The Algorithm

Chapter nine - Killzone

"No," Adrien said, frustrated at how she was taking all the blame. "This isn't your fault. We will find our way out." Marinette opened her mouth to protest but decided that negativity would get them nowhere.

"You're right, we'll find a way." She agreed.

Adrien felt as though the conversation was over but still had one more question praying at his thoughts. "I just have one more question." He said. Marinette glanced at him, waiting for him to continue. "Why me?"

"What?" She asked, confused by his reasoning.

"Out of the seven billion people on this planet, why did Akuma choose me?"

Marinette waited a moment before answering, pondering whether or not it truly mattered but decided he needed to know. "I'm not one hundred percent sure how it works but there is a program called 'The Algorithm'. It chooses people who it thinks the experiments will work on and gives them powers. It's not always right though." She explained. "I was one of three who had the telekinesis experiments done on them and I was the only one who could move things with my mind. It's just crummy luck that got us here."

"Where are the other two?" Adrien asked.

"Hm?" Marinette questioned, confused at his phrasing.

"The other two, the ones who didn't get telekinesis. Where are they?" He repeated.

Marinette's eyes fell into the same distant stare and Adrien worried he had chosen a poor question to ask. "Well..." She began and the hollow look in her eye faded. "Once Plagg and Tikki rescued us they gave Rose and Max the option to go and live a normal life since they didn't have powers. They tracked down Rose's family and are living with them." Adrien felt a wave of relief wash over him. He guessed that the reason her stare was filled with emptiness was because she missed them. If only he knew she was lying.

"That's good..." He said. "Did you have the choice to live a normal life?" Marinette thought about her answer for a moment before replying.

"I'm not normal anymore. A regular life wouldn't suit me. Besides, I wouldn't be able to rest until Akuma is gone for good." Her last statement was lined with bitterness. Suddenly a small grin tugged at her lips. "I think I can pick the lock." Before Adrien was able to respond she kicked her legs forwards and somehow wrapped her legs around the chain suspended above her head. She gripped the shackles tightly with her lower half, giving her a bit of slack around her wrists. Adrien watched in amazement at her acrobatics. She hung upside down, her hair falling messely towards the ground. With her wrists still bound together, she reached up towards the brown leather boots. She untied the laces and pulled a small metal object from her shoe.

Marinette let her legs fall back to the ground and Adrien was finally able to see what she had smuggled in her boot. A fork. She must have hidden it away when she finished washing the dishes after their bland meal. She tinkered with the utensil for a moment, trying to bend one of the prongs. After a few minutes, the thin metal began to bend until it lost all integrity and broke off. Marinette let the now broken fork fall to the ground with a clink. She would need both hands free for this next bit.

With nothing but the thin prong remaining, she grabbed the padlock with one hand and guided the piece of steel into the keyhole. She gently twisted it from side to side until all the pins were set in place and the lock popped open. She unhooked the padlock from the links of steel and the chains unraveled around her wrists and was left hanging from the contraption mounted to the ceiling.

Marinette then walked over to where Adrien stood with his arms above his head and began working on the lock binding his hand together. She had to stand on her tiptoes in order to reach the padlock and even then she was barely tall enough. Their faces laid centimeters apart and while Marinette was focused on setting the pins in place, Adrien had his attention on the young woman standing in front of him. Her eyes always seemed to carry that hollowness and Adrien wanted nothing more than to see her happy and smiling like they were joking in the car before the promise of safety was lost.