Feldspar Part Two
Cat followed the screams as civilians came across Feldspar's path. Had he left them exposed? He'd wanted Marinette safe which had seemed like the most important thing, but now he wondered how many innocent people he put in harms way just to keep her out of it.
He returned to the park, but an eerie stillness overcame the grounds. No more shaking, and worse, no more screaming. Littered across the lawn were figures of stone, as if the statues from the Louvre had gone for a walk and been caught outdoors; statues of people running, a woman mid sweep to pick up her child, also now made of stone. It was haunting.
He followed the silent figures to the center of the park where he found Feldspar seated as if in meditation.
Above he caught movement and waited as Ladybug dropped down beside him.
"This is horrible." She took in the statues.
"It's okay M'lady, your magic will reset it. Let's put him on the rocks. Cataclysm!" His hand became a void of destructive power. He ran straight for Feldspar.
"No wait!" Ladybug yelled after him.
Feldspar moved like a landslide, one moment sturdy and immobile, the next crashing apart and reforming next to Cat. Feldspar threw a clod that reformed as crystals. A familiar string laced around Cat's center and yanked him off course. Cat protected his hand as he fell, saving the destruction for a better use than the bush he tumbled through.
Feldspar laughed. "Use that on me if you want. Release my akuma for all I care. But the moment you do, the cave I've stuck Luka in will collapse and crush him."
"He's using a hostage?" Ladybug stilled, then shouted, "Lucky charm!" A meditation pillow fell to her hands.
"I'm all for a little cat nap, but now doesn't seem like the right time."
"It means I have to see Master Fu. We can't take him out, not if he has someone trapped."
Cat nodded. He disintegrated the bush to release his power, then returned to his feet.
"Give up your miraculous, bring me Marinette and I'll free Luka." Feldspar rumbled.
Cat's ring beeped and lost a pad. "I have to get out of here."
"Meet me back here in half an hour. I'll see what Master Fu recommends."
Cat agreed, then ran off towards the roof he'd stashed Marinette on. He only had three paw pads left on his ring and he had to get Marinette down. He landed on the roof, right where he'd left her, but there was no one around.
"Marinette? Where are you?"
A shuffling sounded. "Over here!" she called.
Relieved, Cat skirted the edge of the roof and didn't ask why she was down on a ledge. He grabbed her, vaulted to the ground, and left her at a train entrance. "Sorry Princess, can't stay. Stay out of sight until this is all over." Last pad. He bolted, barely made it into an alley, and detransformed. He wasn't even sure where he was, but at least he'd gotten Marinette somewhere safe. He gave her a ten minute head start and then walked to the train. If his father knew he was out without his bodyguard, he'd be grounded for life.
Marinette skipped down the steps to the train terminal, then hid. Tikki was fast at work on a cookie, and Marinette didn't have to wait long to transform. It would be faster to travel as Ladybug than as herself.
She landed outside Master's building, hid and detransformed, then went up and let herself into his apartment. "Master Fu, Feldspar trapped a guy in a cave. He says it will collapse if we take his akuma. What do I do?"
"I take it your lucky charm sent you here," he stood up from the same meditation pillow that Marinette's charm had turned into. She nodded. "Then I have an idea." He motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. "The base of the power enhancer has many properties, but when you add a new ingredient it changes to create variations. I know just what to add." Master Fu held up a tiny grey hair. "An aye-aye hair."
"What is that?"
"A primate that taps trees to find hollows where insects live."
"I can use that to find the cave. Master you're a genius."
Master Fu bowed, then added the hair to a small dram of glowing power potion. He handed it to Tikki who made a face.
"I don't want to drink something with a hair in it."
"Please Tikki, I have to save Luka." Marinette begged. Tikki stuck out her tongue, but then downed the little vial of liquid and grimaced. She started to glow. Marinette transformed again, but couldn't see any difference. "Master, I'm not sure it worked."
"Trust me. Now go!"
Ladybug did as instructed and ran through his apartment like it was on fire. As soon as she could, she used her yoyo to soar across Paris. Once back at the statue park, she called Cat Noir on her yoyo. "Cat, come on come on. Cat! I'm back at the park. Meet me here ASAP."
"Anything for you Bug-a-boo." He paused. "Wait, was that a smile just now?"
