It has been two weeks since Adrien enrolled at Collège Françoise Dupont and met Marinette and Peter as well as reunited with Bruce. After this long, Adrien had started becoming more comfortable with Marinette, even visiting her family every now and again when he had time.

Today was a particularly special day as Adrien had decided to give Marinette a gift as thanks for being his first real friend. After a fun afternoon of spending time with her at her house, he figured now was the moment to make his move.

"Uh, hey, Marinette..." Adrien bashfully said, rubbing the back of his head as he slowly took out a tiny blue box. "I...I got you a gift."

"Oh? Let me see!" Marinette said as she accepted the box and opened it to reveal a small handmade bracelet, causing her to gasp. "Adrien..."

Adrien blushed. "Yeah, probably should have gotten you something a little nicer. I mean, I'm rich, right? Though Mom always told me making something would make it more meaningful, you know?"

"I LOVE IT!"

Adrien was floored. "Wait, you do?"

"It's so cute! This is so sweet of you! I'm putting it on right now." Marinette said joyously as she put the bracelet on. "Thank you so much, Adrien!"

"Awww g'wan..." Adrien bashfully said.

"And you know the best part?"

Adrien was confused until Marinette took out a little pink box, and handed it to him as he curiously opened it up, his own eyes widening to see a similar handmade bracelet as well as a small card.

"Now we'll match!" Marinette giggled. "Oh! Read the card."

Adrien took the card and read through it.

Dear Adrien, I never want to forget the day we became friends, and I hope you don't either. Here is a reminder.

XOXOXO, Marinette.

Adrien also noticed a cute little drawing in the card that depicted him and Marinette hugging. The blonde sheltered boy was moved to tears, sniffling as he did his best to rub them away.

"Adrien, are you okay?" Marinette asked worriedly.

"Nobody's ever made me a gift before that wasn't my parents..." Adrien smiled. "Thank you so much, Marinette!"

With tears still pricking the corners of his eyes, Adrien pulled Marinette into a hug, making her blush brightly before smiling as she hugged back.

"You're welcome, Adrien."

However, while Adrien and Marinette were sharing such a tender moment, a large winged figure soared through the skies of Paris, its destination being a pharmaceutical company by the name of Phenex Labs.

Patrolling the empty halls of the building was a lone security guard, messing around with his radio to pass the time.

"Testing 1, 2, 3. Testing 1, 2, 3." The guard said before smirking as he put on a showman's voice. "You too can be a highly-paid radio personality in your spare time. Just call the Gotham Institute of Broadcast Arts. Call the Goth-"

His fun was interrupted when he heard a crash in one of the nearby rooms. Putting his duties first and foremost, the guard investigated the noise, his hand hovering over the baton holstered to his belt in case it was something dangerous.

Looking around, the guard saw nothing out of the ordinary. Letting out a sigh of relief, he began to resume his patrol, only for a large shadow to loom over him.

The man didn't notice the large figure until he felt heavy breathing down his neck. Slowly turning around, he cried in horror at what he saw as he began backing away.

"Get away! Stay back!" The guard shouted before drawing his baton. "Don't make me use force!"

The large figure swung a winged arm, knocking the baton out of the man's hands. Quickly looking for something to defend himself with, the guard quickly grabbed a nearby chair and swung it across the large figure's face, which did nothing but anger it as it grabbed him with clawed hands before throwing him out of the nearby window and into the water canals below...

Miraculously, the guard survived the fall but was hospitalized. It was printed all over the morning news as Mayor Andre Bourgeois looked it over after it was presented to him by the Chief Detective of the police force, Harvey Bullock.

PARIS POLICE DECLARES WAR ON BATMAN!

"I didn't authorize this statement, detective." Commissioner James Gordon said with a clear disappointed look on his face.

"Come on, Commissioner. Somebody asked me a couple-a questions, I just gave him a couple-a answers." The detective said innocently.

Gordon shook his head. Bullock was hot-headed, rude, and quite sloppy in his mannerisms, but he could not deny that he was a loyal member of the force. Still, he was a hard guy to get along with and even harder to like.

"You gave them without my approval. If you had just kept quiet, he wouldn't know we're moving against him."

