I'm going to play in my first roller derby bout this weekend! Super excited and nervous but totally willing to gain more bruises in the name of derby awesomeness! Wish me luck!
SunshineMLB... That's weird that the messaging thing did that... I have like two messages in my inbox so it shouldn't be full. If you still want to message me try writing one from scratch instead of replying? Glad you are enjoying the recommendations as well as this story! I like your theory btw, you are on the right track! I wish I could just post everything that I've written at once but then there would be months where nothing would get posted... Ah well.
(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?
Reconnaissance
They talked as they spared and at one point Adrien went so deep into thought that Marinette had to lay him out on his back before he started paying attention again. Marinette had laughed at his indignation and they continued with Adrien paying a little better attention this time. Both of them wondered if Gabriel would call Adrien into the office along with Marinette since he was on the other side of the city when Marinette had found Chloe. Adrien had helped Marinette set up the basics to doing a raid at the building Chloe was in though so Marinette at least felt he should be involved in whatever discussion was going to be had. Although Adrien appreciated Marinettes desire for fairness he was torn on what he wanted to do. On the one hand he wanted to be a part of the discussion so he could back up Marinette when needed, however he had been there as Chat and the last thing he wanted was to slip up. On the other hand he was supposed to be looking into clues for Damocles this afternoon and that meant free time in the city he could be patrolling as Chat. With Marinette trapped in the office, Adrien and therefore Chat wouldn't have to worry about her popping up in places she didn't belong. He could check Chloe's position again, touch base with the Whisperers, and still probably return to the precinct with no one the wiser.
"Are you going to climb or sit there muttering to yourself all morning?" Marinette called from an upside down position on the bouldering cave.
They had ended their sparring match several minutes before and decided to take a climbing break before heading to the showers. Shaken from his thoughts Adrien padded forwards into the cave a grin on his face. "I was giving you a head start Princess!"
Marinette rolled her eyes hooking a heel around a rock so she could swing her body into the next position. "This cave isn't set up for races you dork. Save it for the Running Zone."
Adrien chuckled "You know we haven't gone out there in a bit. Once we rescue Chloe would you feel up to maybe going out and running some? Maybe we can race each other a bit, although I am saying no jacket allowed for you right now."
Laughing Marinette reached the end of her line and started to lower herself from the roof even though Adrien moved over and snagged her before her feet could touch the ground. "I feel like we have done this before…" He murmured looking down at her in his arms as she dropped since she didn't have the will to curl back up against the ceiling.
"Adrien!" Marinette protested but she laughed as he dropped her to her feet again.
Even though they were at work Adrien pressed a fleeting kiss to her cheek making Marinette's cheeks turn darker. Swatting him Marinette rolled her eyes but said nothing about the kiss since the cave and basement were safe. That was something both he and Marinette had thoroughly checked just this morning before starting their sparing match. There were neither cameras down in the basement area nor any sort of listening devices and Marinette could always tell when people came down to just move things around. Marinette moved back out onto the main floor while Adrien stayed in the cave area to do his own climb and she had just sat down when she swore she heard footsteps. Confusion reigned because for her to hear someone walking down here they would either have to be close or walking very loud. Standing again Marinette moved towards the doorway wondering if someone was trying to spy and swinging out into the hall she saw Natalie walking down the hall towards her. She was still quite far down the hall and Marinette realized she was hearing her footsteps. The realization made her heart pound and for the briefest moment a flood of sound swirled around her. She could hear Adrien in the cave muttering about miniature climbers, hear Natalie's easy breathing as she shuffled a few papers in her hands, hear the obnoxious buzz the lights created… It was like the world had come alive around her and Marinette had a few short seconds to marvel in the sensation before her hearing cut suddenly back to normal. It was like being wrapped in cotton wool and Marinette couldn't help but frown at the loss. At that moment Natalie glanced up seeing Marinette standing halfway in the hall her towel thrown over her shoulder and she started slightly as if she hadn't expected to see Marinette there.
