Holding Out for a Hero

Part 4

"Okay, don't panic. Don't panic." mumbled Marinette as she staggered to her feet. She turned about, trying to get a better grasp on her surroundings. It didn't do her much good. Where was she even at? Not at the pool, that was for certain. She couldn't tell though. Thick metal pipes overhead and metal storage shelves were pretty nondescript. Chat Noir's night vision would've been really helpful at the moment since it was so dark. The ability to turn into Ladybug would've been nice too. She should've transformed the moment the water started to act weird at the pool. Why had she let herself get distracted by Adrien? Marinette bit her lip. She hoped Adrien was alright. He'd hit the bleachers so hard.

Something fell over somewhere in the darkness. Marinette froze. She could feel her heart beating wildly against her chest.

"Hello?" Marinette called hesitantly. Her voice was just barely above a raised whisper. There was absolutely no answer. "Is... is anyone there? Hello?"

A line of blue light flared to life off to her left as some flipped on a light behind a door. Marinette cried out in surprise as she jumped backwards. With flawless grace, she tripped and fell straight back on the ground. Metal clanged on the concrete and the cold bit into her skin. "Who's there?" she tried again, but she wasn't so sure she really wanted an answer.

The door swung open with a whining creak. Wavemaster leaned against the frame, body blocking out the light and casting dark shadows across the ground. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared down at her. It was hard to tell in the darkness but Wavemaster looked almost triumphant. One thing was for certain though. He was watching Marinette like a hawk. His eyes never looked away from her. The Superhero in Marinette looked for the possessed object on Wavemaster's person. "It's not much but it's just a layover stop." Wavemaster told her with a familiar smile.

Marinette pulled herself up. She'd never had a conversation with an akuma while she was sitting on the ground and she wasn't about to start now! "Who are you?" she demanded.

Wavemaster scowled at her, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten. My name is Wavemaster, remember?"

"That wasn't what I meant." she muttered under her breath. Something told her that was the best she was going to get. At least he wasn't bragging about how he had Tikki or her Miraculous. If he'd had them then that probably would've been the first thing out of his mouth. That or he'd be gloating about how he'd managed to capture Ladybug. Chances were that her identity was still intact which was good. That didn't stop her heart from racing though. "Where am I and where is my friend? You know. The one you threw against a wall hard enough to knock out."

"You mean Adrien Agreste? That stuck up snob?" Wavemaster asked coldly. Marinette drew backwards a step. There was enough venom in his voice to kill someone. "He's not here. It's just you and I. Kinda nice if you ask me. What do you think?"

Marinette grit her teeth and balled her hands into fists at her sides. She wasn't going to dignify that with an answer. "Where am I?" she growled.

"Somewhere safe. I promise you that much." Wavemaster waved his hand through the air dismissively. He pushed himself away from the door and stepped into the room. Marinette squeaked in surprise as stopped right in front of her. Wavemaster ran his hand down her arm. He was absolutely freezing. That was the reason Marinette wanted to pull away from him. Yeah! That was it. Her clothes and skin were still wet from when he'd submerged her in water. She didn't need him trying to make her any colder. It wasn't like she was actually afraid of the fact that she was all alone with a strange teenaged guy without the one thing that made her feel like she could protect herself.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't going to find you here. I've gone through all the stops to protect you... protect us. Once I get their Miraculous for Hawkmoth we can get out of here."