A/N: There's roughly another four chapters after this one - if all goes to plan and I stick to the word limit for each chapter. Knowing me though? We'll probably have a solid 30 chapters for ABOI alone. I wanna expand on this story's world as much as I can before I smash it open with the reworked Keep It Together (KIT!).

This chapter is really just some build up toward the final event. Speckle in some well-needed Carapace time, and Alya and Adrien being anxious messes and we have a perfect summary for this chapter. Oh and hospitals. Gotta have that hospital aspect. Who doesn't love the endless beeping, stressed out staff and potent stench of powerful, cleansing chemicals?

FoxDemon1023: Vixen didn't take Ladybug. She'd planned to severely injure her so that she'd be vulnerable.

Demi Clayton: Thank you :)

Jokes aside, I'll cut it short for this week lovelies. This chapter was (thankfully) written up from weeks ago so I could get it out quickly.

Till next time,

D.L.D

Chapter Twenty Two: Ominous

Carapace

Ever since that night, Marinette limp in his arms as he rushed toward the flashing lights of red and blue, Carapace had been unsettled. Seeing her like that, witnessing the downfall of Ladybug, had done great damage to him. Whenever he closed his eyes he would see her - go back to that moment - helpless and panicked and yet trying to seem calm and collected as Marinette slipped in and out of consciousness.

In that moment, only he could change her fate. Only he could save her as she bled out onto the pavement, her skin paling and her body growing cold.

Nothing at all was soothed by the emergency services taking her in. Once that gas mask was strapped on, black Velcro securing her limp body to the stretcher, Carapace could only feel more panic and concern. Too many sounds filled his ears. Too many lights flashed within his eyes. But, even through all that chaos, he had remembered when she left, staccato heartbeats jumping through the heart monitor as the paramedics slammed the ambulance doors shut.

Ever since he'd known Marinette, Carapace had considered her his own family. Originally, it was a silly crush. Awed by her pure skill, her ability to just make a person smile, a younger Nino had thought that he'd loved her. Really, that love had been in another sense - the familial kind that extended past romance and wanting to be with someone. Marinette was his sister - it didn't matter if they weren't blood related. No matter what, he'd want her around, wanted to see her living the best life possible.

Seeing someone he considered like his sister like that, bleeding out onto wet concrete as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, Carapace couldn't help but feel powerless. Useless. Because how could he fail her so tremendously? How could he let his sister almost... die?

Sleep wasn't really a thing ever since that night. Whenever he did let himself drift, Nino would find himself back in that moment, running through a maze of streets that never did end. Slowly, Marinette would grow weaker in his arms; gradually she would stop talking, stop breathing, becoming a cold, floppy corpse that simply did nothing. Those dreams - no, nightmares - weren't far from the reality. Even though Carapace had saved her, brought Marinette to medical professionals, she wasn't awake. She was a floppy, silent body - a breathing corpse.

"You shouldn't blame yourself so much," Master Fu had told him, two cups of tea curling steam between them. Placing a comforting hand on Nino's shoulder - because Carapace simply couldn't break down in the way he could - the old man had let out a somber sigh, "You did the best you could and I am sure Marinette appreciated that. Now all you can do is try to preserve the peace - bring justice to your injured friend."

So, taking the Master's advice, Nino buried himself in finding justice. Rena Rouge and Chat Noir were a mess. Both of them, in their own weird ways, were going through a similar to feeling to him. Rena Rouge diverted it into trying to continue on, trying to seem normal, while actively ignoring everything to do with Ladybug; Chat Noir became solitary, destructive, sinking deep into his own realm of thought and action.

Out of the original four heroes, only Carapace remained. Only he was responsible enough, driven enough, to correctly hunt down Vixen. Everyone else was too lost, too damaged, to truly see what was going on. They were all falling apart at the seams - but Carapace, forever strengthened by his own hardened backbone, his shell, would keep going. With everyone else cracking under the pressure, he had to.

