Le Premier Akuma
“Languedefeu, I am Le Papillon.” Peter stared at the masked man who was speaking to him. He didn’t know where he was. One moment he’d been in class, the next moment that butterfly had landed on his stylus and now he was face to face with a man who was dressed in a purple suit and a silver mask that covered everything except his mouth. He’d never seen someone who was so obviously the bad guy in his life. They were standing in a dark room, just the two of them, on a bridge. Peter quickly glanced over the side. It was a long way down, and he couldn’t see what was at the bottom.
“My name’s Peter. Not tongue fire or whatever you said.” Peter did his best to strengthen his resolve, staring at the tall man with determination.
“No.” Papillon stated simply. “Now, I understand that learning languages can be hard, especially when others put your down when you’re doing your best. With my power, you’ll be able to speak any language you want, fluently, and later you’ll return the favour when the time comes. What do you say?”
Peter returned the same deadpanned words Papillon had used on him. “No.”
“No?” The masked villain seemed confused, like no one had ever refused him before. A sudden pressure closed around Peter, gripping tighter as Papillon scowled. “I could give you anything you want, beyond your wildest dreams, only for the smallest of favours in return.”
“There’s only one thing I want, and you can’t give it to me,” Peter said. “No one can. Just stop this.”
“I will have my miraculous!” Papillon bellowed, and the crushing sensation became unbearable.
This isn’t real, Peter’s subconscious told him. His eyes were telling him he was alone in a dark room with the villain but his spidey senses were telling a different story. He could sense the table in front of him, back in the classroom, he could sense Adrien beside him, the other classmates running around screaming.
“Sorry Mr. Butterfly, but I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong guy to get help executing your evil plans,” Peter stated simply. “I don’t make deals with the devil.” And with that he ran towards the edge of the bridge. Papillon cried out, an arm outstretched to stop him, but Peter was already falling off the edge, the darkness consuming him as he waited to hit the bottom. Only the ground never came.
He jolted right back up in the classroom and the butterfly flew out of his stylus before combusting right in front of him, turning to ash that settled itself on his desk. Everyone stopped their panic, just staring at him.
“How did you…?” Adrien couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the dark pile on the table in front of them.
The bell rung for lunch and Peter had never been more glad to leave a classroom. Everyone was whispering amongst themselves, all looking at Peter like he’d grown a third arm.
“That was so weird,” Peter said as they walked to the bakery together. It was only a five minute walk from the school, Adrien had informed him, but obviously they had more pressing matters to talk about.
“I’ve never seen someone resist an akuma.” Adrien looked thoughtful. “I didn’t think it was even possible.”
“It was some guy, offering to give me ‘whatever I wanted’,” Peter laughed. “He also tried to squeeze the living daylights out of me, but I escaped.”
“Okay but how did you escape? We could hear everything you were saying and I thought he was going to kill you!”
“How would he have been able to kill me? It was just an illusion,” Peter said as they reached the bakery, pausing just outside the door. “We were on a bridge, so I simply jumped off the side.”
“You weren’t scared of dying?” Adrien looked incredulous.
“I’ve been told I’m a difficult person to kill,” Peter said, opening the door and walking into the bakery.
It was the best smelling place he’d ever been in. Pastries lined the wall, display cakes sat in the window, a bread wall housed loaf after loaf of bread, and a glass counter at the front contained macarons and éclairs and everything good in life. Peter was in heaven.
Adrien finally stopped giving him questioning glances and offered up a greeting to the two adults behind the counter. Marinette’s parents, Peter realized. He could see the resemblance as he inspected the sort of people who raised Ladybug.
“Peter? What do you want?” Adrien asked.
“Literally everything,” Peter sighed, grabbing a loaf of bread. “I’ve got to stock up since apparently your dad has made it his life mission to starve us. Like an opposite Hansel and Gretel.”
Adrien laughed. “We’ve got to carry it back to school, so you’ll have to narrow it down a bit.”
Peter rolled his eyes in mock annoyance as he managed to select enough carbs to fill two bags, brushing off Adrien’s offer to pay. “My school gave me a substantial daily allowance that I’m not going to let go to waste.”
He left the shop with his hands full and his heart happy with the promise of sinking his teeth into some delicious bread. They returned to the school, taking a seat on the front steps before Peter opened the first bag, spreading out the choices between him and Adrien.
“Cinnamon rolls? Macarons? Éclairs? What will Mr. Agreste choose?” Peter did his best impression of the peddler from Aladdin. Adrien gave him an odd look before reaching for a cinnamon bun.
“You’re Robin Williams now?”
“Aha! You’re a Disney fan too!” Peter pointed at him. “We’ve gotta watch some together sometime.”
“How about tomorrow night?” Adrien offered. Peter bit back a grin, knowing perfectly well why he didn’t schedule it for that night. Patrol with Ladybug and Spiderman obviously took precedent.
“Sure,” Peter agreed, bumping his éclair against Adrien’s cinnamon bun. “I should call my aunt.”
“Isn’t it like, six am over there?”
“Same difference,” Peter shrugged, pulling his phone out and opening a video call with May.
“Peter!” She answered on the third ring. “It’s so early.”
“Yeah, well it’s noon over here,” Peter said. “I just went to the bakery with my friend Adrien to get some lunch.” He turned the phone so Adrien could wave.
“Oh I know you! You’re that model boy,” May mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “Aren’t you the son of the guy Peter’s staying with?”
“That’s me,” Adrien said shyly.
“Anyways I was just calling to say hi! Sorry for waking you up so early!” Peter said. It was either he called her now to let her know he was still alive, or she would’ve called him angry later, going on about worrying her.
“Don’t forget to call To-”
“Yep! I won’t! Thanks May!” Peter hastily ended the conversation before she could get Tony’s name out. As far as Adrien knew, Peter was simply an intern at Stark Industries, and that’s all Adrien would get to know for now. Peter had a habit of keeping his identity secret unless he somehow messed up so badly he wound up revealing himself in front of them.
Still he felt a teensy bit guilty knowing both Chat Noir and Ladybug’s identities, but that wasn’t really his fault. They looked the exact same either way. He was honestly just surprised that no one else had noticed and called them out on it yet.
