Chat Noir ran across the rooftops, grinning at the moonlit night. No late photoshoot to miss, an excuse of him being in his room … the perfect night to FINALLY just be more Chat Noir than just fighting off a villain. "Whhooooohoooooooo!" No akuma attacks, no prior obligation, just him and the rushing wind, scaling the walls and jumping to height only semi-capable to the normal man(semi capable because this was a world where mutants and gamma monsters existed).

This was freedom, the ability to be himself, to say what he wanted to say and do what he wanted to do. "I love being a cat!" Adrien loved his father… but he would never understand why he wanted to keep him away from all of this. The world didn't have anything to be afraid of… well sort of, but just because villains existed didn't mean you should give up on living life. That just meant you had to live life even harder!

Things were really looking up for him lately. Peter moved to Paris, Father let him go to school, he made even more friends with Alya, Nino, and Marinette, and he got a pretty decent birthday party all things considered, villain attack notwithstanding.

And Ladybug … his bugaboo, his lady, his light in the darkness. The crazy passion, the backbone, the sheer grace of her actions … truly amazing. Adrien never felt this way about a girl before … how would you even try to ask her out? He already did what he learned from anime, flirt with them until they got the hint. So far all she did was roll her eyes and occasionally banter back with a quip. He wasn't sure if that was progress or if he was in the friendzone.

"Well it seems this stray couldn't help but howl into the moonlight on a hot summer night." He turned to a swinging Spidey with a look of confusion. "... The lyrics to stray cat strut?"

"Wait, there's a song called stray cat strut?" He blinked. "Dang it, I had a whole new list of cat puns under my nose and I didn't see it." Blame it on his father for only letting him play classical piano. "Hope I didn't claw my way into the Spider's Parlor."

"Heck no, you're on live with the spider-bites of the world." He gestured to a small glowing section of his chain. "Crooks and creeps love to prowl at night, so this Spider found it his civic duty to film their failures at doing irresponsible and terrible things to other people."

"Remember kids, don't do this at home… unless you got a magic piece of jewelry that gives you superpowers, in which case, go nuts." Chat cheekily waved to the camera. Ladybug has a small point about showboating, but at the same time, if Spidey was still doing good things, then there wasn't a problem. "So you're just going out focusing on guys in ski masks?"

"Well it's not like old ladies needing to cross the street and little boys with their cats stuck in trees are gonna be common after sunset." The Spider replied. "Oh, I got a donated question, forty euros from 'NightProwler14'. 'Chat Noir, how long can you extend your staff?'"

"Wouldn't it be the same amount as your chain?" Chat asked.

"Yeah, but it's not straight, so I kinda buried myself in loose metal before I found an end." He explained, swinging around.

"Hm, well, to answer your question my fellow curious cats, far as I know, my staff, as well as the rest of our weapons, can extend indefinitely." Chat explained as he jumped on the side and let it extend, carrying him upwards. "Somedays I reach up as high as the clouds just to take a look at the city."

"Isn't it awesome?" Spidey asked. "Being so high up you can see everyone and everything, all connected, like a beautiful portrait." Spidey swung up top next to him. "Get lost in the sea of colors and lights. You get a scope of how big the world is… and it's yours to explore."

"... I'd never give up the mask for anything." Chat agreed. "... Hey Spidey, I think I'd like to take you up on that whole 'show the ropes' thing, focus on small criminals." Whatever he could do to enjoy being … well, him.

"Oh, so the cat wants to get his paws a little wet and come face to face with the lower end of crime?" The web head smirked. "Follow me, my friendly frockling feline. We're gonna take a catwalk through the city." He jumped off and began swinging. "Cause even the city of love isn't immune to the ever un-dying breed of purse snatcher."

"You'd think they'd die out given how much the situation escalates." Chat mused as he followed suit. He may not be able to swing and grapple like his two partners, but his speed and jumping power more than made up for it.

"It's actually the opposite." Spidey said. "When criminals realize all the police and heroes are focused on supervillains, it gives them the thought that nobody is paying attention to them. Or worse, they think that if they get angry enough at getting caught, little old Hawky will akumatize them."

"Yikes. They have bad attitudes already. I do NOT need to imagine them with purple skin and hulking out all over the Louve." Chat winced.

"Yep, that's why if your going to detain a baddie, first take them out of the public eye. Bad guys get less angry the less their humiliation is exposed for all to see." Spidey said with a flip. "Of course I still film it, but I don't make that known to them. On the off chance you can't take them out privately, knock them out as fast as possible. They can't be akumatized if they're unconscious."

"Cruel, but pragmatic and necessary." Chat nodded.

"So much understanding already. Oh don't you worry little kitty cat. When I'm through showing you the ins and outs of wrapping up a crook in handcuffs, you'll be a panther for your one true lady." Chat blushed at that. "Now come on Paris, show these two friendly neighborhood heroes your deepest darkest self."

FAWOOOOH

What looked like a dark pillar of light blasted into the air about fifty feet away from them. "...I didn't mean that literally." Spidey spoke. "Spider-bites, I do NOT have the power to summon darkness in the middle of the streets, I just want to make sure that was clear."

"No, he just has the power to instantly jinx the situation with his quips." Chat snickered. "Looks like akuma aren't just a daytime problem."

