Firstly, I will apologise for it being so long since I updated this! Normally I finish writing the entire story and then upload on a schedule however I have not done that with this. I've been very busy over the past few months and felt very demotivated, but I'm back into the spirit of writing and have progressed this story so much in the past week, so uploads will be more regular.
Once again, I will reply to your reviews at the end. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Action
The thick booklet of papers rustled in between trembling, red gloved hands. Bluebell eyes scanned the bold words on the page, taking in each detail and pause. There were pages to remember for the first scene being filmed, and Marinette was finding it more and more difficult to control the rage of butterflies flying around her stomach.
"Crew, get ready on set!" a woman called out, flicking a fiery pink fringe of hair from her eyes.
Members of the crew began to shuffle away from their conversations, quickly snapping back into work mode and preparing themselves for the first take.
"Now," the woman continued as she walked across set, speaking into a megaphone, "we want this scene perfect in one take for authenticity. I'm expecting best performances for this, no screwing up."
Marinette sunk slightly into her seat on the words, but other crew members just laughed among one another. The pink haired lady approached the young actress, lowering the megaphone and greeting her with a bright smile.
"Ladybug, we're ready for you on set now."
Marinette nodded once and stood to go to her first position, leaving her script on the red spotted chair that she had been occupying.
She risked a glance around the crowd of people, though all seemed more interested in preparing their equipment ready for the take than her. A few gazes were cast her way, but not enough to throw her off.
"I've got this," she muttered under her breath. "Ladybug has got this."
The actress found her place on set, which was around a wall where only one of the three cameras could see her. As she waited, the fake Bank began to fill with extra cast members who had been briefed by a crew member on where to stand and how to behave. They crouched onto the floor under desks, some huddling close to each other and dropping purses and money around them.
Marinette looked back around the wall she was leaning against to see two actors with dark masks concealing their faces and fake guns in their hands. It was unusual to see two sinister appearing characters laughing to one another before the cameras rolled. The actress couldn't help but drift her vision across the extras, trying to spot who would be the co-star she was looking forward to meeting. Of course, she understood that they would be under a mask and neither actor would know the other's identity, but it was that mystery which made the job even more exciting.
"Good morning everybody," Kubdel's voice boomed over the megaphone. "I'm sure Alix has made sure you all know what you're doing, I don't doubt this shot will be flawless on the first take, as I don't plan on doing it again. I'm throwing you all right into this film at the deep end, so do your very best and good luck."
Marinette resumed her place behind the wall and adopted a fighting stance, prepared to launch into her scene.
Kubdel had sat on a director's chair, overseeing the set and flicking his eyes between the camera screens in front of him.
The pink haired woman, Alix, had replaced her megaphone with a clapperboard and was waiting beside the camera that filmed the entire scene.
"Cameras rolling," Kubdel called out. The three camera operators each gave a thumbs up. "Sound?"
A tall man holding a boom pole over his head nodded.
Alix moved the clapperboard in front of the camera, although Marinette couldn't see it's words from her position in the scene.
"Miraculous, scene two, shot 1, take 1," she declared, clapping the board together before moving out of sight again.
"And," Kubdel shouted, dragging out the word, "Action!"
Life burst onto the set.
The faces of the extras twisted into fear and desperate cries, some holding their hands over their heads and others seeking shelter under the desks of the fake Bank.
"I said to put your hands up!" a male voice roared.
"Do it now!" another demanded.
Marinette's eyes were stuck to Kubdel, awaiting her cue as the scene played out. Two bank robbers and plenty of hostages.
She stayed frozen in her pose, ready for the moment that Ladybug would appear and save the civilians.
An actor cried out, sobbing pleas to be spared to one of the robbers.
"Speak one more time and I'll shoot!" a villain warned, gun pressed against the back of the beggar's head.
Kubdel gave Marinette a little signal.
Her eyes narrowed and she threw herself around the corner of the wall, now fully able to take in the sight of the scene. It was going exactly as she had pictured it in her head and as Alix had explained to her before shooting. She darted towards the gunman, fake kicking the weapon from his hand and granting the victim chance to escape.
A couple of punches were thrown each way, with Ladybug dodging each attack without fail. Left, right, crouch, and trip them up. The villain fell to the floor, giving Ladybug time to stand and pursue the other attacker who held a hostage with a gun and bag of money.
"Put her down!" Ladybug instructed. "You don't have to do this."
The villain shook their head. "You don't understand. I need this."
Ladybug took a single step forward, raising her hands up slowly and calmly. "If you hurt that person then things won't be easy for you. Don't make that be the case."
The villain backed up, heading towards the fake door.
"Let me go, please!" the actress cried, wriggling to break free.
The villain snapped, dropping the money and clicking the trigger. The actress screamed and collapsed to the floor, where red liquid began to ooze from their stomach area.
The masked man turned on his heels, racing towards the exit while Ladybug fell to the woman's side, pressing her hands on the wound to prevent further bleeding.
