Hey there, everyone! Here we are with a new adventure, featuring your favourite Miraculous Heroes from an alternate universe. I dare to say that this will be my most ambitious fanfic so far. This time, our heroes won't just have to worry about Hawk Moth, his minions and his Akumas. This time, a different type of enemy will make things harder for them, because they won't be able to fight it with their powers. It will be an adventure where emotions will be running wild, and where a happily ever after, might not happen for everyone. In sum, it will be an adventure, where our heroes, will need more than just their powers to win the battles ahead of them… they will need their hearts. As always, we'll be seeing some really cute moments featuring your favourite ships, mainly MarinettexAdrien, AlyaxNino, ChloexSabrina, KimxAlix, RosexJuleka, NathanielxMarc and IvanxMylene. And now, on with the show!
Chapter 1: Fire in the City
Fire. Some say that water is the most volatile of all elements, but fire is just as volatile as water. The difference is that most people do not believe that water can harm them, while fire can. The truth is that fire may not be the strongest of elements, but it is the one that most people fear the most, as well as being the most unpredictable. All it takes is a little and insignificant flame for a scorching fire, capable of reducing anything to cinders, to begin. And on that night, the people who lived in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, near the Sainte-Anne Hospital, were living a nightmare, in the form of a blazing inferno that was ravaging everything it touched. An Akuma called Ifrit had appeared out of the blue, and began to burn everything he saw. From all the Akumas that Hawk Moth had created, Ifrit was by far the one that looked nothing like a regular Akuma. His whole body was made out of living flames, with the exception of his hands and feet, which looked like claws and talons made out of stone. His deep blue eyes, surrounded by a black butterfly-shaped mask contrasted with his red flaming body. And as if his appearance was not terrifying enough, his screeching voice sent shivers up one's spine, whenever he talked. The people who were unfortunate enough to see themselves face-to-face with him, compared Ifrit to a blazing demon from the Underworld, as they ran for their lives.
"All must burn! This will burn, that will burn as well… everything will burn!" -Ifrit said, as he let out a maniacal cackle into the air.
Ifrit claimed that Hawk Moth had given him the power to cleanse the city, from which it would be reborn from its ashes, like a phoenix. And for that to happen, everything that was standing had to be reduced to ashes. The first ones to arrive at the scene were the firefighters, whose firehouse was just a few blocks away. Soon after, firefighters from other firehouses showed up and they wasted no time in trying to put out the fires that Ifrit was causing, as he jumped around. A few of them, thought about trying to put him out with their firehoses, but the chiefs ordered them not to engage the Akuma, afraid that if he felt threatened, he might attack them. Instead, they ordered them to focus on putting out the fires that were beginning to ravage the nearby buildings, as well as the parked cars, while the rescue squadron helped to evacuate the people in the affected buildings.
"Point those hoses there! And get someone up there, to vent the rooftops, otherwise we're going to lose these buildings!"
As Ifrit continued to torch up the place, the firefighters saw that unless the Miraculous Team showed up to stop him, they were going to need a miracle to prevent the fire from continuing to spread. And when the police arrived at the scene, their thoughts were the same. They were astounded by what was happening around them. The flames were spreading like wildfire in a forest, threatening not only the buildings, but also the people who lived in them. Most of the police officers had already seen their fair share of Akuma-related trouble, but what Ifrit was doing, surpassed everything they had seen. As they exited their vehicles, they noticed just how hot the air was getting. Even though it was night time, the temperature felt, made it look like there was a boiling Sun in the sky; no doubt a side-effect from the Akuma's activity.
"Spread out and get people to safety! Take them to the subway. And make sure to lend a hand to the firefighters and the paramedics, as they come out of the buildings!"
Orders were given, and the officers ran as fast as their feet allowed them to, to fulfil them. Unfortunately, like it happened whenever an Akuma attacked, things would not go as expected. People on the streets were running in panic, fleeing from the flames, and that made it harder for to establish any kind of order, let alone help them. Even so, the noble members of the Parisian police did their best to get everyone that was on the streets, into a safe location, while also helping the firefighters, who continued to fight the fires, as well as getting people who became trapped inside the burning buildings. Some managed to get out unscathed, but others were not that lucky. From bruises and twisted ankles, to broken heads and nasty burns caused by the flames, the firefighters had their hands full. All the while, Ifrit continued to burn everything in his path, with no one to stop him, and he was having too much fun in doing it. One would dare say that he was enjoying himself more than an Akuma usually does, and that just made him look and sound even scarier.
