Like all Makara attacks, this one started with the sensation of the air becoming heavy, humid. Sirens had sounded, and people had run. The police had mounted their horses and taken off, trying to get to the Makara as fast as possible. Less than ten minutes after the Makara showed up, Ladybug and Cat Noir entered the scene. (Nothing else that night could be called routine. Though no one knew it yet, there was change in the air. They would see soon enough, if they had enough energy left to open their eyes).
"The Akuma will show up soon," Marinette called to her partner. "We have to try and subdue the Makara." Cat Noir nodded and flew off, his staff a convenient tool for moving large distances. Marinette followed close behind, swinging on her trusty yo-yo. The buildings around her crumbled, the streets were torn asunder, but that didn't matter. Safety mattered. Buildings could be rebuilt, people could not be.
The Makara looked ahead of them, larger than most, and Marinete steeled herself against the stench. Usually, the smell of old fish was the worst part when dealing with a Makara. It assaulted her nose, and her eyes watered. She couldn't be distracted though, she had a job to do. She swung closer, not even bothering with the head. The police and the two superheroes had a fragile routine: the heroes would subdue the Makara, the cops would shoot until it dissolved. The heroes would save the Akuma, and the police could deal with the aftermath of it all.
She swung her yo-yo around the Makara's two legs. It was not unusual for a Makara to have two legs; she had seen all manner of Makara-two legs, four legs, no legs. Something about this creature, though, seemed different. It was, as she noted earlier, larger. It almost reminded her of a large bird, but with fins on the side. Strange silver droplets fell from it, coating the street in a strange water. The closer she got to the Makara, the more miserable she felt. It was almost as if it was draining the very fight out of her. The water-like substance flooded the streets, and Cat Noir tested one of the puddles. He looked at her, shaking his head. It wasn't sticky, like Mylene's slime had been. What exactly was this thing?
Marinette pulled at her yo-yo, but the Makara was too large for her to simply bring down. She'd have to go for its head. She swung her yo-yo up, and it wrapped around the bird-like creature's body. She gagged as she landed on its back. No feathers for this bird, only fish scales and a heavy odor. The Makara moved, but its size hindered its speed. As long as she was careful, Marinette wouldn't fall.
Above, dark clouds rolled in, and it started to drizzle. She scowled at the sky. Like she didn't have enough to deal with: a Makara, an Akuma, and now rain? By the looks of it, it might just be a storm. She hadn't heard anything about a storm coming in. Then again, the morning weather report had been odd. Two girls had been competing for the spot of the news channel's weather girl. She hadn't watched the whole thing, but she was pretty sure neither girl would get the position as the weather girl-though, from the fight she had witnessed on the screen, either one of them could have had a promising boxing career.
The rain came down heavier, and Marinette reached the Makara's neck. Like a stork, it was long and thin. She used her yo-yo to wrap around and pull herself up. It was getting harder and harder for her yo-yo to find purchase, but that didn't matter, she couldn't give up. The neck seemed to be the source of all the strange water, and the higher up the creature's neck Marinette climbed, the more her misery grew. It was more than misery-it was a sense of complete dread. Her body suddenly weighed a ton, and all her shortcomings came to mind.
She grit her teeth and pushed on. It didn't matter if she was finding it hard to breathe-she had a job, an obligation. She couldn't fail the millions of people relying on her to keep them safe. She kept climbing, cursing when the strange silvery water made her slip back to the bottom of the creature's neck. It kept ambling along, and with each failure to see the top of the neck, to find its head, Marinette felt more and more of her energy leaving her body.
"Ladybug!" Her partner leaped to her side. "There's something wrong with the water."
"I know," She panted. "I'm exhausted."
"No," he said. "It's more than that. I couldn't tell you exactly what it is, but everyone who's been near the water, or touched it has been...different."
Marinette couldn't even find it in herself to question what he meant by that. She pointed up the neck. "Do you think you could get to the head? I'll hold your staff. Trust me, you don't want to touch its neck. I think the head is the water's source, and the neck is absolutely drenched."
Cat Noir looked at her for a moment, but nodded. His staff extended, and he hung on to the top. She kept it steady, feet slipping on the wet scales of the Makara's back. The rain steadily got worse, nearly drowning Marinette as she held the staff. The wind picked up, the staff wobbled. Cat Noir dropped down next to her, his face white.
