PHOTOGENESIS

Chapter 5

"ADRICHOU! WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE ABOUT YOU DATING THAT MARITRASH?!"

Adrien winced at the screeching, pulling his phone slightly away from his ear. "Hello, Chloé," he said tiredly.

"How can you possibly be dating that dirty trash girl? It's all a lie, right? Or...or it's a supervillain! A supervillain is brainwashing you and Ladybug hasn't—"

"It's no lie," Adrien said. "I'm dating Marinette. I just got home from our first date. We had a good time."

He pulled his phone away from his ear again as Chloé shrieked. When she began forming words again, he listened, his face twisting into a distasteful frown.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I FORBID IT! You are MY Adrichou! You do not belong to anyone else, and ABSOLUTELY NOT to that FILTHY PEASANT! I don't know how she did this to you, but I'll have my daddy—"

"That's enough, Chloé." Adrien's jaw set firmly as he straightened up, his posture becoming combative; if he were Chat Noir presently, his tail would be low and lashing. "You know...ever since I started coming to school, I've seen you badmouth just about everybody, and I'm tired of it. But the way you treat Marinette is the absolute worst. Just what did she ever do to you?"

Chloé scoffed theatrically. "What? What did she DO? Hmph! It's bad enough simply that she exists, and—"

"That's not an answer, Chloé," Adrien interrupted. "What. Did. She. Actually. Do. To. YOU?" He paused. "And don't try to lie to me. I'll know."

There was a long pause. "W-well! She's done so much! It's hard to say any one thing! She just...and then she...and there was the time—"

"So in other words, nothing," Adrien said. "She's never done anything to you, and you just hate her because—"

"NON!" Chloé barked. Adrien could practically hear her stamping her foot. "I hate her because she's a disrespectful common peasant girl!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Hate to break it to you, Chloé, but being rich doesn't make you better than other people."

"But it DOES!"

"No, it really doesn't," Adrien said firmly. "My father is just as rich and powerful as yours, and I don't think I'm better than anyone."

Another pause. "W-well...it's because you're just too...too good for..."

"I'm going to ask again," Adrien said resignedly. "Why, exactly, do you hate Marinette so much?"

Chloé was quiet so long Adrien almost thought the call dropped. Then, in an uncertain tone:

"I just do, okay?"

Adrien's frown deepened. "Then you're stupid," he said. "Marinette is one of the nicest, most amazing people I've ever met, and everybody knows it. I had a good time with her today and I'm looking forward to hanging out with her again tomorrow."

"But—!"

"But what?" Adrien asked, exasperated.

"But...but you're my Adrichou..."

"No, Chloé, I'm not," Adrien said. "We're just friends. We've never been more than that. I don't mind still being friends with you, but you need to get it through your head that I'm just not...that what you want me to be, that's never going to happen." He took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Chloé." And with that, he hung up.

Plagg, who had been watching him the whole time, frowned. "Well, I know which Akumatized we'll be fighting tomorrow," he said.

Adrien sighed, hanging his head, his eyes closed. "I hope not," he said. "I just hope...that was the right thing to do. I hated doing that, but—"

"That Chloé girl is a brat," Plagg said, rolling his eyes. "Everyone hates her except her father. And that Sabrina girl, but she's not right in the head."

"I don't hate Chloé," Adrien protested. "I just...I wish she wasn't such a hateful, self-absorbed pest." He returned to undressing for his shower. "It makes it hard to still be friends with her, that attitude."

"So just stop being friends with her," Plagg suggested.

Adrien glanced at him. "I can't do that," he said. "Not unless she does something I can't forgive."

"And you can forgive her calling your girlfriend trash?"

Adrien found he had no response to that, so he shook his head and walked into the bathroom.

* * * * *

Marinette's night was full of blissful dreams of her and Adrien.

When she woke up on Sunday morning, her phone was going crazy. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the massive number of notifications.

Overnight, she had picked up an insane number of followers on Twitter and Instagram.

As she read comments on her most recent updates, it became clear that quite a few of them were hate-follows.

You don't deserve him!

Who even are you? Die already!

LMFAO you wear your hair like Ladybug, what a dork

Marinette whimpered as she read page after page of hate tweets. Tikki hovered next to her, patting her shoulder in sympathy. "Cheer up," she said. "They're not all bad! Look!"

