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Chapter 40 – A Day Like Any Other
The bell rang just as the hallways were starting to fill. Students flowed between classrooms, backpacks slung over shoulders, some laughing, some barely awake.
Adrian leaned against his locker, tapping his fingers idly, when Marinette slid beside him.
"It's done," she sighed, pulling a notebook from her bag. "The manga's finally complete."
Adrian smiled. "That's great."
Marinette's smile faltered. "The response hasn't been good. Sales are… low."
Ned, who had been stuffing his backpack nearby, perked up. "Low compared to what? A few thousand copies are still a huge deal."
"Yeah," Adrian added softly. "It's normal. Not every story catches on right away."
Marinette gave a small laugh. "I guess."
Ned grinned. "You guys should keep at it. Some of the best stuff took time to be noticed."
Marinette's eyes lit up slightly at that, but she quickly masked it with a shrug. "Maybe."
Before they could say more, Gwen and Peter approached from the corridor, their heads bent toward each other, whispering.
Adrian smirked. "Look who's in the middle of something."
Gwen looked up, startled. "Oh—hey."
Peter coughed, his cheeks flushing. "Hi."
Adrian leaned in playfully. "Gwen, planning a date or something ?"
Both froze. Gwen's lips parted as if to protest but no words came. Peter scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting away.
Ned chuckled. "Adrian what are you talking about the are a couple they can go on dates if they want ."
"Not a couple " Gwen shot back, face turning pink, "still… friends."
Peter cleared his throat. "Yeah, still friend, I mean just friends ."
Ned tilted his head, narrowing his eyes mischievously. "Speaking of friends, where's Harry these days?"
Peter's expression tightened for a beat before smoothing out. "Oh… he's out of state, I think. Family business."
Ned nodded, satisfied, unaware of harry real situation in shield facility . Adrian remained silent, observing the flicker of discomfort on Peter face that passed .
"So," Ned laughed, "just friends, huh?"
Gwen elbowed him lightly. "Shut up."
Adrian smiled faintly, content to sit back and watch.
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Across the city, Natalie's day was anything but ordinary.
She stepped through the zoo gates wide-eyed, pausing to watch animals she'd only seen in images. A family of otters splashed in their pool. A giraffe stretched its neck toward a keeper offering leaves. Monkeys chattered from branches.
She smiled softly, crouching to watch a small porcupine shuffle along the path. "So many creatures,it so calming" she whispered to herself.
But excitement stirred within her. The calmness wasn't enough.
Without hesitation, she activated her teleportation ability and was instantly somewhere else—Las Vegas, glittering with lights and noise.
Inside a casino, the air thick with smoke and chatter, she picked a game at random, placing a few chips on a spinning wheel. The wheel clattered as the ball danced, bounced, and settled—her chips vanished. She shrugged and played another, this time winning a handful. By the tenth round, she was down more than she'd wagered. People around her glanced occasionally but quickly lost interest.
On the final turn, she stared at the spinning roulette wheel, breathing steadily, and placed all her remaining chips on black.
The ball spun, jumped once, twice, and settled—black.
She exhaled, a small laugh slipping past her lips. Her winnings stacked up in front of her like a small mountain.
She wandered the clubs, letting the night's electric glow wash over her, before leaving to explore the quieter parts of town.
A park bench near a fountain drew her attention. A group of older teenagers surrounded a younger kids, pushing and jeering.
"Come on, say it again!" one shouted.
"I—I didn't…" the smaller boy stammered.
Natalie's eyes narrowed. She stepped closer, heart racing.
"Hey!" she called firmly.
The teens froze, turning toward her. "Who's this?" one spat.
She crossed her arms. "That's not how you treat someone."
The group grumbled but dispersed, hurling muttered insults as they left.
The younger kids stood uncertainly.
"Why were they bullying you?" Natalie asked.
One shrugged, eyes downcast. "We're orphans."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Her eyes softened. "You shouldn't be afraid."
The kids looked at each other, and then at her. Slowly, a few smiles broke through.
She knelt beside them. "Come with me. Ice cream?"
Their faces lit up. "Yeah!"
She looked at the kids happy faces and muttered "So, no stranger danger, huh. "
She led them to a nearby cart, buying cones for each. They laughed as they ate, the earlier fear melting away.
Afterward, they waved goodbye, scampering off in different directions.
Natalie stood watching them until they disappeared, a quiet satisfaction blooming inside her chest.
"Helping feels good," she whispered.
As night deepened, she walked through quieter streets on her way back. Near Hell's Kitchen, the sharp screech of tires caught her attention. A white van sped past her, its back doors ajar.
Inside, a young man struggled, hands bound. Two masked figures shouted orders as the vehicle veered into an alley.
Her eyes hardened.
She pressed her hand against the wall, activating her technopathy to scan nearby cameras, drones, and sensors. Nothing will captured what will happen next since all camera disabled .
Without hesitation, she transformed. Her suit slid into place, sleek and dark.
The van turned into a dock area, halting near stacked containers. The men pulled the young man out.
She gritted her teeth.
This wasn't just a kidnapping.
She crept closer, using shadows and cargo crates for cover. With her tech, she hacked into local networks, flipping security systems and surveillance feeds.
Names scrolled across the file in her mind —gang affiliations, police IDs, transaction logs.
The hub was crawling with Kingpin's operatives—police included, contracts signed, money moved, shipments tracked.
Her jaw tightened.
"I have to stop this."
With a burst of teleportation, she landed behind a group of thugs.
"What the hell?" one growled.
Before they could react, she leapt forward, swinging with precision. Her fist connected with one man's jaw, sending him sprawling across the dockside floor. Another raised his gun.
Bullets whizzed past her, some ricocheting off containers, others clipping edges of machinery. She twisted midair, teleporting several meters away, landing in a crouch.
She struck again, aiming for knees and ribs, disabling rather than killing.
A third thug lunged with a crowbar. She sidestepped, looping an arm around his neck to trip him onto the concrete.
The more she fought, the more she mapped the area through her visor—locations of captives, weapons caches, and escape routes.
One thug, realizing the tide had turned, grabbed a unconscious boy and shoved him toward her.
"Stop now," he hissed, gun aimed at the child's head. "One more step and his brain's splattered."
For a heartbeat, everything froze. The dock, the thugs, the flickering lights overhead.
Mayura's eyes flicked between the boy's frightened face and the thug's sneer.
Without hesitation, she teleported closer, disarming the thug with a swift motion, crushing the gun in her hand until metal bent like clay. Her other fist connected with his temple—he crumpled, unconscious.
She exhaled sharply but didn't let herself relax.
Moving deeper, she found more operatives already knocked out but not by her .
At the heart of the dock, a man in a red suit was pummeling another, his blows heavy and calculated. The defeated man, clad in dark gear, looked like a lieutenant.
"Who are you?" the man in red asked while pausing beating the leader.
Mayura landed softly nearby.
The man in red turned, briefly startled. "Was that the noise out there?"
She didn't said anything but her eyes met his , calm but unyielding.
He scowled. "You messed the whole plan."
Her eyes didn't waver.
The dock's dim lights flickered, the sounds of distant sirens beginning to swell. The fight was far from over.
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End of Chapter 40
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A/N :- Some people who commented about some important problem in this fic so I want to talk about them.
1)Drastic change of writing style:- This isn't my first fanfic in my first fic I made many grammatical mistake one commentator told me to use chatgpt. So I tried it and it improve the quality of the draft so I wrote the draft first then chatgpt edited it but afterward I let the chatgpt write the ch . That was the mistake. So I will correct it and only use chatgpt to edit the ch.
2) M.C. is too passive :- I originally wanted to write a story slice of life kind a marvel story because I am not good at writing fight scene but I will try to add more action in the story.
And mc will participate.
3) Will Marinette become ladybug :- Yes
4) Is marinette love interest :- Yes
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