The shrill buzz of Marinette's alarm infiltrated her dreams, causing her to groan and press her pillow to her ears to block the noise. Going to school was the last thing she wanted to do, especially after the disaster that was the previous year. She really didn't want to face Chloé.
Marinette ignored the alarm and buried herself beneath the blankets, only coming out when her maman's voice came from downstairs. "Got it, Mom," she groaned, climbing out of bed and down the stairs. "Coming."
Kissing her maman on the cheek, Marinette took a seat at the table and poured milk into her bowl. "I bet you anything Chloé will be in my class again," she said with resignation.
"Four years in a row, is that possible?" Maman asked.
"Definitely. Lucky me." Marinette rolled her eyes.
"Don't say that! It's the start of a new year! I'm sure everything will be just fine."
Marinette nodded, setting the chocolate powder down and accidentally setting off a chain reaction that sent milk, yogurt, and powder cascading to the floor. She groaned. How did that even happen? Well, just my luck.
It only took a few minutes to clean up and finish breakfast, then Marinette headed to her room to get changed before descending into the bakery where her papa was humming as he packaged her traditional start-of-year macarons. Marinette eagerly thanked her papa, then kissed him and Maman on the cheek before heading out the door for school.
She rushed out the door, just barely managing to stop in her tracks before running straight into the path of a moving car. Marinette sighed in relief, then gasped as she spotted an old man hunched over a cane and struggling to cross the street. She glanced between him and the oncoming car, which showed no sign of slowing down despite the honk of the horn.
Her mind made up in a split second, Marinette dashed onto the street and grabbed the man's wrist, pulling him to the safety of the sidewalk before losing her balance and falling to the ground. The box of macarons split open, cookies flying out and getting crushed against the pavement.
"Thank you, miss," the man said before noticing her spilled macarons. "Oh, what a disaster."
Marinette flinched back as a nearby pedestrian stomped on one of the macarons, then continued salvaging what she could. "Don't worry, I'm no stranger to disasters," she said reassuringly. "Besides, there's still a few left!"
The old man reached in and took one, thoughtfully taking a bite. "Mmm, delicious!" he said.
Just then, the school bell rang, bringing Marinette back to the present. "Oh, no, I'm gonna be late!" she gasped. Awkwardly bowing, she managed to get out a "Have a nice day, sir," before racing off in the direction of Collège Françoise Dupont.
Marinette burst in the classroom just as Mme Bustier was telling Nino to sit in the front of the classroom. The boy grumbled the whole way there, sliding his headphones off his head and around his neck once he was settled in. Marinette barely registered his presence, however, as Chloé Bourgeois slammed her palm on Marinette's desk.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she snapped in a tone used to no argument.
Marinette groaned. "Ugh, here we go again," she mumbled. Guess Maman was wrong. I just am lucky enough to get Chloé in my class for four years in a row.
"That's my seat," Chloé said haughtily.
Marinette looked at her pleadingly. "But, Chloé, this has always been my seat," she said.
Another voice to her left had Marinette turning in surprise. "Not anymore," Sabrina said. "New school year, new seats."
"So why don't you just go and sit beside that new girl over there," Chloé told her.
"But–"
"Listen," Chloé snapped. "Adrien's arriving today and since that's going to be his seat," she pointed at the seat in front of Marinette, "this is going to be my seat. Get it?"
Marinette gaped at her, but the only thing she could think of to say was, "Who's Adrien?"
Both Sabrina and Chloé erupted into laughter. "Can you believe she doesn't know who Adrien is?" Chloé mocked. "What rock have you been living under?"
"He's only a famous model," Sabrina explained.
"And I am his best friend," Chloé bragged. "He adores me. So, go on, move."
The new girl walked up behind Chloé. "Hey, who elected you Queen of Seats?"
"Ooh, look, Sabrina. We've got a little do-gooder in our class this year," Chloé smirked. "What are you gonna do, Super Newbie? Shoot beams at me with your glasses?"
Marinette fought back the urge to roll her eyes. If anything, she wished the new girl could shoot laser beams out of her glasses. Chloé deserved it.
"Wouldn't you like to know," the new girl said, then pushed past her and grabbed Marinette by the wrist. "Come on."
The sudden movement down the staircase was enough to make her trip, losing the last of her macarons to the floor. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she whispered, picking herself up and practically jumping into her seat.
Marinette tuned out Mme Bustier's voice as the new girl began to speak. "Chillax, girl," she said. "No biggie!"
"I so wish I could handle Chloé the way you do," Marinette confessed to her.
"You mean the way Majestia does it," the girl told her, holding up her phone to show off a picture of an American superhero Marinette had only vaguely heard about. "She says that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. Well, that girl over there is evil, and we are the good people. We can't let her get away with it."
"Well, that's easier said than done," Marinette told her. Years of bullying at the hands of Chloé Bourgeois had taught her that. "She likes to make my life miserable."
"That's 'cause you let her, girl! You just need more confidence." The new girl's faith in Marinette was different. Nobody else in her class had ever been so confident that she could stand up to Chloé. It felt almost… good, for someone to believe in her.
Taking the last macaron from the box, Marinette snapped it in half and handed one piece to the new girl. "Marinette," she said by way of introduction.
The girl grinned. "Alya." She took the macaron, and Marinette's unspoken promise of friendship along with it.
The rest of class was almost boring as Mme Bustier went through introductions and the topics that they'd be covering that year. Before Marinette knew it, the bell was ringing and Mme Bustier was directing the PE students to head to the front of the school to meet M. D'Argencourt and telling the rest to study in the library.
"Hey, do you have PE or study period–" Alya started to ask Marinette before being interrupted by an angry "Kim!" from Ivan in the back of the classroom.
Mme Bustier surveyed the situation, looking as though she'd seen the same sort of fight a thousand times before. "Ivan, what's going on?"
"It's Kim!" Ivan said, then raised his fist again. "You're so gonna get–"
"Ivan!" Mme Bustier reprimanded. "Go to the principal's office!"
As Ivan stalked out of the classroom to Chloé and Sabrina's giggles, Marinette turned back to Alya. "Study period," she said. "You?"
"Study period," Alya responded, her caramel eyes glittering behind her glasses. "We should totally hang out."
It kind of felt like a dream. One of Marinette's classmates actually wanted to hang out with her. A classmate who wasn't afraid of Chloé. "Of course!" she said, because she would have to have been crazy to say anything else.
