So I liked where this chapter ended better than the previous one. Also merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and I hope everyone has an awesome start to the new year! I will be back in a month or so for the next round of chapters. Enjoy!

Marinette is a detective who can't keep a partner while hunting down the notorious Hawkmoth gang. Chat is the new cat burglar on the streets who never gets caught. After Marinette gets handed his case it's it won't be long before their fates collide especially when monsters start roaming the streets


(Third times the charm?)

Marinette was currently cursing herself out for her own stupidity as she walked down the back alley ways towards her home. She had been fine with Adrien all night, bantering, telling stories, and playing pool with him. Alya had been proud of her, heck she had been proud of herself, especially with how she had handled the situation with Roger and Chloe. Everything had been going fantastic and all he had to do was say the word date to leave her a gibbering mess once more. It was frustrating, so incredibly frustrating and Marinette just didn't know how to get a grip. She would have texted Alya but she didn't want the whole just go for it speech tonight especially when Alya was already a touch upset that Marinette had left without telling her first in person. Marinette knew Alya had just wanted to tease her and ask if Adrien was going to stay with her that night. That thought immediately made Marinette turn red and she let out a hissing sigh as she kicked a can in mortified frustration.

"Why can't things just be simple and easy?" Marinette moaned under her breath then jumped as her waistband vibrated sharply. The sensation was similar to how a phone on vibrate felt but her phone was currently in her purse. The only thing in her waistband at the moment was a credit card and the miraculous stone. Freezing in place Marinette pressed a hand to the spot as she remembered the miraculous stone she had slid into the pocket sewn there. She didn't know why she had grabbed it but it had just seemed like a good idea at the time, an almost automatic action. Now though she wasn't as sure especially when it vibrated once more, a sharp prickle against her skin that almost felt like a warning. It had done something similar before when she had been climbing in the cave but she hadn't connected that vibration to the stone until now.

"What the hell?" She wondered aloud then a dark chuckle answered the question.

"Ello' sweetheart. Such a purty lil thing shouldn't be a wanderen round these parts." A scruffy man said sliding around the corner of a dumpster so she could see him. A second man fell into place as his overly large shadow behind him as the stone vibrated a sharp third time.

"Oh danger." Marinette muttered as she realized the stone had been warning her about the danger ahead. It was strange and if she were being honest the fact that the stone had alerted her to anything much less danger blew her mind. If she had been alone she might have needed to sit down and freak out a little bit, but with the two idiot men in front of her she couldn't afford to spazz.

Taking a deep breath and shoving her, omg inanimate magical object is doing weird things freak out aside, Marinette eyed the two men before her. They were both scruffy, one was more bulky than the other, and neither looked as if they were on drugs or otherwise impaired. She didn't recognize either of their faces and they didn't look to be the type to run in Hawkmoths or any other gang for that matter. Irritation at being bothered like this made her huff but Marinette decided to give them a chance even as she palmed the weights in her jacket sleeves.

"My name is Marinette and I am a detective. Leave me be because I really am not in the best mood and I hate filling out paperwork." Marinette growled and both men paused for a half a second.

"Yer name don't mean nothin but if ya do as we tell you we might let cha off easy." The smaller man answered jerking his head to the side as a signal for his shadow to come forward.

The large man stepped around his smaller companion filling the space of the alley and pulling off the whole intimidation thing very well. If Marinette had been a normal citizen she probably would have wanted to cower or run away as fast as she could. However Marinette had faced crazy people, monsters, and half cat men at this point, so the most this hulking man got was an exasperated eye roll.

"You really don't want to do this." Marinette hissed in annoyance, shifting into a fighting stance.

"Purse" the shadow grunted ignoring her words entirely while raising a gun into the faint alley light.

