Sooo like I warned last time this is the last chapter before I take a break through the summer to work on DLB and hopefully get the rest of the story details mapped out. I will see you guys in August hopefully with the rest of the story at least partially written! Hope everyone enjoys the summer months and stays healthy! Feel free to PM me or leave a review if you have questions or comments!

Miraculakwami627... My imagination takes care of most of the events that happen in DLB but I also incorporate things from my every day life when I get stuck in the stories as well. My Godmother was obsessed with criminal dramas for many years so for a time they often played in the background which gives me a watered down idea of what kinds of cases might fall to Marinette and Adrien. In reality I have no clue what these people do all day... I have also been to forensic science camps and read waaaay too many books on every subject imaginable so I am really really good at just making stuff up. I am glad you have enjoyed my ridiculously long story so far!

Kazer... If you think about it running a gang and running a precinct wouldn't really be too different at its core. A good gang require structure and a hierarchy to keep the crazies under control. Both require communication and if you have someone in charge that rules with an iron thumb... well it wouldn't be any different than running two businesses at the same time. It would be hard but it would be doable.

(Slow Burn Detective AU!) Marinette is used to working alone on the streets of Paris as she strives to take down the Hawkmoth gang. When the thief Chat Noir comes crashing into her life things are bound to get magical, especially when co-detective Adrien returns to Paris and seems to want to be her new partner. Will their fated partnership end in a capture or a kiss?

Emergency

The day of the raid had finally arrived and Marinette was still a little salty about being left out, even though she had accepted she wasn't going to go. It had been two days since Mime had told them about the unguarded files they could easily steal and Chat had refused to let Marinette participate in the raid itself. Marinette had tried every argument she could think of but Adrien hadn't budged. She knew that he had his reasons but Marinette hated not being a part of missions that she knew she could help out on and this mission in particular was something they had to get just right. More than once Marinette had pointed out that they might need more than two sets of eyes to go through all the files, but Adrien was adamant about this raid only being a two man thing. Realizing she would have to be a little sneakier, Marinette had offered her services for driving them around, but Adrien had nixed that idea as well.

In truth Marinette could have overridden him and gone on the raid no matter what Adrien said but then he pointed out to her that they both needed an alibi for the night. The files Adrien and Mime stole would eventually be turned over to not only Marinette, but to other precincts as well. If someone started asking the wrong questions, Marinette would be able to say that she and Adrien were in her apartment the whole time the night of the raid. It was a precaution they didn't really need, but there was always a chance Gabriel was having them observed and they had to at least appear to play by the book sometimes. Considering Marinette was already on thin ice, she relented and threw herself into making a great alibi instead.

The end result was simple yet effective. After work they were going to retire to her flat while making sure that a neighbor or two saw them both enter. Adrien would then leave from her balcony as Chat when it was time for him to go while Marinette remained behind. Once they finished the raid Chat was going to return to her, files and data in hand to start processing everything. Depending on how much information they managed to steal Marinette had a feeling that the first night would be filled with organization. It was mostly going to be up to Marinette and Adrien to sift through everything, but Mime had promised to help pick out more pertinent information to try to speed the process up. It was going to be a lot of extra hours but the end results would hopefully be worth the effort.

In an effort to soothe Marinette's ruffled feathers over the raid, Chat asked her to come out with him to scope out the building the evening before. He could have done it on his own, but Chat had been happy to have Marinette at his back and he had a feeling that she had been planning to go check the place out on her own anyways. It wasn't like he could forbid her from joining him and Adrien wasn't even sure why he was so hell bent on keeping her out of the raid. The only conclusion he could come to was that he just had a bad feeling whenever he thought about Marinette taking part in the raid and usually those feelings turned into omens of the nasty variety. It made him wonder if the whole thing might be an elaborate trap created by Mime which was why he needed to scope out the building. Suspicions had deepened when Mime revealed that he really didn't want them to scope the place out. Marinette had met Chat's eyes during that little discussion and Chat knew there was no way he would be able to dissuade her from helping him case the building. Thankfully their fears were unfounded and it turned out that Mime was just paranoid about them getting caught or tipping someone off to their presence. While Marinette understood Mime's paranoia, she also knew the dangers of leaving everything up to schematics or chance and she wasn't about to let Adrien pull the raid off utterly blind. Thankfully, Adrien had agreed with her even though Mime had stubbornly reiterated that casing the place wasn't necessary. They both ignored Mime while planning their reconnaissance. Marinette didn't want them to accidentally walk into a trap like they had in the basement when they went to rescue Chloe. Marinette and Adrien had been lucky but they both knew that luck was a fickle thing and that Mime wouldn't be able to keep up with Chat should they have to flee.

