Breaking news! Chat Noir, a Murderer? Who is the Mysterious Copycat?
This morning, police stumbled across a horrifying crime scene where a body that looked like Chat Noir, or rather, the criminal Copycat, was found dead. Police suspect that the number one thief is the culprit of this terrible crime. We know this for a fact thanks to a bloody paw print that was left at the scene. Judging from the crime scene, it looks like there had been a scuffle of some kind before Chat Noir stabbed him with a knife.
What was the reason for this crime? Is it because Chat Noir disliked the fact that someone was using his name? Right now, there is no sign of the thief, but detectives are working hard to solve this murder. Who really was Copycat, and why was he killed?
Stay tuned to find out the truth behind this shocking crime!
"I messed up," Chat Noir sighed exasperatedly as he lounged in the battered armchair in the lobby of Motel L'Akuma.
He unwrapped a piece of chocolate - he'd snagged it from Master Fu's complimentary bowl of sweets - with his long, slender fingers. He hadn't taken up Marinette's offer to stay and indulge in desserts at her bakery, so chocolate would have to do for now, even though it could never compare to the fresh-out-of-the-oven, mouth-watering treats from her bakery. He popped the chocolate into his mouth, then almost spat it out again, shaking his head in disgust. Dark chocolate. He despised dark chocolate. It was too bitter, a feeling he'd become rather well-acquainted with recently.
After saying goodbye to Marinette, he had decided to pay Master Fu a visit - he hadn't felt like going back to the Agreste mansion just yet. He had came up with some stupid excuse to avoid hanging out at her place no matter how much he had wanted to stay, because he didn't trust himself if he was left alone with her.
He covered his face, which was now freed of blood after he'd washed it over and over in the guest restroom, with one arm.
"It's not like you to mess up, Chat Noir," Master Fu commented softly. The motel receptionist gazed kindly at the thief, knowing how much this was hurting him.
"I know," Chat Noir, also known as popular model Adrien Agreste, agreed with another frustrated sigh. He absentmindedly played with one of the curved claws attached to his glove as he continued, "I started talking to her as Adrien. I didn't expect anything would happen from it, but I had to save her as Adrien tonight because I didn't have time to change into Chat Noir. It won't take long for her to start getting ideas that we're the same person...and you know what she said? She told me that she wasn't scared of me, when she damn well should be." He muttered this all under one breath, shaking his head disapprovingly.
But still, he was unable to forget the kindness that sparkled in her eyes when she insisted that he was her friend. Why was she so damn pure and innocent? She didn't have to be so selfless, or to always look out for others - even when they'd encountered Copycat, she had begged for him to run while she bought time for him. She had offered to sacrifice herself when it should've been the other way around. But she did, and somehow, she saw good in him despite how rotten of a person he was.
Master Fu's eyes twinkled knowingly. "That just shows that she truly loves you, if she's ready to accept you no matter what. She's not the type of girl to give up easily, even if she's already risked so much. It's probably not my place to say this, but...You know, she was crying that night, when you sent her away with that artist friend of hers. You really should consider giving her a chance, Chat Noir."
"Tch. I'm not taking advice from some boring old man. What do you know about love, anyway?" Chat Noir scoffed half-jokingly, but he couldn't get rid of the foul taste in his mouth when he heard that he had been the one to make her cry.
"Well, this 'boring old man' knows far more than you'd think." Master Fu winked at the thief good-naturedly. He had long become used to Chat Noir's scathing comments and didn't mind them one bit. "As they say, 'old men are wise for a reason'."
The model-turned-thief raised an eyebrow questioningly, not buying the other man's words. "Is there really a saying that goes like that? You're just making things up now, aren't you?"
Suddenly, the phone that Chat Noir kept in his suit's hidden pocket buzzed loudly, making him frown thoughtfully. It was past midnight. Who would contact him at this hour of night?
He fished his phone out of his pocket, realizing that it was the one he used as Adrien that had rung (he kept a separate one for Chat Noir). The screen was lit up with about twenty missed messages from one Lila Rossi. He wasn't exactly friends with her, like he had explained to Marinette. In the world of celebrities, a star wouldn't work with someone because they were friends. They'd work together only to take advantage of each other, and that was exactly what his relationship with Lila was like.
But...whatever reason she had for sending a dozen messages in the middle of the night, it probably wasn't good.
Adrien, are you there? Did you see the news?
OMG, they're saying that Chat Noir killed Copycat! They just released an article on it!
Chat Noir froze as he scanned the messages, an uneasiness settling in the pit of his stomach as each message became worse and worse.
