A Ladybug's Wrath

Six

"This is a perfect opportunity, Tikki."

Marinette held different designs up to her face, still trying to decide what she was going to make for her own dress. She wanted it to make a statement, it was going to be her first debut as MDC after all. She looked powerful in red, but she kind of wanted to play up the innocent angle, so maybe, white or a creme color? She didn't want it to look like a wedding gown so she'd have to pair it with another color too. Maybe some gold details and embroidery.

"What are you planning to do, Marinette?"

"There's going to be a lot of influential people there, Tikki, which will be perfect for building my brand and clientele list. I can also start discreetly blacklisting Lila and destroying her reputation. Gabriel Agreste will regret the day he ever hired her." Marinette grinned at the chaos this would create and Tikki shivered as she was distinctly reminded of Plagg in that moment.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," Marinette put down her designs and looked at her Kwami. "I wanted to ask if it was possible that some of your power was affecting me." Tikki perked up and seemed to start vibrating in place from absolute delight.

"Have you noticed anything, Marinette? Tell me!" Puzzled at her Kwami's reaction, she thought back and listed what she could remember.

"Well, some of the plants on the balcony have lasted longer than usual for the season. Sometimes when I design I feel a little weird, like a strange burst of energy goes through me. If I get frustrated enough with a problem, sometimes a solution will present itself not long after. I just wondered if some of your power was rubbing off on me?"

If it was possible, Tikki seemed to vibrate even more, her excitement overtaking her.

"Oh, Marinette, this is fantastic! The Ladybug powers are blessing you, acknowledging you as a true holder of the miraculous! The guardian magic must have given you a boost and the powers acknowledged you early!"

"Okay, okay, hold on, I have no idea what any of that means." Marinette held her hands up, not understanding what her Kwami was telling her. Tikki huffed, but tried to reel herself in enough so she could explain.

"As you mature, your magic will mature with you. There are also powers that come with being the guardian, but you'd have to translate your copy of the Grimoire Master Fu left you to find out what they are. Ladybug powers on the other hand I can tell you all about!"

For the next hour, Tikki had told her everything she could and walked her through a few exercises that would help her become more in tune with her magic, one of which happened to be meditation.

Marinette then looked through the sections of the Grimoire that Master Fu had helped her translate and looked over his notes. She had never been good with languages, but this was important and she was going to have to take this seriously. She noted down any patterns she could identify between the translations, but after a half hour her head started to spin, so she locked her notes away in her box under the floorboards.

Marinette stared out her window at the night sky, tapping her nails against her desk rhythmically.

"Why does Gabriel Agreste have the Grimoire, Tikki? I know we ruled him out as a suspect after he was akumatized, but that doesn't explain why he has it. Also, I don't like the idea of a civilian possessing something so sacred." Tikki hummed along with her.

"I know what you mean, Marinette. But that manor is practically a fortress, how would we even be able to get our hands on it?"

Marinette continued to tap her nails against her desk, contemplating her choices.