Chapter Text
“Adrien, Ms. Dupain-Cheng has arrived.”
Adrien’s head whipped around as he jumped out of his dining room chair. “Thank you, Nathalie,” he called out to the robotic voice he had grown accustomed to hearing over the course of his life. “I’ll meet her in my bedroom.”
“Affirmative,” Nathalie said.
Rushing to his room, Adrien found Marinette already there, lounging on his couch. “You know,” she said as she ate a cherry tomato, “we’re going to be late for our first day of school if you don’t get dressed soon.”
Glancing down at his sweatpants and cat-themed t-shirt, Adrien shrugged and struck a dramatic pose. “You don’t like my look?”
“Please, Gabriel would kill you if you went out like that,” she said. “Come on, let’s find you a decent outfit.”
He grinned and they went to his closet, Marinette rifling through his clothes with a trained eye, holding up different shirt and pants combinations with a small frown on her face.
“Hey, ‘Nette?” Adrien asked as he shook his head for an outfit idea.
“Mm,” she hummed.
“How much is today going to suck?”
She looked up, meeting his eyes with her own. “Because you still don’t have powers?”
He shrugged.
Marinette sighed and picked up a different shirt. “No telling. Your dad won’t be pleased when he finds out.”
Adrien frowned and held his hands out. Marinette shoved the outfit into his arms, leaving him to change in his closet without her.
When he walked back into his bedroom, she was sitting on his bed, a pensive look on her face. “Maybe you should tell him this morning, so he doesn’t have to find out from the school,” she said calmly.
“Wait, why would the school tell him?” Adrien asked. He sat next to her, leaning into her shoulder for a moment of comfort.
“Well, I mean, he’s going to know that you’ve been sorted into the Sidekick class,” she said. “So… he’s going to realize, at the very least, that your powers suck.”
“Hey.” He laughed quietly. “Yeah, I guess.”
Marinette’s phone beeped, indicating that the bus was almost there. They jumped up, Adrien grabbing his backpack quickly, rushing out the door to meet the bus.
“Adrien,” a voice said before they got fully out the front door.
Adrien felt his shoulder rise just slightly as he turned, a polite smile on his face. “Father.”
Gabriel Agreste stood there, his classic red- and white-ensemble gleaming in the morning light. “Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” he said, nodding at Marinette. “You look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you,” she said meekly.
“I suppose you are going to grow a plant for Davencourt today,” he said, his face impassive.
Marinette shrugged. “I suppose.”
“And Adrien, you will, of course, show your power.” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Flying.”
Adrien nodded, his mouth suddenly dry.
“Good. Have a successful first day.” Gabriel turned on his heel and went into a room, disappearing from view.
Adrien heard Marinette huff before feeling her small hand clamp around his wrist. “Come on,” she muttered, pulling him out the front door.
They ran together towards the bus stop a couple of blocks down, arriving just as the bus driver opened the door to let them on.
“Names,” he grunted, a giant of a man wearing a black suit.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said. “What’s your name?”
Adrien bit back a grin at the shock on the bus driver’s face. “Gorilla,” he said after a moment of silence. “You’re on the list.”
Marinette gave a cheery smile and took a few steps forward, pausing to wait for Adrien.
“Name.”
“Hello, Mr. Gorilla, sir,” Adrien said, a bit breathlessly. “Adrien Agreste.”
Suddenly, the bus was quiet.
Gorilla looked even more surprised. “Agreste,” he said slowly. “Gabriel’s son.”
“Yes, sir,” Adrien said. He fidgeted where he stood.
Gorilla looked him up and down before jerking his head towards the back of the bus.
Marinette smiled encouragingly at Adrien before walking towards the back.
“Dude,” a dark-skinned boy with large headphones and a red baseball cap said. His smile was inviting and Adrien tugged on Marinette’s wrist to tell her to turn around. “I’m Nino.”
“Hi, Nino,” Adrien said, almost losing his footing as the bus started rolling. “Adrien.”
Nino reached out his fist and Adrien gave him a light fist bump. He and Marinette said in the seat in front of Nino.