"Yes! Burn, burn, my beauties! Reach for the sky and consume everything in your path!" -Ifrit said, as he stared at some nearby flames that were burning a store, fascinated by them. –"There is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful fire. But more importantly, there's nothing more beautiful than flames feeding off mundane things." -he said, as a psychotic grin showed up in his face.
Up in the air, the news helicopter from TVi was on the scene, trying to get live images of the living hell that was happening on the ground. And as always, who better to report the news from inside the helicopter, than Nadja Chamack, who once again, had been the first one to arrive at the scene.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Nadja Chamack, reporting to you, live from the 14th arrondissement, where a new Akuma has appeared, and has begun to burn everything it touches." -Nadja talked to the camera. –"As you can see, the police and the firemen are having trouble dealing with the fire that is threatening to spread out of control, and burn the not only this neighbourhood, but the surrounding ones as well." -she continued to talk, when she noticed someone running on top of a building. –"And looks like two of our resident heroes, Rena Rouge and Ladybug are making their way to where the Akuma was last seen. If the two of them are here, we can expect some of the Miraculous heroes, if not all of them, to show up shortly to deal with the threat that this Akuma poses to our fair city."
Alya had just finished talking to her boyfriend, Nino over the phone, and was getting ready to go to bed, when she received an email from the Miraculous Blog, from someone who claimed that it had seen an Akuma. A few seconds later, the Akuma App also warned her of an Akuma attack. She was tired, because she had tons of homework to do, and had finished them just an hour before. All she wanted was to go to bed and sleep for at least seven hours, and dream of something nice. Unfortunately, Hawk Moth had other plans for her. Waking up Trixx, who had fallen asleep shortly before dinner, Alya then went to wish goodnight to her parents and her sister Nora, who were finishing watching a movie together, before going back to her bedroom. Transformed into Rena Rouge, she exited through her window and made her way to where the action was taking place. Along the way, she met Ladybug, who too had been warned by the Akuma App, of what was going on. Signalling her, Ladybug jumped to the rooftop where she was, and the two made their way to where the Akuma had been seen. They were still a few blocks away, and the flames that were consuming the buildings already looked tremendous, making them wonder what kind of mess they were walking into. And when they got there, they could not help but to feel like they had just walked straight into something that was way above their paygrade. From the rooftop, things already looked bad, but when they jumped into the ground, Ladybug and Rena Rouge felt like they had just stepped into an oven.
"This is not good." -Ladybug said, as she looked around and saw the flames getting more menacing by the minute. –"Just from looking at these flames, I'm starting to sweat… I didn't even know we could sweat in these outfits." -she said.
"You said it, girl. I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to become barbecued fox." -Rena Rouge told her best friend. –"Do you see the Akuma?" -she asked her.
"No. But once it knows we're here, it will only be a matter of time, before it shows up to introduce itself." -Ladybug said, her eyes unable to look away from the flames. –"These flames don't look like normal flames." -she thought to herself. –"Is it my imagination, or is there something wrong with these flames? They seem like they're moving, like they have a mind of their own."
"I don't know, girl. I've never seen flames this huge before in an urban fire. Not even the flames created by Hot Tamale were this big." -Rena Rouge said. –"Still, we don't have time to be guessing it around. We've got to help these people." -she said, as she pointed out to the firefighters and the paramedics that were trying to get a person out of a car that had crashed into another one, before either one caught fire and exploded.
"Agreed. Let's give them a hand, and hope the rest of the team arrives. Let's also ask them what they know about the Akuma, and if they happened to see it, if they know which direction it went. If you see it, be careful." -Ladybug warned her. –"And remember, we can't take too long to deal with it. Otherwise, a lot of people will get hurt."
"Got it." -Rena Rouge agreed.
Lending a hand to the firemen, Ladybug used her yo-yo to quickly cut the car's door open, making it easier for the firemen to remove it, and then allowing them to get the victim from inside the car, and put it in a stretcher. At the same time, because the flames had made it impossible for anyone to reach the ambulance with the victim, Rena Rouge used her flute-staff and conjured a sort of awning, which she then placed along the distance between the victim and the ambulance, allowing the paramedics to transport it, unscathed. Creating that illusion was not an easy thing to do, because the high temperature caused by the flames were making it hard for her to properly focus. Still, she did her best, and only stopped playing the flute-staff and making the illusion disappear, when she saw the paramedics arriving at the ambulance with the victim.
"Good job." -Ladybug told her.
"Thanks. Though, this heat isn't making things easier." -Rena Rouge said. –"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm sweating in places I didn't even know I had sweat glands." -she commented.
"You and me." -Ladybug said, as she wiped the sweat from her horsehead. –"After this, I'm going to need to take a shower." -she thought to herself.
