Adrien quietly walked through the house with his socks on, holding his sneakers. His heart raced as he walked past his father's office, knowing that he was probably in there already working. It was early enough that Natalie would still be preparing for the day and his bodyguard wouldn't be around for a few hours. So now was the ideal opportunity.

Slowly, he opened the front door, siding through the small opening he'd made for himself and just as carefully, closed the door behind him. Immediately he slipped on his shoes and ran past the gate that was already opening for the morning deliveries. As he ran into the streets, a smile erupted on his face at his escape.

Now all that stood between him and the school was getting there on time and in one piece. There was no way his father could pull him back into the house if he made it there!

"Marin! Your alarm has been going off for fifteen minutes! You're going to be late for your first day back at school!"

Marin groaned in his slumber as he felt around his bed to find his phone. He groaned, turning it off and slipping his hand back under the blanket. ["Five more minutes ma…"]He moaned out, curling back up under his comforter, surrounded by pillows. Right now he was at peak comfort, as though he was sleeping in a ray of sunlight without being outside.

["Do you want me to come up there?!"]

Marin grumbled as he reluctantly left the warmth of his bed. Quickly he brushed his teeth and put on his clothes, slugging downstairs to where his mom placed the hot chocolate mix on the table.

["Mornin' mama."] He greeted, kissing her cheek before mixing some hot chocolate up.

"Are you happy to be going back to school?" She asked placing the carton of milk next to him.

"No, I bet you anything Chloé will be in my class again." He grimaced at the thought.

"I doubt that it's not possible to have the same classmates for four years in a row."

"You haven't read the class roster, mama." He sighed. " I must have been cursed to live a tortured life."

His mother frowned, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Oh, don't say that! It's the start of a new year - I'm sure everything will be just fine!"

Marin couldn't help but smile at his mother's optimism, setting down the cereal. But as he did the milk spilled over, falling to the floor but not before he accidentally elbowed the bowl of fruit, which caused them all to fall to the ground now bruised. He could only stare at the mess he made, less responsive as his mother began to clean up another one of his messes.

" This is fine."

"Could I have your autograph, please?!

"Adrien, can I have an autograph, Adrien, I'm a huge fan!"

Adrien stumbled past his new classmates quickly signing autographs as he made his way into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. Sneaking away from Natalie and his bodyguard wasn't an easy task, but then sighed in relief believing that he was out of reach from his father.

"ADRIKINS!" He didn't have time to react as he was then hug tackled by an all too familiar face.

"Hi, Chloé." He greeted sheepishly as he noticed everyone in the class staring at him as his friend dragged him to a nearby desk. "This is your seat, Adrikins. I saved it for you. Right in front of me!"

Adrien nodded his head towards her, "Thanks, Chloé." Sitting down he turned towards the boy next to him with his headphones on and a disinterested expression. "Uh… Hey! I'm Adrien." He reached out his hand towards him, garnering the boy's attention as he took off his headphones, sizing him up.

"So you're friends with Chloé, then, huh?" He asked disinterested, resting his head on his hand.

" Kind of I guess, we grew up together." Adrien shrugged.

"Yup, we're practically inseparable." Chloé butted in with a smug grin on her face. "After all, poor Adrikins has no idea how normal schools run." Adrikins. Watch the master." She remarked taking her seat behind them next to Sabrina.

"Hey, Chloé that's Marin's seat." Nino lamely said.

"Who cares, it's not like he's here to claim it. Probably because he's too scared to step outside the house." She laughed

Adrien turned towards Nino with curiosity, "Who's Marin?"

"Good morning my wonderful son!" Marin's father greeted happily as he stepped into the shop with a yawn, still not used to how his parents were morning people.

" Morning." Marinus groaned as he walked past him.

"Why so glum?" Tom asked, he then suddenly gasped, " you're not still ill are you?!" He grew worried and immediately pressed a hand to his forehead. " Ah! You're warm!" he exclaimed, worried for his son's health.

Marin laughed gently, brushing away his dad's hand. " No papa, it's just because you've been baking bread all morning. The shop is always warmer inside because of the oven."

Tom laughed heartily, remembering his profession. "Forgive your silly papa?" He asked wiping away the flour he had placed on his son's face.

" Always," Marin said turning towards the door as he shouldered his messenger bag over himself.