True, some of the comments were more supportive...

OMG they're so cute together!

Love your outfit, where'd you get it? How much was it?

Cutest. Girlfriend. EVER!

You did Jagged Stone's album cover! No way! Awesome!

Wow, you must get confused for Ladybug all the time!

And then there were comments of the type she didn't expect at all...

You're so hot!

You're too cute for that stupid pretty-boy!

Wanna dump that guy & be my GF? I'm way cooler!

Post naked pics pls?

Marinette gave that last comment a half-lidded glare and wordlessly blocked the poster. "Greeeeeat," she drawled as she flopped back onto her bed, twirling a finger in the air.

Tikki giggled. "Well you are pretty cute," she said. "You have to expect things like that from immature boys!"

There was a knock on the loft door. Before Marinette could even answer, it opened. She peered over the edge of her bed loft to see Alya's wild bush of red hair flounce into view. Groaning, she dragged herself down to the lower level of her bedroom while Tikki disappeared under her bed. "Hey Alya," Marinette said.

"Hey girl!" Alya said cheerfully, holding up a paper bag and two cups of coffee. "Brought breakfast! Oh, don't worry, I totes got the pastries from your dad downstairs."

Marinette smiled. "Thanks," she said, sitting down and accepting a coffee and a pastry from Alya.

Alya sat across from her, leaning forward. "So? SPILL!"

"What, my coffee?" Marinette said. "But I haven't even—"

Alya groaned. "No, space cadet! You and Adrien!"

Marinette nearly did spill her coffee. "Me and Adrien..." She sighed dreamily.

Alya facepalmed. "Yes, you and Adrien. Now, wanna tell me the deets?"

Marinette blinked, shook her head, and deflated. "Y-yeah...the deets..." She sighed. "W-well..." She coughed, then took a sip of her coffee. "The thing is..."

"The thing is?" Alya asked.

"The thing is..." Marinette began again. "We...got together yesterday...? And...well...we got together yesterday!" She giggled nervously.

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh," she said. "At the exact same time Adrien Agreste finally shows up on Twitter and Instagram, and his first posts are about you. There's more to this. C'mon!"

Marinette paled. "W-well..." She tugged at the collar of her pajama top. As Alya leaned forward, eyes narrowed insistently, Marinette sighed. "Okay, but...swear to secrecy, alright?"

"Scout's honor!" Alya agreed.

"And I really mean it this time," Marinette added.

Alya drew back in mock offense, placing a hand to her chest. "Moi? Break a pact of secrecy with my best friend?" She leaned forward, gripping her knees. "Come on, girlfriend! Quit stalling!"

Marinette gulped. "O-okay." She took a deep breath. "The truth is...this whole thing is kind of...arranged."

Alya blinked. "Arranged? You mean like a marriage?"

Marinette let out a squawk. "N-no! I mean yes! I mean..." She sighed. "Adrien's dad wants him to be more of a normal teenager for, y'know, publicity reasons. And that includes dating. So he made that assistant of his choose a girlfriend for Adrien, and she chose me."

Alya's eyes widened. "Get out," she said.

"It's true," Marinette said.

"So you're fake-dating?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean...not exactly? I don't know!" Marinette said, flustered. "I mean, it's a setup, Monsieur Agreste is behind the whole thing, but..." She blushed. "Things went...really well last night, and...and I think maybe..." She poked her fingertips together. "Maybe it'll actually go somewhere?"

Alya rolled her eyes and smirked. "Well, the more time he spends with you, the more likely it is he'll either fall in love with you or realize you're a total psycho," she said.

"ALYA!"

Alya laughed. "But seriously," she said, "even if this whole thing is some publicity thing, I don't think Adrien was faking what he posted on Instagram. I think he's definitely interested." She smiled. "So whatever you did yesterday, keep doing it and he'll be all yours!"

"I...I hope so," Marinette said, a silly smile spreading across her blushing face.

* * * * *

A dark place...

Shutters irised open, flooding the dark room with the brilliant early morning sun. White butterflies swarmed around a masked figure standing in the light.