"There's no head," he said, voice shaky.
"What do you mean?" She asked, frowning at him. "Let me go up, I'll check."
"No!" His eyes were panicked, and he clung to her shoulders. "You can't. Don't go up there. There's no head. No face. No eyes, no mouth."
"No weak points," Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. "We have to tell the police."
The rain was now a downpour, almost painful as it came down. The police's teeth were chattering, and Marinette went to tell them the news of the Makara when the Akuma appeared. Marinette couldn't be sure, no one could ever be sure, but it seemed as though the Akuma was one of the girls from the weather station fight that morning.
Cat Noir jumped after her, hitting the girl with his staff like a baseball bat. He sure did like to do that. The girl went flying, and Marinette struggled to catch her breath. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out how or why the Makara's water was hindering her as much as it was.
"Stay away from the Makara," an officer ordered when she got the story out. "It's too dangerous for you to go up without a backup plan. Keep the Akuma busy."
And that's what they tried. For close to an hour, Marinette obeyed the police's course of action. She watched as building after building was destroyed, the sense of dread and defeat rising up within her. She was a hero. She had been given these powers for a reason, she was sure. And, she was useless. She couldn't do a single thing to help those people down there. She had absolutely nothing she could do. What was the point of being called a superhero if she couldn't be a hero, if she couldn't save anyone?
She ran through the streets, eyes to the sky for the Akuma. As fast and turbulent as the winds were, they didn't seem to bother her one bit. In her hands was an umbrella. She swung it in a circle, almost bored, contemplating what to do next. Marinette flung her yo-yo at the umbrella, hoping against all common sense that the Akuma wouldn't see the bright red yo-yo sailing towards her, and would allow herself to be defeated. It didn't work out that way. Marinette jumped, using the extra strength afforded by the suit and the transformation to get close to the Akuma. She was flung to the ground by a strong burst of wind.
Her partner came back from trying with the Makara again. He was so stubborn. He kept going back, knowing that the police wouldn't allow him to help, knowing there was nothing he could do to help. He glanced at her. Though thirty feet away, she could see the fear in his eyes. And then she felt the anger rising up inside of her. These damned Makara and Akuma. They came more frequently now than they had a few months ago, and it was taking a toll on everyone. She wouldn't have it-she couldn't stand it anymore. He went to attack the Akuma, but it held out the umbrella, both hands on the handle. A strange smell gathered around her, and there was a flash at the end of the umbrella. Marinette couldn't look; it was too bright.
Marinette's exposed skin stung as the rain continued to pelt down from the dark skies. Thunder rumbled in the distance, horses squealed in fear, and the police shouted orders at each other. Marinette rubbed the water out of her eyes and flicked the short, red hair out of her face. Next to her, the building rumbled and her partner slid down from where he had landed.
Cat Noir had a scratch running down his neck, and blood slipped out of it. A strange feeling of guilt rolled through her stomach, adding to the rising anger she felt towards the Akuma. Cat Noir might be her partner, but she had been doing this longer. No one had told her so, but she knew, deep down, that it was her duty to protect him. And right now, she was failing miserably. She felt hopeless and pathetic, and the foreign feelings were not welcome; they sparked inside of her, driving back the odd helplessness she'd felt whenever she glanced towards the Makara.
She glanced to the side, where the Makara was slowly trudging through the street. Again, she couldn't help but notice how strange it was, compared to other Makara. Long legs reminded her of a bird, which held up the circular, solid body on top. This one had two fins on its side, almost like ostrich wings, and no visible head on top of a short stump of a neck. Silvery liquid flowed freely from the creature, and it felt like the water was running down her own back.
Thus far, the cops had aimed for eyes and mouths when trying to defeat the Makara. With those targets unavailable, they had been having quite a difficult time figuring out a new strategy. Well, it was late, and she was done waiting for them. She'd tried to respect their wishes, done as they'd asked, distracted and attempted to defeat the Akuma while ignoring the Makara. For some reason, that wasn't working, and they couldn't think of a new plan. Marinette would simply have to think of one for them.
"It shoots out lightning," Cat Noir panted, looking as exhausted as she felt after looking at the Makara. The air around him smelled like ozone, and his suit seemed to smoke a little. "Her stupid umbrella shoots lighting."