In the end it was a good thing they decided to check things out. While there wasn't a whole lot of security on the building, there was a hired armored guard who showed up around nine every night. The guard didn't stay the whole night either which had struck them both as odd. Instead he showed up at 9 and left close to midnight. Wanting to get to the bottom of things quickly they had brought the oddity to Max to investigate. Being ever curious Max had hacked things Marinette couldn't even name and found out that every night the cameras went off at 9pm sharp to reboot for the next day and were back on by 10:30. The guard was there to check the building while the cameras were off, to make sure everything was back up and running, as well as other little things before leaving.

With this information and after a fair amount of consideration they had decided to pull the raid off early in the evening rather than waiting for the dead of night. Doing the raid while the cameras were off would allow them to stay under the radar since there wouldn't be an obvious blip in the security footage. The only problem was the guard. Mime and Chat discussed knocking the man out or making him get mugged before arriving to work but all those things would cause some alarm to be raised. In the end it was Max who had the solution. It was easy enough for Max to reschedule the start of that reboot at 8pm the night of the 'Paper Raid' as it was starting to become known and continue through until 10:30. If the cameras were ever checked the timestamp would read its normal hours and codes even though it would record an hour less that day. Basically it would give them an hour to do whatever they needed to do without having to worry about any surveillance or guards. The cameras turning off were just an added bonus since Mime was going to be disguised and Adrien didn't care if Chat Noir was caught on film. Part of him wanted Hawkmoth to know who was stealing all their precious files, but in the end going into this with stealth was a better option. It would give Adrien and Marinette more time to look through the files and use what they contained to bring the Hawkmoth gang down.

Time was a critical factor once they stole the files, and depending on how much information Chat managed to steal it might take longer than they had to look through everything. Mime didn't know if the files were backed up in paper form anywhere else but he had said that not many people knew about the information room. If this was the only place Hawkmoth backed up paper files then the room was probably frequented more than the usual storage rooms. This meant that there was a good chance that someone would come to check something from a file they stole and discover them missing. If that happened and an alert was sent out, any work they did with the stolen files could be sabotaged. When she voiced her worries to Adrien he had smiled, mentioned something about covering their tracks better, and needing more practice but Marinette hadn't inquired as to what he was planning.

When she wasn't scheming to be included in the raid or helping Adrien plan for it, Marinette was busy trying to catch up with her work at the office. It had been boring, but in the end she had managed to catch up on almost all the things she had missed or needed to do. She had also been helping Adrien troll through incidents that happened on the night of the Zone attack as they followed up with her smokescreen theory. Even though he was supposed to be helping them, Roger had taken a different track and he was determined to prove Marinette wrong.

Sitting back in her chair Marinette sighed before glancing over at Adrien. He was glaring at Plagg which wasn't that odd but the two of them had been almost silently arguing for well over an hour. It was barely past noon and Marinette couldn't help but wonder if maybe the two of them were hungry and that's why they were being so snappy.

"Shouldn't you be looking through the last of the incidents since Roger can't seem to be bothered?" Marinette asked, getting tired of the undertone of growls that had been echoing through the air.

They had found a few incidents so far that could have been something more than what they appeared on the surface. One had been a robbery of an entire shipment of medical as well as scientific supplies, another robbery had been equipment, and the last incidents had been large scale cash grabs from ATM's. Roger had immediately discounted the shipment robberies but Marinette's instincts screamed that there was something important about it. Hawkmoth was funding a secret lab somewhere within the city and in order to do so they would need supplies periodically. Taking it upon herself to look into the incident, Marinette had discovered a disturbing pattern of supplies like this vanishing every couple of months. So far she hadn't reported any findings, but she was adding these incidents into the Akuma file she had been slowly creating.

