Miraculous Wings & Webs - DevilJoker (2024)

Chapter 1: Two Heroes, One City

Chapter Text

The Watchers, a race of beings dedicated to observation, could tell you there are far too many universes to count and accurately observe; some so different from one another they defy comprehension while some would take two lifetimes if not more to find the differences.

This is a tale of one such universe; an anomaly among anomalies.

In the world which is to be observed, New York City is still very much the metropolis...

"Look! Up in the sky!"

"It's a bird!"

"It's a plane!"

"It's…!"

No! No, not THAT Metropolis!

"Awwww…"

Don't worry, we'll see them later…..

"Yahoo!"

May I return to the story?

"Sorry."

Thank you. Or rather, Merci.

Anyway, this is still very much the New York City that we know and love/love to hate. However, the history of this particular New York is a little different.

Now, since an actual explanation would take an entire chapter to explain, here's the bare-bones version:

After the Hundred Years' War ended, many flocked to the new world to try and make better lives. Among these were various artists and sculptures of France, who would create many of the locations and museums we know and love today in our world's Paris in what would become this world's New York.

The Statue of Liberty? She was originally a gift FOR France, but they sent her back due to being 'boring.' A decision they have come to regret, I assure you.

Also, much like Central Park was once a village (dark chapter, we don't talk about that), this New York had a sizeable neighborhood akin to Brooklyn, Broadway, and Queens; a sixth point, one could say:

Only at this point, Gotham, despite the efforts of some, remained a rougher and crime-filled part of the city. And it's there where our story begins...

At first glance, Peter Benjamin Parker was your average teen.

A bright-minded young man with a gift in academics, what he had in brains, Peter sadly didn't have much in social skills. Most people often poked fun at him for his smarts and most girls he asked out turned him down.

However, his whole life changed in just one day when he and his class were on a field trip to Oscorp Industries, one of the leading tech companies in the world. While studying various types of spiders, a special genetically altered 'Super Spider' made its way to Peter and bit him, infusing its special genes into his DNA.

The next day, Peter discovered he had gained all the powers of a spider scaled up to a human. With these new gifts, he sought to earn money to support his beloved uncle and aunt, who were going through hard times but had always treated him well. And for a while, things seemed to be going well….

But one day, a robbery had occurred but Peter felt no need to get involved, a choice that would cost the life of his beloved Uncle Ben when that very same robber shot him in a haste.

Realizing that his powers were a responsibility he needed to uphold, Peter vowed to make sure the tragedy he suffered wouldn't happen to anyone else and formed a mask to become a symbol, watching over the innocent; Spider-Man.

Now, you think that would be it, right? Peter Parker AKATHE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, the big hero of the city...but you'll soon discover he's not the only one...

Bruce Wayne was a boy born into privilege.

Son of philanthropist surgeon Thomas Wayne and chemist magnate Martha Kane, Bruce was the heir to the Wayne Family fortune, a wealth that dated back centuries. However, Bruce inherited his father's belief in using their family wealth to help those in need.

Sadly, tragedy struck when, at the tender age of 6, Bruce witnessed his parents being gunned down by a desperate mugger. The loss of his loved ones changed Bruce and he vowed to make sure these tragic events never happened to anybody else.

For the next ten years of his life, Bruce trained his mind and body, learning under various masters before finally creating a mask and suit to don whenever night fell and fight the criminal scourge, spreading fear into the hearts of even the most hardened crooks and low-lives. He became vengeance, he became the night, he became...THE BATMAN.

These two heroes have done all they can to keep their city safe while juggling their academics and social lives. However, neither knew of the other's identity...but soon, that would all change...

After a moderately quiet night, Spider-Man was heading home when he heard the sound of a scuffle underneath him. Glancing down, he saw a young man surrounded by several punks in clown face paint; the Jokerz Gang.

"Geez, that creep just HAD to restart the killer clown craze." The Wall-Crawler groaned, recalling some loony called The Joker from a few months ago. "Oh well, at least these guys are like Nazis; you CAN'T feel bad for pummeling them!"

The Web-Slinger leaped down behind the gang and readied a quip..only to realize there was someone else:

Someone emerging from the shadows with pointed ears and a stance that just screamed 'royally pissed off.'

"What the hell are you supposed to be?!" The leader of the thugs demanded the tall shadowy figure, who remained unresponsive.

Unnerved and angered, the leader rushed at the figure, who suddenly countered his sloppy blow and delivered a palm strike to his chin before grabbing his arm and twisting it 360 degrees, shattering all the bones inside as the leader screamed in agony before being knocked to the ground with a quick flurry of blows.

Spider-Man watched as the shadowy figure got on top of the thug leader and then pummeled him some more. The webhead couldn't help but cringe as he swore he heard something caving in before the shadow stood up, its head hung down as it glared at the broken and bleeding body of the leader.

"I'm vengeance..."

Scared but loyal, the remaining thugs prepared to avenge their boss.

THWIP!

"AGH!"

One of the thugs found himself being flung back onto a wall and pasted to it by a load of webbing.

"Now I know tall, dark, and edgy can probably handle himself, but don't you think ganging up on him is unfair?"

The remaining thugs started to hightail it out of there, only to trip on their own feet and be pulled back to join their leader. Seeing as the newcomer was tying them up, Spidey moved to help the would-be victim to his feet, but he ran away.

A sigh escaped both costumed characters as the newcomer turned to walk away.

"Okay, hold on. I need to know something...who are you? I mean, you said your name was Vengeance, right? Or am I reading that wrong?"

The other man gave Spidey a deadpan look before sighing as he turned and resumed walking away before taking out a grapple hook gun.

"I'm Batman."

Spider-Man's eye lenses widened. This was the famous Batman he had heard so much about in the news. He couldn't say anything else as Batman fired his grapple gun and began to pull himself away but not before saying some final words.

"And I know who you are, Spider-Man. Keep doing what you're doing."

With that, Batman grappled into the shadows, disappearing as Spider-Man stared at where he had been before sighing and rubbing the back of his head as he gazed over all the beaten thugs.

"Guess I better web these guys up. Don't want to leave a mess for the cops and all that...Wait, what?"

The Jokerz were already tied up. By the looks of it, the same kind of wire as Batman's grapple gun. And there was a note to the police:

A letter with a bat insignia on it.

Kind of like what Spider-Man would do….

"Oh, he did NOT just steal my schtick!" Spider-Man ranted. "Of course, you realize this. Means. War!"

At the same time, at an antique/massage shop, an old man was sipping some tea as he read the newspaper. The front page was, as usual, decrying the two costumed heroes we had just seen, calling them menaces and for them to register with the Avengers.

"Master?"

The old man turned to his small floating companion; a green creature that looked vaguely like a turtle. He spied the page and his eyes widened, then a small smile overtook his face.

"Now, master. As wonderful as the Miraculous would benefit…."

"Oh, no! No! No, no! Not for these two. I already have some candidates in mind. Just hoping that maybe these two will help them." Fu mused.

"That would be nice." His companion mused. "But how will you..?"

"I have a plan," Fu assured his companion.

"And you're certain this will end up better than….?"

"That was not my fault and you know it!"

The next day, Peter was going through classes at Lee Kane High. It was an average day; acing pop quizzes, effortlessly answering questions when called up…

"Hey Penis."

...and dealing with 'The A-Squad': Flash Thompson, Star Quarterback and former childhood friend of Peter before popularity went to his head. Liz Thompson, Flash's on-off girlfriend and head cheerleader. Sally Avril, THE Jerky teenage girl, and her much nicer boyfriend Randy Robertson.

They were also the stereotypical 'jerk popular kids' and Peter was their favorite target. Well, Flash and Sally's anyway, Randy and Liz were pretty nice.

"Flash. Liz. Sally. Randy." Peter sighed, prepping himself for another enclave of insults.

"How're you doing, Petey?" Liz asked nicely; she and Randy were the sensible ones of their quartet.

"Hanging on." Peter mused. "What can I do for you today, Eugene?"

"It's Flash, Penis!" The quarterback growled.

"No, it's not," Peter smirked, delighting in the embarrassment on the jock's face.

Once, he and Flash had been friends; next-door neighbors even. But then popularity came along and…

Peter found himself being lifted into the air.

"You must've studied too hard, Penis. Cause no one talks to me like that without getting a beatdown."

Peter wasn't even that scared. He had a few zingers in mind, but he also knew most would tick Flash off…then again, that would get him in trouble…and then he'd have to explain to Aunt May.

"FLASH!" A voice cut in, making everyone turn as a guitar riff accompanied a tall boy with black, slick hair and an angry look on his face. "Leave. Him. Alone."

This was Bruce Wayne, and he made that order as punk music filled the air.

"Also, nice guitar riff, Hobie. You been practicing?"

"I don't believe in trying, just doing!" Hobie Brown, self-proclaimed 'anarchist punk rocker' waved.

Flash, ever the prideful top dog, held fast.

"And if I don't, Wayne?"

"Then you can tell your dear old dad that he's not getting that Christmas bonus." Bruce retorted, a smirk on his face as Flash's face deflated. "I DO have some sway with the Board of Directors at Wayne Enterprises, after all."

With sweat dripping from his brow, Flash dropped Peter and stormed off in a huff. Liz helped Peter up and Randy handed him his bag and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before they rushed to follow him.

"Thanks, Bruce." Peter smiled as his oldest friend started dusting him off.

"When are you going to let him off?" Bruce asked, then recomposed himself. "Sorry. It's never a problem to help you, Peter. Just…Getting sick and tired of his ego, you know?"

"Well, he's better than Carl." Peter grinned weakly.

"Please don't mention him," Bruce scowled just as the bell rang. "Welp, time to head in…"

A smirk then crossed the heir's face as he turned to his best friend.

"What you say to whoever did better on the pop quizzes gets the other's dessert?"

"Oh, you are on! It's Sundae Week!" Peter beamed.

They say time flies when you're having fun and Peter and Bruce enjoyed their academics. Because of that, classes flew by like a warm summer breeze and soon, it was lunchtime.

"So, heard Batman and Spider-Man were spotted together last night," Bruce noted as he and Peter sat down at their usual table.

They had tied on the pop quizzes this time, so they both got to keep their sundaes.

"Yeah, crazy right? I mean, they both have operated during the day and the night but Batman is primarily a night guy." Peter noted. "And Spidey has always been a friendly neighborhood daytime hero."

"No way! You guys heard about it too?!"

The two boys looked to see their closest classmates and friends seeking a table; Alya Césaire, the head of the Newspaper Club, Nino Lahiffe, amateur movie maker and DJ who was very skilled and imaginative for his age, Juleka Couffaine, the timid goth girl, and Rose Lavillant, your traditional girly girl who was cute as a button and had the sweetness to match.

And finally, there was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Peter and Bruce's surrogate little sister: Their mothers had been the best of friends and Thomas had eaten ONLY Pasteries from the Dupain-Cheng bakery before he died (something about tasting the 'art' of baking). Even after Thomas, Martha, and Ben died, the families remained close; the Dupain-Chengs had offered Peter and May an apartment in their building for almost nothing if they needed and Bruce always hired them for catering.

Mari, as many affectionately called her, was a talented but budding fashion designer, but also the class' 'big sister' and leader in all but name….mostly because Madame Bustier, nice as she was, was kind of lazy and Mari was not afraid to call out certain people.

"Alfred has the TV on all hours of the day," Bruce explained. "Don't tell me you're on the 'unmasking' them craze?"

"And why would I not?" Alya asked. "Jameson has offered a huge reward and/or job at the Bugle…On that, Pete? You should try snapping some pictures of them! You know…?"

That was an idea, Peter mused.

"Well, maybe they want to remain hidden for people they care about?" Nino asked. "I mean, you see it in all the superhero movies and shows what happens when people know that you know."

"Ah yeah." Julekla mused. "The 'kidnapped love one' cliché."

"And what those two do is dangerous, Alya." Marinette reminded her friend. "You could get hurt…or worse."

Alya smiled at the concern.

"C'mon Mari. If I can handle my little sibs….?"

"Then you'd last a little longer," Nino added. "No offense, but goons aren't kids."

"Can we move on from this?" Rose asked. "All this talk of danger is making me anxious."

"Well, you can't deny they're costumes do LITTLE for the imagination." Juleka smiled, making the girls blush.

"Well, maybe it was a happy accident, y'know?" Peter suggested as he picked at his food before his eyes trailed off to someone else.

"Um…Pete, you okay?" Bruce asked before noticing what his friend was looking at; a gorgeous girl with long wavey red hair, freckles, and a sweet smile.

"Ah, Mary Jane Watson, the girl next door~" Rose swooned happily.

"And one of the nicer ones, too," Marinette grinned playfully at Peter, who blushed and tried his best to avoid her gaze.

"COUGH-Chole and Sally-COUGH!" Juleka feigned sickness.

Nino chuckled. "Man, that girl's out of everybody's league. The only guy I see hooking up with her is old Brucie-Boy."

"She's not my type." Bruce shrugged as he returned to his food. "But I do agree, she is quite the catch for whatever lucky guy sweeps her off her feet."

Suddenly, Peter felt the tingle rushing through his brain. His patented "Spider-Sense" whenever trouble was about to occur. It just so happened that Mary Jane had just slipped on a spilled carton of orange juice, her tray going in the air.

Quick as a flash, Peter caught Mary Jane and her tray before skillfully catching all her food on the tray, not a single thing spilling. Everyone stared in shock at their friends' agility while Bruce, equally surprised, narrowed his eyes in curiosity.

"Those moves..."

"Wow." Mary Jane said as Peter helped her stand on her feet and gave her back her tray. "When did you learn to do that, Tiger?"

Peter and Mary Jane had been next-door neighbors since they were in grade school. The two of them naturally had a familiarity with each other that they had given each other affectionate nicknames.

"…Practice?" Peter answered lamely.

Mary Jane just smiled as she walked over to one of the nearby tables where the other popular girls of Lee Kane High were hanging out and gossiping together, including Chloe Bourgeois and Sabrina Raincomprix. Peter chuckled bashfully and sat back down at the table, trying to ignore the surprised stares of the others and the curious gaze Bruce was giving him.

"That was so cool, Petey!" Rose said, her eyes sparkling.

"You ever tried dancing?" Nino suggested. "I know for a fact that you'd be a hit with reflexes like that."

"Yeah, I tried doing that. I was too good for the judges." Peter admitted. "Well, that and they were biased to heck and back..."

"I hear that." Alya frowned, recalling covering that contest; Peter was too 'gangly', they claimed. Then, wanting to move the conversation away from this, she turned to her best friend. "So, Mari? How did the contest go?"

Marinette smiled brightly as she took out her notebook, revealing her designs for a kimono and a few hats.

"Well, I'm still waiting to hear the results, but I feel confident. I mean, the judge seemed DISGUSTED by what Chole turned in. Who in their right mind uses chartreuse?"

That got a laugh out of the gang.

"I bet you'd make a great costume.'"Peter mused. Honestly, he had considered making Mari his girl in the chair', but after what had happened with…

No, best not to think about that right now.

"Tell me about it!" Alya groaned in understanding before perking up. "Oh, on the matter of fashion….did you know that Adrien Agreste just transferred here?"

"Adrien Agreste?!" Rose gasped excitedly. "Son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste, the fashion icons?!"

"Cool." Juleka casually said.

"Interesting…." Bruce mused. "My folks were old friends with the Agrestes; very private people. Wonder why they let Adrien come here?"

"Maybe they want him to act human?" Nino asked. "Sorry, that sounded mean…"

"We know what you meant, no worries," Peter said.

"Say, isn't that him right now?" Nino asked as everyone turned to see a blonde-haired boy with emerald green eyes nervously looking around, a lunch tray in hand. Marinette blushed and tried to avoid looking at him as Peter and Bruce noticed.

"Oh right, Marinette is his #1 Fan." Nino chuckled teasingly. "How does it feel to know the boy of your dreams is going to the same school as you?"

"S-Shut up, Nino!"

"Bruce, you know Adrien, right?" Peter asked, getting Marinette's attention. "What's he like?"

"…A pretty quiet guy," Bruce recalled. "Very nice, almost too nice, but his heart's always been in the right place."

The Wayne heir then made a note to keep an eye on Adrien, just to keep him from being taken advantage of in any way.

"Why can't this city ever be calm?"

Those were the words Peter was asking as he had just been heading home after school finished only to see a car chase in progress. Some punks had robbed the nearby bank.

Quickly ducking into an alleyway, he took out his costume from his backpack and put it on before webbing his backpack to a place where nobody could easily find it. He scaled the nearby wall and ran across the rooftops before taking a jumping start and swinging after the robbers.

As he closed in, he noticed a dark shadow running across the rooftops before jumping and gliding, a cape almost like bat wings spreading out as the figure dove toward the car and landed on top of it.

"Holy cow is that-?!"

Sure enough, it was Batman, out in broad daylight as he placed some kind of device on the hood of the car and jumped off, the device exploding with the force of a frag grenade and causing the car to crash into a nearby lamppost.

As Batman approached the totaled car, the thugs driving it came out with guns, only for Spider-Man to spring into action, webbing up their weapons and sticking them to the lamppost before diving down.

"Hey, this is a no-gun zone, you know!"

The two vigilantes easily laid waste to the low-life goons, leaving them to be tied up to their busted car as the police finally caught up to them, the two heroes already retreated to the rooftops.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know you were that active during the day too."

Batman nodded. "It's alright. To be fair, I didn't know you were active during the night as well...Peter."

Spider-Man's eyes widened before taking off his mask, a slightly panicked look on his face.

"I guess we should keep it even." Batman smiled, lifting his cowl to reveal…

"Bruce?!"

"Secret identity, remember?" Bruce said icily as Peter clammed up.

"How'd you figure it out?"

"Well, for one thing, you don't change your voice," Bruce mentioned. "Then there's the fact that your first hero act was…"

Bruce didn't need to finish that one.

"And your exhaustion in class, suddenly being decent at sports and the time you've ordered the chem lab to yourself, I assume that's for your web shooters…."