"Interesting," Marinette mumbled, glancing around the gray city. She had decided earlier that it was too dangerous to swing around. The rain made it hard for her yo-yo to grip onto anything. She hadn't felt like breaking an arm, so she had been stuck running for the past hour as she and Cat Noir had attempted to subdue the Akuma.
Marinette took another glance at Cat Noir. His teeth were chattering, his black hair plastered around his face, and she couldn't even tell how many bruises he had. Suddenly, worrying about a broken arm seemed trivial. He was her partner, he relied on her. It wasn't fair to him to hold back her powers on the off chance she might get hurt. It also wasn't fair to him to have a partner who wasn't totally there during the battle. The influence of the Makara continuously made its presence known, and it took a great deal of willpower for Marinette to stay standing, to not just sink to her knees and weep. What was going on with that Makara?
"You can't stay here," Marinette said firmly. "Leave." Her heart pounded in her chest. The Akuma could shoot out lighting and fly. The Makara was basically undefeatable. She couldn't allow him to stay. On one hand, she wanted to see him turn around and propel himself away with his staff; she wanted him to go towards safety, away from her pathetic attempts at heroism. On the other hand, she desperately wished he would stay, tell her he had a plan to defeat the Makara. She knew neither outcome was likely. Her mind spun, looking for possible ways to get out of this fight in one piece, and victorious.
"Well, I can't go there, either," he motioned towards the Makara. "Believe me, I tried. They just run me away, and I'm tired of arguing with people who are supposed to be on my side."
"No, I know that," Marinette rubbed her arms, shivering. She made the mistake of looking towards the Makara. Suddenly, her mind was void of the battle, and overtaken by her innermost desires. She wished she were in bed, wished this was someone else's responsibility, wished the Akuma wouldn't have made it rain so close to winter. And with those desires came the realization: she was…
Marinette shook her head, tearing her gaze from the strange Makara. She needed to focus. One thing at a time. "I mean, you need to go home."
Cat Noir narrowed his eyes at her. "You know that's not going to happen. I fought too hard to be accepted as your partner, and you're not going to push me away now."
"You're in danger," she said crisply, pulling out her yo-yo. She'd been playing it safe for an hour. Broken bones be damned, she'd end this and see that Cat Noir would go home. "You're hurt. You need to leave."
"I'm fine," He insisted. "You're in danger, too," he pointed out, flicking her forehead, right on a newly formed lump. She winced and scowled at him. "Frown all you like, but shut up. I'm staying." He leaped away, staff extending to propel him along. Marinette glared. Stubborn boy. She'd just have to end this as quickly as she could; she needed to keep him safe. She wasn't sure why, but somehow, it was a priority for her. Tikki tried whispering something to her, but it was somehow impossible to hear over the rapid beating of her heart. She was...
The Akuma flew overhead. Just like most of the other Akuma, it was covered in hair, and wings sprouted from its back. A telling red glow lit on her face. Other than than, however, she wore a surprisingly frilly dress, and in her hands was an umbrella. Marinette pursed her lips. Apparently, one which could shoot lighting. Inspiration, like lighting, struck.
With a vague plan forming in her head, she took a chance and leapt into the air, throwing her yo-yo towards the Akuma. Just as before, she knocked the magical instrument out of the way. Cat Noir came up behind Ladybug, caught her, and continued towards the Akuma.
"Careful," he mumbled softly. He landed on a balcony and set her down. He was obviously not happy with her, but that didn't matter. They were partners. You protect your partner, no matter what. If only he would let her protect him, if only he would leave and let her handle this-she could figure this out without him.
"My yo-yo is useless today," She groused, fingers numb from how cold she was. "I need to get close, though. That's the only way this will work," She rubbed her face, trying to clear her vision. A small roof gave her a moment of respite from the relentless rain. She glanced at the sky. The Akuma was still flying, occasionally flying to the clouds and making it rain harder or softer. If all weathermen had that sort of power, they might actually be accurate in their predictions once in a while.
"Sounds like you have a plan, and seems like you forgot to let me in on it," Cat Noir was watching the Makara with a grim look in his eyes. His voice trembled, and she knew exactly how he was feeling as he watched the Makara. The strange emptiness, the melancholy-she had no idea why the Makara would inspire such feelings. It stomped on another building, all the bullets reflecting off its oddly scaly body. Cat Noir's green eyes glowed in the gloom of the day, his face bleak. She reached forward and pulled at his face. He couldn't look at it-it would trap him.