"Natalie?" Marinette questioned wondering why she was down in the gym area then wondered how in the hell how she had heard her walking. It seemed like the sound level was back to normal and Marinette guessed the sound attack might have had something to do with the stone in her pocket. Chat had mentioned heightened senses at least once.
"Oh good you are here Marinette, someone said you would probably be down here working out. Gabriel would like to see you now. I would suggest showering and changing first however. I will let him know you will be delayed." Natalie stated her voice crisp as she approached.
"Oh. Um thank you. I'll be fast." Marinette called watching as Natalie turned back around and headed for the stairs again. Darting back to the bench to grab her phone Marinette moved behind the screen she had rigged to grab her change of clothes from the cubbies.
She had rigged the screen when Adrien had started joining her for sparing since they both had a habit of moving to change shirts and such in the room rather than trekking to the showers to do so. It gave them a quick spot to change which was actually quite nice. For a brief second she swore she saw a black shape dart into one of the cubbies but she dismissed it since she didn't have the time to sit and search to make sure it hadn't been a rat. Making a mental note to put rat traps down just in case, she came back around the screen and almost ran into Adrien.
"Where is the fire?" Adrien asked jokingly.
"In your father's office, I'm about to go jump into it. Wanna join?" Marinette retorted with a grin.
Adrien pretended to think about it. "You know as warm as that sounds I already have a date with a nest and an old Owl."
Marinette laughed "Yeah well count yourself lucky. I have to go convince Gabriel that we are right and should move forward with a raid even though Roger just finished saying the same thing."
Adrien sighed "It is a weird coincidence but we have real proof while Roger has a rumor. My father is intelligent and knows better than to doubt you. If you need me though, just text me Marinette, I will come."
Reaching up Marinette patted his cheek allowing her fingers to trace the firm line of his jaw. "Thank you Adrien, if I need to call you in I will. Do you want me to mention the Hawkmoth member that you took out?"
"Probably not. The Whisperers still have him right?"
Marinette frowned as she thought about it but nodded after a moment. "Yeah they do and even if they turned him over to the police it would take too long to process them to get that miniscule amount of info from him. Its ok, I'll get by. I will talk to you later though. Maybe I'll even drop by the nest for a few minutes."
"Lunch maybe?" Adrien offered as Marinette headed for the door.
"Maybe! Let's see how the morning goes and if I end up being charged with murder." Marinette chuckled
"I can help you hide the body! Wait… we are talking about Roger and not my father right?" Adrien asked
Marinette shuddered "Your father uses a cane that is secretly a sword and I have seen him in action with it. The last person I would want to try and kill is him."
On that note Marinette left the room knowing she was on a time crunch. By the time she stepped out of the bathroom fifteen minutes had passed and Marinette didn't have the time to see if Adrien was done yet. Yanking her hair into pigtails Marinette darted up the stairs and was in front of Gabriel's office less than two minutes later. Roger was sulking outside and the second he saw her he stood a sneer crawling across his face.
"I'll bet you're real proud of yourself aren't you?" Roger sneered glaring down his nose at her.
Marinette was unfazed "You're welcome to go get yourself killed if that is what you wish. Was it really your idea to make me the raids spearhead or did Gabriel make you?"
Rogers face flushed and that was more of an answer than anything he could have said. It also made a chill run through her. Had Gabriel really approved of Roger running a raid on two unconfirmed eye witnesses saying they saw Chloe? If so, it was extremely uncharacteristic of him unless he was doing this as a way to teach Roger the proper ways to go about setting up a raid. That would make better sense but even still Gabriel usually needed ten kinds of proof before even thinking of starting a raid plan!
"Children, Gabriel is ready for you." Natalie said dryly making Roger jerk and shoot her a glare.
"I ain't a child." Roger hissed venom in his voice.
Natalie was unfazed and Marinette brushed past him. "No but Natalie is saying we are acting like children. Get over yourself and let's get this over with."