“So, what’s an akuma?” Peter asked innocently.
Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s that butterfly you saw earlier. Usually they find someone feeling a negative emotion and possess them. They come from the supervillain Papillon who’s got a miraculous or something like that. Anyways he’s got powers so he can turn whoever he akumatizes into a supervillain too. Whatever object the akuma butterfly lands on is what gives the akumatized victim their powers and allows them to wreck havoc on Paris. When Ladybug and Chat Noir show up, they have to find the object and break it, cuz that releases the butterfly and then Ladybug purifies it with her yoyo or whatever. I don’t know too much about it.”
Liar, Peter thought, but out loud he said, “that’s crazy. So I almost got possessed today?”
“Guess so,” Adrien said. “But you’ve got such strong resolve it literally dissolved the butterfly. I don’t think that’s ever happened before, which is why everyone was staring at you like that. Especially since most of them have been akumatized at some point.”
“Even you?” Peter glanced at him, curious to know if even the superheroes could be akumatized.
“No, I guess I’m just really good at hiding my emotions,” Adrien said. “But my akumatized bodyguard did drop me off a skyscraper one time if that counts.”
“How are you not dead?”
“Ladybug caught me. She told me to trust her and I did and she saved me. I knew she would.” Was Adrien…blushing?
“So you’ve really got it bad for this Ladybug chick, huh?” Peter said, biting into a macaron.
“I understand all those words separately,” Adrien said, tilting his head in confusion.
“You’re in love with her,” Peter simplified.
“I mean, who isn’t?” Adrien gushed. “She’s strong, smart, creative, beautiful, and everything anyone wants to be.”
“She sounds like one hell of a girl,” Peter agreed, packing up his lunch. “I hope I get to see her in action one day.”
“You will,” Adrien promised. “And when you do, you’ll be blown away at how powerful she is. It’s like being punched in the face, but in a good way.”
“I don’t see how being punched in the face is a good thing ever,” Peter remarked. “But I’ll take your word for it.”
“Are you ready to head back to class? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable at all or anything after the whole akuma thing.” Adrien said, glancing at Peter with a worried expression. “I know how it feels to get unwanted attention.”
Tell me about it, Peter thought, but out loud he said, “no, it’s all good. Really, if akuma attacks are as common as you’ve made it out to be, they’ve probably all moved past it by now.”
And that seemed to be the case. Besides a few sideways glances, Peter was pretty much left to his own as they headed to the locker rooms to change for gym class. That was when Peter realized he’d forgotten something rather important.
“I’m going to change in the stall,” Peter said, gesturing to the bathroom.
“We’re all boys here,” Nino said, getting his use out of the translator. “I mean, if I had a dollar for every time I saw something I’d rather people kept private, I’d be a millionaire by now. No matter what you got going on, we’ve seen it all before.”
Peter could almost guarantee no one had ever pulled off their clothes to reveal a fully functioning Spiderman suit. “Uh….”
“Nino!” Adrien said. “Don’t mind him, Peter you can change wherever you want.”
Giving an awkward nod, Peter walked into the bathroom, locking the stall door behind him as he pulled off Adrien’s clothes, stuffing them in his backpack before staring down at his costumed body.
“Okay,” he breathed, uncertain of why he was so nervous. He never wore the spidey suit at Midtown, but then again there hadn’t been the constant threat of a supervillain attacking there. Plus, it gave him that extra confidence boost, even if no one could see it. Shutting his eyes before he could overthink, Peter pressed his hand to the centre of his chest, feeling the suit loosen around him so he could remove it.
After pulling on his old Midtown High gym clothes, he stuffed his suit as far down in the bag as he could, hiding it beneath all his other layers. Deeming his attempt at hiding it satisfactory, Peter slung his bag across his back, rejoining the others.
“Here, you can stick your bag in my locker,” Nino offered, waving to his already nearly-stuffed locker.
“None of these have locks on them,” Peter observed, glancing around. “Anyone could come in and take your stuff.”
“Yeah, but they don’t,” Nino said. “Why? Are you hiding some sort of spy equipment in there or something?”
“What?” Peter felt his face grow hot. “No!”
“It was just a joke, don’t take it seriously,” Nino said, slinging an arm across Peter’s shoulders. “Now, let’s go see how good you are at dodgeball.”
Peter was the best at dodgeball, it turned out. After three rounds he was still the undefeated champion, and Nino was pretending to be annoyed with him.
“It’s not my fault you were the first one out every round,” Peter laughed, tossing a ball between his hands as they took a water break.
“Yes, yes it is! You always hit me!” Nino said, gulping down water despite the fact he’d sat on the bench for most of the game.
“I have an idea,” Adrien said. “Everyone in the class versus Peter.” He repeated his idea to Nino, who got a wicked gleam in his eye.
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
Peter watched with amusement as they approached the gym teacher to give their pitch. He seemed to agree, nodding before calling the class back together.
“I hope you’re ready to get your ass beat, Parker,” Nino said as the gym teacher explained the rules.
“I’ll prepare when you actually last longer than a minute in the game,” Peter remarked.
Their group disbanded, the class heading to one half of the gym while Peter walked to the other, watching as the teacher lined the dodgeballs up along the centre line. He’d been a little surprised thus far at how easily he’d beaten Marinette and Adrien, although he supposed their strength and agility was mostly from their…what were they called? Kimmies?
One of the other students, Kim, seemed to be very competitive and so far hadn’t been taking his losses well. So naturally, Peter picked him as his first target as the teacher counted down from ten.
“Allez!” And Peter was off like a rocket, snatching a ball from the centre and leaping away from the students that rushed towards it. Dodging their attempts to hit him, he wound up and released his ball, smacking Kim straight in the chest. Bullseye.
He barely had time to relish the boy’s exasperated groan as he caught several more balls that seemed determined to hit him, flinging them back at his assailants. Before long, it was down to just him vs. the two superheroes themselves. Peter stood politely, waiting for them to make the first move, and Adrien waved Marinette over, probably to discuss strategy.
Peter watched her cheeks colour as Adrien whispered to her, pointing at various spots around the gym as he created their battle plan. He really didn’t need to whisper. Chances are Peter wouldn’t have a clue what he was saying even if he wrote it out for him.
