Disclaimer: I don't own ML.

First days at a new school are never particularly noteworthy. Even the horror of having to stand up and introduce yourself while the teacher smiles like they're some messiah – a common trope in American teenage movies – is nothing more than a mild anxiety. And for someone like Alya Césaire, who can make herself at home in an unfamiliar environment in just seconds, this anxiety is pretty much non-existent.

As for making friends? She'll find someone who can balance out her loud proudness. She did in Martinique, so why should France be any different?

"Stay out of trouble," Marlena Césaire had said. "Behave yourself. Make some good friends. And do well at school!"

Okay, so Alya loves her mum and all, but if Marlena could have predicted the future then she would have totally understood why Alya had managed to disobey her first instruction before even reaching the school.

"Go away!" cries a voice from across the road. Alya whips around and catches sight of a small boy shoved up against the wall by a larger one, who's shaking a fist in his face. An old man in a bright red Hawaiian shirt shuffles past with his walking stick, in the same direction that Alya is going. Or at least, the same direction she was going.

"Hey!" Alya storms across the road and over to the boys. When it comes down to obeying her mother or standing up for someone, well, sorry Marlena but the latter wins out. "Leave him alone!"

"Back off," the larger boy sneers at Alya. She just rolls her eyes and yanks the smaller boy away from the wall.

"If you have to pick on people smaller than you than you're clearly compensating for something," Alya says. "Come on, kid." She grabs the smaller boy's hand and takes off running down the street past the old man before the larger boy can get over himself and start chasing them to flatten them.

If Alya had been paying more attention to her surroundings, she might have noticed the old man stop and frown after her. She might have also noticed him glance down at a hexagonal box in his hand, then stroke his grey beard. But saving kids from bullies isn't very conducive to paying close attention to surrounding details, so the old man is the furthest thing from her mind by the time she rounds the corner.

When Marinette Dupain-Cheng barrels into class to find one Chloé Bourgeois claiming her seat, she's about ready to walk straight back out. Of course she'd end up in Chloé's class for the fourth time in a row. The universe clearly hates her at this point.

"So, why don't you just go and sit beside that new girl over there?" Chloé sneers, pointing at an unfamiliar girl at the front desk on the right side of the room. "Listen, Adrien's arriving today, and since that's going to be his seat, this is going to be my seat. Get it?"

Clearly, Marinette's missed the memo. "Who's Adrien?"

Chloé and her best friend Sabrina burst into loud laughter. "Can you believe she doesn't know who Adrien is?" Chloé says. "What rock have you been living under?"

"He's only a famous model," Sabrina chimes in.

"And I am his best friend! He adores me!" Chloé says. Marinette immediately hates this Adrien person. Great. A male Chloé. "Go on, move!"

"Hey!" The new girl stands next to Chloé, crossing her arms. "Who elected you queen of seats?"

But even the new girl can't withstand the might of Chloé's Royal Entitlement. Honestly, if Chloé would channel that determination and stubbornness into something good and productive, she might actually be a prodigy at something other than being a brat. Rolling her eyes, the new girl grabs Marinette by the arm and leads her down to Chloé and Sabrina's old desk, and although this is probably the smartest move to avoid detention before the school year has even officially begun, Marinette can't help but feel like she's letting Chloé win.

"I so wish I could handle Chloé the way you do," Marinette says glumly.

"You mean the way Majestia does it!" The new girl shows Marinette a picture of a blonde superhero with a red and blue suit that's saved on her phone. "She says, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing"." The girl points at Chloé. "Well, that girl over there is evil, and we are the good people. We can't let her get away with it."

Marinette attempts a weak smile. "Well, that's easier said than done. She likes to make my life miserable."

"That's 'cause you let her, girl!" the new girl says. "You just need more confidence!"

Marinette hums, although being more confident is way easier said than done. Making a snap decision, she grabs the last macaron from her box and splits it in half, offering one piece to the new girl. "Marinette," she says.

The new girl smiles and takes the piece, unknowingly cementing what would soon be not only a close friendship but also a legendary partnership. "Alya," she replies.

Before Ms Bustier can start class, the classroom door slams open and a cute boy with messy blond hair comes skidding inside, panting with his hands on his knees. Marinette's about two seconds from introducing herself to the second new student, who looks oddly familiar, when Chloé squeals, "Adrikins!" and darts from her seat to latch on to his arm.

Ah. That must be the Adrien that Chloé had mentioned. Marinette's interest immediately shrivels and dies.

"Come on, Adrikins!" Chloé tugs Adrien over to the seat next to Nino, who resolutely ignores the blond. "This is your seat! Aren't I just the best friend ever?"

"Um…thanks, Chloé," Adrien says. Despite herself, Marinette peeks over her shoulder, but when Adrien meets her gaze and smiles, she just rolls her eyes and turns back to face the front.

"Great," Alix says loud enough for everyone to hear. "Now there's two of them."

