Author's Note: I'd like to point this out:

"Thanks to its temperate climate, snowfall is somewhat of a rarity in Paris. Although there is at least a dusting of snow about 15 days a year, most accumulation generally disappears within 24 hours. The highest snowfall ever recorded in one day was 40 cm (15.75 in) on 2 March 1946."

Paris is not equipped to deal with the amount of snow I am about to dump on them. So… Parisians panicking like Southerners are a must, right Moon?

Chapter 11

Paris had accident hot spots, as Chat Noir discovered. Stretches of road which a car was more likely to lose control on and slide. Even if drivers paid complete attention, there were a few small hills where people lost control on the ice and cars slid, especially the zippy little cars designed for city living. Camping out in the middle of a hill, he was able to prevent several accidents before they could start.

But dealing with fender benders and sliding cars wasn't worth his time.

While Chat Noir headed home for supplies, including a headset and his cell with unlimited data so he could stay in contact, Alya got the word out: Chat Noir patrolled the city. If anyone needed aid, they could leave a note on her board and she'd relay the information to Chat Noir. Vehicles trapped or people stuck, he could help. He knew he'd get people needed their vehicles dug out, an easy feat considering the strength his suit allowed him.

He helped people as he came across them; digging cars from ditches and pushing them back on the road; stopping accidents before they could start; helping civil servants cover statues in the gardens to protect them from the elements; or following ambulances to make sure they got to their destination without much trouble. As he helped out, he ran sweeps of the city for an akuma.

Alya kept an eye on the weather reports for him, but, despite constant updates, no one could decide what the weather was actually doing. Stronger or weaker, more snow or less, the advice was simple: remain inside.

Every person he stopped to help, he asked the same question. Had they seen anything strange? Then answer was always a resounding 'no'. People wavered between panicking about the snow and boarding up the windows calling 'All is lost!', to being confident Ladybug would somehow fix it.

Chat Noir made sure to stop every forty minutes to an hour, find someplace warm and de-transform to let Plagg rest and to eat and drink. It was still his body which exerted itself and there were limits, especially in this frigid weather. He had enough food for several hours and plenty of cheese for Plagg.

Strangely, Plagg was silent as he ate, instead of complaining about all the work they were doing. Adrien did get Plagg to admit something strange was going on, the lack of akuma was troubling.

Marinette got wind of what he was doing, whether Alya told her or she read it on the Ladyblog, he didn't know. One moment, he chatted with Alya about the guy he finished helping, the next Marinette was on the line with him. "What are you doing?"

Chat Noir paused, standing on a snow-covered rooftop and looked down onto the street below. "Patrolling."

"You've been out there for ages," she scolded. "You'll wear Plagg out."

"I have a six pack of camembert in my bag. He's a happy kwami."

"You'll wear yourself out," she cautioned. "You don't have to do all this. Our jobs are akuma, not Saint Bernard rescue puppy."

He smiled and let his voice fill with tenderness and warmth. "Thank you for worrying about me, Princess."

"Well, someone has to," she said, disgruntled. "You don't look after yourself."

Taking a small break, he reached into his bag for his water bottle. "And it has nothing to do with you wanting to be here too."

She huffed.

"I'm being careful," he said, eyeing the sky. "Keeping warm, eating and drinking and watching the weather."

"Good."

He unscrewed the lid on his water bottle. "Did you talk to your parents?"

"Yes."

He took a drink as he waited for her to continue. "And?" he prompted when she didn't answer.

"And they didn't go for it."

Chat Noir huffed in exasperation.

"I'll be fine, kitten," Marinette soothed. "We're going to camp out in the bakery and the ovens will be going. Toasty."

He didn't believe for a moment she would be fine. "And where are you right now?"

"In my room with about six blankets and a heater," she retorted, exasperated.

"Listen to you two," Alya said. "It's so cute how you worry about each other."

