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“Zero chance of escaping. You asked me to be honest.”
Marinette sighed, the metal walls of the trap chilling her back as she attempted to shift in the small space (which didn’t do much). Legs scrunched up and brushing against Adrien’s, she looked at him. “Are we sure this akuma is really that powerful?”
“Pharaoh turned into a literal Egyptian god bent on sacrificing Alya,” Adrien reminds her, mentally listing off other akumas who had given them a harsh time. Timebreaker. Party Crasher. Zombizou. The one Ladybug would never name. “I’m sure this one being able to trap us in a metal cage is nothing compared to what else he could do.”
“Well, it’s not like he used all of his strength on just one trap. It’d be a waste when he’s out there searching for miraculouses,” she counters. Looking around the tight space, Marinette scanned the walls and let a hand feel along the ground for weak spots. “Surely there’s some way of getting out of this.”
“There is,” Adrien mentions.
“Care to share?”
“Turn into a superhero.”
Snorting, Marinette bumped her leg against Adrien’s. “A superhero, huh?” she repeats, raising a brow. “And what makes you think I’ll be able to do that?”
“Oh, come on. You know what I’m talking about.”
“Not a clue.”
Chuckling, Adrien moved his head to bang against the wall, causing a small thud that Marinette was sure hurt more than he let on. “Just turn into Ladybug already.”
“Lady who?”
“Marinette,” he says, all too aware of the game she was playing at. The oblivious game, where one could sit for hours and dodge around the elephant in the room. Or, if he was being more direct, the ladybug in the room, who months earlier would’ve acted as naïve as a child about anything superhero related. Now, she bumped his leg again, letting out a cool laugh that could only signal one thing: defeat.
“Okay. You got me.” Smiling, Marinette lifted her chin in acknowledgment of him, adding one last word. “Chat.”
“Chat who?” Adrien asks, paralleling her response moments earlier.
“Chat Noir, dummy,” Marinette answers, rolling her eyes before settling them on him again. They were warm despite the cold walls surrounding them, and her gaze pierced beyond the surface, to a space not many had gotten to before. “Who else?”
Adrien grinned, the answer far more than what he had expected for. Opening his jacket, he let Plagg emerge, a swirling force of destruction and chaos that was still holding onto his midday snack, looking far more interested in finishing it. “Ready to figure a way out?”
“Of course.” Tikki emerged from Marinette’s purse in the next moment, red and black and all bits of happiness trailing behind her as she set herself down in Marinette’s hands. “And I know just how.”
“How so?”
There was a snicker as she answered. “Turn into a superhero.”