Chapter 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjkrrmBnpGE

If possible, please listen to this song while reading this chapter. It's what I was listening to while completing this chapter. But you don't have to listen to it. I just thought that it might make the experience better for you near the end of the book.

[Important notes] The words in square brackets are like flashbacks into previous events. They aren't Marinette's flashbacks. It's hard to explain, but I hope you'll figure it out. 

---

The doors to the training room were left ajar allowing the Mini-Goddess in.

She maneuvered her way around the equipment, her eyes narrowing at the sight of the scratches and dents and the fact that there was no Marinette Dupain-Cheng in sight.

It hadn't been that long since Raven had come out so she couldn't have gone too far.

Tikki could practically taste the remnants of the spell, a strong smell of sour strawberries that would make a sweets-loving person like Marinette gag.

She huffed trying to calm her racing heart.

Her chosen was in trouble and she had no idea where--of course. How could she be so stupid?

She knew exactly where Marinette was.

-&-

A million thoughts were racing through his head. A million regrets. A million possibilities. A million emotions.

He wasn't used to this bombardment of emotions, all over one person.

How could one person make him feel so many things at once?

Especially the person who'd made him swear murder the first time they'd met.

Then again, he knew he shouldn't be so surprised. He'd had this conversation with himself before. He'd already established his emotions towards Marinette and he knew clear as day what he felt for her even if he wanted to deny it and simply call it lust or biology.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng really did make him think.

He wasn't in love, but he was sure that he soon would be.

He'd tried calling it a simple crush but deep down, he knew that it was more than that. There was no point deceiving himself.

He'd already tried that and it just gave him a headache.

What he was feeling was in the middle of like and love. It was slowly wavering towards the latter, but it still hadn't quite reached it yet.

His thoughts were disrupted by a thump outside his door.

His eyes narrowed. "Who's there?"

-&-

"Do you think true love's kiss would work?"

Starfire returned Raven's ridiculous question with a frown. "Raven, you are supposed to be the most rational out of the both of us. We both know that the kiss of true love would have no effect against neutralising this spell. It would only enhance her infatuation."

Raven nodded understanding the severity of her recommendation. "Then what if I cast another spell, but one that would make her feel nothing?" She sat down with a thump, her mind generating ideas at a speed unbeknownst to her. "The opposite effects would neutralise it right?"

"But then what if it did not? What if you just made everything worse?"

Raven grumbled. "There isn't time for what-ifs! Marinette is running rampage somewhere in this building and--"

"Marinette's doing what?"

Both women turned to the sight of Cyborg, his eyes flicking between the two of them.

Raven stuttered. "I-uh-"

Cyborg looked to Starfire for a response, but her eyes were wide and she looked as though she were a deer caught in headlights.

He narrowed his eyes and straightened up. "What's going on?"

Raven looked to Starfire to answer then sighed. It was time she took the blame. "The spell I used on Marinette was too intense and now she's somewhere in this tower doing Gods know what and I-I don't know how to reverse this."

Cyborg stayed silent as he absorbed this new information. For once, he had no clue what to say.

"You'd better fix this Raven."

Raven stiffened at the voice behind her and turned around to the sight of a fuming Damian Wayne holding the woman of the hour in his arms as she curled up into his chest and an equally worried Tikki sitting on his shoulder.

Tikki stared at her, apologies written in her eyes. "I'm sorry Raven, I had to tell him. It was likely that she would've gone to him first and I thought it better that I inform him beforehand. When I arrived at his room, his door was ajar and Marinette was slumped over his shoulder."

Damian's eyes were wild as they flicked from Raven to Marinette. She trembled in his arms, but he didn't know what from. Whether it be fear or excitement. Or maybe even sickness.

"You need to explain to me what the fuck you did and how to fix it."

Raven gulped and looked away from his eyes.

Tikki answered in her stead. "We shouldn't fight. All we need to focus on right now is Marinette."

Damian looked up and swallowed Raven whole with his gaze. He walked past her and layed Marinette on the couch where she easily slid out of his arms unlike the time earlier where she refused to let him go.

Cyborg, Damian, Starfire and Raven surrounded her and watched as she kept her eyes on the ceiling, a blank expression on her face.

Tikki flew up to her chosen's side. "Can you hear me Marinette?"

Marinette's eyes flicked to Tikki and she gave a sombre "Yes".

