Fifty: Roles Cast

Author's Note: An unusual akuma has trapped Chat and Carapace inside the movie the group had planned on taking Adrien to. Chat finds, though, that divining Hawkmoth's trap will take more than just reliving the plot.

As the travel pod rounded the edge of the drydock, revealing the dazzlingly striking shape of the Starship Enterprise, I tried to keep my inner fanboy in check. How many times growing up had I imagined myself aboard that vessel, sitting in that center seat and cruising through the universe on one adventure after another? Seeing the ship there, in whatever reality I was experiencing, was nearly a dream come true.

It was also a sobering reminder that we were dealing something so powerful, it was capable of fully rendering a two-dimensional film into a fully-immersive experience. We were going to have to be careful, but it didn't mean I couldn't appreciate the moment, either.

"Dude," Carapace laughed quietly, "your mouth is open."

"Sorry," I smiled back at him. "I'm a bit taken with how real this feels."

I pulled him back away from the window and toward the rear of the pod, eliciting a slight look of distaste from Mister Scott. Knowing how that character felt about the ship, it was a bit sacrilegious of me to not pay attention to his slow circuit around the ship. "Pause here for a moment, Scotty, if you can."

"Of course, sir," he said, smiling at the thought I would be back.

I turned back to Carapace and lowered my voice. "I've got a hunch we have to ride this to the end," I said. "Unless this goes completely off the rails. There are at least four spots in the movie where people get hurt," I added, seeing his eyes go wide. "We have to assume if we get caught in those situations, real harm could befall us."

Cap nodded. "All right. I've only seen this movie once," he said.

I looked back to Scotty, who was patiently keeping the pod hovering at the top edge of the saucer section. "After this, we dock and we go to the Bridge," I said. "Depending on how time passes in this realm, the ship launches twelve hours from now after a frantic push by the crew to get her ready."

"How long is that section of the movie?"

"Less than fifteen minutes," I said. "We'll know how time passes once we dock, I think."

"Okay," he said. "And you are Kirk?"

"I think so."

"Who am I?"

"That's a good question. Kirk arrives solo in the movie…" I paused, thoughtful for moment, and turned to Scotty. "Mister Scott, do you recognize my companion?"

Scotty smiled widely. "Sir, are ye pulling my leg?" He looked past me to Carapace. "Doctor, ye may wont t' check the Admiral over once we board," he said as he raised an eyebrow.

"No need," I laughed. "I thought with his… beard… he was a bit unrecognizable.

"Beard?" Carapace said.

"I'll explain later," I said, "but now we know you're McCoy, which makes sense given how close these two characters are."

I nodded to Scotty who continued our little tour of the exterior of the ship; we docked and followed him out into the massive cargo hold deep in the lower section of the Enterprise. He turned to me. "I need to get to Engineering," he said. "Can you find your way-"

"Absolutely," I smiled as I grabbed Carapace and walked a few more steps toward a pair of doors inset into a lighted tube.

The doors parted as we approached with a soft sighing noise, revealing an elevator-like compartment. I pulled Carapace in behind me, and the doors slid shut. "Did you see that out there?" he asked.

"I did," I said as my masked eyes roamed the interior of the carriage. Along the back wall was a lighted display of the ship and the various paths the turbolift could take. "Bridge," I said to the air.

Carapace looked at me as the lift smoothly accelerated. "Is this, like, an elevator?" he asked, eyes widening further.

"Sort of," I smiled as I used a clawtip to point out the little white dot that indicated our movement on the display. "Except it responds to voice commands and goes both horizontally and vertically."

"You know entirely too much about this universe," he said. "But I'm starting to see why you like it."

I laughed. "So, this is already a change," I said to him. "McCoy is supposed to arrive later."

"Great." Then he paused. "Who is McCoy again?"

"He's the chief medical officer for the ship," I said, "and one of Kirk's closest friends."

The lift started to slow, and then gently stopped; the doors sighed open and we walked out onto the circular Bridge – the main command center for the starship. I paused for a moment inside the alcove and took it all in, for it was exactly as it appeared onscreen. A massive viewscreen fronted the space, with technical consoles spiraling around the outer walls, broken only by the two turbolift alcoves. One step down from the deck was the Captain's Chair, and another step down was the rectangular helm and navigation console. The lower section was inside a protective railing that circled it save for two smaller sets of steps on the left and right.

I tried once more not to geek out, but I knew the space so intimately it was hard not to rush around and start pressing buttons – especially since all of the stations appeared to be active based on the data scrolling by on the tiny monitors. Instead, I managed to whisper, "Wow."