" Wait a sec-" Tom suddenly said, he quickly picked up a white box that was lying on the counter. " Ta-Da!" He opened it to reveal 2 dozen matcha macarons with white chocolate filling. " Homemade by the best macaroon baker in all of Paris."

" Papa I made these." Marin pointed out.

" Exactly, once your classmates try them you'll make friends in no time!"

As much as he wanted to deny his claim; That the last time he had tried to do this he'd ended up with a box filled with broken cookies thanks to his clumsiness even before he made it to class. He merely thanked his father with a smile, hugging him. "See you tonight."

"Oh, just this kid who's been out for a week," Nino explained, lowering his voice so that Chloé couldn't butt in. "He got sick because of the rain and it knocked him out."

Adrien narrowed his eyes trying to recall, "But it just rained last week didn't it?"

"Yup." Nino nodded, "It's been like that since I've known the guy at least. Missing half of the classes can make it easy for certain people to pick on him." Nino emphasized one of his words glancing towards Chloé's direction. "Honestly, if that guy ended up getting homeschooled, it wouldn't surprise me."

Adrien glanced away for a moment, a pang of guilt bubbling up as he could only imagine how Natalie would react finding that he snuck away again; angry probably.

"Well, you should meet him something," Nino pulled him out of his thoughts, "He's a cool dude more or less."

At first, everything was fine, Marin was about to cross the street and walk into school like it was nothing. Then he spotted Chloé walking in first. Next thing he knew he was walking right past the school and in another direction, far, far away from the building filled with concentrated negativity. He sighed heavily to himself. Walking across the street towards the riverside. Maybe try and find a way to his secret garden without getting caught by the police. But then, something caught his attention. An old man struggling to cross the street. Marin saw the car, no one looking up from their phones and simply reacted.

He immediately ran towards him, pulling him quickly across the rest of the way just narrowly avoiding the car speeding by, followed by a few police cruisers. Just before stepping onto the sidewalk, Marin tripped over the curb, dropping his box but luckily the old man didn't fall down alongside him.

"Sorry!" He reflexively said, picking up his mess, trying to hide his embarrassed expression as he cleaned up.

"That was quite a fall young man, are you alright?"

Marin shook his head "Don't worry, I'm no stranger to disasters like this," He insisted as the old man sat down next to him, a guilty expression drew on his face as he helped Marin clean up.

"I'm quite sorry about your cookies. I hope I haven't inconvenienced you in any way."

"Oh, no no, It's alright. Besides, there are still a few left. Would you like one?" He asked shyly opening the box and the few remaining dozen.

The old man took one taking a bite, the moment he did his eyes lit up. "Mmmh. Delicious!"

"Thank you, sir." He bowed his head respectfully in thanks, helping the old man to his feet, placing the rest of the cookies in his messenger bag.

"Shouldn't you be in school young man?" The old man questioned curiously as Marin escorted him to the nearest bench, one overlooking the riverside.

Marin felt an overwhelming feeling of uneasiness. Even mentioning that place reflexively started to trigger his anxiety. He looked away, not wanting to answer, but his reaction wasn't ignored by the old man, as he gestured for the younger boy to sit next to him. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

At first, Marin was anxious, talking to this stranger, but ultimately sighed, lowering his head as he folded his hands in his lap. "See there's this girl, she's so mean, and every time I'm there I get an upset stomach and my headaches. Not to mention I don't have any friends there. I just know people, but I guess I can't offer enough to merit being someone's friends."

"Young man."

"Marin." He corrected with a small smile.

The old man smiled at his openness, "Marin then, friendship isn't about how much you can offer another person, it's about respecting and treasuring who they are as people. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it won't." he advised.

" Yeah, but I can't keep ditching school, can I?" Marin sighed again. He knew what the right thing to do was, but it in no way eased his troubled mind.

" Only you can really answer that question, can't you?"

"Excuse me!"

Marin flinched as they were approached by a nearby police officer wearing a blue uniform. "Shouldn't you be in school young man!?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"I...I…" Marin stammered as his face paled in fear. It wasn't as though he did anything wrong in particular, he simply assumed the position of a guilty person whenever confronted.

"Pardon me officer, but it's my fault my grandson isn't in school right now."