Tikki nodded. "That's good. She doesn't appear to have any auditory issues and her vocals are working just fine--"

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but there's no point checking her exterior when we know that the problem is inside her."

Tikki nodded, still looking at her chosen. "I know, but spells like this can affect her motor and sensory skills. For example, she could start hallucinating."

"How bad would these hallucinations be?"

Starfire's question hung in the air as Tikki thought carefully of what to say next.

"It depends on the intensity of the spell...But seeing as how strong this spell was, everything she would see, hear, taste, smell and touch would be her reality. She would have no control over her senses. Almost as though she were living in a dream."

Raven's head twitched and she rubbed her eyes, guilt turning to impatience. "Okay, so what are we supposed to do?"

Tikki kept her eyes in her chosen and ran her gaze around her face. She hummed with confirmation and turned to meet their gazes.

"Right now, we wait."

Damian almost slipped over his own words. "Wait? Wait for what?"

"Wait for her to stop hallucinating."

"She's hallucinating? How can you tell?"

"Her eyes are glassy."

All eyes turned back to Marinette as they watched her stare blankly, her face showing no more signs of emotion.

"How long should it take?"

Tikki shot a look at Raven. "It depends on the intensity of the spell."

Raven guffawed before slumping on a nearby chair. "Are you telling me there is absolutely nothing we can do but wait?"

No answer came.

Dismay and impatience ran across the room, dancing and swirling around the heads of these fine heroes and they waited and waited until their dear friends would awaken from her sensory slumber.

Only the Gods knew what she was seeing...Only the Gods knew...

-&-

Her eyes flew open and a calm tranquility flooded her senses before being interrupted by the sight in front of her. She smiled and giggled at the sight of Damian grinning back at her with his boyish smile, his hands in his pockets and his hair ruffled by the recent events.

Starfire sat beside her, a plate of bonbons in her hand, attempting to swat away Beast boy's pestering hand. 

She opened her mouth to speak but failed to get a word out almost as though she couldn't summon up the right word or sentence to sum up her thoughts. 

Interrupted once more by laughter, she looked to the left where Cyborg and Raven were sparring. Raven hitting him with blast after blast and his dodging each and every one. 

She closed her eyes and hummed before having her moment ruined by the sensation of something cold on her cheek. Her eyebrows furrowed as the sounds of laughter faded away and her eyes flew back open.

She looked around confused at the sudden new terrain. The smell of fresh grass and the prick of stones attacking her hands. 

A sudden spike at her chest had her heart racing and the tranquility ran away replaced by confusion and fear.

"..SC..O..SHO..." A muffled voice grabbed at her attention and the cold heavy object on her cheek pressed deeper. Her eyes looked to the left and the voice became clearer.

"SCREA...OR...SH..." Her eyes narrowed as she tried to point out what exactly he was saying, her mind not quite catching it yet. 

As she opened her mouth to speak, a sudden invasion rush of noises flew past her ears and they popped, a painful pop that caused her a wince. And all was clear.

"SCREAM OR I'LL SHOOT!"

The gun dug deeper and her eyes widened and stared at the man before she felt something warm on her shoulder that seemed to sharpen her senses and relax her body.

-&-

Damian grimaced as he watched her chest rise and fall, escalating in pace. He wasn't the kind of person who would wait for something to happen unless it was planned.

Her head twitched to the side and her eyes lay themselves on him. She stared into him as though trying to seek a sort of shelter. As though by looking at him, she would find all the answers she needed. Then her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. 

She resembled a child having a nightmare. One in which there was no escape. No waking up.

He stepped to her side, the others watching his every move, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. With that physical connection, her body soothed itself.

"Why don't we use this time to think about how to fix this?"

Cyborg's suggestion filled the silence for a mere second before it returned.

The silence remained for what felt like eternity before Raven decided to take the reins.

"Ok, fine. We need to focus on every key detail that we can remember."

The heroes took the time to think. 

To think about how it had all started. With a strong love spell.

To think about what had happened next. A prank played by the receiver of said love spell and overwhelming emotions. Not to mention, a kidnapping that could've gone so much worse (if this weren't of course a comedy, slightly angsty, romance book).

To think about what was happening right now. Receiver of said love spell and prankster now stuck in the after effects of said love spell.

They knew that Marinette was a miraculous wielder. The magic Raven cast had been too strong and although the spell should've worn off by now, it had not. But why?

