Annasi munched on his favorite treat as Peter double checked the room. "Okay, seems good enough …" He muttered, before turning to the Kwami. "Alright, talk."
"You're gonna have to be more specific kid."
"There's more miraculous out there?!" They asked.
"There's a kwami for every concept and idea there is." Annasi stated clearly. "A good handful came around earth for humans, and stayed for the nice food."
"How come I never saw anyone else using one then?" Peter asked.
"Because like I told you before, it's a big world kid, not everything suddenly happens in New York city." Annasi rolled his eyes. "This is your first time out of the city, heck it's your first time out of America. There could be dozens of other miraculous holders active without notice. Not all of them are as obvious as you."
"Well can you tell me anything about Ladybug and Chat Noir?" The kid questioned, groaning.
"Really? Plagg and Tikki are active again?" He asked. "I haven't seen them since world war two. Crazy time. Did you know Nazi's are super crazy and delusional?"
"... You know, for a guy who's only complaint about a killer for a holder is that they got blood on your food, that really says something about them." Peter muttered.
"Anyways, most miraculous follow a certain order of command, groups assigned to each one to be placed in different parts of the world. And although all miraculous are important, thanks to this system, some are given more prominence than others." Annasi said. "Thunderbird is a very wild guy …"
"And Ladybug and Chat noir? Where do they fall?"
"They're a part of a group most of the world has described as the Chinese zodiac. The ladybug earrings and Black Cat ring go by that taoism thingy called yin and yang, creation and destruction." Annasi said. "Combine them and you either have unstoppable heroes that destroy unbreakable evil while fixing up any problems, or unbeatable villains that create untold chaos and mayhem while the world crumbles to dust."
"...so I'm guessing past holders have been heroes then?"
"Yeah…well at least for Tikki's holders. Plagg's occasionally fall into villainy from time to time. But they got nothing on Nooru and Duusu."
"Who now?" Peter asked.
"Kwami of Transmission and Emotion." Annasi said. "You probably won't have to focus on them for now. They've been inactive for a hundred years." He shrugged. "Anyways, something big must've happened if Tikki and Plagg are active again."
"Yeah, some purple butterfly came in and turned Ivan into a rock monster called Stoneheart." ….what?
"You said Purple Butterfly?"
"Yeah, why?"
"... Well apparently Nooru is being used for evil then." Annasi noted. "That's the power of Transmission, to transmit energy and powers into other people. Usually it's given to help someone create more heroes, but often negative emotions cloud either the user of the butterfly or the recipient of said power, which creates Akumas."
"So there's a villain out there that MAKES supervillains."
"Yep." This was gonna be an annoying long game. They could hide out as long as they wanted and create villain after villain until they got what they wanted. Plus side, Peter was gonna have to buy some more coffee beans. "It's a good thing Ladybug's there to purify the akuma." Annasi noted.
"Purify?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, put the purple butterfly in the yoyo." They continued. "Otherwise you would have to deal with a self replicating negativity chain as the Akuma multiply into a supervillain army. Really dodged a bullet there."
"...So what you're saying is that something bad is going to happen if that butterfly isn't caught by the yo-yo?"
"...That's exactly what happened, isn't it?" Annasi asked.
"Yep."
"Wow… the guardian really fumbled this time. Madame Web's not going to let him hear the end of it."
"AAAAHHH!" The May woman screamed from downstairs. "There's stone monsters in the street! Peter, grab the emergency kit!"
"...We don't have to start evacuating the city now, do we?" Peter asked.
"Na, those guys aren't going to move unless the original gets akumatized again." Annasi said. "When that happens, then you might need to think about evacuation."
"So I just need to prevent Ivan from getting angry … which means keeping Chloe away from him …" He groaned. "Why does my first supervillain have to involve emotionally unstable teenagers?"
"I think you just answered your own question." He flipped a bean into his mouth.
Chloe waited by the front entrance, excitement filling her veins at the thought of her Adrien finally showing up to school! Oh they'd hold hands, chat about old times, and about those new french heroes. Even if they weren't fabulous yet, she and Adrien could agree about how cool they could be, her personal favorite Spider-Man, and his that Black Knight whoever. Like seriously, not only did they take FOREVER to save her, they didn't even stay for an interview and talk to people, even if it was that amateur new girl…whoever her name was…filming them.