Peter lightly chuckled at that before an idea popped into his head.

"Why not team up?"

Bruce stopped himself from saying 'I work alone' He wanted to minimize people getting hurt because of him. But this sudden reveal? That his best friend was also a superhero? It changed everything.

"… Let's give it a shot." Bruce smiled, shaking Peter's hand as he reached for his grappling hook with his other hand. "Race you to May's?"

"Loser makes breakfast tomorrow?" Peter suggested.

"So, your wheatcakes? Nice!" Bruce grinned as he got started swinging away.

"Hey! Don't count your eggs before they hatch!" Peter quickly web-slinged to catch up.

"Oh, but they have," Bruce smirked. "Alright, new challenge: If I beat you home? You make a move on MJ already for god's sake!"

"Hey! These things take time!" Peter snapped.

"You already lost Gwen to Harry!"

"I don't see YOU making any moves on this mystery girl of yours!"

"It's complicated between us!"

Elsewhere, Bruce's butler and guardian, Alfred Pennyworth, chuckled as he listened in from the underground cavern known as 'The Batcave', where Bruce made all his plans and strategies for fighting crime.

"So nice to see Master Bruce acting like a boy his age again…" The Englishman smirked as he pressed a few buttons that made the Batmobile Auto-drive itself back home.

"Did you get the footage, Smythe?"

"As you requested." An old man with a relatively healthy body said as he showed a video recording of Spider-Man and Batman fighting the robbers. "Perfect data on both Spider-Man and Batman."

"Those loose cannons must be removed." The large man behind the desk said as he lightly pounded his fist on the oakwood. "They have both been putting a damper on my criminal empire for quite some time now."

"If I may, sir. There is somebody I do believe can handle them." Spencer suggested as his boss rubbed his chin in deep thought.

"What are you suggesting, Smythe? Forgive me for questioning you, but I am quite skeptical."

"You know Adrian Toomes? The former CEO of Toomes Aeroworks before it went bankrupt?"

"Ah yes, that old buzzard. His own stubbornness was his downfall. Now he's left circling for scraps...like a Vulture." The boss chuckled.

"Well, with the remaining resources he had, he managed to make something truly ingenious!" Smythe said as he showed a holographic projection of a suit of winged armor styled after a vulture.

"Ah, I've been hearing word of a string of robberies committed by a man dressed like a bird of prey. Are you suggesting what I think you are, Smythe?"

Spencer nodded. "Indeed. We ask Toomes to ally with us. Perhaps you can help provide him with some steady work?"

"Of course, any criminal seeking to make a name for himself will find themselves in good hands...withThe KINGPIN."

The boss showed himself in the light, revealing himself to be bald and wearing a neat white suit with a purple collared shirt underneath. He chuckled maliciously as he prepared to make the call to his new partner...

Chapter 2: Enter: THE VULTURE!

Chapter Text

*Five Years Ago...*

Argeste Threads HQ

"Do you even realize what you've done, Toomes?!"

"I can assure you, Mr. Agreste, it was only a slight miscalculation on my part."

Gabriel Agreste rarely if ever got angry but Adrian Toomes, founder, president, and CEO of Toomes Aeroworks, was really pushing his buttons.

The two had made a business deal with Toomes providing new security measures in the form of his patented 'Tech Flight'; a personal anti-gravity suit that enabled the user to glide through the air.

However, one of Gabriel's most trusted workers had been tasked with testing the technology...and lost his life when it went haywire and he fell to his death.

What really infuriated Gabriel was how dismissive Toomes was of the loss of life, only caring about his precious technology and how it could be improved. The whole accident was seemingly just a minor inconvenience to the old man.

"Miscalu…? A man was killed, Toomes!" Gabriel snapped.

"You have other workers." Toomes remarked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's not the…!" Gabriel started, only to realize he might as well be speaking to a wall. "This is the last straw. Get out!"

The Agreste family bodyguard, affectionately known as 'The Gorilla' came behind Gabriel and took Toomes by the shoulder.

"After today, I am suing Toomes Aeroworks for every penny I can get for the grieving family, and I will not rest until the company is liquidated," Gabriel promised.

"What?!" Toomes shrieked. "You can't sue me! This company is my life!"

"Sorry, you old buzzard, but you're out of the game." Gabriel scowled. "Might as well go into the retirement home where you belong, I have very good lawyers. We don't need men like you endangering the lives of good-working people."

With that, Gabriel turned and took his leave, slamming the door in Toomes' face as he did so.

*Present Day*

Toomes growled as he sat in his dingy apartment. After the lawsuit, his company was bankrupted, and everything he had worked for in life was taken from him...

Well, ALMOST everything.

No, hidden in his closet were the remnants of his Tech Flight, his pride and joy. He had used it to commit a string of robberies lately to make ends meet and slowly build it into the perfect battle suit. So far, he had managed to stay under the radar, not even getting the attention of those meddlesome teenagers in spandex. But he knew sooner or later, they would trail him down and he still needed time for his ultimate revenge.

Sipping a glass of wine, Toomes turned his attention to a dartboard with Gabriel's picture on it. Said picture was riddled with holes made by darts.

"Soon, Agreste, you will pay for taking everything from me!"

Suddenly, his phone rang and, not wanting to risk if it was the police or some nosy telle-caller, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Adrian Toomes?"A charismatic baritone voice spoke on the other end, making Toomes' eyes widen.

"Fisk?! Why are you calling?"

"I've heard about your monetary troubles ever since the tragic loss of your company all those years ago. I've also noticed a little pattern about this thief that's been flying around."

"What are you talking about?" Toomes asked, feigning ignorance.

"Don't think I haven't recognized the technology. An ingenious use of your Tech Flight, I must say."Fisk said on the other end."In fact, I very much think that, if you're willing to accept my job application, you can get your revenge on Mr. Gabriel Agreste for his transgression against you."

Toomes clenched his hand around the phone with a scowl at the mention of that name. He didn't need any further convincing than that.

"I'm listening..."

At Lee Kane High, Adrien Agreste nervously made his way to his locker. It was only his second day and already things were rotten. He had shied away from just about anybody, even those who tried to approach him and be friendly.

"Why would anybody want to be friends with a spoiled dweeb like me anyway?" The boy sighed.

He honestly didn't know why his parents suggested he go to school and try to make friends. It never worked out at any of the previous schools he went to, why would this be any different?

Suddenly, a fist came dangerously close to hitting him. He let out a short yelp of fear before turning around to see his attacker.

"Well well well, if it isn't widdle Adwien Agweste." Carl King, the biggest bully and punk in school, said with a grin and a furrowed brow. "What's wrong, rich boy? Cat got your tongue?"

"U-Um, n-no, I'm not really doing anything so I'll just be on my way!" Adrien nervously laughed only to be grabbed by the collar and pinned to the locker.

"What? Think you're too good to talk to us poor folk?" Carl asked with a sneer. "Seems like somebody needs to knock you down a few pegs."

"Hey, King!"

The punk turned around, only to suddenly be punched in the face by a sort of familiar-looking older boy with slicked black hair and narrow blue eyes. Adrien fell on his butt as the bully went down like a sack of bricks, clutching his broken and bloodied nose as a hand was offered to the Agreste heir.

"Hey, Adrien. Long time no see."

"B-Bruce?" The younger blonde nervously asked as he was helped to his feet. "I-Is that you?"

"Surprised you recognized me, it has been a while. I saw you in the cafeteria the other day but you didn't seem to want to talk." Bruce smiled. "How's it been? Haven't seen you in years."

"I-It's fine..." Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head. "Mom and Dad figured it'd do me good to go to a public school, make some friends and all that."

"Well, it's a good thing you were enlisted here," Bruce said. "How are your folks doing anyway?"

"Oh! Mom and Dad are fine, for the most part." Adrien said. "What about you? How's Alfred doing?"

"He's doing alright. Keeps me up at night with those soap operas of his." Bruce chuckled as the lunch bell rang. "Come on, I have a few people who'd love to meet you."

The younger teen was nervous, unsure if any of them would be accepting of him. Thankfully, his worries would soon be proven unfounded.

"Sup, bruh?" Nino smiled as he sat next to Adrien, Bruce already sitting on the other side next to him. "The name's Nino."

"H-Hey, Nino. I'm Adrien."

"I know this is a little forward, but do you wanna hang out with us after school?" Nino asked.

"If you can, that is," Alya added, sitting across from Adrien along with Marinette, Juleka, Peter, and Rose.

"Um..." Adrien turned to Bruce, who smiled and nodded as he turned back with a smile. "Sure! I'd love to! I'm probably gonna have to check my schedule first but I think I'm free!"

"Awesome!" Rose beamed before turning to Marinette. "You hear that, Marinette? You get to hang out with THE Adrien Agreste! And he's such a sweetie, too!"

"ROSE!" Marinette shushed as Bruce chuckled.

"She's a big fan of you." He whispered to Adrian. "And yes, I mean you, not your modeling ads. Although she does…"

"BRUCE!" Marinette shrieked, leaping to silence her big brother figure, who casually bobbed and weaved as Peter smiled and held his hand out to Adrien.

"I'm Peter Parker, welcome to the Loser's Club."

"Oh, you read IT by Stephen King?" Adrien asked. "I watched the movie...well, the version with Tim Curry anyway."

Peter beamed, his liking for Adrien now assured. "YES! Tim Curry is a gem but Bill Skarsgard is great too!"

"Honestly, I think Skarsgard was TOO scary." Adrien recounted. "I spent half the movie thinking 'no way I'd trust a clown that creepy' if I was a kid."

"THANK YOU!" Alya shouted to the heavens, making herself known. "Oh, um…. sorry, Alya. School paper paragon and big sister."

Adrian shook Alya's hand before adding.

"I got no insider knowledge on mom and dad's work."

"…Wow, you really have only met the worst press." Alya grimaced. "I am so sorry."

Adrien now felt ashamed and worriedly shook his hands to apologize.

"Oh no! No, no, no! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed!"

Bruce smiled, glad to see that Adrien was already making friends that he knew were trustworthy. The billionaire playboy didn't notice out of the corner of his eye that Chloe Bourgeois was staring with an annoyed twitch of her eyebrow.

"Come to think of it, the Bourgeois and Agreste families have been close for a long time..."Bruce recalled. "Guess she must be feeling left out. Then again, that attitude of hers doesn't do her any favors…."

Taking a break from their fashion empire, and wanting to be there for their only child, Gabriel and Emilie Agreste decided to pick Adrien up from school.

"Gabriel, please calm down." Emille begged her husband, holding his hand in her own. The hints of a smile crossed his face, but he remained serious and stewing in thoughts.

"Sir, if anything bad had happened to Adrian, I'm sure we'd have heard it by now." Nathalie, Emilie's best friend and VP of Agreste Threads, tried to assure her friend.

"…You're lucky you were never bullied, Nathalie," Gabriel said, unpleasant memories filling him. Of the Agreste parents, he had taken the longest to allow his only son to go to school after receiving a home education. For good reason, he assured; on top of Adrian's 'fans' and the paparazzi, Gabriel's educational years had been…less than ideal.

So, you can imagine his surprise and relief when he saw his son animatingly chatting and joking with a gaggle of students, at least one of whom looked familiar….

"Bonjour, sweetie!" Emilie beamed as she helped herself out of the car and hugged her son, who blushed in embarrassment. "I take it you've had a good day?"

Adrian nodded as he saw Nathalie and his father step out.

"Mom, Dad, Nathalie. These are some of my classmates: Nino, Alya, Rose, Juleka, Peter, and Marinette."

Bruce had moved to the side as was on a call with Lucius Fox at the moment, plus Adrian thought his parents would recognize the Wayne Heir.

"Um..if it's okay with you?' Juleka said. "We had invited Adrien to hang out with us for a few hours."

Emilie beamed. "Only a day and already an invivte with friends? My, oh quickly you work, sweetheart."

"Mom….!" Adrien groaned, not noticing Marinette cooing at his embarrassment..but Gabriel did.

"Well, I certainly won't hold you lot back," Gabriel muttered but with a smile on his face. "Schedule?"

"The cameraman for Adrian's shoot had to reschedule, so he can have three free afternoons," Nathalie said after checking her pad.

At this time, Bruce ended his call with Lucius and overheard that last bit of information.

"Three free afternoons eh?" He smirked at Adrian. "I think we can squeeze in some making up in that."

"Bruce? Bruce is that you?" Emilie asked. "Goodness! You're looking more and more like Thomas each day."

"Merci, Emilie." Bruce bowed respectfully. "And I see Adrian is taking after the best of you too as well."

"Oh please, Adiren takes more after her than me. But it is good to see you still haven't lost your heart, Bruce." Gabriel smiled. "Especially after what happened to Thomas and Martha."

The air went cold at that…And Gabriel tensed and stomped on the ground at bringing that up.

Bruce nodded sadly. "No worries, Msr Agreste. I've...been holding up. Peter and Marinette have helped in that regard."

"Ah, yes, the Parker boy." Gabriel nodded. "I've heard he's the smartest in his year."

"Possibly the city too," Rose added, pushing Peter forward to give a modest wave of greetings.

"And…Marinette, was it?" Gabriel asked, spying the Chinese-Parisan girl. "Your last name wouldn't happen to be Dupain-Chang, would it?"

Marinette, for her credit, managed to nod and respond with a timid:

"Um, y-yes sir. W-why do you ask?"

Adrian immediately began to grimace, as did Emilia; Gabriel rarely meant it, but he was an incredibly stern and serious man

Gabriel handed Mari a card.

"I imagine running such a successful bakery is busy, so whenever you and your parents have some free time, come over and we can go over the paperwork for starting the selling of your designs."

Marinette, frozen in place, managed to inwardly squeal

'Happiest. Moment. Of. My life!'

Before more conversation could be had, the sound of soaring wings was heard as everyone turned to see a winged humanoid fly in. As it got closer, they noticed it was a man in a dark green armored suit themed after a Vulture with a respirator styled after a beak and an orange visor.

"AGRESTE!"

Gabriel gasped, realizing that the man was aiming for him. Before he could get out of the way, the man scooped him up by the shoulders with talons from his boots and carried him off into the air.

"GABRIEL!/DAD!" Emilie and Adrien cried.

"OH NO!" Marinette cried.

"W-What do we do?!" Rose asked in a panic.

"Call the cops!" Peter urgently said.

"Already on it!" Nathalie said, taking out her phone, having speed-dialed the police.

"We'll get help!" Bruce said as he and Peter rushed off, heading in separate directions after making sure nobody saw them before donning their costumes.

As Gabriel struggled in the hold of his flying assailant, he looked up to recognize the face of his abductor.

"Toomes?!"

"Not Toomes now! I'm what you called me all those years ago, Gabriel! I'mTHE VULTURE!"

"I called you a BUZZARD!" Gabriel snapped indignantly. "Seems you really are going senile if you can't even get the name right!"

Toomes, or rather The Vulture, merely sneered as he threw Gabriel into the air, causing him to scream as he plummeted to the ground, only to be caught again and dragged through the air once more.

"Toomes, stop! What will any of this accomplish?!"

"A means to an end, Agreste!" Toomes smirked. "You will reimburse everything you took from me in that lawsuit and publicly apologize for your transgressions against me!"

"You really are a self-centered old fool!" Gabriel scoffed. "That man had a family, you know! The fact that you would so callously brush off the loss of a human life! 'Testing phase', please!"

"I may be an old fool, but I am NOT a patient one!" Vulture snarled.

Suddenly, Gabriel was grabbed by a web and pulled out of Vulture's grasp. The Fashion Mogul found himself caught in the arms of a very familiar red and blue spandex-clad teen hero.

"Whoa! You play Hot Potato hardcore!"

"Spider-Man?!" Vulture scowled. "I should have known sooner or later you'd snoop your nose around where it doesn't belong!"

Suddenly, a cable wrapped around Vulture's leg, yanking him back as he tried to give chase and giving Spider-Man time to get Gabriel to safety, setting him carefully back on the ground.

"You do realize that this doesn't mean I advocate for you."

Spider-Man shrugged. "Eh, I'm mostly freelance, so don't worry."

Gabriel merely nodded and headed inside, taking out his phone to contact his family and let them know he was safe as Spider-Man jumped into the air after Vulture, who had ended up dragging Batman along when he tried to hold him down.

"Sheesh, for an old man, he sure pulls his weight!" Spider-Man noted as he swung beside his partner.

Batman just rolled his eyes and disconnected the cable from Vulture's leg, spreading his cape out and gliding across the city streets as Spider-Man zipped up to the flying fiend and kicked him in the stomach.

"Trick or treat!" The Webhead taunted as he began web-slinging backward while Vulture gave chase. "I mean, you ARE celebrating Halloween in February, right?"

"You and I are certainly ones to talk," Batman said, having used his Grapnel Gun to shoot himself across the building to extend his airtime and glide above Vulture.

"Why do you two defend that fool?!" Vulture growled. "Do you realize everything he took from me?!"

Batman grappled onto Vulture's back and held on tightly, grabbing the old man in a chokehold, and making him spin out of control before crashing into a nearby billboard.

"I remember that lawsuit. Gabriel had a very good reason for doing so!" Batman said. "YourTech Flight resulted in an innocent man's death and you refused to take responsibility for it."

"It was only a testing phase!" Vulture said as he got up and flew at Batman. "You can't perfect something without making mistakes!"

"Causing a guy to death from testing your crummy tech is more than just a mistake, Beaky!" Spider-Man said, suddenly slamming on Vulture's back, slamming him onto the rooftop mid-flight before flipping off him and joining Batman's side.

"And now, with attempted murder, you're going away for a long time." Batman said, reaching into his belt and taking out a pair of cuffs.

Vulture snarled, refusing to give up as he sprung to his feet and swiped his wings, sending out feather-like daggers at the two, making them jump out of the way and giving Vulture the opportunity to fly off.

"Oh no, you ain't flying away from us!" Spider-Man said as he resumed web-swinging after the villain, Batman calmly tapping the side of his cowl.

"Alfred, call in the Bat-Copter."

"Right away, sir."