"And here I am without my midnight espresso." His partner quipped as they went closer to the section of the city the light came from. "Alright, let's work to contain the damage and keep civies safe until Ladybug strolls along. This is goodbye for now Spider-bites. Stay safe, stay swinging, and if you want the lowdown on akuma fights, make sure to check out the Ladyblog."

"Not gonna show them the action up close?" Chat asked.

"They're victims Chat, I'm not gonna post their damage all over social media … one or two pics for Alya's blog is fine enough. She at least keeps identities anonymous."

"Fair enough." Still it was weird for one of their friends to be constantly posting pictures and vids of them while they went to school together. Adrien was just glad she dropped the Ladybug identity thing. Sure, he WANTED to know her real name, but everyone else knowing would be an issue. He just needed to earn that trust one day.

The two of them went over to an alleyway, seeing some teenage girl with long blonde hair running into a dead end, looking around as guys in masks with weapons walked from the other side. "Guīhuán wǒmen de guìzhòng wùpǐn, fǒuzé hòuguǒ zìfù."

"Is that chinese?" Spidey asked in confusion. "Maybe I should ask the stream if-"

"It's mandarin, and they're asking her to hand a valuable back or face consequences." Chat Noir responded.

"Well, look at you. Dress in black, pointy ears, roaming the night, and know multiple languages. All you need is a bottomless bank account and you could totally be batman." His partner smirked.

"No way, I could never pull off a tacky cape." He grinned. "... So we should totally stop the guys with guns in this situation right?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." Spider-man cracked his knuckles.

"Just don't flirt with the victim too much. We're here to save her, not scare her even more." Chat smirked with a neck crack.

"Wha? Moi? Silly kitty, my jokes are WAY scarier." With that quip, the two of them descended to the ground. "So, an American hero meets a Japanese crook in the streets of Paris." Spidey said, announcing himself as he put his chain between the crooks and the girl. "I feel that's the start of a really lazy joke."

"Duìfù tāmen!" One of the masked guys said to the other … before they started shooting first and avoiding questions apparently!

"Wow, you talk to your goons before us, and here I thought you had manners!" Chat shouted, swinging his weapon around to block the bullets.

"That's what you get with tourists!" Spidey shouted, jumping down … without defending himself at all, letting the bullets bounce off his body. Adrien didn't know if that spoke of insanity or experience.

"You know our weapons have a shield mode right? Just twirl and, bam, shield." He noted, demonstrating himself as he closed a mugger into a corner.

"Yeah, for superpowered attacks that take us out in one hit, not bullets that bounce off our magic suits." Spidey responded, kicking a gun user in the gut. "Now I know it might be a language barrier issue, but Me Spidey, you bad guy, and me going to kick bad guy tuchas and toss you in jail." He spoke, flipping and using his chain to knock another two into a wall.

The masked men all backed away, until one guy with a mask that had more black markings on it walked forward, carrying what looked like an electric baton. "Let me show you why people learn to avoid the Inner Demons." They answered.

"Ah, someone who speaks english. Can I tell you just how stalking girls in the middle of the night is-" Spidey didn't even try dodging the hit as it came at him.

Bzzt!

And was sent hard enough into the wall to cause cracks. "... Okay … we found the Akuma."

Chat saw another man walk out, bulkier as he had the same weird energy on his hands, lifting the dumpster, and tossing it over to the cat hero.

Bzzt!

"Whoa!" Chat jumped over the dumpster that was hurtling towards him, which impacted the ground with faint traces of black and white sparks. "What the heck!? Are they all akumatized?"

"No, he can only do one at a time unless we break the object without purifying it, remember?" Spidey asked, spinning his chain around like a shield as he blocked a strike from the baton user. "Although this seems a little more on the 'Ah unnatural' side!"

"We are the inner demons… and we will use the dark to snuff out your light!" Another one of the thugs, carrying what looked like a mace covered in that same weird energy, began striking at the ground.

CAREEEEK!

And sent a quake through the alley, cracking up the ground. "So what you're saying is that we're dealing with more superhumans? What are they? Mutants? Gamma monsters? Solar powered?" Chat asked, trying to jump out the way.

"Whatever they are, they seem to channel it through tools and objects." Spidey observed. "Even Mr. Tubby needed to throw a dumpster instead of punching you directly."

"So we need to get close and personal. Good thing I'm a cat, and that's what we do best." Chat smiled as he got on top of the big guy's shoulders.

"I thought what you did best was land on your feet?" Spidey asked, using his chain to grab the arms of the baton user, dragging him all around the alley.

"We can multitask!" Chat smiled as he covered the eyes of the big guy. "Now now, not so lean and mean, let's not make this more purrseronal than it needs to be." The big guy began trying to grab him, so Chat Noir merely held on tighter, leaning the man's head into a nearby wall, knocking him out. "Wow, and here I thought he'd have a thicker skull."

"People aren't always what they appear to be." Spidey grinned, throwing the guy into a wall. "So Mr Macey, what's the next part of your evil plan?"

"Suǒyǒu de shēng dōu shì yī chǎng mèng de xíngzǒu, suǒyǒu de sǐ dōu shì huí jiā." All of life is a dream walking, all of death is going home. What did that … the man pulled out a pin from his coat, his entire body sparking with white and black energy as he ran at Spidey.