"So this is what you've been building up to..." Carapace murmured as he watched a rather hurried nurse scurry across the hospital car park. Catching the pale sunlight, her dark hair was piled into a messy bun on her head, a pair of brown eyes smoothly scanning the area as the woman adjusted her badge and entered through the main entrance.

For the past few days, Carapace had been tailing Vixen around the Paris. Only once she'd given him the slip - a few days prior when he had made the mistake of sticking much too close to the Seine. That night she had warned him to stay back, to mind his own business, because what she was doing was going to fix the universe. Rambling on about balance, some kind of strange wish, Vixen had told Carapace that it would be better if he stayed out of others' more complex business.

Too bad he was never too good at listening. After that night, triggered by Vixen's mention of a wish, he had decided to go to the Master. Through that digging, discussing why an akuma could possibly want the wish for themselves, the plan was established. Follow the akuma, keep it far away from Marinette and try - emphasis on the try - to disable the akuma: that had been the plan. So far, it was proving to work. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

Honestly, Carapace should have known that Vixen would bring the battle close to Marinette. Knowing what she did - which was apparently a lot - she'd know that Marinette was a tender wound for the group at the moment. Marinette would make them hesitate; Marinette would make them weak.

Or she would have if Carapace didn't know exactly what Vixen wanted.

Getting off the roof, Carapace jumped down into a nearby alley. Immediately, he dropped his transformation, passing Wayzz a generous chunk of a croissant, before pulling his phone out of his pocket. In record time Alya's number was being called, Nino anxiously gnawing at his bottom lip as he stared at the hospital, one large car park away from his current location.

"Hey Nino," For once Alya sounded surprised to hear from him, the thousands of questions she wanted to ask obvious from her tone of voice. Nevertheless, she opted for a shorter version, "What's up?"

"Vixen's at the hospital," Nino got the words out quickly - because urgency was key - and he could feel his grip tightening around his phone. Still watching the building, he stepped out into the car park, adjusting his cap to shield his eyes from the watery sunlight of the day. "I've been tailing her and I think she's after Marinette."

There wasn't time to explain everything. There was no time for details. Like in action movies, tales told about situations where there was no time to think, this current moment had no time for deep thought and reflection. Not when the villain was currently roaming around the hospital, smiling at everyone they met with a deceptive set of mischievous, wicked eyes. No-one would question a nurse; Nino had to act now.

"Where is she? If she's around we can find her," Alya answered, surprisingly calm. Today she seemed to be full of surprises. Today she seemed to be more of her old self again. "Adrien and I are currently lingering around ICU. The whole class is here to visit Marinette."

"She went in through the main entrance, the one near the big silver statue," Nino sighed as he approached that same entrance, the glass doors sliding open smoothly to let him inside. Countless people were walking about, some queuing for the elevators and others rushing toward other wards in the large building. Close by was a desk, two staff members stationed there to provide information to any lost members of the public.

"That means she doesn't know where Marinette is being kept," He could sense the smile on Alya's face, the relief flooding through her system. That meant they had time on their side - time and knowledge. As if sensing his own conclusions, Alya spoke once more, firing off her course of action, "I'll talk with Adrien and we'll come up with a plan. You try to intercept Vixen on her way up here. Hopefully that will buy us a bit more time."

"Hopefully," Nino agreed as he headed toward the main staircase - one that bridged the maternity ward with the accident and emergency ward. If there was anywhere that Vixen could be, then it would be here. Most people mistook this staircase for the one that truly led to ICU. "Be careful, Alya."

"I'm always careful," Alya responded, her own voice soft and gentle. "You be careful too."

Because being careful - even if it seemed excessive - could very well save their lives. That was demonstrated when Marinette fell; that was proven when Vixen had used their own confidence against them. You could never be too careful, superhero or not. Prevention was often better than cure and sometimes there was no true cure. Sometimes all that was left, your final consequence, was pain and suffering. The end of everyone who loved you's happiness.

