A scream threatened to break through as Marinette struggled to come to terms with her reflection. Thin, long, black antennae were protruding out from her forehead. The teen tentatively touched one of them before immediately retracting her hand back, a wave of nausea ran through her as she collapsed to her knees onto the cold tile. Her blue eyes were empty as she simply stared at her hands on the floor, how could this have happened? Was it because of the miraculous? Was this the price she had to pay?

"Marinette?" She faintly heard her mother call, "Are you okay?"

With a shaky breath, the girl in question attempted to calm down, "Yes Mamman, I just dropped something."

"Okay sweetie."

With that the noirette heard the trapdoor close and she let out a near silent sigh. Surely this was just a dream and she'd wake up soon, no antennae in sight. Somehow managing to steal her nerves, Marinette grasped the counter attached to her sink and dragged herself up off the floor. Slowly she was able to move her blue orbs to the sight of her reflection and she nearly fell back down. This was really happening wasn't it? Of course this had to happen when Tikki was away didn't it? The kwami would be able to help her understand. Perhaps she should speak to Fu instead? Though the small god refused to tell Marinette where she was going, she had assured the teen everything would be fine while she was gone. Now she wasn't so sure.

Was this thing the reason Tikki left? Although the antennae would logically be able to be covered by a hat, if she produced anymore ladybug-like features she wasn't sure what she'd be able to do. Did Chat Noir also have this problem? Was he growing ears? Or even a tail? Very faintly in her memory, the black haired girl was able to recall one of the first conversations she had with the kwami.

"The more you use the miraculous, the more side effects that come with it will show up." Tikki informed the human girl.

"Side effects?" She exclaimed worriedly, "Like what?"

"Oh you know, just little things like not liking the smells of certain things like vinegar and lemons."

Though the floating creature seemed pretty flippant about the whole situation, Marinette couldn't help but worry, "And any... big things?"

"Do you consider eating bugs a weird thing?"

"What?!"

"It's okay Marinette, so please calm down," The god allowed her a moment to breathe before continuing, "Besides, it's only once in a while and people don't even notice when it happens."

"Right, okay... okay. Anything else?"

"Oh yeah, winters are particularly rough for holders of the Ladybug Miraculous, but as long as you keep warm it'll be fine."

"Alright, I can handle that."

"Just remember Marinette," Tikki warned with a grave tone and far off look in her eyes, "Be sure to never abuse the powers of the miraculous, or it will retaliate in a unpredictable manner. And only ever use them when absolutely necessary."

"Tikki?" The girls questioning and concerned tone brought the kwami back to the present.

"It's nothing, I was just hoping that this fight with Papillon doesn't last for too long, for your sake."

"Don't worry Tikki, I'll defeat him for sure!"

It was only now that the pink clad girl realized that she'd misunderstood that conversation a year ago. The Ladybug Miraculous wasn't meant to be used so often for so long, it was more of a temporary solution. Were the antennae just the beginning of the side effects Tikki spoke of? Was this why she suddenly had to mysteriously leave?

"Marinette!" Her mother called from downstairs, "You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"

"Coming!" She called back, but Marinette had no intentions of going to school today.

Hats aren't allowed at school and her parents were so clingy they'd immediately want to dot on her if she claimed to be sick. Without another glance at the mirror, she quickly got ready as a resolve formed in her head. Unfortunately the teen didn't really have a hat that worked with her concerning situation, so she decided a bandanna would do instead. Once done she ran downstairs and out the door, bidding her parents goodbye, and making sure they saw her go in the direction of the school before they lost sight of her and she turned in a different direction. It wouldn't do to have this continue for much longer.

Idly on her way to Master Fu's house she wondered what it was like to have one of the other miraculouses, if they also caused the holder to transform into something else with continued use of it it was just the Ladybug? Surely the Cat also transforms? She wondered if Chat woke up with whiskers or something else today like she did. She hoped he was okay, that he was handling it a little better than she was.

Finally she made it to Fu's house, but as she raised a hand to knock her body began to convulse. Pain filled her senses as she curled into herself and heard someone screaming in a terrifying manner before she realized it was her. She was screaming right now. Although she knew this, she couldn't stop, the pain was unbearable, she'd never felt anything on this level before. It felt like her skin was being ripped apart, tearing even more as she curled into herself. Her back felt wet and a little sticky, which confused her, but the searing and burning sensation outweighed her curiosity. Distantly she thought she heard someone calling her name, but she just kept screaming until she couldn't hear anymore. The world going silent as she passed out.


