Ladybug lept into action, giving chase to their new foe.
"Cat Noir, be careful. Until we know how her powers work, we have to stay vigilant." she warned.

"Right." Cat Noir nodded slightly, pulling out his staff as a precaution.
As much as he wished he didn't have to fight right now, he was grateful at least that the adrenaline of the moment was piercing through the thick haze of exhaustion.

BlindEye seemed to have it out for one Chloe Bourgeois.
Ladybug couldn't say she was entirely surprised, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep the loud-mouthed girl out of harm's way.

"Ladybug! Don't let her touch me!" Chloe pleaded, ducking to hide.

"I won't!" Ladybug replied.

Cat Noir noticed them moving further away as Ladybug did her best to herd the akumatized villain away from the public. He did his best not to lose sight of them, but a lot was going on.

Mere silhouettes in the distance now, Ladybug and BlindEye were locked in a dance of blows. Then it happened- he saw his partner fall to her knees. His stomach lurched and he raced to the scene, "M'lady?!" he asked.

She looked stunned, maybe frightened.

That was all Cat Noir needed to know and he spun his staff swiftly to force the villain back some, "Are you hurt?"

Ladybug found her voice, "Cat Noir?" she reached into empty air, almost as if trying to feel for him.

Cat Noir frowned deeply, "She got you, huh?" He took his partner's hand gingerly, helping her to her feet.

"Whatever you do, don't make eye contact... but if you do, don't break it." Ladybug said, "It's the moment you look away that you can't see."

BlindEye smirked from several feet away, "Bravo, but I don't think that's going to help you much. Still, if you just hand over your miraculous I'll be happy to return your sight." she mused.

"Never." Ladybug replied, Cat Noir scowling at the villain's feet.

"M'lady, I'll be your eyes. Just stay close." Cat Noir bid, tucking her against his chest in an almost protective manner.

"Okay, Kitty." Ladybug consented, "I'm counting on you."

It was incredible how much of combat was based on sight... or at least some form of spacial awareness. Ladybug felt completely lost. With Cat Noir as her only point of reference for where she was in space, she began to notice things she hadn't before. Things that made his mannerisms lately all make sense.

Without the world to distract her, she could hear the panting of his breaths and feel the subtle unsteadiness of his stance. Most noteable, though, was the uncomfortable heat that radiated from his body as his cheek brushed hers. A deep shiver told her she hadn't just imagined it.

Ladybug began to worry what would happen if they didn't end this soon. All clues pointed to the very real likelihood that Cat Noir really shouldn't even be here right now. If he couldn't hold out, this could be it for both of them. She had to gamble.

"Lucky Charm!" she called out, feeling over the object in her hands, "Is it... a makeup compact?"

"Compact mirror." Cat Noir replied quietly, "Got a plan? I think the akuma's in her lanyard..."

Ladybug swore for a moment he was leaning on her rather than the other way around. She thought quietly, "Any chance you can get us close enough to trick her into staring at herself?"

Cat Noir glanced from their current vantage point, "Yeah... if I screw up though, she's going to have us both where she wants us."

"I know." Ladybug acknowledged, "But we have to try. Just... avert your gaze from her and leave the talking to me. Once she's close and I have her distracted, give her time to 'reflect', then Cataclysm the lanyard."

"You sure about this...?" He couldn't quite disguise another shiver.

"Yes. Let's go."'

Cat Noir vaulted them over and set his partner down, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Right in front of you... about 2 meters." he murmured quietly, recieving a nod.

"You win, BlindEye!" Ladybug called out, "We'll give you our miraculous."

The villain put a hand on her hip, "Really now?"

"Yeah." she reached up towards her ear with one hand, "We can't go on like this." she tacked on with a deep frown.

BlindEye drew ever closer and when she held her hand out to retrieve the earrings, Cat Noir shoved the compact mirror into her face, hoping this wasn't a mistake.
It seemed to work, as the villain stood cautiously still. He smiled tiredly, "Cataclysm!" he announced and grabbed the lanyard, releasing a dark colored butterfly from the ashes.
He helped Ladybug aim her yoyo in order to catch the akuma, then passed her the lucky charm so she could summon her miraculous ladybugs to fix things.

Ladybug felt Cat Noir stepping back a bit and soon her vision was restored.

It turned out BlindEye was actually a young mother with two toddlers whom Chloe had, unsurprisingly, tried to ban from today's event.

"Why didn't she want you there?" Ladybug asked carefully.

"Well, because of my son. My three year old... he's mostly nonverbal, but he loves Cat Noir. I brought him to get his picture taken with his hero, but I guess the large crowds caused him to have a meltdown." the woman explained quietly, "I was trying my best, but between him and his little sister, I was getting overwhelmed and nobody wanted to help us. Then the mayor's daughter said if we were going to be such a disturbance we had no place here and she was going to call for us to be police escorted away."

Ladybug sighed, "I'm sorry. She can be a bit... much." she chose her words carefully.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble. Do you know where my kids are now? Are they alright?" the woman asked.

Ladybug saw Cat Noir seemingly standing to his feet out of the corner of her eye.
Had he been crouching? She frowned, recalling all she had gleaned during the fight.

Cat Noir strode over, "The miraculous ladybugs should have restored everything... If we hurry and find them, I'd be happy to take some pics with your little guy." he smiled gently.

