"KIM."

Turning to glance at Ivan standing from his seat, holding a note that he supposedly got from Kim, Miss Bustier frowned.

"Ivan, what are you doing?" she asked, with a disapproving cross of her arms.

"It's Kim! I'm gonna beat him to a pulp!" Ivan growled, raising a fist towards Kim, who raised his hands up in mock surrender.

"Ivan!" Miss Bustier raised her voice, "To the principal's office, now."

Crushing the paper into a ball, he threw a glare to Kim who waved his fingers, before making his way down.

Marinette frowned, rolling her eyes. Old habits tend to stick, don't they? She huffed, gathering her things to head down to the library. Shouldering her bag, she headed down the steps as well, nearly running into the new girl, who seemed in a rush.

"Oh, sorry! I shouldn't be running..." she apologized, but Marinette stepped around her, not caring much for the whole interaction.

"Don't worry about it."

Nathaniel and Alix walked beside her as they entered the library, Alya a few steps behind them, looking at their dynamic with curious eyes. She wouldn't have expected someone so aloof to be friends with someone so loud, the red headed boy, she could understand, but the other girl?

Arriving inside the library, everyone began sitting with their groups, and Alya faltered. Where would she sit without being the odd one out?

Marinette paused at the table she had claimed, looking up and meeting her eyes, and gesturing for her to come over to their table. Alya smiled before making her way over, Alix looking at her curiously and Nathaniel smiling slightly.

"Hello," he greeted, "You're Alya, right? I'm Nathaniel."

"I'm Alix," the pink heard one introduced, "and this is Marinette!"

"Nice to meet you guys, thanks for letting me sit with you all," she thanked, going to take her seat when there was a loud crash from above, before there was something shaking the whole school. It knocked many people out of their seats, and Alya had to hold on to the table for balance.

Was that an earthquake, holy-

"Did you hear that?!"

"Look at that!"

Alya rushed over where the other kids were, while Marinette helped Nathaniel up from the floor before they followed her, seeing the TV.

There, outside, was a sort of- rock, monster, thing.

Alya's mouth dropped as the thing yelled "KIM!" before stalking off, "That was Ivan's voice! It's like he's been transformed into an actual super villain! Oh my god, this is something out of a comic book!" she gushed. "My phone is charged up- I'm so out of here!"

Marinette looked at her, tight lipped, while Nathaniel looked at her in fear, "If that's true, then it's dangerous! Why would you go out there?!"

"Uh, to capture it on film? Wherever there is a villain, there is a super hero following right behind! I wouldn't miss that for the world!" she rushed out in excitement before pushing through the doors and dashing to follow the monster.

Alix whistled, "Holy shit, she's crazy."

Glancing at the television, she didn't even blink as the villain threw a car at the camera, making it cut off. "We need to get out of here too," she pushed them towards the doors, "let's go home with our families."

They couldn't protest that.

-

"Give me a minute, would you, Nathalie?" His father's voice made him jump, having been slumped in his chair as he resumed home schooling with Nathalie. Adrien looked up with wide eyes as Nathalie stepped to the side, and his father sent him a harsh, scolding look. "You are not going to public school, I've told you a million times."

"But, father-" he stood from his chair in protest, throwing a betrayed look towards Nathalie who looked away in guilt.

"You have everything here and I can watch over you better, the outside is dangerous," Gabriel pushed, adamant on keeping Adrien locked away.

"The world is not dangerous, father!" he argued, furrowing his brows, "I'm always here by myself!  I just want to go to school like other kids and make friends like everyone else!"

Hearing those words, Gabriel's mind goes back to many years ago, to a small, blue-eyed girl, glaring at him.

(You may be able to control his life now, and even without me in his life, he will rebel," she stated, bright, blue-bell eyes that didn't even blink at his harsh glare. "Adrien is a carefree soul, he cannot be contained for long. You may do so if you please, it will not affect me in any way, but him. You will damage him, intentional or not, and eventually, he will fight back, to be free. To be human.")

Simply thinking about it made his anger rise to new heights, and he found himself taking it out on none other than Adrien.

"You are not everyone else!" Gabriel shouted, "You are Adrien Agreste, you are my son, and you will do as I say."

What he didn't expect was for Adrien to slam his hands down on the table, "I wish I wasn't!" he shouted back , Nathalie gasping and Gabriel recoiling from the outburst, before turning away and running to his room, not wanting to see or talk to his father.

Whether Adrien meant that he wishes that he was like everyone else, or wishes that he wasn't his son— it was a slap to his face, and heart dropping to his stomach as he stared at where Adrien once stood.

Adrien's heart was pumping so quickly, as he shut his door behind him and locking it, not knowing how and why he was able to stand up to his father like that. His mind flashed back to the girl, standing at the window.

"Fight."

Is this what she meant? Fight to be himself? Fight for what he wants?

He was drawn out of his thoughts when everything began to shake, making him stumble before everything stilled once again. Running over to the window, he gasped in shock, seeing police and military fight against- against- what the hell is it? It just grew after being hit!

Scrambling for his remote, he turned his TV on, clicking to the news, where Mr. Bourgeois informing everyone to stay in their homes, before switching to the newscaster showing a clip of the monster.

"It has been confirmed that Paris is indeed being attacked by a super villain! The police are-" Adriend zoned out from there. Paris is being attacked? By an actual bad guy that can be classified as a super villain?

He looked down to his coffee table in thought- he blinked in surprise, flinching back slightly.

"What's this doing here?" he asked out loud, picking it up and inspecting it closely before opening it, only to shield his eyes from the bright, green light that emitted from the curious black ring with a green paw on it.

-

Marinette looked down at the case in her hand with distaste, the news playing on her computer screen was only background noise to her as she stared at the design of the case.

She has to do this, doesn't she?

Was there truly no escaping this fate?

Sighing, she rested her other hand on top, and opened the case. There, tucked in the crevice in the middle of black velvet, sat two red earrings with five, black dots to make a ladybug pattern. There was only a second to see the pair before a bright red light blinded her.

She closed her eyes before squinting them open, seeing a small creature floating in front of her, blue eyes staring right back at her.

"Hell, Marinette! My name is Tikki, I am a Kwami, there is much to explain!" Tikki smiled, bowing her head in greeting.

"Holy shit," Marinette breathed. Expecting this day was much, much better than to actually go through the real deal, but she knew there wasn't anyone or anything that could help her.

There is nothing that could prepare her for what was to come.