Kim smiled as he showed off his gift to the class. "A shirt with all three of France's heroes on it." Adrian's birthday was today, and while he was the new guy that they haven't spent all that much time with, that only meant the class had to double the effort to make the boy's birthday as big and exciting as possible!

"… You're giving clothes to the fashion model?" Max asked. "No offense, but isn't that a little redundant?"

"Probably, but you've seen the fancy shmancy stuff Adrian wear's all the time. Something simple and casual would be something new and exciting for him." Sometimes, the best gift for a rich person was a heartfelt one. "What about you?"

"One 'get out of homework' free card. It was too last minute for me to calculate anything better." Max admitted. "We did just meet him after all."

"Don't sulk about it. Adrian's going love the idea of having friends giving him gifts in person more than the gifts themselves." Peter noted. "Pretty much every gift he's ever gotten has been from behind a webcam or through one of his bodygaurds."

"What did you get him?" Nino asked.

"A bracelet that says 'modeling is a drag'." Peter grinned. "We share a sense of humor."

"Well, that makes me more confident in the mountain climbing gear I got him." Alix raised her hand. "He said something about having a rock wall in his room, so I thought that would be appreciated."

"Rock wall, two walls filled to the brim with video games, a foosball table, eighty inch screen. Literally the only thing missing is a hot tub." Peter smirked.

"So monetary gifts aren't the way to go." Alya nodded. "Maybe I could get him some of Marinette's treats when she's done with her gift." She turned to the humming girl who was sewing in silence.

"Wow, going for a scarf already, maybe you are able to move up to face to face conversation." Peter smirked.

"What!? No, no, this…this isn't anything that big!" Marinette did her usual freak out, only this seemed more colorful than usual, seeing as she almost flew out of her seat. "I'm just…making a gift like anyone else would…maybe give it to him annoymouslly.."

"Then how's he gonna know who to thank?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"More like who to ask for the receipt." Chloe spoke up from her spot. "Like Adrikens would ever accept these trash gifts … except the treats, he could use something other than camembert in his diet." Was it wrong that he found her meanness to be a little attractive?

"Oh, and I suppose Miss Royal up her behind got her hands dirty to get a meaningful gift for her so-called best friend." Peter air quoted with clear sarcasm.

"Of course not, I'm not a peasant. I used Daddy's credit card and made Sabrina order something big and grand for my sweet darling prince's big day." The rich blonde crossed her arms, clearly believing she had one her argument.

"So I should have Adrien thank Sabrina and your Daddy since you just admitted to offering nothing for the gift itself." Peter said with a smile. "Your royal laziness, I bow to thee."

"Ugggggghhhhh…!" Chloe looked like she was about to claw out the American's eyes, but held herself back. "Like you'll actually get the chance. Unlike you nobodies, I can come into the Agreste manor whenever I want."

"What are you on about dude?" Nino asked. "We can just talk to him at his b day party."

"Pffft, shows what you know, four eyes." Chloe grinned viciously. "Adriken's daddy, Gabriel Agreste has very high standards, standards that all of you fall below with your senses of fashion, germs, style, popularity, and wealth. The notion that he would let his perfect son hang around with a bunch of commoners like some kind of circus act is ridiculous! Utterly, ridiculous!"

"That's not true, Peter's been able to visit Adrian at his house, right?" Alya asked the American.

"Only by sheer luck and Gabby's absence." He crossed his arms. "And no disrespect to ole'Agreste, but the man's as stiff as a board and has the personality of a porcupine." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Unless you happen to be a close and personal friend of Gabriel Agreste, like myself." Chloe smirked with a charming grin. "I might be inclined to vouch for you if you beg, say it's a favor to Adrikens."

"Hey Alya, do you mind sharpening your nails to run them on a chalkboard?" Peter asked shamelessly. "I think it miiight be less painful than this."

"Well then, clearly there's only one thing to do." Nino grinned.

"Wait until later and hold his party at school?" Max raised his hand. "Where there's a seven two percent likelihood of no adult intervention of the parental kind?"

"No, tell Adrian's old man he's being bogus and convince him to let his son hang."

