Disclaimer: never did and never will own it. Thomas Astruc does. I also don't own Disney's Frozen movie.
Spoilers: canon until Season 2, Episode 10 (Sapotis)
Note: since I wrote Chapter 24 (Kagami), I saw Frozer. Fortunately, I had written this chapter before... So some things may actually be considered as spoilers, I guess? So, warning: spoilers for Frozer!
Back to the present…
Rollercoaster, yet again… Adrien was lost in his own world, where Marinette figured prominently. Since he was at the ice rink, of course, he imagined her on the ice. Would she be clumsy or have the Ladybug grace? He was sure she's be so self-conscious that she wouldn't be able to stay on her two feet. But then, he didn't care much for that, because he was thinking that he definitely should go ice skating with Marinette. As in a date. He suddenly realised that he had never taken Marinette on a date, proper or not. She was going to hate him! And amongst the reasons to hate him… He recalled Marinette telling him about being taught fencing at the same time by him and Kagami, and also, the rare times they had fenced together, how she had been more skilled than he had expected. Truth to tell, his father had given his approval for the fencing lessons, but had managed to schedule photoshoots almost each time at that exact same moment, to the point of Nathalie looking apologetic when announcing it to him. Of course, no matter how amazing Marinette was, there was only so much one could stomach before throwing in the sponge. She was going to kill him, or, worse, leave him!
Then Kagami spoke to him again and he came back to reality. "I think we'll soon be glad we didn't take our skates off. I'm sending a message to the Ladyblog."
Adrien looked at the akuma too and, at the first display of his powers, he suddenly grabbed Kagami.
"I remember!" he said urgently.
"You remember what?" she muttered, fumbling with her phone in clumsy moves worthy of Marinette.
"Why it was not a good idea to come ice skating..."
She waited for him to elaborate, when Rena Rouge burst in. She looked relieved and annoyed at the same time to find them.
"You two! Get out of here!"
"You were fast," Kagami said with some admiration. "I sent the message to the Ladyblog only a minute ago!"
"I was in the neighbourhood," she replied evasively. "That's why I'm here before Ladybug and Cat Noir."
Ladybug made her appearance, followed closely by Carapace, and Rena Rouge could pinpoint the exact moment her friend came to the wrong conclusion when seeing Kagami and Adrien together.
"Sorry, Ladybug," Kagami said. "I'm afraid we will have to re-schedule…" She saw the others looking at her. "Um, never mind."
Rena Rouge grabbed Ladybug's arm. "Stop right there!" she hissed. "I don't know what it is with Kagami, but…"
"She's giving me fencing lessons," Ladybug said dully.
"Not that, silly! Stop glaring at her like that, you'll bore holes in her head! Adrien is not cheating on you with her and she's not trying to steal him from you!"
"Why are you so sure?" she asked with a little sniff.
"That boy has eyes only for you and now that he's got you, he won't ever let go! Get a grip on yourself, girl!"
She nodded a bit numbly and managed to smile at Kagami. "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. Maybe you should go away…" Then she noticed they still had their skates on. "Oh, bother!"
"Considering the akuma, it would be pointless for them to remove their skates," Rena Rouge pointed out.
"I agree, but they should not remain here! Civilians, Rena!"
As to prove her right, the akumatised villain fired a shot of ice at them. Thankfully, both Kagami and Adrien were agile and everybody managed to avoid it. Rena Rouge immediately understood Ladybug's point of evacuating the civilians.
"Carapace! We need to lead them to safety!" she called to her partner.
The newcomer glanced at Adrien, who was fidgeting, and at Kagami, who kept her cool during the whole thing, her eyes mostly on the adversary.
"Take advantage of the ice path he just created for us," he said, pointing out the ice on the ground resulting of the previous shot.
Kagami nodded and shot off. She had reached the door when she stopped and turned around. Adrien had not moved. Kagami sighed.
"Adrien! Hurry up, please?"
Carapace took Adrien's arm. "I'll take care of him. Get away while you can!" He left off in another direction, Adrien in tow, dodging the ice shots that Ladybug was somehow deflecting with her yoyo.