When Marinette finally came to, she was inside Fu's house, laying sideways on one of his mats. The pain that overwhelmed her earlier now felt dull, and she assumed she was knocked out for a long while considering how dark it looked outside. Were her parents worried about her? Carefully the girl sat up and became aware of the bandages around her torso, causing fear to flow through her body. She briefly recalled the gross feeling on her back before she raced to where she knew his bathroom was, unsure of whether she wanted to know the answer or not.

Despite her reservations, she managed to find the courage to look at herself in the mirror. Antennae were one thing, she could handle it, but if what was under these bandages was what she thought it was, she didn't know what she would do. With a deep breath, Marinette carefully undid the bindings of the gauze, watching as they fell to the ground. After about a minute, she found it within herself to look at the reflection, and felt that wave of nausea from earlier come back at full force as she gripped the sink for support. She had wings! Actual, working, translucent wings!

Of course, of course she also grew wings! This day was quickly becoming a contender for worst day ever. She was alarmed and a little excited that they seemed to flick when she thought about it. Somewhere in her was a sense of bravery as she attempted to fly. It took a second before the wings actually started going faster and she floated up a little off the ground. This was great! She could fly! Now she didn't have to rely on her yo-yo to go everywhere! Then reality hit, she didn't have these wings as Ladybug. She had them as Marinette, and Marinette was not supposed to have wings!

Her thoughts quickly spiraled downwards as she wondered what people would think of her. Would they think she was an akuma? Would they think her a freak and wish to stop hanging around her? What about her parents? Would they still love her, or would they be afraid of her? Tears rolled down her face as she desperately wished for these side effects to be temporary, a weird form of puberty. Though what if it wasn't? She'd never be able to show her face in public as Marinette ever again. Especially since none of the other side effects didn't seem to be going away.

She was beginning to crave bugs more and more, and each time it got cold or snowed was worse for her than the last time. Would she eventually turn into a full bug creature, just like the man in Metamorphoses? Would she forget being human all together? Or maybe she was just being too pessimistic, and she just needed to let the transformation run it's course. It would be ideal if it turned out like that one episode of Teen Titans and she'd quickly turn back to normal, but as she remembered the far away look in the kwami's eyes, she was becoming less confident of that possibility. If only Tikki were here.

"Marinette?" Fu called through the bathroom door, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She reassured, "Just... a little surprised is all."

"Would you like a shirt to cover up with instead of the bandages, I was able to find one that would be comfortable for you concerning your current... predicament."

"Yes please, thank you."

The teen hid behind the door as she stuck her hand out of the opening, grabbing hold of the top he handed her, before once more shutting the door. This whole situation was a little embarrassing and more than a little frightening, but she couldn't let it get the better of her. As she pulled on the backless top, Marinette wondered if this was going to be what it was like for the rest of her life, having to have backless shirts for her wings, having to hide away her antennae. Would the side effects leave as soon as she gave back the jewelry, or would they continue due to her wearing said jewelry for so long? If they left would it be immediate or something more along the lines of a gradual process? Her vision turned blurry at these thoughts, but she couldn't afford to wallow in her misery, especially with Papillon still at large.

"Marinette?" Fu sounded worried.

"Is it okay if I stay in here for a little bit?"

"Yes, of course, take as much time as you need."

"Thank you."

As she sat on the bathroom floor, reflecting upon everything that happened in her life up to now, she couldn't help but notice the window sitting unnoticed by the toilet. Curtains shut tightly, hiding the world from the secrets that lay inside. It was that innocent window that caused the noirette to stand once more and take in her new appearance in the mirror. Once more her thoughts filled with nothing but flying until she no longer felt the ground beneath her feet. She practiced flying in circles as she made up her resolve.

Opening the window as quietly as possible, the young woman took off into the night sky, unnoticed by all except a lone figure in the darkness, blending into his surrounding environment with nothing but his bright green eyes to give him away. Now he supposed he wasn't the best partner to have, but he knew he had to be better starting now. Starting with consoling his longtime crush and letting her know she wasn't alone in this shocking turn of events. This wasn't how he wanted to find out her identity, but they'd just have to talk about that later, after whatever was going on with them was long gone.