"Spidey! It's a suicide bombing!" Chat called out.

"WHAT!?" Spidey shouted, barely jumping out of the way. "Okay mister explodey pants, you're not going to play dirty, not in my streets!" Using his chain, he wrapped the man around, and sent him into the sky.

KABLLLZTTTTTZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The energy sparked and exploded in black and white light, making the rooftops crumble and break down. "That… that was insane!" Chat called out. "He just… gave up his… what kind of maniac does that!?"

CREEE

They turned and saw a van skit past them, the back opening up to a man with a rocket launcher as the other maniacs jumped onto the van. "That kind!" Spidey shouted, creating a shield. "I know it's gross mam, but get in a dumpster!"

"You're not going to see me complain!" The girl shouted as she jumped in.

"Any idea how to survive a super powered rocket launcher?" Chat asked as he spun his own baton as well.

"Either hope we're durable enough with spinning shields, or hope you can Cataclysm it before it explodes without setting the rocket off." Spidey answered.

The rocket was fired as the van began driving away as the rocket approached them. "I hope I don't lose an arm to this…CATACLYSM!"

He shouted as he stuck his hand out, waiting for the explosion…. and nothing but silence came. "...Whoa." Spidey looked impressed as the weapon turned to dust. "Not only did you destroy the rocket… you depleted the inertia and combustion on the inside… you destroyed energy."

"Is … that impressive?" Chat asked.

"Uh, if you call breaking the fundamental laws of the universe impressive, then heck yeah!" Spidey shook him. "You are the Cat! The MVF of Paris!

"Awesome!" He grinned. "... They still got away though."

"That is true … but we have who they're after." Spidey turned to the dumpster the blonde girl crawled out of. "Sorry for the trouble madame. Most of the damsel's I rescue are falling from heights or about to be smashed by giant rock monsters. Hope it wasn't too inconvenient for you."

"Well I'm not dead, so I'd call that a win …" She sent a smile to both of them. "Thank you both for all your help." And suddenly, Chat got that warm tingly feeling in his chest.

"No problem madame, the fine people of Paris have nothing to fear with this cat strutting his stuff." He smirked. "So do you have anywhere we could hide out, or …"

"The demons … destroyed my home." The girl nervously rubbed her arms. "I don't have any place to go."

"No place, huh?" Spidey scratched his cheek, before snapping his fingers. "I have an idea. Chat, you're gonna need to recharge soon, so I'll take ms…I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Felicity. Felicity Harding." She answered.

"I'll take the lovely ms. Harding over here-" The girl blushed at that. Seriously, was he going to hit on every blonde lady they saved? "Someplace safe. Meet back up with us at the F.E.A.S.T shelter."

"FEAST … oh, I know the place." Peter's aunt and Martin Li worked there. "I'll see you both later, make sure to save a bowl of fish soup for me." He smirked, flipping away. "Plaag, Claws In." He said once he was out of sight. "First non-akuma super villain. Not exactly how I thought my night would go."

"My bad, black cat's luck is notoriously bad." Plagg said as he munched on some cheese. "Weird energy though. It felt old…really old…but really familiar somehow."

"Really?" Chat asked. "How could you tell?"

"Well I've been around since the first rock hit another rock, so I've seen some things here and there … can't put my paw on it though …" The kwami muttered. "Tikki would probably know more about it….or Annasi, creation and energy manipulation is more of their wheelhouse."

"How is Spider-man's kwami more knowledgeable than you?"

"Cause of this web of life and destiny thingy he's connected to." Plaag shrugged. "Anyway, you good kitten? You just saw a guy blow himself up."

"Oh… yeah… that… that was really messed up." Adrien admitted. "It happened so fast and he was trying to kill us…. I'm not sure how bad I should feel right now. Is that bad?"

"Not really. You're the superhero trying to protect people, and he was a moron who thought blowing himself up was a good call. Some people just make it impossible to help." He responded. "Besides, it's not like you're the one who did it, right?"

"I guess.." It still didn't make him feel too good to see it happen. "Well, guess the only thing we can do is focus on protecting that girl from the rest of them."

"That's the spirit. Maybe if you hurry, you can woo her before Spidey does."

"Oh please, you know my heart only belongs to M'Lady." He laughed.

"Lets just hope this one actually goes somewhere." Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Oh it will … Plagg, Claws Out."

For May Parker, the move to Paris had been … alright. The new environment, the people around her … it really felt like a fresh start, just what Li offered. And she didn't have to worry about Peter being lonely, with his friend Adrien Agreste living within the city, and from what he's told her, he got along with pretty much everybody in his class as opposed to what she suspected was ridicule back at Midtown high.

A day hadn't gone by where May didn't think about Ben however, but … it felt nice, helping new people, in a new city. Maybe she should focus on getting some more friends of her own. It would be a shame for her to not expand her own social circle if her Nephew was coming out of what he described as his 'wallflower' status.

"Thanks again Ms Parker." A homeless man by the name of Jules smiled, taking a sip of soup. "Life has differently been more lively since you've come here. Don't know what I'd do without this place."

"Think nothing of it. We're simply lending help to those that need it." She waved off. "Louisa, do you need more blankets?"

"I'm fine, it's not like winter's hit yet." The elderly woman smiled. "Thank you for the offer."