"I'll come back in one piece," Nino promised, ending the call and slipping his phone back into his pocket as he hurried up the main staircase.

This time he would be the one to fix things; he would be the strong one that everyone could depend on.

Alya

For once the day almost felt like a normal one - one where Marinette was there. Everyone was getting along, bright smiles and chatter being shared as they passed around a card with a giant pink heart on it. Someone had bought it (to go with the 'get well soon' balloon and a small box of chocolates) and the entire class was clamouring around it. Rose was at the centre of it all, dishing out her advice and her small instructions to those who were trying to sign the card with colourful crayons.

All the while Adrien and Alya had been... well, wandering about. At some point a nurse had tried to talk to them both, one they recognised as Marinette's regular, but she had to cut it short when she was paged to go and check on another patient. Other than that, they had been rather silent. Being in the hospital never was a very pleasant experience; being away from the hospital was never very nice either.

Thank God Nino provided a reprieve, his call providing a very welcoming distraction.

"Hey Nino," Alya couldn't help but grin as she answered. So much time had passed since any of them had heard from him - so much time being a mere two hours. But Nino always was someone you could get through to. Two hours was too long for him. "What's up?"

"Vixen's at the hospital," Nino delivered the soul-crushing news with more or less zero cushioning. Instead he got it straight out, like a fact, like a simple piece of information that anyone could have known. Part of Alya was stunned by his delivery; another part of her knew that it meant this was urgent and he was calling her because he needed her help. "I've been tailing her and I think she's after Marinette."

Not good news. Not good news at all. If Vixen was planning to attack Marinette directly then all sorts could go wrong - especially if it was for her miraculous. None of them knew just how deeply Tikki was linked to Marinette at the moment; unfortunately, the tiny kwami hadn't been seen ever since that fateful night. No Tikki meant there was deep damage done. No Tikki meant that removing the miraculous was simply too dangerous.

Vixen wouldn't care though. Carrying out Hawkmoth's agenda - getting what she wanted - was Vixen's motive. That was why she had come to the hospital. That was why she chose now to strike. She thought that Marinette was open and exposed.

"Where is she? If she's around we can find her," Alya forced herself to remain composed and calm. Right now she had to seem like everything was normal, like everything was going as planned. If she showed even the slightest sign of alarm, the smallest trace of panic, then it would be game over. Attention would be dragged their way and Vixen would know where they were. "Adrien and I are currently lingering around ICU. The whole class is here to visit Marinette."

For a moment Nino was silent. From the other side of the screen, Alya could picture him, a hand on top of his signature red cap and his lips pressed into a thoughtful grimace. Stress never did pair well with Nino; seeing him in a stressed state was a rare as seeing snow during the middle of summer. Nevertheless, when he was stressed, Alya could always sense it. Even across the phone, his voice the only clue to his emotions, she could tell right away.

"She went in through the main entrance," A sigh escaped Nino as something close to him made a whooshing noise before clicking. Most likely it was the glass door's downstairs - they always did make a jarring sound when closing. "The one near the big silver statue."

Immediately, Alya recognised what area Nino was talking about. Across from where the ICU was - practically on the other side of the vast hospital grounds - Vixen had taken the most obvious and confusing entrance. That meant this place was entirely new to her; she knew nothing about its layout. That gave them an advantage. Knowing where Marinette was, knowing where Vixen most likely was located, definitely gave them a good edge.

Turning to Adrien, who glanced back at her with a curious expression, Alya could feel a plan formulating in her mind. If Vixen truly was where Alya thought she was, then they'd be able to intercept her. Easily.

"That means she doesn't know where Marinette is being kept," Alya couldn't help the smile and sigh of relief that left her system. However, it was short-lived; she had to focus on important matters before celebrating. "I'll talk with Adrien and we'll come up with a plan. You try to intercept Vixen on her way up here. Hopefully that will buy us a bit more time."