"We need to get the Akuma to blast the Makara." Marinette said to her partner. She couldn't honestly see much of him past the mask and the long, unruly hair, but she could see enough to notice how tired his eyes were. He was exhausted. The Makara had that effect. He should just leave, just go home. Irritation sparked within her. Why the hell could he never listen to her?
Cat Noir nodded. "Don't be mad-I'm about to throw you."
"Wha-aaaaaaaa!" She didn't mean to scream, really. It was just hard not to when she was suddenly hurled through the air towards a powerful Akuma which could aim lightning at people and beat you with an umbrella. She crashed into the Akuma and both of them tumbled towards the ground. Marinette fought with everything she had to keep the umbrella pointed away from her and towards the Makara. "Just shoot it," she demanded impatiently, but the Akuma had no intention of listening to her. Just like a certain partner of hers.
The Akuma righted herself and flew into the air, Marinette hanging onto her legs. Cat Noir was probably trying to think of a strategy for the Akuma, or he would have been right there with her, trying to help her. Marinette dragged herself up the Akuma's body, tossing her head so her hair wouldn't block her vision anymore. The hairs which covered the Akuma's skin prickled at her face, and she had to resist the urge to scratch her cheeks.
The red covering the Akuma's face glowed brighter for a second, and it seemed like someone else controlled the umbrella. The young Akuma spun to face the Makara. She leveled the umbrella towards the creature, and lighting shot out the end of it.
The blast hit the Makara, which stumbled back. It crashed into a building, stone and metal falling to the streets, and the ground trembled. Then, an eerie sound echoed through the city. It couldn't be from the Makara-logically, she knew that. It didn't have a face, let alone a mouth. It couldn't be making the noise. It was impossible. Something inside of her, though, told her that it had to be. The deep sound rumbled throughout the city, seeming to originate from nowhere and yet surrounded her completely.
For a second, Marinette was trapped. She couldn't move, couldn't think. There was nothing inside of her, like she was a shell of a human. Just an outline of something which used to live. The city was covered in gray clouds, rain pelted the asphalt and buildings below, though the sound was muffled, muted. Every few moments lightning flashed and thunder was soon to follow. The giant Makara was little more than a looming silhouette in the distance. The sound it made...she could feel not only her own hair stand on end, but also the hair on the Akuma.
The moment passed, and Marinette was freed. The sound of harsh rain came back at full force, and Marinette shivered. What had happened? Those emotions…they were not her own. Disgust rolled through her body, the violation disturbing her more than she would have liked to admit. To ignore the Makara and its ongoing wail of sorrow, she gladly welcomed the distraction of the Akuma.
The Akuma held the umbrella like a bat and swung it at Marinette's face. This was her chance. She grabbed it and pulled, using her other hand to desperately fling her yo-yo to the side. She prayed it would catch on something, anything. The sound coming from the Makara continued to echo through the streets, grating on her and inspiring an irrational fear. The Akuma glowered down at her, the buzz of its wings impossible to hear over the howling of the wind. Marinette glared right back, outraged that the Akuma had the nerve to look at her like she was a nuisance. The growing anger warred with the dampening sorrow from the other creature.
Her yo-yo went taught, probably caught on a lamppost. She pulled with her arm, the muscles burning with such extreme use. Her legs caught the wire, and she attempted to pull the two of them towards the ground, like she was climbing a rope in gym class, but with just her legs. The Akuma pulled away from her, its wings working furiously to be free, its body wriggling in attempt after attempt to unlatch Marinette. Ladybug grit her teeth; she would not allow this thing free, not when she had it in her grasp.
The string jerked, and her gaze went to the end of the yo-yo. Three cops were doing their best to pull her down, but they were struggling. The Akuma's wings were strong, and the wind seemed to be trying to keep the two of them in the air.
Another body slammed into the Akuma, and Marinette feared that she would be hit loose. She let go of the yo-yo and clung to the umbrella for dear life. This probably wasn't the smartest choice of action, but she hadn't had much time to think through her options. Her hands tightened on the umbrella, and she knew that if she fell to the ground from this height, she likely wouldn't survive.
