Bab 2: Origins Part 2
Marinette stood in her room, utterly confused and stunned. Magic! She had...transformed! Her hands cautiously ran over herself, exploring the new outfit. When her finger gently tapped the antenna, he squealed and jumped back, falling onto the trap door that led to the house bellow. She paused. "Deep breaths," she told herself. Her eyes were shut to try to give her a sense of normalcy until she was calm enough to deal with the strange circumstance. "Okay. Okay. Let's see what this is," she said. Her hand pulled the yoyo from her waist and tried to catch it as it unravelled. Marinette tapped the case and was surprised when it opened to reveal a phone-like device. There were seven symbols on the screen, a ladybug, a cat paw, a fox tail, a butterfly, a peacock's feathers and a turtle's shell and a bee. She tapped the ladybug symbol and a page about the transformation.
Adrian tapped the bell and listened to the gentle ringing. He smiled and pulled out the staff. He stabbed it forward like a fencing sword, causing it to extend and throw him into the wall. However, as he was about to hit the wall, his hands swung back and pushed him before he could collide. He landed on his feet and grabbed his staff. Superstrength? Superagility? He had powers! Adrian looked at the window he had just climbed in. There was a supervillain on the loose, he was a superhero, it was only logical that he would go defeat them.
The spotted girl paced about her room. "Okay...okay...Strength, agility, this yoyo thing, um...The weird one, uh...Lucky cha- best not say it now. What was that last one?" she muttered to herself. The girl looked at her yoyo with her page up and sighed. "The reset button one and the net. Don't forget them," she warned herself. Her fists slammed her desk. She was not a hero. She would be an awful hero! She couldn't even remember her powers! Alya would be better. She should give the earrings to her. Her hands shot up to her ears when the next thought slapped her. That would put her in danger. Could she really put her new friend in danger just because she is insecure? Alya did say she needed to be more confident. Heroing might help...Marinette sighed. She has a partner out there. He will be more competent than her, surely, and if it turns out she is not cut out for it, she can give the earrings to Alya. "Okay...Okay," Marinette said to herself, building up her courage. She climbed the stairs to the roof and used her yoyo to swing to the next building.
Stretched across two buildings was Adrian's staff. He playfully walked across it, arms pushed out to his side for balance as he enjoyed his powers before diving into the fight. Out of nowhere, a girl fell into him, both falling to the ground and becoming tied up in her yoyo and hung from the staff. A cheeky smile crossed his face. "Nice of you to drop in," he quipped. "S-sorry. I'm new at this," she said. He tried to wriggle out of the bind he was in. "Me too. I didn't know there were others. I'm...uh..." He was drawing a blank for a name. "I'm Ma-Ma-Madly clumsy," she said, letting her yoyo go. He landed on his feet but she landed flat on her stomach. "I got my name now. I'm Cat Noir," he said, holding his hand out to help her up. She reached up and grabbed her yoyo, pulling it down and bring the staff with it, hitting her head. "So clumsy," she muttered. "No sweat, clumsy girl. You got a name?" he asked. The ground began to shake and a loud, low voice called out, "Chloe." Cat Noir was suddenly called to attention. He grabbed his staff and jumped up, making his way to where the monster was. Chloe was in trouble. "Wait! Wh-where you going?" the clumsy girl asked. He shouted back, "Saving Paris! Whoo!"
Marinette jumped up and followed the confident boy. It was admirable. She wished she had his skills. The monster had moved from the tower to the Bugiou hotel. The huge, stone hand had Chloe trapped at the balcony and was inching closer to scoop her up. Cat Noir wouldn't make it there in time. Thinking fast, Marinette threw her yoyo, wrapping it around the blonde girl. As she tugged the string, the hand wrapped around Chloe and instead of the girl coming to Marinette, she ended up going to Chloe. She let out a scream as she swung into the rock. "Hold on!" Cat Noir shouted. He stuck the staff in the stone fist and pulled. He wasn't strong enough to open the fist to free Chloe. Marinette let the yoyo release Chloe and she landed on the balcony. "A little help!" Cat Noir shouted. "Let her go," she ordered. "What!" he yelled. "Trust me!" How was he to trust her if she didn't trust her? To her amazement, he did. As Chloe screamed at the two, demanding to be freed, Cat Noir jumped down next to Marinette. "What now?" he asked her. The monster began to make his way to the tower again. Her mind was blank. He groaned. "Really?" he asked. She held her hand out. "We need a plan," she told him. He shook his head and tried to launch into action. She threw her yoyo at him, trying it around his foot and pulling him back. He hung upside down over the side. "You go in there without a clear plan, you could end up hurting yourself or her. Use your head," she told him. There was a pause. "Fine," he eventually said, "We'll try it your way." A smirk grew on his face. "You turn my world upside down, you know that?" he said. She pulled him up. "You're a jokester, aren't you?" she said. The two watched the monster climb the tower. "Why is he using his elbows?" she asked. He narrowed his gaze at the monster's fists. "He has Chloe in one hand. Maybe he is holding something else?" he suggested. Marinette's eyes lit up. "I have it! I think. Um, the guide said there was a superhero who could transform people into heroes. What if this is what happened? Uh, obviously not a hero. Erm, you know what I mean, though, right?" she said. Cat Noir shook his head. "No. What guide?" he asked. Her face dropped. She sighed. "I'll show you later. Just, come. We need to open that other fist!" she told him.