"Hm?" The officer turned his attention to him.

"See, he was escorting me on my way to my morning tai chi class and saved my life when a speeding driver almost hit me. He was just insisting that he walk me home, such a good boy."

Marin couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yes well, those speed demons are really causing a ruckus these days." The officer's face softened as he looked back towards Marin. "It's good to take care of your elders but education is important. I'll escort your grandpa home."

"Yes, sir." Marin nodded standing up, glancing back at the old man."Thanks for talking to me sir, I really appreciate it."

" Think nothing of it." The old man remarked, happily watching as Marin ran towards the school building. "In fact, perhaps it is I who should be thanking you." He remarked under his breath. He was smiling to himself, then noticing the police officer's confusion at the way Marin spoke to his supposed grandpa.

"He's a good boy." The old man remarked.

With half the day gone Adrien was more than content being surrounded by so many peers around his age, way better than staying inside with Natalie all day. Even Chloé wasn't so bad when she wasn't all over him at all hours of the day.

As the midday bell rang, he and the rest of his classmates scattered during the free period. He returned to the classroom, noticing that there was someone new in the classroom. They were seated right next to Chloé who stood nearby with a scowl on her face with Sabrina right next to her friend- as usual.

"Hey, Dupain Cheung. Get lost." He saw Chloé remark as he took his seat right in front of the bickering.

"But Chloé, this is my seat, it's on the-"

"Who cares?!" She suddenly snapped as Sabrina covered the boy's only exit.

A smile then drew on her face as she placed her hand on his bag, immediately sliding them off the desk.

"Hey!" He called out, leaving the desk to clean up the mess of papers and his phone. Adrien could hear a groan of displeasure, out of the corner of his eye he saw the new student looking over his phone with a frown.

" Hey Adrien, stick out your foot," Chloé whispered as Adrien reflexively did as he was told.

" WAH-" The student tripped over his food dropping his box as the contents inside were destroyed at the impact.

"I'm so-" Adrien began but was interrupted with Chloé and Sabrina laughing.

"It wasn't enough that you trip over your own feet. Now you're going out of your way to trip over others? How pathetic are you?" She and Sabrina laughed, dragging along Adrien as their escort.

Adrien felt a pang of immense guilt watching his new classmate having to pick up a mess he himself caused. As they walked towards the entrance Adrien pulled his hand back away from her.

"Hm? What's wrong Adrikins?" Chloé questioned innocently.

"Back there, what you did wasn't right." He stated clearly.

"Oh Adrikins, that was just for fun, Dupain Cheung doesn't mind at all."

" It didn't look like that at all Chloé." He angrily responded turning around, planning on apologizing but suddenly he stopped in his tracks as he saw who was standing at the doorway next to the teacher.

"Adrien!"

Natalie gave him a disapproving expression on her face, one he recognized as "Your father will hear about this".

Uh oh.

Marin mumbled under his breath, trying to push back the tears as he felt so embarrassed, tripping over someone like that. This was a whole new level of clumsy for him.

" Hey," he looked up to see someone else kneeling next to him, helping him clean. " Don't let what she said get you down, I saw what her lackey did."

" No, It's my fault, I want looking where I was going and..." he reflexively responded but stopped as the girl placed her hand on his shoulder.

" Poor you, she's got you thinking that?" The girl said. The mess was cleaned and so she reached for the last cookie in the box. " You mind?" She asked to which he simply nodded. Tossing the now crumbs in the trash.

" Holy-"

" What?! What?!" Marin reflexively responded, wondering what he did, but only saw the girls' eyes light up. " This is amazing! Where did you get it?!"

" F-from my family's bakery." He quickly responded.

" Well now we have to be friends, I'm Alya." She said with a smile, reaching out her hand.

Marin couldn't help but smile, the two shaking hands as he recalled his father's words. " Marin."

"Adrien, your father was worried out of his mind." Natalie scolded as Adrien hung his head. She was good at making him feel guilty about disobeying his father.

"But I wanted to go to school. Staying home all day is driving me crazy!" He tried to explain. "I want to talk to other people my age, not just you."

"You're exaggerating."

Adrien stopped in place, gripping his bag. He could break away from Natalie, she always wore heels how fast could she be?

"Adrien?" Natalie called standing in front of the car.

