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...
As I slowly regained consciousness, the haze of the Mirror realm began to dissipate, and the familiar sights of my room came into focus. But as I tried to sit up, a wave of dizziness washed over me, reminding me of the perilous situation I had just escaped.
"Whoa, easy there, Pixie," Jason's voice sounded from beside me, concern evident in his tone. "You took quite a fall back there."
I managed a weak smile, grateful for his concern. "Thanks, Jason," I murmured, still feeling a bit disoriented.
As I gathered my bearings, the memory of Shadybug's bizarre tale flooded back to me, and I couldn't help but chuckle despite my predicament. "You guys won't believe the story Shadybug told me about her universe," I began, my voice laced with amusement.
I recounted the wild details, from hating Adrian to dyeing her hair pink out of sheer spite. The absurdity of it all brought a smile to my lips, even in the midst of danger.
"But wait, it gets even crazier," I continued, the laughter bubbling up inside me. "Apparently, she despised being Ladybug and absolutely loathed Claw Noir. Can you imagine?" The reasoning behind her not liking either of those things was not funny, but everything was still a bit hazy, making everything feel funny.
The mere thought of resenting my snarky partner and superhero persona was enough to make me shake my head in disbelief. In my universe, they were my pillars of strength, my closest allies. The idea of despising them was beyond comprehension.
But as the laughter faded, the seriousness of our current situation settled over me like a heavy blanket. "Speaking of dangers," I said, turning to face Jon also known as Superboy , "I owe you a huge thank you for saving me back there."
"No problem, short stack!" Said super smiled at me.
"Hey, where's Dami?" I ask, rubbing my temple.
"Right there." He points towards my pink chair.
I get up from the bed and walk down to Dami. Once I reach him, I gently shake his shoulder, "Wakey, wakey, Dami."
He groans but slowly opens his eyes, "Good morning, Angel."
"Why did you sleep here?" I gesture to the couch.
"I passed out. And I didn't want to leave you alone." He says the last part much quieter and quicker than the first part.
"What was that Baby Bird?" Tim asks, snickering.
"Don't tease him, he just woke up." I help Dami up from the awkward sleeping position he was in.
"Aww look at you two. So cute." Dick squeals like a girl.
"Shut it Grayson." Dami groans in annoyance. He was still in his robin suit. And I was still in mine. Crap. Tikki.
"Spots off." I quickly whisper and am enveloped in a bright pink light, "Oh my gosh, Tikki! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay Marinette, it's not your fault." Tikki groggily says.
"Let me go get you some food." I walk over and open my door, but Dick beats me to it.
"I'll grab her food. You might fall off your ladder."
"Thank you, Dick." I cup Tikki in my hands. My black hands, "What in the world?"
"Dang Pixie, when did you get tatted up?" Jason says from behind me.
"Tatted up?" I scream. I look down at my arms, intricate designs of swirls and lines make their way up to my shoulders.
"Yeah, you have tattoos all over your back, arms, and neck." Tim says also from behind me.
"My mom is going to kill me." I pace in a circle.
"No, she isn't." Dami says coming up in front of me, forcing me to stop.
Dick comes back up with the food and I set Tikki down on my desk so she can eat, "What Little D means to say is, maybe this is temporary and it's just a slight side effect of going to the Mirror Realm."
"Slight side effect? I am covered in tattoos! Not in places that can be easily hidden." I walk to my bathroom to see the damage for myself.
I had no tattoos on my face or my throat, none on my legs. Which was good, I guess. I did have tattoos on my stomach, though. They were definitely an inconvenience but a very beautiful one. These designs would make a beautiful dress.
"Wherever they came from, they look nice on you." Dami says walking into the bathroom.
"Thanks, but how do I hide them? We have school today; it's going to look extremely suspicious if I show up a long-sleeved shirt and gloves in the middle of spring."
"Let me handle the miscreants that are our classmates."