"What's wrong?" Master Fu asked when he felt the temperature suddenly drop, making the room feel much chillier.
In response to Master Fu's question, Chat Noir wordlessly pulled up a news article on his phone, then chucked it across the room at the receptionist. Master Fu only barely managed to catch it, awkwardly juggling the phone between his hands before finally securing it. Then he quickly began to read. "They're saying that you're Copycat's killer?" he repeated in disbelief, glancing up at the thief when he was done.
Chat Noir nodded. "Yup, that's what they're saying."
"Even though you've never killed an enemy before, right?" Master Fu demanded, walking over to Chat Noir to hand him the phone.
"Apparently they found a bloody paw print at the scene. This means that someone was trying to frame me." He shrugged, not sounding too concerned about his current predicament. In fact, he felt more annoyed than worried. Someone was messing with his plans, and he didn't like it.
Copycat was dead? To say that that was surprising was an understatement. He had definitely left the criminal alive after their little brawl...Who could've killed him in the short time since he and Marinette had left the scene? And why would they frame him for the murder?
Actually, he had a very good idea as to who would frame him. There was only one person who despised him enough to want to see him locked behind bars...A cheshire grin spread across his lips. If this was the game that his archenemy was going to play, then he would play along to entertain him.
The police wanted evidence to capture the culprit, right? Then evidence they would get. Even better, he would present it to them on a silver platter, to show them - not just them, but the world - that the mastermind behind everything was Hawk Moth.
But there was something he had to do first. Knowing Marinette, the budding fashion designer would only be too eager to help prove his innocence in the Copycat case. But he couldn't bring himself to get her involved. He'd only barely managed to convince Hawk Moth that she had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't have his enemy getting any more ideas if she became entangled in this case.
He let out a long sigh. No matter how hard he tried to push her away, he was still drawn to her and somehow always ended up by her side, whether he was protecting her as Chat Noir or hanging out with her as Adrien.
Damn it. Maybe he was a fool, but he couldn't help it. No matter how much he hated to admit it, Master Fu was right.
Marinette's eyes bulged in disbelief as she read the news the next morning. Copycat was dead - and he was killed by Chat Noir!? But that couldn't be possible! After all, he had been very alive (well, he had been unconscious, but still) when she and Adrien had left him in that dark alley. She knew Adrien had only hurt him enough to get his message across, and that there was no way sweet, caring Adrien could've been the one who inflicted a life-threatening wound on him.
Not to mention that she knew that Chat Noir would never kill someone. Despite the fact that he was a thief, he only went for valuable items in his heists and had never killed anyone before. He'd even kept his promise to her, which showed that he could care about someone if he wanted to. Why would he change his ways now?
And besides, unless her memory proved her wrong, a paw print had definitely not appeared at the scene when the two had last seen Copycat. But the article couldn't have been mistaken, for it clearly stated that a bloody paw print had been discovered there.
And now that she studied the paw print in the photo carefully, she noticed that there was something odd about it. She had gazed dreamily at Chat Noir's signature paw print so many times that she'd memorized its design by heart. But this paw print was different. It almost felt...out-of-place compared to his usual signatures. It had been drawn shakily, almost as though...almost as though...
Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Someone else must've hastily placed it there.
Was someone trying to frame Chat Noir for the crime...?
"This doesn't make sense," she said out loud, glaring at her phone. How dare it accused Chat Noir of being a killer!
"What doesn't make sense?" a sly voice called unexpectedly from somewhere above her.
She started, nearly jumping out of her skin in surprise. She quickly glanced up towards the ceiling in an attempt to identify the source of the voice, and her mouth dropped to the floor at the sight that greeted her.
Chat Noir's head was popping out from the trap door on the ceiling. Wait a minute...Chat Noir's head? What was his head, or any part of him, really, even doing here!? She wasn't seeing things, was she?
She rubbed her eyes and stared again. Nope, his head was still there, looking more amused than ever.
"C-Cha - " she began, but he moved faster than a bullet. Before she could utter his name, he had slinked to her side and clamped her mouth shut with one of his clawed gloves.
"I'm a wanted man right now," he reminded her conspiringly, winking at her as he spoke. "You don't want to give me away by saying my name, do you?"
Marinette could only wordlessly shake her head in response. Even if she could speak, she didn't think she could trust her mouth to form a coherent sentence at that moment - her brain had turned to mush at the sound of his deep, alluring voice. Satisfied with her response, he released his grip on her and leaned back against her pink bedroom wall casually. "That's a good girl."