Roger rushed forwards nearly shoving Marinette out of the way as he made sure he was first through the office door. Catching her step Marinette gritted her teeth and continued on almost missing Natalie's comment of "I meant just Roger but perhaps that was unprofessional of me."
Marinette flashed Natalie an understanding grin and walked into Gabriel's office closing the door securely behind her. Gabriel stood behind his desk gazing down at papers that littered the surface. One arm was behind his back as the other shifted another sheet of paper into place. A collapsible table was placed in front of the desk doubling the surface area and the two chairs that were usually in front had been moved to the edges of the room.
"She finally showed up!" Roger sneered as he approached to desk and Gabriels eyes flicked up to look at the two of them.
Since Marinette had just gotten out of the shower her hair was still damp but her clothes were neatly pressed and her shirt was tucked in under her jacket. Roger on the other hand looked unkempt. His hair was greasy, shirt half tucked in, and there was at least one stain on his shirt as well as his pants. Gabriel looked thoroughly unimpressed with him and Roger seemed to realize this as he shoved the rest of his shirt into a tucked position.
"I have read through the file Marinette." Gabriel stated ignoring Roger's attempt at goading Marinette into a verbal sparring match. "You have done extremely well collecting everything needed to do a raid considering you only had the information for about seven hours."
"WHAT?!" Roger shrieked turning on Marinette "That's why you were giving me such trouble this morning?! You were trying to go behind my back and get your own raid set up?!"
"I found Chloe last night Roger. She is nowhere near the location your witnesses say she is." Marinette replied refusing to back up as Roger tried to tower over her. It wasn't hard for him to tower over her although his attempts at intimidation were worthless since Marinette knew she could lay him out faster than he could scream.
"Let me guess your little fan club found her? Did they tell you and now you are throwing us at this on a hunch?!" Roger snarled stalking even closer.
Marinette was a bit surprised Gabriel was allowing Roger to act like a spoiled child since he usually shot down such antics the moment they started. Taking a deep breath Marinette straightened to her full height pinning Roger with such a deadly glare that he froze in the middle of his next sentence.
"I found Chloe as they were getting ready to transport her and was able to follow them to their new location." Marinette answered her voice calm but filled with ice. "I was going to bring the information to Gabriel this morning but your message came through. I brought all of this in because I thought that you had found her in the same place I did and was willing to give you everything I had collected last night. I would say your welcome but your location is on the other side of the city!"
Rogers mouth opened and closed uselessly and he glanced at Gabriel as if he were asking him to do something about Marinette. Returning to a fully upright position Gabriel curled his other arm behind his back, "I would step away from Marinette, Roger. She is correct on all accounts and if you continue to act threatening towards her I will be forced to watch as she puts you through your paces."
Roger snorted but as he looked back at Marinette he realized that she was smiling and suddenly that was far more terrifying than the bitter glare she had been giving him. Gabriel had essentially just given her permission to knock him on his ass if he didn't back off and even though Roger thought himself to be a prize fighter he knew for a fact that he didn't hold a candle to Marinette. She would have to be grievously wounded or half-conscious for him to win a fight against her.
Slowly Roger raised his hands and backed two full steps away putting as much distance between them as he could while remaining in front of Gabriel. Marinette looked a touch disappointed but in the next second she ignored Roger completely as Gabriel began to question the information she had collected. Several hours passed before they braked for lunch and Marinette was in a terribly bad mood as Adrien dragged her from the precinct.
"We haven't gotten anywhere." Marinette groaned slumping in her seat as she dropped her head into her hands. "Roger argues with literally everything I say and Gabriel is just sort of going along with it! I don't know if he is punishing me, trying to help me get a better grip on my patience, or if this whole fiasco is to try and teach Roger how to be a better detective!"
"Do you want me to go back in with you?" Adrien asked wondering if he should have gone with her in the first place.
"Damocles is sending you out isn't he?" Marinette asked sounding miserable.
