Music glossary:

Prestissimo - "Extremely quickly"; to be played as fast as possible

* Fun tidbit: The name "Gaspard" means "bringer of treasure" *

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(Mood Music: "Dead Things" - Philip Glass)

Adrien cursed into his gag, feebly squirming on the back seat of the car he'd been dragged into. The windows were heavily tinted, so there was no chance that anyone would be able to see him. Not that that mattered right now anyway, as he couldn't even sit up at the moment. In fact, he couldn't feel any of his appendages due to whatever drug his bodyguard (or... whoever he was) had injected into him.

One thing was certain: since neither of these men was the real Gaspard, they must be akumas, and his father had used their likeness to trick him.

Damn it. Why had he left his guard down back there? He should've known not to trust anyone. And now thanks to his idiocy, Marinette had gotten dragged into this giant mess, and he had no idea where "Fake-Gaspard #2" had taken her. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her. He seethed silently, consumed by fear and anger, both simultaneously raging for control.

He could feel Plagg behind him trying to fiddle with the zip ties that bound his arms together; but it wasn't as simple as merely unlocking a safe or a door. Having Plagg with him was his only ace in the hole, so he had to remain hidden. Adrien had to plan his escape carefully for when the effects of the drug had worn off enough. Even if Plagg wasn't able to remove the ties, he could still unlock the car door, so Adrien could roll out and... hopefully not be crushed to death by traffic. He let out a muffled grumble.

Okay... maybe that wasn't the best idea.

He had to do something soon though; there wasn't much time left before they arrived back at the Agreste mansion, and the only feeling he'd regained was in his hands and feet. He supposed he should consider himself lucky. If the dosage had been any higher, it could've interfered with his lungs, or worse.

Not that Father would care, he huffed impassively. If anything, it would get him out of the picture permanently, and he'd no longer be an inconvenience to Hawkmoth's schemes.

Adrien's thoughts drifted back to Marinette; worry and anxiety about what had happened to his beloved roommate clouded his mind, interfering with his concentration. He replayed her scuffle with the bodyguards over and over in his head, the overwhelming feelings of guilt and shame causing his entire being to ache in agony and self-loathing. This was all his fault. He was pathetic. Degraded from superhero to hostage with no one but himself to blame.

If Gabriel locked him away, would he ever find out what happened to her? Memories of being locked in a small, almost completely barren room for days at a time as punishment for misbehavior flashed in his mind, causing his insides to churn and his hands to get clammy. He fought the panic that threatened to boil over within him and firmly shoved the memories away. He needed his wits about him at the moment, and getting sucked into a spiral of panic would prevent him from being able to think logically.

His thoughts were interrupted as the car screeched to a halt, and had his Not-Bodyguards not partially strapped him into the lap seatbelts, he would've been thrown onto the floor from the momentum. He managed to turn his head and shake it slightly to try to get the hair out of his eyes, letting out a small grunt of puzzlement. What was happening??

His confusion didn't last long.

An enormous force hurtled down from the sky onto the hood of the car, squashing it like an empty aluminum can, crushing the engine and rendering it useless. Once the dust and debris settled, Adrien peeked as high as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of what had landed on the car. Despite his meager view from the back seat, coupled with his blurry eyesight (as he'd lost his eyeglasses sometime during the scuffle), he could still make out the unmistakable red boots and black leggings that stood on top of the broken metal.

A million questions swirled around in his head in a jumbled tornado of confusion and elation. He tried calling out her name, having completely forgotten that he couldn't, and he doubled his efforts trying to squirm out of his bindings so he could get her attention.

His endeavors were cut short though. Despite his impaired vision, he saw the distinct glowing masks form in front of the men's faces.

I knew it!! he thought, glaring at them with distaste.

They rushed out of the car without a word, and he couldn't help but utterly loathe the thought of Ladybug fighting both of them by herself, despite her partner being mere feet away, albeit totally useless.

God, I being a damsel in distress, he frowned. I hope she's gonna be okay.

