While Chat Noir was making his way towards the akuma, Marinette still kept running away from the Gamer's mech through the thankfully quiet streets, still avoiding the laser beams aimed at her. But when she veered to the right to get back onto the sidewalk, she tripped over the curb and fell to the ground. Now that she was cornered, Marinette could only brace herself for the laser beam that Gamer had charged up to send her way.

"Game over!" Gamer shouted from inside his mech, about to fire the laser blast at her. But thankfully for her, Chat Noir had made it to a rooftop near them and threw his staff at the mech, causing the beam to miss Marinette entirely as it redirected the mech's head to point off to the side.

"Not yet! Here comes a new challenger!" Chat Noir proclaimed from his perch on a chimney, quickly leaping off of the roof to land on the street in front of Gamer, the pyramid head of the mech rotating to face the feline hero. At the sight of her superhero partner, Marinette couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over her.

"Chat Noir!" Marinette called out, pulling the hero's attention to her. "Hey! Over here!" the pigtailed girl added, causing Chat Noir to leap into the air, twirling around to avoid Gamer's laser beams sent his way.

A second later, he landed right in front of Marinette before scooping her up in his arms, running off away from Gamer to get her to safety. As he did, Chat Noir also kept dodging Gamer's lasers as he leaped up to the rooftops and kept running until he reached the Grand Paris Hotel, soon placing Marinette back onto her feet when they reached the roof.

"I heard through the chat room that you really ticked off the final boss, Princess." Chat Noir teased, Marientte leaning on her knees to catch her breath after her previous running. But that didn't stop her from finding Chat Noir's lighthearted jab a little mean.

"Well it doesn't give him extra points to go transform everyone into XP." Marinette protested, rising to her full height and crossing her arms over her chest as she defended herself.

"I got to say, you really know how to attract the worst kind of attention, Princess." Chat Noir remarked, finding Marinette's sudden spunkiness a little surprising since he had never experienced it himself. Sure, he had seen her act something like this with her brothers, but it was different when he was on the receiving end of it. "Regardless of your dangerous habits, stay here and keep safe." the feline hero told Marinette, hoping that she would stay out of this fight. But just as he walked to the edge of the roof, Marinette had suddenly remembered...

"Wait, Chat Noir! I left my friend Adrien at the park!" Marinette exclaimed, Chat Noir wincing to himself at the mention of his civilian identity as he turned to face her. "He could be in danger! We have to go back!" the designer fretted, now worried for her crush's safety.

"Don't worry, Adrien's not in danger. He'll be fine." Chat Noir assured, a little surprised by Marinette's reaction to the thought of him being in danger, but decided to file that away for later. "Just stay put and you'll be safe. Ladybug and I will take care of everything." the hero in black reiterated, hoping that it would sink in for Marinette this time before turning back to face the edge of the roof.

"Arch, leap, and do a barrel roll!" Chat Noir exclaimed, leaping off the roof before doing the move exactly as he said it would go, leaving an unimpressed Marinette behind as he went to battle Gamer.

"Ugh, he's always so over-the-top." Marinette groaned, finding the trick her partner had done unnecessary before Tikki flew out of her purse and floated next to her.

"If ever there was a game to win, this is it! Let's go!" Tikki exclaimed in a rush, bringing Marinette's focus back onto the matter at hand before she pulled out her runestone necklace and clasped her hand over it, activating her Ladybug disguise. Once the disguise had taken full effect, she finally called out...

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted, triggering her transformation into Ladybug and allowing her to throw her yo-yo out into the city so she could catch up to her partner before he got himself into any trouble.

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Out in the streets, Chat Noir had managed to catch up to Gamer's mech, and had just perched himself onto a nearby rooftop when he saw that the akuma was heading straight for a bus full of people. Wasting no more time, Chat Noir lept from the rooftop he was on and made his way to where the bus is, landing on the ground in crouch.

"Get away from here! As far as you can!" Chat Noir exclaimed as he rose to his full height, warning the citizens before seeing the mech lumbering over to them. "Hurry!" the feline hero shouted, the people quickly taking the message and running away, leaving Chat Noir alone with Gamer.

"Hey, tin can! Over here!" Chat Noir called out, drawing Gamer's attention onto him and away from the retreating people.