Just as he was about to sprint off, something caught his attention, an old man who had tripped and was reaching for his cane.

"Adrien, now." Natalie said sternly, now narrowing her eyes as her patience waned. But Adrien quickly ran over to the old man's side, first grabbing his cane as he knelt down at his side. "Are you alright sir?" He asked as he helped him up.

The old man flashed him an appreciative smile. "Thank you, young man. I hope I have troubled you with your mother."

"Mo-" Adrien was taken aback for a moment but laughed it off. "No, she's my dad's secretary. But are you alright sir? Do you need to call anyone?"

"Adrien!" Natalie called.

A frown was drawn on his face, slumping his shoulders. "Sorry, I have to go."

"The day is still early, there's still time for it to get better." The old man advised. For a moment, Adrien smiled at the man's optimism but it soon faded as he turned back towards Natalie. Not wanting to return to the diamond prison that was his home.

"I wish I could handle Chloé the way you do." Marin sighed as he was showing Alya around the school, the two making their way to the library.

"You mean the way Majestia would do it." Alya pulled out her phone, showing him a photo of said comic book hero on her phone. "She says all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. Well, that girl back there was evil in every sense of the word. And if she's bad, then we're the good guys. Meaning, we can't let her get away with being horrible to other people."

"Well, that's easier said than done. It's like she's drawn power from making my life miserable the past few years." Marin sighed.

Alya turned towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. " That's because you let her walk all over you! All you need more confidence!"

"Easy for you to say, you're still new around here. Give it time, she'll wear you down too." He lamely remarked. But became startled as Alya suddenly slammed her arm at the wall in front of him, blocking his path to the library.

" Hey, you're cute, so I'm telling you now. The moment that you start actually listening to her, she wins. Clearly, if you're someone this awesome and anyone thinks otherwise, they're the losers."

He could feel his face reddened at her compliments, though he was particularly sure she was just being nice for the perks of knowing the son of the best bakers in the city.

Suddenly below their feet, the earth seemed to shake and there was the sound of footsteps, but loud ones.

"Did you hear that?" Marin questioned as suddenly there was a loud crash, and walking before them was a giant stone man.

" Oh." Marin rasped as the shock overwhelmed him as he grasped Alyas' arm, who was transfixed on the monster in front of them then jumping out onto the streets yelling out. "KIMMMMMM!"

Marin blinked for a few seconds, " W- was that Ivan?"

" How could you tell?" Alya questioned as she pulled out her phone.

"The way that was his voice and the way he was clearly angry at Kim." Marin hastily explained, "Kim's not that bad a guy, but he'll take his gags too far sometimes."

" Sounds like he took one of his jokes way too far this time. It's like he's been transformed into a real-life supervillain!" Alya exclaimed happily as she took out her phone."Any idea where Kim is now?" She asked.

"The stadium?" Marin reflexively responded. "But why-"

"GPS, check. Battery, check. I am so outta here!" She immediately said racing out of the school.

" Hey! Where are you going!? Did you not just see the 10-foot monster walk right past us?!" Marin yelled in exasperation.

"Where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero close behind! No way I'm missing this!" She called back running to the entrance of the school. Marin spotted Stoneheart pick up a car like it was nothing, tossing it at the school and causing a lot of damage.

"KIM!"

Marin winced at the volume of the monster but only hesitated for a few moments before running after his friend.

"I believe I had already told you one that you would not be going to school."

Adrien lowered his head before his father shamefully as the older man looked down from him atop the staircase. He hadn't raised his voice, but Adrien could feel how angry he was through his very being.

"But Father, Mom said I-" He tried to explain but was given no ground as Gabriel spoke over him.

"Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you. I will not have you outside in that dangerous world."

"It's not dangerous, Father. I'm always stuck in here by myself. Why can't I go to school and make friends just like everyone else?

"Because you are not like everyone else!" Gabriel suddenly snapped. Adrien clawed his shirt at the sudden change in tone. "You are my son, and you will speak no more of this."

His word on the matter finalized Gabriel retreated back to his study, leaving his son behind with his tutor and personal bodyguard.

