Chapter Text
“Since when do you sit up front?” Marinette asked.
“Mlle Bustier insisted,” Nino grumbled, removing his headphones now that Marinette was here to talk to. But as soon as she had plopped down next to him, Chloé materialized and threw a fit.
“But Chloé, I always sit next to Nino…” Marinette protested.
“Too bad,” Chloé said. “This year, Adrien’s coming to school, and that’s going to be his seat. Right in front of me, of course.”
“Who’s Adrien?” Marinette asked. Chloé and Sabrina laughed and mocked her for not knowing, making Nino’s already present irritation grow stronger.
“Come on,” Nino said quietly to Marinette, standing up. “There’s another front row.” It wasn’t worth arguing with those two, and besides, he knew Marinette would be absolutely miserable if she had to sit in front of Chloé for the entire year. Marinette reluctantly followed, head down, and accidentally dropped her box of cookies.
“Sorry,” she said to Nino. “There’s only one left, want to split it?”
“Hell yeah,” he said.
“Sometimes I think you’re only friends for me for the free cookies,” Marinette joked.
“Not true,” Nino argued. “I’m also friends with you because who else would listen to me ramble about film direction for five hours every time we watch a movie?”
Marinette chuckled.
Across the way, Chloé started throwing another fit. Some other girl, one Nino didn’t recognize, had sat down in “Adrien’s” seat.
“I don’t see any “Adrien”,” the girl said, glaring up at Chloé. “If he gets here, then he is welcome to ask for “his” seat. But until then, I’m not moving.”
Chloé flushed, clenching her fist, and looked rather like she might spontaneously combust. Or perhaps that was wishful thinking on Nino’s part. Still, there were appreciative murmurs running around the classroom.
“I wish I could stand up to Chloé like that,” Marinette said softly.
“I don’t know that it’s worth it,” Nino answered just as quietly. “That girl just made herself Chloé’s number one enemy.” As soon as Chloé recovered from the unfamiliar situation of someone actually standing up to her nonsense, she was sure to try to make the new girl’s life hell. Nino didn’t envy her.
But maybe at least Marinette would get a break from being Chloé’s favorite target this year.
The rest of class passed uneventfully. What came next, however…
Well, of all the things Nino could’ve anticipated as part of his first day of the new school year, a rock monster supervillain definitely wasn’t one of them. He was reasonably certain he hadn’t just been transported onto a movie set, but maybe the crew was just really good at hiding the cameras.
No, he didn’t buy that either.
The students were all directed to go home, and Nino was only too happy to oblige. He pulled up the news on his computer to see if anyone had any answers. No one did.
“This is seriously crazy,” he said to the empty room. He pulled out his phone and texted the same thing to Marinette, and followed it up by asking if she wanted to play an online game with him. Hey, it wasn’t like they could do anything about the city getting destroyed by a supervillain. Might as well do something fun to pass the time.
When he didn’t get a response for several minutes, Nino started to worry.
marinette? are you there? he sent, hoping she would respond soon. Nothing came, and Nino was really fretting.
i’m hoping you just dropped your phone somewhere because otherwise i’m starting to get concerned, he typed, then deleted, then retyped, and deleted again. He wavered back and forth between calling her parents to ask about her. Then they called him.
“Nino, is Marinette with you?” came Sabine’s obviously frantic voice. Nino’s heart dropped to the ground with dread.
“No,” he said, keeping his voice as level as he possibly could. “She’s not.”
This…wasn’t good. A terrifying monster was tearing up Paris, swatting away law enforcement like flies…and Marinette was missing. She could be trapped, she could be hurt, she could be in serious danger. Marinette…Marinette would hardly go seeking danger, but if she hadn’t been able to avoid it…
Nino knew he couldn’t do anything against a rock monster, but dammit if he was going to leave Marinette out there alone. They’d been best friends since they were little, and if anything ever happened to her…
He didn’t want to think about that. So instead, he ran out into the streets, looking for anyone who might be trapped or injured as a result of all the damage the creature had done. He managed to help a few people, and directed emergency services to those he couldn’t. But he never found Marinette. Maybe…just maybe she was out doing the same thing he was, somewhere else. It would be like her to do something like that, and get so busy helping others she didn’t have time to check her phone.
He was going to hold onto hope that that was the case.
Rumors spread quickly among the emergency crews and the other concerned citizens like Nino that were aiding them.
“Superheroes? Really?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“No way. That kind of thing doesn’t happen.”
“Neither do giant stone men!”
“If it’s true, if they really took the guy out…”
“I hope so. Look at how many people have gotten hurt already.”
Nino’s phone buzzed. He took a break from the rescue operations, suddenly aware of how much his arms were aching. He was never the most athletic person to begin with, and it had only been sheer determination and worry for his best friend that had kept him going this long. He knew he’d be paying the price tomorrow, and he had no doubt every muscle in his body would be more sore than he’d ever experienced before.
