Chapter Text
Ladybug knew something had gone wrong as soon as the akuma was in her yoyo.
The battle had been surprisingly easy, Rena Rouge confusing the akuma with a simple illusion while Queen Bee grabbed the designer scarf from around the man’s neck, ripping it to free the akuma. Chat Noir and Carapace had stayed back, quipping about letting the strong women take care of business. Compared to what Hawkmoth had been sending out recently, this akuma was child’s play.
Or so it seemed.
There was a tugging sensation and suddenly everything around Ladybug was slipping away with a loud ripping sound. She heard Chat Noir scream her name as her earrings burned red hot and then a strong hand was grabbing her wrist before everything went dark.
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Marinette took in a shuddering breath and it hurt. She coughed and a sharp stinging sensation flashed through her lungs.
“Easy, Miss, easy,” a gentle voice said. “You’ve had quite the trip. You’re safe now, don’t you worry.”
She forced her eyes open to see an older man leaning over her. “Who…”
“My name’s Gerald,” he answered with a sympathetic expression. “We found you and your friend in a field over near Peachtree. We’ve had a few others turn up there so I’m guessing you came through a portal.”
“Portal…” Marinette looked past the man. She was in a bed in a dimly lit room and there was an insistent beeping noise. A heart monitor, she realized a few seconds later. Some kind of medical set up then? She was still in her street clothes.
“You need more rest, Miss. I promise you’re safe here. Get some sleep and we’ll have you a nice meal when you wake up.”
Marinette squeezed her eyes shut as fatigue settled around her again. “Adrien,” she whispered.
“Is that your friend’s name? We’re taking good care of him too, don’t you worry at all.”
Gerald’s voice faded away as sleep rushed in.
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“Well, aren’t you looking better?” Gerald grinned, standing by Marinette’s bedside only a few minutes after she had woken. Filtered sunlight streamed through open blinds as she struggled to sit up. “It’s a wonder what a little sleep can do. Why don’t we get you something to eat, hmm?”
Marinette swallowed thickly, her throat dry. “Where am I?”
“Bausave,” he answered, “though I doubt that will mean much if you’re like the others.”
She tried to make sense of the name for a moment before giving up. “I need to see Adrien.”
He smiled. “Of course. I’m sure he’ll want to see you too. Do you think you can get out of the bed on your own?” He held his arm out stiffly as if waiting on her to need it for support but Marinette stood on shaky legs. “I thought you seemed like a strong one,” he nodded. “That door on the left is the bathroom. Get freshened up if you like. There should be anything you need in there, including some fresh scrubs. You can come on out into the hall whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you,” Marinette said quietly. She waited until the man was out of the room before she stiffly made her way to the bathroom.
The bathroom was small but efficient. There was a plastic wrapped toothbrush and fresh travel size tube of toothpaste on the sink and a stack of towels and hospital scrubs set on top of the toilet lid. She ripped open the toothbrush as she ran her tongue along her teeth. They felt overly gross. How long had she been asleep?
Marinette caught her reflection in the mirror above the sink and froze. Her earlobes were scarlet, the spots where her Miraculous had been now angry patches of burnt skin with streaks of dried blood. Tears pricked her eyes as she stared at them. “Tikki?” She looked around the room. “Tikki?!”
She stepped back out into the room and searched wildly but the kwami was nowhere to be found. Why hadn’t she realized Tikki wasn’t with her this whole time?! She wanted to throw open the door and demand to see Adrien but she made herself take a cleansing breath. What was the last thing she remembered?
The akuma. She had captured the akuma in her yoyo and then…
Had Hawkmoth trapped them somehow? The akuma had been easier than usual to take down. Perhaps he had wanted them to take it down because this was the real plan. The others must be so worried.
She remembered Chat Noir screaming her name. If she had fallen through some sort of portal, he must’ve followed after her. She couldn’t deny her relief at the thought. Their families and friends would be worried but at least they had each other. They always had each other.