Spider-Man continued chasing the Vulture across the city skies, the flying fiend looking desperately for Gabriel so he could hunt him down again. However, he was smacked in the face by a Web Ball, causing him to stop mid-flight and struggle to pull the webs off as Spider-Man stuck to a building beside him.

"Come on, Gabriel is no fun! Play with me instead! I'm the life of a party!"

Vulture scowled and flew at Spider-Man thrusting one of his wings to stab him, only to punch through the window as Spider-Man jumped out of the way. As the Wall-Crawler dodged, he noticed a black helicopter coming in and saw Batman piloting it, giving him a thumbs-up.

"I see what you're planning, Bruce. Two birds, one stone!"

Spider-Man then flipped above Vulture and clung to the underside of the Bat-Copter. As the flying fiend pulled his arm out of the window he punched through, he turned and flew back toward the Web-Head.

"Did you really think you could hide from me there?!"

"He wasn't planning on hiding!" Batman said as Spidey jumped onto Vulture's back and forcibly dragged him into the rotors of the Bat-Copter, forcing his wings through it and tearing them up.

"Sorry, Bats! Hope that didn't cost too much!"

"It's fine! This can be repaired easily!" Batman said as he piloted the Bat-Copter away to a safe area.

Meanwhile, Vulture's destroyed wing was making him fumble in the air as Spider-Man kept hold of him.

"M-My wing! I can't steer!"

"Yeah, but we're both still airborne!" Spider-Man noted before smirking underneath his mask as he punched his fist through Toomes' suit and pulled out some kind of high-tech battery. "You know for a guy who got sued to heck and back, you certainly were able to afford some fine tech!"

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'LL KILL US BOTH!" Vulture cried in horror as without the battery, his suit had no power and both he and Spider-Man plummeted to the ground.

"Uh, you do realize I have webs, right?" Spider-Man scoffed as he webbed up Vulture in a cocoon and hung him upside-down by a nearby lamppost before swinging onto the nearby rooftop. "No scraps for you tonight, Vulty!"

"…I think I hate you more than Agreste."

Vulture was quickly arrested, snarling and hissing as the police took him away.

The kids quickly reunited with the Agrestes, just as Peter and Bruce returned.

"Oh, thank goodness! I lost sight of you after six blocks and then followed the police cars." Peter said, feigning gasps for air.

"At least you kept looking," Bruce said with shame. "Vicky and her press friends cornered and followed me."

The Agrestes all growled at that, having dealt with paparazzi. Meanwhile. Alya tensed, her reporter instincts taking over.

"Wait…Vicky? As in Vicky Vale?! You know THE Vicky Vale?!"

"Who?" Adrian asked.

"Alya's heroine; about our age and already managed to write some award-winning stories." Nino said. "Queen Industries inheritance scandal, Lew Moxon…Wait, DO you know her, Bruce?"

"…Regretfully," Bruce grumbled through his teeth, fighting the urge to throw up as he continued. "We…um…we dated."

Rose was about to coo before Juleka stopped her.

"I'm guessing she's NOT...?'

"DEAR GOD, NO!" Bruce snapped. "I'd sooner get back with Talia! She is NOT Sel…Um…I mean…Oh, geez."

And now he was blushing, having almost revealed who his 'special lady' was. The girls were intrigued and cooing, Peter and Nino grimacing and wondering just how bad things had gone for Bruce to act like that.

Also, who the heck was this 'Talia' he similarly didn't speak highly of….

"Huh. So that's what I look like." Marinette and Adrian said together. Realizing what they'd done, they chuckled and turned in embarrassment, hiding blushes as they did so.

"So, what exactly happened?" Peter asked half to save Bruce from embarrassment. "I think I overheard the cops saying something about 'masked men'?"

"Both Spider-Man and Batman saved me," Gabriel explained.

"AND WE MISSED IT?!" Ayla, Nino, and Rose all gasped.

"Guys!" Marinette snapped at her friends. "Tact!"

The trio looked down in shame as Adrian once again asked his father.

"Are you sure you're okay, dad?"

"Toome's claws only scratched my suit, son. Nothing even the most basic stitch job can't fix.

"Well, no matter what that blowhard Jameson says?" Emile said with a gracious smile. "Those two will always have the Agrestes in your corners."

Peter beamed and fought back tears of gratefulness at those words. Bruce smirked, his mind then returning to Chole.

'I know I shouldn't be asking for it, but it would be nice if something happened so that her dad would support us too…Ah well, no need to think about that now.'

"I'm guessing the hangout is canceled…." Adrien sighed; knowing his parents, they'd want to keep him close.

"Why?" Emilie asked.

"In fact, it might be best for you to be with your friends, son." Gabriel said, looking over to Nathalie.

"The press release is an hour and after that, you'll need to make some statements not only to the police but also the Board." She explained, already annoyed, then smiling at Adrien. "Go and have some fun."

"...Really?" Adrien beamed. The Gorilla playfully shooed him away as a limo pulled up.

"Lift to Wayne Manor for Master Bruce and friends." Alfred announced as the kids raced in, Peter and Bruce entering last, so they could have a quick chat:

"Say…where is your…?' Peter asked his best friend.

Bruce simply pointed to his bag, which shocked Peter.

"What? You expect me to duck into a phone booth or closet?" Bruce asked.

Peter tensed and blushed, before asking:

"What's a phone booth?"

Meanwhile in Metropolis, a bespecled farmboy sneezed.

"…Yeah, I need to hang with you guys more, Alfred's soaps are getting to me."

"You're lucky my lawyers were able to bail you out, Toomes." Kingpin said as the old man came into the room. "You will have your revenge in due time, but for right now, you must lay low."

"I WILL have my revenge not just on Agreste but Batman and Spider-Man as well," Toomes growled.

"And you will, old friend." Kingpin nodded. "Take this time to improve on your failures and prepare for your next confrontation. Learn from your mistakes and you will be stronger for it."

"Thank you, Fisk." Toomes nodded as he left the room. "I will..."

Kingpin sighed as he turned to his computer, where several of the other notorious crime lords of the city were on a video conference call.

"Gotta say, you nabbed yourself a good one, Fisk." Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone said. "Don't suppose you could lend the old buzzard to us for a day or two."

"Toomes is strictly under my employment now, Falcone." Kingpin advised. "But I'm sure you and your family can manage without his assets."

"All these freaks with their fancy toys and costumes." Roman 'Black Mask' Sionis scoffed. "People in this town used to know who called the shots. Now any loser can dress up like it's Halloween and go out thinking they own the joint!"

"True, times are changing, for better or for worse." Kingpin nodded. "And even we have to adapt to these changes, my friends."

"The only problem is...I don't think Vulture will be the first of these 'Super-Villains' to show his face in town." Lonnie 'Tombstone' Lincoln noted.

"And trust me on this, Mr. Lincoln..." Kingpin smirked. "We shall place our own monopoly on them in due time..."

Chapter 3: On Leather Wings

Chapter Text

It was a relatively quiet night, most people were currently asleep, not knowing that a large winged shadow was flying overhead, its sights set on Phoenix Pharmaceuticals.

A lone security guard was making his rounds while also having a little fun by recording his voice.

"Testing 1-2-3, Testing 1-2-3." He then put on his best showman voice. "You too can be a highly paid radio personality in your spare time! Just call the Gotham Institute of Broadcast Arts! Call the-"

He was interrupted when a loud shattering sound was heard in one of the rooms. Quickly making his way to investigate the disturbance, he saw nothing out of the ordinary except for a broken glass window.

"Did someone break in?"

Nervously, he readied his taser for whatever intruder was nearby. However. what he didn't know was that said intruder was right behind him and he didn't notice...up until he heard heavy breathing going down his neck.

Shakily turning around, he cried out in horror at the sight before him and took out his taser, trying to stun the hostile figure before him. However, it merely let out a furious shriek as it shrugged off the electricity before picking him up and throwing him out the broken window and into the nearby river...

"I didn't authorize this statement, Detective."

Commissioner James Gordon was with Detective Harvey Bullock and Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix in the office of Mayor Andre Bourgeois. Bullock had placed down a newspaper article regarding the assault on the security guard from Phoenix Pharmaceuticals. He survived but was hospitalized.

"Come on, Commissioner. Somebody asked me a couple a' questions, I just gave 'em a couple a' answers."

"You gave them without my approval," Gordon said sternly. "If you'd have just kept quiet, he wouldn't know we're moving against him."

"I'll find him! Just need a little extra help, Mr. Mayor." Bullock said as he turned to Andre.

"What kind of help?"

"I want my own tactical squad for the sole purpose of throwing the net over this 'Batman'."

"Commissioner?"

"I've already denied the request. Nobody's taking a vigilante force onto MY streets."

"Your Honor, any nutcase that dresses up like a bat sooner or later is gonna snap," Bullock argued. "At least that Spider-Kid is acting like a friendly neighborhood boy scout around town during the day."

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like Batman's MO." Roger pointed out. "My daughter Sabrina is a big fan of him and Spider-Man."

"I think we can spare a few men, Commissioner. Detective Bullock does manage to get results more often than not." Andre pointed out. "I'm authorizing the strike force."

Gordon sighed and shook his head while Bullock rubbed the back of his head, flattered at the mayor's words.

"Just be sure the DA's Office can give me an airtight case, sir."

The sound of a flicking silver dollar was heard as everyone turned to see a man sitting cross-legged in a chair cooly, catching the coin and holding it up. This was District Attorney Harvey Dent.

"If you catch 'em, Harvey, I'll put 'em in jail for ya."

"Gotham District Police declare war on Batman?"

"I gather you've been reading how to make friends and influence people." Sarcastically commented Alfred as he poured Bruce a cup of tea.

The Wayne Heir simply gave his faithful butler and father figure a wry smirk before frowning.

"Somebody is setting me up."

"My heavens! You mean it wasn't you tossing guards out of windows last night?"

"I only toss butlers, Alfred." Bruce smirked before turning to his computer. "Look here, there were two very quiet burglaries at other pharmaceutical companies this past week. Nobody hurt like last night...but chemicals stolen all the same."

"And you suspect a pattern?"

Bruce pulled open the bust on the counter and pressed a hidden button in the neck as a secret entrance opened leading to the Batcave.

"Only one way to find out." He said as he prepared to slide down the pole and get suited up for tonight's excursion.

"I'll cancel Master Bruce's rendevous with 'Bambi' was it, sir?" Alfred smirked as Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Alfred, do that."

"No way Bruce assaulted a guy." Peter said. "Honestly, it was bad enough when Jameson was slandering me..."

"Peter, are you alright?" Aunt May asked, making Peter quickly clam up as he turned to his beloved aunt.

"N-Nothing, Aunt May! Just a little annoyed at how the Daily Bugle and the police seem to have it out for Batman tonight."

"Oh, I heard about what happened at that pharmacy lab." Aunt May said. "Simply terrible. Though I must admit, I don't see someone like Batman just randomly assaulting innocent guards."

"Me neither, Aunt May..." Peter muttered. "I'm gonna head out. Marinette needs help with a school project."

"Tell her parents I said 'Hi'!"

Peter nodded as he left the house, slowly lifting his clothes to reveal he already had his Spider-Man suit underneath. Neatly placing them in one of his hiding spots, he then webbed off to Phoenix Pharmaceuticals.

"Alright, time for Detective Spider-Man to do a little Superhero Investigating..."

Reaching the building, Spider-Man quickly crawled along the walls, looking around to make sure nobody spotted him as he noticed a door opening to see a couple walking out.

"C'mere, you."

Taking the opportunity, Spider-Man quickly crawled inside, making sure not to make any noise to alert the two lovebirds. However, he didn't need to worry as a familiar bat-shaped silhouette flew in overhead, drawing their attention as they gasped.

"He's back!"

"I'll call the police!"

As Spider-Man crawled inside, he noticed a familiar shadow lurking in the room and quickly flipped down in front of him.

"Hey, Bruce. Didn't know you were doing some detective work too."

"Whoever the real culprit is, they'd have had to leave some clues behind," Batman noted, not at all surprised by his fellow hero's entrance. "Follow my lead."

The two made their way to where the crime took place, where a lone policewoman was standing guard and reading the evening newspaper. Batman held up a finger before reaching into his utility belt and rolling some pellets across the ground. The pellets released a pink smoke that only took one whiff for the policewoman to fall unconscious.

"That's certainly not gonna go over well with the cops."

"Raincomprix to Bullock!"

Detective Bullock was doing his rounds in his car when he got the radio message from Roger.

"Yeah, what's up, Roger?"

"The Batman's just been sighted breaking into Phoenix Labs. Thought you might be interested."

Bullock scowled. "I want my squad there backed by choppers and as many officers as you can get NOW!"

"So, what have you found?" Spider-Man asked as Batman finished scanning the room with his Detective Vision, having picked up a few things.

"I found this radio that the security guard who was attacked no doubt had." He said, pocketing the radio in question. "I've also found some hairs. They don't match any DNA signature in the database."

"Well, that's weird. You're saying that the attacker isn't human?"

Before Batman could answer, they noticed a bright light coming in and the sound of choppers and police cars arriving.

"Oh great, this is just gonna give JJJ more ammo against me...!"

The two heroes quickly made to escape as down below, Bullock had arrived, his strike force all gathered along with Roger and some of the police officers on duty.

"Alright, you jokers! Pipe down!" Bullock barked out to his men. "He's in there. I want him by any means necessary!"

The strike force nodded and headed inside as Gordon arrived as well, Bullock smiling as he turned to his boss.

"Commissioner! You're just in time to see us hang this bat upside-down."

"You sure he's in there?" Gordon asked."

"The chopper pilot just spotted him on the fourth floor. For some reason, Spider-Man was with him."

"Well, he can't be in two places at once. Another pharmaceutical factory was just robbed in Brooklyn. You've got the wrong guy!"

"What?!"

"I knew Batman was innocent." Roger nodded to himself.

Back with Spidey and Batman, the two were making their way back to the area where they came, only to see Bullocks' Strike Force coming in.

"You! Stop right where you are!"

"Let me handle this. I've just been developing a new toy I wanted to test out." Spider-Man said to his fellow hero as he tossed out a strange gadget.

Everyone looked at the gadget curiously as it blinked rapidly before exploding in a mess of webbing, causing the strike force to be tied up, some even pinned to the walls and one unlucky guy even stuck to the ceiling.

"Web Bomb, baby!" Spidey cheered as he and Batman got in one of the elevators and went down to the third floor. "Probably shouldn't have done that. Now Jameson is gonna have more words to use against me..."

"If he causes problems for you, just call me."

The two exited onto the third floor, only to see another group of Bullock's Strike Force having just come in investigating.

"Hey, there he is!"

The squad opened fire as the two heroes ducked into a nearby room. The leader of the squad quickly took point and headed inside, searching for the vigilantes before cautiously taking out a tear gas grenade.

"This'll smoke 'em out!"

He then threw out the grenade, not realizing that the room he was in had many flammable and otherwise explosive substances inside. He realized too late when he saw a gas canister that the grenade bounced off of and knew he wouldn't have time to clear the blast zone.

Suddenly, a web line snagged him on the back and pulled him out the nearby window. Spider-Man caught him over his shoulder and swung out of the building along with Batman as the room exploded behind them. The heroes then landed and placed the squad leader safely on his feet before heading off into the night.

"Are you okay!" Roger asked as he, Gordon, and Bullock hurried off.

The squad leader said nothing, simply slumping over as he groaned before falling on his back, needing a moment to recover from his near-death experience.

The next day, Alya was reading the incident at Phoenix Labs on her break and was, to put it simply, annoyed at Jameson's slander of Spider-Man.

"Where's his proof?" She asked. "I mean it! Not one line in the article gives anything of evidence beyond Spidey being in the same location. All they do is hammer the fact he was on the scene when something and think that's enough for a story. Honestly…You'd think the guy has a hate boner for masked people. Spider-Man was probably only investigating the labs to prove Batman was innocent!"

"Yeah, it really is kind of annoying..." Adrien muttered as he looked to see Marinette chatting with Peter and Bruce, a fond smile crossing his face.

"Should we give you some alone time, Romeo?"

Adrien jerked up when he turned to see Alix Kubdel, the resident sporty girl at school, smirking at him along with Rose, Juleka, and Mylene Haprele, the school's resident peaceful activist.

"Um, well, you see-!"

Nino smirked. "Busted, Bro."

"What is this, you're third week here at school and already you've started crushing on Marinette just as hard as she's crushing on you." Juleka giggled. "It's honestly kind of adorable how dense you two are."

"I-I mean..." Adrien groaned and slammed his head on the table. "Please don't tell, okay?"

"Our lips are sealed, lover boy." Alya smirked. "Besides, I'm already making sure Marinette doesn't make an absolute dork of herself when it comes to you."

Bruce had decided to pay a visit to the Central Park Zoo. Heading to the zoology labs, he knocked on the door.

"Hello, Dr. March?"

"Who is it?"

A grumpy voice came from a middle-aged man with silver hair, a slouch, and a hooked nose as Bruce smiled.

"Bruce Wayne. I have an appointment. I called about a bat problem?"

"What do you think we are, pest control?" The man, Dr. March, snidely asked.

"Well, I just need-"

"Yes, yes, come in." The doctor sighed as he led Bruce inside, muttering to himself. "You donate a few million and you think you own the darn place. I understand I'm to analyze something for you?"

"Yeah, doc. See, I keep hearing squeaks in my chimney, and I found these in my empty fireplace." Bruce handed the hairs he picked up at the lab last night as Batman. "They look like hairs. I thought maybe you could tell me if I have a bat problem."

Dr. March's brow furrowed. "And what if they are bats, Mr. Wayne, what then? Destroy them like vermin? We won't survive the next evolutionary cataclysm but BATS will! They're survivors, Mr. Wayne, not pests! You of all people should understand that!"

"DAD!" A woman's voice chided as the two turned to see an adult woman with red hair. "I hope Mr. Wayne knows you mean no disrespect."

"Well of course not, Miss-"

"Oh Mrs., well actually Doctor. I'm Francine Langstorm. I think you spoke with my husband on the phone?"