In a vicious display of skill that shocked onlookers, barely a minute later Ladybug had the two men strung up with her yo-yo from a street light. They hung several feet above the ground, expressions slightly miffed but otherwise still rather blank, which, for an akuma, was unusual to say the least.

"Ugh, not in here either," Ladybug remarked crossly, discarding a broken watch onto the floor, joining the plethora of other torn items and belongings scattered all around them. "Where the hell is it?!" she grumbled after tearing a shoe in half and still not seeing any blackened butterflies.

She frowned, twisting her mouth in annoyance. If I keep going like this, they'll end flashing all of Paris, she thought. Best to turn them over to the authorities and continue this search at the police station. She needed to check on Adrien anyway.

Right on cue, the police arrived and secured the area. After making sure the police had a handle on the situation, Ladybug rushed to the busted car to retrieve Adrien.

She jerked the car door open––or rather, tried to– accidentally yanking the entire door handle off and warping the metal of the door itself. She cursed in irritation, deciding to bypass the door altogether, and leaped onto the top of the car. With a strained heave, she peeled off the entire roof like a can opener, all the while muttering a colorful string of expletives Adrien had never heard his mild-mannered, even-tempered partner say before.

She dropped down next to him onto the back seat, releasing the seatbelts and assisting Adrien into a seated position. She reached up to touch his face, apologizing sheepishly before carefully peeling off the tape that covered his mouth.

Despite the gag being gone, Adrien remained speechless, staring at Ladybug with an intensity she'd never seen coming from him before. With a small, flustered stutter, she summoned a Lucky Charm. A pair of small, polka-dotted scissors landed onto the palm of her hand. She made quick work of his bindings and briefly inspected the red marks on his skin to make sure he was unharmed.

Adrien threw his arms around her, bringing her into a bone crushing hug, his entire body shaking like a leaf.

"Oh, Adrien," she whispered, her voice still a bit raspy, and squeezed back firmly. "I'm so glad I found you. I was so scared."

He didn't reply, as he was near-hyperventilating, but his grip around her shoulders tightened and he buried his head into her neck, seeking comfort.

A few moments later, Ladybug gently lifted Adrien out of the car, careful not to touch the jagged metal edges. She hopped down to the ground and gingerly sat him on a nearby bench. He wobbled unsteadily, but managed to stay upright as she examined him.

"How are you feeling? Can you tell me what happened?" she asked, seemingly snapping him out of a haze.

Without a word, his head whipped up and his eyes developed a determined glint. He shot up to his feet– or, at least, he attempted to– barely managing to take a single wobbly step before crumpling onto the ground.

"Adrien!!" Ladybug called out as she halfway caught him. "Are you injured?! What's happened to your legs?"

"Paralyzing drug," Adrien slurred. "I'll be fine," he continued as he clumsily broke away from her hold, successfully taking a couple of shaky steps forward.

Ladybug exclaimed, horrified, "They drugged you?! What did they want?" She stepped in front of him, placing her hands gently on his chest, halting his attempt to flee. "Where are you going?? You're in no condition to be running around right now, we need to take you to a hospital!"

Adrien shook his head, his tone becoming increasingly desperate, his pace becoming faster and more frantic as he stumbled ahead. "No no, please, I need to go look for her!"

"What's wrong?" Ladybug asked, perplexed. "Look for who?" she said as she rushed beside him.

"I have to go back!" he pleaded. "I have to make sure she's okay! She could be in danger, I need to find her!"

At this point, they'd reached a grassy portion of an adjacent park, and the uneven ground caused him to trip over himself. He cried out as he fell on top of Ladybug, who had surged forward to catch him.

"Please..." he looked down at her, barely able to hold himself up with his arms in their weakened state. "I have to find Marinette. She got hurt trying to save me," he uttered quietly, his voice quivering and eyes glossy. "If anything happened to her, I don't think I could–" his voice cracked, unable to continue. He inhaled slowly, then uttered with a trembling voice, "Please, I need to go back. She's really important to me, I can't go anywhere else until I know she's alright."