"Sabrina, make sure to clear out the cafeteria for when lunch comes around, and be prepared to do thrice as much homework as usual, I don't want any of my precious Adriken's time to be wasted on meaningless school work." She would even be nice and share her lackey with her best friend, at least until he got his own.
"Understood." The girl said. "Oh, I think that's his limo now." Finally! After soo many years of waiting, the best day of her life was about to begin.
"Then what are you standing around here for, finish straightening my hair! I'm not going to look shabby infront of Adrikens!" He deserved nothing less than her best.
"On it." She instantly got to work as Chloe watched the vehicle pull up, with her sweet Adrikens stepping out with that perfect smile … and an annoying sight walking to them.
"Adrien!" The American trash shouted. "I finally see your father let you out of jail. Good for you on making bail." What a waste, as if Adirkens would waste time with a peasant like-
"What can I say, I was let out early for good behavior…that and promised to do chinese, piano, and fencing classes everyday until I'm eighteen." Her sweet ... .sweet Adrikens…..LAUGHED as he hugged the American trash. "Great to see you again Peter. So glad the giant rock monsters didn't scare you back to America."
"I lived in New York. If it's not the Juggernaut, it's not an issue. Besides, I've seen two a.m morning breaths, that's far more terrifying…" The loser sniffed the air. "..Almost like the smell of old cheese coming off of you." He had the GALL to insult her A-!
"New diet….one I am NOT proud of." Her best friend groaned with a smirk, before Adiran sniffed the air too. "And you smell like … Coffee?"
"Schoolwork destroyed my sleep schedule. Call me a twenty four seven boy." They chuckled.
"Since when have you had problems at school, mr nerd?"
"Don't know, since when did you think smelling like cheese was a good idea?" The way they talked….it indicated closeness…..too much closeness..She needed to get to the bottom of this stat!
"Adrikens!" She threw herself at her best friend, pulling him close for a tight hug. "You finally made it! It's been too long!"
"I saw you last week Chloe."
"Exactly! Far too long!" She added. "Now we can finally spend our time together at school!"
"Oh yeah, and I can finally introduce you guys." Her sweet boy smiled. "Chloe, this is Peter, my friend from america. Peter, this is Chloe, my friend from paris." … So he WAS friends with this trash!?
"... I never took you for a sweet and sour kinda guy." The American deadpanned. "Really know how to diversify with the people you know."
"How…..HOW can you know someone like him!?"
"I've told you about Peter like a hundred times before." Adrikins sweetly responded like the summer child he was. "I was actually hoping to introduce you two. You know, make us all a good group of friends. I'm sure you two will get along fine."
Oh that sweet, sweet, naive cute fool…he was too good for this world…and definitely TOO good for some American gutter trash like this Parker guy! "Well, you know what they say." The trash shrugged. "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."
"Oh, is that so?" The both of them glared daggers at each other. "Because I totally agree."
"Great. Glad we can be on the same page." Oh that cheeky little rat. She would gut his eyes out if Adrien wasn't watching…that and 'illeagal' reasons or whatever Sabrina tried to tell her yesturday. She was the Mayor's daughter, she had like diplomatic immunity or something..
"See, I told you this would work out." The boy smiled. "I'm gonna head on inside, you two have fun introducing yourselves!" He shouted as he ran in.
"... Lets be honest, we're never getting along." She bluntly stated.
"True that. But we have to at least look the part in front of the guard dogs over there." He gestured to the limo. "We don't want them thinking school isn't safe for Adrien."
"So you're at least smarter than you look." Chloe nodded. "In front of the help and Adrien, simple jabs and barbs. Outside of that, anything goes."
"Look at that, you don't have as much air in your head as I assumed." The bastard snorted.
"And there is some common sense you can see behind those thick windows on your face." She was going to ruin this boy when she had the chance.
"I have footage of superheros! French superheroes!" Alya shouted with glee. "Or are they just Paris heroes? I'm gonna have to double check that little difference and see who's around here. But it doesn't matter because I live with HEROES!"
Here she thought it was going to be weird being in a new school with people she didn't know. But not only did she meet some pretty decent people, Marrinette, who was super nice and gave out cookies, and Peter, who inspire of his weak appearance could stand up to the cliche walking stereotype that was Chloe, SHE GOT TO WATCH A SUPER HERO BATTLE IN ACTION!