Adrien snarled, sounding exasperated, "I did and Roger approached me this morning wanting me to hang out with him or some ridiculous nonsense tonight. I blew him off and escaped before he could really piss me off. As for the other incidents… nothing stuck out and everything I saw were simple or minor incidents. The one death was an overdose and the murderer was a jealous girlfriend. Both have already been cleared and solved. Apparently the girlfriend walked in screaming covered in dried blood before the investigation even got started."

Marinette winced, "Drugs?"

Adrien sat back in his chair while Plagg flew off back to his box in a huff. "Yeah… There might be some new drug starting to circulate on the streets. Haven't got any good information yet but the girlfriend was definitely hopped up on something new."

Marinette closed her eyes, "Great… add it to the pile."

Chuckling Adrien stretched, "Neither of us have any sort of drug cases so it won't come to us. Also don't think I havent noticed you speeding through that pile of paperwork that built up while you were on vacation. Did you finish the stuff you so desperately wanted Plagg to ash for you?"

"Yes." She snapped tartly, "I wanted to be sure I had everything done since we will be getting new files to play with."

"We will have to go through them first before we anonymously donate them." Adrien sighed, "More lost sleep as we pull double duty…"

A smile quirked Marinette's lips at Adriens dramatics, "Oh get over it Adrien, I know you can function…"

She cut off suddenly as her phone vibrated on the desk. Adrien went still as well since he recognised the pattern. "That's not good…" Marinette breathed before snatching the phone up and answering.

"Marinette, I know you are at work but we just had two very badly injured Whisperers brought to our attention. They need hospital level care but they technically don't exist. It must remain that way. We need your gifts." Fu stated his voice grave.

"Where are you?" Marinette demanded, pushing away from her desk.

Adrien shot her a look before standing as well, but Marinette put her hand out to stop him.

"We have already sent a car. It will meet you one street over by the Deli you frequent." Fu answered.

"It's already almost there isn't it?" Marinette asked, scooping up her jacket.

"It will be in less than a minute. Thank you Marinette, I will make sure things are ready for you the moment you arrive." Fu said, and his relief was palpable even through the phone.

"Don't thank me yet. Just keep them alive till I get there." Marinette managed, her stomach already twisting into knots.

"Marinette?" Adrien queried, moving closer to her even as she hung up.

Marinette looked up at him, eyes bright but he could see the worry and doubt that was already cluttering her thoughts. He hugged her to him, squeezing her tight before pulling away so he could look her in the eyes. "How bad?"

"Two people, bad enough that Fu would normally turn them over to a hospital. They don't exist though so he can't." Marinette murmured.

Even though they were at work Adrien pressed a kiss to her forehead making Marinette smile. "I know you can do whatever needs to be done. Do you want me to come?"

Marinette shook her head, "No, you will need to cover for me in case someone comes looking… Paperwork is done. Don't kill Roger if he decides to drop in and irritate you again."

"No promises." Adrien answered wryly, as she broke free of his arms and moved towards the door.

She paused for a moment to look back at Adrien and she could see the worry on his face. "Good luck with tonight and be safe… I'll probably be sleeping when everything goes down. Crap… that means we won't have an alibi if people start asking questions..."

"Don't worry about that Marinette. I'm sure Stormy would cover for you and I. Not to mention Fu or any number of other Whisperers. We will be fine." Adrien placated "You just take care of whoever you need to help and don't overextend yourself Marinette. We both have work tomorrow so you can't sleep the energy drain off for days. I'll disperse any sniffers if they come around."

Marinette tossed a mischievous smile over her shoulder, "I can always sleep on the cot unless you want to be a tattletail."

Adrien rolled his eyes as she turned away, but he didn't comment since he knew that she had already delayed longer than she could afford to. She still had to get out of the building and to the meeting point, but he already missed the warmth of having her at his side.

Slipping out the door Marinette kept her body relaxed as she meandered across the floor with a few papers in hand. She had needed to drop them off at the front anyways and this way she had an excuse as to why she was out and about. If anybody asked her why she was leaving she could always just say she was going to get some lunch.

"Hey Marinette!" A voice called from across the floor, and her stomach dropped as Roger jogged over. "Do you have anything more on that smokescreen attack idea? I'm starting to think that the attack on the Zone was just an attack. You know?"

Biting back the tart reply of 'If you did your job you would already know' She simply said, "I'm almost finished. There were several disturbances that could have used the Zone attack as a smokescreen including those ATM grabs. Those alone would have netted a large amount of cash for Hawkmoth and along with my other paperwork I'm trying to figure out how much was stolen. The banks have not been very forthcoming with the information yet."