He sat down on the curb, and quickly retrieved his phone, immeasurably relieved to see a message from Marinette.
Sorry for worrying you! I’m fine. As for the game, maybe later?
don’t do this to me again, he responded. do you know if it’s true? did the monster get taken out by superheroes?
Yeah! It’s all over the news right now. And the monster wasn’t a monster at all, it was Ivan, transformed into a bad guy! But he’s fine now.
dude that’s seriously insane, Nino said. It was hard to believe that Ivan, of all people, could cause damage like this. Guy maybe looked intimidating, but he couldn’t hurt a fly. Well, not before today, anyway.
He was definitely going to have to check out the news after this.
But when he finally got home, the news wasn’t as good as he’d been led to believe. More people were being turned to stone. Fortunately, they weren’t moving, but still. Nino could only count himself lucky that neither he nor anyone he knew was affected. And well, if the city really had superheroes now (and from the looks of the footage the news kept showing, there was a compelling case for it), then they’d be sure to fix it soon, he was sure. He wasn’t worried.
Marinette, on the other hand, seemed a lot more bothered by the situation, as Nino found when she joined him online later that evening. She definitely wasn’t playing her best, seeming distracted and even…sad. Truth be told, he wasn’t playing his best either, but that had more to do with the punishment he’d put his muscles through earlier.
“Don’t worry,” he tried to reassure her. “We’ve got superheroes to fix things now, right?”
If anything, it only made Marinette worse, as she looked down from the webcam towards her hands.
“What if they can’t?” she asked in a quiet, uncertain voice. “What if Ladybug isn’t really superhero material?”
“If she’s anything like you, I’m sure everything will be fine,” Nino said.
That agitated Marinette. She looked up and around, but wouldn’t look directly at the screen.
“What do you mean, if she’s anything like me?” she asked, voice wavering. Her hands slipped on the controls, and her character took a hard hit. “I always screw things up, all the time.”
“You really don’t,” Nino said, frowning. He hated it when Marinette got like this. It had only gotten worse with further and further exposure to Chloé, even if Marinette didn’t admit that the girl had that much effect on her. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, dude. Sometimes you make mistakes, yeah, but you always work hard to make them right. That’s what I mean, I guess. If Ladybug works half as hard as you do to fix things, then we’re in good hands.” He finished with an unconcerned shrug.
“I always just make things worse when I try to help,” Marinette said, throwing her character back into the fight.
“No you don’t,” Nino said, letting out a frustrated sigh that was only slightly because of the hit his character just took. “Do you remember when you broke my stereo system?”
“Of course I do,” Marinette said, her fingers pounding at the controls as she still refused to meet Nino’s eyes. “That’s just the sort of thing I’m talking about. I tried to fix it and only made it worse.”
“But that doesn’t matter,” Nino insisted. “What mattered is that you tried, you stayed up all night to try to fix it for me. That meant way more to me than you breaking it in the first place. And when you couldn’t fix it, you insisted on giving up your own allowance to pay for a replacement. So in the end, you fixed things, didn’t you?”
Marinette was silent, her fingers continuing to press at the controls as she considered his words. Nino pressed on.
“I’ve known you for years, Marinette. You never stand by when you can help, even when you don’t have to. I know you’ll always come through in the end. And, sure, I don’t know these superheroes like I know you…but I’ve got a hunch that we can expect the same from them.”
Marinette was silent for several moments more, but her fingers had gone still.
“You’re right,” she said eventually, briefly meeting his eyes, before she turned her gaze away and dropped her voice to a murmur. “I can’t just stand by…I’ve got to clean up my own mistakes…”
Her gameplay and mood improved considerably after that.
.
.
.
The previous day had been something of a mixed bag for Alya. On the one hand, an actual supervillain had shown up! And she’d gotten to meet some actual superheroes! And her footage of said supervillain and superheroes had ended up on the news, and her new blog already had tons of hits. That part of things had Alya feeling more excited than she had ever felt before.
On the other hand, the new school sucked. Well, maybe it was too early to make a judgment call. But the only person Alya had so much as talked to was the class bully, who she’d managed to piss off, of course. It was kind of disheartening. She wanted someone to talk to about the superheroes, and about her blog, and everything. But while Alya wasn’t shy by any means, everyone already had their groups, and she was an outsider.
So, she wasn’t looking forward to school today, and promptly took her seat and took out her phone, looking at the growing hits on the Ladyblog to cheer herself up. She only enjoyed a few minutes of peace before Bitch Queen showed up, however, and this time she had some eye candy on her arm.
“Move, new girl,” Bitch Queen commanded Alya with a haughty glare. “Adrien’s here today, so get out of his seat.” She jerked her thumb towards the back of the classroom, and Alya mentally prepared herself for the three-on-one argument. But, to her surprise, the boy spoke up softly.
