#maribat hawkmoth

[anjuschiffer]

Repairing a Broken Hero (if you can even call me that) Chapter 3

...i swear...I'm trying to catch up on fics QQ

tags: @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @fairlyfatale @battybatbat @angie500

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Chapter 3

PREV | FIRST | A03

“Any luck?” Tim asked, Bruce picking up the shouting in the background. He had changed out of his alter ego and was now in the Batmobile, reading Flash’s report. He didn’t find her nor did he find a corpse.

As the saying went. No news is good news. 

She was still out there. Somewhere. ”Did Hood-”

“No. He refused to talk to me. But I left the file behind in case he changes his mind.” Bruce quickly added, noticing another incoming call appearing on his screen.

Black Canary.

Oh, that wasn’t good. “Robin, I’ve got to go.” Without waiting for a response, Bruce hung up and picked up the next call. “Ca-“

“I just read Flash’s report and Oli  just filled me in. What were you thinking? Sending Red Beetle after Mr.Freeze? You put her against her biggest nightmare, her trauma…

What was going through your mind when you made this mission for her? From the looks of it, she clearly wasn’t.”

“She needed to face her issues head on.” He defended himself. “She can’t be part of the Justice League until she learns to reign in her anger and rage.”

“But not this way.” Dinah huffed. “She shouldn’t have been forced to face it on her own like she has been for the past seven years. 

For the past seven years, she didn’t have anyone to guide her, to train her. She had to learn everything by herself…

She was still a kid, Bruce…she still is a kid…and it’s our job to help her manage the rage she’s been carrying in her for the past seven years. Not add to it. 

She was already wary of us and now? I’m afraid we made it worse.”

Bruce went silent knowing Dinah was right. But what choice did he have? 

They didn’t know anything about her and they couldn’t find anything about the supposed defeated nemesis.

Not a single remnant was found regarding Hawkmoth and when Diana interviewed the girl and found out she used magic, it caused Kent to go on high alert. 

While he was usually okay with magic, something about the alleged heroine didn’t sit right with him, pushing him to ask Bruce to test the girl’s moral compass. 

Something about the look in her eyes and the way her magic felt around him; Kent hated the hollowed look in her eyes and the way her magic tended to slither around her, as if desperately trying to anchor itself onto anyone within her range. 

As if trying to stabilize itself with the help of someone else. “-even listening? We have to find her before-”

“Flash didn’t find Red Beetle at her last known location and I couldn't get…the help I needed to try and find her.” Bruce struggled to say, especially that last part. “We’re going to need the services of a certain detective.”

“I hope it’s not who I think it is.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice.” Bruce informed her, steeling himself for what was about to happen. “A magic user is missing, we’re going to need his help.

See you at the Tower.” With that, Bruce made his way back to the WatchTower, contemplating his decision. Dwelling on the thought for a while, he finally huffed before opening up his glove box and taking out what seemed to be a die. 

He crushed it between his fingers before calling Robin again.

“B? What’s-”

“A certain detective will be making his way there. Give him a briefing on the situation. I should be there in 10.”

“On it.” Robin rogered, hanging up with a click.

Bruce hoped this man would still be there when he got there. Then again, there was no telling if he was going to actually help them.

After all, he was a con man first before a detective and a mage…

-

“A cryogenic freezing chamber…” Marinette scoffed as she let go of him, Victor let out a breath, bringing his hand to where the knife was held against his throat, the tips of his fingers feeling the impression left behind. 

He propped himself up, watching as Marinette made her way to the equipment, the furious heroine not once blinking as they held eye contact. 

He hated the way she glared at him, the way her shoulders squared against him. It was a complete 180 from the heroine he was speaking to moments ago.  

She looked exactly as she did when they first met: feral. 

He watched as she raised an arm and then suddenly-

“Marinette! Don’t!” He cried as he reached out towards her when he realized she was about to shatter the glass. “It’s Nora’s! That’s all I have left from her!” He watched her stop her blade a centimeter away. “It doesn’t work anymore.” He explained, noticing her hand shakily lift itself away from the chamber.  

Marinette let out a cry before punching the wall beside them, retracting her hand from the hole she made. 

Dust fell from both her hand and knife as they rejoined Marinette’s side. 

Victor watched as she huffed and puffed, her grasp tightening on the blade in her hand. 

“To think it was you who made this.” She growled out, turning to look at him with glossy eyes. “You.”

“I made it for my wife. I made it to-“

“You made her suffer!” Marinette cried out. “You were making her suffer!”

“She was not suffering!” Victor yelled. “She was in a comfortable slumber, waiting for me to find a cure for her!”  Victor defended himself. “She was-“

“In your delusion of grandeur, she was quietly rotting away, her illness eating away at whatever was left of her! You’re selfishness-“

“It was not a delusion! And I was not selfish! You have no idea what you are talking about!” He yelled, his hands now fists that shook violently at his side. “I made sure the chamber lowered her body’s functions to prevent her cancer from-“

“Tell me the truth Victor.” Marinette quietly said. “In the end, it was all for naught, wasn’t it?” She walked up to him, the tears in her eyes more prominent. 

“If it weren’t for my creation, Nora would’ve already been- I loved her Marinette- no. I love Nora and will forever love her. I love her ‘til this day, Marinette.”

“You just couldn’t accept her fate…your fate.” Marinette said, dropping her transformation. “You couldn’t accept her death because it meant accepting the fact that the two of you weren’t meant to be toget-”

“I let her go, Marinette.” Victor said defeatedly, turning away from her. “I don’t know what Gabriel did that filled you up with all this anger and rage, I don’t know what went on that made you react this way upon seeing Nora’s stasis chamber, but let me tell you one thing.” Victor looked her dead in the eyes. “I wasn’t cretinous enough to keep her alive when I realized I made her cure too late.” 

He walked to the chamber, placing a hand over it. 

He looked at his wedding photo he had placed against the inner wall, a place where he believed Nora would see upon waking from her deep slumber. “By the time I made her cure, Nora’s cancer had already progressed so much that my cure would not have been able to reverse the illness…

So no, I do not think- I do not believe keeping Nora alive while I looked for a cure was for naught. 

I made the cure. 

It was supposed to cure her…

My only flaw was forgetting the most crucial factor against this being a success: time.” 

Victor turned to Marinette. “If I had the chance for a do-over, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d do it all over again…anything for Nora.” He looked at Marinette, the girl still glaring at him, tears running down her face.

“Even if it meant stealing and killing…again?” Marinette asked.

“In a heartbeat,” he replied with no hesitation. 

“And what if you had a kid?” Marinette threw the curve ball, watching Victor’s eyes widen, his eyes softening a bit. She watched as he ran the thought in his mind, the frown he had turned into a thin line. “Would you still-”

“I would.” Victor said firmly. “But not at the price of making her-our child suffer…if…” Victor held in a warble. “If Nora had left me behind a child…then I would’ve cherished the child to bits. 

After all, that child would be the last thing Nora would’ve left me behind in memory of her.

A gift of our love for one another…

Our love in a tangible form…

Why wouldn’t I care for it? Why wouldn’t I cherish the last remaining piece of Nora?” 

Marinette stood there stunned, trying to understand the man before her. A man who told her he killed and stole to find a cure for his wife. A man who didn’t hesitate to kill if it meant being one step closer to saving his wife…

A man who would stop his madness if only he had a child to hold him back and reign in his sorrow…

Marinette let out a sob, causing Victor to take a step closer to her. “Marinette, are you-”

“You were just like Gabriel…planning, scheming, hurting those around you…all for the supposed sake of your dying wife…” Marinette managed to say despite the tightness in her throat, wiping away her tears. “And yet…you are nothing like him.

Nothing -sob- at all.” She sank to the floor. 

“Gabriel?” Victor asked, “why are you-”

“Why couldn’t he be like you?” She asked him, furiously wiping away her tears. “Why wasn’t he more pragmatic? Why wasn’t he you?” Marinette let out another sob. “If he was…then maybe…maybe…maybe I wouldn't have blindly tried to join the Justice League.”

What? What was she talking about? She had impulsively tried to join the Justice League? For what reason? “If Gabriel had just loved his wife the way you loved Nora, then he would still be here.

He would’ve been at my-”

“Marinette, who are you talking about?” Victor placed a hand on her shoulder. “Who would’ve been-”

“Adrien.” She answered with a sniffle. “If it weren’t for Gabriel, he still would’ve been in Paris. He would’ve been here with me. 

It’s all his fault!” She screamed, slamming her fist against the floor. 

“Who is Adrien?”

“Gabriel’s son… my first love…and…my one and only partner who fought by my side all these years…” she let out a dry laugh. “Can you believe I found that out when I was taking down my nemesis?”

“But what does Adrien have to do with you joining the Justice League?”

Marinette wiped her face one more time before facing Victor with dull eyes.

“He’s missing. He’s been missing for the past year. And my magic isn’t enough to locate him. I need someone else to help me try and find him.”

“Who do you need help from?”

Marinette wiped a tear away, staring as it sat perfectly round on the tip of her finger.  

“John Constantine.”

“

“Tim, why is he here?” Cassandra asked Tim, who was quickly condensing Marinette's information into a single document to read to Constantine. The boy was so immersed in trying to finish the summary as he only answered Cass with a grunt. 

The guy came out of nowhere. 

One minute they were just sitting near the zeta tubes and the next, a giant yellow portal opened in the middle of the floor and Constantine stumbled into headquarters with a lit cigarette in hand and muttering under his breath. 

A ‘how fucking dare you,’ and a ‘you’re using the favor now?’ was heard as he closed the portal behind him. To add on to his annoyance, everyone ran to him when he asked for Batman, he was ignored.

“Are you going to help us find Red Beetle?”

“We’ve lost contact with her while she-“

“-already told all you bloody kids I don’t know why I’m he-” John noticed Tim and walked up to the boy, causing him to jump when he put his shoulders on him. “Baby Bat, where Bat’s?” Tim looked at him appalled by the nickname, but John ignored it. “Bastard had the nerve to call me on my day off-”

“First off, it’s Robin. Second, he’s running late and told me to debrief you on what’s going on.”

John leaned back, crossing his arms. 

“Alrighty then. Yap away.”

“We need your help finding-“

“You want me to help you find someone?” Constantine looked at the others in the room and back at Robin. “Bats called me to help him find a person?” He laughed. “And he’s suppose to be the better detective-“

“If he’s asking for your help it means he couldn’t find her through normal means.” Robin seethed, a scowl forming. “We need you to locate her through magical means.”

“And I’m assuming it’s this Red Beetle everyone and their bloody mother have been crying about?” John asked the obvious, earning glares but he kept smirking. 

“Red Beetle was online when her two trackers turned off and when someone went to check the scene, she was nowhere to be found.

She disappeared without a trace.”

“Uh huh.”

“So we need you to help us-“

“I’ve heard enough.” John opened a portal and was going to head back when he felt pairs of hands pull him back and tell him that he needs to help them. “If she couldn’t be found through your means and if I do end up locating her, then -more often than I can count- she’s in a magical bind and I’m not dealing with whatever shit that would be.

I didn’t tell Bats I owed him a favor for him to drag me into one of your manhunts on a rogue.”

“So you’re not going to help us look for her?” Jaime asked. “If she’s in a bind, then we have to-“

“I’m not going to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, you daft. I know when to stay in my lane. And this-“

“We just need you to locate her Constantine.” Baan spoke up, startling the kids. “We’ll handle the rest.”

“Well, look who decided to finally show up. You should’ve started there, Batsy. What would’ve been better if you were here to begin with instead of these blokes.” John dusted his coat and disposed of his cigarette. “They’re not exactly in their right minds to be taking charge of this manhunt, wouldn’t you say?”

“They’re not in charge. But they are worried about her.” Bruce looked at the teens, some glaring at Constantine till while the others just followed him with their eyes. Observing every movement he made. “How fast can you locate her?”

“Don’t rush me, love. Gotta focus well if you want me to find this girl.” Bruce grunted. “Now, if you kids could move, I’d appreciate that.”

Constantine watched as the teens stepped away from him. “Lovely and now that I have room to breathe again, let’s get this started, shall we?”

Bruce watched as John prepared himself, pulling out a needle from an inner pocket of his coat. “These suckers are to find, ya know? Sold a kidney for this one.”

“There’s no way he did, did he?” Garfield asked. 

“I mean, the man did sell his soul already.” Tim bluntly replied, the others looking at him with a horrified face. 

“I’m going to need the kids full name. And a photo of her.”

John noticed Bruce’s silence, which was hard to miss with everyone else keeping their mouths shut. “Bats. This isn’t going to work if you don’t give me her full name and her photo. Do you want me to find the kid or not?“ Constantine waited for an answer.

Instead, Constantine was given a photo of the girl with the name ‘Marinette Dupain-Cheng’ written under her face. John looked at the photo, not hiding the shock upon seeing her face. “Are you sure this is the girl you’re looking for?” He asked Bruce, Bruce wondering why the usually unserious man was asking him such a question.

“Why are you asking?

“Just a heads up, I might not be able to find her.” John didn’t give Bruce time to ask what he meant by that as he closed his eyes and lifted the needle in front of him. 

They watched with bated breath as he conjured a magic globe, the needle lifting from his fingers as he muttered a spell under his breath. 

They watched as the pin flew off, twirled once around the holograph Earth before it started to sputter and then break, not startling John. He turned to Bruce and narrowed his eyes.

“How in the ever loving fuck did you lose a Guardian, Bats?”

NEXT

[continous-mistakes]

First Fic: Thank You for the Topic of My Next Therapy Session

Crossposted on ao3 Leave a comment if ya like it or have ideas!

Inspiration: BioDad!BruceWayne

Chapter 1 of 4

Marinette has not been having the best few weeks lately. Akuma Attacks are becoming more frequent and violent, Luka has just been turned into an Akuma (again), and she is having to deal with a life-changing revelation (also again!?) that she should have been ignorant of for the next few years! But no. Her Ladybug luck just had to be with her as she opened her mother’s important documents drawer while in search of something significantly less important than what she did find! Her Maman only asked her to find her pearls, but what Marinette found were lies and significant emotional damage.  

That happened weeks ago. She refuses to acknowledge it, so Sabine has no idea that Marinette knows, and honestly? Marinette would like to keep it that way. For as long as possible. Which might not be very long at all with the way this day is shaping up.  

Luka Couffaine, an amazing boy who Marinette genuinely cares about and trusts as a friend and permanent member of Team Miraculous, has been akumatized into Truth (AGAIN! Can Hawkmoth be original? For once?) because she refuses to admit to being stressed and yes she was fine, Luka. There is no need to be worried. Now, he is gunning to expose her secrets. Starting with her classmates who are with them on the Liberty.  

“What is Marinette’s biggest secret?” Truth demands, enforced by the magic eye-thing strapped to his back. Hawkmoth’s really pushing it with these Akuma designs lately. Like, the black with the blue assented suit is nice and the glowing three eyes are a cool touch. What Marinette draws the line at is the frEAKING HUGE HUMAN EYE THAT IS HANGING JUST BEHIND HIS HEAD. Safe to say, she is not impressed.  

“Marinette has a crush on Adrien!” Each student yelled when hit by a beam of white-colored light. Right, the Akuma is trying to find her secrets and should be taken down without getting hit. She can do that. Also, this is exactly why she will not be sharing Ladybug's identity with you, Alya. Just because you are part of the Underground does not mean you are privy to all of the secrets. 

“Everybody knows that! That’s not a secret!” Wow. Like... ow. Truth is just being mean at this point. Marinette can keep a secret! She has been Ladybug, Multimouse, and the Guardian for years with nobody finding out her civilian identity unless given permission. ALSO! She can confidently say that she has gotten over her crush on Adrien Agreste. Was it hard? Yes. Will Marinette always have a soft spot for the boy who was also her partner in cri- heroism? Absolutely. Did she realistically have time between being Ladybug, running the Underground as Multimouse, going to school, completing commissions as MDC, and helping her parents in the pâtisserie for a crush? No, she did not. The stress of doing so was actually the main motivator to let the crush go (unknowingly advised by said crush before the reveal).  

Though it is a bit freeing to know that she now blushes, not from the reveal of her once crush on Adrien, but because everyone still believes she hasn't worked past it. Which... wow, that really says something. Something that Marinette will put on her "deal with later" list. 