“I’m waiting!” He called, and Marinette flinched, looking at him with wide eyes as she scurried forwards, grabbing a ball as she went. Peter only had one ball on his side, so he had to use it wisely. Without warning, Marinette whipped the ball towards him, and it seemed like time slowed for Peter as he took careful aim with his own ball, calculating the physics in his head. At the perfect moment he threw his ball, connecting with hers in the air and letting out a loud thud. Both balls landed on his side, rolling back towards him.
He’d been so focused, he almost hadn’t noticed Adrien throwing another ball at him. Almost. As soon as he’d intercepted Marinette he leapt into the air, grabbing Adrien’s ball with ease.
“Ha! You’re out!” Peter said with glee. Adrien playfully rolled his eyes and took a seat on the sidelines to watch the remainder of the match. Now that he had plenty ammunition, Peter threw the first ball pretty hard to where Marinette was standing. Predictably, she ran away, and Peter through his second and third balls, finally hitting her in the leg.
A handful of his classmates let out a cheer, the rest applauding politely. Peter waved awkwardly, joining Adrien and Nino as they left the gym, headed back to the locker room.
“How do you do that, bro?” Nino asked. Peter just shrugged.
“I have good reflexes, I guess. I’ve always been good at dodgeball.”
“Well, I call dibs on having you on all my teams for the rest of the year,” Adrien said. Just then, an explosion rocked the building.
“What was that?” Nino asked, sounding slightly panicked.
“Probably an akuma! Run!” Adrien said, turning to run away from the locker rooms.
“I need my bag!” Peter said.
“You can come back for it!” Nino yelled, already tearing away. Peter couldn’t explain to either of them why he very well couldn’t come back for it later, and instead ran away from them, into the locker room, throwing open lockers at random until he found his bag.
“Come on,” he muttered, stripping out of his gym clothes and pulling on the spidey suit as fast as possible. He threw his remaining clothes back into the bag, stuffing it back in the locker and pressing the centre of his chest. The suit shrunk back to his skin, his web shooters landing snugly in the palms of his hands.
“Ok, mask, gloves, and boots on,” Peter said, as he ran towards the door, throwing it open as his mask grew over his face, replacing Peter Parker’s face with Spiderman’s far more recognizable one. Now fully covered, he shot a web up and out at the courtyard, swinging away from the now-evacuated school. He didn’t have to look hard for the target, as he soon saw an explosion in the distance that made the Eiffel Tower sway.
Peter swung as fast as he possibly could, reaching the site only seconds later, touching down beside Ladybug.
“Where’s Chat Noir?” She asked, yelling over the booming sounds.
“On his way,” Peter yelled back, taking a good look at their opponent. A child, perched atop a large paper aeroplane, zipped around, lobbing multi-coloured explosives at the civilians below.
“Okay, evacuate the area,” Peter said, shooting a web towards the Eiffel Tower, sticking it to the peak. “I’ll distract it.”
He pulled slightly and then he was off, swinging into the air, landing nimbly at the very top. It was a long way down, higher than the Washington monument had been. But this time there was a lot less pressure. I mean sure, there was a child flying on what looked like a pretty flimsy excuse for a levitation device, throwing explosives at civilians, but at least no one was at risk of plummeting to their death this time, right?
Carefully aiming, Peter shot a web at the child, attaching himself to it. Just as he thought, well that was easy, and pulled, the child threw an explosive at him and rocketed off. Dodging, Peter was thrown off balance and unprepared for the sudden pull of his web in his hand and he went flying off the tower, clutching on for dear life as the child haphazardly flew through the air. He could hear it cackling manically.
“It’s a nice day for kite flying,” Peter heard someone remark and he turned his head, unsurprised to see Chat Noir following him closely, using his baton to propel himself through the air.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a paper aeroplane,” Peter sighed, letting go and flipping down to the ground, landing nimbly. Chat descended next to him, riding his baton down like a fire pole.
“Well then, I’d say that’s our akumatized object, then. What do you think, My Lady?” Peter hadn’t even noticed Ladybug landing beside them until Chat addressed her. She was sneaky, Peter would have to remember.
“The thing it’s riding on? I thought so too. It’s way too specific for the Papillon to have just come up with it on their own.” Ladybug agreed. “I guess it’s time for this, then.”
She grabbed her yoyo, throwing it up into the air and yelled, “lucky charm!”
Peter cocked an eyebrow, shooting Chat a questioning glance, but he was transfixed, watching as an item fell from the sky and into Ladybug’s waiting hands. When she’d said ‘lucky charm’ he’d been waiting for some real magic to happen, but instead what she held in her hands was a-
“A hose?” Chat Noir voiced Peter’s disbelief. “Okay, you figure out what to do with that, Spiderman and I will try and hold him off for now.”
Ladybug began looking around, and Peter whispered to Chat, “what was that?”
“I’ll explain later. For now, you got a plan?”
Did Peter have a plan? This villain was a bit different than what he was used to. Before he could think, however, an explosive landed at their feet, detonating and sending them both flying.
“Ow,” Peter said, gingerly getting to his feet again, shaking off the impact. Chat Noir looked a bit worse for wear, and he was still laying where he’d landed, groaning.
Looked like Peter was on his own.
“Okay, Karen,” he spoke to his suit. “I’m going to need a web net. Just one, then back to default shooters. Let’s get this goblin.”
He ran after the flying figure and jumped, firing his net into the air. Just as he’d hoped, it caught the little monster just before it could throw another explosive at Ladybug, who had hooked her hose up to a tap and was pointing it at them. Spiderman got her drift, shooting a web out to the Eiffel Tower and pulling both himself and the straining supervillain in towards her.
Once they were in range, Ladybug cranked on the water, soaking through the paper aeroplane and Peter watched as it dissolved, a purple and black butterfly flying away from it. Ladybug pulled her yoyo out and nabbed the butterfly, locking it inside, before saying something Peter didn’t catch and releasing a white butterfly in turn.
The kid, who’d had some sort of wonky green costume on faded away in black and purple bubbles in front of Peter, turning back into a young child, around six or seven, in Peter’s net. He lowered them both to the ground, pulling the net off.
“What happened?” The kid asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Peter replied.
“Are you Spiderman?”
