#The bat part of maribat is finally coming

[mae-dwrites]

Taking Flight - Chapter 15 - Conference

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October 8

-

Camilla stepped up to the front of the conference room, while it was one of the smaller ones it held fewer people than it usually did. But she had promised not to reveal the Paris situation to more people than necessary. Camilla easily slipped into thinking of the young heroes, it was something that happened often over the past year.

Over the past few weeks, she had been meeting with the France President and the Mayor of Paris, trying to figure out how to best handle the week-long stay of French students. She got to finally speak to Ladybug once the groups had been finalized. Camilla had not been prepared to see the gir- young woman again.

Camilla sighed, she had aged in a way she’d seen in hundreds of heroes, but kids? Ladybug had possibly seen more than young adult heroes ever had, she could only imagine what it would be like to see Chat Noir face-to-face again. Camilla had watched the videoes of the Ladyblog and newscasting. They’d become more brutal, more dangerous, it was a relief to see some easier ones. Their suits had changed as much as themselves having more prominent armor.

Camilla looked up to the few in the room: Sparrow, Uncanny Valley, Mercury, Knight Owl, and Majestia. Knight Owl sat at the end of the table, her mask conveying nothing, just as she liked it. Majestia to her right, politely waiting arms folded on the table. Next to Majestia was Uncanny Valley, sitting similarly, her eyes while calculating, taking it all in, held a softness. On Knight Owl’s left was her sidekick, Sparrow leaning back in her seat clearly not liking the seating arrangement. In front of Sparrow is where Mercury sat, his blue suit giving a faint–almost pulsing–light.

“Thank you for coming even under the vague explanation,” Camilla straightened her back as she welcomed them. She pulled down on her vest, a comforting movement, helped her to relax from the anxiousness that built up.

“Thank you for having us,” Majestia gave a nod, Uncanny Valley did the same movement.

“What she said,” a laidback response from Mercury, Camilla could feel Sparrow roll their eyes. Mercury’s hand sat lazily on the table, lightly tapping the wooden surface. While he looked calm with his head leaned back a little he was far from it.

“What is it about these French students that we must meet,” Knight Owl rested her elbows on the tabletop, leaning forward. Camilla never liked to talk about it, not that she did with anyone outside of French government leaders and the Parisian heroes themselves.

“There is something that has stayed in the confines of Paris, I’m not entirely aware of how much of the population outside of Paris knows but neighboring cities and towns know of the city’s struggles,” Camilla spoke her back now a rod, unbending, she could do this. “That being of a, a magic war happening within its limits.”

Majestia tensed at the word magic, Knight Owl’s head twitched only the slightest, and Uncanny’s eyes flashed and she blinked as she processed the information. Sparrow and Mercury had the most movement in terms of the reaction that Camilla could see.

Sparrow’s head snapped up looking at Camilla and she could only assume the young hero was making glances at Majestia with the way their head was angled. Mercury jolted up, while Camilla couldn’t see his face she just knew his eyes were wide, eyebrows raised. The kid was very predictable once you got to know him.

“Please go on,” Majestia spoke before the silence overtook them.

Camilla reopened her computer everything was already open and set up for her briefing, “Paris has been emotionally under siege by the villain known as Hawkmoth.” Camilla went through images of the villain from the butterfly face to the Queen Wasp or Miracle Queen. She brought up Mayura, “As of his big attack he has had an accomplice on the field. She has been spotted out on rooftops, usually around the time of Akuma attacks. The heroes,” she brought up images of the two heroes, Ladybug on the left and Chat Noir on the right, “Have chased her down a total of three times to no avail.”

“Those are children,” Knight Owl stated. Her modified voice seeping with anger, “Why are children fighting alone?”

“According to what Ladybug told me herself, she and her partner were given these jewels at the beginning by a “Guardian” of these jewels. He did not interfere nor did he guide them, he only gave a rule and a mission. They could not know each other’s identities, and to retrieve the Miraculi he lost.” Camilla pulled up the Ladyblog, she had been given access to when she had first met with them.

“The Ladyblog,” Uncanny Valley’s head tilted as she took in the image of the screen.

Camilla nodded, “This is a blog run by a fan of the heroes in Paris. She is one of the most reliable sources, sometimes she posts things not entirely related but for the most part almost all information is posted here. Other than official websites by their government.”

“May I?” Uncanny looked to Camilla. The woman nodded to her, Uncanny’s face went blank after that, her eyes having a light glow that brightened every once in a while.

“Again children, and with no training no less,” Knight Owl growled from her seat. Majestia rested her hand on her arm giving a small smile.

“Fifteen and fourteen to be specific,” Uncanny spoke up, her face filled with worry.

“What,” came out loudly from Majestia, Sparrow, and Mercury. Camilla deflated, as she looked at the faces on her screen again.

“How do you know?” Mercury asked.

“Their suits are made by magic, they can jam technology or not work with them. And the magic function to conceal their identities is for human minds. My face recognition worked, but I do not know how well,” Uncanny looked at everyone. Uncanny’s mouth became a thin line while her eyes whirled, still processing information, “They’re done a lot, seen a lot.”

“You’ve already gone through it all?” Sparrow asked leaning against the table.

“No, I’ve played many of them but I took a detour. Most of the team was revealed last month, soon after security footage was leaked, while many speculated from what parts of running camera footage were going it was only confirmed by this leaked footage,” Uncanny blinked.

“That’s what I was going to head into next, the temporary heroes were…young.” Camilla sighed “I knew Ladybug was young but you can’t blame her for choosing younger people. How can she when the only clue she’s got is that the terrorist is an adult?”

“But Uncanny was able to figure out the heroes' identities no problem. Why can’t she do the same with the Hawkguy?” Mercury looked between Uncanny and Majestia.

Uncanny shook her head, “All of the images are unclear, grainy, taken from afar. And the Butterfly face is of no help, even if I got lucky enough to be able to match his face the effects of magic for a young person versus an adult may be different. From what I can gather younger people have limitations, adults do not have such adversities.”

“What about the woman?” Mercury asked.

“Again all of the videos and photos are too blurry, even if I tried to piece them together it would probably be for nothing,” Uncanny took a deep breath. “Magic is tricky, sometimes I can see past it, sometimes I can’t. There are too many variables.”

“What about the revealed heroes,” Sparrow spoke up.

“There were only five,” Uncanny Valley stated her eyes lit up with the glow spinning. “All but one coming from one of the classes that won the trip to come to New York City.” Uncanny hummed to herself before quietly saying, “Interesting.”

Camilla cleared her throat bringing the attention back to herself and the screen. As much as she loved when the younger heroes took some charge, wanting to help, wanting to come to a solution even on their own. She still had more to go over, and these younger heroes were still children.

“That is part of what this is about, the trip,” Camilla looked everyone in the eyes, or at least hoped she did with the three whose faces were concealed. “There are three classes coming from Paris, two from cities close by, and one from much farther.” Camilla swallowed, avoiding fidgeting. She looked from the computer back to her teammates, “These children have triggers, most of them anyway. They can spiral depending on the specific trigger, Hawkmoth surprisingly does not take advantage of this, usually. There have been three times in total.”

Camilla tapped search, tapping in The Plucker. She heard Sparrow snicker at the search.

“The Plucker? Seriously, what kind of name is that?”

“Sparrow do not laugh, this is obviously one of the people who got turned into an..Akuma due to their trigger,” Knight Owl scolded the young one. Sparrow straightened up, gave an apology and to not do it again.

“The names can be laughable, the suits or transformations they are forced to undertake can be too,” Camilla spoke out. “But those looks can be deceitful to their power.” Camilla went to the main screen and swiped down to a rectangular icon. The previously dark tablets inform the heroes lit up, showing the same article that was on the screen.

Uncanny reached for the device without a reaction, like Majestia and Knight Owl. Sparrow’s head snapped at the device as if she forgot of it. Which wouldn’t be too far-fetched. Mercury jumped in his seat, having not noticed the device there before. He usually wasn’t a part of small group meetings like this.

Sparrow’s shoulders shook, signally her quiet laughter. Mercury kicked her sit as he picked up the tablet, before Sparrow could retaliate in any way Knight Owl spoke her name in warning. Sparrow huffed before turning to the device to read the civilian's report of the…Akuma attack.

Uncanny quickly read it before exploring other parts of the blog, looking to know more and understand. Soon the other heroes would finish, Mercury shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He and Sparrow take a few deep breaths.

Camilla holds her elbows face blank as she looks at them. Uncanny and Majestia had an understanding in their eyes, and while Camilla couldn’t see the other three she could feel it.

“Why do you need us for this trip?” Sparrow asked finally. She wasn’t talking about all of them, but of herself, her sister, and Mercury.

“The classes from France will be staying with your school, most of them at least. I arranged for all the Paris students to specifically be with or around your classes for this,” Camilla explained. “You will watch over them, be there if they need your help. We do not any of the students of France to be in any danger during their stay, but we want to watch the Parisians in particular.”

“So why am I here if they’ll be her class?” Mercury spoke up.

Knight Owl stood up, taking attention away from Camilla, “Camilla did bring up to me that it would be far more beneficial to have you know each other's identities, and in light of this situation, I believe it would be foolish for me to refuse that request.”

“Excuse me?” Sparrow stood up. “I am not letting him know who I am.”

“If he isn’t comfortable with me knowing I don’t think we should fight about this,” Mercury interjected before adding, “but if it’s necessary then maybe we should comply Sparrow.”

Sparrow faced Mercury fists clenched, “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Sparrow,” Knight Owl came behind Sparrow. “It would be easier to know his identity and for him to know yours for the mission. It could make future missions or fights easier as well.”

Sparrow slowly deflated, facing her head away from her mentor. While it was standard for her to hide her identity from basically everyone she liked it for herself. There was no one to look down on her, she was just Sparrow. Everyone liked him, and Jessica was a civilian girl that mostly blended in with her fellow New Yorkers.

She didn’t want more people to know, it should be her choice. But like usual, for the mission, it wasn’t a choice.

“Fine,” Sparrow stated. She looked over at Uncanny who gave her a smile, it relaxed Jessica a little bit.

“Are you su-”

“He is sure,” Knight Owl interrupted Mercury. Mercury tensed at the stare he felt from Knight Owl.

“Awesome,” Mercury let out weakly.

Sparrow brought her hood down before pulling the mask down, and Mercury tapped a button on one of his circular stabilizers, unconcealing his face.

“Jessica?”

“Allan?”

Uncanny giggled as she changed into her civilian persona, Aeon.

“Aeon?”

“Who else?” She smiled at him. Allan flopped back in his seat, pulling his hands down his face.

“I thought Sparrows and Knight Owls were guys?” Allan looked over at Jessica and Knight Owl for an answer. He knew Jessica didn’t have a dad, so either her mother was Knight Owl or she was recruited by Knight Owl. Second one didn’t seem so good.

“That’s what we appear to be to others,” Knight Owl said. Allan waited a moment but turned back to Camilla when it was clear Knight Owl was not going to continue. Which fair enough.

“So we’re watching over the Paris kids?”

Camilla nodded, “Majestia and Knight Owl already live in the area, they will be notified of anything as soon as possible. Usually, I would only meet with the students at the end of the trip, but I will be here the entire week. We will be meeting with Ladybug as according to her she will be on the trip.”

“What about Paris,” Majestia asked a light frown on her face.

“She has her ways, she would not leave it completely defenseless without its much-needed heroine. Besides the city would have Chat Noir.” Camilla stated firmly, her head raised just the slightest bit. She got to experience her using a portal to bring the France President, the mayor of Paris, and herself. Camilla was confident the girl would use the same thing to go back to Paris if needed.

Uncanny Valley, who had turned back, frowned looking at the tablet and then facing Camilla. She opened her mouth but thought better of it. Majestia put her hand on Uncanny’s shoulder, “What is it my daughter?”

“I don’t know if I should speak on the matter as it may have changed between the time President Hombee spoke to Ladybug and the Monday following.” Uncanny rested her hands in her lap and looked at the table in front of her but not really seeing it.

“What would have happened?” Camilla sat next to Uncanny, resting her hand on the machinic girl’s other shoulder. Uncanny faced Camilla, a light nervousness on her face.

“Chat Noir will also be attending the trip, whether Ladybug knows that detail I can not tell.”

Camilla’s lips became tight for a moment before nodding, “Ladybug may know he won’t be in Paris at the time but not that he is on the trip. I stand by my statement, she would not leave the city completely defenseless.”

Knight Owl's fists tightest where she sat. It was obvious she did not like the sound of this, but she kept quiet. She finally spoke up after a moment of Mercury and Sparrow looking over the blog, “As long as they cause a recuses in our city I don’t care what they do. Just tell them to stay in line.”

“Of course they will,” Camilla nodded before turning back to speaking to the younger heroes.

-

Bruce sipped his cup of coffee looking between things that didn’t add up. While none of them seemed to be related a part of him said they had to be.

Back in January, Flash sensed an anomaly in the Speed Force, but he couldn’t find anything. So did Wally West, but didn’t find anything either. In May everyone felt something off, but the speedsters said it was nothing. That if anything it had to of been some “Universe bad vibes,” they didn’t say the exact same thing but they both said almost the exact same thing. It made Bruce suspicious of their reactions toward this.

Then before that in April, their monitors picked up an anomaly in space. When their space-surviving allies checked there was nothing, but one of them did catch a glimpse of a pink-red blur. They searched for months wondering if they could find it. There was a similar affair last year in October, orbs of some sort picked up on their sensors, floating above Europe at a mostly slow pace leaving Earth. But when someone was able to check it was gone and a swirl of pink and red was all they caught.

It frustrated Bruce to no end, but Shanghai had to be the most frustrating. His daughter had been near the city so after the night she investigated, it was multiple days later when she met Ladydragon. She explained in detail many things but she still kept a whole lot to herself. Cassandra had determined that she was not a threat but an ally, and while he trusted his daughter's judgment in people he did not trust this new hero. She was young and did not take orders.

There wasn’t much to work with in terms of finding out what happened that night in Shanghai, but one thing stands clear magic was involved. People had died and yet they walked around living and breathing. This was beyond the pits and that made it dangerous. He needed to know how, what, or who was responsible for this. They could not walk around free, they were a threat if they could control life.

But one thing not related to this, that shouldn’t be whatsoever was that President Hombee was going to be in New York City for the whole week of French students coming. She never was there for the whole week, no president usually was. So it was odd that she would be. Something was up with those students that Victory, the President of their country felt she had to be there for their entire stay.

It was very off-putting.

Bruce went to take a sip from his mug to find it empty. Disappointing. He sighed setting the mug on his desk.

He looked over at Diana’s order and message she had sent as of recent.

“Father.”

Bruce looked up to find his son in front of him, he had not heard him come in. Perhaps he should come home earlier like Alfred says he should.

“Yes Damian?” Bruce started sorting through and reorganizing the papers in front of him.

“Cain has arrived on a surprise visit,” Damian spoke in his ever-formal voice. His voice did not have the same venom it carried when he first arrived. As he saw all around him as his next challenge. Now there was a light layer of affection that Bruce believes Damian hasn’t noticed.

Bruce stood up and started putting the reports and notes away, “I will be down shortly.”

Damian nodded with a very light “Tt.”

Bruce watched his son walk for a moment, “Damian.” His son straightened his back, as if it weren’t already perfect, and faced Bruce.

“Yes, Father?”

“Thank you,” Bruce gave a smile, or tried to. Damian’s chest lifted and the ghost of a smile was on his face, but it was clear in his eyes. Damian nodded, “Of course Father. I will see you when you join us.”

And with that, Damian left Bruce to put away his papers. Bruce let out a light sigh, not exhausted or worrying, he felt content. His daughter usually called before coming home to the manor, but it was just as enjoyable for her to surprise them.

This rabbit hole could wait.

[disaster-biraven]

coffee (if i didn't love you, it would be fine)

Masterlist

Ao3 Dedicated to @the-coffee-fandom

The streets of Gotham stayed frozen as pedestrians hurried to their destinations. Marinette made her way through the currents of people, pulling her scarf higher up on her face. Even though she would rather be doing anything else, she didn’t dare walk at a slower pace than the crowd around her. A wave of familiar scents hit her nose as she shouldered past one of her old favorite restaurants, Luigi’s.

Can’t meet you for dinner at the Italian place It’s where I met your family, some words were exchanged

Marinette’s face-off with Bruce Wayne had not been a pretty sight. Bruce Wayne’s paranoia was one of the main things that had led to the end of Tim and Marinette. He couldn’t look past everything and realize that, although imperfect, the relationship had made Tim happier. During one of their many fights, Marinette had accused Tim of being more like Bruce than he realized. All the paranoia and obsession that came with being a vigilante were things he couldn’t put aside.

I’ll meet you for coffee ‘cause if we have wine You’ll say that you want me, I know that’s a lie

A bad habit of theirs had been to drink wine and look over case files. They would always make progress but inevitably get distracted. Without fail, Marinette felt like Tim’s words were empty, like they were an obligation. She hadn’t been able to help feeling like Tim was going through the motions of trying to be a good boyfriend.

You said let’s do the park ‘cause I love the park Here come the excuses that fuel the illusions But I’d rather feel something than nothing at all, so

The moments in the park were what Marinette remembered as the better parts of their relationship. It was impossible to work, so fewer arguments happened. Marinette would stretch out on the picnic blanket and sketch anything from designs to Tim napping beside her. They’d come home smelling like the sun and laughing over insignificant things. Now, those memories left a bitter taste in her mouth; the happiness turning into a sharp pain at what used to be. She took the shortcut through the park anyway.

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your-

Marinette refused to look at the towering building she had to pass to get to the coffee shop. Ever since they had broken up, it felt like every path led to the Waynes- like now. The case she was working on needed resources only the Bats could get. It had taken nearly a month for her to admit that, and another week to finally reach out. She sat in front of Tim, accepted her usual order, and handed over the file. It had been a year since the breakup but this was the second time they needed to work together.

We’ve done this before And I don’t need it anymore

“After this case, never again.” The lie tasted like copper on her tongue. Tim looked up from the case file, a wry smile on his face. “You said that last time too.” Marinette didn’t respond.

It’s better we leave it and give it some time If I didn’t love you, it would be fine It’s never just coffee

author's note: I hope you enjoyed! If you like Timari, feel free to join the Discord Server below!

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 13-Entwined

The Wayne family had spent two hours looking for Damian and Marinette. Damian was suppose to be in the BatCave, almost an hour ago. He had patrol that night and no one had see him.

"Is he out on a date?" Dick questioned, "I haven't seen Marinette, either."

"Demon Spawn hates having a night off, just like the bat." Jason stated.

"Was he taken, then?" Tim questioned.

"That would make Pixie a hostage." Jason declared.

Bruce sighed, "Let's not jump to conclusions. Finals are approaching; they are likely busy."

"We've been looking for them for hours!" Tim whined, "They should have heard us."

"Not necessarily." Dick stated, "The manor is huge. We all have our spots here or in the city for when we need to think. It's possible Damian went out."

"He isn't answering his phone." Bruce announced.

"Neither is Marinette." Tim spoke up.

"We haven't gotten a ransom note." Jason said, "They both were here for lunch so it had to be recent."

Dick sighed in relief. He took a quick picture and closed the door to Damian's room as quietly as possible.

BigD: Found them

Zombie: where?

Koffing: what was there excuse?

Bruce: Are they alright?

Dick smiled and sent the picture of them asleep in Damian's bed, entwined in each other's arms.

Zombie: They were alseep?!

Koffing: This whole time? Didn't they hear us shouting?

Bruce: Damian has been working hard this past couple weeks

Dick: And Marinette has been working on comissions all month

Zombie: They burnt out

Dick: Seems like it

Bruce: He likely tried to get her to sleep and fell asleep as well.

Dick: I call cuddle pile when Tim needs sleep.

Zombie: No!

Koffing: NO!

Dick: Why not? It worked for them!

Bruce saved the picture and smiled. It was one of the few times he saw Damian look so content. When he had first arrived at the manor, he was up all night and constantly trained himself. He had even gone without food, stating it was to discipline himself. He had changed so much since Talia had left him in his care. Yes; he still stayed up most nights. School hadn't worked for the most part, but he had a few select people who he would call Damian's friend.

Marinette had been the biggest change. Damian was still honest, but he now knew how much words effected someone. Marinette had seen to that. Damian had changed her as well. She had come to Gotham closed off. Damian had came home and hadn't spoken until dinner, when they had asked about his day. All he had said was 'She can smile.' and dinner turned to chaos. They wanted to know who had broken Damian and who the girl was. She had been invited over and now she was constantly in their lives. Perhaps, she would become entwined in his son's life and not just in his bed.

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

[verymuchimmortalcat]

To Have Several first Meetings

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month Day 1: Meeting for the first time

ao3

@maribat-bdbwm

Marinette had known she was adopted since she had been twelve and had a project about genetics in school. Her parents had explained to her that her mother had given her up for adoption since she wasn’t in a situation to take care of her and didn’t think her father would be able to. Marinette’s mother had passed away soon after and while Tom and Sabine had her father’s information neither of them had ever contacted him. They left the option up to Marinette, and at the time she hadn’t cared, she had two loving parents and she was happy.

.oOo.

Marinette meets Batman for the first time when she’s 14. Wonder Woman had been in contact with them from the beginning of the hawkmoth situation, but after Heroes Day Batman insists on speaking to the them. As they enter the Watch Tower she can feel Cat Noir buzzing with excitement next to her. She’d laugh but she’s too nervous to do so.

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are waiting for them. Marinette’s glad there aren’t more heroes around, Cat Noir looks like he might explode in excitement. They sit down at the table and Batman speaks first, “You need training.”

She’s well aware of that, but the way Batman says it irritates her, but she ignores it. She’s here because Diana asked, and because Batman is right about their lack of training.

Superman speaks up then, “We can help you with that. You can use Titans Tower for your training-”

“-And due to the nature of the threat you face, the two of you and the rest of your team is welcome there anytime.”

Marinette doesn’t point out that the rest of them are temporary heroes, it will probably alarm them more. She knows Cat Noir is probably jumping at the offer but she wants to know “why?”

Batman’s the one to speak, “if you’re going to protect Paris, then you’re going to need to be trained well.”

Marinette doesn’t know why Batman has a sudden vested interest in Paris’s safety but she’s going to go along with it. They do need the training and it will be nice to talk to more heroes their age.

“And the Justice League won’t interfere in Paris?”

“No.”

“None of them? You have a very large team and not all of them are here at the moment.”

“I will ensure everyone is informed.”

Marinette drops it, Batman sounds sincere.

.oOo.

Cat Noir and Ladybug make their first appearance in Titans tower that weekend. Cyborg and Nightwing are the ones waiting for them. They meet a lot of heroes. There’s Robin, Red Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid flash, Solstice, Ravager, Beast Boy, Raven and apparently there are more of them usually but those are the ones she meets.

Civilian names are a whole another thing. Ladybug, Cat Noir and the Bats don’t share theirs but then there are the others. Cassie of course doesn’t have a secret identity. And Kon, Bart, Kiran, Rose and Gar don’t really mind telling another super hero. It’s a bit weird how forthcoming they are with their identities, Marinette’s had the no sharing identities rule hammered into her head for over a year now, and meeting the Teen Titans is making her question that rule.

As time passes and the miraculous team grows larger and the heroes become permanent, Titans Tower becomes steadily more occupied during weekends and training relaxes into hanging out.

They still train of course, the bats help with figuring out hawkmoth and Mayura’s identities, pretty much everyone helps with the actual fighting, and Raven helps with the more magical aspects. She meets pretty much all of the teenage superhero community over the course of a year. It’s pretty cool.

.oOo.

About a year after they start their training, they figure out Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste and Mayura’s Nathalie Sancouer. It’s not surprising but she knows they’re all worried how it’s going to affect Adrien, who as they learn is Cat Noir.

Marinette is fifteen when Hawkmoth’s reign over Paris ends.

Paris celebrates for days. But Marinette can’t bring herself to feel anything anymore. It’s not that she hasn’t been dealing with her emotions with the constant trips to the tower it’s just not letting herself feel anything in Paris becomes normal.

Her parents start to get worried and as much as she would love to calm down their fears she can’t. Luka, Juleka and Alya are the ones who join forces to convince her to reach out to her biological father.

When she gives in and asks her parents, they give her his contact information happily, assuming that’s what had been bothering her all this time. Marinette doesn’t correct them.

It takes Marinette a few weeks to call him but she does call him.

.oOo.

It turns out he already knew about her; he had just figured waiting until she was older was the better approach. Marinette wasn’t really sure what to make of that but he had invited her to his house in Gotham to spend a week getting to know him and the rest of his children.

Marinette accepts his offer happily. It would be nice to learn more about her father and his family (beyond what her research turned up with, Gotham reporters didn’t seem very sensible), and get out of Paris for a while.

.oOo.

Marinette is met by M. Pennyworth, who’s their butler, at the airport. Her parents had let her come on her own after M. Wayne had assured them that she would be safe. There had still been an unnecessarily large number of people to send her off at the airport, though.

Their ride to Wayne Manor is filled with a good amount of nervous rambling, from Marinette’s part. Alfred (he had insisted upon being called so) asks her about school and friends and Marinette goes on a lot of tangents as she talks about everyone in Paris.

There several people waiting at the entrance when they reach the Manor. If she wasn’t anxious about meeting her family, she would probably be more amazed at the beauty of the Manor and the surrounding grounds.

She waves awkwardly at them and says, “hi, I’m Marinette.”

The shortest boy among them, Damian she believes, turns away and walks back into the Manor. Her father turns as if to follow him but he’s stopped by the second tallest of her siblings, Marinette doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to the idea of siblings but she finds she quite likes it, “I’ll go check on Damian. Bye Marinette, see you around.”

She waves at him silently and all of them fall into silence, Alfred having left them. Would it be too late to turn away now?

There aren’t enough pictures of Bruce Wayne’s children on the internet, with the exception of Tim Wayne, for her to recognise all of them but she's pretty sure the one who finally breaks the silence is Jason Todd, returning from the dead created more than enough reading material for her research.

“I'm leaving. Nice to meet ya,” and then heads off. None of the others seem to think it’s strange, so she doesn’t dwell on it.

Mr. Wayne clears his throat and says, “we should probably head inside.”

“Truly one of your brighter ideas B,” Tim says and the other two laugh. They introduce themselves as Cass and Duke once they’re inside and Mr. Wayne tells her she can call him B or Bruce like the others do or whatever she’s comfortable with, Marinette nods in reply. And then she’s being dragged along to somewhere deep in the Manor by her new siblings and they’re talking about some kind of prank war that they’re apparently in the middle of.

Marinette grins. This is bound to be interesting.

[san-fics]

Behind Enemy Lines

Maribat: Robibug, Daminette, Robinette, Damibug

Ao3

Part 18

“Todd!” Damian yelled, staring at the screen in horror.

“Was it his unique charm?” Jason continued as if nothing had happened.

“Jason!” Damian was ready to crush his laptop the next second.

“Or the incredible ability to instantly make friends wherever he goes?” Jason smirked at him, and Damian almost made a move towards the table, when he heard Marinette’s quiet voice.

“It was his eyes…” She said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Damian turned to her sharply as his mouth went dry and his chest shuddered hot.

Marinette was looking at him in horror as if she accidentally gave away her greatest secret.

“I...” She swallowed. “I need to go...” The girl blurted out and ran out of the room.

Damian was still staring at the space where she just stood in shock with his mouth and eyes wide open when the front door slammed, signaling the departure of his guest and bringing the young hero to his senses.

Did Marinette just confess to him?.. for real?

“I didn’t see that coming…” Dick said, fanning himself with his palmas if he felt hot.

“Hahahah!” Jason responded. “Come on, Dickie-bird, she was eating him alive with her eyes!”

“As much as I hate to agree with Jason, but… the tension between those two was buzzing so loud, I could hear it in the bat cave…” Tim confirmed.

Damian turned slowly to the screen – rather at the sound – with an unseeing gaze.

“She just…” Damian started, staring into space.

“Yeap!” Jason picked up. “I guess even Timmy here wouldn’t be able to scientifically explain how it’s possible, but this girl is totally fascinated by you, Baby-brat”

“You don’t understand...” Damian shook his head in despair. “She... she is the enemy…”

*

The next day Marinette was diligently avoiding Damian at school.

She was blushing every time she saw him and began to urgently chat about something with the journalist, pretending to be very passionate about the conversation. Or buried herself in the very middle of the crowd of her girlfriends, or simply ran out of the classroom.

But Damian couldn’t just leave her to it.

What if Marinette’s task was to recruit him and she really fell in love with him instead?

It still seemed unreal to Damian, but he was going crazy at the thought that his feelings were mutual… Wait... his feelings? When did he… did he… did he have feelings?!!

Damian decided to follow Marinette.

What will be her next step? Will she contact her boss? Will she tell him that things didn't go according to plan? And perhaps she will even be in danger for softening to Damian!

So of course he only followed her to protect her in case of a threat…

Damian was hiding in the bushes of the school yard when Marinette finally stopped and sat down on a bench, holding the phone to her ear. The boy pursued her from the classroom, where Marinette, having received a phone call, instead of starting a conversation, quickly retired to the yard.

“I knew you would call me today when I saw yesterday's fight footage on TV.” She sighed into the phone.

Damian immediately remembered fighting Sandboy yesterday.

So, Marinette had some role in that event. But was it her boss calling her? Why a day later though?

“I didn’t tell you, because… I couldn't.” Marinette continued her conversation. “What would it change?” She sighed again. “Plus, it will never happen again. He’s not coming back, I’ll make sure of it.”

Who was she talking about? Sandboy? Were they discussing not using that boy anymore?

Damian thought, that if he was on the bad side in this situation, that would be a stupid decision to make. That akuma was incredibly powerful, and Damian still wasn’t sure how he would have managed his own fears if Sandboy hit him instead…

“I know, Adrien.” Marinette said, pulling Damian from his thoughts. “Probably, those were the last two secrets between us.”

Adrien. She was discussing yesterday's performance with her colleague then…

A venomous sense of bitterness and jealousy began to creep up in Damian’s throat at the thought that Marinette’s feelings for him likely weren’t strong enough to leave her old ties.

But yesterday she seemed so open, so vulnerable, so…. his...

“Robin?” From the sound of his alter ego's name Damian jumped in the bushes, almost betraying his position to the enemy. “Yes, he did.” Marinette continued into the phone, not noticing the rustle. “I don’t know. Sometimes I’m still not sure if he is an ally or an enemy.”

What does it mean she doesn’t know?! At this point Marinette must have realized Robin was her enemy, right? Or was he somehow playing into her hands without knowing it?

Damian tensed even more. The idea of being enemies with Marinette was tearing him apart from the inside. But even more terrible it seemed to him that her feelings for him could still somehow turn out to be a game...

“No, you absolutely can’t!” Marinette almost yelled into her phone, then looked around, frightened, and continued much quieter. “What if he finds you?! We can’t risk it!”

Is she worried that Robin will find him? So this Adrien must have flown to London just for show, but is actually hiding somewhere in his father's lair. What a beautiful show they played in front of their classmates to prevent Ladybug from finding Gabriel through his son!

Damian couldn't understand at all how Marinette could be so bad at lying and so good at the same time. But anyway, Ladybug is definitely unlucky to have such an enemy...

“I’m not!” Marinette whispered-shouted at her phone. “I’m not alone because I have Tikki, and Plagg, and all the others.”

How many people were involved in their gang?! And where do they hide? Robin couldn’t find any of them!

“And you’ll be with us as soon as… as we clear the space here…”

Her last words fell on Damian’s heart with a heavy weight, reminding him that the day they would have to face each other would come sooner or later. And then what?

“I know, Kitty, you and I against the world.” Marinette said and ended the call.

She stood up, and after looking around one more time, went back towards the school entrance.

Damian sighed.

When he was following Marinette today, he wasn’t sure what exactly he expected to see. But this conversation with Adrien Agreste wasn’t in any way in that list.

She called him Kitty. Again.

Damian was really, really bad in understanding subtleties of interpersonal communication when it came to friendship, not mentioning all the romance-related moments.

Could they really be just very close friends? Was it appropriate to call a friend with a sweet pet name? Or could it only mean that there is some kind of closer relationship between them?

The thought squeezed his chest. It didn't just mean that Marinette might be with someone else… agh, Damian couldn't even say it in his mind!

But the main thing was that Damian, perhaps for the first time in his life, experienced those feelings, about which they sing in songs and compose verses, and the thought of which before did not evoke in him anything but a skeptical smile...

This thought could mean that these feelings were unrequired...

Damian left his hiding place with a heavy heart. The conversation he had just heard did not bode well for him.

Little that he knew, Damian wasn’t the only person to hear that phone call…

*

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng has Adrien's contacts, but under no circumstances will she tell them to me…” Lila sighed. “Of course, I can try, but I'm afraid that she suspects me of... various unpleasant things, to which, of course, I have nothing to do.”

“What exactly did you find out, Miss Rossi?” Gabriel asked, shifting the phone to the other hand.

“I just heard them cooing.” Lila reported. “And she even called him Kitty.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows went up as a dark, sinister grin appeared on his face.

“This information is more than enough, Miss Rossi.” He said. “I’ll make sure you receive your check immediately.”

“But Mr. Agreste, I wanted…” Lila started.

Gabriel finished the call and turned to Natalie.

“Looks like we found our bug.” He said.

Chapter 19 is available on my Patreon

Chapter Preview:

It was Shadow Moth.

Robin’s fists clenched instinctively.

Here it comes – the moment of truth.

Her boss is coming to meet Marinette in person!

