We return with the wild adventures of Paris's greatest heroes! Please enjoy! :)


"Hmm.." Marinette frowned as she looked around. "That's odd. I could have sworn the cheese shop was this way, but maybe I took a wrong turn. All these new streets can get so confusing! They all look the same."

"Are we lost, my lady?" Chat Noir smirked. "There's no shame in admitting it."

"I'm not lost! I'm just having some trouble with directions. I'll get us out of here in no time. All we have to do is turn this way... or was it that way... or maybe we should backtrack..."

"Marinette..."

"Hush! I'm trying to think!" Marinette shouted, holding her finger up to Chat Noir's lips. "When you've lived in Paris as long as I have, it's hard to get lost. I know exactly where we are... probably,"

Her tone sounded confident, but Chat Noir could tell she was completely lost. As she walked around in circles trying to pick a direction, Chat Noir chuckled to himself. "That attitude is oddly adorable," he laughed. "Her pride will get her far, but I don't know if it will get us back home. It might be time for Chat Noir to intervene."

"Listen princess," Chat Noir announced, pulling out his baton proudly. "Let's check out an overhead view. With this, we can make it back in seconds. Care to hop on? It'll be a first class ride."

"I thought we were trying not to attract attention, Chat. That's what the hood was for, remember?"

"Oops! Sorry," Chat Noir replied sheepishly. He hooked his baton back on his belt and sighed. "What's the point in having magic powers if you can't use them... We just might have to hop on a trolley instead with the way things seem to be going."

"Wait! I think I know where we are now. Over there is the clock shop that Alix's father runs and right there is the flower cart owned by Rose's family. That means we aren't too far from the main road. We just need to go this way!" Marinette whipped around and pointed into the direction behind Chat Noir.

He raised an eyebrow and sighed. "So we have to go back the way we came?"

"Don't be so pouty," Marinette giggled, giving Chat Noir a playful flick on the forehead. "We'll be back before you know it. C'mon! I'm still starving!"

"Excuse me, citizens. Have you seen any criminals?" a deep voice boomed from behind Marinette and Chat Noir. They both slowly turned around to see a large, looming figure towering over them. The man appeared to be a royal guide except he was twice the size of a normal person and his face was completed covered by a helmet. His voice was oddly choppy.

Marinette jumped in front of Chat Noir who lowered his head. "Nope!" Marinette smiled, putting her hands behind her back. "We haven't seen any! Sorry!"

The guard nodded and walked away, each footstep shaking the ground. His hand never left his sword which was a signal that he was ready to fight at a moment's notice. As he left, Marinette tapped Chat Noir on the shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"Something isn't right," she said in a hushed tone. "That man is no normal guard. It has to be an akuma!"

"Really?" Chat Noir moaned. "But I'm hungry! I don't know how long my transformation can last on an empty stomach!"

"You know it won't transform back unless you use your cataclysm. Let's find a safe place for me to transform and then we can go kick some bad guy butt!"

They ran behind a vacant cart and Marinette let Tikki out of her pocket. "There's an akuma walking around town," Marinette explained to her kwami friend. "He looks innocent, but I bet he's itching for a fight. We have to stop him before anyone gets hurts!"

Tikki nodded and Marinette said the magic words, causing her to transform. Ladybug jumped out from behind the cart, yo-yo in hand and ready to fight. Chat Noir, who was standing guard, threw off his cloak and stretched out his arms.

"Finally!" he yawned, scratching the back of his head. "I thought I was going to die of heatstroke if I kept that thing on any longer!"

"No time for complaining!" Ladybug protested. "We need to find that akuma. He went that way! Let's follow him!" She latched her yo-yo onto a nearby roof and swung herself up. Chat Noir quickly followed and they were on their way across the Paris rooftops. Hopefully they would lay this akuma to rest soon. It was way past lunch time now.