"My calculations indicate that your system's about to crash!" Gamer taunted Chat Noir. But while he was so focused on the hero in front of him, Gamer didn't see Ladybug approaching from behind until she used her yo-yo to tie up the two legs of the mech, making it start to topple.

"You're the one crashing, robot!" Ladybug quipped back before she pulled the yo-yo's string, using a lamppost to add more leverage so the mech went crashing to the ground, landing on its side. With the mech down for the moment, Chat Noir immediately ran over to Ladybug, eager to join her in the upcoming battle.

"He's a life-size mech, from Ultimate Mecha Strike!" Chat Noir pointed out, a little excited to see one of his favorite games coming to life now that Gamer wasn't attacking them or the city.

"I know!" Ladybug replied. "And it's nearly at level 3. 4 is the highest level!" the spotted heroine exclaimed, realizing the amount of danger they and the city could be in if the mech reached such a devastating level.

"Wait, you know that game?" Chat Noir questioned out of surprise, catching onto Ladybug's amount of knowledge on Ultra Mecha Strike.

"Duh! Of course!" Ladybug responded, a little annoyed that Chat Noir had seemed so surprised about her playing the game.

"See? You and me! It was meant to be." Chat Noir said, using this new information to his advantage so he could convince Ladybug that they were made for each other, much to Ladybug's annoyance at his flirting.

But while they were distracted, Gamer saw that the bus was now right across from him and shot a laser beam at it, turning it into XP before he absorbed it and evolved into level 3. "Uh, I think our problem just got a whole lot bigger." the feline hero remarked as he and Ladybug took in the now human-like mech while it towered above them.

"Level 3. Hahahahahaha!" Gamer cheered, right before Hawkmoth had decided to step in now that his akuma was strong enough to go toe-toe with the heroes.

"If you want to be the most powerful gamer in the world, you must capture Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses. Then it really will be Game Over." Hawkmoth commanded Gamer through their link, reminding his latest minion of his part of the deal. Deciding that it was best to comply with his benefactor's wishes, Gamer nodded in agreement before the link was severed, leaving him to continue his fun.

"Those Miraculouses are mine!" Gamer exclaimed before he started attacking Ladybug and Chat Noir, punching his mech's fist at them and causing them to leap out of the way, making the mech punch the ground instead. From there, the two heroes started to run away from the giant mech, all while Gamer fired more lasers at them as he chased after them. Very soon, the chase had Ladybug and Chat Noir jumping up to the rooftops in hopes to have more cover from the laser beams, still running away while Gamer was still behind them.

"We have to get him out of here before he destroys all of Paris!" Ladybug yelled to Chat Noir, stating their current goal before she and her partner spied a billboard for the gaming tournament.

"The stadium!" Ladybug and Chat Noir proclaimed at the same time, both coming to the same idea before they readjusted their course, leading Gamer to the stadium to prevent him from causing anymore damage to the city.

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Thanks for their powers and agility, it didn't take long for the two heroes to reach Parc des Princes Stadium. Once they reached it, Ladybug and Chat Noir lept from the rim of the stadium roof, landing in the center field as they prepared to fight against Gamer.

"Where has Clunky got to?" Ladybug wondered out loud, seeing that Gamer hadn't arrived yet. But her question was quickly answered when Gamer's mech had landed behind them, causing Ladybug and Chat Noir to throw their weapons at the mech to try to defeat it. Unfortunately their attack doesn't work and their weapons bounce against the pyramid-shaped top of the mech before bouncing back to their hands.

"Hahahaha!" Gamer cackled at their failure, quickly piloting his mech to try and smash them into the ground. Just before they could get hit, the two heroes jumped back away from the mech's fist and skidded their feet on the ground as they landed back on it. But as soon as they stopped skidding, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to run away from the laser beams aimed at them.

"Attack the robot with your Cataclysm, kitty! It might be enough to shock him!" Ladybug shouted to her partner as they ran around Gamer's mech, staying close so they could attack.

"My pleasure. Two can play this game." Chat Noir replied, halting his running so he could call on his... "Cataclysm!" the feline hero exclaimed, summoning his power and using it to destroy the Gamer's mech.

"Nooooo!" Gamer cried out in agony as his mech dissolved into a shower of green pixels, sending him falling to the ground after the cockpit was gone too.

