"And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye
We're in the money, come on, my honey,
Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!"
October 29, 1930. Chicago, Illinois.
Marinette found herself being rather surprised. The reason for this is because she wasn't finding herself guilty. It was true that the banks weren't nearly as full as they used to be, but Marinette was certain that the money that was left in the banks were from those who could afford to keep it in. But it was still stealing.
Still, it's awfully hard to feel guilty when everyone around you is overjoyed.
The only thing that did bother Marinette shouldn't even necessarily be considered anything bad.
After the heist, Marinette had decided to wait until past midnight when everyone would be asleep to place the money outside their front door, disguised as a delivered package. When she went to place the package, however, she was surprised to find a package already there.
And inside? A bag holding the same contents as the bag in her own package. At first, she thought there must be some sort of mistake. No-one, especially in times like these, would just leave a bag filled with such a large amount of money. But evidence led her to believe otherwise, for not only on the box was her last name printed, but on a note attached to the string tying the bag together as well.
For a while, the usually quick gears churning in Marinette's head stopped, the unexpected gift shocking her to the core and leaving her body temporarily inanimate. When she was finally able to close her parted lips, heavily blinking a few times and taking back control of her mind and body, she decided to replace the mysterious box with her own, taking the replaced box with her to her room and hiding it in the back of her closet, disguising it as much as possible until she figured out what to do with it before returning to bed. But considering her parents were early risers, Marinette did not sleep long.
At 6:00 AM, Marinette's peacefully closed eyelids shot open at a very shrill "OH, GOODNESS!" projected from her mother's voice downstairs. The sudden disturbance caused a panicked Marinette to flail around in her bed, her mind not yet functioning as she flew out of her bed and landed on the ground with a large thump. Marinette groaned as she stood up, rubbing her complaining backside. "I guess she found the box."
Marinette had expected her parents to be happily surprised upon receiving the money that could pay for a good few terms of rent. What Marinette hadn't expected was for her parents to absolutely lose it and not be able to get over for the rest of the day. Marinette could never recall a time when her parents were anything more than relatively calm, but here they were. Thoughts of the money were running through their minds non-stop, and to be completely honest, Marinette couldn't tell if tell if they were happy or not. Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn't partially grateful for the distraction though, as their minds were occupied with other thoughts than the unusual "boy and girl duo" robbery they had read about in the paper.
Even as her parents started work, their shock was still overwhelmingly evident. Words such as "oh my, oh Lord, mercy" would fall out of their mouths as they kneaded dough, and as they mixed batter their hands were definitely not the relaxed, firm hands Marinette had always seen. She watched as they continuously shook their heads side to side lightly, slightly biting their bottom lip. Marinette had begun to worry that other people might start to notice and become worried as she snuck glances over her shoulder at them from the front counter. And who else but Adrien would notice and ask about them during his routine stop at the bakery?
As Marinette set the boy's large pumpkin spice muffin on the counter in front of him, Adrien rested his elbows on either side of it and leaned forward so the twos' faces were less than a foot apart. "Is everything alright with your folks, Mari?" He asked in a hushed voice. Marinette swallowed at the close proximity, swimming in his green eyes that-whoa. She understood Adrien got close as to not be overheard, but did he have to get this close?
"Er, yeah!" Marinette got out, rubbing the back of her neck whilst averting the blonde's gaze. "Something just come up. N-nothing bad though, don't worry!" She spewed, smiling sheepishly with pink dusting her cheeks.
Adrien gave a small smile. Cute.
Wait, what?
"Well, it's good to hear everything is alright. Have a good day, Marinette," Adrien grinned, giving the dark-haired girl a wink before turning around and exiting the bakery with his muffin in tow.
Marinette felt like she had started to melt. "Ah-ah, yeah! You too!" She finally stuttered, but by the time it came out, Adrien was already walking down the street. Marinette groaned, dropping her head onto the counter.
***
October 30, 1930. West Chicago.
"A heist, kid. Tomorrow at a bank in Streeterville."
"Plagg!" Adrien groused, running his hand through blonde locks with his eyes shut tight as he tried to comprehend just what Plagg was telling him right now. "You really couldn't bother to tell me about this a bit sooner?"
"Listen, I know it's kinda sudden, but this chance is way too good to pass up."
"What's so good about it that it has to be the day after learning about it?"
"Well, first of all, I'm a hell-of-a-lot more experienced in this field than you, so I know a good opportunity when I see one. And here's the good opportunity: tomorrow is Halloween. And what's the most stereotypical Halloween costume?"
"I dunno, sheet ghosts maybe? But-"
"Shut up kid, let me finish. This bank in Streeterville doesn't close on Halloween, and it's also known for staying open late. Place doesn't close until 8:00 at night. That means it'll be open when the streets are crowded with people in costumes, and you can bet a lot of those costumes are gonna be the simple ol' sheet ghost. A pretty convenient time for a couple of ghosts to slip into a bank and then get lost in the crowd when they get out, hmm?"
