𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞

Part 5

Marinette was not panicking.

Nope, no ma'am. It wasn't like there was a very very deep gash along her side. Oh no, she wasn't losing that much blood.

Oh kwamii, what had she gotten herself into this time?

So, rewind to a couple of hours ago.

Marinette had just closed up her boutique for the day. Tired as she was, she was feeling rather productive. Turning to find her companion, she asked,

"Tikki, would it be wise of me to go on patrol again, tonight?"

To which Tikki replied, "If you feel like it Marinette! Though, we do need to determine the source of the Lazarus pit's dark aura around the city."

"Alright then, tell Plagg we're leaving in 5."

Going upstairs, she waited by the window for the two kwamii to show up.

"Alrighty, " Said Plagg, gulping down one last piece of cheese. "Let's make this quick. I have an appointment with another wheel of camembert later. "

Softly chuckling while Tikki slapped Plagg upside the head, she opened the window.

"You guys done?"

With nods from the both of them, she checked to see if the ring was still on the chain around her neck before saying, "Spots on."

She could feel the gentle caress of the night's breeze. There was always such a peacefulness to running around this high up, jumping and occasionally, swinging from one roof to another. She loved it. The thrill of it all just gave her a sense of calmness. Something to ground her in the here and now.

It felt weird, to be here. Enjoying herself. Never mind that she was still making sure all was normal. Maybe she should make a visit to her kitty soon. Kwamii knows it's been so long.

Deep in her thoughts, she almost didn't hear the call of help coming from the alleyway below her.

Stopping on the rooftop above, she crouched low, edging her way to the side, trying to assess the situation. She wasn't dumb enough to go in blindly just because someone had desperately called for help. It could've been a trap for all she knew.

This was Gotham they were talking about.

But before she could do anything, she felt a presence behind her. She whipped around, immediately rising from her crouching position.

However, she was but a few seconds too late to realise that there was something wrong with the air.

Hallucination gas

Should've known!

She could barely register the press of the knife piercing her side just below her heart.

Her attacker seemed to underestimate her strength after giving them blow. True, it could've proven fatal. Fortunately, she had a bit of an experience of getting wounds like this during her time in Tibet. She braced herself for the pain she knew she would feel and kicked around blindly in an attempt to buy some time and swung away with her yo-yo. Her free hand used to put pressure on the wound.

As she was swinging, the only coherent thought she could form was that she really needed to call for help.

Ladybug was exhausted. She landed on a roof and stopped, bending on her knees to catch her breath. She winced when her action put more strain on the stab wound.

Just a little bit further.

Preparing herself, she stumbled slightly before continuing on her way.

Thoughts muddled from the blood she was loosing, she didn't stop to assess her surroundings before she realised she was on her knees, a random building nearby.

She focused on her breathing. Trying her hardest to avoid passing out. That wouldn't be too good.

Unfortunately, she was loosing too much blood and getting weak.

Blacking out, the last thing she saw in her blurry vision was a man running up to her.