"Smackdown, Chat Noir!" Ladybug congratulated her partner, running over to Chat Noir and giving him a high five.

"Chat Noir Style! Booyah!" Chat Noir cheered, unintentionally copying Tom Dupain and doing a little dab as he spoke. But after his celebration, a floating red sphere suddenly appears above them in a shower of glowing pink sparkles, only to float down to settle itself between the two heroes. "Whoa ha ha! Check out that loot!" the hero in black excitedly remarked, both him and Ladybug inwardly gushing about the phenomenon that appeared in front of them.

"System crash, Gamer!" Ladybug taunted their advisory, turning to glance over at him with a smirk. But Ladybug and Chat Noir's cheerful mood was spoiled when Gamer started laughing as he rose up from the ground, getting back to his feet.

"You've forgotten the rules. I saved my last level!" Gamer slyly revealed before touching a button on his glasses, causing his mech to suddenly materialize out of thin air and tower over the two heroes. "Respawn!" Gamer proclaimed, once again able to fight against Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Aww, not the old spawn point glitch again." Chat Noir groaned, not finding Gamer's use of the outlawed glitch very fair... especially since he had gone against players in the past that heavily relied on it.

"Yeah, but did you see he pushed that button on his glasses?" Ladybug questioned her partner, her analytic mind working overtime. "I bet the akuma's in there." the spotted heroine voiced before she turned to the red sphere floating behind them, quickly placing her hand on it and activating it. With a whoosh and a flash of light, a giant red and black LadyNoir mech appeared out of thin air, standing level with Gamer's mech and evening the odds.

"Ha! We've leveled up too!" Ladybug cheered, she and having climbed up the mech to stand on its shoulder joints. But a second later, Chat Noir's Miraculous beeped its first warning.

"I only got a few minutes left. So let's make this snappy." Chat Noir warned Ladybug, prompting them to enter their mech's cockpit through different doors that were next to their feet. "I'll man it, you shoot!" the feline hero said, finding himself in the driver's seat while a baffled Ladybug found herself in the weapon's control area.

"Why do you get to man it?" Ladybug questioned Chat Noir in suspicion, standing up from her seat to look down at Chat Noir seeing as her seat was placed right up against the back of his.

"What do you say we flip for it?" Chat Noir teasingly asked, much to Ladybug annoyance. With reluctance, Ladybug agreed to let Chat Noir man the mech so that they could just start battling against Gamer. But while Chat Noir started having a difficult time maneuvering the mech in a smooth manner, the akuma's mech wasted no time in smashing into it, sending the LadyNoir mech to the ground in a heap. Needless to say, the crash also threw the heroes out of their seats, where they now laid together against the cockpit's back wall.

"Okay, you man it and I'll fire." the hero in black relented, now seeing that it would probably be their best bet if Ladybug was working the controls.

"Look out! Here it comes again..." Ladybug exclaimed, followed by Gamer's mech attacking Ladybug and Chat Noir's mech, repeatedly punching the chest area and sending sparks flying when the opposing metals meet. Wasting no time, Ladybug and Chat Noir switch seats and sit in their new more suited roles. "Don't let it go to your head! Booster Rocket!" the spotted heroine shouted once she was in the driver's seat, activating the mech's rocket punch and knocking the head of Gamer's mech clean off.

With a worried gasp, Gamer rushed over to where the mech's head was and quickly put it back before turning back to the heroes with a cackle. But his confidence was short lived when Ladybug showed off her mastery of piloting the mech, the spotted heroine controlling the LadyNoir mech to do a few breakdancing moves before standing ready to fight.

"Round two, Gamer." Ladybug quipped, confident in her and Chat Noir's chances of victory.

With an angry growl, Gamer took point in attack when he called on his Pyramissiles, the missiles shooting out of his mech's shoulders and right at the LadyNoir mech. The heroes responded by using their forcefield defense, the energy shield destroying the missiles with ease and protecting their mech. In retaliation to the missiles, Chat Noir activated their Cat Saber, taking the mech's tail off and using it as a sword to strike at Gamer. But the akuma piloted his mech to jump out of the way and hover in the air above them, soon activating his Pyradrill move, summoning a drill to appear on the mech's arm before charging on the LadyNoir mech. Raising their forcefield arm, the LadyNoir mech kept back the Gamer's drill arm, only for both mechs to be blown back by an explosion from the LadyNoir mech's now damaged forcefield. While Gamer had landed his mech safely on its feet, the LadyNoir mech landed on its backside before the heroes took in the amount of damage they just received.