Chat Noir felt an embarrassed heat ripple over him. "Oh. Ahhh… I didn't realise you were still here."

"Three-way," Marinette said, mollified. "Sorry, I shoud've said."

"Don't worry," Alya said. "I won't tell. There's a stuck van on Rue de Bac. That's pretty close."

Chat Noir returned his water bottle to his bag. "Another driver finding himself adrift in the snow."

"I bet he had a good trip," Marinette teased.

Pulling out his baton, he started running. "I'm sure it was a moving experience for him."

"It was snow-verated."

Snorting, he vaulted over to the next building. "S'no joke."

"God, listen to you two," Alya said, her voice filled with mirth. "Is this what you're normally like?"

"Absolutely," Marinette said. "But worse."

"It's better now she joins in," he murmured, leaping across to the next building. "I was on my lonesome for so long."

"Your puns grew on me."

"I'm a fun-gi," he teased and stopped on the awning of the building to look down at the street below him.

"We're not going to plant puns," Marinette said. "They're a'pollen."

"Such a frosty reception. Hang on, my ladies. I see the van."

"You know you grunt a lot when you're running," Marinette noted.

"So do you, Princess." He dropped down from the top of the building and landed knee deep in a pile of snow. Several people milled about in the snow, staring at the van trapped in snow and scratching their heads. It took up most of the street and there were several running cars parked nearby, passers-by stopping to help.

"I don't grunt, I exhale sharply."

"Sure," Alya teased. "Just like you don't sweat, you glow."

"Really not a lot I can do," he said. "Parkour and all. Kinda need to breathe. Gentlemen!" he called, announcing his presence. "Can I be of assistance?"

It didn't take long. He dug a hole beneath so he could get his baton on an angle, then extend it to act as a lever. A little applied pressure and enhanced strength and the van was back in the street. Questioning people, he got the same answer as normal. No one had seen anything strange, but people wavered between being confident Ladybug could fix it and urging others to rush to the shops to stock up.

"How strong are you guys?" Alya asked as Chat Noir took to the rooftops again.

"That wasn't strength, that was physics," Chat Noir replied.

"Oh, listen to him," Marinette said. "So modest."

"I have yet to see an akuma," Chat Noir noted as he vaulted back up to the rooftops. "Or anything out of the ordinary."

"So, we've decided that it is?" Marinette asked.

"It came on too fast," Alya said. "The weather reports are contradictory and the boards not run by the city are buzzing with theories."

"Go to the Mayor," Marinette suggested.

Chat Noir groaned. "He blew me off."

Marinette groaned. "Really?"

"Chat Noir without his Ladybug," he replied and turned around to head back to the hotel. "I'm just the 'help'."

"Chat—"

"I'll try again. I need a break and to be seen at home anyway. Now's a good time." He vaulted, then scrambled across the slippery rooftops on all fours.

"Can akuma be invisible?" Alya asked.

Chat Noir blinked and almost missed his landing. He dug his claws in, sliding to a stop. "Oh god."

"I hope not," Marinette said. "Besides, akumas are after one thing and—" she broke off mid-sentence to yawn.

Chat Noir picked up her thought. "Our Miraculous. And I've been very visible today. I'll go see what the Mayor says."

Walking back into the hotel was an eye opener. The Mayor was surrounded by people talking loudly in an attempt to be heard over the rest. The Mayor himself looked frazzled and harassed, unable to answer any of the questions the people threw at him. As Chat Noir drew closer, he realised it wasn't reporters hassling the Mayor, but meteorologists demanding answers or foretelling impending doom.

Chat Noir folded his arms on his chest and waited as he picked out individual conversations.

"Look at these systems! They aren't natural!"

"Why haven't you issued an alert informing the public that we can't predict this?"

"We aren't equipped to handle this much snow! It's broken records!"

Chat Noir cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

"Where is Ladybug?"

"Why hasn't she done something?"

He cleared his throat again, louder this time, and raised his voice. "Excuse me!"