"No problem dear." It seemed like homelessness and downtrodden was a factor no matter where you lived in the world. Well, wherever a helping hand was needed, she would always be there to provide it. She only hoped that Peter would grow up to do just as much good.

"Hey…" May turned her head, and saw that strange spider person from the news on the ceiling. "I don't mean to impose your work, but there's this girl too big to help, and she needs a place to crash."

If she was a little younger, maybe this would've been a bizarre sight for her, but she used to live in New York, where men flew in metal suits and giant green giants jumped around everywhere to punch space people in silly purple hats. "We're always open to help others." May nodded. "Jusr try to keep their roughhousing outside. I know how it goes with most costumed people, and everyone here needs the rest."

"Trust me, the girl in question isn't an assailant." The man waved off, as a young woman walked in with that cat looking hero. "Felicity Harding, Chat Noir, this is May Parker, the second nicest person in the world, right behind Martin Li." Well, that was fair.

"A pawlesure to meet your acquaintance madame." The cat themed hero bowed his head respectfully. "We'll make sure everything goes purrfectly fine tonight." Good thing she was already used to bad jokes with Ben or else she might go crazy.

"Yo-you sure that this it's safe to be here?" The blonde girl asked with a shaken tone. "I don't-don't want to be a burden."

"Dear, it's all right, it's a pleasure to take care of others." May assured her. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"I…well, I've been on my own for a while." The girl, Felicity, said as she crossed her arms. "Parents had a lot of debt piled up. They booked it the moment they realized they couldn't pay it back, and I had to fend for myself."

"Shows what they know. You're clearly the most valuable thing they had around with that million dollar smile." The Spider man tilted his head, which got a chuckle from the girl. "See, right there. I'd pay money to see that more often."

"Thank you, that means a lot … money's very tight … I …" She gulped nervously. "I started to … take things … paying for meals … I know it's wrong, but I just got really really hungry, and-"

"Hey, don't worry. Your in a safe place now. We don't judge you on the past." May reassured. "Just breathe and go at your own pace."

The girl took a minute to take a couple of deep breaths before continuing. "I..I heard about this big gang coming into two a couple months ago, and i followed one of their truck to a hideout. They…They call themselves the Inner Demons. I don't know what their deal is, but they're into really ancient occult artifacts and accessories." The girl held up what looked like a demonic cat around her necklace. "I … found this. I thought I could get some money for it … then they came after me."

"They didn't seem all that feline friendly when we jumped in." The chat themed man noted.

"Well when you can't make your sells, the underworld gets feisty … mind if I see that for a second?" The spider asked. "Just gonna take some pics, figure out what it is."

"Of course, feel free." The girl handed the necklace over. "Thank you all … this is so much more than I deserve …"

"Nonsense. Everyone deserves to have a place over their heads and a warm meal waking up in the morning." May patted the girl on the back. "No one deserves poverty. You can stay here for as long as you need to."

The girl responded by hugging her. "Thank you …"

"Just take a seat over there, I'll set you up in a bit." May gestured, watching as the girl meekly walked away.

"Well I'm gonna ask the world wide web if they've seen this necklace around." The Spider said. "Chat, you're the cat expert, recognize this?"

"Not exactly an art expert, but I recognize the language written around it." Chat Noir nodded, looking it over. "It's more mandarin. It roughly translates to 'darkness and light bring out our inner demons'."

"Well that's something to tell your grandkids without an ominous voice." Spider-Man said.

"Please …" May got their attention. "I know it's wrong to ask this of children … but I moved to this city thinking it would be safer for me and my nephew … a new start … with these miscreants running around … please help."

"No need to ask, ma'am." The brightly colored hero nodded. "As long as team miraculous is around, we're going to keep these streets friendly." He then turned to the girl. "Can you remember where you found the necklace? Best way to end this quickly would be to go straight for the head."

"It was off of a truck, downtown near the Louve." She admitted. "They're active around midnight mostly, and stick around till daybreak."

"Then they're going to be in for a painful dawn." Chat Noir smirked. "I'll contact M'lady while we head out. Hopefully she's awake."

"If not, I'm gonna need to wear a helmet. Stay safe Ms Parker, pretty lady!" Spider-Man said, running out of the door and tossing out a chain.

"Strange. I didn't think my name was well known outside of FEAST." May mused. Maybe she was more memorable than she thought. "Shall I prepare dinner for.." She looked at the girl, and saw an absolutely awestruck smile and daze on her face, particularly staring out at the spider themed hero swinging away. "... Did he tickle your fancy?"

"What?" The girl asked, blushing before shaking her head. "No … I mean … sorta … he saved my life after all … and called me pretty. Not everyday someone saves your life and makes you smile at the same time. Usually it's just one or the other."

"Understandable. How about we get a meal in that stomach." May smiled. Even if it seemed rough to live here, helping poor souls was always worth it.

Marinette groaned as she swung across the rooftops. Thanks to homeworks and preparing some hat designs for the upcoming contest, she barely got any sleep the night before, and now she was being called in for an 'emergency'. If this was a cat in a tree, Ladybug was strangling that Spider's neck.

"Hello M'lady. Your beauty shines brighter in the moonlight." And Chat Noir's usual bout of flirting wasn't helping matters at all.