They walked to the library together, and Marinette was shocked at just how easy Alya was to talk to. The other girl was quickly becoming one of Marinette's better friends. With the way things were going, she'd take the title of 'best friend' within the week.
The two of them were hunched over a book together in the library when a sudden thud knocked them out of their seats. Alya recovered faster than Marinette and quickly helped her up, pulling her by the wrist to the security camera feed in the back of the room.
Marinette watched openmouthed as some kind of creature carved out of rough-hewn stone drew itself to its full height and yelled "KIIIIIM!" at the top of its lungs. "Wh-what's going on?" she asked, utterly bewildered and a little scared. "He had Ivan's voice?"
"It's as if he's been transformed into a real-life supervillain!" Alya didn't sound the least bit scared. In fact, she almost looked excited as she poked at her phone. "GPS, check. Battery, check. I am so out of here!" Nope, that was definitely excitement.
"Hey, where are you going?" Marinette asked.
"Where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero close behind! No way I'm missing this!" Alya shoved open the doors to the library and sprinted off.
Marinette glanced at the security feed just in time to see the stone Ivan pick up a giant car and fling it straight at the camera with another roar of "KIIIIIM!"
Well, Alya, please don't get yourself killed, Marinette thought to herself. Because I'm heading straight home to safety.
Marinette quickly opened the door and slipped into the bakery, rushing up the stairs and sliding into her spinning desk chair before clicking on the monitor. She navigated to the TVi News page, clicking on the live link. On the screen, Sabrina's papa Officer Raincomprix, sporting a broken arm wrapped tightly in a cast, spoke to a reporter.
"I hate first days back at school," Marinette mumbled to herself. Because honestly, with how well her day had been going, something had been bound to go wrong.
Her attention drifted down, to an octagonal box decorated with dark red filigree that she'd never seen in her life. It sat innocuously on her desk. "What's this doing here?" she said thoughtfully.
She picked it up and cracked open the lid, revealing a black ring with a green paw print emblem. The ring suddenly erupted in bright green light, causing her to shove her chair back, the box slipping out of her hands.
Marinette watched open-mouthed as the light fizzled away to reveal a tiny black creature with cat ears floating in front of her monitor. It looked up at her, blinking its acid-green eyes, and she screamed.
"Aaah! Help! It's a giant bug! No, a mouse! No, a-a bug-mouse!"
The creature let out a yawn. "A bug-mouse?" it snorted. "Hah! If anything, I'm a cat!"
Marinette shrieked. "Bug-mouse talks!" She groped at her desk, tossing anything she could get her hands on at the creature.
"Calm down!" the creature yelled. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"
Hands closing around a glass, Marinette lunged forward and trapped the bug-mouse thing underneath. She breathed a sigh of relief, then gasped as it phased right through.
"Again, I'm not gonna hurt you, Marinette," the floating bug-mouse said, rolling its eyes.
Marinette gaped at it. "Wh-what are you? How do you know my name?"
"Plagg. I'm a kwami. We grant magic powers. Any more questions?" The kwami's eyes darted around the room, and he flew to Marinette's desk. "Is this food?" he asked before trying to take a bite out of her sewing machine.
"No! Don't do that!"
Marinette lunged for him, but he easily flew out of her reach. "What about this?" he asked, picking up her computer mouse.
This time, when he got distracted and flew away to look for other food, Marinette was ready. She leapt forward and grabbed him before he could nibble on her lampshade, falling flat on her chaise with an "oof" of surprise. "I have a lot more questions," she told him. "What powers are you talking about? Why are you here? How do you know my name?!"
"Fine," Plagg said. "You know that rocky guy that's throwing a tantrum out there? Stoneheart?"
Marinette nodded.
"You and your partner, the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, are supposed to stop him. As well as any future supervillains."
"Wait. I'm supposed to stop him?"
Plagg scoffed. "Of course! The guy was made with magic. You think a normal sheriff or guard or whatever you humans use could stop it? Nah, you gotta fight magic with magic. And teamwork, or something. But mostly magic."
"And what's that you said about a partner?" Marinette asked.
"You're the holder of the Black Cat Miraculous. You'll be working with the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. Your power is Destruction, which you can activate using the word 'cataclysm'. Five minutes after using that power, you detransform."
Marinette couldn't help it. She was curious. "What about my partner's powers?"
"Your partner's power is Creation. They can summon a Lucky Charm, which they use to make a plan to defeat the bad guy. After that, they have to break the akumatized object and blah, blah, blah. Got anything to eat?"
"Akuma?" Marinette asked.
"Do your questions never stop?" Plagg bemoaned. "The akuma is a corrupted butterfly that gives people superpowers. I'm hungry, by the way."
"Okay, this sounds great and all," Marinette said, getting to her feet, "but it's a lot for a 13-year-old girl to handle. I'm gonna go ask my parents what to do."
"Woah!" Plagg shot out of her hands to hover in front of her face. "You can't tell anyone! No one can know that I exist."
"But–" Marinette protested. "I'm not even cut out to be a hero. There has to be some mistake! The only superpower I could possibly have is super awkwardness." Then an idea struck her. "Wait, Alya would make a great superhero! That's my friend," she explained to Plagg. "She loves superheroes, she'd totally be up for the job! You should go see her!"
"No can do, kid," Plagg said delicately. "You've been chosen, so you're the only one who can do it. Plus, now's not the time for your pity party. There's a giant stone monster running around in Paris, remember?"
"But–" Marinette protested.
"Look," Plagg interrupted. "Just try it, okay? Wear the ring, see how it feels. Fight a bad guy or two. Then we'll talk."
Marinette bit her lip, then sighed. "Fine." She walked over to where the strange box was lying sideways on her desk, having snapped shut the moment it made contact with the hard surface. "What do I do?" she asked, opening the lid and taking out the ring. It morphed into a plain band of rose gold with a flat top where the paw print used to be.
"Put it on and say 'Claws out', then 'Claws in' when you want to transform back," Plagg said.
Marinette slid the ring onto her finger. "Okay… Claws out!"
Suddenly, the ring morphed back into black and green, and green light began to race down her body, leaving a trail of shiny black material. Power coursed through her veins, freedom and energy like she'd never felt before. Before long, she was dressed from head to toe in some kind of magical skintight leather.