Marinette didn't bother to answer knowing that as soon as the gun was level he would be prepared to fire. So she moved as he raised the weapon one weight lashing out to smash into his wrist as the other whipped sideways to crack into his temple. The man dropped like a stone not even having the time to register the pain and cry out. Marinette took a step to the side as he hit the ground like a fallen tree, his smaller partner letting out a shriek of surprise at the sudden defeat. Catching the recoil of her one weight she slung it out once more to smash into the dumpster near his head. It slammed home with a crash before the second man could even think too hard about running. The shorter man let out a second cry of alarm but froze at the sound of Marinettes voice.

"Stay where you are." Marinette hissed and he froze, terror in his wide eyes as she stalked closer.

"Witchcraft…" he whimpered and Marinette rolled her eyes but didn't bother to correct him. In all honesty she was used to such accusations. In dim lighting like this alleyway her weapons were all but invisible and practically silent meaning that to the idle viewer it would appear that anyone who pissed her off simply dropped to the ground unconscious from her glare alone. When Tiki had been her partner she had loved teasing Marinette about it and there was a rumor about her having a killer glare in the back streets of Paris. In fact Marinette was pretty certain that Tiki had been the origin of the rumor.

Moving into the pool of light Marinette kicked the gun away from the fallen man that lay on the ground and leveled a glare right into his partners eyes. "Memorize my face and remember my name. If you ever bother me again I will take you down twice as hard and will drop your unconscious butts off at the nearest police station. Do you understand me?" she asked her voice filled with menace.

The man continued to stare at her, no something behind her and then from her waistband came another vibration slightly sharp but this time it almost felt like a purr. Twisting around she saw a third man baseball bat in hand several steps behind her ready to bring it crashing down on her skull. Throwing her arm up to take the blow Marinette was stunned into stillness when a snarl split the air and a figure crashed down onto her would be attacker. There was a sound of crunching bones and Marinette darted to the side to avoid the bat cracking into the spot she had just been in. The man behind her screamed a third time and she glanced over her shoulder just in time to see him flee into the shadows hollering about monsters.

Marinette however knew the crouching figure before her and she watched him slink forward on all fours his eyes glittering like emeralds in the darkness. Conflict arose within her and her hand tightened on the weight within. He was coming at her and yet his movements were slow, cautious, as if he didn't want to scare her off.

"Round three?" Marinette asked her voice breaking the tense silence between them.

A sharp toothed grin was her answer as he came to a stop, still in a crouch less than three feet away. "If My Lady wished to play all she had to do was ask. You didn't have to resort to beating up ally rats."

Marinette cocked an eyebrow at him having half expected a snarl or swipe of claws since they hadn't parted on the best of terms. "You'd rather me beat you up?"

Chat chuckled, a rich dark sound that had the hair going up on the back of her neck. "No My Lady as much as I have enjoyed our little sparring matches I enjoy not having bruises more." He moved like smoke rising to his feet and slinking forward close enough to make her a touch nervous, close enough to allow for an easy attack yet she didn't move. "Although I wear your marks with pride." He whispered gliding past her, his voice like silk.

Marinette turned with him unwilling to allow him to get behind her even as her heart kicked up a notch from their close proximity. His ears twitched and his tail swished from side to side as he knelt down beside the man she had knocked out. Keeping one eye on him Marinette stepped back to where the man Chat landed on lay and with a grimace bent over to check for a pulse. It was there slow, but steady and Marinette felt relief trickle through her.

"I simply broke him, I wouldn't have killed him unless he injured you." Chat said and Marinette realized he was watching her, his bright green eyes following her every movement with interest.

His words were possessive and they struck a chord in her. "Why are you here Chat? I highly doubt you wish to try on some shiny bracelets." Marinette asked as she stood, stuffing her hands in her pockets to resist chucking a weight at his head when he gave her his patented Cheshire grin.

"You are not dressed to arrest me tonight My Lady although you do look very lovely. Red is an excellent color choice for you. Tell me do you have a ninja jacket in every color?" Chat answered lacing his comments with complements as he came to his feet once more. Before Marinette could complain about his ninja comment he continued. "I was running around this feline evening and I caught your scent. When I heard the scuffle I decided to take a peek and you didn't seem to realize the one rat was coming at you from behind. You saved my life with that sniper, I wanted to return the favor."