"This Gamer's way powerful. He just took out our forcefield!" Chat Noir exclaimed, not liking that Gamer had done as such and had taken away their only means of defense.

"We're gonna have to manage without it." Ladybug decided, quickly calling on their mech's Lady Bombs as they shot out of the mech's shoulders.

Gamer responded by summoning his own Laser Wall defense, which stopped the Lady Bombs in midair once they passed through the wall while Gamer's mech used a laser to destroy them. When the wall and explosions cleared out, Ladybug growled in frustration when seeing Gamer's mech unaffected and tried attacking again with the LadyNoir mech's Lady Helix. The two shields on the LadyNoir mech's shoulders detached from the robot and flew towards Gamer, only to be blocked when Gamer piloted his mech to rapidly spin its top half around as a defense to the move. Seeing their attacks so far failing, Chat Noir launched their mech's rocket arms at Gamer, which was met by the enemy mech neutralizing the attack by disassembling itself and reassembling when the attack had passed. After the latest failed attack, the heroes waited for their mech's arms and shoulder shields to reattach to the mech before Chat Noir activated Ear Thunder, the robot's two cat ears making an arc of electricity aimed at Gamer's mech. Unfortunately, their attack was met with Gamer's own electrical attack, blocking the hit from reaching his robot.

"He's anticipating all of our attacks!" Ladybug pointed out as she turned away from the cockpit's viewing window to look at Chat Noir behind her, finding Gamer's ability to match their advances frustrating.

"Watch out, Ladybug!" Chat Noir exclaimed in warning, pulling Ladybug's attention back to Gamer's mech as it charged at them.

Thankfully for the heroes, Ladybug managed to dodge the punch before it could land on them, but it soon led to a fist fight between the two mechs. But the fist part of the battle was over as soon as it started when both mechs tried to punch at each other, their fists meeting and pushing them away from each other. But just after they landed one last hit on the other, Gamer called upon his Gamer Fire move, manifesting an orb of energy before disassembling his mech and flying through the air to appear next to Ladybug and Chat Noir's mech. After reassembling, Gamer's mech pushed the LadyNoir mech into the energy orb, disorienting it before slamming the robot to the ground and shooting an eye beam at it, further damaging it

"Hahahahaha! Today I shall be victorious!" Gamer cheered from his cockpit, excited that he was wiping the floor with his opponents.

But the heroes weren't down for the count yet. After Ladybug piloted the mech back to its feet, Chat Noir charged up a Catouken blast; a parody of a hadouken, and fired it at Gamer's mech. The blast damages Gamer's robot and allows the LadyNoir mech to kick it back, but the Gamer's robot disassembled and reformed again in front of the heroes, still standing. However, when Gamer was about to attack again, the LadyNoir mech grabbed the other mech and jumped into the air to slam Gamer's robot to the floor on its head. The move was good, but the effects didn't last long when Gamer once again disassembled and reformed again a few feet away from the heroes, only having taken little damage the whole fight.

"I am the strongest player in the world! Hahahaha!" Gamer proclaimed, feeling like he was on top of the world with his continued superiority. All the while, Ladybug and Chat Noir were starting to get more worried about their chances.

"How are we supposed to beat him if we can't even catch him?" Chat Noir questioned Ladybug from his station, hoping that she would have an idea.

"We have to beat him harder and jam the system!" Ladybug replied, worry lacing her tone before focusing back on the battle at hand.

As the LadyNoir mech charged at Gamer's robot, Ladybug used a Tatsu-kitty maneuver, spin kicking their enemy's robot in the chest and legs, kicking it into the air. With Gamer's mech in the air, Chat Noir charged up another Catouken blast at the robot, knocking it to the ground. But the move's effect didn't last long, Gamer piloting his mech back to its feet before using his Gamer Crusher move, jumping into the air and spinning into a missile like projectile aimed at the LadyNoir mech. Thankfully they managed to dodge the hit, leaving them on opposite sides to where they originally started the fight before Ladybug used Shoryubug; a parody of Shoryuken, on Gamer's mech. With their enemy disoriented, Chat Noir fired one final Catouken at Gamer's, knocking it to the ground. But Gamer was quick to recover and stood up from the ground, leading to the two mechs to fist fight until both mechs had a lock on each other's hands, not letting go and allowing the other to get the edge. However, their new position allowed Ladybug more time to analyze the situation.