"Yeah but I can ask for him to wait if you would rather me join you." Adrien replied accepting the water the waiter brought to them.
They ordered and once the waiter was gone Marinette let out a breath as she slumped back into the chair. "I don't think it will help. You never saw Chloe and I think that Roger has somehow managed to convince Gabriel that his warehouse is the next location that the Hawkmoth gang is bringing Chloe to."
Adrien's eyebrows raised in confusion. "How the heck did he manage that? Didn't he just say this morning that he had eye witnesses saying she was already there?"
Marinette nodded an irritated look on his face. "Yeah but here's the kicker… The building is owned by one of the shell companies that the Hawkmoth gang owns. He saw the name on one of my papers and one thing led to the next… It's actually not a bad theory but we don't know when if ever they will move her there!"
"So what do we do then?" Adrien wondered thinking of ways he could help.
If he really wanted to he could go rescue Chloe as Chat during the day and skip all of this red tape Marinette had gotten herself wrapped in. It was a feasible idea and the Hawkmoth Gang would never expect an attack during the day. If she was in a room that had a large window it would be even better since he could pull her out without having to go through the building at all. Marinette would probably get really pissed at him if he did it as Chat but then again she would be angry at Chat not Adrien.
"Well we could go rescue her ourselves tonight." Marinette murmured making Adrien jerk and pay very close attention to her.
"You're serious?!" Adrien gasped
Marinette frowned "I don't want to, but if they do decide to move her it would be easier to grab her then rather than raid a whole building. I could get Stormy to dart any shooters and we could borrow a tranq gun or two… it could work. I'd done something similar with Tiki before."
That sounded fairly exciting to Adrien and he wondered if he should tell Marinette about him being Chat now. He could protect her far better if she knew and his speed might be necessary in a fight like what Marinette was proposing. Before he could think too far into the idea their food arrived and they had to get back to the precinct right after, ruining his chance of a confession. As Marinette disappeared back into Gabriel's office Adrien returned to Damocles who was practically hooting with excitement. Adrien had helped the man pick up his office and reorganize some of his bookshelves so Adrien fully understood why the office was nicknamed 'The Nest.' It hadn't been super hard work although Adrien had to pretend it was at times. Damocles had been extremely grateful and he had been happy to show Adrien different cases he had done as well as tell him stories about a younger Marinette roaming around the precinct. Adrien had really enjoyed those stories and as he walked back into the far cleaner office, Adrien wondered what Damocles was going to have him doing now.
"Ahh Adrien! There you are my boy!" Damocles called looking as if he were still in the middle of his lunch. "I have some errands for you to run if you don't mind! They all have to do with the case so don't fret!"
"I will do anything you need within reason sir." Adrien replied even as his heart sank. He wasn't sure what he wanted right this moment but running errands for this odd man definitely wasn't what he desired, even if it did get him out of the precinct for a while.
"Excellent!" Damocles crowed waving Adrien to his side.
Adrien ran errands for Damocles as the afternoon passed him by and Adrien found that he was actually happy to be out of the precinct and running around the city. He had changed into Chat after leaving the precinct for what seemed like the zillionth time and as he scrambled up a rooftop to get a better view of the city below his staff vibrated suddenly.
"The trackers been activated kid!" Plagg grouched in his mind.
The Kwami hadn't been real thrilled about running around in the daylight but Adrien had overruled him since he had wanted to check in with the Whisperers as Chat since Damocles had sent him out this time with the orders to 'simply explore'. Pulling the baton out as it vibrated again he was shocked to see Marinettes phone number drifting across the screen as he shoved the baton open. The other half showed a map of the city and Chat started running since he knew Stormy wouldn't have activated the tracker for nothing. The fact that Marinette had called him almost at the same time gave him the hint that something was up. Luckily he was quite close to Stormys position even if she was moving and Chat started forwards in case an Akuma was after Stormy. Unlike Marinette Chat had a feeling that Stormy wouldn't be able to last as long as against an Akuma. His baton buzzed again and he clicked the paw to answer not wanting to miss Marinette's call.
