The Mini Menace (Hiatus)

'X'?

When Marinette left Lucille's Antique shop – the bulge in her pocket reminding her of her recent 'purchase' – the sun had already started to set, leaving a chill in the air. Her house wasn't far from the shop, but if she broke curfew, she'd be forced to make her visits even more infrequent. 

She made it back to the bakery without a second to spare, hurrying up to her bedroom to try on her new accessories. Admiring her reflection in the mirror, she attempted Ladybug's signature salute and imagined how it would feel to live outside of the law and make her own rules (she seriously doubted that Ladybug would have a curfew).

"Alright, Lucille," An abnormally high-pitched, disembodied, voice pierced the silence, making Marinette jump and her heart skip a beat. "Let's talk about your retirement. I don't-"

"Who said that?" Marinette asked, feverishly scanning her room for an intruder and grabbing her anglepoise lamp from her desk to use as a weapon.

"You're not Lucille, are you?" the voice said warily.

Marinette shook her head, but when she received no reply, she realised whoever was speaking couldn't actually see her. "No," she said - mouth dry. "I-I'm Marinette. Who are you?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," the voice snapped. "Do you know Lucille?" she asked tersely, making Marinette feel like a scolded child.

"Yes," she rasped, still searching for the source of the mystery speaker.

"Is she okay? How did you get these earrings? Did you steal them?" her questions come in rapid succession, indicating her impatience and apprehension.

Marinette felt slightly relieved. Whoever she was conversing with clearly cared deeply for Lucille - a point on which they could find common ground. Finally pinpointing the origin of the speaker, she clocked her reflection, noting how the spotted earrings were now alight with a faint reddish glow - they must've been some kind of communication device, she realised. This led her to assume the girl was using a modulator to disguise her voice; how else would she sound like a My Little Pony on helium?

"No, not technically," said Marinette as she inspected the studs in the mirror mounted to her vanity table.

There was a sigh. "What do you mean 'not technically?"

A thousand questions were forming in Marinette's head, but abiding to an unspoken quid-pro-quo, she explained the semantics of how she came into possession of the studs. "She let me have them… after I stole them from her," she confessed.

Another sigh - this one longer and more resigned. "I told her this was a bad idea," she said. "And I take it she told you nothing about me."

Although it wasn't a direct question, there was a pause as she waited for a reply.

"No. Nothing," Marinette agreed, but before the voice could breathe a sigh of relief, she added, "But she didn't have to; I already know."

"Oh…?" The voice said, clearly disbelieving, but allowing Marinette to continue nonetheless.

"Lucille… she was Ladybug. Which makes you her partner; her guy in the chair!" Marinette knew that if she sounded unsure, she wouldn't receive a straight answer, so she delivered her hypothesis with far more faith than she actually had.

"Good detective work. But that doesn't change the fact that the earrings don't belong to you. You need to return them."

Marinette's head spun, the voice hadn't even attempted to disprove her theory. She was right! "But Lucille-"

"Made a mistake. Please give them back to her." Now the voice understood, she spoke softer - less accusatory and more amicable.

"It's past curfew. I can't. I'll get in so much trouble." She gazed out of her bedroom to the lamp-lighted street below. Such a short distance had never seemed so far away.