Princess Justice - A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic

Chapter 9 - Trapped

Cat Noir looked at her, clearly stunned and taken aback for words. He couldn't believe that she was there the entire time; none of them knew about her appearance. They didn't know where she was at all. He needed to get out of the ribbons; he needed to warn the others they were falling into a surely planned trap. But, the only thing he could do in the meantime was to distract Princess Justice, and hopefully get more information about the plan she planned to act on.

"How did you listen to us the entire time without making a single sound? No one heard you."

"You guys were so absorbed into the plan that any efforts were hardly made on my part."

"You seem...so experienced. In fighting. Being stealthy. How?"

"Looks can be deceiving, you should know better than anyone."

"Me...?"

"Well, yes. Having to pretend you care about someone, helping them out, for the sake of justice. When, in reality, you want to impress and swoon your...lady."

Cat Noir looked at her in shock. Did she really feel like that? Like he was so infatuated with Ladybug, he would help her out just to get a chance to impress her? That's not true, not at all his intentions or reasons. He had to get her to believe that; maybe one last attempt could get her to give up her evil powers; to help fix everything.

"That's not the reason I want to help out! I want to help you, not impress Ladybug. I want Lila to be shown for what she truly is!"

Princess Justice wanted to roll her eyes, but she kept on the appearance as a poor, misguided soul in love with the hero she could never have. She needed to twist his perspective, his feelings towards her. Otherwise, the plan would never work; she couldn't get everything she wanted, needed as the outcome of all of this. She needs to keep acting, keep twisting and questioning the truth. She quickly embraced the persona, with her dull, broken eyes and slumped posture. Her lip trembled, as though tears were about to come out her covered eyes. Perfect. 

"And you're absolutely sure you're not lying to me? To get my akuma? To be able to win this?"

She seethed, her words clearly filled to the brim with anger, pain, and hurtfulness. It was a voice Cat Noir had never heard Marinette speak once in her life. He never bothered to see her point of view, her way of things. Things must be way worse to her than Cat Noir had realized it to be. He felt guilty. He was supposed to be Marinette's friend, a close one at that.

"I would never lie to you...I'm sorry if what I said earlier came off the wrong way. My intentions are solely to help you, I swear."

"Right."

She said flatly. It became clear that she didn't believe his words at all. That he was doing this for the purpose of impressing his lady. Cat Noir looked around, not knowing what else to say to assure her that he only wanted to help her. He already pleaded, which was the only thing he option he knew was left. Once she saw that he looked guilty, she gave a big smirk on the inside, feeling powerful as she relished the fact that she accomplished her next step. She quickly made haste to look at him hesitantly, as though not sure what to believe anymore.

She took a deep breath and looked at him as she took one more step in front of him. His expression remains the same, shocked and guilty. She took his hand, the one with the ring. He looked at her with the same expression before realizing what she was about to do. He began to thrash wildly, begging her to not make him use his power, to do the right thing. She looked at him with blindfolded eyes, until...they weren't blindfolded anymore.

She slowly took off her white blindfold, with its tough, high quality, magical blindfold which did its job in covering her eyes. She took the blindfold off after untying the seams, and slowly took it with her glove, and gave it to Cat Noir; as an offering. A decision. He looked at her, clearly stunned and lost for words. Slowly, his eyes gave way to the surefire eyes that she looked at every day for months now. As he was about to yell out his power of destruction, a noise was made.

A rope was tightened around Princess Justice's waist. Viperion's musical object had one hand in a tight grip, and Pigella had the other. Princess Justice struggled, and the noise in the room faded. Cat Noirs cries to stop, fade. The grunts and yells of the battle faded. Princess Justice smiled on the inside; a slight alteration in plans but it would still work nonetheless. When they tore up the blindfold, Hawkmoth's cries of NO ringed inside Princess Justice's head.

She quickly yanked on her powers in her mind, refusing to let them go as she violently convulsed. The heroes quickly got off her as the ribbons disintegrated and Cat Noir quickly kneeled towards her. She was shaking really badly, muttering incoherent words as the heroes looked at them in complete and utter disbelief and confusion. Why was she shaking? That never at all happened before.

Cat Noir quickly told the others to give him the blindfold as he yelled out his power, and quickly destroyed the ribbon to ashes, as though that would help. The akuma was also acting weird, shaking and flying up and down until it finally went straight at Marinette, its wings beating against some invisible force. As the heroes quickly tried to capture the butterfly, Cat Noir had this horrible feeling tug at his heart. As a question popped into his mind, he asked it with dread.

"Why..why didn't she make any attempt to fight back...?"

The hesitant tone in his voice made them look at him in shock, comprehension dawning on their faces as the akuma finally came to Marinette-

And went straight to her heart.