The girl sitting next to Nino grinned. “Hey, girl, hey man! I’m Alya. Is this your first year?”
They both nodded.
“Ours, too!” Alya said. “I’m so excited. My mom went to Sky High and she’s always told me about how awesome it was and everything.” Her eyes narrowed and she smiled, a fox-like smile that made her look clever and terrifying all at once. “So. Agreste, huh?”
Adrien flushed.
“Dude, right on,” Nino said, flashing him a finger gun. “Having your dad be the greatest superhero of our time must be pretty awesome.”
He shrugged. “I mean, it’s okay.”
“I might ask you more questions about that later, if you don’t mind,” Alya said, her eyes gleaming.
Nino groaned. “Alya, come on. You just met the guy.” He leaned forward, placing a hand next to his mouth in a feaux-whisper. “She wants to be a reporter someday and she gets really intense about scoops.”
Marinette laughed.
Adrien rolled his eyes, nudging Marinette lightly with his elbow. “Yeah, well, I’m pretty boring, actually, so… no scoops to be found here.”
“What about a friend?” Alya’s smile turned warm, inviting.
Adrien smiled back. “Yeah. Sounds good.”
Marinette beamed at all of them, winking at Adrien. “It’s going to be great,” she said, something she had been saying all summer long.
“It’s going to be great,” he answered back. Just like he always did.
---
“Hello, everybody,” Davencourt announced as the freshmen all stood in the gym. “Welcome to Sky High.”
Adrien glanced around. There were about forty freshmen, all about to be tested in front of everybody else in order for this man to judge whether they were hero or sidekick material, based on their superpowers. He frowned.
“Pay attention,” Marinette hissed at him.
He jumped and refocused.
“…not going to be treating you all with kid gloves. You’re here to be the best heroes, or sidekicks, that you can be, and we will treat you accordingly. So, without any further ado. Agreste.”
Adrien’s eyes flew wide as a few people turned to stare at him. “I-I’m first?” he asked out loud without meaning to voice his thought.
“Most likely alphabetical order,” someone said, a boy, as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
“Wasting time,” Davencourt said.
Adrien felt Marinette fumble for his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled at her tightly before walking up a small platform to stand next to Davencourt.
“Well, Agreste, Adrien,” Davencourt said. “What’s your power?”
Adrien shrugged, feeling forty pairs of eyes stare into his soul. “Um, I don’t have any.”
Silence.
“What?” Davencourt demanded.
“Yeah, I don’t have any.”
Davencourt narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I see,” he said. “You’re a mischievous one, like your mom was in school.”
“You knew my mom?” Adrien asked.
“Springboard,” Davencourt said.
Adrien felt his stomach drop out from under him as he was suddenly thrown across the room with dizzying force. He hit the opposite wall with a resounding crack, sliding down to the floor with a thud.
He groaned as he sat up. “Ow,” he muttered.
“So you don’t fly,” Davencourt muttered. “Not like Emilie in that way, then.” His eyes lit up as he strode over, grabbed Adrien’s elbow, and led him back onto the platform.
Adrien’s head throbbed as he stood on shaky legs.
“I bet you’re like your father, hmm? Knives.”
Adrien’s eyes flew wide as he saw several knives come out of the wall, headed straight for his face. Without a second thought, he dropped to the ground, flat on his back, and watched as the knives flew over his body. “What the hell,” he groaned. “I don’t have powers.”
Davencourt was frowning. “You sure?”
Adrien nodded. “Pretty sure.”
“Hmm.” The teacher was silent for a moment. “Sidekick. Couffaine, Juleka.”
Adrien realized he was dismissed and stood shakily, exchanging a miserable glance with the girl who passed him as he descended from the platform.
“Dude, that looked like it hurt,” Nino whispered as Adrien found his way back to Marinette, Alya, and himself.
Adrien rolled his shoulders. “Yeah. I hope nothing bruises, or my dad’s going to be upset.”
“No family visits to the White House for a while,” Marinette teased him. “The poster child of superheroism is going to look like he got in a fight.”