"Unfortunately it's dampened by the lack of sleep. This is technically my second all-nighter." Ladybug said. "There's a reason I choose to not do nightly patrols like Spider-Man."

"Obviously it's because your kwami hasn't introduced you to the magic that is coffee. Who needs seven hours of sleep when I have five cups a night." Said spider laughed.

"You drink coffee?" Chat asked.

"... Rarely … Annasi plays rough when it comes to the stuff …" They admitted with a droop. "... So how was your day Ladybug, meet any cute boys?"

"No, I was too busy not being a showboating clown and living a normal life then to use my powers for self adulation."

"All work and no play makes Ladybug likely to murder me." Spidey muttered. "Anyway, if you wanna get down to the nitty gritty, we're gonna go take down a criminal gang."

"... We're what?"

"Yeah, a bunch of business suit guys dressed in demon masks. Black and white all over. It's like fighting an old tiny cartoon, except less rubber hose and more muder happy." The web head continued.

Ladybug stared at him for a moment. "… You woke me up in the middle of the night … to stop a gang … instead of calling the police?"

"Oh yeah, because clearly stopping crime when it happens is so below the great and mighty Ladybug. Why would she ever bother to sully her dainty beetle hands with fighting bad guys?"

She groaned. "Look, we got these powers to fight Akumas. We should only use them to fight Akumas."

"Thanks for clearing up that if there's a family walking down an alley and a muggers is pointing a gun at them, that you won't do anything to stop it, because clearly your powers aren't meant for such trivial matters."

Oh he really wanted to go there!? "Don't pretend that your on the high ground here! You only fight crime for clout!"

"Clout and kicking butt, I don't get why you can't see that both are possible. And to think I thought you were the smart one."Okay, she was taking out the yo-yo and choking him out right now!

"My lady." Chat said before she could make her move. "Regardless of how much of an annoying guy Spidey is being …"

"Rude!"

"There are superpowered criminals on the street, beyond what cops can handle, attacking civilians." Chat continued. "We ran into these guys called the inner demons; and they had these weird supercharged super powers."

She blinked at that. "Wait, you didn't mention they had powers. And we're sure they're not akumatized?"

"No. They looked like normal people and they all had the same power of charging some kind of black and white energy into weapons." Spidey answered. "We stopped them from trying to snuff out a bystander, and she gave us a run down on them. New gang coming into town. Really into occult architecture."

Ladybug took the information in. She thought it was just some normal gang the police would be able handle this, but if what they were saying was true … "What culture?" She asked them.

"Mandarin." Chat Noir answred.

"I'm gonna search the town for anyone with experience with Mandarin culture, we need information. Spidey, you're on the gang, find where they are and ambush them. Chat, stay with the girl, they'll probably go after her again."

"Noted, but we probably don't have to worry too much. We dropped her off at the FEAST shelter." Her black clad partner noted. Wasn't that the homeless she later that Peter said his aunt worked at?

"And how likely are they to attack FEAST?" She asked.

"Seeing as how they were going to kamakaze us over a homeless girl with a trinket, pretty likely in all honesty." Spider-man nodded

"… They were going to what!?"

"Relax M'lady, we took care of the problem..mostly." Chat nodded. "And it's not like they have any way to find her. They were fleeing the scene with their tails between their legs when we took her away."

"I'm sorry, I'm still stuck on the fact you guys had to deal with a suicide bombing!" What the heck happened to the city at night!?

"That's why it pays to patrol." Spidey snickered. "It should be fine. As long as we don't see any black and white energy surges in the middle of the city, we should be done with anything eventful for tonight."

Fzzzbzzzzzzzzt!

An explosion of black and white came out from the distance. "… Would that be-"

"MAY!" Spidey shouted, leaping off the building hard enough to cause cracks.

"Whoa." Marinette looked at the damage he left in the take off. Were they just as strong as that or was Spider-man holding back?

"Come on M'lady, we need to protect the civilians." Chat said, leaping over the rooftops.

"R-right." Ladybug blinked, shaking her head and following suit. To think there was something this dangerous in the city … and she wouldn't have noticed at all if Spider-man wasn't patrolling outside of Akuma attacks. Maybe … she should set something up when this was all over.

Come on, come on, faster, faster. Please don't let Aunt May be hurt. Please please please. It was one thing for criminals to just go out and steal petty jewelry and loose change from old ladies, those people were pathetic at worst and desperate at best. They deserved a quick beatdown, minor humiliation, and maybe a stern talking to. But going after his family….Peter was a pretty easy going guy who was quick to let things go … but this….this he was going to hold on to … and beat down hard.

With one last tug of the chain, Spidey leapt through the top window, the shattering glass drawing the attention of what looked like a dozen demons that had entered the shelter. "Zhīzhū!" One of the mooks shouted as they began firing off at Peter.

"Bless you!" He shouted back, ignoring the uncharged bullets as he ran a head count of the criminals, weapons, and civilians. Okay, quick check, currently he was surrounded by a dozen, maybe more, along with over fifty or so homeless sleeping in for the night, and about to be blasted with bullets that were probably going to bounce off him and ricochet into the nearby people. He needed to knock the guns out first and foremost and get the people out. "So, come to donate? This place could use all the supplies you offer!" He jumped down, using his chain to snatch the guns out of two demons' hands. "We appreciate your support."