Ladybug, however, now noticed the flush of his face peeking out from behind his mask. She wasn't sure if the fight had done him in or if she just hadn't been paying as close attention before, but her partner looked dead on his feet. As they helped the woman track down her kids, she imagined having to take action soon.

She rehearsed in her head as she helped the woman get her photos, planning how she'd tell him he didn't have the brains of a goldfish if he thought he was going to get anywhere near another akuma in his current state.

As the three year old tugged on Cat Noir's belt tail cheerily chanting "Cat! Cat! Cat!"
Ladybug half expected him to stumble over himself and she tensed herself in preparation to step in. He handled it all gracefully, though, offering a charming smile and wave as the young mother left with her children.

As the mini photoshoot wrapped, though, Cat Noir simply brushed past his partner, heading behind a large tree, "I'm about to change back... I need to feed my kwami and retransform." All energy was gone from his tone.

Ladybug watched him with a frown, "I'm going to change back too. Can't you just call for a ride once I leave?" she asked.

"No... heh... I wish." a couple coughs punctuated his words, "As far as anyone knows... I'm in my room."

"Oh." Ladybug felt her earrings blaring a last minute warning, so she found her own hiding spot to detransform and feed Tikki.

When she reemerged, she found Cat Noir sprawled on his stomach on a park bench, eyes closed.

"Aren't you going home?" she asked.

"Mmmnn... In a minute... Gotta get my bearings." he muttered into the bench.

"Looks more like you're trying to go to sleep." Ladybug replied, kneeling beside her partner. He didn't reply, so she carefully smoothed his messy blond hair away from his face, resting her hand briefly on his forehead, then his cheek.
She clicked her tongue, "You're really hot."

"Heh.. not so bad yourself." Cat Noir managed, opening one eye slightly.
She didn't look impressed.

There was a pause as Ladybug considered her options.
"Do you need me to walk you home... or closer, at least?" she asked finally.

He seemed to take a while to process her words and slowly pushed himself upright. The motion didn't quite seem to agree with him, as he cradled his head in his hands.

"You okay, Kitty?" Ladybug was asking.

"Just... trying not to throw up." came a weak reply, "My head's killing me."

Ladybug frowned, watching him carefully as he slowly dropped his hands and extended his staff in front of him. Despite the added support, he faultered slightly as he rose to his feet.

"If you were feeling this badly, why did you come to the park in the first place?" Ladybug asked, arms akimbo. He definitely wasn't getting all the way home solo at this rate.

Cat Noir shrugged slightly, "Hey... if I didn't... things might've gone a lot worse back there." he reminded her.
He had a point, but it would've been more convincing if he didn't look so pitiful just trying to stay vertical.

Ladybug's frown deepened, "Tell me which way you're headed, I'll take you as close as I can." she said firmly.

"I got it, Bugaboo..." Cat Noir coughed.

"But-"

"It's not that far... I can make it." he straightened his stance the best he could, yet still shivered in spite of himself.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes, "Fine, but leave me a message when you get home so I know you didn't get run over by an eighteen wheeler or something." she huffed.

"Heh... Give me some credit, M'lady." Cat Noir smiled weakly.

"Promise me."

"Fine... Fine." Cat Noir relented, too tired to argue.
Honestly, if she hadn't been here to pester him, he'd have been content to just stay on the park bench indefinitely.

Ladybug watched him vault off, guts twisting a bit.
She'd have followed him if it wouldn't have risked his secret identity.
As things were, the teen heroine made her way back to her family bakery, landing neatly on the roof.

She decided to make herself comfortable and wait for Cat Noir's message.
Five minutes... then ten... fifteen...
She was starting to get nervous.

"Marinette, are you up there?" she could hear her mom in her room just below her.

Ladybug hastily detransformed, concealing Tikki in her bag as she moved down the hatch, "I was, sorry. Just wanted some fresh air."

Sabine smiled at her daughter, "It's fine. I just wanted to tell you dinner's ready."

"Oh, okay." Marinette agreed.
Her thoughts turned back to her sick partner.
"...Can I take my plate up here? I have a lot of homework to do."

"Alright, dear." Sabine was used to Marinette being busy, at least.

"Thanks, Mom." Marinette said, following her mother downstairs. She hastily put together a plate for herself and headed back to her room.

"Tikki, do you think Cat Noir will be okay?" Marinette asked softly, offering her kwami some of the food.

"He's pretty tough." Tikki reassured between bites, "He did look pretty drained, though."

Marinette nodded, "After you're done, I want to check my messages again... just in case."

Tikki nodded, "I understand. Just try not to get too worked up, Marinette. I'm sure everything is-"

CRSSSSH!

Something slammed down on the roof.
Marinette's heart jumped in her chest.

"Honey, is everything alright?" she could hear her mother calling.

"Y-yes!" Marinette stammered back.
She glanced back at Tikki who shook her head. She wasn't sure what it was either.

Cautiously, Marinette poked her head up through the hatch and gasped.

Lying face down on her roof was Cat Noir, baton at his side.

"Cat Noir?" she asked carefully.
He laid still.

The girl moved up onto the roof and tried to jostle him, turning him over to check for any injury. His breathing was raspy, skin clammy, eyes closed... he was out.

Author's Note:
And the kitty goes splat. *nervous laugh* Couldn't resist a little MariChat somewhere in here. I wrote most of this back to back, truthfully, but I'm reviewing and editing the rest as I go. Anyway, seeing as I've been inactive so long- I thought why not post chapter 2? Reviews make me happy and I'll see you all in Chapter 3!