The two ran across rooftops and stopped at the bottom of the tower. It looked so large from down there. Cat Noir gulped. If his father knew about this, he wouldn't be allowed out of sight ever again. "Ready when you are," he told his heroic partner. She nodded and began to climb the tower. Cat Noir followed closely. When she was at the top she gave him a thumbs up. He jammed his staff in the tower just beneath the monster's feet. "What was the power called again?" he asked. "Cataclysm," she replied. This hero was made for puns! With great delight, he yelled, "Cataclysm!" Black smoke emerged from his hand and he slapped the stone foot. The monster crumbled and Chloe fell. He didn't think this through. He looked up to the clumsy girl. Where did she get that parachute? She seemed so confident. Didn't even bat an eye. He left Chloe, choosing to trust the girl, and hit the paper ball the monster held up to his partner. She caught the paper and tore it. As a little, black butterfly emerged, she jumped off the tower, using her yoyo to pull Chloe to her. She held the girl and pulled the drawstring. The parachute opened. She was...amazing... The girl threw her yoyo to the butterfly, her weapon turning into a glowing net. It was trapped in the simple weapon. She landed and let Chloe go. Cat Noir jumped down and landed next to his partner. Why were his cheeks so warm? His heart was beating so loud. She released the butterfly, now a pure white and threw her parachute in the air. Red bubbles danced around them, cleaning up all the mess made. The girl walked over to Cat Noir. "You were great but you need to read up on these things. Here," she said. She was close to his face, tapping his staff until his page came up. "Thanks, M'lady," he answered. "I think I got a name," she said, "Ladybug." He smiled. What an impressive girl. With more competence, she swung away. His ring beeped. A quick glance at the staff told him that this meant he was about to transform.
Marinette returned to school the following day. What a first day! She saved the city and no one would know she did it. Alya sat in the front, squirming and squealing excitedly. Before Marinette could sit, Alya blurted out, "I videoed the new heroes! I have got a website set up and everything!" Marinette peered at her phone. "She's called Ladybug! So amazing! I wanna figure out who she is!" Alya said. Marinette froze. "Aren't you gonna sit?" her friend asked. She looked to where she normally would sit. "Yeah. Over here," she said, marching over to her seat. Chloe walked in and glared at Marinette. "Very funny, sushi girl. Now scram!" she demanded. To think, only a day ago Marinette saved her life and now she is back to bullying her. "No. I am not putting up with your crud this year, Chloe. Find somewhere else to sit," she told the girl. Chloe slammed her hand on the desk like before. Alya was about to step in when Marinette stood up and stared Chloe in her blue eyes. This surprised the blonde. She looked to the front but the teacher didn't seem to care. "Sit down," she ordered from her desk, waiting for the bell. Chloe sulked away to the desk she had banished Marinette to.
Adrian lucked out. Starting at the tower gave him a head start. Sure, the photographer wasn't happy but he can always reschedule the photo shoot. The car followed him as he ran through the park. He was careful this time. The boy dodged people and reached the steps. Nathalie stepped out the car. "Adrian," she said in her usual monotonous voice. The boy turned to her. He was so close to going to school. "Please," he pleaded. His green eyes looked deep into the woman's heart. She sighed. "Don't be late. I'll sort something out," she told him. Adrian jumped with joy. The bell rang, indicating the class was to start. "Thank you so so so much! I need to go. Thanks!"
As Adrian entered the class, Chloe spotted him and waved excitedly. Nervously, he waved back. "You're late. Take a seat," the teacher scolded. The boy did as he was told, sitting in the empty seat in front of Marinette. "Hey, I'm Adrian," he quietly said to the boy next to him. "Friends with Chloe?" he asked rather coldly. "Um, yeah," Adrian answered. The boy shifted away from him and turned his back on Adrian. He sighed. Not a great start. For the rest of class, Adrian tried to talk with the boy but was met with a wall of silence. At least Chloe was friendly to him.
Alya and Marinette spent their break talking about Ladybug, Marinette trying not to let anything slip and Alya obsessively rewatching her footage. Her eyes watched Ivan carefully. He walked over to a short girl with dreadlocks. Ian handed the note that got him vilified, unable to look at her. His cheeks were red. The girl wrapped her arms around him. Marinette turned her attention to her bully. "Hey, are you listening? Marinette?" Alya said, waving her hand in her friend's face. "Sorry. I-Just- What do you think she is telling him?" Marinette asked, staring at Chloe and Sabrina, laughing with the new boy, Adrian. "Does it matter?" Alya asked. The three began to make their way to Marinette. "I think it does," she whispered, "What do you want, Chloe?" The blonde girl laughed in her face. "Just letting Adrian know you are the weird Sushi girl," the blonde answered. Adrian's eyebrows furrowed. "She doesn't smell of fish," he said, trying to stand up for her. It just came across as bullying. Marinette stood up. "Of course a friend of Chloe's would be awful too. For the record, I'm half Chinese. Sushi is Japanese," she told the group. Alya followed as Marinette stormed away. "What a jerk," Alya commented. "I expected nothing less," Marinette added.
Adrian looked down in shame. He didn't mean to insult her. Chloe took his arm and dragged him back to the classroom. "The bell'll ring soon," she warned Adrian. He took his seat. Should he talk to Chloe about being mean? She wouldn't take it well. She might even stop talking to him. He doesn't owe that Marinette girl anything anyway. A grin grew across the blonde girl's face. "Sabrina, gum," she ordered. From the corner of his eye, Adrian saw the boy who ignored him come in and sit, headphones fixed to his ears. Sabrina handed Chloe a stick which she chewed. Once she was done, she placed it on Marinette's seat and went to sit at her desk. "Why'd you do that?" Adrian asked, his voice low. "She stole our seats," Sabrina answered. The bell rang and people began to pour into the class. Chloe being mean was not his problem. Marinette being called Sushi girl was not his problem. The gum, however, that was gross. He stood up and, with a disgusted scowl, began to pick the gum off. "What are you doing?" Marinette asked. Adrian looked up. "Uhhh... I" What was he supposed to say? Chloe and Sabrina couldn't contain their laughter. Marinette rolled her eyes. "Okay. I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny," she said sarcastically. As she shifted Adrian out the way, he tried to defend himself, "No, no, I was just trying to take this off!" She couldn't get it and reluctantly accepted a tissue from Alya to cover it. "You had your fun. Just go away," she said moodily. He lowered his head and returned to his seat. There goes another chance to make a new friend. "Pst." He looked around before seeing the boy next to him waiting. His headphones were wrapped around his neck rather than his ears like before. "Why didn't you say it was Chloe?" he asked in a whisper. Adrian looked to his friend then back to the boy. "We've been friends for a while. She's not perfect but I can't throw her under the bus. Not like I can be friends with anyone else here," he said. The boy balled his hand into a fist and held it out to Adrian. "I'm Nino, dude," he said. Adrian looked at his hand and mimicked Nino's pose. Nino fist-bumped Adrian just as the teacher walked in.
Marinette glared at the boy. To think, he was the son of her favourite designer. What a jerk! And Chloe! Urgh! Her eyes glanced to the window. It suddenly started to pour. Good thing she had her umbrella. She bet if she was Ladybug, he would think twice before messing with her. Then she'd be no better than them. Being Ladybug was strange. She felt so confident. That boy playing Cat Noir was too reckless, though. She hoped it wouldn't be a problem. He at least was willing to listen to her. Leading back to Chloe. Marinette looked behind her. Ivan seemed happy enough. Still, if it weren't for Chloe, he wouldn't have become a monster. "Marinette, pay attention," the teacher told her. Her head sharply turned to the front again. Nino and Adrian were whispering to each other. How can Nino be friends with him? He hates Chloe almost as much as Marinette did. "Boys, quiet," the teacher ordered. The two shut up and looked ahead. Stupid Chloe. Just because she has money. Alya tapped her arm and pointed to her phone under the table. Footage of Ivan first turning into the monster. It was magic, just like her. Unlike her, though, he was talking to someone. A thin veil of a butterfly hovered over his face. As she thought. One of the Miraculouses she read about must be active. The butterfly. "I asked him but he doesn't remember," she whispered. Marinette shook her head. to cover her tracks, she said, somewhat awkwardly, "Erm, it's, um, it's pretty scary." Alya shrugged. "We got superheroes. They'll protect us!" A loud hushing sound came from the teacher. "One more person talks then you're all getting detention," she threatened. The whole class sunk in their seats a bit. Alya wrote on her paper and slid it to Marinette. "Eat out for lunch?" it said. She nodded. Chloe and Sabrina kept looking up at her. They were planning something and she, for one, was not sticking around to see it.
Adrian followed Chloe and Sabrina closely. "Where are we going?" he asked them. Chloe gave a sly smile. "We'll grab lunch in a sec. I just gotta get my umbrella," she told him. He wasn't sure if he should trust her. Why would she lie about grabbing her umbrella? She entered the room where all the students' lockers were lined up. Chloe and Sabrina walked up to a locker, Sabrina opening it and Chloe watching the door. Something wasn't right. Sabrina pulled the umbrella out and handed it to Chloe. The pair shut the locker and went to Sabrina's locker. Adrian shrugged and went to get his umbrella out his locker. Why didn't Chloe open her own locker? Marinette walked in with Alya beside her. He should go explain himself. With umbrella in hand, he took a step towards her. Wait. Why was she going into Chloe's locker? Before he could say something, his two friends dragged him away. In the courtyard, Chloe opened the umbrella and 'accidentally' broke it. She just shrugged and threw it in the bin.
Marinette opened her locker. She frowned and dug through everything. "Hey, Alya, did you see me put an umbrella in here?" she asked. Alya pulled her jacket out her locker and put it on. "Yeah. Is it not there?" she asked. Marinette shook her head. Alya took a look whilst Marinette searched her bag. Nothing. Marinette took her lunch out her bag and said, "Just go without me. I'll wait." "Sorry," Alya said. She never brought lunch with her like Marinette did. The two walked to the entrance and whilst Alya went into the rain, Marinette found a comfy spot by the stairs protected from the wet. that boy was staring at her locker. He must've had something to do with it. "Yo, there you are, dude," Nino said. He held his sandwich in his hands and sat beside her. "What's up, Nino?" she asked. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Uh, I wanted to let you know that that Adrian dude, he actually was trying to take that gum off your seat," he told her. Her mouth was too full to question this but Nino knew her well enough to anticipate this. "It was all Chloe. So if you can forgive the guy? He is kinda new to all this and-" Marinette swallowed her lunch and said, "He is still Chloe's friend." Nino stood up and looked down at her. "Well, he is also my friend. I hope he will be yours too." With that, Nino walked away.
All Marinette could think about the last few periods was what Nino said. Maybe she did judge him too harshly. Nino was a pretty chill guy, unlike Marinette, and if he could be friends with Adrian, maybe she could? But there was still the Chloe issue. He was exactly like Chloe, right? He did say she smelt like fish. Well, kinda. It could easily have been a poorly worded attempt to defend her. What about the missing umbrella. No way that was a misunderstanding. He stole it! Or he helped Chloe to steal it. Why should she give him a chance?
Adrian could feel the girl behind him staring daggers through his skull. The rain hadn't let up and she was without an umbrella. He should have just left Chloe. He could have hung out with Nino after talking to Marinette. Why was he such a pushover? At home his father tells him what to do, at school Chloe bosses him about, between then Nathalie is in charge and it looks like his relationship with Ladybug will go the same way. How could he make it up to Marinette? It didn't matter. Even if he did apologise, she wouldn't accept it. there would be a misunderstanding and he would only look worse. Making friends is hard. He had Nino, now. That was one more than before. Maybe that was all he needed. Someone to counteract Chloe's demanding nature and the oppression at home.
It was the end of the day. Everyone was long gone but Marinette had to wait out the rain. She couldn't find her umbrella but Chloe definitely took it. She kept laughing and making jokes. She grumbled to herself. Stupid rain. Stupid Chloe. Stupid Adrian. "Hey," the blonde boy greeted. Urgh! Marinette turned her head away. He opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain. Marinette peaked at him from the corners of her eyes. "I just wanted you to know that I really was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear. And... I never meant to hurt you. Every time I tried to put things right, I messed up," he explained. She turned her head to him, showing that she was listening. "I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of new to me. I'm sorry," he said earnestly. Chloe would never apologise. He seemed like he meant it, too. She was rather quick to judge him, already making her mind up the moment Chloe mentioned him. If Nino could befriend him, he must be a good person, if a little awkward sometimes. If awkwardness was a reason to hate someone, she would be the most hated person on the planet. He held his umbrella out to her. "Here. Chloe broke your last one and I'm getting a ride," he offered. Slowly, cautiously, her hand reached out to it. Before she touched it, her hand backed away a little. Her fingers wrapped around the handle and brushed against him. She couldn't speak. He was so gentle and kind. Then, of course, the umbrella closed on her. He started to laugh and, when she opened the umbrella, hiding under it, she gave an embarrassed chuckle. "See you tomorrow," he said, walking down the stairs. The car pulled up and the door opened. She held her hand up to wave and said, "Uh see you tomo... tomo... Haha!" He was gone. Quietly, she asked herself, "Whoa, why am I stammering?" Her beating heart and red cheeks knew. He wasn't so bad after all...Adrian...
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone