Magician of Misfortune (technically discontinued)

Chapter 3 - Innocence Of A Young Bluenette

Release Date - Wednesday, November 24, 2021

"Huh?", an unusually optimistic and childish Marinette stopped in her tracks as confusion set in, "You don't... remember me?"

The only thing that Cat Noir managed to utter in response to Marinette was an "Uh..."

"You've saved me from all the bad guys," Marinette continued, trying to remind the superhero of their dynamic. Meanwhile Cat Noir's concern for Marinette's odd behavior continued to grow. "You're my hero!," Marinette finished her explanation. At this point, Adrien couldn't help but be reminded of that one time he saw Marinette babysitting a young girl. That girl's name was Manon, wasn't it... Cat Noir asked himself.

"I am?," Cat Noir responded. Unfortunately for both teens, his response only made Marinette sad again. Tears seemed to begin to fill her eyes as her mom began consoling her.  

"Sorry for our daughter's behavior, Cat Noir. She's been acting like this ever since what happened earlier today, but we can't figure out exactly what happened to her!," Sabine began explaining.

Tom, who was Marinette's father and by extent, Sabine's husband, interjected himself into the conversation, "Maybe she was controlled by the akuma. I've heard that Ladybug never performed her Miraculous Ladybug today."

At this point, saying that Cat Noir was shocked was an understatement.

"Wait, where's the lucky charm?!," Cat Noir panicked as realization set into him. At the same time, he had a feeling that he already knew exactly what happened to it. Tom and Sabine then took a good look at each other, and then back at Cat Noir. Ultimately, their answer was a dual shrug. Obviously, Cat Noir was disappointed.

"Anyway... mind coming over for lunch?," Sabine asked, an effort to let both Marinette and Cat Noir relax. Meanwhile, Marinette was getting up and running it her room, presumably to do god-knows-what. 

"No can do, there's still an akuma that I have to fight. If only Ladybug were also here..." Cat Noir answered. He then used his hands to detect where to go, and left the Dupain-Cheng abode accordingly.

"Cat Noir's so cool, don't you think, magical fairy?!," Marinette, lying on her bed, asked Tikki.

"Um... you can say that...," Tikki responded, trying her best not to offend her owner, "Anyways... I have something else to tell you." This latter statement was followed by a thud, signaling that the akumatized victim was near the bakery again.

This thud was accordingly followed by a scream from the little blue-nette, and then her clinging to a pillow for protection.

"Is she okay?," Sass asked as he and Tikki witnessed their owner starting to cry, yet again.

"I... don't know, I mean, should we even entrust her with the powers of Ladybug at the moment? Look at her!"

Marinette's current state couldn't help but make all her owned kwamis feel bad. As a result, they all tried to do the first thing they could think of: effectively hug her for comfort, at least for a few seconds. After all, she would soon have to transform into Ladybug again.

"Huh?," Marinette muttered as she uncovered her eyes, "Oh my gosh, more secret fairies?!," she then squealed in a similar fashion to how Manon would likely do if she hypothetically encountered a unicorn in person.

"Um... yes, more secret fairies!," Tikki responded, thereafter being interrupted by Kaalki before the former could say anything else.

"I'm Kaalki, I'm Pollen, I'm Wayzz, I'm Baark!," the remaining 15 kwamis that Marinette owned excitedly reintroduced themselves to her, with Marinette being more excited the more they talked.

"Woah, that's so cool! When can I use your powers?!"

"Um, you're going to have to wear the proper Miraculous first before you can use any of them," Wayzz explained. He then took out some Miraculous for the purpose of testing how the new Marinette would react to them.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Which of the Miraculous do you want to use for this mission?"

"Wait Wayzz, you're being ridiculous, only the Ladybug miraculous can–," Tikki said in response to her newfound worry regarded Wayzz's recommendation.

"The Ladybug Miraculous is too powerful for such a newly immature mind to use at the moment. We'll discuss how to summon the 'Miraculous Ladybug', but Cat Noir can easily Cataclysm whatever Akuma is needed."

Despite Tikki retaining an uneasy feeling regarding Wayzz's decision, she ultimately let him proceed.

"Ooh, ooh, this one looks cute!," Marinette made a decision, with her pointing at the Pig Miraculous, the one of jubilation.

While Tikki and Wayzz were unsure of how Marinette would manage to utilize this Miraculous to defeat the akumatized villain, they remembered how Rose had managed to do the same with the same Miraculous, and how similar Marinette's new personality was to Rose.

"Good choice Marinette!," Tikki said, with a bit of worry in her tone. Marinette then put the Miraculous on her bracelet and instinctively asked the kwamis for further instructions.

"Marinette, you're supposed to put the Pig Miraculous on your ankle," Tikki answered, with Marinette then complying.

"Hey, why's nothing happening?"

"I believe what you're supposed to say is 'Daizzi, rejoice'?," Tikki answered again. While she was already uncertain about Wayzz and Marinette's decision, Tikki was at this point just becoming annoyed about her owner's relative innocence, wanting all this to be over with already.

"Oh, ok! Daizzi, rejoice!"

Marinette then began to transform, with the girl doing nothing but looking at herself in awe as her costume changed into the form of a new superhero.

"Woah! What... am I?!," an incredibly excited, newly transformed Marinette exclaimed.

"You're a superhero now!," Tikki responded, "With your Miraculous, you have enhanced strength! And you can also use a new power called 'Gift' that can give the villain their greatest desire! But use it wisely, as you'll end up turning back to normal after five minutes of using the power, and no one can know your secret identity!"

"What?," a confused Marinette could not comprehend what Tikki had said. Ultimately, Sass stepped up and helped the two understand.

"Marinette, all Tikki wants is for you to use your power at the right time and to be careful. You know, considering how much Tikki seems to be worried, she will secretly be with you while you fight."

"Wait, really?! So cool!," Marinette kept on being her new, usual, excited self as she started fidgeting around. Tikki then hid next to Marinette, and another thud was heard.

While Marinette briefly became scared again, Tikki reassured her that everything was going to be okay, with Marinette following her advice.

"Okay, let's go!," Marinette screamed as she started following Tikki's hidden orders, such as the ones that directed how to exit her room in the first place. After she properly exit her room, giving an opportunity for the remaining 14 kwamis to hide, she noticed the akumatized villain wreaking havoc in Paris, and felt several goosebumps growing in her skin as she froze.

"Relax, relax, everything's gonna be okay..."

"Oh hey there!," a familiar voice exclaimed, presumably talking to Marinette.

Author's Note: Taking yet another month to release a mere chapter, this time the chapter only being 1163 words (according to Wattpad, not counting the bolded words)? Zad! In all seriousness, I'm real sorry for taking so long. Regardless, hope you enjoy/enjoyed, I'll try to release Chapter 4 as soon as possible!