“It’s fine, Chloé. The bench has room for two seats,” he said, and took the seat next to Alya, closer to the door. And oh boy, did Bitch Queen get a sour look on her face at that. Alya nearly chuckled at how the other girl was at a complete loss to respond…after all, the boy had been nothing but polite, so she couldn’t lash out at him. She huffed, and turned away. Alya turned to the new boy.
“So, you must be Adrien,” she said. “I got an earful yesterday about you.”
“Sorry,” he said, ducking his head. “Chloé can be a bit…insistent.”
Well, that definitely wasn’t the word Alya would’ve chosen. But she had a feeling that the new guy was alright, even if he did hang around with Bitch Queen.
“Um, so as you know, I’m Adrien. Hello, it’s nice to meet you…” he continued, sticking his hand out to shake. Alya blinked at the formality. Had this guy ever interacted with normal people before?
“I’m Alya,” she answered, unsure if she should take the guy’s hand or not. “I’m new too.”
“That’s…hey! Chloé, what are you doing?”
Alya turned to see that Bitch Queen had apparently decided to take out her frustrations on the students across the row, having her lackey place chewed gum on the empty seat. Adrien immediately got up and tried to intervene to remove the gum. And, unfortunately for him, that was just when the occupants of that desk entered the classroom. The girl gave him an earful, and Adrien retreated after a feeble and ineffective attempt to defend himself. Alya started to cut in in his defense, but he waved her down.
“Don’t, it’s not worth it,” he said quietly.
“But you didn’t do it,” Alya protested. “You should’ve told them what really happened.”
“I don’t want to get Chloé in trouble,” he said. “She’s the only friend I’ve ever had.”
Alya stared. Well that really, really sucked. She didn’t think he’d react well to her saying that, though. So instead, she opted for a different approach.
“Well, fine. I’m deciding to be your friend. Now you can tell on her.”
He stared at her, then started chuckling.
“Thanks,” he said, smile on his face. “I appreciate it. But you really don’t have to…”
“The only thing that lets evil prevail is the inaction of good people,” Alya quoted. Adrien tilted his head.
“Majestia fan?” he asked, smiling, and Alya bounced in her seat.
“Yes! Are you a fan too? Did you read the latest issue? What did you think of…?”
“Yes, no, and no spoilers!” he answered.
“Aw, shoot,” Alya said, pouting. He was a fan, but she couldn’t talk with him until he read the latest issue, she’d be bound to give something away. But there was something she could talk about. “Well, now we have real-life superheroes here in Paris! Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah,” Adrien said, his smile widening, and he leaned forward a little. “Do you think they’re cool?”
“Of course!” Alya said, unable to sit still. “They were awesome! And I got to see them firsthand! I was the one who got that footage that’s all over the news, you know,” she said proudly. Recognition flashed in his eyes.
“Oh yeah, I thought I’d seen you bef…” he cut himself off, but Alya didn’t notice, too caught up in finally having someone to share this all with. Her sisters were already tired of hearing it.
“And look at this!” she continued, waving her phone in front of his face. “The Ladyblog! I’m going to be the number one source of superhero news in this city, just you wait!”
“Cool!” Adrien said, looking genuinely excited. “I’ll definitely subscribe to that.”
Alya couldn’t be happier. Finally, someone who could share her enthusiasm! And to make things even better, class had barely started before Stoneheart appeared once again, actually bursting through the classroom door. This was an even closer look than she’d gotten yesterday! As Stoneheart left with the small Mylène girl and Bitch Queen in hand, Alya turned to her new friend to suggest they follow for the best view of all the action…only, he was nowhere to be found.
She shrugged, figuring he must have already ducked out of the classroom. His loss. She certainly wasn’t going to miss this for anyone or anything! She ran out of the school as fast as her legs could carry her, phone ready and recording the whole while. The statues of yesterday had come alive – there were so many of them! This was going to be an epic battle!
Something came flying towards her, and Alya didn’t have enough time to move. But someone else did.
She found herself grabbed around the waist, and pulled along to just barely avoid what would certainly have otherwise been a very painful situation to be stuck in. Not to mention, very difficult to film from.
“Hey, be careful, alright, Alya?” Chat Noir said as he set her down. “Safety first, unless it’s really fun,” he continued lightly. “But getting hit by a car, not fun.”
Any nerves from nearly being hit vanished as Alya practically exploded in glee. She was talking to a superhero! He knew her name!
…How did he know her name?
“Chat Noir!” Ladybug shouted, as she ducked, rolled, and zipped out of the way of two Stonehearts in an impressive maneuver that Alya was disappointed she only caught the tail end of on camera. “There are too many of them, we can’t fight them all. We have to focus on the main one.”
“A purrfect plan, my Lady!”
Ladybug raised an eyebrow, but smiled at the endearment and obvious wordplay. Chat Noir turned back to Alya and winked.
“Happy filming,” he said, saluting her as he launched himself into the air after Ladybug.
And Alya, she took off running after them. An epic showdown for the ages, and it was going to be a thing to see, she just knew it.