The Mini Menace (Hiatus)

Intoducing Marinette

Up until recently, it had been a rule in the Dupain-Cheng household that there would be no TV during mealtimes. But that was before Ladybug. The most daring woman in Paris was, after all, an advocate for rule-breaking. In fact, she was notorious for it.

In a few months, Ladybug had become a one-woman rise in crime, singlehandedly pulling of the most daring capers - each more dangerous than the last. This seemed to be her only rule in determining her next target, and - after almost a fortnight of waiting - she had resurfaced once more.

To say Marinette was excited would've been an understatement.

She - alongside most of Paris - had yet to peel her eyes away from the screen since the alarm had been raised at the museum over an hour ago. Every station had coverage of the event, reporters were locked in a heated competition for the best camera angles - much to the chagrin of the police, who were trying in vain to clear the scene.

"Marinette!" calls up her mother from the first floor of their apartment complex. "Dinner!"

In a flash, Marinette switched off the news in her room and scurried downstairs, almost careening down the whole flight in her fluffy pink bed-socks. Instantly, she glued her eyes to a different TV blaring out the same feed that she had been intently watching upstairs, live from the scene of the infamous thief's latest escapade.

Wheezing like an asthmatic whoopie-cushion, Marinette asked, "What *huff* did I... miss?"

Seemingly unfazed by her less-than-graceful arrival, Sabine - her mother - placed a terrine of carrots in the middle of the table. "Surprisingly," she started, "nothing's changed in the two seconds it took for you to sprint here," she informed her daughter with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Marinette pouted. Seating herself at the table, she dug in to the delicious meal, all the while never taking her eyes off the broadcast.

"For those of you just tuning in," said the news reporter - a pale skinned young woman, ordinary in most respects, save for her vibrant, short, fuchsia hair. "We are live at the Louvre - the most recent sighting of the criminal super thief: Ladybug."

She begins to repeat the details once more, but stops short, her finger drifting to her earpiece. Something had changed, Marinette concluded.

Suddenly, helicopter spotlights illuminated a polka-dot-clad figure emerging from the glass pyramid - the harsh light ricocheted off the gold-framed painting strapped to her back. The air currents from the helicopter blades whipped her strawberry-blonde hair across her stoic face and, for a moment, there was complete silence.

Ladybug waited. Marinette felt this was so the cameras had the opportunity to adjust and refocus before she addressed the crowd. "This has been... a night to remember, but sadly," - she pouted - "I must go." Her voice was laced with insincerity and she sported a wicked smirk.

Delivering a cocky bow and extending a red-spotted arm, she parted her slender fingers and fired a grappling hook from her wrist. Pulling back on the string, she issued a final salute and allowed herself to be dragged along by the rope as it carried her to the rooftops. The surrounding crowd remained in astonished silence as the costumed culprit vanished into the night.

Swallowing her mouthful, Marinette chimed, "Wow! Ladybug is so cool."

She watched as her parents exchanged worried glances before wordlessly switching off the TV, much to Marinette's dismay.

-MLB-

The next morning, time crawled on at a snail's pace. This wasn't helped by the new kid, for whose benefit Madame Bustier felt the need to pick apart the morning routine, making her classes painfully slow. Registration alone took most of the lesson when she told each student to make a short introduction and tell Adrien a little bit about themselves.

Clearly Chloé misunderstood the briefing.

When her name was called she recounted the entirety of her latest shopping expedition, sparing no detail for the boy - the only one who seemed able to feign interest out of the whole class. That, or he did actually care, in which case - Marinette decided - he wasn't worth social niceties or even a passing hello (not even if he was the son of her favourite designer).

But the main reason that today felt like it would never end was something completely different. Today was one of the rare occasions that Marinette was allowed to visit Lucille's Antique Shop and - as a fan of anything vintage - it was one of her favourite pastimes. She couldn't wait to peruse the shelves piled high with trinkets and ornaments to add to her collection, and so, as the teacher droned on about fractional indices, her patience wore thin and she drummed her fingers on the desk in boredom.

When the bell finally rang, Marinette barrelled past her fellow students and bolted for the school gate. Her feet thundered across the pavement and she didn't slow her pace until she arrived at the emerald green door. Tucked away between boutiques and bakeries, the display windows gleamed in the afternoon sun, enticing passers-by with the variety of colourful and unique objects for sale inside, drawing Marinette in like a moth to a flame.

Releasing a contented sigh, Marinette pushed on the wooden door, listening for the chime of the golden bell nailed to the frame announcing her arrival. A head of strawberry-blonde curls popped up from behind the counter - the owner, Lucille.

"Mari! Sweetie," she cooed. "What can I do for you today?" she asked cheerily as she flipped up the counter flap next to the till and joined her on the other side.

It was almost impossible to tell Lucille's age as she had one of those faces that was impervious to wrinkles, but, if you looked closely, you could tell she wasn't nearly as young as her complexion suggested. She had creases around her eyes - the kind that are only earned from years of smiles.

Marinette beamed at her. "Got anything new?"

Lucille grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said as she produced a nondescript cardboard box from behind the counter. "We got these in just this morning." Her voice sounded like a wind chime, delicate and lovely.

After a moment of rifling through second-hand junk, Marinette found a diamond in the rough - a tiny jewellery box detailed with a gold Chinese motif. It was beautiful. She slid off the lid to reveal a pair of vermillion earrings with five back dots - like a ladybug - resting on a velvet cushion.

"How much for these?" she asked, already reaching for her purse, heavy with loose change.

"You have a good eye," Lucille commented appraisingly. "But I couldn't possibly sell them to you." She plucked the black box from her grasp and replaced the lid.

Marinette looked crest-fallen. "Aww. Please Madame Lucille," she whined. "I'll give you everything I have!" She unzipped her purse and began to count out her pocket money.

The older woman seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "I suppose you could have them..." - Marinette's eyes lit up - "...If you can take them without me noticing," she finished, smirking - the curve of her lips was joltingly familiar.

"Why would I do that? Stealing is wrong," Marinette reminded her, as if she had forgotten.

"Only if you get caught," was Lucille's cryptic retort, but Marinette was still unconvinced. "Unless... you don't think you can," she taunted, holding the box beneath Marinette's nose, tantalisingly close.

"You're right Lucille, I don't think I can," Marinette admitted, turning away from the older woman to inspect a rack of vintage post cards. "I know I can," she hummed.

Only then did Lucille realise how oddly light the box was in her palm and, when she checked - sure enough - the earrings had vanished.

"Nicely done," she conceded. "They're all yours."

A/N: So, what did you think? I based Lucille vaguely off of the singer in A Monster In Paris, but if she were older because I'm really bad at creating original characters. If you have read any of my other stuff, you'll notice these chapters are a lot longer because I want the set up to go faster. That way I can get into the romance thread quicker!

PLEASE VOTE!!!

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