The Ninth Miracle

Chapter 1

"Uh, M'lady," Cat Noir uttered, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the vast, sterile corridor. The lights overhead were almost blinding. It felt like the fluorescence followed him no matter how many turns he took, no matter how hard he tried to escape the feeling of coldness that had begun to take root inside him. The hallways were neverending as he searched for someone, anyone, to tell him where he was and how he got there. "I don't think we're in Paris anymore."

"No shit." A man chuckled, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Cat Noir gasped before studying the man. His large muscles looked as if they were fighting to escape their bondage, which had taken the form of a tight brown turtleneck. He took in the rest of the stranger's appearance, from the purple tinge in his hair, down to his combat boots, then back up to the man's torso. Not that Cat Noir was staring or anything. Any man would have admired the way his biceps strained against the tight fabric.

His train of thought was cut off by a reply from the girl to his right. "And you are?" In the few seconds since the man had materialized, Cat Noir had almost forgotten she was there. Usually, it was hard to forget Ladybug's presence, her bright red suit visible from miles away, but the thought of her had escaped him. He looked down at her pigtails, still perfectly intact after the two superheroes had woken up from a seemingly deep sleep just moments ago.

Cat Noir had awoken to the feeling of Ladybug prodding his arm. Only after opening his eyes did he realize he was lying on the cold, tiled floor of an unfamiliar room. "Where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ladybug retorted as she circled the room, looking for anything, any clue to point to where they were. Still lying on the hard ground, Cat Noir tried to bring himself back to reality. He felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He was groggy, dazed. Cat Noir got to his feet, looking around the room before approaching the set of double doors embedded in the wall. As he drew closer, the doors opened with a sound of rushing air.

"Oh," Ladybug muttered, walking toward him. "I didn't think it would be that easy." He noticed a slight limp in his partner's step as she walked through the set of doors and into the bright hallway. What had happened to them? Cat Noir tried to recall what battle could have brought him here, but his mind was blank. By the look on Ladybug's face, she didn't have a clue either.

Which brought them here. The same strange man stood before them, towering over Ladybug and just a few inches taller than Cat Noir. "Are you going to answer my question?" Ladybug asked again after her first try of asking the man's name was met with silence.

"Nine," The mysterious man said, turning his back to them. "You can call me Nine. Come with me." Cat Noir followed, instinctually obedient in a way that, if he were more alert, would have surprised him.

"And why should we do that?" Ladybug retorted, ever cautious as she pulled Cat Noir's arm backward. Cat Noir stumbled for a moment before regaining his footing. She was right, he thought. Who was this guy anyway? He noticed Ladybug's upright posture, her stance ready for battle. The man could be an enemy, but, for some reason, Cat Noir felt no sense of danger.

"I'm not the one who brought you here," the man announced, turning to face them. The tone of his voice was reflected in his face—commanding and assertive, if not a bit tired. The exhaustion was apparent in his eyebags. "I'm taking you to Dr. Park. She'll fill you in. Everything will make sense soon enough."

"And who's-"

"Calm down, Ladybug," Cat Noir cut her off before she could escalate the situation. Her combative nature may have been useful against an akumatized villain, but they were dealing with something else entirely. The issue at hand wasn't whether or not they should trust Nine. The two were held captive, it seemed—they didn't have much of a choice but to follow the man blindly. Yet, for some reason, Cat Noir did not feel as if Nine were his captor. Looking at the back of the man's head, he felt a sense of security wash over him. There was something in the man's presence that almost commanded trust. "Let him take us to this Dr. Park."

Nine locked eyes with Cat Noir, giving him a small nod before turning around once more. He began to take long strides down the hallway, and the pair followed him, despite Ladybug's reservations. Cat Noir thought silently to himself as he walked. What kind of a name is Nine anyway? He assumed this question, like the many others circling his brain, would be answered by Dr. Park. Yet he wanted to hear the answer from Nine himself. The man must have a real name beyond just Nine, the same way he did behind the mask. But by the stern look on his face, Nine didn't seem open to any questions.

Nine sharply turned a corner, the two superheroes following closely behind him. The trio's footsteps were the only sound to be heard as they continued to walk through a sprawl of never-ending hallways. The feeling of security that Cat Noir had felt from Nine began to wear off. He started questioning why they had not seen a single person on the long walk to...where exactly? He was considering whether Ladybug's suspicions might not have been groundless when Nine abruptly stopped at another pair of white doors, this time a cyan string of light tracing the frame. Nine paused in front of a small black box embedded in the wall before a laser beam scanned his eye. The doors opened.