Marinette took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. Her eyes had turned light green with slit pupils, and a pair of black cat ears edged in green were perched atop her head. Her black hair was braided all the way to the floor in a way that vaguely resembled a tail, and the regular blue sheen it had was all but gone. Spotting a flash of silver behind her, Marinette reached out to find some kind of stick. Pressing the glowing green paw print caused it to extend several meters, crashing straight into the wall. Another press of the button retracted it.
"Plagg, what now?" Hearing nothing from the kwami, she turned around and scanned the room. "Plagg?"
When Plagg still didn't respond, she wracked her brain for the detransformation phrase. "Claws in," she finally said, and the energy vanished as fast as it came, her clothes returning to normal.
"What happened?" Plagg asked. "Why'd you detransform?"
"Where'd you go?" Marinette demanded.
"Into the ring, to transform you," Plagg said. "Did you forget about the akumatized villain? Go!"
"Oh, right," Marinette mumbled. "Claws out!"
By the time she'd scrambled out of her skylight and started making her way across the city, she could see a blur of red darting across the rooftops just ahead of her. "Hey!" she called, and the person dressed in red turned to face her. "Wait up!"
Once Marinette was close enough, the person stuck his hand out in a handshake. "Are you the partner my kwami mentioned?" he said. He was dressed in red with black spots, with solid black panels on the sides of his suit. A red-and-black mask stretched across his face, with two red antennae sticking out of his blond hair. He had the greenest eyes Marinette had ever seen.
"Yeah, I am," Marinette told him. "You're the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, right?"
"That'd be me!" the boy said. "Nice to meet you. I'm, uh–" He thought for a moment. "Crimson Beetle. What's your name?"
"I'm Ma– uh–" Marinette shifted her weight, trying to think of a name, only to lose her balance and nearly topple off the side of the building. "Madly clumsy," she finished, smiling sheepishly as Crimson Beetle let go of her arm. Nice going, Marinette.
"Don't have a name yet, Clumsy Girl?" he said with a light laugh. "That's okay. You can think of one later."
She nodded, feeling painfully awkward. "So, uh, where's Stoneheart?"
"The trail of destruction leads to the stadium," Crimson Beetle pointed out.
"Right, yeah. Let's go, then."
The two fell into step beside one another, racing toward the stadium. Crimson Beetle used his yo-yo to pull himself to the top, standing on the edge before jumping down into the seats of the stadium. Marinette followed close behind, using her baton to land lightly up top.
Stoneheart jumped down to the field, causing tremors to race through the stadium. "KIIIIM!" he yelled, voice gruff. "WHO'S THE WUSS NOW?" He took off after Kim, who was racing away as fast as he could.
Tripping over his shoelaces, Kim collapsed to the ground, staring behind him at the rapidly approaching Stoneheart. Before the rock giant could touch him, though, the string of a yoyo wrapped around Stoneheart's giant wrist.
"It's not very nice to pick on people smaller than you," Crimson grunted, digging his toes into the earth as he pulled on the cord.
The stone giant lifted its wrist and shook it, sending Crimson into the air as he struggled to grip the string. "I guess you're talking about yourself," Stoneheart said. Crimson quickly unwound the string, landing with a soft thud on the grass and leaping back as he dodged Stoneheart's blows.
Marinette saw Kim scrambling off, heading desperately for the exit. Behind him, Crimson scrambled up the side of Stoneheart's rough armor, tossing the yo-yo toward the stands and using its momentum to kick Stoneheart in the head.
She watched, her heart in her throat, as Stoneheart grew several meters and let out a roar of fury.
"Where are you, partner?" Crimson called desperately. Partner? Oh, yeah, you're talking about me. I'm your partner. Your superhero partner.
Marinette covered her face with her hands, peeking through the gaps between her fingers. "I can't, I'm not going to be able to do it!" she gasped out. That battle looked way too intense for someone as clumsy as she was.
Stoneheart picked up a goal, tossing it at Crimson, who dodged easily. Marinette watched as the goalpost soared up… up… then fell, heading straight for– was that Alya?
At that moment, she knew exactly what to do. Marinette pressed the button on her baton, then tossed it straight at her friend. It extended above her right as the goal bounced off of it, landing with a thud in the grass in front of her.
Alya gaped.
Marinette jumped down into the stadium, landing on the grass right before Stoneheart took advantage of the distraction to grab Crimson Bug in his fist. The red-clad superhero dropped his yo-yo, shock overtaking his expression.
Marinette grabbed her baton and used it to pick up Crimson's yo-yo, wrapping it around Stoneheart's legs. "Animal cruelty?" she smirked. "How shameful." With a yank, Stoneheart's legs flew out from underneath him, and he was on the ground, Crimson tossed unceremoniously from his grip into the goalpost on the far end of the stadium.
She raced over and tossed him his yo-yo. "Sorry it took so long," she told him.
"It's cool, Wondercat," he said, stretching and giving the yo-yo a few experimental spins. "Now let's kick his rocky behind!"
"Wait!" Marinette said. "Haven't you noticed? Every time you hit him, he grows stronger."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" he said, slowing down.
Marinette thought about it for a moment. "Why don't you call for your Lucky Charm?" she offered. "My kwami told me that we can use it to make a plan."
Crimson shrugged. "Sure thing," he said. "Lucky Charm!"
A red trash bag with black spots fell into Crimson's arms. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.
"Figure it out quickly," Marinette advised. "You've only got five minutes before you detransform."
"Wait. Really?"
She gave him an odd look. "Didn't your kwami tell you?"
He shrugged sheepishly. "I may have been a little too excited about my new life," he said.
"Never mind that," she said. "What's the plan? I still have my power, which allows me to destroy anything I touch."
He nodded, squinting at the stone giant, who was now frozen in place with a purple mask glowing around his face. "So where's the akuma?" he said thoughtfully.
"I think it's in his fist," Marinette told him. "He's made of stone, so it can't be there, and that's the only other place I can think of."
"So we have to open the fist… I got it!" he said eagerly. "Destroy the ground at his feet, so he gets stuck, then let yourself be captured. I'll take care of the rest."
Marinette nodded, then raced forward, dropping into a slide beneath the stone giant as she called, "Cataclysm!" The ground rumbled, then decay spread from the place her hand touched the ground, opening a hole beneath Stoneheart. He fell, getting trapped up to the waist as she got to her feet and sprinted toward his arm.
"Got you!" he rumbled, grabbing her with his open fist.
Before he could try to take her ring, however, Crimson Beetle ran up the side of the stone giant and stuffed the trash bag over his head. "Lights out, big guy!" he called, backflipping back to the ground.
