Not You: A Miraculous Ladybug Tale

I can't escape you

"I'm pretty sure he hates me," Marinette sighed with relief at Mr. Agreste's absence. 

"He hates everyone. It's nothing personal," Adrien wore an indifferent expression. But hidden deep behind his eyes was old pain. It had always been obvious of Mr. Agreste's lack of interest in his own son. For that, Marinette pitied him a tiny bit. 

"Well, we have an akuma to catch, M'Lad...Marinette, I mean," his face reddened. 

"You can still call me M'Lady, you know." 

"Here," Adrien ignored her comment and handed her the Horse Miraculous. Marinette hesitated, feeling awkward by his awkwardness. 

"Thank you," she rushed inside the bathroom to transform. After saying the transformation words, she was still left with Marinette. Again and again. Escape. No matter what, she couldn't transform. Escape. Even with another Miraculous. She wa still Marinette. Escape. 

"It's not working," Marinette moaned, her hand pressed against her head. 

"Hey, it's okay. We'll figure something out," he patted her on the shoulder. 

"It's not! How am I supposed to fight when I have no power to get rid of the akuma?" 

"I can always Cataclysm it." 

"You shouldn't be doing this all by yourself. Maybe we could go to my house and grab the Miraculous Box. I'm sure one of the Miraculouses will work for me." 

"No!" He said quickly, "We don't want to lead Hawk Moth to the box." 

"Fine," she crossed her arms. 

........................................................................

Marinette climbed on Cat Noir's back as he lunged out of the window. She wore large sunglasses and a hat to hide her identity. That way, she could be with Cat Noir when he captured the akuma. 

She must admit, she liked being this close to him...to hear his heart beat. It was comforting to her. He seemed focused on tracking down the akumatized person more than anything else as his head jerked from side to side. He almost seemed paranoid. 

Just then, she spotted the "villain." It was wearing  a black full body suit and mask with blue glowing eyes. How strange. Usually the akumatized person had a bright colorful costume and almost always looked cartoony. This villain looked straight up creepy. 

To make matters worse, it was getting dark as the orange sun dipped behind the city's horizon. The final beams reflected off the surface of building tips, before fading into blackness. Unlike the previous nights, the stars and moon were shining bright. 

"Our job just got a million times harder," She said into his ear, as she tightened her grip around his chest to prevent herself from slipping off. She could feel him holding his breath for a second. 

"They will blend in with the night perfectly," He said, sounding as if he was trying to stay focused.  

"Why aren't they shooting the beams at us?" 

"Must not want to give their location away." 

Cat Noir lowered his pole and set Marinette down near a park bench. 

"Stay safe please," he said, his eyes looking determined. 

"Wait, where are you going?" 

"To end this." 

"Do just leave me!" 

"Without your Ladybug powers, you'll get hurt. So please stay safe! Just don't go home in case it follows you." 

And just like that he was off. Cat Noir was gone...Adrien was gone...

He was right though. Marinette was useless...no special powers and no strength. Her knees still hurt from her petty fall off the bus. Human weakness was alarming to her. If she was in Ladybug form when she took that fall, no harm would have come to her. 

She set herself down on the bench and began to think...

That was her problem. Always wishing her humanity away...her weakness...her insecurities...her fears. Instead of leveraging them to make her stronger, she ignored them and always desired to be Ladybug. Ladybug was perfect in her mind. She was the better side of her. 

Was it healthy to live in a constant state of never wanting to be yourself? In her mind, it was as if she was looking into a mirror. Even when she was perfection, she still saw flaws because even as Ladybug, she was still Marinette. 

She will never be around forever. One day Ladybug will give up the Miraculous Box. Then I'll be Marinette. I can't escape you. You're in my mind. You are me. When I see you in the mirror I think to myself ..not you, anyone but you. Escape. I can't escape.