Chapter 14

Chat ran. In the midst of it all, being chased by a dangerous akuma, having accidentally revealed his identity to Marinette, and even with Ladybug acting so strangely, he felt good. There as no other way to describe it. Running along the rooftops, practically flying with the help of his trademark staff, he felt incredibly free. Soaring above all his troubles and leaving them behind. He was Chat Noir, saviour of Paris alongside his lady. And here he was again, in full battle mode and enjoying every second of it.

It had been a while since their last battle, Valentine's Day to be exact. It was amazing to be back at it again, fighting to save the citizens of his country. An ice-blue bullet whizzed past his ear.

He grinned down at Frostbite below who was skating frantically along the frozen street. He lifted his head back up and fixed his eyes on his destination- the bridge. Who knows what his partner had in mind, but he trusted it would work. Scratch that, he trusted her, with ever fibre of his being. Nothing would ever change that.

"You seem to be snowing down a bit, Ice Girl!" Chat Noir called to her tauntingly. He could practically hear Plagg groaning.

"It's FROSTBITE," she screamed in frustration, having trouble keeping up with the superhero.

Finally reaching the bridge, Chat expertly leapt over the fierce river below to the other side. It was a risky jump, but it was the risk and danger that had adrenaline rushing through his veins. His erratic heartbeat thudded in his ears as he narrowly missed the edge before landing safely. He skidded to a stop, spinning round to face Frostbite from the other side of the bridge. Call it instinct or pure luck, something told him he should stay away from the frozen bridge. Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.

Frostbite met his stare, as if accepting the challenge. The long white stretch of the bridge was all that lay between them. Chat leaned casually against his staff, beckoning her with a single eyebrow-raise.

"What are you, scared of the water or something?"

That did it, that broke the ice. Chat knew a competitive spirit when he saw one because after all, it takes one to know one. And he knew exactly what would tick her off.

With an inhumane screech Frostbite shot off onto the bridge. But, something strange began to happen. After conquering about a third of the bridge, her speeding figure began to slow down, and a look of pure confusion and horror overtook her features.

With all the momentum she already had, the half-melted, salty ice had her skidding over the surface of the bridge uncontrollably. And there was only one way she could fall- down.

Slamming into the side of the bridge hard, she flipped over the edge into the rushing water below. As soon as her magically-charged skates hit the water, the river began freezing over. The ice spread fast, water being the perfect medium.

A flash of red in the corner of Chat's eye caught his attention. The surface of the river was already completely frozen, the ice thickening quickly. Ladybug landed on the ice of the river with a soft thud.

Frostbite had only managed to keep her head and shoulders above the water before it completely froze over. She was trapped, and cold. Re-living the memory that had triggered such negative emotions in the first place. Ice completely encased the lower part of her body. The cold took it's toll on her and all the life visibly left her.

"GET UP YOU FOOL! I need those Miraculouses!!" Hawkmoth practically screamed in her head.

She flinched, then her head lolled forward like a puppet's, her chocolate brown hair forming a curtain around her face.. Resignation and the acceptance of her fate was all that filled her mind. It was over.

Ladybug strode over to Frostbite, or at least the parts of her they could see that wasn't frozen. Bending down, she ripped the glowing blue snowflake chain from around her neck. Frostbite's head snapped back as she did. Chat Noir watched in horror the cruelty with which his partner treated the akuma victim. This was not on!

Leaping down onto the frozen river, he hurried to his spotted partner before she could do anymore damage. Before he reached her, she threw the pendant down harshly on the ice before driving her heel into it with such force, Chat could have sworn he heard the ice crack beneath them.

The pesky purple insect fluttered out from the pendant's remains.

"Time to de-evilise." The words were uttered in monotone, void of any emotion.

A single, snow-white butterfly escaped from Ladybug's yo-yo, and fluttered off into the sky.

Leaping up to the bridge she grabbed her lucky charm, the bucket with the salty leftovers in it, and flung it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug," she muttered bitterly.