Marinette watched the giant's indecision. Should he let go of his prisoner to take the trash bag off of his face, or risk losing his akuma? Eventually, he raised the hand that was squeezed into a fist, a small purple ball tumbling out as he wriggled the trash bag off his face.
Crimson Beetle stepped on the ball and a toxic purple butterfly flew out. "We did it!" he said eagerly as purple mist rippled over the stone giant's form, leaving Ivan half-buried in the dirt, Marinette falling on top of him with an 'oof' of surprise. "You were amazing, cat girl!"
"You were too, Crimson Beetle," she said. They bumped fists. "Pound it!"
Crimson's Miraculous beeped, alerting him to his transformation about to drop. "I gotta go," he said. "My kwami told me that we must keep our identities secret at all costs. See you around!" He tossed his yo-yo, swinging out of the stadium.
"Hopefully not too soon," Marinette said, using her baton to help her and Ivan out of the hole. Once they were both safely on solid ground, she let go of him and walked over to a wad of paper on the ground. Picking it up, she unfurled it and read aloud. "You haven't even got the guts to tell Myléne you love her. Wuss." Glancing at Ivan, she gave an 'aww' of sympathy.
"Kim wrote it," Ivan said when she approached. He sat cross-legged on the ground, staring dejectedly at the grass. "He's always making fun of me."
"You know, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape about it," she said comfortingly. "There's no shame in telling someone you love them, Ivan."
He tilted his head. "How do you know my name, miss?"
She froze, forcing a smile as she tried to think of a way to answer the question without giving away the fact that she was in his class. Thankfully, Alya interrupted, her phone out in front as she recorded. "Uncanny, amazing, spectacular! Are you gonna be protecting Paris from now on?" she asked. "How did you get your powers? Did you get bitten by a radioactive cat? Oh, I've got a ton of questions to ask you, uh, miss…"
Marinette glanced back at Alya. "Uh… Chaton Minuit. Call me Chaton Minuit." With that, she ran off, vaulting her way out of the stadium with her baton.
Superhero names, secret identities. Whoever chose me should have really picked someone better at lying.
Chaton Minuit pulled open the trapdoor to her room, jumping in and landing on her bed. A rapid beeping floated up from her ring, then a flash of green light overtook her vision and she was dressed in her normal clothes again. A yawning Plagg hovered in front of her. "I'm hungry," he told her petulantly.
"What do kwamis eat?" Marinette asked curiously.
"Cheese," Plagg said. "Well, at least I eat cheese. Camembert, to be specific."
Okay, that's a pretty weird choice. Even for a magical bug-cat. She thought about it for a moment. "Camembert cheese is… a bit in short supply around here. I mean, would you like a cheese danish or something? I don't think it's Camembert cheese, though…" She bit her lip as she tried to remember what kind of cheese Papa made danishes with.
"What is this, a bakery?" Plagg scoffed.
"Yes, actually," she told him. "We have danishes, gougères, cheese croissants…. We probably also have a few different kinds of cheese that Papa uses to make the pastries, but probably not Camembert."
"I'll take a cheese danish, then," he said grudgingly. When Marinette opened the trapdoor leading downstairs, he flew into her jacket to hide.
Marinette quickly went downstairs to the bakery, grabbing one of any pastries she saw with cheese in them and stuffing them into a to-go box. When the box was full, she rushed back upstairs before a thought suddenly struck her.
She glanced over at the shelf below the counter, remembering the snacks her maman had brought home after grocery shopping two days prior. She quickly opened the cabinet and grabbed what she was thinking of, then shut it and made her escape back to her room.
Once the trapdoor was shut behind her, she walked over to her desk and put down her spoils. Plagg flew out of her jacket and surveyed the bounty. "What's all this stuff?"
"Every pastry I could find that had cheese, and a box of cheese crackers," Marinette told him. "Try everything and see what you like."
While Plagg started to dig into the veritable feast, Marinette sat down in front of her monitor and clicked with the mouse, switching the display back to TVi News.
"And now– hang on, someone just submitted a video of Paris's new superheroes," Nadja Chamack was saying. "We'll play it on the screen right now." The feed switched to slightly shaky camera footage of– Marinette gasped. It was herself on screen, talking to Ivan. Alya's excited barrage of questions followed quickly after, then Marinette could hear her own voice saying "Call me Chaton Minuit" before turning and leaving the stadium.
The footage was minimized, showing Nadja on screen again. "So thanks to this amateur footage, courtesy of one Alya Césaire, the Parisians now know…" Marinette tuned her out.
"I did it, Plagg! Me and Crimson Beetle!"
Plagg nodded from where he was settled on the table, crumbs littered around him, taking eager bites out of a cheese cracker. "You did great, kid," he said. "By the way, these crackers are delicious! I wouldn't mind eating these all the time."
"Marinette, dinner time!" Her maman's voice filtered through the trapdoor, getting her attention.
"Coming, Maman," she called, rushing downstairs.
Somewhere far above the city, a toxic purple butterfly fluttered higher and higher, softly alighting on a tall spire. When it took to the air once again, thousands of butterflies joined it, darkening the skies with their beating wings as they spread as far as the eye could see.
Plagg stuffed the remaining piece of the last cheese biscuit in his mouth and lay down, feeling deliciously full for the first time in what felt like forever. If Marinette kept feeding him like that, he was never going to want to leave.
Suddenly, the news anchor lady on Marinette's flat picture box gasped, startling Plagg out of his food-induced coma. "We've just received reports from various Parisian citizens of strange happenings in our city," she was saying. "Just as Paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes, Crimson Beetle and Chaton Minuit, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters. It's simply unbelievable!"
Just as the news lady started to ask rhetorical questions onscreen, Marinette slammed open the trapdoor to her room. "What's going on?" she asked Plagg worriedly.
Plagg turned to look at her. "Did you capture the akuma?"
"What's capturing the akuma got to do with the other stone statues?" Marinette asked.
Plagg sighed. "When an akuma is released but not captured and purified, it can multiply and turn other people into copies of the original akuma. If the victim feels the emotion that originally got them akumatized, they turn back into their akuma form and gain the control of every other person transformed with the multiplied akuma."
Marinette considered his words, twisting the tip of a pigtail around her fingers. "So, basically… if Ivan gets angry again, we'll be facing a whole army of Stonehearts?"
"Yeah, basically," Plagg said. "That sounds about right."
