Red Strings And Markers

e l e v e n

"Well, it doesn't sound too bad." Marinette said, sitting facing forward.

"Speak for yourself." Nino muttered. Marinette wished she could as she looked over at the empty seat beside her – Seconds after the two of them stepped out of the opera house, Nathalie and Adrien's bodyguard were waiting to pick him up.

"Sorry Marinette, I'm going to have to leave you. Will you be alright for a couple hours to yourself?" He asked. Adrien hated himself for listening to his father, for thinking that for a fraction of a second, his father would let him leave the country for a moment of peace.

"D-Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Marinette stammered, flushed by his concern. "I'll just tag along closely to Alya and Nino when they aren't making out." They both shared a laugh but Adrien sighed, apologizing again. "It's okay, it's not like you're leaving me for the whole trip."

"I... I hope that won't be the case." He gave Marinette a sympathetic smile and apologized yet again, before being ushered into a car by Nathalie.

Adrien's rest of the day was a photoshoot in the Jubilee Gardens in front of the London Eye.

"More publicity." Nathalie had stated. Between shots, Adrien would watch as the London Eye turned in the sky, watching as the baby blue skies slowly changed pink, his eye catching on a couple that was sitting in one of the gondolas, snuggled together and watching the setting sun.

Adrien hoped that Marinette was doing well without him, hoping that by now, they would all be in the hotel, eating dinner. Adrien was so distracted with his thoughts regarding Marinette that a loud explosion in the River Thames startled him out of his skin almost. Many people screamed and started running, water dropping everywhere around them with the large explosion from the river. A dark laugh and a shadow rose from the sudden vortex that had now formed in the River Thames.

"You fools simply judge by appearances. You wouldn't know talent if it bit you in the behind!" Adrien focused in on the figure floating above the vortex, seeing a man in all black with a cap, a purple mask covering his eyes in the shape of a butterfly.

"Phantom, I am Papillon. These people don't appreciate true talent when they see it. In exchange for people knowing your true talent, I give you this power."

"My pleasure Papillon." The Phantom growled happily. "London is truly a stupid place. London always gets destroyed in films, now it's time for the real thing." The Phantom laughed and out of his cape he pulled a cane out of his cape, pointing up to the skies.

Thunder rocketed through the orange-pink skies and they suddenly turned gray, rain pouring down and sending everyone scattering everywhere for cover.

"An akuma in London?" Adrien was hidden in the shade of a tree, everyone else still running to the nearest cover. Plagg refused to come out of hiding in Adrien's shirt due to the downpour. "Plagg, transform me!"

Adrien welcomed the tightfitting suit of leather around him and he opened his eyes as Chat Noir, his catlike vision allowing him to see in the dark atmosphere the Phantom had created.

"Have you considered how you're going to capture the akuma and cleanse it? May I remind you, you hold the miraculous of destruction, not creation." Plagg inquired from the back of Chat's mind and he shrugged.

"Maybe I can just use my cataclysm on it and destroy it." Chat smirked and he could see Plagg face palm in his mind's eye.

"Why don't you try calling Ladybug?"

Chat scoffed. "There's no way. She's at home, safe, at Paris." Plagg snickered and Chat stepped out from the shadow of his tree, using his baton to extend him towards the London Eye, sitting on the centerpiece of the now dim Ferris wheel. "Paw-don me, monsieur, but you just ruined my purr­-fect day." Chat gave his signature smirk.

"Black cats are very unlucky. I should dispose of such unlucky things." The Phantom growled, pointing his cane towards Chat, bringing in a freezing chill to the downpour, causing golf ball sized hail flying towards Chat Noir. "Give me your miraculous, you naughty feline! Or else I'll bring all natural disasters to center in to London!" Chat dodged the hail, the hail causing damage to the Ferris wheel.

"You don't have Ladybug, so without her power, any damage that is caused will remain." Plagg cursed in the back of Chat's mind.

"You think I don't know that Plagg?" Chat used his baton to extend away from the London Eye, towards the open park.

The Phantom followed, the vortex of water that had been in the Thames was now rising out of the water, the winds it was producing making the London Eye sway. The trees all around him swayed haphazardly in the wind, leaves and branches ripping off of the trunks and flying towards the vortex.

Just as Chat touched ground, a tree branched zipped by him, swiping his cheek with a nice gash that ran across his cheek. In the cold rain, Chat could feel the warm blood running down his cheek as he cursed, keeping his eyes open not only for the Phantom, but any more stray branches.

The Phantom settled several yards across from the distracted cat, lifting his cane in the air before bringing it down to the ground, sending a crack from in front of the Phantom's feet towards the distracted black cat.

"Look out!" But Plagg's warning had come too late. The ground shook with the magnitude of a great earthquake, Chat unable to keep his balance as the ground began to break open at his feet. Sirens rang in Chat's mind. "Pull back Adrien! We need Ladybug's help!" Chat used his baton to push onto the nearest roof and ran, going towards dark clouds, a laugh rising from behind him.

"You can run, but you can't hide forever, black cat." The Phantom called out to Chat's retreating figure.

"Damn it all." Chat cursed as he ran across roofs and between buildings. He swiped his thumb upwards on his baton, the screen lighting up with the Ladybug's face on the screen. He continued running, expecting the call to decline but when he heard the sounds of a pickup, he stopped, looking down at his baton.

"My lady?" He asked and a smile appeared on his face as he saw his wonderful Ladybug appear on the screen. It was only an hour's difference between Paris and London, so it seemed a bit odd to him that his lady was out on patrol so early in the evening, but he was nonetheless happy that she picked up.

"Chat? What are you doing? Is something the matter?" Concern was evidently laced in her words.

"Ah, yes, there is a paw-sibility that I made need your assistance..." Thunder rumbled in the skies above and the two visibly flinched. He glanced back at his lady and he noticed she was looking at him rather attentively.

"Chat? Is that a Ferris wheel that was in the background?" She asked and he chuckled nervously.

"Well you see..."

"Chat. Where are you?" Ladybug asked.

"Um..."

"Chat."

"London." Silence.

"You mean London, London?"

"London in the United Kingdom, London."

She gave a chuckle of disbelief. "Where are you?" She asked.

"Going towards Big Ben." Chat was still as confused when she answered the call.

"Alright. I'll be there in five."