A giant rock monster. Why did it have to be a giant rock monster? Marinette could see it was across the street, heading away from her school, but she still couldn't move from her crouch under the desk.
Chloe had other plans. "GPS, check. Battery, check. Move it, losers. I smell an exceptional scoop!" Then she bolted for the classroom door.
"Chloe," Marinette said from under the desk, "what are you doing?!"
The blonde's body was already out the door. Only her hand on the doorframe anchored her to the class and safety. "It's a real-life supervillain," she said, looking at Marinette like she was the crazy one, "and where there's a supervillain, there's always a superhero close behind! No way I'm missing this!" Then she was gone.
"Chloe!" Marinette cried, facepalming at her bestie's recklessness. She spared a look at where she last saw the monster, and instead sighted Chloe leaving school grounds. "Ugh!" She dashed out of the class and school, stopping only to make sure she was running in the right direction before sprinting off again. "Chloe, wait! You can't go running after a rock monster."
Marinette stopped at the corner, leaning heavily on the park gate as she panted. Chloe was quickly widening the gap between- wait, where did she get that bicycle? She pushed off the gate. "Chlo, wait up!" She didn't bother sticking to the sidewalks anymore as the road was empty because everyone else knew to run away from a rampaging monster. Her foot caught on a bump on the road and she tumbled into a ditch with a cry.
Sitting up, she hugged her elbows to cushion the bruises. Thankfully, the ditch was small. As she climbed out, she realised it wasn't a ditch, but the monster's footprint. She gasped. Was it getting bigger?
Marinette gritted her teeth. Her best friend was gone and the monster was growing. Then she realised she could just follow the trail of destruction, like Chloe most likely was doing, and she'd find her friend. She was about to start running again when she saw the limo.
No.
She had to hide.
She couldn't jump the park fence to hide in there, and the boutique across the street was closed so that wasn't an option either. Aha! There was an alley. It would be close, and all Nathalie would have to do is look right to catch her, but it could work. So she ran.
"Marinette!"
Then she skidded to a stop. She bit her lip, then turned with hunched shoulders. The car came closer and she had to curl her toes to stave off the urge to ditch them, just run and find Chloe. But she couldn't outrun a car. She sighed.
The front passenger door slid open and Nathalie stepped out, then folded her hands behind her back as usual. "It's not safe to be out when there's a stone creature on the loose," Nathalie said- tell that to Chloe- "Your mother sent us to take you home."
The young girl's shoulders hunched even more. "Oh… fine," she said, before climbing into the car. She said nothing throughout the trip to the Dupain-Cheng mansion.
Upon arrival, she thought she would be going to the kitchens but was escorted to her room instead. As if reading her thoughts, Nathalie said, "Your mother will come see you soon." Soon could mean tomorrow. Marinette sighed again and headed for her couch, switching on the TV on the way. The stone monster was all any station would talk about. She settled for TVi news and flopped on the couch.
That's when she saw it. A little black box with a familiar red symbol on it. The symbol of the Order of the Guardians. Marinette swallowed hard. She wasn't ready, she couldn't do this. She grabbed her phone to call Mme Wang when she saw a recent message from the elderly lady. The message wasn't up to an hour old:
Marianne Library Assistant:
Your assignment is due earlier than expected, so I'm lending you the book now. Please return it to me once you've finished.
No. No, no, no, no, no. She can't superhero. She can't save anyone. She couldn't even save Chloe.
Omigosh! Chloe! Was she still biking after that thing? Marinette dialled her friend. As the call rang, she looked up, purely by chance, and saw her childhood friend, on TV, still on that bike, hot on the monster's tail, a police blockade not far ahead.
The phone slipped from her grasp. She stared at the box. Then she lifted the lid.
There was a burst of light that made her drop it and pull back. When the green light disappeared, there was a cat-mouse- kwami, if she remembered Mme Wang correctly- in its place. She seen drawings of the kwami before but it was still much smaller than she imagined. She bets she could enclose it in her hand.
It yawned and stretched in a very cat-like arch. If she didn't feel so much like throwing up she would have cooed. Its huge green eyes settled on her.
"Got anything to eat? I'm starving."