"I'll find him!" Detective Bullock said as he stood up from his seat before turning to Mayor Bourgeois. "I just need a little extra help, Mr. Mayor."

"What kind of help exactly?"

"I want my own tactical squad for the sole purpose of throwing the net over this Batman!"

"Commisioner? What's your take on this?"

"I've already denied the request," Gordon said firmly. "Nobody's taking a vigilante force onto these streets!"

"Come on, any weirdo who dresses up in bat pajamas sooner or later is gonna snap!" Bullock argued.

"Listen, it's just not Batman's MO. And if you're planning on dragging Spider-Man into this, it isn't his either." Gordon pointed out.

"Hey, I ain't talkin' about that spider nerd! The guy that was tossed through the window clearly saw a bat!"

"My daughter Chloe is a fan of both Batman and Spider-Man, no matter how hard she tries to deny it." Andre chuckled. "Still, I think we can spare a few men, Commissioner. Detective Bullock does have a reputation for getting results. Just as long as we use non-lethal means, I'll authorize the strike force."

Gordon shook his head while Bullock looked flattered at the mayor's praise.

"Thanks, sir. Just make sure the DA's Office can give me an airtight case."

The sound of a silver dollar being flipped through the air and skillfully caught by graceful hands was heard as everyone turned to Paris' District Attorney, Harvey Dent, a cool smile on his face and a leg crossed over the other.

"If you catch 'em, Harvey, I'll put 'em in jail for ya."

"Dude, did you hear about the police declaring war on Batman?" Nino asked the rest of his classmates during free period.

"Why would they do that? Batman's awesome!" Le Chien Kim asked, honestly confused why a hero would be persecuted like that.

"It seems really weird. What did Batman even do that warranted the police to go after him?" Rose asked.

"From what I could gather, there was a break-in at Phenex Labs that resulted in a guard getting thrown out of a window," Alya explained as she checked her phone.

"That doesn't sound like Batman at all!" Ivan Bruel, the gentle giant that he was, said.

"The guard managed to survive the fall by falling into the canal but suffered serious injuries. From what he could recall, he saw a giant bat-like creature attack him." Alya said, continuing to skim over the news.

"Maybe it's an imposter trying to frame him!" Nino suggested.

Unbeknownst to the members of Ms. Bustier's class, Bruce Wayne had been listening in to their conversation, having also read the news. He could soundly agree with Adrien's friend's theory.

"Somebody's setting me up..."

Now Bruce wasn't a fool. He always kept up to date on the news for anything interesting or suspicious and in this week alone, two other pharmaceutical companies had been robbed before Phenex Labs. Nobody had been hurt up until the guard but they all had the same MO; various different chemicals had been stolen.

"There's only one way to find out..."

Later that night, Bruce suited up in his Batsuit and jumped into the Batmobile, driving off to Phenex Labs in order to investigate the scene of the crime. However, Spider-Man was currently swinging overheard, running on the side of buildings, and zipping across lampposts, making his way to Phenex Labs as well.

As soon as Batman stopped at the front of Phenex Labs, he ejected himself out of the car, flying into the air like a bullet from a railgun before gliding to where he needed to go, Spider-Man nearby and firing a web line to run across.

However, unbeknownst to the two vigilante heroes, a couple had been fooling around outside and spotted Batman's shadow gliding overhead.

"He's back!"

"I'll call the police!"

Batman snuck through the halls before finding the crime scene, which was currently being guarded by a lone police officer reading a magazine. Taking out a pellet from his utility belt, the Dark Knight rolled it across the ground as it burst open, releasing an orange gas cloud that knocked the officer out.

"Very subtle, Bats."

Quicker than lightning, the Caped Crusader spun around to see Spider-Man there, hanging upside-down from a web line.

"What are you doing here?"

"Investigating. Same as you, apparently." Spider-Man landed on his feet as he walked up to his fellow vigilante. "Listen, I don't believe you attacked that guard and stole those chemicals. I was coming here by myself to find proof that you're innocent. Guess you had the same idea."

"As long as you keep quiet, you can help me," Batman said, making a shushing gesture before walking into the room where the guard had been attacked, Spider-Man following him.

Meanwhile, Detective Bullock was driving through the streets of Paris. Nothing really interesting had happened tonight and he was ready to call it quits and turn in before he got a call on his radio.