There was a moment of silence, broken by Chloe giving off a cute laugh. "Sabrina, clear up my phone. I need to film this failure in high definition." She said.

"Nino, I don't know you well, but I like to think of you as a bro." Peter said. "And as your bro … don't do this, please."

"Oh ye of little faith. I just got to lay out the charasim and everything will flow. Like these bubbles." Nino took out a wand and blew into it.

"...Do you just carry that around everywhere?" Kim couldn't help but ask.

"Helps me relax." Nino shrugged.

Nino gazed up at the manor. "Wow … nice fence." He noted.

"It's electrified too." Peter nodded. "On a younger trip I once fried marshmallows on it. You could taste how expensive it was." His glasses bro turned to him. "Not too late to back out now. A party at school is still a party."

"Yeah, a party supervised by our teachers. B-days are suppose to be about doing what you want on your own time." He argued. "If this is really going to be Adrian's first party with friends…..friends other than CHLOE of all people, then it needs to be perfect."

"Fair enough." Peter pressed the doorbell … the small group gasping in shock as a mechanical eye popped out of the wall. "Hey Nathalie. Still hard on the outside but soft on the inside?" Peter said with no surprise whatsoever.

"What do you want, Mr. Parker? Adrien isn't here right now." A robotic lady's voice came from the eyeball, completely ignoring the glib from the American.

"My friends want to drop off some gifts, and my friend wants to chat with your supervillain superior." His bro explained.

"Drop the gifts in the slot." A box slid out of the wall. "I'll let Mr Agreste know he has a visitor."

"...Dude, how come you never mentioned Adrien's house was monitored by skynet!?" Nino freaked out as Marinette put her gift nervously in the box.

"I'd argue the truth, but I'm not entirely sure if Nathalie is an android or not. She never shows any expression whatsoever, but she's nice when she wants to be." His american friend shrugged. "Now contrary to what my outward demeanor may suggest, Old man Agreste doesn't appreciate humor in the slightest. I'm pretty sure he was born without it. Heck, pretty certain he never learned how to smile, it happens so rarely."

"Stop exaggerating Dude, everyone can smile." Nino grinned, still filled with confidence in his plan.

A few seconds later, a tall blonde man that resembled an older Adrien walked out of the mansion door, standing behind the gate. "Who are your associates Parker?" He asked, eyes cold.

"Friends from school, people Adrien know." Peter said calmly. "We just wanted to drop his gifts off and wish him a happy birthday."

"Your sentiment is appreciated. I will inform my son of your gesture. Now please vacate the premises." They said immediately, already looking like he was about to turn away.

Wow, Peter really wasn't exaggerating the personality of a porcupine thing, but he was here. Time to give it his best shot. "Ah, look, Mister dude, I mean, Adrien's father sir." Crap, he needed to lay off the slang if this was going to work. "I was thinking we could all be there for Adrien's party. You know, so everyone can hang and have fun?"

"No. Adrien has a busy schedule today. He will be celebrating his birthday with a special dinner at his house. It is a private affair." The old man responded coldy, leaving no room for debate. "Good day."

"No, hold on man, I mean sir." Nino wasn't going to give up that easily! "Adrian already does a lot. He's top of the class, does fencing, Chinese, piano, modeling, his days throughout are already super busy.."

"Um, Nino, I don't think you should push this." Alya whispered.

"Just give him some time to play and have fun!" Nino said. "You know, give him something actually GOOD and exciting in his life for once!"

"And let him become some talentless street hockey musician with terrible fashion such as yourself?" The man asked.

"Talanetless!?" Oh, he did NOT just go there!

"Aw man, he went there." Peter grumbled with a shaking head.

"Clearly my son has better things to do with his time than to spend his days with a worthless urchin leaching off of him. Now vacate the premise before I call the authorities and report you all for trespassing."

"You …" He watched the man forced them all out of the manor. "… How could he …"

"Just the way man." Peter said as he pulled Nino away from the house. "We at least got him the presents, right?"

"Yep." Marinette smiled. "I even put in mine …" She paused. "Oh my god I forgot to sign it!"

