Chapter 7

Damian was pissed.

Like 'so angry he could break a table with his teeth' pissed.

Sure, he'd teased her but she'd started it! Great, now he was starting to sound like a kid.

He rubbed a hand down his face.

"So you're telling me that you dragged us all around our tower and out here thinking you were dangling over a pool of Piranhas--"

"Or eating them!" 

Damian rolled his eyes at his green friend and carried on, "For revenge?"

Marinette slowly nodded, her face controlled but pulled back waiting for any sudden outbursts or glaring eyes from them.

Tim snickered but covered it up with a badly timed cough.

She shrugged. "What, is a girl not allowed to play pranks anymore?"

Damian's eye twitched. "NOT ONES THAT--" he flinched at her squirm and cleared his throat taking a breath in and another out before carrying on, "Not ones that involve us thinking you're flipping dead!"

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jason. "To be honest, that's your own fault. I mean if you took a second to consider how a guy could place cards all over your house and kidnap Marinette, who may I say is perfectly capable of kicking his ass or at least transforming and then kicking his ass, you wouldn't have jumped to such conclusions and I would still be safe and snug in my room and on my laptop talking with Connor."

"And my ice cream wouldn't be in a big bowl melting right now." Starfire pouted.

Raven thought back to her pillows and Beast boy, his body pillow.

They'd all taken the brunt.

Damian sniffed before glaring at her again and looking away choosing to instead glare daggers at a wall.

Tikki's hand found its way onto her chosen's cheek and she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, he's not mad at you. He's just upset because he was worried."

Marinette glanced at him before nodding. Yeah. He was just worried. That's all. 

Just worried.

Worried.

Love.

He didn't like her.

He was just worried...

She felt a tug at her chest and her smile dropped as her heart squeezed leaving a painful throb.

Tears sprung to her eyes but she didn't allow them to drop.

He didn't like her.

Starfire was the first to point out the faint pink glow that surrounded her. Everyone watched in awe as for the second time, Marinette was swallowed in a beautiful and bright pink that shimmered leaving no traces behind. 

This time, she didn't faint. 

It was good...but she knew there was something wrong. She could feel it. Something was missing.

-&-

The three older Wayne brothers had bid their farewells as everyone returned home.

Marinette had been shocked when she saw the state of the tower knowing that she'd be forced to clean up after her little..big..prank. But being the good friends they were, they'd of course helped her.

She still had yet to talk to Damian. She could tell he was avoiding her. And she didn't like it. Not one bit. But she didn't want to anger him. All she'd tried to do was tease him a little. She probably had pushed it a little too far though. 

She smirked to herself. The plan had taken a while to construct. It was only out of pure luck that when it came to stuffing the card in Beast Boy's pillow, it involved her expertise. 

She didn't know what to do now that the spell was broken. She didn't really remember much, but she knew enough.

Her cheeks tinted as memories of Damian flooded her mind. For flips sake, why did he have to go along with her! Her mind led her to a memory of him next to her as they were hiding. It was when they'd gone out on that mission involving traffickers. He'd pulled her next to him and pushed them down to the ground as a woman went walking past barking orders at another. 

The way he'd looked at her...

She wondered.

Did he like that Marinette more?

What would he think if she confessed that at some point through all of that, the spell had worn off before taking her under again? That for an hour or less, she'd been this Marinette disguised as that one.

Lovey-dovey Marinette. Marinette 2.0

It reminded her of a book she'd read. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

She felt a tear run down before she quickly wiped it away. 

Don't cry. 

She closed her eyes and stopped at her destination. She chewed her lip debating whether or not to knock on the door. She stood outside his bedroom for what seemed like hours before giving up. 

"Why didn't you invite us to your wedding?"

"You sure you're not just trying to hide the fact that you went on one knee and popped the question?"

"For the last time, you are NOT dressing our hostage in a clown costume!"

"Damian!"

"Omg. Omg. Omg! Mariiii! I was soo worried!"

"Marinette. I'm still a man. If you tease me, I will react."

"How could you not tell us you had a boyfriend, let alone a husband!"

"Let's watch Hulk vs!"

"Oh hey guys!"

"Not ones that involve us thinking you're flipping dead!"

Good and bad memories. But still memories. 

Was Marinette 2.0 better than the original? Was she more fun? Was she more lovable?

She shook her head. 

"Don't worry, he's not mad at you. He's just upset because he was worried."

She stopped in her tracks and spun around. To hell with this! She had to apologise.

Tell him from her own mouth that she'd meant no harm.

She felt the same throb at her heart. Her thoughts led her astray.

She was hit with a love spell.

It'd worn off. 

Love spell..

Love.

Love! 

Her lips turned down into a frown. The word kept scratching her. Biting at her and nudging her. 

She huffed in annoyance and with one last glance back at his bedroom door, she turned again walking towards the place where this had all started. 

-&-

The familiar smell of the training room hit her like a storm as she entered scanning her eyes around before landing them on Raven.

"Hey Raven."

Raven jumped and slammed something shut turning around and sending her a tight smile. "H-Hey Marinette."

Marinette's eyes narrowed. "Is there something wrong?"

Raven's lips twitched and she could see the gears turning in her head as she looked for a suitable answer.

"No..." She cleared her throat, "Yes. Something very wrong."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in worry as she watched her friend look back at her with her eyes wide and her fingers gripping for dear life onto the book she'd slammed shut. The book with the words 'Magic Spells for Adepts' written along the cover in fancy writing.

Raven cleared her throat again. "I-uh." She hissed muttering at herself in quick, hushed whispers as though trying to choose her next words very carefully. 

