Title: Through Portals and Shadows

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

Marinette’s POV

The cool night air of Gotham bit at my skin as I stood alone on a rooftop, my gaze trailing the city’s jagged skyline. I couldn’t stop replaying the moment I’d fallen through the portal, the image of my former friends flashing through my mind—Alya’s coldness, Adrien’s silence, and Lila’s smirk as she turned them all against me.

I shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold. Everything still felt surreal. My team, my friends… they believed Lila’s lies so easily. How did things fall apart so quickly?

"I need to focus," I whispered to myself. I couldn’t let their betrayal break me. Not here. Not now. Damian’s harsh words from earlier still echoed in my head, reminding me that trust was a rare commodity in this world too. I had to be cautious.

"Hey!" Damian’s voice broke through the silence, and I turned to see him landing on the rooftop with ease, his cape billowing behind him like a shadow. His eyes narrowed as he approached, radiating irritation as always. "Are you just going to stand there and brood all night?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you really the one to lecture me on brooding?"

He stopped in his tracks, the slightest twitch of amusement at the corner of his lips before it disappeared. "Fair point." His tone softened just a little. "I need you to stay focused. Gotham isn’t a place for people to wallow in self-pity. You either survive or… you don’t."

I swallowed hard, pushing the emotions down. "I’m not wallowing. I just—" I paused. What am I doing here? I hadn’t even figured out a plan yet. "I need to find a way back. My world… Paris is in danger. I can’t stay here."

He studied me for a moment, his green eyes probing. "I don’t care about your world, but I don’t have time to babysit someone who’s lost. Either you figure out how to pull your weight or you stay out of my way."

Typical Damian. Still, his bluntness was oddly reassuring. I had been the leader back in Paris, responsible for my team and the city. I didn’t have the luxury to fall apart now, especially in a place as dangerous as Gotham.

I took a deep breath. "I’ll find my way," I said, though the truth was, I had no idea how. But I’d made it this far, and I wasn’t going to let anyone—Lila, my old team, or Damian—see me as weak.

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Damian’s POV

Why am I still dealing with this girl?

She was a complication I didn’t need right now. A walking liability with her bright red and black suit, ridiculous optimism, and the whole lost in another dimension sob story. And yet, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that there was something more to her.

Her stubbornness reminded me of someone, though I didn’t want to admit it. The way she stood tall, even when it was clear she was falling apart inside—she wasn’t useless. That much was clear. But I couldn’t waste time figuring out her mess when Gotham needed my attention.

Still, she intrigued me. Why did I get the sense that there was more to her than just some girl running away from her friends? What had happened to her in that other world, and why did she care so much about getting back?

I decided to keep an eye on her for now. Maybe she’d prove useful.

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Alya’s POV

We’d lost her. Again.

I couldn’t stop pacing the length of Marinette’s bedroom, the weight of guilt heavy on my chest. She had been my best friend for so long, and now… now I didn’t even recognize her.

How could she have turned on us like that? Keeping secrets, hiding her Miraculous, running away when we needed her most. Adrien sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the ground, still quiet like he’d been since Marinette disappeared.

"We should’ve caught her," I muttered, anger bubbling up inside me. "We should’ve been able to stop her. She can’t keep running like this."

Adrien finally looked up, his expression unreadable. "Maybe she didn’t have a choice," he said quietly, and his words caught me off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"I just… I don’t know." He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Something doesn’t feel right. Marinette wouldn’t just abandon everyone like this. What if… what if we were wrong?"

His words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I pushed them away. "Lila warned us about this. Marinette’s been keeping secrets for too long, and now she’s put us all in danger. We have to get her back before she does something worse."

But even as I said it, a part of me couldn’t shake the nagging doubt in my mind. What if Adrien was right?

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Adrien’s POV

I hated this.

Everything about it felt wrong—the way we were hunting Marinette, the way Alya and the others had turned against her so quickly. Lila had poisoned our minds, twisted everything, but I didn’t have the words to explain it.

Maybe I had been too harsh on Marinette. Maybe… no, I knew I had been. There had to be more to the story. I’d seen Marinette sacrifice too much for Paris to believe she would just turn on us. But I didn’t know how to fix this. Not yet.

"I’m going to find her," I said, standing up from the bed.

Alya blinked, surprised. "What? You don’t even know where she is!"

I didn’t answer. I just knew I couldn’t sit here any longer. Marinette needed me—whether she wanted my help or not.

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Lila’s POV

Good. Everything was going according to plan.

Marinette was gone, out of the picture, and the rest of the team was too busy running around in circles to notice what was really happening. I had them all wrapped around my finger—Alya’s blind loyalty, Adrien’s confusion, and the rest of them falling in line without question.

But I wasn’t done. Not yet. Marinette was still out there, somewhere, and until I had her Miraculous in my hands, I couldn’t rest. She thought she could escape me by jumping through a portal? Pathetic. She’d come crawling back soon enough.

And when she did, I’d be waiting.

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Marinette’s POV

Gotham was a maze of shadows and secrets, but I was starting to get used to it. The cold, distant city mirrored the way I felt inside—lost, disconnected, unsure of who to trust.

Damian had left me to figure things out on my own, which was fine by me. I didn’t need anyone’s help. I’d been Ladybug long enough to know how to handle myself. But every time I looked out over this new city, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of Paris pulling me back.

I had to get back. But for now, I had to survive here.

Taking a deep breath, I made a silent vow to myself: I won’t let them win. I’ll find my way home. And when I do, I’ll make sure they see the truth.

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End of Chapter 3: Shadows of the Past

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In this chapter, the tension deepens, showing how each character—Marinette, Damian, Alya, Adrien, and Lila—deals with the fallout of Marinette’s escape. Marinette starts to find her footing in Gotham, while back in Paris, doubts begin to grow, especially in Adrien, who feels torn between loyalty and suspicion.