"Chat?" Marinette's voice called making Chat hold the baton up to his ear.
"Hello My Lady… Missing your favorite feline?" Chat asked even as he heard the tension in her voice.
"They are moving Chloe Chat." Marinette hissed without warning. Her voice was soft and he realized that she was trying not to be overheard since she was still at the precinct. "I don't know why they are doing it in the daytime instead of under the cover of darkness but they are. I need a favor…"
"Anything Marinette. You saved my hide more than once with the Akuma. If anything I owe you." Chat answered immediately not wanting her to hold back in case she thought he would ask too much from her later.
He heard her breathe a sigh of relief and then she spoke. "I'm stuck at work in the middle of setting up a probable raid. I need you to get to Stormy and help her figure out where they are stashing Chloe now."
Chat grinned glancing at the screen embedded in his baton while being careful to stick his landing. His hands were full between the staff tracking screen and the phone like screen he was holding to his ear and Chat reminded himself to ask Plagg about making an earpiece rather than a true phone. The kwami would complain since they would have to work at adjusting the magic baton again to manage it but having his hands free was sort of necessary when jumping from roof to roof.
"Ah I was wondering why Stormy had activated her tracker… I thought she might have encountered an Akuma or something. I'm already on my way, My Lady." Chat managed double checking his position.
He was a street or so away from Stormy and he realized she was probably following a car from the rooftops.
"Thank you Chat… I've got to go. Keep her safe for me ok?" Marinette asked as someone called her name.
"I will try!" Chat answered then realized that Marinette had hung up.
"She's gonna be in a bad mood tonight kit." Plagg chortled and Chat ignored him leaping the gap and charging down a rooftop to spot Stormy glaring at a gap she couldn't get across alone.
A nondescript car was pulling far ahead and Chat just knew that it was the same car that had picked up Chloe the last time. "Jump Stormy!" Chat barked as he ran at her and to his surprise Stormy did with barely a glance back to see who was coming at her from behind. Chat snatched her out of the air as he flew past and she actually yelped as they landed.
"Damn your fast as hell!" Stormy swore as he practically flew after the car in the distance.
"I'm going to need my hands. Can you hold onto my back? Its either that or my shoulder again." Chat asked keeping the car within view even as he took an easier, though divergent path then he would have liked. He was going to need his staff in a moment and he couldn't use it if he had an armful of Stormy to juggle.
Stormy let out a nervous laugh. "I haven't had a piggy back ride since I was about ten… sure why not?"
Chat didn't give her a moment to think about it and swung her onto his back where she clung stiffly. She was not Marinette and it actually made him a little irritated to have her clinging to him but it was necessary. Using his reassembled staff Chat tossed them across the street in pursuit of the car which had turned onto an opposite road from where they were. Stormy made a squawking sound as they landed and she clung even tighter as Chat continued to race forwards.
"Never again, never again, oh my goodness never again…" Stormy chanted making Chat smile.
He eased off the acrobatics even though the few stunts he pulled were nothing compared to what he had done while Marinette was with him. They were however coming up to a higher building that was blocking their view of the car and Chat had a feeling that the building would be the perfect perch.
"Sorry Stormy." Chat grunted as he leaped at the building and sunk his claws into the side when they came to a bone juddering halt.
Stormy squeaked her legs almost slipping for a second and Chat wondered if maybe he should have used his staff instead. As she went still Chat was already sinking fully extended claws into the mortar scaling up the side like some over sized gecko. Stormy didn't dare respond, burying her face into his shoulder instead and Chat noted that her breathing was a little erratic. They cleared the top giving them an excellent view of the road below and Chat realized that the car was turning the corner closest to them trundling down the street that the building he had chosen backed up too.
"I think they are stopping." Chat murmured ducking a little since the afternoon sun wouldn't hide his black clad form. Stormy finally peeled her face from his shoulder glancing around warily.
