It's an unusual feeling, the cool pressure of a gun barrel against your temple.
You know that at any moment your life can slip away, your heart stop pounding in your chest.
Marinette's breathing was already shortening, adrenaline making every nerve sizzle and burn. In stark contrast, the pistol in the masked man's hand felt icy.
Marinette knew a thing or two about wearing masks. They blurred your features, gave you a new identity, and could burden you with completely different responsibilities.
Marinette was burdened with considerable responsibilities.
One of said responsibilities, was protecting people from their darkest selves. Giving them a guiding light when they were lost.
The man holding a pistol to her forehead and hiding behind a black balaclava was most certainly lost.
Marinette made sure to keep her voice calm when she addressed him. "Why do you intend to shoot me Monsieur?"
The man's hand shook but didn't recede into the shadows of his jacket. His voice sounded raw, "B-because you remind me of everything I hate. The… person who ruined my life."
Marinette closed her eyes in thought. "I see." She turned around so the barrel was trained right between her eyes. She met the stranger's gaze. "Then shoot me."
The man gaped, "What?"
Her voice remained steady, "go ahead and kill me."
His finger pressed down on the trigger and Marinette Dupain-Cheng sucked in one last breath of air.
Before disarming him in one smooth and practiced movement, snapping back his wrist and catching the pistol in a her hand.
He moved into a standard defensive position, eyes narrowing hatefully, "I can still kill you little girl. I'm still more powerful than you."
Marinette sighed. "Get over it already."
She decided to leave his unconscious form slumped against a brick wall before leaving for home.
Walking down the moonlit street, she tucked the handgun in her pink purse, right beside her kwami.
Said kwami raised depthless blue eyes. "Shouldn't you have the police pick him up?"
Marinette smiled, hearing Tikki's sweet voice was such a relief. Sure she had near death experiences regularly, but that was in magical spandex and bearing a different name. Every muscle in her body felt tense, and adrenaline pumped her veins with heat.
She pulled out her cellphone, "Good thinking Tikki."