[about this au]

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[marauderundercover]

Taking Chance Ch. 10: Father Daughter Time (alt. prompt Take Your Kids to Work)

AO3

Prev

Sitting in her hotel room, Marinette pouts. Her family hadn’t wanted to talk about their identities. Or hers. So instead, they’d had a rushed (awkward) dinner, and then sent her and Adrien away. But she knew they were going to patrol. Marinette grins as an idea forms. 

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not a good idea.” Tikki says from her spot on the bed, obviously tired of the drama and insanity that Marinette had managed to find since coming to Gotham. 

“Tikki, please. I just found out that my brothers and Mr. Wayne are all heroes. Not just any heroes, heroes known for their detective work. Can you blame me for wanting to go out and talk to them? Maybe if I go as Ladybug and not Marinette, maybe they’ll actually help. You know, hero to hero.” She pleads, looking at Tikki with her best puppy dog eyes. Tikki, unfortunately, was an ancient deity and was not affected by puppy dog eyes. 

“Marinette, I still think it’s a bad idea. Besides, Ladybug shouldn’t be in Gotham.” Tikki argues. Marinette huffs, knowing the kwami is right. 

“Fine. Well if I can’t be Ladybug, then I’ll just sew a domino mask really quick and go run on the roofs as myself.” She says, jutting her chin out in defiance.

“Marinette! That’s completely unsafe.” Tikki chastises. Marinette ignores her, moving around to find cloth to use for her mask. Tikki sighs. “Just- be careful. Think about the Bats, and that Ladybug is not supposed to be seen in Gotham.” She says. Marinette frowns. It almost sounds as if Tikki is giving her permission. But at the same time….

“Wait, what?” She asks. 

“Think about when you transform.” Tikki says with a tired smile. Marinette frowns, but does as she instructed. When the light from her transformation fades, she gasps at the new suit design. It was much darker, and looked as though she belonged with her family rather than the brightly colored Parisian heroes. What was once one singular piece of material was now several. The bottom part of her suit was black. It started at her feet and went all the way up to her chest. Underneath that, she had what seemed to be a deep red leotard (but it was hard to tell since it disappeared under the black bottoms). On her feet were ballet shoes that matched her leotard, the ribbons snaking up her legs. The shoes were slightly confusing, as she’d never seen a member of the Batfam with ballet shoes (and she herself couldn’t dance) but they fit with the rest of the costume. She also now had a hood, much to her delight. It would be useful against the slight chill in the air. Pleased with her new costume, Marinette opens her window and takes a deep breath before jumping out and swinging onto the roof. Giggling, she starts swinging around randomly, hoping that she’ll bump into a friendly sooner or later. A slight miscalculation between buildings leads her to freefall, her eyes wide as she desperately tries to hook her yoyo onto the roof. Arms wrap around her roughly and she yelps in surprise, tilting her head up to look at who grabbed her midair. Her father. Crap. 

“I don’t take kindly to unknown vigilantes in my city.” He says gruffly as they land on the roof. She frowns before she remembers her costume is completely different, and the Miraculous magic definitely helped conceal her identity (even though her family technically already knew). 

“Oh, I’m not unknown. It’s me, Ladybug? Couldn’t exactly bring out the spots in Gotham. Especially with French students in town.” She says with a grin. Batman (Mr. Wayne?) tenses before sighing. 

“Marinette?” He asks, she nods. 

“Yes, though I think it’s probably best to not use my actual name. You can call me….” She hesitates for a moment, searching her mind for a new name. “Ladybird.” She finally says. Ladybird, because it was another name for a Ladybug and because if someone didn’t know that, they’d think she was just another Bat with a bird theme. 

“Very well. Ladybird, go home.” He says. 

“Home home, or where I’m staying home?” She asks cheekily, the banter coming easily with the freedom of a mask. 

“Where you’re staying.” He says through a clenched jaw. 

“Yeah...no can do. See, I’ve been trying to bond with my biological father and it just hasn’t worked out so far. I’m hoping to fix that tonight though!” She says, hoping she doesn’t sound as desperate as she feels. She can’t help it though. Ever since she found out she was adopted, she’s wanted to connect with Bruce. And every time she’s tried, something has come up. Or some revelation has happened and they’ve had to stop their pitiful attempts at bonding. 

“I don’t think-” Batman starts, his lips pursed. 

“Oh no, you see, I know he’ll say yes. See, it’s take your kid to work day.” She rushes out, tilting her head as she thinks of what she just said. “Or rather, night, I guess?” 

“Why not go to his day job, that’s much safer.” Batman argues, Marinette snorts. 

“Sure, it might be safer, but it’s also gonna be boring. Plus, he’d never bring me. Then he’d have to say something about me and I’m not sure either of us are ready for that yet.” She says. She watches Batman, holding her breath as she waits for a verdict. As much as it would hurt, she’d leave if he told her to. Well, she would now once she’d said her peace. But if he made her leave now, after hearing how much she wants to spend time with him? She wasn’t sure if she could handle it. 

“If you’re out of my sight for even a minute, I’m taking you home. I’m serious, Ladybird. You don’t have the training that the others do.” He finally says. She grins, jumping up and wrapping him in a hug. She instantly freezes when she realizes what she’s done and backs up, stuttering out an apology. 

---

Bruce looked at his daughter, unable to move as she continued to apologize. 

“B, I swear if you don’t tell her it’s okay, I’m going to shoot your fucking foot.” Jason’s yelling on the comms finally pulls him from his own thoughts. 

“It’s fine, Ladybird. Don’t apologize.” He manages to say, fighting the urge to smile reassuringly at her. She was so excited, the pure joy on her face made him feel like he had done something right for once. Of course it was replaced almost immediately by her stumbling out an apology and her once cheerful face twisted with regret. So he was still a failure as a father. Nice to know he was staying consistent. He watched, slightly worried as she stayed, stood completely still, in total silence. It was the first time he’d seen his daughter still. She truly was like a bird, always flitting about the room, moving from thing to thing with no real direction. To see her almost frozen was unnatural, it just felt wrong. Just as he opens his mouth to try and see if she’s okay, she snaps out of it. 

“Right! Well, let’s go! Patrol isn’t gonna happen by itself.” She says with a grin. He nods, taking off, always watching her from the corner of his eye. Maybe this wasn’t the bonding he had originally wanted, nor the bonding she’d been expecting. But he’d always found it easier to deal with stressful situations under his cowl. And a fourteen year old daughter? That was the definition of stressful situation.

Ladybird’s suit

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[fridayfirefly]

Seeing Ghosts

Read Seeing Ghosts on AO3

Masterlist

For Maribat March Day 12 - Second Chance

For as long as she could remember, Marinette could see ghosts. It wasn't always the ghosts of strangers, though. Her ghost encounters started small. When Marinette was four years old, her parents told her that the family cat, Tikki, had left to live in the countryside. Marinette didn't understand, because Tikki still lived with them. Tikki still meowed for pets, still purred when Marinette pet her, still played with her favorite toy, the laser pointer that Marinette got for her last birthday. It wasn't until two weeks later, that Tom and Sabine sat Marinette down and explained to her that Tikki had died, that she needed to stop pretending that she was still there. Marinette was confused until she saw the way Tikki's paws batted right through her toys, the way she never ate the scraps that Marinette dropped on the floor. Marinette knew two things for sure: Tikki was dead and Marinette could still see her ghost.

For years and years, Tikki was the only ghost that Marinette saw. Then Marinette turned fourteen and Marinette could suddenly see.

They haunted the corners of her eyes, lurking in her periphery. They were just shadows, phantoms until Marinette focused her eyes, and then she could see them clear as day. Ghosts were real and Marinette could see them. Ghosts were real and they were everywhere, an inescapable reality for Marinette.

Quickly, the ghosts learned that Marinette could see them. They followed her around, lingering at the edge of her sight. She could hear them too, little whispers about the baker's daughter, the only person who could see them. However, none of the ghosts were bold enough to approach her. That was the status quo, until one day when Marinette came home from school one day to a ghost lurking in her room.

Marinette gasped as she saw the ghost sitting in the chair at her desk, staring at her with knowing blue eyes. He was her age, which made his brutal injuries all the more horrific to look at. His skull was caved in. His chest was mangled. His skin was shredded and burned. He had been beaten to death, tortured in his final moments.

"I've been told that you can see ghosts," the boy remarked, ignoring Marinette's shock entirely. He spoke in English instead of French, luckily Marinette's class had been learning both languages, so she was able to understand.

Marinette nodded, her throat suddenly unable to get a word out.

"You can hear ghosts, too. Can you bring them back to life?"

Marinette shook her head, clearing her throat as she began to speak in English, "I've never tried, but I don't think so."

"Could you try? For me?" pleaded the boy, the desperation in his expression breaking Marinette's heart.

"I don't even know you," said Marinette, trying to find a way to gently let the boy down. Seeing ghosts was one thing; bringing them back to life was another thing entirely.

"I'm Jason Todd." Jason stuck out his hand and Marinette tentatively shook it.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

It wasn't until Marinette pulled her hand back that she realized that his hand - and now her's - was covered in blood. With a shriek of surprise, Marinette stumbled backward away from Jason. "What did you do?"

"What did I do? What did you do?"

"This has never happened before. Somehow my touch turned you corporeal enough for the blood on your hand to transfer to mine."

Jason glanced down at his hands. "Your fingers left prints in the blood. I've spent hours trying to wash the blood away for months, and you managed to do it by accident."

Marinette stared at her hands, the realization sinking in. Jason Todd was dead and his blood was on her hands. In the blink of an eye, Marinette was running to the bathroom to throw up. She thought she would be able to handle looking at the injuries of the dead, but Jason's wounds suddenly felt personal. Someone beat him to death, beat him until his bones broke and his skull caved him. Marinette heaved into the toilet, unable to cope with the violence of Jason's death.

When Marinette finally lifted her head, she saw Jason lingering at the door, looking guilty. "I'm sorry. I know that this is pretty graphic to look at." Jason gestured towards himself.

Marinette shook her head. "You don't have to apologize." After rinsing her mouth out until the taste of vomit was gone, Marinette turned to Jason. "Come here."

Jason approached her at the sink. With the water still running, Marinette took his hands and held them underneath the water. They both watched as the water turned red, then pink, then ran clear as all of the blood washed off Jason's hands. "Thank you," Jason whispered.

Marinette took a deep breath. "I can't make any promises, but I will do my best to bring you back."

--

Bringing the ghost of a human boy back to life seemed like an impossible task, so Marinette started small: with Tikki the ghost cat. It took two weeks of experimentation before Marinette realized that with enough meditation she could funnel some of her energy into Tikki's ghost. With Jason to help her take notes, Marinette began to figure out the ins-and-outs of resurrection.

The most difficult part was figuring out exactly how much energy Marinette could expend before it took a toll on her physical health. The very first time she gave Tikki energy, Marinette woke up the next morning with bruises littering her body. Tom and Sabine took Marinette to the doctor's where she was diagnosed with anemia and prescribed iron supplements. Jason was so concerned about Marinette's well-being that he refused to let her give any more energy away before she had returned to her full health.

A few weeks after the initial mishap Marinette got back on track. Every morning she would push just a little bit of energy into Tikki. Little by little, Tikki turned from specter to physical being. Then, one morning, as Marinette pushed energy into Tikki, she felt her energy hit a wall. At the same time, Marinette felt Tikki's fur under her hand for the first time in ten years.

"You brought her back!" Jason exclaimed.

Marinette let out a whoop of joy, scaring Tikki, who jumped out of Marinette's lap with a startled meow. Marinette grabbed Tikki back up, able to properly hug her beloved pet for the first time in ten years. "I've got to go show Tikki to my parents. I'm going to tell them that I found her outside."

"You'll need to give her a new name," said Jason. "Might I suggest Alfred."

Tom and Sabine were surprised, which was to be expected. After all, it wasn't every day that their daughter found a doppelgänger of their dead cat in the alley behind the bakery. However, they were quick to rationalize the event, shrugging it off as a strange coincidence. Alfred became a beloved new member of the family.

After her success with Alfred neé Tikki, Marinette turned her attention to Jason. Their very first attempt took place in Marinette's bedroom. Marinette and Jason sat down cross-legged on the floor. Marinette placed her hands on top of Jason's and concentrated. She felt the life force within herself and pressed it forward, through her hands and into his.

"I can feel it," whispered Jason, "I've never felt anything like it before. It's so warm."

The awe in Jason's voice made Marinette feel warm inside as well. "I'm going to start with just a little bit of energy. I don't know how transferring energy to a human will differ from transferring energy to a cat, and I don't want to burn myself out on the very first transfer."

"Do this at whatever pace you need. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Marinette smiled with his reassurance. She took a deep breath, and let the energy flow out of her. When she finally finished, cutting off the flow, she looked back up at Jason and gasped. Jason's broken finger, which had bothered him for weeks, had straightened out. The cut on his collarbone had closed shut. The bruise on his cheekbone had faded. His wounds were already starting to heal.

--

Quickly, Marinette and Jason fell into a routine. Every day after school they would sit down in the back corner of the bakery and Marinette (under the guise of doing her homework) would push more of her life energy into him. It was a slow process. Though Marinette often wished to give Jason just a little more energy every day, to speed up the process, she was constantly aware of the fact that Jason would fuss over her and stop the transfer of energy entirely if he saw any sign of pain or exhaustion on her.

In the months that Marinette had known Jason, he had grown protective over her. Marinette spent most of her time with Jason. He slept in her room on the little couch in the corner, followed her to school, and wore the clothes that she designed for her. Jason changing his clothes was an incredibly embarrassing affair, as the only way for him to be corporeal enough to touch the clothes was for Marinette to be touching him while he did it, leading to averted eyes and blushing on the part of both Marinette and Jason (but it was worth it for Marinette, to saw Jason's relieved smile when he realized that he never had to see the blood-stained clothes that he died in again).

In total, it took eight months from the day that Marinette met Jason to the day that Marinette brought Jason back to life. It started as an uneventful morning. Marinette woke up to her alarm, grumbling as she got ready about how it was inhumane to make teenagers wake up so early. She made herself a coffee while chatting to Jason. They walked to school together, Marinette dodging through the crowded sidewalk while Jason moved straight through people with ease. Marinette got to her desk at school and took a seat next to Alya. Luckily the seat behind Marinette was empty, so Jason sat there when he followed Marinette to school.

Marinette had asked Jason before if it bothered him that he was unable to participate with the rest of the class since they could neither see nor hear him. Jason claimed that he didn't mind. Despite that, if Jason ever whispered comments or questions about the lesson into Marinette's ear, she always made sure to ask the teacher, even if she already knew the answer.

Sitting in on lessons had the additional benefit of teaching Jason French. Marinette did her best to teach him the basics, but immersion was the best teacher - after eight months of hearing and speaking only French, Jason was fluent in the language. Marinette often praised him for his quick learning, which was how she learned that Jason was prone to blushing when he was complimented. Jason always grumbled when Marinette pointed it out, but Marinette found it adorable.

Once school was over on that fateful day, Marinette and Jason walked home together. Marinette set her backpack down at her usual table, sat down, and got to work. It had become an easy routine: put in her headphones and play some calming music, find a quiet place within her brain, and focus on the feeling of energy welling up inside of her. Then take Jason's hands, concentrate on that energy, and push it through her arms and into him. Controlling the direction of the energy was easy - it was controlling the rate that was the difficult part. It moved slowly at first, then all at once it flowed faster than Marinette can control, and it was a race to slow it down before it could all drain out of her.

That day, however, just as the energy started to speed up, the flow of energy abruptly cut off before Marinette even had the chance to react.

"Why did it stop?" asked Jason, looking confused.

The day had been so long coming that Marinette could hardly believe what had happened. "I have nothing left to give you. You're alive again, Jason."

Jason stared at her, wide-eyed. "Are you sure?"

"I'll go test it." Marinette jumped out of her seat and raced towards the front of the bakery, heading for Tom, who was behind the counter. "Papa, can I get a plate of macaroons for me and my friend?"

Tom glanced over at Jason. "Who is he? I don't think I've ever seen him here before."

"He's a foreign exchange student," Marinette lied easily. "His name is Jason."

"Here's a plate for you and Jason." Tom handed her a plate, piled high with macaroons and other sweets.

"I might take Jason and show him around Paris, once we finish our homework. Is that alright?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Just make sure you're home before dinner."

"Of course," chirped Marinette. She made her way back to her table with a bounce in her step. "My papa could see you. You're real."

In that moment, Jason looked lost. He glanced down at his hands, flesh and blood once more. "What do I do now?"

"You're alive again. You can do whatever you want."

Jason took a deep breath. "I've been gone from this world for so long. I want to go home."

Marinette tried not to let the fact that her heart was breaking show on her face. "I have enough birthday money saved up to buy you a plane ticket. You might have trouble getting on a plane without any identification, but I'm sure we can come up with a solution."

For a moment, Jason looked upset. Then, Marinette saw on his face as a realization dawned on him. "I didn't mean alone. Marinette, I want you to come with me."