A door leading to the main lab opened up as a man with a beard and glasses walked in, giving a smile when he recognized Bruce.

"Oh, Bruce! Sorry for being late, I'm Doctor Kirk Langstorm. Did you bring the sample?"

"I gave it to Dr. March-" Bruce began only for the door to be slammed shut. "Where'd he go?"

"Probably to get started on the analysis. If it's a problem to do with bats, we'll let you know by tonight."

Francine smiled at her husband. "Dad was lecturing Little Bruce here on the virtues of Chiroptera."

"Chriopte-what?" Bruce asked, feigning ignorance.

"Chiroptera, the scientific term for bats," Kirk explained. "I hope he didn't get carried away, he tends to be a bit protective of all this. I think he likes bats more than people."

"I can't imagine." Bruce shrugged as he took out the recorder next. "I brought you this too. It's a recording I made of the noises I heard in my chimney."

Bruce pressed the play button and a screech was heard, making Kirk and Francine frown.

"That doesn't sound like any bat I've ever heard, Bruce."

Kirk took the recorder. "The animal behaviorist people here have a sound library. We'll identify it and let you know."

"I'd appreciate it." Bruce smiled but he saw the nervous glint in Francine and Kirk's eyes. A new piece of the puzzle had been put into place.

"So, let me get this straight, you have a super secret underground cave where you make all your gadgets and investigate all the crimes going on in this city?"

Bruce had invited Peter over to the Batcave, feeling like he could trust him enough since they already shared each other's hero identities.

"For the most part, you're right on the money. But I actually have a friend over at Wayne Enterprises' Tech Division that helps with most of my gadgets." Bruce explained as he listened to the recording of the screech again.

"Sheesh, whoever this guy is, he'd give most Death Metal musicians a run for their money."

Bruce smirked. "You know, I actually checked this against any musical sounds. The Batcomputer still can't come close to pinpointing it."

"Man, you just think of everything, don't you?"

Alfred came in, handing Bruce a phone.

"Dr. March is calling, Master Bruce." The butler then turned to Peter. "Would you like anything while you're here, Master Parker?"

"Nah, I'm good Al, thanks."

Bruce shushed the two as he answered the phone.

"Hey, what's up, Doc?"

"You have bats Mr. Wayne. Common brown bats. They shouldn't pose a problem. As the weather gets colder, they'll move on."

"What about the sounds on the tape?"

"It's actually TWO sounds. Starlings and Brown Bats. Probably having a feud over a nest in your chimney."

"Appreciate the help doc. I'll return the favor next time you're raising funds. Bye-bye" Bruce then hung up before turning to Peter and Alfred. "The Batcomputer checked that fiber against every animal species known to man. I went to them because I thought they might know something we didn't. That hair wasn't a brown bat's."

"And those melodic sounds?"

"Computer, check against combined sounds, Starlings and Brown Bats." Batman ordered as he played the recording.

"Negative. Sound not originated by either species."

"Something tells me we've stumbled onto something big," Peter noted. "It's time for the Dynamic Duo of Spider-Man and Batman to unmask the true culprit!"

"We don't know for absolute certain yet but I know Dr. March is lying," Bruce said. "And you're right on one thing, Peter; We're going to find out why."

The two heroes made their way back to the zoo, arriving in Langstrom's laboratory. They could see a bunch of chemicals being mixed and several pharmaceutical prescription bottles set up.

Batman used Detective Mode to discern which companies made the bottles and narrowed his eyes to see they belonged to Phoenix Labs and the other pharmaceuticals that had been robbed in the past week or so.

"Bruce, someone's coming!" Spidey alerted, his Spider-Sense on high alert as the two quickly ducked for cover as someone came into the room.

"W-Who's back there?" Kirk worriedly asked as he looked around, only to notice Batman and Spider-Man stepping into view. "Y-You two. What's going on?"

"We're looking for your papa-in-law, Kirk. It's urgent." Spider-Man said.

Kirk shook his head. "Sorry, he's not here right now."

"Where is he?" Batman asked.

"Giving a lecture on bat evolution and human extinction," Kirk explained. "He can get a bit carried away at times, but he's truly a brilliant man."

"Brilliant maybe, but he's also misguided and a thief." Batman said, presenting one of the pharmaceutical bottles.

Kirk's eyes widened in shock before bowing his head sadly, a look of guilt on his face.

"He's not the thief...It was me."

This took the two heroes for a spin.

"You? But how?" Spider-Man asked.

"I should explain..." Kirk said. "You see, I've been suffering from encroaching hearing loss. For years now, I've been struggling with developing a cure for deafness not just for myself but for all humanity. I thought I found it when I was able to create a medicine derived from the DNA of a vampire bat...but it went wrong. I used myself as a guinea pig and then I couldn't stop. I desperately wanted to, but IT took over."

"IT?" Batman cautiously asked, seeing the subtle nervous twitch in Kirk's eye.

"Francine and March tried to protect me, but it was too late. The beast knew what chemicals were needed to bring itself about. It was out of my control!" Kirk said, looking more and more desperate. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, you have to believe me on that. When I saw the news of what happened to that security guard, I-"

Kirk was unable to say anymore as he screamed out in pain, hunching over as Batman and Spider-Man got on guard. Spidey moved to see if the good doctor was okay, only for his Spider-Sense to blare wildly as Kirk began thrashing violently like a man possessed.

Much to the two heroes' horror, Kirk began to transform, his arms extending and growing fleshly wing-like membranes like those of a bat, his fingers elongating as his nostrils flared and his teeth became fangs. His ears became larger and pointed and his eyes turned a milky white as his body tore through his clothes.

Soon, in Kirk's place was some kind of monstrous bat humanoid, snarling at the two heroes with glaring eyes as it let out a vicious shriek.

"Holy-!" Spider-Man gasped out. "Okay, what are we going to call this guy? Batman's already taken!"

"Kirk's become something more of a Man-Bat if anything." Batman said.

The Man-Bat shrieked as he swiped his wings at the two, who dodged out of the way as he tore apart the chemical vials and beakers on the table before lifting the whole thing up with unnatural strength and throwing it at the two.

"Whoa!" Spider-Man yelped, catching the table and planting his feet to the ground but that simply gave Man-Bat the opportunity to pounce on him and snarl. Batman was prepared to help his friend when Francine's voice called out.

"Kirk! Stop!"

The Man-Bat noticed his wife and whimpered seeing her horrified and concerned face. Hiding his face in his wings with shame, he quickly flew out the window as Batman quickly took out his Grapnel Gun and fired a line that hooked onto the Man-Bat's leg, pulling him along.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Langstrom, we'll get him back!" Spider-Man reassured as he web-swung after the two.

Francine watched as the three flew off into the distance, wanting nothing more but to save her husband...when a glowing light purple butterfly landed on her glasses, making her gasp.

"Mrs. Langstorm."A smooth voice spoke up."You wish to save your husband from the monster he has become. I can grant you the power to help Spider-Man and Batman in this endeavor."

A butterfly outline formed over Francine's eyes, which narrowed in determination as she was surrounded by a bright purple aura, transforming her.

"I'll do it."

"Good...now rise, She-Bat! Spread your leather wings and stop the Creature of the Night your husband has become!"

Batman was hanging on as tightly as he could to Man-Bat, who dragged him through a construction site. He carefully maneuvered around the beams before planting his feet on one of them and pulling tightly.

However, the Man-Bat was more clever than he appeared and flipped around the beam Batman was standing on to pounce on him from behind. However, the Caped Crusader grabbed onto him and steered him around the city.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock had been alerted to what was going on and took a chopper to see what was going on.

"There he is!" Bullock pointed out when he recognized Batman.

"There THEY are!" Gordon corrected, gesturing to Man-Bat.

"What is that thing?!"

"That thing is what we're really after!"

Spider-Man was web-swinging close behind Batman and Man-Bat, doing his best to keep up with them before he noticed another flying shadow zooming overhead. His eyes widened when he saw what appeared to be ANOTHER Man-Bat, only this one had a more feminine build.

"Now there's a She-Bat?!"

The 'She-Bat' suddenly slammed into Man-Bat as Batman kept his hold on him, putting him in a headlock as he saw this new bat humanoid and his eyes widened when he saw more than a few similarities.

"Dr. Langstrom?!"

"Don't ask!" The She-Bat said, her voice having a bat-like echo to it but still recognizable. "Let me take care of this!"

Batman nodded and let go of Man-Bat, gliding down as Spider-Man caught up with him, the two watching as the Man-Bat and She-Bat engaged in aerial combat, shrieking at each other before the She-Bat eventually gained the upper hand, releasing a sonic cry that disoriented the Man-Bat and sent him crashing headfirst into a billboard, knocking him unconscious.

The heroes quickly caught up as She-Bat landed and crouched over Man-Bat protectively, a sorrowful look in her eyes. Batman turned around to see the chopper with Gordon and Bullock approaching and gestured for She-Bat to carry her unconscious husband and follow him and Spider-Man.

As soon as they arrived at the Batcave, Francine had turned back to normal, a butterfly flying off into the distance afterward. She was a little disoriented from her transformation but otherwise felt fine, of course Batman made sure to keep her eyes covered when they arrived so she didn't figure out where they were.

"Will you be able to cure him?" Francine asked as Batman went over to the Batcomputer.

"I think so. I've got a list of all the items stolen from the chemical labs. With these, I think I might be able to undo the tragic fate that your husband has brought upon himself."

"Let me help. I'm pretty good with this kind of stuff too!" Spider-Man suggested as he went over, Francine sighing sadly as she lovingly caressed her transformed husband's face.

"It's okay, Kirk. Everything is going to be okay..."

The Purple Butterfly that had transformed Francine into She-Bat flew into what looked like an abandoned conservatory, where moths and butterflies flew around carerfree. The Purple one ignored them and landed on the gloved palm of a man in a purple suit with a classy cane and white mask that only revealed only his eyes and mouth.

"Excellent work, my little Kamiko." The man smiled, covering the butterfly with his free hand. Purple energy surged before he removed the hand, revealing the butterfly was now back to normal. "DARKWINGS, FALL!"

A purple energy overtook the man, who was then replaced by Gabriel Agreste, accompanied by a small floating creature.

"..I do wish there was a different command; 'Dark' is so…villainous sounding. Oh well. A good first, Nooroo?" Gabriel asked his little friend, who smiled.

"Indeed. Although, I still think those two had things under control."

"Perhaps. But things are changing, and I think they'll be needing all the help they can get. Especially since Emillie and I were never able to find your siblings…"

Nooroo floated closer to his master.

"Worry not, Gabriel. Something tells me they'll resurface soon enough. Besides, it's getting rather late for you. You have a full day tomorrow, right?"

Gabriel smiled warmly at Noorro's concern.

"I suppose you're right. Emilie and Adrian are probably wondering where I am. Have a good night, Noorroo. Be sure and take a break."

"Only if you do the same." Nooroo smiled back as Gabriel left the room, finding himself in his study, which he left to find Emilie and Adrian enjoying an evening snack together after one of Adrien's photo shoots.

"So the real thief was Dr. Kirk Langstrom?" Marinette asked as the gang was hanging out in the cafeteria again.

"Yes, but he wasn't in control of his actions," Bruce explained. "Luckily, they were able to find a cure for him."

"Thank goodness. I hope he's okay now." Rose said worriedly.

"But what really weirds me out is how did Francine turn into a She-Bat and then back to normal?" Peter wondered. "That's a mystery to be sure."

"I know, she didn't have the formula in her system either. And not even she knew how she transformed other than hearing a strange voice speak to her..."

Bruce and Peter could only muse on this. It seemed a new mystery was afoot...

Chapter 4: Bonjour, Ladybug & Chat Noir!

Chapter Text

Adrien had been feeling much more comfortable about going to school, especially since he got to reunite with Bruce and managed to make so many friends who didn't see him as the son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste, but as a fellow classmate.

There were a few downsides, Adrien had to deal with Flash and his A-Squad making fun of him. Thank god for Randy Robertson and his big heart and Liz for being surprisingly patient and friendly compared to Flash, Sally, and Kenny Kong. At least they weren't as bad as Carl King.

Today, Adrien had been invited by Alix and Lê Chiến Kim to go rollerblading with them after school and he almost immediately jumped at the offer. Bruce was happy to see his old friend getting to be a kid for a change compared to his busy handling being a teen model.

"It's been so nice getting to be your friend, Adrien." Marinette smiled as she, Bruce, and Peter were walking with the Agreste heir to school.

"Thanks, Marinette."

While Marinette had a huge crush on Adrien, she had started seeing him as just a friend first, and the feeling was appreciated. Adrien had way too many fangirls so it was nice that Marinette was aware of his feelings and gave him his space when he needed it.

He was too embarrassed to admit it out loud but he actually was returning some of Marinette's feelings for him. It didn't help that the rest of their friends had been giving him teasing looks the whole time and it was starting to get a bit much. Even Bruce and Peter were getting in on it!

"H-Hey, Marinette..." Adrien began.

"Yes, Adrien?"

"Oh, is he finally gonna do it?" Peter whispered to Bruce who rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face all the same.

"Um, I was wondering...if you know..."

Adrien's words were interrupted by a cry of distress from an old man. The four teenagers looked towards the scream and saw a short old Chinese man in a Hawaiian shirt had taken a bad step, causing him to fall and drop his cane.

"Oh no..." Adrien gasped before quickly running over to help the man, handing him his cane. "Are you okay, sir?"

"I am alright. Thank you, young man," The old man said. "You have certainly saved my day."

"Anytime, sir. Always ready to do the right thing!" Adrien smiled, blushing bashfully.

Marinette couldn't help but beam at just how compassionate Adrien was while Bruce nodded in approval before walking over to check up on the old man.

"It's been a long time, Master Fu."

The old man looked up and smiled warmly at the young heir as he fully got onto his feet.

"Indeed it has, young Wayne." Fu smiled. "You're looking much better and happier than the last time our paths crossed."

Bruce chuckled sheepishly at that.

"Oh, you two know each other?" Adrian asked, getting a nod from Bruce.

"He saved my life a few years ago," Fu explained, his mind going back to that fateful day. "I'm an antique dealer by primary trade and while in Tibet, I came across a… controversial find that several fellows were adamant to make their own. Bruce happened to be passing by with a mutual acquaintance of ours and came to my aid."

"…Why were you in Ti…wait, when was this?" Alix asked, then began to realize what had happened.

"…Let's just say that my years abroad were not solely in an Academy," Bruce admitted. Then, trying to move the conversation along, he asked: "Have you heard from Henri?"

"Yes, he comes by every week to check on me. Usually buys a nick-nack for his granddaughter as well. You should give him a call."

The pleasantries ended when the ball rang loudly, causing Marinette to gasp.

"We're late!"

"Oh no, Dr. Connors is going to have my head!" Peter cursed.

The four friends rushed into the school as Fu smiled, watching them leave. He hoped Adrien would find the "gift" he slipped into his backpack pocket.

"Don't worry, you won't be alone in your fight for justice much longer..." Fu smiled as he looked at Bruce in particular. "BATMAN."

Meanwhile, Lonnie 'Tombstone' Lincoln, a part of the Inner Crime Circle called 'The Big Men', was on a phone call.

"Trust me, Fisk, Spider-Man, and Batman won't be a problem much longer. I've called in professionals."

Tombstone hung up and put his fingers together. He did not have an easy life growing up, born with albinism, he was ridiculed for his appearance so he strove to be strong and never be pushed around. He eventually realized his albinism also came with a genetic disorder that gave him unbreakable skin. Taking up the moniker of 'Tombstone', he rose through the ranks of crime before eventually setting up his own organization, becoming one of the founding members of the Big Men in the process.

His musings were cut off as his front door opened and three figures came in. The first was dressed like a cowboy with a lasso/whip hybrid attached to his hip. The second was a man of below-average height with dark skin, a thin mustache, and a white gambler hat. Finally, completing the trio was a large muscular man of Hispanic descent with a thick mustache and a pair of high-tech knuckledusters.

"Ah, The Enforcers...glad to see you could make it." Tombstone smiled. "I have an assignment for you to do. And it's very simple..."

"We're listening, Boss." The cowboy replied with a Southern accent.

Later that day, Adrien was escorted home. He had just gotten back from rollerblading with Kim and Alix after school. He was a mess. His clothes were dirty and tattered, his hair was messy from the helmet, he had scrapes and bruises from a few falls that he took, and he was sore in several places, but he didn't care. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Adrien had fun.

"Adrien, good heavens, you're a mess!" Gabriel exclaimed as he came in. "Did you get into a fight at school?!"

"What? N-No, Dad!" Adrien said, waving his hands as Emilie came barging in, a frightened look on her face.

"ADRIEN! My precious, my Sunshine, my baby! Are you okay?! Did someone hurt you?!" She asked. "Oh, my poor child! Look at you! It's okay, Sunshine, mommy's here! Do you need a snack?! A juice box?! Maybe a hot bath!"

"Emilie, breathe!" Nathalie said, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Mom, please!" Adrien groaned. "I just went rollerblading with my friends!"

Gabriel sighed. "Right, I forgot..."

"Sorry, sweetie. I suppose we assumed the worst." Emilie apologized.

"It's fine, Mom." Adrien smiled, then caught a whiff of something. He then sniffed his armpit and recoiled. "I should probably shower, though."

With Marinette, she was just enjoying the view from her rooftop patio. She honestly still couldn't believe she'd managed to become friends with Adrien Agreste but in all honesty, she was happy because she got to see the real him; a sweet, socially awkward boy with a big heart.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard car horns down on the street below. She looked down to see Fu caught in the middle of the road.

Without even thinking twice, Marinette rushed downstairs, then outside, and immediately rushed the old man to safety.

"Are you okay, sir?!"

"I am now, thank you, Marinette." The old man chuckled. "Guess I should pay more attention to where I am going."

"Yeah, probably." Marinette sighed. "Do you need me to help walk you home?"

"No, I can make it back from here. But still, thank you."