“Sometimes,” Peter responded with a cheeky grin the child couldn’t see, handing the kid off to a paramedic who was waiting to check him out.
“Is that it?” He asked, turning to Ladybug.
“Almost,” she said, hoisting the hose up into the air. “Just gotta- miraculous ladybug!”
Peter watched in amazement as the lucky charm exploded into a swarm of ladybugs that surrounded the area, fixing all the damage the akumatized child had done. “I need one of those,” he said, letting out a low whistle.
“Where’s Chat?”
“What?” Peter glanced around, before realizing that Chat was still laying where he’d fallen. “Chat!” He raced over, scooping up the blond boy.
“Oh my god, is he okay?” Ladybug asked, but when Peter tried to answer he was cut off by a loud beep.
“What was that?”
“My miraculous. My time is running out before I detransform.” Worry creased Ladybug’s brow as she knelt beside Chat.
Peter had his suit do a quick diagnosis of Chat. “He should be fine, just a bit bruised. You go, I’ll take care of him.”
Reporters were starting to creep into the area as Ladybug’s earrings let out another beep. She gave Peter a look. She didn’t want to leave Chat Noir with him, he could tell. But she didn’t really have a choice. “Don’t let anything happen to him. He didn’t use his cataclysm, so he should be in suit for a little while longer.”
Peter didn’t know what cataclysm meant in this context, but he assumed it was like Ladybug’s lucky charm. “Do you have any sort of communication thing as Ladybug?”
She frowned. “My yoyo and Chat’s baton are linked up, so we can call each other when we’re suited up, but that doesn’t really extend to anyone else. We can call people, but they can’t call us, you know?”
“Gimme the yoyo,” Peter gestured and she slid it open and handed it to him. “Establish a connection,” Peter said to his suit, pressing his finger against it. There was a loud chirp and he handed the yoyo back to her. “We’ll try that.”
“Thanks, Spiderman.” She gave him a tentative smile, glancing down at Chat one last time before swinging away. Peter gathered Chat up in his arms, ignoring Chat’s semi-conscious groan of protest and blindly shot a web out.
They landed somewhere behind the school. Peter didn’t think bringing Adrien back to his house was a good idea, and he couldn’t think of anywhere else that might be secure. So for now he laid the boy down on the grass, watching him breath slowly. Quietly, Peter slipped back into the school, scouring for a first aid kid. It didn’t take him long to find, and within a minute or two he was back by Adrien’s side, cracking the instant cold pack in his hands and pressing it to Chat’s rib cage.
“Spiderman?” Adrien croaked, eyes half open. “What happened?”
“You got hit with an explosive. Knocked you up pretty bad.” Peter helped him sit up, handing him the ice pack. “You’ve just got some bruising; you’ll probably be sore for a few days.”
“Where’s Ladybug?”
“She left, but I might be able to contact her. Let me try.” Peter pulled up his message box, shooting one off to Ladybug.
Chat is fine. Asking where you are. He watched it translate itself into French, Karen still dutifully following his orders.
It was only a few heartbeats before her reply scrolled across his vision.
I can’t come back, but tell him I hope he gets better.
“She can’t come back, but she hopes you get better,” he relayed to Chat.
“Tell her I’d feel so much better if she came nurtured me back to health by taking me to go get ice cream.”
“No.” Peter laughed. “You’re feeling better already, see.”
“But I’d feel so much better if she were here.”
“If she was here, she’d smack you,” Peter said. He didn’t really know if she would, but based off the dynamic he’d seen so far, he wouldn’t put it past her.
“Fair enough,” Chat shrugged, standing up.
“Need anything else?” Peter asked.
“Nah, I’ll be alright,” Chat cracked his neck and experimentally stretched out his arms, wincing as he did so.
“Then I’ll take this as my cue to go,” Peter said, casting out a web. “See you later, chaton.”
Chat sputtered. “What did you just call me?”
“That’s what Ladybug calls you, isn’t it? I thought you might prefer it.” Peter realized his mistake looking at Chat’s expression. “Or maybe not. Bye!” He swung away, pretending to disappear over the school’s roof but actually dropping down in the courtyard, sneaking into the locker room to get his bag.
Slipping into the bathroom, Peter willed away his mask, gloves and boots, pulling his clothes back on overtop the suit. It was a routine he’d perfected over the years after slipping away from classes, field trips, etc. It was at the point he was seriously considering becoming one of those quick change artists.
He checked his phone, making sure there were no messages from Adrien. Just as he’d expected, nothing. Chat Noir couldn’t really text if he was unconscious.
Attention on his phone, Peter wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings as he exited the locker room, almost immediately bumping into Adrien. His wince of pain didn’t go unnoticed by Peter, who chose not to comment on it.
“Peter!” Adrien said. “What are you doing here?”
“I uh, lost my phone,” Peter said. “And I didn’t know how to get back to your house.”
Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. “God, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. I was just, um, looking for you! But now I’ve found you!”
“Yeah, so is the school day over now or what?” Peter waited for Adrien to grab his bag then fell into step beside him.
“Yeah, we usually don’t come back after an akuma attack. I’d usually have Chinese lessons, but it’s a bit too late for that.”
Peter checked the time. Three pm. “Oh.”
“But we didn’t get any homework, so when we get back home we’ll have free time. That’s something you like, right?” Adrien asked as they walked out the front door.
“Yeah, duh. Who doesn’t like free time?” Peter’s eyes fell on Adrien’s ring, which he was twisting unconsciously, like a nervous tick. “I saw Ladybug,” he blurted.
“Really?” Adrien’s eyes lit up. “What did you think of her?”
“I didn’t really get too much of a good look, but she looked…nice?” Peter wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to say about Ladybug, or how much he could give away before Adrien realized something was up.
“Well, there’s probably footage I can show you at home,” Adrien said.
They went straight to Adrien’s room when they got home. The Agreste mansion was completely silent, not a soul in sight. Something about it just didn’t sit right with Peter. Sure, photos of Adrien adorned one of the walls but it still seemed impersonal, cold. However Adrien didn’t seem to notice. He seemed to be on his own most of the time, anyways.