Oh no, Truth is looking at her. He must have heard her sigh. Fuck 

“Ladybug, tell me your biggest secret!” he demands. If she was just a bit faster in hitting the deck, she wouldn’t have been hit on her right foot. was touched by the compelling laser. Double Fuck.  

The distinct purple moth mask appears over the face of Truth. Hawkmoth was watching, the psychotic bastard. Marinette has run out of fucks to give. Three is too many.  

“M’lady!” yells her partner, Chat Noir. He must have seen her get hit because he began to run at her, unbuckling his belt. Thank all that is good, for she had the same thought as Chat to use the belt as a gage. The problem with that idea is that it is assuming that he can get it to her before she spills any secrets. You know what they say, assume makes an ass out of u-and me.  

Marinette could tell from the sudden tension on the boat that everyone on that boat, Hawkmoth, and the thousands of people watching on the live stream Alya's blog was hosting were waiting for the admission of her civilian identity. It was what made Chat Noir run faster. What made the students (and Hawkmoth) hold their breath. It was not, however, what was causing Marinette to go through three panic attacks at the same time. No, that went to the knowledge that written on her birth certificate, in the space that was for the name of the birth father, was Bruce FREAKING Wayne. Also, the adoption papers claim her as Tom Dupain’s daughter.  

Her birth father wasn't the man who raised her! The man that she has grown up loving and hugging and bonding over video games with wasn’t her blood. The man who was her blood didn’t want her. And she knows this because she found no divorce or marriage certificates between her mother and Bruce Wayne: meaning he got her mother pregnant in a one-night stand or broke up with her as soon as he found out she was pregnant!  

Then he went and adopted Richard Greyson only a few months after she was born, making her self-confidence dive off the Eiffel Tower! The emotional weight just got heavier as she researched, and Instagram/Twitter stocked her would-be-siblings in the weeks since she found out. They looked so happy and comfortable! Happiness she could have been a part of if she had reached some type of criteria her father had that the others did. Marinette is sure that she would get along super well with them, yet she couldn't be claimed as their sister when Bruce had so easily thrown her away. 

Under no circumstances can she say all that as Ladybug, though. It could lead anyone curious enough to look to find out her identity. Good thing she knew Bruce Wayne was Batman. A startling realization at the time, but ultimately made sense. Didn’t make the feeling of inadequacy any better. Against her will, she opens her mouth and just barely finds the mental strength to switch the names Bruce Wayne and Batman before speaking.  

“My father isn’t my father! My bio dad is Batman, and he abandoned me, and my mother doesn’t know that I know now... FUCK.”  

Silence. Pure silence. Able-to-hear-a-pin-drop silence.  

“...what?” The silence is broken. Chat stands stunned staring incredulously at Ladybug like everyone else on the boat, but with the added layer of actually knowing her civilian identity. If Marinette could see Hawkmoth right then, she would have seen the same state of shock as her classmates. The would-have-been-helpful belt lays limp in Chat’s hand as they all try to reboot their brains. Truth rebooted faster than the others.  

“Why did he abandon you?” Ladybug, mentally screaming, couldn't move before the laser hit.  

“The hell if I know, he left as soon as he found out my mom was pregnant!” An assumption on her part, but pitying and sympathetic looks come from her classmates anyway. Chat is still stunned. The chat on the live stream Marinette had forgotten about stops for a second before rapidly whizzing by with many expletives and shocked face emojis. This will hopefully be a moment to laugh at in a few days... oh Kwami, please. 

“Do you resent him for it?” Ladybug tried to dodge, but her section of the boat was small and open. She got hit.  

“Yeah, a little. He abandons me and my mom and then a few months after I was born, the first Robin comes into the picture. So, it kind of hurts.” At this point, the students are too invested to move, and it is safe to assume that Chat will not be of any help during this fight as he is too far gone.  

“Are you jealous of the first robin?” Ladybug has no choice but to charge head-on and take the laser.  

“I don’t think so. I’m more hurt by the fact that he continued to adopt more kids, but never came back for me. And STOP ASKING INVASIVE QUESTIONS!” He engages her in hand-to-hand combat that has her performing awe-inspiring acrobatics to get around the eye. She lands a solid punch to his liver that has him doubling over just as the next question is asked.  

“Would you want a relationship with your siblings?”  

“I have always wanted siblings, but I don’t know if I can even call them that since Batman didn’t choose me but chooSE THE OTHERS!” Her last words were yelled in exertion as she judo-flips Truth over her shoulder with impressive agility and core strength. She is quick to snatch the akumatized necklace and break it. Purifying the Akuma and Amok, Marinette looks to the sky and heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Holy FUCK Batman. Thank you for giving me the next topic of my therapy sessions.”  

The French Government issued a blackout of all things Akuma-related at the beginning of this whole fiasco to keep from attracting the Justice League and their million-dollar guarantee solutions. It did not, however, withstand France's 64.6 million citizens working towards the same goal.  

They loved Ladybug. Like they loved her. She is the hero that created the team they can always depend on to save the day anywhere in France! Much more than the Justice League who had ignored her repeated calls that were sent outside of France and the blackout (It was a busy week for reporters when their beloved heroin had gone public with the ignored request for help. Fuck you Green Lantern).  

They loved her so much that to not only find out that Ladybug is the daughter of the American vigilante, detective extraordinaire, Batman, but that he also abandoned her, their displeasure will not go unheard. Every one of the thousands of people tuned into the Ladyblog’s live stream had saved it, cut it to manageable bits, and then sent it to everyone they knew on every internet platform they were on. 26 hours later, the rest of the world was calling for an explanation for the viral video that kept changing titles to not get deleted.  

The French government had no choice but to lift the blackout.   

As a result, the Ladyblog skyrocketed in viewership and recognition for its consistency in recording the Akuma fights (much to Alya’s delight and her friend's bemusement). Many viewers would just watch the saved live stream. More would watch the rest of the videos. News articles are read, websites visited, and people watched the Duo of Paris and, later, their Miracle Team take down villain after villain, day after day, battle after gruesome battle. With the Parisian public singing their praises, it wasn’t long before the rest of the world adored the Parisian Heros just as much as the locals - if not more so.  

All that the world was waiting for at this point was the inevitable reunion of the "Batfamily" and the Justice League's response to the Heroes of Paris. 

[jjmjjktth]

Chapter Six: An Interesting Dinner Party

First - Previous - Next - Masterlist (ao3)

        As Marinette walked through the portal to her room, she pondered the events of the day. It had been a long day, too long. She sat down for her nightly meditation, closed her eyes, and imagined a lake with a surface of glass. Glancing around she picked up a stone and held it to her chest to imbue it with one of the negative events of the day. She thought of the run-in with her old friends and Lila. She considered what feelings she might have had when she passed them in the store. Was it jealousy? No, she didn't think so. Perhaps… disappointment. Having given the memory its due consideration, she skipped its stone across the surface of the mirror-esque water to be lost in the pebble beach across the lake. 

Selecting another rock, Marinette remembered her trip to the florist.  Her emotions around this memory were a bit mixed. While it felt good to talk to someone who genuinely cared for her, the woman was worried and Marinette had lied to her. When she opened her mind’s eye, the stone had transformed into an emerald and she placed it in a golden chest along with a few other gemstones. Following the same process, Marinette sorted through her day placing more focus on her gems than over her skipping stones. 

        With a sense of tranquility, Marinette opened her eyes and set her mind on eating dinner peacefully. Despite the events of the earlier portion of the day, Marinette was in a surprisingly good mood. Perhaps it was the ability to walk away from the situation that made things better. Of course this wasn't a luxury she had when she was still living with her parents. Privately, she thought that there's nothing worse than living with one’s enemy. Taking a deep breath, she headed to the kitchens to prepare dinner. I have to cook for two people now! I almost forgot. She quickly changed directions to the back gardens.

The gardens remained one of Marinette's favorite places in the temple. In fact, to refer to such a place as a garden would do a disservice to the vastness of the area. In reality, while she still would think of it as a garden, it was, in actuality, more similar to a farm. There were many fields neatly arranged to provide several different types of produce. Corn, potatoes, wheat, etc. yet, this was only a small portion of the “garden.”

Past the flat fields, on the hills, were tiered rice fields. It made a grand sight, all the different shades of green and brown. One would think that all these different kinds of food cannot grow together in the same environment. Marinette hypothesised that the same magic that had held the temple frozen in time was responsible for this phenomenon.

Walking through the rows of impossible greenery, the guardian hummed a tune while selecting the ingredients for tonight’s dish. She, using a sickle, removed three ears of corn from their stalk. Quietly moving to the vegetable patch, Marinette harvested a few carrots, a cabbage,  a little celery, and some peppers. 

        Taking her basket of supplies back to the kitchen, Marinette called for some of the kwamii to assist her in the meal preparation. Sass, Roarr, and Longg decided to help this time. While Mari was rinsing the rice, Roarr and Longg were working together to chop the carrots; and Sass was gathering them up to place in the wok. It was an odd sight watching all these tiny creatures carry all these heavy and sharp tools. One might say it bordered on absurd

  By the time the rice was cooked, all the vegetables were chopped and placed into the pan and the corn was shucked and rotated over the fire. Adding oil, she began to look for the proper spices to mix into her Marinette-style  fried rice stir-fry. Upon the discovery of some spice stalks, Marinette gathered all the dried plants, tore them up, and crushed them with a mortar and pestle. Swiftly tapping the powder into the wok, she turned and removed the corn from the fire placing two ears inside a tightly woven steaming basket. Once cooked, she cut the kernels off of the cob and into the pan to mix them in. 

        “Do you think he will like it, Wayzz?” she asked,  “I haven’t cooked for someone in a while.”

         “I’m sure it will be fine, Guardian. I will go fetch our guest.”

Marinette had stalled for too long. Perhaps the kwami knew this and that is why they had insisted on fetching the young man himself. But this was her safe space, and she found herself reluctant to permit someone else to stay. Marinette bit her lip, gathered her courage, and brought the various dishes to the dining hall.

—————Damian—————

        I think that’s enough of a heads-up, Damian called Jon.

        He picked up on the first ring. 

        “Damian! Where are you? I was so worried! You never disappear without telling me! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

        “Kent. It was a quick decision and I didn’t bring my bat-phone.”

        “Your dad came to talk to me yesterday, he thinks you ran away. Did you?” Damian grimaced. I guess there’s no avoiding it now. Kent is… persistent.

        “Yes, Kent, I… escaped.” 

        “What happened to your whole ‘I am the blood son’ thing?” 

        “Tt, I may be the blood son, but that doesn’t mean that Bruce can do no wrong.”

        “You must have had a bad fight. You never call him Bruce! What’s our password? I need to make sure you’re actually Damian.” He sighed.

        “Jagged Stone’s secret guitar pick.” Ridiculous. It made sense, though. A password had to be something that would never occur to a stranger. 

        “Okay, you are Damian. So, what happened? Where are you?

        “Nowhere of consequence.”

        “I’m just worried, Dami.” He smirked.

        “I won’t stop you.”

        “Thanks,” Jon responded, voice dripping with dry sarcasm.

        “Listen, all I can say is I am safe and far away from both Bruce and Talia. Trust me. I. Am. Safe.”

        “Okay, okay. Message received, loud and clear Cap’n.” Damian rolled his eyes. He was beginning to wonder if one day they’d get stuck back there.

        “Goodbye, Kent.” 

        “Wait!” He hung up just in time for Wayzz to knock on the door.

        “You may enter.” 

        “Miss. Marinette has sent me to tell you dinner is ready and laid out in the dining hall.” Wayzz turned in the air and left.

        Without much thought, Damian stood and made the small trek to the large, ornate dining room. When he entered, there were several bamboo-weave baskets and a few bowls on each side of the table. Occupying the seat on the farther side of the set-up was Marinette. She gestured for him to sit, and he did.

        The meal was a quiet affair. The only noises were the dull clack of wood tapping wood and the occasional whiz of a kwami.

        “Wow … this is duller than Frank’s funeral.”

        “Plagg!”

        “What! Just stating the obvious.”

        “Plagg, this is Damian. Damian, this is Plagg.”

 Damian just stared. There’s a cat too?! He cleared his throat.

        “Hello.” The cat, Plagg, just looked unimpressed.

        “You were supposed to be more interesting, little kitten,” Damian bristled. He was not a child.

        “Kitten! I am not a child.” The cat just smirked.

        “So, you don't just take being offended. That's a lot better than my last one, pigtails! Where did you find him?” The guardian’s jaw dropped. He had the feeling that the tiny creature had said something controversial.

        “Plagg. Outside. Now.” She gritted out; standing with a sharp hand gesture and striding out of the hall. 

        As she left, his phone rang. 

        “Kent, I swear--”

        “I’m sorry! I’m trying to stop him! My dad heard me talking to you and--” Sound of a scuffle followed along with what appeared to be Clark taking the phone. However, it was Bruce who spoke to him over the speaker.

        “Damian, tell me where you are.” He scoffed.

        “Like hell I would, Bruce, I can not trust you with my safety.”

        “It wasn’t a request.” Damian took a deep breath. Be mature Damian. Stand your ground. He can't find you unless you tell him where you are. This is you taking care of yourself.

        “You will not be able to find me so I suggest you stop trying to trace me. It’s a waste of patrol time, Batman. It’s late. You are late. Goodbye.” He hung up. 

Faintly, there was a sound of arguing outside of the small side door that the guardian had stormed through. It sounded both panicked and exasperated. Which of course is an interesting combination. Curious.

While he in no way was intending to take advantage of his host, it seemed that not everything was going as expected for her. He wondered what exactly that little creature had said to cause such a reaction in the girl. While he wasn't worried, Damian could hope that it wouldn't affect his eligibility for staying here. He was kind of relying on the magic to keep him hidden from all of his father's resources.

Right on queue, the young woman strode back into the hall. Her face was stiff. More so in a way of someone who was in denial then someone who is upset. 

  “Let's just pretend that you didn't hear any of that,” she said.

“ Fine by me but I can't say I understand it.” 

“Well, thank the Kwami for small blessings.” She sat back down.

Damian observed her silently, things only got more interesting the longer he stayed.

Next - Masterlist

Taglist: @swiftie-miraculer13 @messymessyml @myazael @woe-is-me0 @roguishredaxion @user00000003 @genderfluidmoma @eliza-bich @toodaloo-kangaroo @mochegato @thenillabean @jayjayspixiepop @moon5608 @battle-of-olympus-insta

[starwarsmum]

Day 17, Hawkmoth in Arkham!

@maribat-calendar-events

The cell Gabriel was placed in was almost freezing, thin blankets and padded walls doing very little to reduce the chill. He glared at the ceiling of his cell, wondering how it had gone so horrifically wrong. It had started well enough, his company had been granted an audience with Wayne Enterprises so that he could attempt to expand into the states.

When he had agreed to come to Gotham, he had also sponsored his son's class to come and take a tour of the company. Ostensibly, this was so that he could spend extra time with his son and not be separated for the week-long trip for negotiations, but really it was so that he could try to squash Ladybug while her temporary heroes were abroad. 

It had been during the Miracle Queen fiasco where he had discovered the identities of her ‘team’ and he wanted to capitalise on the knowledge before she could find new allies. She would struggle to defeat him if she could not ask for help, and he would finally be reunited with his love.

He was interrupted from his brooding when a guard slammed open the visor on his door, giving him a view of a surly man. This cretin gave a short order to get out of his room and ready for breakfast, barely looking at Gabriel long enough to see if he was alive. It was humiliating to be ordered around by people so far beneath him, but after a week he was becoming accustomed to the dreary routine.

As always, he glanced at the one cell that didn't open, with an extra slit for food deliveries. Gabriel had seen them depositing the food once, a man with skin as blue as the Bubbler and a demeanour to rival his own. It was silent and the chill that was persistent through the block of cells seemed to emanate from it. 

So far, he had kept his head down and avoided making any enemies, but he knew it was only a matter of time until someone started a fight. He was a sane man, trapped with the criminally insane villains of Gotham, he was an outlier and he knew it. The fact that those brats had managed to convince the police to send him here was outrageous, and he fully expected to be extradited back to France any day.

He survived that day, still flying under the radar of the most sinister villains in the place. But his sleep that night was fitful, and he dreamed of the final battle with Ladybug, Chat Noir and the American vigilante, Robin. He woke with a start, calling out for Emilie longingly.

He lay panting for several minutes, embarrassed and frustrated that he had lost the one thing that could make it possible to save his wife. When he had calmed down, he heard a distorted voice, echoing from a nearby cell. It took a few moments to work out what it said, and then he sat up.

