Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-40- Caught and Captured

Cat Noir dangles in the air, gasping, and tries to free himself from Loyalty's grasp. He looks down at her. "Please, you have to remember!" He nods at the bracelet on the ground. "Remember that day," He demands. "Think about... when I gave that to... you! It was your b-birthday..."

Loyalty glances over and stares at the charm bracelet. She does as instructed and lets the memory of that day play in her thoughts.

Adrien steps forward and offers me a gift. "You never got a chance to open it, with all that was going on."

I open the box and lift up a blue-and-yellow themed charm bracelet. I gasp with wide eyes. It matches the one I gave Adrien months ago in my bedroom. "Oh!"

"I always carry the lucky charm you gave me, and it works pretty well." He reaches inside his pocket and reveals his Marinette-lucky charm. "So, I figured it was my turn to make one for you."

"You're so wonderful," I whisper, flattered and flustered now, and I stammer over myself trying to correct my sentence. "Oh! It's wonderful! What a charm! Uh... the charm! I mean, I'll wear the charm! With luck... uh... Basically, uh... thank you?"

Why am I so embarrassing?

Loyalty lets the memory play over and over. She feels the excitement, nervousness, and happiness in the memory. Something sparks in her mind, and she drops Cat Noir. He falls on his side, coughing for air, and she bends down to pick up the bracelet. She holds it in her hands, staring, and whispers, "I remember..."

"Break it," Cat Noir says, wondering if she'll listen to him now. If she'd betray his father now. "Free the akuma. Free yourself."

Her eyes fade into a light pink as she drops the bracelet and stomps on it. The Super 'Kuma flies out and disintegrates, leaving a pile of ash behind. The charm bracelet magically fixes itself.

The control falls from Marinette, and she drops to her knees, head pounding with a sudden headache.

She glances around the room and once she sees Cat Noir, everything comes rushing back to her. She remembers everything. She looks at his neck—at her handprint bruised into his skin—and scoots back from him, terrified of herself now. "I'm s-sorry..."

Cat Noir crawls over, but she scoots even further away from him. "Marinette—"

She shakes her head fast, crying now, and gasps out, "I hurt you, Adrien. I'm sorry!"

He touches his neck, barely feeling the pain anymore, and offers his hand. "That wasn't you, Marinette. It was Loyalty. You were akumatized." Marinette shakes her head again. He frowns and whispers, "I don't blame you. Please..."

Marinette stares at his hand offered to her and slowly crawls over to him. She takes it gently and holds his cold hand. "Adrien!" She throws herself on him and cries into his suit. "I'm so sorry!"

"Claws in." Adrien's arm close tighter around her. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. I promise."

Tikki floats up, dizzy, and sits on Adrien's knee. "What... happened?"

"I-I was akumatized, Tikki," Marinette explains, her body shaking as she holds Adrien. "Hawk Moth—"

The kwami's eyes widen. "What? How? But..."

She takes in a deep breath. "Hawk Moth used a new akuma—a more powerful one—and I didn't have a choice, Tikki. I couldn't even fight." She leans back from Adrien and pulls her knees to her chest, sobbing. "How are we supposed to defeat him, Adrien? He could target me again, or worse: you. With those Super 'Kumas, we don't stand a chance against him if one or both of us get akumatized."

"Hey." Adrien reaches out and takes her hand again. "We always find a solution, don't we, Milady?" She nods. "Then have faith is us."

He stands suddenly and grabs the charm bracelet off the floor, handing it back to Marinette. She takes it with a smile and clasps it around her wrist again. "What's the plan, Kitty?"

"I'm not sure if my father is aware the control is broken. He did give me full control, so it's possible he's not able to see through your eyes. He must have cut off all communication. We can use that to our advantage."

"When I was akumatized, I..." She rubs her temple. "I didn't feel his presence in my head, so there's a good chance he wasn't listening."

Adrien opens his closet and starts pulling out different bins and containers and sets them on his desk. He starts building a replica of the charm bracelet he made for Marinette. When he's done, he hands it to Plagg. "Plagg, go back and put this in the safe. If my father thinks this is the real one, he'll think Marinette is still akumatized."

Plagg takes it with a nod and phases through the wall.

Adrien takes the real bracelet from Marinette's wrist and hides it in his trophy. "Hey—"

"Just in case," He quickly tells her before going back to his closet. He looks for something else. Mari walks over.

She walks over and asks, "What are you doing, Adrien?"

"Last year for Halloween, I had to do a photoshoot for a limited-edition magazine for the brand. They had me wear contacts." He pulls out a Halloween kit and opens a pouch to a bunch of different colored eye contacts. He hands her the pink ones. "That way we can keep up with the charade that you're still akumatized."

"Uh, Adrien?" Plagg calls out. "We have a problem."

Adrien and Marinette turn around and gasp. Hawk Moth stands by the door, holding Plagg hostage in a magical-coated glass jar.

"I don't think the plan worked."

The pair stands frozen with wide eyes.