She pulled at the umbrella, distracting the Akuma, and Cat Noir aimed his staff at a nearby building. It extended, and the three of them were forced through the air, only to crash into the side of a building. Cat Noir grunted. He had taken the brunt of the hit. The Akuma used him as a cushion, and Mariette clung to the Akuma. The staff was like a shower rod. One end of it rested on the building opposite them, the other rested just below Cat Noir's legs. He sat on the staff, struggling to keep his balance with the Akuma determined to get away, and Marinette hanging onto her. He groaned, and wrapped one arm around the Akuma's wings, keeping her pinned against him. Marinette saw a glimpse of another bruise on the side of his head. She should have forced him to leave. He shouldn't be here. She felt an irritated vein throb at her temple. She wanted him to leave-to be safe; didn't he care about himself at all?
Marinette, seeing the Makara's unencumbered movements through the city, renewed her determination to destroy the thing, struggling against the renewed wave of sorrow which threatened to overcome her. She tried to call forth anger. If fear was as cold as the rain, anger would be fire. How could she allow herself to become this weak? She had been given this power, she had the lives of not only herself and her partner in her hands, but also those of her friends, her family. She would allow herself to fail them because the Makara had doused her with magical sad water? Absolutely not. She used all her strength to pull at the umbrella and aim it towards the creature. The Akuma, desperate to keep it on her person, yanked on it with both hands. The umbrella warmed, and a flash of light exploded from the end of it.
Shouts of dismay and shock were heard from the ground, and Marinette blinked in disbelief. Next to the Makara had been a building. It would have been destroyed, had the umbrella done what Marinette had expected it would. Instead, it was now completely encased in a thick layer of ice.
"Ice?" She demanded, resisting the urge to throttle the Akuma. "It shoots out ice now?" Marinette grabbed the umbrella, doing her best to wrestle it free from the Akuma. Something shifted, and Cat Noir's arms trembled.
"Calm down!" Cat Noir yelled over the sound of the storm. "You're slipping!" It was true. She couldn't use her hands to grip onto anything, so she had wrapped her legs around the Akuma to keep her up. Unfortunately, the exhaustion which came from the Makara was making its way deep into her muscles and bones. Her legs were giving up, and she was gradually slipping down, away from the Akuma and her partner. Cat Noir reached down to pull her up, letting go of the Akuma's wings. The Akuma let go of the umbrella with one hand, about to press it on Cat Noir's chest as a way to push off, to get into the air again. Marinette pulled herself up and her head crashed with Cat Noir's face. She ignored his cry of pain and twisted the hand away. Her head throbbed, but she forced herself to focus instead on the task at hand. Keep the cat safe, keep the Akuma from harming him.
"Go home, Cat Noir," she seethed, trying to keep the hand away from herself and her partner, and having mild success. "Listen to me. It would be better for us all if you weren't here." Obviously, he didn't leave. Why would he have listened to advice which was for his own benefit? Only fools do that, apparently.
"I'm not your employee, remember?" He growled, and Marinette didn't have it in her to say any more. She was exhausted. She blinked the rain drops out of her eyes, and Cat Noir reached down to the umbrella. She pushed him to the side, once again aiming the umbrella away-back at the Makara. The red light around the Akuma's face lit up again, and both hands were on the umbrella. Marinette took a chance. For a split second, her hands let go of everything they were holding onto. Her balance wavered, her heart beat rapidly in her chest, and her breathing came out in short gasps. Then, her hands were over the Akuma's. Woah. That had not been fun. She would definitely go out of her way to never do that again.
It took everything in her to not recoil at the odd, hairy feeling of fur covered hands. Every last reserve of strength was sent to her hands, and her legs loosened further. Cat Noir, ever faithful and helpful Cat Noir, reached over the Akuma and held her up by the back of her costume. Her legs danged in the open air, but not for a second did the fear he would drop her. She did fear that more ice would come out of the umbrella instead of the lightning they so desperately required.
Waves of heat traveled through the umbrella, and dozens of shots of lighting were fired at the Makara. The stench of the Makara was fading away, and with one last hit of lighting, it disappeared completely. Marinette could physically feel a layer of heaviness, of dread, lift off of her shoulders, and it was suddenly so much easier to breathe.
The light around the Akuma's face once again dimmed, and her face scrunched into a scowl. It let go of the umbrella with one hand, and reached towards Cat Noir. Marinette planted her feet on the side of the building, readjusted her grip on the umbrella, and pulled it away from the Akuma. Bracing her hip against her partner's staff, she swung it and hit it on the Akuma's head. She fell to the ground, where she was immediately taken into police custody.
