Just as a pleasant reminder: this story will have a happy ending, one that is better than 'they both died and were free from their suffering'. I wouldn't do that to you guys.

This chapter, we go back to Marinette and Adrien. There is gross misuse of a needle and thread (Trigger warning), and some shocking revelations (pun intended).

—

A small room. Concrete walls, ceiling and floor. A single metal door, with a cold metal table and chair. Illuminated with single flickering lightbulb, casting a sickly yellow light around the surfaces. This kind of room most people would avoid. It offered no comfort, no safety. It held secrets, and no mercy.

To Marinette, it felt like home.

Silence had been a constant companion this last month. Where as Marinette had gotten used to Tikki's constant presence before, now she was startled by noise. Any noise. She could hear from this dank, secluded room, the sound of water running. Most likely someone else getting a shower.

And the light. There was only an old bulb to illuminate the room, but it was still much too bright for her eyes. So she rested her head in her arms on the table top. The icy water from her power washing still clung to her body, the hospital gown hanging on her turning damp. There was no warmth from the table or chair. Only cold, hard, unforgiving silence.

All there was to do was wait. All there ever was now.

Wait for death.

Something heinous happened in the dark. Every minute of every day, she stewed in fear, in anger, in injustice. The cold bony hand of wrath squeezed her heart, crushing compassion, mercy, and care from her very soul.

No one was coming.

Then she could let them all go. If they were watching, then they could all suffer with guilt.

Sure, she was Ladybug, but she was also a kid. Didn't that mean anything to anyone? Or were they all expecting her to save herself?

But they had abandoned her. With whatever had happened back at school. The facts were blurry at this point, but she remembered everyone shunning her.

So why would her being Ladybug change anything?

But Adrien…

Her heart softened. He didn't deserve whatever fate had befallen him. He had fought so hard, so valiantly, there was no blame on him.

He was the only person she could forgive.

But he was gone. And now she alone.

Alone in the silence.

So now the question remained: Dare she save herself?

What kind of life awaited her outside, anyway? What kinds of things were they saying about her?

Ladybug, the failure. The little girl that fooled the whole city. The disgusting pig.

There'd be hell to pay. She'd show Salo what revenge really looked like.

They thought Ladybug was red? She'd give them red.

Marinette sat up slightly, her bangs shielding the light from her eyes. She looked down at her hands.

Bony, dry, callus, and bruised. The hands of a corpse. That's what she felt like at least. This was some sort of limbo she lived in. Half aware, plotting and calculating her revenge…the other half…twisted. The hallucinations in the cell were so vivid, so real. It was hard to tell the difference between them and what was real.

I've gone insane. She insisted in her mind. Normal people didn't think like this. Normal people didn't daydream about strangling people with their intestines.

This room was too big. She wanted back in the closet.

The door opened again, Salo and one of her henchmen escorting another prisoner onto the bleak room. They had them by the arm, and all but shoved them into the room before slamming the door shut behind them.

Then suddenly, Marinette wasn't alone in the silence anymore.

A young man, tall, pale. He was just a skeleton with skin stretched over him. He was incredibly bruised, and his legs were stained with filth. His blonde hair was drenched and also looked stringy and dull.

Did she look like that too? She wondered.

The young man toddled into the room, using the wall for balance.

Then he looked up, and met her eyes.

An impossible green. A green that haunted her for days. The green that accompanied the last echoes of his voice.

My Lady! My Lady!

It was Adrien.

And she hadn't recognized him.

Marinette bolted from her chair and staggered over to him.

"Kitty?" She whispered, ever so gently.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he reached his one working arm out to caress her face. "My lady?" His whisper was even softer, his voice was gone, and he only spoke with the air in his lungs.

"What have they done to you?" One hand held his cheek, as the other rested on his chest. She could feel his ribs, and the dent in his sternum she had caused with her crowbar.

He didn't answer, his lips pulling into a thin line.