Suddenly, they heard an explosion just around the corner. Fearing that it was the Akuma, the two heroines wasted no time in checking it. As they turned the corner, they almost bumped into a group of people, who were running from the flames. Avoiding them, they saw that the explosion had come from a closed coffee shop, which was now in flames. Fearing that another explosion happened and that the flames made their way to the surrounding buildings, the heroines looked for nearby a fire hydrant, intending to use it to put out the fire. Spotting one, Rena Rouge aimed her flute-staff at it, before throwing it. Hitting it, a water jet began to spray from it. The pressure from the water was quite strong, but that did not stop them from what they had planned to do. Grabbing the now open fire hydrant, the girls twisted it from the ground, just enough to point it at the flaming store, and using their hands as a makeshift nozzle. A regular person would not be able to do it, due to the pressure of the water, but thanks to their super strength and the magical properties of their outfits, they were able to do it. In a matter of seconds, they managed to
"There. That's one less problem for us to worry about." -Ladybug said, as she let go of the fire hydrant. –"Where are Adrien and the others? If the Akuma decides to show up, and they're not here, it will be up to me and Alya to take him on." -she thought to herself, while looking around for any sign of the Akuma.
"They are taking their sweet time to get here." -Rena Rouge thought to herself. –"We got to find that Akuma and put a stop to this, before someone gets seriously injured, girl." -she told Ladybug.
As they talked, they saw a firefighter running in their direction, and remembered that due to the explosion, they forgot to ask the previous firefighters about the Akuma.
"Thanks for the assist!" -one of the firefighters thanked them, as he stopped in front of them.
"It was our pleasure." -Ladybug said. –"By the way, have you seen this Akuma, or know where it might have gone?" -she asked him.
"My team and I arrived just a couple of minutes ago, so I can't tell you much." -the firefighter told her. –"But from what we heard on the radio, this Akuma is someone who's completely made out of fire." -he said.
The scarlet heroine was about to ask something else, when out of the blue, a fire ball came out of nowhere. Throwing herself and the firefighter into the ground, Ladybug was able to escape it, just in the nick of time. And she was not the only one. Rena Rouge also saw it, and managed to dodge it. As they could pick themselves up, they looked up and saw what looked like a living flame bouncing around the place. Keeping eyes on it, the heroines understood that that flame was not a flame like the others, and feared that they had inadvertently bumped into the Akuma that was the cause of all that chaos. Shooting through the air, the flame quickly made a U-turn, dashing towards the heroines, who managed to dodge it at the very last second, by throwing themselves into the ground once again. Making one more U-turn, the living flame landed almost 15 meters ahead, where it began to shift shape, until it assumed the shape the firefighter had told Ladybug and Rena Rouge about. Looking around, the Akuma shot flames from its hands, setting a building's front and the trees near it on fire.
"Burn! Burn! Yes, burn my beauties!" -Ifrit said, as he looked at the flames he had just shot at a couple of trees on the sidewalk, watching them burn.
"Are you okay?" -Ladybug asked the firefighter, who nodded his head, as they both got up. –"Rena! Are you alright?" -she asked the fox heroine.
"I am okay, don't worry." -Rena said, as she looked upwards and saw that there was someone, a woman, was screaming and waving for help in one of the windows of the third floor of a nearby building. –"Uh-oh… that doesn't look good up there." -she declared, as Ladybug herself noticed the woman waving, as she was joined by a man and a little boy, also screaming for help.
"Go help them! I'll deal with this guy." -Ladybug said, as she grabbed her yo-yo and prepared to go against Ifrit. –"And you, you might want to go and help your fellow firefighters. Still, if things get worst, I suggest you all find a safe place to hide." -she told the young firefighter.
"Copy that! And be careful, girl!" -Rena Rouge told her, as she and the firefighter sprinted out of there.
"And now, let's get down to business." -Ladybug said, as she walked towards the Akuma, swinging her yo-yo, as she quickened her pace. Still, there was something about that all situation, she could not –"This is strange. Usually Akumas don't waste time in attacking us and love to talk and to brag about how they were hand-picked by Hawk Moth to kill us. But this guy, he tried to turn me and into charcoal, and then, just runs away and goes to torch something else?" -she thought to herself. –"Why do I have that sinking feeling in my stomach, that this kind of behaviour, can't be a good sign? Answer… because it probably isn't a good sign."