                                 -&-

Dear reader, I have a task for you. By the end of this chapter, I would like you to figure out a solution. Any solution. And if possible, try and guess the solution they'll come up with. Their solution will be revealed later on. I have no reward, but let's just play a little game. For the fun of it. Good luck!

                              ////////

If we were to break the spell down, it was around a level 4-5. At the time the spell was cast, Marinette was not Ladybug which was a relief as the mix up of magic would have caused much more adverse reactions. 

However, Marinette still had a certain stream of magic in her.

To explain it, let's look at the magic of the miraculous:

The magic of the miraculous is like a drug. Unlike green lantern or Starfire's magic, Marinette's magic is temporary. Once the words are said, the magic is activated and it sends certain specialised signals towards the brain enhancing certain features of the body depending on the type of miraculous. These features can also affect others apart from the wielder. For example, in the case of our fox friend, her magical flute would cause certain visual changes in the target. They would start to see certain things, possibly even feel things depending on the strength of the wielder's power.

 This is why there is also a time limit. After a certain amount of time, the body starts to reject the magic and so the effects wear out so as not to force the body and thereby destroy it or cause incapacitation. This is why after training, the body and mind becomes more used to the sudden release of certain things and so the effects of the magic can last longer. Like a drug. You start off with a low dose and then gradually increase, however a sudden increase or getting to a certain point caused side effects. 

In a sense, when it comes to strengthening a wielder's powers, it's less about strengthening the actual power as that it already there, but more about increasing the maximum capacity of magic the wielder's body can contain at a time.

Like training to run for longer. As a person builds up their muscles, they also build up their heart muscle and so their heart becomes larger and their body can withstand longer periods of time running as the body pumps more blood.

Anyway, going back to Marinette's magic, as mentioned before, she constantly has a certain stream of magic in her to prepare for when the body encounters the magic again so as to reduce the chances of rejection. 

Now that we've looked at the magic of the miraculous let's link it together with Raven's spell.

Marinette had magic in her waiting for certain magic to enter and so once Raven's new foreign magic entered her body and sent off certain signals to the brain releasing certain hormones like higher dopamine levels and norepinephrine (which together with adrenaline increases heart rate) and so on that created the intense feeling on infatuation towards Damian. This sudden increase in blood pressure caused by the norepinephrine along with the foreign magic triggered the miraculous magic in her and caused it to sort of 'trap' Raven's magic.

Kind of like when your'e confused about what to do with a question in an exam paper and so set a reminder or keep in lingering somewhere on the surface of your mind to come back to it later or even see if any future questions will help answer it. Or even when you're a certain law student that has just been threatened by someone who knows everything that could send you to jail and so proceed to tie her up and call your lecturer (How to get away with murder reference if you haven't already guessed). 

And so now that Raven's magic has been tied up by the magic of the miraculous for further questioning, despite it supposedly wearing off, traces of it are still in her.

So then how could this be fixed?

That was the question on everyone's mind.

If only there was a way to make this go away. A semi-peaceful way to cause a kidnapper to release it's hostage without anyone getting hurt. 

And then it clicked.

 "We need to make a call."

-&-

Marinette's hand twitched and she gasped ripping herself out of that bastardly hallucination. 

She shot up and blinked allowing her eyes the moisture they needed. They stung as she blinked again. She'd rather not imagine how red they must be.

"Hello?"

Her eyes darted around the room in painful motions  as she searched for her friends.

["Are you sure about this?"

"We don't really have much of a choice. Let's call her and hope she get here soon."]

"Hello?" She repeated again her voice more frantic. She should be sort of relieved actually, at least she was beginning to feel something again.

But the emptiness washed over her as loneliness took the place of confusion. Had they left her?

Had she been so much of a nuisance that they'd finally left her and decide she should figure everything out on her own?

[The wielder burst into the room, their eyes darting around before they finally landed on the woman laying down. "What the fuck did you do!" 

"Listen, we know you're worried but time is of the essence. We'll explain everything later but now, we need you to do something for us."]

She swung her legs onto the floor and stumbled up, anger stealing loneliness' place.

Fine. If they wanted her to figure this out, then she would. It was Raven's stupid spell that had caused this whole mess in the first place and her emotions for Damian had played a part too.

She never should've come here.

Ideally, she should be going back home to Paris, however first she needed to find Tikki.

"Tikki!"

["But this could break her! And are you even sure it'll work? She's the most experienced wielder out of all of us. It probably won't even work on her!"