"We've gotta get inside his cockpit!" Ladybug realized, still keeping Gamer's mech back from attacking them.

"Go for it. I'll hold him still!" Chat Noir assured, shifting controls so he could man the whole mech so Ladybug was free to take care of Gamer. "Good luck, Chat Noir. I'll be right back." Ladybug said as she climbed out of her seat and began to exit the mech.

"You too, M'Lady!" Chat Noir called back in encouragement, Ladybug slipping out of the cockpit and standing on the top of the mech's armored chest.

"It's just us two now, Gamer!" Ladybug shouted to the akuma, who was surprised by the sudden change in tactics.

"What are they..." Gamer wondered out loud from his cockpit, only to witness Ladybug call her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug cried out, summoning her powers and causing a graffiti can to appear in the air before dropping into her awaiting hands. "Huh? Graffiti?" the spotted heroine muttered in confusion, not sure of why she received the lucky charm.

"Spray paint? Arts and crafts?" Ladybug mused out loud, soon looking around for inspiration. Once she did, the left arm and eye of Gamer's mech were suddenly highlighted in her mind. "Bingo." the spotted heroine cheered now that she had the plan needed to win, quickly running to the Gamer's mech by her already planned route. With a few jumps and leaps into the air, Ladybug landed right in front of the opposing mech's eye and sprayed graffiti paint on it whilst humming to herself, blocking Gamer's entire view.

"Aghhh! You won't get away with this!" Gamer growled in anger before opening the eye and poking his head out of the cockpit. But unbeknownst to him, Ladybug had moved to perch herself above the window and used the opportunity to pluck the glasses off of Gamer's face.

"Game over, Gamer." Ladybug taunted before she broke the glasses, releasing the akuma. "Game's over for you too, akuma." the heroine in red said as she opened her yo-yo, revealing the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside in preparation to catch the akuma.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo. "Gotcha!" the spotted heroine cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free.

"Bye, bye little butterfly," Ladybug said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the Lucky Charm up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" the spotted heroine cried out, summoning the magic ladybugs and cleansing cure. The magic ladybugs then swept through the city and restored everything back to normal, returning the citizens and vehicles that had been turned into XP back to normal, and making the two mechs disappear as well. After the cure had finished its work, the defeated Gamer was finally turned back into Max.

"What am I doing here?" Max questioned as he looked around to see where he was, not remembering anything like all akuma's before him. But with a glance to his side, he soon realized what had happened as he watched Ladybug and Chat Noir say...

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Chat Noir cheered, once again doing their post-battle ritual now that the job was done.

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In Hawkmoth's observatory-esque lair, the resident supervillain was seething as he stood in the center of his lair, once again faced with defeat to two children.

"Such pitiful insolence!" Hawkmoth growled, gripping his cane in an iron-like hold. "The moment you challenged me was the moment you sealed your fate! This battle is not yet over..." the inferno of simmering fury gravely warned his enemies, knowing full well that they couldn't hear him as the lair window closed back up, leaving him in darkness once again.

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(Time Skip)

Much later in the day, Marinette and Adrien returned to Parc des Princes, this time in their civilian selves and their class in tow. But as soon as they did, the gaming tournament was about to start just after the sun had already set.

"So remember, the High Score to beat is 24500! So gamers hit those consoles. Game on!" the announcer shouted through the stadium loudspeakers, all while Marinette was sitting just outside the gaming room entrance as she told Alya about her forfeiting her spot in the tournament.

"You bent over backwards to be in the team and now you wanna pull out?" Alya questioned incredulously, not believing that Marinette was throwing in the towel.

"It's just that I feel so bad for Max. And well, it just wouldn't be right." Marinette explained as she glanced over at a still slightly crossed Max, who was standing a few feet away from them. With her goal in mind, Marinette got up from her seat and started walking over to the bespeckled boy, but was stopped by Alya before she could go past her..