The room felt too small. Marinette's breath was coming in short, quick bursts. She held her head in her hands, trying to breathe. "This is my fault," she mumbled.
"What? How?" Plagg asked. "Last I checked, you don't have the ability to purify akuma."
"B-but I should have asked! I-I asked you f-for information. I should have known! This is all my fault!"
"You couldn't have–" Plagg took in her shaky demeanor, and his eyes softened. "Kid. Hey, look at me." When she glanced up, she saw he was floating in front of her face. "I need you to name five things you can see around you."
"Y-you. My computer. The-the box you came in. My desk. My chair."
"Good," he soothed. "Now name four things you can feel."
She tried to focus. "My shirt. My hand. The floor. Um… my hair."
"Three things you can hear."
"You," she said. "My heartbeat. Nadja Chamack."
"Two things you can smell."
Marinette sniffed. "Dinner. Um, cheese?"
"One thing you can taste."
"Umm… salt?" Marinette swiped at her face. She had teared up; she hadn't even noticed.
"Good job, Marinette. Now you need to listen to me, okay?" When she nodded, he continued. "There was no way you could have known. It's Crimson Beetle's job to capture the akuma, not yours. You don't have that power. This is not your fault. Okay?"
"Okay…"
"Now here's what you're going to do," Plagg instructed. "You need to go downstairs, eat your dinner, then come back up here and get ready for bed. Then you need to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow fresh and ready to fix this problem. Got it?"
"Okay." Marinette obediently turned around and pulled up the trapdoor, heading downstairs. As the top of her head disappeared, Plagg sagged, collapsing on Marinette's desk. It had been a long time since he'd had to bring one of his holders down from a guilt-induced panic attack. Then again, it'd been a long time since he'd had a long-term holder with a conscience.
He glanced at the moving picture box, studying the buttons on the board in front of it before pressing one in the corner that he assumed turned it off. Then he flew up to Marinette's bed and curled up on one of her pillows. He really needed a nap.
"Heroic Herald, bringing you all the latest news about the superheroes, Chaton Minuit and Crimson Beetle! How awesome is that?" Alya took her phone back and scrolled down to the view counter at the bottom of her first post. "Check out how many views I got on this video!"
"That's great, Alya," Marinette said hesitantly. "But why do you trust the heroes so much? All these stone beings…"
Alya nodded confidently. "They're gonna handle 'em."
"But what if they're not cut out to be superheroes the way everyone thinks they are?" Marinette didn't know why she was pressing the issue. It's not like Alya would know she was talking about herself.
"What are you talking about, girl?" Alya asked, confirming Marinette's thoughts. Then her face brightened. "Oh, wait, I know what this is about."
"Y-you do?" Marinette stammered. In her purse, Plagg stiffened.
"Yeah!" Alya exclaimed. "You're scared, but don't be! Minuit is a true superhero, girl. I saw her with my own two eyes! Same with Crimson Beetle. They're going to protect us all. I believe in them!"
Marinette glanced down at the kwami hidden in her bag. Alya believed in her! Maybe Plagg was right; this really wasn't her fault.
Marinette started to follow Alya to class but soon stumbled to a halt as she spotted a group of her classmates clustered around a bench, talking to Ivan. Alya drifted closer, Marinette following close behind.
"…out to crush me, dude," Kim was saying, and Ivan shrank back.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" he mumbled. "I wasn't myself."
Chloé butted into the conversation, scoffing. "Once a monster, always a monster," she said snootily. A look of fury crossed Ivan's face, and he got up and rushed off. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Chloé added, laughing. Marinette nearly sighed. Seriously, Chloé? Now is not the time.
Marinette turned and ran after him as Alya started to berate Chloé.
"Adrien!" Nathalie called from Gorilla's car. "Don't do this! Your father will be furious!"
"Tell my father you got here too late," Adrien said, turning to look at Nathalie climbing out of the Gorilla's car. "Please." He turned and rushed into the building before either one of them could chase him down and drag him home.
Once he was inside, the door swinging shut behind him, Adrien let out a sigh of relief. He glanced down at Tikki, the kwami hiding in his jacket, and smiled. "I made it!" he whispered excitedly.
"I knew you could do it!" she said encouragingly. "Let's go!"
"Let's see if we can find Chloé," Adrien said, turning and surveying the room. He spotted Chloé arguing with a brunette in glasses, who then huffed and stomped off angrily. "Hey, Chloé!" he called.
His childhood friend turned around, her sour expression melting away. "Adrikins! You came!"
A sudden round of whispers erupted around the room, Adrien's name repeated a dozen times over. Chloé rushed over and latched onto his arm as students started to crowd around him.
As Adrien started to scribble his name on whatever his fellow students waved in his face, feeling uncomfortable, he sighed and pasted on a model smile. Well. This is awkward. My first day at school, and I'm signing autographs.
Marinette found Ivan crouched on the ground in the locker room, hands folded around his legs and headphones firmly on his head. She knelt beside him, a comforting smile on her face. He glanced at her, then removed the headphones.
"You know," she started gently, "you should tell Mylène how you feel."
Ivan glanced away. "I… don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on," Marinette encouraged him. "I saw the way you look at her!" When he glanced at her, shocked, then returned to looking miserable, she tried to cheer him up. "No! No negative emotions, Ivan," she said. When he looked even more upset, she rethought her wording. "What I mean is, be positive! I'm sure Mylène has feelings for you too. Go talk to her!"
"I'm no good with words anyway," Ivan mumbled.
"But… who needs words?" Marinette thought for a moment. "You could draw her a picture, send her flowers…"
Ivan perked up. "I could… write her a song?"
Marinette grinned. "That's a great idea! What girl wouldn't want a love song written especially for her? Go for it, Ivan, and, uh– stay positive." She waved as Ivan scrambled to his feet, looking excited as he ran off.
Adrien's pasted-on smile stuck to his face as Chloé practically dragged him down the hall to the classroom they shared. He signed one last autograph and then stepped into the classroom.
"This is your seat, Adrikins!" Chloé said. "I saved it for you. Right in front of me!"
"Thanks, Chloé," Adrien said. He sat down and glanced at the boy sitting to his left. "Uh, hey!" He stuck out his hand for a handshake. "Adrien."
The boy's response was a little unfriendly as he glanced behind Adrien. "You're friends with Chloé, then, huh?"
Adrien turned to see what the boy was looking at and spotted Chloé and her friend putting gum on someone's seat. "Hey! What's that all about?" he asked, standing up.