"Yeah, you got so close." Marinette nodded as she looked over the footage she had captured. "Weren't you scared at all?"
"Of course not. If there's heroes around, then there's nothing to be afraid of." Some might call that a little too optimistic, but what was wrong with believing in heroes that always won? "Ladybug LITERALLY has the power to make everything right again, so I feel super safe and confident."
"Yeah …" She muttered. "Listen, Alya-" She stopped, looking inside of the classroom as some blonde guy was messing with gum on a chair.
"Seriously Chloe, gum on a chair, I can't tell if that's petty you'd go that low or pathetic that's the best you can think of." Peter said to the alpha bitch in the room. "What are you, five years old?"
"Call it petty all you want, it's still going to be Dupain-Cheng's problem to deal with." The wannabe queen bee snorted.
"Oh great!" Marinette shouted. "Should have known from the way she worded it that Chloe's friend would be just as bad as she was!"
"No wait-" The blonde boy tried to speak, but Marinette didn't give him the room.
"Zip it!" The girl shouted with a surprising fire. "Just stay away from me and my chair, alright?" Marinette growled, having to take out a handkerchief likely so she wouldn't have to spend the whole day with gum on her butt.
"...So much for first impressions." The blonde boy sulked as he sat next to Nino.
"Yeesh, Marinette getting angry at anyone aside from Chloe. That's a rare sight." Said boy winced.
"I've known you for one day, and I've gotta say, you're rocking the commanding aura." Alya grinned. "You should try standing up more often."
"Commanding? No…I'm just…ugh, just tired of getting walked over by Chloe all the time." She grumbled.
"Then don't let her." Alya nudged the girl. "As Captain Marvel once said, the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
"Uh, which Captain Marvel said that?" Peter asked. "There's been like, five of them."
"Carol Davers." Alya clarified. "So how about you, me, Nino, and Marinette hang out this afternoon, show you a tour of the city?"
"Can't, I promised to hang out with Adrien." He pointed to the blonde boy.
"What, why would you hang out with that jerk?" Marinette glared. "Isn't your whole think standing up to Chloe? Why hang out with the male version."
"Pffftttt, ahahhahaaa." Peter laughed. "Sorry…just that…the idea of someone like Adrien being anything like Chloe is laughable. He was trying to get the gum OFF Marinette's seat when you came in."
"Really?" Her new friend asked with surprise.
"Yeah. Old man Agreste doesn't let him come out of the castle too much, so this is his first day being in school."
"Wait, Agreste?" Marinette looked shocked. "As in the famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste!? That's his son!?"
"Oh yeah, I thought I saw a few billboards with his face on it." Alya recalled.
"Shoot." Marinette groaned. "Alright, I'm gonna go appolo-"
SLAM
They all turned as Kim ran into the room, slamming it shut with a pant. "Hey guys, we have a problem."
Alix groaned. "Who did you piss off this time?"
"Well, you know how guys like to tease other guys about a crush?" He asked. "Well, with Ivan's letter to Myleene being shown up, we decided to get him to admit it to help try and get him in the mood to confess and …"
"MYLEEEN!"
"...Exactly HOW much teasing did you throw in?" Peter asked.
"I said he'd be a spineless wimp if he didn't confess in five seconds."
"Yup, that sounds like it'd turn him around into a raging monster." Alix nodded.
The room of the school lifted up, as Stoneheart stood there, gazing down menacingly. "Who's spineless now!?"
"Don't blame me dude, blame Chloe! She ruined your chances the first time!"
"HEY!" The bitch screamed.
Stoneheart lifted her up in one hand, and Myleen in the other. "To the tower, my stone army!" He marched as loud thumping could be heard across the city.
"Help!" Myleen screamed out.
"GET ME DOWN FROM THIS THING!" Chloe shouted out.
"... I'm gonna film this." Alya grinned, grabbing Peter by the arm. "Lets go!"
"Wait, when did I become your camera man?"
"When you helped me film Ladybug and Chat Noir! Now lets go!"
"Wait, Alya!" No time Marinette, there were heroes to film!