While Marinette wasn't looking, he slipped something into her backpack pocket as she decided to take her kindness further by giving him some leftover macaroons from her lunch.

"Okay, try to be more careful."

With that, she headed back to her room to do her homework. She placed her backpack next to her desk when she discovered a small, black octagonal box in one of the pockets.

"Huh? Where did this come from?" She took the box and opened it. "Earrings?"

Sure enough, inside were a pair of red earrings with black spots like that of a ladybug. Before she could ponder on this, they suddenly glowed brightly as Marinette flinched. When she could look again, her eyes widened when she saw a small red creature with black spots and an antenna.

"That took long enough!" The little creature said in a high-pitched feminine voice as it stretched before noticing Marinette. "Oh! My goodness!"

"WAAAAAH!" Marinette screamed. "HELP! IT'S A GIANT BUG! A MOUSE! A BUG MOUSE! TALKING BUG MOUSE!"

"I forgot how loud this part could be..." The creature winced. "Everything's okay, don't be scared!"

In her panic, Marinette began throwing things at this creature, who dodged the objects.

"Listen! I know everything may seem a bit strange to you, but-" The creature's words were cut off when Marinette trapped her in a jar. "Okay, if that makes you feel safer."

"Just what are you?" Marinette asked. "And how do you know my name?"

"My name is Tikki, the Kwammi of Creation!" The creature introduced herself. "If you let me go, I can explain everything to you."

Meanwhile, back at the Agreste Manor, Adrien was getting himself dressed after showering. After finishing putting on his shirt, he relaxed on the couch of his room, just looking out the window at the clear sunny sky.

However, he noticed something strange in his backpack, which he had placed on the coffee table. There was a small black octagonal box in the back pocket.

"What's this doing here?"

He got up, took the box, and opened it. Inside was a black ring with a green cat pawprint.

"Huh, did Mom and Dad leave this for me as a present?"

Suddenly, a bright green light came from the ring, making Adrien flinch in surprise. When the light dimmed, his eyes widened in amazement when he saw a small, black creature with cat ears, green eyes, and a tail appear, stretching its limbs and yawning.

"No way!" Adrien gasped as he inspected the creature. "Like the Genie of the Lamp."

"I met him once. So he grants wishes, big deal. I'm way more personable!" The creature in a high-pitched boyish voice. "The name's Plagg, Kwammi of Destruction, nice to meetcha!"

The creature identified as Plagg suddenly began flying around and biting everything in Adrien's room, causing him to quickly give chase.

"No, don't touch that! Come back here!"

Adrien quickly made a diving grab and caught Plagg in his hands.

"Okay, what the heck are you doing here?"

"If you just let me go, I can explain everything."

The Enforcers consisting of Montana, Fancy Dan, and Ox were robbing a bank. Of course, they weren't actually planning on making off with the money, they just needed to lure their targets here.

"You sure the rat and the bug are gonna show?" Montana asked as he finished tying up the guards with his lasso.

"Trust me, they wouldn't pass up a chance like this." Fancy Dan said, smoking a cigarette while Ox tore open the bank vault and went inside to snag as much money as his large arms could carry.

Suddenly, just as Ox came out of the vault, webs snagged the money in his hands and pinned it to the ceiling, signifying that their target had arrived.

"Anybody here call for a boy in a Spider-themed onesie?"

Fancy Dan's trained senses alerted him when a bat-shaped shuriken flew at him, quickly dodging and drawing out a collapsible quarterstaff from his coat, unfolding it, and spinning the weapon around as Batman jumped into view.

"You three must be desperate for attention if you're robbing a bank in broad daylight."

Back in Marinette's room, Tikki had just finished explaining everything to the confused young lady.

"So, let me get this straight; You're an ancient being of immense power, and you are choosing to grant that power to me so I can fight bad guys like Spider-Man and Batman, right?"

"Yup. I know it's a lot to take in, but the Great Guardian, the one who sent me, believes you're more than qualified," Tikki said.

"There has to be some mistake," Marinette said. "The only superpower I could possibly have is Super-Awkwardness."

"Marinette, trust me, you're the Chosen One!" Tikki said. "I know you have your doubts, but you were chosen for a reason."

"I really don't know..."

"You're capable of so much more than you think, Marinette. My master chose you for this responsibility, and all the time I've known him, he's always made the right choice."

Marinette sighed as she looked at the earrings. "Okay...but...how do these even work?"

"You just put the earrings on and say the phrase; Spots On!"

"Okay..." Marinette sighed, putting on the earrings and taking a deep breath. "Tikki, Spots On!"

A wondrous transformation occurred, and Marinette found herself in a mask and tight red suit with black spots, with solid black coloring on her hands, bottom of her feet, waist, upper thighs, and arms where the spots were inverted. Her collar was swan-necked and red with a black lining and a small ladybug-shaped zipper connected to the front of her costume. Her pigtails were longer and tied with long, red ribbons, and a yo-yo hung from her waist.

"Whoa..." She muttered, looking at herself in her full-view mirror. "This actually looks kinda cute. A little tight in some places, though..."

"When you're like this, you have superhuman physical characteristics and you even have a weapon."Tikki's voice spoke in Marinette's head as the girl looked to see a yo-yo attached to her waist."Your special power is called 'Lucky Charm' and it lets you create an object that will help you in whatever situation you find yourself in. You also have 'De-Evilize', which can eradicate evil from a vessel, and 'Miraculous Ladybug' which can undo the damage caused to the area around you!"

"Okay..." Marinette said as she stepped outside he rooftop patio and played with her yo-yo a little bit before seeing a nearby vantage point.

Quickly lashing the yo-yo, it quickly began traveling farther than any yo-yo logically could before wrapping around a gargoyle. Marinette gave an awkward tug before suddenly being pulled along, screaming in terror.

"How could I possibly be a superhero like Batman or Spider-Man?" Adrien asked Plagg after the Kwammi finished explaining everything to him. "I'm just some rich dweeb who got lucky in actually making any friends..."

"Come on, the Guardian chose you, kid. I know it's a lot to process but he thinks you got what it takes." Plagg said.

"Don't get me wrong, it sounds awesome getting to save the day and help people like Spider-Man and Batman..." Adrien admitted. "But I don't think I can do it."

"Kid, I've been bonded with people who have had even bigger self-doubts than you and they turned out to be awesome," Plagg said. "Just trust me, put that ring on, and say 'Claws Out'!"

Adrien looked at the ring before feeling a sense of determination fill him. Putting it over his finger, he struck a pose.

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

Adrien felt an exciting surge of energy flow through him as he transformed. When it was over, he looked to see he was clad in a black suit with green accents, black cat ears on his head, a large green pawprint on his back, and a tail fashioned from a belt, and he carried a collapsible baton on the belt around his waist. His eyes were covered by a black mask that also changed them to a cat-like style.

"Whoa..." Adrien looked at himself and smiled, feeling any doubt he had faded away. "Too cool!"

"Yeah, pretty sweet, right?"Plagg's voice spoke in his head."Now listen up, you got superhuman physical abilities like strength, speed, endurance, agility, and all that basic stuff but you also have the senses of a cat as well as those claws on your gloves. Your superpower is 'Cataclysm', which charges you with destructive energy you can use to obliterate any obstacle in your way. Be careful when using it on living people, though."

"Okay..." Adrien gulped, now a little nervous at the power he now possessed.

Heading onto the rooftop, he looked at his baton before suddenly gasping when it extended into a long pole that connected from his roof to the one next to it. Gulping as he looked down at the height below, he quickly stepped onto the pole and began walking on it, eventually realizing he had the balance of a cat.

"Whoa, cool!" He said as he continued balancing perfectly. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!"

Suddenly, a girl's cry caught his attention and he turned around just in time to hit by a red blur with black spots, falling off the pole and getting tangled up in what felt like some kind of string.

Shaking the surprise off, Adrien noticed he was tied up with a cute girl….who looked strangely familiar to him.

"Oh, h-hey there!" He chuckled bashfully, trying to sound suave. "Nice of you to drop in, m'lady."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

The two managed to get untangled, Adrien catching his baton as it fell back into its hands, shrunken to its normal size while the girl pulled the string, which turned out to be a yo-yo.

"Nice to see someone else is trying out for the superhero gig." Adrien smiled. "I'm...Chat Noir, yeah, that's my name!"

"And I'm Ladybug." The girl smiled. "I...just came up with that name."

"Well, so did I." Chat Noir admitted bashfully. "So, any crimes you're thinking of stopping?"

Suddenly, an explosion was heard at the nearby bank, the two quickly looked at each other before nodding, already knowing exactly what crime they had in mind to stop.

Ox had managed to get a rocket launcher from a supply helicopter that was on auto-pilot which carried some extra gear for the Enforcers. Spider-Man had taken point to get all civilians to safety while Batman kept the Enforcers' attention on him.

"You're a hard man to wrangle, Bats," Montana said as he caught a pair of high-tech revolvers. "Now I pride myself on my lasso and whippin' skills...but I like to think I'm a good crackshot."

Batman quickly began dodging the bullets fired from the guns. Montana wasn't spitting nonsense, he was quite skilled and a few bullets very nearly got the Dark Knight. Luckily, he wouldn't have to keep dodging forever as Spider-Man webbed up the revolvers out of Montana's hands.

"You shouldn't play with guns, I feel like I gotta say that to all the bad guys I meet!"

"Fancy Dan, you're up!" Montana called out.

Spider-Man's Spider-Sense couldn't warn him in time as Fancy Dan struck him from the side with a flying kick, having equipped a pair of high-tech boots with both flight and magnetic attachments.

"You'll find I'm quite the close-range brawler of our little troupe, Web-head!"

Spider-Man quickly fired webs to try and catch Fancy Dan but he simply cut through them with his quarterstaff, which produced a blade from one head to help in that endeavor while also performing some impressive acrobatic tricks to dodge the other webs.

"Gotta say, don't think I've met a guy who can outpace my webs before!"

Fancy Dan lunged and swung his staff at Spider-Man who jumped away before webbing back to try and slam him into the wall but he simply flipped over his staff to dodge and swung back around to kick Spidey away. Ox, who was nearby, grabbed the Wall-Crawler by the leg and slammed him into the ground hard.

"Okay, that hurt...!"

"And it's gonna hurt even more!" Ox grinned as he punched his fist into his palm before sprouting blades from his knuckledusters, raising one up to stab through Spider-Man's head.

"Hey! Let him go!"

Suddenly, a baton was flung and hit Ox square in the face, making him stumble back as Batman paused in the middle of his fight with Montana to see who had saved his friend from certain doom.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are here to save the day!"

"Whoa, who are these guys?!" Spider-Man asked as Ladybug helped him up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, a little sore, and maybe one of my ribs got cracked, but it'll mend."

"A couple a' kids in pajamas trying to play hero now, huh?" Montana scoffed. "Don't worry, Bats. I'll go easy on 'em."

Batman tried to stop him but Montana wrapped him up in his lasso and threw him away before approaching Ladybug, who got on guard as Chat Noir found himself face-to-face with Fancy Dan and a recovering Ox.

"Two-on-one hardly seems fair, you guys!"

"In this line of work, we aren't paid to play fair." Fancy Dan sneered before lunging and swinging his staff, which Chat Noir blocked with his baton before quickly backflipping out of the way when Ox tried to crush him.

With Ladybug, she was dodging Montana as he took out an energy chain and tried striking her with it. Acting quickly, she took out her yo-yo and spun it around to deflect some of Montana's strikes before weaving under him and then kicking him in the stomach, making him stumble back.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Chat Noir struggling against both Fancy Dan and Ox and went to help, but Montana stopped her by whipping the air in front of her.

"Don't go turning tail on me now, little lady. This square dance ain't over yet."

Suddenly, a capsule hit Montana in the back and exploded, covering him in a glue-like substance. He struggled to break free before turning as Batman rushed in and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground as he groaned, writhing on the floor.

"Ouch..." Ladybug winced.

"Thanks for keeping him distracted," Batman smirked.

"Uh...y-you're welcome."

Chat Noir was still dodging Fancy Dan and Ox's attacks when the former was suddenly webbed up from behind and swung around by Spider-Man. Chat Noir breathed a sigh of relief as Spidey slammed Fancy Dan into Ox, the burly man quickly catching his comrade and setting him down.

"Now who's two-on-one?" Chat Noir taunted.

Ox growled and rushed at the two heroes. Spider-Man jumped back and rapidly fired web bullets which covered him before eventually tying him up. Chat Noir then slid and extended his baton to hit the punk's Adam's apple, making him cough as Spidey flipped behind him and kicked him in the back, knocking him flat on his face as he groaned in pain.

"Not bad, kid. Too bad we couldn't use my power but we'll save it for a bigger-time villain."Plagg spoke in Adrien's head as he smiled.

"I think that went okay for your first time. And you didn't even need to use my powers."Tikki spoke in Marinette's head.

"Thanks, Tikki," Marinette spoke to herself before approaching Chat Noir and offering her fist. "Pound it?"

"Pound it!"

The two shared a fist bump as Batman and Spider-Man approached them, having webbed up the enforcers and left a note for the police.

"I'm not used to saying this, but…Thanks." Batman said, the smallest hints of a smile overtaking his face.

"Yeah, me neither," Spidey admitted. "Not bad at all, rookies."

"…It was that obvious?" Chat Noir asked sheepishly.

"You did alright," Batman assured them. "But you played it safe. Didn't move to end the fights right away. Sorry, just…I haven't been pressed like that in a while."

This made the three other heroes raise a brow in concern.

"Really, not even against…" Ladybug started.

"I'd actually prefer facing Joker again over the last guy I struggled with." Batman said with a hint of anger and…fear.

"Weeeeell….!" Spidey said, trying to move on from that. "In case you ever need a hand, take these."

He handed Ladybug and Chat Noir small pins that looked like his Spider emblem.

"They're Spider-tracers.'' The Web-head explained. "Waterproof and on a frequency only I can sense. If either of you ever need a hand? Just press it and I'll be able to find you."

The two new heroes eagerly accepted with smiles…just as they realized Batman had vanished.

'…Okay, cool but not cool, Bruce.'Peter mused to himself before he realized the time. "Well, catch ya two later!"

And he zipped away on a webline, leaving the two new heroes standing on a rooftop just as they both heard beeping.

"Oh, right…."Plagg mused.

"I forgot about the time limit…"Tikki added.

"Au Revoir, Chaton!" Ladybug quickly said as she raced away.

"See you again, Milady!" Chat replied as he followed in her example.

Tombstone frowned as he looked over the footage from the bank security cameras. Whoever these two new heroes were, they were pretty good for first-timers. He went to his desk and sat down to speak with his fellow Big Men.

"We seem to have two new players on the field, gentlemen."

"I saw on the news," Falcone said. "They look like a couple-a snot-nosed kids who took a wrong turn on the way to a pajama party."

"As if Spider-Man and Batman were not problematic enough," Kingpin grumbled. "Now we have these two rookies thinking they can play at the Hero game."

"Indeed, these presumptuous children think they can handle the game that the Spider and the Bat have been expertly playing for three years now." Spoke Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot AKA The Penguin.

"We'll just have to keep an eye on them." Black Mask muttered. "But trust me, if those little punks think they can muscle in like it's some game...well, they'll regret the day they ever crawled out of their momma's wombs."

"As vulgar and repugnant as ever, Sionis," Penguin muttered. "Honestly, your ill-begotten temper does you no favors."

"Say that to my face and not on a video screen, you little fat-!" Black Mask began before being cut off from the chat.

"Ozzie does have a point." Falcone shrugged. "Sionis really needs to see a therapist for that temper."

"Indeed, it is unbecoming of his stature." Kingpin voiced in agreement. "His sadism will be his downfall eventually."

"If that happens, we just gotta cut out losses." Tombstone shrugged as he signed off. "See you gentlemen for dinner tonight?"

"At Tony's? Wouldn't miss it, my dear disquieting comrade." Penguin nodded as he and the other Big Men signed off as well.

Chapter 5: Reveals & Hints

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Ladybug and Chat Noir had made their debut.

While they were still starting out on the Superhero thing, they had both managed to make some decent progress stopping robberies, assaults, and the occasional car chase. And with no civilian injuries or casualties!

They were quickly picking up in so much popularity, that Alya decided to postpone her Spider-Man hunt and instead focus on the new heroes, which turned out to be far easier and safer. Children adored the brightly colored and outright very friendly duo, and some laughed at Chat Noir's puns. A few even said he was funnier than Spider-Man.

And there was also the copious among of 'shipping fuel' between the two; always quick to save the other from a fall or applaud the other. And of course, Chat's flirty puns and Ladybug gently telling him to focus but smiling at them all the same….and there was a blush or two, some said.

The new heroes hadn't met up with either Spider-Man or Batman since the battle with the Enforcers but so far, not for a lack of trying mind you: Wherever they were? Spidey was either on the other side of Paris or Batman wasn't active yet.

On the matter of the Dark Knight, little did the Ladybug and Chat know that Batman was keeping a very close eye on them and things were about to come to a head very soon...

But not all was sunshine and rainbows. The four heroes still had their critics, and not just Jameson and his admittedly hilarious rants and tirades.

"I'm telling you, folks, it's time to step up and change things!" Councilman Arthur Reeves demeaned."How many times are we going to let Batman and Spider-Man run rampant? How can Paris truly grow when we depend on the support of potential madmen?! They're even encouraging our children to follow in their example!"

The Press were eating the Councilman's words up, snapping pictures and some already planning and writing up stories about the four vigilantes. Papers and articles that attracted many readers…especially Chat Noir detractors, when the stories played up his destructive power and black cats equalling bad luck….

However, the good news was that there were still plenty of people who showed their support which helped balance out the bad rap the heroes got.

"They've always been there when situations became too dangerous for the police to handle alone." Lieutenant Raincomprix pointed out to the councilman.

"And they work with us." Commissioner Gordon recounted, recalling how Spidey has worked with firefighters to save priority civilians and how Batman shared all the data he found with the PCPD. "And before any of you ask 'Why the masks then?' Let me ask you this: What happens in 90% of all superhero movies when the identity is found out?"