"He didn't even let us compromise and let us stick around just to say happy birthday…" Nino grumbled, squeezing his bottle of bubble soap. "That huge jerk…" What kind of parent actively worked to make their kid so miserable!?

"Hey Nino, Marinette, it's fine." Alya said. "When Adrien comes to school tomorrow, we can talk it over.

"No, it's not like that." He grumbled. "How are we supposed to make our friends happy when all adults go around and-" Nino paused, feeling his soul connect as a butterfly landed on his bubble wand.

"Bubbler … I .. I am Hawkmoth …"

"Are you alright man?" He asked. "You sound like you just ran a mile."

"Is Nino talking to himself?" Marinette spoke in a freaked out tone as she started to back away.

"Just … cardio … listen. Adults made you miserable. I can grant you the power to take them away!"

"So you'll give me the power to take down Gabriel Agrest, and give Adrien an awesome party where anything can happen?"

"Nino, you can't say yes." Peter grabbed his shoulders. "You know that dude's a villain. Adrien isn't going to be happy if you go down this path."

"I can guarantee a fun time for all of your friends without ANY adult supervison. All I ask in return are the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Just one thing….what's the miraculous again?"

"Seriously Nino, don't do this!" Alya shouted.

"The earrings and ring on the two heroes … you'll see them when they show up to ruin your fun."

"Then you got a deal, Hawkmoth!" He shouted as purple energy began covering his body.

"Oh come on!" Marinette shouted. "Nino, if you're listening, there's still a chance to fight it!"

"There's no more Nino.." His body was now covered in a red suit with a blue face and black mask, now armed with a gigantic bubble sword. "From now on, I am the Bubbler!"

"...Is that the best name Hawkmoth could come up with?" Peter scratched his head.

"Hey!" Some adult in a police costume shouted out. "I don't need any more costumes vigilantes running around!"

"Another adult ruining fun?" He asked. "I don't think so bro!" He waved his bubble wand, trapping the man in a bubble and sending him flying into the sky.

"I'm afraid of heights!"

"No adults in Paris tonight!" He sent out bubble after bubble, his face being displayed. "The Bubbler is throwing a party at Agreste manor, attendance is mandatory! All are invited…except for adults, you're all getting a one way trip into outer space!"

"Nino, this is insane!" Alya shouted.

"No way, insane is not letting a kid have fun! Today, all we're gonna do is have fun fun fun in the sun!" He floated on the bubble. "So you wanna walk, or should I float you to the birthday bash?"

"I'll meet you there." Both Marinette and Peter spoke at the same time, before running off in different directions. Probably wanna enjoy the view … of a world of pure fun!

"So is it possible to talk them out of it, or should I just give up and run next time someone's being akumatized before my eyes." Marinette asked Tikki as she ran for cover … which was easy considering the streets were covered with bubbles that sent people flying into the air.

"I have seen one or two people be able to resist being akumatized before long enough for a ladybug to catch the akuma, but someone outright rejecting it is pretty rare." The kwami noted. "… Then again it Nooroo was only used for evil a few times before the order broke down and their miraculousness was lost, so I don't have enough information to work with anyway."

"So it's unknow territory if we can prevent akuma's from fully taking over?"

"Pretty much." Miraculous were meant to bring out the best of humanity. In hindsight it was rather naive to think ALL of mankind would embrance just the good good qualities.

"Don't worry, the good outnumber the bad." Her master grinned, scratching her head as they ran into an empty alley. "Tikki, Spots on!"

A familiar pull was felt as she went into the earrings, covering her holder in the magic of the miraculous as their suit formed. From this position she could get a good read on all of her master's emotions and thoughts, even though Marinette was the kind of girl that wore her emotions on her sleeves. Particularly in confidence and romantic department.

"Alright, the akuma is in his bubble wand." Marinette said to herself as she ran forward. "I sneak by, snatch it before the Bubbler knows what hit him, purify the akuma, and use the cure to prevent the town's adult population from falling to their doom." Sounds simple enough. "Heck, if I'm lucky, I can do this without a fight breaking out, which means I don't need to run into Chat Noir's flirting and Spider-man's showboating!"

