Miraclebound | Miraculous Guardians Book 2

Chapter 9: A New Ultimatum

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

A moment passed and Chloe leaned up in her seat, groaning irritably as Nino shifted uncomfortably away, crowding Adrien who fidgeted closer to Marinette who was pressed up next to the window, staring absentmindedly at the city and all of the lights as they whizzed past.

"How about now?"

"Chloe, do I need to turn this vehicle around?" Louve asked, staring pointedly at her through the rearview mirrors as she signaled for a lane change.

"Hey," Nino said suddenly, leaning up too to watch the girl's movements on the dash. "Can I try for a bit? I've driven before."

Louve hesitated, her gaze flicking from Chloe to him instantly. "Uh...how old are you again? Thirteen?"

"He's sixteen," Marinette answered sleepily. "And the only thing he's ever driven was a remote-controlled car right up a tree." She smiled as Nino glared at her crossly.

"I was eight!" he protested. "I couldn't control it, okay? Why do you keep bringing that up?"

"Because it was mine," Mari replied, head sagging and her voice muffled as she began to drift off. "And it was hilarious." 

"Okay, I want to hear this story!" Alya piped up from Chloe's other side, grimacing as the blond groaned dramatically and smacked her head on the back of the headrest. 

"I don't!" she complained. "Louve, how much farther is it to the Guardian's outpost?" She paused for a moment and frowned even more deeply. "And where exactly is it, anyway?"

It was not Louve who answered, as her mind was solely on trying to keep them all from crashing and dying a horrendous firey death. Instead, Mkango leaned over the passenger seat to answer. "Well, the actual outpost is in the mountains of Switzerland, so, yeah, we aren't going there. But there is a communication post in Washington D.C. where we can go to inform the Guardians of our intentions. They can then send us transportation to join them in the Himilayas."

"Cool!" Adrien said, leaning back and grinning. "This feels so like a spy movie!"

"Only this is real life," Alya reminded him sternly. "And the mission is not some gold or priceless artifact. It's Nicholas. And failure is not an option."

"We all should probably try to get some sleep," Chloe suggested grumpily. "Since we don't know what will be waiting for us in D.C."

"That's the smartest thing you've said this entire trip, Chloe!" Marinette exclaimed, still not looking up from her perch at the window as the blond looked momentarily humiliated. 

"Thank you, Dupain-Chang. I do occasionally have them, you know."

An uneasy silence fell over the crew once more as the seriousness of their predicament and Marinette slowly slid out her phone to check pointlessly at her messages. Nino saw this and frowned, carefully twisting to take out his phone as well as the others took a cue from Chloe and slowly closed their eyes with the intent of getting some sleep before arriving in the city.

Nino: Hey, Mari, what's up? You seem kinda distant tonight.

Mari startled as the message came in and she glanced over Adrien's head at him questioningly. He shrugged and pointed to the screen, telling her she should answer him that way if she was not comfortable telling the whole group.

Mari: I'm honestly not sure. It's odd. It just feels like, ever since we left the Miracle Box in Paris, I've been feeling...I'm not really sure how to describe it really. Unsettled, I guess.