--

There was no sugar-coating it: Marinette's parents were going to kill her. The plane was half-way across the Atlantic Ocean and Marinette's phone was turned off. There was no way to check, but she was certain that her parents were already sending her frantic texts. By the time the plane landed in Gotham, Tom and Sabine would surely have already called the police.

Marinette could only hope that her and Jason's fake IDs would hold up against the Gotham Airport security officers. While seventeen-year-old Jason could easily pass for nineteen, the age listed on the fake ID for Jasper Townsend, Marinette was worried that she looked young enough to cause suspicion. The age on Marie Davis's ID needed to be eighteen in order to get Marinette onto the plane, so whether she liked it or not she had to look eighteen. Resigned to her lies, Marinette put on a heavy face of makeup and wore three-inch heels on the international flight. It was a little funny, in an ironic way, that her heels had one inch for each year she needed to make up for.

Marinette was still confused about how Jason managed to get them fake IDs in the first place. Jason just shrugged and said that he knew a guy who owed him a favor. It was a side of Jason that Marinette hadn't ever seen before, a side of him that she was deeply curious about.

They had gotten on the plane just as the sun was setting. Marinette had sent her parents one last text message, telling them that she might be a little late. It was the understatement of the century. Marinette had never lied to her parents like that before. All of her past lies had been little things - lying about the number of macaroons she ate, or how late she stayed up the night before - but never a lie about her personal safety. The guilt was killing Marinette. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

Jason placed his hand (flesh and blood) on Marinette's shoulder. "I'm sorry that I'm making you do this."

"I'm not sorry. I would never make you do it alone."

Marinette could practically feel the nervous energy radiating off of Jason as their plane landed in Gotham. "I'm assuming you know where we're going next. Should we rent a car?" she asked once they cleared security (miraculously, no one looked too closely at Marinette's feeble attempt at a disguise. Marinette was glad to switch out her heels for flats and wash off the makeup in the airport bathroom).

Jason shook his head. "We don't need to rent one. He always keeps a car at the airport just in case someone's flying in."

Marinette wasn't sure who he was supposed to be, but Jason had been reticent to share any information about his past, and Marinette wasn't going to pressure him. Jason had been beaten to death, after all. There was a lot of trauma in his past and Marinette wasn't going to force him to share it with her until he was ready.

Jason led her through to the VIP parking lot to a luxury black sedan. He reached underneath the car, feeling at the underside until he pulled out a key. "Bruce keeps a key taped to the underside."

"That seems... irresponsible." Marinette was delicate with her words. Jason had been tense since the plane landed, like a loaded gun. She didn't want to bring up anything that might set him off.

"He also has a tracker planted in the car," Jason remarked offhandedly.

Marinette rolled her eyes at that remark, unable to keep walking on eggshells around the topic of Jason's family. "Irresponsible and paranoid. That's an interesting combination."

Jason laughed. "Just wait until you meet Bruce in person. I promise you, none of what I could tell you about him would ever live up to the real deal."

They got into the car, Jason in the driver's seat and Marinette in the passenger's. Jason's driving was a little rusty at first (which was understandable, given that he hadn't driven in nearly a year), but by the time he got on the highway, it was like he never left the driver's seat.

"Do you think that your family will believe you when you tell them that I brought you back to life?" asked Marinette, her voice quiet. The closer she and Jason got to Jason's house, the more questions Marinette had. It had taken her weeks to rationalize the fact that she could see ghosts, and she was the one seeing them. She couldn't imagine how Jason's family would react.

"Bruce was the one who found my body. There wasn't any faking that. I think he'll believe you."

"We've never talked about what happened to you. I- Is it safe for you to go home?"

Jason nodded, eyes on the road as he pulled off the highway onto a winding road. "Bruce did everything he could to save me, but he was too late. I was there for the funeral. I watched him mourn. I think... I think the reason I never passed on was because he never got over my death, never stopped feeling guilty. I wanted to pass on. I wanted to tell Bruce that I didn't blame him. I went and found you so that you could pass on the message for me. But then, when you could touch me, when you took the time to wash the blood off of my hands, I realized that I might be able to tell Bruce myself. I realized that I could have a second chance. I realized how badly I wanted a second chance, because a second chance at life meant that I had a chance with you."

Marinette blushed, looking over at Jason. "You know that doesn't matter to me. I wouldn't care if you were dead or alive."

With a snort of amusement, Jason said, "You might want to rephrase that."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. I liked you before you were corporeal. Human or ghost, you're my friend, Jason, and that's never going to change."

"I know that, but I like being alive better. I like being able to hold your hand for real."

Before Marinette could say anything in reply, the car turned. Marinette was too shocked to speak when she saw the size of the house at the end of the driveway. "Welcome to Wayne Manor, Marinette."

Marinette got out of the car first, smoothing down the fabric of her skirt and running her fingers through her hair. She hoped that she looked presentable, even if no one would be looking at her once they saw the resurrected Jason. "Are you coming?"

Jason nodded, taking a deep, steadying breath. "Yeah. I'm ready." Jason got out of the car and slipped his hand (flesh and blood) into Marinette's, and even though questions and doubts were swirling through Marinette's head in a whirlwind of anxiety, she knew that as long as she could hold Jason's hand, everything would be okay.

@maribatmarch-2k21

[taliaquinn]

Hamilton AU Part 2

lthI’m really glad to see that you guys loved the Hamilton AU. I really enjoyed seeing all the comments. Sorry for the inactivity I was super busy with getting readjusted and getting the proper amount of sleep. I hope I tagged Everyone if I didn't please feel free to comment here or direct message me. Here is the part two with a bigger presence of the Batfam. :)

“ItwasanecessarysacrificeitwasnecessaryItwasneededtosavemyreputationitwas-” repeating that mantra, Adrien slowly lifted his head from his hands to look over the newspapers, splattered all around his desk. All the headlines glaring at him in bold black print.

SHOCKING: Details Of Adrien Agreste’s Affair Revealed

FASHION INDUSTRY IN CHAOS FOLLOWING ADRIEN AGRESTE ADMITTING AN AFFAIR WITH BRULER INDUSTRIES SECRETARY LILA ROSSI 

‘OH YES HE WOULD STAY WHENEVER HE COULD ESCAPE HIS WIFE” ALLEGED MISTRESS LILA ROSSI STATES

MARINETTE AGRESTE IN TATTERS FOLLOWING BOMBSHELL AFFAIR ALLEGATIONS

Adrien couldn’t help but flinch at that specific headline. 

Marinette would forgive him. She was head-over-heels in love with him plus she had to forgive him for the sake of Emma, Louis, and Hugo.

 He quickly turned and focused on the only headline that mattered.

ADRIEN AGRESTE CLEARED OF ANY FINANCIAL WRONGDOING BY FRENCH INVESTIGATORS

Oh god, he couldn't believe he had let it get that far. He should’ve released the video much earlier before any charges were made public.

How dare they try to frame him. Everyone knew he always did everything in his life perfectly, efficiently, and legally. 

That lowly Bruler Board Member trying to extort him of all people. Then have the nerve to accuse him of embezzlement just so they could avoid jail time.

 Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the big framed picture of his and Marinette's wedding. Marinette beaming with joy, her arm wrapped around Adrien's. 

She looked beautiful that day. No matter what, seeing that picture of her in her wedding dress always managed to take his breath away.

She’ll forgive him. Especially once she knows why Adrien had to take extreme measures. 

He threw most of the Newspapers away keeping only that one that cleared him on any legal wrongdoing. 

He sat down actively trying to ignore the pings from his cellphone. Before finally reaching over and shutting it off. 

He leaned back and thought back to that fateful day that changed everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adrien was just walking out of a meeting with the CEO of Bruler Industries when he felt hands wrap around his arm. He shifted to politely ask them to let him go before he was staring at familiar green eyes.

”Oh!?” Adrien is that you?” Lila squealed. Grasping his arm even tighter.

“Lila? It's been so long since I last saw you” he exclaimed awkwardly trying to get his arm released from the Italian grip.

“Far too Long” Lila cried wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He quickly returned the hug. finally breaking it off, after an oddly long time, before walking towards the elevator together

” What are you doing here? Are you working on a Charity collaboration with Bruler Industries?” He asked, he couldn't help but notice Lilas employee id.

“Huh- OH UHM no actually I work here now” She let out quickly taking off her ID and stashing it into her pocket “I got offered a job here once they saw the way I ran one of my charities, They practically begged me to come work for them as a secretary and help them with Organizing” 

“Wow, that's amazing” He breathed out stepping onto the elevator with her following closely behind “What a coincidence that we managed to run into each other”

“Sure is” Ha. As if.

Lila had been seeing the Articles written about the “power couple”. Adrien and Marinette. She seethed with jealousy every time an article would appear, praising her work, her charity, and her kindness. 

That should’ve been Lila, she should've been the other half of the power couple. She should’ve been the “beloved beautiful Mrs.Agreste.”

This is why she was ecstatic and thrilled when she saw Adrien scheduled for a Meeting with Bruler Industries CEO on the schedule that Assistant Secretaries received each day.  She could barely manage to qualify for her job as an assistant secretary to a lower executive, she could only dream of being the CEO’s secretary.

Reading articles and watching videos  Lila realized that she wasn’t the only one Jealous of Marinette. Adrien was too. Through the quick glances thrown in his wife's direction or the flickers of annoyance on his face every time Marinette's fans approached her on the streets, who would practically ignore Adrien. 

Lila knew it was jealousy. She after all felt it too.

The baker girl surpassed Lila. That enraged her to no end. She was determined to change all of that.

This is why she had to sneak her way onto the top floor barely in time so she could  “run” into Adrien. Which was successful.

Shaking back to reality Lila couldn't help but give a quick glance at Adrien next to her in the Elevator, she realized that she had stumbled upon a crucial piece of knowledge that would give her everything she wanted.

 There was no way she could let Adrien leave….at least without her.

Lila practically dragged Adrien towards a “close” cafe that just so happened to have an intimate theme. Lila ordered coffee for them both and quickly delved into all her “adventures” she “had” since leaving lycee. Totally false but attention-grabbing as apparent by Adrien's intense concentration on Lila and her adventures. 

Lila knew that she didn’t have to worry about Marinette interrupting their little meet-up. She was away. Lila knew this. She saw the news report about Marinette and Her kids landing in Gotham in a private jet. 

Adrien was obviously unhappy at the fact that his family was in the States without him for all of the summer. They had to stay in the States for all of the summer because of Marinette. She was a Wayne so she was required to go to the annual Wayne Gala.

 Meanwhile, he stayed behind to take care of the Agreste company, fighting to make it even greater, Maintain the image of perfection. He even had the hope that someday it would be able to join Wayne corporations. Until then the Agreste Mansión was empty. 

For now.   

Lila wasn’t blind she could see the jealousy written on Adrien's face when the topic shifted to his wife. Marinette Wayne-Agreste. beautiful, talented, intelligent, business owner and mother of three. 

Plus her parents were Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Corporations, along with Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain who were world-renowned bakers.

 Marinette was the envy of all, including her husband. 

She reached out and took Adrien's hands into her own. “Oh Adrien just know that you are sooo kind,” putting on a mask of fake worry she continued “I could only wonder how much you worry about her cheating on you, I mean Marinette does go on abroad trips on a daily basis and men practically trip over themselves to talk to her, who knows what goes on when you're not around” 

She felt Adrien's hands tighten their grip around her. Lila flashed a triumphant smile before quickly placing a mask of concern over it. If everything went on according to plan soon she might find herself as the new Mrs.Agreste. Soon they both stood up and Adrien offered to walk her home and pay. “ Adrien you are too kind” Lila giggled out. 

Oh, Adrien was feeling pleased with being the center of attention, and Lila didn’t even have to milk it that much. After all, He offered to walk her home she didn't even need to ask.

“Oh Adrien it was so much fun talking and chatting again” Lila cooed, batting her eyelashes at him while clutching at his arm. Very reminiscent of their highschool days. Far too soon for Lilas liking they arrived at her hotel.

“Well I should head back home,” He said sheepishly standing inside the hotel lobby.

 Lila knew she had one shot. Quickly she flung at Adrien and clasped her hands around her upper arm. “Stay” She pleaded “We haven’t talked in so long, it's too soon for you to go”. 

Adrien let out a sigh and saw the hopeful and pleading look in her eyes. Marinette's smiling face flashed in front of him for a sec. But he quickly brushed it aside. Talking to Lila had been such an eye-opening, refreshing experience. Marinette's face flashed once again before Adrien angrily pushed away from the image.

 Like Lila said, who knew what Marinette was up to on her trips abroad in Gotham? She probably stayed in her friend's hotel room all the time to talk. Plus He was weak and tired from the long weekend; it surely wouldn’t hurt to stay and chat for a few hours with Lila. 

Making up his mind He allowed himself to be led up the hotel stairs. 

Lila Quickly led him to her hotel room and opened the door. Adrien without batting an eyelash stepped inside. The door shutting behind him

Unbeknownst to a happy Marinette in Gotham surrounded by her brothers, sister, father, and children the perfect storm has just been created and its name was Lila Rossi

Anyways that's a wrap. I used the tax Evasion accusation since thats similar to what Alexander Hamilton was accused of. Wonder what's coming next >:)

Don't forget to like, reblog and comment, I really look forward to reading your comments since they bring me so much joy. Also if I missed tagging you please just comment again. Apologies :)

Stay Safe and Healthy 

S/o to @mikantsume for noticing the Custody thing. Hope this answers your question.

Don’t forget to Like, Reblog and Comment <3

Taglist:

@purplesundaze @silvergold-swirl @k-poplunardreams @pepelachanel @laurcad123 @maribat-is-lifeblood @kass-is-weird @another-fan-of-anotherplan @damianette-is-life @amayakans @parallelparabox @miukiiu @valeks-princess @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @thezestywalru @dreamykitty25 @pirats-pizzacanninibles @mochinek0 @shamefullove @mochegato @souleateralicestein @thestressmademedoit @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @aestheticnpoetic @flufflepuffle296@mysupporthyperfixations @itsmeevie01 @jeminiikrystal @iglowinggemma28 @whydoexamsexist @kuroko26 @animalgirl05 @susiej1118 @damianthebratboy @ccwkm6967 @valyui901601  @wannajointhecrabcult @thornalchemist23 @tazanna-blythe @rebecarojas07 @moonlightstar64 @chylou34 @thecrazyfantrolls @iamablinkmarvelarmy  @boldlydecadentkitty @thornalchemist23 @tazanna-blythe @blackmagicforever @blueboobutterfly @sharingiscaringapparently @starlightshield @mikantsume 

[purple-goo-writes]

Me at work having galaxy brain moments: what if Marinettes Bio Dad was Lex Luthor? But not just that but to as a sort of contingency plan, he also mixes her Genes with Superman's effectively making her sorta a clone

(I posted this to Maribat discord and now I must share the chaos)

Wouldn't Mari be a clone?

Sorta. Like she is Lex's bio daughter but while she was in utero he fused/spliced her genes with Superman's. So shes not really a clone clone ya know

And what's hilarious is that while Marinette is like super smart and shit- she doesn't exhibit any kryptonian traits

Her mom's totally a Cadmus scientist and allowed this most likely.

And Ooooh what if she is technically Connors older sister? Like she is 4 when Superboy was created? She was the first attempt at combining supers and lexs genes. To see if it would take. But deemed a failure when she didnt exhibit any traits. But Luthor keeps her around as his hier and possible back up plan cause she shows genius level intelligence

canon wise she would be 2 years older then Damian and 4 years older then Jon.

And Kon meets her briefly when he decides to hang with Lex like in YJ. She is mainly raised by nannies

Superman probably wont know kf her til she is like 12 when Damian comes along to join the bat fam

She is a smart cookie and notices that she and Superboy now Conner share a lot of physical features and straight up asks Lex if she is a clone. He explains that she isn't technically a clone but rather genetically enhanced

She asks when she is 5. And doesnt confront Superman til she is 12 because she finally starts showing kryptonian strength and all that. But not as much as a full/half like Kon and Jon

Literally can see her some how hacking into the JL to do so too. Cause she is her father's daughter and would think hacking the Pentagon is a good practice exercise

Just imagine Hal minding his own business, sipping his coffee while on monitor duty and this little 12 year old girl who looks like an female superboy with bluish hair staring at him from the screen with a bored look that reminds him way too much of Luthor. "I wish to speak with my genetic donor." (Cause she may be a ball of sunshine but that part of her is only for family (mainly Kon cause he still manages to hang out with her)

'Who is your genetic donor"

"Superman or as you know him Kal-El."

Que spit take because fuck another lost child/clone?!

[thecaptainhelm]

Every Tap of My Heart

Here’s a  valentine’s gift for @savagenutella46, whose a lovely person! Here’s my gift of writer love for a fellow maribat enthusiast, hope you have a wonderful day fit for a wonderful person. xoxo uwu [insert heart heart winky face heart eyes rose]

Thanks to the moderator @eat0crow for setting this up so nicely, ily all!