"Yeah?"

"Detective Bullock, the Batman's been sighted breaking into Phenex Labs. Thought you might be interested." Gordon called from the other end.

"I want my squad there backed by choppers and as many officers as you can get NOW!"

With his orders received, Bullock Tokyo Drifted across the street and made his way to Phenex Labs, grinning to himself.

"You're mine, Bats."

Back at Phene Labs, Batman tapped a button on the side of his cowl, his eye lenses lighting up as he scanned the area for unique traces. He soon noticed something unordinary on the ground, a strange hair as well as a radio underneath the desk that no doubt belonged to the guard.

Crouching down, Batman took out a pair of tweezers from his belt and used them to pick up the hair, his lenses zooming in to see what kind of hair it was.

Spider-Man, who was standing behind and keeping watch, suddenly felt his Spider-Sense go off as he heard police sirens blaring loudly, a helicopter flashlight searing into the room as Batman took notice as well.

"Uh, I think we may have overstayed our welcome."

The two heroes quickly made a break for it, Batman looking for the closest elevator while Spider-Man took to the ceiling.

The police had already formed a parameter around the building. Detective Bullocks' squad lined out of their truck and stood at attention as Bullock himself parked his car and stepped out to meet his men.

"Alright you jokers, pipe down!" Bullock barked as he pointed at the building. "He's in there. I want him by any means necessary!"

Another car soon drove in as Commissioner Gordon and Lieutenant Raincomprix came onto the scene.

"Commissioner, you're just in time to see us hang this bat upside-down," Bullock said proudly as Gordon looked skeptical.

"You sure he's in there?"

"The chopper pilots just spotted him on the fourth floor. Apparently, Spider-Man's there with him. Must be in cahoots with him after all."

"I don't think Batman can be in two places at once, detective." Roger suddenly said. "I just received news that another pharmaceutical company was robbed just across town."

"Which basically means you've got the wrong guy," Gordon said.

"What?" Bullock asked in disbelief.

Batman managed to find an elevator and began prying it open. However, Bullock's strike force had already entered the building and into the very hallway that Batman was in.

"There!"

"Yoink!"

The strike force's guns were all suddenly webbed out of their hands in quick succession as Spider-Man came out from the shadows of the ceiling and flipped through the air, all of the guns bundled up in a web net he kept clutched in his hands.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with guns?"

Batman managed to pry the elevator open and duck inside as Spider-Man gave a playful salute and jumped in after him, the guards quickly running downstairs to try and catch them.

Batman and Spider-Man made it to the third floor, only to find another group of strike force soldiers there. Quickly, they made a break for it as the squad opened fire on them.

Ducking into a nearby room, the two heroes did their best to make themselves scarce. However, a lone guard snuck in and began investigating the room. Quickly, Batman caught him off-guard and covered his mouth, making a shushing gesture.

The guards from the fourth floor had made their way down but without their guns, there was only one option they had.

"They've gotta be in there, sir. What's the plan?" One of the soldiers asked his superior, who took off a grenade from his belt. "Tear Gas?"

"We'll smoke 'em out. Okay, boys, ready with your masks!"

The captain pulled the pin on the tear gas grenade and threw it into the room. Unfortunately, what nobody took into account was that the room was full of flammable materials. Seeing this, Batman and Spider-Man paled as the former grabbed the soldier he currently had.

"MOVE IT, MOVE IT, MOVE IT!" Spider-Man cried as he and Batman busted out the nearby window with the guard in tow just as the grenade exploded and ignited the combustibles, leaving a massive explosion behind them.

Batman quickly fired his grapple gun and hooked himself to a nearby building as Spider-Man made a web hammock for the guard to safely land in as Gordon, Bullock, and Roger ran over to make sure he was okay.

"Well, I always did know how to make an explosive exit," Spider-Man noted as he watched the fire department come in to douse the flames, quickly leaving to go back home.

As for Batman, he got back into the Batmobile and drove back to the Batcave. It was clear he had found the evidence he needed, now he just needed an expert on the matter to help out on this pressing issue.

Because the hair he found in that room had bat DNA in it.