“Is Emilie your lover?” He paused, wondering if he should answer when the mystery inmate continued. “I only ask because I still dream of my Nora, who has been out of my reach for many years. I'm sorry if you are suffering without your love.”

“She was- is, she is my wife,” Gabriel said hoarsely, tears springing unexpectedly to his eyes. He couldn't speak about her in the past tense, or he would have truly lost her. “She got sick after our son was- born. She declined suddenly three years ago and I had to- to put her into stasis to keep her with me until I could fix it.”

“I understand how you feel. Nora had cancer at the age of twenty-three, she would have died if I had not frozen her. If I had access to unlimited resources and time, I could save her, but there are no legitimate ways to get that much money given my…condition.”

The cell block was silent for several moments, neither man going into any further detail. Part of Gabriel was relieved that he was not alone, that someone else within these walls had been through something like him and only turned to ‘crime’ when given no other alternatives.

“My name is Victor,” the other man said at last, sounding every bit as lonely as Gabriel. It had been so long since Gabriel had allowed himself to get to know someone else, to share his burden. 

“Gabriel. Gabriel Agreste.”

_ _ _

Marinette was having a good day. In the past two weeks she had gotten in touch with the Batman, taken down Hawkmoth, retrieved the missing miraculous, and done it all while keeping her identity a secret. And because Hawkmoth was committing a crime on foreign soil, she had no problem convincing the local police to keep him securely in Arkham until France could extradite him.

It meant she had twenty-eight days from the formal request of extradition to ensure there was a suitable holding cell in France for a national terrorist. Given just how hated Hawkmoth was, and with the support of Batman and his band of vigilantes, she had no concerns that he would be buying his way out any time soon.

“Marinette,” a quiet voice called out to her and she paused, flushing slightly at the low tone and intimacy her name was said with. From a corner of her balcony, Robin stepped out of the shadows. She rushed into his arms, sighing as he kissed the top of her head. “I am glad you were safe getting home. Was the flight acceptable?”

“Yes, Ro, the flight was adequate,” she teased, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He responded eagerly and she giggled against his mouth. They broke apart and she motioned for him to stay quiet as she led him through the trapdoor. He landed gracefully on her mattress, removing his mask so that she could see his features. “I can't believe it's finally over.”

“Tt, you were always going to stop him, it was merely a matter of when,” Damian said with complete confidence, kicking his shoes off and placing them under the bed. She helped him remove his kevlar suit top and curled up in his lap to enjoy his warmth and comfort. 

“I know, but it's still amazing to be able to say it,” she grinned. “And I don't know many people who can say that their boyfriend and his family helped them to defeat a nemesis and international terrorist.”

Because that had been the unexpected cherry on top - after meeting Batman and Robin, she had been attracted to the young vigilante, but had equally been sure that it was another dead end to her love life. Instead, he had approached her as civilians and begun courting her, bringing coffee to her daily, eating meals with her and utterly eviscerating anyone who said a bad word about her.

It had been a relief to realise that the stoic vigilante and the unexpectedly sweet grouchy boy were one and the same. He had caught her transforming before the final battle and confessed his own identity so that he could go with her. The shock at this revelation didn't hit her until it was all over and Hawkmoth was safely escorted to Arkham Asylum. 

Yes, she decided. A good couple of weeks which was looking to indicate an amazing future.

[goggles-mcgee]

Wish Me Away: What Goes Around Comes Around

Notes: I'm so sorry for the wait but things piled up and it overwhelmed me. My mental health declined and physical health fluctuated, lot's of personal things happened and then I just got caught up in my commissions. I try my best to multi-task but it always gets hard for me. Sometimes I'll hit a streak and then I'll hit a block.

Overall, I'm just sorry and I thank all of those who are still sticking with this story and me as an author.

Warnings for this chapter are descriptions of injuries.

Beginning Last Chapter

Summary: The Agreste's face their Karma

Chapter:

Karma was a beautiful, beautiful thing if you asked Tikki. One of the only beautiful things born from her and Plagg’s combined powers. They were young when they created it, back when they hid from all, be it humanity or the wide variety of Gods and Goddesses. Kwami weren’t known to man, and to the Gods…well, some didn’t understand them, or they saw them as competition, but there were some Gods who sought them out to talk and bounce ideas off of. It was nice and it fueled her need to create. One conversation with some lovely Hindu Gods had her mind spinning to the point she demanded Plagg help her with her idea. He was reluctant, of course he was, combining their powers had proved to be a great yet terrifying thing. One that wasn’t exactly forbidden by Them before they had actually become Them , but it wasn’t highly encouraged either. 

Luck and Creation were Tikki’s domains, Bad Luck and Destruction were Plagg’s, so it was safe to assume they didn’t collaborate often. When they did though, they created such intriguing yet beautiful things that had the power to do as much good as they did harm. An example being the Lazarus Pit. It was just one pit that ended up somehow multiplying and they were spread around the globe. They were misleadingly called the Fountain of Youth, not many knew there was more than one so whichever one they discovered or heard of that was nearby or far away was deemed the fabled fountain. Human tales were such interesting things, Tikki loved hearing and reading them, even in her smaller form. They were shining examples of Creation and what could be done with the gift of Creativity. It was wonderful! Tikki loved seeing Creation in motion but it was something else to see Plagg and Destruction in work.

It was art.  

Maybe it was horrible of her to say but without him there would be no her. Creation needed Destruction and vice versa. They were an endless cycle and there was something just absolutely breathtaking about that. It was no wonder that Tikki wanted to try and merge their powers and see what could be born from it. They saw what happened when they combined their Creation and Destruction powers, but Tikki had been curious about their Luck based powers and Plagg had been a lot easier to convince once she explained that. It had been laughably easy, the power glowed above them for a couple of seconds and it was beautiful, it was more so when it separated into what Tikki could only describe as magic dust and flew in every direction. The dust coated everything and then it was gone. Naked to the eye but Tikki could feel it all around. 

At first, they had no idea what this new thing did but it became apparent the more they observed humanity.  A human would be kind or helpful in some way and Tikki would get this feeling of tickling warmth around her, this person would get a bit of good luck, nobody else could see it but Tikki, Plagg and the other Kwami (and Tikki would wager also the Gods) would see this human surrounded by some sort of glow. It was beautiful, it never stayed one color, it fluctuated and changed but always remained this soft, gentle glow. Eventually it would fade, but Tikki noticed some humans seemed to be constantly surrounded by the glow and it wasn’t a surprise to note they were some of the kindest, most generous and passionate humans she had observed. They were wonderful and Tikki felt they deserved the boost of luck, the Kwami as a whole were in awe. Then they saw the other side of things. 

Tikki knew humans weren’t perfect, that was part of their allure and all, but sometimes some of their actions truly disgusted her. They lied, which isn’t all bad, but some just lied and lied as easily as breathing and did so with no remorse even if a lie caused a problem. Sometimes they even looked proud if it caused some form of problem to happen. There were those who stole just to steal and just because they could, and there were those who killed with no guilt. Tikki and Plagg started to notice that these people started to be surrounded by a dark cloud of energy. The cloud was sometimes small, sometimes big but it always ended in some odd rain of black energy that coated the person till they resembled some sort of shadow being. How covered and how dark they became seemed to be tied to their actions and some time after that person would experience bad luck. 

Sometimes it was something as simple as something breaking right as they were used, be it old or new, and sometimes…sometimes it was a broken bone, getting an illness or even death. But the deaths were never swift, never painless, they were drawn out and full of such misery it was nearly tangible. Tikki couldn’t help but feel proud of what they created, it had some…drawbacks but overall, it was a beautiful, curious thing. Plagg had been so interested in her side of things, he chose to ignore what his had done but that was okay because Tikki found it just as, if not more fascinating than the good luck boost. It was like the world itself demanded justice and it got it when no one or nothing else did. Plagg at first had loved his powers but when he saw the hurt and hate, he stopped loving it, to an extent Tikki understood but at the same time she wanted to knock him upside the head. Without him, there would be no need for her. 

It took him a couple decades but he got there, and their strange new power grew the more time passed. It got mixed reviews from their peers and the wide array of gods but some Hindu Gods loved it. They even helped them name it as they had a similar idea but Tikki and Plagg seemed to have brought power to it. It was a great collaboration and thus Karma was born. Tikki and Plagg found it utterly fascinating and found themselves watching the humans for long periods of time. That was until They came back in their weakened state and all the Kwami came together to try and help them, it ended up being all for naught but They were not short of their wisdom and critics even in their final days. They saw Karma and though they found it just as fascinating they also scolded Tikki and Plagg for mixing their powers together without notifying them. It was a messy argument but one that ended with Tikki and Plagg getting to let Karma keep on. 

Once they were sealed in the Miraculi though, the effects of Karma weakened. It never disappeared but it did fade into a lesser version of itself. There were rare times where Tikki and Plagg were able to see Karma back in its true form and it was almost always after a Wish or after a catastrophic event in their universe. Karma followed and it healed the balance of the world. Many believed it was the Wish that did this, that took and gave in equal parts but that wasn’t true. The Wish brought about whatever change the Hopeful who had managed to obtain both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculi together had requested, and yes They took something of equal value to the Hopeful in exchange, but it wasn’t balanced. Karma helped balance out all the negatives that came after such events, but when it was caused by a Wish it tended to be more … unpredictable. It was more powerful, more spread out, more vicious and bountiful. 

It would reach everywhere a Kwami, and later, a Miraculous had touched. For those who had any saved up Good Karma, Good Fortune would follow them for a while. How long was never determined as sometimes it went on longer than expected or someone had used up all their collected Good Karma on one big thing. Again, it was unpredictable. The same was true for those who had built up Bad Karma, they could have a lot of low level Bad Fortune or even a lot of high level Bad Fortune. And like Good Fortune, someone could use up all their built up Bad Fortune on something big. When that happened, it was a terrifying sight. The punishments that Karma dictated for those with Bad Fortune could be deadly and some were. Tikki remembered them well. So she knew that no matter what, after Gabriel had made his Wish that Karma would be back in its full power and it was something that would have excited her if she had not been actively losing her latest Bug. She had been so close to losing Marinette and her heart raced whenever she thought about it at Wayne Manor. She wanted her revenge. 

That’s why she had asked Them if she could enact Karma, not natural Karma, that would happen regardless. No, Tikki had asked permission for Kwami Karma, a very special type of Karma that allowed Tikki and Plagg and whichever Kwami’s felt wronged or blessed by a former Holder, some of their former power from before they were Sealed and let them bestow Gifts/Blessings. Though some of the Gifts could very well be called curses, that was part of the Kwami Karma and how a Kwami felt towards the person receiving the Karma. It had been something that Tikki and Plagg last collaborated on as a branch of Karma, many people who had worshiped them had called it Divine Honor or Divine Punishment, whichever applied. It was Hippolyta that bestowed the updated name upon them, really she had been joking, “ Ah, so it is to be a Karma of the Kwami? ” The name stuck though as it had made Tikki laugh. 

Though the name brought a smile to her face once more, it wasn’t a fond smile nor one born of laughter, no this smile was one that promised vengeance. The wind rushed around her and the others as they flew across the Paris sky.  Bruce hadn’t been happy about what they were going to do and yet he had still offered to take them to Paris, Tim had even thought about letting them use something called a Zeta-Tube, they were both very nice offers but this was something that had to be done only by the Kwami. Thankfully they had been given some of their former power that morning, it had been hard to hide it from the new family but Tikki thought they had managed well. Kaalki had opened a portal for them after they had all said goodbye to little Marietta, some goodbyes took longer than normal despite everyone knowing they would be home before the day was up but Tikki couldn’t be mad about it. Marietta deserved every bit of love she got. 

“So, are we doing the announcement first or the Gifts first, Lovebug?” Plagg asked, his voice fluctuating between the high-pitched one Tikki had gotten used to hearing and his old one, his original voice, the one she missed more than she could say. 

“The announcement will be first, but before that, we need to give out some Gifts .” Her voice fluctuated too now that they were close to accomplishing their Karma. 

“Are we starting with…with them, then?” Nooroo asked, his voice soft no matter if it was fluctuating. He had yet to raise his voice above anything other than a soft tone and it hurt Tikki’s heart to see her fellow Kwami like that. It made her furious. 

“Yes, Nooroo. We are starting with the worst of them. Gabriel Agreste and-” Tikki started.

“And Adrien Agreste.” Plagg finished in a hard voice. She gave a short nod as she didn’t know what to say to help Plagg. He was betrayed once more and so was one of her Bugs and it never got easier to deal with. 

It wasn’t long before they got to the Agreste Mansion and Tikki felt all her anger and fury rise once more. She looked at the others, then toward Nooroo who flew to her side to join her and Plagg. The others gave them nods before they found spots to hide on the property until Tikki called them. Tikki looked at Nooroo who was staring blankly at the large window in the back of the mansion where the lair had been, he was shaking slightly. “Come. They will get what they deserve My Friend, and you will get closure.” 

“I would like to come as well, if you don’t mind. I know my Holder is no more, but…” Tikki turned back to see Duusuu floating a little behind them all. Her voice was hopeful yet weak. She was still recovering from the damage that had befallen her Miraculous and now that They had fixed it, her recovery was a sure thing, but it was a slow process. Tikki hadn’t even wanted Duusuu to fly out with them all, but she was a stubborn Kwami. Tikki couldn’t deny her, her own closure in that mansion. 

“Of course Duusedda,” It had been many many years since the Kwami as a whole have used their full names, but this was an important moment and Tikki felt like the Kwami before her deserved to hear her own name in full before they all confronted the Agrestes. The smile she got in response made her resolve all the more stronger. So the four Kwami phased into the mansion and followed the voices. Plagg took the lead on the flight as he was the more familiar with the house, Nooroo was confined to two rooms so wasn’t all that familiar with the home if you could even call it that. 

Tikki could hear the voices more clearly and did not hesitate to go towards the doors and use a power boost to blow them open. She had not been expecting the sight of Emilie Agreste to strike her like it did but she did not let it hinder her mission. Though, a big part of her wished that the woman was included in her Karma. She may not have been revived with her consent but she almost took her Baby Bug from her and that was not something Tikki tolerated. For the sake of balance and for Them , she would not do anything to the woman, plus nothing Miraculous would affect the woman since she was a product of a Wish, it was something Tikki brooded about a lot before this day. She may not be able to touch the woman, but she could touch Gabriel and Adrien who were present and immediately tried to fight off whatever kept them stuck to their chairs. Tikki, Duusuu, Plagg and Nooroo all made their way to the center of the table, which was a longer flight than Tikki expected. What was the point of such a long table? No reasons seemed to be good enough reasons to Tikki and by the look on Plagg’s face, she knew she wasn’t alone in the thought. 

“Hello Gabriel.” Nooroo said, his voice surprisingly and not so surprisingly was cold as steel. Gabriel looked like he was yelling silently at them all but Tikki felt no need to subject them all to his pathetic voice and demands. Unlike Nino’s family who were frozen and aware, the Agreste’s could move their upper body and somewhat legs, they were just stuck to the chairs they sat in and the chairs were firmly stuck to the floor. Tikki did steal their ability to talk or more so muted them as she did not need them to try and justify their actions, she did not want to hear their anger, hers was louder and they would be her first audience. 

“Kid.” Plagg said with a smile that was all teeth. His pupils slit so thin they almost looked like they disappeared in the sea of green that was his sclera. 

“Emilie, it is nice to see you awake.” Duusuu said softly, Tikki didn’t agree with her statement but well, the Peacock Kwami always was one of the nicer beings. They were nice but they did hold grudges for a long amount of time if someone wronged them. They got attached fast though, though to say that would make Tikki a hypocrite. 

“I won’t drag this out. The less time I have to be in the presence of you three would be a blessing.” Tikki growled out. She swiftly looked at Nooroo and Plagg and the three of them shared a grim nod. “Gabriel Agreste, former holder of the Butterfly Miraculous, you have been deemed an enemy of the Miraculi. As such you are forbidden from wielding any Miraculous as long as you shall live.”

The shock in Gabriel’s eyes was delicious as was the panic in Adrien’s. Emilie looked horrified but not shocked and that also gave Tikki some pleasure but not as much as she thought it would. “You, Gabriel Agreste are the catalyst to this Karma, in a way, I suppose I could thank you but that would be giving you too much credit. Besides, you do not deserve my thanks or anyone else’s. You invoked my wrath. You killed my Chosen! You destroyed her! Erased her. I take great pleasure in bestowing unto you, your Karma. I, Tikki, Kwami of Creation curse you with memory.”