"Sounds good…" Roger mused as they stopped by the front office and Marinette dropped off her paperwork.

She was not happy to see that Roger was waiting for her when she came out. She needed to leave… now. "Did you need something else Roger?"

Roger had been a little too friendly the past few days and it was grating on Marinette's nerves. She didn't know if the change had happened because Gabriel had yelled at him or if he was trying to make up for being such an ass when they had been partners.

Roger shrugged, "Adrien is always so stiff… Is he like that with you?"

Marinette almost snarled… he wanted to gossip? Now of all times?! "Adrien is formal. Not stiff. He is also a gentleman so you could probably learn a good deal from him."

"Yeah… I was trying to get him to hang out, maybe cruise the streets tonight… Think you could talk him into it?"

"I doubt it. If it's work related maybe but… look Roger… I need to go ok? There's been… a slight family thing… at my parents bakery… I need to go and check on something. Ask another day when the caseload isn't so crazy." Marinette finally stated, realizing she wasn't going to shake him without bluntly telling him to get lost. Usually she didn't mind telling him to buzz off but she was trying to keep the animosity between them to a minimum for Adrien sake. Seemingly stunned Roger blinked at her in surprise, remaining silent as he processed her words. Feeling slightly guilty Marinette took his silence as an opportunity and made a bee-line for the door. Since Roger didn't call out after her, Marinette hoped that he would take her words at face value and go stew at his desk for the rest of the day. Hopefully he was in a good mood and wouldn't rat her out to Gabriel since she had been lying about the family emergency.

If he did she would get into some trouble but Marinette wasn't really worried about that at the moment. At worst she could say she had been feeling ill and simply hadn't wanted to tell Roger so he wouldn't worry. Adrien would back pretty much anything she would come up with and if she did overreach herself it would play along with the sick card well. Making a mental note to text Adrien and mention the idea in case it was needed, Marinette focused on getting out of the building. The second she hit the sidewalk Marinette moved as fast as she could manage while maintaining an outwardly calm pace - until she was out of sight of the cameras outside the precinct. Knowing there were no other cameras Marinette then broke into a sprint that had people yelping as she blew past them. Her phone vibrated as Fu sent her a picture of the car and she found it idling at the curb a minute later. Sliding into the passenger seat she was shocked to see Gram at the wheel.

"Uh… Hi Gram…"

"There is a duffle bag in the backseat. Change into the clothes that are inside." Gram stated swinging out into traffic to the blaring of horns. Marinette braced herself against the G-forces then scrambled into the back knowing she wouldn't have much time to change.

Stripping down and pulling the dark red skin tight suit out of the bag Marinette stared at the fabric uncomprehendingly. "What the hell is this?"

Gram whipped around a turn before glancing back to see Marinette holding the suit in her hands. "The suit will hide your identity. Fu told me to tell you to put it on. Mask as well. I know you don't like gloves when you work but the suit should help you rather than hinder you."

"Oh… uh right…" Marinette murmured wondering how long Gram had known of her new found abilities. Deciding she'd rather not know Marinette changed the subject, "How bad is this going to be?"

"Gunshot wounds, abdomen, chest… five were injured in total. One has already died and one has already been stabilized and moved. One got off lucky with a graze and they are the one who called it in. The last two are not stable enough for us to shift and they still might die. Neither of them exist in the system so they cannot be sent to a hospital which is where you come in. We are going to them and unfortunately there are others already there trying to stabilize the two. Your powers are not going to remain a secret for much longer which is why you needed a disguise. Heal as much as you can but don't overreach yourself do you understand?" Gram stated, "I don't need any more people to take care of tonight."

Not trusting herself to answer, Marinette pulled the miraculous stone from her waistband and slipped it into her bra. With the car moving rapidly through turns it was a little difficult to wiggle into the suit but going piece by piece she was able to manage it. It was like an onesie, feet included, but it stuck to her like a second skin when she got it into place. It wasn't uncomfortable at all; in fact the feel of the fabric was oddly familiar in a way she couldn't explain. As she struggled to zip up the back she was finally able to put her finger on the sensation because suddenly she could faintly detect the slightest traces of power.