Alya's father, Otis, had offered to take Adrien to the zoo where he worked with Alya coming along as well. Emilie had been excited and asked her husband if she could accompany him, the fashion mogul figuring it'd be good for his wife and son to get out of the house and enjoy themselves.

"Thanks for taking me here, Mr. Cesaire. You have the coolest job." Adrien smiled.

Alya nodded. "Yeah, Dad. You really do."

"Anytime, son. I've always been an animal lover, so this was the perfect job for me." Otis said.

"Ooh! Lions!" Adrien suddenly exclaimed as he ran over to the lion den like an excited little kid.

Emilie giggled. "I've never seen him this excited. Thank you so much, Otis."

"Hey, it's high time the kid got a chance to just be a kid, y'know?" Otis chuckled playfully.

It was there Alya noticed the bags that Emilie was carrying and noted that a lot of them were gifts of various kinds.

"Tell me you didn't buy out the gift shop."

"Of course not. Just a few stuffed animals…and souvenir hats….and figurines…and t-shirts….and postcards…" Emilie said, trailing off more and more before grinning sheepishly. "I just want to indulge Adrien today, okay?"

Otis shook his head and gave the woman a pat on the back. "You're something else, Emilie, and Adrien is one lucky boy. And Gabriel is one lucky man as well."

Unbeknownst to the Agrestes and Cesaires, Bruce was also visiting the zoo but for a more important reason; he was going to the bat exhibit, where a renowned scientist known as Dr. March studied on bats there.

"Hello? Anybody here? Doctor March?" Bruce called out.

"Who is it?"

Turning around, Bruce saw a short old man with a hooked nose and silver hair with a rather youthful look on his face as well as a furrowed brow.

"Bruce Wayne. I have an appointment. I called about a bat problem?" Bruce said.

"What do you think we are, pest control?" Dr. March asked with a stink eye as Bruce shrugged.

"Well, I just need..."

"Yes, yes come in." Dr. March said as he gestured for Bruce to follow him to his lab. "You donate a few million and you think you own the place. I understand I'm to analyze something for you?"

"Yeah, doc. See, I keep hearing squeaks in my chimney, and I found these in my empty fireplace." Bruce said as he showed March a little plastic bag with strange hair in it. "They look like hairs. I thought maybe you could tell me if I have a bat problem."

"And what if they are bats, Mr. Wayne? What then? Destroy them like insects?" Dr. March asked in annoyance. "We won't survive the next evolutionary cataclysm, but BATS will! They're survivors, Bruce, not pests! You should understand that!"

"Dad!" Bruce and Dr. March turned to see a young woman with blonde hair and glasses. "I hope Mr. Wayne understands you mean no disrespect."

Bruce smirked. "Of course not, miss..."

"Oh; Mrs. Well, actually doctor." The woman clarified. "I'm Francine Langstrom. I think you spoke with my husband on the phone."

As if on cue, a man with auburn hair walked in, cleaning off his hands as he noticed Bruce.

"Oh, Bruce! Glad to see you, my boy. Sorry I'm late, I'm Kirk Langstrom." The man introduced himself with a pleasant smile. "Did you bring the sample?"

"I gave it to Dr. March," Bruce said before he heard the door close, March having disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

"Probably to get started on the analysis. If it's a bat problem, he'll know by tonight." Kirk explained.

Francine smiled playfully. "Dad was lecturing Mr. Wayne on the virtues of Chiroptera."

"Chiroptera?" Bruce asked, pretending to act clueless.

"Chiroptera. Bats; and I hope he didn't get carried away. He's a little...protective of all these." Kirk explained as he looked over March's research. "I think he likes bats better than people."

Bruce shrugged. "I can't imagine. I brought you this too. It's a recording I made of the noise on my chimney."

Bruce handed the Langstroms the radio he found last night and played the recording, specifically the part he found of a strange roar. Upon hearing it, the Langstroms looked quite troubled.

"That doesn't sound like any bat I've ever heard," Francine noted worriedly.

"The animal behavior people have a sound library. Maybe they can identify it. We'll let you know." Kirk said as he took the radio.

"I'd appreciate it." Bruce smiled as he took his leave.

Batman was in the Batcave, listening to the screech on the radio on the Batcomputer.