Adrien leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on her lips. Then he rested his forehead against hers. There was a purr deep down in his chest, a remnant of being the Black Cat for so long. He still only spoke with a breath. "For better or for worse, in sickness and in health. I may have been forced to say that, but I take my vows seriously."

"Kitty…" She cried, resting her hand on the back of his neck. "I love you so much. I thought…I thought they had killed you by now."

"They gave it a good shot." He nuzzled against her. "But as long as I know you're still with me, I'll keep fighting."

Her fingers curled into his skin, her voice dripping with ferocity. "I will never leave you."

The door opened again, much too soon for both of them, and they clung tighter together.

"Together again for five minutes and you just can't keep your hands off of each other. Young love…what a joke." Salo's voice pierced through their bubble.

Adrien didn't look up, didn't give her any attention. His lady was back in his arms, and that's all that mattered.

"So selfish." She scoffed. "You two aren't even interested in the guest I've brought?"

Marinette shook her head. She didn't want to see anyone from outside. They all abandoned her, abandoned them, why should she care?

But Salo had never given them a choice, and so they were dragged back into that big room where evil persisted.

The lights were blinding, and they both had to hide their faces in their arms.

Then they were being chained up, and there was nothing to do but clench their eyes shut and wait until they adjusted.

"What're the stats, Harken?" Salo asked a corner of the room.

"Over 2 million online. We have some from Japan and Australia tuned in this time too."

"My my, this is becoming a very big deal."

Marinette, squinting heavily, peered up and looked around. The room was still pretty bare, save for a wooden chair that sat between her and Adrien.

"You two missed out on so much while you were sleeping. You remember my Eddy, right?"

Neither of them answered, but it was a given. The arrest of Edward Savauge is what had gotten them here in the first place.

"Well, looks like he's been released on lack of evidence. No witnesses. Sure is interesting, don't you think?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. It really wasn't the surprising. It just sucked that their effort of bagging him had gone to waste. "So?" Marinette asked. "There's no reason to keep us anymore."

"On the contrary, Miss Bug. Now there's no possible way I can let you leave. Not even if you pinky promise that you won't say a word."

"I figured as much." She drawled.

"Now, don't you want to know what's being said about you out there?"

"Not particularly."

"Come on, aren't you just the tiniest bit curious?"

"If you're trying to egg me on, I'm assuming it can't be good."

Salo laughed. "Boy, you are so full of spite! I love it!" She called over her shoulder. "Pasolini, I think you can bring our guest in."

Marinette looked over to Adrien, who's eyes were downcast. Seemed he was just as unenthused about their guest as she was.

A young woman was ushered in. She had a bag over her head.

But Marinette recognized the orange sweater immediately.

The girl was shoved into the chair before Salo ripped the bag off of her head.

Adrien and Marinette shared looks of disgust.

Salo grinned. "Glad you could join us, Miss Rossi. I'm Salo, and I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Lila, for all the acting that she had performed, was downright terrified. "Please, let me go! I didn't do anything! Please!"

Salo looked to her prisoners, finding them stone faced. "Why Marinette, aren't you happy to see your best friend? And Adrien, I know you must feel guilty for cheating on her with Marinette, but you must be happy to see your girlfriend, right?"

Adrien scowled at them both, not saying anything with his mouth, but volumes with his eyes.

"Hmm, there seems to be some misunderstandings here. Let's see if we can find that interview."

The tv behind Salo lit up, Lila's face on it with a news ticker underneath. She was teary-eyed and delicately dabbed her cheek with a napkin. "It sickens me. Adrien isn't actually Chat Noir, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng isn't Ladybug. You see, Adrien and I…well, I see no point in keeping it a secret anymore, we were dating. Under the radar, of course, he's not allowed to date. And then he told me that he came up with this idea of a performance piece and asked if I wanted to play the role of Ladybug. I said no, absolutely not, and so he broke up with me. I think the whole wedding bit was really just a ploy to make me jealous and have me crawl back to him. But now I know that he's just sick and wants attention. Marinette has been that way since I met her. She's always tried to get attention and lied to do so. I think we should all stop giving it to them and turn off the stream."