"We can begin in a few hours if-" Natalie began but Adrien suddenly broke away, immediately running towards his room and slamming the door behind him. He threw his backpack on the soft, sitting down and placing his head in his hands, sighing heavily as a wave of sadness washed over him fighting back the tears. He wished his mother was here to convince his father to change his mind; but she couldn't, not anymore...

Adrien sighed, scolding himself for wishing. He lifted his head, noticing a small black box sitting before him on the coffee table. It was engraved with a strange red symbol. He picked it up eyeing it curiously, unprepared for what came next as he opened it.

" Alya wait! Marin ran after Alya as she sped ahead on foot. " I'm...not...athletic..." he gasped for breath. "That girl..." he grumbled reaching into his bag wanting to call her but pulled out a box, much to his surprise. "Huh? What's this doing here?" It certainly wasn't his, opening it a bright light flashed before him circling around before it took shape.

" Hello, I'm-"

"Ahh! It's a giant bug! A... a mouse! A... a bug-mouse!" He tried to swat it away, backing up into the alley only to fall into a trash can.

"Everything's okay! Don't be scared!" The little bug mouse tried to calm him down but it approaching him only freaked him out more.

" Why are you talking?!" He was struggling to get out of the trash but was effectively stuck.

"Listen, Marin. I know everything may seem a bit strange to you- " Tikki tried to explain but was cut off.

" Who-What are you, and how do you know my name?!

The bug mouse sighed, " I am a kwami, and my name is Tikki. Now just let me explain. I was sent by my master to help you."

" HELP ME?!" He yelled out in disbelief.

" Marin, You must trust me. You're the only one who can stop Stoneheart!" Tikki pleaded.

" What?! You mean Ivan? This must be some mistake! I can't do anything. I'm literally incapable of getting out this trash can as we speak!" He argued as Tikki giggled.

" You're not stuck, you just need to calm down. Here, take a deep breath with me."

He complied, getting unstuck, as he calmly removed himself from the trash can instead of flailing about in a wild panic.

"All you have to do is find what object the Akuma is possessing and break it.

" An Akuma?" Marin questioned.

"To you, it will look like a butterfly. To help defeat it just your special powers. The lucky charm." Tikki explained.

"Tikki... I... don't think I'll be able to pull this off, you should find yourself someone else."

"Marinus Dupain Cheung you are the one chosen to wield the Ladybug miraculous in order to protect this city. Just yourself. To transform put on the earrings and say "Spots on".

Luckily he already had his ears pierced. Marin placed the earrings on, glancing at the Kwami in uncertainty. "Spots on? What is that-Whoa!" Suddenly Tikki disappeared and he saw a bright light. "What is happening?!"

A moment later he wore a skintight jumpsuit, a red belt that had a yoyo attached, black boots that reached his thighs, black fingerless gloves that reached his forearms, and a long black scarf that was decorated with red tips.

" Ohhhhh no." He took one look at his reflection in a broken mirror that was in the alley, taking a few steps back in confusion. " I look like some kind of clown!" He then looked around realizing the Kwami was nowhere in sight, " Tikki?"

Adrien looked himself over once, his heart racing at his new suit and appearance. "Too cool!"

He jumped out of the open window in his room, realizing he had enhanced strength.

" Hm." At his belt, he reached for a baton that extended into a staff at his touch. He couldn't hold back his smile at his newfound powers, his past sadness quickly disappearing.

"Now then, I have a villain to stop!" He remarked jumping onto the rooftops of the city.

"Okay, I have special powers, a Kwami, the aesthetic of an athletic clown," Marin noticed he had something attached to his belt, he removed it, looking it over curiously. "... and apparently this yo-yo?" He held the device in his hand for a few moments. Playing around with it for a moment. It appeared that it had some pretty good distance to it. He looked around. Aiming for a gargoyle atop a building nearby, he gently pulled it down feeling the tension in the cord.

Suddenly the situation washed over him. "What am I thinking, I can't do this!" He suddenly confessed, unable to let go of the cord of the fear of being launch to who knows where. " Of course I can't do this, what kind of superhero would be afraid of heights?! Not to mention that Ivan is thrice my size, he'd squash me like a pancake!" He grasped his heart, feeling a sudden pain, sadness, disappointment in himself.

He thought about going back home and curling up in his bed. No more superheroes, no more magic, no more of him ruining anything. But something caught his attention, someone in a black suit jumping over the rooftops. Running in the direction where Stoneheart was headed.

