Work Text:
Marinette was aware that Tikki's miraculous was changing her, thank you very much. Discovering her semi poisonous blood by putting a finger in her mouth after accidentally poking it with her sowing neddle was one thing. The uge to sleep when the temperature dropped just added on top of the already too much of un impact on her life.
But this, this was something else. She didn't really know if she sould be affradi or greatful of there's new ability.
It all started one night, or maybe it was more of a morning than a night given that it was already past 2 am. She was in her bedroom, stressing about finishing a jacket for none other tahn the famius rock star Jagged Stone.
The man himself was really great until an idea came into his mind and he asked for a change in design just a day before an important event.
So Marinette being the good designer she is, decided to pull an all nighter to work on her design even if her mental health would take a hit. She had already drowned a least 2 mugs of coffee, some cheap energy drink and a small plate of desserts was placed next to her for easi access.
She was so focused on embroidering the leather piece with silvery thread that she, in fact, didn't even grasp a hint of the purple butterfly coming her way. The insect being attracted by her stress level and the mood swings produced by loosing her needles to gravity.
Tikki was already asleep, having long ago accepted that her chosen wouldn't go to sleep before finishing what she was working on. So she couldn't have seen and come help when the small insect made it's way to her friend.
Marinette herself might not have seen it, her mind to focused on the fine design her hands were working on, but, her subconscient did acknowledge its presence and decided to act on it.
In the space of a second, her head moved, her mouth oppening to catch the insect between her tooth before closing and going back to her previous position. The semi-awake mind of the girl not even remembering having move.
For a solid minute afterward, she didn't even register the fact that she was chewing on something. When she did, it was already too late to reconize what exactly she was eating and so she swallowed the small butterfly thinking it was probably a pastry or something of the same origin. Given that her small plate of paestries was still full of them it was a resonnable claim.
Tikki always out of sight, in a bag and/or asleep and because Hawkmoth was careful not to try to akumatised her in public, nobody was present to tell her how close she was to be turn into a villain.
Things could have stayed that way if it wasn't for one Lila Rossi.
When the liar "came back" from wherever she was supposed to have gone, spinning some tale about charity work and environemental help, she made a point to spy on Marinette to try finding blackmail material. For if the girl want to stand on Lila's way, the italian girl was going to make sure to control how.
So when the next akuma came, tracking the half Chinese girl into the school mid afternoon. The same one who had already evaded so much of Hawkmoth attempt whitout even knowing, Lila was filming, waiting for the girl to turn into a monster.
She was already contenpling how many story she was gonna be able to spin into making Marinette Dupain-Cheng a villain working alongside Hawkmoth.
But instead, she watched as the young designer head snapped toward the insect coming from the open window, her mouth opening and closing itself around the insect in a swift motion. Less than a second later she was swallowing the small purple butterfly, her head already turn back toward her sketch as fast as it as turn the first time.
Her screen always displayed the small french girl drawing in a sketchbook in light blue ink. Hand moving swiflty across the page, jacket fluttering with each movement, head lost in thoughts. Then so fast Lila had to watch several time to be sure of what she was seeing, the almost blue hair moved to followed the way her mouth traced before going back to their starting point just as fast.
Before her enemy could move she run to class to talk to Mrs Bustier. Easily making the teacher walk into her story. She made it seem like she didn't want to show the video but was to scared to do otherwise. By then the entire class was back to their seat.
The teacher helped by Max linked the phone to the computer and then played the video on the board for everyone to see.
As the video played, the colors lefted Marinette face when she realised that she was the one being filmed by the liar. What was left of them seemed to drain from existence as she saw herself eat a butterfly. And like the universe seemed to truly hate her it has to not just be a regular insect but an Akuma. Also know as the toys of the villain terrorising the parisians one a daily basic.
Suddenly, everything was right again in her classmates minds. Each of them congratulating her for finding this new way to help the heroine. As she started to recover, she was baffled by the shear stupidity of her classmates, as none of them seem to even consider the fact that she could just have used her hands instead.
Not even Max, the self proclaimed most inteligent one in the room was questionning her act. She should really think about finding new friends, her mind supplied.