"Um… Has this been infused with Fu's tea or something?" Marinette asked not knowing how to ask what she really wanted to know.

Gram laughed, "So you can sense energy as well now huh?"

Marinette blinked, realized that she was sensing some kind of energy residue, and shivered. "I-I suppose so…"

Sliding her clothes into the duffel bag Marinette pulled the matching red mask out and slid it over her face before swiftly pulling her hair back into pigtails. When she was done Marinette clambered back up into the front seat.

"Ready child?" Gram asked.

It was such a weighted question that Marinette swallowed feeling far more nervous than normal, "I guess we will find out."

The car came to stop and Marinette could see the lookout on the corner. They were in a fairly deserted area on the outskirts of the city and Marinette wondered what these people had been doing out here as well as who had shot them. Before she could ask any questions though Gram broke into her musings.

"Go to them. Don't speak. They know where to take you but no one except Fu and I know who you are." Gram cautioned.

They were running out of time. Worry and something akin to fear laced Gram's voice and Marinette knew she couldn't waste time asking questions when she probably wouldn't even get a proper answer. It was time to try and save lives. Marinette was out of the car a moment later rushing towards the lookout on the corner. They saw her coming and waved her on before turning and darting down the alley. Marinette followed, catching up in seconds and scaring the hell out of the poor individual as she blew past. She didn't need to follow them any longer, Marinette could see the two figures on the ground stretched out surrounded by three others, could smell the blood tainting the air. Fu was there, standing between the two injured and his eyes snapped up to hers as she slid to a halt. For a long moment as their eyes connected Marinette swore she felt the dispersion of… something in the air before she discounted the sensation and dropped to her knees between the two injured. The two had been laid out side by side close enough to each other that Marinette could easily reach them both at the same time.

"Worse injured, see what you can do. Try to just stabilize…" Fu stated his face drawn, pointing to the young man who looked as if he were barely breathing.

The young man was handsome, his features asian with a little bit of some other ancestry mixed in. His once tanned skin was now pallid and Marinette could see the shimmer of sweat that coated his body along with blood. The other was a girl with close cropped hair and dark skin to rival even Alyas. The boy had far more blood on his clothes than the girl but that wasn't saying much considering the heavy stench of blood in the air.

Marinette took a deep breath and even though she knew she should go one at a time Marinette realized that she needed to know how bad off both of them were before she began. After all, if she used too much energy healing one she wouldn't be able to save the other.

"Fu?! What is this?! Who is she?!" One of the people demanded their hands covered in blood as they attempted to staunch the massive bleeding across the boy's injured abdomen.

Marinette didn't bother to answer nor did she wait and see how Fu answered. Instead she simply reached out and pressed one hand to each of the injured's foreheads. Usually it took her a moment to concentrate, to turn her thoughts inward to focus on the power that now lived within her. Marinette didn't know if it was the urgency tainting the air or if she was just getting faster but after the briefest of seconds Marinette was within her power. Oddly enough it felt tamer as she drew it out of her core to send it down both her arms and into the injured. For several long seconds Marinette felt nothing, sensed nothing, and for a terrible minute Marinette thought she was too late. Then her power really kicked in and the deluge of information gave her an instant headache. Someone gasped and Marinette hoped that the gasp was a good thing rather than a bad one since she refused to open her eyes and see what their issue was.

Thankfully Gram had been telling the truth when she had said that the suit wouldn't interfere with Marinette's abilities. The suit had been woven with power and oddly enough it seemed to be bolstering her abilities, helping her focus entirely on the wounds instead of having to fight for control every other second. Both victims under her hands were critically injured but the one boy on her right was close to death. It felt as if both these poor people had walked into a hail of bullets and Marinette knew she was going to have to make some very fast decisions.

Like Fu had once warned her, she couldn't hope to heal everything or she would burn herself out at best and kill herself at worst. Trying to heal both of them at the same time was also off the table since she wouldn't be able to split her concentration like that. She didn't have enough practice to attempt such a thing and she needed to get things just right to save both of the Whisperers under her hands. Sending a pulse of power into them Marinette concentrated, all the while trying to keep a mental eye on her own energy levels. Stemming blood loss was something she could start with in both victims and she hoped that it would be enough to keep the girl on her left alive until she could really focus on her. While both victims were critically injured the person on the right had it worse off. They had been gut shot and Marinette could feel all the terrible tears that riddled their intestines. They were going to die, painfully, if she didn't heal them correctly since ripped intestines tended to poison the body from the inside out.

With her power set to sealing his organs back together Marinette returned her attention to the hemorrhaging that was still happening deep inside the young man under her hand. Bleeding to death was a major concern in Marinette's mind since the first wave of her power had only slowed the bleeding rather than stopped it. It took far more power than Marinette had initially planned for to get the hemorrhaging under control but once it was Marinette pulled her power to her next focus. It was an uphill battle. Even with the bleeding mostly stopped, the injuries to his intestines and other organs were still severe. Her power had been stitching the poor guys intestines back together even as she stopped all the hemorrhaging and unsure of her next move Marinette sent out another probing pulse of power. For some reason healing the boy's organs was far easier than stopping the blood loss and as the last bit of intestine returned to being whole she moved onto putting his lung back together. The boy's heart rate slowed as she healed him piece by piece, his body settling into a state just shy of total shock. Marinette just hoped that she had bought him enough time so that he actually survived being shot so many times.

On top of the organ damage he also had muscle tears and at least three broken bones, but Marinette knew she would burn herself out long before she would be able to heal him entirely. He would need healing again soon in the future and Marinette hoped her powers recovered swiftly so she could fix him further. She didn't mind the idea of healing him further since the guy was probably a hero in his own right. As she healed, Marinette had analyzed the wounds and came to the conclusion that the guy had tried to shield his companions explaining how he had gunshot wounds not only to his front but his back as well. He had managed to protect at least one of his companions almost at the cost of his own life. Finally Marinette sensed that he had become as stable as she could make him, without burning herself out. If she had something left over when she finished healing the girl Marinette promised herself that she would look him over one more time. Reluctantly Marinette pulled her power back, knowing that the girl on her left also needed her abilities.

As she turned her full attention to the person on the left a hand settled on her shoulder and Marinette felt an energy of a totally different sort flow into her. With a shudder Marinette realized her own reserves were starting to fall a little low so she was grateful for anything she could use. Not questioning the influx of energy or its source Marinette simply incorporated the foreign energy into her own power before sending it into the injured girl. The girl had far less organ damage and Marinette's power had already stopped the worst of the blood loss while she had been concentrating on the young man. It was what had drained her power so fast without her realizing. Thankfully though the girls body was far easier to stabilize than the young man and the extra power being funneled into her kept Marinette from burning out. Stabilizing the girl Marinette made to sweep over the boy one last time only to feel her power give what felt like a hiccup. Unfortunately she had hit her limit, and Marinette knew she didn't have any choice but to pull back.

Pulling her power back into herself Marinette opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by at least a dozen people. None of those people were paying her any attention instead they were utterly focused on the two she had been healing. While Marinette had been in her healing trance someone had started IV's for both of them and a blood pressure cuff encircled their arms as well. The hand that had been on her shoulder was gone, had been gone, and Marinette wondered who had given her the energy boost.

One of the medics noted her open eyes. "Are they stable to move?"

Marinette nodded not trusting herself to speak. The moment she gave permission there was a flurry of activity and Marinette felt as if she had been tossed into the middle of a kicked ant hill. Pulling away so she didn't interfere with their movements, Marinette tentatively tried to stand. Stiffness made her muscles groan but Marinette was happy when she managed to gain her feet all on her own. Her blood pressure crashed the moment she did but Marinette gritted her teeth, somehow hanging onto consciousness even as her vision wavered. She felt stiff and pretty damned exhausted, but she didn't feel as if she had pushed herself too far. The energy boost she had received had kept her from exhausting herself to the point of no return.

A hand hooked around her arm tugging Marinette away from the chaos and she was happy to stumble into step with whoever had grabbed her. It wasn't until they were almost back at the car when Marinette realized that it was Gram who was leading her away.

"Should I go with them?" Marinette ground out, her voice not sounding quite right to her.

Gram huffed, "And do what? Pass out on top of the injured? You are tapped out child."

Marinette didn't argue, she felt tapped out but she had still felt the need to ask. Gram opened the passenger door and Marinette climbed in, collapsing to the seat before leaning back with a sigh. Closing the door behind her Gram moved back to the driver's side.

"Where are we going now?" Marinette asked, her brain starting to feel fuzzy from the overuse of power.

