The many lights of Paris twinkled brilliantly against the cloudless night sky. Yet, a certain Parisian girl took no notice. Hushed voices and gasps were carried upon the chilled night breeze as confused crowds expressed their concern.
Mere minutes earlier, a large amount of people had gathered around the Eifel Tower to celebrate the long-awaited victory of the two Parisian superheroes. There were parents, holding their pajama-clad children in their arms; there were couples both young and old. Some of the kiddos and teens bore their Ladybug and Chat Noir merch, in honor of their idols. Many had come out into the cool night to express their thanks to the two teen heroes. For the past few days had been filled with terror for them all, but hope had won once more.
Yet, at this moment, confusion rippled through the sea of people in the place of their hope, puzzled frowns in the place of their joyful laughter, and questions in the place of their cheers. For something was not as it had first seemed.
At first glance, it looked as if the superheroes were simply exhausted from their ongoing battle. Ladybug seemed to be on her knees, and laying on the ground next to her was a man everyone assumed to be Chat Noir. No one could be certain of what they saw since the Cat and Bug were so high above them.
Yet the crowds cheered as they waited patiently for some sign of acknowledgment from their heroes, such as a wave or a short speech of hope; but even after a few minutes, nothing came.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six..." Ladybug counted aloud as she did chest compressions on the unresponsive man beside her. He still wasn't breathing, but it had only been three minutes or so since he had stopped, so there was still a little bit of hope left. But even after thirty chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, the man still didn't open his eyes and start gasping for air like she had hoped he would.
Marinette knelt at the side of the limp body; her own body numb and non-existent. She shook with grief at the sight of the corpse, yet she didn't notice that she was shaking uncontrollably, for her grief seemed to be more real than the world around her. She didn't notice that she was sobbing, for her own inner turmoil seemed to scream out louder than her sobs. She did, however, vaguely notice the crowds below her, but all those people no longer had any significance in her mind at the moment, for they were all safe.
Even though the teenager was the famed Ladybug, the crime-fighting superheroine of Paris, she had never seen a corpse in real life. It didn't feel right, because she was a hero; she saved people every day alongside her partner, and never once did they fail. Never once had someone died because they weren't in time. Never once, until today.
Even if it were the corpse of a complete stranger, Marinette's mind would be overflowing with guilt and grief, but as it so happened, the body didn't belong to just any stranger.
It belonged to her partner and her best friend:
The inexplicable, undeniable truth that Chat was forever gone resonated through her entire being. Despite the teen's deepest longings, she couldn't escape the death-grip of reality; the cat boy was now so very far beyond the superhero's reach even though he lay in her arms.
"I'm so sorry, Adrien," she whispered as she flew farther away from the hospital; farther away from his lifeless body. She kept moving without a backward glance, not able to bear the flood of thoughts it would bring.
As she swung through the brightly lit night, she knew deep down, beneath all of the hope she held within her heart, that the doctors wouldn't be able to save Adrien. And as she ran across rooftops back to where the waiting crowd still stood confused; the truth resounded painfully clear in her weary mind.
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