"Who's that?" He wondered. Curiosity got the better of him as he pulled down on his yoyo trying not to scream as he was flung across the city.

Adrien landed in the stadium, grabbing Stonehearts' attention as he stood over one of his classmates. "Hey, it's not very nice to pick on people who are smaller than you!"

"I guess you're talking about yourself!" Stoneheart roared as the classmate ran towards the exit screaming at the top of his lungs.

Adrien jumped towards Stoneheart, slamming down with his staff. But he was repelled as the monster grew larger. He tried to attack against, this time aiming towards his legs to try and unbalance him. But Stoneheart was more agile than he appeared, grabbing him in hand.

Adrien struggled to escape was trapped in the grasp of the enemy. Only watching as he threw a net towards a civilian.

Alya froze in place unable to evade the net. All of a sudden, the net stopped where it was for a split second, being flung back towards the monster as a flash of red and black caught everyone's eye. Suddenly, there was a shrill whistle, catching Stonehearts' attention as he caught something red in his other hand.

"Huh?" Adrien eyed what appeared to be some kind of bright red suit. Only a moment later it was filled up with something and something dropped to the ground. Next thing he knew, he was falling through the air, unexpectedly landing in the arms of someone else rather than on the ground, when only a moment before he'd heard a cracking sound and a butterfly flying away.

Adrien's eyes widened, his eyes lighting up as he saw the other hero shining against the midday sun.

"Who are you?" He asked in awe as the other person placed him down. He realized that this other person was about a few inches taller than him, For a moment the taller boy looked uncertain, eyes searching for something. Immediately he walked towards the classmate as he was no longer Stoneheart with something in his hand, looking as though he was saying something.

"Uh, hey wait-" Adrien tried to approach him but was cut off by another one of his classmates, the girl that sat alone who wore glasses.

"Uncanny, amazing, spectacular! Are you gonna be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Are you that other guys' partner?! Were you bitten by a radioactive cat?!" The new girl from his class asked with a phone in her hand with a sparkle in her eye. "Who are you?!"

Adrien was stunned for a few moments before he shrugged turning back to the black-spotted person who just saved him but he had already escaped from the stadium, leaving him speechless. Even though he was left behind, he couldn't help but smile, turning back to the camera phone. "I'm Chat Noir, and partner if you're out there," His heart couldn't help but race at the face that out there right now who would be fighting crime alongside him. " I look forward to formally introducing myself."

"What's your partner's name?" She asked, to which Chat Noir couldn't respond to, hearing his ring beep he waved to the girl, quicking leaving before he could transform back.

Marin landed on his bed after somehow not falling off any roofs. He groaned in exhaustion as he reached for his remote, turning on the tv so he could listen to it. His earrings beeped and he was detransformed, his Kwami landing on his stomach now looking exhausted. She flew down towards the tv at the sound of the news reporter.

"So thanks to this amateur footage, the Parisians now know the identities of their heroes!"

"Hm?" Marin picked himself up, glancing down to the screen that Tikki hovered in front of with a smile. The small Kwami then noticed the freshly baked cookies his mother placed in his room. The small Kwami glanced up towards him and he simply nodded.

"Go ahead."

"You see? You were up to it!" Tikki praised, munching on the cookies as Marinus sighed heavily, dropping all of his weight back on his bed, placing his hands on his face. He was done, no more hopping around rooftops looking like a clown. Still, his chest felt warm at Tikki's praise, that maybe he didn't mess up for once.

"I'm done now, right? You go back to your master and I get back to relative normality?" He asked hopefully but just as Tikki was about to answer, he overheard his mother calling.

"Marin! Dinner time!"

" Dinner?" Tikki questioned as Marin jumped off of his bed loft. He turned back with a tired smile, "I'll bring you back a snack." He remarked as he headed down the stairs directly into the kitchen as Tikki's eyes lit up with excitement.

As soon as he met his mothers' eyes she asked, "So how was school?" And he couldn't help but grumble at the prospect of trying to explain his day without mentioning flying around the city with the help of a magic bug.

Oh well, it wasn't like this day was going to get worse.

"I am pleased to announce that we will organize a huge celebration in honor of our city's new protectors. Ladybug and Cat Noir."

