopped an assault! I think I heard one of the creeps got permanent brain damage!"
Spider-Man and Batman; two names that were relatively well-known in Paris. Both of them were vigilantes who stalked the streets of Paris, stopping all manner of crimes around the city.
Batman usually operated at night but a few denizens had noted him showing up during the day on the rare occasion. As for Spider-Man, his appearances were infrequent, sometimes he'd be swinging around during the day, and at other times, he could be found crawling at night.
One thing was for certain; when a crime was taking place, one of these two warriors was on the scene, making sure it stopped before it got too far or even before it happened.
What none of the students at Collège Françoise Dupont were aware of was that these two legendary heroes were students at their school. And right now, they were with their closest confidants.
"How was your day today, Adrien?" Bruce asked the younger boy. He had managed to reconnect with him somewhat, even visiting the Agreste Mansion to say hello to Gabriel and Emilie for old-time's sake.
"It was...okay. Nobody bullied me, at least..."
Bruce hummed and nodded. Considering his showing of what would happen to those who bullied Adrien, a lot of students were afraid of earning the wealthy young socialites' ire by harassing his friend.
Meanwhile, Marinette was talking with Peter about their current science class homework. While Marinette wasn't a science whiz like Peter was, she was still quite good at the subject.
"Look, all I'm saying is that multi-dimensional probability is fundamental in the multiverse theory!"
Marinette was about to make an argument but then noticed Adrien with Bruce. This was her chance. It was now or never.
"Adrien! Wait!"
Bruce turned around with a look of neutrality but Adrien was a different story. As soon as he heard Marinette's voice, he froze and started shaking a bit as he slowly turned around to face her.
"Listen, Adrien, there are a lot of rumors going around about why you're not speaking. I just want you to know that I don't believe them."
"Of course, they're not true," Bruce said sternly, his eyes narrowing. "Who's been making these rumors?"
"Wow, let's not point any fingers at anybody, okay?" Peter said as he stepped up beside Marinette. "Look, we think Adrien's a nice guy but we need to get some facts straight. Can't just jump the gun or anything, right?"
Bruce nodded, understanding the reasoning but he placed a protective hand on Adrien's shoulder all the same as Marinette kept her eyes on the blonde boy.
"Adrien, are you scared of making friends?" Marinette asked gently, the blonde boy nodding silently. "Why is that?"
"Because he's afraid of people taking advantage of him," Bruce explained. "He comes from a wealthy and influential family. He's scared of those who would get close to simply use or abuse him because of him being the son of the Agrestes."
"I see...but do you still want to make friends?" Marinette asked again, Adrien taking a moment before nodding gently.
"Do you have any pre-existing friends? I mean, besides Ol' Brucie here." Peter asked as well, Bruce giving him an incredulous look at the nickname.
Adrien nodded again and held up two fingers, signifying he had at least two other friends besides Bruce. Marinette then smiled as she gently took his hands in her own.
"Well, I can be your first new friend here. And Peter can, too. Right, Peter?"
Peter smiled and shrugged. "Hey, why not. I'm always down for making new friends."
Adrien's eyes widened in shock, his heart beginning to race and his cheeks warming up as he and Marinette looked at each other, their hands still holding as they both ended up smiling.
Bruce cleared his throat. "I think you two can let go now. People are starting to stare."
Both young teens blushed as they let go and averted their eyes, Peter and Bruce both chuckling at their reactions.
Chloe Bourgeois knew for a fact that she was not well-liked. She had often been mean, insulting, insensitive, and even cruel to people who she thought were beneath her.
Why was Chloe like this? Many blamed it on her upbringing. Her father, while not entirely dismissive, still spoiled her, and her mother barely paid any attention to her and when she did, it was to drill into her head that she had to be harsh and unforgiving in order to get ahead in life.
Unfortunately, this left Chloé with few friends, but among her friends was one person. A boy that made her question her mother's way of thinking.
That boy was Adrien Agreste.
Chloé had known Adrien since they were in daycare. He was always nice to her and always played with her. Adrien was a shy and gentle boy and Chloe was the bossy and prissy girl, the differences between them were night and day, and yet in their childhood, they were attached at the hip.