Approaching Ifrit, Ladybug did not take her eyes off of him, while making sure that her yo-yo was ready to fight Ifrit, if he attacked her by surprise. As for Ifrit, he just stood there, looking at the trees and the buildings, as they caught fire and were engulfed by the flames, cackling maniacally, without a care in the world. The scarlet heroine had seen many things, ever since she got her miraculous, but an Akuma enjoying himself, and that did not want to cut off her head, had not been one of them. Logic was telling her that she ought to try and attack him, while he was distracted, but it was also telling her that doing so, would be suicide, because she did not know what kind of fire-related powers he had, and how they worked, and she did not want to end up burned to a crisp. Feeling her heart thumping inside her ribcage, Ladybug took a couple of deep breaths, trying to slow it down and remain as calm as possible, hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.
"Hey, you!" -Ladybug shouted at the Akuma, making him look over his shoulder. –"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" -she shouted once again. –"I don't know what happened that made you ended up akumatized, but I can't let you burn the place down. So, what do you say, you surrender and we call it a night?"
Turning around to face Ladybug, Ifrit looked her in the eyes, before starting to laugh like a lunatic, and utter a single word at her.
"Burn." -Ifrit said.
"What?" -Ladybug asked him, not understanding why he said that.
"Burn… you will burn." -Ifrit told her. –"You will burn, they will burn, everything will burn." -he said, while continuing to laugh like crazy, only his laugh was not like the laugh of other Akumas. It sounded more like the laugh of a demented or harebrained person. –"And you… you will burn quite nicely, I, Ifrit, will make sure that you will burn, quite nicely."
"This guy sounds like he's a few cards short of a full deck here." -Ladybug thought to herself. –"I need to think of what I'm going to tell this guy… if he's way more insane than any Akuma we fought before, I don't want him to go crazy. I might not be able to stop him on my own. I better try and talk to him, as if we were old friends. That might help, or at least, buy me a little time." -she thought. –"Listen… there is no need to burn anything else, okay? You are doing this, just because Hawk Moth looked into your heart, and saw that you were suffering somehow. I am sure you're a nice guy, most of the times…"
She had not finished talking, when Ifrit began to laugh maniacally once more, his voice piercing Ladybug's ears, before firing numerous fire balls at her. Dodging them, she was forced to take cover behind a parked car. Unfortunately, that did help her much, as Ifrit jumped and landed on top of the car she was hiding behind of, and tried to roast her, forcing her to roll under the car, to escape him. Not waiting for Ifrit to burn the car, with her under it, she rolled back into the open. She hardly had time to get back up, when he fired another fire ball at her. Spinning her yo-yo to conjure her shield attack, she was able to deflect the fire ball.
"And there goes the idea of trying to talk to him." -Ladybug thought to herself. –"At least I managed to get his attention." -she thought, as she dodged to the right. –"Stoll, I need to get up there. I'll be able to move better on the rooftops, and there are less chances of someone getting hurt there."
Using her sixth sense to provide her a distraction, so she could get to the rooftops, in a matter of seconds, Ladybug found exactly what she needed to do that. The objects she needed to use to get to the rooftop were evident, and she was going to use them. Hopping from car to car, she then hopped to the top of a burning bus and made use of a flag pole on a building's front, to get herself up on the rooftops. As expected by the scarlet heroine, Ifrit followed her, shapeshifting into a flying fire ball, and chasing her.
"Come on, follow me, where you can't hurt no one." -Ladybug thought, as she managed to get up on the rooftop, followed closely by Ifrit. –"I think I managed to get his attention… that's good. As long I'm his target, he won't try to burn anything else. That will give time for the firefighters to put out the flames and for the rest of the team to get here." -she thought to herself.
The chase went on, as Ladybug did her best to stay one step ahead of Ifrit, who was proving to be incredibly fast in that fire ball shape of his. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Ladybug quickly understood that Ifrit was not going to exhaust himself, anytime soon, and on top of it, every time it touched a new surface, it set it ablaze. And that meant, she needed a new plan. Looking over her shoulder, the scarlet heroine knew that she needed to find a way to slow him down, so she could have a couple of seconds to know what to do next. Using her sixth sense power once again, she tried to look for an object that would help her in that predicament of hers. Unfortunately, this time, her sixth sense did not work, and before she knew it, Ifrit passed right next to her, grazing her left arm. When that happened, she felt like someone had torched her upper arm. Gritting her teeth in pain, she forced herself to stop and check it. Massaging it, she was relieved to see that her outfit had sustained the damage, and though she could feel her upper arm irradiating heat, she knew that she had not been badly burned by the Akuma.
"I've got to be careful. If this happened, after he grazed against my arm, I don't even want to think what will happen, if his flames actually burn me."