"The brats that sat here need a little attitude adjustment," Chloé said snarkily. "I'm just commanding a bit of respect, that's all."
"You think that's really necessary?" Adrien asked, kneeling down beside the seat and picking at the gum.
Chloé giggled as she retreated to her seat. "Ah, you've got a lot to learn about school culture, Adrikins. Watch the master."
Just as he was starting to get somewhere in getting rid of the gum, an angry voice sounded over his shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing?"
He turned around to see a girl with bright blue eyes and dark hair tied in pigtails standing behind him. "Oh! Uh– I–" he stammered.
Her eyes fell on Chloé and Sabrina laughing up a storm. She glanced at the brunette girl she'd walked in with and sighed. "Okay. I get it. Good job, you three. Now back off."
"No, no, I was just trying to take this off! Honest!" Adrien held up his hands in surrender.
The girl scrutinized him. "Oh, really? You're friends with Chloé, right?"
"Why do people keep saying that?" he mumbled, retreating to his seat and wrapping his arms around himself. The girl huffed and carefully placed a handkerchief over the gum before sliding into her seat.
"Marinette," Adrien's seatmate said quietly. "He's telling the truth."
The girl– Marinette– gave the boy an odd look. "What?"
"I saw the whole thing," he said, and Adrien glanced up at him. "Chloé's the one who put the gum on your seat. Adrien was just trying to take it off."
Marinette glanced between Adrien and his seatmate, then sighed. "Sorry for jumping to conclusions," she said, biting her lip. "Chloé's been bullying me for years, so I guess I just didn't realize that her friends could actually be decent people." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Marinette."
"Adrien," he said. He reached up and took her hand, waving it up and down. Her fingers were thin and callused.
"You can let go now," she said after an uncomfortable minute. He jumped and brought his hand back to his chest, glancing at her to see she'd turned back to the brunette girl she shared her seat with.
"Why didn't you tell them it was Chloé's idea?" his own seatmate whispered.
Adrien shrugged. "I've known Chloé since I was a little kid. I know she's not perfect, but I can't throw her under the bus. She's like my only friend." He sighed. "Besides, you already did it anyway."
The boy shrugged. "I'm Nino," he said, sticking his hand out for a handshake. "And it's time for you to make some new friends, dude."
"What the heck was that?" Alya hissed as Marinette turned to face her after successfully having recovered her hand from Adrien.
"I don't know," Marinette whispered back. "He was lost in thought or something." She glanced back at Adrien, squinting as she tried to place where she'd seen him before. "He looks oddly familiar."
"Didn't that brat mention Adrien was a model?" Alya asked, pulling out her phone and inputting 'adrien model paris' into the search bar. Barely a few seconds later, she was looking at the results, and Marinette gasped as she realized who he was.
"That's Adrien Agreste!" she whispered. "Son of my favorite fashion designer Gabriel Agreste!" As an afterthought, she added, "So that's where I've seen him before! His face is plastered all over Paris!"
Before Alya could say anything else, Mme Bustier called the class to attention. "I'm going to do a roll call, okay? Agreste, Adrien?"
Marinette saw Nino whisper something, then Adrien jumped to his seat and raised his hand, saying, "Uh, present!" A ripple of laughter spread throughout the classroom, and Adrien sat down to bump fists with Nino.
"Bourgeois, Chloé?" Mme Bustier called.
"Present!"
"Bruel, Ivan?"
There was no response, and then the door burst open to reveal Stoneheart. "PRESENT!" he roared. "MYLÈÈÈNE!"
The class scattered, everyone racing to escape the akuma. Alya rushed to the back of the classroom, Marinette hot on her heels. She turned back to see Stoneheart had managed to get ahold of Mylène, holding her aloft.
"Let go of me, Ivan!" Mylène yelled, hammering her fists against his rocky exterior.
The akuma growled. "I'm not Ivan anymore," he said. "I'm Stoneheart!"
"Why are you doing this?" Mylène asked.
"So you and I can be together forever!"
A whiny voice filtered through the air– Chloé Bourgeois, on the phone with her father. Tossing aside her desk, Stoneheart lifted her off the ground as well, then crashed through the wall and out onto the streets of Paris.
Alya approached the ruins of the wall, then turned and waved at Marinette. "Come on!" she called. "Let's follow him!"
Marinette's eyes widened. She glanced down at her bag, at Plagg's wide green eyes staring up at her. Then back at Alya. "Oh, no, you go," she said, fully knowing she was going to end up following her anyway as Chaton Minuit. "I'm going to find myself a safe place to hide."
"Girl, you're gonna miss Crimson Beetle and Chaton Minuit in action," Alya cajoled. "Come on!"
There wasn't going to be a Chaton Minuit in action if Alya didn't go now! "You'll be better off without me," she said. "Go!"
"If you say so," Alya said, turning to race out of the classroom.
Marinette watched her go, then immediately rushed out of the classroom and into the nearest empty room she saw. It turned out to be a supply closet, loud clattering echoing through the hallway as her leg bumped into a stack of metal pails in the corner while she was trying to close the door.
The moment that they were truly alone, Plagg flew out of Marinette's purse. "This is your chance," he said seriously. "You have to find the original Stoneheart and Crimson Beetle has to purify the akuma and cast his Miraculous Cure. Then everything will be fixed."
Marinette nodded, then her expression fell. "What if I can't do it?"
"Just do your best," Plagg said. "And I expect a lot of those delicious cheese biscuits as a thank you once you're done." Somehow, Plagg's obsession with food brought a giggle to Marinette's lips and loosened the last of the tightness in her chest. She took a deep breath.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Chaton Minuit burst out of a supply closet in Collège Françoise Dupont, running into the courtyard and using her baton to get to the top of the building with ease. Spotting (heh, spotting) Crimson Beetle already engaging with the Stoneheart that was holding Mylène and Chloè, Minuit made her way over the rooftops.
As she dropped down beside Crimson, the original Stoneheart grew in size, calling a whole swarm of Stoneheart-copies to surround them.
"Nice to see you again, Minuit," Crimson said, swinging his yo-yo in a loop so fast it blurred into one flat disk. "Though I wish it was while we weren't in such a rocky situation."
"Agreed," Minuit responded. Then stopped. "Wait, was that a pun?"
"Was it a little rough?" he told her cheekily. "I feel it could have used a bit of polishing."
"Dork," she found herself saying with a grin.
