Chapter Two – Akuma

Ladybug didn't even know her own real name, but she did know a few things:

1) Having super powers was great.

2) Being a superhero with no memory while a monster was chasing you was terrifying.

3) This Cat Noir guy was a total sweetheart. (And quite good-looking.)

Try as she might to not trip over her own clumisness, or figure out her powers, or not stutter over her words, she perpetually failed. And what did he do every time? Smiled kindly and told her to try again. Even though they were running for their lives from a giant monster, not once did he lose his patience or make her feel like a burden.

"We aren't getting anywhere just running away," she said, stopping at the end of what felt like the 500th hallway they'd run through.

"Got any other ideas in that wonderful brain of yours?" he asked. Even though she had no clue what she should be doing, and she was sure he was fully capable of comping up with a plan himself, he valued her input. She tried not to blush at the praise. (Judging by the smile creeping across his face, she was not successful.)

"I... I think I do," she finally said, pretending to study the skyline through a window that stretched from floor to ceiling and not her partner out of the corner of her eye. She could tell anyone who asked that Cat Noir's eyes were green, that the tip of his mask went juuuuust past the tip of his nose, and that a tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows when he was concerned. The weather outside the window she'd been staring at for thirty seconds? No clue.

Misinterpreting her silence as self-doubt, Cat Noir threw an arm around her and squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. She didn't correct his mistake.

"I'm sure it's a great idea," he said. "So let's hear it!"

Still not looking at him directly, Ladybug mumbled something about luring Oblivio out. "We know it's after us, so... I think it's time to set a trap? There's lots of smaller rooms that would work." Only when she finished did she realize that it had been quiet on their floor for too long. The monster was no longer following them. It had probably left the building to terrorize some innocents already. Her idea wouldn't work. And Cat Noir had been silent too, probably trying to figure out how to nicely tell her that her idea was stupid.

"We get to pick the playing field and set the rules," he said, one clawed finger tapping his chin. "I like it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I knew you'd think of something! Just tell me what you want me to do. I'll help however I can."

Ladybug stood there like an idiot as she listened to her heart thumping. How was he having this much of an effect on her? Technically, she barely knew him.

"LB?" The crease appeared between his eyebrows.

"Right!" she squeaked. "F-first, we should find a good spot. Right. Yeah."

"A good... spot?" [italics] He lightly touched the middle of her mask, right over her middle ladybug dot. It was one of the worst jokes she'd ever heard (she didn't even need her memory to know that), but she almost giggled anyway. Honestly, how smitten was she?

Determined not to think about feelings she may or may not have for her partner, Ladybug turned and was about to dash down the hallway to start looking, but Cat Noir stopped her with two words.

"Oh, no."

"What?" Ladybug twisted back to him so quickly she almost lost her balance. She caught herself on the window, then leaned close against it for a better look at what Cat Noir had seen.

"So that's why it's been so quiet," she whispered. Oblivio had made its way back to the roof. A gigantic, pulsing ball of purple and black light hovered above the building, the edges just visible in the tall window. A threat. No, an ultimatum.

"Well," Cat Noir said cheerfully. "Now you can prove to Hawk Moth that you don't even need your memory to be amazing, huh?" He bumped her shoulder, trying to get her attention, but she couldn't look away from the light.

"My Lady?"

She shook her head slightly, continuing to stare.

Sensing her fear, he took a step closer. "We can do this," he said.

"We couldn't do it the first time. I had my memory-" and her knowledge of how to use her powers, her skills, her confidence- "and I was still hit. We failed."

"Hey." His hand gripped hers and gently led her away from the window, breaking her horrified gaze. "We haven't failed yet. Oblivio hasn't hurt anyone or taken our miraculouses. There's no reason we can't still win." He put both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look him full in the face while he spoke earnestly. Something about it seemed familiar. "If you can't trust yourself yet, please trust me. I've seen you beat odds way worse than this, even on our first day. You [italics] can do this, okay?"

Ladybug took a deep breath, letting his reassurances and the warmth of his hands seep into her.

"Okay."

Author's note: And so, after Ladynoir July ends, we finally get chapter two. I had valid excuses, though. The rest of the ride should be smoother, update-wise.