Gabriel, who had been doing his best to escape the chair, paused at her words. Was the man really that surprised? Did he truly not think there would be consequences to his actions? The thought made Tikki sneer. 

“You will remember the prices others paid for your selfishness. You will remember Nathalie,” Emilie looked genuinely shocked at the name of her friend and equally heartbroken. “Your devoted right hand who did and would do everything for you. You will dream of the woman you erased from the world. You will see every time she sacrificed her happiness for you and your whims. You will feel the love she had for you and the pain she felt every time her love was rejected, you will feel the pain she was in once she started using the Peacock Miraculous. This pain will last for all the years Nathalie Adeline Sancoeur was alive.” 

Emilie was sobbing but her tears were silent due to the magic that was placed on all three Agrestes. She was yelling, presumably at Gabriel who was not paying her any attention. His face was pale, his mouth agape. “You will also remember Marinette Meiying Dupain-Cheng, also known as Li-Mei by her family in China. You will be plagued by visions of possible futures had you not taken her from this world. You will see how Paris would have mourned her as the hero Ladybug, as the classmate many admired and also her as the kind baker’s daughter. You will never know rest. My final ‘ gift ’ upon you Gabriel Agreste, is the gift of a long, healthy life. And for my parting curse, as I am Creation and Creation is me, I curse you with the loss of skill. You will retain your creative spirit but you will never be able to bring to life one of your ideas ever again.”

Next up was Nooroo, he looked nervous but determined. “I, Nooroo, Kwami of Transmission bestow upon you the curse of never wielding my Miraculous as long as you live. You corrupted a Miraculous, you imprisoned me and you did it all with no hesitation, no remorse and I will repay that to you. With no hesitation in my heart and no remorse to be felt I bestow the marks of a traitor to me and an enemy of the Miraculi unto you Gabriel Agreste.”

As soon as the last word fell from Nooroo’s lips, Gabriel spasmed and clutched at his chest and back. His silent screams meant nothing to the Kwami but it seemed like they affected both Emilie and Adrien who tried to reach out to Gabriel. Their mouths were asking questions no one could or would answer. Nooroo felt no relief or vindication at what he had done and would do but he also felt no guilt. “I also give you the…’gift’ of memory and pain. You will remember each ‘akuma’ you created and all the pain they caused to the people of Paris. You will feel each death as if it were your own, you will feel the break of each bone and you will feel the sting of each scratch. That is my parting gift to you, I have nothing else to say.”

Plagg put a hand on Nooroo’s shoulder and gave him a rueful grin before he took his place in front of Gabriel. “I, Plagg, Kwami of Destruction curse you Gabriel Agreste, with a curse of destruction. As I am Destruction and Destruction is me, I bestow upon you this curse of destruction, you will destroy every relationship you have, had and are going to have. No one will ever trust you, no one will ever like you and no one will ever love you again. You tore relationships and strained them during your tantrum as Hawkmoth, you will experience that first hand now.” 

With Plagg’s final words Tikki knew their curses and gifts were placed and finalized. She watched impassively as Gabriel tore his shirt off and finally saw what his marks were. Emilie had a hand over her mouth as she stared in horror at the red, irritated and raised skin on his chest that took the shape of the Butterfly Brooch, he would carry the reminder of his failures by the burn on his chest. It would never fade, it could never be removed or covered by tattoos. It was his brand as an enemy, it would be the first of many marks given today but his and Adrien’s would be the only ones whose marks caused them pain. Everyone else would possibly feel a slightly uncomfortable itch at first or nothing when given their marks. But these two? These two deserved the pain Tikki felt, they had caused her and many others pain by almost taking away her Baby Bug, so they would feel pain in return. Let the world know that they, the Kwami, were not as benevolent as rumored or to be believed, they were higher beings of morally gray standings and it was time they showed it. 

Gabriel turned around to show Nooroo’s parting mark, the mark that he betrayed the Kwami. Two large yet not so deep gashes ran across his back, deep enough to scar, which was Nooroo’s goal. The gashes were parallel and symmetrical, if Gabriel had had wings, Tikki was sure that’s where they would have been placed on his back. Gabriel had lost his wings and now it was time to show the whole of Paris that. “We have punished you, Gabriel Agreste, as we see fit, but the people of Paris haven’t punished you yet. So, as a peace offering you will be locked in one of their jails, La Santé. Should anyone…desire to help you, they will be sorely disappointed to find you can never leave. I am not cruel, you will be provided meals even if those at the prison decide not to give you some. You will be provided a TV so you can watch everything happen around you. So mote it be.” 

Just like that, Gabriel was gone from his seat, Emilie was crying while Adrien also looked close to tears but was yelling at them. His hair was a mess, his face red and spittle flying from his mouth. He looked as unhinged as Tikki imagined, she knew the boy was hiding a darker side like all did, she just never thought it reached this far. All Black Cat’s had darker sides but they all knew how to control it or embrace it, Adrien was not one of those that could do so. It was a mark, one of many of a False Cat. Thankfully, they would leave this place soon. “Adrien Agreste, former holder of the Cat Miraculous, you have been deemed an enemy of the Miraculi. As such you are forbidden from wielding any Miraculous as long as you shall live.”

Adrien stopped his silent screaming and looked at her like she had grown another head, honestly, she wasn’t even one of the Kwami that did possess two heads in the original form, so she felt like it was rude. “You can glare at me all you want, little boy, but it will do nothing to help you. You are the one who betrayed the Miraculi, not the other way around. As such, I, Tikki, Kwami of Creation bestow upon you the curse of memory. You will remember Marinette, you will remember every instance she put her happiness aside for your own. You will see all the times your ‘flirting’ made her uncomfortable as Ladybug and Marinette. You will see every time you let her down. You will remember Nathalie and every time she made excuses for you and all the times she got in trouble because of you. They also give you a curse, you can never tell anyone about the Miraculi, about us Kwami, but if asked you will only admit to being the traitor Chat Noir. Finally, I bestow upon you a gift. You never wanted Marinette so I shall make everything she ever gave you, turn to ash. It’s only fair after all. My gift will make it so you won’t be so cruelly reminded of Marinette, well, visually at least.”

After saying her peace, Tikki flew to the flowers in the middle of the table and sat upon a leaf, though she would hear everything, she wanted to give Plagg his space to say his own peace. She knew it was going to be hard on him but he always did prefer to show his emotions in private so he wouldn’t break in front of his peers. He rarely let Tikki in so she felt bad that they were present for this moment, but it was needed. She watched as Plagg flew towards Adrien and landed in front of the boy far enough to not be grabbed. His antennae were flat against his head and back, it hurt Tikki’s heart to see. “Kid… Adrien, I’ve thought long and hard about this. You may not have been my True Chosen, but you had potential and I…I cared for you, I thought you would have grown into a great Cat. You had spirit, but somewhere along the way you lost sight of what was important. My Cats tend to be on the reckless side but they have heart and are more than willing to lend a paw when they are needed. You are not Cat of mine.”

“With all that said, I, Plagg, Kwami of Destruction bestow upon you the curse of Bad Luck. You will forever be plagued with bad luck, some days can be better than others but that will all depend on you. If you genuinely do something to help someone or comfort someone with no ill intent or selfish gain, your bad luck will be minimal. Do something out of selfishness or deceitfulness and your bad luck will become worse. I will also give you a gift, you care so much about what others think of you I give you the gift of Thoughts. You will hear every single negative thought anyone has had about you. You as Adrien and you as Chat Noir. You, like your father, will bear the marks of enemy and traitor.” Plagg said in a monotone voice. At the end of his speech Adrien spasmed much like Gabriel had but this time he clutched at his right hand before his head was forcefully turned to the side by an invisible force.

Emilie tried to go to her baby boy and Tikki, feeling merciful, allowed it. Emilie shot out of her chair and to Adrien at incredible speed she cradled him to her as best she could while she sobbed. She ran a hand through his hair and pressed a hand to the supposed scratch marks on Adrien’s face and even though he couldn’t hear her, she was trying to calm him as best she could. Her words may not have been heard but her actions were. Well, to Tikki at least. As much as she despised the woman in front of her, she knew it truly wasn’t her fault and let herself feel bad for her. She awoke to pain and even if Tikki believed she had a part in Marinette being erased she also acknowledged it was Gabriel who started everything in a way. Tikki sighed before looking at Duusuu. “Duusuu.”

The Peacock Kwami looked at her and with just a look they knew what she was going to say, so the Kwami gave her a soft smile. “Emilie, I know you never wanted this. But you did ignore my warnings so long ago and though I can’t give a gift of any great weight and can still give you a small one. So I, Duusuu, Kwami of Emotion, bestow the gift of Innocence. No matter what comes to light you will never hold any blame or suspicion. Given what has happened and what will happen, you need not be punished more than you already have.”

“I will not fight Duusuu’s decision.” Tikki said after a while of silence. “We leave you here as I have a broadcast to make but one final word, Adrien, there is… hope for you. You can be rid of your curses if you realize and admit your guilt in all that has happened. That and accept it wholeheartedly, only then will you be free, but you will never rid yourself of your marks. This will be the last time you see us in person.”

No other words were said before the four Kwami left the house. There was no time for delays, Tikki and the others had Karma to deliver and there would be plenty to go around.

Next Chapter

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[arty-shadow-morningstar]

A Failed Betrothal (12)

It's been a long time coming.

Nearly Two Years in fact.

[Masterlist] [Ao3]

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4) (PART 5) (PART 6) (PART 7) (PART 8) (PART 9) (PART 10) (PART 11)

--------

Two weeks before...

“So we know that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth and we know what his motivations are for doing this. But you already knew all of this and just needed confirmation. Why haven’t you stopped him yet?” Tim asked, confused at why the Miraculous Team had done nothing about this despite the mounting evidence they had gathered so far.

“We had to be sure. As much as false leads we throw out to cover up our secret identities, he does the same. So it was a clusterfuck to find if he is really Hawkmoth and it had been really hard to gather evidence since he is such a recluse weirdo. And most importantly, this particular plan to defeat Hawkmoth hinges on the fact that Gabriel is Hawkmoth or it wouldn’t work.” Marinette explained.

Chloe frowned, “How come this is the first time I have heard of this plan?”

“It’s just something I thought up when I first suspected Gabriel is Hawkmoth. Also, there was never the right time or the right conditions to carry it out. Mainly because Chat and everyone else made me doubt if he could really be Hawkmoth. Nothing was concrete and it wouldn’t work if I was wrong in my suspicions. I also had other various plans for my other suspects for Hawkmoth.”

“So why does Hawkmoth need to be Gabriel Agreste for this one to work?” Tim asked.

“This plan is tailored specifically for him. Or at least, someone with his mindset and personality. I have met many men like him. Men who are in a high position of power and take it for granted. Men who don't like getting their hands dirty and instead abuse their powers and do everything they can to achieve their goals. They won’t show their faces unless they are certain that they have the complete upper hand. Look at Heroes’ Day and Miracle Queen-”, Chloe winced at the reminder, “-But unlike the others, Gabriel seems more desperate. Desperate to akumatise babies and put his own son in danger for it. Money and fame isn’t much of a problem for him to get. If he wanted world domination, he would have announced it for everyone to know. So why would he need a reality-altering wish that he isn’t willing to risk himself but desperate enough to do this?”

“More power?” Alix ventured.

“Same category as world domination but nice try, Alix. What would a heartless man like Gabriel need a wish for? And be desperate for it. I think he wants to bring someone back from the dead.”

“His late wife, Emilie Agreste.” Tim nodded in understanding but still isn’t getting what Marinette is getting at, “But what does this have to do with the plan?”

“It also means that if we create a situation where there’s a chance he might lose a shot at making his wish forever. He will finally come out of his dark little cocoon and we will have a butterfly net ready for him.”

“Marinette, that pun was terrible.” Chloe said in disgust.

“Yeah. I know. I know. I knew it the moment I heard it. Plagg has been rubbing off on me.”

“How exactly are you going to draw him out?”

“Well, how much is Jason willing to go back into the super-villain business?”

Jason just grinned in reply.

-

“So any questions?” Marinette asked after finishing her hour-long presentation of her plan to her team, her mother and the Bat vigilantes in the Dupain-Cheng living room. They were seated on either the couch, chairs pulled in from the kitchen or the floor with blankets and cushions. Food and drinks were provided by Tom who was currently working downstairs in the bakery.

“Pixie, no offence, but this plan is insane.” Jason said from his seat on the floor while allowing Chloe to paint his nails.

Alix snorted, “This is Marinette’s usual level of insane. You just have to get used to it.”

“I should have figured that out the moment she said that she would destroy the Lazarus Pits.”

“Are you okay with this, Jason?” Marinette questioned, not knowing if his past as a crime lord was a sore subject or not.

“Hell yeah, I’m in. Getting one over a rich asshole sounds fun.”

“And also because Hawkmoth needs to be stopped.” Tim added.

“That too. But mainly the first one.”

“If everyone is clear on the plan, are we good to go?”

A chorus of yes sounded.

----

A week before….

Marinette as Ladybug and Red Robin discreetly arrived at the roof of TVi news station.

“Nadja Chamack?” She called the reporter who was waiting for them.

“Ladybug. I have been expecting you since you called me. Who’s the new hero?”

“This is Red Robin. He is from the Justice League to help out. We are here because we have a plan to take down Hawkmoth and we need every major news station to report on an attack tomorrow at the Trocadéro square.”

“How do you know that is when Hawkmoth is going to strike?”

“It’s not Hawkmoth that is attacking. We are going to do a fake out that makes it look like some other villain is going for the Miraculous but they are on our side. Red Robin is going to give you some information in order to convince Hawkmoth that they are an actual serious threat. I hope you know that this plan will require your utmost discretion.”

“Oh, I will help you with anything to get back that vile man. It will finally be nice to not worry about my daughter turning into an akuma every time she doesn’t get her way. Although, she has been getting better about it.”

After hashing out a few more details and Red Robin handing over a small list of Red Hood’s past crimes, the two heroes exited via the window.

“One down, a few more to go.” Red Robin said.

They both discreetly stuck to the shadows as they went to the next news station on their list.

-

Jason looked at the crowd of people that were gathering in the gym that Kagami had rented using her family name.

“Damn, how did you manage to hire this many stunt actors with a tight deadline?” Jason asked, looking at Nathaniel, Kagami and Chloe, who were all transformed.

Chloe smirked in Kagami’s direction. Kagami looked away, her face turning an interesting shade of pink.

“Kagami has a… friend that has connections in the film industry and was more than willing to do anything for her. No questions asked.” Chloe replied with a teasing lilt to her voice.

“Does this friend happen to have a name?” Jason asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“Felix Graham de Vanily.” Nathaniel replied. Kagami shot him a betrayed look.

“Graham de Vanily.” The name vaguely sounded familiar to Jason. “Hey, isn’t that-?”

“Felix is Adrien’s cousin. Their moms are sisters.” Chloe replied. “And he is such an asshole.”

“He’s not that bad.” Kagami defended.

“Only to you. Don’t be fooled by his gentlemanly side, Kagami.” Chloe said.

“Why is he an asshole?” Jason asked, slightly out of curiosity.

“Felix knew for months that Gabriel was Hawkmoth and he also knows that what we are doing is for the sake of the Miraculous Team.” Nathanial explained.

“Aren’t you worried that he would rat us out to Hawkmoth?”

Kagami shook her head. “Felix hates Gabriel. He is more than happy to help in order to see his uncle’s downfall. He would probably come in person if he didn’t have other obligations.”

“Please, the boy was whipped for you. He would have demanded some stupid conditions for us to fulfil in order to get his help. One word from you and he caved like a house of cards and practically did everything for us. For free.” Chloe gestured at all the actors assembled in the gym.

“Enough.” Kagami said, her cheeks as red as her costume. “Where’s Alix?”

A glowing blue portal appeared next to them and Alix appeared.

“Sorry. Sorry. I know that I’m late.” Alix said and she glared at Jason who opened his mouth. “No wonderland jokes.”

“So how’s the timeline?” Jason asked instead.

Alix shook her head. “It’s hard to tell. There are so many different factors that could make it go wrong. I did my best to make sure that the plan goes as smoothly as possible.”