-o-o-
Rena Rouge tried to help her friend as much as she could, but she kept slipping on the ice that was soon covering the whole ground.
"Where is Queen Bee?" she grumbled. "I swore she was just behind me earlier!"
"Missing me, Rena?" the blonde heroine asked as she entered the ice rink.
"You kept us waiting."
"I encountered some journalists. I just had to speak to them."
Ladybug groaned. "Please, not that," she muttered.
"What? Nothing earth-shattering. Just how I'm the best and how they had nothing to fear, as I would get rid of the current villain in no time."
Rena Rouge shook her head. "Girl, you're so conceited I'm surprised your head doesn't explode."
Queen Bee ignored her, avoided an ice ray by just flying off – to Rena Rouge's disgruntlement – and made a show of looking around.
"Okay. Am I correct that the villain is the owner of the place? What set him off? He's usually quite patient and all."
The two other girls would have been surprised by the fact that Queen Bee said something nice about someone who wasn't her, but they were both busy, Ladybug to deflect as many ice rays as she could and Rena Rouge to stop slipping and falling. She finally retreated in a corner not yet iced and consulted her phone.
"Kagami is spamming the Ladyblog," she announced with a snicker. "Apparently, yeah, it's… er, Philippe and he was… bothered by the Mayor because… oh, you'll like this one! Chloé broke some nails last time she came and Philippe forced her back on her skates. So the Mayor wants to close the place and create a spa instead!"
"Hey!" Queen Bee protested, indignant. "I… she did nothing of the sort!"
"I knew it!" Cat Noir said as he came in with Carapace. "Say, my lady, how 'bout we have some heated argument to break the ice?"
She gave him a flat stare, which didn't change as the akumatised villain started spouting insanities, shooting ice at them and generally making a nuisance of himself.
"Maybe we should warm up the atmosphere by using our new powers, my lady!" Cat Noir exclaimed.
It was true that the air in the ice rink, already quite cold, was getting colder by the minute. Rena Rouge was shivering and Queen Bee's lips were beginning to be tinged with blue. Ladybug sighed, touched her right earring and murmured, "Moon." When a white stone appeared, she called out "Moon waxing!" She turned into a white Ladybug and despite herself, she relaxed fractionally, as the new costume was significantly warmer. She glanced guiltily toward Rena Rouge and Queen Bee. The former grinned.
"It's okay, girl. We're... We'll have to move anyway. Frozer took off."
"Frozer? That's his name? Never mind. Where did he go?"
"He yelled it earlier. He wants to find Chloé and Kagami," Carapace volunteered.
"Why?" Queen Bee whined, rubbing her arms.
"You'll ask him when we find him. Let's go!"
"Now I'm glad I asked Alix for those rollerblades lessons!" Ladybug muttered.
"You really did?"
"Of course I did! I'm taking fencing lessons, rollerblades lessons and swimming lessons with Ondine, a friend of Kim's. Don't ask about those, please, it is really awkward," she said sourly.
Queen Bee snickered. "Do you get a red and black swimsuit?"
Ladybug ignored her and skated with Cat Noir toward the exit. Rena Rouge and Carapace ran behind them as fast as they could, hitting the walls a bit too forcefully when they slipped. Queen Bee haughtily flew above the iced ground.
-o-o-
They stopped when arriving outside the ice rink and looked around. Everything was frozen, shining under the sun, without a mark on a ground, except for Frozer's own tracks.
"Kagami still had her skates on," Rena Rouge said aloud. "How did she leave the building before Frozer?"
"I didn't," Kagami said from behind them. "I hid in the lockers' room. I figured that if you couldn't contain him inside, he would probably turn Paris into the home of the snow queen and then only, I could escape."
"Let it go, let it go..." Rena Rouge sang off key.
Kagami had a brief smile. Ladybug was full on business mode and not even Rena Rouge's antics could distract her. "He's looking for you."
"I know," Kagami said, unruffled. "One more reason for me to stay close to you. Maybe we should go to the Grand Paris, to warn Chloé Bourgeois?"