"My lady, over there!" Chat Noir shouted, stopping Ladybug in her tracks. "Isn't that him?" He pointed at the akuma who was arguing with a young man. Ladybug motioned from Chat Noir to follow her and keep quiet. They shuffled over to a grove of trees and jumped into one as cover. Ladybug wanted to observe the villain before they planned their attack.

"Try to find the akuma," Ladybug whispered, pushing away some leaves to get a better view. "It has to be somewhere on that giant hunk of metal."

"Did you steal this bread?" the akuma shouted as he stared down at the man he was confronting.

The man shook his head and clutched his bread underneath his arm. "I-I didn't!" he stammered. His legs were shaking so badly, Ladybug thought the poor man might collapse. "I didn't, I swear!" the man shouted, backing away from the akuma. "Please spare me!"

The akuma shook his head and said, "Criminals must be punished!" He took out his sword and raised it above the man's head. "In the name of Rogercop, I punish you!"

Chat Noir lept out of the tree before Ladybug could stop him. He jumped on to Rogercop's back and grabbed his neck. "Not so fast!" Chat Noir chided, riding Rogercop like a horse. "Put that sword down before somebody gets hurt!" Rogercop growled and grabbed Chat Noir with a beefy arm. He threw the poor kitten onto the ground.

"Justice is here!" Rogercop announced, pointing his sword at Chat Noir. "Criminals must be punished! Hand over your miraculous!" Chat Noir reached for his baton, but realized it was missing. It must have fallen off his belt when he jumped from the tree which meant he was defenseless. Chat Noir covered his face as he braced himself to be sliced in two.

"Hold it!"

Ladybug jumped onto the ground and threw her yo-yo at Rogercop. It wrapped around his sword and she quickly pulled it back, freeing it from his hand. "Didn't your parents tell you not to play with sharp objects?" Ladybug smiled as the sword fell into her hands. "Wow! This thing is heavy! You have to be careful with something like this."

"Give it back!" Rogercop roared, lunging at Ladybug.

"Don't count on it!" Ladybug smirked as she jumped onto a nearby building. There was no way Rogercop could chase her up there. He was too big and bulky. Moving around in all that armor had to be a chore. Even carrying just the sword was exhausting.

"Come down!" Rogercop held his arm up and a blast of light came flying at Ladybug. She held up the sword and the light reflected off it, bouncing off in another direction. Ladybug watched the blast hit an innocent Parisian who was walking by. Metal chains formed around his hands like a prisoner. The man looked at Ladybug and Rogercop in confusion, but quickly ran away despite chained hands.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir shouted as the man ran away. "What are we going to do about that?"

"It's fine!" she hollered back. "Once we defeat this akuma, everything will go back to normal. Now would you get up here and lend me a hand? This sword is making my arms hurt!"

Chat Noir jumped up to his lady's side and frowned. "What now?" he asked, hands on his hips. "We have his sword, but he can still hurt people with those handcuffs of his. I could try to take him in a fight, but I dropped my baton."

"Good thing I'm used to picking up after pets," Ladybug laughed, tossing Chat Noir's baton to him. "Did you figure out where the akuma is?"

"Not yet," Chat Noir shook his head. "But we don't have time for that. It looks like our hero of justice has run off to find another victim." He and Ladybug looked down at the ground and found that Rogercop had mysteriously vanished, but their was a trail of handcuffed citizens in his wake.

"There has to be some way to stop him," Ladybug groaned, rubbing her temples. "Neither of us have the strength to distract him with a fight for very long. We've got to think of something else."

"Let's think of something on the move. We don't have much time!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir dashed away, leaving Rogercop's sword behind. It was obvious who the akuma had deemed a criminal as they passed by dozens of people handcuffed on the ground. "This akuma needs to fix his definition of justice," Ladybug sighed as she ran across the rooftops. "Making a mistake doesn't mean you're a criminal."

"Over there!" Chat Noir shouted. Ladybug spotted Rogercop confronting a teenage girl dressed in an eccentric yellow dress. The girl was pressed up against the wall, shaking. Her face was caked in makeup and her once neat hair had fallen out of place.

