Chat Noir

This time, the pain brought with it waves of nausea.

He could feel the wind ruffling his hair, and thought he smelled Ladybug's distinctive scent. But the nausea he'd fought back earlier was now so intense that he opted to keep his eyes closed in order to focus on keeping his innards from coming out.

"Ladybug?" he croaked. "Did I die again?"

"Not now, kitty," she said as the continued to swing. "I've got to find a place to stash you for a few minutes while I transform."

"Marinette's," he said simply, before choking back something vile. He promised whatever gods were looking out for Chat Noir he'd never eat Camembert again. Or maybe they were punishing him for not eating it in the first place? If he survived, he'd have to have a long conversation with Plagg…

Ladybug didn't answer, but he felt them shift direction and at length landed gently. The smell of the bakery was more intense than usual for Chat; each individual spice seemed to be assaulting him and he halfheartedly swiped at his nose to clear the air. Sound, sight, taste and now smell: all of his enhanced senses appeared to be in overdrive and threatened to give him a very real migraine. He thought back to what Master Fu had tried to tell him and wondered if his inability to transform back to Adrien was actually masking the fact that he was transforming into something else entirely.

He decided not to think about it too much. At least, not yet.

Gently, Ladybug placed him face first into the chaise lounge he'd spotted on a prior visit, adjusting the umbrella to shade him slightly from the mid-morning sun. The warm rays felt oddly wonderful on the exposed parts of his body, and without thinking he started to purr.

She leaned into one of feline ears and whispered softer than a human could hear: "Stay put this time, kitty. I mean it."

Chat turned his head and tried to smile. "Anything for you, milady," he said tightly.

"I'll be back in less than an hour." He heard her move away, and then step back. "Master Fu?"

At that, Chat's eyes did open. "He took a sample from my wound, and said he'd run a few tests on it." He closed them again. "He said a lot of other stuff, too, but I tuned most of it out. I'm to meet him back at my alter-ego's place at sunset."

He heard an exasperated sigh from his partner. "Not helpful, Chat."

"Nobody's purrfect," he murmured.

She chuckled, and he heard her toss her yo-yo into the sky and take off, trailing the chirp of her earrings.

He closed his eyes again for what he hoped would be a quick catnap, willing his body to behave somewhat normally. But sleep was clearly out of the question – the noise from Paris seemed to have been turned up to max on his personal headphones; normally he could filter and tune out the cacophony, but today he was simply incapable of blocking any of it. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd just heard Ladybug's transformation somewhere close by.

She must have cut it close.

"Chat?" came a quiet query. "What are you doing here?"

He cracked an eye open and there was Marinette, head poking out of the skylight, concerned expression on her face. At least, he thought it was Marinette. His vision was a bit hazy and her scent wasn't quite right – it was that same strange mixture of Ladybug and Marinette he had detected earlier with Ladybug, now that he thought about it. But both women had been in the space just a few minutes apart. No wonder he was having trouble separating out their unique notes.

Except, normally he would be able to do just that.

Something is really, really wrong with me.

"Sorry to drop in on you," he said aloud. "Ladybug needed a spot to stash me for a bit and this was the first place I thought of that specialized in cat treats." He flipped to his side, ignoring the wave of vertigo that came with the simple movement. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

A shadow passed across her face as she came the rest of the way out and joined him on the roof. "Two words: akumatized villain."

Chat smiled and played along. "I didn't know you went to that school," he said. "Not my finest hour," he continued, trying to push himself up. "Oof," he said, quickly closing his eyes and swallowing back another wave of nausea. "Maybe I'll stay like this for a bit longer."

Marinette moved toward the chaise and he slid his legs over to make room for her to sit. After a moment, she did, concern lacing every line on her face. "You look awful, Chat."

"I've been better," he admitted. "Every muscle is complaining, I can smell half the city from here, and the noise is almost deafening," he added, ears twisting in agony. "I seem to have lost the ability to manage my enhanced senses. It's almost information overload."

"You can hear… how far away?"

