Butterfly

Here is the new chapter! I don't own this show, I just write about it for fun.


The woman leaned against the bars of Ladybug's cell. She could just make out the woman's brilliant jade green eyes. The black dress and matching black jacket she adorned made a perfect camouflage, she blended into the shadows as if she herself were the darkness. She glared at Ladybug and smiled smugly, taking in the superhero's true form. Even though she was Marinette in that moment, Ladybug's strong and confident exterior never faltered, despite feeling small and terrified on the inside. This woman had stripped her and Chat Noire of their identities, but that didn't mean that they weren't still heroes.

"Good to see that you're both awake," The woman remarked, as if completely disinterested. "You've both been asleep for two days."

"Two days?" Both teens asked in unison.

They had been lying in these cells for two days before they had woken up? Two days in a dark creepy prison, two days since their last fight, two days since freedom. What had become of Paris's famous crime stoppers? Kidnapped by a woman who was going to do who knew what to them. Ladybug's eyes scaled the woman's body, looking for any sign of where her akuma might be, but saw nothing.

"Yes, two days." The woman confirmed.

She had a bag slung over her shoulder. A large black bag with two front pockets. The bag looked full, but not heavy as the woman showed no sign of struggle. She set the bag on the floor and began to rummage through it, the contents making a rustling sound as they were jostled about. Chat Noir stared at the woman's hands anxiously, in fear that she might pull out a gun and shoot both of them. Or worse, just Ladybug. That was Chat's greatest fear, not being able to protect her. He knew that she was perfectly capable of doing things on her own, she had even saved his life quite a lot. But he still had this urge to protect her, he never wanted her to feel any pain, not ever. He guessed that that was what it meant to love someone, thinking about them before thinking about yourself.

The woman finally pulled out two sets of black jumpsuits from her bag and tossed them into the appropriate cages.

"I assume that you want fresh clothes after being stuck in these cells for two days." She stated, her expression still completely blank.

Ladybug picked up her jumper and examined the garment carefully. It was just a plain black jumper in a rather comfortable material, it felt like cotton. There were buttons down the front and a waistband that would have to be adjusted for her, as the garb was at least a size too large. She then looked down at her everyday clothes, which were dirty, disheveled, and reeked of sweat. As grateful as she was that her captor was considerate, she was suspicious of the woman's motives. She exposed them, she took their powers. That was an accomplishment, but why hadn't she just killed them?

Because she needs you. A tiny voice at the back of Ladybug's head screamed as she began to put the pieces together.

"You'd better get some rest tonight," The woman advised. "You both have busy days tomorrow."

Both teens stared at the woman curiously, heads tilted, brows furrowed. But the woman just picked her bag up off of the ground and began to sauter out, but then she stopped.

"Oh," She gasped, turning to face the young heroes again. "I nearly forgot about these."

She reached her hand into one of the two front pockets of her bag and pulled out two metallic looking objects. The woman examined each of the objects for a moment, and tossed one into each cell. Chat Noir caught his item first, turning it over in his palm. It was plastic and flimsy, if he tried to bend it then it would break in his hand. It was a shiny metallic silver colour in the shape of a peanut, with two eye holes, and a feeble string made out of some stretchy material. It was a mask. A cheap one, probably from a dollar store, but still a mask.

"I understand that you want your identities to stay secret," The woman informed them, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. "Even from one another."

Ladybug's eyes widened, she looked up from the gold piece of plastic in her hand, eyes wide with shock and confusion. Had their identities not been revealed? They had to be. Why else would she want to take their miraculouses? But then why would she give them masks and clothes? They were prisoners, but she wasn't treating them like prisoners. Ladybug opened her mouth to ask a question, but the woman was already walking away. The sound of her heels loudly clacking on the stones as she reached the doorway. She turned and looked at the teens one last time, specifically at Chat Noir. A grave, almost disappointed look crossed her face and a small dejected sigh escaped from her lips. The woman left the room, closing the big heavy door behind her. The room was dark and silent once again, especially now that the light from the hallway was gone. Ladybug looked back down at the mask in her hand, slowly twisting the cheap material in her palm. She pulled the string over her head and placed the gold mask in front of her face. She felt safer this way, more secure and confident.

"Ladybug?" Chat called, still staring down at the plastic mask in his hand. "Did you see an akuma on that woman?"

"No, I didn't." She replied, lying on her back with a hand behind her head.

"So she wasn't…" His voiced trailed off, shaking ever so slightly.

"No," Ladybug confirmed. "A non-akumatized victim kidnapped us and put us both in these cells."

"Two days," He thought out loud. "I wonder if Paris has noticed yet."

"My parents." Ladybug gasped, surely they had noticed that she was missing by now.

And Alya, sweet Alya was probably worried sick about her. The police might be out looking for a girl who was locked in a cage god knows where. Her parents might have closed the bakery to look for her, or mourn her loss. What if people noticed that she and Ladybug had gone missing at the exact same time, what if they had already put two and two together? And then there was Adrien. She smiled just thinking about him. They were friends now, and maybe something else too. Or maybe it was just her imagination. She wondered if he was worried about her too.

"You'll see them again." Chat Noir reassured her.

She took a breath, he was right. Her parents, and Alya, and Adrien. She would be with them again soon, she just needed to come up with a plan.

"What about you?" She asked timidly, realizing that she had never asked Chat about his parents.

"My father wouldn't even notice that I was missing." Chat remarked sadly.

"And your mom?" Ladybug questioned before she could stop herself, forgetting for a moment that it might be a touchy subject.

"I never knew her." He mumbled, suddenly feeling tired.

He kept looking at the mask in his hand, staring into the empty eye sockets, wondering what his next move should be. He could wear the mask, keep his identity hidden from whoever was holding him here and his Ladybug. Or he could be captive here as Adrien, no more secrets, no more masks. He would still be Chat Noir, but a different version of him.

"Hey, are we actually going to wear these things?" He wondered aloud.

"Already wearing mine." Ladybug answered, lifting her hand to feel the plastic covering her face.

He nodded, as if she could even see him nodding. He covered his face with a mask once again, hiding his identity from the world. He didn't feel sad to be keeping his identity a secret. It was probably stupid that he even thought that he could be Adrien here. There were too many risks. If the wrong people knew who Chat Noir was then it would put his friends in danger. He could never live with himself if anyone had gotten captured because he was reckless.

"I guess the cat isn't out of the bag then." Chat joked, trying his best to lighten the mood.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, she wanted to yell at him, tell him that this wasn't the time to be foolish, but he had a point. Whoever this woman was she wanted to keep their identities a secret. But neither teen could fathom why. She had kidnapped them, taken their miraculouses, left them in dingy cells to starve. She wouldn't have wasted any time destroying the two teenagers, who were both completely vulnerable. She wouldn't have cared about keeping their identities secret. Unless…

Ladybug whispered, her voice barely audible, but Chat still heard.

"They need us."


I didn't have a lot to do this weekend, so here's another chapter, I hope that you enjoyed it. I'll try to make the next one even better. It should be up in a few days.

See you next time!