With fresh resolve, Marinette went back into the bathroom to get cleaned up. She would find Adrien and get something to eat and then they would figure out how to get home.
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“Marinette.”
Seeing Nino standing where she expected Adrien confused her and Marinette froze in place just inside the doorway. He was wearing scrubs like she was, a bright blue color that stood out against the beige walls of the small dining room. The lens of his glasses was cracked on the right side, and there was wrapped tape keeping the bridge in one piece. Her eyes traveled to his wrist where she saw blistered skin where his Miraculous used to rest.
“I see you found Adrien,” Gerald smiled, moving past her to bring in a plate of sandwiches and setting them on the table. “I’ll be back with some beverages and then we can talk.”
“You thought Adrien was here,” Nino winced. “Sorry. I was wondering why he called me Adrien but I…” He rubbed at his wrist and grimaced, dropping his hand in pain. “What happened to us?”
Marinette forced herself to move into the room and sit down at one of the small tables. Nino crossed the room to sit on the other side. “I don’t know,” she murmured, keeping her voice low. “I think maybe it was the akuma? Something felt off as soon as it was in my yoyo.”
He nodded. “As soon as you got it, this dark portal thing ripped open and you starting flying towards it. I was closest so I tried to grab you, but…” He trailed off, looking down at his wrist again.
“This was more powerful than anything Hawkmoth’s ever been able to do.”
“I’m guessing he had help of the magical variety.”
Marinette looked towards the doorway. “What are we going to do, Nino?”
A look of resolve settled on his face. “We’ll get home,” he promised.
“Ah, here we are.” Gerald reappeared and set a couple of bottles of water and cans of soda on the table. “Take your pick. We have plenty,” he offered good-naturedly. “Now, I’m guessing you two have questions and I’ll answer ‘em the best I can. I’ll tell you the main stuff first.”
“The city you’re in is called Bausave. Never met anyone who wasn’t from around here that recognizes the name. A few folks run this place. We help people get on their feet after a bad time in life. Sometimes that includes strangers that appear in different places around here with no memory of how they got here,” he continued. “Like you two.”
“You’re saying we aren’t the first ones to come through a portal,” Marinette clarified.
“That’s right. We’ve had about…” He trailed off and counted under his breath. “I’d say around eleven or so besides you in the past twenty years. The first one was a doozy, let me tell ya. We didn’t expect him at all,” he chuckled. “Folks still say he was like an angel coming to visit.”
“And how do people get back to where they came from?” Nino asked.
Gerald’s face clouded over, his expression shifting closer to pity. “Sorry to say, but as far as I can tell, they don’t. Not that I’ve seen anyway. I’ll get you the contacts of ones willing to talk about it. Might help.”
“We’re different,” Marinette replied sharply and then dropped her gaze. “I mean, we have friends that will be trying to get us back.”
The older man nodded. “I wish the best for you then. I can’t imagine how hard it would be. That’s why we’re here to help.” He pushed the platter of sandwiches closer to them. “You both seem to be in good health, at least. Looks like you suffered some burns through the portal so you may scar. Not much we can do about that but our nurse will be in later so she can take a look.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. “We’ll provide housing and a stipend for you to get on your feet here. Maybe your friends will be the first ones to be able to bring somebody back, but until then, you’re going to need a place to stay and food on the table.”
He frowned. “I always forget to bring that blasted laptop in here with me when I do this and we’ll need it to set up housing. You two eat up and I’ll be right back.”
Nino grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a big bite and then another. Marinette watched him as she messed with the cap on her bottle of water. “Not hungry?” he finally asked with a loud swallowing sound.
She blinked and felt tears prick her eyes.
“Aww, Mari.” Nino rounded the table to join her side and put an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, you know Adrien isn’t going to let you stay here. He’s probably already paid off seven wizards to create a new portal to bring you back. I bet he even bought a special costume for it.”