Before he could say anything back– or pun anything back– the Stoneheart-copies started to attack. It took all of Minuit's concentration to stay out of their reach without hitting them back with her baton.
"Minuit, he's gone!" Crimson called to her.
"Who?" she asked.
"Stoneheart! The original one!"
Sure enough, Crimson was right. There was no sign of Stoneheart, Mylène, or Chloè anywhere. Dodging a car, Minuit cursed. "This was a distraction," she said in sudden realization.
A sudden shout behind her had her spinning around to see Alya almost getting crushed by the car Minuit had just dodged. Thinking quickly, Minuit tossed her baton out in the same trick she'd used the previous day with the goalpost. This time, though, Alya was pinned behind the car.
Before Minuit could try again, she felt hard rock squeezing her as she was lifted into the air. "Crimson!" she tried to call, but her voice was muffled by the stone around her face.
She heard the zip of Crimson's yo-yo, but the sound was growing farther and farther away as the Stoneheart-copies began to stomp away. She hoped Alya was okay.
A sudden call of her superhero name had her glancing up as much as she could to see Crimson Beetle soaring through the sky above, chasing after the Stoneheart-copies. "Minuit! Extend it!" he called, tossing her baton to her.
She wriggled as much as she could until she could wrap her fist around the baton. Then squeezed it. It extended fast enough for the Stoneheart-copy holding her to open its fist, dropping her to the asphalt below. Crimson's yo-yo wrapped around her ankle and pulled her away just as the giant statue put its feet right where she had been barely moments before.
Minuit exhaled shakily. "Thanks," she said.
"Have I ever told you that you turn my world upside down?" Crimson said, winking.
Minuit squinted at him. "That works better if you're the upside-down one, not me," she said. A chorus of roars followed her declaration, and she glanced up to see more Stoneheart copies. "And your comedic timing needs work. I'd give that a three out of ten."
"Harsh," Crimson said, "but fair. We gotta go!" He tossed out his yo-yo, ignoring the fact that Minuit was still tied to it, and she let out a yell as she was tossed unceremoniously into the air. She managed to save herself by turning her fall into a roll, glancing at herself in shock. I've never been able to do that before, she thought to herself. This is actually pretty amazing.
"Do you know where the original Stoneheart is?" Crimson asked.
"Probably some kind of central location," Minuit said. "Maybe the Eiffel Tower?"
"It's as likely a place as any," he said, shrugging. "Lead the way."
The two fell into step as they raced across the Parisian rooftops, finally landing on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower. "There he is," Crimson said approvingly. "You were right!"
"What do we do now?" Minuit asked.
Just then, Stoneheart tossed a screaming Chloé down the side of the Eiffel Tower. Crimson and Minuit leaped into action, Crimson catching Chloé just before she hit the ground, Minuit landing right next to them barely a second later.
"I didn't promise," Chloé said snarkily.
"What?" Crimson asked, confused. He helped her to her feet, then Chloé ran off to be embraced by her father.
A policeman with an arm in a sling pointed his good arm at the Tower. "We're clear to attack!" he called.
"Wait!" Minuit yelled, holding her hands out.
"Don't attack them, it'll only make it worse!" Crimson explained. "Every time a Stoneheart gets hit, it grows."
The policeman's expression dipped into a frown so severe Minuit genuinely thought it was going to be etched on his face permanently. "Move aside and let the pros do their thing," he said condescendingly. "You've already failed once."
Minuit opened her mouth to fire a retort, but she didn't know what to say. Turning to Crimson, she sighed. "He's right, you know," she said quietly. "If we had captured the akuma, if we'd done our duty, none of us would be in this mess right now."
Crimson's expression softened. "Do you remember that girl from earlier? The one you saved from a car, and before that, from the goalpost?" Minuit nodded. "Well, without you, she'd be hurt or worse. And you see that girl hugging her dad?" He pointed to Chloé, and Minuit nodded. "Without me, she wouldn't be hugging her dad right now. Instead, that man would be devastated, and that girl would no longer be with us. You see what I'm saying?"
Minuit nodded mutely.
"Good. You see? We're already saving people. Now let's show them that they wouldn't make it through this without us. We'll prove it to them, trust me. You in?" He raised his fist for a fist bump, and Minuit stared into his spring green eyes, and bumping her fist against his never felt more right than it did at that moment. She touched her face. Her cheeks were warm.
"Okay," she whispered because that was all she felt capable of at the moment.
He grinned, a grin so blindingly bright and beautiful she had to wonder how she'd never noticed it before. "Then let's go."
Stoneheart suddenly began to cough, hacking until a swarm of butterflies erupted from his throat, forming into a rough ball floating high above Paris, drawing the attention of every eye in the nearby vicinity. Stoneheart let out a loud groan, falling backward and out of sight.
The butterflies formed into the rough outline of a man's face. "People of Paris," a booming voice came from within the cloud. "Listen carefully. I am Hawkmoth."
"Hawkmoth?" Minuit and Crimson repeated.
"Crimson Beetle," the voice continued. "Chaton Minuit. Give me your Miraculous. Give me the Ladybug earrings and the ring of the Black Cat now! You've done enough damage to these innocent people."
Minuit couldn't help it. She started clapping, slowly, regularly, as sarcastically as she could. "Nice try, Hawkmoth," she said. "But we know who the real bad guy is." She turned to look at her partner.
Receiving her unspoken signal, Crimson chimed in. "Yeah, If it wasn't for you, none of these innocent people would have been turned into supervillains! Hawkmoth, it doesn't matter how long it takes."
"We will find you," Minuit continued.
"And you will give us your Miraculous!" He unhooked his yo-yo from his belt, rushing forward and yelling "Time to de-evilize!" He tossed it into the cloud of black butterflies, repeating the motion again and again until every single one was captured.
Minuit joined him up on the Eiffel Tower. "People of Paris," she called. "Let us make this promise to you. No matter who or what tries to harm you, Crimson Beetle and Chaton Minuit will always do everything we can to keep you safe!"
Crimson pressed his yo-yo and opened it, a cloud of white butterflies rushing out and spreading across the sky.
"So that's what they meant by purified," Minuit murmured.
A sudden rumbling and a cry for help behind them had Minuit and Crimson turning around to find Stoneheart recovering, Myléne still clenched in his fist.
"You won't take Mylène from me!" Stoneheart roared, turning and climbing up one of the legs of the Eiffel Tower. He only stopped to call for his Stoneheart-copies, and Minuit and Crimson turned around to see the other statues around Paris converging at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
"We're surrounded," Crimson said. "What do we do?"