"Ah, but what is this?" Hawk Moth said softly, eyes wide in cold wonder, a vicious smirk on his face. "A plague of jealousy, sweeping across Paris like a fire...!"

A white butterfly landed in his gloved palm.

"I wonder..." Hawk Moth mused. "It is unusual to be sure...but perhaps..."

He covered the butterfly with his other hand. Motes of darkness gathered, turning it a purple-splotched black.

"Fly away, my little Akuma, and spread this disease of the heart!" Hawk Moth watched the Akuma flutter through the central gap in the window's wrought iron butterfly motif.

* * * * *

Marinette spent half an hour telling Alya all about her first date with Adrien, gushing in some places, stammering in others. "So then we had dinner here with my folks, and...!" Marinette sighed dreamily. "Today we're just gonna do whatever we feel like doing." She paused. Her eyes widened. "I have no idea what to wear today."

"So just wear something casual," Alya said with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure the boy won't dress up either."

"I dunno, he did yesterday," Marinette said doubtfully. "Come on, let's raid my closet." Just then, her phone rang. She rummaged around for it, grabbed it, and juggled it. "It's him!"

"So answer!"

Taking a deep breath, Marinette answered. "Adrien! Good morning!"

"Hey. It's not too early, is it?"

"Oh, no! No, not at all! I'm just sitting here with Alya, you know, girl talk..."

"Oh. Should I call back later?"

"No! No, now's fine! Actually, now's perfect timing, because we were just about to hit my closet. What are you planning to wear today?"

A pause. "Huh. I hadn't even thought about it. I mean, I thought we were just gonna hang out and stuff today, so...what I usually wear, I guess?"

"That'll be fine," Marinette said. "I mean, you look fine in anything! I mean...yeah, I'll just go casual too."

"Smooth," Alya said with a smirk.

"Right, so...I'll be over there in about...oh, half an hour?"

"Can't wait!" Marinette said. "See you in half an hour!"

She froze, the phone still against her ear.

"Okay...so...hanging up now."

"Uh-huh!" Marinette paused. "Oh! Right, hanging up...and he already did." She dropped her phone and bowed her head. "Yeah, I've still got issues," she moaned.

Alya snickered. "Something tells me you'll always have issues," she said. She frowned. "Half an hour...that doesn't give you a whole lot of time to put yourself together."

"You're right," Marinette said, eyes wide. "Oh my god, I'm a disaster! I need to...and...and hair, and...and I stink, and...ahhh!" She clawed at her hair.

"Chill, girl!" Alya said, laughing. "You don't smell too bad, and your hair's as shiny as ever. Besides, you don't have time for the whole treatment, right?"

Marinette sighed, giving herself a sniff test. "You're right," she said. "I can get by on a quick shower. Pits, tits, and naughty bits."

Alya snickered. "While you're doing that, I think I'll put out a few fires online."

"Fires?" Marinette asked.

"You know, these obnoxious pests on yours and Adrien's Instagram and Twitter," Alya clarified. "Better your BFF goes on the attack so you can keep your nose clean, right?"

Marinette groaned. "They're not worth your time, those pests," she said.

"I know, but I'm bored anyway," Alya said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now go! You're running out of time!"

"EEP!" Marinette grabbed some clean underwear from her dresser and scrambled out of the room. Alya rolled her eyes.

* * * * *

Marinette's idea of "casual" turned out to be black heels, boot-cut black jeans, a pink blouse tied off at the midriff, and a black bolero hat with a pinkish-red satin sash. Alya raised an eyebrow at her. "What, are you going to Spain for this date?"

Marinette blushed. "We're gonna be all over Instagram! I don't want to wear the same old thing when I'm out with Adrien! Besides, this is my chance to get some of my fashions some exposure, right?"

Alya blinked. "I'm surprised you actually managed to think of that with the haze of dating Adrien fogging up your brain."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Alya! I don't become completely nonfunctional around Adrien! ...anymore..."

Alya snickered. "Okay okay. Anyway, you look super-cute. Not sure those shoes go with that outfit, but..."

Marinette looked at herself in the mirror, then frowned. "Yeah, and we're probably gonna do a lot of walking around town or..." She shook her head, kicked off the heels, returned them to her closet, frowned, then put them back on. "Who am I kidding, Adrien has a driver!"