"A safe house where you will recover far easier." Gram answered shifting a strand of hair out of Marinette's face. "Fu has gone ahead to make tea and a meal. It will take 15 minutes to drive there, maybe longer with traffic. Sleep Marinette, you saved two lives and more today."

Marinette nodded her eyes closing on their own accord, "Wake me when we get there?"

She didn't hear Gram answer and fell headlong into an exhausted sleep. It only felt like seconds had past when someone patted her gently, rousing her from what had been a dreamless sleep.

"I can walk." Marinette grumbled groggily as the person tried to lift her from the car.

"You must open your eyes to walk Marinette."

"I can walk with my eyes closed." Marinette retorted trying to turn away and go back to sleep.

Her words unfortunately came out as a slurred mumble and nearby someone laughed. With a growl Marinette forced her eyes open when she found that she couldn't get comfortable again. Slowly Marinette blinked, realizing that she was still in the car in some sort of garage and that Fu was staring at her with a bemused expression.

"Are you awake enough to move now? There is tea and food waiting inside as well as a far comfier bed."

Rubbing at her face, Marinette tried to focus, "I think I'll just take the bed."

Fu smiled and helped Marinette from the car, "The tea and food are non-optional I'm afraid. I have already gotten a call from Adrien demanding an update since you did not answer your phone. He has already threatened bodily harm if I do not make you eat and drink something before you go to sleep again."

"I'm not surprised." Marinette snorted, keeping hold of Fu as they walked inside.

Fu led her to a comfortable room that had a change of clothes on the bed, as well as the duffle bag with her things inside. On a tray table next to the bed was a large cup filled with what she assumed was tea as well as a full plate of what looked like dumplings of a sort. With a sigh Marinette sat on the bed and took a sip of the tea.

With a smile Fu pointed to the clothes on the bed next to her. "Those will probably be far more comfortable to wear rather than your day to day clothes or the suit. You may sleep when you are done eating."

"Thanks for your permission." Marinette grumbled around the mouthful of dumpling she had just taken.

Part of her wished she had remained asleep but as the tea and dumpling hit her stomach she realized that she was actually pretty hungry. She didn't know what time it was but Marinette had not eaten lunch - so any food was better than nothing. Knowing that she would sleep far better on a full stomach anyways Marinette took another bite of the dumpling. Fu wasn't perturbed by her tone at all and simply smiled as he moved for the door.

"I will be back to check on you later Marinette and I am sure Adrien will pass through to check on you too. If you sleep through the night I will make sure I wake you in time for work tomorrow."

"I wouldn't worry about it Fu. If I go that far unconscious Adrien will probably take me home when he is done with his… mission tonight." Marinette yawned, exhaustion settling in her bones. She probably wasn't going to make it home in time to make their arranged alibi and she wondered if maybe she should call in sick for tomorrow just to cover her bases.

Fu paused in the doorway a thoughtful look on his face. "You are probably correct Marinette. Either way sleep well and thank you for healing those two. We would have lost three lives instead of just one had you not been willing to come."

"Always…" Marinette managed after swallowing another half a dumpling down. "I mean it Fu. I am always happy to heal those that need it. The boy will need more healing over the next week or so. Also… whoever helped me… or rather gave me energy… Tell them thank you. I would have been far worse off had they not stepped in. The suit helped as well. It almost felt like it was keeping my power contained so I could manipulate my energy properly."

"The suit is a training tool. As well as a disguise for you to use." Fu admitted "It's a gift for you to use any time you need. We can talk more about it later but you might want to think of a code name for you to use when you are out and about in it."

That said Fu slipped from the room leaving Marinette to finish her food and undress in privacy. In truth all Marinette wanted to do was crawl under the covers of the bed and sleep but she knew that if she finished eating and drinking the tea, she would recover far faster. A few minutes later Marinette was stuffed and on the verge of passing out whether she wanted to or not. Yawning, Marinette put the tray beside the door and stumbled back towards the bed. Exhaustion was starting to hit her hard now, and dropping the duffel on the floor Marinette struggled out of the suit. The clothes Fu had left on the bed for her were soft to the touch and she changed into them gratefully before crawling under the covers. Curling around the soft pillows Marinette sighed, her mind slowly crashing under the weight of exhaustion from using so much energy. Sleep took her moments later.

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