"Now where do you think you're running to?" a new male voice questioned.
Marinette looked up quickly to the voice, both in recognition of the co-star's line, and to remain in character.
A fight scene broke out between the fleeing villain and the other male. Marinette's eyes flickered between the action and the fake-bleeding victim in front of her. He moved quickly throughout the fight, like he was no stranger to fast-paced battle scenes. The kicks and punches between hero and villain were so close that Marinette was convinced they were actually hitting one another, and for a brief moment she wondered whether her own fight had been that realistic. She returned her gaze to the victim on the floor and delivered her line.
"You're going to be okay, we'll get you out of here."
Immediately, the fight drew to a close and the villain's defeated body slid down a wall and collapsed onto the tiled flooring.
Marinette looked to her co-star, who now hurried towards her.
"I'll take care of her," he told her. "You get everybody else out safely and the police in here."
She nodded, moving her hands from the wound and standing to usher the crowd of extras out of the fake door.
Paramedics and police extras entered the scene and hurried to the body of the injured victim and villains while Ladybug stood nearby. The cameras followed her co-star, who now approached her at a slow pace.
He wore a black leather suit not too different from Ladybug's own, including a black mask that perfectly covered his face to keep his identity concealed. In one of his gloved hands, the man held onto a baton, which drew Marinette's attention further to the claws that perched on the ends of his fingers. They really had spared no detail on his design.
The man's green eyes were fixed on her blue ones. Ladybug crossed her arms, the scene's script running through her mind like a track. She had visualised every movement before shooting.
"Ladybug," he spoke, stopping in front of her. "What a pleasure it is to finally meet you, I've heard plenty about you in the news reports."
"Chat Noir," Ladybug spoke coolly.
"Ah, so you've heard of me too?" The man smirked, puffing his chest up and putting his hands on his hips. "I can't say I'm surprised, I am the media's favourite superhero."
Ladybug snorted.
"I admire your work though. I think we'd make a good team together, wouldn't you agree?"
The female hero shook her head instantly. "I don't think so. I prefer to work alone, and I had this under control. I didn't need your help here."
"I don't think you did, my Lady," Chat Noir gestured to the woman on the floor. "See, if I hadn't arrived then that woman would either be dead or the villain would've gotten away."
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I would've figured something out. I always do. Goodbye, Chat Noir."
The lady turned and began to exit the bank, keeping her blue eyes focused on the doorway.
"You keep telling yourself that, Ladybug."
She let the door swing to a close behind her.
"Cut!"
Marinette felt her shoulders drop and the muscles in her face fall into relaxation as she turned back towards where Mr Kubdel sat rewatching the take on a screen.
She noticed that her co-star hadn't made an effort to approach the director and was instead chatting with Juleka, who was brushing out the man's blond hair to reshape it over his mask in preparation of his next scene.
In a quick moment, she felt the actor's eyes shoot in her direction. Their gaze remained locked across the set. The young actress felt her face redden in a slight discomfort; she didn't know who he was underneath that mask, so for all she knew he could have been an A-list celebrity while had barely been able to get her foot in the door. She hoped he didn't think her acting was terrible.
The man raised a hand, giving a slight wave to her across the set.
She mimicked the action before diverting her eyes fast, deciding to remain on the director who had just finished watching the scene.
"Very good take, everyone!" he congratulated. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, I don't think we could have captured that first meeting between you any better- a truly excellent performance from you both. We'll move on to the next scene now, so all actors take five; get any refreshments and makeup retouches while the crew prep. Does that sound good to everyone?"
There was a murmur of agreement among everybody, and within a beat the equipment was being moved around the set to a different scene.
"Marinette," Kubdel smiled with a low voice, standing in front of the young actress. "How did you find that scene?"
She returned the smile happily, "Really good. I felt so confident being Ladybug."
"It showed," he assured her before turning to point at a crew member nearby. "Rose over there will be taking care of you today around set. She'll point you towards your next scene. Remember though, nobody is to know who you are."
"Got it," Marinette nodded.
"I'll see you over at the next scene then," Kubdel parted, leaving the young actress to approach Jane.
The nervous crew member with light blonde hair smiled at her warmly. She was the runner that Juleka had been talking of earlier.
"Hello Ladybug," she greeted, eyes closed tightly while her smile overtook her face. "Let's get you over to the next set."
Marinette nodded, mimicking the expression before following the small girl to where she would be filming the next scene. It was going to be a long day, but she was looking forward to every minute.
Replies to reviews:
missdragongirl: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed it
gleamqueen: Don't worry, Marinette's confidence will grow with the story! Sorry I have taken so long to update, hopefully this chapter makes you forgive me
MidnightForest037: Thank you so much, I'm loving writing it so hopefully I can do justice to the story I want to tell
Guest Sorta: Thank you!
SJJSpice1: I hope the chapter has fulfilled your expectations! Thank you for your support, it means a lot!