The sun was starting to set and the lights came up in the park before the group decided they better get going. Marinette was surprised how well Carlotta was getting along. After only an hour, Carlotta seemed to be relaxed and joining in the conversation willingly. That made Marinette happy. Carlotta needed friends.

What didn't make her happy was how Adrien was acting. Part of her was glad he at least was interested in someone nice, unlike Chloe, but she still felt that twinge of jealousy. Thankfully Carlotta didn't seem to be acting that interested in Adrien. But Marinette couldn't ignore how Adrien wouldn't take his eyes off Carlotta. Even if he was talking to someone else, he kept sneaking glances.

Finally, someone suggested it was time to get going and the gang slowly made their way towards the park exit.

"She's pretty cool." Alya slid up next to Marinette.

Marinette jumped. "Heh, who? Carlotta? Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" Alya asked, then followed Marinette's line of sight. "Oh. Adrien. Yeah, sorry."

"You noticed, too?" Marinette sighed in defeat.

"It's pretty obvious." Alya replied. "I think the only one who hasn't noticed is Carlotta herself. Either that or she's too embarrassed to say anything."

Marinette looked at Adrien from the corner of her eye. He was sharing a laugh with Nino and Carlotta. His laugh was normally something that made her feel joy, but this one twisted up her insides.

"You okay, girl?" Alya asked.

Marinette shrugged. "I'll be fine. After all, it's not normal to have a crush on a guy this long. It's about time I got over him."

Alya's phone beeped and the two girls looked down at her screen as she pulled it up. It was a news alert. Apparently there was another Akuma.

Marinette's eyes quickly darted to Carlotta. Alya called the group over and they all watched the news report. It was hard to tell what was going on with such a small screen; all they could really see where flashes of blue light. Whoever it was, they were freezing people in place all over Paris. Marinette took a step back.

"I better get going," Adrien said quickly. "Nathalie will be furious if I'm out this late with an akuma on the attack."

"Okay, see ya." Nino said without looking away from the screen.

Marinette saw Adrien hesitate. He was looking at Carlotta, almost as if he was waiting for her to say something. She didn't, and finally Adrien sighed and left.

Marinette looked curiously at Carlotta now. If she was Volpina, why wasn't she taking off to transform? Didn't she care? She felt something poke her inside her jacket and realized Tikki was trying to urge her to go.

"I better get back, too." Marinette giggled nervously. "Carlotta, you want to come with me or…."

"I'm alright." Carlotta looked up at Marinette. "I was going to swing by the art store on my way home for some supplies."

Marinette nodded and ran off down the street after saying goodbye to her friends. Once she rounded the corner, she found a parked car and ducked behind it.

"Quit stalling!" Tikki flew out from her jacket. "We have work to do!"

"Sorry." Marinette said.


Chat Noir bounced off the buildings of Paris and headed straight for the Eiffel Tower. The news report said the blue flashing light was blinking in and out all over the city, and if there was a central enough high point that Chat could look out for him, it was there.

Ladybug must have had the same idea. He landed next to her upon the tower and grinned. "Evening, my lady."

"Nice of you to join me, kitty." Ladybug smiled back at him. "I thought I saw him a moment ago, but he disappeared in a flash of light."

"I hear that's what he does best." Chat replied.

"Yeah," Ladybug frowned. "And freezing people."

There was a flash of blue light down in the park below, and then another one halfway up the tower. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir leaned over the edge to see.

"Sure moves fast." Chat said.

There was a soft 'poof' from behind them, and the heroes both spun around to see a man standing there in a full blue bodysuit. His head was covered by a large hood and an elaborate cape of colors draped behind him. He studied his nails as if he was bored. "It's called teleportation."

Chat Noir stepped a foot out in front of Ladybug protectively. "Who are you? Are you the one freezing people all over Paris?"

"Call me, hm." He paused for a moment. "Call me Freeze then, since that's what you think I'm doing."