"Bǎ tā fàngxa!" Another shouted, continuing to fire.

"Sorry, translators are still broken, but I'll take this, and that." He flipped over two more heads and bashed them into each other, using the guns they held in hand to toss them right into two other demons' heads, knocking them down as Peter pinned them to the ground. "Just know if you're looking for a place to crash, we have a no hanky-panky policy. You guys are going to have to put away the roleplay masks no matter how tempting it might be."

"Tā tài kuàile!"

"Oh, you're wondering about my costume? Well, that's just so the bad guys can't see me bleed. Deep down I'm really self conscious about my image and want to look as good as possible." He grabbed a nearby locker door and slammed three of the goons into a wall, wrapping the metal around them. "I mean, I'd probably give off a bad vibe if I swing everywhere full of holes and blood."

"Kòuyā rénzhì!" At that shout, one ran to Jaques, grabbing him and holding a knife to his throat … only to get a metal pole to the head.

"Come on now, can't a criminal have class?" Chat asked as he and Ladybug rushed in. Part of Spidey was wondering what took so long. Or was Peter just that fast? Still hadn't took the time to test these limits. "We don't really ask for much."

The masked men all tensed, as one with darker lines on their face, carrying a glowing SWORD of all things, walked to the front. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, Spider-Man."

"Finally, a translator, I wanted someone to get my jokes." He grinned.

"You will hand over the girl from that alleyway, or everyone in this building will have their souls removed from their bodies." They said bluntly.

"Yeah, we don't take too lightly to strange men with glowing weapons threatening innocent people." Ladybug glared, spinning her Yo-yo. "And you might not be an akuma, but we're still going to take you down like every other villain we've faced, except you'll be going straight to a cell."

"That is not your decision to make." With a swing of the blade, an arc of energy was launched from the guy's weapon, hitting Ladybug's shield with a solid enough impact to sound like it would hurt on direct contact.

"Agggh!" Or apparently it did hit even WITH shielding. "What-What is that sword made out of!? It's enough to cause pain through the suit."

"We don't know, they can channel it through weapons, but it seems to come from the people themselves." Spidey explained. The man rushed forward, as Spidey raised his chain to catch the sword, which sparked along the chain. "Gaaah, it's like holding my hand inside of an electrical socket!"

Four other demons, one with a mace, one with knuckle dusters, one with a whip, and one with a staff ran after Ladybug and Chat Noir, swinging around their weapons with a surprising amount of skill. "So they have powers, they're skilled in weaponry, and they're petty enough to break into a homeless shelter just to harass a homeless girl. Anything we're missing?" Chat Noir asked sarcastically as he ducked under a whip.

"Homeless girl? You may be heroes, but your foresight is incredibly lacking." The goon with the sword swung at Spidey, who had no choice but to take it or else risk the civilians getting hit in the dodge. "You've been hoodwinked."

"Ahhhhh!" He was sent into a wall as a huge rip in the torso of his costume formed. "Fo…forgive me… if I ... don't take your word… for it."

"Don't believe a single word that brat told you. She's a notorious thief who's jumped from city to city taking everything her hands could grab ahold of." The man spoke.

"She's a what now?" Chat asked, before the whip user wrapped their weapon around his leg, as the guy with a mace hit him in the head. "AHHH!"

"Chat!" Ladybug turned back, only for the guy with the knuckle dusters to land a hit in her stomach, causing all three of them to collide in the same pile.

"A normal girl could never take one of the Inner Demons' most prized possessions. She's been tailing us for months attempting to gain insight into our operations, and struck tonight." The swordsman spoke. "Do you not think we would have guarded the object well enough that a girl off the streets wouldn't have been able to grab it?"

"Well… to be fair… my first assumption of you guys… was that you were fanboy's of Dormammu and wanted to start your own… night club." Spidey joked as the pain in his chest ached. He slowly got up, turning to the scared girl next to May. "Is … any of this true?" He asked.

The girl kept the scared expression for a minute … before smirking. "Is daddy long legs gonna punish the naughty girl if it's a yes?"

… The absolute one eighty, along with all the other events tonight, left Spidey's brain with only one response. "What?" Both he and Chat responded at the same time.

Smack

Only for her to step over and kick him in the chest, snatching his chain and tossing it to the window, climbing it with unnatural grace as she flipped into the air. "Don't be too mad. I did you heroes a favor and showed you real criminals. Call it a courtesy to my new neighbors."

"So you've been playing us this entire time!?" Chat shouted.

"I wouldn't exactly call it playing as much as slight misdirection." The girl snickered. "I broke into their hideout tonight. It was quite easy to snag it from them… but unfortunately I didn't account for their super powers, that was unexpected. My tail would've been signed if you and the wall crawling cutie didn't intervene to save the 'poor homeless damsel'."

"... I know I legitimately can't blame you for this, but I still choose to do so." Ladybug said, managing to get back on her feet.

"Thank you for being so petty, you walking watermelon, it helps so much." Spider-man rolled his eyes.

"I do have to admit though …" She said as she made her way to the window. "The goody two shoes act you have … very attractive."

"Ugh, kids, there's kids in Feast!" He did not need to be going hot and heavy in this environment. And not in front of his Aunt May.