Damian sighed, defeated. "We know, but at this point, we're willing to try anything. And all we need is a little time. So when we get started, you need to do it as quick as possible. I trust that you should be able to pull this off. For Marinette."

The wielder glanced at her friend once more. "If this fails, I will not hesitate to slice your throat."]

Marinette stumbled towards the door. A sort of magnetic force pulling her in a certain direction like a dream. She narrowed her eyes at the walls, the normal tint of them slightly off.

She came to a stop outside the training room - a room she seemed to have spent a lot of time in nowadays - at the sound of voices. 

"None of this would've happened if not for that damn spell."

"Tikki, I've already apologised enough. What more do you want me to do?"

"Fix this!" Tikki's voice rose up a pitch as her anger rose. 

["This needs to be perfect. We can't make any mistakes. This is our only shot. Who knows what she'll do if she finds out."]

Raven grumbled and slammed her fist on the wall. "I'm trying!"

"Well try harder!" Tikki's eyes narrowed into a deadly glare no one would've thought possible on a kwami that cute.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak. And then the strangest thing happened.

And in one swift motion, Raven was laying on the ground completely still moaning and clutching her stomach. 

She gasped but shot her mouth towards her mouth stifling the noise of surprise.

She never thought Tikki would have it in her to attack an ally.

A sudden thought ran through her head. She felt...betrayed.

She ran past the room and followed another series of voices.

Cyborg and Beast boy.

"Marinette's changed so much because of that spell. What do we do?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Nothing. We've tried and we've failed. We're just wasting our energy. She'd Damian's friend anyway, not ours."

A wave of dizziness overcame her and she felt another painful attack at her heart. She was right. They didn't care about her. None of them did.

["This needs to be completely believable, but I'm sure that she'll believe anything at this point."]

She had just been a pawn to them. They didn't want Marinette. They wanted Ladybug. And to think that one love spell had been the cause of it all. It had caused her weakness and they hadn't liked what they'd seen.

A rage unlike any other she'd felt thus far overcame her.

Fuck them. Fuck them all. And surprisingly enough, of all the people here to hate, it was the one person that had strung her along this whole time that she hated the most. 

["Out of everyone here, who is her main point of focus?" 

They all set eyes on him.]

Damian Wayne.

He had brought her here. He had caused this pain.

She shrugged off her uncertainty and marched towards the next destination.

Anger fueling her system.

["By the time she figures it out, it'll be too late. The damage will be done."

"It's not the most ethical way of doing things, but we can't exactly use more magic on her and mundane drugs wouldn't have the desired effect so we need to rely on the one thing that can save her, herself."]

And that's how she found herself 15 minutes later with his sword in her hands. His voice repeating in her head like an echo refusing to fade away into space. "MARINETTE CALM DOWN!"

He dodged another swing. "This isn't you, it's the spell!"

In her vision, she saw not just red but also black and a tint of pink, a reminder of the magic stuck inside her.

In her ears, his voice was a stranger. She knew not the Damian Wayne that stood in front of her. She knew not this stranger before her eyes. 

But the one thing she did know was the anger that she felt stampeding through her veins.

And so with one final swing, she did not hold back.

With one final swing, she sliced into him with all her might, her eyes boring into his and his into hers. 

His withering gasp broke her out of her chain and as though she'd placed her hand into acid, she quickly released the sword.

Her hands shook and a piercing ringing filled her ears as she watched him fall.

There is no complete way to describe how Marinette felt at that moment. 

That wave of dizziness from before attacked her again with such determination that she fell the the ground, her heart slowing to a single beat.

Voices invaded her and time seemed to move slower as they came in.

As they pushed her away and looked at her with fear and Raven stood over him muttering words as her hands glowed.

["All the stress on her brain should hopefully cause the desired effect. But this isn't like any normal case. Once it's gone, it should be gone. Because the only thing holding her back is that spell."]

She glanced at the wall again and frowned. Their voices faded away as all her attention focused on the wall. Something was wrong.

And then it took her like a storm. The sudden epiphany that was confirmed when she looked back at them and saw them all staring at her, the sword disappearing.

Then everything went dark.

-&-

"C'mon Mari, wake up. We didn't even train that hard."

Marinette's eyes fluttered open. 

["And so hopefully..."]

She winced at the sudden harsh light, squinting before focusing on the hand in front of her face. She grabbed it and thanked Starfire. 