In a small office, one of the many in the college of liberal arts building, two people sat across from one another in an awkward manner. One, a rather tall, tan, and robust young man with a relaxed and loose posture, and the other, a much smaller brown, older gentleman, salt and peppered hair and frown lines around his mouth.

“Mr. Wetherby,” the young man said in greeting.

“Jonathan.” Mr. Wetherby deadpanned in return. There was a slight pause between the two before the older gentleman spoke again.

“Well, how are you progressing with your midterm project Jonathan? You were well ahead of your peers the last I observed. I trust you have maintained this pace?”

Jon grinned at this, rather than being intimidated by the scholarly demeanor of his professor. Many of his classmates were intimidated by Mr. Wetherby if not for his surprisingly deep voice, then for the juxtaposition of his gentle appearance and his strict teaching. He had only ever felt amused.

“Yes sir, everything is going well. I’ve already checked the business’s schedule and set a meeting with the owner to have a short interview. Everything is totally in order.”

Mr. Wetherby stoically gazed at Jon’s silly grin as they conversed and didn’t say anymore. He simply nodded, typed a few phrases in the computer and turned the screen to Jon. 

“Very good. With this the meeting is complete and you’ve received full marks for the student-teacher progress report. Have a nice day, Jonathan.”

“Right sir, thank you sir, you too sir,” Jon smiled, bright and goofy, unmoving from his seat.

Mr. Wetherby gained a slight tick near his temple.

“Mr. Kent.” The young man blinked, tilting his head with a look comparable to a puppy dog.

“Yes, Mr. Wetherby?”

“You may leave now,” He spoke through gritted teeth. “Have. A good. Day.”

“Right sir, of course sir!” Jon bounced up and carelessly packed his things away. “Have a good day sir!” He energetically left the room and before the remaining occupant could so much as sigh, Jon popped back in, dark hair flopping into his eyes.

“Oh yeah, are we still on for patrol or are you going to call in--”

“Beat it, Corncob!”

“Hahaha!” Jon cackled and dashed away to complete his assignment. Anyone who saw him would do a double take. It seemed as though he was gliding on air, though he wasn’t moving particularly fast. People shrugged and moved about their day, too busy to really care.

Jon Kent was just strange like that.

Sometime later in the evening, the tall and somewhat awkwardly bulky Jon Kent nervously shuffled his way through Metropolis, carefully moving around busy pedestrians and apologizing in a fluster when he didn’t move carefully enough. He knocked into one final person and sheepishly grinned at the irate grunt before arriving at his target location. La Bonne Fée.

The building was sizable, enough space for a backroom, restrooms, a cozy kitchen facility, counter, and booths for people to sit and relax, with enough space left over to not feel compact. The furnishings were all warm, comfortable and the decorations had a slight vintage feel from a  bygone era of classy etiquette and manners. Through the door he could clearly hear the music of an old school juke-box, playing a Jagged Stone album.

Jon had come to such a café to ask the owner for an interview for the school financial magazine’s new column dedicated to new and upcoming businesses.

Some would ask if Jon lost his touch, others if he was touched in the head. Why would he interview a brand new café, one not even a part of a chain, when they were practically all over the city selling the same thing as their competitors.

Jon swallowed hard, and knocked on the softwood door. He picked up a jumping pulse and saw though the window a head of dark hair quickly poke out from behind the counter. His palms had become sweaty and his own heart jumped in his chest when soft footsteps quickly paced to the door and was pulled open with a silent, breathless smile.

“Jon, hey!” Marinette Dupain-Cheng looked up at him with bright grey eyes, almost silver under the city lights and his heart really kicked into high gear then, only slightly less embarrassing when he heard her heart doing the same.

“Glad you could make it,” She nervously fixed the hem of her sweater and pulled her apron on straight.

“Me too,” He smiled at her and was fine getting lost on her eyes before she cleared her throat and held the door wider.

“Would you like to, um if you would--?”

“Oh right, yeah, yeah, yes please, um,” Jon gulped and grinned strangely. He walked in with small quick steps through the door, taking extra care to not bump into her and send the smaller woman three inches through the flooring. God, he wouldn’t ever live that down if that actually happened.

“Well, I’ll grab some refreshments while you set everything up. Be back in a bit,” Marinette grinned as she led him to a booth near the front, out of view of the windows and moved to the counter with a stiff gait. He sat, pulling out his notebook, his voice recorder, pencils and two copies of the agreed upon interview questions. He fiddled with the materials, trying to distract himself from Marinette’s sounds, her heartbeat, her slight hitches in breath as she moved, the sound her petite fingers made when rubbing against the foam cups, all to no avail.

Yes, that’s a suspicious amount of attention to a single, pretty young woman in the city, but he couldn’t help it. He pressed down on the indentation of his index finger, reveling in the simultaneous sensations of hearing and feeling her heartbeat in person.

He couldn’t help it because she was his soulmate.

Jon’s soulmate mark was one he had from birth, thought to be a deformity but what was actually a touch based soul mark. Pressing it would allow him to feel the pulse and heartbeat of his soulmate, so long as they were alive in this life. The doctors had actually thought there might be a twin or a second heart while he was in the womb, but an x-ray via Superman showed that he was a  lone healthy baby. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a small, triracial young woman, with delicate features, a barely noticeable spread of freckles across a small nose and round grey eyes that turned into happy crescents when she beamed wide and unrestrained. This was all he knew about her, from their brief interactions while they set up the interview, all skin deep and superficial knowledge that he wanted to get past. 

This was his soulmate and he knew he shouldn’t rush, but there were so many things that she would have to know about him, things he shouldn’t and couldn’t hide from her, at least not forever, but how was he going to bring up being a superhero? No, wait, how was he going to bring up being half extraterrestrial?! She’d freak!

He tried to relax. He only found out the Marinette was his soulmate when he asked if she would let him interview her and couldn’t help but compare her heart rate to the one on his finger, further panicking when he saw her press her fingertips together in glee and saw the imprint of his finger upon her own. From there he saw that her index finger would snugly fit the imprint on his and he knew it, beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was his soulmate, that special person the universe found matched perfectly to him in every way that counted. He’d studied and pressed and listened to this heartbeat, wanting to press his head against her back to study and listen in the flesh for years, all before he knew who she was and that she was his and he was hers.

He pressed on it as she walked back to their booth, watching and smiling as she relaxed somewhat, lightly stroking her thumb along her finger as she set the tray of cookies and coffea, the cafe’s specialty fusion drink.

“Sorry for the wait,” She neatly placed the cookies between them after setting down their drinks. He watched the quick and graceful way she tucked the tray into her seat beside her before sending him a dazzling grin that briefly scrambled his brain.

He gaped before managing to stutter out a lame “no trouble” and Marinette merely grinned, cheeks pink. He could dually understand her heart at this time and couldn’t help becoming more flustered. His dumb brain was making him think Marinette had a crush on him, when she was probably just nervous and excited for the interview.

Yeah, that’s all there is to it, nothing more to it at all, he told himself while watching her cheeks darken. 

It wasn’t anything more.

“Well, here’s to a good interview?” Marinette nervously giggled as she raised her cup and Jon did the same without a second thought, only realizing his mistake when she saw his soulmark and paled, honing in like a bat out of hell. He tensed trying to think of an excuse or a lie or something to say but he was stuck. Hope clogged his throat and desire pressed down his tongue.

“You have a soulmark?” She asked after a lengthy pause.

“Y-yes, I do.” His voice cracked from bad nerves and excitement.

“I do too. Touch based.” Her eyes pierced through his soul and pinned him on the spot. He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.

“Cool. Super cool! I have one too, touch based like yours, yep! Cool!” Jon bobbed his head fervently, searching her gaze and found that she seemed to have the same idea as him. Her hand stretched to the middle of the table and waited for him to meet her in the middle. When he reached, slow and steady, it exposed the subtle quaking of his hand, revealing his inner feelings. He was comforted by the fact that her hand was shaking across from him too. It was a relief she felt the same.

Finally, the fingers touched, a small pale finger tapping two knuckles against the back of his. His shoulders tensed, Marinette mirroring him beat for beat as shoulder collapsed in devastation.

If Jon had thought that feeling Marinette’s heartbeat secondhand was an amazing feeling, then all the wonders of the accumulated sensation were nothing compared to this one touch. The pure physical sensation of another being pulsed through him, the echoing din that had been with him unnoticed all this time becoming known as he melted into himself, feeling it destroy him gently and lovingly.

“Wow,” Marinette breathed shakily. “Wow, I’ve, I never thought,”--an incredulous laugh-- “That was…”

She trailed off taking in his enraptured expression.

“Yeah, me too.” He grinned in wonder. His eyes bored into her own, falling deeper into her spell.

They stared at each other before Marinette finally broke the silence.

“Bonsoir.” She extended her other hand, unwilling to break contact.

“Hi.” He firmly grasped it, giving a strong shake. “Jonathan Kent, miss. Pleased to meet you.”

Marinette smiled beatifically. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The pleasure is all mine, Jon.”

The End

[lunarianillusion]

A change in fate

authors note: Sorry this chapter took a while, writers block is a pain and school takes a lot of time. Still I hope you enjoy this chapter and this story is now also on archive of our own under the same name. Now on with the story.

a maribat fanfic

Chapter 07

Marinette had been greatly relieved when Mist had returned so quickly and seemingly having succeeded in their mission. The miracle box safely tucked in their tail, a ball of memories between the leopard’s jaws and Wayzz sitting upon their silvery head. A small smile graced her lips at the sight.

But the small moment of joy had been shattered when a. unknown presence made themselves known. How had she not noticed them, she was the true holder of the miraculous of emotions, she could feel everyone’s emotions within a six-mile radius clearly. Even if she could not on a person’s scent, she should have been able to sense his emotions long before they made themselves known. So, how had she not been able to sense them following her guardian. 

In a quick and flowing motion Royal shifted into her battle stance. Her fan at the ready in one hand miracle box in the other, Mist had her claws out and growled from deep in their throat and Wayzz nuzzled into the female’s neck hiding away from the possible danger. All their eyes focussed on the figure that now slipped out of the shadows.

To a certain degree the wielder of the peafowl was relieved that the intruder was neither Chat Noir nor her replacement. That however did not rule out the possibility that this was another akuma, albeit a better dressed one. The male wore upon a quick glance a near skin-tight suit made out of a reinforced material she could not quite place. His main colors consisted of red and black with a golden yellow coloring for his utility belts, that sat on his waist and crossed over his chest. Overall a decent ensemble, definitely better than what some akumas wore. The only things that really did not sit well with her was the length of the cape and that bloody cowl!

The male raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and moved his head to bear his throat. “I am not here to fight you, Blue Royal,” the stranger stated calmly. “Or should I refer to you by your old identity, Ladybug.”

The blue clad hero went absolutely rigid at this comment as did her companions. How? How did he find out?

Seeming able to read her body language he went on to give her a simple explanation on how he got to this revelation. He told her about how he had been there when the last akuma attacked and had made the connection due to her mannerisms around the so-called heroes and her overall combat experience. For not even someone trained in any form of martial arts, no matter how long they may have trained, would be able to pull of what she did in that little of time without real life experience. And from her reaction he could tell that his theory was correct. Great so she ratted herself out, well done Marinette.

“Who are you?” she more demanded then asked.

“I go by Red Robin and I was formerly known as Robin and protégé of the Batman of Gotham. I have come to Paris to offer you my help in taking Hawkmoth down,” Red Robin told her, while looking straight at the female before him. Though his eyes were covert by the cowl’s white lenses, Mari swore their eyes were locked.

“And how am I to be certain that you are not one of His akumas or accomplices?” The blue clad girl asked skeptically with a cold tone her eyes narrowed into a glare. The tension in the air could almost be touchable as the two continued their stare of.

Red Robin nodded at her reasoning, seeming to understand her suspicions and following cautios manner. “Understandable concerns. Though I doubt I shall be able to put your worries to rest, with just my words. But quite a few people have made my existence public to the world. I hope that when you have seen that you can be assured that I am here to help,” He spoke calmly as he lowered his hands.

“Not very secretive of you to become known to the public, protégé of the Bat,” Royal could not help to comment. It gained a small chuckle from the male before her. “Well the existence of the League is not really a secret either, hence why I were the cowl,” He bantered back. Marinette could not help her lip twitching upward even as she kept her look skeptical. For her nerves were not put to rest.

Since she could not sense his emotions, he must have a strong control over them, she focused her connection to miraculous to look into his soul. It was in correlation with a trick that Duusu had been telling her about during training. How when transformed a true soul can look through the eyes of their kwami and gain the ability to see someone’s soul. It was however a very exhausting technique and she would most likely have a massive headache in the morning, but it was a small price to pay to see if he was a threat.

The only thing giving away her use of this skill was the thin glowing ring of silver surrounding her pupil.

His souls held several shades of blue implying to someone who was loyal and strong of mind. But the colors were dull and several cracks could be seen in the core of his soul and were festering in a malicious black veins. While black could been seen as a color of mystery, which would fit with his secret ID, the way the veins seemed to be invading re-laid to him being hurt greatly. From Blue Marinette could tell though was that the vigilantly infront of her was being sincere to her at the moment. Though it took a second as she got distracted by the sight of his soul.

Still best to play save and do a background check on this ‘protégé of the Batman’ when she got back to her room. “If I were to believe you and you truly are here to help end the reign pf Hawkmoth. How would you be able to help me?” The female asked firmly as she called off the leopard beside her.

“Do not assume me to being rude, but even though you are capable the akuma’s in battle. Far better then your stand in or the mangy cat. I have come to surmise that detective work is not your forte,” Red Robin answered as he took to leaning on the railing. “I was trained in the fields of being a detective, combat and stealth by one of the best that I know of. I believe if we combine both our skills, we will be able to finally to put the plague that Paris is under to rest,” he finished.

He was not wrong she did need help in that department. She could deal with the combat part more easily now than in years past, having learned from experience. Though she had also collected some leads on the possible identity of Hawkbitch, she was unsure on how to follow up on said leads. If he truly was trained by the Bat of Gotham, someone who was considered the number one detective, he would definitely be a useful asset to the mission.

She only had one question left.

“Why now?” The question seemed to startle the vigilante before. The raw emotion in her voice a reflection of her young thirteen-year-old self, sounding so tired and confused. “I sent a message to the league years ago. Why is their only now a response?”

The male’s expression turned soft at her tone of voice and seeming to understand why she would ask this. “I have no excuse to the sheer incompetence of the one who thought your call of distress was nothing more than a prank. The suffering and deaths of the people of Paris is not something to be brushed off as a prank,” he seethed in anger a small flicker of emotion slipping from his control. Telling the blue clad hero of his sincerity.

A beeping sound of the peafowl wielders miraculous rang through the air. Six minutes.

“I get the feeling that our time is limited so I shall get to the point. Will you give us working together a chance?” And that was the question wasn’t it. Could she trust him to help her?

No, she could not, but she needed someone who could dig deep. And if the Bat had trained him his skills in what he mentioned prior would definitely of use to the cause. Still, he was an unknown with strong control of his emotions and even by looking at his soul, she was able to get more information on the male, she did not feel that she had a good read on him. So, this would be a gamble on her part. She needed a second opinion.

Turning her head, she looked at the little turtle god on her shoulder. For while she and Fu had not always had been able to see eye to eye, Wayzz has always been there to come to some sort of compromise. The little kwami always staying level-headed when there was a whirlwind around him and for that she was grateful. So, she knew she could trust him with being her second voice. The kwami and omega duo locked eyes into a silent conversation as Mist kept watch over the anomaly.

The omega’s eyes soon locked back on the vigilante’s masked once, her decision made. Marinette only hoped she would not come to regret this in the future.

“We will meet to compare notes and come to a full partnership arrangement on Wednesday at eleven p.m. at the arc de triomphe. Should there be an akuma attack before that time I want you to focus on evacuating the civilians away from danger. Try not to get spotted by Chat or LB for I belief we both agree they are not to be trusted,” the peafowl wielder informed the male of her decision. She barely made out the smallest amount of tension leaving his shoulders as Red nodded his head in agreement.

“To that we can most certainly agree,” Red Robin voiced. “Then we shall leave further questions to each other for Wednesday.”

The silence that followed his statement gave the vigilante the impression that it was time to leave. However, as he was about to take of the hero Paris called for his attention once more. Turning back to the blue clad female he motioned for her to continue. “Can you make certain no other heroes come to Paris,” her command gained her a curios tilt of the other humans head, question implied but not voiced.

“When I started being a hero, I thought the JL would be able to help, but after some research of the battle tactics they would only bring more problems than actually solve. For most league heroes seem to rely on an emotion power boost,” Red nodded along with her statement gears starting to turn. “And with Hawkmoth feeding on those emotions would make them a liability.”

“Agreed, I for one do not want to fight a mind controlled and upgraded superman,” The cowled male answered giving her some assurance that he would make sure the league would not interfere with Paris.

Being assured things would be stable until they could talk things out in two days, the two bid each other goodnight. 

