Hero Gone Rouge
Note: This has been sitting in a dusty file for months. Thought I might as well share it with you guys.
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"I didn't want it to come to this," Chat hissed from the other side of the room. His eyes glowed in a magenta hue against the blankness of his mask. "Alas, you left me no choice."
She rose from the floor and made sure to block the trapdoor from his view. "Kitty..."
"My name is Chat Blanc and you're giving me your miraculous right now!"
Marinette knew that just as everyone in Paris did. The announcement had interrupted the morning news two weeks ago as she ate breakfast with her parents. She couldn't believe the malice in his eyes nor the sinister curl to his lips. It all felt wrong. Her legs had carried her to Master Fu while everyone else gaped at the screen.
Fear gripped her throat, refusing to let go or lessen its grip. She would not give in. "Keep your voice down." The walls were closing in on them, on her. She needed to get out, transform, and purify the Akuma before this got out of hand.
"What's the problem, princess? Scared that your little secret might slip from my lips?" His gaze lingered on her pink purse then stared straight at her eyes. "I thought Ladybug wasn't afraid of anything. But then again, our sweet Marinette is a liar who hates lies. What a predicament." He twirled his baton and chuckled at the irony of the situation.
She had to remind herself this was all the Akuma's influence. Her partner wasn't enjoying this, not really, he couldn't be.
And yet, her heart continued to pound against its confines. Tikki's soothing touch couldn't calm down her frazzled nerves. She'd have to fight her best friend and partner. How the hell was she supposed to be calm?!
Her parent's muffled voices brought her back. Marinette had to keep them safe at all cost. Alright then, change of plans.
Forgive me, mon minou. "You're one to speak. Ever since we met, you've professed your unconditional love to me, said we were meant to be." Marinette scoffed and glared at the white mask.
One.
He did that, he turned Chat into another puppet of his own and sent him over here to fight. Coward. Rage burned inside her veins, that monster would not win the battle. "Wonder where that loyalty went when you decided to team up with Hawkmoth."
Guilt flashed in his eyes for a brief moment. She moved an inch to the right, just a little bit while he seemed hypnotized by a memory, and hoped momentum would grant her the leverage to reach the stairs.
Two.
"Chat Noir," she continued, legs positioned and ready, "the hero gone wrong. The rouge everyone fears and nobody loves." His pupils turned into slits.
Three.
Chat Blanc snarled and Marinette lunged.
She reached for the hatch with sweaty palms, a triumphant smile on her lips and three special words on the tip of her tongue.
Next stop, Master Fu.
"Ti-" Her smile vanished as a cold hand grabbed her ankle and pulled down hard. "Eep!"
He wasted no time and caged her underneath him, taking both of her hands in his hands above her head. That shit eating grin ticked her bad side even more up close.
"You're not going anywhere, ma princess," he whispered in her ear.
Goosebumps trailed down her spine. How the hell did he manage to make his voice so low and husky? "With you, that is."
"Sassy as ever, I see. Between you and I, that's one of your attributes I've come to love the most."
"Don't forget to add stubborn to that list, kitty." She rose her knee and aimed between his legs like papa had taught her.
His eyes widen as he hunched and inevitably rolled over from the pain. "FUCK!"
A new found rush of adrenaline kicked in her system. "Tikki, spots on!" Relief washed over her as soon as she pushed the hatch open and a breeze of fresh air hit her exposed skin.
Ladybug uncoiled her yo-yo, latched it around a chimney and swung. She leaped from roof to roof, eyes scanning the streets for a place to change back, one that her partner wouldn't be aware of.
Not for the first time, she wished she had night vision. No matter how much she squinted, every building looked washed out and she didn't want to risk transforming back in an alley where someone could be lurking in the shadows.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose and his aura charged the air with the promise of chaos and disturbance. She cursed under her breath. So much for a head start.
"Give up, Bugaboo, your luck has run its course." By the time she noticed the extending baton it was too late and the yo-yo flew from her hands.
No!
Her stomach did a somersault as she landed on the rough surface of the bridge, she vaguely heard something fall into the water.
"Playtime is over, princess. Now, since I'm the winner I'll let you strike a deal."
She wobbled to the edge of the bridge, determined to get past him at all cost. "Like hell I am."
He scoffed and placed his baton on the floor. "Hand over your earrings and I'll let you leave unharmed. Hawkmoth won't even know of your identity. What do you say?"
She glowered at him. "Over my dead body, mon chaton."
Chat's grin vanished as she rolled over the bridge and into the seine.