“This is the Ladyblog,” Adrien said, pointing at one of his three computer screens. “It’s run by my friend Alya. Whenever she hears there’s been an attack, she runs right to it, instead of away, and she captures a lot of the footage you see on the news. She loves Ladybug, obviously.”
“What’s that?” Peter pointed at the latest link. It said his name, he could tell that much.
“I don’t know,” Adrien said, clicking the article and beginning to translate it for Peter. “Spotted today in Paris, Spiderman! The Avenger helped participate in today’s uh, events? It just goes on to ask if he’s working with Ladybug and Chat Noir, if they’re Avengers now too, just the general speculation, you know?”
“There’s a video?” Peter watched as Adrien pulled it up. Alya must’ve been much closer than he’d realized, because he could watch himself get blown up in HD. It looked a lot worse than it had felt, and Adrien grimaced, skipping forwards slightly to watch Spiderman and Ladybug take down the akuma.
“Wow, looks like he’s really part of their team, huh?” Adrien said. “I personally think that Ladybug and Chat Noir were already a dream team, but it definitely can’t hurt if they add one more member.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Looks like Chat Noir got beat up pretty bad, though.”
“I wonder why Spiderman recovered so much faster,” Adrien mused. “Hey, you work with him, right? Do you know why?”
Just ask him tonight, Peter thought. “It’s probably his suit. It’s worth something like sixteen million dollars, but Tony Stark has his own special suit-making machines, so I don’t know. It’s kind of customizable. Maybe he has impact lessening technology? Kinetic energy dispersion or something? And he’s got like, super-strength.”
“That’s so cool. Seeing him in action, here in Paris…. It just makes everything seem so much more real, you know? That superheroes exist.”
“Did you ever doubt it?” Peter glanced at him, his hand resting on the back of Adrien’s computer chair.
“Yeah. When my mom died, I wondered how, if superheroes were real, how bad things could still happen. How people could still be hurting and dying if there were people out there who could stop it. But then I learned they couldn’t possibly look after the whole world.” Adrien was staring at his computer screen as it automatically played more Ladybug footage but his mind was somewhere else. “What about you?”
“No, not really,” Peter said. “There’s always going to be bad people out there and bad things are going to happen to good people, but superheroes are human too. They can mess up sometimes. That doesn’t make them any less a hero in the end. Plus, heroes don’t always have powers or flashy toys. More often than not, they’re just like you and me. After natural disasters, there’s people out there helping the victims. After tragedy, people bond together to support each other. Looking at that, how could I ever question that heroes exist?”
“Have you ever seen any of the Avengers lose their composure?” Adrien looked at him, eyes almost pleading, and Peter knew he needed this conversation. As Chat Noir, he had a lot riding on his shoulders, along with the duty to protect the people of Paris.
“All the time,” he admitted. “I‘ve seen Spiderman cry, seen Iron Man pass out from exhaustion, Thor drop his magic hammer. But its humanity that separates the heroes from the villains.”
“Man, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that,” Adrien said, letting out a sigh before backpedaling. “I just feel like I put them on a pedestal too often. Just needed that reminder that they’re…human.”
“That’s enough superhero talk for now, I think,” Peter chuckled. “What should we do now?”
“I’ve got video games?” Adrien suggested.
“Do we have to stay in the house?” Peter raised one eyebrow slowly. “It appears no one is home to miss us.”
“Peter Parker, are you suggesting we sneak out?”
“Adrien Agreste, are you about to agree?” Peter held Adrien’s gaze, almost challengingly.
“What do you have in mind?” Adrien gave in.
“For starters, we go buy each other ridiculously stupid outfits, then we unleash ourselves on the town,” Peter said. “I’ve always wanted to try it, but my friends back home are lame.”
“Well, I’m not lame.” Adrien stood up. Success. “Let’s go.”
“Gimme one second to empty my school stuff out of my bag,” Peter said.
Ten minutes later he’d changed into a casual sweater and jeans, spidey suit locked back in its briefcase, and he and Adrien were running out the front door.
Another ten minutes and Peter had paid a cab and they were standing outside a department store.
“Okay, so the goal is to get the most ridiculous outfit for each other, and then we buy it, change into it, and we can’t argue at all,” Peter grinned.
“Do your absolute worst.”
And his worst Peter did. When Adrien finally exited the change room wearing Peter’s choices for him, he was bright red in the face, tears in his eyes from laughing already.
“I wish I’d picked something so much worse for you!”
“Come on, gimme a twirl,” Peter laughed. Adrien stepped carefully in the wooden wedge sandals, trying not to step on the hems of his neon-pink bellbottom pants. They were high waisted, but the crop top Peter had picked out was short enough to expose an ample amount of Adrien’s midriff. It was a dizzying black and white checkered pattern, with random triangles cut out of the shoulders.
“Hold up,” Peter held up a hand for Adrien to stop. “Where are the duckling earrings?”
“Oh right!” Adrien tripped/ran back into the dressing room, coming out a few moments later with dangling ducky earrings that just added a ridiculous touch to the whole fit. Peter had noticed his ears were pierced, and taken advantage of it. “Okay, okay, your turn.”
Peter took the bag Adrien handed him, walking into the dressing room. “Oh hell yeah,” he said, pulling out the first article of clothing.
Not even a full minute later, Peter was strutting out of the dressing room, head held high despite the fact he could barely breathe as he held in his laughter.
“Okay model boy, how’s it look?” Peter jutted out a hip, letting Adrien see the outfit in all its glory. A blue bucket hat with a tiny octopus was perched on Peter’s head, hiding his usually messy brown hair. A shiny green nylon turtleneck was underneath a large, felt sweater that for some reason had no arms and a long cut from the neck down to Peter’s belly button. But Adrien had really outdone himself by finding the ugliest skirt Peter had ever seen. It was asymmetrical cut, ending just below his knees, made with a fabric displaying the ugliest combination of dull browns, muted oranges, and bright bright yellows. It was really a train wreck and a half. The Doc Martens that Adrien had given him to wear on his feet were normal though. And way more expensive than the game called for.
“You look fabulous.”
“I feel fabulous. I should wear skirts more often,” Peter said, adjusting his hat. “The shoes, though….”
“I wanted you to have some nice shoes,” Adrien said. “Your converse make me want to die.”
“I guarantee these are going to be in the same condition within a month,” Peter laughed.
