Never Alone
Chapter 3
Accelerated Plans
Sabrina Raincomprix gulped. In a long time, she was doing something for herself… something that Chloe was not a part of but somehow still she felt as if she was being a bad friend.
Chloe was not as bad as people thought she was but she could still be a handful.
They had been friends since childhood… both of them daughters of powerful people and Chloe insisted that people like them should stick together… they were exceptional while the others were not. Chloe made her do things she usually wouldn't do… like stealing someone's dairy or locking someone in the bathroom out of spite.
After her akumatisation, she was advised to see a therapist just like the other akuma victims and she did… at the end of the first session itself, her therapist asked her if she was okay with how Chloe treated her and would she have treated Chloe in the same way if the tables were turned… That got her thinking.
Chloe didn't ever say sorry for being rude or insensitive. True, she made it up by giving her expensive gifts that she adored but she still felt empty inside.
Chloe made her do her homework in exchange to trips to the mall, where she bought her clothes worth more than ten times her allowance.
Chloe wasn't a bad friend, was she?
Her therapist told her to make new friends… to have a life outside of Chloe, just like how she had a life outside of her… Chloe was a superhero for god's sake and she wasn't part of that. And how much that irked her, she tried her best to respect it.
She needed to have an identity outside of Chloe. However, any time she tried to convey that to Chloe, she was hushed even before she could utter two words.
The time she said that to her dad, he dismissed her like always. Apparently devoting her entire free time to 'help' or rather serve Chloe instead of her hobbies like soccer made her a good girl… a good friend. That didn't make sense.
Alya and Marinette, Nathaniel and Alix, Kim and Max… they were best friends. Chloe and her… they weren't even friends. At best, they were employer and employee… At worst, they were master and slave.
The last few days, after she realised all this… she felt trapped without any way of escaping.
Her therapist offered to help… Sabrina politely refused. It would do Miss Kino no good if she got involved in the affairs of people like Bourgeois and her father.
This was a godsend! Not only time away from Chloe, but also a way to be independent sooner and chase her dreams. Just because she flourished in academics didn't mean she had to be poor in sports.
She said yes even as Chloe screeched and whined.
She was more than Chloe's lackey or her father's daughter… She deserved more than that out of her life.
This would certainly get back to her father but the prospect of attending elite classes would probably win him over, as long as she hid her real objective... graduating quickly so that she can not only find out what she really wanted in life.
After the orientation, Marinette smiled at Miss Mendeleiev as they stood in her office. Tikki phased through her purse to hover around them.
The Alphabet Soup Program, as Kayla called it, was not just for over achieving students… If anything, it was a mere front to get students who were suffering from various issues like problematic homes or bullying to get the help they needed to be independent faster.
She was so overwhelmed by her duties as Ladybug that she hardly thought of anything else anymore. Between school and handling akumas, she barely got time for herself. The moment she came back to her room, she slumped to the bed.
But having selective classes as well as permission to attend lectures in premiere institutes like Paris College of Arts and IFA Paris would allow her ample time to hone her skills. On top of that, Mendeleiev was right. She can't have the threat of Hawkmoth hanging over her for her entire life. She can't afford to wait for Hawkmoth to akumatise someone and just protect the city from the akuma of the day. She had to act strategically to cut off Hawkmoth's access to akumatising people, especially repeat akumas like Mr Pigeon as well find some way to expose Hawkmoth and Mayura's identities.
Never in her wildest dreams could she have thought that Miss Mendeleiev would become her ally in the fight against Hawkmoth!
Miss Mendeleiev had assigned herself as her mentor in the programme, meaning she was in charge of handling her academic prospects. That gave them an excuse and time to strategize without any suspicion from the students and staff of Dupont High.
"There is one more thing." Marinette said, taking out her phone and opening the pdf file of the translated grimoire. "This is the grimoire having all knowledge of miraculouses, kwamis and their magic. It was originally coded in some primitive dialect of Cantonese. Master Fu translated it but after the attack, his tablet was missing, which means Hawkmoth may have it and hence access to the translations as well. Most of the translations are in riddles and we kind of have to solve it to make potions which give power ups to me and Chat Noire."
"Very well. Send it to my phone." Kayla said. "I will try to decipher as much as I could in my free time. And the lab would be a safer place to experiment and create the potions instead of your room."
"Thank you."
"That's not all. Do you have the original copy of the grimoire? My Cantonese may be rusty but in case there is some discrepancy in the translated version, it would be helpful."