"Hopefully," Nino agreed, a low hum filling his end of the line. Gently, almost like a shaky promise, he added, "Be careful, Alya."

"I'm always careful," She teased in response, a small and knowing grin working its way onto her face. Nevertheless, her smugness grew soft as she sighed, her own voice soft and gentle, "You be careful too."

Last time they had crossed paths with Vixen they had lost someone they thought they'd never lose. That proved she was dangerous. That proved how they had to be careful whenever they crossed paths with her. Vixen was something unpredictable. Vixen was something unprecedented. If they wanted to succeed - to keep everyone including themselves safe and sound - then they needed to play it careful. They needed to be cautious.

"I'll come back in one piece," Nino promised and Alya clung to his words like a kitten clinging to a quaking tree branch. There was no assured way of knowing if he'd be back in one piece. There was no way to know if this was when they'd last speak to each other. Either way, Alya had to believe that his promise was enough: Nino would do everything he could to come back to her in one piece. She would make sure to do the same.

Slipping her phone into her back pocket, Alya returned her attention back to Adrien - who looked as if he were dying to know what he'd missed out on. Not that Alya could blame him. Hunting down Vixen had consumed their minds ever since a week ago. Only she had pushed that aside, too wrapped up in her own guilt to even think about spending extra time as Rena Rouge. Without Ladybug it just felt... wrong.

Yet, looking at the blonde beside her, Alya couldn't help but wonder. Did Adrien feel like that too?

"I'm guessing Nino found something," Adrien was the first to break the stillness between them, raising a brow as he watched their classmates from the sidelines. Still absorbed with signing the card and leaving little post-it-notes on other gifts, they hadn't realised that Alya and Adrien were on a completely different planet. They didn't even notice when they'd left to grab some coffee, well-versed in the art of navigating the hospital's maze-like corridors.

"Vixen's here," Alya admitted, the words a bitter statement on her tongue as she folded her arms over her chest. Releasing a sigh, she leaned against the wall, glancing at the blindingly white lights above them, "Nino thinks she's after Marinette. He's been tailing her for god knows how long."

"And he didn't tell any of us?" Aghast, almost as if he was offended by the truth, Adrien seemed incredulous as the question passed his lips. However, as soon as it passed, he shook his head, letting out a low laugh, "No, of course he wouldn't tell us. The entire team was falling apart."

"We were all hit hard by last week," Alya gave a wane smile, one that failed to light up her eyes but oozed with the overwhelming sympathy lingering within her system. Placing a hand on Adrien's shoulder, she gently added, "We both coped by distancing ourselves. But Nino probably coped by trying to find Vixen - he was the one who found Marinette after... you know."

Not once had Nino shared what he'd seen that night. Whenever it was mentioned, or even broached, he'd stiffen and say that it was simply not appropriate to talk about. Even when he and Alya were alone. Unlike all other secrets, there was no prying that truth from him. No - whatever Nino had seen that night, under the eerie glow of a thousand stars, stuck with him. Like glitter in glue, like a stick in the mud, it was fixed, difficult to extract. And, struggling with her own issues, Alya couldn't bring herself to try and get it out.

But now, with Vixen in the hospital and Nino most likely following her, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly he had found that night. What state was Marinette in when Carapace found her at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower?

"We'd better start thinking of a plan," Adrien ran a hand through his hair. Antsy - not that he was wrong to be - he was starting to get jittery within the confines of the familiar corridor. "What does Vixen know?"

"Not much," Alya responded, swallowing down the surge of troubling thoughts that had resurfaced with Nino's call. Right now she had to focus. Right now she had to do the best she could to make up for failing Marinette once. "From what Nino told me it seems like she thinks that Marinette's in the Accident and Emergency department. That gives us a solid twenty minutes to come up with a plan of action."