(That consists of one break-in into a school, taking down some assassins with help of Sabine and making sure that a library book was returned on time. The last one was more of a personal errand.)

“There will be a few more akumas this week.” Alix added.

Chloe groaned. “But we have that stupid project to finish.”

“Another friendship assignment by Bustier?” Kagami asked.

“No. Thankfully, it’s Mendeleive so no need to bullshit some inane talk. Truth to be told, I just been writing out the plots of My Little Pony and changing the names for those type of assignments.” Nathaniel answered.

Kagami frowned. "What's My Little Pony?"

"I will send you some clips."

“Enough chit chat. We have work to do. Sooner we finish this, the sooner we can work on our grades.” Chloe said.

Chloe turned to face the crowd and clapped for their attention.

“Hello, as you all know, I am the Bee Hero of the Miraculous Team. I have one question for you all. Who would like to be part of the team to take down Hawkmoth?”

The room was filled with raised hands.

“Great! Here's Ladybug’s insane plan.”

----

24 hours until. ...

“So you have these anti-akuma charms?” Jason asked, holding the ladybug-shaped thing to his eye to examine it.

“Yup.” Marinette answered by making more power-up potions. They might not need them but it would be good to be prepared.

“Why don’t you use them often? Maybe get rid of repeated villains like the pigeon guy.”

“Oh, geez. Why didn’t I think of that?” Marinette replied sarcastically.

“So these things don’t even work.”

“It did work. For a while. But that annoying son of a bitch managed to find a way around it by forcefully overloading it with his creepy vibes.”

“That gotta suck.”

“Yeah, I thought I had found a way to maybe slow down akuma attacks enough, especially tedious ones like Monsieur Pigeon, so I can get a decent night's rest for once but Noooo, They didn’t even last for two weeks.”

“Why are you even giving me this?”

“Because they do work, just not as efficiently as I hoped. To Hawkmoth, it is what the victim’s akuma object is like to us.”

“Explain, Pixie.”

“So we have to find the akuma object in order to purify it, right? Well, Hawkmoth has to find where these anti-akuma charms are hidden and evilise them. And then, he could akumatise the victim. But it buys us time for the victim to calm down and not get akumatized or give us a headstart to power up. It will also help you resist him.”

“You sounded like you had experience.”

“There were a few close calls. And I also got akumatized once so Kagami had to be Ladybug in order to throw Hawkmoth off track.”

“You were akumatized?” Jason sat up in surprise, “Isn’t that like ya know….the worst case scenario?”

“I was a pretty lame one. But at least, I wasn’t wearing an eye-sore like the others. Dame Justice. My power was to change people’s outfits into anything I want or make it into a disaster. It was at most just an inconvenience to my team. I was just upset that I lost the tickets to a pretty big fashion event. Didn’t notice the akuma until it was too late. But I managed to get the earrings off in time so Tikki could get it to Kagami. Later, I did manage to break out of his hold which made him pissed.”

Jason cleared his throat to get her attention, “So back to the anti-akuma charms?”

“Unless he finds out about it, you would be able to resist him. The others have mentioned that with the charm, it was easier for them to be able to resist him from bending them to his will by manipulating your emotions. The charms make it so you can think more clearly and logically. Tim told me that you are pretty pig-headed so plan B is for you to resist being brainwashed by being your delightful stubborn self.”

----

A few hours until….

Marinette fidgeted in place as she watched Tim fiddled with the equipment and checked if the cameras they had set up so he and Oracle could watch the battle from afar, were working. She felt her father’s lumbering presence behind her.

“Papa, I know that it’s you.” She said without turning around her head.

He huffed in annoyance at the failed attempt of sneaking up on his daughter, “How your mother and you do it, I still can’t figure it out.”

( This was a Dupain-Cheng household joke. Tom would try to sneak up on his wife or daughter or both without getting caught. But the mother and daughter would always know. Even Gina was able to catch him during her visits. He only succeeded once on Sabine and got a sprained wrist for his trouble. He proudly wore his wrist brace despite being unable to bake while he wore it. )

“Trade secrets, Papa.” She looked up at him with a mischievous grin.

“Mon chéri, what is troubling you?” Tom asked, picking up his daughter’s mood.

“Nothing. I know that we would win but I just- I just feel like something might go wrong.”

Tom sat down and hugged her, “Anything I can do to help?”

She leaned into the comfort of her father’s embrace. No matter how old she got, her father’s arms made her feel safe. “It’s okay. I think it’s just the nerves. Well, actually…” Marinette sat up and rushed to her bedroom. A minute later, she came back with something in her hand and Tikki followed her.

“Marinette?”

“Tom Dupain, as the Guardian of the Miracle Box, will you guard the Ladybug earrings until Hawkmoth’s defeat?”

“I- Er- what?”

“This is just a precaution. A just-in-case. On the slightest 0.0001% chance that Hawkmoth wins and gets the Black Cat, there is someone I trust protecting the earrings and Tikki. You don’t have to but it will make me feel better.”

“Okay, I will do it. If it helps you feel better, I will make sure no one else gets them.”

Marinette hugged him.

“Do I have to wear them?”

“No. Just keep Tikki company. It will be in the Miracle Box with the other ones.”

“Thank god. I don't want to get my ears pierced.”

-----

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[trainer-sean]

I just had a thought about Diana. She most certainly was away on Amazon business when the news got out about the miraculous and Hawkmoths defeat, and when she comes back and learns about the leagues actions, she is utterly Livid with her teammates. To the point she quits the league out of spite, making the league lose one of its strongest leg ups in the supernatural world. She also immediately goes to Paris to apologize for never noticing.

aft hawkmoth is defeated, paris banned any outside superheroes from entering bc lb and cn said that they had asked the superheroes (e.g justice league, up to u) for help, but all they got was a message saying that they should not be faking this for attention. soon, said superheroes try to come into paris to help aft hawkmoth was alr defeated and theyre arent allowed in. lb and cn show up and the superheroes insult then abit bc they arent allowed in so paris and lb and cn go off at them

Here you go!! Hope you like the story! Let me know what you think!

Ladybug and Chat Noir were very worried when they first became heroes. They had no experience as heroes, nor any idea how to track down Hawkmoth. They knew that people could request aid from the Justice League for their cities if something was wrong. Of course, it was mainly used to ask for just humanitarian help, typically after some kind of natural disaster. But Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t know what else to do. So, they sent in a request, asking for their help. They never received a response to their initial request. As time went by, they kept trying to reach out to the Justice League. After their fifth message, they received a response, but not the one they were hoping for. When the two young heroes saw a message from the Justice League help line, they felt excited. They thought they would finally get some help and maybe this nightmare would be over soon. But the message didn’t say that help was on the way. Instead all it said was:

This help line is for real emergencies only. You two should not be clogging the line with these ridiculous jokes. This is not the kind of thing to fake to get attention. Please do not contact this help line again. -Justice League Assistance Requests

Ladybug and Chat Noir were disheartened. They had truly hoped that these heroes would help them. How could they think this is fake? It is true that there is no apparent damage, but Ladybug had explained that was only due to her powers.

 ------------------

Ladybug and Chat Noir did not listen to the message and kept sending messages that became more and more desperate as the akumas grew stronger. Eventually though, it became too dangerous to keep asking for help. Ladybug and Chat Noir both realized that if the Justice League came to Paris, they ran the risk of the League becoming akumatized. If any member of the League became akumatized, it would be disastrous. Ladybug realized that they couldn’t risk the heroes coming to Paris anymore. So, her and Chat Noir went to the mayor. After that day, foreign superheroes were banned from entering Paris.

  ------------------

After three years of fighting, Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally defeated Hawkmoth. His capture was international news. Paris was finally telling the full story. The mayor finally told the world all about Hawkmoth and his reign of terror. The world was shocked that they hadn’t known what was happening. None were more shocked than Bruce Wayne. He remembered those messages from all those years ago in Paris. Those kids had been telling the truth? He could hardly believe it; their messages had seemed so ridiculous that they had to be fake. Magic jewelry that is powered by tiny gods did not sound real at all. Batman knew it was time for damage control. He called a meeting with the other founding members of the league and went straight to the Watchtower.

  ------------------

When Bruce arrived, he saw that most of the other members were already present. Several of them were confused and were asking Bruce why they were there. Bruce just played the news clip from this morning. Several of the other leaguers were shocked. Green Lantern spoke up, “These kids again? They were actually telling the truth?” Bruce turned to him, “Yes it appears they were. This is going to look bad on us, that we didn’t help. Whether we believed them or not, it is important that we go to Paris now. Offer our apologies for not helping sooner and help them re-build. I imagine there is a lot left damaged after fighting such a powerful foe.” Bruce had clearly already forgotten that in the original messages Ladybug had said she could fix all the damage. Shows how much he actually listened to the original requests. With that settled, the different members prepared to leave for Paris. They tried using the zeta tube they had set up, but they got an error message saying the tube in Paris was too damaged. The leaguers assumed it had been damaged in one of the fights and decided to zeta to a different location in France and then fly the rest of the way to Paris. They had no idea about the cold greeting they would soon receive.

  ------------------

Marinette had been at home for the day when the news was announced. She may not have revealed her identity to the public, but she did tell her parents finally about her being Ladybug. They were so proud, and had agreed that Marinette deserved the day off from school, considering she had just saved Paris. Marinette was just planning on spending a relaxing day at home when she got a message. She had set up a website with a way to message Ladybug back when Hawkmoth was still active. This was so citizens could inform her of akuma attacks quicker. She wasn’t expecting to get a message on it today, but around noon, there was a new message. This message came from the mayor’s office. It read:

Ladybug, we have spotted different members of the Justice League approaching the city. Since the ban on superheroes is still in effect, we will turn them away. However, we would feel more comfortable doing so if you and Chat Noir were there to help. Please hurry to the Western border of the city.

Marinette was shocked. The Justice League was coming now? Why the sudden interest in Paris? Regardless, she quickly pulled out her phone and called Adrien, who was also staying home for obvious reasons. They had revealed their identities to each other after the final battle, and were ecstatic to find out they had been that close to each other all along. The rest of the miraculous team also revealed their identities, and everyone was shocked to see that Ladybug and Chat Noir were Marinette and Adrien. Adrien picked up quickly, “Marinette? What’s up?” “Can you talk privately right now?” Adrien knew that meant that Marinette needed to talk about superhero stuff, so he made sure the door to his room was locked and then said, “Yeah, I’m good. What’s up?” Marinette replied quickly, “We have guests coming to the city. Apparently, someone spotted members of the Justice League heading this way and are worried they will try to enter the city. The mayor asked both of us to be there to help when they turn them all away. He asked us to meet at the western border of the city as quick as we can.” Adrien was shocked. Why was the League coming? They hadn’t cared before. “I’ll be right there milady. Let the rest of the team know, we may need the back up. See you soon.” With that, he hung up and transformed. Marinette quickly sent a message in the group chat for they had set up for the members of the miraculous team, telling everyone to meet at the western border quickly. She then transformed as well and went to join Chat. He quickly rushed to the border of the city where he saw the police force, the mayor, and Ladybug all waiting. He joined them and watched for the Justice League. They didn’t have to wait long before the Justice League members appeared on the horizon. Officer Raincomprix used a megaphone and ordered all of the heroes to land before they entered the city. Chat Noir got ready to face the Justice League and tell them to get lost.

  ------------------

When the leaguers arrived, they were expecting the citizens of Paris to be glad to see them. But instead, they were glared at and ordered to stop at the border of the city.  The leaguers were confused, this is a very different reception than they were expecting. They stopped and Batman stepped forward, “We heard about your defeat of Hawkmoth and have come to offer our help in rebuilding your city.” Then a younger girl in a ladybug themed outfit and a boy in a cat outfit stepped forward. Batman recognized them as the kids from the videos, what were their names again? Oh right, Ladybug and Chat Noir. Behind them he saw other kids in similar outfits, however he didn’t remember seeing any of them in the videos sent to the league. He was expecting them to thank him and the other heroes for the help, even if they were still upset from the earlier rejection. But that was not what happened at all. The two kids were very calm, but he could tell they were still angry. The girl called Ladybug took the lead, “Your help is not wanted, or even needed. The city is perfectly fine. Regardless, you are not welcome in Paris. None of you are. Foreign superheroes are banned in Paris. Only the miraculous team is allowed to reside in this city.” The Justice League were shocked, to say the least. Batman tried to argue with them, “The city can’t possibly already be prepared. Fights like what was discussed on the news cause massive amounts of damage. They couldn’t possibly be fixed overnight. And how could you ban superheroes?” Chat Noir rolled his eyes, “Shows how much you actually listened to our original request for help. We told you back then that the reason there was no damage to speak of is because Ladybug is able to reverse all damage caused by the akumas and other miraculous. In other words, the damage from the final fight was fixed immediately. And we banned heroes after you all refused to give us any aid. We needed to make sure that you didn’t just storm in later and try to take over or get akumatized. That would have been disastrous. You can’t just suddenly decide to come and help after ignoring us for three years.”

  ------------------

Superman stepped forward at this point, “We didn’t mean to ignore the situation. But you have to admit it sounds pretty far-fetched. Magical jewelry that is powered by ancient gods and evil butterflies possessing people doesn’t sound reasonable.” Ladybug got angry hearing that, “Why doesn’t it? You have several magic users in the Justice League, like Zatanna. You even have Dr. Fate who is a sorcerer that inhabits a magic helmet and possesses people who wear the helmet. That isn’t much different from the miraculous. Are you all seriously so close-minded that you didn’t even consider the possibility?”

  ------------------

That comment made several of the leaguers angry. They didn’t want to admit that they were in the wrong, but Ladybug was right. They had several magic users, and the Helmet of Fate is pretty similar to a miraculous. But these kids couldn’t possibly know what they are doing. The Justice League needed to step in and help get things back to normal. They were sure that they could get the city to listen. Batman turned to the mayor and said, “That ban is hardly necessary anymore. It wasn’t even necessary in the first place. These second-rate heroes just convinced you of it because their pride was hurt. Don’t you think it is time to lift it? I am sure we could help get your city back on track quicker than these children playing at heroes.” Ladybug and Chat Noir’s blood was boiling after hearing that. How dare Batman act all high and mighty and talk above them like he was superior. He had spent the last three years ignoring the problem and now wants to suddenly come in and take over. This is exactly why they put the ban in place. The mayor seemed just as angry as Ladybug and Chat Noir, “Sir, like Ladybug and Chat Noir said, you are not welcome here. They have done a fantastic job in not only dealing with Hawkmoth, but also helping the citizens return to normal.” Batman was furious, they were still going to deny them entry? The Flash stepped forward now, “Surely, with the focus being on Hawkmoth, crime rates have risen. That isn’t the fault of these kids, they wouldn’t know how to juggle dealing with Hawkmoth and also petty crime. But we can help you get that handled.” Mayor Bourgeois shook his head, “Actually, they handled both responsibilities well. Even though we told them not to worry about petty crime, and that the local police would handle it, they still patrolled every night to help. Crime rates are at an all time low here. Now I am not going to tell you again. You are not welcome here. Leave at once.”

  ------------------

The Justice League couldn’t believe it, Batman exploded, “You would seriously leave the security of your city in the hands of these wannabe heroes?” Green Lantern added, “Yeah, they are just little kids with some fancy jewelry playing pretend. You need real heroes!” The mayor and police were furious. How dare these people belittle their heroes. The mayor was now yelling as well, “Do not speak about them so rudely. They are more heroic than you seem to be. Now get out of my city.”

  ------------------

The Justice League still refused to leave. They hurled insults at the young heroes and demanded to be let in to the city. They even tried to force their way past the blockade of police officers. Ladybug turned around and gestured to Pegasus. The leaguers did not see any of this, they just heard someone call “Voyage!” They saw a giant blue portal open and then swallowed them up. When the light faded, they saw that they were in the middle of a field somewhere. Batman used his GPS and saw that they had been moved all the way to a corn field in the middle of Nebraska. He was furious, how dare they force him away through a teleport. Paris needed more competent heroes than a bunch of children playing pretend.

  ------------------

Over the next several weeks, the league continued to try and enter the city. None of their attempts worked though. They tried just flying through, entering covertly as their civilian identities, and a bunch of other plans. Somehow, the leaguers kept getting teleported right back out of the city, in increasingly strange locations. Eventually, the leaguers just decided to abandon Paris completely. They would not help Paris with any situation. Their plan was to watch the city fall to pieces and not offer any help unless they lifted that ridiculous ban. But that never happened. It irritated Batman and the others to no end that those second-rate heroes were doing a good job and that the ban wasn’t lifted. So, the leaguers resumed their attempts to break into the city. They did not count on the young heroes putting their actions in the public eye.

