Chapter Text
The afternoon sun was warm, but gentle. Nathaniel sighed in contentment as Marc grumbled and nuzzled into the red head’s chest, not quite napping. The two were lounging on a deck chair on Nathaniel’s rooftop,which he had transformed into a small garden area. The perks of having the top floor apartment was private access to the roof, though Nathaniel wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be up here or not. No one ever complained so he shrugged it off and enjoyed the relaxing space. Sass and Kalki were sunning themselves nearby, equally enjoying the lazy day.
The two hadn’t seen Bunnix in three weeks, and were relishing the downtime. Nathaniel supposed he should be studying, as just today he had failed a history test by incorrectly naming several French presidents. In his defense, they had been presidents in the timeline he had last studied in. It’s not his fault they never got elected in this timeline.
“You’re thinking too much again. Stop it.” Marc muttered drowsily.
“Sorry,” Nathaniel chuckled lowly, softly running a hand through the other boy’s hair. “I was just thinking it would be nice if there was some sort of time traveler’s extra credit. Or test retakes.”
“Yeah, I can see that happening. “Ms. Bustier, can I retake the test? I studied for the wrong timeline.” Marc giggled. “Don’t worry so much about it. We’ve been in high school for like, a hundred years at this point. One failed history test isn’t going to stop it from being another hundred.”
“ Oof , don’t say it like that. You’re crushing my will to live.” Nathaniel cringed. “I would actually like to graduate someday.”
“Ugh, why?” Marc asked, finally opening his eyes and shifting his position so they were face to face. “You’re a time traveling hero. You really want to give that up to make minimum wage somewhere?”
“I’d totally make more than that. My resume is quite impressive, I'll have you know.” Nathaniel playfully sniffed, turning up his nose in false haughtiness.
“I don’t think you can list “Time Assistant” on a resume, and Bunnix would be a terrible reference.” Marc teased back, booping Nathaniel on the nose. A rabbit shaped shadow fell over them.
“I would make an excellent reference, thank you very much.” Bunnix said, stepping out of a time portal. Both Marc and Nathaniel groaned in disappointment.
“It’s great to see you too.” Bunnix said sarcastically.
“Sorry.” Nathaniel sheepishly apologized. Bunnix might have ironically terrible timing, but she was still his best friend. There was no need to be rude.
“Not sorry.” Marc grouched, fully sitting up from where he had been laying on Nathaniel.
“Aw, don’t be like that! This one will be fun, I promise.” Bunnix coaxed. Sass and Kalki stirred from their naps and flew over to flank Marc, ready to be called upon.
“There is nothing you can say next that will make me let you take Nathaniel.” Marc threatened. Bunnix’s grin split her face as though Marc had offered her her favorite candy instead of challenged her. Nathaniel had a bad feeling about that.
“If you two help me with this, you’ll get to meet Batman.” There was a pregnant pause while the two boys digested that information.
“ Batman , Batman?” Nathaniel was flabbergasted. “The fictional comic book character, Batman?” He asked for clarification.
“Fictional in this universe…” Bunnix trailed off, grinning like a shark.
“Back up, did you say if the two of us help you?” Marc questioned, not letting her derail the topic. Bunnix’s grin faltered a bit as she nodded.
“This one might be fun, all of the DC comic book characters are real there, but it’s also going to be tough. I’m not going to lie about that. Nathaniel is going to need some help from someone who knows the timeline needs to be fixed.” The boys exchanged glances, having a silent conversation.
“Alright, let’s see this timeline.” Marc said, standing up. Nathaniel accepted the offered hand, letting Marc pull him to his feet as well. Bunnix re-entered her burrow without another word, and the two boys and two kwami followed.
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The time window they were looking into was dark, nearly devoid of color. No matter where the image panned the landscape was barren of life. No trees, no buildings, no people. Just endless scorched and gouged land. Zooming out a bit the time heroes could see what looked like huge impact craters scattered amongst the surface of the earth, some as large as small cities. Places where there should have been ocean were desolate wastelands, the skeletal remains of gigantic ocean creatures that would have been fictional in other timelines the only reminders the sea even existed at one point. Nathaniel hissed inward through his teeth as the final image came to rest on the viewing portal. Marc tightly grasped his hand, making a similar noise of distress. Half of the Earth was blown away, chunks of the planet floating off into space. The moon was nothing but space dust. Sass was the one to break the silence.