Alright Adrien, you wanted to be a superhero, you had to deal with supervillains. It was part of the job description … probably. "Hey, do I call an army of Stonehearts Heardheads?" Chat Noir asked as he showed up in front of the akumatized victims. He had to make this good, at least until Ladybug came to help with that 'purifying' power that she was supposed to do. Also the fact Peter and that Alya girl were filming his every move was a big motivator as well.
"Kick their buts Chat Noir!" Alya shouted.
"Or don't, because they grow bigger when you kick them!" Peter added in.
Right, he had to fight an army of giants that got bigger with every hit … "These are the pawfect odds for me."
"Ugh, puns. Just kill me now." Chloe moaned from the stoney grip she was in. "Lamest, death…ever."
"Oh trust me, I'll make it more exciting by turning you into street pizza from a fifty foot drop!" Stoneheart yelled as those minions began to surround him. "Stone army, take his miraculous!"
Chat Noir dodged fist after fist, moving around the destruction as he tried to figure out what to do. He has Cataclysm, but he wasn't sure what that would do against what's basically mutated skin and he didn't want to know. And he only had once use and last time he wasted it. He couldn't afford to make mistakes like that. "Come on guys, I know you all want to pet the kitty, but one at a time! I have sensitive fur!" He jumped to the walls and used his extending baton to pole vault out of the way. Just a single strike would make them bigger, so he couldn't fight and he couldn't defend.
"Ivan, please, you're better than this!" The small girl shouted.
"Don't worry Mylen, I won't hurt you at all." Stoneheart said softly. "I'm just making sure no one else will be able to hurt us ever again."
"Kind of sending mixed messages here, the trauma alone from this will probably leave a nasty scar." Chat Noir noted as he flipped over one of the minions.
"Oh would you SHUT UP!" Stone heart flung a car… and it was heading right towards Alya and Peter.
"Get out of the way!" Peter shoved Alya into a nearby alley.
"PETER!"
"Not on my watch!" He sent his pole into the flipping car, making it move ever so slightly that it only landed in front of his best friend pyramid style. "Look, I'm glad you're able to capture my good side, but maybe save the photo shoot for after the day is saved." He grabbed the girl and leapt her to a nearby ledge.
"What about Peter?"
"Don't worry, I'll check on your friend. Nothing's going to happen to him while I'm around." Adrien would stake his life on that. He flipped down to the ground … finding no one there. "Peter … PETER?!" He shouted out … did they run? It made sense, used to villain attacks in New York, knowing when to leave and when not to.
CRASH
Gaah, why didn't anyone warn him being a hero meant splitting your focus between your maybe hurt friends and a flaming city? "Guess I've made a bit of a mess of things." Turning his head, he saw the familiarly cute sight of what was his partner in metaphorically crime.
"Nah, I've seen worse. Ever drank hot chocolate at a wax museum? Not a pleasant experience." Chat snickered. "Glad you can join me once more, M'lady." He bowed.
"Certainly chaton." She nodded. "Did you find the Akumatized object while I was busy?"
"Both his hands are closed, but my kitty curiosity has me believing it's in the hand along with the smaller girl with braids." Chat Noir nodded. "I think there was a bit of a love mishap. Understandable, the heart is a fickle muscle."
"Very fickle indeed." She nodded as they began making their way to the head Stoneheart, who had begun climbing the eiffel tower "Once we get in close I'll use my lucky charm and figure out a way to get his hand open." So she gave the orders and he followed … why did he feel like that was gonna be a thing?
"This is the Mayor!" They turned and saw Andre stand next to a squad of police officers with a megaphone. "Release my daughter this instance, or we will open fire!"
"Fine by me, I needed to let go of the extra baggage anyways." Wait, he wasn't serious about- "So long you dizty air headed stereotype!" And Stoneheart through her hard.
"SAVE ME!" Chloe screamed as she began falling. Sure, many people didn't like her … but she was one of the few friends Adrien had growing up, and he was sure there was good deep in her.
He and his partner reached with their weapons, unsure if they would be able to make it in time … until a chain flew overhead, connecting with the eiffel tower, with a red and black blur flashing forward almost too fast for them to see.. "So glad this city doesn't have traffic! Now my only worry is random kisses from strangers!"
Peter may have had his reservations about budging on big super villain battles, but after that close call with Alya, he clearly needed to step in to prevent the civilian casualty from getting bad. Even if this Ladybug girl had an instant fix power, people would still probably remember getting hurt, like how Chloe would probably remember becoming street pizza next to the Eiffel tower.