Ladybug pinched her lips together."No of course not. You know I hate that name. Get here quick." She hung up and hung her head. Her stupid affection for him was going to be a problem. Oh well, she was in it now.
She approached where Feldspar had been, but there was no sign of his presence. "Well, here goes nothing." Marinette choose a cobbled bit of sidewalk and tapped the ground. Nothing happened. She tried a couple different spots, but more nothing.
"M'lady?" Cat sounded wary. She felt him land next to her.
"I'm trying to find the hollow parts."
"He could be hiding Luka anywhere," he said. She quickly explained the hint from Master Fu. "I see. In that case you need greater scope. Come with me."
Intrigued, she followed Cat all the way to an old quarry where exposed granite and rubble had been turned into a green landscape. He pat a massive slab of pure rock.
"Now what?"
He held his staff like a baseball bat. "Get ready to listen."
She put her hand against the stone. Cat swung hard. She closed her eyes as the staff connected. The sound was like a gunshot at first, but then it moved deeper, became softer. It wasn't the vibrations she could feel. It was the void that seemed off to their left.
"Wait. Do that again," she ordered. He obliged. There! In her glee her eyes popped open and she hugged Cat. "It's this way, come on!"
He seemed momentarily surprised, but recovered. They sprinted off, him a step behind as they covered half the city. They stopped, out of breath and she pointed to a spot in the middle of the Seine.
"Really? Under the river?" Cat shivered.
"Use your Cataclysm."
"If I do that it will flood the cave."
"I'll get him. Trust me."
"You know I do."
He used the staff to breath and dove deep. She followed right behind. With a silent signal she gave the go ahead. Cat's fist bubbled in dark orbs. He slammed it down and the earth beneath the Seine broke apart. Ladybug pushed forward, called her lucky charm and as she was sucked in she let her charm—in the form of a spotted inflatable raft— block the water. She spilled into the cave on a small wave and used the yoyo's light to see Luka. He was soaked, and sputtered as he stood up from the water that splashed in with her.
Ladybug took a moment to orient herself. "It's Luka, right? Are you okay?"
"Ladybug, yes. How do we get out of here? My friend Marinette was being targeted too. Is she okay?"
"She's fine. You're the main concern. You have to trust me, I'm going to get you out of here, but you'll have to hold your breath." He nodded. Ladybug wrapped her yoyo string around them both, then moved them to the back of the cave. "Ready? Here we go!" She threw her yoyo at the raft. It pierced straight through. As water rushed in, the string went tight. Ladybug held Luka as if her life depended on it, then a tremendous pull yanked them off their feet and into the dark.
Cat reeled in Ladybug and Luka like fish.
"You're the best catch of my life." Cat helped Ladybug to her feet. Luka stood on his own.
"We have to get Feldspar's akuma before he can take Luka again."
"In which case I make great bait. Hey Victor! Here I am!" Luka shouted at the city. The ground vibrated violently, knocking Ladybug into Cat. He held her and was surprised she didn't pull away.
An exposed dirt walkway morphed and grew, taking on the shape of Feldspar.
"Cat look, he can't form up from cement."
"Gotcha." Cat grabbed Luka and ran him up the stairs and into the middle of a four lane street.
"Give him to me!" Feldspar shot crystals. Cat and Luka dodged.
"Ladybug the stone around his neck, break it!" Luka called.
Ladybug flung her yoyo out through an onslaught of crystals. It missed. She spun off from the quartz spears. One grazed her shoulder. The suit remained intact, but she'd have a bruise. "Cat, a little help!"
Cat used his staff like a bat again, striking Feldspar's throwing arm. This time her yoyo connected. A small stone on Feldspar's chest shattered. Victor collapsed to his knees and melted down to his human self. The akuma flew free and Ladybug scooped it up.
"No more evil doing for you." She cleansed the butterfly and let it go, then called out her miraculous to reset the damage done. The crystals embedded in the street disappeared and a massive bubble splattered out from the Seine.
Cat pat Luka on the back. "Not bad in a fight this one." His ring beeped. "Oops, gotta go."
"Cat wait! Luka, we have to run. Thanks for your help." She ran after Cat and they both took off in the same direction.
"Two pads left M'lady. What's up?"
She landed. Cat followed.
"Thank you for trusting me. You didn't hesitate and I—"
Cat held a finger to her lips. "No need to thank me. You know I'm always here for you."