Chloe did her best to keep her friend safe from bullies and other disappointments but despite her best efforts, they just weren't enough. Adrien became shy, insecure, and even a little self-loathing at times. It was especially bad when they were 10 and Adrien was literally bullied out of public school.
Then came the day when Adrien's parents decided to make a risky move and send Adrien to public school again. The first day was a disaster. Adrien didn't say a word to anyone, rumors spread about him being a stuck-up, spoiled brat, and it all ended with Adrien being assaulted but thankfully, Bruce Wayne had been there to defend him.
Now unlike Adrien, Chloe didn't know much about Bruce. She did know his parents were friends with her father and Adrien's parents before they were unceremoniously killed in a robbery gone wrong. Still, she was grateful that Adrien had someone willing to defend him.
Today, Chloe decided to put her foot down and confront Adrien after school. Hopefully, she could say something to him and help him open up. At least, that was the plan...
When that time came, she saw Adrien, her friend, and brother, talking to, and eventually holding hands with, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Seeing that hurt Chloe as she hated Marinette with the burning passion of an exploding sun.
Chloe wanted Adrien to make friends, but not someone who might turn him against her. She was ready to go over and slap Marinette across the face, but then she saw something that made her go from being jealous to being conflicted.
Adrien was smiling.
Chloe was dumbfounded. Adrien hadn't put on a real smile in years. Fake smiles while modeling, sure, but this smile was genuine. She was so shocked, she didn't notice her best friend and yes-woman, Sabrina Raincomprix, walking up to her from behind.
"Ugh! The nerve of Dupain-Cheng, making a move on your Adrien. You want me to dig some dirt on her?"
Chloe took a deep breath. "No, Sabrina. It's fine."
"Are you okay, Chloe?"
"I'm fine..." Chloe sighed. "I just need time to think, that's all..."
"Hey, you're Peter Parker, right?"
Peter perked up as he turned around to see Chloe standing there. The young man frowned, he knew about Chloe and all the times she and Marinette butted heads.
"If this is about Marinette, I'm not gonna let you bug her."
Chloe shook her head. "No, you idiot! I want to talk about Adrien."
"What do you want to know about Adrien?"
"I'm his best friend, his SISTER. He's always been so scared of being laughed at and taken advantage of. It's been that way ever since we were kids but...you and Dupain-Cheng were able to get him to open up."
"Hey, I'm just an ordinary class guy who's happy to make new friends, no strings attached." Peter shrugged. "You're just worried that Marinette might be trying to take advantage of him?"
"A part of that is the case, yeah..." Chloe frowned. "But she actually came to him when nobody else would, and she made him smile for real. So I just want to say...please don't let her screw it up, since you're her best friend."
"Well, I feel like Alya fits that criteria more but I'm flattered you think of me that way," Peter smirked. "Maybe you're not such a bad girl after all."
Chloe huffed and turned her nose up as she walked off, Peter watching her go with a playful grin before getting a call from his boss at the Daily Bugle.
"Parker! I need you to get some pictures at the Wayne-Agreste Charity Fundraiser next week!"
"You got it, JJ!"
Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, the business of the Dupain-Cheng family, and home of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A rather modest little place and not one that the average person would expect a multi-billionaire heir of the Wayne Family fortune to visit.
"Hello?" Marinette asked as she opened the door, only to see Bruce standing before her.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Or can I call you Marinette?" He asked, giving a charming smile.
"Um...Ah..." Marinette opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She had seen Bruce with Adrien before but this was the first time she got to gauge how tall the older boy was.
"It won't be long, I'd just like a few minutes of your time."
After Marinette managed to gain some of her bearings to allow Bruce inside and take a seat. She fumbled to the kitchen to get him some coffee, which she skittishly placed on his table.
"So...w-what did you wanna talk about?"
"Adrien."
Marinette perked up. "What do you want to know?"
"My parents knew his. He knew him since he was a baby. When my parents died...I had to find myself. Become stronger for their sake. To do that, I had to leave a lot of things behind." Bruce sadly explained. "I've been back for a few years now and while I haven't been able to reconnect with Adrien as much as I would've liked until now, I was worried about him, especially with what I've been told from his parents."