Alya shook her head. "Okay, it's your feet, not mine."

"Oh, what do you know, miss only-wears-hi-tops—"

"MARINETTE! ADRIEN'S HERE!"

"Crap!" Marinette made shooing motions to Alya. "Stall for me while I finish getting ready!"

"This isn't finished?"

"Just...just go downstairs first, okay?" Marinette said, waving her hands around.

"Okay, okay." Alya chuckled and descended into the house proper.

Tikki flew down from the loft bed. "Wow, Marinette!"

"Is this too much?" Marinette asked.

"Not at all! Especially right around the middle," Tikki teased.

Marinette rolled her eyes and opened her purse; Tikki zipped inside, and Marinette slung it over her shoulder. "That reminds me, I need a couple of extra purses," she mused thoughtfully as she headed downstairs.

When she arrived in the living room, she saw Adrien and Alya talking. Adrien was dressed in the same style of casual clothes he usually wore to school; as Marinette made her entrance, he looked up at her and his eyes widened.

"Umm...sorry to keep you waiting," Marinette said. "I'm ready now."

"Wow," Adrien said. He pulled out his phone and held it up. "Umm...?"

"Snap away," Marinette said, striking a pose. Alya snickered as Adrien took a few pictures, then picked the best one to post to Instagram.

Whoa, that's a good look.

So cute!

Love the hat, so chic!

This girl really loves pink and black, doesn't she?

Hope the little bitch breaks a heel

"So, what do you want to do today?" Adrien asked as he put his phone away.

"Oh, you know...whatever," Marinette said. "I mean, let's just see where the day takes us?"

"Sounds good to me," Adrien said.

"Well, you two have fun," Alya said. "Me, I've got a pack of brats who want to go to the zoo, and I've gotten out of it long enough." She shuddered. "I swear to God if Mama didn't pester me about taking them I'd never go back there."

The other teens couldn't help but wince. "Yeah, I don't blame you," Adrien said. "I heard from Nino that you were in the other bushes that day and, umm...the thing about getting locked in a cage when everything went crazy."

"Yeah, that was not my favorite day at the zoo," Alya huffed. "And if I'd known it was Nino who was trying to get together with Marinette that day, we'd never have even gone. I mean, she only went there because of you, you know?"

Adrien blinked. "Me?"

"Duh," Alya said, rolling her eyes. At Marinette's mortified stare, she snorted. "What? Best to let all the cats out of the bag if you two are really gonna do this thing."

Marinette sighed. "Yeah...you're right."

"Huh," Adrien said awkwardly. "Well now I feel like an idiot."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Alya said. "If this girl here could be half as assertive with you as she is with Chloé, it wouldn't have taken this long for the two of you to start dating." She shook her head. "Well, I'm off. Have fun!"

"Goodbye, Alya," Marinette said in an overly-syrupy voice that carried an undertone of "you're gonna get it later". Once she was gone, Marinette blew on her bangs. "Pest."

"So, uhh..." Adrien began slowly. "You look...really cute today."

"Really?" Marinette asked, her cheeks heating up. "Thank you! I just, umm, well..." She coughed. "Since we're supposed to be seen and everything, I wanted to, y'know, change up my look each time we go out, kinda..."

"Showcase your sense of style?" Adrien finished. "Smart plan." He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, pretty much anything goes," he said. "I mean, if you can think of anything in particular you'd like to do."

"Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do," Marinette said. Then, her cheeks flushing, she added, "Really, as long as I'm spending the day with you, that's enough for me."

"Oh," Adrien said, his own cheeks coloring. "Well." He rubbed his chin. "Actually, there is something I kinda wanted to check out, but...I dunno." He scratched the back of his neck. "You might think it's kinda dorky or..."

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

"Well...there's this toy museum that just opened up," Adrien said. "I've heard they inherited entire collections from this Japanese toy museum that closed down. They have toys from when our parents were kids, and even toys from way before we were born! I just..." He shrugged. "I think it'd be kinda neat to have a look at. I mean...y'know?"

"A toy museum, huh?" Marinette asked. "Sure, why not?"

"Really? You don't mind?"

Marinette shook her head. "Who knows what we'll see there? It won't be boring, that's for sure!"