Marinette couldn’t stop the bubble of quick laughter at the image of Adrien in a tall pointed wizard hat. “I know,” she whispered.
“And Alya is the smartest person I’ve ever known. She’ll figure something out.”
“Yeah, she definitely will,” Marinette nodded. “And Chloe couldn’t dare let us get more publicity than her. She’ll demand we be brought back so she can go through a portal herself.”
Nino grinned. “Sounds right.” He pulled the plate closer. “How about you eat a little something? You have to be hungry. I know I am.”
They each grabbed a sandwich and ate quietly.
“So we’re just going to…to make a life here until somehow we get pulled back?” Marinette asked. “I mean, we can’t just go sit in a field and wait, I guess, but what if they open the portal and can’t find us?”
“Yeah, doesn’t feel practical to wait in one place. It probably will take them a little time to figure things out. Maybe we can get settled and make a plan to check where we turned up everyday. Somehow leave them a message.”
“It makes sense to take the help.” Marinette slid the envelope closer and peered inside. “Looks like this is a sort of halfway house organization. They provide housing and small financial help for a hundred and sixty days and we’re expected to find a job and other housing arrangements in that time.”
“Seems fair enough.”
Marinette nodded, chewing thoughtfully. “Do you think we can trust this guy? What if this is all part of whatever it is Hawkmoth did?”
“I was wondering that,” Nino admitted, “but Gerald’s been nothing but nice. And it almost feels clinically nice, if that makes sense. Like he’s used to having people in and out of here without making a real connection.”
“You’re saying you think this really is some sort of halfway house and not a scheme.”
“I think so.” Nino reached for a can of soda and popped it open. He took a long sip and grimaced slightly as he set it down. “Okay, well, their soda is definitely sweeter.”
Marinette eyed it for a moment before sliding it closer and testing it. It was definitely sweeter and lacked the harshness she was used to. She took another sip and licked her lips.
Nino gave her a small smile. “I’m guessing you like it.”
“It’s good,” she shrugged. “I like sweet.”
“That doesn’t surprise me actually.”
Gerald returned then and set up his laptop at the other end of the table. “We have a few different locations but I suppose since you’re brand new here, you won’t have a preference. Now, do you two need separate residences or would you like to live together?”
Marinette and Nino exchanged surprised looks. “Uh, do you have two places close to each other?” Nino asked, gauging Marinette’s reaction.
“Let me see.” Gerald made a few keystrokes and squinted at his screen. “We have two residences within a block or so of each other. Would that work?”
“That would be really nice, thank you.” Marinette took a long pull from her water bottle and realized how thirsty she was. She finished off half of it before setting it back on the table.
“You’ll stay here tonight again but I’ll send the cleaning crew out to make sure both places are ready for you to transfer to tomorrow. They aren’t much, mind you, but they’ll be clean and a warm place to rest your head until you find something better. There are lots of nice places in town that I’m sure you’ll be able to get something you’ll be happy with. In the morning, a job scout will talk with you to find out about skills you have to best match you with employment.”
“Thank you. This is all very generous.”
He nodded. “I’m happy to be able to do it. A place like this helped my mother and me and my brothers and sisters when my dad took off when I was just a wee thing. I feel like this is my way to pay it forward,” he smiled. “Take the rest of the day to rest or explore, if you like. There are a few others here in the facility who will be transferring soon and town is only a ten minute walk away if you want to get out and peek around.” He gestured to the envelope. “There’s a stipend in there for the each of you so feel free to go ahead and start using it. You’ll get one every Friday until your term end. I just need you two to sign some papers for me and then you’ll be good to go.”
Nino watched Marinette read over the contract and pause towards the bottom. “What is it?” he asked quietly, noticing Gerald had busied himself on his laptop in an attempt to give them privacy.
“What if we’re here for longer than a hundred and sixty days?” she whispered, eyes a little wide.
“We won’t be.”
“Yeah, but—“
Nino took the pen from her and signed his name. “Then we’ll figure it out together.”