"Daddy!" the girl screamed, flailing her arms wildly. "Help me!"

"So maybe Rogercop does know a bad guy when he sees one," Ladybug snickered. "But I can't let him tease her for too long. Not even she deserves that."

"Chat Noir, mind acting as a distraction?" Ladybug smiled, patting Chat Noir on the back. "That girl's in trouble and I have a feeling Rogercop intends to do more than chain her up. We have to stop him!"

"Anything for you, my lady," Chat Noir bowed. He extended his baton and hopped off the roof, landing on Rogercop's shoulders. The girl in the yellow dress looked up with wide eyes at her cat-eared hero, hardly able to contain her screams.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Chat Noir joked as he bashed Rogercop's head with his baton. He backflipped off the akuma and stuck his staff out like a sword. "Looks like justice is about to be served!" Chat Noir lunged at Rogercop, but the akuma was quick to defend himself with his steel-covered arms. Even without a weapon, Rogercop was a tough opponent and Chat Noir knew he could only last a few minutes before his stamina would give out.

As Chat Noir lured Rogercop away from the girl, Ladybug flew down in front of her. The girl let out a shriek in surprise and nearly fell backwards on her dress. "Y-You're... Ladybug, aren't you?" the girl stammered as Ladybug helped her stand up.

Ladybug wiped her hands on her suit and gave a forced smile. "That's me," she grinned. "And you're Chloe Bourgeois, right? I've heard lots about you..."

"Really?" Chloe smiled haughtily. "Of course you have. I'm the most popular girl in Paris and my daddy is..." Chloe rambled on about her father's accomplishments as Ladybug covered her ears with a groan.

"She shouldn't waste her breath," Ladybug thought as Chloe droned on. "I'm well acquainted with you and I know that you're popular, but not in a good way. I have to shut her up and get her out of danger!"

"That's nice," Ladybug said as she grabbed Chloe's arm. "But we should really get you away from this akuma. It seems to have a vendetta against you."

"Hmph," Chloe pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm not scared of him. He should be scared of me. My daddy's going to have him fired because that stupid guard refused to arrest the person who stole my bracelet! How utterly ridiculous!"

"So this akuma is her fault again?" Ladybug rolled her eyes. "What a surprise... not. If I didn't know better, I'd guess that Chloe was partners with Hawk Moth considering all the trouble she causes. It sucks enough that I have to deal with her during lessons, but now I have to save her life too?"

"Yo LB!" Chat Noir shouted, taking Ladybug's attention off Chloe. "Things aren't going to well over here and this cat doesn't have nine lives!"

"You need to get out of here!" Ladybug reiterated as she pushed Chloe into a nearby alleyway. "Hide behind something, but stay out of sight." The fierceness in her tone shocked Chloe. The blonde nodded and ducked down behind a trash bin, her head just barely peeking around the side.

Ladybug ran back into the street where Chat Noir and Rogercop were fighting. She could see the fatigue on Chat Noir's face. He could only last a few more minutes at most. Ladybug examined the villain and tried to find a sign of the akuma.

"It wasn't in his sword," she frowned. "And it's probably not in his armor either... Wait! He's got something hanging on his neck! Is that a whistle? That's gotta be it."

Around Rogercop's neck was a whistle, the kind that all the guards carried around. It made it easier for them to alert citizens and other guards of trouble. Every guard was required to have one and this akuma was no different. But the real question was how to get it off his neck.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, using her last resort. A pair of red and black spotted oven mitts landed in her hands. "Oven mitts?" she groaned internally. "We have dozens of these at the bakery. How are oven mitts going to stop that thing?"

Ladybug looked at Rogercop who was beginning to shoot at Chat Noir. Luckily, Chat was quick thanks to his cat reflexes. However, he could only dodge for so long. It would only take one misstep for him to become Rogercop's prisoner. She doubted if even his cataclysm could get him out of those handcuffs.

"Wait a second..."