And sure, he didn't like the girl one bit, but Adrien for some reason did, so he would just chalk this up to being a good bro. Luckily, Chat Noir stopping that car from running him over gave him the perfect cover to transform out of sight. If anyone asked, he would just say he went to Aunt May to check up on her.
Nevertheless, the time for standing on the side was over. Paris was about to have their debut of Spider-man, and if he was going to expose himself early, might as well make it a spectacle. "Honestly, with the sunny skies, the smell of pastries, and the sight of monsters roaming the streets, I can see why this is the number one vacation spot!"
"Another hero!?"
"So you can see, and here I thought you were nearsighted!" With a simple swing, he caught the girl in his free arm, gently extending his chain as he lowered them to the ground at a safer rate. "Hello Princess. I was looking for a beautiful damsel to save and you seem to fit the description." She may be a bitch, but 'Spider-Man' didn't know that. Plus acting aggressive with someone in danger never looked good on camera.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah.." Hah! The girl was a blushing babbling mess. If the situation wasn't so dire, he would've asked for a camera to capture the glorious sight.
"Thank you for flying arachind airlines. We know you have safer and saner choices, so thank you for indulging in our turbulence. Thanks again for flying, and hope to see you again." He let Chloe down and turned to everyone else, who was either staring at him in confusion or with glares. "Hey there Mr Mayor, Ladybug, Chat Noir, thousands of cops overcompensating and making the situation worse."
"HEY!" What looked like the chief of police yelled at him.
"Not that I'm ungrateful for the help…but who are you?" Ladybug asked
"Sorry, pardon my manners, lets start over." He flipped over a thrown car and landed on his feet. "Hello Paris, France! I am the Miraculous Spider-man! Can I get a Woop Woop!?"
"GRAAAA! GRAAA!" The stone army shouted.
"I see I'm still rusty on the language barrier! Don't worry, I'll do my best to learn every inch this beautiful city has to show!" He laughed. "Saw the parade of pride rock and thought I could work on civilian traffic while you two focus on tall, brown and ugly pulling a king kong on one of the world's greatest national monuments."
"You came all the way from New York that fast?" Chat asked. "Do you have a super jet or teleportation?"
"Yes, I call it the Spidey Jet, big red and costs thousands." He joked. "So Mr Mayor, do you mind telling your guys to not shoot at the rock monsters and make our problems worse?"
"Hey!" The head cop shouted. "You heroes are the ones that made this whole situation worse to begin with! Why should we listen to you?"
"Because the alternative is letting the monsters get bigger and bigger and have three LESS brightly colored meat shields protecting your butts."
"Daddy, do what he says." … Did the rich girl with an attitude problem just support him?
"Alright men, stand down. Let the Superheroes take care of this." The Mayor told the police.
"Wow, you work fast." Ladybug nodded.
"I'm hoping you work faster, this is only gonna get worse before it gets better." Spidey said. "If that army makes it to the top and falls, the damage is gonna make them the size of the tower they're climbing."
"Then they'd really be unstoppable." Ladybug grimanced, throwing her yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm!" Energy circled the air, swirling around until …
"A parachute?" Peter asked. "You have the power to create anything … and a parachute came to mind?"
"I don't choose it!" She shouted. "It's supposed … to solve …" Ladybug looked over the eiffel tower, before grinning. "That's it! We don't have to split them apart, we need to bring Myleen and Ivan together!"
"Crazy newbie say what now?"
"No time to elaborate, we just need to bring two love birds closer together!" Ladybug shouted as she jumped into the air. "You two stall the army!"
"… You know she's crazy right?" He asked the cat.
"Yeah, but it's a good kind of crazy." Chat noir smiled dopely in a love struck gaze.
"Oh we are so talking about that after we get people out of harm's way." Spidey grinned, extending his chain so it wrapped around both his arms, throwing them forward. "So tell me about how you guys deal with erosion, I hear it's a big problem in the rock community!"
"Gaaaarrgh!"
"Ooh, have you put on rock polish? It brings out the glow in your eyes!" Chat noir joked as they bounced around, the two of them splitting up the army and keeping them away from following Ladybug upward.