"Burn… you will burn." -Ifrit laughed maniacally. –"You will burn, and so will everyone else!" -he kept laughing, as he shot a couple of fireballs at Ladybug, trying to reduce her to ashes.
Performing several cartwheels, she was able to dodge all fire balls, except for the last one, which hit the surface, just as she was about to place her hands on it, blasting her off the ledge of the building. Falling down, slightly stunned and feeling the ground getting closer and closer, Ladybug was about to pull her yo-yo from her waist and use it as a grappling hook, when she felt someone grabbing her. To her surprise, the one who had grabbed her was none other than her feline partner/boyfriend, Chat Noir.
"I've got you, milady." -Chat Noir grinned at Ladybug, while using his staff to get them back to the rooftop from where the heroine had just been blasted from.
"Thanks." -Ladybug smiled at Chat Noir. –"You arrived just in the nick of time."
"I apologize for not getting here a little earlier. I fell asleep a little earlier. You wouldn't believe just how much my fencing class exhausted me today." –Chat told her. –"Kagami was feeling extra competitive this afternoon, so she worked me to the bone."
"Worked you to the bone, huh? That explains why you didn't text me back, after dinner." -Ladybug told him, in an amused voice tone. –"And should I be worried about that? I mean, you keep talking about her, but I don't know much about her. It's only natural for me to get a little jealous of her, you know?" -she playfully teased him, while raising an eyebrow.
"Not even in a million years, milady. You know I only have eyes for you." -Chat smiled at her, as he landed on the rooftop. –"And I really need to present her to you. After all, she's partially responsible for us being together." -he whispered at her ear, as he dropped her safely. –"So, this is the guy who threw you from this building, huh, milady?"
"Yeah. His name is Ifrit, and there's something wrong about him." -Ladybug said, as she looked at Ifrit who was now busy torching up the rooftop of another building.
"Wrong? What do you mean, wrong?" -Chat Noir asked her.
"I don't know… the way he talks and acts. You know just how Akumas behave, right? Well, this guy is behaving differently. It's like he's got a few screws loose, or he jumped out of a Stephen King novel." -Ladybug explained.
"A Stephen King novel?" -Chat Noir asked her, puzzled.
"He's talking like he's Pennywise, the Dancing Clown… I don't know, but that's what comes to my mind, when he's talking." -Ladybug answered him. –"Plus, he seems to be obsessed with fire, and nothing else. He's not acting like an Akuma… he's acting more like…"
"A pyromaniac?" -Char Noir asked her.
"I was going to say like someone with some serious mental issues, but yeah…" -Ladybug said.
"Well, whether he's acting like a regular Akuma or a pyromanaic, or whatever, we've got to stop him." -Chat Noir said. –"Besides the two of us, who else is here?" -he asked Ladybug.
"Rena came with me. Other than her, I've seen no one else." -Ladybug told him.
"Hope the others don't take too long to get here, to lend us a hand." –Char Noir said. –"In the meantime, how about the two of us try and teach that guy that burning things isn't cool?" -he asked his girlfriend, with a smirk on his face.
"Right behind you, kitty cat." -Ladybug told him.
Ifrit was focused on what he was doing, that he did not hear the two heroes approaching him, from behind. It was not until Chat Noir spoke, that he realized that Ladybug was still alive, and that she had brought company with her.
"Hey, mister! Sorry to tell you this, but you better stop burning things like that, or we'll have to beat the crud out of you." -Chat Noir told him. –"So, can we count on your goodwill to stop this, and surrender?" -he asked him, as he held his staff in his hands and pointed it at Ifrit. –"It's your call."
"You too will burn… like all the others, you too will burn." -Ifrit laughed maniacally, as he fired a couple of fire balls at the two heroes.
Spinning his staff as fast as his hands and arms allowed him to, Chat Noir was able to supress the fire balls, as they hit the staff.
He recognized those green energy shields. They belonged to the only person in Paris who could create them… Carapace. Looking up, he saw his best-friend do a summersault in the air, just as he was about to land in front of him and Ladybug.
"Thanks for the assist, bro!" -Chat Noir told Carapace.
"My pleasure, bro." -Carapace said, as he landed next to the feline hero. –"Can't have you, and our fearless leader to be burned to a crisp by this guy." -he told them, when he saw Ifrit firing another fire ball at them.
Striking his tonfas against the ground, Carapace created an energy shield in front of him and his companions, which deflected Ifrit's attempt to turn them all to ashes. When failing to kill the heroes, an Akuma usually curses them, but this was not the case with Ifrit. He just stood there, continuing to laugh like crazy, and talking all kinds of crazy gibberish. It was the first time this happened to them, and they did not know how to properly react to it. Suddenly, they heard something moving from behind them. Fearing it was perhaps one of Hawk Moth's lieutenants, they turned around, ready to face it. But to their surprise, it was Rena Rouge who had managed to catch up with them.