Ladybug turned around and saw a pile of trash sitting in the corner of the alley. There was shredded paper, banana peels, and most importantly, a piece of rope. The ends were frayed which is probably why the owner tossed it out. It was fairly short too and wouldn't be too helpful in tying things together. But it might help capture an akuma

She grabbed the rope and looped it through the circle of fabric that hung off the oven mitt. Making sure her knots were tied tightly, Ladybug held up her makeshift handcuffs proudly. "They won't hold him for very long," Ladybug admitted as she ran towards Rogercop. "But it'll give me just enough time to grab that whistle!"

Amidst his fight, Chat Noir caught a glimpse of Ladybug charging at Rogercop. She had a pair of oven mitts tied together in her hands. They vaguely reminded him of handcuffs. Then, he looked back at Rogercop with a sly smile.

"So that's her plan, eh? Guess it's time to put this akuma under arrest!"

"Betcha can't catch me!" Chat Noir taunted, sticking out his tongue. He shook his tail cheekily and danced around. Rogercop stomped his feet in anger and ran at him, prepared to shoot. Chat Noir shook his finger and clicked his tongue. "Not so fast! Cataclysm!"

Chat Noir somersaulted forward and ran his hand across the cobble road underneath Rogercop. The brick began to crumble into dust and the ground underneath was tough enough to support Rogercop's weight. The akuma fell through the ground, getting his legs stuck in the dirt. He tried to escape but failed. He was completely stuck.

"Criminals must be punished! Give up your miraculous!"

A bolt of light hit Chat Noir and thrust him against a nearby wall. A pair of handcuffs appeared around his wrists, chaining him not only to himself but also to the wall. Rogercop still held his arms out as he prepared to shoot again when he heard a feminine voice from behind him.

"I think it's your turn to get punished!"

Ladybug launched herself off Rogercop's shoulders and flipped through the air over him. She shoved the oven mitt cuffs over his hands, disorienting him. The akuma growled in frustration as he tried to remove the mitts, but before he could, Ladybug was back in his face.

She reached out and grabbed the whistle hanging on his neck. It came off with a satisfying "snap"! Ladybug held her prize high in the air and then threw it at the ground, smashing it with her foot. The whistle broke into little pieces and a black butterfly came flying out.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma," Ladybug smiled as she snatched the butterfly with her yo-yo. Like usual, it's dark wings turned white as it was released back into the air; a sign all its evil magic had vanished.

Rogercop fell over in agony, the oven mitts falling off his hand. Ladybug picked them up and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!" A rush of red flooded the area, freeing all off Rogercop's victims. Chat Noir had a satisfying grin as he stood back up and stretched his wrists. Being chained to a wall was killer on the body.

"Nice one, m'lady," Chat Noir smiled, giving Ladybug a fist bump. "I didn't think the walk home was going to be this exciting, but we should really start heading back. This cat's worked up an even stronger appetite and I don't have much time before I transform."

Ladybug nodded in agreement. "We should hurry. Neither of us have much time!" She wanted to talk to the red-haired guard who was sitting on the ground, confused. He must be disoriented and scared, but she didn't have much time to spare chatting.

She grabbed her yo-yo prepared to swing away when she felt something wet squish against her back. She reached behind her and pulled a rotten tomato off her suit, holding it out in front of her in disgust. "Who threw that?" she frowned, scrunching up her nose. "If Chloe's trying to pick a fight, I swear..."

Ladybug turned around and saw an angry man holding a pile of old fruits and vegetables. She recognized him as the man she had accidentally handcuffed earlier although he was free now. He spat on the ground and pulled a mushy apple out of his arsenal. He wound up and chucked the apple as hard as he could at her.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Chat Noir hissed as he jumped in front of Ladybug. The apple hit him and slid down his chest. He pointed his baton at the man, ready to pounce if necessary. He wasn't going to let anyone throw fruit at his princess.

"Get out of here!" the man sneered. "You magicians are the reason all these monsters are coming to Paris! I got attacked because of you! No one wants you!" The man threw another tomato which Chat Noir deflected with his baton. The black cat felt his blood begin to boil. He and Ladybug had just saved Paris once again and they were being criticized?

