Under The Surface

Ladybug's back?

Marinette felt the building shake before it fell down around them. It was a miracle that neither of them were hurt. The loud bangs from the battle still rang harshly outside.

"We have to get out of here!"

Adrien panicked, looking around wildly for a way out, but Marinette knew better. It didn't take long for him to figure it out for himself and plop down on the ground beside her as they waited for the battle outside to end. They listened to it a great deal and eventually found a few peaky holes to watch through, but the longer they watched the more it concerned Marinette. Where was Chat Noir? Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about the overgrown ally cat, but there was also another problem. If there was no Chat Noir than there was no Miraculous Ladybug to fix everything and get her and Adrien out. As if by some cruel humor, Rena Rogue and Carapace defeated Espèce a few minutes later, putting the akuma in a jar before leaving to detransform. There was still no Chat Noir and no Miraculous Ladybug.

"What do we do now?"

Adrien asked, but Marinette could tell he was trying to hide his panic. After all he was claustrophobic.

"I don't know. Without the Miraculous Ladybug, we're stuck in here."

"Maybe, we can find another way out...a hole or some loose rocks maybe."

Adrien suggested standing to his feet to start looking. Marinette nodded.

"I'll start looking over here."

She said, making her way to far side of their enclosure as far away from Adrien as possible. Tikki immediately stuck her head out, silently asking for permission to intervene. Marinette nodded. The little kwami smiled, hiding back in her little purse where she started to work her magic. Suddenly thousands of small red and black ladybugs swarmed through the entire building and out into the surrounding area. Within minutes everything was back to normal again.

"Look it's the Miraculous Ladybug!"

Marinette hears someone cry after exiting the building.

"But where's Chat Noir?"

Someone countered.

"He must be in another part of the city."

Another suggested. Marinette smiled, let them think that. It was better for her cover, but she was still worried about Chat Noir. Where had he been? After watching the "Miraculous Ladybug" fix everything, Adrien insisted on taking Marinette home to her worried parents. It took nearly a half hour for her to finally wiggle out of their bear hug and make her way upstairs to finally check on Tikki.

"How are you feeling, Tikki?"

The teen asked softly, handing the kwami a cookie to eat. The tired kwami ate hungrily, but Marinette heard a faint 'ok' squeak out as she ate. Marinette smiled and put the kwami down so she could change out of her evening dress.

"Marinette, is something wrong?"

Tikki asked, having taken the last bite of her cookie. Marinette sighed and went to sit on her couch.

"I'm worried about Chat, Tikki. Why wasn't he there today?"

The kwami thought for a moment.

"I don't know, but it is possible that he just wasn't able to get away from his civilian life."

"I guess you're right, Tikki. But I would still like to check up on him."

"How do you plan to do that? You don't even know where he lives."

"We always meet at the top of the Eiffel Tower for patrol. I'll just wait there. If he doesn't show, I'll look into it further; if he does, I'll get an explanation."