"You guys are hard to keep up with." -Rena Rouge said, as she landed in front of her teammates. –"Hey, turtle boy." -she smiled at Carapace.
"Great to see you, foxy fox." -Carapace smiled back at Rena Rouge.
"I thought the two of you had run into one another, because, you know, you showed up with a couple of seconds apart from one another." -Ladybug said.
"No. I was looking for you, when I saw him jumping between buildings." -Rena Rouge said. –"So, tell me, what's the situation?" -she asked.
"Simple. That guy has more than a couple of screws loose, and that makes him more unstable, than most Akumas." -Ladybug said.
"So, business as usual, just a little bit more dangerous than usual, huh?" -Rena Rouge asked her, to which she nodded. –"Well, it's nothing we can't handle, right? Let's get this guy, beat him and save the day, so I can go to bed. We've got classes in the morning." -she said, as she spun her flute-staff with her right hand.
Up in the sky, carrying Louve Grise in her arms, Queen Bee arrived at the scene, ready to take on the Akuma, but just like it happened with her partner, she was surprised by the scenario in front of her eyes. As they descended, what they thought was bad, looked even worse. The streets were filled with numerous fire trucks, police cars and ambulances, and firefighters, police officers and paramedics had theirs hands full, trying to rescue everyone they could amongst that chaos. Looking down, Louve thanked the Heavens for her dad not being down there.
"It's a good thing dad had to go to that police seminar in Metz this week, and will only be back in two days." -Louve Grise thought to herself. –"At least, I know that he'll be safe." -she thought.
"Daddy will have the opposite of a field day tomorrow, if we don't stop this Akuma and restore everything to its proper state." -Queen Bee thought, as she imagined her dad, the Mayor, being forced to give a press conference, to tell everyone that she and the rest of the Miraculous Team had failed, and that Paris was one giant pile of ashes.
"I don't see any of the others. Maybe we're the first ones to arrive?" -Louve Grise asked the blonde.
"I don't see anyone either. And things don't look good." -Queen Bee told Louve Grise.
"They really don't." -Louve Grise agreed. –"I guess I'll be using my ice breath, a lot more than I thought I would, tonight." -she sighed, when she saw a person on a rooftop waving, requesting help. –"And we better get down to business. Drop me and go help that man on the rooftop there."
"Are you sure? We're still a little high." -Queen Bee told her.
"Don't worry. I may not have Adrien's feline charms, by I always land on my feet." -Louve said. –"Drop me and go help them." -she asked her.
"Alright, but be careful, okay, Sabrina?" -Queen Bee told her.
"You too, Chloe." -Louve Grise winked at bee heroine, as she let go of her.
Going down, the wolf heroine used her fans to direct her body, as well as to slow down her descent, by making use of the wind currents. She had learned that her fans could be used as makeshift gliders, during one of the training sessions, and ever since then, she had tried to make use of them that way, whenever she had to be dropped from a slightly high place. With the wind blowing against her face, she made her way towards a building's rooftop. Curling herself up like a ball, she landed on it, safe and sound.
"Well, I made it. Now, it's time for me to get down there and put out these flames." -Louve thought to herself, as she ran towards the ledge of the building, and used her claws to slide down the building's front.
Reaching the ground, Louve did not waste any time. Visualizing the situation in front of her, she quickly used her ice breath, together with her fans, and began to freeze the flames that were burning near her. The people that happened to be near her, applauded and cheered her, happy and relieved to know that one of the heroes of Paris had arrived to save the day. Those cheers and applauses filled her heart and boosted her morale.
"You go, Louve Grise!"
"You can do it, wolf girl!"
No matter how many times she was cheered for, or praised, it always felt like the first time that happened. She liked when that happened, because it made her feel special. And it did not matter when she was praised, or who praised her. It always felt good to feel wanted and appreciated. With her chest filled with that sentiment, she continued to put out the flames that were burning the first floor of several nearby buildings. It was only when the last flame was put out, that she allowed herself to stop.
"Alright, these aren't a problem anymore. Now, all I have to do is take care of the rest…" -Louve thought to herself, as she decided on where to go from there. –"Let's go left." -she said.
Determined to freeze and put our all the flames and fires she saw, the wolf heroine knew that it was not going to be an easy task, but she hoped for two things to happen, that would help her accomplish that task of hers. The first, was for her best-friend/partner to show up and give her a hand. Louve always felt a lot more confident, whenever Queen Bee was around her; the two of them made quite the team. As for the second, she hoped the rest of the team showed up to help dealing with the Akuma, who she knew had to be somewhere around there.