Adrien's eyes lit up as he saw the mayor's announcement to the entire city. "Ladybug. His name is Ladybug…" He couldn't help but claw his heart in excitement. He wondered what kind of person Ladybug was, someone kindly? Strict? Perhaps someone who could crack a joke once in a while?

"Eww, what is this?!"

Adrien was snapped out of his thoughts as his Kwami flew around. "Seriously? My personal chef made all this!"

"If you expect me to get my energy back after the transformation, I need to eat something more... delicate!" Plagg snapped back, crossing his tiny arms.

Adrien sighed. "Okay. What do you want?"

"I've made myself clear!" Plagg insisted as Adrien grimaced.

"Hey, do you know who Ladybug is?" He asked curiously.

But Plagg scoffed in amusement, "Of course not! I was only released today!"

"Okay, but do you know who Ladybug's Kwami is?"

"Sure, she's a real stickler for the rules. A real stick in the mud when it comes to fun." Plagg explained.

"Do you think Ladybug might be the same?" Adrien asked curiously.

"Oh for certain, that Kwami has a knack for ending up with the most assertive, put-together, boring, no-nonsense kind of person as her ladybug."

"Dang it!" Marin cried out as he dropped another dish crashing onto the floor. "Sorry, Ma!" Immediately he scrambled to get the broom, sweeping up his mess as he heard the reporter.

"Just as Paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters. It's simply unbelievable!"

In that moment Marin dropped the broom he was using and raced back upstairs as his parents were glued to the television.

Adrien starred as his Kwami gobbled up all the cheese placed in front of him, almost impressed at how much he ate. "Camembert cheese. Fantastic. All he eats is Camembert, which means I'm gonna smell like stinky old cheese."

"You should be grateful to smell so wonderful!" Plagg retorted just as the screen flashed with breaking news.

"These victims transformed into stone beings are still like statues. The police are perplexed as to what will happen to them. Will they come back to life or be frozen in time forever?"

Adrien glanced at his Kwami in confusion, "Plagg? What's going on? I thought we defeated Stoneheart!"

"Tikki!" Marin called out as the Kwami hovered before him at his call. " What's going on?! The city's in chaos!"

"Did you capture the Akuma?" She asked.

In a second Marin felt his entire body tense up as he heard those words. He felt something creep up his spine as he remembered that butterfly flying away and how relieved he felt within that moment.

"An Akuma can multiply, that's why it must be captured. If Ivan's emotions become negative again, then the Akuma will turn him back into Stoneheart! He'll control all the stone beings and bring them to life to serve as his army!"

Marin took a step back sitting down on his chair. "So that means... this is all my fault?"

Tikki immediately tried to grab Marin's attention as she saw the young boy hung his head, trying to cheer him up. "This isn't your fault, this is just your first time. Everyone makes mistakes when they're starting out."

" But I just made the problem worse! Anyone else would've realized that they should've captured the Akuma, but I just stood there like an idiot watching it fly away!"

"Marin you have to keep calm. You're being too hard on yourself on this. All you have to do is go back and capture Stoneheart's Akuma, and do it successfully! We can fix this together!" She insisted, but Marin turned away from the Kwami.

"I can't Tikki. I told you, I'm a disaster. I mess up all the time! I'll only make things for you and for everyone. There's no way someone like me can be Ladybug."

"But what about Chat Noir?! He needs you!" Tikki pleaded.

"So I can't do anything without Ladybug?" Adrien repeated as Plagg hovered before him.

"Only Ladybug can capture akumas and repair damage caused by supervillains. It's your job to help him any way you can, you two need to work together." Plagg explained as he scarfed down more cheese.

Adrien nodded, "I understand. No problem, between the two of us, there's no way the bad guys are going to win!"

"I'm sorry," Marin said somberly taking out his earrings.

"No, wait Mari-" He glanced in the space Tikki used to be, grasping the earrings in his hand once before placing them back into the box he found them in, hiding it away in a drawer.

"Cat Noir needs a Ladybug, not someone like me."

Notes:

- Marin is just trying his best but is easily overwhelmed.

-Adrien is a sneaky boy who has practice in evading his "wardens"

-Chloé is meaner at first, but I will try to tone it down in later chapters.

[Mandarin dialogue is in brackets]