Miraculous Ladybug: The Lifeguard

Chapter 6 - Too Close Fur Comfort

To Marinette's surprise, nothing had made contact with her. She had not been ensnared by the villain. But she sensed someone was in front of her. She opened her eyes cautiously and glimpsed her blonde haired saviour.

"Chat Noir...." She gasped. The leather wearing superhero stood poised in a defensive stance, silver staff extended.

He turned his head to meet Marinette's lingering gaze. "Run Marinette, get out of here!" He ordered.

Marinette's legs and brain took a moment to get re-acquainted, before she sprinted off in the opposite direction.

Skidding around the far corner of grandstand near the entrance to the boys changing room, Marinette went to call on Tikki to transform. However she suddenly realised Tikki wasn't there in the purse usually at her side. She had left the Kwami in her bag, up on the grandstand.

Chat Noir didn't feel like himself. His, Adrien's swimming accident had spawned this villain, he couldn't help but feel guilty. More than all the other Akumatized citizens of Paris, Adiren had more resolve to bring an end to this troublemaker. But he still suffered the affects from his likely concussion; a pounding headache, nausea and his cat-like reflects and balance were negated.

"No pets allowed in the pool area!" The lifeguard barked, firing another volly of deflated pool tubes at the masked hero.

"That's okay, I didn't want to get my fur wet anyway." Chat wasn't too injured not to come up with a joke or swiftly dodge and deflect the incoming barrage. Even on his death bed, he would be able to crack some joke to his beloved Ladybug to see her smirk one last time.

Marinette peered back round the corner of the grandstand, water still occasionally dripping from her damp swimsuit; observing Chat Noir deflecting wave after wave of the projectiles, slowly advancing on the akumatized woman. She bolted up up the stairs towards her bag. Ducking down behind a row of seating so the villain couldn't see her, she quickly opened her bag to be immediately greeted by Tikki.

"There's a..." The girl started, cut off by her Kwami.

"I know, we need to get Ladybug here right now!" Tikki said in a flustered tone.

She checked to see how Chat Noir was fairing, he was continuing his slow tactical advance on the villain. Turing back to Tikki, she nodded. "Tikki! Spots on!"

Just as Chat Noir thought he had the upper hand, the akumatized villain threw a curve ball. He was mere meters away now, but the woman had stopped hurling the endless stream of inflatables at him. She lunged at him, swinging her rescue float, impacting his unguarded right side.

The superhero went hurtling in the air towards the large pool. He braced himself in the moments he had before hitting the water, but a tight string had coiled itself around his legs and stopped his less than graceful dive just inches from the surface of the liquid. At the other end of the string, Ladybug yanked on her yo-yo string that had shot over one of the building's roofing beams to act like a pulley system, hauling her superpowered partner up and way from the water.

The almost sudden stop had made Chat even more nauseous, but as Ladybug pulled him up to the rafters, she unwound the grasp her magical yo-yo had on his leg. Chat took a moment to steady himself and catch a breath before jumping back down to the pool deck to meet with his Lady.

"About time you showed up!" He said with his same level of jovialness.

"Sorry, I couldn't decide what swimsuit to wear, but then I remembered it wouldn't matter since I've got this suit on." She replied, gesturing to her spotted red and black attire.

Even with his concussed brain, Chat took no time at all to react to her comment. "I bet you'd look purrr-fect in anything."

This caused Ladybug to internally blush as usual, but outwardly she gave him the same old 'silly kitty' look she always had.

But, the look on his face was different, Ladybug was too busy analysing the villain to notice. Maybe it was the injury, but he couldn't help picture Marinette as Ladybug. He had made the mistake before of calling the girl who saved him earlier the masked superheroine' name, but he had put that down to being confused, concussed and completely out of it. The cogs were turning inside Adrien's mind, slowly but he was certain he was onto something. Could Marinette turn out to be the girl he dreams about each night? There was no time to dwell on this anymore, they needed to defeat the villain and capture the Akuma. And they could only do that as a team.