"We need to let people prepare!"

"Call a state of emergency."

"Is it an akuma? Has there been any word?"

Putting his fingers to his mouth, Chat Noir whistled shrilly. Conversation stopped as people covered their ears in shock. "That's better," Chat Noir said when he had people's attention. "Mister Mayor, are you willing to talk to me now?"

"Is it an akuma?" someone asked.

"What are you doing about it?"

"Where's Ladybug?"

Chat Noir kept his eyes on the Mayor who nodded and gestured at Chat Noir to follow as he went for the stairs. People parted to allow Chat Noir through as he stalked forward.

Mayor Bourgeois led him through the hallways of the hotel and the closer they got to Chloé's room, the harder Chat Noir's heart thumped. The air chilled and his breath frosted. When they reached Chloé's room, Chat Noir saw ice blast marks along the walls.

The Mayor stopped as he placed his hand on the door handle. "Just warning you, this is…."

"Chloé's the akuma?" Chat Noir blurted and his heart almost burst from his chest. This was his fault. He caused it. He'd been so convinced she didn't have any real feelings and yet—

"No," the Mayor said and put his shoulder to the door as he shoved it open. "She's the first victim."

Ice. The whole room was encased in it. Huge ice columns stretched from the floor to the roof. Sharp icicles the size of Chat Noir's arm jutted from the roof and ice spikes cut from the floor. The crystalline structures mounded over furniture and slithered across the floor. In the middle of the room, entombed in ice, stood Chloé.

Chat Noir stepped over the broken shards at the door, evidence of how hard the Mayor had to work to open the door. Slipping and sliding across the room, he had to work hard to keep his balance, but eventually he reached the frozen Chloé. Pressing his hand against the ice, he tried to see through. She was still dressed in the same clothes she wore last night, that much he could tell, but everything else was distorted by ice.

"Chloé," he mourned.

"Can you get her out?" the Mayor asked.

"You should've told me about this right from the beginning," Chat Noir snapped. "Now I'm so far behind the akuma who did this I don't know if I'll be able to find them.

"Can you get her out?" he pressed.

"I'm not sure. I could try my attack, but that might hurt Chloé." He ran his hand through his hair.

"When's Ladybug coming?"

Chat Noir stared at Chloé-in-ice. "I need a list of whoever was at that party last night, staff and guests. And I need a list of who's not accounted for."

"That'll take time."

"I went all around Paris," Chat Noir said, his eyes still fixed on Chloé. "I saw no sign of anyone else in ice, or anyone causing this storm. Which means they're probably hiding. I need to know where to start. Get me the list. Send it to the Ladyblog, I'll see it." He turned and frowned at the Mayor. "Issue the alerts. People need to be safe. The longer you delay, the less time we have to prepare."

"Of course," the Mayor said, his footsteps rapidly retreating.

With his eyes back on Chloé, he touched his ear, needing emotional support. "My lady?"

No answer.

"Princess?"

"Ahh… sorry Chat, I think she's fallen asleep," Alya murmured. "I can help. What do you need?"

Resting his forehead against the ice, Chat Noir took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. So. It's an akuma, but apparently a pretty slippery one. I need you to get the word out that this one can turn people into icicles and for people to send word if they find anyone trapped in one. I'm gonna need help narrowing down their location."

He could hear Alya typing. "You know, when I started this blog, I never expected it to become a hotline for akuma attacks."

"Funny how things turn out. I know it's a lot thrust on you and I'm happy to coordinate things through the Mayor if—"

"Don't you dare," she said. "I want to help."

He smiled. "Thank you. Do me a solid and see if you can find Sabrina?"

"Think she might be the akuma?"

"I yell at Chloé, who do you think she takes it out on?"

"Good point. A question?" she asked. "If you find the akuma, what are you going to do? Can you cure?"

