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« Ti… Tikki, spots off »
Marinette fell on the ground, trying to find back a normal breathe. The fight was incredibly hard. And Spider-Man wasn’t there, and she struggled, and she didn’t know…
Her opponent wasn’t just an akumatised guy, sadly. It was way more powerful than this, more terrible than her nightmares. There was an akuma, she felt it. She had seen it. But that wasn’t all, it was like this man had powers before the akuma, and he was using them, reinforced, defeating her, again, and again.
She had tried. A lot. Dozens of times, she had came to him, tried to defeat him, tried to broke the object the evil butterfly was in, but she was always sent back meters away, desperately, powerless.
She was alone.
She was scared.
She was hurt.
And, worst of all, she was helpless, clueless on what to do. This feeling was perfectly horrible, and so strange, so unusual.
All she could do was wait, was pray for Spider-Man to arrive.
Hurry up, Adrien, please ! What are you doing ?!
She saw something like a red arrow piercing the air. Was it…?
She had waited and fought for so long she wasn’t sure she believed it.
It was him, finally.
He had arrived. He was like flying, using his webs to escape the enemy, staying out of his sight, clearly being more careful than usual.
I can’t let him alone with… With that ! I need to go back ! We’re stronger together !
She transformed back, trying to ignore the fact her face was still bruised by her previous attempts.
And she jumped back in.
And was sent back by one of the metallic tentacles of her enemy.
And she tried again.
Spider-Man’s presence reassured her, she felt like she could.
She tried to keep the tentacles in her yo-yo too, tried to make him a prisoner, but he would dodge every attempt.
She ended by jumping on a roof, behind a chimney flue, near her partner, immediately ready to go back.
« Ladybug, stop! It can’t work! We must find a real plan!
— It’s you saying that?
— Listen, Ladybug. He is dangerous, ok? Really. I met him. Not akumatized. And he defeated me. He can neutralize every single function of my suit. That’s why I just avoided him till now.
— I… Ok. You must be right. The thing is that he’s really fast and he guesses every movement I’m going to do. I tried to chain him in my yo-yo, but that doesn’t work… And… I don’t know what to do.
— Maybe we could make him fall. I’m gonna try to keep a web all around, like, for making him fall. But we would need something…
— You perfectly know it doesn’t work like that ! But ok, let’s try… Be careful, please, if he can… I don’t want you to be hurt, ok?
— Since when do you care about me like that, Ladybug?
— I do! For real! Go ahead! »
He smiled and go down to the floor discretely while she conjured her Lucky Charm. Which was what she wanted, for once. She looked around, and saw exactly what to do. Her power gave reason to her partner, and while he was fixing webs all around the place they were fighting on, she searched for something to do. She just had to wait, which made her feel perfectly useless and annoyed her.
She looked at Spider-Man with a little bit of doubt. If the guy could neutralize him…
She jumped on another roof, then another, calling the villain, distracting him from the hero, trying to keep him safe.
Which worked, in a way.
But, annoyed by this little girl that just wanted to keep him away from his real enemy, he started trying to catch her while she was flying, from one roof to the other, while she was escaping and turning the buildings into a nightmarish carousel from which her adversary was the center.
And she was running, running, again and again.
And she felt his tentacles grazing her neck, his anger like a wind in her back, she had to keep his eyes on her so he wouldn’t notice…
But she was so tired, this fight was so long, her run was automatic, just a way to escape for her life, she couldn’t do it, the heavy rope of the Lucky Charm was weighting on her…
I can’t! I will…
She heard her partner telling her to drop it, she did, falling on the roof she was standing on, completely exhausted, she de-transformed. Something in her just wanted to go back home to sleep. How long had she fought ? Impossible to tell right now, she…
The roof she was half-standing, half-lying on started to crumble, and she was so scared she couldn’t even think to transform, she just screamed.
« Marinette! »
One second after, Spider-Man was holding her near, flying to a safer place on the end of a solid web.
When they landed, he took her hands, looked at her, she was wearing a beautiful pink dress, she was clearly too tired.
« Marinette, please… Don’t ever do that to me again… You’re too precious to be broken by the fights, ok? It’s not…
— Adrien… I have to, I can’t…
— Look at you, whispered him, you’re all bruised and tired. You shouldn’t have been there…
— I was… I…
— Shh, shh, it’ll be okay. I can handle this. I promise.
— You’re hurt too! I don’t let you alone! »
She had removed his mask, she was holding his face in her hands, looking at him right in the eyes.
« You are hurt. He is stronger than you. Plus, he is akumatised. I don’t let you fight alone.
— Marinette, please… You… You are just a civilian. I’m a hero. And I have to fight. I saw Ladybug was exhausted, she had to fight a long time before I arrived, but this is my turn. I have to go.
— Don’t, please… I don’t feel it good! Please… »
He sighed, took her in for a long, comforting hug, her head in his shoulder, whispering calming words, reassuring her, promising her to be fast.
She shaked her head, whispering she couldn’t let him go, not like that, that she wasn’t just a civilian but she was extremely tired, he was right, but she had to help him, it was her role, after all…
« Ladybug. I can handle this one, ok? I had tied him solidly, it won’t break, when he fell in my webs, it produced a big shock which crumbled this old roof, it’s ok. I will handle it.
— You can’t de-evilize the akuma, Spider-Man. I… Have to come with you.
— That’s not reasonable.
— You said yourself he is neutralize !
— Ladybug, Marinette, please… Just… Go get some rest, ok? That’s better for you.
— I love you, idiot. I don’t leave you in a fight alone.
— What…?!
— Please… Let’s just finish it, I’ll repair everything and then I’ll go to bed. If you insist.
— I do. I’ll take care of you, Lady Marinette. But ok for your plan. »
She smiled, hugged him one last time and stood up, re-transforming again.
And, one minute later, she was already regretting her decision, her boy going right back to fight after she catch the akuma and repaired everything, not listening at all.
Worried, knowing he was almost as tired as she was, she used her yo-yo to catch him and force him to come home with her.
« Hey! That’s not fair!
— You had a long day too. You are tired. And more important of all, I know Plagg couldn’t modify your suit to protect you against his gadgets.
— Lady… I will have to fight him anyway… Why… Don’t you just let me…?
— Not. Today.
— I think I liked more when you were the unreasonable one…
— No, you didn’t. You were worried.
— That’s… That’s true…
— Can you… Can you forget everything we said, before we defeated him? And everything that…
— No. I can forget almost everything. Even your identity if you ask me. But there’s three words I’m really not willing to forget…
— I’ll say them again, if that’s all. Cause… They are true… But yes, I’d prefer if you forget who I am… Goodbye, Spidrien ! And, for god’s sake, do NOT go to fight him again before your suit is modified.
— I promise, Ladybug. On my powers. I will not go. And not alone.
— Thank you! »
And she disappeared in the sea of roof of the city. Adrien looked at her, a smile floating on his lips.
« Plagg? Can you make me forget?
— Yes, Adrien, there is the potion in your suits, do you want to do it now?
— Yes. Please. I promised I will forget. Just erase the moment where she fell and the discussion we had after.
— Ok, Adrien. »
The hero felt like a sting in his neck, then a strange liquid flooding around it and inside his neck, trough every vein to the brain. He sat on the edge of the roof, looking away, back against a chimney. He knew he was going to fall asleep for a few minutes, this wasn’t the first time he removed a memory.
And he also knew all the day was going to remain a blur in his head, especially all of the fight. But that didn’t disturb him.
In the evening, he would go to see Marinette, ask her how was her day, they were going to chat for a long time, like always.
And maybe she would say this magic words again.
"I love you"…