Hawkmoth watched as the 'heroes' fumbled about. Which was quite generous, considering their clear inexperience and limitations… "They're children." He smirked. Foolish children at that. Which meant not only would they be easy to fight against, it also meant Hawkmoth had the advantage, as while they had the ability to purify his akuma, they had a limited use of their power. All it would take was for one slip up for victory to be his. "Stone Heart, keep climbing, don't let Ladybug stop your love!" He likely wouldn't have the same combination of numbers and power again with this one slip up, he needed to press the advantage while he had it.
"Yes … Hawkmoth …" The villain spoke, climbing to the top. Once they reached it, if they fell, the damage would make him truly the strongest there was.
"Yo Stoney! Having a private chat!?" The newcomer to the fight, the American with the spider miraculous, shouted as he and the black cat scaled the tower, constantly drawing attention from the army. "Isn't it rude to have a phone call in the middle of a hostile takeover of a city!?"
"Very rude. They haven't even offered tea and pastries. I for once am against a tyrannical rule without refreshments." The black cat holder laughed as they dodged a strike. "Don't mean to rush you, M'Lady, but is that plan coming along anytime soon!?"
"Just a minute!" The ladybug holder shouted, swinging around closer and closer.
"Stoneheart, be careful, Ladybug is close enough to endanger your love." It took a while, but he finally learned what buttons to press. He'd have to set up some repeaters in case this failed, the familiarity would help.
"Leave me alone … you won't break my heart!" The giant swung their stone fist around.
"Trust me, I'm not!" The holder shouted, swinging around the arm, shooting their yoyo around the arm holding the girl. "In fact, I'm mending it!" And yanked it … pulling the tiny girl in for a kiss with the akumatized villain.
"I know they call it the city of love, but this is a really inopportune time to be a couples counselor!" The spider shouted with bemusement
Hawkmoth could feel the shock … as he watched them drop both the girl and-their OBJECT! "NO! Catch the note! The note!"
"It is when they drop their akuma!" The ladybug holder shouted. "Chat Noir!" She shouted, jumping down herself onto the rocky monster.
"On it Bugaboo! Cataclysm!" The cat miraculous holder shouted as he activated his power, grabbing the wad of paper.
"Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The screams of the boy Ivan were heard as he reverted back to normal
The ladybug holder slipped the parachute onto the boy, pulling the string, saving him as well as her own descent … how annoying.
"Wait, where's Mylene!?" The boy shouted as they approached the ground.
"Right here big guy." The spider holder descended with his chain, holding the frightened girl in his arms. "I'm afraid we can't serve street pizza tonight. Too many calories, and way too messy to make."
"Thanks, I'm not that confident in my YoYo skills to save her while riding a parachute." The Ladybug holder sighed.
"Well what about enough confidence to catch that?" The cat holder asked as Hawkmoth assembled a swarm.
It was time … for an ultimatum. "Citizens of Paris!" He announced. "I am Hawkmoth, and the chaos that you have witnessed in the past two days has all been my doing. These monsters are my akumas, and I will return and make as many as I need to obtain my one true goal!" He shouted."I will only stop if you all force Chat Noir and Ladybug to hand over their miraculous!"
He could see the nervous faces of the Persians, feeling their fear. The idea that this would happen to anyone if they didn't do as he said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't try to turn this around Hawky. You're the one that made the monsters first." The spider holder pointed and accused. "You made a mess, which forced the cat and lady to come out to clean it up. You're the only one in the wrong here, mister big dark mass of butterflies."
"He's right." Ladybug stepped forward with a grin as she twirled her yo-yo. "We're not going to give into the demands of a villain willing to exploit the innocent civilians of this city. So we're going to stop you, again and again until your the one handing us your miraculous!" She leapt into the air and sent out her yo-yo. "And we'll start by undoing all the damage you've caused today!"
With a couple of swings, his connection was cut, leaving Hawkmoth alone in his lair. A few seconds later, the spread of red ladybugs confirmed that she used her cure to fix the damage. "Nooru, Dark Wings Fall."
He felt the power leave him as the Kwami reformed. "Master, please reconsider."
"Why? I've finally confirmed that the ladybug and black cat miraculous are in Paris, and in the hands of children. So I will keep making Akumas until they slip up."
"But the destruction …"
"Necessary, and will be undone once I make my wish."
