Blood Red Bug

Chapter One : It came through

Something slips through. Something always slips through. Like the cracks of light from a doorway into a darkened hall. Its a shimmering thing, those cracks, but its a beacon for what can and will eventually find them. A beacon that makes shadows grow, and not quiver in fear. A beacon that is eaten by the dark, only to once again be cracked and shattered by the light. Much like boundaries and borders the light keeps the shadows at bay. Yet, there are times in which something slips through. Something always slips through.

And those somethings are always dangerous.

This particular little monstrosity managed to squeak out of a battle between its kind's most hated adversaries. Kwamis and their Miraculous holders. It was thankfully able to hide without being noticed by the dazzling white butterfly, that was a dazzling shade of dark moments before. Its one eye looking at the two others, one in black and one in red, with worry. If they noticed it. If it was seen it would not have its prey. That one eye glistened. Almost like a child being given a pony made of regenerating candy, it had found prey so quickly. For this creature's food was corruption, and the purer the heart the better. In nature, a ladybug's colors protected it from predators. Yet, this was no creature of nature, and it saw the black on red as an open invitation.

The black cat was the first to leave. This was good. One less set of eyes watching it when it made its move. It shifted, clinging to the shadows to get closer to its target. The red one moved, extending some kind of rope to fly away. This was its chance, and it took it. It leaped from the shadow of the wall, and tucked itself into one of the dark spots on the red and black outfit. With its red-gold eye closed, it was near indistinguishable from the material that made the magically enhanced outfit. It would strike once it knew that the girl's Kwami had not been made aware of its presence.

Ladybug landed on the open roof terrace of her home. Her flashing earrings losing their final spot, and she returned to being just Marinette. The girl stretched as Tikki sluggishly slumped onto her shoulder after reappearing.

"I will admit that that akuma was a bit of a problem." Marinette smiled and giggled a bit at the tired kwami. It was late when the akuma, Mirrormatch, decided to goad Ladybug and Chat Noir into a fight. His ability to copy the moves of the two flawlessly was something that Marinette didn't expect, but as she had said once before. Ladybug and Chat Noir were an unbeatable team.

She pulled a small cookie out of her purse and handed it up to the sleepy Tikki. The little red kwami smiled and started nibbling as she walked down the stairs into her room. The young girl's face bunched up in a wince the second that Tikki had left her shoulder. Her hand went straight to her ankle as she bent down to rub the sudden, and sharp pain she felt. It was like a bug bite, but there was no tell tale sign of a bump or mark to tell her what exactly had bitten her. Tikki looked over her little shoulder with worried eyes.

Marinette smiled. "Just a mosquito, got it!" The girl rushed up to where the bed was and pulled the blanket over herself and her sleepy friend. The red plush sized figure squirmed closer to snuggle up to her charge's cheek with a smile.

For once, Marinette woke up long before her alarms. Precautions to help her get up in time for school even though she was exhausted from super-heroing around Paris. She was even awake before the extremely punctual Tikki, whom in turn was an alarm to wake her up as well. She yawned. Her leg felt like it was on fire, and she scratched at the spot where she was "bitten" as her eyes took a look at her surroundings. Her dreams were harried. Almost like feverish sleep she was going through over the course of the night. It made the young Parisian hope that she wasn't coming down with something. It would be hard to fight akuma with a cold.

She got out of bed and stretched. Somewhat, more careful not to wake the sleeping red thing on her pillow. Her mind ignoring the black mesh that was on her arms, and the dark red outfit underneath those gloves. Her blue eyes went wide in panic. They darted from her bed to the mirror she was now looking into. She was Ladybug, but Tikki was peaceful making her squeaks as she slept. What Marinette was looking at was impossible. She couldn't be Ladybug without Tikki being in her earrings. She walked forward and in panic pulled some of her, seemingly darker, hair away from her ear to see that her miraculous was very much inert.

She took a minute to look herself over. Her arms and legs were covered in black, with a dark blood red colored outfit underneath, adorned with the usual black spots that was typical of her Ladybug outfit. The mask was dark, and covered in white spots where they should have been black. Her blue eyes were still in shock before she felt a twinge of pain in her chest. It was painful enough to drop her to her knees. A glow of golden-red wrapped around her eyes and her earrings at the spike in hurt that claimed her. She recovered herself, and stood back up. Looking into the mirror to see that she was back in her pajamas.

Despite the shock, Marinette felt great. Greater than great. As strong as though she were transformed. She felt magic. The magic that she got when she was Ladybug. It was intense to feel that, and yet have the feeling of separation from Tikki. It was disorienting in its intensity. She looked up at the bed, and to test it she leaped up the distance. Landing softly, like Ladybug, at the foot of the bed. Was it possible? Was it truly possible to have the abilities Tikki granted without Tikki. If so, she wouldn't need to put her friend in danger. She could keep Tikki safe along with everyone else she cared about. She felt another pain in her chest, but her legs didn't buckle. The ring of golden-red wrapping around the blue irises that watched Tikki sleeping so peacefully.

The form brought a smile to her face, and a tear ran down her cheek. She lifted her hand up to touch it. Wondering why she would be saddened by admiring the peaceful slumber of one of her dearest friends and confidants. She glanced over at her clock, and there was still plenty of time left before she would have to get up. Marinette decided that she would get some fresh air, and stepped outside into the early morning twilight.

There was something she had to check. She had to try, and it would make her believe what was happening to her. She took a deep breath, and whispered. "Spots on?" She closed her eyes. There wasn't the same rush as when she transformed, perhaps because she felt like she already was, but there was an emptiness that grew, and she could feel that same trickle of a tear roll down her cheek. She opened her eyes with a flash of red-gold and looked herself over. It was the same dark outfit that she was wearing only minutes before. She peaked through the trapdoor to the terrace and saw that Tikki had rolled over in her sleep. Marinette smirked. Maybe a quick run around her neighborhood would give her the extent of this strange new form.

She returned only about thirty minutes later, and was impressed with herself. Marinette was able to jump farther, run faster, and once she was able to get her yo-yo to appear was able to throw it farther and harder than she ever had been able to before. It was a rush. The strength, the speed, it was all so familiar yet so foreign. Enough so, that she wondered if her endurance also improved. With a smirk, she spun and fell back first towards the ground. She flipped, using the somehow new found speed to spin before landing solidly on the ground in the soft way she usually landed as Ladybug. Marinette didn't know why, but everything just felt so perfect. She had her fun though, and before long returned to the terrace. Willing the new transformed state back to her pajamas, the sun was rising behind the backdrop of the city as she descended the stairs back into her room.