I own nothing. I am a nothing owner.

"Hey Tikki?"

The small bug kwami looked up from her chocolate chip cookie. It was four times her size and it was taking more than a few seconds to absorb. Her chosen sat at her desk, a hundred Adriens smiling gorgeously from her walls, tapping a pencil on her rosy lips.

"Yes Marinette?" Abandoning what was left of the treat, Tikki floated up to her bug, smiling with all the wisdom 5000 years could bestow on a tiny god.

"How does the Miraculous Cure work exactly?"

"What do you mean Marinette?"

" I mean, how does it know what to fix? So much happens during an akuma battle. Why do some things change and others don't. Like if perhaps two people met because they were forced together by a villain, why don't they forget each other when it's returned to normal?"

Tikki smiled. After weeks of physics and maths homework, she enjoyed the chance to talk about the powers of the Miraculous, even if they were hard to understand. Besides, Marinette's inquisitive nature is what makes her such a good Ladybug and Guardian.

The small sprite glanced at the pink desk where a design was currently in the process of being sketched. The faint outline of ruffle and the delicate curve of a scoop neck had just sprung into the pages.

" Do you perhaps want to finish that first? It's a hard concept to grasp y'know." Marinette furrowed her brows, glancing at her work. Slyly, Tikki added "Especially for mortals."

Interest sufficiently piqued, Marinette slammed her sketchbook closed and turned to face Tikki, her face contorted in concentration.

" Try me."

Tikki stifled a giggle and floated down to the desktop mouse where she perched gently.

"Well, as a miraculous, you disrupt the basic physic laws of the universe."

Marinette groaned at the sound of her least favourite subject but nodded at Tikki to continue.

"You can create and alter energy forms. But you can also destroy it. You know about light and chemical energy, but most Miraculi deal with strictly magical energy called Mikro. This energy leaves a footprint behind, a sort of residue that is easily identified by other versions of Mikro. For example, if an akuma destroyed a building with its powers, there will be a sprinkling of Mikro covering the area as it had all been affected by that energy. The Miraculous Cure works in tandem with that. Those small ladybug sprites seek out wherever that energy has touched and use my power of creation to restore it."

Tikki paused, watching Marinette's face carefully. The pigtailed hero mulled over the information for a minute or two before understanding flashed in her eyes.

"So if you think about it, it's like Miraculous holders and akuma's have a pencil and are writing all over whatever damage occurs, then the Cure erases all that damage?"

"Almost exactly Marinette!" Tikki squealed.

Marinette grinned,"Not bad for a mortal right?"

Tikki giggled and nodded vibrantly. " Every miraculous has a specific type of Mikro. Hawkmoths is more significant as the energy has been polluted, as is yours and Chat Noirs because they are the stronger of the Miraculi. The Cure can erase almost all of those fragments but energy can't just disappear completely. A good example is Chat's cataclysm, his power is destruction and for the most part, the object he chooses will be put out of existence. However, in its place will be an exact copy of that object in the form of the black cat Mikro. The dust that remains is what little is left of the object that aids the Cure in restoring it. If I was out of the transformation, I can see into the Mikro realm and can identify most things with a magical footprint, especially one as vibrant as Chat Noirs destruction power."

Marinette froze, choosing her next words carefully." Do kwami's and superheroes also have this residue?"

"Very little." Tikki confirmed," when I look at you, I can only see a fragment or two of my energy and I am simply a vessel, my energy comes from within. Even then, I am one of the only kwamis well versed in the sight of the Mikro realm. It would take one from a different miraculous box to rival my perception."

There was a sag in her shoulders as Marinette leaned back into her swivel chair. " So we can't find Hawkmoth that way I bet?"

"I wish I could Marinette, but despite its elevated energy, I could only possibly tell you if I spent a long time with a suspect outside of the mask in person and close proximity." Sighed Tikki," the transformation itself, the suit and the weapons are designed to withhold that energy so it cannot be used by others. There was a simpler time of the Guardians, where a spell could cause a hero to forcibly detransform or call upon their power by simply redirecting the energy."

A knock echoed through the still air and Tikki dove neatly behind the mouse as Sabine poked her head through the hatch, her smile softening as her eyes locked on her daughter.

" Dinners in five darling." She called.

"I'll be down in a minute." Came the response.

A shuffle and the click of a lock had Tikki emerging from her hiding spot. Marinette stretched, yawning slightly.

" Thanks a lot Tikki, but we're going to have to continue this another time. I'll get you a few more treats to last you through the night at dinner. Is there anything else I desperately need to know before I go?"

"The hardest thing to restore is memory. Hawkmoths akuma allows a poke into the individuals neural pathways. This leaves a lasting impression on the brain that increases hormone production and drive. There's usually enough to attract a Miraculous cure for full restorage, but the brain is difficult as some of the energy remains in the axons until expelled from the body. That's why some people remember bits and prices from their time whilst under Hawkmoths control. Emotions are easy to recall but it's not nice to acknowledge yourself hurting the people you love. Always strive to remember that akuma victims are just that, victims. Death, broken bones, versions of you from two alternate timelines, the Eiffel Tower? Easy restores, but the brain is fickle. Be kind to them."

Slightly shocked, the bluenette nodded numbly and headed downstairs to her family.

Pleased, Tikki returned to her cookie and chewed of a chocolate chip chunk with renewed gusto. All that talking had made her hungry.

Wrote this in the middle of the night recovering from a fever. Enjoy...