"Loved ones in danger at best, killed at worst." Harvey Dent followed up. "Look, I'm not a fan of kids fighting what should be our battles, but they help and are making the city a safer place. So, unlike Reeves, until I hear and see with my own two eyes proof these four are a danger? I welcome the chance to work alongside them."

It also didn't hurt that Jameson's Editor-in-Chief, Robbie Robertson, firmly kept a lot of his boss' bad press on Spider-Man off the records.

"Jonah, where is the proof?" He'd always ask whenever his boss tried to make it seem like the heroes and criminals they put away were working together. This usually at least delayed Jameson.

Chloé Bourgeois knew for a fact that she was not well-liked.

She had often been mean, insulting, insensitive, and even cruel to people who she thought were beneath her. Why was she like this? Many blamed it on her upbringing. Her father, while not entirely dismissive, still spoiled her, and her mother had convinced her that she had to be harsh and unforgiving to get ahead.

Unfortunately, this left Chloé with few friends; Sabrina, her loyal 'lackey', Sally Avril the head cheerleader, and aspiring actress Mary Jane Watson were the closest she had at school, and even then, MJ was really only there because Sally was obsessed with 'the hottest girls being queens and not interacting with geeks.'

Her words, not Chole's, although she agreed.

But among her social circle, there was one person who truly knew and cared for and she them: Adrien Agreste. They had been together since they were babies and despite it all, Chloe still had a soft spot for Adrien in particular.

It had taken some time, but Chole had finally managed to 'accidentally' bump into Adrian after he wrapped up a shoot, the two elated teens grabbing a bite together and Chole bringing Adrian up to speed on what to do for fun when he had the time.

It had been just like old times…minus the brief glare he'd given her after she suggested he stay away from Dupain-Chang and her friends…

*That afternoon...*

"Chole, I know you've been busy and I have to, so I understand why it took so long for us toi reunite. But Marinette, Nino, Juleka, Rose, and Peter were there for me as showed me around. I don't know why you don't like them…"

"I'm looking out for you, Adri-kins!"

"Well, what have they done to deserve the hate?"

Chole had growled, recalling Marinette's snarky remarks, Alya's truthful reports…Rose and the others were fine, she guessed…

"… Let'snot talk about that and enjoy this.:" Chole said. "Did you at least run back into Brucey?"

Adrian beamed and explained how Bruce had saved him from Carl…which had then driven Chole into a protective rage that 'that caveman dared bully (him).' She then paused the chat and called her father, who assured her Carl would be punished.

The two blondes then returned to their lunches and had a great time.

*Present Day*

Another person Chole was kind to was Bruce Wayne…Not that he didn't always deserve it, she wagered.

She recalled how he always looked after her and Adrien when they were little, being the big brother that she and Adrian had never had while their parents had their parties. Bruce had played with them, read them stories, and even snuck a few toys their parents said 'no' to.

Then came the morning after his parents were killed.

She had wanted to hug Bruce at the funeral, try and make him feel better…but he was shattered, and her parents dragged her away, not wanting to sadden her anymore. And then Bruce had gone to travel the world, returning briefly once in a blue moon but otherwise leaving Chloe and Adrien with only each other.

For a while, Chole had been fine with this; The Waynes had always been nice people and Bruce needed time to grieve.So, Bruce became an 'out of sight, out of mind' figure in Chole's world; she saw him occasionally but otherwise focused on her life, which was great, especially with him finally back for good and Adrien was making friends...but one of those new friends he made, in particular, did not make Chloe happy.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chloe couldn't stand that girl and seeing Adrien being all cute and friendly hurt her. Yes, Chloe wanted Adrien to make more friends, but not someone who might turn him against her.

Yet, as Chloe watched the two interact, she couldn't help but see just how happy Adrien was to have somebody to talk to, somebody to share interests with, someone whom he could smile a real smile. Seeing all that left Chloe lost in thought, not even noticing her closest friend Sabrina Raincomprix coming over.

"Ugh! The nerve of Dupain-Cheng, making a move on your Adrien. You want me to dig some dirt on her? Show it to Adrien?" Sabrina asked, believing that's how Chloé was thinking.

Chloé took a deep breath. "No, Sabrina. It's fine."

This took Sabrina for a spin. Chole NEVER turned down a chance to ruin Marinette! Sure, they never really worked, but it was bonding time for the two girls!

"Are you okay, Chloé?"

"I'm fine," said Chloé as she messaged her driver to come pick them up. "I just… I just want to go home."

They grabbed their things and began to walk away and wait, Sally having left for a date with Randy earlier.

"Hey, can I get in on that?" Mary Jane asked, getting a gracious nod from the two. "Say…Chole? Anything on your mind?"

"Ha!" Chole laughed. "Only if you consider a need wardrobe update, and I…"

"Chole. I'm an actress. I KNOW bad acting." The redhead frowned. "Spill."

There was also the fact that smiles aside, Mary Jane's home life was…complicated. The one upside is that it taught her to read people. But that's for later.

Chole, knowing Mary Jane wouldn't let this go, shared what had happened. Mary Jane listened with intent and carefully thought it over.

"Well, that IS tricky." She admitted. "But…is it so bad if Adrian gets some other friends? I mean, stop me if I'm wrong, but he doesn't strike me as a proud fashionista, jewelry collector…"

"But he's mine!" Chole retorted.

"Yours? Do you own him?"

Chole was about to respond…but then she thought it over. Yes, she wanted Adrian at her side and to be part of her life. She'd never hurt him like Bruce had them! Her mother would certainly tell her to say 'yes.'

Then again, he had seemed so happy with those geeks and losers…And to see him happy made her happy…

A hand on her shoulder as the limo pulled up brought Chole out of her thoughts.

"How about, just for now? You give him space but also be there for him?" MJ suggested. "And who knows? Maybe those 'geeks' aren't as bad as you think they are."

"Says the girl who lives next to Parker," Sabrina mumbled, Chole nodding..and Mary Jane smirking as she said:

"Peter is more Spectacular than you, or almost anyone else realizes."

Her house now outside, the redhead continued her smirk as she readied for another bout of drama at home….

"Hey there, Bruce!"

It was at this moment that a rare sight occurred at Lee Kane High; a shocked Bruce Wayne, who turned to see a beaming gentleman in a suit. Then another rare sight occurred:

"Harvey!"

Bruce beamed as he raced and gave the man a hug, which was returned. They then ended the hug and gave each other a look over. Many students were quick to snap pictures of the scene as the others made their way over.

"Guys, this is Harvey Dent," Bruce explained. "DA of the city and son of the late Judge Dent. He practically raised me."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Just kept his nose to the ground" Harvey chuckled as a pretty blonde in a suit came out. "Oh! I'm sorry, sweetheart! Bruce, this is Grace, my fiancé."

"Ah, the famous Bruce Wayne." Grace smiled as she gave Bruce a hand for a shake. "Harvey's told me all about you."

"Well, I hope it was all good." Bruce chuckled, kissing Grace's hand before remembering he wasn't alone. "Harvey, you remember Marinette, Adrian, and Peter? The others are Nino, great filmmaker, Alya, journalist extraordinaire, Rose, a sweetheart, and Juleka, the best kind of goth."

Harvey did indeed remember the first three, revealing he and Grace were actually about to have some snacks from the Dupain-Chang bakery before Harvey saw his little brother figure and decided to check in on him.

A car then passed by and stopped, revealing Arthur Reeves.

"Well, well. The White Knight and the secluded heir. Shame. You two could do so much better if you shifted priorities. What shame your folks must feel."

He then drove away, missing Harvey cringe, grinding his teeth and tightening his knuckles.

"Wow. What a jerk," Nino mused.

"And people actually vote for him?!" Alya asked.

"Har…Harvey?" Grace asked suddenly. Everyone saw the man fighting back his anger. When he realized this, Harvey fearfully motioned for them to wait and took out a coin.

"Heads, he's not worth it. Tails, mudsling back at next debate."

He then flipped the coin and caught it in his hand, which landed heads.

"Just shows how sad he really is." Harvey, all signs of anger gone, mused as he recomposed himself. "Sorry that you all had to see that."

Bruce just smirked and offered Harvey a hanky for his beading sweat.

"Okay, so why did you bring me down here?" Peter asked the next morning in the Batcave, Alfred serving them some tea and breakfast sandwiches before he left to dust something.

"Because I managed to get a positive ID on the two new heroes making rounds lately," Bruce said as he typed away on the Batcomputer.

"Are you sure that isn't invading their privacy?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna reveal it to the press, especially not the Bugle."

"Good point...and good call, too."

Finishing his scan, Bruce hit enter on the keyboard and the two heroes watched as the Batcomputer brought up the IDs on Ladybug and Chat Noir, making both their eyes widen in surprise.

"…Well. Guess I owe you lunch." Peter mused.

. Suddenly, the elevator to the Batcave opened up, causing Peter to panic but Bruce put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. I figured this was coming and invited them ahead of time."

Stepping out of the elevator were none other than Marinette and Adrien, who had been dropped off by the Gorilla on the grounds of a study session…and blushing like crazy the whole ride over. With a spare key from Marinette, they'd let themselves in and announced themselves…but got no answer.

"Alfred? Alfred?" Adiren called out before Marinette pulled him aside and pointed to the loyal butler turning on his iPod to listen as he dusted. Smirking, they decided to give the gentleman a scare…

But then they saw where he'd come from: What looked like a secret entrance.

"…I don't remember this one from hide and seek," Marinette said. Leaning in, she could hear the clacking of a keyboard in an echo.

"Maybe Bruce has a supercomputer to help him with homework?" Adrian guessed. "In a secret section of Wayne Man…Okay, yeah that sounds weird."

Marinette tried to peak inside even more, but the entrance swung open and she nearly fell, Adrina joining her. When they were greeted by an elevator, they stepped in…Which brings us to now, when they saw Bruce sitting at the Batcomputer, clad in black and grey armor with a familiar black bat symbol, it all clicked in their heads.

"You're here earlier." Bruce smiled. "Good."

Marinette and Adrian's jaws dropped and they tried to speak, but no words came out. Peter leaned in and whispered:

"Should we maybe hold off on my reveal?"

The newcomers then finally realized Peter was also in the room, and seeing their eyes on him, Peter shrugged, released a string of webbing an hung upside down.

"Ta-da?" He weakly smiled.

"You…! Spidey…! Him! Bat…!"

"Master Bruce, Mr. Parker, may I…" Alfred started, carrying a tray of tea and fruit before he saw Marinette and Adrian. "Oh….Um….Ms. Dupain Chang. Mr. Agreste. I…see you've uncovered our little secret."

The butler then let out a gentle sigh.

"Yes, children. It's true. I am Agent 007."

…

…

"PFFFT!"

Peter and Adrian cackled at that, while Marinette looked at Bruce desperately. Bruce just shrugged.

"Alright, old friend. You've had your fun. I believe the children are due an explanation."

Fu stepped out from behind Alfred, accompanied by a floating green creature not unlike Tikki and Plagg, who suddenly flew towards him, sobbing happily and hugging him.

"WAYZZ!" The two managed, their sibling gently hugging them back.

"Hello Tikki. Plagg. Good to see you two again. And with such wonderful chosen, too."

Suddenly, the Batcomputer blared to life, alerting everyone to a major crime in progress. Apparently, a man calling himself 'The Looter' was robbing the National History Museum.

"Looks like explanations will have to wait." Bruce said, flipping his cowl on.

"Well, better get to work!" Peter said, donning his mask. "You two ready?"

Marinette and Adrian unshook themselves and wordlessly asked if they could. Batman smiled and revealed something the other three had heard of, but never seen:

The Batmoblie.

"First one in gets shotgun…." He said, tempting the two, who then shouted out:

"Tikki, Spots On!"

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

Alfred and Fu watched as Batman jumped inside the Batmobile as Ladybug and Chat Noir excitedly jumped into the shotgun and back seat (respectively) while Spider-Man clung to the roof of the car and held on as they sped off to thwart the crime.

"So, do you mind a spot of tea while we wait, old friend?" Alfred asked.

Fu smiled. "I would love nothing more."

Chapter 6: Pretty Poison

Chapter Text

It was a slow Friday evening when Bruce found himself attending a charity dinner Mayor Andre Bourgeois was hosting at Le Grande Paris.

'I could really go for a supervillain or heist about now.' He mused. He'd always hated these gatherings. Yes, while a few people talked about business plans, it was mostly all for the rich to show off and feed their egos. The fact that Thomas and Martha had eclipsed everyone here by grand strides probably didn't help.

In fact, the moment he saw two particular faces in the next few minutes would be the cue for Bruce to leave. But first, he'd take another mimosa…

As he turned to grab a drink, his back made contact with someone, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oh! S-sorry!"

"No worries." Bruce smiled at his new company; a green-eyed redhead in a nice-looking yet shrubby gown. "You're…Ms. Isley, right?"

"..Y-you know who I am?" The girl smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, we're in the same botany class together." Bruce smiled as he helped the girl to her feet. "Can I call you Pamela or Pam?"

"Either or." Pamela smiled. "So, what brings you here? You usually avoid these things."

"I was bored and am looking for a friendly face," Bruce admitted. "Yourself? I haven't seen you at these functions often."

Pamela's brow furrowed.

"The Mayor's latest construction project has me concerned." She admitted, "Ah, There he is."

And there two was Bruce's target, or one of them at least, The two teens made their way over to their respective meeting, Pamela spraying some perfume as she did so.

"Chorally Chole," Bruce called out, getting the attention of the mayor's daughter, who was enraged to be called that...until she saw who had said it.

"B-B-Bruce?"

"…Been a while, huh?" Bruce admitted as he saw Pamela chatting affably with the Mayor. "You're all grown up, I see."

"Careful Brucey. Tabloids." Chole playfully retorted. Bruce chuckled back as he noted that Chloe's Mom, Audrey, didn't even bother showing up. And as horrid as it was, he was grateful for this: He'd never liked her, something Martha had praised him for.

"Oh like he cares." Harvey smiled as he and Grace walked over, arm in arm and Harvey handed Bruce a Mimosa.

"Especially with this…mystery girl of his," Grace added, making Bruce choke.

"Harvey!" He whined, scandalized.

"No worries, Bruce." Grace cut in. "Harvey refuses to say anything beyond the fact she's 'been there.'"

"Mr. Dent." Chole bowed respectfully, inwardly wondering who this 'Mystery Girl' was before her eyes lit up. "ADRI-KINS!"

She then zoomed by the other three and hugged her oldest friend, who tensed briefly before returning the hug, which gave Bruce time to come over and mess with their heads.

"Look at this. My two favorite, rascally little blondes." The billionaire heir smirked.

"Rascal? You're only like, what 4-5 years older than us." Chole retorted,

"Well, he DID always look out for us…" Adrian mused. "Like that time we got lost in Notre Dame?"

"Or the time we snuck away during the Empire State Building tour because somebody wanted to enact King Kong?" Chole replied.

"I remember that!" Bruce chuckled. "Oh, Mom and Alfred were so mad at me for that."

"As mad as ours when you bought like $400 worth of toys?" Chole remarked.

"Well in my defense?" Bruce remarked. "You two were four and used the puppy dog eyes."

Around this time, the Agrestes and the mayor found their children and Bruce. Judging by the look on Pamela's face, her talk with the mayor hadn't been successful.

"Well, I'm starving, let's eat." Emilie smiled as everyone sat down for dinner.

Despite Chloe still feeling rather upset about the absence of Audrey, the dinner went off rather well. Bruce in particular told a few riveting stories from when he had been traveling the world while also making sure not to give away any hints about his...secret identity.

"Bruce, you didn't!" Gabriel laughed. "I always knew you were a bit of a rebellious sort!"

Pamela, who had been keeping to herself while still engaging in conversation here and there, checked her watch before gasping.

"Oh, look at the time! I have to run or some of the plants will wilt!" She stood up from her seat and prepared to leave. "You all don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all, Pam." Bruce smiled. "Your flowers are some of the best from Gotham to Paris and Broadway."

Pamela giggled and blew Bruce a kiss before heading off with a sashay of her hips. Adrien shyly blushed slightly as Chloe huffed, folding her arms and looking away with a pout.

"She really is quite the lovely girl," Emilie said.

"I've got the greatest girl already but Pam is something else, I tell ya," Harvey smirked, holding Grace close.

Andre chuckled before tugging at his collar. "Is it getting warm in here?"

"You're still flushed from that story Bruce told about that girl he had a brief fling with in Arabia," Emilie smirked.

"Emilie!" Bruce called out, his pale cheeks a tinge of red. "First Harvey and now you?! I told that story in confidence!"

"No, it's just so hot all of a sudden..." Andre huffed, loosening his suit to try and air himself out.

"Daddy?" Chloe asked nervously before Andre's eyes went cross, a drained look on his face before falling face-first into his chocolate mousse. "DADDY!"

Andre was rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. Chloe was beside herself, sitting in the waiting room curled up into a ball with a dead look in her eyes. Her father was the only person she really had, even if he spoiled her quite a bit.

Adrien and Sabrina were there as well while Harvey had called Commissioner Gordon. Bruce had also contacted Peter, who in turn contacted Marinette as they both ran into the hospital.

"We came as soon as we heard!" Peter said. "What's happening?"

"Mayor Bourgeois has been poisoned." The doctor, Leslie Thompkins, explained, shaking her head. "It's the most virulent strain we've ever come across."

"Is Daddy gonna make it...?" Chloe whispered out so quietly, that she almost wasn't heard.

"The poison is racing through his system. If he's going to make it, we need to find the antidote and fast." The doctor said as she went back into the room to check on Andre's vitals.

"Leslie, might I have a blood sample?" Bruce asked. "Perhaps I can have the medical professionals at Waynetech look into it."

"Help yourself, Bruce." The doctor said. "We have a few for analysis, but you can take one."

Bruce was handed a vial that was also safely placed in a plastic bag for extra precaution. He turned to Peter and silently nodded as the two ran out together. Marinette and Adrien had a feeling about what they were doing but decided to stay with Chloe for the time being.

