The Glass Dome

Chapter 2: Multimouse

Multimouse jumped across Paris until the Glass Dome came into view, then she jumped down.

"Multitude," Multimouse whispered, as she was cloned and shrank.

She climbed up the door, putting her weight on her jump rope. It was a little bit hard for her, but she'd gone rock climbing before when she was younger. Multimouse was still scared though since there was no one to catch her in case she fell.

As she reached the window, she could feel that the handles of her jump rope were wet from her nervous sweating. Multimouse stepped up on the window with her right foot, wobbled, stepped with her left foot, and hoisted herself on the window still. She tried her best not to look down, but she did, and though she wasn't usually scared of heights, standing on the thin window still frightened her. Multimouse grabbed the bottom of the window, pushed it, and opened it, climbing inside the Glass Dome.

Cat Blanc was sitting cross-legged on the fake grass. He looked at the window and saw Multimouse.

"Marinette!" he gasped.

Multimouse's ears hurt from his yelling and the loud sound of his chains. She leaped onto Cat Blanc's glove-like handcuffs.

"Why are you here?" Cat Blanc asked Multimouse.

"I wanted to visit you," said Multimouse.

"Why would you want to visit me? No really does. My father hasn't stopped by at all."

"What about your mother?"

"It's a long story."

"I wanted to visit you because I care about you," Multimouse told him. "I missed you and I know how bad it must feel to live here, treated as some kind of wild animal."

"It does," Cat admitted.

"They've been treating you so horribly, chaining you up."

"They think I'll destroy the world. That's what Ladybug told them. It's all her fault! Is that why you're here to see me?! Did she want to apologize or something?!"

"Ladybug gave me this miraculous permanently. You and I are the only two miraculous holders left in Paris I think."

"How is M'l-Ladybug?" asked Cat Blanc.

"She-she's sad," said Multimouse, caught off-guard. "She missed you, too. She blames herself for the Glass Dome."

Cat Blanc couldn't believe he'd called that traitor "M'lady." The authorities were the ones who locked him up. But if Ladybug hadn't lied about him almost causing the end of the world, they wouldn't have done that much to "protect the world" from him.

"Um.." started Multimouse. "Are there still no cameras in here?"

"No," said Cat Blanc. "But they've talked about installing them."

"Get silent," said Multimouse, detransforming, and grow back.

Cat Blanc dropped Marinette as she grew.

"You know," said Marinette, smiling. "The white and blue color scheme suits you."

"Thanks," said Cat Blanc, surprised. "I prefer black and green. It's more heroic."

"Not necessarily," Marinette told him. "White is a very heroic color."

"I was made to be a villain," said Cat, sad.

"Even if you were made to be a villain, you can still be a hero," said Marinette. "Everyone has the potential to be a hero. Even if they don't want to be. You just have to choose to be a hero and not the villain Shadow Moth wanted you to be. Does he even try to talk to you?"

"Shadow Moth has even been ignoring me."

"That's actually a good thing. Without anyone paying attention to you, you can be free! Escape someday and be yourself!"

"I guess so. Wait-you want me to be freed?"

"That's why I'm here. But not yet. We'll wait until we can do it safely."

Cat Blanc looked at the bluenette. He hadn't realized it, but they'd always been there for each other. When Ladybug rejected him, Marinette was standing on her balcony, waiting for him. And when her crush started dating another girl, he was there to give her a hug. They weren't acquaintances anymore. They were friends.

Marinette was there for him. But could Cat Blanc be there for her? He was a monster, a foe who could hurt her. And he wouldn't hurt her. He cared about her too much. He wanted to protect her more than anyone else. He wanted her to be safe, even if that meant her not being able to visit anymore.

"No," said Cat Blanc.

"What?" asked Marinette, surprised.

"I can't be freed."

"Why?!"

"If I was released, I'd hurt everyone, even you, though I don't want to."

"I won't leave you again! Even if that means we can't free you. But think: what if you could control your powers? What if all you needed was time and then you could choose how to use your powers? What if you could see your family again?"

Cat Blanc thought about what Marinette said. Practice makes perfect. Even if he'd never be perfect, he could at least get better at using his powers. But how could he if he was in handcuffs? Multimouse could get the keys and she could help him practice. Would she want to help such a destructive creature? Cat didn't even consider himself human. The amokuma had taken all the humanity out of him. He was an animal. A creature. And the Glass Dome was where he belonged.

"I belong here," Cat Blanc told Marinette. "Not out in society."

"That's not true-" Marinette started.

"-I'm not a human!" yelled Cat Blanc. "I'm an animal! I'm supposed to be in a zoo. I'm supposed to be in the Glass Dome! I'm not even supposed to talk to you! When will I stop talking and starts growling?!"

"You're still human," Marinette told him. "At least to me. I could never care this much about an animal."

"I don't want to see my family. It's not like I have much."

"I'm sorry. But do you have friends?"

"Yes. I guess they probably miss me. Maybe I will escape. Maybe I will go back to society. But I don't want to see my father."

"What did he do?"

"He never let me do much. Only what he wanted me to do. I was either on the schedule he wanted me on or I was at home. He hardly ever let me hang out with my friends. Thankfully, he didn't check on me very often, so I was able to transform into Cat Noir and escape to fight villains."

"If you feel okay with it," said Marinette. "Can you tell me about your mother?"

Cat Blanc sighed.

"My mother died a few years ago, not long before I became Cat Noir," Cat Blanc admitted.

"If you do go back into society, would you have anyone to stay with?" asked Marinette.

"My best friend might let me stay with him," said Cat Blanc. "I'd have to tell him my identity and make sure he felt safe, but otherwise, that's my best bet."

"Will you escape?" asked Marinette.

"Yes," said Cat Blanc. "With your help, I'll escape from the Glass Dome and go back into society."