Ladybug's face softened, touched by his concern. "She's fine!" she blurted out. "Marinette's fine!"

Adrien gave her a puzzled look. "What?? But how do you know?"

She attempted to give him a reassuring smile, trying her hardest to avoid looking like a demented clown. Think, you knucklehead, think!! Ladybug screamed inwardly in a panic.

"Uhh, she's the one who contacted me!" she lied, then lowered her voice, as if she were letting him in on some forbidden knowledge. "She's been secretly helping me and Chat Noir, so I gave her a way to contact me privately in case of emergency. But of course, this has to remain a secret; so please don't tell anyone." She helped him to a sitting position on the ground and added, "Can I trust you with this?"

Adrien's face and posture relaxed, his eyebrows upturned with both amazement and affection. "Always," he breathed out softly. "You can count on me, always," he murmured, a kind smile etched on his handsome face as he reached for her hand and squeezed.

Ladybug smiled fondly in return, remembering why it had been so easy to fall in love with him several years ago. He was truly a selfless and sweet person at heart.

He lifted his hand up to her face, rubbing his thumb across a cut on her lower lip and wiping away a spot of blood which, unbeknownst to him, she'd gotten as Marinette. Her breath hitched, face suddenly feeling rather warm.

"It seems like we always meet under less than ideal circumstances," Adrien chuckled softly. "Fate has a cruel sense of humor sometimes. I'm sorry."

Ladybug's stomach tingled, a sense of familiarity descending on her yet again. She must have been staring because Adrien swiftly withdrew his hand with a quick apology, muttering sheepishly how he'd never been very good at recognizing the need for personal space.

Not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable, Ladybug forced herself to pretend to have a functioning brain and smiled politely, helping him to stand and letting him use her as a support. "It's okay, no worries!" she added amiably. "Would you let me take you back to the school? My yo-yo's better than a taxi, or so I hear."

He grinned widely, then nodded. "Yeah. I'd appreciate it."

Ladybug picked him up, acutely aware that crowds were beginning to gather around the area. As she was about to take off with Adrien, she heard one of the cops call out her name.

"What is it, Officer Raincomprix? Do you have the situation under control? I'm taking Adrien back to the school to get him checked out by a medical professional. You can get a statement from him there, away from the public and from–" she added, an annoyed crinkle forming on her forehead "–from all the reporters. Be on the lookout for any possible akuma."

Officer Roger Raincomprix's face was one of pure bewilderment. "Uh– well, ma'am, something's happened. I'm not sure how to explain. You'd better come take a look for yourself."

Ladybug and Adrien exchanged puzzled glances, then she nodded as she and Adrien made their way to where she'd detained the kidnappers.

Upon arriving back at the scene of the battle, Ladybug gasped, almost dropping Adrien in shock, with a look on her face like she'd just witnessed an alien invasion.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" she shrieked. "How did they escape?!?"

"We're not sure," Officer Roger stated. "Somebody caught it on camera, maybe you can get some clues from the video." He called over one of the cameramen from a local news crew. "Rewind it, please," he instructed him.

Ladybug and Adrien stared at the tiny screen in awe. The two men had been released from the lamppost and were being walked towards the police car in handcuffs. Once they'd almost reached the vehicle, they halted mid-step, then fell to the ground, faces twisting in agony, and they let out a bloodcurdling wail, like their insides were being ripped apart. A cloud of dark, indigo smoke engulfed them, obscuring them completely; and when it cleared, there was nothing.

Ladybug gaped in total confusion. "So they just... disappeared??" she cried. "Vanished without a trace??"

The officer shook his head. "Not entirely. These were left behind," he added, presenting two small, white feathers.

Ladybug accepted them, even more confused than before. "And you're absolutely certain you saw no akumas leave their bodies?"

Roger nodded. "Positive. There was nothing else. We're searching the area for clues; we'll let you know if we find anything."

Ladybug exhaled sharply, feeling like she'd been thrown into a freezing lake, the tiny hairs at the back of her neck standing on end. What in the world was happening??

(continued in part 2)