After that, the day seems to pass really slowly for the Ladybug chosen and when the final school bell rang, she was at the classroom door, bidding goodbye to her class before anyone had the chance to react. The faster she was home, the faster she could ask her kwami about her eating habit.
She wasn't even home when she heard a ding coming from her phone signaling a notification from the Ladyblog. Sure enough Alya had already posted about the new way to "contain" Akuma. Marinette felt a migraine coming. She really didn't need people running in the street of Paris with their mouth open to try to catch the passing evil butterfly.
Sure she had seen Tikki purified Akuma by eating them and Ladybug's did eat butterflies in nature, but why did she have to get that specific Miraculous side effect amongt all of those she could have get.
The Ladybug Kwami herself didn't know how Marinette had done that, but she reassured her by saying that at least that way she hadn't been Akumatized.
That statement sent the girl spiralling again about the fact that she had been so close to getting Akumatized, the full effect of the knowledge coming back crashing like a wave into her mind. Fortunatly, the goddess of creation managed to calm her chosen enough for said chosen to be able to breath again.
10 minutes was all she needed to put together a plan to get the bunny miraculous from Master Fu and go back in time to warn herself from Lila. Tikki wasn't really okay with it but the deity did approve the fact that civilians could be in danger if they tried to interact with the evil insect.
Fortunately enough, the guardian wasn't home and she knew the password for the Miracle box. A quick explanation to the Time Bunny Kwami later and LadyBunn was opening the burrow.
She made sure that Lila wouldn't see her and separate the two Miraculous to be left with only the Ladybug costume on. A swift motion later, and the evil butterfly was trapped inside her yo-yo. The past Mainette was troubled by the sight of herself and visibly tensed, but upon seeing the hidding floating bunny she relaxed a bit.
- I'm really happy to have got here fast enough for you not to be akumatized Marinette. You would have been really hard to fight.
The still shocked Marinette nodded, not really understanding why what seem to be her future self was here.
The previous mentioned gave a quick look at the sketchbook her past self was holding and quickly grabbed a pen. She turned to a blank page and write why she was here, including the new ladybug tendencie and how Lila was following her.
- Here, an autograph for you. I know how much of a fan you are.
Her mission being done, she salutes her younger self and hopped back through the window. Then she opened her yo-yo to let free the insect and hid herself to go back to her place in the time flow.
The burrow closing behind her she quickly put back the miraculous in its place and got home looking into the Ladyblog for a mention of the new way to catch akuma but find nothing more than the update of the last akuma.
She didn't really want to try to understand how exactly all of the time thing works and just figured that should something happened Bunnix would come. Tikki was thinking the same, but she decided that Marinette should learn how to de-evilised akuma with her mouth instead of just eating them.
Marinette wasn't really happy about that decision, but she figured that should she stay in the habit of eating evil butterfly she should at least not need to swallow them to cure the evil magic.
And so the lessons on how to properly eat evil little purple butterfly infused with magic by an evil maniac started.
Hawkmoth was growing frustrated with the lack of success his attempts where getting to. He knew for a fact that the girl was strong. After all she had confronted his civilian self without fear of what he could do to her career in fashion.
He had expecte resistance, he knew she would not be easi to akumatiezd.
But what he didn't espected was to find the young classmate of his son amongt his butterfly cocoon, eating them in a semi-conscious state.
Needless to say, the butterfly instinct graced by the prolongue use of the transmission miraculous urged him to run without looking back. This urge was only reinforce when the girl turned her predatory gaze on him.
Eyes dark and mouth still filled with butterflys, she otherwise inocent looking girl seem ready to eat him alive.
Fortunatly detransforming seem to make her lost interest in him but the vision of her snacking on his garden was enough for him. No miraculous was worth being great with this vision of horror. Nothing was worth the dread and the terror that filled him upon glazing at that girl.
The next day, Marinette awakened on her bed, the butterfly and peafol miraculous on her desk next to an apologie note and the strange sensation of having a full stomach. A credit card with her name was placed in the fold of the note. She quickly read the wrinting stating that the person was sorry for the mess, that there was enough money on the card for her to stat her fashion career and if she could pass along the miraculous to Ladybug it could be great.
Needless to say Marinette was confuse.