Chat Noir scraped his claws down Chloé's ice prison as he turned away. "I have no idea." He sighed. "I'm going to head home. Let myself be seen. I'll contact you in a little while."

"If anything comes up, I'll call."

"Thanks. Talk soon," he said and signed off.

No one noticed Adrien's absence, just as no one noticed his reappearance. While Plagg slept, he wandered through his house feeling lost and alone. He couldn't shake the feeling the weather was his fault. Chloé, the first victim, had obviously sought someone out to torment after what he'd said to her. He should've done something last night, rather than waiting.

Plagg didn't offer any solutions to the akuma problem, but Adrien could see he thought hard about it. He did mention that Tikki should wake intermittently to eat so if they managed to catch her in one of those windows, they might squeeze a cure out of her.

He re-checked his gear, making sure he had enough food and water and decided he'd wear his parka and scarf over his suit. With a sneaky akuma on the loose, it would get colder before he could find them. When he was sure he had everything he would need, he hopped onto his computer to watch the weather and look for clues.

When he couldn't wait any longer, he set up his spy-baton again and logged back into Alya's call under Chat Noir's call sign. Listening for a few seconds before he said anything, he was surprised to hear Nino in the call. "Hey."

"Dude!" Nino said, jubilant. "Hey. I'm Nino, Alya's boyfriend. We've met before—"

"Nino, hey man," Chat Noir responded and fixed his scarf so it covered his face and nose and secured his headphones. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good, dude! Stoked that my girl can help you out, if you know what I mean."

"She's been a great help," Chat Noir replied and headed for his window. "What news?"

"Nothing," Alya said. "No ice sculptures, no sightings or anything strange. Nadda."

Chat Noir sighed, crawling up to the roof of his mansion. "Great."

"I've been in contact with Sabrina, so we can scratch her off the list," she continued. "There are about seven names on the Mayor's list not accounted for."

"We'll start with those. Do you have addresses?"

"Yup," she replied and rattled off the first one.

With a running leap, Chat Noir set off in the direction of the first address.

More snow on the ground now, there must have been at least another foot over the last few hours. The air had a cruel bite to it and held the promise of more cruelty to come as the temperature continued to drop. Sharp icicled snow pricked his exposed skin, the fluffiness from this morning a distant memory. Chat Noir could only wonder how cold it would get after dark. Not a prospect he looked forward to.

"Are both your families safe?"

"My mom's not home yet," Alya said. "But she's safe and she doesn't have far to come. My siblings and my dad are here."

Chat Noir made a disgruntled noise. "Is she still working? If you let me know when she leaves, I'll escort her home."

"Really not necessary—"

"I'll insist if I have to. Nino?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Thanks." The slight infection in his tone suggested they weren't, but Nino didn't have a good relationship with his parents.

"Good."

"Dude, like, you must be super fit, running around in the snow all day."

"You could say that," Chat Noir said.

"Nino, you promised," Alya mentioned.

"Sorry, babe. Sorry, dude, I'm just, like, excited. It's not every day I get to chat with someone kickass."

"It's cool," Chat Noir said. "But I'm not going to give away trade secrets."

"Babe," Alya said, "Gonna mute you for a sec, I need to talk to Chat."

"Okay, cool."

"Sorry," Alya said a few moments later. "He was keeping me company."

"It's fine," Chat Noir replied. "I'll just watch what I say, that's all. How much does he know?"

"He knows that Marinette and I have been helping you. He knows that Ladybug isn't available, but not why. Marinette woke up about… thirty minutes ago. I filled her in and she's getting something to eat before she comes back. She'll be coming back as herself, not LB. So no flirting."

Damn. That was a shame, he'd liked flirting with her. It had been like she bounded through the snow right beside him. "Gotcha."

"And you really should consider letting Nino in."

Chat Noir paused to check his map. "Not in the middle of a mission. I'm still getting used to you knowing. Nino is…"

"He's great and he won't let you down."