“At least I tried.” He shrugged. “Where to next?”
“That’s the fun part,” Peter said as they headed towards the exit. “I stole your phone while you were in the changing room and asked some friends to meet us for a movie.”
Adrien froze on the spot, slowly turning to face Peter. “You little thief!”
“As far as I can tell, you don’t get out much. I think I’ve learned more about you in twenty-four hours than any of your friends know about you. So we’re going to make the most of this Monday evening.” Peter walked around him, heading out the door and onto the street. They got a few curious stares as Peter lead them up to the nearest crosswalk.
“Which. Friends.” Adrien suddenly looked shy.
“Calm down, it’ll be fun, I promise. Just a movie, then a little dinner! With Nino, Alya, and Marinette!”
Adrien had been looking relieved with Peter’s choices until he said Marinette’s name. “Marinette doesn’t like me,” he said, looking at the ground.
“Then why did she agree to come?” Peter asked, watching as the light turned red and the walk sign lit up.
“She’s probably just coming because the others are.”
“I didn’t tell her the others were coming.”
“Are you sure you’ll be alright? I mean they don’t exactly speak English,” Adrien said, clearly trying to think of ways to get out of it.
“Language learning by exposure is apparently the best method,” Peter chirped. “Oh good, Alya and Nino are already here.” They were just down the street from the cinema and he could already see them.
“I’m telling you, Marinette doesn’t like me, sure she says we’re friends, but then she also avoids me a lot,” Adrien said, scratching the back of his neck.
“Maybe she’s just shy?” Peter waved to the duo waiting outside the cinema doors.
Alya looked confused, tilting her head, before bursting into laughter, grabbing Nino’s arm and pointing.
“Why’s she laughing?” Adrien asked, sounding almost offended.
“Dude, look at what you’re wearing,” Peter said, pointing at the window they passed.
“I literally forgot! I was wondering why I was feeling so cold,” Adrien laughed as they reached his friends. They exchanged greetings and Peter hung back slightly, content to just watch Adrien enjoy himself.
“Marinette!” Peter caught a glimpse of her on the sidewalk opposite them. She jumped at the sound of her name, then quickly ran across the street to meet them. Peter watched her eyes widen as she took in both him and Adrien’s outfits, and he knew she must be in a designer’s nightmare. He’d seen her sketching fashion in class, it was obviously something she was passionate about. And here he was, having the audacity to dress in the ugliest outfit ever right in front of her.
They started talking, and Peter was surprised to realize he understood most of it. He’d always been a fast learner.
“Wow, Adrien, that outfit is really…?” Alya seemed at a loss for words.
“Perfect? Stunning? Godly?” Adrien supplied. “Peter and I picked each other’s outfits. I think his eye for fashion could almost rival yours, Mari.”
Marinette squeaked as he addressed her. “Uhhhh, yeah! It looks really good, Peter!”
“Merci?” Peter shot Adrien a look, causing him to start up his laughter that he’d just gotten under control. Of course, looking at Adrien howling set Peter off too until they had both sunk to the pavement, taking gasping breaths in between their peals of cackling. Peter assumed they looked like the crackheads he passed in the subway on his way to school every day but he couldn’t quite bring himself to care.
“Are we interrupting something? I thought we were here to see a movie?” Alya snapped, but there was no venom in her tone.
“Sorry,” Peter breathed, using Adrien as a ladder to clamber back into a standing position.
They managed to keep it together as they made their way into the theatre, choosing a movie at random. It wound up being an animated movie about parrots that the boys found way funnier than the girls. It also didn’t help that they were the only ones in the theatre. Nino was running in front of the screen imitating birds within ten minutes of the film beginning and of course it was one of the funniest things Peter had ever seen. He could hear Alya asking Marinette why she’d bothered coming and their annoyance only made the situation even more hilarious.
Marinette was obviously not paying attention to Alya’s complaints; she was just gazing at Adrien.
“Why’s she staring at me?” Adrien whispered to Peter in English.
“I don’t know. Let’s give her a show.” Peter stood up, dancing down the aisle as the parrots started up a particularly spicy musical number on the screen. Adrien joined him in a heartbeat until it was him, Nino, and Peter all just dancing at the front of the theatre. Finally he saw a slight crack in Marinette and Alya’s expressions until they gave in, joining them in their dancing.
The movie was over too soon, and Peter wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone a single character’s name if they asked. Nor any of the major plot points. But he was absolutely certain there had been birds on the screen at some point.
“Time for the restaurant!” Nino cheered. “I know just the place!”
“Nothing fancy,” Peter insisted. He was certain his French wasn’t perfect, but at this point no one had corrected him and they all seemed to understand him, so his confidence was growing. “Adrien gets enough of that at home.”
Peter hadn’t even known they had Denny’s in France until Nino had lead them there. The restaurant was fairly empty, so they took a table in the corner after placing their order, then Peter pulled out the music.
“Anyone here like Nicki Minaj?” He glanced around at them. Only Adrien nodded.
“Who?” Alya and the others looked confused.
“Put one on,” Adrien said, leaning over in his seat to see what options Peter had. “Barbie Tingz.”
Obediently, Peter put it on, dancing slightly in his seat. Adrien took it a step further, getting out of his seat and beginning a dance that seemed to have a lot to do with moving his head around. Peter hadn’t even known this side of Adrien existed.
“Drop it, Adri!” Peter called out, mock-yelling. Adrien shot him a shit-eating grin and dropped down, hopping around on the balls of his feet.
“All you bitches wanna look like me,” they both sang along, laughing at the shocked looks on the others faces. Peter stood up, joining Adrien with his little dance as Adrien stood back up.
Alya seemed to be getting more into it as the song continued, even going so far as to request dance moves. “Shake that ass, Agreste!”
Adrien complied, pinning his tongue between his teeth as he bent over slightly. He looked so much like Chat Noir in that moment that Peter was worried the others would find out, but so far they were just laughing, too caught up in the usually stoic model loosening up.
“Get it, get it!” Peter chanted until Nino and Alya joined in. Marinette was still sitting, frozen, watching as Adrien busted down in the middle of Denny’s at five pm on a Monday evening.