Nodding, Adrien seemed to be absorbing every little detail of what she said. Pacing - must be a shared habit between himself and Marinette - the cogs were definitely turning within his head. No doubt they were thinking about the extensive layout of the hospital and its grounds, Marinette's room and the crowd of classmates in front of it, and the many members of the public lingering around. There were a lot of variables involved in planning this time; without Lucky Charm permanent damage was assured.

If they wanted to prevent innocent people from being injured, then they needed to be careful. If they wanted to keep this quiet, to make sure that attention was not drawn to themselves, Marinette or Vixen, then they needed a well-crafted plan. Everything had to be Ladybug-perfect.

"I think we should make sure that Marinette's safe before we do anything else," Adrien eventually offered the summary of his thoughts, glancing to Alya for a sign of her approval. "We know that she's aiming to gain access to her room."

"Three steps ahead of you, Sunshine," Alya grinned, chuckling as she waved her phone within her hand. Sometimes she loved her tech savvy ways - especially when it included an app on Marinette's phone that sensed nearby intrusions. "I'll be the eyes and ears around this spot. If Vixen gets close, I'll craft up a mirage to make Marinette's room appear like someone else's."

That seemed solid, like something Ladybug would tell Rena Rouge to do if she were here. Rena Rouge was always the one watching from a distance, keeping things running smoothly for those who were actively fighting the akuma. Being a main fighter, right in the thick of it all, was not her usual role; last time it had been her role, she had caused the downfall of her team. This time she couldn't make the same mistake.

"So that leaves me with intercepting Vixen?" Adrien blinked, almost hesitant as he asked the obvious question. With Ladybug gone, Chat Noir would have to serve as her replacement - he had the power to. Out of the three remaining heroes, he was the only one skilled enough to actually give Vixen a run for her money. Carapace was too used to defense and Rena Rouge was vital to keeping Marinette's location masked.

"Yep," Alya nodded. Sensing the gathering tension between them, an unspoken shared feeling of hesitation, she attempted to crack a joke, a grin cracking across her face. "Consider it a way for me to say 'I trust you to do the right thing'."

Maybe the humour wasn't the kind he was used to. Perhaps Adrien was just so lost in his own world that he couldn't fully process it. That had to be why he cringed at Alya's remark, almost with a painful flinch, as he shook his head and gave her one of his 'model smiles' - a tell-tell sign of his resignation.

"Alright, I'll follow her and meet up with Nino along the way," Adrien nodded. A sign of agreement. Although it was reluctant, almost as if he feared what his actions would be after accepting this part of the plan.

Then, he froze. Eyes wide, pupils blown into the size of tiny dots, Adrien looked as if he'd seen a ghost over Alya's shoulder. Everything within him stiffened, every nerve within him came to a shuddering halt. Frozen, he was absolutely frozen with something that Alya couldn't entirely comprehend. Even in the past, he had never been like this; even as Chat Noir, caught off-guard by one of Ladybug's sharp remarks, he had never reacted like this.

Confused as to what caused it, Alya frowned as she turned on her heel. Instantly, she caught a flash of midnight hair, a nurse with dirt brown eyes passing by. Humming, she sent a familiar tune into the air, soft and lilting like a lullaby and yet foreboding and ominous given the circumstances. Tagged to her chest, contrasting with her navy blue scrubs, was a name-tag with a matching picture: Cerise Allard.

Never before had Alya seen as nurse named Cerise Allard.

"She's here," Adrien spoke, his voice low. Whether it was from shock or intent to not be caught in the act, Alya didn't know. Right now she couldn't hear much over the roaring pulse of her blood in her veins. "That nurse has never been around here."

"Be careful Adrien," Alya warned, her hand grasping onto his arm just as he was about to leave her side. Pleading, almost desperate, she allowed herself to slip some vulnerability through as she addressed one of her close friends. "We don't need you out of commission. We've already got Marinette to worry about."

"Don't worry about me," Automatically, Adrien assured her. His smile, though, did little to soothe Alya's rising anxiety, "I'll be fine."

