Origins: Finale

Helpless.

A whole five seconds of feeling that way was all it took. A few seconds of seeing Alya struggling, her parent's desperation to help her, to Chat Noir crying out as he tried to escape Ivan's grasp, and Marinette had made her decision.

The weight of her choice propelled her whole body forward as she dived underneath the debris, to the miraculous. To her miraculous.

She couldn't stand by and let innocent people suffer. Despite any bad blood between them, she couldn't let Chat Noir face this alone. Finally, she understood all that she could do. Finally, she knew who she was meant to become. What she was meant to be.

His words rang in her ears as she stretched her arm out, grunting in pain as she propelled herself just a bit further, just a little bit more. She was too weak in this state, the cut under her fringe reminded her of that. She needed Tikki.

Never in her life had she wished she was a 2d character more than this moment, able to bend at will. She inched further under the debris, praying it wouldn't collapse on top of her. Every centimeter she moved made the metal and plastic above her groan and crunch. Still her bag was out of reach.

"Come on," she grunted, partly to psyche herself up but mostly as a plea to some higher miraculous-giving power. Her fingers scraped against the cobblestones, almost there but not quite.

The debris above her shifted again and Marinette froze, holding her breath. If it collapsed, she'd be trapped. Or worse.

When nothing more happened, she closed her eyes, scrunched up her face, and decided to risk it all.

She threw herself to the side, her fingers finally touching the cloth of her purse. With a quick turn of her ankles, she awkwardly pushed herself towards the gap she'd crawled through before.

Just in time for the debris to start collapsing as she feared.

With a yelp, she pushed off of the ground with all her might. She had to make it. She had to.

The debris came down.

But she'd made it through! She'd got out! Sure, she was far more worse for wear than before, and had gained more scratches, particularly on her legs, but she'd done it! She'd gotten her bag back!

Pulling herself to her knees, Marinette wrenched open her purse. There was no time to recover from almost being crushed to death, no time to assess any potential injuries. Her loved ones needed her. The city needed her. Chat needed her.

And she needed Tikki.

Like the first time she opened the box, Tikki appeared in a beautiful burst of pink light. This time, however, Marinette was prepared. This time, she was ready.

"I knew you'd change your mind!" Tikki beamed at her. Although Marinette didn't smile back, she did feel warmth spread through her- a kind of instinct telling her that as long as she had Tikki's encouragement, there was nothing she couldn't achieve. She placed the box down on the ground and removed the earrings.

"I can't stand here while innocent people suffer. Not when I can do something!" she replied, putting the earrings back on.

"And that's why you'll be an amazing hero, Marinette!" Tikki replied.

Marinette clenched her fists, not wanting to linger a second longer. "Well, we'll have to see about that. But for now, Tikki TRANSFORM ME!"

Power rushed through her, coursed through her veins. The first time she'd transformed had made her feel weird, like a plate of jelly sliding around a plate, desperate to stay put. Now was different. Now she welcomed it, embraced the power like an old friend. It was like breathing after a minute of holding her breath, and she was almost giddy from it. Her world disappeared into nothing but light, strength and magic. She accepted it all. Heart, body, and soul, she was one with the miraculous.

She was a hero.

She was Ladybug.

Acting on instinct, she grabbed her yoyo and flicked it towards the car Alya was pinned by. Whereas before the yoyo had disobeyed her, had seemed to have a life of its own, now it acted as an extension of herself. It did her bidding as she made it slice straight through the car, releasing Alya from its metallic hold.

She ran forwards, not even stopping to hear their thank-yous. Her eyes met her parents, and a strange pang filled her heart when their wide eyes fixed on her, not recognising their own daughter. But she pushed those feelings to the side. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Besides, it was better that they didn't know.

"Get to shelter!" she yelled to them, snapping her yoyo back towards her and spinning it. "Tell everyone you meet to do the same! It's not safe outside!"

Only when she saw her parents, and Alya, complying did she turn herself away. Using the momentum from the yoyo, she flicked it out to a streetlamp. Chat and Ivan were almost at the end of the street. She had to be smart about this.

Launching herself into the air, she swung. Her feet stretched out, aiming straight for Ivan's stone head. "HEY!"

Ivan turned his head at the sound, just in time to see her feet slam into his face. He wobbled, groaning in anger. Though he didn't topple, the force of her kick disorientated him enough for her to swing around a second time, hitting the other side of his head with everything she had.

He began to fall, and Ladybug flipped forwards, landing on his back. Leaping over Ivan's shoulder she reached out and grabbed Chat, propelling them both out of the way of Ivan's body.

They landed close together, skidding to the ground in a way that would've surely broken all their bones had they not had their miraculous. Ladybug shook her head. Apparently the miraculous protected you from most injuries, but disorientation was still a factor. Her stomach swooped, but she recovered after a few breaths. Glancing up, she saw Chat sitting up with a groan.