Submitted prompt: Superbug aka Clarinette
(Edited quite a bit for clarity/so it doesn't break the rules, and some more details added. IDK if Clark can speak French, since I don’t know anything about the DC universe, but for the sake of this I’m just gonna pretend he can.)
Young Superman crossover.
A teenage Clark Kent is in NYC on a class trip, and he's running around with his camera, as he's an aspiring reporter, and comes across Ladybug doing her thing.
He really admires the French-Chinese superhero who's been trying to help protect people despite the language barrier preventing her from speaking with most civilians and many of the other heroes, who's younger than any of the American superheroes Clark has ever seen or really heard of fighting seriously, someone actually around his age.
As this is a young Clark who's not yet a superhero, he sees Ladybug as aspirational, and so when she needs help in a fight and Chat Noir is yet again goofing off, he charges in despite not having any kind of disguise, because it's the right thing to do and she needs a partner. Nobody can do it all alone.
Marinette has already met Clark Kent, several times in passing, since he was one of the translators who were helping the senior reporters ask her and Chat Noir questions at the ends of fights. His French is far from perfect, since he’s still learning, but it’s better than nothing.
When she finds out he has superpowers and is willing to risk his secret being exposed to help her, she gets a bit of a crush on him.
He's a nice country boy with good manners who calls her ma'am, just wants to help, and is in a lot of ways just as under pressure as she is during the fight, since unlike Chat Noir, he actually cares about protecting people.
Better yet, he respects her boundaries and doesn't flirt with her on the job. Which isn't a high bar, but she's never gotten through a single fight with Chat Noir without him hitting on her at least twice, despite all her protests.
Clark is tall, handsome, humble, down-to-Earth, compassionate, brave, and a person of integrity. She crushes hard and fast and is very thankful he's oblivious to it.
And it's a different kind of crush to the one she has on Adrien, one where she's not anxious or uncomfortable, but instead can still be herself, which she's never quite able to do around Adrien. It's better.
Granted, when she finds out later that his X-ray vision lets him look through her mask and see who she is isn't something she's thrilled with, but she can tell from his subsequent panicked apology that it was an accident and his powers aren't always under his control.
And that drives Chat Noir up the wall, when he deigns to show himself, because "Why is it okay if he knows?!"
"It’s not, but he didn't want to, didn’t do it on purpose, won’t tell anyone, and Hawkmoth doesn't know he exists!" is the reply, reasonably.
(It doesn’t even occur to Marinette until much much later that if Clark can see through her mask as Ladybug, that also meant he could see through her clothes as Marinette. That was not a realization she needed to have at four in the morning while she was half asleep. She spends a few days panicked and horrified by the realization, but eventually managed to calm down by reminding herself that Clark isn’t like Chat Noir－he’s never done anything to make her uncomfortable, never hit on her, never tried to grab her or touch her or kiss her in a romantic way. And...besides. If he can see through her clothes, that means he can see through everyone’s clothes, so he’s probably completely desensitized to seeing naked people, right?
Chat Noir does not like Clark and Clark tries to put on a polite face and not get into any kind of dispute with him, to cause Marinette the least amount of stress as possible.
Marinette forgiving Clark for his powers misfiring means a lot to him, as someone who worries about being rejected if his powers were known, and the crush starts to become mutual.
Post NYC special, after Clark has accessed the space pod that brought him to Earth and acquired his superhero outfit from it, he starts being a superhero in the United States, and continues to be Marinette's friend. They text, they video call each other, play online games together, he gives her praise, encouragement and respect and asks her for superhero tips, though she quickly reminds him that tips for fighting Hawkmoth won’t really apply to fighting anyone else, since she has the ability to magically erase any collateral damage, and he doesn’t. She’s also lucky enough to be supported by her city of residence, and most civilians trust her and her judgment, and don’t try to get in her way.
They talk about baking (Ma Kent's cupcakes are divine, and they’re constantly swapping recipes, with Marinette’s parents becoming fast friends with Clark’s) and school (both are struggling to balance homework and heroism). And when things really hit the fan and she needs it, he can zip over across the ocean to provide backup.
Sometimes, she doesn't even need Chat Noir if Superman has her back. ("That's because the real power here is all yours," Clark assures her. "You're the team leader and the one with the most experience. You could probably do it all without me, too - but I'm glad you're letting me help out sometimes anyway.")
The Season Four finale hits and, not wanting him to see her having a panic attack or breakdown, she doesn't call him until things have gone so wrong Hawkmoth has the Miraculouses (Miraculi? whatever the plural is). But after Chat Noir has been such a non-help, a burden and a serial harasser, she knows who she wants to rely on in this dark moment. His name is Clark and he's from Kansas. He once brought her muffins when she was sad and has never touched her without her consent, and even when they were total strangers to each other, he was willing to help her before. He is now, too.
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I'm not saying Clark and Marinette wouldn't have any flaws or issues to overcome but Marinette deserves to date a hero, and if canon won't let her, we'll write it ourselves instead.