Lila turned pale and shrank in her seat at the absolute rage on Marinette's face, as she turned her gaze to stare at Lila.

Salo shrugged. "Well Marinette, looks like we've been found out. Now everyone knows about our performance piece. And Adrien…your relationship isn't so secret anymore, I'm afraid."

Adrien trembled in his anger, before an inhuman sound ripped from his throat. The sound of a caged animal breaking.

Salo just laughed at him. "Mm, interesting. I wonder…who's lying?" Sang Salo. "Ladybug always wants justice, right?" She leaned on Lila's shoulder, a spool of thread with a needle in her hand. "Then will you snitch? Knowing that snitches get stitches?"

Lila sobbed. "Marinette, I'm sorry! You know me—Always good for a j-joke!"

"Ah ah ah, I wasn't talking to you Miss Rossi."

Marinette saw the needle and thread for what it was. Another torture device. Maybe the old Marinette would have taken the easy way out. 'Taken the high road' so to speak, and let things unfold by themselves. She would give Lila this lie, setting her free, and saving herself from unnecessary pain.

But this Marinette was ready to hit where it hurt, no matter the sacrifice. And Salo was giving her the platform to do so.

"A joke." Marinette repeated. "I'm a joke to you."

"No! That's not—! What I mean is—"

"My suffering has always been a joke to you." Marinette interrupted. "When you got me expelled for something I didn't do. When you tricked everyone into thinking I was some sort of creep. When you endangered me as Ladybug by taking Chat Noir out of the fight with a lie."

"But—no! I was—I was just trying to make friends and get Adrien to like me! None of that stuff was on purpose!"

Marinette scoffed, and turned her head away. Even here, after all this, Lila was still lying. Arguing with her was not worth it.

Salo was the one to poke the bear. "So you hate her, Marinette? Having her here angers you?"

Marinette considered this. Then answered coldly. "No. She is annoying. Irritating. If you had asked me when I first came here how I felt, I would have said yes, I hated her. But now, after all I've felt, all I've learned…what I feel for her is not nearly what I feel for you, Salo."

"Oh!" Salo rested a hand on her chest. "Aww, Marinette, I feel the same for you! Would you…be my enemy?"

Marinette glared at her. "I hope you choke."

Salo laughed. "She's so sassy! I love this new Ladybug! What about you, kitty cat? How do you feel about all of this?"

They looked to Adrien, who was staring at the floor. He looked like he wasn't paying attention.

Salo snapped in front of his face. "Hey, I asked you a question, Pussy Cat."

He looked up at Salo, then at Lila, and then back down to the floor.

Salo whistled lowly, "man, isolation was not good for you."

Adrien didn't respond to that, and kept his gaze on the floor.

To the outside, he looked resigned and obedient, but in his head, dark thoughts of revenge circled. Violent, unnatural, evil thoughts.

"Well," said Salo, patting Lila's head. "If having her here isn't that big of a deal, I might as well get rid of her." Her hand went to her hip.

Lila started crying. "Marinette! Please help me! Tell her to let me go! Please! I beg you!"

Marinette let out a dark laugh. "You think I can do anything? You think if I had any power, I wouldn't have saved myself by now?"

Salo withdrew the gun, pointing it between Lila's eyes.

"Please Marinette!"

Salo smiled. "My goodness! Ladybug, savior of Paris, would allow a civilian to get hurt?"

"Lila isn't a civilian." Marinette corrected, her voice deep. "She's a parasite. A liar and a manipulator. She hurts everyone around her, and only causes trouble. Her disappearance would only be a good thing."

The barrel rested between Lila's eyebrows. "So I can dispose of her? You don't mind?"