"I know. Of course I know that, Alya, he's one of my best friends. I just…" He sighed. "We were supposed to keep it a secret, even from each other. I'm worried it'll backfire on us, especially with Ladybug out of commission for the winter. I can watch out for you, but both of you? On top of keeping her safe? I don't know that I can."

"I hear you."

"That doesn't mean I don't want him to know. It's just not the right time."

"Marinette and I have talked about my safety, you know. Especially when I help you out. I'm being careful, everything I tell you also goes up on the site. Plausible deniability. I can say you read it, rather than us actually talking…. Except for these addresses and names because of privacy."

"Oh. Well. Good."

"I gotcha, Chat," she said and he could hear her grinning. "Don't worry."

"Thanks."

"Nino, you're back, babe."

Nino said, "Hey, man, I got all sorts of jams we can listen to while you patrol, shall I hit you up?"

"Not too loud," Chat Noir replied. "I still need to hear. But yeah, something with a good beat."

As Nino organised the music, he asked, "What's it like?"

"Being this kickass?" he asked, smirking as he vaulted across a gap, then scurried along on all fours. "It's cool. I get to hang out with Ladybug."

"Oh, man, she's so cool. You're a lucky dude. Man, I wish I could get Adrien in here. He'd flip."

Chat Noir laughed. "Maybe next time."

Chat Noir had checked out most of the addresses by the time Marinette returned. Nino and Alya chatted about music and flirted with each other while Chat Noir listened and made odd remarks.

"How's it going?" Marinette asked and Chat Noir felt his heart skip a beat from hearing her voice.

"Five out of seven," Alya said.

"Hoping the last two addresses pan out," Nino said. "I mean, not that I want one of them to be an akuma, but… y'know, there's only so much snow we can handle."

"Keep your fingers crossed," Chat Noir said, flawlessly leaping from one building to another. "Coming up on one now."

"Chat," Marinette said. "I had a thought; what if it wasn't one of the people at the party. What if it was a guest?"

"The Mayor said they were all accounted for."

Marinette cleared her throat. "Or… like… a guest of a guest? You know…"

"The 'off the books' ones," Chat Noir guessed.

"Yes."

Another complication. "Then I'm boned until they decide to reveal themselves. Good news, though, I think I found a way to solve the akuma problem when I find it."

"Oh?"

He grinned. "I'm going to become an entomologist."

"Say what?" Nino asked.

"Gah, really? Fine. I'm going to be a Pokémon master."

Marinette groaned.

When no one laughed, Chat Noir elaborated, "I have a net and a glass jar. I'm gonna catch it."

"That's breaking news," Marinette deadpanned.

Chat Noir snorted. "You are such a pane."

"Oh, don't start," Alya moaned. "You'll never stop."

"Stop what?" Nino asked.

"These two. They're pun fanatics," Alya said. "I swear I will mute you both."

"Spoil sport," Chat Noir said. "'Kay, stand by. I'm here."

"Man, you move fast," Nino muttered.

Chat Noir dropped down from the roof and walked up the steps to the front door. Knocking on the door, he waited until someone answered. "Sorry to disturb you, my name is Chat Noir."

"I know who you are. Is there a problem?"

"I'm looking for Lola Beaumont. Is that you?"

The woman stared at him for a long moment. "Yes."

He nodded. "And have you by chance spoken to—" he checked his phone. "Clement Delacroix today?"

"I have."

Disappointment settled in his belly. "Thank you very much. That's all I needed to know."

"What's this about?"

"We're doing checks on citizens," he said. "To make sure people are prepared for the weather. Is everything secure?"

"Oh," she said and the suspicion on her face cleared. "Yes, thank you."

Chat Noir inclined his head. "Thank you ma'am. Have a nice evening." Stepping away, he wandered back out into the snow. Heaving in a sigh, he rubbed his hands together to keep them warm. "Well. That's all of them."

"So. What now?" Alya asked.