As Red Robin took off into the night Blue Royal took one more look at his soul, but instead of looking at his core she observed the spectral dragon that was coiling around his soul. It was the mark of a true soul. Which led to the question: Was that Timothy?

The nudge of the leopard beside her snapped Marinette out of her head and back to reality. Swiftly she and her companions took off to her nest. She had a lot to think about, to plan for and to do and the night was not getting any younger.

taglist: @moonlightstar64 @iloontjeboontje @mickylikesstuff@myazael @scribblinggraveyard @incredulous-reader@mewwitch@woe-is-me0 @fan-written @coolspidermanmusicflower@heretopasstimebi @jjmjjktth @ichigorose@cmouse @nyx-in-line@chocolatecatstheron @bookgirl14 @toodaloo-kangaroo@iglowinggemma28 @itsmeevie01

[fridayfirefly]

crushed petals, shattered glass, and other broken things

Read crushed petals, shattered glass, and other broken things on AO3

Masterlist

For Maribat March Day 17 - Court of Owls

Marinette was twelve years old, and she was a knife. Delicate in her looks, deceiving in her appearance, Marinette was the most dangerous weapon in the arsenal of the Court of Owls. She was an assassin. She was a spy. She was clever, cunning, versatile. Most importantly, she was a knife, a sharp tool to be used to inflict violence. It was a role that suited her well. Marinette was training to become the Talon of the Court of Owls, and she was untouchable.

-----

Marinette was thirteen years old, and she wanted to know how she came to be. Procreation was easy to understand scientifically, but part of Marinette's brain objected to the idea that she had two parents. Marinette was a knife, and knives were forged by hammer and fire, sharpened to a point by tools so that it might become a tool itself. Marinette could not have come from something as human as love. Love has no role in the creation of a knife.

To settle the conflict, Marinette did what she did best - she snooped around, gathered intel, and created the most likely version of events. From what she could tell, her Grandmother, an associate of the Court of Owls but not an actual member, betrayed the Court. As punishment, Marinette was taken away from her family to be raised by the Court. Marinette's surname, kept hidden from her for thirteen years, was Dupain-Cheng.

The very concept of a surname was blasphemous. Marinette had no family. She belonged to the Court of Owls. And yet, sometimes at night, when she was alone in the dark, Marinette mouthed the words, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Something deep within her stirred.

-----

Marinette was fourteen years old, and she was supposed to kill the whole family. The mother and father, Marinette knew she could kill, but to kill their three children felt inhumane. The youngest wasn't even a year old. Marinette had completed hundreds of missions identical to this one. Sneak in, poison the food, sneak out, wait for the obituary in the newspaper in a day or two. However, this time Marinette couldn't do it.

Marinette cut the tracking chip out of her neck, crushed it beneath her boot, and disappeared into the shadows of the city. It was entirely unplanned, the only reason that Marinette was able to escape. Marinette didn't know much about life in the outside world, but she knew that it had to be better than the alternative, spending the rest of her life as a tool of the Court of Owls.

What Marinette didn't know was that the city she was disappearing into had a certain reputation. Soon, as she learned the true nature of Gotham, Marinette would wish that she stayed with the Court.

-----

Marinette was fifteen years old, and she now knew the true depravity of man. There was so much tragedy on the streets of Gotham. Some of the tragedies Marinette was able to prevent. Knives, after all, are just as good at preventing violence as they are at inflicting it. For other tragedies, Marinette was only able to witness the aftermath. For the victims, she had nothing to give. Knives can only hurt, they cannot heal.

Marinette loathes Gotham, a hatred that burns through her down to her core. In the Court of Owls, violence was planned. On the streets of Gotham, violence was random. It was so much worse. But a safer city would be more dangerous for Marinette, who needed deep shadows to hide in.

Marinette lived on the streets. She knew that she could pickpocket enough money to rent an apartment. It would be easy, the roughest slums of Gotham, to find someone willing to rent to a child, so long as they had the money. But Marinette's fear and pain had nothing to do with the physical conditions of living on the streets. It was all psychological. The horrors that Marinette had seen haunted her like a ghost.

The worst incident was Hannah, whose death shattered Marinette to her very core. Hannah was only seventeen years old, only two years older than Marinette herself. Marinette didn't know much about the girl, other than that she was on the streets because her boyfriend had threatened to kill her and the police wouldn't do anything until there was physical proof. Except, the way Hannah explained it was that the police wouldn't get involved until she was already dead. Marinette had offered to protect the older girl, but she shooed her away. Hannah told Marinette that she wouldn't let anything happen to herself. She told Marinette that she was tough.

Evidently, Hannah wasn't tough enough for the streets of Gotham. Marinette cried over the body for thirty minutes, cried so hard for so long that she knew she wasn't a knife anymore. Knives would never cry. Knives would cut right back. But Marinette was so sick of violence, so she cried and cried. Eventually, she knocked on the door of a house down the street, asking to borrow a phone to call the police and report a murder. Hannah's body was taken away. The police were ambivalent, they didn't even ask Marinette for a statement. To the police, Hannah was another victim of Gotham and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

This world was so deeply and terribly bad that Marinette didn't know how the rest of the world could survive it. Marinette didn't know if she wanted to survive it.

-----

Marinette was sixteen years old, and she finally got herself involved in the vigilante side of Gotham. Before Red Hood entered the scene, Crime Alley was a mess of villains and vigilantes, in a constant battle between chaos and order. Marinette never got involved. She had spent many years as a weapon, long enough to learn that a weapon can only harm and can never heal.

Red Hood toed the line between villain and vigilante. His network of crime was more civilized than any other the other organizations vying for control of Gotham. He kept the streets safe by keeping the most dangerous players in line. Marinette had to admit, he did more good for Crime Alley than Gotham's actual police force.

Still, that didn't mean that Marinette wanted to get involved. She preferred to keep to herself, keep out of the way, and keep in the shadows. It was safer that way.

That November evening when Marinette met Red Hood was cold. The rain that had come in the afternoon had frozen to ice. Marinette shivered as she sat in the alleyway, back against the brick wall, arms wrapped around her knees, hugging herself into a tight little ball. Winter was fast approaching, and Marinette knew that she needed to find better shelter.

Marinette hadn't been quick enough. Marinette should have fled the alley as soon as she saw the three brutish men start walking down it, but she was so cold she wasn't sure if she would be able to get her feet to move. By the time Marinette had gotten her feet under her to stand up, the three men were surrounding her.

The man in the middle leered at her. "You look cold. Why don't you come with us? We'll keep you warm."

There wasn't a trace of a question in his voice. It was a command. However, Marinette knew what happened to the girls who took up the offer, so she vigorously shook her head. She would rather freeze to death than join him in his bed.

"That wasn't a question," he growled, reaching down to grab her and pull her to her feet.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you," an unfamiliar voice piped up from farther down the alley. "I just might have to remove your hand if you do."

"Red Hood! I was just helping the girl to her feet. I swear I wasn't going to do anything to her." The man sounded terrified, and for good reason. The punishment that Red Hood chose for rapists was well known for its brutality.

"You should leave," snapped Red Hood. The men hurried out of the alleyway, running without looking back. Marinette watched them go, relief rushing through her.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Red Hood asked, offering Marinette a hand to help her to her feet.

Marinette shook her head, squeezing herself into a tighter ball.

"I can take you to the nearest homeless shelter or I can take you to the nearest of my safehouses until I set you up in something permanent."

"I'm fine here," mumbled Marinette. It was the first time she had spoken in weeks. Her own voice sounded foreign to her.

Red Hood scoffed. "You'll freeze to death out here. It's either a homeless shelter or a safehouse. I don't leave girls out on the streets. Not in Gotham. Not in Crime Alley."

Marinette shivered, feeling more than miserable. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to convince Red Hood to leave her. A homeless shelter might need identification, which Marinette didn't have. Going to his safehouse was her best bet. "Safehouse."

Red Hood pulled Marinette to her feet. "Alright, safehouse it is. Mind telling me your name?"

"Marinette."

"No last name?"

Marinette shook her head. She hadn't earned a surname yet.

Red Hood took her back to the safehouse and got her settled, bringing over groceries every week as he tried to tempt her into giving him more information about herself. Marinette was reticent to tell him about her past. She doubted that he would still trust her enough to leave her alone if he learned that she used to work as an assassin.

However, Marinette couldn't keep that secret for very long. Two months after meeting Red Hood, as she waited in the kitchen for him to arrive with his weekly delivery of groceries, Marinette was caught off guard as a dark figure burst through the door and attacked her. Marinette didn't want to fight the dark-haired girl, but to be honest she couldn't see any other option, considering the other girl attacked first. The girl was skilled and Marinette was out of practice, after two years away from the Court. The best she could do was hold the other girl off while she tried to figure out an escape plan.

Red Hood came in the front door, which was already ajar from the entrance of the other girl. "Black Bat, stop! Marinette is my guest here," shouted Red Hood over the commotion of the fight.

Black Bat ceased her offensive, falling back into a defensive crouch. She pointed one finger at Marinette and accused, "Talon."

Marinette cringed back. "Not anymore. Never, ever again."

Red Hood stared at Marinette in shock. "You were an assassin?"

Marinette nodded miserably, wishing she could be anywhere else. She should have escaped the safehouse when she had the chance, but her stupid brain decided that Red Hood's safehouse would be a good place as any to spend the winter months.

"Cass? Jason? Why was the door left open...?" The civilian man who walked through the open door stared at the scene in front of him in confusion.

"Aliases, Grayson!" exclaimed Red Hood, or, Jason as he had just been named. Jason took off his mask, casting it aside as he ran his hand through his hair with a groan. "Black Bat, you take Marinette back to the bedroom and help her put bruise cream on wherever you managed to hit her. Grayson, you're coming with me back to the cave so we can explain this situation to you-know-who." Jason almost reached the door before he let out a loud swear "Fuck! I cannot believe that I have to be the responsible one here."

As Jason and his friend left the safehouse, Marinette followed Black Bat - Cass - down the hallway to the bedroom. "Sit," ordered Cass, pointing towards the bed as she starting digging through the bathroom cabinet, looking for bruise cream.

Marinette stripped off her shirt so that Cass could get to the bruises. The only significant hit was a kick to the chest that knocked the breath out of Marinette. It was already turning yellow. Marinette poked it and grimaced at the twinge of pain that followed.

"Don't worry," said Cass as she started to rub the medicine onto Marinette's chest. "Jason will keep you safe."

Cass wasn't lying. Whatever Jason said or did in the hours that he was gone that day, it worked. Two days later, Marinette was moving into Wayne Manor.

Jason explained it all to her on the drive over. "Bruce - Batman - doesn't want an ex-assassin living on the streets in Crime Alley, especially not one in possession of compromising information about our identities. Given that you've already taken the first step towards reformation, Bruce is pretty confident that you're safe to live in the house. He'll help you get back on your feet, get you a new identity, an education, or anything you need."

Marinette froze for a moment, then wrapped Jason up in a hug. It was her first hug and it was better than she expected. "Thank you."

-----

Marinette was seventeen years old, and she finally had a family. The Wayne household was a chaotic place. Marinette used to think that she hated chaos, but she could now see the appeal. Coffee at midnight with Tim, practicing acrobatics with Dick, racing motorcycles with Jason, rescuing farm animals with Damian - none of it was normal, and because of that, Marinette loved it. However, when things got overwhelming and Marinette needed a break from the chaos, she always knew where to go.

Cass was one of the only quiet Waynes (the other being Alfred). In fact, she barely spoke at all. Marinette had learned that she and Cass had quite a few similarities in the nature of their childhoods. They were both taken from at least one of their parents, both raised to be assassins from a young age, both were isolated from the rest of society. Where they differed was the particulars of their education. Cass was raised without language, and she only learned how to speak after she escaped from her father's grasp.

One night, after a patrol that led to Marinette stumbling upon a body that reminded her of Hannah from all those years ago, Marinette walked through the halls of the Manor to Cass's bedroom. All anyone wanted was for Marinette to talk about it. Cass was the only person who wouldn't make that demand of Marinette.

Marinette knocked on the door, two quiet little knocks. Cass cracked open the door, then gestured for Marinette to come inside. Marinette settled down on the couch in the corner, trying to pick out the questions that she wanted to ask Cass. There were so many questions, but Marinette knew that only a few of them were worth asking. They sat in silence for a while, Marinette so lost in thought that she almost forgot that Cass was there, too. Finally, Marinette settled on the question. "Do you ever wish that you could change the past?"

Cass was silent, deep in thought for a few moments before she shook her head. "No."

"Not even if it meant that you could have had a normal childhood?"

"I had a hard childhood," Cass acknowledged. "I like where I ended up. I wouldn't be here without my childhood."

Marinette had one last question to ask. "If you're able to speak now, why do you barely talk."

"I learned to speak," agreed Cass, going silent for a moment before continuing. "I have become proficient at using words to deliver information but I lack the skill to converse with others. I find it difficult to use any more words than necessary. For that reason, people do not like talking to me. I do not talk to those who do not want to talk to me."

"I like talking to you," said Marinette, squeezing Cass's hand. "I can talk enough for the both of us. You don't mind my talking, do you?"

Cass shook her head. "I find your words tolerable. Sometimes even pleasant."

It was a high compliment from Cass. Marinette smiled. "May I hug you?"

Cass nodded, and Marinette wrapped her dearest friend up in a hug.

-----

Marinette was eighteen years old, and it was time for her to create a new identity for herself.

"Do you want a surname?" asked Bruce.

Marinette stared at the screen. There were three options in front of here. The first, to remain nameless. The second, to take on the name she was born with, Dupain-Cheng in remembrance of her parents and the childhood she never got to have. The third, to move on entirely from her past and embrace the future. "Wayne. Marinette Wayne."

@maribatmarch-2k21

[liquid-luck-00]