This was fine. It was just one akuma, the first. Their only purpose was to draw out the miraculous into users and confirm their existence. Now … the long game could begin.
The only unforeseen factor was the spider miraculous holder being here as well. Unexpected; but not in a bad way. If one more miraculous could be found in the city…who's to say more couldn't exist as well?
Marinette finally decided she couldn't deny the responsibility anymore. She had the miraculous, she was chosen, she had enough skills to at least make a plan … yeah, this would be fine. Just another thing to balance in the life of Marinette Dupan-Cheng.
At the very least it was a really big confidence booster for herself when it came to Chloe at school. She actually shouted back for a change! Sure she was worried every single second she'd be expelled, but she stood up to her!
Weirdly however, Chloe was surprisingly less nasty after being kidnapped by the Akuma, mainly giving her classmates dirty looks as she muttered one or two things about Spider-man. Guess being saved from a near death experience helped her refocus on her life or something. Who knew Chloe had it in her?
The hero thing seemed a lot more doable now, especially with the extra help. Chat Noir seemed like a reliable partner, if a little impulsive and flirtatious. And Spider-Man … seemed alright as it was, she didn't really get a good read on him. From what she saw he was helpful and talked a lot, actually waving to quite a few cameras. He even stayed behind while she and Chat had to leave due to the timeout to talk with the mayor, police, and news crew. Guess he didn't use his special power…which raised questions, but maybe that was something to do with the fact he stuck to walls when they couldn't. Something she'd probably ask Tikki at some point.
As she walked to the door, she looked up at the sky … and saw it rain. Great. Leave it to the hero of literal luck to walk to school without an umbrella. Maybe if she ran fast she'd only get half as wet. Yeah, that could play out right. "Marinette?" She turned to see that Adrien guy from earlier walked up with a surprised look on his face. "What are you still doing here?"
"Oh, I didn't bring an umbrella or coat. Didn't read the weather report other than the likely chance of a monster attack." She weakly chuckled. "Halfway split between waiting it out and running back home."
"Well, I'm waiting for my ride, so until then…" He opened his umbrella and helped it over her head. "I hope this helps."
"… You're just … giving this to someone you just met?" She asked, almost disbelieving.
"Well yeah, you need it more than I do, right?" There was such an assuredness in their point, yet kindness in their words. "I'm sorry about the gum thing with Chloe. I was trying to stop her from doing something she would regret.."
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to assume." She sighed. "First week of school is usually one of the most unlucky times for me. New assignments, new age, new responsibilities…it's can feel like a lot."
"As someone who's first two days at school involved arguing for freedom with my father and villain attacks, I completely understand." Adrien said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll pull through Marinette."
Such a sweet smile. Unburdened by cynism and knowledge of her clumsiness. Just simple…kindness and sweetness. "We'll I hope the villain attacks haven't scared you away from school."
"You kidding? I'm more determined than ever to stay." He smiled. "If I can survive a rampaging rock monster during fifth period, then there really isn't anything else to fear." And such optimism to.
She watched as the boy walked to a limousine, watching him walk away … and letting out a happy sigh. "Oh, I've seen that face before." She froze, and saw an amused Peter chuckling lightly. "You just got hit with the Adrien brand of crush."
"What no, I don't think he's kind and charming and sexy." She answered a bit too quickly.
"Well, most people wouldn't go for sexy on a first date…" AHHHHHH! "But hey, I don't judge how fast other people move."
"Please, please please don't say anything! It was a slip of the tounge!" She begged.
"Don't worry, I'll keep it on the down low." He patted her back. "In fact I'll root for ya. You seem like a much better candidate than Chloe."
Marinette processed that for a moment, starting to calm down a bit. "Isn't everybody?" She snickered.
"Exactly, new best female friend behind Alya!" He laughed. "I've known Adrian for years, and he can definitely use some more good people in his life. Plus as fellow targets of the cliche mean girl trope, we gotta watch out for each other.
"True that … thanks Peter." She smiled.
"Hey, my Aunt runs a homeless shelter. This is quite literally the least I can do." He grinned.
The school year…might actually be better than she thought. She stood up to Chloe, had two new best friends to back her up, and an absolutely dreamy-IN A PLATONIC WAY-friend to get to know. And as for the Ladybug thing…..well, not everything could be perfect, but she would make the most of it.