Marinette's frown deepened as her friend bit her lip nervously glancing between her and the book in her hands as though trying to will it out of existence. 

She nodded to herself seeming to find somewhat of the right words to say and finally met Marinette's gaze. "Okay, Mari. You're going to have to stay very calm when I tell you this."

Marinette took a step closer, her eyes widening in anticipation and fear. She felt the familiar squeeze of her heart. 

Raven took a deep breath in and another out taking a quick glance at the door before landing it back on Marinette. 

"You know spells. And how they range from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest level. How level 5 spells are very dangerous in the wrong hands. A-And how even one wrong mistake could mess up the entire spell. And how they have side effects, some being goo--"

"Raven! Please. Just-Just get to the point." Raven gulped as she saw her friend's eyes begin to well up with tears. She took another look at the book in her hands and grumbled. 

She wished Starfire were here. Her happy-go-lucky presence would at the very least be able to soften the blow. 

"Have you been feeling...different?"

Marinette huffed in annoyance. This was not getting to the point! "Different how?"

She threw her hands up exasperated when Raven didn't answer right away. "Different how Raven!" She felt another pang at her heart.

Raven took a step back. "I-I need to get Starfire."

Marinette's eyes boiled with red and she picked up a nearby training pole and threw it stopping Raven in her tracks. "DIFFERENT HOW!"

Raven jumped, sweat sheening on her brow. She held her free hand up. "You need to calm down Marinette. Calm down."

Marinette's eyes went wide. "What the hell do you mean calm down! You did something to me and you're not even telling me what! Just tell me what the hell's wrong with me, then I'll calm down!"

Raven shook her head. "If I tell you, it'll only make things worse." She eyed the book in her hands again and her gaze slowly lifted back to the door and then back again to the fuming woman standing before her.

Marinette felt another pang at her heart. And another. And another. With each throb, her mood worsened. 

Raven's eyes searched the room frantically. Where the hell was Tikki. Wasn't she always meant to be by her chosen's side--no. No. No. No. No. No!

She'd messed up. 

Tikki was busy in the kitchen with Starfire - They'd become rather good friends.

She wondered if they'd be able to hear her if she screamed.

Damian's room was the closest.

Okay. All she had to do was distract Marinette for a second. Just enough time to--

"Raven."

Raven's blood ran cold and her mouth went dry.

"Give me the book Raven."

Her limbs were stiff. 

"What did you do to me Raven. Just tell me. Tell me what you did to me." Marinette's voice was too calm. Too controlled.

"Raven. Please."

Raven's hands trembled.

"Please Raven. My chest hurts."

No. No. No! She'd messed up. The wrong damn..she'd messed up! That stupid brain of hers was too busy plotting how to play matchmaker that she didn't even notice the words she'd said. The words she'd repeated in her head as she read the book. She hadn't noticed that they were all wrong. The words had been wrong. The spell....

It was all wrong. 

It wasn't meant to go this way.

It was all wrong.

The words.

The spell.

The light.

She hadn't just hit Marinette with any old love spell.

She winced at the sudden sharp intake of breath from her dear blue-eyed friend. 

"I-I'm so sorry Mari...I'm so sorry."

Marinette's eyebrow quirked. She sniffed and wiped at the tear dripping down her cheek. "What the hell did you do to me Ray?"

With the sudden opening, Raven bolted for the door attempting to ignore Marinette's sad whispers. 

He was going to kill her. That, she knew for sure. A normal love spell was around level 3 at best. It didn't mean any harm. It was just used as a joke among other spell-casters. It was kind of like a matchmaking test. If the person you cast it on held any affections towards another person, it would work, but if they didn't then it wouldn't work and the person would just feel a slight wave of giddiness before going back to normal. It was kind of like alcohol. Temporarily intoxicating the person.

That's all she'd tried to do.

Temporarily intoxicate Marinette. Just enough so that her and the others could laugh over Damian's reactions to an intoxicated Marinette.

She hadn't meant any harm.

It was her first time casting the spell. 

She didn't know...she'd messed up.

-&-

She rushed into Starfire grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from a confused Tikki and to the dining table where the book lay open on the page she'd used.

Before Starfire could so much as ask what she was doing, her eyes caught onto the page and her face went pale.

She looked at Raven before looking back at the page and then back at Raven. Her eyebrows sunk. "Raven, please tell me you didn't--" Raven nodded her head.

Starfire's shoulders slumped. "Poor Marinette."

Tikki's eyes wandered the page before meeting Raven's pleading ones. "Tikki, please tell me you can do something about this."

The women's gazes turned to Tikki watching as she thought. She looked back up, anger in her usually calm eyes. "Raven, do you know how much damage you've--" She stopped abruptly looking around. "Where's Marinette?"

"I-I--"

Tikki's eyes went wide. "Please tell me you didn't leave her on her own."

Raven felt the bitter sting of tears prick her eyes. 

Tikki gasped. "I have to get her. She could--Where did you leave her?"

"T-The training room."

Before she could so much as move, Tikki was out of sight.

She looked back at Starfire. 

Starfire shook her head. "All we can do now is hope that we're not too late."

Raven nodded. "Y-Yeah." All they could do now was hope. 

Marinette was a sensitive person when it came to her feelings. 

Very sensitive.

Damian would definitely kill her if they didn't get this sorted out.

She stared daggers at the page opting to rip it out and destroy it, but choosing not to knowing that they'd need it if they were to help their dear friend. Poor Marinette.

She'd messed up.