A little unrealistic, but nice to see her holder was feeling optimistic about facing an opponent. Although her trust issues with her partners was probably going to be something they needed to work on. They made their way to the party in question. "Everyone having a good time!?" The villain shouted to the miserable looking audience. "Good! Let's jam, dance, have a ball!"

"There he is … just need to sneak around and-." Marinette paused, looking down at Adrien. "Such a shame. His first birthday party with friends and everyone's worried about their families dying. That's not going to be a pleasant memory." Definitely not. Tikki could see the dozen's of plans that Marinette had in her head under the label 'cheer up Adrian'...it was a surprisingly expansive compartment for a guy she's only known for about a week by this point. "Nino had a point about him needing to be happy … but I have to stop him … but Adrien's alone … but Maman and Papa."

Tikki wish this was a two way communication so she could tell her to stop the Bubbler quickly. That was one advantage Railings had over Kwamis. But Marinette was a good hearted girl, she would make the right call in the end. "Adrain… family… Adrian… family…. Adrian… Family…" Any minute now…

"Alright party people, next song's going to be a slow dance, so partner up!" Bubbler shouted.

"Oh Adrikens!" Chloe shouted, charging towards the boy.

"Adrian!" Wait, no no no no- "Lucky Charm!" The yo yo spun around….and produced…a record. "Perfect! Now I can stop Chlow from dancing with Adrian!" Nooooo! That wasn't what that was supposed to be used for! "Now to aim this just right.." She looked to a ledge, and bounced it off, making it place right inside the recorder. For the first time in a long eon, she wondered if she got Plagg's partner by mistake. "Perfect!" No, NOT perfect! Not perfect at all! Now they needed to recharge!

"What the … why would I even have kitty pop in this selection?!" The Bubbler shouted.

Marinette landed down. "Tikki, Spots Off." With a push, she was brought out of the miraculous, feeling the familiar hunger.

"Marinette! What happened to taking the wand and ending things before a fight broke out?" She questioned her holder. Sure she was a kid, but she expected just a little more maturity out of her.

"I had to do something. Adrian was about to slow dance with Chloe. There's NO recovering from something like that!"

"Taking out the Bubbler would have stopped the slow dance to begin with." She pointed out. "Because the party would be over."

"Yeah…but don't I have a duty as a hero to make sure he's happy before saving him? Wishing him a happy birthday and all that. And getting a dance with him would be nice as well."

"...Marinette, you do realize that by doing this, you're using your powers exactly how Spider-man would." Tikki decided to hit her with a big one.

"So what, he calls me a hypocrite? … Actually yeah, that would be pretty bad." She sighed. "Sorry, I just, panicked and acted on gut instinct."

Tikki munched on the cookie. "Then let me eat so we can go ahead and transform back." She said. She wouldn't hold it against the girl as long as she didn't make it a routine thing.

"True …" Marinette nodded. "We still do have the element of surprise."

"Here comes the Amazing Party Crasher, number one rude guest to evil hostage holding creeps everywhere!"

"...I messed up big time, didn't I?" Marinette grumbled.

"Yes, yes you did."

Peter was held up for a bit, making sure his Aunt May was alright came first before anything else. Especially when the villain was exclusively targeting adults.

Now, he had a solid strategy. Grab the bubble wand, play keep away till ladybug got here, and film everything while looking awesome for Alya's blog. Sure, it probably would've been better for him if he just posted it on his podcast channel, but getting Alya out of the was important, especially so she would be dragging Peter Parker away the next time she wanted a scoop. And as a content creator, he felt a natural kinship with someone who was trying to make it big on their own.

"Agreste Manor, must say it's not the best spot for a party. Especially when you don't paint over the bleak white atmosphere." He threw a chain out to the wand, trying to snatch it.

"Spider-Man! Hawkmoth warned me a couple of party poopers would've tried to end the fun early, so don't think I'm not ready!" Nino, or rather, the Bubbler, jumped pack as he sent red bubbles at him.