“Your food,” a waiter with an absolutely dead expression. Adrien immediately stopped, blushing as he returned to his seat.
“This is what happens when you suppress your personality for sixteen years,” Peter said. “You wind up twerking in the middle of a fast food chain.” Marinette straight up choked on her drink across the table from him.
“Haha, sorry, things got a little out of control there,” Adrien laughed awkwardly. “Not gonna say I regret it though.”
“I think it’s a good thing Peter is staying with you,” Alya said, pointing a fry at Adrien. “You’re finally loosening up, being yourself!”
“‘Myself’ seems to like making exceedingly bad decisions,” Adrien said, glancing at Marinette who still wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. “Marinette? Sorry if I made you uncomfortable or something, I promise I wasn’t trying to be weird or anything?”
“It’s fine!” She squeaked, cheeks reddening. “You’re a good dancer.”
“I bet he’s good at other things too,” Alya said with a knowing look that made both Marinette and Adrien blush.
They exchanged friendly banter for the rest of the meal, and they all made sure to include Peter in their conversations, which was nice. It was hard to believe that he’d only been there for a day and he hadn’t been friends with Adrien his whole life. They already felt like brothers.
So when it came time to return home and for Peter to suit up for patrol, he bid Adrien a goodnight without having to worry if Adrien was going to ask too many questions. It was either Peter made the first excuse or he did. Either way they were both lying. Peter didn’t think too much of it.
Within no time he was out and about. He could feel the slightest bit of the fall air around him but the suit still kept him at the perfect temperature. Any fatigue he’d felt was washed away as he dipped up and down above the Parisian skyline, like his own personal rollercoaster ride.
Ladybug was waiting on the rooftop when he joined her.
“I don’t think Chat Noir is coming,” she told him, skin milky pale under the moonlight.
“No, he’s on his way,” Peter replied casually.
She narrowed her eyes. “How do you-”
“Hello buggies!” Chat Noir dropped down gracefully, shooting both of them the same grin Adrien had worn at dinner that evening. Really, the look alone should have been enough for Marinette to put two and two together, but she seemed subconsciously determined to separate Adrien from Chat Noir.
“I saw him on the way over,” Peter lied. “Hello kitty!” He greeted Chat with the same enthusiasm he’d shown them. “How’s the rib cage?”
“Purr-fect actually! I had the best day.”
“Big date?” Ladybug asked nonchalantly, playing with her yoyo.
“Jealous, are we My Lady? No worries, I was just spending some time with my best friend. Besides you, of course.” He tapped her on the nose. Peter blinked. He was Adrien’s best friend already? He shook the thought away. No, Adrien was probably talking about Nino.
“So, what do we do on patrol?” Peter looked between them, breaking up their moment. Ladybug glanced at him, like she’d forgotten he was standing there.
“Well, we usually just look around the city, make sure we don’t see anything out of the ordinary, then we meet back up at the park.”
“Sounds good.” He fired a web out, sticking it to a nearby building. “See you soon!”
Swinging about Paris at night was an unmatched experience. It seemed as though tourist season was over, and the streets were mainly empty as Peter flipped through the air. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for, but he kept his eyes peeled nonetheless.
Everything was smooth sailing until his suit’s computer picked up on energy of a colossal amount coming from an otherwise innocent looking building. A massage therapy shop seemed like it could easily be a front for something, Peter decided.
I think I found something, Peter sent a message off to Ladybug with his location attached before engaging x-ray vision. It didn’t seem suspicious on the inside either, with a mostly empty main room and a modest kitchen and bedroom on the second level. He would’ve written it off as a false alarm if it hadn’t been for the gramophone sitting at the back of the room. The energy signatures coming off it were through the roof.
Before he was even conscious of what he was doing, Peter was carefully sliding one window open and crawling inside, up the walls and onto the ceiling. He made his way over to the gramophone before carefully dropping to the ground.
Spiderman, don’t go in there, Ladybug’s text warned.
Too late, Peter replied.
Leave!
Peter ignored her, instead reaching for the phonograph. It was calling him, and the energy now felt like a pull. There was something very important inside that gramophone, he could tell. He needed to know.
“Unfortunately I’m closed for the evening, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” A voice in the previously dead quiet room made Peter jump, spinning around for the source of the noise. A short Chinese man in a red Hawaiian shirt stared up at him, unfazed by the fact that Spiderman had broken into his house.
“Sorry,” Peter stammered, feeling guilty about being caught. “I didn’t mean to…I just mean I was just investigating this gramophone you’ve got here.”
“You can sense it?” The old man walked closer to Peter, staring up into his mask.
“I was only getting the energy signatures at first,” Peter replied, sweat dripping down the back of his neck. “But then it felt like a magnetic pull. I couldn’t help it, I’ll go now, I’m sorry.”
“You’re a very interesting person, Spiderman. I’ll keep that in mind,” the old man held out his hand to shake Peter’s and Peter complied. He was prepared to end it at that and leave when his gaze landed on the old man’s wrist. There was a green bracelet there, that looked like an ordinary bracelet at first, but something about it just seemed off to Peter. It looked brand-new, despite the fact that the man had a tan line around it.
“Is that a miraculous?” Peter blurted. “I’m sorry, that’s personal, I should just go.”
The old man smiled at him, obviously not mad, and Peter paused. “Chat Noir and Ladybug have told you about them, then?”
“A bit, yeah,” Peter said.
“Can I trust you, Spiderman?” The old man walked closer to the gramophone. “Can I trust you not to go to the Avengers with this information?”
“Yes,” Peter breathed. “You can trust me.”
“I am Master Fu, Guardian of the Miraculous,” the old man said. The name rang a bell.
“Whoa, so you keep them safe and stuff?” Peter drummed his fingers on his arm. “You get to pick who gets them?”
“Why, do you want a miraculous, Spiderman?” Master Fu’s expression was borderline challenging, and Peter knew what the correct answer was.
“No. I’ve got my own responsibilities. Plus, the other two are much better fits. They act so different in real life, it’s kind of funny.”
“You know their identities?” Master Fu looked alarmed. “They told you?”