Ladybug nodded and skated ahead. Queen Bee followed her, still flying. Rena Rouge tried to do the same and cursed as she fell – again.
"Here, I'll help you," Kagami said. "But you should put some skates first. Um, maybe?"
Rena Rouge nodded glumly and, with Carapace, looked for skates big enough to fit over the feet of their costume. Then they left after Ladybug and Queen Bee, Kagami helping Rena Rouge and Cat Noir balancing Carapace.
They quickly wondered if Ladybug had already engaged Frozer, several times, as they found places where the otherwise pristine ground was soiled and overturned. As they neared the Grand Paris, their path met with Ladybug and Queen Bee's. They didn't get the time to ask her any question, as Frozer himself appeared between them and someone running for cover to the hotel. The ice ray touched the man and he turned into an ice statue.
"It's quite pretty, in a way," Queen Bee commented. "Do you think he's making some Olaf?"
Then the ice statue exploded, leaving no trace except for an overturned ground, and the little group gasped.
"Forget I said anything," the blonde heroine said weakly.
Ladybug cried out as children came from a side street, laughing and slipping on the ice with gusto. They skidded to a halt when seeing Frozer. She readied her yoyo, but Carapace ran forward, used his momentum and his shield to slide on the ice and, before the akumatised villain could cast his deadly ice ray, yelled, "Shellter!"
A protective shield rose around the children, making the ice ray rebound harmlessly on it. Ladybug sighed in relief.
"Kagami, sorry to ask you that," she said hurriedly, "but you can see we need to stop him quickly. Do you agree to play bait?"
"It would be my honour to help you, Ladybug," she replied formally. She gracefully skated in the open. "Philippe!" she called out. "What are you doing? I know you would never hurt children!"
"The little brats! Always whining and complaining! And you! Why didn't you defend me against the Mayor?"
"I didn't get the time, but I will do so," she said firmly.
Frozer laughed. "There's no need anymore! Soon, Paris will be a giant ice rink and I will be the Mayor of it!"
"You'll be the Mayor of an empty city, at the rate you're going."
Rena Rouge could understand why Kagami was secretly nicknamed the 'Ice Queen'. Her tone was regal and when she spoke, the others always felt insignificant. But the akumatised villain did not fall under her spell and targeted once again the children as Carapace's shield began to disintegrate. Ladybug started to reel them one by one to safety with her yoyo. Despite having his Miraculous beeping, Carapace jumped ahead, protecting as many children as he could with his other shield. Cat Noir imitated him... but he had no shield except himself.
-o-o-
"No!" Ladybug cried.
The ice ray caught Cat Noir as he was standing between a child and Frozer. Ladybug cried out her grief as he turned into a statue. Frozer fell on his knees, Hawk Moth's mask appearing on his face, and whined in pain. Hawk Moth's voice could be heard from where the heroes were and he was yelling at his tool.
"You are so dead," Ladybug hissed. "Lucky Charm!"
Rena Rouge gasped as an ice pick fell into Ladybug's hand. She could see her friend contemplating the deed, while Frozer was held helpless by his manipulator. It would be easy to thrust the ice pick in his chest. Ladybug closed her eyes, seconds before Cat Noir's statue exploded.
Rena Rouge stood in shock. Queen Bee burst into tears. Ladybug opened her eyes.
"No," she said quietly. "I will not stoop to his level. Mysteries. Mysteries unveiled!"
She turned into a violet Ladybug and shivered. "Lucky Charm!" she called again. "A flamethrower?" She looked around, gestured at Kagami to come back to them, whispered some words to Rena Rouge and glanced significantly toward Queen Bee.
"Mirage!"
"Explosion!"
Under Rena Rouge's illusion, the surroundings were completely changed and Queen Bee's empowerment spell added to its reality. Frozer stood up, shaking his head to dismiss the lingering pain, and saw Kagami and Chloé standing side by side in front of him. Immediately, he started toward them. The blonde girl shrieked in terror and tried to flee. Frozer crowed his joy.
"There you are! You will have to explain to your father he was wrong and he will apologise to me... just before I freeze him!"
He skated full speed toward her. As he arrived at Kagami's level, he fell on his face, breaking the illusion and revealing a ground devoid of any ice, as Ladybug had made it melt. She stomped on his skates and glared at the black butterfly. She purified it quickly, then took hold of her two lucky charms and breathed deeply.
"Here goes nothing... Miraculous Ladybug!"
Rena Rouge paid no heed to the blinking of her necklace. She was chewing on her lower lip with anxiety, waiting for the heavy cloud of tiny ladybugs to dissipate. Carapace came to their side, having taken advantage of the finale to recharge. She glanced at him. His face was ashen. His hand searched for hers and he grabbed her fingers painfully. The fox necklace's blinking became frantic and regretfully, Rena Rouge disentangled her hand from Carapace's and walked back, her eyes on Ladybug's face. The tears were running from under the red and black mask and the last thing Rena Rouge saw before running for cover was the blinding smile Ladybug suddenly displayed. She greeted Trixx with a lighter heart, though something made her hurry back to the field.
When she came back, Ladybug was holding Cat Noir in a wordless embrace, Queen Bee was coming back too, watching Philippe quite closely, and Kagami looked lost.
"Thank you, Kagami," Rena Rouge said. "You were most helpful."
Kagami slightly bowed. "It was an honour." Then she had an impish smile. "It was highly instructive, even though it was quite disturbing." Then they both heard Ladybug's voice rise and Kagami winced. "I have exceeded my welcome. See you around, Rena Rouge, and thank you!"
Kagami left hurriedly and Philippe was not long to follow her lead.
-o-o-
"You silly, stupid cat!" Ladybug screamed.
"Er, Ladybug, you should calm down," Carapace said a bit nervously. "It… well, it is possible for you to be akumatised, even under your current transformation."
She paused a moment to look at him. "I can be akumatised even when I'm Ladybug?" she repeated.
He nodded. She narrowed her eyes, turned back to the hapless Cat Noir and grabbed his bell. "You! Don't you ever do that again or I'll skin you myself!" she hissed. "Am I making myself clear?"
"Crystal clear, my lady, like your eyes."
"Ladybug…" Rena Rouge called.
"I'm busy!"
"Stop your hissy fit," Queen Bee cut dryly, "an akuma is just next to you."
To everyone's surprise, Ladybug smiled at the dark butterfly.
"Hello there, Hawk Moth," she said, her voice pleasant. "Now, how about you akumatise me? Contrary to what appearances may lead you to believe, I'm not angry with my kitty, but with you. It would be really nice if you gave me a burst of power to get rid of you!" The butterfly fluttered nervously. "Oh, you're doing better now, Hawk Moth! You couldn't control your akumas that well before, or else you would never have akumatised baby Auguste. Come now, Hawk Moth! Imagine it, your last akuma, the one that will never be purified because I'll be stuck in it! That is, until I wreck your neck!" she yelled.
The butterfly turned around and flew away. Without caring for the gasps of her teammates, Ladybug growled at Cat Noir, "If you continue to do stupid tricks like that, I'll have Queenie stuck you from the very first minute of each fight!"
Cat Noir was gazing adoringly at her. "As you wish, my lady," he whispered fervently.
She groaned and rolled her eyes. "See you all at the headquarters. This is the last straw."
Rena Rouge saw Queen Bee narrow her eyes. "I'll follow you in a minute," she said. She took off in the direction Philippe had left earlier and Rena Rouge decided to follow her. They both dropped in an empty street to let go of their transformation and continued their chase in a more conventional manner.
"Philippe!" a feminine voice called.
"Er... miss Bourgeois?"
"You don't mind if I call you Philippe, do you?" she gushed. "It's horrible, what just happened to you! But I have to ask... Can I take a selfie with you? I'll share it with all my fans!"
Philippe was too stunned to answer and let her proceed.
"Thank you so much! See you Saturday for my lesson!"
Alya smiled as she heard Chloé mutter, "Now, we'll see if Daddy dear closes this ice rink while putting the blame on me!"
"You rock, girl," she said affectionately.