"Are we done with the acrobatics?" She asked as the car pulled up to another fenced in building.
It was a high chain link fence surrounding a four story dilapidated building. Windows were boarded up and Chat could see that the two fire escapes were destroyed from about the second story down. They were actually facing the back of the building and someone hauled the fence open just wide enough for the car to pull inside. Since Chat was remaining still Stormy slid off his back and slunk to the edge pulling out a monocular telescope. Staying low she peered at the car through it as the door was kicked open and Poppy climbed out. A man came jogging out of the building below and Poppy jabbed at the car door while shoving something into another man's hands. Chat joined her at the edge squinting down at the commotion below them.
"She gave them a device they can use to knock Chloe out safely." Stormy murmured for Chats benefit. "She said Hawkmoth can bite her, she isn't a delivery girl, and her partner is missing?"
"Maybe that brawny guy she was with last time?" Chat guessed watching as two guys pulled an unconscious Chloe from the backseat and hauled her inside over their shoulders.
Stormy shrugged "I don't know but she seems pretty pissed. She says she is going on vacation and that is definitely Chloe…" With a sigh Stormy dropped the telescope typing something rapidly on her phone before glancing back up. "Well we have her next position. I'll ask Max to pull schematics. Hey Chat… how do you feel about kidnapping?"
"Are we saving Chloe now?" Chat asked wondering if Stormy was about to overestimate her abilities. He had seen at least one gun hanging out a window and Poppy was still jabbing at the man who was trying to get her to go inside the building. Poppy slapped his hands away and ducked back into her car making the man back away slowly with his hands raised. It made Chat wonder if Poppy had a gun since the man suddenly seemed really compliant gesturing at the gate in a clear 'you're free to leave' motion. Someone else was hauling the gate open and Chat realized they were running out of time.
Stormy shook her head oblivious to the argument below as she read the new message that had popped onto her screen, "No, but there isn't anyone in the car with Poppy… Pigeon man has his birdies already surrounding the building since he was close by and luckily has a nest for them a few buildings over. Hawkmoths people won't move Chloe again today or tonight. I want to take down Poppy but I'm going to need your help to do so. Poppy is a higher ranking member of the Hawkmoth gang and is fairly dangerous person. We need to know what she knows."
Chat didn't have to think about it long. Anything extra he knew about the Hawkmoth gang could only help so he held out a hand as Poppy drove her car back out from between the gap in the fence someone opened for her.
Stormy eyed his hand warily "You're not serious…"
"Can you keep up with a moving car?" Chat asked watching as said car sped off down the street.
Stormy cursed colorfully and took his hand, her curses turning into a muffled squeal as he swung her up then launched them off the building practically in the same movement. Chat felt a little bad as he raced after the car but he knew that if Marinette's piggy back rides ever came out now no one would tease her about it. Sure he was probably being a little rougher than he would be if it had been Marinette on his back instead of Stormy but in the end it really didn't matter. He managed to follow the car and not drop Stormy while doing it and that was all that mattered. Poppy drove for 15 minutes into a more decrepit area than Chat knew existed and he was panting by the time she pulled down a dank alley. The car came to a stop and Chat leaped to the building above the car letting Stormy off his back as he neared the edge.
"If you distract her I'll hit her from behind." Stormy muttered glancing at a gutter that ran down the side of the building to the alley below. "Just watch out for any darts she may throw, or a gun."
"If I do get shot don't tell Marinette. She gets rather irritated with me when I do." Chat answered
Stormy glanced up at him curiosity in her eyes. "Aaand how many times have you been shot around Marinette?"
"Enough times to know that it's a bad idea for her to know." Chat snorted moving away from Stormy before she could ask him any more questions. Unable to help the grin on her face Stormy moved to the corner where the drain pipe hugged the building and Chat prepared to engage in battle.
Enjoying the story? Review if you have the time!
