When a liar gets you left behind

Chapter Twelve: She can Remember

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When Marinette arrived, Lady Honey and Cat Noir were holding a defensive position against the Akuma, making sure not civilians were caught into the mix while Ladybug arrived.

Marinette could see Manon's mother at the edge of scene, gathering all the information she could of the "New" Superheroine, Lady Honey. A faint "Don't be bemused, it's just the news." drifted towards her right ear.

Marinette's attention focused on the villain as it ran towards her with a battle cry.

The villain itself was a normal sized black bear standing up—In other words, it was the average size for an Akuma.

"What's our guest's name?" Marinette asked as she quickly dodged her opponent, making sure to keep a safe distance away as she took in the needed information.

"Phobia. Apparently, they were made fun of because of their fear of birds," Cat Noir said as he stepped closer to the Villian. "Honestly, they should visit Mr. Pigeon, it might help."

"Stay away from their gun, it causes massive panic attacks," Lady Honey said as she gestured to some people in the street rocking back and forth, muttering under their breath.

Marinette's eyes widened at the civilians, she couldn't help the guilt that edged through her heart. Maybe if she had gotten there quicker they wouldn't be put in this position.

She came closer to the villain, being driven by adrenaline, her steps practiced as if it was a skit.

"Give me your Miraculous!" The man screeched, raising his gun.

"You know what I fear?" Cat Noir asked rhetorically as he landed a blow on the villain, narrowly missing an attack.  "Your guy's unhealthy obsessions with our Miraculous."

The akuma's eyes darkened, and he started shooting blasts everywhere, trying to hit one of the Supers.

"Cat Noir, cover me!"

Cat Noir skillfully played defense against the Akuma, keeping its attention on him.

"Lucky Charm," She whispered quietly, trying to not draw attention to herself.

Almost instantly, her vision became black, items lighting up in her head.

She looked at the item in her hand, it was a Harry Potter book.  The title read The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Marinette's thoughts drifted to the dementors in the book and how they were sort of like the Akuma.

She wished she could figure out what the Akuma feared, that way she could figure out what would make them go away.

Actually—she wished she knew what Hawkmoth feared.

Marinette shook her head at herself, she needed to focus, the task at hand was far more important than her thoughts.

A yelp sounded from behind her, making her instantly snap her head back to the Villain.

It had managed to land a hit on Lady Honey.

Marinette watched as her friend's demeanor changed. Her shoulders sagged down, and her posture changed to one of defeat. Her friend's hands went to her head.

"No! Please! I'm sorry!"  Lady Honey's voice was one mixed with hurt and fear.

Her eyes welled with tears as she screamed at an unknown person.

"Please! I just need a second chance..." she whimpered as she fell to her knees.

Marinette eagerly looked around, trying to finish the Akuma. She grabbed the book, and opened it, her eyes looking for a hidden clue.

Cat Noir lunged at the Akuma, but failed to block a punch from its fist.

She watched as he dragged him up and shot him with a blast.

His amusement left his eyes, and his once relaxed posture changed to a tense one.

Marinette's eyes widened as the Akuma reached his hand up to Adrien's ring and slipped it off.

"No!"

She lunged at air as she came back from the horrible episode the Akuma had afflicted on her.

Realization pushed through her as she looked around and saw Lady Honey looking at her with concern etched across her face.

She had been blasted.

None of that had actually happened.

She brought her gaze to Cat Noir, who had just broken Akuma's gun. He still had his ring.

She must have been brought back after he broke the Akumatized item.

Ladybug swung up and swiped the butterfly in her Yo-Yo. For once, she didn't mutter a single word as she let the butterfly go, not bothering to look at the little animal as it fluttered away.

"Lucky charm," She muttered, not looking at the object as it fell into her hands.

She felt horrible, almost sick-like.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"  She yelled as she threw the Lucky Charm in the air.

She watched as Chloe's concerned expression relaxed, the magic of the cure making her forget that Marinette had been blasted.

Marinette had learned early on that no one could ever remember the pain inflicted on the superheros or themselves once the cure was used. They might remember the occasional blow, but nothing too serious. It was all kept in a PG setting. Marinette was the only one who remembered. Not even Cat Noir could remember if he was seriously hurt. And she wanted it to stay that way. Her friends didn't deserve that.

They deserved to be happy. They did not need to know something that would just make them sad, it would do more harm then good.

She faked a genuine smile towards her friends and unified with the horse Miraculous, before quickly going through the portal and leaving, not wasting any time to go and run away from the scene.

She did not like staying around battles, she also knew that the civilian would be fine in the hands of Chloé and Adrien.

She took a deep breath as she entered the room, then called off her transformation. Not only was a Akuma time-consuming, but it was all mental and physically consuming as well.

A gasp could be heard through the room, making fear run through her veins.

She turned around and saw the door ripped from the hinges, and a worried Jagged Stone on her bed, sitting with his ankles crossing.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that," He stated, amusement flickering over his features as he gestured towards Marinette with Tikki floating over her.

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