"You're doing the right thing." Alya agreed, seeing the truth in Marinette's words."But honestly, it's not like you get the chance to play with Adrien everyday..." the reporter pointed out, hoping that their school team kept their best player while also allowing her shipper side to show through. But her words did little to convince Marinette to change her mind as she pulled away from Alya's hand and walked over to Max.

"...Max? I've thought about this a lot, and..." Marinette began as she held her controller in her left hand, pulling Max's attention from his sulking and directing it onto her.

"And now, representing Françoise Dupont Middle School..." the announcer proclaimed above them, interrupting Marinette's apology. However, the pigtailed girl didn't let that stop her.

"Well, I think you should be playing tonight, Max." Marinette finished, surprising Max.

"What?" Max exclaimed, turning to face Marinette as he spoke.

"Don't get me wrong! I love gaming, but it's not my heart and soul. This is your baby." Marinette said, holding out her controller to a now starstruck Max. "It's your tournament, Max. I don't wanna take that away from you." the designer finished, eager to make things right between them.

"Dudes, make up your mind. They're waiting for you." Nino warned the two gamers, walking over to them to say as such.

"I insist!" Marinette confirmed, giving Max the controller.

"I don't know how to thank you." Max uttered in shere awe, grateful for Marinette's gesture as he took the controller.

"By winning the tournament... with her." a voice behind Marinette spoke up before the source placed a hand on Marinette's left shoulder, causing her to turn and see it was Adrien who had spoken.

"Wait, what?" Marinette nearly shrieked while Adrien gave his controller to her, surprised with what he was doing.

"Go on, Marinette. You're a hundred times better than me. You belong on the team." Adrien encouraged, knowing that he was making the right choice after their earlier practice session. "Win the tournament for the school. I know you can do it." the model added, causing Alya to facepalm at their obliviousness as she stood behind them.

"Go on, dudes! They're waiting for you!" Nino urged, prompting Max to start walking over to the entrance to the gaming room while Marinette was so surprised by Adrien's forfeiting that she remained rooted to where she stood.

"No, uh, I... only with you?" Marinette stammered out, trying to say that she was fine not being on the team. But Nino had had enough of their half-baked conversation and took Marinette by the shoulders to lead her over to Max ,the whole class now cheering for their school team to win. Once Marientte got her head back into the game, both her and Max stood at the entrance to the tournament.

"Let's show them who's gold." Max said to Marinette, earning a nod from her before they entered the gates of the tournament, ready to play while the other students cheered them on.

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Needless to say that with Max's brains and Marinette's skills, they easily smoked through the competition and won the trophy for their school. They also won medals for themselves, which Marinette had placed on a newly added nail to hang on her wall after she had dinner with her family. After the tournament, her principal had announced that class photos would be taking place the next day, so he advised the students to get home straight after the tournament to get plenty of rest. However, Marinette was a little worried about how her brothers would act after she hung up on them earlier, but her nervousness would soon be alleviated when her computer showed Jim trying to call. While Tikki was already sleeping up in her loft bed, a pajama-clad Marinette took a deep breath before she clicked the 'receive call' button and allowed Jim and Toby to appear on her screen.

"Hey boys." Marinette greeted her brothers, the two boys sitting down at their usual spot on the bike racks as they pulled out their lunches. The menu was of roast beef sandwiches, apple slices and mini cinnamon buns. One of Jim's more daring lunches.

"Nice to see you again too, sis." Jim replied back, his voice sounding a little cold to Marinette. "Especially after you so rudely hung up on us." the Trollhunter brought up, him and Toby getting comfy on the ground they sat on.

"Yeah! Not cool, MariFariy" Toby added, feeling a little hurt by the previous hang up like Jim as he pulled out his lunch bag.

"Sorry about that, guys." Marinette apologized, feeling guilty for her earlier actions. "But to be fair, you guys were going to embarrass me in front of Adrien!" the pigtailed girl pointed out, defending her actions now that she remembered why she had done so.

"Oh come on! We wouldn't have said anything too embarrassing." Jim exclaimed, unwrapping his sandwich as he spoke.

"Jimbo's right. Have a little faith in us." Toby said, copying what Jim had done before taking a bit out of his sandwich.

"...Yeah I know. But still..." Marinette reflected, readjusting herself to pull up her legs into her chest, settling her entire body in her desk chair while placing her arms around her legs.