  ------------------

Ladybug and Chat Noir were still furious at how the leaguers behaved. They had thought that the Justice League was full of good and kind people, but the members they had met were certainly not good and kind. They were forceful and insulting. And even once they were told that they were not welcome in Paris, they kept trying to come into the city anyway. Poor Pegasus was exhausted from constantly having to teleport them away. Ladybug knew they had to do something or those leaguers would keep coming back. So, they made a video. This video told the whole world that the Justice League had ignored their calls for help all those years ago and had left young heroes to fend for themselves. It also talked about how the league had shown up after the fact and tried to bully their way into the city they had previously ignored, despite the fact they were told about the superhero ban. The video ended by talking about how they were fed up with the league members having no respect for the laws of Paris and still trying to sneak into the city. The miraculous team posted the video online and sent it to all the major news networks they could get a hold of. The public was outraged when they saw the video. The heroes they trusted were trying to break the laws in Paris? The video and public outcry seem to have worked. It had been several weeks since the video was posted, and no leaguer had tried to break into the city since. The miraculous team was ecstatic; they didn’t have to keep forcing the heroes out of the city. At last, the miraculous team and all of Paris could finally enjoy peace.

[kawaii-queen-kaiju]

Lies

Maribat March - Prompt 10

~

"He gave me a diamond the size of my fist! You can't tell anyone though; the paparazzi would be all over us." Lila loudly proclaimed from across the cafeteria. Marinette scoffed, throwing a disgusted sneer over her shoulder at the Italian. This was the fifth celebrity engagement story. She wondered just how she got unfortunate enough to be surrounded by these idiots. She could kill everyone in this room in two minutes flat, and yet, she had to restrain herself for the sake of the mission. Keep playing the role of meek little 'Mari', keep pretending she wasn't one of the most skilled assassins in the world. Stupid Hawkmoth. Because of some random ass dude, she was stuck among these sheeple.

She quickly left the cafeteria, exiting the school and heading to the bakery. She greeted Sabine - a member of the Order of the Miraculous and one of her old handlers - and climbed the stairs to her room. Just a little longer. She was so close to finding the man who had enough audacity to steal from the Order. And Hawkmoth, him too.

Her phone rang, startling her out of her inner monologue. It was Damian, her betrothed. She happily answered, the smile on her face genuine for once. 'Habibti. How was your day?' He asked, an odd whirring echoing in the background. 'Have you stabbed the harlot yet?'

She rolled her eyes, the smile on her face persisting. "It was fine. And no, I have not stabbed Lila, as much as I may want to. It's annoying, but it's helping my cover. She keeps the idiots from following me around, and it makes easier to search Paris for the lousy fake-Guardian and whatever asshat he let take the Butterfly." 

'And you're still sure you would not like me to join you and help?'

She sighed, the conversation a common one since she was sent to Paris. "I've got this, Dami. Besides, you wouldn't last five minutes here. I love you, but you are very temperamental."

He squawked angrily, and she could picture the offended look on his face, his jade green eyes crinkling adorably. 'I am not temperamental! You seem to be forgetting just how many of our trainers you sent to the infirmary.'

She rolled her eyes. "They were misogynistic pricks, and you know it."

'I was not arguing that they weren't, Habibti, merely stating that you extensively hurt each of them. In fact, I am quite glad for what you did. Had you not, Mother never would have seen fit to have us betrothed.'

Marinette smiled happily at the memory, standing in the middle of the large al-Ghul throne room in ceremonial garb, opposite Damian in matching robes. "Yeah." She glanced at the clock on the wall and cursed. "Sorry, Dami. I need to head back. Call you back later?"

'Of course. I love you, Habibti.' He answered curtly, though she could tell he was peeved at being cut off. "I love you too."

She came back to excited whispers throughout the classroom, and a huddle around Lila's desk. Marinette rolled her eyes, heading towards her own desk at the back of the room. Except...

She was stopped in her tracks by one whispered word. 'Damian'. There were plenty of Damians in the world, and several rich ones Lila could be claiming she's engaged to; but what if? Marinette continued up the stairs, but kept an ear on the conversation at the front.

'Wayne'.

Marinette clenched her teeth. They were talking about Damian. Her Damian. She'd seen articles and heard rumors before, right after Damian's debut as a billionaire's son, but something about hearing her beloved's name come from that liar's mouth made her see green. She was fuming, trying to force away the murderous haze. She was chosen for this mission specifically because of the ease it took to banish the Pit's influence from her mind, and she was not going to let Lila of all people ruin it for her. 

At the front of the room, the door slammed open. Marinette's mind screeched to a halt, because standing there in all of his glory was Damian. She shot to her feet and raced down the stairs before she registered what she was doing. He was here, right in front of her! She flung her arms around him, squeezing tight.

"Hello, Habibti." He whispered in her ear, squeezing her back. "What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling back to look at him. "Father found something. Camera footage of the akumas, and an identity, over a hundred and twenty years old. They're going after them now." He said, a happy gleam in his eye despite the lack of emotion on his face. Marinette grinned widely. Her mission is over! She can go back to Nanda Parbat - or Gotham!

"Marinette, what's going on?"

She turned around abruptly, remembering their audience. "Who is this?" Alya was front and center, glaring at her accusingly. Marinette's mind was whirling, trying to find an in-character way to answer. Except they found them. The false Guardian and the Butterfly. She didn't have to keep up her cover anymore. She grinned, her true smile, not the meek thing she'd developed the past few months.

She watched as Lila's little lapdog recoiled, enjoying the effect she finally got to have on her classmates. Marinette stalked forward, easily falling back into her natural gait. The walk of a predator. "I'm happy to announce that I'm done! I don't have to sit here and pretend anymore! You're all horribly stupid, and it was definitely not a pleasure to have known you." She let her smile widen to that terrifying degree that always made her targets believe she was inhuman. She never dissuaded those thoughts, instead encouraging them. "And you, Lila Rossi. You are a lying sociopath, and to be honest, I can respect that! But you chose to put my beloved's name in your mouth, and you've made me mad. Unfortunately for you, that is an unpleasant situation to be in."

"M-Marinette?" Alya tripped backwards on the steps, falling on her butt. She was ignored. Marinette's focus was on Lila, the repulsive girl who dared to soil her beloved's name with her tongue. To her credit, Lila was managing to hold eye contact with Marinette, even if it was in paralysis. "Tell me," Marinette slammed her hands on the lying girl's desk. "Do you do any research before you decide to spread rumors?" 

Lila was pale and shaking, her mouth a thin line. She didn't answer. "You do, don't you? You recognize my beloved, and you realize your house of lies is toppling around you." Marinette ended with a whisper, her face inches from the Italian's.

The room was silent, everyone's focus on the scene before them. On the way Marinette's personality did a complete one-eighty and froze everyone in their spots. Well, everyone except for the boy. He was staring at Marinette in adoration, hands clasped behind him as he watched his betrothed tear into her hemorrhoid of the last several months. His phone buzzed in his pocket, the only sound in the room. "Habibti. It's done."

Marinette whirled around, her sunshine smile back. "Then why are we still here?" She linked arms with the boy and left the room in stunned silence.

(The LoA and The Order are the same organization under different names)

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

I don't write MLB seriously anymore for my own sake BUT I had a MariBat thought after a bunch of fics where the JL brushed them off as a prank.

Superman: *goes to Paris to check things out*

Hawkmoth: *doesn't attack while he's there*

Superman: *goes to watch tower* Alright so, nothing happened.

Batman: Either a prank or he hid. We should send someone in their secret identity.

Superman: Not you or me. He would know. Or Oliver either probably.

Flash: I'll do it.

Barry Allen, normal tourist sees an Akuma: Yeah, it's real.

[marinettesaltprompts]

Inspired by one of maribat-menagerie's proposals

One of the big things that happen in almost every Maribat fic is Adrien getting stripped of his Miraculous so a batboy can be the Black Cat. But you could actually play with this idea of Adrien becoming Catwoman's apprentice/accomplice:

The story starts in stereotypical Maribat fashion with Marinette feeling unappreciated for her efforts and easily falling for whatever Batboy came into town to solve all her problems. Things progress as normal: Robin uncovers Gabriel, Lila gets sent packing and Adrien gets thrown to the wolves because he didn't do what the Batboy did- left to enjoy the association of being Hawkmoth's son while losing Plagg.

Because it turns out that Ladybug does actually believe in the idea that the holders of creation and destruction are soulmates, just not with him.

Anyhow normally this is where Adrien's story in a Maribat fic would end. He's condemned to a mundane life of public disgrace and suffering while Marinette goes to Gotham to live the superhero dream.

But not this time. Sure, Marinette leave with her Box and the Ring now fits on Robin's finger, but Adrien's not quite done. Sure it seems that way and as he retreats from public life under the heat of condemnation he falls into a deep depression. He's lost everything. His friends (can't be associated with Hawkmoth's son). His family (Nathalie is probably dead, Gabriel is in prison forever and The Gorilla needs employment after all). Even his home was seized by the The State- if not for a small trust fund Nathalie had had the foresight to set up for him he'd have nowhere to live at all.

The best he can do is live in an old house far in the countryside, hoping that people won't recognize him with his dyed black hair. At this point, all Adrien has to his name of his old life are his parents rings- one last gift snuck to him by Nathalie. Holding a secret within whose revelation robbed him of even his humanity.

It seems that after everything he did to try and make a life for himself outside of his gilded cage, he's doomed to spend his life in this new one. A cage made of crumbling old walls who were his only protection from a hostile world beyond them.

At least until one day, a certain Cat shows up. Not Plagg as Adrien dreamed of seeing again, or even the Robin who appeared in his nightmares to taunt him, but the infamous antihero Catwoman.

She' was surprised that he noticed her sneaking in, but Adrien's senses were still sharp from his time as Chat Noir. But it makes no real difference, one way or the other she's leaving with what she came for: The Graham de Vanily rings.

It turns out that his dear Auntie still wanted "her heirlooms" back, so she'd contracted Catwoman to go get them. Normally she wouldn't take such contracts, but with the Bats having ready access to magical jewellery her usual picking grounds were becoming harder to play in.

This breaks something in Adrien. After everything he's lost, after everyone had abandoned him in one way or the other, after neither Felix or Amelie could be bothered to help him in his time of need they still wouldn't let him have his soul?

Catwoman seems bemused by his spluttering, but she's intrigued enough to let him elaborate. Adrien knows from one look at her that he has no chance of beating her in a fight anyway, she'd get his rings one way or the other so he might as well tell her the truth. It's not like he owed anyone his silence and no one had actually cared about his side of the story since he'd lost Plagg.

So he spills. He takes the chance to rant about his situation, how he'd tried his best to be Ladybug's partner but he'd been pushed away, sidelined without cause. how his parents had had a magical slave collar on him since his creation. How his friends had abandoned him, how Ladybug who'd promised him "them against the world" had dropped him like garbage the second she'd gotten a "better model".

Selena listens, but she also happens to know Marinette herself- at least through others and knows the story on both sides now. So she bemusedly tries to correct him- only to find herself corrected:

Catwoman: You didn't exactly try to help her that much did you though?

Adrien: Ladybug pushed me away every time I tried. But I was always there for her. Every time she needed someone to fall on his sword for a plan. Every time she needed a shield I used myself. The one time I failed to show up, she stopped calling on me and started using an entire team instead.

...

Catwoman: Were you really that great a partner though? Robin picked up the ring and did a better job than you did even though you'd had it for months, plus all the training as a holder the old Guardian gave you that Robin didn't have while he was in France.

Adrien: What training? Fu never trained me. I didn't even know he trained Ladybug. As for Robin, maybe the fact that he's been trained by Batman for years before he even came to Paris might play a factor?

You know, I had martial arts and acrobatics before I put on the ring but I'll bet training under "the dark knight" might just be a bit above that. Oh, and Ladybug actually told Robin things. I didn't even know about the Grimoire until after the last battle.

...

Selena: But what about your friends? I've done my research you know? They said you were two-faced and cowardly, you knew about Lila and did nothing. You got your friend Marinette to take the high road and do the same.

Adrien: Did nothing? As far as I knew when I gave that advice Lila was just lying for attention and the first time I tried to get her to stop she got Akumatised on the spot. Marinette was freaking out and acting crazy, the only thing she was doing was making herself look worse in front of the class and risking Lila getting Akumatised again. It was the best advice I could give her until Hawkmoth was captured, or unless someone could prove she'd done something bad enough to get her sent out of Paris.

But I did what I could.

When Lila got Marinette expelled, I was the one who stepped up and helped her. No one else. I couldn't prove anything. I'm not a Robin trained by the Greatest Detective in the world. But I knew what Lila wanted and I used myself as collateral to get her to stop.

And two-faced? That's rich from my "friends". I've had time to think and realise what they were doing all those times they left me and Marinette together. Even before they left me out to dry they treated me more like some prize for Marinette to win instead of a friend, it was all some big game to them.

Now none of them speak to me now that I'm not a rich-boy celebrity anymore. It's like they all decided that I'm responsible for their mistakes with Lila.

---

And so the conversation continues. For the first time, Adrien finally gets to tell his side of the story, even if it's to someone who came to rob him of the one thing of value he had left. And Selena... is intrigued.

She looks carefully over the boy. He's a pretty thing, but he's also clearly strong. There's still lean muscle on him despite the year trapped in this miserable little house. It suddenly strikes her ironically just how much like one of Bruce's Robin's he is- especially with his hair dyed black.

An athletic, intelligent young man made from birth to be a perfect heir to an evil father? One whose socialization had come far, far too late to be healthy? An echo of Damian.

All around her were cheap, but well-read books on an eclectic range of subjects. Tim would find plenty of common interests with this one.

The spark wasn't there now, not in this broken shell of a boy. But when Chat Noir had been in his prime even Dick would have found a cat-themed mirror for his puns and the sheer joy he took in his freedom as a superhero.

Thankfully there's precious little of Jason in him and the similarities to the rest of the bat-family faded from there. But it was undeniable how well he fit the shape of a Robin, even down to the lack of a family with Gabriel Agreste apparently having no interest in his son even before his life sentence.

But he wasn't a Robin now was he? He was a cat.

And in this place, in this dead-end of a life: he had nothing to lose.

Selena asks him for his rings.

Adrien, exhausted from his rant, simply hands them over. What would be the point in fighting?

But to his surprise: Selene doesn't leave or mock him or anything else that he expected. But rather she raises the rings to her skilled eyes to make sure she had the real things and then asks him a question;

Answer me; was anything you just said a lie?

Adrien is compelled to confirm that it was the truth.

Selena considers him once more. Considers his performance as Chat Noir again. Considers what he'd achieved without the training he should have had.

There was potential here. Potential that had been discarded and left to rot. Potential with no loyalties left to his family, friends or anything else. With a new name, a new mask: this boy could become to her what Bruce's Robins were to him.

And really, the Vanily's money couldn't really compare to what she could do with a kitten of her own. One with a bit of resentment ready to be aimed at Bruce's new foundlings that were annoying her so badly.

Selena: So Adrien, you were a bit of a rulebreaker once upon a time. Do you still have that in you?

It turns out that Adrien very much did.

Wonderful prompt! A lot of salt fic stories don't tend to focus on what would come after the story ends, it just assumes that anyone that isn't Marinette just lives miserably ever after. Having Adrien make a comeback without a even having a miraculous sounds actually dope.

[kaitense1]

we need more

CHANGING FACES Chapter 5: Bitter Truths

[ Prefer to read on Archive of Our Own? Link HERE! ]

[ Previous Chapter - Next Chapter ]

After years of dealing with each other Lila Rossi win’s when she  convinces Hawkmoth that Marinette is Ladybug. In order to throw off  suspicion and keep the Miracle Box safe Marinette and her supportive parents leave Paris and head to Gotham of all places. In this new place  away from her friends and her unhealthy routines Marinette is forced to  confront herself and change for the better. Helping her on her journey  is a surprising new friend and potential ally. When Alya missing her  friend learns about the chance to win a free trip to Gotham she  convinces the class to work hard to qualify. When her new life clashes  with her old one will Marinette be able to hold on strong to her new  confidence or will she crumble under the pressure?

