A Time Before (Grief)

"Madness as you know is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."

-The Joker

One Month Before...

It must've been chance that woke up Ms. Dupain-Cheng, as she realized just seconds away from sleep that she forgot to turn off the ovens in the bakery downstairs. She hurried out of bed, trying not to stir her husband as she tiptoed downstairs into the bakery. In her half awake state, she barely noticed the lights on in the bakery or the voices coming from beyond the door.

She only registered it when it was too late, when she heard a loud bang and a sharp pain in her chest. All her energy drained out of her body and she felt herself falling backwards, her body going limp from and the world growing dark.

"What are you doing?"

"She startled me!"

"Damn it, this was supposed to be easy!"

"What do we do!? I still haven't opened the register!"

"Grab it and go!"

"What?"

"Grab it and run!"

She could hear hustling footsteps, some leaving out the door which chimed with each person and others coming down the stairs. She opened her eyes through the pain, turning her head to see her daughter coming down the stairs while her husband raced down to check on her. She was happy to see his face, and smiled at him while he pleaded. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she knew he could be such a worrywart. With great effort, she put a hand on his chest, "It'll be okay. It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

It wasn't okay. Marinette stayed with her mom as she slipped into unconsciousness, riding with her as the ambulance took her to the hospital. She was only separated from her when the nurses and doctors said they'd be taking her to surgery. Her memory started to blur after that - unable to remember whether minutes or hours passed. All she could remember was when the surgeon came back outside to deliver the bad news. The bullet hit her in the stomach - she hadn't died from blood loss. She'd died from the stomach acid that leaked into her abdominal cavity.

Devastation. Desperate. Loss. Anger. Rage. Fury.

At some point, Marinette found herself running out of the hospital. She wasn't sure when, but it was as Ladybug. She'd transformed. How could this happen? Why did this happen? To her mom of all people? Was this a punishment? Had she done something wrong?

The Next Morning...

Adrien made his way into class with Nino, happily chatting with his friend and glad to see he would be just on time for once. He took his usual seat at the front with Nino just as the bell rang, relieved to know he'd made it. He also noticed the seat behind him was empty. Their homeroom teacher hadn't quite arrived yet so he turned to talk to Alya one row behind him, "Marinette running late?"

"Probably," Alya smiled, "You know how that girl is. It's no big. I've got her notes covered til she shows up."

She never showed up. During lunch, Alya tried texting her but they got no reply. So the resolved to stop by her family bakery after school was out. Adrien had a modeling gig after school so he offered them a ride if his body guard would let him. He had to plead with the driver to be lenient and let them on, but eventually gave in and drove them to the bakery. But none of them expected to find the door marked off with police tape.

As soon as the car stopped, they all jumped out to the protests of Adrien's driver. Alya peered in through the windows, "I don't see anyone inside. Is that a blood stain?"

"Dude, what happened?" Nino asked, adjusting his glasses to better see the inside the bakery window glass. Adrien felt his heart sink - wondering what had happened and fearing the worst for one of his few friends. While they were busy staring in through the window, Alya proceeded around the back towards the side entrance leading to the apartment above the bakery. Alya has let herself in hundreds of times to visit the Dupain-Cheng's but none of them were prepared for the blood stain left on the staircase. It looked like a vague outline had been left behind in the blood. And going by the size-

"Oh, what are you doing here?"

They turned to we Marinette's dad standing there with a solemn look in his eyes. He was alone and looked lost when not in his baker's apron. He glanced once inside before asking, "I suppose you're looking for Mari?"

They nodded and his gaze went down, "Me too. The police are looking too now."

"M. Dupain, what happened?" Alya asked, voice shaking. He glanced once inside, looking at the stain on the stairs before breaking down into tears. He couldn't bring himself to say it but the tears and sobs told them enough. They didn't have to figure it out. Adrien helped the man back onto his feet, "Let's get you inside."

He heard his bodyguard grunt aloud, trying to get his attention because of the photoshoot but he didn't care about that right now. Right now, his only concern was for Marinette and her father.