Running up the road, she passed a group of policemen, who were busy directing people to a safe location. Turning the corner, she saw the firefighters were busy with another fire, so she decided to give them a hand. Stopping next to them, she used ice breath to help put out the fire. In a matter of seconds, the fire was put out, and without even taking a second to catch her breath, Louve jumped over the team of firefighters and used her ice breath once more, to put out a fire that was just starting to ignite.
"There… Oh no, you don't! I'm not letting you burn!" -Louve Grise said, as she noticed a few trees that were burning, and decided to also put out the flames that were slowly burning them.
Taking a deep breath, she used her ice breath, putting out the flames, while also coating the trees with a thin layer of ice. When she stopped, and looked at the trees, all looked like they had jumped out of a children's book. Queen Bee, who arrived, just as Louve was doing that, could not help but to make a quick remark about it.
"Very beautiful. But don't you think you overdid it, just a little bit?" -Queen Bee asked her. –"I mean, encasing it in ice looks nice and all, but was it really necessary?" -she asked her.
"Perhaps a little." -Louve Grise chuckled. –"Still, I think it looks pretty. Very Christmassy." -she told the bee heroine.
"Indeed… but we're in April, remember? Christmas is still a few months away." -Queen Bee said. –"By the way, tell me, did you spot any of the others?" -she asked her.
"No, nothing." -Louve said, when she heard in an explosion, coming from above. –"Uh-oh, we've got get up there." -she said, pointing to the fire that originated from
"Come on, I'll carry you." -Queen Bee told her, as she grabbed her by the wrists and took off, pulling her. –"Let's hope the others get here soon, or we won't be able to solve all this alone." -she said.
"They will come. They're just running a bit late… actually, it looks like they're already here, look to the right" -Louve Grise told her.
Looking to her right, the bee heroine saw what her partner was talking about. Up on the rooftops, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace were chasing what looked like a flying fire ball.
"Looks to me like that thing is our Akuma." -Louve Grise said, when she noticed that Queen Bee was getting her too close to the flames. –"Hey, look out! I don't want to be roasted!" -she warned her.
"Sorry, my bad." -Queen Bee said, as she flew back, moving them away from the flames –"They're going to need our help. Let's get this done, and then, we're going to help them out." -she said.
And while the bee and the wolf heroines focused on putting out that fire, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace continued to chase Ifrit, who had begun to run through the rooftops, while shifting between his regular form and his fire ball form. Cackling and laughing like a maniac, Ifrit continued to run, while also throwing fire balls at the four heroes, who were forced to use many of their skills to evade those fire balls, while also trying to catch up with him. More than once, they were forced to stop to put out a small fire caused by Ifrit, making it hard to keep up.
Jumping over a chimney, the four of them believed that ifrit had given them the slip, only to find out that he was waiting for them. Shooting several fire balls at them, they dodged them and went straight for him. But before they could reach him, he once shifted forms, and dashed out of there. Shifting gears, the heroes began to run even faster than before, trying to catch up to Ifrit. But being an Akuma who did not play by the rules, Ifrit shifted back into his regular form, just to shoot one Jumbo-sized fire ball at the heroes, before shifting shape again. This move caught the heroes by surprise, and forced them to dodge the fire ball. They all managed to do so. All, except for Chat Noir, who was caught by surprise, when the fire ball changed direction and hit him. Seeing that happening, Ladybug gasped, worried about Chat, while continuing to run after Ifrit.
She wanted to go back and see if he was alright, but Carapace was faster, and did just that. In her heart, she feared that Chat might have gotten hurt, but then remembered that he was a lot tougher than people gave him credit for, as well as knowing that he would want her to continue to chase the Akuma, to stop him. Focusing on that, the scarlet heroine signalled Rena to keep going.
"I'm not letting this guy get away! You'll pay for what you did to Adrien, buster!" -Ladybug thought to herself, as she threw her yo-yo at Ifrit, trying to hit him. –"I missed! After this, I'll need to start practicing my aim a little more often." -she told herself.
As the scarlet and the fox heroines continued to chase Ifrit, Carapace was busy checking on Chat Noir. The fire ball had hit him on the left leg, but luckily, his outfit sustained the damage and protected him from getting burned. Even so, he decided to use his healing powers on the feline hero's leg, just to be sure.
