The Mini Menace (Hiatus)

Show Time

Curled up on the L-shaped sofa, cuddling a black cat plushie, Marinette had her eyes fixed to the TV screen. Both of her parents were still working in the bakery, so she had the house all to herself. To save Tikki from having to explain the implications of her actions, she had asked for Marinette to turn on the news – long story short, she'd really messed up and Nadja Chamack's criticism of her work only added insult to injury.

"Footage from the scene at the Grand Paris confirms that Paris has an amateur copycat thief on our hands. Although this new criminal has the same iconic spotted suit, further analysis of the video tells us that not only does she have a completely different hairstyle, but she has a smaller build – ruling out the possibility of this being Ladybug in disguise," said Nadja. "Inspector Chase Devineaux was at the hotel and witnessed the attempted robbery."

The camera panned out to accommodate Devineaux in the frame.

"Thank you for joining us, Inspector. So tell me, you believe that the copycat thief is also responsible for the recent auction house robbery. What evidence do you have to support this theory?"

Devineaux produced a clear, plastic evidence bag from off screen and showed the contents to the camera. It was the can of spray paint that she was forced to leave behind in her less-than-glamorous escape from the hotel last night.

"Forensics found this at the scene – it's a perfect match for the paint compound discovered last week after Papillion went missing," Devineaux informed.

Papillion must have been the name of the emerald butterfly brooch, Marinette realised. A picture popped up in the corner of the shot to confirm her suspicions.

"That is some solid evidence. Do you have any idea what she might have been after?" Nadja questioned, positioning the microphone beneath his chin and listening intently.

"We can't be sure, but as it stands, nothing seems to be out of place, so it's possible that she didn't have the chance to take anything," he responded quickly in the face of her intensity.

"Thank you for your time," she said, earnestly – ratings had never been so high, so his statement was invaluable. "That's it for now, but tune in at eight for an interview with our other key witness, Chloé Borgeois." - Marinette groaned - "Now, it's back to the studio for more on Gabriel Agreste's exclusive fashion show…"

Switching off the television, Marinette got straight to the point. "So what does this mean for us?"

"It means that 'X' now believes you're an 'amateur'. If he doesn't view you as a threat to his operation or if he thinks you're some kind of third-rate fraud, he won't waste his time on you," Tikki expanded.

Marinette was worried – acutely aware that her abuse of power had undone all of their hard work. "So what are we going to do about it?" she asked.

"We need to go on the offensive – it helps that I know where he's going to be."

"That's great Tikki, but what if I mess up again?" Marinette sighed, squeezing the plush toy even tighter.

"You won't. I believe in you," Tikki comforted, then continued to present her plan. "I received a tip from a reliable source that 'X' is going to be at Gabriel Agreste's fashion show this evening. Some of the pieces on display are worth a fortune, so it's no surprise that the event is on 'X's radar."

"No way! Tikki, I idolise Gabriel Agreste!" Marinette squealed, officially over her anxiety.

"You can't let yourself be distracted. The plan is only for you to get close enough to him to plant a tracker."

"Okay, but how will I get inside? Tickets have been sold out for months now."

Tikki's voice was full of mischief. "Since when do we need tickets?"

-MLB-

Ever since she was a little girl, Marinette had dreamed of attending a fashion show – the fact that it's her favourite designer was just the icing on the cake. Now, sitting on a different kind of catwalk, Marinette had a bird's-eye view of the runway as she scanned the audience for any suspicious characters.

Her gaze was currently fixed on Gabriel as he paraded Adrien around the throng of envious modelling agencies. It crossed her mind that Adrien himself could be 'X' after all, here he was at the fashion show, but the way he operated was completely different to the description Tikki had provided. Plus, Adrien was too young to have been on Lucille's tail for years.

When she lost sight of the pair, she returned to scouring the crowd for 'X', but as she has little information to go on, she doesn't know where to start.

"Remind me what this guy looks like again," said Marinette.

"We only ever saw him once, but he was of a medium build, with silvery-grey hair and a silver domino mask to conceal his identity. He's a professional – always handling his affairs himself; never involving a third party. Probably why he was wearing a dark purple suit the time that Lucille and I saw him."

Nobody matched that description and as more and more guests found their seats, Marinette began to lose hope of tonight being a success. But that wasn't the only thing on her mind: the show hadn't started yet, but there wasn't a technician in sight – something wasn't right.

"Tikki, I don't like this. It feels . . . off."

"What do you mean," Tikki asked.

Marinette cast her eye over the rigging gallery. "Nobody's up here to operate the lights or–"

Suddenly, a figure clad in Kevlar dropped onto the suspended platform, followed by another, and another. The first pulled a gun on Marinette and the others followed suit. She froze, feet welded to the catwalk.

"Marinette!" cried Tikki, "What's happening?"

All three of them pulled military-grade gas masks over their faces as their leader produced a smoke grenade from her utility belt. Pulling out the pin, she rolled the canister towards Marinette, who started to gasp for air as she inhaled the gas. As the smoke drifted towards the audience, a hum of excitement ensued as the show seemingly began. On cue, the lights went down and coloured beams filtered through the fog, a steady bass keeping time with her heartbeat.

Between chokes, Marinette managed to rasp a vital message to Tikki: "We've been set up!"

A/N: That's the last chapter for a little while. If you've read this far, then quite a lot has been revealed, but if you still want to see more, please leave a comment and tell me what you like about this story. As always, PLEASE VOTE!!!

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