"Great!" Adrien said. "The car's downstairs, let's get going."

They headed downstairs, bidding goodbye to Marinette's parents, and got into the car. Adrien told the Gorilla where they were headed; as he pulled away from the curb, he turned on the radio. An obnoxious American pop song blared from the speakers, the Gorilla bobbing his head along to it.

Chop, chop, chop, chop away at my heart!

"Ugh, this song," Marinette grumbled. "You hear it everywhere now."

"Yeah, it's..." Adrien frowned. "Well, it's not as bad as XY. I mean, at least it's catchy."

Marinette pursed her lips. "I guess," she said. She pulled out her phone and sent out a quick tweet. Spending the day with Adrien. Will take pics of anything cool.

Adrien, likewise, took his own phone out. Gonna check out the toy museum with Marinette. Been looking forward to seeing it! He glanced over at Marinette. "So, uhh..." He coughed. "Is your Instagram as weird as mine? Because mine's been pretty weird."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm getting some pretty weird comments," she said. "A lot of people think we look cute together, at least." She blushed. "So...I guess that part is working?"

"Heh, yeah," Adrien agreed. He looked at Marinette for a long moment. "Umm. Wow. I, uhh...I had no idea you were so...toned."

"Eh?" Marinette followed his gaze, then blushed. "Oh." She coughed. "Umm. Thanks?"

"Ah! I didn't mean to sound pervy or anything!" Adrien insisted, holding up his hands. "I just, I mean—"

"It's okay!" Marinette insisted. "I mean, I chose this outfit, I wouldn't have worn this if...if I minded anyone seeing my, umm...tummy..." She fanned herself with her hat. "Whoo. Is the air conditioning broken or something?"

Up front, the Gorilla grunted.

* * * * *

In a bedroom plastered with posters, magazine covers, and photos of Adrien Agreste, a girl with long red hair sat in front of her computer, angrily and furiously typing in multiple social media profiles, chatrooms, and message boards. Her bare feet swung in the air in time with her typing. Strands of hair fell across her face; she reached up and brushed them away, then paused in her typing to take her round-rimmed glasses off and clean them. As she cleaned her glasses, a dark butterfly fluttered through her window, settling on the edge of her keyboard and sinking into it, enveloping it in an oily purple mist. When she put her glasses back on, she reached out to type again...and stiffened as a dark, butterfly-shaped shadow spread across her face. A pink hologram, also in the shape of a butterfly, framed her eyes.

Viral. I am Hawk Moth. You command a powerful army, an army of jealous girls clamoring to possess the boy of their dreams. I grant you the power to spread your jealousy and spite beyond the confines of the Internet, into the real world. Use this power! Marshal your forces! Bring me the Miraculous, Ladybug's earrings, Chat Noir's ring!

Viral's lips curved into a wicked smile as her glasses lit up with an otherworldly gleam.

"We'll DDoS this Marinette into the ground," she said as purple fog boiled over her body, transforming her...

* * * * *

Fortunately for both teens, the car soon pulled up in front of the toy museum. The Gorilla remained in the car as they got out and headed up to the building. It was a newer addition to Paris' collection of galleries and museums, and had been built in its own distinctive style. Tall and cylindrical, the lower floors of the museum were painted a bright, cheerful red, with a brass plaque above the automatic metal doors engraved with the museum's name. A large, ornamental chrome crank knob was mounted beneath the plaque. The upper two floors were slightly wider than the lower floors, with bay windows all the way around, offering a look into the bright, colorful interior. The roof was yellow and domed.

Adrien and Marinette stared at the building. "It's..." Marinette began. "It's a giant capsule machine? You know, the kind you get cheap toys out of?"

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, it totally is!" He shook his head. "You gotta admit that's pretty clever."

Marinette giggled. "Well, it's certainly creative. Makes me curious what the inside looks like!"

"Well, let's find out," Adrien said, offering his arm. Marinette blushed and linked hers through, and they headed for the doors. Just inside the door, a bored-looking attendant sat behind a desk. As Adrien paid the admission, the attendant handed them a pair of red lanyards with the date printed on attached tags.

"Photography and video are permitted, selfie sticks are prohibited," the attendant said. "If you leave and come back, make sure you have your lanyard. Food and drinks are prohibited. No running or touching the exhibits. There are guided tours every thirty minutes, the line is over to the right. You can also explore on your own. Enjoy your visit."