"I didn't realize you'd taken up listening to Rock n' Roll, sir," Alfred said as he came over.

"You know, I actually checked this against any musical sounds. My Batcomputer still can't come close to pinpointing it." Batman chuckled.

The telephone suddenly rung and Alfred was quick to answer it before turning to his master/adoptive son.

"I call for Master Bruce from a Dr. March, sir."

Batman put the speaker on his Batcomputer before speaking in his normal voice.

"Hey! What's up, Doc?"

"You have bats, Mr. Wayne. Common brown bats." Dr. March said from the other end. "They shouldn't pose a problem. As the weather gets colder, they'll move on."

"What about the sounds on the tape?"

"It's actually two sounds, Starlings and brown bats; probably fighting over a nest on your chimney." Dr. March explained.

Batman nodded. "Appreciate the help doc. I'll return the favor next time you're raising funds. Bye-bye"

With that, he hung up. However, there was something about Dr. March's testimony that didn't sit right with him as he turned to Alfred.

"This computer checked that fiber against every animal species known to man. I went to them because I thought they might know something we didn't. That hair wasn't a brown bat's."

"And those 'melodic sounds'?" Alfred asked dryly.

Batman had the Batcomputer run a combined sound scan for Starlings and Brown Bats with the screech on the tape. After a moment, the computer came up with its answer.

"Negative. Sound not originated by either species."

Alfred frowned. "I would say, sir, that we have ourselves an incongruity?"

"Incongruity, Alfred? He's LYING." Batman said, his eyes narrowing. "And I'm going to find out why."

Peter was getting groceries for Aunt May when he suddenly got a call on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Is this Peter Parker? It's Bruce Wayne, I need you to meet me at the Paris Zoo entrance."

Now that was a strange request. Peter didn't remember giving Bruce his number and the zoo was closed for the night. Why would he want to meet him there?

Dropping off the groceries in the kitchen, Peter left a note for Aunt May telling her that something came up with a friend and he needed to handle it. He then made his way to the zoo's location and looked around.

"Hello? Bruce? Brucie?"

"I thought I might find you here."

Peter jumped when he turned and saw Batman drop down from seemingly out of nowhere and approach him, his cape wrapped around him like a cloak.

"Batman?!" Peter asked in surprise before trying to compose himself. "Sorry, huge fan! Uh...did Bruce call you too?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Batman said as he pulled his cowl off, revealing his true face as Peter nearly fell over in shock.

"BRUCE?! YOU'RE BATMAN?!"

"And you're Spider-Man, I take it?" Bruce retorted as Peter paled considerably as the billionaire youth shook his head. "Relax, I'm not here to expose your identity. Why would I reveal mine?"

"But...why bring me here?"

"Because of two reasons; I was able to figure out that you and Spider-Man were the same person by a good number of variables. And the second reason was because I need Spider-Man's help in dealing with a dangerous issue."

"Okay...what do you need my help with?" Peter asked, removing his clothes to reveal his Spider-Man suit underneath.

"The chemicals stolen from Phenex Labs and the other pharmaceutical companies? I have a suspicion that Dr. March is behind the thefts and I have a feeling he won't give himself in without a fight."

"Well, I'm tickled pink you'd trust me with your secret identity and to help you out and all, but I really gotta get back home. Aunt May worries a whole lot, you know?"

"It won't be too long. With the two of us together, it'll be over quickly."

The two superheroes snuck into Dr. March's laboratory. However, someone else was already there, having finished guzzling down some kind of serum.

"Can't fight it...it's got me...!"

Batman and Spider-Man entered through the window and looked around, beginning to investigate the laboratory as Batman noticed a pharmaceutical bottle and picked it up, seeing it was from Phenex Labs.

"Found something juicy?" Spider-Man asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Suddenly, someone came in. "Who's back there?"

The two heroes got on guard, only to see it was only Kirk, who settled slightly upon seeing them.

"You."

"We're looking for Dr. March," Batman explained.

"He's not here," Kirk said, shaking his head.

"Where is he?"

"Giving a lecture on human extinction and bat evolution. He's really quite brilliant." Kirk said.

"He's misguided and a THIEF," Batman said, presenting the pharmaceutical bottle from Phenex Labs.