Marinette shrugged, her face blank. "Blow her brains out."

Lila sobbed. "I lied!" She screamed. "I lied about everything! This is real! There's no performance going on! I never dated Adrien and Marinette never lied! Marinette never took any pictures of Adrien! She never stole anything! She didn't cheat on her test! She didn't push me down the stairs! I never met any celebrities! And I hate Ladybug!"

Salo looked at her with surprise. "What? Is this a confessional?"

"I told the truth! Isn't that what you wanted from me?"

Salo barked a laugh. "You think this is about you?! You're such a stupid bitch! I can't believe you actually thought you had anything to do with this!"

"…then…why was I here?" She asked, trembling.

"You were the one broadcasting yourself all over the news! You know, I thought you did have some connection to them, but you actually lied and put yourself in trouble! You're such an idiot. Why did you think this was a good idea? You're so desperate for attention that you painted a giant target on your back." She laughed again, being amused by the whole thing. "You have the gall to believe that you're important in any capacity? My revenge is against Ladybug and Chat Noir! If you have nothing to do with them, then you're useless to me!"

"Marinette!" Lila screamed. "Help me! Please!"

Marinette glared at her. "Even if I could, I wouldn't."

Lila cried out, bawling her eyes out, pleading with everyone.

Then the barrel of the gun pulled away. And Salo started laughing. "Wow, harsh. And I thought I went through petty high school drama." She clicked the gun back into the holster. "But I can't let Marinette have to satisfaction of you being killed. Warren?" She nodded to a man in the back of the room. "Take her out to some park and leave her. They'll find her."

"Yes ma'am," said the brute.

"But before you go…I want Miss Rossi to witness this." She held up the spool and needle, holding it in the light. "Pasolini, if you would be so kind?"

Marinette didn't show any outside signs of panic or fear, but tightened her hands into fists.

Pasolini came from behind, resting one hand on her shoulder, and the other other throat, tilting her chin up.

"You're not going to fight?" Asked Salo. "No screaming? No kicking?"

"Why? Is it not as fun for you if I behave?" Marinette bit back.

Salo grinned, snapping a rubber glove onto her hand. "You got me there. Still going to sew your mouth shut though."

Marinette looked to all the world calm and collected, as Salo used a sharpie to mark the inside and outside of her lips, creating the guide.

She took hold of her bottom lip and pulled it forward.

Marinette's eyebrows drew together as the needle pierced her skin, going in the bottom and out the top. There was no numbing, no relief, only stinging sharp pain. Even when the needle was through, the cotton thread ripped through the puncture. Then Salo moved to the top lip, puncturing through the bottom to the top, and then back down again.

Under and over, a basic stitch pattern. Marinette didn't make a peep, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks. Blood oozed from the piercings, smearing around and turning Marinette's mouth red.

Finally, Salo made one last stitch, eight in total, and made sure it was pulled tight. Then she tied it off and snipped the access. "I'm not much of a seamstress, but I think I did pretty good!"

She brought a mirror over so Marinette could see her new look. The way she had done it forced her lips into a pout, and right around the edges there were little black lines were the thread was visible. Testing the strength, Marinette found she could very slightly open her mouth, enough to maybe drink some water, before it hurt.

"Ah, much better! Now I don't have to listen to your god awful annoying voice anymore!" Salo cheered.

Marinette tore her gaze away from her reflection, to glare at Salo. There was a threat in her eyes, but it would continue to be unvoiced.

"What do you think, Adrien?" asked Salo, turning to him. "You've been awfully quiet this evening."

Adrien whipped his head up, his face full of rage, eyes burning, and hissed at her.

Salo grimaced. "Yikes. Nothing worse than a poorly behaved kitty. Well, we'll just have to train that out of you." She waved at a man in the shadows, gesturing him forward. "Warren, you can escort Miss Rossi out now. I don't particularly care for keeping her around."