"A few miles, I think, now." He cracked open an eye. "I think I also was able to smell Ladybug from my – I mean, from quite a distance, too." He sniffed again. "She's still pretty close, actually," he said, confusion crossing his face. "Or not," he smiled tiredly. "Like I said, I'm not sure I'm totally in control anymore."

He nearly missed Marinette's change in expression. "What?"

Marinette smiled weakly. "I'd offer to take you to a doctor or something, but I imagine there isn't a veterinarian in Paris that could handle your case."

Chat grimaced. "No respect, even from my feline fan club," he murmured. "Ladybug will be back in a bit. She'll have a plan," he said, hope infusing his words. "She always does."

There was that expression again. He frowned.

Marinette abruptly stood up. "You know what? I think I do have something down in the bakery that a kitty like you might like. Let me run downstairs-" she started.

Chat's eyes flew wide open, and his pupils shrunk, ears twisting in response to a particular whistle he was coming to fear. Without regard for the waves of nausea or the deep muscle pain, he flipped out of the chaise and pressed himself flat atop Marinette. Tiny projectiles flew a few inches above his back, narrowly missing him.

In one smooth motion, he rolled the two of them toward the edge of the deck, away from the skylight. Coming to Marinette's was a rookie mistake: clearly whoever was after him anticipated that move and had quickly located him.

"Hold tight," he commanded, and was rewarded with Marinette hugging him a bit harder.

From there, he was on automatic, leaping away from the balcony and alternatively pole vaulting over and running across various rooftops of the city. He knew he wasn't thinking completely clearly, only following a single set of directives: get Marinette somewhere safe. Contact Ladybug.

Hide.

He couldn't take her to Master Fu's, even if he knew where he lived. Maybe Ayla's place?

No, the more he thought about it, the less he liked putting any more of his friends in danger. It had all started with his impromptu visit to Marinette last night, and he had no desire to repeat the mistake. He shifted directions again, hoping his quasi-random movements would prevent whoever was tracking him from keeping up while at the same time not having any real destination in mind.

He vaulted another building, and took a quick self-assessment. The adrenaline rush that had propelled him into action was crashing, meaning he probably only had a few more massive movements before he'd crumple himself. Chat hadn't heard anything or seen anything for a bit and decided to trust that he might have moved them beyond the immediate danger. But where was he?

Chat stopped on the next rooftop, and scanned the horizon, not recognizing anything. How could he be lost? That had never happened before. He squeezed his eyes closed against the encroaching darkness, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

As he did so, he heard a slight gasp from Marinette. "Marinette? Are you still with me?"

"Y-yes," she stammered. "I didn't realize you knew Adrien."

"Adrian?" he replied, quizzically. He followed her gaze and saw the familiar roofline of the Agreste mansion.

Whoops!


Marinette

It wasn't all that rare to have Chat Noir carrying her through the sky; but lately, she seemed to be the one grabbing him in midair. But she understood his actions in wanting to protect his friend and didn't protest as he leapt off of her balcony and away from danger.

Troubling her more was the fact that they had clearly been followed from the school. Chat seemed to think the same thing, as his movements through the city appeared entirely random in an effort to shake whoever had tracked them down. But she could sense in his movements that whatever reserve of strength he had tapped into was running low; he stumbled once, nearly missed a vault, and thudded to a stop on a rooftop in a terrible landing he'd normally make ten times out of ten.

As Chat paused, visibly struggling to determine his next move, she, too, scanned the horizon. Looming large to their left was the iconic Agreste mansion and she couldn't help the surprised gasp that escaped her lips.

Why are we here?

"Marinette?" Chat asked. "Are you still with me?"

"Y—yes," she stammered. "I didn't realize you knew Adrian."

"Adrien?" Chat's head snapped in the direction of her gaze, and several emotions flashed across his face in rapid succession before he managed to compose himself. He turned back toward her. "Uh, Adrian who?" he asked, not very convincingly.

"Adrien Agreste? The model?"

