Chapter Text
A door slammed somewhere.
It was dark, and comfortably warm. Marinette, unwilling to open her eyes just yet, groaned and snuggled closer to her pillow, which was soft and smooth and smelled of… cheese?
Her eyes snapped open. Rather than her stuffed kitty, she seemed to be cuddling a human boy. A blond mop of hair splayed out on a thin, bland-looking pillow as the boy turned, stealing more of the covers for himself. It was her friend, Adrien, snoring softly, still deep in sleep. An inhuman squeak escaped her mouth as she nearly flew off the bed, which she only now realized was not her own.
At the noise, Adrien woke with a start. He sat straight up in the bed, rubbing at his eyes and grumbling complaints. “Keep it down,” he mumbled. “It’s too early for breakfast, Pla--”
His words died in his throat as he realized he wasn’t alone. He looked wildly around at Marinette, who backed up and nearly knocked a strange painting off the wall that wasn’t hers. “Marinette?” he asked, concerned. “What are you doing in my…” Slowly, he appeared to realize the same thing she had. “Where are we?”
It took a moment for Marinette to find her voice. Still mortified at the position she found herself in, she refused to meet his eyes. “I…I don’t…” she began, but fell silent again as she looked around the room. It was grimy and cracked, and a slight vibration under her feet made her very uneasy. A dirty fridge sat behind the bed, the door hanging at an angle. A microwave that no longer even had a door. A moldy dresser underneath a shattered TV screen. A rusted railing ran along the ceiling. A strange, ashy smell permeated the walls.
There was a rustle of sheets, a thump on the floor, and Adrien came to stand next to her, taking in their predicament. Both were in their school clothes, and Marinette had no memory of falling asleep, which bothered her somehow, though she couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.
Not until Adrien yelped, startling her badly.
“My ring is gone!”
Instinctively, Marinette’s hands flew to her ears. Her earrings were gone. Tikki was gone. Her heart seized in panic, and she put out a hand to steady herself. Adrien grabbed it and held tight, breathing hard himself, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about holding Adrien’s hand. Had Hawkmoth won? Why was Adrien here? Where was Chat Noir? Why couldn’t she remember? Why…?
“Hey,” her friend soothed, seeing her getting worked up. “Are you okay?”
She nodded numbly and gripped his hand tighter, feeling a stab of guilt at his wince.
“We’re going to be fine,” he said, though he didn’t look like he believed it. “I’m sure it’s just an akuma, and any minute now Ladybug will burst through that door and rescue us.” He nodded towards a brown door down a short hallway.
Marinette’s heart caught in her throat, but before she could open her mouth to refute that, a harsh knocking came from the door, making them both jump.
“Hello? Are you two awake in there?”
The voice was oddly robotic, but not unkind. The knocking came again, a bit louder this time.
“Y-yes!” Marinette spoke up first, sharing a shocked glance with Adrien. “We’re here!”
“Good. Have you gotten dressed?”
Marinette frowned. Dressed? Only now did she notice a closet next to the bed. Adrien let go of her hand and tentatively opened the closet door, revealing a pair of orange jumpsuits, white shirts, and several pairs of strangely tall white boots.
“Have you gotten dressed?” The voice repeated, in exactly the same tone.
Adrien shrugged at Marinette and grabbed a jumpsuit, pulling it on over his normal clothes with more ease than Marinette was comfortable with. Her face burned as she looked away, grabbing a jumpsuit for herself and tugging it on. She turned her attention to the boots, barely noticing the voice repeating itself for the third time.
“Yes, we have.” Adrien answered for them this time. “Why do we need to get dressed? What’s going on—”
“Good,” the voice interrupted him. “The two of you may begin testing now. Please open the door and follow me to your first test.”
Testing? Adrien mouthed at Marinette, who sighed and shrugged. She didn’t like this idea, at all, but they couldn’t do much more in this room. They had a better chance of figuring this whole mess out and getting home once they were out there, wherever “there” was. She stepped forward to open the door, and was surprised to see a spherical robot hanging from the ceiling. A curiously bright orange eye staring at her, unblinking. It was hardly the first time she had seen a robot, but it was still unnerving. She barely had time to wonder how it had knocked on their door without arms or hands when it looked 'round and sped away, following a rail through a maze of dusty gray hallways.
"Hey, wait-!" She had to sprint to keep up, Adrien following close behind her.
Neither of them talked as they ran. The boots weren't uncomfortable, but the added spring was hard to control, and Marinette was gripped with the feeling that if she jumped a bit too hard, she would go flying into space, like bounding over rooftops without the aid of her suit. It was oddly familiar, running together like this with him, but she buried that thought deep in the back of her mind. She had to figure out where they were so she could get them out of here and contact Chat Noir. She concentrated, trying to remember the last time she had seen home, but couldn’t conjure more than a flash of blue light and the suffocating feeling of being forced, molecule by molecule, through a cheesecloth. The sudden recollection made her stumble, and she gasped as if she couldn’t breathe.
“Marinette!”
Strong hands gripped her shoulders and held her upright. On the edge of her vision, she glimpsed a worried face peering over her as they stumbled to a stop.
Thankfully, the robot stopped too. They had reached a room, wider than the hallways, with a round, blinking door on the far end. A jumble of giant glass tubes ran overhead, whooshing as bits and pieces of…something traveled within them, soaring to places unknown. A mounted camera was pointed at them, blinking furiously.
They hardly had time to marvel before the robot spoke once more. “Your first test begins now. You will receive more information inside. Good luck,” it finished, and sped back the way they came. A door Marinette had not yet noticed closed behind it, sealing their escape.
They waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. Adrien let go of her shoulders, and slowly approached the door, with her following close behind. It slid open smoothly, and the two of them stepped into a vast, harshly white room. The door closed behind them, but she hardly noticed, gaping at their new surroundings.
“Welcome, new test subjects, to Aperture Science Laboratories."