Both Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped forward to attack, but Freeze teleported up on top of the fence. Chat bounded up to go after him, but Freeze teleported again. Ladybug tried to strike at him with her yo-yo, but even then Freeze was too quick.

There was only a flicker of purple, but Chat saw the familiar glow of a butterfly silhouette around Freeze's face. He pulled out his staff and started the trace. As he did so, he missed Freeze jolting past him and straight into Ladybug.

Chat heard Ladybug's grunt in pain and turned to see if she was okay. It was then he saw her fly backwards off the edge of the tower.

"Ladybug!" He pounced after her and nearly dropped his staff in his panic. He fell halfway down before he saw her flick her yo-yo up and swing down to the ground below the tower. Chat looked twice to make sure she landed, and then he extended his staff into the tower to guide himself down to the ground. He landed next to Ladybug, who gripped her stomach and winced.

"My lady!" Chat put his arm around her. "Are you alright?!"

Ladybug nodded. "That was a close one."

"Hello!" Freeze appeared in front of them with a soft 'poof', and then vanished a moment later, only to appear a few feet away. "Goodbye!"

The heroes chased him out of the park and down the streets of Paris. Chat kept looking over his shoulder at Ladybug. She seemed alright, but he could tell she was going slower than normal. At this rate, they'd never catch him.

"He's too fast!" Chat Noir finally said.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Ladybug grumbled back.

Chat Noir couldn't resist. He grinned as he pounced off a building to get closer to her. "You look absolutely radiant in the sunset."

"Chat!" Ladybug shoved his shoulder with a groan.

He laughed and went back to chasing Freeze. They chased him up and down the streets of Paris until even Chat had to admit he was getting exhausted. He didn't think it was possible to get so tired at Chat Noir, especially since they weren't fighting. Ladybug was starting to look like she might collapse any second. He noticed she would keep grabbing her stomach when she thought he wasn't looking.

"I don't think this is working." Chat finally spoke up.

"You're right." Ladybug slowed down and bent forward with her hands on her knees. "He's too fast."

"Need some help?"

Chat turned to see Volpina, who casually leaned up against a building as if she'd been waiting there all this time. His eyes widened at the sight of her. Carlotta hadn't seemed all that interested in the news report before. Guess she changed her mind.

"Nice of you to finally high tail it over here." Chat grinned.

"Just waiting to see if you were going to do your job today or if I needed to help." Volpina pushed herself off the wall and walked over towards Chat Noir.

Ladybug came over to them. "We can't seem to catch him. He's too fast."

Volpina's eyes lit up. "Ah, need someone quick then?"

"Swift as a fox, perhaps?" Chat Noir couldn't resist. He stifled a laugh as he heard Ladybug groan.

"He's teleporting all over Paris." Ladybug said.

"Teleporting?" Volpina asked. Her voice seemed a little higher than normal, Chat noticed.

He nodded. "And freezing people, while he's at it. Guess the-"

"You lot are so slow it's becoming boring!" A loud voice echoed down from the building above them.

All three heroes turned to look up at Freeze, who was standing on the roof's edge with his arms crossed. Chat was about to say something when he felt a slight vibration from his staff. He glanced down and stared at the screen. It flashed green, and for a moment he forgot all about Freeze.

"LB!" He shouted as the 'Source Found' blinked on his screen. "I've got it!"

She didn't say anything. He glanced up to look at her, and found she was staring at Volpina with a strange look on her face. Fear? Confusion? He wasn't sure. He turned to look at Volpina and instantly knew something was wrong. The normally tanned fox hero was pale and wobbled slightly in her stance. Her eyes were aimed up at Freeze, but she didn't seem to be focused. Chat knew Freeze was kinda fast and annoying, but he didn't think the akumatized victim was worth the look of pure horror that Volpina held. He looked between Freeze Ladybug and Volpina a few more times before Volpina finally spoke up. Her voice was soft, and if it wasn't for his cat-like hearing, Char doubted he would have heard her at all.

"Blu Pavone?"