"The man who constantly threatens to murder people tells you how to throw a party? I think you need a priority check man, introspect your life choices." Spidey quipped as he moved around the audience, trying to stay above the scrambling people so they wouldn't get involved in the crossfire. "First of which being your costume. Red, blue, yellow, talk about a fashion fail. It's like a baby barfed up crayons."

"That's what I was thinking!" Oh great, Chloe and him were on the same wavelength. That was fun.

"Oh can it you jerk!" He fired off a bubble as Spidey was forced to, yet again, rescue the lazy rich gal.

"Sorry I have to dash quickly, Ms. Beugoues, but stopping crazy men is a priority for heroes. I promise to save you a dance however." He winked at the blonde bitch, setting her outside the gates. She may be a horrible person, but she was also the mayor's kid, and getting on her good side was a small but important priority. And once again, it'd be bad for publicity for a hero to tell off a teenage girl in front of dozens of people.

"Totally, tollally, you got this Spidey!" She gave her an excited thumbs up. "Just be sure to kick his utterly tacky butt across the asphalt for me please."

"Will do Princess. Will do." He playfully saluted her as he flipped back to where the action, landing on the snack table. "Hey Bubbler, your party's low on dip!" He shouted, tossing a chip bowl over to the villainized Nino. "No wonder all your guests are miserable, you can't even get decent snacks! They should probably call you the Dumbler for such an epic party fail!"

"Oh my bad. Here, some guacamole!" They threw a barrage of green bubbles that sent cracks in the wall.

"Too spicy personally! I'd go for some more mild cheeses next time!" He shouted, swinging around. "Also if any of you guys wanna run away screaming, now would be an opportune time!" Hostages and villains simultaneously was just plain difficult.

"No one leaves the party unless it's in a body bag from dying from too much fun!" The villainized kid laughed as he tried flying upwards. Okay, time to use a little force and get him out of the gates. That'll leave the guests plenty of time to find sheltered.

"Too much fun!? I know a new party game, it's called pin the attack on the eyesore!" Spidey threw his chain around the kid's waist, swinging him closer to the streets as he tried to close the distance. "I'll start, now this might sting a little!"

POW

The bubbler was smacked into a car, denting it with his body. "Or a lot…my bad." He needed to get his upper limit checked one of these days. This wasn't another Stoneheart who had a rocky body as well as increasing strength from attacks. Not all Akuma bodies could have the same level of durability from what he's seen.

"Super heroes, adults, anybody in authority just ruins the FUN!" Creating green bubbles, Nino sent them towards nearby cars and engulfed them, and sent them flying right at him.

"You know what they say, all play and no work make Jack a very jerky man!" Spidey shouted as he jumped away. "I'd suggest seeing a therapist, but they're probably an adult."

"Oh shut up!"

This wasn't getting him any … wait, he had an idea. "What about Hawkmoth?"

"What about him!?"

"He's an adult, right!?" He shouted. "And you hate adults in general. So…why don't you go after him next?" Either Nino would agree and fight it or Hawkmoth himself would undo the akuma. Heck, maybe he'd hit a paradox and think about the problem while Spidey had a chance to snag the bubble wand.

"I….I…" Yes, yes, paradox, paradox, go for paradox!

"Sorry I'm late, but I didn't have the chance to RSVP!" A baton was sent into the villains face as Chat noir landed beside him. "So, what's the situation?"

"Well I had them confused on what to do when they hated all adults and Hawkmoth was an adult." Spidey said. "Then you hit them in the face."

"Chat Noir! Once I take your and Ladybug's miraculous everything will make sense!"

"Well that was a catastrophe on my part." The leather clad hero chuckled weakly. "But now you got a few claws to pop the bubbles now."

"True, but if we pop them all without Ladybug's cure, we get human pancakes, and I don't wanna know what that tastes like." Spidey spun around his chain until it became a blurring shield. "So let's grab the wand and play keep away till she gets here."

"No need, the guest of honor has arrived!" Ladybug announced as she swung in, kicking Bubbler in the back.

"That's twice now you two were late to the party. Do I need to set an alarm ahead of time?" Spidey asked.

