The Algorithm

Chapter seven - Broken Hearts and Shattered Glass

Finally, the red lights glowed blue once again and the pain began to subside. Marinette caught her breath as the fire in her chest died down to a pile of smoldering ashes. She spit out the foul mix of blood and acid that filled her mouth and focused on the rise and fall of her chest with every desperate breath she took. The guards continued to laugh at her agony, which obviously upset Adrien.

"What is your problem!?" He barked at the soldiers.

"Adrien cut it out!" Marinette scowled through her gasps for air. She knew arguing with them would only lead to a beating, a beating she couldn't protect him from.

The armored man in the passenger seat turned to face them even though they could not see his face through his dark helmet. "You should listen to your girlfriend." He said with a spiteful tone. Adrien glanced down at Marinette who was shaking her head for him to stop. He obeyed and retreated to the corner in defeat.

"She's not my girlfriend." He corrected the guard, trying to salvage some dominance. The armored men let out a half laugh.

"Oh yeah, she's with that skinny kid, remember?" The one behind the wheel said, his voice rough and foul.

"That's right. The one she left to die." Marinette clenched her jaw.

"That's enough." She said trying to inject as much anger into her words as possible.

"What?" The driver said, his voice made it sound like he smoked a pack of cigarettes just before this conversation. "You don't like us talking about your boyfriend?" Marinette bit her lip to keep her from saying anything stupid. She let silence hang in the air for a moment before the other guard decided to taunt her more.

"It's a real shame." He muttered. "You two were cute together." Marinette closed her eyes as if not being able to see them would block out the sound of their voices. "It's too bad you left him to die."

"I didn't leave him to die!" The words escaped Marinette's lips before she had a chance to stop them. The guards scoffed.

"Yeah, you did." He corrected. "You left them all. You abandoned them and now they're dead because of you."

And in that moment, Marinette snapped.

She lunged at the glass window separating them from the guards and pounded against it until cracks started to form. Little by little the glass grew weaker but that didn't stop Marinette's rage. She slammed against it again and again. With every fracture of the glass, it appeared like small spider webs were forming in the crystal. Marinette could feel warm tears fall from her cheeks, but she didn't care anymore. She banged against it repeatedly, using the metal around her wrist to her advantage. Fury burned down her throat as she swallowed a fragile sob.

If she had the chance, she would torture them, slowly, painfully, like they had done to her for years, and she would enjoy every moment of it, and for some reason that didn't terrify her.

Marinette could feel her old self clawing her way out of the cage she had locked inside of her. She had fought so hard to drown this part of her, the part of her that was shrouded in darkness, the part that took others lives without mercy, but she couldn't control it anymore. She was ready to kill. With every pound of the window, you could hear the glass break a bit more and with it a piece of Marinette's humanity.

She had lost all sense of what was going on around her. All she saw were the images of those she had deserted. Marinette remembered their sulfur-stained faces as the world crumbled around them. Her closest friends and the boy she had loved were dead because of her. Their bodies smothered in smoke and ash. They were right. It was her fault. Marinette wanted nothing more than to shatter that glass and with it the memory of those she had lost.