Adrien sat, taking a moment to soak in all the information and thinking it out before speaking. "I hate it when you're smart, Plagg. Really, it scares me."
"Well, what do you expect? There is more to me than just my dapper good-looks, you know."
***
It still wasn't Halloween, yet Marinette was in the act of adjusting the polka-dotted red mask covering her face.
"Are you sure you're okay with doing this, Marinette? I know that you're capable, but it is still a bit risky, and you shouldn't be doing anything you aren't com-"
"Tikki, I'm perfectly fine," Marinette giggled, turning away from the mirror to face her dear friend. "You and I both know that I'm going to be in situations much more dangerous than this. If I let this scare me, I'm not going to be in a good position for the future."
"How quickly the student becomes the teacher," Tikki sighed with a small smile, placing one hand on Marinette's shoulder while the other cupped the girl's cheek. The small woman looked at her as if she were the daughter she never got to have. Marinette smiled warmly back, placing her hand over Tikki's.
"I'll be okay Tikki," the girl reassured the elder in a soft voice.
"Oh, Marinette. I know you will."
And in the end of her planned out mission, she was. Well, mostly.
The plan certainly was not anything complicated. Rather than stealing money, she was giving it. She still, however, had to keep her true identity hidden, hence being in the Ladybug get-up that she donned. She sat beside Plagg, who agreed to drive Marinette close to the Red Cross location where Marinette would be dropping off the money. She knew giving money to them meant giving food for those who needed it. If everything went the way Marinette wanted it to, she would get to the Red Cross around the corner quickly, get rid of the money without attracting attention, and get back to the car as quickly as she came. Simple business, really- "easy as running errands" as Plagg put it.
When Plagg parked the car and looked over to Ladybug, who turned to give Plagg a smile before exiting the car, he was surprised to see not a single trace of fear on the girl's face.
Ladybug walked quickly, but not too quickly as to draw extra unwanted attention. Ladybug could already tell that a couple of people had done a slightly nervous double-take at the her, most likely wondering if it's the same girl they read about in the newspaper. Still, Marinette made it to the building that the Red Cross had set up in undisturbed, and just as she was going to place the money at the door thinking she was home-free, said door swung open to reveal a middle-aged, slightly plump woman holding a flower pot. When her eyes landed on Ladybug, Marinette could tell that she certainly recognized the bank-robber, for the pot fell out of her hands and fell to the ground with a crash.
"P-please," the woman pleaded in a shaking voice, "don't rob us. W-we only use our money to help those who need it, we-"
"'Mam, 'mam, it's alright," Ladybug urgently yet softly assured her, gently taking a hold of the older's hands, partly to calm her down and partly in fear that she would run away and rat her out, which would certainly be a bit of a problem. "I'm not here to steal from you," Ladybug murmured, her eyes looking into the woman's, hoping that she could see the truth in them. "This bag is filled with money- money for those who need it," Ladybug said with a small, reassuring smile. "But you must not tell anyone I gave it to you. I want to help people, but I cannot get caught. Will you help me?"
The woman blinked several times with her mouth slightly agape before swallowing and giving a small nod and an almost inaudible "thank you."
"Thank you," Ladybug echoed, "and I'm really sorry about the pot, but I really have to go now."
Ladybug had time to see the woman give another short nod before she took off, getting back to the car as quickly as possible whilst calming herself down in her head, reminding herself of her small victory. I did it, I'm alright, it went well, it's over...
These thoughts were rendered useless the moment Marinette heard a crisp bang, followed by the feeling of something whizzing past her ear.
Now was the time for panic to set back in. Marinette wasted no time now as she broke into a sprint towards where Plagg was parked. Whoever the shooter was, they hadn't given up after one missed shot. Several more sharp bangs echoed through the air, and Marinette was eternally grateful every time a bullet didn't find it's target. Bystanders were yelping and screaming, scattering frantically once realizing the situation. Marinette mentally scolded whoever the shooter was for firing near innocent people who might get in the crossfire, but she couldn't do anything about it. Adrenaline flowed through Marinette's veins as she zigzagged around every obstacle coming her way, and when she whipped around the corner and spotted Plagg's car, she made a home-dash for it. Just a little more. I'm almost there. I'm almost safe.
When Plagg could make out Ladybug's figure racing towards him, he immediately knew something was wrong. Marinette wouldn't be running unless she had to. Plagg's heart sunk when his suspicions were confirmed by the sound of a gun-shot. All Plagg could do was be ready to hit the gas as soon as Marinette made it to the car and pray that she did make it to the car.
And she did make it to the car, and Plagg did step on the gas and got out of the area as quick as possible, but not before a couple of bullets lodged themselves in the side of the vehicle.
Plagg never thought the kids would be targeted after just one harmless robbery, but one thing was for sure: Tikki was not going to be happy.
***
Thank you all for your astounding patience for this chapter. I don't deserve you (๑'ㅂ'๑)