Chapter Text
Marinette raced up the stairs to her apartment. She put Kaalki’s glasses back in the box and contemplated the rest of the miraculous. She had said that she might set a cat among the pigeons but did she really want to be that predictable. Plagg’s miraculous was very unpredictable and the last thing Gotham needed was more Chaos without Creation to balance it out. Tikki would really be the best choice but she had just told them about Tikki and the Ladybug powerset. Tikki could also swing balance to far the other way.
“Oh, that would be perfect.”
Tikki looked at her inquiringly.
“I shouldn’t take you or Plagg out tonight because that could disrupt the balance. But if I take Nooroo and Dusuu combined I can use the emotions of the people around to create Champions and Guardians that can help resolve the situation. The only thing is do I use them both together or do I use Mullo to have two separate personas out there tonight and confuse the Bats even more.”
“Marinette, don’t you think that three miraculous might be too much? That is a big strain on anyone. “
“You’re probably right. Combined it is.” She picked up both brooches and pinned them on. “Dusuu, Nooroo Unify!” She was engulfed in bright light. When the light dissipated she stood in the room in a purple and blue A-line dress with transparent lavender wings. “Well, Tikki, Plagg, what do you think.”
“You look amazing Marinette! What name are you going to use?” Tikki asked.
“Hmmm…” she hesitated for a minute. “How about Guanyin?”
“It sounds perfect Marinette!”
Guanyin then slipped out onto the balcony and launched herself in the air. As she glided in the air between buildings, below two motorcycles raced below. From the top of a tall building, hiding amongst the gargoyles Batman watched and traced the unknown heroine’s path.
Guanyin headed straight to where Ja ─ Red Hood had told her he would be patrolling, Crime Alley. Every so often she would peek at the map on her fan, making sure she was still headed in the right direction. She smirked as she realized that Batman had been following her path for the last few miles. She skidded to a stop on a roof top and turned around to confront him.
“Who are you and what do you want,” he growled.
“You can call me Guanyin, Batman,” she responded softly. It was time to lay all the cards on the table. “And I believe you know exactly why I’m here. I’m sure you’re aware that I’m aware of you’re spying.”
“So you are her.”
“I am, and if you don’t mind I have a date to get to,” and with that she dove off the roof, wings snapping open to glide as she plummeted and sped off faster than Batman could follow her. She landed on a roof next to Red Hood. “Miss me Sweetie?”
“That took you longer than I expected.”
“Well your dad wanted to give me the ‘what are your intentions speech’,” she mock growled.
“He did what!”
“Well he had already tried it with Civilian me, so I was expecting it.” Guanyin shivered and Red Hood wrapped his arm around her. “The Chaos in this city is out of control. I’ll need to bring my partner from Paris in to reset the balance.” She looked up at him, “Are you alright with that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something occurred here that destroyed the balance between Creation and Chaos, Luck and Disaster. Tikki and Plagg are the physical embodiments of those characteristics. I’m considered a True Ladybug, and Chat Noir was a True Black Cat. We’re a balancing force, we can use each other’s miraculous but we thrive when we have the correct one. In theory I could activate Tikki without Plagg, but too much Creation energy is just as bad as too much misfortune.”
“Which would you choose for me?” He asked in a quiet tone.
“You,” She paused. “You’re best suited for the Snake. Sass is the Kwami of Intuition. His holders are best at finding the pivotal moments in any situation. His special power is called Second Chance and allows you to rewind time to a set mark. It takes a very special and astute person to utilize it properly. My last Snake in Paris, Viperion, could hear the music of people’s souls. You have an innate sense of time and its importance.”
“How… how can you be so sure?” He asked in a small voice, looking away from her.
She grabbed his chin, turning his face back towards her. “Because I see who you are. Not who you were, not what might be, but you here and now. Also,” she started grin, “the only other one who might fit is Wayzz and he’s entirely too stuffy for you.” Underneath his helmet, he smiled back at her. “Also you owe me, how did everyone react when you got back?”
“Well Agent A and the girls loved you. Big Bat and Red are suspicious of how much you know. N thought you were sunshine personified, I think he might even start a campaign to label you the Sunshine of Gotham. And Demon Brat, well I don’t think he likes anyone. My turn, what do you think your family will think of me.”
“Hmm,” she pondered for a minute. “Well Maman and Papa will love you, they’re a soulmate love story as well so they always wished I would find my soulmate and fall in love. My grandmere will also love you, and threaten you,” she added as an afterthought before continuing on. “Grandpere, he’ll be slightly disappointed. I’m 99% sure he was hoping my soulmate would be a baker like him, Maman and Papa. Now my turn, what’s our next step?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well do we go on casual dates, when do you want to travel to France with me, where do we go from here?”
Red Hood glanced away. “With my words, and everything that happened, I never even thought I would make it to here. I always thought, whoever my soulmate was would run away before I even introduced myself,” he whispered.
“Okay, then we’ll take it slow. If you want, we can start by inviting some of my friends to town for a few weeks. I need Chat here anyways, and friends are much less pressure than family, right?” She asked with a bright smile.
“That should be okay.” He leaned over and laid his head on her shoulder. From a few rooftops away, a nosy blue bird sent a text in the Justice League group chat. Someone had to let them know that the second most antisocial Bat had just met his soulmate.