Caged

Dealing the Right Way

"Run!" Adrien yelled, right before he grabbed Marinette's hand and started dragging her away. Subsequently, Marinette grabbed Alya's wrist to bring her along.

"NO!" the akuma bellowed, taking a rope from her hip. She swung it towards the running trio, and the weapon wrapped around the designer's ankle. Marinette fell to the ground, accidentally making Adrien and Alya hit it, too.

Before she could even attempt to get up, the cat-themed villain pulled the pig-tailed girl towards her, until she was hanging upside down between the first and second floor. In the process, her school bag dropped to the floor, but thankfully she was able to hold on to her purse.

"You have played with Chat Noir's feelings for the last time, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" The girl hanging by the rope furrowed her eyebrows.

"Charline?!"

"NO! That's Chatte Noir for you!" the akuma corrected, irritated.

"I'll go get help!" Marinette heard Adrien say down on the first floor, and brought down (up?) her gaze just in time to see him run off to the school's exit.

"Let her go!" Alya demanded. Marinette turned to her in surprise. "She's not with Chat Noir. Those're just rumors!"

"LIES!" Chatte Noir pointed a finger to the young reporter. "I saw Margot and Dorian's show this morning!"

"Those two make stuff up all the time!" Alya retorted, exasperated. "Their show is a joke. They wouldn't know real journalism even if it hit them in the face."

"I heard the audio! My poor Chat Noir sounded so heartbroken."

"Your Chat Noir?" a voice on the opposite site of the courtyard called. Perched on a railing of the second floor was the real cat-themed hero, with a smirk plastered on his face. "Sorry lady, but this cat's loyalties lie with someone else."

"Chat Noir!" the akuma squealed and clasped her hands together. But in doing so, she accidentally let go of the rope holding Marinette. The girl crashed with a loud thud and a squeak, with no one able to get to her on time.

A few ooo's and ouch's were heard from several corners of the school, while Chat Noir winced.

"You okay there, Princess?" Chat called.

"Are you seriously calling me that now?!" Marinette responded as she rubbed her lower back.

"She's no princess!" Chatte Noir intervened. "She's a low life tramp who two-times famous boys. She doesn't deserve cute names!"

"Jeez, why do you have to yell everything," Chat complained, using his index fingers to cover his ears. In the meantime, Marinette untangled what she now realized was a jumping rope from her ankle. This has to be where the akuma is.

"Psst, Alya," she whispered. The redhead turned to her. "Keep her distracted."

Alya gave her a thumbs up and a wink. "Yeah. Princesses don't yell. Maybe you can pass off as an evil stepsister," she yelled at the villain.

Chatte Noir growled at the insult. Her attention was directed at the young reporter now.

"It's evil stepsisters the ones who go around hurting others," she snarled. Alya retorted once again, but Marinette didn't get to hear the rest. She managed to get away towards the restrooms. The second she made sure there was no one inside, she unclasped her purse.

"I'm pretty sure you heard all the commotion," she said to the little red creature.

"Should have known it would be a matter of time," Tikki lamented. Marinette sighed.