Marinette walked into school as happily as ever, into the courtyard of the school. It was simply another normal day. The oddest thing, however, was that no one seemed to be in the courtyard.
"Hello?" Marinette called out. "Where is everyone?"
Marinette heard a shout from up above, in Miss Bustier's class. It was Nino, and he looked worried.
"Marinette, you're here!" He said. "Get up here, quick!"
Marinette hurried up the stairs as fast as she could, sensing the urgency in Nino's tone. "What's wrong, Nino?" she asked as soon as she got up the stairs. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"In here!" Nino grabbed her by the arm and led her into the classroom, and she didn't object. She was too puzzled by the current situation to care. The entire class was near the front of the room, crowded around a laptop on Miss Bustier's desk. The teacher was covering her mouth in shock, and everyone else seemed to be in some distress, too. They all turned to see Marinette when she entered.
"Marinette!" Alya shouted when she saw the black-haired girl. "Come here, now! You have to see!"
"What is it?" Marinette asked, as students moved out of the way to let her see the screen. She immediately gasped. It was a news feed of the front of the Agrestes' mansion, and Gabriel Agreste stood in front of the camera with Nathalie on the side. The report at the bottom of the screen read, "Adrien Agreste Reported Missing."
"What?!" Marinette almost screamed, looking around the room in disbelief. Adrien wasn't there She turned back to the laptop in panic. "What happened? He's missing?!"
"They're sayin' Adrien disappeared yesterday, a little bit before that akuma attack the other day," Nino said, his voice full of worry. "They say he probably went to hide from it, but from there they don't know what happened to him."
"What?!" Marinette asked again, running a hand through her bangs. "This can't be… What could've happened?!"
"Marinette, I know you're worried, but we need to hear what Mr. Agreste is saying," Miss Bustier said, gently putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder. Marinette nodded as she let out a little whimper, and the class refocused their attention on the screen.
"Since around 7:00 P.M. yesterday, my son, Adrien Agreste, has been missing. We've desperately been looking around for him, to no avail. I ask the public, if you have any information on the whereabouts of my son-" Gabriel Agreste pushed his glasses back into place, as Marinette pondered Gabriel Agreste's voice and expression. He didn't actually seem that worried, despite the fact he was on TV asking the public for information on his missing son. It just looked like a press conference. Nathalie looked like the only person there able to show human emotion, and even then she didn't look worried for Adrien in particular. "Please contact me as soon as possible. The number is…"
"I can't believe this is happening," Marinette gasped, turning and hugging Alya, who hugged her back.
"There, there, Marinette, it'll be alright. They'll find him, I'm sure they-"
"People of Paris!"
Marinette turned around, her ears recognizing the voice coming from the laptop. She stared at the screen, hew jaw dropping as Hawkmoth's face filled the screen.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Hawkmoth, and I am the man who has been unleashing akumas on Paris. I have turned the people of this city into weapons of destruction, and those affected don't even remember what they did! I have taken Paris's peace away… But that isn't all I've taken."
The video of the smiling man cut to a feed from someplace that looked like a prison cell, and lying on the bed was none other than Adrien.
"Oh, my god," Alya gasped, and Nino shook his head.
"What's going on!?"
"He's hacked the news feed, I'd guess-"
"Shhh!" Marinette hissed, getting closer to the laptop and turning the volume up.
"There's your precious Adrien Agreste, Paris. Don't worry, citizens- I won't harm him. After all, I don't have any qualms with him. The real person I want is…" The video cut back to Hawkmoth, smiling with smug satisfaction. "Ladybug."
Oh, no, Marinette thought, staring at the monitor. Hawkmoth kidnapped Adrien to get my attention?! How far is this maniac willing to go?!
"Now, I know you and a certain cat are… partners, are you not? You and one Chat Noir."
Marinette stared at the screen in shock. The video cut again. This time, to footage of Hawkmoth fighting off Chat Noir.
