Whenever Monarch was defeated, we thought that everything would go back to how it was before. We thought we could express ourselves freely. We could feel what we wanted to feel. And we were able to. Just not for long. Lila Rossi as we know her, but...
Three days later I had all the ingredients for whatever it is that Tikki has me making. Superboy actually came to Paris to give Dami and I the eternal pepper. He's staying here for a few days and Dami hates it.
"Tikki what exactly are we making?"
"A drink."
"With glass, diamonds, and a tentacle? Who is drinking this?"
"You are..." She mumbles looking away.
"How does this work?"
"You have to drink it while your Ladybug. It will take you to the Mirror Realm, that is the only place you can talk to Shadybug. You might want to have at least one person in the room with you when you go into the realm, your body will want to wander to random places. It might have something to do with the ethereal pepper." Tikki starts putting the ingredients inside the blender on my desk.
"What do you mean wander around?"
"You'll start to teleport to random places. Hopefully only around Paris. If I were you, I'd get the vigilantes, Chat Noir, and Superboy."
"Teleport?! Tikki wha-I-How long will this drink last?"
"Two days out here in the real world. In the Mirror Realm it'll last about thirty minutes. Since today is Sunday, I suggest you wait until next Friday."
"Then why are you blending everything now?"
"This has to sit out for at least three days."
I huff, "Okay, I'll ask everyone if they can babysit my teleporting body this weekend."
0000
On Monday I asked Dami if he, his family, and Superboy would babysit my subconscious body over the weekend, he agreed thankfully. Tuesday, I asked Adrian if he would do the same, he agreed as well. Now, it was Friday. Everyone was up on my rooftop, I had the drink in my hands, I really didn't want to drink this.
"You know, you don't have to do this Angel." Damian says from behind me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"I know, but if I don't, the curiosity will kill me." With those last words I open the drink and chug it, the bile taste leaving a very vivid impact on my taste buds. My eyes shut, my last glimpse of light being the vigilantes in front of me. I feel arms catch me as I lose control of my body.
0000
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in the Mirror Realm, the world around me shifted and twisted, bending reality in ways I couldn't begin to comprehend. It was as if I had stepped into a surreal dreamscape, where nothing was quite as it seemed.
The colors were vibrant and surreal, hues of pink and purple swirling together in a kaleidoscope of colors. The ground beneath my feet felt strangely solid yet ethereal, as if it could dissolve into mist at any moment. And the air was thick with an otherworldly energy, crackling with magic and possibility.
In the midst of this fantastical landscape, I spotted Shadybug, her form hunched over as she sobbed into her hands. Without hesitation, I rushed to her side only to walk straight into a glass mirror, causing it to crack, I pulled away from the mirror. I guess that's why it's called the Mirror Realm. I focus my attention back onto Shadybug, my heart aching at the sight of her tears.
"Shadybug, what's wrong?" I asked, my voice filled with concern as I gently placed a hand on the broken glass.
She looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy from crying, but a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "It's... it's nothing, Ladybug," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "They're happy tears, I promise."
Confusion flickered across my face as I tried to make sense of her words. Happy tears? But why would she be crying if she was happy?
And then she began to speak, her words tumbling out in a rush as she recounted the story of her life in her universe. She told me about how she despised the color pink, which is why she had dyed her hair that color as a form of rebellion. She talked about her dislike for Adrian, the model boy that was skewed around Paris, her experience from transitioning from Shadybug into Ladybug, the fact that she didn't enjoy the responsibilities of being a hero who was constantly on the run from The Supreme, and her outright annoyance for Claw Noir who has yet to decide on a different name for himself.
As she spoke, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. To live a life filled with such negativity and resentment... it was a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
But then she smiled through her tears, her eyes shining with a newfound sense of freedom. "But now I don't have to live in that universe anymore," she said, her voice filled with hope. "I live in yours and sometimes I can catch glimpses of images through your eyes, I feel your emotions as though they were my own. You always see the bright side and have such an amazing life that I couldn't ever imagine existing in my world. Even if we had defeated The Supreme. I would never be able to live like you do, especially with all the baggage of my past weighing me down."
Her words resonated with me in a way I couldn't fully explain. To be able to leave behind the pain and hardships of our pasts and embrace a brighter future... it was a concept that filled me with a sense of wonder and possibility.
And so we talked, sharing stories and laughing as we navigated the strange and wondrous landscape of the Mirror Realm. I told her about my life with Alya, my adventures as Ladybug, and even confessed my crush on Damian Wayne. She had no idea who that was, so I had to explain.
"Our universe collided with yours as well as another, the DC universe. Damian is from there. He has these dreamy green eyes, and gorgeous caramel skin, pitch black hair, he's also a vigilante! Basically, a hero who does what he wants. So, we can relate to each other about that! He calls me Angel, for why I don't know. He-"
"He sounds amazing." She cuts me off with a giggle, I blush. I guess I was kinda ranting.
And as we laughed and talked, I couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship with Shadybug, I mean we connected once before back when she turned good. Despite the differences in our universes, we were both just girls trying to find our way in the world, navigating the complexities of life and love with humor and resilience.
In that moment, surrounded by the surreal beauty of the Mirror Realm, I realized that no matter where our paths may lead us, we would always be connected by the bonds of friendship and the shared experiences that made us who we were. And for that, I was truly grateful.