“What happened here?” The snake kwami asked, distressed.
“The most powerful members of the Justice League became akumas.” Bunnix solemnly told them, her earlier humor gone. “Hawkmoth wasn’t strong enough to control what amounted to as lesser gods. Not so many of them.” She let the image rest on the destroyed planet. “I won't show you the rest of the universe, but you can see how important this one is.”
“Why were the League even in Akumatizing range?” Nathaniel questioned, forcibly tearing his eyes away from the distressing image. “From what I know of the comics, they don’t have jurisdiction outside of America.”
“Batman’s son, Damnian Wayne, was sent undercover to Paris to recruit Ladybug and her team to the Titans. It worked. Ladybug, with Damien as her new Chatnoir, worked with the Parisian government to allow the League in France. Now part of the League’s network of heroes, when a particularly tough akuma arose, the League stepped in to try and help minimize damage.” Bunnix paused to let them absorb that before continuing.
“Since Ladybug is a teen hero, her first point of contact during a crisis is the Teen Titans. This is where it all went down hill. The Titan known as Raven has her father, a demon bent on destroying Earth, trapped in a gem on her forehead. He is a constant source of negative emotion for her. All it took was the slightest slip of control and Hawkmoth had her. ‘Doom Herald’ was aptly named. Along with her own magic, Hawkmoth gave her the power to share her suffering with others. Scarlet Hawkmoth had an army in under half an hour, Damian Wayne as Chat Noir among them.”
“Where were the other Miraculous holders? Surely Ladybug was not facing this threat with just the Black Cat?” Kalki asked. Bunnix looked uncomfortable, but resumed her explanation.
“Ladybug had no allies left at this point. She called for the League. Wonder Woman answered, eager to assist. Her mother Hippolyta had been a former Ladybug holder. Her will was strong, but Doom Herald’s pain was stronger. Amazon joined the ranks, Superman and the rest of the league deployed to stop her, the situation in Paris now a first priority threat. One by one, the leaguers fell to Scarlet Hawkmoth. Man of Steel vaporized half the city in his rage, unwittingly taking out Hawkmoth. Without anyone to direct them...well, you’ve seen ‘Akuma City’. Imagine that, but the akuma are free to go where they please and most of them have enough power to level a city by breathing.”
Nathaniel’s hand hurt from how hard Marc was gripping it, but he barely noticed. Akuma city was what they had nicknamed a timeline where the city of Paris had been locked under an inescapable dome and filled with Akuma, Ladybug and Hawkmoth both dead. Turns out Akuma are really territorial and really don’t like each other when not controlled. The city had become a warzone, with civilians caught in the middle. In less than two years, the population of Paris went from over two million to under five hundred. Interestingly enough that was a timeline that didn’t require outside intervention. Bunnix kept a close eye on it just in case, but so far it was on track to healing, with a Ladybug from the past of that universe about to find herself in that future to provide aid. That THIS timeline with the Justice League needed Bunnix to intervene meant it was worse, And Nathaniel’s knees shook just thinking about it.
“And you want to send Nathaniel in there?!” Marc demanded.
“As bad as this is, it can all be prevented if Ladybug never joins the Titans.” Bunnix pointed out.
“Why don’t you just hop in and tell her that then? Why do you need us to go undercover to prevent that?” Nathaniel asked. Bunnix winced and tapped her fingers together.
“Do you remember that timeline I sent you to where the entire class hated Marinette?” She asked.
“The one with the Me who was too horny for his own good?” Marc asked, the look on his face saying he definitely remembered. Bunnix nodded.
“This universe is like that one. Except instead of everyone else having brainworms it’s…” She hesitated. “The one who you’re going to have to defeat to keep this timeline from becoming that is..”
“Well? Don’t leave us in suspense!” Kalki huffed. The horse kwami wasn’t known for her patience. Being able to instantly teleport anywhere she wanted definitely factored into that. Bunnix took a breath like she was steeling her nerves. Nathaniel understood why with her next sentence, only one word.
“Ladybug.”