The room went into motion. Lila was bagged again and dragged out of the room, while other devices were brought forward.

For Adrien, it was a large metal rack, with straps for the arms and legs, and a link for the collar around his neck. It almost looked like a cross. He was strapped in, both arms, and his feet were splayed apart.

Then they attached pads with wires to his palms, the pads of his feet, the underside of his arms by his armpits, and the area right below his bellybutton.

Marinette watched all of this with a careful eye, not able to ask questions, but extremely wary. She could have sworn she had seen those pads in a movie or something.

Next, the men moved two metal hoops on stands on either side of her. They weren't too big. Large enough to comfortably fit her arms through. At it seemed exactly what they wanted her to do.

Then finally, Salo brought over two buckets and a pitcher of water. "Well, don't you look just absolutely curious?"

Marinette flicked her eyes over all the components in the room, an answer to her question starting to form.

"Now this is a fairly simple device of my own design. You'll be putting your hands through these hoops, and holding up these buckets of water. As time goes on, I'll add a little water at a time. All you have to do is hold them still. If you touch the hoop…well…" Instead of finishing the sentence, Salo rested a wooden dowel on the edge of the ring, just touching it ever so briefly.

A spark flew off of it, and Adrien's whole body seized up for a second. He let out a grunt of pain.

"The longer you touch the ring, the longer the shock. But you can handle this, right? Ladybug is so strong!"

But Marinette wasn't about to tell her that it was only because of the earrings that she had such heightened strength. It's not like she could, anyways.

Two goons took hold of her arms and fed them through the hoops. They placed the handles of the buckets in her hands, and then taped her fist closed, so she couldn't drop them. With the buckets in place, it was impossible to pull her hands back through the hoops.

Even with a few inches of clearance on all sides, she still could feel the static around her wrists. It didn't help that she was still pretty wet and she was holding metal buckets.

"One last thing," Salo snickered, placing a bag over Marinette's head. "Can't have you knowing where the ring is, right?"

Despite the tape, Marinette clenched the bucket tighter. If that spark was any indication, she'd be shocked too, and a shock could contract her muscles and freeze her in place.

Then water started to pour into the buckets. Just about a cup on each side. But Marinette had lost a lot of muscle in isolation.

"15 minutes, and then you can go back in your little cage." Salo giggled, the chair Lila had sat in scrapping across the floor. "Oh, and by the way, if you touch the ring for too long, you could kill Adrien. Those bolts will cross the body, passing by his heart. I know his heart stops when you walk into the room, but let's not get too literal, huh?"

Maybe it would be a mercy to kill him. Surely it would be painful the whole time, but…no. No, she couldn't do that. It was just her twisted brain obsessed with death.

Five minutes in, and she was already struggling. Her shoulders, biceps, and even her neck hurt. She hadn't hit the hoop yet, but it was only a matter of time. Salo added a little more water.

At seven minutes, her arms lowered the tiniest amount too much and she touched the bottom of the ring, sending out a bolt of pain up her arm for a millisecond.

Somewhere in front of her, Adrien barked in pain.

Shortly after, the pain had mostly disappeared, only leaving a slight tingle behind instead.

Another minute passed, and Marinette sank again, the touch lasting a little longer this time. She yelped in pain, pulling at her stitches.

"Uh oh, are we giving up already?"

Marinette was sweating, her muscles trembling. Her elbows felt like they were hyper extended and her wrists ached. The metal handle dug into the crease of her fingers.

Another round of tears cleaned streaks on her dirty face.

Another touch, longer this time. And when she over corrected, she touched the top too, her whole arm convulsing and violently jerking.

Adrien wasn't fairing much better. He closed his eyes, unable to watch, and waited for the inevitable pain to come.

The first was short, and it also didn't even hurt. It just caused all of his muscles to contract. The wires in the paddles left a tingling sensation behind.

