Secrets and Lies

Old Partners

Marinette's POV

"And it looks like that should conclude this meeti-"

"Ok great gotta go!" I cut off Li as he was finishing talking to our group as I waved and ran out the door, leaving everyone else wide-eyed and confused.

"What's wrong Marinette?" Tiki peeked out of my purse, looking confused as I bolted towards the stairs.

"I've got to tell Chat about all this!" I reminded her as I rounded the corner and bolted up the stairs. I saw her little mouth form a small "oh" shape. "And I'm washing the dye out of my hair too." I added.

I didn't stop until I reached Alya and my room. Throwing open the door, I was relieved to see that it was empty as I quickly made my way into the bathroom.

"Why?" Tiki asked.

I turned on the faucet and quickly put my brown hair under the rushing water.

"There's no use anymore, they basically know who I am," I reminded her. "And this way I'll be recognizable as Paris's Ladybug."

Tiki shrugged. "Okay. I'll help so it goes faster!"

She flew towards my hair and helped me wash it quickly. It took about twenty minutes and most of a bottle of shampoo, but eventually almost all of the dye was out of my hair and the sink was stained brown. Satisfied, I stood up and squeezed out my hair.

"Now let's go find Chat!" I decided.

Tiki flew by my shoulder. "But your hair's still we-"

"Tiki! Spots on!" I shouted, and with a squeal she flew into my earrings. As soon as I was transformed I grinned, happy to be Ladybug again, and jumped out the bathroom window.

With a shout of joy I used my yo-yo to swing to the top of the hotel, where I landed with a small flip. Grinning, I used my yo-yo to call my partner.

I waited impatiently as it rang twice before going to his voicemail.

"Has the cat got your tongue? Leave a message!"

I sighed as I nervously played with my wet hair.

"Chat Noir- I need your help with something important! Please contact me soon." Closing my yo-yo I groaned as I kicked at the smooth roof of the hotel.

"What should I do Tiki?" I worried as I detransformed. "What if he doesn't get my message in time and then he can't show up tomorrow night and we fail! And then my family and I will all be captured and beheaded and I'll never get to marry Adrien! He'll die alone or marry Chloe or-"

"Marinette calm down!" Tiki said reassuringly as she flew up in front of me. "Everything will be fine, but only if you relax. No more spontaneous decisions."

"But that's my job as Ladybug! Make plans on the go. This is just so much more complicated than an akuma..."

Tiki hummed as she landed on my shoulder. "You should still improvise, Marinette. You just can't make up everything on the spot with something this big! This is way harder than just one akumatised villain."

I nodded in agreement. "You're right," I admitted. "So what should the plan be for tonight?"

"Well first of all, whether or not Chat Noir comes Ladybug is meeting Li's team by the palace gates at ten tomorrow night. So you should leave at 9:30 or earlier." Tiki started.

I slowly nodded.

"Then from there Li's team is going to have someone helping them get into the palace's West entrance." Tiki continued calmly reviewing Li's plan.