Marinette started falling, feeling completely liquid. A hand clutched at the back of her suit again, and she was suspended in air for a moment before she collected herself, grabbed onto his staff, and pulled herself up to his level. They both dropped lightly onto a balcony a few dozen feet below them.
"We have to purify the Akuma," he mumbled, sounding pained. She winced. His nose was bleeding and he pinched it to try and slow the flow.
"Why did you stay? I told you to leave." Marinette didn't have the energy to put any bite behind her words. She covered her eyes with her hand. The cold and wet hair was giving her a headache. "You need to listen to me next time I tell you to go." She stopped talking. She felt him tense next to her, and she could tell he was angry. Cat Noir put his hands over hers, the suit's sharp nails digging into her fingers.
"You said we were partners," his voice was hard. "Partners don't just abandon each other when things get hard. I'm not leaving, so stop asking me to!"
"Come on," she mumbled, shaking her head. Just a few more minutes, then she could go home. She was so tired, and so disappointed in herself. She remembered the feeling of the Makara. She doubted she would ever forget. She had been besieged by wave after wave of emotion she usually left for others to feel. And through it all, she had been forced to accept it. She was… She shook her head, water dropped from the ends of her hair. "We should get someone to look at your nose."
"Hold it!" He didn't let go of her hand, and she didn't want to fight him. She was just too tired. She just wanted to leave, as soon as possible. "Quit ordering me around!" he ordered. "You're not the boss here, Ladybug, and I'm tired of you acting like you're better than me!"
"I don't think I'm better than you! I'm not!" Her eyes and tone sharpened, her muscles tensed, and she took a step forward. She looked at his face again. "Not at all." She looked away. "Partners look after each other," she choked out. "Look at you."
Her eyes scanned the city. The rain continued to pour and kept any dust from the destruction from flying in the air. The fresh smell of the seashore wafted through the air, and Marinette felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness and loss.
It was the silence. Since the first hit the Akuma had landed on the Makara, the Makara's song of pain had echoed through the streets of Paris. Now it was gone. The song had been so invasive-it had forced Marinette to confront what she did not want to know about herself. She had hated the song, was disgusted by what it had done to her. Yet, now that it was gone, she wanted something to fill in the silence it left behind.
She shivered as she remembered the noise, the monster, the overwhelming sense of hopelessness. The only reason they even defeated it was because of the easily manipulated powers of the Akuma. She studied her partner. Her battered, bruised, bleeding partner. What would have happened if the Akuma hadn't been there? His eyes, previously a hard, neon green, somehow seemed to have softened.
He stared at her for a second, silent. The police seemed too tired to tell them to hurry up and purify the Akuma. Marinette took another breath, closing her eyes. The rain pattered around them. The roof of the building they were on had been damaged, so the droplets landed on her already soaked hair.
"You were right," she said. The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off. Her muscles were jelly, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to keep her eyes open. "We need to go down there and purify the Akuma."
"You're shaking," he said quietly. His grip on her hand loosened, but she didn't pull away. She didn't want to. For some reason, the idea of being even the slightest bit further from another person right now seemed like a terrible idea. She was so cold, she wanted that warmth. She was...
"So are you," she said, speaking slowly thanks to her numb lips. "It's cold." Marinette felt tears sting her eyes. She blinked them away, hoping he hadn't seen.
The constant battling with Makara was not easy. They were huge, destructive, and did not hesitate the slightest bit before harming anymore. Dealing with Akuma at the same time was proving to be a little too much. She was just so tired. More than anything right now, she just wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her parents while they made hot chocolate and sat together to watch a cheesy movie. She wanted to smell the proving bread, hear her mom argue with her brothers.
Having the power to control the future of her city was a great privilege, a great burden, one she was no good at. Her city was slowly being destroyed, and nothing she was doing was helping-not even a little. And on top of failing to save Paris, she couldn't even protect her partner.
Cat Noir shook his head. "No, it's different." He studied her, watching her closely. Her muscles shook. Suddenly, just standing was exhausting. She wanted to leave. "Sorry I was so angry. I didn't realize…" He was silent for a moment, and she felt him tremble, too. The Makara's song weaved through her head again, and she hated what it made her feel, what it made her realize. She was..."You were afraid?"