Fashion Show

Bio!Dad Bruce

Day 7: Fashion Show

@biodad-bruce-month

Ao3 ~~~ First ~~~ Previous ~~~ Next

~~~~~~~~~~

For the last three days in Marinette‘s break the main Batman family traveled to Paris. One they were going to set up Tim in WE Paris branch, and two they’re going to enroll Damian in school alongside Mari. However they had planned a small surprise for their favorite little bug.

They had gotten seats for the final two shows Paris fashion week. The last two shows being of Audrey Bourgeois and MDC.

However they weren’t prepared that when the day of the fashion show came around they were suddenly unable to find Marinette anywhere.

To say that they were worried that, they had lost their sister, was an understatement. The fact that most of them wanted to suit up to look for her may have been an over exaggeration but was totally plan A. However luckily for everyone involved, or really thank you Tikki for telling Mari to send a text to her family saying that she’ll meet them at the show so that they wouldn’t go running off and jumping off rooftops.

---

"Mari you really should be going the show is going to start and your family is going to be wondering why you weren’t there with them" Tikki prompted

"besides Audrey is the opening the show and she said that she would take it care of Your show too while you are with your family" Tikki gave her a knowing look before continuing "as originally you were going to still be in Gotham."

"Sigh do your right Tikki" she conceded to the little goddess "OK just this last little thing and done! OK I’ll just leave everything set up and then I’ll go out to the show. Oh wait I just need to leave this one piece for Audrey!"

She did just that, she had created a special golden, jewel encrusted rose that would be placed on Audreys signature sun hat and a matching gown for her finale/entrance of the show. Marinette could not believe it this is her first entire fashion line and show , granted it was under her pseudo name MDC, but that didn’t mean she didn’t work any less hard on all of these clothes. The only thing was that she would not be making an appearance on stage. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t going to be a signature at the end.

"Where have you been!" Dick almost yelled when he finally saw her coming from backstage.

"Well Audrey had asked me to come over" she answered with a shrug.

"As in the designer whose show is about to start" Damian answered in a bored tone, but she didn't miss the squint of his eyes daring her to back down from what he must have assumed was a lie.

"She had offered me an internship a while back and well I declined it at the time but I still work with her from time to time She’s even wearing a piece of mine for her entrance.

Then as the show began she shushed the boys "it’s starting” she whispered pushing them to the seats. Mari was still quick flash to pull out her sketchbook and throughout the show she took note of all the beautiful designs for later, taking notes to ask her about them later but importantly pieces of inspiration for her to use in later designs.

Between the two shows there was a break in order to change theme and the stage and everything else so that was when Audrey came out.

"Minnette it was pleasure to work with you again your piece was a huge hit if I do say so myself. Oh and who is this now?" She had all finally looked up and seen Bruce as well as his boys and Mari behind that Audrey couldn’t help but be impressed by the suits that they all wore.

"Ohh she let out a small laugh "I should introduce you guys. Audrey this is my biological father, Bruce, and my half brother, Damian, as well as Bruce’s adoptive sons Richard, Jason, and Tim." She pointed to each of the boys and her father respectively and then she saw Audrey‘s calculating eyes glimmer behind her sunglasses and.

'Gasp' "Marinette Dupain-Cheng or should I now say Marinette Wayne really you never told me." she feigned being hurt "Well no matter" she waved it off "I need to help MDC set up a few final things for her show. Now you will be staying for it?"

"Yes we plan on staying for the show" Bruce replied with a smile.

Then Tim spoke up excited "wait do you know who MDC really is I am dying to know who they are. I can’t find any trace of their identity anywhere and I’ve searched."

At this Audrey gave her a small discreet wink from behind her glasses "well it’s not my place to say, now, but I doubt she’ll be keeping it a secret much longer goodbye" she said turning on her heel towards the back stage.

That’s when Tim turned onto Mari "Bean if you work with the Audrey Bourgeois do you know who MDC is? Please, please, please tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me." Tim was begging.

That was when Jason covered his mouth "As fun as it is to hear you beg. You really let Bluebell speak and you need a breathe, or do you want me to knock you out instead? That way we actually all have some quiet for the rest of the evening." Jason discreetly threatened.

"Is it really that hard to figure it out?" she hummed to herself "Because I thought it was obvious." she looked at them.

"Wait so you do know" Tim questioned her again "can you tell me?"

"After the show Timmy" she said as the lights dimmed once again. As the show was coming to an end she made her 'debut'.

Out walked a hologram projection of herself, except no eyes or mouth, and faded from a red head and torso to black hands, feet, and hair. Her hair in a braid laying over her shoulder and was wearing a simple haltered maxi dress following the same color pattern but in reverse. In the black of the dress were embroidered a swarm of bats concentrated in the solid part of the color, the same in the red but with ladybugs. The hologram walked the runway bowed and faded away at the end of the runaway, ending the show.

It wasn't until they reached the apartment she, Tim, and Damian will be living in that they spoke up.

"So do all fashion shows end in such a dramatic way or is it only MDC?" Jason asked.

"Why not a fan of Dramatics Jay?" Mari asked

"Are you joking Little Bat that was amazing!" Dick supplied. if will say the dress at the end was an odd statement. "Damian added.

"Really I didn't think so" Mari countered.

"Bats and Ladybugs weren't an odd combination" he challenged.

"Nope" she only supplied.

"It was a bit Mini" Bruce finally added.

"Okay this is all a thrilling discussion, but Mari who is MDC?" Tim burst.

"Really, still haven't figured it out" she said confused. "I guess you guys need to renounce the title of 'World's Best Detectives'"

"What do you. You!!! You're MDC!!!" Tim finally shouted.

"Took you long enough boy genius." she smirked.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:

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[i-am-ironic]

I was gone for six months and suddenly my best friend has a baby!

Part 2 of this

I wasn't going to do this part but so many people wanted a part two and I came up with this idea!

*******************

Jon was excited, not for the long boring meeting that was about to start, but for the food he was going to get at his best friend's house after the meeting. Of course this might not be the worst meeting, there was supposed to be a new hero from Gatham, that could be fun. He wondered if Damian Robin was friends with this new hero, and if they were another adopted sibling.

As more and more people filed into the justice league's meeting room, Jon Super-boy kept looking and not finding his friend. Once everyone was seated the batfam entered, always so dramatic.

The big bat himself entered first, followed by most of his kids. Nightwing, Red Hood, Black Bat, and Red Robin all walked in, Red Robin making a beeline for the computer. The last to enter was Robin next to a girl in a black suit with red accents. If this wasn't such a serious meeting Jon probably would have teased Robin about the matching suits. She must be the new hero. He whispered something to her in french, so they were friends, very interesting.

When everyone was seated the meeting began in the same way it always did with a report from all the leaders about how their city's were doing. The second order of business was the mission jon had just completed. It had taken him six months, two trips off world and eleven other people but he had finally stopped the alien who had wanted to destroy the world.

For Jon this part was just as interesting as the updates. he did his best to look like he was paying attention but really he was listening to damian talking to the new hero, Ladybug. Everything they said was in french, which made things harder for him because he didn't speak french.

Superman was almost done with the debriefing when Red Robin spoke up, "Ladybug, Agent A needs you right away, code G."

The woman nodded standing. Robin stood too but was stopped by her hand, "i can deal with this Robin, ill call if i need back-up."

He frowned but sat back down. Looking back at superman to continue.

"Thank you superman, for that very detailed debriefing," batman said standing and walking to the head of the table,"now as I'm sure you have heard there is a new hero in Gatham. Red Robin is calling her now she had to leave a moment ago. While we wait for her I would like to give you some backstory, she was thirteen when she became a hero, in Paris. She fought a supervillen for five years before he was finally defeated. Her partner from those days has since retired. She moved to Gatham for college and began working with us as a vigilante about five and a half months ago,"

"That about sums up my life this far," the woman herself stood in the doorway holding a pile of blankets.

Damian walked over to her and carefully took something from the blankets, an even smaller bundle. "She wouldn't stop crying would she?"

"She wanted her dad."

Thats when it clicked: Damian was holding a baby girl, the woman had said the baby wanted her dad and now the girl was reaching up for damian's face. Ladybug walked over next to batman.

Damian had a baby. DAMIAN HAD A BABY!!!!! This was not happening! The same Damian who hissed any time someone tried to touch him, had a baby?????? That didn't make any sense! Where did he get a baby??? You leave for six months and suddenly your best friend has a baby! Ridiculous!

Ladybug began speaking, "im sure many of you are curious about my powers but I'm afraid I can't disclose that information. If anyone has any other questions I would be happy to answer them."

The Flash raised his hand, when ladybug nodded at him he said, "Is that your and Robin's baby?" Barry, always so quick to adresse the elephant in the room.

Ladybug turned slightly red but replied, "In a manner of speaking, yes. But not in blood. Are there any other questions?"

When no one said anything the meeting was adjourned, the heroes heading back to their citys. Jon joined the batfam as they left.

"So Robin would you like to explain why you had a baby and didn't tell me?" Jon asked.

"No."

"Ha!" Jason laughed as they stepped into the tube headed home. "He just doesn't want to explain how he reverse kidnapped a baby."

Stepping out into the bat cave the team walked to there respective changing areas. Leaving only ladybug and the baby with Jon.

"Could you explain?"

She laughed, "sure, basically a lady handed damian little Gabrielle here and sprinted off. We never found the lady so damian and I adopted her. Lagaly she is damian's daughter though. Can you hold her while I detransform?"

"I guess." He took Gabrielle from Ladybug as a bright light over took her.

When the light vanished the young woman standing there smiled at him, "Im marinette by the way."

"Nice to meet you marinette," he said handing her back Gabrielle, "Im Jonathan but everyone calls me Jon."

"Nice to meet you too," she looked behind him and smiled even brighter, "Dames, we had better go up stairs for dinner."

Damian kissed her and took the tiny mask off of Gabrielle's face.

"So im an uncle now, right Damian?"

"No kent my daughter will not be calling you her uncle."

"Why not?!" Marinette and Jon exclaimed at the same time.

"Mari not you too." Damien said in mock horror. "I knew i shouldn't leave you two alone together!"

Marinette giggled. At this point they had reached the kitchen and marinette took Gabrielle from Damian to put her in her high chair.

The three of them continued talking as the rest of the family joind the dinner table. Marinette and Damian took turns feeding Gabrielle mashed sweet potatoes. Everyone laughed and joked, even talking to Gabby some times.

After dinner about half of the team had to go home, everyone else went to their rooms or to the movie room to watch Avitar: the last Airbender, which wasn't a movie but they wanted to watch it on the big screen.

Damian whent to put Gabby to sleep, it was too late for them to go home and Alfred had already prepared a room for them.

"So how long have you and Damian been together?" Jon asked Marinette.

"Two years in May. I didn't meet his family until five months ago though." She smiled, "I met them the same day we got Gabby, I understand why he didn't want me to meet them for such a long time. I mean who could have guessed I was a hreo too?"

"Im glad he found you. He seems much happier when you are around." Jon said.

"Marinette can you come say good night to Gabby she wants you." Damien called from the top of the stairs.

"Ill be right there!" Marinette shouted back.

Marinette walked up the stairs as Damian walked down. "So I guess you like her." Damien said.

"She has the best friend stamp of approval." Jon replied enthusiastically.

"Thats good," Damien said thinking over his words before he continued, "because, I'm going to ask her to marry me." He poped open a ring box revealing a beautiful diamond engagement ring.

"Wow! Oh my god!! Can I be your best man?!!" Jon was vibrating with excitement.

"Sssshhhhhhhhh!! You have to keep this on the down low! No one knows about this not even Alfred!"

"Im pretty sure Alfred knows everything. Especially the things you don't think he knows. Its his secret super power." Jon contredited. "I should probably head to bed i have to get up early tomorrow."

"Why would you need to get up early?"

"Because Alfred is making pancakes and i want to be the first one to get some."

As jon drifted off to sleep he thought about if he would be as good of a dad as damian was, and if he would be able to find someone like marinette.

*******************

Sorry this i late but I was having trouble writing this chapter. Also has anyone else been watching avitar non stop, like at this point I'm pretty sure I've seen it 12 times.

Next im going to write a soulmate au so if you want to be tagged in that let me know. I hope you enjoyed! (The wifi is down at my house sorry if you weren't tagged, ill try again later)

@wannajointhecrabcult @corabeth11 @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @animegirlweeb @spyofthenightcourt @ivymala07 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @bisha43rbs @dreamykitty25 @sublimesoulbouquet @maribat-is-lifeblood @thestressmademedoit @crytallized @tomanyfandomsonmymind @karukofox21 @nightstarblue @certifiedbidisaster @our-preciousss @lilyreadbooks12

[justcourttee]

I Won’t Try Again- Pt 2

Damian Wayne closed his laptop with a brief smirk. He had received the answer he hoped for from the designer in Paris. In less than 24 hours, she would be in Gotham City and he would be in possession of a favor from none other than Tim Drake himself. 

Two months ago, they both bet that the first one of them to discover the identity of MDC and bring her to Gotham won a favor from the other. While he was skeptical at first considering Drake’s skill set, he also knew that a favor from his brother was priceless.

“Demon spawn, do you have those papers I need for today’s meeting?”

Speaking of the devil, Drake leaned against his office doorway, a cup of coffee in hand, hair pointing in multiple directions as the black circles he called eyes bored straight into Damian’s. 

“They were on your desk this morning Drake; Are you behind on your caffeine today? You usually are much more organized.”

Tim raised his eyebrows as he grunted and turned toward his office. Damian exhaled as he slid his laptop into his briefcase. He had much to prep before the designer arrived in the morning. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When the plane touched down in Gotham’s airport, Marinette released a breath she had been holding since they left. This was real. This was happening. She was really in Gotham.

“How are you feeling?”

Adrien brushed her shoulder with a small smile, trying to ease his best friends nerves. 

“Terrified if I’m being honest. I keep trying to convince myself that this is really happening.”

“Marinette, you’ve faced multiple akumas. Hey, you’ve faced my father. You’ve designed for multiple stars and shown down Lila Rossi. You can handle the Waynes, piece of cake.”

She shot him a grateful smile. After they defeated Hawkmoth, they finally decided to reveal their identities to each other. It was a blessing for both as they found a friendship that surpassed anything else in the world. There was an awkward period where they tried to date, but both decided the friendship surpassed any risk of dating. It was also confirmed on Adrien’s 21st birthday when the words Blonde, my favorite, appeared on his neck.

“Right, piece of cake.”

As they collected their baggage, the four friends made their way to the exit. There stood an older gentleman with a sign that read Marinette Dupen-Chang standing next to a luxury limo. They all inhaled sharply as Alya let out a short squeal.

“Girl, this is going to be an exciting six weeks!”

Alya looped her arm through Marinette’s as she dragged her towards the man.

“Miss Marinette I presume?”

His kind smile reached his eyes as he offered his hand to take her bags. She nodded in return.

“Yes sir, and may I ask your name?”

“I am Alfred, butler and family friend of the Wayne’s. Pleased to meet you.”

His eyes turned to the three standing behind her.

“Friend of yours?”

“Is that alright? They do not have to stay in the apartment with me, they just didn’t want me to come to the States alone.”

Alfred smiled and nodded.

“Of course it’s alright. You have very thoughtful friends Miss Marinette. Please, allow me to take your bags.”

As he gathered their suitcases, the door to the limo opened and a man stepped out. Marinette’s breath hitched as she took in the man in front of her. He was put together very nicely, hair slicked back, clean shaven, and beautiful emerald eyes staring her down. He smiled as he offered her his hand.

“Miss Dupen-Chang? I am Damian Wayne. Your profile was most impressive. I am honored you accepted my offer.”

Marinette felt her whole face go red as she shook his hand firmly. 

“You honored? Sir, I cannot express enough how grateful I am for this opportunity. My friends really pushed me to get out there, but I never thought, I mean I never believed, I just-”

He chuckled as he put both hands in his pockets noticing the other three standing behind her. 

“I look forward to getting to know you all over the next six weeks.”

He reached to reopen the door but stopped as he stiffened staring past the group and into the open field of the airport. 

“Get in.”

His voice turned sharp and cold as he roughly shoved the designer into the limo, ushering her friends in before slamming the door. He shared a look with Alfred before running straight into the airport. The four friends shared a look as well, all nodding in agreement as Marinette slipped out the back side. 

Before she made it to the doors, she heard an alarm sound from inside as people began running toward the exit. She held the door open ushering people out as fast as she could. Once she was sure as many people as possible were out she ran in opening the box from her purse. 

“Trixx! I need a disguise, fast.”

The kwami nodded in understanding, closing their eyes tightly as Marinette transformed. She gasped as gunfire could be heard in the direction she was running. Turning the corner, she slid to a stop as she saw the scene unfolding in front of her. 

Damian Wayne was surrounded by four men with guns, all wrapped in vines turning them a  sickly green color. 

“Ivy wants your father to give her an answer boy.”

One of the men poked his gun into the Wayne’s chest causing him to stumble a bit.

“You want to tell me what this is about?” 

The growl in his voice caused Marinette’s heart to skip a beat. She couldn’t waste a second. Detransforming, she caught Trixx, offering her a small snack. 

“Marinette! What are you doing?”

The harsh whispers matched the angry look on Trixx’s face. 

“I have a plan, but we have to act quickly.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Damian had counted all the exits. These men are dangerous while under Ivy’s control, but they’re meant to scare, not to hurt. All he had to do was-

“What the fu-”

The men all turned their guns toward the bats flying from the ceiling. Damian’s eyes narrowed as dozens of rabid bats dove from the ceiling at the men. They shot in every direction, screaming as the bats latched onto their faces. He began to reach for a gun that had been dropped when he heard her. 

“Over here! Mr. Wayne! We have to go!”

His heart dropped as he saw the designer waving him down from the corner. Silently he cursed as he took off toward her, running away from the fight. He hates running from the fight.

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, he really didn’t, but she was a casualty he couldn’t afford. She scoffed as she grabbed his wrist running towards the limo parked outside.

“A weird way to say thank you if you ask me.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. As if he needed saving. But a small part of him was impressed. She ran into a situation, assessed the surroundings and waited for the right moment to offer her help. It was dumb, reckless, and dangerous, but still, impressive. 

As they slammed into the door, Alfred floored it away from the airport.

“Miss Dupen-Chang, while I appreciate the save, please do not feel the need to put yourself in unnecessary danger. Ivy might not be safe, but she is definitely not the worst I have faced in this city. I cannot have my personal designer dead now can I?”