Unable to shake the dread, even though she wanted to, Alya forced a dry chuckle to escape her system, "Don't let that ego of yours endanger your life," Shaking her head, Alya sighed as she reminded him, "You are important, Adrien."

"I know," He nodded.

But knowing that he was going to be careful wasn't the problem: what Vixen could do to him was. After all, with the power to manipulate reality she could do anything - that included bringing Chat Noir down onto his knees.

Adrien

His heartbeat thundering within his eardrums, Adrien followed the peculiar nurse along the uniform corridors of the hospital. Through endless twists and turns, flocks of patients and visitors alike, the nurse didn't halt for a single second as she continued on her path. Even when a group of nurses and doctors rushed past, scrambling to reach a room which was filled with the erratic chirps of a heart monitor going wild, she remained a calm and purposeful figure within a sea of panic-stricken chaos.

Along several corridors and up two flights of stairs, Adrien followed Cerise Allard - the new nurse who had just so happened to pass by Marinette's room. Nothing new. No, hospitals often had multiple staff members that rotated about the place. But, to have a nurse who was meant to be in the gynecology unit somehow wind up in ICU? That definitely didn't seem right to Adrien, especially with the news about Vixen's infiltration.

From a sensible distance, the blonde watched as Cerise observed at her surroundings. Then, entering a room, she abruptly left Adrien alone. In the hallway. With only his thoughts for company.

Staring at the door, its glass window blocked by a curtain and a label beside it showcasing its purpose, Adrien couldn't help but hesitate. Right now he could go in - or he could tell Alya and Nino where the nurse had gone. He could charge into this blindly or he could prepare for it. Time to properly weigh the pros and cons of being brash and assertive was a luxury that he couldn't afford right now. Time was dwindling; his time to protect Marinette was waning. Adrien had to make a decision.

Automatically, his hand fixed to the door handle, ready to yank it open. He just had to make sure, he had to see for himself, that it wasn't her.

But what if Cerise Allard wasn't really Vixen?

Like a ten tonne truck, that single thought knocked all of the wind out of Adrien's sails. Cooling his usually thoughtless flight or fight response, slowing it right down, his brain was urging him to take caution. Just like that night a week ago, his actions could negatively impact the future. Adrien had to remember that - no matter what decision he made next.

Paying him no mind, countless other people passed through the corridor. Even the staff members, their badges gleaming way too brightly under the intense glare of the ceiling's florescent lights, didn't spare a second glance in Adrien's direction. Blended into the background, like this he was invisible. Just another person in just another hospital. There was nothing more to it - even if he was wrong about Cerise Allard's identity.

Pushing open the door with a hard exhale, Adrien immediately stepped into the room and glanced around it. Within it was a row of beds, all filled with women who seemed to be recovering from a surgery of some kind. Flitting between them was the strange nurse, her brow pinched with concern as she aided one of her patients to sit up within their hospital bed. A pair of bright blue gloves were on her hands.

"Can I help you, young man?" Soft and lilting, her voice was nothing like Lila's. No, it was more sympathetic, filled with the years of experience that came with caring for other human beings. "Are you here to see a patient?"

"No, I think I'm a little lost," Thinking on his toes, Adrien immediately slipped into the familiar role of his boyish, innocent charm. One thing the endless photo shoots and campaigns were good for was his own acting skills. And that was without the added experience of being Chat Noir. "I was looking for the cardiology unit."

"Well that's not far from here," Cerise hummed, smoothing down the patient's blanket so that it could fully cover her patient from the waist downwards. Occupied with adjusting their pillows, they remained completely out of sync with the ongoing conversation. "But are you sure that's what you're looking for?"

"Yep," Adrien nodded. Clearly, this lead was a dead end. Vixen didn't know about the layout of the hospital; she didn't appear to know much about this place from what Alya had told him.