Chat Noir ran his hand along his neck and adjusted the hood of his parka. Extending his baton, he scrambled back onto the roof and looked at the Eiffel Tower. "Now… I go someplace high and wait."

"It'll be dark soon," Marinette mentioned. "You shouldn't to be out there."

"Let's hope it comes to get me before then."

It didn't. It grew dark. It grew cold. Chat Noir grew damp and the snow and swirling storm around him sapped his strength and left him exhausted. The parts of his face exposed to the storm felt like it was raw and bleeding and he hid his fingers beneath his armpits to keep them warm as he paced along the struts of the Eiffel Tower.

Nino was the first to leave the chat, apologising profusely and blaming his parents. Marinette fell asleep, not that he blamed her. He'd heard her fading for a while and it worried him. If she were to go now, he'd have no chance against an akuma.

"Call it," Alya suggested. "There's no point freezing to death. You'll be in no shape to fight when the akuma shows itself."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Thanks for all your help, Alya."

"Call me when you head out again," she said, and signed off.

Looking out into the city of Paris, Chat Noir sighed. Time to face the music and head to visit the Mayor.

He was pounced on by reporters camped out at the Mayor's hotel the moment he dropped to the ground.

"What are you doing about the storm?"

"Where's Ladybug?"

"Any word on the akuma?"

"Why isn't Ladybug here?"

"Is it true you haven't found the akuma because you want to take the glory for yourself?"

He didn't even know how that last one would work. He pulled his scarf away from his face and lowered his hood, then tucked his hands under his arms. Hunching his shoulders, he tried to push past them. "Can we go inside? I'm freezing."

They parted, allowing him inside and into the warmth, but the questions kept coming.

"Give the boy some space!" the Mayor bellowed, coming to his rescue.

"Thank you," Chat Noir said as the reporters pulled back. "I've been all over Paris all day today. I've been helping people and searching for the akuma. I'm cold. I'm hungry. I'm tired. If Ladybug could be here beside me, she would but circumstances beyond our control—"

Someone shoved a microphone at him. "Can you defeat the akuma on your own?"

"Yes," Chat Noir replied, taking a step back with a wary glance at the microphone. "I just need to find it and that's proving problematic."

"Are you delaying in finding the akuma so that you seem like a bigger hero?"

Chat Noir blinked. "What would be the point of that? I'm doing my best here but I need help. People need to stay warm and indoors. If they see anything strange, they need to report it to the Ladyblog."

"Are you and the Ladyblog in league now?"

"Alya Césaire is proving to be a valuable source of information and an excellent coordinator. I do hope we'll work together in the future. I'll be running a few patrols through the night to see if I can draw the akuma out. Until I can, we just need to deal with the weather."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" a reporter asked.

"That's the Mayor's responsibility," he said and looked to the Mayor. Seeing attention successfully diverted, he yanked the scarf over his face, pulled his hood up and slunk away.

Darting along the top of the hotel, he paused at the edge. His eyes slid away from the mansion to Marinette's bakery in the distance. A quick visit wouldn't hurt. Just to make sure she was tucked into bed, or already toasty and warm in the bakery.

Crawling through Marinette's trap door, he was unsurprised to see her curled up in her bed with a heater beside her. He shrugged out of his backpack, leaving it at the foot of the bed. Sitting beside her, he made sure the blankets were securely tucked around her. Brushing his fingers over her face he looked at her. Just looked, taking in her beauty and her peace. It'd been a hard, cold day, but being by her side made him better.

She turned her face toward him in her sleep and a tiny smile crossed her features. Purring, Chat Noir bent his head down and rubbed his face against hers, then stretched out on the bed beside her. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he snuggled close and closed his eyes.

He wanted a moment. Even in her sleep, he felt like she knew he was there and that thought soothed and warmed him. A moment of happiness to take back to his cold house and carry with him until he could find a way to end the storm.

"What the hell are you doing in my daughter's bed?"

Author's note: Oops.