( This fic will be for the most part comedic, fluffy, and sweet, with only a bit of seriousness to tie it together. With only the mildest salt  because I don’t think the class or Adrien are bad people just that they  can be naive and selfish thanks to the canon writing. I hope you enjoy  reading this work and have fun with me on this journey. )

Keep reading

[anjuschiffer]

Repairing a Broken Hero (if you can even call me that...)

I'm not dead!

But I should really be working on wrapping up lose ends with my fics

-

Tags: @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @fairlyfatale @battybatbat @angie500

-

Chapter 2

MASTERLIST | AO3 | PREV

“Offline?” Blue Beetle whispered as he kept staring at the projector in the common room, the map of Gotham looking back emptily towards him. Where was she?

Where was the other Beetle? She was finally warming up to him, where did she go?

“There’s no way.” Garfield whispered, wondering how he was supposed to tell Virgil the news.

“What do you mean she’s-“ Cass stopped herself from talking, not wanting the second part of her sentence to end up true. There’s no way Red Beetle -no, Ladybug. There’s no way a Ladybug was defeated by a Gotham villain!

As OFFLINE continued to blare at their faces, only one member got up to figure out what went wrong with Red Beetle’s mission. While he let the other members panic, he solely made his way to where he last saw his mentor.

He watched as a red blur zoomed out the conference room.

“B, what’s going on?” Robin quickly asked as he watched Batman walk out of the same conference room the red blur emerged from. “The others are speculating and there’s-“

“We lost contact with Red Beetle. But that’s all we know so far. As for her being alive or not-“

“B!”

“We have yet to know that for sure. After all,” Batman took out a device and showed Robin, a dull colored ladybug appearing on the screen. “Her vitals are still running. We may not know her location, but we know she’s still-“

“It’s gone.” Robin unintentionally announced, only realizing his mistake when his team members ran up to the duo. 

“What’s gone?”

“She had a second tracker?”

“How the fu-“

“What is going on?” Black Canary interrupted, wondering what the hell Batman was doing that caused a group of teens to huddle around him. “Why-“

“Red Beetle has gone MIA.” Jaime softly answered, continuing to stare at the projector. He slowly turned to Canary, mushed tears pooling in his eyes. ¿Dónde está? ¿Dónde está Mari?”

Robin stiffened at that name, stopping himself from looking at his mentor. 

How did Jaime know that? How did he know RB’s identity?

“B, what are we-“

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bruce knew that he was wasting time by just standing there, the teenagers around him voicing their concerns clawing at his guilt even more.

“I’ve already have Flash investigating the scene,” Batman’s voice boomed, causing everyone to settle down. “But we still need more eyes to search-”

“We’ll do it!” Jaime volunteered, the others nodding their heads in agreement. “We can help-”

“No.” Dinah shut down, glaring at Bruce. “You’re all not in the mindset to be helping with the search.”

“But-”

“Robin will keep you posted.” Batman spoke, said teen looking at Bruce with wide eyes. “Any updates we get on Red Beetle will be relayed to him and he in turn will relay it to you all. For now, all of you need to remain here.” 

As Bruce walked towards the zeta tubes, he felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned around, only to find Tim standing in front of him, looking at him with worried eyes.

“B…I can do more than just relay information. I can help search.”

“Robin. We need more than just eyes to search for her. More specifically, we need someone who rivals my network of information who also happens to know Gotham like the back of his hands.” Tim didn’t like this news one bit.

“You can’t seriously be talking about Red Hood, are you?” When Bruce didn’t answer him and only turned around to continue walking, Tim could only feel his gut twist. “B, you guys left on bad terms the last time you spoke to each other,” he reminded him. “I don’t think-“

“I have to try.” Was all Bruce said as he plugged in his coordinates.

“Recognized: Batman 02.”

With that, Bruce let the group of teens behind with a single thought in their minds:

Will they actually see Red Beetle again? Or was she actually dead?

---

Red Beetle woke up with a fright, quickly bringing back up her transformation and almost decking Mr.Freeze when he was about to push her back down into bed. She retracted her fist when she saw his shocked face.

“Oh. It’s just you.”

“You need to rest.” He said as he leaned her back down. 

“I’m fine now.”

“You weren’t a few minutes ago.” She watched as Mr.Freeze went to check on her vitals via the machine next to her bed. “Have you ever had your body temperature drop below 97 degrees before?”

“97…degrees? You meant that in Fahrenheit, right?”

“In other words, 36 degrees Celsius.” 

“Ah…no…or rather, not that I remember it going below that…” She watched as he hummed, watching him scribble something down before looking back at the monitor. “Did I go below that?”

“You did. Your body temperature went to almost 26.11 degrees for ten minutes before it started to escalate back up.” Red Beetle felt her heart stop. “Had your temperature gone past that or had I not treated you quickly to bring back up your temperatures …I don’t think you would be here right now.”

A silence fell over them, a silence that slowly began to thicken too much for her. Especially after finding out she could’ve been dead… 

“So,” Red Beetle decided to speak up. “Am I in your lab?”

“More like a hideout of you would please. If you consider a giant cooler to be any type of proper housing.”

“Abandoned ice cream factory?” Guessing from his expression, she was right. “It’s one of the few places in Gotham where you could find a cooler big enough to act as a one floor home, er, lair… lab thing.”

Red Beetle hated the silence that began to return. “So…how exactly did I…what exactly happened?”

“Have you always been prone to getting cold?”

“Um, no…I mean, as of late, yes. But not before…I guess I have been getting more prone to the cold for the past year…”

“So never when you were a child or two years ago?”

“No.”

“I see…” Mr.Freeze adjusted the bed to let her sit up, handing her over a small bowl of soup. She accepted it, but didn’t eat it just yet. “I’m guessing this only started recently and probably having to deal with your powers then. Your magic, I’m assuming.”

“That…that would make sense.” Red Beetle murmured to herself.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You see, my magic was given to me from what some people would call a goddess. She blessed me with powers attuned to my creativity but themed me with the features of a ladybug, hence the red and black theme of my suit. However, the more attune I become with my powers, the more attributes I share with that of an actual ladybug. Of oof said features is being weak to the cold.”

“Interesting.” Mr.Freeze stated, letting out a relieved sigh when he saw her lifting a spoonful of the soup to her mouth. 

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“What do you mean by that?” Red Beetle gulped down the rest of the soup, gently placing it on the thick layers of blankets covering her. 

“I meant…well, considering that I failed my mission and that you’re taking care of me even after I basically was trying to kill you…” Red Beetle huffed. “I can’t go back to the Justice League, now can I? I boasted about being able to take down any villain thrown my way and yet here I am, having a bowl of soup with him.” Red Beetle motioned to the bowl before sinking into the pillow that was propping her up. She then sighed. “What a failure… and seeing as I’m not a person worthy to become a part of their team, I have no choice but to go back into working solo.”

“Don’t you have anywhere else to go?” When Red Beetle glared at him, it took a while for him to remember she did in fact not have a place to go back.

“It’s not any different from what I’ve been doing, but seems like I have to go back into-”

“Guess that makes two of us.” Mr.Freeze gave out a chuckle upon seeing her bewildered face. “Beetle-”

“Marinette.” Red Beetle corrected. “My name is Marinette.” Marinette repeated, dropping her transformation.

“Well, Marinette. Seems like the two of us would have to go into hiding.”

“Why you?” 

“I managed to take you off their grid after bringing you to my hideout.” He showed her a picture of a tracking device no bigger than an ant. “The minute I disabled this, it pronounced you MIA, but seeing as the Justice League will be searching for your body, only to find nothing, I will be their first suspect. 

And seeing as I can’t afford to leave you alone in your condition, I have no choice but to remain out of their sight.”

“I appreciate your concern but thanks. I’ve been working solo for two years, what’s another two or more?” Marinette hated the look on Dr.Freeze’s face. “Look, I’m not a chi-”

“Victor.” Victor cut her off. “My name’s Victor Fries as I’m sure you quite well know as it was more than likely included in my file that the Justice League gave you before your…mission.”

“Well, Victor. I’m not a child and can fend for myself.” Marinette got up from her bed, or at least attempted to as the moment her foot touched the floor, she could barely stand. Victor ended up having to catch her before she met the floor. 

“Well, it seems like you're not fit to be on your own at this moment.”  

“I guess,” Marinette winced as she was helped back into the bed. “I’m staying here until I recover.” Marinette then grinned. “And if that’s the case, I’d like a full tour of your place!”

---

Bruce knew better than to try and waltz in, but he also knew that there was no other way for Jason to hear him out unless he came here through the front doors. 

The minute Bruce, or rather Matches Malone, entered the bar Red Hood occasionally visited and was known as his “main base”, there was already a bouncer ready to attack him.

The brawl didn’t last long, Malone having knocked the last bouncer down when another figure appeared, quickly bringing up Red Hood and how he wanted to speak to him.

He was guided into a room and then taken down a hidden staircase where a bodyguard guided him to another floor filled with gambling tables and pools. 

Passing the drunken men and pickpocketing strippers, Malone was shoved into the last room where a figure from the shadows approached the lone desk sitting across the room.  

“I thought I said I didn’t want to see your face around here, Malone.” Red Hood growled, sitting down.

“I need your help.” 

Silence filled the room before Hood bursted out into laughter, his laughter booming even through his helmet. 

“You? You need help?” Hood’s laughter roared even more. “Whatever happened to the oh so great detect-“

“One of the members we were in the process of testing went missing.” 

“And how is this my problem?” Red Hood scowled. “Whatever happened to using your precautions to ensure that your pawns are kept in-

“She went missing while fighting Mr.Freeze. One minute she was online and the next she was gone. A few minutes later, her tracker proclaimed her dead.”

“Did someone go to check her last known location?”

“They’re on-”

“Then you can leave.” Red Hood leaned back into his chair. “Stop wasting our time and wait for the report and-”

“They’re not going to find anything there and that’s why I need your help. The tracker proclaimed her dead and yet the way it went out indicated someone managed to-”

“You don’t need me, Malone.” Hood sternly said. “You have the tools to search for her, you have the people to help you find this new recruit. You don’t need some lowly crime boss to send his people to find one of yours.

From the looks of it, the only reason you would ever need my help is because you want to cover something up…am I wrong?”

“I made sure that this mission was one that she could handle and prove herself.” Malone defended himself. “ I analyzed all the possibilities and possible obstacles that may arise and gave her a mission in which guarantees her with outcomes where she had the least amount of  injur-”

“Why the fuck would you do that to her? If you were so worried about her, then why did you send her out? Why did you make her into one of your damned soldiers then?” Hood slammed his hands on his desk. “You should’ve-”

“She needed something to wake her up from her trance…to-”

“By making her take down one of the many problems of Gotham? Some newbie who doesn’t know the first thing about-”

A large slam rang throughout the room as Bruce placed a folder on his desk, bewildering Jason because…

That was the slimmest folder Jason had ever seen on a person’s background check that Bruce himself conducted. 

Jason carefully picked it up, opening the folder to only find student records of- 

“How old is she?” Jason whispered, staring at the photo clipped onto the file. She looked no older than 16 and yet, the daunting look in her eyes  that stared back at him soullessly made a shudder  run down his spine. 

“She just turned 19.”

Jason flipped between the five pages of academic reports and a few notes regarding her lifestyle.

How she graduated the top of her class, her endless wins at fashion competitions, her volunteer work and her small resume of odd jobs she did for a while before her parents’ death. 

Unfortunately, after her parents’ death, so did her life. She withdrew her application from multiple universities and sold off the bakery her parents once proudly owned. She canceled the renting of the place she lived at and from there on, her life seemed to have stopped.

Nothing else was found about her, her classmates not knowing about her whereabouts either.

She just…stopped existing. “She reminded me of you after you found out about your mother…” Bruce admitted, “She reminded me of Dick after he lost his parents…

Lost, confused, searching for answers…

As it turned out, I wasn’t far from that.

Reaching out to be part of the Justice League was an excuse she made to ask us for help in finding her lost partner. 

Or rather, an old classmate of hers. 

She hadn’t been able to contact him in a while since his father’s death and was very worried about him. She tried calling his aunt in London but she didn’t get anything regarding the boy. So she started to search for any clues of her whereabouts through her own means…

But I wasn’t going to let her search for him in the form of invading other people’s privacy nor through sacrificing her sanity.

So I gave her a mission to help her clean her thoughts out and figure out how she was going to search for her friend… I didn’t think she would-”

“I need you to leave.” Jason spoke, sliding the folder back to Bruce. “Now.” It only took a small instance for Bruce to see what was going on. 

“Keep the folder.” Bruce softly said. “’ll keep searching for the girl. I’ll let you know if I find her.”

Bruce looked at Jason one last time, wondering what expression he had under his helmet. But he didn’t need to see it to have a rough idea of what it looked like. Instead, he simply turned around and left. 

Jason listened as Bruce’s steps grew quieter, listening as the door to his office shut closed. 

Jason stared at the file under his hand, crumbling it before throwing it off his desk.

Jason slumped back into his chair, slowly taking off his helmet as he was finding it too awfully stuffy, peeling off his domino mask that was starting to become uncomfortable, which finally let his unshed tears spill over.

He used the palm of his hand to wipe them off, irritating his cheekbones with the amount of tears he was crying out.

Why was he trying so hard to find the girl?

Why was he so damned worried about her so much?

Why didn’t he just accept her possible death?

Why did he still think she was alive?

Why?

“Why didn’t you do this for me, Pops?”

---

Marinette reprimanded herself when she realized she was about to touch yet another thing Victor told her to not touch…but could you blame her?

With every step they took, Marinette became enthralled by the tubes and pipes that twirled around the lab, the machinery that would occasionally tick or beep as they walked around.

Victor took the time to answer all her questions, let her pick up finished weaponry and even allowed her to input some ideas of her own to improve them, something she didn’t know she missed doing.

But all of that curiosity stopped the minute Victor took her to his most precious creation.

She felt her body shake violently as Victor opened up the door to the room that held said creation, Marinette hearing her heart in her ears and the world around her becoming silent.

She could barely hear Victor call her name out as she took wobbling steps towards it, hearing shaky breathes come out of her.

Why…

Why did he have this?

Why was this here?

“Mom?”

Adrien’s voice rang in her head as she stood mere centimeters away from the stasis chamber in front of her, Marinette finally coming to her senses when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

She quickly grabbed it, pulling it downwards and slamming Victor onto the floor, digging her knee onto his back, and holding a knife against his neck that she had hidden on her person.

“Victor, why the hell do you have this in your possession?” 

“Mari-”

“Tell me!” Marinette demanded, pressing the knife further into his neck, hoping he wouldn’t notice the way it shaked in her hand.

“Because I made it. I’m the one who made the world’s first ever cryogenic freezing chamber.”

But, I must confess one thing.

I’m not the only one in the world with this device. There it yet one other individual who also had this commiss-”

“Who was it?” Marinette practically screamed, Victor wondering what triggered the girl to cause her to behave this way. “Who asked you-”

“Agreste. Gabriel Agreste. He’s the person who commissioned one for him many years ago.”

NEXT

[stars-obsession-pit]

I’m not a MariBat shipper (I like the ML-DC crossover but I prefer Adrienette) but I just had a thought that’d probably work well as like a setup thing for that:

Oftentimes in this crossover—especially if the Justice League finds out about the Hawkmoth situation after it’s been going on for a while—the Parisian heroes will ask them to stay out of it for fear of a superhero getting akumatized and being too powerful to defeat.

But that’s (arguably) mostly just an issue for the heroes with preexisting powers. Unpowered heroes would still be dangerous, sure, but they’d be limited to whatever random akuma powerset they receive (which would be completely new to them) instead of having powers they’ve trained for years.

Thus, if the JL is trying to push for a compromise, they might propose sending some of the baseline-human heroes.

Which could easily mean the Gotham vigilantes.

And then maybe people would be too wary of Batman being akumatized (since he’s a full grown adult, has the most training/experience among the Bats, and his broodiness might be construed as making him more likely to qualify for akumatization) but still agree to a team-up with some of Gotham’s other vigilantes.

Thus allowing specifically just those teen heroes/vigilantes to interact and bond…

[everosfics]

Day 1: Fae

@daminettedecember

@maribat-calendar-events

A/N: Im back it's been 4 years but I'm still alive and ready to start posting again so enjoy my first one shot of the season.