"C'mon, we should go and eat." 

She looked around confused before following Starfire and Raven to the others.

As she sat, she jumped at the sudden arms that wrapped around her. Then as they pulled away, her eyes widened at the grinning face.

"Oh my Gods, Alya? What are you doing here?" She smiled and hugged her friend back squeezing her tight. 

"Well I just had to come and visit! We all miss you Mariii. Ditch these losers and come back home!"

Marinette rolled here eyes and released her friend. With a laugh, they both sat back down. 

As she ate, she noticed the silent individual sitting opposite her. "Are you okay Damian?"

Her heart skipped a beat as his eyes met hers, a sudden rush of emotion ran through them before he returned to his normal emotionless self and nodded. "Yes, I'm just thinking about--"

"How much you love her and want to kiss her senseless?" 

Marinette choked on her drink and surprisingly, so did Damian. He sent a glare towards a grinning Beast boy.

["...with this illusion..."]

He continued, ignoring the man. "How Raven still needs to replace her pillows. Her endless moaning about them is getting me this close to murdering her in her sleep."

He seemed to stare at her more intensely that normal, waiting for her reaction.

"Oh, what happened to Raven's pillows?"

She was something akin to a smile on his face as his body relaxed. "Nothing much. Just a spell gone wrong."

["...she should forget."]

She nodded. "What a shame. She really loves those pillows." 

His voice went softer. "Yeah."

"I could always sew them back up for her."

He hummed and watched as she got distracted by Alya shaking her shoulder and drawing her attention back to her.

She whispered something in Marinette's ear that caused the most bright adorable flush of red to cake her face. Marinette picked up her napkin and swatted it on Alya's laughing face. 

She shoved her face behind her hand, glancing at Damian before focusing very closely on her food.

Tikki burst out laughing. Damian caught Tikki's eye and nodded, she nodded back in relief.

Starfire leaned towards Damian and whispered. "Are you not happy? Your wish was granted. She forgot."

He glanced at Marinette. "But how much did she forget?"

"Well considering we kept mentioning the spell, the she should've forgotten everything after the sparring with Raven. Including the spell of course."

He nodded. Something in his heart just wouldn't let it go.

Starfire took notice of where he constantly let his eyes wonder. "You could always try naturally telling her how you feel. We all know she feels the same way."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Why do you think she was so obsessed with you? I was trying to tell you before that this spell was an intensification of emotions that already existed. She already likes you. The spell just enhanced that causing her to display her emotions on more physical forms."

He stared at Starfire looking for a hint of deceit.

But there was none.

-&-

It was later on than evening after one hell of a long day that he finally confronted her.

He knocked on her door and she opened it rather quickly.

They stared at each other for a beat before she awkwardly let him in.

She shut the door shutting them away from the rest of the group.

Silence remained. She spoke first. "About what Beast boy said.."

He watched as she fidgeted. A million thoughts probably running through her head wondering what to say next.

This was the Marinette he knew. 

She looked everywhere but at him.

It was when she felt his presence directly in front of her that she met his eyes.

"Was-Was it true?"

With one swift motion, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer then without a single hint of hesitation, he let his lips land on hers.

And then he pulled away. His heart beating almost as fast as the thoughts in his head were racing.

Her eyes went wide before slowly getting smaller and he pulled her in again, his fingers running through her hair.

He leaned in placed his forehead on hers. "Does that answer your question?"

With half lidded eyes, she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her lips closed and she gulped. 

He closed the bridge between their lips again, catching hers in an even rougher net. He bit down on her bottom lip and she gasped.

With that, he pulled away once more before leaning in to kiss her again, a magnetic attraction pulling her towards him as well before she pulled back and smiled.

She placed her head on his chest and shut her eyes listening to his heart beat and encasing herself in his rich warmth.

As he spoke, his chest vibrated, "I must confess." She lifted her head and studied the way his cheeks tinted a delightful red. "It seems you've hit me with a love spell."

She shook her head and burrowed it into his chest chuckling. "I didn't know you could be so cheesy."

He wrapped his arm around her tighter and placed his chin on her head before whispering. "I've missed you."

"What?" She hummed.

He dug his fingers deeper into her hair. "Nothing." Then released her locks before pushing her onto her bed. "I just said that you're so short."

He smirked as he watched her eyes narrow and that burning flame of challenge he liked...loved so much about her reached the surface and she threw a pillow at him.