Bruce and Peter were already decked out in their hero outfits and were in the Batcave, putting their scientific knowledge together to isolate the poison isotope on the Batcomputer, Alfred watching over them.

"Heh, look at how much faster things get done when we work together on this." Peter chuckled as a hologram of the isotope was shown, Alfred inspecting it.

"It is a lethal poison derived from the plant Rosaceae Vularis, commonly known as the Wild Thorny Rose."

"The Wild Thorny Rose..." Bruce muttered. "That flower is almost extinct. Very few botanical gardens have them."

Peter's eyes widened. "Hey, doesn't that girl we take Chemistry with, Pamela, have her own private botanical garden?"

"Yes, she's shown me it a few times during class projects," Bruce said, putting a finger to his chin. A troubling thought entered his head but he didn't want to believe it without concrete evidence. "We'll need to see Pamela and ask her for a sample to derive an antidote."

Peter nodded and put on his mask, Bruce pulling up his cowl as the two headed to the Batmobile. As they did, Peter put in a call to Adrien and Marinette to tell them where they were going in case they wanted to join in.

"DUPAIN-CHANG!"

Marinette groaned in annoyance. One day. Just one more day. Without Chole.

She sympathized with her foe, she did. No one deserves to have a parent in the hospital. The whole thing was all over the news. And poor Adrian had been hounded for a response by the press so badly, he was hiding at the Parker's house.

Well, better get this over with,

"What do you want, Chole?" Marinette groaned.

"Look. I don't like you." The spoiled blonde began. "You don't like me. We'll probably NEVER like each other."

"…Is there a point to this, Chole?" Marinette groaned. "I have places to be."

"There is. Adrien."

Marinette froze, then furrowed her brow.

"I am not staying away from him. He's my friend, not some purse pooch for you!"

What Chole said next was…unexpected to say the least.

"I am perfectly aware of that. And…He likes you, a lot. Heck, maybe…More than likes you. You make him so happy."

Again, not at all what Marinette was expecting. Was Chole…being nice?!

"I haven't seen him smile like he does when he's with you and the other losers in some time. I'm happy when he's happy. So, don't screw it up, okay? Cause if you do? I…I'll….! Okay, I don't know what I'll do, but you'll regret it!"

Yeah, that sounded more like the Chole she knew and loathed.

"And… Thank you."

Marinette was shocked. "Wow, does your throat hurt?"

"From what?"

"From swallowing your pride," Marinette teased, making Chloé blush. Marinette then stretched out her hand. "Truce?"

Chloé turned her blushing face away and shook Marinette's hand. "Truce. But don't get the wrong idea, there's still a lot to do before I can say that we're friends,"

Marinette giggled. "Baby steps."

The two girls then chuckled.

"I mean,…can you imagine us? As friends?'

"HA! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chole chuckled back,

That's when the two girls realized that they were having a moment together. A thought that horrified them, as they irked back and shook off invisible dirt.

"Great! Now I need to air out the Dupain-Chang!" Chloe snapped as she stormed out,

Marinette grumbled a repeat as she returned to going on her way home.

SCREEECH!

From behind her, Marinette saw a car swerve in front of Chole, who was then grabbed and gagged by someone in all black before the car spread away. Thinking quickly and despite it all, Marinette called the police and then Alfred to pick her up.

She then saw some kind of liquid from where the car had been….

"Okay, dumb question; who has a grudge against Chole?" Adrien asked less than an hour later. "I mean, that's usually the first question asked, right?"

Chole's kidnapping was not yet public news, but Marinette had called Peter while he and Adrian were having a 'Tim Curry Movie Marathon' and Peter had forgotten to act vague, not that Adrien wouldn't have found out soon enough anyways.

The four heroes were in the Batcave, Bruce analyzing the scene while also cross-referencing newspaper articles and city records. Alfred served them all tea and scones as they brainstormed.

"There is no short answer to that," Marinette responded, then noticing her crush's downcast face and recalling her recent chat with Chloe. "Oh, Adrian! I-I'm sorry! Its…"

"No, no, I…I understand." Adrien assured his crush, now feeling bad for reminding her of Chole's bullying.

"This is a rather complicated affair, my boy." Alfred said, patting the blonde's shoulder. "Master Bruce? Perhaps this all ties back to her father? I mean, his sudden sickness and now her kidnapping seem too close together to be a coincidence."

"Again, pick a number," Peter said, pulling out the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. "Whenever they're not lambasting me, they're also criticizing whatever new endeavor the mayor has cooked up. Like a factory proposal over parkland that is almost INCHES into Central Park."

"Honestly, I'm surprised he's still in power with all the spoiling he deals Chole and all his other deeds." Marinette mused.

"Would you rather Arthur Reeve?" Peter asked.

"Honestly, I'd rather see Harvey or Mr. Fisk as mayor," Adrien admitted.

Bruce mused at that notion fondly, taking a sip of his tea.

"Harvey's more interested in doing actual work and hates desk life. And Mr. Fisk is a great philanthropist with connections, but he's also a family man."

"Didn't Mr. Fisk run for a position a few years back?" Marinette asked.

"No, that was his dad; a stool pigeon of Falcone and Moxxon," Peter said, then recalling one detail from the crime scene. "Wait…Bruce, anything about the trail the car left behind?"

DING!

A paper was printed out with an analysis from the sample, which Marinette had managed to grab before anyone noticed.

"Vegetable Oil," Bruce noted, narrowing down his search to vehicle owners with eco-friendly vehicles. And one name stood out.

"And now the picture becomes clear."

Batman and Spider-Man made their way to Pamela's private greenhouse, which was located by her home. The girl lived by herself, her parents having died a long time ago. She was able to make ends meet by growing and selling flowers. It's where she got her talent and love for Botany.

And sadly, the car that grabbed Chole was registered under her.

"Hey, glad to see you didn't start the party without us!" Chat Noir called out as he and Ladybug arrived.

"Good, because I think Pamela is in right now," Batman noted as the four heroes peered through the glass ceiling to see Pamela tending to her flowers.

Ladybug frowned sadly. "Let's try and minimize our time here. I know what Pamela's doing is wrong, but…"

"We'll try but no promises," Batman said.

Chat Noir, seeing his partner still distraught, gently tapped her shoulder.

"We'll find Chole and then leave." He said, half to her and half to himself, then looking over to Spider-Man. "Surprised you're not asking if we really need to save Chole."

"Oh, I've thought it." The webhead assured his friend. "But last time I ignored someone I didn't like?... Well, never again."

As soon as Pamela left, the four jumped down and looked around for the Wild Thorny Rose.

"With all these different plants, it'll be almost impossible to zero in on what we need," Spider-Man said. "Talk about finding a needle in a haystack...or in this case, a vineyard."

"Whoa, check this out!" Chat Noir said, looking at a large and exotic-looking Venus Flytrap. "So cool! Mylene would be all over this!"

He then jumped back when the Flytrap tried to take a bite out of him.

"…On second thought, maybe don't tell her about this?"

"Well, Pamela has helped her out in Botany Class before..." Ladybug noted.

Suddenly, muffled screaming was heard as Spider-Man's Spider-Sense went off. Looking around, the Webhead zeroed in on the source of the distress and made his way over, carefully web-swinging over the various flora and finding...

"CHLOE?!"

True enough, Chloe was wrapped up in vines and held precariously over a bit of cactus with thorns so sharp that it looked like even the tiniest prick would draw blood. The four heroes moved to try and free her, only for a gun co*ck to be heard.

"Don't move."

The four turned around to see Pamela there, aiming a revolver at them with a glare on her face.

"Isley..." Batman realized. "So my hunch was correct..."

"You must have a good hunch. Careful, it might not do good for your back." Pamela smirked as she kept her gun trained on the four. "You're probably wondering why I kidnapped this spoiled little brat...and poisoned her father."

"WHAT?!" Ladybug and Chat Noir gasped in shock.

Pamela shushed them as she then petted the nearest plant.

"You might find me weird for this, but I do prefer plants over people so much. They put out what you put in them. They give us air and food, delight our eyes and smell…And how does our city, the most romantic and beautiful repay them?! Shopping malls. Factories! All in the name of progress. The same progress that ruined my parents when they worked themselves to death to provide for me and save what they loved!"

As she'd ranted, Pamela made her way over to a nearby desk and pulled something out.

"But if anything, I owe that progress. Because it reminded me that plants can harm and kill just as much. A hallucinogenic here, a narcotic here, all in an unobvious design, and progress will pay big money. That's how I've stayed afloat…and then that fat idiot of a mayor decided to level my home just so that his spoiled brat of a daughter can have another place to shop and THEN, on top of that, a factory that just kills and harms more than it produces anything good?!"

"So you poisoned the mayor," Ladybug noted, getting a nod. "And then grabbed Chole as leverage if he recovers?"

"That or fertilizier." Pamela added, not at all concerned, even smirking at Chole. "Yeah, not so funny when YOU'RE the one tied up and humiliated, huh?"

"But how did you poison the mayor in the first place?" Chat asked, Batman's eyes widening.

"…The perfume."

"Exactly," Pamela smirked, then moved over to reveal a flower. "And that there is the cure. Of course, now that you know…I can't let you have it. Darn shame, you boys are adorable."

That irked Ladybug to no end.

"Pamela, you don't have to do this! I know Chloe can be mean and selfish but she can still change." Chat Noir pleaded, Ladybug and Spider-Man holding their tongues at that. "You just have to give her a chance!"

"Too late...she crossed the line and I'm going to make sure she pays for it." Pamela scowled before snapping her fingers and causing the vines holding Chloe to let go, making her fall into the makeshift tiger pit.

"NO!" Batman shouted, moving forward and making a diving catch for Chloe, jumping over the pit and grabbing her just in time.

Pamela scowled and prepared to shoot the Dark Knight...only for webs to disarm her in the blink of an eye as Spider-Man grabbed it in his hand and crushed the gun into bits.

"You know, I don't think gunpowder is good for the plants, lady. And you call yourself a Botany expert."

Pamela scowled before smirking as she revealed a hidden mechanism attached to her wrist that fired small crossbow bolts at the heroes. Spider-Man, Ladybug, and Chat Noir dodged out of the way before Ladybug came across the Wild Thorny Rose by chance.

"Yes!" She looked around before deciding to use her power."LUCKY CHARM!"

Creating a ladybug-printed shopping bag, Marinette took the pot containing the rose and made a break for it. Pamela gasped when she saw this and aimed her wrist crossbow at her, only for Chat Noir to get in front of her.

"CATACYLSM!"

Pamela watched in shock as her weapon was obliterated by the destructive energy, trying to right herself before Chat Noir whacked her upside the head with his baton. Stunned, the woman stumbled into her lab...and all the chemicals broke and spilled all over her.

"PAMELA!" Batman cried as he ran over after making sure Chloe was alright. However, some of the chemicals hit some of the machinery, which sparked a bad reaction and started a fire.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Spider-Man cried, not wanting so many rare plants to be destroyed, and quickly webbed up as much as he could safely before leaping out of the greenhouse.

Ladybug, still having her magic item out, put more plants into it before following after the Webhead. Chat Noir took an armful of plants himself before extending his baton to boost out. Bruce took Chloe and tried to find Pamela but couldn't find her in the blaze. With a heavy heart, the Caped Crusader grappled away.

The four heroes cleared some distance, watching as the greenhouse and Pamela's house burned down. Ladybug sighed as she looked at the Wild Thorny Rose and turned to Batman.

"You think you'll be able to make a cure for Mayor Bourgeois?"

"I think so..."

The four looked at Chloe, whose eyes were still wide from her near-death experience and the severity of what her actions had caused Pamela to resort to. Chat Noir sighed sadly.

"I think we need to get her back home..."

"I see..." Andre said, having been cured after Bruce and Peter whipped up the antidote. "I'll make sure that these plants you rescued are given a good home and a safe environment to thrive."

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor. That's all we ask." Marinette said.

"And if you see Batman, Spider-Man, or those two new heroes...tell them that while I don't condone their vigilantism...I thank them for saving my daughter."

"We will, sir." Peter nodded. "Besides, I think they already know."

As the four left, Bruce still had a troubled look on his face as Peter patted his friend on the back.

"There wasn't anything we could do...and I doubt she'd have wanted to be saved by us anyway."

"There's always a choice, Peter..." Bruce said as he walked ahead. "There's always a choice."

In the burned-down ruins of Pamela's house and greenhouse, a strange glowing pink cocoon lay where Pamela had been doused in her own plant chemicals and seemingly engulfed in the flames. Her silhouette was shown in the cocoon, which began flickering in a manner akin to a heartbeat as her body began changing...

Chapter 7: Love & Imposters

Chapter Text

A jewelry store alarm went off as someone punched open displays and stuffed everything of value into a bag, paying the trapped owner, ensnared in a net, no mind.

"THE BUGLE WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE A MENACE!"

The thief did react to that, turning to reveal their red, blue, and glass-eyed visage and smirking under their mask before pulling out a gun and firing another net, this one gagging the owner before he made his escape.

Now surprisingly, as the owner would soon realize, Spiderman didn't web sling away. No, he used a second gun, this one with a grappling hook, to make his escape.

Once he was a few rooftops away, the thief smirked under his mask and stopped to take a look at his prize…

*CLANG*

"D'aargh!"

Only to find himself nursing a hand cut by a Batarang followed by facing not only the Dark Knight but also the Wall Crawler and Chat Noir. Ladybug had moved to help the store owner before catching up with her comrades.

"Wow, a fan!" Spider-Man smirked. "I'm flattered and would love to accept such a donation, but I do make it a point not to take what's mine…Oh, and something stolen from a hack.

Not deterred, the thief slipped on some gloves decorated with wires and nodes.

"Okay, the costume is on point, but the guns and gloves?" Chat Noir quipped, brandishing his baton and racing to take this faker out. The aforementioned fake then grabbed the staff and delivered a punch that sent the bad luck hero skitting

"Okay, gloves give him strength. I take it back!"

"Leaving the quipping to the pro, Chatton!" Ladybug said, kicking the Imposter Spider-Man away from her partner.

"So, me. Got it." Spidey smirked as he webbed the gloves and yanked them off before repeating the act on the thief's feet, making him fall flat on his face.

Undeterred, the criminal then reached into their pocket and threw a cube that seemed to burst into flames, startling the four young heroes. With them distracted, the thief grabbed a nearby shrapnel and tossed it, not caring who he hit as he then leaped downwards, but not before tossing a grenade.

Sadly for our villain, one of the heroes was blessed with 'Spidey Sense', and he was quick to pull Chat and Ladybug away...only to realize danger was still nearby.

"GUYS!"

Batman, uncharacteristically emotional, pushed the trio out of the way before the grenade exploded, scattering them.

Spider-Man was quick to swing the two rookies away…just as the police showed up just as the Miraculous' power gave out.

"Peter, stop! We need to go back for Bruce!" Adrien begged as they continued to be swung away.

"No, we need to get you two as far from the scene as possible," Peter remarked then tossing the two younger teens as far as he could. "Your PR is good. Mine and Bruces can take a few hits. Now get home. I'll find him."

"But…!" Marinette started, but Peter was already too far to hear.

Bruce, now nursing a bleeding side from a shrapnel piece but also from the impact of hitting a wall and without his mask, panted away as he fled the scene.

"Of all the times for this happen, it had to be the one time I can't call another Bat-vehicle to pick me up."He mused, keeping his mouth shut when he heard voices overhead.

"Keep looking; the rodent couldn't have gone far," Bullock called out. "Talk to anyone on the street. If they resist, book 'em."

Clenching his mouth, Bruce climbed over a fence and raced out of the alley, only for his path to be blocked by a car, which suddenly opened up its doors.

"Get in." A familiar voice ordered, but the blood loss made Bruce dizzy and his senses dull. "HURRY!"

With little other choice, the young man obeyed and the car sped off. Just before Bullock could call for a chase, he got a summon on his radio.

"Return to base," Godon called out. "On top of the owner, a damn vlogger's already pointed out enough discrepancies to warrant an investigation before APP."

Bullock grimaced. He'd been so close! Then again…if this WAS a poser and not the real deal….

Sticking a fresh toothpick in his mouth, the detective got into his car and drove back to HQ.

"Come on, come on!" Spider-Man grimaced as his eyes darted around the streets from above. "How hard is it to find Bruce?!"

He had to find his friend quickly; if ANYONE saw Bruce in that costume…

His Spider Tracer suddenly buzzed and with great reluctance, Spider-Man landed to take the message.

"Ah, Peter."Alfred's voice spoke over the communicator."Please tell Master Agreste and Marinette that Master Bruce made it back to the manor in one piece. You three should get some rest but do swing by tomorrow for brunch."

Alfred ended the call and then spied his charge, sound asleep after being bandaged. At his bedside was a beautiful young woman with sleek yet short black hair with red highlights, looking at him with relief.

"Selina?"

The girl was startled out of her thoughts but relaxed when she saw the smile on Alfred's face.

"I know, I know. I'm getting." She started, only to yawn despite it all.

"It is getting rather late," Alfred noted. "Might I escort you to a room? I'm sure Yelana and the others can handle things without you one night."

"…I'd rather make sure he's…" the girl started, a yawn then escaping her.

"You'll do much better with a good night's rest." Alfred smiled warmly, escorting her out. "That, and maybe some tea and a light snack."

Selena's stomach growled suddenly and she relented, shooting Alfred a look.

"…You're nicer than you were last time I came here."

"And for that, I do apologize." Alfred sighed, recalling how rather…curt he'd been with this young lady all those years ago. "Though, in my defense, you were a… 'street rat' who obviously took a few things when she left…"

"Crud, you did notice…" She then frowned. "So what? I turn out to be someone's illegitimate kid, gain a fortune, and suddenly I'm 'good enough?'"

"In society's standards, it helps," Alfred admitted with shame as he opened a door. "But no. not solely that."

Selina took a glance at her room; it was regal, with a tigress painting…and a tray with some hot tea and fruit at the bedside.

