Origins: Part One

The day Adrien Agreste was flung into the air, smacking face-first into a billboard of himself, was the day he realised he really didn't have a handle on the whole 'being an adult' thing.

Granted it was his first day as a superhero, and he'd only recently turned twenty years old. He hadn't expected to be perfect on his first outing as a superhero, nor have life figured out in his first year after adolescence.

However, he did not expect to be failing so badly, so grandly, so spectacularly, that he could've won an Olympic medal for how much he sucked. The fact that he was the only technical 'adult' in his new superhero partnership, yet was the one who was failing the hardest, wasn't doing much for his ego. Not that he had much of one of those.

He dropped to ground in a messy, yet unbroken, heap and pushed himself up with a groan. Sure, it hadn't hurt, not really, but being smacked in the head and sent flying by a giant akumatised rock monster had definitely disorientated him. If only for a short period of time.

So, yeah, ok, he'd forgotten what his kwami had told him in regards to his special attack. He'd tried to use it a second time after the first one failed. That was a rookie mistake. One he'd be forgiven for.

The other thing? He wasn't so sure his new partner would be so quick to let slide.

Speaking of his new partner...

The red-and-black suited heroine was mid-backflip when Chat landed back on the football field, baton out and fully prepared to take the battle more seriously this time. He winced when she barely dodged the rock monster's fist, but sighed in relief when she gave as good as she got, using her yo-yo to ensnare the akuma.

"Chat Noir!" she called out to him, and he landed by her side with a tentative smile.

"You called?"

His partner, who hadn't yet picked out a superhero name, fixed him with an ice-like stare that seemed too serious for her height and age. It was formidable. Chat never wanted to be on the end of it again.

"Stick your baton through the yo-yo string," she ordered, digging her heels into the grass as the rock monster struggled to be released from her hold. "Once he falls, grab the paper in his hand. That's where the akuma is!"

Chat, wanting to show that he treated her seriously, complied. He wondered how, in between the time of him smacking into the billboard and landing back beside her, she'd managed to figure out where the akuma was. She must be smart. But then, that didn't surprise him.

He pressed one of the buttons of his baton, relieved to discover that it was the one which made his staff longer (finally a success), and stuck it diagonally through the rock monster's legs where it balanced in between the yo-yo strings. As soon as it was in place, the new superheroine pulled with all of her strength, gritting her teeth until the yo-yo string went taut and the rock monster's legs pinned together. With the baton in the way, there was no wiggle room. Eventually, the monster was going to fall.

Chat's eyebrows rose at the biggest show of strength he'd ever seen.

The rock monster tumbled to the grass with a roar, landing with a booming thud that rattled Chat's bones. He turned to his partner, whose lips were upturned in a smirk of triumph.

"Woah. Awesome."

The smirk left the superheroine's face, however, when she noticed him watching her. She scowled. "EARTH TO CHAT NOIR!" she snapped. "AKUMA!"

"Oh- right- yeah," he stumbled, shook his head, and then dived for the piece of crumpled paper that had escaped from the rock monster's fist. Hurrying over to her, he presented it with a bow. "The akuma, miss, for your cleansing pleasure."

"My- my what?" his partner blinked, then snorted with derision. "My cleansing pleasure?"

Chat turned red. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, you didn't think I was enough to understand those kinds of jokes, right, Monsieur ?" she scoffed, snatching the akuma out of hand and ripping it in half. Together they watched as the black and purple butterfly floated up into the sky, disappearing in the early spring breeze. "Don't worry. I'm sure the next time you meet your partner, she'll be everything you were looking for. She'll meet your high standards for . Me and my too-young self will be out of your hair for good."

Chat tried not to look hurt. Scratching the back of his head, he felt a sense of creeping dread settling in. What could he possibly say to make this better? How could he explain himself? Did she really want to quit because of him? "I promise I didn't mean to upset you-"

His ring beeped and he stared at it, bewildered for a moment. Then he remembered what it meant. He was running out of time. "Listen- umm- miss? I have to go but, can we talk another time?"

His partner shrugged, turning her back on him. "Just go," she replied, walking towards the bewildered young man who'd been akumatised. "I'll handle the civilian."

"But-"

"Go, unless you want to reveal your identity to everyone."

She pointed to a place on the opposite side of the stadium, where a young girl was filming with her camera. When she saw the superheroes looking in her direction, she waved frantically.

The ring beeped again. Chat Noir glanced over his shoulder at his partner one more time before sighing in defeat. Picking up his baton, he leapt over to the stands and vaulted over the edge of the stadium, out of sight.

Funny. He'd been so thrilled to become a superhero. It'd been the most exciting thing that had happened to him in his miserable, boring life. The first time he'd ran, jumping as high as a building, he'd felt a sense of freedom so poignant that tears had formed in his eyes. The bars he'd kept around his heart had smashed to pieces, and the yearning he'd suppressed over the years had flooded back into his system. He'd felt breathless. He'd felt .