"You know, it's not good to lie, Adrien," Cerise tutted, her tongue clicking disapprovingly as she shook her head. Leaving her patient, a wistful sigh left her lips as she returned to the trolley that had apparently always been there. "Especially to an old friend."

Now his defenses were up. Alarm bells, blaring and powerful, rang within every inch of Adrien's brain as he stared at the nurse with wide, questioning eyes. How did she know his actual name? How did she know he was lying? Most people wouldn't even bat an eye at his words; most people would know of him but only because of his model status and the advertisements blown up on every possible street corner. But Cerise? She seemed to know him; she was most likely Vixen in disguise.

"Do we know each other?" Backing toward the door, Adrien raised a brow, still trying to push an innocent demeanour.

"Quite well," Cerise nodded, a dark gleam to her earth-hued eyes as she hummed. Behind Adrien, the door let out a low click - the sound of a locking mechanism being pushed into place. "And I think we're overdue a good chat. So let's have a little talk."

There was no point in pretending not to know - Adrien knew that now. Vixen wanted him to know that she was here; there was some kind of advantage for her to gain from this. As long as he remembered that, Adrien would be fine. All of her traps would be spotted from miles away. But that didn't mean that he couldn't play dumb either; playing dumb was something he was exceptionally gifted at - especially with people like her.

"Lila?" Trying his best to sound incredulous, Adrien attempted to appear shocked. Perhaps even taken aback.

"Cut the crap, Agreste," Grimacing, the nurse growled as she pulled a needle and syringe from her trolley. Carefully, Adrien watched as she pushed the device into a bottle of medicine, eyeing it critically with her strange brown eyes. "You and I both know who you really are. Why else do you think that I've chosen to leave you here, all by yourself?"

Still, the alarm bells went off within his brain. Pinging, ringing, they were like agitated flies at they kept giving off their warning signals, telling every cell within Adrien's body that he needed to find a way out of this room. Nothing good was going to come from this. Being alone, in a room, with only Lila for company and a bunch of medical equipment, was definitely a recipe for disaster. A sign of something terrible to come.

"Don't look so worried," Grinning, Cerise - or really Vixen - soothed as she walked away from the trolley. Approaching the hospital beds, purposely the one closest to the stiff Adrien by the door, she began to fiddle with an IV tube, pushing down the plunger on the syringe. Watching the patient's face flicker with relief - most likely from pain - Vixen grew an even more satisfied smile, "I'm only here to talk."

"Last time I checked, we didn't have anything to talk about," Adrien frowned, his own disapproval blatant from afar. Folding his arms, he still remained wary around the akuma, his brain thinking about how the hell he was going to get out of this mess.

"That is true," Nodding, Vixen acknowledged his words with a slight chuckle. However, it swiftly died within her throat as she cupped her cheek, letting out a soft sigh, "But right now, we have more reasons than ever to talk."

"Really?"

"Really."

For too long silence stretched between them, Adrien with a tight jaw and Vixen with a coy, raised brow. Power play was in the works right now, tugging at their actions and pulling at their brains. Both wanted to have the upper hand; both needed to have the upper hand. Yet, neither were willing to yield nor relinquish power to the other - not with so much hinging on their need to succeed and fool the other.

Smirking, Vixen coolly shrugged, "You know, I'm sure Marinette doesn't need to involved."

"Leave her out of it," Adrien immediately stood his guard, a fierce look entering his eye as he glared at the disguised akuma.

"Happily," Vixen hummed, absorbing the sheer amount of determination within him, intertwined with the blazing protectiveness. Nodding once more, the akuma continued to walk about the room, almost playful in her actions as she picked up equipment and toyed with random objects. Then, she came to stand beside Adrien, a blue-gloved hand on his shoulder as she lowly muttered to him, "You just need to stay out of my way."

Then she was gone. Just like that. Left behind was Adrien, confused and dazed as he blinked at his reflection - right in the middle of the men's restroom. He definitely had a lot to tell Alya and Nino.