“Hmm. Maybe that’ll be a good thing, then,” Adrien said. He smiled at her as she gripped his hand, a small comfort considering how badly he had just gotten his ass handed to him.
Davencourt went through students one by one, having them show their powers and announcing them as a hero or a sidekick in a definitive tone, not allowing for argument.
Alya turned out to be a shapeshifter, but only into a fox. Davencourt was impressed by the shapeshifter, but determined her a sidekick for her “lack of variety”, and Alya left the platform upset but unharmed.
“Dupain-Cheng,” he called out.
Marinette glanced at Adrien, her eyes frightened.
“You got this,” he murmured, smiling in what he hoped was an encouraging manner.
She nodded before ascending the platform.
“What’s your power?” Davencourt asked.
“I can grow plants,” Marinette said quietly.
Davencourt was silent for a moment. “Care to demonstrate?”
Marinette shook her head. “I don’t believe in using my power for anything but good.”
“Isn’t it good to be a hero?” someone shouted from the crowd. A few snickers broke out among the freshmen.
Marinette flushed. “Demonstration of powers is just a humiliation tactic, intended to put us in our place on day one of Sky High,” she said. “So I will not demonstrate.”
Davencourt raised an eyebrow. “Admirable.”
She blinked, surprised.
“But stupid. Sidekick.” He waved her off with a flick of the wrist.
Marinette obviously sighed and walked off the platform, going straight back to Adrien’s side as if she was drawn to him.
He smiled at her. “Was that your plan all along?”
She shrugged, a small smile on her face. “Do you want a mango?” she asked, holding one out to him as her shoulders shook with restrained laughter.
Adrien fought down a giggle as he reached out, taking the mango from her. “Did you just grow that right here?”
She just raised her eyebrows and grinned, knocking her shoulder against his.
Adrien’s grin grew broader. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
---
“I’m just glad I’m a sidekick,” Nino said. “I didn’t want the stress of being a hero.”
“Is it stressful?” Marinette asked, leaning closer to him from her position at the lunch table.
“Oh, yeah,” Nino said, nodding vigorously. “My cousin Alan was a hero, like, seven years ago, and he said heroes have way more homework and responsibility than sidekicks. And, you know, I’m not about that life.”
Adrien grinned.
“I wanted to be a hero,” Alya complained. “Like, come on. I want a challenge. I want to get my hands dirty! I want to go out there and really save the world, you know? Not help out a hero whenever they need an extra pair of hands.”
“I’m glad I’m a sidekick,” Marinette said, tilting her head. “I mean, at least I’m with you guys.”
Alya’s look softened into a smile. “There’s that,” she said. “That is nice.”
“Friendship!” Nino crowed, causing some other people to turn and look at them. He ignored everyone else, just smiling at his new friends.
Adrien found himself raising his milk carton, laughing when the other three did so as well. “To friends, new and old.”
“To friends!”
With one motion, they brought their milk cartons together in the middle of the table in a toast.
---
“Okay, so our first class after lunch is—” Adrien turned the corner, staring at his schedule, and almost jumped out of his skin when he ran into something, warm and small. He jumped back, his eyes wide. “Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
A girl with long brown hair and a bemused look on her face studied him. “Oh, don’t worry about it.” Her gaze flicked to Marinette, at Adrien’s side, before studying Adrien again. “Freshman?”
He nodded.
She raised one eyebrow and smiled. “I’m Lila. I’m a junior here and know pretty much all there is to know about this school, so let me know if you need anything, okay?” Her smile grew as she slowly looked down, taking in Adrien’s outfit, before meeting his eyes again. “Anything at all.”
“Uh…” Adrien’s tongue felt heavy in his mouth, his mind whirling as this strange girl blatantly just… looked at him. “Um… okay. Thank you.” He felt like he was forcing the words out, like they could have stayed in his mouth forever.
Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Lila smiled briefly at Marinette before walking past them and disappearing around the corner.
Adrien glanced down at Marinette after a moment. She was looking at him, a blank expression on her face. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said before sighing. “Come on, let’s go to class.”
Adrien followed her, like he always did.
He would follow her anywhere.