"Fine fine … later." With a flip, she left the window just as a powered whip nearly hit her.

"Tā jiāng zàicì xíngdòng qǐlái." The staff man said.

"Yí zǒu zhèngrén." The sword guy shook their head.

"They're getting rid of the witnesses." Chat translated with a glare. "M'lady, we can really use a deus ex Ladybug right now."

"I'm on it. Lucky Charm!" The entire demon gang tensed up as the melon hero threw her yoyo in the air, ladybugs swarming … as a fire extinguisher landed in her hands.

The demons looked downright baffled. "Tā de tóu shì níng zài yòubiān ma?"

"No one says that about my bugaboo!" Chat rushed forward, once more clashing with the powered staff user.

Following suit, he went for the knuckle duster guy. "Not to self, learn a new language to learn more insults." Especially to Ladybug so he could insult her to her face and not have angry shouts in response.

The melon looked around, resting her eyes on a door. "Lead them here!" She shouted, throwing a yoyo to one of their heads, as she ran into the kitchen.

"I'm not sure if they're going to appreciate a midnight snack M'lady!" Chat noir joked as he followed anyway. "But I could use a glass of warm milk myself!"

"Actually cat's are very lactose intolerant, so you're only causing future problems for yourself man." Spidey quipped as he wrapped his chain around one of the goons neck and threw him into the kitchen.

He shouted something else in mandarin, swinging his mace … as it hit a cabinet, which broke and collapsed down onto him. "I know this is a shelter, but it could alot more sturdy furniture." Chat noir noted as he led the other three in.

Another threw their wipe forward, accidently tangling onto the knife drawer, casing them all to stab the man's clothes to the wall and pin him. "Limited room, no mistakes." Spidey grinned. "Clever girl."

"Clever AND lucky, don't you forget it." She noted as the one with the knuckle duster charged through, making her throw the fire extinguisher right towards the glowing fist. "Might wanna close your eyes!"

Kablaam

White foam immediately exploded, making the other two goons still free walk blindly. "And don't bother opening them back up!" Spidey shouted, punching the two in the face and sending them into the ground. "Because it's lights out for you!"

One man was left, who ran forward … and turned on the stove? "Suǒyǒu de shēng dōu shì yī chǎng mèng de xíngzǒu, suǒyǒu de sǐ dōu shì huí jiā." They said, pulling out a pin from their vest … and the gas … SHIT!

"CATACLYSM!" Chat shouted, touching the man's chest … as his shirt, and the bombs under it, turned to dust.

"...How did you know that would destroy the explosion and not…everything else?" Ladybug asked.

"Well they launched a rocket and I stopped it by touching it … so this cat took a chance." Chat smirked cheekily. "Apparently I can destroy energy, so…I guess explosions count too." The man said something else, before Chat hit him in the head. "Hey now, language."

"That's the demons down … I believe this is where you magical girl up and fix the damage?" Spidey asked.

"I'm on it." She tossed it up. "Miraculous Ladybug!" The swarm of ladybugs fixed up the damage to the kitchen … and made the goons disappear.

"...Please tell me they got sent into a jail cell." Spidey asked.

"I don't know…this is my first time using a miraculous cure on a non akuma situation."

VROOOOOM

SCREEEEEEEEE

They rushed outside and saw a van, lit up in black and white energy rushing away into the streets.

"... So when Tikki said it fixes up everything …" Chat said. "That would include the villains, right?"

"Well, if we're going by the logic of damage… yes… and that would also mean placing the villains far away from wherever they would be causing damage… which in this case would be outside of the FEAST center." Ladybug continued.

"...Your lucky charm lets them escape." Spidey turned to Ladybug. "I know I can't legitimately blame you for this, but I choose so anyway."

"... I knew a part of me wanted to only use my powers for Akuma fights … just didn't think this would be why." The heroine said.

"Well, that just made fighting street crime all the more harder." Spidey grumbled. "Cause now we have a super powered gang trying to take over the streets, and we can't fix up the damage they cause."

Beep Beep Beep

"I've gotta go …" Ladybug paused. "... But i'd be open to … patrolling with you guys …"

"Really?" Chat asked with excitement.

"Yes….Spidey…I don't get your whole deal…but doing more outside of Akuma attacks would be better for the city." The girl sighed.

"Aww, apology accepted."

"...I wasn't…"

"I know, I'm just messing with ya." He smiled, hopping to a window. "And I'm sorry for accidentally trusting a girl who turned out to be a super thief … pretty skilled and cute for her age."

"Do you just hit on every blonde girl we're going to save?" She asked.

"It's my weakness." He shamelessly admitted. "It's not like we're going to see her anytime soon though." Even if a small part of him wanted him to.

Felicia Hardy smiled as she walked into the room. "Hello, is this Ms Bustier's class?" She asked, feigning a hint of nervousness. First day jitters were a great way to get people to open up to you. If it worked on spandex clad heroes, then it was sure to work on naive teenagers and

"Yes, you must be the new student." The young teacher smiled. Definitely someone new, or inexperienced with working with teenagers. She came off as more of a kindergarten teacher or a daycare instructor. Which meant that she'd probably encourage students to get along and be nice instead of instill discipline in those that needed it. Avoid the bullies and she'd be fine. "Class, this girl is going to be joining us for the rest of the year. How about you introduce yourself?"