Contrary to what I was expecting, the characters that should have been on the Bridge were missing. Instead, I was greeted by members from our extended Team Miraculous. My eyes swept down to the center chair, which Pegasus had swiveled around to meet me; behind him, Ryuko was sitting at the navigator's station, and a confused looking King Monkey was perched atop the helm itself. Bunnix was leaning against one of the standing consoles, barely tall enough to reach it.

"Chat?" Pegasus asked bit quizzically. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it is," came a cackle from my left, and I turned to see Rena sitting at the communications station; Viperion was standing behind her. "Can't you see how he's barely keeping himself from running around in glee?"

I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore Rena. "Guys, how long have you been here?"

Rena looked to Pegasus. "Not long," she said. "That akuma scooped up most of us fairly quickly; some of us were more wiley than others," she smiled, "but in the end I think it managed to nail all of us."

I nodded. "We've been here less than fifteen," I said.

Rena's eyes went wide. "We got to the cinema a few minutes after you called—"

I gave her a look.

"—Ladybug," she corrected on the fly. "When we couldn't locate Cap," she said pointedly, "or you, for that matter, Ladybug called in the troops."

"And Ladybug?" I looked around my handful of teammates.

Bunnix spoke up. "Everyone is here save for her," she said, arms still folded. "Do you want me to open up a portal and take us all back? I'm still a bit rough around the edges, but I can probably land us a few moments before the akuma hits us."

"No," I said, "let's save that for a moment. In fact," I said to the wider members of the team, "for now, let's assume that we only have one shot to use our secret power and no way to recharge afterward. And if Hawkmoth is truly running the show, that could put us into a tough spot."

"But—" Bunnix started.

"No buts. We have plenty of other talents among us to get through this. I suspect we'll need to use our secret powers like my Cataclysm before we see the end credits, but until we have a better sense of what we're up against - what the rules of this universe are, for that matter, let's hold off as long as we can."

"Is this real?" Viperion asked. "Are we actually on the Enterprise?"

"We'd better assume it is, 'Rion," I said as I leaned against the railing. "Even if we're stuck inside some sort of mass hallucination, I fear injuries are possible… or worse."

King Monkey shifted slightly. "That's sobering."

"It is," I said. "But there is no other group I'd want around me," I said.

I was more wound up than I thought, for when the console next to Rena started beeping, I jumped and landed in a four-point perch atop the railing ringing the lower section of the Bridge. Rena smirked before searching the console for a moment; she located a blinking switch and looked at me.

"Go for it," I said as I slid off the railing to stand beside her.

Rena pressed the button.

The viewscreen went to static and then resolved into a high definition picture of the grinning Hawkmoth. "Ah, there you are," he said, smiling wider.

"Hawkmoth," I said coldly.

"Chat Noir. I'm not entirely responsible for where you find yourself – but it will suit my purposes."

"What have you done with Ladybug?" I asked as I stepped down to the Captain's Chair. "If you've hurt her in any way…"

"Or what?" he cackled. "You're not exactly in a position to make demands. However, I'll give you one chance to end this now. Hand over your Miraculous – all of them, not just the ring – and I'll ensure everyone is returned to Paris safely."

"No," I said.

"Too bad, but about what I expected," he smiled. "Then you might want to get to – what is it called now?" He laughed. "Well, science fiction isn't my strong suit."

The screen faded to black as an alarm sang out from Rena's console again, and she pressed another button. A panicked voice filled the Bridge. "Captain, we've got a problem with the transporter—"

A bolt of adrenaline hit me. "Pegasus, Viperion, Cap – with me. Now," I said as I vaulted over the railing surrounding the lower section of the Bridge and into the turbolift.

They leapt in behind me and the doors snapped shut. "Transporter, express," I said to the air. As the lift swiftly began to drop, accelerating as it moved, I immediately turned to Pegasus. "There's a transporter accident in progress," I explained. "Unless I miss my mark, Hawky has somehow been able to use this against Ladybug."

Pegasus went white as Cap looked at me. "What do you mean, 'accident,'" Cap asked.

"It's not good," Pegasus said. "Chat, without Markov I'm not sure how much help I can be."

"You're better at Physics than I am," I said as the lift shifted direction and started going horizontally. "I feel like you can puzzle out the console faster than I can. And with 'Rion's help, if we get it wrong…"

"I'll take good notes," the snake-themed hero said, putting a gloved hand on my shoulder. "If he's truly trapped Ladybug like that, we'll save her."

"I'm counting on it," I said as the lift barreled through the ship.