The next one was worse. There was really no way to describe the sensation except for painful. Excruciatingly painful. A flash of white behind his eyes, every muscle in his body contracting, tightening, and feeling like he was tearing apart. The bolts burned his skin, heat zipping across his flesh and into his bones.

Each touch, even the most gentle, brought agonizing pain to every inch of his body.

He knew he was screaming, but it was unbidden. Happening without his consent.

Once the shock had ended, and the pain had just about subsided, another shock would be inflicted.

Marinette felt like her arms were going to rip off. There couldn't be more than a liter in either bucket, but they were just so heavy.

She trembled as she tried to hang on. But finally, at the 14 minute mark, her arms gave out, and she collapsed, bringing the rings down with her to the floor.

Sparks flew everywhere, not just burning her arms, but the rest of her as well.

Adrien's screams sounded like a garbage disposal in the sink. His voice had been destroyed in isolation, and all that was left was gurgling and yowling.

Then it all stopped.

Marinette laid on the floor, her arms itching from burns. She was exhausted, and couldn't find the strength to do anything but breathe.

"Is that it?" Someone asked.

"Johnson, Check for a pulse."

Marinette felt someone holding her wrist. "She's still got one." Then she waited on bated breath. "He's got one too."

Salo pulled the hood off of her head as men ripped the tape off her fingers. "Wow! What a shocking development!"

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, finding the thread looser, but not undone. She also tasted a lot of blood.

Salo plucked one end of the thread and pulled it tight again. "Hmm, that might just leave a scar."

Marinette pushed up on one arm so she could look at Adrien.

He hung lifelessly by the wrists. His skin was blackened in some areas, in bolt shaped lines. His hair had fluffed up from the static.

Salo snapped in front of his face, but there was no response. "Ugh, guess we're done. Can hurt someone who's unconscious, right?"

They were lead back to the first set of cells they had been kept in. She wobbled, but walked on her own, while Adrien was dragged by his working arm.

The tiny cell was almost comforting. Being in the cold, quiet dark. Tucked into a small corner of the world.

She couldn't speak, but she moaned, making noise to get Adrien's attention.

He didn't answer.

Not that she really expected him to.

With a sigh, she slid down to sit, resting her feet against the door.

It groaned in response.

That's right, these cells were just old ductwork that had been repurposed. The metal wasn't very thick, like sheets of steel, but it was sharp.

An idea started to roll around in her head. Risky, but plausible. If they were desperate enough.

She was certainly angry enough. But the truth of the matter was that she wasn't doing anything without Adrien.

So she waited.

Her body demanded rest, but she knew she couldn't indulge. Not yet. Her arms throbbed from holding up the buckets, and her legs ached from standing after sitting for so long.

But enough wallowing in pain. Now was time for action.

She reached under the door towards Adrien's cell, her arm fitting a lot easier than when they were first inducted. Perhaps her wasting would be beneficial.

She stood back up, and ran her hands all over the inside of the cell, finding a small camera. She twisted it so it faced away from the door. Then she knelt and got to work.

Very slowly and quietly, she pushed on the bottom of the door, easing it away from her. No sudden movements, or the metal would rattle loudly.

Only a few minutes passed before Adrien groaned from his cell, and shifted, the metal groaning. "My Lady?" He whispered.

She grunted back.

He reached his arm under his door towards her.

For assurance, she patted his hand, but went back to work.

Soon enough, the metal had bent far enough that she could fit her shoulders through. She had to be careful, or else she'd cut herself.

As her feet cleared the threshold, her heart began to pick up in anxiety. She was out. But they weren't free yet, so she knelt in front of Adrien's door, and began pulling.

Adrien caught on quickly, and moved the camera just like she had.

This was it. Marinette was banking on the idea that Salo and her men had gotten cocky, and had lowered security for the night.

If not, they were in for a world of pain.

Finally, Adrien was able to crawl out of the little space they had created. He met her eyes in the dim light and smiled at her.

Phase one complete.