He watched as she shared a look with her friends before nodding at him in agreement. He closed his eyes for a brief moment in thought. 

Just what exactly had happened in there?

Tag List:

@amayakans @maribat-is-lifeblood

[tired-college-student-writing]

#WaynesAngel

The Maribat AU by @ozmav and @maribat-archive is all I can think about atm, so enjoy more of this

Summary- After Grayson posts a video on the wrong twitter, Damian feels like he should lose his social media privileges, and possibly his hand.

Part 1

Part 4

Part 5 (HERE)

This was a impusle write as I was trapped in a car for over 50 hours in three days. Please do not ask for another chapter. 

_________________________________________

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Why is it weird that I’ve never met a Bat before? It’s not like Damian or the Waynes have ever seen Ladybug or Chat Noir or the Miraculous Team in Paris, and they’ve been in Paris a lot more than I’ve been in Gotham #confusion #AMERICAEXPLAIN

Jason Todd Lives @BestTodd

@FashionInGotham Whomst the Fuck is Ladybug and Chat Noir?? Also, Miraculous Team Sounds like some magical girl anime Cass watches

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd 🖕🏼

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve They’re the Paris superheroes, they showed up almost five years ago to fight the little bitch of a villain, Hawkmoth and his stupid peacock assistant, Mayra.

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve @ FashionInGotham WHAT?! Paris has heroes??

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BestTodd @CainYouBelieve @ FashionInGotham @AFlyingGrayson Oh yeah, I forgot that the mayor was trying to keep it a secret from the rest of the world #MyB But yeah Ladybug and Chat Noir have been there the longest but there’s also Abeille, Viperion, Ryuko, Pegasus, King Monkey, Bunnyx, and Badulf

Chloe raised an eyebrow at her friend as she saw the tweet thread that was quickly going viral, “You realize my dad is going to flip about this.”

“He deserves it,” Adrian pipped up from where he was painstakingly painting Kagami’s nails a deep burgundy.

The other teen heroes hummed in agreement as Chloe huffed.

“Well Yeah, but I was hoping to do it with a little extra flair than a twitter thread.”

Alix snorted as she finished up Kim’s banana yellow toes, drawing a crude smiley face on his big toe with bright blue, “She’s dating the youngest kid of the most influential family in the world and has like 100 million followers. Plus she called Hawkmoth a little bitch and it already has 90k likes. I call that flair.”

It was a surprise when Nathanial had had his freak out during his second battle,  against a Crimson Peacock event no less, and had called her Lady Marinette in front of the other temporary heroes, but had lead to many nights like the one they were having now. Onesies of each other’s heroes’ identities donned as they lounged around Chloe’s room, simply enjoying each other’s company after a long patrol. Chloe and Adrian had demanded they have a spa night, which is why everyone was either giving or receiving mani-pedis while they waited for their face masks to finish. It was nice, to have so much support outside of the masks, especially as they entered their final year in Lychee.  

Marinette rolled her eyes, “It’s only 98 million, Alix, and plus I figured four months after I made this account was long enough to make the slip up seem genuine. We need to catch Hawkmoth soon, or else this entire mess will get a lot more complex.”

They all frowned as they realized the truth behind her words. They were all facing hard decisions if they couldn’t pin the man down, not like they hadn’t already sacrificed so much to continue the battle. Max had already turned down graduating early and a full ride to MIT, citing his desire to graduate with his friends before moving across the globe. Luka had been invited to tour with Jagged, only to politely decline, telling the pouting rockstar that he wanted to do some soul finding first. Kim had given up a summer training camp with the French Olympic team. Alix had given up going on an expedition with her dad and brother, missing out on the chance to explore the dunes of Egypt. Marinette had turned down three internships at this point, one from Audrey Bourgeois, One from Raven Baxter, and lastly and most devastatingly, one from Edna Mode.

They needed to end this, before the overwhelming feeling of their futures slipping right between their fingers got them akumatized.

Tim Drake Offical @TJDrake

Seeing the demon spawn panic when he realized @FasionInGotham isn’t any safer from maniacs in Paris then she is in Gotham is strangely endearing and vaguely terrifying #whyismyfamilylikethis

Duke of Hazard @DoneWithTheRich

@TJDrake Like you and Barb aren’t frantically searching for anything you can find on the Miraculous Team and these weird-ass butterfly dude.

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich Bugout.com, It’s in French but informative.

Tim Drake Offical @TJDrake

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich @CainYouBelieve How did you find this before Barbs and me????

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@TJDrake @DoneWithTheRich @CainYouBelieve @TJDrake Alfred.

The news swept up the story in an instant and suddenly the whole world was demanding to know what the Parisian Mayor had been thinking and why the Justice League hadn’t been involved.

It wasn’t long until the entire Miraculous Team was seated in front of the Louvre. Countless new agencies from around the world were present, eager to hear the story of the sickeningly young-looking heroes, but the one video that received the most views was the shaky camera videos that were uploaded to Marinette’s Twitter, as they shortened the two-hour-long Press conference into manageable clips that highlighted the most important points.

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

Full Lineup, Damn. Haven’t seen that since the last time we had a Scarlet Moth incident. For those who need context, this is like seeing the entire founding Justice League together to us Parisians.

The clip attached showed A panning shot as they introduced all of the heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir sat in the center of the long table flanked by Vipirion, plucking his lyre absentmindedly, Abeille, glaring down her nose at the reporters, a beaming King Monkey waving excitedly, and an eerie serious Bunnyx sitting as still as a statue to their right, on their left was fierce-looking Ryuko looking ready to slice anyone who got too close, the calculating Pegasus, mumbling under his breath, and lastly the timid Badulf, struggling to keep his red bangs out of his eyes.

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

LMAO RYUKO #DRAGONQUEENSLAY

Don’t question Paris’ Heroes like that, they’re feisty.

The clip showed a British reporter demanding to know why the heroes hadn’t contacted the Justice League previously to gain their assistance in taking down the dangerous threat that was Hawkmoth.

You could Ladybug’s eye twitch at the condescending question, but before she could answer Ryuko leaned forward to the mic situated in front of her with a glint in her eyes.

“I apologize for my English,” She started, “I am not as versed in the language as some of my teammates. To answer your question on why we haven’t had the League’s help is because Green Lantern is a fuck.”

Silence filled the gathering before Chat, King Money and Bunnyx burst into giggles, the rest of the heroes struggling to keep a straight face. The media was staring at them dumbfounded until Ladybug finally leaned forward.

“I’m sorry for the outburst,” She started, lips still trying to twitch upwards, “But as Ryuko said we did ask for help. About five months into our heroship Chat and I received an answer from the League after trying for three months to contact them. The ‘help’ came in the form of Green Lantern coming and assessing the situation. Unfortunately for us, Hawkmoth is smart and when the neon green monstrosity of a hero flew in he laid low instead of attacking when a Leaguer was present. Without an attack and no physical damage present as one of my powers allows me to restore all damage done to Paris or its citizens, He decided we were powered children that were trying to get in the spotlight.”

“Getting lectured on wasting the League’s time and resources before he flew off really put a damper on us asking again,” Chat added in, toxic green eyes narrowed and laser-focused on the reporter, “So we handled it ourselves, gaining our own allies as we needed them. But please continue telling us how the League could have helped sooner if only we had asked for help.”

Clip after clip, ten of them total were uploaded into the thread. Explaining the worst battle the heroes had ever faced, the strength of their enemy, what the villain and his assistance could and would do, the worst attacks, the easiest wins, the ways that Ladybug and Chat chose their allies, but the last two clips seemed to get the largest reaction out of the audience, both at the press conference and the internet.

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Not gonna lie, seeing my tormentors get put on blast by all of the Heroes is very vindictive #IsthatMean? #MaybeSo

“You’ve seemed to have shifted your support away from one local blog, to another over any official news agency,” One of the nicer reporters at the events said, “Is there a particular reason? And why the sudden shift two years ago?”

Chat’s face was strangely pinched, “Oh you mean why we switched from giving exclusives to the LadyBlog to BugOut? It’s quite simple. We go to the news sources we trust to take the information we are willing to give without worrying about ratings as their top priority. We tried going to Nadja Chamack at first, the local news anchor that we all hold a great deal of respect for, but the producers threatened her to get a ‘highly-rated’ interview. It led to her asking questions Ladybug and I thought were counterproductive to the reason we were invited to the interview and was trying to turn us into celebrities instead of allowing us to do the jobs we needed to. It was a similar reason we stopped going to Alya Cesaire, the Ladyblog editor.”

Ladybug took over here, “Miss Cesaire has the ability to be a very good journalist, but as her blog grew in popularity, so did her need for highly viewed content, this caused her to not only start posting more rumors and speculation than anything we’ve ever said but also to stop fact-checking with us things she heard. Even after talking to her about removing the content that was blatantly untrue and was told no due to the high ratings it had received we realized that we simply couldn’t work with her anymore.”

Abeille piped up in a low regal voice that was dripping with venom, “It really didn’t help that when we started interviewing with Aurora Beaureal from BugOut, shortly after my introduction, Miss Cesaire began a smear campaign against her, claiming she was faking her sources and videos publicly on her blog. Luckily we were able to shut that down quickly enough but it didn’t stop Miss. Cesaire from running into battle to distract us, and frankly, harass us for answers even after we told her no. It’s lead to more than one incident where she, other civilians, and even ourselves have been hurt.”

“Either way,” Chat took over again, “We want to support local news sources but only when they are willing to listen to our boundaries and work with us instead of trying to push issues.”

“Does that mean that info we found on the Ladyblog is not to be believed?” Another reporter called out.

“I would take anything after the first post about Lila Rossi with a grain of salt,” Ladybug said, only for King Monkey to snort and lean towards the mic.

“Yeah and if Lila Rossi is mentioned at all in the post just assume everything in that post is fake. Miss. Rossi is a known liar and problem for us.”

“Can you give us an example?”

Ladybug sighed before explaining, “The first time I heard of Miss. Rossi was an interview on the Ladyblog of her claiming to be my best friend. Now I very much value the secrecy I and my team have created for ourselves because it protects our friends and families, but even a lie about knowing me in such a public setting is dangerous because Hawkmoth and Mayra have proven that they aren’t above underhanded tactics to try and get the upper hand in our fights. I went looking for the girl to explain why she can’t say such things for her own safety, only to find her telling a boy that she possessed the Fox Miraculous in a public park. I will admit I called her out in a way that wasn’t very nice but either claim was enough to put her in danger, but both were painting a target on her back and it scared me that someone would do something to impress a boy. After that, she was akumatized for the first time and since then it has gotten even worse despite me apologizing the second I cured the Akuma. Some of her lies are enough to count as Slander if any of the celebrities she lied about knowing saw the posts, but no amount of persuasion seems to get her to stop.”  

Wayne’s Angel @FasioninGotham

Watching their powers without the looming threat of an Akuma/Amok is a blessing. They look so cool! #Love #Miraculous

The clip started with the heroes standing in front of the table, grouped differently than before. Off to one side King Monkey, Viperion and Bunnyx stood, Viperion holding a microphone.

“While we would love to an demonstrate our powers as requested,” He explained, “Our powers are not really good for demonstrations. Mine is known as Second Chance.”

He raised his hand and pulled the slider across his bracelet as he named it, a flash of pale teal light admitting from it, “When activated like I just did, it allows me to return to the point of activation at any time before I detransform in fifteen minutes as many times as I wish with only myself remembering the previous changes I have made.”

Without even acknowledging the startled whispers from the crowd, he handed the microphone to King Monkey, who offered a cheeky smile.

“So my power is called Uproar. It allows me to create a toy-like object that when it comes into contact with someone causes all of their abilities to malfunction.”

He goes to pull his staff from where it was strapped to his back only for Vipirion to stop him. A silent exchange passed between the pair before the taller hero nodded and handed the microphone off to Bunnyx.

“Viperion and I have a similar reason for our powers being hard to show off, only his is a little more versatile,” She started in a voice devoid of any emotion, swinging her pocket watch slightly, “I have the power Burrow. It allows me, and anyone I chose to take with me, access to a pocket dimension where I can travel to any point in time or space that I chose, past, present, or future. While you might see me fight during any battle I can make it to, my power is a last-ditch effort, as I would have to travel back in time to change the past if I do this assume the future is unsavable.”

The hush that falls over the crowd was quickly broken by Ryuko tapping her group’s microphone to draw attention to the opposite side of the stage where she stood with Abeille, Badulf, Pegasus, Chat, and Ladybug.

“I believe it’s best to not dwell on any one of our powers,” She told them, “Our powers are scary and knowing that they can be taken from us at any time and used for nefarious purposes keep all of us up at night, but we ask you to trust us to use them only for good.”

She waited a moment for the crowd o calm down before giving her own explanation, “My ability is known as the Three Dragons, the Water Dragon, the Wind Dragon, and the Lightning Dragon.”

She handed off the microphone to Pegasus, before calling forth the Wind Dragon and bursting into a group of clouds that swiftly blew around the stage before traveling over to the Louvre Pyramid and watching as the heroine reformed at the top, offering a small wave before the call for Water Dragon could be heard and a large dome of water formed over the entire courtyard.

Before she could call for her last form the snake hero grabbed the microphone, “Lightning Dragon is a bad idea, Ryuko.”

The heroine didn’t even question him, instead, vaulting off of the pyramid, the crowed gasped only for her to effortlessly land next to Bunnyx in a crouch, brushing herself off as she rose and turned her gaze to the horse miraculous user, who quickly explained his power before calling forth Voyage.

His cry caused blue light to circle his arm and he sent it towards the top of the still-present water dome, with a controlled flick of his arm.

The heroes didn’t even blink as the crowd filled with cries as the Eiffel Tower fell through the portal, Ladybug’s yoyo whipping out to direct it’s decent, the entire courtyard shaking as the 10k ton structure landed.  

“I’m up next!” Chat called out with a large grin, while the reporters didn’t seem to know if they should pay attention to the moved monument or the hero. His explanation was short since they were many videos of him using it but that didn’t stop the international reporters from screaming as Cataclysm swirled around his hand eating away at the Eiffel Tower, leaving a pile of rust in the crater

“Is-Is this much property damage necessary?”

Abeille shrugged, “No, but once we get to Ladybug, it’ll make more sense. Either way my turn.”

An unpleasant chill went up the world’s spine as she demonstrated how she could freeze all voluntary movement of her target on Chat Noir, who was still as a statue the second her stinger touched him.

Ladybug quickly took the mic and began explaining her powers. The world watched in amazement at her pulling a red and black spotted camera from thin air before she launched it into the air with a cheer of “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Suddenly a glowing swarm of ladybugs formed and tore through the air, covering Chat Noir, releasing from Venom, before healing the crater and rust from nearby, dissolving the water dome in the same instance.

If there hadn’t been so many people present the world wouldn’t have believed that so much damage was just repaired in the span of ten seconds, but staring at the unimpressed Parisians around them the world finally seemed to grasp the reality of the situation.

These children were past what one would even expect from metas, from aliens and superhumans like they had seen around the world already. These were heroes that were harnessing the very forces that made up the universe and fighting them at the same time. Bunnyx wasn’t exaggerating when she mentioned that sometimes there would be apocalyptic endings to their fights.

Instead of letting the knowledge stew Badulf step forwarded, twisting the microphone as he explained his power of illusions for the reporters.

With a short tune on his flute suddenly the group of heroes was gone, All that remained was a Sign thanking them all for coming.  Even after the illusion faded the heroes were nowhere to be found, having used the final demonstration as the perfect cover to sneak away so that no one could follow them.  

Wayne’s Angel @FasionInGotham

I must say I was not expecting such an outpour of love for all of Our heroes but damn am I pleased by it. Ladybug is our big name but the others are honestly way underloved in Paris, especially Chat who’s been there since the beginning. #MiraculousTeam

Quick Poll Who’s your favorite, everyone? Mine’s Chat Noir

Ryuko (19%)

Abeille (12%)

Ladybug (14%)

Bunnyx (8%)

Viperion (12%)

Chat Noir (15%)

Pegasus (5%)

King Monkey (5%)

Badulf (10%)

Call me Cass @CainYouBelieve

@FashionInGotham I like Badulf, he’s the newest correct?

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @CainYouBelieve Yup! He’s only been around for four months, but he’s a pretty great fox!

Tim Drake Official @TJDrake

Fun Fact: I just heard Alfred swear for the first time while watching the press conference and it was to call Hawkmoth and Mayra an arsehole FLOB and his fucking Slag.

Never been more terrified,

Based on the faces around me neither has any of the other Waynes #AlfredisTerrifying

Wayne’s Angel @FashionInGotham

Why am I the go to person for everything Mircualous Team? BugOut.com is a great source if you want more info.

Still Queen Bee @BuzzBuzz

@FashionInGotham Probably cause you're most famous Parsian? Or cause you were a miraculous user once?

Jason Todd Lives@BestTodd

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz IM SORRY?? DID YOU JUST SAY MARIGOLD HAD ONE OF THOSE MAGIC FUCKING GEMS???

Wayne's Angel @FasionInGotham

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz @BestTodd That didn't come up in the conference did it? A few of the old users of miraculous got outed as heros so LB doesn't call on them anymore, but keeps tabs on them since HM and Mayra will try and emotionally malipulate them into getting akumatized. A few of us bonded over it.

Still Queen Bee @BuzzBuzz

@FashionInGotham @BuzzBuzz @BestTodd @FashionInGotham Its common knowledge in Paris, Mari, me and our other friend @NotaModel all had miraculous at one point, but HawkBitch found out so we can't ever use a miraculous again sadly. I had the Bee, Mari had the Mouse and Ari had the Snake

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

Why is Damian staring at a wall and not responding? What broke him? #Help???

Dick Grayson @AFlyingGrayson

@AFlyingGrayson Nevermind #HecouldnthaveanormalGF? #HolyShitMari

Wayne's Angel @FasionInGotham

So I can no longer say I've never seen a Bat before, just saw Signal and Red Robin, I think???

Gonna be real tho, I was expecting to see them in Gotham, NOT PARIS #wtf #Whyaretheyhere????

Marinette had barely sent the tweet before her phone was ringing.

"Are you being serious?" Adrian asked, in lieu of a greeting, "At least two of the Batfam is here?"

"Yeah," She whispered a bit numbly, eyes still focused on the roof she had watched them disappear from mere moments ago. It was far enough away that if she had been a normal human she wouldn't have heard them, but she wasn't a normal human, "Hey Adrian, Don't tell the team what I'm about to say, okay?"

"Are you okay, bugaboo?"  

"Questionable," She didn't even bother rebuking the nickname, "I think I might be dating a Bat."

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