“No! No, I just accidentally figured it out. By looking at them,” Peter said quickly, holding his hands out in front of him. “I’m not going to tell them who each other is, or anyone else or anything! I know how important it is to keep one’s identity secret. But it’s kind of difficult not to notice that it’s them. I mean, Adrien’s eyes are such a distinct shade of green, and Marinette wears ponytails like, everyday.”
Master Fu breathed out a relieved sigh. “Perhaps you’re smarter than I thought you were, Spiderman. Even so, a day will come where they must reveal themselves to one another, and I fear it will be sooner rather than later. It may weaken their bond. Can I trust you to help them?”
“Of course,” Peter said. “You can trust me with anything, Master Fu.” And with that he took his leave, leaping out the window he came in and taking off into Paris’s night.
It didn’t surprise him that Ladybug and Chat Noir were already waiting for him. Ladybug did not look happy.
“I told you not to go in there!” She jabbed an accusing finger into Peter’s chest.
“And I didn’t,” Peter said simply.
“Go where?” Chat looked confused.
“Nowhere,” Ladybug said quickly. “It doesn’t matter, if he’s telling the truth.”
Wait a minute, does Adrien not know where the Guardian lives? Peter thought, glancing at Chat. He remembered him and Ladybug talking about him the night before, but Ladybug was obviously keeping something from Chat.
“I thought we were over the whole not trusting me thing,” Chat said, flicking his tail dejectedly.
“It’s not a trust thing,” Peter jumped in, wanting to smooth the situation over as fast as possible. He hadn’t wanted to cause any tension between the two partners. “It was literally just unimportant, a waste of time. I was going to investigate the sewers, but that would obviously take way too much time and there’s nothing down there anyways.”
“No,” Chat said, and Peter froze. No? “I think you might be onto something. What better place for a villainous lair than in the sewers beneath the city?”
“Uh,” Ladybug said, obviously trying to think of a way to dissuade him. “Maybe some other time? It’s getting kind of late.”
“I think we still have time for a bit of bonding,” Chat said with an impish grin. “How about truth or dare, but with the original rules. Like, you ask the question and if they refuse to answer, they do a dare.”
“I’m down,” Peter said, taking a seat on the cool grass.
“We have school tomorrow,” Ladybug said. “Plus, playing truth or dare in a park isn’t really a good use of our time.”
“What will make better memories? School, or actually doing something fun for once?” Chat sat next to Peter, crossing his legs and resting his head in his palms. “I wanna learn something about Mr. Spider here.”
“Come on, Ladybug,” Peter encouraged, and he and Chat high-fived when she let out an annoyed sigh and joined their little circle.
“Who goes first?” She asked.
“Ladies first,” Chat Noir said, gesturing towards her.
“Well we don’t know if Spiderman is a lady,” Ladybug said. “So I guess my first question will be, ‘Spiderman, what pronouns do you use’?”
“Oh, I’m a guy,” Peter said. “I may sound like a little girl, but I am male by birth and by choice. One day my voice will crack, and then you’ll see.” He settled back on his hands.
“Your turn then, Spidey,” Chat said.
“Alright Mr. Noir, I’m afraid my question isn’t going to be as juicy as you undoubtedly want it to be, but here we go. How do you transform?”
“Yeah, that wasn’t juicy.” Chat looked disappointed. “Pretty much, I’ve got my ring, right? And I say to my kwami, ‘Plagg, transform me!’ And then he does and I get the suit and everything.”
“So when you’re not in costume, it just rests in the jewelry? That’s such a good idea, I’m stealing it,” Peter said, already thinking of what small accessory he could ask Tony to keep his suit in. A spider necklace, perhaps? A watch?
“Stealing it?” Ladybug looked on edge. Wrong choice of words on Peter’s part.
“The idea. Not the miraculous. I don’t think leather catsuits are really my vibe, to be honest. Anyways, Chat, it’s your turn.”
“Okay Spiderman, since you’re the new guy here obviously I want to just interview you all night long,” Chat said, laying down on his stomach and kicking his feet in the air behind him. “Are you more yourself in the suit or out?”
It was a good question. Peter thought for a moment, not wanting to rush his answer. “I think I’m the same either way. Sure, I show different sides of myself when I’m in the spidey suit than out of it, because it’s different situations, but I don’t have identity issues or anything. If that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Must be nice,” Ladybug muttered.
“I’m sure My Lady is just as perfect out of costume as she is in it,” Chat said with an exaggerated wink.
“So are you two dating, then?” Peter asked cheekily.
“No,” Ladybug said quickly.
“Not yet, anyways,” Chat sighed.
“I think that’s enough for tonight, I’ll see you Wednesday if there’s not an akuma attack before then.” Ladybug stood up, casting out her yoyo and zipping away before Peter or Chat could say anything.
“One day she’ll realize she’s in love with me,” Chat commented, giving Peter a knowing look. “It’s destiny. We’re two sides of the same coin.”
“Maybe she’s already in love with you, she just doesn’t realize it,” Peter suggested before he remembered he wasn’t supposed to be saying anything even remotely related to the superheroes real lives. “But she is right about it being late. See you later, Chat.”
He was back in his room and typing on the computer before he heard Adrien landing in his own room. Peter was proposing the idea of an accessory that could contain his suit to Tony without giving away too many details of how he’d acquired the idea, hoping he’d be up to the challenge.
Sighing, he tugged at his pyjama shirt as he checked his phone, sending Ned a meme before shutting it off and plugging it in to charge. He lay down in bed, closing his eyes in attempt to sleep but his thoughts kept wandering off. There was a guardian of the miraculous, meaning there was a lot more than just Ladybug and Chat Noir. If the energy signature was anything to go off of, the extra kwamis were definitely powerful.
And why had Master Fu trusted Spiderman, whose identity he didn’t know, with his location but not Chat Noir? Was Chat less trustworthy? Impulsive, sure. But untrustworthy? As far as Peter could tell, Adrien barely ever offered up personal details to anyone, not even his friends.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts as the golden boy himself poked his head in.
“I was just coming to say goodnight, I wasn’t sure if you were asleep yet or not.” He gave Peter a small smile. “Also I had fun today, we should do that more often.”
“Yeah, of course,” Peter said. “Next time you want to do something rash, let me know.”
“Will do.”
“Goodnight, Adrien.” As soon as Adrien left, Peter drifted off into a dreamless sleep.