"I still am." She dreaded the next Makara attack. Each creature was unique, and horrifying, and she had nightmares from some of the battles. If she never saw another Makara again, it would be too soon. But that wasn't to be the case. No one knew what the Makara were, let alone where they came from. There was no way to defeat them without getting to the source.
They didn't say anything more for a while, just stood in companionable silence on the balcony. Eventually, the Akuma came to, the police insisted that the two of them come down and do their job. Cat Noir held the umbrella the Akuma had been yielding, attempting to break it in half.
"That won't work," an officer called from the side. "We already tried-" The man was interrupted by the crack of the umbrella. Marinette's muscles screamed in protest as she threw the yo-yo up to the air, purifying the butterfly.
"Hmm, maybe you weren't trying hard enough?" Cat Noir grinned tiredly at the officer. The man frowned and started to say something, but one of his brothers in blue put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"He's just a kid, Claude. He's been out here for a while, let him be."
Both officers walked away. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to the victim of the possession. They usually were very confused and liked to talk to someone before going home. Cat Noir's ring beeped.
"I have to go," he turned to her. She nodded, embarrassed about earlier. She did her best to act as though nothing had happened.
"I'll stay with her for a while. I don't have a time limit today."
Cat Noir looked up at the sky and opened the umbrella in his hands. "It doesn't look like the rain will let up any time soon," he said. "I'm not sure if you'll be dry when you transform back, but in case." He handed her the broken umbrella. "Take care, Ladybug. You'll be ok. I'll make sure of that. Both of us-we'll keep each other safe."
(Almost an hour later, she was free to detransform. Shockingly enough, she transformed back completely dry. As she walked home, she held the umbrella over her head. The broken stick dug into her palm, and it was an ugly orange color, but when she entered her house, she couldn't bring herself to throw it away. It remained tucked in her closet, away from questioning eyes, for many more months.)
"You'll like her," Marinette said. "She doesn't go to our school, but she used to be Kim and my neighbor when we were kids." Alya nodded, studying her phone. "She might seem really serious at first, but don't let that get to you, she-"
"Look!" Alya thrust the phone in Marinette's face. Marinette pushed the phone away from her eyes.
"Stupid youth; spending so much time on your phones really messes with your manners," she took the phone from her friend's hand and scanned the page on display.
"Alright, Grandma," Alya rolled her eyes, still obviously excited for Marinette to see whatever was on her phone. "But look! Over 1000 likes on my latest post! And almost 600 comments! My blog is taking off!" She squealed and practically jumped with excitement. "I never thought I'd get this kind of attention! I mean, I'd hoped, obviously, but I never actually thought it would happen!"
"Congrats," Marinette said absent-mindedly, scrolling through the blog. Red, red, red everywhere. She looked up, "Where's Cat Noir?"
Alya raised an eyebrow. "He's in a few of the pictures. I can show you, if you want."
"Can you have more of him on the blog? It's...Ladybug doesn't work alone. She has a partner."
Alya snorted. "Yeah, but it doesn't really seem like she wants him there."
Marinette kept her mouth closed. There was really no way she could refute that statement without Alya figuring out she was Ladybug. And that would be terrible. Marinette would never be caught dead in that outfit. Someone would have to torture her before she admitted that she had been the one crusading around Paris in a literal ladybug spandex suit.
"Well, I like him," she said. "Can you put more of him on your blog? You've got cameras all over town, so I bet getting pictures won't be that hard."
Alya smiled at her, a cheeky glint in her eyes. "You think he's pretty,"
Marinette blinked. Whatever reaction she had expected from Alya, that had not been it.. "No! It's just...your blog is about the heroes of Paris-Cat Noir should be there, too."
Alya continued as if Marinette hadn't said anything. "I've got to admit, the whole 'all-black-leather-badboy' image sort of gets to me, too. The blog could definitely use the eye candy."
"He's not just eye candy," Marinette defended. "He's a vital part of Paris's defense against the Makara and Akuma! He's loyal and dependable and he tries his best," Marinette turned away, ears burning in embarrassment, "He sticks around, even when Ladybug yells at him and tells him to leave." She couldn't believe she spoke to him like that. In fact, she couldn't remember a single nice thing she'd ever said to him. Poor guy, she'd try to be more patient next time, less harsh.
