Previously on Ripped: After confirming his involvement in her best friend's injuries, Alya made it clear that Adrien needed to stay away. But, a new player has entered the game with a mysterious offer for Marinette.

A dull roar sounded in the distance. Reinforcements were coming, no doubt seeking the slain infantrymen around them. If only, they could have stopped him.

The sweltering heat of the fires lapped against her cheeks, drawing sweat out across her skin, while the acrid smoke filled her tiny lungs. Across from her, a young woman stood hunched over, grimacing in pain and gripping her hands firmly on the arrow lodged deep within the meat of her thigh. A stain of crimson bloomed outward across the wound.

"Jeanne! I beg of thee, allow me to help," the floating creature implored, turning her melancholic eyes toward her companion.

However, her path was blocked as the woman staggered forward, lashing outward with her sword. Jeanne's eyes lit with a ferocity that rivaled the flames around them., but they belied the worsening pallor of her normally tanned skin.

She was losing too much blood.

"Begone, vile creature! I shall hear no more. Thou hast filled my head with sweet lies," Jeanne spat with teeth bared. "Wherein once I thought thee a gift from the heavens. Now, I know that thou art truly a demon from the depths of hell, sent to sow discord in the hearts of Man."

Gallops echoed through the streets and the shouts grew louder, coming ever closer. Whether friend or foe, an army was approaching. This was not the time for stubbornness. They needed to get away.

"Please, Jeanne. Thou must see reason. At the very least, thou must retreat. Prithee, my heart would not bear it should thou be killed," the creature fretted, hoping the woman could sense the love and worry that ached through her being. Not like this. Never like this. "Use the Miraculous to escape capture. It is your only hope."

But, the woman's countenance darkened and she delivered a another wild strike with her waning strength.

"I shall not cower like the slithering serpents of hell. I leave my fate toward the Almighty and pray that He is merciful toward my folly in trusting thee. My men will find me. Begone!" Jeanne swore before finally, ripping the jewelry from her lobes.

The small creature couldn't help but send a pleading wish to the heavens to protect her Chosen as the power of the Miraculous sent her swirling back into the depths of the simple studs.

But, as the darkness clouded her vision, a premonition filled her mind of a woman's screams into the depths black.

Jeanne's fate was sealed.

Tikki awoke with a start, unconsciously phasing through the material of her chosen's purse. A quick glance around the cluttered locker reminded her that Paris wasn't burning and she hadn't moved from where she'd been for the past few days.

The memories of the past swirled at the forefront of the little Kwami's mind, but the vision of her past wielder begged the question: Why now?

Jeanne was long dead, centuries gone from this world. Tikki had since passed from wielder to wielder over the many years.

Why now did she dream of her fallen friend? Was this merely happenstance or… was it a dark premonition of that to come?

A shock of fear ran through the tiny creature's body and she prayed that the dismal fate that had befallen the young woman of the distant past did not touch her current holder. If Marinette's life had ended prematurely…

No!

Taking a deep breath, Tikki struggled to calm herself from the panic that wracked her form. She needed to look at the situation objectively. If her wielder was dead she would have vanished back into the earrings.

Just like Jeanne...

Banishing the morbid thoughts to the far reaches of her mind, the little god tried to focus on the now. So long as she remained manifested outside of the Miraculous, Marinette had to be alive.

"Marinette is alive," she affirmed forcefully as if her words carried the power to make it true.

But, the creeping worry could not be banished so easily from her mind. Alive didn't mean unharmed…

A million terrible scenarios materialized in her head. In the many millennia of existence, she had watched such cruelty and suffering, pain and dismemberment. She prayed that such horrors had not found their way to the young woman that she had chosen.

"Please... be okay," she whispered into the darkness.

A loud shuffling drew the Kwami out of her musings and she phased back into her holder's purse, just as she had done many times over the last few days. She hid and hoped that Marinette had returned.

The sound grew louder and Tikki heard the telltale scraping of the lock, giving the small god a bloom of happiness that she had to struggle to contain. It took all of her considerable willpower to keep herself from popping up to greet her dear friend. She anxiously waited to hear the sweet whispered words from the young woman.

That moment didn't come.

Instead, Tikki felt the purse jostled and shoved into a larger bag along with a few other things from the locker. A wave of panic ran through her. Was this Chloé's doing? Sabrina? Was she being stolen again?

However, the Kwami's fears were soon put to rest.

"I should probably grab her charger when from her room. Marinette's phone must be dead by now," a familiar voice muttered softly, zipping the bag up and carrying it away. "She'll probably want her tablet and sketchbook too…"

Tikki's heart stopped racing and her worry faded ever so slightly and felt grateful for Alya's presence. While not ideal, this was the next best thing and hopefully, she'd be able to allay the worst of her fears.

"Marinette, I'm coming," the kwami whispered.

Darkness.

Pain.

Fear.

She awoke to a muffled sound… Someone was... crying? The hurt disappeared and a feeling of euphoria hit her senses. Air rushed into her lungs with an uncomfortable pressure that pushed and pulled her chest apart. She felt so tired...

Voices were speaking very loudly, but she wanted to sleep… Hopefully, the voices would stop fighting soon...

"Marinette?" someone asked from very far away, almost like a whisper through water. Then, nothing. Maybe it was just her imagination… She was too tired anyways...

The pressure in her chest slowly began to go away and her throat felt funny. She wanted to turn away, but something was keeping her in place. The lights were so bright… So much noise… She just wanted to go back to bed.

"Wake up, Marinette," the voice continued, gently squeezing her hand. The warm familiar touch made the girl feel safe and happy despite her grogginess.