"What do you say, Marinette?" Adrien asked as they walked past the desk and into the main floor. "Wanna take the tour?"

"Sure, if it's starting soon." They glanced over at a group which seemed to be mostly composed of grandparents and young children, with a few young adults in the mix, milling around in an area marked for group tours. A display above the group indicated the next tour would begin in five minutes. They joined the waiting group; just under five minutes later, Théo Barbot rushed up, an employee badge clipped to his shirt, and smiled at the group.

"Good morning!" he said. "Who's ready for a look into the history of toys?" Without paying any heed to the general audience response, he clapped his hands. "Follow me, keep close together, there's a lot to see. You can split off from the tour if you want to look around on your own, of course, but you'll learn a lot more if you stick with the group!"

"Does a little bit of everything, doesn't he?" Adrien whispered to Marinette as the tour followed Théo. Marinette giggled.

The first exhibit they stopped at drew a lot of excited whispers from the boys in the group. Rows of toy robots, cars, planes, and other vehicles made of plastic and die-cast metal were lined up on risers behind plexiglass. "We like to start the tour with a little trip to the first line of Transformers," Théo said. "Everything you see here is from Generation 1, when the toys were still made partly from die-cast metal. An entire generation of kids grew up with classic characters such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Starscream in their original incarnations, which you see here.

"What some of you who grew up with more modern Transformers may not know is that the original Transformers weren't very poseable at all. A lot of them only had a few moving joints in robot form, and the toymaking technology of the time limited the amount of detail that could go into a toy's sculpt. That's why unlike today's toys, which have fine details painted and tampographed on by factory robots, these classic Transformers came with sticker sheets that kids would have to put on the toy themselves." He chuckled. "This led to a lot of Transformers with crooked stickers, missing stickers, or stickers put on in weird places." The tour group laughed along with him. "Our collection, of course, is curated from toys in as near mint condition as possible, with the stickers applied precisely."

"A lot of them look like plastic bricks," Marinette whispered to Adrien.

"Yeah, they kinda do," Adrien agreed.

"This, of course, is only our first look into toys of the eighties," Théo said, leading the group on to the next exhibit, which was full of action figures that seemed to be from several completely different toy lines. "The eighties had a heavy emphasis on action toys aimed at boys, especially in America, which is where most of these are from." There were some snorts in the group. "Toy lines like He-Man and G.I. Joe were big sellers, and later in the decade, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles took off." He looked over the group. "Now, our next exhibit is something truly special. We'll leave all these war and fighting toys behind for something more simple and family-friendly from the good ol' 1950s!" He led the group along rows of displays full of colorful, sometimes gaudy, toys, to a partitioned-off display in which a recording was playing on a loop. It was an old black-and-white show from sixty years in the past, performed with puppets on strings.

Inside the display cases in this area were a variety of toys and related merchandise that all revolved around a cowboy doll made of wood and cloth, a matching cowgirl doll, a toy horse, and an overstuffed old prospector. The banner over the display read "WOODY'S ROUNDUP".

"We were lucky to come across this collection," Théo said. "Toy museums have been trying to assemble a complete Woody's Roundup collection for decades, and the Japanese museum whose exhibits we inherited only just managed to finally complete the set before they were forced to close."

The tour moved on, through decades of toys ranging from classic wooden ball-and-cup toys to an extensive collection of Barbie dolls through the ages to an assortment of old board games, and even an exhibition of old video game consoles from the late seventies and early eighties, accompanied by a detailed lesson on the crash of the video game industry. "You wouldn't know it from how popular gaming is today," Théo said, "but there was a time, more than thirty years ago, when it looked like video games were a fad that was about to die out..."

"Wow, lucky for us that didn't happen, huh?" Adrien commented aside to Marinette, who giggled.

All told, the tour took a little over an hour, at the end of which Marinette's feet were killing her. They found a place to sit and rest; Marinette took her shoes off and rubbed her feet, wincing. "I don't see how women like Mademoiselle Sancoeur do this all day long," she complained.

Adrien winced. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested someplace with this much walking."