"Ah, yes, hello everyone…heh." Everyone ate up the shy new girl act. Just a wink and a pout, everyone would be eating out of her hands. It helped to have platinum white hair to add just a little bit of a exotic look. Once she fully understood the group dynamics, then she'd start to let more of her natural personality come out, just a bit. "My name is Felicia Hardy, a pleasure to meet you." She gave a 'shy girl' wave.

'Felicity' would have to go on the back burner for now, which was fine for her. Felicia Hardy rarely got to shine as much these days. Sure, it was a risk to use her real name, but that's what made it all the more fun. "Hey there!" Some blond girl with so much pink it hurt greeted Felicia. "My name is Rose, it's nice to meet you. You wanna meet my friend Juleka? She's shy like you, so I think you could get along great!"

Okay, someone clearly ate nothing but packets of sugar this morning, that or she spent the last fourteen years of her life watching nothing but sesame street. "Yesh, that sounds amazing or whatever." The girl with the goth look, Juleka apparently, muttered in a nearly inaudible whisper. Either this girl was traumatized or had some kind of anxiety disorder. Likely why she hung aronud this 'Rose girl. No one else would come up to her with her depressing vibe.

Not the most ideal group to hang with, but they would be a good launching ground for 'Felicia' to establish herself in this class. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I hope to learn a lot."

"Let me show you around then. That's Ivan and Myleen, they're the cutest couple. That's Nathaniel, he's an artist. That's Nino, he knows a lot of music…."

"Rose?" The teacher smiled. "Might introductions best be had … after class?"

"Oh, of course, sorry, sorry, my bad!" A little spacey, probably on the autistic side.

"Sorry about Rose, she gets super excited."The goth girl apologized as Felicia sat down..

"It's fine. She's just eager, I can tell." If the girl was a dumb as he looked, Rose would likely be easy to manipulate, as would Juleka, likely doing whatever Rose did because she was too shy to do anything herself.

"New girl's already ruining herself sticking to the bottom of the totem pole." The blonde girl with a lot of makeup and expensive clothing smirked. Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the mayor. Get around the bitchy personality and there was a lot of political power … sadly, Felicia could go low, but not that low.

"Nah, rock bottom would be your face surrounded by a sea of toxic waste…oh wait, toxic waste would be preferable." A kid with brown hair, an American, smirked, getting the class to snicker. Class clown likely, had no qualms arguing with the rich bitch, but was otherwise uninteresting. He looked like any other person you could find on the streets. No intrigue or mystery at all.

"You would love hanging around the dumps, it's probably where you get all your clothing!"

"Yes I do, that way I don't have to feel insecure by using mommy's and daddy's gold bars."

"Peter, Chloe, would you settle down?" Ms Bustier asked. "Class is still in session."

"Fine." The two growled, crossing their arms as class continued. This type of scenery wasn't usually Felicia's type, but with those Inner Demons coming after her, she needed to lay low before she got back out there. She was a humble cat thief. She was in NO way capable of messing with super villains or the like.

So first things first…..find a way to get powers of her own and meet back up with the Spider. The way he joked, the way he smiled, the way he took bullets without ever so much as flinching….he was in it for the thrill, just like her.

Martin Li and Mister Negative … one and the same, yet not. All the same memories, all the same motivation … but the kindness was gone, leaving what was needed to lead an army of demons … ruthlessness. "Report."

"The heroes that have come into Paris interfered. The cat thief got away." His elite spoke. "She took with her the cat talisman. We were unable to retrieve it."

"Is that so…" He said with an even tempered voice. He wanted to lash out at these incompetents, burn them, singe them, ANNIHILATE them…but he would be patient. It was the first encounter with a hero after all, they were only prepared to go against police and thugs. "Did any of your faces become known?"

"No, our masks stayed on the entire time. They only know us as the Inner Demons due to the cat thief's blathering." Unfortunate, but expected. "We would've burned the FEAST center to the ground so that we could eliminate any possible witnesses, but the Ladybug hero used her magic to force us out.

"… Did you say FEAST?" Negative asked, keeping rage out of his voice.

"Yes sir, she used it as a hideout. We stormed and threatened them but-"

Mr Negative grabbed the man's head, looking at the rest of his demons. "… What … did I say … was off limits?" He asked, applying energy to the man's skull, squeezing.

"Sir…I…I only wished to make sure we…!"

"I have only one rule…..only make those that cause suffering pain ...to elimate those that take advantage of the downtrodden….and that mean to never….EVER attack FEAST!"

"B…but!"

"You should've killed yourself before even considering touching FEAST… now I'm going to make your death linger.

The dead man screamed, clinging his head and banging it against the walls. "No hope! No hope! Only fear and nightmares!" Light that removed the hope it gave, and darkness that forced in fear. Two sides of the same coin. The two sides of him.

"The rest of you." He looked at the demons. "Take this as a lesson, train to go against these heroes, against men much stronger than you are."

"Yes sir!" His men bowed in both fear and respect.

These heroes … while good, would threaten his plans, his dreams. His ambition of truly fixing this world … they needed to be stopped. Not directly though. Too beloved, and it would draw attention that his 'other half' didn't need. But he could slow them down…just long enough to get his revenge.