A crowd was beginning to form around the man. People started shouting nasty words and swears at the heroes. Some were starting to join in on the food fight, aiming directly for Chat Noir and Ladybug's faces.

"Just leave!"

"Go away!"

"Scram! Damn dirty magicians!"

Chat Noir hit away all the projectiles angrily. He was astonished by how ungrateful humans could be. He put his life on the line to protect them and this was how he got repaid? "I never asked for this job," Chat Noir growled. "But I give it my all and I'm not going to let these losers take that away!"

He was prepared to speak his mind when he felt a tug on his tail. Quickly, he turned around and saw Ladybug hiding behind him, staring at the ground nervously. Her shoulders were drooping and her bangs covered her eyes. Despite not being able to see her face well, Chat Noir could tell she was upset.

"Let's just go..." she whispered. It was obvious she was hurt by the people's words. But instead of being upset like Chat Noir, she felt guilty as if everything really were her fault. She was doing her best to protect people, but earlier she had made a mistake. She had let the akuma take victims.

"But..."

"No buts, Chat. They're not wrong so let's just leave." The chants of the crowd were ringing in her ears. Ladybug felt all her previous confidence dissipate. It's incredible how fast a few cruel words can affect a person. Her willpower to fight died and all she wanted to do was go home. People's hatred caught her off guard which made it sting even more.

"Everyone stop!"

The entire crowd went silent as the sound a familiar voice. Chloe Bourgeois burst from the alley way, her dress completely coated in dirt and muck. She looked angry like she was about to punch somebody. Marinette had seen that expression multiple times during lessons and never liked being on the other end of that.

Chloe huffed and pushed her hair out of her face. She walked up to the man who started the commotion and slapped the rotten fruit out of his hands. She leaned into his face and began to shout. "Just who do you think you are? These two saved your life for heaven's sake! Show some respect!"

"Who do you think you are?" the man snarled back. He towered above Chloe, but the girl showed no sign of backing down. She got onto her toes and pressed her finger against the man's chest in rage.

"I'm Chloe Bourgeois! The daughter of Andre Bourgeois! I'm sure you've heard of my daddy and have an idea of all the awful things he could do to you... all of you! So everyone here better take a hike before I have to get my daddy involved. Then you're all going to wish you had a magician on your side!"

Immediately, the crowd began to disperse. The man who started the fight scowled, but ran away. He didn't want to chance the Bourgeois powerhouse. The family was well known in politics as well as in the business realm. They had connections to everyone and everything. If they really wanted, they could ruin your life at the drop of a hat.

Once everyone had run off, Chloe walked over to the two heroes. Chat Noir felt his body tense as she approached the. She was shorter than him, but had more power in her pinky finger than he probably did in his whole miraculous.

Ladybug poked her head over Chat Noir's shoulder sheepishly. "Why's she coming over here?" she wondered as she slowly walked out from behind Chat. "I can't say I ever expected Chloe to defend me. I didn't know she had a kind bone in her entire body!"

"Thank you for saving me," Chloe said in a hushed tone, keeping her head down. Ladybug noticed a faint blush on her cheeks and giggled. Chloe was embarrassed. In all the years she had known Chloe as Marinette, she didn't recall Chloe thanking anyone ever. She wanted to remember this scene forever.

"It was nothing," Chat Noir smiled, flipping his hair to the side. "Just a normal day for heroes like us." Then, he flashed Chloe a cheeky wink. Ladybug rolled her eyes. To call Chat Noir flamboyant would be an understatement.

Chloe looked up at Ladybug for some form of acknowledgement. The sincerness in her eyes was shocking and Ladybug knew she couldn't ignore Chloe any longer. She coughed and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah..." Ladybug said, unsure of what to say. "It's no big deal. I'm just glad you're safe."