Marinette blinked understanding washing through her although the following her scent bit made her a touch nervous. "I… see. Thank you then." Awkward silence fell between them for several seconds and just as Marinette was about to speak again Chat went ridged his ears and head swiveling towards the direction the last man had taken off in.

Then in the distance Marinette heard a scream as the stone in her waistband vibrated so sharply it almost felt like a blow. "What the…" she gasped stepping forward only to find Chat go rock still one hand lifting in the universal stop sign. There was something wrong, something was in the air making it tense and she could practically feel the wrongness getting closer. It was a feeling she definitely wanted to run away from even as Chat backed slowly to her side his eyes never leaving the darkness of the alleyway before them. It seemed darker suddenly and a low hiss left Chats lips.

"May I carry you?" He growled his body tense and eyes bright with some feral emotion.

It was in that moment Marinette realized that she had a decision to make and right then she realized that she trusted this strange criminal more than anyone she knew at the precinct. That and she had a feeling that he was simply asking to be nice. Whatever her answer Marinette had a feeling that he would carry her off either way.

"Go." She answered knowing instinctively that in this instance time was of the essence.

In the next moment he swung her up onto his back with a terse "Hang on!"

She did clinging like a monkey to his back as he shot them straight up out of the alley using his baton. Then they were practically flying and she gasped as the streets zoomed past in a blur of lights. It was exhilarating and the speed they traveled at, combined with the fluidity of his movements left no doubt in her mind that Chat could definitely see in the dark. He was using his true speed now and Marinette marveled at just how outclassed any normal human was compared to him. It also made her realize how careful he had mostly been when fighting her. A few minutes of silent running swiftly past as she took in Paris from a new angle, then he plunged off the rooftop making Marinette squeak and clench her arms tight around him in a surge of fright. His claws caught the bricks of the next building over and after sliding a foot or two claws scoring deep gouges, he dropped the rest of the way to the ground landing easily on his feet. Marinette didn't move for a long second trying to let her heart and mind settle from that last terrifying jump.

"You can let go now." Chat chuckled and realizing she was still clinging to him Marinette practically leaped off him, stumbling back and tripping over her own feet as she tried to get some distance between them. Chats hands snapped out to steady her and Marinette felt herself blush as she tried to apologize.

Chat huffed shaking his head in amusement even as he released her once more. "How is such a cute, clumsy little thing such as yourself so dangerous?"

Marinette pouted. "Don't go getting cocky Chat, instead why don't you explain why we had to get out of that alley so dam fast you decided to carry me."

Chat tensed his posture instantly going into defensive mode. "Its not something that concerns you. However I would apurrr-reciate it if you didn't pad around in dark alleys at night. We are less than a block from your precinct so I'm sure that you live near here. Paw-lease head home and get some sleep."

Marinette stepped forward wondering how he knew which precinct was hers. It was a question that would have to wait however. "Nice try alley cat, what's out there?"

"Oh no My Lady." Chat answered his gaze becoming razor sharp as he eyed her determined expression. "Its nothing a human can handle."

"But it is something a cat human hybrid can handle?" Marinette challenged and Chat shrugged

"Hopefully. However if I turn up on your doorstep half dead don't call the police ok?" he replied cheekily. He didn't give her a chance to say anything else using his baton to shoot himself straight up out of the alley and up on to the rooftops. Marinette didn't realize it but he paused for a moment on the rooftop out of sight and was rewarded for his patience when he heard her exclaim

"I'm part of the police force you stupid cat!"

Chat simply chuckled at her comment and started running back the way he had come with her his mind returning to the business at hand. There was another akuma on the loose. He had caught its scent after that rat had run away from him and Marinette. The poor fool had probably run right into the akumas waiting claws if that scream was anything to go by. Chat almost felt bad for the rat since getting torn apart by an akuma was a really nasty way to go, but he was glad that Marinette had been waylaid by those rats. He had a feeling that if they hadn't tried to rob her she would have run into the creature instead. Although from the way Marinette fought she might have done fairly well facing off against the akuma depending on what it looked like. With a growl Chat shook his head simply glad Marinette had allowed him to carry her away from the danger, even though he had scared her on that last jump. That thought made him chuckle a little but he realized she would probably not allow him to do it again. Honestly he hadn't been sure the first time that she would, but for some reason she trusted him at least as far as she could throw him that is. In truth he really would have carried her away even if she hadn't said yes but that wasn't the point. It would seem that Marinette held an almost instinctive trust for him and she wasn't afraid to call him out whether he was Adrien or Chat.

"She is purrrfect." Chat purred to himself leaping to the next building over.

"Love struck idiot." Plagg retorted

Chat huffed "Hey we didn't fight this time around, I didn't injure her or get injured by her, and she should be able to make it home without causing too much trouble. I thought it went well."

"Yeah except for you nearly crushing that mans spine, and the akuma which I'm assuming you are going to now go fight, everything went great." Plagg answered sounding snarky "You owe me cheese for this."

Sniffing the air Chat caught a tendril of wrongness and turned to follow it accordingly. "Fine I owe you some cheese but for now we need to figure out how these akuma keep popping up."

Plagg grumbled and in the next instant a black shape separated itself from the deeper shadows of the rooftop launching itself at Chat.

"Behind you!" Plagg snarled as at the last possible second he felt the putrid thing coming. Immediately Chat twisted round, catching its claws on his staff as the mass plowed him back first into the rooftop driving the air from his lungs.

"Dammit…" Chat hissed back pinned to the rooftop as the akuma drooled on him. A disgusted snarl fled his lips before he managed to plant his feet into the akumas chest throwing the beast off him. It twisted around midair, missed its footing, and ended up sprawling out on its belly as it landed.

"Not very quick are we?" Chat asked as the beast scrambled up on all fours before charging right back at him in silence. Chat rolled out of the way and slid down the peak of the roof as he scrambled to his feet. Claws scored lines through the tiles inches behind him and Chat leaped the gap between rooftops luring the akuma into a chase.

"This thing doesn't seem right Adrien." Plagg murmured doing his best not to be distracting as Chat threw himself out of the akumas range once more.

"No kidding but what is it if it's not an akuma?" Chat panted snarling a challenge back at the small akuma when it seemed to lose interest in the chase. It scrambled after him once more claws and teeth flashing in the dim lights. It didn't smell totally right to be an akuma and yet it looked like one. There was a dead taint to the air as if the thing before him was an akuma but it hadn't fully turned into one yet. The scrambled reading he was getting frustrated him and a second snarl escaped Chats lips as he twisted around to launch himself forward to intercept the beast, tired of being on the defensive. The attack took the akuma by surprise and his claws scored a line across the beasts face making it squeal and fall back its claws flashing out at Chat in the dim light. It missed by a mile and as Chat landed he finally got a good look at the creature.

It was like a pint sized portly akuma one that Chat now thought was more like an overgrown puppy still learning to walk. Its body was a sort of disproportionate barrel shape and it seemed to be attacking on instinct forgoing any sort of intelligence that even the most animalistic akuma seemed to possess. Odd thing was it had no eyes that Chat could see, yet it seemed to be able to track him fine through the darkness. It tried and failed again and again to land a blow on Chat failing each and every time. On the other hand Chat struck at it mercilessly ignoring Plaggs disgusted hiss when the beasts sour stench covered him. It didn't take long for Chat to figure out the beasts pattern of attack and now that he knew how the beast fought Chat avoided its blows with ease. Still the sense of wrongness about the akuma persisted and after slashing at its back a few times he managed to pinpoint where an odd scent, the source of wrongness to the creature came from. It took a moment to pick out the oddly humped area on its back and Chat realized that the strange stench was coming from that spot. The mini akuma roared charging at Chat once more so he dropped to the roof tiles as it leaped at him allowing the akuma to fly over him. It came to crashing halt in an awkward heap as its head took out an antenna. Praying that whoever lived below them didn't come up to investigate the noise, Chat launched himself into action. Before the creature could recover from its missed attack Chat was on it, slamming down onto its back and using his claws to slash away at the odd spot in its fur. Two strikes in Chats claws caught on something and the mini akuma shrieked as it twisted under him in an attempt to throw him off. Chat gripped the object embedded in the beasts flesh and fur as a misshapen clawed hand snagged his ankle. Claws dug into him then in the next moment he was tossed away from the beast, the object that smelled so wrong yanked out of the thick fur as he flew off its back. A chimney stopped his flight and the beast screeched rearing back on its hind legs as it stumbled back. Chat hit the rooftop the object clenched tight in his hand even as the akuma screamed again. The creature stumbled back further and Chat tried to force himself up seeing that if the beast didn't stop it would go over the edge. He didn't know if this akuma was sentient or not but even still he had no wish to watch it die.

"Stop!" Chat managed trying to get his stunned body to move. It wasn't enough though and a second later the mini akuma went over the edge. There was a dull thud that died into silence and Chat let himself slump back to the rooftop allowing his body to recover from the impact he had received since the danger had passed.

"You're lucky I can protect you from impacts otherwise that would have broken your bones rather than only knocking the air out of you." Plagg huffed

"So I'll just be bruised tomorrow?" Adrien hissed snarkly pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Better than broken." Plagg retorted and Adrien had to agree with him although he didn't say it out loud.

Allowing himself to stay slumped against the chimney, Chat idly twisted the object he had ripped from the akumas fur and saw it was an odd shaped orange tinted quill. The hair went up on the back of his neck as he realized he had seen an object like this before back at the crime scene he had visited with Marinette. She had pocketed the object and he wondered with a touch of worry if she still had it. If she did he really would have to find a way to get it from her as well as the miraculous stone. After all anything from an akuma was never anything good. Zipping the odd looking quill into his pocket to destroy later Chat moved forward to the edge of the roof taking a deep breath before looking over. A body was at the bottom of the alley and with a slightly churning stomach he used his staff to get to street level. It was a mans body slightly hefty and short with limbs twisted at awkward angles. Chat wondered if the man had been conscious when he went over the edge or if the akuma had all just been instinct. With a nudge from his staff Chat rolled the man fully onto his back and recognized him as the guard he had thrown into the closet when he stole the miraculous stone. Now that any trace of akuma magic had melted away Chat could see that the guard still had his tie half wrapped around his face in a blindfold.

"Well that explains why it couldn't fight very well, as well as the missing eyes." Plagg muttered in the back of his head.

"Yeah but what in the world happened after we left?" Chat asked then sighed eyeing the claw marks he had left on the man's body from the fight. One particular claw mark was distinctly visible cutting across his face and the tie. Part of the tie was shredded as well, the fabric almost sliced through in one spot.

"You really need to stop doing that especially since the akumafied people seem to retain the marks sustained in battle." Plagg said softly and Chat snorted.

"If I can't fight with my claws then what good are they? Besides the scratches are barely deep enough to need stitches and it's obvious to anyone with a brain that the fall is what killed him." Chat muttered but he had a feeling that he was going to be blamed for this mans death regardless of that fact and Chat wondered if Marinette would believe him If he told her the truth of what happened.

"Hey! Who are you and what the hell are you doing?!" A masculine voice demanded as a beam of light swept through the darkness of the ally. Chat leaped back to avoid the light and there was a scream as the light lit up the body.

"Take that as our que to leave Adrien." Plagg snapped

Chat nodded then swung off into the darkness in desperate need of both answers and a long shower.