"You get distracted when everyone vanishes and you try to figure out where Agreste Manor actually is." Ladybug justified. "This guy didn't exactly give us a map."

"But I will give you a front row seat to your own funeral!" He made massive bubbles, tossing them forward.

"No popcorn? We JUST had a conversation about snacks Bubbler!" Least he wasn't fighting alone anymore.

Chat Noir dodged another bubble that sucked up a vending machine behind him. "Can't we talk it out? I'd like to not have soap in my fur."

"Give me your miraculous and I'll leave you alone!" Nino shouted, tossing more bubbles at them all. It was sweet even as aN akuma his goal was to make his birthday a little more bearable, but he could've done without all the city's adults getting sucked up in bubbles.

"Come on Hawky, how about some pretty Diamond earrings instead? Those are much better for the ball." Spidey joked as he flipped around. "I'm assuming you have pierced ears, otherwise why spend all this time chasing after earrings. It would be pretty silly if you didn't."

"Yeah, give his a home address or an email and we'd probably schedule a pick up. All it would cost is one black eye and a one way trip to the nearest jail cell." Ladybug jumped off another thrown car.

"Haha, you're quipping!" Spidey laughed. "I knew I'd get you to do it eventually!" He shouted as he leapt over another bubble.

"That's just to cope with the situation, in no way do I find your attempts at humor funny!"

"Ouch, talk about a catscratch." Chat noir winced

"Wounded, won't someone put my out of my misery?" Spidey asked … before a bubble bounced off the wall behind him, finally trapping the guy. "I take it back!"

"Too bad it isn't sound proof, then it would be perfect." Ladybug smirked before started to target her from behind.

"Look out!" He attempted to get his lady out of the way….and got the both of them trapped in the same bubble. "Well I'd call this Pawfect if we weren't trapped by a villain."

"Did you have to stick us together?" She asked the villain.

"Oh don't worry, I'll make it roomier!" And he did … by combining their bubble with Spidey's.

"Shoot, and I can't even use the leave the door closed line." He snapped his fingers. "I suppose you wouldn't happen to want to talk things over."

"Nah, I've gotten my fill of banter today, so I'm gonna grab your miraculous's…..off your splattered corpses!" The bubbler smirked as he sent them flying high into the sky.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They all screamed as they were sent hurtling into the clouds.

"WORST RIDE EVER!" Chat shouted. Definitely not something he would be getting for his next birthday. "Stay back you two, I'm gonna use my power to pop the bubble."

"Yeah, pop the bubble when we're over two hundred feet in the air above cold hard pavement, that'll work out just fine." Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"I don't suppose your lucky charm will make another parachute for us to fall gracefully to the ground, would it?" Spidey asked. "Air's getting pretty thin."

"Have to check … Lucky Charm!" His lady shouted, tossing her YoYo up, the object sparkling…and getting a bottle of water. "...Well at least we won't die from thirst before we die from air deprivation."

"Hmm …" Spidey looked down. "If we don't need your magic item to get down, then this bubble might have enough shock absorption … I can get us back down, just need Chat to pop the bubble if it's still in one piece."

"What do you mean by one piece?" Chat asked nervously.

"Congrats you two." Spidey smirked, aiming his hands at the ground.. "You actually get to see my superpower in action. Make sure to grab onto something."

Chat grabbed onto Ladybug with a grin. "Really?"

"Let's spend what could be our last few minutes together cuddling, not fighting." Chat smirked. "Fire away Spidey."

He looked at his ring covered hand. "Annasi, never had to boost the power before, so please be gentle … Adhesion!"

Spidey's hand began glowing, as at first it seemed the bubble stopped … before being sent hurtling to the ground so fast that the reentry speed caught the bubble on fire. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" They all screamed as the g force would kill any other living being.

BOING

Their bubble hit the ground, and began knocking all around the Bubbler like they were a pinball machine. "Hey! How'd you get down!?"

"Chat, when you're ready, pop the bubble!" Spider-man shouted as they kept bouncing.

"Cataclysm!" He shouted, touching the edge.

Pop

And were released, sending them flying all over the place. The water bottle Ladybug had held onto flew into the air, opening up and sending the water all over Bubbler. "Hah, you think you can rain on my parade that easily!? Nice try!" He sent out his bubble wand….which did nothing. "WHAT!? Impossible!"

"Neat little science lesson kid! Bubbles need a precise amount of water to form!" Spidey shouted, sending his chain out and snagging the wand, yanking it over to Chat.

"Looks like you've blown your last bubble!" With a catchy quip of his own, he whacked the wand, breaking it. The purple butterfly flew out as Nino turned back to normal. "Purify and cure Bugaboo, our time limit is the citizens in space!"

"Uggggh." Ladybug ground, shaking her head. "No more evildoing for you little akuma!" She caught the butterfly with her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize!"

"Anyone feel like we're living in a magical girl anime right now?" Spidey asked.

"But we're boys." Chat pointed out. "And I don't think I can pull off a skirt. Honestly I get more Kamen Rider/Super Sentai vibes from this."

"Bye bye little butterfly." She sent the white butterfly away. "Now, Miraculous Ladybug!" Tossing up the bottle, those magic ladybugs began swarming again, fixing up his roughened head and bringing the people back down to the ground safely.

"Ugg .. what did I do?" Nino asked.

"Nothing that we didn't fix." Chat picked the boy up. "Might want to find your friends soon. I think they'd spent enough time with the bubbler and prefer the real you."

"Right, gotta apologize!" He shouted, running off.

"Ah, alls well that ends well." Spidey grinned.

"Yes, all except for one thing." His lady said sweetly, before turning to Spidey and shaking him violently. "WHY DIDN'T YOU USE THAT POWER ANY OTHER TIME!?" Ladybug shouted.

"And show my deck earlier when I didn't need to?" Spidey asked. "And for what? To get close to a villain so I could punch a brainwashed person in the face? Sounds reeeeal heroic." He answered.

"And what about aiming it at Akumatized objects?" She asked.

"Like I told Chat before, I don't have full control over where it's aimed or the force that comes with it. One time I accidently dislocated a bank robber's arms trying to get the bag of money out of his hands."

Chat winced at that one, did not sound pleasant. "Look M'lady. Spidey has his reasons for doing what he does, just like we have our own reasons for showing up late again, right?" He turned to her.

Ladybug looked like she wanted to argue…but sighed as the anger started to leave her face. "...Right." She sighed.

"And it worked out in the end. He got us down, my cataclysm freed us, and your lucky charm watered down the Bubbler. It was a group effort that won the day, just like always." Chat turned to the two. "That's what team miraculous is about."

Beep Beep Beep

Spidey looked down at his chained rings, two of which were glowing, as one began tricking downward. "Heh, don't hear that sound all too often. Hate to cut the team meeting short, but now's where we part ways." He swung out his chain. "See you when the next crook's crawling!"

"You know, the party may be over, but we can still have our own private after party." Chat Noir winked to his lady.

"Sorry, left my dancing shoes at home. Maybe next time Chaton." His lady jumped off into the distance.

"Next time.." Just spending time as a super hero more than made up for the mostly terrible birthday. And who knows? Maybe next year he might be able to snatch a birthday kiss.

Marinette groaned as she walked with Alya. "That had to be the worst birthday ever …" Poor Adrien.

"Yeah, good thing you and Peter ran off before Bubbler went all party dictator on us." Alya shivered. "Plus no one could even pretend to have a good time with everyone's parents about to die….well all except Chloe." Of course. "Once Spider-man saved her she had like biggest and creepiest grin on her face the rest of the day."

"She didn't worry at all and got a hug from her celebrity crush." Sometimes life just wasn't fair.

"On the bright side, My blog's blowing up! I got soo much footage! My subscriber count quadrupled! Not to mention Spidey showed off his super move by coming down from space like a METEOR! How cool is that!?"

"Really…really awesome…" She grumbled, finding that particular part unpleasant to think about, even if the ladybugs cured the dizziness and nausea. "And HOW exactly did you get that footage?"