"A copy was there in Master's tablet but I returned the original hardcopy to Mr Agreste."
Kayla's eyes widened. "Wait. Gabriel Agreste had the grimoire, which according to what you told me before, was lost around the same time as the butterfly and peacock miraculous."
"Yes. We did suspect him to be Hawkmoth a year ago, but he got akumatised." Marinette said quickly.
"And you are sure it is impossible for Hawkmoth to akumatise himself? Besides he had an accomplice, didn't he, Mayura? He could have easily given the miraculous to Mayura and she could have akumatised him to throw off suspicion." Kayla pointed out.
"We didn't know about Mayura then and somehow we didn't think about it later when she did show up." Marinette replied slowly, looking up to exchange a worried glance with Tikki. "That could be possible. We don't have more proof but Mr Agreste could be Hawkmoth. He hardly shows up in public. He has enough time day and night to akumatise people."
"That's not all. He has motive too. Adrien's mother." Tikki surmised.
"But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We don't have any confirmation." Marinette said abruptly. "And we can't accuse anyone of being Hawkmoth without solid proof."
"But we have ways of finding out. You are intuitive and already have links to the Agrestes. You convinced him to send Adrien on the trip to New York. I can assign you with Adrien on some kind of project or arrange some kind of internship with Agreste label. That would give you enough time to check if Gabriel is Hawkmoth or not."
"That can work." She nodded. "I need to bring Chat in on this too. This is big. He needs to know."
"Marinette, you are the Guardian now. You may be able to keep an eye on Gabriel Agreste but if he is Hawkmoth, he'd also be in close proximity to you. Finding who Hawkmoth is would be instrumental to our victory but him finding out who you are would be disastrous." Tikki said seriously.
"She's right." Kayla nodded. "We must find another way."
"There are other ways." Tikki said. "Now that we have a clear timeline of events, it is possible to rule out if Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth. The rabbit miraculous of time."
"That is genius!" Marinette grinned.
"I am afraid I am a bit lost." Kayla said. "Are you considering time travel? There can be unintended consequences-"
"Not time travel, merely observing the past. The rabbit miraculous can open a portal to another dimension, out of time and place. And from there, we can observe all points of the past as well as possible futures." Tikki informed.
"That is incredible! But isn't that too much power for a single hero?" Kayla asked. "I mean, with this kind of ability, it would be possible to solve impossible questions like the origin of the universe as well as predict future calamities."
"That is why there are safeguards. Past and future wielders of the rabbit miraculous monitor the timestream to prevent interference. We can't change the past but it is not against the rules to observe." Marinette answered. "Bunnyx, a rabbit hero from the future has helped us many times to deal with threats from the future as well as abort potentially disturbing timelines."
"I believe you know what to do now." Kayla smiled at her. "Let me know what you find out and then we can plan our next course of action."
"Actually, I was hoping you could wield the rabbit miraculous." Tikki cut in. "As capable as Marinette is, it is not safe for anyone to use multiple miraculouses at the same time."
"That'd be perfect, but only if you agree, Miss Mendeleiev." Marinette beamed at her.
"You want me to be a hero?" Kayla stuttered.
"Of course, you have already helped me out so much in a single day. If anyone is a hero in here, it's you." Marinette turned towards Tikki. "Tikki, spots on!"
Kayla shielded her eyes from the bright red light that covered Marinette up from head to toe, transforming her to Ladybug. She looked exactly like her civilian self. Funny, how she hadn't noticed that before…
Ladybug opened her yoyo and it's surface became glowing white. Ladybug plunged her other arm inside it, which shouldn't be physically possible unless it was a portal. Everything about the miraculouses defied science or maybe the magic was some kind of highly advanced science…
Her eyes were drawn to the compass Ladybug took out from the yoyo before closing it and holding out the compass to her.
"Miss Kayla Mendeleiev, here is the miraculous of the rabbit, which grants the power of time. You will use it for the greater good. Once the job is done, you'll return the miraculous to me." At that moment, she could feel the confidence and the wisdom in Marinette's words… in Ladybug's words. A responsibility that shaped her into an extraordinary young woman, yet a burden that should never be imposed on any child.
"I'd be honoured." She said, accepting the miraculous.
Marinette deserved a life where she didn't need to risk her life on a daily basis to fight super villains and monsters. If there was any way she could help Marinette in her quest to save Paris and end this threat for once and for all, she would wholeheartedly.
I hope you guys liked this chapter and please review. :)