Chat shook his mane, again just a little to forced. "Nope. Doesn't ring a bell." He looked down across her shoulder and suddenly smiled. "Ah! Perfect!"

He gently tightened his grip on Marinette and launched them off the roof and away from the Agreste mansion, landing atop the roof of a small theater. He tried and found the roof access stairwell unlocked and hustled Marinette down into the space, pulling the door shut behind them. The stairwell was lit dimly, so Chat took Marinette by the hand and safely led her down several flights before stopping at a landing and leaning his back against the concrete.

"Sorry, Princess," he said, breathing hard. "I've got to take a second here…." Chat closed his eyes and slowly slid down into a sitting position.

Marinette sat beside him. "You're not doing well at all," she said. "Let me go for some help."

He held her arm, preventing her from leaving. "I'll contact Ladybug," he said with effort. "I've gotten you out of immediate danger, but you can't go home. Do you have anyone you can get to quickly?"

Marinette pulled on her lip. "Well," she thought, "Ayla would be safer, but I am closer to Adrien." She paused, as Chat had made some sort of choking sound. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"I'll recover," he said. Then, after a long pause, he continued: "Go to Adrien's, then," he said thoughtfully. "Tell Adrien I sent you. That might ease your entry."

Marinette's eyes bugged out. "You do know him, then!"

Chat closed his eyes again, nodding. "Yes," he said. "Much like you know Ladybug, I think."

She froze. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "Uh—"

"Remember the Evilstrator?" he asked. "I'd assumed my cat-about-town act had wrapped my paws around your heart, but…" he laughed weekly. "Ladybug sent me to protect you." He paused. "She didn't have to say it, but I was pretty sure the two of you had talked a few times before."

Marinette nodded slowly. "We've bumped into each other more than once," she said, which was technically true.

"Go," he said, as he pulled his baton out, preparatory to using the phone. "Stay safe."

She stood up and dashed down the stairs, intentionally trying to put some distance between them so she could transform back into Ladybug.


Cat Noir

He listened as her footsteps retreated away from him and waited until he heard her exit the building before slumping even further against the wall. Just holding his baton was draining, so he gathered what wits were left and activated his phone.

Ladybug picked up immediately. "Chat! Where are you?"

"No time to explain," he said. "I'm headed to the Agreste mansion – remember where it is?"

She paused, eyes widening. "Yes, I do."

"Adrien owes me a favor," he said. "I'm going to have him hide Marinette for a bit since I seem to have inadvertently made her a target in all of this, just as much as we are. Can you meet me there in fifteen? The window by the bathroom will be open."

"On my way now." She clicked off.

The baton fell out of his hand, and he struggled to retrieve it. He'd just made a mistake – Chat Noir had no reason to know about the bathroom window – and hoped Ladybug hadn't picked up on it. Lethargically, he hauled himself back into a prone position, pulled himself up and started back to the roof. Somehow, he managed to vault himself back over to the mansion, noted as he soared over the side wall Marinette was just then arriving at the main gate. He swung around to his room and in through the bathroom window. He didn't even try to land, just rolled into a crash that carried him across the tile, coming to rest with his nose a few inches from the closed door of his bathroom.

Glorious, Adrien. The mighty Chat Noir laid out like a bear rug.

Chat pulled himself up and leaned an ear against the door once more. Fortunately, the other room was clear. But as he expected, the intercom chirped from Nathalie. "Adrien? Someone is here to see you. Are you well enough to take a visitor?"

He reached to the panel by the vanity, a claw edge used to activate the intercom. "Sure," he croaked.

"I'll bring her up."

He released the intercom and then used the edge of the vanity to pull himself back up again. Quickly, he scanned his vanity and determined what sort of movie magic he might use to pull off this stunt.

Wait, not movie magic…!


AN: This has started to flow in a direction I didn't anticipate; despite my pre-planning, Chat and Ladybug appear to have had other ideas. I'm going to let it go a bit and see where this duo take me. This is still scoping out to land between fifteen and twenty parts. Hang in there!