"Nono, it's my bad," Marinette said, waving him off. "Alya told me not to wear heels, but would I listen?" She shook her head. "I just forgot how hard it is to put up with these if you're not used to it."

"Tell me about it," Adrien said ruefully. At Marinette's confused expression, he recoiled slightly, then stammered, "Uhh—I mean, back when Reflekta attacked our school, yeah? I got hit just like everybody else. Had to spend most of the day in those awful heels."

"Oh yeah," Marinette said, nodding. "I forgot about that. That was...that was just weird."

Once Marinette had her shoes back on, Adrien glanced at the time on his phone. "I think we've seen enough here," he said. "Wanna find someplace for an early lunch?"

"Sounds great," Marinette said.

* * * * *

In numerous chat rooms and online forums, as well as on Twitter and Instagram...

Marinette must pay. Who does she think she is?

This nobody girl doesn't deserve Adrien any more than any of us!

We can't allow Adrien to be monopolized by one trash girl.

It was typical Internet shitposting, ignored by many, rebutted angrily by some. Agreed with by far too many.

Those who argued with "Viral" soon found their computers and phones frozen and unresponsive. Those who agreed with her...

...transformed into an army of blanks, wearing skintight black latex, their faces replaced by angry face emojis. They left their homes, their churches, their social gatherings...wherever they were, they simply got up and left, taking to the streets, awaiting the orders of their queen.

Find Marinette. Destroy her. If you see Ladybug or Chat Noir, take their Miraculous!

* * * * *

Adrien and Marinette sat at an outdoor table at a small, upscale bistro. As they waited for their food, Marinette commented, "School's going to be interesting tomorrow."

"Yeah," Adrien agreed. With a grimace, he added, "Actually...there's something I should probably tell you. I mean, I don't wanna ruin our good time, but...it's kind of important."

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

Adrien sighed. "Chloé called me last night to scream at me about dating you," he said. "I got into this huge fight with her. I...have no idea what tomorrow's gonna be like, when we're in the same room with her together."

Marinette groaned. "Ugh, Chloé." She sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Adrien said sourly. "It's her. I mean, that attitude." He stirred his tea. "I don't understand why she's like that. I especially don't understand what she has against you." He took a sip of tea, then added, "I asked her what her problem with you is. She couldn't say."

Marinette pressed her lips together. "I have no idea what her deal is," she said. "She's just been a nasty little pest ever since we first met. I don't think I ever did anything to her."

"I don't think you did either, honestly," Adrien said in a resigned tone. "Anyway, enough about Chloé. Let's—" Their food was brought to their table. "Hmm. It's normal to tweet about this kind of thing, right? What you're eating, where you're eating?"

Marinette shrugged. "Sure, some people do." She pulled out her own phone even as Adrien pulled his out. "I guess we could—" She paused, her eyes widening as she scanned her notifications. "Oh my god," she moaned.

"What's up, Marinette?" Adrien asked. He checked his own notifications, and his brows drew down in anger. "What the hell—?!"

Marinette's head drooped. "Why," she moaned.

"This is wrong," Adrien said darkly. "This is absolutely wrong." He rapidly typed a furious tweet.

All of you, CUT IT OUT. This is sick and wrong. Viral, whoever you are, I'm blocking you.

As soon as he sent the tweet, his phone locked up. He blinked. "Uhh...what?"

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked fearfully.

"My phone froze," Adrien muttered. He tried to restart it, then shook his head. "It's completely locked up!"

"Take the battery out," Marinette suggested. "Sometimes that's all you can—"

A hail of forks embedded themselves in the table in front of Marinette, one piercing the brim of her hat. She stared up at it, cross-eyed.

Adrien shot to his feet. "What on Earth?!"

A woman in skintight black latex with an angry-face emoji where her face should be melted out of the bistro, hands full of cutlery. She hurled it at Marinette, who rolled out of the way and came up in a crouch, eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it's an Akuma attack," she muttered.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Emoji-Face said in a distorted, synthetic voice. "Viral wants you to disappear. You will not live to see another sunrise."

Adrien's jaw tightened. "Viral," he growled. "So this is just..." He shook his head. "Go home, lady. Stop this nonsense. This is disgusting."