"There. If you had anything burnt or broken, it's fixed." -Carapace said. –"Still, you better be careful. That guy's fire balls are really fast and they seem to have a mind of its own. I mean, it's the only logical thing to assume, after the one that hit you, changed trajectories like that." -he told him. –"Right now, I really wish Nathaniel hadn't gone visiting his grandmother. His powers could really come in hand to deal with both the Akuma and the fires he's causing."
"Me too. But you know what he told us. That she fell sick and they had to rush her to the hospital." -Chat Noir told him. –"The only thing we can do is hope she gets better, and that he comes back soon, while we deal with this
Getting up, Chat Noir took a moment to go to the building's ledge and look at the whole scenario. Things were not looking good. Ifrit was proving to be a formidable adversary, and the four of them were having problems handling him. The words Ladybug had told him about how Ifrit looked and sounded different
"I hate to say this, but Marinette's right. This guy's insane. There's definitely something about it that just doesn't seem right." -Chat Noir said. –"And if he keeps this up, he'll burn all of Paris, before the night is over." -he said, as he saw the flames consuming the top of the building to his left.
"That's not going to happen, bro. We're going to stop him, before he even gets the chance to leave this neighbourhood." -Carapace told him, as he picked up his tonfas from the ground. –"I don't know how we're going to stop him, but we are going to." -he said. –"And once the rest of the guys arrive, it will be easier, you'll see."
"Hopefully, you're right. Either way, we better start thinking of ideas, while we try and put out that fire." -Chat said, as he looked over the ledge and saw the firefighters experiencing some technical difficulties with the fire truck's turntable ladder. –"We've got to keep chasing that guy, but we can't just leave them, without lending them a hand." -he pointed out, as Carapace saw what was going on, on the ground. –"I wish Rose had arrived already. With her copies helping us, it would make things a lot easier."
"I agree. Still, there's no need for both of us to stay. You keep going after Ifrit. I'll stay and help them out." -Carapace said, -"Come on, go on. The girls will need your help. I'll catch up with you all. I just need a minute, maybe two to help them out." -he said.
"Okay, but don't take too long, Ninja Turtle! We're going to need you to catch that living flame!" -Chat said, as he dashed out of there. –"We could really use your powers to make it rain so we could put out all these fires and that creep, right about now, buddy." -he told himself, as he thought about Nathaniel, who he knew would not be joining him and the rest of the team.
And the first chapter is over... because of a little writer's block, it was hard for me to write this one. Still, I did manage to finish it, and although it did not come out as epic as I wanted it to, it's still good. Before anyone says it, the answer is no, I didn't copy the idea for my Akuma Ifrit from KivatheDCWizard (whose stories you should clearly check out, because they are really good). I had the idea for Ifrit since February 2019, when I came up with him... I wanted to use it on Sands of Time, but then I changed my mind about it, and I ended up only using him now.
Also, I want to explain why I chose the title "Miraculous Team: Connectons" for this one. You know that the word "connections" has a lot of uses and meanings. Well, this story will be exploring numerous kinds of connections, all of them different, and all of them important to the different characters... that's why I named it like that. The peacock miraculous isn't going to appear in this sequel, but it will be referenced a couple of times (The time for it to show up his approaching, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it).
As a final note, I already had people sending me PMs on DeviantArt, asking me if I have watched the New York special and if I'm going to use Majestia and the rest of the American heroes on my AU. And the answers for them are these: No, I still didn't have the time to watch it, but I already know certain parts of its story (that's what you get, when you are bombarded with spoilers, from people who don't care if they ruin a person's experience watching the special), and no, they won't be showing up on my AU, at least, not as the real deal. I've decided that they will show up as characters from a comic book that will be written to compete against the MIraculous Team comic book (doing that, it will give me an excuse to use the comic book store I came up with for this AU, and where Nathaniel and Marc will begin to spend their free time... and before I forget, thank you to those who told me that they liked the way I wrote the guys finding out about Nathaniel's crush on Marc and about him being gay. It warms my heart to know that you all liked it. Thank you). As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this AU of mine (you can even suggest Akumas).
P.S. I've been commissioning a couple of new illustrations for this AU, and they will soon be ready, includingn illustration for each of the sleepovers that happened in the previous fic, and a fresh new look at the kwamis I created for this saga. I will let you all know when they are ready, so you can see them.
P.P.S. I decided to dedicate this story to the portuguese voice actress Maria Camões, who's the portuguese voice of Chloe/Queen Bee, because she does an amazing job voicing her, as well as every other character she has been cast in (she's the portuguese voice of Elsa in Frozen, Taffyta Muttonfuge in Wreck-It Ralph, Judy Hopps in Zootopia, Brenda in Sausage Party, among many others).