"Huh?" Adrien says. "I don't understand –"

"Sure you don't," Marinette mutters. Although she doesn't look around again, she can feel Adrien's eyes scorching the back of her neck, but she refuses to believe that he's genuinely confused about what's going on. No one who's friends with Chloé is clueless about what a rotten person she is.

"Um, could I have a word?"

Marinette stiffens when Adrien pauses next to her table in the library, where she and Alya are studying while the other half of their class is at P.E.

"Why?" she snaps. "You're Chloé's friend. I think that says it all. Any friend of Chloé's isn't a friend of mine."

"Wait, what? Chloé's –"

"Oh, don't play dumb!" Marinette winces when the librarian shushes her, so she lowers her voice to a hiss. "How stupid do you think I am?"

Adrien's green eyes crinkle. His confusion looks genuine…but it could just be a ploy to gain Marinette's trust before he screws her over. "Just one minute," he pleads. "Give me one minute of your time. Then I'll leave you alone."

Marinette's knee-jerk reaction is to tell him to clear off. But she pauses. He seems to be genuinely puzzled…and he is new…and it's not like Marinette can't tell when someone's lying…

"Fine." She stands up, leaving her open book and smiling reassuringly at Alya, who's utterly failing at looking like she's not listening in. "One minute. No more, no less." She follows Adrien out into the corridor, where he laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head.

"So, uh…I think we got off on the total wrong foot," he says. "I'm…well, I'm home-schooled, you see. My father didn't even want me to come to school today, so he'll be furious tonight. And I was so excited to meet other kids my age and make friends, but now everyone hates me, and I don't know why!"

"Hmm." Marinette rests her hands on her hips. Adrien seems genuine…but he could also just be a good actor.

"Why exactly does everyone hate Chloé?" Adrien says. "All she's told me is that everyone's super jealous of her and gangs up on her."

Marinette snorts loudly. "Uh, no. She's an awful bully and she's made my life hell for years. That's why everyone hates you – they think you're just like her, and we don't have time for another Chloé."

"Wait, what?" Adrien's eyes widen. "But she's – she's really cool – she's never been mean to me –"

"You're a famous model, right?" Marinette says. "That's what Chloé said."

"Um…yeah. My father's Gabriel Agreste. I model his clothes for him."

It's Marinette's turn for her eyes to widen. Agreste! Now she knows why this boy looks so familiar! His pictures are in her magazines! "Ah," she says. "That would explain it. No way is she gonna be mean to someone who's rich and famous and "worthy" of her attention like you."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about her," Adrien says with a grimace. "I never knew she was mean to you…and I know you're not lying because the whole class backed you up."

"The seat she's in used to be mine," Marinette says. "She forced me out of it to sit near you. And that's, like, not even close to the worst thing she's done. That's tame for her."

Adrien just looks even gloomier at that. "Well, I get why everyone would hate me. I just wish I could prove to the class that I'm not mean."

"Hmm." Marinette deliberates for a moment, then holds out her hand before she can change her mind. "Hi, I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Welcome to Ms Bustier's class! Maybe we can be friends."

The way Adrien's face lights up as he grabs her hand could rival the sun. "Hi, Marinette! I'm Adrien Agreste and I'd love to be friends with you!"

Before Marinette can say anything, there's a loud crash and a shockwave that sends them both tumbling to the floor.

"What the –?" Marinette cries, clambering to her feet with Adrien. They rush back into the library to investigate on the security cameras, and Marinette's heart leaps into her throat when she sees that the source of the disturbance is a gigantic stone creature outside the school gates!

Is this all just a nervous-for-the-new-school-year fever dream?

"Hey!" Marinette says when Alya sprints past her for the library doors. "Where are you going?"

"Where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero close behind!" Alya's eyes gleam with feverish glee. "No way am I missing this!"

She vanishes before Marinette can protest. Marinette looks back at the camera screen, only to be met with a Rainbow Screen of Death when the giant throws a car at the camera.

What the heck is going on?

"What? No fair!" Alya exclaims. She tries to duck under the police officer's arms, but to no avail.

"Go home, little lady," the officer orders. "No way are civilians getting anywhere near this thing!"

"But –!"

"That's an order!"

Scowling, Alya turns and storms off back in the direction of her apartment. This is an outrage! Censorship! What happened to freedom and liberty? She fumes all the way into her apartment and up to her room, her muttering only cut short when she catches sight of a strange little hexagonal box on her grey desk.

"Huh? What's this doing here?" Torn between wanting to touch it and wondering if it's dangerous, Alya's curiosity wins out and she slowly approaches her desk. Now that she's closer, she can see that the dark brown box has strange red carvings on the top; Chinese carvings, possibly? What even is it? Is Nora playing a prank on her? Nah, Nora's much more of the brute force type than the sneaky, tricky type.

If Alya could have predicted how opening the box would have changed her life, she would have gleefully snatched it up immediately. But since she's not blessed with precognitive powers, she's much more cautious as she picks it up and looks it all over. Shrugging, she opens the box, and she gets just enough of a glimpse inside to make out a silver ring before there's a bright green flash of light and a tiny black cat materialises in thin air in front of her.

What. The. Hell.