Under the Mask : A Miraculous Fanfiction

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

Ladybug woke up shivering and damp. Her first thought was that she had fallen asleep while sketching on her balcony and had gotten caught in a light shower, but the ground underneath her was hard and cold, completely different from her comfortable deck lounge. There was also someone sleeping beside her.

Was it Jacques? No, the arms wrapped around her middle were muscular and toned, completely different from the thin, freckled arms of her casual boyfriend. She opened her eyes cautiously and looked around. The room was all high walls and concrete, and the various gadgets and monitors dominating the walls made it look like a cross between Dr. Frankenstein's Lab and a high-tech news station. It also looked like it had been hit by an indoor typhoon. The furniture was smashed, soaking wet and scattered around the room at haphazard angles. Burn marks covered the wall, following a trail that led to a giant tank, similar to the kind she had seen at the aquarium. The glass at the front of the tank had been obliterated – and was no doubt where all the water had come from.

A large coil of rope was lying close by, its ends completely shredded as if a wild animal had torn at it. Perhaps it had been used to tie something or someone up? But if that was the case, who had been tied up, and who had let all the water out?

Two hours earlier....

"Haha, I finally have you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Lightning crackled dramatically behind the Weather Wizard – and why wouldn't it, his akumatization gave him control over the elements.

The Weather Wizard pointed toward the bound and gagged Ladybug, imprisoned in a large tank rapidly filling with water.

"If you don't hand over your Miraculous, Ladybug will soon be taking a swim!"

Just my luck, Chat Noir thought, taking in the evil lair. Hawkmoth had to akumatize an irritated weatherman and give him the power to control the daily forecast however he pleased.

This was the first time he'd been home in the last five years, and he'd barely had time to rest from his flight before there'd been an akuma sighting on the local news. They'd even asked Nadja Chamack to cover the story – even though she had retired from reporting- since it had been so many years since an akuma had attacked the city, and she had the most expertise.

Truth be told, Chat was feeling a little rusty himself, and barely dodged out of the way when the Weather Wizard hurled a bolt of lightning in his direction.

"Are you even listening to me, Chat Noir?" Weather Wizard demanded, "Your partner doesn't have much longer for you to make your decision!"

Chat glanced over at the tank. The water was up to Ladybug's middle and rising fast.

"What makes you think I'll give you my ring if you kill my partner?" Chat bluffed, feigning nonchalance. The Weather Wizard cackled.

"You can either give me your Miraculous freely, or I'll roast you and drown your partner." He said maliciously. "Hawkmoth just wants your jewelry, he doesn't care what condition you're in afterwards."

Ladybug's tank was getting dangerously full. He would have to get her out in the next two minutes and he didn't even have a plan. Ladybug had always come up with the plans, he thought despondently, I was more or less the attractive sidekick.

Despite his anxiety he winked in her direction, trying to look as cheerful as possible.

"Well, you'll have to do your best to roast me. Don't worry though milady, I'm paw-sitive I'll still have eight lives left."

It wasn't his best joke, but it made him feel a little better when she rolled her eyes. Silly Kitty, her eyes seemed to say. Weather Wizard laughed again.