"You've also always been there for Bruce when you could. Like tonight."

Selina said nothing, even when Alfred thanked her. She was too tired and honestly, all that mattered was that the Batman was still free…She owed him that much.

"That and Bruce does care for you a very great deal." The butler then cheekily added, closing the door before Selina could process this. She would've cursed at him, but the smell of her favorite tea (with warm milk mixed in, no less) and desire for sleep overtook her.

"I'll sneak something out when I leave."

At the same time, the thief ditched his costume and admired his prize. Or rather tried to.

"How could I forget about Batman?! I did this at night, his prime time!" They then breathed a sigh of relief and moved to a locker. "Never mind that for now. Just a few days to get the cash for my prize…and then a REAL HERO will make his debut."

Opening the locker, the thief eyed a green, wizard-like costume with a purple cape and a glass dome mask…

"Ah, come in." Alfred beamed as he let Adrien, Marinette, and Peter inside the very next morning. All three were worried for Bruce, politely declining Alfred's offer to take their coats until they saw him.

So, you could probably imagine their surprise when they saw Bruce chatting and laughing affably with a beautiful girl as they finished some brunch.

"So THAT'S his mystery girl…" Peter mused, only to see Marinette and Adrien looking at this mystery girl in shock.

"That's Selina Kyle!" The two whispered in near-perfect sync. "The animal rights prodigy! Opener of three top-of-the-line shelters and fighter against animal testing!"

"That is oddly adorable." Peter mused.

"Oh, hey guys!" Bruce mused, wincing slightly as he got to his feet before Selina helped him up.

"Easy, Bruce." She whispered in a coo softly, leading him over and setting him down in a chair. "Slight cut and bruising, according to Alfred. I'd say give him a day, but…"

"Oh, he shall," Alfred assured Selina. "Miss Kyle? Mister Parker, Miss Dupain-Cheng, and Mister Agreste."

Selina smiled at the two younger teens.

"Saw your work on Gabriel's show. Good work, but a little tip; cover your hair." Selina smirked. "Also, Cat-puns? Been done."

Adrien pouted, making Marinette giggle…before they both realized what this meant,

"Oh relax." She waved. "What do I have to get by blabbing? Besides, if you all go? Bruce.."

She shot him a worried look, which he smiled at. Smiling back, Selina turned her attention to Peter

"Not at all what I was expecting…But glad to see it's someone with a brain and heart." She admitted, delighting in Peter's blush before she moved away. "Well, now that you guys are here, I'd better head home."

"Selina." Bruce smiled knowingly, making her pause as she turned with a frown and revealed she'd taken one of Peter's web-shooters, Adrien's ring, and a card for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

The three kids looked down in shock and inspected themselves.

"HOW..?!"

"Second tip; get keychains and work on awareness." She said, then smiling warmly at Bruce. "Don't be a stranger."

She then sauntered out, smirking at Bruce and adding a sway to her step.

"I do believe Martha and Thomas would have liked her." Alfred mused as he quickly jotted down an entry in his journal and served the others something to eat.

"…WE UNDERSTAND!" Peter, Marinette, and Adrien all said to Bruce, who smirked and then forced himself up.

"Okay, okay, You've had your fun and worried. Now, let's find out who that fake Spider-Man was."

Chapter 8: Lila

Chapter Text

The day started out simple enough. Marinette and Adrien were talking to each other outside the school before it started. Adrien was holding a large book, given to him by his parents.

"Dad said he found it in Tibet. He doesn't know how old it is, just that it's...well, it's old."

Marinette giggled. "It's definitely old alright. How much have you read so far?"

"First few dozen pages or so. It's really cool. Right now, I'm on this part about a legendary hero who styled themself after a fox."

"Yo! Mari! Adrien!"

The two turned to see Nino coming over and waving to them excitedly. Adrien smiled as he gave his now official best friend a fistbump.

"Did you guys hear the news? We're getting a new student in Ms. Bustier's class."

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. Marinette was always willing to meet new people and Adrien was glad to make new friends.

"What's this about a new student?" Peter asked as he came in along with Bruce.

"Marinette's class is getting a new transfer student from Italy. Apparently, she's the daughter of their diplomat." Bruce clarified.

"Ah, she's-a from Mother-a Italy, eh?" Peter joked in a cheesy fake Italian accent.

Marinette giggled, Adrien snorted, Nino burst out laughing, and Bruce just sighed and facepalmed.

As Bruce and Peter left for their class, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino headed to their own class and saw a girl in a red jacket with brown hair and green eyes talking with Alya and Rose.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Alya said as she recognized her friends. "Adrien, Marinette, this is Lila. She's new. Lila, these are our best friends, Marinette and Adrien."

It didn't take long for Lila to react to Adrien. She immediately went up to him, getting close to him, too close for the gang's taste.

"Well, Adrien, I think we are going to get along just fine since we have something in common," She said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Adrien immediately blushed and smiled nervously. "Oh? That's good. Uh... What do we have in common?"

"Well, we both come from high-class standings. My mom's Italy's ambassador and your dad's the legendary Gabriel Agreste, if I'm not mistaken."

"I guess that's sorta true..." Adrien muttered to the side.

"Hmm? Sorry, I couldn't quite hear that." Lila said, scrubbing her ear. "I have tinnitus in my left ear. I got it while I was getting a private lesson from Jagged Stone, a personal friend of mine."

"Hold on, you know Jagged Stone?" Ivan asked in surprise. "He's one of the best musicians of this time period!"

"Wow, you got to meet a celebrity? That's pretty cool." Marinette noted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool, whatever." Lila said, completely waving Marinette off before immediately turning her attention back to Adrien.

That's when Ms. Bustier came in. "Alright, everyone, take your seats."

"Oh, Ms. Bustier, may I sit in the front with Adrien?" Lila asked. "I have a bad hearing problem in my left ear and need someone I can trust to help me with notes."

She clung to Adrien's arm with a pleading look, which made the Agreste boy more than a little uneasy. Lila's sudden clinginess felt sudden and very unsettling.

"Well, Nino would have to give up his seat. Nino? Would you be willing?"

Nino looked at his best friend and at Lila. He thought about it, and while it would suck not to be with his buddy, at least Adrien would be making a new friend. With a sigh, he nodded his head and went to the back.

"Alya, I don't want to sound distrustful but something isn't right about that girl." Marinette whispered to Alya.

"Well, she's probably just happy to meet Adrien. You know how popular he gets with girls sometimes."

"Yeah..." Marinette muttered, still unsure.

As the lecture began, Chloe noticed how Lila was still clinging to Adrien, so she leaned toward Sabrina.

"Something's bugging me about that new girl."

"She does seem to be acting a little suspicious," Sabrina admitted. "But maybe it's just first-day jitters?"

Somehow, Chloe didn't believe that. Eventually, the class was over and the students made their way to their next class. Adrien made his way out the door, not realizing that he had left his new book for Lila to discover. Her prying eyes lead her to open it.

To say things got better throughout the day would be a lie. Marinette tried to spend time with Adrien during passing periods and lunch but found that he was often with Lila, whether by choice or not, Marinette couldn't tell.

Marinette tried to get involved and be friendly towards Lila. She wanted to be her friend, but each time, Lila just brushed her off. Marinette could understand the appeal of having someone to relate to, but Lila's behavior seemed unusually unfriendly to her, especially since they had just met.

"Hey Marinette, how are you feeling?" Peter asked as he swung by.

"It's about Lila, the new kid. Something's just...well, I don't want to sound distrustful, but something seems suspicious about her."

"I saw her hogging a lot of Adrien's time. Seems like she's one of 'those' fangirls."

"No, it's not that..." Marinette said before suddenly hearing Lila talking to one of the other students.

"Yeah, I got the tinnitus in my right ear while I was hanging out with Prince Ali and Ladybug. I know her, you know. She saved my life once. Now we're friends. Though, if you ask me, there are way better heroes out there. Like Batman and Spider-Man."

Marinette gasped. Lila had said earlier that she had tinnitus in her left ear but now she was saying it was in her right? That could have just been a slip of the tongue, but the story had changed entirely, not to mention the part about Ladybug. Marinette knew for certain that that part was a lie.

"Uh, hey, Lila?" Marinette spoke up as she came over. "Sorry, but when you said you had tinnitus, didn't you tell me it was in your left ear? And I don't remember you telling us that you met Prince Ali and I certainly don't remember anything about…"

Lila's hand was suddenly brought over Marinette's mouth as she turned to the student she had been talking to.

"Can you excuse us?"

Lila then dragged Marinette into the bathroom. This time, Peter began feeling his Spider-Sense go off and he began to eavesdrop, not noticing a couple of other girls were passing by.

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Marinette snapped as she pried Lila's hand away from her mouth.

Lila sneered. "What'syourproblem? You've been stalking me all day."

"I wasn't stalking anyone. I was trying to talk to Adrien, because he's my friend, and I was also trying to be yours, but you kept brushing me off."

"Oh. Well, okay, sure. We can be friends." Lila said, giving off a smile that seemed a little too sweet for Marinette's liking.

"Fine by me, but you need to stop lying," Marinette said, crossing her arms.

Lila glared upon hearing that. "How do you know I'm lying?"

"Lila, you were telling a completely different story than the one you told us in class, and even added Ladybug into it."

"Okay, Little Miss "Honesty", so I make a few stories up. It's not my fault if people are dumb enough to believe them. People love my stories because it's what they want to hear." Lila said, her voice becoming more dangerous as she backed Marinette into a corner. "I know how to work a crowd, and I can make it so everyone loves me, and hates you."

Marinette was speechless. She was catching a glimpse of Lila's true colors, and she didn't like it. She tried desperately to say something, but she was too shocked to think of anything.

"So, you can keep this our little secret, or you can risk testing me. And let me warn you, it won't end well for you," Lila threatened as she turned on her heel and left. "And you might as well forget about Adrien because, by the end of the day, he's going to be mine."

Marinette just stood there, shaking. Just how much of Lila's threat was worth worrying about? The idea of this girl manipulating Adrien and the rest of the school against her was terrifying. Peter quickly moved into the bathroom with a concerned look on his face.

"Marinette, are you okay?!"

"I knew she was trouble!"

The two noticed that Chloe and Mary Jane were also there, having apparently heard everything themselves.

"H-How much did you hear?" Marinette asked nervously.

"We heard enough." Mary Jane replied, her normally laid-back and friendly face having a rather upset look. "We saw you and her coming our way, and I thought there would be trouble."

"Yeah, and I definitely felt there was trouble," Peter added.

MJ then walked over to the wastebasket and took her phone out of it as Chloe did the same.

"We hid our phones in the wastebasket and put them on record. I may not like you a whole lot, Dupain-Cheng, but Lila certainly is crossing a line." Chloe said. "Besides, she's trying to deceive Adrien and I can't let that slide no matter how you see it."

"We need to let the rest of the gang know about this," Peter said to Marinette. "Otherwise, bad things might start happening."

Peter, Marinette, Mary Jane, and Chloe met up with Sabrina, Alya, and Nino and managed to get Adrien, Bruce, and the rest of Ms. Bustier's class over at the Grand Paris to talk about what they had learned.

"I can't believe she would lie like that!" Adrien said with his fists clenched. "She even went on about being a descendant of Volpina, a Fox Superhero, and how she knows Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Earlier, Lila had returned Adrien's book to him and had made up the lie about her being descended from the fox-themed hero in the book, Volpina. Adrien had already taken it with a grain of salt but this just confirmed his suspicions.

"Does that mean she was lying about knowing Prince Ali too?" Rose gasped, feeling more than a bit betrayed.

"Guess she must have been lying about Jagged Stone too." Ivan frowned.

"I showed her the recording and told her she should just simply admit the truth," Bruce said with his arms folded. "She merely got defensive and brushed off my words, saying she 'didn't need a lecture'."

"Man, and she seemed so nice too..." Alya sighed. "Guess I only have myself to blame for falling for it..."

Mary Jane shook her head. "That girl is bad news."

"Well, if she doesn't want to come clean on her own, then we'll have to do it for her," Nino said.

"I really didn't want it to come to this but...I guess there's no choice, huh?" Adrien sighed.

Bruce put a hand on his surrogate little brother's shoulder with an understanding look on his face.

"I know it's hard, Adrien. But sometimes, people will only learn the hard way."

"I see everyone is having themselves an important meeting of sorts," Gabriel noted as he and Emilie came in, the latter having a big grin on her face.

"Adrien, we have a big surprise for you."

"Well, your mother has a big surprise for you, mostly," Gabriel said with a wry chuckle.

Adrien looked at Marinette, who shrugged. He then followed his parents in with curiosity about this sudden surprise, followed by his friends. They went in, and right there, talking to Mayor Bourgeois was none other than Jagged Stone.

"Holy...JAGGED STONE!" Ivan, Peter, Mylene, and Rose all exclaimed excitedly.

Adrien, for his part, nearly screamed as he ran over to meet the rockstar.

"No way, no way, no way! Someone pinch me, I've gotta be dreaming! Jagged Stone! I am such a big fan! I can't believe I.."

Adrien was cut short when Jagged Stone turned his head and looked at the boy before giving a big smile his way.

"Little Adrien Agreste?! Is that really you?!" He asked, much to Adrien's confusion. "Blimey! I almost didn't recognize you! Look at you! You've gotten so big! C'mere, little bloke! Give your Uncle Jagged a hug!"

Adrien found himself in a state of stunned silence as his favorite rockstar hugged him tightly.

"Uh...I...Uncle…what?"

Jagged broke the hug. "You don't remember me, do you? Oh, what am I saying? Of course not. You were only four."

"Jagged is a friend of mine. We met when we were your age," Emilie explained.

"More her friend than mine, I'll say," Gabriel added for clarification, ignoring the look his wife gave him.

"The last time I saw you, you were only up to my knee," Jagged said, ruffling Adrien's hair.

"It's good to see you as well, Jagged." Bruce said as he came over.

"Well, well, the main man himself!" The rockstar laughed as he shook the Wayne Heir's hand. "How you holding up since...you know?"

"I've been traveling the world, broadening my horizons." Bruce smiled sadly. "The pain is still there, but I've learned to cope now."

Jagged smiled sadly at that.

"They'd be proud of you." Then noticing the confused and concerned looks, he chuckled. "Long story short, I met Martha Wayne when I had some…issues that we shared, Might not have been as close to her as I am Emile, but she and Tommy were good folks."

"Oh, he hated you calling him that." Bruce chuckled, recalling the annoyed look on Thomas Wayne's face whenever Stone called him that.

Nino whistled. "Wow, Lila wishes she had this kind of connection."

"Who's Lila?" Jagged asked.

"A new student at our school. She's been telling all sorts of crazy stories, even claiming to have met you once." Chloe explained.

Jagged raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know anyone named Lila."

"Figured as much. She's been going around telling all sorts of ridiculous lies and when Marinette tried to confront her about it, she got aggressive with her." Peter said.

"That's no good. If you ask me, someone should get the word out." Jagged Stone said.

"That's the plan, stan." Mary Jane smirked as she held up her phone.

"It's not kind, but it has to be done," Alya said with her arms folded.

"You know, I admire someone who's willing to call out a lying bully." Jagged Stone said to Marinette. "How would you like a little job while I'm here?"

Marinette tensed as her world went silent for a few seconds. First, Gabriel was using her hat design and now THE Jagged Stone had a hob for her?! Her?!

"Really? I'm listening."

The next morning, when Lila came into class, she was met with some pretty sour looks from everyone else.

"Why are you all looking at me like I just kicked your puppy?" Lila asked, a hand on her hip.

"Because we know you lied," Rose said, crossing her arms with a stink eye.

Nathaniel glared. "And that you're a bully."

"We know what you said to Marinette the other day. Not cool!" Kim said.

Lila was starting to get a little nervous. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she saw the disapproving glares coming from everyone.

"None of you have any proof! For all you know, they're the ones lying, not me!" She shouted.

Chloe smirked evilly, all too ready to put this little bitch in her place as she took out her phone and played the recording. It said loud and clear everything Lila said to Marinette the other day...and right as Ms. Bustier came in.

"Lila Rossi, am I hearing all of this correctly? Is there something you would like to say to your classmates?" The teacher asked.

This was the straw that broke the camel's proverbial back. Lila panicked and rushed out the door.

"Lila, wait!" Adrien called out, ever the bleeding heart.

"Hey, Bro, it's okay," Nino said, pulling his friend back. "We'll find her together, okay?"

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino followed where Lila ran off to and found her sitting alone in the same bathroom she had confronted Marinette in the other day, angrily wiping away black mascara-stained tears from her eyes.

"Lila!" Marinette called out as she came over.

"What do you want? Are you here to gloat?" Lila scowled.

"Hey, you think we actually liked what happened?" Adrien asked defensively.

"Listen, Lila, we're sorry, but the thing is…" Marinette said, only to be interrupted.

"Keep your little fake apologies," Lila said, standing up and getting in Marinette's face. "The last thing I want is for someone to lecture me! So just leave me alone! I hate you! All of you!"

Lila then stormed off, crying the whole way. Now Marinette and Adrien felt guilty. It was true that Lila deserved to be called out for what she did, but in their rush to do it, they didn't think about how upset she would be.

"Well, that could have gone better..." Peter said as he and Bruce came by.

Lila was busy sulking outside of school. She was doomed to be alone, all because the boy she liked and that goody-two-shoes ratted her out, even if they did attempt to try and be her friend if she told the truth.

"Well, whatever!" She said to herself. "I'd rather have no friends at all than be friends with them! I don't need anyone!"

"Hey, kiddo. Why so down?"

Lila perked up and looked to the sky to see a man floating down surrounded by wisps of green smoke. He was clad in a green wizard-esque outfit with a purple cape held by Illuminati eye tassels and most bizarrely of all, was wearing a fishbowl-shaped helmet.

"W-Who are you?"

"Awww, come on." The man chuckled before grabbing his helmet and pulling it off to reveal his face as Lila gasped, recognizing it. "Aren't you gonna say hello to dear old DAD?"