"He's just a theorist, I assure you," Kirk said before sighing. "You see, I realized we could create a formula to create the cure for deafness in all humanity. I had tested it on myself, hoping it could cure my own ailing hearing...but something went wrong...and I couldn't stop."

"What do you mean?" Spider-Man asked, a sinking feeling beginning to form in his gut.

"You have to understand, I desperately wanted to stop but IT took over," Kirk explained. "Francine and March tried to protect me, but it was too late. The beast knew what chemicals were needed to bring itself about. It was out of my control!"

"What took over? What's out of your control?" Batman asked, once more getting on guard.

Kirk opened his mouth to continue explaining but suddenly cried out in pain as he lurched forward, clutching his head in agony as he fell to his knees.

"Dr. Langstrom!" Batman cried, only for his eyes to widen in shock at what happened next.

Kirk's skin turned a pale shade of brown, his nostrils flaring and his teeth sharpening into crooked fangs. His arms elongated and his fingers became twisted claws with winged membranes shooting out. His form contorted, becoming more gangly and muscular, tearing his clothes as his eyes glowed an unsightly yellow before letting out a screech, the very same screech Batman heard on the tape.

"I'm starting to get the feeling Kirk had a Dr. Jekyll problem...and this is Mr. Hyde." Spider-Man nervously said as the transformed Kirk stood to his full height, glaring ferally at the two heroes.

"He used himself as a guinea pig in his experiment to create a cure for deafness..." Batman realized. "Only to create a serum that turned him into a monster he couldn't control."

Kirk suddenly grabbed the nearby table and lifted it up with freakish strength, hurling it at the two heroes as Batman ducked while Spider-Man jumped over and fired a web into the beast's eyes, making him stumble slightly as he ripped them off and howled furiously.

"Kirk!" Francine's voice called out as everyone turned to see her running up to the monster her husband had turned into. "Kirk! Please listen to me!"

The creature looked at Francine, a flash of shame appearing in its eyes before it quickly jumped out the window and took flight.

"Dr. Langstrom!" Spider-Man called out as he and Batman took off after the monster. "What are we supposed to call this guy? You're already Batman!"

"I have a feeling Langstrom has made himself into more of a Man-Bat if anything," Batman noted.

Batman fired his grapple gun and latched onto Man-Bat's leg, getting pulled along through the skies as Spider-Man swung after him. The Man-Bat turned to see Batman holding on tightly as he slowly pulled himself closer.

Trying to shake off the pest, Man-Bat began swerving through a construction site as Batman did his best to turn his body to avoid crashing while Spider-Man skillfully flipped and jumped across the bars before resuming the chase after his partner and the monster they were after.

Batman soon got close enough to Man-Bat to reach into his utility belt and pull out a syringe before wrapping an arm around the beast's neck, causing it to lose control and fall to the ground, crashing hard as Batman got on top of him and injected the sytinge into him.

The Man-Bat screeched and flailed before slowly calming down ad falling unconscious. Spider-Man dropping down and quickly webbing him up for good measure.

"What did you shoot him up with?"

"Tranquilizer. Never know when you need it." Batman said as he tapped the syringe device before storing it back in his belt as he called in the Batmobile on his wrist computer before loading the Man-Bat into the trunk. "You can go home, Peter. I'll handle things here."

Batman got into his car and drove off with Man-Bat in tow as Spider-Man watched him leave before checking his watch and nodding his head, seeing as he still had time to get back home before Aunt May.

Hours later, as the dawn began to break out, the Batmobile drove up to the Paris Zoo as Batman stepped out and opened the trunk to pull someone swathed in blankets out as Francine and Dr. March came out with worried looks on their faces.

"Is he alright?" Francine asked.

Batman smiled as he presented the bundled individual, revealing Kirk back to normal and no worse for wear.

"Will he change again?" Dr. March asked, a skeptical look in his eyes.

"No, I managed to purge the formula from his system," Batman reassured as he helped bring Kirk back inside. "It's over...for now."

Sorry, we couldn't get more of Marinette, Adrien, and their friends in here but I needed to get the first Batman Villain out of the way so we could make the path ready for Ladybug and Chat Noir's debut!

Stay tuned, True Believers!