She opened her mouth, but she could only gap at him in shock. In her mind, she had planned so many things she wanted to talk to him about - not to mention the million questions she longed to ask him - the next time they would meet. But it was funny how, despite everything she wanted to say, she found herself completely tongue-tied as she gawked at his handsome features.
Thankfully, her brain started functioning again. "W-What are you doing here?" she finally managed to whisper, taking extra care to keep her voice down this time. Her parents were probably already starting the day downstairs, and she didn't want to alert them to Chat Noir's presence. Her heart was still racing from his sudden appearance. She hadn't expected to see him at all, especially so early in the morning. And not to mention that he was here, in her room, no less! This wasn't a dream, was it? She pinched her cheek, wincing as she felt a stab of pain. Nope, she definitely wasn't dreaming.
Suddenly, her mind began to panic again. Her room was clean, right? Had she left anything embarrassing out? She discretely scanned her room with her eyes, freezing when her gaze fell on a poster of Adrien advertising his newest fragrance (Radiant. Carefree. Dreamy. She could recite the exact words by heart.) plastered innocently to the wall by her writing desk. She'd hung it up after becoming his fan - er, friend. She meant friend!
Crap. She could only hope that Chat Noir hadn't noticed it. But knowing that he was a thief, and considering the fact that thieves were especially aware of their surroundings, he probably already had.
She coughed nervously to hide her embarrassment when she realized that Chat Noir was still patiently waiting for her to continue, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Isn't it too dangerous for you to be out here, especially at this time of day?"
"Don't forget I'm a thief," he said by way of an explanation. He wasn't concerned with the police catching him yet. They hadn't even so much as caught a single hair of his since he'd become a thief. He knew every nook and cranny of Paris by heart, after all. He could escape no matter what situation he found himself in. "I came to give you a little warning, that's all. I take it you've heard the news?" he questioned, getting straight to the point.
"Yes, I heard. What was that about, anyway?" Marinette couldn't help asking, making a face at the unpleasant news. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him in so long, but when she finally did, it was because he had become entangled in a murder case. It wasn't fair that she never had a chance to spend time alone with him, just the two of them - with no one out to kidnap her, or to hunt him down... "That's what I meant earlier when I said that it doesn't make sense. You couldn't have killed him, right?"
He danced over to her side, scooping up a lock of her dark-colored hair (she'd let it down when she slept) in his right hand and placing a kiss on it. "Here's a question for ya, little lady. What would you do...if I was a killer? Would you still want me to be in your room with you...alone?" he accentuated the last word, his eyes glinting dangerously.
Her cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red despite herself. He was close, too close. But she found that she didn't mind it, not one bit. "It's funny that you'd ask. I know you would never kill anyone," she declared, craning her head so she could meet his gaze evenly.
"You say you know that for sure, eh? But you still don't know so much about me, like who I really am. What would you do if I'm really a killer?" He asked, leaning even closer to her so he could whisper into her ear.
She sucked in a breath. He was still a mystery to her, that much was true. But she did know, without a doubt, that she had complete faith in him. "You're not," she insisted. "If you were, I wouldn't be here now. You could've killed me when I was a child, but you didn't hurt me at all. Not to mention that you kept your promise to protect me, even after all those years. So, I know you're not." She gave him a triumphant grin, and he let out a sigh of defeat.
"I'm no match for you," he muttered to himself. He had acted harshly to convince her to give up on him, but even then, she shot down his words without batting an eye. She was too trusting, but maybe that was why he was so drawn to her. "Anyways, back to business. I came here to warn you to not get involved in the case."
She opened her mouth to argue, but one piercing look from his mesmerizing emerald eyes was enough to make her fall silent. "It's too dangerous. Hawk Moth may have given up on using you to get to me, but if you haven't noticed, he's changed tactics this time. If he gets wind of the fact that you're involved, that would pique his interest in you all over again. That means that all my hard work in keeping you away from me would've been for nothing. You see what I mean, little lady?" He asked, reverting back to using the old nickname he had for her.
She desperately wanted to help him, to do something, anything, to repay him for all the times he had protected her. But he did have a point. She nodded reluctantly. "Why - why did you come?"
"I would've asked Master Fu to deliver the message to you, but I figured considering how stubborn you are, you'll probably ignore his warning and insist on getting involved anyway. So, to spare the messenger, I came to tell you myself," he explained.
She couldn't argue with that, because what he had deduced was true. She had been trying to figure out how she could prove his innocence. Even now, despite him warning her not to get involved, she was still deciding what she could do for him...
Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her, as though he could read her mind. "Don't go getting any ideas now. I'm a thief. I'll be fine. If anything happens to you..." he trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say that he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. "Besides, I have a plan, so don't worry about me. You should worry more about yourself for once, little lady." He flicked her forehead with his fingers. Marinette made a face at the contact and hid her head behind her hands.
"Ouch! What was that for?" she complained, pouting at him. She was torn between believing in him, but also wanting to help him. Why did everything have to be so complicated?
"That was for letting those guy friends of yours get away while you stayed to fend for yourself," he tutted disapprovingly, referring to when she'd tried to get Adrien and Nathaniel to run away in her place. "How reckless are you?"
She ducked her head sheepishly. "You - how did you know about that?"
"A thief always has the means to get what he wants," he responded mysteriously.
She was touched that he cared about her wellbeing, even if he was trying to deny it. She longed to ask him why he had come to speak to her now, after he had done everything to prove to Hawk Moth that they didn't know each other. But she had a feeling that if she broached the subject to him, he would leave her for good and never come back again. And she knew she would never want that.
For now, she was just happy that he was speaking to her again instead of avoiding her like the plague.
"I'll - I'll be more careful next time," she mumbled.
He nodded in satisfaction, reaching out an arm to ruffle her hair. "You'd better."
"You be careful, too," she begged. It frustrated her to no end that he was in even more danger now, how unfair it was for him to be risking his life so much when she couldn't do anything for him.
His gaze softened. "I told you, I'll be fine. Well, then - "
He was just about to leave when a meow sounded from next to them. The two turned towards the sounds to see that Plagg had leapt onto her bed and was sniffing the thief curiously. "Hmm? When'd you get a cat?" he asked. He sounded almost too innocent, like he knew something that she didn't.
"This is Plagg. My friend gave him to me. Isn't he cute?" Marinette explained, her eyes shining as Chat Noir gingerly held out his hand for the little kitten to inspect. She couldn't help think that it was rather endearing to witness Paris's most notorious cat burglar playing with an adorable kitten. She giggled at the sight in front of her.
Now that she thought about it, Plagg did resemble Chat Noir - they were both clad in black, and had shining green eyes. She vaguely remembered Adrien mentioning that the cat had reminded him of a certain someone. Maybe he really had meant Chat Noir when he had said that?
To her surprise, Plagg began to purr, snuggling happily against Chat Noir's hand. The kitten wasn't fazed at all by the sharp blades protruding from the thief's fingertips. She was shocked at how quickly Plagg had taken a liking to him, almost like they already knew each other. But that couldn't be possible, right?
"You'd better take good care of her, you hear me, Plagg?" Chat Noir ordered the kitten. "Otherwise, there would be no more Camembert for you."
The kitten mewled in protest at the thief's ultimatum, while Marinette frowned. "Camembert?"
"Doesn't he seem like the type of cat who likes Camembert?" Chat Noir asked innocently, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
Marinette wasn't convinced by his explanation. "Maybe. Can cats even eat cheese?" she asked doubtfully.
Teasing her was fun, so fun that he almost didn't want to leave. But he only came to give her the warning. He'd already stayed longer than he had planned. "Why don't you find out for yourself?" he asked. "Anyways, I'm off. See ya around, little lady." He waved to her with one arm, then nimbly leapt onto the ladder that led to the attic's trapdoor. She blinked, and he was gone.
She exchanged a glance with Plagg, who looked back at her with big, round eyes. "Do you really like Camembert, Plagg?"
The kitten only meowed back at her.
She sighed, falling back onto her bed. That had certainly been an eventful morning, she thought as she tried to calm her speeding heart. Chat Noir had warned her not to get involved, but she couldn't help it. This was the one thing she could do to repay him for all the kindness he'd shown her. She would just have to be especially careful in order to not alert Hawk Moth of her involvement. Chat Noir didn't even have to know that she was helping him.
But...what could she do? Where would she even start?
That was when a lightbulb flashed in her mind. Mr. Fu had definitely known more than he was letting on when he'd shown up with Chat Noir's message the night she had went on her date with Nathaniel.
Perhaps it was time for her to return to that sketchy, old motel...
A/N: Hope everyone is staying safe! Thank you all so much for all of your wonderful reviews, you guys really made my day!
(You know I had to throw in Adrien's fragrance in there somewhere hehe). It's about time for another Marichat moment xD I loved writing this chapter, hope you enjoyed it too!
Leave a review and let me know what you think? :)
Next chapter preview - Marinette goes to Master Fu for help. It's another school day, but her mind is still on her beloved thief...