Alya grinned, bumping her with her shoulder. "Someone has a celebrity crush!" she sang out. "And it's not meeee!"
"Who has a crush?" A new girl joined the group.
"Don't you start," Marinette glared at her. The new girl looked a lot like Marinette. Her hair color was the same, her sense of style was the same, and they were similar heights. Back in elementary school, Chloe had forced the two girls to play together all the time, saying that Asians should stick together. It had been a horrible thing to say, but Marinette hadn't bothered picking a fight about it because it had been more fun to play with Kagami than argue with Chloe.
"Alya, this is Kagami. Kagami, this is the new girl in our class. She's a nerd like Max, but she hides it better."
"You made a friend?" Kagami asked, surprised. "And it wasn't a dare, bet, or because you were put in time out until you were nice to her?"
"Ok," Alya laughed. "That was oddly specific, and I need a story."
Kagami nodded. "Of course. Have you met Kim? Marinette used to chase him around our neighborhood throwing sticks at him like spears. He ran to Mr. Dupain crying, and he put her in time out until she learned to play nice."
"Oh my god," Alya breathed, eyes twinkling. "You're a gold mine! I need more stories! And pictures, if you have any."
Kagami nodded once, as serious as if Alya had proposed a business deal. "You will buy me lunch?" Alya agreed, and the three girls were off, Marinette suddenly kicking herself for introducing the two to each other.
"What were you saying about Marinette liking someone?" Kagami questioned later in the afternoon, tilting curious eyes at her childhood friend.
"Alya is just being stupid," Marinette grumbled, still feeling betrayed by Kagami's loose tongue. She had sworn she would never tell anyone about the bird in the cupboard story, or how she'd laughed so hard at Mr. Brodeur's face that she had peed herself. Yet, the stories had been spoken of, and now Alya knew.
"It's Cat Noir," Alya said, sipping on her drink. "It's one of those celebrity crushes, but its cute."
"It's not a celebrity crush!"
"Uh huh, sure," Alya said before turning to Kagami. "She was going on and on about how pretty he is-"
"That was you," The other girls ignored Marinette.
"-and how loyal and hardworking or something."
"Well, it's true!" Marinette defended. "He's been trying to help every since he met her, and he doesn't back away when she yells at him, and any time he talks to the Akuma victims, he's so kind and patient, and he's just so nice in general and-"
Kagami was staring. Marinette cut herself off and clenched her jaw. She forced herself to sip her iced tea.
"You're right," Kagami said, sounding awed. "I can't remember she had a celebrity crush who wasn't a designer of some sort."
"At least our girl has good taste," Alya said, sliding closer to Kagami to show her pictures of Cat Noir she'd been filing through to post on the blog ("thanks to a request from a certain someone.")
Marinette shook her head. They didn't know what they were talking about. She didn't like the guy, she just admired him. He had been unfailingly loyal, so determined, so present. She knew she could count on him, no matter what. Even when she was in a bad mood and snapped at him, he was there for her, and he would never leave her to face danger on her own.
He'd said...he'd said they would protect each other. That meant he would protect her, and allow her to protect him. A warm glow settled in her chest. She couldn't remember the last time someone had offered to protect her. Her mom certainly hadn't thought such promises necessary since she had gotten her tattoo and spent a few summers with her uncles and their families. Her friends had never seen her in a position where they would need to look after her, and neither had her family. Even Aunt Marie, as protective as she was, had never said she would protect Marinette; she had only given Marinette the advice she deemed necessary for a successful future.
She smiled to herself. It was nice, knowing that someone out there was thinking of her safety and worried for her. It certainly made it better that he had such a sense of humor. All the odd remarks about the Akuma, the quick rebuttals he had for the police-if she wasn't so stressed out whenever she transformed, she would have loved to just talk to him, to hear more of his jokes, to hopefully make him laugh at hers. She wanted to sit with him, to talk to him, get to know him, go on dates-
Marinette choked on her tea. This was awful. Alya was right. She liked the guy. She slammed her head onto the table. Neither of her friends even looked at her. Some friends. Now what was she supposed to do?
She took a deep breath. She'd simply have to act like it wasn't there. It was impossible to date him, she didn't even know who he was, and she wasn't about to ask. If she asked him, he would ask her, and she'd already decided that until someone tortured it out of her, she would not admit to wearing that god awful spandex suit. She would simply have to get over it. It would be easy.