"Don't worry. I get it, Marinette. It's not ideal for a crush to learn more private things about you." Jim replied, relating to his sister in this matter before he took a bite out of his sandwich, Toby following in suit as he took his second bite.

"So, are we all good?" Marinette asked, hoping that they were.

"Yeah, we're good!" Jim and Toby confirmed at the same time, making Marinette smile at their words.

"So other than the tournament, did anything happen after you hung up?" Jim questioned, taking another bite from his sandwich after he finished speaking.

"Oh, a lot happened!" Marinette exclaimed, letting her leg fall back to the floor as she scooted her chair back into her desk. "First off, my school won the tournament!" the designer announced as she reached up for her medal to take it off the nail in the wall to show it to her brothers, causing wide, prideful smiles to appear on both Jim and Toby's faces.

"Naturally! Any team with you on it is destined to win." Toby proclaimed, not expecting anything less to happen but still happy nonetheless.

"That's amazing, Mari! I'm so proud of you!" Jim cheered, happy for his sister's win as he watched a smiling Marinette put her medal back on her wall. "I guess you and Adrien made a good team after all." the Trollhunter remarked, surprised that the aforementioned boy and his sister did so well.

"Actually, you'll probably be happy to know that Adrien ended up forfeiting his spot in the tournament so Max could play instead." Marinette revealed, surprising both boys when they heard what Adrien had done.

"Wait... he really did that? Awesome!" Toby cheered, finding the gesture a testament to Adrien's character before he took another bite from his sandwich.

"Wow, I didn't think he'd do something like that." Jim muttered to himself, only to realize... "Wait a minute! Did he give reason as to why he did that?" the Trollhunter asked, hoping to see if there were any alternative reasons Adrien had done so.

"Well... other than his inexperience with co-op playing, it probably had something to do with Max's akumatization." Marinette replied, which only shocked Jim and Toby even more than before.

"MAX GOT AKUMATIZED!?" Toby and Jim exclaimed, eyes wide as they looked at Marinette in shock.

"You guys didn't see it on the news?" Marientte questioned, finding their lack of knowledge on Gamer a little concerning.

"Nope. There wasn't anything about it." Jim stated, taking another bite out of his sandwich while Marinette stared at him and Toby in slight skepticism.

"Well, I guess I need to fill you guys in." Marinette realized.

"Yes, yes you do." Toby agreed, once more taking a bite from his sandwich. "And don't you dare skimp on any of the details." the geology nerd added, his voice muffled by the food held in it before he swallowed it.

The video call from that point on mostly consisted of Marinette explaining Max's akumatization. As the boys kept eating their lunches like they normally did, Marinette also told them about the class photo day the next morning. After that was mentioned, she also revealed the skills Gamer had when he battled against them, and how difficult he was to defeat when they fought against him. When Jim and Toby heard about when her and Chat Noir had been given a mech of their own and partook in a life sized version of Ultra Mecha Strike battle. To say the least, the boys were left gushing about the battle and wished that they were there to see it in person. But when Jim found out about Gamer's vendetta against her for defeating him in the tryouts, not only was he worried for her wellbeing he was also curious about one thing.

"Okay, I get why Max was akumatized. But if he was after you, how did you get away to transform?" Jim asked, finishing up his apple slices after speaking.

"Oh, that..." Marinette trailed off, nervous about answering that question. She was dreading this moment."Well, I uh... got saved by Chat Noir." the pigtailed girl trailed off, her voice becoming quiet as she approached the answer to Jim's question.

"What was that?" Toby questioned, finishing his apple slices before starting on his brownies.

"I GOT SAVED BY CHAT NOIR, ALRIGHT!" Marinette yelled, her face erupting into a deep red as she made her admission. Once she managed to look back at her brothers, she was greeted by Jim giving her a smug smirk. "Don't you dare say it!" the designer growled at Jim, her face turning into a scowl as she pointed an accusatory finger at her brother.

"Say what? That this is yet another reason why he's a better fit for you?" Jim rhetorically questioned, taking a brownie out of his lunch bag and taking a bit out of it with a coy eyebrow raised at Marinette. "He didn't even know he was protecting his partner and he still kept you safe!" the Trollhunter exclaimed, finding his sister's confession all the more delightful since his top choice for Marinette had earned yet another point in his book. But Marinette didn't share the sentiment as she groaned at her brother.

