Choice- Chat Noir vs Claw Noir

Chapter 4: Paris is in Trouble

Mari Dupain-Cheng read her school file. Adrien Agrest read his. They'd scrambled to make their names alternate to themselves, but his name was still the famous model's. Which still made it obvious he had changed. As in, he was no longer 'sweet, naïve, kind,' pathetic and digsutingly revolting. Adrien glanced over at Mari, who was scowling at her picture.

"What's up, Mari?"

"My photo's not decent. At all."

"Get revenge then," Adrien replied while looking at his with disgust. He hated smiling. Well, as Adrien anyhow.

"Adrien."

He glanced up at her, and startled. Her expression was completely open. And she was being...gentle?

"Uh...yes?" he asked in a small voice.

"Burn this."

She tossed him her photo and he caught it rather clumsily. He peeked at it, and he managed to keep his expression blank. She looked...good?

"But of course, Shade."

He fumbled to find a match and failing to find one, transformed and cataclysmed her photo. Mari gave him a surprised look.

"Uh...okay. That works too..."

She looked very hesitant.

"What? You wanted it destroyed."

"Uh...yeah, but I didn't expect...that. You went through a ton of effort for me. You could've just thrown it in my face, like usual."

"And?"

"You're just being...weird, that's all," Mari coughed then turned back to her files.

"Did you steal those, Mari?"

Mari shrugged one shoulder.

"Maybe, but you can't prove anything. These files will be gone when we're done here."

"Don't we have the Butterfly Miraculous? We could leave right now."

Mari sighed.

"This Paris is harder to conquer. I want to see it burn before we resort to retreating to our old dimension or reality, whatever."

"Sure...but, you know what, I'm not sure how much longer this game will play on for," Adrien said worriedly.

Mari rolled her eyes.

"We'll be fine. I told you, I know what I'm doing."

"Chat Noir's still trapped. He'll eventually transform back."

"Revealing his identity to Ladybug will be the tiny cherry on top of the icing of the cake I'm making."

"Of course," Adrien said shakily, now more than a bit scared by her suddenly monotone, sweet tone. She never, ever, talked sweetshit to him.

"What are you up to today? Going to get some more info for us out of Chat?"

"N-no, not without speaking to you about it first, Shades."

She raised an eyebrow in a very icy manner.

"Since when? Since when do you concern yourself with my permission, Adrien?"

"Uh...Since...uh, we came to a version of Paris that we don't know, Mari?"

She gave him a eyeroll.

"Right. Of course. It took a whole 'nother dimension for you to cooperate and actually get my permission to do anything," she retorted. He winced.