"What you are watching is footage from my very own residence where Chat Noir found me. He attempted to defeat me all on his own. You should really keep your cat on a shorter leash, madam." Marinette watched the video intently, until Chat Noir went for Hawkmoth's chest with- was that Cataclysm?!- and Hawkmoth hit him over the head with his cane. She forced herself to look away, and so did many of her other classmates. The feed cut back to Hawkmoth again, who chuckled. "Adrien is not the only person I have. Chat Noir is now in my grasp. And if you want your partner and Paris's favorite model back, you'll come find me, and you will give me your Miraculous. If you do not come find me in the next twenty-four hours…" Hawkmoth smiled into the camera. "Not only will I reveal Chat Noir's identity on live television, I will make sure he and Adrien Agreste never see the light of day again. Ladybug… The ball's in your court."
The feed cut out, and the video returned to the camera pointed at the Agreste Mansion. On the screen, Gabriel Agreste frowned, staring somewhere off-camera while Nathalie stood, looking shocked. Chatter started up around the students almost immediately as the news fee cut to the newsroom where the anchor stood, as shocked as Nathalie had looked just a moment earlier.
"Adrien's been kidnapped?!"
"And Chat Noir, too!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"What did he mean, 'never see the light of day?' Is he going to hurt them? What if he kills them?!"
Marinette simply stood, her hands over her mouth, staring at the anchor gathering his thoughts and starting to report on the situation at hand. She felt hands on her shoulders, and looked to see Alya.
"Mari, you okay?" She asked, worried.
"Yeah, I am, I'm just… feeling a little dizzy…" Marinette's thought swirled around in her head, unable to organize. She couldn't leave right now. She had twenty-four hours, after all, didn't she? She didn't have to worry about Chat- she knew he could handle himself, but what about Adrien? The thought of Hawkmoth's threat almost made her sick. How could she find Hawkmoth? How did Chat? Suddenly, she gasped. He must have followed the butterfly without me, she gaped, although she was too worried to be angry. How could he be so stupid?! Oh, you silly kitty, you went off on your own and got yourself hurt! She thought again of the video of Hawkmoth fighting Chat Noir. Chat lunging for Hawkmoth with Cataclysm, Hawkmoth mercilessly whacking him upside the head with his cane…
"I need to go to the bathroom…" Marinette said, stepping back from the computer.
"Of course, Marinette. Take as long as you need," Miss Bustier said quietly, trying to hide the worry on her face and in her tone.
"I'll go with you," Alya offered, but Marinette shook her head. On any other day, she would have said yes, but she needed to clear her head. She needed to talk to Tikki, to sort out all the information she'd gotten.
Marinette ran out of the room and down the stairs to the bathroom, pushing open the door and running to the handicapped stall, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She stood against the bathroom wall and slid down, opening her bag and peeking at Tikki.
"Marinette, this is bad," Tikki warned, looking up at her.
"I know! Chat went out on his own… In the video, he tried to use Cataclysm on Hawkmoth!"
Tikki gasped. "No!"
"He did," Marinette nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. Hawkmoth beat him up, though… Really badly. And now Hawkmoth's got Adrien, too! What's he planning to do? He says he'll reveal chat Noir's identity… Then what? Tikki, what if he kills them both?! On live TV?!"
"Marinette, calm down! You're going to hyperventilate!" Tikki said. "Don't worry! We can save them!"
"How, Tikki?" Marinette asked urgently. "We don't know where Hawkmoth is, and for all I know, I'll only be able to track him down with another butterfly! I might be able to handle an akuma attack on my own, but…" She shook her head. "I need Chat! He's my teammate! But what if it's a trap? What if Chat got away, and Hawkmoth just wants to draw me in? But then, what about Adrien? I want to leave right now and look, but if I leave now and Ladybug shows up, what's my class going to think? They'll know I'm Ladybug!"
"Slow down!" Tikki ordered. "Tonight, we can go looking for Hawkmoth's lair. We'll have to be careful, but we can do it. But we won't give Hawkmoth your Miraculous. We'll get Adrien out of there to safety, then we'll find Chat Noir and fight Hawkmoth if we need to!"
Marinette sighed, taking deep breaths. "You're right… You're right. I can do this. For Adrien. For Chat. For Paris. I have to." She stood up straight again, closing her bag once Tikki was inside and walking out of the stall into the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face and stared into the mirror, giving her most determined look before thinking about the situation more, and sighing again. She walked out into the courtyard, then back into class. Kidnappings didn't cancel school days. Marinette would have to wait to save Adrien, and Ladybug would have to wait to save Chat Noir.