All over the city, the ice on the streets faded away as little clouds of ladybugs swarmed all over the city One by one, the scattered, frozen figures including their best friends, thawed out in a matter of seconds. Gasps of breaths could be heard all over as the once-frozen citizens found themselves free of their icy prisons. The warmth of Ladybug's magic swirled around them before bursting into a shower of pink sparks in the sky.

Frostbite, or Keira, was not quite as lucky. Her ice-blue costume and charged skates disappeared, as did the ice that trapped her. Leaving both her and Chat Noir suddenly swimming in a reasonably temperate river.

Keira's head bobbed beneath the surface. But never came up. Chat sucked in a breath in panic before he dived desperately, trying to grab hold of her. He managed to grasp one of her arms underwater, pulling the semi-conscious girl to safety. Water shimmered all around them, blocking out all sounds from the world above.

Using his staff to shoot them both out of the water, they landed hard on the concrete of the bridge. In the air however, Chat had positioned himself under her so he would take the brunt of the fall. Grunting in pain, he staggered to his feet before bending down again to see if Keira was okay.

She was on her hands and knees, coughing up dirty river water.

Ladybug stood behind him a little way off, just watching. He turned round angrily, water still dripping from his suit.

"What the hell was that?!" he yelled, fury radiating off him. But instead of backing down, Ladybug stepped forward to challenge him with a cold glint in her eye, ignoring the beeping in her ears.

"So you expect me to still be all nice aftr what you did to me? What kind of cruel, sick-minded person would toy with a girl's heart like that? You are a sad excuse for a hero. Chat Noir, if I should even call you that, you are a disgrace to me as a partner. Screw that, you'll never be my partner again. Nothing you could ever do would be enough for me to forgive you," she spat, the flaming words leaving her mouth and burning on her lips.

She looked him in the eye, hard. And from blue to green was conveyed utter hatred, anger and hurt. Chat Noir's feline ears flattened against his head, and something akin to a hiss seethed from his throat. He had no idea what she was accusing him of, but to say things like that after treating an akuma victim so harshly? This was not the Ladybug he knew.

Her hands curled into fists and he tightened his jaw to the point where a sharp pain shot up his cheek. The tension in the air between them so thick, one could practically swim in it.

Water gleamed in his hair. It was almost turning into steam with the waves of anger rolling off him. Ladybug felt her nails digging into the palm of her hand through her suit. She only clenched her fists harder. The ex-partners leaned dangerously close to one another, closing almost all the distance between them. Their noses were almost touching, yet the fire that burned between them was not a passionate one, but a wicked one.

The two, sharp beeps cut through the air like a knife.

Without a single word, her icy blue eyes never leaving his, she flung her yo-yo out beside her. Not bothering to check what it had wrapped around, the tugged it once, and was gone.

Still fuming and confused, Chat Noir turned around to find Keira on the floor behind him, breathing heavily. She wiped the last few traced of the river water from her mouth and looked up at Chat Noir with a bewildered, fearful expression. And with a small voice, she squeaked:

"Where on earth am I?"

He crouched down next to her and laid a protective paw on her back, before gently explaining what had happened.

