"Stay back!"
The boy dressed as a cat hisses viciously as he curls his body around the crumpled red form that lay cradled in his arms. Civilians who had stepped forward to offer their help jumped back at the choked out shout. Many were still confused by what had occurred today. Bubbles had carried them out of their homes and into the air, terrorizing the young and old for over an hour as they were suspended high above Paris.
The red and black duo who had been making a name for themselves around Paris had done everything they could to stop the villains, and they had succeeded. But, towards the end of the battle, in the midst of their ensured victory, the duo had gotten split up. Another akuma had shown up out of the blue, and Ladybug had ran off to stop them, leaving Chat Noir to deal the final blows on the bubble guy.
However, once he arrived at Ladybug's destination….
"Please! Just…return to your homes. There is no danger now, but something could change any minute. Please." The black cat's voice squeaked out as he stood up, his back turned and head bowed away from most of the crowd. He clutched the girl tighter when she let out a whimper. He was trying to stay strong, dammit! He needed to stay calm and strong as to not alarm the citizens. They had already experienced enough trauma today. The boy's foot shifted, and his green eyes darted about low behind the mask, searching for an escape route outside of the crowd's tight circle. Something tugged, well, tried to tug, at his leather.
Looking down, a small child with dark skin and curly hair in high pigtails stared up at him with wide eyes filled with worry.
"Will Miss Ladybug be okay?" She asked, leaving Chat Noir at a loss for words for a moment. He was never good with kids, and he certainly wouldn't be able to suddenly become a preschool teacher now. His heart sped up as he racked his brain for something to say.
"Urk…" To his surprise, the girl in his arms shifted, her blue eyes cracking open. She gazed down at the little girl bellow them, and put on her best smile, reaching out weakly to ruffle the girl's head.
"Of course I'll be fine. I'm a superhero after all!" She beamed. The child's uneasy, nervous expression transformed into one of happiness and she nodded with a cheery, "Uh-huh!" and walked back towards someone Chat perceived as her sister in the crowd. The boy adjusted the girl into a more comfortable position and leaped into the air, charging the sky and dashing away from the crowd.
She had been beyond battered when he had discovered her laying in the middle of the asphalt, her blue hair falling loose and messy, one side falling long without a ribbon or tie to hold it up. Her costume was torn in various places, her mask was slipping from her face. She had cuts, scrapes, and horrible bruises that he could see all over the small exposed areas of her torn costume.
He wondered what she would tell her mother when she returned home with a limp. He wondered how she would hide those wounds from her friends and family, what her teacher would think when they see the poised and brazen girl in her everyday life reduced to a shy and apologetic one each time she stumbled because of the throbbing pain in her legs.
His eyes were brimming with tears, and when he finally settled down on an obscure roof high above the streets of the city, did he truly let himself cry. He laid her head in his lap, brushing back her bangs and water filled and blurred his vision behind the black mask. Her eyes flickered open and for a brief moment, she tried to smile.
"Today just wasn't my lucky day."
He had never heard his superhero sound so weak before.