"Umm, Adrien?" Marinette said tentatively, touching his shoulder. "I don't think any of them are in a listening mood."

Adrien looked around. More emoji-faced women in latex approached from every direction, carrying all manner of weapons. He swallowed. "Okay, so...either this is the most with-it flash mob ever, or..."

"Akuma attack," Marinette said. "That's probably why your phone locked up."

Adrien sighed. "Dammit, why...?"

"Right now, I think we need to RUN!" Marinette shouted, grabbing Adrien's wrist and yanking sharply as the Emoji-Faces charged angrily, shouting death threats and insults. They ducked into the bistro, juked through the kitchens, and hid in the staff locker room. They doubled over, panting for breath.

"Okay, so...now what?" Adrien asked.

"Umm..." Marinette hemmed. "I'll call for help, since your phone is on the fritz. Oh, and...I think I'll go hide in the little girls' room. I...kinda need to pee anyway."

Adrien stared at her. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Just stay here until help arrives," Marinette said, peering around the door frame. "If this is an Akuma attack, Ladybug and Chat Noir should be here soon, non?" She ducked back out into the kitchen and disappeared in a flash.

Adrien slumped against a locker and sighed. "Today was going so well, too..."

Plagg flew out of his pocket. "So your date got interrupted by Hawk Moth. Look on the bright side, you'll get to see Ladybug today!"

"Yeah, but this happened because..." Adrien sighed. "Nevermind. Plagg, claws out!" The ring on Adrien's finger turned black as Plagg disappeared into it. Adrien's eyes turned from their usual sparkling green into the vivid, luminescent green eyes of a cat as the black leather catsuit, ears, mask, and tail of Chat Noir formed on his body. Mouth set in a grim line, Chat Noir slipped outside and through the bistro's service entrance, ninja-jumping his way up to the roof.

* * * * *

In the toilet, Marinette sighed. "I'm finally dating Adrien and it just had to turn into this."

Tikki phased out of her purse, eyes sad. "Marinette..."

"If this Viral turns out to be Chloé, I swear I'll...!" Marinette clenched a fist which trembled with rage. "Tikki, spots on!" Tikki vanished into the Miraculous, which turned from black to a bright red with black spots. Marinette's clothes were replaced by the bright red, black-spotted, indestructible skintight Ladybug costume. Ladybug detached her yo-yo from her hip, a determined and angry expression on her face. "Alright, let's get this over with," she said in a grim, sour tone. Dashing out of the toilet and through the front doors, Ladybug swung up onto the roof of the bistro, perching crouched and wary on the edge as she looked down at the street. The number of Emoji-Faces had increased sharply in just a few minutes.

"Hey there Bugaboo," Chat Noir said from behind and to her left. "Fancy seeing you here. You're dressed to kill as usual."

"Any sign of the real Akuma victim?" Ladybug asked, ignoring his by-play and scanning the milling crowd below with sharp, alert eyes.

Chat Noir took in Ladybug's tense, aggressive stance and fierce scowl and blinked. "Something troubling you, My Lady?"

Ladybug let out a huff of irritation. "I was having a really good day until about five minutes ago," she said sourly.

Chat Noir felt a pang of sympathy, but hid it behind his usual playful banter. "Did our resident pain in the bug supervillain catch you in the middle of a hot date?"

"As a matter of fact, he did," Ladybug said tersely.

*Ouch.* Chat Noir winced. Letting the smirk fall from his face, he sighed. "Yeah...to be honest? Same here. I was having a really good time with a really cute girl when this litterbox flipped over on us." He reaffixed his teasing smirk. "Don't get me wrong, Bugaboo, you're still the cat's meow in my book—"

"Save it," Ladybug said. Then, wincing, she added in a more gentle tone, "Sorry." She sighed. "Let's see if we can't figure out what's going on here so we can both get back to our dates and try to salvage what's left of the day."

"Roger that!"

* * * * *

In her dark bedroom, Viral's mouth twisted into an eerie smile as her fingers danced across her keyboard. Her glasses glowed green. "Where are you, little trash girl..." A bright red exclamation point popped up on her screen. "Oh! Excellent. Ladybug and Chat Noir have joined the chat. Welcome them, my followers!"

À SUIVRE...

Chapter 4
Chapter 6 (coming soon)

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