He forced all memory of his and Ladybug's heated encounter to the back of his mind. He was dealing with an akuma victim and had to be as gentle and kind as possible. He would figure out his situation with Ladybug later. What on earth had gotten into her?

~~~

Black. Purple. Evil. Those were the last things Keira could remember before she was flung from the water onto the concrete of the bridge, coughing and spluttering. She shivered slightly, not just because of the cold, but from the mere memory of the dark magic overtaking her body, twisting and churning inside her like a hideous beast.

She looked up from the hard stone below her to see Paris' spotted hero swinging off, leaving her partner behind. He turned around to face her with a fierce expression on his face, his shoulders hunched up. But as soon as he caught sight of her, the terrifying glare melted into a look of genuine concern.

"Where on earth am I?" she managed to choke out, still left with the nasty taste of the river in her mouth.

With that he crouched down next to her, placing a clawed hand on the small of her back. She could faintly feel the sharp tips of his claws through her damp shirt.

Over the next few minutes as the pair dried off in the late afternoon sun, Chat Noir explained to her what had happened, and reassured her that no one was angry or upset with her. His crystal green eyes never left her hazel brown ones the entire time. And she vaguely recalled those glowing green eyes fixed on hers in the inky darkness of the river, before she felt something grab her arm and pull her up, up into the air. Those electrifying green orbs floating in the underwater blackness, comforting and promising rescue.

He was still talking to her, and she blushed under his intense green gaze, tucking a strand of partially-dry hair behind her ear.

When he was certain she was alright, and offered to take her home, she insisted he take her back to the rink. She did not want the legendary Chat Noir to see her sad excuse for living quarters!

Clutching him in fear, yet completely trusting the caring cat, she felt herself whisked over the rooftops of her beloved city. The wind whipped at her hair and she felt more alive than she had been in a long time.

Setting her gently on the ground, he clicked his staff in behind him before straightening up. He gave her a warm smile.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? " he asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure" she answered, jokingly rolling her eyes.

"Promise?"

"I promise" she said, feeling the tips of her ears turning red with embarrassment. She hated that she blushed so easily!

He smirked a classic Chat Noir smirk before saluting, and launching off into the sky. Her eyes trailed after his retreating figure, missing his warm presence already.

The Rink was pure chaos, people still recovering from the attack. Though a lot emptier than when Keira had last seen it. Running, as best she could still in her skates, she headed to the skate hire room to fetch her little bag she had left, and briefly passed the actual ice rink in the centre of the building. She froze at the sight of it.

Her entire body stiffened in fear as her eyes roamed the crystal clear ice. It was if by some instinct, her body refused to take a step nearer.

Her mind was suddenly filled with a fuzzy memory of ice, ice, and more ice. Cold. Sharp, deadly cold. She couldn't exactly picture this memory, but she could feel it. Her entire body was trapped by the evil ice, pushing the very life out of her.

Then someone yanked something at her neck. She could practically feel the pain as something not part of her, but deeply connected to her was broken. Destroyed.

Her hand instantly went to her throat, feeling the pain that shuddered through her body. Her panicked fingers clasped her pendant as her breathing became shorter, and quicker. She was starting to hyperventilate.

Feeling all the walls in the room close in on her, she began to feel faint. And cold, so very cold. It was a numbness that spread through her, piercing her very soul.

A hand reached out, and a pair of warm, golden-brown eyes came into view. A girl. Red-brown hair and geeky glasses. This was one of the girls she had spoken to earlier!

Thankful for a familiar face, she practically fell into Alya's arms.

"Girl, are you okay?" Alya asked worriedly. Nino came up behind her and placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

Keira could barely utter a word, completely drained from her entire ordeal. Alya sat her down on one of the benches along the side before placing the back of her hand against Keira's forehead.

"She's burning up. We have to get her home, in bed, with some meds."

Keira weakly shook her head. They could definitely not take her to her own home in this state.

"Anywhere...but there.." she trailed off.

After asking around and finding no one who knew her, Alya decided to take Keira home with her. Nino came along too of course.

As they left, Nino and Alya on either sides of the shaken girl to support her, Keira glanced back at the rink. Another jagged splinter of cold speared her heart, and she flinched instinctively. She was never going to set a foot or a skate on any ice, ever again.

~~~

Chat Noir felt empty. After making sure the victim was okay, he wandered about the city for a little longer. He found himself back at the river, staring down into it's lovely dark, murky depths.
It had been a long day, a long and emotional day. He was exhausted. Still hurt from what Ladybug said and tired from battle, he just wanted to go home and fall into bed. And never get back up again.

He still had plenty of time left as Chat Noir, as he had recharged halfway through the battle and hadn't used Cataclysm. He could run home, detransform and take a nice warm shower to rid himself of the lingering river smell. But, he had one last thing to take care of.

He lifted his head unconsciously in the direction of Marinette's bakery. One last, small detail that could not wait another day. He simply had to talk to her.

Reaching behind for his staff, he sighed. Cuddling in his blankets with a warm mug of tea sounded amazing right about now.

He shook his head and extended his staff, shooting himself onto the nearest roof. He hit the ground running, his legs moving in a tired rhythm.

But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep