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Chapter 50 – Science Fair Catastrophe
The gym buzzed with excitement. Booths lined every wall — posters, projects, and nervous students in half-pressed shirts.
Adrian stood in front of his empty table, checking his phone for the tenth time in five minutes. The display read the same thing it had an hour ago:
No new messages.
He exhaled slowly. "She was supposed to be here by nine."
"Relax," Ned said from the next booth, munching chips under a sign that read Magnetic Field Stabilization — Probably Safe. "The fair doesn't even start for another three hours. Peter's not here either. Maybe they're both stuck in traffic or … fighting giant robots, who knows."
"Traffic, sure," Adrian muttered, pacing again. His gaze drifted to the entrance every few seconds, a knot of worry tightening in his chest.
He'd rehearsed what to say to the judges, double-checked the presentation, even made a backup roll of fabric in case she forgot the dress. None of it mattered if Marinette didn't show.
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Across the City
"Hello? Who's calling?"
Spider-Man flipped upside down mid-fight, clinging to a cracked billboard as Juggernaut's fist smashed through the wall below. Dust showered the street.
"It's Luke," his voice crackled through the S.H.I.E.L.D. smartwatch. "Where are you, Parker? The science fair's about to start."
Peter blinked, dodging a chunk of concrete. "Wait — today? They said it was next week!"
"No, they said you had a week to finish. It's today, genius!"
Juggernaut roared, swinging again. Peter twisted mid-air, barely avoiding the blow. "Can we talk later? Giant man throwing buildings at me!"
"Handle it fast!" Luke shot back. "You promised you'd make something on your own."
Peter groaned, firing two webs and yanking himself onto a passing bus. "Okay, okay, fine! But if I lose, I'm blaming the supervillains!"
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Back at the Fair
"Finally!" Adrian breathed as Marinette stumbled through the doors — hair tousled, mannequin under one arm and a small box balanced in the other.
"Sorry! The metro broke down halfway, and then the mannequin— never mind." She caught her breath. "And I might've stopped to get these—" she lifted the box, "macarons."
He gave her a look somewhere between exasperated and amused.
"I know, I know — I'm late. Again."
"Fashionably," he corrected, setting the mannequin upright. "Also, I half expected this."
He sighed but couldn't hide the small smile tugging at his lips. "You're lucky I know you so well."
As they worked, Marinette adjusted the display fabric while Adrian suited the mannequin. Despite the chaos, they fell into an easy rhythm — quiet coordination, soft exchanges, and occasional teasing.
---
The door banged open again. Peter rushed in, backpack half-zipped, scanning the room like a man on a mission.
"Luke! I'm here!"
Luke folded his arms. "Where's the project you said was in the bag?"
Peter froze. "About that …"
"You forgot it, didn't you?"
"No! I just … don't have it yet," Peter said quickly. "I just need my trusty chemistry kit."
He spotted Gwen and MJ chatting near a display board. "MJ! You had my kit, right?"
MJ blinked. "Oh — no, I gave it to Gwen."
Gwen pointed toward Adrian's booth. "And I lent it to him. He and Marinette needed it."
Peter dragged a hand down his face. "Of course you did."
He jogged up to Adrian's table. "Hey, about my kit—?"
Adrian turned. "Oh. Right. Sorry, it's at my place. We were testing bonding polymers and forgot to bring it back."
Peter sighed. "Great. No kit, no project. Guess I'll improvise."
Adrian blinked. "That sounds like a problem — need help?"
Peter was already halfway out the door. "Don't worry! I've got backup ideas!"
Marinette watched him leave, brow furrowed. "He worries me."
"Not as much as you worry me," Adrian muttered.
"Hey, I heard that!"
---
Fifteen Minutes Later
The air in the gym began to hum — faintly at first, like static.
Principal Coulson marched through the crowd, clipboard in hand, the calm on his face traded for a frown.
He stopped by Ned and Danny's booth. "A medical scanner. What precautions did you take against radiation leakage?"
Ned and Danny answered confidently.
"Good. An A for you two."
Next, he checked MJ and Gwen's booth. They explained their project with quick enthusiasm.
"An alert app that identifies villains from known databases or warns of large-scale destruction. Not bad — incomplete, but a good concept. B-plus."
Then came Ava and Sam. Ava gestured at their setup while Sam fiddled with the controls.
"Our project reduces global warming by freezing excess carbon dioxide."
While she spoke, Sam accidentally froze a strand of his own hair.
Coulson didn't blink. "Good idea — needs better safety measures. C-minus."
As soon as he walked away, Ava grabbed Sam by the collar and dragged him to a corner. The fair continued with muffled yelling in the background.
Finally, Coulson reached Adrian and Marinette's booth.
"What's your project about? A three-piece suit? It's well-crafted, but not a science project."
Marinette blinked. "Wait — no, no, it's the fabric! We made the … knife-proof fabric!"
Adrian nodded. "We used Kevlar, cured it through several solutions, then coated it with resin. Softer to touch, higher durability."
Coulson's eyebrows rose. "That I'll have to test myself. Do you have a knife?"
Adrian passed him a small karambit. Coulson stared. "You know I could give you detention for bringing this."
"My old knife broke during testing, and it's not like I'm the only one who brought dangerous stuff," Adrian said evenly. "Ava brought liquid nitrogen, and Ned brought radioactive material. Between cancer and a knife, which is worse?"
Coulson sighed. "I was only warning you not to bring these things to school." He adjusted his stance and struck the mannequin.
---
Neither Adrian nor Marinette noticed the small metallic brick that rolled out from behind their booth, blinking blue and making cheerful beeping noises. It stopped by the trophy case, wobbled — then ate it.
The students screamed.
Coulson spun around as the brick grew legs and devoured a folding table.
Peter stumbled back into the gym, panting. "In my defense—!" He froze at the sight. "—okay, never mind, no defense."
Coulson rattled a keyring to draw the creature's attention. It tottered toward him, sneezed, and lunged.
The principal vanished inside its metal mouth.
"Did it just … eat him?" Marinette whispered.
Adrian blinked. "I think so."
The brick froze mid-chew, trembled, then spat Coulson out — clothed only in dissolving foam. He hit the floor, white bubbles hissing as the foam ate through the rest of his suit.
The room went silent.
Coulson stood, dripping, utterly expressionless. "Nobody. Move."
The cube hiccupped again — and this time vomited another wave of metallic foam straight at Adrian and Marinette.
Adrian grabbed her arm to pull her clear, but the blast hit them both. They crashed to the floor — Marinette on top, Adrian beneath, the foam clinging to their clothes and slowly melting the outer layer. For a heartbeat, their faces hovered inches apart, her hair brushing his cheek.
The room fell quiet except for the faint hum of chaos.
Then Ned's voice rang out, panicked: "IT'S EATING PEOPLE!"
Adrian coughed, trying to free his arm. "Our clothes are melting," he muttered. "We should hide in the bathrooms."
Marinette looked at her dissolving jacket, then at him — his shirt mostly gone, his face far too close — and blushed. "Agreed."
---
They bolted in opposite directions.
In the girls' restroom, Marinette assessed the damage: sleeves intact, a few holes in her shirt, her jacket barely holding together. She remembered Adrian — his half-melted shirt, their closeness — and her cheeks turned red. She called Gwen for a spare outfit.
In the boys' restroom, Adrian stared at what was left of his clothes. Only his jeans had survived, shortened into makeshift trousers.
Plagg floated out, smirking. "Didn't know Marinette was so … domineering. She really pinned you down."
"Not in the mood, Plagg. That thing needs to be destroyed."
"I thought you weren't getting involved in trivial problems?"
Adrian hesitated, remembering Marinette's voice: If I can't fix it, I try not to think about it. Then he smiled faintly.
"Yeah. But as a man once said — with great power comes great responsibility. I've ignored that long enough." He lifted his hand. "Plagg, claws out."
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Battle Outside
By the time he reached the street, Nova and Power Man were trying to stop a runaway train while Spider-Man distracted the metallic creature.
Adrian landed beside them. "Need help?"
"Guardian?" Nova blinked. "Why are you here?"
"I was nearby when I heard the noise. Want me to disintegrate it?"
Spider-Man swung past. "No! It's not its fault — it's basically a toddler with circuits! We just have to capture it!"
The train screeched to a halt as Juggernaut burst out of a carriage.
"Oh, great," Peter groaned. "Round two."
Iron Fist struck first but was hurled into an ice-cream truck. Liquid nitrogen spilled, freezing the ground — and part of the android's leg.
"What's happening?" Nova shouted.
"It's made of absorbent alloys," Guardian said. "Low temperature makes it contract."
Power Man's eyes lit up. "Then we just have to cool it down. You guys handle Juggernaut. I'll help Spidey find more nitrogen."
Guardian nodded. "You handle that — I'll cover you."
He turned to the rampaging android. "Daisy, rejoice. Plagg, claws in — Roarr, stripes on."
Magic flared, blending Miraculous light with his own. Using the Pig Miraculous, he cast a dream-field over the android. Its eyes dimmed; it slumped into harmless sleep.
He joined the others to subdue Juggernaut, knocking him out with a charged blow. The shockwave, however, snapped the android awake just as Spidey and Power Man returned with nitrogen tanks.
"Remember what we said about owning your mistakes?" Power Man said. He grabbed Spidey and threw him straight into the android's mouth.
Seconds later, the creature began to shrink, dissolving into a heap of inert absorbent material. Power Man dove in after Peter and hauled him free — still conscious, holding a shrunken, sleeping android like a cat.
Guardian landed beside them. "You should get out of that sludge. It's highly corrosive — your clothes will …"
Peter looked down. His suit was gone except for his underwear, coated in slime.
"… melt," Guardian finished dryly.
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The fair was declared a partial success — no one was injured, though half the exhibits were gone.
Coulson, now in a borrowed tracksuit, oversaw cleanup with a blank stare. "I told the board letting spiderman touch prototype tech was a bad idea."
Spidey raised a hand sheepishly. "In my defense, I left an IOU note."
"You'll be attending discipline seminars," Coulson replied flatly.
After the chaos, Adrian, Marinette, and the others regrouped near their ruined booth.
"So … why are you only wearing jeans turned trousers?" Marinette asked, cheeks faintly pink.
"Because unlike you, my friend doesn't read texts," Adrian said, glaring at Ned.
"Hey! I lost my phone in the chaos!"
Marinette crossed her arms. "You look ridiculous. Let's get you something to wear."
He smiled faintly. "Yeah … let's."
Their eyes met — just for a moment — then both looked away.
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End of Chapter 50
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