"We'll, besides the Comet trail from space, Spider-Man sent me his fight scenes."

"...HE WHAT!?" She shouted.

"Ssssh, I said I'd keep it on the down low, and I'm telling you cause you're the most trustworthy friend I have." Alya smiled. "But yeah, he told me if I didn't run into more Akuma fights he'd send me vid's for the Ladyblog. I got footage not even Nadja Chadwick can get her hands on! Isn't that great!?"

"Yeah … great." She faked a smile. On one hand, it'd keep Alya from endangering herself. On the other … he was clearly being a glory hog. Not to mention that Spider-man now had TWO connections to her personal life with Alya and Chloe, and also the fact he knew where Marinette lived. Granted he didn't know that she was Ladybug, but he was getting WAY too close to comfort.

They arrived at school, watching as Adrien's limo pulled up. "You think you'll be able to clear up your little gift mishap at least?" Alya nudged her. "Tell him your the girl who made the homemade scarf?"

"What, no, I doubt Adrian even noticed it after everything that happened." Marinette tried to wave off. Adrien walked out … with her scarf wrapped around his neck. "SUDJWNAJAK."

"Was that even in the human lexicon?" Alya asked.

"Hey Marinette, hey Alya." Adrien smiled as he waved to them.

"Heeeeyyydrian!" She spoke way to fast. Dumb! Why didn't she mix her words up like that! "I mean…hey Adrian, you're good looking-looking good!"

"Thanks." He gave a soft smile as he looked down at his-her scarf. "My father got it for me." … What? "I almost thought he wasn't going to get me a present, isn't it awesome?"

"Your father gave you that scarf?" Alya asked.

"Yeah. Well, Nathalie gave it to me gift wrapped, but she's always the mediator between me and my dad at home."

How could…damn it! She knew not signing that gift would come back to haunt her. She could say the truth, tell him it was from her … but no. A sweet, kind boy whose first instinct was to think his father wasn't going to get him a present? … "He must have had you in mind." Marinette smiled.

"It's the kindest gift anyone could've gotten me." Who was she to be selfish? Adrien's happiness came first, and if he was happier thinking his father made him a scarf, who was she to take that away-?

"Oh wow, that's a lovely scarf. Marinette's designs are really something." Peter spoke up out of nowhere.…..what!?

It was like one of Nino's records scratched as everyone paused as the little bit of information Peter revealed. "What.." Adrian spoke out.

"I mean, it's gotta be hers right?" He asked. "There's a styled signature of her initials right there." Peter pointed to a spot on the scarf. "And most of the class saw her working for hours on that scarf, right Alya?"

"Yeah …" Alya, the hope!

"Marinette?" Adrien turned to her.

"I …" Well … there went that little bit of hope she built for Adrien.

"So … Father really didn't give me a gift at all this year." He muttered.

"Adrien.." Marinette was going to say something…only to be embraced in a tight hug.

"At least I get to go to school with friends I know care about me." … She could die happy here and now. "Thank you Marinette."

"Nooo problamo." She sounded lame, and she didn't care.

"I'm gonna talk to Nino now, he's still apologizing from yesterday." With a smile, the innocent boy walked inside.

After a moment, he looked at Peter. "..Why.."

"Because Adrien deserves to have real people show real love to him." Peter looked to her. "...I never got to know my parents, but I was raised by my aunt and uncle. You can't fake that kind of love…it'll break you down piece by piece." He muttered. "It's … better for them to know the truth."

"But his dad.."

"If his dad cared, he would've made his own gift, not stolen yours. That's why Adrian needs real friends like you in his life." Peter patted her on the back before heading inside. "And like I said, I'm rooting for you two." The American boy shot her a thumbs up. "Now you're the girl that gave Adrien his favorite gift."

"Fun guy." Alya grinned as she walked inside.

"Yeah …" Marinette muttered, watching them all enter the school.

"Wow…you have a really good friend, Marinette." Tiki spoke up from her purse.

"Yeah … I do." She smiled. So what if Spidey was the worst, Peter was at least helping out the Marinette side of her life.

RIIING

"I'm late for class!" Still had it's problems though.