No Way Out

A Knife, An Author, and Sacrifice

Turns out that it wasn't nothing. There was a major problem.

After Marinette found a place to transform, Ladybug ran down the stairs and into the tunnel. The woman who had been responsible for the muffled cries noticed the superhero first. Then a moment later, the man who was holding a knife up to her neck noticed.

It was already too late for him to react though. Before he knew it, he was tied up in a yo-yo and the knife was laying harmlessly on the ground.

The woman was in absolute hysterics. Tears poured out of her eyes and her whole body was shaking. She clung onto Ladybug like her life depended on it, and only let go once the police arrived.

Besides the metro station's transit officers, several Parisian police officers showed up to assess and document the scene. Then Ladybug gave her statement to Lieutenant Roger.

Once he was done writing, he put his notepad into his pocket. "Thank you like always, Ladybug. Luckily you were here to stop this one. There's been a steady uptick in muggings recently. I can't even tell you how many reports we've gotten this week."

"What's going on?" Ladybug asked in reply. "Why the increase?"

"Not sure. You'd think that a city like ours that's famous for our superheroes would be a little quieter when it comes to these things." He took a moment to think. "Perhaps you and your holders should try to make some more public appearances soon. You know, to remind everyone that you're still around."

She suppressed a groan. That was just what she needed; more work. Instead, she forced a smile. "I'm sure we can do something to help."

Lieutenant Roger returned the smile, but his was genuine. "Great. Now have a pleasant night."

Suddenly remembering that she still needed to get to Adrien's party, she hurried off. Despite the setback, at least the emergency had one silver lining to it. Since she was already transformed, Ladybug ran across the rooftops the entire way instead of having to rely on the trains. That would save her some precious time.

She detransformed after landing near the mansion, and punched the security code into the panel next to the gate. After that, she sprinted up the steps and through the front door.

Marinette screeched to a halt, however, when she saw a woman standing in the foyer talking with Emilie. Then she blinked a few times. "Nathalie?"

They both looked at her.

"What... when did you get here?" Marinette continued.

"Just a minute ago," Nathalie said. "I was surprised that you weren't here already." Both she and Emilie had sympathetic expressions on their faces.

"There was an emergency..."

"Marinette!" Annabelle yelled, coming out of the dining room. She ran up and gave her a hug. "You finally made it."

"I'm sorry I'm so late. There was an emergency... with my train." She glanced around them. "Is everyone else in the dining room? Did I make it in time for the cake?"

Emilie took a few steps toward her. "I'm sorry, Marinette, but everyone's gone. Adrien took the kids home."

Her face fell. "They already left?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "We waited as long as we could, but the kids were getting tired, and I..."

"No, no, it's fine. You made the right decision. It's way past their usual bedtime. I uh, I'm sorry I missed everything."

Emilie gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry about that, Marinette. We understand." A moment of silence passed before she addressed her daughter. "Annabelle, get the rest of your things ready for school tomorrow, and then head on up to bed. It's way past your bedtime too."