"Too early, Maman...," she whined with a soft groan.

The young woman tried to wave the hand away, but a sharp sting coursed through her side forcing her eyes open and sending panic through her system. The Aubergine King!

"He's not an akuma!" Marinette screamed, pulling hard on her IV line as she jumped up in her bed, startling the doctor and nurse by her side. "I need to tell him. He doesn't know!"

"Honey! Honey! You're safe. He can't hurt you. Chat Noir killed the monster," the girl's mother comforted, immediately jumping to her side.

Rapid breaths that were still labored escaped the young woman's lips as the adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her eyes wildly darted to and fro across the room until her mind was finally able to process the end of the battle. She was in a hospital.

"Everyone's okay?" Marinette asked with a hint of force, letting a bit of her Ladybug protectiveness out. Unconsciously, she reached up to feel that her earrings were still in place. "Adrien? Chloé? He didn't get them?"

A nod from her Maman was all she needed for confirmation and she allowed herself to lean back and relax.

The weight in the air was lifted as the occupants took in her more composed demeanor and hurriedly went over the details of her injury as well as a few minor tests. She noticed a nurse surreptitiously placing a syringe away.

However, it seemed as if they had only been talking for a few minutes before the physicians rushed out of the room, leaving her Maman by her side. Marinette smothered a light giggle as she noticed the slight tightening of her parent's jaw to signify that her mother was mildly annoyed at the abrupt departure, but felt a wave of remorse when Sabine turned toward her.

"I'm sorry," the teen slipped out before she could stop herself. "I-I couldn't just run away."

Soft eyes met her own.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," the older woman whispered. A gentle touch caressed the side of the dark haired girl's cheek as she pulled herself closer. "We were worried when Alya called to say you were hurt, but your Papa and I raised you to care about others. No matter how terrible and undeserving they may be. We're proud that our daughter is a hero."

Marinette felt a wave of warmth as she blushed at the love emanating from her mother's praise, allowing just a bit of the guilt to dissipate. Idly, she let herself hope that her parents would feel the same if they ever found out she was Ladybug.

Returning every bit of the feeling inside of her, the dark haired girl squeezed the other woman's hand as tears began to well up in her eyes. She said with all of that emotion, "I love you, Maman."

Cloudy tears dripped from Sabine's eyes and two began to weep together, letting the moment wash over them. Mother and daughter taking solace in their love.

Eventually, their tears began to slow and fade away as they regained their composure.

Sabine sniffled one last time before she mentioned, "Your Papa went to make you your favorite macarons. He and Alya will be back soon. They wanted to be here when you woke up, but the doctors said you were ready."

Marinette's heart swelled at her mother's words. That she had people that cared about her so much...

However, a thought crossed the dark haired girl's mind that made her feel guilty. Hospital visits were anything, but cheap. While not necessarily hurting for money, this was undoubtedly going to be expensive.

"What about the Bakery? I hope you didn't have to stay closed for too many days…"

A smile lit up across Sabine's cheeks; and, to Marinette's confusion, the older woman gestured to a letter on the side table. "Alya said that this nice man dropped that off before saying that your medical bills would be covered. We've been so curious, but we wanted to wait for you to open it."

Puzzled, the dark haired girl reached over to open the letter.

Her jaw dropped as she read, and her eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"WHAT!?"

Dear Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,

Due to your exemplary physical and written assessment scores as well as your efforts in the defeat of the Tiger level threat of the Aubergine King, we would like to congratulate you on your acceptance to the European Branch of the Hero Association.

We hereby certify you as an Official C-Class Hero Rank 391. Please complete your hero profile online with an unclaimed alias within 60 days. If you are unable to choose a suitable alias, the Hero Association will assign you a name.

As a reminder, C-Class heroes must maintain activity on a weekly basis or you will be removed from the Hero Registry. Additional requirements may be found on the Association's website as well as your Hero Manual.

Pay for heroic deeds have been direct deposited into your account. A bonus stipend of €10,000 has been attributed for Major Services in Assistance of a Tiger Level Threat and your hospital expenses have been covered for the duration of your stay.

We thank you for your commitment to justice and wish you a safe tenure.

Best Regards,

François Fillon

European Hero Association Director

AN: In respect for those that officially participated, I refrained from posting due to the blackout after I heard about it.

To those of you that guessed One Punch Man, you are correct! Sorry for anyone that guessed Agents of SHIELD or Men in Black, but those were decent guesses as well.

The hints for this crossover go all the way back to the second and third chapter. The first clue was that the physical and written assessments are the same ones used by the Hero Association. Our second clue came from the Aubergine King itself. It's personality was based on the Sea King monster and the design was inspired by the opening of One Punch Man where you can see a weird purple monster with a lot of hair. That image made me think of eggplants and that's where the monster came from. The third and final clue was facing a Tiger Level threat.

Some of you may be wondering about the realism of Marinette's recovery and short stay with her injuries. So… as a bit of personal information. I actually work in healthcare and have seen a fair number of traumatic injuries. Younger people especially have this amazing capacity to bounce back and survive horrific injuries. Her most dangerous injury, the hemopneumothorax, would give her a couple days in the ICU, and depending on severity, she would be intubated and mechanically ventilated until she was outside the danger zone. Patient's are usually mildly sedated because having a machine help you breathe is pretty jarring. Deep sedation is usually never preferred as it can have long term cognitive issues. Marinete was kept at this light level of sedation so she kind of heard Alya and Adrien talking.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Next time on Ripped: Incredulous disbelief. Crippling regret. Push on toward your destiny, Marinette. I swear I will protect you.