"It's just that..." Chloe began. She bit her lip, a sad smile on her face. "No one's ever tried to help me since..." Her words stopped there, but Ladybug instantly knew what she was talking about or more specifically, who. The Prince's death hadn't only hit Marinette hard. Other people had been hurt as well.

Ladybug grabbed Chloe's hand and smiled. It was a genuine smile too. For the first time, she felt like she could sympathize with Chloe, who she had always considered her biggest enemy. "If you're ever in trouble, Chat Noir and I will come to save the day," Ladybug nodded. "I promise!"

Chloe's eyes went wide as her frown turned into a bright grin. "You'd better!" she laughed haughtily. "I'm counting on you. Now where did Sabrina run off too? I swear that girl can be absolutely useless and so can that father of hers. He's still lying on the ground over!"

Chat Noir and Ladybug turned back to the akuma victim. He was still sitting on the ground trying to figure out how he had gotten here. His daughter, Sabrina, was probably still running around Paris trying to find him. "Poor guy..." Ladybug sighed. "But Chat Noir and I really have to get going. Our time is almost up!"

"You two need to leave, right?" Chloe asked. She motioned towards Ladybug's earrings and smiled. "I guess I can take care of Sabrina's dad for now. But next time, I don't want to be in charge of clean up!"

"You got it!"

There was another beep from Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses. They were on their last minute, so they really needed to leave. As Chloe walked away to helped the akuma victim, they took to the skies in hope of finding a good place to hide when they detransformed.

"She was nice," Chat Noir remarked as they bounded across the rooftops. "Intimidating, but nice."

"She's not like that all the time. You should see what she's like at lessons. I'd call her a walking nightmare," Ladybug laughed, thinking about all the times she and Chloe had gotten into fights. In fact, she knew that there were many more fights to come. But today, Chloe had proven that she wasn't always awful.

"Right down there by the pond!" Chat Noir exclaimed, stopping his tracks. "Here's a safe place." He jumped down into the soft grass on the edge of the water. Upon landing, there was a green flash and he returned to his cat form. At this size, the grass had grown almost as tall as him. He felt like a black shadow sneaking through a forest of green. It was kind of cool.

Ladybug followed him and quickly returned to being normal Marinette. Tikki flew out and entered Marinette's pocket with an exhausted sigh. She hadn't been expecting an akuma attack today and was starving like Chat Noir. When she got back to the bakery, Tikki planned on eating at least a dozen cookies.

"Stop fooling around," Marinette giggled as she picked up Chat Noir. "Now isn't the time to play. I thought you were hungry, remember?" Chat Noir nodded, his whiskers tickling the side of Marinette's arms. In this form, he was cute and cuddly which made it easier to forget how cheesy he really was. Sometimes Marinette preferred him this way.

She put him back down and explained they were going to go home. Once she dropped Tikki and Chat Noir off, she would run out to the store and pick up lunch for them. As she put it, they had "worked hard today and deserved a treat". Marinette planned on picking up something special for herself too. She was still feeling sad after hearing the mean things people said about her and Chat. A pick me up would do her some good.

As they walked, Chat Noir an uneasy expression on Marinette's face. She masked it with a smile, but Chat Noir could see right through it. "She's still thinking about what all those people said," he frowned. "I should've said something to make her feel better before I transformed back. Damn! Being a cat can be so inconvenient. The one time I really have something to say, I don't have the mouth to say it."

"Isn't that the problem all the time. I have so many things to tell her, but I just don't know the words. I'm sure she doesn't understand how I feel. Though I'm not sure I understand how I feel. All I know is that I don't want to see her upset like this. Marinette takes everything to heart and is shouldering burdens that I don't know about. When she talked about that Adrien boy, I thought she was going to cry."

"I want to help, but I'm just a cat. I want to hold her with human hands and not worry about turning back. I want to be her support everyday without being treated like a pet. I'd give anything to be human like her. Then maybe... I could tell her..."

Chat Noir rubbed up against Marinette's leg as a sign of comfort. She smiled back at him, but kept silent. He sighed to himself and thought, "I could tell her that I love her."