She kissed his cheek. He held his hand over the spot and looked at her like she'd sprouted a unicorn horn. She laughed. "Get going you silly kitty."
He gave her a lopsided grin and took off.
Ladybug rushed home and landed on the balcony as her earrings gave their last warning beep. She detransformed. "Oh Tikki, sorry. Let me get you some food."
"I'm okay." She bobbed a little sideways like she was drunk. Marinette had her perch in her hand and dug into the stash of goods she kept in the bedroom. "You did really well today."
"I had a lot of help. Rest up." Marinette waited for Tikki to be full and sleepy, then sat on her balcony and paced.
What Cat Noir said could be a coincidence. Friends needing specific things unique to their friendship wasn't so strange of a thing to say. Cat Noir and Adrien were like night and day when it came to their personalities. Cat was a flashy peacock, and Adrien was a reserved delicacy. One was refined and gentle, the other was flirtatious and overt. But her memory nagged at her, those small moments where Cat seemed to let down his guard, where he'd been gentle and kind. How much of his overconfidence was part of his persona as a hero? Was she any different?
As Ladybug she held a cool confidence and control, a leader, a fighter. As Marinette she took a step back unless a friend was being hurt, she bumbled through her day, and she had the most epic bad luck. But still, she was one in the same. What if Cat really was Adrien? Alya had said before she thought they looked alike.
Marinette's stomach hurt. It wasn't possible. She was overreacting because it had been too wise for Cat's usual mode, that's all.
Yeah, that was it.
Cat managed to sneak back inside through the bathroom window, detransformed, and showered off the feel of the Seine clinging to his skin. Ladybug was acting off lately. She'd hugged him, let him hold her, kissed his cheek… maybe Marinette wasn't wrong about Ladybug having a certain fondness for Cat, but it was trust, not love. He'd throw himself off a building for her—and he had.
Clean and still wired from the fight, he found Plagg lounging atop his dirty socks.
"So. Plagg."
"No I don't wanna."
"Come on. You're the one who's been bugging me about seeing her. I'm worried after what I said."
"I'm tired. There's not enough cheese in the world."
"I can get you a fresh baggette," Adrien offered. Plagg twitched. "And I can serve it with melted Camembert over thinly sliced pears and toasted almonds."
Plagg sat upright. "Fine, but if you really want to convince Marinette you're sincere then tell her something true. No, not who you really are. Yeesh. Just tell her how you really feel, okay? Now hurry up. I expect my Camembert to be aged at least three months and the almonds to be sliced, not slivered."
"You're always so picky. Come on." Adrien called to transform, then stood in his room as Cat Noir, hesitating.
Tell her how I really feel, he thought. It made his lungs hurt and his throat close up just thinking about it, but when he thought of Marinette dating Luka, his whole body tensed. Maybe Plagg was right.
He took to the skyline and went straight for Marinette's, his stomach churning at the thought of saying what he really felt. If he admitted he loved her it would feel like a betrayal to Ladybug. He couldn't love them both. The heat seemed to have driven Marinette to her balcony again. He paused on a nearby roof and watched her muttering to herself, and sometimes laughing. Upon closer inspection, he saw she was on her phone, texting with a friend. Time to stop lurking. He jumped down onto her balcony. She started and hid her phone, but grinned at him.
"I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
"After today I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine. Is something wrong?" She stood and focused in on his face. He turned away. He had to tell her, had to say it, but…
"Luka. He's a good guy. Are you going to see him again?"
Marinette hesitated. Then said, "Yeah, I think I will."
Cat nodded, feeling hopelessly too late.
"But," Marinette continued, "I want to see you again, too. You know that, right?"
"Of course Princess." He turned to face her and bowed. "I'm at your service."
"In that case, come on in. I have some studying to do, but you could help me?"
Funny enough he had the same studying to do, too, not that he told her. He joined her through the hatch and crouched on her bed. Marinette sat next to him and pulled out her history text book and offered him her over-sized cat pillow. When he leaned back against it, she joined him, their shoulders touching and their legs sprawled out comfortably. They wound up studying for an hour until Marinette fell asleep on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and dipped his head against hers. She smelled like the bakery, sweet and with a hint of cardamom. As much as he wanted to stay, he couldn't linger all night and carefully extracted himself from her warmth.