"His bullying problem?"
Bruce nodded. "Yes. But then you came along, you alerted the principal about him being bullied on the first day. And just now today you approached him when nobody else but me would. You actually managed to get him to open up, even if just a little bit...and for that, I'm thankful."
Marinette blushed. "Wow...getting praised by the legendary Bruce Wayne..."
"I'm not THAT legendary." Bruce chuckled. "My father was the real legend."
The next day at school, with Bruce, Peter, Chloe, and Marinette's encouragement, Adrien began slowly opening up more to his new classmates. Everyone had their eyes on him, which made the poor boy a little embarrassed as he hid his face with one of his books just before he sat down.
"Sup, bruh?"
Adrien perked up at the voice and looked to see a dark-skinned boy with a red ball cap and glasses.
"The name's Nino," He said, stretching his hand out to the blushing blonde.
"O-Oh! Um...I'm Adrien." The blonde awkwardly greeted back, taking the hand.
"Cool name. Hey Adrien, I know this is a little forward, but do you wanna hang out with me, Marinette, Peter, and Alya after school?" Nino asked.
"If you can, that is." Alya Cesaire, Marinette's best friend besides Peter, said as she came up.
Adrien went wide-eyed, then frantically checked his schedule. He then smiled as he saw he had no arrangement.
"S-Sure! I'd love to!"
He and Nino then gave each other an urban handshake to seal their new friendship. Bruce watched this from afar with a proud smile on his face while Chloe, despite looking rather jealous, couldn't help but feel happy for Adrien all the same.
Chloe and Sabrina were walking home together after school, heading to a rendezvous point to be picked up by Chloe's butler, Jean.
Suddenly, Sabrina was grabbed from behind and pulled into a nearby alley. Chloe immediately took notice and ran after who took her to see a thuggish-looking man with a black balaclava aiming a knife at Sabrina's throat.
"Give me all the money you have Ms. Moneybags and your little friend doesn't get hurt!"
Chloe was shaking as she saw the terrified look in Sabrina's eyes. Just as she was about to cave and give in to the thug's demands, a web suddenly shot out of nowhere and snagged him from behind, pulling him off Sabrina and making him drop the knife.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to point knives at women? Even mean girls like them?"
Sabrina ran into Chloe's arms as they both turned to see the thug being grabbed by a tall, slender yet muscular figure clad in a red and blue spandex suit with black web patterns and a spider symbol on the chest. His mask was red with the same web pattern and had two sharp white eye lenses that seemed to narrow as he began beating the thug senseless.
"No way, it's really him!" Sabrina gasped in amazement.
The thug tried to crawl away but the masked hero quickly pulled him to his feet, jumped onto his face with his legs wrapped around his neck, and used his full body weight to do a backflip slam, no doubt cracking the thug's skull and knocking him unconscious before webbing him to the ground.
"All in a day's work, I suppose. Don't worry, I'm sure your health insurance will pay for that...assuming you're smart enough to have any."
The man then turned to Chloe and Sabrina, both of them gazing in awe as he approached them.
"You ladies okay?"
"Y-Yes, we're fine. T-Thank you!" Chloe stuttered with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Good to know. Anyway, I'll be seeing you around!"
"Wait!" Chloe called out. "You...you seem familiar. Who even are you?"
"You know who I am." The masked man said, a smile clearly evident despite his mask.
"I do?"
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!"
With that, the hero fired a web from his wrist and swung off, letting out a cheer as Chloe and Sabrina watched him disappear into the horizon, Sabrina quickly taking a picture before they lost sight of him.
"This is so amazing! I can't believe we actually got to see him up close!" Sabrina gushed. "He's even cooler in person!"
"Yeah..." Chloe hummed, an unsure look on her face. She could have sworn his voice was familiar...
Adrien opens up to the others, Spider-Man saves the day as usual and the stepping stones for Chloe becoming a genuinely better person are laid out for her.
In the next chapter, we get our first supervillain encounter! From who's rouge's gallery will it be? Batman? Spider-Man? Wait and see in the next chapter, true believers! EXCELSIOR!