"Jim... nothing will ever happen between me and Chat Noir!! How many times do I have to tell you that?" Marinette asked her brother in a rising voice, exasperated with Jim's constant nagging about her partner.

"As many times as it takes for that to change." Jim replied, his smug smirk not fading in the slightest as he and Toby finished their brownies.

"Then I guess I'm going to be hearing it forever." Marinette muttered to herself, looking off to the side as she realized the implications of Jim's words.

"Or at least until someone else manages to catch your eye. Either way, I still think you can do better than Adrien." Jim reiterated, causing Marinette to roll her eyes at him yet again before she thought back to the video call earlier.

"But... I thought you guys hit it off really well today." Marinette pointed out, finding Jim's reaction all the more confusing now that she thought about it.

"I did. However..." Toby trailed off, not having the right way to say the answer for that one since he actually found Adrien to be a delight.

"Look, I already said I'm good with him being your friend, sis." Jim reminded Marinette. "Granted, Adrien has earned some points in his favor. Him pushing you out of the way of Gamer's blast today being a good example. But his obliviousness to your crush on him, paired with his unconscious use of rizz and friendship with a certain blonde that has been bullying you for the past four years is what's got me saying 'no'." the Trollhunter explained, revealing his reasons to disapprove of her crush.

"I get it. But I still think you're being too hard on him." Marinette said with an exhausted sigh, starting to get tired of Jim's constant disapproval of Adrien.

"Even if it wasn't Adrien I'd still be hard on any guy you're crushing on. That's part of the job description of being a big brother." Jim admitted, much to Marinette's amusement as she raised a questioning eyebrow at him on her deadpan face.

"You seem to be going easy on Chat Noir, though." Marinette remarked, pointing out the favoritism Jim had been displaying.

"He's the exception." Toby said, recalling what Jim had told him earlier. "But between you and me, I'm rooting for you and Adrien." the rounded boy admitted, now finding Marinette's affection for the boy less concerning now that he met him. His words had then pulled a smile up onto Marinette's face.

"Thanks Tobes." Marinette thanked, glad that one of her brothers was going easy on Adrien.

"TOBY!" Jim exclaimed, surprised that Toby was disagreeing with him on this.

"What!? I stand by what I said and have no regrets." Toby remarked, a smug smile on his lips as she crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then let's make a little wager." Jim offered, a challenging look in his eyes as he leaned into Toby's face with a smirk matching his best friend's.

"Boys! Please don't bet on my love life!" Marinette protested, finding their argument unnecessary and ridiculous.

"Too late, MariFairy." Toby replied, not even looking at Marinette as he kept his eyes. "Anyway Jim, I bet 100 euros that Adrien and Marinette will be dating by the end of the school year!" the geology nerd proclaimed, confident that he would win.

"And I bet 200 euros it will be her and Chat Noir." Jim retaliated.

"Then the bet is set!" Toby exclaimed, leading to the two of them to shake hands to seal the deal.

"Ugh, you guys are ridiculous." Marinette groaned, facepalming herself before the bell rang on Jim and Toby's end of the call. "Looks like you guys need to head to class." the designer pointed out, prompting the two boys to get up and start packing their bags.

"Yep. Good luck with your class photos tomorrow." Toby well-wished as he placed his now empty lunch bag back into his backpack, hoping that things would go well for her.

"And good luck with classes on your end." Marinette replied. "Here's to hoping Miss Janeth will finally go easy on you, bro." the pigtailed girl added, causing smiles to appear on Jim and Toby's faces.

"You're preaching to the choir, sis." Jim agreed, himself finding Miss Janeth's wrath annoying now after having dealt with it for a week now. "Alright, we have to go. See you tonight, Marinette." the Trollhunter farewelled, he and Toby rising to their feet and started walking to their next class.

"Bye, MariFairy." Toby added, walking alongside Jim as he looked at the phone screen in his hand.

"Bye guys." Marinette responded as she waved goodbye, the boys waving back before they hung up the call.

With the screen now blank, Marinette stretched her arms above her head to rid her back of any soreness and got up from her chair to head up to her loft bed. Making sure she was quiet to not disturb her sleeping kwami, Marinette slowly crawled underneath her covers and soon snuggled up in her bed. No sooner than she did, Marinette started to drift off to sleep, excited for the next day to come.