You know, the stories of the things that go bump in the night, or when children are taken to the woods and dance all night until their fear bleed, those stories well those faerie tails were true. At least they were long ago before human and fae began to intermix and breed with one another. The human trying to tame the fae and the fae trying to find a way to survive in this world that was slipping away from nature. 

There are two family lines that hold the old ways pure, one from the court of Seelie who were blessed by the goddess of creation and one from the Unseelie court blessed or cursed by the god of destruction depending on who you asked. Though the family lines  were pure it was not without sacrifice each member held the power their gods had blessed them with and with each blessing came a curse the seelie were cursed with needing a blood sacrifice once every new moon. And the Unseelie were cursed with being vulnerable for the 3 days surrounding the new moon. 

Now you may be asking how this history of fae fits into our story…

Well just take a look as the most recent generation are ones who will not only break their curses but muddy the waters between Seelie and Unseelie. 

•••

Marinette Dupain-Chang the latest “pure” Unseelie. She unlike the rumors surrounding her court was gorgeous a queen in the making, or at least she would have been had the fae stayed separate from the mortals all those millennia ago. But here in Paris she was not a queen no she was an Idol not just Unseelie royalty as a civilian but the prized hero of Paris Ladybug. She though cursed with the blessing of destruction and death had managed to reign in her blood lust and become a hero one with the power of creation if you will. You could say her blood lust helped her it allowed her to discover and kill her enemy in Hawkmoth rapidly only 2 years passing by and even after that she protected her city. She was a protector now not a killer like her kind was rumored to be, and yet her label as a hero never stoped her from reveling in each kill she was allowed to make. Allowed to solely because of her so called “lucky” charm that would fix everything once the battle was over. 

She is where our story begins, with her class, one that is composed of all but 2 other mostly Unseelie children. 

Mme Bustier, a woman whose bloodline was so muddled that her fae court could not be determined leaving her in the perfect position to teach both courts and yet receive no loyalty from any child. Though she may have received no loyalty that the did not mean there were not lines drawn within her class. For Marinette that signified her development of almost a court her best friend Kagami, and their new found companion Juleka, who’s older brother had seemed to be a potential partner until his bonding with Chloe a few months prior.  

With Chloe having bonded with Luca the Unseelie girls welcomed her into their group and allowed her to protect them during new moon time and provided her with willing blood sacrifices. 

This relationship was not just beneficial, but inevitably divulged into friendship with the gap finally closing within Mme Bustiers class. With the gap finally breached and closed the class was granted the opportunity to travel abroad to their sister city of Gotham and meet the the ruling Seelie family. 

•••

In Gotham though the world was structured differently. The Bat family ruled at night, and the Wayne’s ruled during the day, tho many could guess the duality of the family anyone who voiced the idea of the two being the same disappeared on the night of the new moon.  

With the Wayne’s being kings of the Day and Pure Seelie, Gotham bent to their whim as for them the rumors about their historic court. Those rang true with each brother just as mesmerizing as the last and each just as kind in their trickery always making the world see them as benevolent. 

The outlier though being Damien the only true heir to the Seelie court though many would forget that as each Wayne child held themselves in high esteem. 

Each child was different, Richard Grayson the first son, now he was special his father had been a distant relative of bruce making the Seelie blood Dick possessed almost as potent as that of Bruce. Now Jason was interesting as he was most definitely not Seelie, but Unseelie and though the held himself together during the day at night he would allow himself the pleasure of a kill. Timothy on the other hand was the result of gorgeous mortals and a bloodline so mixed that his court was barely decipherable as  Seelie. 

Damian was the blood son the heir, supposed to be the perfect example of Seelie blood yet he had been blessed with the ability to wield the power of destruction, a gift bestowed on him by his mother one of the last true Fae who had managed to capture the tiny god of destruction in a ring. Because of this gift Damian not only needed a blood sacrifice upon the new moon but he needed to hunt and kill his sacrifice never to receive a willing living sacrifice unless they share opposing power to their court as well. 

•••

The Parisian class arrives in Gotham, and though they are quickly escorted to their hotel and told to stay put, that does not stop several children from quickly departing their temporary residence. The class travels through Gotham the Seelie children traveling to memorials and museums highlighting their court and its past.  While the 3 Unseelie children plus Chloe travel into the depths of Gotham searching for an elder fae they read resided in Gotham. Upon their arrival to Ivy’s gardens the walls open up upon Marinette’s touch, a feeling of belonging runs through her. This feeling may shock her must not as much  as she is sure the emergence of a fully Fae woman does. To not only her shock but that of Kagami Julika’s,  and Chloe, the woman bows to Marinette. 

And greeteds her with the words 

“child of destruction our guardian of creation,  welcome to Gotham I hope you will meet the one you search for the child of creation, our guardian of destruction” 

And with that the walls close again and the  girls are granted a path into a garden that seemed to be a perfect representation of what the fae realm had once been.

•••

A few blocks away our child of creation, guardian of destruction has received a message from his mother, warning him that his betrothed has been found. And based on what his mother has heard from Ivy is willing to commence the end of court separation and usher in a new court one made of mixed heritage. She had after all opened and entered a portal to the fae realm with her royal court. 

[starwarsmum]

My last installment of Sibling! Cassinette for this year's Maribat BioFamily September is for Day 25: Afraid of Heights @maribat-calendar-events

Jason hadn't expected to arrive in Paris to a parade, but that's exactly what happened. When they got out of the car, fresh off the plane, people were dancing and screaming with joy in the streets. There were quite a few people openly weeping as well, an unnerving sight although most people just cheered when they passed these groups. 

He was even more surprised to spot Robin lurking atop a building, apparently watching the procession. Ladybug was swooping in from the other side of the street and the cheers reached a near deafening level. Ladybug waved enthusiastically before motioning for everyone to quiet down.

“Thank you, everyone! I'm sure you are all every bit as relieved as I am that the threat of Hawkmoth is gone,” she said, her voice brimming with emotions. “I made a promise to do everything in my power to keep you safe, and I meant it. Even now, with Hawkmoth defeated, I intend to keep that promise to you. You may not see me patrolling as regularly, you may think I have gone quietly into the night, but I will be here whenever you need me.”

The crowd cheered again, several people screaming their love for the spotted heroine and she beamed out at them. Jason was impressed at the way she handled the crowd, watching as she launched herself away towards the Eiffel Tower. He watched her all the way out of sight but most people just returned to partying in the streets.

“Come on, we should go get the debrief with Dick and the others,” Steph said, grabbing the back of Barbara's wheelchair for something to do. Jason nodded, dumbfounded, and followed after the pair. Cass was due to arrive the following morning, so the three of them were planning on interrogating Damian about Hawkmoth's defeat.

Back at the suite the three had been staying in for the past month, Tim and Dick seemed just as nonplussed by the abrupt end to their investigation. They stood arguing about whether the other had done something given that no public arrest had been made.

After several minutes, Damian arrived with his new little friend and the arguments cut mid sentence. The girl was beaming and giggling with the little Demon, and Jason was unnerved to see him smiling back at her.

“Bonjour!” Marinette trilled, her eyes bright. “It's a beautiful day, non? Ah, it's so nice not to worry about feeling angry that I couldn't if I tried! It's a pleasure to meet you, by the way. I'm Marinette.”

“Jesus, you're a veritable ray of sunshine,” Jason said, awe obvious in his voice. “How in the hell did Demon Spawn get you to agree to spend time with him, let alone date him? Especially since it seems like you have the option to date a model?”

“God, Jaybird, take it easy,” Dick said, appalled. Tim muttered something that probably agreed with Jason, but didn't press it. Dick turned apologetically to a blushing Marinette. “Sorry about Jason, he has a condition that means his brain doesn't connect to his mouth.”

“Oh, um, it's fine,” Marinette squeaked, the sound muffled by the fingers across her face. “I'm just not used to people talking about us dating yet. You'd think I'd be used to it with all of my classmates giving me a hard time over it but no.”

“They don't approve of Damian?” Steph said, raising her eyebrows. Jason agreed; even though Damian was a little brat he was still a Wayne and most people tended to see that first and his personality second. 

“Oh, no, they think he's way out of my league,” Marinette said, waving her hands. “Which I can't argue with, but that's not the point. What with the two different articles, it's been a hot piece of gossip at school. Plus, I did have a crush on Adrien, a lot of them hadn't realised I was over it a while ago.”

“Tt, he was unworthy at any rate. If he was incompetent enough that he did not notice or return your feelings then you are better off without him. And your friends have it entirely backwards, you are the one out of my league. But I shall do my utmost to be worthy of your affections.”

“Holy shit, since when is Demon Spawn smooth?” Jason demanded, glaring at Dick. The older man looked like Christmas had come early, a happy fluttering happening in the region of his hands. “You've been training him, haven't you,” Jason accused.

“No, there were no puns involved so it can't have been Dick,” Barbara said, amused. Marinette let out a groan, now burying her head in her hands. “Oh, not a fan of puns? Wow, Dames, she's literally perfect. How did you trick her into dating you?”

“There was no trickery,” Damian growled, and Marinette looked over at him, still blushing. The others watched as she took hold of his hand and his glare lessened. “Tt, regardless, we came in here to discuss whether you would like to join us for a celebration at the funfair?”

“You, Mr allergic-to-fun, want to go and spend time at a funfair?” Jason said, nonplussed. Really, he had known that something fundamental had changed with the brat, but this was beyond what he could have imagined.

“Tt, it is not as though I am afraid of heights, it could be quite thrilling to face the likes of rollercoasters,” Damian retorted, rolling his eyes for Marinette's benefit. “Besides which, I am lead to believe that it is more about who you spend your time with, as opposed to what you spend your time doing.”

Marinette gave a bright laugh and pulled Damian out of the suite, calling back for the others to follow if they chose. They all trooped down to the lobby, Marinette walking hand in hand with Damian. They were pulled up short when someone shouted across the lobby.

“Dupain-Cheng, who gave you permission to bring your poor baker girl butt into my hotel?” A blonde girl with a sneer flounced over to Marinette. She seemed to expect her to cower, or apologise but Marinette merely raised an eyebrow. 

“I don't know, Chloé, who gave you permission to look and act like a total troll?” She said sweetly, and Jason choked back a laugh. Tim, being the sleep deprived gremlin he was, gave a giggle. Chloé shot both of them poisonous looks before turning back to Marinette.

“You think you're so smart, just because you managed to get your name in a couple of half rate rags? Please, you're only famous this week and by next week you'll be back in the gutter where you belong.”

“I'd ask if you hit your head, but I'm pretty sure you're lacking the necessary organs to get brain damage,” Marinette shot back, sounding bored. This time even Dick was suppressing laughter, and Steph was shaking with silent giggles. “Listen, Chloé, as…fun…as this is, I have plans. So maybe go sort out your hair - which looks ridiculous by the way, utterly ridiculous - and change into something other than yellow and see if it improves your mood. God knows that I feel better when I don't look like shit.”

“You- how dare you, you insignificant little twerp! And you,” she screeched, rounding on Damian's family with an evil glare. “Do you know who I am?”

“Don't tell me you forgot that too,” Marinette said in mock horror, an exaggerated look of concern on her face. It morphed into a look of smug defiance a moment later. “Seriously, Chloé, go crawl back under whatever rock you were hiding under before. I've said it before but I'll say it again for the dimwitted among us: I am done with your nonsense. Now beat it.”

The blonde girl stomped her foot in frustration before storming off. The Batfamily eventually managed to control their giggles and turned back to Marinette. Jason decided he would be the one to break the silence.

“Okay, I see it now. Welcome to the family, Marinette!”

[thegurlwhoisntthere]

Okay, so I can’t believe I’m writing this, the Maribat/Daminette fandom has me by the throat so, here we are

There are a lot of fics where Damian comes to Paris and they click and he gets the Black cat miraculous for various reasons, and also a lot where Marinette goes to Gotham with generally the same outcomes, but what about a fic where Damian and his class go on a trip to Paris before Hawkmoth first attacks.

Like, he’s 13 and forced into this trip because the fam wants him to experience more than just being a vigilante and he hates it. His school has a program with Marinette’s, so at the beginning of the year they pack up and plan to spend two weeks in Paris.

This trip just so happens to coincide with when Master Fu is looking for his new Ladybug and Black Cat (y’all see where I’m going with this?)

In this Au, Adrien makes it to the school sooner and misses Master Fu because he’s testing Marinette. Adrien still gets to go to school, because he deserves happiness, but he’s able to get there the first day, and so avoids the whole gum thing that make Marinette hate him, but also sees what Chloe does to Marinette which really changes his initial perspective of school. He would definitely be a temp hero later, but he gets to enjoy being a normal rebellious teen.

Anyway, so Adrien Misses Fu, so who’s going to be the Cat? Well, Damian’s school pulls up at the same time Adrien would have.

The class stops to do a head count and give the general speech of why they’re there in front of the school and Damian’s planning on slipping away because he’s 13 and thinks this is all a waste of his time. He thinks that if he can make it back to the hotel without anyone noticing he’ll be able to make an argument that they forgot him and that he should be allowed to go home (can you see where I’m taking my inspiration from?). Unfortunately for him, Fu sees this and does his test (the fall). All his classmates don’t do anything because they’re from Gotham and are suspicious of everything (and also it’s Paris and they don’t want to be scammed) and the teachers don’t notice. Damian, however, does notice. He considers leaving anyway because it’s not his problem, but he’s been Robin for almost 3 or 4 years at this point and, contrary to what some people might say, has grown a lot. He would feel guilty and maybe even a little unworthy of Robin if he didn’t stop for 2 seconds to help this old man up.

It goes quite similarly to how it did with Adrien, he helps Fu up, but gets caught and can no longer run away from the class.

Basically, this au is a “what if Damian was The Black Cat from the start?”

I have a lot more ideas, but here’s just a few:

Damian isn’t Chat Noir, but I haven’t looked up any cat related names that he could be yet.

As the cat, Damian acts a lot more fun than he normally would allow himself. He’s not Chat Noir level, but this is the first time in his life where literally no one knows who he is and is monitoring his behavior, nor does he have anyone’s expectations on him for who he should be.

He’s initially annoyed with Ladybug, because she’s so clearly untrained, unconfident, and unprepared, but then she comes up with the plan that shows what she could be capable of, and the speech and he might have a crush, but brushes it off as grudgingly respecting her

He 100% plans on training her and their partnership is more equal than what the show portrays it as, because one of my main problems with the actual show is that chat noir, despite being her partner is often shoved aside and given the sidekick role

Damian doesn’t tell his family what’s happening. As far as they’re aware, Paris is fine. Normally he would have, but he had no time until after the fight and he really enjoyed being the cat that he’s like “I’ll tell them later” which keeps being pushed back.

At the end of the trip he somehow talks his family into letting him actually transfer to Paris so he can stay as the cat

He is baffled that this works, but they are all so happy that he’s taking an interest in something other than Robin and Superheroing that they jump on letting him before realizing that it means he’s gonna be in Paris for months.

Dick is sad about this later, so is Bruce and Alfred and the others, but he’s the most vocal about it.

Damian is also baffled that they haven’t figured out what’s going on by now and as everyday passes he gets more and more annoyed by the fact that his so called family of detectives have realized that he’s decided if they can’t figure it out, he’s not telling them.

He has not figured out that magic is preventing knowledge of this from leaving Paris and even if it didn’t, Magic is protecting his identity.

He acts annoyed by Plagg, but he actually loves him so much

His cat outfit is still fun with the ears and tail, but it’s a lot more elaborate and has a utility belt and a lot of hidden things

In fact, because it’s so elaborate, Marinette’s boring suit only stays for the first time she transforms. Once the fight finishes her little fashion designer brain can’t stop thinking about it and comes up with a new design after consulting Tikki.

Of course, she only has the idea of the costume down, because by the time they finalize it, she sees the news and has her depression moment, so the first time she wears it is when she saves Alya.

Due to this first change, her outfit would constantly be changing throughout her time as Ladybug, as she learns more about fighting and what she’s comfortable with, as well as what’s actually possible with magic and the miraculous.

By the end of the year her firs are going to be crazy (wait till she finds out she can change her actual eyes (both color and the pupils and-) hair colors and length)

She will eventually bully Damian into making some changes but he’s generally happy with the first design.

They also know each others identities a lot sooner because Damian actually knows the benefits and his cold logic is able to cut through a lot of her anxiety.

It still doesn’t happen until at least the second season tho.

Y’all I have so much more, but this is getting long and I’ve got things to do so tell me if u want more or feel free to add your own ideas!!!