"We have to come up with a plan," Minuit said decisively. "We know the akuma is in the same fist he's holding Mylène in, so we just have to get her out."
"Lucky Charm!" Crimson called, and a parachute tumbled out of the air. He squinted at it, then up at the tiny figure of Stoneheart still ascending the side of the Eiffel Tower. Then his eyes widened. "Couldn't we just…" He whispered the rest of his plan to Minuit, who agreed almost immediately.
"See you in a bit!" she called, slinging the parachute onto her back and using her baton and enhanced abilities to scale the Eiffel Tower. It was barely moments before she was at the top.
"Help me, Chaton Minuit," Mylène called.
"Mylène, do you see or feel a ball in the same fist that Stoneheart is holding you in?" Minuit whisper-called. When Mylène nodded, she sighed in relief. "Okay, to help you, I'm going to need you to get that ball out of Stoneheart's fist and drop it. Okay?"
Mylène nodded, then her brow furrowed in concentration. After a moment, she pried the ball out of Stoneheart's fist and dropped it. Peeking over the edge, Minuit saw the exact moment that a yo-yo twisted the ball and dragged it to safety.
In moments, a pure white butterfly was flying away from the Eiffel Tower, and purple mist rippled over Ivan as he transformed back. And without a bulky body with which to hang onto the Eiffel Tower, they fell.
That was when she jumped.
Minuit activated the Lucky Charm parachute the moment that she had a proper grip on both Mylène and Ivan, and their rapid freefall down the side of the Eiffel Tower quickly turned into a gentle decline. By the time they finally touched down, Crimson was waiting for them on the ground, a piece of paper clenched in his fist.
His Miraculous let out a loud beep.
Minuit quickly unstrapped herself from the parachute, handing it over to Crimson for him to activate the Miraculous Cure with. With a cry of "Miraculous Crimson Beetle!", the Lucky Charm burst into swarms of ladybugs, flying through the city and healing any Miraculous-caused damage. Minuit could see Sabrina's papa, the policeman, tearing off his cast and staring at his undamaged arm in awe.
"I have to go," Crimson said quickly, pressing the ball of paper into her hands. "My Miraculous is about to run out." He raised his fist in a fist bump, saying, "Pound it," as his fist met hers.
"See you around, Crimson," Minuit said softly. This time, she didn't say "hopefully not too soon", because this time she didn't mean it. She wanted to see him again, as soon as possible.
Then he was gone, and Minuit turned her attention to the two teenagers at her side. She grinned mischievously. "I think you two have some things to talk about, hmm?" she teased.
"Oh, uh, I, um…" Ivan stammered.
Minuit unfurled the paper Crimson had pressed into her hands. Scanning the page, she smiled softly. "Maybe it would help if you read the lyrics to Ivan's song, Mylène," she said, holding the paper out. The moment Mylène took it, she left to give them some space, confident that things would work out.
Jostling past a group of reporters trying to get her attention, Chaton Minuit pulled out her baton and extended it. "Peace out!" she called, and with that, she was gone.
And if she hid and watched as Mylène hugged Ivan? It's not like anyone would know, anyway.
Marinette walked back to school with Alya, who was ranting about how disappointed she was that she hadn't gotten to the battle in time. "So by the time I biked to the Eiffel Tower, it was all over," she lamented. "I'm so bummed."
"Don't worry," Marinette said. "You'll get your scoop eventually." I have a feeling I can help with that.
"You're right," Alya said. "Next target: Chaton Minuit and Crimson Beetle, an exclusive interview!"
"Ooh, sounds exciting," she said eagerly.
"Or, even better," Alya continued. "Finding out who's really under that mask."
"Good luck with that one," Marinette snorted. She shared a secretive grin with Plagg.
They walked into the classroom, Alya still ranting about superheroes. She stopped when they got to Mme Bustier's class. Before they could sit in their Chloé-assigned seats, though, an idea struck her.
"No," Marinette said, stopping Alya in her tracks. "Wait." She raced up the stairs to her old spot that Chloé had taken over. "Come on!"
Alya grinned, and they both shuffled into the seats, setting their bags on the desk. Sitting down, they bumped fists and settled in, waiting for the show.
"Chloé still hasn't arrived. What's taking her so long?" Marinette mumbled to Alya, who shrugged.
Another wave of whispers swept through the courtyard as Adrien stepped in, but this time, he didn't feel like it was directed at him. Turning around, he saw Mayor André Bourgeois stepping out of a limousine with his daughter.
"Daddy, you're embarrassing me!" Chloé hissed.
Mayor Bourgeois engulfed her in a hug. "I nearly lost you yesterday, Chloé," he said. "So today I wanted to send you off to school."
"Daddy," Chloé hissed. "Stop it. I'm fine. Go away."
"Fine, fine," the mayor said, letting go of her and turning to get back into the car. "Have a nice day, Chloé."
Adrien turned and retreated into the school, hoping Chloé hadn't seen him. He didn't really want to talk to her right now.
"You okay, Adrien?" Tikki asked quietly. He nodded, hoping she'd seen it, as he climbed up the stairs to Mme Bustier's classroom. Walking into the classroom, he waved at Nino and Marinette– wait. Why was Marinette in Chloé's old seat?
"Why are Marinette and her friend in Chloé's seat?" he asked Nino.
"That was actually Marinette's seat," Nino said. "Chloé stole it."
Adrien frowned. The worst part was that now he could actually imagine Chloé doing it.
"Dupain-Cheng!" A piercing voice rang through the room. He turned to see Chloé standing in the doorway looking absolutely furious. Sabrina timidly peeked out from behind her. "You're in the wrong seat. Go on. Get lost."
Marinette stood up and stared down her nose at Chloé. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing," she quoted.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Chloé spluttered.
"Gee, I don't know," Marinette said sarcastically. "It means that I'm not putting up with your crud anymore, Chloé, and neither is anyone else around here, so take your attitude and go on, get lost!" A cheer erupted around the classroom, and even Adrien grinned a little until Chloé's lethal glare forced his expression back into neutral.
Finally, Chloé huffed and dragged Sabrina by the wrist to Marinette's old seat, and the two of them sat down.
Adrien cast another glance at Marinette. Even he wasn't able to stand up to Chloé and her tempestuous moods. What kind of girl was she?
A girl I'd like to get to know better, he mused. Someone who I think would be worth knowing.